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"Does the apartment smell like cat? All I smell is cat and I can't have that!"

"Doctor Seuss has some stiff competition today!" Fitz said on a laugh. The moment Olivia cut her dagger filled eyes in his direction he wisely clamped his lips together and chose his next words carefully. "Relax. The apartment doesn't smell like cat. Besides, your sister isn't coming to see how clean you keep your apartment. She's coming to visit you. Stop stressing."

Olivia gave him a doubt filled look as she watched Shadow nap happily in Fitz's arms. The two of them had gotten to be quite chummy with each other. It was more than a little annoying to Olivia since she had been the one who had rescued the kitten from the world outside in the first place.

Shadow had been taken to the vet, who had told Olivia and Fitz that the kitten was male – something Olivia already knew in her heart – and that he was old enough to be fixed. He had gotten his shots as well as the surgery and had been healing for the past week. Fitz had been treating the kitten like he was a piece of glass, some male comradery thing she supposed. "You can't tell if it smells like him or not because it's my apartment and you..." she gestured wildly with her hand. "you practically live here! And I would much rather my sister come visit me in a clean apartment than a dirty feline smelling one. Besides, she was allergic to cats when she was younger. I don't want to take any chances. We've got until tomorrow to get this place perfectly clean."

"Why don't I come and stay with you here and we can let Emily and...

"Andrew" she supplied.

"...Andrew stay at my place this weekend? That way we will be the only ones that have to deal with the non-existent cat smell, and you can stop worrying about it so much?"

Olivia's eyes went up to the ceiling and she seemed to be thinking that idea over. They flicked back down to find his blue ones watching her intently. A bright smile covered her face and she replied, "that's a great idea! Are you sure that's okay with you? Sharing your space with a couple of strangers?"

"It's just a weekend, and it's fine. Besides, I've been thinking that it might be a good time to start talking about mo..."

A knock on the door interrupted him. "Hold that thought." Olivia told Fitz.

"Who is that?" Fitz asked. "An unbiased third party who isn't immersed in the smell of this cute little cat?"

"Talk about Doctor Suess." Olivia muttered.

Fitz got to his feet and gave Olivia a smacking kiss while still holding the kitten. "Doctor Suess never used the word immersed in his writing. Doctor Daring is more cultured than he is. You'd do well to remember that."

"Doctor Daring has been caught butt naked in a woman's pink bathrobe. And I have the pictures to prove it. You're not as cultured as you think you are, and you'd do well to remember that!" She went to the door and pulled it open. It was Hannah.

"Heyyyyy!" she sang. "I was wondering if you would like to go to lunch with me? My treat."

"That sounds like fun actually, but my sister and brother in law are coming to visit for the weekend and I've got to clean my apartment. Does it smell like cat in here to you?"

Hannah leaned in and sniffed the air. "No. Did you get a cat recently?" She asked the question the same moment her eyes landed on the small bundle of fur in Fitz's arms. She went to him with her right hand already extended. She began petting Shadow and making little cooing noises as she did so. "She's so cute."

"He." Fitz corrected.

"Right. He. Sorry. What's his name?"

"Shadow. Liv found him about a week ago. Isn't he the cutest little thing?"

"He is cute. Where'd you find him? Poor little guy."

"He was huddled into a ball outside by the front door of the building. I couldn't leave him out there." Olivia explained.

"So, you guys are just gonna keep him?"

"We are. He's gotten his shots and has been neutered already. That's why he's lying around. Usually he's a lot more playful." Olivia turned to Hannah. "I'm sorry I can't go to lunch with you today, as much as I would love to. Can we do it one day next week instead?"

"Yea, of course. I know all too well the stress of preparing for family visits. Whatever you're doing in here, it's working. You can't tell that a cat lives here."

"Thanks, Hannah. I'll call you one day next week for lunch, and it'll be my treat since I'm rescheduling today."

"That works too" Hannah said smiling. "Bye you guys. Have fun cleaning."

"She says the meanest things for such a sweet girl." Fitz said as Olivia closed the door.

"Okay, but you know what this means if Emily and Andrew are going to stay in your apartment, right? We are going to have to clean your apartment really good for them. And you are going to help. No turning on the television and watching games and tuning me out like last time." she warned.

"Believe me, I have learned my lesson. I'll do whatever you tell me to, Mr. Clean."

Olivia kept her eyes on him. He was being awfully damn compliant all of a sudden. Sarcastic, but compliant.

He wrapped one arm possessively around her waist and smiled down at her. "And maybe later, you can do some things that I'll tell you to do?"

There he was, she thought to herself. Instead, she smiled sweetly up at him. "That depends on how much we get done today."

Olivia washed and dried his bedding, swept and mopped his floors, cleaned his bathroom until it sparkled, and washed the dishes. She had Fitz fold and put away his laundry, take out the trash, and make his bed. The apartment was cleaner than it had been when he moved in and Fitz found himself hoping Olivia's sister was a neat freak, so it would stay like this for a while. "This place looks great, Livvie. They should be more than comfortable in here for the weekend."

"I have to agree with you. Thank you for your help. I couldn't have done it without you."

Early the next morning, loud ear piercing squeals could be heard from what seemed to be far away and yet not far enough. Fitz blinked his eyes open and waited for the loud noise to stop. When it finally did, he sat up on the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the side of it. He grabbed his phone and pushed the home button. Why was there screaming at the 'I've been murdered' level at seven fifty- two in the morning? And then he remembered that Olivia's sister and her husband were coming to visit.

Correction. Here to visit.

He stood up, grabbed a pair of shorts, and pulled them on, as well as a t-shirt and padded out to the living room. There was a guy sitting on the couch looking at his phone while two almost identical women happily chatted in a small huddle. "You Andrew?" Fitz asked, extending his hand.

The other man nodded. "You must be Fitz. Nice to meetcha." The two men shook hands.

"You a coffee drinker? And do you want some?" Fitz asked.

"God yes. Those two will be talking their heads off for hours. Coffee will help block out the chatter."

"If your wife is anything like her sister, a coma won't be able to block out her voice once she gets started." Fitz chuckled. A panicked look crossed his face and he added, "if you mention that I said that, I'll deny it."

Andrew grinned at Fitz. "We don't need the two of them getting rowdy together. It's hard enough dealing with just one of them. Together...we don't stand a chance. Your secret is safe with me."

"Good to know." As the coffeepot began making the magical wake up drink, Fitz asked, "how long have the two of you been married?"

"Uhhh," he did the mental calculation and reported, "almost three years now."

"No shit? Is Emily the sane sister? Please say that she isn't and that I got the sane one."

"God no. Emily is crazy as hell and loves every minute of it." Andrew chuckled at Fitz and added, "But if you think Liv is the sane one, you're crazier than my wife."

"Dammit." Fitz muttered. "Life can't be easy for five minutes, can it?"

Andrew looked over his shoulder at the two magpies. "Not with those two. Easy is over rated. I'd rather have exciting and different and yea, even crazy than easy. It makes life much more interesting. Don't you think so?"

"This from the man who has been married for almost three years." Fitz got down two coffee mugs and handed one to Andrew after filling both cups with the piping hot black liquid.

"You don't want to get married?"

"Of course I want to get married. And have kids. Eventually. Today I just want to get through this visit without Olivia losing her mind because one of you found a cat hair that was missed in the last sweep." Fitz grimaced. "Shit! I wasn't supposed to tell you about the cat. Just...don't mention it."

"You guys have a cat?"

"Yea, it's a stray Liv found outside about a week or so ago. He's gotten his shots and has been neutered."

"Ouch" Andrew said crossing his legs.

"Yea, exactly." Fitz replied. "I've been babying him a lot more. I have no idea what he's going through, but as a dude, I can sympathize with him a little bit."

"You should go get him. Emily loves cats."

"No shit?" Fitz asked. "Liv said something about Emily being allergic to them?"

"Yea, when she was a kid."

"So, you don't think it'll be a problem for her being around Shadow?" Fitz asked.

"Nah. I'm pretty sure she's outgrown it by now."

Fitz looked at him with a disbelieving expression. "When was the last time she was around a cat? I don't want her to get sick or stop breathing or anything like that."

Andrew shrugged. "Last year I think it was? She sneezed a few times. That was about it."

"Oh. It sounds like she definitely outgrew it then. I'll go get him. He's probably not happy being cooped up in the bathroom anyways." Fitz left to go get Shadow.

The moment he brought him into the living room, Emily began to sneeze. After five rounds of 'bless you's' Olivia's eyes went to the kitten. Shadow jumped up onto Andrew's lap and began kneading his thighs and making himself at home like he had done a million times before to his two owners.

Emily scrambled off of the sofa and went out the door as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Why is the cat in here?!" Olivia demanded. She looked up at Fitz who had a frown on his face.

"I got him out of the bathroom."

"WHY?" she shrieked. "I told you Emily was allergic to cats!"

Fitz glanced over at Andrew, who had wisely clammed up. "Someone told me that she had grown out of it."

"Wow. Really, Fitz?"

Fitz went to the sink and washed his hands. When he was done, he grabbed his stethoscope and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked.

"I've got to go make sure she's breathing okay. She could be passed out in the stairwell for all we know."

Emily wasn't passed out in the stairwell, but she was coughing and sneezing and had watery eyes. Fitz felt like an asshole for bringing Shadow back into the living room. He listened to her breathing and asked a few basic questions.

"I'm fine. It's just my normal reaction to being around a cat. It's not the end of the world. Andrew on the other hand, might have just enjoyed his last day breathing on his own."

Fitz chuckled at her scary words as he listened to her lungs. She was built exactly like Olivia. Petite in stature, probably only weighed a hundred pounds, and did a lot of threatening. She also had big brown eyes but much much shorter black hair. She had an edge about her that Fitz couldn't quite put his finger on. It probably came from somewhere in her childhood. Or from being married to Andrew?

"I'm not kidding. If you say Andrew told you I had outgrown my allergy to cats, then I believe you. He, on the other hand, loves them. I can't really blame him. They are cute and cuddly."

Just then the door opened, and Andrew and Olivia came out into the hall. Once his eyes landed on Emily, he made a mad dash in her direction. "Babe? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Really."

"I am so sorry about that. It wasn't Fitz's fault. It was all mine."

Olivia looked up at Fitz with a shocked expression on her face. "What? Really?" When he shrugged at her, Olivia turned her anger onto her brother in law. "You dumbass! You could have killed her!"

"Calm down, Liv!" Emily replied, laughing. "I'm not going to die from being around a cat. It's a mild allergy at best. Besides, I had no doubts that it wasn't Fitz's fault."

"Is she okay?" Olivia asked.

Fitz winked at her and held her hand. "She'll be fine."

Andrew picked Emily up and set her on his lap and held onto her. "Are you alright? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked Fitz to let the cat out. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you, Em."

"Stop fucking around with cats and you'll never have to find out." She smiled through watery eyes.

Fitz stood back and watched Emily and Andrew. They seemed happy together. They loved each other and forgave each other easily. Even over important things. He turned to look at Olivia, who was watching the couple too. The two of them were happy together. They loved each other and forgave each other easily too. What was stopping them from taking the next big step?

He had already made some plans for their future. Plans Olivia had no idea about.

It was true he was waiting to see what the results of her bar exam were before he did anything big. But the results wouldn't come out for at least another three or four weeks. He didn't know if he could wait until then? Something was stirring him to move now. He couldn't explain what it was.

Olivia was smiling as she silently watched her sister and brother in law make up in the hall. Fitz looked lovingly at her, giving Olivia his complete attention. It was barely nine a.m. and the morning had already been a very interesting one.

The minute he began rubbing circles on her hand with his thumb, she turned to look at him. He had a strange look on his face. A look that told her something was up. She waited to hear what it could possibly be.

He had no doubt as to what her answer would be when he asked the question. Even the worry of her test results seemed like a small insignificant thing as he stood beside her, looking at her beautiful face. He felt sure of himself. So much so that what was supposed to be a question, came out sounding like the most casual suggestion. "Move in with me, Livvie. Let's get a place together."

A smile crept slowly across her face and she spoke only one word. "Yea."