This is a short chapter that i just wanted to put out. I have a very busy week and weekend coming up. I will be in mommy overdrive. But i wanted to give you a little something. Happy Reading!

"Is everything alright, Mrs. Grant?"

Olivia was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the NICU nurse staring at her. Truth be told, she was not alright. Today was the day that she was being discharged. She had been in the hospital for four days. She and Fitz would come to see Elijah at least four or five times a day but today she would have to leave him. Today she would go home and leave her child at the hospital. It was eating her up inside. She had gotten used to seeing him whenever she wanted to but now she would have to call to check on him or get one of the drivers to drive her to the hospital for a visit. She would feel more like a visitor than a mother. It was harder than she imagined.

She sat there rocking him in her arms. She finally answered, "I don't think I can leave him. I have gotten so attached to him that my heart won't let me leave him." She paused, "How does a woman have a baby and not leave the hospital with him?"

The nurse pulled up a chair, "I have been a NICU nurse for 12 years and I have seen plenty of parents express those same emotions. What you are feeling is normal but I will tell you that he is in the best hands. When he goes home, he will be strong and healthy."

Olivia smiled a little. She knew that he was in the right place. He needed to get stronger. He needed to be healthy so that he could come home and be loved. She had already begun breastfeeding him. She would pump her breast every three hours and she felt that she was doing her part. Her mother was right. She was a good mother because she was willing to do whatever was necessary to help care for her baby.

Fitz walked into the NICU smiling. He was ready to see his son before they left. He had been busy coordinating her discharge and security detail but now it was father-son time. The nurse gave him her chair as she went back to her desk. He got comfortable and took the baby from Liv, "Hand me my boy." He was a father beaming with pride. He kissed Elijah on the forehead, "I have missed you so much already. Daddy can be a very busy man sometimes." Elijah cooed. "Yeah, well, I am never too busy for you and mommy."

He looked at Liv and knew exactly what was on her mind. He touched her hand, "He will be fine. He will have the best care that money can buy. I promise that we will come and see him every day. As soon as you get better, we can come twice a day. This will give us time to get you healthy and ready for him to come home. I can spend my time taking care of you. I am not worried about him. He knows we love him and if we could, we would take him home today. Trust me baby, he will be home with us soon, okay."

She patted his hand with her other hand, "I know, you're right. I am just going to miss him."

"Me, too. But I promise you. We will be here every day."

"Okay."

They spent about an hour in the NICU holding Elijah. They kept trading him back and forth. They came up with an alternating schedule. Liv would hold him for 20 minutes and then Fitz would hold him for 20 minutes. They had what Nana called, "New Parents Syndrome."

After that hour, it was time to go home. They kissed him on his cheeks and gently placed him back in his incubator. Liv stared at Elijah for a minute. Fitz took her hand, "Let's go mama." She smiled as she was placed in a wheelchair.

Fitz pushed her downstairs towards the front entrance where the town car was waiting. A group of reporters were also waiting to take their pictures. Fitz was against the idea at first but Liv said it was okay. He placed her in the car while Brian helped put the flowers and balloons in the trunk.

When they arrived at the mansion, they were greeted by Maya, Nana and Joan. Liv hugged her mother as soon as she got out of the car. She needed that motherly love. She hugged everyone one else before Fitz whisked her inside to the bedroom.

She was comfortable on the bed with everyone gathered around. Nana sat beside her and asked the million dollar question, "How are you feeling?"

Liv sighed, "Like I was hit by a truck."

"Well baby, you gave birth to a beautiful boy. No one said it was going to be easy or painless. The important thing is we are all here to take care of you and as soon as Elijah is ready to come home, we are here for him too."

"I miss him already. I can't believe that I just left him there."

"Baby, you did what was best for him. Trust me, there will be a time that you will be begging for anybody to come and take him off your hands. Do me a favor, don't call me. Nana is too old for babies besides, Joan and I are about to have the time of our life."

Fitz looked at his mother, "What does she mean by that, Mom?"

Joan smiled, "Nana and I are going on a 21 day European Cruise, my treat. We are going to see the world and enjoy it. Big Jerry never wanted to do anything fun. Now that he is gone, it's time to party."

Fitz looked confused, "What about Elijah, Liv and me? I thought you were going to help us."

"I was but plans have changed. I love you all but it's time for me to live my life."

Maya spoke up, "That's why you have me to help."

Liv looked at her, "Mom you live in DC and you work full-time. I already feel guilty enough that you have been using your sick days for me. There is no way you can help us out and work."

Maya sat on the other side of daughter, "That is why I am retiring in a few days."

"You are giving up teaching."

"No, not giving it up. I am choosing to help my daughter raise my grandson. I have given the school system 28 years. It's time to move on and enjoy other things. Your father will still be working and I can catch the train here. If you ever need me and I am not here, just call me. I promise that I will be on the next thing smoking."

Liv hugged her mother again. She looked at Joan, "So when do you two leave?"

"In three weeks, hopefully my grandson will be home by then and I can love on him before we leave."

"Wow, 21 days? What are you two going to do for 21 days?"

Nana answered, "Drink our asses off and chase young men!"

Fitz and Liv said, "Nana!"

She cleared her throat and gave the diplomatic answer, "We are going to see some of the sights of Paris, Rome, London and Italy."

Everyone said at the same time, "Yeah right."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," responded Olivia.

Cyrus came in, "Hey Liv, glad to see that you are settled in okay."

"Thank you, Cy."

"I need to borrow the Governor for a few hours. We have a bit of an emergency developing."

Fitz walked to edge of the bed and bent down to kiss Olivia. "I will be back as soon as I can."

Nana said loudly, "Take your time. We are going to have female talk and we can't talk about you to your face."

Fitz smiled, "Yes ma'am, don't be too hard on me."

The women spent the afternoon talking about babies, diapers, food, and everything else pertaining to dealing with a baby. Liv was overwhelmed but really enjoyed spending time with her family. Every now and then her mind would wonder to Elijah and hoping that he was doing better. After everyone left, she called to check on him to see how he was doing.

"NICU!"

"Hi, this is Olivia Grant; I am calling to check on Elijah. How is he doing today?"

"Yes, Mrs. Grant, he is doing much better. He was able to drink 1 ½ ounces of milk at his last feeding and has produced one dirty diaper. His oxygen levels are within normal range and he has made it back up to his birth weight. He is right on schedule."

Liv breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much."

"Yes ma'am. Anytime."

She took comfort in knowing that soon he would be home in her arms.

Fitz came back to the room after a few hours in the office. It was getting late. He changed into some comfortable clothes and joined her in the bed.

"How was your day, Governor?"

"Rough. I had to scramble the National Guard because of flooding. Hopefully they will get to everyone in time to reduce the number of deaths."

"Was there any warning?"

"Not really. The dam broke and caused massive flooding. The Army Corp of Engineers is trying to figure out what happened. This is the part that I hate about being Governor. I feel responsible for all of those lives."

"Baby, there was nothing that you could do. No one knew this was going to happen. It is just an accident. Hopefully a lot of people were able to make it to safety."

"Yeah, you're right." He paused and looked at her, "It feels good to come home to you. I have missed you."

She chuckled, "I was in the hospital and you were right there. How did you miss me?"

He took her hand, "I miss this. I miss being home with you, in our bed. I miss putting on my pajamas and lying next to you. I felt like we had no privacy with the nurses and the staff coming in and out. I missed my wife. I missed my Livvie. I felt like we were treated as the Governor and his wife. I felt like we had to play the part plus the role of parents." He brushed her cheek and whispered, "I missed you."

Their foreheads touched and she whispered back, "I missed you too." Their lips touched as they shared an intimate and sensual kiss. When they stopped kissing, he pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest.

BING! She heard her phone and knew from the sound that it was a text message. She opened the message and immediately tears started streaming down her face.

Fitz smiled, "I asked the nurse to send you a picture of him when they put him down for the night."

Elijah looked so peaceful wrapped up in his blanket. He was in the blanket that Liv and Fitz had specially made for him.

Sniffing and wiping away tears, Liv said, "He is so handsome. I can't believe how much he looks like you."

He chuckled, "Yeah, Nana told me not to waste any money on a DNA test. She said back in her day, they didn't have DNA. They had look-and-see. Anyone with eyes can see that's my son."

They both laughed. "That's Nana for ya. She and your mom are going to have a great time on their cruise."

"Yeah, we had fun on ours."

She thought back to their honeymoon. Then she thought about her Nana and tried to shake the image from her head, "I hope they don't have too much fun."

Fitz laughed. They spent the rest of the night laughing and enjoying each other's company. This was something they had been missing. It reminded Liv of when they first met and sex wasn't an option or on the table. They were using this time to get back to the basic. They were becoming friends again.

Before she fell asleep, Liv kissed the picture of Elijah goodnight. Tomorrow, she would hold her baby boy again. She could hardly wait.

I hope you enjoyed it. Shout out to all the NICU moms. I was also a NICU mom with my twins. They stay for a whole month so most of the things Liv felt are things that we all can relate to. Shout to MariposaMorena! I am glad that i could bring some fulfillment to your weekend. I appreciate you going back and reading from the beginning. That really did my heart good.

I will try to push this week, if i can. Till next time!