Hey everybody! I meant to post this over a week ago, but I got sucked into a summer job that is pretty muck 24/7. The good news is that I have Ch. 15 locked down and ready to post. I will post it soon, then try to squeeze another one out before the summer ends. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Olivia could tell that Fitz was exhausted. He just finished an overnight shift at the hospital, but insisted on making it to their first design meeting with Mellie. She could tell just by looking at him that he didn't want to be there.
"Do you think that you could pick up Alex for me today? I gave her nanny the day off to go to her granddaughter's state soccer tournament. With David's confirmation hearing tomorrow, it would take a lot off of my plate." Olivia asked as they were in the elevator.
"I can't." He said apologetically. "I have an appointment."
"An appointment?" Olivia raised her eyebrow. "With whom?"
"It is an annual evaluation by the hospital."
"Something to worry about?"
"No, not at all." The elevator dinged open.
"They shouldn't have asked you to come back after a long shift." Olivia rubbed his shoulder. "You are tired already."
"I'm fine." Fitz responded, "It is nothing to worry about."
Olivia paused before they went into her office. "Please be polite in there." Olivia asked.
"It is Mellie we are talking about." Fitz said, not masking his disapproval. "I think I can act civil."
"Fitz…"
"Come on." He ignored her pause, opening the door to her office space. Her secretary immediately showed them to her office.
They promptly stated their meeting, finalizing budget for each room. Olivia was grateful that Fitz and she previously planned out the budget, because he was barely contributing.
"So, I have a couple of styles in mind, but these are all in progress. I just wanted to give you a couple of options to get the process started. I was thinking that we don't try to erase the history of the home, but lighten it up to make it feel roomier and modern." Mellie pulled out mood boards with examples.
Olivia squeezed Fitz hand in hers, drawing it into her lap. She nodded to Mellie to continue.
"Why don't we start on the master bedroom?" Mellie pulled poster boards with swatches and reference images onto their stands. "What do you think, just from a first glance?"
"I like the detailing on the trim there." Olivia pointed to one of the boards. "What do you think, Fitz?"
"It's nice." He said flatly. Olivia shot him a look.
"A concern of mine is timeliness. I'll be moving out of my apartment in a month. I know that is a time crunch. It doesn't have to be fully livable, but I would like to at least be able to move in then."
"That won't be an issue. We can prioritize the master and second bedroom. Of course the kitchen is already functional."
"Great." Olivia smiled. She squeezed Fitz's hand, trying to draw him in. "Which drapes do you like the best?"
"They all look fine." Fitz rose, leaving her office before either had a moment to process.
"I'm sorry, I…" Olivia didn't know if she was supposed to chase Fitz or finish the meeting. "Could you email those to me?"
Mellie didn't have a chance to respond before she was out of her office.
Olivia caught up to Fitz in the parking garage next to Mellie's office. "Fitz what the hell?"
He ignored her, making his way to his car. Olivia practically jogged to catch up to him. He tried to open his car door, but Olivia stopped him, putting herself between him and his car.
"That was rude." Olivia crossed her arms.
"I gave my opinion. What more do you want from me?"
"To not act like a prick?" Olivia rolled her eyes. "You could have said no, and we could have gotten a different decorator. But you said that you would cooperate."
"I'm here aren't I?"
"I'm not so sure." Olivia challenged. He didn't budge, like he was just waiting for her to move out of his way. "Fine. I'm not going to argue with you in a parking garage. Call me when you want to act more mature than Alex."
Olivia was hoping that he would have the gall to say something back, but he just got in his car the second she moved out of his way. Olivia was furious at the fact that he would breeze past her like that and drive off.
Unfortunately, her anger did not subside even into the evening. The mountain of work for David's confirmation was a great outlet to channel her irritation into, but Alex was in a nonstop tantrum mode from the second she picked her up from her day care.
She was so exhausted by the time she got home, that she ordered delivery for her and Alex. As she was cleaning up Alex's face from her messy dinner, she heard a knock at the door. A quick check of her peephole let her know who was on the other side.
"What?" She asked as she opened the door just the width of her body.
"You didn't show up for dinner." Fitz held up containers of the dinner he cooked.
"I forgot." She didn't budge from her position blocking the door.
"Well… Do you want this?" Fitz held up the containers of food. He expected her to move to let him in, but she didn't budge.
"We already ate." Olivia crossed her arms.
"Liv…"
"Do you want to apologize for earlier today?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.
"Can I come in?" Fitz sighed, feeling ridiculous standing in her hallway.
Olivia leaned her head against the door frame. "I am not in the mood to fight. I'm really tired, and I have to be up really early tomorrow… You should go."
She began to close the door, but Fitz wedged his foot in it, stopping her. "You won't get any sleep if you go to bed mad at me."
Olivia looked him up and down before sighing. Her stubbornness cracked just enough to leave the door as she went back to wiping down Alex.
"Alright, bath time." Olivia picked up Alex, carrying her into her bathroom.
"I'm not tired." Alex protested.
"Yes you are." Olivia replied back.
Fitz followed her, but kept his distance. He could tell that both Alex and Olivia were in a mood. The last thing he wanted was to be the match to the gunpowder of either of them.
Olivia tucked Alex in kissed her goodnight. She changed into her pajamas herself, and went to pour a glass of wine. Fitz sat, waiting for her.
"You embarrassed me today. You embarrassed yourself." She said in a low voice as she put a wine topper back on the bottle and returned it to the cabinet.
"I'm sorry." Fitz said as she took a seat across from him.
"Why are you being so difficult with this?" Olivia asked. She wasn't being accusatory. She genuinely wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"I don't want Mellie to decorate our home, because I feel like it is dragging my past into my future." Fitz sighed.
"Why are you so hung up on her?" Olivia asked. "I honestly don't understand it. She cheated on you. I get it. It hurt, really bad. But you are over it, right? You say that you are over it."
"Of course." Fitz defended.
"So now, you co-parent, and are civil. I get that she isn't your go-to BFF that you vent to over apple martinis… but I don't understand why you are being so strange about this. All she is doing is taking care of our furnishings and shit. It isn't like she is living with us. Honestly, the fact that you can't separate your ex-wife from a professional interior decorator is concerning."
"It isn't about my pride or anything stupid like that. It is about wanting a clean slate."
Olivia said that she was not up for a fight, but neither of them could stop the tension rising.
"You don't understand…"
"Then help me understand."
"Would you want remnants of Jake in our relationship?" Fitz blurted.
"What the fuck do you think Alex is?" Olivia whispered, deep in emotion. His question hurt her more than she cared to show. "It is not the same. Mellie is not Jake."
"I'm sorry." Fitz immediately apologized, his tone softened. He reached across the table to take her hand in his. "I didn't mean it like that."
"If this means that much to you…" Olivia pulled her hands back as soon as he touched hers, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "Then we can get a new decorator."
"Liv…"
Her phone rang, and she was almost grateful to hear it. "Marcus, what?" She asked. "Well then tell him that if he doesn't, then there is no way in hell that—actually, let me take care of it. Send me his home number. And you better not be letting Abbey do any of the work. We agreed that she would sit this one out for obvious reasons." She hung up, typing furiously into her phone. "I have work to do, Fitz. You should leave." She dismissed.
"Olivia, we aren't finished here." Fitz said, not budging from his seat.
"I think we are." Olivia stood, walking to the door. She opened it and waited for him to leave.
He accepted his defeat, even though he didn't want to end the night with things worse than they started. "Goodnight."
"I'll handle it." Olivia mumbled before she shut the door behind him.
/
THE NEXT NIGHT
"Hey stranger." Abbey held up a bottle of Olivia's favorite wine.
"I saw you four hours ago." Olivia rolled her eyes. "I was just putting Alex down for the night."
"Mind if I say goodnight to the little stinker?"
"Of course."
Abbey sat the wine on the counter and followed Olivia into Alex's bedroom. She bid Alex goodnight, then watched from the doorway as Olivia tucked her in, finishing her nightly routine.
"You know…" Abbey began as she popped the cork out of the bottle. "Most of the time I hate you."
"This better lead to a compliment." Olivia laughed, as she grabbed two glasses from her cupboard.
"But… When you do what you did today, when I see you with Alex like that… I am reminded why I devote so much of my life to you."
Olivia poured their glasses. "Thank you."
"Allow me a moment to praise you, Liv. I mean, seriously." They took a seat on her couch, situating a giant bowl of popcorn between them. "David is now the Attorney General of the United States. I don't know how you got Senator Burton and Senator Neilson to agree on a nominee. I think the last thing they agreed on was that Nixon was crooked in the 70s."
"David's freakish lack of moral ambiguity made it easy."
"You really have things figured out." Abbey smiled. "Look back at where you were two years ago."
"A widowed, single mother with a foot in a cast." Olivia joked.
"But look at you now… Sure, it might take twice as much persuasion to convince you to have a damn glass of wine with me, but you are happy. You have found your rhythm with Alex. You have Fitz. You are about to move in with him."
"It isn't all that simple." Olivia said simply. She didn't mean to say it like that, but Abbey picked up on it.
"Is everything not perfect in wonderland?" Abbey's tone was not sarcastic, but rather concerned.
"It's fine." Olivia occupied herself with her wine glass. "Nothing is wrong."
"Do you remember when you used to talk to me?" Abbey said.
"We still talk." Olivia dismissed. "What do you think we are doing now?"
"I remember you telling me about how you felt about Edison's sex game."
"Abbey, don't."
"That he was steady and got the job done, well, most of the time. But he was too stable, almost boring."
"I am regretting that conversation so much right now." Olivia blushed. "I was so young."
"The point is that you told me." Abbey refilled their drinks.
Olivia hesitated, raising her fresh glass of wine to her lips. "I think we are both carrying more baggage from our past than we care to admit."
"Like?"
"I asked Mellie to decorate our townhome. I didn't think about how stupid it was—I just wanted someone easy and trustworthy. I also wanted someone who knows Fitz's taste, because honestly I couldn't give a damn about what the apartment looks like. I was doing it for him."
"And he obviously wasn't on board with it." Abbey concluded.
"Of course not. Only, he said he would support it, because he's so fucking focused on making me happy. So we went through with it. Now that she has actually done work for us—and been very professional about it—Fitz is acting so damn prideful in front of her and making the whole situation unworkable."
Abbey reserved judgment, because she knew that Olivia needed to vent. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I've got to figure out how to tell her. I feel terrible, because she has already done work for us. And it makes Fitz seem like a child. I mean, I can't help but wonder at times why he gets so hung up over her."
"They have a history that extends back to high school." Abbey remembered his file from work.
"I know. Yet, they have been co-parenting for years now. I guess I expected it all to work in a vacuum."
"It is never that simple."
"Enough about me…" Olivia pivoted. "Why aren't you and David having earth-shattering-newly-appointed-attorney-general-celebration sex? Why are you here?"
"He's in on a work-based adrenaline high right now. I predict he'll be going back and forth between his new and old offices like a pin ball. I need to wait for him to settle."
"Well, cheers to his new position." Olivia clinked her glass against Abbey's and drank.
Abbey brought her glass to her lips, savoring the wine. "Baggage can't be wished away. It exists whether we want it to or not."
"I don't know what to do." Olivia admitted.
"Don't unpack his baggage, and he won't unpack yours. Carry it together."
"Poetic." Olivia teased lightly.
"Pour me another glass and I will start reciting Shakespeare." Abbey downed the rest of her glass and held it out for a refill.
/
"Good morning, Mellie." Olivia walked into her office.
"Good morning." Mellie greeted her. "Have you decided which theme you like the best? Is Fitz running late?"
"Well, there has been a slight change of plans." Olivia said. Mellie motioned for her to sit, but she stayed in place. "I'm sorry, but we are going to have to use a different decorator."
Mellie asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, your suggestions were beautiful." Olivia assured. "We just want…" She struggled for how to phrase it, without being too vague or specific. "To hold off for now."
"You are a holding off on moving in?" Mellie was confused.
"No, we are still moving in as planned." Olivia's phone rang, and she checked the caller ID. It was Abbey, but she explicitly told her not to call her unless it was an emergency. "You have thirty seconds." Olivia demanded. Abbey filled her in on a case in New York City, where an old client was demanding to only speak with her in person. "Fine, get me a ticket for the first flight. And a return one to be back by dinner." Olivia hung up.
"I get it." Mellie pivoted back to the business at hand. "This is about Fitz and me."
Olivia stood, hooking her purse on her arm. "I'm sorry. Just send me the invoice for your time and work." She turned around and left.
/
"Hey, baby girl!" Olivia gleefully picked up Alex and lifted her in the air. "How your day?"
Alex excitedly babbled in her halfway intelligible English about her day. Olivia tried to keep up, but ended up nodding and smiling in encouragement until she was done.
"Alex do you want to show her what you made?" Fitz handed her a mixed media painting full of Alex's handprints, pipe cleaners, and sequins that vaguely resembles a butterfly.
"Oh, wow." Olivia held the painting against the light from the window. "This is almost as pretty as you."
Alex giggled as Olivia reached for some tape. Balancing Alex on her hip, she taped it to the window, surrounded by photos from David's case. "I will hang it here, until we can take it home and put it on the fridge, okay?"
"When go home?" Alex yawned, meaning to ask when they would go home.
"I still have some work to do. Are you tired?" Olivia asked, earning a nod from Alex. She grabbed her a blanket and set her up to take a nap on her couch. Fitz was waiting to properly greet her in the conference room.
"Hi." She mumbled, falling into his arms.
"Someone is tired." Fitz chuckled, rubbing circles along her back. He kissed her waiting lips.
"It has been a long day." She kissed him again before pulling back and returning to her work. "Thank you for getting Alex for me."
"We had a fun afternoon of grocery shopping and dress up." He smiled. "How was New York?"
"Inconvenient." Olivia began to peel the pictures and data form the wall. "I did talk to Mellie."
"What did you say?" Fitz leaned against the table.
"I told her we were going in a different direction… She understood."
"She understood?" Fitz raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Uh… She understood." Olivia shrugged. "I handled it."
Fitz crossed over to where she was standing, expecting more of an explanation.
"What do you want me to say?" Olivia sighed, turning around to face hime.
"I don't know..."
"It was awkward, uncomfortable. But I handled it."
"I'm sorry that it put you in an uncomfortable position." Fitz stretched his hand across her hip.
"I'm fine." Olivia moved out of his grasp to feed the photos and papers into a shredder in the corner of the room. "I have a list of new designers. I can email it to you. We have to start from scratch, so we need to work fast."
"Olivia…" He sighed in disappointment. He rarely called her by her actual name. It was always either Livvie or Liv, but rarely Olivia.
"What?" She raised her eyebrow, shutting of the shredder to give him her full attention.
"We should have addressed her together."
"Because that would have made it so much less awkward." Olivia rolled her eyes, turning the shredder back on.
"That is not what I meant." He put his hand on her arm.
"I said that I would handle it, and I did. Now, you are unhappy with how I did it?" Olivia asked. "I don't know how to respond here."
"I meant to say that it shouldn't have been completely your responsibility. You should have told me that you were going to do it."
"I don't want to talk about it." Olivia walked into her office. Fitz followed. "And I'm pretty sure that you don't either. So let it go."
"Fine." Fitz accepted.
"I also talked to my landlord. We worked out me extending my lease until we can find another decorator."
"That is not going to happen." Fitz said flatly.
"Excuse me?" Olivia asked. She dropped what she was doing to face him. She was way too tired to have him put up a fight against everything she did.
"I am not letting you postpone this."
"It is just a month or two."
"Then it will be three or four." He argued.
Olivia chose to ignore him, brushing past him to her office. He grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"Hey, wait a minute." He grabbed her arm, pulling her back against him. His arm hooked around the small of her back, even though Olivia was not reciprocating. "I have good news."
"Which is?" Olivia raised her eyebrow.
"I got a promotion at work."
"Wait, what?" Olivia doubled back.
"Cyrus is retiring at the end of the year." Fitz explained. "They asked me after my evaluation. They are thinking ahead so that I can have time to shadow him and adjust to the more administrative duties."
"You have known for this entire week and haven't told me?" She punched his arm. Her excitement for him was boiling over her face.
"We had more important things on our plate." He admitted.
"So you are going to be the head of the entire department?" Olivia asked, in excitement. "I thought he was just promoted a couple of years ago."
"He says that the heart attack he suffered over Christmas has slowed him down too much, but really, I think it is James forcing him to."
"Well, I am very proud of you." Olivia grinned, kissing him repeatedly. "Hold on one second." She left his arms briefly to retrieve his favorite canter of scotch from the cabinet in her office. "How does this affect your hours or schedule?"
"I won't be seeing patients personally anymore. I will be dealing more with governing what everybody else does." Fitz accepted a glass. "No more late nights, or long shifts. I can have a more steady schedule for Alex."
"Is this what you want?" Olivia checked.
"I don't know." Fitz admitted. "I never thought I would be asked to do it, but it is an honor. Doesn't hurt to try."
"Then, cheers to the new obstetrics department head." Olivia clinked her glass against his. She took a sip, but couldn't help from wincing at the burn.
"I know that we have reached a rough patch, lately." Fitz began. He set his glass to the side and took her hands in his and kissing her knuckles.
Olivia knew exactly what he was talking about. She expected moving in to be seamless—a natural movement—but it brought on more stress than she imagined. It felt like lately, they were operating out of habit and obligation, rather than love and passion. She was as tired of it as he was.
"But it is just growing pains."
"Growing pains." Olivia repeated, convincing herself.
"Because that is what happens when two people love each other so much that they agree to merge their seemingly incompatible lives together."
"I love you." Olivia admitted, swaying in his arms.
"That is a relief." Fitz smirked, pulling a swig of his scotch and kissing her forehead. "Because my previous statement would have been mute, otherwise."
/
THREE WEEKS LATER
"You should take a break." Fitz said, noticing Olivia stretching a crick out of her back.
"I'm fine." Olivia said, getting back to work.
"We don't have to finish this today." Fitz countered.
"We kind of do." Olivia replied. "My lease ends next week. Karen is graduating Thursday. That means that I need for everything to be moved in by then. That means that I— no —we need to finish unpacking these boxes."
After they found a new decorator, it was surprising how timely everything else flowed. There fight over Mellie was out of sight and mind, as they both wanted to move on. That didn't mean that their new home was anywhere close to being finished. Their bed would arrive the next day, completing the master bedroom. Alex's room was livable, but everything else was a freshly painted mess that would take weeks longer to complete. Fitz would still split his time between his old house until it was complete. Olivia insisted so, mainly to keep some type of normalcy for Karen during her dwindling time in high school.
"There is no timeline on our moving in and starting our life together." He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her against him.
"Corny." Olivia rolled her eyes, moving out of his grasp to continue stacking their boxes. "Alex needs to be picked up in an hour. We still need to make another trip."
"What is in this box?" Fitz distracted her by lifting the lid of a box of her things. In it, laid a tightly packed collection of files.
"Confidential." Olivia intercepted him, putting the lid back on, and pushing it out of his grasp. "Don't think that moving in with me will privy you to any of my work secrets."
"You forget that I couldn't care less about what scandals wife beating senators and coke snorting CEOs get into."
"Hmm." Oliva hummed. "That is a hell of a high ground stance you are taking for someone who has a file in here."
"My file?"
"You were once my client." Olivia reminded. "Along with all of the wife beating CEOs and coke snorting senators."
"I remember you taking my case free of charge. Pro bono." Fitz hoisted her up against the counter of their in-progress kitchen. "So I justify that to distinguish me from the moral degenerates you frequent."
Olivia couldn't help but react to the way he man handled her. "You were a client nonetheless. So you are in the system." He snuck his hands into her t shirt, making work of the skin along her ribs.
"Let me see my file." He whispered against her cheek as he sought out her lips.
"Separation of work and home." Olivia moaned between kisses.
"That is bullshit, considering how much your work has intercedes in our home life." Fitz argued, lifting her t shirt over her breasts and kissing the ample skin between her two bra cups.
"Your file is boring." Olivia gasped as he kissed the exposed skin along the line of her bra cup. His arm hooked around her waist, pressing her to his belt. "You aren't as interesting as you think."
"So let me see it." He mumbled, leaning her back across the counter. .
Olivia had a moment of clarity—despite the inhumane reactions he was getting from her. She put her hand to his chest pushing him back. "If I tell you, will you let us finish our work here without any distractions?"
"Deal." He smirked, gently pulling her shirt back down.
"Okay…" Olivia sighed, reaching into her box and pulling out his file. "Here we go… Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third."
"You know I hate it when you say The Third." Fitz winced.
"Shh." Olivia put her hand up to silence him, beginning to enjoy this. "Born and raised in Santa Barbara. Attended UCLA and graduated with a degree in Biology and a minor in public health in 1996. Attended Harvard's med school in that fall of 1996. Married to Melinda Grant in 1998—the same year his first son, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Fourth was born. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third finished his residency at Boston Memorial Hospital in 2000—the same year his second child, Karen Elizabeth Grant was born."
"Enough." Fitz tried to grab the file from her hand, but she was too quick, holding him at arm's length.
"Worked at James Madison since 2003 as an OBGYN. In 2009, divorced from Mellie Grant. Dated four women since, each of which did not last longer than a year. Two years ago, Amanda Tanner accused him of sexual harassment, which is where OPA steps in, saving the day." Olivia grinned.
"Is that where the file stops?"
"Separation of work and home."
"What about the part of us moving in together and me proposing?" Fitz asked, earnestly, rubbing her thighs with his hands.
"Neither of which have fully happened." Olivia reminded.
"Are you sure about that?" Fitz asked, as he slid down to one knee and pulled a ring out of his back pocket. "Will you, Olivia Carolyn Pope Grant the First marry me, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third?"
"Yes." Olivia declared quickly.
"Really?"
"Did you expect me to say 'No'?" Olivia teased, kicking his shoulder lightly.
Fitz immediately rose, dropping the ring to the counter and devouring her lips in his. Olivia pulled back briefly, unable to hide her grin, before throwing her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He couldn't keep his hands still from his excitement, taking their liberties along her sides and back. "Okay then, Mrs. Grant." He mumbled against her breathless lips.
"Mrs. Pope-Grant—nonnegotiable." Olivia pulled back, stubbornly.
"Okay then, Mrs. Pope-Grant." Fitz corrected, sliding the ring on her finger "I am honored."
"This ring is gorgeous." Olivia marveled, rotating her left hand back and forth. It had a vintage set, but with modern diamonds—kind of like their townhome.
"Well, Mellie claimed my mother's ring, but my grandmother gave me this before she died. She got it in France, when she was touring as Miss America."
"A small detail left out of my file." Olivia teased. "I didn't know that you were in the bloodline of pageant royalty."
"It is called doux bébé." He smiled, kissing her shoulder.
"Sweet baby?" Olivia asked.
"I had the diamond fitted the day after you said that you would marry me. I was just waiting for the right time." Fitz explained. "I immediately dismissed a grand proposal—you would have hated that. A nice dinner with a prime bottle of wine seemed too predictable. So I kept it in my pocket for a couple of weeks, waiting for when it felt like a right moment. Then I thought, why the hell not right now?"
"I would have said yes no matter how you proposed." Olivia grinned, her forehead against his. "But this is a pretty damn good moment."
"I love you, my future Mrs. Pope-Grant." He began to unbutton her pants.
"Fitz…" Olivia smiled to herself as he began to kiss along her neck. "We are not even close to being done."
"I will only ever propose to you once." Fitz reminded. "And the window for us to have proposal sex is indeed finite."
"On what bed?" Olivia teased, pulling him back. "Alex's?"
Fitz realized that she had a point, but wasn't going to give up yet. "We have a rug in the living room."
"Where there is a will." Olivia submitted as he picked her up off of the counter and carried her to their brand new rug.
/
"You shouldn't be worrying about packing today…" Olivia said, leaning against the door to Karen's room.
"I know." Karen said, arranging books in a box. "But I don't mind. Plus most of this stuff I won't need in college, so it is nice to do some cleaning. Come in, I need your opinion on what to wear tonight."
"What is going on tonight?"
"Just some graduation parties." Karen disappeared into her closet to re-emerge into her first outfit. She was wearing holey jeans with a grey fitted t shirt and a red flannel tied around her waist. "Option A." She pivoted slowly.
"Nice." Olivia approved.
"But wait for option B." Karen went back into her closet, coming out in a completely different look. She was wearing black skinny jeans that rose up to her navel. She had the same t shirt on, but tied it up into a knot, exposing her midriff. She wore a leather jacket over it. Olivia was honestly taken back by how mature she looked. She didn't look like a high schooler. She looked like one of the twenty-somethings downtown, hitting up trendy bars.
"Do you want to hear which outfit I like? Or which outfit your father would want to tell me to tell you to wear?"
"I figured after 7:00 today, I'm that much closer to independence, so I might as well test my limits."
"At least wait until you are out of the door to tie your shirt up. If your father sees you in that, he will worry the entire night." Olivia said. "But I like option B."
"I swear, you and my dad have to marry each other before I go off to New York." Karen changed the subject, moving on to Olivia's left ring finger.
"That's a hell of a deadline." Olivia chuckled. "It will be a small ceremony. But you will be there, no matter what. Planes exist, you know."
"As long as you don't hit up the City Hall without inviting anybody, like my mom did." Karen rolled her eyes. "That was so tacky."
"You will be there." Olivia reaffirmed. "But enough about me, today is your big day." Olivia took a seat on the edge of her bed. "How does it feel to be graduating?"
"About damn time—sorry." Karen apologized for cussing in front of her.
"It's okay." Olivia smiled.
"I mean, high school was fun. I had some good times and what not. I've just felt suffocated there these past few months. But I guess that is what senioritis is called."
"I know that I have only known you for a couple of years, but I am really proud of you. Seeing how great of a person you are told me more about your father than anything else could." Olivia pulled a small box out of her purse and held it out. "So happy graduation."
"You didn't have to do this." Karen said as she tore the wrapping paper, pulling the box out. She opened it to find a simple gold necklace with a black stone as the charm. Olivia knew that Karen had been getting into crystals and meditation lately. "It's a—"
"Hermatite." Karen said. "It deflects stress and negative energy and keeps its owner grounded and centered, especially in new lands."
"I thought you might need that in college." Olivia watched her lift the necklace up to try it on.
"Thank you." Karen hugged her tightly.
"Olivia hugged her back, happy that her gift made her happy. "You should be getting dressed. We leave in fifteen minutes.
"If there is something I won't be late for, it is my own graduation." Karen winked.
"I'll see you downstairs." Olivia left her to change into her dress and her graduation gown.
/
"I'm officially old." Fitz sighed. "And an empty nester."
"You aren't an empty nester until August, and then you will have 16 years until you are an empty nester."
"Then I will have to marry another MILF and then raise her kid."
"Don't ever say MILF again. Only horny boys in college should be allowed to say that." Olivia elbowed him in the ribcage. "I'm going to check on Alex."
"Don't take too long." Fitz intentionally let his hands linger on her ass as she rose from the couch. Alex was still passed out in Fitz's bed. After Olivia gave her a larger piece of Karen's graduation cake than she probably should have, she ran off her sugar high in the back yard with Teddy, Jerry and his girlfriend, who were home for Karen's graduation. Olivia was so grateful that Jerry and Karen insisted on playing with Alex whenever they were around. Especially after a week like hers, where she was frantically running back and forth between her office, old apartment, and new townhome.
"You barely ate any of your cake." Fitz handed her wine glass back to her as she returned to the couch. She tried to resume her place next to him, but he guided her to his lap, making her straddle him.
"I've been feeling kind of nauseous today. It is nothing." Olivia dismissed, taking a sip and setting her wine glass on the coffee table.
"You don't think it's…" Fitz put his hand on her belly.
"Do you think I would be on my second glass of wine tonight if I thought it was?" Olivia rolled her eyes.
"You should take a test, just to be sure."
"You should marry me first." Olivia kissed him slowly, but deeply, sliding her tongue against his.
"Can we talk about it?" Fitz grinned against her lips.
"Karen wants us to get married before she goes off to college."
"She already told me."
"I don't want a big ceremony." Olivia said, kissing along his neck.
"How small?" Fitz pulled her to lay on her back as he settled between her legs.
"Really small." Olivia unbuttoned his shirt effortlessly, sliding it down his arms. . "Like family and my team only."
"Can my brother come?" He had her dress bunched at her hips, not losing the pace of his lips along her neck.
"Of course." Olivia reached for a handful of his hair to try to guide his mouth to hers, but he was already sliding down between her legs. "Fitz…"
"Hm?" He mumbled, beginning to pull her thong down her legs with his thumbs.
"Can we continue this conversation in about fifteen minutes?"
"Fifteen minutes, huh?" Fitz smirked, dropping her thong to the floor
Olivia had a retort on her lips but he connected his mouth to her clit. "Uhhh." She moaned, grabbing a decorative pillow and hugging it to her chest. He pulled her legs over his shoulders, burying his face into the apex of her thighs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lay still with him influencing her like that.
"Fuck." Olivia arched her back.
"Lay still." Fitz growled, pressing his hand to her stomach, making her stable against the couch.
"You make it really… hard to." Olivia gasped.
Fitz inserted a finger into her, curling it to hit her spot. When he felt her orgasm approach, he brought his soaked fingers to her lips, making her suck her own juices off of his index finger. Fitz found it incredibly sexy how she bit down on his ring finger as she came.
"Get up here." Olivia flipped her legs under his arms and pulled him up to par with her. The shift of weight made him lose his balance and fall from the couch to the floor. Olivia came with him, crashing onto him and the carpeted floor.
"Ouch." He groaned as she landed on top of him.
"Sorry." Olivia laughed, pulling a pillow under his head. She kissed him sloppily, biting along his chin as she grinded deliberately along his belt. His dick was uncomfortably hard as he reached down to undo his belt. Olivia finished the job, pulling back to slide his pants down.
She lined herself up with him, deliberately teasing his tip against herself. His eyes were shut as he cursed under his breath. Her hand mixed her arousal with his as she stroked him along her slit.
"Look at me." She demanded. When his clear blue eyes connected with hers, she began to slowly take him into her, a little more with each stroke. She was driving him crazy and he needed his release. He unexpectedly bucked his hips up, making her gasp and cover her mouth. He gripped her waist in his hands and began to help her keep her pace.
She leaned over to kiss him, pulling his mouth to hers. Her hips were rolling and they were hitting all of their right spots together. Fitz was constantly amazed at how when they made love, she was both rough and sensual. They managed to fuck each other's brains out, while still falling more and more into a romantic space.
When he felt her begin to cum, he let himself go, pulling her hair and synchronizing their pleasure. Olivia fell to his side and he grabbed a blanket from the couch, covering their exposed bodies. They were too physically exhausted to move back to the couch.
"Pick a date." Olivia said.
"July 28th." Fitz repositioned his arm under her head to give her a proper pillow. "That gives us enough time to honeymoon before Karen goes off."
"That's in two months." Olivia said, not masking her concern.
"It's a small ceremony, and Karen is going away in the second week of August, so we have to do it before then."
"You have a point." Olivia nodded. "But we could also wait until December, when everybody is home for Christmas."
"That's eight months away…" Fitz crinkled his nose.
"We've only been engaged for 48 hours." Olivia laughed.
"How about we put an afternoon aside just for wedding planning. We can sort everything out, see if July 28th is too soon. If it doesn't feel right, then we can look at December."
"Okay." Olivia nodded.
"Honestly, the honeymoon will probably take longer to plan." Fitz smirked, sliding a deft hand down her spine to rest on her ass.
"I don't know if I we can do a honeymoon—"
"I know what you are going to say." Fitz brought his hand from her ass to her face, pressing a finger to her lips. "So don't."
"What was I going to say?" She asked, playfully biting his finger.
"A variation of: I can't take off of work, I have a two year old that is something of a cock block. The inevitable work argument, where you claim that OPA would fall apart if you were absent for more than three hours. Or maybe even that nobody honeymoons on their second time around, which is ridiculous. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie probably had a kick ass honeymoon, and they have like seven kids together." Fitz lifted her thigh over his hip.
"They are also separated now." Olivia argued. "But seriously… It isn't practical."
"We will bring Alex's nanny." Fitz kissed her lips, just enough to make her moan in approval. "I wouldn't mind sharing your time with the office. I'm sure whatever private island I drag you to will have wifi and phone service."
"Private island?" Olivia asked, laughing at how he was convincingly kissing along her neck.
"Or Alaska… If you really prefer seeing me in a parka than in swim trunks." Fitz joked. "And for the last one… Just because this is our second marriage, doesn't mean that we can't indulge a little bit." He began to gyrate against her, sensually massaging the skimp flesh along her hip and thigh. "The world won't crumble if you let your hair down for a minute."
"Fitz…" Olivia gasped as he entered. One of his hands was tangled in her hair, guiding her mouth to his. The other was gripping her ass and thigh, keeping his tempo. He brought them to another close, with her clinging to his sweaty chest.
"Well?" He asked, kissing her forehead.
"Where are you taking me?" She smirked.
"To the shower." He grinned, standing up and pulling her with him.
/
Hours later, Olivia was still awake. Alex was sandwiched between Fitz and herself. In Alex's drowsy state when they crawled into bed, she insisted on burrowing between them, sucking her thumb and curling up in a ball. Olivia needed to rid her of that habit before it stuck, but it wasn't worth waking her up. She didn't mind watching her beautiful daughter sleep in the arms of her fiancé. Even though her body was all levels of exhaustion, her mind was not in the space of rest.
She heard a car pull around the side of the house. Karen was supposed to return to Mellie's house, so she listened closely to see who it was. She heard a car door shut and a few indistinguishable words being exchanged. Olivia carefully removed herself from the bed and went to investigate. When she saw who it was, she opened the front door.
"Karen?"
Karen slowly tip toed up the front steps of the house, not noticing her at first. "What are you doing up?" Her voice seemed off. Olivia knew she wasn't drunk, because she had definitely witnessed a drunk Karen before.
"I heard the car. Aren't you supposed to be staying with your mother?" Olivia closed the door behind her, so that Fitz wouldn't be woken up by their conversation traveling through the hallways of the house.
"Yeah, but Dad's house was on the way. I didn't want to make my friend drive all the way over to Annandale." Karen tried to walk past her, but Olivia caught a whiff of her.
"Have you been smoking weed?" Olivia asked, gently stopping her with her hand on her arm.
"Of course not." Karen cast her eyes away. "I mean, some people were at the party, but I for sure wasn't."
"Karen, look at me." Olivia said softly.
Karen reluctantly made eye contact with her.
"Your eyes are blood shot."
"Please don't tell my dad. Weed is more socially acceptable now. He wouldn't understand. It is even legal in D.C. now. And we were safe, I made sure my DD was sober, and—"
"Does your mom know that you are coming here instead of to her?" Olivia asked.
"I texted her and let her know."
"Who supplied the weed?"
"Stephanie's older brother is an accountant for one of the new dispensaries in D.C., so she had the hook up."
"Do you have any on you right now?" Olivia asked, hugging her robe around her tighter. It was pretty brisk for a May night, but she would rather be cold than wake Fitz up to his high daughter.
"Yeah, she gave me a joint." Karen mumbled.
Olivia held her hand out.
"What? No, please don't show it to Dad."
"I'm not going to, unless you hand it over right now." Olivia said sternly. She was never in the position to be strict with Karen, but right now she had to divert a situation that would end with an unnecessary drama.
"Fine." Karen pulled a joint out of her pocket and placed it in her hand.
"Now wait here. Don't come into the house. You smell like a grow house."
Olivia went back into the house and weighed her options. She could tell Fitz about it. No matter how she tried to cushion the news, he would still be angry with Karen. He was an incredible father, but he was also irrationally protective and could overreact when it came to Karen. It would ruin her graduation night over an innocent thing. But if Fitz found out about the weed later, and it traced back to her knowing, then it would be even worse. She looked down at the joint in her hand as she paused outside of his bedroom.
This probably wasn't the smartest decision, but she was following his advice. The world won't crumble if you let your hair down for a minute. She quietly changed into clothes and tip toed to Fitz's side of the bed.
"Fitz." She whispered, gently rubbed his shoulder until he woke up.
"Huh?" He said a little too loudly.
"Shh." Olivia hushed for fear of waking Alex up. "I have to go handle something. I will be back by morning."
"Okay." He nodded, not fully conscious to understand anything.
"If you or Alex need anything, please call me." Olivia kissed his cheek.
"We'll be fine." He mumbled, going back to sleep.
Olivia pulled her car around to the front of the house. Karen was sitting on the porch steps. She motioned for her to get in the car.
"Please don't tell me that you are driving me to my mom's." Karen begged, after buckling her seatbelt.
"I'm not." Olivia could tell that she was internally panicking that the worst case—Olivia telling Mellie that her daughter was caught smoking weed—would happen. Olivia drove the car for a couple of minutes in silence. Once they were in D.C., she pulled off of the road and parked under a bridge
"What we are about to do will never ever be shared." Olivia said.
"What?"
"You will not tell Jerry, you will not tell your parents, you will not tell your future roommates, you sure as hell will not tell Alex when she gets older and learns what drugs are." Olivia said sternly. "Swear on it."
"I swear." Karen said cautiously.
"And consider this an extension of your graduation present." Olivia pulled the car off of the road and parked under a bridge.
"I am so confused right now." Karen said as Olivia rolled the windows down. She watched Olivia pull the joint out of her purse along with a matchbox she took from a drawer in the kitchen. "You smoke?"
"Not since law school." Olivia smiled, more to herself. "But I had a serious boyfriend who made me quit, and I never really had the opportunity—or urge to—after."
"I can't see anybody making you quit anything." Karen said as Olivia lit the joint between her fingers, taking a pull.
"You will say that about yourself, one day." Olivia said with her exhale as she took another puff before passing. She felt the calming effects take over system. "You have to be careful with this stuff in New York. Cops are way stricter."
"I rarely smoke." Karen took a drag before passing it back.
"Oh, you will."
There was a beat of silence. "Do you think my dad smoked pot? Like, back in college?"
"I'm sure." Olivia said. "But he never got caught, or else he would have been kicked out of med school."
"I can't even picture it." Karen shuttered. "He seems so old."
They made easy conversation, sharing the joint. Olivia really enjoyed being able to bond with Karen like this. She didn't even feel guilty about it, which should have concerned her, but it didn't.
"Was the house actually on your friend's way home, or did you just not want to go home to your mother?" Olivia asked.
"She gets woken up by the air conditioner cutting on, and has the nose of a hawk." Karen said.
"Is it weird that I'm about to be your step mother?" Olivia asked.
"No." Karen laughed. "Is it weird to you?"
"A little." Olivia admitted. "You are a legal adult. I can't be a step mom to someone who is practically out of the house… It makes me feel old."
"You aren't even thirty yet, you aren't old."
"Exactly." Olivia laughed. She knew she was really high by the fact that she had to focus on not laughing. "This is good shit. There used to be so much bad weed on the market back in the day."
"I hope this isn't weird to ask you about my dad, but when you two first met, did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That you guys were… meant for each other?"
Olivia chuckled. "When I met your father I was on a stretcher and in labor. I was married—or freshly widowed—I don't know the exact timeline. It wasn't exactly love at first sight. I was more concerned with the tiny human trying to push herself out of me."
"When did you know?"
"I don't know…" Olivia trailed off, collecting the memories of their past. "I fought it for a while. It was hard for me, being a single mother with a career and no knowledge of how to raise Alex. As you can see—I don't exactly live a normal life. But he was patient with me. He waited until I was capable of loving him back."
Karen was silent, taking in her words.
"Why? Where is this coming from?"
"What scares me the most about college is the guys…" Karen laughed, more at herself. "Hayden is the only serious boyfriend I have ever had, and obviously that didn't go as I would have wanted it to. Now, I'm an adult and I don't want any mistakes and, I don't know… Regret things."
"You are going to be fine." Olivia patted her hand. "Just keep a clear head."
"Looking back, do you regret any relationships?"
"No." Olivia said after a thought. "I could regret my college boyfriend, because it was a waste of time. I think I hurt him a lot more by staying around longer than I should have. But he taught me a lot about how men work and what my goals are. I really should regret my late husband… For a million reasons I wish we never met… But he gave me Alex. If he never gave me Alex, if he never drove that car through that red light two years ago, then I would have never met your father. Olivia paused, collecting her thoughts. "Just because a relationship doesn't work out, doesn't mean it never should have happened. Hayden was a loser, but you survived and you are better for it. As long as you remain yourself in the relationship. Compromise on anything but yourself and your values, then you will be fine."
"Thanks." Karen said. "I am just so excited to finally be in Manhattan, it is kind of overwhelming."
"You are going to have the time of your life." Olivia said, buckling her seat belt back in. "Let's go get a shower at my place to hide the smell. Then we can head back."