This story is inspired by Season 1 Scandal, Vermont and the Olitz actors – Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn
NO-Mellie and NO-Joke: Public Service Announcement for any accidental non-Olitz readers
Morning Weather Report
"We're expecting another mild day on the Eastern seaboard, thanks to the El Nino effect. It may get hotter for the folks in our Nation's capital. The Church of LoveThyBrother is predicting hellfire rain and lightning strikes for the DC area. The warning was sent via email from the Church headquarters in Maine, asking people to stay away from Pennsylvania Avenue if they want to avoid becoming collateral damage to God's Wrath. That's the news and weather today - Day One, post-Armageddon. The world was expected to end yesterday, when the Super Blood Moon finished, instead a baby girl was born. So on behalf of this network, I'd like to congratulate our former President and First Lady on the birth of their beautiful baby daughter – good luck and God Bless…"
Waking from a deep sleep to a baby's cry, Olivia looked towards the crib by her bed, just in time to see Fitz pick up the little bundle.
"Both of you managed a couple of hours' sleep." Fitz placed Baby G in Olivia's arms and took a seat on the bed beside her. "I think we're finally on a synchronised schedule."
"This kid has got us all dancing to her tune," Olivia tickled the baby's cheek as she guiding her towards her breast. "And she's barely two days old." She glanced up at Fitz's whiskery jaw and the tired lines around his eyes. "You need to get some sleep before you collapse."
"I'm okay," He kissed her cheek. "Zeke will be here this morning to take us home."
"Home." Olivia smiled, leaning into him. "That sounds nice."
He angled a look at her. "You've been really, I mean really, nice to me since little Miss Trouble appeared at an altitude of 5000 feet yesterday."
Olivia began to look shady, avoiding his gaze.
"Livvie?"
"What?"
"Olivia."
"I was in a lot of pain that's all." She wrinkled her nose at him.
"And…?"
"And…I may have had some… bad thoughts… about you at the time."
"How bad?"
"I can't say."
"Grievous-bodily-harm 'bad'?"
She avoided his gaze again as she stroked her fingers over the fuzz on bub's head. "I feel really bad about it."
"You should."
She shot him a glance, frowning at the laughter creasing his eyes. "I was going to say I felt bad because you've been great through all this, but now I'm not going to."
"I'll take it as said."
"I'm taking it back."
"You can't."
"I can."
"You've distracted munchkin."
Olivia looked down at the baby, who'd stopped feeding to stare at her thoughtfully. "Wow, this expression looks just like Dad's." Olivia guided the baby back to her breast. "How soon can we start hypnosis on her so she doesn't turn out like him?"
Smiling, Fitz brushed a kiss on Olivia's temple, before resting his cheek against her hair. "I dunno, to me she looks just like you."
"Awww… " Olivia turned to kiss him, then paused. "Did you just imply that I look like my Dad?"
What's Up at the White House…
"…In only his second day in office, President Lucas Zeke's schedule seems fully booked by the former First Family. Sources say the President will personally escort new mother Olivia Pope Grant, ex-President Fitzgerald Grant, and their newborn to Vermont…
"…The high-profile former First Couple has yet to announce their plans as private citizens, but it looks like the new President will feature heavily in the picture. Early today, the rest of the family were flown on Marine Two at tax-payers expense to their new home...
"…With only a few weeks left until the next Presidential election, it seems President Zeke plans to do little more than be a Presidential Escort for his predecessor and a VIP Seat-Warmer for his successor…"
"The media are being really hard on Zekes." Fitz observed, in the middle of an emergency nappy change.
"What did you think would happen when you made him President?" Olivia murmured, examining a little knitted cap that had been a part of a huge care package sent over by White House staff.
"Trying to make me feel bad?" Fitz glanced over his shoulder.
"Is it working?"
"Livvie, are you saying that you still want me to be President, because you know if I was still President, right now I'd be having lunch with Wall Street CEOs instead of doing diaper duty. Are you sure you'd prefer me with the bankers, instead of Baby G."
"Nope, that's not what I'm saying." Olivia came over to put an arm around his waist, leaning against his side. "But I'm still recovering from the trauma of your resignation."
"In time, the memories will fade, like the trauma of childbirth."
Olivia smacked his butt. "Cheeky."
Stars and Stripes Net Show…
"America, it looks like we finally have open government – with our first openly Gay President proudly taking the Oath of Office with his mister, instead of the traditional missus, by his side. This is a monumental day for a country that only got rid of its Sodomy Laws in 2003 and folks are still unhappy about that as evidenced by the continual repeals and appeals. On top of that, we've got our anti-Gay evangelicals exporting their LGBT hate to Africa in the name of our Lord and Saviour. So is it me, or does it strike y'all as a bit strange that the folks in this intolerant nation of ours have been pretty chilled about our first gay President?"
"As mentioned, Lucas Zeke is our first 'openly' gay-President. James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, is rumoured to be our first Gay President and people back then appeared pretty chilled, as you say, about his relationship with William Rufus King. I mean the lynch mobs weren't out for those two as they probably would be today."
"No, because the lynch mobs were, and are, out for black folks, then and now. Personally, I don't think it's a case of chill, per se, but confusion: America's fine, upstanding citizens can't decide if it's more offensive that our President is black or that he's gay. Their brains circuits have probably shorted at the fact that he's black AND gay."
"But he is our first visibly black and openly gay President. That's ground-breaking – I feel like we'll finally see the un-redacted torture report from Guantanamo Bay. It's a dawning of a new era. The kind we've never had before."
"The guy has only been President for a matter of hours, and in a few weeks, we will have a white straight man from an established party taking the Oath of Office. What we have now is an aberration, more like a commercial break, before the reality of American life returns to script, with its usual lack of diversity, that we're so familiar with…"
"I've got a list of my potential candidates for Veep," Zeke said, taking out a sheet of paper from his leather folio case. "Here, I'll give you this, and I'll take the little Princess." Zeke made the tricky exchange and smiled down at the baby in his arms. "You're such a little cutie, aren't you, precious?"
Fitz and Olivia exchanged a glance.
"That was so smooth, it's like he really wanted us to see his list of Vice Presidential candidates," Fitz chuckled.
"When all he wanted was our daughter." Olivia shook her head.
"Hey, I have a stake in this kid, she's my god-daughter. So have we got a name yet?"
"Jerry had some suggestions." Olivia smiled.
"Yeah, I heard. I'm partial to Lucasette myself."
"Fuck off," Fitz snorted.
"Hey!" Olivia objected, as a grinning Zeke belatedly covered the baby's ears.
Then she craned her neck towards the window as they approached the house in Vermont, starting to laugh at seeing, tied to the chimney, a giant balloon in the shape of a stork carrying a baby.
"The stork balloon is from the Marines," Zeke grinned. "And that's just a tip of a very giant pile. I hope there's room inside for the three of you, because all the gifts will blow your mind."
As they stepped out of Marine One, the kids, dogs, puppies streamed out of the house, followed at a more sedate pace by Rowan and Felicia. Tom and his team of hand-picked agents stood in the background.
After the hugs, kisses, and more hugs, the first words out of Karen and Jerry's mouths were, "Can I hold the baby?"
Olivia laughed, sneaking her arms around Fitz, feeling a bit teary-eyed as Zeke said seriously, "One of you will have to fight me to get her."
As Jerry put up his fists in mock combat, Karen angled her head to the side and said, "Please."
"Aaand the girl in the tangerine dress wins," Zeke placed the baby carefully in Karen's arms.
"Hey Mr President, that's blatant discrimination!"
"Jerry, diplomacy works. You should try it sometime." Olivia teased.
"Mom, Zeke's exact word was 'fight', not 'talk'. I followed the rules."
"If you did that more often, Jer, I wouldn't have to ground you for half the crap you pull on us."
"Jeez, Dad, way to kick a kid when he's down." Jerry rolled his eyes.
"At least, finding baby-sitters won't be a problem in this crowd," Rowan observed drily.
"Shall we go inside?" Felicia said brightly, "I made us all some lovely spiced hot apple cider."
"No apples!" Teddy said decisively.
"You've got orange juice," Felicia took his hand and started walking back to the house. Olivia followed, with Karen and the baby, sandwiched between her and Jerry.
Inside there were balloons, flowers, strings of cards, stuffed toys, rocking horses, care packages and other as yet unidentified objects.
"Oh wow, this is too much," Olivia murmured, overwhelmed at the sight.
"You should see what we had to take out to the barn," Jerry muttered, "There's a lot more stuff that didn't get send to the barn – like the giant Panda stuffed bear sent by the Chinese First Lady that we had to put in Teddy's room because he wouldn't stop crying until we did, and the Indian Prime Minister has sent enough bling for Baby Jeri that she can be the Christmas Angel on our tree this year and we won't need any lights."
"It's okay, Jerry's kidding, he won't really put you on top of a Christmas tree," Karen told the baby, as she walked carefully to a chair and sat down.
"Morris says there's more flowers, stuffed toys ad cards piling up outside the gates of the White House," Tom murmured, coming to stand at Olivia's side. "Oscar keeps sending sniffer dogs and the guys with metal detectors to make sure there's no bombs hidden in there. Do you want me to tell him to give the toys to the orphanage and the flowers to the shelters?"
"Good idea. We couldn't fit all of that in here." Olivia glanced out the window where Fitz was giving man hugs to the Marine One crew, with Zeke grinning next to him. Then at Tom's mild cough, Olivia turned to face him quizzically.
"We have a surprise for you in the nursery, ma'am. If you hate it, we can change it."
"Tom, call me Olivia. We don't have to follow White House protocol anymore."
"Yes, ma'am."
With a wry smile, Olivia went up to the room she'd nominated for the nursery when the baby was old enough to start sleeping on her own. Opening the door to the strong smell of wet paint, she stared at blue walls and ceiling, decorated with rainbows, fat white clouds, smiling cartoon helicopters and a laughing yellow sun. The white cot had a mobile of helicopters dangling above it. Even the blue curtains had helicopters.
"The guys got carried away with the idea that Little Dove was born in a helicopter."
"Little Dove? Tom, that code name is perfect and this room is gorgeous!"
"We bought buckets of pink paint, if you changed your mind about the room. The guys are getting good at the handyman stuff with all the work the President, uh, ex-President has been sending our way. But the paint isn't dry, so I wouldn't touch anything. And we've fitted baby monitors in every room, so you'll hear her when she cries from anywhere in the house."
With a lump in her throat, Olivia settled for giving him a hug.
Tom almost smiled, then cleared his throat and said gruffly, "I'll be downstairs, if you need me."
Still with a lump in her throat, Olivia walked around the room, closely examining the murals, then a laugh escaped at the sight of a white rocking chair by the cot, which had the words 'Boss Lady' calligraphed in navy blue.
"This Leader of the Free World stuff is going to keep me helluva busy," Zeke grumbled, getting ready to take his leave.
Fitz laughed. "Don't do too much damage."
"You know me."
"Yeah, I do."
Zeke laughed, then seeing Olivia approach, he dropped his teasing demeanour to give her gentle hug. "You take care, little Momma, and take care of my little god-daughter."
"You'll do great," Olivia smiled, giving him a kiss on both cheeks.
"Any other advice?"
"Go all out, Zeke."
"Take no prisoners?"
"Nope."
Grinning Zeke turned to say goodbye to the rest of the family who'd followed Olivia out, giving each of them a hug. When it was Karen's turn, Fitz deftly reached for the baby as Zeke crouched down to tell her seriously, "You've got a job with me anytime you want, Little Miss Cool Under Pressure."
Karen grinned, laying her head on his shoulder as Zeke hugged her tight.
After a flurry of goodbyes, they stood waving until Marine One faded into the horizon.
"Dad, can I have the baby back?"
"Have you finished unpacking, Pumpkin?"
"Dad."
"Chores first, baby later."
"I've finished," Jerry said confidently, reaching for the baby, but dropped his hands when Rowan cleared his throat. "Jeez, old man, do you have to keep telling on me?"
"I didn't say a word."
"You didn't have to," Jerry grumbled, then he swung Teddy up in his arms. "Hey, little dude, wanna help me unpack?"
"Play with bike."
"Yeah, same thing," Jerry promised, nudging Karen, looking slightly miffed, along with him.
"Come on," Felicia put an arm around Rowan. "We need to finish our unpacking too."
"I'm going to have to come up with a roster," Olivia murmured, slipping her arm around Fitz's waist as they followed the others back into the house. "So we all get a fair share of this little cutiepie."
"I'll make the roster."
"You're the reason we need a roster," she teased, rubbing her cheek against his arm as she stared down at the baby. Then leaning closer, she gasped, "Look, Fitz, is that a smile?!"
"When Teddy did that, the nurse said it was gas."
Olivia leaned over to kiss the baby's cheeks, whispering, "We're not getting any mean nurses for you." Then at his chuckle, she lifted her head to kiss him.
Then they both turned as the baby sneezed.
"Oh wow, her first sneeze!"
Afternoon News Bulletin
"President Lucas Zeke made the shocking announcement that he has nominated Hailey Longfeather as America's next Vice President at his first media briefing with the White House Press Corps this afternoon. Ms Longfeather, a public prosecutor who gained notoriety during the Faraway County police trial, has no political or military experience but constitutional experts say this won't be a legal barrier to her appointment if approved by a majority vote in both Houses of Congress. Ms Longfeather, a Native American, will be the first to hold the position of Vice President, and the first to become President if President Zeke were to resign before the election...
"The President will take questions from the public tonight, during his first live chat on social media, about Ms Longfeather's appointment and other matters of concern…
"President Zeke also confirmed that he intends to serve possibly the second shortest term as the President of the United States after William Henry Harrison who died of pneumonia on the 32nd day of his presidency..."
"How did we get so much stuff?" Olivia groaned looking at yet more boxes on the floor.
They'd been unpacking half the morning and all of the afternoon with Teddy riding in and out of their room on his tricycle, gleefully navigating the obstacle course of boxes and bags.
"Take a break, I'll get Bub it's almost feeding time again," Fitz said, heading for the stairs.
Olivia had barely finished feeding her, when Felicia turned up in the doorway. "Want me to look after her, while you finish unpacking?"
A short while later, Jerry brought the baby back saying she'd 'pooped'.
Olivia had just finished changing the baby's diaper, when Rowan turned up to say that he thought the baby needed some fresh air before nap time. As Rowan left with the baby, Teddy abandoned his bike and ran forward taking Rowan's hand as they made their way downstairs.
"Do you think we'll finish all this tonight," Olivia looked around, hands on hips after she returned from having disposed of the dirty diaper.
Fitz slipped his arms around her waist. "Let's make a rule that anything we haven't put away in an hour gets thrown out."
"You haven't found your golf clubs."
"Okay, everything after I find my golf clubs gets thrown out."
"I don't think so," she laughed, lifting on her tippy toes to kiss him.
He lifted her off her feet.
"Fitz…" she sighed huskily, sliding her arms around his neck.
"You are so gorgeous," he groaned against her lips, setting her back down on her feet so his hands could stroke over her back until they reached her butt.
Laughing she pushed out of his arms. "We're not doing that."
He pouted.
"Nope." She shook her head, laughing. "No, sexy times for at least a year."
"A year?!"
"It's negotiable."
At her cheeky grin, he made a grab for her but she side-stepped, backing away as he followed her with a look of serious intent.
"Fitz…"
"Livvie."
"You wouldn't…"
"Wouldn't what?"
Then Tom's voice came over the baby monitor, "Sir, we have a problem. There's an incident at the gates."
Fitz groaned, then sighed. "Tom, we're all civilians now."
Tom's response was interrupted by the sound of Olivia's ringing phone. Grabbing it from the night stand, she heard Quinn say urgently, "Olivia, you need to get down here! Abby is trying to get us all killed."
When they turned up at the front gates, there was a secret service vehicle and a rental vehicle, parked nose-to-nose with all their doors open.
Quinn had her hands up, Huck had his arms folded over his chest and Abby had her gun trained on four agents who had their guns pointed directly at her.
"OMG," Olivia rolled her eyes and slammed out of their new SUV, before Fitz had a chance to cut the engine.
"Olivia!" Fitz yelled, then gritted his teeth and slammed out of the vehicle himself
He got to Olivia's side just as she yelled, "Abby, put that gun away, dammit!"
"They drew first!" Abby returned.
Fitz looked from Abby to the agents and back again. "Okay, guys, at the count of three everyone puts their weapons away. One…Two…Three."
The men started to lower their guns, then stopped when Abby didn't move.
"Abby!" Olivia yelled.
Abby reluctantly returned her gun to her bag, and the agents holstered their weapons.
"What were you thinking?" Olivia scolded, going over to hug Abby.
"That we could visit you without getting our heads blown off," Abby grumbled, returning the hug while glaring at the agents over Olivia's shoulder.
"We didn't get notified they would be arriving today, sir," one of the agents told Fitz.
"Well ex-cooose me, I didn't know that we still had to follow White House protocol on a Vermont peach farm!" Abby glared.
Fitz cut in. "You cannot bring that gun into the house."
"It's safe in my bag."
"I've got four kids in the house."
"What about their guns?" Abby nodded to the agents.
"These guys are trained."
"So am I." Abby zipped up her bag.
Still with her hands up, Quinn moved cautiously around the agents to approach Olviia and give her a hug. "We wanted to surprise you."
"We remembered you can't cook," Abby said.
"She said you wouldn't know much about looking after babies either," Quinn added.
"Where is she?" was all Huck wanted to know as he moved last to give Olivia a hug. A little later, Olivia gave a muffled laugh. "Okay that's enough. I need air!"
He released her instantly, stepping back.
"We finally have a baby in the family." Quinn smiled.
"It feels like we've been waiting forever for this baby to be born," Abby said. "Has she started pooping yet? Because you know I'm not good at the poopy stuff."
"You were awesome," Quinn told Olivia.
"The whole thing looked gross from the little I saw. I can only imagine what Jerry saw," Abby made a face.
"I had to turn the sound off, you sounded like you were being tortured. It sounded really bad," Huck said solemnly. "I would have knocked you out until you got to the hospital. It would have been painless."
"Thanks, Huck," Olivia chuckled, as Quinn stared at Huck, appalled. "Are you insane? What if something had happened to the baby?"
"Nothing happened to the baby, the baby's fine," Olivia reminded.
"Where is the baby?" Huck repeated.
"We-ell," Olivia glanced at Fitz who was staring at her grimly. "I think Baby G is with my dad unless Karen or Jerry have baby-napped her. She's our little Miss Popular right now."
On the way back to the house in the SUV, Olivia glanced at Fitz. "What's with the face?"
"Tom's getting you a bullet proof vest. You'll wear it at all times," he gritted, staring straight ahead.
"What?" She gasped a laugh, then seeing his granite jaw, she demanded, "What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?!" He turned, his face tortured and furious. "Those lunatics had pulled their guns on each other and you walked into the middle of it! Jeezus, Olivia, you are the love of my life, the mother of my children. Do you even know what that means?"
Olivia's glare lost heat and she dropped her gaze from his. "I'm sorry."
"Not good enough."
"Excuse me?"
"Be sorry," Fitz turned his attention back to the road. "Promise me you won't pull another stunt like that again."
"People aren't going to pull guns on us on a regular basis around here."
"We've been in Vermont six hours!"
"I'll tell Abby not to bring her gun."
"This is about you, not Abby!" He braked in front of the house, but when Olivia reached for the door handle, he ordered, "Stay!"
"I'm not Daisy," Olivia hissed when Fitz opened the door and lifted her down by her waist to the ground.
"Where are you going?" he called after as she strode into the house without a backward glance.
"To get the guest rooms ready. Is that okay, Joe?' she tossed over her shoulder.
Following her into the house, Fitz saw everyone edge away as Olivia made her way to the stairs. He fought down the initial urge to laugh, and the subsequent urge to grab and kiss her senseless, instead he watched her stomp upstairs and disappear out of sight.
"That must be a record even for you, Dad." Jerry came to stand next to Fitz, casually slinging an arm over his shoulders. "You've gone from sexy times, to frozen in less than ten minutes," At Fitz's confused face, he explained, "We all heard you talking to Mom on the baby monitor. You might want to turn that thing off next time you try to jump Mom's bones."
"Watch it, Jer, I'm in the mood to ground you."
"Whoa, that was just a piece of friendly advice, Dad." Jerry stepped back. "Take it or leave it."
As he sauntered off, Quinn came to stand next to Fitz dragging a large suitcase on its wheels. "Joe? Why'd Liv call you 'Joe'?"
"It's a long story," Fitz sighed.
"You've got time," Abby said, carrying three garment bags and pulling a smaller suitcase on wheels.
"Where's the baby?" Huck frowned, holding a gym bag.
Fitz found Olivia changing the sheets on a double bed in one of the larger guest rooms.
Without a word, he helped tuck in the corners on the opposite side of the bed, then pulled on a couple of pillowcases while she did the rest. He followed her into the second room where he did the sheets, while she managed the pillows.
"How long are we not talking?" He took the quilt cover from her and stuffed the quilt in by himself.
"I haven't decided." She tucked her hair behind an ear and disappeared out the door.
He found her taking towels from the airing cupboard in the corridor, then leaned on the bathroom doorjamb watching her take soap, fresh toothbrushes and toothpaste from the cabinet under the sink that had been stocked by the caretakers.
Task completed, when she tried to brush past him on her way out, he caught her by the waist, halting her exit. He ignored her stiffness as she stood within the circle of his arms. "Look at me."
She didn't.
Fitz pressed his face against hers. "You drive me crazy."
"Your apology should focus on you," she muttered.
"I'm not apologising." He bit back a smile. "I'm stating the obvious. You drive me crazy. I just don't know how to handle it well when you do."
"Your apology sucks."
"This is not an apology, Liv…" He tightened his arms around her when she tried to pull free. "Because you should be the one apologising."
"Me?" Her head reared back.
"You." He pressed a soft kiss between her eyes, then down the slope of her nose. "I love you. You need to respect my feelings." He kissed the lips that parted to protest.
"Stop kissing me," she mumbled through the kiss. "You're distracting me."
"I..Love...You." He punctuated each word with a kiss.
"Fitz…"
He parted her lips, and deepened the kiss.
She gave a half-hearted protest but her arms were already creeping around his neck as he gathered her closer.
When they broke off the kiss, she whispered, her eyes still closed, "I wasn't trying to make you crazy."
"I know." He kissed her forehead.
Her lashes fluttered open. "Just so you know, this is not an apology either."
"Got it." His eyes crinkled with laughter.
She slipped her hands down from his neck to wrap them around his waist. "I can't promise I won't pull a stunt like that again, but next time, I'll wear a vest… if I know what's going down."
"Wait… did you just give me a disclaimer?"
She wrinkled her nose at him, trying not to grin.
He looked at her solemnly. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something."
He grunted a laugh, kissing her again.
Late Night News Bulletin
"President Zeke's first Community WebChat had to be abandoned after organisers pulled the plug on the racial and LGBT hate expressed live.
"President Zeke said he did not regret his decision to speak with the community – it was regretful that the haters hijacked the forum. He stressed that the louder voices of hate should not be allowed to drown out more reasoned debate.
'We have given people with hateful, ignorant views a bigger platform than they deserve – they may sell newspapers, they may sell magazines, and they may have an audience of like-minded bigots whom commercial advertisers love, but it's time we stopped promoting hatred as a form of entertainment. That's dangerous. Hate escalates. Hate kills, and the victims are almost always innocent.
'Some of the language I saw, my mama wouldn't tolerate in her house, and I will not tolerate that kind of language in my house, and until you get a new President, this is my house.'
"President Zeke intends to set up a weekly community forum open to all members of the public, called 'Got a Problem, ask the Prez'. He added community standards of behaviour would be expected during these sessions…"
Leaving the games room where off-duty agents were getting beaten in a game of pool with Quinn, and passing the kitchen where Abby was getting Jerry and Rowan to help clean up, Fitz entered the living room and stood for a moment, listening to Karen and Felicia playing chopsticks on the piano, with the dogs snoozing on the rug, chairs and in front of the fireplace.
Smiling, he made his way to the stairs and after a quick search, found Olivia upstairs in Teddy's room. She was reading his bedtime story while she fed the baby and he was turning the pages of his picture book – a little too quickly from the sound of it.
"…the End," Olivia said.
"The End?"
"Yes, The End."
"Read again," Teddy demanded.
"Okay. Jack had a dog named Spot and they loved to play in the rain—"
"Mommy, start at the start!"
With a soft chuckle, Fitz entered the room and took a seat beside Olivia, lifting Teddy onto his lap. "No cutting corners, Mommy."
"But I have the story memorised after three readings."
"Want me to read the story?"
"No, Mommy's turn," Teddy insisted.
Olivia gave Fitz an arch look, that made him chuckle. "I can multitask."
"I can see that," he murmured.
"Is everyone okay downstairs?"
"Everyone is fine, but I haven't seen Huck and Tom since dinner."
"They were talking technology and heading up to the loft that Tom has turned into his command centre."
"Should I be worried?"
"Maybe. I don't know. We'll find out soon, I guess." Olivia placed the baby over her shoulder and began patting her back.
Fitz turned to Teddy. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"Not sleepy."
"I can see you yawning."
"Not sleepy," Teddy insisted. "Baby not sleeping."
Fitz exchanged a look with Olivia, who said drily, "I told you we were all running to this kid's schedule."
"We're going to have to pick a name."
"Betsey."
"Betsey? That's random… oh." Fitz said, softly. "We can name her Elizabeth, that was my mother's middle name."
Olivia smiled at Fitz. "I was thinking of asking the kids to each pick a name for her."
"Okay, but not Jerry."
"Fitz!" Olivia chuckled.
"Fizz!" Teddy chortled.
"See what you just did," Fitz rubbed his cheek over Teddy's hair.
Olivia nodded. "Teddy, what do you think we should call baby?"
"Bubby!" He said gleefully.
"I'm pretty sure he meant Barbara."
"Bubby!"
"Nope, he meant Bubby." Fitz grinned. "Don't look at me, this was your bright idea."
Later that night, after a very long day, Fitz stepped into the shower feeling tired but happy. He'd just finished adjusting the shower controls to his liking when he heard the glass door slide open. A glance over his shoulder confirmed his expectations.
"Hi," Olivia murmured.
"Hi." He turned to face her.
Olivia stepped closer with a naughty smile, leaning against him, spreading her hands over his chest.
Gathering her in a loose hug, he looked at her quizzically. "I thought we weren't having sex for a period that's still under negotiation."
"The moratorium on sexy times is still on," Olivia kissed his chin. "This is an apology."
"An apology?"
"A quickie apology, just in case Bubby wakes up."
He grunted a laugh, leaning down to kiss her. "I like your apologies."
"I haven't started yet."
"What are you waiting for?"
"It's been so long... I don't think I remember what to do."
"You don't, huh?"
"Nope."
"Would you like a guided tour down memory lane?"
She snuffled a laugh as he kissed her with a wicked grin.
"Livvie…" he whispered against her mouth.
"Mmm…."
"Is the quickie negotiable….?"
"Mmmaybe…"
Later, snuggled up in each other's arms, Olivia glanced away from the starry night sky seen through the skylight, to see Fitz staring at her with a soft smile on his face.
"What?" she whispered.
Fitz opened his mouth to respond, then paused.
Olivia watched as he shifted away from her to turn the baby monitor off before gathering her back in his arms, saying in a deep soft drawl that made her toes curl, "We're in Vermont."
"We're in Vermont." She smiled, inching closer to kiss his jaw.
"We're in Vermont… as a family… just like I imagined."
At the catch in his voice, Olivia glanced up and saw that his eyes were getting teary.
"Aww Fitz…" Rolling him onto his back, she cupped his face between her hands and kissed him slowly, sweetly.
When she lifted her head to gaze down at him, his gaze was soft. "I got emotional there for a moment."
She stroked her fingers through his hair, smiling.
"It's hormonal. I caught it from you."
"Shut up," Olivia chuckled, as he drew her down for a kiss.
"Livvie," Fitz smiled against her lips. "I'm offended by your tone."
"Yeah, I can feel how offended you are," she giggled naughtily. "No more quickies for you tonight."
"How about a slowie?"
She hooted a laugh, then groaned when she woke the baby.
A/N ; This chapter was slow going, took a lot of rewrites and possibly could do with more, but I need to move on! Thank you for the name suggestions, and don't worry about speaking your mind. I usually do, when I don't feel like a dysfunctional lemming caught between my true feelings and 'good behaviour'. BTW, I couldn't read all your reviews for nearly a week, Clio1792 put in a complaint on behalf of us fanfiction writers on the same dodgy ISP. Fortunately, I had access to your reviews on email – so all was not lost!
Now confession time about my sloppy research: apparently Fitz couldn't simply nominate Zeke – he had to get Congressional approval with a simple majority in both Houses. Big 'ooops!' – apologies to my readers who let me get away with a lot in this story, I usually do try to have some hint of fact in all the improbable plot twists, but on Zeke's Veep status there was none!