"So we aren't going to talk about what happened ever?" Fitz asked Olivia.
"You're going to take the oath of office in ten minutes. Now is not the right time to talk about anything. You need to finish getting ready. Remember to look like you love Mellie when you walk out there. Kiss her cheek and hold her hand. Pretend that you love her," Liv countered.
"I don't though."
"You don't what?"
"I don't love Mellie. I haven't for a long time. And Mellie doesn't love me. We're not even married anymore. She loves Andrew. And I love you. I'd like for you to be up there with me…"
Fitz continued to go on but Olivia stopped listening. Her mind was starting to spin with all this new information.
"You need to stop talking right now. You're stressed out and you're saying things that you don't mean and that aren't true. Just stop talking. Here, I got you something special."
"You're my something special."
"Fitz, you can't do this. We can't do this. I… I can't do this. Here." She pulled out a flag pin from her purse and put it on his jacket. "Eisenhower wore this. There are only 48 stars on it. It's something special."
"It's perfect; thank you." He bent down to kiss her but she stepped back. "I can't kiss you now?"
"You're going to be President in a few minutes and you're married. We can't keep doing this."
Fitz took both her hands in his and lifted her chin to make her look at him. "You're only half right. I am going to be the President in a few minutes but I'm not married. Mellie and I are going to announce that tomorrow. We've been divorced since Thanksgiving. I thought you of all people would have known about that by now. Mellie doesn't want to be First Lady. After she thought about it during the campaign, she realized that if she was First Lady she would never be able to have Andrew. That was her end game. That's the way she chose her life. I want mine to be with you."
"We barely know each other Fitz. And with your job you'd never have time to make a relationship work and I… I'm…"
"Olivia, since November 5th we've sat up countless nights talking about anything other than the election. I've made love to you forty seven times since then. I know you will not drink coffee and your tea has to have one lemon in it, if there's two you call it lemonade. I know that you will not go to sleep until after the eleven o'clock news is completely over but on Thursday nights you watch Jimmy Kimmel and laugh at all his jokes. I know you don't let people in on your personal life and you don't talk about your old relationships. You're very close with Cyrus and a bit with Mellie but you try to distance yourself from everyone else including me. You tap your left foot with you're waiting for people to do something. You pace in circles when something is wrong but back and forth when you're thinking. I also know that you only call me Fitz when we are alone and think it's inappropriate if you say it in front of someone, even Cyrus and Mellie. Also that your friend Abby calls you three times a day to check on you. But before you go to sleep you text her and tell her that you're in bed. I also know that it takes you exactly fifty minutes to straighten your hair after you shower. You also refuse to watch Fox news because the host is a complete piece of shit that doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. I know that each day you always have to wear something white because it shows that you are honest. You talk to your father every Sunday and at times even have dinner with him but you don't let anyone know that you're going to be with him. You hate it when people lie and if they do you refuse to talk to them for a week. Cyrus and you have a code language that only you two understand. I also know that he's very protective of you and force feeds you because you forget to eat. Every night you have a glass of red wine and a bowl of popcorn while you watch the news. You can sleep on either side, left or right, and on your back but not on your stomach and when you sleep on your back your right leg is slightly popped because you can't be laying completely flat. I also know that you never answer your phone with a simple hello or hi but instead with a somewhat annoyed 'what'. That is until you know it's me and you say hi. I think that's our way of saying that things are fine. I also know…"
"OKAY! I got it; you know me."
"Exactly, I know you and you know me. We are a team, Liv. I want us to be together. And after tomorrow, I have every intension of that. I need to be with you Livie. The idea of my life without you just isn't a life. I love you, Karen and Jerry love you. There's nothing standing in the way of us being together. Unless…"
"No, I do love you too. But…"
"There's no 'but' Olivia. There's a simple 'I love you too' and that's the end of it. We can give us a shot and see how this goes. I know it'll be hard for a while adjusting to the new surroundings and the new schedules but we can do it. Just say yes."
Before Olivia could say anything there was a knock on the door. When Olivia told them to come in, the door opened and Mellie closed it behind her.
"They're ready to start, Fitz." He let go of Olivia's hands and headed out to meet Cyrus leaving Mellie alone with Liv. "He does love you, Olivia. It's very hard not to see that."
"You knew about this?"
"Fitz told me long ago. When you first came to the campaign he hated you but after a couple weeks he grew to like you and when you yelled at Big Jerry for undermining your authority, that's when he knew. Fitz came to bed that night and told me. 'She the end of the line for me. Olivia Pope is my endgame.' You're it for Fitz. You're the air he needs to breathe."
"And what did you tell him when he told you?"
"I looked him straight in the eye and said 'good. Hurt her and I'll rip your dick off. And Cyrus will help.' He seemed to get the message."
Mellie followed Olivia out to the hall to join Fitz and Cyrus. Before they left to take their seats, Olivia looked back at him and smiled.
"Yes, we'll give us a shot."