AN: Here's a very quick snippet of a chapter. I'm pushing through a little writer's block, hence why it's short. Consider it the first half of chapter 29. Hoping to get the second half out some time this week. I hope you enjoy.

"Fitz, please put me down." Olivia wriggles in his arms. She looks like a cat who no longer wants to be held, but just like a stubborn pet parent, Fitz ignores her demand prompting a scowl to cascade across her face. "Fitz!"

"I just don't want you to fall or to hurt yourself," he says. The two-day hospital stay had turned into seven after Olivia's blood pressure refused to drop. Finally, on day four it dropped and by day six, she was homeward bound. She couldn't say the same about Edison. While the method by which he'd tried to end his life hadn't become press fodder, the fact that he'd survived did especially on the heels of a rape allegation.

"It's from the driveway to the front door. There's a camera van down the street. If they see you carrying me, they'll know I'm pregnant," she tries again.

"Or married…"

They reach the porch and before Olivia can ask how that is any better, Fitz is ushering her over the threshold; the door is open. She doesn't remember Fitz even opening it. Once inside, she finally manages to wriggle out of Fitz's hold and her feet hit the hardwood floor. The door slams shut behind them.

"Dad, we're home," she calls out. Something feels off. It's too quiet. With the way her father had hovered over her in the hospital, she's surprised he hasn't bolted from wherever he is in the house to greet her as Fitz had. "Dad?"

"Eli?" Fitz calls out.

This house is silent. A pen drop could be heard. Olivia moves away from the foyer and into the living room. Fear curdles her stomach and she's afraid of where her dad could be or rather what he could be doing. She hasn't pushed to hear about Cyrus or where they've gotten in her unscheduled absence. She isn't even sure she has enough energy to ask about it now. All she wants to worry about is the bean bubbling in her belly.

Resting on the ornate, oak coffee table is an envelope with her name scrawled across it. Olivia recognizes her father's handwriting right away. She crosses into the room and reaches for the envelope, opening it. Inside is a letter.

Livvie,

I heard you and Fitz the other night talking about places. You said you wished you could find a house like this house to raise your child in. You don't have to look. The house is yours. Inside of this envelope you'll find the deed. It's just me now. I'm just an old man who can afford a rather nice downgrade. The only thing I ask you not change is the kitchen and your room. Your mother designed them both.

All of my things have been moved into the garage for now. Don't worry about me, either. I'm okay. I'm staying at the Le Boutique downtown. You've got my number, call if you need me or call when you don't. I'll be by tomorrow. There's somethings Fitz and I need to discuss.

Love,

Dad

The tears are immediate. She cups a hand over her mouth to stop the sob so that she doesn't scare Fitz, but he must hear her still. Before she knows it, Fitz is tugging her into his hold. He kisses the crown of her head and she cries into his chest, thinking back to the conversation her father must've overheard. Olivia had admitted that the only place that'd ever felt like home was her parents' place. Yes, she'd ran out of it without hesitation as soon as she'd turned eighteen, but the house is home. She remembers mornings in the kitchen with her mother, before Maya's cancer became aggressive, learning to cook only for Eli to interrupt to declare himself king of cooking. There are the hours she'd spend on the swing in the back. It's a place she can see herself growing old in while her kid grows up.

"You just got out of the hospital for being dehydrated, Liv, don't cry yourself back," Fitz whispers. He rubs her back.

Several soft sobs later, she pulls away, a wide smile on her face. The letter, now crumpled and slightly soggy, sits between them. "Did you know he was going to do this?" Olivia asks.

"He said he had a surprise for you tonight, but he didn't say it was this…" Fitz says. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, knowing my dad the deed's only in my name." She laughs, wiping at her eyes. She turns back to the envelope, pulling out the deed; sure enough, she's right.

"That's fine. I'm more than happy with it only being in your name. I'm also happy if you decide you don't want to live here or if you want to find somewhere else. Inheriting a home is a lot. There's history in the walls, feelings you can't hide from."

A cool shiver rolls down Olivia's spine. She thinks of the fact that just up the steps, she'd almost taken her own life. Now she's carrying one. Her free hand slides over her stomach. Fitz is right, there's a lot of history in this home; some of it she's yet to reckon with. "You're right. I almost died here…"

Fitz's arms wrap around her once more. He squeezes her tight. "I don't want you to think about that right now. You're still here. You're here and we're having a baby."

Olivia nods, tossing the envelope onto the coffee table. "We are."

"Why don't I run you a bath? You can relax and you need that after the last week of—"

"Lying in bed and relaxing," she tells him. His hands come to rest over hers, on her stomach.

"The hospital is anything but relaxing," Fitz says.

He's right, Olivia knows he's right. A long hot bath is in her future, but she can also sense there's something Fitz isn't telling her. Her father's letter says the least.

"What are you and my father talking about tomorrow?" she asks. "Does it have something to do with Edison or Cyrus?"

"It does. The kid, the seventeen-year-old wants to talk on record about Cyrus. We're setting him up with Donna Graham."

"How are you feeling about that?" she asks, though she hasn't thought about how she even feels about it yet. She's heard the sex abuse scandal whispers rippling across national news but didn't think she'd see it happen here.

"I'll sort through my feelings later. Right now, I want to take care of you."

"You've been doing that."

"And I'll keep doing it as long as you'll have me." He punctuates his point with a kiss to the crown of Olivia's head. "I love you both. So much."

"We know you do," Olivia responds. "I think I'll take that bath."