Hello everyone! Hope you're all good! Thanks to everybody who reviewed my last OS -Choose me Liv. I truly was happy to see your reaction, it blew me away! As I told some of you, unfortunately, I won't write a 2nd chapter. It was an OS and it will stay that way -truly sorry. Like JK Rowling said "the less you reveal, the more people can wonder" and I do want you to wonder! But it can help, Liv chose Fitz (of course) but I let you choose how she did it!
This new OS is a collab with my beta IloveWriting1996 who's the best beta a writer can asks for and who's a great writer herself. Once again, this story wouldn't have been that good without her!
As I said, this scene is set directly after 4x17. In the White house garden, just after Fitz and Liv saw each other! I do hope you're gonna like this one! Enjoy!
He felt her presence. It swept over him like a warm breeze. He slowly lifted his head, his eyes becoming glazed as they met her coruscating chestnut orbs. His stare was intense as he gazed at the beauty before him. His heart glowed as he just stood there, starring at the love of his life. But a glimmer of light caught his attention and he broke their entrancing eye contact, his eyes falling to the symbol of their love. It was the ring he had given her, the ring that she had never removed from her finger until the day he broke her heart by revealing that he had gone to war, loosing the lives of many soldiers just to save hers. She had thrown that ring at his chest in a moment of anger, sadness, and frustration and hadn't worn it since. But this day was different. This day, she wore it without shame, without guilt, without anger - without sadness.
His eyes once again met hers, but this time, something changed. When he first peered at her lovely face, he did not know if she loved him or hated him, but now, he knew. There was something tender and peaceful about their gaze - it was intimate. The corners of his lips curled into a knowing smile as did hers. He could read her like an open book and she could read him as well. No words were exchanged. The longing in both of their piercing eyes was enough. She turned from him, glancing over her shoulder at him before walking to a secluded clearing near the blossoming spring flowers.
He veered his head towards the woman he currently shared his life with as she politely greeted the wedding guests of his chief of staff, being the perfect hostess for the occasion. He seized the moment and discreetly approached his true love. She kept her eyes steady on the the newlyweds as they took photos, refusing to put either of them in a compromising position. As he reached into his pocket and retrieved his initial embroidered handkerchief, he slowly lifted it to the corner of his lip, the tips of his fingers grazing the delicate skin of her slender hand as he did so.
"Have you tasted the Chardonnay? It's amazing," he praised in a casual voice, picking up a champagne glass as a waiter walked by.
She didn't look at him. She just continued to gaze upon the wedding guests and nodded her head. "Yes," she answered softly, her tone breathy and filled with emotion, yet controlled."It is exquisite."
He looked straight ahead, his heart displaying what his face could not as it smiled. "So is the ring on your finger, Liv," he boldly stated, using her name that only a few were permitted to call her.
Her head veered towards him as her eyes widened in shock that he would be so familiar with her in public. She quickly returned her gaze to the newlyweds as her cheeks became warm with love.
"Fitz...," she whispered his name, but he interjected before she could continue.
"The rings that Cyrus and Michael exchanged were exquisite as well, Ms. Pope." He lowered his voice, speaking words that only her ears could hear. "I always thought if there was going to be a wedding here, it would be ours." His heart pounded against his toned chest in fear, knowing that Olivia had the tendency to flee and reject him when such words were spoken. But he couldn't contain the words he spoke for he thought about the possibility every morning when he woke up, and every night when he retired for bed. As he began to think that she would turn from him and leave, her actions were the opposite, surprising him.
A gentle smile adorned her full lips as she stared into his eyes. "I know, Mr. President."
He smiled, his eyes becoming glassy as he looked at her finger, the finger that his ring graced. "Why did you put it back on?" He lovingly asked, his voice no louder than a whisper.
"Because I should have never taken it off," she answered, knowing what he was referring to. "My finger is where it belongs."
He looked into the distance and took a sip of his champagne. "I am glad to see you wearing it again," he confessed, his tone laced with genuine happiness. "Your hand looks better with it," he added with a smile before looking at her beautiful face, her skin radiant as the sun's rays kissed her cheek. "Please, don't ever take it off?" he asked, his voice pleading.
She slightly nodded, "I'll never remove it," she replied, her voice conveying the love that her features could not. "I promise," she declared, her chestnut orbs gazing into his comforting crystal grey eyes.
They stood, just starring at each other for a brief moment before remembering that the world was watching them. Fitz and Olivia returned their attention to the guest around them as Fitz spoke, veering into dangerous waters. "How are you, Olivia?" he tenderly asked.
He knew that she had removed his ring from her hand because of her anger towards him for risking thousands of lives just to save hers, but he also knew that what she endured must have been what hell felt like. He had to ask. He had to know from her mouth.
"I'm getting there," she answered with a nod, as though trying to convince herself that what she spoke was true.
He tilted his head to the side, looking at her beautifully conflicted features, knowing that she was trying to make him believe that she was okay, or better yet, she was trying to make herself believe.
"The nightmares will stop, eventually," he stated as he turned his face to the sky. "It's helps to talk about it," he advised as he glanced at little Ella, Cyrus' adopted daughter who waved at him from her father's arms. He smiled and waved to her as she squirmed in Cyrus' arms.
Olivia looked at Fitz, her brows furrowed in wonder of how he knew of her nightmares that forced restless slumber. She parted her lips to inquire, but decided against it. He knew her inside and out, so it wasn't necessary to ask. Asking just meant admitting it was true, that she was having nightmares. "I don't want to talk about it, especially with you," she simply stated.
"I know." He nodded and smiled softly. "I know that you're upset with the actions I chose to take concerning your safety, and you're right, I had a choice between your life and many others. I chose yours and would do it again because it was the only choice I could bring myself to make."
Olivia's jaw tightened with guilt over meaning more to him than hundreds as she stared at the many guests nearby. "Mr. President..."
"I already lost my son," he interjected. "Like you said, he died for me. I couldn't live had you died because of me, too," he said with a weighted sigh. "I couldn't live with your blood on my hands, the blood of the person I love more than anything in this world."
"You couldn't live with my blood on your hands, but you can live with the blood of countless others," she said in awe, astounded by his logic. "All of those people that died to save one life, Fitz...," she said, her tone filled with sorrow.
"That is my cross to bare," he responded sadly. "I know that my actions were selfish, Liv," he confessed, using her special name without regard, no longer caring if anyone heard him. "I know that what I did could have ruined my presidency that is now tainted with the blood of American soldiers. I can't sleep at night because I think of their families. I...I just..." he took a deep breath. "It's a choice I had to make. I just wish you could understand and forgive me."
He prepared to walk away as she stood in silence, her eyes cast to the green manicured grass. She lifted her head just as he moved to leave. "I do understand, Fitz, and I do forgive you," she soothed, her voice loud enough for his ears only.
He stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of her voice and turned to face her, relief written all over his face. She took a small step forward, closing the gap between them as she spoke. "I just wish you had made a different choice, but I do understand why you did it," she sweetly assured, barely whispering. "I love you, and you love me, and I don't want to be upset with you anymore. I want...," she trailed off as she feared to speak the words that her heart desired. He lowered his head, his forehead nearly toughing hers as he gazed deeply into her eyes, seeing into her soul. "What do you want, Liv," he asked, he tone laced with love.
She raised her head and smiled at him in a shy manner. "I want to make jam."
He smiled, his eyes sparkling with joy.
"I want two babies." She paused as she stared into his mesmerizing eyes. "I want Vermont with you, Fitz." She stared at him intently as he looked at her like she was the only person in the world. "I've...I've never stopped wanting Vermont. I've never stopped wanting you."
He smiled, his eyes gazing into her beautiful eyes that shined with love. "Liv, that ring I gave you so long ago, it is a promise. It is a promise that I will marry you," he professed. "We will make jam, we will have two babies - we will have Vermont."
Fitz and Olivia just stood, completely still, completely silent, staring into each other's souls. Vermont was going to happen, one day.
