Chapter Twenty-Four: Back to Life. Back to Reality

Fitz sat on the edge of the bed, watching Olivia out on the balcony moping with the saddest face ever. They were leaving New Orleans within the hour, to head back to New York. Fitz had convinced Olivia to come back to New York with him for a few more days, instead of her going back home to Sag Harbor. Their time in New Orleans had been one of his favorite vacations he'd ever taken. Besides the Aspen trip. He didn't think they could top that trip. It was just too euphoric in so many ways.

Fitz was on the phone, with the concierge confirming their checkout time and getting someone up to take their bags to the car waiting for them downstairs. They'd come to Nola with five or six bags, but they were leaving with so much more. Olivia didn't like to shop often, but she loved to explore new places. Put her in a new environment with a bunch of new shops to explore and she could shop for hours.

Their plane was set to leave in about an hour, they should have been already on the rode heading to the airport, but thanks to their amazing last night together they didn't get back to the hotel until late, almost early morning. Fitz had taken Olivia on an amazing and completely romantic dinner cruise along the Mississippi River. And although they had danced plenty with the live band on the boat, they spent the rest of the night going to different clubs and bars enjoying the music, vibes, and all the drinks. They had a long night, and as a result they'd overslept and forgot to pack the night before. So they were a little behind schedule this morning. But it wasn't that big of a deal, considering the plane wasn't going to leave without them.

After confirming everything with the concierge, Fitz finished putting on his shoes. They had a quick breakfast of just fruit salad and muffins, shared a shower and got dressed so they could finish packing. Fitz was dressed comfortably in jeans and a loose fitting tee. And Olivia was dressed in a short, black button down skirt, a black and white striped shirt and Chelsea boots and her black boater hat again.

Fitz laced up his other shoe, and joined her out on the balcony. He came up from behind, and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck.

"What's wrong?" He spoke with his lips still against her skin.

Olivia placed her hands on top of his on her waist. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"The look on your face."

Olivia pouted again. "I'm not ready to leave. I don't want to go home yet."

"Well we could always come back."

"Tomorrow?" Olivia smiled and Fitz chuckled, the vibrations running through Olivia.

"I don't know about tomorrow, but I'll definitely bring you back here one day."

Olivia turned around in his arms, draping her arms on his shoulders. Her fingers finding their favorite spot in his hair. "I'm pretty sure I'd like that." Olivia kissed him, before he could offer a response. She didn't know what it was, but lately she couldn't keep her hands off him. She was always touching or kissing on him. Even if it was just a subtle brush of skin, or holding his hand while they watched TV, she had to be near him. Perhaps it was because she'd just really missed him, not being able to touch or even see him for over a year would do that to a person. It was true what they say, absence does make the heart grow fonder, whether you want it to or not.

They broke apart, when they heard someone clearing their throat. They looked back into the suite and saw the butler they'd been using during their stay at the hotel. He along with two other men were carrying their suitcases and bags onto two trolleys to take to their car.

"Your car is ready to take you to the airport Mr. Grant."

Fitz left Olivia on the balcony, to thank the bellhop and tip him and the other two men. Olivia took the time to gather the rest of the things she was carrying onto the lane with her, into her backpack. She couldn't wait to look through all the pictures she'd taken on this trip. Alex had told her to take plenty of pictures, and Olivia didn't disappoint. Although not all of the picture were PG, so she had to pick and choose which pictures Alex would see and wish she wouldn't.

"You ready Livvie."

She rolled her eyes. "I guess so."

Fitz chuckled again at Olivia's childlike behavior, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked out the room. They stayed that way, all the way out the hotel until they got to the car. The bags were already in the trunk, and Louis was already in the driver's seat.

"I trust you two had a great vacation." Louis said, as he pulled away from the hotel.

"We did." Olivia answered. "And thank you for your services this weekend."

"Just doing my job ma'am, and I had a joy driving you two. Maybe I'll see you again one day."

"Oh I've made Fitz promise to bring me back here one day, so I will be seeing you again." Olivia sat back I her seat, only to find Fitz on his phone. "Really Fitz? Can we at least leave the State of Louisiana before you're on that thing again?"

"I'm sorry. Just checking a few things."

"You know, when you said you were delegating responsibilities to other employees, I thought that would mean you'd be working less. But you somehow seem busier than before." Fitz was still looking at his phone. "What is so important anyway?"

"It's just Colleen updating me on a few things."

"Who's this Colleen?" Olivia asked before she could stop herself.

"My new business advisor."

"How new?"

"Almost a year now."

"And what does she advise you about?"

"Everything. She keeps tabs on everything I won and all that I'm connected to, and gives me updates when necessary."

"Oh." Olivia pulled out her camera, and started going through the pictures on the roll.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Olivia responded unconvincingly.

"You're a terrible liar Olivia."

"Nothing's wrong Fitz, I promise." She kissed him for good measure, but she could tell that his still didn't completely believe her. She didn't want to be jealous, especially of a woman she didn't even know, but she couldn't help it. Fitz said it was all work related, but Olivia couldn't stand that another woman was always holding his attention. And don't think she didn't notice that 'Colleen' was sending messages to Fitz's personal phone and not his work phone. Olivia tried not to think about it, but it was hard trying. When she made the decision to forgive Fitz, she also had to make the hard decision to trust him again as well. And right now that was really being tested.

Olivia went back to scrolling through her camera, while he went back to his phone. After a while, he put it away just as they got to the airport. Louis opened the door for them and went to get the bags. Olivia and Fitz headed on the plane, and while Fitz went to have a quick chat with the pilot, she got comfy in one of the seats. She took a bottle of grapefruit juice chilling in a bowl of ice.

Fitz came back out shortly after. "We'll be taking off soon." He sat next to her, taking her bottle for a sip of his own. When the pilot announced that they would be taking off shortly, and turned on the fasten seatbelt sign, Fitz reached over and clicked Olivia's seatbelt around her waist, before she could do it herself. If it had been any other man besides Fitz, who spoiled and coddled her at times, Olivia would probably have a problem with it or at least found it annoying. But because it was Fitz, she surprisingly didn't mind it.

A short while later, when the seatbelt sign was turned off, Fitz once again reached over, this time to unfasten her seatbelt. He took Olivia by the hand and pulled her up out of her seat.

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked more of a rhetorical question. She knew exactly where they were going. There was only one place to go in the direction they were headed.

Fitz opened the once closed door, revealing the small bedroom at the end of the plane. He pulled her through before him, shutting the door after he'd entered. He didn't feel the need to lock it. He knew the flight attendant would never come in there while the door was shit and they weren't in their seats.

"Is there any particular reason we're in here?" Olivia asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Actually there is." Fitz hovered over her, before pushing her gently on her back and covering her body with his.

"And what reason would that be?"

"You joining the mile high club with me." Before she could respond, Fitz was kissing her, effectively silencing her. He'd wanted her ever since he saw her that morning in her short skirt, but he knew they didn't have time, so he had to calm his libido. But now, he couldn't wait any longer. Fitz didn't know what it was, but for whatever reason, his desire for Olivia had seem to triple at some point. He'd always wanted and desired her, but now it seemed as if he never could get enough.

Pulling away from their kiss, Fitz pulled off Olivia shoes. She pulled off her shirt, and went to unbutton her skirt, but Fitz smacked her hands away. He wanted to do that. He been thinking about yanking those buttons off all morning. After he'd gotten her skirt off, he unexpectedly flipped her over onto her stomach. Olivia wasn't wearing some fancy, lace underwear. Just a pair of cotton cheeky panties, that didn't cover her behind completely. That made Fitz's mouth water as he smacked her ass making her yell out. He'd recently discovered that was his new favorite thing, and Olivia didn't mind it that much either.

With Olivia still on her stomach, Fitz kissed his way down her spine making her squirm at the soft touch. He pulled her underwear down her legs as he went, leaving her only in her bra. He licked his lips at the sight, pulling his shirt over his head and ridding himself of his jeans and boxers. When he stood behind her completely naked, he grabbed her by her hips, and propped her up on her knees. He slid the tip of his penis along her wet slit, loving the moans and the way she kept thrusting back into him. Impatiently waiting for him to finally enter her.

Before she got too impatient, Fitz entered her with one quick motion, folding his body on top of hers as he did so. He didn't give her time to adjust, as he pulled out and slammed right back into her. He repeated himself, holding on tight to her hips. The only sounds in the room were Fitz's grunts, Olivia's moans and the sound of their skin slapping together.

There wasn't a headboard for Olivia to hold onto, so she was left to grip and pull at the white sheets beneath her as Fitz skillfully brought them both to an orgasm. She arched her back to allow Fitz even deeper within her walls. Fitz spanked her ass once again, then reached around her waist to press down hard on clit. That, plus their new deeper connection as Olivia's undoing. She came hard and quite unexpectedly collapsing onto the bed, not being able to hold herself up any longer. A few moments later, Fitz's grips got tighter on her hips followed by her name escaping his lips.

"Fitz baby you're crushing me." Olivia giggled. Fitz rolled off of her and onto the bed beside her. He laid on his back with one arm above his head. Olivia scooted closer to him, resting her chin on top of his chest. "Is there some kind of club membership card I get?" Olivia joked.

Fitz didn't answer her. He moved her hair out her face with an easy smile on his face.

"What?" She asked.

"I love you." That made her smile.

"I love you too."

X

When Olivia and Fitz got back to New York, it was late afternoon. Tom was already at the airport, waiting for them with the car. Olivia wasn't nearly this exhausted, as when they arrived in New Orleans after their flight. But now, she was bone tired. She nearly bit Fitz's head off, when he woke her to get dressed before the plane landed. She been in such a grumpy mood, especially since it was Fitz's fault she was so tired in the first place. How could one man be so insatiable?

The entire car ride back to Fitz's apartment was silent. Fitz was on his phone, and Olivia was leaning against him, her head on his chest. She'd catch herself closing her eyes, but then reopen them to stare out the window. She was both happy and displeased to be back in New York. She'd get see Alex and tell her all about their trip and soon she'd go home and see her fur babies. But she was also displeased she had to leave New Orleans.

When they got to the apartment, Fitz got out first, holding his hand back for Olivia to grab.

"What's the matter?" Fitz asked, once they were in the elevator that lead straight to Fitz's penthouse. "You've been quiet since we got off the plane."

"I'm just tired. I don't think my catnap on the plane did me any good."

Fitz put his arm around her shoulder. "Well when we get to the apartment, you can take a nap then."

"You sure about that? Because just a couple hours ago, you were adamant about not letting me go to sleep." Olivia smirked up at him when he chuckled. He was just about to respond, when the elevator doors opened, and Olivia was bombarded with two big Dalmatian dogs.

"Pongo! What are you doing here?" Olivia was kneeling down on the elevator trying to pet both of her dogs at the same time as they excitedly jumped over her licking her face with their tails wagging rapidly. They'd already knocked her hat off her head, now they were about to have her on the floor.

"I asked Tom to drive up to Sag and bring them back for you." Fitz explained, as they moved the little love fest out of the elevator and into the apartment. "I asked Janet to keep an eye on them until we got back."

"Thank you Janet." Olivia thanked the woman standing with a smile on her face.

"Mr. Grant there's a call in your office." Janet announced.

"I'll be right back Liv."

"Thank you again Janet." Olivia spoke. "I know that isn't really in your job description and I know how rowdy they can get."

"It wasn't a problem really. They remind me of the dog I had when I was a young girl."

"Yeah, what kind?"

"A big great Dane. My father adopted it the day after I was born, still a puppy. He said since I was the baby of the family, and my parents had no intentions of having another kid, I needed someone else to grow up with."

"That's sweet."

"Can I get you anything ma'am? Are you hungry?"

"Uh no, thanks I'm good. And Janet?"

"Ma'am."

"Could you stop calling me ma'am? It feels real weird. I'm Liv or Olivia."

"Of course Ms. Pope." Olivia sighed. She guessed Ms. Pope was better than ma'am. It felt weird having a woman almost twice her age calling her ma'am. Janet walked away back to wherever she came from. Olivia noticed that all of Fitz's employees had a knack for disappearing around the apartment only to show up unexpectedly out of nowhere.

After about thirty minutes had passed, Olivia realized Fitz hadn't come out of his office. The dogs had since forgotten about her, and were somewhere in the apartment. She wanted to call and talk to Alex, but she knew she was still in class, and didn't want to disturb her. She did, though, send a quick text that she was home. She sent her mother a similar text.

After a while, Olivia got up and went searching for Fitz. He was still in his office, when Olivia opened the door. She hadn't noticed the dogs were following her, until they walked passed her feet into the room. Fitz didn't seem to mind though, he stayed on the phone talking to whoever.

Olivia walked to his desk, and sat sideways in his lap. If Fitz was ever annoyed with how clingy she could be at times, he never let it show. Olivia could tell he was on a business call, so she didn't mess with him like she normally would. An ink pen in the ear, was normally the go to.

When he was off the phone, Olivia took it from him and hung it up for him.

"Hi." He smiled.

"Hi." Olivia replied, with a smile of her own. "What made you bring my dogs here? I thought you didn't like them."

"Well I don't like that one. Mainly because he doesn't like me." Fitz was speaking of Dipstick. And he wasn't wrong, for whatever reason, Dipstick had a hot and cold relationship with Fitz. One minute he was a cuddly bear and the next he was a grouch. He even tried to bite Fitz once. But if anyone had food or treats, Dipstick was always our best friend.

"He just hasn't warmed up to you yet."

"Well exactly how much time does he need? If he pisses in another one of my shoes, I'm sending his spotted ass to Cruella de Vil."

"Hey!" Olivia laughed, smacking his shoulder. "That is not funny."

"Honestly, I knew you were missing them. And since you're back down here now-"

"Oh no, no, no mister." Olivia cut him off. "I'm not back. I'm here, but only for a few days, I told you that. I have to go back to work eventually. I can't stay here forever."

"You could."

"No, I can't. I have a job Fitz. A business to run just like you. And my business isn't here in New York."

"How long are you going to keep this up?" Fitz asked, with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Keep what up?"

"This whole Sag Harbor thing. Being two hours away."

"Fitz that's my home now. I have a life there."

"Your life is here."

"No it isn't." Olivia corrected him. "Not anymore." Olivia knew Fitz had problems with her living two hours away from him, but he'd never seriously expressed his feeling about it before now.

"Olivia we're basically in a long distance relationship right now."

"Fitz it's only two hours away."

"That long enough Olivia!" Fitz hadn't exactly yelled at her, but it was enough for Olivia to flinch and get up from his lap. "I didn't mean to raise my voice."

"I don't know what you want me to say Fitz. Sag Harbor is where I chose to settle down at. I could've gone a lot further, but I decided I didn't want to be too far away from my family. But at the time, I didn't want to be in New York City either. I couldn't be that close to you, when I was still trying to hate you."

"Well you know what, we're back together now. You're not trying to hate me anymore or stay away from me, so when are you moving back home?" Fitz was staring intently at Olivia, not once breaking eye contact with her.

"Fitz I have a home. And I'm sorry, but it's not here. Not anymore. I live in Sag Harbor now. That's where my house is, my business, my friends, my-"

"Your family is here." Fitz was including himself in that 'family' and Olivia knew it. She didn't have anything to say, she already felt like she was repeating herself only for it to fall on deaf ears. She was bailed out of having to respond to him, when the doorbell rang. She knew one of the maids would answer the door, but Fitz would eventually have to go see who it was. She was beginning to falter under Fitz's powerful gaze. She was use to this particular glare, but it wasn't normally directed towards her. He reserved this look for incompetent employees or strangers who were beginning to anger him.

Fitz knew who was at his door, and he knew this particular person would wait until he came out. So he wasn't in any hurry to leave the room. He wanted to hear what Olivia was going to say next. This want the first time he'd discuss his displeasure to Olivia about her living two hours away from him, but he'd never discussed it in such a serious manner as this.

When he realized that she either had nothing to say, or just wasn't going to speak anymore, he got up and walked out his office, leaving her there.

Olivia had no intentions of going out there. She was going to go up to Fitz's room and take a nap. She didn't want to be around Fitz right now. But when she walked out the door and down the hall, she heard Fitz greet his guest and a female voice speak back and that instantly made her change directions. She followed the voices to the living room, where she found Fitz and an attractive blonde sitting on the couch talking.

Neither of them had noticed Olivia yet, so she had an opportunity to study the woman. She wasn't going to deny the woman was beautiful. She was stunning. Tall, much taller than Olivia, slender frame, and blemish free skin. She was dresses impeccably in a well-tailored pants suit that looked as if it was custom made for her.

Olivia was still staring at them, when the woman laughed and it hit Olivia like a smack in the face. This was the same woman from that night in the bakery. This was the woman she'd seen Fitz with sharing a table and laughs at 'their' restaurant. Olivia was furious. How could he bring one of his sluts back here? Oliva didn't know what she wanted to do. She didn't want to make a scene and embarrass herself or burst into tears from the hurt, but she also didn't just want to go back to Fitz's room like he wasn't just blatantly disrespecting her right now.

In the end, the decision was made for her when Pongo rushed passed her and over to Fitz. This made him look up and finally notice Olivia was watching them.

"Olivia come say hello." Fitz spoke, rising from his seat.

Was he serious? Olivia thought, but she uncontrollably felt her legs began to walk in his direction. The entire time she was thinking about tossing one of his many sculptures at his head. They were only arm's length away. When Fitz stood, so did the woman and she turned in Olivia's direction, giving Liv a better look at her. She looked even better from the front. Her tailored trousers made her legs look even longer when she stood. And now her bright blue eyes were glowing right at her.

"Hi. I'm Fitz's business advisor." The woman held her hand out for Olivia to shake. "Colleen Withers."

X

The next morning, Olivia woke up to dog breath. She cracked her right eye open, and saw Dipstick right in her face on the side of the bed. She could tell them apart by face, because Dipstick had one black spot around his left eye, Pongo didn't. Olivia reached out and gave Dipstick a few pats, before turning over to get away from his breath. When she turned over, she realized she was in bed alone, except for Pongo who was laying peacefully beside her. But Fitz was nowhere in sight.

Olivia had gone to bed angry last night. Fitz had basically ignored her the rest of the afternoon while Colleen was still there and after. He was still upset about their mini argument about Olivia living arrangements. And Olivia was upset, because she was convinced that Fitz and Colleen had had something going on before, something beyond the business sense.

Olivia hadn't brought up the fact that she'd seen the two of them at the bakery that night, but she wanted to. Especially after watching how Colleen interacted with Fitz last night. She was flirting with him, plain and simple and had no care in the world that his girlfriend was sitting right next to him. Olivia had glared daggers at her the entire time she was in the apartment. And what made it worse was that Olivia knew Fitz's type and Ms. Colleen Withers fit the description to a T. All of Fitz's past 'girlfriends' before Olivia were tall, slender, blonde and beautiful. The only difference between them and Colleen, was that she wasn't a complete ditz.

After Olivia had ate dinner alone because Fitz was in his office 'working' as he called it, But Olivia knew he was just avoiding her, she'd gone to bed relatively early. She felt Fitz climb in bed around ten, but she didn't speak or even acknowledge him, she just closed her eyes back and slept. She hadn't felt or heard him leave that morning, but apparently he had.

After she had fully awaken, she went into the bathroom to relieve her bladder and get dressed to take the dogs for their morning walk. If she had been back in her home, she would've just opened the back door and let them roam free in lush green yarn. But now that she was back in the concrete jungle, she had to take them out herself. As Olivia walked to the bathroom semi-nude, she was glad not to have a surprise visit from Janet this morning trying to clean the room. But after the first incident, Janet had changed her morning schedule to fit Olivia's morning routine as well.

After she'd changed into a pair of running leggings and a tank top, she headed to the kitchen for a bottled water, before taking the dogs for a run.

She ran into Janet in the kitchen. "Good morning Janet."

"Morning Ms. Pope."

"Are you really not going to call me Olivia?"

Janet smiled. "Mr. Grant prefers if-"

"Well I'm not Mr. Grant, and he's also not here. So I'm Olivia."

"Yes ma- Olivia." Janet pulled a little piece of paper out from her pocket. "Mr. Grant asked me to give this to you this morning."

"Thank you." Olivia took the paper, and unfolded it. Inside was Fitz's left handed, crooked handwriting. Working, be back later. Well that was personal. "Love you too sweetheart." Olivia mumbled to herself as she crumbled the note up and tosses it in the trash.

"Can I make you something this morning?"

"Uh no, I'm fine. I'm actually about to head out." Olivia hooked the harnesses on the dogs and headed out for a run to help clear her mind.

She hated that things between her and Fitz were tense right now, especially so soon after returning home from an amazing vacation. Olivia knew her main problem was her new-found jealousy and the fact that she couldn't honestly say she trusted Fitz one hundred percent again. Olivia had been cheated on before, and it left her devastated. And although Fitz hadn't technically been cheating on her, she still felt the same devastation. She didn't want to be jealous of every woman that Fitz encountered, but she couldn't help it. She also didn't want to feel so insecure around them either, but she couldn't control that either.

And what made matters worse was the fact that Fitz never called Colleen out on her flirting. She'll admit that he didn't flirt back, but he still allowed Colleen's behavior to continue instead of putting an end to it. Olivia figured he was punishing her for not agreeing to move back home, but his behavior just further cemented her thought that Fitz and colleen were more than business associates. The thought alone, just made Olivia sick.

After Pongo and Dipstick had finished their business, Olivia began her walk back to the penthouse. She was still caught up in her thoughts, and her music wasn't helping to get rid of them.

She finally made it back to Fitz's high-rise building. The nice older doorman, who always seemed to have a smile on his face, opened the door for her when she walked by. She headed straight for the elevators, feeling out of place in her workout clothes and everyone else in their best garments.

When she finally made it to the penthouse, she still had her headphones in her ear, so she didn't hear the company that had stopped by. But she certainly saw Fitz's sister and Theo playing on the floor in the living room.

"Tabitha." Olivia announced her presence.

Tabitha looked up from her seat on the floor, ticking a teddy bear Theo's face. "Finally you're back." Tabi got up from the floor to give Olivia a hug. She'd come by to see her brother, but discovered he was working. Then Janet let her know that Olivia was out for a run, but should return shortly. Tabitha hadn't known Olivia was still in the city, she figured she was back in Sag Harbor, so she decided to stick around and saw hello before she left.

Olivia held her hands out. "Careful, I just came back from a run and I'm sweaty."

Tabitha second guessed her hug. "Well hello's work as well."

Olivia laughed. "What are you doing here?" Olivia unharnessed the dogs and made her way over to Theo. She was happy to see Tabitha sure, but Theo always stole the light.

"Well I was coming to see my brother, but I didn't know he was working this morning." Tabitha took a seat on the couch, while Olivia sat in the floor with the baby.

"Yeah." Olivia said disinterestedly and Tabi noticed her change in mood

"But I thought I'd stick around and say hello to you before I left back out."

"It's still kind of early to be out."

Tabi waved her hand. "Oh please, we've been up for hours. Haven't we buddy. He in no way sleeps through the night anymore. That's why I try to keep him busy during the day and tire him out so he can sleep like a rock at night."

"Yeah and how's that going?" Olivia chuckled again.

"Well last night he slept pretty long for him, and he woke up at four this morning."

"Ooh."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"I haven't gotten a good night's rest since he was born."

"Well that's motherhood for you." Olivia spoke, bouncing Theo on her thighs. He was giggling, bending his little chubby legs. He as so cute, that Olivia didn't mind the constant drool spilling from his mouth in between laughs.

"Yeah." Tabitha smiled down at Olivia, she watched how Olivia interacted with Theo. How she was so naturally drawn to children, how comfortable she was with them and how babies were so comfortable with Olivia. The two of them were in their own little world on the floor. Olivia was making faces at Theo, tickling the rolls on his legs and playing his absolute favorite game, peek-a-boo. Theo just got so tickled, every time Olivia took her hands away to reveal her face. Tabitha could listen to her baby's hearty chuckle all day long. "You're so good with him." She commented.

Olivia smiled. "He's a good baby."

"It's not just him Theo Liv. You play with random babies in restaurants."

"I know, I really need to stop doing that though. Someone's gonna mistake me for a kidnapper and slap me to kingdom come."

"You've got baby fever Liv."

"What?" Olivia looked astonished at Tabitha." Why would you say that?"

"Because you do. You should just go ahead a have a baby Liv."

Olivia shook her head. "Tabitha it's not that simple. Besides, who said I wanted a baby."

"Oh you want one, or you would've lead with that. And I know it's not so simple, but all you have to do is start riding-"

"Tabitha please don't finish that sentence." Olivia pleaded, and Tabitha laughed at the half frightened half grossed out look on Olivia's face.

"Sorry. But seriously, you can't say that you've never thought about having a baby with Fitz. I know you have."

"Of course I have." Olivia admitted. But she'd never admit just how many times she's envisioned herself pregnant with Fitz's baby. Envisioned him rubbing cocoa butter on her belly at night, whispering goodnights to her swollen belly. Having little private conversations with that she wasn't privy to, although it was her belly. Just thinking about it now made Olivia smile, but she quickly recovered. "But I don't think Fitz is the kid type. I don't think he even wants kids."

"Well have you asked him?"

"Of course not. But I know your brother. Trust me, he doesn't want a kid. The only baby he actually tolerates is Theo, and that's because he's his nephew."

"I think you should just talk to him about it."

"For what Tabitha? I'm not planning on getting pregnant anytime soon."

"Well neither did I, but here I am with a one year old son. These things can be unexpectedly Liv. You never know."

"Are you some kind of mind reader? Can you see into the future or something? Because that would be the only explanation I would accept for this conversation." Olivia laughed, but it was an awkward nervous laugh.

"I'm just saying. It's obvious you want a kid one day-"

"Yes."

"Okay so what are you going to do if Fitz doesn't?" Tabitha was asking some serious and valid questions. Questions that Olivia needed to be asking herself, that she never even thought of.

What if down the road, she was ready for a baby but Fitz wasn't. Olivia knew for sure that someday she wanted to be a mother. She wasn't saying that day was now or even close, but one day. But how would she handle it if Fitz didn't feel the same? Would that be a deal breaker between the two of them?

"Well I don't have to think about that right now, because I'm not getting pregnant anytime soon."

"That's what they all say. And with the way you two go at it, I wouldn't be surprised if you called me in a week to tell me you were pregnant."

Olivia snorted and rolled her eyes. "Well that's not going to happen." Tabitha picked up on a little bit of irritation in Olivia's tone.

"Uh oh, do I detect a trace of trouble in paradise?"

"No." Olivia answered.

"Liv." Tabitha probed.

"We kind of had a fight last night."

"Really?" Tabitha's eyebrows rose.

"It was nothing honestly. It was barely even a fight, more like a disagreement."

"Well what did you disagree about?"

"He's upset that I'm still living in Sag harbor. He wants me to move back to the city, but I'm not ready to. I'm not even completely sure I want to."

"My brother can be a bit stubborn at times. And downright annoying when things don't go his way, which is hardly ever."

"Oh he's stubborn alright. He didn't speak to me the rest of the night. He stayed in his office while I ate dinner and then came to bed late and left early this morning with a four-word note." Olivia rolled her eyes. "But it wasn't all on him though, I was kind of in a funky mood last night too."

"About?" Damn she was nosy.

"Do you know Fitz's knew advisor Colleen Withers?"

Tabitha thought for a moment. "Uh I think so. I met her once at Fitz's office. It was only in passing though. Why?"

"I met her yesterday. She came by to talk to Fitz about something. I don't know what about, I wasn't really paying attention. But she seemed…"

"Seemed what?"

"She was flirty with him. Blatant flirting too, and I was right there and she didn't care."

"Olivia I 'm sure you probably just misread something-"

"No, I may not be an expert at flirting myself, but I know it when I see it."

"Well what did Fitz say?"

"Either he didn't notice or didn't care to stop he Either way, it upset me."

"Olivia I'm sure it was nothing. Liv you can't be jealous or suspicious of every woman Fitz talks to."

"Oh I can, but I don't want to, I can't help it. And I probably wouldn't be this upset if I hadn't seen them a month ago at this bakery Fitz use to take me too. She was laughing at whatever he was saying, putting her hand on his arm while she talked. And he didn't seem to mind. I thought they were on a date, and it wouldn't be so far-fetched considering he's exactly her type."

"I'm not so sure about that. That may have been Fitz's type in the past, but it's not anymore. Trust me Liv, they're just business associates."

Olivia was still playing with Theo as she spoke to Tabitha, she gave him a little Tonka truck and pushed the button on top to make the siren go. "And the entire time we were in New Orleans he was on his phone. She kept sending him emails-"

"Work emails Liv."

"Well I don't know that."

"Yes you do Liv, you just don't want to. Look I know you two are just getting back together after what happen, and I know those wounds probably haven't healed completely, but you can't do this. You can't just jump to conclusions and making up things in your head that aren't true. Trust, I did it before and it was not fun."

"Well it's not like I'm doing it on purpose."

"I know that. I think you just need to talk to Fitz."

"Talk to me about what?"

Both Olivia and Tabitha looked up toward the foyer entrance and spotted Fitz removing his suit jacket. Janet once again came out of nowhere, taking his briefcase and jacket before disappearing again.

Tabitha was the first one to respond. "About the décor in this room Fitz. It's too much marble." Tabitha got up to greet her big brother. "Honestly, what is this a bachelor pad? Olivia you should really put your woman's touch to this place while you're here."

"Olivia lives in Sag Harbor." Fitz smartly replied, before Olivia could even open her mouth to reply to Tabitha. "Isn't that right Olivia." Fitz looked down at Olivia as she looked up at him from the floor. They held each other's gazes for what felt like minutes, until Olivia finally looked away from his glare. "What brings you by Tabitha?" Fitz asked, going over to the tumbler collection on a small table by the wall. He poured himself a glass of the expensive scotch he kept there.

"Oh I was just coming by to say hello. I didn't know you had already left for work. Then Liv and I just started talking about stuff." Tabitha could feel the tension in the room. She wasn't use to this type of energy when she was around Fitz and Olivia. Figuring Olivia could use a little break, she came up with an idea. "Hey Liv, you want to go get something to eat? We could have a little late breakfast at this amazing place I found."

Olivia looked over to Fitz to get his reaction. She wanted to talk to Fitz, so they could work out whatever little quarrel they were having, but he was actively ignoring her gaze. Getting annoyed, Olivia answered back. "Sure, I'd love too. Fitz can watch Teddy." Olivia added the last past as an afterthought.

"Oh that would be great! That way we could do a little shopping too."

"Olivia." Fitz was about to protest the whole babysitting thing, but Olivia cut him off.

"Great. Just give me a quick minute to shower and change my clothes." Olivia hoped up fast from the floor and headed upstairs to get ready. She took a quick shower, and was putting on her clothes when Fitz walked in the bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, pulling her jeans up passed her hips.

"You really think now is the best time to go on a shopping spree?"

"Well I wanted to stay here with you so we could talk, but you were being an immature child."

"Immature?"

"Yes Immature. Olivia lives in Sag Harbor. Isn't that right Olivia." Olivia mimicked Fitz's words from earlier.

"Well that is where you live isn't it."

"Fitz stop okay. I don't want to have a repeat of last night's argument."

"I don't either."

Olivia was lacing up her shoes, not paying him that much attention. When she finished, she walked around the room, getting everything she needed, mainly her purse and cell phone. Fitz was watching her every move. When she finally finished gathering all her things, she went to walk out the room. But as she tried to pass Fitz, he put his arm out, blocking her way.

"Fitz, your sister is waiting."

Fitz didn't speak, but he pulled her chin up with his finger. Olivia looked up at him with her big brown eyes, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't. He just leaned down and kissed her lips ever so softly.

"Don't be gone long." Fitz moved his arm and let Olivia pass.

X

A few hours later, Olivia and Tabitha were still on their impromptu girls' day out. They had stopped for brunch a place Tabitha recommended. Olivia hadn't been all that hungry, but when she sat down at the table and smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen, she developed a quick appetite.

After a while, they'd caught a cab to fifth avenue where they have been for a few hours now. Tabitha had bought plenty for herself, Olivia had also bought somethings for herself, and a few for Fitz. She may have been upset with him right now, but that didn't stop her from buying him a few shirts she thought he'd look good in and a few more ties.

Now, they were in a baby boutique looking through racks of clothes for Teddy. And Olivia was also shopping for her baby cousin Ariel. Even though Olivia didn't get to see her that often nowadays, she still sent things by mail. Olivia was looking at a pair of flats for Ariel. They were cute, black flats with kitten eyes, and ears on the top. Michelle had mentioned that Ariel was beginning to walk, so Olivia thought this would be a good gift. She was looking for the right size, when Tabitha came up to her.

"Oh those are cute. But I don't think those are Theo's style."

Olivia smiled. "They're for my cousin's daughter."

Tabitha took them from Olivia. "Huh."

"What?"

Tabi turned the label towards Olivia, and pointed to the cute little baby on the label. She was a chocolate little baby with fat cheeks, burly hair and hazel eyes. "This could be your baby." Tabi smiled. "Well you and Fitz."

Olivia rolled her eyes, before taking the shoes back and making her way to the register. It was time to go. This wasn't the first-time Tabitha had brought up the idea of Olivia and Fitz having a baby. "What is with you today? What's with all the baby talk?"

"I don't know. I've just always wanted one of my brothers to make me auntie. At first, I thought it would be Patrick who got a girl pregnant before Fitz did. With all the women Patrick sleeps with, I'm surprised he isn't a father of five right now buy at least three different women. But now, I thin Fitz is going to beat him to the punch."

Olivia scoffed. "And what makes you say that?"

"Well he's in a stable relationship now. It's obvious he loves you, it's nothing like the women he use to 'date'. And by the looks of it, you two have a pretty active sex life." Olivia looked at her with a look of embarrassment and question. How could she possibly know that? "Oh don't think I didn't notice that sexy little teddy you bought at La Perla." Tabitha winked, and Olivia blushed. She had hoped that Tabitha didn't notice her checking out the teddies at La Perla, while Tabi shopped for a few new bras. She'd found a black sheer teddy that was beyond scandalous and nothing like she'd ever worn before, and all she could think about was the look on Fitz's face when he saw her in it. She'd only bout the one item though, La Perla was in no way a cheap boutique.

"Tabi, clearly you're going through some type of baby fever right now. So I think we should get out this store before you go crazy."

Tabitha laughed, but agreed that they should get going. As much as she loved having a little time off with one of her friends, she was sort of missing her baby boy. "Fine. But you laugh now, I'm telling you, one of these days, you're going to show up pregnant with my little niece or nephew."

X

So nothing too exciting in this chapter, unless you read between the lines...

Catch You Later...