It only took 15 minutes for them to get to their destination one the yacht docked. Even so, it seemed much longer than that to Liv who spent the whole ride anticipating where they were going. Fitz was definitely a man of many surprises. In the past few days Fitz had stormed into her office and gave her an ultimatum even though it didn't come across as one due to the nature of the conversation.

After that, he told her that they were spending six weeks together. They would have nothing but time to be alone during these weeks; 2 at Blair House, 2 at Camp David, and 2 in Italy. He notified her that he and Mellie had gone through the divorce process and the papers were ready, just not filed.

Then there was the proposal. Liv swore to herself that she would never forget the proposal as she looked down at the token of Fitz's love for her that graced her finger. Then there was the yacht which was an amazing experience in itself. Fitz followed that up with the plan of looking into Mellie to find a reason to push the divorce papers in. Now there was one more stop and they hadn't even finished their third day together.

They pulled down a dark road and into a wide open field. Liv wasn't sure what Fitz had planned, but she knew better than to question him on it. Fitz got out of the car, and walked around to open Liv's door. When she stepped out of the car, the beauty of the land captured her and rendered Liv breathless.

"Fitz, it's beautiful but where are we?" Liv asked as she took in the sight of the forest that backed up to the land.

"See that pole over there?"

Liv nodded and waited for what Fitz was going to say next.

"Go read it."

Liv cautiously walked over to the pole and began reading the sign.

Building Permit

Building Type: Residence (212 Acres)

Building size; 48,000 sq. ft.

Address: 22 Grant Dr.

Permit Holder: Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, Olivia Carolyn Pope

Ground Breaking: 10/28/2013

Fitz waited for Liv to realize exactly what it was she was looking at. He could tell the moment it hit her because her eyes lit up, even in the moonlight.

"Fitz, this is going to be a home?"

"Yes Livvie but not just any home, this is going to be our home."

The way Fitz said our home was more than enough to send a fire through Liv. He was serious about them. He was really serious about her. All of this time she had been waiting for him to drop the bomb on her that he no longer wanted to be with her. The entire time she doubted his love for her, he worked twice as hard to prove to her that he was in love with her. All she had to do was open her eyes, and this was the moment she finally did.

"Our home? We are really going to have a home together?" Liv said as the tears burning her eyes began to roll down her cheek.

"Yes my love, we are going to have a home together. Not just any home though, this home will be ours. Never lived in, this home will be our way to create our own memories without the reminder of other people doing the same. I'm selling the Santa Barbara Ranch, and we are buying a second home in Vermont. This home will be ready for you to decorate around this time next year."

"Fitz this is just… come here" Liv said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. "I love it. I love you…Thank you!"

"When we get back to Blair House I will show you the layout for the home. Of course our first home together as husband and wife will be the White House, this will be our first home together once our days of President and First Lady are officially over."

"Fitz, I don't know what to say. You are too good to me."

"Actually Livvie, I've been thinking the past month and I've realized that I haven't been good enough to you."

"Fitz…"

"No Livvie it's true. I've said and done things, terrible things to hurt you. I've allowed Mellie to call you out of your name. I've done nothing deserving of being the man in your life yet here you are, right here with me. I never realized just how close I came to losing you, to not having you in my life anymore. That is a mistake I am never going to make again."

"Fitz, the past is the past. We know where we've been, so we know how to prevent ourselves from going back. I've grown a lot this past month. They weren't kidding when they said through pain comes growth but you know what? This move, these moves we are making are in the right direction. They are in the direction that is going to lead us to a full happy life. There is no one else in this world I could even consider being happy with. You are what makes me happy."

"What about Jake Ballard?" Fitz sighed wanting to kick himself for even allowing that to come out of his mouth. In the past month he had worked on many things, unfortunately thinking before he spoke was not one of them."

"Fitz, you have nothing to worry about. Yes Jake and I did sleep together. It was the night I ended up in the hospital. I was upset and lonely over your interview with Mellie. The way you looked at one another as you walked down memory lane. I just knew that the two of you would move on and we were over."

Liv lifted her so she could look into Fitz's eyes. "It was just sex with Jake, nothing more. I was vulnerable and he was there. I had no idea of the relationship between the two of you or that he was spying on me until later that evening…. After it was too late…"

"So how was he?" Fitz asked Liv with a puppy dog look on his face. "Was he better than me?" He really needed to permanently place a sock in his mouth Fitz thought to himself as he heard the words he had just spoken.

He was expecting the night to be over, for a fight to ensue, anything but the peaceful response that Liv met him with. "Fitz, no one has ever made love to me the way you do. The things that you do, we do, the way our hearts and bodies become one, the way our souls strengthen one another as our bodies explode in ecstasy. That is only you. The things I allow for when you make love to me, it's only you. It will always be only you. You fit me perfectly in mind body and spirit. There is no way I'd ever prefer anyone over you in any capacity."

Liv kissed Fitz with a deep routed passion that set his spirit at ease. If he had any doubt in his mind that Olivia Pope was not as serious about him as he was about her, this put it all to an end. Fitz placed his arms around her waist and pulled her in as he deepened the kiss. He looked down at her and for the first time since they reached the land that would be considered their home he saw her in a new light.

It was almost as if every fear they held for their future had just vanished. Everything had drifted away into another dimension to never be heard or spoken of ever again. Neither of them were used to the feeling of being free, but here in this place, the destination of their future home, they were just that, they were free.

As they walked back to the car, the feeling of being free remained even as they set off to reenter the real world. Their battle was not over. They had quite a ways to go, and they knew that this battle would never be easy. They did however have the most important tool to survive what they were about to face. They had each other.

"Let's go get some sleep Livvie, we have a very full day tomorrow."

"Mr. President, you read my mind."

Liv knew her words were very convincing as she watched Fitz lean back into a reclining position placing his feet on the seat across from them. He extended an arm inviting Liv to rest against him which she happily accepted.

When they returned to Blair House, they prepared for bed and laid down. Fitz passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow, Liv was not so lucky. She knew that she would be up for most if not all of the night. She had to prepare for the media blitz that was about to occur. Not only did she have to come up with Fitz's response so he would be ready first thing in the morning, she had to figure out exactly how to keep a divorced republican as president while he married and motioned to bring another wife into the White House.

Liv definitely had her work cut out for her. She looked over at Fitz who she could tell was fast asleep by his snoring, reached for her laptop. This was going to be a long night for her but she was ready to do whatever she had to do, work for however long she had to work, to ensure that Fitz had his cake and was able to eat it too.

As hard as Liv tried, there was one thing that kept crossing her mind, one thing that made her blood boil. There was one thing that was keeping her from focusing on the task at hand. That one thing was Mellie. She promised Fitz that she would not notify her or speak to the press until after he had a chance to address them first.

Liv tossed her laptop aside and turned off the light. She knew that there was no work that would be done. Not with this on her mind. Liv lay in bed the rest of the night picturing exactly what she would say to Mellie, do to Mellie once she was in the same room with her.

How the hell was she going to maintain her sanity? How was she going to prevent herself from forgetting who she was? With Mellie being 2,757.9 miles away she couldn't maintain a clear head thinking of all of the ways she'd love to kick her ass all over D.C.

All Liv could do was pray for the strength to help her gracefully endure what was about to happen. Liv had a strong feeling that she was going to need all of the prayers she could get.

Refusing to think about Mellie anymore tonight Liv turned and nestled her body against Fitz. He instinctively placed his arm around her waist pulling her close.

"Stop worrying about Mellie and get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and we are going to need all of the sleep we can get."

Without arguing or questioning how Fitz knew what she was thinking Liv closed her eyes. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to sleep. Because of this, Liv was naturally surprised when she woke up and realized that it was just beyond dawn.

She turned on the TV and immediately switched to BNC news. Liv read the headlines and prepared herself as they began scrolling across the bottom of the screen. The very first one caught her attention. It read;

Proof First Lady Mellie Grant has been having an affair has been released to BNC. More on this next.

Fitz walked into the room and handed Liv a cup of coffee. The two words he spoke after he kissed her good morning were enough to send chills down her spine.

"It starts."

That it definitely does. Now it's time to plan.

God I hope this doesn't backfire in our faces. Liv thought to herself as she began to sip her coffee. She knew that time would tell and she would know sooner than she expected. The next headline that came through made her drop her coffee mug allowing it to shatter onto the floor.

Neither Fitz nor Liv could believe what they just read.

Hey everyone. Today was a very long day but I couldn't wait to continue with this story so I decided I'd do two updates today. (It's not tomorrow until I wake up.) I will be working on the next ch. tomorrow but I am unsure what time I will have it up. Thank all of you for your reviews and notes of encouragement. You all make this story so much more fun. Thank you for going on this ride with me and as always, Happy Olitizing.