Somewhere in Vermont

Three months later

Fitz slow strides lead him down the long hallway from his office toward the open floor plan kitchen and family room with the large fireplace and hearth. The twin smells of something burning and fresh bread fill the air. He watches in confusion as the Secret Service agents file out of the house carrying charred pots. "Uh, what is going on?"

Agent Larsen responds, "No need to worry Sir…your kitchen is no longer a toxic waste site."

The other agents chuckle. "I heard that, Tom."

"I wanted you to Ma'am."

He smiles from his eyes. He watches in rapt fascination. Olivia bare foot, dressed in his Navy tee shirt and leggings stands behind the counter crowded with flour, baking soda, yeast, bowls, scrapers, scales, rolling pins and pans. "From the looks of things…we are not having jam."

"Jam is not my calling, but bread is…who knew. I decided to try my hand at biscuits next."

He lowers his body to the bar stool and select a slice of artisan bread and a slice of Vermont white cheddar. "Wow…who knew indeed. This is amazing."

"Thank you. How was your session?"

He shrugs as he chews. "I am no longer grieving our children that never existed. I'm learning to forgive myself for the cowardness of marrying the ice queen instead of waiting for you to walk in and sweep me off my feet."

"Fitz," she attempts to interrupt.

"No, if I do not reconcile every part of me…especially the ugly parts; we cannot have the life we deserve…the life I want with the woman I love."

She nods and smiles softly. "Okay, the good news is Jessica confirmed for dinner tonight and Karen and Jerry arrive tomorrow."

"Mr. Bergen, thank you for meeting with me."

"Madame President, the honor is mine."

She smiles. "The unfortunate events that removed our former president from the Oval Office were a sign from God that I should lead this great nation. My question to you…are you ready to join me on the battlefield to restore the morality of the free world?"

Leo studies the woman before him. She is a zealot but just beyond the piety is a cold, calculated, cut-throat killer. "You have to be sure. If he decides to stage a comeback Jesus himself would lose. I am talking a political massacre. Grant's resurrection is a consistent segment on liberal and conservative media alike."

"My sources are confident. He will never be the man he was before the tragic shooting. Therefore, the political mainstage belongs to me as God intended."

"What about the former First Lady? A quarter of the politicians in Congress inherited a seat they do not deserve and are not qualified for because of the death of a spouse or parent."

"I am assured she is no longer a factor. Although, a well- timed endorsement could go a long way."

He looks around the room, "Are we going to toast this or what? I heard Grant had the best whiskey collection the West Wing has ever seen."

Jessica chuckles, "I am sorry but this version of two of the most ambitious people on the planet takes some getting use to. Olivia bakes and Fitz is a farmer."

He holds up an index finger. "We have a chicken coop and I collect the eggs which I now know how to scramble, fry or turn into an omelet with fresh herbs from the greenhouse."

"I stand corrected. You have not gone full overall…yet."

Olivia sips her red wine, "This is very entertaining. Especially the image of Fitz in overalls but we need to deal with news from the front." She glances around the table to their Gladiators.

Abby tosses back the remaining whiskey from the heavy tumbler. "Messy Mellie was last seen at the Piggly Wiggly in sweats, a bathrobe and she reeks of hooch. Her inability to track down former agent Hal Rambeau triggered a hillbilly breakdown."

"Leo Bergen spends his late nights in the Oval Office attempted to launch a presidential campaign for Sally Langston."

Huck chimes in from behind his laptop, "Cyrus is using Thorngate to track and prepare to sabotage when the time is right."

Everyone turns to him in confusion. "Thorngate is a secret program that allows the government to spy on its citizens. The program was developed to deal with terrorist after 9/11 but once we started the program spiraled out of control," Fitz interjects.

Huck nods along, "I will find a back door and shut it down."

"Please," Olivia responds in exasperation.

Next day

"Did you two settle in okay? What do you think of your rooms?"

"This is place is cool."

"Yeah, this may sound weird, but it feels like a home."

"Good…great. I wanted to talk to you about the changes in our family. I can only imagine what you experienced when I was shot. You were removed from school and held in a secure location. How are you holding up?"

Jerry looks to his sister before speaking, "Once we knew you were okay."

Karen jumps in, "And got the chance to see you for ourselves."

"We were good but then things got kind of bad," he looks down at his black, white and grey Air Max.

"I know, I cannot apologize enough."

Karen clears her throat, "I think you and mom not being together is a good thing for all of us but what about the baby?"

"Yeah Dad. Whenever we ask…she just says talk to your father. What does that even mean?"

He swallows thickly. The fact that he must explain this clusterfuck to his children places his temper on a knife's edge. Selfish bitch. "You have a new sibling; and I am sorry you have not met him yet, but I am not a new father."

"I don't understand…you did that interview with the gender reveal."

"You're not married anymore…are you?"

"I know…we are no longer married. Unfortunately for all of us your mother was not honest about her pregnancy. I am sorry we pretended about our marriage for so long. I am really sorry I could not shield you from the ugly aspects of a political family. At this point I can only try to make it better. What do you need or better yet what do you want?"

"I do not know about Karen, but I want out. No more events or photo shoots or any other form of propaganda. I am only interested in being a real family if that is even possible."

"I'm with Jerry. We can hang out here or at the ranch is Santa Barbara but the less said about me in public the better."

His brows furrow but he nods along. "I can make that happen. I am going to give you the best of this new version of me. I have no idea what that will look or sound like, but I will try."

"Does this new version include Ms. Pope?"

Fitz works hard to fight the smile his face produces at the mere mention of her name. "How do you feel about her being a part of our lives?"

"I remember her from the campaign. One time she let me hang out in her office. I followed her around wearing her shoes. They obviously didn't fit but I felt like a grown up and she kept telling people that came in I was her special assistant," Karen shares.

Jerry watches his father's face, "Does she make you happy? I would think after almost dying happiness would be important."

"I…we, are incredibly happy. I know we…and by we, I mean the four of us could build a life together that means something."

Karen and Jerry nod to each other, "Consider us in."

Fitz turns off the light in the bathroom after brushing his teeth. He climbs into the rustic four poster bed. Olivia stops typing on her phone. "When?"

"When?"

"Yes, when did you get your full memory back or did you ever lose it?" She never looks to her right. She fixes her eyes on the wall in front of her.

He exhales and falls back against the pillows resting his left hand on his chest. Confession is good for the soul, and we cannot survive any more lies. "Honestly, when I first woke up; I was married to you," she finishes his sentence.

"And we lived in Vermont with four kids."

"We did…God, I fantasized about that alternate reality more than once every single day I was trapped in that prison called the White House with Warden Mellie or Cyrus depending on the day." He glances over to see if she is looking at him yet. "I was still in the hospital and Tom came in to let me know you were scheduled to arrive within the hour. I told him to make sure the tapes were erased, and no footage was archived." He chuckles, "His face was so shocked I laughed out loud before swearing him to secrecy."

He feels the mattress dip and turns to watch her prop her head on her elbow, "Why did you keep me in the dark?" She sounds hurt, disappointed but curious.

He turns on his side, "You conspired with a woman that despises the very thought of you to force me to stay in the presidency I was happy to walk away from to have the life I wanted with you. Not just a little spin of Mellie and I on the sex tape but turning me out to produce a child with her. The universe gave me another opportunity and I refused to risk another chance on your insecurities getting in the way."

She reaches over and brushes his curls away from his forehead. "You are right. I still do not believe I deserve a love this big and pure. Your love is life changing and nothing in my life has ever felt this right. I belong to you, but I have no idea how to make that real."

He places his large hand against the small of her back pulling her closer. "How about we make it real one minute at a time? I mean we are living in Vermont."

"One minute?"

"One minute."