5 months later:
It was a sight to behold how well Olivia had taken to being pregnant. It hadn't taken long after their doctor's appointment for news to break that the President and First Lady were expecting their first child together. Immediately switching into "Fixer" mode as the news of her pregnancy began to sink in, Olivia wasted no time in ensuring that her privacy and that of her family was protected during this very special time in their lives. Returning to the White House on that fateful day, Cyrus had instinctively known that something was up with both of them since they couldn't wipe the elated smiles from their faces.
Sitting down with him in his office, he'd been genuinely happy for both of them as he obviously thought of them both as more than just his President and First Lady – they were his friends. On the home front however, news of the pending presidential baby did nothing to help Cyrus' "Get-James-to-forget-about-this-crazy-baby-idea" plan but he realized that soon he'd have to make a decision one way or the other because he was quickly running out of patience and stall tactics.
Though everyone in the White House seemed to be thrilled for the expectant couple, not everyone shared in that joy. Although their divorce had been finalized for over a year and a half, once news of Olivia's pregnancy broke, it was still a tough pill for Mellie to swallow. Watching coverage of her ex-husband and his new wife hold a press briefing about their news, it wasn't lost on her how genuinely happy he looked. Not that he hadn't been happy when he'd learned they were expecting any of their other children but there was something that was different about this one. He seemed relaxed and something else that Mellie couldn't quite put her finger on, the closest she could come to describe it was that he looked "at peace" – something he never truly had when he'd been married to her.
She had since moved on but it still hurt to see him have with Olivia what she could never get from him or their marriage while she had him. Two of their children were now grown and able to make their own decisions as to what the relationship with each of their parents would be like and much to her initial dissatisfaction, Gerry and Karen had taken to Olivia much like Fitz had. Their interactions with her were always something that Mellie secretly envied as neither child really shared their deepest secrets with her like they seemed to do with Olivia. Taking Karen aside one evening during one of her short visits from boarding school, Mellie had flat out asked her albeit a bit irritated, "What is it about Olivia that has you, your brother and clearly your father so captivated?" Without a moment's hesitation Karen had replied, "She gets us and she gets dad. I've never seen him like that with anyone, not even you mom. She allows him to smile and be carefree and be that guy that Gerry and I grew up knowing and loving before he became 'the President'"
Knowing that the answer she provided wasn't the one that she'd been hoping to hear from her eldest daughter, Karen tried her best to reassure her still clearly heartbroken mother, "Look mom, I know the divorce from dad has been tough on you though you try your best to deny that it has been but just because Olivia is his new wife now, doesn't mean that Gerry, Teddy or I love you any less. Yes, we may not have the most close-knit relationship but seriously, what teenager really does at this point in their lives with their parents? We love you and dad but we also love Olivia, maybe not in the same way we love you as our parents but it's still love. She didn't shove her relationship with dad in our faces when everything was going down and she let us feel what we were feeling so she earned our respect before it developed into anything more. Believe me, I know it must be the worst feeling in the world to know that your ex-husband is now happily married to the woman that was essentially his mistress during your marriage and it wasn't easy for Gerry and I to come to terms with that either but at the end of the day, they truly do love each other and us mom. Can't you see that?"
With a resigned sigh, Mellie had to admit that their relationship and that of their children had drastically improved since they decided to end the awful charade that they'd tried for so long to keep up. Karen and Gerry no longer had to make up excuses to avoid visiting their parents in the White House so they wouldn't have to witness their parents miserable fighting and instead, they could now spend time with their parents as they knew them before the presidency took over. Olivia always welcomed an opportunity to spend time with her step children but at the same time respected that they also needed quality time with their father whom they didn't often get a chance to see. The one child they did see most often was Teddy and although he was only 2 years old, he clearly took after his father in his love and adoration of his "Ivvie." The "L" sound was still something that he was working on so whenever he was in the White House and any staffer heard the precocious 2-year old yelling "Ivvie!" as he ran down the hallways, they knew to page Olivia before he wandered off and it became a search party situation with everyone looking for the small toddler.
Though his beautiful wife was very much pregnant and showing, the President of the United States still had a very important job to do – be a husband, father and also run a country. Preparing to leave in a few days for South America, Fitz was trying his best to get ahead of however much work he could so that he and Olivia could spend a few quiet days up at Camp David upon his return. Working at his desk in the Oval, he was completely engrossed in his work that he didn't hear the soft knock followed by the slow opening of his office door.
"Ivvie!" came the small but excited voice from the bottom of Fitz's desk
"Small child playing underneath your desk in the Oval – how very JFK of you" she said with a smile in her voice as she shut the door and walked over to where her husband sat chuckling to himself as he finished signing a document that lay on his desk
"What can I say, I'm trying to singlehandedly bring back the era of Camelot with a beautiful wife and a ridiculously cute kid" he told her with a wink as he bent down to grab the giggling toddler from underneath his desk and sat him down on his lap.
"Well it's incredibly endearing, you should put that as your book cover photograph when you release your memoirs once you're finished"
"Now there's an idea" he told her with a smile as he watched his son grab her face and pucker his lips to receive the hello kiss she offered him.
"Do I get one of those too?"
"He's so your son with that face grab"
"I know" he finished with a smile as he heard her soft laugh as she neared his lips
Olivia was positively glowing with this pregnancy. Fitz didn't think she could get any more radiant but pregnancy quickly proved him wrong. Her curves, though always alluring were even more voluptuous as she filled out in all the right places. Her skin was aglow and her hair had become his latest obsession, calling for him to run his fingers through it every time he was alone with her. Hours of talking, cuddling, caressing and planning for their baby had taken the place of long late night hours spent in the Oval pouring over briefs and the latest national crisis. He cherished the time he spent with his wife learning about each new, unique craving and listening to her singing to their baby as she tried to get them to stop kicking so she could sleep for just a few hours. Dressed in a short sleeved gray and navy blue dress that cut just above the knee and accentuated her growing baby bump while flattering her voluptuous bosom, he contentedly sighed as he looked her up and down adoringly.
"You look radiant, where are you off to?" he asked as he released Teddy to her with the small toddler wasting no time in making himself comfortable in her arms
Cradling the side of his face as she kissed his temple, she smiled when he leaned his head on her shoulder and entangled his fingers in her hair, which had now grown to be to the middle of her back
"I'm having lunch with Abby and Quinn, I haven't seen them in a while and I miss them. I figure it's about time they caught me up on the latest gossip and what's happening in their lives"
"Well tell them I say hello"
"I'm sure Abby will get a kick out of that especially considering that she's still mad at you for not inviting her up to Camp David" she told him trying to be serious as she felt him running his hand up the side of her thigh that was peeking out from underneath her dress
"Listen, a friend of yours is a friend of mine, you know that. She just has really horrible timing that she wants to go every time a national crisis erupts. Tell her to work on that and I'll see what I can do"
"I'll tell her but no promises"
"You're Olivia Pope, handle it"
"Pope-Grant, I worked hard for that name and don't you forget it" she told him as she leaned down to capture his lips in a kiss being careful to still hold Teddy securely to her
Standing up, he reached over for his little boy but quickly realized that there was someone more popular to him in his life.
"C'mon buddy, Olivia has to go have lunch with her friends"
"Ivvie, stay" he told her with his best pleading eyes as she gave him back to his father
Rubbing his back in an effort to allow her to walk away quickly with as little tears as possible she gave him a kiss on his forehead and promised to be back soon
Watching her walk away, they both waved at her as she opened the office door "love you both, I'll be back soon"
Meeting Abby and Quinn an hour later, she smiled at fellow patrons that gave her their congratulations as the First Lady was led to an outside patio table. Lifting her sunglasses to the top of her head, she smiled and stood up when she saw her friends arrive.
"Seriously, there has got to be a law or something against pregnant women looking as cute as you. Can't your husband and his cabinet people do something about that?" Abby told her good naturedly as she hugged her friend.
"I've missed you" Olivia told her releasing a chuckle over her shoulder
"You are absolutely glowing Liv" Quinn added with a smile as she hugged her and they all sat down for their lunch
After catching her up on the latest OPA gossip including the fact that Harrison had become serious with a lady friend that Abby and Quinn were still scoping out and Quinn's still non-existent love life, conversation quickly turned to the presidential ex-wife.
"So Mellie still has a stick up her ass, what else is new?" Abby noted sarcastically as she rolled her eyes and popped an olive from her martini in to her mouth
Quickly smacking her arm to shush her up, Quinn tried to be a bit more politically correct, "So then Mellie didn't take news of the baby well?"
"She certainly isn't planning my baby shower if that's what you're getting at. To say that she wasn't thrilled would be correct, to imply that she wasn't as congratulatory as other people in our lives would be an understatement" Olivia finished with a sigh as she sipped her iced tea.
"She's been divorced from Fitz for over a year and a half now, what the hell is that wench still waiting on to get the hell over it?"
"Abby, it's not that simple" Quinn tried to rationalize
"Listen, if you're too stupid or drunk with power to realize that your husband not only doesn't love you but is also in love with another woman, then I can't help you. That's all I'm saying"
"Abby look, I appreciate you always defending me but it isn't necessary. Though I thought that Mellie and I had reached an amicable point in our relationship, I understand that it couldn't have been easy to find out that I was pregnant. Divorced or not news like that always hurts"
"Damn Liv, this pregnancy has made you soft, what the hell happened to you?" Abby asked with a semi-shocked tone
"I'm not soft; I've just learned to choose my battles when it comes to Mellie, Fitz and this family. Our family is complex and often times not what the general public expects but we're us and that's all there is to it"
"Well then somebody needs to clue in the wicked bitch of the East because this was bound to happen. Does she not know how often you and Fitz have sex? Lord, you two are like teenagers" Abby finished with a smirk and an appreciative raise of her eyebrow to her good friend
Throwing her napkin at her in an effort to get her to lower her voice, Olivia blushed, "Listen, Mellie will be fine, she just needs some time and space to come to terms with this news and the rest, well it'll just have to work itself out. I have not the energy nor inclination to bend to her whims anymore so if she has anything else to say about the matter, she knows where to find me"
Starting a slow clap, Quinn and Olivia erupted into laughter as they watched Abby "There she is ladies and gentleman, the Olivia Pope we all know and love"
"Oh sit down Abby!" Quinn told her as she grabbed her arm and pulled her down into her seat as Abby laughed
"Do you see what you left us with?!"
After a leisurely 2 ½ hour lunch with her friends, it was time for the First Lady to be heading back. Promising to not be a stranger and to come by and visit, they had made her vow that she'd bring her little one over to OPA so she could visit with her very eccentric aunts and uncles. Bidding each other farewell, they watched her climb into her car and pull away with the Secret Service following close behind her. Turning on her radio, she used the buttons on her steering wheel to flip through the channels until something caught her attention.
"…though the president is slated to visit the country within the next month, the news coming from that region today has certainly altered those plans. With war breaking out in the country after an incredibly contentious general election, many are urging for the president to go and hold peace talks with both political parties. This is certainly not welcome news as the president was set to depart for Camp David with the First Lady after his return from South America in a few days but it looks like those plans will now have to be put on hold so he can focus his attention on deescalating this new crisis in the Middle East."
Releasing a soft sigh as she shook her head and rubbed her stomach, she smiled knowingly as the sound of her cell phone ringing was heard throughout the speakers in her car.
"Livvie –"
"I just heard, so when do you leave?"
TBC
