"I am the bringer of Chaos, look upon me and despair."

Fitz looked up from his desk and the folders spread across it at Cyrus who was seated opposite him. "I thought the plan was dinner and a little brainstorming session in the residence with our people, but that will do instead."

Cyrus grinned wolfishly. "I prefer to think of it as an appetizer."

Fitz didn't know whose idea it had been to gather the members of their current cabal under his roof, but once it was done, he'd approved. It could have been Olivia, Cyrus or Jocelyn - any one of them could have decided that he'd been running on full throttle since before the trip to the Caldwells and that had been long enough without a break to relax and rejuvenate.

Not that he hadn't had time for one. The memory of the night that he and Olivia had manged to find for themselves sent a sudden warmth coursing through his entire body and a smile crossed his face.

But even with the roller-coaster the trip to the Caldwells had turned out to be, it also had turned out to serve as rocket fuel to his brain. Fitz had come back to DC feeling renewed and energized. Peter had no idea what kind of effect that his words had - but he would.

Cyrus stood up. "I love the scent of chaos and confusion on the Hill - gives me a good appetite."

Fitz lifted an inquiring eyebrow at him. "Meaning?"

Cyrus's voice and expression was one of satisfaction that he was happy to share. "I paid a visit to the Hill earlier and however calm and quiet it might seem - what with the upcoming holiday season and everyone making plans to get out of town after the obligatory celebrations - that beneath the surface, it's like an ant hill that's been hit with a big stick up there."

"Republicans or Democrats?"

"Is it wrong of me to be pleased that it's both?" Cyrus spread his hands in a gesture of pretend contrition. "Susan's hearings are really paying off, just as we hoped they would. She's every bit of a treasure and secret weapon that Olivia promised she would be."

"Olivia's good at deploying secret weapons." And that, Fitz thought to himself, was a very good thing. Putting Susan in place as Chairwoman had produced the results they had all hoped for, with the bonus of advancing her own popularity - which of course had uplifted his own. If not for the concern over Gerry's and Karen's reactions, he could almost forgive the fresh wave speculation over his personal life that had come with it. The last time he'd talked to Mellie, she'd appeared to be halfway amenable to his having them for Thanksgiving weekend and he had promised himself that if they had any questions about anything concerning his life, he would explain.

What was most pleasing was that the whole thing was producing a true trickle-down effect, but not one that the Party had planned. Instead what they were getting was one that hopefully was starting as a trickle but had every appearance of turning into a flood, one that would sweep the majority of the opposition to his education plans before it. All it was waiting for was for Fitz to decide when to pull the trigger.

Domestically it supported increases in teachers' pay, including subsidies for infrastructure and extended after-school care, while on the international front, it lent itself to a strong voice of support for the educational coalition that he wanted to put in place across the Americas not just the US but the entire continent - including San Collondias.

He wondered how long it would take before the Democrats realized what a gift he'd handed them - or the Republicans to figure out the tests that he'd laid before them.

Choose, he'd thought. Country over party - or party interests over country - and whichever choice the politicians made, it wouldn't be in some smoky back room but in the light of day and media scrutiny - with all of America watching.

Fitz couldn't help the tiny smile of triumph that crept across his face. It was just as much of a win for him as it was a win for the entire country, and if he were lucky - the entire continent.

"I like the gleam of battle in your eyes, sir - it looks good on you." Cyrus had noted Fitz's expression and recognized the thoughts behind it. "Preliminary reports show that your approval ratings are at a healthy level and the analysts are predicting an upward trend. You've been doing the work and you've earned the right to be pleased a few times over."

Fitz grinned openly - and he had to admit that it felt good. He wasn't naive enough to think that any of their battles were done and won and over with, but they were definitely making progress. Slow and steady wins the race, he reminds himself. That, along with strong teamwork would get the job done. And he reminds himself that he has one hell of a team, one that was working together better and better every day. He knew that he'd been lucky to have gathered the very best in their fields - and that included his Olivia.

As if she'd heard his thoughts, there was a tap on the door and Olivia was announced.

"Hello and hello." Olivia said as she entered the room, dressed in one of her traditional white power suits, exquisitely tailored from head to toe. Fitz recognized it as her battle attire and wondered briefly what battlefield had called her.

She smiled at them both. "Now this is something I like to see, two of my favorite guys standing in the Oval Office and the both of them in a good mood."

Fitz stood and crossed the room to her, happy to help Olivia out of her coat, to toss it into a nearby chair and joining her as she settled down on one of the twin sofas. "Tell me that you have more good news to add." He said.

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine." Olivia said with a smile that was meant to tease.

Cyrus took a seat on the couch sitting across from them. "Today has been a pretty good day, so I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that."

"Then you can pretend that you didn't see this either." Fitz said. He leaned over and kissed Olivia.

She kissed him back. Thoroughly.

Cyrus rolled his eyes. "If you two are finished?

"For now..." Olivia said. Her eyes were all aglow as she looked up into Fitz's.

"For now…" Fitz agreed.

"Thank heaven for small mercies." Cyrus said and waited until he had Olivia's full attention before he caught her up to speed with what he'd just told Fitz.

"Well, that explains Susan's growing popularity - not that we didn't see this coming." Olivia said when he was done. "She seems to have gained in popularity since today's sessions."

"Oh?" Fitz asked.

"Oh yes; it seems that she's had a flurry of invitations today - cocktails and early dinners, all sorts of interesting things." Olivia explained. "She asked me if we could get together to have a talk about the pros and cons of each and every one of them before deciding which ones - if any - to accept."

"She'll have to accept some of them, won't she?" Fitz asked.

Cyrus frowned as he thought about any of the possible answers to the question.

"We haven't decided that yet." Olivia said. A smile curved her lips while a certain sparkle entered into her eyes. "Maybe I'll bring Jocelyn and Abby in on this - I think it might be fun."

"You think? Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation." Cyrus said, unable to resist chuckling.

"Girls' talk?" Fitz laughed too; he could only imagine what kind of talk would happen in that group. "I think Cyrus has a point."

"I'll be sure to let you know who makes the short list, but for now, leave it to the ladies, please." Olivia told him.

"Of course." Fitz said. "I am more than happy to leave the matter in your more than capable hands. In the meanwhile, is there anything I should or should not be doing?" He'd noticed that the popularity of he and Susan arriving on Air Force One had not gone down at all. America seemed to be taking to the idea of guessing who had taken his attention in his post-divorce lifestyle.

However, he didn't know whether or not he should be grateful about it; media reports showed that the whole thing was becoming something of a game among the American people, as pictures were circulated of not just him and Susan, but of Colleen as well. Even Elizabeth's name was still managing to show up every now and then.

Fitz put those thoughts aside. "I can only imagine what this is doing to those in our party who want to play everything strait-laced and proper."

"Define proper." Cyrus stated.

"Are you talking about Sally?" Olivia asked him.

"If we're talking about Sally, then that would be strait-laced." Cyrus said. "As in a strait-jacket."

"Sally is a lot of things, but crazy isn't one of them." Olivia disagreed. "A good portion of the electorate is all too happy to listen to what she has to say."

"Are you sure about that?" Cyrus asked. "I'm not convinced. Are we sure she hasn't become a liability?"

"Please!" Fitz held his hands up. "Don't borrow trouble by mentioning that woman's name. I'm surprised that she hasn't battered down the door to the Oval Office to preach at me for my sinful ways."

"The day isn't over yet." Cyrus grumbled.

"I'm surprised that you haven't heard from Elizabeth either." Olivia mused aloud. "She can't be pleased."

"She can continue to not be pleased, as far as I'm concerned - as long as she keeps her distance. The longer she stays away from me, the better." Fitz said. "Sally may be a necessary evil, but in my opinion, Elizabeth is not."

"Still not your type?" Olivia flashed Fitz a grin.

"Nope." Fitz reached for Olivia's hand and raised it to his lips, brushing a kiss across her fingers. "Still not my type."

"Let's not count out her usefulness just yet, shall we ? - and keep all of our figurative balls in the air for as long as we can." Cyrus suggested. "And like it or not, that still includes Lizzie-Bear. The country is indulging in what's become a national guessing game."

He saw the both of their expressions shift, but kept going before either of them could interrupt. "And yes, we all know how you both feel about it, but face it - this thing has people fascinated - not to mention how this is killing two birds with one stone, easing the idea of a single man running for the presidency into the national awareness along with the whole question about who you're keeping company with is PR we couldn't pay to get - and you both know it."

He could see from their expressions that yes, they did. They didn't have to necessarily like it - Cyrus could see that too - all they had to do is live with it for just a little while longer.

"I get that this can't be easy for either of you - I'm neither as blind nor as heartless as you two probably think that I am. But the reality is, this is working - while people are playing this round and round - they are also talking about the issues that each woman is bringing to the table - and tying that in with you, Mr. President - that is a good thing."

Fitz had to agree with Cyrus; one glance at Olivia told him that she was feeling the same - so much was getting done on so many levels - and they were all hoping that very few realized how carefully it had all been - and was being - orchestrated. And Cyrus' concerns were also just as real.

He was still talking. "As well as things are going right now, we still don't know how the country will react to a single man running for election, never mind re-election as a recently divorced man. But we're sowing good seed, keeping things light. After all, it's still too soon for the president to show any preferences, isn't it?"

Cyrus pretended that he didn't see their reactions once again.

While he was talking, Cyrus watched Fitz as he locked eyes with Olivia. She returned it with equal warmth and he knew that in this moment, he might as well not be in the room.

Without taking his eyes from Olivia's, Fitz asked a question. "Do you really want me to answer that, Cy?"

"Not when we all already know the answer - so no, Mr. President, an answer isn't necessary." Cyrus answered.

"Good." Fitz said. His voice was soft, but the determination in it was clear. "Don't worry - I agreed to this plan and I'll stick to it. I'm all for easing the country into accepting my newly single life, but remember - if it becomes necessary, I have no problem reminding anyone who needs reminding that this is my life and not some reality show entertainment."

He punctuated his words by raising Olivia's hand to his lips once again to brush a kiss against her skin.

"I understand, sir." Cyrus said.

"He gets it, Fitz." Olivia said, giving him another slow smile.

"Do you?" Fitz directed his question to her, even as he continued to gaze deep down into Olivia's eyes.

"One thousand percent, Mr. President." The emotion in her voice made his title a caress on her lips.

Cyrus watched as they lost themselves in each other's eyes. Until James, he hadn't gotten it. And that had made it easy for him to do the things he had done to the both of them, feeding their fears and using their own emotions against them the way he had done to so many others. Sometimes Cyrus knew that the things he'd done had been a necessary evil. Sometimes he hated himself for having to play the role of gatekeeper - especially when it had come to the President and his Fixer.

Until James.

It had been clear for the longest time that these two were one hundred -no, one thousand - percent head over heels, never coming up for air - in love with one another. The things that they'd done to one another and for another in the name of that love would have crushed them both if it hadn't have been real.

And when he thought of the part he'd played in keeping them apart, his guts twisted with guilt. Guilt, but no regret; Cyrus was honest with himself. He'd do what he had done all over again - and more - as long as they won the presidency. They had no idea of what some of those things were and he intended to keep it that way.

Just a little while longer, he promised himself. One last battle, to get Fitzgerald Grant re-elected and then every thing was going to be all right.

They would get their happily after, Cyrus promised them silently. He'd slay every dragon in their path to make that happen. He owed them that much - didn't he?

In his heart, Cyrus knew that he owed them more than they would ever know.

a/n: apologies for the late posting, y'all know I have a lot on my plate these days. I also had a bit of struggling with my plotting; this may be 'just' a fanfic, but I give it the same love and care that I do my original hope-to-be-published-one-day fiction, meaning there was a ton of editing and revising going on these last few weeks. That being said, I hope you enjoyed the episode!