A/N: Bouncing around stories as the inspo comes. Hope you enjoy!
"I remember the day Maya, Olivia's mother, told me she was pregnant."
The sound of the voice causes Fitz to pause. He's halfway between the doorway and kitchen sink. Its nearing midnight in the Pope house and he's yet to leave. He can't. Any time he thinks about returning home, a part of him withers inside. Leaving Olivia right now, even in the care of her father, is impossible because he isn't just leaving her; he's also leaving his baby.
Fitz turns to find Eli Pope, seated at the circular kitchen table. There are photos spread across the table's surface. Pictures of Olivia from various ages with both of her parents. Fitz gives Eli a small smile. His eyes roam the photos, a warmth spreads across his chest. "I promise I'll be out of here shortly. I'm -"
"I know. You're afraid to leave her. Afraid of what you'll miss in the moments you two are apart. I drove Maya up one wall and down the next when she told me she was pregnant. I knew Olivia was going to be a girl from the start. I don't know how I knew; I just did. Infuriated Maya. She wanted a daughter, but she hated the fact that I was right." Eli smiled and pushed a photo forward. It was of Olivia. She couldn't have been any older than five; dressed in her Sunday best. All white with a matching hat. She holds onto her father's leg.
Pivoting, Fitz moves towards the table. His eyes study the photo as he takes a seat and he briefly wonders what their baby will look like. The chair scrapes against the title. This moment is surreal for him. His heart wants to thunder out of his chest because he feels so full. Even with the world ahead, ready to question every decision he's ever made, he doesn't feel nervous nor does he dread so. But he isn't sure what to make of Eli, sitting in front of him right now. The older man seems genuine. Both happy and sad.
"I can't believe my little girl is pregnant." Eli's voice is thick. "I would've preferred that she was married. Older. Have had a chance to have some solid accomplishments under her belt."
Eli's words strike a chord with Fitz. He finds his hands balling up, nails pinching flesh as he eyes Olivia's father with disapproval. "I know she hasn't lived the life you wanted her to live, but she's accomplished a lot. I've never met a person so kind, sweet, and loving. Even when the world has never been that way to her. We can't pick who our children choose to be, Mr. Pope, we have to love them for who they are."
Silence fills the room. It's deafening. Pungent. Demanding. Eli says nothing; instead, the older man lines up photos, side to side, each one depicting Olivia at a later point in her life. Fitz's eyes follow, watching as Olivia goes from cherub cheeked girl to a beautiful woman. His eyes stop on the last photo. It's Olivia. She holds a notepad to her chest. She wears a white blouse and her hair – straightened – is pulled back in a low ponytail. Her bangs swoop across her forehead and she stands next to Senator Edison Davis. Eli's fingers curl against the photo, into a fist. Fitz doesn't have to be Eli to know exactly what the old man is feeling in that moment.
"The day I found Olivia, I'd been down the street, at the park. It was a couple of days before Maya's birthday. I like to walk to the park sometimes, just to get out of my head." He taps his left temple. "Even more so some days. I'm where – or rather who – Olivia gets her over thinking from. I was on my second lap, suddenly trying to remember where I'd put Maya's wedding band. I don't know what made me think of it, but I just knew I had to find it. Now that I think about it, I think that was Maya telling me to get home; now. The front door was open. Olivia's car was nearly parked on the lawn. I found her purse and its contents spread across the stairs. I called her, but she didn't answer." Eli ushers to the doorway. "I went frantic immediately. Ran up the steps to find Olivia's bedroom ripped to shreds. I kept calling for her and then there she was. Crumpled in a heap on my bathroom floor. She was covered in scratches and her right hand was bleeding. Her pulse was faint. Barely noticeable. If it wasn't for her labored breathing, I would thought she was already gone."
Fitz watches as two lone tears slipped down Eli's cheeks. Tears began to form behind Fitz's eyes. He's heard one side of this story and nearly cried at hearing it. Listening to this side is brutal. Fitz almost interrupts, but stops himself. This is a moment Eli Pope needs to take.
"I knew I wasn't supposed to move her, but I did. I cradled my baby in my lap and begged her to stay. I reckoned with God, I made a deal with the devil, and I called on St. Peter to lock the gates. I just needed more time to apologize to her. To hold her and let her know that I loved her. I left her when Maya died. I didn't mean –"
"I know. I know," Fitz whispers. He pats Eli's hand, not knowing how much longer he could stomach this.
"A couple of days later, Olivia stabilized. She finally told me what happened." Eli's balls up against the photo. He hits the table, knuckles against wood making a muted thud sound. "When I found this sonofabitch, he was . . . he was at the apartment Olivia told me about. Found him in the living room, burning the tapes he had of Olivia. I was going to kill him. I had my hands around his throat. I might've needed two – three more minutes – and then he would've been gone like that." Eli snaps his fingers.
Fitz doesn't look away. He knows had he been in Eli's position, he doubts that he would've have hesitated to do the same. Hell, the thought of Olivia going through this now with their interview coming in days made him irate. "What stopped you?" Fitz asks.
"Olivia's pleading not to and Davis's pregnant wife. Begging me to spare his life. If not for him, for their child. He almost took my child away from me and yet I couldn't take him away from his child. Every day I wish I would've snapped his neck and right now? The fact that I know she's going to have to deal with him again because of this, this Cyrus Beene..."
A surge of anger seizes Fitz. He can't take hearing this anymore. Matter of fact, it takes everything in him not to put his fist though the table beneath his hand. "They will both get what's coming to them. I promise you that."
"Olivia's friend, the subway man," Eli says.
"Huck? What about him?" Fitz asks, eye brow raised.
"He's a former Navy Seal. I know he can make both of them disappear."
The urge to agree is more than Fitz can handle. He's wants to scream 'slit their throats! But can't. Despite leaving his collar behind in the clergy house, he's learned enough these last few years to know that rage is only a surface solution. In the long run, what will it fix? "It's - that's not a solution. The world needs to know who Edison Davis is and who Cyrus Beene is. Men like them run the world; it has to stop."
Eli doesn't say anything as his fist unravels. He rests his palm across the photo. Fitz can only imagine what the man's thoughts consist of.
"Swear to me that you would die for my grandchild and my daughter."
The request shakes Fitz slightly He can't fathom why this is even a doubt. "I've already lost one family. I couldn't stomach losing another. Ever.
Pulling his hand back, Eli straights up and reaches under the table, presumably into his pocket. Fitz watches, curiosity peaking.
"This," Eli says. He holds up a ring. "This belonged to Maya. It was her engagement ring. I had the stone replaced after Olivia was born. I could only afford half a carat when Maya and I first got engaged. Replaced it to a five carat after. Maya asked me to give it to Olivia if anything ever happened to her." He sets the ring down in front of Fitz. "I want you to give it to her."
Fitz stares down at the ring in wonder. It's a beautiful white gold ban, covered in small, intricate patterns adorned with stones. The cut is princess. The ring is beautiful. Understated, yet elegant.
"Make no mistake, Fitzgerald Grant. If you ever do anything to hurt my child or my grandchild, I won't need Huck."
Their eyes meet. Fitz holds Eli's gaze. He finds conviction and sadness within the older man's eyes. He also finds promise. Right now, Eli is a far cry from the old man who'd stepped into Fitz's office ready to bulldoze over anything in his path. "You have my word." Fitz promises. "I will take care of Olivia; I will protect her. I will love her. I will love my child. I would lay my life down for them."
Across the table, Eli sniffles. Fitz watches as he wipes at his eyes, dabbing away at the drying tears. "I also remember what Maya and I did the entire night she told me that she was pregnant." The timber of Eli's voice changes and Fitz finds himself raising an eyebrow. Eli clears his throat. "I have some work I need to go back to my office and grab. Might be too tired to make the drive back. It might just be you two in the house..."
Fitz's brow goes higher. He narrows his eyes at Eli, head tilted. The confusion etched into his face is evident. What the hell is Olivia's father getting at? "I can drive you there?" Fitz offers.
The suggestion gets a rousing laugh from the old man. Eli chuckles, shaking his head. "I mean, that I don't want to hear you and Olivia celebrating because we both know you aren't going home, Fitzgerald."
Instantly, Fitz's face goes red. It's an interesting gesture., to say the least. "I wou—"
"You would. Like I said, I remember the night Maya told me she was pregnant. I'll be back in the morning."
/
When he cracks Olivia's door open, he finds her asleep, face down, hair stuck to the silk pillow underneath her head. He watches her for a moment, mesmerized at how her curls stick to the side of her face and how she keeps her arms curled underneath her. One year ago, his life felt impossible, yet binding, to get through. He thought he'd never make it through. He'd spent years going through the motions and being alive. He'd stopped living the day they closed the casket on his wife and children. His dear inquisitive Karen and sweet, sweet Jerry. HIs wife. She'd once been the only love of his life. Now his heart made fit to usher in another love of his life. He was a lucky man to be granted such a thing twice.
He enters the room, letting the door fall shut behind him. He's been in and out of this room all day, but this is the first time he gets to take it in, beneath the warm light of her bedside lamp. The room has probably been the same all of Olivia's life. Classic, yet lively. Much like her apart, the colors here are also pastel. Soft. His eyes focus in on a cork board tacked to the wall where he finds a photo of Olivia. She's no older than twelve. She stands next to her mother, who looks tired, yet smiles.
"Fitz?" He turns to find Olivia sitting up. She wipes at her eyes. "Is it morning yet?"
"Depends. Are you talking morning as in rise and shine, eggs and bacon, then no. If you're talking about late night, ridiculously early morning, then yes."
"What? I – I thought you left?"
A small smile spreads across his face. "No, I was going to; but found it harder and harder to get out the door. I can't leave you and our baby."
"So, you've just been sitting in here the whole time staring at me?"
He chuckles. "No. I was in the kitchen talking to your father." He sits down on the edge of Olivia's childhood bed. Unable to stop himself, he reaches out, settling his left palm across her stomach.
"There's nothing to feel yet, Fitz," Olivia says in between yawns. Give me another couple of months and then I'll be fat enough to feel. What were you and my father talking about? You're not covered in blood so I'm presuming you didn't kill him nor did he try to kill you."
Again, Fitz laughs. He's torn between wanting to pull her into his arms and never let her leave, and not overreacting in this space. "He gave me this." Fits climbs to his feet and reaches into his pocket, producing the wedding ring that belonged to Olivia's mother.
Olivia's eyes widen slightly. "My mom's engagement ring? I don't understand. Why would my dad give you that?"
Fitz says nothing, instead he reaches for Olivia's left hand. He doesn't hesitate as he slips the ring on her finger. It slides down, securely into place.
"Fitz, I – I,"
"It's just a promise for now, Livvie. I know you want to figure out the steps in front of us immediately. I agree. But this is for so much more." He leans forward, placing a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. As he tries to pull back, Olivia stops him, both of her hands holding his face in front of hers.
"I love you. We will get married. I'm - I'm not afraid of that. I just wish we'd have more time alone right now. To figure things out. Everything is so up in the air and if the media catches that I'm pregnant, our baby will never have a moment of peace."
He nods knowingly. "We're alone right now."
"No, Fitz, I mean when we find a place and it's just us. My dad is down the hallway. I just want us."
"Your dad went to his office. He might 'stay the night there.'"
"What?"
"He wanted us to have a moment alone to...celebrate. Thought we might need it."
Olivia looks confused, eyebrows furrowed and mouth pursed. Fitz leans forward again, catching her lips. He starts to guide her back against the bed. Her hands move from his face around to his neck.
"My dad left so we could..."
"I didn't ask questions. It seemed like he needed a minute to himself, too. I didn't want to pry." Without thinking, he nestles between her legs, resting above her as she fidgets and situates. He kisses the tip of her nose before drawing a finger along the right side of her jaw. "I love you so much, Olivia."
"I love you, too, Fitz. I'm fucking terrified. I don't know if I can do this interview. What if I'm not strong enough?"
"Then I'll be strong for you, Livvie. You and this baby are my life." He punctuates his proclamation with a kiss. He slowly begins to deepen the kiss, feeling as Olivia's legs wrap around his waist.