A/N:
Last chapter's dilemma: to tell or not to tell. Some of you thought Fitz should have waited until after the wedding to tell Liv about Mellie. Some of you were glad he told her.
Diamondprencess: I ended up using your Golden Girl's idea! Thank you :) SeptemberMom: Thanks so much for proofreading :)
Shon: thanks so much for your comments. I'm so glad you brought this up. My version of Olivia is a fixer, except that in this fic, Olivia is a strong woman with a heart. She loves Fitz's children and she puts their needs above her own. And this includes protecting them from psychological trauma, she knows better than anybody what it's like to grow up in an abusive home. But this doesn't mean that she's Mellie's personal doormat. She will confront Mellie from a position of strength when needed. You'll see what I mean in the next couple of chapters. I guarantee you two things: 1) no name calling. 2) Olivia won't EVER bow down to Mellie or anyone else for that matter.
NOTES for this chapter:
Another mega chapter, this one truly counts for two, but I thought it would break the flow if I separated them.
1) I used some direct quotes from the show, other quotes have been re-tweaked especially first part of chapter.
2) Teddy's POV will be in italics later on in the chapter. Keep in mind he's only two and a half years old.
3) Sparky the dog is with Amanda at this time.
4) The weather in Southern California on Christmas day: a sunny 75 degrees (NO rain, NO Snow!) Not all Christmases are this warm, the average is usually around 66 degrees until sunset when it cools. A light t-shirt keeps people comfortable until sundown when the average person might need a light Jacket.
THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED ON MAY 16, 2017
xxx
With a weak smile, Olivia closed her eyes for a moment to calm down her nerves. Having Maya here today had been a bit of a shock, but not completely since Fitz and she had discussed inviting her to the wedding a few times, (it was just that she had never gotten around to calling her). But the real shocker had been learning that Mellie was back. When she opened her eyes again, she found Fitz staring back at her with his signature wistful expression.
Fitz grabbed her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers their hands resting peacefully on her upper thigh. The silk fabric of her dress, a vivid reminder that this was their wedding day, the most important day of their lives. It seemed weird to be having such a discussion today of all days. But there was no getting around this, they had to move forward.
He shifted in his seat, took in some air and let it out slowly, "so what happens now?"
"Whatever we want," she said simply, her expression as serene as a still lake.
Fitz raised his brow, intrigued.
"We can either call Mellie now and get this over with...or we can wait here like sitting ducks, waiting for her to make the next move."
Fitz ran his free hand through his hair and massaged the back of his neck. Olivia was right, they had to take control of the situation. It had occurred to him that Mellie might just show up again demanding to see the kids, (this time with her lawyer in tow) during the middle of their wedding ceremony. Never mind that it was Christmas day, Mellie would somehow find the way. Anyhow, that was one of the reasons he'd decided not to put it off any longer and come clean regarding Mellie's visit.
He'd wrestled with his decision to tell her and in the end, he found he couldn't possibly exchange marital vows of love and devotion with a lie looming over their heads. That was NOT something he wanted associated with his wedding day for years to come. From the minute she'd asked who was at the door earlier this morning, his lie was a sin of omission. In his book, a lie was a lie.
"We can do this together, Fitz. We can be civil to Mellie for the sake of the children."
Fitz shook his head. All he wanted for today was normal and easy and simple. But apparently it was not meant to be.
"Fitz, I'm an optimist; we can turn this around to our advantage." She started with a gleam of passion in her eye. "We can't ignore this and expect it to go away. We need to find out what Mellie's agenda is. We need to get her to sign a new custody and visitation agreement without having to resort to judges and mediators. Better still, she might even be willing to officially sign over physical custody to you, to us... but not if we antagonize her." She paused catching Fitz's expression of disbelief. "I believe she might, after all she already agreed to a custody agreement, a ridiculous one, I might add. I've heard of amicable agreements but this one takes the cake. Who's heard of 'open' come- as- you- please visitation agreements?" She pulled her hand away and stretched back in her seat, rolling back her shoulders. She was getting tired of sitting on the backless stool. She wished she could lay down on the bed for a moment but that would most likely mess up her hair.
"That was back when she was about to start a new life in New York with her lover. I drafted the document and she readily agreed to sign it." Fitz sighed; it felt weird recounting the details of his do-it-yourself divorce. He'd gotten the papers filed the same day. Apparently, the judge was more than happy to okay ANY type of marital agreement as long as both parties agreed.
"So yeah, I'm an optimist...I don't think Mellie has a wild card when it comes to the children. She left them in your care for what...a year and half? She can stir trouble for us and give us a few headaches but in the long run she doesn't have a leg to stand on."
His lips curved into a slow, appreciative smile. Yes, his Livvie was an optimist and that was one of the things that had made him fall head over heels in love with her. Without her optimism, he shuddered, where would they...where would Teddy be today? Once again, he reached across her lap for her hand. This time, his fingers caressed the palm of her hand, drawing little circles that sizzled throughout her body. She stretched back a little and enjoyed the sensation.
After a few moments, she stood up and picked up the cordless phone sitting on the charger on her nightstand. She handed the phone to Fitz with a tilt of the head and a pointed look. He knew what it meant: there was no getting around this; he needed to make the call.
He nodded in acceptance and took the phone from her hand
She smiled softly, blinking her eyes slowly in a way that created butterflies in his belly. He knew what it meant too. It was a quiet thank you.
He sighed before dialing the number, wishing to get this over with fast.
"If you want, I can talk to her? We can agree for her to come and see the kids here... let's say...um, the day after tomorrow? It would be better for her to see them with us present."
Fitz ended the call before it started ringing; he needed to think this through. He did like the sound of her words. We. Us. Two letter words that meant so much. They were together in this, she was telling him. His baggage was now theirs.
He pursed his lips and clicked his tongue giving himself more time.
Olivia went on, "What we don't want is for her to take the children to another location." She was now pacing the room, too wired up to sit.
"I'll be damned if I let that happen, not after what happened last time," he spat startling them both by the sudden change of tone. "There's no way I will let her take the kids out of our sight!" He shook his head, trying to put the lid on his anger. Last time the kids had stayed with her, Mellie had driven Teddy in her car without a car seat. Just the thought of the possibility of his son getting injured for riding without proper seat belt restraint made his blood boil.
Olivia shook her head. She knew that one day Mellie would come back she just wasn't counting on it being so soon. Still, right now she had to find the way to get them -her and Fitz- through this.
"The best thing we could do is to set the day and time ourselves, that way we're in control."
Fitz took a moment to think and sought her gaze. His eyes revealed just how conflicted he felt. While part of him furiously demanded to take the lead in this matter, another part of him acknowledged the fact that he and Mellie were stuck in an adversarial role which would sooner or later lead to the chaos of judges, hearings and mediators. And he wanted none of that. Right now he needed normal and happy. Yet, also, at the same time there was Olivia. Their love was a tale of extraordinary love. They truly knew and appreciated one another; their love was grounded in respect, friendship and admiration,
They had their own little silent conversation.
Do you trust me?
Of course I trust you.
Ok, watch me, then.
Fitz nodded in response.
Once again, he dialed Mellie's number and immediately put the call on speaker phone and set down the receiver on its charger.
While the phone rang, he moved over to where Olivia was standing and noting that she was once again rolling her shoulders, he stood behind and placed his hands over her shoulders. Reaching underneath the fabric of her wedding gown, he started giving her the most divine massage ever.
Mellie's voice came through the speakerphone with a simple 'hello'.
"Hello, Melody." Fitz started in a formal tone. "
There was a short silence on the line. A sense of uncertainty filled the air.
"Olivia is here with me..." he breathed in her scent kissing the side of her neck light as a feather.
"Ah, yes... Teddy's therapist …also doubling as… your girlfriend."
Olivia turned to search his eyes.
Fitz opened his mouth to speak but Olivia silently pleaded for him to let take over.
"Hello, Mellie. I'm not Teddy's therapist anymore." Olivia paused to consider whether to tell her about Teddy's breakthrough but decided against it, thinking this call needed to be as short as possible. In the meantime, Fitz continued to massage her sore shoulders and she whispered a quiet 'thank you'. "I understand you're in town and wanted to see the children."
"Yes, my flight back to New York isn't until the 31st."
He moved so that they were face to face.
He met her gaze and nodded, giving her the go-ahead.
"As you know, Fitz and I are now living together. We have plans today and tomorrow. However, we could meet with you here at the house on the 27th."
"I just wanted to give the children their Christmas gifts. Surely, I could come sooner than that?"
"We have plans today and tomorrow," Olivia reiterated in a business like fashion. She smiled at her husband-to-be and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips, looping her arms around his neck.
Fitz pulled back some and stared back at his bride with unabashed admiration. How she could hold her own and negotiate in a businesslike fashion.
'"My time here is limited. I'm in town only until the 31st," Mellie insisted. "Tomorrow is a good day for me."
Olivia moved over to the bed and let herself fall onto the mattress, doing her best not to mess up her hairdo. She took a deep breath and sighed. Fitz's ex-wife needed as much redirecting as a toddler. She was SO not looking forward to repeating herself a third time. Fitz eased himself onto the bed propping himself up on his elbow so he could admire his lovely bride.
"I want to take Karen to visit the San Diego zoo tomorrow," Mellie went on. "I could bring her back before bedtime..."
Olivia shook her head. So this was not just about giving the kids their presents, it was also about taking Karen on an outing.
Fitz rolled his eyes impatiently. "Oh, c'mom!" He muttered under his breath. "That's absolutely out of the question!"
"Oh, there you are, Fitz. For a moment there I thought the cat got your tongue," Mellie chuckled. She clicked her tongue. "Or are you now letting your prized girlfriend do all the talking for you?"
Fitz sat up on the bed and spoke gazing at the speakerphone. "If I were you, I wouldn't push my luck," he scoffed. "You haven't seen the children in months. You can't just waltz back into their lives and take them away from their home especially after what happened last time. They were confused, Karen has a hard time with your sporadic, out of the blue visits. they're-
"I'm still their mother, Fitzgerald Grant and our visitation agreement still stands!" Mellie's indignant voice boomed through the speakerphone. "Anyhow, I was talking about taking Karen, just Karen."
Olivia sat up. She met his gaze and held a finger to her mouth. Right then, they both saw Karen appear out of the corner of their eye. A second later, Lucia, realizing they were on the phone, held the child back to linger respectfully at the door threshold. Olivia's gaze shifted to Fitz who rolled his eyes once again this time in a gesture of frustration and let out a huff of air, reluctantly agreeing to remaining quiet.
"Mellie, if you were planning to take time off work for the holidays the least you should have done was give us a two week notice. We've got our own holiday plans. The 27th is the best we can do under the circumstances." Olivia concluded with an air of finality.
There was a long silence on the line. Then, hushed voices came through the speakerphone.
"We will see you then at eleven O'clock on the 27th." Olivia said more of a statement than a question.
"Make it one O'clock."
"One O'clock then," Olivia agreed exchanging a smile with Fitz
The room was then filled with the ringing of a steady dial tone. Fitz reached over and hung up. Lucia let go of Karen's shoulder and the child burst into the room.
xxx
Both bride and groom stood up.
Olivia warmed at the sight of Lucia. The woman was the picture of love. She couldn't have possibly asked for a better mother in law to be, not in a million years.
Lucia came over and kissed Olivia lightly on the cheek. "Olivia, you look lovely," she smiled widely.
"Lucia, it's so nice to see you," Olivia replied a little confused. Normally, Lucia gave her an effusive hug as a way of a greeting so she was obviously holding back.
"I don't want to mess up your hair, makeup," Lucia offered as a way of an explanation. "I'm so happy for you'" her gaze shifted between her son and future daughter in law. She reached for both their hands."I'm so happy for both of you...and I never get tired of saying it...you too are truly made for each other'" she added with an unabashed look of maternal pride. They both nodded, smiling. She turned to Olivia. "And you my darling...from now on you call me, mom or mother which ever you prefer, okay?"
Olivia smiled sheepishly and nodded. Then her gaze shifted to Fitz who had his arms around Karen, both of them facing Olivia.
"Oh, my, look at you," Olivia said to Karen. "You look so pretty today," she reached for Karen's hands and stepped back a little appraising her with a maternal eye. She looked adorable in her vintage style dress. Her light brown hair with natural golden highlights was gathered from the side at the crown in a cascade waterfall braid. When she turned her head, Olivia admired the tail braid at the back tied with a flowered barrette; it was ideal for her thin straight hair keeping the hair off her face in an elegant half-up do.
"Karen, you look like a princess straight out of a storybook," Fitz chimed in, giving his young daughter's shoulders an affectionate squeeze.
"This is the same dress that grandma had when she was little," Karen said proudly.
"Wow, really?" Olivia said enthusiastically for Karen's sake.
Lucia came forward. "It's an exact replica actually."
"What's a replica?"
"It's like a copy..." Fitz said. "Like a copy of a page on a copy machine."
Karen seemed a little puzzled but then she caught Olivia's gaze just smiling at her. "Mommy...you look so pretty," Karen said with a sudden shy smile. She wanted to reach out and touch the dress which appeared magical in her eyes but for some reason she hesitated.
"C'mere, give me a hug," Olivia said brightly to Karen. "This is the happiest day of my life," she added locking eyes with Fitz.
Fitz felt a warm rush of love for Olivia, watching her embrace Karen. She was a true mother to the kids and not just a mother figure as it was in some blended families. And for that he felt incredibly grateful.
xxx
Teddy's POV
Something is not right today. Today we had breakfast too early and lunch too late and went to the noisy place where they have big airplanes (I can't hear anything people say when I'm in that place by the way, it's too loud). There are new toys, new smells and people coming in and then leaving. They put some chairs out in the back yard. Some of the people stayed in the kitchen standing around and holding paper plates. I look at the clock hanging from the kitchen wall. I look and it's and the big stick is on the numbers 3 and 0. The little stick is on the number 4. It's snack time! The little stick is ALWAYS on the number 4 when it's snack time! The big stick changes. I don't like the big stick, it's SOMETIMES on the number 6 and SOMETIMES NOT. I DON'T like SOMETIMES. I like ALWAYS.
I like ALWAYS; it makes me feel good, it makes me feel safe.
The little stick is on the number 4. The big stick is on the number 8. Where's my snack?
Something is VERY wrong and I'm scared, I don't know what's going on. I hurry into the kitchen and bang my hand on the refrigerator door. That gets my grandpa's attention. He'd been sitting on a bar-stool talking and holding a paper plate in his hand. Grandpa finishes chewing and turns to the lady next to him (her name is Maya I think) and says, "Do you think he's still hungry?" The lady shakes her head and says, "No way, the boy had a huge lunch less than half an hour ago. "
I bang on the door again this time with more urgency. I make some sounds and look directly at grandpa who now moves to stand by the fridge like me. Grandpa stares at me with big eyes. "What do you want, Teddy? Maybe some water? Juice?"
I want my packet of Thomas fruit snacks. They're gooey and sometimes I just play with them and don't eat them. But I love holding each shape while sitting in my highchair and squishing them with my fingers. The fruit snacks come in the shape of trains and Thomas is colored light blue. I also get a bottle of milk with my snack. But I don't know how to say all that, so I say nothing.
Grandpa stares at me for a long time, waiting. Then, he turns to the lady named Maya and they both laugh at something she said. I didn't hear that, I don't know what they're laughing about. All I know is that I didn't get my fruit snack yet AND that my fruit snack SHOULD come when the little stick is on the number 4!
I bang on the fridge door again cos' I can't reach the cupboard were the snacks are kept. But it's not working. Grandpa just looks at me. I open my mouth wanting to speak but all that comes out are some sounds. I raise my hand and point to the cupboard behind him. Grandpa swiftly moves to open the cabinet. He pulls out the box of fruit snacks. He says, "So is this what you want, Teddy?"
I move closer and attempt to reach up. Grandpa's face is down. He shows me the empty box.
SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED! My Thomas snacks are all gone. That has never happened before! My whole body feels tingly and I can't think! I hear loud screeching screams. I cover my ears cause they're too loud!
"Hey, little guy, it's gonna be okay," Grandpa tries to quiet me while taking me into his arms. I kick myself free. I feel hot, my face is wet . I want mommy. I want daddy. They're the only ones that hold me right now...but they're gone. The screams become louder and I can't stand them anymore, so I cover my ears with my hands.
After a while, I see Daddy coming out of his room followed by grandma, and Karen. The three of them look at me with big eyes. I look away, they're all moving too fast and talking at the same time. It's too much for me and I don't know how to make it all stop.
Daddy turns to Grandpa and the new lady named Maya comes and asks something. They talk. Daddy then takes me into his arms and holds my head to his chest. He bounces me up and down the way he ALWAYS does and the screams become less bothersome and then, they're all gone.
And then I see mommy, she's standing by the door to her room. She smiles at me the way she always does and takes me from daddy's arms. I smile too. In her arms I feel warm and safe. I rest my head on her shoulders. Everything is okay now. Daddy brings some tissues to wipe my face. I turn away, I really don't like that. Thankfully, it's over soon.
END of Teddy's POV.
"He's tired, he missed his nap," Olivia said while Fitz wiped Teddy's tear-stained cheeks. She kissed the top of his head and his tiny little chest heaved the tiniest of sobs.
"He took a ten minute nap on the way to the airport," Fitz said matter of factly. "I didn't think he would go down for a nap so I didn't try."
"Let's try to get him going anyway."
"Okay," Fitz moved to try to take Teddy back into his arms.
"No, Fitz, honey...I'll put him down you need to get dressed!"
"Yeah," Abby chimed in. "You better get on it...at this rate, you'll be getting married in your jeans!"
Teddy's POV
I look around. Smiles. Mommy, daddy, Karen, grandma, grandpa, aunt Abby, lady Maya. All smiling.
Mommy takes me to my room. She takes my Thomas blankie, sits on the rocking chair, drapes the blankie across her lap. I settle in her arms on top of my blankie.
I stretch my feet against the side of the rocking chair that holds the armrest. "Are you gonna wear your shoes today or are you gonna be as bare as a bear? She ALWAYS says that with a laugh while taking my foot in her hand.
I don't know. I don't like shoes, they're heavy, sweaty and tight.
Then, she reaches across the bookcase and pulls out The Little Engine that could, my favorite nap time book.
I snuggle against mommy's warm body and start sucking my thumb. I feel so happy and secure.
When she turns to my favorite page, I put my hand down to stop her from turning the page. I ALWAYS DO THAT. Mommy stops reading and talks about what's happening in the picture. SHE ALWAYS DOES THAT. The little engine looks tired coming up the mountain. "I think I can, I think I can," mommy reads.
I'm starting to get sleepy. Mommy looks at me and kisses the top of my head. "I love you," she says. She gives me my Thomas train, I hold it tight in my other hand. I like Mommy's face. I stare at her mouth, chin, and nose. Her mouth opens into a smile and she looks at me. I love looking at mommy's face when I'm falling asleep. I feel good, I feel warm. Mommy ALWAYS knows where my train is and gives it to me AFTER she reads my favorite page. I hold my toy tightly in my hand. It fells cold but it's strong. And I know everything is gonna be okay. She continues reading and then I feel floating away and I close my eyes just for a little while.
End of Teddy's POV
The Wedding.
35 minutes later...
Fitz and Lucia stood over Teddy's crib. He looked so peaceful sleeping. At one point while he slept, the pacifier had fallen off and now rested on his chest.
"It's a shame having to wake him up, he looks like an angel."
Fitz nodded.
Lucia gazed at her only son with maternal pride. He looked so handsome in his dark gray business suit, white turn down collar shirt and black tie. She tugged his tie affectionately. Even though this was technically her son's second wedding, this was the first and only wedding she'd attended. The first time around, both she and Roberto had expressed their quiet disapproval of his choice of partner and as a result, they were allowed to attend only the reception but not the actual ceremony. Because of this, they both declined to attend which apparently had enraged Mellie and had caused an estrangement from their son's life (one and only time ever) for nearly a whole year. Presently, Lucia took a deep breath and said a quiet prayer of thanks. This time, things were different, this time she was certain that her son was making the right choice in marrying Olivia.
"Got everything, son? Doux Bebe? Don't forget," she whispered. "Wedding rings? Family medallion rings?"
Fitz shook his head in quiet amusement. No matter how old he got, his mother would not stop mothering him. But like she'd frequently said to him over the years, motherhood has no expiration date. "Mom, I've got everything under control." He was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Mom?"
Lucia cocked her head, "Hmm?"
"I'm so glad you and dad are here today."
"Me too," she said softly, feeling a tug at her heartstrings. Next thing she knew, she was crying tears of happiness.
"Oh, mom," Fitz sighed with a small smile, taking her hand into his. Over the years, Lucia Grant had made a habit of crying at every single major event in his life. On his first day of kindergarten, his mother had stood in a corner crying long after the other mothers were gone. His teacher took pity on her and assigned her the job of room mom. Most times, he was caught off guard by his mother's sudden show of emotion in public. By the time his high school graduation rolled around, he had learned to go with the flow and put an arm around his mother and smile. And so in the end, he'd discovered that this was far less embarrassing than behaving like a deer caught in the headlights.
Teddy opened his eyes and squinted.
"Hey, there, Teddy… did you have a nice nap?" Lucia smiled at him and took his little hand in hers.
Teddy pulled his hand away and pouted.
"Teddy, today is the big day..." Fitz reached into the crib and hoisted Teddy onto his back. "We gotta get you dressed, alright."
It took them another twenty minutes to get Teddy dressed in a little suit matching his daddy's. The only thing was the tie. Teddy expressed his disapproval by trying to pull it off every time they tried putting it back on. So they decided to forget about him wearing a tie. The other challenge was that he hated wearing the formal shoes that went with the suit. Fitz and Lucia struggled. Three times! Three times he pulled his shoes off. On the fourth try, Fitz quickly picked him up from the changing table before he had a chance to kick off his shoes (which were probably slightly too big for him anyways) and gave him his pacifier effectively distracting him from wanting to take off his shoes.
"Mom, can you keep an eye on him? There're a few things I need to take care of. If he does try to take his shoes off again, don't worry, just let him be. He'll just have to go barefooted."
5 minutes later
As if on cue, Teddy took off his socks and shoes at his first opportunity. Then, he ran outside for a little while enjoying the late afternoon cool light breeze. Lucia and Roberto kept an eye on him. At this point, all of the guests had arrived, including Stephen, David, the minister, photographer and the sound technician had gathered under a shaded area.
Karen flocked over to Kevin, the technician, excitedly right after he started playing his first soundtrack of the day. "How about you play Tale as old as time?"
Kevin smiled. "Right now I'm playing classical music, your dad's request."
Karen pouted.
"How about we play something livelier...like Frozen's Let it go?" Abby suggested looking at Karen. "You gotta expand your horizons a little, sweetie, "she gave her a pointed look. "Elsa and Anna are modern Millennial princesses. They're cool."
Karen gave Abby a doubtful look. "Belle is smart, she likes to read, just like me!"
"Elsa and Anna are modern and down to earth," Abby argued back. "They're cool, they're liberated, they don't need a man to make them complete." She concluded in a dramatic tone.
David pursed his lips in disapproval, "You'll make a great mom one day, Abby," he said with a sarcastic smirk. "I can just picture you convincing the kids how lollipops are evil and how chopped liver is a much better choice. I can see that going well with the kids. Especially when you snatch all their Halloween candy. I don't wanna be around for that."
Abby glared back at David. "I'm gonna go check on Olivia." She walked away in a bit of a huff, leaving David wishing he hadn't put his foot in his mouth trying to sound like a character from a sit-com.
Stephen shook his head in a gesture of disapproval. "Mate, I think you just earned yourself a place in the dog house."
On her way to see Olivia, Abby passed by Teddy who was now sitting in his Little Tikes Coupe ride on car. She took a moment to check out his car and commented on the cool opening/closing driver's door and the realistic looking steering wheel and sounding horn.
Lucia and Roberto stood by proudly snapping pictures of Teddy in the blue Coupe car. They thought he looked adorable. He did honk the horn a little too much and it was louder than they would have liked, but he was their grandson and they were delighted that he was interacting with them at a certain level. Every time he honked the horn, they pretended to be surprised and hurried out of his way. Teddy laughed a few times at their antics as his bare feet pushed the car along the turf grass. At one point, however, the proud grandparents stopped playing. The ceremony was getting ready to start and they wanted to take Teddy to sit with them in the front row. The problem was that Teddy refused to be coaxed out of the ride on toy.
5 minutes before the start of the ceremony.
Fitz and Stephen (best man) stood by the wedding arch talking to the minister. The guests were seated except for Lucia and Roberto who were still trying to convince Teddy to come out of the ride on car. Even Maya Pope joined in the cause (she had nothing else to do) even though she wasn't particularly good with small children.
Karen entertained herself by scattering the rose petals from her basket alongside the long outdoor rug that paved the way to the wedding arch. After she was done scattering the petals she would put them in the basket and then start over again.
"Mom, dad...that's okay," Fitz walked down the rug and met them half way. "Come and sit down," he then reached in and tried to gently pull his son out. Teddy wailed loudly, dropping his pacifier. Lucia wiped the binky with a sanitized wipe and gave it back to Teddy.
There was nothing else to do but let him continue cruising in his ride on toy. With any luck they could get through the entire ceremony without any problems. And even if the ceremony got interrupted, it was okay. Not the end of the world, Fitz reasoned.
The wedding march started playing.
Inside the house, Quinn and Abby fussed over Olivia, fixing her makeup and last minute details.
Through the wrap around windows of the enclosed patio, Olivia had a view of the entire backyard including the wedding arch. From there, she watched Fitz hurry back and take his place beside Stephen and wait for her.
"Liv, it's time," Abby whispered, excitedly and panicky. "Will I feel this nervous at my own wedding?" she added with melodramatic flare.
"Are you ready?" Quinn prompted.
Olivia took a deep breath. All of the sudden it felt as though her legs were iron clad glued to the floor. "This is it, Abby, I'm getting married..." she said, her voice shaky. The air felt too thick to breathe.
"You want some water?" Quinn furrowed her brow, worried. "Don't pass out on us!" She added, taking hold of a magazine and fanning the bride.
Abby fetched her a cup of iced water. "Here, drink it!"
Olivia sipped her water slowly, doing her best to ignore Abby's nervousness which really wasn't helping. She watched Karen walking up and down the aisle, happily scattering the rose petals. Olivia let out a tiny chuckle when she saw her collecting the petals in the basket only to scatter them again.
Everyone was standing out there, waiting.
"We didn't rehearse this!" Olivia murmured, afraid she was having a panic attack.
"I'm going first, Liv..." Abby said, grabbing her hand and giving it a big squeeze. "We can do this!"
"My legs feel heavy," Olivia bemoaned. "I don't think I can walk out there with these," she added referring to her high heels.
"Take them off!" Both Quinn and Abby shouted at once.
"No shame in being barefooted!" Abby added. Quinn agreed.
Olivia took her heels off. All of a sudden she felt like Teddy who loved going barefooted. From where she stood she could see Teddy rolling around in his little ride-on car. Right then she realized she had something in common with Teddy: they were both free spirits.
In the meantime, Quinn and Abby hurried to pin up the chapel length train of Olivia's gown. The seamstress at David's bridal had bustled the train with ribbons to be hooked onto the dress. But if Olivia was going barefooted, the train had to be raised even higher, otherwise it was going to drag and get ruined outdoors. So she picked up the fabric, tuck it under and pin it with the aid of two bobby pins.
Maya suddenly poked her head through the patio door.
"What's going on? He's gonna have to play the wedding march again!"
"Wedding jitters."
Maya gave her daughter a disapproving look. "Do you love this man?" she asked point blank.
"More than anything. He's my life, he's my everything."
"Then get out there right now, you hear? You're making your man all nervous out there! You're getting married, Livvie and it's gonna be beautiful, it's gonna be forever! So snap out of whatever is ailing you!" She added in a no-nonsense tone, taking her daughter's hand into hers. But then, she stopped and looked at Olivia. "You're not like me, baby. You're much better than me. You're strong, you're everything I never was. You won't make the same mistakes as me because you've already made better choices." her voice shook with emotion. "I'm so proud of you, baby girl!"
Mother and daughter embraced, their eyes filled with tears. It meant so much to Olivia to hear her mother say she was proud of her; she hadn't realized how much until this moment.
"Oh, no," Quinn handed them both a tissue. This wedding was just one big crying fest after another. Then, she inspected Olivia's make-up. "Do me a favor...save all the crying for after the wedding, ok?"
"Ok," Olivia muttered, trying to keep the tears at bay.
At this point, Maya took her daughter's hand and guided her outside. "Girl you got no shoes?" She exclaimed horrified as they stepped onto the patio and headed for the door to the backyard.
Outside the door, they found Roberto Grant waiting to walk Olivia down the aisle.
Olivia found herself at another crossroads. On the one side, she wanted to accept Roberto's offer to walk her down the aisle, but then again, she suddenly felt she wanted to ask her mother to be the one.
Olivia shrugged.
"Silly girl." Mother and daughter shared a chuckle.
After a moment, Olivia approached Roberto, with an apologetic look, and thanked him for his offer. Then, she turned to her mother and said, "Mom, I want you to be the one to walk me down the aisle. You're the one, the only family I have left."
Maya nodded blinking away the tears. The guests broke into a big round of applause. Roberto signaled for Kevin to start the Wedding March again. Olivia caught Teddy's gaze and waved at him and smiled. She thought he looked quite adorable in his little car.
As the march continued to play, mother and daughter locked arms and walked down together with Karen right in front of them scattering the flower petals along the path. She then hurried to sit beside her grandparents in the front row. Abby as the maid of honor, took her place opposite Stephen and beside Olivia.
Olivia locked eyes with Fitz the entire time she walked down the aisle to him. His face broke into a huge smile the minute her eyes met his. Then, he took her hand and they faced the minister.
The weather was warm, around 75 degrees, one of the warmest Christmases ever, perfect for an outdoor wedding in Southern California. The wedding arch was set against a lovely spot in the garden. Deep purple violets hung gracefully from the vine and draped against the wooden white fence.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Fitzgerald Grant and Olivia Pope..." the minister started. He was a man in his mid fifties dressed in traditional black attire for officiating weddings.
Fitz and Olivia held hands and smiled at each other when it's time to say the wedding vows.
Olivia became acutely aware of how much taller he was than her without heels. But, obviously this was not the time to worry about that. She'd made her choice...and who cared, anyway? It only meant she would have to get on her tippy toes to kiss him.
Stephen handed Fitz the wedding vows and rings. But he didn't read from them, he only occasionally glanced at them.
"I, Fitzgerald Grant take you, Olivia Pope as my beloved partner in life; to love and to cherish every day of my life. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. Whatever happens, I will always be there for you until death do us part." He slid the wedding band onto her finger.
Olivia smiled brightly. The photographer (A pleasant woman they'd hired through word of mouth) snapped a few pictures. Now it was her turn. He handed her the vows. Like him, she found no need to read them; she had memorized them in the last half hour or so. "I Olivia Pope take you Fitzgerald Grant as my beloved partner in life; to love and to cherish every day of my life. I will trust and honor you. I will laugh and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, in good times and in bad. Whatever happens, I will always be there for you until death do us part." She then slid his wedding band onto his ring finger.
Fitz gave her one of his best smiles ever. The photographer was quick to capture the moment.
Lucia, Maya and Abby blinked away happy tears.
The minister said a few more words about the sanctity of marriage and asked the audience if anyone present had any objections to the union of Olivia and Fitzgerald.
Then, it was time for the minister to segue into the next part of the ceremony.
"Often we think of a wedding as the union of two people. In reality, it is much broader. It is a coming together of families...today; Fitzgerald and Olivia wish to come together in marriage, presenting their children, Teddy and Karen, with a unique symbol of their love. Each child will be presented with a ring, officially known as the Family Medallion.
Two merged circles often symbolize love. The Family Medallion has three intertwined circles to represent love that reaches out to include others...the two parents come together to include the third circle, the children of their new blended family.
"Now the parents will present the rings."
There was a long silence.
Fitz motioned to Karen who came to join them, all smiles. Then everyone turned their heads to look at Teddy who was still in his ride on car. Roberto Grant stood from his seat and hurried to get his grandson. Without further ado, he decidedly lifted the boy's legs off the ground and turned him sideways so that he could push the car toward the wedding arch as swiftly as possible.
Then, he scurried back to sit quietly beside his wife.
Everyone smiled, a few clapped.
Fitz then spoke to the children:
"In presenting these Family medallion rings, your mother and I pledge our continuing love forevermore. Please join me in prayer," He bowed his head.
Olivia and Karen bowed their heads.
"We give thanks, O Lord, for the relationship here celebrated. We are humbled by the recognition that today we face a new future, one where love is unfolding before our very eyes."
Joining hands, Olivia and Fitz moved closer to both children and got ready to present the rings.
Once again, the photographer was quick to capture the moment and the very best smiles focusing on Olivia, Karen and Fitz. She even took a few candid shots of Teddy in his little ride on car. For the most part, he had stayed still watching. One of the snapshots captured him staring straight ahead, his sweet innocence shinning through his light brown eyes.
Karen stepped onto a sturdy step stool placed to the right side of the wedding arch.
Fitz bent down to Karen and slid the ring onto her finger. Even while standing on a step stool, Fitz's stature still loomed over hers.
Smiling, Olivia held Karen's hands in hers. She then drew attention to the ring while Fitz went on, "Karen this ring has three circles. Two of the circles represent each parent, me and your mom and the third circle represents you and Teddy. "
"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Karen beamed.
Olivia smiled and gave her hands an affectionate squeeze.
"I love you, Karen. And even though I wasn't there when you took your first steps, I promise you I'll be there at every step you take from now on." Olivia went on, casting Fitz a slow lovely glance; it lingered between the eyes and the mouth, the triangular part of his face, "Thank you for sharing your daddy with me," her gaze shifted to Karen, "and for allowing me to love you with all my heart." At this point, her eyes welled with unshed tears. She hadn't rehearsed these words, they came from the heart.
Karen beamed at her parents and gazed down at the ring. The ring fit perfectly.
"Karen," Fitz kindly requested his daughter's attention. She gazed at her father while still holding hands with Olivia. "In presenting this ring we pledge our continuing love to you. This means that we promise to love you and listen to you when you tell us about your thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams. We want you to know that you can come to either one of us. It is our promise that as you grow older we will be here for you helping you reach for the sky while keeping you grounded by the love of our family and our home. "
Fitz took another ring out of his pocket and knelt down next to Teddy and presented him with this ring. "Here, little buddy, give me your hand."
Instead of giving him his hand, Teddy made a motion to move the toy car away from his father by pushing with his feet. The coupe ride-on car moved a little and Fitz reached out and held onto one of the plastic beams holding the roof to keep it from rolling off away from him.
Fitz held the ring up high with his free hand for a second for everyone to see. "Teddy, with this ring we pledge our love for you. The third circle represents you and your sister. The three circles together represent our family." He attempted to reach for Teddy's hand but Teddy wanted to spin the steering wheel and held onto it tightly, dropping the toy phone to the ground underneath him. At this point, Fitz decided to put the ring back in his pocket. "Don't worry, Ted, we will keep the ring safe for you until you're good and ready," he winked at him.
The audience gave a cheer and a small round of applause.
By Olivia's silent prompting, Karen climbed down from the step stool and sat on it to watch.
Olivia then moved to the other side of Fitz. Bride and groom exchange bright smiles. Then, she lifted her gown a bit off the ground and crouched down to Teddy's level holding onto one of the toy car's beams (boy, was she glad now she'd ditched her heels) and repeated a pledge similar to the one she'd given Karen.
During her speech, Teddy honked the horn a few times as if punctuating each sentence. The audience stirred and chattered, clearly amused.
Karen turned around in her stool to face the audience. When she realized all eyes were on her, she looked down at her shoes, suddenly shy, a gesture the audience found particularly endearing.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the minister said to get everyone's attention back to him. Fitz and Olivia immediately turn to face him and the crowd quieted. "MAY all your days be filled with happiness; it is with great pleasure and with the power vested in me by the State of California that I now pronounce you husband and wife. Husband, you may now kiss the bride and she may kiss you back."
Fitz wasted no time kissing his bride. Their kiss was long AND tastefully done. He'd been at some weddings where the groom gave his bride the smallest peck which left everyone wondering, what was that? So, yes, his kiss was long but not too long as to leave people squirming in their seats. Their kiss clearly said, 'I've waited a long time for this…"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you for the first time, the Grant family, Fitz, Olivia, Karen, and Teddy."
The crowd cheered, Karen spontaneously ran up to the bride and groom and ran into their arms. As if on cue, Teddy honked the horn of his car as if in a spirit of celebration. Everyone laughed and clapped.
A/N: If you want to see the Family Medallion (trademark) rings, go to myfamilymedallion dot com and click on store.
About Teddy's POV: Even though some ideas were borrowed from the book Love Anthony by Lisa Genova (excellent read, deep empathetic insight that breaks your heart, Genova is truly one of my top favorite authors), the child in the book was considerably older than Teddy. His POV was particular tricky to write the thought process of a two and a half year old. I tried not to use labels for emotions in his perceptions of others, assuming that even though he's made great progress he's still is not able to easily read emotions and facial expressions. He recognizes smiles but doesn't necessarily associate it with happiness. The difference is that now he's communicating by gestures, pointing and even attempting to speak. He can recognize his own happiness. At the same time, also experiencing some frustration, as he's wanting to say more but doesn't know how. Also, he still needs order and structure in his daily routines. In this chapter, Teddy's normal schedule was turned upside down. However, having the wedding at home suited his needs better than at any other location. Poor little guy, he never got his gummy snacks. By the time Liv rocked him to sleep he had forgotten all about it though. This chapter was such a joy to write, I'm very much looking forward to writing more about Teddy's amazing journey. I hope you enjoyed.
Ps. With loving parents like Fitz and Liv, Teddy can't help but thrive to his fullest potential.