Olivia slammed the car door as hard as she could and stormed into the cabin. She knew he wasn't there because she didn't see his cars parked anywhere. She sat on the couch with her arms folded. A few minutes after she entered the cabin, Tom entered carrying an ice pack. He walked out on her and held it out for her to take. "For your hand. You have a nice form, you just couldn't reach."
Olivia snatched it from him, "don't fucking patronize me, Tom."
"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention," he said before he left.
An hour passed before she heard the sound of cars outside and she knew it was him. The ice pack had melted and now she was playing with the watery fluid inside while. It was still pressed against her knuckles. She heard footsteps approaching then the door slid open. She could feel his presence in the room but didn't look.
"Livie, we need to talk."
She didn't reply and had no intention of doing so. He walked over to her and sat beside her on the couch. "Tom told me what happened to your hand. I'm sorry- can I look at it?"
He waited for an answer but there was none as she stared down at her hands, intentionally ignoring him.
"Livie?"
He waited for her to respond but she didn't so he reached out and touched her hand but she moved away. "Baby, I can't let you leave until we figure this out."
He watched her jaw tighten and she began to tap her leg but still wouldn't say a word. He decided to continue. "I know you're annoyed. This is extreme but I needed to get some time alone with you so we could talk."
He waited some more but still, there was no response so he continued. "I know I took it too far. All the things I said to you and all the things I did. It was cruel and you didn't deserve it and I'm so sorry and I'm so ashamed of what I did to you."
He waited for a reaction or response and still, she was deadly silent. "Olivia, I'm trying here," he said softly. "Say something. Tell me you hate me. Tell me anything."
Olivia turned and looked outside through the glass doors and Fitz got frustrated and grabbed her face between his hands and gently pulled it towards him so he could see her eyes. "I fucking love you. I'm sorry-look at me."
Olivia angrily pushed him away and struggled for a few seconds to get free of him before he let her go. That was finally enough to bring her to tears. She wiped them away furiously and turned straight ahead, stone face once again though she couldn't help the sniffle that would escape as she tried to stop her nose from running.
Fitz sat back against the sofa, defeated and after taking a moment to collect himself he finally stood. No conversation could happen when she was as angry as she was.
"I'll take you back to your car," he said.
Olivia stood and grabbed her purse from the coffee table in front of the sofa then walked to the door. He was already there holding it open for her and she walked outside and headed towards the motorcade. She was hoping Fitz wouldn't ride back with her but as she suspected he got in the back of the SUV beside her. Once they were both seated, Tom opened the door on Olivia's side and handed her her car keys and phone then closed the door. The moment the van pulled off, her phone began to ring. She looked down and it was Abby. It was now hours after she promised she would be back. She hesitated for a moment before she answered.
"I know I'm really late. I'm sorry but I'll be there as soon as I can- are they okay?" Abby said yes then went on a brief rambling tangent about how cute they were which finally brought a small brief smile to Olivia's lips. "Thanks- no, I'm fine. Okay. Bye." She hung up and when she checked her calls, Abby had called her five times. She leaned back and took a breath, hoping the ride would be quick.
Fitz looked down at her slightly bruised knuckles and sighed. He stared through the window as they drove back from camp David and never bothered to try speaking to her again. When they returned to the parking lot by the chapel, it was almost evening. Olivia let herself out immediately and walked to her Mercedes which was only 15 feet away.
When she walked into her apartment, the girls were sleeping. She was thankful because she was emotionally drained.
"Olivia, what happened? Why did it take you so long to get back?"
"He had his agents kidnap me and stranded me up at camp David."
Abby's mouth dropped open."You're kidding?"
"No. They didn't hurt me or anything."
Abby looked down at her knuckled and looked skeptical.
"I punched one of his guards- tried to punch him and instead hurt my fucking hand."
Abby nodded, "Why did he do that?"
"He said he wanted to talk."
"Well, what did he say?"
Olivia chuckled humorlessly, "he's sorry, he loves me, he was wrong."
Abby frowned, "what did you say?"
"Nothing."
"At all?"
"I never said a word. I was so fucking angry Abby-he's so consuming and it's like he doesn't realize it. As soon as I'm getting over him, as soon as I'm moving on he comes back with a force."
"So are you actually thinking about getting back with him? After everything, he's done…"
"No."
"And you didn't tell him about them?"
"No," Olivia said with an exasperated sigh.
"What?"
She shook her head, "I think I was wrong," she said softly.
"About what?"
"He would have wanted them. The way he spoke to me today- he would have wanted them but it's not like I didn't try, you saw me call me week after week. I tried to tell him and now it's too late."
"It's not too late."
"They're already here- you know and what if I'm wrong, what if he doesn't want them, what if he gets angry with me for not telling him sooner and then we're back at fucking square one-what if-"
"Olivia you're siking yourself out-, " Abby said, "just take a breath."
"Abby, I'm just a toy to him. The fact that he can go from swearing his love for me to saying those things to me and then ignoring me for a year to swearing his love for me again- how can you do that to someone?"
"Liv-"
"And now Cyrus knows they're his and-"
"He knows," Abby said, "you told him?"
"He figured it out the second he looked at Luna. He said she has his eyes."
Olivia sighed, "this is what I was afraid of-" the sound of fussing became audible on the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table. "-I'll be right back." Olivia said as she stood and headed to the bathroom to wash her hands and then to the nursery. She walked over to Lana and she was fast asleep in her crib then she walked over to Luna and she was laying quietly awake in her crib.
"Aww sugar plum, did you want me to know you were awake?." She picked her up and kissed her cheek then brought her back to the living room.
"She was up?" Abby asked.
"Yea, she was just laying there," Olivia replied as she sat across from Abby with Luna leaning on her stomach.
"Can you tell them apart yet because I still have to use the bracelets?" Abby decided to change the subject since Olivia's mood seemed different now that she had Luna.
"No, I can tell them apart without it. Luna's very calm and laid back and Lana is very energetic and always busy making noise, that's how I tell them apart."
"By their personalities?"
"Yep."
"You're such a mom," Abby teased.
"Yup, a mom who hasn't eaten all day. I'm starving."
3 weeks later.
It was early Sunday morning when Olivia got a call from one of her clients about an emergency. She was strict with her no work on the weekends policy. Weekends were solely dedicated to the girls, she had mommy and me class on Saturdays and on Sundays, she loved spending the entire day at home or taking them out to the park.
This, she'd decided, was a dire emergency and she made an exception.
She didn't want to call Bonnie, she had worked so much overtime because the cases had kept Olivia at the office late. She wanted her to enjoy her weekend off. She called her backup babysitter and she was unavailable. She needed her team with her to handle the case because it was an all-hands-on-deck emergency. In her desperation, she decided to call Cyrus, since he didn't work on Sunday and would be home. He already knew about them and since he had a toddler at home he knew how to care for infants.
"Cy, I sort of need a favor," she said through the phone. "A big one."
"I don't work on Sundays Liv."
"I don't either but sometimes I have to make an exception but that isn't about work, I need you and James to babysit the girls for a few hours. It's really important and I wouldn't call you if I had another choice."
"What happened to your nanny?"
"Bonnie has been working literally all day because I've been so busy with work, I can't call her on her day off, it's unfair and she goes to church so I'm sure she's there right now."
"Fine, just a few hours. They are like little nuclear bombs and I want to stay as far away from them as possible…especially when he finds out."
Olivia rolled her eyes but he was doing her a favor so she let his comment go without a huff."Thank you. I'll be there soon."
"Alright Liv, I'll see ya."
She hung up. "Okay girls, let's get your coats on. Lulu you first."
She quickly dressed Luna in her coat, hat, and shoes. She noticed a small bruise on her hand but thought nothing of it since Luna had the habit of chewing on her hands and feet. When she was finished with Luna, she grabbed Lana. Lana squirmed and wiggled and laughed as she readied her. At over 4 months, Lana was able to sit up with support from either Olivia holding her or her boppy pillow, Luna had a harder time sitting up but she was still on track. She was able to hold her head up and shake her toys and met all the milestones of an infant her age. The doctor said Lana was just a little more advanced.
Olivia drove to Cyrus in 15 minutes. She'd become very skilled at carrying two car seats and walked easily to the door. She rang the bell and waited. After about 30 seconds there was no answer.
"Come on Cy, it's cold out here," she yelled.
"Hold on, I'm coming."
He opened the door for her.
"Sorry."
"It's okay," she picked up the car seats and walked in.
"How can you carry them in heels?" Cyrus said, motioning to Olivia's black crocodile skin knee-high pointed-toe stiletto boots.
She rolled her eyes playfully, "I'm not like the other moms, I'm a hot mom," she teased.
Cyrus rolled his eyes as well.
"I fed them about an hour ago. Luna is very quiet, she likes to observe so you can just lay her on her back on a pillow so she can look around. Lana likes to move so take her out of the car seat and put her on her stomach so she can wiggle around or else she'll cry but be careful, she's very grabby. I have a typed list of instructions in their bag for if you need to know how to make their bottle and how to heat it and all that, it's on the sheet. Uhm - I put breastmilk in there. It's frozen so put them in the fridge until it's time to heat them. They have diapers and I also added formula just in case. Um…I think that's it, everything you need to know is on the sheet. I'll be back in a few hours. Thanks a lot, Cy, tell James I said thanks too. Call me if anything. Okay?"
Cyrus nodded and brought the milk to the fridge immediately then returned to the girls.
Olivia rushed out to meet with the team and her clients.
James came into the foyer."Where's Olivia?" he asked.
"You just missed her."
"Aww well, I'll see her later. Are these her girls?"
"Yep."
"Oh wow, they're gorgeous. At least I finally get to meet them. Which one is Lana and which one is Luna?"
Cyrus scratched his temple. "I don't know."
"Okay, let's get all these clothes off them so I can see them."
Cyrus took one car seat and James took the other. They undressed them down to their white onesies and pink socks then spread a blanket on the carpet and laid them there.
"Olivia has very pretty girls, I wonder who the donor is? Do you think she did it anonymously or she used someone she knew? I, personally, don't know why she even used a donor. She's so pretty, I can't imagine her having a hard time finding a man."
"Why don't you just ask Olivia these questions when she gets here?"
"Because they're personal questions and it's much more fun to gossip about them," James chuckled.
Just as Olivia said, Lana scooted and squirmed and rolled while Luna was content to lay and chew on her toes or pacifier. Ella ignored them and played with her toys. After about an hour Cyrus heard a knock on the door and thought it was odd that Olivia came back so soon.
"I didn't think Olivia would come back so soon," Cyrus said as she got up to answer the door.
"Oh no Cy, it's Fitzgerald. He called earlier and said he and Karen were coming over to see Ella."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Cyrus said in a panic.
"Calm down Cy, it's not a big deal. Go get the door, he's waiting."
There was a knock again. "Listen to me, James. Olivia does not want anyone to know about her children so don't say anything. If he asks, tell him it's a friend of mine, I'll do all the talking."
"Okay fine but I don't know why Olivia would want to hide them. They are gorgeous children."
"James, do you understand?"
"Yes, Cy. now open the door," James snapped.
Cyrus ran to the door and opened it for Fitz and Karen.
"Fitz, I didn't know you were stopping by. Hey Karen."
"I called James."
"Hey uncle Cy," Karen said as she walked past Cyrus to the foyer.
They both took their coats and shoes off and headed to the living room.
"Hi James," Karen greeted.
"Hi Karen, I told Ella you were coming and she got all excited." Karen clapped excitedly in response.
Fitz walked into the living room behind Cyrus.
"Hey, James."
He looked down on the carpet and saw Lana and Luna.
"Woah. Cyrus, don't tell me you got more kids. You can barely manage Ella," He chuckled.
"No, we're babysitting for a friend of ours," Cyrus said quickly.
Fitz knelt down beside them and took a closer look then smiled." A friend of yours?"
"Yeah, you don't know her."
"They're twins?"
"Yes."
"You are a changed man Cyrus. I never thought you were the babysitting type."
Cyrus shrugged in response. "Old age."
"Well, what are their names?" Fitz asked.
Cyrus was about to make up names but James interjected.
"Lana and Luna although I'm not sure who is Lana and who is Luna," James chuckled."But I think their mom gave them bracelets to tell them apart."
"Oh okay. Well, I'm gonna hold one of them."
Fitz stretched for Luna, who was closest to him.
"No, I don't think that's a good idea. Their mom doesn't really want anyone holding them. She's very uptight," Cyrus objected.
"Well then it's a good thing she's not here," Fitz said as he held Luna in his arms. A wide smile spread across Luna's face causing her pacifier to fall.
She had wisps of blonde hair on her head. Her skin was light golden brown. She had a heart-shaped face with big expressive eyes, long eyelashes, and full pouty lips. She resembled a porcelain doll and so did her sister who looked identical to her.
"Look, Cyrus, she likes me," Fitz chuckled. "I think these are two of the most beautiful little babies I've ever seen. Holy hell, who's their mom?"
"Daddy, hey!" Karen interjected.
"I said two of the most, not the most, little missy."
Karen laughed and then headed to play with Ella.
"Well Olivia's gorgeous so of course, she has gorgeous kids," James blurted out.
Cyrus froze.
Fitz picked up Luna's pacifier and gave it back to her.
"What did you just say, James?" Fitz said.
Cyrus interjected, "he just-"
"Is your name James?" Fitz asked.
James stood and walked over to Fitz so Karen wouldn't hear, "my mouth slipped so you can't tell anyone but these are Olivia's daughters. She doesn't want anyone to know so don't say a word."
Fitz felt dizzy and swayed with Luna in his hand and Cyrus grabbed his arm.
"Fitz, are you okay?"
Fitz cleared his throat, "did she adopt?"
James was confused by Fitz's reaction but answered his question. "Uh…no."
"Do you know who the father is?"
"She used a donor which as I said to Cyrus, I can't imagine a woman like Olivia's having a hard time finding a husband."
"How old are they?" Fitz asked.
"That I don't know," said James. "Can I get you something? Like a drink or anything?"
"No," Fitz said as he stared down at Luna.
Lana who was still on the carpet began to fuss and Fitz sat on the blanket and picked her up too. He had them both in his lap and stared at them, inspecting every feature as they stared back at him, cooing and smiling.
Cyrus was in a panic and stood frozen as he tried to decide what to do. He attempted to sneak away but Fitz called him the moment he tried. Cyrus realized that Fitz had been watching him peripherally the entire time.
"Where are you going?" Fitz asked.
"To the kitchen, to pour myself a drink."
"And to call Olivia," Fitz said.
James had stepped away to supervise Karen and Ella in the playroom.
"No-"
"You will not call her. Do you understand?" Fitz said, threateningly serious.
Cyrus nodded and walked to the kitchen. He pulled out his phone and checked if there were any messages from Olivia and there were none. He took a swig of whiskey and then returned to the living room for what had predictably turned into a disastrous day. Cyrus went back to the living room and sat on the couch. Fitz was still on the floor with the twins and Cyrus had a really hard time reading his body language as he observed him playing with them. Shortly after, Cyrus stood once again. "I think I have to feed them now," he said and walked to the kitchen to warm the semi-frozen breast milk in hot water. He returned with two bottles. The moment Lana saw the bottle coming toward her she spat out her pacifier. Fitz smiled and watched as she panted excitedly for her milk. He laid them both against the pillow and took both bottles from Cyrus and fed them at the same time. Luna fell asleep shortly after being burped and changed followed by Lana. Even as they slept in their car seats, Fitz observed them keenly. Karen and Ella returned to play in the living room. Fitz told her she'd have to go back to the white house and that Ella and James could go with her to continue their playing.
It had been approximately three hours after Olivia dropped them off that she returned to pick them up. There was one SUV in front of Cyrus' house when Olivia pulled up. It wasn't enough to draw her attention as unusual. She'd texted Cyrus and told him she was on her way.
She rushed from her car to his door and knocked quickly and lightly. She waited long enough to knock again and on the second knock, Cyrus opened the door. She noticed he looked worried, like something was troubling him, and immediately panicked.
"Are my daughters okay?" she asked quickly.
Cyrus nodded and opened the door wider so she could step in.
"Are you okay?" Olivia asked. "Is Ella okay? What's going on?"
Cyrus didn't answer as he walked from the foyer to the living room. When Olivia reached the living room, she saw Fitz sitting on the sofa beside Lana and Luna who were sleeping in their car seats resting on the floor.
Cyrus turned to Olivia and saw the look of disgust and betrayal spread across her face. She quickly tried to collect herself. "Did you put their bottles in their bag?" she asked Cyrus, trying to sound as calm and even as possible.
He nodded, "I made sure everything is there."
She grabbed the Goyard tote that doubled as her diaper bag and walked over to the girls and lifted both car seats. She could feel Fitz's stare on her.
"Cyrus, can you walk me out?" Olivia said.
"No," Fitz said, "leave us."
That was exactly what Cyrus had been trying to avoid, being caught in between Fitz and Olivia.
Olivia turned and headed to the door but when she got to the foyer, Tom was standing in front of the front door.
It was the christening all over again.
"Tom, I need to take my daughters to my car," Olivia said.
"I can't let you leave," Tom said. "I'm sorry."
"You are quickly becoming my least favorite person," Olivia said because that was exactly what she expected. She rested the car seats gently on the floor and then sat with her back against the wall in the foyer. She folded her legs and slipped off her coat and let it lay behind her against the wall. She heard heavy footsteps approaching and then Fitz appeared. He stood directly in front of her, against the wall but said nothing. She saw Tom turn and stepped outside then closed the door behind him.
They had only been sitting for a few moments when Lana began to fuss in her car seat. She spat out her pacifier and began to kick her feet. Olivia leaned over and locked back the handle of the car seat and then unlocked the straps around her tiny body, unzipped her winter puff onesie, and lifted her out.
"Hi Lana," Olivia said softly then held her up and kissed her belly. Lana giggled and kicked her feet. "Are you hungry?" Lana began panting. "Are you hungry, my girl?" Olivia kissed her chin and Lana screamed. It was her most ticklish spot.
"I fed her a couple of hours ago," Fitz said.
Olivia had almost forgotten Fitz was there until he broke her attention from Lana. She propped up her legs and leaned Lana against her thighs. She chewed on her fingers and cooed as Olivia pulled down the sleeve of her square neck shirt and brought Lana to her breast before she unclipped the fabric of her nursing bra and slipped her nipple in Lana's mouth and began nursing her. She brought her close and cradled her to give herself some privacy since Fitz was watching her. Lana drank hungrily and when she finished Olivia closed her bra and held Lana against her shoulder and lightly tapped her back until she burped. She laid her against her thighs once again and gently stroked her belly as she sucked on her pacifier.
Fitz finally spoke.
"Am I their father?" Fitz asked shakily.
Olivia didn't answer.
"You were calling me," Fitz said, "at one point it was once a week. Was it to tell me about them?"
Olivia slipped her index finger into Lana's tiny hand and kissed it. "Should we wake your sister and see if she wants some of mommy's milk?" She asked Lana. "If I do that will you be a good girl or will you be a fussy pants because you have to share mommy?"
"Olivia, if they're mine you need to let me know," Fitz said, growing more frustrated by the one-sided conversation. He stepped closer and sat beside her. "I'm begging you Olivia- I feel sick thinking you were pregnant alone. You have to tell me-"
He watched her close her eyes and a single tear fell then she wiped it away quickly. Suddenly his eyes were stinging with tears too.
"Tell me how to fix this-"
"You won't tell me fucking leave," She said angrily as more tears fell. "May I go?"
Fitz leaned back, realizing she was still too angry to have a conversation but it was too important a question. He needed to know.
"Olivia, don't let me find out-please tell me if these are my daughters. I know they are but I need you to tell me," he begged.
He waited and waited and she was quiet once again.
"Okay," Fitz said as he stood and tried to regain his composure and walked out.
The first thing he did was ask Tom to get Sanders Black to meet him at the White House as soon as possible. When Fitz got to the White House he immediately went to his office and waited for Sanders. He waited just under half an hour before Tom knocked on his office door, announcing Sanders. First stood and walked to the couch and gestured for Sanders to join him there.
"Good night Mr. President, I was surprised when I got your call."
"This is important. It couldn't wait," Fitz said. "I need you to look into Olivia Pope. Do you know her?"
"I think I remember she'd done some work on your campaign…"
"I need you to look very thoroughly into everything she's done since last December. I want to know who she's dated, I want to know everyone that's visited her apartment. She has two daughters. I need to know who her ob/GYN was. I need to know who their father is if it's a boyfriend or a donor. I want to know when they were born. I need every facet of information on her you can find."
He nodded, "it will be difficult to get medical records."
"Get them. I don't care how but it needs to be fast."
Christmas Day.
Olivia woke up early to prepare for the day. It had been just a week since her encounter with Fitz and she still couldn't sleep. He hadn't reached out again and as the days passed she became more and more racked with guilt. He needed to know but to get the words out and have a conversation with him especially when he kept engineering situations where she was being held against her will made it even more difficult. There was also the large question of his reaction once she told him. She now knew how vicious he could be in his anger and she was terrified of what that would look like when there were children involved. Still, it was Christmas and the first Christmas with her daughters. She tried to push her issues with Fitz from the forefront of her mind and focus on the girls. It was hard because she knew that he should have the opportunity to share their first Christmas together but that was another thing that she tried not to focus on.
It was just her and the twins celebrating Christmas. Abby flew out to visit her family and so did Stephen and Harrison. She placed all the gifts under the tree for them from the night before. Gift buying was tricky for her, she wasn't sure if she was supposed to buy two of every gift or buy them individual gifts, so she played it by ear. She tidied up and made breakfast for herself before she went to wake up the girls.
"Good morning girls. Merry Christmas, it's time to wake up."
Lana was easier to wake up, Luna got cranky and kept falling asleep on Olivia's shoulder. After she fed them, she brought them to the Christmas tree and opened their gifts with them on the floor. She snapped a couple of pictures and videos of them and then fed and bathed them. The day was calm, she spent most of her time laying on the floor and playing with them or waiting for them to wake from their naps. By late evening, they all fell asleep for the night. Olivia made herself something quick to eat and then she went to bed.
It was a few days after New Year when Sanders returned to Fitz. They met in the oval after most of the west wing had gone for the day. He was ushered in by Tom as usual. He had an enveloped folder with him as he sat on the couch opposite Fitz.
"Good night sir-"
"What do you have?" Fitz asked, getting straight to the point.
"I'm going to construct a narrative for you to summarize the information that I have collected," Sander began.
Fitz nodded.
"I started my investigation on December 1st of the year before last. I got access to the security cameras in her building to compile a list of visitors for the last year." Sanders said as he opened his folder. "To sort the list I excluded food delivery men, mail men, her cleaning staff, etc. The people who don't really tell us much about anything. In December, the visitors she had were her employees Abigail Whelan, Stephan Finch, and Harrison Wright. There was also one other man that I haven't been able to figure out who he is. He's not an official employee at her firm but he's there every day."
"Do you have a picture?" Fitz asked.
Sanders flipped through the folder and handed Fitz a picture. He recognized Huck.
"He's not a concern," Fitz said.
Sanders nodded and continued.
"Her employees were the only person that visited her in December, mostly Ms. Whelan who from what I gather is her best friend. In January the same group of people visited frequently and from the security camera I see that you visited as well."
"I was the only person outside of her employees to visit her?" Fitz asked.
Sanders nodded, "with the exceptions of cleaners, delivery people, yes sir."
"Do you know if she ever left, late at night?"
"No, I made note of that, and no, there was never a night where she left her apartment late and came back or never came back at all."
"Were there any days that she spent a significant amount of time away from her apartment?"
"No."
"Okay," Fitz said, trying to keep calm and not get too excited by the news. "Continue."
"In February, again, you were the only visitor outside of that group but there was a period in late February, the last time you visited actually, where she didn't leave her apartment for about a week."
Fitz swallowed hard and nodded. It was when he broke her heart.
"In March, it was only that visited her. The same for April, May, and June. In July the other three began visiting again. She was visibly pregnant in April. In August, she moved to a 3-bedroom unit on the 2nd floor of her building, and ms. Whelan stayed several days a week. She gave birth in early September and still it was the same group that visited her along with what I found out to be a baby nurse who was later replaced by a nanny. In November, the only other guest to visit her apartment was your chief of staff, Cyrus Beene. There was no one outside of the group I mentioned before in December."
Sanders cleared his throat.
"Her usual schedule seems to be that her nanny comes to the apartment at 8am, on some days she leaves immediately after to go to the gym and returns then leaves for work on other days she leaves around 9am for work. She comes home around 6pm and never leaves after that. There was one Sunday in November when she left with Mr. Beene in the morning and didn't return to the apartment until early evening. She didn't have her daughters with her."
Fitz nodded.
"Now to the girls, they were born on September 1st at the George Washington University hospital, there is no father listed on their birth certificate. They spend their days mostly at home. The nanny takes them to the park once a day. Ms. Pope takes them to mommy and me class on Saturdays and usually to the park on Sundays. I haven't been able to confirm that there was a donor based on her credit and debit records; there was nothing that could be traced to one. If it was, it had to be a friend and she was never alone with anyone in her apartment except for you during those key months."
Fitz nodded. "Do you have the medical records of the twins?"
Sanders flipped through the folder and then handed him several sheets of paper. "This was just what I was able to get? Also, the cameras at her office have layers of encryption, I've hardly seen anything like it, I couldn't get through to access any footage."
Fitz looked through the papers. "Thank you, Sanders. You can leave the folder."
"Thank you, Mr. President."
Fitz walked to his desk as Sanders left and immediately called the white house physician to his office. It took him 10 minutes to arrive from his office to Fitz's.
"Mr. President, is everything alright?"
"Can you come and have a seat with me?" Fitz said. He was on the couch. The doctor sat opposite Fitz and Fitz slid him a chart across the coffee table with the girls' information. "Can you take a look at that?
"Of course Mr. President," he said as he took them and read through them.
"When would twin girls born on September 1st be conceived?"
The doctor took a moment before he answered. "This is tricky but my rough guess would be early December," he said.
Fitz felt his heart skip a beat and it took him a minute to get over the news. "Why is it tricky?"
"Well, twins, especially monozygotic twins like the ones on this document that share a placenta often can't make it to a full gestation period."
"Why?" Fitz said, suddenly feeling hopeful again.
"They run out of space in the womb and so it's actually dangerous for them to stay in the womb through 40 weeks like a single fetus. About 75 percent of identical twins are born 37 weeks or earlier"
"What are you saying?" Fitz asked.
"Well, for twins like this, it's much more likely they were delivered around 34-37 weeks in fact 37 weeks is the full gestation period for twins so that would be normal for them. If they were born in early September then I'd bet money they were conceived between mid-January and early February. If I had information on the pregnancy, I could give you a definitive answer."
Fitz stood, overjoyed. "Don't worry about it," he said, then yelled "TOM!"
Tom rushed in, "Sir?"
"Bring the car around, now."
Olivia sat on the couch with both girls against her chest. They just turned 5 months old and although Lana was progressing more than Luna, the doctor assured her that sometimes one sibling is just a little more motivated than the other and it was completely normal but she was beginning to get worried. Abby came over earlier in the evening to see the girls and vent about her breakup with David but she left when the girls had fallen asleep. It was almost 9pm when she stood from the couch and brought them to their cribs. As she left their nursery, she heard a knock on the door. She began walking to the door and stopped. There was only one person that visited her late at the night. Abby had a key if she decided to turn back and come to her apartment she could let herself in.
There was another knock. She took a breath and continued walking then looked through the security window. Fitz was standing there. She closed the security window and stood behind the door. Her heart began to race and her palms began to sweat.
"Olivia," she heard him say, "please."
She let out a long breath and slowly unlocked the locks behind the door then she cracked it open and peeked out at him. She looked at him and saw his eyes for the first time since he was last at her apartment. He was tieless with no jacket.
"I realize that the last two times I've tried to talk to you have been against your will. I'm sorry and I won't do that again. I need to talk to you, I'd like you to let me in."
Olivia stepped back from behind the door and opened it wider to let him in. Fitz stepped inside and Olivia closed the door behind him. Fitz looked around her apartment and it had completely changed. Apart from her obvious move to a large place, it was crawling with signs of the twins. Right on the wall by the door was a chart with Lana and Luna's name tracking their age and weight and milestones. There was also a candid picture of Olivia pregnant framed beside the chart. She was in the kitchen with what looked like flour on her face. Olivia watched him smile at it briefly before he turned to her, seemingly waiting for her to lead him to where they would talk. She walked him to the living room and they sat on the couch. Fitz could see a baby gym for twins on the floor along with a small play area with toys and a few story books.
There was a section of the wall dedicated to framed pictures of the twins from birth and the most recent ones seemed to be Christmas. Olivia allowed him a chance to look around and observe and when he was finished he turned to her.
"I-" Fitz began, "I know they're mine but I can't process it...I can't do anything about it because it's not real until you tell me."
"They're your daughters," Olivia finally admitted after taking a moment to build the courage.
She watched as his eyes filled with water and tears trickled down his face.
Olivia felt swallowed with guilt and began trying to explain herself, "I tried to call you-I tried to tell-"
Fitz shook his head and lifted her into his lap and wrapped her into a tight hug against his chest and held her. She was tense at first and resisted the hug but Fitz continued to hold her until melted against him and broke into sobs.
She felt him hold her tighter and he began whispering apologies to her tearfully. Telling her it wasn't her fault and thanking her for having their daughters as he stroked her hair gently and kissed the crown of her head.
"You deserve so much more than I've given you and I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise."
Olivia nodded and leaned up and wiped her eyes, "you can't ever hurt me like this again. This was too much."
"Never again," Fitz promised, "I swear it." Olivia sniffled and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater then felt Fitz pull her into his embrace once again. "Two at once," he said, "I can't believe you gave me two perfect little girls at once, you overachiever."
Olivia chuckled softly.
"Can I see them?"
She nodded and stood, "they're in the nursery." She walked ahead and Fitz followed her. When they got to the nursery Olivia stopped him, "can you take your shoes off."
Fitz smiled and slipped them off quickly and then walked into the nursery behind Olivia. She flipped on the light so he could see the room.
The nursery had cream walls and furniture with baby pink accents all over. There were large child-size plush animals in one corner, a giraffe, a lion, an elephant, and a horse. There was a bookshelf, two cribs, a changing table, a rocking chair, an ottoman, and a large dresser.
Fitz walked over to the crib closest to him. The name Lana was engraved against the wood in light pink letters. He looked down and Lana was sleeping on her back with a pink pacifier in her mouth. Then he walked over and looked at Luna and she was in the exact same position.
"How can you tell them apart?" Fitz asked. "At Cyrus' house I feel like they were different, Luna would just smile and stare at me, Lana grabbed my hair and laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd seen."
"That's exactly how they are," Olivia said, "for a while, I used their personality but now I can tell them apart even when they're sleeping. There are really subtle differences between their faces that you'll pick up on once you spend long enough staring at them."
Fitz reached down and slid his index fingers into Luna's tiny hand.
"They're more beautiful than I've ever imagined them."
Olivia smiled, "I can't take them out of the stroller outside, I made that mistake once and this old lady literally tried to take Luna out of my arms."
He laughed then suddenly he was overcome with emotion again.
"You went through an entire pregnancy and gave birth to two daughters and up until a month ago, I had no idea."
"I should've tried harder to tell you-"
"No. This isn't your fault. Don't you dare try to take the blame for it. Every single time you called me, I knew it but I was so stubborn and stupid. If I'd just answered once, I would've known."
"Why didn't you?" Olivia asked.
Fitz gently slipped his finger from Lana's hand. Olivia walked back through the door and Fitz followed after she turned off the lights. They returned to the couch in the living room.
"Because it was the only way I could stay mad at you. It was the only way I could convince myself that you were this completely different person from what you were in reality and if I'm being honest, I knew it would hurt you because if you didn't speak to me for an entire year it would hurt me."
Olivia frowned, "So what? It was payback for me leaving the white house?"
"Not…consciously."
"Fitz, what I did and what you did were not the same."
"I never said it was-"
"-I talked to you or at least tried to talk to you about why I was leaving-you didn't even give me the chance to explain."
"I'm just being honest about what I was thinking at the time."
Olivia shook her head, frustrated, "and your thought was that I'm so low and lacking dignity or morals that after Gerry beat me up so badly I had to hide in my hotel room for over a week, I would meet up with him and plot so that I could trade up from being a presidential candidate's mistress to the president's mistress?"
"Olivia-"
"After all the places in the White House you've bent me over I could see why you'd think I have no dignity and only someone with no morals would agree to be a mistress, so you're half right. I'm not completely innocent but I didn't do what you accused me of," Olivia chuckled. "It's funny, you and Gerry have collectively given me the worst physical and emotional experiences I've ever had with men. It's probably the only thing you and him have in common."
It was after Olivia said it that she realized.
"I'm sorry- I didn't mean to say that."
Fitz nodded, "it's okay, I deserved it."
"No- I don't want it to be like that. I don't want to say or do anything to hurt you so we should just agree to move on and figure out how to parent the girls together."
Fitz was silent for a moment before he spoke.
"Do you still love me?"
"Of course I still love you but that doesn't matter."
"Why doesn't it matter?"
"Because…it just doesn't."
"I don't want to co-parent, I don't want to figure out custody and make schedules for drop off and pick up, I want us to be together in one house with our girls. Like we always said we would. I want us to be a family."
Olivia shook her head, "it's not that easy."
"I know it'll take some time."
"I don't know if that's what's best anymore."
"Why-" Fitz pressed.
"Because I don't trust you anymore, Fitz. I'm terrified about what will happen if I get myself wrapped up in you again and then I do something to piss you off. So no, it's not easy." She said with tears in her eyes.
Fitz reached for her and cupped her face between his hands. "Olivia, look at me." She resisted. "Olivia, look at me," Fitz said again. She finally turned her eyes to him and looked. "If there's one thing the last year taught me, it's that I can't live without. Even when I'm trying to hate you-I'm constantly dreaming of you, I'm constantly thinking about you and missing you. I love you Olivia-I love you so fucking much and I can't lose you so I need you to trust me one more time. I need one more chance…not because we have beautiful daughters together but because you want me just as much as I want you."
Olivia nodded.
Fitz smiled, "are we gonna give it another shot?"
Olivia nodded again and wiped her eyes and smiled. "Yes."
He immediately pulled her into a soft, longing kiss. He relished in how much he felt at home when he was with her. Fitz lifted her on top of him so she straddled him as they kissed. Olivia wrapped her hands tightly around his waist and eagerly plunged her tongue further into Fitz's mouth. They both lost themselves in the kiss until somehow they both broke for air at the same moment.
"I missed you so much," Olivia said as she hugged him tightly.
"I missed you too," Fitz said. He ran his hands down her back and then pulled her hair from her face. "I still can't believe you gave me daughters!" Fitz bellowed out.
Olivia laughed, "they're amazing. You're gonna love them."
"I already love them," he said as he kissed her again. "I love them so much and I can't wait until I can show them off to everyone-" Fitz watched Olivia stiffen and smiled. "-don't worry, it won't be right now. I know we'll have to ease into it."
Olivia nodded, "I know."
"Can I take you on a date?"
"A date?" she said, blushing.
"Yes. I want to take you to dinner. If you feel more comfortable with it being private we can do that, I'll have the secret service shut down the restaurant and it'll be just us, or we can do it publicly."
Olivia took a deep breath, "can I think about it? Of course, I'd love to go with you but can I just think about if it should be in private or not?"
"Of course," he said. "I have to take a trip so you'll have a little time."
"Where are you going?" Olivia asked.
"One week tour of Israel, Turkey, Greece then India. Which of course is exactly how I want to spend my new year when we finally get together and I find out I have two amazing daughters."
"Sounds like a lot of fun," she teased.
"It's been on the books for a year but I'm about 75% of a mind to cancel it."
"We'll be here when you get back. Don't cancel it," Olivia said.
They sat in silence for a moment as Fitz watched her. There was something somber about her, Fitz couldn't figure out why she looked so sad. He thought that maybe she had doubts.
"I know we'll find a way to make this work. I love you, I know I haven't always made you feel that way, but I do."
She nodded and smiled."I love you too." Then she leaned in and kissed him softly.
Fitz was ecstatic that she initiated a kiss until he heard a knock on the door.
"Fuck-" he mumbled.
"What?"
"Tom told me he'd come to get me when it was time to go. Air force one is waiting."
Olivia leaned up and stood, "go. We'll see you when I get back."
Fitz stood and wrapped her in his arms then lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. She yelped and laughed as he walked back to his shoes and stepped into them then he walked to the door and opened it then carried her down the hall to the elevator and finally let her down. She was grinning from ear to ear as he leaned in and kissed her. "One week?" Fitz said. "When I get back, I want to talk about putting a detail on you and the girls."
"Okay, I'll see you in one week," Olivia said.
Olivia waited for him to leave and then went back to the apartment.
The next morning Olivia got ready for work full of energy and bouncing on her heels after her talk with Fitz. She was distracted all day trying to decide if she should have dinner with him in private or if they should go in public. She was so used to hiding with him that now it felt daunting to be seen with him, still, things were different and he was no longer married so she knew that eventually, they would have to take their relationship to the next step.
She barely made it through an unusually mundane day at work but she couldn't wait to get out of O.P.A. and go home to the girls. She walked into the apartment to find Bonnie standing by the kitchen island with Luna.
"Evening Bon Bon. I'm on time today."
"Hey Olivia, how was your day at work today?"
"Terrible, how were the girls?"
"Good but I just wanted to show you something. I didn't text you because I didn't want you to get worried.
Olivia walked over quickly to her.
"What's going on?"
"This morning when I was giving Lulu a bath, her skin was clear but about an hour ago, I saw this bruise on her back. She didn't fall or get hurt so I'm not sure how she got it. I've been watching her all day."
Olivia inspected the bruise on Luna's back, it was a dark red patch, close to her spine.
"She got one like this in her hand a few weeks ago but it went away. I'm gonna call her doctor tomorrow and schedule an appointment because this is pretty weird. Lana doesn't get these."
"Yes, I think that's best."
Olivia washed her hands and took Luna. she could hear Lana in the living room cooing loudly.
"Okay, thanks Bonbon, I'll see you tomorrow."
Bonnie headed out shortly after.
"Oh pumpkin, can you tell mommy what's going on with you?" she asked Luna softly as she kissed her forehead. She took her jacket off and walked over to the play area where Lana was playing.
"Hey Lana, mommy's home," she walked over and kissed her on the stomach, which caused her to giggle and kick her feet in the air.
"Okay girls, let's watch some mickey mouse, I know how much you guys love that."
Olivia sat with them for a while as they watched t.v. and played with anything in sight. After an hour she prepared a bath for them. She stripped them down and brought them to the bathroom for bath time. She laid them both in their little tub and lathered them with bubble bath soap.
She washed their hair and sat at the side of the tub as they played.
"Okay sugar plums, it's time to dry off, who's first? Lana, let's take you out first."
She wrapped Lana up and laid her on her lap and then wrapped Luna up and laid her on her lap as well. She brought them to the nursery and laid them on the changing table and grabbed two long-sleeve onesies to dress them. She dressed Lana first and laid her in her crib and then she grabbed the onesie to dress Luna but then she noticed another bruise on her thigh.
"When did this get there? What the hell is going on?"
She inspected the bruise, it was small but very visible.
"I have to take you to the doctor first thing tomorrow."
She finished dressing her and then brought them back to the high chairs to feed them. After she finished feeding them she read them a story and put them to sleep and then went back to the living room to call Abby. She answered on the second ring.
"Hey Abby, What are you doing?"
"Baking, what's going on?"
"Luna keeps getting these weird bruises, she got a small one on her hand a few weeks ago but it went away and then Bonnie showed me one on her back that showed up today, and just now, I gave her a bath and another one popped up."
"That's weird. Just random bruises?"
"They're small but yeah, I'm gonna come in late tomorrow, I have to take her to the doctor first because I have no idea what's going on. I don't think they hurt though, I was inspecting it earlier and when I touched it, it didn't seem to bother her."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
Olivia pondered for a moment.
"Uhm no, Bonnie's coming and honestly, she seems fine apart from the bruising. I mean she has been sleeping a lot but she's growing - that's normal right?"
"I mean yeah, I think so?" Abby said hesitantly
"Well, I'll find out tomorrow. I'm gonna go shower, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Alright, talk to you later Liv."
She hung up and went to shower. After her shower, she grabbed some leftovers from when Abby cooked and went to bed shortly after.
In the middle of the night, she heard crying and coughing on the baby monitor and got up to see what was going on. She walked quickly to the nursery, they were both crying. Luna was coughing and crying so she walked over to her crib first. She froze for about three seconds before she reacted. Luna was bleeding from her nose, but it wasn't a regular nosebleed, it was an excessive amount of blood. She grabbed her up quickly and tapped on her back to help her with her breathing. She ran to her bedroom to get her phone and call 911. They answered immediately.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"My name is Olivia and my 5-month-old baby is having a severe nosebleed. It's a lot of blood and she needs an ambulance right away. My address is 1499 Massachusetts Ave 20005 my apartment is 201."
"Okay Ma'am we are sending someone right away."
She grabbed frozen peas from the freezer and wrapped them in a towel and placed it on her nose. She dressed them as quickly as she could, grabbed her purse and keys, and ran down to the lobby to meet the ambulance.
After waiting for about a couple minutes, when they didn't come she decided to drive to the hospital instead. She strapped them in the car seat and drove as quickly as she could.
"It's okay my girl, I'm gonna get you to the hospital. You're gonna be okay," she said nervously.
She didn't realize she was going over the speed limit until she heard a siren and the cop signaled for her to stop. She pulled over quickly and jumped out of the car.
"Officer, my daughter is really sick and I'm trying to get her to the hospital. The ambulance didn't come."
The officer was a young African American gentleman, in his mid-thirties. He looked into the back of the car and saw the blood all over Luna's coat. Luna was lying limp in her car seat. She stopped crying and was just in a haze.
"Okay, ma'am - let me escort you to the hospital."
He ran to his car and blared the siren as he drove in front of her, clearing the path for her to get there as quickly as possible. When she pulled up in front of the hospital she practically jumped out of the car and unstrapped Luna from her car seat as quickly as possible. She ran around the other side to grab Lana but Officer Alexander stopped her.
"It's okay, I'll get her - just go."
She ran into the emergency room with a limp Luna in her hands and called for help. Immediately the emergency workers came running to her.