By the time they got home from the charity event, Ellie was asleep in Fitz's arms, her marshmallow-sticky hair somehow even messier than Fitz's perpetually unkempt look. Olivia unlocked the door and sighed as she walked inside, kicking off her heels with the enthusiasm of someone who'd survived another Fitz-induced fiasco.

"You can put her in her crib," Olivia said, already knowing Fitz would somehow manage to trip over a piece of furniture in the process.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Fitz replied, looking entirely too confident.

Olivia followed him down the hall, arms crossed, because experience had taught her that Fitz never "got this." Sure enough, as he bent to lay Ellie in the crib, he bonked her head on the mobile. Ellie stirred but didn't wake, because even at two, she had already developed the life skill of ignoring her dad's nonsense.

"Smooth," Olivia whispered, leaning against the doorframe. "You should write a parenting book. 'How to Accidentally Concuss Your Kid with Style.'"

"She didn't even wake up," Fitz shot back, turning to face her. "You know what they say—kids are resilient."

"Right," Olivia said. "Resilient enough to survive you. Barely."

As they tiptoed back into the living room, Fitz flopped onto the couch with zero grace, kicking off his shoes and sighing dramatically.

"Uh-uh," Olivia said, pointing at him. "You're not staying."

"Oh, come on, Liv," Fitz said, putting his feet up on her coffee table like he'd done it a thousand times before—which he had, to her eternal annoyance. "It's late. Ellie's already asleep. You really want me driving home at this hour? What if I hit a raccoon?"

"Let me know when you learn how to drive with basic competence, and then I'll worry about the raccoons," Olivia said, crossing her arms. "Until then, you can take your bad decisions and go."

"Aw, you're worried about me," Fitz said, smirking. "That's cute."

"I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about the coffee table you're about to scratch up with your giant clown feet," she snapped, nudging his legs off with her knee.

"I'm staying," Fitz declared, ignoring her protests. "You're out of wine, and I feel like I should stick around to supervise your inevitable breakdown."

Olivia groaned. "You are the worst. Fine. But you're taking the couch, and if you snore, I'm throwing you out the window."

"Deal," Fitz said, already fluffing the throw pillow behind his head.

"I'll get you a blanket," Olivia muttered, heading to the linen closet. "God forbid you suffer in silence."

When she came back, Fitz was scrolling through his phone with a look of intense concentration.

"What are you doing?" she asked, handing him the blanket.

"Looking up how much it costs to rent a raccoon," Fitz said without looking up.

"Why?"

"Because the next time I stay over, I want to prove a point," he replied with a straight face.

"Go to sleep, Fitz," Olivia said, shaking her head.

As she walked toward her room, Fitz called out, "Goodnight, Liv! Sweet dreams! But, don't dream about how much you are still secretly in love with me!" He smirked.

"I'll dream about setting you on fire," she shot back, slamming the door for emphasis.

As she climbed into bed, she sighed. She could still hear him laughing in the living room, and as much as she hated to admit it, the sound wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Haha I just love them! This story is only going to be about 9 or 10 chapters long!