A/N: Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I'm happy that so many of you enjoy this story. I hope this is another good chapter. Let me know what you think by leaving a review.

Guest: I'm not exactly sure how long this story will be, but I see it being a long one. Also, I do think down the road Olivia and Jake will discuss their conversation from 5X18. I don't have any current plans to write a new Olake story, but I have another story with the pairing called Navy Men Do Not Give Up, if you haven't already read it, you could check it out. However, I am in a bit of a writer's block for that story.

Liv was relieved the next morning when Leo agreed to take on Mellie's campaign. Now all she had to do was break the news to Mellie.

Liv paced around her office waiting for Mellie to arrive. Olivia was a little nervous about what Mellie's reaction would be, but she knew that in the end Mellie would see that this was for the best. And although Olivia was going to miss the demanding schedule and organized chaos that came with running a campaign her reasons for walking away were worth it. Jake was worth it. Her happiness was worth it.

"Liv, you wanted to see me." Mellie said cheerfully as she walked into Olivia's office.

"Yes, please take a seat." Olivia offered as Mellie took a seat on the sofa as Liv took a seat in the armchair across from her.

"If this is about the packed schedule for Kentucky on Friday; I had some ideas for moving a few things around, to ensure optimal efficiency." Mellie began eagerly.

"This isn't about Kentucky." Olivia said flatly.

"Then what?" Mellie asked a hint of concern in her voice. If her campaign manager didn't want to talk about the upcoming campaign stop, then what did she want to talk about?

"Jake will not be perusing the Vice Presidency and I can no longer be your campaign manager." Olivia stated bluntly.

"What the hell Liv? How I'm I suppose to tell the American people that the man I placed on my ticket is no longer interested. I didn't like the idea of him on the ticket in the first place, but I went with it because you thought it was and now he backs out…great." Mellie said throwing her hands up in the air. "And I listened to you Olivia, I did everything you asked of me and now you're just abandoning me."

"I know what I said Mellie, but I have a plan for your new Vice President and campaign manager. There is a way to spin this." Olivia assured her.

"Let's hear your marvelous plan." Mellie replied with a strong hint of annoyance.

"For VP I was thinking Senator Henry Mathews from Indiana. He meets the criteria to be your running mate and he polls well with everyone. He is exactly who you need on your ticket. With your OK my team will contact him today and see if he is interested in the position." Olivia explained.

"This might just work." Mellie commented as she thought it over. "And your replacement?"

"Leo Burgan. If it's not going to be me running your campaign it should be him. He knows how to get the job done and he has already accepted the job pending your approval of course." Olivia responded.

"If you think Mathews and Burgan are my best options than I trust you." Mellie replied knowing that Olivia had given her two great people to fill the biggest vacancies on the campaign. "And how should we announce all of this?

"I think we should do a big press conference with you, Jake, and Senator Mathews to announce the change in VP. Jake will say it was an honor to be selected, but that he is now withdrawing due to a personal family matter, which he wishes to remain private. You will then graciously accept his withdraw before announcing Senator Mathews as your running mate. We will leak to The Post that you have a new campaign manager and that I have decided to step down due to our friendship. I want to stand by you as a friend during the election and I realized as your campaign manager I cannot do that, so I have chosen to step down before the general election." Olivia explained.

"I don't know how you managed to spin this Liv. You really are the best. Are you sure you want to leave the campaign?" Mellie asked.

"Yes, but if you ever need anything you can come to me. I meant what I said about being your friend." Olivia said.

"Well, then I better go talk with Leo and let me know what Mathews says." Mellie said as she got up. "Thanks for all your hard work."

"It was a pleasure working for you Mellie. And I'm sorry I have to leave before the end, but I know you will make an excellent president." Olivia admitted as she gave Mellie a hug before ushering her out the door.

Olivia closed the door to her office, took a seat at her desk and rested her head in her hands, letting out a deep sigh.

Talking everything through with Mellie had gone a lot better than expected. Olivia was happy to see her plan slowly taking form; however, Olivia also knew that there was still plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong.

"Olivia." A shaky voice said, pulling Olivia from her thoughts.

"Jake." Olivia said looking up. "Why are you covered in blood? What happened?" Olivia questioned as she noticed the large blood stains on his grey t-shirt and olive green jacket. Olivia rushed over to Jake examining him from head to toe, trying to figure out where the blood had come from.

"It's not mine." Jake assured her. "It's Vanessa's, she's dead."

"What?" Olivia asked, as an expression of pure shock appeared on her face. "Who? How?" Olivia continued, as she tried to process this sudden event. Olivia already had a gut feeling that her father was behind this.

"I don't know for sure, but I can venture a pretty good guess it was Rowan." Jake replied as he began taking off his blood stained clothes, changing into a spare shirt that Olivia kept in her office. "She called me, but she didn't say anything when I picked up. Instead I just heard shallow breathing and after a few seconds she called my name faintly and said 'help'. At that point I knew she was in trouble so I rushed over to her place and called 9-1-1. I got there before the paramedics and tried to stop the bleeding, but it was no use. I'm the reason Vanessa is dead." Jake explained, feeling guilty.

"This isn't your fault Jake. And my father will pay for this." Olivia assured him, her blood boiling. How could her father be so evil that he used an innocent woman for her wealth and then when she was no longer of use to him he had her killed?

"It is my fault. I got her into this mess and now she is dead. I should have never gotten involved with her." Jake commented. "And that's not even the worst part."

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked confused, as she took a seat next to Jake on the sofa.

"The worst part is she loved me. I was the guy she was going to spend the rest of her life with, but I never loved her. I was in love with you." Jake muttered softly.

"Don't blame me for your inability to satisfy your wife." Olivia shot back angrily.

"I'm not. I'm just saying Vanessa didn't ask for any of this. She thought I was a good guy, well I'm not and now she's dead." Jake defended.

"You're not a bad guy Jake." Olivia replied softly as she now felt bad for snapping at him. Olivia knew that Jake blamed himself and that Vanessa's death was hard on him. "Have you done some bad things? Yes, but that doesn't make you a bad guy. Your heart is always in the right place. You are always trying to do things the right way Jake. It's one of the many traits I admire about you. You're a good guy that has been thrown into some rough situations."

"Your father will not get away with this." Jake commented revengeful, his entire demeanor changing in an instant. "I will not let him get away with this." Jake added as he stood up.

"Sit down Jake." Olivia ordered, grabbing on to one of his arms, using it to pull herself up. "You are not going anywhere. My father will kill you. Let me handle this."

"This isn't your problem to fix." Jake countered, looking down at Olivia.

"Actually it is, because your problems are my problems and he is my father. Let me help you Jake." Olivia pleaded.

"Fine." Jake caved knowing that the one weapon Olivia had that he didn't when facing Rowan was DNA. Rowan couldn't bring himself to kill his own daughter, despite the fact that she was always intervening in his plans.

"Thank you Jake." Olivia replied. She was relieved that Jake was allowing her to help.

*** That night***

Olivia had sent everyone home for the night, including Jake; she needed some alone time. Olivia sat on the couch in her office, a glass of red wine in one hand as she looked out at the DC night, allowing her thoughts to wonder.

So far everything was going well with Mellie's campaign; Leo had been welcomed as the new campaign manager and Senator Henry Mathews was both honored and delighted to become Mellie's new running mate, and tomorrow the press conference would take place. At least now when Jake said he was going to be stepping down due to a personal matter he was telling the truth; his wife was just killed.

Olivia finished her glass of wine, knowing that there was something else she had to do before going home. Her father needed to be put in his place and Olivia had to be the one to do it. Olivia cleaned her wine glass, and returned it to the cabinet before grabbing her coat and purse.

It was around 9pm when Olivia knocked on her father's door. As she waited for him to answer Olivia could feel her heart pounding and the palm of her hands begin to sweat. Not many things made Olivia nervous or scared, but her father did.

"Olivia, it's late. What are you doing here?" her father asked opening the door.

How could you?" Olivia yelled.

"Why don't you come inside?" Rowan started as he opened the door wider for Olivia.

Olivia didn't want to go in and talk to her father, but her father never asked questions, it was more of an order and Olivia knew better than to disobey.

"You better watch the tone in which you speak to me young lady." Rowan whispered in a threatening tone as Olivia walked past him into the house.

"Now what is it you think I have done?" Rowan asked innocently.

"Murder an innocent woman." Olivia replied angrily. She was annoyed that her father was playing dumb.

"O that." Rowan commented nonchalantly, handing Olivia a glass of water.

"O that." Olivia repeated in disbelief. "You are a monster. She was Jake's wife. You were using her for political capital. And now that she is no longer useful to you; you killed her." Olivia said, stating the obvious.

"Jake wasn't a real husband and now Jake has more political capital than he could have ever dreamed of." Rowan pointed out.

"He doesn't want this dad." Olivia shouted, slamming the glass on the counter. "Can't you just let him go, find another puppet?"

"You know the rules. Jake is one of my best, I can't let him walk away from greatness." Rowan replied enthusiastically.

"I love him." Olivia admitted softly.

Rowan was stunned into silence. For once Olivia had chosen a man he approved of. Jake was the type of man he expected for his daughter; unlike Fitz or Edison who were intimidated by Olivia's power, authority and self-confidence. Rowan knew that Jake was capable of meeting Olivia's needs and that he was a worthy suitor for his daughter.

"What will you give me in return?" her father asked, willing to negotiate.

"Sunday dinners." Olivia replied

"With you and Jake?" Rowan asked.

"If that is what you want." Olivia agreed.

"You must also promise to stay out of my business." Rowan continued.

"Fine, as long as you stay out of my business as well." Olivia countered blatantly, as she tried to contain her happiness. Sunday dinners were a small sacrifice to make in order to set Jake free once and for all.

Rowan nodded. "Sunday 7 o'clock, I expect to see you and Jake. And I will choose a wine fitting of the occasion." Rowan promised as he led Olivia back to the front door.

"I will see you Sunday." Olivia said, before walking to her car.

"O, and give Jake my condolences." Rowan called after her, before closing the door.

Olivia could not believe the evilness her father possessed, but tonight was a victory, Jake was hers. Now if only Jake would agree to Sunday dinners, Olivia would consider the day a success.

"Your back." Jake greeted as he met Olivia at the door, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "What took you so long to come home?" Jake asked as he followed Olivia into the kitchen as she grabbed her wine glass. "Talk to me Liv." Jake insisted following Olivia's silence.

Olivia poured herself a healthy glass of wine and took a sip before speaking. "My father killed Vanessa and he doesn't have the slightest bit of remorse." Olivia confirmed, her words trembling. "But," Olivia continued, "he promised to let you go, if we agree to Sunday dinners and stay out of his business. My father gave us an out."

Jake was quiet for a long time as he processed all of the information. "If Sunday dinners are the cost of my freedom then so be it." Olivia smiled, although she was a surprised with how easily Jake agreed. "What about Vanessa?" Jake asked.

"I don't know what we can do." Olivia replied sadly.

"I don't want her inheritance. Her money should go back to her family. She'd want a memorial service, closed casket, only close friends and family, no press." Jake said.

"OK." Olivia agreed, placing a hand over Jake's and giving it a light squeeze. "I know you and Vanessa weren't exactly… but I didn't want her killed. I'm sorry for your loss Jake, I truly am."

"I know Liv." Jake said shortly. Olivia could tell she wasn't going to get a lot of words out of him at this point. "I'm going to go shower and get ready for bed, it's been a rough day and I have the press conference tomorrow morning."

"Ok. I will be in a little later. I have some work I need to get done before I call it a night." Olivia stated, giving Jake a quick kiss before he walked towards the bathroom.

Olivia was able to work for about an hour before her thoughts began to wonder and she found herself reading the same sentence five times, but still not comprehending it. Olivia let out a sigh before shutting down her laptop for the night, it was clear her mind was elsewhere and she wasn't going to be able to get anything else done. Olivia organized the papers she had been shuffling through, and brought her popcorn bowl and wine glass back to the kitchen before heading to bed.

Olivia wasn't surprised to see Jake fast asleep when she walked into the bedroom. She watched him sleep from the doorway for a few minutes; this was the most relaxed she had seen him in a few days. Olivia was relieved that Jake had been able to fall asleep, knowing that sleep was the best thing for him at the moment. Liv changed into her pajamas quickly and brushed her teeth before sliding into bed next to Jake. Olivia nestled in close to Jake, and rested her head on his shoulders before drifting off to sleep.

Jake and Liv had battled so hard to get to this point, but the main fight had just begun. Olivia knew that she and Jake and loved to hard and lost to much to give up now, it was going to be a long road, but together she and Jake would get there, one day at a time.