After finding out Nolan was his biological son, Fitz practically demanded that Olivia and the boys moved in since she had been dragging her feet with making the decision. Unsurprisingly though, the boys were eager to go. Olivia didn't put up much of a fight after that; they were all ready for their new beginning as a family under one roof. So, after hiring a organization team and movers team to help her and the boys prepare for their move, a week and a half later, they were settled into Fitz's eight bedroom, ten and a half bathroom cape cod traditional home.
The transition between houses was a lot easier than what Olivia and Fitz had both expected. Nolan had even gone from addressing Fitz as "Fitz" to often calling him "dad", and it warmed Fitz's heart every time. Asher was a bit more reluctant about it because he knew Fitz wasn't his biological father, but he wasn't upset about it nor did he feel left out. Of course Fitz still felt the need to have a one on one with him, because that's just the kind of man Fitz is. He wanted to make sure that Asher knew that whatever he decided to call him was going to be ok with him and he wanted him to feel comfortable in his presence since a lot of things had changed. So for now, Asher continued to address him as "Fitz" and that was perfectly fine with him.
Unfortunately, Felix and Teddy hadn't taken the news so well. They had became a bit stand-offish towards both Olivia and Fitz. They stopped wanting to come over and they even went back to calling Olivia "Olivia".
"A blind man could see that you two were sleeping around when we were married. God knows I had my speculations." Ashlin said to both Fitz and Olivia. She wasn't happy to hear her speculation being confirmed, but that was so long ago and she had certainly moved on. Nolan's existence didn't change that. "But you two were made for each other and I wish you both the best. I'll try to talk to the boys, but for now, just give them time to adjust to all of this." She explained. She wasn't going to push her sons, but she would definitely have a talk with them and encourage them to forgive their father and Olivia- much like she had to do for herself. She knew she didn't deserve the betrayal, but she also knew her and Fitz were not meant to be. Sure, they had a good thing going for a while, but she always felt like something was missing. And though their marriage had been a failure, she still wanted Fitz to be happy and she knew Olivia was the missing piece in his world. After their divorce, Ashlin had encouraged him to reach out to Olivia because he just wasn't the same without her, and once she met Mellie, she knew she definitely preferred Olivia.
It was a bummer for both Fitz and Olivia to have a such a major setback, but luckily the phase didn't last long. Eventually, Felix and Teddy came back around and were ready to accept Nolan as their "new baby brother" as they often referred to him, and they even apologized for their attitudes towards Olivia, Nolan and Fitz.
Fitz and Olivia knew they had Ashlin to thank for that. She was truly heaven sent.
While all the life-changing things were going on, Olivia was having a hard time keeping her health in check. Her lupus flares had been consistent; red cheeks and some mornings she'd barely been able to get out of bed. It had been taxing on her body but luckily she wasn't doing it all her own anymore, she had Fitz, and that man was truly her angel.
Fitz took such good care of Olivia on a day to day basis, but when she fell ill due to her lifelong condition, Fitz doubled down. He wouldn't let her lift a finger for anything and he had even taken the boys school shopping for the new year, and as much as Olivia detested Mellie, Olivia had talked him into letting Mellie do all of the school shopping for Katie. She could just imagine the outfits and unnecessary items him and his five year old daughter would've returned home with.
X
"How are you feeling this morning? Are you good? Do you need anything," Fitz asked, coming into the bedroom with coffee in his tumbler cup.
It was going on six in the morning and Fitz had to be at work within the next couple of hours. The moment he got up to get up ready, Olivia felt his warm body leave the bed and so she woke up too, and had been up every since.
"Honey, I'm fine. But what I need you to do is to make sure that the boys are actually up and getting ready so they can make it to school on time," she said, sitting up in the bed and resting her back against the headboard.
The kids summer break had ended and school was back in session. She was excited to have the house to herself during the school hours.
"Yes, ma'am. Anything else my beautiful, loving baby mama?"
Olivia chuckled and rolled her eyes at him. He had been calling her his "baby mama" since last month. "Fitz, get out of here before I hurt you. You are so silly." Fitz chuckled as he headed for the door to go check on the guys. "Babe, wait! I was wondering if you'd let me come to the um- studio," Olivia asked timidly.
"Nope. Nu-uh, not gonna happen." Fitz immediately answered making Olivia pout. "Please, Fitz? I'm feeling fine and being in the studio will make me feel even better! Please oh please, daddy!" She begged though she knew he wasn't going to change his mind.
Nolan and Asher came into their room and heard Olivia pleading. They both frowned and gagged.
"Ew! Mom just called Fitz 'daddy', "Asher said with a horrified look on his face. Nolan chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "So what? She does it all the time. Especially at night."
Olivia gasped, then glared at her son. "Hey now! I heard that, Nolan! You better watch it." She warned as Fitz chuckled at his son. Nolan's personality reminded him so much of his own, or maybe he was just being biased because he now knew that he was his son. "Well, the boy ain't wrong, mama." Fitz smirked.
"I am officially grossed out. I'm out of here." Asher quickly left the room meanwhile Nolan stayed and provoked his parents even more. "Oh! I've heard that one too! 'Who's your mama, huh? Who's your mama, Fitz?'" He mocked.
"Nolan, you've got two seconds to get your ass out of here! Fitz, aren't you going to say something to him," Olivia asked as she looked between father and son. She couldn't believe her son was actually standing there mocking the things she'd said during sex! She definitely had to work on being a lot more quiet.
Fitz chuckled and answered, "The only thing I've got to say is stop being so loud and he won't hear us."
"Yeah, you're pretty loud, mom," Nolan said, walking out of the room and chuckling. He absolutely loved having his parents together.
Fitz walked over to Olivia as he laughed at her. He kissed her lips twice as she tried turning her head away from him. "Nope! Get away!" She laughed.
Fitz then kissed her a third time before eyeing her up and down with a smirk. "Nope. Stop it!" She giggled as she really pushed him away. She knew exactly what that look meant. She was not about to give their son more to talk about.
"Fine." He groaned. "Well, I'm going to drop off the boys, then I'm meeting Mellie and Kat at her school so I can witness her first day at the 'big kid school'. Afterwards, I'll be at the studio for most of the day until it's time to pick up Katie and bring her home to you," Fitz said, telling her about his plans for the day. With Katie being in primary school, the boys and her schooling hours were a bit different. Katie always had to be picked up and dropped off first, meaning either Fitz or Olivia had to get back out within the next hour or so just to pick up the boys from their school, and with Olivia being "put on bed rest" by Fitz, that meant Fitz had to handle it all on his own.
"Tell Kat that I love her so much and I hate that I can't be there." Olivia pouted. "Ok baby, I need you to go so that I can cry about it alone. I love you. I'll see you when you get back."
Fitz chuckled. "Alright. I love you too, babe. Get some rest."
She smiled telling him that she would as she watched him walk out the bedroom door, then she called her sons back into her bedroom so she could see them off to school.
Nolan and Asher came into the bedroom bickering making Olivia shake her head. "What is the problem now, guys," she asked. Per usual, Nolan was trying to tell his little brother what to do. He obviously took off his father. "I'm telling you, don't wear that bracelet."
Olivia sighed, "Nolan, if Asher wants to express himself that way, then let him."
"He shouldn't wear that bracelet." Nolan argued and Olivia argued right back, "Let him express himself, Nolan. He'll take it off when he gets there if it doesn't feel right."
Asher finally spoke up for himself and said, "Nolan, I'll see how it is for the first day."
Olivia discreetly rolled her eyes and watched her boys debate over the bracket before she cut in, trying to change to the subject. "Nolan, give your little brother some good advice for the first day."
Nolan shrugged and pointed to the bracelet on Asher's wrist. "I did. I said don't draw unnecessary attention to yourself and that bracelet...is unnecessary attention."
The bracelet in question was a David Yurman.
Olivia giggled and waved her sons out of her room. "Bye guys! Fitz is in the car waiting. Have a good first day. I love you both so much!"
After kissing her boys goodbye and hearing the garage door close, Olivia laid back down and fell asleep for a few more hours. When she woke up for the second time, it was exactly ten o'clock. She laid in bed checking her social media accounts for a little while before replying to a few messages, then she got up and went into the bathroom. She emptied her bladder then hopped in the hot shower, allowing her muscles to relax under the spray.
After her shower, she finished taking care of her hygiene and taking her meds for her lupus before going on about her day.
Once finished with all of that, she went downstairs and made a call to her sisters. She wanted to invite all of them over later around noon to keep her company since Fitz didn't want her leaving the house. At times his protective ways were sweet and cute and other times it was annoying as hell, but she was grateful for him nonetheless.
He really loved her and it showed through his actions and attentiveness.
X
"Lib! I'm here!" Tamia yelled as she walked inside the house. She immediately took notice of how Olivia had spiced up Fitz's place by adding her feminine touch and beautiful decor. The house has always been beautiful, but now it had character and seemed more like a home.
"I'm in the kitchen!" Olivia answered back.
Tamia came into the kitchen and immediately went to Olivia's cabinets as Clara and Olivia watched, shaking their heads. "Livia, what do you have to eat in here? I'm hungry."
"I got Lay's chip." Olivia chuckled as she offered the yellow bag of chips to her sister. Tamia smacked her lips, "Lay's?! Seriously!" Olivia shrugged and continued to snack on the salty chips. "You don't have to eat them."
Alice came in a few minutes later and hugged her sisters. "Ce said she isn't gonna make it."
"Why not?" Olivia whined. "This is suppose to be sisters day!"
"It can still be 'sisters day' without Grace! Let's go shopping!" Clara suggested.
"And get some real food cause these Lay's ain't cutting it, honey." Tamia added as she bit into a chip with a stank face. Crumbs fell from her mouth and onto the counter making Olivia groan. "Really?" Tamia acted as if she had no home training like the rest of them.
"Well, I can't leave," Olivia said and eyed her sisters. That was the entire point of her calling them over!
"Why not? Is Fitz holding you hostage, Lib," Tamia asked, looking at her sister worriedly. "You can tell us and we'll get you and the boys out of here."
"What? Tamia, no!" Olivia laughed.
"So, what do you mean when you say that you 'can't leave'," Alice asked.
"Fitz is just worried. I've been having some minor concerns with my lupus and he's just trying to look out for me." Olivia explained. "Awww!" The girls gushed making Olivia giggle and roll her eyes at them. They were so extra.
Clara smiled. "Olitz is so cute! I am such a stan."
Tamia added, "Well, since your baby daddy said you can't leave, then I guess that means that you can't go, Olivia."
Olivia frowned and waved her off. "I can to! I do what I want! Now let's go." Olivia bluffed. She had no real intention of actually leaving, but Tamia had challenged her and that only made her want to rebel more.
"Fine. Let's go." Tamia smirked. She really knew how to get underneath Olivia's skin and get her going.
When they left the house, Olivia was nervous as heck. She knew if Fitz found out, he would be pissed at her. Olivia put on her shades and a baseball cap to block the sunlight and to keep her identity hidden, she didn't need anyone spotting her out and posting it online for Fitz to possibly see. Though, it wouldn't be hard to make the connection since she was traveling with her sisters, and they were pretty well-known because of her status in the entertainment industry.
X
After the shopping was complete, Olivia and her sisters ate at an Italian food court. While chitchatting with her sisters, she picked up her phone that had just started to ring and as her eyes fell onto the screen, she felt her heart stop seeing Fitz's name on her screen.
"Guys, it's Fitz! He's calling! Be quiet!" Olivia announced nervously.
Tamia laughed at her sister's behavior, clearly she was no pro at this, nor was she thinking clearly. "Why do we have to be quiet? You can just say that we're at your house, Olivia. Here? Let me answer it because I swear you're going to get yourself caught."
Olivia sighed, handing her phone to Tamia.
Tamia answered the call as everyone sat back and watched. "Hello? Hey, Fitz! No, this is Tamia! Yes, everything is ok. Olivia's in the bathroom. I'll be sure to let her know that you called though. When will you get here? Oh ok. Well, we will be here when you make it. Bye-bye, brother-in-law." Tamia ended the call and gave Olivia her phone.
"Damn Tay, you held a whole conversation with him." Clara laughed.
Tamia waved her off as she began to gather her things in a rush. "Forget that! We've got to get Olivia back home, her man is on his way there now... Last one at the table has to pay the bill! Go!"
Alice jumped up with her things. "Hell no. It will not be me again!"
All the sisters got up in a rush and once they looked back at table, Olivia was still gathering her purse causing the others to laugh.
Olivia rolled her eyes and shook her head at them. They always did this to her. "I hate y'all! I always have to pay!"
Tamia laughed. "We love you too, Livia."
Clara nodded. "Thanks, Lib. You're the best." Alice added, "She's got that Fitzgerald Grant money now. She can handle any tab, baby."
"Speaking of, he's probably closer to home than we are, Lib. You may want to hurry."
Olivia shrugged as she paid the tab and tipped. "At this point, I don't care anymore. He's just gonna have to be mad." She sassed.
X
Once they got home, Olivia was relieved to know that Fitz still hadn't made it there, yet she played it off in front of the girls.
After Olivia let them inside, she quickly went upstairs and changed back into her pjs then she messed up her hair making it seem as though she hadn't gone anywhere. When she was back downstairs with her sisters, they immediately took in her appearance and started to laugh making Olivia snicker as she shrugged. She knew they weren't fooled, but she couldn't careless, she didn't want to get caught by Fitz.
"Thought you didn't care if he saw you, Liv," Tamia teased as she cracked up laughing. Olivia rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her sister's head as she laughed. "Shut up, Tamia!"
Just as the women were settling down, Fitz and Katie walked in through the mudroom. As he strutted over to Olivia, he smiled widely then kissed her cheek before greeting the other women. "Hey, ladies."
"Hi, Fitz." They all said in unison and in their girliest voices. Fitz laughed and shook his head. They were a hot mess.
"Hi, Olivia!" Katie yelled. Olivia was a bit taken aback, she hadn't heard Katie call her that in such a long time that it sounded weird coming from her. It was usually mommy or mama.
"Uh, what was that?"
Fitz chuckled and shook his head at his daughter. "She's mad at you because you weren't there to pick her up from school." Fitz explained before he went into the kitchen with his daughter.
"Olivia, you didn't cook," Fitz asked from in the kitchen making Olivia roll her eyes. Oh, he thinks I'm well enough to cook for him, but not well enough to leave the house, she thought to herself.
"No. I already ate. The girls and I went- the girls brought me food," Olivia said with a grimace as she caught herself.
Alice shook her head and mumbled. "Oh my god! Really, Olivia?!"
Olivia had all of them nervous for her. She giggled, ignoring her sisters remarks. Fitz hadn't caught on to what she said so it didn't matter. She was still in the clear.
"Katie! Come here, ladybug! I want to see you!" She called. Earlier that morning Fitz had sent her photos of Katie at her school, but she wanted to see if the kindergartener looked as nice and clean as she did when she left home.
"Busy!" Katie yelled back.
"Katie!" Fitz scolded as he walked out of the kitchen. When he made it back to the family room, he frowned taking his seat next to Olivia. "What," she asked, scrunching up her nose. "You really didn't cook," he asked again. He was starving. "Fitz, no. I did not cook."
"Fitz, call Katie in here," Olivia said.
"Fine." He called for her and she quickly made her way into the room with the adults who waited for her. "Coming daddy!!!"
Tamia laughed. "Oop! Lib, she's really mad at you."
"She'll be fine," Fitz said, and Olivia agreed. They knew how Katie operated.
"Hey, ladybug." Olivia greeted, smiling. "How was your first day of school? You know I'm really sorry that I couldn't be there for pick up, but it wasn't really my fault. Daddy's the one that didn't want me leaving the house all day," Olivia said once Katie was in Fitz's lap.
Fitz looked at Olivia with a shocked expression. He couldn't believe she had threw him under the bus to save herself from a five year old. But boy, did he have something for her. "If that's true, Livie, why were you at the mall today when I called? AND then you had Tamia lie for you? Yeah, I know all about that. Did you forget that we share our locations with each other?" Fitz smirked and Olivia groaned, covering her face with her hands as her sisters laughed at them. She was so embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," Olivia said, pecking Fitz's lips multiple times. Fitz chuckled and kissed her back before encouraging Katie to tell them about her day.
X
After hearing Katie ramble on and on about her first day, Fitz had to leave to pick up the boys from school and to also grab a few groceries. Olivia promised to make homemade tacos.
A little later, the sisters finally left knowing that they had to prepare dinner for their own families, so Olivia embraced her alone time with Katie and they snuggled up on the couch watching tv until three of their favorite boys arrived.
As Katie wiggled and turned trying to get comfortable on Olivia's lap, Olivia frowned as she noticed small marks on Katie's arms. "What the hell.." Olivia mumbled. "Kat, did this happen at school?" Olivia pointed to the marks and Katie glanced at them and nodded yes.
"Really? What happened?" Olivia pressed. The marks were already scabbing over and she wasn't so sure that those marks were fresh nor did Katie mention hurting herself at school when she was telling everyone about her day.
Before Katie could get into the details, Fitz and the boys came through the doors bearing groceries. Katie jumped up and so did Olivia. She greeted her boys with kisses and hugs before shooing them all out of the kitchen so she could start making dinner.
Once the food was cooked, the family of five sat around the dinner table and began to eat while discussing how their day went.
"So Asher, how did the bracelet work out for you," Nolan asked.
Olivia groaned quietly. God, not this again.
X
Two days later
"Come on, ladybug! You know the drill, dinner's over. It's time to get in the bathtub." Olivia said.
That was their new dynamic now that school was back in session. Mellie was to take Katie to school and Fitz picked her up. After having dinner, she took her bath so when Mellie arrived at eight o'clock, all Katie has to do is go to bed when she gets home. It was perfect.
Katie nodded. "Ok. Are you going to help me," she asked, and Olivia smiled. "Well, of course! Don't I always, ladybug? Now, let's go get you cleaned up."
Katie stayed in placed causing Olivia to look down at her. She could certainly tell that something was bothering the little girl, so she squatted down to be at her level. "Hey, what's wrong, Kat," Olivia asked.
"Umm, I can do it myself." Katie finally said making Olivia's worry lines disappear. "Are you sure? Are you getting too big for my help?"
"Yes, I'm a big girl!" Katie exclaimed. Olivia forced out a chuckle. Something wasn't sitting right with her spirit, especially after seeing those marks on Katie's arms two days ago. "Ok then, well go ahead then, big girl. Call me if you need me."
Olivia went into the bathroom to ran the bath water, then Katie shooed her out before she got herself undressed. Olivia's motherly instincts told her that something wasn't right, so once she knew Katie was in the tub, she walked back into the bathroom and pretended like she needed to get something, but she was actually surveying Katie and she'd definitely seen all that she needed to.
"Fitz, do you know much about Mellie's new boyfriend," Olivia asked as she closed their bedroom door behind her.
"Yeah. Well, I've talked to him maybe two or three times, why?"
"Well, you know how I usually give Katie her baths? Tonight she didn't want me to and–"
Fitz cut her off and said, "She's just growing up, Liv."
Olivia shook her head and sighed. "No, let me finish...tonight she didn't want any help from me and I saw something-" Before she could finish explaining, Katie was calling for her. Fitz smiled. "I guess she does need your help."
"I guess so.." Olivia mumbled and walked into Katie's bedroom to find her already dressed in her pjs. "Don't tell my daddy, ok? Mommy's gonna get mad at me." Katie mumbled.
"So your mommy does this to you," Olivia asked as she pulled Katie onto her lap to get a better look at the fresh bruises on her back. Katie nodded, "Mommy and sometimes Mr. Tom, too."
Olivia knew to approach the topic carefully. She asked Katie what all does Mellie and Mr. Tom do to her. Katie explained in her best five year old ability that Mellie fills her head with hateful things about Fitz not loving her. Olivia immediately assured her that that was all lies, and that they needed to tell Fitz the truth.
Katie cried, shaking her head. "Please, don't tell!" Olivia shook her head as tears pricked at her own eyes. This was hurting her so much. "I'm sorry, Kat. We have to...Daddy will know what to do to keep you safe."
"No!" Katie shouted loudly. Nolan and Asher came into the room with confused looks, they thought Katie was getting a spanking or something from the way she had screamed. "What is going on," Fitz asked as he came into the room, too. When he saw his daughter crying, he looked at Olivia for answers. He knows he had given Olivia permission to punish his children whenever she saw fit and vice versa, but he wasn't aware that Katie had done anything wrong.
"Fitz, look. Mellie and her boyfriend has been abusing her and filling her head with disgusting things. Fitz, you need to call the police right away. Katie is not leaving, and just wait until Mellie gets here..." Olivia trailed off as she showed Katie's backside to Fitz. "This is why she didn't want me to bathe her, Fitz."
"Boys, go to your rooms," Fitz said, then he closed Katie's door once they were out. "Ladybug, come here, baby." Katie walked to her father's arms as she cried. Fitz felt horrible, how could he not have noticed? "Daddy I- I don't want to go to mommy's house anymore. I want to stay with you and Livia and Nolan and Asher." She cried.
Olivia silently cried as Fitz consoled his sobbing daughter. "Don't you worry, baby girl. You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here," he said, kissing his daughter and wiping away her tears, then tucked her into bed. "Get some rest, angel. Livie and I will tell Mellie that you're staying here. I love you so much, Katie. No one's going to hurt you ever again, baby. I promise that." Both Olivia and Fitz kissed her goodnight. They waited until her eyes closed before turning off her bedside lamp, walking out of her bedroom and closing the door.
X
After leaving Katie's room, they went to check on the boys. Both Nolan and Asher had fallen asleep, so they knew if things got out of hand downstairs when Mellie came, they wouldn't hear a thing. Those two were the world's hardest sleepers.
"How could I have not see the signs, Liv? Damn, I'm such a fool," Fitz said angrily as he rubbed his hands through his hair and paced the living room floor.
Olivia sighed. "Fitz, you're not. Ok? This is no one's fault but Mellie's. Do not beat yourself up over this. Everything's going to be ok. I'm going to handle it." Olivia stood on her tippy toes and pecked his lips. Fitz sighed and nodded.
As Fitz sat on the couch, Olivia's words finally dawned on him. "Wait. What do you mean "you're going to handle it"? If you're thinking about fighting her, you might as well get it out of your head, Olivia. You're not fighting," he said as he looked over at her. Olivia's tears were long gone. Now she was just pissed.
"Oh yes I am. She's putting her hands on a five year old! If she wants to hit something, I dare her to try and hit me. I don't care what you say, Fitz."
Fitz couldn't lie, seeing Olivia so railed up and ready to defend his daughter made him fall in love with her even more. And it also showed that Olivia could be as wild and rowdy as her sisters tended to be. He loved every side of her. "Olivia Pope, I am not letting you fight." Fitz stressed. "How much did you want to bet that this isn't going to go the way you think?"
"I bet you five hundred dollars and a new Hermès bag that I'm beating Mellie's ass tonight."
Fitz had to laugh at that. "You sound confident, but you're not fighting."
Before Olivia could disagree, the doorbell rang and they both rushed to the front door.