A/N Warning, there is graphic violence within the story. Also, my apologies for not getting back to responding to reviews. It's been a whirlwind. I promise I will get to your reviews, but please know that I genuinely appreciate each and every one of them. Enjoy your reading. I hope to have another chapter up before the weekend ends.

Chapter 15 The Past and Present

Olivia immediately stood up, a bit embarrassed, and pulled Mellie up with her. She looked at Fitz. "She was walking quite fast towards the Oval, Mr. President. Both Lauren and the guard were calling her, but she didn't stop. I thought she meant to harm you."A

Fitz looked at Liv with quite the smirk and said "It's fine, then turned to Mellie and said, Ms. Pope is secret service, she was just doing her job. Where is your visitors' badge?"

"Visitor's badge? I wasn't aware, I thought since you knew I was coming."

"That's why I was calling you, ma'am", the security guard said. "Your badge is at the front desk."

Cyrus tried to break up the awkwardness of the situation. "Mellie, why don't you come into the Oval with me, I will show you around until the president can patch up this mishap."

Mellie turned and stared at Olivia. Olivia returned her stare but gave her the look up and down. "Something I can help you with", Olivia said as she met Mellie's eyes. She noticed how cold they were. What did Fitz ever see in her?

"Yes, you can help me out of these handcuffs." Mellie said as she turned to show Olivia she was still handcuffed.

"Oh, right, forgot about those." Olivia looked up at Fitz and couldn't help to notice how much he was enjoying this. She unlocked the cuffs, as Mellie rubbed her wrists, gave Olivia one last look and headed into the Oval with Cyrus.

"Lauren, could you walk with the guard and retrieve Mellie's badge for her?"

Fitz looked at Olivia as they were finally alone. "That was interesting", he said.

"I didn't know your ex-wife was coming here. What is she doing here?", Olivia couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy creep in her.

"Well, she isn't my ex wife just yet, she is here to sign off on the divorce. Thank goodness you didn't leave before taking the cuffs off, it would've been hard for her to sign the papers. Once she signs off, I am all yours Livvie, not that I haven't been anyway."

"Hmm, well, she doesn't look anything like I pictured her to be. Her eyes tell me she has a cold soul. What did you see in her?"

"Nothing at all, not since I've met you. With her I had no idea what love was, with you, I feel my heart pound every time you walk in the room."

"So, you meeting alone with her? Will Cyrus stay in there?" Olivia couldn't believe how jealous she was feeling. The man just told her how much he loves her, and she still feels jealous. What is this?

"Wow, Livvie, you jealous? It shouldn't be that long. We have a few things to discuss. You need to get to the interview. Lt. Phillips is waiting for you. You don't want to become tongue tied in that interview."

"Fine, I'll be back later to talk to you and Cyrus more about Maxwell." She turned and left while Lauren was walking back with the badge.

On her way to the interview, Olivia couldn't help but chuckle to herself thinking of the tackle she put on Mellie. That woman had no idea what went down. Then, Olivia laughed more to herself thinking of Mellie standing there handcuffed. Oh well, the woman deserved it after what she did to Liv's man. She was happy Fitz was more amused than upset. It helped her wipe away the thoughts of them meeting in the Oval alone. Like Fitz said, Liv had nothing to worry about. She couldn't wait to tell Abby about this. She was anticipating the interview be over so she can get to see Abby. She missed her very much.

"Nice to see you Mellie, ready to get this over with?" Fitz wasn't exactly cold to Mellie, but he wasn't exactly cordial either. The sooner this was done, the better. No more ties to this unfaithful woman.

"You have very interesting secret service agents. Before we get down to signing, congratulations on the big bust. That was impressive."

"Thank you, in fact, Ms. Pope, the one who tackled you, played a very big part in making that happen."

"That's interesting, you don't always see a woman in that position. She seems very invested in protecting you."

"That she does, she takes her job very seriously. Now enough about my secret service, let's get this over with."

"Fitz..I wanted to say"

"Mellie, just save it. I am happy now, I am running the world, I told you I wouldn't need a first lady by my side to be successful. I don't want to hear any apologies. Not that I care, but I am curious, where is your boyfriend Andrew since he was ousted in Santa Barbara?"

"I don't really keep tabs on him. Last I heard he was in Virginia starting up some business." Mellie neglected to tell Fitz that she was going to meet with him as soon they were finished.

"Too bad, thought you two would finally be the happy couple. Anyway, Fitz pulled out an envelope with the divorce papers. Signed, just waiting on yours."

Mellie took the papers slowly from Fitz's hands. She glanced over them one more time. It was very amicable, and she had nothing to fight him on. She was the one who caused the marriage to end. She looked around the Oval and realized just how stupid she had been. This could have been hers. She shook her head and glanced at Fitz. He showed no emotion at all. She picked up the pen and reluctantly signed on the line.

"Good luck to you Fitz, I look forward to reading more positive things going on in the country."

"Thank you, Mellie, and I look forward to helping you campaign and get your name out there. I will give you the new date for the luncheon once it's confirmed."

Mellie took one last look at Fitz. "I am truly sorry Fitz, I never meant to hurt you."

Fitz gave her a small smile and nodded his head. He sat down at his desk and proceeded to his work, as Mellie walked out. That part of his life was finished, now he wanted to spend the rest of his new life with Olivia.

"So, being new to the agency, you were thrusted into this historical bust, what was that like Agent Pope?", Noah Drake was intrigued by Agent Olivia Pope and was genuinely curious about her quick rise in the agency.

"It was an honor to be called upon to be involved in this investigation. I would be remised though if I didn't mention Agent Lisa Simms. Simms was killed by the Russians while investigating the counterfeit ring. Had it not been for her remarkable investigative work and dubious note taking, we wouldn't have been able to crack this case at all."

"And President Grant? How does he feel about this? You certainly helped him with his approval ratings, this was monumental for his presidency to have taken down such a well organized counterfeit ring, tell me a little about how President Grant feels about all of this going down."

Olivia didn't want to sound overindulgent, especially talking about Fitz. She simply nodded at Lt. Phillips and said "I think that's a question for Lt. Phillips. His part in this, and the leadership he maintained is worth noting, he was the one in contact with the President during the investigation."

As Lt. Phillips was talking to Noah, Olivia thought of Fitz coming to visit her during the investigation. The comfort she felt in his arms, and how his presence there with her gave her the confidence to aggressively move forward with the investigation. She had more to thank him for than he had to thank her for.

As the interview wrapped up, Olivia headed to see Abby. She was curious what was going on with Mellie and Fitz, but right now there was too much to do to waste any time. Besides her visit with Abby and her return to the White House, she had to prepare for the ceremony in the morning. This was all happening so quickly, and she had no idea, yet what her next assignment would be. She wanted very much to get this feeling of Ballard being involved in Maxwell's death out of her system. She would call Huck while she was visiting with Abby.

"Find a way into the god damn ceremony Ballard. You were the one who trained those agents, you have a right to be there. Show you have some balls for once, will ya?" Andrew was now yelling at Jake and Jake was trying desperately not to snap his neck. Ballard turned to walk out, and Vin D said "where the hell are you going?"

"If I get into the ceremony, I will let the two of you know."

"I expect a phone call from you Ballard, I want tomorrow to be the last day Fitzgerald Grant walks this Earth, and I want you to be the one that brings me that joy."

That conversation was two hours ago. Now Jake sat in the cold dark place where he would wait until the ceremony started to make his move. He was lucky enough to have caught the agenda before he was fired. He knew Grant was giving out four awards with Olivia's being the last. After the last award, Jake would make his move. As he sat under the stage in which the ceremony would take place, he thought about being caught, even killed. This truly was a suicide mission, but Andrew was a ticking time bomb. If this didn't go down, there is no telling what Andrew could do to the security of this country.

Jake had plenty of time to think. He thought about how he got to where he was now, he thought about the life he could've had, and he thought about Olivia. He never admitted how beautiful she truly was. Every day at training, although he was a douche to her, he admired her skill. He was jealous of her confidence, but most of all he was angry that a woman could have so much more natural talent than all her male counterparts, including him. The things he could have done to her if he wanted to, and he would get to see her at least one last time tomorrow. He would get to admire her beauty, and maybe if he could pull off the crime of the decade, he could get her to notice his true feelings for her.

When Jake was growing up, his mother had died when he was three. His father was an abusive drunk. He couldn't hold a job down for more than two months. He lived in a house of filth and abuse. Any woman his father ever brought home left beaten and bruised. Jake never had a female influence in his life. When Jake decided he would join the Navy out of high school, his father laughed at him. "You a soldier for this country? Ha! This country is in piss poor hands if they accept you as a soldier."

When Jake walked out that door two days after his high school graduation, he never went back. He couldn't even tell you if his father was alive. If he was indeed dead, he couldn't even tell you how he died. He could be a skeleton in that filthy house now, but Jake didn't give one shit. Seeing his father beat on women all the time, Jake thought he would be different, but he wasn't. He was a chip off the old man's block. Jake despised women who were successful. He was brought up several times on charges of domestic abuse, but they never stuck because the women were too afraid to proceed.

The best thing that ever happened to him was the former president's son being a Navy buddy with him in Iraq. They hit it off, and when he held that boy during his last breath, he had hit the jackpot. The president was forever grateful for him being there for his son. That's how Jake got the position he was in when he fired. He was surprised Grant kept him around for so long, but he was the one who fucked up. Olivia Pope came along, and it brought out the hate in Jake that he couldn't contain.

Jake was able to sneak onto the grounds of where the ceremony was going to be. He slipped under the stage, and was now curled up in a corner where, when checked, no one would see him. So, there he sat, with all the time in the world to think repeatedly how Fitzgerald Grant would go down with the bullet shot from Jake's gun. He drifted off in to sleep as the world went on around him.

The smile on Abby's face gave Olivia such a good feeling. Abby really was looking wonderful and it put Olivia at ease. She had one round of plastic surgery on her face, and it was looking great. Her smile was still a bit slanted, but it was a smile. Olivia had just finished telling Abby about her meeting with Mellie. It was only as she was telling Abby did Olivia laugh so hard and being able to have an actual picture of it in her mind had her continue the laughter.

Abby was trying her best to communicate, although it was still hard for her to talk. She was making tremendous progress, though. All Olivia had to do was mention David's name and her face lit up. Abby put her hand over her heart and Olivia knew Abby had found love. She reached over and hugged her best friend with tears in her eyes. She was so very happy for them. Abby deserved nothing but happiness. Abby pointed to Olivia and said, "the president?" with a shrug.

Olivia talked to Abby about how their relationship was going. She spoke about choosing career over relationship for now. Abby shook her head in disagreement. "Be happy, Liv." It was muffled, but Olivia understood completely. "Abby, right now I am happy. I have to figure it out. I am not used to being loved like this. There is nothing this man wouldn't do for me. To be honest it scares me, and this isn't something I want to rush." Abby nodded in understanding.

She also talked to Abby about the investigation, the raid, and the upcoming awards. She told Abby how she wished she could be there tomorrow, but her recovery was more important. Finally, she told Abby all about Huck and Callie. That made Abby so happy. Abby was a sucker for a good love story. She promised Abby they would visit once they were back in town. She told Abby about Callie, as if Huck needed Abby's approval. Olivia couldn't wait for the day they could all be together again. So much had happened to her friends and to her in such a short time.

Olivia called Huck while she was still with Abby. She put him on speaker phone. The three of them were laughing and reminiscing. Huck told Abby about Callie, and Olivia told Huck how eager Abby was to meet her. Huck told them he should be back in a few days as they were just finishing up some last-minute things in St. Paul. Olivia suddenly felt a feeling of emptiness knowing she would be at the ceremony alone tomorrow. These are the times Olivia missed her parents most, knowing she had no one to be there. This was for them though. She couldn't wait to hold that award and dedicate it to her parents.

Huck told Olivia what he found out about Maxwell. Besides that picture, he found phone records between Ballard and Vin D. What Olivia wasn't ready for was the next piece of information. After doing some digging into each man, he found out that Vin D was related to Andrew Nichols. Olivia knew the name as the man of whom Mellie was having an affair with when Fitz left her. He was also Fitz's Lt. Gov in Santa Barbara. Huck told Olivia that Andrew went below the radar and he was finding it difficult to find him now. Olivia was made aware of Andrew's downward spiral, and this caused a bit of an alarm in her. Something wasn't feeling right.

Olivia said her goodbye to Abby as David had come into the room. David filled Olivia in on her progress and was optimistic Abby could be home as early as two weeks. There would have to be accommodations made for Abby to move around, and Olivia would get on that.

At the White House, Lauren delivered the package to Fitz that he had been waiting for all day. Fitz couldn't wait to look at it, but even more to present it to Olivia. Fitz had Olivia's sharpshooter award plaque. He worked with Huck to have one specially made for her. As Fitz looked at it, he couldn't help but wait with anticipation to see Liv's reaction. The plaque was a shiny black marble. In the middle, there was a gold-plated gun. Above the gun was engraved "Sharp Shooter Award USSS 2020." Below that was "this award presented to Agent Olivia Carolyn Pope for outstanding skills demonstrated in sharp shooting." Below the gun was engraved "Given this day (with the date) from President Fitzgerald Grant the Third."

It wasn't about the engraving or the design, what Fitz was most proud of what he and Huck was able to do. On either side of plaque, in the top left- and right-hand corners, were a small picture. The one on the left was a picture of Liv with her parents. Liv was no older than ten years old in the picture in the middle of her two smiling parents. On the other side was picture of her parents on their wedding day. Huck was able to find it among Liv's things and get it to Fitz. He really wanted her to have a piece of her parents on her award. He was very proud of what he had pulled off and couldn't wait to see her face when he presented this to her. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. He couldn't wait to spend some time alone with her at Camp David. They needed some time to talk, to air out her fears and concerns about their relationship.

If there was one thing Fitz was certain of it was how he didn't want to spend any more time away from her. He wanted her by his side. He had some things to air out also. He wasn't certain she would agree to his two-night retreat at Camp David, but after seeing the plaque, he was hoping it would be hard for Olivia to say no. He was also looking forward to seeing Liv's reaction to Abby and Huck being there for her tomorrow. She wasn't expecting them at all. I think after all that happens tomorrow and the emotions of the day, Liv will need a relaxing two nights. Fitz would love to have the time with the woman he loved most. Yes, Fitz was most definitely looking forward to the awards ceremony and the days to follow.

Several hours later, Olivia was sitting in the Oval with Cyrus, Fitz, and Burns. Olivia was sharing the information about Andrew Nichols and with the mention of his name, she could see Fitz tense up. He whispered something into Cyrus's ear and Cyrus nodded as he left the room. Burns told Fitz there was no sign of Ballard, Andrew, or Vin D anywhere. It's like they all disappeared. He had a team begin investigating, and Fitz told him to make sure they worked around the clock. He was not comfortable at all about not knowing their whereabouts.

Once they were alone, Fitz went over to sit next to Olivia. "Ready for tomorrow? It's going to be a special day. I get to present an award to my favorite person, the most important person in my life."

Olivia gave him the side eye. "How was your meeting with Mellie? Did it all go ok?"

"It did", he said, "you are now sitting next to the most eligible bachelor in the country, you may want to snatch me up while you have the chance Ms. Pope." He leaned in to give her kiss.

"Hmm…eligible, charismatic, and handsome, I'll think about it. It's quite enticing." as she returned his kiss. "So, Mellie didn't put up a fight?" Olivia still had a hint of jealousy.

"No, this was discussed long before she came here yesterday, long before I ever met you. This has been over for a while Liv, don't think about it. I have no feelings for her, I hold no loyalty to her. We are free to be together."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth did his phone ring. Olivia was able to see Mellie's name on the display. She rolled her eyes as she looked at Fitz. "Obviously she isn't done with you as much as you are with her."

Fitz didn't bother to answer it, he made it clear to Mellie he would contact her. " I have nothing to say to her, not when I have the most beautiful woman in my presence."

Andrew was quite unstable, and Mellie saw this immediately upon their meeting. He wouldn't stop talking about Fitz and how his life was ruined by him. He was clearly jealous of Fitz's success and Mellie couldn't help but be alarmed that Andrew was planning to do harm in some way to destroy Fitz. She had tried to call Fitz, but he didn't pick up. Hearing Andrew ramble on and on about revenge didn't sit well with Mellie.

Andrew was doubly mad because the ceremony was an hour away and he hadn't heard a word from Ballard. He wanted assurance that everything was in place and Ballard had secured his way into the ceremony but, Ballard wasn't answering his phone nor was he at his hotel room. Andrew was a raving lunatic, and it wasn't helping that Mellie was witnessing this all.

Ballard heard the voices outside. He could feel the stage shake with footsteps above. Once, the stage area had been cleared, Ballard took his place right below the podium. While Grant was speaking, nearing the end of the ceremony, he would come out and from behind and shoot Fitz. Before anyone knew what was happening, Jake figured he would have a good jump on exiting the event, since many of the people would be preparing to leave. He could only hope he wouldn't be shot down in a blaze of bullets. Either way, his life would be over. He would be the most wanted man in America, or he would be dead. Whichever, like he kept telling himself, this was a suicide mission.

Fitzgerald Grant was one of the best speakers in presidential history. The way he took words and presented them was comfort to the ears of the American people. Today was no different. He spoke with nothing but praise for his graduating service agents. One by one, he presented the field awards. With each presentation he spoke of the recipient as if he had known them their whole life. This wasn't just a generic award; this was made personal by President Grant. Each recipient that went up took their plaque with pride and said a few words.

Olivia had so many mood swings by the time the awards were being presented, she was just trying to keep herself together. She had woken up a bit depressed knowing this would be a lonely day. Even Fitz, she figured, would be busy afterwards speaking to the agents and big wigs that were at the event. She hadn't been able to get Huck on the phone, and she didn't want to bother Abby. Olivia headed to the ceremony trying hard not to feel sorry for herself.

As she was sitting up on the stage looking out into the crowd, her mood suddenly took a turn for the better. She spotted David Rosen walking in and assisting Abby at his side. She had made so much progress that she was able to walk in with just a cane. Olivia raced off the stage to greet them, walking Abby to her seat. She was so proud of her friend, but even prouder that she decided to be there for her today. "I wouldn't miss it for the world Liv", she said those words so clear.

No sooner did Abby sit down Liv turned around and almost knocked Huck over. "Oh my god!", Liv wrapped her arms around Huck. "You didn't think I would miss this, did you? This is something you've worked your whole life for Liv, I am so proud of you."

Callie gave Liv a hug. "From what I've seen you're the best agent and more than deserving for this."

As Olivia turned to walk back to the stage, she noticed Fitz watching her with the biggest smile on his face. She returned the smile and realized he knew all along she wouldn't be alone when receiving her award. There were those butterflies again. Her lovebugs, as she came to call them. The feeling every time she looked at Fitz, her lovebugs crawling inside her heart.

It was Olivia's turn to be presented her award. Fitz spoke of Olivia in such an admirable way. He pinpointed on her physical skills and made it a point to tell the attendees how she had broken barriers in being the first female to ever win the sharp shooting award. He even joked to the crowd that if there were any would be assassination plots out there, they may want to think twice with Olivia Pope being there for protection. "From what I have witnessed, she doesn't miss her target and she wouldn't be receiving this award if she did. It is my honor to present the first female recipient of the secret service dept of homeland security sharp shooting award to Ms. Olivia Pope." "go get it baby girl, this is all yours, daddy is proud."

Olivia walked to Fitz with tears in her eyes. He whispered in her ear; "I hope you like it I had it specially made for you my Livvie."

Liv looked down at the plaque and had to stop herself from sobbing. It was beautiful. Fitz nudged her a bit, reminding her the crowd was waiting for her words as their applause had stopped. Liv placed the plaque on the podium as she first and foremost thanked her parents who were no longer with her. She thanked Huck and Abby pointing them out in the crowd and saying she wouldn't be there if it wasn't for their training sessions together. Last, she thanked Agent Simms. Having seen a woman in such high ranking gave Olivia the confidence she needed to continue her work in the agency. She called her a true American hero having died in the line of duty. She also thanked President Fitzgerald Grant for giving her the opportunity to do this job and having the faith in her to get it done. She wanted so much to say more about Fitz, but she knew enough to stop. She could feel him standing right behind her right shoulder. She turned and gave him a hug as she walked back to her seat. The others on the stage had moved over so Olivia could sit in the first chair just to the right of Fitz at the podium.

Jake prepared himself. He heard Fitz winding down the ceremony. He began to make his move. At the same time, Olivia realized she left her beautiful plaque sitting on the podium. She was about to stand to go get it, but she noticed far beyond the crowd, Mellie Grant was watching with interest the whole ceremony. What was she doing here? Liv continued her motion towards the podium as she sensed some movement coming from behind her out from under the stage. She lunged towards Fitz and screamed out "ROSARIO". Rosario jolted up to the podium as Olivia pushed Fitz in his direction. Fitz tried to break from Rosario's hold but couldn't. At this point, the crowd was scrambling and screaming. Fitz turned to look at Olivia in time to see her being grabbed by Ballard. "LIV" he called out as he was being dragged safely away.

Huck didn't hesitate and bolted towards the stage, gun out, but he had to stop in his tracks. Ballard clearly had the upper hand.

In a split-second Olivia felt herself get grabbed from behind with Ballard's arm around her neck and a gun to her head. Everyone who tried to bolt in to action had to stop or Olivia would have a bullet in her head.

"Damn you Pope! This wasn't meant for you." Olivia felt his breath through his words in her ear. She was squirming to get out of his hold but didn't want to take the chance that he would pull the trigger. Within seconds, there were a dozen guns pointing at the stage.

It was at that moment Jake Ballard knew he didn't want a life in prison, in fact, he didn't' want a life at all anymore. He placed a kiss on Olivia's cheek as he whispered in her ear. "you are beautiful Pope, a gorgeous skilled woman and he doesn't deserve you. Don't waste your life on saving him." He pushed Olivia far away and at the same time, before any shots could be fired his way, he put the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger. Suicide mission, he thought, his last thoughts as he fell lifeless to the ground at Olivia's feet.