The New Normal

It was late. Easily after midnight.

Fitz and Olivia were still awake. They were in bed, but still awake. The blissfully happy yet exhausted couple were burning the midnight oil, trying to get some work done while their little bundle of joy slept. She would be up in less than an hour, demanding to be fed and changed; and in that order!

The faint glow of the laptop cast shadows on the wall behind them. Shadows that used to move together in a familiar passion filled dance. Shadows that now were trying like hell to just stay upright for that late night feeding.

Fitz was multitasking, clicking between two very different topics he was researching. One was for his job as a fixer. Harrison had brought in quite a large client recently and while his associates were handling the job beautifully, he wanted to help. Of course, looking into options for their new client's problem wasn't really helping. His team had already covered all the bases, and covered them well. The looking made him feel useful and less out of touch, so he continued with it.

The other tab he had open was for his job as First Gentleman. He had pulled up the next location on his schedule to give another speech on women's rights. It was a month away, at a larger space with much more seating than where he had spoken the day before his daughter had been born. The thought brought a smile to his face and made him glance over at the monitor on the bedside table on Liv's side of the bed.

There was no crying coming from it yet. He'd give her another ten minutes and then he'd go get her.

"Don't even think about it." Olivia warned, still looking at her brief.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"Don't give me that." She scoffed with a chuckle. "I know you, Fitz. You are concocting a plan to go wake up our daughter from her perfect sleeping pattern."

Now he scoffed. "If it was perfect, she'd be sleeping through the night."

"She's not even a month old, and admit it, you would go wake her up even if she was sleeping through the night. Just to see her."

"Yea. I probably would." He chuckled. "Until you caught me and made me stop."

"Which is why I am trying to put a stop to it before it even starts."

"You're a smart woman, Olivia Grant."

She couldn't help the grin that crossed her face. He was pretty damned adorable. And he knew the perfect moment to pile on the praise.

"I mean, you married me, so of course you're smart." His own grin matched the one that was beginning to fall off his wife's face.

"You are a crazy man." She said, scooting closer to him.

He held up his hand and said, "stop!"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Don't give me that, Liv. You know damned well that we still have three weeks to go until Operation Bangagong is a go."

"Operation Bangagong?" she asked with a look. "What are you, ten years old right now?"

"Maybe I am, but I am on the edge over here. You rubbing or touching me in a way that is going to leave me hard as a rock isn't going to result in a happy ending. At least not for three more weeks. And I'm not blaming you. You just had a baby and your body needs six weeks to recover from that. I'm not rushing you in any way, shape, or form. I just think it's best to not even start. Besides, I am honestly just so exhausted." He hoped that sounded more convincing than he actually felt. He went back to looking at his laptop as thoughts of having her naked began running through his head.

A few moments later, Olivia softly said, "Fitz?"

"Hmmm?" He replied absentmindedly. He hoped she would take the hint a go back to reading whatever the hell was in front of her.

"My body does need to wait six weeks for sex."

"I know." He said, clenching his jaw.

"But yours doesn't."

He snapped his head in her direction. Did he feel a second wind coming on? "What do you mean?"

She smiled. He was too easy. Instead of answering his question, she set her reading on the bedside table, knocking over the baby monitor in the process. Moving closer to him, Olivia pushed his laptop to the other side of him and pulled the sheet back.

"Liv!"

"Hush." She hooked her index finger behind the waistband of his black boxer briefs.

He put his hand on top of hers, halting her movements. "Liv, you don't have to do that."

"I am well aware of what I have to do and what I don't have to do. This is something I want to do. I'm desperate for you to be inside of me. I miss the feeling of you driving into me, gripping your sweat slicked skin like a lifeline, making me moan your name like a song, and begging you to finish me off."

He groaned lightly. She was trying to kill him!

"Trust me, nobody wants this six week break to be over faster than me. I can't have that for three more weeks, but I can have a taste. Now, let go of my hands and give me the one thing I want more than anything else."

Damn! He hadn't seen this side of her in a while. It was sexy as hell! He slowly released his hold on her hands and watched what she did next.

She pulled the elastic towards her and peered down the front of his underwear. Fitz could feel her warm breath on his skin and it made him harden even more. Her tongue slid out to moisten her lips. She was eager to taste him.

All of a sudden, she sat up and moved to straddle his legs to make removing his underwear easier. Olivia tugged the thin black material down over his hips until his hard member sprang to attention, happy to be free of its cotton confines. Very quickly she slid them down his long hairy legs before she flung them to the floor behind her, never giving them another thought.

Fitz watched her crawl up over his legs with her mouth open and her eyes on the prize. It was the sexiest thing to watch. The moment her mouth touched his sensitive skin, his breath came out in a shudder. She didn't bother teasing him to begin with. Instead, she took as much of him as she could into her mouth and began to suck. It caught him by surprise. "Fuck, Liv!"

She wasn't taking questions or comments, but continued right on with her task. Every so often she let out happy little humming sounds as she worked him over. She was having him inside her one way or another. This way worked just fine in her opinion. He tasted divine and the way his breathing quickly became ragged as he choked out her name like a plea made her feel more empowered than anything had in a couple of weeks.

His hand found the back of her head as it bobbed up and down over him. Her mouth felt like magic and he was more than willing to be under her spell. She was moving faster and faster, sucking harder, taking more of him than before. His was breathing was shallow and rapid. He was on the verge of finishing and wanted to warn her before it happened. "Liv! Liiiiv! Stop! I'm about to..." he panted out as he gripped her hair. "I'm going to...to...LIV!"

She kept going. She knew what he was trying to say, but she didn't care. He was on the edge of the world and she wanted to watch him fly.

"Liv! Stop! I don't...shit...I..." He exhaled loudly and his belly quivered as he emptied himself into her mouth. He began to smooth her hair down, knowing he had just destroyed it, but not quite ready to look at the damage yet. He finally opened his eyes when he felt her move to her spot beside him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I wanted to relieve a little of the pressure for you."

"You should have let me..."

"Stop. I didn't do anything I didn't want to do."

He leaned closer and kissed her temple. "Thank you."

Brexley's cries could be heard on the fallen baby monitor. Fitz flashed a grin and quickly scrambled out of bed to go and get her.

"Oh, don't thank me. You're going to return the favor until I'm completely satisfied once I'm cleared in three weeks. But right now, I need some Brexley cuddles."

"Be right back." He retrieved his underwear from the floor and yanked them up before happily dashing out of their bedroom.

A few minutes later, Fitz came in with a very unhappy daughter. He was chuckling while trying to soothe her at the same time. "What's the matter with momma's little love?"

"She is not a fan of getting her diaper changed before eating. This is her way of letting me know she is starving to death."

Olivia couldn't help it. She chuckled at their baby too. "Poor little thing. Is your daddy starving you?"

"Liv!"

"I'll have a talk with him about making sure your belly is full before he changes your diaper. That's so mean."

"Liv! Stop talking badly about me to our baby. You know that she likes to go back to sleep the second she's done eating."

"I know."

"You are more than welcome to change her diaper after she finishes eating if you want to."

"Noooo thank you! She hates that."

"Exactly! So she has to get changed before she eats so she'll be dry when she crashes. It's the only way to deal with it."

"I don't like it when she cries." Olivia said, holding her little one closer.

"Well, I'm not exactly a huge fan of it either." He quietly watched Brexley eat for a minute or two. "Every time she eats, she acts like the bottle is going to disappear any minute."

"She's a growing little weed. I can't believe she's already gained almost two pounds."

"Stop it. I want her to stay a baby forever. She's perfect at this age." Fitz gently ran the bottom of his index finger over the top of her soft head. "We should have another one soon."

Olivia whipped her head up to catch her husband's gaze. "Fitzgerald Grant!"

"Uh oh! That's the your daddy is in trouble voice, Brex." he chuckled.

"It's not funny. We can't even have sex yet, so the conversation about having another baby is on hold for quite a while."

"Yes, ma'am." He replied with a grin.

"I hate it when you call me ma'am."

He swiftly pecked her lips. "I know."

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Something important, I take it?"

Olivia brought Brexley up to her shoulder and proceeded to pat her back. "Yes. I'd like to have an open conversation about something, and I'd like you to be honest with me."

"I'm always honest with you."

She took a few moments to figure out how she wanted to say what was on her mind without coming across as a cold uncaring bitch. After getting two burps from Brexley, she cradled her in her arms and slid the nipple between her gums once again. The infant resumed the task of voraciously sucking the formula down.

"Whatever it is, just say it, Liv. It shouldn't be difficult for us to talk to each other. Ever."

"I want to go back to work."

"Great. You've only got three more weeks of your maternity leave left."

"No. I mean, I want to go back now. Tomorrow morning."

"You do?" The truth was he didn't think she would last an entire six weeks without working. She' had been reading briefs every day since she came home from the hospital. He was surprised she had lasted three weeks without going down to her office. "Why?"

"Because I miss it. I love my job and I'm very good at it. And while I realize that my job isn't a typical one, it does require my attention every single day for me to be good at it. The country needs me and I need it. I know that must sound incredibly ridiculous, and selfish because I have a newborn to take care of, but it's how I feel." She glanced at him from under her lashes, ready to explain herself. She didn't think he would understand.

He knew Liv had been chomping at the bit to go back. Just like he knew she hadn't said anything because she thought he would think her to be a terrible mother for wanting to work instead of taking time to be with Brexley. "Liv, I don't think it's ridiculous or selfish."

"You don't?" This was a surprise to her.

"Of course not. You're the President of the United States. You are the most powerful woman in the world and all eyes are constantly on you as a leader and a woman. You have a heart to serve." He shrugged. "It's in your blood. Wanting to go back to work doesn't make you a bad mother, so stop thinking that it does."

"Do you promise you don't think of me as a bad mom?" She heard her own voice crack as she asked the question. She did miss being present at work, instead of reading endless briefs in the residence or listening in on meetings as Brexley emptied a bottle in her arms or as she changed a diaper.

"No! You're great with Brex. Hell, you're great with me too." he chuckled.

She felt the tears filling her eyes and hated that everything made her feel weepy all the damn time. "I'm never going to put anything above our family, Fitz! I promise! I've waited too long for you and Brexley to be mine. Our family is the most precious thing in the world to me."

"We both know that. You love us so well, there's no room to doubt it." he assured her. "What are your thoughts about Brex? Because I have thoughts. Specific ones."

Olivia set the now empty bottle on the bedside table and handed Brexley to Fitz for burping as they continued to talk. This was their new nighttime routine, and she loved these simple domesticated moments with her little family. "I'd love to hear those thoughts."

Fitz kissed his daughter's chubby little cheeks before setting her against his shoulder and patting her back. He loved these late night feedings, as well as his talks with Olivia. He felt just as connected with her now as he did way back when how they felt about each other was a secret. "Well, I'll be honest with you too. I'm not a fan of her being watched or raised by someone other than us. Like...a nanny, or something like that. She is our child and we are responsible for how she turns out. I know there will be times when we won't have a choice about that. We'll have to be at an event that requires both of us to be in attendance. I know that. But for now, on the days when there is nothing demanding both of our presence, I would like for you to think about me taking care of her."

"You?" She jerked her head back, completely taken by surprise at his request, as well as how he planned to carry it out. "How are you going to take care of her? You go to work too. Or are you saying you want to become a stay at home dad?"

"Hell no. Absolutely not! I would lose my fucking mind being stuck here all day long." When he saw her eyebrows disappear high into her forehead, he grimaced. "Did I say that out loud?"

"You absolutely did." Olivia answered with a crinkled nose.

"I'm sorry. I like living here, and being with you and Brex, but what I mean is that I would take her to work with me."

"Is she going to become an associate?" Olivia teased. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't joke."

Fitz rubbed Brexley's back now that all of the air bubbles were out. She was already starting to drop back off to sleep. "It's like you said a minute ago. I've waited a really long time for you to be mine. My wife. And for us to have a family. I'm still amazed that we have accomplished both of those things. The two of you have bonded beautifully. That's no surprise. It usually comes natural for mothers since they carry the babies in their bodies, but it's sometimes a little more difficult for the fathers.

I want to bond with her too. I don't mean like walking in the door from work, saying hello, patting her head, and telling her to be quiet for the rest of the night. I want to understand what all those little cries mean. When she's really hungry, or she's just trying to eat before it's time because she knows I'm a softie and will cave. I want her to know who I am, and not just as the guy who she sees an hour or two before bed each night.

And I encourage you to go back to running the country if that's what you want to do. I support you one hundred percent, Liv no matter what. Never doubt that. Just because you are ready to go back to work doesn't mean that you are putting your job above your family. We both know that's not the case."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yea, I am. But I don't want to do anything you aren't completely on board with. I know you might have hard days where you miss her more than you thought you might. You'll want to...I don't know, smell her hair." He inhaled the clean smell of his daughter's hair, giving her a little squishy hug.

Olivia chuckled at him. But she knew that scenario could very well happen. "What would you do if I called you in hysterics wanting to smell my baby girl?"

"I'd bring her to you."

"You'd really do that...insane thing for me?" She was feeling the damned tears again and tried to think of something that would dry them up. Because Fitz was sitting right beside her, holding their daughter on his shoulder, it gave her more of the warm fuzzies. "I don't know why I am crying! This is crazy!"

He smiled at her. "Of course I would do that. I'd do anything for you, Liv. Normal or insane."

"Why are you so good to me?" she asked as tears slid down her cheeks.

"Because you're the friggin' President. You could have me taken out at any point. Your wish is always my command." He answered with a grin.

That did the trick. She started to giggle, causing the tears to immediately dry up. She cupped his cheek. "You really shouldn't forget that."

"As if I could. Look, tomorrow is Thursday. It's a good day for you to go back to work. A two day week is a nice way for you to gently get back into the swing of things. I'll stay home with her until Monday and we can revisit the conversation before then to see how comfortable you are with my idea."

"You don't have anything pressing at the office before then?"

"Nothing I can't handle from here. I have a great team in place and they are handling things perfectly fine without me for now." He brought the sleeping bundle of pink down from his shoulder and held her in his arms. Bringing her up to his face, he kissed her forehead. "She is so much more important than any of that."

"Have I told you today that you are such a great dad?"

"No." He lied. She had told him no less than ten times already.

Olivia put her hand down on the mattress and leaned over it to get closer to her husband. "You are an amazing dad. In fact, I think if your idea of taking Brexley to work with you comes to fruition, I believe that you might just get bumped up to an outstanding dad."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "That's quite a lot to live up to. No pressure please."

"You are superb under pressure." She encouraged in a soft voice.

"You keep that in mind three weeks from now when I'm making you explode."

Her brown eyes dropped and were staring at his mouth. Oh, the wonderful things that mouth could do to her body. "I'm going to want many explosions."

"I believe I can handle that challenge just fine."

"Change the subject or I might spontaneously combust over here."

The following morning, Fitz woke up before the first alarm sounded. He was brimming with excitement for his first solo day with Brexley. As quiet as humanly possible, he went into the living room, picked up the phone, and dialed the extension he knew from memory.

"Good morning." A feminine voice chirped.

"Good morning," he replied brightly.

"Mr. Grant. What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to order breakfast for both the President and myself please."

"Perfect. What would you like?"

"Something that will keep us going until lunch, but nothing too heavy. Maybe something on the healthy side too, if possible?"

"How about frittatas, Sir?"

"That sounds really good. What do you have to put in them?"

"Well, Sir, I have corn, zucchini, peppers, onions, olives...Whatever you'd like to have in them."

"All of that sounds amazing. Could we also have some fresh fruit too please?"

"Of course. It will be up shortly, Mr. Grant."

"Thank you very much." Fitz ended the call and went to go check on Brexley.

He heard her before he saw her. As he got closer to the crib, he heard her making little noises. She needed to slow down the growing up thing. They would be having a little talk about that today! When he reached the side of the crib, Fitz peered down at the little bundle of pink inside.

Brexley had wide eyes looking up at her mobile. Her tongue was poking through her cute little lips as she concentrated on the floating shapes above. She was the cutest baby in the world in her daddy's opinion. Her eyes moved to his direction when he greeted her in a soft voice. "Good morning daddy's sweet girl. Did you sleep good?"

Fitz would swear she looked happy to see him. Brexley began moving her arms and legs as she looked up at him. It was all the encouragement he needed to pick her up. She was a happy girl in the morning and he loved that about her.

Both of her cheeks were kissed before Fitz laid her down on the changing table. "Let's change your diaper before breakfast. Is that okay? Yes, it is!"

Fitz wondered if his daughter thought he was insane. And then he remembered that she was only three weeks old. "You're going to think I'm insane for a lot less than this when you're older, Brex. But that's a long way away, isn't it? Yes, it is! Because you're gonna stay daddy's baby forever."

Once her tiny hiney was dry, he picked her up again, proud of himself for not making her cry. He carried her to the rocking chair so they could talk for a minute. He sat her down on his chest so they could look at each other eye to eye. "Today is an important one, Brex. It's our first day together without mommy."

Brexley just stared at him.

"Does that scare you a little bit?" Fitz chuckled. "Me too, but we will be just fine. We'll watch movies, eat lunch with mommy, take a couple naps, and maybe later on we'll FaceTime with Uncle Huck. See if he's getting any work done without me. Yea. How does that sound?"

"That's a pretty big day."

Fitz turned toward the door and saw his wife standing there. "How long have you been spying on us?"

"Not long." She said, coming into the room. She sat on Fitz's lap and kissed their daughter's cheek. "I just heard you say the two of you were coming to eat lunch with me."

"I thought it might be nice to have Mama's for your first day back." he informed her with a smile.

Olivia's face softened. Leave it to him to think of the little things. It was what made him a superb fixer and an amazing husband. "That's so sweet. It's perfect."

"You'll have to let me know if a noon time lunch doesn't fit into your schedule. And I'll quickly remind you that it does."

She chuckled at him before cupping his cheeks and kissing him. "Noon will be perfect."

Olivia scooped Brexley out of his hands. "Good morning, momma's happy girl."

"Liv? She's daddy's sweet girl." Fitz corrected her.

"Right now she's momma's happy girl. Aren't you, my love?" Olivia asked with a grin. She brought her daughter close and kissed her cheeks. Looking her in the eye again, she said, "Mmmm, you smell good too. I could eat you up."

Brexley gave a little smile.

"Oh my goodness! Did you just see that, Fitz? She smiled at me!" Olivia said in a giddy voice. Holding Brexley close to her chest, she added, "you know how to make mommy's first day back to work a special one. Yes, you do."

Fitz pressed his lips to Olivia's temple. "Come on, ladies. Breakfast will be up any minute and we don't want it to get cold."

"You ordered breakfast already?"

"I wasn't going to send you back to work on an empty stomach." he told her with a smile. "Besides, you are just as good to me. If not better."

"I got a smile from both of my favorite people and I've only been up for ten minutes. This day is already shaping up to be a great one!" She got to her feet and carried Brexley into the kitchen with Fitz right beside them.

Brexley started getting fussy the minute Olivia sat down with her at the table. "Somebody wants her own breakfast."

"Here. Let me feed her while you eat." Fitz offered, holding his arms out.

"We're perfectly content. Aren't we Miss Brexley?" Olivia carried her daughter to the fridge where she grabbed a bottle and put it in the warmer. "You eat and I'll feed her. You're going to be with her all day and I'll be sitting in endless meetings wishing I could feed her a bottle."

"You sure?" He asked. When she nodded, Fitz dug into his frittata.

When the bottle was warm, Olivia sat back down at the table and fed Brexley, giving her lots of kisses as she ate. The minute she was fed and burped; Olivia laid her sleeping daughter back in her crib and ate her own breakfast. She and Fitz went into their bedroom where Olivia began getting dressed for the day.

"You look amazing." Fitz told her.

"You don't think it's too..."

"You look amazing." He repeated.

"I do look better than you." She shot back with a grin.

"I'll admit I feel slightly underdressed in my gray t-shirt and jeans, but Brexley and I are going to be hanging out comfortably in casual clothes. When we go to the office next week, it'll be about fashion. Besides, by the time this day is over, I won't have a dress shirt marked with spit up. This fixer is on his game."

Olivia wound her arms around him, linking them behind his neck. "How did I get so lucky to marry such a smart man?"

He smiled at her. "You really did marry well."

"I did." She replied, smiling back. "The three of us are going to have lunch at noon, right?"

"That's the deal. If you can't get away then we'll come to you, but this is the new normal unless it's an emergency."

"I love you endlessly."

"I love you too." He dipped his head and captured her lips. He intended to just give her a peck, but it quickly turned into an open mouth, pulling her closer, ass grabbing kind of kiss. He knew better than to get her started before she was supposed to go to work, so he abruptly ended it. Both of them were breathing heavily and took their time to open their eyes. "I'm sorry, Liv. I got a little carried away."

"I'm going to want a hell of a lot more of that in three weeks. Be on that game!" She took three or four steps away from him, smoothed her clothes back down, breathed in deeply, and then let it out.

"Have a good day, President Sexy." he said, giving her a lusty wink.

"You are so ridiculous." She replied with a smile. "I'll see you both at noon."

The minute her heard the clicking of her beloved heels fading away, he sighed loudly. "Time to get busy."

Brexley woke up an hour later, and wasn't in a very happy mood. It took Fitz all of two seconds to figure out why. The smell knocked him over the second he walked into the nursery. His entire face crinkled and he waved at the air. "There is no way a smell that terrible came from a girl as tiny as you."

But when he picked her up, he quickly realized that it wasn't just a dirty diaper that had his daughter mad. She had blown through her diaper. The foul smelling stuff was on her back and legs. In her crib. It was everywhere! "Sweet girl! I'm so sorry. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

Brexley continued to wail.

"I know. That is no fun. Daddy is going as fast as he can to get these yucky smelling clothes off of you. Here we go." He unsnapped the onesie and realized if he pulled it up over her head, her hair would also be covered in it. As his daughter cried about still being covered in the disgusting stuff, Fitz tried not to lose his mind and looked at the onesie. There were weird looking flaps on the shoulders of it. Putting his thumbs on the underside of the flaps, he pulled the material down over her shoulders. That was so much easier than trying to carefully pull the thing up over her head and try to avoid getting poop in her hair. It slid down over her stinky little body pretty easily.

Holy shit! Did he just make a new discovery?

He couldn't wait to tell Liv!

Once the ruined yellow onesie was off her body, Fitz didn't know what to do with it. Keeping a hand on her bare belly, he looked wildly around the room for the answer. The trash can for dirty diapers seemed like the logical answer! He stuffed it down past the rubber partition that kept the stinky diapers from smelling up the room. "It's gone! Bye bye!"

Opening the wipes, Fitz pulled out eight or ten of them. It was gonna take way more than that, but it was a good start. He began wiping off her back, trying to block from his mind the fact that what had been inside of her body was now all over his hands from picking her up. It was a damned good thing he wasn't weak stomached.

She was wiped clean, as were his hands, but God the smell hung heavy in the air. And her clothes were on the other side of the room. She was waving her arms and legs with a red face, still crying loudly. He picked her up. His clothes be damned! Daddy's little love wasn't happy and that just wouldn't do! He held her close to his chest and began talking to her in a murmur as he gently bounced her up and down.

"It's okay now, Brex."

Her cry started to lessen.

"Daddys got you."

She stopped crying and seemed to be listening to him.

Fitz nuzzled closer to her. It really wasn't difficult. You just had to pay attention. He almost cried at the moment they were sharing. "That's my girl. Yea."

He kissed the top of her head. "Daddy doesn't want to make you mad again, Brex, but you still stink, my love. Your daddy is going to give you a little sponge bath. Is that alright with you?"

She didn't cry, and Fitz took that as an agreement. He laid a nearby blanket down on top of the changing table and Brexley on top of it. He took her diaper off faster than he ever thought possible. His shirt quickly followed. Once everything was thrown away, because honestly, they were never using the sheets, blanket, or onesie ever again, he grabbed another towel and the baby wash and headed toward the kitchen.

The breakfast dishes had been removed and the sinks were clean. He started running some lukewarm water, and kept feeling it to make sure it wasn't too hot. Somewhere around here was a toy that floated in the water to tell the temperature of it. Why didn't they keep it near the sink? Oh well. Maybe next time.

Very carefully, he put two inches of water in the sink. He was terrified to put more than that. Holding onto her, Fitz very carefully set her into the water and waited for her reaction. Expecting her to scream bloody murder at being naked and wet, he watched her face as he held her up. Her eyes opened wide and she wasn't crying. She seemed to like it? Giving her a big smile, Fitz said, "the next time you get super mad, your daddy is going to give you a bath. Yes, he is because you love it, huh?"

She looked at him as if whatever he had just said was the most interesting thing in the world.

Using a face cloth, Fitz washed her hair and then her face and body. He just knew the tears would come any minute, but they never did. The realization made his grin double in size. Holding her little hand, he showed her how to splash the water. She wasn't into it yet, but one day she would be.

When she was all clean, Fitz wrapped her up like a clean little burrito and carried her into the master bedroom. He wasn't brave enough to go back into the nursery yet. Thankfully, he and Liv kept diapers and extra clothes for her in their room. He began drying her off. She happily kicked her legs and moved her arms. When she was all dry, he grabbed her ankles and lifted, sliding a diaper under her little booty. After it was fastened, he kissed all ten of her toes. "Mmmm, those little piggies smell good, Brexley."

A little bit of baby lotion was applied to her arms and legs before he put a clean onesie on her. "Can you hang out right here on mommy and daddy's bed for a minute? Daddy needs a clean shirt."

He grabbed the closest thing, keeping his eyes peeled on his daughter, as if she would get up and walk off the bed. Feeling infinitely better, he went to lay beside her. In no time at all, she began to get fussy. Fitz knew that sound as her hungry cry, and knew it was time for a bottle. "It's gotta be close to noon by now." he told her as he carried her into the kitchen and put a bottle into the warmer.

The clock on the wall read nine forty two.

"What the hell?" Fitz exclaimed. "I mean, wow! This day is creeping by."

A few minutes later, the two of them were back in the master bedroom. He was propped up against the headboard, holding Brexley as she worked on emptying the bottle. She started getting heavy eyed and stopped sucking every so often.

"I see you trying to pass out before the bottle is empty. Sneaky girl." Fitz picked her up, feeling heavy eyed himself, and began patting her back. When he got a familiar little sound out of her, he brought her back down into his arms and pushed the nipple back into her mouth. She began sucking like the starved, causing Fitz to chuckle at her, and then lean down to kiss her. "You're a funny girl, Brex."

The bottle was empty before long, and both Fitz and Brexley were having a hard time keeping their eyes open. He robotically held her up on his shoulder and patted her back until a rather loud burp came from her. "Okay, little miss. It's time for us to take a nap. By the time we wake up, it might be time to go see mommy."

Three pillows were laid sideways against the edge of the bed and Fitz gently laid Brexley down on their large bed. She was on her belly, and looked comfortable, so Fitz laid on his belly too. They were both out seconds later.

And that's how Olivia found them a half hour later. Lying side by side in the exact same position. She had missed them both so much and after trying unsuccessfully to FaceTime with Fitz, she came up to the residence to check on them. The horrible smell coming from the nursery was a pretty good indicator of what had happened and why he hadn't answered. As she watched them sleep, her heart swelled with more love than she ever imagined could be contained in one body.