It took him eight years to finally feel like this. Eight years caught in a cage like an animal only with a prestigious title. Eight years forced to keep up appearances, smile on command and hide his pain and sorrow behind laughter and photo ops.

The tiny victory he held on to was his hidden freedom. He had to give it to Mellie, losing a son made her realise how short life was and how important being with the person you love most matters so much more than fake pearly white smiles and pretence. They kept a charade for her political ambitions' sake but within the White House walls no one ignored their bare ring fingers.

It was oddly liberating.

If only he had her to celebrate with. He had meant it when he told her she was his lover, his best friend, his confident.. that soul mate you want to share every bit of your life with, every boring detail.

He tried to call her oh so many times; in his darkest moments he would lock himself in his office or his room and hold a phone to his ear desperately willing her to pick up, to let him enjoy a few moments of paradise in his lonely expensive hell. Of course he got echoes from where she might be - every time was a dead end- that wasn't really the problem but what bothered him most was her company. Was she alone or...

He kicked himself, he didn't want to think about him. Imagining her moving on or with that despicable man, that was far more than he could bear. And to add to it, he had a son to grieve. He lost everything or almost.

Instead, he got his shit back together, at least as much as he could. While his heart was still miserably and hopelessly shattered to pieces, he enjoyed as much fatherly moments with his children as he could. He has learned his lesson and brought Karen home, horrified that something -some evil mind could get to her. So starting from the moment his eldest son was buried, he dried his tears trying his best to be strong and took upon himself to clear his schedule and see more of his children.

So for two hours everyday and no matter what he had sin son brought down to him and they would play in the little area he had set up specifically for that and it worked wonders. It never ceased to amaze him how therapeutic it felt and how his bond with his youngest was solidified even if it always pained him to think how such an adorable baby was brought into the world. As for Karen, they settled on therapy. A lot had happened, a lot had hit their family and the teenager had gone through way too much for her still young age. Not to mention father and daughter had much to work on together. Therefore he insisted on family dinners, making them mandatory until Karen warmed up to them.

He couldn't exactly blame her, she had lost a lot and despite their regular fighting she loved her big brother to pieces, losing him took a huge toll on her. Not only had she lost a brother but a friend and a protector as well. That's why her reluctance to live in the same city as her parents didn't really surprise him. It took time and effort and sometimes yelling and poorly based accusations but they eventually managed to start over. When time came, towards the last few months of his presidency and despite everything he's been through he couldn't exactly stop the tears from welling up and the lump in his throat from forming when he saw his no longer baby girl in her prom gown. She looked breathtaking to say the least. An absolute angel he was so proud of. She had accomplished so much and was now glowing in the arms of Michael her boyfriend of two years and hopefully more to come. They challenged one another so much and were planning on going to the same college, much to her father's delight. Somehow seeing them together reminded him of them and what the special connection they used to have.

Today was the day he was finally regaining his freedom. Today was the day another man would come and take his place, uplift the biggest burden that's been weighing on his shoulders. Today was the day he would no longer be President Of The United States but merely a single father of two whose heart was still painfully hoping that the woman it belonged to would magically reappear and pretend nothing happened as if they fought for one another and were now running towards a happy ever after.

Yet there he was. Alone.

The feeling of someone tugging on his pants reminded him of where he was, especially when a small sweet voice said, "daddy, let's go."

Smiling, he took Teddy's hand and exited the Oval, an office he admired so much for so long before hating it with a passion he couldn't quite measure.

He lifted Teddy, laying a gentle kiss to his cheek as he walked the long corridor to where a car was waiting for them, nodding smiling and shaking hands on his way out. He couldn't help but feel relieved, willing for his legs to walk faster and get him out as soon as possible. He definitely didn't expect for Cyrus to be waiting for him.

"Cyrus," he acknowledge the old man.

"Sir..."

"Oh please, get to the point."

"I think you might want to have these back." Cyrus said handing him a key chain that hosted a single key, a key he hoped would open the doors of a small heaven to some deserving couple when he put it on the market. A key to a future he yearned for, ached for even but never got. He'd completely forgotten about Vermont, thinking the property was no longer his - well theirs- as he no longer had a use for it. It didn't make any sense living there without the person he built it to live with.

Nevertheless, he took it, "I thought it was sold."

"I never let it happen."

"You always manage to meddle where you had no right to..."

"You'll thank me later, I have my little girl to take care of" the old man said before finally walking away. James's death wrecked him, changing him in some way, making him a thirsty evil for revenge until he came home to Ella, the only remainder lifeline he's got. His only reason to be.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I will," he muttered.

He climbed with his son in the car, debating whether to go there or not. It had been years since he last set foot in the mansion. Since their last night there, when he got her to spend a few days living a dream, taking a break from a bitter reality and an overly blinded by power wife.

He could taste the bitterness of it on the tip on his tongue, sure the house was barely properly furnished but it held the dreams he, for so long, fought tooth and nail to make come true. And now they were reduced to ashes before they even started building it. He thought about the drafts and plans and long discussions he'd had with the constructor trying to make the dreams and ideals they spent hours to no end imagining; from baby names to room attributions to Christmases and birthdays and family dinners and movie nights... he would be the baby whisperer, tied around the kids' little fingers while she would have to play the bad cop.

A boring yet promising life was ahead of them. Not anymore though.

He would put the house back on the market, it'd served its purpose even for a few days.

"Buddy?" he tried to get his son's attention.

"Daddy?"

"What would you think about getting on a plane this afternoon?"

"A plane? like my blue and white one?"

He laughed. " Yes, just like yours."

"But it's small."

"This one is big. Huge even."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. What do you say?"

"You're the best, daddy!"

The ride went perfectly, Teddy wasn't fussy one bit, but very excited and bouncing all the way to the small paradise he, just like the rest of the world, had no idea his father had built with the very intention of raising a family that would soak in love and joy.

But as they come to the gates, the little boy is asleep. He'll have to be quick and get it done.

Sighing, Fitz comes out of the car, looking around the mansion. It will need a proper deep cleaning before putting it for sale, he thinks.

He looks around, the calmness and peacefulness almost seducing him into moving in with his son and having occasionally Karen over, after all the house has enough bedrooms but it's too big, really. He opens the sliding door she had entered from all those years ago, when he thought they still had a shot to happiness.

For a moment, all he can see is them, the little time they spent in their house, between lovemaking and laughing and plainly just spending time together. The way the light made her glow, her laughter escalading the walls bringing new life to every inch of the mansion. Slowly his eyes tour the first flour and the few closed wooden doors he can see and his eyes stop on what was supposed to be Gerry's room, sadness washing all over him again. He shakes his head and when he looks at the couch, he frowns. There's no white cover it like he thought there would be.

It's only then that he really looks at the state of the huge living room and clearly someone's been living there. Wood is still faintly burning in the fireplace, a laptop and a few items are on the makeshift coffee table, he walks over to the kitchen and surely enough some dirty dishes are soaking in the sink. Suddenly, his ears perk up finally hearing the faint but audible sweet sound of a familiar humming.

He has no concrete idea what's going on but before he knows it, he's slowly and quietly making his way upstairs, convinced that what he's thinking about is just an illusion. A vision. His heart is beating so fast it feels like there will be a hole in his chest as it's going to come out, his breathing is labored and quick finally able to breathe with ease not needing to remind himself that oxygen is what can keep him alive and there for his children, his body suddenly awake after what feels like a long nap.

He stops in his tracks when a familiar body appears down the hall, exactly like he remembered it. Long, toned and smooth legs are draped in yoga bottoms while an oversized familiar shirt - his shirt- covers her body from the waist up, shock written all over her face. They have so much to talk about, so much they need to figure out but neither can help but feel like life is infused once again in their bodies. They feel alive and the air suddenly is overloaded with tension and unspoked words.

"Hi." One word, a melody really escapes her lips before she can control herself, a smile shy smile curving her lips upwards.

Just a little something I had in mind for a while now. Hope you enjoyed !