A/N: PSA! Nurses are angels. They are the heart of healthcare institutions, they make those places WORK. But everybody has bad days, and everybody gets overwhelmed, and sometimes Mama Bears have to step in and advocate for their children. Okay, End PSA.

7:10am

Olivia jerks awake on the cot, instantly sitting up and looking over toward Ruby's crib.

"Hey, relax," Fitz soothes, having watched her startle, "She's okay. She just woke up, and she's hungry."

He's swaying back and forth with Ruby in his arms, and she's looking around curiously, a little apprehensive about her new surroundings. She's holding a handful of Fitz's shirt, leaning into him and looking much calmer than the night before.

"How does she sound?" Olivia breathes, standing up and walking to them.

"Her cough is still really wet," he says, wrinkling his nose, "But, I dunno, she seems a little bit more aware, don't you think?"

"Hi, bug," Liv smiles, stepping into his chest and wrapping her arm around Ruby, "How are you? Did you get some sleep? Yeah?"

"Ah-ma-ah. Mama. Mama. Oh."

They both smile when she babbles a little, and Olivia takes her when she reaches, settling down into the rocking chair.

"Oh yeah?" she coos, smiling when Ruby sticks her head underneath her shirt, "Are you hungry? I hope so, because Mommy needs help."

"Are you full?" Fitz chuckles, yawning and stretching.

"Oh yeah," she sighs, shifting uncomfortably, "Not like, newborn full, but I haven't woken up like this in months. If today is anything like yesterday as far as how much she's nursing, I'll be pumping six ounces again. I need water."

"I had Abby pack one of your bottles from home," Fitz remembers, turning to fish through their duffel bag, "I'll get you water. Do you want a tea? Or coffee? I'm starving."

"I don't know what I want, I'm not hungry," she sighs, shaking her head, "Can you just—?"

He presses a kiss against her forehead. "I'll bring you something. Be right back."

In the time it takes him to find the cafeteria and come back, Ruby has nursed and been subjected to more suctioning by her morning nurses. This time, Olivia is allowed to stay with her and keep hands on her, to lean in and kiss her chubby legs and feet. Ruby's just as upset as she was in the middle of the night, but it doesn't take as long this time and when Fitz comes back they're settling into the rocking chair again.

"Oh, sweet pea, more tears," Fitz breathes, immediately handing Liv a full two-liter bottle of water.

"Yep," Liv sighs, gratefully taking a few gulps of water, "Say 'you're glad you missed it Daddy, they were sucking my boogies out again'."

Ruby sniffles into her shoulder, whimpering and burrowing into her favorite spot.

"Oh man," he sighs, pulling the little rolling table over in between their two chairs, "I'm sorry, baby. Here, just green tea with peach. Did she do okay?"

Liv hums and takes a sip, closing her eyes contentedly. "I mean, she hates it, she's coughing up a lot. But she's okay, I think. Right, sweet girl? Yeah, as long as you can lay on Mommy you're okay, right?"

Ruby stops whimpering and sighs, already yawning and looking tired again. Then, she sits up and looks around, craning her neck to look behind herself at the crib.

"Mow? Mow?"

They both smile when she asks for her mouse and reaches for it, and Fitz stands up to get it.

"You want your mouse?" he says softly, picking up her mouse and blanket, "Here we go, there's mouse."

Ruby squeezes the mouse into a hug and lays down against Olivia's shoulder again, blinking sleepily.

"How many words does she have now?" Liv wonders, wrapping the blanket around her and starting to rock her, "She has 'dada', 'mama', 'mouse', 'mo' for Micah, 'no', 'ohs', 'uh oh'—"

"—she meowed the other day," he snorts, taking a sip of coffee.

"She did?" she grins, pressing her lips to Ruby's forehead, "That's adorable."

Fitz unwraps two bagel sandwiches, one with eggs and bacon. and another with a thick layer of cream cheese in the middle. She's using both arms to cuddle Ruby, so he picks up her breakfast and leans in to feed it to her.

"Here," he offers, holding out half of the cream cheese bagel, "Bite."

"That is an insane amount of cream cheese," she comments, eyes widening.

"Calories," he says meaningfully, giving her a look, "I couldn't get you to eat anything yesterday, and you're making milk like crazy."

She leans in to take a bite, and as soon as the creamy, salty flavor coats her tongue her stomach growls in response.

"Good?" he grins, holding the bagel out for her to take another bite.

"So good," she manages, through the mouthful of food, "Thank you."

"She's out again," Fitz nods, smiling at their daughter.

Olivia glances down, tucking the blanket in closer around her little body. "She's still so tired. She normally sleeps all night, she only got about four hours. I don't think she's completely comfortable with the oxygen on."


12:30pm

"Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter…little darling, it feels like years since it's been here…here comes the sun, doo-dun-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say…it's all right…"

Fitz smiles with his eyes closed, enjoying the sound of Olivia singing to their daughter. The first time she sang to Micah as an infant, he had been shocked to hear how beautiful her voice was. Now, both of their kids love when she sings to them; Micah asks her for it, Ruby is so comforted by it, and he loves when he's able to listen too.

"…here comes the sun, doo-dun-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say…it's all right…Daddy's listening to me."

He opens his eyes to find her nursing Ruby again, head resting against the back of the rocking chair.

"I love your voice," he murmurs, grinning at them, "What do you need? More water?"

"I'm good on water," she sighs, smoothly switching Ruby from one side to the other with practiced ease, "Go ahead, bug, Mommy's just trying to stay even."

Ruby relaxes in her arms again, nursing contentedly, holding a handful of Olivia's shirt the way she often does.

At that moment, a nurse bustles into the room and they both look up.

"Alright, is this Miss Ruby? She's due for a treatment," the nurse announces, plopping things onto the bed and starting to set up, "If you just bring her over here, I'll get her set up."

They both prickle a little at the hurried tone in this new person's voice, glancing at each other.

"Well," Olivia starts, shifting and looking down at Ruby, "She just—is there any way we can wait until she's finished? She probably only needs ten minutes, she really doesn't do well if I—"

"—she's due at twelve-thirty and it's twelve-thirty," the nurse interrupts, briskly but not unkindly, "I need to follow what's been ordered by the doctor."

Against her better judgement, Liv gently stops their nursing session and sits Ruby up in her lap. Instantly, Ruby is unhappy, whimpering and clinging to her, burrowing her face into Liv's chest.

"I know, baby," she soothes, picking her up, "We just have to go over here for a few minutes, and then you can finish. I know you don't feel good, I'm sorry. Shhh."

As soon as Liv sits her down on the crib bed, Ruby starts to cry, hiccupping and reaching for her.

"Hey, you're okay," Liv soothes, wrapping her arm around her, "I know. I know."

She glances back at Fitz and he's watching them helplessly, uneasily rocking from one foot to the other. Their nurse slips the mask onto her face and tightens it, quickly turning on the nebulizer machine. It breaks Olivia's heart to hold her baby's arms down, to keep her from trying to pull the mask off, but she knows the faster they can get through the treatment the better. Ruby is inconsolable, coughing and sobbing, shaking her head back and forth.

After several moments of having her instincts scream at her, Liv decides she's had enough.

"She needs a minute," Olivia announces, shaking her head, "We need to try again in a few minutes."

"I know it's hard to watch her upset," the nurse tries, "But you know this is for her own good. I have six other patients to get to."

Olivia raises her eyebrows. "Don't let us keep you, then. She needs a minute, she wasn't done eating, that's why she's so upset. Don't feel like you have to come back, we can wait for someone less busy."

The nurse balks, turning pink. "I didn't mean—"

Olivia takes the nebulizer mask off herself, lifting Ruby back into her arms and sitting in the rocking chair.

"Ma'am—"

"I know, sweet girl, you're okay. Shhh, calm down," Liv soothes, only focused on her baby, cradling Ruby to her breast again, "There you go. I know. We'll try again in a minute."

Fitz strolls a few steps closer to the bewildered nurse, hands in his pockets.

"She gets what she wants," he mutters, raising his eyebrows, "I'd probably just move on if I were you."

The nurse exits quietly, and Fitz turns back to them, watching as Ruby rubs her eyes while she's nursing. Olivia shushes her softly for a few more seconds, and then sighs, looking up at him.

"Was I mean?" she asks, wrinkling her nose.

"No," he breathes, lying through his teeth, vigorously shaking his head.

She rolls her eyes, looking down at Ruby. "You know what, I'm not sorry. She's here to get better, and yanking her off my boob just to keep to some schedule isn't going to make her better. I'm sure they're busy but…she's a person too, a little person, but she has her own needs. Fifteen minutes isn't going to make or break her nebulizer schedule."

Fitz chuckles and leans in to kiss her forehead, gently squeezing Ruby's foot.


1:00pm

"Hi there."

They both look over as another new person knocks on the door frame and takes a step into their room. This time, it's a tiny woman wearing purple scrubs, wheeling a wagon behind her.

"I'm Simone," she says kindly, stepping forward to shake both of their hands, "I'm from Child Life, is Ruby up for playing with some toys?"

"Oh," Liv breathes, glancing over at Fitz, "I don't know. Maybe?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've—what's Child Life?" Fitz asks, eyeing the wagon full of brightly colored plastic.

"Yeah, of course!" Simone grins, "So, I'm a Child Life Specialist. Basically, we spend our days helping kids cope with different kinds of medical situations, using lots of different methods. Sometimes we're helping to prep them for something specific, and other times we just come in and play. We try to do whatever they need to feel more comfortable, they need special care."

Everything Simone says resonates with Olivia, and she finds herself warming and starting to trust her almost instantly.

"That's wonderful," she says softly, rubbing Ruby's back, "I didn't know such a thing even existed."

"Yeah," Simone smiles, tipping her head to look at Ruby, "The nurses let me know that she's really hating those nebulizer treatments, I thought maybe I could try to help? Before her next one?"

"Okay," Liv agrees, gently turning Ruby around to sit in her lap, "Can you say hi, bug?"

"Hi, Ruby," Simone says softly, kneeling down but keeping her distance for the time being, "How's she feeling today?"

"She's really perked up the last few hours," Fitz sighs gratefully, "She hates pretty much everything they do to help her, but it's working."

"Why don't we sit on the floor?" Simone suggests, taking a clean blanket from her wagon and spreading it out next to the crib, "Does she play on the floor a lot at home? Sometimes for little ones who are used to that it's less intimidating than the crib."

"Sure," Liv breathes, slowly sliding down onto the blanket, "It's okay, bug. Do you want to play?"

Ruby whimpers and clings to her, refusing to sit on the blanket and crawling back up into her lap.

"That's okay, stay with Mama," Simone says kindly, starting to pull items out of the wagon, "Do you like to play with blocks? How about these?"

Slowly, over the course of around ten minutes, Ruby starts to warm up to Simone. As soon as she realizes that nothing scary is going to happen, she lets Olivia sit her on the floor between her legs. She stays close, but she leans forward and starts to pick up the new toys, immediately reaching for the stacking rings.

"Oh, we have some of these at home, huh?" Liv says, tipping the toy over so that the rings fall off, "Should we try the purple one first? This big one? She likes these."

"Oh yeah, look at you go," Simone smiles, inching a little closer, "She's great at it. Will she do this for a while?"

Fitz grins, leaning forward on his knees. "Longer than most of the other stuff we have for her."

While Ruby plays with the rings, Simone starts to casually place a few stuffed animals on the blanket, and then a few nebulizer masks similar to the ones the nurses have been using for Ruby's breathing treatments. Olivia notices that these masks are painted to look like different animals; a turtle, an elephant, and a fish.

"So, at her age," Simone explains, "It's really just about play. She doesn't have the communication skills yet for us to really talk her through anything, but what we can do, is make things more familiar and maybe even a little fun. Now, maybe dad can come down here with us—"

Fitz perks up and sinks down onto the floor with them, crossing his legs.

"—and then you and I can just play over here with the monkey and the dinosaur. Oh goodness! I don't think Monty the Monkey feels very well. He needs some good medicine to make him feel better."

"Well, lucky for him, I know just the thing," Fitz grins, playing along, "He needs some, err…magic steam?"

"Magic steam!" Simone nods excitedly, winking, "I think that's perfect. How do we use the magic steam?"

Fitz glances over to see that Ruby's watching them, in between playing with her rings.

"Well, we just take this—turtle, we take the turtle, and he wears it on his face like this—"

He stretches the rubber band over the monkey's head and places the mask on its face, adjusting it slightly.

"—and then the magic steam comes out of the mask, so he can breathe it in!"

"Ruby, did you see that?" Simone asks, showing her the monkey, "Monty is using magic steam to feel better!"

Ruby looks apprehensive, glancing at Olivia who smiles at her. "Wow, bug. He has a special turtle mask!"

Ruby points at the monkey, looking at all of them in turn.

"Do you want to play with him?" Simone asks, holding the stuffed animal closer.

They watch as Ruby reaches for the monkey, holding it by the arms and looking at it curiously.

"Oh?" Ruby sighs, touching the mask and looking up at Liv.

"Yeah, he has a turtle mask on so he can get some magic steam. Then he feels better," she says softly, patting the monkey's head.

Ruby starts to play around with the mask, squeezing the plastic, pulling on the elastic band.

"How about if Daddy wears the elephant?" Simone suggests, getting her attention again.

Fitz picks up the small elephant mask and holds it over his nose, making a funny face at Ruby. He makes his very best elephant noise and she actually smiles, a real smile that makes a lump gather in Olivia's throat.

"Is Daddy so silly?" Liv whispers, leaning down to press kisses against her hair, "Should Mommy be the fish?"

Now having gotten the idea, she reaches for the fish mask and sucks her cheeks in to make fish lips, leaning around to show Ruby.

"Mama," Ruby giggles, reaching for her face.

"Is that funny?" Liv smiles, leaning down to kiss her cheek, "She's smiling."

Fitz nods, grinning at them. "It's so good to see that."

Simone has been lounging back, watching happily. "This is great. See if she wants to wear one and pretend to be an animal. If she doesn't, that's okay."

"Do you want to be the elephant?" Fitz asks, stretching out onto his stomach so he's closer to her, "Here. You do it?"

Ruby takes the mask and waves it around, showing it to him. "Dada! Dada?"

"See if she'll let you help her," Simone suggests quietly, "But don't force it."

"Here," Fitz says softly, guiding the mask toward her face, "Like this. What does the elephant say?"

Predictably, Ruby isn't really interested in having the strap around her head. But after a few minutes, she lets both Fitz and Olivia gently place the mask over her face, entertaining her with plenty of silly faces and praise.

"Now, once there's actually medicine coming out of there, and the pump is going, I don't expect her to be this happy," Simone explains, smiling as she watches them play, "But hopefully she won't hate it as much. Hopefully she'll just be annoyed by it, and that element of fear will be lessened."

"Thank you so much," Liv breathes, rubbing Ruby's back as she coughs for a few seconds, "She hasn't been this happy in days."

Simone leaves them the stacking rings, stuffed animals, and masks to play with, reassuring them that everything will find its way back to Child Life after they've been discharged.


3:30pm

After a slightly more successful nebulizer treatment and a long nursing session, Ruby finally lets Fitz take a turn in the rocking chair. They wait until she's exhausted and then make the transfer, shushing and murmuring to her while she settles against his chest. As soon as she's content and asleep, Olivia sighs and starts to do yoga stretches on the floor.

"I'm going to need to be in traction," she groans, hanging upside down in a forward fold.

Fitz chuckles, watching her contort herself into a few more poses. "I'd trade with you more if she'd let me. Mommy's girl."

She straightens up and goes to him, leaning in to press a soft, slow kiss against his mouth.

"Neither of us would've gotten through this without you," she murmurs, holding his gaze for a few moments.

"Excuse me?"

They both turn to look, and finally there's a familiar face at their door. Dr. McKellen is back, along with two nurses they've also seen before.

"How's this little sassy girl feeling?" she asks, unlooping her stethoscope, "I've heard she's already on the lowest oxygen setting."

Olivia and Fitz glance at each other, eyebrows raised.

"She is?" Fitz asks, looking down at his sleeping daughter.

"Ah. Sometimes things like that don't get communicated effectively, I'm sorry," Dr. McKellen smiles, "They've been weaning her oxygen settings for the last few hours. I'd like to try her on room air for the next hour, and I think she'll do fine. Can I listen?"

Fitz repositions his hands so that she can listen intently to Ruby's lungs, smiling reassuringly at Liv when she comes to stand next to them.

"She sounds so much better," Dr. McKellen says quietly, listening in a few more spots, "I think, if everything goes well over the next hour, I'm going to send you guys home."

Relief rushes through Olivia's body, and she toys with her wedding band absently. "Really? We can take her home?"

Dr. McKellen stands up and smiles reassuringly. "She's recovering very nicely. I definitely want her to continue with those nebulizer treatments for a few more days, so we'll get the pharmacy to set you up for that. I did read that she had a choking episode last night, which I'm sure was very scary for you guys. I'm confident that between the way her lungs sound now, plus the nebulized medication she's on, that won't happen again, okay? But I'll give you the option, we can keep her another night, or I can send you home."

"We're ready to go home, definitely," Fitz grins, looking up at Liv to confirm, "Thank you so much."

"I figured that would be the case," she smiles, nodding, "Well, let's go ahead with that one hour room air trial. It's great that she's napping, because that's the best test of whether she'll keep her oxygen saturation up with those nice, slow breaths. They'll let me know how it goes, and I'll put in her discharge orders after that if things look good, okay?"


9:00pm

To everyone's relief, Ruby's cleared to go home.

By the time everything is all said and done, between discharge paperwork and security plans, it's nine o'clock at night when they get home. Ruby naps during the car ride, and wakes up just as they pull into the driveway, whimpering and rubbing her eyes.

"See if she'll let you get her," Liv murmurs, walking around to the trunk to grab their bags, "You're warmer, she's not wearing a coat."

Fitz opens the car door and leans in, making quick work of the car seat buckle.

"Hey, sweet pea," he says softly, lifting Ruby into his arms, "Guess what? We're home. Yeah. C'mere. Are you tired?"

Ruby cuddles into his chest and puts her head down, yawning and smacking her lips. He wraps a blanket around her for the short walk into the house, guarding her against the chill in the air. She hums and coughs into his shoulder, rubbing her nose against his shirt.

They come in through the front door as quietly as they can, both flooding with relief as soon as the door is shut and locked.

Abby has made herself at home in front of the living room tv, lounging under a blanket with a gigantic bowl of popcorn and a bottle of wine.

"Comfortable?" Olivia smirks, walking over to grab a handful of popcorn.

"Your firstborn has been fed, bathed, and is already sleeping," she grins, raising her eyebrows, "You're welcome."

"Thank you," Liv murmurs, reaching down to give her a hug, "Did he end up eating dinner?"

"I caved and made the macaroni and cheese," Abby sighs, slouching down even further onto the couch, "I figure that's what aunties are for."

"Mama."

Ruby's fully awake now, sitting up in Fitz's arms and reaching for her from across the room.

"Hi bug. Sorry, Daddy, I tried," Liv murmurs, taking Ruby from him.

"That's okay," he smiles, leaning into kiss Ruby's temple, "Time to try and get her to sleep, anyway."

"Yeah, I want her to get some good sleep tonight. I think we'll take a nice warm lavender bath together," Liv says softly, rubbing Ruby's back, "Because I would also love to have a bath. And then we'll put on our nice cozy jammies, and rock to sleep. Does that sound nice, bug?"

Ruby yawns spectacularly, and then pulls at Olivia's shirt with both hands.

"Has it been a whole forty-five minutes since you had milk?" she teases, cuddling Ruby close and kissing her cheek, "Do you want to say hello to Bee real quick? Before she passes out?"

"I should go home," Abby says half-heartedly, gesturing vaguely and making no move to get up, "I shouldn't impose."

Fitz rolls his eyes, grinning. "Stay, Abby, you're half asleep. Your stuff is already in the guest room."

"Well," she sighs, stretching, "I don't know, you guys don't really need me anymore—"

"—stay, Abby," he smiles, flipping the kitchen lights off, "It's fine. I'll make waffles in the morning."

"Okay, well, since you're begging—"

"Goodnight, Abby," Liv chuckles, bouncing Ruby gently, "We'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," she yawns, burrowing into the couch.


9:35pm

"Stay awake, don't rest your head…don't lie down upon your bed…"

Olivia quietly sings to Ruby as they rock, letting her nurse herself to sleep after they've finished their bath. She smiles inwardly, thinking about how every 'rule' they've implemented around her sleep has been thrown out the window over the past few days. She doesn't feel the least bit guilty listening to her instincts, which are urging her to do whatever her baby needs for a long, peaceful night of sleep.

She falls asleep easily, slowly going limp with relaxation, breaths slow and even. Liv stands up and gently lowers her into the crib, tucking her mouse and blanket nearby, staring down at her daughter's perfect face.

And then, she's paralyzed.

All at once, it hits her that she's supposed to go and sleep in a completely different room; a room that's dozens of steps away, too far away to keep an eye on her baby the way she needs to. Without her permission, memories of the previous night come flooding back, and her hands tighten around the crib rail. Her breaths start to get shorter, more shallow, and her chest tightens.

"Hey."

She jumps, startled by Fitz's sudden presence at her side.

"Hi," she breathes, swallowing around the lump in her throat.

"Deep breath," he murmurs calmly, tracing slow circles over her back.

She nods, still staring down at Ruby, resting a palm against her own chest.

"I know," Fitz says softly, still rubbing her back.

"I can't leave her," she whispers, holding back tears, "I know I—I should. But, I can't."

"I know. She's okay," he soothes, sliding his arm around her waist.

"I know," she sniffles, leaning into him, "She's perfect. She's comfortable, she's feeling so much better. She's so happy to be in her bed. I can't."

"We have the monitor," he tries gently, trying to see if he can reassure her.

She sniffles and shakes her head, still holding the crib in a death grip, eyes never leaving Ruby.

"Okay," he whispers, leaning in to press a kiss against her temple, "Hang on."

He's gone for a few minutes; she hears him go downstairs and then start to come back up, and she takes another deep breath, trying to slow her heart down. When he comes back into the room, he has two couch cushions under each arm.

"What are you doing?" she whispers, watching him arrange the cushions on the floor next to Ruby's crib.

"Making us a pillow bed," he shrugs, as if it's obvious.

"You're enabling me," she sighs, eyes filling with tears again.

He straightens up and reaches for her, pulling her into a hug.

"You think I won't feel better sleeping in here with her, too?" he murmurs into her neck, holding her tightly.

She drags her fingers through his hair soothingly, brows furrowed, and presses a kiss against his ear.


The next night, she's brave enough to sleep in their room, but she's up about ten times to check on Ruby. She stands next to her crib for a few minutes at a time, taking in each rise and fall of her baby's chest, until Fitz shuffles in to take her by the hand and bring her back to bed.

The night after that, she manages seven checks.

Then five.

Then two.

The first time she sleeps through the night, she wakes up mid-panic attack and darts out of bed, running into her daughter's room. Ruby is already awake, standing up in her crib and bouncing on the spot, waiting for someone to come say good morning to her. Olivia sinks to her knees and takes three deep breaths, finally starting to believe that her baby really will keep breathing, that maybe the memory of that night in the hospital will start to fade.

After that, it takes her a few more nights to figure out how to cope with the spike of anxiety that comes every time she closes Ruby's door at night.

It's not until four nights later that Fitz watches her get ready for bed, and notices that she seems more relaxed. She takes her time applying creams and oils to her skin, chatting with him a little from the bathroom, and the whole scene feels wonderfully normal.

She crawls into bed with a wide yawn, reaching over to turn off the light and then rolling onto her back. He props his head on his hand and looks down at her, smiling softly at the way she melts into the mattress, arms resting next to her head with open palms.

She smiles back, blinking sleepily in the dark. "What?"

He slowly leans down and kisses her, soft and warm. After a few presses, he parts his lips and sinks deeper, drawing her bottom lip into his mouth. Her breath catches when he strokes his tongue across hers, biting gently on her lip and then sucking. His hand traces a warm path down to her hip, and then back up to cup her breast, thumb rubbing back and forth across her nipple. She knows him well enough to understand that he's asking her if she'll make love with him; and while she could easily roll over and be asleep in seconds, sex doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.

"I can tell you're tired," he breathes, nuzzling her cheek, "I just—"

"Shhh," she whispers, sliding her hands into his hair, "Don't ever apologize for needing me. C'mere."

Fitz groans as she pulls him into her arms, and his body floods with relief at the familiarity of her underneath him. He props himself up on his elbows and lets her guide him into more kisses, catching her soft moans in his mouth when he rolls his hips against her core. She threads her fingers into his hair, sucking on his bottom lip to make his hips flex.

"You feel so good," she sighs, rubbing her palms up and down his bare back.

He starts to kiss her neck, and her body warms for him instantly, softening and seeping, shivering and melting. She pulls her thighs back and rocks up against him, slipping her hands into his boxers to encourage the slow rolling motion of his hips. His kisses a trail down the center of her chest, and nuzzles her breast through her silk pajamas, growling softly. The rush of sensation takes her breath away, and for a few seconds it feels like she's going to start leaking; but then it settles into a dull, heavy ache, and she brings one of his hands up to cup her. The pressure feels incredible and she starts to unbutton her pajamas, until he brushes her hands away to do it himself.

He rubs his lips across her nipple, and the dull, heavy ache intensifies, making her roll up against him harder. She slides her hands into his hair and encourages him, desperate for pressure to soothe the intensity. He's breathing heavily against her skin, pressing a circle of warm kisses over her breast before he closes his mouth around her nipple and sucks, harder than she's expecting. She gasps and then moans, writhing underneath him, curling her body around him. He takes a few pulls, swallowing and then gentling his mouth before he moves over to her other breast.

She whimpers and gasps, holding his mouth in place while he sucks deeply, relieving some of the pressure that's built up as she's gotten more and more aroused.

"Fuck," she sighs, slowly carding her fingers through his hair over and over, panting helplessly.

He growls low in his throat, releasing her nipple and looping his thumbs into her pajama pants and underwear, pushing at them. She takes the opportunity to push him onto his back, wriggling out of her clothes while he does the same, and then she straddles his lap, sinking back into his arms. He moans when her core settles against his cock, soft, and wet, and warm. He knows exactly how she'll feel around him, and the anticipation makes him shift impatiently underneath her.

They leave the lights off and bury themselves in each other, moving with a quick, firm rhythm. She braces herself against the headboard with one hand, meeting his thrusts, feeling his warm grip on her hips. They're quiet, panting and sighing, moving and connecting instinctually, both taking what they need from each other without hesitation. After a little while Fitz puts her on her back and buries his face in her neck, digging a knee into the mattress for leverage. She moans and wraps her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling a little, arching into him.

He drags his lips down to her breast and sucks her nipple into his mouth again, and she gasps, moaning and whimpering. She's surprised when she feels herself start to come without him touching her clit, because it doesn't happen that often.

"Ooh, my god," she moans, shaking in his arms, "Fitz."

Fitz groans and jerks against her, pressing his forehead against her chest as he starts to come, too.


"Are you going to work tomorrow?"

"Fitz…"

"Liv," he counters, raising his eyebrows, "You've been home with us for over a week."

"I know," she sighs, absently twisting his wedding ring.

Later, after they've cleaned up, they climb back into bed and settle into talking.

"I'm not kicking you out," he murmurs, slowly rubbing her arm, "I can just tell you want to go—"

"—how do you know that?"

"Because I know you."

She doesn't say anything for a minute, still playing with his wedding ring.

"It's never going to get any easier, is it?" she asks softly, brows furrowing.

Fitz sighs, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "No. It doesn't get easier."

"This was—"

She stops and swallows, readjusting her head against his chest, letting go of his hand to wrap her arm around him.

"This was the first time—I regretted it. I regretted being away from her at work. I feel guilty sometimes, it comes and goes, but they're here with you and they love that. I love that. But she wasn't eating well, and she needed me—"

"—she had RSV, Liv," he interrupts, gently, "The RSV is what made her so sick, not the fact that you weren't home to nurse her whenever she wanted—"

"—I know that," she says shortly, not quite snapping at him, "I'm telling you how I felt."

"Okay," he says softly, kissing her forehead again, "I'm sorry."

She sighs, rubbing her hand back and forth across his tee shirt, feeling the soft cotton against her fingertips.

"I am ready to go back. I miss it," she admits quietly, "And I hate that I miss it, sometimes."

He doesn't say anything this time, and she appreciates his ability to just listen when she asks him to. He just wants to fix it for her, she knows that. But not everything is his to fix, and not everything can be fixed.

Some things can't be made easier, and some things will always be hard.


A/N: I hope wherever you are, you're safe and well. It took longer than I thought to get the second part of this out, but, LIFE, you know?! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the conclusion of this! I wanted this part to be a little bit less about Ruby's experience and more about Olivia's. As always, thank you so much for reading. I too am stuck inside, so I would absolutely love it if you would leave me a review and let me know what you thought!