I am just about the biggest hypocrite in the world, and for that I apologize. I hate when people don't update their fics for a while and I'm guilty of this. Over winter break I planned to write a lot, but I did not have nearly the amount of time to do everything I had originally planned. I am going to try and update this and my Christmas fic as quickly as I can. I can promise you that they will be getting the attention that I should be giving to them. However, I'm glad I waited because the new promo really helped give me guidance as to where to take this story. I was losing a little direction and it helped me think about Olitz and Olivia and Fitz as developing characters more deeply.

Without further ado, here is the next chapter.

Olivia sighed loudly as she clicked her phone on yet another time to check if she had any missed messages from Fitz. Since their rooftop date, things had been at a standstill. Fitz seemed to have moved forward with her, but she still felt as though he was standing back. She knew he was in the middle of a major nuclear arms agreement and that he was very focused on his Presidency. The last thing she wanted to do was screw up the good momentum he had going for him. After years of the Presidency being a chore he did to please others, he was finally being his own person and the leader she always saw in him.

She put her phone in her drawer and slammed it shut. When she looked up, she found Quinn awkwardly standing in front of her desk.

"Liv…you might want to turn the news on." She said softly, handing her the remote to her office's TV. Olivia quickly pressed it on and looked at the newest CNN headline.

"Word has just come from the White House that nuclear arms agreement between the United States, West Angola, and East Angola has come to a halt after the Angolan countries refused to meet President Grant's high demands. Sources from the inside have reported that despite Grant's recent accomplishment streak, he is not handling these talks well. In the past seven years, President Grant has proved to be a strong negotiator, but many are wondering if he is in over his head in this one."

Olivia pressed her lips together in a fine line. She had not even paid attention to who he was negotiating with. As they always say, all press is good press. She was overloaded with more clients than ever before. She busied herself with work so she did not constantly think about Fitz. She wanted to find a new her; a woman who could be independent but still allow herself to love and be loved. She and Fitz had both needed time apart to figure out themselves after trying a relationship for the first time.

Figuring out herself was exhausting. She finally decided to talk to a therapist and tried to map out what she truly wanted in life. She had accepted that she could not fix herself. The fixer needed to accept help for the first time in her life. She really enjoyed talking with Roxanne and was slowly evolving into a stronger person. At the end of long days, she just wanted to be in Fitz's arms again. She had not known how much she needed that until it was a part of her day. Now that it was gone, she missed it more than anything.

Fitz's image came onto the screen. He was walking out of the White House with his detail, a pained expression on his face. As the camera panned, she realized where he was walking to. She looked down at the corner to check if it was a live broadcast.

Of course it was live.

She now had two options. She could go and give him the motivation he needed to settle the negotiation, or she could let him figure it out on his own. She was practically twitching to get up and run to him. He needed her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Quinn watched her intently, knowing the inner war that was taking place in her mind. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to call upon the new woman she was trying so desperately to become. After a couple moments, she opened her eyes and looked over at Quinn.

"Call Senator Kidason and tell him that I'm on my way to his office. If he is not there in twenty minutes, he can consider himself out of luck." Olivia quickly sat up and walked over to pick her red trench coat off of the couch. Quinn nodded and gave her boss a look of approval. Olivia nodded silently in recognition before grabbing her purse and heading out the door. Quinn looked up at the television when she heard Fitz's voice.

"After years of attempts, I truly feel as though this is the final run. Whatever comes out of this is what will be. As your President, as your fellow concerned American, I am going to make sure this game ends."

Cyrus knew where to find his President. He was in the place that he always went to when he was stressed or lost. It was the place he went to when he needed her. If he cannot have her, he can feel her energy amongst the roses and thorns. It was their place, as Cyrus silently came to know.

He walked past the silent Secret Service members to stand next to Fitz. They stood for a couple moments, lost in their own thoughts.

"You're not on your game at the negotiation table." Cyrus began, still looking forward.

"You think I don't know that?" Fitz responded curtly. Cyrus sighed and turned to look at him.

"You have done so much in the past couple of months. Who knew that the key to getting stuff done in the White House was kicking the First Lady out? I don't think anyone's quite shocked by that correlation, however."

"Not funny." Fitz shot, looking westward towards the afternoon sun.

"Look Fitz, I get it. You can't stop thinking about when you declared war to save Olivia. You do not regret the decision; you regret letting it ruin her. You overall regret dragging the oh so innocent love of your life into everything that has come with your Presidency." Fitz looked back over at Cyrus.

"Right now, more than anything, you want her to come to you here in the Rose Garden. You knew she could see the news. It was a move that you could make without feeling like you're losing what you've built since she left. If she just so happens to come, you could hear her advice and pep talk. You miss those. You miss her. But all of this was not in your headspace just a month ago. The only things that ran thought your mind were gun control stats and trickle-down economic theories. Now, she's invaded your space again." Fitz nodded slightly and looked down towards the ground. Cyrus always knew him far too well.

"I know we've also grown apart, but I am certain of one thing. The Olivia Pope that's with us now, she's not the same Liv we used to know. I know this for certain because the old Olivia would be standing with us right now. She would have seen you on the television in her office and would have been so moved with pity for her broken bird that she would have flown over here in her white coat to save the day. Our new Olivia? She wears red and dresses and is trying so very hard to find the balance in her life she has never had. It had always been about her work and success, but then there were those scary moments when you mattered more to her than anything else. She had all work, she finally had all of you, now she does not know where this all leaves her. You do not know either." Cyrus put a hand on Fitz's shoulder.

"You might be thinking that she's not here because she's trying to run away again. She's not here because she believes you can do this on your own. She does not have to be your cheerleader or sidekick for you to be the amazing leader we all know you can be. For years we used her because we thought she was what you needed, but we all were wrong. You needed to know you could do this on your own. And you can. You have been killing it without her for the past six months. She knows that." He patted him and turned to walk away. He stopped for a moment.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope has put her pride down and in the process has admitted that she is no longer Helen of Troy. This is a historical moment." He turned to face Fitz.

"We return to negotiations in ten minutes. You better bring your game. I want to see these two sons of bitches in tears before the day is done." With that, Cyrus walked back towards the White House, a small knowing smile on his face.

Fitz watched him go, letting his words sink in. He realized that he had been treating the negotiations with the Angolas like he was treating his negotiations with Olivia. He was afraid they were going to run away, that he was going to leave the table empty-handed, disappointed, and frustrated. Maybe this was it. Maybe he was going to be able to finally shut down the nuclear facilities. Maybe he and Olivia were finally going to work out.

There were no guarantees, but all is fair in love and war. He was sure as hell going to give it his all.

Olivia paced her apartment nervously, wine glass in hand. She had attended to clients all day to avoid monitoring the status of the negotiations. She had gotten word from Abby that she was announcing the results of the day in a press briefing at seven. It was currently fifty-nine after and Olivia was ready, popcorn and all. The program clicked on and she immediately sat down on her couch, nervously grabbing a handful of her favorite food.

"After a day of negotiations between the President and leaders of East and West Angola, the White House would like to officially announce that an agreement has been reached between the three countries. In exchange for political prisoners and a lift of wartime embargos, the Angolas have agreed to work with the United States in eliminating their nuclear stocks. The countries are hoping to eliminate their nuclear pile-ups completely in two years. President Grant also ensured that all American hostages from the West Angolan crisis will be returned to the country at the conclusion of this week. The President would like to thank both leaders for their cooperation and dedication towards reaching a peaceful agreement."

Olivia breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She knew she had made the right decision. She took a big sip of wine and smiled softly, snuggling into the corner of her couch. She was startled by a knock at her door. Setting her drink down, she walked over and looked through the peephole. Her heart stopped beating in her chest for a few moments. She quickly unlocked all of the locks and yanked the door open.

"Hi." Fitz murmured, offering her a small smile. She laughed.

"Hi." She breathed, sighing slightly. Fitz looked over at the elevator and then back at her.

"I know I haven't called you since our night on the rooftop and I'm sorry. I wanted my focus to be on my job and not you again. A big part of me still believed that I needed you as my muse to be President. After six months of being alone and learning how to be independent again, that feeling scared me. It all caught up with me today and then I realized that I'm not the only person who has grown. You have too." Olivia nodded slowly, locking eyes with him. He laughed.

"I mean you actually wear colors now. It kind of scares me, I'm not going to lie." Olivia grinned and chuckled softly. Fitz's heart skipped slightly at the sight. She looked back up at him again and they shared a moment.

"As much as I wanted to clink glasses over a gorgeous roast at the White House to celebrate this momentous occasion, I put my pride aside and accepted that I wanted to celebrate with you more. So-" He looked over at Hal and stretched his arms out to receive a bottle of champagne.

"I know you are more of a wine girl, but I thought we could maybe pop some bubbly just this once." Olivia shook her head and tried to conceal her laughter.

"Please never say that again." She ordered.

"I think you've forgotten I'm the President of the United States." He took a step towards her so they were nose to nose. "I can say whatever I want." Olivia rolled her eyes and pulled him through the door, kissing him teasingly on the nose.

Many glasses of wine and champagne later, Olivia laid on the couch draped across Fitz. She plopped another White House cheese fry in her mouth and rolled over so she was looking up at him.

"Since when did we become so…common?" She said, emphasizing the last word dramatically. Fitz looked down at her with drunken hooded eyes.

"You could be at a lavish dinner and instead we are eating cheese fries and pizza from down the block while watching TLC." Fitz chucked softly, the vibrations from his chest bumping against Olivia's cheek.

"We were not these people. At least I wasn't. I don't know if you secretly did this in your free time." She murmured, grabbing another fry. Fitz stole it from her and plopped it in his mouth.

"Now we are." Fitz responded, smiling softly. Olivia pouted up at him and without a second thought, he leaned down to kiss her. He was surprised when she returned the kiss by dipping her tongue into his. She threw her arms around him and sat up on his lap, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist. She moved her lips to his neck before resting her head on his shoulder. They laid like that for a few moments, breathing in each other's scents and not wanting to push the moment any further.

"I'm so proud of you Fitz." Olivia murmured, tears brimming in her eyes. Fitz took Olivia's hand and kissed it gently.

"I'm proud of you too." She buried himself in his neck and let the tears fall.

"How could you be? I failed you so many times. I failed our baby. I couldn't step up to the plate and be a mother. I was weak. I-" Fitz put her face in his palms and studied her face. She ran her hands up and down his toned arms.

"Livvie, the old you would have come today. The new you believed in me more than ever. One day, you are going to be an amazing mother when the time is right for the both of us. I understand your decision. It does not mean that I am completely okay with it and I'm still hurt, but I understand. We let everything from the past out and settled our scores. I'm proud of the woman you were and the new woman you're becoming. I love you Liv. All of you. The good parts, the bad parts, and the ugly parts. That's what love is. And this…" He waved his left hand. "…this is it. This is our final run. I don't want to be afraid anymore. We have been through it all and now we can get to a new place. A place that is forever. A place where maybe we sit around watching TLC and do other weird coupley things." Olivia laughed through her tears and pressed her forehead to his.

"It feels so…different. It feels like we're living another life." Fitz smiled and caressed her face.

"It's one that's finally ours." He breathed. Olivia took a deep breath and kissed him again, this time softer. Fitz pulled them both down to the couch and she snuggled into him, letting the world melt away as they drifted off into sleep.

So a lot of you are discouraged about the second half of Season 5. After a lot of time to think things over, I have decided that I'm sort of excited for it. You might ask how that could possibly be, but I have come to the conclusion that Fitz and Olivia both need to go through this part of their character progression if their relationship is to finally hit that "forever and always" point. Would I have written Season 5 differently? Yes. Obviously that's why I write fic. However, I think that Olitz shippers should dwell less in the negativity and look more forward. There are some things that really still upset me, but I'm choosing to look forward instead of backward because that's honestly all we can do as human beings.

If you are looking to read some of my thoughts on 5B, I am going to be posting videos on my YouTube channel soon about it (AleccaOfficial). I already have a video up entitled "Does Vermont Really Exist?" up that I did a couple weeks after 5x09. More will follow very shortly. I also have posted my thoughts on Twitter (itsmebeccax) and often tweet good blog posts/threads I like on it. If you are done with the show and choosing to only live in the AU fic world, I hope this story is keeping your love for the couple and characters alive. I really do.

I've already started the next chapter, so expect things to be picking up a bit. I do not know how long chapter-wise this fic is going to be, but I can guarantee at least two more. As always, please leave a review as they really are helpful for me as a writer. You can also leave in your review what your feelings about the second half of the season are. I give you permission to use my comments section as a ranting space. But as always, use your best judgement.

Thank you all for your continued support and I am sorry that this update took so long.

XXX, Becca