AN: OK, get your tissues ready. This chapter took a lot out of me. It actually brought up some very emotional feelings for me as I lost my grandmother at the age of 11. I remember calling "Mom", and both my mom and granny both answering "Hunh?" I cried writing this. It was hard, but definitely needed to happen seeing as how Nana IS very sick.
Anyways, I promise some Olitz moments in here cause hey, who wouldn't take Fitz (or tony for that matter) as comfort during a rough time? Let me know how you guys like "comforting Fitz"
FYI, NO I didn't kill off NANA. Not to spoil it for you guys, but some of your messages BEGGED me not to let her die. She is such a big part of this story, and whether she survives or not, her impact WILL BE A LASTING ONE!
Ps: there's a part of this chapter that I pulled from a favorite movie of mine. It IS a sad scene….can you guess what movie I referenced from?
ENJOY!
***I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! JUST BORROWING!***
CH 7
After what seemed like hours of sobbing uncontrollably, Olivia finally began to calm down, allowing Fitz's arms tight around her body and cologne to comfort her. She was grateful for the way he had opened his arms to her (literally), and her memory was beginning to come back to her. She felt like she had slipped into an alternate universe as she recalled the conversation she had an hour or so after Fitz had left Nana's.
Flashback
Olivia was still floating from the kiss on the cheek Fitz had given her. She practically glided up the steps and into Nana's front door, making sure to lock it and set the alarm. She went into the kitchen, noticing the familiar light on in the study. Pop-pop's study. She felt a familiar uneasiness creep up in her stomach and like last time, she slowly crept up to the door. Silence.
She leaned a little further in, pressing her ear to the door a bit and heard sniffles, followed by her mother's voice. "Come on in, Livvie."
Uh oh, she thought. She eased the door open and found her mother sitting in her grandfather's favorite hunter green chair in the corner with her feet tucked under her, a box of Kleenex to her right, and a large picture album. Maya closed the album and smiled at her daughter as best as she could.
"I'm sorry, Livvie. I was just….. Do you remember your Pop-Pop?
Olivia pursed her lips into a barely noticeable smile and shook her head no. "I only have a few memories of him," she confessed. She moved slowly towards her mom, taking a seat at her knees like she did as a child. Maya lowered her legs and Olivia lay her head in her mother's lap.
Maya began to rub her fingers thru Olivia's thick straight locks as she spoke. "I remember learning he was sick. I was a few years older than you are now, and I remember not accepting what was being told to me. Pop-pop had a very weak heart as a child and after his triple bypass, things just didn't get better. I know Nana's love and support for him is what brought him through as long as he made it. I was just as close to him as you are with Nana….."
Olivia listened as her mother shared stories of her time with her grandfather. She fought tears as her mother's voice began to crack at certain memories. After what seemed like hours had passed, Olivia noticed her mother's hand had frozen in place. She peeped up at her mother watching her give a nod at the door. She turned and saw Elizabeth come in. In this moment, Olivia knew there was no escaping the conversation that was about to unfold. She began to pray that she could survive whatever news she was about to be given.
"Liv, darlin', come here." Elizabeth motioned for Olivia to come over to the couch diagonal to the chair Maya was in and sit beside her. In doing so, Elizabeth grabbed Olivia's hand and turned so she could look her dead in the eyes.
Elizabeth began to speak, hoping the "rip the band aid off" method worked best. "Olivia, I have stage 4 cancer of the liver. I found out I had it around 6 months ago. I'm sorry for not telling you this before, baby. I thought I was protecting you. I know you probably have questions as to why your mother and father came here and since you are kin to ME, I know you caught on pretty quickly. We don't raise fools in this family." Elizabeth was grasping for some way to lighten the blow she was certain had taken her granddaughter's breath. It wasn't working.
Olivia began to speak, but Elizabeth cut her off. "Liv, baby, do you remember your first day of first grade? You were so nervous cause you didn't think anyone would like you. Remember me telling you to get on the bus and sit by the window so you could watch me as you rode off?" Olivia swallowed and nodded, tears trickling down her cheeks in a steady fashion.
"Baby girl, I need you to take that same seat cause I am riding on borrowed time." This last sentence was Olivia's undoing. She stared straight into her Nana's dark grey eyes, seeing heartbreak and sorrow all surrounded by strength and she began to hyperventilate. She felt like someone was squeezing her lungs like ringing water from wet clothes. She let go of one of Nana's hands, bringing it up to her chest, silently willing God to allow her more air to breathe. By this time, Maya had stood and come over to her daughter, placing her hand on her shoulder. Olivia began to cry loudly, whaling as if she was finally letting out all the sadness and hurt she had built up since first hearing the news a while ago. She felt her head begin to pound and lost the will to hold her head up any longer.
Elijah heard the commotion from down the hallway. He swallowed the last of his brandy, wiped a lone tear that dropped from his eyes, and made his way to the study. When he walked in the room, he could feel his heart being ripped from his body. Olivia-his baby girl- was struggling to find breath; something he hadn't see her do since she was a teenager waiting for school test results.
He removed his coat as quickly as he could and made his way to his only child, taking a knee and instantly feeling all of her wait shift onto him as she slumped over and fell in to his embrace. Her face found the crook in his neck and he began to rub slow circles in her back. By now, he was sitting on his backside, legs spread, and his daughter lay in his arms freeing her body of the grief she had pent up. The room was silent except for the sound of Olivia's crying and the occasional sniffle.
Elijah sat his daughter upright, knowing he needed go get her breathing under control. He gave Elizabeth a slight nod, and with that she bent over to talk to Olivia in her ear as Elijah grabbed ahold of her hands.
"Liv, baby, look at daddy," Elijah pleaded. She kept her had low and continued to cry.
Elizabeth got right next to her grandchild and finally got her attention by saying "Olivia, I need you to be strong."
Olivia looked up at her father. Her eyes were the color of cherries and tears still pooled in them. She mimicked her father's breathing, trying to will her lungs to remember how to work properly. Maya exited the room, the scene before her was too much to take in. Elizabeth looked at her son in law, giving him the silent "OK" to move Olivia back to the couch and let her take over. He kissed Olivia's head and rushed out to find his wife.
Minutes passed. Olivia finally got her breathing semi-under-control and made eye contact with her grandmother.
"Nana, please don't give up. You can't just- I mean, I need you to…. Nana, PLEASE don't leave me!" Olivia barely got out before sobs rang from her body again. Elizabeth rocked her sweet grandchild in her lap and soothed her, humming Precious Lord in her ear as she rocked her. This was something she hadn't done since Olivia was a small child.
Olivia began to calm down, occasional hard sniffles racking her body. Elizabeth took this as a sign to try to continue what she wanted her granddaughter to know.
"Now, listen here, girl. I need you to focus for me baby cause Lord knows I really don't have a lot of time left. I don't want you tippy toeing around me cause you feel sorry. I don't know when my last day is baby because I refused treatments. I don't need no needles poking and prodding me all in my body. I got more than three score and ten, which is what the good Lord saw fit and I am thankful for my 79 years here on earth. I accept this baby and in order for me to keep a steady mind and heart and NOT be angry for him taking me away from you, I need you to be strong for me too. Can you do that?"
Olivia stayed in her Nana's embrace for as long as she could, taking in her scent of lilacs and peppermint. She eventually got up, not wanting to run into anyone else that would be tempted to ask her if she was alright. This was the worst thing you could do to her when she was upset and she prayed for some time alone as she went to the bathroom. After closing the door, she stood there staring at the floor and using her arms to hold her body up on the counter, unwilling to look herself in the mirror. When she finally did, she felt her heart breaking all over again. There was only one person she wanted to be with right now.
Even though it was still a balmy 80 degrees outside, Olivia snuck into the kitchen, past the foyer and to the coat closet. She grabbed a light jacket and zipped it up, running out the door to get away. She felt like she needed to get away. She stopped as she got to the street. She knew who she wanted, but who wanted a female with so much baggage? She began to walk, silently praying for someone to guide her feet to the right place because she had no idea how to get to his house. Her photographic memory set in and she remembered a decal she had seen on Fitz's truck that read "Blair Gated Community" As she walked, she typed the info into her phone, seeing the address and turning on her mental GPS, she was on his doorstep within a matter of about 10 minutes, thankful for minimal security. When he opened the door and raised his voice, she felt like someone had smacked her. If she could have made a sentence or moved, she would have apologized, plead insanity, and ran away. But none of that happened. Instead, when she finally locked eyes with Fitz, her tears returned this time, accompanied with the sobs but minus the panic attack, and her body fell limp again at his touch. She oddly felt out of place and at home at the same time in his embrace.
Present
Olivia sat there blinking as her tears began to subside. She knew she needed to say something to Fitz. She owed him this much. She slowly began to pry her body from his grip, needing to see his face. She noticed white lines going down his cheeks, meaning he had been crying with her. Did he already know, she thought?
I'm, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I should go." She began to attempt to stand but her legs had other ideas. Fitz grabbed hold of her, giving her a fraction of his usual smile.
"Nice try, ma'am. Come on…" Fitz wanted so badly to pick her up in a honeymoon threshold carry but didn't want to scare her. For as long as he had known her (not very long to be honest), he had NEVER seen her this upset. He knew something had gone horribly wrong for her to have come to him this way.
He wrapped his arm around her body, guiding her into his spare bedroom. He sat her down, removing her jacket and shoes and left to grab one of his t-shirts and a pair of boxers. "Here, you can wear these until the morning and then I'll take you back on home to Elizabeth's."
The mention of her Nana made a fresh set of tears spring into Olivia's eyes and Fitz knew whatever this was had something to do with Elizabeth. He took a millisecond to thank his lucky stars that this wasn't a scene from a lifetime movie where the father forbids the daughter to see her romantic interest. He shushed her and began to undress her. He removed her shirt and stood her up to remove her bottoms. He'd be lying if he said he didn't look at her matching bra and panties, but he had WAY more respect than that and only wanted to get her comfortable for now. He lay her clothes on the chair in the corner, slipped on his over-sized Alabama Football t-shirt and helped her slip the boxers over her feet and up her hips. He retreated to the dresser, finding a rubber band there and stood in front of her, reaching up behind her head to draw her thick bodily mane into his hands and secure it into a semi high messy bun on top of her head. He kissed her forehead as he did this, silently assuring her that everything was going to be ok.
Not wanting to push his luck, he walked over to the bed and began to move pillows back. He grabbed for her hand and pulled her into the bed. To his surprise she locked her hands around his neck, pulling his face within centimeters of hers. She looked at him with the sad kitty cartoon eyes and he knew what she wanted.
"Please don't go. I know we aren't a couple and I know I barged in here on you and I know-"She ranted.
Fitz saw her going into overload mode and to shush her, he bent down and finally attached his lips with hers. The kiss was a light respectful peck. No tongue, no movements. Just a regular, but calming, kiss on her lips and she immediately quieted down. He pulled back a little, staring into her eyes since he was now squatted down between her legs, He placed his hands on her thighs and said," Livvie, I'm right here sweet baby. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be in the next room if you need me."
With that, Olivia spilled all the details of what got her to this hysterical state. Fitz did his best to hide the shock and hurt he felt, but was sure some of it showed on his face. He could tell by the look on hers.
When she finished telling him what was happening, he decided to hell with it. He lay her back, lifting her legs to the bed, and crawled over her body. He was going to spoon behind her, but she had other ideas, turning to face him and wrapping her arms around his torso. Fitz returned the favor by wrapping his arms around her body, engulfing her into his chest. He told her that they could talk about everything tomorrow, to focus on his breathing, closer her eyes, and relax her mind.
Within minutes, she was asleep and he was left to wonder how he was going to protect her from the pain he knew was right around the corner.
