So I forgot to mention last chapter that this chapter is actually going to be the last chapter. So enjoy for the very last time :)
"Take me to see her," Fitz said. There was no way he was going to let Olivia go through this alone, and by God did he want to be at the birth of their first child. He didn't care about presidential duties anymore, this was far more important, people would understand, when they knew.
"Sir," the agent began, not sure if protocol would allow that sort of thing.
"NOW," Fitz demanded. He didn't give a crap that there were still at least six official balls left to get through. He didn't care if these people had donated a billion dollars to campaign or not. He didn't care if these were the people he would have to work closely with to get anything passed in his term, he only cared about Olivia.
How had she not told him? He didn't even know where she was. He hoped she was in the hospital, but he couldn't know for sure. How long had she been in labour, did it only just start, or had it been going on since he was inaugurated? Some women don't even realise when labour has started. Had she been sitting there in pain, and he'd been too preoccupied to detect anything.
"Your absence will be noticed, sir," the agent tried to say.
"You think I care? Tell the guests I was needed in the situation room. Tell them we've gone to war with China. Tell them what ever the hell you want, just get me out of here," Fitz said in a near rage. Did they not understand he was about to have a baby, that that was the only thing that mattered to him in that moment? And that the only thing that would stop him from being with Olivia was if they actually were at war with China, which was only because Olivia would make him change his list of priorities.
"Okay, Mr President," the agent said, and then began talking into his hidden mic piece. Soon other agents were coming out the woodwork ready to lead Fitz off on their unplanned trip.
There was quite the kafuffle when the guest noticed that the President was leaving. There was whispers of what it could have been. Maybe he was just moving on to a new ball, or he was needed at the White House. No one would have guessed the real reason.
Fitz hopped in his limo and requested a phone almost immediately. He dialled in Olivia's number not even sure if she'd be able to take his call. He hated that she would have been alone. He thought that maybe she had her friends from OPA there with her, but otherwise it was only her. He didn't want to imagine her by herself, but that might have been the case.
Although he liked the fact the baby was going to be born on inauguration day, possibly depending how long labour went. He really hated how punctual his kid was. It could have waited just four more hours. Though he laughed at the outrageous image of Olivia going into labour in the middle of the dance floor. It was probably best how it went. This way there was little chance they weren't going to be surrounded by people at the hospital. This way meant it would just be theirs, for a little while at least.
The phone rang and rang, and Fitz knew Olivia wasn't going to be answering any time soon. And that was probably for the best. She needed to focus on herself right now, he'd be there soon enough, he just hoped he'd be there in time. But what if he wasn't. Would he hate Olivia for not telling him the truth, would he not love his child as much, or would he just be disappointed but get over it as soon as he held the baby in his arms? He had a feeling it would only be the last option.
How could he hate Olivia? Sure, she had made the decision for him again, but if he really thought about she had always planned for him to find out, she had just wanted him to put in an appearance at the inaugural balls and enjoy himself. Though it was like she didn't understand that he could only enjoy himself knowing she was okay and with him.
The maternity wing of the hospital had already been shut down. They had never had to shut do this particular wing for the President before, but they seemed to have done an alright job. Of course, he knew that soon speculation would spread about why a shutdown was needed, but maybe the papers would think it was some popstar, or something. Though that still meant paparazzi. Which was the part Fitz didn't like.
He was led into a private room, and there was Olivia. She looked in pain, and seeing there was no baby anywhere near her, he quickly deduced that that meant it was still on its way.
"Fitz," Liv said as she saw her baby daddy walk into the room. He quickly rushed over to her side. "Sorry I didn't tell you," Liv said as they linked their fingers into each other's.
"Don't worry about it," Fitz said kissing her tenderly on the forehead. It was damp with sweat, but he didn't care. "How are you doing?"
"I've been better," Liv joked as a contraction hit her. She realised she was in labour about an hour after Fitz took his oath. She had been getting ready, and thought she had the weirdest case of heartburn. It took her nearly two hours to realise what those pains she was getting sporadically really were. She didn't know exactly how long been in labour, but it was at least eight hours.
When the doctor had asked if she wanted to call anybody, only one name came to mind. He also told her that she was quite a way off, and Liv took that as a sign not to rush Fitz over. She knew he wouldn't be happy with her when he found out, but she had a gut feeling that this was going to be alright. Course, that could have just been the soccer punches that the were repeatedly hitting her.
But he was here now and that was all that mattered.
…
At 11:55pm on the 20th of January 2015, Georgia Rose Grant was brought into the world. Both Olivia and Fitz knew their troubles were really just beginning, but they didn't care about that now, because all they cared about was their daughter. She was perfect. She a thick fluffing of curly black hair, which really could have come from either parent, but she had Olivia's eyes, and Fitz was already mesmerised by them.
Olivia had moved aside in her bed to let Fitz lie down with her. She was understandably tired and rested her head on his chest. Georgia almost mimicked her mother's pose, but unlike her mother's, her eyes were locked on to Fitz's.
"You're going to kill me you know that?" Fitz told Georgia. He was so far gone already. And he was extremely fine with that. He would do anything for her. He'd be willing to resign the Presidency but knew Olivia would kill him. But she couldn't kill him if he was impeached, which he was sure was on the cards once people started finding out the truth.
Unsurprisingly, Georgia didn't reply to her father's question. Well as long as an air bubble didn't count as a response. And although it was cute, Fitz didn't think it did.
"I'm sorry about the state of your life for the next four years, your mom and I are still trying to figure it all out. We got a lot of pieces to move around, if I had my way we'd have that all worked out for you, but it's not just up to me. You aren't the only person who depends on me, and although I want to just think about you, there's 350 million others out there who need me to do my job. And that's going to be hard on you, and hard on your Mom, but if you're anything like her, you'll be strong enough to handle it.
But you're a lot luckier than you know right now. Your mother is Olivia Pope. You can't even begin to imagine how amazing that is going to be for you. She's always right, so I'll save you some time, don't fight back, it's a contest you're sure to lose. I'm still learning that one. But she's wonderful, smart, powerful, and giving, and you're lucky to have her in your corner. I know I am."
Fitz felt as Liv placed a light kiss on his chest, he thought she had been asleep, but he liked that she had heard what he had just said. He looked over, and saw her eyes were staring up at him. Leaning down he placed a kiss on her lips. God, he didn't think he could be any happier. He had everything he wanted in his arms, and this euphoric sensation made him feel like he could do anything.
This was the life he wanted. Him and Olivia waking up in the morning because Georgia was jumping on their bed. They'd be in Vermont, in their house, maybe a few other kids running around. Their days would be lazy, and they could do what ever they wanted. Course that wouldn't be able to happen for a few more years, but he decided that in his new term he was going to work as hard to leave his kids with a legacy they could be proud of.
He'd make the world safer, their future brighter, and life happier. He'd bring in new laws, and programs, update outmoded policy, and even change the constitution to achieve those things. He was determined to use his second term, his second chance, for good. He wanted to be one of those President's that were worthy of having their faces carved into a mountain, not for the fame, or the pages in the history books, but so he could give his children every opportunity imaginable.
"What are you thinking about?" Oliva asked seeing the strangely pensive look on Fitz's face.
"How great our future's going to be," he answered. What he knew best was that when Olivia was on his side they could achieve anything. And he was excited to really start this journey with her and see what they could do.
"And how great is it going to be?" Olivia asked.
"You can't even imagine," He replied, and he couldn't imagine it either. Well, he could, that was what he had been doing, but he knew it was going to be so much better than anything he could think up in his mind. "I love you, so much," he said, kissing her again.
"I love you too," Olivia said as they came apart just a few inches.
…
Though it wasn't exactly protocol, Fitz stayed the night in Olivia's hospital bed, with Georgia in crib beside them. This was the way to wake up. He first looked at Georgia, checking that it was all real. And then he looked at Olivia. She looked so peaceful. He hadn't seen her like this in a very long time. There was always something worrying her in the back of her mind but seeing her like this was actually comforting.
He hated to disturb her, but knew he had to get back the White House, and he couldn't bare for her to wake up to find him missing. Fitz slowly shook Liv, and he watched as she began to stir. "Is she okay?" Liv said waking up.
"She's perfect," Fitz replied, looking back over their daughter. God, he was going to find it hard to leave right now. "I have to go, though," Fitz said, and Liv nodded as she was coming out of her slumber. She was actually surprised he hadn't left yet, so many questions on his whereabouts were going to arise. "I just wanted to let you know. I'll call you later, and check on my girls," he smiled as he backed out the room, not turning his back to them.
He watched as Liv checked on their baby girl and watched the smile in her eyes. This was happiness. What ever he had been feeling before yesterday paled in comparison. And then he was out the door, and the spell was broken, and it felt like he was going back to the coal mines.
As Fitz walked the halls of the White House, he felt overjoyed and yet empty. He wanted to shout about the birth from the rooftops, he wanted to tell everyone that he passed about the miracle that had happened yesterday, he wanted to do anything that didn't involve keeping his life a secret.
As he walked passed the press room and saw how all the journalists were packed in there waiting for the briefing he made a decision that he never thought he'd make. He walked in. They all stood to attention not expecting the President to be the one behind the door.
"I'm going to make this quick and won't be taking any questions. Last night I did not attend most of the Inaugural balls because Olivia Pope was having our daughter. Thank you." And with that jaw dropping revelation Fitz walked back out the room, as everyone shouted questions at him.
Fitz let out a huge sigh of relief, one that he'd been holding for the last nine months, or really the last four years. The walk back to the Oval was the most peaceful he had felt in years. It was only after he closed his office door did he realise the true implications of what he had done. "Liv's gonna kill me," Fitz said aloud to no one. Fitz opened the door again and looked directly at his secretary. He could already hear the larger than normal chatter that was going on out in the hall. "Give no one walk-on privileges. No one," he reiterated, before closing the door again.
All he wanted to do was work. The White House was blowing up around him, but he didn't care. He was happy in his bubble of disillusion for the next however long it took to be popped. He didn't know how long he had be locked away in his office, but he was sure it was at least an hour. Which was pretty impressive given the fact that he was the leader of the free world, and he had 100's of meetings per day.
There was knock at the door. He knew it was coming it had been too good to be true. "Yeah?" he called out.
"You're needed up in the residence, Mr President," his secretary said as she opened the door just enough for her head to pop through.
"Thank you," he said.
"Oh, and congratulations," she added, and Fitz smiled warmly, it was the only 'congratulations' he had received, and it probably would stay that way. He didn't think the rest of Washington was going to be in quite a celebratory mood.
Fitz walked into his bedroom not expecting Olivia to be sitting on their bed, with Georgia in her arms. "What are you doing here?" Fitz asked, she should have still been in the hospital, why wasn't she still in the hospital?
"Because some crazy person just told the world I had the President's baby, and the secret service didn't think a hospital that was about to be swarmed with news crews, journalists and possible psychos, was the safest place for us to be. Which is funny, because typically the hospital is the safest place for both mother and child after birth," Olivia explained, and Fitz couldn't tell if she was angry at him or the situation. But if he was to take a guess he would have guessed- it was both.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, I just wanted people to know," Fitz said coming over to sit next to them. Somehow Georgia was sleeping peacefully. She had no idea that she was the reason that the world was spinning on its' head.
"You could have given me a warning. Agents literally whisked us away," Olivia explained. They had barged in and told her what was happening. They gave her a minute to change, and then they were out of there. She didn't even have time to sign discharge forms, but they were so far beyond that now. Everyone agreed that the White House was the safest place to be. It had the added security that her apartment building did not. They weren't sure how fast the story had spread, but they knew there wasn't any time to waste.
"I know, and if any forethought had gone into it, you know I would have told you to prepare. I didn't know I was going to do it, until it was done. I saw my chance and I took it," Fitz explained. He was going to say, 'he'd take it back if he could,' but that wasn't true. He was glad he had done what he did. He was glad it was out there. He should have told Olivia first, but she would have talked him out of it. And he didn't want to be talked out of it.
"That doesn't sound at all reassuring. You didn't think about it?"
"What's the big deal, we were going do a tell all tomorrow anyway? What difference does a day make? How does this change things?" Fitz asked, he really didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Yes, Olivia needing to be moved was an unfortunate side effect. But they had a doctor here if things went wrong.
Olivia passed the baby over to Fitz, and then lied back forcefully onto the bed. She was exhausted, she didn't want to fight. This was meant to be a happy time. It was only a few short hours ago when everything had seemed perfect. Oh, how quickly things could change.
"What do you want to do?" Fitz asked, Olivia always had a plan, a contingency plan, and a back up plan if all else failed. He looked down at the sleeping infant and his heart soared. Looking at Georgia he had known he had done the right thing. She was his daughter and he never wanted her for a moment to think that he was ashamed of her.
"I don't know," Liv replied closing her eyes. All she wanted to do was sleep. Wasn't that what a new mother was meant to do? Sleep when the baby sleeps? She wanted to protect Georgia, after all the world was a cruel and uncertain place, especially for a black woman. Although fixing peoples scandal was her livelihood, she didn't want to fix this. "We do nothing," she said in a tone laced with sleep.
"Really?" Fitz asked as he carefully lied down next to Olivia with Georgia on his chest. You couldn't remember a time when Olivia's plan was to do nothing. There was no spinning the story, no fabricating the truth, no playing the defence, no control of what would happen. There was nothing.
Olivia opened her eyes as she felt the bed move, she looked directly into Fitz's, they were warm, comforting, and loving. "Come what may," she said.
"Come what may," he repeated and held her hand. They were in this together. Nothing was going to tear them a part now. They were stronger than a newspaper headline. They were stronger than the 24-hour news cycle. They were stronger than the threat of impeachment.
They were a family.
They were in this forever.
This was their new normal.
And that's all she wrote, folks.
Thank you so much for reading this far, I know it's been a long ride. I know some of those chapters in the beginning made it hard to stick it out, but i hope its all been worth it.
I have very much enjoyed writing this story, and annoying you all with cliffhangers every so often. I have loved reading your reviews and am so very thankful to all of you who have left one.
I would really love to know what you thought about this chapter and story in general, so please please leave a review, it would make me feel so loved. If you want to delve into your favourite bits, least favourite bits, I wouldnt hate that.
Pip x (if you want to follow me on twitter my handle is pipwrites