Black Mermaid

"And I spend most of my life deep down inside myself. I've dreamt about the possibility of someone else, who could see the things I've seen and still wait with me. To the darkness we could fade, because we know ourselves. I'm his black mermaid, from the bottom of the sea. I will teach you how to love me, into greatness I will lead you. I'm a black mermaid, from the bottom of the sea. I will teach you how to love me, in the greatness I will lead you."―Esthero

Olivia rushed into the police station with Fitz right behind her. She stood by the front desk waiting for the officer to get off of the phone.

"Liv," Quinn called out when she spotted Olivia.

Olivia walked towards her.

"What happened?"

"He got into an altercation with someone. They're charging him with assault and battery."

"That doesn't make any sense. He doesn't even know anyone in town like that. Who would he have gotten into a fight with?"

"I don't know."

The worry was written all over her face. If it wasn't for holding Zoe, Olivia is almost positive you would be able to see Quinn's hand shaking.

"Did they give him bail yet?"

"They said it depends on if the guy presses charges or not. He is in holding right now," she shook her head, "Liv, he can't stay here," her voice was frantic, eyes desperate. She was out of her element and had no idea what to do.

"It's going to be okay. We'll get him out."

Picking up on her mother's energy, Zoe started to squirm in Quinn's arms.

"Fi," Zoe reached out for Fitz.

As if noticing him standing there for the first time, Quinn looked at Fitz.

"Quinn, this is Fitz. Fitz, this is Quinn, Harrison's fiancée," Olivia quickly made a formal introduction.

"Hello."

"Hey."

"Fi! Fi!" Zoe called again, practically leaping into his arms.

Quinn let Zoe go to Fitz. Zoe had really warmed up to Fitz during the sleepover at Olivia's place. As if they were old friends, Zoe started a conversation as only she could. Fitz listened and talked back to her.

"He's cute," Quinn spoke just loud enough for Olivia to hear her.

Olivia smiled at her, "Yeah, he is."

Fitz had been keeping an eye on the front desk as he listened and talked to Zoe. When the officer ended his phone call, he walked over and started saying something to the officer. Olivia watched him. She couldn't hear what he was saying but she focused on his back. Zoe had rested her head on his shoulder as he talked to the officer. Looking at how comfortable Zoe was with Fitz, it seemed like they knew each other for years instead of just being around each other only a couple of times before.

"I know you didn't ask but he seems good for you."

"You came to that conclusion how?"

"Zoe likes him. She is really protective of you like her dad. If she likes him, it's a good sign. And he is now."

"We were having lunch."

"Oh God. I'm sorry, Liv."

"No, it's fine."

"Harrison didn't want me to call you."

"I'm sure."

"I just couldn't handle this on my own. When they said that he didn't have bail. I didn't know what to do."

"I'm glad you called," Olivia patted her leg, "We're going to figure this out."

Fitz walked back over to them.

"They're getting his paperwork together. It should be about fifteen or twenty minutes before he is released."

"What? I thought we had to wait for bail," Quinn said.

"I know the chief of police."

"You know the chief of police? So what, you called in a favor?" Olivia looked at him.

Fitz didn't want it to seem like he had special privileges or clout because he didn't. His father just happened to have two friends that he went back years with. One was senator Henry Caldwell, who had been friends with Jerry since they were in grade school; and the other was police chief Dennis Porter, who Jerry had met while serving in the military. Jerry and Henry had drifted apart after high school, Henry going to college and Jerry going into the military to help him get money to go to school. While serving in the military, Jerry met Dennis, being two years older than him, Dennis was in charge of Jerry and nine other new recruits. The two quickly struck up a friendship that would turn into a brotherhood that lasted multiple decades.

"He is my godfather."

"The chief of police?"

Fitz nodded, "Him and my dad served in the military together. He was the best man at my parents wedding."

"So you just did what exactly?"

"Harrison is not out of the woods. He is being released. If the person he beat up presses charges, he might have to go to court. First offense, he could be looking at a fine and some hours of anger management at the most. Worst case scenario, thirty days in lock up but that is highly unlikely. If the person doesn't press charges, he walks away, no record, nothing. Life goes back to normal."

Olivia was render speechless. Everything in her felt like it opened up to Fitz in that moment. She was trying to keep a positive face for Quinn but Olivia had no idea how they would get Harrison out if he wasn't given bail. The fact that Fitz just came in and fixed everything, she didn't know what to say. Thank you didn't seem like enough.

"Thank you," Quinn hugged Fitz.

They sat and waited for Harrison to be released. It took a total of twenty minutes for the paperwork to be completed and for Harrison to released.

The moment Harrison saw Olivia, he gave Quinn a look.

"I told you not to call her."

"Shut up. If it wasn't for me calling her, you wouldn't be out right now."

"I'll pay back whatever I owe you," Harrison said, not looking Olivia in the eye.

"Fitz got you out."

"Thank you. I don't know what I owe you but I'll pay you back."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Fitz called in a favor. You still have to see if there will be any charges filed but for now things are okay."

Olivia couldn't figure out why, Harrison wasn't looking at her.

"Are you okay?"

"I want to get out of here before they change their mind."

He was acting weird but Olivia tried to take into account that he had spent a few hours in a holding cell.

They left the police station and was walking through the parking lot when Olivia's cellphone started to ring.

"Hello."

"What the hell, Olivia?"

"Maria? What's going on?"

"You tell me why did Harrison almost kill Eli?"

Olivia stopped walking. Maria was talking but Olivia only heard bits and pieces of what was being said. She didn't know if it was the frantic sound of Maria's voice or the realization of what landed Harrison in jail, but somehow everything was foggy.

"Liv? Is everything okay?" Fitz asked when he noticed that she wasn't walking with them.

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Olivia glared at Harrison.

"What did you do?"

"I'm sorry, Liv."

Olivia needed a minute. Just one minute where everything didn't feel like it was fall apart, where the world didn't feel like it was caving in on her. After getting a call from her stepmother, Olivia and Fitz headed to the hospital. Olivia didn't know what happened, just that her father and Harrison had gotten into fight.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, Eli was resting. Maria had given them an update. Eli had to have his nose realigned, two fractured ribs, and a few other bruises. They were keeping him overnight for observation.

Maria didn't act mad at her but Olivia felt the bad energy. She felt unwanted there but she didn't know what else to do. She wanted to make sure that her father was going to be okay, and she hated not knowing everything that even put Eli and Harrison in this mess.

After sitting around the hospital for almost, Olivia needed some air. When Fitz stepped out to make a phone call, she took that chance to have a much needed moment of calm.

Olivia rested her head in her hands. She felt overwhelmed with everything that had been going on that day. She wanted to scream, cry, hit something, anything but all she could do was sit here, feeling like she was going to explode.

"How are you feeling?"

Olivia raised her heading, looking at Fitz. She hadn't even heard him walk up.

"Never been better."

Fitz took a seat next to her. He didn't say anything and Olivia appreciated him not pushing her. In all honesty, her feelings were all over the place. She felt like her world was caving in on her and she wanted to just escape it all.

"Today started out really beautiful," she shook her head, "It's too much."

Olivia don't know why but she felt the need to defend Harrison.

"Harrison is not a violent person. I don't understand what happened."

"I'm sure he had his reasons. When everything settles down, you two will talk."

Olivia sighed.

"What do you need?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment.

"You had a rough day. What do you need to make it better?"

She didn't know how to respond to that. No one ever cared enough to ask her how they could make her day better.

She thought for a minute before answering, "I want to go swimming."

It was a weird request but she loved swimming. It always helped her to clear her head. It was the healthiest coping mechanism she had.

"I can make that happen."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I know a place."

When Olivia said that she wanted to go swimming, Fitz knew the perfect place. After stopping at her place for her bathing suit, they headed up to his parents' house. His parents had a five bedroom guest house on their property with a massive indoor pool. They often used the house when they hosted parties or had family events with extended family.

When they made it to the gate, Fitz rolled down his window and punched in the code.

"Someone is living fancy."

"My parents."

"Fitz…"

Olivia wasn't in the mood to meet his parents at this very moment and she hated that he would bring her here now, with everything that she had going on.

"They're not home," he said after reading her face, "If they were, I wouldn't have brought you here."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. You had one hell of a day. I wouldn't add on to that by trying to spring my parents on you."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"My parents have a guest house with an indoor pool."

"A guest house, wow. So you grew up with a golden spoon in your mouth."

"Not really. We grew up comfortable but not enough to be spoiled."

Fitz drove them through the gates and about thirty seconds up the road, they came to a big house.

"This is your parents guest house?"

"It used to be my grandparents house. They owned the land and we lived with them for a number of years when we first moved out here. Once my dad got his business up and running, he had a house built a little up the road. That's the main house."

Fitz grabbed her hand and walked her up the house. He gave her a tour of the house, that was more like bachelor pad than a house that once belonged to older people.

"Your grandparents must have hand a young spirit."

"My parents remodeled of few years ago after the house got damaged in a storm. They turned it into a place for the family to come and hang out. A place were their grandkids could always come and had fun."

"That's sweet," she smiled at him, "I can't wait to meet your family."

"They're going to love you."

Olivia lifted her shirt over her head and Fitz couldn't help but steal a glance at her. He quickly turned away because he didn't want her to think he was some pervert who couldn't control his eyes.

"There is a room down the hall if you want to change in private."

Olivia hadn't even given a second thought about changing in front of him. This was the man who had save her from dying. The man who she was exploring a relationship with. What did she care if he saw her naked?

"Do you want me to change in another room?"

"I want you to do whatever is comfortable for you."

"You're such a gentleman."

"My mother wouldn't have it any other way."

"You can look at me you know?"

He turned to face her as she was pulling up her bathing suit. He caught a glimpse of her nipple and since she didn't mind him staring, he didn't bother to look away.

Fitz didn't understand how a one piece bathing suit could be so sexy. He eyes traveled from her breast to the exposed skin that was peeking through on her sides.

Olivia walked towards him.

"Your turn."

"I didn't bring my trunks."

"So what," Olivia kissed him, "You getting in the pool with me."

Fitz couldn't say no to Olivia. He stripped down to his boxers and took her to the pool.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

She didn't know why she felt so shy all of a sudden around him but she looked down.

"You spoil me and I'm not use to that at all."

He tilted her chin up so that he could look into her eyes.

"I ask to swimming and you actually make it happen. You got Harrison out of jail. You been with me through everything today. I feel like I should be doing something for you."

"As long as you are good, you are doing everything for me."

Olivia blushed. Before she could respond, Fitz picked her up and jumped in the pool. The laugh that Olivia let out changed the mood. Whatever had happened today, this pool was a safe zone. They were going to have fun and try to forget about it all.

"Tell me about your family."

"What do you want to know exactly?"

"Everything."

"I'm the oldest of Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II and Eleanor Grant's four children. My parents just go by Jerry and Ella. Right under me is my brother Benjamin, sister Victoria, and you met my baby brother Jason. We all work at Grant Advertising. Technically Benji and I are the ones in charge but we try not to act like it. We get input from Tori and Jay because they are as much a part of the business as we are."

"Why did he leave it to you two instead of the four of you?"

"I think it's because we're a little better suited to run the place. My sister is thirty-four and single, no kids. My dad doesn't want her to work herself to death and he wants her to have time to have a family. Jason is not companying running material. I'm not sure he even likes working at GA but he loves the idea working with his family. It's safe. He is free to fail and coast if he wants to. The safety net is probably comforting for him but he is actually damn good at his job."

She smiled at him. Olivia didn't know what it was but she got the feeling that he was projecting with his last statement. Maybe it was the slightly dazed look in his eyes but she got the feeling that Grant Advertising was his safety net as well.

"Jason is a lot like you."

"Yeah he is. He is a frat boy version of me."

"He looks up to you. I know I only met him once but you can tell."

"I guess."

"I wish I had siblings," when she remembered Isabelle, she quickly added, "that I grew up with."

"What about you? You don't have any other family?"

"I don't know. I guess somewhere out there, maybe," she shrugged, "All I remember is my mom and my dad. When I first moved out here, my dad and I had a talk and he gave me a brief family history lesson. My mom wasn't originally from the US. My grandmother had moved to Paris when she was twenty, fell in love and never came back. My mom was born in Paris and raised in England until she was sixteen and then she moved to New York because she was going to study dance at Juilliard."

"Wow."

"I didn't know any of that about my mother. I try to recall her voice from time to time now to see if I remember an accent but I don't. I do remember hearing her talking on phone when I was six, and now I swear she was speaking a different language."

Olivia had tried to remember anything that she could about her mother since her father had told her a little about her. She could remember her mom braiding her hair and reading to her. Her mom loved to journal but her journal looked more like a scrapbook, with drawings, colors, movie ticket stubs.

"I think she is the reason I write. She use to keep journals but they looked more like scrapbooks. I never read them but I remember her writing everything down."

"What was her name?"

"I knew her as Maya Lewis but her full name was Maya Jelena Lewis-Bouvier," Olivia shook her head, "It's weird. I feel like I didn't really get the chance to know her."

"Do you know if your grandparents still alive?"

"My dad's parents are both dead. My mom's parents might be still alive. I also have an aunt, my mom's aunt but I don't know if she is alive either."

"Did you ever think about finding them?"

Olivia shook her head.

"I'm not sure if I want to open up that can of worms. I haven't actually had the best of luck since finding my dad."

"I think you're doing good."

Olivia eyed him.

"Considering all that has happened, you are doing good. It was brave of you to even try to find him. I can't say I would have done the same."

"I thought I was missing something but finding my dad again has been nothing like what I expected. The only good thing about my time here is that I met you."

"Give it time. We'll make some good memories here."

It had taken Olivia two days to work up the courage to go see her father again after what happened between him and Harrison. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to him but she felt like she needed to check in with him.

"Hey."

"Hello," he was surprised to see her, happy even but he could seem to show it. "Maria isn't here."

"I came to see you actually. Do you have a moment?"

"Yeah," he stepped aside to let her in.

Olivia walked in and stood in the hallway. She didn't feel comfortable being in his home, she never did but now more than ever she felt like she didn't belong.

"Have a seat," he motioned towards the living room.

Olivia walked into the living room and took a seat. She watched her father as he walked into the room slowly. She could tell that he was trying not to limp. Olivia looked away from him as she tried to get her thoughts together. She had come here with only one goal; to ask—beg if she had to—her father not to press charges on Harrison.

"It looks worse than it really is."

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"Whatever happened is kind of my fault. I'm the reason your two even know each other."

Olivia noticed her father staring at her hands. She looked down and saw that she was fiddling with her fingers.

She had to get a hold of that. Olivia had the terrible habit of pacing in circles when something was wrong, whenever she couldn't pace, she would pick at her nails or fiddle with her fingers.

"I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to handle this situation. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to you. It doesn't seem fair to say that Harrison isn't a violent man given your experience with him."

"You don't have to say anything."

"Are you going to press charges."

"No."

The relief was written all over her face.

"The altercation wasn't exactly unprovoked."

"What did you do?" Her voice was low, she didn't want to sound like she was accusing him of something.

"I spoke my truth."

"What does that mean?"

"Harrison came over here to tell me to man up. He said that I was dangling my love just out of your reach and that I should either step up and be there for you or cut you loose."

Olivia felt a sense of pride in her brother. That was a very Harrison thing to do, to stand up to any and every one for her.

"He was talking about how you uprooted your life to come live here. I told him that I never asked you to come here and I didn't expect you to move here."

Olivia wasn't sure she was ready to hear what he was about to say but she knew she had to listen. She needed to hear how he truly felt.

"I never asked you to move here, Olivia."

"You didn't want me to move here?"

"After your mother died–"

"It's a yes or no question," she cut him off.

"There was a reason that I never tried to look for you. I closed that part of my life off. I buried it, hid it for years. It's locked away in the back of a closet in my mind. When I gave you up it was because I couldn't care for you anymore. I never thought I would see you again. But you found me. I couldn't act like you didn't exist anymore. I couldn't keep you locked away, buried with my past."

"You could have told me that you didn't want to talk to me. I wouldn't have contacted you any further. I would have left you alone."

"You don't get it."

"I don't."

"No one thinks of the stress and pain that comes along with taking care of someone sick. Between you and your mother, it was a revolving door of hospital visits. I have never felt so helpless and drained, physically and emotionally. I was losing it," he paused, "I told Harrison that I didn't want you."

His words stung but they were his truth and she had to respect that.

"You don't ever have to worry about seeing me again. I'll stay away from you and your family."

"You're still not getting it."

"You didn't want me. I am as much of a burden to you now as I was back then. I get it. I said I will stay away."

"You can't stay away. What about Isabelle? You are her big sister who she has loved since the moment she heard about you. Maria sees you as a daughter. You can't leave them because you're mad at me."

"That's sounds a lot like you only want me around to placate your wife and daughter."

"When you told me you were moving out here, it was like the having a rug pulled from under me and not having time to brace myself for the fall."

"You could have told me not to come."

"How could I? How could I say that to you without looking like the bad guy?"

She wanted to tell him that he was a bad guy but she didn't want to let her emotions lead her so she remained quiet.

"I wasn't ready, Olivia. I wasn't ready to face my past or confront my demons. You found me and were coming back into my life. I couldn't deny you or hide you because I do love you. In my own broken way, I love you. I just was not ready."

Olivia didn't know how she was supposed to respond. He wasn't ready to be her father and be there for her but being a parent didn't have an off and on switch. She had been in this world for thirty-one years and whether he liked it or not, all thirty-one of those years he had been her dad, nothing was going to change that.

"I want to get ready."

She stared at him.

"It's not going to be easy. I have a lot of baggage to unpack but I'm done running and hiding. I'm here now, Olivia and if you will let me, I would like to start over."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, bud?"

"Is a trashy slut a bad thing?"

Fitz looked over at his son briefly before concentrating back on the road.

"Yes. It's a bad term used to belittle women. Where did you hear that?"

"Mom."

Fitz didn't want to ask what Mellie had said because he knew whatever it was, wasn't good.

"She told uncle Andrew that you better not have me around that young trashy slut."

Fitz grimaced at 'uncle Andrew'. He hated that Teddy called him that. Fitz gripped the steering wheel and counted backwards for ten in his head before responding.

"Sometimes grow ups say bad things," he started.

"Was she talking about Olivia?"

"I don't know," Fitz lied, "I wasn't there so I can't say."

"Probably not because if trashy slut is a bad thing, I don't think that's Olivia. She's nice."

"She is."

"Is Olivia your girlfriend?"

It was a simple enough question but he didn't know how to answer it. There was hesitation there because they were very much in the getting to know you phase of their relationship. Just trying to go out with Olivia seemed like moving mountains were required. Their initial first date got canceled because she was in the hospital. Then issues with his brother left him having less time than he would like. When they actually got to go out for lunch, it got interrupted because of Harrison's situation. Everything seemed to be getting in their way.

"Yeah," he looked over at him again, "Are you okay with this?"

"That's cool. You are a grown adult."

Fitz chuckled.

"Olivia seems nice. Karen likes her a lot. You like her so I like her too."

"Well I'm glad you like her. It means a lot to me that you do."

"Because we're a team, like The Flash and Kid Flash."

"Just like The Flash and Kid Flash."

"You know that means Olivia is Iris West? Ooh isn't she a writer? Iris is a writer too. Well a journalist."

"Olivia has written articles online like Iris."

"She is your perfect Iris West."

Fitz pulled into a parking space outside of Olivia's place.

"Do you think Olivia likes The Flash?"

"Doesn't everybody?"

"That is true."

Fitz texted Olivia to let her know that he was outside of her house.

"Is Olivia staying all weekend?"

"Yeah."

"You think she can help me with my science project since Karen is staying with Ryan."

"I can help you."

"No you can't. Ms. Campbell said you are not allowed because she can tell when you help me because it looks professionally done."

"What? There is nothing wrong with having good work done."

"It's not fair to the other kids who don't have a dad who works in graphic design."

Fitz stopped himself from saying anything bad about Teddy's teacher.

"You have to ask Olivia if she will help you, bud. I'm sure she will."

Fitz watched Olivia as she walked towards his car. He reached over and opened the car door for her. Fitz grabbed her bag from her.

"I got it," Teddy reached for the bag.

"You sure? It might be a little heavy."

Teddy took the bag from his dad and sat it in the back with him.

"Wow. You're so strong."

"I've been working out."

"I can tell. I see the muscle right there."

Teddy flexed his arm, proudly showing off his little muscle.

"Put your seat belt back on, Ted."

"Olivia, do you watch The Flash?" Teddy asked as he sat back in his seat and put his seat belt on.

"Every week."

Teddy's eyes lit up.

"This is a good sign."

"Taco lasagna?" Olivia sat at the kitchen table watching Fitz and Teddy make dinner.

"Dad loves lasagna and I love tacos so we put them together."

"I got the recipe off the internet."

"It is the best of both worlds."

Olivia had been there a little over an hour. After getting the tour of the house, they settled in the kitchen to get dinner started. She enjoyed watching Fitz and his son together. Teddy was really the mini version of his father. Their mannerisms, the way the talked, the way they just shared a space together without words, spoke to the close bond they had. Olivia admired their relationship so much. Teddy was lucky to have a father like Fitz.

"Grodd or Zoom? Who is the scarier?" Teddy asked.

Since finding out that Olivia actually watched The Flash as well, Teddy had been asking her questions about the show.

"Zoom."

Fitz shook his head.

"See, I told you dad. Everyone knows Zoom is scarier than Grodd."

"You picked Grodd?"

"He is a giant gorilla. An intelligent giant gorilla. He is stronger and smarter than Barry."

"The lies," Teddy shook his head and Olivia chuckled.

"Zoom is fast but so is Barry. He doesn't seem like that big of a threat."

"He took Barry's speed though so he is like super fast."

"There is also the fact that he infiltrated their team. He knew all of their strengths, weaknesses, and was able to be steps ahead of them," Olivia added.

"So what? Grodd has mind controlling capabilities."

"Zoom does too in a sense. He may not be able to get into someone's actual head like Grodd but was able to get in, gain their trust, learn from them, and then used what he learned against them. Zoom played them and because you weren't really expecting it, he is the scarier villain."

Teddy looked satisfied with her answer so he moved on to his next question. For the next thirty minutes, they talked about superheroes and TV shows. She found out that Teddy's favorite color was red and he loved everything involving the solar system.

He was a very fascinating little boy.

Olivia's hands tangled in Fitz's curls as she brought him into their kiss deeper. His hands roamed her body and she tried to press herself even closer against him. His hands felt like they were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Before she could get use to him touching her in one spot, he would be on to the next, leaving a trail of heat in his wake.

Olivia wanted him now. Her hands traveled up the inside of his shirt, her nails scrapping across his abs.

The moment he felt her hands on him, Fitz knew he had to stop this before they got carried away.

"Liv," he breathed out before her lips was on his again.

She reached for his belt and had it unbuckled in a matter of seconds.

Fitz grabbed her hands, stopping her movements. Olivia pulled back to look at him.

"Maybe we shouldn't do that."

"Really?" Olivia looked down at the print of his erection, "Someone didn't get the memo."

"Yeah. I'll have to talk to him later."

"Or I can talk to him now."

Olivia went to move down his body but Fitz stopped her. Momentarily shocked, she stared at him straight on.

"Oh, wow. Okay," Olivia stood up.

"Liv."

"I need to go to the bathroom," Olivia said quickly, before leaving the room.

"Shit," Fitz mumbled under his breath.

He cursed himself for not stopping them sooner. It's not that he didn't want to have sex with her, it was just with everything that had been going on, he wasn't sure if now was the right time.

After almost ten minutes and Olivia hadn't returned, Fitz stood up and went to go check on her. He waited outside of the downstairs bathroom door for a little bit before knocking on the door.

"I'll be out in a minute."

Fitz leaned against the opposite wall and waited for her to come out of the bathroom.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

She wouldn't look at him.

"Don't be like that."

"Don't be fine, Fitzgerald?"

"Full first name. I'm in the dog house, aren't I?"

"No," she shook her head, "You have every right not to want to sleep with me. I shouldn't have come off so aggressive. Friends don't do that."

"Friends? That's very passive aggressive of you."

Olivia moved to walk around him but he grabbed her pulling her back towards him. He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. Looking in his eyes, Olivia saw his struggle.

"I'm fine, Fitz. I mean it."

"It's not that I don't want to…," he started but then stopped. He was still trying to find the right words to express himself.

"It's fine, Fitz. Lots of men your age have problems with erectile dysfunction," the smirk on her face made him smile.

"Don't be cute," he poked her sides, making laugh. "It's definitely not that. Everything works properly. I'm actually at my sexual prime right now."

"Good to know."

Her smile invited his lips to hers. She savored the taste of his tongue but was mindful not to get caught up in the moment. There was a boundary here, they weren't going to cross over into sex, at least not tonight.

Fitz squeezed her ass and she bit his bottom lip playfully.

"Ass grabbing from someone who doesn't want to have sex is sending mixed signals, don't you think?"

He dropped his forehead on hers and closed his eyes.

"Maybe."

Olivia tried to walk back into the living room again but was stopped by his words.

"I don't want to hurt you," he confessed.

She stepped back in front of him.

"How would you hurt me?"

"You told me how you went into crisis once after you spent a day washing your clothes. I did some reading and anything can bring on a pain crisis."

"You're scared to have sex with me because of my sickle cell."

"Not scared but hesitant."

"Okay."

Olivia walked away and Fitz followed.

"You're mad at me?"

"No."

"Then why are you packing your things. You can't get mad at me for being concerned."

"I'm not mad. Frustrated, annoyed but not mad," she threw her bag on the couch. "I can't change that I have sickle cell. If I could, I would have done something a long time ago, before my mom died and dad abandoned me but I can't. If that is a problem for you, say something now. What you see as concern looks like you don't want to be intimate with me because of something that is out of my control. It's fine, you don't have to sleep with me but let's call this what it is and stop bullshitting."

"I didn't mean to...I wasn't trying to..."

Fitz didn't know what to say. Somehow he couldn't find the right words to express that he cared about her greatly and that he just wanted to make sure she was okay.

"I had a long day. I'm just going to head out."

"Please stay."

Olivia shook her head, grabbing her bag off of the couch.

"The other day you said you felt like you should do something for me. You want to do something, don't leave or walk out on me when you are frustrated or annoyed."

Olivia knew that she may be being a little hard on Fitz. He was concerned for her and she couldn't be mad at that.

"You actually looked up sickle cell and sex?"

"I've done some reading. It's something that your dealing with so I want to know about it."

Olivia saw in his eyes just how much he cared about her and it made her soften.

"It can happen but it's rare that sex will cause a pain crisis. I just have to stay properly hydrated and listen to my body."

"Are we okay?" He asked.

"We're better than okay," Olivia replied as she took a seat.