"Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia." - John Green
Olivia walked across the parking lot, her orange flip-flops slapping against the pavement. The late afternoon sun beat warmly against her shoulders - still sensitive from her trip to Florida. Balancing the stacked Tupperware under her arm, she took one last, deep inhale of the humid air before pulling the heavy glass door open and stepping into the air-conditioned lobby.
"Can I help you?"
Olivia lifted her head to look at the teen sitting behind the thick, bulletproof glass. Inching closer to the glass and the speaker in the middle, Olivia asked:
"Is Fitz in his office?"
"Can I tell the Sheriff who -"
Olivia smiled, glancing down at the ring on her finger, and answered: "His fiancée."
"Oh my gosh! You're Olivia!" The brunette stood, straightening her glasses, and beamed from behind the glass. Olivia heard the lock click as the girl's finger hit a button on the wall. "Door's open! I'm sure you know where the Sheriff's office is!"
Balancing the Tupperware in her arms once more, she opened the door and stepped into the dim, chilly hallway. Since the last time she was in the building, the carpet had been replaced - a grey, wood vinyl flooring now in its place. The same portraits lined the walls - remnants of times gone by. Olivia wondered just when Fitz's photo would be added to that wall.
Taking a sharp left turn, she stopped in front of the first door on the right. Tapping her knuckles against the frosted glass, right beneath Fitz's name, she gave him a second to invite her in before twisting the doorknob and entering the office.
"I told you I don't need any more help." Fitz sat at his desk, a legal pad, case file, and notes littering the surface. He didn't bother to look up from his desk, waving his hand dismissively in Olivia's direction.
"Not even mine?" she asked, smirking as she continued toward the desk.
"You're always the exception." He finally lifted his head, giving her a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. Worry lines marred his face, and he looked exhausted. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought you dinner." She held the Tupperware up, showing that she wasn't empty-handed.
He leaned back in the worn, leather desk chair, running a hand over his face. Yawning, he gripped the arms of the chair, long fingers wrapping around the ends. Olivia smirked when, as she was leaning over him to place the containers on his desk, she felt his hand on her butt.
"That's not food, mister," she whispered, brushing her lips against his before moving to the side of the desk - out of his reach and whatever shenanigans he was sure to pursue.
"It could be."
She blushed at his words. Smoothing the wrinkles out of her yellow sundress, she then gestured toward the food.
"Eat," she ordered, knowing all too well that when he got stuck on a case, he would let himself go.
"Tatertot casserole?" He questioned, undoing the lid on the first container.
"That's what your children wanted."
"Which one of them convinced my mom to cook for them?" Fitz chuckled, reaching for a fork from the second container Olivia had brought.
"Athena called Ellie for her recipe. That was about it."
"Athena cooked?" Fitz took a bite, chewing slowly.
"She offered," Olivia smiled. "I wasn't feeling that great."
"Are you okay?" He stopped eating for a moment, looking toward Olivia with concern.
"It was just nausea. I'm fine now." She paused, chewing on her bottom lip before asking: "Are you going to my appointment with me tomorrow?"
"Wouldn't miss it." He gave a lopsided grin.
"Are we meeting there or…"
"I'm taking you?" He glanced toward his coffee mug. "I already took the day off."
Olivia smiled to herself, twisting the ring on her finger before following Fitz's gaze:
"Do you want me to get you something to drink?"
"You don't have to do that, babe." He started to stand, reaching for the black mug with a gold star on the front. Olivia was quick to intercept, snatching the mug just out of his reach.
"You eat. I'll be right back."
She didn't bother staying behind long enough to hear his protests. He looked stressed, and, for once, she was going to take care of him. At the very least, those were her plans.
Finding the break room wasn't too hard. She had made her rounds at the station on more than one occasion - back before things had gotten rocky. It didn't look like the room had changed much, either. Boring, beige walls and scuffed cabinets were all familiar sights. As was the coffee that looked like it had been sitting for days.
Olivia rolled her eyes. Men. Dumping the coffee pot and cleaning it, a task that took longer than it should have and still left a couple of stains, she set about making a fresh pot.
"Hey, Liv. Long time no see."
Olivia twisted around to greet the younger man. She hadn't seen Jason since he'd first joined the force - eager-eyed and fresh out of the academy. That had been right before the breakup.
"How's it going?"
"Busy as always," he grinned. "What are you doing here?"
"Making coffee," Olivia nodded toward the machine, smirking. "I brought Fitz dinner."
"How is he?"
"He looks stressed." Olivia reached for the coffee pot, pulling it from under the slight drip and pouring the coffee into Fitz's mug.
"I could tell today wasn't easy on him."
"What happened?" She replaced the coffee pot, wrapping her hands around the warm mug.
"DV call. The wife and kid...they didn't make it. I think he's trying to figure out what we could've done differently, but…." Jason shrugged, reaching into a cabinet for his own cup. "Thanks for the coffee, Liv."
"What's new with the three of you?" Eli questioned, balancing Seph on his shoulders while Athena and Lio walked ahead.
"Practice," Athena and Lio mumbled together.
"Pretty dresses!" Seph exclaimed, letting go of her grip on her grandfather's head for a moment to clap her hands.
"Pretty dresses?" Eli questioned, looking toward Athena for some clarification.
"We're trying to convince mom and dad to have an actual wedding."
"Oh? How's that going?" Eli chuckled, following the older two as they took a turn in the path they were walking down.
"They haven't decided yet."
"Mom's been sick a lot lately," Lio added.
"Has she now?" Eli smirked, stopping to point out a butterfly to Seph.
"It's purple, grampy," Seph observed, giggling. "That's my favourite colour!"
"I never would have guessed!" Eli tightened his grip on the girl's legs, trying to steady her in spite of her bouncing excitement. Turning his attention back to his oldest granddaughter, Eli listened as she said:
"I'm pretty sure that's why she has an appointment today. To see if she's sick because of...well, you know."
"Because of what?" Lio asked, glancing at his sister.
"I think that's something for your mama and your daddy to tell you when they're ready." Eli clapped his hand on Lio's shoulder. "Come on, kiddos, we're almost to the playset."
After Lio and Seph were a safe distance away, chasing each other up and down the slides, Eli and Athena settled on one of the hard, wooden benches.
"How do you feel about your mom and dad having…"
Athena shrugged, leaning back against the bench. "If they are, I'm okay with it. Not that they need me to be okay with it."
"I have a feeling your parents would want all three of you to be okay with another sibling." Eli smiled in Seph and Lio's direction when the two called his name, waving from atop the largest slide.
"I'm pretty sure at this point, the only thing Seph and I won't be okay with is no wedding."
"Ah right. Pretty dresses."
"I should have the results from your blood draw in about 20 minutes. Think you can hang tight until then?"
"Yep," Olivia responded, monotoned, as she gripped the edge of the medical table she sat on.
"Thanks, Susanna."
Once the door was closed behind their friend, Fitz turned to Olivia. Pulling his chair closer to the table, he covered one of her hands with his own.
"You doing okay, Liv?" he questioned, his voice soft - a tactic he had only recently learned from Nathan.
"I think I can be okay." Her voice wavered a bit on the last word.
"But you're not right now," He prodded, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.
"I'm not," she agreed, before amending: "But it's not because I'm not happy about potentially having another baby with you. My mind's a little fucked up sometimes."
"You've been through a lot."
"Maybe…" Olivia chewed on her lip, lost in thought for a moment or two. "But should I really be this anxious? I've done this three times before."
"You hadn't been abused before."
"Fitz -"
"I know you don't like calling it that, Livvie, but that's what it was. It isn't your fault and it isn't wrong that you feel anxious right now." He moved his hand to her knee, squeezing. They sat like that, quietly lost in their own minds as they waited for Susanna's return - each second seeming to move slower than the last.
"Knock knock." Susanna announced herself as she pushed the door open. Putting her hands in the pockets of her lab coat, she stopped in front of the table. "I have your results."
"And?" Olivia grabbed for Fitz's hand, pulling it from her knee and intertwining their fingers.
"Congratulations! Based on when you said your last cycle was, I'd say you're about 9 weeks."
Olivia exhaled sharply, her fingers leaving tiny, crescent-shaped indents on the back of Fitz's hand.
"Are you sure?" she wondered.
"Absolutely," Susanna grinned. "Now, let's talk about your birth control and prenatals."
"I already stopped it," Olivia replied. "A week ago when I realised I might be pregnant."
"Good. I will write a script for a prenatal and send that, with your results, to your OBGYN."
"Thanks, Susanna. I would have gone to him, but you could get me in first," Olivia explained.
"It's no big deal, Liv. I'm glad to see you're doing better."
"How do we tell the kids?" Olivia asked, swinging her and Fitz's conjoined hands between the two as they strolled through the park.
"I say we just tell them. It doesn't have to be some dramatic reveal." He opened his mouth, wrapping his lips around the straw of her milkshake as she held it up to him and taking a quick sip.
"How do you think they'll take it?"
"Well, if you follow it with we're having an actual wedding, I don't think Seph or Athena will care."
"I am not having an actual wedding while pregnant," Olivia shook her head. "No one is calling it a shotgun wedding."
"Livvie, we have three other kids," Fitz pointed out. "I don't think anyone is going to assume I'm marrying you because you're pregnant."
"Yes, because the opinions of people in this town have always made sense."
"The opinions of the ones who matter have." He pulled his hand from hers, wrapping his arm around her waist and letting his long fingers graze her flat stomach - smirking as he thought it wouldn't be that way for long.
"Yeah, well, it's hard to see that when most people are screaming at the top of their lungs that I'm the town whore who doesn't deserve you."
He stopped, twisting to stand in front of her and wrap his other arm around her.
"Livvie," he waited for her to look him in the eye. "I don't give a damn what those people say. They're wrong and their opinions don't matter. To be honest, I really don't deserve you. You were crying out for help and I ignored that. I wasn't there for you when I should have been. I'm here for you now and if I hear anybody saying those things, I promise that I will put an end to it."
"You keep saying these things like they're true."
"And I'll keep saying them until you realise they are," Fitz winked, resting his forehead against hers, ignoring for a moment the coldness of the milkshake trapped between their bodies.
Snorting, forgoing commentary on Fitz's confession for the moment, Olivia whispered in an excited breath: "We're going to have a baby."
"We're going to have a baby."
A/N - Baby Grant loadinggggggg. I was excited to finally get to this chapter! And now, as a minor plot point that you'll figure out later and because I'm horribly indecisive: please pick a number (1 or 2) in your reviews.
Until next time,
Gabi