This is perhaps the longest chapter that I've ever written, but I had to make this chapter really count. I hope everyone is staying safe. Please wear a mask.

Christmas Morning

With her parent's permission, Fitz went into Olivia's room at 5 am to wake her.

He whispered.

"Hey Little Woman, time to get up."

He shook her gently until she turned over to face him.

"This better be a hell of an emergency for you to be waking me up at this time of the morning. What time is it anyway?"

Fitz laughed. "It's 5 am."

"Captain! Why are you dressed like you're going outside at this ungodly hour?"

"Because I am and you're coming with me."

"The hell you say." She huffed and turned over and pulled her blanket up.

"Sorry to do this to you Little Woman, but you brought it on yourself."

He pulled back all her covers and picked her up out of bed and stood her on her feet. If looks could kill, then he would have been dead ten times over.

"Put your warm trekking clothes on. I want to show you something. And don't be cross with me, it's a Christmas gift."

Now she felt like a bit of a heel for being mad at him, but she was not going to let him know that. She stomped to her bathroom to brush her teeth and put on some warm clothes. Then they both went down the stair toward the door.

"Do you think she'll cry when he ask her?"

"I'm pretty sure she will faint when he ask." Maya said. As they listened to their daughter and soon to be son leave the house.

Fitz drove him and Olivia to the wooded section her family had gone to choose a tree and into a clearing. The moon was full, with the snow on the ground made the area bright. He had no problem making his way to the place Eli showed him where he had proposed to Maya. He stopped in the middle of the clearing and turned and grabbed both her hands. Olivia was struck at how beautiful their surroundings were and now was so glad that he had taken her there.

"I know yesterday was very sad for you with the knowledge that you will not be able to see your parents for five years. In some respects, I feel responsible for what happened."

Olivia tried to assure him he was not responsible, but he stopped her before she could speak. He held her hand a little tighter.

"I love you Livie to the depts of my soul. You make my day right when I wake up next to you. I had a plan to do this at the end of my internship, but circumstances have changed and I only want the best for you, and that is to have your family present."

"Present for what Fitz?"

Fitz got down on one knee and pulls out a box that his father brought late the night before.

"This ring has been in my mother's family for many generations. The jade on both sides of the diamond represents courage, wisdom, modesty, justice, and compassion. All that you encompass. I want you to be my wife and I want to be able to give you the gift of your parents being there to see it. My parents and Jake flew in last night. We are all here. We are going to be married today. What do you say, little woman?"

Olivia looked down at the antique ring with a 4.23-carat emerald cut diamond on top with small bezel set baguette cut jade on the sides

She had been crying the whole time, she fell to her knees and grabbed the sides of his head and kissed him so tenderly. And whispered.

"Yes, thousand times yes!"

Fitz laughed kissed her back as they fell over in the snow. They laid on their backs looking up at the full moon with their hand clasped together.

"As long as I live, I will never forget this day." Olivia said.

"You chose well Captain. What made you decide on this spot?"

"Your Dad told me that he asked your mother to marry him in this same spot. That's why he brings you all here every year to pick a Christmas tree. He said listening to you all laugh and play was like him asking Maya to marry him over and over again, but that his life had become more full than the day he asked her."

Tears streamed down her face.

"I never knew about the reason we always came here. My Dad must really like you a lot."

"No, he knows how precious you are and wants only the best for you. You're his only daughter Olivia and he wants you to have the same love and memories he has when he looks at his kids."

Now Olivia is blubbering. She is starting to feel the real enormity of what they all agree to.

"Come on Little Woman, we need to get back to the house. We have a wedding to go to, and not to mention open presents."

Olivia smiled through her tears. He knew her well, opening presents had always been the best part of Xmas for her.

Later that evening...

Vanessa had reached out to her friends in the fashion industry and Olivia had selected The Thea gown by Mira Zwilliger from the rack of wedding dresses she had flown in. Olivia decided to dress at the hotel that Fitz's parents were staying in and Fitz was getting ready at the house. They decided to get married in the living room in front of the fireplace. Although they had gotten a justice of the peace, they wanted Grandpa Dan to perform the service. He married off her parents as well. Olivia wanted to pack as much tradition into their wedding as possible.

Fitz of course spent the day looking for wedding rings and having them engraved with their names. Jake, of course, was his best man, Olivia was going to go without a maid of honor. Everyone she loved would be at the ceremony. Fitz had his father bring him a Tom Ford Maroon Men's Fluid Velvet Shelton Dinner Jacket and Tuxedo pants. He wore a white shirt, black bow tie, and his Gianni Evening slip-on. He was so excited he felt like he was coming out of his skin. He wanted this for so long and now it was happening. Jake was tying his tie.

"I never thought this day would come brother."

Fitz looked at Jake.

"Why do you say that?"

"If I'm being a little selfish, I'm going to miss it being just us. You are my brother in every sense of the word, and you have always had my back as I have yours. I'm so happy for you. Olivia is everything good that I ever wished for you."

Fitz reaches out and puts his hands on his shoulders.

"You're always welcome at our home Jake. Olivia loves you as well, why I don't know."

They both laughed.

"Thank you for always being my best man. I couldn't have done today without you."

They both gave each other a long hug. Both had a few tears to wipe away when they went back to getting ready.

A knock on the door took their attention to Vanessa walking into the room. She looked at her baby and tears pricked her eyes. Fitz moved toward his mother and gathered her in his arms to soothe her.

"Mama, what's with the waterworks? You love Olivia."

Vanessa gathered herself and wiped away a tear.

"You'll have the same reaction when your baby is about to be married and creating his own family."

Fitz smiled and put both hands on the side of his mother's head and kissed her forehead. He pulled her back into the biggest hug he could give her without hurting her. Vanessa pulled back and reached into her purse.

"These were your great-great-great-grandfather Teddy Roosevelt's cufflinks. They were one of the things I inherited from that side of my family. You're so like him with knowing what you want and going after it. This is our gift to you on your wedding day and I hope my grandson will get them when he is married."

Tears prick Fitz's eyes.

"I see how you mentioned grandchildren in this conversation Mom."

They all laugh.

"A girl can only hope."

They hug again and she leaves.

By eight everyone was ready. Like on queue, it started to snow as the bride pulled up to get out of her car. Her father opened the door and offered his hand for her to grab. He was not ready to see such a beautiful woman step out. He didn't see his little bird anymore. He pulled her veil over her head to get one last look at his daughter before he gave her away to her young man.

He took a deep breath to make sure his tears would not roll down his face.

"Your mother and I wanted you to have something new as well, so we bought you this necklace."

He pulled out a silver necklace with a round flat plate with the words engraved, "Be still, My very full heart."

Olivia could not stop the tears from flowing. She knew what the saying meant to her parents and she would wear this for as long as she lived.

"Thank you, Papa."

They both dried their faces and Eli put the veil back down and knocked on the door for Harrison to let them in. As they walked down the corridor to the living room family was lined around the edges of the house, making it cozy and comforting. They turned the corner and thereby the fireplace was Fitz, Jake, the Justice of the piece, and Grandpa Dan. The room seemed magical. All the Christmas ornaments and tree were still up, the lights were off with the fire in the fireplace being the focal point. Olivia passed her mother and reached out and squeezed her hand as Eli brought her to Fitz.

"Who gives this woman to be married?"

"Her mother and I do."

Eli lifted her veil again kissed her and put her hand in Fitz's, then stood next to Maya. Everyone was standing around the room. With candles in their hands. The justice of the peace performs the formal ceremony then Grandpa Dan takes over.

"Many of you know I'm the oldest living relative of our clan. We call on our ancestors today by honoring them in the ways that they brought from the motherland."

Grandpa Dan takes out a small piece of worn cloth. You can barely tell the patterns on it, but he takes Olivia's and Fitz's hands and wraps them in the material.

"This piece of material comes from Senegal from the Fula people. This ancestor who was the last to come from Africa, he hid the material as a way to hold on to the old ways. I bind you both in love, wisdom, and guidance in your lives together, and ask that the ancestors keep you safe on your journey through this life."

Grandpa Dan walks around them and pours out the purified water to the North, South, East, and West. When he returns to the front of both of them, he bends Olivia's head and kisses it and then bends Fitz and does the same. He unravels the cloth and moves behind them as Maya hands him a homemade broom with ribbons on it.

"What many of you may not know, is that jumping the broom is an African ritual. Our Ancestors were never allowed to marry as slaves, but to show their commitment to each other and a formal declaration as a couple, I ask Fitz and Olivia to jump the broom of matrimony."

Olivia and Fitz smile at each other and jump the broom and kiss each other as the room erupts in to yelling and clapping from all who attended.

Everyone starts to congratulate them as Grandpa Dan pulls them to the side. He holds both their hands and looks in their eyes.

"I don't mean to bring the celebration down, but this is too late for me."

They both laugh at him.

"I'm sure you know that I love you so much Olivia and again you have made this family so proud. I'm not sure I will be alive when you return next, and I won't be traveling outside this area. Know this. Love each other as hard and as long as you can, and take every opportunity to have a family. I know you both have high powered jobs, but when it's all said and done your legacy will be your children. I see my parents in all my grandchildren, because of that they live on."

Grandpa Dan kissed them again and had his son take him home.

Olivia knew they were on the clock. They had to be gone from the valley the next morning. Everyone knew what had been agreed to, so most of the family left early so Maya and Eli could enjoy their time with their daughter.

Vanessa, Jerry, and Jake went back to the hotel to give them the time they needed. Everyone got out of their fancy clothes and got into their Christmas PJ's and came down and sat on couches and chairs and just enjoyed the last vestiges of the day together.

Morning seems to creep in awfully fast as Fitz and Olivia slept in her room, legal now. Olivia had been up for a while watching the sun creep over the mountains and the end of her life here in this valley that gave her so much.

Fitz rolled over to see his wife looking out her window.

"How long have you been up?"

"Never went to sleep. I like looking at you sleep and one of my favorite things I love is to see the sun come up through my window."

She turned away from him and started to cry into her pillow. Fitz turned and wrapped her in his arms as she cried. He felt that he had caused some of this. If he had not encouraged her to come home, none of this would have happened.

She finally manages to calm herself and turn back toward Fitz.

"I know you think you caused this, but it would have been the same outcome whether it was now or later. It is, what it is and I will not make this a sad occasion. I've had my cry, now let's get ready to go."

Fitz looked at her and shook his head. They got up solemnly and began getting ready to leave.

Everyone packed the car and Maya made a few of her favorite meals last night and told her to freeze them when she got home. She would still send her, her favorite sweets through the mail.

Olivia wanted everyone to stay in the house. She didn't want to remember them on the porch. She said goodbye to her brothers and told them if they needed help with their school work or getting into college to give her a call. Then she stood in front of her mother. They leaned their foreheads together.

"Don't ever go to sleep mad at your husband. Laugh a little every day, it will make your day so much brighter. Call us as much as you can. I still believe in handwritten letters, so indulge me."

They laughed through their tears.

"Always know that I love you more than you'll ever know."

They hugged and broke down together. She let go, then her father took both her hands.

"I don't care about what bargain was struck. If you need us, call us. The day I set my eyes on you was the first day that I became a grown-ass man."

They both laughed.

"Let us hear from you often, and go out there and make a family for yourself. You have done extraordinary things and you will continue to. Love you little bird."

"Love you to Papa."

Eli raised his hand to Fitz. "Take care of our girl. We are entrusting the most precious thing in our lives to you."

"I will Mr. Pope."

"It's Eli or Papa." They both smiled.

Fitz went over and whispered something in Maya's ear and then hugged and kissed her. Fitz grabbed Olivia's hand and they shut the door behind them. Fitz hugged Olivia to his side as she broke down. The got into the rental and headed toward the private jet to take them back home.

After they dropped off the car and were in their seats.

"What did you whisper into my Mom's ear?"

"A son-in-law never tells the secrets he has with his mother-in-law."

She pinched him and smiled.

"This will be the last time I ask you, but take off your ring and look inside it."

Inside read, my love unending Captain Bunny. She laughed.

"Well when we get home, I'll get something as uniquely rare engraved in yours."

He smiled at his wife.

"Are you going to be alright Little Woman?"

She looked over to her husband and took his hand.

"I'll always be alright with you by my side Captain."