Chapter Twenty-Three: Going in Circles

Oliva woke up with a start, thinking she heard something down the hall. She'd only been asleep for an hour or two, after tossing and turning all night long. She'd had a long day with the boys and Sophia who was not use to having to share her mother's attention. The room was dark, as Olivia sat up in her bed still trying to see if she could hear anything. She didn't hear anything, so she pulled the covers back and got out of bed. She decided to go check on the kids.

She went to the twins room first, the door was already opened and she walked in. She smiled down at both of her boys sleeping soundly with their wind chimes playing on the speaker. After checking on the boys, she went to Sophia's room. Her door was shut, which was weird because she never closes the kids door. Maybe a crack, but she never closes them all the way. She went to open the door, but it was locked. This put Olivia in panic mode, because she knew she didn't shut the door and she for sure didn't lock it. She started twisting the knob and it wasn't budging, she banged on the door using her shoulder to try and break it down. Hearing the commotion, Fitz came down the hall. He found Olivia hysterically banging on Sophia's door trying to break it down. He asked what was going on and all Olivia could say was the door was locked.

Fitz knew the door being shut and locked was weird as well, pushed Olivia out the way and begin banging on the door with his shoulder. He banged three times, before the door finally burst open. Olivia rushed in with Fitz behind her and she stopped, noticing Sophia wasn't in her crib. She whipped her head to the window and noticed a figure climbing out the window. Suddenly the figure turned, and Olivia noticed it was Nora. She was climbing out the window with a crying still sleeping Sophia cradled to her chest. Olivia screamed, as Nora laughed and disappeared out the window.

"No!" Olivia rose up in her bed, her heart beating fast and sweat forming on her forehead. She stilled, looking around her room, she was awake now. This was the third time this week she'd woken up from the same nightmare. She had hoped that once she moved back to the comfort of her own home, that her nightmares would stop. But unfortunately, they hadn't, and she began to have new nightmares. Most of her nightmares revolved around Nora and the day she abducted her. But this new dream she was having was about Nora or anyone coming to take Sophia in the middle of the night. On most nights, it was Nora who took her and on other night, it was a faceless person. Those dreams scared her the most, who was she afraid of?

When she came home, she didn't think she'd be having dreams about Sophia. She thought all her anxiety was because of Noah and Jonah. She had no idea where this new dream came from or why she was having it. Olivia knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep right away, so she decided to go check on the kids. Unlike in her dream, the hallways were lit by the plug-in nightlights Fitz had bought after too many late-night trips to the bathroom resulted in him stubbing his toe on a corner.

She checked on the boys and they were still sleeping, then she went to Sophia. Her bedroom door was opened as well, and she could see the roaming light from her nightlight projecting stars onto the ceiling. She laughed, when she finally laid eyes on Sophia. She was such a wild sleeper. She was turned sideways in her crib. She was up on her knees, with her booty tooted up, her face was pressed into the sidebars and one hand was dangling between the bars.

After she fixed Soph in her bed, Olivia went downstairs to make herself a cup of tea and then headed back to bed. Hoping sleep would soon find her again.

X

As Fitz woke up the next morning, he wasn't surprised when he rolled over onto his side and was met with a bush of soft curly hair. He happily sighed, as he breathed in the scent of coconut and rose water. He opened his eyes, and found Olivia sleeping next to him. She was turned on her stomach with her head facing away from him. This wasn't the first time he'd waken up to find Olivia in his bed. She would do this at least twice a week, most of the time it was after having a nightmare, one that she wouldn't tell Fitz about. And in the morning, when she woke up, she wouldn't have any memory of actually getting into his bed. Or so she says.

Fitz lay in bed, content to watch Olivia sleep for a few more moments. Then he got up, without waking her, because he knew she was not getting enough sleep at nights. He went to the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth. When he got back to his room, Olivia was still sleeping. He went to his closet to pull out his clothes for the day. He had went back to work a week ago. The boys had been home for over two months now and he thought he was ready to go back to work. Olivia, however, was not ready not even close. She had no interest in going back to work for the moment. And although Fitz did go back, he only works three days a week. He goes in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. He was glad to be back at work, but he wasn't ready to leave Jonah and Noah for the full week. Plus, him only working three days a week meant he could be around to help Olivia out more.

He was setting out his shoes when he heard Olivia moving on the bed. He turned around and smirked at Olivia as she woke up with a look of confusion on her face.

"Morning." He greeted her.

"I did it again." Olivia said more of a statement than a question. She knows she does this at least twice a week, and the first two times she did this, for the life of her she couldn't remember how she'd ended up in Fitz's bed. The first night it happened, she was convinced Fitz put her in his bed while she was sleeping. But he swore to her that she walked into his room late one night without a word. She walked to the empty side of the bed, and climbed right in. He thought she was sleepwalking and didn't try to stop her. He just rolled over onto his side and went back to sleep. After it kept happening, Fitz asked Olivia about it and she would say the same thing, she didn't remember. One night when she came into his room, Fitz heard her yelling in her room. He was about to go check on her when his door opened. It was Olivia. Fitz asked her if she was okay, and she didn't respond, she just got into his bed and went to sleep. And again, when Fitz asked her about it the next morning, she replied 'I don't remember'. She still doesn't recall going to Fitz's room those first two times, but after that she knew full well what she was doing. She just felt comfort in his room, in his bed. He didn't even have to hold her, just laying next to him was enough to calm her and allow her to go back to sleep. So she kept going back. Every time she would have a nightmare, she would walk to his room and get in his bed. And whenever he tried to talk to her, she would act as if she didn't hear him and get in the bed.

"I'm sorry Fitz." Olivia apologized; she hated these awkward mornings although she was the cause of these awkward mornings. When she got out the bed, Fitz's eyes were glued on her. She was under the covers, so he hadn't seen what she was wearing until she got up. She was wearing a silk, thin strapped nightgown that barely reached her thighs.

Fitz realized he was staring, and he quickly looked away and tried to play it off before Olivia noticed, but she already had. "It's uh, it's no problem. I take it you don't remember coming here last night."

"I really don't Fitz, I don't know why I keep doing this." Olivia lied.

"You seem to only do it when you have a nightmare." Fitz said, and he watched as Olivia became more uncomfortable. "Liv you know you can talk to me right. Something is clearly bothering you, and I wish you would just tell me about your nightmares."

"I'm fine. I promise." Olivia smiled, before making her way out of Fitz's room. She pulled on the hem of her nightgown, knowing it was extremely short.

About ten minutes later, Fitz heard a cry from the twin's nursery. He knew it was Jonah. Both of the boys were sleeping through the nights now, but it was Jonah who always work up first crying. Jonah was always the loud one. He cried when he was hungry, sleepy, when he wanted to be held and especially when he had a dirty diaper. Noah on the other hand was the more laid back and chill baby. He was always the alert one. You could sit him in his bouncer, and he would just look around staring and watching everyone go by him. He did cry obviously, but mostly when he was hungry and not nearly as long or as loud as his older brother.

"Hey buddy." Fitz greeted his son, as he picked him up from his crib. Jonah was wide awake, and Fitz could smell why he was in such a terrible mood. Noah was awake as well, but he was just looking at his mobile on his crib. Fitz laid Jonah on the changing table and unsnapped his onesie. The smell was already pungent, but it was worse once his diaper was off. And Jonah was still crying as loud as he could. "Okay I get it, I'm cleaning it."

Olivia came into the room a moment later. "Sounds like someone is in a mood."

"Yeah well you would be in a mood too if you had all this stuck to your behind." Fitz made a stank face as he wiped Jonah's behind. The mess had become stuck to his behind as he slept, he was going to need a hot bath after this for sure.

"And how is mommy's little man this morning?" Olivia cooed at Noah, taking him out his crib. He too needed a diaper change, but he wasn't crying. He smiled, when his mother kissed his cheek. "You are always in a good mood, aren't you?"

"They are the complete opposite." Fitz said, still cleaning Jonah, his poop really did go everywhere. "He's going to need his bath earlier today." After he changed his diaper, Fitz lay Jonah back in his crib so he could get things ready to give him a bath. Bath time had become a favorite for Fitz. He enjoyed the time with the boys. He honestly enjoyed any moment he had with his boys. He was just still astonished at times that he was actually a father. Sometimes, while he was just holding the boys and watching TV on the couch he'd just remind himself 'wow, I'm a father'. He'd never get over the feeling.

"Well since Sophia is still sleeping, I guess now would be a good time to give them both a bath." Olivia suggested. She too, stripped Noah and placed him in his crib to get him a change of clothes.

Forty minutes later, both the twins were cleaned, changed and in their bouncers. Jonah had, unsurprisingly, fallen back to sleep after a warm bottle. And Noah was watching his mobile spin stars and moon above his head. Sophia had woken up just as the twins were getting out the tub and she was in her highchair with two pancakes and some sliced bananas.

Olivia and Fitz were sitting in the kitchen at the table. Olivia had cooked pancakes for breakfast and Fitz was scarfing them down one by one. One of the many things he missed about living with Olivia was her cooking. And he was definitely being spoiled by her cooking, and today was peanut butter, banana pancakes. She always topped them off with peanut butter chips, sliced bananas and this organic maple syrup she buys at the market. Fitz was in heaven.

"You know, you keep feeding me like this and I won't be able to fit into my jeans anymore."

"You ate my cooking for ten years and managed to stay in. I think you'll survive a few months." Olivia topped Fitz's glass of milk off as she watched him finish yet another pancake. Truth is she enjoyed the company, she loved having someone to cook for besides herself and Sophia.

Olivia and Fitz had fallen back into schedule since leaving Santa Clarita. They worked together as a team, they had a routine. In the mornings that she and Fitz would get up, get the kids changed and downstairs for their morning bottles and breakfast for Sophia. Fitz and Olivia had breakfast together over light, easy conversation. Fitz would quickly get the kitchen cleaned up before he went back upstairs to shower and get ready for work. He would leave every morning around 9:30 and come home around 5. He would come home early on most days, because he claimed it was a slow day. But Olivia knew he came home early because he couldn't stand being away from the twins too long. When he came home from work, Fitz would do as much as he could, since Olivia was home with them all day. She normally took a moment to herself when Fitz got home. Most of the time it was to work in her garden, it always relaxed her. Then around 8:30 they would start getting the kids ready for bed. It wasn't always easy getting everyone to sleep, but by 9:30 on most nights all the kids were asleep or at least in their beds.

"What do you have planned today?"

Olivia shrugged. "Same as yesterday. Watch five hours of mickey mouse clubhouse until you get home." Mickey mouse clubhouse was the new favorite for the boys, anytime that music came on the noise halted. It was like magic. "I was thinking about rearranging my pantry too, that is if I can get them all down for a nap."

"Exciting." Fitz said sarcastically.

"Yeah well, you're the one that gets to leave every day."

"You could too." Fitz said. "You could go back to work Liv."

Olivia shook her head. "I'm not leaving my kids alone with some strangers."

Fitz looked at her crazy. "A stranger? Really Liv? You know our parents would be more than happy to take the kids while we worked."

"It's too soon." Olivia said, coming up with another excuse.

"They're five months old Olivia."

"Okay, so it's me who isn't ready."

"Not ready to leave the kids or not ready to go back to work?" Fitz asked, because he knew there was a big difference. And so did Olivia, she hadn't even entertained the idea of going back to work since what happened with Nora.

Olivia ignored his question and changed the subject. "You're going to be late for work, you should start getting ready."

Olivia didn't give him a chance to respond, as she got up to take his job of cleaning the kitchen after breakfast.

X

Fitz has been at work for a few hours now. His day was real slow, he only five patients scheduled for today. He's already seen three of them and the next two were scheduled within the next hour. And Fitz was seriously considering going home after his last appointment. That was the joy of working for yourself, you can make your own hours. He loved that he was back at work, because he loved what he did. But he hated being away from his family for too long. And that meant the twins, Sophia and Olivia.

He loved being around Sophia, her infectious laughter and joy always brightened up anyone's day. And although he knew he and Liv were just merely roommates right now, he was hoping to build to something more. He hoped that by him moving in and showing her he was a changed man. He wanted to show her he was a great father and remind her what a great husband he was.

"Good afternoon Dr. Grant." Garret, the front desk receptionist, came in with some papers in his hand.

"Good afternoon."

"Here are some new messages. And your three o'clock called to reschedule for next week."

"Perfect. Now I just need my 3:40 to call and reschedule. And I can go home even earlier today."

"Oh to perks of being the boss." Garret joked. He gave Fitz his messages and then left back out the door. Stephen walked in just as garret was leaving.

"Well, I was half expecting you to be gone by now."

"If I didn't have another appointment I would be." Fitz put his files down on his desk, he wasn't really reading them anyway. He went to sit on the couch in his office and put his feet up on the table. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just between appointments right now." Stephen answered, he was munching on a bag of granola as he spoke. "How are my godsons?" Fitz and Olivia asked Stephen and Abby to be the twins godparents. Abby was overjoyed, since she was still a little salty that Olivia asked Quinn to be Sophia's godmother. Now she bragged to Quinn all the time that she was god mommy to two instead of one.

"They're good and getting bigger every day." Fitz and Olivia both were so happy when the boys started putting on weight. For so long they were both nothing but skin and bones. Now they were getting a little chubby, but Jonah was still the bigger of the two. Fitz took his phone out his pocket to show Stephen some pictures of the twins, he had plenty to choose from. "Yesterday Jonah discovered his love of his foot. Now all he wants to do is put his feet in his mouth. Olivia gets so annoyed every time she pulls off a slobber-covered sock." Fitz showed him a pick of Jonah laying on a blanket with his right for in his mouth.

"They are getting big." Stephen smiled at the picture of Olivia asleep on the couch with all three kids. Sophia was in between her legs and the boys were nestled in the crook of her arms. "How's Olivia been?"

"She good for the most part."

"Most part?"

"She's still having her nightmares, and of course she refuses to talk to me about it. But she has no problem getting in my bed at night."

"She what now?" Stephen was intrigued now.

"Yeah man, like twice a week at least I wake up with a face full of curls or a bonnet. Every time she has a nightmare she somehow ends up in my bed." Fitz saw the look on his friend's face and knew what he was thinking. "I'm not sleeping with her, not like that. All we do is sleep."

"If you say so."

"I'm serious. I don't know man, I guess it's just comforting to her."

"Right. You sure that's all?"

"What more would there be?"

"Don't play dumb with me Fitz. You and Olivia have been playing this annoying will they won't they game for far too long now. Just get married already."

"Married?" Fitz laughed. "I don't think we're at that step yet."

"Fitz you were married for ten years man, you were already at that step."

"Yeah and then I fucked it up." Fitz admitted. "Hell, I'm still trying to regain her trust."

"You know dam well if Olivia called you right now to go home and fuck her 'til midnight, you'd be out the door right now."

Fitz chuckled, "Well of course I would, but I know that will never happen."

"I don't know man, you just told me y'all are sleeping in the same bed."

"And that's all we do, sleep. We're just roommates, no housemates."

"Housemates with two kids."

"It's complicated."

"You're telling me. This is why I'm glad I'm married now, I don't have to play these dumb games. One woman to please and make happy, my life is far from complicated. Except when I piss Abby off that is." Stephen looked over at his friend. He could tell that Fitz was tired of playing this game with Olivia too. Stephen knew Fitz still had feelings for Olivia, but it seemed that either Olivia didn't feel the same or she just wasn't ready to admit that she did. Either way, Stephen didn't like this back and forth she was doing with Fitz. Maybe it was time he moved on.

"Fitz you know what you need? You need a new housemate." Stephen said with a look on his face.

"Really? That's your solution?"

"Come one! You're in a funk, you need to get back out there. Abby met this girl in her yoga class. Her name is Claudia, she's a veterinarian, gorgeous and insanely sweet."

"What, you vet her already?"

"She's been over for dinner a few times; she and Abby are getting close. I'm telling you man she's almost perfect."

"Almost?"

Stephen rolled his eyes. "She's a vegan." He made a face as if he said she was a devil worshiper. "Other than that man she's a great gal."

"Stephen I appreciate it, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"No one said you had to marry the girl, this is just to get you back out there. Get your feet wet a little."

"I think I'll pass."

"Fitz you can't keep pinning for Olivia. I mean I get it, she's a great woman. But you can't keep waiting around for her forever."

X

When Fitz got home that afternoon, the house was weirdly quiet. Normally when he got home it was to the sound of someone crying, most of the time it was Jonah, or he would hear Sophia playing or talking somewhere. But this time it was quiet.

"Liv?" he called out but didn't get an answer. He put his things down on the table in the foyer and went in search of his family. The first place he looked was the living room, normally that's where he would find them. He heard a noise outside and looked out the window. That when he finally saw them outside in the backyard. When he went outside, he saw Sophia playing in her small blowup pool, the boys twins were in their outdoor bouncers. He found Olivia kneeling on the ground in her garden. Fitz should have known this is where he would find her.

These days, this is where she spent most of her time when she wasn't busy taking care of the kids. This was her comfort and her happy place. She would always saw whenever she was working in her garden, she felt closer to her grandmother.

Olivia had her back turned to Fitz, so she didn't know he was there. He hadn't meant to, but when he came up behind her and tapped her shoulder, he scared the daylights out of her.

Olivia jumped with a scream and ended up falling into the dirt.

"Oh shit." Fitz laughed, he went to help Olivia who was trying to detangle herself from the garden. "My bad Liv."

"Dammit Fitz! Why'd you do that?" She pouted after she finally regained her balance. Fitz tried not to laugh anymore, but he couldn't help it. He burst out laughing from Olivia's fall and now at the fact that Olivia was covered in dirt. "It's not funny!" Olivia swatted him with her gloves, but she was laughing too.

"My bad." He reached out to brush some of the dirt off her face and out of her hair. "Having some fun in the sun?"

"We needed to get out of the house. It was beginning to get a bit stuffy in there. I wanted to go for a walk, but I can't push the stroller and pull Sophia's wagon at the same time."

"Well maybe we can go for a walk tomorrow." Fitz would have suggested they go now, but he knew they were going to have a war on their hands if they tried to get Sophia out of her pool. "Hey how about we order out for dinner tonight. Try to get the kids to bed a little earlier and we have a little movie night?" When they were married, just about every Friday night was movie night. They both loved to just cuddle on the couch [igging out on junk food and watching good movies.

Olivia smiled; it had been a while since they had a movie night. "Yeah that sounds like fun. I didn't feel like cooking tonight anyway." She was lying, she had already thought up tonight's dinner in her head. But movie night with Fitz, eating takeout sounded much better.

"Perfect."

X

Later that night, Olivia and Fitz both managed to get the kids fed, bathed and in bed before nine. Fitz had ordered the food and was now changing out of his work clothes into something more comfortable for movie night. Olivia was already changed and was getting the movie and snacks ready for movie night. She had gone to the foyer to put Fitz's things away, because she hated that he always just left his stuff on the table. The closet was right next to the foyer, but he never managed to put his jacket away.

She had put his briefcase in the closet and was hanging up his jacket when something fell from the pocket. She bent down to pick the piece of paper up and of course she looked to see what it was, everyone would. She read the paper with confusion though. Claudia 213-492-7724. Who was Claudia and why did Fitz have her name and number in his pocket? She could tell Fitz hadn't written the note, she knew his handwriting well and this was written too neat to be his chicken scratch. Was Fitz dating someone? He had every right to, he was a single man. But why did Olivia feel so hurt at the thought of Fitz dating? Was it hurt or jealousy?

Olivia heard Fitz coming down the stairs, so she put the note back into Fitz's jacket pocket and hung up the coat. She went back to the living room and sat on the couch. Fitz came back down a few minutes later, and she tried not to let her annoyance show. Fitz didn't seem to notice she was upset. He sat beside her and pulled her closer to him on the couch. Olivia tried to keep her distance at first, but Fitz pulled her to him, and she couldn't fight it anymore. She snuggled close to him, resting her head on his chest and her legs tangled with his.

They were both being dumb about their relationship, or lack thereof. They both knew what they wanted, but they were both too afraid to tell the other. Fitz didn't want to tell Olivia how he truly felt, and risk being rejected. And Olivia didn't want to tell Fitz how she felt because she was afraid to give him her heart again. She wasn't sure that she wanted to be with Fitz again, but she also knows how she felt just a moment ago when she thought he was dating someone else. She felt she had a claim to him but in reality, she didn't. She was no longer his wife.

They sat and watched the movie, mostly in silence, except during the funny parts or when Fitz was talking back to the TV. Fitz was enjoying Olivia's company. He was shocked when she allowed him to pull her close to him and even more shocked when she snuggled closer to him. She was practically laying on him now and hadn't moved since the movie started. But Fitz could sense that something was wrong. Olivia had been quiet for most of the movie which was weird. Fitz talked throughout the entire movie as he always does, it's the main reason people hate watching movies with Fitz and Olivia. They were both constantly talking back to the TV and that was annoying. But it was their thing. But tonight, Olivia remained quiet and only partly laughed when something funny happened.

When the movie was over, Olivia grabbed the remote to look for their next movie and Fitz started cleaning some of the trash on the coffee table. When he finished, he waited for Olivia to find another movie. But after a while of her just scrolling through movies, Fitz took the remote from her.

"What's bothering you?" He finally asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been off all night. I can feel it. What is it?"

Olivia wasn't going to bring it up. She didn't have a right to, but he wanted to know what was bothering her. "Who's Claudia?"

Fitz was caught off guard. That's not what he was expecting to hear back. "How do you know about her?"

"So there is a her?" Olivia asked. "I was putting your coat in the closet and her number fell out of your pocket." Olivia waited for Fitz to say something, but he didn't. "Is she someone you're seeing?"

"No." He answered. "She's someone Stephen knows. He thinks it's time I start dating again. He was in my office today, getting on my nerves. And when he gave me her number, I just put it in my pocket to shut him up."

"So you're going to start dating again?"

This was not where Fitz saw the conversation going. "No… I mean eventually yeah maybe, but…"

"Okay." Olivia shrugged. Olivia started clearing the table herself, taking everything away. She wasn't in the movie night mood anymore. She stacked their cups and plates and took them to the kitchen. Fitz followed behind her.

"What does that mean?"

"It means okay Fitz." Olivia was putting their dishes in the dishwasher, trying to end the conversation but Fitz wasn't letting it go.

"Okay what?"

"Just okay."

"No, that was more than an okay." Olivia still had her back to him, ignoring him. So Fitz took the dishes out of her hands and turned her around. They just stared at each other for a while before Olivia finally spoke.

"This is on me okay. I'm in a mood and it's my fault. I just read a situation wrong."

"What situation?"

"Our situation. I thought… I thought something was happening and I was wrong. You're dating other people and that's okay."

"I'm not dating anyone."

"It's fine Fitz. You're sending mixed signals and I-"

"I'm sending mixed signals?" Fitz looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm the one sending mixed signals are you serious? Olivia I told you point blank that I wanted to get back together with you and you shut me down."

"And then you moved into my house."

"I asked you could I move in here, and you said yes. And I moved in to help you and to be closer to the twins. And yes I wanted to be closer to you too, but you're the one that's been sending the mixed signals. I'm not the one sneaking into your bed in the middle of the night."

"What do you want me to say Fitz? Huh?"

"I want you to be real with me for once. I know how I feel, but I'm not going to keep opening up to you just for you to shut me down and then not even tell me how you really feel. You pretend like you don't care and then you find a woman's number in my pocket and you get all sour. I can't spend the rest of my life chasing you Olivia."

"I never said you had to chase me. Fitz if you want to see other people fine, go see other people then."

"I never said I wanted that!" Fitz was getting frustrated now. He dragged his hand down his face, letting out a humorless laugh. "You're just pushing me away now. You don't know how to express your feelings to me so you're just pushing me away."

"I don't need you to evaluate me."

"I'm not Liv, that's your job not mine." Fitz backed away, leaning again the counter. He was tired. He was tired of having the same conversation with Olivia over and over again. This back and forth was not good for either one of them. Maybe Stephen was right. Maybe it was time for him to stop chasing behind Olivia. She was still running from him and not showing any signs of letting up.

"I think Stephen was right. He said that I needed to stop chasing you and get back out there."

"With Claudia?" Olivia said her name with the nastiest tone.

"Maybe Olivia, what do you care? You've shown me time and time that you're either not ready for us or you just don't want us."

"You're the one that didn't want us Fitz! Okay, this is all your fault! We wouldn't be having this problem if you hadn't have left me. We were married, happily married and you fucked it all up!" She was crying now. She tried to keep her emotions in check, but she was failing. "You made me fall in love with you and then you ruined me for any other man and then you left me! You were my everything, and you have no idea how much you hurt me. To know how easy it was for you to just leave me."

"You think that was easy for me? I know I made a mistake Olivia, but I've been trying to make up for it now."

"How? How Fitz? What's changed? Or do you only want me now, because I'm not defective anymore. You finally got what you wanted right?"

"Maybe me moving in wasn't the right choice."

"Yeah maybe it wasn't." She didn't mean it.

"I don't want to fight with you Olivia, we're just going in circles and we have been for the past year. We have two kids together, we're going to be connected to one another for the rest of our lives."

"We don't have to be together to take care of our kids." Olivia didn't mean a word of anything she was saying. But she felt attacked and whenever she felt attacked, she went into the defensive.

Fitz was waiting for her to say something, to change her mind. But she didn't. She stood there with arms crossed, with tears and a look of defiance on her face. She was being stubborn, like she always was. Normally Fitz would have given in and tried to convince her otherwise, but Fitz wasn't falling for her games, not tonight.

"No, I guess we don't." That was the last thing Fitz said, before he walked out the kitchen. Olivia wanted to stop him, but her pride and stubbornness wouldn't let her.

She heard his bedroom door close, and she knew she'd pushed him too far this time. The realization hit her at once and she sunk down in the nearest kitchen chair. Maybe this was really the end.

X

Until Next Time...