Author's Note: This takes place one year into Eliana's life. Fun fact; it actually was rather bitterly cold in Washington, D.C. during the month of February 2015. Well, rather bitterly cold for me. The lowest I've ever seen the temperature drop was to five degrees, and that led to school being cancelled, so you might want to take this Southerner's interpretation of 'bitterly cold' with a grain of salt.

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

Ballard Residence
Washington, D.C.
February 2015

Olivia woke up at six o'clock on the morning of her daughter's first birthday. It was impossible for her to sleep any later. Her husband was already awake, sitting at the kitchen table going over something to do with work when she walked into the room, and she pressed an absentminded kiss to his cheek as she passed. Halfway through her second cup of tea, the sounds she'd been awaiting finally arrived. Her newly-ordained toddler was awake.

Eliana was rubbing her eyes from the confines of her crib when her mother walked into the nursery. Dressed in a pink sleeper with a tutu at the waistband, she was easily the cutest human being Olivia had ever seen, and that was even ignoring her maternal bias. As soon as the one-year-old caught sight of her mother, she waved, and Olivia's heart melted even further.

"Good morning," she greeted softly, scooping the baby from the crib without hesitation. After changing her daughter's diaper, she lifted the one-year-old back into her arms, balancing her carefully against her hip as she headed back towards the kitchen. Eliana, still rather tired, rested her head on her mother's shoulder, sucking her thumb and closing her eyes. It seemed it was even more exhausting to be one than it was to be a day shy of it.

As expected, Jake's face lit up when he caught sight of his daughter, and he abandoned his cooking duties to cross the room and reach for her. Eliana went to him willingly, settling into his arms just as she had her mother's. Olivia couldn't help but smile at the scene before her. It was so much like so many scenes she'd seen so many times in her home since they'd brought Eliana home from the hospital nearly a year before, and yet it was something she was still getting used to, something she'd never grow tired of. She'd never grow tired of seeing her daughter so happy in her father's presence, of watching the two interact like old friends whenever Jake returned home from work. She'd never get tired of watching her daughter have with Jake what she'd never had with her own father. It was, after all, a beautiful thing to see.

They ate pancakes for breakfast. Well, she and Jake ate pancakes for breakfast. Jake made several tiny ones for their daughter's consumption, but Eliana seemed more interested in throwing bits of them on the ground and smushing her side of fruit into the plastic highchair tray than she was in actually eating anything. Neither of her parents were annoyed, though. There were some things one grew used to after a year of parenthood. Watching their child destroy their hard work and still being completely fascinated was one of those things.

After breakfast, Jake did the dishes while Olivia got herself and their daughter ready for the day. She was just slipping her daughter's feet into the tiny plush boots gifted to them by Quinn several weeks before when Jake walked into the room. She zipped up the tiny fleece vest she'd selected for the day – it was brown and went perfectly with the pink long-sleeved top and matching brown pants covered in pink polka dots that she'd selected for the day – then scooped her daughter from the changing table, balancing her carefully against her hip.

"Coat?" Jake suggested, holding up the tiny article of clothing.

Olivia nodded, grabbing her daughter's hat and mittens from a nearby table. "Yeah, we should probably bring it just in case. It's not supposed to get above forty today."

"Got it." Jake adjusted the jacket over his arm, then reached for the baby. "I can take her while you get dressed," he offered.

It was an offer Olivia readily accepted. Unlike before becoming a mother, it took her little to no time at all to get ready for the day. She quickly did her hair, applied makeup, and hunted down appropriate clothing. She was back in the nursery with her family less than a half-hour after she'd left them there.

"Is this strange?" she asked as they made their way from the home, locking the door behind them. She shrugged when Jake glanced towards her questioningly. "Most people probably don't take their child to the site of their first date on their birthday, that's all."

"Well, most people didn't have their first date on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial," Jake pointed out, opening the car's back door and settling Eliana into her car seat. "I don't think it's odd at all." After making sure the straps were fastened correctly and she would be able to ride safely for the duration of the trip, he pulled away from the seat and closed the door behind him.

"You're right," Olivia agreed, slipping into the passenger seat and smiling when she glanced back to see her daughter playing happily with her shoe-covered feet. "I cannot believe she's already a year old," she sighed.

"Nobody can," Jake pointed out, turning the key in the ignition and putting the car in Reverse. "It's unbelievable."

"Yeah," Olivia said with a sad smile. "In both the best and worst possible ways. She's growing up too fast."

Jake reached across with his free hand to give hers a squeeze. Nothing else was said between them for the rest of the ride to the Mall.

It didn't take them long to arrive. "All right, Eliana," Olivia said to her daughter, hoisting her higher on her hip as they made the trek towards the top of the Memorial, "this is exactly where Mommy and Daddy sat the first night they went out on a date." She settled onto the step where she'd shared her first date with her husband, then adjusted her daughter so she was seated comfortably in her lap. "Daddy was a very fast-thinking guy, you see. Mommy had wanted to go to a restaurant, but then someone got divorced at the table right next to ours while Daddy was waiting for Mommy to show up, and he was out. So, he brought me here."

Jake chuckled from his seat next to her. "Well, it worked out for me, didn't it?" he said, chucking their daughter gently under the chin when she giggled.

"Yes, it did," Olivia agreed with a blissful sigh, laying her head on his shoulder. "It got us here."

"Here's a great place to be," Jake said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"It is," she smiled against the fabric of his jacket. They stayed like that for nearly an hour before moving.

The party was scheduled for the afternoon, and it was due to take place at Philippa's place in Virginia. They'd not been able to talk Jake's mother out of it. She'd been insistent that, as the eldest and only grandchild, Eliana deserved a party like no other. Because neither of them was suicidal enough to go up against a Martin and risk losing, they'd agreed. That was the reason they were standing on Philippa's front stoop, a bagful of party favors and a half-asleep baby in tow, at exactly one o'clock.

"You're here," Philippa announced delightedly once she'd opened the door. She took Eliana from Olivia's arms without hesitation. "I'm so glad you're here." She invited them in, then closed the door behind them, her granddaughter still resting comfortably on her hip.

"Hi, Mom," Jake greeted just as he was pulled into a hug. "Nice to see you." He glanced amusedly towards Olivia as she was greeted similarly. "It looks amazing in here," he complimented.

"Well, I might've gone a little overboard," Philippa admitted.

Olivia smiled slightly. They'd gone with a sunshine theme, a homage to both their love story and their daughter's name. Philippa had gotten onboard rather quickly. Surprisingly enough, though, she was wrong. She hadn't gone overboard. It looked absolutely perfect in the living room. It was what Olivia hadn't had as a child, what Jake hadn't had, either. It was exactly what they'd wanted for their daughter, what they'd continue to want for her for the rest of her life. So, when she murmured a thank-you to her mother-in-law, there wasn't a trace of sarcasm to be heard. The words were entirely genuine.

The guests began arriving at three o'clock on the dot. Fitz and Naomi were the first to walk through the door, towing with them many gifts with which to spoil the baby. They were followed by everyone else, who also clearly had plans to spoil the baby. As she watched the delight on her daughter's face, however, Olivia couldn't bring herself to be irritated, Clearly, her child was born to be spoiled.

"Okay," she said over an hour later, carefully bringing out a small, sun-shaped cake to place on her daughter's highchair tray. "Let's see what she thinks of it." She placed the cake down, then stepped back a few steps.

As expected, Eliana practically did a faceplant into it. Olivia chuckled and shook her head, burying her face in Jake's shoulder.

He glanced down at her with a blissful smile. "We did good, didn't we?"

"That we did, my love," she murmured back. "That we did."