I have been trying all summer to write a post-season 6 fanfic, and it's taken this long to do even one chapter because I can't decide how I want certain things to go. Definite Olitz end game but I will say upfront that the end game is not for her to quit her job and move to Vermont. My preferred end game is for Fitz to help her remember the person she used to be, the person he fell in love with - the person who "only used her magic for good" - and find a way to be that person again and use her position to make a difference on a larger scale now that she has more power.

The story name is based on the name of the first episode of Episode 7, because this is how I want season 7 to go.

This part starts with a continuation of the conversation between Olivia and Cyrus at the end of season 6.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - NIGHT OF MELLIE'S INAUGURATION

"How does it feel to be the most powerful person in the world?" Cyrus asks.

"Right...it feels right," Olivia says.

"You don't seem too convinced," Cyrus says skeptically.

"No, I am," Olivia insists, not very convincingly.

"Look, I get it, Liv. It's only natural to feel a little squeamish about how far you had to go to get here. Honestly, I'd be concerned if you didn't."

"I'm not squeamish," Liv insists, insulted at his characterization. "I know that this job entails and I know the burden it carries. Turning two kids into orphans is not a decision I made lightly, but it needed to be done."

"I never said it didn't," Cyrus says. "Come on, Liv. We both know I'm the last person who's in any position to judge."

Olivia nods, her defenses coming down a bit as she realizes they are in the same place now. For years, Cyrus has insisted that playing dirty is the only way to survive in this world, and it's both liberating and depressing to finally accept that he's right and abandon all pretenses of being better.

"She said she loved him," Olivia muses. Cyrus looks at her questioningly. "Luna. She insisted she loved Frankie, and she as crazy as it sounds, I think she was telling the truth. As much of a monster as she was, I think..."

"Even monsters are capable of love," Cyrus finishes for her.

"Yeah."

"You miss him?" Cyrus asks sympathetically.

Olivia nods. There's no point in denying it, not after putting it out there for the whole world to see. "It's weird, being in the Oval and realizing it's not his office anymore," she admits.

"You're not alone in feeling that way," he says. "You did the right thing, though, letting him go."

"It wasn't my decision," Olivia says flatly.

"Oh, come on. You could have convinced him to stay if you really wanted to. But you didn't. You didn't want him to see this side of you, the side we both know he doesn't have the stomach for."

Olivia sighs. Cyrus can tell she's holding something back.

"What? What is it?" he asks.

"My father...wanted Fitz to run B613," she says, her voice starting to crack a little.

"What?"

"Fitz was going to stay to run B613 and I changed his mind. I knew that it would destroy him and I couldn't..."

"So you took matters into your own hands?"

"Sort of. I wasn't planning on having Mellie sign the same order...I didn't decide that until later."

"I'm assuming he doesn't know?"

Olivia shakes her head. "No."

"You did the right thing," Cyrus repeats. "It would have destroyed him. He's too good for this world. I know it hurts but you did the right thing."

"I know," Olivia says, blinking back tears. "It just...I've let him go so many times but this time it feels different. Even when we weren't speaking he was still there, still here. But now he's gone, and..."

"...and suddenly the world feels a whole lot colder, doesn't it?" Cyrus asks.

"Yeah," Olivia says sadly, shivering as a cold drift of air coincidentally passes through.