PROLOGUE

Olivia Pope looked into the mirror above her driver's seat, double checking her makeup before grabbing her clutch and exiting the car. She didn't necessarily need the accessory, but it was the only way to keep up with her phone seeing as the dress she wore didn't have pockets, and her phone was must. She wore an emerald green dress had a bodice fit at the top, and loosened at her hips, creating a flare effect that did wonders to her figure. It had taken her a while to decide what she would be wearing on this particular night, knowing that it wasn't just a regular date for them. They would be celebrating six full months of dating. She didn't think that was possible a year and a half ago when she felt like nearly everything in her life was turned upside down with no hopes of finding stable ground.

Shaking thoughts of the past from her mind, she grabbed her shawl from the backseat, knowing this particular restaurant always had her shivering and leaving her with the visible goose bumps he claimed to love.

Love

The three words most people waited a lifetime to hear were the words that brought fear into the depths of her soul. Those words had been said to her years ago by someone claiming to want her forever and she'd said them back, truly believing that she meant them. She thought they had something good and after almost two years of being blinded by his charm, his love brought lies, secrets, fear, and heartache. The three words from her past only left her broken and believing that she would never be whole again. That was until about six months ago.

Olivia went to Duke University, where she met her best friend Abby Whelan just days after moving into the sophomore's dorm. They had completely different majors, Abby's being Pre-Law, and hers being Elementary Education but they spent a lot of time together, and both joined various school organizations. Abby was more of a free spirit and Olivia always admired how she could be herself no matter who was around, whereas Olivia was a closed book. A book that you had to pry open before ever getting to the preface. Regardless, they hit it off right away, and became attached at the hip.

If you were friends- good friends with Olivia Pope, which only consisted of a handful of people, you would know that back then her only family was her younger brother Harrison. She learned the technique of survival from a young age after watching her mother nearly suffer a nervous breakdown when her father was killed. She was just four years old. She had vague memories of him, most from pictures and videos of the two of them, her mother most likely swollen from her pregnancy with her brother and not wanting to be in front of the camera. Olivia loved dressing up in his police uniform, and hat leaving them to play pretend for hours. She was too young to realize that his job kept him in danger, she just knew her daddy was her hero. Harrison didn't have any memories of their father, he was barely a toddler when he was killed.

Harrison was only three years younger than her, so she became his maternal figure when their mother lost her battle with cancer during her junior year at Duke. She was twenty-one years old and planning a funeral for her mother, while figuring out how to get her seventeen year old brother to keep pushing through his last year of high school. To say she was lost would be an understatement, but she managed. She always managed and reminded herself that as long as she pulled through, everything would be ok.

It was during her junior year at Duke that she decided to join the debate club. If Olivia were honest with herself, it was more of Abby forcing her to join so she wouldn't be paired with another "brain dead freak that couldn't find his way out of a paper bag." Olivia didn't mind too much, but she loved giving her best friend a hard time. Abby always made it clear that she wasn't too proud to beg. On the first official meeting, she was introduced to the officers, and they were divided up into two teams, and the debating started. It didn't take long for Olivia to realize that although she was good, she wasn't very interested in debate club. Abby was a head debater and already gained seniority in her one year of being in the club, but she wanted to find something for herself. Venturing off in search of something else, Olivia was drawn to the Autism Speaks U Duke office, and signed up without a second thought.

It was two meetings later that Olivia found herself paired with a senior, drafting up individual letters to families in the community that recently sent in applications to the program. This was his third semester being a part of the program, and he was a great teacher. She was completely shocked at how well they not only got along, but seemed to work well together, feeding off one another, and simply enjoying the others company. They weren't paired together every meeting, but the third time he found himself being paired with her, he fought his nerves and asked her out.

"I'm sorry, but I'm actually dating someone right now and it wouldn't be fair to either of you. And you're such a good friend already, I wouldn't want things to get weird at all…."

Before she could finish, he jumped in, trying his best to calm her nerves, "Olivia, it's ok trust me. I just thought I'd take a shot, and ask, but I completely understand. He's a lucky guy, and I hope he knows that."

He bowed out gracefully after that, and they strictly had a platonic relationship until he graduated at the end of the semester. Wished she would've known back then that the relationship she was in would be nearly the worst thing that ever happened to her.

When he approached her, she had been dating Jake Ballard at the time, and in her mind he was everything she'd ever dreamed of wanting. If she were honest with herself, she'd realize that she'd never grown up seeing a healthy relationship, and had never experienced watching two people in love. With her father dying so young, her mother never remarried, but devoted herself to raising her children. There was never an example of how a man should treat a woman, or how you're to balance the relationship, both giving, and not just taking, so what she had with Jake Ballard, in her eyes was perfection.

Another thing about Jake that made her believe that what they had was real is that he was almost four years older than her and so much more experienced. She'd first locked eyes with him in the Political Science class she'd taken as an elective, and he was the student teacher. He really did sink his teeth into her, and made sure she couldn't escape. He was a third year law student working only twelve hours a week with two different classes while continuing his education just down the road at UNC.

Thinking back on it now, she wished that she didn't have what Abby called 'daddy issues." She'd say, "Liv, I'm sorry, but you want the love of a man, and after not having that love from your father I get it, but I'm telling you, Jake isn't it. Yea, ok, so he has a pretty face, and eyes that look like honey but that dude is crazy as hell and possessive already." Abby was her best friend, but she didn't listen. She had to look past the flaws and just accept him as he was. He was mature, resourceful, incredibly brilliant and had something most guys her age didn't- a plan to succeed no matter what.

His succession with her led to them moved in together after Liv graduated and Abby went to UNC for Law School, while she started her student teaching. Things weren't always perfect between them, but she understood that he was coming into his own as a new lawyer freshly hired right out of law school, and that things would be strenuous for a while. She loved her student teaching job, and adored the children she was able to work with everyday. Her favorite days were when she was able to construct lesson plans for their special needs students and work in the smaller, one-on-one environment.

Jake didn't get the joy that Olivia got from work, he instead spent his days working as a Criminal Defense Attorney, dealing with the worst the state had to offer. Olivia thought that being a newcomer he would ease his way into clients, but he went straight for the jugular representing hardcore criminals without hesitation. The high that it gave him, brought a strain on their relationship, but Olivia found herself invested and unable to walk away even when red flag presented themselves.

Jake proposed to her months later, and they were engaged for nearly a year. She admitted to Abby that she was dragging her feet on the wedding planning, but not to anyone else. She always trusted her gut, and her gut told her not to go through with it, but with all the ties she now had to him, there was no way she could leave him.

Stepping into the restaurant, Olivia immediately spotted him at their table, and moved as quickly as she could into his embrace. His arms were long and muscular, engulfing her completely and making her immediately feel safe as they always did. He pulled back just enough to capture her lips in a heated kiss, one hand automatically moving to its home on her soft cheek while the other rested on the small of her back.

"Not seeing you this week, has been torture Livvie," he finally spoke to her, including his signature smirk.

"Babe, it's only Wednesday, and you saw me Sunday afternoon, that hardly qualifies as torture worthy" she sassed back with a bright smile, her hands gripping the sides of his suit jacket. "You clean up well you know?"

"Well I had to put on my best for my girl. Always the best for you" he pulled back before motioning to the chair he had pulled out for her before taking his own seat.

They made small talk about their week, and how busy their day had been before they were able to get ready for the night together.

"Any new patients today?" Olivia asked after taking a small sip of wine. She didn't drink everytime they went out, but he knew that when she did, it would be a small amount.

"No one new, but some normal check-ups that I had on the schedule for the day. Oh, and something interesting did happen today," he began before bringing the cloth napkin to his mouth. "I was asked to go over to General and assist in the ER for a few hours"

"The ER? Wow, what was that like? I'd be terrified to be responsible for everything that comes through there" Olivia grimaced slightly, before stabbing at her salmon and feeding herself the delicious seafood.

Widening his eyes, he leaned back in his chair, taking a break from his steak and potatoes, what he called "a real man's meal," and exhaled loudly. "It was exhilarating to be honest, and a stressful, yet nice change of pace. It definitely took me back to my med school rotations and let me tell you, I killed the ER during my residency" His smile said it all. It's not that he was a cocky bastard, he was just proud of his accomplishments.

"How long were you in the ER?" She enjoyed that although they have been together for six months, there were still new things to learn about one another. She loved not knowing every single thing about him yet.

"Well I started with ER, but once I realized I wanted to work with patients that wouldn't always curse me out or try to kill me, I transferred out. I did have my rotations there for six weeks, and I swear that's the least amount of sleep I've had in my entire life"

"Well, although I'm a bit biased, I'm thankful you found your calling, and I know you're the best out there"

He smiled one of his goofy smiles her way- the kind he had only reserved for her since they reconnected. He was so in love with her that he couldn't think rationally when it came to her. When they first started dating, he knew that certain topics were off limits in the beginning, but as time went on, he was slowly able to crack the shell around her heart. He still wasn't a fool. He knew he had a lot of barriers to break through with her. There was a large part of her heart he waited patiently to be welcomed in to, and if he had to wait a lifetime, he would.

"I love you Livvie"

She smiled at him, her eyes immediately glazed with tears just as they did the first time he'd spoke those words nearly two months ago. She didn't understand how he could be so sure of his love for her, but he made it clear that he meant it one hundred percent. She also never felt pressure to repeat the words to him, but it was always on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to give herself completely to him, but she couldn't just yet. They had been intimate on three occasions, and Olivia had only ever felt a connection that strong with one other person her entire life.

She loved him. She just couldn't say it back to him. "I know you do" her eyes said the rest to him. He reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a wide rectangular wrapped gift box, and slid it across the table.

"We said no gifts remember?" she asked although she knew he wouldn't cooperate. "I honestly didn't get you anything"

"This is a gift for the both of us. Just open it"

She plucked apart the wrapping paper, and opened the box to reveal a few pieces of paper folded. Unfolding it and reading the words, her lips slowly spread into a wide smile, before she eyed him.

"These are reservations. These are reservations for the Chatwal Hotel. TheChatwal Hotel in New York City"

"Livvie," he started, leaning forward across the table, "I know exactly where those reservations are for. I'm taking you, my Livvie, my baby to New York City this weekend if you will let me" His whispers against her lips had her blushing and caused a shiver to run down her spine.

"It's for Friday through Sunday. I.. I really don't know if that's a good idea, you know I can't…"

He cut her off, "Livvie, it'll all be fine, let's work out the details tomorrow, just say you'll join me" He looked directly into her eyes, silently pleading for her to be okay with this. He knew them leaving together for a weekend was a big step for them.

"I'll join you" she didn't have to lean in much for her lips to connect with his, and it only took seconds for them to enter their own world. No one else existed in that moment, except the two of them. "Thank you baby" She pulled back, and laughed at the smile covering his face.

Victory

Fitz waited up for Olivia to call him once she got in and settled. He was used to the drill by now, and was happy to receive the text letting him know that she'd made it home, and would call him shortly.

Text. Girl talk. Proper Goodnights. Make up removal. Pjs. Phone call.

When Olivia walked into the apartment, she squinted at the flashlight being pointed directly into her eyes.
"Caught ya!" Abby whispered, sitting on the couch in the darkened living room.

"Geez you freak, get the light out of my face" she walked in and locked the door behind her, before plopping down on the couch next to her. "It's not like I'm sneaking in, I live here remember best friend, and you knew what time I was coming home, I texted you when I left."

Waving her hand dismissively, Abby turned on the lamp that sat on the coffee table, and turned to face Olivia. "So, how did it go? What did he get you? I know he didn't go for your "no gifts" rule"

Smiling, Olivia lifted the box that he'd given her from the floor where she'd kicked off her shoes and dropped her clutch and shawl, and handed it to her. She didn't look at Abby as the smile spread on her face, but she could hear it in her best friends' voice when she decided to speak.

"You're going Liv, no excuses"

"Abby, you know I can't…"

"Olivia Carolyn Pope, I know that this is a huge step, and you're scared, but you deserve this. Go away with him this weekend, and enjoy yourself."

"But this weekend is his.."

"I know it's already on my calendar, and the rest I'll take care of. I got it covered, you know that. Over a cliff"

Olivia stared at her knowing that she meant those words with everything in her. She'd been living with Abby now since the moment she moved out of Jake's and hadn't looked back. That was a year and a half ago, and their old college saying of "over a cliff" had been taken to a new level. They always had each other's best interest at heart and would do anything for one another.

Sighing, Olivia smiled and leaned in to hug the redhead, fighting the tears usually came when they used their mantra. "Then it's settled. I'm leaving this weekend"

"With your boo!" Abby exclaimed loudly, kicking her feet wildly. She was so excited Liv finally found someone worth her love.

"You are so childish. I'm going to bed…"

"Then calling your boo. I know you two like to have your nightly phonesex" she got up to put the dishes she had used in the sink, before turning off the tv, and walking down the hall to her own room. "Night Liv"

Olivia smiled at Abby before going in her room quietly and getting ready for bed. She hung her dress back up, deciding to drop it at the dry cleaners the following day, then worked on ridding her face of makeup before she hopped in the shower. She normally wouldn't take that long to call him back, but after deciding to go through with this weekend, she needed to clear her mind and a shower was a sure way to do it. She let the water cascade down her frame, and only allowed hopes for the future to enter her mind. She couldn't keep dwelling on her past and letting it control her. It might have only been six months, but it felt like they'd been waiting for it to be their time since the day they'd met.

She felt butterflies in her stomach thinking of their weekend together in New York. She'd only been once when she dropped Harrison off at Columbia University. He had done his undergrad at Duke like she had, but wanted to try his hand in the movie business. He'd enrolled in the School of Arts Theater program and dabbled in a few things. It was a big step for her letting him go, but since her good friend Stephen Finch worked at the school in the writing department, she knew she'd have someone looking out for him. She'd introduced the two, they got along well, and Stephen took good care of her little brother. She knew even if she begged, she wouldn't be able to see him during their visit. His team was on the west coast at a film festival, and there was no way Harrison would miss that.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried off then brushed her teeth. Using a smaller towel, she dried her hair before adding a bit of coconut oil to the natural curls. Before she could start applying the oil to her body, she heard a small voice from the other side of the door, making her immediately stop the routine. Switching out her towel for the white satin robe she kept in there, she opened the door and across the hall stood her doe-eyed caramel complected little beauty. She was rubbing her eyes with one hand, while her other was clutching her yellow lovey that she carried everywhere.

Hearing the whimper from her little girl, Olivia immediately bent down and lifted her into her arms before heading back towards their shared bedroom. Burrowing further into her mother's breast, she brought her middle and ring finger into her mouth while Olivia swayed back and forth.

"Mommy missed you tonight Toots" she whispered into the near dark room before gently easing the fingers from her daughter mouth. She never sucked her fingers until recently, and Olivia hated knowing the reason why.

Grabbing her phone from her nightstand, Olivia knew he'd understand what was taking so long for her to get back to him, but also knew he wouldn't sleep without hearing from her.

"Hi" that simple answer made her weak in the knees and she had an instant smile on her face.

"Hi"

"Are you all settled in? Was the princess up with Abby again, or did she follow bedtime protocol tonight?"

"Nope, she was a good Auntie, but now I have a snuggle-bug asleep on my chest. Think she just woke up from hearing the shower, and came looking for me. But I wanted to let you know what was taking so long"

He grinned just picturing the two of them together. Olivia was such a great mom.

"You go be mommy, I'll talk to you tomorrow Livvie. I love you, goodnight"

"Goodnight Fitz"