Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

They spent the next several hours window shopping and just enjoying one another's company. Olivia's mind was free of everything pertaining to Jake, she seemed much happier. She had even instigated another round of hand holding, pressing her side close to his and entwining their hands.

It was just after six o'clock, and the sky was beginning to change colors, readying itself for the inevitable setting of the sun. They were close to the amusement park, and Fitz couldn't help but suggest they go ride the Ferris wheel; the timing was all but perfect.

Now that everyone was free of their daily responsibilities, many had flocked to Old Orchard Beach. The amusement park was crowded; there was hardly enough room for them to walk through the mass of people. By the time they got to the line for the Ferris wheel, the sun was bright red. Fitz was worried that they wouldn't even get onto the ride until it was dark outside, but the line proved to be fast moving. Not even ten minutes later, they were at the front of the line.

Fitz handed the employee their tickets, and ushered Olivia onto the ride. She slid to the very edge of the booth, occupying only a quarter of the seat. Fitz settled a good distance away, uncertain. As the wheel brought them higher into the air, she visibly relaxed. She pushed herself closer toward the middle of the seat, but didn't reach out for physical contact.

The sun was low on the horizon as they reached the top of the wheel. The sky was darker, the sharp, vibrant colors descending into deep shades of blue and purple. Fitz's gaze swept across the calm ocean before returning to the ground below him. Olivia let out a soft sigh as she viewed the picturesque seascape. "From up here," she murmured, "all my problems seem so small, so insignificant."

In that delicate, quarter of a second it took for him to turn his head to look at his colleague, a lone, unmoving figure in the crowd caught his eye. It took even less time for him to recognize the man. He felt sick to his stomach. Jake. The man was looking in their direction, and Fitz a sinking feeling that Jake knew exactly which passenger car was theirs.

Fitz turned away, unable to look at the man any longer. He shut his eyes and drew in a shaking breath, hoping to quell the nausea. Olivia placed a comforting hand on his arm. "What's the matter?" she asked. He shook his head, trying to put himself together. They still had several minutes before the ride was over, enough time for him to prepare for a confrontation. How had Jake found them? And more importantly, how long had he been following them?

His shaking hands balled into uncertain fists. "If I had known you were afraid of heights, I wouldn't have agreed to ride the Ferris wheel with you." Olivia's joking tone sounded uncertain. Fitz shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He should be more worried about her than Jake.

"No, that's not it at all," he assured her. "I'm not scared."

Her brow furrowed. "What is it then?" she pressed.

"You're not going to be able to hide from him forever. How long are you going to let him torture you like this? I think you need to find a more permanent solution, something that will end all your ties with him. You need to get a divorce, Olivia."

He watched her stiffen, and knew that everything he had managed to accomplish today had just been ruined by his candid statement. Her walls were up, and now more fortified than ever. She moved back to her edge of the seat. "Can we please not talk about this now?"

Fitz bit his lip, trying his hardest to remain mute on the issue. He didn't want to push her farther away. She must have figured his silence was because of anger, for she started to explain herself. "I've had the most amazing time today. I've had more fun playing hooky with you than I've had in years. I don't want this to end. I just want to enjoy the rest of tonight without thinking about him. Would that be okay?"

"Of course," Fitz said. "But you're going to have to think about this at some point." Olivia gave him a weary nod before positioning herself away from him, her hair becoming a veil to hide her face. Fitz took the time to peer over the side of their car, searching the crowd. They were much closer to the ground, and Fitz wasn't certain how Olivia would react if she saw Jake. He scanned the crowd, but much to his relief, Jakes's familiar face didn't stand out.

The ride stopped and the mechanical door of their car slid open. Fitz got out and, after a moment of hesitation, held his hand out for Olivia. She placed her palm on top of his, and he helped her out of the booth. She let go afterwards, and Fitz let his arm fall to his side. The Ferris wheel was close to the park's beach side exit and, instead of fighting the crowd, Fitz encouraged Olivia to head in that direction.

They walked along the beach in an awkward silence. What had been a cool, refreshing ocean breeze that afternoon was now chilling. Even with his jacket on, Fitz found himself shivering. Olivia wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm. A burst of color followed by an echoing boom surprised them both. Fitz looked up, watching as the fireworks exploded in the night sky. Instead of being impressed, he found himself reciting which chemicals made up each color – iron oxide for red, copper sulfate for blue, and magnesium for the particularly bright white that made the crowd at the amusement park go wild.

Olivia wasn't watching the light show, either. Her gaze was trained on the ground below her, a frown on her lips. He thought about reaching out to her, but she was more than an arms length away from him, a stark contrast to the afternoon. He hung his head and spent the rest of their walk regretting what he had said to her about Jake.

/

Since Friday night, Olivia and Fitz hadn't talked much. They made small talk over meals, but for the most part attempted to avoid one another. It wasn't that they were mad at each other, but ever since he had brought up the divorce it felt like he was walking on eggshells around her. She hadn't minded; it had given her a chance to come to better terms with what was going on.

Olivia had managed to stay busy the entire weekend, catching up on her missed work. When she wasn't grading papers, she was sending out emails, planning a guest speaker's visit to the school. Even though it was Sunday evening, it felt like she hadn't gotten anywhere; there was still so much work to be done. She brought her fingers up to her temple, hoping to prevent the impending stress headache.

She heard a door creak open, and she listened as the padding feet made their way into the kitchen, where she was seated. She tried her hardest not to smile as Kaner perked up at his master's presence. The retriever wriggled his way over to Fitz, only to receive an absentminded pat on the head. "How's your work coming along?" she asked.

"I can't bring myself to do anymore. I honestly haven't the slightest idea how some of these students ended up in my class, much less the school. I thought we were supposed to be one of the top prep schools in the nation." He settled in the chair opposite her. "I know that I didn't give the students much time to write their lab reports, but some of them are just ridiculous. I don't understand how they can turn this stuff in and expect me to give them a good grade."

"Were there any decent reports?"

He ran a hand through his short hair and let out a dramatic sigh. "There were a few, I guess. But none were up to par with my previous classes. I just hope these students don't expect to have a career in biology."

"It's just the first lab report," she assured him. "I bet some of your students will improve on the next round. I wouldn't worry about it. You said it yourself; they didn't have a lot of time to polish up their reports. And I know that John's visit pushed the field trip to be weeks early, so they didn't have a chance to really think their experiments through."

He gave an indifferent shrug. "I guess so." He leaned back on his chair, stretching. "What are you doing? Are you still working?"

"I was, but I don't think I can handle looking at a computer screen for much longer."

"What do you say to taking a break? We could watch a movie." If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that he looked nervous proposing the idea to her.

She contemplated it a moment, uncertain if it was the right thing to do. She still had an overwhelming amount of work, and she hadn't even finished planning out Monday's lecture. But the longer she thought about it, the more Fitz fidgeted in his chair. She couldn't very well say no to him. She gave in, murmuring, "Sure, that sounds great."

"I have a lot of science-y movies in my collection, but I think you might be able to find one or two you wouldn't mind watching. You could go pick a couple out while I make some popcorn? Then we can narrow down the choices together."

Olivia acquiesced, wandering into his living room. He hadn't exactly told her where to find his DVD collection, so she ended up opening several cabinets before finding the right one. She settled down next to it, pulling out the boxes. Much to her dismay, she didn't recognize a single title in the first stack she pulled out. By the time she got to the third row of DVD's, there were only a handful she recognized, and none that she had an interest in seeing. She was about to leave it up to Fitz to find one to watch when she spotted The Princess Bride. It wasn't something she had seen before, but the cover was enough to interest her.

Fitz had asked her to pick out more than one movie, so she grabbed a few at random. She had just managed to put all of them away when Fitz came into the living room carrying a large bowl of popcorn. She settled onto the couch next to him and held out the movie choices. He eyed them critically.

"Trainspotting, Olivia? Do you even know what that movie is about?" He set the movie down, chuckling. "Was the Princess Bride the only one you were actually interested in watching?" She nodded, embarrassed. "It's a great movie," he reassured her. "I'm glad you chose it."

He got up to put the movie into the DVD player. When he sat back down on the couch with the remote, he was right next to Olivia. The only thing separating them was the bowl of popcorn. Olivia tried her hardest not to tense up, or move away. The blue screen faded, and the commercials for now ancient movies flickered onto the screen. Fitz skipped to the menu and started the movie.

He reached for the popcorn bowl just as she did. Her hand shot back to her side, and she waited until Fitz had scooped up a handful before doing the same. She didn't let her mind dwell on it, instead focusing on the movie. The characters were all personable, and she caught herself laughing as they moved through their humorous adventure.

Halfway through the movie, Olivia needed a break to wash the buttery residue from her hands. Fitz thoughtfully paused the movie, and went to throw away the unfinished bowl of popcorn. He was already seated on the couch when she returned. She paused, wondering if it was appropriate to sit so close to him again. She took her chances, settling onto the cushion next to him. They weren't quite touching, but she was close enough to feel his body heat.

As the movie continued to play, Olivia found herself unable to concentrate. His hand was dangerously close to hers; a few more inches and they would be touching. She knew he wouldn't try to, not after Friday night. She slid her hand closer to his, her heart pounding. Would he be upset if she tried to hold his hand?

He jumped when her fingers met the top of his hand. She pulled away, turning a bright red. A few seconds later, she felt his fingers grab hers. He pulled their intertwined hands onto the couch between them. She ran her thumb along the top of his, finding herself smiling at the absurdity of the situation.

He didn't let go of her hand until the credits began to roll across the screen. When he did, she looked up at him, upset at the loss of contact. His face was centimeters away from her own; she could smell his cologne. Her eyes slid shut and she tilted her head up, her lips parting for the inevitable kiss.

He pressed his lips gently to hers. She responded eagerly, her heart pounding so furiously she was sure Fitz could hear it. His fingers tangled in her hair as his mouth worked over hers. He moved his head and began to kiss the side of her neck.

It took less than a second for her panic to set in. Fear coursed through her veins. "Fitz, stop." He was in the midst of pressing another kiss on her neck, but paused when he heard the terror in her voice. "Stop, please stop," she begged. "I'm so sorry, it's too soon." She pushed his hands off of her, and jumped off the couch. She rushed up the stairs and retreated to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

A/N: Hi! Thank you for all of the reviews over the past week or so. Sorry for the lack of updates... midterms are next week, along with learning all 206 bones and the features of them before Thursday- so much fun. *sighs* #nursingschool

I hope you are all having an incredible week. One more day until Scandal Thursday! :) Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. I thought I would get one posted before the next 48 hours of practically no sleep hits me. I appreciate every single one of them. xoxo