A/N: Okay I am finally done with school, graduation, and getting settled so I can hopefully get back into writing because I miss it like crazy! Sorry it took so long!

The rest of their night was spent looking online at houses. Both were so excited at the prospect of moving forward and getting a slice of normal. Olivia didn't have time to worry about the depth of the commitment she was making and Fitz didn't have time to worry too many changes were happening to them at once. They huddled close to each other surrounding the computer screen bickering about room number and which floor the kitchen should be on. That night they were normal, and it was great.

The next morning however Fitz woke up on his side facing away from Olivia and she was snuggled into his back. He turned to look at her and realized how much had changed between them in only a week. Last week they were happy, in love, but there was a line that Olivia didn't seem prepared to cross.

He could always sense that she was scared, of him, of their relationship, of the future. It seemed like once he got shot all her fear evaporated or got placed somewhere else. She was finally all in. In all aspects of their relationship. It seemed instead of being five steps behind him they were finally together. He no longer felt he had to push her, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe she was in shock and she would regret her choices in the last week. He began to feel selfish that he didn't think of these things before.

Olivia always acted so adult and self-assured he often forgot how young she was. He was nearly thirty, everything from society to his internal clock was telling him to get married, settle down, have two point five kids, and he wanted that with Olivia, but last week she didn't want a spare key to his place and this week they were house hunting. He watched her sleeping form and guilt washed over him.

There was so many moments in his life where he wished he had an adult or someone to call at moments in his life, when he got admitted to law school, when he met Olivia, he wanted a parent. He once again felt that need, someone older, wiser that could reassure him that he wasn't taking advantage of her. He made an attempt to clear his mind before the anger that came from thinking of his parents brought about, as if on cue his phone began buzzing.

Turning away from Olivia he grabbed it quickly so it wouldn't wake her, there was still time before they had to get going for the day. He almost didn't answer when he saw the number; fear overwhelmed him as he slides his thumb across the screen. He quickly extricated himself from Olivia replacing his own body with his favorite pillow and she immediately wrapped herself around it. She never realized that once she was asleep she would clasp onto anything, his pillow, occasionally it was Zorro or the stuffed lion he won her at a carnival but usually it was him she clung to.

Finally leaving the bedroom he answered,

"Hello?" He was wary.

"So I guess congratulations are in order." Her voice came through loud, but without any malice, if he didn't know any better he would think she was happy.

"I don't know what you're talking about Claudia." Fitz answered her as guiltily as possible, "unless you mean my new car?"

"Michael told me that Liv wants real identification, and Liv told me your lease was up. You two are moving in together!" Fitz was shocked, she actually did sound happy.

"Is this a warning or approval because honestly I'm not sure which I deserve." He may not have had an experienced parent, but it struck him that while he and Claudia were the same age, she had years of Livvie experience on him. He should have thought of her sooner.

"Do I need to warn you about anything we haven't already covered? Keep her safe, don't screw her over, don't get her pregnant yet. I'm pretty sure I hit them all with both of you before I put you on that plane."

Claudia had basically taken over as a parent when Olivia and Fitz were preparing to leave, she ordered them to take care of each other and made it clear that Olivia was finishing law school before she became an aunt. She saw fear in Olivia's eyes, the same fear that matched her own at the thought of children, but saw a sparkle in Fitz's.

"I don't know if I did the right thing asking her to buy a house with me. I want to live with her, go home to her every night and wake up and force her to eat more than half a pop tart every morning in our kitchen, but what if she isn't ready? Did I force her into this? Does she feel guilty I got shot and its just pity? I'm taking advantage! I should never have done this! She's going to regret this and hate me for it!"

"Fitz! Fitz!" He kept going on about how he was sexually harassing her and how she was too smart for him, "Fitzgerald Thomas Grant! Shut the hell up!" With that he finally stopped, he couldn't see her, but he knew she would have on her Gladiator face.

"Is there anything in the world Liv does if she doesn't want to?"

"No."

"Does she love you?"

"Yes."

"Didn't she want to move in with you too?"

"Yes."

"Then what is the problem?" Fitz thought for a moment and couldn't really answer her.

"You think she wants this?"

"I do."

"You think she will be happy?"

"I wouldn't let either of you do this or even suggest it if I didn't think it was what you both need and deserve."

"Thanks Claudia."
"Anytime Fitz, oh by the way I'll call Liv in a few hours and give her the same speech. Just make sure when you get that house you have the biggest guest room saved for me."

Fitz laughed and they said their goodbyes. He walked back into the bedroom feeling better and more optimistic than he had when he woke up. Not only did he have someone reminding him that Olivia wanted this life, but he finally felt like he had a family. 'Its about damn time' he thought as he climbed back in bed with Olivia. She grumbled and stirred a bit but calmed when he pulled her into his side. It didn't take long before he was back asleep too.

Olivia woke up half an hour after Fitz returned to bed. As she laid there curled into his side her mind began spinning. All her former doubts and worries about him were extinguished. It seemed like all the potential problems she used to see for them were gone. Two weeks ago the idea of them moving in together terrified her. She would have been curled up in a ball trying to find a way out, but now her mind was running with all the things she would have to do.

Buying a house wasn't something to be done on a whim. It was a serious commitment. There would be contracts and forms and they'd have to deal with furnishing and decorating, and that was before they even starting living there. After they moved in there wouldn't be a landlord to call if something happened. It wasn't as if she and Fitz were all that handy. Her mind spun with everything they would have to do in the next few months. She was just grateful they had time to make sure nothing was overlooked.

Olivia's mind might have been running, but it was an exciting kind of anxiety. Today she would surprise Fitz, go house hunting, she even thought she might cook dinner for them tonight. The memory of her grandmother still haunted her whenever she entered the kitchen, but just like everything else she would have to move forward. Besides, she thought, Claudia was right Grams would roll over in her grave that Olivia gave up cooking. She would tell her that the real secret to keeping a man was to balance great sex with great food. Chuckling to herself thinking about the things that she would have said when she met Fitz, Olivia decided it was time for them to start their day.

She started by peppering kisses across Fitz's chest wherever she could reach while she played with his hair. It didn't take him long to stir after that. After she was sure he was awake she settled her chin on his chest and looked at his face. He looked drowsy, but the bags and stress from the last few days was receding. Cocking an eyebrow at her he asked her a silent question, 'you still wanna do this?'

"Come on up and at um. We have a big day a head of us, plus I have a few surprises for you up my sleeve today." She answered him out loud. He breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't freaking out and it reinforced everything that Claudia had said to him earlier.

"The surprise isn't that we are staying in bed and you're going to finish what you started is it?" He gestured under the blankets to what was currently poking her thigh.

"How about we compromise? I'll help you out and you can get that hard to reach spot on my back in the shower?" She started tracing her fingers across his broad chest, loving the feeling of his underneath her.

She had barely finished her sentence when he was up and pulling her behind him into the bathroom as she laughed at him.

"Get the water ready, I'll be right there." She told him, he reluctantly let her go, but not before giving her a firm kiss that was a promise of things to come. Olivia watched his retreating back and checked her phone to make sure everything was all set for him later. She was so excited for his surprise that she almost didn't hear him when he stuck his head out of the bathroom door.

"Livvie, move that hot ass of yours before we lose our hot water window." She locked her phone to make sure nothing would spoil her plans for him and followed him into the shower with a huge grin across her face.

An hour later Fitz was waiting for Olivia to finish getting ready, he was reading on the couch and was starting to get antsy. Meanwhile Olivia was hiding in the bathroom whispering into her phone,

"Abby, stop talking for two seconds."

"Fine."

"Yeah I already spoke to the salesman its all set. Meet us there in half an hour. I don't know how much longer I can keep him busy."

"Just distract him with sex! I need my beauty rest."

"I already did! He's excited, just hurry up!" Liv was starting to raise her voice, she loved Abby and knew Abby would go over a cliff for her just like her family, but she could also be a bit flaky. Today was not the day for her to not come through.

"Livvie are you talking to me?" She heard Fitz yell from the living room.

"Shit, gotta go, see you in half an hour."

"Liv…"

"Half an hour Abby!"

"Fine, I'll be there!" Abby hung up without saying goodbye.

Olivia made her way out of the bathroom and searched the room for her coat. It was only October, but it already felt like winter. She had grabbed a pair of old skinny jeans stuffed into riding boots and an old maroon v-neck sweater of Fitz's. It would be a long day and she wanted to be comfortable. The sweater had shrunk in the dryer, but it was still pretty big on her. She rolled up the sleeves and headed out to meet him.

"Bee have you seen my coat?" She was still focused on her phone and didn't see him sitting with her jacket hung over the arm of the couch. His leg was bouncing and his hair was messier than usual. He was wearing jeans and his Navy sweatshirt; she couldn't help but think he looked like a little kid. While she hated surprises and harassed him constantly, Fitz loved them.
He helped her slip on he jacket and grabbed his keys. She followed him out of her apartment and watched as he was vibrating. If he was this excited now she couldn't wait until he saw his surprise. As he slipped into the seat of his car the last time he reached across to hold her hand, he was experiencing one of those rare moments of bliss. Though he didn't want to jinx anything he couldn't help but think things were going their way.

Olivia fiddled with the radio while they laughed about their memories in the car. They were recalling the time they went to the drive in after a particularly long week and fell asleep only to be woken up by a police officer when the employees at the theater found them. Fitz pulled into the dealership and he got out of the car, but Olivia was distracted looking all around her.

"Don't tell me you're thinking about getting a spanking new car?" He joked knowing she wouldn't even think about it.

"Not in this life time." She sassed him back knowing that's what he would expect, but she was still trying to find out where Abby and David were, holding her breath until she saw David's car across the street with Fitz's surprise next to him.

The man that Fitz had spoken to on the phone came out to greet them, Olivia breathed a sigh of relief when everything was going as planned. They followed him into his office for Fitz to fill out some paper work to return his lease, meanwhile Olivia was texting furiously on her phone. The only time Olivia wasn't on her phone was when she was in class so he didn't think much of it.

"Alright I think you all are done here Mr. Grant." The man stood ready to shake Fitz's hand. Fitz was confused, but out of habit reached out and clasped the man's hand.

"What about the Prius, I never signed any paper work for that." Fitz asked still confused, even more so when he saw the look on Olivia's face. He could tell she was trying her best not to smile, but her eyes were beaming.

"Oh yes, you'll be needing your keys." He handed him a plain key, the kind that usually used for a house, not a car, and there was no key fob attached. Given how many weird situations they had been in the last week, Fitz would have thought he would be less confused at the turn of events.

"These are to my new car?" Fitz asked gently, like the man may have gone insane between yesterday afternoon and this morning. However this time Olivia answered,

"Yup. Its waiting outside." This time she couldn't hide the smile that overtook her face. Seeing that smile for the first time in over a week all Fitz wanted to do was grab her and seek out the warmth of her body and match it with his own He was lost in his own fantasies and didn't realize Olivia was pulling him out of the office and back to the front of the dealership.

When he finally pried his eyes away from her he followed her line of sight to the truck he had been dreaming about. 1987 F-150, black and silver. It looked like it recently had a paint job as it didn't have a spot of dirt, dust or rust obscuring its appearance. His heart leaped and he squeezed Olivia's hand and looked at her in disbelief.

"Is it… you got me a… Livvie! Did you? You didn't!?"

"Should we take it for a spin or did you still want that practical little thing?" She smirked at him. She knew that he had always wanted a truck, but never really saw it as something he should buy for whatever reason.

A few months back they had gone to a car show spur of the moment and while Olivia admired all the muscle and sports cars, old and new, she questioned what a truck that age would be doing in with the group. Fitz on the other hand immediately told her that it was the best year for trucks especially that one. He had spent extra time looking at it and obsessing over it even after they had left talking about the decline of trucks and how upset putting a backseat in one made him.

He threw his arms around her and lifted her clear off the ground. Huge grins plastered across both their faces. She realized he was only a few moments from jumping up and down, and mentally patted herself on the back for a job well done. It hadn't been hard finding the same type of truck, but finding one with minimal mileage and without too much that needed replacing proved strenuous. She had been looking for over a month when she found one and just got the call that it was ready for him the day they got back from Kansas.

"So I take it you like it? Did I do okay?" She asked somewhat hesitantly. Perhaps there was a reason he hadn't bought it for himself, he certainly had the funds. Maybe she jumped the gun and this was something they should have decided together. Would he be mad at her, she wondered.

Looking into his eyes, every last bit of doubt disappeared. He looked like a kid at Christmas, it was rare he had that face on when she was fully clothed.

"I love it! I love you! You did amazing Livvie, you, it, everything its perfect!" He had finally set her down and gave her a quick, but intense kiss and pulled her around to the passenger side to let her in, once she was settled he raced around to the driver's side. Once he was inside the cab he noticed she had added little touches from his old car. His Navy and Yankee key chains were already hanging off the key in the ignition. All of his CD's and his iTrip were already in the glove box. He slid over to her and gave her another kiss that left them both breathless and smiling like fools.

"Where to first?" she asked him once he pulled away and started her up.

"I know exactly where I want to go."

"Okay, where's that?"

"We are going to go find us a house." He looked at her and both their faces showed excitement.

"Let's go find us a house Fitz."