Wow, I'm surprised some people have already read my story! Thank you to those of you who have read it so far and left reviews. Also, I am looking for a beta-reader! I love story telling but grammar is not my strong suit. So contact me if you are interested in beta-reading my chapters before I publish them.

Chapter 2
Realization

Fitz felt like he had been hit by a train when he woke up in the hotel room the next day. He was still wearing the clothes from the night before and he reeked of alcohol. His head was pounding and he didn't have to look at the clock to know that he didn't get enough sleep. Judging by the state of the sheets, Mellie did not bother joining him last night and he wasn't surprised. She didn't even want to touch him when he went drinking. Which is why he often felt so alone when he drank.

He got up and padded into the kitchen of the suite. He could hear Mellie taking a shower so he poured himself a glass of water and found some Tylenol in Mellie's hoped that it would help alleviate some of what he was feeling. After drinking what water he could stomach he dug through his bag for a change of clothes.

As he pulled out a fresh white t-shirt to wear under his shirt, he stopped. His hand started to shake he heard the soft whimpers of protest that Olivia made last night in the elevator when he had so selfishly tried to kiss her. Fitz ground his teeth as his face turned red, playing it over in his head.

...

The night had gone so smoothly, everyone was having a good time. The polls were shifting to their favor, and for the first time during the campaign Fitz really felt like he had a chance to win this thing. He saw himself on inauguration day, ushering in a new era for the greatest country on the planet. In his excitement he had allowed himself a little too much too drink. No one really seemed to notice since everyone was a little tipsy at this point. But something was eating at him throughout the entire night.

Olivia. She wasn't talking to him. At all. Even in conversation she talked at him, but not to him. His sweet little Liv was ignoring him. And he could not for the life of him figure out why. She instead spent most of the night in the corner with Cyrus, which wasn't unnatural, the two of them seemed to be good friends, but Mellie was with them and they all seemed in unusually high spirits. He tried not to be jealous but he couldn't help it. Olivia should have been talking to him. He should be the one making her laugh tonight. Not Cyrus, Cyrus has more than enough time to make her laugh. And Mellie, she was as fake as a barbie doll, he wasn't surprised to see her laughing.

So he spent the night mingling with the others. The volunteers were more than happy to laugh and joke with him. Some of them were actually worth talking to. But the entire night he kept his eyes on her, trying to get her to notice him and it didn't work. So when he noticed that she left without saying anything to him, he chased after her. Determined to say goodnight at the very least.

By the time that they caught up with each other they were in an elevator. She was looking at him defiantly, it was clear that she didn't want to talk to him that night. And yet, something about the look on her face made her look all the more beautiful to him. He grabbed her and tried to find her mouth with his but she turned and tried to push him off which was fine, he would start at her neck and warm her up. He just wanted to finally taste that beautiful smooth skin of hers. Her scent was more intoxicating than the liquor he had to drink and the feel of her hands on his chest made his trousers start to feel uncomfortably tight.

But in a flash his stupor was shattered. Mellie's voice of all people interrupted him. Brought him back down to Earth.

...

He groaned as he set his fresh pair of clothes on the bed. He fucked up. Big time. He and Olivia agreed that they wouldn't dare pass that line. They knew that the moment they kissed both of their lives would change as they knew it. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep next to his wife at night without wishing it was someone else instead.

Last night, he almost passed that line. He almost ruined everything they had been struggling to keep under control. Fitz sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands and tried to calm down. He was on edge. Olivia wouldn't want to talk to him now. She would probably hate him right? Damn her, so perfect and innocent. She managed to exude both power and purity without even trying and she was the only one between to the of them who apparently had any semblance of self control.

"We need to talk," it was Mellie's voice who made him look up from his defeated position.

She stood in the doorway wearing a purple suit. He hated that color. But she loved it. Wore it all the time despite knowing how much he couldn't stand it.

"I don't want to talk about it," he stood up and grabbed his clothes.

"Fitz, you imposed yourself on the one person who may actually help us win this election!" Her voice was low but her tone was like a razor blade.

"I didn't impose on her," he argued.

"Oh yeah, then what would you call cornering a young woman in an elevator Fitz? A friendly encounter? She was trying to fight you off of her! She could have called the authorities!" Her voice rose slightly, as it often did when they fought. He would try and keep his tone as even as he could while she worked her way up to maximum volume.

"You're being dramatic, Mel." He rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

Obviously he couldn't tell his wife that he had wanted to kiss Olivia Pope for a few months now and that he was pretty sure she wanted the same. That would take this fight to an entirely new level. He would have to play stupid or just change the subject to get out of this alive.

"DRAMATIC? Fitzgerald Grant, dramatic would be telling you that I am going to divorce you and leave you after what I witnessed last night. Dramatic would be me telling Olivia that she should put her safety first and leave our campaign so she doesn't have to relive what happened! I am being gracious here by not doing any of these things." She stopped and took a deep breath.

Fitz signed and tried to remain level headed right now. Did she think he was stupid? Or even worse, did she think that he was a predator of some sort?

"Mel, I made a mistake."

"Fitz, you made more than a mistake. You are going to apologize to that young woman and you are going to make sure she does not leave our campaign because you can't keep it in your pants while you're drunk," she moved to the small vanity to put in her earrings.

"And you had better hope that she decides to stay on-board, you and I both know that she is a valuable asset to us so you need to treat her such. And for the love of god, don't you ever let me catch you doing something like that again." There was a very clear warning in her tone.

He didn't even bother replying, there was no point. When Mellie told him what to do fighting her went nowhere. At the end of it she always got what she wanted and he had to foot the bill. This was neither the place nor the time to talk about the reasons why that happened. If he tried to they would spend the next hour and a half playing the blame game on their failing marriage.

So he gathered up his clothes and sauntered into the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would clear his head. He needed to be alone for a little while. To get away from everyone. Sadly the most he could afford was half and hour in the mornings. Which wasn't horrible. Somehow, Fitz did some of his best thinking in the shower.

And lord knows he needed to do some thinking about his relationship with Olivia Pope.