A/N:

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to update. This is the final chapter. I might come back and revise wording again and/ or add something I might have forgotten. Often, it doesn't hit me until after I post a chapter. If I do make any significant changes in the next couple of days, I'll announce it in the story description in case you want to check it out. I will also write an epilogue if you're interested.

Readers and guest reviewers: If you've reviewed the last chapter, please review again and let me know you read this one too. Often times, when I finally came back to post, I look for the same readers and then they're not there. I'm not complaining, just letting you know that I'm often motivated to write for those readers that seem really interested in the story. I love hearing from you. Thanks.

I started writing for another fandom but I have not abandoned my babies. I'm getting ready to post the next chapter for A Match Made in Heaven this weekend and I'm currently editing chapters for Whatever Happens & The Miracle Maker (so far, I've edited the first 16 chapters out of 34).

Hope you enjoy.

Those first days after the confirmed diagnosis were the hardest. Jessica weaved in and out of consciousness and there was still some uncertainty as to her complete recovery. Her parents and grandparents hovered around the hospital and took turns visiting and spending the night as only one adult was allowed to stay in the room with her.

"Olivia," her mother-in-law started as they shared lunch in the cafeteria one morning."You're such a good mother. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Olivia blinked in surprise, thinking maybe she had misheard. How ironic that she would finally get some recognition from Alice Grant now when she and Fitz were on the brink of getting a divorce.

"I'm sorry for the way I've treated you over the years. I've done some awful things."

"Hmm...okay," she replied at a loss for words. This was so completely unexpected. She couldn't help but wonder if something major had happened. Had the woman been suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness?

"With Jessie being so sick, we got to stick together," Alice added with a sniff. "Life is so fragile."

Olivia nodded. "Honestly, I don't know what to say."

"Just say that you accept my apology, dear."

"Okay. I accept your apology, Alice," Olivia replied sincerely, thinking now that it really did made sense for her mother-in-law to have a change of heart and to want to make amends. After all, Fitz was her only child and Jessica her only grandchild.

xxx

Unbeknownst to Olivia, Fitz had a similar conversation with his father who had taken him aside and asked him point blank if something was the matter with him and Olivia.

Fitz stared back at his father dumbfounded. As a rule, he and his father did not have deep conversations very often; in fact, they both preferred to engage in the safety of small talk.

"Why…why do you ask?"

Martin gave his son a nod and a knowing look. "Let's just say I noticed something that makes me think you and Olivia are going through a rough patch which has nothing to do with Jessie's illness."

Fitz's response was to huff out a breath.

"You and Olivia need to work things out…and I'm hoping here that you can learn something from my mistakes."

Fitz cocked his head, his expression showing that he was listening attentively.

"When I got married the first time around, I was selfish, immature. I took the path of least resistance. I paid for it dearly."

Fitz nodded in understanding. His father was referring to his older half-brother. He decided to ask the question he'd wondered about for years but never asked. "You never fought for custody?"

"In those days, people used to think kids belonged with their mothers." His father sighed. "Okay, so I didn't even try. I felt bad and ashamed. I felt I had failed my family."

Fitz shook his head. Even though he understood his father's reasons he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that his father had never visited his older son after the divorce. Fitz was eight years old when he met Joseph, his senior by ten years, for the very first time.

"But you never visited him either..."

"Well, as you remember, we didn't have that much money to travel back in those days," his father countered somewhat defensively.

Fitz shook his head. He would have liked to have had some sort of relationship with his half-brother but he'd seen him only a handful of times since that one and only trip to Canada all those years ago.

"Joseph has never truly forgiven me for abandoning him. That's how he chooses to look at it. I didn't abandon him," he sighed, running his hand over the back of his neck.. "Any way, my point when a man loses his family, he does everything in his power to keep his family together the second time around." He paused to let the words sink in. He wanted his son to understand how important this was to him, it was the key point of his message. "This may come as a bit of a shock to you but there were many times when you were growing up when your mother and I came close to separating. In fact, there were many times when I put my best foot forward and it seemed hopeless. It was never enough, it seemed. You know how your mom is?" He waited for Fitz's response. Fitz considered his father's words for a moment and then nodded in tacit agreement. "She nags and nags until you just feel you're gonna explode, you know." He clicked his tongue. "She'll never change, that's just the way she is. "

"Sounds like you've been through a lot both of you..." Fitz slowly started, "but I suppose that the most important thing is that you're still together," he added with some admiration.

His father smiled knowingly. "That's the best part son. You know that refrigerator magnet, the one we've had for years like a fixture, the one that says that the first 50 years of our marriage were the hardest?"

Fitz smiled. "Yeah. I remember. It's been there for as long as I remember."

"Well, it's as simple as that. Once you get through the toughest times and lived a lifetime together, it gets easier," he smiled ruefully, "and then you find yourself enjoying your life together so much that you can't imagine your life without her. We have lived together though great times and catastrophic times. Maybe that's what a true love story is all about, I don't know."

Fitz was positively impressed. He turned to study his father carefully. "Why are you telling me this now, dad? I don't think we've ever talked about this before."

"I overheard you and Olivia talking and the word divorce appeared in the same sentence."

"Dad...I really don't want to talk about that right now."

"Neither do I, son. But I got to talk to you about it, I can't let you make the same mistakes I did with Joseph's mother. I should have toughed it out and not go for a divorce at the first sign of trouble."

Fitz thought it was odd for his father to say that considering that if his father had not divorced Joseph's mother, Fitz would have never been born.

"Our situation is different, dad," Fitz said surprising himself. "Olivia is not happy. She thinks I work too much. I don't understand. I do it for her and Jessica. I don't want us to ever struggle," he said. "I want Jessica to have a sizeable little fortune of her own so that one day when we're both gone she will NEVER have to worry about money."

His father knew exactly where his son was coming from. The two things I regret the most and that led to my divorcing Joseph's mother was being gone all the time and NOT taking the time communicate with my wife and be around more when she needed me there. But I never realized how close I was to losing my family until it was too late. "He paused to let his words sink in. "Son, you need to tell Olivia you're sorry for ignoring her needs. She needs to know that you understand and want to make a change for the better."

"It may be too late, " Fitz looked at his father with despair. It was clear to him that she was going on the Disneyland trip only for their daughter' s sake." I may have lost her already. She wants a divorce."

" Did she already serve you divorce papers?"

"No, she hasn't." He sighed. "You make it sound so easy, dad."

I know it's not easy but you need take the first step. Don't let pride or the need to be right stand in your way. Your family is too precious for that."

Fitz gave his father a doubtful look. Was it possible still for him to try to win Olivia back?

xxx

The Trip to Disneyland

Jessica's recovery from meningitis was slow but steady; as a precaution, she remained hospitalized for another couple of weeks as sometimes there can be relapses. However, Jessica remained in good spirits. She received many visitors including schoolmates and friends. Both grandparents continue to visit her on a daily basis and Olivia thought, they were spoiling her rotten with so many gifts but she wasn't one to complain. Her daughter was happy and recovering nicely and she thank God for that.

Jessica was very much looking forward to this trip to Disneyland. She kept talking about all the rides and visiting the magic kingdom with a special gleam in her eyes. Olivia didn't have the heart to crush her dreams by refusing to go on what Jessica considered the family trip of a lifetime, and there was no way she would disappoint her by refusing to go along with the plans.

"How does this weekend sound?"

"Fitz, I thought you made the reservations already."

"Yes, I did," he replied patiently. "But they're not set in stone. I can change them to a different weekend if you want."

"Did you book two rooms?"

"Yes, of course. " He said carefully. He wasn't making any assumptions. Well, actually he was...the only assumption he was making was that his wife and daughter would sleep in one room and that he would take the other room.

"Okay, then. See you Friday night. "

Fitz internally sighed in relief even though he was not particularly fond of Disneyland. Once as a child of ten, he'd gone on a school field trip to the 'happiest place on earth,' and what he remembered the most were the long lines and the waiting for each attraction. However, a promise was a promise and he was prepared to follow through on his promise to take his young daughter and wife to Disneyland. And so he booked the trip, including a two night stay at the Disneyland hotel. The idea started growing on him, and soon enough, he found himself feeling thankful for the opportunity to show his wife and daughter how much he cared about them. As the days turned into weeks, things started looking up. Throughout Jessica's illness, his relationship with Olivia improved, their former animosity subsiding. And for the first time, he had a solid reason for feeling hopeful that by the end of the trip, he and Olivia would have reconciled.

Indeed, after spending part of their first day navigating the magic kingdom and having a good time as a family of three, and they'd retired in their hotel rooms for the night, Fitz was surprised to see Olivia enter his room through the connected door to her room and Jessica's.

She was wearing a cute nightie, it wasn't overly sexy but she was looking good enough to eat.

"Fitz, I wanted to thank you for this trip. Jessie was so happy," she trailed off lingering shyly by the threshold, discreetly ogling his naked chest.

She was a vision to behold. "Liv," he mumbled bridging the distance between them. "I should be the one thanking you." He heard her sharp intake of breath as he invaded her personal space. "Thank you, Livvie. Thank you for being you, thank you for being here with me tonight. I've been such a hopeless workaholic all these years and you're still here."

Olivia nearly melted at his words. Before he knew it, she was fumbling with the string of his pajama pants.

She undressed him and herself, his clothes among her own, as if undressing one body, freeing them both from the concealing and revealing that had gone on for years. Then he loved her with his mouth and his hands and every part of his body.

"Oh, Livvie." He breathed. " I've missed you, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," she sighed, wanting so desperately to feel him inside of her. Every inch of her was going liquid, hot and wanting.

After making love that first night, Olivia and Fitz had heart to heart conversation.

"You know how I kept telling you over the years that our marriage should come first even before our role as parents?"

Olivia nodded. Of course, Fitz usually said that in relation to their disagreement about having a second child. "Yes, you said that a happy home was the best gift we could give our daughter. And that we needed to have a good relationship for our sake AND for Jessica's sake."

"Well, I realized I had it all wrong. Yes, I still believe that our marriage should come first, that's the way it should be, always. But then I realized that I was only applying this to the times when we disagreed about parenting but not to our arguments about me working all the time..." he paused to gather his thoughts.

Olivia nodded again, amazed at how he seemed to be echoing her thoughts. She continued to listen, hanging on to his every word.

"But really our marriage should come first in EVERY circumstance. I realized I needed to choose my marriage...I need to choose my marriage over my job." He said taking care to stress this last sentence. "I never really saw it that way. I thought I was putting my marriage over my job. It didn't become clear to me until Jessica was hospitalized and I talked to my dad." He bit his chin and rubbed his chin searching his mind for the right words. "I don't think I told you this but I my dad has a son from his previous marriage.. He never saw them, he admitted to being a workaholic. When my brother was 10 years old, they divorced and his mother took him away, moved to Canada. The second time around, he went in the opposite direction, changed careers and lost his job a few times. We couldn't afford much, but he was always there spending time with me when he wasn't out drinking that is." He paused, the intensity of his gaze half-hinting what was coming next.

"So that's why you decided to be different from your dad?" She said more a statement than a question.

He nodded. "I promised myself ...all I wanted was the best for you and Jessica. I didn't want you to ever worry or go through the stress I went through when I was growing up." He concluded, wishing she understood how strongly he felt about this.

Olivia sighed. The more she thought about what he'd just said, the more she felt the anger toward Fitz ebbing away as if she'd never felt it in the first place. There was this wild, raw sense of hope growing within her. Maybe all was going to be okay AND they could work things out.

"I wish I'd known. You never told me." Olivia mumbled. "I never even knew you had a brother until a couple of years ago during the interview with that social worker who came to see us about adopting." She shook her head. "And I never really knew how bad things were for your family financially."

"I'm sorry, Liv. I should have told you sooner. "My parents never talked about Joseph or money, it was as if they were both taboo."

""I wish I'd known." She reiterated. "I would have tried to understand."

Fitz grimaced. In retrospect, it looked as though he'd had no clue how close he came for his marriage hit that iceberg-ship Titanic, sunk.

"Livvie. Can we move past this? I want to pledge my love for you. I want you to know that from this point forward, I'm putting our marriage first above everything else. Always. Always first."

Olivia relaxed in his arms, her body language telling him she was ready to move forward. Still, there was one thing playing in the back of her mind. She was still wanting that second child and on this issue they seemed to be on an impasse.

"Okay, I think we can do this, but we can't do it alone," she replied with conviction, "I think we need some marriage counseling...it doesn't have to be forever and we don't agree on a counselor we can choose another one we both like, but it needs to happen."

xxx

"Welcome, Fitzgerald and Olivia."

"Please call me Fitz."

Okay, certainly. Just finished reading the intake questionaire. I understand you're both here today for marital counseling. And that you Olivia at one point considered divorce but no papers were ever filed and that you're both here today to work on your marriage." Dr. Smith- friendly, in his late forties- gazed at both his clients before his gaze finally settled on Fitz. "When Olivia first mentioned getting a divorce, what was your reaction?"

"I was in shock. Our relationship has had many ups and downs, but I believed that our marriage was rock solid. I didn't want a divorce, never have."

Dr. Smith continued his focus on Fitz. "What do you think was the primary reason she wanted a divorce?"

Fitz pursed his lips and sighed. He hated the question. He didn't want to discuss the past, rather he wanted to move forward.

"I suppose my wife's greatest complaint was that I was a workaholic. And she was right. I see it now. I feel like a complete idiot, I feel that I jeopardized my family life by putting my work first."

Now that was a first. Olivia had never heard him say it like that before. Dr. Smith picked up on this and addressed it.

"Olivia, how do you feel hearing Fitz say that?"

Olivia took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I think we're doing better now than a couple of months ago. We've reconciled and I know he's making and effort. But I wanted to come here to see how we can improve our communication. There's so much I need to say and I was hoping you would help us sort our feelings…and frankly, I don't know if he truly understands what I've been through all these years. I know I nagged him so many times about cutting his work hours, he probably stopped listening at some point. I just want to make sure we're understanding each other. I think sometimes he hears something different from what I'm trying to tell him. For example, I remember him arguing with me, telling me asking if I wanted him to just quit working and stay home all the time. And it was not that at all. All I wanted was for him to reduce his work hours…to suggest that I wanted him to stop working altogether was preposterous to even suggest." She shook her head with a trace of resentment.

"Sometimes in the heat of an argument, spouses say things they don't mean to say," the counselor suggested.

"And I'm sorry for that." Fitz said looking at his wife straight in the eye. Seeing that she was not jumping for joy, he continued in a defensive tone, "What else do you want me to do? I thought I apologized to you and told you I was ready to put our marriage first. But I don't see the need for counseling."

"You agreed."

"Yes, I did. I agreed because you wanted it. But frankly, I don't see the need to be going over the same shit."

"Because, Fitz, Olivia is ready to discuss her feelings with you," Dr. Smith gave Olivia the floor with a nod of the head.

"Yes. Fitz, I feel I never had the chance to tell you how I felt for so long and have you understand. All the times we discussed this subject, I felt as though you were on the defensive and weren't really listening to me."

"I'm all ears now, baby." Fitz said and Olivia sighed as she could tell he was still on the defensive.

"I felt like a single mother in so many ways. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate you working hard for our family, allowing me to stay home with Jessica when she was little and then after we lost Evan. But, I hardly ever got to see you and even when you were home, I felt lonely. It was as if your mind was still at work. Every time Jessica and I socialized with other families, I felt like the odd one out, the one who didn't have a husband. And I know you tried, there were times you would tell me you would meet as at the park or at Quinn's or at soccer practice. But often you didn't make it."

A look of guilt washed over Fitz's face. "I know I let you down." He paused pursing his lips bitterly. "Just like the day when Jessica was born. I'm not sure you ever really forgave me for that."

Aha. The counselor's eyes sparkled. Now they were getting somewhere. This was his opening to dig deeper. "Okay, why don't we go back to that day...to the day when Jessica was born?"

"I did forgive you," Olivia said quietly. "I was so scared that day and when you left me alone while you went to check on your pool. The contractions pains intensified while you were gone, I'm thinking because of my anxiety. I never felt so alone in my life, Fitz."

"And I'm sorry for that, Liv. What else can I possibly say? It was selfish of me to leave you at such a critical time. I was a bastard." What else? Well, for the looks of it though, this is turning out to be a 'let's gang up on Fitz counseling session."

"That is not what this session is about. It's about finding healing by getting your feelings out in the open." Dr. Smith clarified, his gaze shifted between the couple. "And I mean both of you. Both of you need to get your feelings out in the open."

"Okay then," Fitz started locking eyes with Olivia. "Tell me something though. did you really forgive me, Liv, for leaving when you were in labor? Did you really forgive me one hundred percent?

Olivia switched in her seat, utterly uncomfortable under his intense gaze. "Of course I did. Of course I forgave you."

"Say it then, say I forgive you, Fitz."

Olivia let out a huff of disbelief. She then took a moment to compose herself. "I forgive you, Fitz."

In response, Fitz gave Olivia a quick nod and then looked at the counselor. "How are we doing, Dr? Are we expressing our feelings like we're supposed to?"

Dr. Smith nodded, refusing to be put off by Fitz's condescending tone. "Yes, I believe you are both doing well."

Suddenly Fitz felt validated and Suddenly, Fitz felt like blurting out something that had always been in the back of his mind. He directed his attention back to his wife. "I never felt approval from you, I always felt you were unhappy with me, that I was not the man you wanted me to be."

Olivia suppressed a gasp. She had no idea Fitz felt this way. She loved Fitz and she never meant to imply she was unhappy with him as a person. "Fitz, I never stopped loving you." She shook her head and pursed her lips. "And I was not completely unhappy. If I was, if I hadn't truly forgiven you, I wouldn't have wanted to have another child with you..." she concluded feeling she had a solid argument here. "But I wanted another baby more than anything…and I'm sorry if I was insensitive to your feelings and went to great lengths to make it happen."

"If you were insensitive?" His eyes pinned with an intense stare.

"Okay," she nodded slowly, "I'm sorry I was insensitive to your feelings."

Dr. Smith lifted a brow and turned to Fitz. "What does it feel hearing your wife say that?"

"Honestly, I've always felt as if the implication here was that I was the bad guy here. Part of me is glad to hear her say she's sorry. My position has always been that our marriage should come first...just like she's always insisted that our family should come before work. After we lost Evan, I didn't want to replace him with another child. I was happy just the three of us."

"Can we past this? I don't want this to be a stumbling block. My feelings have not changed; I still want a second child."

"How about for now, we simply agree to disagree?" Fitz proposed looking at Olivia.

The counselor readily agreed. Seeing that Olivia was wholly unconvinced, he added, "Olivia. Fitz does not feel ready to have another child. If you love Fit and want your marriage to work, you might want to consider learning to live with that."

Olivia turned to Fitz and gave him a pointed look. "Is there any chance you'll ever change your mind?"

"I don't know. All I can say is that at this point in time, I don't know," Fitz answered sincerely. "For now, I would just like us to focus on us...and on Jessica. Why can't that be enough?"

"Well, we' re almost out of time today.

xxx

One year later. Setting: Disneyland

Olivia and Fitz continued to work on their relationship. Even though everything wasn't perfect, Olivia did notice the changes in Fitz. He was now more invested in their marriage and even though he still worked long hours, he scheduled time for them to go out on dates just the two of them nearly every weekend. This had a great impact on their marriage. For one, Olivia started feeling cherished and reciprocated his attentions in kind with similar intensity.

Exactly one year later, they took another trip to Disneyland. This time, Quinn and her husband John and their children came along. Quinn had recently given birth to a baby girl, and Olivia and she took turns taking care of the infant as they strolled the park and took the older children on rides.

"You look happy." Quinn observed while they waited in line for the tea cup ride. "You're face glows."

Olivia smiled. "Yeah. I'm happy," her gaze shifted to Fitz who was engaged in a conversation with John. For a moment he made eye contact with her and they shared a moment."Life is funny, you know? I finally realized I'm a lucky woman to have Fitz in my life. The less I demanded he meet my needs, the more he wanted to meet them on his own accord. There's been this shift in how we interact with each other. You know it was hard at first since Fitz didn't want to invest so much time in the counseling but then he started listening to Dr. Smith and incorporating some of his suggestions, and that's when things started changing for the better."

"The best part is the going out on dates," Quinn added. "Even John is starting to get with the program, girl. He's getting more creative and adventurous in planning our dates," she went on, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "As a matter of fact, he's planning something big for our next date, it's supposed to be a surprise, I can't wait..."

"Really?" Olivia interjected. "I bet the guys are on this together! I know Fitz is planning something and going out of his way to keep it under wraps."

Quinn chuckled. "Ha, I'm really curious now. What do you think it is?"

Olivia thought about it for a moment. "It's probably a double date...maybe on a dinner cruise?"

The two women shared a chuckle.

"What are you two conspiring?" Fitz said good-naturedly, putting his arms around his wife.

"Conspiring?" Olivia and Quinn said in unison giving their husbands a knowing look. "How about you guys, what have you been up to?"

The husbands exchanged a look and then smiled innocently at their wives.

"Hey, how about Fitz and I take our turn in line with the kids while you two sit down and rest," John suggested.

"That sounds heavingly," Quinn sighed as she gladly handed her baby over to her husband.

Fitz wrapped his arms tighter around Olivia's waist. She stretched on her tip toes and put her arms around his neck.

He nuzzled his nose against hers. "I love you, beautiful," he murmured softly.

"I love you too." It was such a warm feeling to say it that she said it again. "I love you, Fitz." She punctuated the vow with a tender kiss.