Wow! Chapter 10! Thank you all so much for being on this ride with me. I love writing this story, so as long as you guys keep reading, I'll keep writing. The early part of this chapter was inspired by songs off of Sam Smith's new album 'In the Lonely Hour.' The songs that I listened to in particular are called Life Support (peep the name of the chapter) and Stay With Me. He and Aubrey never fail to put me in my feels. None of you were happy with Edison and quiet rightly so; he's an ass! Anyway, enough from me... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Scandal

Olivia sat in a heap in her bed sobbing for what felt like hours. Most of her was relieved that she was no longer with Edison and was free to be with Fitz, but a large part of her was also crushed by Edison and his revelation. Sure their relationship wasn't perfect, but they'd still made promises to each other. Admittedly, she had broken the same one he had, but she couldn't believe that he was just willing to trash and defame their four year relationship over what seemed to be countless, meaningless hookups. She should have seen the signs. All of the sneaking off, the quick, hasty excuses when she would ask where he was going. The signs were there and she had missed them.

Olivia didn't love Edison, she was sure of that; she was ready to move on with Fitz. But it still hurt so much to think that the only thing she had known for four years was over. The relationship that she had put so much effort and love into was now completely cheapened, degraded and finished. All that she had known about Edison and held in such high esteem for so long was now completely erased, pulled out from under her. Her world was upside down. Gone was familiar and comfortable. She was shaken to the core and needed her best friend. She needed Fitz.

Picking up her phone, she dialed his number from memory. While she waited for him to pick up, she stared out the window at the mesmerizing pouring rain.

"Livvie?" he answered, his deep, calm voice immediately soothing her.

"Fitz, I'm coming over," her voice was small, filled with pain and timid. Fitz immediately realized and it broke his heart.

"Ok, beautiful, I'll be waiting at the door."

Waiting at the door he was. When Olivia arrived at the Grant front door minutes later, soaking wet from the rain and looking defeated and dejected, Fitz was waiting with a warm towel and a mug of hibiscus tea, which he knew was Olivia's favorite. As she stepped into the threshold of the house, he put the tea down on a side table and lightly draped the towel over her shoulders. She gave him a small smile and walked towards him. Not even bothering to wrap her arms around him, she stood there leaned against his tall, sturdy frame and let her tears fall anew. There were so many emotions running through her and she didn't have the words just yet to express what they were. Fitz took a deep breath, breathing in her scent and grounding himself. He didn't know what exactly was hurting her, but he was hurting too. Wordlessly, he wrapped his strong arms around her and placed a long, lingering kiss on the top of her head. Olivia let her tears fall as she let Fitz's heartbeat calm her. Soon their hearts were beating as one. There they stood, in the middle of his foyer, saying nothing, but everything at the same time.

Once she had calmed down enough, Olivia took Fitz's hand, laced their fingers together, used her free hand to pick up the mug and led them upstairs to his bedroom. Fitz followed in silence, and observed her. She still looked stunning to him, even though her hair was in a disheveled bun and her eyes were red and puffybecause she had been crying for what was presumably a long time. Arriving in his room, he closed the door. Olivia moved to sit in the middle of Fitz's bed, and Fitz, not waiting her to feel suffocated, opted to sit on the couch opposite the bed. Immediately feeling hollow without the contact, Olivia extend her arm.

"Stay with me?" she managed to crack out.

"Of course, Livvie," Fitz crossed to the bed, sat against the headboard and pulled her gently between his legs so that her back was to his chest. He could feel the thoughts speeding through her head a mile a minute and he ran his big hands up and down her arms, hoping to soothe and steady her. After a while, he wrapped his arms securely around her and waited for her to speak.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, "he was cheating on me." She felt Fitz tense beneath her, but he remained silent. She took a deep breath and repeated herself, stronger this time. "He was cheating on me," she paused before continuing. "and I know I shouldn't be upset because I cheated on him too, but from what he said, it sounds like he's been cheating on me a long time. I'm already so happy with you, Fitz, please don't get me wrong; but, it just hurts so much to know that a relationship Edison and I spent four years building, and a relationship that we both cherished could turn to shit so quickly. It's crazy, because you're with someone for that long and you think you know them, you think there's nothing they could do to shock or hurt you, but then they turn around and surprise you. Today, I saw a side of Edison I'd never seen before." She sounded scared and shaken. "He had this evil look in his eye and he was angry and malicious. Who knows what he would have done if we had been standing in the same room…" she trailed off, tears pouring once more. She wiped them off of her face, suddenly feeling silly.

"Why am I so emotional? It's not a good look. I'm sitting here complaining and crying to you about my ex-boyfriend when we're supposed to be starting a relationship together. You didn't sign up for this, Fitz, I'm sorry."

He lithely picked her up and turned her to face him so that she was straddling him. Gently cupping her tear-stained face in his hands, he began to talk, his voice stern and earnest.

"Livvie, don't you ever apologize to me for that. I'm your best friend, and this is what best friends do. Furthermore I now hope to be your boyfriend if you still want me. I did sign up for this, every moment of it. I want nothing more than to be here to hold you when you're happy or scared or crying just like you are now. I want to be here for you for the rest of forever, if you'll let me." It wasnt necessarily the best time to say this to her, but to him, it felt right. He took a deep breath and locked eyes with her before admitting what he'd been wanting to say for weeks, "Livvie, Olivia, I'm falling in love with you," she gasped and her eyes, brimming with unshed tears searched his for any sign that he was lying, and found none. "And I know that reciprocating those feelings right now might be hard for you, and I'm willing to wait, and just be your best friend Fitz, not your boyfriend Fitz, for as long as you need, because right now, I think you need a friend. I'm already yours, Livvie, so I'll wait. From that first moment we drunkenly kissed," he gave a small smile, "i've been yours, whether I knew it or not. I'm not going anywhere. We can go as slowly or as quickly as you want to. It's all up to you."

By this time, Olivia's tears were falling freely once more. Except this time, the feeling in her heart was not one of sadness, or fear, but love. Fitz, could see the unspoken words in her expressive eyes and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears and gave her another small smile. "One more thing, Livvie, and it's so important that you hear me when I say this," he was serious again. "I know our relationship started with us cheating, but I need you to believe me when I say that I would never ever cheat on you Olivia Carolyn Pope. You're the most important person in my life and losing you in any capacity would kill me."

With that she leaned in and kissed him ever so gently on his lips. "Thank you Fitz, I believe you. And I would never either. I could never," she murmured against his soft lips. She didn't want to talk anymore. There were still so many feelings swirling inside of her, though her budding love for Fitz was taking precedence over them all. She couldn't help but recognize the fact that she felt safe, warm and loved in his arms, something she hadn't felt with Edison in a long time. It was simultaneously a feeling that gave her pain and joy. She and Edison were over, they were actually over. With Fitz by her side as her best friend and when she was ready, her man, she was more than willing to accept that. "Lay with me so it doesn't hurt?"

He drew back the covers and they arranged themselves into a spooning position. Soon, Olivia drifted off into a peaceful sleep as Fitz watched her sleep and listened to the gentle rise and fall of her breath. The rain was still falling tranquilly outside.

It was Wednesday afternoon and unusually chilly in the Hamptons for the summertime. Olivia and Addison were sitting on the beach, with their toes buried in the sand, both wearing oversized sweaters and jeans shorts. Fitz had gone back to the city on Sunday evening for the work week and their fathers were at home in DC on business until the weekend. Olivia and Addison had spent the week catching up and bonding; Addison was like the sister Olivia never had. It was overcast and the wind was blowing. The pair was sitting in silence for the first time since their time alone began. Olivia knew Addison well enough to know that she was about to broach the subject Olivia had spent all week trying to avoid. She looked down and traced her fingers idly through the sand, hoping that Addison would put the conversation off a little longer. No such luck.

"So, Liv…"

"Addie?"

"I don't mean to pry…. Ok, just kidding, you know me, I do mean to pry. What's the deal with you and Fitzy? Have you broken up with Edison? I never liked him. I hope you broke up with him. Did you know that Fitz likes you? I mean really likes you. He might actually love you… Feel free to interject at any time with answers."

Olivia laughed at Addison's antics.

"Yes, I broke up with Edison... Yes, I know Fitz likes me and might potentially love me. To be honest, I think I might love him too," she admitted for the first time out loud, although she had been feeling it in her heart for quite some time. "And the deal with us? Well right now, we're taking it slow, keeping things simple and quiet. We're still feeling things out and we're both fresh out of relationships. Mine ended a little messier than Fitz's…" she trailed off, not wanting to tell Addison the details of her breakup, knowing she would go off the rails and probably kill Edison if she heard. Addison was fiercely protective over Olivia and Fitz.

"Liv, what happened?" Addison was immediately concerned. Even though Olivia tried to hide the pain behind her eyes, Addison saw it briefly.

"He was cheating on me…"

"Excuse me WHAT?! I'm going to kill him! I swear! You know what? Nope, never mind. Fuck him and his dick that's probably the size of my pinky toe. You deserve so much better, Liv, whether it's with Fitz or with someone else. Edison is arrogant and self-righteous and walks like he has a pole up his fucking asshole."

Olivia laughed so hard she snorted. She could always count on Addie to make her laugh.

"Thanks, Addie, you're the best."

"Anytime, Liv," she pulled her in for a hug. "But seriously, Liv, how are you feeling with all of this. It's a lot going on." Addison had the same honest, clear blue eyes that Fitz did, and as Olivia looked into them, all she saw reflected was a deep sense of love and concern.

"I know, it's been pretty overwhelming. I'm happy that my relationship with Ed is over, but it still hurts. And then I get scared because sometimes I feel like I'm rushing into things with Fitz too fast. Like what if I fuck it up? What if it doesn't work? What if Fitz cheats on me too?… All these doubts swirl through my head, but then all it takes it takes is one text or phone call from him for me to feel like the world is right again. I know he's less than an hour and half away, but I miss him. I feel like I can't breathe when he's not around and he makes me so insanely happy, Addie. I've never been this girl who can't stop gushing about her guy and who can't stand being away from him; it's a new feeling for me. We talk about nothing and everything. He looks at me like I'm the only girl in the world, he treats me like a queen, and the sex is amazing…"

"OK EW EW. That's where I'm drawing the line! I don't need to hear about my brother's sex life."

Once again, Olivia laughed heartily.

"But it sounds like he's making you as happy as you're making him. I kind of always knew you two would end up together," Olivia blushed at Addison's confession. "Ok, last question, and then I'm done giving you the third degree."

"Shoot"

"When are you guys going to tell our parents? Because you know once they find out, there's no going back. Like ever. Never ever. This is their dream. They've been planning your wedding basically since you two were born."

Olivia let out a loud, loaded sigh. "I know… We know. We're," she paused, looking for the right words, "treading lightly. Everything with us is still so new, and as you said, once our parents get wind of this, there's literally no turning back. We want to be sure."

"Understandable," Addison seemed satisfied with Olivia's answer, and knowing that things were weighing heavily on her, she opted to leave the subject alone, but not before saying one final thing. "You break his heart, and I'll kill you!"

"I would never," Olivia smiled. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Ok, good. Now let's go make some cookies!"

It was Friday night once again, and the Popes and Grants were crowded around the Grant kitchen eating a meal of grilled steaks, broccoli and roasted potatoes, prepared by the men. The meal was of course paired with red wine. There was laughter, excitement and a lot of story telling; they hadn't had full attendance at a Pope-Grant dinner in a long time, especially with Addison living on the west coast. Right now, the butt of the joke just happened to be Mellie.

"I mean did you see her face when I told her she had to leave?!" Big Jerry laughed so hard he couldn't catch his breath, "she looked like she was going to give birth to a small whale." The room erupted in laughter that took forever to subside. "Son, I'm so happy that you broke up with her, I could buy you a new car."

Fitz's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he smiled the signature Grant charmer, "you should definitely do that, Dad."

"I said could son, not would, keep your panties on." Everyone laughed as Fitz pretend to pout.

"See, Tripp, if you were with Olivia, we could've saved ourselves some embarrassment."

Addison thought that it was the opportune time to chime in. Looking her younger brother square in the eyes she said, "yes Fitz, if you were with Olivia, we could have definitely saved ourselves some embarrassment." The pointed comment seemed to thankfully fly right over the adult's heads, but both Fitz and Olivia threw Addison death glares.

Rowan leaned back on his bar stool and took a sip of his wine. "Olivia, honey, you're next. When are you going to get rid of this Davis joker?" Olivia, who was sitting directly across the kitchen island from Rowan took a big swig of her wine and cleared her throat.

"Well actually, we broke up on Saturday…"

"Oh thank the Lord!" Maya Pope sang. The family erupted in joyful applause.

"Mooom," Olivia whined, knowing the direction that Maya was headed.

Maya held up her hands, "sorry, sweetie"

"You may be sorry, honey," Rowan stated, addressing his wife, "but I'm sure as hell not. It's about time that boy got kicked to the curb." Rolling her eyes at her father's antics, Olivia took another big gulp of her wine, hoping the subject would change soon. She definitely wasn't ready to have this conversation.

"Well would you look at that," came Addison's voice, "you're both single." She smirked, sitting back and crossing her arms. Olivia and Fitz shot her another look. Once again, the seemingly obvious comment went right over the parent's heads. They were too excited at the prospect of Olivia and Fitz finally potentially being together. It was Elizabeth's turn to pipe up.

"So, Olivia, how long before we can expect you and Fitz together? I can't wait for the wedding, and cute, smushy grand babies that I can spoil to death. The dream might finally be coming true!"

Olivia was blushing so hard it took her a few seconds to collect herself and formulate her response. "Honestly, Beth, I just got out of a relationship," she was trying not to tell an outright lie, "and my emotions are all over the place right now…" Fitz decided to jump in to help out the clearly flustered Olivia.

"Mom, please give it a rest, Liv has had a pretty emotional week. Besides, I wish you would just give "the dream" thing a rest. Livvie is like my sister."

"Yeah, a sister who sucks your dick," Addison mumbled under her breath. Olivia snorted, trying not to laugh at Addison's obvious lack of a filter, but also wanting to kill her. Fitz gave his sister the death glare for the third time that night; she was skating on thin ice.

"Pardon, Addie? What'd you say sweetie?" asked Elizabeth who hadn't heard what her daughter had said.

"Nothing, mom," she smiled sweetly but had a devilish gleam in her eye.

Fitz loudly cleared his throat before his sister could do any further damage. "Why don't we go watch X-Men: Days of Future Past? I know we've all been anxiously waiting to see it?"

The conversation seemed to be momentarily forgotten as everyone loudly got up to place their plates in the sink, excited to move to the home theatre to watch the film. Olivia and Fitz breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their secret was safe for now.

The movie was half way through and the Pope-Grants were all thoroughly engrossed in the film. Well, all except for two. Olivia and Fitz had opted to sit in the very back row of the small, dark, cold, in-home theatre that was filled with plush lazy boy chairs. Throughout the movie, Olivia had been mercilessly teasing Fitz by stroking him over his sweatpants and he was now painfully hard. She was feeling bold due to the liquor, the darkness of the theatre, and the fact that they had a blanket draped over them. All movie, Fitz had been trying to concentrate, ignoring her persistent and heavenly ministrations. But at this point, he'd had enough; she was about to get a taste of her own medicine.

Fitz placed his hand on Olivia's upper thigh and gave it a squeeze. This got her attention and when she looked at him, she had a mischievous, challenging look in her eye. He wasted no time in inching his hand up her thigh. He could feel the heat radiating from her core and she bit her lip in anticipation of the pleasure that was sure to come. Fitz was thankful for her summer dress, as it provided easy access. Reaching his destination, he rubbed her already swollen clit through her thin underwear. Olivia struggled to stifle her moan. Luckily, the action in the movie was picking up and so it was pretty loud.

Olivia's wetness was already beginning to drip down her thigh and Fitz had barely touched her. "Damn him and the things he does to my body," Olivia thought to herself. Yet she wouldn't have it any other way. Pushing the lace barrier aside, Fitz slid two fingers through her slick folds and Olivia's eyes slid shut.

"You like that, Livvie? You're always so ready and wet for me baby," he began to whisper sweet nothings in her ear as he inserted two fingers inside of her heat. She groaned and Fitz quickly put two fingers from his free hand in her mouth to silence her. She began sucking on them and running her tongue along the length of his digits, teasing him. It was taking everything in him to take her right then and there. Even in the dark of the room, they could see the fire and passion reflected in each other's eyes. Olivia's ministrations on his fingers spurred him on and he began pumping his fingers in and out of her. She spread her legs under the blanket to allow him easier access and his fingers curled deftly to hit her spot. Despite the fact that his fingers were in her mouth, she groaned again.

"You're going to have to be quiet, baby. We can't have everyone hearing you — those sounds you make should be for my ears only." His pace increased and she began thrusting against his fingers matching his pace. Her walls began clamping on his fingers gently and sensing she was close, he began gently rubbing her nub with his fingers. She came hard on his hand moments later, nearly blacking out and releasing as quietly as she could.

Miraculously, their salacious activities went undiscovered. They knew they needed to get out of there though, or their actions wouldn't be secret for much longer. Fitz's head was so clouded with lust as they made their way to the exit that he could barely stammer out an excuse for their departure. This girl was going to be the death of him. The only replies they received were a series of unintelligible "mhmms" and "okays"; everyone's eyes were still firmly planted on the screen. Olivia and Fitz rushed out of the room, not wanting to wait any longer to be somewhere private and naked.

How perfect is Fitz? And that Addison is a riot lol! I picture her to be a lot like Addison Montgomery from Private Practice, just minus the firey red hair. A lot of you were confused as to why Olivia was crying over Edison, so I hope that I was able to make that a little clearer. The next chapter will most likely be a time jump to the fall semester back at school. Thanks to Nikki for being a great sounding board and idea giver and to Cakes for the proof read and the use of the nickname 'Tripp.' You know the drill; I love your reviews!

Until Next Time.

xoxo,

T.

P.S.: If you haven't already, please check out my one shot 'What a Life'