Always Us

holiday party

I randomly started rewatching season one and was inspired to recreate this famous scene but several years later. Enjoy the fluff  🥰

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Olivia balanced her baby in one arm while shaking out a spare burp cloth and shoving it into the edge of her dress. Trying to stretch the cloth between the tiny body and her stomach, she accidentally yanked her daughter's suckling mouth too far away, and her milk leaked down onto the silk she had been so helplessly trying to protect.

Immediately, Sienna's eyebrows furrowed, and before her rosy, glistening lips could open up to a cry, the mother pinched her breast and offered it back to the little gremlin.

"Greedy," Olivia mumbled at the wide brown eyes blinking up at her.

Unbothered, Sienna patted her sticky palm all around her mother's chest, her chunky legs wiggling away in Olivia's lap.

Olivia sighed and dropped her head back. Things had been so different last year. Hours before the Rams' holiday party, she had her legs wrapped around her husband with her naked back flush against their shower tile, the bathroom steaming away around them while they did everything but shower before the night out.

This year, she had rushed through something resembling a shower while Sienna cried in Spencer's arms. The second she had a towel wrapped around her dripping body, she swooped her baby back up in exchange for a moment of silence. While she got dressed, Spencer had managed to distract their six-month-old, but it all had been for nothing since she realized after the fact that she had made yet another rookie mistake by thinking she'd easily be able to feed her baby in a silk gown before they headed out.

At least her baby was happy as ever. She smiled down at Sienna's perfect little face and tapped her nose. The soft skin wrinkled as Sienna offered a milky smile.

A voice echoed through the hallway. "Liv!"

"One second," she called out.

But he didn't hear her. "Liv!"

Sienna cocked her head, confused at the commotion intruding on their moment.

"Daddy needs our help," Olivia cooed. "But he can wait."

After a few moments, Sienna's iron grip latched onto the other side of her dress and yanked down. Switching sides, Olivia wondered how a tiny arm could hold so much strength. She made a mental note to google whether her baby was stronger than normal.

"Liv!"

"I said one second!"

"Liv!" The voice rang closer. "Where are you?"

"In here."

He came through the doorway with a final call of her name. "I need— Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize."

She smiled softly. "It's okay."

"I need help," he mumbled, standing in front of her with a crooked bowtie and the hem of his pants dragging on the ground.

She exhaled a laugh at his boyish frown. "I got you in a minute."

"Take your time," he assured her, wandering to the dresser across the room. He leaned back and busied himself with his cufflinks. "Even after my fair share of parties, these events are still a little too much for me."

With a soft smile on her face, she watched him adjust the watch on his wrist, rotating his arm to make sure he liked the combination. Unlike years ago, his body now filled his suit fully. A suit he so proudly picked out himself but failed to take to the tailor in time.

"Your dress," he said, his voice ladled with concern as she shoved her arm back through the strap. Dark patches spread along the front of the baby blue gown.

She waved him away. "It's fine."

"I liked this one," he let out lowly, stealing a kiss as he took Sienna from her arms.

She bit her lip, feeling the heat blossom in her cheeks. "I can get it cleaned."

Spencer shifted their baby onto his other hip and looped his arm around his wife's waist. "Good because I—"

"Oh," Olivia blurted, diving for a burp cloth and fanning it over his shoulder. "This is the only clean option you have."

"You have superpowers," he chuckled. "You know that?"

"More like new levels of anxiety I never knew existed."

"Hey," he murmured, brushing a thumb along her cheek. "You're the best mama." He pressed a kiss to her nose. "And the best wife." He brushed his lips along her cheek, pressing gently. "We appreciate everything you do."

Olivia's eyes fluttered shut as her husband's hand cupped the back of her neck. His thumb pressed into the tension, and she let out a sigh. "You're good at this, you know that?"

"Mhm," he hummed. "Deep breaths baby."

Feeling the stillness settle back within her, she blinked slowly, opening her eyes to find two adorable faces staring back at her. One smirking, the other simply happy to see her nearby. It was almost too much. The two most important people in her life, and they made the most perfect pair. Her heart melted into a puddle in her chest.

She couldn't wait until Sienna was old enough to stand next to her daddy, all dressed up in a mini replica of one of her own dresses. Or at her sweet sixteen. Or... Olivia sucked in a deep breath at the thought of her baby's wedding day. The thought of her and Spencer walking arm-in- arm. She didn't even want to think about it. Time was already moving so fast, she—

"Liv."

Startled out of her thoughts, she focused back on her husband and daughter, both still very much only twenty-six years and six months old.

"You good?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about—" then thinking better of it she stopped herself. Frazzled, she turned towards the door, "let me just change and we can go."

"Liv."

She looked over her shoulder, her heart losing control of itself as Sienna laid her head on his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"My pants."