A/N: Man, oh man, y'all are heated at Olivia. It's truly interesting to read everyone's responses. A couple of you sympathize with Olivia and the rest of you are ready to take her head off. Either way, I'm still digging myself out of a rut on the FF end. As usual, I hope you all enjoy this. What was once supposed to be three chapters has turned into a mini story arc due to a fickle muse so please forgive me.

Happy T-Day. Please stay safe & stay vigilant.


A sharp knock on his office door jolted Fitz awake. He sat up fast, realizing that he'd fallen asleep at his desk. Immediately his hand reaches for his phone, turning it over to see if he'd missed a call from Olivia. Nothing. The knock sounded again. He ran a hand down his face in an attempt to shake the sleep from his face.

"Come in," he called.

The door swung open and behind it stood Kim with a folder in hand. A genuine smile spread across Fitz's face at the sight of her, her now honeysuckle curls, and soft green eyes. "If you're here to apologize about the thing with my wife again, please don't. It was nearly two months ago, Kim." Since her run-in with Olivia, Kim had found the need to apologize profusely for any discontent caused between the couple; a fact that irked Fitz. If anything, Kim was an innocent bystander and Olivia – pregnant or not – in Fitz's eyes, had been the aggressor.

Kim smiled and her dimples sparkled. She was beautiful. Cute even. "I wasn't, but now I feel like I should." Her long lashes fluttered and she shot him a thousand-watt smile that slowly dimmed. "I'm here to let Cecil Harris's EKG results are in and it looks like you were right, his Ischemia is stopping us from getting a good read to proceed with surgery."

"So, it looks like Dr. Hines was right, Mr. Harris has been skipping out on his blood thinners. Alright. I'll call Dr. Hines after lunch. Thanks for letting me know." He tugged on his curls, yawning slightly, stomach rumbling. He hadn't slept well last night. He'd spent the majority of it worried about the swelling happening in Olivia's wrists, calves, and ankles. The closer they drew to her due date of July 13th; the more paranoid Fitz grew. Especially since Olivia now worked. The commute, the cases, everything he feared from Olivia returning to work while pregnant, was coming to fruition. He'd married Olivia for her fire and now wanted to shake that fire out of her for at least the next five-ish weeks.

"No problem," she said, taking a step from the door and handing over the folder in hand. As Fitz grabbed it, his stomach rumbled and groaned. Loud. His cheeks tinted pink. "If my son was here, I'd blame him," joked Fitz. "Sorry. I didn't realize I was this hungry. I also forgot to pack my lunch. My brain has been -"

"On your very pregnant wife. It's understandable, Fitz. I'm walking over to Sweet Greens for lunch in about twenty. I can grab you something?" Kim suggested. The fluorescent light danced off her soft brown skin and bright green eyes.

Fitz checked his left wrist, eyes falling to his watch. "Actually, would you mind if I tagged along? I could use the walk."

"Sure, I usually eat alone and stare off into space so company could be nice."

"Why do you eat alone and stare off into space?" Fitz pried, her words catching him off guard.

She laughed. "I'm actually supposed to be studying and eating. The plan was to never be a sonographer for long. I'm in my final semester of nursing school."

"Oh, so you're using me to get out of your responsibilities, then?"

"Shut up."

/

Their bantered continued into lunch as they sat across from one another. Fitz pushed a few loose sweet potatoes around his plate. Eating with Kim was a nice change of pace. It felt like biting into a fresh sprig of mint. The stress from fighting with Olivia and worrying about Olivia seemed to meld away as he settled into his seat, wiping his hands on a napkin.

"There are like three sweet potatoes on that plate. Don't make me treat you like I treat my four-year-old."

"Five-year-old?" Fitz cocks a brow. "I didn't know you had kids."

Across the table, Kim shrugs. "Just one." She reaches us to flip the badge pinned to her sea moss colored scrub top.

A curly-headed little boy with bright green eyes stared back at Fitz. The boy wore a brown dinosaur shirt and sported a toothy grin. In hand he held a stuffed turtle. Fitz couldn't help but to think of Tommy as he stared at the photo and then turned his attention back to Kim. "He's beautiful. You and your husband must be proud." The photo fell back into place as a somber tight smile cascaded across Kim's face. He could tell he'd accidentally tap danced on a nerve from the look on her face. "I mean boyfriend?"

"Jaden's father and I aren't together at all." Kim said.

"I - it's his loss," Fitz offered in a last-ditch effort to save himself. "Sorry, I didn't - I..." The mood between them shifted and despite not knowing the exact button he hit, he still felt like an ass. Clearly something he'd said triggered her.

"You're okay. You didn't say anything wrong." She reached across the table and patted the top of his left hand. "Uhm, Amiri – Jaden's dad – used to like to drink and to knock me around."

Fitz felt his jaw drop at Kim's confession. They'd shared a lot over lunch. He'd told her about couples counseling, about some of the names he and Olivia had tossed around for their daughter, and even last Christmas when Tommy pulled, he and Olivia back together. Never had Fitz expected to hear this, though. "I'm so sorry, Kim. A man who raises his hand to a woman isn't a man at all."

Kim's eyes fell to the wooden table top. "Don't pity me, Fitz. I hate to be pitied."

"I don't pity you. I admire you. I know a lot of women – and even men – who don't make it out. You got yourself and you got your son out. That takes a lot of courage." Fitz said. He was starting to see Kim in a new light. "It also takes a lot of courage to admit to a virtual stranger that something like that happened to you. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me."

She looked up, smiling wide at wide. "I guess it's true what they say."

"What's true?"

"The good guys are always taken. Ol—Mrs. Grant – is a lucky woman."

Fitz nearly opened his mouth to interject, to say that Olivia didn't seem to think so or if she did, he was still far from perfect, but didn't. It felt odd to receive a compliment of this nature from Kim. Unlike a lot of the nurses, techs, phlebotomists at the hospital who'd watched too many episodes of E.R and Greys Anatomy in the hopes they'd learn how to bag a doctor, Kim had never been one to come onto him. She probably wasn't even coming onto him now. He was probably overthinking everything; a true specialty of his.

"You should bring Jaden over to play with Tommy one of these days."

Kim chortled, stacking her trash onto the tray she'd carried her plate on. "Your wife would have my head on a platter."

Again, Fitz opened his mouth to interject, but stopped short. Olivia was . . . well Olivia. While his jealousy manifested in physical rage, her jealousy flared in other ways. She had a wicked tongue in more ways than one. "Livvie is a lot nicer than she acts. It's the baby turning her into Rosemary." He joked though there was clearly a lack of humor in his words.

"We should get back to the hospital." She winked as she stood.

/

Olivia slipped off her heels, wincing as her toes hit the plush carpet underneath her home desk. The D.C drive had been far beyond hell today and she was elated to be home. Tommy would be home from his grandfather's any time soon. She rested a hand on top of her stomach, turning over Sandra's words. Was she the one checking out of Fitz this time around? Was she the one who stopped trying?

Things had gone so well in the first couple of months after the pregnancy confirmation. She lived in a fairy tale bubble that burst three rejection letters in to her job search. Going to Ben hadn't been her smartest choice, that was a given, but why couldn't Fitz see she hadn't gone to Ben because she wanted to hurt him. Hurting her husband was the last thing on her mind. If anything, she was worried that staying home, staying stationary, would inevitably leave her to repeat history and to become her mother.

Maya Pope had abandoned her husband and daughter when Olivia was barely fourteen years old. She'd disappeared into the ether, citing a lack of fulfillment beyond the spaces of mother and wife. When Maya had finally reappeared nearly twelve years later at Olivia's wedding, it took everything in Olivia to not deck her mother into her four-tiered wedding cake. Olivia's eyes filled with tears and she reached for her cell, scrolling through the long list of contacts before landing on the last person she thought she'd ever want to talk to again, let alone contact.

The phone rang twice before a familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Livvie?"

At the sound of her name in her mother's voice, Olivia hung up. She slammed her phone down on the desk. It'd made a low thud and Olivia winced, knowing she'd probably just cracked her phone screen. "I don't want to lose my family," Olivia cried. "But I don't want to lose me either."

She'd reached for her phone and opened her texts finding Ben. Her thumb hovered over his name. Fitz's voice rang loud in her head, 'you might not love him, but there's something there you need to sort out with him.'

I think we should talk. She hit send.

White bubbles wrapped in blue stared back at her. When?

After I see my therapist. I'll let you know.

I'll be here. You know I'm always on standby for you.

Olivia tossed her phone back on the desk as a kick to her ribs nearly took her breath away. She'd have to figure this out soon.