A/N: Reaction to the last chapter called "Doubt" was very strong. Many of you had a very strong negative reaction to it because you felt it made Fitz look like a weak, backsliding flip-flopper getting played by Mellie once again. A couple of you said the chapter hit a false note and felt out of character with the take no bullshit version of Fitz that had been previously developed in this story.

And you know what? You're right! :)

But haven't you ever been in a situation where you were feeling good and confident about some decision you had made only to have someone burst your bubble by saying one little thing to cause you to doubt yourself? I think this can happen to the best of us.

Even though Fitz is President of the United States, the one thing he's been painfully insecure about is how Olivia feels about him. She's already rejected him twice. Mellie played right into that insecurity and then pulled at his heart strings by mentioning the Grant kids. Olivia and Fitz have been reunited for less than a day. It makes sense that his brain would still be hardwired to worry that his plan to get a divorce may go up in smoke because of things outside of his control.

This chapter answers the question I posed in the previous chapter: "Will the seeds of doubt take root and flourish or scatter in the wind?"

As always, thanks very much for your PMs, reviews and comments. Your comments and observations keep my writing honest and remind me that if I screw up the character of Fitz you're going to come find me and beat me to a pulp! LOL!

Chapter 13: The calm before the storm

Fitz left the dining room with Mellie's words ringing in his ears.

"It's not real, Fitz! It's going to shrivel up and die once it's exposed to the real world."

Damn you, Mellie! Fitz thought. The day which had started with so much promise was already turning sour. He looked at his watch, it was almost 7 a.m. He wanted to call Olivia. He needed to hear her voice to reassure him that what happened between them last night wasn't a dream. God, it was so amazing being with her, touching her, inhaling her scent, holding her close, being inside her. Olivia's emotional confession of love followed by their heated marathon lovemaking session had been an incredible experience. The way Olivia completely and passionately gave herself to him last night with no reservations was better than he had ever imagined. A huge smile spread across Fitz's lips at the memory of it all.

As Fitz walked down the hall headed to the West Wing, he passed the official White House portrait of the First Lady hanging on the wall. He stopped and looked at it. He shook his head and then laughed. "Nice try, Mellie, but your mind games no longer work on me," he said out loud.

He still had a big grin on his face when Cyrus came walking down the hall headed to his office.

"Good morning, Mr. President," Cyrus said.

"Indeed it is, Cy," Fitz said, smiling broadly.

"Well aren't you in a good mood this morning, sir," Cyrus said, genuinely surprised. He couldn't remember the last time the POTUS had been this cheerful.

"Well, it is a good day, Cyrus. We live in the greatest country on Earth! We've got a lot to be thankful for Cy, you and I," Fitz said, strolling down the hallway with his Chief of Staff by his side.

"Mr. President, you seem to be particularly upbeat today," Cyrus said. "Did you have a good evening?"

Fitz stifled a laugh and fought valiantly to suppress an even wider smile. "Did I have a good evening, Cy? Uh, yeah, you could say that."

Cyrus looked up at the President with a puzzled look. Something was most definitely going on and he wanted to know what it was.

"Mr. President, is there something you would like to tell me?" Cyrus asked.

"Like what?" Fitz replied.

"I don't know. You tell me. You are uncharacteristically upbeat today."

"Cy, I'm the President of the United States, Commander in Chief and Leader of the Free World. To top it off, I'm also pretty damn good looking. Why shouldn't I be upbeat?" Fitz said with a sly grin.

The two men were now outside of Cyrus' office. Cyrus shook his head and turned to go inside. Once inside, Cyrus wondered out loud what on earth had possessed the POTUS. Yesterday he was crabby, cold and all about business, but today he was positively…giddy! Did this change in personality have anything to do with Olivia's visit? No, it couldn't have. She looked awful when she barged into the security briefing yesterday and then Fitz had the Secret Service escort her out of the Oval Office. Cyrus, who was standing outside waiting for Fitz to summon him, Cam and Mac back in for the security meeting, was shocked when he saw Hal, the Secret Service agent, leading Olivia away.

When he returned to the Oval Office, Cyrus asked Fitz what was going on, but Fitz coldly dismissed him saying that "Ms. Pope" was under the mistaken impression that she was still entitled to ask him for favors. Cyrus had never heard Fitz refer to Olivia as "Ms. Pope," so he knew that some major falling out had occurred.

"Whoa," Cyrus said under his breath. He didn't know how it was possible, but something obviously major had gone down between Fitz and Olivia. But what could it be? The change in Fitz's mood within the past 24 hours was like the difference between night and day.

Cyrus needed to get the full scoop on what had happened, but who could he ask without drawing a lot of attention to himself? He'd start with Hal, the Secret Service agent who was on duty. Cyrus picked up the phone and dialed the extension for the Secret Service office on the White House premises.

"Agent Hal McKenzie, please. This is Cyrus Beene calling."

(pause)

"What? He called in sick? Is it serious?

(pause) OK, thank you."

Cyrus hung up the phone. He absentmindedly tapped a pen against his hand while he thought. There was one other person he could ask, but doing so might open up a Pandora's box. "Got no other choice," Cyrus said under his breath, and dialed the extension for the First Lady's office.

The voicemail for Mellie's secretary picked up. Cyrus was about to leave a message for the First Lady asking her to call him, when Fitz just walked right in to his office without knocking.

"Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on the phone," Fitz said.

Cyrus hung up without leaving a message. "No, it wasn't important. What can I help you with?"

"Cyrus there's something I need to ask you and I need you to be completely honest," Fitz said in a very serious tone.

"What is it?" Cyrus asked.

"A time is coming when you're going to have to choose sides and I need to know now which side you're going to be on," Fitz said.

"Choose sides? What exactly are you talking about? Does this have anything to do with that legislation that Sen. Barnes is sponsoring to..."

"Cy, I can't tell you anything more until you tell me where your loyalties lie," Fitz said, cutting Cyrus off in mid-sentence.

"Sir, of course, my loyalty is to you. But I don't understand. What is this about?"

"So, if I ask you to do something which goes against your political instincts, you'll do it?"

"Mr. President, please, speak plainly. What is this about?"

"Cyrus, I need to know right now. Are you with me or against me?"

"I'm with you! Of course! I'm your chief of staff. I'll stand by you and will fight whatever battle you need me to fight. Now tell me what the hell is going on!" Cyrus exclaimed, exasperated with Fitz's unwillingness to speak plainly.

"I need you to change the visitor logs from yesterday," the POTUS said.

"What?"

"I need you to change the time that Olivia left the White House yesterday."

"You had the Secret Service escort her out yesterday afternoon. Why would I need to change that? That doesn't make any sense?"

Fitz just looked at Cyrus.

"I don't get it. Olivia left yesterday around 4. Why would you need to change that?"

Fitz continued to look at Cyrus without saying anything. There was a long pause.

"I've asked Mellie for a divorce," Fitz finally said.

"You did WHAT?! When?!"

"You heard me, Cy. I've asked Mellie for a divorce."

"Oh my God, please don't tell me that Olivia spent the night here…" Cyrus said the truth finally dawning on him. "How is that possible? I saw Hal escort her out."

"I actually told Hal to take Olivia to the Executive Residence," Fitz said.

Cyrus groaned. "Jesus Christ! How could you be so reckless? So, what did you do? Have a sleepover here in the White House with Olivia? Goddammit! Did Mellie catch the two of you last night?"

"Cy, you know how I feel about Olivia and you know how I feel about my marriage to Mellie. This isn't some schoolboy crush I'm experiencing. This divorce has been in the making for almost a decade. I'm finally ready to pull the trigger and get out."

"Did she put you up to this?" Cyrus said angrily.

"Olivia? Hell no! Cy, you know that Olivia would sooner cut off her arm before she'd ask me to sacrifice anything for her," Fitz said

"So, then, what happened? Why now?"

"Cy, do you love James?"

"Huh? What? Don't change the subject!"

"I'm not. My question is relevant. Do you love James?"

"Yes! Of course! What a stupid question!"

"A year ago you said you didn't want to adopt a baby and today look at you. Can you imagine your life now without James and your new son?"

Cyrus looked at the framed picture on his desk of his husband James holding their adopted baby Ethan. A slight smile curled his lips.

"Cy, all I want is a chance to be happy, to be with the woman I love. I almost lost her in Pakistan. You saw what I went through. I can't wait any longer to be with her. I don't want to wait. If I wait, I know I will definitely lose her forever and I can't let that happen. If I'm to be with her, it's gotta be now."

Cyrus let out a heavy sigh. "There's no changing your mind this time around, is there?"

"No, there isn't," Fitz replied firmly.

"So, what comes next? You plan to resign?"

"I'll announce that I won't seek reelection."

"And then what?"

"And then we go off and be normal people," Fitz said.

"Normal people? You can't be a "normal" person! This is madness!"

"Cy, there's a shit storm coming, the likes of which we've never seen before," Fitz said, thinking of how Mellie would react once she realized that her Jedi mind tricks had failed to work. "You're going to need to decide whose umbrella you want to be under when it arrives and I need you to make that decision now. Are you with me or against me?"

Cyrus let out a heavy sigh and then looked Fitz directly in the eye.

"I'm on your side."

A/N: So, gladiators, what do you think? Still think Fitz is weak? Has he redeemed himself? Fitz has recruited Cyrus for Team Fitz, effectively blocking Mellie from drafting him. If Cyrus had spoken to Mellie before Fitz, this could've easily gone the other way.

Just so you know, I like the character of Cyrus and don't consider him an evil, clear-cut villain the way I view Mellie. He has actually been very well behaved in this story so far. LOL!

Thank you, as always, for following this story. Your reviews are my tips, so please "tip" generously. :) Thanks!

Until next time...

-Neo