Somewhere in another life, in another reality we are married and we have four kids. We live in Vermont, and I'm the mayor...
And I make Jam
And you make jam.
"Daddy, time to get up I wanna see the balloons!" Thomas yelled as he jumped on his parent's bed jerking his father out of his sleep.
"Ok Tommy I'm up, I'm up. Just please don't wake Maya. She was up half the night crying."
Fitz looked over to check the time and realized that Liv was not in bed next to him. 7:45. Livvie must have already gone downstairs to start preparing dinner. Fitz thought to himself. He stretched and reached for the remote control turning the television on for his son. Tommy lay down at the foot of the bed and wrapped up in his blanket.
Thomas Eli Grant was the spitting image of his mother. At least that is how Fitz saw him. To Liv, he looked just like his father. To others, he was a perfect blend of the both of them. He was tall and lean just like his father. To look at and speak with him, one would never guess he had just turned 3. He had a head full of dark, thick curly hair with one defiant curl that always hung over his forehead- just like Fitz. His big round bright grey eyes were drastically enhanced by his tanned complexion.
At 8 weeks old, Tommy's sister Maya Carolyn was the newest addition to the Grant family. She was born at 11:59 pm on October 3rd, one minute before Tommy's birthday ended. Tommy considered Maya being born on his birthday to be the "best present ever", which shocked both Liv and Fitz equally. Maya's features were similar to Tommy's with one exception; her eyes were a vibrant shade of hazel. Tommy loved watching her eyes change from brown to green and back depending on her mood.
Fitz stood up, turned to his son, and kissed him on the forehead. "Tommy, I want you to behave. I'm going to go check on your mother and see if she needs help. I'll be back in a bit with breakfast; I'll be back before the parade starts ok?"
"Ok daddy." Thomas said turning back to the television when he heard the SpongeBob theme music begin.
Fitz left the room and walked into the nursery for a moment to check in on Maya. He adjusted her blanket, and tiptoed out of the room. He headed downstairs to find Liv. He knew that she was probably exhausted after being up with the baby half the night, then waking up to prepare dinner for their family plus the 13 guests that were coming as well.
He had begged Liv not to jump into something so draining so soon after having the baby, but Liv wouldn't budge.
Fitz brought the matter up to Liv just after Maya was born. He even offered to have a chef come in and prepare their Thanksgiving meal for them. "Fitz this is Maya's first Thanksgiving and I want it in our home, and I want to cook it." Fitz knew it was a losing battle so he just nodded and left it alone.
Fitz walked into the kitchen and his nostrils were greeted with the welcoming aroma of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and biscuits. He walked up to Liv and placed his arms around her waist then planted slow kisses on the back of her neck.
"Good morning Mrs. Grant." Fitz said as he continued placing kisses on Liv's neck working his way down her shoulder.
"Mmmm, good morning Mr. Grant, you're up early." Liv said as she turned around and placed her arms around Fitz's neck, pulling him in closer for a kiss. Fitz drew Liv's lip into his mouth and savored the sweet taste of her. Fitz let out a groan of disapproval when Liv stepped back breaking the kiss.
"Sit, the biscuits are ready." Liv said as she walked to the oven and pulled out the tray of buttermilk biscuits she had prepared to go with breakfast. "Here, try one." She continued as she handed a steaming hot biscuit to Fitz.
Fitz sat there for a moment before placing his biscuit on a plate looking at Liv defiantly.
"I know what you want. Do you want Blackberry, Strawberry, Peach, Apricot, Blueberry or Apple Cinnamon?"
Fitz thought for a moment before he answered. "Apricot pleeeeeease." Fitz responded in a childish voice.
Liv giggled as she walked to the fridge and pulled out the Apricot jam. She walked back to the island where Fitz was sitting and handed it to him along with a knife. Liv learned how to make jam when they first moved to Vermont almost four years ago. She had Fitz try her very first batch and it was love at first bite. After that first bite, Fitz walked over to the fridge and threw away all of the jellies and jams that were on the shelves. From that moment on, Fitz refused to eat any jams, jellies, or spreads that were made by anyone other than her.
Liv watched as Fitz scooped a huge glob of the jam up with the knife and spread it on his biscuit. She loved seeing the look on his face when he took his first bite of a steaming hot biscuit smothered in the jams she made.
"You know Livvie; you could turn the OPA over to your team and just make a living selling different jams and spreads." Fitz said inhaling his biscuit and reaching for another one.
Liv walked over to Fitz and positioned herself between his thighs. "Not going to happen Fitz. With the exception of our close friends and my parents, I'm not making jam for anyone but you." Liv said as she placed a kiss on Fitz's lips. She could taste the jam that still lingered there.
Fitz spread jam on his biscuit and held it out for Liv to take a bite. She had to admit once she bit into it that the jams she prepared were in fact quite spectacular. Liv walked back to the stove and pulled the eggs and bacon off of the back burner. She placed a little of each onto the plate. She added a pancake which she cut into small pieces and a few strawberries on the side before placing the plate next to Fitz on the counter.
"Honey, could you please go get Tommy? Breakfast is ready."
"Livvie, the Thanksgiving Day Parade is about to begin. I figured we could enjoy breakfast upstairs and watch the parade with him. He's been waiting all week for it."
Liv placed the plates on a tray and handed it to Fitz. "Ok, you take this upstairs while I put the turkey in the oven. I'll be up in a minute."
Fitz grabbed the tray from Liv and gave her a quick peck on her lips before heading upstairs to join their son in front of the television. Liv placed the turkey into the oven and turned the pots holding the various sides for their dinner. She set the timer on the oven to remind her to baste the turkey, and also set one on her phone just in case she didn't hear it from upstairs.
Once Liv got dinner started she planned on heading upstairs to the bedroom with Fitz and Tommy, but not before checking on Maya. When Liv went into the room, she was surprised to see that Maya was just lying there awake and quietly sucking on her fist. Liv looked at her watch and realized that it was almost Maya's feeding time. She picked her up and walked over to the rocking chair, took a seat, and began to sing as she nursed her daughter.
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
Brown paper packages tied up with strings,
These are a few of my favorite things…..
Fitz heard the melody coming from the other room and knew that Liv was feeding Maya. He shifted Tommy off of his lap and walked into the door way staring at the beautiful moment being shared by mother and child. Fitz found it amazing that all that was needed to sustain the life of their newborn was something that only Liv could produce.
"Hi" Fitz whispered. Just looking at his wife and child, thinking of his son in the other room made his heart swell with joy and pride. At one point Fitz was sure that he and Liv would never make it to this point, yet here they were and he was thankful for every moment of their life together.
"Hi" Liv said as she looked up at Fitz, smiling in response. "Fitz, you should go ahead and eat with Tommy, I'll be in shortly."
"Ok, but I'm not eating my strawberries without you." Fitz replied as he flashed a wide smile at Liv.
And then it happened. At
eight weeks old Maya was already a daddy's girl. If Fitz didn't pick her up first thing in the morning she would scream at the sound of his voice. Maya would continue to scream until he picked her up.
Fitz walked over to Liv, collected Maya, and headed towards the bedroom where Tommy was surprisingly still behaving watching his cartoons.
Liv sat for a moment longer looking around Maya's room. Thanksgiving Day. It's a day to show gratitude for everything you are thankful for, and Liv knew she had a lot that she was thankful for. She was married to a wonderful, loving husband who did his best to spoil her rotten. She had a brilliant three year old and a newborn baby. She was thankful for their home in Vermont as well as the one in Santa Barbara and the fact that she was able to keep her condo for when she went into the DC office to work. Olivia Carolyn Pope finally had the perfect life, and she was thankful for every moment of it.
Liv stood up out of the rocker and grabbed a blanket for Maya on her way back to her bedroom. As soon as she came in and sat on the bed, Tommy climbed up into her arms. "Mama it's time for the pawade now."
Liv smiled at how excited he was over the parade. She looked at Fitz who was holding a very content Maya, and felt her heart swell with pride. Fitz stretched out his arm inviting Liv to lean against him and she leaned into him and groaned a heartwarming approval. Nuzzling into his chest, Liv let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was very rare that neither child was making any noise at all, so Liv decided to take this time and squeeze in a nap.
Not realizing that she had fallen into a deep sleep, Liv was awoken by the sound of her phone ringing. She noted that it was almost 10:30. She also realized that Fitz and the children had disappeared.
"Hello." Liv said as she sat up trying to bring herself to.
"Hey Liv, how are you feeling? Did I wake you?"
"Yes but I'm glad you did. Fitz probably would have let me sleep all day and I need to go check on dinner. Are you and James on your way with Ella and Claire?" Liv was so excited that she was going to see her god daughters. She normally would see them every week when she flew down to DC to handle matters at the office which is something she hadn't been able to do since having Maya.
"We will be on our way shortly. Huck, Quinn, and Harrison are all here. We're waiting on the Rosens to show up so we can head out." Liv could tell by the tone in Cyrus' voice that he was getting a little annoyed having to wait.
"Calm down Cy, that is why Fitz and I are flying you up, and we hired a driver to bring you to the house when you arrive. We don't want you to have to worry about anything. Besides, dinner isn't until 6 so there is time. I'll call Abby and find what time they are thinking about leaving. Once they get AJ and DJ ready they will most likely be on their way."
AJ and DJ had just turned a year old this past spring. AJ was short of Abigail Jordan and DJ for David Joshua.
"They're newlyweds Liv. At least that is how they have been acting for the past 3 years. They can't keep their hands off of one another. They are almost as bad as you and Fitz. Actually, I have yet to see the day anyone could compete with you and Fitz in the hotsy totsy department."
Liv blushed at Cyrus' words but she knew they were true. From the moment they first laid eyes on one another during Fitz's first presidential campaign, they couldn't help but to spend every available moment together. When they weren't together it was almost as if they were struggling to breathe, fighting to exist. When they were together, the stars were aligned, their souls connected, and they began to breathe in sync.
Liv thought back to the day Abby and David were married. It wasn't a hard day to forget seeing as how she was pregnant with Tommy, and her water broke just moments after they were pronounced husband and wife. For some reason October 3rd was meant to have significant meaning in their lives and both Liv and Fitz knew it.
"Ok Cy, I'll give Abby a call…."
"No need, they just showed up. See you soon." Cyrus said before hanging up. Now that they were on their way Liv set off to find Fitz and the children.
She went downstairs and was surprised that it was so quiet. Liv went into the kitchen to check the pots and baste the turkey. Everything was cooking according to schedule. The turkey should be ready not too long before the guests arrived. Liv walked through the house continuing her search for Fitz and the children. She found Fitz in the family room, with both children fast asleep.
Fitz turned when he heard Liv entering and placed his finger to his lips motioning for her to be quiet. He stood up and laid Maya down in her basinet, turned on the monitor, and made his way over to Liv.
"Fitz I don't know how you do it. It is almost impossible for me to get the both of them down at the same time. You never seem to have any problems with that at all."
Fitz let out a small laugh as he pulled Liv into his arms. "That's my love is my little secret. Maybe one day I'll let you in on it, but for now, there is something else that I need to do" Fitz said before lowering his head and brushing his lips gently across Liv's. Keeping his head lowered just over Liv's Fitz whispered against her lips. "You know Livvie, I may not have trouble getting the children to sleep, but there is one thing I do have trouble with."
Liv knew where Fitz was going with this but decided to play along anyway. "And what pray tell would that be…. Mr.…President?" Liv asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers into his hair. Liv knew that those two words had the power to bring Fitz to his knees and damned if she didn't know how and when to use them.
"I have trouble keeping my hands off of my incredibly sexy wife." Fitz said as he planted kisses on Liv's neck. "The children will be asleep for a while so how about we go upstairs and enjoy some not-so-quiet time."
"Fitz, as tempting as that offer sounds, and as much as we really want to, we should really start getting showered and dressed. We have company coming in a few hours."
"That doesn't mean we can't have a little fun getting ready."
Liv lifted Fitz's t-shirt and began placing kisses on his chest. "Mr. President, I love the way you think."
Hey everyone, I've decided to play around a bit with an Olitz Holiday FF. I would love to know what you all think of it so far. If the reviews are good, I will continue updating this journey through the New Year. As always, thank you for reading and taking this journey with me. Happy Olitzing.
