"Olivia?" Her dad's voice from downstairs burst the bubble Olivia was in.

It was Wednesday evening and even though there wasn't any official reason for Fitz to be Olivia's tutor anymore, she had still been to his place after class. But after spending two hours cuddled into one another, they had decided it would be wisest for her to get home before her dad came back. Well, she had decided. Fitz had pouted and given her puppy eyes, making it very difficult to do the right thing. But after she had explained her reasons, Fitz had sobered up and agreed they had to be careful, especially as far as her father was concerned. He had let her drive home but only after she agreed to call him the minute she got there.

It had been strange for Olivia to enter her home after the last night spent at Fitz' place. It's not like she had actually moved into his place and it had only really been one night since he asked but it still felt like a huge step. For one, this was her first relationship, so she had never been asked to move her stuff to a guy's place, it was hard to know what it exactly meant. Then, there was the slight detail of their relationship not being public. They still had to be careful and not get caught up in their own little world. So, at first, she had been freaked out by his offer.

But the casualness with which Fitz had offered her and the reasoning behind it didn't allow room for doubt. He wanted to have her at his place as much as possible and he wanted to make life easier for her. All of his reasons revolved around her, her comfort, her happiness… That was one of the things she loved most about Fitz. He didn't show his love with big gestures and long speeches, he showed it by small thoughts and little signals that witnessed to the depth of his commitment. He still made it a point to tell her how much he loved her, but it never felt forced and it never felt like too much.

They had now been on the phone for close to 2 hours, discussing the merits of different TV shows. There was no real content to their conversation but they simply enjoyed hearing each other's voice and sharing their likes and dislikes. She hadn't realized how much time had passed until she heard her father's voice.

"Shoot. Fitz, my Dad's here, I gotta go." She whispered into the phone.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later. Good night, my Love." He replied and Olivia's heart warmed at the nickname.

"Good night, Baby. I love you." She answered before hanging up and making her way downstairs.

"Hi, Dad." She smiled as she entered the kitchen to find her father making himself a sandwich.

"Hi, Liv." He smiled as he kissed her cheek. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, I was… reading in my room. How was your trip?" She asked, eager to get the conversation away from her.

"Hmph…" He groaned. "It was long and tedious and we didn't get to an agreement. I'm going to have to go back there in a few weeks. But enough about me, how was your break? Did you enjoy Boston?"

Olivia paused before answering. Her first reaction was to be scared, wondering what was behind his questions. After years of only talking about her grades or getting scolded, she was not used to him being interested in her so her immediate reaction was to think something was wrong, that he suspected something. She had to remind herself that Eli was actually trying to get to know her, to get interested in what she did and what she liked. She took a deep breath and reminded herself to not get defensive but to stay vague to avoid any mistake.

"It was great. We went to Harvard and met a few teachers. I met a student who was really nice, she took me around campus. We visited Boston too, it was cool."

As far as Eli knew, 'we' meant Olivia and a few friends. She had been careful not to give him any names so as not to say the wrong one from one time to the other. The good thing about her father being so retracted from her life all these years was that he didn't know any parents from the school so he hadn't even tried to check with them.

"That's good. So what did you think? Did you like the campus? Who came with you? What did you see in Boston?"

Olivia had to swallow discreetly as panic suddenly seized her. In the middle of all these innocent questions was the one she had feared. 'Who came with you?' She had hoped not to have to answer that question, she had hoped that her elusive answers would be enough for him. But of course, it wasn't. She now had to decide how far she would take her lie. She wasn't comfortable lying to her Dad, even though she knew it was the right thing to do to protect Fitz. She decided to do the next best thing, drown him with answers, hoping they would get him to either give up or ask follow up questions.

"I really liked the campus. I mean it was huge and there are a lot of old buildings. It's amazing to be in a place with so much history, I can really picture myself going there. I visited the library and a museum. It's really like a city in itself. There is everything, from houses to restaurants. I met this girl, Carrie, who's in her third year then and she answered a lot of my questions. She showed me around and told me about their debate team. They also have a swimming team I could join, I wouldn't want to give that up when I get to college. We visited Boston the rest of the week, we saw a lot of parks and museums. I went to the Museum of African American History, it was… heavy. Anywho, Carrie left me her number and if I get accepted, I can call her to get some tips about moving there."

She was rambling but her strategy seemed to work as Eli simply nodded once in a while and even smiled slightly at her enthusiasm. "That sounds great, Liv. When will you get the response to your application?"

Olivia inhaled deeply, both relieved that he didn't push the subject and stressed at the idea of getting her results. "It could be anytime now… Before the end of next week." Eli simply nodded. "I'm tired Dad. I'm going to get to bed. I'll see you later."

"Alright. Good night, Olivia. Oh, by the way, I have to leave to Seattle for the weekend. Do you mind if we have our dinner tomorrow evening?"

Olivia was kind of disappointed at the thought of not seeing Fitz the next evening but it was made better by the fact that she would be able to spend the weekend with him. Plus, she noted that her father still insisted on having their weekly dinner, he didn't hide behind his business trip as an excuse to not see her and she could only be grateful for his efforts.

"No problem. I can cook us dinner at home."

"Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow, Liv." He smiled as he went to his office and she made her way to her room.

Before going to sleep, she sent Fitz a quick text.

O: Having dinner with my Dad tomorrow evening. I can't come to your place. Sorry…

F: What am I supposed to do all by myself? :(

O: I'm sure you'll find something, you big cry baby. But if you need something to cheer you up, he'll be away this weekend, which means I'll be all yours, for 2 days.

F: Now, that's what I like to hear. And I'm going to make you pay for calling me 'cry baby'…

O: Can't wait… Good night.

F: Sweet dreams.

XXX

Olivia and Fitz barely saw each other the next day. They crossed paths in the hallway but Fitz was walking with Professor Beene, effectively preventing them from having any inappropriate contact. Fitz simply cocked his eyebrow at Olivia, signaling he didn't forget his promise. The thought immediately had Olivia's panties dampening and she blushed furiously, increasing her pace as she mumbled a 'hello'.

As planned, she spent the evening with her Dad. She cooked pasta for the both of them and they ate in the kitchen, attempting to have a normal evening. There was still an awkward tension between them and most of the time, Eli seemed to be at a loss for words but all in all, they were making progress. They would probably never have a classic father-daughter relationship but at least they were able to have dinner together without yelling or ignoring each other.

The next day, Olivia didn't have class in the morning, so she stayed home with her Dad. He left around 10 to get his plane and left Olivia with the usual instructions for the weekend. No parties, no entering his office... Olivia had no problem agreeing with the rules knowing that she would spend the weekend at Fitz' place anyway.

Once her father had left, she went to her room and started rummaging through her closet to find clothes she would leave at Fitz'. She picked a few t-shirts and blouses, a couple of sweaters, two pairs of jeans, two skirts, some underwear and a nightgown. She usually slept naked or with one of Fitz' t-shirts but she wanted to have something sexy to put on if she wanted to seduce him.

Before she left for school, she went to pick up the mail and felt her heart jumping in her throat when she saw she had a letter from Harvard. She froze in the middle of the kitchen, hands shaking as she just stared at the letter. She was torn between wanting to rip the letter open or burying it in the back of the garden and forgetting about it. She stood there for what felt like hours until she recovered normal motor skills. She shoved the letter in her bag and rushed to school, desperately trying to get her mind off it. The key to her future was in her bag and she was incredibly scared that it would crush her.

For the rest of the afternoon, she was unfocused. She remained completely silent, gazing out the window, occasionally stealing glances at her bag, wishing the letter would just disappear. Her friends noticed something was off but she would just dismiss them every time they asked if something was wrong. After school, she didn't even go to the pool, she drove directly to Fitz' place, wanting to be with him when she read the letter. For better or worse, she needed to have him with her.

She was still shaking and twiddling with her hands when she knocked at his door. He opened the door with a beaming smile which soon turned into a frown when he saw the unshed tears in her eyes and the anxiousness on her face. He hugged her immediately and she buried her face in his chest and gripped his shirt tightly as the dam broke and she started crying uncontrollably.

"Livvie, baby, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly, running his hands up and down her back. Olivia tried to speak but it was too difficult, she simply held him tighter and let his hold and his smell soothe her. He kept caressing her back and head, whispering sweet nothings, completely clueless as to what created her breakdown.

When she seemed to have calmed down enough, he took her bag and guided her inside. He closed the door and walked her to his couch. Once there, he sat down beside her but she immediately climbed on his lap, wanting as much contact as possible. He rocked her for a few minutes before reiterating his question.

"Livvie, you're scaring me. What happened?" He asked, lifting up her chin to look at him. He studied her face closely hoping to get a hint as to what was making her so tense.

"I… There was… I got… I got a letter…" She sobbed out between hiccups.

"You got a letter?" He frowned. "From whom? What about?"

"From Harvard…" She murmured and suddenly her outburst made sense to Fitz. His heart broke at the thought that she didn't get accepted into her dream school, that she got her hopes crushed. "I haven't opened it…"

"You… You haven't?" He asked, confused. "Then, why are you so worked up?"

"I'm scared, Fitz… What if it's negative? What if they don't want me? What if I'm not good enough?"

"First of all, you don't know the answer yet, so you can't worry yourself like that. Second of all, whether you get in or not, it doesn't determine your worth. Getting accepted into Harvard doesn't make you a better or worst person. It doesn't change who you are. It simply is a door opening to something. If it's not opening, then, there are a thousand other doors. No matter what happens, you'll do great, whether it's at Harvard, Yale or any other college. No matter where you are, you'll still be the great Olivia Pope, the woman I'm desperately in love with…"

Olivia looked at him in stunned silent, interrupted only by a few residual hiccups. "This is why I wanted to wait to open it…" She whispered as an afterthought. "I knew you would find the words to make me feel better." She smiled slightly.

"That's what I'm here for, Love." He answered, kissing her forehead. "Do you want to open it now or would you rather wait?"

Olivia looked from him to her bag and took a deep breath. "Now. I want to get it over with. Good or bad, I want to know so I can move on…"

"Alright. Go get the letter and let me make a cup of tea and we'll open it together."

Olivia nodded and went to her bag while Fitz went to the kitchen. He filled the kettle and laid his hands on the island, taking a long steadying breath. He had put on a brave front for Olivia but he was nowhere as calm as he seemed to be. He was scared that she would get denied. He was scared of what it would do to her. She already lacked confidence, she didn't need this putting her down.

He was also scared for them. For the first time he asked himself what he would do if they couldn't be in the same place. What if he didn't get accepted into Harvard? What if he got accepted but she stayed on the west coast? Would he give up his dream for her? What if they couldn't make it work?

The whistle of the kettle brought him back to the here and now. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts and busied himself preparing their tea. This was about Olivia first, whatever happened, they needed to face it together. When he reentered the living room, his heart broke again. Olivia was sitting on the couch and the letter was on the coffee table. She had her hands on her lap and was staring at the letter. She looked so small it made his heart ache.

He laid the platter on the table and served them two cups. He sat down next to her and moved his hand to her back. "You ready?" He asked.

"No… But I have to know."

He nodded and moved closer to her as she carefully opened the letter. She took her hand in his as she started reading the letter out loud.

"Dear Ms. Pope… So official." She giggled nervously before reading the rest. "I am delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid has voted to offer you a place in the Harvard class of 2014."

Olivia squealed and squeezed Fitz' hand tightly before throwing her arms around his neck and bursting into tears. Happy tears this time. Fitz just laughed, a full on laughter as he held her tightly and swung her around the living room, twirling around until they were both dizzy. He put her back on her feet and cupped her face before kissing her lips.

"You did it, baby." He beamed as he pulled away before diving in for another taste of her tear stained lips. "You got in."

"I got in." She laughed, holding his shirt tighter.

"You're going to Harvard."

"I'm going to Harvard."

"You're going to be a lawyer."

"I'm going to be a lawyer." She repeated. She was so happy she was unable to form a coherent thought on her own. She simply basked in the happiness he radiated.

"We're going to be together." He said more seriously.

"We're going to be together." She answered, softly but firmly.

Fitz' eyes roamed her face and he dove in for another kiss, unable to remember a moment in his life when his life had seemed so perfect. "Fitz…" Olivia moaned as she pulled away. Fitz moved his mouth to her throat and kissed her neck. Her hands went to his jaw and she moved his face to hers, ignoring the disappointed frown he had at being interrupted. "Make love to me…" She whispered against his lips.

Fitz grunted and picked her up, his hands holding her ass while her legs went around his waist. He carried her to his bedroom and lightly threw her on the bed, watching as she bounced, giggling. He rid himself of his clothes as quickly as he could and joined her on the bed, helping her in her struggle to get her tight clothes off her body.

He stopped when she was left in just her panties and moved to his side, bringing Olivia with him. He pulled her until she was flushed against him, on her side and moved his right hand to her cheek. He caressed her face as he gazed lovingly at her before lowering it to her neck, then breast. He took her breast in his hand and played with her nipple, causing her to moan and arch against him. He moved one arm behind her to hold her and brought his mouth to her nipple, sucking gently on it. He let his other hand wander down her body until it reached her panties.

He let his fingers tickle the area above her panty line, relishing in the contractions of her muscles and her little pants of pleasure. Still playing with her nipple in his mouth, he moved his hand inside her panties and slipped a finger through her slit. She gasped and instinctively tried to move from his grasp but he simply groaned and brought her closer to him. Her hands flew to his shoulders and she tried to focus on the sensations but was quickly losing her mind.

Fitz moved another finger between her lips and caressed her softly, everywhere but the one place she needed him. He carefully avoided her bundle of nerves, knowing the teasing would only make it more intense.

"Fitz…" She begged but he only bit her nipple in response before switching to the other one. Inside her panties, his fingers were now playing at her entrance, circling and retreating in the most deliciously frustrating manner. She gasped and panted, digging her nails in the back of his neck but he kept his sweet torture going. When he felt she could barely hold on to her sanity, he moved two fingers to her core and his thumb to her clit, rubbing quick circles on it.

Olivia mewled and circled her hips on his hand, shamelessly rubbing herself on him while her nipples rubbed against his hard chest. Fitz' head was buried in her neck and he sucked on the sweet skin of her throat, stopping only when he knew he would leave a mark, moving to another spot. With three more quick moves of his hand, he felt her clenching around his fingers and moved his mouth to hers, wanting to swallow her moans, to be completely one with her at her peak. She hungrily sucked on his tongue, not caring about air, only caring about tasting him. Her nails trailed on his back as she rode the waves of her orgasm and he groaned in pleasure.

He didn't wait for her to come down before slipping her panties down her legs. He settled himself back on his side and moved one hand to Olivia's ass while the other held her face to his. He locked eyes with her as he silently moved his shaft to her core. He stopped when the tip was at her entrance, waiting to make sure she was ready. She nodded at him as she bucked her hips against his, wanting to feel him. He didn't need more encouragement to take her and he suddenly surged into her, stealing her breath away.

She held onto him tighter as she moved one leg over his waist and the other between his legs. She arched her back into him to get more contact and moved her hips to meet his thrusts. Fitz grunted as he felt himself moving deeper and Olivia moaned as she rubbed her clit against his pelvis. She wrapped one arm around his shoulder and the other around his head and Fitz used the position to move his mouth to her nipple again.

He timed his strokes to the suction of his mouth, making Olivia moan louder with each thrust. Olivia doubled the movements of her hips, savoring the sweet friction of his pelvic bone against her bundle of nerves. They increased their pace together until Fitz suddenly bit on her nipple causing Olivia to come in a silent scream, her muscles clamping frenetically around Fitz, forcing him to follow her into oblivion. They kept their tight embrace as the rode down their orgasm, both shaking from the intensity of it.

They didn't break the hold until they started shivering. Fitz grabbed the covers and brought them around them, keeping Olivia as close to him as possible. He caressed her face as they both wore matching grins on their face.

"What are you smiling at?" She laughed.

"You. I'm so incredibly proud of you, baby. You're amazing." He admitted honestly.

Olivia realized in this moment that he was the only one whose opinion mattered. Of course, she was excited to tell her friends and her father about it but nothing they could say would hold as much value to her as Fitz telling her he was proud of her.

"Thank you…" She whispered. "I'm pretty proud of me too." She giggled.

"As you should be. We need to celebrate. Tomorrow evening, I'm taking you to Santa Barbara so we can have a celebration dinner. You and me, out in a fancy restaurant, followed by a night of steamy earth-shattering sex. How does that sound?"

Olivia threw her head back and laughed. "That sounds amazing , baby. I can't wait."

Hello All! And welcome back! Sorry for the delay, this chapter was important and I wanted to do it right.

So, Olivia got accepted into Harvard. Shocking, I know! You probably never saw it coming. ;) I know it was really obvious but I still wanted to show Fitz and Olivia's nervousness because it's not supposed to be obvious to them.

Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Leave me your thoughts.

Cheers,

C.