Present Day

Instead of going to OPA, Olivia called Harrison to let him know she wouldn't be coming in - something he had already expected. When he asked if there was anything he or the others could do to help the situation, Olivia told him that she would let him know if she did. At the White House check point, she flashed her hard pass to Morris, who was visibly happy to see her

"Ms. Pope, various news outlets have been replaying it over and over again. It's nuts. The press corps came through the gates with blood in their eyes," he relayed.

"I can just imagine the time Britta is having dealing with them. The job of the press secretary is never done."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, Ms. Pope. You always know how to handle any situation. When you walk through these gates and into the White House, things get done."

Olivia merely smiled. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Morris. Let me go and meet with Cyrus. Have a good day," Olivia said as she began to walk toward the White House entrance. Eyes barely glanced at her except for the rudimentary hard pass check, for the White House staff knew who Olivia Pope was and how close she was to the Grant administration. As she made her way to the Oval Office, heels clacking swiftly as she pulled off her opera gloves and stuffed them into her bag, she saw Cyrus walking hurriedly toward her.

"Liv… what are we going to do?" Cyrus asked her, clearly dazed and flustered.

"I have no idea. I'm at a lost. Teddy? Baby Teddy? And how did all of this come out? Why did someone ask for a DNA test and why was the test done at a public facility?" questioned Olivia in a whisper. Olivia blew out a breath and made her way into the office, sans a courteous knock on the door, with Cyrus at her four inch heels.

The sight that greeted her made Olivia want to smile and cry at the same time. There was Fitz on the floor playing with Teddy and the child's blocks as if nothing had changed. When Olivia saw Fitz give Teddy the biggest and most genuine smile, Olivia realized that nothing had changed for Fitz.

Fitz felt as if someone was watching him. He looked up and saw Olivia and Cyrus standing in his office just staring at him and his son. Immediately he knew why Olivia was there. He looked at Teddy, who was sitting up and smiling at him with two baby teeth. Fitz sighed.

"Give me a few minutes, please, so that we can wait for one of the nannies. I don't want to talk about this in front of him." Fitz stated firmly. Olivia and Cyrus merely nodded and watched while Fitz doted on Teddy until Madeline, one of Teddy's day time nannies, came in with a wide smile and reached for the toddler. Once the pair left, Fitz picked himself up from the carpeted floor and sat on the couch and motioned for Olivia and Cyrus to sit. "So," Fitz began, looking at the two of them, "where do you want to begin?"

Olivia spoke up. "Start from the beginning, tell me everything."

Past – 2 Days ago

Jerry followed his father, who was holding Teddy, down one of the emptied pediatric corridors of James Madison Hospital, flanked by secret service officers. He chewed the inside of his cheek out of nervousness. He couldn't believe this was his life right now. Being the teenaged son of the current sitting President was nothing compared to feeling that you may have ruined your parent's life by accidentally exposing a monumental deception. Fitz ushered Jerry into the empty doctor's office and followed. He motioned for Jerry to sit in one of the empty chairs, while Fitz chose to remain standing while rubbing his hands up and down Teddy's back, a motion Teddy seemed to find more soothing than his other two children when they were babies.

"What are you going to say, dad?"

"I'm going to-" began Fitz, but he was interrupted by the doctor choosing that moment to walk in.

"Mr. President. What can I do for you today?" asked Dr. Robert Jameson, Teddy's pediatrician. The doctor, who had been vetted extensively before being chosen as Teddy's doctor, was fairly young at the nice round age of forty. He was highly recommended and experienced, but didn't let that get in the way of his jovial nature toward his young patients. He shook both Fitz and Jerry's hands, before sitting. Jerry and Fitz exchanged positions before Fitz began speaking.

"Well, doctor. You're probably going to think I'm being a bit neurotic. Teddy has been a bit fussy, warm and lethargic all morning. I'm a bit rusty in the baby department, and my wife is currently at a speaking engagement which I didn't want to disturb. So, I thought better safe than sorry and that I should just bring him in for a checkup." Fitz explained calmly, the excuse coming into his head quickly.

"That's not a problem, Mr. President. Let's check Teddy out. Please undress him and put him on the table." Fitz and Jerry quickly undressed the toddler down to his diaper. The doctor gave Teddy a thorough check up and, surprisingly, found that Teddy had a slight temperature. Dr. Jameson quickly wrote a script for a mild children's medication that would bring his temperature to normal and counteract the budding infection.

"Is there anything else you need Mr. President? What about you, Jerry?" Dr. Jameson asked after having finished updating Teddy's electronic chart.

"Actually, Dr. Jameson, there is one thing." Fitz began as he explained Jerry's biology project and the "weird" result that occurred when Jerry ran his make shift blood typing test in his little brother. Fitz was very aware of the dawning realization that came across the doctor's face as he realized exactly what he was hearing. Despite his apparent shock, Dr. Jameson was a professional and tried to assuage any fears while at the same time telling Jerry that this particular test was likely the one fluke among superior results in the other cases. After drawing Teddy's blood (who was a trooper and didn't shed a year), the doctor told Fitz that the results would be rushed and kept confidential. Confidentiality was always Dr. Jameson's intent. Unfortunately, an emergency patient required his immediate attention, thus Dr. Jameson's mind was not focused on going through the steps of a John Doe blood typing or making sure the lab tech didn't know that the blood sample he was being entrusted with belong to the President's youngest child. Because of that, the tech saw dollar signs and knew a big payday was waiting for him.

Present Day

"Let me get this straight. You took Teddy to a public hospital, all because of Jerry's homework assignment?! Fitz, what the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you wait so that we could this quietly and privately?" To say Cyrus was incredulous and angry at Fitz's short sighted behavior would have been an understatement.

"Fitz, I have to agree with Cyrus. How could you have been so reckless?" Olivia asked, still trying to wrap her mind around the story she'd just been told. "You're usually much more measured and tactful. I don't understand-"

"Look, excuse me for not having all of my faculties in order after finding out from my oldest son that my youngest son is likely not mine." Fitz laughed mirthlessly. "Jerry walked into this office and explained his results. I was in shock. The only thing I could think about doing was trying to find out if Jerry was right."

"How is Jerry handling this?" Olivia asked, thinking about the teenager she's gotten to know a bit during the campaign. Olivia often didn't know how to take Jerry and often felt as if he were sizing her up for a reason only known to him. Sometimes, she felt as if knew, hence why the boy tended to keep his distance.

"He feels like shit. But he'll be fine. He knows he did the right thing by telling me." Fitz squared his face after thinking about his teenaged son. "So, what are your thoughts? Not that I don't already know..."

"First we have to-," began Cyrus when he was interrupted by a knock on the door and Britta Kagen poking her head through.

"Mr. President, we have to...Liv! No one told me that you were here," Britta said with a smile, as she made her way toward Liv to give her a quick, but heartfelt, hug.

"It's good to see you, Britta, though I wish it was under better circumstances. How have you decided to handle the press?" Olivia questioned, deferring to the Press Secretary.

"Liv, since you're here I think it makes the most sense for you to take the lead on this one. After all, you are Olivia Pope, fixer extraordinaire! I could really use your help-there's no issue of ego here." Britta nodded at Olivia. Olivia looked to Fitz and then Cyrus, who nodded in agreement with Britta's suggestion. The four of them then began to formulate a plan of attack on the media, with Fitz more reluctant than he should be. Britta had just tossed out an idea when Mellie burst into the room, frustration and anger evident on her face, slamming the door behind her.

"My chief of staff informed me of the latest headlines controlling the news cycles," Mellie huffed, her cheeks red and her eyes hard. "Fitz, what the hell have you done?"

Fitz eyed Mellie with a combined look of disdain and mirth. "What have I done? That's rich coming from my wife who tried to pass off another man's child as my own." That comment served to leave Mellie wide eyed and open mouthed, for there wasn't much she could say to counter Fitz's words. Instead of making a snappy comeback, Mellie yelled for Olivia, Cyrus and Britta to leave the Oval Office. When Fit nodded, Cyrus and Britta immediately made their way out of the Oval. Olivia stayed where she was, however, not wanting to leave Fitz alone. Because Fitz saw Mellie open her mouth, likely with the intent to spew blistering words toward Olivia, Fitz walked Olivia out of the Oval himself and closed the door behind her.

The tension that surrounded Fitz and Mellie was palpable, and their identical glares did not help the situation.

"So?" Fitz demanded.

"So, what?"

"Mellie, don't be flippant. I am not in the mood for it. You will answer me. Who is Teddy's father?"

"You are!"

"You know what I mean, Mellie." Fitz sighed as he made his way back to the couched and plopped down. He leaned back against the couch and covered his face with his hands. "Mellie, don't you get tired of pretending? We've been pretending for over 20 years. Admittedly I've gone along with it, and I can't blame you for my part in that. But, I'm tired. I'm tired of living my life as if I were a child playing a game of make believe. And this? With Teddy? It's just reaffirmed exactly how tired I am. So please, who is Teddy's biological father?"

Mellie, having rarely heard Fitz say that many words to her at one time in the past few years, was stunned. In the few seconds she took before giving Fitz and answer, she tried to think of a good lie or a way to sway him from not continuing down this path. But, her mind was empty of everything except the truth.

"Phillip Ronson," Mellie answered.

Fitz stared blankly at her as he tried to place the name. After a minute, it came to Fitz. "Phillip Ronson, Republican representative of the state of Virginia? That Phillip Ronson?"

Fitz met Mellie's affirmative nod with laughter. "You've really done it now, Mellie."

"You have nothing to stand on considering the fact that for the lay few years of marriage you've been carrying on with your who-"

Fitz shot up from his seat on the couch. "I'd think hard before finishing that statement Mellie. You will not call Olivia names in front of me. Now, sit down," Fitz ordered as he sat back down on the couch. He didn't speak again until Mellie sat across from him.

"Does Phillip know that Teddy is his?" Fitz asked, thinking about the little boy who has curls identical to his.

"Yes."

"Yes...? And?"

Mellie blew out air from deep in her chest. "And that's it. It was a one-time romp in a secluded room. I have needs too you know," said Mellie by way of a partial explanation. "I told him I was pregnant, he said he wanted nothing to do with it, that he had a family and it would ruin him. Which was fine by me, anyway, as I wanted nothing further to do with him."

Mellie paused for a second before resuming her tale. "I was trying to figure out my next step when Olivia came to me about trying to fix the Amanda Tanner situation. It was my idea to say I was "newly pregnant" as a way to get the media to drop the story. And," Mellie continued with a look of derision on her face, "despite the fact that you could barely get it up, I guess you thought it was enough to have gotten me pregnant after a couple of your half assed attempts."

Fitz let Mellie's unsubtle questioning of his virility go as he took the entirety of the information in. "Ok, Mellie. Fine. Nothing has changed with Teddy."

"What do you mean?" Mellie asked, the skepticism in her eyes and tone very apparent.

"Teddy is my son. I will raise him as my son. When he gets old enough to understand everything, we will explain the situation to him. Ok? I will not abandon him. He's my son, he's a Grant. I will take care of him and I will love him. You have my word."

"Fitz...thank you. Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me or even to Teddy. You are the only father he's ever known and he will love you even more for this!" To say Mellie was happy would have been an understatement. She didn't think the situation would turn out this way. "Now, we have to figure out how we are going to handle this with the press. Obviously, I'll be contrite, but your forgiveness should go a long way toward -"

"I want a divorce. And, you are going to give me one." Fitz's statement was met by silence and then anger.

"Are you out of your mind? I will not give you a divorce. I will not let you use this to paint me as some philandering harlot just so you can ride off into the sunset with that -"

"Mellie, ENOUGH! What did I tell you? You will give me a divorce. Do you think I care if this all comes out and I cannot run for a second term? Because...try me."

"Fitz, I will drag you through so much dirt that Pig Pen will look like he bathed in bleach standing next to you."

"I wish you would. I WISH you would. Then I can tell the whole world how you induced Teddy's labor a couple of weeks early to just keep your foot in this White House." Fitz could see that this bit of information shocked Mellie. "Yea, you didn't think I knew about that fact did you? Yes, I found out about it. And I know more things than you can ever dream Mellie."

Despite the harshness of his words, Fitz did not want to drag even more of their person business out for the world to see, for their children to see. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before relocating to sit next to Mellie.

"Mellie, I meant what I said. I'm tired of pretending. You and I both deserve better than this. Staying together as a way to keep the other miserable is not healthy. We may have been raised to accept loveless marriages held together by a tenuous partnership, even in the face of so much negativity, but I don't want our children to model their relationships and marriages after us. "

"Fitz, you can't be serious! I will not -"

"Mellie, we will work out a settlement. I will be more than fair and increase some of the monetary allowances in our prenup. We will not let the children be unduly harmed. We will not fight over them publicly. And, you will have my public backing if and when you embark on your political career. But, know that you will not even be able to get a political career started if you go against me. I've already reached the top with being the President of the United States. I can bow out. You are the one that has to consider how to get started."

Mellie being Mellie wanted to argue and fight. Yet, she knew Fitz was right. Playing dirty would only lead him to play dirtier, and her political aspirations could be shot to hell. There was no way she could twist this to look better - lying about paternity was, perhaps, one of the worse things a person could do. It could be insurmountable without his backing. For Mellie, her political goals were paramount.

"Fine, Fitz. Lets contact our lawyers and get everything in writing, including your promise to back my political run as well as the fact that Teddy will be a Grant in both name and care and that you will treat him the same way you do Jerry and Karen."

Fitz and Mellie shook hands and then Fitz shocked her by leaning over and kissing her on the cheek and then on the hand he was still holding. "Lets just keep this between us, the kids and the lawyers, ok? We can handle this."

"Ok Fitz. We'll do this your way."

With that, went to fetch Liv, Cyrus and Britta back to the Oval. Despite being asked repeatedly, neither Fitz nor Mellie divulged the topic of their conversation. They merely tasked the trio with making sure no further information leaked, and that a press conference and a sit down interview was scheduled sooner rather than later. Olivia's sporadic looks of confusion were largely ignored by Fitz, who couldn't let himself be distracted by them if he wanted his wishes to come to fruition.

The following day, a hush of silence fell over the press room as Fitz walked in and made his way toward the podium. He took a deep breath and began to speak, letting the words roll off his tongue with ease.

"I'm going to keep this fairly short and simple. Two days ago an employee at James Madison Hospital leaked the confidential results of a blood test concerning me and my son." The emphasis on the possessive "my" was not lost on the press core. "To say that person has face some repercussions for their violation of their employment agreement with the hospital as well as HIPAA laws would be an understatement. Yet, I'm sure the safety and confidentiality of patient records as a whole is of less concern to you all than my marriage and my family." Fitz paused, looking disapprovingly around the room, though the press core looked unashamed in their unabashed "truth" seeking.

"The results of the test are true. Biologically, Theodore Grant is not my son. But biology means nothing when you've loved a child from the moment you knew of their existence, loved them from the moment they took their first breath, had their first cry. Loved them from the moment you think your child smiled at you for the first time, then you realize it may have been the result of a little gas," Fitz said with a small smile, bringing a much needed dose of levity to the situation.

"Teddy is my son. He was my son last week before this news and he will remain my son." Fitz paused. "Any questions?"

Hands shot up quickly, each vying for Fitz's attention. Fitz looked into the crowd and called a name.

"Mr. President, though it is admirable that you still consider Teddy your son, what about his biological father? Does he not want to be in the child's life?"

"Information concerning Teddy's biological father will have to be provided by my wife. While legally I am Teddy's father, I understand that his biological father could seek to have their parental rights ratified by a court of law. That said, in the event of that happening, I would hope that we could all be adults about this, and make some sort of an agreement or compromise that would be in Teddy's best interests. Now, if you will excuse me-"

"Mr. President," called James from the audience, interrupting Fitz's getaway. Fitz would have kept walking, but figured since he was turning Cyrus's life upside down, the least he could so was try and answer James' question. Fitz remained at the podium looking expectantly at James.

"Mr. President, you have yet to mention the First Lady's role in this deception and how it has affected your marriage. Could you please tell us the state of your marriage?"

"My marriage," Fitz paused, "is none of your business. If and when we choose to make a statement, we will do so together, and you will know. Thank you and good evening."

Fitz stepped back from the podium and walked out of the press room with more confidence and surety in his words than he ever had during his time as the President. It felt good to actually start living in his truth and making the moves to do so, naysayers be damned.

Olivia was beat and could do nothing more but walk into her apartment and practically fling herself on her couch. She was too tired to even get herself a glass of wine. During two days following Fitz's press conference, she'd putting out fire and after fire. While she did have some open cases at OPA, and she considered each of her cases important, they weren't of such a high magnitude that she needed to be present to oversee everything. She trusted her team to know what to do, when to do it, and how it should be done. She dropped in for at least an hour to get progress updates and to dispense advice, but the rest of her time was being spent at the White House in her former office (which Britta had no problem letting her use as a home base). The "vultures" were flying above and ready to attack in the form of overzealous media. Olivia had to call in a few favors and use some strong language not to have certain stories run on air, including a rehash of the of the audio tape fiasco that had nearly brought Fitz's presidency crashing down. To say that Olivia needed a good night's rest in the form of at least five straight hours was an understatement.

Somehow she found the strength to get up and take a quick shower before changing into a silk pajama set and tying her hair up with a silk scarf. Olivia had just gotten under the covers when she realized she forgot the check some emails pertaining to Fitz and Mellie's live sit down interview that was scheduled for the following day. Sighing, she made her way back into her living room to her laptop. After punching in the password, her laptop sprang to life and she immediately went about finalizing questions for the interview. She'd just finished when she heard keys jangling in the door.

"Olivia?" Edison called as he made his way into her apartment and locked the door behind him. He saw her and walked over and kissed her on the lips, her face upturned to meet his. He sat sat next to her and pu an arm around her shoulder.

"How was your day? I tried to call you a few times but I could never reach you," Edison said, with a look that was a mixture of both concern and annoyance, if one could believe such a look was possible.

"Busy. So much is going at the White House right now. If one of the aides hadn't brought me food, I don't think I would have remembered to eat," Olivia aid, followed by a sigh. "Sorry I didn't return your calls."

Edison looked at her open laptop on the coffee table, tipping his chin toward it. "And even after all of that, you're still working?" He asked, starring at the screen. After noticing Edison's attention on her laptop screen Olivia quickly leaned over and closed her laptop.

"What's the big deal, Liv?"

"You know the big deal, Edison. Don't do this. I've already told you that for this to work, there needs to be a Chinese wall between us. It makes things so much less complicated given our respective positions."

Edison sighed. "Whatever you say, Liv." He then leaned over and kissed her again, and she responded. His hands roamed her body, palming her breasts. Yet, Olivia was tired and the likely release that he body needed to get rid of her stress would have to wait. She was about to halt his hand when he cell phoned chimed. She immediately stopped the hand that was under her silk pajama top caressing her breast and rubbing his thumb over a nipple he was trying to make erect.

She looked at the phone's caller ID and saw that was Harrison calling. He wanted to h over a slight issue with a current case as well as touch base regarding Fitz. Olivia had walked into her kitchen so that she could have a measure of privacy. When she came back into the living room, Edison piped up "saved by the cell phone" and stood up, taking off his suit jacket.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You've been avoiding me."

"I am not!" Olivia said with a certain level of indignation.

"We haven't had sex in a week."

"The president just found out his youngest son is not biologically his."

Edison looked searchingly at her face. "What does that have to do with our love life?"

"You want to have sex?" Olivia asked, her back to him as she began walking to her bedroom. "Fine, let's go."

"I don't want to have sex if you're going to have an attitude."

Olivia swiftly turned around to glare at him. "I don't have an attitude!"

"Yes, you do. And, it's all because of this extra work you are doing for the President. I don't even understand why you are doing all of this, you don't work for him anymore," Edison threw out. For some reason, Olivia felt that there was more to this than Edison explicitly stated. Olivia noticed that he would make little comments about Fitz and ask her questions here and there, especially after the last state dinner they'd attended.

"What's your point, Edison?" Olivia asked, arms folded in front of her denoting her defensive and annoyed state of mind.

"My point is that I don't understand all of this. Why are you tiring yourself out like this?"

"I'm doing it because the President is..." Olivia paused briefly and held back the words that found themselves on the tip of her tongue, unchained from her subconscious. "Fitz is my friend. He's my friend and he's going through a tough time. I can help him and I want to help him. I don't want this to overshadow all of the good that's he's done thus far and want to work to make sure the public doesn't focus on this over more important matters."

"Don't you think taking on so much more work unnecessarily is selfish? I've barely seen you over these last few days."

If Olivia didn't already have her hair wrapped, she may have pulled at it in her frustration at Edison's selfishness and his purposeful obtuseness. Instead, for a few moments, it made her think...

Past - Sometime During the Republican Primary

Olivia was tired, beat and almost dead on her feet. The campaign to secure the republican nomination for president was heating up swiftly. Fitz, with Olivia's help and coaching, had finally captured the attention of his republican constituents and the tide was certainly in his favor. If they could keep it up, there was no reason Fitz wouldn't win. But all of Olivia's eating, sleeping and living for Fitzgerald Grant, especially given the change in their relationship, was starting to take a toll on her body. She felt like shit, was tired, and felt as if a cold was coming on. All Olivia wanted to do was sleep, despite the relatively early time of 10:34 p.m. that was displayed on the clock sitting on hotel room's nightstand.

Stepping out of the bathroom, with her hair pulled back into a pony tail and wearing an over-sized Grant For The People campaign t-shirt, she made her way toward the bed. She was one step away from flinging herself onto the comfortable looking bed when the connecting door to her room was pushed open. Fitz stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. When he saw her, he gave her a crooked smile and said "hi." Ever since the first night she decided to follow him into his bed almost two weeks ago, Olivia and Fitz tried to spend time together-alone-every night. Tonight they'd lucked out, having been assigned to rooms that shared a connecting door.

Fitz, who wore black boxers and a Navy t-shirt, walked over to her. He placed his hand on her cheeks and rubbed his thumbs across them. Fitz then leaned forward and placed gentle kisses on her forehead, her nose and then her mouth.

"How are you?" he asked, his hands still holding her face with his thumbs now fluttering over her still puckered lips.

"I'm ok, just tired. I was just about to go to bed," Olivia responded after wrapping her arms around Fitz's waist.

"Well, then my timing is perfect. What time do we need to be up tomorrow?" Fitz posed that question after he let go of Olivia and moved toward the room's alarm clock, which he set after Olivia called out a time.

"C'mon Ms. Pope, lets get you into bed." With that, Fitz turned down Olivia's side of the bed and then held his hand out to her, beckoning her to come to him."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, looked at his outstretched hand and walked toward him. She got into bed and Fitz tucked her in, kissing her once again on her forehead. After checking to make sure Olivia's door was secure for the night, he walked around the bed to his side and got in. Olivia, propped up on her elbow, watched him with a shrewd eye. Fitz just grinned, kissed her and told her good night. He shut off the light and rolled closer to her so that he could wrap his arm around her waist. Olivia was confused. Was that it? Instead of laying down and letting Fitz further curl his body around hers, she turned to her own light switch and flicked the light back on.

"What's wrong Livvie? Did you forget something?"

"Don't you want to have sex?" Olivia almost cringed at the softness and undisguised neediness in her voice.

"Well...yea," Fitz chuckled. "Olivia, there's never going to be a time when I don't want to make love to you. But didn't you say you were tired?"

"I did."

"And, honestly, you look pretty beat, Liv."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Just want every woman wants to hear from the man in her life. Thanks a lot, Fitz."

Fitz mimicked Liv's posture and propped himself up on his own elbow. "Liv, what is this about?"

Minutes passed in silence with Liv and Fitz staring at each other. Fitz, having learned some of Olivia's quirks over the weeks, was learning when and when not to push her. Now wasn't the time, so he'd just wait until Olivia was ready to talk about whatever was bothering her. Olivia, always one to hold her feelings close to her chest, almost turned the light back off. Yet, she saw that Fitz was serious and really wanted to know what was bothering her. She sighed and just went with it, repercussions be dammed.

"We've had sex - mad love - every night," Olivia began.

"Yes we have, and I don't even know how to adequately describe it, Livvie. It's been like...coming home." Fitz smiled at her and Olivia's heart jumped into her throat.

"Well then Fitz, I don't understand why..." She trailed off, not able to complete her thought, to allow her insecurity over the situation she put herself in to show.

It took no more than a few moments for it to click inside Fitz's head. "You think this is just about the sex? Is that why you're worried about us just sleeping and not making love?" Fitz got his answer when Olivia averted her eyes from his. "Oh, Livvie. Look at me please." It took a moment, but Olivia's gaze met his once more.

"I understand how and why you feel this way. Our situation is not the best, nor is it conventional. But, please believe me when I say that this," he motioned his pointer finger back and forth between them, "is not about the sex. Again, the sex is great, but it's more than that. I'm just as happy to hold you tonight. We don't have to do anything you don't want to, ok? Us having sex nightly is not a requirement for what we have going on."

Olivia smiled sweetly. "And exactly what is it that we have going on, Fitz?"

"Love." Fitz kissed her deeply this time, and tried to pour all of the feelings he had for Olivia in that kiss. "Lets go to sleep now, ok? We have a long day tomorrow."

Olivia turned the light off and rolled over to meet Fitz halfway. She rested her head against his chest and his heartbeat lulled her to sleep

Present Day

Olivia subtly shook her head to get rid of the cobwebs of her reminiscence about her time with Fitz out of her head.

"Edison, if we are going to be together and make this work, you will have to understand just how important my work is to me. You're going to have to understand how important the relationships I've built through my work is to me, particularly my relationship with the White House," Olivia held her hand up to Edison to stave off his ensuing interruption. "There will be times when I'm pulling all nighters and may spend the night at the office. And, there will be times when I'm just tired, too tired to satisfy your more baser urges."

"Olivia, it's not like that! I can't believe you are flipping this around like this, as if I'm merely some horny teenager," Edison argued.

"I didn't flip anything. I'm telling it like it is. You, know, there will be times when you're too tired to have sex with me, and I hope I never act like you've acted tonight," Olivia said and turned to walk toward her bedroom. Before reaching her destination, she turned around to look at Edison once more. "I'm going to bed and I think you should sleep at your place tonight. Make sure you lock up behind you."

The following day Fitz and Mellie sat together on a couch in one of the White House great rooms. This one in particular was one of the least formal rooms in the building, besides from the rooms in the Residence. To Olivia's mind, the more homey and welcoming feel of this particular room would do well in serving to remind the public that, despite the fact that Fitz and Mellie were the first couple, they were still an everyday married couple just like the same married couples who'd voted for them and were now likely sitting in front of their televisions watching the first live interview since the paternity scandal broke.

After Fitz's forced press conference, both Olivia and Cyrus thought it best that they put Fitz and Mellie together as a united front in an interview with Kimberly Mitchell. As Olivia once said, the public loved Kimberly, and they needed every bit of good will on their side. Olivia and Cyrus stood on the sidelines as they watched Kimberly ask question after question about Fitz and Mellie's marriage and how and why the public had gotten such a different impression of the couple. Olivia wasn't one to fidget as a way to release nervous energy, but she did it then, since pacing in circles wouldn't work with the small amount of space she shared with Cyrus. Olivia couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that this interview had the potential to shift the current trajectory of her life.

The interview appeared to be going well, with Mellie showing obvious remorse for her actions and Fitz appearing forgiving. Then, Kimberly asked the $64,000 question: "Mr. Present and First Lady Grant. Where does this situation leave you and your marriage? How do you go forward?"

Fitz had been waiting for a question like this. It was time to live in his truth. "Mellie and I have decided to get a divorce."

It took everything Olivia had in her not to gasp out loud. Fitz had spoken of divorce a few times since she'd known him. Each and every time he'd brought it up to her, which stemmed as far back as a couple of months into their relationship, she'd talk to him out of it using anything to do with the Presidency as a rational reason as to why he could not divorce his wife. But, hearing him say it on live television showed Liv how serious he was this time. There was no going back from this.

"A divorce? Mr. President, I must say I'm shocked. Not only because a sitting President has never gotten a divorce and because no former President has gotten a divorce either, but because I see clear forgiveness from you for her. So, why take this step?" Kimberly asked, her eyes moving slowly between Mellie and Fitz.

"Kimberly, my wife and I have spoken about this at length. After much thought a d consideration, we've come to the conclusion that it's the right thing to do for us and our family."

"Yes, Kimberly, Fitz is right," Mellie said, interjecting herself into this conversation if only for appearances sake. Fitz was a man of his word and Mellie was smart enough, in this instance, to do everything to ensure he kept his promises to back her for her eventual political office run. "It's the best thing for all involved parties. Fitz and I will always love and care for each other. But this is not the only issue here. We have both done things that we aren't necessarily proud of. There have been other times where we had seriously contemplated divorce, but held off, thinking that us being together was the best thing to do."

"Yes. Mellie is right. We both feel that we have done everything we could to make this marriage work. We've concluded that, perhaps, we were just meant to be friends and partners in a non-romantic sense."

"I'm sure the country is quite surprised by all of tonight's revelations," Kimberly stated, voice still laced with a certain amount of incredulity.

"Well," began Mellie, "I'm sure that many people have friends who are married and, from the outside looking in, appear to have a great marriage. Then one day, the couple who once had the greats triage is now informing you that they have decided to end the union. Fitz and I are no different in that respect. We have the same struggles as other married couples, with the position we are in not being a sort of panacea for marriage woes."

Olivia was impressed that it was Mellie who firmly pushed the "we are normal people just like you" forward, and thought it would do well to both assuage the public at this time as well as put her in a better position for her future political aspirations.

The interview lasted about twenty more minutes, with Kimberly asking questions about custody (to which the world was told that Fitz and Mellie would share legal and physical custody), living arrangements (Mellie would remain in the Washington D.C. area so as not to cause too much upheaval with the kids), whether Mellie would retain her First Lady title (she would not), and Mellie's plans for the future (to which she mentioned she'd always kept her license active and had waived into the D.C. Bar years ago, thus she may decide to practice for a bit. With a secretive smile, though, she told Kimberly that it was both important and good to sit back patiently and watch things unfold). At the interview's conclusion, Kimberly bid the still First Couple good night and implored the audience to think about their own relationships and marriages and remember that the couple before them had the same struggles as any couple out there.

All in all, Olivia thought the interview went well. It was fair and balanced, which was Kimberly's specialty and why they tended to grant her exclusive interviews. Olivia could tell, though, that Cyrus was more than nervous about the divorce bombshell, which was reasonable. Even Olivia wondered why Fitz hadn't told her of his plans. Once Kimberly and her crew left the room, escorted out by agents, Mellie dropped the act. Her annoyance, anger, and residual shock over Fitz actually going through with the divorce, signaled by his on air declaration of it, made itself known. She stalked over to Olivia and looked her in the eye and said loudly "I hope you know what you're doing, Fitz," before leaving the room. Olivia sighed, guessing that was as much warning and reprisal she would get for a couple of weeks, at least. Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but Cyrus decided now was the time to have his voice heard.

"You must want to put me in an early grave. Are you out of your damn mind? I can't believe you did this. So, do you not want to be president for a second term?" Cyrus yelled.

"Cyrus. Just stop. I don't want to hear it. What's done is done. I'm tired of living this way so that you can live vicariously through me. It's done. Deal with it. Make it work. If you want to still be chief of staff to the President of the United States of America for another term, it's your job to make sure the divorce doesn't stop that from happening." With that declaration, Fitz left, trailed by Tom, as he made his way back to the Oval Office.

Cyrus huffed and puffed as if he were the big bad wolf while pulling at his hair. "He's insane. And naive. He hasn't thought this through. I just..."

Olivia had had enough. "Cyrus, stop it. He's not insane. Naive, maybe, though I prefer to see it as him being hopeful that the American public will think more about his record than him being divorced." Olivia paused before going on. "Fitz is tired, Cyrus. He's been living for other people most of his life-including you. He wants to live for himself now. There's no stopping him this time."

Turning himself to face her, Cyrus snarled. "Oh, I'm sure you're very pleased about all of this. I'm sure you're jumping at the bit to go run to him and make plans for your future as the First Lady."

Once again, Olivia wasn't having any of Cyrus's attitude. "Cyrus, I'm not dealing with your attitude today. I distinctly remember you telling me, a few months ago, that I should talk to Fitz and be there for him because he'd changed and that his spark was gone," Olivia yelled, walking to stand directly in front of Cyrus, staring him straight in the eyes. "You always do this. When things with Fitz aren't so great, you want me to come and talk to him. "He listens to you" you tell me. You want me to fix him. You dangle these tidbits in front of me, and when things are fixed and Fitz wants to be with me, you sabotage everything. And I, with my education and vast experience—experience dealing with YOU—let you do it each and every time. Well, no more!"

Olivia turned around, her hair whipping over her shoulder and hitting Cyrus in the face. She grabbed her bag and coat that were resting on a chair near the room's entrance. "If Fitz wants to be with me, we're going to be together. And, this time, I won't let you or anyone else stop us."

With a new found clarity, Olivia made her way to the Oval, hoping that Fitz was there instead of in the Residence. She found him, standing by the window and staring at the green expanse of the White House lawn. "Fitz," she called, wanting to both let him know he was no longer alone and to get his attention. He smiled at her when he saw her, and she smiled in return.

"So, Olivia Pope, fixer extraordinaire. How did I do?" he asked, walking toward her.

"You did as well as could be expected. So did Mellie, actually. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was completely on board with the divorce and that it truly was mutually agreed upon," Olivia said with a small smile. She watched Fitz walk closer and closer to her, and now he was there. She wanted so badly to touch him, to embrace him, but she held back.

"Mellie knows how to play the game. She also knows that I will keep my word about helping her when the time comes for her to run for office. She also knows that I will love and support Teddy without question." Fitz paused briefly as his mind finally began to grasp everything that had taken place over the last few days. "I'm free, Liv. She and I...we can finally stop this charade."

Olivia marveled at the look of wonderment on Fitz's face. "Yes, you are. You can live the life you want."

Fitz saw those big brown doe eyes of hers looking up at him with expectation, her voice tinged with hope as she repeated the words he spoke over a year ago in this very room. He could feel her brain working and thinking about the new possibility him publicly announcing his imminent divorce would bring them. He could tell she was thinking about them and their future, a future that was now ripe with possibilities. He saw Olivia open her mouth to speak words that he'd waited a long time to hear-but he stopped her.

"Liv. Livvie...we can't do this." Fitz watched Olivia snap her mouth shut and then look at him with a gaze that showed her confusion.

"What can't we do, Fitz?"

"This...this thing between us. We just can't. The timing..."

"What do you mean the timing? You're getting a divorce. You're finally getting a divorce. I don't understand..." Olivia trailed off, her brain floundering for some type of explanation why she wasn't in Fitz's arms and pouring all of the love she had for him in a heated kiss.

"And I have three kids who are going to go through a mountain of upheaval. Things would have been doable with just a divorce. But now, with this whole thing with Teddy's paternity...they are going to need time to settle," Fitz explained and Olivia couldn't deny the truth of his statement nor would she want to cause the children any more distress. She was fine with taking the kids into consideration of their timing.

"And, Olivia- I would have gotten a divorce months ago if you didn't go behind my back and scheme with Mellie. But, for whatever reason, you wanted to put my presidency before my love for you," Fitz reasoned.

"Fitz, that's not fair. I was trying to help you-"

"But I didn't ask for your help, Livvie."

Olivia huffed. This isn't what she expected when she made her declaration to Cyrus about being with Fitz no matter who stood in their way. She didn't actually think that Fitz would be the one standing in the way of her happiness.

"And, in case you've forgotten, you're an engaged woman," Fitz said, his eye trained on her left hand and the diamond engagement ring she wore. And, Olivia had forgotten she was engaged. The moment Fitz declared he would be getting a divorce to Kimberly, all of thoughts of Edison and her engagement flew out of her head. All she could think was that she was being given a second chance, that this was it.

"Did you plan on calling off your engagement?" Fitz asked, staring at her. Olivia, being so taken aback at the turn of this conversation said nothing, but stared at Fitz in return. The look on her face reminded Fitz of the night he'd "let her go" right before he left for the G8 conference. He could tell, then, that she was holding back tears just as she was doing right before him. Fitz sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"You told me you were happy, remember?"

"I know I did, but...I just..." Olivia trailed off, at a lost. Yes, she had told Fitz that she was happy about her engagement. But that was when she thought she had no real options, that her dream of being with Fitz was an impossible one. "I know I told you I was happy. And it wasn't a lie. But, I realize I could be happier."

"Livvie, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be cold. This is not some sort of payback. You and I...I love you, Olivia. I'll always love you." Once again, Olivia's face perked up in a semblance of hope upon hearing Fitz's last statement. When she opened her mouth to talk, to perhaps express her own love for him, Fitz held up his hand to stop her. "I love you...but now is not our time. Honestly, I don't know if our time will ever come."

"Fitz, what the hell are you talking about?" Olivia demanded out of frustration.

"All my life I've made decisions based on the needs and wants of others. I've done things to please my dad and gain his approval. I've acquiesced to Mellie and Cyrus more times than I can count. Even in going along with your plan to not divorce when our audio sex tape was released, I did it for you, not me. It's about time that I started doing things for myself," Fitz explained.

"Livvie, I don't want you to decide to end your engagement because of me. That's our problem. We've tried to make these major decisions based on the other person without doing serious introspection. I should have never agreed to continue my farce of a marriage with the pregnancy. Yet, because I thought you didn't want me, I stayed in my position when I could have gotten a divorce regardless of whether or not you'd be there for me. Do you see my point, Liv? You need to make the best decision for you, not for me."

This time Olivia wasn't able to hold back the tear that had been threatening to fall, letting one escape and trail a heated path down her face. Once she realized her shield had broken, she hastily swiped the salty liquid off of her cheek. "So what are you telling me Fitz?"

"I'm telling you that we need time. We need to let the dust settle. Everything is always so heightened with us. We need to make decisions about us when the sky isn't falling and there's no sense of urgency. We need to make decisions about our future when we're not fear that, unless we jump on a perceived opportunity, we are running out of time. We need to work on ourselves, me with my need to please and acquiesce and you with your habit of running away when things are difficult."

"But I'm not running, Fitz. I'm here! I'm here with you!"

"And you don't know how much I appreciate the fact that you are here. But a part of me questions if I had told you about my plan to divorce, would you have tried to stop me again. You're so willing to forsake happiness with me over something that has an expiration date. You need to think about that. We need to work on ourselves before we can begin to have a real chance. If we are meant to be together, we will be." Fitz walked the few paces separating them and took Olivia's hands in his, which he brought up to his mouth to kiss. He then wrapped her in a huge that soothed her soul. After kissing her on the forehead, he stared at her once more. "Goodbye, Livvie."

"Goodbye, Mr. President." Olivia walked away, not knowing if she would ever see her Fitz-not the President-again.

A/N: Hello all! I know it's been 84 years since the last update, but I seriously lost my urge to write. The back 9 truly messed with some of my love for this show, and I didn't feel like writing in their world (and, to be honest, so far s3a has not worked in bringing much of that love back, though I did like 3.05 more than 3.02-3.04 put together, though that isn't saying much). That said, I got some inspiration a few of weeks ago while walking to the train station, and started writing immediately on the Evernote App bit by bit. I hope you enjoyed it, as I honestly enjoyed writing it! Please leave comments and feedback!

Also, I haven't forgotten about the last chapter for The Trail Redux. It's coming...eventually.

xoxo