She got just two hours of sleep before she woke to get ready for work. Fitz was snoring beside her as she stood slowly and walked to the bathroom. Her eyes were heavy with sleep and burning and though she had slept a lot on the plane, it didn't seem to make a difference. She was exhausted.
She pulled down her shorts and sat on the toilet and urinated. She closed her eyes and almost fell asleep before she realized she was finished and sat up. She finished undressing after she flushed the toilet and stepped into the shower. She tried to make the water a bit cooler for her shower to wake up but it only succeeded in irritating her. After her shower she grabbed her yellow and black versace robe and walked to the vanity to brush her teeth and start her skincare routine then she walked to her closet.
There were bags and bags of clothes and purses and shoes from her trip. There was one specific bag she put aside for Abby and she had another bag of souvenirs and snacks for her friends at the hospital. She dressed in her usual leggings and a long sleeve shirt. She would change into scrubs at the hospital.
She was hesitant to wake Fitz but she knew he would be annoyed if she didn't. Once she was dressed she walked over to the bed and sat beside him then leaned over and caressed his cheek.
"Fitz," she called softly.
He turned over on his belly, "no, no, no. It's been 5 minutes. Go back to bed."
Olivia laughed, "I have to go to work. I can drive myself but I knew you'd be annoyed if I didn't wake you to let you know." She leaned down and kissed his cheek tenderly.
He grunted and sat up, "no. I'll take you. Give me 5 minutes."
She nodded, "I'm gonna try to have something for breakfast. Are you hungry?"
"No," he said as he headed to the bathroom.
Olivia headed downstairs for breakfast. She decided to have the blueberry compote parfait Simone had in the refrigerator. She toasted some slices of sourdough bread and ate it with butter and sipped a cup of coffee with breakfast..
Half way through her breakfast, Fitz came downstairs dressed and ready. He met her in the kitchen "are you ready?"
She took a large bite of her toast and stood. "Yes," she said as she threw out the rest of her breakfast and placed her plates in the sink. She grabbed the bag of souvenirs and her purse along with Abby's gift then headed to the door.
It was a quick, traffic-less drive to the hospital. Fitz parked on the curb so she could walk in through the main entrance as usual.
"Thank you for a really amazing weekend. I'll never forget it," Olivia whispered as she leaned over to his seat and kissed him softly.
"This is like your fifth time thanking me," he teased.
"Well, it was an amazing weekend."
"Should we do it again? Somewhere else…before your too pregnant to travel."
Olivia gasped, "could we? I'd love that….maybe Tokyo or Singapore? I've never been to Paris but if I go I want us to not be in a rush to come back so now is probably not a good time to go."
"Wherever you want," Fitz said then pulled her in for another kiss, "by the way, I might go to a Celtics game tonight."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm tired of being bored in the apartment when you're out saving a bunch of fucking lives."
Olivia pouted then smiled, "what's the rest of your day like?"
"I'm meeting with an immigration lawyer to get work visas for Leona and my guards. Leona is gonna set up a time to meet with the contractor for the house so she might text you today."
Olivia nodded and smiled, "that's great…I can't wait…and we need to start buying stuff for the baby. I'm not even sure where to begin but we'll figure it out."
"Yes we will," Fitz kissed her again then unhooked his seatbelt and leaned over and kissed her belly.
"Alright, get out of here. I wanna go home and sleep."
Olivia giggled, "fine."
She opened the door and stepped out then grabbed her bags and walked in through the entrance. Then two guards followed just behind her.
She saw Abby heading down the hall by the resident office.
"Where have you been this entire weekend?"
Olivia smiled and handed her the Louis Vuitton shopping bag. "I got that for you," Olivia said. "Happy Birthday!"
Abby gasped and took the bag quickly and pulled out the tote bag. "Oh my god. Are you serious?"
"Yes." Olivia said, "your birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday!"
Abby grabbed her and hugged her, "thank you Liv. I've always wanted one of these."
"You're welcome."
"I know this is last minute but I wanted to have a dinner party at your house this weekend. I couldn't decide what I wanted to do but this is it."
"I'm sorry Abby, this weekend sucks. After my doctor's appointment on Friday I'm going to Santa Barbara with Fitz for his 10-year high school reunion."
"It's my birthday weekend!"
"I'm sorry but you can still have your party there. I just won't be there."
"Crap! Liv, I really want to celebrate with you."
"I know, I'm sorry but you can still have it at my place. Did you want Simone to cater the party?"
"Could she? Does she charge extra for that?"
"Talk with Simone, if it were my dinner party then it would be a part of her job but for you I'm sure she's gonna charge. I'll send you her number."
Abby nodded, grateful. "Thank you!- but wait, where did you go this weekend? You never answered my texts."
"I went to Seoul with Fitz."
"Seoul like South Korea?"
Olivia nodded, "it was amazing but I'll tell you about it later."
Olivia went to the locker room and changed into the scrubs then she began her day. She was hoping for a relatively light morning but just an hour into her shift dr. Roberts scheduled an emergency trauma craniotomy that she would perform under his supervision. The rest of her day went by as hectically as she had expected but hoped wouldn't be the case. Her week went by the same.
It was the Friday morning of her pregnancy check up just a little less than her week after her trip from Seoul. She was 18 weeks pregnant. Her stomach was a tiny round bump in front of her.
Fitz left for his morning workout in the gym and she decided to shower and fix her hair as she waited. Once he arrived and showered and dressed quickly they went down in the kitchen for breakfast.
Today, Simone had prepared fluffy smoked paprika scrambled eggs with beef bacon, french toast and berries. She also made fresh orange juice. Their appointment was for 10am. Just after they began eating, Arianna came down to join them.
"So," she announced as she pulled up a stool and waited to be served. "I'm going back to New York."
"Oh no, you're going to leave us," Olivia said with a pout.
"Yes. I'm tired of listening to you guys fuck- enough already."
Olivia hid her face against Fitz's chest as he laughed.
"And I want my full allowance back," she said to Fitz, "no arguments."
"Interesting," was all he responded.
Arianna nodded.
"Didn't I just give you a quarter of a million dollars for your business you haven't started yet?"
"Yes, that's exactly why I'm going to New York. I'm ready to be a business owner."
"Right so I'm not giving you a penny more until you make some money on your own."
Arianna rolled her eyes, "you're not serious."
He shrugged.
"I almost died."
"Arianna, you're almost 30 and you've never worked a day in your life. I pay all your bills, I buy your cars and condos and pay for you and your shallow druggie friends to party every weekend. Now you have 250,000 to start a fucking store and you're telling me it's not enough? What else do you need?"
Arianna rolled her eyes, "when you say it like that I sound like an ungrateful brat. Ugh…fine. I'm gonna turn this store into a billion dollar company then I'm gonna laugh in your face."
"That is all I wish for you."
Arianna walked around the counter and stretched out her arm.
"Don't-" Fitz said playfully.
She hugged him, "thanks for everything. I for sure thought I could guilt you into giving me more money but I can admit when I've been beaten at my own game," she said then she leaned up and shoved his head.
"Are you excited to go back?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, you have to come visit me but leave his dickhead here when you come."
Fitz laughed and shook his head as he stuffed bacon in his mouth. Simone served Arianna her breakfast and they finished eating together. After breakfast Arianna went back to her room and Olivia and Fitz headed to her doctor's appointment for her 18 week anatomy scan.
When they arrived at the office they were seen immediately and after the usual pre-check of her vitals with the nurse, Dr. Fencer came into the room.
"Olivia, Fitz, how are you?"
"Good," Olivia said with a smile.
"I can't wait to see her," Fitz said.
Dr. Fencer smiled and grabbed her clipboard, "will do. We're gonna take a look at her right now to make sure she's growing nicely." She turned to Olivia . "So I see you aren't reporting any new symptoms. We've already discussed the results of the genetic and blood tests and everything is perfectly normal. You should have a healthy daughter in there." She made some notes on the chart and then gloved her hands. Olivia lifted her sweater.
"You're still very small Olivia, I think you lost 2 pounds since your last visit so we're gonna have to work on that," Dr. Fencer said as spread gel over her belly then took the ultrasound probe and ran it across her stomach until she got a clear image.
"I'm eating as much as I possibly can," Olivia said with a smile.
It was the HD ultrasound and it gave them the perfect image of her tiny face.
Fitz's mouth fell open wide. "Holy shit- why didn't you do this one before?"
"Because she needed some time to form a face," Dr. Fencer said with a smile. "You see how clear the image is- that's good. It means there's plenty of fluid surrounding her. She is moving nicely in there- as she grows you'll get even clearer images of her face."
"Wow," he said with a smile as he reached for Olivia and kissed her against her hair.
"She's so cute," Olivia gushed with a smile. "I can't wait to meet her."
"Yes but I don't want you to be alarmed, she's underweight. She should be bigger."
"What does that mean?" Fitz asked, "does Olivia have to eat even more or is it something more serious?"
"Uh--" Dr. Fencer began, distracted by what she was looking at on the monitor, then she smiled and turned to them when she realized she wasn't giving them her attention. "I wouldn't classify it as serious right now. Olivia, you're on the smaller side physically and so that can play a part in having a small fetus. I would just advise dietary changes that add more nutrition and calories to your diet and we'll reassess in one month."
"Why don't you check the fundal height," Olivia said, "just in case."
Dr. Fencer turned back to the screen and moments later a smile dropped as she moved the wand around and Olivia noticed immediately and turned away from the screen.
"What's wrong? I don't want to see, just tell me," Olivia said.
"What's going on?" Fitz said, noticing the doctor's change in countenance as well.
"I'm sorry, please don't be alarm-"
"Just tell me," Olivia said, "I know that look."
"Olivia-"
Olivia took a breath and turned around and inspected the screen more carefully after a moment she realized why Dr. Fencer's mood changed.
"Where's my placenta?' Olivia asked.
Dr. Fencer sighed, "it's not where it supposed to be."
She switched the image to 2d and moved down her belly. She ran the probe along the bottom of her belly and still couldn't find it.
"What's going on?" Fitz asked.
"I hate to do this but I'm gonna have to do the transvaginal to get a better look."
Olivia nodded and Fitz saw her eyes immediately get wet. He turned to Dr. Fencer and asked again. "What is going on?'
"I am looking for her placenta- it's the organ that feeds your daughter oxygen and nutrients from Olivia and removes waste. We know it's there because without it your daughter wouldn't be alive but it's not where it's supposed to be - which is a problem."
Dr. Fencer removed her gloves and walked to the other side of the room. She took a condom from the cabinets and some gel then returned. She wiped the gel from Olivia's stomach and began to prep the probe by slipping on the condom and lubricating it.
Fitz was still confused and Olivia could tell.
She sat up from the chair and turned to him, "she has to put that inside me to get a better look so she can figure out where my placenta is. It's the clearest way to see."
He nodded and helped her up from the chair. Olivia unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down. Dr. Fencer paged one of her medical assistants in the room to prep the chair with table paper and set up the stirrups.
Olivia sat on the table and leaned back once again. She removed her underwear then lifted her legs in the stirrup then the assistant covered over her pelvis and legs with paper.
"Alright, you're gonna feel some pressure but I'll be as quick as I can," Dr. Fencer said just before he inserted the probe inside her. Olivia closed her eyes and grimaced until the sound of her daughter's heartbeat was once again audible.
When she opened her eyes and looked at the screen, she could see her placenta exactly where she was worried it would be. Dr. Fencer took her time examining the images on the screen before she spoke and pointed to the screen, "so this is the placenta. It's lying very low, parallel to the cervical opening which means that you have grade four, total placenta previa with placenta increta developing as well."
"Explain this to me like I'm five," Fitz said.
The look on Olivia's face told him it was extremely bad news but he still didn't know why other than her placenta wasn't supposed to be that low.
"So," Dr. Fencer pulled the probe from between Olivia's legs and began, "her placenta should be at the top of her uterus but it's at the bottom blocking her cervix- which is what opens to allow your daughter to come out during birth. That's the placenta previa, placenta increta means that the tissue of her placenta is too firmly attached to her uterus - this isn't supposed to happen, after birth the placenta should detach easily so Olivia can push it out. I think this is also what's contributing to your daughter's low weight."
"Okay so what are we in for?" Fitz asked.
"Well, now your pregnancy would be considered a high risk pregnancy, we'll have to monitor it more closely than before which means I'll want to check in every week for the rest of the pregnancy and I might call in other specialist obstetricians to consult. Olivia will have to lessen strenuous physical activity, modify some habits at work and if her condition worsens then she might have to go on full bed rest until she delivers."
"You didn't exactly answer my question?" Fitz said.
Olivia cleared her throat and turned to Fitz, frustrated that Dr. Fencer wasn't being forthright with him about how bad things were. "In about a month or two I'll start bleeding more as my placenta grows into my cervix and uterus. I'll bleed here and there and I'll probably have to be admitted into the hospital a few times before they put me on bed rest. If after all that bleeding I'm still lucky enough to make it to at least 36 weeks then the chances of me bleeding to death, or getting a blood clot or sepsis or a hundred other complications even with a great surgeon and a perfect c-section are very real."
"Listen-" Dr. Fencer said, "don't assume the worst because that is absolutely the worst case scenario. I've worked with plenty of patients with previa and I've never lost a patient to it. We'll fight this with good planning and caution."
"Thank you Dr. Fencer but I'd like to go now," Olivia said.
The doctor stood and excused herself so Olivia could get dressed. Once the doctor left she wiped between her legs with the nakin then she pulled on her underwear and jeans. Shortly after she was dressed, Dr. Fencer knocked twice on the door then entered.
"Olivia, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" she asked.
"I want Fitz to be present for everything you have to say," Olivia said.
"Okay," Dr. Fencer said. She grabbed her clipboard once again, "so I have to ask again. Have you bled at all during your pregnancy?"
"No."
"Have you surgically terminated a pregnancy before?"
"No."
"Have you been pregnant before?"
"No?"
"Have you had an cysts or surgery removing cyst on your ovaries-"
"Dr. Fencer, I have none of the risk factors for placenta previa or accreta- the only condition I have that is mildly related to my reproductive system is stage 1 endometriosis which I've treated with progestin birth control in the past and when I wasn't on birth control- I've use NSAIDs."
"I understand," Dr. Fencer said. "But earlier this year you had a bladder lavage administered during your treatment for hypothermia and I believe this procedure may have contributed to the placenta previa."
"Do you have any evidence or are you guessing?" Olivia said sharply.
"It might have caused your placenta to migrate-" The doctor stopped herself and sighed. "There's nothing I can say right now to make you feel better but I promise you both, I'll do everything in my power to get both you and your daughter to the other side of this pregnancy intact."
Olvia nodded, "thank you- I'm sorry if I was rude-"
"Don't apologize- this isn't what we were expecting today. I'm gonna set your appointment for one week from today and we'll go forward on that schedule so I can carefully monitor the growth of the baby and your placenta."
The doctor stood.
"-Wait," Fitz said. "What are our other options?"
Dr. Fencer stopped, "other options?" she said, confused.
"What if she terminated the pregnancy-"
"No-" Olivia protested.
"What if she did?" Fitz asked again. "What would happen?"
Dr. Fencer hesitated."There would still be a risk of bleeding because of the placenta increta but at this stage it's a much much lower risk of complication than carrying to term."
"If she gives birth what are the chances for her and the baby?" Fitz asked.
"Um…birth is more dangerous for Olivia than it is for your daughter- assuming the placenta stays intact until delivery and we can get her weight up, then it will be fairly easy to deliver your daughter. The complication arises when we have to remove the placenta from Olivia- if we don't remove it she'll get an infection that will be hard to recover from and if we do remove it- there is a chance of severe bleeding. It's still very early so we have to monitor how deeply the placenta grows into the uterus to know how bad it will be and then we'll have to weigh our options"
"How come you didn't catch this before?"
"This condition usually develops around 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy so I caught it as soon as it was able to be detected, luckily. On her last visit a month ago, her placenta was at its normal location."
Fitz nodded but said nothing as she headed out.
Olivia stood from the table and headed slowly towards the door. Fitz pressed his hand against the door, blocking Olivia from opening it.
Olivia sighed and pressed her forehead against the door and immediately Fitz pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She fought the tears and when she couldn't hold back she began to cry against him and covered her face in his arms. He ran his hands down her hair and kissed her gingerly.
"I really wasn't expecting this," she said through tears.
"Neither was I," Fitz said softly.
He waited, consoling her until her crying subsided and then wiped her eyes gently with his thumbs and opened the door. He held her hand as he walked through the office then outside to his car. He opened the door and helped her to climb in then he walked around to the drivers side and got in.
He finally took a moment to take a breath before he pushed the start button on his car.
"Are you hungry?"
He took her hand in his and kissed it as he waited for her response.
"I should probably eat even if I'm not," she said with a sniffle. "Apparently I'm losing weight no matter how much I eat."
"We fuck too much it's working you out."
Olivia smiled.
"Mcdonald's fries?" he asked
She nodded.
He pulled out of the parking spot and drove to the nearest mcdonalds. They ordered on the drive through line and whenOlivia got her large fries and mango smoothie he pulled off.
"Can we go look at the house?" she said. "I need something to cheer me up."
"50 Cherry Lane, Weston, Massachusetts coming right up."
Fitz punched the address in his GPS and headed to their new home that was just under 20 minutes away.
Since he closed on the home he'd sent two guards to monitor the property. When he arrived at the gate one of the guards was sitting in the security booth at the entrance and he opened the automatic gates.
Fitz drove down the winding driveway and until he reached the two-tiered white marble fountain just in front of their 3-story house. It was turned off. Fitz helped her out of the car and they both headed inside the house.
It was just as Olivia remembered it except the staging furniture had been removed. They walked through the house though they didn't stop in every room then went down to the wine cellar then out the pool and tennis court then finally they stopped at the lake at the back of the yard. It was frozen with a sheet of ice covering the surface.
"I think that we should put a gate here, it's too dangerous to leave it open like this with a baby living in the house…when the time comes."
Fitz wrapped his arms around her, "Olivia, we need to talk about what just happened."
"Fitz, I'm 18 weeks pregnant, we've felt her move, we've seen her face, we've heard her little heart beat - how could you suggest I just end it?"
"I didn't suggest we end it Olivia, I asked an important question that you knew the answer to and I didn't."
Fitz let her go and stepped back so they could have a more serious conversation.
"You're right," she said. "And I'm sorry for suggesting that just asking it was a bad thing but it's just not an option. I want her too badly and I love her and I know you do too so we're just gonna have to fight through this and hope for the best."
"Hope for the best?" Fitz said with a dry chuckle, "you're kidding right?"
"Fitz, I didn't mean it like that-"
"Based on that conversation we had at the doctor's office it seems like you'll be lucky to be alive after you give birth, much less be in one piece and you're being pretty cavalier about it."
Olivia shook her head. "Cavalier?" Suddenly a gush of tears sprung from her eyes. "I'm not being cavalier about it. I'm fucking terrified. Giving birth is hard enough as it is and now it's gonna be harder but I don't want to lose her. That doesn't mean I don't want to live or that I'm happy to risk my life during childbirth but I'm not giving up now."
"I don't want to lose her either but if I have to choose between ending the pregnancy and rolling the dice on your life- I'll choose to end the pregnancy and you should too. We can try again-"
"Having placenta previa in this pregnancy means I'll probably have it in my next pregnancy and so even if we try again- we'll probably end up right here halfway through my next pregnancy."
"We'll use a surrogate," he said, meaning it wholeheartedly.
Olivia rolled her eyes, "I'm not ending my pregnancy."
"Right. And if it kills you?"
"If I can't be here to raise her then at least she'll have a great dad, grandparents and aunt."
Fitz stared at her for a moment, trying to gauge her then he turned around and walked away, seething with anger. He sat in the car, trying to calm himself but he was too angry to be able to think straight much less see reason.
How could she think it okay to leave him alone with their daughter? How could that be her plan?
A short while later Olivia walked out of the front door of the house and walked towards the car. She was crying still and it became more obvious as she opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.
He pulled off without a word and sped back to their apartment by the seaport.
They hadn't shared a word since they left the house and when Fitz walked into the house, Arianna was heading down the stairs, Olivia walked quickly up the stairs, still crying, and he walked out to the patio, fuming.
"What's going on?" she asked but they both ignored her and went in separate directions. Arianna followed Fitz to the terrace where he sat down.
"What happened? Did something happen to the baby? What's going on?" she asked, worried.
Fitz didn't answer.
"Fitz?" she called again.
"Arianna, I really can't talk right now," he said angrily.
"Okay," she said with a nod, "I'll come back to check on you in a sec." She turned and headed upstairs to find Olivia. She tried their bedroom first but the door was locked. She decided to knock. "Liv?" she called.
There was no answer. She knocked again then waited. "Liv?"
After trying a few more times Arianna stalked downstairs to wait in the kitchen until either of them felt like talking.
It was almost an hour later when Fitz finally came inside and walked to the kitchen. He didn't speak as he took a beer from the beverage compartment in the refrigerator.
"At least tell me my niece is okay?" Arianna said.
"She's okay…I think," Fitz said.
As he said the words Olivia walked into the kitchen. She stopped when she saw him and then continued to the fridge to take a bottle of water.
"Come on you guys, tell me? Is everything okay? Please?"
Olivia took a breath and turned to Arianna, "I found out I have a rare pregnancy complication today and that the baby is underweight."
"Oh my god. Are you gonna to be okay?"
Olivia nodded, "It's okay, I'll be fine and she'll be fine too."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm very sure."
Olivia didn't realize how much she didn't believe her words until she felt her fries coming up and she was crouching over the kitchen sink regurgitating the contents of her stomach and clutching her stomach.
Fitz stared at her in disbelief. Arianna too. Olivia slowly rinced her mouth and stood to meet Fitz's stare for the briefest moments before he turned away.
Arianna walked over and hugged her tightly, "he wants you to get rid of the pregnancy," she whispered.
Olivia stayed silent, holding back tears once again. Arianna grabbed a paper towel from the counter and handed it to Olivia so she could wipe her eyes before the tears fell.
"So are you gonna be okay?" Arianna asked again.
"I don't know," Olivia answered honestly, "it's too early for my cervix to be covered like this and if my placenta is already growing into my uterus then it might get so much worse but the answer isn't to immediately give up. I don't understand how he could say that or want that. It's not like I'm a couple weeks along, I'm almost halfway through my pregnancy."
"He's just scared- hell, I'm scared and I'm sure you're scared too, probably more than me and him combined. It'll be okay, hopefully."
Olivia nodded and wiped her eyes again. "I need to take a nap. I'm drained and I haven't slept since I came home at 6:30 this morning."
"Okay," Arianna hugged her again, "I'm gonna head down to New York. I was just waiting for you guys to get back hoping to get an ultrasound picture of my niece and instead you guys give me shitty news."
Olivia smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, I think we were so shocked by the news that we both forgot to ask for a picture."
"It's okay. Just call me if you need anything."
Olivia decided to take a bath before she went to bed and fell asleep as she laid in the bathtub filled with warm water. She didn't wake until she felt arms lift her out of the tub. She opened her eyes momentarily to see him then she closed them. Fitz carried her to their bed and laid her on the large towel he spread down. He wrapped it around her then pulled the blanket over her.
"I love you," Olivia whispered as she grabbed him before he could leave.
She watched him exhale a deep breath, "I love you too," he said as he leaned down and kissed her lips. Olivia pulled him closer and ran her hands through his wet hair and deepened the kiss until she could feel his tongue against hers. He moved the blanket from between them and leaned on top of her. Olivia unwrapped the towel that was tucked around his waist and stroked him slowly, feeling his penis fill with blood and stiffen as the seconds ticked by. Once his erection was rigid, she slowly guided him inside her wet walls.
She arched her back and as she raised her chest she felt his muscular chest squished against her breasts. He moved his hand down and cupped her ass as he began to thrust slowly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, hoping to erase the terrible day they'd had from her mind and lose herself in him.
He made quick work of her and moments after they'd begun their ultra-gentle lovemaking Olivia orgasmed and he followed soon after. He pulled out slowly and leaned up from between her legs then laid beside her on the bed.
Olivia sat up moments later then turned and leaned against him.
"Now that we've both calmed down a little- let's try talking again."
Fitz nodded and took her hand and kissed it, prompting Olivia to lean against his torso.
She took a breath and attempted to speak but Fitz stopped her before she began.
"Let me go first," he said. "I love her and I want her. The fact that I even suggested it is eating me alive but then I think about what a fucking catastrophe would look like- where you die or even where you both die and I think that it would be better to- if it can't be avoided- to do something that's painful now instead of waiting for the catastrophe."
Olivia took his hands and pressed them against her belly.
"There are a lot of steps between what's happening now and catastrophe. I don't want us to give up on her as soon as it gets tough, you know, she's worth fighting for. I don't have to carry her to term. If my placenta increta gets worse, if it goes deeper into my uterus- which if I'm being honest, it might, then I'll have them take her early. Right now, as I am now, they'll take her a month before my due date to avoid a disaster of me having contractions or going into labor early. If I can't wait until 36 weeks then they might have to take her even earlier. I'll be surrounded by doctors, I'll have a lot of options and if I literally have to live in the hospital until she's born then I'll do that. I'll do anything to be safe and get out of this I just…" she sighed, "I really want us to be on the same page."
Fitz leaned up and peppered kisses all over her belly.
"I love you," Fitz said to their daughter. "I need you to be on your best behavior from now on. Once your born, we'll spoil you rotten but until then you need to be a good girl."
Olivia smiled as she watched him and then she felt a flutter in her stomach.
"Oh my god," she said with a gasp, "she moved."
Fitz's mouth fell open then he laughed, "she's already not listening to me. She's a true Grant." He kissed her belly again then leaned back against the pillows and Olivia laid against him. "I started reading up on the placenta increta and they said that you can bleed out in 5 minutes."
"That's true but that's the utter worst case scenario. That's if my placenta grew through my uterus and invaded my other organs like my bladder and down to my pelvis and then they waited until I started having contractions to take her…it's not there yet. It's just formed an attachment to my uterus," Olivia answered.
"So if you stay exactly like this- and try to give birth what would happen?" Fitz asked
"Well- as I am now, I can't give birth vaginally. It's completely blocking my cervix so she can't come out and if I try to give birth vaginally I could bleed out but that won't happen."
"Can it heal itself?"
"It's possible if I only had previa but it's growing into my uterus so it won't move now."
He nodded.
"I'm gonna make an appointment with the obstetrician at my hospital. She's one of the best surgeons in the country. I'll let her take some films and we can start planning for my delivery and planning for every complication that could arise and how to tackle it. I really just want to make it to 36 weeks so she can breathe on her own and feed and won't spend too long in the nicu."
He nodded and before he spoke his phone rang.
"My mom has been calling for the last 5 hours," Fitz said.
Olivia remembered they were supposed to leave for California in a couple hours and reached over on the nightstand and saw that Catherine was facetiming her. She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and then answered.
"Olivia, darling, is everything okay? Arianna told me you got some bad news at the obstetrician's office but she wouldn't tell me what? And neither of you have been answering my calls."
"The baby's okay," Olivia said, "she's just a little underweight but we found out that I have a pregnancy complication."
"Oh- my- how bad is it?'
"It's complete placenta previa with increta- it just means I won't be able to have her vaginally, I'll have to have a c-section a month before my due date and I'll have to have my placenta surgically removed after."
"That doesn't sound good? Are you okay? Both of you?'
"It was a rough day," Fitz said, "but we're better now."
"Should I fly out- I doubt Olivia can come to the reunion now but I was looking forward to seeing you both."
"I can still go," Olivia said, "I was looking forward to it but I doubt we can leave tonight."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I didn't plan on going anymore?"
She nodded and laughed, "I'm sure. I won't start having bad symptoms for a month or two."
Catherine gasped, "bad symptoms?"
"Maybe but I don't want you to worry," Olivia said.
"I'm a mom, I'm worried," Catherine said then she sighed, "by the way Olivia, that blanket being up to your ear won't hide the fact that you look like you just had sex with my son."
Olivia gasped and dropped the phone.
Fitz laughed and picked up the phone, "she's hiding mom."
"She's so cute. Take good care of her and I'll see you tomorrow. Love you both." Catherine blew a kiss then ended the call.
"It's so weird to me that you're so open about sex with your parents," Olivia said as she moved her face from under the blanket.
"You're pregnant Olivia- everyone knows I blew a load inside you so I think that ship has sailed."
She giggled and leaned up, "I think you're right." Fitz stood and walked to the closet and dressed. "Go get dressed, you need to eat something," he said.
"Yes sir," Olivia said as she stood from the bed and went to the bathroom to clean the cum from between her legs.
After she was dressed they went down to the kitchen to dine on the dinner Simone had prepared. It was pan fried rib-eye steak with a garlic butter sauce and sauteed baby broccoli and a side caesar salad. Olivia ate hungrily and Fitz decided to have seconds.
"I'm gonna get Leona to get the contractor here for a meeting as soon as possible. We're gonna need to have that house livable."
Olivia nodded in agreement, "do you think we can get it done in the next couple of months?"
"It's more mental work that it is physical…on our part," Fitz said, "I just don't want you to have to worry about any of that when we have bigger problems now."
She nodded again. "I think we should plan for her to get here up to two months before she's due- I'm praying she doesn't but if she does we'll need to be prepared. I'm also gonna have to talk to HR and the surgery chief because I'm probably going to have to take a medical leave along with my maternity leave…depending on how this progresses."
After dinner they returned to their bedroom, where Fitz spoke with his flight company about rescheduling the flight and they talked more about the pregnancy. Olivia walked him through all the complications that could arise and all the procedures in their future. They went to bed later in the night and then woke early to prepare for the flight to Santa Barbara.
They arrived at the Hotel Californian, a lovely luxury boutique hotel by the ocean in the early afternoon. Leona had booked a suite with a view of the ocean and a similar suite for the guards was booked close by. Olivia slept for most of the flight with Fitz waking her a few times so she could eat.
After the staff dropped their bags off in the room Olivia began to undress. "It sucks that it's too cold to swim," she complained.
"Is it even safe for you to swim?"
She smiled, "for now." She finished taking off her clothes and then sat on the bed, naked. Fitz walked over to her and stopped right in front of her.
"Is this for me?" he asked with a smirk.
"It's always for you," she whispered.
"Catherine will be here any minute now?" he said as he pulled off his shirt.
Olivia began to undo his pants and then pushed them down along with his boxers. "I thought you said my sex shy ship has sailed."
He laughed as Olivia threw his own words back at him. She began to massage him up and down slowly as he erection grew then she kissed down his torso until she reached his pubic bone then took him into her mouth. She slowly and sensually sucked him with the intention of letting him finish in her mouth but Fitz stopped her before she brought him too close and lifted her onto his shaft then laid her against the bed. Olivia gripped a handful of his hair when she felt him begin to circle his hips into her with a slow, sweet rhythm.
She groaned underneath him as he brought her closer and she began to lick against the crook of his neck in the way that she knew drove him mad. He bore down, holding her closer and cradling her belly as he continued slowly thrusting into her.
"Mmmmm," she moaned as grabbed him tighter.
"You like that-" he whispered against her lips.
She nodded, barely able to get words out.
Moments later, there was a knock on the door.
"Fitzy, honey," Catherine called.
Fitz groaned and pressed his hand against Olivia's mouth and sped up his thrusts, grinding his hip faster into her. He was determined to finish before the lovemaking session ended. Olivia's moan were stifled under his hands.
"Fuck," he groaned softly.
"Fitzy," Catherine called again with a knock against the door.
He pressed his forehead against Olivia's as he felt her begin to tremble underneath him. Moments later, they came together.
He's barely taken a breath before he stood quickly and yelled."One second mom."
He grabbed a robe and tossed it to Olivia then he grabbed one for himself as well. They both quickly dressed, with Olivia tucking the robe between her legs to catch the leaking cum Fitz left behind.
She wiped her face quickly and then walked to check herself in the mirror. Fitz smoothed out his hair.
"Fitz?" Catherine called again.
"One second," he yelled again.
Olivia walked out of the bathroom and nodded to him then he walked over to the door and opened it.
Cahterine walked in carrying shopping bags on both arms. She gasped when she saw Olivia and dropped the bags and walked over.
"Oh my," she said excitedly, "look at your little belly under your robe. Can I touch it?" She asked.
Olivia nodded with a smile as Catherine reached for her stomach and gently caressed it over her robe. "You need to eat more food my little cupcake- speaking of cupcakes I brought some to fatten you and mommy up."
Catherine walked over quickly and grabbed one of the bags she'd dropped to the floor. "Hopefully I didn't squish them," she said as she opened the box from inside and held it out in front of Olivia.
Olivia smiled and took one of the cupcakes. "Thank you so much."
"What am I?" Fitz wondered aloud.
Catherine laughed and walked over to him and hugged him, "jealousy makes you ugly dear."
Olivia laughed and sat against the bed.
"So how are you feeling today?"
"I feel good," Olivia said as she bit into the cupcake. "My body feels good. I'm just trying to do as much as I can no before it starts to affect me-"
There was a knock on the door.
"That's your father," Catherine said.
Fitz groaned audily, weary of a confrontation.
"Behave," Catherine mouthed to him as she walked to the door and opened it.
Gerry stepped inside and immediately Fitz headed towards the bathroom and closed the door. Catherine sighed. Gerry walked to Olivia, "how are you?" He asked with outstretched arms for a hug.
Olivia smiled and hugged him, "Good."
"Catherine told me you got some bad news at the obstetrician yesterday?"
"We did," Olivia said, "but it's still early so we have some time before we have to…adjust."
They heard the shower in the bathroom turn on.
"How has he been?" Gerry asked a bit more seriously.
"He was upset about the news yesterday but he's been really good otherwise. We got to see her face yesterday in the ultrasound. She's so tiny and cute and he loved that."
Gerry nodded and smiled, "no pictures this time."
"We both forgot to ask for pictures but I have to check in weekly now with my doctor so there will be plenty of pictures going forward."
They sat catching up until Fitz stepped out of the bathroom, robed and wet from his shower.
"Come on. We need to talk," Gerry said motioning to the terrace of the hotel suite.
Fitz sighed and followed him and once both were outside Gerry closed the french doors.
"Let me start," Gerry began immediately. "I'm mad as hell at you but as mad as I am at you I'm even more furious at myself because I failed so terribly as a father that my 20 year old son felt like his only option was to start working for criminals to get by. You felt like you couldn't turn to me for help."
Fitz attempted to interject but Gerry stopped him. "No-I keep thinking what I could have done more or differently to prevent this. I wanted to be a present father so I decided to let other people run the family business so I could be at home to raise you and Arianna. Even when that thieving accountant bankrupted me I couldn't bring myself to regret my decision because I wouldn't trade anything in the goddamn world for the time I got to spend watching you and your sister grow. We spent almost 25,000 on in vitro to conceive you so the least I could do was be there after you were born."
Gerry sighed.
"I was hard on you…I know but that's because I wanted you to be better than me. I didn't want you to be…this."
"What do you want me to say," Fitz said.
"I want you to tell me why and I don't want to bullshit the reason you tell everyone else. I don't even want the bullshit reason you tell yourself. I want you to be honest with me because you owe me that."
Fitz was quiet for a moment before he began, "after I broke my leg I…gave up. I'd been working so hard, everyone kept telling me it would pay off to just stay focused and keep going so I did…until I was the best. Then I broke my leg and all of a sudden everything I'd been working for just disappeared. That aside I fucking loved playing basketball. You made sure I loved it and I lost that too because I would never be able to play the way I used to again so I gave up and decided that I was done working hard. I decided that I was gonna work smart. Everyone expected me to be this great person and to be so successful but that felt impossible…at least that point. Anyways, I was weary when Olivia's father tried to sell me a dream of what it would be like to work for him. I'm not an idiot but once I started and I got a taste I realized how dumb everyone around me was….and how much I could manipulate them to get what I want…and even more importantly I love how it felt to be able to take care of all of you and I couldn't give it up…until I got out of control."
"I gave up too," Gerry admitted, "after I got bankrupt and I was saddled with so much debt I decided working hard wasn't worth it so I settled with a job as a coach, making just enough to get us by but nothing more. I put all my hopes and dreams into you and for that I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry about anything. You didn't force me to do anything-" Fitz said.
"No," Gerry said. "I put too much pressure on you because I wanted you to make up for what I lacked. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to take care of us. I can't be a hypocrite because I was so desperate for money that when you started giving it to me I didn't ask any questions. Not serious ones anyways. You paid down my debt, you bought me and your mother that gorgeous fucking house and even horses that I had to sell you gave me back as a gift. I can't be a hypocrite but still, it's hard to know that's what you had to do." Gerry shook his head then chuckled, "at least tell me you're done now."
"I am."
"For good?"
"Yeah. I'm done."
"So do you think that anything like what happened to Arianna will happen again?"
"The truth is that I can't promise you it won't. Taking Olivia set off a chain of events that I didn't predict and it ended with Olivia and Arianna almost dying. I know that can't happen again but as it stands Olivia's father is out to get me so the next person getting shot will probably be me."
"Don't say that," Gerry said.
"It's true. I was out of control when I took Olivia but I've pulled back and I'm being as careful as I can and trying not to piss off anymore criminals so I'll see how far that gets me."
Gerry grabbed Fitz and pressed his forehead against his and looked directly into his eyes. "You don't have to do anything alone. If you need anything you have to let me know. Illegal or not- let me know so I can help you. Do you understand?" Gerry said sternly.
"Yes," Fitz answered.
Gerry let him go and hugged him tightly. "I love you my son. I love you so much and I can't lose you so whatever you've been doing to stay alive for the last 10 years….please keep doing it and please don't get your sister hurt again because I'd have to kill you and I'd be devastated."
Fitz nodded and chuckled.
Gerry kissed him on the forehead and Fitz playfully moved again.
"Come on dad," he complained.
"Shut up before I kiss you again."
Gerry laughed "At least tell me you set yourself up to be okay."
"I'll be more than okay," Fitz said.
"How okay?"
"I'll be a billionaire by the end of the year."
Gerry held his chest and fell against the railing. Fitz quickly grabbed him and realized he was laughing. Catherine and Olivia ran out, "honey, are you okay?"
"Yes," Gerry said laughing. "I was just surprised but I'm fine."
"Are you sure," Fitz said.
"I'm very fine," Gerry said again.
"Are you two made up?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah, I think we're okay," Gerry said.
"Good," she said, "we're gonna go down to the hotel bar and leave you two to get ready. You have an hour and a half, at most."
Fitz nodded and pulled Olivia into his arms and kissed her against the hair.
"No funny business," Catherine warned.
"We finished right before you came in."
Olivia slapped him, "stop."
"We did too," Catherine countered.
Gerry laughed, "never stop making love to your woman Fitz. That's the secret to a long, mostly happy marriage."
Olivia turned and hid her face. She couldn't get used to how sex positive Fitz's family was. Maya would fall over at the mention of sex with Fitz.
"He's certainly right about that," Catherine said as she kissed his cheek. "Anywho Olivia, I'll finish showing you all the things I bought for the baby later on."
Olivia nodded and the group of them headed back inside the hotel suite. Olivia went to the bathroom to shower while Fitz dressed and Catherine and Gerry went down to the hotel bar for drinks. Once she was finished in the shower she curled her hair as quickly as she could then began to do her makeup. She applied a bit of foundation and concealer and locked it in with powder then she fixed her eye makeup and applied blush and lined her lips brown with nude lipstick. She slipped on her diamond jewelry then her pale green fitted asymmetrical dress with its fur hem and then slipped on a pair of strappy Manolo Blahnik heels. She grabbed her clutch and then walked out to meet Fitz. He was wearing a slim fit navy suit and loafers.
The reunion required cocktail attire.
She watched as he smiled when he saw her and it made her blush, "you look great."
"Thanks," she said. "So do you but be honest, does my belly look pudgy round or cute baby bump round?"
"The second one," Fitz said without hesitation.
"Don't lie to me."
"Olivia," he groaned. "You look great. Now come on so I can show you off."
"Okay," she said with a playful groan of her own.
They headed down to the bar to find Catherine and Gerry drinking, smiling and talking.
"We're ready," Fitz said as he walked over to them.
Catherine turned and gasped, "Oh Olivia…you look stunning. Absolutely stunning.That dress- oh my- Fitz get her away from me before I steal her and never give her back."
Fitz laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder, "she's all mine."
They headed off to the car shortly after and took off to the event.
A/N - I've been going through some serious mental health issues so it's been hard to write these past few months but I'm trying to get there again.
As usual let me know your thoughts.