((Hello! We are back with a new story! I'm not sure how long this one is going to be since, currently, I have about five chapters in my mind right now and three written out. My best friend and I love Olitz so much and we're always up in our feels so we get ideas for new stories! Sometimes one shots, or sometimes longer ideas. Hope you all like this chapter and the plot of the story. We hated the finale, so we hope this will make up for it. Thank you for all your love and reviews on our other story 'The Fear Of Losing You' and we hope you like this one!
Also, I'm still trying to debate where Olivia currently is. Most likely out of the country, but we'll have that figured out soon. It's not too much of a big deal as to the location of where she's at, but still nice to know, right? :P Hope you all enjoy and sorry for any bad descriptions of anything haha))
"I'll grab that!" Olivia Pope called across the hall to Jake Ballard whom was doing whatever in his room. She didn't hear anything from him when someone knocked on the door of their apartment door so she figured he was probably sleeping or showering or something. With a sigh, she set her laptop on the other side of the bed and slid off it; her bare feet touching the carpeted floor as she made her way out of her room. Dressed in a pair of blue shorts and a dark blue t-shirt, Olivia made her way down the hall and passed Jake's room; arriving in the spacious living room that had wooden floors and a circular indention in the middle of the floor where the two white couches were; on both sides of the black coffee table, one couch sitting towards the TV and the other with its back to it.
Once she arrived at the door of the apartment, Olivia stared through the peephole and what she saw made her heart stop and her breath catch in her throat. How was this possible? It couldn't be him! There was no way /he/ was here. She closed her eyes for a few moments and then re-opened them as if expecting that person to be gone, as if hoping she saw things, but she didn't so there was only one way for her to find out the reason he was standing on the other side of the door. Swallowing hard, Olivia unlocked both locks on the door and pulled the it open; her heart beating erratically in her chest from only standing right in front of /him/ after all of these months.
"Hi." The male greeted in that low, baritone voice that Olivia knew all too well. The voice that made her weak at the knees, the voice that did things to her, that made her feel like no other voice could. The voice she had grown to miss over her months of being away from D.C. Fitzgerald Grant.
"Hi." She greeted back; her mouth dry and hoarse as if she was losing her voice. She was just in shock and her eyes were even watering at the sudden surprise of him being here but she quickly blinked away the water that formed in her eyes. What was he doing here? Showing up without a notice or warning, but then again, this was Fitz and he was known for doing that. They both just stared; as if taking one another in after not seeing each other for…what was it? Six months? Six long months.
His blue eyes roved down her body, taking his time taking her in and even scanning her to make sure she was okay. No visible injuries, so that was good, he mused mentally. God, she still looked as beautiful as ever. Those beautiful dark eyes of her, that long, smooth hair and those soft, delicious lips. Everything.
His intense gaze sent a chill through Olivia's body. It was so intense, so hungry and so…longing. Her own eyes took him in, too, and she noted how charming, handsome and attractive he still looked. The soft hair she loved running her hands through, those beautiful baby blue eyes she found herself getting lost in, his perfectly muscled body and those lips of his. She swallowed thickly, trying to resist the urge to suddenly pull him in. After not seeing him for months and seeing him now, the thirst for him was incredible. She missed him more than anything, but she tried not to.
"What are you doing here?" She was the first to break the silence and what better way than with one of her most used questions. Her eyes stared up at his face and she remained in her home as if she felt safer there; trying to keep her distance so she didn't fall into his charm. Into his gravity.
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, his eyes never leaving hers. His intention for being here was quite obvious.
"To bring me back?" Olivia asked somewhat sarcastically. This is what she did when she got scared, when she tried to protect herself; she became sarcastic, cold and defensive. "Because I'm not going back, Fitz." She stated sternly which caused the man in front of her to frown.
"I mostly came here to talk to you and to see how you were doing," He responded, obviously hurt by her words, but he tried to hide it.
"Well, I'm fine. Great, even. What did you need to talk about?" She asked, getting straight to the point. She worried about spending too long of time with him because she would start missing him more and she would find it hard to resist falling into his arms and asking him to stay, but she knew she couldn't. She wouldn't allow it.
"I'm divorced." He started, his eyes watching her face closely for any reaction.
His words caused her body to tense up and she felt her hand clench the doorknob she was holding. She knew he was divorced; she had seen it on the news and it partly made her want to go back to D.C. just to see him, but also to help his administration which seemed to be suffering from said divorce, but she resisted. She made herself stay and she forced herself to stop watching the news so it didn't make the urge and temptation to go back even worse.
"I know." Was all she said, a hard swallow falling down her throat as she stared at him. He was now a single man, free from his marriage like he had wanted to be for so many years, but Olivia and everyone else tried to stop him every single time he tried to divorce Mellie.
His face turned into one of disappointment at her seemingly calm reaction, but he somewhat expected it, too. She didn't look the least bit excited or hopeful about this news and it disappointed him. A lot. "I'm happy about it." He said despite the frown on his face. "You and everyone else thought I would regret it; that it would destroy me and my Presidency, but it hasn't." He let out a small chuckle."Well, it hurt my administration at first, but we're getting back in the groove now. Mellie was amiable about it and that helped the American people understand that the divorce was the right thing and look at me now. I'm happy, I don't regret it and my Presidency is doing fine." Fitz informed Liv, his arms folding across his chest.
Olivia's own lips formed into a frown and she stared down at the ground. He got a divorce, he succeeded with it, and she had been away the whole time. Did she regret it? Yes, and no. Yes because she wasn't there to help him and she knew he probably struggled, that he had no support, and also because now he was single and it was something she always wanted. But at the same time she didn't regret it because her being there could have made it a lot worse. As the scandal, she had to leave in order to fix herself, as well as fixing Fitz and his Presidency and that seemed to work. Her leaving seemed to help him because he was able to get the divorce without her there to argue against it or to try to stop him. Olivia always tried to stop the divorce from happening because she always thought it would destroy his Presidency and himself, but she was proven wrong.
"So, is that what you came here to tell me? 'I told you so'?" Liv asked, her own arms folding across her chest.
Fitz let out a scoff, feeling his self become a little angry. "I wanted to prove a point to you, and I thought this might make you happy or proud or –" He started, but she had cut him off.
"Or what? Hopeful? Happy and hopeful that now that you're single we could be together? That I would just come back and be with you?" Olivia asked, her voice cracking, but she masked it by clearing her throat. Deep down, she did want that, but she couldn't allow it. She couldn't go back and be the scandal all over again. That and her pride wouldn't allow her to admit she was wrong and that she missed him; that she missed them.
Fitz's eyes narrowed into somewhat of a glare now at how cold she was being towards him. "I just wanted to tell you the good news! I came all this way just to see you; to see how you were doing and to tell you the news that /I/ thought was great. It wasn't to bring you back, Liv, it was just – I missed you. You were the first one I wanted to tell, you're the one person I wanted to talk to, that I always want to talk to so I searched for you. I probably shouldn't have because you just left me without a word, but I wanted to find you and tell you everything." He explained, the anger and pain visible in his voice. "I wish you would come back, yes, but I didn't come here to drag you back. Only to see you and to talk with you for the day or two that I'm here before I have to head back to D.C. I miss you like crazy; it isn't the same without you, but I understood why you left and I won't force or pressure you to come back. Especially not if you're…happy." That word was hard for him to say mostly because he didn't want her to be happy without him. Well, he did, he always wanted her to be happy, but he'd rather they be happy together.
With a sigh, Olivia leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes with a nod. "I just…I don't want you to try to convince me to go back, Fitz, because I can't. I left to fix myself. I needed the fixing because I'm the scandal and that wouldn't have changed as long as I was there and as long as you and I were…" She swallowed hard as her eyes opened and locked with his sad blue eyes. "I had to leave." She added, her voice soft again as she saw the pained look in his eyes. A pained, longing look that hurt Olivia to see. God she missed him, but she wouldn't bring herself to admit that.
"Livvie, I get that you feel that way, that you need to leave but I –"
"Liv?" Came a voice from inside the building, from behind Olivia a few feet away. Fitz's eyes looked behind her and what Fitz saw made him sick to his stomach and also made him angry and very jealous. It was Jake Ballard, emerging from the nearby hallway dressed only in a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else.
"You have company. Right. I forgot, stupid me." Fitz said, his calm, soft, and loving demeanor immediately changing into one of anger and jealous; as well as regret for coming here.
"Fitz, wait." Olivia protested in panic when she saw him start to back away. "It's not what –"
"No, it's fine. You're living your life, Liv. You're fixing yourself and you're happy. Coming here was a mistake and I'm sorry for that. It was a stupid mistake and it won't happen again." He said with a humorless chuckle and his eyes were even starting to water with the realization that Olivia was happy without him…and with someone else. Clearing his throat, he immediately turned away from her so she couldn't see the hurt expression on his face and the tears in his eyes, but she probably saw it anyway so he started to walk away from the door.
"Fitz!" Olivia called after him, her heart breaking from the expression on his face and the tears that she saw in his eyes. Part of her wanted to run after him, but before she made that decision, he was in the car driving off. Her own eyes watered and she clenched the doorknob tightly before she slammed the door shut and turned around, glaring coldly at Jake.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" She shouted at Jake who stood there pretending to be confused; his arms hanging down his side.
"What? I heard you talking to someone so I came out to make sure everything was alright." He explained, almost glaring back at her.
"By coming out wearing only a towel? Really?" She asked with a scoff, obviously not believing him.
"I was about to jump in the shower, Liv, but then I heard – "
"No, Jake. You knew it was Fitz at the door so you came out wearing only that because it was /him/! And you knew that if you walked out looking like that, he would leave!" Olivia corrected his story and Jake let out a sigh and folded his arms over his chest.
"He would have been trying to convince you to go back with him, Olivia. He would have told you how much he loves you, how much he missed you; trying to draw you back in with his charm and sappy love speeches!" He raised his voice a little bit and Olivia just stared at him in disbelief.
"You had /no/ right to do this. I was handling it; I was taking care of it and I /wanted/ to talk to him, Jake. Why are you acting like you and I are together when you /know/ we're NOT!?" Olivia shouted as she started heading towards the hallway.
"You left D.C. to get away from everyone including him, Liv! You came out here to fix yourself and now he comes out here which defeats the whole purpose. I was trying to help you!" He shouted back as she walked passed him, causing him to turn around and watch her.
"I don't need your help! I didn't bring you out here to /help/ me or because we were starting a new life together or standing in the sun. You wanted to get away, too, so I brought you for yourself, not for me. We are /not/ together, Jake, so what you did was wrong and it was an asshole move!" She shouted as she arrived at her room. "I haven't seen him in six months, so yes, I do miss him and I did want to talk to him, but I wasn't planning on going back. I –" Despite saying that, she felt like she was lying to herself. Like she /wanted/ to go back, but she was trying so hard not to. "We're not together, so stop trying to pretend that we are." With that, she entered her room and slammed her door shut before locking it.
Tears fell from her dark brown eyes as she leaned against the door, and she angrily reached up with a hand to wipe them away as she thought about what happened. He was going to be here until tomorrow so she had time to still talk to him; to apologize for what happened and maybe talk to him if he still wanted to. A battle of emotions was going inside her mind as a part of her mind was screaming at her not to, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want, nor could, leave things like this; she didn't want him to leave hating her or thinking she left D.C. to be with someone else. So, after making up her mind, she pulled her phone out from her pocket and searched for his number. Her thumb hovered over the 'call' button for a few moments while her heart started beating erratically in her chest and after taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves, she pressed down on the button and put the phone to her ear; her eyes closing again as she waited for him to answer. Or rather, hoped that he would answer.