Well, at least this time, the delay of my updates wasn't completely my fault. My Beautiful laptop Dobby, of 8 years, died out on me. But on the plus side, here I am now, with an update, and I'm already working on part two, so let's hope this mojo keeps flowing and I can give you guys steady(ish) updates. I see your messages, I see your reviews, I haven't forgotten you. Thank you for still reading. Til next time, enjoy!

Chapter 12

Olivia's heart thumped against her chest as she stood outside of the wooden doors to the lecture hall. Her eyes were glued to the handle, willing it to turn, opening itself for her, but it wouldn't budge.

"Livvie?" Fitz said quietly.

It was Olivia's first day back at her classes since her whole ordeal with Cyrus, and during their whole walk to the Political Science building, she could feel eyes on her and Fitz. He had offered to walk her to her class, since his first one was in the building right next door.

"Livvie, baby." He tried again.

Saying goodbye to her father was hard enough, they had really grown close again in the time they had together. He had been a little over a month sober, and she couldn't have been more proud of him. She was slightly worried about what her departure might do to that, but he insisted she go. Maybe she should go call him really quickly, just to make sure he was-

"Olivia!" Fitz' voice took her out of her thoughts. Her head turned in his direction. "You've got this, Liv. You have overcome so much, and you are still here. Fuck whoever stares at you, fuck whatever you think people are saying or thinking about you. Just prove them all wrong."

She stood up a little straighter, nodding her head as she mulled over Fitz' words. She lifted her head up, a look of determination on her face. "You're right. I've got this." She leaned up a little onto her tip toes, giving Fitz a quick peck. He held her to his body, extending the kiss. He pulled away, kissing her forehead.

"I'll be right here once my class ends." He said as he repositioned his backpack on his right shoulder, heading towards the courtyard door. "I love you."

"I love you. Thank you." She watched him walk away before she turned back around to the door. She counted to three, took a deep breath, and opened the door, leaving all of her fears, insecurities, and doubts behind her.

She could hear conversations stop and whispers replace them as she walked past the rows of desks. She headed up the middle stairway, making her way to a seat in the second row. She kept her eyes straight forward as she sat down, not giving in to her nerves. The whispers grew louder as the rest of the room became aware of her presence, and still hadn't settled when a young guy in a white button up stood up from a desk near the door. He cleared his throat a few times, his eyes occasionally meeting Olivia's knowing that she was what the class was so distracted with. His hair was slightly tousled and dark chestnut brown, his eyes the color of freshly mowed grass. He cleared his throat again.

"Shut up!" Someone from the back of the room yelled, earning a few laughs from those around him.

Green eyes smiled. "Anyone who's still talking in the next five seconds will be kicked out of my classroom, and will not be permitted to reenter until I decide otherwise."

The chatter instantly ceased, all eyes on the professor. Olivia's slightly widening in shock. He's our professor? He's so young! She thought to herself.

"Ah, that got your attention. Welcome to American Politics. My name is Gideon Wallace. You may call me Professor Wallace. Don't let my boyish good looks fool you, I've been a beat reporter in Washington D.C., I've interned and worked for senators up and down the east coast. So trust me when I say I know bullshit when I hear it. I've been known to be a bit of a hardass. But really, I only have a few simple rules. Do your work, you pass. Show up to class, you pass. Participate, you pass!" He said with the clap of his hands.

"But if you bring any campus gossip, whispers, or speculations to this lecture hall, you will be kicked out of my class. And I don't mean for the day. I mean until otherwise notified. Is that clear?" He motioned for the class to answer.

"Yes, Professor Wallace." The class spoke in complete unison.

"Great! Now, let's begin." He walked over to the desk, his real desk, in the middle of the room. As he turned to face the board, Olivia gave him a small nod and mouthed the words "thank you". He smiled and gave her a friendly wink, and almost as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

"In this class, we're going to be talking about the institutions and political processes of the American government and its democracy. Some of the things we'll discuss will be the famous Constitution, our political traditions, the elections and representation, the civil rights movement. We will touch base on a lot of things folks, so attendance really is key. It's easy to fall behind. I understand shit happens sometimes, so I do allow three absences, but don't just use them for a day off after getting shitfaced downtown."

At this, the class laughed.

Professor Wallace smiled and shrugged. "Come on guys, I graduated college a while ago, but not that long ago. I know what goes on. Your life is your life. But in my class, you guys are on my time. And I expect everyone's full participation. So, with that being said, I want you guys to take out your copies of American Government: Power and Purpose. Let's open them up to page 3. Do I have a volunteer for a reader?"

A hand slowly appeared out of the corner of his eye. "Yes," he pointed. "Miss?"

"Pope. Olivia Pope."

"Okay, so I'll see you guys on Wednesday, make sure you do your reading, because who knows when a pop quiz may turn up! Cough cough, hint hint!" He said pointedly as the class began to file out of the room. Olivia took her time putting away her stuff, so she could talk to the professor alone. She put her bag over her shoulder as the last four people walked out together, and she walked over to his desk.

"Professor Wallace?"

"Yes, Miss Pope, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to once again thank you for what you did earlier, and try to explain a little of what happened, just so you don't get the wrong idea of me."

At this, Professor Wallace held his hand up. "Olivia, you don't have to explain yourself at all, you were taken advantage of by someone close to you, and it's shitty, and that's not what friends do. You don't owe anybody anything, and I'm in awe of how well you hold yourself and how composed you are."

Olivia blinked. "How did you know all of that?"

"There was an email to all of the professors who have you in their class this semester. Your reputation is intact, and honestly may I say it is well deserved. I can tell from today that you seem to already know a lot about politics. Do you have an interest in the political field?"

Olivia gave a half shrug. "My father had a career in politics, more so behind the scenes, pulling all the strings. He taught me a lot about it growing up."

"Well, I think you may be onto something there for yourself. You know, I also coach the Debate Team on campus as well. It doesn't start formally for a few weeks, but I think you would learn a lot from it. Take some time, think about it. I'll see you on Wednesday." He extended his hand, and she shook it, his skin warmer and softer than she was expecting.

"See you Wednesday." She walked towards the door, pushing it open to find Fitz on the bench outside. He stood up as soon as he saw her, a look of worry on his face.

"How was it? Is everything okay? I got worried when I didn't see you come out with everybody else."

She nodded. "Yeah, I just wanted to thank my professor for standing up for me in front of the class before."

"What? What happened?"

And on their walk to their next class, Olivia told Fitz the story of what happened.

The rest of the day, for the most part, went by without incident. Of course people still whispered everywhere she went, but after her second class she was able to just tune it out. None of her other professors threatened to kick anybody out for her though. She had finally made her way back to the dorm after her fourth class. She unlocked the door to the common room, plopping herself down on the futon, her bag falling to the floor. All she wanted was a good nap. She closed her eyes, ready for sleep to take her, when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She groaned, pulling it out, going to check who was calling. Daddy.

She answered, her voice perking up. "Hi, daddy!"

"There's my sweet pea! How was your first day back?" Her dad's voice sounded so clear. She felt a swirl of pride in her chest.

"It went about as expected. But nothing I can't handle! I've already been through the worst of it, anyway. And, my American Politics professor thinks I should join the debate team!"

"Ooh, girl, you know that's my area of expertise! I always wished you had gotten a chance to do debate team in high school." His voice got low. "I'm sorry I took that experience from you, Liv."

"Daddy, stop. I have no regrets about any of it, honestly. I wouldn't be able to imagine going through everything we did, and having to deal with attending school on top of it. Besides, I'm obviously getting my shot at the debate team now, so if I need any help or additional coaching, I will for sure be coming your way." She said with a slight smile. "How are your meetings going?"

"I added an extra day to my schedule, since I had way too much time on my hands after you left. So now I go Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays."

"That's good dad! Did you get a sponsor yet?"

Her dad started stumbling over his words a little bit. "Oh uh, well yeah. Uh, a lady named Alicia, she's really great-you know, with helping me control my sobriety. Yeah, she's really great."

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"You got a crush on your sponsor?"

"What?" Eli asked incredulously. "No! No! I'm just saying, you know. She's helpful. Very friendly, she has a great personality, inviting smile. Someone you'd want by your side helping you."

"Mhm." Olivia said with a laugh, shaking her head. "I'm sure she's the real reason you picked up an extra day." They talked for another 20 minutes or so before Abby got home, and they ended their call.

Abby plopped down next to Olivia on the futon, staring at her with a smile on her face.

Olivia eyed her up and down, her suspicion rising. "What?"

"Word around campus, is that Professor Hotness made a new rule in his class this morning stating anybody who discusses anything about you and all the drama will get kicked out of his class until deemed otherwise."

"Professor Wallace." Olivia corrected. "And yeah, it's true."

Abby groaned, sinking back into the futon. "Did you nearly die when he defended you? He's hot and nice, that's so hard to come by these days."

"Abigail, do you mean to tell me Stephen isn't both hot and nice? Or Fitz?" Olivia crossed her arms.

Abby waved away Olivia's question. "Stephen doesn't count, he's a foreigner. And Fitz is his own breed, he's the stuff of rom-coms." Abby and Fitz' friend Stephen had pretty much been exclusive since meeting on New Year's Eve. Abby refused to put a title on what they were, stating that they were both free to do what they wanted, but Olivia knew that Abby hadn't been with anyone else since Stephen, and Fitz said the same about Stephen.

Olivia smiled. "Guess we got lucky."

"We don't get lucky. Frankly, I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. But hey, at least we made it through the first day of classes!" She got up off, walking into their room.

"Amen to that!" Olivia put her hand up in the air.

"This calls for a treat!" Abby called from the other room.

"What? Please don't say pizza again."

Abby walked back out into the common area with a bottle, two glasses, and a huge smile on her face. "Wine."

"Olivia." Abby tried to coax her out of her sleep.

"Mm."

"Liv!"

"Abby, it is a snow day. There are no classes. Why are you waking me up? Did you want today to be the day that I have to kill you and find a new best friend?"

"It's also Valentine's Day." She replied.

"So? What does that matter?"

Abby sighed. "Open your fucking eyes."

Olivia growled, slowing peeking her eyes open, trying to avoid the bright light, but she saw flashes of red. She opened her eyes all the way, a slight gasp coming from her lips.

On the floor, there were rose petals by her bed leading all the way to the door. On her desk, was a grand bouquet of red roses accompanied by beautiful white lilies, baby's breath spread throughout the bouquet. Wrapped around its vase, was a large red bow with an envelope bearing her name. Next to the flowers was a box of popcorn and a bottle of red wine that was starting to become one of Olivia's favorites. Three heart shaped balloons floated by her closet, lightly tapping against the framed picture Olivia had hanging up on the closet door of she, Abby and the boys on New Year's Eve.

She couldn't stop the smile that was forming on her lips. She had never celebrated Valentine's Day before, it had never meant anything to her. Edison would simply say 'You get my love every day, Olivia', then plop a wet kiss on her. But with Fitz, he always surprised her in the best of ways. He taught her so much about what love is and should be, and she was so happy that destiny brought them into each other's lives again.

"Like I said," Abby's voice snapped Olivia out of her thoughts, "The fucking stuff of rom-coms."

Olivia laughed, reaching for the envelope. She opened it, taking out the card inside. As she opened the card, a black credit card fell into her lap. She looked over at Abby, whose jaw hung open as if it were dislocated. She picked up the card off her lap, examining it. "He gave me his Black Amex." She reopened the card, her eyes hungrily reading his inscription.

Happy Valentine's Day, Livvie!

I was never a person who celebrated Valentine's Day. I always thought of it as another way for corporations to just get more money out of people, but you know what? I'd gladly spend all the money in the world to shower you and spoil you with gifts and surprises. Olivia, I feel as if I wasn't breathing before I saw you. Like I was underwater, swimming and swimming for the surface, never quite getting there. And when I bumped into you the first day on campus, I broke through the surface, and was able to breathe for the first time in my life. I love you, Olivia. In my dreams, you are my life. And in my life, you are my dream. This weekend is all about you, sweet baby. Go into the common room for a hint as to what you need to buy for this weekend. It's all on me.

I love you. I'll see you at noon.

Fitz

(P.S. don't even try to say you need to do homework tomorrow, we've been back nearly a month, we have no classes on Friday's, we're going away for the weekend!)

Olivia laughed at the last line. He knew her so well. She blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes while reading his card. She sat there rereading it over and over, memorizing the words. She cleared her throat.

"So? What does it say?" Abby asked impatiently.

"It says there's a hint out in the common room." She got up out of bed, her feet instantly finding her slippers. She walked over to the door, opening it, Abby right behind her. Leaning against the wall, with two giant red bows, were what looked like a pair of skis and a black and blue snowboard.

"WE'RE GOING SNOWBOARDING?" Olivia screamed.

Abby shook her head in disbelief. "Every time I think the boy can't do it, he outdoes himself again. That's absolutely awesome Liv!" She hugged her best friend and jumped with her. "We gotta get you to the mall! Like now, we only have…" She checked her phone. 10:18 a.m. "Shit! We have less than two hours! Come on, get dressed, you've got a lot of shopping to do, and you know I have to give everything the okay first!"