"Do it."

"Livvie, are you sure?"

"Yes Fitz, one week. The Xbox, their laptops, the PS3, their handhelds, and their cell phones when they get home."

"Are you ok?" Fitz asked as he carefully watched his wife who was on the verge of tears.

"No, but this is what needs to be done." Liv responded as a single tear fell down her cheek.

As much as Liv knew she was doing the right thing by punishing the kids for their actions, it didn't change the fact that the look on their faces when they realized all of their electronics were gone would break her heart. Growing up with Eli Pope as a father, Liv wasn't a stranger to discipline.

There were many times Liv found herself on "lock down" as Abby used to say when they were children. Some things she did, Liv didn't think warranted two weeks of no human contact, or to be shipped off to boarding school, but as she got older, she grew to appreciate how hard Eli was on her and the tight ship he ran. Every time a spoiled 20 something client would walk into her office needing help because they couldn't exercise self control, Liv became even more thankful she had the father she did.

Fitz himself wasn't a child deprived of being punished when he had done wrong. On occasion, Fitz found himself suffering the wrath of Big Gerry even when he had done right, when that right wasn't part of Big Gerry's 50 yr life plan for him. Because their fathers had been so tough on them growing up, Liv and Fitz tried to be a little more lenient on their children, opting to explain why things were wrong instead of just tossing them in their rooms without explanation.

"Do as I say and not as I do", and "Because I said so", were phrases Liv and Fitz desperately tried to avoid. But when it came to disrespect for another human being, especially when that person was your mother, Liv and Fitz would not budge. Girls grow up expecting to be treated the way their father treated their mother. Boys, well every woman knows if you want to know how well a man will treat you, just look at the way he treats his mother. So the disrespect of Liv in any form was unacceptable door Fitz.

Discipline creates self control Liv reminded herself as she watched Fitz unhook the children's gaming systems. She never understood when her father would say "This is going to hurt me way more than it hurts you" until now. She knew he children would be upset when they realized their punishment and Liv's heart was already breaking. But better it happen now and get it out of the way before the kids came home. When they returned, she'd have to go into gladiator mode and stand firm on her decision. Thankfully, Fitz was backing her on this. He'd definitely step in if she faltered.

Liv watched as Fitz placed the last of the electronics on the dining room table. Once they had their talk with the kids, the items would be spending the week with Tom in the agent's residence that was located on the property.

"Liv?"

"I'm fine Fitz, really. It-it's what needs to be done."

"And the other thing?"

"I'm sure. We're doing it."

"Ok. This is everything. So, what now?" Fitz asked as he motioned to the obscene pile covering their table.

Liv stood up and grabbed Fitz's hand and led him upstairs. "Now, you finish reading the diary. WE need to be prepared."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure Fitz. There are some really heavy things I put into that journal, but, that was 11 yrs ago. I know I didn't offer many reasons for why I reacted the way I did back then, but maybe you'll understand once you read it."

"You know Liv, I never pegged you as being one to keep a diary." Fitz commented as he studied Liv closely.

"Me either. There are a lot of things in those books that could've destroyed us had they fallen into the wrong hands. I went against my better judgment because I needed an outlet. I couldn't go out and tell the world about us at the time, I wrote it down, and kept it locked up in a safe with. fingerprint scanner. All except for this one. This one stayed in my nightstand."

"Was it in your nightstand here?" Fitz asked, quickly becoming upset the children would go into their room of all places and rifle through their belongings.

"No. I packed it up when we moved here and I hadn't seen it since. It was in the attic..."

"And now we know the reason behind the kids newfound obsession with the attic. I wonder what else they've found."

"There shouldn't be anything else to find, just pictures. The other books are still in the safe. Maybe I'll let you read them sometime."

"Really?" Fitz said as he arched his eyebrows.

"Really, but just know that they are very steamy."

"Is that so?"

"Very. They go into great detail about how this gorgeous, tall, strong, intelligent man swept me off of my feet and all of the things he would do to my body.. I wonder if I still have his number." Liv stated before taking off towards the stairs.

"Olivia Grant! You will pay for that!" Fitz yelled as he made his way behind her, catching up with her by the steps.

Fitz took Liv's hand and followed her up to the bedroom, preparing himself for the long day that was ahead.

Dani and Four were more so playing with their breakfast than eating it. What was normally a fun weekend with their grandfather of hitting the different museums and going out for ice cream was anything but. They both spent the entire weekend fearing what was going to happen. Eli sensed something was not right with the children, but this morning, they almost seemed scared.

"What's going on with you two. Talk to grandpa." Eli said as he tried to gain some clarity into the children's moods.

Dani looked at Four, both urging the other to tell their grandpa what they had done, and why they didn't exactly want to go home today. Dani blinked first which meant she had to tell what happened. It was a twin code they came up with when neither of them wanted to speak, but answers were demanded of them. It was only right as she was after the one who started this whole mess.

Dani went on to tell Eli all about their spur of the moment decision to face their fear of the attic. She told him about the photo albums they had found and the diary she had found. At the time Four didn't know. She went on to tell her grandfather how she and Four began to read their mother's diary and how they couldn't help but ask certain questions about the things they read, some of which apparently weren't so good.

"So, did your mom find out?" Eli asked as he began to form his advice in his head.

"No, but dad found the diary when he was taking the sheets off of the bed. He said we'd talk about it when we got home." Dani responded with her head hung low. She couldn't stand to see the look of disappointment that was surely on her grandfather's face.

"So has he told your mother about what he found?" Eli asked as he needed more info to help his children. He knew he had done his job when raising Liv. Although the part after her mother's passing was done in a boarding school, he knew he had gotten it right the first twelve years of her life. Her success showed it far more than he could tell it. Of course she had some questionable moments like falling in love with a married man, but fortunately it didn't turn out as disastrous as Eli had expected.

"We don't know. We left right after dad brought it up. Who knows what he's said to her since then." Four offered seeing as how his sister was on the brink of tears.

Eli sat quietly for a moment thinking of how he would have handled the situation if it were Liv. He was sure it would have come with at least a month phone and associate restriction, as well as no tv, and walkman. But this wasn't his daughter that was in trouble, these were his grandchildren and it was the role of the grandparent, especially when he was the only one, to help keep the punishment to a minimum.

"Why did you read her diary?" Eli asked hoping this would confirm what his advice would be.

Dani took a deep breath before responding. "Because I love the story of how mommy and daddy fell in love. I just... My gut tells me there is more than what they tell us and I thought the diary would tell the whole story."

"I see. Did you ever think that maybe there was a reason they didn't want you to know the whole story? Maybe to protect you?" Eli watched as both children shamefully shook their heads no. "Your parents are very high profile people who live a very private lifestyle. That means that people would kill to get a little bit of dirt on them. Some people with the intentions of making money, and others with the intention to hurt your mom and dad. Some things shouldn't get out. Now, with that said, I may be able to help make the punishment you are facing a little easier."

Both kids heads shot up as they waited for your grandfather to elaborate.

"Now, this is going to be the hardest thing you will ever have to do. Are you both in?" Both kids nodded their head yes. "Ok, here's what you do. When you go home, tell your mom what you have done. Are you both sorry, I mean really truly sorry, so much your stomach hurts about what you have done?" Both kids nodded again. "Good, then tell her that you're sorry for invading her privacy and you will accept whatever punishment she has in store for you."

"But what if dad has already told her?" Four asked seeming a little skeptical about the course of action.

"That doesn't matter. If you tell her before they bring it up, it will be the first step in regaining her trust, and trust in a family is more important that all of the money in the world."

"Will we still be punished?" Dani asked as she was standing on the line between options at this point.

"I'm not going to lie. I think you will still be punished, but it would be easier on you if you tell her. Your mommy has a lot going on between the baby and raising you two, her job and your father. She needs to know that you two love and respect her and her privacy."

"Ok grandpa, we'll tell her." Four answered as he stood and hugged his grandfather.

"Good. I'm proud of you two. Now, this doesn't mean you can go out and do wrong and expect people to forgive you just because you tell them. This means that you two are growing up and you are ready to take responsibility for your actions when you've done wrong. Every action has a reaction, and every action comes either with a consequence or a reward. Now, Dani Banani, come give your grandpa a hug."

The kids hugged their grandfather and began preparing to head home.

Liv and Fitz had just stepped out of the shower. Apparently reading Liv's emotions in their rawest forms spurred many love making sessions throughout the morning. Fitz knew he couldn't make up for the way Liv felt then, all he could do was show her how much he loved and appreciated her in the now. After he applied lotion to her entire body, Fitz dressed Liv in a pair of yoga pants and one of his Navy sweatshirts. He himself threw on a pair of sweats along with a matching Navy sweatshirt before lacing his fingers with Liv's as they headed downstairs to wait for their children.

They were in the middle of watching The Bodyguard when Tom had alerted them to the children's arrival.

Fitz and Liv walked to the door and greeted Eli and the children. Fitz took Eli's coat as Liv went into the kitchen to make everyone some hot chocolate. She wasn't in there long before Dani and Four came into the kitchen behind her, asking if they could talk.

"Sure, what's going on?" Liv asked, knowing she was about to be twinsided.

"Mom, Four and I did something really bad, and we want to say first that we are sorry and we will accept whatever punishment we have waiting for us."

Liv tried to hide the look of surprise on her face, as she witnessed her children preparing to tell on themselves.

"Ok, what did you do?" Liv asked, already knowing what they would say.

"We don't know if daddy told you or not, but, we... we went up to the attic the other day because we were curious about what was up there. When we were up there, I found your diary and... and we read some of it."

Liv stood there quietly as she allowed the children to continue.

"When daddy went to take the sheets off of my bed, he...he found it." Dani as she hung her head in shame. Liv sighed as she looked at her children who were clearly afraid, and could tell this wasn't easy for them. Especially since it had Eli Pope written all over it.

"Yes kids, your father did tell me, and I must say while I am disappointed in the both of you for invading my privacy, I am proud of you for fessing up, even if this does have your grandfather's name written all over it. However, that doesn't change the fact that the two of you are grounded for a week. No electronics of any kind. No carnival, no movies, and the trip to the jam factory this weekend is off. If you want to know something, you know you two can ask your father and me anything."

"Yes ma'am." The kids replied in weak unison.

"Oh, and one more thing. Your father and I decided that if it is that important for you to know everything, we will read the diary to you. We will answer any questions you two may have, but this remains between us. There are some things that should not be made known to the public. Our lives are a part of that. We have worked too hard to live close to a normal life since we left the White House and we want to keep it that way. We want the two of you to have as close to a normal upbringing as possible. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes!" Both kids answered as their eyes lit up.

"Good." Fitz replied, causing them all to jump. For being so tall, Liv thought he'd make some noise when entering a room. That was never the case though.

Fitz helped Liv carry the hot chocolate into the family room while the kids ran to find Eli.

"Grandpa, mom is going to read it to us." Four said proudly.

"I heard, and I'm very proud of you both for owning up to your actions. Now, let's go get some hot chocolate."

The rest of the evening was spent of Liv and Fitz telling different stories of their past life together. Many were from after they were married. They would save the earlier things for when they read the diary with the children. For tonight, they were just happy to be.

Hey everyone, the story isn't over yet. Maybe a few more chapters as I know you all want to know what else is in the diary. I just needed to end this chapter like this as I couldn't think of anything else to write for this day. Let me know what you think, and if there is a certain event you'd be interested in hearing Liv's feelings on.

Please keep in mind they were married during his third year in office so much of season two and none of season three occurred in this story. Mainly 106, 107,208, & 211 flashbacks and their engagement period will be focused on as well as some other events my mind comes up with. Thank you all so much for reading. XO