A/N:
I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's nice and long.
THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED ON APRIL 10TH, 2017
Knowing that Teddy would have trouble accepting a new change in his routine, Fitz kissed his forehead and carried him to Mellie's rental car. Karen was already buckled in the backseat and had the beagle on her lap in an open ended cardboard box. Mellie was on the driver seat ready to drive off and asking Karen to keep the dog from climbing out of the box.
Everything changed the very second when Teddy realized he was about to be buckled up in an unfamiliar vehicle, unfamiliar car seat . He struggled, his joints locked impossibly rigid.
Fitz wound up having to drive Teddy to Mellie's new place in his own vehicle. He wasn't particularly thrilled, he thought Mellie was wrong in wanting to take the kids for two whole weeks. But his lawyer had convinced him this was the best move. Fitz already had a great advantage in a custody dispute and he had more to lose as the custodial parent. His lawyer believed that going back to court was risky as the judge could send the case to mediation and set up a rigid visitation schedule which would end up awarding Mellie more time with the children. "Let her have her two weeks, Fitz" his lawyer told him over the phone a few days ago. "After all, she's going back to New York in two weeks time, isn't she?"
If they went back to court, Mellie had a good chance of being awarded considerably more time than just two weeks. Opposing counsel had made it quiet clear that they intended to ask for weekend visitation if they were forced to go back to court.
Fitz could hardly believe it. He certainly couldn't imagine his kids traveling across the country back and forth on weekends. What would it do to Teddy?
"I suppose there is the possibility that given Teddy's special needs, you might be awarded full custody but not in Karen's case. Opposing counsel can still argue that Karen could still travel to New York on weekends and that it wouldn't be disruptive to her school schedule."
"And how likely is that the judge would rule in her favor?"
"Very likely...especially if the court appointed mediator sympathizes with the mother. They often do, unless the mother is clearly abusive. Mediators are all about proving parents with as much time possible with their children. They're supposed to be looking out what's in the best interests of the children, but they are often more interested in 'fairness' to both parents when recommending a visitation schedule; their understanding of fairness 50/50 custody of the children. So yes, given that Mellie resides out of state, it probably would not be 50/50 but every weekend or something like that."
"Wait a sec," Fitz took a deep breath. "Tell me more about this mediator."
"The mediator is neutral person assigned by the court. Both parents need to be present at every mediation session, except in cases where there is clear evidence of spousal abuse." The attorney paused to see if Fitz had a comment. Fitz didn't reply, so he continued, "Depending on the case, mediators can meet with the parents anywhere from one to ten sessions. They first make an attempt to get parents to agree to a visitation schedule and then when that's not possible, they write a report with their recommendations to the court."
"Will the mediator meet with the children?"
"No, not usually."
Fitz let out a huff of humorless laughter. That was a lot to consider right there and the worst part was that there were no guarantees. If they went to court in front of a judge, anything could happen. He would completely hate having his children's fate at the mercy of other people who had not even spent five minutes with his children.
"And how likely is it that the judge will consider such recommendations?"
"Hmm...I would say 90 to 95% percent of the time. Family court is loaded with custody cases. It is rare for a judge that does his own homework, his own thinking. Most find it easier to go with what a mediator suggests, after all, the mediator is supposedly more familiar with the family dynamics as he or she has spent more time with both parents."
It seemed to Fitz that going to court was a huge gamble. His lawyer was right, it would be best to avoid going to court. There seemed to be a strong likelihood that Mellie would be awarded a huge chunk of time with the kids...or maybe just with Karen?"
Xxx
Later that night, he talked to Olivia on the phone about the day's events.
"I know, it's crazy. I don't know how she'd gonna do it."I tell you this much, she's either crazy or extremely brave." Fitz said referring to Mellie. "Daring even…"
"Daring? You mean like trying bungee jumping off a cliff or a 130 feet bridge ?"
He laughed at her attempt of a joke. "Yes. She's that kind of person...the kind that would also pay good money for the privilege of jumping." His smile faded as he remembered that he would not be seeing Olivia for the next two weeks. "Anyway, she wants you to meet her at her place tomorrow afternoon... same time as if you were coming here..." he trailed off, he would give anything to see her tomorrow. But he didn't have a valid excuse to see her. Did he?
Olivia looked at the time. It was past 10 pm. Surely both kids were asleep right now.
"Is it too late for me to call her and arrange a meeting?"
"No, I'm sure it will be all right; call her when we hang up."
"Okay, I will."
"Okay."
The problem was that neither one wanted to hang up and break their connection.
"Fitz?"
"Yes?"
"Do you miss the kids?" She asked, it was more a statement than a question.
"I do. The house feels strangely silent. Even when they're sleeping, it's never this quiet. "
"You're such a great father," she said with admiration. "You're loving with your kids, yet not overly permissive. I don't know how you can do it all."
"Thank you for saying that but all the credit belongs to my father...to both my parent's actually. I am extremely fortunate to have had them as my parents and role models. I am who I am because of them. I only copied their example."
Olivia couldn't help but wonder about her own situation. Given her dysfunctional family dynamics, she wondered not for the first time whether she would make a good mother one day.
"They sound like wonderful people, I would love to meet them one day," she said, realizing at once that the last sentence sounded too personal. But who was she kidding? Her relationship with Fitz was already entirely too personal. Inappropriate even.
Truth was that she was in love with Fitz, there was no use in denying it.
Fitz swallowed hard. He wanted to tell her... he needed that he loved her. But the words died in his throat. "And you will meet them," he said instead, "next time they're in town."
"Fitz, " she whispered.
"Yes," he breathed.
She wanted to tell him that she was going to miss him. These next two weeks (while she continued Teddy's therapy at Mellie's place) were going to be long and hard to bear without him at her side.
"I'll call you tomorrow night and give you an update on Teddy."
"Will you call me every night?" He was missing her so much; darn it, he didn't know how he was supposed to keep going without her and the kids for the next two weeks.
"Yes, yes, I will," she bit her lip hard. She wanted to say so much more, but the longer they stayed on the phone the harder it was going to be to hang up. "Talk to you tomorrow, okay" she said in that tone that implied that she's about to hang up.
"Okay, talk to you tomorrow," he said barely above a whisper right before the line went dead. And he sat there for the longest time, feeling the loneliest he'd ever felt in his entire life.
Xxx
The next day.
When Olivia came to Mellie's place to meet with her for the first time, she was met by a very frazzled Mellie. Even though Teddy had finally settled down for a nap this afternoon, things had not turned out as expected, Mellie lamented almost as soon as Olivia walked through the door.
Right after her phone call with Fitz, Olivia called Mellie to set up this meeting. It had been weird to find herself in the role of a counselor. As it turned out, last night, Teddy had a hard time settling down for the night and Olivia had suggested a few things to help soothe the young toddler.
" He didn't sleep very long last night, maybe four hours total, Mellie said, inviting Olivia into the spacious kitchen of the 1,500 square feet condo she had rented. She then gestured for Olivia to take a seat at the kitchen table.
" I really thought that getting the dog was a good idea. " She continued, "care for some lemonade?"
Olivia nodded.
Mellie brought out two glasses to the table and poured the icy lemonade. "I thought it would help keeping Karen happy while I tried to bond with Teddy, " she added, draining her glass of lemonade.
As if she had just been summoned, Karen bounced into the kitchen with the little beagle in tow.
Karen's face brightened when she saw Olivia and immediately gave her a big hug.
Mellie raised a brow at such a demonstration of affection, "Karen, honey, why don't you go watch TV for a little while... "
"I want Olivia to meet my new puppy," Karen said holding up the puppy for Olivia to pet.
"Ow, my goodness! He's so cute, so little." Olivia rubbed the beagle's head and under his chin.
Olivia and Karen shared a couple of giggles and a smile which made Mellie uncomfortable. She needed to break up their cozy little party.
"Karen," Mellie waited until Karen had turned her head in attention and then spoke again with a practiced smile, "Olivia and I have some important things to discuss now that Teddy is napping. Please go watch TV for a little while. The cable guy came this morning while you were sleeping and hooked up Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel for you."
Karen's eyes lit up at the mention of the TV channels "Cool!" she exclaimed and dashed off into the adjoining living room taking the dog with her.
"TV...It's a necessary evil," Mellie chuckled. "It keeps them busy but then it also drains your wallet when they start asking for everything they see on the screen."
Olivia nodded politely, taking a sip of her lemonade. She didn't approve of using the TV as a sitter.
"So what finally worked last night, how did you get Teddy to go to sleep?"
"Well, finally at around 2 am he was so exhausted that he let me hold him. I sat on the floor with him" she gazed at the washer and dryer combo behind Olivia. "Turned the dryer on. That did the trick, five minutes later he was asleep."
"Good," Olivia said, glad to hear that one of her suggestions had worked.
"So...well, I was thinking about what you mentioned last night... about the joining therapy, SON-RISE, right?" she hesitated pursing her lips. "I went online this morning and found some great testimonials...still, I have a question...well, actually more like a couple of questions..."
"Okay, what are you concerned about?"
"Well...wouldn't this joining in be like encouraging him to keep behaving the way he has? I mean...if I copy that behavior, wouldn't I be teaching him that it's all right to ignore people and acting antisocial?"
Olivia thought about this for a moment. This line of questioning could only mean that Mellie wasn't convinced of the efficacy of the program.
"While it is true that Teddy is engaging in behaviors that we do want extinguished...it is very important that first everyone that's working with him show him that we love and accept him unconditionally. Only then, will he welcome us into his world and be open to change. But it is important to understand that Teddy doesn't engage in those behaviors purposely to annoy us, there is no malice in his behavior. His mannerism do have a purpose, one of them is self-regulation. Teddy is very sensitive to his environment...particularly any changes in his environment," she paused to give Mellie a pointed look. "Some of the things that you and I might find mildly annoying such as wearing a scratchy shirt, loud noises such as a loud stereo or a car horn or eating something of a different texture will trigger an excessive response in Teddy. Those repetitive behaviors that we find problematic and socially unacceptable do help him self-regulate. It's all he knows. But the Son-Rise approach does not encourage autistic behaviors…instead, it encourages the child to look outside the bubble that he has created for himself through unconditional acceptance of the child as an individual. "
"Okay...well, is it working then? "
Olivia shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe she was actually questioning and measuring the program in terms of results. It was too early to judge it either as a success or a failure just yet. "Mrs. Grant," she started.
"Call me Mellie, please."
"Okay, Mellie. She gave her a half smile. "Autism is a developmental disorder and the success of therapy varies from child to child. Some children become highly functional in as little 6 months, for others it might take a lot longer than that. "
"Yes, but when you say that they become highly functional...you don't mean they are completely cured, do you?
"You said you watched some testimonials, right?" Olivia countered. "Most of them included children whose recovery, for a lack of a better word, made them indistinguishable from other children...There is a good chance that Teddy will be one of those children."
"And you really believe this?"
"Yes, I do."
The two women studied each other for a long time.
Olivia was thinking that she didn't need this woman questioning the efficacy of the therapy she was providing. This woman was not going to be a team player, was she?
Right then, they heard Teddy's cries.
Mellie's eyes widened at the realization that her child was awake and Olivia thought she saw the look of dread cross Mellie's face.
Wordlessly, both women sauntered over to Teddy's room. The young toddler was standing in a mahogany crib, holding his Thomas wooden train in a tight fist.
Olivia noticed that some of his musical books were laying in a twin size bed next to the crib
For a moment there, Olivia locked eyes with Teddy and he held her gaze. Not only that, but she also saw a hint of smile curve around his lips.
Not wanting to lose a teaching moment, Olivia smiled her brightest and most cheerful smile, "Good morning, Teddy! do you want to play," she said lifting him from his crib and twirling him around, holding him at eye level and keeping her eyes wide and expressive in order to encourage sustained eye contact. "It's so good to see you, you're such a sweetheart this morning," she went on enunciating every word in a singsong. And it worked, Teddy stared back into her eyes for another five extra seconds.
This was a huge breakthrough, Olivia's thought. She couldn't wait to tell Fitz.
Mellie watched astounded."Oh, God, look, he's looking at you!"
"Yes, he is, yes he is!" She continued to twirl him. "You look so happy this morning, you know that?" At this point,Teddy broke off eye contact but continued to smile, enjoying the extra spinning. "Oh, and you need a diaper change too," Olivia laughed, feeling a little choked up with happiness. In a swift motion, she lay Teddy down on the twin sized bed and started changing him. "I need wipes and a clean diaper," she looked over her shoulder at Mellie who was still standing there like a statue.
It took a few moments for Mellie to react. "Oh, yes, yes..." She brought the diaper bag out of the closet and placed it on the bed next to Olivia.
"Oh, can you get the train too? He cooperates better for diaper changes if he's holding his train." At some point, Teddy had dropped the toy somewhere.
Mellie got down on her knees and looked. No sign of the train. Then, she craned her neck under the crib and sure enough, there it was. Most reluctantly, Mellie crawled under the crib, no easy task since she was wearing a very tight pencil skirt. She stretched her arm and her fingers to their limit. AHA! there it was, she could feel something hard against the very tip of her fingernails. But, darn it! She couldn't reach it.
She grunted. And she stretched just a tad more and the very tip of her fingers finally reached something wooden. It had to be it.
She got it!
And then there it was...the sound of seams coming apart.
Mellie froze.
Oh, no. This couldn't be!
Then she heard the sound of steps rapidly approaching, bouncing even. "Mommy, can I get a snack? "
Then silence.
"Mommy! Your skirt, it's torn!" Karen exclaimed.
Horrified, Mellie quickly retreated to sit on her haunches and her left hand slowly reached behind her.
Sure enough, there was a wide rip in the fabric of her skirt.
By then, Olivia had already finished changing Teddy's diaper. It looked as though she didn't even need the toy after all.
Both Karen and Olivia stared back at Mellie. Olivia put Teddy down and he ran out of the room.
"Are you okay?" Olivia asked.
"Oh, poor mommy dearest," Karen's little smile had vanished into the utmost concern. "You ripped your skirt. But that's okay...I can go get you another one!" And with that she dashed out of the room.
Mellie stood up, trying her best to appear cool and unaffected. "Yes..." she gave Olivia a long look."Well, I guess you didn't need the train after all."
Olivia smiled. She was still glowing with happiness due to her breakthrough with Teddy. "I'm going to see where Teddy went."
Mellie nodded. "I'll be there in a few minutes."
A little while later, as Teddy's session was coming to an end, he dashed into the kitchen at the sound of something ripping. Karen was sitting at the table opening a big bag of Cheetos.
"Livia, do you wanna a snack?"
Suddenly, Teddy snatched the oversized Cheetos bag from Karen's hand and dropped it, which then scattered all over the floor.
Karen was horrified. "OH, NO!" she wailed. There were hardly any Cheetos left in the bag.
Olivia put her arms around Karen in comfort. "Let's get you another snack."
"But I wanted Cheetos! They're my favorite!"
"I know, I know. But there's nothing we can do about that now," Olivia said matter of factly. "There will other Cheeto bags in your life...and trust me, 10 years from now you won't even like Cheetos. So, c'mmon, help me clean up."
Mellie walked into the kitchen looking as if she'd just woken from a and Karen were nearly done cleaning up the mess floor while singing, "I've been working on a railroad." It was one of Olivia's favorite songs from her childhood. Karen had been more than happy to sing along as they worked.
"What happened here?" Mellie asked. Right then, she saw that Teddy was picking up the Cheetos that had landed in the divide between the kitchen and the living room and was putting them in his mouth.
"Oh, no, Teddy, no...those are dirty," Mellie shrieked.
Teddy cried loudly when Mellie tried to prevent him from eating. Mellie threw her hands up in the air in a gesture of defeat.
Much to everyone's surprise, Teddy stopped crying when the beagle approached Teddy and started licking his cheeto covered hands. He even squealed in delight.
The two women watched in wonder; this was the second time today that Teddy's actions and reactions had surprised them.
Shortly after that, it was time for lunch and Olivia found herself helping out. It was a Saturday and she'd scheduled a whole block of time for Teddy in case her presence was welcomed beyond the regular sixty minute session. She was well over and beyond in her professional services but really at this point, Teddy was no longer a regular client.
She tried to help Teddy feel more at home by feeding him what he was used to eating, mostly bananas and honey gram crackers. They were still working on getting him to expand his diet but it was hard for him to accept a new food in his diet. Thankfully he drank four 9 oz bottles of milk each day which provided more than half of much needed calcium and protein.
In the meantime, Karen had her lunch with her mother.
"Olivia, would you like a sandwich or something?" Mellie offered.
"No, thanks. I had a huge breakfast." She really hadn't eaten much for breakfast but she wasn't hungry and she needed to make most of her time with Teddy as she wouldn't be seeing him again until Monday.
After lunch, Mellie pulled her aside so they could finish their conversation.
"What can I do to help Teddy?"
"Frankly?"
Mellie nodded.
"Son-Rise therapy works on the premise that parents, caregivers and therapists that follow its principles will create a rock solid bond with their child. Right now, we have a good thing going with Teddy. Fitz is doing a marvelous job bonding with him.
"So what can I to do to help him?" Mellie reiterated.
Olivia shook her head a little and cocked her head. "You need to step out of the way and let me and Fitz work with Teddy. And even though today we saw a tremendous breakthrough, there is still a battle ahead. In my professional opinion, you need to step out of the way and return Teddy to his father so we can continue therapy in the best environment for him right now," she firmly concluded.
Mellie was dumbfounded. "I think you're out of line here." She said, her voice filled with outrage.
"You asked me. I'm giving you my professional opinion.
xxx
That same night, Olivia dialed Fitz's number as promised and the first thing she did was tell him about her breakthrough with Teddy.
"Wow! That's wonderful!" Fitz was ecstatic. He would have loved to have been there.
"I know...it was just amazing! For a moment there, I had him, Fitz!" she paused to correct herself, "or shall we say, he did it...he made a strong connection with me."
Olivia could almost see his great smile. She wished she could touch his face, a feather light caress.
"Does this mean that he's gonna be okay now?" He asked, feeling sheepish. The question sounded a little childish even to his own ears. But he didn't know how to ask if this breakthrough meant that things would continue to improve steadily from this point forward.
He could almost see her smile fading. "I wish I could say that. We still have a long road ahead. Sometimes it will seem like we're taking two steps forward and one step back."
Fitz pursed his lips and nodded to himself. He didn't feel discouraged in the least, if anything Olivia's words renewed his commitment to Teddy. "Liv...I've been thinking about what you said about me taking sometime off from work so I could work with Teddy." He paused.
"Yes," she said recalling having that conversation with Fitz a little over a month ago, she had told him that her therapy time would be limited as she had other commitments to tend to such as her advocacy work.
"I've applied for a second mortgage on the house. With the money I will be able to afford to stay home for at least 6 months."
"Hmm...really?" she mumbled. Immediately she thought of an alternative. Mellie could send him child support money every month. It should work, why did it always have to be the woman who traditionally receives child support? In this day and age, either parent can be the caregiver and the other the bread winner. She wanted to say all this to Fitz, but she knew how he felt about being the bread winner. She was sure he would not readily agree to collecting child support from his ex-wife. "Okay, I'll call you tomorrow night," she mumbled.
"Thank you, Liv. I don't know what I would do without you."
Olivia sighed. The implication was clear. Even though she'd originally said she was only going to provide therapy for a short while, she couldn't even think about terminating her services, even as it seemed that Fitz would be able to take the time off from work. She loved working with Teddy and what's more, she was emotionally invested. Also, stopping therapy also meant to stop seeing Fitz nearly every day and she didn't want to think about that.
"Your welcome, Fitz. I love working with Teddy."
There was a long pensive silence.
"Okay, talk to you tomorrow?"
"Liv, wait...let's not hang up yet..."
Olivia closed her eyes and felt little butterflies fluttering in her belly. Something in his voice had done that to her.
"There is something you need to know," he murmured. And then there was another moment of silence. He could picture her on the other end of the line hugging the phone to her ear. "I'm in love with you." He hadn't planned on saying it, but it felt just right to say it at this moment.
He could hear the sigh in her voice, "Fitz..."
"Wait, you don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. For me it's more than just a simple attraction. I love you, Olivia...and I will wait for you no matter how long it takes."
He heard her sharp intake of breath and a tremor in her voice. "I don't know what to say."
"Just tell me that there is hope."
Olivia swallowed the big lump in her throat. There is...I love you too," she chuckled and cried at the same time. This was her first time declaring her love to a man.
She could imagine his boyish grin at the other end of the line, "I will wait for you as long as it takes," he repeated, "I will happily wait for the day when we can be together."
She chuckled a little to herself. That sounded so incredibly romantic and old fashioned. Yet she couldn't be happier. Fitz loved her, he loved her, yes, yes! Life is good!
A/N: Next chapter: there will be a time jump.