Chapter Twenty-Two: The Next Chapter

The nurse in the NICU came into the room carrying a blue bag with some wires hanging out of it. She sat them on one of the tables in the room and began taking the parts out of the bag.

"Okay how we doing today mom and dad?" She asked in her usual cheery voice.

"Great." Fitz answered. "We've been waiting on this day for months now." He said in an equally cheery voice. Today was a good day. This morning, they got the news that the twins were finally being discharged form the hospital. After almost three months in the hospital, Olivia and Fitz were finally getting to take their kids home. Their discharge was set for possibly tomorrow or the day after. And while they were both happy about the news, Olivia was more worried than she was excited. She was nervous about what would happen when she got the boys home. Here at the hospital, they were safe, surrounded by nurses and doctors who could come running at a moment's notice. But home, there were no nurses tending to them every second. It would just be her and Fitz and yes, they were both doctors, but Olivia was a doctor of the mind not the physical. And although she knew it would be easier having Fitz around, she was still nervous about bringing the boys home.

"So I'm pretty sure you've given this speech to other parents before Dr. Grant." The nurse said to Fitz. "But we still have to give this speech to every parent taking one of these home. So this will just be a little refresher course." She plopped a white monitor on the table in front of them and wheeled it closer to Noah's crib. They no longer required their incubator. "Alright, these are the boy's cardiorespiratory monitors, or apnea monitor for short. This will keep track of the baby's breathing and heart rate at all times, and Just like when you're in the NICU, an alarm will sound if your child has a long pause in breathing or if their heart rate goes down too low. The parts are the belt that goes around the baby's chest to measure breathing, and the leads that attach to the baby's chest to detect their heartbeat, and of course the machine itself." She pulled the blanket off of Noah and took his onesie of as well. "Alright now I'll show you how to put the monitor on properly and I'll let you practice on Jonah. So first you want to lay the belt flat on a surface and place the baby on top of the belt and wrap it around the upper chest and secure the Velcro. You want to wrap it firmly but not too tight that it inhibits the baby's breathing. And I can cut off all this access strap, but make sure that it overlaps to allow for growth."

Olivia was making sure to pay close attention. She was sure Fitz had used one of these before, but she'd never used one. She was making sure to remember every step the nurse was making.

"Now, the leads should be placed between the armpit and the bottom rib and be in line with the nipples on the baby's chest. You want to make sure that the leads are in the correct spot, because it could cause the machine to go off with a false alarm. And those are annoying and cause panic for no reason. Now, the only time this monitor should be taken off is during bath time and placed back on after a bath. Depending on progress, your doctor may allow you to take it off for a longer period of time, but for now, it should be worn throughout the day. Now let s discuss how to operate the monitor and care instructions." The nurse went on to tell Fitz and Olivia what each alarm meant and the difference between real and false alarms. They told them how to clean and change the leads out and what to do in emergency situations. "And lastly, when you put your baby's clothing on, you want to run the wires through the baby's pants leg and not through the top of the shirt. This is to avoid the wires becoming entangled around the baby's neck." The entire time the nurse was talking, she was demonstrating on Noah, who was just relaxing in his crib looking up at all three of them with wide eyes.

Noah was already the sweetest baby, even after everything he's been through at such a young age. And he was progressing so much better now, he was still behind his brother in certain areas, but he was still perfect in his parent's eyes.

"Alright, now you two put Jonah's monitor on." The nurse gave them the second monitor she'd brought and both Olivia and Fitz helped to put his monitor on. Unlike his younger brother, Jonah was sleeping soundly. Even as Olivia undressed him and lifted him out of the crib he still continued to sleep. He didn't even flinch.

"Deep sleeper." Fitz joked. "Just like his daddy." After successfully attaching Jonah to his apnea monitor, Fitz and Olivia listened to more care instruction for when they took the twins home. Then they spent another hour and a half with the twins before they headed back home. Sophia only tolerated the daycare center at the hospital for so long before began to whine for her mother.

X

When they got back to the rental house, Fitz immediately started packing his things away as if they were leaving in a few hours. He'd already called both his parents and Olivia's in the car and the entire ride the car was filled with shouts of joy, cries and hallelujahs through the speakers. Olivia wished she could share in their excitement, but her worry was getting the best of her.

Olivia watched from his bed as he walked back and forth out of his closet with handfuls of clothes to put into his suitcase. It was an easy job, considering Sophia was currently crawling in his open suitcase, unfolding and tossing all the clothes he'd put in.

"Hey missy." Fitz grabbed another one of his shirts off the floor that Sophia had tossed out. "You are not helping me at all." He picked her up out of his suitcase and sat her on the bed with Olivia. "Shouldn't you be packing too Liv? I can help you with Soph's room if you want."

"I'll pack." Olivia said, but Fitz didn't hear the same excitement in her voice as he had.

"You okay?" He asked, refolding his clothes.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well I know I've been on cloud nine since we found out we were taking the boys home this week and I thought you would be just as excited."

"I am." Olivia defended. "Of course, I am."

"But?" Fitz waited because he knew there was a but somewhere.

"But I'm nervous." Olivia answered honestly. "What happens when we get them home? What if something happens? At the hospital, they are surrounded by nurses every second who can drop everything if one alarm goes off. But at home-"

"It will be the two of us." Fitz sat on the bed in front on Olivia and held her hand. "Livvie I know you're nervous, and honestly I am too. But nothing is going to go wrong. I promise the boys would not be getting discharged if their doctor didn't feel they were ready for it. We can pray that nothing goes wrong, but if it does, we will be right there. We're both doctors and we are very capable of taking care of our kids."

Everything Fitz was saying sounded real nice and Olivia wished it had did anything to calm her nerves but it hadn't. She also noticed how he referred to her home as their home and he kept using we and our. They hadn't discussed living arrangements for when they left Santa Clarita and went back to LA. Olivia assumed Fitz would want to stay at the house for a little while, maybe a couple of days, but she had no intention on him staying indefinitely. They were still divorced and no matter how she'd been feeling about for the past few months of living together that didn't change.

"So, do you need help packing your things?"

"No thanks, I can manage."

"This is a good day Livvie."

"I know."

Fitz smiled and kissed Olivia's forehead before going back to pack the rest of his things. By dinnertime, Fitz had packed away his closet, leaving a few outfits, underwear and socks for a couple of days. He started on Sophia's room next and was halfway through when he decided to take a break. Meanwhile. Olivia wasn't even a fraction of the way through with her room. hermind was still racing with anxiety about bringing the boys home. This was all strange to her. This was what she'd been waiting for, what she and Fitz had been waiting for. She thought that when the doctors told her she could finally take the boys home, that she'd be so overwhelmed with pure joy and happiness that she couldn't take it. She wanted to feel like Fitz. Ready to pack her room away, even though the boys probably wouldn't be discharged for another two days. How could she not be more excited, no matter how worried she was. She had another appointment with Dr. Angela, her therapist, in the morning, so maybe she could answer all of Olivia's questions.

X

The next morning, Olivia woke up early after a restless night of tossing and turning. She fixed breakfast for Fitz and Sophia and headed out for her appointment with Dr. Angela, arriving twenty minutes early for the appointment. Olivia told her all about the boys coming home and her anxiety about the entire situation.

"Olivia it sounds like your anxiety is about more than just bringing the boys home." Dr. Angela said. "You seem to have become attached to your life here in Santa Clarita. You've become accustomed and this feels like home now."

"But I know this isn't my home."

"Yes, but this is where you feel safe. Here, it's just you Sophia and Fitz. Living together in that house, cut off from the outside world. Jus the three you in your little bubble."

Olivia shook her head. "This isn't about Nora, I'm not afraid of her."

"I never said your fear of going home was about Nora. I feel your anxiety has more to do with your fear of what will happen once you get home. Here, your days are practically planned out. You visit the twins in the hospital every morning and night and during the day you spend time with Fitz and your daughter. It's simple and carefree. But when you go home, reality will hit again. You won't be safe in the bubble."

"But that doesn't make sense, I want to go home." Olivia insisted.

"Yes, but you are still fretful of what the next chapter in your life holds. What else is worrying you about your return home?" Dr. Angela asked, she had her suspicions about what was worrying Olivia so much, but she needed to hear her say it.

Olivia shrugged and thought for a second. "I guess I'm worried about being a mother of three. With Sophia it was easy balancing life as a working mother. But now, adding two more with health problems won't be easy. I'm worried that I won't be everything they need and I'm worried about something going wrong and not being able to handle it."

"Olivia you know you're a good mother. And you also know that you are more than capable of providing and caring for all of your children."

"I know that, but I can't help but worry that something will go wrong."

"Olivia there is no telling what will happen in the future, no one but God can tell us that. So because we don't know what is coming, there is no need or reason to fret over what we don't know is coming. Yes, there is a possibility of something going wrong. But has that happened? No. Do you know that it will happen? No. So is there a need to stress over it? No. Don't get yourself worked up over what-ifs. If you went around worrying about the possibilities and what-ifs of life, then you would never have any peace."

Olivia thought about what Dr. Angela had said, and she realized she was right. Sure there was a possibility something could go wrong when she got the twins home, but there was also a possibility that it could go great. She didn't know what way life would lead her and there was no use on worrying about the negatives that haven't even happened.

"I understand." Olivia said. She thought that was the end, but Dr. Angela wasn't done.

"Now I still feel like you're holding back Olivia."

Olivia furrowed her eyebrows. What else could she be holding back on? "Like what?"

"Like the other reason you're apprehensive about going home."

"But I already told you."

"Yes, but I feel there's more."

"More like what?"

"Olivia for the past couple of sessions together, you've become more and more open about your relationship with Fitzgerald." Dr. Angela paused to gauge Olivia's reaction to what she said, she didn't that often during their sessions together. "And listening to you speak about him, I can gather that the two of you have become closer during these past months living together."

Olivia shrugged. "I guess."

"And it also feels that your feelings for him might have shifted as well."

"Shifted how?" Olivia asked.

"That's something you would have to tell me." Dr. Angela said, and waited for Olivia's response.

"I don't… I don't know what you want me to say."

"Well, I would prefer for you to just be honest with me."

"Months ago before I got pregnant with the boys, Fitz asked me if we could try again. If we could give our relationship another chance. I shot him down. Nothing in our relationship had changed beyond a couple of night together that shouldn't have happened."

"And do you feel differently now?"

"Yes and no. Nothing has still changed between us and about what happened to our marriage. But I'm not as angry with him as I used to be, but I still hold some resentment for him for how he just walked away from me."

"Have you told him any of this? About how you feel?"

"No, but I think he can sense it. Our days and conversations are filled with less tension. We're laughing together again, having fun with one another and I feel like I can talk to him like I use to when we were married. It's like he's been a different Fitz here, he's almost like my old Fitz the one I married. And lately he's been referring to my home as his and referring to us as a we. He's acting as if we are together and when we return home that my home with once again become our home. I don't know how I feel about it."

"About what?"

"About he and I becoming we again. I love Fitz, I never stopped and I probably never will. But we still have unresolved issues between the two of us, and I don't think he fully understand just how much he hurt me. I would love to just forget what happened in the past and move on with him, but I know that isn't possible. I want the Fitz I have now to remain that Fitz when we get back to LA."

"You're afraid he'll change?"

"Yes. And I don't want to go back to hating him. I like how we are now. The playful banter, the easy conversation I can be relaxed with him again. Life is good here."

"So you would rather the boys remain in the hospital so you can keep your comfortable life here?" Dr. Angela knew that wasn't the case.

"Of course not."

"Then stop fretting and giving yourself anxiety and talk to him. Tell him how you feel, let him know what's going on. And clear the uncertainty between the two of you. If you want him to move back in with you, let him know if you don't want that then let him know that. You can't keep walking around with unresolved conversation. It's only going to build tension on top of tension. Let him know how you feel and how you want things between you two to progress."

"I understand."

"Great. So our session is coming to an end. I'm truly proud of all the progress you've made during our time together."

"You're talking like we won't see each other again."

"Well with you going back to LA in a couple of days, I will have to refer you to another-"

"No, no. I don't want to see anyone else. It already took a lot out of me to even come see you, I don't just open up to people with ease. No, I'll be making the trip back up here to see you."

"Well if you insist."

"I do. So I'll see you later, not goodbye."

X

"I can't believe we haven't bought car seats or cribs." Fitz said as he and Olivia walked down the aisles at buy buy baby. They were at the house still packing away their things, when it occurred to them both they didn't have car seats to bring the boys home in. Nor did they have cribs at Olivia's house for the twins to sleep in. Luckily, Olivia decided to use the old nursery from her first pregnancy, which was already decorated so they didn't have to worry about getting a nursery together really quick. But they did have to worry about finding car seats before the boys were scheduled for discharge, because before they could even leave they had to have a stress test done in their car seats. And once they got the twins home, Olivia and Fitz both preferred to have cribs.

So after realizing they needed to do some quick shopping, they gave packing a break and packed into the car. The were really only searching for car seats and cribs to be delivered at the house, but along the way they both spotted things that they thought the boys would 'need'. Most of which were too big to fit in the car along with everything they still had at the house to pack away, so they were glad that the store offered a shipping option.

"Yeah I know." Olivia said, eyeing a bouncer that the twins definitely didn't need. "We've been so consumed with getting the boys home that we forgot they have nothing to go home to."

Olivia already knew which cribs she wanted for the twins, she'd been searching the internet for a cribs for the twins for a while now, she just never got around to buying one. She'd searched through several mommy blogs and websites until she found the Sloane 4-in-1 Acrylic Convertible Crib. It was perfect, sleek and simple and a bit rustic. And Olivia really fell in love with the unique clear acrylic spindles on the sides of the crib. It gave the crib a more open and airy feel. She didn't want to have a over the top crib like she did for Sophia. Mainly because she would have to buy two and set up two in the room and she didn't want it to be too busy. And this was great because it grew with the baby changing from a crib to a toddler bed, daybed and then a sofa once they outgrew the beds. Olivia planned on keeping the twins in the same room for a while, she thought it would be easier that way.

Luckily the store they were at had three left in the color Olivia wanted, black with melted bronze. So they selected the cribs, two matching dressers and one changing table for the nursery. They had everything sent to the front for them to purchase just in case someone came in while they were chopping. They also found car seats for the twins, they ended up getting the same car seat that Sophia has now, it was a 3 in 1 that would grow along with them so they wouldn't have to buy another one. Now all they had to do was find a stroller, which wasn't going as smoothly. Olivia again knew exactly what she wanted, but she couldn't find it in the store.

"Which is exactly why we should just pick something out." Fitz said tiredly, he was tired of circling the store looking at strollers Olivia had no intentions of buying. And Sophia was getting pretty restless in the cart as well.

"I don't want just anything Fitz. I know what I want, and I'm not going to settle."

"It's a stroller Liv, not a major life decision."

"Well excuse me, but I do find this a big decision." Olivia ignored Fitz's eyeroll and continued walking ahead of him searching the strollers.

"Okay what about this one." He pointed to a random stroller to his left. It actually wasn't a bad choice, although he didn't give any real thought into it.

Olivia looked at the stroller and frowned. It was a double stroller that had the seat on top of each other. Olivia didn't want that kind. "I don't want one baby on top of the other, besides I wouldn't be able to see the one on the bottom. I want the kind that has the seats side by side."

"But those are so wide, it's such a hassle trying to navigate them through a store."

"I know what I want Fitz."

"Ugh!" Fitz sighed dramatically and slumped down on a bench. "We've been in this store for hours Olivia, please just pick something. Even soph is getting tired of this, and she's all out of rainbow goldfish so who knows how long we have before she starts screaming."

"What is your deal with shopping? You act like such a baby."

"I don't hate shopping; I just hate shopping with you." Fitz said. "It's never simple or quick. You could literally spend an hour just deciding between two sweaters. And in the end you just end up buying them both."

"I'm almost done okay. I've already accepted that I'm going to have to order the stroller online. Now I just want to do another walk through and see if there's anything else we might need."

"Olivia! The nursery is completely finished. There is nothing else we need."

"It won't hurt to look." Olivia walked away, ignoring Fitz tantrum. "I swear Fitz, you didn't even act this bad, when we were picking out furniture for the house."

"Ugh! Well this trip better end like that one did" Fitz said behind her and Olivia smirked.

Twelve years ago…

Fitz and Olivia walked hand in hand through the furniture store as newlyweds picking out furniture for their new home together. They had put off shopping for the house until t he last minute and Olivia was tired of sleeping on a mattress in their bedroom, she was ready to sleep in a real bed. Not that nights on that old mattress weren't fun. Fitz made sure of it, christening the entire house before retiring to their mattress. But because they hadn't gone shopping earlier, that meant they needed to shop for the whole house. Which also meant a long trip to the furniture store.

"This is nice." Fitz said as they walked up to a bedroom setdisplay. It was made entirely out of logs of wood.

"Fitz that is hideous."

"What do you mean, it has a rustic vibe."

"What are we loggers? Rustic? When have you ever been rustic?"

"It's a no, I get it." Fitz walked on and was about to stop at another set that caught his eye.

"Fitz we're married adults, not teenage roommates." She pulled him along by his arm, passed every bedroom set that she deemed, immature, gaudy, simplistic, cheap and just plain old ugly. This went on for what felt like hours. Fitz was getting beyond annoyed, tired and hungry. They thankfully settled on a dining room table and they were able to narrow their choice of a living room set to only two. But sadly, they couldn't come to a decision on their bedroom set.

"Why does this matter so much anyway Liv?"

"Fitz this is where we are going to spend most of our time relaxing. Our bedroom is going to be our sanctuary, just the two of us, don't you want it to be something you love. A place where you can truly unwind and relax after a hard days work?"

Fitz rolled his eyes. "Liv it's not that deep. We just need a place to lay our heads." Fitz came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Personally, I'm going to miss the mattress and the good times we've had on that mattress." He kissed the side of her neck, and she closed her eyes, thinking about their rendezvous before they came to the furniture store. "Real good times." He continued kissing her neck, knowing just what that did to her. Olivia looked through her hooded eyes to make sure no one was around to see them. Luckily for them, no one else seemed to be interested in furniture shopping at ten a.m. on a Monday morning.

"That mattress was fun." Olivia agreed. "But just think of all the things we could do with a lot more space. And on a mattress that didn't have springs poking you in the back."

"That does sound nice." Fitz walked them backwards until his legs hit the mattress on one of the beds. There was still no one around them, and they were sort of in the back of the store. Fitz fell back onto the bed, pulling a laughing Olivia along with him.

"Fitz stop, we're in public."

"What?" Fitz said innocently, the two of them to their side, throwing his leg over hers to keep her in place. "We're just testing out the merchandise."

He kissed her giggling lips, feeling her give into him with every stroke of his tongue. Fitz knew they were in public, and he kept that in the back of his mind, as Olivia's skirt began to rise higher and higher on her hips. He ran his hands up her thighs and to her hip and then back to her ass. He gave it a firm squeeze, knowing Olivia loved it. Olivia's hands were travelling too, hers made their way up his chest, loosening a few buttons and into his hair ruffling his curls. She moaned when he squeezed her behind again, she liked when he was rough. She was getting so caught up in their kisses, that she forgot where she was. She was pushing Fitz over onto his back, when they both heard a loud throat clearing. Fitz and Olivia both jumped at the sound and pushed away from each other. They looked up and saw one of the store employees standing at the foot of the bed. They both jumped off the bed and fixed their clothes.

"May I help you?" The worker said.

"Yes." Olivia cleared her throat. "We'll take this bedroom set."

X

Present…

"I still can't believe we're taking them home today." Olivia said. They were in the car heading to the hospital to pick up the boys to take them home. It was two days after the doctor told them they were getting discharged. Olivia's anxiety about taking them home had faded slightly, but she was still nervous. They had finally finished packing away their things and hired movers to take it al back to LA. Fitz had already put the twin's car seats in the car along with Sophia's, he was ready to go.

When they got to the hospital, the doctor went over some car instructions and a list of things to look out for with the twins. Then they performed the car seat test on the twins, who both passed. Now they were signing the discharge papers so they could take the boy's home. Olivia got the boys buckled in their car seats, while Fitz packed away their little room. All the little letters and cards their family had sent. All the little blankets and knitted hats they had received donated to the NICU. They had two carts one for the twins and the other to fit all the flowers, bears and blankets the twins had accumulated. They had been in the hospital so long; the nurses had become attached to them. It was a bittersweet moment for then to see the boys leave.

After they got the car packed, Fitz and Olivia both thanked the nurses for taking care of the twins and off they were back to LA. It was a longer drive than normal, because Fitz was driving below the speed limit the entire ride. And he would pull over to check on the twins, anytime he heard them making any noise.

When they finally made it home, the first thing they noticed were all the cars parked in front of the house. Then they noticed the balloons on the mailbox and the welcome home banner on the front lawn. Fitz didn't even get a chance to park the car, before the front door opened and both Adelle and Carol were racing to the car.

"Oh my babies are home! Finally!" Adelle opened the back door and unhooked Noah's car seat and took him inside. And Carol did the same with Jonah. When Olivia got out, she took Sophia out her car seat. She knew everyone was just excited about the new babies, but she wanted to make sure that Sophia was not forgotten about.

"You think they're excited?" Fitz sarcastically asked.

Olivia shrugged. "Maybe just a little."

Olivia went inside and Fitz stayed outside to unpack the car, eventually Curtis, huck and Jason came out to help. Meanwhile, the twins were being bombarded by both sets of grandparents. Adelle and Carol were sitting on the couches holding a baby, with their husbands right next to them eagerly waiting their turn to hold their grandson.

Quinn, Erika, Althea accepted the fact that they probably weren't going to get a chance to hold the twins for a while, since they were being held hostage by their grandparents. So they retired upstairs to the nursery to help Olivia unpack. Olivia was grateful for her family, they had cleaned the nursery and set up the cribs Olivia had shipped to the house. They looked great in the room and she would wait to have her house to herself so she could sit in her rocker and enjoy her three children. Three children. That was a something Olivia never would have thought she would be saying. But now here she was, a mother of three perfect kids.

"What you over there thinking about?" Quinn asked, noticing Olivia was starring off into space. Quinn was helping Olivia refold and put away all of the twins clothes. Althea was putting away all the blankets and finding a spot for all the stuffed animals to go. And Erika had the best task, she was on the floor playing with Sophia.

Olivia smiled. "Just that I didn't think this would be my life. After ye4ars of disappointment and now I'm a mother of three kids. It's weird, but a good weird."

"I know what you mean. One day Huck and I woke up and we had three kids." Quinn laughed.

"I'm just so happy you guys are home now." Erika said. "I hated that I couldn't see my niece and nephews everyday. And I also missed mooching food off of my favorite neighbor." She winked at Olivia.

"Oh don't think just because Olivia's back home means she will have time to cook for you." Quinn said. "She's going to have three babies and a man to feed." She was referring to Fitz, everyone assumed that he would be staying with Olivia since the boys were home now.

"Speaking of my brother." Erika casually brought up. "How long will he be staying with you?" Olivia didn't answer right away. "he will be staying with you right?"

Olivia shrugged. "I guess. I mean it would be nice to have an extra pair of hands around, and it makes sense right?'

"Sure." All three ladies replied.

"Is that what you want?" Thea asked.

"I think so." Olivia thought for a moment. "I guess so."

"You guess so?"

"You know this is your house now right? You have a say in who can and cannot sleep here."

"I don't want to keep Fitz from the boys, I know he's just as excited about the boys being home finally."

"You still don't sound so sure."

Olivia sighed, this was the same conversation she had with her therapist. "I just don't want to get the wrong idea."

"Wrong idea about what?" Erika asked.

"We've gotten comfortable with each other living in Santa Clarita. It felt like old times, we were even sleeping I the same bed at night."

"I'm sorry what?" Thea said.

"It wasn't like that. I was just having trouble sleeping one night and I went to his room and got in his bed and he didn't turn me away. We only slept and there was plenty of space between us… for the first couple of times."

"First time?"

"Well when he didn't turn me away, I kept going back. And after a couple of nights of sleeping in his bed, I started to wake up in his arms in the middle of the bed instead of alone on the edge."

"Damn Liv, seems lie you're the one sending mixed signals." Quinn said.

"Yeah, crawling in the man's bed and what not." Thea added.

"Just to sleep, it's not like we were doing anything else." Olivia defended herself. "But now, I don't know how it's going to be living under this roof with him again. I don't want things to be awkward."

"So don't make them awkward." Thea said. "You and Fitz are honestly beginning to anger me, I've ever seen two more stupid smart people in all my life." The women all laughed, except for Olivia. "You two are obviously still in love with one another, but for some reason you love playing these stupid games. You just need to woman up and tell Fitz how you feel and then he'll in return he'll you how he feels. And if you both feel the same way great, but if not then you just have to accept it and move on."

"You sound angry." Quinn laughed.

"I am, I hate dumb love!"

"Hey chill with the dumb and stupids." Olivia said.

"Well then stop being so dumb. You're a grown ass woman having anxiety over whether a boy likes you or not. This is not high school."

Now Olivia remembered why she hardly ever went to her sister for advice when she was younger. Thea was just too blunt and harsh at times.

"Top notch advice Thea." Olivia said with sarcasm dripping off every word.

"Whatever, you're not going to listen to me anyway, you never do."

X

Everyone ended up staying at the house past dark. It was late in the night, when the grandparents finally left Olivia and Fitz alone. Olivia had already taken Sophia a bath, read her a bedtime story and had her tucked soundly asleep in her nursery. Then se and Fitz both bathed the twins. Olivia bathed Noah and Fitz bathed Jonah. Olivia made sure to take plenty of pictures of their first bath at home. They were too small, so Olivia had to attach the net that came with their baby tubs. The entire time they were being bathed, Noah was up and alert. Watching his mother the entire time enjoying the feel of the warm water and the gentle brush of the washrag. And when Olivia began washing his hair, his little eyes rolled back before his eyelids became hooded, he was very much relaxed. And Jonah was asleep, out like a light. Which seemed to be the norm for them. Noah seemed to always be wide awake, and Jonah was always sleeping.

After they got the twins bathed, they both fed them, burped them and laid them down for the night. Olivia double checked that they had enough milk in the fridge just in case they had a long night of feedings and diaper changes half asleep. She had pumped earlier that day and the fridge was plenty full. Olivia was glad her milk was finally started to come in. Before, she'd be lucky if she pumped a few ounces, but now, she was pumping more than she needed at times.

It was around ten that night, and Olivia was in her kitchen drinking chamomile tea. She was lost in her thoughts, and didn't hear Fitz, until he was sitting down in the chair next to her. His scent was the first thing she noticed he was fresh from a shower. Fitz plopped down and immediately reached for Olivia's mug, bringing it up to his lips.

This was one thing Olivia didn't miss about living with Fitz. He was constantly eating off her plate, drinking out of her cups. He didn't even know what she was drinking and without a word he just takes her cup from his hand. And while she didn't miss this, she still smiled, thinking of annoying old times.

"What you doing?" Fitz asked, after taking several sips of Olivia's tea. Olivia found herself secretly hoping he'd burn himself just for stealing her mug.

"Just drinking a little tea before I go to sleep. It helps me sleep sometimes."

"Still wired from today huh?" Fitz asked and Olivia nodded. "The move, the drive and then having the entire family over after."

"And the fact that our parents didn't leave until long after the sunset didn't help."

Fitz laughed. "Yeah. But it was fun seeing them fawn over the boys like that. And that photo you took of our dad's holding the boys definitely has to be framed."

"Oh most definitely." It really was a great picture. Gerry and Curtis were sitting side by side on the couch. Curtis was holding Jonah and Gerry was holding Noah, both smiling hard and looking down at their grandson with pride. Olivia planned on putting the picture next to the picture of her dad holding Sophia, laughing as she tried to take his reading glasses off his face.

"So listen Liv, I know we never really had a talk about me staying here. And I realize now that I kind of just moved on in without asking you first."

Olivia smiled. "Is this you asking?"

"Well I guess so. I just want to be as close to the boys as possible, and I'd rather just wake up here and not have to make the drive over every morning. And-"

Olivia cut in before Fitz could finish his rambling. "I don't mind you staying here Fitz. I understand you wanting to be close to the boys."

"If you're not okay with this then-"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. It's not like we haven't lived together before." Even as Olivia spoke, she didn't believe what she was saying.

"Well." Fitz clapped his hands. "I'm glad we cleared that up. I'm going to head on up for bed, I have a feeling we have a long night ahead of us." Fitz stood up and pushed his chair in, he was moving kind of slow. Then before he walked off, Olivia felt his hand on her chin pulling it up. Then she felt his lips on hers. He's kissing me. Where the hell did this come from? The kiss didn't last long, but it was tender and very unexpected.

"Night Livvie."

Still stunned at the fact that he kissed her, Olivia didn't answer. Sitting there thinking in the dark kitchen alone, Olivia could help but think about the conversation she just had and what followed. Then she remembered what she'd said earlier. And she was not sure everything would be fine and Fitz was right, they were going to have a very long and now confusing night.

X

Until Next Time...