I know I've been gone for forever (2 months) and I'm really sorry but this summer I will be catching up and finishing my stories, the first of them being this one. The last chapter ended on a pretty good note but I'm just going to warn y'all now and say that a storm in the story is coming and that things will get worse before they get better, but they will definitely get better, so just try and stick with me ;)

Chapter 23: There's A Storm Coming

Fitz had decided to take Olivia to their favorite Italian restaurant in town, so Olivia put on the black dress she could find, he picked her up at seven and they were on their way. As they sit across each other at the restaurant, she can't take her eyes off him. He was too handsome in his navy blue suit that matched his beautiful blue eyes. He was talking to her intently about something but she couldn't focus on that with how perfect he looked. He was almost hypnotic, almost to the point where he felt unreal but she disregards it—that is until she sees a streak of dark liquid running down his chin.

"What's that?" She asks.

"What?" He asks furrowing his eyebrows.

"I think it's just a bit of food you missed…" she starts but stops as she sees the same dark liquid now flowing down from his eyes and nostrils.

She puts her hand to her mouth and cries out, horrified, "Fitz! What's wrong?"

He stares back at her with the same amount of terror in his eyes and reaches up to touch his face, wiping off some of the liquid. He looks down at his hand which is covered in the now red blood fluid and then looks back up to her and says, "I'm dead."

Suddenly the person sitting in front of her is no longer Fitz but someone who she could never look at without getting an awful pit in her stomach. The person begins to choke on the dark liquid before gasping out, "So much blood," over and over again.

Olivia can no longer stand the sight so she quickly gets up and runs for the door, but she doesn't even take a few sprints before the scenery around her changes and she's suddenly back in the apartment that she and Fitz lived in so many years ago. She looks up to see him, looking ten years younger with a heart-wrenching expression across his face but he's staring past her. She turns around to see a younger version of herself with an expression of fury as angry, heartbroken tears threaten to fall from her eyes. The younger Olivia begins to yell at younger Fitz but most of it is muffled until her younger self opens her mouth to say something, but the dream is interrupted by a high-pitched voice hollering, "Mommy! Wake up!"

Olivia gasps as her eyes fly open and she almost bumps her forehead into Danny's by sitting up too fast. Danny sits back on her lap and cocks his head, frowning at her. "Are you alright?"

She forces a groggy smile. "Yeah, buddy, I'm fine. What's up?"

"Daddy's here! We gotta go or else we're going to be late for the game," he tells her earnestly, tugging at her arm.

"Okay, I'm getting up," she says as Fitz peeks into the bedroom and slowly steps in.

He smiles warmly at her and Danny but she can't bring herself to do the same after the dream she just woke up from only moments ago.

She climbs out of bed, continuing to avoid eye contact with him as she combs out her hair.

"Danny, did you abruptly wake up your mom?" Fitz asks, helping him off the bed.

"I guess…" Danny responds guiltily. "Sorry, mommy."

"It's okay."

"Hey, buddy, I know it's summertime but it's still a little chilly outside so could you go grab a jacket?" Fitz asks Danny who nods and speeds off to his room, leaving Olivia alone with Fitz.

"Hi," she hears him say softly behind her.

"Hi," she greets with a faux optimistic tone and her back still facing him. He eventually comes up from behind her and positions his hands on her hips, gently spinning her around to face him.

He smiles as he presses his forehead to hers. "I missed you."

She chuckles nervously. "I missed you, too."

Their lips slowly melt together in a simple but passionate kiss. Once they pull back, Olivia places her hand on his chest, needing to feel his heartbeat, and stares intently into his grayish blue eyes to shake the chilling feeling she was still harboring from her dream.

He squints slightly at her. "Are you okay?"

She quickly nods. "Yeah, I'm still just a little disoriented from my nap."

"I can't find any of my jackets!" They hear Danny yell from down the hall.

"I should go help him. Excuse me," she tells Fitz, wiggling herself out of his grasp and feeling awkward for being so formal with him.

IiIiI

2016

Olivia already had dinner ready and had just put some cookies in the oven for the big meal she had prepared for her brothers and Abby's visit. So while she was waiting for everyone to arrive and for Fitz to finish getting ready, she found herself doodling 'Olivia Grant', 'Mrs. Grant', and whatever else came to mind concerning her and Fitz's soon-to-be marital union as she hummed a happy tune and smiled like a fool just thinking about the day that he would say "I do".

She had never thought that she could ever feel so hopelessly in love with someone but she was and her love for him only grew stronger and stronger everyday.

"Hey, Livvie, do you know where those razors that I just bought a few days ago went?" She spins around to see Fitz wrapped in a towel from the waist down with his curls still drenched and beads of water dripping down his toned chest. She already felt herself growing hot just taking in how handsome he looked.

"Uh…" she shakes herself out of her daze and says, "Um, no, I'm not sure. You could always go a little scruffy, though."

He smiles as he walks over to her. "I guess I could. What're you up to?"

"Oh, nothing," she tells him, rushing to hide her doodles away from him but he catches her hasty effort.

"What's that?"

"It's nothing, Fitz…" she says with a sheepish giggle.

He cocks his eyebrow at her as a mischievous smile takes over his face and he approaches her, holding her against the kitchen counter and trapping her. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, it really is." He gazes intently into her eyes and for a moment it seems as if he's going to kiss her until he stops at the last second and starts to tickle her to death.

"Fitz! Stop! Please or I'll yank this towel off," she threatens amidst her laughter.

He pauses and says in a deep voice into her ear. "Hmm, that would only make things all the more fun…"

He finally gets ahold of the doodles and a huge smiles comes across his face as he sees what she'd been hiding. "Aww…Liv."

She rolls her eyes. "Go ahead and make fun of me."

"Liv, I'm not going to make fun of you—or should I say Mrs. Grant? I love it," he says, holding her at the waist. He brushes a strand of her hair from her face and cups her cheek as he places a soft kiss to her lips.

He pulls back and raises her hand to his mouth, pecking the ring he had given her the night before. "And I love you."

She can't help but grin back at him as she wraps her hand around his neck and pulls him back down to her for another kiss. As they get more into it, Fitz grips her waist and pulls her up onto the kitchen counter as she unpeels his towel, letting it fall to the ground and wraps her legs around his waist. He reaches for the zipper of her shorts, pulling them and her panties down in a swift motion, when they hear the doorbell ring.

Fitz curses under his breath, making Olivia smile at his disappointed scowl and pout. He looks back up at her and with a determined look in his eyes says lowly in a voice that makes her shiver, "Your ass is mine tonight, Mrs. Grant."

He bends down and picks up his towel but instead of wrapping it back around his waist, he flips it over his shoulder and casually walks back to their bedroom.

"Nice ass!" She hollers, gazing at his bare behind.

"Thank you very much," he yells back and then closes the bedroom door behind him.

She quickly zips her shorts on, hops off the counter, and goes to answer the door.

IiIiI

Present

The game had gone well. The Clippers won easily against the Spurs, and with the game ending early, they were able to start back home at a decent hour. As Fitz drove back to the house, he glanced at Danny who was sound asleep in the backseat and couldn't help but smile at how similar he was to Olivia when he slept, right down to the bottom lip that looked extra pouty as it stuck out every time he exhaled.

Olivia herself had been quieter than usual. At first Fitz suspected it was because she was tired but there was also something off with her, like she was hiding something. With one hand on the steering wheel, he decides to reach for hers with the other, but as soon as their skin makes contact, she flinches.

"Are you okay?" He asks, knowing she evidently isn't. "You seem really jumpy."

"I'm fine, Fitz," she assures him, loosely grasping his hand.

He nods slowly. "So, did you enjoy the game?"

"You asked me that earlier," she tells him, but not in that sarcastic, playful tone she would've normally used. She sounded more distracted and annoyed.

"Yeah, I know…sorry." They continue to drive in silence for a long while when Fitz realizes they're passing by the very place that changed his life forever and was the scene of the worst day of his life. As they pass the street, he can see all the police cars, he can see all the wreckage, he can reimagine the feeling of his heart wrenching in his chest as he suspected the worst.

He shakes himself out of his daze and realizes that he and Olivia were both holding their breaths as they remembered that awful night. He squeezes her hand and she does the same, but still refuses to look his way.

As soon as they arrive home, Fitz takes Danny out of the backseat and carries him upstairs to his room with Olivia following behind. Once they help him change into his pjs, they tuck him in bed and both kiss him goodnight.

Fitz didn't know if he was spending the night or not yet. Danny had been asking about when he would finally move in with them, but with work taking up both his and Olivia's time lately, they still had to hash out all the details.

They step out into the backyard but instead of sitting on the porch, Fitz suggests they sit out on the grass beneath the moon and stars. He smiles at her as sit shoulder to shoulder and she does the same but he knows it's forced. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to know why she was acting so strange.

"Liv, I know you keep saying everything is fine, but there seems to be something off with you."

"Fitz, I told you I'm fine. Stop worrying…"

"But you're not fine. Yesterday, you were genuinely happy and talkative and relaxed but since I came by this afternoon, you just seem really…disturbed."

"Oh, so, now you think I'm acting crazy?" She says in an accusatory tone, like she was trying to start a fight but he tries to keep the conversation calm.

"I didn't say that or mean to imply that. I'm just saying you're not your normal self and I want to know what's going on so I can help."

"I don't need your help. I'm just feeling a little tired and stressed out from work that's all."

"Usually when you feel that way, you want to talk with someone about it. You usually want to talk to me…"

"There was no time," she says bluntly.

"We have time now," he offers.

She sighs and shakes her head, unlinking their hands and getting up.

Before he can stop himself, he asks, "Is there someone else…?"

"What?"

"I don't know, I'm not trying to jump to conclusions or anything but you just don't seem like you want me around."

"That doesn't mean I'm seeing someone else. Sometimes I just have my bad days. Look, it's getting late. I think you should go," she says, standing up and prodding him to do the same.

"So, you don't want me around?"

She lets out a long sigh. "It's more complicated than that."

"Too complicated that you can't explain it to me?"

"Fitz…"

"It's okay. I'll just go, then."

He marches away from her into the house and grabs his things. She doesn't follow him in but notices that right before he's about to leave, he pauses by the stairs and looks up towards Danny's room. He gives her one last angry but longing gaze and then heads to the front door. Once she hears the front door shut, she sits down on the grass and buries her face in her hands, wanting to scream and cry. Why couldn't she just tell him about her dream? Why did she always have to push people away, especially those most important to her? They had only been seeing each other for a few weeks now and she was already screwing it up. She twirls a strand of grass around her finger but instead of this being cathartic like usual, it just brings back all the feelings she was trying to get away from. She swallows hard as one tear comes trickling down her cheek until it's a free for all and her most hated and terrible memory comes rushing full force.

Like I said before, things will get worse before they get better so brace yourselves for these next couple chapters as some things from the past are revealed and resolved. Olitz is always endgame and I promise you they will get something even better than the date they planned and I can't wait to write it *giddily smiles*. Leave your thoughts and thanks for reading!