Chapter One:

Ring, ring, ring

Fitz groaned as his alarm went off for the morning. It was 6:30 in the morning and it was also the first day he was dropping off his four-year old daughter, Mirabelle, Mira for short, to preschool. This was going to be a hard moment for him. He had his mom around for the past two years helping him out but now that his sister was having her own baby, his mom was needed elsewhere.

Being a single dad wasn't easy and now he truly was alone trying to navigate being a father and being an attorney. He was on the partner track but that all changed when his then-wife Mellie Grant told him she was pregnant. He always wanted to be a father so when he found out the news he was ecstatic.

Things couldn't be said the same about Mellie. Things had shifted in their marriage about two years before she was pregnant and she started to push him away. The minute she gave birth to Mirabelle and was discharged from the hospital she left him with a note and divorce papers. She moved out a week later and never looked back. From what he knows now she is that in New York City working at a top law firm.

He didn't understand her reasons for leaving but he always felt that she only had Mira to fix their marriage. She never really talked about kids, so he was shocked when she was pregnant. At the beginning, he never understood how Mellie couldn't connect with Mira the way he had. But after four years, he stopped trying to understand her. He knew that his priority was Mira and he couldn't worry about Mellie.

He got up from bed and make his way to his daughter's bedroom. His mother insisted in Mira having a decked out pink room. The room was light pink with white trimming along the border. She recently moved into a toddler bed that had a grey bed frame with light pink bedding.

The first thing he noticed was her beautiful brown curls stick out of her blanket. She had inherited the wild curls he had and had the most beautiful blue-grey eyes that he would get lost in at times.

"Mira baby, time to wake up." Fitz gently ran his hand through her curls, slowly trying to wake her up.

"Daddy, no" Mira turned her head away from him.

Fitz chuckled knowing his daughter was just like him when it came to the mornings. "You have to wake up, it's your first day of preschool, remember?"

She slowly opened her eyes, "Preschool?"

"Yeah honey, preschool. Remember grandma had to go with Auntie Charlie and you have preschool." He continued to run his hand through her hair knowing that it helps her wake up.

"I don wanna daddy, no preschool" Mira shook her head repeatedly.

"Please don't make this hard lovebug. It's only for a couple of hours and you'll make friends. I'll even make special pancakes this morning."

Mira peeked over her shoulder, "Coco chips pacakes?"

Fitz smiled, "Yes, coco chips pancakes but you have to get up now and get ready for me."

Mira sat up and gave her father a hug, "Goo mornin daddy"

Fitz wrapped his arms around her, the feeling of her tiny arms wrapped around him would never get old. "Good morning lovebug. Let's rock and roll today."

"Rok and ro" Mira grinned up at him.

Fitz laughed, "Close enough" and lifted her up from her bed.

His mom had set out clothes for Mira to help him out even if it was only for the first day. She laid out a sparkly grey tutu style skirt and of course a light pink shirt.

"Alright lovebug get dressed and then come to my room okay?" Fitz set her down on the floor and put her clothes on her bed.

"Okay dad. Love you"

"Love you too sweetie." Fitz walked out of the room to go get dressed himself. He can already tell this will be a long day for the both of them. Things were changing and he wasn't sure what to do with himself.

"Okay my little lovebug, here are your coco chip pancakes for your first day of preschool." Fitz placed the small sized pancakes in front of Mira and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Tank you daddy." Mira proceeded to pour some syrup on her pancakes and begin eating.

Fitz grabbed his coffee and his own set of pancakes and sat down next to Mira. He noticed Mira starting to go a little overboard with the syrup. He grabbed her hand.

"Mira that's enough syrup. You don't want to make a mess, okay."

"Sowwy. No more syrup." Mira took her fork and started eating.

Fitz couldn't stop looking at her. His little girl was growing up and he didn't know what to do with himself. He felt really lucky to have such a sweet little girl. He had made many sacrifices, but he wouldn't change any of them. He has a great job and a great family even with just the two of them. He didn't need anything else at the moment.

"All done daddy." Mira grinned up at him with syrup on her face.

"Oh lovebug, we got to get you cleaned up before we go." Fitz laughed grabbing a wet wipe he had handy in the kitchen and cleaned her face and hands.

"Okay time to brush your teeth and then off we go." Fitz lifted her up and took her to bathroom, setting her on the counter for her to brush her teeth.

"Bwush, bwush, bwush" Mira said as she grabbed her toothbrush waiting for Fitz to give her toothpaste.

"That's right, time to brush." Fitz put a little bit of toothpaste on her brush and then on his. "Be careful lovebug. Don't want to get wet."

"Okay daddy."

The two brushed their teeth just like they always did in the morning. Fitz has made sure to have a routine for Mira in which they both did things together. He knew time flew when having kids so he wanted to take in every moment with Mira that he could.

"All done" Mira gave him a big smile showing off her teeth.

"Perfect. Now let's grab your lunch and head to the car." Fitz put her down from the counter and the duo made their way back into the kitchen where Fitz grabbed Mira's lunch, her small backpack, his tumbler, and keys.

He handed Mira her tiny lunch box and held her hand as they made their way to the garage where his car was located. Fitz opened the door for Mira and helped her into her car seat. Once she was all buckled in, he got into the driver's seat and reversed out of the garage.

"Daddy, Disney! Disney!" Mira started clapping in excitement, wanting her dad to put on her Disney playlist.

"You want your Disney playlist?" Fitz grinned as he looked at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Yes, pwease daddy pwease!"

"Okay let's put it on for your special day."

The car ride was filled with singing and laughter which was just what Fitz needed to start off today.

Fitz pulled into the parking lot of Bright Horizon Pre-School. It was a pre-school filled with three- and four-year old's and it was just the kind of pre-school his little lovebug needed to be in. The outside contained a small playground and the windows were covered with paintings of suns, sunflowers, and butterflies to give a vibrant look. It was one thing he loved about the pre-school was how colorful it was. He knew Mira would love it as well.

"Alright Mira, here we are!" Fitz got out of the driver's seat and opened Mira's door. He helped her with her seatbelt and held her hand as she got down from the car. She was becoming more independent in wanting to get out the car alone.

Fitz bent down to Mira's level, "Okay lovebug, are you ready for your first day?"

Mira looked at her feet and he knew that his little girl was nervous.

"Hey look at me. You see the playground; you'll get to play there just like the park, and you will learn lots of news things and make friends." Fitz kissed his daughter's forehead and grabbed her hand.

"Okay daddy." Mira held onto his hand real tight, feeling a bit overwhelmed with her surrounding and unsure of how she will feel in this new setting.

Fitz knew his daughter was nervous and to be honest so was he. This was a big deal even if it's just preschool. His little girl was growing up and it was reality he was going to face.

They walked through the doors hand in hand while Fitz navigated them through the crowd. He was looking for room 110. The paperwork said her teacher would be Ms. Pope. He wasn't sure what to expect but he hoped that Mira would take to her.

They reached room 110 and the door was decorated with every student's name. They entered the room and were stunned with how decorated and colorful it was. Fitz felt that the room was very invited and felt that Mira would have a good time.

Looking around the room, that's when he spotted her. She was a petite woman with her hair in long braids that seemed to go on forever. She was speaking to a set of parents in the room but finished up and started walking over to him.

Fitz's heart was racing and for the first time in four years he felt butterflies in his stomach for a woman. She was gorgeous and her doe eyes were staring right back at him.

"Hi, I'm Olivia Pope and you are?" She stuck her hand out to greet him.

"Fitzgerald Grant but you can call me Fitz and this right here is Mirabelle, but she goes by Mira." Mira had moved behind his legs hiding away. She was always shy with strangers.

Olivia bent down to Mira's level. "Hi Mira, I'm Olivia. Are you ready to play?"

Mira looked up at her dad and looked back at Olivia. "You play?"

"Of course, I do!" Olivia answered enthusiastically and held out her hand to Mira. "Let's go."

Mira shyly put her hand in Olivia's, and they walked away together. Olivia took them to a table nearby and started coloring. She winked at Fitz to let him know that he could go since Mira was preoccupied.

Fitz took a deep breath and slowly moved out of the classroom. He had many feelings running through him right now. He was nervous on how Mira would do but she seemed taken by Olivia just like he had been even if he only spent a few seconds with her. It was a different feeling and he couldn't place it. It couldn't be love at first sight or could it?

AN: This is my first Olitz fanfic so I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. Please feel free to leave a review. Hope everyone is taking care of themselves during these tough times. XOXO