Love and Freedom

by OliviaLovesFitz8

When the thing you've been running from is what will set the person you love free, do you give for what you love or do you walk away and watch them fall.

28. Chapter 28

Love and Freedom 28

Three weeks later

FITZ POV

Explaining the concept of house arrest to a six year old was not an easy feat. From board games, painting, baking, to practicing diapering a baby from an online tutorial, CJ's patience had worn thin. Every day it was a hassle coming up with new fun things for her to do and Olivia's patience was heaven sent. I was able to see how great she truly was with kids when she'd talk with CJ, especially when my little girl was in a foul mood. It wasn't the first time she'd been around a child frustrated by the confinement of someone they loved, and she actually hoped it wouldn't be the last time.

"Can we go get some ice cream tonight?"

"Well we can eat ice cream that we already have here."

"No let's go out and get it like we always did, Daddy! We can show Livia our favorite booth we sit in."

"We can't Ceej I'm sorry. Remember we talked about the bracelet on Olivia's…"

"But Daddy we never go out to any places anymore!"

She was becoming hysterical and her face grew red as she stomped her foot loudly against the floor before turning around and running towards the stairs.

"Cassandra Jane stop it! I know you're upset but we need to.."

"No! You lied Daddy!"

Her voice was loud and shaky and both Olivia and I sighed when she ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door.

CJ POV

I ran to my bed and buried my face in my pillow. It wasn't fair! My dad lied to me and we never lie to people that we love or to anyone. I jumped when someone knocked on my door but I didn't tell them they could come in. I didn't want to talk to Livia or Daddy because they made me so sad. I heard the door open and turned so I was looking the other way.

"CJ"

"I don't wanna talk to you Dad!"

I said that to make him mad but I didn't care. I didn't want to call him Daddy right now.

I felt him sit on the bed and he lifted me so I was sitting up but I moved back and hid my face in my knees so he couldn't see me anymore.

"Bug you gotta talk to me okay? We communicate with each other and talk don't we? We don't keep secrets or hold onto our anger remember?"

"I'm not angry, I'm sad!"

"Why are you sad Bug? You need to talk to me. I can't help you feel better if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"Because you lied! You promised to never lie to me."

FITZ POV

"Bug what did I lie about? You have to talk to me baby."

Seeing my little girl so hurt was not okay with me. She was deliberately keeping her distance from me and I could tell that she was doing her best to not break down but failing miserably.

I moved closer to her and pushed through her child-ish strength, cupping her cheeks and lifting her head until our eyes met. Those teary grey eyes ruined me.

"Talk to me Bug." I whispered praying she would.

I watched her bottom lip tremble, tears spill down her cheeks and her raspy voice began to reveal what was bothering her so deeply.

"You promised it would be different when she came back….. you said Livia and me could go places and leave the house like shopping and girl days."

"Oh Bug.."

"You.. you said Livia was gonna be like… like a Mommy"

That was the last straw. I scooped her up and held her tightly against my chest apologizing over and over again for the pain I had unintentionally caused her. Of course that's what we all wanted, what Olivia and I had discussed ad nauseam but never realized how CJ held on to those words and was waiting on that promise.

"Bug I'm so sorry okay? I know it's hard to understand and I know I promised and I'm sorry. Things changed and although Olivia got to come back, she still has to follow the rules for her punishment until it's over then she can do everything with us in and out of the house."

"It's not fair…. The baby gets to have Livia as a Mommy."

Oh. There was more to this breakdown than I originally thought.

"I know it seems like it's different but Bug I promise we both love you as much as we love the new baby. And yes maybe the baby will call Olivia 'mommy' but if that's something you want to do too we can talk about that. Do you want to call her mommy?"

I felt her shrug her shoulders and realized that she was simply letting out her thoughts but hadn't made up her mind about what she wanted. She just needed to let it all out and I understood. Again she was like me and bottled things up inside which wasn't the healthiest thing.

"Are you afraid that the baby will have Olivia as a Mommy but you won't?"

More shrugging. I assumed I would get no further on the subject today but did have something I hoped would make her happy.

"Do you want me to stay with you or do you want some time alone?"

"Stay"

"Alright Bug well let's get comfy here first okay?

I lifted her from my lap and moved to lay down against her pillows and brought her small body into my chest.

"Olivia and I wanted to ask you something today."

It took her longer than usual but she eventually asked 'what'.

"Well remember she has a doctors appointment tomorrow to check on the baby and you and grandma are gonna come too? Well they might be able to see if it's a boy or girl."

She sat up with a confused look on her face and wiped the remnants of tears from her eyes.

"How do we know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Well the doctors look at the baby with a special wand and they can see whether the baby has boy parts or girl parts."

"Like a penis or vagina?"

I could only laugh and hope she didn't start saying those words tomorrow or she was going to drive me to drink.

"Yea, but we thought maybe the doctor could just tell you and grandma and you guys could come up with a fun way to tell me and Liv. What do you think about that? You'd be one of the first people to know if it's a brother or sister."

"Yea! I wanna know with grandma and then we can tell you and Livia!"

"Yea? I think it would be fun and you can pick whatever way you want to tell us what the baby is."

She didn't say much after that but seeing the smile on her face told me that she was okay for now and our original conversation would be shelved until she was ready to bring it up again. I also knew that she and Olivia would need to talk through some of this in order for her to really believe that one day we would be a normal family just like everyone else.

CJ's mood had greatly improved by the time lunch was over. Starting her day with outing requests was something I hoped we could avoid moving forward but of course as soon as lunch was cleaned up, more requests were made. Ones Olivia insisted on saying yes to and I hated disagreeing with her especially with CJ just a few feet away pretending she want listening.

"Try explaining to a five year old that their twin sister, their best friend in the whole wide world couldn't play with them outside of her hospital room because it wasn't safe for them… then try re-explaining that to them everyday. I'm okay Fitz, I understand why she was feeling so upset and I'm glad she's letting me see her frustration. It means she trusts me."

CJ still was struggling with the fact that Olivia couldn't do all that was promised and began to get frustrated when we turned down her offer to play out front.

"Fitz, it's okay.. I don't mind sitting on the front porch while she rides her bike. We could even open the garage and watch from there."

"Liv no she doesn't get…"

"Fitz let it go. I want to watch her ride it and she's been asking me for days. You can sit with me and it'll be fine."

CJ looked back and forth between us, not used to us disagreeing on something in front of her and I rubbed my temples before telling her to go get her helmet and pads on. CJ took off cheering in victory and I could only shake my head before turning back to Olivia.

"No training wheels is a big deal Fitz. You've been teaching her for a week and she finally got it and wants to show it off. Don't be such a party pooper, Daddy."

I smiled at the nickname before leaning down towards her stomach and placing my hands on either side.

"Please be a little boy in there. Your Mama and sister are killing me."

I felt Olivia's fingers in my hair just seconds before she laughed softly, her stomach bouncing slightly as she did.

"With the way this baby's legs purposely stay closed during scans I'd say I'm carrying around a stubborn mini you without a doubt."

"Yea well I want proof buddy. If those legs aren't open tomorrow for that appointment you're grounded kid. That room ain't gonna paint itself and I refuse to let your Mama give you a yellow room so give your old man a break okay?"

"Yellow is a great color and as long as its not.."

"Yea yea, I read the article you sent me Livvie. I still say a light shade of green is the best way to go."

"Maybe, we just need to find a nice shade for the room."

I nodded agreeing with her before following her into the kitchen. I moved closer to the magnet calendar and tapped on the square two weeks from today.

"Mom's picking her up Sunday for VBS week at her church and she starts Soccer the following Tuesday."

"I saw… I hate that I won't be able to be there for any of the games. She's not gonna like it and she's gonna fight tooth and nail."

"She'll be fine and I'll fight back. She might fight us on going with mom for the week but she loves it once she's there. She's got friends there that she loves seeing each time she visits and mom makes sure she has the best time."

"Yea but things are different here now at home for her."

"I know and I was thinking that too so mom is gonna make sure to let me know if she needs to come home early.

"I got it! Daddy can you do the elbow pads for me?"

CJ interrupted us, running back into the room with her helmet and knee pads securely in place. I stepped away from Olivia and helped my little girl strap the pads on her elbows.

"Come on Livia I wanna show you!"

"Ceej wait. Look at me okay."

I pulled her back and held her shoulders to keep her still.

"Eyes Bug, let me see 'em."

I waited until her grays were on mine and she was focused on what I was saying.

"Liv is gonna watch from the driveway okay? We will open the garage and set up a chair for her there okay? No negotiating or complaining kapeesh?"

She looked back and forth between the two of us before agreeing with the plan.

"Kapeesh Daddy!"

She was off again and Olivia and I followed her into the garage. I grabbed two of the lawn chairs and set them up in front of the garage before opening it. As soon as the large door was fully open, I helped CJ walk her bike to the end of the driveway and held it steady as she climbed on.

"Watch Livia!"

Instead of focusing on riding her actual bike, CJ kept glancing back to make sure Olivia was in fact watching which made her lose balance every time. A few tries later both CJ and I were surprised to see Olivia stand up and walk towards the two of us. Her steps were hesitant and she was very aware of her surroundings but the fact that she'd come fully out in the front was huge.

LIV POV

The smile on CJ's face let me know I made the right choice as I knelt down next to her.

"CJ I promise I'm watching okay? I wanna see how well you ride your bike so will you show me?"

"Are you gonna watch right here?"

"Well yea but you gotta get on the bike and ride it first. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal!"

The smile on her face was all I needed as I stood back and watched Fitz steady the bike while she got on. The second she began to peddle, she was off and balancing well.

"Go CJ!"

We both smiled watching her face light up as she rode in the allowed area of the cul de sac. As she continued to ride, I slowly moved back towards the garage and sat down, gripping Fitz's hand as he took a seat in the empty chair.

"This is nice huh?"

I expected him to be watching CJ just as closely as I was, instead I could feel him watching me. We were like magnets suddenly and couldn't keep ourselves from kissing one another. The biggest part of me wished we lived a normal life and didn't have to live on eggshells but things wouldn't be this way forever.

"Daddy the mail's here!"

We both looked up and Fitz let go of my hand and went to greet the familiar smiling man that drove by. CJ knew to get off her bike and she walked it towards the two men asking if any of the mail was for her.

I watched the two of them before scanning the rest of the street, instinctively making sure nothing out of the ordinary was there. As usual my hand rested on top of my belly and I smiled at the tickle against my arm as the baby shifted around slowly.

"You getting comfy in there mister? Huh baby? I can feel you, ya know?"

The second the words slipped out of my mouth I realized what was happening and called for Fitz immediately.

FITZ POV

"Fitz, the baby! Come here… hurry."

I was kneeling beside her instantly, raking my eyes over every inch of her and doing my best to figure out what was wrong.

"What happened? Is the baby okay? Livvie?"

There were tears in her eyes and she remained silent while grasping my hand and moving it to her stomach.

"Shhh, just wait.."

I froze on the surface not grasping what was happening but deep down knowing exactly what would come next. I could tell she was holding her breath and just when I was going to tell her to breathe, I felt it.

"Oh wow… whoa! That's … that's our baby! Livvie, that's our baby."

The tears flowed freely from her eyes as she leaned her forehead against mine. I kissed her lips before leaning back down to her stomach.

LIV POV

"Is this the first time they've been this strong? CJ come here sweetie."

"Of course it is Fitz, I would've told you if I could feel any kicks strong enough for you both to feel… it's incredible isn't it?"

"It really is… here CJ come put your hand right here and feel…. Just wait for it okay?"

She was watching us wearily, more than likely thinking we were being weird, until she felt a nudge against her hand."

"Is that the baby? It kicked me!"

"Yea the baby's saying hi to you…say hi back."

CJ looked at me confused and I smiled and nodded, letting her know I was being serious.

"The baby can hear all of us out here so the more we talk to him or her, the more they'll know your voice. I always talk to the baby and so does your daddy.. you gotta start talking too if you want the baby to know your voice too."

"I do! Hi baby! It's your big sister CJ! Can you kick some more?"

We all waited a few seconds and when there was no movement, CJ pouted a bit.

"Aww baby I want you to kick again please.. I'm your sister and I'm gonna be your best friend and …."

Fitz and I smiled at CJ talking to my stomach while she basically pet me. We were broken out of our bubble when Fitz's phone began ringing. CJ paid no mind to the phone and began moving her hands around my stomach with hopes of making the baby move again.

"Liv, CJ lets go inside. Now."

I was surprised by the urgency of his voice and before I could ask what was wrong, he was grabbing both mine and CJ's arms and pulled us up before ushering us through the garage. He forcefully pushed the button to close the garage door and locked up once we were inside. Fitz refused to answer my constant questions of what was happening and was suddenly back on the phone again.

"Go upstairs and stay away from the windows. Now."

Fitz POV

Huck said six words before he hung up the phone.

Someone's watching the house. Go inside.

All I could do was grab them and move as quickly as possible inside. I tried to scan the area for someone maybe hiding behind a car or a white van parked at the end of the street but wasn't able to see anything out of the ordinary. I sent them upstairs and began locking all the windows and doors wondering where this person watching us was set up.

"Fitz?"

I could tell she was afraid and didn't want her to worry but knew I had nothing that proved otherwise.

"I'll be right up in a second, Liv."

I attempted to call Huck back but the phone went straight to voicemail. When I was done I climbed the steps two at a time and wasn't surprised that Olivia had distracted CJ in major way that would really hold her attention.

"I can choose the color too?"

"As long as its for a boy or a girl."

I glanced at Olivia and gestured for her to follow me out of CJ's room.

"She's looking at nursery themes, what's going on? Who was on the phone?"

"Huck. He said someone was watching the house and to get inside. I'm assuming he's on the way but I don't know. He won't answer when I call."

I watched her hand immediately go to her stomach and I pulled her into my arms hoping to calm her down before she stressed too much.

"Hey, we're okay. We're safe here. I don't…"

My phone sounded with a text message alert from Huck that I read out loud to Olivia.

"I'm here."

In the next second we heard the alarm chime notifying us that one of the doors had been opened, followed by Huck's deep unmistakable voice.

"Liv."

"CJ wait here."

We headed downstairs and found Huck setting up a laptop, scrolling through footage of the camera that recorded all the happenings on our street.

"Hi Hucky!"

Both our head turned towards the stairs to see CJ peeking around the corner at the three of us.

"Ceej, upstairs now!" I snapped my fingers loudly and she scurried away knowing there was no room for negotiation.

"Alright here, this car stopped by when you were in jail Liv but didn't come to the door and it came back today and parked. It looks like a woman which is strange because I don't know any women that have worked for Russell or that would help him.

I moved closer seeing the silver Nissan Altima with dark tinted window parked four houses down facing our house.

"When I speed it up they make the full circle in front of the house so hopefully I can clean it up and see their face."

Huck began to speed the footage up, making us realize this person had been watching us since we'd first gone outside with CJ so she could ride her bike. When the car inched foreword we all leaned in closely as it went directly in front of the house and in the camera's line of vision.

"White. Red hair. Thirties. Thin."

Shit.

"Wait let me see… rewind it… now blow it up.."

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair in relief before chuckling loudly. Neither Huck or Olivia found it funny and both were surprised by my sudden change in demeanor.

"I don't see how this is funny. We don't know who this woman is and why she's watching the house, specifically the three of you."

"I do know her and she's harmless."

"You know her? The woman stalking us?"

"Yes but she's not a stalker just nosy as hell.. her name is Abby and she helped me with CJ sometimes especially in the summers so she's probably wondering why she hasn't heard from us and was gonna come over."

"But why watch us and say nothing? Are you sure she's not crazy?"

I tilted my head from side to side considering the term crazy when it involved Abby.

"I didn't say she wasn't crazy but she's harmless and no it doesn't surprise me at all that she'd be watching us from afar. She's kinda like a tornado and she'd definitely want to get as much information as possible before she…. approaches me so as to not make an ass out of herself."

"What's her last name?"

"Whelan, why?"

"Does she live close by?"

"Yea I think she's in the same zip code."

I watched Huck type away for a few moments before he sighed and turned the laptop toward Olivia and I.

"That's her." I couldn't believe how fast he was able to pull up everything there was to know about Abby but shouldn't have been surprised.

"Is this someone that will keep coming around? Can you get rid of her?"

"Yea I mean I can tell her not to come around but she'll just worry that something going on and she's not gonna go away without a fight."

"What kind of ties do you have to this woman, Fitz? You seem to have a problem with her not being in your life."

I didn't like the way he'd phrased the question but knew not to bring it up.

"I have no major ties with her, she just has been there to help me since CJ was born. She worked at the hospital and was the only nurse that didn't see me as some charity case with the dead wife and newborn. She's straight forward, protective as hell over CJ and has been there when I've needed help without question so yea I'm not that keen on just cutting her from my life."

LIV POV

The more I thought about it, the easier it was to realize that the only person from Fitz's world that knew about this, about me, was his mother. Everyone else that might have been a friend, an acquaintance, a co-worker, anyone, he'd cut off completely for my safety. He'd told me about Abby before and CJ had told me about her 'fun babysitter Abby' what now seemed like forever ago. I knew she was harmless and if Fitz's reaction was any indication, I now knew that Abby was someone he wanted to keep around.

"Let's invite her over."

Fitz wasn't expecting that from me and neither was Huck.

"Why? We don't have to acknowledge this at all but as long as we know she's not a threat.."

"No. I can't ask you to just get rid of everyone in you and CJ's life for me. Whether she's a big part of your life or someone you see twice a year, I don't want you to change that because of me and all this. So let's invite her over, I want to know her. Isn't it better to have good people in our corner supporting us? I mean it won't always be this way, living in a bubble and walking on eggshells. I want to do this Fitz."

I grasped his hand, intertwining our fingers tightly. I could tell he was thinking on it, fighting against his instinct of protecting me.

"Huck what do you need to do… I mean does she check out and everything for you?"

Huck looked at the both of us before nodding then he immediately began closing up the lap top and reached for the two phones he'd brought.

"She's good. I'll check in later."

Fitz dropped my hand before mumbling something about Huck's 'disappearing act' and plopping down on the couch. He buried his head in his hands and before I could go to him, I heard a creek from the stairs and noticed CJ doing a horrible job of hiding.

"Hey little sneaky snake why don't you come down and I'll get you a snack." I chuckled hearing her gasp from the steps as I moved into the kitchen.

CJ charged loudly down the steps not giving one care about being caught and ran behind me into the kitchen.

"Can I have some olives and cheese?"

The second she said the words my mouth began to salivate. I grabbed a bowl for each of us before grabbing the jar of green olives and scooping out plenty to divide then went to chopping on the large block of mild cheddar cheese. I gave CJ her bowl, unplugged her iPad and gave it to her to ensure she stayed occupied before telling her that I was gonna talk to her dad for a few minutes.

Fitz was in the same position as before but I refused to let his mood stay so somber. I sat my own bowl next to him before climbing on his lap and sitting sideways.

"Hey, look at me."

I raked my fingers through his hair repeatedly, watching as the stress lines disappeared from his face and his mind slowed down, eyes focused on mine.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop that. You need to promise me to stop worrying so much. We can't live day in and day out stressed like this. We have too much to be grateful for right now Fitz, we were having a good day weren't we?"

He nodded his head and smiled for a second before it faltered and that look reappeared on his face.

"Tell me what's wrong. Please."

"Abby….. she's great but Liv… she's nosy and bossy and us being surface level with her isn't gonna work. She'll want to know everything and it's just gonna .."

Before he could finish his thought I grabbed an olive from my bowl and pushed it directly into his mouth. The look on his face brought so much joy to mine because he was utterly disgusted and it was funny. I shook my head at the unspoken words between us and smiled brightly at him. He hated olives and thought they were the most disgusting food on the planet.

"Nope swallow it.. no spitting it out."

"Livvie" he uttered my name around the snack and he did his best keeping the saliva from spilling out of his mouth.

"This is your punishment for not relaxing so finish it."

"You don't play fair woman."

"I know so shut up and eat it so I can kiss you."

He all but swallowed the salty food whole before leaning forward and kissing me the way I needed him to. I rested my forehead against his and we both calmed our breaths and took each other in, enjoying the stillness of the moment. Everything was constantly up and down and all we wanted was a minute of peace where nothing else mattered but us, our family.

"Can we put the Abby discussion on the table until the weekend?"

I could tell he really didn't want to think about it anymore and agreed.

"Of course we can."

He leaned forward and kissed me again before thanking me.

"My mom sent me a text while you were playing chef to the snake in there…" he began and laughed when I pinched his side. "She's not feeling too well and doesn't feel she can make the trip and come to the appointment with us tomorrow."

"Oh. Well I hate that she isn't feeling well but it might be perfect with it just being the three of us. Might be just the type of attention and distraction that CJ needs."

"Yea I think she'll like being the only person that knows what we're having but I have to warn you she may spill the beans before we make it out of the parking garage"

I laughed knowing he was right but we wouldn't care. We hated leaving each weekly appointment not knowing the gender of our stubborn baby Grant but hoped that tomorrow would be different. Dr. Kelly also suggested some snacks I could eat to get the baby moving before we arrive.

"I'm counting on it."

I leaned forward, encouraging his lips towards mine and let him do the majority of the work as I savored the taste of him for as long as we could until we were interrupted by a loud voice.

"Are you done talking yet so I can come in there too? Or you could talk louder so I can hear you know!"

We broke apart smiling and Fitz threw his head back against the back of the couch and sighed loudly which only made me laugh.

"I swear this baby better be a boy."

LIV POV

I sat still as the nurse cleared the last of her things out and told me Dr. Kelly would be with me soon. I hated drinking that orange syrup for the glucose test but was pretty sure there would be no issues or concerns. I laid back against the take and sent Fitz a few texts letting him know how grossed out I was by the drink.

"Yea well try having the drink vomited on you then we can talk."

"Mellie?"

"Yep. I still cringe from any liquid remotely resembling that color so I'm glad they had us wait out here."

"I should've brought my toothbrush to brush that taste out of my mouth."

"Lol"

I looked up at the small knock on the door before it opened and Dr. Kelly walked in happy as usual.

"Hello dear how are you feeling today? Were you able to keep that deliciousness down?"

"Barely. I'm feeling pretty good. Baby's pretty active this morning so I'm hoping we get some cooperation and that big sister is a good luck charm."

"Yes I hope so too, I'm getting anxious myself although I'm pretty sure I have an idea of who's swimming around in there. Before the nurse brings them back I do want to go over your numbers today."

"Okay."

"We've been monitoring your blood pressure for the past few weeks since you've been home and we have some progress but it's not where I would prefer it to be. You're young and in good physical shape but your BP doesn't mirror that. The only thing I can equate it to is stress."

I sighed and nodded my head. "You'd be right."

"I know what life looked like just over a month ago for you and I'm sure that being home is much better and less stressful but your blood pressure is still higher than I'd really like. Are you resting and staying as stress free as possible? I'm not naïve to think house arrest is all fun and games. I can imagine it gets old fast."

"I'm resting really well, Fitz makes sure of it and I literally just hang around the house all day. I don't know why it won't go down."

"Well the body doesn't lie dear, there's stress still which is understandable, we just have to find a way to stabilize it. Now outside of pregnancy and house arrest have you ever had high blood pressure or were your doctors concerned before you moved here?"

"Not that I can ever remember."

"Okay, well when was the last time you weren't stressed out?"

The last time I wasn't stressed out? I thought hard, I really did. Before I was just in prison for months and that was stressful. Then I found out I was pregnant while in there. Before that hiding out at Fitz's home praying someone didn't show up and kill us in the middle of the night was stressful. Staying with Huck and not being able to see Fitz and CJ was stressful. When I first arrived I kept so many secrets from Fitz and wasn't sure how this stranger felt that he could trust me and lived on edge nearly every second. Before that I was making sure I wasn't killed or sent to jail during a bank robbery turned homicide.

"I don't know."

It wasn't until she handed me a few Kleenex that I realized I was crying and when I tried to apologize she held my hand and told me that it would be okay but I honestly didn't believe her.

FITZ POV

CJ and I were in the waiting area at the doctor's office waiting to be allowed back. Olivia needed to take her glucose test this morning and had gone back to start the test with the nurse promising to bring us back once she was settled in for the ultrasound. After the ultrasound we'd be able to wait with her in the room until the results were back. I felt so bad that she was back there alone but I knew neither mine or CJ's presence would make the disgusting orange drink taste better. I looked over CJ's shoulder and saw that she had made it to another level on the game she was playing on her iPad. The game was educational and was basically speed reading and spelling but for my competitive child it was the perfect game.

"Mr. Grant?"

I looked up and saw the nurse that had taken Olivia back standing there with a smile plastered on her face. Liv always liked when she was her nurse during visits and she was always very kind to them. I held my hand out towards CJ and she immediately handed over the iPad before running towards the nurse.

"Hi cutie are you ready to see if you're having a brother or sister?"

She was smiling brightly but all the attention got to her and I was suddenly being forced to carry her through the maze of hallways until we reached Olivia's room. The door was held open for us and Olivia was already laying on the examination table other her pants pushed low and her shirt folded under her breasts, exposing her ball of a stomach.

With one look I could tell she had been crying and although there was no evidence of tears, I knew whatever she was feeling was still there but she was putting on a brave face for CJ.

"We got a special spot for you right here CJ" Olivia patted a spot next to her on the bed so I sat CJ there before standing behind her and greeting Dr. Kelly.

"Oh goodness look how big you are Ms. CJ! I haven't seen you since you were a baby! Well besides all the pictures your grandma shows me. Are you excited to have a brother or sister?"

She could only nod and focus her eyes on everything in the room including the computer in front of them.

"Alright so from what I'm told we're gonna see if this little nugget is a boy or a girl and only the big sister gets to know the news, is that right?"

"Yep I get to read the paper from you and surprise them however I want to!"

Olivia smiled and pulled CJ close before kissing her cheek

"That sounds pretty good to me."

"Alright so CJ can you help me out today? We've got to put this gel on your Momm- sorry on Liv's stomach and that will help bounce the sounds off and it creates a picture of the inside of her stomach."

"Livia is kind of like my mommy"

We all looked at CJ not in shock but definitely not expecting her to say that. It was something she'd spoken with me about but I knew she hadn't shared the phrase "like a mommy"with Olivia. She didn't make a big deal about it outwardly but let go of my hand and reached for CJ's hand instead and squeezed it. It was a big moment but not one that needed a lot of words, especially now.

"Alright so CJ you squeeze it until I tell you to stop okay? Squeeze it right here just above her navel"

"Navel?" She asked letting go of Olivia's hand and moving to sit on her knees above her.

"Yes that's another name for your belly button. So start squeezing right here then you can help me move the wand around and we can find your baby."

CJ was more than excited to squeeze the goo onto Olivia but stopped when Olivia flinched.

"What's wrong?"

She looked afraid assuming she'd hurt her but we were all immediately settling her down and letting her know that it was just cold and always made Olivia flinch.

"Can we warm it in the microwave first?"

"It sounds nice but it has to be cold for it to work. Just a little more and we can be done with it."

CJ's eyes stayed glued on Olivia while she slowly squeezed one last glob onto her stomach then handed the tube off to Dr. Kelly.

"Alright so hold this CJ and we're gonna use all this goo to rub it around until we hear the…"

She stopped talking as the loud swooshing sound we'd grown to love filled the room.

"Is that the baby?"

"Yea Ceej that's the baby's heartbeat!" Olivia told her. Her eyes were full of tears as she saw how excited CJ was.

CJ POV

"It's so loud and fast!"

"It's very strong. Alright so I'm gonna take this now and I'll move around a bit so I can get some measurements of the baby and see how much they've grown okay. Then I'm gonna turn this tv my way so that your.. parents can't see it."

I let go of the stick thing and sat back down next to Livia and she wrapped her arm around me so I could snuggle closer.

"Oh you'll see.. alright.. let me see.. here's he baby's head. Can you see the ears and nose CJ?"

"Yea it looks like a real baby person now."

"Yes you can see a lot more today. Your baby is very cooperative today and I can already tell finding out the gender will be a piece of cake."

"Can we get some cake when we leave Daddy?"

"Maybe Ceej."

"Maybe you and I can make one tonight and you can use food coloring to color the frosting to tell us whether it's a boy or girl?"

"Yea can we Daddy? Me and Livia can make a cake together like we always do and I can do the frosting part by myself and surprise you guys! Can we?"

"Can you? Can you? Yes you can Bug, that sounds perfect."

"Yes!"

I was bouncy now and watched Dr. Kelly press some buttons on her computer before she turned the screen towards herself and looked up at my dad.

"Do you guys want me to just write it down or do you want her to see what I actually see?"

"I wanna see! I wanna see!"

I didn't know what she meant but I wanted to see everything.

I felt daddy lift me from the bed and I ran around to Dr. Kelly and she lifted me into her knee and started pointing at things on the screen.

"Alright so remember it's a secret so just nod for me okay and remember don't say it."

"No blabbing CJ."

I gave my daddy a mean look before bringing my finger to my lips and sipping them shut then I threw the pretend key away.

Dr. Kelly begin to show me where the baby's legs were then showed me where the private parts were before she whispered in my ear what the baby was.

LIV POV

I don't think I'll ever get over CJ's face when she learned who she was going to be a big sister to. The way her eyes lit up, her nose scrunched, and her gaze moved from me to my stomach to the screen then back to my doctor would forever be engraved into my memory. Into my heart. She was happy and with her joy came tears from seemingly nowhere and Fitz plucked her out of Dr. Kelly's lap and kissed her head making sure she was only feeling happiness. She reached for me seconds later and laid her head in the crooked of my neck as she snuggled in next to me on the bed.

"You okay sweet girl?" It was taking everything in me to refrain from crying at her reaction that was so precious and totally CJ.

I felt her nod against me.

"You sure?"

"Yes.. I'm happy."

I smiled loving how simple it was to her.

"I'm happy too CJ."

Dr. Kelly wiped at the corner of her eyes and turned the computer off before letting us know that she was going to grab the copies.

"CJ do you want to help clean off her stomach? I've got some wipes here for you and then you're all set.

She nodded and helped me clean up before I fixed my clothes. By the time I was done buttoning my pants I noticed the look that CJ had on her face and laughed loudly. She looked so full of herself and proud.

"What is it CJ?"

Fitz shook his head noticing it as well and groaned loudly.

"I've got a secret! I've got a secret! And I'm not telling you. I'm not telling you." Her little sing-song voice was so playful.

"Oh no we've created a monster."

Fitz shook his head before telling me that I really had no idea how truthful that statement was.

During the drive home CJ really let us have it. She teased us nonstop from the backseat, milking the fact that she knew the gender before we did. She would jokingly tell us that it was a boy then yell 'SIKE' before saying it was a girl, then saying 'SIKE' again. By the time we were walking into the house she'd moved on to nursery colors and was growing frustrated at her father shooting down almost every idea she had so I wouldn't have to be the bad guy.

"If it's a girl we could paint her room pink and purple but if it's a boy we could make it blue and red like the Spider-Man."

"I don't think we will be painting the nursery any of those colors Ceej."

"Why not I love it!"

"Well it's not up to you because it won't be your room, it's the baby's room."

"But I can choose for the baby!"

"Oh really?" Fitz was taunting her just to get her riled up and I could only shake my head and laugh while heading to the kitchen.

"Yes."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm the only one that knows it's a brother!"

I immediately turned around to see CJ with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide in shock.

"I mean… I …."

We both stared at her speechless until she burst into tears and fell apart in Fitz's arms.

"I didn't mean to tell you Daddy."

"Bug it's ok"

"It's not it was suppose to be a surprise."

I moved closer and knelt down next to them rubbing her back.

"CJ it's okay sweetie we promise we're so excited to know!"

"Yea Bug I was hoping you'd tell us because it was killing me to not know."

She leaned away from where she had been hiding in his shirt and eyed the both of us with a skeptical look.

"Really? You're not mad?"

"Mad? Bug we couldn't be mad at you for that we promise."

She looked at me and as much as I tried to stop the tears I couldn't.

"How come you're upset Livia? It was an accident."

"Oh you sweet Bug come here…" I pulled her into my arms not giving her a choice. "These are happy tears baby.. I'm so so happy that you get to be the big sister to a little brother. It makes me so happy to know he's going to have the best big sister in the world."

"I feel the same way Bug. I already have the best daughter so I really wanted the baby to be a boy so trust me we are very excited to know because it was so hard waiting."

"Okay….. but can we still make a cake?"

"Of course we can sweet girl."

"With blue frosting?"

I nodded and she ran into the kitchen to start pulling everything out.

Fitz stood up straight and pulled me with him into a tight embrace. We both were filled with emotion and overwhelmed with joy. I broke our embrace for just a second before kissing him until the need for air was absolute. We both took a breath before the same words escaped our lips.

"Thank you for giving me a son."

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AN:

Thanks for reading. I really do appreciate it. The next chapter is already planned out for the most part so hopefully it won't be 3-4 months before I update again. Leave a review and tell me your thoughts!