So I'm about to pull a Shonda and you'll see what I mean as you read further into the chapter. It was actually my friend's idea so if you guys don't like it blame her not me. I'm kidding..she'll kill me for saying that. lol..That being said I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the first.

P.S. Ellie isn't going to die. Some of you were worried that I was going to kill her off but I'm not. She's going to be fine. You just have to be patient. :)

FLASHBACK

"What if we just looked into adoption?" Mellie sat down on her side of the bed and turned to face Fitz.

"What?" Fitz closed looked up from his laptop and closed the screen.

"Adoption."

Fitz took a deep breath before he spoke. "You don't have to do this. I've already told you that."

"You want a baby Fitz. I know you do. You can say that you don't all you want but you're not happy. A baby will make you happy."

"Mellie."

"I'm trying to make things better. You haven't been happy since.." She hesitated for a moment. "You haven't been happy in a really long time."

"You know that's not the reason we are in the place we are in right now." He said. His frustration was evident in his voice. "You're right I do want children, but do you really think bringing a child into this environment is the best thing right now?" He gestured between the two of them.

"85% of the problems that we are having right now center around the fact that you want a child and I can't give you that. I am trying. I'm trying to give you what you want. Okay?" They were both quiet for a moment. When Fitz didn't say anything Mellie spoke. "I know I'm not your favorite person right now but you have to give me credit for something."

Fitz ran a hand down his face before sliding under the covers. He was tired of having this same conversation. "I'll call the adoption agency from work in the morning." Before she could say anything he turned off the light and closed his eyes, ending the conversation.

In the time spent waiting for the agency to let them know that a birth mother wanted to meet with them, Fitz began to warm up to the idea of adoption. While he and Mellie weren't ridiculously in love they could still make great parents, right? Although he had always envisioned having a child that looked just like him, he knew he could love a child that was not biologically his just the same.

Eventually the call came from the agency. A young girl, age 15, was expecting her baby in less than a month but had been unable to find a family that was a fit. After looking at the Grant file she was curious enough to meet them.

"This is her last chance to find a family so let's hope this goes well." The nicely dressed secretary told the couple as she led them to the room where the meeting would take place.

"What's wrong with her?" Mellie asked which earned a look from Fitz.

"Nothing's wrong with her." The lady answered, shocked by the question. "All the families so far just haven't been the right..fit." She finished as she opened the door for them. "You can sit here." She pointed at the sofa that sat against the wall. "She should be here in a few moments and then you can talk and ask each other any questions you might have, that sort of thing."

When Fitz and Mellie nodded she turned and walked out the door, closing it softly behind her. They stayed silent until they heard the door again. It opened and revealed a young girl with the most striking green eyes either of them had seen and blonde hair. "Hi" She said as she sat down rubbing a hand over her stomach.

After a lengthy conversation, the girl who they found out was named Sarah began to like them. "There's just one thing." She said nervously.

"What is that?" Fitz asked looking at Mellie and back at Sarah.

"Her father is black. And I'm only telling you this because the last couples didn't want her because she's going to be half black." Without giving them a chance to speak she stood. "I'll give you time to think about it. So I'm going to go. It was nice meeting you." She moved to the door, remarkably fast for someone who was eight months pregnant.

END FLASHBACK

"Red." Ellie answered in a voice that was much smaller than hers used to be.

"And what color is this?" Fitz held up another crayon.

"Green." She took it from him and began coloring the water on her picture.

"Green water?" She nodded. "Okay then." He laughed.

The door opened and the doctor walked in. "Hello Ms. Ellie. How are you today?"

"Good."

"Is it okay if I talk to your Dad for a moment?" He asked her and she nodded at him a small smile on her face.

"I'll be right back okay, ladybug." He kissed her head. He followed the doctor into the hall. "How is she?" He asked wanting to cut right to the chase.

"She is progressing." He said slowly.

"I feel like there's more than what you're telling me." He noticed the doctor's tone.

"She's not progressing as quickly as we would like."

"So what happens now?"

"We up her chemo."

"What are the odds that increasing her dose will work?"

"Considering the fact that she is responding to the chemo already, I say they are very high."

He nodded. "Okay then. When do we start?"

"Right now. After we give her a check-up we'll take her to her regular appointment." Once he was sure they were both on the same page he followed Fitz back into the hospital room.

After a routine check-up the doctor led them down to where they would have to administer her chemo. Even though they tried to make it as comfortable as possible the process still made both Ellie and Fitz nervous. "It won't be that bad ladybug." Fitz said trying to ease her fears as he rubbed her back. She placed her head in the crook of his neck, in response, he readjusted her on his lap.

"Is that my favorite girl?" Kelly one of the nurses said as she came around the corner. Her southern accent was thick. She appeared with a smile on her face, hoping to make the girl smile as well. She failed.

"She's nervous." Fitz answered for her.

"You don't have to be nervous sweetie. We've done this before, right?" She was still unable to get a response from the girl who had now wrapped her arm around Fitz's neck. Kelly rubbed Ellie's arm. When that didn't work either, she turned towards a cabinet that held everything that she would need for the process. "You're so pretty with those big ole beautiful eyes and we can't even see them if your hiding behind Daddy."

Fitz signaled to Kelly that he needed a minute before they started so she walked out of the room to take care of a few things. "Are you scared?" Still silent she nodded. "Why?"

"It's scary." She whispered.

"Has anything bad ever happened before?" She shook her head no. "I'm always here right?" She nodded. "So you have nothing to be afraid of."

"I don't want to." She held on to him tighter.

"It'll be over before you know it. We'll read or we'll watch a movie. We can play a game if you want. It won't hurt. Okay?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Okay." She whispered. Releasing a breath he nodded at the nurse. She walked over and began hooking her up to the necessary machine.

Fifteen minutes later, Ellie was occupied by the iPad sitting in her lap

FLASHBACK

"I'm nervous. Are you nervous?" Mellie rubbed her sweaty hands on her pants.

"I'm trying not to be. But everything has been fine up until this point."

"You're right." They sat in silence waiting. Watching the clock. Waiting. Pacing. Watching the clock. Waiting.

After what felt like an eternity, a nurse walked into the waiting room, her expression unreadable. When she got closer to them she smiled and they knew everything was okay. "It's a girl. She's 6 lbs 5 oz and perfectly healthy. Sarah would like for you to come see her."

Silently they followed the nurse down the hall and around a corner until they reached the door that separated them from their little girl. After she opened the door for them, the nurse stepped out of the room leaving them. "Hi." Sarah greeted them as she held the small bundle. She looked up at them with tired eyes, evidence of all the she had just been through. "Do you want to hold her?"

Nodding, Mellie reach for the baby and held her close. Her eyes were closed and her hands covered most of her face but they could already tell that she was beautiful. "Hi baby." She rubbed her hand over the baby's arms and hand and then her head, noticing the light brown hair there. "You want her?" She looked up at Fitz.

"Yeah I do." He smiled as he took the baby and allowed her to settle in his arms. "Hi there gorgeous." He looked at her as if he were trying to commit her to memory. He took in every feature, the way her chest moved as she breathed, how her hands would curl and uncurl on occasion.

"Did you pick a name yet?" Sarah asked looking between the two of them.

"Yeah we did." He still hadn't taken his eyes off of her. "Eloise Marie."

END FLASHBACK

Fitz was brought out of his thoughts by a small hand tapping his chest. "Daddy!" When she had his attention, Ellie pointed down at the iPad. "Game?" She asked. Once she had what she wanted she was focused on the tablet again.

Distracting her the whole time worked. Soon the treatment was over and they were back in her hospital room. After giving her numerous toys to keep her attention, Fitz walked out into the hallway to make a phone call. He checked for a signal, but when he couldn't find one he started towards the elevator. As he got closer he noticed Olivia waiting for the elevator as well. "Is seeing each other at elevators becoming a thing?" He asked once he was close enough.

Smiling, she looked up at him. "It seems that way."

"How are you?" He asked as they walked onto the elevator.

"I'm good." She answered. "How are you? How's your daughter?" She added.

"I'm good and she's doing better." They were interrupted by the elevator door opening on the next floor and a flood of people getting on. Olivia moved over closer to Fitz to make room. For the first time, Fitz got a whiff of her perfume and he knew immediately that he was in trouble. He had noticed before that she was a beautiful woman, but something stirred within him when she moved closer.

They traveled down a few more floors before the doors opened again. Already nervous at the closing gap between their bodies, Fitz had to pull himself together as he watched more people enter the elevator. He swallowed hard and tried to regulate his breathing as Olivia's hand brushed against his arms as she tried to reposition her bag to make room for the extra people. Fitz cursed the small elevator that they were all cramped in.

"Sorry." She said with a smile. She looked up at him and was shocked at the look in his eye. His eyes were fixed on hers and she could have sworn that they were not that grey all of the other times she had looked into them.

"It's fine." He croaked. Inwardly chastising himself for the change in his voice. They both remained silent until the doors opened back up and everyone began to empty the elevator.

"So..uh.." Fitz started trying to break the awkwardness between them. "Where're you headed?"

"Oh." She rubbed her arm. "Back to my office. I was only here for lunch. You?"

"I'm just making a phone call." He held up his phone. "I couldn't get a signal inside and I need to make sure my livelihood is still intact." He chuckled, referring to his job.

She nodded. "I should go."

She turned to walk away looking down at her watch. Before Fitz could think any better of it he called her name. When she turned around he realized that this could either go very well or very bad but he had to ask. "Um..I was..I..uhh." He stuttered.

"What is it?" She asked, confused.

"I was wondering if you'd maybe want to get coffee sometime. Or if you don't like coffee we could get tea or something. But it's okay if you don't want to. I just like talking to you and you give good advice and I could really use a friend right. You seem like you'd be a good friend to have. But-" He was talking so fast that Olivia could hardly find a place to interject.

"Fitz." She smiled, shaking her head as she reached into her purse. "Here." She placed the card into his hand. "Coffee sounds great. Call me and we'll set up a time and place. I really have to go though."

"Okay." He said. At this point he was smiling like an idiot. "I'll call you." When she was gone he stood there for a second. He had almost forgotten about the call he needed to make.

XOXOXOXOXO

After finally finding a time that worked for both of them, Fitz was finally having that cup of coffee with Olivia. He had not seen her at the hospital since he asked her and he had missed her presence. He had arrived a few minutes ago, and found a table that was quiet where they could sit and talk.

"You haven't been waiting too long have you?" Olivia asked as she pulled out the chair and sat down facing Fitz.

"No I just got here. I haven't even ordered yet." He said.

"Oh okay. Good." She put her jacket and purse on the back of the chair and turned around to say something else but stopped. She smiled.

"What?" Fitz asked confused by the look on her face.

"You have a-" She pointed to his shoulder. "There's a.." She giggled before she could even get the statement out of her mouth. "You have a pink feather on your shoulder." She reached across the table and grabbed the object off of his shoulder.

He watched her as she back down in her seat, feather in hand. "Ellie." He said laughing. "She wanted to have a tea party earlier and for Eloise a tea party is not complete without feather boas and those big obnoxious sunglasses."

"How is she? Ellie?"

"She's doing really good. The doctor thinks she might be able to go home soon."

"That's great." She noticed that he seemed less stressed than she had seen him before.

"Yeah." He nodded. "How's your niece?"

"Oh she's good. She went home last week."

"That would explain why I haven't seen you around. I missed you." Realizing what he had said, Fitz tried to recover. "Being around..I missed seeing you around..you know..the hospital."

She laughed at him as he tried to get himself together. "So coffee?" She pointed to the counter.

"Yeah. What can I get you?" He asked standing up.

"I'll havee the same as whatever you get." She answered.

Their coffee was long gone but they had been sitting in the same spot for well over 2 hours. They talked about everything and nothing all at the same time.

"Long story short." Fitz said between laughs. "I was terrified of squirrels for 3 months."

"How did that go?"

"Anytime I was outside and there was a squirrel within sight I would scream my head off. My mom stopped letting me go outside."

"That's hilarious." Olivia said as she tried to catch her breath. "Thank goodness you were able to get through something so traumatic and continue on with your life."

"Haha." He said sarcastically. "Make fun of me all you want but when you're a small kid squirrels can terrifying. Especially after they try to attack you."

"Okay. If you say so."

Fitz looked down at his watch. "I had better go. I try not to be away from Ellie for very long." He said standing up.

"Yeah I should probably get home too."

He reached out to hug her and smiled at how she seemed to fit perfectly into his arms. "Can we do this again sometime?" He asked when they separated.

"Yes." She answered with a smile. "I would like that." They went their separate ways. Both had huge smiles on their faces thinking of the other.

Thank you for all the reviews and follows and stuff. Hopefully I will update soon. If you would like you can follow me on Tumblr at: 4noptimisticpessimist