Epilogue: If you love life, life loves you back.

A/N: This is it. I apologize to my readers. I truly did a disservice to you when I ended this story at Chapter 44. The story is complete, and I must walk away. I apologize if I leave you wanting 'more'.

2015

January

While Seattle had steady rain…the coast had a significant number of mudslides. Elliot gathered as many volunteers as possible from WWC to help clear roads, and help repair homes for impacted Grey House and Grey Construction staff.

Winds would knock out power to 65,000 people. Grey House announced all staff were off work with pay from January seventh through the ninth. Christian didn't want parents worrying about daycare for children while struggling to get to work in impossible conditions.

~X~

Darius bought a military grade generator for Protective Pups. He needed to keep new mothers and pups warm. It provided energy for the log house also, but Darius recommended Anya spend her spare time at her dads. He missed her, but it was safer for her to not be on the road in this lousy weather.

~X~

Bob transferred to Broetje Automation in Charleston, North Carolina. He sold the property in Savannah and planned to the East Coast near his sisters. Ana flew to Savannah the last two weeks of January to help him empty the house and close escrow. She approved of his two bedroom condo in Charleston, and its view of the water. Bob stayed at Ana's suite in Belmond Charleston Place until his condo was cleaned, painted and organized. While Bob admitted he was not the grandparent type, he was grateful Teddy had Ray and Bee, and Carrick and Grace. He enjoyed meeting Teddy, and appreciated the few days Christian spent with them.

Broetje Automation combined two outlying sites in Germany to one location in Rastede. This move incorporated 450 employees into one site. Without Carla to travel by his side, Bob stopped traveling to worldwide destinations and stayed in the U.S. Christian explained if Bob was welcome to stay with them if ever had to travel to Seattle.

Taylor's ex, Erika and her significant other, were transferred from Berlin to the new site in Rastede by the Broetje Automation. Erika would not return to the U.S. except for a month vacation when Sophie graduated from high school and graduated from college. She would return to the U.S. for two weeks when Sophie married or had a child.

~X~

Ethan began his internship with Puget Sound Psychology Services. In his next two years he would intern in four different areas: clinical, educational, social and occupational. He would be given time to attend forensic psychology classes if he desired. As he needed his doctorate in psychology to attend the forensic psychology courses, Ethan passed on the forensic training. Ethan opined two more years of internship was all the education he could stand for a while. He knew he needed to take continuing education courses from time to time to keep his license current. Ethan and Mia settled in their renovated house and wanted to start a family.

February 2015

Bee came to Renton to be with Darius. He was a wreck since Myka was being spayed. While it only took a few hours for the procedure, Myka needed several days to recover. Darius understood it would reduce the risk for cancer and joint problems, but he stressed over his little queen. When Myka was healed, Darius took her to the kennels. He had 36 puppies ready to go for obedience training at their prison programs. Myka sat quietly by, giving him moral support while he bathed, weighed, measured and photographed the puppies for the last time.

It took two days for Darius to choose four puppies to crate and obedience train. Once they were six months old, he intended to start their protective training, followed by advanced training at Grey Dogs. The group would eventually include one boy puppy fathered by each one of the studs: Montana, Dex, Brick, and Everly. Adrian came to transport the remaining puppies to the prison pups program. Thirty-two thousand dollars was an excellent record for this quarter.

May 5

Teddy's first birthday, a Teddy Bears Picnic motif, was not an overblown affair. Christian and Ana wanted to keep it low key with just family and friends. Ana donated all Teddy's outgrown baby clothes to charity. She cleaned two dozen of his stuffed toys and donated them to the SPD to carry for emergency calls with children. Her rules were absolute – each person could give Teddy one gift. She reiterated for Franny, Grace, Mia and Kate – one gift did not mean one outfit plus one toy plus one book. Ray refurbished an old wooden rocking horse for Teddy's birthday gift.

June 13-19

Christian and Ana celebrated their anniversary on the water, with Teddy, the Taylors, and Liam (Mac) and Laurie McConnell. Mac's calculations were 902 nautical miles from the Port of Seattle to the Port of Juneau. Out of Seattle, across Puget Sound, up the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and then the Pacific Ocean. At 15 knots per hour in The Grace, it would take two and a half days. They would spend one day in Juneau, sightseeing before returning to Seattle. Sailing and sunbathing for a week on the water relaxed all of them. The ladies mastered preparing meals in the galley. Ana only allowed Teddy in a life preserver on deck with her or Christian. Otherwise they were in the main saloon, or Teddy napped in his berth.

They would return to Escala for a few days, claiming the end of the year meant they needed to be close to Grey House and Grey Publishing. The truth was they needed quality time with one another in the red room. They were grateful Teddy slept through the night, and for the baby monitor for his room.

June 20

Kate invited six dozen people to Ava's first birthday party. The over-the-top Sparkle and Shine soiree featured pink sandwich filling with white heart shaped bread (berry-flavored cream cheese, ham salad or shrimp salad), salad with pink vegetables (Swiss chard, carrots, tomatoes, and radicchio) with berry vinaigrette, pink radish roses, berry punch, white chocolate dipped strawberries with pink decorating sugar, berry fruit skewers, strawberry ice cream and a two-tier pink and gold frosted cake. The tiers were berry flavored with berry mousse between the fillings.

Ava was gifted lots of dolls, pink dresses, and gold lockets. Ray and Bee created a rocking unicorn for Ava. It was white, with blue eyes, long eyelashes, a gold horn, and purple mane and tail. Bee painted the name, 'Rarity', on the rocker. She suggested Kate prepare herself for 'My Pretty Pony.'

June 26

Grey House hosted the annual review of Protective Pups and Grey Dogs. Both businesses met their performance standards set by the Grey House executive staff. Grey Construction built two more sets of kennels and runs at Protective Pups. Grey Construction built two more single kennels with dog runs for breeding dogs. The covered log pavilion Darius wanted for the site was completed with a parking lot to hold 100 cars. The six 400-square-foot, one-bedroom cabins for temporary or visiting staff were completed, with a single car garage at each cabin and a parking area for visitors.

One new kennel and run was for the four trainee pups. Darius acquired a two-year old male, Sounder, and a duet of two-year old ladies, Mustang Sally and Lady Sadie for the other new kennel and run.

~X~

It was Ana's review for her first year as an associate editor. She met the standards and goals set for her, excelling in acquiring new authors for Grey Publishing. Editors who avoided being alone with her in the past were suddenly excessively cooperative when faced with Jerry Roach and Anastasia Grey in a meeting. GP Finance was able to provide a spreadsheet of the costs and profits for the four authors and their books which Ana brought in this fiscal year.

Jerry and Ana, with input from Trisha, opted to contract a set of six books. It was called The Gifts. Book one was about a time-stopping pocket watch. However, as in all gifts, there was a price to pay. For each minute the holder stopped time, he/she lost a minute off their life. The book began in 1890 with a train robbery. The current holder, having been mortally wounded, hands off the watch to a young woman, with directions and a warning. Jerry felt it would be a bestselling series to engage both of them. While fantasy was not a strong genre for Ana, it was a good exercise in monitoring and promoting a series of books. The first book was finished, the second book was half written, and timelines and book outline completed for the other four.

~X~

It was Kate's first year as the Chief of Operations for Kavanagh Media. She was highly rated by staff, who enjoyed having a gym, child care facility, and enlarged cafeteria. She was not rated as highly by two of the department heads who believed they were better qualified than Kate, and resented her promotion. Eamon put an end to their incessant jealousy and bickering over ideas presented by Kate by giving them a generous departure package. Both of them applied to Grey House for positions…but an investigation by Adrian into their backgrounds prevented their hire. One was eventually hired by KING 5 TV and one by KOMO 4 TV.

~X~

Spokane Coping Together received a renewal for their grant. Part of their funding included keeping Jessica Jackson gainfully employed. She was seeing a family court lawyer who was built like Elliot Grey and looked a little like Ethan Kavanagh. She read in the society pages about the destination wedding for Ethan and Mia…and enjoyed shredding the newspaper article. Her young man hated the shabby chic of her apartment. Jessica sold what she could sell, donated the rest to charity, and became a Pottery Barn, Ashley's Furniture, and Ikea devotee.

~X~

José recommended Grey Construction keep the twelve interns from this fiscal year. ten were hired by Mitch Black and assigned to one of the four construction teams. Elliot hired one as the Grey Construction department chief for the mergers and acquisitions. He was attending UDub to get his MBA. The other intern became the new financial manager for Grey Construction. With a background in accounting and construction trades, he streamlined the Grey Construction process, contracts and spreadsheets for rentals and sales. It took most of the day for Elliot, José, and Mitch to choose twelve interns for the next fiscal year. Students with dual majors and top grades were considered first. José's bonus for the last fiscal year paid his and Sophia's student loans for a year. His signing bonus for the next fiscal year provided a three-month emergency fund for them.

June 27

Anya attended Coping Together with Darius. He dressed like the rest of Grey Security in a black tux with grey tie, pocket square and mask. Anya wore a silver goddess gown, with a silver mask decorated with a butterfly. They were accompanied by Morse, in his Grey Security black Kevlar vest, and Myka in a black and red service dog vest. She and Darius were seated at the Grey House table with Ros and Gwen Bailey-Drake, and Adrian and Andrea Welch. There was spare room on either side of their chairs for the dogs. Dr. T. welcomed both Anya and Darius. Adrian and Ros introduced Darius and the dogs to important persons they should know.

The table next to them held staff from Grey Publishing. Claire attended with one of the tech people from Grey House. Anya felt the gaze of half a dozen women on her and Darius. Several of them volunteered for the first dance auction, only to be purchased by business men who attempted to gain information about Christian and Grey House. Anya squelched her unfriendly thoughts after Darius refused to dance with Grey Publishing ladies. When they danced together several times, both Morse and Myka sat patiently on the sidelines watching them.

Olivia Blandino attended with one of the young politicians who followed in Senator Blandino's wake. They would marry at St. Mathew the Apostle Catholic Church in Washington D.C. in the fall. Five hundred people would attend the wedding and the reception afterwards at the Ritz Carleton, Georgetown. The groom-to-be was a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Olivia would transfer to her father's Washington D.C. office. Ros thought it was an interesting situation and joined Andrea to say hello and congratulations to the couple.

Coping Together raised a fraction over three million dollars this year…and for the second year in a row, there were no fireworks at the end of the evening. Instead Grace hired a stadium-sized plasma screen. It promoted a soundless fireworks display with the amount raised. It was one more thing for the board to coordinate, but cost less than the permit for the fireworks, the cost of the pyrotechnicians and insurance. Christian's IT guy, Barney, could program the board for them. Veterans on the security force, or who attended Coping Together were grateful for the lack of fireworks.

July 4

At sunset in the memorial rose garden of the American Legion in Montesano, Brigette Elaine England and Raymond James Steele exchanged vows at an 'I Do Barbeque.' Bianca stood up for her sister, and Rod stood up for Ray. Bee wore a simple denim fit and flare dress and Ray wore jeans, a white shirt and a denim vest. Her flowers were yellow rock roses, blue geraniums, baby's breath and white sage foliage, held together in a silver tussy mussy bouquet holder which belonged to a Victorian ancestor. Her borrowed was a silver bangle bracelet found by Darius on one of his metal detecting forays. Her blue was her denim garter, and her something new was her dress. Her silver sixpence in her shoe was Victorian and used by every bride in the England family since the 1850s.

Almost every room in the two largest motels in the area were booked for out of town guests. Ana and Christian booked all the rooms and cabins at Mannings Bed and Breakfast. It was a picturesque place for Bee's family. Christian sent the jet to Bellevue to transport Bee's parents, sister and family and any extended relatives who wished to attend the wedding.

Once the bleachers erected for the parade were taken down, a marque with dance floor and reception seating took most of the parking lot of the American Legion. Ana hired an event firm for the reception marque, seating and décor. She hired a catering firm out of Seattle to provide typical BBQ fare for 300 guests. Apple cobbler (created in sheet cake pans) was served instead of wedding cake. Table cloths and napkins were light blue gingham. Chairs were white wood. Table centerpieces were made from antique blue quart mason jars filled with yellow rock roses, blue geraniums, baby's breath and silver sage foliage. Ray and Bee's guests were mostly friends from the American Legion and Montesano. Guests were encouraged to wear summer clothes, or denim. Grey security wore black jeans with white shirts and black denim jackets which were ditched early in the evening.

A DJ from Seattle worked with a local band to provide three hours of dance tunes. Ana enjoyed watching Ray and Bee dance their first dance as a couple to 'Someday Lady You'll Accompany Me.' While Bee danced with her father, Ray danced with Bee's mother to Sunrise, Sunset. After all the family dances…Bee called for a substitute in the playlist. She requested You're My Best Friend by Queen for dancing with Darius. Rod and Ray walked around the marque, urging everyone to eat, drink, dance and be merry.

When Teddy and Ava demonstrated their walking prowess, Morse followed Teddy and Myka followed Ava. They were ready to wrap their teeth around the strap of his overall shorts or her sundress to keep them from harm. Darius and the dogs sat at the table with Ana, Christian, Kate and Elliot, and José and Sophia. José took lots of candid pictures while Sophia drew pictures of the head table, the décor, etc.

Christian and Elliot engaged in discussing sports with Bianca's husband Joe, and her sons. They all enjoyed sailing, water skiing and snow skiing. Christian invited them to Aspen for Thanksgiving.

Labor Day 2015

"There's a reason it's called residency," Anya consoled Amy. "You practically live at the hospital. Residency means you sacrifice everything but work and sleep. You'll find yourself falling asleep in the shower. But it's only seven years of your life."

"I wish I was a fifth year," Amy sighed.

"Being a fifth year only means you have less backup if someone dies while under your care. You can still get kicked out of the program. You have interviews and boards. You have to work hard for a letter of recommendation for fellowships or attending positions. Plus, you hope for the one case which will get you published or awarded." Anya sighed. "Thank god for Mrs. Chang. We'd never survive if we had to clean house, do our own laundry, cook dinner and take care of a family."

"I needed to shop for two duffels, thirty days of underwear, ninety days of toiletries, and two more pairs of trainers. Instead of using my only afternoon off to shop; I used Amazon for thirty minutes and slept the other 4.5 hours." Amy grimaced. "I can't remember what it is like to spend an entire Saturday at the mall, trying on clothes, buying coffee, or having lunch with friends. I usually only see Dad Will when he's buying me coffee and lunch and Dad Drew when he's dropping off duffels filled with clean clothes."

"Well, I'm only accepting interviews that are a minimum of four hours away by plane. I want to sleep on the outbound flight, stay in a hotel with room service, attend the interview, and sleep on the inbound flight." Anya revealed her strategy. "I won't interview on the West Coast. Every big hospital on the East Coast is seeking my attention. I won't relocate, but I won't reveal that to anyone. When you are in your fifth year, feel free to use my interview rules."

November

Myka chivvied Darius if he attempted to take the pups to Grey Dogs without her. She instinctively knew what to do on each of the training courses. She mentored by example and nipped the puppies when they failed to run the course properly. Stan wanted Myka for Grey Dogs, but Darius was not giving her up. No matter how Stan tried to bribe him…Myka arrived with the Protective Pups, and went home with them.

It was the third wettest October, November and December on record for the past several years. Ana was glad Teddy was too young to trick or treat. She was determined to take him to either the Boo Bash or the Safe Streets at WWC when he was old enough. Thirty-six hours of continuous rain between Veterans Day and Thanksgiving dampened almost everyone's enthusiasm. Additional landslides and power outages affected more citizens in Washington. Ana didn't tell anyone, but she appreciated the generators at all the Grey House businesses, at Escala, the Sound or Grey Manor.

~X~

José and Sophia worked the Day of the Dead celebration for the Seattle Latino Metro Chamber of Commerce. Jose donated two large sofa sized paintings to the silent auction. Sophia joined Gwen Drake to draw caricatures for sale at the event. They donated their proceeds to the Girls Leadership programs. Sophia had been a speaker twice this year for graduating seniors. She explained her job and the training she received. Gwen spoke twice at fall open houses and at spring open houses to explain STEM programs to girls and their parents.

José was asked to join the Capital Projects committee. He would help coordinate the Education and Architecture Conference after Labor Day, and the Construction and Building Trades Conference in October. Sophia was asked to join the Education Committee. They both agreed it was worth their membership fees and donation of their time.

~X~

Ray and Bee would not go to Aspen this year. They were spending Thanksgiving weekend at the Portland sale. This year they recreated two dozen metal stands into bars or grill tables for outdoor patio areas. Bee claimed she performed so many furniture marriages, it should say 'matchmaker' on her business cards.

December

Ana begged for warm weather and sunshine during her Christmas vacation. Seattle had a soaking wet spring, a humid summer, and more rainy days in the fall than sunshiny ones. Christian and Ana took December twenty-fourth through January third off, and rented a 4,000 square-foot Victorian house on a private beach in Hawaii. The main house had six bedrooms, four bathrooms and all the amenities. The property had four private guest houses with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. In addition to the Greys, Kavanaghs and Steeles, Christian invited Ros and Gwen, Adrian and Andrea, along with Gail, Jason and Sophie. Laura, Maura, Sawyer and Prescott attended also. Ana urged them to take advantage of their down time. Everyone swam, snorkeled, surfed, water skied or sailed. Ana loved setting up the wading pool under the trees for Teddy and Ava to splash and play.

2016

January and February

Since the first Gifts book was about time; the book launch was set for New Year's Day. Ana learned from the PR team about book launches – date, time, venue, author access, book availability, budgets, PR, food, etc. It was an excellent launch both physically at the Fairmont Olympic, and electronically on Amazon. Ana begged Kate for a blog on Kavanagh Media about the book. Kate traded the positive review, with a link to purchase the book online for an afternoon spa date over MLK's Birthday Weekend. Gwen and Ros attended the launch party with Christian and Ana. Most of the Grey Publishing staff were present…along with CEOs from a dozen West Coast publishing companies who were seeking the possibility of Grey Publishing acquiring their firms.

Ana sent many staff members to publishing conferences the two long weekends in January and February. January's conference was set in San Antonio. February's conference was set in Phoenix. She liked the new trends explored in each of the conferences. She felt staff needed to boost their KSAs. She warned the ladies to be wing women for each other. She didn't anticipate the ladies giving her problems. However, she would be the first to admit John Jeremy Hyde was not the only misogynist in the publishing world.

Easter Egg Hunt, March 26

The Lambert Supply Depot was one of the sponsors for the Easter Egg Hunt held at WWC the Saturday before Easter. Teddy and Ava competed with a dozen other toddlers in their age division. Elliot 'helped' Ava by holding her Easter Egg Basket. Kate took pictures. When each section of the hunt was over, and eggs were counted, prizes were given to those who found prize eggs. Teddy knew what a real egg was…and he was not impressed…no matter how prettily some were decorated. He seemed to find a lot of prize eggs, which Ana slipped to other parents when he was not watching. Ana relinquished his remaining prize egg for a Velveteen Rabbit stuffed toy and book.

Over Easter weekend, Ana cleared the excess clothes, books and toys from Teddy's bedroom. Gail took the excess to St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store.

Cinco de Mayo

Sophia and José ran in the Fiesta 5K Ole Run that morning and attended a Cinco de Mayo film festival at the Hispanic Community Center in South Park that evening. Tonight's show was Pan's Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro. Ten other movies would be offered in Spanish with English subtitles through the weekend. Sophia and José signed up for a Saturday street dance which featured a Carlos Santana cover band, a Los Lobos cover band and featured dancers from two Hispanic owned dance studios.

~X~

Christian bought Teddy a wooden train set for his second birthday. It took up a three-foot square space on the patio. He had Barney's team convert two of the little engines to run on solar power. He was up with the sun, hovering to see if the train worked as well as Barney promised. Ana laughed. 'Boys and their toys. Christian is as excited as he was when I gave him a solar powered helicopter a few years ago. I imagine it will become a permanent fixture in our sunroom.'

Christian and Ana hosted a Taco Twosies birthday party for Teddy's second birthday. Traditional fiesta food along with cactus green limeade birthday punch was offered. Green decorated cupcakes were arranged to look like cactuses. A large pinata shaped like a 2 was whacked on by most of the fathers present. Pony rides, ring toss games, and swimming in the heated pool entertained guests. Maracas, bright balloons and paper flowers were party favors. Ana appreciated the red wagon and red tricycle. The swing set, built by Ray and Bee had a climbing wall, a fort, swings, slide, picnic table and covered sand box. Ana loved hearing Teddy and Ava squeal as Ray, Theo and Carrick pushed them on swings.

Memorial Day Weekend, 2016

Washington Warriors Complex held the grand opening for 200 tiny house units. Grey Construction completed the tiny house project, and enjoyed the grand opening Memorial Day Weekend. The 400 square foot units included an attached single garage. The 600 square foot units included an attached double garage. Veterans from recently retired to senior citizens purchased every available house. The sustainable houses boasted selling points of lowered carbon footprints, the best of green building practices, and eligibility for veteran's housing loans.

The Washington Warriors board discussed the acquisition of more property for more houses. They had a waiting list for every available living space at the complex. Several of the vets combined resources to purchase one of the houses. Several of the vets acquired two or three bedroom trailers and a space at the RV campground. While combining households freed up room in the dormitories, it underscored the need for more living spaces.

The board met with every business and entity at the complex. Financials were in order for all the businesses. The board was thrilled to pay all their bills, pay all their staff, plan for expansion and boast a profit.

June 18

Ray and Bee had Teddy for the day at the Sound. Christian took Ana soaring over the Columbia Basin and the Cascade Ridge. After soaring, they went back to Escala for breakfast and a nap. Their afternoon was spent with classical music and kinky sex in the red room. Ana gave Christian eight printouts for a glider to purchase. She checked into available hangers at Boeing Field. After July first, the hanger next to the Grey jet hanger and Charlie Tango hanger was available to rent. Christian could have a third hanger for holding a glider if he decided to buy one.

They spent the evening, raiding the refrigerator Gail loaded for them, along with drinking white wine while planning the remainder of the summer. Ava's birthday, Coping Together, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Ana's birthday were discussed. Christian wanted to take the third weekend of every month off this summer to just kick back and enjoy their son and their life.

June 20

Ava's Two-Ty Fruity birthday was celebrated with six dozen guests. Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad and green salad fed the adults while most of the children ate the adorable creatures created from fruits. Ava's two-tier birthday cake was vanilla cake with colorful sprinkles and fruity flavored mousse and frosting. It was served with rainbow sherbet. Colorful balloons and floral arrangements decorated the patio at Elliot and Kate's house. Kate wore a Carmen Miranda costume. Elliot wore a brilliant yellow shirt with black jeans. Ava was dressed in a watermelon motif romper. Guests swam in the pool. Watermelon motif gift bags were filled with fruit flavored suckers, fruit motif stress balls, and pineapple shaped bottles of bubbles. Ray and Bee built a pink and purple playhouse for Ava's birthday.

Fourth of July

Christian's anniversary present to Ana was a trip to New York. They flew to New York on July second, and returned to Seattle on July sixth. Christian took Jason and his family as guests, not staff, and Elliot, Kate and Ava. He arranged tickets for the Bronx Zoo on July third; baseball and fireworks at Yankee Stadium on July fourth, and Coney Island on July fifth. Ana made him swear not to arrange any shopping trips while they were in New York. She wanted to take Teddy for a stroll in Central Park.

November 10

"Thank you for the birthday greeting! Ray's not home," Bee's voice was too gleeful. Ana had to ask what was up. "Ray and Rod went hunting. This is day two. The guys each shot a turkey and a pheasant yesterday. Both guys have deer tags. I imagine they will be hunting a lot of weekends until they bag a deer. Martin's Meats in Grays Harbor is dressing the pheasant and the turkey for us. Do you want to come to Portland for Thanksgiving? Rod's offering to house us and four vets."

"I called to let you know we aren't going to Aspen this year. I have a book launch over the weekend at the Convention Center in Seattle. We will be in one section on the third floor. The entire fourth floor is a Black Friday rummage sale by the Archdiocese of Seattle. One of the main sections of the book takes place on a Black Friday. We can fly down on Wednesday night, stay for Thanksgiving dinner and fly back on Thursday afternoon." Ana made a strangling noise. "I wish I were coming to Montesano to work in Dad's workshop, or clean the storage units, or even be a cleaning wench! I know cooking, cleaning and organizing are stress relievers…but I can't seem to find more than 20 minutes free at a time! I'm thankful for Gail, and Laura and Maura. How do you feel about going to a spa day for Christmas?"

2017

January 1

"Are we agreed then," Elliot asked Kate.

"I'll skip my shot for the next two rounds, and we'll see what happens," Kate agreed. "It bothers me because Mia and Ethan aren't having any success with IVF."

"I feel bad for them also, but we can't delay completing our family. Ava shouldn't be an only child." Elliot kissed Kate's hair, and cupped her cheek.

~X~

"If you're ready for another baby, I'm game," Christian kissed Ana. "Teddy needs a sibling, or two."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We don't have a guarantee I'll get pregnant as fast as fast as I did with Teddy." Ana scolded Christian…and forgot all her worries when he kissed her senseless, and fucked her legless.

May 5

"I hope Kate's pregnant with a boy," Elliot gazed longingly around Teddy's third birthday party. It was 'I'm 3 and digging it!' The motif was big construction rigs and bright yellow decorations. Elliot found two very large metal Tonka trucks for Teddy's birthday.

"I hope I'm pregnant with a girl," Ana laughed. "I wouldn't mind a tea party once in a while."

"Well, Ava's birthday party will be a 'Three-Esta' party, with faux margaritas for you pregnant ladies and cerveza for us men."

"Great," Ana moaned. "Salty rimmed glasses to make my ankles swell more."

Teddy's best present was a set of four Adirondack chairs created for children with a low table. Ray and Bee painted them in woods motif with a lake and trees. They created a picnic table and benches for children as Ava's birthday gift. It was painted soft blue with pink, purple and yellow butterflies.

May 12

"Not quads," Dr. Greene corrected Celeste. "Multiple single sperm, single egg embryos. Two boys, two girls. Due before Thanksgiving."

"Are you considering continuing the family legacy of E names for boys," Celeste asked. "I researched E names – Eldon, Easton, Edrah, Elek…"

"Edris – boy, Ellis – girl, Emerson – boy, Evarith – girl. In case we have the sexes wrong, we have Emma and Elynn for girls and Elijah and Emmett for boys." Ethan kissed Mia's temple. "I know it is asking a lot for you to carry the babes to term. We knew a multiple birth was possible, but four babies at once…our arms will be full."

"Not as full as our hearts. We never have to go through IVF again." Mia smiled through the tears of shock. "We chose E names which have not been in the family for a few generations. Evarith was a great-great grandmother. Emerson was a surname six generations ago. I like Ellis from Gray's Anatomy. I like Idris Elba but the spelling doesn't work, so we decided on E-d-r-i-s."

"We picked middle names from grandparents," Ethan noticed his mother's face. She could hate the names all she wanted, but they had chosen. "Ellis Grace, Evarith Celeste, Emerson Eamon and Edris Carrick."

"We'd better call Elliot. There's work to be done on the house. The three large bedrooms on the second floor need to become two bedrooms and a half bath. Boys in one room, girls in the other." Mia commented. "I want to enlarge the laundry room with another set of the large, front load washer and dryer."

"You're on light duty and plenty of bed rest," Dr. Greene reminded Mia. "I don't want you painting or moving furniture."

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend, Darius proposed to Anya, after she graduated from surgical residency and her fellowship. She was offered an attending position at SHC starting July first. She would stay at Drew and Will's house if it's a long day. Otherwise, she drove from Renton to SHC. He hosted a graduation party for her at Protective Pups. Her presents were blue surgical caps and totes with butterflies. Darius bought her eight sets of blue surgical scrubs which had cargo pants. She could tuck a stethoscope, a cell phone, a surgical cap, and a bottle of hand sanitizer in various pockets.

She didn't want an engagement ring, so Darius bought her a Subaru SUV. He felt it was safer on the road than her Mini Cooper. She was thrilled to carry a couple go bags easier in the back of the SUV than the Mini Cooper.

July 1-2

After the annual review of Protective Pups and Grey Dogs, Darius and Anya took the two days to go to his gold claim. He hadn't spent enough time there. He renewed the claim for another year, but was willing to give it up. He had taken several afternoons to metal detect at parks and beaches, but Morse and Myka loved the unrestrained running on Darius's gold claim. Day one they hiked and Darius metal detected. He found an odd stone the size of a potato. The metal detector identified it as a possible source of iron. They set camp and roasted hot dogs, made s'mores and tented the dogs in a second tent so they had an uninterrupted night with one another.

In the morning, Anya made breakfast and coffee while Darius broke camp. They had frozen sandwiches, juice and water in one of the coolers for lunch. Anya slathered on sunscreen and seated herself under a tree with a novel…which was a novel experience for her! Darius pulled out his metal detecting kit, and his high water waders. He slung one of the sand sifters off his belt.

Three times the metal detector alerted him. He reached down to scoop and filter sand only to find a chain charm for a cell phone, a bottle opener, and a collection of fish hooks. Myka couldn't stay out of the water long enough for Darius to gold pan. Morse nagged at her from the shore, but she enjoyed dashing in and out of the water. Every time she bounded out, Myka shook off her excess water on Morse, which made him growl.

Darius planned to spend the remainder of the summer seeking a two year old male and two ladies for Protective Pups. Sounder and both his ladies had their first litters of six puppies each. He was thrilled to work Sounder with his four one-year-olds and Myka. The six of them were a solid work team.

Labor Day Weekend, 2017

Darius and Anya married Saturday of Labor Day weekend at Protective Pups under the covered pavilion. They agreed on a simple wedding, and exchanged black titanium wedding bands. Frederick Johns stood up for Darius, Amy stood up for Anya. Both Drew and Will walked Anya down the aisle. She wore a simple white satin fit and flare dress. The back was open with two pretty bows for interest. She wore ruby heart studs and a ruby tennis bracelet from Darius. He wore black jeans and black jacket. Amy wore white, Frederick wore black. Their flowers were red roses. Morse was their proxy ring bearer. Myka was a flower bearer with a lei of red roses around her neck.

Darius and Anya spoke their vows together. "I promise open communication. I promise to cherish and build our relationship. I promise to never do anything to betray your trust. I promise to be your safe harbor, your sanctuary. I promise to love and respect you for the rest of my days."

After a lovely ceremony at the log pavilion, two hours of feasting, libations and dancing ensued. Darius and Anya danced their first song to an acoustic version of Till Forever by Joy Williams. Their three tier wedding cake was red velvet. The white chocolate buttercream frosting was decorated with black stylized vines and leaves made of fondant with live red roses. They served a buffet of six Cajun/Creole dishes, six Oriental dishes and Darius's favorite steaks, butterfly shrimp and onion rings. They had an open bar, but they served nonalcoholic cranberry spritzers as their signature drink.

Anya had three father-daughter dances with Drew, Will and Frederick. The couple had an equal number of single women to single men who were required to dance at least once during the reception. They all took advantage of the rule by joining the money dance for Anya and Darius. Frederick and Amy collected the funds and sent everyone to dance a minimum of thirty seconds with the bride or the groom. Anya and Darius were ready for champagne and food after they danced for almost forty-five minutes with guests.

They honeymooned for four days at the Fairmont Olympic in Seattle, because they could bring service dogs. Their entire bill for their suite, room service, spa date and on demand movies was paid by their money dance. Anya had to get back to work as the newest attending pediatric surgeon at Seattle Children's Hospital. By unanimous agreement, Anya and Darius decided to not become parents. They discussed the option of hiring a surrogate. However, being parents was not something either of them needed to live fulfilling lives.

~X~

Grandma Frannie and Aunt Gena hosted a very large (300 women) 'Count Me In' baby shower for the three pregnant ladies at Grey Manor. Grace knew where to find a large marque, and caterer, and tables and chairs. Phoebe meant two children for Christian and Ana. Chase and Drake would make three children for Elliot and Kate. Edris, Ellis, Emerson and Evarith would make four children for Mia and Ethan.

Grandma Frannie made a soft pink floral quilt for Phoebe. She made two blue and green quilts for the twin boys Kate was carrying. She made four baby quilts in bright colors for Mia's anticipated four babies. It was not every year she had seven new great-grandbabies. Grace brought presents for Teddy and Ava – 'big brother' and 'big sister' t-shirts. Ray brought a rocking chair and ottoman for each of the ladies for their nurseries.

October

Phoebe Grace Grey born October fifth. Teddy was not sure he needed a sister. He asked his daddy if he could trade his sister for one of Darius's puppies.

Chase Kavanagh Grey and Drake Kavanagh Grey, twin sons of Kate and Elliot, were born on the twenty-eighth. They were a little early, but Kate was grateful they were healthy. Elliot agreed to get a vasectomy. They were finished building their family.

Ray and Bee 'borrowed' Teddy for Boo Bash so Christian could work and Ana could rest. She would not return to Grey Publishing until the first of the year. In the meantime, she worked from home as she could. Hannah brought her mail and work. Ana learned the ins and out of finances and HR at Grey Publishing. Gwen came when she could and trained Ana about the illustration and graphic arts portion of Grey Publishing. Laura and Maura gladly added Phoebe to their work tasks.

November 10

Mia and Ethan, capped and gowned, supported one another behind a curtain while Dr. Greene and her staff birthed four babies by C-section. They did not tell anyone today was the day. Everyone expected them to do this on Monday after Veterans Day. Ethan promised to call family after Mia and the babies were settled in her room. Mia depended on hospital staff to keep the delivery from turning into a circus. Each baby weighed between three and four pounds.

Dr. Greene was concerned when Mia's uterus was sluggish to respond after all the babies were born. Eventually, before emergency measures were instituted, Mia's body rallied. Dr. Greene finished with her as her OB/GYN residents and interns worked on the babies. Eventually Mia would be transferred to her room in the OB/GYN wing along with four baby bassinets. Mia would stay a few days at the hospital but the babies were in the NICU unit for a month. While Mia had a Grey Security guard who was sworn to secrecy outside her room, a second guard would be on duty in the NICU.

December 1

"Bith," Teddy stuffed a handful of Cheerios in his mouth.

'WTF?' Christian's eyebrows knotted. "Who is he calling a bitch?"

"I don't know…and I blame your brother…or your sweet sister for teaching Teddy to say his first profanity." Ana snapped at Christian.

"Shit," Teddy spoke, looking at his Cheerios sliding off his high chair tray onto the floor.

"You hold them down…I will feed them the harshest lye soap I can buy." Ana frowned.

"How do you know it wasn't Kate?" Christian frowned.

"Because Ava was almost kicked out of the Kavanagh Day Care, which Kate organized, for saying 'firetruck'. Kate banned all dirty words from the house, and instituted a swear jar at home and at work when Chase and Drake were born. I don't mean a quarter a swear word…she's penalizing everyone $10 an expletive." Ana explained. "Kate takes the money from the swear jar and puts it in a separate account for doing special family things."

"Oh holy Christ!" Christian exploded, looking at the news on TV. Phoebe, who had been content to take her bottle in his arms, began to cry in earnest. Ana set Phoebe in the bouncy chair and held the bottle to her mouth. Away from Christian's angst, she settled down to nurse again.

"Kyst…" Teddy parroted his father.

"CHRISTIAN!" Ana snapped. "Oh…WTF…" her voice disappeared as a picture of Elena Lincoln flashed on the TV screen. "What are they saying?"

"The American Embassy in Rio decreed 'death in abstensia' for Elena. There have been no new leads since her disappearance in Rio in 2011. They will not expend any more of their budget searching for her. The State Department requested distribution of her funds before they are diminished by court actions for many years before she is declared legally dead. The U.S. Attorney General's office ordered the Washington Attorney General's Office to distribute her funds by the end of December." Christian frowned. "It appears the Washington Attorney General's Office will handle any future legal issues with the court."

"Elena left everything to you, with Grace as executor of her estate." Ana pointed out something Christian already knew and didn't want to consider. "Yes Teddy…she was a bith." Ana kissed the side of his head.

"IRS is taking a fourth of the funds. The Washington Attorney General is taking a fourth of the funds. The American Embassy requested reimbursement for the funds they expended looking for Elena. The accountant who has been monitoring Elena's funds will be paid. Mom and I think there may be $1 million when the dust clears. We're not letting her funds taint Coping Together, or any of our regular charities." Christian announced. "We've decided to donate Elena's funds to the Seattle Police Department to expand their educational offerings for the community. More school presentations, more self-defense courses for women, on-call counselors for people attempting suicide, transportation services for homeless to shelters during life-threatening storms, etc." Christian felt since Elena was such a soul sucker; her funds should be used to change lives.

Ana raised her orange juice to toast Grace and Christian's decision.

December 18

Ethan and Mia hired a nanny who had a neonatal and pediatric background. She was recommended by Grace. She had excellent recommendations, but mostly she knew when new grandmothers needed gentle handling. Her suite was located near the children's rooms. Mia put the girls in a yellow and light blue nursery. The boys had a medium blue and lime green nursery. Orange and red were the accent colors for both nurseries. Their names were created from stuffed letters which decorated walls over their cribs.

It was a busy afternoon for the priest at St. Madeleine's. First he christened Teddy and Phoebe, whose godparents were Elliot and Kate, and Mia and Ethan. Then he christened Ava, Chase and Drake, whose godparents were Christian and Ana, and Mia and Ethan. Then he christened Edris, Ellis, Emerson and Evarith, whose godparents were Elliot and Kate, and Christian and Ana. Teddy thought they were testing the water to see if it was warm enough to swim. Ava fussed because her pretty white dress got a little wet. The rest of the babies were too young to put up much of a fuss.

A buffet tea was held afterwards at the Skyview Ballroom at the Hilton Bellevue. Each couple invited 50 persons not on the main list. Together the three couples invited 50 people like extended family. Kate and Ana asked Jose to take candid shots for them while a professional children's photographer took dozens of shots of the children. It was the first of many large family gatherings. Anya and Darius attended and it reinforced their desire to remain childless. Jose and Sophia also decided to pass on parenthood. They would become the favorite aunt and uncle of Sophia's nieces and nephews.

The future…

For the rest of their days, the 'seventeen seven', as Frannie called them, would be a tight knit group. They attended private preschool together…kindergarten…elementary school …junior high…Seattle Prep High School…and UDub. It was amazing to watch Chase, Drake and Phoebe Grey get their diplomas one after the other…and even more amazing when Edris, Ellis, Emerson and Evarith Kavanagh received their diplomas one after the other at elementary, junior high, and high school graduations. The seven of them had 14 graduation tickets for their UDub graduation which meant three sets of parents, three sets of grandparents, and one set of great grandparents attended and cheered loud and long for their next generation.