Fitz POV

I pulled into the carpool line at CJ's school and put the car in park before taking my foot off the gas. I was the second car in line and others slowly began to trickle in behind me. The past week had brought a tremendous cold front and it was as if winter had finally come in full force. Snow was on the ground, certain roads were icy, and the temperature had dropped below freezing three times last week. CJ was ecstatic and loving the cold weather. She basked in the fact that Christmas was days away and that today was her final day of school until mid January.

A soft knock was heard against the window and I jumped at the sound. Snapping free from my thoughts, I turned and glanced out the window to see the gym teacher smiling at me with CJ standing at the back door. I unlocked the doors and gave a wave to her as she opened the door and CJ climbed into the backseat.

"Hi Bug"

"Hi Daddy." She spoke to me before turning to put her seatbelt on and I could tell that she was going to completely suck up to me all evening. She had promised to be on her best behavior this week knowing that we had fun plans for Christmas and that it all depended on her behavior. As happy as this made me, I was annoyed with the fact that the only reason she had been on her best behavior was because it came from Olivia. It didn't matter that it was a constant rule in our home that she usually broke, the fact that Olivia said it to her obviously changed things. CJ had spent the past weekend with my mom since we wouldn't see her on Christmas Day like we normally would. She had been severely disappointed to not spend the day with us like she normally would have, but after much pleading, I was able to get her to understand that my "special friend" as she referred to her would be around and I wasn't ready to introduce her just yet. She had lectured me again and after many more threats, she made me promise that things weren't moving too fast and that I would introduce her to Olivia soon.

My fingers were crossed at the time.

"Is Livia at home?"

I checked to see if she was completely buckled before following the lead of the car in front of me and pulling out of the school's parking lot.

"No, but she'll be there later." I wasn't sure when CJ had begun referring to our home as Olivia's, but agreeing with her was better than going back and forth with her on something so trivial in her mind. "She said she was going to be cooking dinner tonight, so I want you to find your manners and use them."

"Sweet. She knows what I like."

"Well what if it's something super healthy? Will you get grouchy for her?"

I increased my speed just a little as I moved out of the school zone.

"I don't get grouchy for Livia."

"Don't I know it."

I rolled my eyes at her scrunched up face.

"Are we going straight home to wait for Livia?"

"No Ceej, I need to stop by the store and grab something for Olivia. I thought while we were there you could pick something out for her too."

"A Christmas present? Finally! I told you we should have got one forever ago but you kept not listening to me."

"We agreed that you would make a gift for her. Homemade gifts are usually the best gifts you can give someone, Ceej."

"Those are boring and besides I don't know how to make gifts that aren't stupid art class stuff that you like."

"Watch it." I warned lightly before continuing. "That 'stupid art class stuff' means more to me than you'll ever know and I'm never getting rid of any of them, so deal with it. We are going to the store now, so be thinking of something you want to get her."

"I already know what I want to get for her Daddy, so I won't take a long time. Can I get your present today too? Grandma already helped me choose it on her iPad and they have them at Target. Can we go there too please!"

She was begging but there was no way in hell I could reprimand her. CJ had been serious about gift giving for the past two years and I really was proud of the gifts she had given me in the last two years. Her first real gift to me was a date coupon she had made along with a bowl full of my favorite movie snacks and my favorite kid movie, The Sandlot. CJ wasn't a fan but her and my mother had come up with the concept and my girl had been a champ throughout the entire movie. She was only four and severely opinionated, but kept her comments to herself and eventually fell asleep. Last year she had given me a pack of really nice socks. I had been really confused at the gift but then she told me, 'You always get so angry at the dryer when you look for your socks, so I got you a bunch of them.' It was thoughtful and logical. I could only imagine what my gift would be this year. She had a year long to examine me and figure out what this year's gift would be and I was excited. I was even more excited about what she had in store for Olivia.

"We can go to Target too, Bug. I surely hope you don't have the money grandma gave you. You know better than to take it from the house without permission."

"It's at home Daddy, so you gotta pay and I'll pay you back later."

"Sounds good to me." Her and shopping money was a completely different ordeal.

We weaved our way through the busy Target aisle where everyone and their mother seemed to be doing last minute Christmas shopping. All I could do was pray that I got everything I needed today in order to avoid coming in this weekend. CJ's gifts had been bought before it even hit November and there were random things I knew she'd like that I picked up here and there. She always was sure to write out her Christmas list for me, just in case it was in fact true that Santa Clause did not exist. I didn't mind her believing the myth, but one of the kids at my mother's church had squashed the Santa bit years ago, bringing my daughter to tears. I did my best to ensure her that he was in fact real, but there were still moments she had her doubts. She was allowed to write down five gifts and I usually bought her what she wanted. The past two years, her request of a tv had been ignored and it would be this year as well. I did her clothes shopping just over a month ago before everything with the 'blue car man' happened Olivia had come to the store with me and it was the best thirty minute shopping trip of my life.

"So what are the rules I need to know?" Olivia asked smiling up at me.

"No teddy bears, kittens or puppies. Lots of hearts, stars, unicorns if we can find them and patterns." I squinted at the list my daughter had written out before handing it over to Olivia.

"She's adorable."

Olivia shook her head, tightening the cap on her head. It was the first time she had agreed to go to a store with me and it was only because I used CJ against her. I admitted to having the hardest time picking out my little girl's clothes because she had become so picky. But if I knew one thing, it was that she would accept anything that Olivia picked out.

"Do you get all 5T?"

"I'll get a few outfits in that size but the rest, I'll get her in a bigger size so she can grow into it. It should be over here somewhere in the mix."

It was driving me insane that I couldn't find what I was looking for and I turned to look at Olivia sifting through a few different shirts with a bright smile on her face.

"What'd you find over there?"

"Some really cute shirts. She will love these, Fitz."

She held up a shirt that was cream and long-sleeved with a maze pattern that had one tiny heart at the top and another bigger heart at the bottom waiting to be found. Another shirt was a deep blue color that had snow flakes in the shape of a heart and a few more that I could only smile at. My daughter would in fact love the shirts Olivia had chosen.

"These are great, Liv. I need to find a sales person or something...they're all out of size six. What type of store runs out of an entire size?"

I turned at the first sound of her chuckling and looked at her with amused eyes. I had no clue as to why she was laughing but could tell it was somehow at my expense.

"The sizes aren't missing."

"What do you mean? I've looked everywhere over here."

"Fitz, this is the baby and toddler section, if you're gonna get her some bigger clothes, then you have to go to the girl section."

"Liv this is the girl section."

"I hate to break it to you, but your baby is growing up and has moved on to the big girl section. Follow me."

I was in shock and a bit of denial. These clothes were like miniature adult clothes and I wasn't too happy with how much my little girl was truly growing up.

"Alright Ceej, which aisle are we going to?"

"No aisle."

"What do you mean? Let's go get what you want to get for Olivia so we can get home and wrap it before she gets there."

"They don't have it on the signs. We have to go someplace else."

I wanted to be frustrated with her but she looked so defeated. It had already driven me crazy to stand with my eyes closed as I held onto the back of her coat while she picked out my gift. I had been instructed to only look at my feet and once we stopped in the aisle she made certain my eyes were closed as she chose the item.

"Ceej do you need help reading the signs? We need to get whatever you chose so we can get outta here."

She stomped her foot and looked at me sideways, letting me know she was ready to cry but trying to hold it in. I bent at the knees and scooped her up atop one of my arms before grabbing a hold of our cart and pushing it down the first empty aisle that I saw.

"What did you want to get for Olivia, Bug?"

"Seeds." She mumbled.

"Seeds?"

"Seeds so we can make peaches grow at our house."

"Peaches?"

"Livia told me one day she wants her own Peachtree so she doesn't have to buy peaches from the store anymore and she can make her peach pie that you guys made. And she said she was gonna to teach me how to make it with her one day."

I sighed and looked up, silently thanking God for the little girl he dropped in my lap six years ago. Even with her conniving, and sometimes downright smartass ways, she was amazing and had a big heart.

"Cassandra Jane you've got a pretty great heart. You're right they won't have seeds here, and I actually don't think they sell the seeds for peaches anywhere but what we can do is get a book on growing fruit and find out then maybe we can order something off-line to get here by Christmas for her. Deal?

"Deal"

Once the garage was closed, CJ let herself out of the back door and rushed inside.

"Livia!"

Her loud voice carried throughout the entire house and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. She clearly didn't believe me and assumed Olivia was in our home already, contrary to my telling her that she was a few minutes away. We made a short stop at Barnes and Noble to grab a book on growing fruit and before we left the store, we skimmed through the book just so I can prove to my daughter that we would not be planting seeds anytime soon. We would definitely have to wait until Spring rolled around.

"CJ, she is not here. Come and help me put these things away. And take your gift for me before I sneak a peek at it."

"Don't Daddy! No peeking!"

She ran back into the kitchen and grabbed the bags that held my gift in it as well as the ones with Olivia's.

"We need to hide that so she doesn't see it, Ceej. She'll be here in just a second."

"Where can we hide it?"

"I'll hide it in the laundry room. You take my gift and stash it somewhere in your room."

She began to run off and I yelled after her before she got too far away.

"CJ, please put on your pjs. Your flannel ones and I mean it. If I find you in any other pjs, we are gonna fight, kid."

Liv's POV

I could hear his threat from my place outside of the door and all I could is laugh. I missed them. It had been weeks since I was over and the phone calls were simply not enough. Huck saying that the coast was clear was one of the happiest days I had in a while. Fitz had allowed me to facetime with CJ and him, but it wasn't enough. I had been ready for today, for weeks.

I knocked on the door and could hear Fitz threatening her again to finish getting dressed before she came down the stairs as he fumbled with the locks and finally opened it.

I smiled brightly up at him before I was yanked inside of the home and the door was closed behind me. Fitz instantly grabbed a hold of the large rolling bag I'd brought and dropped it to the floor with a loud thud. I wasn't sure what he was doing until he began pulling me quickly through the living room, the kitchen and finally into the garage.

I knew exactly what he was doing.

He wasted no time hoisting me into the top of the deep freezer and attaching his lips to mine. He wasted no time thrusting his tongue into mouth and I was just as eagerly accepting of his. I felt the way he pushed his hips into mine, letting me know just how excited he was to see me.

"Fitz" I moaned, not recognizing the sound pouring out of my lips as he moved to attack my jaw and neck. He was being all consuming, making me lose my train of thought.

"It's been way too long since your lips have been on mine Livvie."

I moaned to agree and ran my hands under the back of his shirt, loving the feel of his strong muscles against my fingertips. I pushed the shirt up over his head and before I could fully take in his Greek God-like body. My lips were nipping hungrily at his neck and swiftly moved down to strong chest, earning a moan from him in return.

"Where'd you go?"

The distant voice of CJ could be heard coming from what sounded like the living room, making us both freeze in the midst of our ministrations. My lips froze around near his right nipple and his against the back of my neck.

"Dad! Livia! Where are you?"

"Arghhg"

I had to chuckle at his obvious frustration. I felt the same way, but I went into this moment with the clear understanding that it wouldn't last but a few short minutes. Fitz clearly tried to pretend we were in their own little world.

"Fitz... Later.."

I gently pushed him away so that we were face to face and connected our lips once more, this time slowly exploring his mouth with my tongue. I knew we wouldn't get a real moment like this until later tonight, so I took full advantage of having his mouth at my disposal until I had to put an end to it.

I tore my lips from his as I heard the knob on the garage door turn. CJ peeked her head in just after Fitz took a step away from me and turned to face the suv.

"Livia!"

CJ jumped down the two steps and used my thighs to lift herself into my lap before she squeezed my neck tightly. I had missed her more than I was ready to admit.

"I missed you Livia. I'm glad you came back."

"I'm glad I did too, CJ. I missed you too."

She pulled back from our embrace and turned to look at her father as though she was just remembering something.

"Daddy, why do you have your shirt off? What are you doing?"

I brought a hand to my mouth to stop the laugh that was sure to escape. The look on her face was full of judgement and she looked completely embarrassed by her father. Fitz on the other hand looked annoyed. I was almost sure that he wasn't really annoyed, but trying to tell his body to relax because his daughter was present and they were no longer alone.

"Maybe I got hot, CJ. Why are you out here? Are you supposed to go into the garage unless I tell you so?"

"Fitz" I spoke softly, making him stop picking on CJ.

He raised his eyebrows and I responded with a subtle shake of my head. He needed to learn how to share.

"CJ, is it okay if I talk to your Dad for a minute? We will come right inside, I promise."

She glanced back at Fitz for a second before nodding her head and scooting down from my lap. She went back into the house and once the door was closed, I hopped down and moved to stand in front of Fitz.

"Hey, what's... you can't be mad at her, Fitz. She just was excited."

I didn't understand the look on his face at all. He was facing the drivers' side of his suv and leaning his head against the roof. I touched his arm and felt a shiver go through his body before he moved his head to look at me.

"What's going on, Fitz?"

He let out a long sigh before he turned towards me. I now understood his frustration. I didn't want to laugh, but I couldn't stop myself.

That had to have been the biggest erection I'd ever seen.

"It's not funny."

"I'm.. I'm sorry, I'm.. I'm trying."

I could barely get the words out between fighting to keep my laughter down.

"I'm in pain, Livvie and you're laughing."

I grabbed a hold of his shoulder before he moved my hand off of him.

"Touching me will only make it worse, trust me. I just... You can go ahead in with her, I just need a minute or two."

I nodded subtly before going inside and partially closing the door behind me.

"CJ?"

"Huh?"

I heard her voice come from the living room and went in after her. CJ was sitting on the floor in front of the tv stand, rummaging through the movie collection.

"Whatchu looking for, girly?"

I'm assuming it finally hit her that I was the one calling her because the second I spoke again, she was off the floor and her thin arms were wrapped around my waist.

"How come you didn't come over for a long time, Livia?"

"I had some things going on that I needed to take care of."

"That's kinda what Daddy said but I didn't believe him."

"Why didn't you believe him?"

"Cause I know sometimes grown ups lie to you so you won't know the truth."

I sighed and grabbed CJ under her arms before lifting the small child onto my hip.

"Sometimes grown ups have to make tough decisions, and especially parents. They have to think about what's best for their child and make hard choices that might help them not get hurt."

"Did your Dad have to make choices like that to make sure you didn't get hurt?"

I thought about the question for a moment and decided to answer it with the smallest amount of the truth I could find.

"When I was a little girl, he did. All the time."

"But what about when you grew up?"

"I think he tried to, but it was too hard to protect me from it when I was old enough to make my own choices."

"Oh... Sometimes Daddy let's me make my own choices but he tells me that he will always be there to help me make choices but sometimes I'll have to be brave and make choices alone."

"He's right. It'll be scary sometimes but your dad will be there for you just like he said."

She was beginning to feel heavy in my arms and I moved towards the couch as she appeared to be thinking before speaking again.

"What if my Dadd-.."

"Hey, where did you guys go?"

I was extremely grateful to hear Fitz's loud footsteps moving towards the living room. He smiled upon entering, seeing CJ straddling my lap as she looked at him inquisitively.

"Bug? You okay?"

She nodded her head before scooting off my lap and going back to choosing a movie.

"What was that all about?"

I knew he would ask me that. CJ's mood shifted immediately and it was as though she buried the question in the back of her mind.

"Just some girl talk."

Fitz POV

I hadn't planned to get into it now, but I knew something was up with my daughter. Whatever the two of them had been discussing before I walked in had her in deep thoughts that I knew she'd be digesting for the next few hours.

"Okay before we talk about a snack, let's decide what we want to do for dinner. Any suggestions?

"Can we make spaghetti and meatballs? Please!"

I looked to Olivia for any disagreement and once I saw no protests from her, I gave CJ two thumbs up.

"Alright, Liv do you two think you can handle the pasta and grating the cheese?"

"I'm pretty sure I can, but what about the meatballs and sauce?"

"Daddy makes his special meatballs and sauce for our spaghetti, Livia."

She looked at me skeptically, but I knew she'd regret it later.

"You'll take that frown back once you're going for a second helping. No one can resists my meatballs, Liv."

The loud sound that escaped her mouth made me blush profusely. I only had to look at her to know why she was laughing so hard. She had such a dirty mind sometimes.

"Gosh, you're horrible you know that."

"Hey, that was all you. Your words, not mine."

"Yea, well we'll talk about that later."

Fitz used his tongue tonight. If I had been playing that 'never have I ever' game just a day ago, and giving or receiving oral sex was mentioned, I wouldn't have been able to indulge in the liquor. But today that changed. Our light kissing and heavy petting grew more intense and before I knew it, I was naked from the waist down, with Fitz between my legs going savage. I hadn't known that his lips on that part of my body would cause me to nearly have an asthma attack. The way my back arched off of the bed was foreign to me and I welcomed Fitz's large hands holding my hips against the bed. Even then he continued to taste my insides, groaning in what I could only guess was appreciation and satisfaction. When he finally moved from between my legs, he trailed kisses from my thighs up to my neck before he rolled off the bed and went into his bathroom. I took the next forty seconds to collect myself and find a normal breathing pattern. I heard water running and I knew he was brushing his teeth or at least rinsing his mouth and I was glad. As much as I wanted to feel his lips on mine, I wasn't sure that I was ready to taste myself on his tongue. He somehow knew that and it didn't surprise me. He always seemed to know what I needed. I reached over to grab a few tissues from the box next to his bed and cleaned myself up before I moved off the bed to find the flannel pants I had been wearing. I pulled them up my legs before grabbing my panties and stuffing them into my overnight bag. My breathing was finally back to normal when he stepped out of the bathroom. It was as though there was a magnet between us, and his arms were instantly around my waist and his lips found my neck.

"Do you realize how perfect you are?"

"Do you realize how perfect you make me feel?"

"Perfection deserves perfection... Or at least close enough."

He turned me around in his arms and attached his lips to mine. I opened up instantly and relished at the sigh he released the second our tongues met. He was happy but I could tell he was also drained. We'd texted each other throughout the day and he had more than a full load of cases to close out. Not only was he working hard on my case, he was finishing up a large caseload faster than usual so he could focus solely on mine alone. It required a lot of time to simply prep for what he wanted to present at the pre-trial and he was ready to clear his workload before his attention was on my case completely.

"You need to sleep."

I broke our kiss and moved to kiss his cheek before speaking quietly as we stood cheek to cheek.

"You've barely gotten any sleep this week and it's finally over and you're workload is free. All you're required to do for the next few days is be here with CJ and I, and enjoy Christmas."

I felt him nod next to me before he took my hand in his and moved us to the bed.

"You're right. I feel like I could sleep for days, but I had to let you know how much I'd missed you. That was the longest week of my life and I couldn't stop myself from touching you."

We both settled under the comforter and I cuddled into the crook of his arm just as he reached over to turn the bedside lamp off.

"I missed you too. Sleep, okay?"

He sighed and I could tell he was trying his best to stay awake.

"But I've missed this. So much."

"I'll be here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere."

I finally felt him relax beneath me before he pressed a soft kiss on my head.

"I love you Livvie."

"I love you too, Fitz. More than you'll ever know."

I wasn't a heavy sleeper. Even after having a fun filled afternoon with a hyper 6 year old, two mind-blowing orgasms, and strong, toned arms holding me as I fell asleep, foreign noise was sure to wake me up. I heard the noise again and held my breath as I listened to the muffled voice in my ears. I unpeeled Fitz's arms from my body and moved until I was perched on the edge of the bed, ready to take off running at any second.

The last groan had me on my feet and moving quickly down the hall as the noise registered in my mind.

CJ.

I immediately open her bedroom door and saw the little girl laying in her bed with the covers kicked off of her small body. Her small fist were bald up tightly and there was a frown on her face as she muttered in her sleep. I moved quickly to turn on the bedside lamp before sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.

"CJ, wake up sweet girl."

I shook her slowly, not wanting to wake her up to quickly but knowing whatever she was dreaming about, was scaring her.

Her hands suddenly came out and her hands open and closed as she sat up and began reaching for something in her dream. I noticed immediately when tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Daddy! Don't go... Wait.. Come back... Please! Daddy!"

She jolted forward, and I caught her just before she could fall of the bed. I held her tightly to me, shushing her quiet whines as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"CJ, sweetie you're okay. It's me, it's Livia. You're okay, sweetie. It was just a bad dream, you're safe."

She relaxed a little in my arms before I felt her hands gripping my shirt tightly. I sat there rocking her, unsure if she would tell me what she dreamed about or if she would keep it to herself. I knew Fitz was a heavy sleeper which made me realize that if I wasn't here, she'd be fighting the nightmare all on her own until she was awake enough to go to her father. He'd never mentioned her having nightmares before, so maybe it wasn't a common occurrence.

I felt her move around in my arms before she released her grip on my arms and laid back down on her bed. I watched her, cuddling back under the covers as though nothing happened and all was right in the world. I sat still watching her, unsure if she wanted me to leave her alone or stay with her until she fell back asleep. She'd always been very verbal with me and I figured if she had nothing to say then she was fine. I began to scoot off of her bed, but stopped when her small voice spoke my name.

"Livia."

I walked around to the other side of the bed where she was facing and knelt down in front of her so that we were eye to eye.

"I've never had a bad dream before."

"Did you have one tonight?"

When she nodded, I continued.

"Did it scare you?"

She nodded again.

"Do you remember what it was about?"

"My dad went away. I tried to find him but I couldn't and he didn't come back for a long time. He went away like you did."

I immediately felt all the guilt in the world. Her first nightmare that she'd ever had was set off by the fact that I had gone away and suddenly come back.

"I don't want you to leave again, Livia. Are you going to?"

"I don't want to lie to you sweetie, but I might have to leave again for a while."

Her gaze fell and acting on pure instinct, I found myself climbing onto the open space behind her and cuddling close to her small frame. My arm laid at the top of her pillow and CJ immediately turned so that she was facing me with her head now on my arm. I wrapped my free arm around her to rub soothing circles on her back, and sighed at how natural this moment with CJ felt.

"If... When I have to leave for a while, I promise that it's because I have to and not because I want to. If I could, I would stay here with you and your daddy forever."

"Will my dad ever leave me?"

"No. I don't think your dad could ever be away from you for far too long without missing you. He loves you more than anything in this world, CJ."

"Maybe one day you can stay with us forever."

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, noticing that her eyes were growing heavy and her breathing was evening out.

"Livia?"

"Yea Sweetie?"

"Next time you have to leave, will you say goodbye first?"

"I will."

She yawned heavily before letting her full weight rest against my chest.

"You promise?"

I looked down at her closed eyes, marveling at how content she was at the moment. It was so different from just a few minutes ago when I walked into the bedroom. Her thick lashes lay curled up atop her cheeks. Her small face pointed up towards mine, as her eyes remained closed as though she hadn't just asked me a weighted question. I knew that I had no control over the future but this was a promise, I hoped the first of many that I would fight to keep for her.

"I promise CJ."

Fitz POV

I laid in bed facing the ceiling and counting how many times the fan made a full circle in sixty seconds. It was quiet because CJ wasn't awake. If so she would've jumped on me nearly an hour ago and forced me to either make her breakfast or let her indulge in a sugary pastry. The silence in my home could only mean that my daughter was still asleep and with there being no savory smells coming from the kitchen, I knew it was just us in the house. There was no other explanation. We had a great night, we fell asleep, and sometime in the middle of the night, she'd left. I hate to admit how surprised I was, but I could only lay here until my anger and frustration was under control. We had plans that she clearly ran from and I'd drilled into her for hours at a time that if she had to run, I needed to know. I couldn't handle her just disappearing in the middle of the night and this proved it. Not only was I calming myself down, I was waiting for the pain in my chest to go away. Olivia not being next to me when I awakened hurt more than I could comprehend. I glanced at my phone once more to check the time and sighed. Secretly I was checking once again for any type of missed communication from her but nothing was there.

I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom. I took my time brushing my teeth and washing my face. I showered afterwards, rushing just in case CJ woke up and decided to be mischievous. It wasn't until I was showered and putting on a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt, that I noticed the chill in the house. I slipped on my house shoes before going into the hallway and turning to heat just a few degrees. The chill in the house would surely keep CJ burrowed under her covers and sleeping well past her normal awakening time.

I went to grab my phone from where I'd forgotten it before slipping it into my pocket and moving towards CJ's room. I opened her bedroom door, preparing to wake her up with as much noise as I could muster, but froze immediately. What I saw was too much to take in and I moved back into the hallway and closed the door.

Maybe my eyes were deceiving me. I blinked several times, making sure I was actually awake but also trying to fight back the tears that had sprung to my eyes. She hadn't left. She didn't leave me. She didn't leave us. In fact she was in my daughter's bed. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat before opening the door again.

I wanted to leave again. It was almost too overwhelming to see them this way. Olivia's arms were wrapped around my little girl and CJ was snuggled deeply into Olivia's embrace with her back against her chest. They were spooning and although it made me a tad bit jealous, I never wanted to forget this moment.

I did the cheesy thing. I stood up and reached for my phone before snapping away.

It was after I had taken the second picture that I noticed Olivia stir and lift her head at the sound.

"Fitz?"

I hated that I woke her up, but I also couldn't wait to hear how this came about.

"I'm sorry for waking you, I just... Seeing you two together like this..."

I trailed off and moved to sit on the bed next to CJ's still form. Olivia reached out and grabbed my hand before squeezing it tightly and intertwining our fingers.

"I thought... When I woke up and you.."

"You thought I'd left?"

I nodded, slightly ashamed of myself for immediately jumping to that conclusion. She must have sensed my hesitation to answer and sat up slowly while making sure CJ was not disturbed at all.

"I could hear her in the middle of the night and came to check on her. She was having a bad dream and we talked for a few minutes and she was worried that you would leave like I left. I just wanted to hold her and it was like she melted into me. It was the best feeling I've ever had. I promised her that I would always say goodbye to her."

CJ POV

I could hear my Daddy and Olivia talking to each other but I didn't know what they were saying. I wasn't really sleepy anymore but it felt really good sleeping with Livia. Besides my grandma, I had never slept next to a girl before and it was even better than sleeping next to my daddy. She didn't snore when she slept like Daddy did either. Livia was warm and really soft and she hugged me really tight while I slept. That's why I woke up, cause she wasn't holding me tight anymore. I opened my eyes when I felt my daddy and Livia leaning on me. They were kissing again. I closed my eyes back cause I didn't want them to stop if they caught me. I didn't care that my daddy was kissing Livia. I had never seen him kiss anyone except me and my grandma and he only kissed her on the cheek. One time I saw a picture of my daddy kissing my mommy on the lips and when I asked him why he kissed her on the lips, he said that he was so happy she gave him me that he kissed her like that. I didn't think Livia has given my daddy something for him to kiss her there but I think he's kissing her just because he wants to. He's always trying to kiss Livia, especially when I'm doing something. He thinks I don't see him, but I do. Sometimes I watch them but sometimes I don't. It's kind of gross and mushy and I never saw Daddy be mushy with someone.

I didn't want to keep my eyes closed anymore so I opened them up and sat up on my bed. Livia and daddy jumped away from each other when I moved and I giggled at them before yawning. I wasn't sleepy anymore but I always yawned when I woke up. Livia turned her head away from me when I looked at her, and Daddy coughed a little before he spoke to me.

"Good morning, Bug. Did you sleep well?"

He kissed my forehead and I moved towards him, not realizing that I wanted a hug from him.

"Mmhmm" I told him and hugged his neck, then I climbed into Livia's lap and hugged her. Being on my Daddy's lap felt good, but Livia's felt better. When she hugged me I always felt tingly on the inside. I didn't really understand it, but I liked it.

"Bug, did you have any dreams last night?"

How did he even know that? I was gonna tell him no but I didn't like to lie to my Daddy. That was a rule we had and I tried not to break it.

"Yes. It was a bad one."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Not really. I already told Livia 'bout it and she helped me not be scared anymore."

He brought his hand to my head and moved my hair away from my face. I loved when Daddy did that. It always made me really calm and happy.

"Alright, well you know I'm always here for you and nothing will ever change that. You're stuck with me forever, kid."

I nodded my head and borrowed into Olivia's chest more. She even smelled good.

"I know. Can we have breakfast?"

Daddy looked at Olivia and smiled at her, then nodded his head. We all climbed off the bed and I smiled when Livia grabbed my hand as we walked out of my room. Instead of going downstairs, she walked me to the bathroom and Daddy told me to brush my teeth and use the bathroom before I came down.

"Are you gonna do it too since you just woke up too?"

"Yep, I'm gonna use your daddy's bathroom."

I nodded my head before going into the bathroom and handling my business.

Fitz POV

I should have gone downstairs to start breakfast but I couldn't. There was no way in hell I could be away from Olivia. I needed to take advantage of the few minutes of alone time that we would have. I followed her into my bedroom and closed the door, then locked it.

"Why'd you do that?"

I moved closer to her, invading her personal space before she could move into the bathroom, and pinned her to the bed.

"I haven't even brushed my teeth or washed my face yet."

She tried to bring her hands up to cover her face but I caught her hands in mine before she could hide herself.

"Don't hide from me Livvie, I don't care about that. What I care about is what I felt when I woke up and thought you were gone only to find you in bed with my little girl. Fitting perfectly in that space. I've never seen her like this before."

"Like what?"

"I don't know how to describe it... I guess open? She's like that with me, she'll cuddle, and sit with me and be vulnerable with me but I've never seen her crave someone so much like she does you. I could see it physically, but her leaving my lap and going to you without a second thought? And after just waking up? That's big. It's more than her just wanting to be around you. I've never seen my little girl be that attached and loving towards someone else. Even with my mom. We're so much alike so she's ... I don't know how to really explain it without her sounding cold, but CJ's not this little lovey-dovey girl like most are. She's got the sweetest soul but with really just having me around for so long, she's never had that maternal type love and I can tell she's craving that from you."

"I'm not even sure that I meant to do anything special... I just... She's just.."

"It comes naturally to you."

She turned her head away, averting her eyes.

"I don't know how that's possible. It's not like I had a great example of a mother. She left before I got to know her, but I can't blame her. She had to get away from the life my father gave us and I was just a casualty. I'm not sure how much maternal anything I have in me, Fitz."

"You have exactly what my little girl needs. You've shown her so much love and she loves you right back, Livvie."

"She likes me, Fitz."

"I know my daughter..."

Before I could continue, there was loud noise against the door and we both jumped slightly and turned our heads.

"Daddy is Livia done? Where is she?"

I smiled at my daughters' words before glancing back down at Olivia.

"Like I was saying, she loves you. We both do."

I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips before getting up and allowing her access to the bathroom.

I opened the door and CJ peered around me in search of Olivia.

"She's not done just yet. You wanna help me start breakfast while we wait for her?"

"No thanks. I'm gonna wait for Livia to be done."

She rushed pass me and went into the bathroom to watch as Olivia prepared for the day.

Her little face lit up once Olivia lifted her into the counter she was using and I knew for a fact that she was brought into our lives for more than just my benefit. She was changing my daughter's life as well.

Fitz POV

Over the next three days, we were a family. We did normal things that I believed a family did. We played outback in the snow before the moon was out and built snowmen. The neighbors to the left of us that would've normally tried to join the fun or simply be nosy, were out of town, so we relished in the privacy we had. The older folks in my neighborhood didn't want to bother being out in the cold, and we took advantage of the seclusion. CJ and I had teamed up during the snowball fight and pummeled Liv with the cold snow. She cried out for help after getting hit in her back by me and CJ was quick to shoot me a dirty look before running to check on her. The second she was near Olivia, she was tackled onto the snow covered ground, making CJ laugh uncontrollably.

"Livia you tricked me!"

"Well I had to get you on my team so we can beat your daddy!"

They attacked me after that, jumping on me the second I went down and didn't let me up until I begged for mercy. We played in the snow for hours, making up games as we went and bending the rules to any game we could think of from 'Red Light, Green Light', to 'Marco, Polo'. Later that night before bed, CJ insisted on watching Frozen. Olivia had only seen the movie once and was excited for the opportunity to watch it again. Before the movie began, we went into the kitchen to make hot chocolate and Olivia looked at me in disgust when I began to fill our mugs with water.

"What's that look for?"

"Because you couldn't pay me to drink that."

"You don't like hot chocolate, Livia?"

CJ's eyes were wide with confusion and fear. Anything Olivia had done, CJ had either mimicked or agreed with, but she loved hot chocolate and had a dilemma. We had worked out of the kinks of her being a leader at school and not following what her peers did, but this was Olivia and it was clearly different.

"I love hot chocolate but I make it kinda different. Do you want to know the BEST way to make hot chocolate?"

"Yes! Tell me!"

Olivia glanced up at me and shooed me out of the kitchen before telling me bring CJ's pj's down and to get the movie ready.

Yea, we had the family thing down pact.

Liv POV

"Alright so first we don't use water and we don't use the microwave."

"How will the hot chocolate be hot?"

"We get a pot and we use milk and warm it up on the stove."

"Is it yummy with milk?"

"It's the bestest, most creamiest hot chocolate you'll ever taste. But that's not all that goes in."

"What else?"

"Well first let's get the milk on, then I'll tell you the special ingredient."

I helped CJ pour the milk in the pan before turning the burner on medium."

I moved towards the cabinet and grabbed the new pack of candy canes that I'd spotted early and began to opened the plastic wrapping.

"Candy canes?"

"Yep! So what we have to do is break these up and put them inside. Some we can just break in half, but one of them, we can crush the whole thing and put it in our cups and it will taste really good."

Fitz POV

CJ had bounced on the heels of her feet until she clutched her small closed-lid mug in her hand and took a long sip. Olivia had dropped an ice cube in CJ's mug and I loved that she instinctively did that. I had to admit that it was the best tasting hot chocolate I'd ever had and I even convinced her to make me a second cup.

As much as I wanted to be near my girls during the movie, CJ made it clear that I was ruining every song. After she paused the movie for the fourth time, I wasn't allowed to talk during the remainder of the movie. Now of course this meant that I was banished to the other end of the couch while the two of them stayed cuddled together at the other end. Olivia and I locked eyes ever so often, and I could only smile as the void we'd had in our lives continuously filled with every second she was with us.

Fitz POV

Christmas Eve came before I could blink and on that morning, loud knocking disturbed our sleep. CJ had fallen asleep cuddled between Olivia and I as we watched A Christmas Story and it was a feeling I wanted to get used to. Thankfully she didn't wake up as I deposited her into her bed and with a belly full of hot chocolate, she stayed in her bed the entire night. I felt like I kept missing my opportunity to really be alone with Olivia because I was so terrified of CJ interrupting us, but I needed to put on a brave face and man up.

Olivia stirred first at the loud knocking and when I felt her shaking me awake, I was out of the bed and putting a pair of sweatpants on. Being awakened all of a sudden always had me on edge and I would respond before my mind could process it.

"Fitz.. You umm..."

I stopped to see what Olivia was trying to say to me and when I caught her eyes she began to gesture south until I had caught on.

Fuck. Morning wood was a thing. A serious thing and sharing a bed with Olivia Pope had me reaching levels of wet dreams I hadn't experienced since my later years of high school.

"Shit.. I ummm, I'll be ok. Sorry, I just..."

"It's ok... It's not like I didn't... I mean before you got up..."

"God, I'm sorry Livvie..." I rubbed my hands through my hair unable to really come up with anything. I tried to play it cool. "The things you do to me, woman."

She blushed and I took that opportunity to lean closer and kiss her softly, telling her good morning quietly.

"I'll get rid if whoever that is and be right back. Don't move."

"Wait! What if..."

She was nervous and afraid. After what happened the last time someone unexpectedly banged on my front door, I couldn't blame her."

"Hey, whatever it is, it'll be okay. Just stay here and I'll see what's going on. If anything was wrong, Huck would've known by now. He's on top of this."

She nodded her head and let go of my hand after I felt her squeeze it for a few moments. I wanted to take the steps two at a time but knew I would probably fall on my face since I was still a bit hazy from sleep. When I reached the bottom of the steps I took a deep breath, silently praying that whoever was on the other side was harmless. I looked through the peep-hole and sighed at the Fed-Ex guy standing there looking impatient. Behind him, I could clearly see the large company truck still running.

I opened the door to see four boxes at his feet just before his clipboard was pushed towards my chest.

"I got about sixty more deliveries to make before the day is over and even more tomorrow. Get with it, man. Need a signature, let's go."

I blinked rapidly at his commands and scribbled my name on the line he pointed to.

"You got it, right?"

I nodded at him, assuring him that he could leave and began moving the packages inside. I had no idea what was being delivered and once the door was closed I began looking at the labels.

CJ Grant

Fitzgerald Grant

All of them were addressed to my daughter with the exception of one.

"I think I know where those are from."

I looked up and saw Olivia peering over the banister with a smile on her face.

"It was just him delivering packages, you can come down. Coast is all clear."

I blinked before looking down at the packages, then up to her again.

"Wait. Is this your doing?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

She chuckled softly before shrugging and coming down the steps to stand next to me.

"I couldn't be the only person not bringing something to the party"

"But we agreed on no gifts for each other."

I pulled her into my arms, but immediately brought my hands up to cup her cheeks. They were so soft and I couldn't stop touching them.

"Did you follow through on our no gift rule?"

She got me there and she knew it. The smirk on her face proved that she knew I had something up my sleeve.

"Guilty."

"Exactly, so don't be so shocked that I made sure there was something under the tree to you guys from me."

I had to kiss her at that moment. She was too intoxicating and there was no one around to tell me to stop.

We started to get carried away when once again loud knocking slides at the door.

"UGHHH!" I groaned and pressed my forehead against hers. "That rude ass kid probably forgot something in the truck. Was this all you had sent here? I'm not expecting anything that I know of."

I moved towards the door and without thinking swung it open wide.

Shit.

That was not the Fed-Ex guy.

"Well Merry Christmas, stranger!"

"Hey Mom."