Surprises
"What the hell are you doing?" Abby yelled in a voice full of surprise. She had come home from work early, at Fitz's strong suggestion. She had no idea what was going on but now that she was standing in the doorway of her best friend's bedroom, she saw that Olivia was packing a bag.
"I am getting out of here." Olivia muttered with barely controlled rage.
"What? Why? Where are you going?" Abby asked in rapid fire fashion.
Olivia glanced at her friend standing in the doorway. "I don't know yet, but I'm not staying here. I can't live with people who don't tell me what's going on when it involves me!"
Abby had had enough of her craziness. Walking into Liv's room, she grabbed her clothes from inside the bag and threw them on the bed. "You're not going anywhere! You need to calm down, Liv."
Olivia got in her face and pointed a finger at her. "You are supposed to be on my side, Abby."
"I am on your side." Abby said not backing down. "Always have been."
"Really?" Liv spat out. "If you were on my side you would have told me that Collin drove all the way down here and had a full on conversation with Quinn outside of this house instead of keeping it to yourself!"
"Oh. That." Abby grimaced.
"Yea. That. You get that not telling me about what he is doing isn't helpful, right?"
Abby looked toward the door, hoping to catch sight of Fitz to help her out. He was nowhere to be found. He was smart like that. "We were just trying to keep you calm. You are not supposed to be getting all wound up, as Fitz says. Who says all wound up by the way? My grandpa, that's who."
"Stay focused, Abs." Olivia sat down heavily on the bed and watched Abby sit down beside her. "I don't want my daughter living in fear. I want her to be strong and independent. I want her to be a badass."
"And she will be, but running isn't an option, Liv. And it's no way to teach your daughter how to be a badass. Collin has proven that no matter where you go, he's going to look for you. You stay and you fight, but you don't fight alone. We are all with you. And now we have another female badass on our side. A badass with a gun." Abby told her with a grin.
"I know, but I am the one he is looking for. I need for you guys to tell me when this shit happens. I know Fitz is scared. Hell, I'm petrified. But if I think everything is fine and dandy, how am I supposed to protect me and this baby when he shows up out of nowhere at...my job? Orrrrr at the new house? Or the grocery store? Do you get what I'm saying?"
Abby leaned her head on Olivia's shoulder. She wasn't packing clothes anymore, so chances were good that the majority of her mad was wearing off. "I'm sorry, Liv. I should have told you. I like to think that you and the peanut are in a special bubble of my making. A happy Abby bubble. Yea."
"You know that's ridiculous, right?" Olivia asked with a chuckle.
"Shhh!" The redhead chided her. "In my happy little bubble, you and Fitz and Riley are all happy and safe and no one can screw with you. So, when some asshole decides to come around and start some shit in my best friend's life, I feel like he has disrupted the happy little bubble and he needs to be dealt with. I know how the thought of Collin being around scares the shit out of you, so I didn't tell you. Who blabbed, by the way? Fitz?"
"Shut up. I'm the mom and it's my job to protect my baby from the asshole known as her father. I can't do that if I'm not told that he's a real threat. I'm glad Fitz told me. He knows I can handle anything as long as he's with me. Divided, we don't stand a chance."
"So, if all that's true, where in the hell did you think you were running off to? Bora Bora with Fitz? That would last five whole minutes and then you'd be missing me so much you'd beg him to bring you back home."
Olivia chuckled. "Probably. But tell me if there are any more Collin sightings please so that I can be prepared when I come face to face with him."
"That's not gonna happen, Liv. Not a long as Fitz or I have air in our lungs."
"I know Collin, and I know it's going to happen sooner or later." Olivia was quiet for a long moment. "Maybe I should just take charge of the situation. Maybe I should just go with Fitz to Collin's house and have an open and honest talk with him about everything? The wedding, Riley, the adoption. All of it. At least that way, he would see that I wasn't hiding anymore. That I came to him to talk it all out."
"Are you crazy?" Abby exclaimed. "The problem with your idea is that you are expecting a rational adult conversation, and Collin is neither of those things. He might try something."
"He wouldn't. Not with Fitz there. He'll be mad, but I wouldn't blame him for that. What I blame him for is the stalking and creepy shit he's been doing. I think this is the best way for me to diffuse the situation. I don't know if Fitz will be up to it or not."
"Well, why don't we go ask him now?"
"I know the chipper sound in your voice means you think he will side with you, but I disagree. Let's go."
"Absolutely not!" Fitz declared firmly in the living room after Olivia described what was on her mind. "You want to willingly go to his house and put your life, as well as our daughter's life in jeopardy? No!"
"Immmm just gonna...go back to my room now." Abby muttered and disappeared quickly.
"What do you think he's going to do with you standing right there, Fitz?" Olivia asked. She truly didn't understand why he thought this was going to be a big deal. They were just going to talk.
"It doesn't matter because I'm not willing to take that chance." He was trying to be patient and kind with his words, but he was quickly losing the battle. He couldn't believe that she wanted to meet with the man who had scared the shit out of her just a few days ago.
Olivia touched his shoulder. "Okay. I can see that meeting in his house is not my best idea. What if we met in a public place instead?"
Fitz sighed heavily and opened his arms, where Olivia quickly and willingly went. "I'm sorry I yelled. I just have very specific feelings about this man who gave you no choice but to run when you found out you were pregnant. I don't want you anywhere near him. I am going to have a conversation with him about adopting Riley, but I really wasn't planning on taking you with me. In fact, if you never see him again, that would be fine with me."
"He's not going to go away as easily as you think. He's going to cause problems because that's how he is."
"Hey, I have some influence, a good job, and a fleet of lawyers at my disposal should I ever need them. Let's try to stay positive about this, okay?" He pressed a kiss to her temple.
Olivia didn't say anything. She just held onto him. She knew, more than anyone, that Collin was going to be as big of a pain in the ass as he could be. And he'd get great joy in that too.
"We are going to find a resolution to this problem, Livvie. One that has a good end result for all of us. I promise."
She pulled away and looked up into his blue eyes. "I trust you, Fitz. I really do, but I can't stay in this house until you go talk to him or he's stopped or captured or whatever."
"Okay. I get it. You need to get out of the house. Let's go do something then." he suggested.
Olivia gave him a look of disbelief.
"What? Need a good diversion from thinking about all of this dark shit."
"You want to get out of the house?"
"Yea. And I know you do too." he said simply.
"Where do you want to go?" she asked. This ought to be good, she thought to herself.
"Do you have everything you need for the house?"
"We are waiting for the security system to be installed, and then we are good to move in. Thank God! I love Abby, but I am way past ready to get into my own house. But it's gotta be safe first."
"Do you have everything you need for Riley?"
"Really, Fitz?" She asked dryly. "You bought more stuff than my parents and your father combined." She put her hand on top of her belly and smiled when his covered it. "She has more clothes than all the women in this house combined. She has countless boxes of diapers, and wipes, and she already has five pairs of shoes. We're set for her, dad."
He gave her a smug look before leaning down and pecking her lips. "I can take care of my daughter however I want to, thank you very much, babe."
"She's our daughter, mister."
Fitz squatted down in front of Olivia and spoke to her belly in a whisper as he wore a conspiratorial grin. "Daddy's got you, Riley."
An idea came to him. The one thing he knew she had to need something for and would lead to them leaving the house to search for. "Do you have everything you need for the wedding?"
Olivia thought about that one for a minute. Her brain searched through her lengthy mental list of things she needed and the list of things she had bought already. A look of surpsed rememberance bloomed across her face as she remembered the one item she had put off until the end. Her eyes flicked up to his, and she wondered if she should tell him or not. "Well..."
Once again, he dipped his head and pecked her lips. Taking her hand in his he grinned down at her and said, "that's a no. Let's go shopping."
She planted her feet and his arm jerked when he tried to lead her to the door. "Liv? What's the matter?"
"I...can't go with you."
He turned to face her; his grin dropping several degrees. "Why not? Whatever it is, we'll take care of it. I promise."
"Beeeecause the only thing I have left to buy for the wedding is..." she mumbled the answer inaudibly on purpose.
Fitz took a step in her direction, squinting at her. "The last thing you have left to buy is what now?"
"Uhhhhh," she squeezed her eyes shut tight. She didn't want to see his reaction when he heard what she said. "My dress?"
His mouth formed that little o and his eyes got huge as his eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline. She couldn't resist and peeked up at him. "Livvie! You haven't bought your dress yet? Why not? After the bride, it's the star of the day!"
"I knowwww, but being pregnant makes finding a wedding dress difficult. I have to keep my growing belly in mind and who knows how huge it's going to be by the time our wedding day rolls around. I'm not looking forward to trying on dozens of dresses and being disappointed dozens of times." There it was. She had said the words out loud that she hadn't even admitted to herself. She was surprised that she felt so much better for telling him.
"Then we'll get it right the first time. ABBYYYY!" He called out.
"What? No!" Olivia squeaked out. She turned her head when she heard her crazy best friend's footsteps approaching. She gave him a look with wild eyes and asked, "what are you doing, Fitz?"
"Have the two of you kissed and made up yet, or are you still talking about..."
"Don't finish that sentence or say that name!" He warned, pointing a finger at her. "We've made up and moved onto another topic."
"Yay." Abby replied dryly.
"Has it escaped your attention that your supposed best friend still hasn't bought her wedding dress yet?" he asked.
"What?" The redhead turned her bored look onto Olivia. "What the hell, Liv? Really?"
Olivia offered a small smile.
Abby put her hand on her hip and her voice got louder. "What the hell, Liv?!"
The smile as forgotten, and a scowl replaced it.
Fitz released Liv's hand and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a satisfied grin. Abby could be the bad guy this time. She was scarier anyways.
Olivia looked at her fiancé grinning like a fool and asked, "are you just gonna let her talk to me like that?"
He was quick to reply. "uh huh."
"Why the hell haven't you found your dress yet? Your wedding is right around the corner! We don't have time for you to drag your ass on one of the most important parts of the day!"
"Thank you That's what I said too, Abs." Fitz chimed in.
Olivia turned on him, pointing a finger in his face. The moment she opened her mouth Abby started in again. "We've got to go get a dress now."
"Fitz was going to take me." Olivia offered. She didn't want to be anywhere near Abby. She was too wound up right now.
"Yea, okay. If this was Narnia, that wouldn't be a problem. But this is Florida. And in my Florida, Fitz isn't allowed to see your dress before the wedding." Abby kept her eyes on Liv as she held out her open hand in front of Fitz and waited.
Fitz reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. After opening it, he placed a credit card in Abby's open hand, then kissed her on the cheek, and said, "you're the best."
Abby grinned while keeping eye contact with Olivia and chirped out, "I know."
Olivia sent them both lethal glares.
Abby left the room to get her purse but called out, "Be ready to roll in five Liv."
Fitz took a step closer to his obviously angry little fiancé. "Five minutes. That's not a very long time for us to say bye."
"Bye." Liv said dryly and tried to walk away from him.
Fitz chuckled and put his hand on her hip. She wasn't angry, she was pissed off. "Liv?"
"Uh uh! Don't you 'Liv' me! You brought the crazy redhead into this mess, and she's gonna make me try on dress after dress until I cry or something stupid like you see on tv. I wanted to get out of the house with you. Why did you push her onto me?" Liv whined.
"You're cute when you're dramatic."
"I'll remind you of those words when I'm giving birth and probably calling you a mother..."
"My bad!" He chimed in. "I'm sorry. The truth is I need to go to the hotel for a meeting with the expansion team. It shouldn't last more than an hour or two. I'll cook dinner when I get home so that you and the crazy redhead have a hot meal waiting for you when you get here. Quinn and Stephen too. Sound good?"
"What are you going to feed me later?" she asked with a pout.
Fitz couldn't help but grin at her. Pulling her into his arms again, he asked, "what would you like to have for dinner?"
"I don't care about dinner." She replied in a sultry voice.
"Liv!" he warned. "Don't."
"I asked what you are going to feed me later?"
"Ohhhh-kay. I can't unhear that, even though I wish I could. The only thing that is making me feel remotely better is knowing I have Fitz's platinum card in my purse. Let's go, Olivia before I have to hear any more disturbing things." Abby said with a crinkled nose.
"I'll send you a picture. Keep your phone handy." Fitz said before kissing her one more time.
Olivia giggled.
"Ewww, You guys gotta move out soon." Abby muttered.
Thirty minutes later, Abby and Olivia were looking through racks and racks of wedding dresses at a cute little dress store specifically for pregnant women. They each held up beautiful white dresses for the other one to inspect closer as they browsed. Before long, the two of them had a decent number of dresses ready for Olivia to try on.
Olivia was led in the back and shown to a changing area. Abby sat down on a comfy sofa and looked through her phone as she waited for the fashion show while the employee helped Olivia into the first dress. A few minutes later, Olivia walked out. She stepped up on a flatform in front of three mirrors and waited while the young woman helping her fluffed her gown.
Abby wasn't looking at the dress. She was looking at her friend's face for her reaction. She didn't seem too thrilled about it. Still, she asked, because that was her job. "Well? Whaddya think?"
Olivia looked at her reflection in all three mirrors before making a face and saying, "I don't hate it."
Abby chuckled. "I do. But it's your day. If it doesn't make you happy then don't get it. It really is that simple."
"What if I try on a hundred dresses and I don't feel anything for any of them?" Olivia asked.
Abby shrugged. "We'll just buy you a pretty white dress to wear. Nothing fancy. But...this is just the first one you've tried on. Rome wasn't built in a day, Liv."
"You're right. I'll try on a few more."
Olivia felt a tingle as the fourth dress was taken off the hanger. She couldn't remember if she or Abby had picked this dress. It was a sleeveless, chiffon and satin, A line gown, with a V neck, that had beading across the top. It had a large pleat in the front which would accomodate her growing belly without making it seem obvious. It was gorgeous! She could hardly wait to try it on.
Once she stepped into it, Olivia knew that this was her dress. She didn't even know if it was her size, or if it would need to be hemmed, but she knew. As the employee pulled it up over her body, she silently prayed that it wouldn't need to be altered much.
She nervously kept her eyes closed until the buttons on the back were done up and the employee said, "okay. Open your eyes and see what you think of this one."
The mirror in the dressing room was much smaller, but Olivia knew. She covered her mouth with her hands and just stared at her reflection. She felt like crying, but she closed her eyes tightly once more and willed the tears away. She had one more opinion to hear and then she'd share her thoughts. She held her breath as she walked out to where Abby was texting on her phone.
The second Abby looked up her green eyes took in the sight in front of her from head to toe before she screamed. Really loudly! Getting to her feet, the redhead went to her best friend and casually asked, "what are your thoughts?"
A tear rolled down Olivia's cheek as she smiled bigger than she ever had before. "This is my dress."
"Ohmygod! This is the dress you're going to marry Fitz in! You look gorgeous! It's a tad long though." Abby observed.
"We can hem it with no problems at all." The helpful saleswoman informed them.
"Do you want a veil?" Abby asked.
Olivia crinkled her nose. "Not really. I just wanted something beautiful but simple at the same time. It's gonna be too hot on the beach for a veil anyways."
"You look amazing. Really. I'm not just kissing your ass so we can go home either."
"You're such a good friend." Olivia said rolling her eyes. "Who were you texting?"
"Fitz. He's going to be a little late tonight. But he's totally hyper that you found your dress."
"I'm never gonna hear the end of it, am I?" Olivia asked with a sigh.
"Probably not."
"That's what I thought, but I'm so happy right now, that I don't even care!"
"This is your dress?" the saleswoman asked with a knowing smile on her face.
"It is." Olivia replied, still smiling.
"Let's go make some notes, and schedule you to come in and get measured to get the length altered some. When is your wedding?"
"September twenty third."
"And when is your baby due?"
"The week of Thanksgiving."
"Perfect. Naturally, your belly is going to continue to grow between now and your wedding, but I still think the length will need to be hemmed a little bit. What we can do is schedule you to come in like a week before the wedding to get the alterations underway. That will give us a better idea of where to hem the dress without making it too short."
"Great."
"Do you want to take the dress with you or leave it here?" she asked Olivia.
Abby and Olivia looked at each other for a split second before answering in unison. "Leave it here."
The three women chuckled together, and Olivia explained. "I have a feeling my fiancé will get nosey and try to find it. The only place I could hide it is in her room and we live together at the moment."
"That's not gonna work, is it? Well, I understand perfectly. We'll put it in a garment bag with your name on it and hang it up in the back room until you come in to get it altered, okay?"
Olivia nodded.
Abby handed over Fitz's credit card confidently. The sale was completed, and the two friends watched as the dress was bagged and tagged as promised before they thanked the saleswoman once again and left.
Olivia couldn't keep the grin off her face even if she tried. She couldn't wait to tell Fitz all about the beautiful dresses she had tried on. And it hadn't taken forever to find hers either! She was so excited! She walked outside with Abby by her side and wondered how it had gotten dark so fast. Glancing at her watch, she was surprised to see that they had been inside longer than she thought and that it was past dinnertime.
Abby started the car and the two of them headed to the beach house. They chatted non stop all the way to the house, the mood so much lighter than it had been when they left. Abby pulled up in front of the beach house they shared. Turning off the car, the two of them sat there and talked for a minute. "I can't believe you found your wedding dress at the first store! That was insanely easy. You know that never happens, right?"
"I'm still in shock! A deliriously happy shock, where the smile will never fall off my face."
"Good. You deserve it. You deserve nothing but good things, Liv. It's nice to see you getting them." She took off her seatbelt and leaned over to hug her friend.
Opening her eyes, Abby's heart started pounding in her chest. Without moving her lips, Abby whispered, "oh my god."
"What's the ma..." Olivia began. Her door was pulled opened. She turned in her seat to see what the hell was going on.
Collin stepped closer to her and roughly grabbed Olivia's arm. He gave her a smile and in an overly sweet voice he said, "hey, pretty girl."
