Hey everyone! So, I had to delete my stories because I was reported as violating the Terms of Service for FF net. That's why TLFY was originally deleted from here.

I'm pretty sure I know who did it, but not to fear, I'm back with a vengeance! Also, the if ever there is an "extended" scene in a chapter, it'll be posted on my LJ anovelgrlwrites dot livejournal dot com. I've taken out a lot of the explicit stuff and left the meat of the chapters. For extended scenes, go to my LJ.

Anon who reported me, you can't hold me down! xoxo JW


"...where can I turn?

Covered in scars I did nothing to earn."

-The Last Five Years

The Worst is Over

June 2009

Olivia already felt as though they'd made a huge mistake buying a house with so many stairs.

The four bedroom, three-and-a-half bath townhouse in Old Town Alexandria was a dream: hardwood floors, gourmet kitchen, master suite with balcony, patio on the roof, and a two car garage, clocking in at just under $800,000.

More than that, it was their place. She and Fitz had finally made it happen for the two of them. A year of sneaking around, a year of waiting for Fitz's nasty divorce to settle down, and they were finally able to start their life together.

"Hey! No, resting Ms. Pope. There's a lot more stuff to get settled."

Olivia stared at him from her perch on the steps. She stuck her tongue out and reclined back on the hard stairs.

"Why didn't we send all out things with the moving crew, again?"

Fitz chuckled and set the box he was holding down at the foot of the stairs. He leaned his body over her reclined one. He gently pecked her lips once, then again before plopping down on the step below her.

"Because we wanted that genuine 'moving in together experience.'"

"That was stupid of us."

"We only brought twenty of our own boxes, Liv."

"We have three flights of stairs, Fitzgerald Grant, or have you forgotten?"

Fitz moved off his step quickly and laid himself over Olivia's body, pressing her into the stairs.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten, sweet baby. I can't wait to take you on both flights of stairs."

Olivia groaned; a little from discomfort, but mostly from being turned on.

"You're going to need to put a pin in that, dear. We need to finish, then I'm going to take a nap, then you can ravage me on the stairs, or anywhere you like for that matter."

Fitz pressed his hips deeper into Olivia's and watched as her eyes turned hazy and unfocused. He loved the power he held over her body. She became putty in his hands at a well-spoken phrase or gesture. He wasn't immune to her wiles, either. Every little thing she did made him crazy. He was continually amazed his life included the beautiful, vivacious, smart and sexy as hell woman beneath him.

"Let's just skip to the ravaging part."

Fitz attached his lips to hers, stopping whatever rebuttal she'd prepared. His fingers attached themselves to the buttons of her ochre colored shirt. He detached his mouth from hers and followed the trail of skin he was exposing.

His teeth scraped over her bra clad nipple making her moan and hit her head on the wood stairs.

"Ow."

Fitz chuckled, but didn't move his mouth for her chest.

"Fitz, can't we move to our bed upstairs?" she asked as she laced her fingers through his hair, giving a light tug. "It would be so much more comfortable."

Fitz popped the clasp on her bra and smiled up at her. "I'm comfortable here."

"That's because it's not your back that's being pressed into the hardwood."

"Fine," Fitz said as he quickly switched their positions so he was leaning against the steps and she was perched in his lap.

Fitz snuck a hand up her tiny shorts. She moaned and arched her back when the pads of his fingers brushed over her heat.

"Fitz, please, don't tease me now. There's plenty time for that later," she said nipping at his lips as his fingers gently probed her throbbing center. "Please, please."

Fitz growled and motioned for her to stand up. He ripped the shorts down her body along with her panties while she tried to unbuckle and unzip his well-worn jeans. She loved that pair to distraction because she loved how wonderful they made his ass look.

Olivia settled herself down on his exposed erection and sighed at the feeling of completeness. It'd been less than twenty-four hours since they'd been in a similar intimate position, but they were insatiable.

Olivia bucked against him meeting the rhythm he set. She was sure he was going to have a nasty bruise on the rear she loved so much, but that didn't stop her from pressing harder and taking more.

Fitz buried his face in her neck and bit down relishing in the ability to scream and grunt as loudly as they wanted. This was their house, their space, their lives and their very loud, slightly tawdry fuck.

Olivia chanted that she was close and screwed her eyes shut as Fitz's fingers strummed her perfectly sending her over the edge and causing such a magnificent yell to erupt from her mouth.

Fitz kissed her lightly, once, and then again before he gently moved her off his lap. Fitz stood on shaky legs and completely pulled down his jeans and boxers, threw off his Navy shirt and hoisted Olivia in a fireman's hold.

"Fitz, put me down this instant! What are you doing? You've got a bad back, ya know?"

Fitz popped Olivia twice on her ass causing a pleasurable groan to leave her lips.

"You're going to pay for that, Ms. Pope. All over this new house of ours. Again and again and again."

July 2012

"Mrs. Grant? Mrs. Grant?"

Olivia's head snapped up as he assistant stood beside her at the base of the stairs. Every single bit of space reminded her of him. Every single place in that 2500 square foot townhouse held a memory, bittersweet and painful.

"I'm sorry, Adrian, what did you say?"

"The movers wanted to know if the Mondrian is yours or Mr. Grant's?"

"It's mine. They can pack it-carefully. It's the original, not a print. And how many times have I told you to call me Olivia or Ms. Pope if you must be formal? I'm not Mrs. Grant anymore."

Adrian nodded and held her iPad close to her chest. "Noted, Ms. Pope. Once everything is loaded, you'll be all set. I've already arranged for all your final documents to forwarded to your new address. I'll stay and do the final walk through with the renter's tomorrow."

"I really appreciate you, Adrian. Thank you. Well, I'm going to head out if you don't need me for anything else."

Adrian shook her head. "Nothing at all, Ms. Pope. I'll finish up here."

Olivia smiled and gently squeezed Adrian's wrist in gratitude. She picked up her recently purchased Prada bag and threw it over her shoulder, desperately trying to block out the memories that seemed to live inside these walls.

Olivia briskly walked down the stairs and out of the front door. She climbed into the waiting towncar, her throat tight, barely keeping the tears at bay.

What a waste. Five years of her life gone. She had nothing; that wasn't true, she had a lot. She won their properties in the divorce settling and a generous alimony. She turned down the alimony, she had her own money, and all the property holdings except their Alexandria loft and the East Hampton beach house.

In hindsight, she wished she hadn't kept any of it. The memories didn't grow dimmer, in fact, they were so powerful at times that they'd cause Olivia's knees to buckle and her stomach to clench.

She felt like her heart was missing. She felt angry. She felt betrayed. But most of all, she just felt so utterly alone.

0o0o0

"Great work, as always Olivia. The client was thrilled with the rollout and has committed to three more years with the firm. Boy, am I ever glad I hired you."

Olivia smiled across her desk at her boss. Olivia had no idea what she was getting into by accepting a position at the prestigious BBDO as in house PR. She had no formal advertising experience, but was an infamous one woman spin machine. Plus, she adored her new boss.

Katherine Barkley was a powerful woman and head of Olivia's division. She was cunning, devious and brilliant. They were qualities that Olivia knew how to work with.

"I'm not that fantastic, Kat. This was easy."

"I put Egan on this months ago and he couldn't deliver. You've been here," Katherine stopped and looked at her Cartier watch. "Six days. Come on Liv, you're a god send, don't act like you aren't. Why don't you take the rest of the day? Finish setting up that gorgeous apartment you scored, which I'm insanely jealous of, and be back here in the morning."

Olivia smiled and nodded her assent. She knew better than to go head to head with Katherine over this.

Olivia straightened up her desk and picked up her handbag. She made her way down to the street where the car service afforded all the executives of BBDO waited to whisk her off to her apartment in Brooklyn.

The Dumbo district was dumbly named, but her building was nestled between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. She had fantastic views of Manhattan and Brooklyn in a space completely her own.

When Olivia made it home, Adrian was hard at work unpacking boxes and and directing a decorating team on where to hang the various pieces.

"Adrian, I think I'd like to donate that one." Olivia said pointing to the Mondrian that was being centered onto a blank wall beside her bay windows. "Would you find out if MoMA is accepting pieces right now?"

"Certainly, Ms. Pope." Adrian replied as she moved off towards the decorators to have them re-wrap the piece to take into the city.

Olivia walked into her kitchen and reached into one of the glass front cabinets for a wine glass. She opened a bottle of 2009 Malbec and let it breathe while she walked over to her window that overlooked the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a beautiful city. One that didn't haunt her the same way DC did.

"Ms. Pope?" Adrian interrupted before Olivia allowed herself to wallow in self-pity. "MoMA said they'd be happy to take the Mondrian on loan. They're doing a Neo-Placisits exhibit soon."

"Adrian, is there anything you can't do?"

"Well, I'm learning from the best Ms. Pope."

Olivia smiled and watched the young woman leave to continue instructing people where to go. Olivia never thought she'd need a personal assistant, but Adrian was proving to be worth her weight in gold.

Olivia vaguely wondered if once she'd finished spending $50,000 on her apartment if it'd lose that cold, empty feeling that seemed to consume her when she stepped inside. Even with no less than six people currently milling about, she felt utterly alone.

May 2012

"I went downtown and closed the bank account. Here's a bank draft for the balance," Fitz said as he held the bank note out in front of him.

Olivia stared at the paper for a moment before she turned back towards her open suitcase on the bed.

"Livi, please don't do this. We can work this out. Please don't go."

"Don't start this again. This is over. You made sure of that when you stopped coming home some nights. When you fucked her. I hope it was worth it."

"Olivia, please. Don't. It was a mistake. It happened one time. I swear it."

"Save your breath," Olivia said moving around him towards their shared dresser. Fitz, tired of being ignored, grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"I've apologized a thousand times, Liv. I'm begging you not to go. You were fine this morning. What happened?"

Olivia struggled to break his hold on her, but this only caused him to double his efforts.

"She happened, Fitz. She came around with this lovely little parting gift."

Olivia motioned towards the top of the dresser where a plain mamilla folder sat. Fitz reluctantly let her go and picked up the folder. A small black and white photo slid out into his hand when he tipped it over.

The bottom of the tiny picture listed, Tanner, A, twelve weeks. Attached was to the back was a tiny post-it reading "Congratulations, we're having a girl! Love, Amanda."

Fitz turned to Olivia who was busy stuffing her belongings into her suitcase.

"Livi, it's not my baby."

"Shut up, Fitz. Stop lying, for once, just stop lying. I couldn't give you another child and you were angry, I understand that, but this is too much. I can't believe you did this to us. I will never forgive you, Fitz."

Olivia was shaken from her memory by the feeling of wetness on her shoulder. She brought her hand up to her face and angrily wiped away the tears that'd formed there. She'd shed more than her fair share of tears over Fitzgerald Grant. Enough was enough.

It was time to start over.