A/N: Hi! So it's been 84 years since I updated. To be honest, I was contemplating leaving it unfinished, but I've been watching movies from the era and I had to get back to it. I've got updates for YAINTGB, ALPNKN, HBMP, and AMOC in the works too. I've just been dealing with a full course load, a full-time job, and what I'm suspecting is a chronic illness so there's been a lot of adjusting lately.

But enough of my problems, let's get to the story.

September

Fitz immediately recognized the woman on the other side of the door when he opened it. Maya, however, was completely surprised at the tall white man answering her daughter's door. She didn't know what to make of him in his coveralls and assumed he was some sort of repairman.

"I'm looking for my daughter. Is she inside?" she asked, eyeing him curiously, wondering why he was answering the door if he was a repairman.

"Yes ma'am she is," he answered and stepped back to let her in. She looked him over again as she entered. He reminded her of Dominic with his dark hair and light eyes, but he was of a more rugged stock than her departed lover. He smiled politely at her as he resumed kneeling before the television. "I'm Fitz."

"Maya Pope. Pleased to meet you." She squinted at him when he looked away, wondering where Olivia was.

"Liv's getting dressed. She should only be a minute." He pulled the back off the television and inspected the wires, humming softly.

Before Maya could question him, the clacking of Olivia's pumps echoed off the hardwood floor and her daughter appeared in the living room. She smiled weakly. "Hi Mama. What brings you by?"

"It's your birthday," Maya replied.

Olivia blinked. "I know."

"I came to take you to lunch." Maya knew it was a surprise seeing as she and Olivia hadn't spent her birthday together in years, but she wished her daughter didn't look so surprised at the prospect of spending time with her mother.

"Oh." She glanced at the kneeling man. "I wish you had called, Mama. Fitz and I have plans."

"You have plans with the TV repairman?" Maya blinked.

Olivia frowned. "He's not the TV repairman."

"He's fixing the TV."

"Because I asked him to. He's my boyfriend, Mama."

Maya looked from Olivia to Fitz and back, not sure what to think of them. Fitz replaced the back on the television and turned it on, smiling at its clear picture. He looked at Olivia. "All fixed, Livvie."

She grinned proudly at him. "I knew you could fix it."

He stood and unzipped his coveralls, stepping out of them to reveal his maroon button down shirt and khaki pants. He looked from one woman to the other, wondering which of them would decide what they would do. Olivia gave her mother a crooked smile. "Mama, would you like to join us for lunch?"

Maya returned the expression. "I suppose that would be nice."

xxxxx

Clustered around a small table in Mama Tiana's, Maya took the opportunity to look over her daughter. Olivia was plumper than when she'd seen her last, and gentle laugh lines creased her face. Her hair was longer, and loose in springy curls around her face. Maya wondered why she'd stopped pressing it. She didn't wonder for very long as Fitz leaned over to murmur in Olivia's ear, a corkscrew curl coiled around his index finger.

A dark-haired waitress appeared and Maya's attention turned from them to the restaurant's small menu sitting on the table before her. "Welcome to Mama Tiana's. What can I get y'all to drink?"

"Just water please," Maya replied, still frowning at the menu. She didn't see anything particularly appetizing, only various helpings of grease and sugar.

"Sweet tea for us," Fitz replied.

"I think I'd better have a diet coke," Olivia interjected then turned to Fitz. "I told you no more sugar until I can zip my jeans again."

Fitz smiled, his eyebrows quirking. "I don't think there's anything wrong with the way your jeans fit, Livvie."

"I bet you don't." She smiled, popping the tip of his nose with her fingertip. She turned back to the waitress. "Sweet tea is fine."

"And a steamed artichoke, please," Fitz added. The waitress nodded and left.

Maya looked at him in surprise. "You like steamed artichoke?"

He nodded. "Livvie got me to try it a few weeks back."

"So you two have been together a while, then."

"About three months." Fitz smiled at Olivia, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Three months?" Maya's eyebrows raised as she looked at her daughter. "And I suppose I've been under a rock all this time?"

Olivia bit her lip. "I was working my way around to telling you, Mama."

Maya pursed her lips then turned to Fitz. "In case she hasn't told you, I'm rather embarrassing to her since I committed my life to making hers comfortable. It must be a terrible burden to have a mother who cherishes her."

"Mama." Olivia's mouth was a thin, annoyed line.

The waitress returned with their drinks and the artichoke. Fitz excused himself to wash his hands, leaving Maya and Olivia alone. Maya tilted her head, considered her only child. "You've gained weight."

Olivia looked down at her larger thighs. "Just a little. I think I could use it."

Maya nodded, looking at her water, running her finger around the rim of the glass. "He looks like your father."

Olivia's eyes widened. "He does?"

Maya nodded. "He's a little taller, and a bit more muscular, but he's a dead ringer for Dominic."

"I didn't know that."

Maya shrugged. "It's almost funny. You look a lot like me when I was your age. Suppose it's history repeating itself."

"Let's hope not." Olivia might not have remembered what her father looked like but she remembered what his existence had done to her parent's marriage, to her real father, the man who raised her like his own.

Fitz returned and resumed his seat, smirking at Olivia when she rubbed her bare arms. "I told you you'd need a sweater, but did you listen to me? Of course not."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I don't have one that goes with this dress."

Fitz scooted his chair closer to hers and draped his arm over her shoulder.

"So what do you do, Fitz?" Maya asked, watching him feed Olivia an artichoke petal.

"I'm a mechanic at a shop over on Third Avenue," Fitz answered.

"He can fix just about anything Mama. He's even teaching me to drive," Olivia interjected.

xxxxx

Fitz smiled as he watched Olivia grin at the red velvet cupcake on her plate, a single lit candle topping it. "Make a wish, gorgeous."

Olivia blew out the candle then peeled the wrapper off the cupcake. She took her knife and cut it in half to give Fitz part of it. The knife hit something solid and she pulled the cupcake apart. She pulled a ring from the cake's center and her eyes widened as she held it up. "What's this for?"

Fitz smiled. "It was my mother's. My dad bought it for her on their first anniversary and she gave it to me to give to you."

Olivia smiled as she wiped it off. She held it up to read the inscription: Something beautiful for someone beautiful. "Aww. This is the sweetest thing anyone's ever given me."

"Well let me see, Liv," Maya said, reminding them of her presence. Olivia slipped the ring on her right ring finger then held her hand out to her mother. Maya looked at the thin gold ring, decorated with three small round diamonds. "Very nice."

"It is." Olivia turned back to Fitz to kiss him. "This is my favorite birthday present ever. Thank you."

"Only the best for you, Livvie."

XXXXX

One Day Later

Olivia found herself frowning at the ring on her finger, something she never thought she'd do, as she held her calendar. She had circled the date in red to remind herself, but a week later she was still waiting, and she was never late. After staring at the calendar for far too long, she left her apartment and hailed a cab. The ride wasn't very long, and thankfully the driver decided to not make conversation with her.

She was surprised that she remembered the address, and that she had the courage to get out of the car and go to the front door. The face on the other side of the door mirrored her expression when the door opened. "Hi Angie."

"Liv…hi." Angelica Moreaux looked at her younger sister for a long moment before she gave an awkward smile. "I can't even remember the last time you were here. Well come in."

She stepped back and let Olivia in, turning to head for the living room. Olivia was surprised by how similarly her and Angelica's houses were decorated, and how much she and her older sister had grown to look alike. They were two sides of the coin: same curly hair, Angie's sandy brown where Olivia's was almost black; same wide eyes, Angie's hazel; same svelte figure, though Angie was a head taller than Olivia. Olivia had always thought she looked just like her mother, but looking at Angela, she wasn't sure.

Angela wore a red sweater over her white nurse's uniform, her hair pulled back in a low bun. "So, Liv, what brings you by?"

"I was just in the neighborhood," Olivia lied as she sat down on Olivia's couch.

Angela didn't believe her younger sister but she decided to not to press, guessing Olivia would tell her what was going on when she was ready. "Oh, well you should get over here more often."

"I'll try, Angie." A baby whined in another room and Olivia looked around in surprise. She hadn't even known Angela was pregnant. "When did you have a baby?"

"Dominique—we call her Nicki—just turned one," Angela answered before leaving the room. She returned a few minutes later with a little girl on her hip. She was a carbon copy of Angela, her blonde curls pulled up into a tiny ball at the top of her head. She walked over to the couch and sat down, settling the baby on her lap. "Nicki this is your aunt, Olivia. Can you say hi to Liv?"

"Lib." She smiled a four-toothed grin, waving her chubby hand.

"Hi." Olivia smiled at the baby, briefly wondering if something similar was in her near future. She tentatively reached for the baby and the little girl scrambled onto her lap. "What's your name?"

"Nicki," she replied proudly, reaching for Olivia's pearl necklace.

"She looks just like you," Olivia said, reaching up to unhook her necklace to give to the baby.

"Ooh," she cooed softly, rolling the pearls between her little hands.

"She doesn't act a thing like me, though. She's a real firecracker." Nicki yawned and lay back on Olivia, still rolling the necklace between her hands. "This is probably the calmest she's ever been with company."

Olivia smiled down at her. "She seems like a doll."

"She's a darling most of the time, but sometimes she's hell on wheels, especially when her father visits. They can destroy the house in half an hour."

"When he…visits?" Olivia wasn't sure if she had the right to ask. She and Angie weren't exactly friends.

"Yeah. He moved out a few months after she was born. It wasn't working."

Olivia wasn't sure what to make of her sister's nonchalant tone. "And you're okay?"

"We weren't happy anymore. Babies have a way of revealing the truth about relationships and ours wasn't a happy one."

"I'm sorry," Olivia murmured. It occurred to her how disconnected she and Angela were when she realized she didn't even know Angela's husband. She hadn't even gone to the wedding.

"Me too." Angela looked up at her sister with serious eyes. "So what's going on?"

"I think I'm pregnant," Olivia admitted. She thought saying it out loud would make her feel better, but it filled her with more anxiety.

"How late are you?"

"Ten days." It wasn't technically a lie. She had bled for two days the month before so she counted it as a period, even if it was four days shorter than usual.

Angie shook her head. "That's a gray area. Twelve to fourteen days is when you should really be concerned."

"But I've never been late before, not once, not in 11 years." She bit her lip. "What should I do?"

"Wait. It's the only thing you can do, Liv."

"I can't wait," Olivia almost whined. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Talk to your boyfriend and see how he feels about babies."

"But what if I am…and he doesn't…" She couldn't imagine what she would do if Fitz didn't their baby.

Angelica squeezed her hand. "If you are, you are, and if he doesn't then he doesn't. Stanley didn't."

Olivia held her head in her hands. "Oh my god."

Angelica rubbed her back. "Hey, tell you what, if you are and he doesn't, you'll just move in here and we'll be unwed mothers together."

"My mother…" Olivia couldn't even fathom what her mother would say.

"Will grow to accept you like mine did, or stick to her principles and miss out on her grandchild. That's up to her, Liv." The cuckoo clock on the wall chimed three and Angelica looked at it. "Oh. I've got to get to work."

Olivia watched as her sister stood and smoothed her white nurse's uniform. "I suppose I should get home to wait."

Angelica frowned at her despondent sister. "Tell you what, Liv, take Nicki for the day. I'm sure my landlady could use a break."

"Are you sure?"

Angelica nodded. "Worst case scenario, she kills you. Best case, you find out motherhood isn't so bad."

Olivia looked down at her niece, smiling at the curly-haired baby's fascination with the pearls. "What does she like to do?"

"Eat, mostly. And she loves the park." Angelica went and pulled the baby's stroller from the closet. "She toddles a bit, but you'll need this. She's terribly pigeon-toed and it tires her out."

Olivia nodded as she stood, hefting the baby onto her hip. She kicked up her little foot, pointing to her navy leather t-strap Mary Jane. "Shoe."

Olivia smiled. "I see. Did you go to the store to get them?"

The baby nodded. "Store!"

Saddled with Nicki's polka-dotted diaper bag and stroller, Olivia left Angelica's apartment and took a cab to her own. She wasn't surprised to find Fitz there, his legs sticking out from under the kitchen sink.

"Was that faucet still dripping? The super swore he fixed it," Olivia said as she rested the stroller next to the front door.

"He just jammed a washer in it," Fitz replied as he crawled from beneath the sink. "It should be fine now."

He stood and wiped his hands on a dish rag. His eyebrows raised at the sight of Olivia holding a baby. "Whose baby is that?"

"Angelica's. I went over to visit and she offered to let me take Nicki for the day. Isn't she the cutest thing?"

Fitz smiled as he walked over to take the baby. She grinned as he held her. "Hello. What's your name?"

"Nicki!" She held the collar of his denim work shirt.

"I'm Fitz. Can you say Fitz?"

"Fizz," she replied.

Olivia watched them with a smile, hoping Fitz's smile was a good sign. "Angie said she loves the park. Do you wanna go?"

"Yeah. Can we get some lunch first? I'm starving." He smiled down at Nicki. "Do you wanna eat, little bit?"

"Eat!" She kicked her little feet, looking back at Olivia. She pointed at her then turned to Fitz. "Lib!"

"Yeah that's your aunt Liv. She's gonna buy us lunch before we go to the park."

Olivia laughed. "Since when do I pay for things?"

"Since I got a look at your paycheck. You've been holding out on me, Livvie." He smiled.

Olivia chuckled. "Verna got me a little extra money to help start an anonymous pantry at the school for the kids. Apparently for some of them school lunch is the only decent meal they get. So we got this idea to start a pantry where they can come in and get food to take home. I've been looking in second hand stores to get some winter clothes too. It'll be cold soon."

Fitz grinned at Nicki. "You hear that? Your aunt Liv's a saint."

Olivia shook her head, her cheeks warm. "I'm just looking out for my kids."

The phrase "my kids" gave her pause as she picked up her purse and Nicki's yellow polka-dotted diaper bag. Fitz picked up her white stroller then followed Olivia down the steps. On the sidewalk, Fitz squinted at the afternoon sun. "It's nice out. You wanna walk?"

Olivia smiled at him. "That sounds nice."

He set up the stroller and Olivia put Nicki in it. Fitz wrapped his arm around her shoulder as Olivia pushed the stroller down the sidewalk. "Where should we eat?"

"I'm in the mood for something greasy."

Fitz squeezed her side. "Aren't you always?"

Olivia looked up at him. "What's the supposed to mean?"

He shrugged. "Lately, you've been eating worse than me, Livvie. And I almost lost a hand last night when I tried to eat one of your fries."

Olivia gave a half-smile. "I was hungry."

"You always are. It's been eat or be eaten around you for a good week."

They reached a small café, Mama's Kitchen, a few blocks from Olivia's building and went inside. Fitz got them a small table near a window and Nicki lifted her arms to be taken out of the stroller. Olivia smiled as she settled the baby on her lap. "What should we eat? Do you want some peas and carrots?"

Nicki shook her curly head. "No."

"What about some spaghetti?"

"No," the tot replied.

"Want some mac and cheese?"

At this, she turned to smile at her aunt, nodding. "Cheese!"

"And some chicken?"

"Yeah!"

A waitress with a large brunette bouffant took their order then flitted away to attend to her other numerous tables. Olivia looked around at the other tables, noticing how many families there were, many with multiple small children. She told herself it wouldn't be so bad, having a baby, especially with Fitz. She knew it was naïve and almost nauseatingly optimistic, but she believed they could do anything together.

Nicki picked up Olivia's spoon and held it up for Fitz to see. "Spoon!"

"That's right." He picked up his glass. "What's this?"

"Cup!"

After they named all the flatware, Nicki got fussy. Olivia tried to soothe her to no avail and Fitz smiled at her flustered face. He stood and walked around the table to pick the baby up. He bounced her gently in his arms. Olivia exhaled as Nicki's whimpers quieted. She watched as Fitz pointed at the window and talked softly to her. The baby was giggling by the time the waitress returned with their plates. Fitz sat down, balancing Nicki on his knee.

"Ooh look what we got!" He picked up a string bean and held it up in front of her face. "We've got string beans Nic! These are my favorite!"

He ate the string bean and Nicki reached onto the plate to pick one up. She stuffed it in her mouth and chewed it. Fitz smiled at the top of her head. "We're gonna eat all these, aren't we?"

Nicki nodded, already stuffing another in her mouth. Olivia watched with soft eyes as Fitz got the child to clean her plate. Her little hands were a mess as she drank apple juice from her bottle, but she lay back contently against Fitz, her wide eyes heavily lidded.

Fitz smiled at her then at Olivia. "Well somebody's full."

Olivia looked down at her own empty plate. "I'm stuffed too."

"Should I take you sleepy girls home?"

Olivia shook her head. "No. She's already had a nap. I don't want to take her back to Angie all riled up."

Fitz signaled for the check, smiling at Nicki as she attempting to dip his spoon in his mashed potatoes. He placed his hand on top of hers and scooped up a spoonful then let her feed herself. "Are those good?"

"Good!" she replied, scooping up half a spoonful that she held up to him. Fitz ate the potatoes as the waitress returned with the check.

Olivia pulled her wallet out of her purse and Fitz smirked at her. "I'm not really gonna let you pay, Livvie."

"I've got the money," Olivia insisted.

"You can buy the ice cream at the park."

xxxxx

Olivia and Fitz sat on the border of the sandbox, watching Nicki fill a pail with sand then dump it out, laughing each time. Olivia finished her strawberry ice cream then looked at Fitz. "So what do you think?"

"Of what?"

"This." She nodded at Nicki, smiling as she turned the pail over with a squeal.

He smiled. "This is nice. I think I'd do better starting out with a boy, but we could do it with a girl."

"We could." Olivia gave a crooked smile, thinking that they might be doing it sooner than he thought.

XXXXX

Three Days Later

Olivia had to smile at the silly feeling of sitting in the nurse's office. The school's dark-haired nurse, Quinn, returned with a cup of orange juice and a small pack of saltine crackers. Olivia took them with a frown. "Don't you have any medicine that might settle my stomach?"

Quinn shook her head. "Nothing I can give you. You're pregnant, Ms. Pope."

Olivia's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Yes ma'am. I've seen my share of pregnancies in here, and you've got the look." She gave a small smile. "You should probably get yourself some vitamins. They'll stop you from looking so peaky."

Olivia nodded as she hopped off the small examination table. She wasn't sure if she was terrified at the revelation, or relieved to finally know for sure. "Thank you."

She left the room and went back to her own classroom, surprised to find her students arguing about what would have happened if Lord of the Flies had been about girls instead of boys. The boys maintained that the girls may have survived longer but would have inevitably come to the same end. The girls disagreed vehemently, arguing that girls would have lived much more amicably for much longer. They stopped and looked at her when she stepped into the room, all concerned after watching her wretch up her lunch. She shook her head. "Please continue. I'm very interested in this debate."

They quickly resumed their argument and Olivia sat at her desk, wondering how she would tell Fitz the news. He had said they could do the baby thing, but she doubted he meant they could do it three months into the relationship.

XXXXX

Olivia wasn't sure what to make of Fitz's silence as he sat on her bed, looking at her as she stood in the bathroom doorway in her nightgown. She clutched the hem of the cotton gown and looked at him with uneasy eyes. "Fitz…say something."

"I've gotta quit smoking," he replied.

"What?" She blinked at him.

"I've gotta quit smoking. It's bad for pregnant women, right? And I've gotta get a decent place, and a better car. Maybe one of those station wagons with the big backseat and all that. And I need a suit, a better one than I've got anyway." She watched as he got out of bed and went to her desk. He sat down, still talking to himself as he gathered a pen and paper to make a list. "I figure we can take the train to D.C. and get married easy, but then we've gotta find a house. One with a backyard or a swing set and all that. We're gonna need a church too, for the blessing or christening or whatever."

"Fitz." He stopped and looked at her. "You're not upset?"

He blinked at her. "Upset? How could I be upset, Livvie? You're having my baby! That's the best news in the world!"

She twisted the hem of her gown. "I just thought… We haven't been together that long and I thought maybe you'd think it was too soon."

He stood then and walked to her, wrapping his arms around her with a smile. "You are a silly, silly woman. Don't you know I'm crazy about you? I've been planning to marry you and have babies since I met you—if you'd have me, anyway. Suppose you've got no choice now."

Olivia finally smiled and let go of her nightgown. She lay her head on his chest. "We've got to tell our families."

"Well my folks love you, and your mama… Well she doesn't hate me, not yet anyway. She might hate me after we break the news." He squeezed her tighter and kissed the crown of her head. "Are you happy?"

"Yes." Olivia looked up at him and smiled, the feeling blooming warm in her chest. "I'm hungry too."

"One grilled cheese coming up." She lifted her arms to be picked up and Fitz smirked at her but lifted her in his arms. "Don't get used to this."

Olivia laughed as they left her bedroom. "Well, in a few months you won't be able to do this at all. Take advantage of a tiny girlfriend while you've got one."

Fitz kissed the hollow of her throat. "Pretty soon you'll be my mean old wife."

Olivia giggled. "I'll be fat too."

"Can I get fat too?" He entered the kitchen and set her on the countertop.

"Yes, but fatter than me. I wanna be the skinny one."

Fitz smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Anything for you."

"Even French onion soup with my grilled cheese?"

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Even that. But just this once."

A/N: Don't forget to review! XOXOXO