"Hey boys, where's your dad?"

"Oh hey mom, dad left with Uncle Stephen. When did you get back?"

"Just now. Are you guys still watching this show?"

TJ glanced at his mother. "It's a really good series mom."

"Excuse me aren't you a bit young to be binge watching series?" Liv smiled.

"It's a marvel series. It's so awesome."

"Okay. Is your sister home?"

"Probably in her room but she's in a bad mood." Aiden answered. "We're just trying to stay out of her way."

Liv didn't ask any further questions. She left her boys and headed upstairs to find her daughter.

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure mom. I'm just tidying up my closet. How was your spa date with the girls?"

"Refreshing. It was nice to see everyone again. What have you been up to all afternoon?"

"Nothing much."

"No plans on a Saturday?"

Ariana pulled her shoulders up. "Guess not."

"Miles not coming over?"

The teenager scoffed sarcastically, "I certainly didn't invite him."

So that's where the bad mood came from.

Olivia decided not to probe any further on that topic.

"I'm gonna go and give your dad a call..find out where he is."

"Hey mom?"

Olivia stopped and turned around. "Yes?"

Ariana opened her mouth to speak up but instead released a sigh. "... nevermind."

"Heyy honey, what's wrong? You can talk to me."

Ariana plopped down on her bed. "How long do you stay mad at dad after a fight?"

"Your dad will always say that I'm stubborn." Olivia said, joining the teenager on her bed. "But I can never stay mad at him..we can never stay mad at each other. No matter what the nature of our fight was. So it's okay to be stubborn but just don't allow a disagreement to cause any further unnecessary friction. If you're not ready to talk to the other person, fine, but give them an indication that you two are gonna be okay. Sometimes we're not even angry at the person but more frustrated by the their actions. And that's why communicating is important. You have to let the other person know what's bothering you in order to resolve the issue."

"Miles and I got into a stupid fight. Now I miss him. And I'm not even upset at him I just-- I just allowed other people to get into my head with stupid nonsense and that was my biggest mistake. He's been trying to reach me but I'm too embarrassed to admit that I overreacted and that I doubted him."

"And he's going to keep on trying to get in touch with you because he's in love with you and you don't just give up on the person you love. Just admit to your mistake baby girl. It'll bring you much relief and I'm sure he'll appreciate you being honest and upfront. That'll build up your trust in one another."

"We do trust each other a lot already so I don't know why I reacted like I did."

"We tend to do crazy things when we're in love."

"He's been so incredibly sweet and kind to me. And he has never once pushed me to take our relationship to the next level because he respects that I'm not ready for that."

"Having sex you mean."

"Yes. I want to wait. I don't care how long but I'll wait until the day that I know that I'm ready. It might even be years but I won't do anything that I'm not comfortable with. I guess that's what upsets me; knowing some other girl wouldn't think twice to give him what I'm holding back on."

"Deciding to have sex is a really big step. There's a lot of stuff that goes with it.. especially your first time. And I respect you for wanting to wait. Don't care about what others think or say. Miles loves you for you. You're an amazing girl with a great sense of humour and a bright personality. You don't need sex to make someone happy."

"Thank you mom."

"I'm really happy that you feel comfortable enough to be so open with me. It means a lot to me."

"You're my best friend momma. Who else am I supposed to talk to about these things? Plus you give the best advice."

"I love you Ariana." Olivia reached out to give her daughter a hug.

"I love you too mom. Thanks for the talk. I needed it."

"You're welcome. Hey I think you scared your brothers a little. They warned me about your mood." Olivia said laughing.

"They just have a way of getting on my nerves and today I really didn't have time for their silliness. But I'll go and apologize."

"Nah..let them sweat a little."

Ariana laughed out loud at her mother's suggestion.

xxx

A few days later Fitz and Olivia were sitting in the living room going over their plans for a little holiday getaway.

"What do you think of somewhere in Spain maybe?" He asked as they were going back and forth trying to decide on a destination.

"Do you have any other places in mind?" Liv queried.

"I-- Don't you like Spain? 'Cause I'm starting to run out of suggestions here."

"I do but I want something different, I mean we've both been to Spain before even if it was just for work or a quick visit."

"So what are you thinking because it seems like you might have something in mind."

"I would love to visit some African countries like Tanzania or Morocco or South Africa. ."

"Sure yeah, definitely. I'd love that and all of those places sounds great but unfortunately we only have a week set out for vacation so Mrs. Grant, we can only choose one place."

Liv pondered for a minute or two.

"Morocco."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Okay great! We've got ourselves a holiday destination!"

Just then an upbeat Ariana walked into the living room.

"We're going on holiday?" She asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

Olivia and Fitz shared an amused glance before focusing their attention toward their teenage daughter.

"Did you just eavesdrop on our conversation young lady?" Fitz asked jokingly.

"No but I did hear something about a holiday destination."

"You're right, we are going on holiday.." Fitz paused before adding ".. and by we I mean your mom and I."

"Wait what?? Nuh-uh nope. Dad that is rude. You can't just leave your kids here."

Fitz chuckled. "Why not? You're seventeen, I'm sure you'll survive a week without your parents."

"And what about TJ?"

"He's got you and Aiden. Plus your grandma Emma is just a phonecall away."

"This is so not fair. You used to take us everywhere with you." Ariana pouted for added effect.

"Well that's too bad but see my wife and I are in need of a little time away on our own with no distractions. Besides, you three need to be in school anyway."

Olivia erupted into a hearty laugh when Ariana gasped exasperatedly at her father's comment.

"Dad!" She threw him a narrow-eyed glare.

"Don't get me wrong, you kids are a good distraction but we still need that break. We really need some alone time to just be us. Enjoy some RR."

"You're seriously not even taking TJ with you guys?"

"Nope." Fitz answered. "This is a parents only trip. No kids allowed, and we're not changing our minds on that. Come on I just want to have my wife all to myself and enjoy her..all of her." Fitz winked at Olivia.

Their daughter had a look of disgust on her face. "That's nasty."

Defeated, Ariana crawled onto the couch folding her feet underneath her. "Where are you going?"

"Morocco."

Her blue eyes widened, "Oh my god please mom take me with you." She pleaded. Meanwhile her parents got a good kick out of her reaction.

"Sorry Tinkerbell, maybe next time. But for now, as your dad said, we need a little break."

"A break from what?" Aiden asked announcing his presence with TJ trailing behind him.

"From you." Fitz joked then looked at his beautiful wife, "Why do we have to explain ourselves to our kids for wanting to go on holiday?"

Aiden and Tristan plopped down on either side of their sister who filled them in on their parents' plans.

"Wait, okay so you won't be taking us along but do you really trust us here on our own?" Aiden asked smartly.

Fitz chuckled, "Oh so you're saying you might do something stupid and risk getting on your mom's bad side? Good luck buddy."

Mom's bad side; the one thing the Grant kids would try to avoid by any means possible as they actually valued their life.

"Obviously I was joking, of course you can trust us." Aiden replied quickly, combing his fingers through his thick curls.

"Yeah, thought so." Fitz said with laughter in his voice.

"I'm gonna ask your Aunt Abby to check in on you guys everyday. Maybe she'll even cook for you of you're lucky." Liv told the kids.

"Why don't you just ask Grandma Emma to stay over. She will not like the idea of her three favourite grandbabies in this big house all by themselves you know."

Fitz nodded his head in agreement. "I think you're right son."

The family of five spent the next couple of hours just lounging around. Olivia put together some sandwiches for lunch as they enjoyed some quality family time.