A/N: Because it's been a while, and because I have no idea when I'll be able to write a whole chapter, I finished this today and thought I'd share. It's short but sweet. I hope you enjoy it and I'll try to be back again with more as soon as I can.

Thank you as always for reading and reviewing.


Chapter 24: An Interlude

Olivia wakes in the best way on Sunday morning: slowly, from the most restful sleep, with pale sunlight streaming in through the windows and Fitz gently sliding his hands beneath her pajamas, kissing his way down her body.

"Mmm," she sighs contentedly, stretching out. "Good morning."

She pushes back the covers to see him nuzzling her belly, humming against her skin. When he glances up and smiles at her, her heart skips a beat. He is unreasonably handsome today, with his perfect teeth, chestnut curls and bright blue eyes full of adoration.

Desire uncoils itself deep in her core, silky and warm.

"Welcome to the day," he says cutely, making her melt a little inside. "And welcome to twelve weeks."

She gasps, a combination of his renewed kisses and the realization that they have made it to the first milestone. "Wow. Three months already."

"Only seven to go… and then we get to meet you, little one." When his gaze meets hers again, it's with an intensity that is all too familiar. "You're amazing, Livvie."

Suddenly he's shifting up the bed to lie above her, his weight resting on his elbows, his words soft and urgent. "I love you."

He kisses her fiercely, catching her by surprise. For several seconds she's perfectly still, totally swept away; then, when she finally inhales, her chest expands and floods with so many emotions her eyes sting with tears. Before she can say anything, though, or try to communicate just how much she loves him in return, he's drawing away, standing up.

"Stay there," he instructs as he leaves the room.

As much as she would like to, waiting for whatever surprise he has planned, she does have to get up to pee. Afterwards, brushing her teeth (because she's not feeling nauseous this morning and she really wants him), she wanders back into the bedroom and stands side-on to the mirror, lifting her pajama shirt. Her baby bump hasn't changed overnight that she can see, but knowing she's at twelve weeks now attaches so much more significance to it. When Fitz returns she looks at him via the glass, grinning around her toothbrush.

"You are so beautiful," he says solemnly. He puts whatever he's holding down on the bed and comes over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. They turn to face the mirror, his hands splayed protectively on her abdomen. "Hi beautiful girl, with your beautiful belly. I need to get a photo of you, start documenting week by week."

He takes his phone from his pocket but she gestures to her mouth, mumbling: "Wait!"

She finishes up in the bathroom and when she returns, she finds Fitz holding out a bunch of pale pink roses and a wrapped gift. "For you."

She stares at him, wide-eyed. "Why?"

He shrugs, smiling. "Do I need a reason?"

Could he be any sweeter? It's something she finds herself asking most days, and yet he continues to surpass himself.

She takes the roses from him, breathing in their scent. "Twelve," she notes, beaming at him. "You're so thoughtful Fitzy. Did you go out this morning for these?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

She lets him take the flowers from her, placing them on her dresser. As he watches her opening the gift, she can sense his apprehension, hoping she'll like whatever is inside…

He needn't have worried. There are two items, both made of the softest, organic white cotton: a t-shirt printed with the words 'Mama Bird' and a tiny newborn onesie, with matching font reading 'Baby Bird'. She wants to cry; no, she is crying.

"Do you like them?" he's asking as she hugs him tightly, burying her face in his neck.

"Oh my god, Fitz. I love them."

"I wasn't sure if it was too soon to buy baby clothes or not, but I saw them and I couldn't resist."

"It's not too soon." She gazes up at him, totally and irrevocably in love. "They're perfect. Thank you."

He wipes her cheeks with his thumbs, kissing her deeply. Several moments later she's letting the gifts fall to the ground as she rises into him, her body coming alive in his arms.

"The photo," Fitz reminds her as she pulls off his t-shirt, his jeans. He's already growing hard for her, tenting his boxers. She slips her hand inside and begins to stroke him, pressing herself against his rigid abs, his perfectly-defined chest. He keeps calling her beautiful, but she's not the one who's built like a Greek god.

"Later," she says between kisses. "I'll still be pregnant in half an hour."

"What about an hour? Maybe even two…"

She pauses, surprised. "What are you gonna do to me?"

"Well…"

Before she knows it, her pajamas are on the floor and Fitz is kissing his way down her bare skin a second time. "One day soon," he muses, kneeling in front of her, "I won't be able to see your face from down here."

He looks into her eyes again as he tugs down her underwear and kisses her center; holds her hips still when he starts to lick her, keeping her upright.

"Fitz," she moans, tangling her fingers in his hair as his words and his tongue send fireworks shooting through her muscles, bursting into sparks along her nerves.

But he doesn't acknowledge her pleading tone, instead pushing her legs further apart, letting his mouth explore her inner thighs. "Do you like this, baby?"

"Mmm."

He slips one long finger into her, closely followed by a second. "And this?"

"Yes!"

"Don't close your eyes. Look at me." When she does, fighting against the surges of pleasure sweeping over her, he smiles. "I need to make the most of being able to watch you while I still can. I love watching you come. Will you?"

Somewhere in the cacophony of her sounds is an affirmative, a whispered "yes", while he kisses her the same way he kisses her mouth and she tries to keep her grip on reality. When she catches sight of them in the mirror, it's so erotic that her desire rockets up a thousand percent, hurtling her towards the edge.

"Fitz, look."

He turns, seeing what she sees. Then he begins to stand, kissing her belly on his way, lavishing attention on each of her breasts for a few, torturous seconds before finally moving behind her. She watches with fascination, trembling, as his reflection caresses her body: pale hands on dark skin, fingers between her thighs, cupping her breast, rolling her nipple. Her head falls onto his shoulder and he bites her neck hard enough to hurt, to make her jerk with pleasure.

"Well done, baby," he says, drawing rapid, achingly tender circles on her clit. She's so close she can barely process his words. "Now I can watch you like this every day. You are so sexy, Livvie. Look at you."

Every sensation converges: sight, smell, touch, throb, jolt, explosion. He grips her tightly as she falls apart; then he carries her to the bed, takes off his underwear, kneels behind her and makes her come again with the fastest, deepest thrusts she's ever felt. Olivia thinks he can probably tell that her arms are shaking, her body so spent and her mind so far gone she's having trouble supporting herself, because he instructs her to lie down and they do so together, slowly, until she's flat on her front and he's surrounding her so completely he's the only thing she knows.

And it's heavenly. If she could be anywhere for the rest of her life, this is the place she'd choose: where nothing matters except them, and their little family of three.

Fitz entwines their fingers, kissing her cheek, whispering sweet everythings into her ear. It's so intimate, sharing his air, feeling his sweat on her skin, hearing his every groan and stuttered breath. She loves the way he smells: the real scent of him beneath body wash and deodorant and cologne, that only she is allowed close enough to know. She loves how fearlessly open he is when they're together like this, and how careful he is with her even when he's brimming over with passion. She loves that he loves her enough that those are the words he repeats over and over, even when he's about to break apart.

"Love you too," she murmurs, kissing his jaw, squeezing his hands, feeling every single one of his muscles tensing as he finally lets go. In their own little world, in the millimeters of hot, sticky air between her face and his, his pleasure becomes hers too. She feels his climax, feels his release as her own, his pounding heart and his satisfaction. It's such an intense experience, seemingly born from nothing at all except a usual Sunday morning, a young couple in love.

But that is their power. That is what they are together: the sum more than their parts. They are exponential; limitless.

They are everything.

"Have you ever felt like this before?" Olivia asks in a small voice, because she's afraid of his answer and because he's still on top of her, pinning her to the bed, reducing the volume of her lungs (but in the most comforting way).

He moves off of her very slightly, just enough so he can look straight into her eyes. "You know I haven't," he replies, frowning. "This is once in a lifetime, Livvie. Why are you asking?"

She reaches up and brushes her fingertips through his curls, trying to figure out how to verbalize what she's thinking. "I just… don't understand why your wife is keeping you from this. How can anyone be so selfish?"

His expression softens and she can actually see him falling even more in love with her. "You are just the sweetest thing," he sighs and then he's kissing her, hard, despite the angle of their mouths and the way they have to strain their necks to reach.

She whimpers, overwhelmed. God, she wants him to be hers more than she's ever wanted anything else before. She wants to wear his rings on her left hand, to shout out to the world that they're together, strong, unstoppable.

"How are you going to celebrate?" she asks, breathlessly, when he finally lets her go.

"Celebrate…?"

"Getting her to sign the papers. And your divorce."

He smiles, then gently pulls out of her and rolls away, reaching for the box of tissues on her bedside cabinet, taking a couple and passing one to her. "I am going to take my gorgeous, pregnant girlfriend out for the most incredible date night - all top secret, of course - and then we're both going to come down with some mysterious illness which means we definitely can't go into work, and we'll spend the whole week right here in this bed, doing exactly what we just did as often as physically possible."

Olivia laughs as she sits up. "I like the sound of that."

"I love the sound of it."

She presses a playful kiss to his lips. "And I love you. Now, will you be joining me in the shower?"

"Is that something I would ever say no to?"

Afterwards, she picks out a matching set of black underwear and lets Fitz take photos of her as she stands in front of the bedroom wall. She most definitely looks pregnant now, with the natural curve of her lower spine accentuating her bump, and seeing pictures of herself captured on screen fills her with bubbling excitement, making her jump up and down - and making him laugh.

"You are so cute," he says fondly, folding her into his embrace. "I almost don't want to tell everyone else later. I love that it's our secret."

"I love it too, but I think we kinda have to. I can't hide forever and we're going to need all the help we can get."

"I know. You're right."

She gives him her most mischievous grin. "I know. I always am."