THE HOUSE THAT WE BUILT- CHAPTER 5:

I could die everyday waiting for you.

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Olivia had sent everyone home for the night; they would deal with everything in the morning. After her phone call with Fitz she knew a car, accompanied by Tom would be arriving for her soon. She had to admit she felt butterflies rising in her stomach; images of her dream that very morning came flooding back. She was brought out of her revere by a knock on her door. She peered through the peephole; Tom stood on the other side. Her ride was here. Flicking off the light she opened the door. Stepping out, closing it behind her; she smiled at Tom, who nodded.

"Tom." A silence.

"Ms. Pope."

They lingered in the hallway for a few moments before Tom gestured that they should be on their way; the President was waiting.

They reached the waiting car, Tom opening the door for Olivia. She always felt special whenever Tom was around; he didn't make her feel like just some whore the President was having an affair with. He slid in behind her, closing the door as he went. Tom radioed the driver and they began the short journey to their destination. Olivia could see Tom stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye. She smiled which he noticed; clearing his throat to break the tension.

"I don't mean to keep looking at you ma'am… it's just we've never really been alone together and I'm curious a to what the President is so in love with."

Olivia turned her whole body so that she was half facing Tom.

"And…?"

Tom glanced at her again, then back to the front of the car.

"You are certainly beautiful, but respectfully ma'am, I don't think that's what he loves about you."

Olivia had always known Tom to be a man of few words, but this small amount of conversation told her so much more. He made her feel relaxed and protected; much like he would if she was anyone remotely important like the President.

She smiled to herself.

"How come you treat me differently than other people… like I'm a person? I'm not that important."

Tom visibly frowned and looked at her properly for the first time.

"You are important… Arguably the most important woman in the world… and as for being treated like a person… you're my President's person. I serve at the pleasure of the President."

Olivia looked out the tinted window.

"Don't we all."

As she said this the car rolled to a stop; Tom's secret service agent face firmly back in place. He got out of the vehicle and walked around to open her door; he extended a hand and helped her out.

The halls of the West Wing were quiet; everybody having gone home. Tom escorted her through the myriad of hallways that made up the White House; it became clear where she was going. They reached their destination. Tom knocked on the door and gave Olivia a small smile.

"Ms. Pope." He turned the handle and ushered her inside.

She smiled back and followed his direction.

"Thank you Tom." As soon as she was inside he pulled the door closed and stood just outside; Falcon code was in effect.

Olivia turned around and surveyed the room before her; the Oval Office. She had been in this room over 100 times before but somehow this time felt different. The door on the opposite side of the room opened and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Hi..." Olivia smiled.

"Hi…"

Fitz closed the door behind him and walked, hands in his pants pockets over to the Presidential Seal that adorned the carpet in his office. He loosened his tie, smiling.

"It's good to see you."

Olivia always admired the way he could make her feel at ease right away. She walked further into the room, removing her jacket, placing it, along with her handbag onto one of the sofas. He took a few steps towards her; testing the waters, seeing how she would react. To his surprise, she stepped into his space; running her hands over his shirt, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles there. Olivia looked up into his gorgeous eyes.

"It's good to see you to."

The words were barely a whisper but he heard them, enveloping her in a her into a hug. She hugged him back, her forehead resting on his shoulder. She took a few deep breaths, his scent overwhelming her. They were now in sync; heartbeats and breathing all coming together like a well-oiled machine. He placed a soft kiss into her hair; reveling in the calm that surrounded them. After a few moments she released herself from his arms, looking back into his eyes; she smiled. Fitz raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

She cupped his face with her hand.

"I'm just wondering what Cyrus would say."

Fitz smiled back at her.

"I'm sure he will get over it."

He couldn't help but stare into her eyes; she stared back. Moments passed before Liv interrupted it.

"I'm handling Congressman Jackson."

Fitz sighed as she moved out of his arms and perched herself on the arm of the sofa. He moved over to the table and poured them a glass of scotch each. He took a sip, handing her the other glass. She took it. Fitz moved in front of her, placing his hands on the arm of the chair either side of her; he leant in, their faces barely a breath away from each other.

"I don't wanna talk about the congressman right now."

Olivia's breath hitched at his proximity to her; his breath on her face. He continued.

"I wanna talk about Vermont… babies… and you…" She smiled. She knew where this was going.

"And me… making jam." He smiled back at her; their noses brushing against one another's. Every single touch sent shivers through Olivia.

"And you making jam." Fitz put his glass on the table next to them; not once looking away from her eyes.

The tension was building. He could tell; Olivia's breaths had become sharp intakes, like he was stealing her air. He brushed his lips against hers. Not lingering long enough; as he moved back a little, she followed. She put her untouched scotch next to his on the table. Snaking her arms around his neck, she ran her hands through his hair. They were doing this dance of should they or shouldn't they; both knowing they would eventually. A few moments pass and Olivia couldn't hold back anymore. She brought their lips together; a slow and passionate kiss. Fitz deepened the kiss; needing to show Olivia just how much she meant to him. It wasn't a rushed kiss; all emotion and feeling left unsaid flowing through them, their lips in sync moving as one. Feeling the need for air, Olivia broke the embrace and came face to face with Fitz's gorgeous eyes once again. He cupped her face with his hands; his thumb caressing her lips.

"I love you."

She leant into his hand and smiled. Fitz took a step back from her, causing Olivia to frown, until he extended his hand towards her; a giant grin on his face. She took the out stretched hand. He helped her up and led her out of the Oval.

"Fitz! Where are we going?"

He didn't reply; just continued to lead her along. They turned a corner. He opened a door and waited for her to go through. As she did so her heart almost stopped. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind; kissing her neck. She interlaced her fingers with his on her stomach. Fitz rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I missed you."

Olivia leant her whole body against his, relaxing into him.

"Fitz… it's beautiful."

She looked out at the vista before her; it was their spot. 5 minutes every other Monday. Lights were strung up, culminating in an apex above a table with two seats; candles and wine glasses adorned the table. A gentle silence had settled around them but was once again broken by Olivia. She turned around in his arms. Cupping his face with her hands, she looked into his eyes.

"I… love… you to."

Her words, barely a whisper, meant everything to Fitz. It symbolized that through everything that there was still hope of some sort of future. He smiled down at her.

"Have dinner with me Liv?"

He extracted himself from her arms and walked over to the dining setting; pulling out a chair for her to sit on. She walked over and he pushed in her chair as she sat down. She smiled at the normalcy of the activity; it was something normal couples did…. Couples who weren't married to other people… who weren't President. Before he sat down he poured her a glass of wine. As he sat, he nodded to a secret service agent who was lingering on the edge of the garden. Olivia took a sip of her wine.

"mmm… I can't remember the last time I was here." Fitz smiled at her.

"I do! You stood me up! I was left standing here."

Olivia made to speak but Fitz stopped her.

"Liv… its fine. I'm kidding."

She fiddled with the stem of her glass and looked around her.

"Not that I'm not impressed… but how did you manage to pull this off?"

"Ooh ouch!" He feigned a look of hurt.

"That hurts you know. Haha. Okay. I might have had a bit of help. After all I'm a busy man… Lots of things to do!"

She grinned, knowing that it was all in good fun.

"So… how many people are stuck here so you can have dinner with me?... I know Josē is here. You don't eat unless he cooks… Tom is here."

Fitz leant forward, his elbows on the table.

"Most of them are at home. Since I'm not actually in the oval, I was able to send them home to their loved ones and Josē and Tom are doing me a favor." Olivia took another sip of wine.

"Ahh, a Fitz favor." They both laughed at this; it was an easy, comfortable laugh.

"How are you?" Fitz reached across the table and picked up her hand.

"I'm okay, being president you know." She relaxed a little more as he traced circles with his thumb on the back of her hand. "How are you?"

She looked over at him, his face softened by the flicker of candlelight. "Apart from getting caught in a men's room with a congressman, who was accused by their partner of sexual assault… I'm great."

Fitz pondered this for a second. "Cyrus told me about Congressman Jackson… he's actually my pick for the senate seat that just opened up… Is there anything serious I need to worry about?"

Olivia eyed him cautiously; she wasn't sure how much he already knew and didn't want to give to much away. "Well it hasn't become anything to worry about yet, but A.U.S.A David Rosen is sniffing around."

Fitz frowned; Mr. Rosen seemed not to like Liv that much. "Any concern that he could become an issue? I want to try and push his nomination through… the last thing I need is any more problems in the Senate."

Olivia sat back as a waiter came over and put down a plate in front of her. She smiled. Fitz thanked him.

"Thanks Nick, that will be all. Tell Josē he can head home." The young man nodded.

"Mr. President… Ma'am."

Fitz looked over the table at Liv. "Is there?"

This caused Olivia to frown, "is there what?"

Fitz took a sip of the wine next to him. Truth be told he wasn't much of a wine drinker but Liv liked it.

"Going to be any problems if I try and push his nomination through. He looks good but there must be something wrong if your involved."

Olivia's comfortable feeling had left her completely. "You know I don't discuss my clients with you… I don't work for the White House anymore." Fitz pushed a roast potato through a river of gravy.

"No… we only discuss what it's not when you get caught in men's rooms with them." Fitz regretted it as soon as the words had slipped from his mouth. Olivia shook her head and got up; Fitz followed, grabbing her hand to stop her from leaving.

"I'm sorry… that was a low blow. I know you would never… could never do that… be that person."

Olivia looked towards the sky, tears threatening to fall. She spoke, her voice betraying any signs that she was keeping it together.

"How is it any different to what I'm doing now?" She turned to face him. "How is it any different to the person I'm being right now… having dinner with you while your wife is out of the country. How is that any different? Or does it only make me a whore if I'm getting paid?"

Fitz grabbed her and pulled her into him, "don't ever call yourself a whore! How many times do I have to tell you that I love you and I'm not going anywhere… please don't ever think your less than important… you're the most important person in my life and I can not breathe without you."

Olivia looked into his eyes; tears rolling down her face. Fitz kissed her; this time with all the urgency in the world. She gave in a kissed him back; her hands in his hair, his hands roaming her body. After a few moments of frenzied ecstasy, Liv pushed him back; both of her hands on his chest.

"We can't keep doing this to each other… we can't keep…"

Fitz shook his head, "let's not worry about any of that tonight… its just you and me… there's no clients, no Cyrus, no Mellie… You and me… and Vermont."

Olivia shook her head, "We're not in Vermont! We are at the White House, surrounded by all things Presidential." She tried to step out of his arms but he wouldn't let her. His eyes had begun to well with sadness.

"You know what I've learnt while being president? The one thing that had kept me going through all of this?" There was a short silence; Fitz let go of Olivia. "You're Vermont!... You're MY Vermont… anywhere you are, that's where my future is. Yes… I want to marry you, have babies and grow old with you… that's all I want but I know right now, that it's not that simple and neither you nor I can fix it…The things in life most worth doing are the hardest… My entire world exists for you. I exist for you and no amount of Cyrus telling me that we can't be together, no amount of political charades from Mellie or you pushing me away if going to change the fact that I'm in love you. There is no Cyrus or Mellie here Liv, its just you and me. So lets just be here… As you have said to me… it's not how we want it to be but it is what it is. So I'm asking you… do you love me enough to be in this with me… right here?"

Olivia didn't know what to do. Everything was just so complicated; not matter how simple Fitz was trying to make it. She wanted it to be simple; she wanted everything Fitz wanted, she just couldn't see how it could happen, how they could make it work.

'Fitz… it's not that simple."

Fitz could see her battling with her feelings; her eyes betraying her.

"Do you love me?" Olivia frowned. Of course she did.

"That's not the point." Fitz shook his head.

"Do you love me; it's a yes or no question." Olivia looked him dead in the eyes.

"How can you ask me that? After everything…?" Fitz grabbed her hand.

"I know you want to love me but your fighting it with every fiber of your being. I know you… better than anyone; you're afraid. Afraid that if you give into your feelings, if you let me in, that your not in control anymore, that you cant control the situation…. But Liv you can't control everything. Life isn't about always being in control… its about losing it and seeing where it takes you. You can't control the fact that I love you. You can't control the fact, despite what you try and tell yourself, you love me and we're meant to be together. So… LOVE ME… in this moment, right here…. Love me."

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AUTHORS NOTE: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know it wasn't completely fluffy but I have a plan for the story.. thanks for reading.. much love XX MEL XX