This is more of a filler chapter, hope you enjoy!
She'd found it a bit strange when Jennifer had informed her that all of her appointments had cancelled for the following week but she'd let it go because quite frankly, she welcomed the opportunity to rest a bit more and potentially catch up on mom-to-be activities like going baby furniture shopping. She hadn't heard from Fitz all day but she figured he was probably in flight on his way back to the states. Finishing a long, leisurely shower she smiled as she tied her robe around her expanding belly. It'd been quite the relaxing day having gotten a manicure and pedicure, gone for a massage and then finished by getting her hair done and grabbing a healthy lunch. Walking into her bedroom, she stretched out her neck as she removed the hair clip to let her long hair tumble around her shoulders. Smiling as the phone in the master bedroom began to ring, she quickly jogged over to it and answered it with a smile in her voice.
"Hey you, I was wondering when you were going to call"
"Oh um, Mrs. Grant, it's actually Jennifer, sorry to disappoint you"
Shaking her head a bit embarrassed, she cleared her throat, "Jennifer, no need to apologize, I wasn't expecting you to call me on this line. What can I do for you?"
"Well ma'am I was calling to let you know that in about 45 minutes Marine One will be landing on the South Lawn to pick you up"
"Pick me up? Where am I going?"
"To meet the president"
With a slight twinge of fear beginning to grip her, she asked the question before she could start making up worst case scenarios, "is Fitz okay?"
"Oh yes ma'am, no need to be alarmed, the president is just fine, he's just requested that you meet him"
"And where exactly am I meeting him?"
"I can't say ma'am"
"Okay, well then how long will I be away?"
"Four days ma'am"
Shaking her head as she walked to her vanity to apply her makeup, she let out a small laugh, "Four days, are you kidding? And I'm supposed to pack and be ready to go in 45 minutes?"
"Well ma'am you actually don't need to pack, I've already taken care of all of that for you" she told her quickly
"When did you –"
"At 5 o'clock earlier this afternoon"
"Okay" she finished slowly knowing that it would be impossible to get anything else out of Jennifer. This was one of the many traits she truly appreciated about her assistant, just not in this particular instance.
"Ma'am when you're ready to go, Tom will be waiting outside your door"
Smiling as she hatched a new plan to get some more information, she thanked Jennifer as she hung up the phone and walked over to open the door to their bedroom.
"Tom!" she told him catching him a bit off guard as he stood watch next to her bedroom door
Turning around to face her, he looked her up and down briefly to see if she was ready to go, "Ma'am, are you ready?"
"Tom, I'm in my robe and I just found out I'm going somewhere unknown so no, I'm not yet ready"
"Oh"
"But speaking of places unknown, where is your boss taking me?"
"I'm not at liberty to say ma'am"
"C'mon Tom, it's me you're talking to, where am I going?"
"I really can't say anything" he told her clasping his hands in front of him
"Tom – you owe me for ratting me out to Fitz when I got lightheaded during my run and I asked you not to say anything" she told him leveling her gaze at him. He truly hated when she turned all Olivia Pope on him.
"Um ma'am, believe me, if I could say anything I would but I really can't"
Nodding her head as she released an exasperated sigh, she folded her arms in front of her "you're good"
"Ma'am?"
"Breathe Tom, I'm going to go get ready so you can call Fitz and tell him you didn't tell me anything"
With an overly exaggerated smile in his direction, she walked back into the bedroom and closed the door.
Shaking his head as his cell phone rang, he truly wondered why the President and First Lady always put him in these situations.
Leaning back in the lounge chair as he lowered his sunglasses from his head, he let out a small chuckle already hearing the sigh from the other end.
"I can only guess"
"Sir, she should be ready to depart in about 30 minutes"
"Perfect, is everything else set to go?"
"Yes sir, I'll be with Mrs. Grant and Henry and Jennifer already coordinated the rest. Everything should be set to go by 8pm as requested"
"Thanks Tom, I'll see you guys soon"
Leaning back in her seat, she let out a relaxed sigh as she finally gave herself over to whatever it was that her husband was planning. From her suitcase being packed to everything running like clockwork, she knew that he had enlisted the help of very many people to pull this off. She had to give it to him though, when it came to surprises and romantic gestures, Fitz won by a landslide. They were never over the top or overly dramatic but always struck just the right tone for the occasion. Falling asleep, she hadn't realized that she'd been sleeping for so long until she was awaken 2 hours later when she felt the chopper begin to land. Looking out of her window she was met with nothing but palm trees and clear water.
Watching as her security detail quickly jumped out and began to carry her bags to the gorgeous house that lay in front of her, a huge smile broke out on her face when she saw her husband standing at the front door of the house wearing black pants and a white linen shirt with his aviators completing the look. Carefully stepping off the chopper she quickened her pace as they walked towards each other. Enveloping her in his arms the moment he reached her, he kissed her softly as if it were the first and last time he'd ever have the opportunity to do so.
"Hi sweetheart"
"Mm, hi yourself, you are in so much trouble mister"
Releasing a soft chuckle as he nuzzled her neck, he bit her gently causing her to moan softly "I figured as much but c'mon, the surprise was worth it, no?"
"Yes, it was and hi, I've missed you" she told him grabbing his face and kissing him again
"You look beautiful" he told her as he stepped back to take her in for a moment. "Did you do something different with your hair?"
"Yeah, I got it highlighted, figured I needed an updated look for the summer" she replied running her fingers through her hair for emphasis
"I like it, it brings out your eyes" he told her with his special smile that was only for her
"Thank you so now really"
"Really what?"
"What's this major surprise that I can't know anything about?"
"Well this is part one" he told her pointing to the house behind him. "I figured I owed you a couple of stress-free days since we've been trying to get away for a while and something always seems to come up, you know, with me being the leader of the free world and everything" he finished as he kissed her forehead
"So does this mean I have you all to myself for 4 days?" she asked hopefully
"Four days, just you and me, no interruptions"
Biting her lower lip, she winked at him as she took his hand and led him towards their vacation house.
Having finished their dinner that was served by the best celebrity chef in Florida, Olivia and Fitz extended their thanks and waved him and his team goodbye. Now finally alone after what seemed like years, he gently pulled her to him and slowly began to kiss her. Running her fingers through his hair, he moaned into her mouth as he began to walk her backwards to the living room where chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider awaited them. Pulling away from him, she licked her lips as she stepped away from him
"Wait, where are you going?" he asked confused as he watched her walk away from him as she began to untie her dress
"I'll be right back honey, I'm going to go change into something more comfortable. Why don't you start the fire and get comfortable and I'll be back before you know it."
Releasing a soft sigh as he watched her walk away, he turned to the task at hand and got the fire started. Ten minutes later when she still wasn't back, he was about to call out for her when he turned and his mouth dropped open. Standing in front of him in a satin baby doll night gown, she truly took his breath away.
"Wow" he muttered under his breath as he extended a hand towards her
Shyly walking over to him as she placed a hand on her stomach, she smiled down at him when he got on his knees, placed his hands on her hips and kissed her belly. Cradling his head in her hands, she ran her fingers through his hair until he looked up at her
"Do you have any idea how much I love you?"
Nodding silently she lowered herself to the floor and brought his lips to hers "I love you too"
Sitting back against the sofa, he opened his legs and brought her towards him so she could sit in between them. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her temple, cheeks and neck and any other area his lips could reach. Watching her rubbing her belly he smiled down at her and intertwined his fingers with hers
"Is he kicking?"
"She is dancing in there. Give me your hand so you can feel" taking his hand, she moved it to the side of her belly so he could feel the small kicks that were coming through
Kissing her hair, he leaned his head against hers, "Wow, I never realized how crazy that feels to actually feel them kicking"
"You never felt Mellie's stomach when she was pregnant with the kids?"
Releasing a sorrowful sigh he shook his head "Mellie wasn't the most excited pregnant woman so to speak so babies kicking her at all hours of the night was more of an annoyance than anything else."
Rubbing her stomach in slow circular movements he continued, "I never really got to enjoy the pregnancies because she seemed to want them all to end the minute she found out she was pregnant"
Reaching up to caress the cheek that was closest to her she closed her eyes imagining how much Fitz must've wanted to enjoy this special time with his wife but being unable to do so due to differing views on parenthood and expectancy
"I'm so sorry Fitz, I wish you would've been able to enjoy that special time with her"
"It's okay" he started shrugging his shoulders, "I get to enjoy this time with you and that's what matters now. What's happened is now over and in the past so no use bringing all that back up"
"Is there anything else I can do to ensure that you feel like a part of this pregnancy?"
"No sweetheart, everything you're doing is exactly what I need. Watching the glow that you have and how happy you seem to be and going to doctor's appointments with you and getting to learn all of your weird, weekly cravings is all I need" he finished as both their bodies shook with her soft laughter
Turning around, she struggled a bit to readjust herself so she was able to straddle his lap, albeit a bit awkwardly
"Am I too heavy?" she asked him a bit worried
"No, you're perfect" he told her grabbing her face in his hands and kissing her lovingly for what seemed like hours
Wrapping her arms around him, she moaned into his mouth as she felt him lifting the back of her nightgown to caress her bare back. Moving his lips to her neck, she leaned over to give him better access and entangled her fingers in his hair
"Baby, look at me" he told her slightly amused when he pulled back and realized that she still had her eyes closed
"What?" she asked as she peppered his face with kisses
"As much as I love making out with you in front of the fire, I know you can't be comfortable out here so I propose we go to the bedroom, get comfortable in that amazingly huge bed that we have and I'll get the fireplace working in there"
Only nodding as she kissed his lips again, she got leverage by pushing off of his chest slightly so she could stand up. Walking a few steps, she turned around to find him smiling, "What? Am I waddling?"
"No, you're just amazing and I love seeing you pregnant" he told her with a wink, "go make yourself comfortable and I'll be there in a minute"
"One minute, I'll be counting" she told him as she walked the rest of the way to the bedroom and got settled.
Coming back to her a few minutes later, he saw that she was beginning to fade and fall asleep. Walking over to the bed, he crawled on top of her and began to kiss down her neck
"No, no, no, I'm not done with you yet"
Wrapping her arms around his midsection she kissed him before responding, "honey, I love you and I've missed you immensely but baby's been keeping me awake for the last few days and now that she knows that her daddy's back, she finally decided to sleep"
Rolling off of her, he slid in behind her and wrapped his arms around her "Okay, but tomorrow –"
"Tomorrow we can christen the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom and even the pool if you'd like, but tonight –"
"Tonight we sleep with baby"
Releasing a tired sigh she linked her fingers with his over her belly, "tonight, we sleep with baby"
And with that, he held his wife and his baby in his arms and fell into the most peaceful sleep he'd had in days.
TBC
