Ok guys, here is the next update. Happy Reading!


BREAKING NEWS… Governor Grant' wife, Olivia, gave birth to a bouncing baby boy today! The couple welcomed their son, Elijah Fitzgerald Grant into the world, today, May 15 at 5:26 pm. The baby came out weighing 4lbs 5 oz. and 18 ½ inches long. We are being told that the baby has been moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for further evaluations. Mrs. Grant is reportedly doing fine. She went into labor earlier today at a charity auction with the Governor by her side. We are also being told that the Governor will make a special announcement later today about the health and condition of his family…

Maya and Eli walked into Liv's hospital room carrying flowers and balloons. Their faces were filled with big goofy smiles. They placed everything on a cart that was conveniently brought into the room. Maya walked over to Liv's bed and kissed her on the cheek. Liv was still heavily medicated so she was in and out of consciousness, but her face started to glow as she opened her eyes and saw her mother standing over her.

She whispered, "Mommy!"

Stroking her hair, "How is my Livvie doing?"

"I am doing wonderful now that you are here. Where is daddy?"

Her father stepped forward, "I am right here Angel."

She chuckled a little, "I'm still your angel?"

"You will always be my angel."

"Have you seen the baby?"

Maya said, "No, we wanted to see you first to make sure that you were okay."

"I couldn't be happier. He is so beautiful and handsome. He looks just like Fitz."

Eli looked around, "Where is my grandson?"

Fitz spoke up, "They are running test on him. The doctor will be back to tell us what's going on. All we know is he is underweight." He reached and pulled out his phone. "I have a picture of him, if you want to see."

Maya took the phone from him. Once she saw him, she immediately started to cry. "Oh my god, that's my grandbaby. I can't believe that I am a grandmother. He looks so perfect, doesn't he, Eli."

Eli chuckled and kept staring at the picture, "Yes, he is perfect. He is my grandson. Elijah is a strong name. It's the name for a leader. Being a leader is in his genes. My grandson is perfect."

Liv smiled at her father. For years, she felt that she wasn't good enough or that she would disappoint him but now to see the look of pride on his face. It was the look he wanted to give his son. To Eli, Elijah was a second chance to right some of the wrongs he did with Olivia. He couldn't wait to hold him in his arms.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Dr. Henderson walks in with his latest report. He notices Eli and Maya in the room. "Could you give me a few minutes to talk to the parents?"

They were about to leave when Fitz stepped up, "These are my wife's parents and we would like them to stay in the room."

The doctor looked at his chart before continuing, "The baby is fine. Because he was premature, we have some concerns with his lungs and his weight. It is hospital policy that children under 5 pounds are to be admitted to the NICU until they reach 5 pounds. Your son weighs 4 lbs. 5 oz. He is a little underdeveloped but most preemies outgrow their health issues by the age of two. His eyes and ears are fine which means he can see and hear. Right now he is in the warmer getting his core temperature up to normal. I estimate that he will stay with us in the hospital for at least 2 weeks. Mrs. Grant, will you be breastfeeding?"

"Yes, I will."

"Great. That is actually better for the baby if you that. It will help his intestines develop a little more."

Maya asked, "When can we see him doctor?"

"You can go to the NICU and see him now if you want to. He is in an incubator but you can touch him."

"And how soon before we can hold him?"

"He has to be in the warmer for a few more hours so I am thinking tomorrow."

His words were finally sinking in with Liv. She started to feel guilty. Maybe if she had gotten to the hospital earlier, they could have stopped the contractions. Was her child going to die? She had to ask, "Doctor, is he in any life-threatening danger?"

"Not at the moment ma'am. Everything we do is precautionary. He has a good fighting chance. Also, in the NICU, we prefer to call the babies by their first names so we can establish a stronger connection with them. Have you named your son?"

Fitz answered prideful, "His name is Elijah. Elijah Grant!"

"Thank you Governor. If you would like to see Elijah now, I can walk you to the NICU and give you some instructions."

Everyone was excited to go and see him. Fitz got a wheelchair for Liv. She was too medicated to walk. He wheeled her and the IV around the corner to the NICU wing on the same floor. He showed them the access code button to push for entry. Once the nurse admitted them, they went to the scrub sink to wash and scrub their hands for a few minutes. Then their hands were sprayed with hand sanitizer. After that, they went into the nursery where all of the babies were in their own incubators. There were 8 babies there. Each had a sign with their names on the wall behind them. Dr. Henderson made a sign for Elijah as he walked to the middle incubator on the right. They looked and saw this tiny little person inside. He was moving around a little.

Eli was the first to reach his hand inside and touch him. "Hey little guy, it's me, your grandpa. I know it looks bad but you will get better so that we can get you home and spoil you rotten. You are strong and smart like you mother. The world better watch out for you. You have Pope and Grant in your blood. They aren't ready for you son but they better get ready. I love you."

Maya put her hand in second, "He feels fine. He looks good and strong. Ain't that right, Elijah? I just love that name. I think it suits him perfectly. I can't wait to hold you in my arms. Grandma is going to spoil you like crazy. But I want you to brace yourself for Nana. Nana is not like normal great-grandmothers. She is weird so I am just telling you now." Everyone laughed a little but Liv.

Fitz wheeled Liv up and she reached in and touched him. She didn't say anything. She just sat there looking at how fragile and small he looked. Her child looked broken and hurt. She saw the feed tube that ran up his nose. She saw the bandages from where they stuck him and to draw blood. She didn't see what everyone else saw. She saw a mistake that she made. She blamed herself for putting her child in this situation. She blamed herself for doing too much. She should have carried him to term. If she had carried him to term, he would be a beautiful and healthy baby. Now he was sick and helpless. She removed her hand without saying a word to the baby. It was a moved that didn't go unnoticed by everyone.

Fitz was the last one to touch Elijah, "Hey son, mommy and daddy are here again. We just came by to say that we love you so much. Your other grandma should be flying in soon. Everyone is excited to finally meet you. You get your rest and get healthy. There are a lot of people waiting to love on you. Mommy and daddy love you very much, son. We can't wait to hold you in our arms." It was like Elijah heard him because he smiled. Fitz felt his heart skip a beat.

Everyone left the NICU and headed back to Liv's room. Liv got in the bed and turned her back towards everyone. She lied and told them that she wanted to sleep. The truth was the guilt was eating her up on the inside. She felt that she had placed her son's life in jeopardy.

Fitz had a press conference to get ready for in the hospital conference room. Lauren had sent over a suit and Cyrus was waiting downstairs for him. He really didn't have time to think about what he was going to say. Right now his feels are all over the place. He checked himself in the mirror one last time. He walked over to Olivia and whispered in her ear, "Hey baby. I got to go downstairs for this press conference. I promise that I won't be gone long. I have my phone if you need me or you can call Cyrus. I love you so much. I will be right back." He kissed her on her cheek and walked out of the room.

Maya looked at Eli, "Can you give us a minute?" He understood what she was asking and what she was about to do. He walked to the waiting room to watch the press conference. Maya slid her chair close to Liv's bedside. Liv still laid there with her eyes closed pretending to be asleep but Maya knew better. She looked at her daughter, "It's not your fault."

Liv slowly opened her eyes to see her mother sitting next to her looking at her. She tried to pretend like she didn't know what she meant, "I don't know what you are talking about?"

"Elijah being sick is not your fault. You did not do anything to cause this. This is life, Olivia. Sometimes life doesn't go the way we plan it. That's when we have to suck it and keep going."

"I don't know what you mean, Mom."

Maya was getting frustrated, "You don't know what I mean. I will tell then. You are feeling guilty that your son is in the NICU. You feel that this is your fault. You feel that if you were a good mother then he would be healthy and perfect. If you were a good mother, then he would be in here with you instead of being in there. If you were a good mother, you would have carried him to full term instead of giving birth a month earlier. In your mind, Liv, you don't think that you are a good mother because you feel that this is all your fault. I know how you feel. I have been there. After you were born, I shut down from you because I felt like if I was a good mother, my body wouldn't have tried to reject you. If I was a good mother, I could have given your father the son that he wanted but I wasn't good enough. I felt like I wasn't good enough so I shut myself off from the world. I shut myself off from you. I am here to stop you from doing the same thing to your son. It is not your fault. It is life. It is God's will. This moment can either make you a good mother or it can break you. Bottom line is your son needs you to be there for him. Regardless of the reason or circumstances, he is here. He is born. Now is when you decide if you are a good mother or not." Maya left her to thoughts as she went outside to join Eli in the waiting room.

Liv continued to lay there. Her mother had spoken to her heart. She always wondered how her mother felt after she was born. Now she knows. Her mother felt guilt. She saw how that guilt almost destroyed her parents. She couldn't let her guilt destroy her marriage.

She looked up at the TV just as Fitz was making his way to the podium. He looked nervous. She also noticed that he didn't have a speech prepared. That made her nervous. Fitz cleared his throat before speaking, "First of all, I would like to thank the people of the Great State of Massachusetts for their thoughts and prayers for my wife and son. My wife is doing fine. She is being taken great care of by the hospital's doctors and staffs. She is resting comfortably as I speak. As for my son, Elijah Fitzgerald Grant, he was admitted to the NICU and is under the care of Dr. Henderson." Fitz started to tear up as he thought about Elijah, "We had a chance to see him earlier. He looks strong and healthy. He even smiled at me when I told him that we love him." A tear fell down his cheek. "To be honest, I stand before you not as Governor but as a husband and father. Seeing my son has made my life truly worth living. Dr. Henderson and Dr. Grayson will answer your questions about the conditions of my son and my wife. My Lieutenant Governor will be carrying on my duties while I tend to my family. All of your questions will be directed and answered by the doctors. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my family." Fitz left the podium to head back upstairs.

Liv turned off the TV as a nurse was coming in the room. "Mrs. Grant, this is some pain medicine to help you sleep a little."

"Thank you."

It didn't take long for the medicine to get into her system. Fitz stopped by the waiting room to talk to Eli and Maya. By the time they all made it back to the room, Liv was asleep.

X X

It was 2:30 am when Liv finally woke up to find that her parents had gone to the mansion. She looked over and saw Fitz asleep on the couch. He was exhausted. He had changed into his navy sweats and seemed relaxed. She stared at him sleeping so peacefully for a while. Then her thoughts went to Elijah. She started to worry about him being alone. She called for her nurse to bring her a wheelchair.

The nurse helped Liv get in the wheelchair quietly without waking Fitz up. She wheeled herself to the NICU. After she was buzzed in and had washed her hands, she found herself looking at Elijah through his incubator. He had finally gotten a little color to him. She watched his chest rise and fall. She reached in and put her finger in his tiny hand. When he tried to grip it, she smiled.

A nurse came over to her, "Mrs. Grant, would you like to hold your son?"

Earlier today, if she was asked that question, she would have said no but now she couldn't wait. "Yes, please."

The nurse opened the top and wrapped him up tightly. She handed Elijah to Liv and Liv felt her heartbeat skip like Fitz did earlier. She finally had him in her arms. Everyone was right. He was perfect. She started humming "Just the way you are." This was the first time she truly believed in love at first sight. It just amazed her how much he looked like his father. She stayed there holding him and singing to him for at two hours.

Fitz woke up and saw that she was gone. He knew exactly where she was. He grabbed a book out of his bag and headed to the NICU. He saw her holding their son and he took a picture with his phone. The nurse walked by and asked if they wanted to take a family picture. They did and it was beautiful. Fitz pulled up a rocking chair next to Liv. She handed him the baby and his heart just started to melt. It was the first time he had held Elijah. He started rocking him and Liv just smiled. This moment was special. Fitz pulled out his book, "Elijah, remember I told you about the book I was going to read called, 'No matter what you do, I still love you.' Well now seem like a great time for me to start reading it to you:

Daddy, do you love me even when I misbehave? Yes, precious one, no matter what you do,

I still love you.

Do you love me even when I jump, jump, jump on the bed? No matter what you do,

I still love you.

Do you love me even when I nibble, nibble, nibble all of my treats? No matter what you do,

I still love you.

Do you love me even when I spill, spill, spill my food on the floor? No matter what you do,

I still love you.

Do you love me even when I scribble, scribble, scribble on the wall? No matter what you do,

I still love you.

I love you when you jump, I love you when you nibble, I love you when you spill, I love you when

you scribble.

No matter what you do, I STILL LOVE YOU."

Liv's eyes were filled with tears of joy. This was everything. This moment was everything. Fitz uploaded the family picture to his official twitter page with the caption, "The First Family of Massachusetts: Fitzgerald, Olivia and Elijah Grant!"


My feels are all messed up behind this chapter lol.

I had to use the book. I read it to my kids every night and they love it. Look forward to your reviews!