Olivia Pope didn't do birthdays. Especially her own. When her phone rang in the middle of a strategy meeting for the next series of campaign stops, she silenced it immediately, switching it to vibrate until it began to buzz on her lap. The questioning looks and intrigued glances from varying members of the group made her silence it completely, looking down at it long enough to recognize that she had three missed calls from Harrison and one from Abby. Trust them to remember this mundane bit of information. She let the thought drop from her mind as she brought herself back to the focus of the meeting.

~

The campaign seemed to have rediscovered its stride with rumors in the political arena surfacing about the possibility of Governor Reston's wife having her own affair. The irony of the situation was lost on no one in the Grant campaign, which had dealt with the very same rumors aimed at Mellie, least of all Olivia. This news had come as a relief for Olivia and Cyrus especially since it allowed them to press forward with Fitz's desire to run a clean campaign.

During one of their early mornings together at the office, Cyrus had voiced his concerns about the direction the campaign was headed and she couldn't help but understand the truth of her mentor's words. She doubted there was anyone in the world who was more of a political animal than Cyrus Beene. But more than that, she understood that especially for a Republican, it was important to be seen as decisive and powerful. While Fitz's image was charming, erudite and immensely likeable, she could see that the idea of him as commander wasn't fully realized. Instead, Fitz came off as an attractive man who was getting into politics because he had nice hair and family attachments on his father's side. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if he'd grow to fit the mantle of power. He had the potential for greatness, sure, but she wasn't sure he had the stomach necessary for the difficult realities of leadership. The expectations. The demands. The cruelty of humanity.

She both loved and resented him for his innocence. He might have been a married man, a father of two, and the man who was currently running for president, but sometimes, she felt that he lacked life experiences. In so many ways, he had been shielded from the uglier side of reality. She wondered how he would react when he discovered that not everyone lived by the same strict set of morals as him. Especially in Washington, morality was just another commodity to be bought and sold at the highest gain. It would take a great deal, she imagined, for Fitz to recognize and she imagined he wouldn't come away unscathed when he did.

~

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, seeing her contemplating something serious as he caught the movement of her teeth nibbling at the inside of her mouth. He wondered if she even knew she did it, the instinctual little move whenever she seemed to be caught up in her thoughts. Some part of his brain filed away each of these facts about her inside of him. Instead, his thoughts turned towards the disappointment he felt at the moment. She hadn't even bothered to tell him it was her birthday. No, he recalled, it had been Mellie of all people who had passed along the bit of information she'd picked up from Cyrus. Cyrus had known before he had. Mellie had known before he had. It continued to gnaw at him as the meeting came to an end and members of his staff began to disperse to their respective work areas.

She spared him a glance before moving off toward Cyrus' area, bending slightly to speak to him in hushed tone before he raised an eyebrow slightly but listened, nodding quietly. Straightening again, he watched as she touched a hand to his shoulder, walking briskly over to the coffee machine to get her first cup of coffee for the day.

~

When her phone finally vibrated for the fourth time in the past three hours, she grabbed it and headed outside to the small courtyard area outside their office. Forcing herself to neither be nor sound irritable, she answered it with an air of ease..

"Hey Harrison," she said, trying to keep it light.

"Liv, you'll never believe what day it is," she heard him answer, the familiar teasing tone of his voice putting her at ease. Though she wasn't the sort of person who opened up to many people, Harrison was one of the few that she knew she could count on without doubts. He felt much more like family, although she hadn't exactly grown up with family that she felt as close to as she did him.

"Try me," she replied, closing her eyes as she touched her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose, putting some pressure on the point there. She could feel the beginnings of a headache swirling in her skull and hoped to avoid it as best as possible.

"Well, I heard these unconfirmed rumors that it's your birthday today and since you're nowhere near me, I figured calling would be the best option to wish you a happy birthday! Until I get enough money for my private jet, of course," he said, laughing more to himself than her. She couldn't help but chuckle in response and felt the headache start to retreat.

"It's probably for the best that you don't get such fancy ideas since my bail-Harrison-out-of-jail account is running low at the moment," she retorted, knowing that the rapport they had allowed for such snark. His sharp laugh on the other end proved her thoughts to be true.

"I'll put some more money in it for next time," he responded back. For a moment, they were both quiet and she waited for him to speak.

"Thanks," she added, silent again.

"Anytime. Call if you need me." The words spoken were normal, but his tone spoke of his utter loyalty to her. For the handful of personal relationships she had cultivated in her life, theirs was one she greatly appreciated.

"I will."

"Alright, go get your man elected." She was glad for the fact that he couldn't see her face and the tell-tale widening of her eyes at his particular choice of words. Forcing herself to laugh lightly, she nodded before speaking again.

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

~

The work allowed her to keep her mind away from the date and she was glad for it. As the day winded down, she felt a strange wave of anticipation as the office got suddenly quieter. Looking around, most people left were huddled together in groups, with Cyrus and Britta Kagan most noticeably absent. They, along with her, almost always stayed afterward late into the night and as she wondered where they were, the motion of the door opening caught her eye.

Fitz was walking into the room, flanked on either side by Cyrus and Mellie, and in his hands was a perfectly frosted, strawberry-covered birthday cake with candles all around the edges. Her eyes went wide as he walked over to her, everyone in the room turning towards them, and she felt her heart squeeze when he met her eyes with a slow smile. The others in the room broke out into a rendition of "Happy Birthday" that wasn't quite on pitch, but even as she felt the scars inside of her stir back to life, she enjoyed their appreciation and celebration of her.

"Didn't think we'd forget the birthday of our star campaign fixer, did you?" He spoke, his voice following the end of the song. She forced herself to push down at everything else, focusing on keeping up her image of normalcy and offering him a wide grin in response that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I could only hope," she said the words, but her polite chuckle took all of the sting out of it as Fitz placed the cake on the table. He looked up at her expectantly before she moved forward, looking down at all the candles on the cake.

"How old do you think I am?" she asked, counting the candles before she realized that there were about 50 or so.

"Well, I bought an entire pack of them and I didn't want to waste them," Britta started, her voice slightly apologetic even as she smiled slowly. "Plus, I'm just trying to ensure you're around for a long life."

Olivia couldn't help but smile in genuine happiness this time, touching a hand to her heart.

"This is very sweet of all of you to go through the trouble. Unnecessary, but I'm touched," she spoke, looking around the room.

"Hey, hey, it's my turn to give a speech as the man you've been campaigning so hard for," Fitz said, a playful look on his face. His smile softened though as he took a few steps towards her. "And I will try to keep it short or you'll critique what I'm saying as I say it."

There was light laughter before he continued.

"Now it's pretty common knowledge that we didn't start off on the best foot, considering how boldly you criticized the way we were handling the campaign. But I'm glad to say that you have far less to complain about now that you've taken the reins," he said, his smile curving crookedly, a sign of amusement. "And that in the time you've been here, you've proven yourself to be not only indispensable to the campaign and as a part of our team. I think I speak for everyone here when I say how grateful we are to have you on our side, and not just because we like winning. So happy birthday and I hope we get to celebrate many more together...all of us." The last words were added hastily as he could've sworn he almost felt the glare from Mellie.

Cyrus patted Fitz's shoulder before stepping forward, adding simply, "Your time here has just proven to me that I made the right choice in calling you the best student I ever had. Happy birthday."

Though his speech was much less gushing than Fitz's, the words meant just as much to her and she locked them away in a safe place inside of herself. Keeping her eyes on Cyrus' in order to avoid looking at Fitz, she spoke.

"This campaign is a team effort and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of a team than this one. Thank you, for all of it," she said, the words simple and heartfelt. "Now, I want cake."

~

The next morning, Olivia lay on her stomach, her dark curls falling around her shoulders, her forearms resting on the bed and her head lifted enough so she could turn her head to look at him. He lay on his side, his tricep resting on the bed, his head resting against his palm as he lazily stroked a fingertip along the curve of her spine, her skin smooth and bare underneath his. He had taken advantage of Mellie's appearance at a women's fundraiser and they had spent the full hour celebrating her birthday the way he found highly appropriate.

"You didn't tell me it was your birthday," he said, the words slightly accusing but the question behind them was clear.

"I don't do birthdays. You're just another year older. I don't quite see the cause for celebration that you managed to stay alive for another year."

"Livvie, not even you are that much of a cynic," he replied, scoffing slightly at her even as his fingertips continued to dance along the small of her back.

She shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly upward before sliding towards the edge of the bed, until he caught her arm, holding her lightly but firmly.

"Your wife will be back soon," she spoke, trying to use the words to put the wall back up between them. But he knew her far too well to fall for such a cheap trick.

"That doesn't have quite the same ring to it when you're still naked and your skin's still warm from sex," he spoke, easing his hand under her arm before tugging her closer. She wriggled for a moment before he grinned wickedly and simply solved the matter by tickling the spot he knew right on the side of her ribcage. She laughed helplessly as he pulled her into his side.

"Fitz, stop," she told him, attempting to wriggle away.

"This is what people who are involved do. They tell each other things. They share. They let one another in."

She tilted her chin up at him defiantly but there was something there, behind the curiosity. Hurt. Resting her hand against his chest, watching her darker skin and slim fingers press against his broad torso, she spoke quietly, keeping her eyes on his collarbone.

"I was an only child growing up, so I was kind of a brat. On my fifth birthday, I threw a bit of a fit because my mother had forgotten to get Yoo-hoo for my party. So in the middle of getting everything ready for the birthday party, she left to pick some up from the gas station closest to our house," her voice was soft, vulnerable, exposed in a way Fitz had never heard before. It unsettled him.

His hand smoothing along her hip comforted her and she continued.

"Long story short, robbers held her and the store owner up at gunpoint for money and when the owner refused to pay, they shot him and my mother."

His eyes went wide and his hand stilled at her words. He felt as though he'd been punched in the gut and for a minute, felt his mind go blank with sorrow for her. Slowly, he gathered her closer, sliding down until they were face to face. Her eyes were closed as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured in a gentle voice. She nodded silently, her arm moving around his waist, her hand resting on his back. It was such a rare thing to allow herself to be comforted, but she figured that in that moment, he needed it just as much as she did. Though she didn't cry, he felt the change in her, the softening. She felt suddenly small and incredibly fragile against him when she let him soothe her.

Part of him understood now, her wariness, her unwillingness to get close to people, to let people into her life. He imagined it was difficult to do so when people you cared about, people you loved, could be ripped from you in a matter of seconds. The thought mulled in his mind as he clung more tightly to her, his lips traveling down to her shoulder, burying his face there. They lay there silently, still except for his hand moving along her side and back, soothing her as he would a child. Neither of them spoke in fear of ruining the intimacy of the moment. She had let him in and though it didn't feel different, in the haven of his embrace, it was different for both of them now. Things so often changed in the blink of an eye.

_
A/N: I long for the day when Shonda Rhimes and the Scandal writers finally give us Olivia's backstory, because in 2x11 when we met Big Jerry, everything about Fitz fell into place. In the meantime, I'll let my imagination play through the ideas. As always, dear readers, thank you for your support and reviews. Your words, of encouragement and thoughtful musings, mean the world to me.