AN: Longest update so far! Chloe is growing up and Fitz doesn't like it, Fitz and Liv move forwards with their hopes for Liv to adopt Gerry and Karen, and the world reacts to the idea of America's Baby. Big thanks to nixmixx94 and a hitherto unidentified Guest for leaving reviews that kicked my butt into gear vis a vis updating. I hope you guys think this was worth the wait? Hope everyone's having a great week. : )

Despite the fact that her Dad has apparently rediscovered his inner alcoholic (yes, she's exaggerating) and become an overprotective tyrant (again, exaggerating, though less so on this front) of a parent seemingly over night, Chloe Hanes-Grant isn't going to let it stop her from enjoying her Saturday night. She had promised herself when Liv and her Dad had sat her down in the hospital and explained that the revelation that she was his daughter couldn't be put back in the box, that she would never let it change her. She wasn't going to start acting like a different person, she was still going to want the same things after all – so, that being said, what she wants right now is to hook up with the gorgeous guy whom she's been hooking up with since school started. He isn't her boyfriend, not really, and in all honesty she's pretty sure she doesn't want him to be. Mostly.

She's not going to try and slip her detail. One, she's never had bodyguards before so she's not sure she could actually do it successfully and two, given her Dad's current penchant for if you look at my family the wrong way I will assume you are a threat and have you taken out on the spot she's pretty sure he wouldn't take kindly to four (yes, four) secret service agents managing to lose track of her, and yes, she wants to hook up with Sam, but she doesn't want to cost anyone their jobs (or life) to do it. Consequently, she's going to have to live with the fact that there's going to be four of her Dad's agents hanging around outside whilst she gets her world rocked by the nerdiest guy she's ever met in real life, who has apparently applied the leave-no-stone-unturned approach he takes to studying, to figuring out how to give the best orgasms known to man. She should probably reiterate at this stage that she definitely doesn't want him to be her boyfriend. Like at all.

"Where are you going?" Fitz asks, his voice stopping her in her tracks as she heads for the stairs out of the Residence, and when she turns around to face him, his brows are raised (presumably at her choice of outfit) and before she can say anything else, "And why are you going out at this time anyway?"

"You really want me to answer that question?" She asks, like a warning but without condescension, "Because I'll do it, but I mean… you should probably think pretty hard about whether you really want an answer."

She's wearing her over the knee black Sam Edelman boots (they'd cost her a fortune, well, four hundred bucks is a fortune for a college student, and even though she'd had to live off ramen for a couple months they were so worth it) the lace garters of a pair of black stockings peeking out of the top, a black overcoat with leather lapels and a diagonal zipper over a red asymmetrical dress, bodycon with long sleeves. She'd bought it on sale at Charlotte Russe for like twelve dollars to counteract the cost of the boots (shut up, it made sense in her head at the time) and all in all, it's pretty clear she's not going to dinner with her Mom.

He's staring at her the way she generally stares at trig problems and any derivative of The Real Housewives shows, like; I could probably figure this out if I really wanted to but I'm pretty sure I don't want to.

"I'm not happy about this." He tells her needlessly. She knew he wouldn't like it, but that's kind of why she was sneaking out – in the hopes that he wouldn't notice she was even gone before she was already back. She holds his gaze without saying anything, waiting. "So you have a boyfriend, then?"

She hesitates, then part awkward, part amused, "Would it make you feel better if I said yes?"

He grimaces, shaking his head, "You're right, I don't want an answer. Go… go." He tells her, and not giving him the chance to change his mind, turns to continue on her way. "I want you home by midnight." He calls to her retreating back.

She stops again, turning back to face him, "Dad! This isn't Cinderella!" She protests, but the look on his face tells her that resistance is futile.

"Don't push your luck." He warns her, and she offers him a smile that is part thank you and part I'm sorry.

"Home by midnight." She nods quickly, "Got it."

"Take your detail with you!" He calls to her retreating back as she steps through the door.

"I know, Dad!"

As she walks past Quinn's desk outside her Father's office, Liv's phone buzzes in her pocket, and she pauses, taking it out to see a message from Fitz.

Fitz:
Chloe is going on a not-date with her not-boyfriend. Until midnight. In thigh highs boots. Help.

She smiles with amusement, wondering which one of them had been more embarrassed and horrified by that conversation.

Liv:
Deep breaths. Go and watch a Disney movie with the little ones until they fall asleep. I'll be home soon. X

Better that he exorcise his my little girl is all grown up and I don't like it demon by playing with his younger children than by clinging to Chloe until they have a fight. She doesn't want that, and she knows he doesn't either.

Fitz:
Good idea, better Disney with the kids than Glenlivet on my own. Don't let Rowan get to you, baby. I love you. Xx

Her smile becomes less amused and more happy, feeling a combination of relieved that it doesn't appear he's going to have to be carried out of the Oval again any time soon, and so blessed to have found someone so wonderful. She sends him a reply telling him she loves him too, in time for Quinn to tell her, "He'll see you now, Ma'am."

She nods her thanks and pockets her phone as she heads inside, with two of her agents taking up sentry duty on either side of the door as she closes it behind her. Rowan opens his mouth to say something but immediately interrupts himself with a long, dry cough. He raises a closed fist to his mouth, his chest heaving with it until his hand flies as if instinctively to the middle of his chest.

"Are you okay?" She asks uncertainly, and he doesn't answer right away as he gets his breath back.

He takes a deep shuddering breath, lets it out, and then says impatiently, if a little tiredly, "I'm fine. Why are you here?"

"I want to talk to you about what you told Fitz when you came to his office last week." She tells him, not entirely convinced that he is fine, but knowing that he's not going to talk about it either way.

"The official business I discuss with the President is not your concern, Olivia." He tells her with that same tone of smug yet stern superiority, "You might think you run the show over there but that doesn't make it so."

"Who do you think you are?" Liv asks, her aura of collected calm barley concealing her fury.

"I'm your Father, Olivia." Rowan replies, like behave yourself, little girl, you're already on thin ice with me.

"Yeah, whenever it suits you." Liv hits back refusing to be cowed, "Do not ever do anything like that again."

"As the First Lady, the inner workings of the Department of Homeland Security are not your concern." Rowan repeats to her, "and you definitely do not give orders to the Director of Homeland Security."

"I'm not giving the Director orders because that stunt you pulled wasn't pulled by the Director. It was childish and unprofessional to the point of negligence. That was you forgetting that Fitz didn't choose his happiness over my safety like you accused him of doing because he didn't just decide to marry me! I am not a passive participant in his life, a doll to be moved into position as he sees fit, I am his wife - by my choosing. And in forgetting that, you put not only the love of my life and the father of my children at risk, but potentially one day down the line an entire administration, too – you put your precious Republic on the line just for the chance to take a potshot at the only man who's ever truly put me first."

"So he told you who fired the gun." Rowan surmises.

"He's not one of your chess pieces." Liv replies without actually answering the question, "And neither am I. Don't ever do something like that again, Rowan. I mean it. Don't test me."

"Are you okay?" Rashid asks hesitantly as they head back to the White House earlier than he'd thought they would, hastily tacking a "Ma'am" on at the end.

"I'm fine." She says, sighing, "I just want to go home."

"Sure, of course." He says quickly, "I can have you there in thirty minutes if-"

"No, not the White House home," She says, shaking her head, "I mean home home. Sacramento, home."

"I know the feeling." He remarks candidly as he drives.

"Where's home for you?" She asks, leaning against the door and crossing her legs across the backseat.

"I was born in Surprise, Arizona." He says, smiling nostalgically, "Which was ironic because my parents had adopted two kids before I came along – they were told they couldn't have kids of their own." She smiles, and, encouraged, he continues, "My parents are from Egypt – Desouk - and because they both worked for the University of Phoenix we travelled back and forth there a lot. I pretty much grew up there as much as I did here."

"The University of Phoenix." Chloe says contemplatively, "What did you say your last name was?"

"Hassan." He tells her, "Why?"

"Is your Dad Hamid Hassan? Like, the classics professor?"

"Yeah, that's him." He says in surprise, eyes flicking up to meet hers in the rear view mirror.

"No way, my Mom used to work with him sometimes," She says, leaning forward in the gap between the two front seats, an elbow propped on the passenger side, "She's an archaeologist, we actually went to Egypt on a dig once – in Alexandria."

"Alexandria? You're not talking about the one where they found all the lotus columns are you?" He clarifies, recalling an excitable kid, seven to his twelve, with bright blonde pigtails and a gap between her front teeth, talking incessantly with seemingly endless enthusiasm for everything.

"How did you know that?" She asks as they join the end of a traffic jam at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

"I was there." He tells her, and she immediately pulls a skeptical face.

"No you were not." She argues with a roll of her perfectly lined blue eyes.

"I was!" He insists, "I can prove it, there's pictures."

"Wait- if you're Hamid's kid and you were on that trip… you're the jerk who kept stealing my monster munch!"

"Duh, who brings chips to an archeological dig?"

"My Mom was worried I was going to pull a Fussy American Kid tantrum and refuse to eat anything I didn't recognize." She defends, "Which I didn't, thank you very much."

He laughs, mostly hoping that she hasn't cottoned on to the fact that he was mean to her pretty much that entire summer because he had a crush on her the size of the Continental United States. Holy crap. Tiny-loud-annoying-cute-seven year old Chloe Hanes is apparently also tiny-loud-hilarious-stunning-nineteen year old Chloe Hanes-Grant… and his boss' daughter. Oops.

"So, if I may, are you sure you're alright?" He asks, crawling through the oddly heavy traffic for ten thirty at night.

"I'm fine." She says with a roll of her eyes, "Really. I just kind of hate the entire male population and their collective stupidity."

"You sound like my sister." He laughs before mimicking, "I swear, such and such a guy wouldn't know a great girlfriend if she danced naked in front of him with a six pack in one hand and free NFL tickets in the other!"

Chloe laughs in surprise, not entirely disagreeing, "Your sister sounds smart."

"And she never gets tired of reminding me of it." He offers wryly, before his voice turns sympathetic, "He sleep with someone else?"

She shakes her head, "I can't believe I wasted such great boots on his pathetic ass." She complains, "Do you know what he said to me? He said that we have to stop hooking up because now that people know who my Dad is, if anyone finds out about 'us' then it'll become a thing and he's not ready to settle down. Settle down! No one said anything about- we were hooking up and suddenly he's acting like I demanded a marriage proposal?"

"Well, for the record, he's an idiot." Rashid tells her, and then, as if without thinking, "And, presumably, blind." Double oops. "Uh, I meant- I… am going to stop talking now."

He hears her giggle as she moves to sit back in her seat. They don't talk all the rest of the way back to the White House, but he spends pretty much the entire ten minute journey trying to figure out how to wipe the stupid grin off his face.

"Good to see you again, Mr. President," Simon Everett says, "Madam First Lady."

"We're off duty," Fitz tells him, exchanging a brief but warm glance with Liv, "Fitz and Olivia."

"Of course, Mr. President." He replies as he always does. It's practically an inside joke by now. For the twenty odd years that he's represented Fitz as his private attorney, he's never once called him by his first name, only ever by his title – even before he was in politics, he was always Lieutenant Commander Grant. He's the same with all of his clients, without exception. It helps to keep things black and white. Reminds him that no matter how things may appear, his clients can never be his friends – he spends so much time with them it would be easy to lose professional objectivity otherwise.

"You remember Stephen Finch?" Liv says, gesturing to her right, and the two lawyers shake hands, nodding briefly in recognition.

They're meeting in the west sitting hall in the residence ("Oh, good, because I was begin to get worried that this was going to be intimidating." Stephen had said dryly when he'd walked in.) far later than they'd usually still be taking meetings, but these are special circumstances that they know require absolute secrecy. The last thing they need is any of this leaking to the media and the kids hearing half-baked truths and outright lies, especially when they are the central focus of this conversation.

"Last time we spoke, you both mentioned an interest in- in your adopting Gerry and Karen." Simon says, addressing Olivia as they all sit down, Fitz and Liv on the sofa by the window now covered with floor length gold curtains, and Simon and Stephen sat in the armchairs on the other side of the coffee table. "I'm assuming that's still the case?"

"Absolutely." Liv tells him, and he nods, opening his briefcase and setting a legal pad covered in barely legible writing, and pen, on the table between them before setting his bag down at his feet. Beside him, Stephen is doing much the same thing.

"Now, obviously, to start with – you can't adopt them as long as their biological mother still has her parental rights." Simon begins, "As the situation currently stands, though your ex-wife hasn't had custody of Gerry and Karen since the divorce, she does still have residual parental rights. There are two ways around that. First, she signs over her rights voluntarily-"

"That will never happen." Liv tells him immediately, and he nods in return, picking up his pen and scratching a line through a point in his notes.

"In that case, the only way around her is, well… through her. We'll have to take her to court and get her parental rights terminated involuntarily. Now, if this were a normal case, I'd tell you that it would be highly unlikely that you'd win, since the courts tend to side with a child's biological Mother wherever possible. But since this isn't a normal case, you actually stand a high chance of winning."

"In the District of Columbia there are currently five grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights," Stephen explains, "There are three that apply to your case as it stands; if the parent in question has abandoned the child, if the parent in question has aided, abetted, solicited, attempted to commit or been convicted of child abuse and or domestic abuse specifically relating to felony assault resulting in serious bodily injury, murder or voluntary manslaughter, and lastly, if the parent in question has subjected the child or children in question to severe and intentional mental abuse."

"To be honest, the fact that she abandoned the kids for an extended period of time – legally speaking, for more than six consecutive months – makes her highly vulnerable to having her rights involuntarily terminated." Simon tells them, taking over to explain how precisely the laws apply to their situation, "I'm surprised her lawyer didn't warn her at the time, but that's neither here nor there. The prolonged abandonment, especially combined with the fact that she knowingly did so in order to manipulate both them and the public later on, actually constitutes 'intentional and severe mental abuse' in the District of Columbia, which alone would be enough to have her rights terminated. If you combine that with the fact that she conspired to murder their Father and step-mother, and the further mental trauma they would have suffered when she attempted to kidnap them to go on the run… you're talking a slam dunk case in your favour."

Fitz and Liv exchange a hopeful smile that is part relieved, part an attempt to reassure each other. They're both acutely aware of everything that's gone on of late, but hearing it laid out like that as it relates to their children is chilling to listen to. Lacing their fingers together, Fitz raises their joined hands to his mouth to press a kiss to the back of Liv's hand.

"That's good, isn't it?"

"It's great," Stephen reassures them, "But that's only the first hurdle."

"You said earlier that it's your intention to adopt both children as soon as you can?" Simon clarifies, and Liv nods, relieved to be finally getting the ball rolling with this – she can't do what happened on New Years Day ever again. Watching someone else take them away had been horrific for all of them, and she never wants any of them to be in that position again. "Let's say we convince the judge to strip Mellie of any and all parental rights to both Gerry and Karen. Once we've done that, it's not as simple as you filling out a few forms and becoming their legal guardian. You'll have to go through a criminal record check, a child abuse registry check, a home check – plus, it's worth mentioning that in all likelihood CPS are going to be overly stringent with you so that they're not seen to be playing favorites just because you're the First Lady."

"I'll do whatever it takes." Liv says determinedly, "I've already done the criminal record check and the child abuse registry check when they gave me temporary custody whilst Fitz was in the hospital."

"So you were their third party legal custodian?" Stephen clarifies, making a note of it when Liv nods in confirmation.

"That will help, that you've already been approved once before on a temporary basis." Simon says, making a few notes of his own. "As both children are under the age of fourteen, their consent is not required for you to adopt them, legally speaking, but we will of course need yours." He gestures to Fitz, "Legally speaking, that means a written statement of consent signed in the presence of either a member of Law Enforcement or a Social Worker."

"Of course." Fitz nods immediately, "Whatever you need."

"The Superior Court of the District of Columbia has jurisdiction over adoption cases, and of course they will mandate the home check I mentioned earlier, so I'd like to go over what that will entail, if you have time?"

When they step out of the room an hour or so later, they're in the midst of shaking hands with the lawyers to bid them good evening, when Chloe wanders through the door at the end of the corridor, coat folded over her arm and carrying her boots over one shoulder.

"How was your date?" Liv asks, wrapping an arm around Fitz' waist.

"Terrible." She replies with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Are you okay, Chloe?" Liv asks, partly wondering if she should replace the word 'dreamy' with 'stoned out of her mind'.

"I'm fine." She replies, turning her gaze on Liv finally, and she thinks maybe not, "It's just that boys are stupid and they suck and I hate them. But then other boys are…" She grins, "Worst date ever."

She wanders through the door into the stairwell to take her upstairs to where the bedrooms are, and Fitz exchanges a glance with Simon and Stephen, "I will never understand the female brain." He says, shaking his head, eyes still on the door she just walked through.

Four days later marks the day of their huge sorry we didn't invite you to our wedding belated wedding reception, and the day gets off to a somewhat less than ideal start.

"So you walked out of an interview this morning." Liv says conversationally when Fitz steps into the Oval Office. She's sat on the couch facing the door and she sets her iPad down to her right when he shuts the door.

"Well it was either that or beat the shit out of him." Fitz replies, outwardly calm but clearly still furious, "And it was a pretty close call."

She watches him without saying anything for a minute, as he crosses his office and stops at the end table reserved for a decanter and two glasses, undoing his top button and loosening his tie as he goes. "Come here." She says, neither demanding nor coddling.

There's a moment of hesitation when his fingers curl around the top of the crystal stopper, before his hand falls back to his side and he walks over to sit by her. She curls into his side immediately, and his arms wrap around her as if automatically. "He's an idiot." She tells him, "And by tomorrow he'll almost certainly be an unemployed idiot."

"I feel like an idiot for being surprised by it." He admits, "For some reason I just didn't see it coming, at least, not like that."

"Lucky you." Liv says, matter of fact, tipping her head back to look at him.

"I didn't mean it like-"

"I know what you meant." Liv interjects calmly, "You did give a good answer before you walked off though. People will like it."

"I was just being honest." He says, now outwardly more annoyed than she is though it isn't directed at her, "And I don't care what 'people' think, I care what you think."

"Well I think it was a good answer." Liv tells him again with a small smile, pausing as she imagines someone making a similar – or less veiled – comment to one of the kids rather than to Fitz. Especially if they weren't there at the time – they're at school, and kids can be cruel, often regurgitating statements they don't understand enough to agree with but have heard from their parents at home, "I think we're going to have to talk to the kids, especially considering the baby. "

"We need to talk to them about that, too." Fitz says, sensing a family meeting on the horizon, "How do you think they're going to take it?"

"I think they'll be excited once they get used to the idea, but I'm not sure how easy that's going to be." She pauses, smiling softly at the feeling of his hand moving to settle on her growing belly, "I wish the timing had been better." She admits, "Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to have your baby, I just hope that telling them doesn't back pedal the progress we've managed to make these past few weeks."

He kisses the top of her head and shifts his hand a couple of inches or so lower to see if he can feel him or her moving around. He feels her smile slightly against his chest, knowing what he's doing, and she covers his hand with her own to move his hand again, this time a little to the right so that he can feel the baby kicking.

"The kids aren't the only people we need to talk about telling." He points out quietly, "It won't be long until people start talking whether we say anything or not, I mean, you can only get away with hiding under loose fitting clothes for so long."

"People talking I can handle. Cyrus, on the other hand…" Liv says, picturing the predictable explosion that's going to come when they have to admit that they got pregnant closer to the date that their public relationship started than the date when they got married.

"Cyrus is on thin ice and he knows it." Fitz tells her flatly, "I don't think he's going to be a problem."

Telling Chloe about the baby is the easiest, because it turns out that she already knows, but she's excited when Liv "officially" tells her all the same, throwing her arms around them both and offering her services as a babysitter forevermore ("Because holy ravioli are you two going to make the cutest babies."). Telling Karen gets much the same reaction as she, part happily part not-entirely-understanding, gently pats at Liv's stomach when they explain that's where the baby is, ("In there? A whole baby? How does it get out?!"). Telling Gerry, as it turns out, is the tough part.

Fitz had been concerned about how Karen would react, suddenly going from the baby of the family for the last six years to being a big sister, feeling sure that having heard the "you're going to be a big brother" speech before, Gerry will be fine, but Liv had suspected that Ger would be the one to struggle most with the news given how he's consistently been the one convinced that his new family is only temporary.

When they tell him, he looks like he doesn't entirely understand at first.

"A baby?"

"That's right." Fitz confirms, nodding, "Do you have any questions that you want to ask?"

Gerry lets his head rest on his hand, mouth twisting into a frown, and they don't say anything else yet, giving him a minute to process the news, then he sniffs, "Why?" He asks, sounding on the verge of tears, "Don't you love us any more?"

Exchanging a brief glance layered with oh God, Fitz reaches out to pick Gerry up and pull him onto his lap, "Of course we love you, Ger." He promises as his son tucks himself into his Dad's chest, "We love you and your sisters and the new baby all the same."

"But she said that if we have different Mom's we're not really siblings and if you have a baby then you'll be a real Mom and you won't be my Mom any more!" Gerry argues through his tears, and Liv shifts closer to the two of them, sat on the edge of Gerry's bed, and brushes his hair back from his face.

"I promise you, sweetheart, she was wrong." Liv tells him, resting her head on Fitz' shoulder and feeling his free arm wrap around her back, a sensation she's grateful for, "I may not have had you and Karen the same way that I'm having the new baby, but you guys made me a Mom, and no matter what; I'll always be your Mom and I'll always, always love you." She promises him, her tone of voice serious enough that he peeks up at her through his fingers, "No matter what."

"What if you love the new baby more than us?" He asks, addressing them both, "What if you think you won't but then you do?"

"We won't." Fitz promises in the same tone, holding them both close, "We are a family, Ger, and we all love each other the same, forever."

Clearly not convinced and definitely still afraid he asks, "But what if you do?"

Feeling disheartened after they talk to Gerry without managing to convince him that everything was going to be okay, that they'd still love him and Karen and Chloe just the same when the baby was born, Liv goes quiet. The work day is cut short today thanks to the party in a couple of hours so Liv decides to head upstairs and get a jump start on getting ready. Though it's his instinct to follow her, to try and make her feel better, he knows that's not what she needs.

He needs her, but he knows that he'll get to be with her, she just needs a little time to process first, and he can deal with that. He stays down in the Oval for an hour, most of which is spent tying up loose ends from the last week and trying not to think about Gerry's face when he'd said "But what if you do?", because no matter what they'd said after that, he wouldn't be swayed. His son is frightened, and as a parent it's supposed to be up to him to fix that, but he's not sure how. Gerry had been so excited when they'd told him that Mellie was pregnant with Karen, and his reaction to Liv's pregnancy is completely different. In retrospect, he should have seen it coming in light of everything that's happened; Liv certainly seemed to.

He heads up to the residence with a little under an hour to go before they have to be ready to welcome their guests, and stops outside Gerry's door, wondering if he should go in and try to talk to him again, but he pauses with his hand on the doorknob when he hears the sound of laughter coming from down the hall. He follows the sound curiously to the room Chloe's inhabiting whilst staying inside the White House until Charlie Glass is "in custody", sceptical air quotes required. The door isn't closed all the way, so he peeks in and sees Chloe helping Gerry and Karen get ready for this evening's festivities. Since it's not an official public event, just a somewhat (read: extremely) overblown sorry we didn't invite you to our wedding party, they'd decided to let the kids come along for an hour or so. Chloe, sitting on the floor wearing a strapless sequinned gold dress, attempts to wrestle Gerry into a little blue bow tie, and Karen, holding onto the handles on the chest of drawers by the vanity, attempts to totter around in a pair of Chloe's sky high shoes.

"Hey, hey, you're gonna hurt yourself, come here." Chloe tells her gently when she notices, and Karen moves over to sit in her sister's lap. (Fitz must admit he's relieved. He's still too busy dealing with the trauma of seeing Chloe in those stupid boots from yesterday to watch his baby girl (who is most definitely still a baby) heading into her 'raiding my mom and sister's closets' phase.)

"Stop wrigglin', Ger!" Karen scolds, and her brother rolls his eyes and complies before giggling as she starts pulling silly faces at him. It's a relief to see him smiling - he might not be okay with the idea of a new baby brother or sister yet, but he's okay in the general sense. That's good enough for him. The rest will come. Sure that Chloe has things with the little one's under control, Fitz heads back down the hallway to the master suite to clean up before the party.

When Cyrus knocks on the door thirty minutes later, Liv is the one to open it, feeling a little calmer about how things went now that she's had some time to reflect - she just needs to give the kids the same time too, and things will be okay.

"Come in." She tells him stepping back to let him through before closing the door again.

"Everything's ready to go," He tells her, "There was a small... incident... in the kitchen earlier, but it's been handled, everyone's ready when you are."

"Great." She tells him, as the bathroom door opens and Fitz steps out in a grey suit with a white shirt underneath, open at the collar.

"No tie?" Cyrus asks, trying to keep the Chief of Staff out of his voice.

"It's not a ball, it's a party; our party." Fitz reminds him, moving to stand by Liv and wrapping an arm around her. "You look beautiful." He tells her with a smile, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Yes, yes, everyone looks wonderful, can we get this show on the road, please?" Cyrus interjects, and Fitz and Liv exchange a glance.

"Cy, wait." Liv says, and the expression on his face tells them that he immediately knows something's up, "Before we go down, we wanted to tell you something."

"Okay..." Cyrus says slowly, eyes flicking back and forth between them for a moment before realisation dawns on his face, "Don't tell me, I bet I can guess... how far along are you?"

Fitz and Liv look back to each other, and Cyrus looks down at Liv's stomach - focuses on it deliberately for the first time and then, mostly to himself and the ceiling- "Oh, good, because I was worried that this Administration was going to go a whole month without any drama..."

"I'm just over five months." She tells him, her left hand settling over her belly; clearly visible when you're looking for it and Liv's not hiding it with a loose fitting top, and Cyrus' gaze snaps back to hers, all set to start an argument, then he just... doesn't. He can see Fitz, poised and waiting to kick him out for saying something that will inevitably piss off his pregnant wife, can see Liv waiting for the how could you be so stupid, but most of all, he sees his friends. He sees the two people who have literally risked everything to have a shot at the life they're building for themselves, and he thinks: they know this is not ideal. They know they should have been more careful. They're not stupid: they know the optical side of it.

"Congratulations." He tells them instead, meaning it sincerely, and he tries not to feel hurt by how surprised they both clearly are, "I- I'm really happy for you both." They look to each other again, grinning, and then they look back at him.

"Speaking of drama... we're planning to announce it tonight." Fitz says, pulling her a little closer, and God- how did he not guess this before? How did he not see how different they are? Underneath the raging overprotection of their kids, there's something so free about them- has been ever since Fitz had woken up from that coma-

"Wait- you're... you're telling me that you two are going to willingly make a public statement about your personal life?"

"So." Chloe says, standing at her vanity table with Karen on the stool (playing with an eyelash curler) and Gerry sprawled out on her bed reading a comic, "Are you guys excited about the new baby?"

"Yes!" Karen yells happily, clapping her hands and bouncing up and down, at the same time as Gerry scowls, "No."

"You're not excited, Ger?" She asks, her hands pausing where she's gently French braiding Karen's hair.

"No." He says again, huffing, "They're gonna love the stupid baby more than they love us."

"That's not true," Chloe tells him, "Why do you think that?"

"Because my friend Jack told me that when his Dad had a new baby they didn't hang out or play dinosaurs any more 'cause his parents just wanted to talk about the baby." He folds his arms on top of his comic book and drops his head to rest on his arms.

"Ah, but does your friend Jack have parents as super awesome as yours?" She asks, holding Karen's plait in place with one hand whilst reaching for a bobby pin with the other.

"No!" Karen interjects for her brother, finally beginning to overcome her habit of needing him to speak for her all the time, "We have the super awesomest parents ever!"

"Totally true Kara-bear." Chloe confirms, but clearly, Gerry remains unconvinced. "You want to know a secret?" She asks him, and as a nine year old confronted with possibly the best question ever after hey, I made a castle out of cookies and jello and skittles, wanna help me eat it? he peeks his head up over his arms to look at her.

"Maybe…" He says, eyes narrowed.

"I was super mad when Dad told me about you before you were born." She tells him, and he looks surprised, if a little hurt.

"Why?"

"Well, because I thought that he wasn't going to love me as much any more – and I didn't live with him back then, so it was even scarier. I thought he'd forget all about me and just want to hang out with his new family all the time." She admits, and Gerry is watching her intently, "So I had this crazy tantrum and lost TV privileges and desert after dinner for like a month-" – she's not even exaggerating – "And I was super mean to him all the time, and then you were born and I was the one ignoring him because all I wanted to do was hang out with you."

"Really?" Gerry asks, and she nods as she finishes up Karen's braid.

"Really really. I know it seems a little weird and scary right now, but it's going to be the best thing ever when the new baby gets here. You'll see." She tells him before giving him a minute to mull that idea over, leaning forwards so that her head is next to Karen's in the mirror, "What do you think?"

"Princess hair!" Karen yells excitedly, "Thank you, Chloe!"

"You're very welcome, your highness." Chloe tells her with a smile.

"Can we use this one next?" Karen asks, holding up the tube of red lipstick lying next to the now discarded eyelash curler.

"Maybe not tonight." Chloe advises, gently taking it from her, trying not to laugh when she pictures what her Dad's face would look like if she were to bring Karen downstairs with a full face of make up.

"You like me now, right?" Gerry pipes up from across the room, "You still wanna hang out all the time?"

"Of course!" She tells him, helping Karen off the stool and straightening her party dress before standing back up and straightening her own, "I'm your big sister, I love hanging out with you guys."

That seems to be all Gerry wants to say on the subject, so she's not entirely sure whether she's got through to him or not, but she'd had to try. Liv's face, forcibly calm but nowhere near managing to hide the clear heartbreak there as she'd told her that telling Gerry about the baby hadn't gone so well is stuck in her head. She's sure he'll come around eventually, but she wasn't really sure how to say that to Liv without sounding condescending, so she'd stayed in her lane and kept her mouth shut beyond giving her a hug and telling her it would all work out.

"I kinda remember you." Gerry tells her, going back to his comic, "You were in our house sometimes when I was little."

"You're still little now." She teases, tickling lightly over his tummy, and he squeals and wriggles away from her.

"No m'not!" He argues, "I'm a grown up!"

"Well, Mr. Grown Up, would you mind escorting your lovely sister and I to the ball?" She asks, offering him her hand.

March 2nd, The Washington Post

America's Baby Is On The Way

Following their surprise nuptials on February 3rd, a month ago tomorrow, the new Mr. and Mrs. Grant threw a belated wedding reception and invited hundreds of guests, many of whom flew in from various locations around the world. The couple, who met when Olivia was hired to consult on the then-Governor of California's struggling presidential campaign, began publically dating at the beginning of September last year. If you can't be bothered to do the math, they tied the knot after just five months together – and last night, they dropped another bombshell.

First Lady Olivia Grant is pregnant with their first child.

The President, who already has three children by two different women (Karen, 6, and Gerry, 9, with ex-wife and assassination suspect Mellie St. James, and Chloe, 19, from a previous relationship) seemed elated by the news, keeping his arms wrapped around his wife whilst they made the announcement to the assortment of over four hundred guests to rapturous applause and congratulations from all sides.

Considering how many political heavyweights were in attendance last night, the whole evening had a surprisingly informal feel, inspiring many of the guests to let their hair down (well, just a little).

Conspicuously absent? Father of the groom, Fitzgerald Grant Jr, who hasn't been seen in public with his son since President Grant took his two youngest children back to the Grant compound in California, two weeks before the election just under a year and a half ago, thus reigniting the previously dwindling rumors of a serious family rift between the pair. The President himself confirmed the estrangement almost two weeks ago following the revelation that his Father was under investigation by the LAPD for his involvement in an underage prostitution ring, stating; "I do not allow him to have contact with my wife or my children, nor do I allow him any access to myself or the inner workings of the White House.".

No charges have been filed at this time, but a source inside the four term Senator and two term Governor's camp said of the estrangement, "It's been a long time coming, believe you me. If you knew some of the things that had gone on in that house, you wouldn't let your family within a thousand miles of the place, either."

No official sources for the Grant patriarch have gone on the record regarding the rumors, with the White House declining to comment any further and the former Senator's representatives being unreachable, but their silence is perhaps more telling than anything. Surely if there was nothing to the rumors, a traditional family such as the Grant's would be quick to shut them down. In fact, even if the rumors are true I'd be expecting a denial from the older Grant regardless.

Interestingly enough, none of the new Mrs. Grant's family were present at the soiree either, and a source who attended Georgetown Law with the new First Lady but wished to remain anonymous said, "If the rumors floating around about the President and his Father have any truth to them, it would shed some light on why he and Olivia bonded so quickly; they've both come from pretty tough places, childhood wise."

Also present at the party was the young lady recently revealed to be Grant's oldest child, Chloe Hanes-Grant. The nineteen year old art student, who was seen several times joking around with her famous father and his new bride, laughed off rumors of an impending reality show (most likely started by her former-step-mother's now infamous and impromptu press conference on the steps of James Madison hospital following the President's assassination attempt) saying, "It's literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If I wanted to be famous I would've told people who I was a long time ago." When one reporter at the event countered that she sure seemed to be enjoying it now, Hanes-Grant didn't seem fazed, "Well, sure, it's not all bad – I mean, honestly I'm just happy to be able to hang out with my Dad in public again."

The two younger Grant children made a rare appearance also, though they stuck close by their Father and step-Mother and spent only an hour or so there before being whisked off to bed by their older sister, "They wanted to stay up later but it's a school night, so no dice." The First Lady jokes, giving some insight into their attempt to keep things as normal as possible for the children behind the scenes, following the adorable, largely private, moment when Gerry and Karen put their hands on their step-mom's stomach before squealing and giggling when they excitedly announced to their parents that they could feel the baby "wiggling around!".

Many have speculated about what Olivia Grant's cause of choice will be now that she officially holds the title and office of FLOTUS, though sources inside the East Wing have suggested that she plans to hold off on any solo public engagements until after the birth of her baby, which is estimated to be sometime in September though as of yet no one has been able to confirm how far along she is. "I suspect it will be something to do with privacy law and the media, given her exceptional background in the field." Public Relations Manager Leo Bergen offered, "I hope she does, it would be nice to have a First Lady with more to talk about than the typical cook book and gardening fare."

"Good afternoon, and welcome to E! News, I'm Guiliana Rancic-"

"-and I'm Cat Sadler; get ready to hear all about the latest former Disney darling to strip down to her birthday suit for GQ, and later we're talking to a Real Housewife about her real heartbreak-"

"But first we've got all of the fabulous details from what some are calling the party of the year, thrown last night in Washington DC to celebrate the wedding of President Fitzgerald Grant the Third and his new First Lady; Olivia Pope."

"I think it's actually Olivia Grant now, G."

"Totally, of course, can't forget that." She laughs, "Now first, let's take a look at these pictures of the couple inside- holy moly, right? Can you say gor-geous?"

"Um, duh! Hottest first couple ever."

"Can we talk about the First Lady's eye for fashion though, please? Like… first we had that gorgeous REISS dress when they were at dinner with the Prime Minister in London, then that stunning pale pink draped bustier gown by Alexander McQueen the night they announced their engagement and now this stunning ivory Emilio Pucci paired with those fabulous pale pink McQueen heels with the metallic detailing on the ankle strap?"

"Amazing, G – and the fact that she's just casually walking around in them… with a baby on the way?"

"I know, I know, right? She picked a great dress to make the announcement in, too, because it didn't really draw too much attention to her body until she had her hand on her stomach and you could see this small but definitely visible bump."

"She's really come out of nowhere as a total tour de force as far as her style goes – I mean, her London wardrobe? To die for."

"Right, right, I mean, even when she's out with the kids in the park in jeans, boots and a sweater she still looks like she could walk onto a set and be photo ready."

"Getting back to last night's festivities- G, hold my hand, thank you- we probably shouldn't say this now that our beautiful silver fox POTUS is officially off the market once again, but like… that suit? O.M.G."

"O.M.G is right; pale grey, slim fit, Armani should be his permanent uniform if you ask me."

"Well, lucky for us – or maybe not so lucky, I guess – the new Mrs. Grant seemed to agree because apparently the newlyweds were by each other's side for pretty much the entire night – and they weren't shy about a little PDA, either…"

"Aww! That kiss… that is a movie kiss right there, Cat – and since we're talking about how cute they are together, we actually have the footage of the speech that our esteemed President made to the almost five hundred guests in attendance. Take a look, guys."

"Now I know that most of the people in this room are pretty sick of having to listen to me making speeches, so I promise to keep this one short." Fitz says, handheld microphone in one hand, the other wrapped around Liv's waist, as the audience titter in response, "We just wanted to first, thank you all so much for coming tonight to celebrate with us, a lot of you have come from thousands of miles away so it's been great to have the chance to see everyone and catch up without having to try and solve world peace within five minutes of small talk." The guests laugh again, and Fitz looks away from them and down at Liv, who smiles back up at him, happy and glowing.

"-and second…"

"-heard that right – First Lady Olivia Grant is officially pregnant with America's baby. Last night at a belated wedding reception thrown by the couple at the White House almost a month after their elopement on February third, during a speech to the assorted gathering of guests from all over the world, the President announced that the couple are expecting their first child together. Though there's been no official comment on when the baby – already dubbed America's Baby by the internet – is due, it's thought that he or she should be making an appearance sometime around this fall. From everyone here at CNN, congratulations to the Grant family. We go live now to correspondent Shauna Mazra-"

"Good evening and welcome to The Daily Show coming to you live from New York, I'm your host Jon Stewart, and just in case you haven't heard…"

"Good Morning America, it's Thursday, February 5th and the breaking news this morning: American has a new First Lady-"

"Oh, my God, can we please talk about the way they look at each other? Like… so cute!"

"Presumably of course now that they're married, the First Lady will recuse herself from any role – official or otherwise – in the West Wing-"

"Ah, of course, because how could we better congratulate Olivia Grant and her new husband on their wedding than to make shitty sexist comments about her ability to be a wife and like… a fucking human being with a job at the same time?" He pauses whilst the audience laugh before continuing, "But, Jon, I hear you cry, this was a month ago! This is old news! Well, it was. And then a couple days ago, this happened."

"Interesting choice for her to wear white a month after her wedding, like… at this point it's like who are we kidding, you know?"

"I mean is it just me or should we totally have noticed this before I mean she… you know… she's definitely put on a couple pounds- like, not loads or anything but…"

"Not to be racist, because I'm definitely not, but I wonder how the President's children are going to react to having a half-sibling of a different, uh, ethnicity… than they are? That's going to be a tough sell, I feel like."

"So now, not only are we making grossly inappropriate innuendos about the First couple's sex life, we're also ridiculing one of the most attractive women on the planet for something that no one else, literally, has commented on because it's ridiculous and shouldn't be on the fucking news, AND we're suggesting that as one half of an interracial relationship, the President has neglected to teach his children to be decent fucking human beings and not judge people based on the color of their skin, because apparently, there's nothing better to sa, like, maybe, I don't know… congratulations? This is the news, people! The news! All three of those last clips were featured on FOX News – not TMZ or some trashy youtube show – motherfucking FOX News got so fucking bored that they decided to start talking shit for no reason – I mean, big fucking surprise right? But still, it's a wedding! It's a happy occasion for all the family. Oh, wait… because the morning before the reception, this happened…"

"The President sparked massive controversy this week when he walked out of an interview with BNC's Sean Spellman after what the anchor is calling "a misunderstanding" regarding the hot button topic of race in America. After asking the President what he though of the detractors views regarding the interracial nature of his marriage to new wife Olivia Grant, the President said, 'I'm not colorblind; I have no desire to erase that or any other part of her. I celebrate her for who she is. Liv is the love of my life, and I feel honored that she's chosen to spend the rest of her life with me. It blows my mind that this is even still an issue - I mean, It's twenty-ten, we're not living in the fifties.' To which Mr. Spellman off handedly remarked under his breath, 'Maybe we should be'."

Eyes wide as he leans back in his chair, palms flat on the desk in front of him, he sits in silence as the audience groan. "Oh my God. Ohhhh, my God. Did that just happen? That just happened. Whilst, presumably, trying and massively failing to be funny, BNC Anchor – or should I say, as of an hour ago, former BNC Anchor – Sean Spellman, responded to the President's comment regarding interracial marriage, 'we're not living in the fifties', by saying, 'maybe we should be.'. Did you hear what I just said? The first Republican who I would actually trust to run the fucking country in maybe, I don't know… ever, makes arguably the most progressive and educated statement about race from a rich, white politician in maybe, I don't know… EVER, and this asshole has the nerve to argue?!"

"I told you people would like what you said." She tells him, switching off the TV and setting the remote back on the counter next to the cutting board.

"I know, I know, you're always right." He replies with a roll of his eyes as he moves to stand behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, "Except, I think, when it comes to sandwich fillings."

"Nope, I'm right about that, too." She argues cheerfully, putting the two sides of her sandwich together; one side bacon and lettuce, the other side strawberry jam, her enduring favourite pregnancy craving. She sees him pull a face out of the corner of her eye as she puts it on a plate, "Try it." She urges, and he gives her a do I have to look, and she nods, holding the plate out to him.

He sighs deeply, sensing the futility of the argument ahead and undeniably curious. He moves to stand beside her and takes the plate, pauses, and then takes a bite. Trying not to pull a face, "That's delicious." He tells her as he chews.

"Really?" She asks with a surprised grin, part pleased part not entirely sold on his performance.

"No." He grimaces as he swallows, "That might be the worst thing I've ever tasted."

"What?" She laughs, taking back the plate, "It's not that bad!"

"It is, baby, I'm sorry." He joins her laughter and heads for the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"Well, I like it." She counters, taking a bite and chewing on it happily whilst he does his best to rid himself of the taste.

"Good." He tells her, waiting for her to swallow to give her a kiss which soon turns dirty, "Because when you're done having you're midnight snack, it's my turn."

"What did you have in mind, Mr. President?" She asks, looking up at him innocently like she doesn't already know.