Part 35

The fall out

He hands her a steaming mug of camomile tea, "Here drink this, it will help." Olivia takes it from him with shaky hands, her whole body still wracked with sobs… "I've never seen her look at me that way, she was so angry, not that I blame her… She's right, what I did…"

"Stop it Olivia, stop it right there…" he implores, but it appears his words fall on deaf ears, as she curls in on herself as if physically trying to shut him out. "Hey, look at me…" He gently tilts her head, levelling her with his eyes. "I can't let this continue, we've been over this… What happened was awful, but we both know that there is nothing we can do about it now, what's done is done, but baby I promise you, we WILL get through this- together."

She shakes her head… "How Fitz? Because you mum doesn't look like she'll be getting over it any time soon, she'll never forgive me for this…"

"Listen to me, all that matters is that I love you and I have forgiven you, Mum had no right coming here and behaving the way she did, she was wrong for that!"

Despondently she replies, "She's just found out I killed her grandchild, how else would you expect her to react?" Fitz is momentarily lost for words; somehow hearing her phrase it in that context leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. Taking his silence for exactly what it is, she gets up from the sofa… "Look, maybe we are moving too fast…"

Fitz hastily rises to his feet to stop her in her tracks… "NO, listen to me, we are right where we need to be, we have spent too much time apart as it is! We are a family, whether mum likes it or not; because I need you and so does Josh and I will not allow us to back track, not now, not ever, not when we've come so far… Do you hear me?"

Luckily, this time his words have the desired effect- reassurance and conviction... and inwardly he sighs in relief when he sees her physically relax in front of him. "Yes… yes I hear you…" she sniffs, giving him a wan smile for his efforts and his love… "But what about Anne?"

"Don't you worry about mum; you just leave her to me!"

With that said, and with Olivia's doubts successfully placated for the time being, he pulls her in towards him and plants a tender kiss to her troubled brow… "Like I said, it's going to be okay… trust me, I'll get it sorted…"

xxxxxxx

"JERRY!"

On the journey over here, the confrontation had continued to play itself out over and over in her head. She still can't get over the fact that Fitz seems okay with it. How could he even begin to accept it? After all the crap Olivia put him through and now this… And instead of being mad, he just decides to let it be. She killed his baby for Christ sakes, a baby she didn't even seem fit to tell him about… God, she can't even bring herself to think about it, as all it does is bring a huge lump to the back of her throat and tears to her eyes; because the subject is too close to home, as her own memories threaten to take hold, visions of her own little girl, the tiny babe that would have been Fitz' younger little sister had she survived her birth, that precious little babe that never even got the chance to draw breath, dead, buried underground, now nothing more than food for the worms… And then there's Olivia, who first abandons her son and then gets rid of her baby like he or she was some sort of burden… It just makes her see red! That's why she found herself flying off the handle with her, because it was just too much to comprehend. Of course, if she were to try and look at it objectively, then maybe she would begin to understand where Olivia was coming from, but right now she wasn't in the frame of mind to do that… All she wants to do is cuss and shout and vent.

She calls for Jerry again… "Jerry are you home?"

He's heard her this time… "Coming, coming," he answers, walking out the bathroom with a towel tucked around his waist… "Baby what are you doing home so early? Did something happen at work?" He asks, immediately picking up on her distress signals… "What's going on?"

"Oh Jerry, you won't believe it when I tell you…"

xxxxxxxx

"YOU DID WHAT?!" He yells, unable to believe that she would stoop so low… "Breaching patient confidential, have you completely lost your mind, you shouldn't have done that, my God! You do realise that what you did was illegal, right?" He warns her, "If you had got caught you could have faced a disciplinary, jeopardise your entire career… or even worse got yourself arrested! What on Earth were you thinking woman?!"

"I was thinking that my son was making the worst decision in his life by trusting her again, and I was right!" She defends… "Fitz needed to know the truth!"

"Only he knew the truth already!" he retorts, "Because the very same woman who you say cannot be trusted, gathered enough courage to tell him about the abortion herself!"

She looks at him, incredulously…. "Hold up… What's going on here? I've just told you that Olivia killed our son's baby, our grandchild, so how on Earth can you be so calm about this? Did you know already, is that it?!"

"No Anne, I did not know, because if I did I would have told you, because that's what people in relationships do, they remain open and honest. Which, might I add, that's exactly what Olivia was with Fitz, she was honest, something in which you fail to recognise." He sighs exasperatedly, "Besides, Fitz knows the deal so he wouldn't even dream of telling me something like that, especially if he felt you were not ready to know! And let's face it Anne, you're not!"

"Oh I highly doubt that they had any intention of telling us in the first place!" she accuses.

"Maybe you're right Anne, maybe we were never going to be told, but has the thought ever crossed your mind that maybe it would have been easier for all parties concerned, if you and I did not know?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well look at you!" He gestures to her self-indulged behaviour… "You're so wrapped up in your own thoughts and feelings that you haven't even considered what a decision like this could have had on Olivia's life or our son's for that matter… Just in case you didn't realise, it's not all about you Anne!"

That hit a raw nerve. "Whatever Jerry, say what you will about me, but I can't help how I feel- and regardless of what you say about her, Olivia had other options available to her, she just chose to ignore them. And with regards to our son… Hell, I don't know what to think anymore, although considering she's about to move back in, one can gather how he really feels about it!"

"Really? And how does he feel exactly… this I'd like to know?!"

"Well the fact that he's still taking her back, with open arms, makes me think he's not that bothered about the abortion at all…" She retorts bitterly.

Jerry has never been more disappointed in his wife, and finds himself looking at her as if she is a stranger… "I can't believe you can be so obtuse about this! Because knowing Fitz I believe the news of this abortion would have completely tore him in two, he's probably still struggling to get his head around it… And Olivia, granted when she came back I had my reservations too, as you well know, but the more I learn of her situation, the more I understand why she did what she did, even now, with the knowledge of the abortion, I can't bring myself to judge or chastise the poor girl, because it's clear to me that's she done a pretty good job of punishing herself over the last two years on her own… Her grief alone drove her to take her own life, and on more than one occasion too! Or did you not see that part documented in her medical file?"

Anne is momentarily silenced, as he presses on heavily… "The pair of them has been to hell and back, and yes, at first I too was worried that Olivia's return would send Fitz for a loop again, but do you know what, I was wrong! So very wrong, because that girl came back fighting; determined to make amends and prove herself to be trusted, prove that she can be a good mother to her son, and prove herself to be the wife that Fitz had once devoted his entire life too… And as far as I'm concerned she has done that and more. It's obvious to me that she's in this for the long haul Anne… And clearly Fitz knows it too, otherwise he wouldn't dare take the risk, not with his heart again and definitely not where Josh's welfare is concerned either. At the end of the day I trust my son to make his own decisions… And maybe, just maybe you should try and do the same for once! Otherwise you might just find yourself in a position where your son has to choose between you and his family… And I'm telling you for a fact Anne, you won't like the choice he'll make!"