Epilogue

"Fiiiiiiiiitz? They're here!" Olivia squealed from the kitchen as she looked out the window. She was watching her babies pile out of their cars and exchange warm hugs with each other outside on their way inside.

"Coming!" Fitz's voice was as full of excitement as he felt. They were here! They were home. It didn't matter that they technically didn't live here anymore. Damn brats had all grown up, moved out, and gotten their own lives. None of them had stopped to ask for his permission to do any of that either! The nerve!

He raced down the stairs towards the front door and almost collided into his wife of thirty one years. He took advantage of their close proximity and pulled her into his arms. She was just as beautiful as the day he married her a long, long, long, time ago. He gave her perfect empty nest ass a squeeze. "Hi." He said in a flirty voice before leaning down to peck her lips.

She held onto his forearms that still held muscles from his daily work at the bakery. They were the same arms that held her tightly when she needed a shoulder to cry on or held her in place when he was busy doing things to her in secret. Her fingers were on autopilot and went straight to his sandy curls that she fell in love with on the day they met. She pulled back from his face and gave him her best smile. "Hi."

"Whaddya say we skip all of this? Just lock the door, go upstairs, and do things to each other?" He wiggled his eyebrows as his lopsided smile made an appearance.

Olivia chuckled at him. "I really need to see my girls! Besides, I honestly don't think our kids would appreciate that?"

The door flung open. "What wouldn't we appreciate?" A baritone voice asked.

"What are they talking about now?" Another voice asked.

"Jesus! Are they stuck to each other again?" Yet another one complained.

Fitz and Olivia grinned at their welcomed grown up intruders, still in each other's arms right in front of the door. "Come back in an hour." Fitz suggested.

Olivia chuckled and swatted his arm playfully.

"Please tell me the old man did not just say what I think he said?" Lincoln said with mock disgust. "Don't you guys ever get sick of each other?"

"We get along a lot better now that all three of you brats are gone." Fitz laughed.

"Stop talking, dad." Kate said. "It's not normal for old people to like each other as much as the two of you do."

"They are cute as hell. You guys are just jealous." Carter supplied. He pointed at his sister. "Especially you!"

"Yea right!" Kate shot back.

Olivia craned her head trying to look through the large bodies blocking the door. "Where are my favorite people?"

Carter looked at his wife. "That used to be us."

"They had to get their purses out of the car." Lincoln said rolling his eyes.

Olivia pinched Carter's too thin cheek and said, "You guys are pretty damn good, but they are the best!" She gave her adult children a sympathetic smile.

"What she said." Fitz agreed. "Now move so we can get to them before that redheaded psycho across the street notices that they are here and comes charging over!"

The crowd of four parted and Olivia and Fitz stepped out on their porch. Their faces split into huge proud grins as they watched their gorgeous daughter in law try to corral two five year olds carrying little pink purses up the stairs. "Come on, ladies."

"Hey, Anna. Who are the two slow pokes you have with you?" Olivia asked, hugging her daughter in law.

"A couple of cute girls I found in the woods." Anna joked.

"If you don't want 'em, we'll keep 'em." Fitz offered. He heard the girls giggle as they slowly made their way up the steps and it made him grin.

Immediately Fitz and Olivia squatted down with arms open wide, just waiting for a cute small body to hold onto. "Jama! Pop Pop!" The girls sang as they happily launched themselves into their grandparent's arms.

The girls were twins, but they looked nothing alike. Oakleigh had red hair just like her mother, but it was curly instead of bone straight. She had a little more attitude than her sister. Something both Olivia and Fitz loved to see in action. It provided endless entertainment. Ashleigh had curly hair too, but hers was dark brown. She was the quieter of the two of them, and she was a momma's girl. That side of her was never seen, however, when they visited Jama and Pop Pop because the girls wanted nothing more than to spend time with their grandparents.

Hugs were given and then the girls swapped grandparents and hugs were given again. "How are my favorite twins?" Fitz asked.

"Do you gots cupcakes this time?" Oakleigh asked with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe. But only after you pay the price and eat your dinner all gone." He pointed to his cheek and gave her a similar grin. He felt warm lips press a wet kiss to his cheek and it made his grin grow even bigger.

"Do I get cupcakes too, Jama?" Ashleigh asked quietly.

"You know what you gotta do." Olivia whispered.

"Pay up, shorty." Fitz encouraged. The shy little girl giggled and leaned close, so she could kiss his other cheek. He wondered why they hadn't become grandparents sooner? This gig was way better than parenting. "Let's go inside so I can pick on your dad and uncle." They carried the girls into the living room and sat down with them as their little giggles carried throughout the house.

"Isn't there any food in the fridge?" Carter asked holding the refrigerator door wide open.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. You can wait. Come sit down and talk to us. I haven't seen your ridiculously handsome face in a month." Olivia said.

"I can't help it. Ever since dad gave me the keys to the second bakery, I've been super busy. Savannah hasn't seen me much more often than you have either, mom." Carter whined.

"You guys have only been married for a year." Olivia pointed out. "You've been the owner of the second location for over two. You need to prioritize!"

"It's okay, Olivia." Savannah chirped as she held onto Carter's arm. "He's actually taught me quite a bit about cooking. It's a lot more interesting to me now."

Olivia shot a look to her husband, who grinned wolfishly back at her. Once upon a time it had the two of them in the kitchen with Fitz teaching Olivia how to cook. Except they had been naked and ended up doing crazy things with each other that had nothing to do with food. Oh, to be young again. She shook the thought from her mind and said, "it's really important to make time for each other no matter what."

"That's true." Fitz added. "Cooking lessons are one thing, but you need to go out in public some too. Nobody wants to be cooped up in the house all the time."

"Right. Oooooh, babe. Remember that time we went clubbing? That was so much fun!" Olivia recalled fondly. "Maybe you guys should do that?"

"You guys went clubbing? Together?" Lincoln asked in disbelief. "My parents?"

"Yes and no." Fitz said. "We went, but we weren't together. We did leave together though." He noticed the interested looks his kids were giving him and couldn't wait to hear their reactions.

"How come I haven't heard this story before?" Kate asked. "This was before you two were married I take it?"

"No. We were married." Olivia supplied.

"But you just said you went separately?" Carter asked in a voice full of confusion.

"Yea. We did go separately. We arranged to be there and meet for the first time as if we were strangers. It was very fun. Until that...woman latched onto your father. What happened was..."

"No, no, no, no." Kate said cutting her off and gesturing wildly with her hands. "I think I get it now, and I'm glad I never heard this story before. You guys have been weird a long time before any of us came into the picture."

"That is a fact." Fitz said proudly.

"What's a fact, Pop Pop?" Ashleigh asked.

"A fact is something that is true. Or real." Fitz explained. The girl smiled, satisfied with his answer. "What about you, Kate?"

"What about me what?" She asked.

"When are you gonna settled down, get married, and give us more grandchildren?"

Kate gave her father a horrified look. "No time soon. That's what you have these two for. Ask the newlyweds. Right, Carter?"

Carter narrowed his eyes at his twin sister. "I can't wait for you to bring a guy home to meet all of us. I'm going to scare him off with all of the..." He glanced at his nieces and then back at his sister. "crap I have on you that he'll run out the door and not look back."

"Counting on it, Carter. If I ever get to the place where I even think I want to get married, I'll expect you to do just that. No one and nothing is going to come before my career for a very long time."

"Be careful with that thinking, Kate." Fitz warned. "It's exactly what your mother thought until the day she met me completely out of the blue."

"The dry cleaning story. I know. I have heard that one at least a million times!" Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Why am I asking Carter about babies?" Olivia asked her daughter. At her son's huff, she knew she was on to something. "Did you think I'd forget? I nevvvver forget."

Carter smiled at Savannah and she smiled back at him. She nudged his shoulder as everyone watched. "We're...gonna have a baby." He announced with a big proud smile.

"Way to go, little brother!" Lincoln said excitedly, pulling him in for a hug.

"Congratulations, Savannah." Anna said, hugging her sister in law. "I'm so happy for you both."

"More adorable little Grants! Congratulations, Carteroni." Fitz shifted Ashleigh to his hip and hugged Carter with a huge grin on his face.

Olivia stood up and hugged Savannah close. Olivia got close to her daughter in law's ear and whispered, "Grants are fertile as hell. Be careful." Savannah laughed and shook her head. "I'm so happy for both of you. When are you due?" Olivia asked for the room to hear.

"We don't know yet. We just took a home pregnancy test a few days ago. We've got an appointment scheduled three weeks from tomorrow." Savannah replied happily.

"Awwww, my little Carter is gonna be a daddy." Olivia hugged him close as her heart burst with pride for him. "Abby and I are going to have to go shopping soon!"

The front door opened, and Abby came running in.

"Speak of the devil." Olivia muttered.

"Hiiiiii. How is everybody? You know what? I don't care." She went to stand in front of Fitz and simply said, "hand her over."

Fitz held onto his granddaughter and moved her further from the redhead's open arms. "No way! She's visiting with Pop Pop right now. Right Oakleigh?"

The little girl shook her head up and down.

Abby leaned a little closer to him and whispered, "do not make me tell Olivia about that thing you did last week." She had no dirt on him, but Fitz didn't know that, and she wasn't about to tell him. She'd use whatever she could to get more time with her grand babies.

Fitz took a moment to search the recesses of his mind for whatever Abby was referring to. He came up with nothing at all, but he wasn't going to take the chance. "You have five minutes and then I want her back."

"What kind of name is Pop Pop anyways?" She scoffed.

"Pop Pop is twice the fun and that's why I got the name." He had come to his own conclusion about that and decided it made sense and he was sticking with it. And it made him feel like he was twice as good as his father for just being named Pops.

Abby ignored him and sat down with her granddaughter. "How's my princess?"

"I'm so good." The little girl replied, sarcastically.

"That one is my princess. Technically speaking." Olivia pointed out.

"Just because your kid and my kid decided to use the first letter of our names to name their own daughters, doesn't mean one is yours and one is mine, Liv."

"I know that. This one is my princess too." Olivia said, holding the little girl close and sticking out her tongue at her friend.

Abby looked at her granddaughter with a big smile and asked, "Do you know what a baby hog is?"

"No." Oakleigh replied intrigued.

"A baby hog is someone who..."

"Wow. Look at the time." Fitz said, plucking his granddaughter from Abby's arms. "You gotta go home."

"But I..."

"Do you really want Liv and I to come to your house when Link and Anna come over there visiting with the girls after dinner?" Abby closed her mouth. "I didn't think so. Tell the redheaded lady bye, Oakleigh."

"Byeeeeeeee."

After dinner Fitz and Olivia cleaned up the dishes as Kate sat on the living room floor and allowed the girls to give her a make over. It was one of the ways Kate spent time with them, and the twins insisted on it every time they saw her. She would sit down, and the girls would climb onto her lap and use brushes and other assorted tools to make her beautiful. The three of them would talk about any and everything as they did their work. Olivia kept their beauty products upstairs in Kate's old bedroom. She ended up looking like a cross between a drunk clown and a cheap hooker, but it was all in good fun. Kate dutifully paid the girls five dollars each and thanked them profusely for making her beautiful. Her brothers always gave her shit about how she looked, but Kate didn't care.

When their parents joined them in the living room again, Lincoln stood up and said, "I have an announcement to make."

"You're finally going to get a personality?" Carter asked.

"I hope you have twins, Cart. Twin girls." Lincoln chuckled when his brother paled.

"This sounds serious." Fitz said.

"It is, dad." Lincoln reached into his wife's purse and pulled out a paperback. "I got a book published recently."

"What? Really? Like published, published? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was waiting for the book to be printed so I could present the two of you with the first copy before it hits stores. It'll be rolled out this week."

"Wow! That's exciting. Why the secrecy though? I would have loved to have helped with it. I'm a very good editor. Free too. You always let me read your stuff before it gets published." Olivia said.

"This one is different." he explained.

"What makes it different?" She asked.

"This book is non fiction."

He handed the book to his mother as she and his father looked at the cover briefly before flipping it over to see his picture on the back. It was always a thrill for Olivia to see her son's handsome face smiling back at her from one of his publications. "Ohhh, okay. A true story. What's it about?"

"It's about the two of you actually. How you met and got married and had kids and raised them." Lincoln explained. "Some of it is exaggerated because I had to fill in some spaces I wasn't sure of. But I think it's probably pretty close to reality based on all the stories you both have repeatedly told the three of us over the years."

Olivia was dumbfounded. She finally dropped her gaze from her son back down to the book in her hands. She flipped it over to the front cover and read the title out loud. "We Figured it Out."

"The title seemed...I don't know. Right? Now that I'm a dad, it makes a lot more sense. I hope you aren't offended or upset that I wrote about your life and published it?"

"Hell no! Ron Howard made a movie about his upbringing. I bet his parents were thrilled to death about it?" Fitz exclaimed.

The tears began to fall from Olivia's eyes and she wiped them furiously and finally picked her head up and looked at her first born. This is what he had spent the past year writing. This is why he always sounded preoccupied whenever she called to check on the four of them. He had been writing about their lives. She cleared her throat and said, "This is amazing, Lincoln. Thank you." She went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly in a hug.

"You might want to read it before you start giving out praise, mom. It might be bad?" He chuckled.

"Is there s-e-x in it?" Fitz asked on a laugh.

"You should know, you wouldn't shut up about some of it whenever I called you for more stories to fill the book." Lincoln said making a face.

"So that's what you wanted all of that information for? Huh? I thought you were trying to learn something new?"

"Fitz!" Olivia hissed.

"The boy knows what he's doing. He's got kids, Liv." He replied. "Of course, he's only got two and we had three, so maybe he needs some pointers after all?"

"He's going to be that crazy old man in the nursing home that flirts with everything with a pulse." Carter joked.

"Oh, he..heck no he isn't!" Olivia corrected. "He's going to be that crazy old man that's tied to the bed."

"Now you're talking, babe." Fitz said grinning.

Their three kids groaned at their ridiculous father.

"Because he's off his crazy meds and has to be restrained." She added.

"THAT sounds a lot closer to the truth!" Link said laughing.

"Damn smart asses. All of ya!" Fitz muttered.

"What's a smart ass, Pop Pop?" Oakleigh asked.

Six adult faces shot Fitz ugly looks for letting the curse word slip around the girls.

"It's a bad word that Pop Pop shouldn't have said. And you shouldn't say it either or you'll get into trouble with you parents. Okay? I'm sorry." He explained.

"Mmmmkay." She said with an angelic face.

"You know she's gonna be saying it later on when the two of them are in bed. They will be memorizing the word and laughing over it together." Lincoln told his father.

"I said I was sorry." Fitz said. "Besides, the three of you did the same thing all the time. Don't think I don't know about your secret meetings and little chats together. That's what siblings do, son."

Trying to help alleviate some of the awkwardness, Olivia held up the book and said, "I'll read it tonight."

"You'll read it tomorrow. You have plans with me tonight after the kids leave." Fitz corrected her with a wink and patted her ass.

"Dad! Can you not do that every time we come over?" Kate pleaded.

"Get over it, Kate. It's just how they are. Mom and dad don't know how to be any other way." Lincoln stated.

"Leave him alone, Kate. Dad loves mom. And for some reason she loves him too. You're just jealous you only have a legal brief to go home to." Carter reminded her.

"Legal briefs don't make a mess. Or cry for hours on end. Or call all hours of the night. I'm happy with my legal briefs, thank you very much!" She snapped back. "And on that happy note, I'm going home."

"That's my independent girl." Fitz said smiling proudly.

Everyone stood up and prepared to leave. "Don't keep the girls up too late, Lincoln. It's a school night."

Lincoln kissed his mother's cheek. "Yes ma'am. Once a mom, always a mom."

"Thank you again for the book. I can't wait to start reading it." Olivia was excited to see what exactly her son had written about his parents and siblings and life when they were younger. She wondered if she would consider it fiction or non fiction when she was done with it?

"Tomorrow though, right?" Lincoln asked shaking his head.

"Go be handsome somewhere else." she giggled.

"Thank you for coming over for dinner, Anna. It's always good to see the four of you." Fitz said, giving his daughter in law a hug.

She leaned closer to him and whispered, "Soon to be five of us." She watched a proud smile bloom across his face and said, "Link doesn't even know yet. Don't tell anyone."

"Take care of yourself and please announce it soon. I'm terrible at keeping secrets from the nosey one." Fitz informed her.

"If you need anyone to ride with you to the obstetrician's office, I'd be glad to go with you." Olivia offered to Savannah.

"Really? That would be kind of cool honestly. It's hard being pregnant and not having a mom to do things like this with. I mean, I have my aunt, but it's not the same thing really. Thanks, Olivia." Savannah said.

"Of course. Let me know the date and time and I'll pick you up. We'll make a day of it and go to lunch. Or spend Carter's money and go shopping."

"Carter doesn't have any money to spend, mom." Carter leaned down and kissed his mother's cheek with a grin. "But you taking my girl to doctor appointments when I can't go would be amazing."

"Call me, Savannah." Olivia called out as the two of them walked outside to get into their car. "We'll get money from Fitz and call it Carter's paycheck as we spend it."

"You stay away from my wallet, woman. It's just getting used to having cash in it now that the kids are gone."

"Don't spend every minute of your life at work, Kate. You need to go out and experience life some too." Fitz advised. "I know you are enjoying your career right now and there's nothing wrong with that but do some things for yourself too. I don't want you to burn out too young."

Kate smiled at her dad. He was the best. Always worrying about the three of them. Mostly her though since she was single and spending every waking moment at work. "I promise, dad. Maybe one day next week you can take me to lunch or something?"

"I could do that. Maybe a movie afterwards too? Make a day of it?" He suggested with a grin.

"That could be fun. Are you gonna spring for popcorn and a drink?"

"That depends on how much money your mother leaves in there after she's taken some out." he joked.

"Okay, dad." she chuckled. "Next week is good for me. I'll call you at the bakery and we'll pick a day to go do the town together. Just the two of us." She was sort of excited at the thought of spending the day with her dad. She waved goodbye to her parents and got into her car, driving away.

Fitz and Olivia watched Link, Anna, and the girls drive across the street to visit with Stephen and Abby and Carter and Savannah head home. Fitz turned off the outside light and closed the door, locking it behind them. They took a moment to absorb the silence. The quiet in the house used to be so dreaded. The house had been so noisy for so long that once the kids started leaving home for college the silence was deafening.

Now, after everyone was gone again, the silence was a welcomed sound. Silence had become the new normal for the empty nesters and while they loved their growing family, they loved their alone time too. Fitz turned to Olivia and smiled. "I know a secret. A big one!"

She grinned up at him. "I'll race ya to the bedroom where I bet I can get it out of you."

"You're on." He took off sprinting up the steps with her hot on his trail. They were both giggling as they ran.

If you read this story, left a review, or tweeted about it, please know that I genuinely appreciate it. You guys have been phenomenal supporters of this story! I appreciate you for supporting my writing or encouraging me in this crazy, fun, happy version of Olitz. I have loved writing every single chapter for the five of them and as weird as it sounds, they feel real to me. I'm sad to let them go, as I know some of you are, but all good things must end. I'm going to continue writing The Merger and I have started a new Olitz story as well. We'll see how it goes. Thank you again.