"No Fitz, a little more to the left. No not that left, your other left."
"Like this?"
"A little more."
"My arms aren't going to stretch much farther, Liv."
"Just a few more inches."
"Tell me when."
"Perfect."
Fitz jumped off of the stool and took a step back to look up at his handy work, taking special notice of the angel on top of the tree that was no longer lopsided and leaning. He turned and looked back at his wife, the smile that was adorning her face instantly putting one on his own.
"Perfect," she repeated as she gave their Christmas tree a once over, completely impressed by her husband's decorating capabilities. She reached out a hand as an offering to him, and he took it as he moved to sit in the open seat next to her.
He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on it. "Mmm," he whispered as he looked up into her eyes, the glow from the lit tree illuminating her face. "You are so beautiful."
A smile played out across her features and she leaned in to place a quick kiss on his lips, "You're not so bad lookin' yourself."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few seconds before Olivia leaned over and rested her head upon Fitz's shoulder, her gaze fixed on the twinkling white lights of the tree. He seamlessly moved an arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss to her forehead. "I can't believe that tomorrow's Christmas already. It's been such a whirlwind year."
Another smile played out across her face as the highlights from the year played on a loop through her mind. "It has indeed."
"You opened your own business," Fitz acknowledges with a proud smile.
"And you made partner," she replied.
"We celebrated our second anniversary together."
"We finally took that European cruise I've always wanted to do."
"We bought this house," he recalls as he pressed another kiss to her forehead, "finally."
She turned her head to look up at him. "Why do you always say finally? I wasn't the one being stubborn."
"That house on Crescent Circle didn't have five bedrooms. We're going to need five bedrooms," he defended, but with a wide smile.
"Don't get ahead of yourself there, mister," she quiped lightheartedly, trying to snuggle into his side further.
He quickly brought a hand up to rest on her swollen stomach, "I don't think I'm too far ahead of myself here, babe. In three months we'll be one fourth of the way done to filling those bedrooms."
She looked up at him with a bright smile, "I can't wait."
"Me either," he said with a smile of his own before shifting so he could inch up her shirt.
He moved both of his hands to encompass her abdomen, letting them linger for a few moments before leaning in to press a kiss to the top of her exposed flesh.
"I think peanut is sleeping, I haven't felt anything for a few hours," Olivia informed him as she ran her fingers through the ends of his curls.
"Honest opinion," he said as he turned his head to look up at her, "Boy or girl?"
"Fitz!" she scolded, "We're going to love our son or daughter no matter what; it doesn't matter."
"Humor me," he replied with a shrug of the shoulders and a charming smile.
"I think we're going to have a healthy, happy baby," she said with a small smile, "but if I were to guess, I would say girl."
"Really?" he asked as he once again places an arm around her shoulders, moving his free arm to rest on top of her swollen abdomen. "See now that's where I think you're wrong. You're carrying pretty low and Peanut is an active little thing, so my money would be on boy. Plus your mom swears he's a boy."
"Are you confident enough in your estimation to make a wager on it?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"If she's a girl, I get to choose her middle name," Olivia ventured with a keen smile.
He rolled his eyes and moved one arm back to rub her shoulders. "Babe, this is 2014 not 1859; Grace is such an old lady name."
She playfully punched his shoulder, and giggled slightly when he hissed in pain, "It's a beautiful name, Fitz. A classic. And plus, I've already agreed to give you and your father the ego boost of naming him Fitzgerald Thomas if he's a boy, so I should get to choose her middle name if she is indeed a girl."
He gave her a look of concession, and she took a deep breath to continue, "And and, you're so sure that Peanut is a boy, so it should be a moot point. Right?"
He leaned in and kissed her lips. "I've learned over the years that my beautiful wife usually is right, so yes, if Peanut is a girl, we can name her Elizabeth Grace."
"I love you," she said with a wide smile before kissing him quickly.
"I love you too. But what do I get if he's a boy?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, I just wanted you to finally agree to naming her Elizabeth Grace."
He smiled at her and shook his head in amused disapproval, "And now I know what you're the youngest, most successful crisis manager in the area. Most beautiful too."
She slowly leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You love me."
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't."
He gently tugged her petite frame into his lap and slowly laid a kiss on her lips, only pulling away when they're both sufficiently under oxygenated. He kissed her hairline and began to soothingly rub her back again as they both turned to look at the immaculately decorated Christmas tree.
"You know," he mused as he broke the peaceful silence, "This is the last Christmas for like the next twenty years where we don't have to play Santa."
"Kids don't believe in Santa for twenty years, babe," she said with a small laugh.
"I know," he replied, "But we're going to have so many little ones running around, when one stops believing, we'll have another to take his or her place."
"Oh goodness," she said as she covered her eyes, "You want us to be one of those families where they have so many kids, they start forgetting their names so everyone responds to 'hey you.'"
He laughed and shook his head. "We could be like Cheaper by the Dozen. I do an excellent Steve Martin impression."
"I've seen your Steve Martin impression, and I hate to break it to you babe, but it's not all that impressive."
He gasped. "Well I tried the fruit salad in the fridge, and it needs some work."
She looked at him with a serious look on her face, "That's for tomorrow! Did it really taste that bad?"
He pulled her closer in his arms and kissed her cheek, "Let's just say no one is going to be going back for seconds."
Rolling her eyes, she returned her head back to its place on his shoulder, "Okay well good thing I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and picked up a veggie tray."
He turned to her with a guilty look on his face. "That was, uh, that was for tomorrow?"
"You did not! Fitz! You did not eat it! Did you?" she questioned as she playfully slapped his shoulder again.
"Just the carrots. And some of the broccoli. And a few tomatoes," he admitted, giving her a cheesy smile. "I needed a snack after my run."
"What part of an unopened veggie tray with a nice red bow on it screams 'eat me as a before dinner snack'?"
"The part where my wife doesn't cook and it was one of the only edible things in the refrigerator. But in my defense, I did try the fruit salad first before I went for the veggie tray."
"That is a terrible defense," she informed him as she rolled out of his lap and off of the couch.
Following closely behind her on the way to the kitchen, "What are you doing?"
"Checking to see how much damage you did here," she said as she inspected the half eaten tray. "Seriously Babe? What are we going to bring to your parents' tomorrow? We can't show up empty handed."
He moved behind her and wrapped her in his arms, his hands again resting on her baby bump. "We're bring them the gift of life, what more could they possibly want?"
She turned in his arms and looked up at him, "Cut up some cheese and put it in there to replace the carrots please."
"Okay beautiful," he agreed, and he tilted his head to place a kiss on her forehead before moving across the kitchen to grab two mugs. "Could I interest you in some hot chocolate?"
"It's too late for that much sugar, Fitz," she said, and noticing the expression on his face, she added, "But I would love a glass of warm milk."
"Warm milk coming right up," she replied with a smile as he moved to get the milk from the refrigerator.
She walked back into the living room and carefully bent down under the tree to retrieve a small box. She sat back on the couch and covered herself with a blanket, holding the box still in her hand, hoping that he would enjoy the gift inside as much as she thought he would.
He returned to the living room with two matching Christmas mugs in his hand, and he offered her the one containing only milk. "For you, beautiful."
Accepting the mug, she took a sip and carefully placed it on the small coffee table beside them. "Thank you, baby. I have something that I want you to open tonight," she told him, handing him the package in her hand.
"I thought we agreed no presents," he said quickly as he took the box from her hands.
"We did. But I distinctly remember saying the same thing last year and still receiving a certain beautiful necklace from a certain someone."
He smiled. "I saw it, knew you would love it, and had to buy it for you. I didn't plan it, it just kind of happened."
"Well let's pretend that I didn't plan this, and it just kind of happened too," she said with a grin.
He moved a hand down to her abdomen, "Kind of like you, Peanut."
They both laughed at the truth behind his comment, but as she watched him slowly unwrap the box, she brought her hands to her stomach and whispered, "You may not have been planned, Peanut, but you could not be more loved."
Fitz paused his unwrapping and quickly kissed her stomach. "Mommy's right, Peanut. We both love you very much."
He sat back up straight and opened the black box, pulling out a pastel, pink, silk tie, admiring the softness. "Thank you, baby," he said with a smile and quickly leaned in to kiss her lips.
"Turn it over," she encouraged, and when we did he found three small words embroidered onto it. Elizabeth Grace's Daddy.
"Elizabeth Grace?" he whispered as he looked up at her, trying to combat the moisture he felt in his eyes.
She nodded and reached out for his hands, bringing them to her swollen belly and covering them with her own. "Peanut is a girl. We're having a baby girl."
"A baby girl," he repeated quietly, staring into his wife's eyes.
Olivia moved one of her hands to run it through his curls as she inched toward his lap. "Are you happy?"
He nodded silently and leaned in to kiss her. "Happy doesn't even begin to describe how I feel," he told her once he pulled away from their kiss. "I am so blessed to have you as my wife. I love you, Olivia."
"I love you too, Fitz," she replied as she snuggled back into his lap, "And I already know that Elizabeth Grace is going to be the biggest daddy's girl."
He tightened his arms and kissed the top of her head. "My girls," he whispered into her hair before falling into a peaceful silence together.
They sat and watched the twinkle of the white lights on the tree for a while, reveling in the peaceful silence of their living room. Olivia was just starting to doze off when they heard some soft singing coming from outside.
"Fitz," Olivia said as she moved to peek out the window, "They're carolers. C'mon."
She got up from the couch and waited for him to do the same. He grabbed their mugs, and they walked over to the front door together. He paused and handed her to drinks at the door before doubling back to the couch as an afterthought to grab a blanket. He draped it over her shoulders and took his drink, wrapping his free arm around her back and pulling her in close to himself.
They went through the door together and took a seat on the front porch swing, listening to the large group of carolers slowly make their way down the street.
"They sound so beautiful," Olivia said once the group had made their way passed their house.
Fitz nodded as he took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Merry Christmas, Liv," he said as he leaned in to further wrap her in the blanket and kiss her lips.
"Mmm," she breathed against his lips. "Merry Christmas, baby."
