I know I'm late again with this update, but I'm simply not able to find enough time to update twice a week right now. I hope you enjoy this and please let me know what you think. As always, thank you for the great feedback!

~ Chapter 37 ~

Fitz woke up the next morning to the sight of Olivia pulling her scrub top over her head, smoothing the material out as it stretched across her growing belly. She had started to complain about her clothes not fitting anymore, but so far the comfortable scrubs fit well enough to avoid a meltdown like the one he'd witnessed when Olivia tried to button her favorite pair of jeans. He observed her quietly as she looked at herself in the mirror, caressing her small bump for a moment before a tiny smile grew on her lips. This was by far his favorite thing to watch – the subtle, quiet ways Olivia was rediscovering her own body and bonding with the child growing inside of her.

"Morning.", Fitz mumbled, and she turned at the sound of his sleepy voice.

"I didn't mean to wake you.", Olivia smiled.

She walked over to the bed and sat on its edge, running her hand through Fitz's messy curls. On days when Fitz didn't have to go into the office, Olivia usually tried to sneak out of the apartment without waking him. Somehow, he had woken up today, but she couldn't help but be happy that she'd get a few minutes with him before it would be time to leave.

"You didn't.", Fitz assured her. "My leg's tingling and it woke me up."

"Are you okay?"

He could hear the nervousness in her voice, because it always seemed to creep in when she was concerned about the status of his health.

"I'm fine. I might have strained it a bit too much lately. It almost feels like it's asleep."

"Do you want to try getting up to move it?"

"Yeah."

Olivia moved so he could swing his legs over the edge of the bed. Once Fitz's feet were planted firmly on the floor, he tried to stand, but wobbled slightly before he found his footing. For a while, Olivia simply watched him as he slowly moved his left leg, shaking it like one would do to get rid of a cramp or the feeling of numbness that came with your leg or arm falling asleep. After several minutes, he still didn't seem to be able to stand firmly on both legs.

"Fitz, this seems a lot more severe than your average morning stiffness."

It often took him a moment to be able to move his legs freely in the mornings, but it hadn't been this bad in weeks. He only acknowledged her with a nod of his head, but Olivia could tell that he was beginning to feel uneasy about the situation too.

"It's kind of numb and I can't seem to get rid of the sensation."

"Why don't you come to the hospital with me and we'll have it looked at?"

"Liv, no. I'll be fine.", Fitz argued. "You know this happens sometimes. I haven't exactly been resting lately, so I probably just overdid it a bit. It'll go away."

"Well good. Then the doctor should be able to tell us just that."

He huffed, but when she pointed to the bathroom, signaling him to get ready to leave with her, Fitz did so anyway. Olivia watched him walk away, the limp more pronounced than it had been in quite a while. By the time Fitz reappeared in the bedroom, she had grabbed his cane from where he'd left it by the door. Most days, he didn't even use it anymore, but Olivia knew he would need the extra security today.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts and worries. Olivia signed Fitz in and walked him to the waiting room. Being a nurse had its advantages, and she knew they'd work Fitz into the doctor's schedule quickly. She wanted to stay with him, but Olivia was about to be late for her shift already, and she knew he wouldn't want her to miss work.

"You'll call me as soon as you talked to a doctor, okay?"

"I will, sweetheart, but please don't worry. It's probably nothing."

"Yeah."

Neither one of them was convinced, but Olivia kissed Fitz goodbye and left him anyway. She had been working for nearly two hours when the cellphone she'd kept in the pocket of her scrubs began to vibrate, indicating a text from Fitz. It simply told her that he was about to talk to the doctor, and he wanted her there for it. Olivia met Abby's eyes across the room, and her friend simply nodded, telling her wordlessly that it was okay to go and meet Fitz. She'd told Abby about the events of the morning as soon as she'd gotten to work, and she knew she could count on her colleague to cover for her for a while.

When Olivia arrived back downstairs in the waiting room, Fitz was just pushing himself up to follow the doctor into his office. He smiled, obviously relieved that Olivia had made it there in time. Taking his free hand into her much smaller one, Olivia followed Fitz.

"Mr. Grant, please have a seat. You must be his wife?", the doctor asked, holding out a hand for Olivia to shake.

"Girlfriend.", she smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Richter."

"Funny how one can work in the same hospital and never run into each other, isn't it?"

The doctor's calm attitude and kind eyes immediately put Olivia at ease, even though she wasn't any less nervous now than she had been all morning.

"Well, Mr. Grant, as you know, we did a scan on your spine to see what's causing the numbness in your leg. I'm sure you have concluded that it has something to do with your accident a few months ago, and it does."

Olivia felt Fitz's grasp on her hand tighten, and she squeezed his finger reassuringly in return.

"You're recovery has been remarkable considering just how severe your injuries were, but it's not uncommon for certain issues to arise later on. Your scans reveal a nerve that has been – in layman's terms – pinched. It happens to a lot of people, and more often than not, it can be corrected through a multitude of non-invasive ways. With your previous injuries, however, this is a little bit more complicated. The location is very close to where my colleagues operated previously."

Fitz felt his heart sink. He couldn't imagine going through all of this again – not when he had come so far after his accident,

"What does this mean for Fitz?", Olivia spoke up quietly.

"We could try different things here, but there is no guarantee that anything will work as well as surgery would. I understand that that's probably the last thing you want to go through right now, but if everything works as planned, you'll be back on your feet within a couple days."

"There are no risks?", Fitz asked carefully.

"There are always risks with any surgery, of course. In your case, parts of your back literally re-adjusted themselves when you began walking again after the accident. While most of that is certainly good, you just happened to pinch a nerve in the process. We go in, fix that issue, and you can continue on as usual. You will most likely have to slow down with your physical therapy regimen a little at first, but you will walk just as well as you do now. The only difference will be that the numbness will be gone."

"And what if we decide against the surgery?", Fitz said. "What happens then?"

"To be honest with you…", Dr. Richter began. "… that's difficult to tell. You could just feel the numbness the way it presents itself now, or it could get a lot worse to the point where it'll be difficult for you to use your left leg."

"So you would suggest surgery.", Olivia summarized.

She was absolutely terrified by the prospect of watching Fitz go through surgery and the aftermath again, but the medical professional in her also knew that it was by far his best option.

"In my professional opinion, it is the only way to go. However, you are the one that needs to make that decision, Mr. Grant. I would suggest you decide within the next couple of days. We can schedule the procedure as soon as Thursday, and you'll be out of here within a few short days. I'm sure you want to discuss this with your girlfriend first, so take a day or two and then let me know what you want to do."

Fitz nodded his head and then turned to Olivia, searching her face for any hint of what she was thinking. Instead of her face, it was her hand that gave him a pretty clear idea of what it was he needed to do. Subconsciously, Olivia had brought Fitz hand to rest on her stomach where it covered their unborn child protectively. He couldn't imagine ever losing use of his legs again, especially with a baby on the way. Squeezing Olivia's hand, Fitz made his decision.

"I don't think we'll need the time. Right, Livvie?"

"Are you sure?", she asked, imploring him silently to think things through again. "This needs to be your decision."

"We both know there's only one way to go here."

"Yeah.", Olivia agreed with a sigh.

He hated that he was doing this to her again – that she'd be worried about him when all she should be thinking about was her own health and the little life growing inside of her. Fitz trusted the doctor, and he had faith in his skills as a surgeon. He understood that – more likely than not – everything would be okay, but that didn't change the fact that it was a setback to everything he had achieved over the past few months with Olivia's help. Most of all, he was worried about what it would do to her when he'd disappear into an OR while she had to sit and wait.

"Schedule the surgery.", Fitz breathed nervously. "I'll do it."