A/N: Still with me through this "one shot?" I hope so. Hope you enjoy this little update. Happy reading and let me know your thoughts, please.

Chapter 13

"Son, Fitz," Gerry was tapping Fitz's shoulder. "Maya Pope is on the phone; she would like to speak to you."

Fitz tilted his head at his father. His father handed the phone off to him. "You got this, just be open, be honest. Tell her I'm sending a car to take them to the airport to a chartered plane." Gerry walked away beginning to make a call.

Fitz gained his composure and stood up. He leaned his head on the wall outside the room that had Liv in it a few minutes ago. "Hello Maya, this is Fitz."

"Fitz, dear, what is going on? Does Liv have a kidney stone again?"

Fitz took a deep breath. He looked at the pictures of their twins. The two heads, developing bodies, sitting comfortably in Liv's womb. "They are determining that now. The doctors took her in for a CT scan, but it may be more than that since she has a high fever also."

"She's been down this road before Fitz. She was sick her freshman year in college, as you know. Sometimes her body breaks down and Olivia has a bad habit of ignoring the signs her body is telling her."

Fitz rubbed his hand over the picture. He couldn't tell her over the phone. "Maya, my father is sending a car and has chartered a plane to get you and Eli out here if that's ok. Do you think the two of you can make it out here? This could get more complicated as it develops, and she would want you to be here."

Maya stayed silent for a few moments. She knew there was something Fitz was not telling her. "Let me clear our schedules for the week, tell your father we appreciate the transportation. We'll see you in a few hours. Hang in there young man, she needs your strength."

"I will, thank you Maya. Just call me when you land. I'm going to text over the details as soon as my father gives them to me." He hung up the phone and saw the doctor walking over.

Big Gerry had just finished his call and had come over to listen and be a support for Fitz. The doctor's look was not comforting to Fitz at all.

"Commander Grant, your fiancé has a series of things going on right now. We have moved her up to a room where we can monitor her a bit closer. She isn't in the ICU, but that may change if she does not respond to our initial treatments."

Fitz nodded his head. "What about the babies? Are they safe?"

"Yes." The doctor nodded. "They are being closely monitored also. Olivia is just entering her second trimester so this is a crucial time, but with her responding to treatment, the babies will be fine."

"What kind of treatment doctor? And, exactly what are you treating her for?" Gerry asked.

"Well, she has a substantially large kidney stone, which isn't uncommon in pregnant women. She also has a urinary tract infection, and finally, the most concerning of all is the infection has spread to the blood, causing sepsis."

"Sepsis!" Fitz's head shot up. "That's deadly right? That can be fatal. In Afghanistan in the infirmary guys were dying from sepsis every day." He looked at Gerry, pleading. "Dad, is she going to be ok?"

Gerry looked at the doctor. "What's the treatment plan moving forward?"

"She needs plenty of fluids, but we have her sleeping now. Being she is pregnant we don't want to use too much sedation, but when she wakes up, she may be in pain, uncomfortable, she may even be a bit confused."

"What does that mean?" Fitz asked.

"You may have to detail to her what's going on, where she is, why she is here things like that. We are going to treat the infection first with IV antibiotics. Along with the IV antibiotics, there will be plenty of saline going into her, so she gets fluids. This will help with the kidney stones also. There is a possibility if the stone doesn't pass with fluids, we may have to put a stent in there to keep her comfortable."

The doctor looked at Fitz who was just staring down at the pictures of the twins. "Sir, the babies are fine. We have our gynecological team monitoring her round the clock."

Fitz nodded. "When can I see her?"

She's hooked up right now to a few monitors. Let the monitors run some tests. Why don't you go home, get a few changes of clothes so you can stay here? She'll be asleep for at least another hour." The doctor walked away.

"Go on, Sal will take you home, get some things for yourself, get some things for Olivia, try to calm down." Gerry handed Fitz the details for Maya and Eli's plane. "Text this to them. They'll be here sooner than you know it, ok. Tell Rita to fix up the guest room upstairs for them. I'll stay by her bedside. You're going to be a father, Fitz, to twins, try to focus on the happiness of that."

Fitz gave his dad a big hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much dad. I'll call the base too; they'll have to grant me some leave time. I'm hoping it's at least a week."

"Go, go get all that done so when you come back you can focus on Olivia." Gerry watched Fitz walk towards the exit as he headed up to Olivia's room. "I'm too young to be a grandpa." He whispered it, but obviously not low enough because he caught a curious stare from a doctor walking by.


Liv's freshman year (Alabama)

"But she will be alright, am I correct doctor?" Maya was asking, Eli was worrying.

Liv was sleeping, not by choice because they had to sedate her, in a hospital bed. Her body had an untreated UTI and the infection had reached the bloodstream. They caught the sepsis, but they weren't sure if there was any damage from it yet.

"She should be ok. We will know more when the sedation wears off and she is able to talk. She may have some confusion. Don't be alarmed by things she says. Just know that we are monitoring it. Her fever is coming down, so that's a good sign she is responding to medication."

Maya turned and looked at Eli. She was holding Liv's hand and holding his forehead with the other. They had left late last night and came straight to the hospital. Neither one of them had any sleep, but Eli had worked a double the night before.

He was operating now on being awake for nearly 72 hours. He needed his rest, but they haven't even checked into a hotel room yet. She took a deep breath, and the doctor noticed her worry.

"Ma'am, you or your husband can rest in a room down the hall. We have it here for parents of college students in the hospital. There's a bed, some refreshments, feel free to use it. I'll notify you of any changes in your daughter's health."

"Thank you doctor." Maya walked over to Eli.

Eli was never one to cry. He also never saw his daughter so vulnerable, so weak. He was blinking rapidly, clearly holding back the tears that were about to fall. Maya pulled up a chair next to him. She rubbed his shoulder. He pulled Liv's hand to his cheek. "I should have called her every day, asked how she was doing, maybe I could have heard the signs."

"Eli don't do this to yourself. Your daughter played a double header with a broken ankle, she is as stubborn as they come and ignores pain until it gets to this point, stop blaming yourself."

He kissed his daughter's hand. "I know I push her too hard. I just want the best for her, what we never had, she deserves it, Maya."

"Stop talking as if she is leaving us, she's going to be fine. There is a room at the end of the hall. Go get some rest. You are of no help to her if you are exhausted. Get yourself some coffee, decaf, and lie down for a while. I will stay by her side." Maya kissed Eli's cheek.

He put Liv's hand down to her side. He kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon my girl." Without looking at Maya, because he couldn't, Eli headed towards the room to get some rest.


Maya began telling Olivia the story when she was five and decided to climb the rock wall at the middle school play yard up the block. "As much as I told you not to do it, you found that one moment when I was talking to another parent, and you jumped up on that wall. Bryant came over, poking my back with his little finger. Ms. Pope, Ms. Pope Olivia is all the way up there. His little squeaky tattletale voice. By the time I turned around, sure enough you were in the middle of that wall.

I could tell by the look on your face you were petrified up there, but you wouldn't say anything. A teenage boy offered to climb up and get you. Girl, you caused such a scene." Maya laughed, but she could feel the tears.

Liv's hand moved a bit, giving her mother's a squeeze. "That's it baby girl, you climb down, get back to me, just like you did that day. You climbed down, jumped off that last step on the wall, wiped your hands and stuck your little stubborn tongue out at that nice innocent boy wanting to help you."

Maya took Liv's hand. "Come on, where's that stubbornness, that will, it's in there, bring it out."

"Mom." Liv's voice was groggy, but she was up. Her eyes blinking in the bright light. "Mom, where's Fitz?"

Maya looked at Liv. "Fitz?" Maya shook her head. "I don't know, he hasn't visited you here, has he?"

Liv closed her eyes again, growing frustrated. "Visited, what do you mean? He asked me to marry him. We're going to have a baby. Mom, get Fitz. Did dad kick him out? Dad kicked him out, didn't he? Tell dad to get him back here, mom. I LOVE HIM MOM!" The sudden scream sent a nurse running to the room.

"I don't know." Maya said. "She just woke up not making any sense, and now she's screaming. "

The nurse stood over Olivia. "Ms. Pope, calm down, you're fine, you're in the hospital, you're on medication, you need to relax."

"Was it you, do you think he would like you over me?" Liv stared at the nurse. "Go ahead, try to get him to love you the way he loves me, it won't happen, so you're out of luck." Then Liv stopped. She took a deep breath and began to cry.

"Mom, did they send him back over? Is he still fighting in the war?" Her head buried itself on Maya's shoulder. "Mom, make sure he is safe, ok?"

Just as quickly as she woke up, she went back to sleep with tears still coming from her eyes. Maya looked at the nurse for some answers.

"I'll send the doctor in to check her. This isn't uncommon Mrs. Pope, the medicine with the infection, it can do things to the mind, trigger painful memories. Did she lose a boyfriend overseas?"

"I guess you can say that." Maya really wasn't sure; she was just happy Eli wasn't here to witness that. That would have been interesting to explain.

Maya used a tissue and wiped her daughter's tears away. She rubbed her forehead and looked at the monitors. Everything seemed stable for now. The doctor came in, checked her heart rate and felt her stomach. "It's all good Mrs. Pope, outbursts like that are expected with infection. She's responding to the medicine." He turned and walked out.

Maya took a deep sigh of relief. Eli walked in after the doctor, rubbing his eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, baby, she's responding to the medication. I'm going to get some rest myself." She gave Eli a hug and kissed Olivia on her cheek. If she had another outburst, Maya would have some explaining to do.

Present Day

Gerry had found a magazine on the table outside the room in the visiting waiting area. He was reading the issue of Newsweek laughing at the journalist's and their weak attempt to opinionate everything going on in DC. He stopped reading when he heard one of the monitors start beeping a bit more rapidly than it was.

He looked over at the device. There was a slight spike in Olivia's heartrate. She was moving her head from side to side, and was blinking, but her eyes were closed.

"Mom." Her voice was low and raspy. "Mom." She blinked slowly and opened her eyes. She squinted, and Gerry saw her face cringe as she tried to move. She had some straps, baby monitors around her stomach, she really couldn't move.

"Olivia, it's me, Fitz's father. Fitz will be back shortly, he just went home to get some clothes. Are you comfortable, do you need anything?"

Liv turned and looked at Gerry. Her eyebrows crossed in confusion. "Fitz's father? Why are you here? Did something happen to Fitz? I haven't seen him in ten years."

"Oh boy," Gerry whispered. "Hon, you're in Santa Barbara, at the hospital. You're being treated for an infection."

Liv looked confused. She turned her head and stared at the ceiling. "Santa Barbara? Fitz talked about bringing me here one day, but that didn't happen, how did I get here?" Then she looked back at Gerry. "Wait, you're his father? Is he ok, did he make it back ok? His plane wasn't shot down was it?"

Gerry saw tears fill her eyes. "No, no, he's fine, you came here with him, um, I think the medicine." He stopped, he didn't know what to say that would or wouldn't upset her.

"I missed him so much, your son, I missed him so much. I love him I have always loved him. Can you tell him that? Please, just tell him that ok." The monitor starting beeping loudly now, more rapid than before. Her heart rate was elevating.

"Ummm, NURSE, I need you to get in here please." Gerry peered out the door. One of the nurses jumped from the station and went into the room.

Liv grabbed her hand. "Just don't let him die without him knowing that I never stopped loving him ok, promise me that." Liv's head was shaking so the nurse would agree with her.

The nurse adjusted a few things on the IV line. "Sure, sweetheart, I'll tell him that, but you'll be able to tell him that yourself. You just need calm down for me, alright. Just calm down."

Liv closed her eyes, still nodding her head. The monitor started slowing down and Liv was back asleep.

"What was that?" Gerry asked.

"Sometimes the medicine has to be adjusted and with the infection running through the body, it can cause confusion. She just mixed up some events. Does she have a boyfriend? Has she not seen him for a while?"

"Well, her and my son just got back together recently after being apart for years."

The nurse nodded in understanding. "Yeah, she could be confusing being apart with them now being together." She looked up at the one monitor. "Her fever is coming down, looks like she is responding well to the antibiotics. We'll do a bit more bloodwork in an hour."


Fitz was looking around his room, checking if he should bring anything else. He had clothes for two nights, a book to read, and some of Liv's paperwork for the grant. He really couldn't think straight, he wanted to get back to the hospital for her.

He was about to leave the room when he realized he should grab a toothbrush and toothpaste. He went into the bathroom and dropped the bags he was holding. He just stared at the pregnancy tests on the sink counter.

Both tests read the same result of positive, so she knew when she had fallen asleep that she was pregnant. Liv wanted to surprise him with the results. He blinked back his tears, pulled the ultrasound pictures from his pocket and took another look.

"Come on, Livvie, you have to be alright, for them, for me." He looked in the mirror. "You're going to be a dad, Fitz, with the woman you love." Looking back down now at the pregnancy test, he had a good feeling.

He saw his reflection again. "She'll be fine, go to her." He pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste, tossed it in the bag, put the pictures back in his pocket, and headed downstairs.

Rita assured him the room would be ready. Maya texted him they had just arrived to the airport. The only thing Fitz could hope for was Olivia would be awake, alert, and talking by the time they got to the hospital.

Infirmary (Operation Enduring Freedom)

Connors was standing over him as he shook Fitz awake. Fitz took one look at his friend. "Jesus, you can give anyone nightmares, why the hell are you staring at me?"

"Love you too man. Look, they got results of the x-ray they took on your shoulder. There are still some bullet fragments in there and they can't give you any kind of anesthesia with your concussion."

"Will you just say it Connors, good God, can I get another spokesperson, this one has a case of I can't speak properly."

"I can see you still have your sense of nothing." Connors laughed. "They need to do surgery, but you'll have to be awake for it. They'll numb the area with spray or something, but they can't put you out, but you will be cut open man."

Fitz closed his eyes. "Fine, when are they doing this?"

Connors looked up and saw and saw a team of surgeons walking in. "In about a minute." He patted Fitz's head. "You got this man, they said just think of something that calms you, ok. I'll be right here the whole time."

"Thanks, man, I appreciate it." Fitz closed his eyes.

"Lieutenant Grant, I am Lieutenant Dr. Whitten, I will be performing surgery to remove some bullet fragments from your shoulder. As Connors has told you, no sedation, you will be awake. You'll feel some pulling, maybe even some cutting. Looking around, you can tell we don't have the best conditions here."

"I understand. What happens after the surgery?"

"We'll give you some pain medication through IV, hopefully it will relax you a bit, we'll still monitor the concussion, but you may experience pain once the medicine wears off. Try to think of something that calms you, that usually helps."

"Want me to hold your hand, Fitz?" Connors reached out.

Fitz swatted at his hand. "Don't you dare, you freak."

Connors laughed. "Love you more. I know you'll be thinking of me to calm yourself."

"I'll talk you through what's happening", Dr. Whitten said. "If it gets too unbearable, just let me know. I'll try to make it as comfortable as I can."

"Ok, some numbing solution is being applied. It will feel like a cool sensation, then you won't feel your shoulder at all, that feeling could go as far down as your elbow."

Fitz closed his eyes to the doctor's voice. He had become a distant sound as he saw Olivia's eyes watching him. "Liv" he whispered.

She caressed his cheek. "Fitz, I'm here, you're doing just fine. Does it hurt?" He watched her smile. That smile could calm him at any time. He shook his head no as he reached out to her.

Olivia grabbed his hand and put it on her cheek. She gave it a quick kiss. "Does that make it feel better?"

He shook his head. "Mm hmm." He looked at her. She was topless, and he rubbed her shoulder, down her arm. Her smooth skin was cool to the touch, but it was so comforting. She leaned forward so his lips could braise her shoulder.

"You're doing fine, Fitz." He knew it was the doctor, but he saw the words come out of Olivia's mouth. He wanted to pull her down and kiss her, but he couldn't feel his other arm. She had her hand in his and was just smiling at him. She placed his hand on her stomach, her smooth gorgeous stomach that he loved kissing.

"Feel that Fitz, that's our baby in there. We are going to be parents. You're going to make a great father, but you need to stay with me, ok, Fitz, promise me you'll stay with me."

"Ok." He answered. He wanted to believe her, but he didn't think she forgave him yet. Fitz looked into her eyes.

He was looking at her, an angel, he could smell her, and hear her soothing voice. "I love you Fitz, stay with me ok, don't go to sleep."

His head nodded at her command. He kept looking at her. "Your blue eyes Fitz, you know how I love your blue eyes, keep looking at me, I'm almost done, then I'll go."

"Don't go, stay here." He looked up. As quickly as she came into his sight, she was gone. He looked around.

"All good Lieutenant. You did great. Any pain?"

Fitz blinked. "No, it's ok."

"Good", Dr. Whitten said. We took another X-ray. We should have the results in a day or two. You were really calm; you must have focused on something very special."

"Yeah." Fitz smiled. "Thank you doctor." He felt a bit groggy. He wanted to sleep, but now he was afraid with the concussion and he remembered his Livvie telling him don't go to sleep.

One of the team of doctors came over. "Lieutenant, it's ok to relax, you can sleep. We have Dr. Bren monitoring you for the concussion. Take a rest, you've been through a lot."

Fitz was thankful he could sleep. He wanted to close his eyes. It was the only time he saw his Livvie, in his dreams. She would always help him through the hard times, he was sure of it. Her brown eyes were the first to greet him as he fell into his slumber.


Present Day

Fitz walked into the room. Gerry was leaning on his hand on the chair, he was sleeping, bobbing his head up and down. He opened his eyes momentarily, checked on Liv, checked the monitors and fell back out.

Fitz had to smile. His father was worried, he was sure, but he would never tell Fitz that. Fitz touched his shoulder. "Dad, I'm back. How is she doing?"

Gerry's eyes opened. He stood up, getting his bearings. He nodded. "She's ok. She had a little episode before. She woke up momentarily, asking who I was asking for her mom. She thought something happened to you overseas."

Fitz took a deep breath looking at her. "She didn't know everything that happened over there. She was scared after I told her, scared that she wouldn't had known had anything happened to me."

"Yeah, she seemed frightened. Good news though, the doctor said she is responding to the antibiotics."

"That's good, dad, thanks so much for staying. Why don't you get home, eat, shower, come back in the morning, I'll be alright here."

Gerry agreed. He looked at what Fitz was holding. "Roses, huh? Very nice, son."

"They're her favorite. I couldn't choose a color, so the florist made the bouquet of all the colors. It brightens up the room, no?"

"Sure does." Gerry looked at Fitz. The look of worry all over his son's face. "She'll be alright, the babies will be alright, just stay by her side."

"I will dad, thanks. Get some rest. I'll call you if there's any news."

"You know, I am still too young to be a grandpa, but I am beyond happy for both of you."

Fitz laughed. Gerry left as Fitz was placing the flowers on the table closest to Liv. Maybe she would be able to smell the aroma from the fresh roses.

He pulled the chair as close to the bed as he could. He took her hand and held it in his. He rubbed the back of her hand around his face, stopped at his lips, and gave it a kiss. He rubbed her forehead gently. "Come back to me Livvie, please come back to me." He just looked up at the monitor. He looked back down at her. She was just sleeping, no movement or disturbance at all.

Ten minutes had passed and a team of three doctors came into the room. They introduced themselves as part of the gynecological team that would be monitoring the babies. They pointed to the straps around Liv's stomach. These are monitors. We can hear the heartbeats of the babies and make sure they are normal, not in any distress.

"Ok." Fitz said.

"By the looks of the ultrasound everything seems normal. The twins are developing as they should at this stage. Olivia is 12 weeks pregnant. We are going to turn the monitor on to listen to the heartbeat. Usually we would like mom to be awake for this, but given the circumstances."

"Fitz? Fitz, what's happening?"

Everyone looked at the bed. Liv's eyes were wide open. She was looking around, fear beginning to outline her face. She looked at Fitz. "Fitz, I'm pregnant, I didn't tell you, but I'm pregnant. Where am I?"

"Livvie, you're at the hospital."

"Did I lose the baby?" She began to cry. "No, Fitz, don't say we lost the baby."

"Shh, no, we didn't. You have an infection. They are treating the infection, ok."

Liv grabbed his hand. She nodded. "Why are the doctors here?"

"Olivia, we are about to check the heartbeat of the…" She stopped and gestured Fitz over.

"She doesn't know she's having twins, do you want to tell her?" She asked Fitz.

Fitz went back to Liv. "Liv, look at me baby." He smiled. He kissed her cheek. "You ready for this?"

"What?" She smiled with him, it must be good news. "What is it Fitz?"

"Twins, you're pregnant with twins."

Liv's eyes widened and she squeezed his hand. Her forehead touched his, and she cried. "Twins?"

"Yes, Livvie, twins. Now we are going to hear their heartbeat, are you ready?"

The doctor went to the monitor. "Ok, here goes." She switched the monitor on and adjusted the straps just a bit. At first you could hear a faint sound, like a small thump, then a bit louder, then the same sound, synchronized. It sounded like a car wash, wet brushes swishing in water.

The straps were adjusted on two different parts of Liv's stomach and a reading came out of the machine. The doctors looked at the readings, nodded, and made the sound a bit louder.

"Sounds very good. 89-100 beats per minute for each. As you can tell by the differences in the sounds, they are moving around quite nicely in there. Soon you'll be able to feel them. How are you feeling, Ms. Pope?"

"Tired, but better."

"Any pain?"

"No, no pain. Just tired."

"Ok, well, things are good on our end. We will continue to closely monitor the babies, get you on some vitamins, and discuss prenatal care. Your ultrasound looks good as I told Commander Grant."

"Wait." Liv said. "When was the date of conception?"

"While we can't be too certain, we are fairly sure it was the 14th of February. Your due date is on or around December 20th, but with twins, that could very well change to be earlier. Congratulations, and stay well Ms. Pope."

Liv could hardly breathe she was filling up with emotion. Fitz just looked lovingly at her. "The 14th of February" he said. He kissed her lips, looked at her, then kissed her again, and again, and again. "I love you so much Olivia Pope."

"Fitz, see, that day will always be a good special now.", kissing him back. " And I love you too my Mister Commander." She rubbed his face and looked at her hand. "Where is my ring?"

"Oh, I had to take it off for the CT scan. I have it here in my pocket." He took it out. "I get to propose again?" He laughed.

"Propose a thousand times, the answer will never change."

He slipped the ring on her finger just as her parents walked through the door. "Are we disturbing something?" Eli looked straight faced at Fitz.

Maya focused on the straps around Liv's stomach. She threw her hands up. "Ahhh, baby girl, when, when are you due?"

"Due?" Eli looked confused, what do you mean due? Due for what?"

"Twins, mom, we're having twins."

"Double ahhh!" Maya hugged Liv, she hugged Fitz, and she swatted Eli's shoulder. "Get over it, grandpa, stop being so grumpy. Our daughter is engaged and pregnant, smile you damn grinch."

Another doctor walked in. "Good evening. Sorry to ruin the excitement, but the kidney stone is not responding to the medication. Although the infection is, the stone is still lodged, so we will have to go over some options."

Maya sat in the chair. "You can never do things easy for us, could you baby girl?" She looked at the doctor. "Have at it handsome. Let's hear the options."