The negotiations overseas went smoothly and Fitz returned to the States three weeks later to find an exhausted looking Olivia working at her desk in HR. The fact she was still not recovered from her flu had him concerned. Simple flu shouldn't take this long to disappear. She had dark circles under her eyes, and from what Fitz could see of her gaunt face, she'd lost weight.
Quinn spied him first and gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Fitz immediately knew that something wasn't quite right.
Reaching Olivia's work area, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her ear. "Miss me, honey?"
Liv turned and wrapped her arms tight around him and buried her face in his chest. Her thin shoulders shook and he realized she was crying.
Alarmed he pulled back slightly and lifted her chin with his fingers. "What is it, honey? Please tell me what's wrong to I can make it better." His heart broke at the sadness in her eyes. Had something happened while he was gone? Was it her mother?
He picked her up and made a beeline for the elevator. After reaching the top floor, he sent Abby home early, wanting some privacy with Liv.
He sat down on the couch in his office and kept her in his lap. "Livy, tell me what's wrong."
She pushed off his lap and walked to the far side of the room, refusing to look at him, and for the first time real fear set in. Was she leaving him? Had she found someone else? Was she dying? What? He longed to rush over and shake her until she told him, but forced himself to stay put. That was the old Fitz. The pre-Livy Fitz.
"Fitz, look at me." Liv finally turned to face him. "Really look."
His gaze ran over her from head to toe. From the top of her long coppery hair, down over her gaunt face and neck, over her breasts, which seemed to be a bit larger than he'd remembered, straining now against the buttons of the new blouse he'd bought her a few months ago. Lower still, he noticed though she seemed to have lost weight elsewhere, her waistline had increased slightly and there was a slight bulge to her abdomen that hadn't been there when he'd departed and…
The realization dawned slowly and with the powerhouse effect of a nuclear bomb. Fitz eyes were as wide as hers. "Are you?"
"About four months."
The looked at her stomach again and did the calculations in his head. That meant it had happened the first time they were together. He frowned, digesting the news. He was going to be a father. Him. Fitz Grant. Dad.
"Well, say something. Please?" Liv's tone sounded nervous.
Fitz looked into her eyes and saw both doubt and love. A slow smile spread across his face. "I was just thinking about the first time I met you. You were wearing a shirt that was so snug, you popped a button."
Tilting her head, Liv looked at him. "So does this mean you..."
He didn't let her finish. He pushed to his feet and rushed to her side, kissing her soundly. Then, reverently, he placed his hand upon her stomach, while kissing her again as if she held the last bit of oxygen on earth.
He picked her up once more and returned to the sofa with her in his arms. "Promise me you'll never keep something this important from me again."