Chapter Three

Fitz tried to concentrate at work, but it was difficult when he was thinking about his daughter. Not only was he thinking about his daughter but also of the young teacher that had captured his heart by just one look. He didn't know how to describe this feeling, but he knew that it wouldn't just go away especially since she is Mira's teacher. He will be seeing her every single time he drops Mira off and pick her up. It wasn't something he could just avoid.

She had beautiful doe eyes and clearly she was good with kids. Mira had taken to her so quickly and he felt so comfortable leaving her in her hands. He clearly needed to get it together and focus on the case that was in his hands. He was a corporate lawyer who had been at his job for the past six years and he loved his job but right now he was really struggling.

"Grant!" Stephen knocks him back into focus. "What's up with you today? Worried about Mira?"

"Yeah I am. It's her first time in this kind of setting and you know how shy she can be. I just don't want something bad to happen." Fitz ran his fingers through his hair. He had so many thoughts in his head.

"Calm down Grant! Knowing my goddaughter, she is probably having the time of her life." Stephen has known Fitz for the past ten years. They went to law school together and have now ended up working in the same firm. He helped out with Mira as much as he could, and Mira loved her Uncle Stephen. He was the brother he never had. He was there through all the Mellie bullshit. He always did say Mellie wasn't right for him, but Stephen still supported him in his marriage.

"You're right. I'll try not to worry too much. Let's focus on this case." Fitz shook his head and tried to pull himself together. He couldn't think about his daughter nor the preschool teacher that had captivated him with a smile.

"Alrighty then! Maybe when Mira gets out we can all go out to dinner to celebrate her first day."

"That would be great, but it has to be this weekend. My mom is coming over to cook dinner for us. She wants to know all about Mira's first day."

"Mama Grant always makes the best food so I'll let it slide and we can do something this weekend. Now let's focus on this case before Mark gets on our asses."

"Yeah let's do this." Fitz pushes his thoughts of the beautiful doe eyed woman who had really shaken him up.

Fitz wasn't the only one whose mind was in another place. Olivia couldn't stop thinking about him either. Currently every child was working on tracing their letters and she was walking around to make sure they were on task. She wanted today to be simple for them and for her to gage where each child was.

She stopped at Mira's table and couldn't help but notice how her concentrated she looked. She clearly was her father's daughter with the curly hair and beautiful blue-grey eyes. Olivia squatted down to her level.

"Hi Mira, how are you?"

"Okay, this hard."

"It's hard?" Olivia resisted the urge to touch Mira's hair.

"Yeah just a little."

"Don't worry it will get easier. Just takes more practice." Olivia smiles at her.

"You're really pwetty. I like your hair." Mira looks at Olivia and reaches out to touch her braids.

"Thank you. You should get your mommy to do your hair like mine."

"I don't have a mommy." Mira takes her hand back and goes back to do her work.

Before Olivia could say anything else she heard her name, "Ms. Olivia" a student called out from another table.

"Yes Cameron?"

"I gotta go potty."

"Okay good job at raising your hand and go ahead to the restroom."

Their classrooms each had one restroom which made it much easier on the teachers and student when one of them needed to go. No one had to leave their classroom unattended and a child didn't have to walk to the restroom alone.

"Okay class let's go into the reading mat. It's time for reading time." Olivia clapped her hands together and everyone made their way to the mat. The mat was colorful which matched the entire room. She made sure to have small bean bags for everyone if they wanted to sit on them instead of the floor while she had a rocking chair to sit on while she read to the kids.

She decided for the first day she was going to read If You Give a Mouse A Cookie.

"Okay everyone put on your listening ears please. "If you give a mouse a cookie then the mouse will ask for a glass of milk…" Olivia loved reading time. She loved seeing her student's faces as she read each word and showed them the illustrations. Reading time was important and as the school year went on it was important that they get familiar with letters and small words to improve their vocabulary. It was all about improving and learning now rather than later.

As Olivia wrapped up the book, she noticed that it was close to nap time. The one time she could finally breathe outside of lunch.

"Everyone grab your blanket that has been put in your cubby. This is your nap blanket, and everyone has their own. We will be taking a short nap today."

Everyone slowly got up and she noticed Mira staying back. She still seemed a little shy, so Olivia went over to her, lowering herself a little.

"You okay Mira?"

"I sweep with teddy." Mira never really took a nap outside of her home and she usually had her favorite teddy.

"Oh honey, I don't have a teddy and maybe we tell your dad to bring you your teddy tomorrow. But for now, how about I sit next to you and hold your hand while you sleep?" Olivia soothed her by rubbing her back.

"Okay." Mira seemed content and went over to grab her blanket.

Everyone got settled down and Olivia sat next to Mira. Mira looked at her with her big blue-grey eyes. Olivia took her hand and rubbed her hand. Each child was dozing off and Mira was no exception. She could tell that she was fighting her sleep but slowly she was closing her eyes.

Olivia slowly slipped her hand away and made her way to her desk to work on some paperwork. She couldn't stop herself from looking at Mira and think about her father. The father that had really made her feel things she hasn't felt in her lifetime not even with Edison. She wasn't sure what to make of it. She couldn't go there with one of her student's father, it would just cause too many problems. Mira had so much potential and she didn't want to mess it up if she started something with her father.

Fitz looked at the time and realized it was time to go pick up Mira. It was really hard to focus today but at the same time he got it together and helped Stephen present the case to their boss. He couldn't wait to pick up his little girl and ask her how her day was. He was really nervous and hoped that she made a friend or too. She was always a little shy, but he hoped that she would get out of her shell.

He also couldn't wait to see the beautiful preschool teacher that captured his heart. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted more than a couple of seconds with her. Her beautiful brown eyes and smile had captivated him. For some reason he was drawn to her and he wanted to know if she had felt the same.

He made his way to his car, got in and pulled out of the parking lot. He was lucky enough that the preschool was ten minutes away from his work. He took a deep breath and made his way to pick up his beautiful baby girl.

Olivia couldn't believe how quickly the day went. Her students this year were amazing. Each child had different types of personalities and it was great to see them slowly come out as the day went on. Olivia was excited for what the year would bring, and she had so many great ideas.

Each child was sitting at their tables and were patiently waiting for their parents. The bell rang and parents were slowly filing into the building. Olivia opened the door and parents were already lined up. Olivia called each child's name and the child went off with their parent.

It got to the last parent and while she knew who was going to be, it still didn't shake off the feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

"Hi"

"Hi"

Olivia and Fitz just stared at each other for a moment.

"I'm here for Mira Grant."

Mira was already prepared for her daddy and quickly ran over to him.

"Daddy!"

Fitz bent down and picked her up. "Hi Mira! Oh, I'm so happy to see you."

Fitz gave her the biggest hug; he had really missed her.

Olivia smiled at the two; it was clear that they really loved each other, and Mira was Fitz's world.

Fitz set Mira down and looked up at Olivia. She was as stunning as he remembered her from a couple of hours earlier. Mira attached herself to Fitz's leg not wanting to let him go.

"How did everything go?" Fitz gave her a crooked smile.

"It went really well. Actually, there was something I did want to talk to you about. It's nothing to worry about but during nap time she said she had a teddy bear that she sleeps with."

"Oh god, did she have any problems going to sleep? I should've known to pack it with her." Fitz ran his fingers through his hair. The last thing he wanted was Mira to have a bad day.

"No, she didn't have any problems going to sleep. I just held her hand and she quickly fell asleep. I just wanted to let you know to pack it in her backpack, so we won't have a repeat." Olivia smiled at Fitz and Mira.

"She is such a sweet girl and I think we are going to have an amazing year together." Olivia bends down, "aren't we Mira?"

Mira let go of Fitz's leg and gave Olivia a big hug. "Yeah!"

Fitz's heart tightened; he hadn't seen Mira warm up to someone so quickly especially a female. He always wondered how Mira would do in school, so it was nice to see her getting along with Olivia.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"See you 'morrow." Mira gave her a big smile and grabbed her dad's hand.

Olivia got up and said, "I hope you guys have a nice evening."

"Thank you, I hope you have a nice one as well." Fitz didn't know what to do at this point. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had to. He just wanted to keep talking to her.

"Daddy go." Mira got impatient and was starting to drag him to the door.

Fitz laughed, "Okay lovebug, let's go. We will see you tomorrow Ms. Pope."

"It's Olivia and see you tomorrow." She smiled and waved at them as they left the building. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. This was too much. She was feeling things she shouldn't for a man she had only met today. She shook it off and gathered her own things to leave.

Fitz and Mira pulled into their house and Fitz noticed his mother had already arrived.

"Oh, look Mira, your Grammy is here."

"Gammy!" Mira started bouncing in her seat extremely excited to see her grandma.

Fitz opened the garage door and pulled in his car. He parked the car and got out of the car.

"Hurry daddy hurry!" Mira was desperate to get out of her car seat. She loved spending time with her grandma and even though she had a good first day he knows that she still missed spending time with Grammy.

He unbuckled her and she quickly took off to the door to go inside. He heard the yells between Mira and his mom, and he chuckled. He grabbed Mira's backpack and made his way into his home.

"Hey mom, I wasn't expecting you until later." Fitz walked over and gave his mom a hug.

Katherine Grant was a petite woman. She had stark white hair and the bluest eyes. She was kind but stern as a parent and Fitz felt really lucky to have a mom like her. She was the one person Fitz could always count on. The minute Mellie had bailed, his mom stepped up and moved into the guest room to help Fitz as much as she could. She knew how hard raising a newborn could be especially with Fitz's demanding job.

Fitz's father, Fitzgerald "Gerry" Grant II, passed away when he was fifteen after a drunk driving incident. It was hard on his mom and on the family in general, but his mom was a warrior and she picked herself up and raised Fitz and his sister, Charlotte, all on her own. He owed her everything.

"Hey sweetie. I decided to come and start on dinner early and to ask Miss Mira how school went. She was telling me all about 'Liv'." Katherine gave Fitz a smile as she gathered the ingredients she needed for dinner.

Fitz got butterflies by the mention of her name. He had to find a way to stop it. He couldn't go down this road right now.

"Liv and I colored a picture for you, Daddy." Mira jumped off the chair and ran to her backpack to pull out a colorful sheet of paper. She ran over to her father to show her the beautiful creation she made.

"Aw sweetie, this is amazing! Let's put it up on the fridge." Fitz grabbed a magnet and put it right next to another picture she had drawn for him. He was that proud dad that loved to display anything his daughter made.

"Gammy you making 'paghetti?" Mira asked.

"Yes ma'am! You want to help me stir the sauce?"

"YES!" Mira went on the other side of her grandma who already had the stool in place for Mira and she climbed on ready to stir the sauce.

Fitz loved moments like these. The relationship his mother had with Mira was beautiful to watch and he was glad to have her even if it's just for tonight.

"Mom, I'm going up stairs to change. I won't be long." He kissed her cheek and ran up the stairs.

Fitz made his way up to his bedroom to change out of his suit. Today was unexpected. He was happy that Mira felt comfortable with her teacher and he didn't have to worry about her. What he did have to worry about was these unknown feelings he was having for someone he just met.

"Abby, I'm home!" Olivia called out as she walked into their home. She heard tiny paws coming her way and she knew it was Josie. Josie started jumping as high as her little body could, clearly excited to see Olivia.

"Hey baby girl." Olivia picked Josie up and made their way into the living room. Olivia walked into the living room to find Abby surrounded by take-out and two glasses of wine.

"Look who got started on the party without me."

Abby laughed, "Hey Liv! How was your first day back?"

Olivia sat down next to Abby and put Josie on her lap, "You know it was an amazing first day. These kids are amazing, and I know I say that every year, but I have a feeling these kids are going to make some serious strides."

"What about the parents? Did you meet any crazies like Kelly from last year?"

"Oh god don't remind me of crazy Kelly! She was awful! I loved her child but dealing with her was a nightmare." Olivia shook her head just thinking about all she went through with that mom.

"But those stories were so interesting! Seriously though, do you see any problems in the future with any of them?"

Olivia's mind went straight to the man who had captured her heart in a way she couldn't describe. She kept thinking about his baritone voice, curly hair, and those beautiful blue eyes. Not only him but his sweet little girl who was clearly shy but had warmed up to her so quickly.

"Hello earth to Olivia!" Abby was handing her a wine glass, "you okay? I've been calling your name for a while now and you have a look on your face like you want to talk about something so spill."

Olivia grabbed the wine glass from Abby, "Well since we are speaking about parents, there is this one father…"

"Don't tell me he is a creep and tried to feel you up" Abby's eyes widened.

"No nothing like that! Just something about him, it made me feel things that I had never felt before and I am not sure how to go about it. The minute we locked eyes it was like the world shifted and god I probably sound crazy right now but that's what it felt, and I know I shouldn't do anything about it. Now I am just going insane because I can't wait for the next time I see him." Olivia felt like she could finally breathe since she was holding all of this inside from the moment she met Fitz.

Abby was shocked at her friend. Olivia had gone through a lot the past eight months and while her relationship with Edison ended horribly, she had never described this kind of feeling when she first met Edison.

"Woah, all of that with just one meeting?"

"Yeah. It's like for once things felt that they were going to fall right into place and his daughter, oh she is the sweetest. She clearly has a kind and sweet soul. I don't know much but it seems like the mother isn't in the picture. I don't know more than that but god I want to."

Olivia takes a big gulp of her wine truly needing it to get through venting out her feelings. Her brain is still swirling with many thoughts.

"Okay calm down. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, and it could just be that you really want to have sex with him." Abby smirked.

Olivia gave Abby a tiny shove, "Shut up! It's not due to the lack of sex. I just don't know at this point."

"Listen clearly you are feeling something towards him and maybe it could be the start of something great but for now I suggest you just focus on your students. You just started the year so get your routine going."

Olivia sighed, "Yeah, you're right. It's just what I need to do. I have to push whatever I am feeling away and focus on my kids."

"Exactly. Now let's eat and figure out what movie we are watching tonight." Abby grabbed the remote and started scrolling through Netflix.

Olivia grabbed her plate of food and got comfortable. She sighed; Abby was right, she had to focus on her kids and thinking about Fitz, the man with beautiful blue eyes, wasn't going to help even though she clearly felt things.

Fitz loved evenings like these when his mom was over cooking dinner and Mira was helping her. He worried about Mira at times. She grew up without a mom and it's always been them taking on anything and everything but sometimes he wondered how she would be if she had her mom around. Sure, his marriage wasn't great and even if they had gotten divorced, he would have hoped that Mellie would've stuck around to be a mom to their daughter. But she didn't and now he was playing the mom and dad role. Even with all the struggles, he wouldn't change anything.

"Daddy, 'paghetti is ready!" Mira runs straight into his legs and looks up to him with the biggest smile.

"It's ready?! Well then let's go join your Grammy!"

He leads them into the dining room where his mom had finished setting up for dinner.

"Mom, this looks amazing! Thank you for this." He helps Mira into her seat before taking a seat himself.

"I helped Daddy." Mira looks very proud of herself. She loves being able to help in the kitchen,

"I know you did, and you also did an amazing job lovebug!"

"Thank you daddy." Mira starts digging into her spaghetti.

"Mira don't eat to fast or you will get a tummy ache and will have to drink some yuck medicine."

"Ew, yucky medicine."

"Exactly so go slow baby."

Fitz started eating himself and let his mind wander as he heard his mother ask Mira more about her day. He started to think about the preschool teacher who had captured his heart. It was like his world had shifted in a way he didn't think was possible. His parent's marriage was wonderful, and they had that once in a lifetime kind of love and he hoped that he would find that kind of love himself, but it definitely wasn't with Mellie and he knew that. Fitz kept thinking about how his heart raced both times he saw her and how he could listen to her talk for hours.

"Fitz…Fitz!" His mother called out to him.

Fitz snapped back into the conversation, "I'm sorry mom, just a lot on my mind. You were saying?"

His mom looked at him closely and he knew that she would want to speak with him after Mira went to bed.

"I was asking what you thought of Ms. Olivia. It seems that Mira loves her, but I wanted to know how it all went for you."

"You know…it went fine. She seemed very sweet from when we met and when I picked Mira up. I think Mira is going to have a great time with her." Fitz didn't want to say too much at least not right now. He will get the chance to really speak to his mom later.

His mom grinned, "Okay well I definitely will have to meet her and bring her some cookies when I pick Mira up later this week."

Fitz shook his head lightly knowing he couldn't stop his mom if she wanted to bake. It was something she loved to do and loved to share her baked goods to anyone and everyone. She was just that type of mom. He could feel his mom looking at him even though she was listening to every single detail Mira was saying.

"All done daddy!" Mira looked at him and that's when he noticed the spaghetti sauce on her.

"Oh honey, we need to get you cleaned up and then straight to a bath before bedtime!" Fitz grabbed his napkin and started to wipe her face clean.

"If you don't mind Fitz, I am going to run her bath tonight."

"You sure mom? I don't mind doing it."

"I'm sure! I'm not going to have much time after your sister gives birth."

"Yeah I know so go ahead and I'll clean up the kitchen and dining room."

Fitz started picking everyone's plates and putting them into the dishwasher. He could hear his mom and daughter upstairs in the bathroom. He could hear his daughter's giggles and it made him smile. His daughter was his world and he was blessed to be a father.

Now that he was alone with his thoughts, he just put himself back to this afternoon. Being able to have a conversation, even a short one, with Olivia had been great. It just confirmed the feelings that he had that morning. His world shifted and he was drawn to Olivia in a way he didn't think was possible. He wanted to know more about her, but he didn't know if it was appropriate. Maybe he shouldn't start anything, and he should just focus on his daughter and work.

"Daddy, it's time for night night." Mira comes running into his legs and he picks her up.

"Oh look at you! Already for bed, huh" Fitz gives her a kiss attack and kisses her all over her face.

Mira starts laughing, "daddy, daddy, stop!"

She starts squirming around in his arms trying to get him to stop.

"Okay, okay I'll stop. Let me go tuck you in." He takes them up the stairs and into Mira's bedroom.

"Goodnight lovebug. Grammy is going to read you a book and then sleep. I love you so much sweetie."

"I love you too daddy, to the moon and back."

"To the moon and back." He gives her a kiss on her forehead and let's his mom take over. He knows that she is trying to soak up every moment before she becomes unavailable.

He heads back downstairs to get himself a drink. After today, he deserves some scotch. He goes into his office and sits on the couch. He takes a deep breath and takes a drink.

"Knock, knock."

His mom is standing outside the door. He knew this was coming.

"Hey mom. She go down okay?"

"Yeah she was asleep before I finished the book." She laughed.

"I'm glad she didn't give you a hard time. But I know you are in here for another reason mom."

"You know me too well just like I know you too well. You seem to have a lot on your mind honey so what is it?" Katherine looks at her son worriedly.

"Have you ever met someone, and you felt your entire world just shift on its head?"

"Well the only time that ever happened was when I met your father and he always said the same about me. Now who did this to you? Was it Mira's teacher Olivia? You seemed lost in thought when Mira brought her up."

"Yeah it was her. I don't know how to describe it mom, but we just met today, and I feel so drawn to her. I want to know her likes and dislikes and what she is like outside of school, what she does for fun, what makes her tick, what makes her laugh, just everything. I sound so crazy just saying it out loud but that's how I felt, that's how I feel now. But I can't cross that line."

"Oh honey. This was all I ever wanted for you. I wanted you to have that moment with someone and I knew it was never with Mellie. Sure, you loved her, but you didn't have that once in a lifetime kind of love. Maybe this is the opportunity of a lifetime and you can't let that go because you are scared."

"Mom, she is Mira's teacher and I am not going to ruin it for Mira. I'm just going to let it be at least for now. I don't want cause any problems plus I don't even know if Olivia felt the same thing."

Katherine shook her head at her stubborn son. She knew eventually he will get out of his own way and find some true happiness but for now she will let him be.

"Okay Fitz but remember you deserve to be happy too." Katherine walks out of the office leaving Fitz to his thoughts once more.

After what felt like the longest week, it was finally the weekend. Olivia loved Saturday morning because it involved a nice run in the park with Josie. Olivia walked into the kitchen to drink her protein shake before her run.

"Josie girl come here."

Josie hears her name being called and runs over to Olivia.

"Hey, you ready for a run sweetie?! I bet you are." Olivia puts the pink harness on Josie and grabs the leash.

"Alright, let's go." Olivia opens the door and starts to walk to the park nearby. One thing she loved about the neighborhood that they picked out was the fact that she didn't have to go far to get her run in.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The summer season was close to ending and the fall weather was starting. It was a cool morning, not too hot nor too cold. This was the kind of weather she loved so she was enjoying it while it lasted.

The park came into view and she started to pick up the pace. Olivia thought back to the week she had. She truly loved the students she had this year and she had so many wonderful ideas. But in reality she really couldn't think about that as much as she should be. She just kept thinking back the man who has her shaken up. They saw each other every single day when he would drop off and pick up Mira. They would just casually say hi to each other but nothing more.

She wanted to find a way to keep talking to him but at school wasn't the right time. Maybe this was just a sign that she should just let it be. She keeps running and running trying to clear her head but that's when she hears someone calling out her name.

"Miss Liv! Miss Liv!"

She turned her head to where she was hearing the voice and that's when she saw them. Mira was running towards her and Fitz was running after Mira. She looked adorable with her pink sweater and matching hat. Olivia smiled and walked towards her so Mira would stop running.

"Miss Liv!" Mira crashed straight into Olivia's legs causing Olivia to laugh.

Olivia looked up and that's when she noticed that Fitz was right in front of her.

"Hi."

"Hi."

AN: Thank you again for all the reviews, likes, and favorites. I hope you guys are enjoying this version of olitz. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

XOXO