Chapter 9: Missing You

Olivia walked in the office with Kasey close behind her. Kasey and Abby squealed with delight when they saw each other. They were two peas in a pod. Neither of them had a filter, and would say whatever was on their minds. And, they both shared a disdain for Edison. Those common grounds had made them friends for life.

"I love the new look," Kasey said, fingering Abby's curls.

"Thank you."

"So, is there a new guy who inspired this look?"

"No. Just trying something new."

Kasey raised her eyebrows.

"It's true," Abby said, laughing.

Quinn entered with a tray of coffees. She looked at Kasey. "I'm sorry. I…No one said…I'm Quinn," she said, speaking quickly.

Kasey turned and looked at Olivia, clearly amused at Quinn. Olivia knew what she was thinking. Quinn was odd compared to everyone else in the office. She didn't have an edge, and seemed completely charming and innocent. She didn't quite fit in. But, she was needed. As their clientele grew, Olivia realized that they needed an assistant. Quinn helped to field some of the calls and keep them organized. She had already compiled a spreadsheet of all their clients, their games and appearances for the week. She also made it into charts that were in everyone's office and the main conference room. She was a gem.

"I'm Kasey," she said, holding her hand out to Quinn.

Quinn shook her hand. "You must be Olivia's sister," she assumed.

"Harrison's," Kasey clarified.

"Really? You look so much alike. It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry. I didn't know you would be here. I would have gotten you a coffee."

"It's okay. I don't really drink coffee."

"Quinn, you know how Harrison's all smooth and suave?" Abby began. "All of that goes away when Kasey and Liv are together. They torture him mercilessly. It's quite amusing."

"Glad you find it entertaining," Harrison said, sarcastically.

"Hi," Huck said, stepping in the room.

"Huck," Kasey said ran up to him and hugged him.

Huck shot a look to Abby, Olivia, Quinn, and Harrison as he returned Kasey's hug. They all knew he wasn't the affectionate type. So, this was out of the ordinary for him.

But, it made sense to Olivia and Harrison. Huck was the fourth member of their clan. He had transferred to their school while they were in middle school. The other kids teased him mercilessly, because he was quiet and in foster care. They were walking home from school one day when a group of kids were taunting him on the playground. Olivia had finally seen enough. She didn't like that Huck was alone and had to endure pain because of it. Following her lead, Harrison and Kasey walked up to the bullying group, and told them that Huck was officially a Wright-Pope, and if they wanted to get to him, they had to go through them. All of them. And, since Kasey was in high school, it wasn't a problem to get the other kids to back off.

"Thank you," Huck said, quietly as he shuffled towards them.

"What's your name?" Olivia asked. "I'm Olivia. This is Kasey and Harrison."

"Huck," he said with his eyes cast down.

"Where do you live, Huck?" Olivia asked. "We'll walk you home."

Huck's house was on the way to Olivia's house, which is where they went every evening after school. When they stopped at his house, Olivia told him, "We'll see you in the morning. You're walking to and from school with us from now on."

"Okay," Huck said, still looking at the ground. It took a while for Huck to warm up to them, to realize that they weren't going to abandon him. When Olivia said they were family, that's what she meant. And, their loyalty earned them his loyalty.

Kasey finally released Huck from the hug. She grabbed Harrison by the arm. "Let's go figure out this mess." Olivia followed them into Harrison's office.

"So, who is this girl," Kasey asked, sitting down.

"I don't know," Harrison said.

Olivia and Kasey looked at each other. "What do you mean you don't know? What's her name?"

"I don't know," Harrison repeated.

Olivia and Kasey shared another look of disbelief. "Are you sure he's not adopted?" Olivia asked Kasey.

"Hey, we're not supposed to talk about that," Harrison said.

Kasey and Olivia looked at each other and burst out laughing, as they remembered the time that Kasey told Harrison that he was adopted. She had told him that his birth family didn't want him because his head was too big. Harrison ran away to find his real family. The police found him wandering the streets, and called took him home. Kasey was grounded for three months. And, it seemed Harrison was granted lifetime amnesty.

"You got in so much trouble behind that," Olivia laughed.

"How was I supposed to know the little knucklehead would run away?"

"You know your brother is not well," Olivia teased.

"Still in the room," Harrison said, waving his hand. "Still in the room."

"And still in a bunch of shit," Kasey commented. "How do you not know this girl's name?"

"She said her name was Melody Adkins."

Olivia choked on her coffee.

"Isn't that…" Kasey started, as Olivia only nodded, knowing her question.

"But, it's not her," Harrison said. "I'm not stupid. Everybody knows Adkins's daughter.

"Are you sure? She wasn't wearing a wig or anything?"

"If she was, it would have came off," Harrison assured her.

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Well, do you have a number or something?" Kasey asked.

"Yeah," Harrison said, giving her the number. "But, she doesn't answer, anymore. Not since she said she was pregnant. She'll call, but she won't answer my calls."

"Hold on," Kasey said. She went into Huck's office. "Do you have a burner?" She asked him.

Huck opened a drawer and pulled a phone out, and gave it to her. Kasey dialed the number and waited until she heard a young woman answer hello. Kasey hung up the phone and gave it back to Huck.

"You want to keep it or trash it?" Huck asked.

Kasey thought for a moment. "Trash it."

Kasey went back in the office with Olivia and Harrison. She looked at Olivia.

"Everybody," Olivia stated.

"Everybody," Kasey said with a slight nod of her head.

"Let's go," Olivia said, and they went into the conference room. She pulled Huck and Abby from their offices. "It appears Harrison has gotten himself in a sticky situation. Harrison, why don't you give the details?"

They all listened as Harrison laid out the details of his problem.

"All we have is this number," Kasey said, passing the number to Huck.

"And maybe a description." Olivia said with uncertainly as she looked at Harrison.

Harrison gave them a vague description of the girl. "She said her name was Melody Adkins, but that wasn't her," he added.

"Isn't that my future boyfriend's future ex fiancée?" Abby asked.

Kasey shot Olivia a look. Olivia ignored her.

"But, like he said, that wasn't her," Olivia told Abby. "We have to find out who this girl really is. While this is a top priority, it doesn't take precedence over our clients."

"Liv," Kasey got up and went in her office. Olivia followed, already knowing what she wanted to talk about.

"Abby likes your guy," Kasey said when she closed the door.

"He's not my guy. And, it's just a crush, if you want to call it that," Olivia said.

"Not your guy? Where are we going Sunday?"

"He's a client. Sort of."

"How many of your client's games do you go to?" Kasey pushed.

Olivia shifted her gaze. Because she had so many different clients on different teams, she didn't go to any games. She watched them in her office, trying to keep up with each player and how he was handling himself on and off of the field. Usually the four TV's in her office were on, along with her laptop, and tablet. And, she followed other games on her cell phone. She usually just made a point to watch the known troublemakers live.

"Routinely Sunday is your most hectic day. And, you're taking time off for Fitz. Sounds like he's your guy to me."

"He's not my guy. He's her guy," she said, referring to Mellie.

"Well, it seems like he wants to be your guy."

"Kasey, can we not? Not today. Please." She was seriously missing Fitz. And, she didn't want to talk about him. She wanted to talk to him. It wasn't like she wasn't used to missing people. She missed her family everyday, especially her parents, but she was okay with that. But, missing her family made sense. She had known them forever. She had only known Fitz for…forever, she finally conceded. Some kind of way, this man had lived in her heart before she even met him. And, now that she sort of had him in her life, she felt empty and alone without him. She needed him.

/

For the second time that week, when Fitz pulled up to Cyrus's house, Olivia's car was parked in the driveway. He was confused. Cyrus had just called him and told him he wouldn't be home until late. So, he knew she didn't have a meeting with him, unless, Cyrus had forgotten to tell her. When he walked in, she was standing with her back to him, looking out the window.

"Livvie?"

She turned around and faced him. "Hi," she said shyly.

He smiled. "Hi. Where's Cyrus?"

"Not here. He had some late meetings." She paused. "I told him we were supposed to talk about your foundation. And, I know we don't have a meeting or anything today. But, we can talk about it, if you want. Or not. I shouldn't be here," she stammered over her words. "It's just that…I...I just...I...I-"

"Miss me?"

"Yes. No," she quickly recanted. "I mean...is it terrible that I do?" She looked at the floor.

He walked over to her. He took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "No, because I miss you too, Livvie. I dream about you every night. I can't stop thinking about you," he confessed.

"I dream about you, too," she admitted.

"Do you dream about this?" He lightly brushed his lips against hers.

"Yes," she whispered against his lips.

"Or this?" He traced her lips with his tongue. She responded by pulling his tongue into her mouth.

She tasted like strawberries, and her mouth-watering smell of coconut and vanilla was driving him crazy. He wanted to taste more of her. He wanted to consume her. He kissed her cheeks, and moved to her neck trailing kisses to her shoulder. He moved back up and licked her ear, just before catching it between his teeth. She moaned loudly and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him closer.

He moved back to her lips. He shifted his hand to her head, pulling her even closer. Olivia moved her hands to his hair, lightly running her fingers through it before gripping it tightly, earning her a moan from him. She smiled against his lips. Fitz pushed his tongue into her mouth, connecting with hers again. He moved his hands down her body, until he rested on her thighs. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed her body against the wall, and began kissing and sucking on her neck. The soft moans of pleasure that were coming from her, encouraged him to draw more from her. Fitz started unbuttoning her shirt, slowly licking and sucking her exposed skin, while grinding his erection against her core. Olivia whimpered in his mouth, before she broke the kiss as her head fell back, and loud moans flowed from her.

"Fitz," she moaned.

"I'm here Livvie," he whispered. "Tell me what you want."

Just then Jagged Edge's Let's Get Married started to play. Olivia groaned in protest. "Dammit. I have to get that." She untangled her legs from around his waist, and slid down the length of his body.

She grabbed her phone. "Hello?"

"I'm fine. How's your trip?" He heard her ask. He assumed she was taking to him. And, if she was, that meant he was out of town, and wouldn't be a problem for them. He leaned against the wall, and waited for her to finish her call so that they could pick up where they left off.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later," he heard her say.

"Me too," is what came next. And Fitz assumed he had told her that he loved her.

Fitz actually saw the guilt when it hit her. Her shoulders sagged, and the energy in the room changed. It was no longer electrifying and filled with passion. Guilt and shame now filled the room. She hung up the phone, and turned around to face him, as she buttoned her shirt. He was still leaning against the wall, watching her, preparing himself to hear her tell him why they couldn't be together. Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I have to go," she whispered.

"Liv, I just heard you ask him about a trip. So, I know he's not home waiting on you. You don't have to go."

"He's not. But, this isn't right. I should go. Bye Fitz," she said, as she grabbed her bag.

Fitz watched Olivia retreat from him. She was running, but he couldn't really blame her. They were in crazy situations. He was engaged to a woman he didn't love. And, she was obviously engaged to a man she was in love with. But, why did she kiss him like that if she was in love with him? Why did she come see him? Why did she miss him? Did she miss him, because he wasn't there? Was he some kind of replacement until her fiancé got back home? He had so many questions. And the first one was why? Why couldn't he shake Olivia Pope? Why did she invade all of his thoughts? Hell, why did he have to meet her at all? But, he had met her, and now he couldn't escape her. Not that he wanted to. He wanted to spend every waking minute with her. She had quickly become an essential part of his life. He needed her.

Fitz pulled out his cell phone and called her. He listened as her phone went to voicemail. He called her again, and she finally picked up.

"Yes?" She answered. She was clearly irritated. But, he couldn't tell if it was with him, herself, or what's his face.

"Do you love him?" He didn't want to know, but he needed to know. Needed to know what exactly was happening with them.

"Excuse me?"

"Do. You. Love. Him?" He repeated.

"I'm engaged to him." She gave the obvious answer.

"That's not what I asked you. Because, it sure as hell doesn't feel like you love him when you're in my arms, or when your tongue is in my mouth."

"Goodbye Fitz."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. I'm sorry," he quickly said. "Don't hang up like this. Please. Just give us one minute to get back to us. Please. One minute?" He wasn't above begging. He couldn't let their conversation end like that.

"One minute," she finally agreed.

They sat in silence, quietly needing each other, but knowing they had situations that would forever keep them apart.

"Livvie?"

"Yes Fitz?" Her tone was softer. And, her voice was caressing his name again.

"Are you still coming to my game?"

"Yes." He could hear the smile in her voice. They were okay. Whatever it was that they had was back to normal. He almost laughed. Nothing about their situation was normal. He didn't have a word for what they were. He just knew that he needed her. And, that was all right for the moment.

"Goodnight Livvie."

"Goodnight Fitz."