Chapter Twenty-Five

Two months later – March…

Olivia was standing in front of the bathroom mirror in just a bra and leggings. She was officially four months pregnant and she now had a small belly. She turned to the side and smiled. Everything was right on track with their baby and she couldn't be happier.

"Babe are you almost ready?" Fitz said when he walked into the bathroom. He smiled at the scene playing out in front of him. He walked right behind her and placed his hands on her growing belly.

"Wow this seems so surreal," he said.

"It really does. Now don't distract me. We have an appointment to get to. Dr. Gomez said she should be able to tell us the sex."

"I can't wait. My mom is already here so we can leave whenever you're ready," Fitz gave her a quick peck on the lips and walked out. He knew that if he stayed there any longer they wouldn't make their appointment on time. Something about seeing Olivia pregnant awakened something inside of him he didn't realize was there.

"I'll be just a minute and meet you downstairs," she replied.

Five minutes later Olivia joined her family at the dining room table eating breakfast. Mira greeted her mommy with a big smile and rubbed her belly saying hello to her baby brother or sister. It was the highlight of Liv's morning.

"So Mira are you hoping for a baby sister or brother?" Katherine asked in between bites.

"Umm…a sister! No…a brother!" she said with excitement.

The table laughed at her indecisiveness.

"What about you guys? I know Charlie believes it's another girl while I'm placing my bets on a boy," Katherine smirked.

Olivia and Fitz looked at each other. They've been discussing this several times in the past couple of weeks; taking guesses on what

"Liv thinks it's a boy but I think it's a girl although I really hope she's right. But we will be happy either way. We are expanding our family and it's all we want right now."

Katherine smiled knowingly at her son. She knew what was coming next for them and she couldn't wait. The family was heading to the beach house for spring break and that's where Fitz will be proposing. He wanted a full circle moment for them and Katherine couldn't have agreed more.

Once breakfast was wrapped up Fitz and Olivia were on their way to their appointment. Both of them were giddy with excitement over this appointment. Olivia had been have a little bit of morning sickness and she was still more tired than usual but so far she was enjoying pregnancy and the changes her body was going through.

"Whatcha thinking about over there?" Fitz asked as he quickly glanced over to her.

"Nothing much. Just thinking about how much my life has changed in a span of months," she said smiling at him.

"Good changes?"

"Very good changes. Changes that I didn't think would be happening for me but I'm grateful they did. Now we are having a baby," she responded and placed her hands on her belly.

Fitz moved one hand from the wheel and joined it with one of her hands. They interlaced their fingers together on top of her belly. They were really blessed. They pulled into the parking lot of the doctor's office and Fitz opened Liv's car door.

Hand in hand, they walked into the office together. They sat in comfortable silence waiting for Liv's name to be called. While they were waiting, Fitz's mind drifted to their plans for the upcoming week. The California weather was warming up so it was perfect timing with spring break. He had everything in place for the perfect proposal and as he was rubbing Olivia's hand he thought about how the ring would look on her finger.

"Olivia Pope?"

The nurse calling out Liv's name snapped him out of his thoughts about what was to come. For now he would focus on their baby.

After all of Liv's vitals were checked, they were all settled in the room waiting for the doctor. Olivia was laying down on the examination table while Fitz was sitting in the chair next to her.

"Okay last prediction. Boy or girl?" Liv looked over to him.

"I'm sticking with a girl."

"My gut is saying it's a boy so I guess we will have to wait and see who's right."

"Whatever it ends up being, I'm happy we are expanding our family Livvie."

Before she can say anything else Dr. Gomez came in.

"How's my happy couple?"

"We're doing really well," Fitz replied.

"Fantastic. Now Olivia all your vitals look normal. Still experiencing morning sickness and fatigue?"

"Yeah I am. Not too crazy though so I'm enjoying being pregnant."

"Great. Now you're officially seventeen weeks so we should be able to tell the sex of your baby if you guys want to know."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"We definitely want to know."

"Alrighty then. Let's see your baby."

Dr. Gomez got the ultrasound machine ready and Liv lifted her shirt up so they can get started. She moved the ultrasound wand getting the measurements of Baby Grant and then they heard the best sound in the world.

"There it is. Sounds like a perfect little heartbeat for seventeen weeks. Currently your baby is the size of a turnip. Now let me see if he or she will cooperate to check the sex."

They smiled at each other as they continued to hear the heartbeat and watched Dr. Gomez then move the wand around to see if she would be able to tell them the sex.

"Well congratulations it's a boy!" Dr. Gomez said with a smile on her face.

Olivia's eyes started to water and she turned to face Fitz.

"Oh god a boy?!" he asked wanting to make sure.

"Yes sir! Congrats you guys."

"Baby it's a boy," Olivia started to cry out of happiness.

Fitz was speechless and he just pulled her into a kiss. They both were crying tears of joy and excitement. A little boy was the perfect addition to their family. With one more kiss on the forehead, they wrapped up their appointment and set up the next prenatal visit.

They were on their way home still so giddy about the news they just got. Olivia couldn't stop staring that the ultrasound picture.

"Penny for your thoughts Livvie?"

"I'm just so excited. A baby boy. Do you think Mira will be happy?"

"Of course she will. She's just excited she will be a big sister."

"God she will be the best big sister," Olivia said, getting emotional already thinking about it .

"She will be. Maybe next time she'll get that little sister," he said giving her a smirk.

"Oh my goodness. Already thinking about baby number three when I haven't even given birth to this one!" she laughed at his silliness.

"Well don't you worry. Baby number three is coming as soon as possible."

She playfully slapped his arm and laughed. They pulled up to their driveway and were ready to share the exciting news with Katherine and Mira. As soon as they walked through the door, it was very quiet so they made their way to the kitchen where they could see through the windows that Mira, Katherine, and Josie were outside.

"Hey guys."

"Mommy!"

Mira stopped what she was doing and ran to Olivia. She knew her mommy was growing a tummy so she had to be gentle. She slowed down as she got closer to Liv and gave a kiss to her belly when she got in front of her mom.

"Hi baby," she whispered to the belly.

Olivia smiled and brushed Mira's hair back.

"So how did the appointment go?" Katherine asked.

Fitz and Olivia looked at each other and smiled.

"It's a boy!" they said together.

"Oh my god that's wonderful!" Katherine got up from her seat and gave them each a hug.

"A baby brother?!" Mira asked.

Fitz bent down and grabbed her hands.

"Yeah a baby brother. Are you happy?"

Mira did her thinking face which included scrunching up her nose then shook her head yes.

"Yeah! I'm 'cited!"

"You're excited?!"

"Yes! Auntie Charlie said brothers are the bestest!" she said giving them a toothy smile.

"Well I think this calls for a celebration! Let's go out to eat. My treat!" Katherine said.

"Mom, you don't have to. I –"

"Nonsense! Now let's go. I'm sure Liv and your baby boy are hungry."

Fitz shook his head. He knew he couldn't argue with his mother so instead he just grabbed Liv and Mira's hands and lead them back inside just to go out the front door. Time for the one of many celebrations to begin.

XXXXXX

Two days later…

Fitz felt his phone vibrate which was a signal to his alarm was going off. He quickly turned it off and looked over to the love of his life. They arrived at the beach house late in the evening and today was the day he was going to propose to her. He had about thirty minutes to get everything set up and wake Liv up before the sunrise.

He quietly got up from bed and got himself dressed. He had everything set aside in the downstairs closet so he didn't make a lot of noise. He grabbed the picnic basket from the closet and grabbed the containers of cut up fruit from the fridge. Olivia was currently having a big craving of fruits so he made sure to have her favorites.

He had the basket in one hand, the blanket over his shoulder, and the camera in another. Fitz wanted to make sure he captured this moment. He set the blanket down in an area with a good distance from the water. Once he was satisfied with the set up, he went back up the house to grab the tripod he had forgotten. He set up the camera in a spot where he was sure Olivia wouldn't see it. Now he was ready to go wake her up which he knew would result in an unhappy Liv at first.

He tiptoed back into their room and saw Liv cuddled on his side of the bed. He started to place gentle kisses on her forehead and whispering her name.

"Livvie…can you wake up for me please?"

"Mmm…"

"Please. I have to show you something."

"Fitz. It's too early."

"It will be worth it. I promise."

"Ugh. I really don't like you right now Fitzgerald," she said as she got herself up from bed. "You're lucky I need to use the restroom," she added.

He laughed as she got up. While she was distracted he went to his bedside table and grabbed the ring box. He quickly slipped it into the pocket of his sweatpants.

"Are we heading down to the beach?" she asked him.

"Yes we are so make sure you grab a sweatshirt so you aren't cold."

She grabbed one of Fitz's sweatshirts and put it over her head. She put on a pair of her leggings and put on her flipflops.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah let's go see this surprise you have for me."

He grabbed her hand and led her downstairs. While Liv wasn't entirely happy to be up this early, she knew that the sunrise at the beach house was something else so she knew it would be worth it.

They made their way out the back door and the minute they stepped onto the beach Olivia noticed the beautiful set up Fitz had prepared for them.

"Baby is this for us?" she said as tears started to form.

"Yeah it is now come on. I have some of your favorite fruits waiting for you," he responded as he wiped away a couple of tears that had fallen.

"You spoil me," she kissed his cheek and let him lead her to their blanket.

He helped her get comfortable and then proceeded to open the containers. Olivia felt so lucky to have a man so thoughtful and considerate. He went through all this trouble just for her.

"So what's the occasion?" she asked.

"Just celebrating our new addition. I figured we could use a little alone time."

"I still can't believe we are having a baby boy! Have you given any thoughts to names?"

"I'm not sure yet but we have a couple of months to figure something out."

"We definitely do," she said smiling over at him. She made her way closer to him and snuggled up on his side. The sky was starting to lighten up meaning the sun was about to rise.

"Nothing like the sunrise at this place," she said.

Fitz knew that this was it. This was the right moment to ask her and he could feel his heart starting to race. He was feeling really nervous all of a sudden.

"Babe you okay? Your heart is racing," Olivia moved a little so she could see his face.

"Yeah I am just a little nervous," he said.

"Why?" she looked at him confused.

"Because of this," he said and moved them to their feet.

"Fitz…"

He took one deep breath, grabbed both of her hands, and got on one knee. Olivia gasped. She couldn't believe what was happening.

"Olivia…Livvie…the minute that I saw you I knew that there was something special about you. You came into my life like a whirlwind and I wouldn't change a minute of it. Watching you fall in love with Mira, loving her like a real mom should has been everything to me and I don't know what I would do without you. You're the love of my life and everything we have gone through has brought us to this very moment. Please make me the happiest man alive and marry me? Make our family official," he said as he pulled the ring out of his pocket.

Olivia couldn't keep it together and was crying at his words. She was in shock.

"Liv?"

"YES!" she sobbed.

He quickly got the ring out of the box and put it on her ring finger. He placed on kiss on her hand before pulling her down with him to a passionate kiss. They pulled away from each other and cuddled on the blanket. Olivia looked at her ring. It was clearly vintage but it had a beautiful teal diamond in the middle two smaller diamonds on each side of the ring. It was simple but just what Olivia wanted.

"Fitz this is beautiful!"

"It's my mom's ring."

Olivia could feel herself getting emotional all over again.

"Oh god. Really?!"

"Yeah it is. It's her engagement ring from my dad. They wanted me to have it."

Olivia looked at him confused, "did you give this ring to Mellie?"

Fitz shook his head, "no I didn't. I did ask for it at first knowing that my dad had left that ring to me but my mother didn't want Mellie to have it. In the end, she was right in not giving it to me. It was never meant to be on her finger but on yours."

"Wow. I can't believe this. It's gorgeous and I'm so honored that I get to wear this ring."

They stayed cuddled together for about five more minutes before they packed everything up to go back to their house. They knew Mira would be waking up soon and didn't want her to find an empty house. Before they made it back up the porch steps, Fitz went to get the camera from its hiding spot.

"Oh my god how did I not notice the camera?!" Liv laughed.

"Well I made sure you were distracted."

"That you did. Now I can't wait to see what it captured," she said giving him a peck on the lips. They made their way to the kitchen where they started to make breakfast. About fifteen minutes later they could hear the pitter patter of Mira's feet coming down the stairs.

"Good morning love bug!"

"Morning daddy and mommy," she said rubbing her eyes.

Fitz and Olivia shared a look and smiled. It was time to share the big news with their favorite person. Fitz picked her up and set her on the kitchen counter.

"Sweet pea we have a surprise for you," Liv said.

"Surprise?! I like surprises," she said excitingly.

"Well mommy and I are getting married!"

Mira tilted her head, clearly confused at what her parents were saying.

"But I thought you were already married," she responded.

Olivia and Fitz laughed at her confusion.

"No we aren't but we will be and we will have a big party with friends and family. You'll even get a pretty dress," Liv said with a smile.

"Oh! I love pretty dresses! I'm 'cited now!"

"Oh now you're excited?!" Fitz said as he picked her up from the counter and starting tickling her.

"Daddy…no!" Mira said as she started to laugh really hard.

"More!? Okay," he said and continued to tickle her. Olivia shook her head at her fiancé. Wow fiancé, she thought. That sounded really good and she couldn't wait to share the news with other people.

"Can't…breathe…"

"Okay okay no more tickles. Now are you hungry? We made pancakes."

"Yes!"

"Alright. Go wash up and we can start eating," he patted her butt and moved her in the direction of the downstairs bathroom.

Olivia went over to Fitz's side and hugged his waist. This day couldn't get any better.

XXXXXX

Hours later the house was filled with family and friends. Fitz had a planned a cookout to celebrate their engagement which Olivia obviously had no idea about.

"That ring looks amazing on you," Abby said.

"I can't stop staring at it. He really planned all of this and I had no idea,"

"Well your man is good at keeping these kinds of secrets," Abby winked.

"I still can't believe you knew and didn't drop any hints! Some friend you are!" Liv said jokingly.

"Whatever Liv! It worked out in the end because now you can't stop smiling! Now are you going to tell me if I will be getting a nephew or niece!?"

"Okay! I guess it's time to share the news with everyone. Let me grab Fitz so we can announce it."

"Finally! I'm getting impatient here!"

"Shut up!" Liv said as she laughed.

She went over to Fitz and whispered in his ear that it was time to tell everyone. Mira had surprisingly kept the secret from everyone so no one knew other than Katherine.

"Okay guys. Thank you all for coming to our little engagement party. It feels great to be surrounded by friends and family during this time," Fitz said to everyone.

"Come on big bro! Can you get onto the part where we find out if it's a boy or girl?!" Charlie yelled out.

Everyone laughed and Fitz shook his head. He looked to Liv who smiled and gave him the okay to share the news.

"Fine. We found out that we are having a little boy!"

Everyone cheered at the news causing Liv to feel so overwhelmed in the best way. This moment was everything and as she rubbed her stomach, she couldn't wait until her baby boy was in her arms.

AN: Two big milestones for the Pope-Grant fam! It's a boy and an engagement! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you for all the love and support. Until next week!

XOXO