A/N: Alright, I had to give y'all another update! Keep up the reviewing, I love hearing what you all think!
They have an event tonight, and Mellie has no desire to attend it. Between not wanting to go out and pretend to be happy, and not feeling well, she really didn't want to go. But she decided to suck it up. It wasn't an event that they could just miss, and it wasn't something that Fitz could just attend himself. That would be too suspicious, even though there really was nothing suspicious about it.
She got dressed in the closet, a little pissed that she couldn't find anything that fit her. She finally found a dress that she had worn once when she was pregnant with Teddy, and hoped that no one noticed that she had worn it twice. She put it on and zipped it up, sighing when she looked in the mirror. Her baby bump was really starting to show now, and she knew that there was no way that they could hide it after tonight. She had just hit the 12 week mark and wasn't necessarily ready to tell the public, but it seemed like she was already bigger than she was with the twins at 12 weeks. That worried her for a second, but then she realized that she had already had an ultrasound, and there was definitely only one baby in her uterus.
Mellie ran her hand down her stomach as Fitz came into the closet, dressed and ready to leave. "You look gorgeous." He whispered, softly placing a kiss on his wife's cheek. Wrapping his arms around her, he looked at her in the mirror. "You know, we're not going to be able to hide this for too much longer." Fitz told her as he gently rubbed her belly.
"I know..I was just thinking about that." Mellie sighed, looking at Fitz in the mirror. "Nothing fits, and I'm huge. We're going to have to tell the press in the morning." She didn't want to, not yet. With her age, they weren't completely out of the water yet, and she wanted to wait another week or so. But with how big she was already, she knew that that wasn't a possibility. They were going to have to come out with it as soon as possible.
"It'll be okay. As long as we take the proper precautions and you don't work too hard, it'll be okay." He kissed the top of Mellie's head, unwrapping his arms from her so that she could put her shoes on. Mellie just frowned as she found a pair of heels that matched her light blue dress, and she put them on her swollen feet. Between Fitz thinking that they were all better, and the fact that her shoes didn't fit, she already knew that this night was going to piss her off even more. But she kept it to herself, not wanting to start another argument.
They found their way down to the limo, Fitz holding Mellie's hand as they walked. The two of them got in, and Mellie felt a wave of nausea hit her just as she kicked off her heels. This baby just had the most perfect timing. She took deep breaths, trying to make the feeling pass. Luckily, it did after a few minutes, but she quickly became irritated by yet another thing. When she tried to put her shoes back on, her feet wouldn't fit in them. She groaned loudly, and Fitz looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong, princess?"
Mellie just shook her head, letting out another sigh. "I can't put my shoes back on." She frowned. "My feet won't fit in them."
Fitz nodded and rubbed her arm as he told the driver to quickly take them to a store. Mellie tried to protest, but then decided that there was no point. She couldn't go in to the event without shoes, and there was no way that she was forcing her feet into the ones that she had. She couldn't, and even if she could manage to, she wouldn't. The driver took them to a department store, and Fitz offered to go in and get a pair for her, but she declined, knowing that that would probably be catastrophic.
They went in together, hand in hand. Pregnant Mellie being barefoot and walking through a department store would already draw enough attention to her. She didn't need any more attention caused by her and Fitz not holding hands. They found their way to the back of the store and Mellie quickly tried on a few pairs of shoes. She ended up having to buy a pair that was three sizes bigger than her usual size. She frowned to herself and they paid before hurrying out of the store. They were already running late and didn't want to have all eyes on them when they got there.
They walked into the ballroom, and to Mellie's dismay, all eyes were on her. The second that she walked in, she turned every head in the crowded room. She looked down, hoping that if she didn't look at everyone, they wouldn't look at her. But she knew that it didn't really work that way.
Mellie was off talking to a few people, and Fitz was sitting at a table, chatting with a few governors. He had been asked a few times if Mellie was pregnant, but he dodged the questions and luckily, everyone quit asking. He watched Mellie as she walked around, mingling with just about everyone in the room. His eyes were locked on her, his beautiful wife, and he was suddenly oblivious to everything that everyone was saying to, and around him. The only thing in his world was his wife.
In the middle of someone asking him a question, Fitz stood up and walked over to his wife. He let her finish her conversation before excusing her, and taking her by the hand. Mellie was slightly irritated that he had just pulled her away from who she was talking to, that he had just taken her away as if she was his property. "I was talking to Bitsy Cooper. You can't just pull me away from Bitsy Cooper."
"I'm sorry. I should've asked first. I just...I just wanted to dance with you." With that statement, Mellie was speechless. It had been years since he wanted to dance to her, since he chose to dance with her. Of course, they danced, but not by choice. They danced out of obligation, because as a married couple, that's what they were supposed to do. Fitz hadn't wanted to dance with her since before they had Jerry.
With him saying that, she immediately forgave him for pulling her away from Bitsy Cooper. It was sad how such a little thing could make her forgive him. They always say that the man is the whipped one in the relationship, but Mellie was definitely the whipped one in this relationship. Fitz took her hand and they began to dance, once again, drawing all of the attention to them. "I'm sorry." Fitz whispered. He could tell that she was still angry with him. "I really am. I wish that I could take back all of the things that I said, but I know that I can't, and I'm sorry. I love you, Mellie, and I can't lose you over my insecurities."
Mellie nodded and looked at him as they danced, slowly moving in sync with one another. "I know that, Fitz. And I forgive you. But I am still upset. I never knew that someone I trusted so much, could hurt me so deeply...And I thought that you were done hurting me. I realize that you didn't mean it. I realize that you were angry and that you don't think before you speak when you're angry. But the things you say do hurt, even when you don't mean them. Because you still say them. And sorry doesn't take them back. Sorry doesn't erase them from my memory. I do understand how sorry you are. And I appreciate you apologizing. But I can't help but be upset."
"But I do still love you. More than anything in this world, I love you. And you are still my husband, and you will always be my husband. I'm not letting anything come between us again. Those six years were the worst years of my life, Fitz. Not including the year that I got pregnant with Jerry, those six years were the absolute worst years of my entire life and I can't go through that again. I can't go through losing you again. So I hope you realize that. Me and Andrew aren't a thing anymore. He isn't something that you need to worry about. You're mine, and I'm yours. We're partners. We're in this together. Forever."
Fitz decided that he would leave most of that where it was. He wouldn't comment on some of the things that she said because he knew she was right. "I love you too." He whispered, leaning in close to her and softly kissing her lips. "I love you so much." Fitz held her close to him, unable to stop smiling as he looked at her.
"What?" Mellie asked as she noticed him staring.
Fitz was brought out of his trance when she spoke. "You're just so goddamned beautiful..."
Mellie smiled at him, looking up at him. "Can we go home after this dance?"
"We can go home after this dance."
The two of them pulled away from each other slightly once the song was over, but only enough to be able to walk to go get their things. They walked back out to the car, hand in hand, unable to keep their lips off of each other's.