Disclaimer: I don't own Scandal. But how great was that episode last Thursday?
AN: So this chapter is kinda long, sorry, I was really wordy. Anyways, here it is, so, enjoy :).
"Ummmm…no. No, no, no…" Olivia wailed, the no's in quick succession.
"What? It's cool." Fitz told her as he brought in the cue sticks.
"Yeah, for a bachelor pad. Tell them to stop. There's no room for that anyways," She told him, about to go tell the movers exactly where they could put the giant pool table.
Today was the moving day and so far, things were going smoothly. They had hired a crew to bring all of Fitz's things to either her place or a storage center so all they had to do was unpack. Thankfully the twins were sleeping so it was easier for Olivia to supervise everything that was coming in. Especially the big pool table that Fitz was trying to sneak in.
"I was thinking that the guest room could turn into my man cave," he offered and gave her a smile that she rarely said no to.
"And where exactly would you sleep?" She questioned, hands on her hips.
"With you of course," he replied with a sly smile and snuck a finger into the waistband of her leggings to pull her closer.
She was a goner. As soon as his lips touched hers, she was ready to let him have whatever space he wanted. He knew his lips were her weakness and over the last few days, he exploited it many times. Not that she was complaining.
"Isn't that a tad presumptuous?" she mumbled against his mouth.
"Not really." And to prove his point, he nibbled on the spot on her neck that made her moan each and every time.
He trailed kisses back to her lips and when he captured hers again, she couldn't even remember where she was. One of the movers cleared their throats and the two reluctantly separated. When she saw what they had in their hands, Olivia gave Fitz an 'are you serious' look.
"There is no way in hell that is going in my living room," Olivia huffed, staring at the leather monstrosity.
"But Livi, it's my favorite recliner, I've had it for years," he pled and pulled her in closer to try and bribe her again.
"No to the pool table and no to the chair. There's no room," she said, finality in her voice, and moved out of his evil clutches.
"But I thought you said make myself at home. What did you expect me to bring?" He asked seriously.
"You know...your clothes, some pictures, and a few knick knacks. Not your entire house," she told him, her voice rising at the end.
The movers overheard their conversation and began moving the chair back to the truck with the pool table. "There was plenty of room for my stuff, your stuff, and the twins' stuff at my place. And I wouldn't have made you sleep in the guest room," he said with a sly smile.
"Babies need structure and familiar surroundings. It's in all the books," she half lied.
The real reason that she didn't want to move was because she was scared. What if they didn't work out? She would be out of a place with two young children. She didn't see him ever putting them out, but still, being in her place granted her some insurance.
The movers continued to move stuff in and Fitz gave her the look. Dropping his voice an octave and nuzzling her neck, he begged, "Livi…can I pretty please have my recliner."
"No. That's my final answer," she said as sternly as she could with him sucking on her pulse point.
"Wanna bet?"
Fitz grinned like the Cheshire cat as he settled a little deeper into his recliner with Lila and Bennett in each arm. He was watching some basketball game, rooting for a team that she couldn't even hope to name. The recliner was a bit of an eyesore next to her cream furniture, but the man had great bargaining skills. Not only did he make her weak with his kisses, but he also threw in two weeks of getting up at night and a whole month of diaper duty. There was no way Olivia was going to pass that up.
She had to admit that he looked right at home and she felt a sense of security having him there just in case anything was to happen. She knew that she made the right choice by letting him move in and hoped that this conversation they were about to have further cemented that feeling.
"Fitz, we need to talk," Olivia approached, sitting on the couch and folding one leg under the other.
Fitz turned down the volume on the television and gave her his full attention. "Sure. What do you want to know?"
Taking a deep breath, she asked the most important question. "When you initially started looking for us and after you found us, did you do so with intentions of replacing Karen and Gerry?"
"To be completely honest, I'm not sure. I think a part of me did, while another part of me was looking for redemption for being such a horrible parent before. But the majority of me just wanted to be a dad again. I just wanted to hold a little being and have them look at me like I hung the moon. I liked being someone's dad, and while it wasn't perfect, I liked being part of a family. I was just trying to get that back."
"And now?"
"And now I can't picture my life without them. I got so much more than what I bargained for. I went in expecting one child and got two wonderful little creatures that I love more than life…and I got you," he said and the emotion in his voice conveyed exactly what he was trying to say. "And you are definitely more than anything I could have bargained for," he added with a chuckle to lighten the mood.
That was what she needed to hear. She needed to know that he wasn't doing this out of guilt or some crazy obsession. She needed to hear that he loved the twins and that he wasn't going to leave when he was tired of playing Daddy.
"Tell me about them," she said simply, curious about his previous life.
A light came in his eyes that was slightly dulled with pain when the reality of the situation hit. "Karen…Karen was so beautiful. She was funny, too, and smart. She was quiet like Bennett, always thinking before acting or speaking. She was a girly girl, pink this, boy bands that. But she was also tough and would stand up for herself when needed. Gerry on the hand, you couldn't get him to stop talking if you paid him. He was a good soul, always helping his sister and never leaving her behind like some older brothers did. He had eyes like Lila, a look of amusement always in them. He tried to find the good in every situation…at least until it was time to go back to boarding school. Then the light in his eyes vanished and he'd go really quiet…" He stopped at that point, shutting down some. He kissed Lila then Bennett in an effort to keep the tears at bay.
Olivia decided that she wouldn't bring them up anymore tonight, but if he wanted to talk, then she'd be more than willing to listen. He just needed comfort. She couldn't imagine the pain he went through. She freaked out at the thought of Bennett rolling of the changing table, she couldn't imagine them dying. Getting up, she went and took Lila from him then sat in his lap. With his free arm, he held her close then buried his face in her neck. She felt his tears start to wet her skin and she could tell he was trying to keep it together.
"It's okay, let it out. I'm here, it's just me. You don't have to be strong right now. Let me be here for you," she whispered quietly and he let the dam break.
He sobbed heavily into her neck, asking God why he took his babies from him. It broke Olivia's heart and she almost shed a few tears herself. But she needed to be strong for him. She ran her hand through his hair and held him as close as the current position would allow. He let out deep, guttural cries that signified that he had held it in for way too long. He muttered "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," over and over and Olivia knew he was talking to Karen and Gerry.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," was the only thing she could say in a moment like this.
Eventually, his tears started to ebb and after the occasional hiccup, he quieted completely. He wiped his face on his sleeves and turned his watery eyes to Olivia. She saw a mix of emotions in them as he silently thanked her for letting him finally break down.
"Do you think they forgive me?" he asked, his voice still tight from the tears he shed.
"I think that they know that you didn't do anything purposely, so there is nothing to forgive. Right now, they're looking down on you, happy that you have finally started to forgive yourself."
To that he just nodded, still trying to get himself together. That sat together, all four of them, in silence for what seemed like hours. She knew that he needed to have them close. They twins' eyes started to droop and they began to get a little fussy. She got up, reaching for Bennett, about to put them to bed but Fitz stopped her.
"I'll put them to bed tonight…I just…I need," he stumbled on his words.
"I get it."
A few days later, Fitz walked into the kitchen to find Liv and the babies already dressed, looking like they were going somewhere. Olivia was wearing a pink sun dress with a thin white belt around her waist and a matching white cardigan. Her hair was in a high bun with her bangs swept to the side. Even with her face free of makeup, she was still the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. She was taking a bottle out of the microwave and putting another one in when she noticed him standing in the doorway.
"Good morning," he smiled, giving each a kiss, Olivia's a little longer than the others.
"Morning. You seem to be in a good mood today," she noted as she tested the temperature of the milk on her wrist.
"How can I not be, I got to wake up to you guys this morning," he said and leaned in for another kiss. "Are you going somewhere today?"
"Actually yes. Remember I told you it was my goddaughter Vivian's birthday today?" she asked, getting the other bottle out of the microwave.
"Oh, that's right," he feigned remembrance.
"Anyways, they're having a small get together at noon, but I still haven't gotten her a gift. So I was going to stop by Toys 'R' Us before heading over there."
"Can I come?" he queried, not sure if she had extended an invitation before or not.
"Uh, sure," she replied, a little caught off guard. "I didn't think a little girl's birthday party was your scene."
"Anywhere you are is my scene," he said with an exaggerated smile
"Flattery will get you nowhere Mr. Grant. That pool table is still not coming in this house," she replied with an eye roll.
"Darn."
They spent half an hour in the doll section trying to decide which Barbie and which accessories to buy for Vivian. Fitz was not looking forward to this stage, but he had to admit, he'd buy the whole toy store if Lila asked. Finally they decided on cruise ship Barbie and they bought the boat to go with it. On the way to Abby's, Olivia briefed Fitz on everything that he needed to know on her friends. Seeing as how there weren't that many, it wasn't that hard for him to remember the information.
"Ok, so Cyrus was once married to your mom but turned out to be gay and now he's married to James and they have a daughter Ella," he recited to make sure he had it right.
"Correct. And Lisa…"she tested.
"Lisa is the receptionist at the fertility clinic that you went to and…"he stopped, not knowing any more than that.
"And she is now dating one of my team members, Harrison," she filled in.
"Right. Right. Then there's Huck, another one your team members and he's not dating anyone. And finally, there's Abby, Stephen, and Vivian. Who, by the way, I'm surprised I haven't met by now since you're over there every week."
"Well you get to meet them now. Are you nervous?" she teased, knowing that the men in her life were going to give him a hard time. Especially Huck.
"No. Who wouldn't love me?" he teased back but when they locked gazes, the emotion was anything but teasing. Who wouldn't love him indeed.
Before they could explore it any deeper, they were pulling up outside of the Finch resident. It was a nice two story colonial that was on a tree lined street near the best schools in the county. Fitz had to admit it was a nice place to raise a family and was curious about the real estate nearby. Cars lined the driveway and nerves started to settle in for both of them. Fitz wanted her friends to like him. This relationship was important to him and he wanted to learn more about her through the people that she's with every day. Olivia wanted her friends to like Fitz as well. They hadn't liked her ex Edison, seeing something in him that she hadn't seen herself. She trusted their opinion more because of it, but she wasn't sure what she'd do if they saw those qualities in Fitz.
"Can I ask you a question?" Fitz's deep voice penetrated her train of thought as they worked to get the twins' out of their car seats.
"Did you forget a name again?" she chuckled.
"No. I was wondering…what are you going to introduce me as? Your friend, father of your children, your sperm donor, roommate…boyfriend?" he asked, the last one having a hopeful tone.
"Well you are definitely more than just my sperm donor, and while we're friends, we're more than that. Do you want to be my boyfriend?" she questioned nervously.
"I definitely don't want anyone else filling the position. But the word boyfriend seems so…"he paused to find the right word.
"Trivial? High school?" Olivia filled in as they headed to the front door.
"Exactly. How about I'm the guy you're dating," he came up with, then thinking of something else, he added, "exclusively."
"Ok," she agreed and rang the bell.
Moments later, the door was opening with Abby on the other side. She was all smiles with her cone birthday hat on. Motherhood suited Abby. During her pregnancy, she was so afraid that she'd be a failure because she didn't have her mother to guide her like other women did. But as soon as Vivian was born, she took to it extremely well. Olivia hoped she could be half the parent she was.
"Hi, Liv. Hi, whoa," she stopped as she looked at Fitz, "Liv, you failed to mention that he looks even hotter in person," Abby half whispered, putting a hand to the side of her mouth to make it look like she was telling a secret.
"Abby!" Olivia feigned indignation, then made the same hand gesture and half whispered, "at least not in front of him. I'll tell you later on what he looks like without a shirt," she joked and added a wink for effect.
"What am I, a piece of meat?" Fitz pretended to be appalled, but struck a pose, flexing his muscles to give Abby something to really gawk at.
"I like him," Abby assessed before turning and heading back to the party.
"Score one for Fitz."
The points he gained from Abby were quickly taken away as he was cornered by the men in Olivia's life. As soon as he entered the house, they pulled him aside and told Olivia to go mingle. They all had there arm's crossed, legs apart, and scowls on their faces. Their grimaces, however, were cancelled out because each was wearing a party hat, something that Abby made everyone wear, with purple tassels coming out the top. Fitz had to fight back the laughter from the picture they made. Although, the one they called Huck was actually very intimidating in an 'I'll kill you' sort of way.
"So Fitzgerald, what are your intentions with my Olivia?" Cyrus questioned, being the first one to speak.
"Well, we just started dating so the main thing is to be good parents while also making time to get to know each other as a couple. Beyond that, I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." He gave his best answer, but by their faces, they weren't impressed.
"So you plan on leaving later?" Harrison was the next one to interrogate him.
"No, that's not what I meant." Fitz refused to sweat in front of these guys.
"Are you a cheater, Fitzgerald? The last person that Olivia brought around was a cheater. What about you?" Stephen's question was somewhat of a surprise.
"Please, call me Fitz," he requested, trying to break the tension.
"Answer the question, Fitzgerald," Stephen demanded, dragging out the name.
"No. I have never cheated nor do I ever intend to. Any more questions?" Fitz wondered, looking around the semicircle of men.
"Just one," and this time, the voice was Huck's.
Fitz tensed up and waited for the question to be asked. "Do you love her?"
Fitz pondered this question for a few moments. He had been toying with those words in his head for weeks now. Everything in him screamed yes, but the more rational part of him said that it was way too early for those types of feelings. But whenever he saw her, his stomach clenched, his palms got sweaty, and his heart beat triple time in his chest. Living with her just further cemented those feelings and he could say without a doubt that he loved her.
"I do," he said simply and all the men nodded their heads, accepting his answer as truth.
"You're not so bad, Fitz. In fact, I just might like you. Now let's get back to the party," Stephen told him and as each man passed Fitz, they gave him a 'welcome to the club' pat on the shoulder.
When Huck passed, he stopped and with deadly seriousness said, "If you hurt her, I'll drill holes in knees so that you'll never be able to walk again," then patted his back as the others had.
"That wasn't so bad," Fitz mumbled to himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"I believe I was promised a full description of a shirtless Fitz. I mean, if he looks that good in a polo and khakis, I can only imagine…" Abby piped in.
All the women, and James, were sitting outside on the deck, gossiping as women usually did when they got together. The beginning of the conversation was geared towards children, then naturally took a turn to relationships. Stephen and Abby were planning a trip, Lisa thought that Harrison was hinting at marriage, and James and Cyrus were talking about adopting another baby. Then all eyes turned to Olivia.
"Spill it, Liv. We all want to know what that Greek god looks like sans clothing," Lisa chimed in, her full attention on the upcoming answer.
"Okay, okay. So the other morning, I was heading to the kitchen and he was coming out the bathroom having just taken a shower," Olivia paused to let that visual sink in, "his towel was wrapped haphazardly around his waist and…"she stopped and James nearly fell off his seat because he was listening so hard.
"Don't stop now, continue, continue," James urged.
"His chest was still wet and little droplets of water clung to the hair covering his well-toned pecs. And we're not even going to mention his abs," she smirked.
"Mention them, please mention them," Abby pleaded.
"Full on six pack. Like, you can bounce a dime off his stomach," she flaunted and loved the looks of envy she got from the others.
"You're so lucky. I've been trying to get Cyrus to go to gym for ages now," James complained.
"My man has a pretty nice body, but it's still nice to hear about yours," Lisa added.
"And you didn't pull his towel off and do him right there in the hallway?" Abby asked, sounding as if she thought Olivia was crazy for not doing so.
"I seriously thought about it, but I had the twins with me," she told them.
"Ugh, children are such blockers. I can't tell you how many times Vivian has ruined the mood between me and Stephen. I love her to death, but let me tell you, a little Benadryl at bed time never hurt anyone," Abby shared.
"Abby! I'm not going to drug my children so that I can have sex with their father." That was taking things a little too far, but Olivia had to admit that desperate times called for desperate measures.
"I've done it to Ella a few times, but she loves the taste of it so it's a win win," James admitted.
"Oh look, David is here," Olivia noticed and excused herself before she heard any more of her friends' parenting technique.
The backyard was set up with a bouncy house, face painting station, and various balloons and streamers hung on a swing set that the birthday girl and Ella were playing on. There was a table set up with food and another full of presents. Seeing the setup, Fitz couldn't wait for the twins' first birthday. Bennett and Lila were in the arms of Harrison and Lisa, looking as if they were about to cry from being touched by strangers. As Fitz scanned the yard for Olivia, he was hit with an instant feeling of jealously when he spotted her. Some man that he had never seen was hugging her. The man held her close and seemed to be in complete bliss with his arms around her. The hug went on a little too long and even when they pulled apart, he still kept a hand on her arm.
Walking over to the pair, Fitz wrapped his arm around Olivia's waist and smoothly pulled her away from the other's man touch. Holding his hand out, he introduced himself to the gentleman, "Hello, I'm Fitz. The guy Olivia is dating," Fitz said proudly, "and you are?"
Olivia subtly elbowed Fitz in the side and introduced the other man, "Fitz, this was my doctor, David Rosen. He's the one that did the procedure that got me pregnant."
Fitz's jealousy left him as he found out who he was, but he couldn't help but notice how this David fellow was staring at Olivia. He'd keep an eye on him for the rest of this party.
"Thank you for all that you did for Olivia, and by extension, me. Without you, we wouldn't have had our children and we might not have met," Fitz said sincerely.
"No need to thank me, I was just doing my job. I'm going to go get some punch," David awkwardly excused himself.
"What was that about?" Olivia asked when David was out of ear shot.
"What? I was just thanking the man," Fitz replied innocently.
"Mmmmhhhmmm, sure."
"Want some punch?" Fitz asked and gave her a quick kiss before sauntering off.
Later that night, they sat cuddled up in Fitz's recliner, Olivia's new favorite seat, just enjoying each other's company. They were both in comfortable pajamas, having just put the babies to bed. Her head was cushioned on his chest and he lazily stroked her hair. She loved hearing his heartbeat and she clasped their hands together in a need to touch every part of him.
"You know, I saw you before," she whispered out of nowhere.
"David tripped on his own, my foot just happened to be there," Fitz defended.
"That's not what I'm talking about, although I saw that too. I mean, I saw you before I was even pregnant."
"What do you mean?" Fitz asked, completely confused.
"I was heading to the fertility clinic and we passed each other on the street. I was so struck by you and you just kept walking," she sounded a little hurt at that.
"There's no way that I would've seen you and not have stopped to ask your name," he reassured her, wishing that he had seen her as well.
"I thought about you, trying to remember every detail, and when you showed up at my door, it was like someone had answered my prayers," Olivia admitted, letting him know just how much he meant to her without saying the words.
Fitz put a curved finger under her chin and lifted it up so that he could meet her gaze. "I've been trying to think of a way to say this to you. To find the perfect moment, to do it in a grand romantic gesture, but I can't think of a better time than this. I love you. I'm in love with you."
"I love you, too. I'm in love with you, too."
And after that, no words were needed. His mouth crashed down on hers in the sweetest of ways and she felt complete. She waited her whole life to feel like this. To love and to be loved back just as fully. For so long, she convinced herself that all she needed was herself, but now, she couldn't imagine her life without him or her children. Pulling away to catch their breaths, they wordlessly communicated what they needed.
I want to make love to you.
Please.
And with that, he picked her up and headed to her bedroom.
AN: So a lot happened in this chapter. Fitz finally broke down (how sad was that), he met the friends and was approved, and they said the three magic words to each other. Next chapter will be moved to M, so if you don't usually view that section but still want to read my story, then I suggest that you check the follow block so that you get notifications of updates. Anywho, in upcoming chapters, we get to meet Fitz's family. I wonder how they'll like Olivia? Until next time...
