He'd stopped talking to Olivia. He knew that wouldn't immediately improve things, but he had cut his ties with her, in attempt to get his wife back. He knew now the reasons why his wife had pushed him away, not only giving him another excuse to hold a deep hatred toward his father, but also making him feel terrible for not noticing sooner. How could he not have noticed that his wife was raped? Looking back, it was obvious. The way her actions had changed so abruptly, the way her attitude toward Big Jerry had changed. He was stupid to have not known. And everytime he brought this up to Mellie, she would just shrug and tell him that it was fine, and that the past was the past.
It was early one morning, and they were lying in bed, Mellie asleep, and Fitz awake, watching as his beautiful wife slept. She was so peaceful when she was asleep, much like an angel. He loved to watch her sleep, even though Mellie found it awfully 'stalker-ish'. He chuckled to himself as he thought about what she would say to him if she knew he was watching her sleep. Fitz stared at her, his hand running through her hair. He was almost so indulged in the beautiful woman in front of him that he didn't hear the bedroom door open, and he nearly didn't notice the little boy on the side of the bed, trying to climb up and lie with his parents. "Dada. Up." Teddy demanded, putting his arms up toward Fitz.
"Come here, little man." He grinned as he picked up the toddler, pulling him into his lap. Since Mellie and Fitz had stopped glaring at each other and spitting profanities at one another every time they passed one another in the hallway, they had both been spending much more time with Teddy, together, and Teddy was absolutely ecstatic about that. He was becoming closer to his parents, and he loved it. Part of the reason being that Mellie felt guilty for not being there for Jerry as much as she should have, but this was unbeknown to Teddy. He didn't have to know that. With only one son left, she knew that she had to spend more time with Teddy, love him more than she had failed to love Jerry. She may not have the mother gene, but she damn well had to try to pretend.
It had been nearly two weeks since their experience in Mellie's office, and even though their relationship was improving, there were still a lot of bumps that needed to be repaired. Of course, there was always the worry in the back of Mellie's mind that Fitz would return to Olivia. In the 10 months after Teddy was born, they'd barely spoken, but at least he hadn't spoken to Olivia. This time, she hoped, would be different. This time, Fitz was attempting to improve things with her, trying to fix their marriage. For once, it wasn't her just trying to do everything by herself, he was putting an effort into it. And she was eternally grateful for that. They were never broken, just bent, and they were learning to love one another again, in the way they had when they first got together.
Fitz glanced at Mellie for a moment before rubbing Teddy's back, and turning his attention to him. "Good morning, buddy." He told him, smiling as he kissed his cheek. Teddy grinned and leaned in closer to his father, planting a wet kiss on his lips. Fitz wiped the slobber off of his face with his hand and chuckled softly, smiling at the little boy in his arms. "Yuck."
"Morning!" Teddy giggled and Mellie rolled over when she heard her son. She groaned, slowly opening her eyes and smiling at the sight of her son and husband together. She ran her hand through Teddy's hair, sitting up and softly kissing Fitz's lips. "Ew, mama." Teddy said and Mellie just laughed, pulling away from Fitz and smiling at the little boy. She pulled him into her arms and kissed him all over his face, grinning as he tried to pull away from her.
Mellie just laughed, tickling Teddy's chubby belly. He giggled, attempting to push her hands away. "Daddy. Help. Me." Teddy pleaded in between giggles and Fitz just smiled, shaking his head as she watched the two of them. He was loving seeing Mellie express the motherly gene that she swore she didn't have. She continued tickling him for a few more minutes before she just held him in her arms, gently rubbing his shoulder. Teddy snuggled into his mother, resting his head on her chest.
"Good morning, sweetheart." Fitz kissed Mellie's cheek, running his hand through Teddy's soft hair.
Mellie blushed and smiled at him. "Good morning, honey." She had really missed this. Being able to just lie in bed with him, wake up and actually say good morning to one another. For longer than she could remember, their mornings consisted of one of them getting up before the other and not having to see each other until they had a meeting with one another. They would barely speak to each other all day, unless they were forced to talk. She hated that. This, being able to spend time together like they used to, she absolutely loved this. Especially with Teddy in between them. This time it was going to be better. With both Teddy and Fitz, it was going to be better. She was going to be a better wife and a better mother. She was sure of this.
Mellie stood up, pulling Teddy into her arms. She kissed his cheek before handing him back to Fitz. "Do you want to take him to the park today?" She asked her husband before going into her closet and attempting to find something to wear for the day. Fitz nodded as he played with Teddy and Mellie got dressed, wearing a simple black skirt and a blue blouse. She came back out and picked up her son, smiling at him. "Daddy's gonna go get ready, and we're gonna go get you dressed, okay, baby?" Mellie asked and Teddy nodded, wrapping his arms around her neck. She kissed Fitz's cheek once more and brought Teddy to his room, getting him dressed in play clothes and brushing his tiny baby teeth before carrying him down to the kitchen, trying to find him something to eat.
"Eggies." Teddy said, looking up at his mother and pouting. "Pwease?" He asked innocently and Mellie just smiled at him, nodding as she told a staff member to make the 18 month old some eggs. She made him a bottle of milk and carried him to a table, sitting down and giving him the bottle. Mellie held him close, smiling as he cuddled into her, drinking the milk and kneading at her chest with his hand. She was trying to completely get him off of breastfeeding, and eventually completely off of the bottle, but Teddy wasn't having it. She was surprised he took the bottle without problem. Usually he'd try to convince her into letting him nurse, which would in turn result in Mellie giving in to her baby boy, especially recently since what happened with Jerry.
Mellie rubbed the little boy's back, watching him drink away as a staff member brought her a plate of scrambled eggs and a bottle of ketchup. Teddy immediately let go of the bottle and sat up, looking at Mellie before looking at the plate of food. The brunette just chuckled, taking the fork and feeding him his eggs. As he ate, Fitz came up behind the two of them, covering Mellie's eyes with her hands. "Guess who." He joked and Mellie shrugged lightly, grinning to herself.
"Um, Hal?" She asked and Fitz declined. "Tom?" Wrong again. "Oh, I know. It's Cy." Mellie laughed and she could hear Fitz chuckle behind her. "Is it my amazing husband?" She questioned and Fitz pulled his hands away from her eyes, turning her head toward him and kissed her lips ever so gently. Mellie smiled and kissed him back, Teddy pushing Fitz's face away from her.
"No, dada. Yucky." He told him, frowning. "My mommy." Teddy clung to Mellie and Fitz just smiled, ruffling his son's hair.
"Sorry buddy." He told him, sitting down and watching as Mellie finished feeding their boy. He adored how close they were now, even though he knew one of the main reasons for it was because she felt bad about Jerry. Either way, she had stepped up. And she loved Teddy so much. That wasn't out of obligation. That was out of true love for her little boy and he loved seeing the two of them so happy together.
"Mama. Wants some?" Teddy asked, taking the fork from his mother and holding it up to her. Mellie smiled and nodded, taking a bite of the eggs. Teddy just grinned, feeling accomplished as he scooped up another bite of eggs and held the fork up toward Fitz. "Daddy?" He questioned and Fitz just grinned, opening his mouth when Teddy moved the fork toward him. Teddy fed him a bite and handed the fork back to Mellie, who continued to feed the little boy. When he was done eating, Teddy looked up at his parents. "Park?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.
Mellie laughed quietly, nodding her head as Fitz took the plate to the sink. They both stood up and Mellie picked up Teddy, holding him close. They waited for Tom and Hal and took him to the park, spending time together like a true family. They were happy to finally get back into this. Of course, they weren't completely back to normal, but they were getting there, slowly but surely.