Hey, all. I apologize for the long break. It was partially because I have been crazy busy, but also because I started writing to the end of the story, and kept forgetting to go back and edit earlier writings to publish. There's about 30k words left in this story, that I will publish frequently coming up. I plan to have it all published by the series finale.
This chapter is a little short, but it was a natural stopping point. I hope you enjoy!
ONE MONTH LATER
Things got better. Little by little. Olivia found a balance between Thomas and everything else. She started spending more time in the office, bringing Thomas along many times. She was returning to work much sooner than she did with Alex, but Fitz was very supportive of her decision to start back part time. Not to mention, the Jovardi case provided much welcome distraction for her.
She was changing Thomas's diaper in her office when Quinn knocked on her door. "Parker is here."
"Right." Olivia nodded, "I'll be there in just a second." She finished her job, scrubbing her hands clean and placing Thomas back in his crib. She observed the young man in her office, anxiously shaking his foot across his knee. Jack Parker looked to be straight out of college, with the attempts at stubble across his chin. If she had to guess, she would say that he rarely wore a suit, like he was today. When she entered the conference room, he immediately rose, like a school child in the principal's office.
"Mrs. Pope-Grant." He extended his hand.
"Please, take a seat, Mr. Parker." She shook his hand. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I had a diaper change to handle in my office."
"You have a baby?" Jack relaxed visibly.
"Two months old." Olivia smiled. "So excuse the circles under my eyes."
"Congratulations. My fiancé and I are expecting. A baby girl…" He fidgeted in his suit coat.
"Congratulations." Olivia pulled a file in front of her and scanned it. "Do you know why you are here?"
"Sort of… I was told that it was a writing opportunity, but in all honesty." He glanced around at her team. "When Olivia Pope-Grant & Associates calls, you don't ask questions… You just show up."
"We are interested in a ghost writer. Someone who we can trust to be discreet and professional. We have a client who wants to write a memoir with some very inflammatory information, and we need a writer who can make their stories compelling."
"A ghost writer?" He asked. "I'm afraid that I will politely have to decline."
"And why is that?"
"Half of my graduating class are now ghost writers. It's humiliating. It doesn't matter how much you pay me. When the book is published, I will still be in the same spot as I am today: a blank bibliography with no name on the book jacket."
Olivia wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it across the table. She smirked at the immediate change in his demeanor. "That is your starting bonus."
"S…Starting bonus? What is the rest of it?" He stammered.
Olivia wrote a separate number on a second paper and slid it across the table. "I know this might seem extravagant, but you must know that there won't be any royalties. That is only because any profits will be going to a non-profit organization. You mentioned concern over not having proper credit. Well, we can work out the details of how prominently your name will appear on the jacket sleeve and such… After, you sign the non-disclosure agreement."
He eyed the figures in front of him with suspicion. "How do I know if the subject of this memoir is not morally compromising? I mean, to offer a struggling writer like myself enough to fund my unborn child's college factoring in inflation is more than enough to raise suspicions."
"Have you decided on a name?"
"Lilly. But the middle name is still up for debate."
"The profits from this book will go towards making the world a safer place for Lilly." Olivia said honestly. She held his gaze until even he had to turn away and look at his hands. Olivia slid some forms across the table. "Nondisclosure agreements are the first step. Don't let the steep consequences scare you, it is just to ensure secrecy."
"There is no way I could pay this back if I broke it." He argued at the steep cost of leaking any information.
"Then don't break it." Olivia said evenly.
Jack pulled a pen out of his inner coat pocket and held it right above the line where his signature should go. After a long minute of silence, he signed. Quinn's face dissolved into relief, but Olivia kept her poker face secured.
"Next is your contract." She slid a packet across. "So that you won't have to spend any time away from your family, our client has agreed to meet with you here, in this office. We will set you up in the second door on the right. Anything that you write will stay here. Any editing must be done here. You can only write on our secure devices. This is for your safety and our client's. You will be writing about some very powerful people, and it is crucial that they don't have access to your information."
"Who am I even writing about? The Russian Mafia?"
Olivia took the NDA from him and passed it to Marcus, who glanced over it, nodding to her that it was correctly signed. "You will be assisting Jasmine Jovardi in a memoir."
"Oh." His voice fell in disappointment. "A 90s child star."
"A 90s child star that is about to completely shake Hollywood to its core." Olivia walked over to their wall which was covered in a sheet. She gave the fabric a tug, letting it fall to the floor unceremoniously. "These are the men she is going to write about. All have done some sort of despicable act of sexual abuse to her as a minor."
"Holy shit." Jack Parker couldn't hide the shock on his face. "When do I start?" He mumbled.
"Tomorrow. Jasmine will be here at 9am. Don't keep her waiting." She heard Thomas stirring in her office and began to walk over. "Quinn, please show Mr. Parker out. I suggest you get a good night's rest tonight. You will need your mental energy tomorrow."
/
"Baby is asleep." Olivia whispered as she joined Fitz on the couch. She set the baby monitor on the table, in case Thomas woke up needing anything. He was glancing through the work files she left on the coffee table. "Are you spying on me?"
"Are you going to leave me to seduce some studio executive? Because I know some people in L.A. who could kick their ass no matter how powerful they are."
"Mmmm, I bet." Olivia teased as she curled up into his side. She felt energized from her day at work. This Jasmine Jovardi case was the rush of blood that she needed – that familiar adrenaline rush that left her rejuvenated instead of exhausted. And now, the kids were put down, and she had her handsome husband to relax with. She took his arm and drew it over her side. "Something tells me that they won't be powerful for that much longer."
"I look forward to watching it on the 6:00 news." He rubbed the small of her back. Olivia nuzzled further into his side. Her lips grazed his neck. She reached for his other hand, bringing it to her thigh, and started to plant kisses along his neck. "Wow… So needy."
Olivia pulled back with a teasing eyebrow raised, "So I should stop?"
"I think we both know that I don't want you to stop." Olivia went back to her mission. Fitz pulled her sweater up her back, until his hand was granted access to the dip of her spine. Even with his hand on her back, he was hesitant. Reluctantly, he craned his neck back. "But… maybe you should slow down."
"I don't want to slow down." Olivia mumbled. She sought his lips out, kissing him in a way that made it damn near impossible to refuse.
"Fuck," Fitz moaned, pulling her back. His expression was conflicted, like he wasn't sure himself if he knew what he wanted. "I don't think that this is a good idea… I mean, it is still soon."
"You are concerned about whether or not I am ready." Olivia sighed, moving to straddle him.
"Yeah." He sighed.
"As my doctor or as my husband?"
"As a doctor." Fitz said. He kissed the tender space where her nose met her brow. "As your husband, I would very much like to pin you to this rug."
"I was cleared for sexual intimacy weeks ago. I would hope that you would know this, or else that makes you a bad doctor." She suddenly wondered if there was another reason why he was so reluctant. "You know what… I, uh… I get it." She slid off of his lap and stood up to tidy up her work documents.
"Get what?"
Olivia was silent, ignoring his question.
"What is going on here?"
"Forget that happened." Olivia grabbed the baby monitor and went down into the basement to file away her folders. Fitz sighed, rising from the couch to follow her.
"Liv… Talk to me. Communicate." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, halfway down the stairs. Olivia tried to walk past him, but his arm stuck out, stopping her. "Livvie."
"I guess I thought I was ready. But I didn't consider if you were ready." Her eyes were darting away. "My body isn't exactly back to where it was before. I mean, I haven't been able to get back into my swimming routine."
"So that is what this is about?" Fitz asked. "Shit… I thought that we were past that." He had done everything in his power to assure her that he found her beautiful. Even though her stomach wasn't as flat as it was a year ago, her face was rounder or her thighs were thicker. Baby weight took time to lose, and even if he didn't care either way. He knew that it stressed her out, even though it shouldn't.
"We?" Olivia asked in annoyance. He could rub cocoa butter all over her body every night, but that didn't mean that she was suddenly cured of any insecurities.
"That's not what I meant." He rubbed his hand along her shoulder.
"I said to forget it."
"I want you. Bad. I just wasn't sure if you were ready." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, but she rocked back on her feet.
"I thought I was communicating pretty well that I was ready."
"I know, but there is a difference between thinking you are ready and actually being ready."
"The fuck does that mean?"
"It means, that… Nothing."
"Fitz." Olivia raised her eyebrow.
"Right after giving birth, your hormone levels are still leveling out."
"You are not going to gaslight your way out of this. I'm not crazy for wanting my husband to fuck me."
"I mean that I don't want it to be something you regret." Fitz felt himself digging deeper into the proverbial dog house. Olivia rolled her eyes, walking back down the stairs. "Where are you going?"
"To fold the towels."
"No, Liv. I said I would fold the laundry. You don't have to do that."
Olivia ignored him, walking down to the basket of linens on top of the washing machine.
"Liv, I said that I would do that." He reached for her arm, but she was too quick.
"Leave me alone. Let me fold these towels."
"No. You did the dishes. I said that I would do the towels." Fitz approached her from behind, setting his hands on her shoulders.
"Fitz."
"What can I do to make you not be angry at me?"
"Fuck me." Olivia snapped.
"Liv, come one."
"No, I'm serious." Olivia turned around to face him. "I am horny – which is something I haven't been since I don't know when – and I would like my husband to do something about it. If my husband cannot do that for me because he is not in the mood or tired, then I would understand. Only it isn't. It is because he thinks that I am not ready."
Fitz couldn't help the smile that escaped his lips. It spiraled into a full on laugh. He put his hand over his mouth, trying to suppress it, but his efforts were useless.
"Great. And now you are laughing at me." Olivia rolled her eyes, turning back around to the towels. It was seconds until she felt his hands along her hips. Only they weren't like before. They weren't careful or hesitant. He pulled her hair off of her neck.
"Is this what you want?" He mumbled, with his lips barely teasing her neck. His proximity was giving her chill bumps down her arms.
Olivia turned in his arms. "Stop asking me what I want." He guided her hips to sit on the dryer. She wrapped her legs around his and brought her mouth to his ear. He expected her to whisper something, but instead, she took his earlobe between her teeth and tongue. "Try giving it to me." He began to say something, but she grinded her core against him, making it clear that it was exactly what she wanted.
"If I can't ask, then you will have to beg." Fitz whispered against her ear. She shuddered slightly, making him move in. He kissed along her neck, biting her soft skin, just light enough not to leave a mark.
"Fuck." Olivia gasped. Her hands clamored for fistfuls of his t shirt.
"But you better control your volume." Fitz growled, running his tongue to soothe some of her skin he just stung. "You'll wake the kids."
Olivia never would have imagined that those words could sound so sexy. Her hands clamored for his sweatpants, pulling them down and dragging his t shirt up his abs. She forgot how much of an effect she had on him. He reminded her in the way he almost ripped her leggings off her. His hand snaked up her sweater to grope her breast, making her curse out and pull back.
"No boobs." Olivia shook her head, holding his hands at bay. "Still sensitive."
"Noted." He nodded, going back to kiss her neck. He pulled her leggings down her legs and tossed them across the basement. "Fuck, you weren't wearing underwear this whole time?" He asked in shock, drawing her lips to his.
"You should be more observant of your wife." Olivia whispered against his aggressive lips. "I was trying… to send you hints." She hooked her toes around the waistband of his sweatpants, dragging them clean down his thighs. Normally, she would move slower, enjoying the pleasures of foreplay, but there wasn't a lot of blood rushing to their heads at the moment. She pulled his boxers down, feeling his fully erect dick spring against her thigh. Olivia scraped her fingers through his hair as he lined himself up with her. No matter what, he always needed eye contact with her before entering. When their eyes locked, he waited for her consent. She rolled her eyes, grapping his hips and thrusted him into her, surprising them both.
She choked out a gasp, bowing her head into his shoulder. She forgot how delicious it felt to have him fill her walls. The last time he made love to her, it was right before she went into labor, and that was clouded by a whole lot of other things. The time before that, well, that was way too long ago. He palmed her ass, roughly pounding into her. She was so grateful that he was not holding back—releasing every rough fantasy he had on her. The cold, hard surface of the washing machine was the perfect contradiction to his warm body roughly demanding her.
She couldn't control the moans of pleasure that he was eliciting from her, so he fastened his hand over her mouth. She bit his hand, making him mumble into the crook of her neck, accepting the pain. She was close, but not quite there. He kissed her lips, biting her bottom lip gently when she tugged a fistful of his hair. His hand slid down her slick body to the bundle of nerves. That was her undoing.
"Be quiet when you cum." He growled. Olivia didn't have a choice as she orgasmed into his mouth. He was sure that he had scratch marks across his back. He followed shortly after, finally releasing himself to the pleasure that he had been dreaming of for months.
As they both came down and caught their breath, Olivia realized how sweaty they were. She wiped her hand across his chest. "Shit."
"That certainly wasn't how I expected our first time back at it to go." Fitz grabbed a clean washcloth from the unfolded pile of laundry and wiped them both off, tossing it into the dirty hamper.
"If I can't ask, then you will have to beg." She mocked his voice back to him.
"Are you going to fuck me or not?" He mocked back, earning a tossed towel to the head, giving her the chance to slide off of the washer and find a pair of her own sweatpants from the pile of clean clothes. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to call you crazy."
"I know what you meant." She smiled, pulling her pants up. "I should go check on the kids."
"I love you." He pecked her briefly on the lips. "I'll finish folding."
/
THE NEXT MORNING
"Have they arrived yet?" Olivia balanced Thomas in her arms, silently begging him to latch. He was acting fussy that morning, and she just needed him to feed himself so that she could get to work sooner.
"Yeah, they sat down around fifteen minutes ago." Marcus said.
"Shit." Olivia muttered as Thomas finally started to suck. "Did you offer them water, tea, coffee—?"
"Of course. Liv, relax. We have this. You don't have to beat yourself up for not coming in today."
"I will be in as soon as I get Thomas to settle down." Olivia motioned to Fitz who was halfway out of the door, ready for work, to hold on for a second. "Walk by every couple of minutes to check up on her. But don't make it obvious. They need to feel like they aren't being hovered over. I'll see you soon."
"What do you need?" Fitz asked.
"I need you to kiss me before you go off to work." Olivia smirked.
"Right, I'm sorry." He leaned forward to kiss her tenderly on the lips. Their activities last night reminded her that being exhausted could feel wonderful sometimes. However, it could also make her sleep past her alarm the next morning. Even his simple kiss revived something deep and made her forget that at the moment they were both late. He pulled back, kissing her bottom lip again. "You are beautiful when you are distracted."
Olivia's eyelids fluttered open and she rolled her eyes at him. "You can go now."
"Are you sure you don't need me to do anything before I drop off Alex at school?"
"I'm sure. I just need to get this little guy his breakfast and a fresh onesie. Then I'll be on my way to work."
"You know, you don't have to go to work every day of the week yet." Fitz warned.
"I won't be, believe me. But today is a big day. I'll take tomorrow off, I swear."
"Tomorrow is Saturday."
"I know. Which means you will be here to spend it with me." Olivia smiled, drawing his lips to hers again by her hand on his tie. "We can take the kids to a Smithsonian or something. Be normal."
"That sounds nice."
"Bye, Mommy." Alex called from the hallway, where she was entangling herself in her backpack straps. Her hair was pulled up in a half up half down scrunchie, with the part pulled up sitting directly on the top of her head. It was a hairstyle that had the potential to be cute, but her hair was so wild and untamed that it looked more like a mane than hair.
"Have a great day, Alex." Olivia looked up at Fitz. "You did that to her head, didn't you?"
"She said that she liked it." Fitz defended, but then backtracked. "Uh, I can fix it, we have—"
"No, you are already late." Olivia checked his watch. "It's fine. She won't remember in 20 years… Now, go." She pushed him out of the door. "Don't forget, Alex, that I will be picking you up after school."
"Bye!" Alex skipped out of their home with her crazy hair. Olivia couldn't help but laugh. If Alex's hair didn't bother her, then she shouldn't have a problem with it. She got Thomas dressed and finished her hair and makeup for work.
When she got to work, she tried to pick up where everybody else was. Her main intention was just to make her presence known. She didn't have too much work to do, but she needed to prove it to herself just as much as she needed to show them that she could have her newborn at work and not skip a beat.
Jasmine Jovardi and Jack Parker seemed to be getting along very well. They were working every time someone peeped a glance walking by, and Olivia could sense some chemistry there. Jasmine had subleased an apartment for two months in D.C. so that she could tell her story to Jack without having to go to a hotel every night. They were on schedule to have all of their sessions finished in a month, and then Jack would write and edit her words into a beautiful novel that would sell millions and change the world.
Olivia had a good feeling in her gut about it. It was rare that her gut gave her a good feeling, but she was confident in this case.
When she arrived at her office building, a familiar voice welcomed her as she was unfastening Thomas's car seat straps.
"Olivia!"
Shit. Olivia mumbled to herself. She turned around to see Noah Baker waving her down. He was one of those mosquitos of a reporter who only covered the most asinine of tabloids. He liked to snoop around her office building to catch wind of any scandals about to break. "Noah. Slow news day?"
"In this town? Never." He grinned. "Cute kid."
"Thanks." Olivia pulled Thomas's blanket over his head.
"Interesting clientele these days, eh? Was that Jasmine Jovardi I saw walking in here an hour ago? I mean, D.C. is a boring place to visit for washed up child star. Something must be stirring in the water."
"Have I ever told you any information about any of my clients?" She asked.
"No…"
"So why do you keep asking?"
"So you are confirming that she is a client." He smirked. "That is on the record, correct?"
Olivia pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed the security for the building. It was a struggle for her to juggle Thomas, her purse, and her work files, but she managed to dial the number. "Hey, Wilson. Yeah, it is Olivia. I'm well, so are the kids. Listen, I've got an unauthorized solicitor on the third level of the parking garage. Could you—Thank you. You are the best." She hung up.
"Who was that?"
"Security." She didn't break her stride towards the elevator. "You have approximately 45 seconds to vacate the premises before you meet Wilson. A really nice guy. Ex-marine, I think? Or maybe he was a SEAL. Either way, I'm sure you two will get to know each other." She left him to scamper off of the property
"Wow, your breakfast just flew through you, didn't it?" Olivia cooed when she the familiar smell of a soiled diaper hit her nose. Walking into the office, she made a beeline to the changing station in her office.
"Good morning." Quinn said.
"Good morning." Olivia replied in a baby voice, as Thomas was screaming from the coolness of the baby wipe, and she wanted nothing more than to get him to quiet down. "I ran into Noah Baker in the garage."
"Remember when journalists had self-respect?"
"He knows about Jasmine."
"How much?"
"Just that she's our client."
"What do you want me to do? I can follow him to see if he's going to pursue it."
"I'll handle it." Olivia pursued her lips in thought. "Just give me his office address."
"You are going to talk to him?"
"Bottom feeders like Noah are just trying to get their editors to like them enough to move them to sports or pay them more than $30,000 a year. He could be useful in the future."
/
"This isn't exactly the corner office with a view that I imagined an esteemed journalist would work in." Olivia leaned against the cubicle wall to Noah Baker's desk. The wall was even too flimsy to lean against, as just her weight rattled the pictures and newspaper clippings pinned to it.
"Olivia Pope." Noah Baker dropped his chopsticks into his chow mein take out in shock.
"Olivia Pope-Grant." She corrected, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. "Now I see why you insist on meeting at my work… This is just… sad." She looked at a picture of a young girl cheesing a toothless grin. "Cute kid."
"My sister's." Noah tossed his lunch into the trash, wiping his hands. "What can I help you with?"
"I need you to sign this." She handed over a thick non-disclosure agreement.
"An NDA? I think that kind of defeats the purpose of my job."
"What makes a journalist a journalist is knowing when to open their mouth and when to shut up." Olivia replied. "Right now, it would behoove you to shut up."
"I have something on you." Noah leaned back in his cheap office chair. "I've got you worried."
"What do you have? An actress who hasn't made a film in over a decade visiting me? People are about as interested in Jasmine Jovardi as they are Canadian football players. Publish that you saw her entering D.C. Fixer's office, and it will fade into page 14 of your sad website with less clicks than your twitter follower count."
"What happens if I wait? Or, as you put it, shut up?"
"You get to own a story, when the time is right. Story is a little kind. I think it transcends into the movement category."
"What is it?"
"In due time." Olivia handed him a pen. "Sign it."
"What if I don't?"
"Then I will have to spend my unlimited resources burying your forgettable article. It wouldn't take too long, but I do have a newborn son. Any second I can get alone is a blessing."
Noah signed the paper, handing it back to her. "When will we—"
"My people will be in touch." Olivia turned to leave but paused at the entrance to his cubicle. "Show up at my business again, and I will have a legal restraining order issued for stalking."
/
Olivia picked up Alex at three from her school. She made a quick trip to an arts & crafts store so that Alex could work on her model of the solar system at the office. Her office color was littered with Styrofoam balls and paint bottles when Alex let out an exasperated sigh.
"What's wrong?" Olivia looked up from her work.
"I can't do this." Alex cried.
"Of course you can." Olivia gladly set aside her financial documents to join Alex on the floor. "What is tripping you up?"
"Pluto is too small." Alex pointed to the diagram on the handout her teacher gave her. "It is point one eight the size of Earth. But Jupiter is eleven times the size of Earth. And the sun is 109 times as big."
"So what is the problem?"
"If I have to make it a model, then Pluto would be a speck and the Sun would take up the whole room!"
Olivia tried not to laugh at her daughter. She was so incredibly smart, but so damn serious. "I know, but you just have to do the best you can."
"But it is wrong." Alex protested.
"Alex." Olivia said calmly, in spite of her outburst. "It doesn't have to be accurate, you can only do your best, okay? As long as Pluto is smaller than Earth, Earth is smaller than Jupiter, and Jupiter is smaller than the Sun, then you did your best. That is all you can ever do, right?"
Alex shrugged.
"So, what is the smallest ball?" Olivia asked.
Alex reached for a small Styrofoam ball the size of a pea.
"So what planet should that be?"
"Pluto." Alex placed it on the Plato place marker.
"Perfect. How about you organize the planets and paint them, then I'll help you hot glue them." Olivia looked up to see Jack Parker in her doorway, unwilling to interrupt. She motioned that he would be with him in the conference room. "Only paint over the newspapers. I don't want any of Uranus's atmosphere on my floor."
"Okay." Alex nodded.
Olivia went into the conference room to meet with Jack. He was facing the wall of accused men, rocking back and forth on his feet. "Is everything okay?"
Olivia's words made him pivot around. "Yeah, everything is fine. We finished for the day, and I just wanted to debrief before I go home."
"So… How was it?" Olivia leaned against the conference table.
"It went well. I think this will be a fascinating story to write."
"Great."
"I do have to ask… And I want you to be honest with me."
"Of course." Olivia watched his nervous behavior closely.
"How big is this going to get? I mean, in terms of changing Hollywood and sexual harassment? I'm trying to wrap my head around it, and I just can't."
"To be honest, I can't answer that. I can only hope that it is as big as we think it will be. And if it is…" A strange smirk came over her face. "Then it will change everything."
"Then I guess I better write the hell out of this book."
"You better."