TROTD - Chapter Twenty-three: The Trouble With Blood

            Olivia stood in the large walk-in closet and pulled a loose-fitting shirt over her head. She frowned at her reflection in the full-length mirror, turning side to side as she continued to survey her appearance.

“Soon I’ll need to wear one of your shirts,” she lamented, her hand gliding over her cotton covered stomach.

“It’s probably time that we tell Sabrina about our baby girl.” Fitz stood facing her, his hands on her hips.

“I don’t know.” Olivia dreaded having to share the news of her pregnancy with their executive producer, “She’s not going to be happy.”

“Good thing it’s not her baby then,” he smirked before pulling his own shirt over his head.

“Fitz, I’m serious,” she pouted, “This pregnancy could ruin the show.” He watched as she struggled to button a pair of jeans she should have stopped wearing weeks ago. Frustration marred her features as she tried to force the brass through the buttonhole. He moved back to face her, tilting her chin towards him.

“It’s going to be fine. We are going to be fine. You are going to be fine. Our baby girl is going to be fine.”

“Why do you seem so sure the baby is a girl?” her fingers skimmed the nape of his neck and a small moan drifted from her lips as his mouth danced from behind her ear along her neck.

“Just a hunch and I don’t want to call the baby ‘It’. If we really aren’t going to find out the sex then I have to call him or her something for the next six months.”

“But you think we’re having a little girl?” her hands rested on his jaw and she gazed affectionately into his eyes.

“Baby, I think I only make girls.” A crooked grin curled Fitz’s lips, leaving soft kisses on the corners of her mouth, “and the thought of a baby girl as beautiful as her mother….” His lips found her clavicle and he playfully nipped at her velvety flesh.

“Stop….we don’t have time,” Olivia protested, feeling his hands lift the hem of her shirt, “We can’t be late.”

“Just ten minutes,” Fitz insisted, unfastening the button on her jeans and shimmying them down her hips.

“Fitz, what do you plan on accomplishing in ten…” a gasp stole the rest of her words when his searing mouth touched her satin covered mound.

“You look sexy in La Perla.” The warmth of his breath nearly thrust her over the edge as her fingers tangled in his hair. “But you taste even better.”

            So focused on the dance of his breath on her skin, she barely noticed him slide the skimpy damp satin down her legs. Then his mouth was on her, his tongue edging her folds before dipping inside. He lifted her right leg to rest on his shoulder, granting him better access and an unforgettable view. She wobbled slightly then leaned against the wall for support before Fitz replaced his tongue with one thick, long, calloused finger, his mouth moving to her clit, tongue working a rhythm guaranteed to drive her insane.

“I….Fitz……please…..we…..” her leg muscles burned, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand, “Oh God….so good….” Then a second finger pressed into her, her walls contracting in response. The second his fingers curled to her G-spot a string of moaned expletives tumbled from her lips, his mouth maintaining its relentless pattern. He imbibed every last drop of her juices before helping her step into her still damp panties and jeans, pulling them slowly up her quivering legs.

“Feel better?” he asked against her lips. She nodded, cheeks still pink from her climax. He ran his thumb along her lower lip and he met her eyes, “You are delicious.”

X-X

            Olivia hummed quietly as she leaned against the back of the couch in her trailer, her hands resting on her belly, eyes falling closed.  Moments of serenity were fewer and she knew they would be nearly non-existent once the baby came along. She rubbed circles over her stomach, enjoying the silence. Her tranquility was short-lived, however, as a loud knock pulled her thoughts to the present.

“Who is it?” she tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

“Open the door, Liv.”

            She moved across the room, mentally preparing herself to face the barrage of questions that was sure to arrive with Abby. She wasn’t disappointed, Abby swept through the door already halfway through her first of many questions, “…tell everyone?”

“What?” Olivia asked, moving aside for her friend to step inside, “Sit down, take a deep breath and start over.”

            Abby took the bottle of water Olivia offered, unscrewing the cap and taking a long drink, 

“When are you and Mr. Hottie going to tell everyone about your little surprise?”

“We told Sabrina this morning,” Olivia concentrated on her own bottle of water, not meeting Abby’s eyes.

“Well, you’re still in one piece, you still have a job I’m assuming,” Abby remarked, “and Mr. Hottie? Is he doing alright?”

“Stop calling him that,” Olivia blushed, making every attempt to sound stern, “and yes, Fitz is fine.”

“Oh, he’s fine alright,” Abby smirked before taking another long swig of water. Olivia couldn’t help the laugh that escaped and she relished the opportunity to forget about the anxieties that weighed heavily upon her, if only for a short time. The baby, Edison’s approaching trial, the on-going trouble with Ellie, the show, Megan knowing about the baby, and her ever-changing relationship with Fitz. She felt pulled in so many directions. All she wanted was to be happy with Fitz and their baby, without the intrusion of family, the media, and the public.

“Liv, are you okay?” Abby touched her arm lightly, “You look a million miles away.”

“Just a lot on my mind.” Olivia stood and paced a few feet, picking up a framed photo of her with 

Fitz that had been taken at his Christmas party. She never thought that night would seem like a simpler time, but circumstances had made it so.

“Talk to me, what’s up? You and Fitz aren’t having problems are you?” she gave Olivia’s hand a squeeze. Abby often teased Olivia about Fitz, she still had trouble seeing Fitz as anything more than the spoiled ladies’ man the media made him out to be, but each time Olivia spoke of him or Abby saw them together it was clear they shared a deep and soul-stirring love. She and Olivia had been friends for quite some time but she had never seen Olivia so content or so giddy, she knew Fitz was a large part of her friend’s happiness.

“No….no, I mean nothing more than….” She shook her head vigorously, uncertain how to put her feelings into words, “We’re fine.”

“So not convincing, Liv,” Abby rolled her eyes, “Now out with it. Do I have to kick him in the nuts or what?”

            A smile crept over Olivia’s face but she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, preoccupied.

            Abby watched Olivia closely, allowing silence to settle around them.  She knew Olivia well enough to know pushing her would do no good.

“It’s just….” Olivia began, now nibbling furiously on her lip.

            A short knock on the door captured their attention and they both looked up to see an out of breath Fitz burst through the door, “Hey Sexy….” He began then stopped dead in his tracks when he realized Olivia wasn’t alone, “Am I interrupting something?”

            Abby set a hard gaze upon him but Olivia nearly leapt across the room to rush into his arms, 

“Hi,” she murmured against his lips.

“Hi.”

            Abby cleared her throat as she rose from the couch, “I suppose I’ll leave you two alone,” she brushed past them, grabbing Olivia’s hand and giving it a squeeze, “You and I are not finished talking.”

“Nice to see you Abby,” Fitz grinned in the redhead’s direction.

“Whatever is going on, you better fix it,” Abby frowned at Fitz before pulling the door open, leaving them alone.

            Fitz touched the back of his fingers to hers, slowly entwining their hands before pulling her flush against him.  All trepidation melted away when he held her and touched his lips to her temple.

“How is Baby Grant?” he whispered, “Or is she Baby Pope?”

            Olivia traced a finger over the buttons of his shirt, wishing her concerns boiled down to nothing more than the last name she would bestow upon their child. She swallowed hard before looking up into his face, “I’d like to have Grant in there somewhere.”

            She studied his features, searching for a sign of his opinion on the use of his name, “Unless you would rather I just go with my name….since we aren’t married….and with Megan and Ellie and Edison….I don’t want you to feel….”

“Olivia,” Fitz interjected, pressing a finger to her lips in an attempt to stop the flood of insecurities. 

“Shut up,” he rumbled against her neck with a grin. His lips moved up the column of her neck, along the curve of her jaw, finally touching her lips. The kiss was light at first, a mere brush of their lips, but the spark it ignited in Olivia was as intense as anything she’d ever felt. Her hands moved along his strong chest, skimmed his broad shoulders before getting lost in the mass of curls at the back of his head.

            The feel of her nails on his scalp and her fingers gripping his hair urged Fitz to deepen the kiss, his tongue parting the seam of her lips and gliding over hers.  His hands moved to her ass, heaving her body tighter to his chest, grinding his growing erection against her hip. Kissing her that way, tasting her, feeling her soften beneath his hands, could so easily make him lose control but he couldn’t get Abby’s words out of his mind.

            Olivia tugged harder at his hair, wanting his hands all over her, encouraging him with her sighs and the brush of her thigh against the inside of his. She wanted him, needed him touching her, their morning pleasure only a prelude to what she hoped would soon transpire.  Heat rose in her core, her skin damp and flushed as she sucked his tongue deeper into her mouth, her hand slowly moving from his hair to the firm bulge in his jeans.

            His fingers digging into her lower back became almost painful, the last vestiges of his control falling away. Abby’s words again intruded, you better fix it, and he forced his brain back into action.

“Liv,” he panted, breaking their kiss, earning a whine from Olivia.

“What?” confusion, irritation, and desire mixed in her eyes as she gasped for breath.

“What was Abby talking about?”

“What?” Olivia repeated the question, still fixated on the ache in her core and the echo of his lips on hers, “Abby?”

“She told me to fix it,” he took several deep breaths, urging his mind to remain on whatever was bothering Olivia.

            She licked her lips, reaching for the bottle of cool water she hoped would douse the flames that thrashed at every nerve ending. Her brain was a fog, the haze of craving weighing heavy. Her hands ached the touch him, fingers burning to feel his sun kissed flesh beneath them, her lips red and engorged with the memory of their kiss. She opened and closed her hands at her sides several times before taking another long swallow of water, “It’s just everything going on,” she began.

            Fitz again took her hand, leading her to the couch where he sat, gathering her across his lap, 

“You have to talk to me. We’re on the same team remember? You and me and baby….”

“Which pits you against your children and your wife,” Olivia whispered into his chest. He smelled amazing, like the body wash he used every morning and a scent that was manly, heavenly, just Fitz.

“Ex-wife,” he corrected though the divorce wouldn’t be finalized for a few weeks, it wasn’t the time for hairsplitting, “and Heather loves you.”

“And Ellie,” Olivia nibbled her lip again.

“Is coming around,” his lips touched her forehead, “She’ll get there. We agreed to dinner tonight with the boyfriend so hopefully that concession will earn us a little peace, at least for a while.”

“His name is Josh and she might be more willing to come around if you didn’t act like a caveman when it came to him,” she whispered. Of all the issues they faced as a couple Ellie was by far the one that scared her the most. She was manipulative and, Olivia was convinced, hell bent on keeping them apart by any means necessary.

“Ugh, ugh,” Fitz grinned doing his best caveman impression, “Me Tarzan, you Jane.”

            Olivia erupted in a fit of laughter, big belly laughs that shook her entire body. It felt good to have fun with Fitz, to see his genuine, carefree smile, and to share a blithe smile of her own.

“I love you,” she whispered, her fingers dancing along his jaw, one brushing lightly over his lips.

“Then let’s take care of whatever is bugging you,” he traced her features with a single finger, her high cheekbones, dainty nose, sinfully perfect lips, there wasn’t a part of her he didn’t intend to worship forever, “You have to talk to me, Livvie.”

            She squirmed in his lap, tucking herself beneath his chin and laying her right palm over where his heart beat a steady rhythm before she spoke, “Even though Sabrina took things well,” her voice was a mere whisper, “it’s not going to be easy.”

“Nothing worth doing ever is,” his hand traced a soothing path over her spine.

“But we’re not safe anywhere,” he could hear her swallow past the lump in her throat, “We can’t be ourselves on the set or at home. We certainly can’t act like we’re together when we are in public. I just want to be with you without having to think about every little thing we say and do.”

“Maybe we should start to slowly be more public after Edison’s trial,” Fitz suggested, unsure what her reaction would be. She was fiercely private but the pressure of their secret relationship weighed so heavily on her and the only way he saw to rectify the situation was to end the charade and be together, consequences be damned.

“Sabrina said we can’t, not until the baby is born,” her fingers curled against his chest, gripping his shirt, “she’ll fire me and probably you.”

“It’s your show,” he sounded incredulous, “and it’s popular, very popular. She could fire me but if you left she’d lose her show. You are what makes this show what it is.”

            She blushed intensely, a melding of emotions brewing just below the surface, “I would be nothing without you.”

“Not true,” he kissed her lips, “But I would sooner die than be without you.”

            It was her turn to kiss him, tears burning a path down her cheeks, “What are we going to do about Ellie and Megan?”

            He pulled back to gaze fully at her, “Do you trust me to take care of that?” his lips touched the tip of her nose and she scrunched it in response as his thumbs wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“Should I?” her chestnut irises were alight with challenge.

            His mouth was dry, the significance of her question not lost on him, “I’d lay down my life for you, Olivia. I swear to you that I will do whatever needs to be done, move any mountain for you and our little girl. We’ve made allowances for both Megan and Ellie, they need to know that no matter what they do it isn’t going to change anything between us.”

“You sound so sure of things,” she was envious of his conviction.

“I am,” he flashed the devastating smile that sent heat coursing through her, “Now, will you stop worrying and kiss me?”

            Slow and deliberate, her hands slid along his neck, her thumbs caressing his ears, turning them into twin flames. She licked her lips, studying his mouth, watching his lips fall open and a held breath rush out. She rubbed his ears again, feeling every muscle in his body tense then, as his ears slid between her thumb and first finger one more time, she gingerly joined their lips. Gentle, sweet, his lips welcomed hers. She pulled back, seeing tenderness register on his features, her love for him tugging at her heart. They stared, each captivated by the other, for a long moment, heat rising in the room, until restraint escaped them and their mouths joined again, tongues cavorting, but this kiss was different. She didn’t feel the urgency, didn’t fear losing him or wonder if something would come between them. This kiss was pure ecstasy, just Olivia and Fitz, madly in love.

“Pope Grant” she murmured as her teeth grazed his earlobe.

“What?” he managed as his brain scrambled to form words.

“Our baby, his or her last name.”