Twelve years of marriage and three kids didn't make Olivia and Fitz's love any dimmer it only made it shine that much brighter as they moved through life.
Fitzgerald as he still wanted to be called, had blossomed even more than his parents had hoped. He was ten now and the gifted school they found for him in Houston had done wonders for his social skills. He was athletic as Fitz but slightly better, but she would never tell her husband that. He had turned not only into a great basketball player, but really excelled at baseball. Nothing could be said about his academic side, but the ability for Fitz and Olivia to keep him engaged in learning was a task in itself. Not to mention he had his share of female admirers. Olivia constantly had to tell older girls he was only ten, but he was just as handsome as his father if not more with his added Carmel complection and Grant blue eyes. He also took to being a big brother like a duck to water. Lily and Sam loved their big brother and for the most part he would take the blame for a lot of the stuff that may have gotten them in trouble. Of course it was always Lily inspired.
Lily Rose was a handful from the get go. At four she relished in the fact that she was still the reigning champ as the only girl in the Grant clan. She had all the Grant men as well as Olivia's father and Huck wrapped around her dainty finger. Olivia was her great equalizer pulling her coat tails. She didn't allow her to get away with anything and she made sure that Fitz didn't play the sucker when it came to his little girl. She was all daddy's girl at four and as promised the day she turned three Fitz bought her a pony with all pink accessories.
Sam was a different story altogether. Sam was Olivia's heart. He was such a gentle soul and laid back. He would just let Lily drag him into any hair brained scheme she concocted and went along happy-go-lucky. He never complained or protested if Lily blamed him for anything. While she had to pull Lily's coat tails, she had to push Sam to stand up for himself. He already displayed artistic talent. She would find him in his room for hours on end just painting, that is if Lily or Fitzgerald came and got him to play. Sometimes Olivia would sit in the room with him and read while he painted. During her mommy and Sam time she would take him to art galleries around the city and on special occasions like his and Lily's birthday they would go to art galleries around the world. Of course for Lily's birthday all she wanted to do was go shopping. She was more of a clothes hound than her mother. Sometimes Olivia would find him out in the pasture just sitting under a tree watching the clouds go by or the horses graze. Sometimes he would just turn up in Olivia's lap without a word and sit until either had something else to do. All he wanted was a cuddle and when he got it he would leave just as quietly as he came. Sam made her want another baby.
Fitz reveled in his life and family. It was everything and more he ever dreamed of. He had a beautiful intelligent wife. He had three of the greatest kids the world had ever seen. His opinion he shared with everyone he came in contact with. His life at Grant Oil was just as he imagined it. He brought Michael in as head of the corporate legal department and Caleb had begun his executive training during the summer. Grant oil was really taking on a family oriented company.
The only sadness he had in his heart was when Grandma Candy passed away two years ago. It was such a shock to the family and Big F was devastated. They nearly lost him in the process of his grieving. Olivia and Fitz moved him into their home so he wouldn't be left at the home he and Candy had shared for over fifty years. At first he spent most of his time in the mother-in-law apartment over the garage most days. Olivia thought that the kids could pull him out of his sadness. So she would send Lily and Sam to get him for lunch everyday. They were so young that grieve was not a concept they could understand. So they were there normal two-year old selves. They would run and jump into Big F's arms and hug and kiss him each day, and Lily alone could get him to take her horse back riding if she pouted just a little. Big F stayed on for a year, but he needed to get back home. He said Candy would be disappointed in him if he let her garden go to pot. Olivia would still take the kids over at least three times a week to see him, to make sure he doing ok. Eventually the women at the church were he attended started to pull him out to social engagements and a few were sweet on him.
Fitz was so glad he still had the benefit of Big F's advise on everything in life. Big F never gave up the opportunity to praise Fitz for moving Grant Oil along with the times. He was proud that Fitz was determined to make this a true family business by bringing in his brothers to run the company. The moment he brought Fitz on board was the proudest moment of his life.
The Grant family had changed significantly.
Gray was now the Captain of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and one giant surprise was the he was now married to Abby.
It was a bit of a shock to the family when it happened. Of course everyone loved Abby, but last Xmas trip to Whistler, Olivia had invited Huck and Abby to go with them. She noticed that Abby disappeared after skiing for a day. She asked around if anyone had seen her. Caleb said that he thought she and Gray had taken on the black diamond run on the other side of the compound. She thought that they probably had stopped back at Gray's cabin on the way back. She headed out that way to see if they wanted to go into town that night to a bar. She saw their skies parked outside Gray's cabin, so she knocked. No answer. She tried the door and it opened. She called out to Gray and Abby. She walked around then went toward the bedroom when she heard the giggles and moans. She could not believe what she was hearing. She slowly back her way out of the cabin and found Fitz.
"Did you know Gray and Abby are seeing each other?"
"Yeah."
"What! You knew they were seeing each other and you said nothing to me?"
"Gray called me for some advise about Abby and he told me in confidence that he was in love with her and he was going to propose this week. It wasn't for me to tell anyone. I assume that there will be a big announcement coming this week."
Olivia just sat there with her mouth completely hanging open at his revelation.
"So how long has this been going on? And what about David?"
"Well you know that Abby took that job in DC and Gray's ship pulled in one weekend in Virginia about a year ago and the only person he knew in the DC area was Abby. He asked her out just to hang out and one thing lead to the other and they started seeing each other. Everytime and everywhere that Gray pulled into a port of call Abby would meet him there. It was like they had a crap load of honeymoons all over the world. I love Abby and to be quite frank, Gray needs a little fire in his life."
Olivia just sat there dumbfounded listening to her husband and this crazy tail of romance. She just started to chuckle then she lapsed into a hysterical fit of laughter. Her husband looked at her like she had lost it.
"Only you Grant boys can be so romantic and cryptic all at the same time."
"As comical as that may be to you. Abbs is going to be your sister soon. Gray's ship is going to be deployed in a few weeks out to the Arabian sea and he doesn't want to wait to get married before he gets back. So yours truly has arranged a secret wedding for them in a few days here at Whistler. Her Mom and Dad are down the road at the resort we stayed at."
"Is there any other big news you want to spring on me as well?"
He looks at her a bit sheepishly and says, "she's due in October."
Olivia just gets up and starts firing all the pillows off the couch at him until she has him on the ground pounding him with a pillow. After losing the pillow she is straddling him and tickling him until she sees tears come out of his eyes. She finally stops, bends over, kisses him and sits back up.
"Abby will think he is asking because she is pregnant. You know how stubborn she is."
"Well, that's kinda where you come into this whole scenario."
"I knew you two boobs couldn't pull it totally off without my help."
"Gray was too scared to come and tell you. So, I was going to talk to you tonight about everything. He wants you to talk to Abby after he proposes. He knows she is going to say no."
Olivia slides off to the side of Fitz and starts to think about the situation.
"Hmmm...your right on the no, I think if I can get her alone and make her see that Gray really loves her, she might give in. And that's a mighty big if."
"I'm relying on you to use your old debate skills to convince her. Gray was going to propose six months ago, but he thought it was too soon."
"Six months ago? Do you think he still has the receipt for the ring? That might just sway her if she knows he was going to do this all along. It just might be the proof she needs."
"Good thinking babe. I knew you would find the solution to this mess. Now that you've saved the day, how about you give your sex starved husband a go?" As he twitches his eyebrows up and down.
"First of all my beloved husband, you are not sex starved one bit. Hell we just did it last night before the twins busted in on us. And by the way, I didn't forget your statement before we had Fitzgerald, you wanted to have enough kids to sneak around and have sex in different places. How's that working out?"
Fitz rolls on top of her and pins her hands above her head as he pushes his erection into her thigh.
"First let me start off by saying that once a day is never enough with you Livy. Second, I love that we have sex all over the house as well as my office. To me it keeps everything fresh in our relationship. And lastly, I want another baby."
She looks into his eyes and sees how serious he is. He lets her hands go and props himself up on his elbows to look down at her.
"How long have you been thinking about another baby?"
"The moment the twin turned two."
"Why didn't you say something sooner?"
He sat up and pulled her into his lap straddling him as he moved to sit against the foot of the bed.
"It took you so long to recover after the twins were born, and then we were so concerned about Fitzgerald making a transition into that school. Now seems like the perfect time to have a baby. Here's another reason, if we don't have another girl, I think Lily will be hell on wheels, we may never be able to marry her off."
The both burst out into laughter.
"Great minds do think alike. I was going to talk to you this week about having another baby. When Sam sits in my lap just to cuddle he makes me yearn for another baby. Shall we start now, or wait until we get back to Houston to start?"
Before she can get the words out, Fitz has hauled her up from the floor and frantically taking her clothes off.
"Well I guess now." She laughs.
