Chapter 29

Olivia opened her eyes when her OB/GYN walked into the room. She had a smile on her face, and she didn't look too worried. She said, "Mr. President, Ms. Pope, we have figured out what's going on, and I just wanted to go over it with you, and the treatment options."

Fitz asked, "First, are they both ok? Both Olivia and our little girl?"

She smiled and said, "Your wife, and your daughter are both fine. What has happened is something we call a placental abruption. A placental abruption occurs when the placenta tears away from the uterus wall. From what I can tell your placenta has not totally detached. With this being the case it gives us some options for treatment."

Fitz was worried that the stress that he had obviously put on Olivia was the cause for this illness. He asked, "What caused this? Do you know?"

The doctor smiled at him with soft eyes. She answered, "It's difficult to pinpoint what made this happen. When the nurses took her vitals and history she stated that she hadn't had any traumas to her abdominal area. So that can be ruled out. Since this is Olivia's first full term pregnancy we can't say that it was something that has occurred before. I think it's safe to assume that this happened because of Olivia's age."

Olivia gasped and spoke for the first time since the doctor entered the room. She asked, "So, I did this?"

Shaking her head and walking over to squeeze Olivia's hand the doctor replied, 'No. It's just something that happens. There was nothing either of you could do to stop this from happening. You did right by coming directly to the emergency room."

Olivia swiped at the tears that escaped her eyes. She said, "You mentioned treatment. What can be done?"

The doctor sat on the side of the bed. She explained, "We have a couple of options. One option is inducing. I can give you steroids to help your daughter's lungs develop. Then I can give you medication that will make you go into labor. We can also go ahead, and give you the meds to mature her lungs and do a c-section. Another option is I can place you on bedrest and we can wait until she is considered full term, and then induce, or we can try and keep you on bedrest as long as possible until she decides she wants to make her appearance. Of course that last option is barring any other complications. I'll give you all some time to decide. I'll be back a little later."

As the doctor got up to leave Fitz asked, "Would she do the bedrest at home, or would she have to stay here?"

The doctor smiled. "Normally I would say she would have to stay here. We need to be able to monitor both Olivia, and the baby, just in case we need to do an emergency c-section. However, you are he former President. I'm sure that we can work out a way for them to be monitored at home."

Olivia asked in a small voice, "If she has to be born now, what are her chances of survival?"

The doctor turned sympathetic eyes on them, and said, "I really don't think that we are there, but if we have to deliver now your daughter has a chance of greater than ninety percent for survival. Modern medicine makes it much easier for us to help these babies. Page me if you have more questions."

The doctor left. Fitz stared at Olivia for a moment, and she stared back at hm. Finally Fitz broke the silence, and asked, "Are you still upset with me?"

Olivia stared at her hands. She twisted the wedding band and engagement ring on her finger. After a moment she looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes. She said, "I think we have more important things to worry about, Fitz."

Fitz shook his head and said, "Oh no you don't. You're not about to shut down on me. That's not what we do, Olivia. That isn't who we are anymore."

Taking a moment to inhale a deep breath, Olivia said, "This isn't me shutting down. Actually you're one to talk about what we aren't anymore. You've been running around lying, and killing. Anyway that's besides the point. We have to make decisions as parents. I don't even know how to parent, and I am having to make life and death decisions about my unborn child. We need to focus on that. I want to focus on that. All that other stuff, that's for some other time."

Fitz took Olivia's left hand running his fingers over the rings on her finger. He said, "Our baby is what's most important. That's why I believe that it's important that we get past this hurdle so that we are in sync. So that we can make the best decision for our child together. We can't make a decision together with you feeling like this. So let's just take a minute to talk, babe."

Olivia swiped at the tears that had fallen to her cheeks. "Fitz, my parents lived a lie. I don't know if any of my childhood was real. Actually in addition to my parent's telling me about what you did, they also told me that they are getting back together. Actually they are getting back together, and leaving the country together. All I can think is what are they up to? Is our great nation in trouble because those two are up to something? Is my mother playing my father, or vice versa? Will my father kill my mother, or vice versa? I don't want her to ever learn ugly truths about her parents like I did."

Fitz tightened his grip on her hand. He said, "Livvie, we aren't anything like your parents. We love one another. We both love this country, and everything we've done was for the greater good of this country. Except my killing Jake. I can admit that was purely selfish."

"Yeah, but we there is already dirt that she will one day become privy to. Dirt we won't be able to shield her from. Like the fact that I was your mistress. Thar her oldest brother was killed. All of that is already unflattering enough. I don't want her living a lie too. Thinking that she's growing up with two normal, loving parents, and then having the carpet pulled from under her," Olivia stated as calmly as she could manage.

Fitz smiled. Seeing Olivia like this. Maternal, and caring about her child's welfare was beautiful. He always knew that she had it in her. All she had to do is give herself a chance. Fitz said, "I'm sorry for my part in Jake's death. I should have let our judicial system handle it. Revenge wasn't even that sweet because I was lying to you in the process. Our baby girl is going to love, and adore both of her parents. She is going to grow up knowing that her parent's love her, and each other. Yes she will probably find out that I was married when we started our relationship, but it'll be ok. As far as her finding out about Jerry. Well, none of the children know that he was murdered. They both think that he got sick, and passed away. That's all she will know as well. Everything will be ok."

Olivia looked at Fitz. She really looked at him. This was the man she loved. Since meeting him Olivia can't remember a time when she didn't love him. He was a part of her. Over the years she had tried to shake it. She had tried to walk away from the love that was staring her in the face. She had been upset with Fitz more times than she could count over the years. She was sure the feeling was mutual. However, what always rang true was that she couldn't stay mad for long.

She said, "When I was fixing my number one rule was-"

Fitz interrupted and said, "Do not lie."

Olivia smiled, and said, "Do not lie. I always told my clients, I didn't think I needed to tell you, Fitz. I have to be able to trust you. We are bringing a little life into the world together. We need to be on the same page. We need to be in this together. I need to be able to trust that we are in this together. Do you get it?"

"I get it, Livvie," Fitz said. He leaned over to place a soft kiss on her lips.

He then asked, "So what do you want to do about the placental abruption?"

Olivia sighed. She said, "I think that I should get the medication to mature her lungs. That way if anything happens and she has to be delivered her lungs will be fine. I want to try and avoid a c-section at all cost. I'll do the bed rest. I want to try and carry her as long as possible. I also want to do it from home. I'm going to do the bed rest, but I am going to continue work from home."

Fitz shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea, Livvie."

Olivia reached up to run her fingers through Fitz's hair. She said, "You do realize that I'm not an olympic sprinter telling you that I won't run the race, but that I'll continue to train. For the most part my job isn't physically taxing. I won't be doing much. Mellie signed off on having Abby step in while I'm on leave. We both felt that this was the best possible choice since Abby was your Chief of staff. She'll run everything by me, but she'll be running the day to day while I'm away."

Fitz nodded liking the sound of things. He reiterated, "So we are going to get the steroids, and we are going to do the bedrest from home so that you're able to work. Which means we'll have to hire a nursing staff. You're going to try and stay in bed for the next ten weeks if possible. This shall be interesting to watch."

She looked at him with fear evident in her eyes. She asked, "What do you think? Do you feel like this is the right decision? Should I just go ahead and let them induce, and let the doctors get her well?"

Fitz tucked Olivia's hair behind her ears. He said, "Babe, you're her mother. Whatever you decide will be right. You're doing great thinking about her first in everything. If you say we try and give her time to try and grow inside of you, then that's what we should do. Don't second guess yourself. Listen to your gut, Livvie."

Fitz was right. She needed to trust her gut. If it was good enough to guide her in her career then it was reliable enough to guide her through motherhood. She looked over at Fitz. She said, "Yes this is the plan."

Fitz kissed her on the lips, nose, and both cheeks. He reached down and rubbed his hand across her pregnant belly. He said, "You hear that little girl. Mommy and Daddy need you take it easy in there. We want you to stay in as long as possible so that you can come out healthy, and strong."

He leaned over and kissed Olivia's stomach feeling his daugher shift inside. He looked at Olivia, and said, "Let's make some phone calls, and make some arrangements."

A/N: Happy New Year! I pray that you all had a safe and happy New Year's Eve. I pray that this year brings you joy and prosperity. Well this is it. The next update will be the final update of this story. I'll be back with more of them with new plots and twist. I can't wait to continue their journey with you all. As you read "The Final Try" I hope that you all keep in mind that Olivia isn't a whole person. She is still suffering from her relationship with her parents. So she doesn't always behave like a whole rational person. That's because she's not. At this point in her life she's trying to fake it until she makes it. That doesn't mean she doesn't love Fitz. She does. She's just learning how to show that love as she goes. Thank you so much for your support and comments. It makes the writing process much more enjoyable.