Chapter 17: Table 28

It takes a moment for Olivia to grasp what has just happened. She takes a deep breath and turns to face Fitz again. Her heart beats a million times a minute as she gazes up into his deep blue eyes.

"Hi," he says quietly.

"Hi," she replies with a gentle smile. "Thanks for your help with him. I could have managed him but probably not without making a scene."

"It was no problem," he says as he sticks his hands in his pockets in an effort to keep from pulling her back into his arms.

"Well, I should get going. Thanks again," she says moving passed him.

"Livvie, wait."

She turns to face him.

"Did you have dinner yet?" he asks desperate for her not to leave.

"I don't want to intrude on your celebration," she says as an excuse.

"You won't be. I made up the story about celebrating the win. The jury is still out. I just dropped in to have a drink by myself before I went home."

"Fitz, I don't know . . . " she says suddenly very anxious at the thought of being alone with him.

Then she remembers the promise she made to herself a couple of months ago. She isn't going to run from him. She's not that scared young girl anymore.

She turns to the hostess and says, "Table for two please."

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Chelsea, the hostess, gives a small smile to Olivia before glancing down at her seating chart. She had been watching the interaction between Olivia and the creepy green-eye guy in the foyer and was on the brink of calling one of the busy boys to escort him out when Mr. Blue Eyes appeared like a flash and saved the day. It was quite obvious to her that there was some history between these two, it was like it was written all over their faces the minute they were alone. Something about the way they looked at each other, their eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and hope. Chelsea knew that feeling oh so well. If she could do one small thing to help them recover what they once had, then she would do it. Table 28 was the perfect place to start.

"If you will follow me please," she says sweetly while grabbing two menus.

Olivia and Fitz follow the hostess through the restaurant to a secluded booth set for two. After being seated, the hostess hands them both a menu.

"Your waiter will be with you shortly. I can have your bar tab transferred to your final bill if you like sir."

"Thank you that will be fine."

"Great. I hope you both have a wonderful evening," Chelsea says with a wink before making her way back to the hostess stand.

Before they could feel any sense of awkwardness, their waiter appears.

"May I start you both off with a drink?"

"I'll have a dirty martini please," Olivia says, "extra olives."

"Same for me," Fitz replies.

Their waiter nods and walks away to fill their order.

They sit quietly perusing their menus. Neither one really interested in what was on them, only trying to find the right words to say to begin a long overdue conversation. No longer able to stand the silence, Olivia speaks first.

"The ribeye with the garlic prawns sounds good," she states softly.

Fitz glances up from his menu to look at her. He can see the nervousness on her face and reaches a hand out gently grabbing hers.

"Livvie . . . . " he breathes softly.

She closes her eyes at sound of her name coming from his lips. The same sound that haunted her dreams for so long. The feel of his hand on hers in enough to make her body hum with joy and satisfaction, but her mind is racing with doubts and anxieties. Before she can react the waiter returns with their drinks.

She eagerly accepts hers and practically gulps down half of it before setting the glass down on the table. The biting taste of vodka stings her throat slightly before she feels the warmth it brings to her body. She immediately relaxes a little. She can feel Fitz's eyes on her and she finally turns to meet his gaze.

"There you are," he says softly.

She smiles at his words and relaxes a little more.

"I promise I won't bite," he jokes before taking a sip of his drink.

"That's not how I remember you," she quips making Fitz choke just a little on his drink.

In that moment, some of the fear and anxiety they both feel about being around each other melts just a little more.

"I see you're still sassy," he replies with a deep chuckle his blue eyes twinkling.

"Would you expect anything else?"

"No. I guess not."

Their waiter returns at that moment and takes their order. As the he walks away, Fitz turns slightly in the booth to directly face Olivia.

"So how have you been Livvie? How did you end up in California?"

Not completely ready to dive into that end of the pool she takes a sip of her drink and shakes her head briefly.

"Let's talk about you," she offers. "How have you been and what are you doing in California?"

It's Fitz's turn to stall, so he takes a sip from his drink. "Where's that damn waiter to interrupt us when I need him," he thinks to himself.

Sensing his reluctance to delve into the past, Olivia gives him a small smile and says,

"Hey we don't have to give our life stories right now," Olivia chuckles lightly, "how about we start with something easy. So did I hear you right, you're a lawyer now?"

He sighs a little to relieve some stress, "Yes, I went back to school not long after . . . " he pauses for a moment, "not long after you left and just threw myself into it." She flinches internally at his words.

He continues, "I basically went year round so that I could finish early and came out here to take the Bar Exam."

"Why California?" she asks.

"Two reasons really, one was my dad. He wanted me to go work for his firm, but I didn't want to be under this thumb," he says before he takes a long sip from his drink.

"And the second reason?" Olivia asks, although she thinks she already knows the answer.

"New York just wasn't the same for me after . . . ."

"After what?"

"After that summer. I needed to try and start a new life somewhere. So the summer before graduation, I began looking for internships in California. A lot of firms turned me down because I was a little older than most applicants, but I finally got accepted at Morris, Whitfield and Tyler. I interned for a summer, went back to New York to finish school and graduate. After passing the California Bar they hired me as an associate. I've been with the firm for a year."

"Wow, that's quite a change from working on the docks. I thought you loved working there?"

"I did. And some days I miss it, but overall I can't imagine doing anything else with my life right now. What about you? How did you wind up in California?"

Before she can respond the waiter arrives with their food. They both order another drink and dig into their meals.

"This is really good," Olivia comments after a couple of bites.

"It really is," Fitz agrees.

They eat silently for a few minutes just enjoying the food set before them.

"So," Fitz says as he places his knife and fork down and picks up his drink, "do I get to hear about you and what brought you to California now?"

Olivia sighs and places her utensils down. She takes a moment to choose her words carefully. She has no intention of telling him about the rundown motel she stayed in, basically hiding out from him in case he showed up. Or the crappy waitressing job she had before Henry and Kelly changed the course of life.

"I too threw myself into school. I practically went all the time. I was fortunate enough to find a small firm that took a chance on me and I have been with them ever since. We moved out to California because one of the owner's needed a milder climate due to health issues. We recently merged with a law firm so now we are a combination marketing agency/crisis management group/law firm."

"Sounds like you have an interesting job."

"It is. Although like any job there are good days and bad days."

"I guess today was a bad day. Dealing with that Jake guy."

"I've had worse. He's not the first has been actor to hit on me and I'm sure he won't be the last," she admits before she resumes eating.

"So what else do you do besides work?" he asks.

"Nothing really. I run just about every morning, but other than that it's pretty much work. We stay pretty busy. What about you? You still singing karaoke?"

He laughs lightly, "I haven't done that in a while, not since I lived in New York. I pretty much work all the time too."

"Do you keep up Harrison and the rest of the gang at all?" she asks.

"More like they keep up with me," he replies.

She raises an eyebrow at his comment. "Care to explain?"

"Let's just say that I had rough time of it for a while. They helped me out of a very dark place and . . . "

Her body tenses and freezes in place, her brown eyes are wide and fearful as they search his face. "You didn't try to hurt yourself, did you?"

"No," he reassures her, "nothing like that, but I was very low and just not in a good place. They pulled me out and got me headed in the right direction."

"I'm glad you had them."

"Yeah me too. What about you? Did you keep up with Abby?"

She's surprised he asks about her considering that he and Abby have never met. "Actually yes, she was here visiting the day I . . . "

"The day you what?"

"The day I saw you and ran," she confesses quietly and quickly looks down at her plate.

"Oh," he responds quietly.

She knows what he is going to ask next and she is already trying to formulate an answer in her mind. She really doesn't want him to ask, but she knows he will.

"Why did you run from me Livvie?" he questions – his voice and eyes filled with sadness.

She continues to stare at her plate mentally preparing herself to answer him. But how? A part of her wants to lay it all out on the table and be done with it. And a part of her is afraid to open up old wounds. She has done a good job avoiding anything that reminds her of her time in New York, including happy times with Fitz. It hurts too much. That's why she works all the time. Working non-stop means no time to think of what could have been. It means not reliving the pain and humiliation she felt. But she knows he deserves an explanation. He deserves the truth. That's what being a grown up means, sometimes you have to take the bitter with the sweet. She vows in that moment to tell him the truth, even if it hurts him. It's the only way they can both move on.

Fitz sits quietly and watches Olivia's face as she battles internally on how to respond to his question. Part of him wants to hold her and tell her it doesn't matter why she ran and part of him wants to shake an answer from her. He pulls his eyes away from her to grab his drink and downs the remaining contents. He sees their waiter coming towards the table and Fitz freezes him in place with a death glare. Now is not the time to be interrupted, his gaze warns. Their waiter quickly turns and walks in the other direction.

Fitz returns his attention back to Olivia only to find her staring at him.

"Seeing you that day was a complete shock. I didn't think I would ever see you again. Suddenly, there you were calling my name. My mind was immediately flooded with bad memories and pain that I thought I had managed to bury long ago. I didn't know how to handle it, so I ran. It's wasn't the most mature reaction, but it felt like the only thing I could do in that moment."

Her confession hurts him deeply.

"So you saw me and all you could think of was bad memories and pain?" his voice thick with hurt. "I saw you and the first thing I thought about was how much fun we had. Sure the bad memories followed later, but in the moment I saw you all I saw was happiness and light."

She knows she has hurt him, but she vowed to be truthful for both of their sakes.

"I'm sorry Fitz, but that's what I felt. You have to remember everything that I went through that summer. I was so naïve, full of big hopes and dreams, living and working in "the Big City". I found you and it was great and wonderful but also a little overwhelming. Things were moving so fast, but it felt right. It was like something straight out of a fairy tale.

But then the Edison thing happened. Being watched in the privacy of my own home, being harassed at work and knowing that others had gone through the same thing. I wanted to take him and his cohorts down. I wanted to save the day. I always thought of myself as a fighter and with you in my corner, I felt I could do anything. Then that day at the beach house when you saw Jenny, I felt like I was going to lose you to her and my heart shattered. I no longer felt strong and capable. All I felt was an overwhelming sense of loss and emptiness."

"I tried to explain about Jenny, but you wouldn't hear me out."

"I know. But if for one second you could have put yourself in my shoes and saw the way that you looked at her and interacted with her, you would have felt the same way I did. You had a child with her. You lost a child with her. You two have a bond that will continue through the rest of your lives. The way you looked at her, I could tell you still had feelings for her. Who was I to stand in the way of that? You and I had only known each other for a short time, but you and Jenny had history."

"So basically you left me before I could leave you. Better to give a broken heart than to get a broken heart, huh," Fitz says coolly.

"Honestly, I didn't want to hurt you, but I didn't want to get hurt by you even more. That day at the beach house, everything just came crashing in on me. I felt like I couldn't carry anything else on my shoulders at that point. It was just too much for me to handle and I saw no other choice but to leave. I realized that I wasn't as brave as I thought, or strong as I thought," she says as tears pool in her eyes.

Suddenly she starts sliding out of the booth, "Excuse me," she says as she grabs her purse.

Fitz reaches out for her hand, "Livvie, please don't leave."

"I'm not, I just need a minute. I'm just going to the ladies room."

Fitz nods and releases her hand. He watches her as she makes her way across the room and disappears down the hallway towards the restrooms.

He sits back and replays her words over in his head. He never realized until right now how young Olivia really was when they met. Not just in physical years, but in life experience. He had been forced to grow up fast when Jenny got pregnant. He had been forced to make tough decisions for himself and his family. He suffered the loss of his child and as a result the loss of his first love. He started his life on his own terms, much to the chagrin of his father. But in the end, he always had the love and support of his mother and his friends. He had someone to go to.

Livvie's situation was very different. She had uninvolved parents and pretty much took care of herself physically. Her first real taste of life came that summer in New York. She felt like she was ready to take on the world, but she wasn't prepared for the some of the ugliness that the world has to dish out. All at once her view of the world and her ability to handle things changed and not for the better. And with no one to turn to for support she ran.

"Sir, would you care for dessert this evening," the waiter's voice snaps Fitz out of his internal musings.

"No dessert, just two cups of coffee please."

"Right away sir," the waiter responds as he clears away their dinner plates.

When the waiter comes back a few moments later with two steaming cups of coffee Olivia has yet to return from the ladies room. Just as Fitz begins to wonder if she left without telling him, he sees her walking back towards him.

Her steady gait screams confidence, but her eyes tell another story. Although she has obviously freshened up her face, her lips sport a new coating of lipstick, he can tell she has been crying.

"Are you okay," he asks as he stands up to allow her to slide into the booth on his side of the table.

"I'm fine," she replies in an unsteady voice.

He watches her as she stirs a little sugar into her coffee, anxious to hear her thoughts. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Fitz opts to speak first and from his heart.

"Livvie, seeing you the other day brightened up my world a thousand fold. The day you left I felt like my life ended. You wouldn't return my calls or texts. I had no idea where you were. I even drove down to your campus to try and find you."

This revelation makes Olivia pause her stirring and look at him in surprise.

Fitz continues, "I drove around campus every day for two weeks looking for you. I even went to the Registrar's office, but they wouldn't give me any information on you. No one on campus seemed to know you or where you could be. Finally, I went back home. I sat in my apartment drinking day and night feeling like a failure. I didn't protect you from Edison. And I hurt you by my actions towards Jenny. I failed to protect your heart. I was so depressed that the only time I left my house was to get more liquor. Everyone tried to talk to me, but I didn't listen. I just wanted to wallow in my misery. Finally, when my friends threatened to get my father involved, I knew I had to pull myself together. The last thing I wanted was him taking control of my life.

So I sat down one night and thought about what I wanted to do with my life. And then it hit me, I decided to become a lawyer to help protect people. I couldn't protect you from a predator like Edison, but maybe I could help someone else. You were my motivation for becoming a lawyer. Trying to make up for not being there for you in the way you needed me most."

She looks into his wounded eyes, "You didn't fail to protect me from Edison. We were making plans on how to take him down. I left before we could put anything into play."

"That's just it. We shouldn't have had to plan anything. The moment you told me about his actions I should have gone down to his office and beat the living shit out of him."

"But then you would have been in jail or worse. We were planning to do it the right way."

"I felt like I failed you. So I let that drive me through school. I couldn't fail. I wouldn't fail. You were my motivation to be the best that I could be. And it worked. I graduated at the top of my class. I joined the firm shortly after that. I feel a great sense of satisfaction from my job. But . . . "

"But?"

"But I'm still not happy. Not like before."

Curiosity gets the better of her and she speaks before she thinks, "What about Jenny? Did you go back to her?"

He exhales lightly before speaking, "I did see Jenny for a little while. She got an IT job with some big firm and moved down to the city. She had been hanging out with the group for a little while by the time I rejoined them. At everyone's urging, we went out a couple of times to dinner and a movie, but I quickly figured out that all we had left between us was a dead child. All we talked about was Kyle and what he would be like now. She wanted to start over, but I couldn't build a relationship from that. Besides, I didn't love her anymore. The one person I loved was gone." His blue eyes shine with tears that quickly spill forth. He lowers his head to avoid her gaze.

"Oh Fitz," she whispers softly as a tear rolls down her cheek. She takes her free hand and caresses his jawline, gently encouraging him to look at her.

"I'm so sorry," she says when their eyes meet. "I was so young and so scared. I only thought of how I felt and what I needed. Can you ever forgive me?" she asks as she uses her thumb to wipe away his tears.

"Livvie, there's nothing to forgive. You did what you thought you had to do to protect yourself. I can't fault you for that. Everything that transpired back then put me on the path to where I am now. I love what I do and it gives me purpose. I hope the same can be said for you."

"It can," she smiles.

"I will admit that my life is not complete. There is a part of me that is empty and aching. No one and nothing can seem to fill it. I try and push it to the back of my mind and keep myself occupied with work, but it is always there. I miss you Livvie. I have missed you all these years. Did you miss me Livvie? Even a little?" he asks as he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it tenderly.

"I've missed you too," she replies softly.

He takes a deep breath to steady his nerves before he asks, "Would you be willing to try again Livvie? Can we try to be together again?"

His eyes search hers for an answer. He can hear his heart thumping loudly in his ears. He just needs to hear one word from her in order for his life to be complete. She needs to say yes.

Olivia contemplates her answer. She wants nothing more than to say yes to this man who captured her heart three years ago. There was no one like him before then and no one like him since. A small part of her wants to say no. It's the part that wants to protect her heart. But she no longer wants to live in fear of being hurt. Not when happiness is sitting right next to her with brightest blue eyes she has ever seen.

She can't find her voice to speak what she feels so she just leans in and kisses him tenderly on the lips. He responds instantly and pulls her closer to him to deepen the kiss. She snakes her arms around his neck and runs her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. He lets out a low moan as her fingers lightly scratch at his scalp.

Suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat close by causes them to break their kiss.

"Would you care for anything else this evening sir?" their waiter asks.

Fitz turns his head from Olivia to face the waiter. Olivia drops her head into the crook of Fitz's neck and smiles.

"I feel like dessert Fitz. Maybe the Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake."

"Sounds perfect," he says with a nod to the waiter.

They spend another hour cuddled up in the cozy booth taking turns feeding each other pieces of cheesecake. Enjoying rekindling their relationship. It's only the sound of Olivia's cell phone ringing that breaks them out of their bubble.

"It's the office, sorry I need to take this call," she tells Fitz as she accepts the call. "Olivia Pope."

"Hey Liv it's Angela." Angela is Assistant Director of Athletic Relations. She deals with athletes and their agents.

"I just got a call from Aaron Brown's agent, Paul Jones. Someone just sent Paul a copy of tomorrow's Chronicle that headlines that Aaron is really in drug rehab and not sitting out due to injury. I called in the rest of the team, but wanted to give you a heads up on what's going on."

"Shit," Liv mumbles. Aaron is a good kid and a great basketball player. He ran into some trouble with drugs and alcohol shortly after his mother died in a car crash six months ago. His life began to spiral out of control, thus the stint in rehab. He is scheduled to be released in the next two weeks. If word gets out he was in rehab, it could set him back and Liv doesn't want to see that happen.

"I'll be in the office in thirty minutes. Let's find out who sent the newspaper article and confirm that it is legit. This just could be someone fishing for a story."

"Ok Liv. See you in thirty."

Liv turns back to face Fitz. "I'm sorry I have to go."

"So I gathered," he says as he motions for the waiter to bring the check.

"Are you angry?"

"Angry, no. Disappointed, yes."

"Me too, but duty calls."

Fitz pulls out his wallet and opens it to retrieve money for the bill. As he pulls some bills out the photo of Olivia and Abby falls to the table.

"Where did you get this?" Olivia asks picking up the folded over photograph.

"You left it behind in your old apartment along with some other small things."

"And you've had them all this time?" she questions.

"Yeah. I was hoping to get the opportunity to return them to you one day," he says with sad smile.

"What else do you have of mine?"

Before he can answer her phone rings again.

"What," she answers curtly. After a few moments she says, "Okay, okay. I'm on my way."

She leans over and kisses Fitz soundly on the lips. "I really need to go," she says as she hands the photo back to him and slides out of the booth.

"Wait," he says as he drops some money on the table and slides out after her. "I'll walk you to your car." He grabs her hand in his as walk towards the front door of the restaurant.

"Have a pleasant evening," their hostess Chelsea says as they pass her.

"Thank you," they both reply before stepping out into the warm night.

"Table 28 works its magic again," Chelsea thinks to herself.

They walk to Olivia's car in silence. She retrieves her keys from her purse and unlocks the doors via the remote.

"When can I see you again," Fitz asks not at all ashamed to sound a little needy.

"I'm not sure. Just depends on how this Aaron thing goes. Maybe tomorrow."

"Ugh. Give me your phone."

She hands him her phone and he enters his number in and then calls it from her phone so that he has her number as well.

"Call me tomorrow. I don't care what time," he says as he hands her back her phone.

"So demanding," she chuckles.

"Damn straight and don't you forget it," he jokes back. He leans down and kisses her and once again her phone interrupts them.

"I hate that thing right now," he groans against her lips.

She pulls away and steps aside as he opens her car door.

"I'll call you tomorrow," she promises as she slides behind the wheel and starts the engine.

"Night Livvie. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Night Fitz," she replies as he closes the door.

He stands there and watches her pull out of the parking lot and drive away. He walks down the street towards his car with a bounce in a step and a smile on his face. That empty space that he has felt for so long is now filled. He has his Livvie back and he intends to do whatever it takes to keep her.

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STOP THE PRESSES! That Season 5 Promo is Hot as Hell! It's only four seconds but a sexy, hot four seconds it is. I was up half the night cracking up to Twitter posts. Olitz fans are a horny bunch!

Original A/N: I'm back! My muses have a love hate relationship with me right now! As some of you know I have been helping a family member recover from major surgery. Thankfully everything went well and things are pretty much back to normal. With that being said, it was a long and very busy summer with trying to entertain three kids and keep up with doctor's appointments and therapy schedules. All the while my muses were speaking to me but there was no time to right. Even when I tried my fingers just couldn't seem to work right.

NOW, everyone is back to their regular schedule (school finally started – YEAH) and now my muses are quiet. Go figure.

So I decided not to drag out reuniting Fitz and Liv. They are both adults and nobody has time to play games. I hope I was able to convey their feelings effectively and in a way that made sense.

Also please note that I have no idea how long it takes to go to law school. So let's just say I am evoking my artistic right to fast track Fitz through law school.

Anyway, less than a month away from the start of season 5. Wonder what joys and hell SR will push upon us this season? The OMG tweets from KW and the rest of the crew have me curious. But I guess all will be revealed soon. Just glad that TG reappeared on Twitter. I don't like it when he disappears on us.

Thanks to everyone who recently followed or favorited my stories. I hope you continue to enjoy them. And thanks to those who sent PMs prompting me to write. I appreciate your encouragement.

As always, I don't own Scandal or its characters.