Showering Baby
It had been three weeks since Fitz and Olivia's wedding. Three weeks of reminding each other that they were married, of sweetly calling each other husband and wife, of being in a dream like state of the blissful honeymoon phase. Married life was everything it was cracked up to be, and much, much more.
Today was the day their friends, family, and co workers were throwing them a baby shower. It wasn't like Riley needed anything at all. Between her daddy and her grandparents, Olivia couldn't imagine anything left to buy from their baby registry. It would be a good time no matter what because they would be surrounded by people who loved them and loved their baby.
"Baaaaaabe? Are you ready to go?" Fitz called from the living room. He was looking online for a checklist of everything new mothers needed to have at the hospital when giving birth. He also had a tab opened for a list of properties the hotel was looking at to buy and build on. With just a few weeks left of her pregnancy, Fitz was concentrated more on the list of hospital items needed than the properties. He kept it open in case she surprised him and got ready in under an hour and a half. "Babe?"
"Two minutes!" she shouted back.
That meant he had at least fifteen more minutes until she was ready. By the time Olivia came into the living room, Fitz had decided that she might need a new pair of slippers and another nightgown. She had already been wearing the stuff they had bought in Los Angeles for her to take to the hospital, and he wanted her to have new things. He liked spoiling her with little surprises. He bookmarked the website of the store in LA where they had made their purchases and decided to come back and buy what she'd need later.
"Are you ready?"
"Born ready. You look beautiful. I thought you were going to wear the pink dress though?" She was wearing a white dress with black floral embroidery. She had on a pink necklace to show her support for the growing little girl in her belly.
"I was, but this one is more comfortable these days. I hope my shoes match because I can't even see my feet." she chuckled.
"Your feet are perfect, and in matching shoes."
"One less thing. Thank you for double checking for me. Did you take everything out of the car? I don't know how, but it's going to end up full by the time the shower is over."
He pecked her lips. "The car is empty, as requested."
"You're kinda sexy when you follow orders."
"You're kinda sexy when you give orders."
"We might have to explore this much more, after Riley is eighteen and moves out." she said grinning at him.
"You're hilarious too. You know damn well that by the time she is eighteen there will be four more kids behind her. We're never gonna have fun sex once the kids start arriving."
"Poor baby." she said lightly patting his cheek.
"Don't forget tonight is spa night at home, so don't be talking to everyone for hours when this thing is over." Ever since the wedding, Liv had gone on and on about the massage she gotten at the resort she, Abby, and Quinn had gone to for her bachelorette. Fitz had gone above and beyond trying to recreate the magical feeling for his wife. She always went above and beyond to make him feel magical afterwards. It was a win win.
Just thinking about it was making him handsy. "Let's get back here, get in the tub, and then let the master give you a masterful massage."
"Mmmm. You have the best ideas, husband." Olivia replied, and headed towards the door. "Come on. We can't be late to our own baby shower."
Fitz stood there for a minute with a funny little smile on his face. She didn't shoot down his idea of four more kids. He was going to keep her pregnant like it was his job. "Coming, dear." he told her and followed her out the door.
Olivia's parents were the ones officially hosting the baby shower. It was being held at a clubhouse close by. When the expecting parents walked inside, the decorations were the first thing they saw. The colors were a dusty rose and gold. It was so pretty and feminine. There was a gift table and a snack table, along with tablecloth covered tables for eating on. The cupcakes and cake were all on one table. There were balloons and star cut outs everywhere. A huge sign behind the table read: TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR, DO YOU KNOW HOW LOVED YOU ARE?
"Mom! This is beautiful!" Olivia gushed.
"I'm so glad you like it." she said, giving her daughter a smile.
"You outdid yourself, Marie." Fitz told her, and kissed her cheek.
"Thank you. Nothing but the best for my girls. Just about everyone is already here, so go ahead and mingle for a few minutes and we'll get things started, okay?" Marie went to talk with a few of her friends while Olivia chatted with other guests.
She and Fitz spoke to several people at the shower. Olivia spotted Quinn talking to her mother's neighbor and went to go save her from the overly chatty older woman. Quinn would be stuck there for the entirety of the shower unless someone rescued her. They had just reached her when a particular redhead stood in their path. "Well, if it isn't Mrs. Knocked up. How's married life treating ya?"
Fitz grinned and leaned closer, kissing Abby on the cheek. "We're great. Do not get momma in a foul mood please."
"It must be massage night at home with the Grants." Abby said with too much enthusiasm.
Olivia chuckled. "I'm fine. Married life is amazing. You should try it."
Abby wrinkled her nose. "Me? Get married? Are you high? No thanks! I prefer having loud sex whenever and wherever I want."
"You're just being mean now." Fitz told her.
"Stop it." Olivia advised her friend. "Having someone to come home to every night is nice. You might like it."
"I have that. With Quinn. We're roommates. Remember? Or does pregnancy make you lose your mind on top of all the other stuff that happens too? You look nice by the way."
"Thank you. So do you."
Abby touched Olivia's belly. "The peanut has got to be getting cramped up in there by now. Poor kid."
"She's very active these days. And will not get off my bladder."
"Give the kid a break, Liv. She's folded up like a pretzel in there. Nobody better give her any shit when she stretches on the outside."
"You make it sound like she's breaking out of prison." Olivia said on a laugh.
"Okay, everyone." Marie said, clapping her hands to get their attention. "Let's all take our seats. Liv, you and Fitz are over here in the chairs with the pink balloons. Abby, you're on the other side Liv. Okay, we'll eat first, and then open gifts for Ms. Riley. When you came in you should have gotten a diaper pin attached to your shirt. If you say that word baby and someone overhears you, they can take your pin. The person with the most pins at the end of the shower will win a prize.
"I've got my listening ears on." Abby whispered.
"Go ahead and fix yourselves a plate. Liv and Fitz will go first since they have to open the gifts."
Abby raised her hand. "I need to fix a plate first too because I'll be writing down the list of baby gi..."
Olivia held out her hand. "Give me that pin."
The word bitch was on the tip of Abby's tongue, but she refrained from calling her best friend that, as people chuckled at her. Instead, she wordlessly unpinned the silver attachment, and closed it before pressing it into Olivia's hand. "I hate you" she whispered.
Fitz was having an interesting conversation with Liv's dad about how much stuff is too much stuff for a newborn. They were laughing as Fitz told him Riley's dresser and closet was practically full of clothes and how crazy that was. "I heard you say once that baby socks get eaten by the dryer."
Aaron put his plastic cup down on the table and held out his hand, much like his daughter had earlier. "Maybe I did, but I didn't say it today. Hand it over, son."
Fitz was confused. "What?"
"You said the B word. I'll be taking that pin now." Aaron told him.
"But I'm the dad."
"What's your point? I'm the granddad. If you aren't winning a prize for the men, that leaves me."
"Wow. I see how it is." Fitz told him, and handed over his pin. "I'm not out of this yet. Just so you know."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself." His father in law replied smugly.
Max walked in and made a beeline for Olivia, hugging her and then Fitz. "I'm sorry I'm so late. Work was crazy."
"It's fine. Everyone is still eating, so you haven't missed anything. Did you get a pin at the door?"
He chuckled. "Yea. I was told to not say the B word."
"Fitz just lost his pin to my dad." Olivia chuckled.
"Fierce competition, I see. I'll try to do the Grant name justice. I'm going to go get something to eat and I'll see you in a bit."
Quinn walked up to Olivia and Fitz and said, "I'm really sorry that I can't stay for the whole thing. The photography has really taken off since I shot your wedding! I'm booked up for the next five weekends."
"That's great! And I understand. We'll call you when we are at the hospital. We want you to take her pictures too please." Olivia told Quinn as she hugged her.
"Ooooh! Baby pict..."
"Give it to me!" Fitz commanded.
"Hand it over!" Abby demanded.
Quinn pulled Olivia out of the way of the vultures.
Olivia shot her husband and best friend an unpleasant look until they eased off some.
Quinn undid the clasp of the pin and continued talking to Olivia. "As I started to say...I've never taken baby pictures before. I'm sure it'll be fun. Keep me posted." Glancing at both of them, Quinn added, "I'm giving this pin to Fitz because he asked first and he's the dad."
"Quinn's my favorite!" Fitz declared happily, and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll be back with a damn pin, Grant." Abby threatened, and stalked away.
Fitz grinned much too big at his father in law as he attached his new accessory to his shirt. He was keeping his mouth shut unless he was spoken to for the rest of the afternoon.
Abby finally got a pin from an older woman who was hard of hearing and no idea what the pin was even for. She was a friend of Momma Pope's, but Abby didn't care. Fair was fair and she was not going home without a damn pin today!
"Let's open gifts now that everyone has eaten. Abby, you have a notebook in front of you to write the baby..."
Abby and Fitz had their hands stretched out in her direction before she could even finish her sentence.
"...dammit!"
They were smart enough to not yell commands for her to give it up though. She handed the pin to her husband, who grinned maniacally to both of them.
"To write down the baby gifts. You two should be ashamed of yourselves."
"We're not though. Just so you know." Fitz admitted.
Abby looked over at Fitz and wordlessly pointed to Liv's dad and then the ground. And then gave a sneer.
He gave her a slight nod. His father in law was going down.
Olivia opened more clothes for Riley than she would ever wear in one lifetime. Thankfully, they were in a wide variety of sizes like Olivia specified, instead of the typical newborn sizes that people usually bought for a baby shower gift. She also received a mountain of diapers and wipes. It was hard to believe that one tiny human would need that many diapers, but Olivia was thankful to receive them.
The gifts started getting bigger the more she opened. Someone gifted them with a beautiful bouncer. Someone else gave them six different restaurant gift cards. Another person gave them a bath insert to go in the sink, along with several baby towels with cute animals on the hoods, baby lotion, and baby shampoo, with a sterling silver brush and comb set.
"Everything is so beautiful." Olivia gushed to the room full of people. "I adore this little brush and comb set. I can't wait to brush her hair with it."
"That's from me." Max told her as he ate a bite of his cake.
"Thank you, Max. Riley is going to love it." She leaned closer to Fitz and said, "your dad is the cutest."
"I'm the cutest." he reminded her, and pecked her grinning lips.
"That's a true statement, babe. My feet are screaming to get out of these shoes. I can feel them swelling as I sit here. Will you please spend a little extra time on my feet tonight? Since you're the cutest and the father of my baby?" she batted her eyelashes at him for added effect.
Fitz grinned at her and leaned even closer, getting in her neck. He pressed his lips to the skin just below her ear. "Livvie?" he said softly.
"Mmmm?" His mouth on her neck was the best thing in the world right now.
"Give me your pin."
"What?" her eyes flew open wide and she narrowed her eyes as she pulled away from him.
"You said the B word, beautiful. Give daddy that pin."
"Fitzgerald Grant, that is so mean!" Olivia whined. "I'm definitely telling Riley about that when she's older!"
"Maybe so, but I am on a mission to take your dad down! No prisoners, babe. But I will rub your feet later for as long as you want. I promise."
"That's a fair trade. Now I can say the word baby all I want. I love you, babe."
"Love you too." he sang. Fitz's eyes darted over to his father in law and he quickly counted the pins. Fitz was still three short of having more than Aaron. The party ain't over yet, Fitz told himself. The last game was one where guests rip off a long piece of toilet paper long enough that they think will go around the mother's body and touch ends. Fitz heard his wife sigh more than once when the guesses were way off. He knew she was ready to go home and get her feet up. And rubbed. They had been there for over two hours. He went to talk to Marie about wrapping things up.
"Okay, everyone. All good things must come to an end, but before we end this celebration for Miss Riley, I need to know who has the most pins. Count how many you have accumulated please."
Fitz had five.
Abby had four.
Aaron had eight.
There was no way for Fitz to come out the good guy and win. He went to Abby and whispered, "baby! Take my pins and kick his ass!"
Abby giggled loudly and started unpinning them from his shirt. "I have nine pins!" she happily announced to the room.
"Does anyone have more than nine pins?" Marie asked.
"I've got eleven." Everyone in the room turned to find Max grinning from the back of the room.
"Dad?" Fitz exclaimed.
"It's a...shower for a Grant. You gotta have a Grant win the contest." Max replied with a shrug.
"Suck it, Abby! Grants win!" Fitz told her.
"I hate him, Liv. Honestly! I'm going to go clean something!"
"Come up and get your prize, Max." Marie chuckled. "And then everyone is free to go home. Except the few people I have asked to stay and help clean up."
"We should stay and help." Olivia told Fitz.
"No!" Marie said, eavesdropping. "You go home and put your feet up."
"Thanks, momma. I will. And thank you for the beautiful baby shower."
"Your car has already been loaded, so you two are good to go." Marie told them. "Get her off her feet, Fitzgerald."
Fitz walked Olivia out to their now packed car. He helped her get into her seat and then closed her door and danced his way around to the driver's side where he got into his own seat. "What are you so happy about?" Olivia asked, toeing off her shoes and feeling her feet double in size without the constriction.
"Your mother just gave me permission to get you on your back." He told her.
"Oh my gosh. You know you're crazy, right?" she asked him.
"Imagine if you will, we are soaking in a warm bath tub filled with bubbles." he began.
"Mmmmmm. I like this visualization." She admitted with her eyes closed. Her feet were already feeling better just being free from the shoes. She should have worn sandals.
"You are leaning back against my chest, and I am washing every inch of you."
"Oh god. Don't stop!" she chuckled.
"I lay you down on our biiiiiiig bed and massage your feet and back until they feel all better. What do you say about that?"
"What do I have to massage of yours to get that special treatment?" she asked eyeing him.
"Nothing. I have no idea how hard it is to carry another person around inside of you every single day. You're nearing the finish line though, Liv. I want you to be as comfortable as you can be. If a massage helps, then that's what I'll do."
She cupped his cheek and gave him a smile. He was the best. "You're awfully damn sweet and thoughtful, Mr. Grant."
Fitz kissed the palm of her hand before taking it into his. "I have my moments. Let's go home and get you off your feet and relaxed, Mrs. Grant."
Hey all. Several of you mentioned in your last review that you didn't want this story to end just yet. I know what it's like to want a story to continue on, but I started writing this one almost a year ago! It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but it has. I'm ready to give Duty Calls my full attention for a little while. But don't worry, I've already started 2 new lighter Olitz stories, as well as a one shot for Christmas. I'll still be around. Until next time...