Olivia had been fielding calls from panicked staff from the office for over an hour. She was less concerned with them and more concerned with Fitz who'd been pacing manically for almost an hour while he spoke in code she could hardly understand with several people through the chip in his ear.
The girls were on the sofa now, eating snacks and watching Netflix on the large mounted tv.
"Erin is downstairs," Fitz said when he turned to Olivia then he went back to pacing.
"I'll go get her, I'll be right back," Olivia said as she attempted to stand.
"Your knees are scratched up and your wrist is sprained. You don't need to be walking anywhere Olivia. Erin can find her way here just fine."
Olivia shrugged and leaned back against the pillow, "alright."
Erin walked in a few minutes later and as soon as Fitz saw her he walked out to the balcony.
"Oh my god- that was crazy-"
"Shhhh-" Olivia said quickly to Erin.
Erin shook her head and walked over to Olivia, "why are you shushing me?"
"The girls don't need to know about anything that's going on," Olivia said softly to her sister. "Don't talk about it and be very careful about what you watch on TV because they're running very graphic footage on a loop which I thought wasn't even allowed."
The girls were across the large bedroom glued to whatever princess show was on the tv.
"Well, I was watching it and apparently it's from some movie that's coming out. It's made from footage they got from a super secret source."
"That's not good," Olivia said with a sigh as she stood. "Follow me to the closet."
Erin noticed her scratched legs. "What happened to your legs and your hand?"
"It's fine, it burns a bit but it looks worse than it is."
Olivia walked slowly to the closet and Erin followed. She sat on the couch while Erin stood against the wall.
"What happened?" Erin asked, "everyone at the office is freaking out-"
"I know, I know, I spoke to Rumi and I sent everyone home," Olivia said. "I um-"
"-What happened outside?"
"I don't know. Fitz dropped me in front of the office as usual and as he was kissing me goodbye it happened. I don't know who he saw but he shoved me to the ground which is how I got scratched up and then there was just a lot of gunfire."
"He's such a fucking barbarian- look at your legs and like- aren't you pregnant? Why is he pushing you so hard?"
"When we spoke we agreed that you wouldn't speak about Fitz, Erin."
"I'm sorry but you're telling me that you've been fine for almost five years and a few months after he comes home he's having shoot-outs in front of your office and you don't see a problem with that?"
Olivia rolled her eyes, "why don't you have boundaries Erin?"
"I'm sorry. I won't say anything about King Fitz. I'll have no opinion about him at all"
Olivia raised her eyebrow at Erin.
"Fine, I'm sorry," Erin said again.
"Just be certain you don't say anything around my daughters," Olivia said as she stood and walked back to her bed.
Fitz was still on the balcony.
Erin walked out moments later, "do you want me to take the girls outside to play or something?"
"No, Fitz doesn't want them out of his sight and anyways Sonia is here so if I need anything I'll ask her."
"How long do you want me staying here?"
"Until it's safe," Olivia answered. "You look like me and right now I don't know what that entails for you. Maria is setting up your room so once she's done you can bring your stuff there."
Erin nodded, "okay well I'm gonna go find something to eat."
Olivia didn't respond.
Erin shrugged and walked away. When she left Olivia reached into her nightstand and pulled out her laptop. She began composing a letter of resignation for the board at Dior. With the video out of Fitz in New York and the shooting that took place at her office, she didn't expect things to go back to normal anytime soon. She also planned to withdraw from fashion week and take a leave of absence from her namesake company.
She tried not to panic. Panic would only make the situation worse and after everything that happened in the morning, she couldn't afford any extra stress because it might be to the detriment of her unborn child. Whatever it was that happened this morning had Fitz worried and that wasn't a good sign because that meant it wasn't isolated.
After she wrote the letter she didn't send it right away. She walked over to the couch and sat with the girls, waiting for Fitz to come back from the balcony.
When Fitz walked in from the balcony, Olivia and all three girls had dozed off. He nudged Olivia softly until she woke.
"Hey," she said softly.
"I'm going downstairs to talk to some detectives, I'll be back soon and then we can talk about what's going on, okay?"
"Why do they want to talk to you again? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's fine it won't be long." he leaned over and kissed her lips softly then he headed out of the bedroom.
Once Olivia was awake she couldn't go back to sleep. She texted her doctor Vanessa to ask if she needed to worry after falling earlier in the day but Vanessa assured her that if she didn't fall on her stomach she would be alright and to just make sure she kept her ultrasound appointment.
There were many other messages on her phone with everyone from Lucky to Lily's dance teacher Liz texting her to ask what was going on. She ignored them all and shut her phone then placed it on the table in front of the sofa.
She took a deep breath and tried to shove all the worrying thoughts to the back of her mind. She looked over to her three daughters who were sleeping without a care in the world and she knew she would do anything to keep it that way as long as possible. They were too young to be privy to everything that was going on.
Olivia waited for more than an hour, unsure of what to do with herself she just sat in the quiet and listened to her girls snore. She didn't want to leave them.
After the girls woke, she took them down to the family room to eat and have them play with Zeus. Sonia met them and stayed with Olivia to help with the girls.
They'd been there for almost half an hour when Erin came.
"Maria's finished setting up, I just threw my duffle bag in the room but until you tell me how long I'll be here I won't know how much stuff to pack."
"Don't worry about that right now- I just wanted you to be close to us."
"In case someone tried to...whack me because I look like you?"
Lily turned and looked, "why would someone whack you Auntie Erin?"
Olivia turned to Lily and smiled, "whack just means that you give someone a high five."
Lily laughed, "come here Daisy. Let me whack you…"
Olivia turned back to Erin, annoyed, "Please be careful what you say," she said above a whisper.
"My bad," Erin said nonchalantly.
Olivia let out a breath and frowned, "Erin I want to talk to you alone." She turned to Sonia who was across the room now, "Sonia I'm gonna step away for a bit alright."
Sonia nodded, "no worries, take your time."
Olivia stood and immediately felt burning in her knees. She ignored it and headed to the kitchen with Erin in tow and sat at the island. Erin sat beside her.
"Erin, what's going on with you. I thought we agreed to have a reset?"
"Olivia, everything I do or say is a problem for you"
"It's been a crazy day and I'm trying to hold it together and not stress myself or my baby or my daughters out. I don't want to fight with you. Fitz is out there and I know my husband and I know that there is something terrible going on if he hasn't told me yet. I need you to not cause any drama Erin, that's all I'm asking."
Erin sighed, "that's the problem Olivia, I'm not causing any drama. You want me to tiptoe around Fitz because you treat him like he's some kind of king or something. Like no one can say anything or do anything to him because he's too delicate."
Olivia shook her head."What's your problem with Fitz? Has he done something to you that I don't know about?"
"What? No-"
"Okay then what is it Erin? Since he's been back you've been crazy? Is it Cheyenne?"
"Fuck her, she never loved me anyways."
Olivia rolled her eyes, "really? So why did you marry her?"
"I wanted a family. You had yours and I wanted mine."
"See, that's the thing Erin. It's not my family- it's our family. I'm your sister. My children are your nieces and my husband is your brother in law. It's not my family versus your family and you never talked about this before. You always said you were fine being an aunt."
"Maybe I changed my mind."
What?" Olivia asked, confused. Her story kept changing. What was her reason for acting out? Olivia couldn't figure it out other than it being Fit.
"People can change Olivia."
"Yeah, you changed when Fitz came home. That's when you started this and I don't understand why because you've had to listen to me cry for four and a half years about him. I'm happy now. I have my husband and my children have their father. I understand that I was a little unavailable but we agreed I'd change that. Why aren't you happy?"
Erin rolled her eyes and walked away but Olivia grabbed her by the arm.
"Erin I'm speaking okay- don't walk away from me."
Erin stopped and turned, "I don't need another dressing down about how perfect your life is now okay."
"What? My life isn't perfect Erin and I never try to make it seem that way. Someone literally tried to shoot me us this morning-"
"Okay Olivia," Erin said dismissively, "because you don't get it."
"Explain it then," Olivia snapped.
Erin shook her head and tears welled up in her eyes, "it's always you Olivia. We're twins, we look exactly alike but people think you're the pretty one. And it's true- like nothing I do is right. You're the talented one,you're the successful one. I'm literally- I...I have nothing. I've built nothing. Everything I have, you've given me."
"Erin-"
"No. don't 'Erin' me in your condescending tone," Erin barked. "You know it's true. You have a husband that will literally strangle someone with his bare hands if they stepped on your toe. He will literally kill for you. I have nothing close to that. My wife left me." Erin took a breath, "you have three gorgeous girls and probably another one on the way. When I tried to have some gorgeous kids of my own, you basically spat in my face-"
Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes and be a bitch, Olivia."
"Okay that's it. This conversation is over," Olivia turned and walked away.
"Fine," Erin quipped. "You never cared anyways."
This time, Olivia didn't turn around. She was too drained from the day to let Erin's emotional manipulation get to her. She had to focus on her children, both born and unborn, and husband. Erin and her dramatics would have to wait until she had the energy for it.
Olivia walked back to the family room and sat beside Sonia on the couch. The girls were chasing Zeus, as old and tired as he was he seemed to keep up with them just fine.
"Girls, are you ready for a bath?" Olivia asked.
"Mommy it's not night time," Isabelle said in between bouts of jumping on the couch.
"But it's okay Izzy because sometimes you can do stuff not the right time," Lily said.
"But I don't want to…" Isabelle complained.
"Alright 30 more minutes and then we'll go for bath time," Olivia said then turned to Sonia, "I think I'm gonna let you go early because it's been such a crazy day today."
"Are you sure," Sonia said in a quiet voice, "you must have a lot going on so I don't mind staying."
"Are you sure?"
Sonia nodded, "take it easy," she said. "I see you swelling up. You don't have easy pregnancies so whe nyou can give yourself a break- take it."
Olivia smiled, "how did you know."
"You forget sometimes that I've known you since Lily was a newborn. Been there when you cried for that man. When you gave birth to those beautiful little babies and then I was there again when you cried again when he came back."
Olivia chuckled and wrapped her arms around Sonia, hugging her tightly.
"I really appreciate everything you've done for my family Sonia and I hope you know that."
Sonia smiled, "I do. That check Mr. Grant gave me makes it very hard to say otherwise."
Olivia bit her lips, "Fitz can't really say he appreciates things but he knows how to show it. I just think that what's most important for me is that you and your family are taken care of. You've been so good to me and my daughters that I try to be good in the only way I know how. If you were to stop working tomorrow, I'd want you to not have to work another day in your life, not if you didn't want to."
"I know you don't plan on firing me with another Grant on the way," Sonia joked to lighten the mood. Olivia looked on the verge of tears.
Olivia took a breath, "before all of this we wanted to move to new York and I was going to ask you to come even though it's selfish of me to even ask and I didn't expect you to come. Now I'm not sure what's going to happen next for us."
"Listen, I love those little girls and you too. I've always said you're like a daughter to me and I wouldn't want to leave you when it's a tough situation. I think that as long as I can work out a situation where I have time to go back to my family then I'm open to relocating for a while."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm done raising my children. I'll visit my grandkids and sometimes they can visit me."
Olivia smiled and hugged Sonia again but she didn't know what to say. Her eyes welled up with water and Sonia leaned close to her and grabbed her hands. "Calm yourself and don't stress that little baby out," Sonia whispered.
"It's hard," Olivia said trying to hold back tears, "it's always something."
"A man attacked you in a bathroom and brought in your twin sister so they could kidnap you and take you to Russia. I wouldve sworn we were in some stupid movie but that actually happened and that man went to Russia and brought you back. Whatever it is, trust him."
"I do," Olivia said softly.
Erin walked into the family room, she still looked upset. "Hi girls, do you wanna watch a movie with Auntie Erin in the theatre room?"
"Yes!" Lily screamed.
"Yes!" both Daisy and Isabelle screamed together.
"Alright, come on," Erin called.
The girls skipped out of the room.
"Come Zuzu," Lily called as she left.
Olivia let out a deep breath when they left the room.
"What's wrong?"
"Erin is...handful," Olivia said, "I don't know what to do about that. I can't give her what she wants."
Sonia sighed, "I know this is your sister but I'm gonna say this to you. Misery loves company okay, remember that."
Olivia nodded and listened to Sonia's advice. "I just want her to be happy but I think the only thing I can do to make that happen is to disappear and give her my husband and kids and house and job."
"Sometimes you have to check family, like I checked my niece when you invited her into your home and she set her eyes on your husband."
"Do you think Erin is attracted to my Fitz?" Olivia hated to ask the question. She refused to believe every woman in the world wanted Fitz. It was too ridiculous a thought.
"Do you think so?"
"I don't think so. I mean...she hates him so I don't think she wants to be with him."
"The problem is she doesn't want you to be with him either."
"Really?" Olivia asked.
"I've said too much," Sonia said, "I like to mind my business."
"But Sonia, you know us and you've been here with us, I value what you say. I mean...you said I'm like a daughter right? You're the closest I've gotten to a mother since my mum died. I need to know what you think because I don't know what to do. I don't want to push Erin away because of Fitz. She's my sister and she's been here with me for almost five years when he was gone."
Sonia sighed, "and she got along with you mostly because you were the one suffering and crying, putting up with her stunts and trying to hold it together while she was out living. It didn't matter that she was unhappy inside because you were unhappy too. Now you're not unhappy are you?"
Olivia shook her head.
"Which is exactly what the problem is. Your family is whole again. That's why she's acting out. The only reason she cares about your husband is because he makes you happy. Some people love company in their misery, it looks like Erin is one of them."
Olivia chuckled humorlessly and wiped the small drop of tear from the corner of her eyes, "I don't know how to fix that."
"You can't fix it. It's not for you to fix. Erin has to fix it, she has to figure out what is so heavy in her heart that she'd rather her sister be miserable than to see her happy."
"What should I do then?"
"Oh, no, no, no. That's when my mouth stops running. I can't tell you what to do. I gave my opinion on the situation. It's not a fact, I could be wrong about Erin. It's up to you to trust your gut with what you're feeling."
"What do you think of Fitz?"
"Nope. I don't tell anybody anything about their husband. Remember when I told you I thought Mr. Grant was being violent towards you? You were offended and I was very wrong because the way I see him treat you makes it hard to believe I ever thought that."
"Sonia-"
"-he loves you and he loves his kids. That's all I know about him."
"Sonia," Olivia whined, "tell me what you think?"
Sonia sighed, "I just think that you need to be very careful about letting anyone come break up your family. Whether it's your sister or another woman. You and your husband are a young attractive couple with a lot of money. Alot of them might not even want him, they might just be jealous of you and you have to recognize that. At the end of the day, after they've come and done their damage and your family is broken, they're gone off to get their hands on something else."
"Thanks," Olivia said softly. "I've never thought of it that way. Or Erin that way."
"At the end of the day, she's your sister and she'll always be your sister. Get her in order and once she straightens herself out she'll still be your sister."
Olivia nodded, "have you seen what they're showing on tv?"
"What am I watching that for. I saw it when the news was on and I changed the channel. Good thing I did because those babies walked in right after."
Olivia nodded, "thanks, it's just so crazy. I just don't want you to think any less of him because of it."
"They said that's military stuff and I don't like it but it's none of my business."
"You always know the right thing to say to make me feel less shitty."
Sonia nodded and smiled but said nothing else.
Then she felt a pang of hunger, "oh gosh, I just realized I'm starving. I'm gonna run to the kitchen and see if I can't find something. Greg is out today which sucks."
"Yes, I always take dinner home with me so I usually hate the days he isn't here."
Olivia smiled, feeling a bit lighter after her conversation with Sonia. She walked to the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator until she found leftover chicken Greg had left wrapped up.
She took it from the fridge and unwrapped it then placed it in the microwave oven then she walked back to Sonia in the family room. "Are you hungry Sonia. I can order some food for us all and you can eat before you go home?"
"Do I look like I say no to food?"
Olivia chuckled, "okay, what would you like? I think I want Thai food or something."
"That's the one with noodles right?"
Olivia nodded,
"Oh, I love that," Sonia responded with a smile.
"Okay, I'll see if I can find the menu from that one downtown and call them."
Olivia walked back to the kitchen and waited for her food to finish in the oven. When it was finished, she took it from the microwave and sat at the island and ate.
Fitz walked in when she was halfway through her meal. She didn't see him but she felt him when he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey," she said softly.
Fitz kissed her shoulder. "Where are the girls?" he asked.
"With Erin in the theatre room. She took them to watch a movie."
He was about to step off but Olivia stopped him and held his hands. "Are you okay?"
"It's bad."
"How bad? Is it the police?"
He shook his head and she could see in his eyes he was overwhelmed, "It's okay we'll talk about it later. Are you hungry?"
Fitz felt a pang of hunger just then."Yeah, I just realized it when you said it."
"I find you something and then we can order food later for dinner."
"Are you sure you can do that with your wrist?"
Olivia raised her eyebrow, scolding him.
Fitz relented, "thanks. I'm gonna get the girls. Is Zeus with them?"
Olivia nodded. She leaned up and kissed him softly when she stood and walked to the fridge. Fitz walked to the theatre room and when he tried to open the door it was locked with a lock.
It was unusual because they never closed the door that way before. He knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer so he banged this time and still there was no answer.
When he leaned closer to the door and pressed his ear against the wood and listened.
He heard screaming, like it was all three girls together, crying, and he heard sounds in the room like pundits talking on tv.
He banged again.
"MOMMY," he heard Lily scream. It has her voice distinctly though it still sounded very low from outside the insulated room.
"Erin open the door!" Fitz barked.
He instantly became furious and banged on the door so loud this time that Olivia walked around to the theatre room to find him.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Fitz turned from the door when he remembered where the keys to the door were kept. He walked quickly to the kitchen and rummaged through one of the draws with many labeled keys inside until he found it.
Olivia was in the kitchen now, "did she close the door and fall asleep or something?"
Fitz took a deep ragged breath but he still didn't respond. He walked back to the theatre room and pushed the key into the door with trembling hands.
When the door opened Erin was standing at the front of the room surrounded by three screaming girls. Olivia was behind Fitz and the sound from the room enveloped them both. All three girls were crying hysterically and on the large screen was Fitz in all his brutish, uncensored glory.
They both realized what Erin had done at the same time, though for Fitz it was more of a confirmation of what he'd thought then he heard then crying through the door.
He tempered himself and took deep breaths as he slowly walked to the girls. Olivia was frozen in her spot because she couldn't believe Erin was capable of what she just did.
As Fitz got closer to the girls they screamed louder, "NO DADDY NO! YOU'RE BAD! YOU'RE BAD!" Daisy screamed.
Fitz stopped in his tracks, frozen.
"MOMMY," Isabelle screamed as she stretched to her.
Sonia came running to the theatre room when she heard the commotion.
"What's going on?" she asked then she saw what was on the tv.
"Jesus christ!" Sonia exclaimed, "Lily, Daisy, Izzy, move from your aunt."
All three girls ran to Olivia and hugged on to her bandaged legs. They were still crying.
Olivia looked to Fitz who was utterly and completely shattered and when she saw his eyes she just felt her knees give out. She dropped her knees on the ground and as she looked at her terrified children, she didn't know how to comfort them.
She looked back to Fit and she saw him shaking his head before he gave up and walked out of the room.
"You're wrong!" Sonia barked at Erin, "what you did to those babies is wrong!"
Erin shrugged, "oh shut up Sonia, you're the nanny, no one cares what you have to say. I only did it so she could stop pretending he's so perfect and innocent and actually acknowledge who he really is."
Olivia stared at Erin and in a moment as she snapped. She felt herself leap off her legs and grab Erin by her hair.
"Mommy!" Lily screamed.
Sonia pulled all three girls back, "out of the room girls, out." Sonia screamed. Their crying rose an octave higher.
"Stop it," Sonia screamed to Olivia and Erin.
Olivia pulled Erin to the floor under her and kicked her in the face.
"Stop," Sonia screamed as she ran to them.
Now, Olivia, had her dug into Erin's face while the other hand was balled in a fist and repeatedly pounded against Erin's face.
All she saw was red.
Fitz heard Sonia screaming as he was nearing the door and ran back to the theatre room. The girls were out in the hall crying. The instant he looked in the room he saw Sonia pull Olivia off Erin and the second she was free she flung her leg into Olivia's stomach as Sonia held her.
All he heard was Olivia gasp loudly and her eyes filled with water and before he knew it he was on top of Erin. His fingers were wrapped around her throat and he was squeezing.
Maria, the helper, had run to the room and she was Olivia holding her down as she struggled to get free. "I've been through too much. I can't take anymore," Olivia screamed through tears.
"Let her go," Fitz heard Sonia say to him, "your daughters are in the hallway. Let her go and go take care of your wife and your daughters. Don't prove her right," as she said this she was pulling his fingers from Erin's throat. She spoke softly and calmly.
It took a moment for the words to register to him as Sonia repeated them over and over again. It finally connected to him and he let her go.
The second he did he began to see clearly again. When he looked over Olivia was on the floor, under Maria, angry and hysterical. He leaned up from Erin and stepped over to Olivia,. He was oddly calm now. Maria eased away from her but she held Olivia's hands together until Fitz could take control and hold her.
"Olivia," he said softly.
"Look at what I've done," she cried. "Look at what I've done to my baby. I lost control- Lily saw- the twins saw- I'm sorry-"
Fitz covered her mouth, "shhh. It's okay." He looked into her wet eyes, "it's okay. I lost it too. It's okay, calm down."
Olivia closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths until she calmed enough to stay still but she couldn't stop crying.
"I'm gonna take you to the hospital okay?"
She shook her head.
"I'm taking you," he said again.
Fitz eased up and then he leaned down beside Olivia.
"I want to see the girls first," she said as she nodded and wiped her eyes.
Fitz agreed.
When he turned around by the door, it was Sonia who was with them now and Maria was with Erin. she was on the floor, barely awake and holding her throat. her nose bled and so did the scratches on her face.
Sonia had gotten the girls calm. They were no longer screaming.
Fitz lifted Olivia from the floor, leaving Erin and Maria alone in the theatre room. As he brought her out to the hallways, Sonia walked the girls to the dining room and Fitz followed with Olivia. He sat her on the chair at the table and stepped away to give the girls space to go to her. Olivia moved from the chair and sat on the floor against the wall, conscious of the pain she felt in her stomach. The second Sonia let them go they ran to her immediately.
"Mommy I was so scared," Lily cried as she hugged her mother.
"Me too," Both twins said together.
Sonia left the room to give them privacy.
Olivia hugged her back and kissed her, "I know you were. That was so horrible what happened to you." she pulled Daisy and Isabelle closer and kissed and hugged them.
"I was scared too when I saw you crying," Olivia said to the girls. "So was your dad."
Lily turned to look at Fitz then she turned back to Olivia.
"He was?"
"Of course."
"But daddy was so mean on the tv. He was like this." Lily made a stabbing motion in the air. "And then the police got him and they were like 'freeze don't move."
"Yeah," Daisy agreed.
Isabelle was silent.
Olivia looked to Fitz and motioned for him to come over to her. Reluctantly he came and was only hesitant because he didn't want his presence to make the girls uncomfortable which was what Erin had planned and evidently succeeded at. Fitz sat on the ground beside Olivia and the girls.
"Look girls, what you saw on tv was just a movie. Erin should've never let you see it and that's why I was so upset and that's why I got into a fight with Erin which was wrong but I just love all three of you so much and I was angry she made you cry."
"Yeah mom, it was so scary and I told her I wanted to come out and she wouldn't let me," Lily said.
"Yeah and I said it too," Isabelle said, nodding. "And Daisy too."
"That was wrong and me and daddy won't ever let Erin do that again but girls, I don't want you to ever let anyone tell you anything about your dad okay? You know daddy loves you and everything daddy does is to keep all of us safe so don't let any of your friends or their parents or anyone else tell you anything."
All three girls nodded.
Another tear escaped Olivia's eyes before she could stop it.
"Mommy don't cry," Lily said, crying "whenever you cry I want to cry too."
Fitz wiped Olivia's eyes then he wiped Lily's.
"Don't cry," Olivia said, "I'm just upset and I'll feel better when I know the three of you are feeling better."
Lily wiped her eyes, "I'm okay. are you okay twins?"
Daisy nodded and then Isabelle.
Olivia smiled softly, "What's' your favorite thing to do with daddy?" Olivia asked them.
"I like when daddy buys me Mcdonalds for breakfast before I go to school," Lily said.
Fitz smiled now, as he watched Olivia work her mommy magic in his favor on the girls.
"What about you Izzy?"
"I like when daddy buys Mcdonald's kids' meals for lunch and I get a toy."
"Me too."
"Wait," Fitz said, "do you guys only love me because I buy you McDonald's?"
Isabelle nodded but Lily stopped her, "no izzy, you're not supposed to say yes. It's a trick."
"It's not a trick," Fitz said, "I just need to know if I should be buying more Mcdonald's?"
"Yes! yes! Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
All three girls bellowed out.
Fitz smiled but then he became somber, "I want you girls to know that I love you very much and I would never ever do anything to you hurt. I only want to keep you and your mom safe and happy."
All three girls nodded and as he stared at them he knew that they were content now. A moment later, to his surprise, Lily leaned over and kissed him on the lips then she kissed Olivia on the lips. When the twins saw they did the same.
"You guys are definitely going to Mcdonald's, let's go."
"Yay," they said in unison.
Fitz leaned over and lifted Olivia and when she winced it was the first time she allowed him to see she was in pain, "we're going to the hospital now."
She nodded.
"Thank you for that, by the way," he whispered.
"It was my fault it came to this."
"Your wife's sister is trying to leave but she looks pretty beat up, did something happen? Should we let her leave?" Fitz heard in his ear.
The guards weren't allowed in the house nor did they have access to the house's cameras. He was sure they had no idea what just happened.
"Let her gdark-skinnedteam ready because we're going to the hospital downtown," was ,all Fitz said. All that was on his mind was Olivia and making sure the baby was alright now that their three living children were okay.
"What?" Olivia asked.
"It was the guard in my ear."
"Oh."
He carried her to the 7-seat range rover he and the girls followed with Sonia. Once they were all inside, he headed to the hospital.
Olivia was checked in quicker than he thought and after checking her vitals and having an ultrasound where their unborn child's heart was heard booming through the room, she was now waiting for a doctor. By now a dark purple bruise had grown under Olivia's brown skin right around her belly button.
After the ultrasound was conducted by the technician, the doctor came into the room to speak with them.
"Mrs. Grant," the dark skinned man said as he walked into the room where Olivia, Fitz, Sonia and three little girls were waiting."
Olivia nodded, "yes."
"I'm Dr. Pilar, I just reviewed all the results of your testing and the ultrasound and I think we have the best case scenario in a situation like this. Your are just out of your first trimester and around this time the fetus and the uterus are still pretty protected by the pelvis and so the strike you received to your stomach hasn't caused any damage as far as we can tell to the fetus. Now I want to see exactly what's going on with you."
He walked to the counter in the room by the sink and grabbed a pair of gloves. He quickly slipped them on and walked to Olivia.
"Do you mind pulling up your top, just enough for me to see your stomach?"
Olivia nodded and pulled her shirt, revealing her bruised stomach. Dr. Pilar inspected her carefully then he pressed his fingers gently around the bruise. Olivia winced.
"What I was worried about was internal bleeding because it seems like a pretty hard strike and usually when there's bruising around the navel like that it is indicative of it but based on the ultrasound that isn't the case which as I said is really the best case scenario. We can treat this as we would if you weren't pregnant, which is to say that it's best if you rest for a few days so that the bruise doesn't worsen or become more sore."
Olivia nodded but said nothing.
"Can I have a moment to speak to you alone Mrs. Grant?"
"Sonia," Olivia said, "can you take the girls out for a second please."
Sonia nodded and did as asked. Once they were gone Olivia turned her attention back to the doctor.
"I'm sorry, is it okay if you husband steps away as well."
"I want my husband to stay," Olivia said.
"Very well," Dr. Pilar began, "in your case when you are pregnant and you have physical trauma, I have to report the incident to be investigated."
"Why?"
"You won't tell us who did this to you and you are pregnant so it kind of elevates the case to an entirely new level. You have a bandage around your wrist. The nurse reported your legs bruised. Whoever did this needs to be held accountable because this is a crime so whether this is domestic violence or-"
"My husband didn't do this so don't even utter another word about that?"
The doctor turned to Fitz and tilted his head to the side as if he suddenly recognized him. He did this for a moment then he stopped and turned back to Olivia.
"Mrs. Grant if you don't cooperate you can be charged with child endangerment-"
"What?" Olivia said with a scoff.
"What?" Fitz said as well.
"I think that I should have you speak to the counselor here. I think she can better explain-"
"Her sister kicked her," Fitz said, "She has a twin sister and we think she was having some kind of mental breakdown and we were trying to help her and she kicked her. She used to smoke crack so that might be it she's been having alot of meltdowns lately."
"Oh," the dr. responded, "well that's different. If that is the case then I still have to refer it to the case but if you can have your sister speak to the case worker and try to figure out how to get help or anything of the sort then everything should be fine on your end. I can't guarantee you sister won't face legal consequences for her actions."
Olivia was exhausted on the drive home. After Fitz stopped and bought the girls their Mcdonald's, he dropped Sonia home and then drove home.
He carried Olivia up to their bedroom and laid her in the bed with her food so she could eat while he went to bathe the girls. After bathtime, he returned to the room with the girls after they insisted on bringing their food to the bedroom and eating then sleeping there.
They ate then brushed their teeth and watched tv until they fell asleep on the couch shortly after. Fitz brought them to the bed and turned off the tv.
"I'm gonna run a bath for you okay," Fitz said as he headed to the bathroom.
Olivia waited until she heard the faucet turn on and she slowly eased out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. When Fitz turned around and saw her he was instantly annoyed.
"I was coming to get you."
"Fitz, you can't carry me everywhere as much as you may want to."
She slowly raised herself to the top of the bathroom vanity and sat down. Overwhelmed was not adequate to describe how she felt because even now, she couldn't believe she decided to fight Erin while she was pregnant and the result was her getting kicked in the stomach so hard it bruised her.
Fitz stood and walked to Olivia by the counter. When she looked up at him, the defeated look he had from earlier returned and instantly she enveloped him in her arms and held him tightly.
She heard him sniffle and when he leaned up and kissed her she realized his eyes were wet with tears threatening to spill over. Fitz crying was never something she was prepared for. It was so rare that she never knew how to handle it except to cry with him. She did just that.
She kissed and hugged him until both their eyes were dry and they'd sobered. Then it was time to have the hard conversation.
A/N - Hi guys. I'm so excited to post this chapter and I'm so mad I had to stop here. There is so much they need to talk about and so much that is happening.
First of all, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who purchased a book and everyone who is intending to purchase. I can't wait to hear your thoughts and read the reviews I'm sure you guys will leave on AMAZON for me (lol). I just really hope you like it because it's so personal for me to create this entire world and put it out there.
I just want to encourage you to reach out to me with any questions you may have. My email is gouldbourneasia at G mail.
For those of you who don't know the title of the book is THE QUEEN AND THE VESSEL and it's available on amazon now in ebook (which I recommend because it's cheaper) or paperback(for those of you who love a good page-turner and like to actually turn pages).
I'll try to upload a new chapter of Vision as soon as I'm able but there is just so much going on with me. In the meantime, if you have to book, please get into it. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.