"I heard every word that was said." Harrison said; he was also too aware of how defensive he sounded. He tried to brush the feeling aside by proving his point by giving a concise summary of what had been said, leaving Olivia in no doubt that he was telling the truth.

However, it didn't change her opinion that his mind had also been somewhere else at the same time - and she told him so.

As private as she's always been with her own life, before now, Olivia has rarely felt the want or need to pry into anyone else's - but her life has changed so much in the last few months - changed for the better -that she was beginning to have new insights on how life should actually work.

Just thinking about how happy her life was right now was making her sensitive to everyone around her. Olivia could only guess at what Harrison was feeling, but this time her gut was telling her something - and in a welcome change, it was a good something.

"And?…" she prodded gently.

"And?…"

"So, you don't want to talk about what's putting that smile on your face?"

"What smile?"

Smiling to herself, Olivia watched Harrison try and smooth his expression into something a little more neutral, fail, then try a second time - and fail again. Even if he had managed to wipe the smile off of his face, there was still the matter of the light in his eyes. Whatever else had happened on their night out, it was something that had left Harrison highly pleased with himself - and her gut said that the reason why was definitely something other than work.

She was also just as sure that it wasn't helping Harrison that it was clear that she was all too aware of his repeatedly failed efforts.

"What smile?" In fact, Olivia decided to continue to be unhelpful. "The one that you're trying so hard not to show me right now."

"As was said, a good time was had by all - myself included." Harrison said, deliberately not answering her. "That includes our ambitious young envoy and our resident guest mad scientist - and I was thinking that this is a good thing for the both of them."

With the mention of Shireen, a puzzle piece slid firmly into place. Aha. Olivia allowed herself another smile. "I don't disagree."

She waited the space of a heartbeat, pausing as if a new thought had just come to mind. "How's Shireen?"

Harrison felt something in himself react to the question, then forced himself to relax as he realized that the question wasn't precisely, totally, pointed at him. As least hoped not, because if that were the case, he didn't quite have an answer ready. "She seems to be fine - is there a reason why she wouldn't be?"

She'd enjoyed her little inside joke, but now, Olivia's expression went thoughtful. "Honestly? I don't think she and her mother have quite settled certain issues between them."

Harrison and Olivia both knew what those certain issues were. It had been their last major case that had brought both women into their lives; initially, Shireen had been a client of OPA, while her mother, Jocelyn, was a government official with a hidden past - and that past had included the discovery that her only daughter's parentage wasn't who everyone - Shireen included - had assumed it had been.

On the surface, Shireen had seemed to have adjusted to that as well as anyone could be expected to - but at the same time, Olivia had thought that she'd noticed a change in Jocelyn and had wondered what it was, even as her gut had whispered Shireen's name to her.

When she'd first shared her concerns with Harrison, he'd admitted to seeing something of a change in Shireen as well - but who wouldn't be changed after having a bombshell like that dropped into their life like that?

It had been one of the reasons why he'd made sure that she'd come out with them - but he'd been careful not to press her directly. Her feelings and how she chose to handle them were none of his business - wasn't he right about that?

"And now?" Olivia asked.

He shrugged. "Shireen hasn't talked to me about anything that's bothering her, and I haven't asked her about anything bothering her - so I've mostly left it alone."

Harrison looked at Olivia, this time not hiding the concern in his eyes. "All I can do is make myself available and let her know that if she needs to talk, well - I'm there. I've tried to let her know that."

Olivia nodded slowly to herself. It might make sense, it might even be the right thing to do, but at the same time, she knew all too well how destructive secrets could be to relationships of any kind. She liked Shireen and Jocelyn and their issue - which she knew was really none of her business - combined with her own painful past, made her wish that there was something that she could do about it anyway.

Fitz would say that it was the Fixer in her, working overtime.

"Stand down, Livvie - you can't fix the world." Hearing his voice in her head, she smiled - to herself, this time - knowing that it was mostly true.

Looking over to Harrison, she's pretty sure that she sees the same thoughts in his eyes. "I hope she does."

"If there's something not right happening between her and her mother, I hope so too." Harrison said.

His word reminded Olivia of both her and Harrison's ragged family ties; she didn't want either of them traveling down that old dark and dusty road, not right now, so she allowed herself a silent sigh, before changing the subject.

They discussed the overall mood of the club and Harrison's information gathering work, especially in light of their upcoming plans.

"The closer we get to the announcement of the official start of the president's re-election campaign, the more intense things are going to get - and I'm not just talking about the expected opposition."

"From what I've been hearing, 'the call is coming from inside the house' might apply here. " Harrison said.

"Precisely." Olivia nodded. "With the exceptions of Peter and Susan, the battle-lines aren't rock solid just yet, so anything you can find out about which way the wind is blowing for all concerned, is going to be extremely helpful."

"Not to worry, I'll be on it." Harrison tapped two fingers to his temple. "Multi-tasking, even as we speak - and I know this much - something is about to jump off, I'm sure of it, even if I don't know exactly what it is. I'm thinking it's got to be some serious upper level stuff; the hives are starting to buzz… and it isn't all about seasons greetings."

"The question might be who else might be planning to use the holidays for a jumping off point for their next step in political ambitions - that just might be the question of the day." Thinking out loud, Olivia answered slowly, but she agreed.

"Doesn't matter - nobody is better at what we do than we are. One way or the other, we'll figure it out before they do." Harrison said. "So where do you need me?"

"I think you're doing fine exactly where you've been so far." Olivia said. "But maybe you should touch base with Abby the next time you see her and see what the two of you can come up with before we make our next move. Keeping tabs on Susan might be exactly the right thing to do right now."

"Will do." Harrison said. "Anything else?"

She could tell she surprised him with her next words. "Pace yourself. I feel like you've been pulling enough double-duty lately - don't think that I haven't noticed."

"Your point being?"

He was being stubborn and they both knew it.

"My point being - don't forget to have a life." She told him.

"So says the master of pot meet kettle." Harrison's smile returned.

"Guilty as charged -" Olivia said. "- but I'm working on that."

"Glad to hear it - and isn't that all any of us can do?" Harrison raised his mug in a toast and they shared a final knowing grin as Olivia did the same.

And then her phone rang, bringing the rest of the world back with it.

XXX

At first, Olivia couldn't believe what she was hearing, then she was swearing silently at herself as she paced the length of the Oval Office and back again. She should have known better. She should have seen this coming…

Olivia didn't know who she was angrier at - Mellie or herself.

"If it's any comfort, without Karen's heads-up, I wouldn't have caught this any sooner either." Fitz's words broke into her thoughts, halting her in her steps.

She took a moment to look around the room; Cyrus was seated on one of the sofas, while Harrison - she'd asked him to come with her - was seated in one of the chairs closest to the door. His eyes were tracking her but otherwise he'd been quiet and observant since their arrival. She was glad to see him learning to not be intimidated by the rarefied air of the White House.

Jocelyn was there as well, seated opposite Cyrus; it was just coincidence that had brought her to the Oval, but once she'd sensed that something else was on Fitz's mind, he'd updated her on Mellie's latest bombshell, and so she'd opted to stay, to try and help in any way that she could. Not that anyone knew, but she welcomed anything that would help keep her mind from her own concerns. And - she scolded herself - any issues that she were having were simply personal and didn't belong here.

"We underestimated her." Cyrus spoke up.

"I underestimated her. This is on me." Fitz shook his head before moving from his chair to lean against the front of the Resolute desk. "I wouldn't mind so much if it had been just me that she'd corralled into this mess, it's the kids that are going to suffer the worst from this. The idea of them being forced to sit through some black tie, dry, five, six, seven - who knows how many- course dinner…"

He shook his head. "This was not how I imagined that this weekend was going to go."

All of them fell silent at the thought; none of them were happy about this, but they all felt Fitz's frustration for his children' sake.

"I take it that reasoning with her is out?" Jocelyn asked. She's had very little contact with Mellie, most of it on formal terms so most of what she knew of Mellie's deviousness was mostly second-hand.

"Not likely to happen." Cyrus said. He frowned. "Once Mellie gets a taste of winning - and make no mistake, she thinks she won -"

"Won what?" Jocelyn asked.

Fitz, Olivia and Cyrus exchanged a look, but it was Cyrus who answered for them all.

"Nothing -everything - anything - it doesn't matter." he said. "In her mind, as long as we're all dancing to her tune, she's won. And, as I was saying, once she thinks that she's won, it only whets her appetite for more of the same."

He turned to Fitz. "It goes without saying, sir, that James and Ella and I will be there."

"Thank you, Cy, but you don't have to do that. I'm sure that James has plans for Ella that don't include a formal sit down. I want better for my god-daughter."

"I have tiny light up pumpkins strung up outside my house - along with shiny silver and orange tinsel and construction paper turkeys strung up and scattered around the house." Cyrus grumbled. "Tinsel. Pumpkin lights. I don't know which scenario is worst."

His words introduced a brief note of lightheartedness among them that made them all laugh and smile briefly, especially since no one, including Cyrus himself, believed that his complaining was real.

"I wonder what would happen if we tried that decor for Mellie's dinner." Fitz said. He's only half-kidding. There's nothing he wouldn't give to upset her carefully laid plans - it might be a petty thought, but that didn't make it any less true.

"It would definitely serve up a welcome change of pace." Olivia said. Fitz wasn't the only person irritated by Mellie's trick. Maybe joking about it was the best way through it. "We could set the table with orange napkins and matching plastic cups."

"…And more of those construction-paper turkeys for place-holders alongside the bone china." Jocelyn had caught Fitz's mood as well.

"It would be almost worth the temper tantrum that would follow to see the looks on Mellie's face - along with her VIP guest list -as they walked into the state dining room in tux and tails to be greeted with pumpkins, autumn leaves - and tiny orange lights." Cyrus said. "And don't forget the shiny bits of tinsel."

"If I thought it would change anything, I'd cancel the whole thing." Fitz said.

Olivia knew that he was thinking of Gerry, Karen and Teddy in that moment, and that some form of Thanksgiving would be better than no Thanksgiving at all.

Jocelyn unknowingly echoed Olivia's thoughts. "Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and friends - and the idea of forcing a formal dinner on your kids…"

"I've got it!" All eyes turn to Harrison as he suddenly comes to his feet. He turned to Fitz. "With your permission, sir?…"

Fitz gestured for Harrison to continue. "I'm open to anything - I think it's safe to say that we all are."

Harrison glanced at Olivia for a quick moment for a split second of reassurance before turning back to the president. "Sir, when you mentioning you not wanting your kids having to endure a dry seven course meal - well, that reminded me of when we worked with your daughter and the Habitat for Humanity event…"

It was easy to see that his words had gotten everyone's attention and set gears in motion.

He continued."What if we gave your kids the exact opposite of what's presently on the menu?"

The beginnings of a smile touched Fitz's lips. "Talk to me."

XXX

Once Harrison had explained the outlines of his plan, it had been instantly met with enthusiasm from everyone in the room. His thoughts were the initial spark, but it turned out to be more than enough; with Fitz's approval, it was easy for the group to come up with ideas that built off of Harrison's and expanded it.

The conversation that followed lasted close to an hour as they quickly sorted out assignments for one another, but at last they were gone, the last out being Cyrus and Jocelyn gleefully ironing out a wrinkle in their part of the scheme as they closed the Oval Office door behind them.

That left Fitz and Olivia with a few minutes of alone time, and it only took a single look between them to share their intentions to take advantage of it.

Still leaning against the front edge of the Resolute desk, all Fitz had to do was open his arms to her and Olivia quickly found herself slipping happily into his embrace. She closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the warmth and the strength of his arms around her, loved feeling him bury his face in her hair, inhaling her in, knowing that the pleasure was shared.

After a long moment, he lifted his head to meet her eyes. "Did I tell you that your staff is brilliant?" he said, looking down at her.

Olivia turned her face up to his, brushing her lips against his in a kiss even as she smiled. "Not today, no - but feel free to continue."

It relieved her to see that the thunderclouds that had clouded his expression when she'd arrived were gone.

"Consider it said - and if they can get this crazy scheme to work, give them a bonus." Fitz said. He paused as a new thought came to him. "In fact, maybe it's time for them to be acknowledged - and salaried - as a part of my official re-election team, don't you think? Or do you think that it might be wiser to keep them low-key and off the board?"

"You're learning." Olivia said in approval. He'd never forgotten about what she'd told him about human secret weapons. That seemed to be just the right cue to tell him about Harrison's report concerning the night before. She finished up with, "I don't think that OPA as one of your sources of support is much of a secret any more, so it shouldn't matter what we do at this point. It might even prove to be a plus."

"That includes you, you know." He reminded her.

"I know." Olivia knew what Fitz wasn't saying - that a move like this was making the reality of he wanted one step closer. She knew what he wanted, what he's wanted for so long, for the day when they could stand side by side in the sun.

She wanted it too - and she knew that they would have it. Soon. All they had to do was stick to the plan.

He knew that she needed that too; Olivia could see that in his eyes as he gazed down at her. That and more. So much more. It took the nervous pounding of her heart and transformed it into something so much more because now it's all mixed up with so much light and happiness that she feels like a part of her just wants to float away on the feeling.

In response, she smiles at the sense of confidence spiraling through her, something that has been happening more and more as time goes by, as they grow closer, as they draw nearer to entering a new phase in their lives.

Somehow they've gotten close to a do-over and this time, they are going to -she is going to - do it right. No mistakes, no missteps, no wrong choices for any supposed right reasons.

Her hands slide up the length of his chest and broad shoulders to link themselves at the back of his neck, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers and the way his arms tightened around her even as her mind went over his proposal. "There are pros and cons to taking that next step, of course."

"Which I'm sure that you've covered somewhere in that plan of yours… ours." Fitz corrected himself. He read her easily, knowing that Olivia's love for him was driving it and her. His acceptance was in his eyes while the teasing tone in his first words only served to underscore his understanding. "So don't worry, you've taught me well. But I'm thinking that keeping you as a secret weapon is not as much as a necessary thing that it might have been in the past. At this point, there isn't anyone in DC who hasn't speculated on our connection - at least on a purely professional level."

Even though he kept his tone light, they both understood the double meaning behind his words, but that didn't seem to matter to Olivia as much as it used to.

"You're right -"she told him. "- timing is everything - but I think you may be right."

Fitz's eyebrows lifted in mock surprise, but his expression showed that he was more than a little pleased. "Wait a minute - is this my Fixer agreeing with me about not needing secrets any more?"

"Yes, this is your Fixer agreeing with you -" Olivia told him; a sudden burst of rightness follows her words, filling her with an odd mingling of joy and relief. It was definitely a new sensation, but a very welcome one, she thought. "We both know that my first instincts are to hold onto secrets - but just maybe this is one that we don't need to hold on to as tightly as we used to."

His kiss was all the answer that was necessary, all soft lips and a gentle warmth that filled her senses until she was melting into it - into him - with the loveliest reassurance of feeling Fitz meeting her more than halfway.

When he finally managed to pull away, Fitz looked down into Olivia's eyes again, his own lit with happiness.

"I think that my view of the holidays just got a little bit brighter." He said.

"Our view." Olivia corrected him. "It might be Thanksgiving, but here's to future fireworks." She underlined her words with another kiss.

Fitz had no problems with that; the grin he gave her made that clear. "Boom."