Birthday Party

They were in the residence, putting on the finishing touches in order to make their grand entrance to Will's birthday bash. Olivia was putting on her earrings while her husband was looking at himself in the mirror to make sure the bowtie on his tuxedo was straight.

"We need to talk, Will." Olivia said in a gentle tone.

"Now right now, Ollie. We're about to leave for the party. Can't it wait til morning?" He wasn't even looking at her. He certainly didn't want to have a conversation with her. He'd much rather go down to the party and see what kind of excitement the birthday boy could get into.

"It really can't. And please, don't call me Ollie. You know that I loathe that horrendous nickname."

"I had no idea you didn't like it. You've never said anything about it before." Will pointed out.

"The fact that I outwardly cringe every time you say it should have been an indicator."

"Fine, fine. Why don't you tell me what this is all about so we can skim over it and go to the party."

"We're not skimming over anything. We aren't due to arrive for another forty five minutes. There's plenty of time for us to talk."

"Don't forget that it will take us a little longer to get there since the location got changed at the last damn minute." he reminded her impatiently. "What the hell is it that's so important it can't wait until morning?"

"I'm well aware of the location of the birthday party I've been planning for months for you. I'm also well aware about your past."

"My past? What? Why in the hell are you bringing that up right now?" He sputtered. "Of course you know about it. I told you all about my past before we got married."

"Not that version." Olivia answered patiently.

"What are you talking about then? Olivia!" Fear was trying to claw its way up his spine and insert itself into Will's mind. There was no way Olivia knew anything. He had done too good of a job at hiding it. Hell, it had cost him big money to hide it.

"The version where you sleep with any female who gives you the time of day."

Will's hands faltered on his tie and he felt his heartbeat begin to quicken. He had to act unfazed by her words. In a confused tone he said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Olivia felt a huge amount of satisfaction at seeing her husband squirm. She knew that mentally, Will was trying to come up with imaginary rocks to put into the holes she had just torn away from his facade, and that inside he was sweating. "I'm talking about the version that goes wayyyyy back. As far back as seven months into our marriage where you just couldn't seem to keep your hands to yourself."

She picked up a neatly typed piece of paper from the dresser and faced Will. "First there was Courtney. The two of you started screwing not long after we said I do to each other. Less than a year in fact. You kept seeing her for over six months. She must really know her way around a man. There was lots of information on that one. The two of you shared a love for alcohol, keeping it real, and her dog. Which I found amusing since you're supposed to be allergic to dogs. Yet another interesting thing I learned about you through this little journey, darling."

"Olivia..." Will tried. How in the hell had she found out about Courtney? That one had been tucked up nice and safe in California years ago and threatened into silence with very little money.

"Shut up, Will. I'm not done with you yet." Olivia said with a smile. "The next woman I found was a lot harder to track. In fact, my people didn't even find her real first name. Just an alias. Vanellope from Virginia. So strange. But you certainly do have a penchant for getting some strange don't you Will. Still, it was dumb as hell to pay with your credit card. You know, the one I had no idea that you even had. Surprise! I know all about it now!"

Will felt as if his life and the lies he had built around it were beginning to unravel. He wondered how in the hell his wife had found the time to dig up all sorts of old dirt on him and the women he had surrounded himself with over the years.

"Now Casey was an interesting woman. I'll give you that. She appeared to be on the young side, even for you, honey. But on the flipside, and I know how you love the flip side," Olivia winked lustily at him. "She was in school. It was awfully handy having her in the Hilton less than a mile from that school. Room nine sixteen every other Tuesday. Just like clockwork. Maybe you thought she'd take care of you when you're older. But you're old enough to be her father, Will. That's disgusting!"

"That was a momentary lapse in..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses. And I'm still not done with you. Not even close. Somewhere around our fifth anniversary there was Bobbi with an i. How cute is that?" Olivia crinkled her nose at him. "Our Bobbi with an i loves to be on her phone. In fact, the two of you had some long sexy conversations over the phone when you weren't able to be together in person. Marriage must have been such a downer for your sex life, huh? Damn wife always getting in the way of your fun. Bobbi with an i was another woman you kept around longer than most. The two of you kept at it for closer to a year. That's determination. It's too damn bad you couldn't apply that to our marriage instead!"

"Please, Olivia." Will begged.

"And then there was Pem." Olivia squinted at the paper. "Was that her real name or was it an alias like good old Vanellope? To each their own, right? Pem was certainly a fun girl. Very outspoken and opinionated. I'll bet you had to come up with creative ways to keep her quiet, didn't you Will? But when you took her to the hotel that your old college buddy owned, she didn't have to be kept quiet, huh? You make me sick."

Will wiped the sweat from his forehead and wondered how he could get her to stop this nonsense.

"Jay was the amazing writer. I wonder if she ever wrote anything about you over the years? She could have done a collaboration with the walls of the Best Western you took her to. If those walls could talk! That would be something wouldn't it? She could borrow one of your other play toys aliases for a pen name. Now that would be some wild shit!" Olivia said laughing. "Anyways, you only kept her around for six weeks. What happened there? You know what? I don't care."

"Now Denise is someone I didn't see falling for you. For starters, she's closer to your age than the others. You must have been needing to cleanse your sexual palate. Maybe you were sick of the younger women and wanted someone more experienced. The problem with being with a woman your own age is they don't put up with your shit for long. They don't think you're God's gift to the Earth and they really don't appreciate being lied to. That must be why Denise keyed your car. The hotel security guard kept the video of that from last year just for laughs on slow nights. I thought you might want to know."

"Olivia, I'm..."

She pointed her finger at him and raised her voice. "Don't you dare tell me your sorry. You're not sorry for doing it. You're sorry you got caught. There is a difference, and I'm old enough to know it. It must have been terribly frustrating to have to teach a new dog how to stop acting like a trick. But then again, you did pay them all very well. Silence is expensive isn't it, Will?"

He smiled down at her. "I wasn't going to tell you that I'm sorry, because I'm not sorry. Not in the least. The truth is our marriage was boring as hell. You were busy trying to make a name for yourself in the political world, and there's nothing wrong with that. But you left me behind like the trash."

"You are trash!" Olivia declared.

"Honey, I might be trash, but my money spends just like everyone else's. And I still have a lot of it to spend on whomever I want, however I want, whenever I want."

"I am your wife! I wanted to share a life and children with you!" she screamed at him.

"Are we really gonna talk about having kids again? I don't know why you can't take a hint, darlin'. I don't want kids. Ever!"

"Is that why you paid two million dollars to get rid of one just recently?" Do not cry, she chanted to herself.

"That's exactly why. And it's not the first time I've done it either. No siree!"

She was taken aback by his cruel admission. "What? But how could you do that? So flippantly? Without a care in the world?"

"Because I don't care. I don't want kids and whatever it takes to make sure that never happens is what I'm willing to do."

"But you knew that I wanted children before we even got married. If you had just admitted to me that you didn't want them, I would have let you pursue a life without me. We could have saved each other a lot of unnecessary heartache and pain."

Will tapped her on the nose and watched her angrily swat his hand away. "Every marriage has heartache and pain. It's just life. You and I will work through this and be just fine."

She stared incredulously at him. "We aren't going to work through this. And we haven't been just fine for a very long time. It just took me a while to realize it."

"All this fuss over not having kids? Come on now Olivia. Lots of couples don't have children. We can drum up a miscarriage and leak it to the press to show that we are trying to have a baby. But that ain't never gonna happen."

"Who are you right now?" Olivia asked. "I really thought I knew you all this time, but you are like a stranger to me. This isn't just about the two of us not having kids. It goes a lot deeper than that. You have had numerous affairs for a very long time. You've done damage to our marriage that we will never come back from. I want you gone, and I want a divorce."

"Well, there's what you want and what you're gonna get." he replied smugly.

"Will, I'm not kidding. You are going to leave the White House and we are most certainly getting a divorce. I know it will take some time for it to happen, but by the time spring is over our marriage will be too."

"Being married to you was the right choice for me."

"Because I was stupid about your infidelities."

"That's a fact. But I wouldn't have become the first ever First Gentleman if I hadn't married you. I'm not ready to let go of that title, so I won't be leaving the White House until your term is up. You and I are not getting divorced until you are no longer the president either. So, let go of all those thoughts. Now, we have a party to get to." He put his hand on her back to guide her out of the room, but Olivia jerked her elbow back and stepped away from him.

"Don't you ever touch me again!" she demanded. "You and I are over! Until the papers are drawn up, you can stay in the residence and I'll take one of the other bedrooms. We can eat breakfast together and go our separate ways from there each morning. There may be a few events that will require your presence, but I'll let you know well in advance about them. Other than that, I don't want anything to do with you. When the divorce is finalized, we will part amicably."

"Tell me, Olivia. Where did you get your information from about all of those women and where we spent our time together? Your list was very detailed. You left out a few by the way, but what you presented me with was solid. So solid, that it makes me wonder who did your digging for you?" He had a pretty good idea where everything came from, but he wanted to see if she would admit it.

She felt physically ill. This asshole had the audacity to admit that she had left out a few names of women he had had sex with over the course of their marriage! She was anything but stupid. "Are you talking about Felicia, Vanessa, Renae, and Sharon? I didn't forget them. I just didn't have the energy you obviously have had over the past eight years. And for your information, it doesn't matter who did my digging for..."

Will went back to looking at himself in the mirror. "I'm guessing it was that computer genius Fitz has over at his place. He's very good at his job. Very thorough too. This seems like something he'd be happy to be all over. That boy was giving me death glares the entire time I was spilling my guts to Fitz about accidentally getting that little gal pregnant."

"His name is Huck. And he's in a very long line of people who enjoy giving you death glares these days." She shot him one of her own.

"I don't give a damn what his name is darlin'. But I do care about keeping my wagon hitched to yours. At least until you are of no more use to me politically. When your presidency is over, I'll gladly leave you."

"We've been over this, Will. I'm not going to..."

"Just hear me out." He turned around to face her and then stalked across the room to stand right in front of her. "here's what's going to happen. You and I are going to get in a car and go to my surprise birthday party and have ourselves a good time. Hell, I'll even dance with you once or twice. For show of course. And then life as we know it will continue to go on just as it has for the past eight years." He leaned closer to her and in an evil voice added, "nothing will change because if I so much as hear the word divorce from your lips ever again, you will become a laughingstock. I will go to the press and tell them all about how you've been cheating on me with your fixer."

Olivia tried to keep her face calm, but her eyes went wide in shock at the thought of Will doing what he just threatened. She would be ruined. Politically and personally. She would become known for exactly what she was trying to get rid of Will for doing. Her name, along with Fitz's, would be brought up every time a female candidate ran for the office of president.

"Huh. That was just a guess, darlin'. I'm kinda shocked that it was a good one. I've had my suspicions about the two of you for a while now, but I could never prove it. Cyrus has his own suspicions too, just so you know. I hope you're a better lover to Fitz than you were to me. Laying on your back isn't very imaginative in the bedroom. At least now you know why I strayed."

"You son of a bitch!" Olivia yelled. "What the hell do you want from me?"

"Easy. You stay married to me and I won't say anything about exactly what Mr. Grant fixes for you. If you go shooting your mouth off, his name will be destroyed right along with yours. And I'll sit back and roast marshmallows over the flames."

"You wouldn't dare!" She spat at him.

He leaned closer and got right in her face. "Do you really wanna try me on something this big and important? You so much as whisper the word divorce to anyone and I find out about it, and you'll see just how mean I can be."

"I'm well aware of how big of a bastard you can be."

He grinned at Olivia to show her that her words didn't bother him one bit. "Like you said earlier, we'll start our days off together so the press or the staff or whoever the hell else is watching, doesn't suspect that we are married for show only and then you go your way and I'll go mine."

She suddenly felt exhausted. Arguing with him always made her feel that way. She and Fitz had come up with a perfect plan to get rid of Will and get divorce proceedings underway. She'd had a plan to get rid of him, but he had quite neatly put her in her place and turned everything around to his own advantage. Had that really been a guess about she and Fitz? How had it all gone so wrong? The thought of being his wife for a moment longer than absolutely necessary was too much, but the thought of Will destroying Fitz's reputation was not something she was willing to gamble with. She hated Will more than she had ever loved him. "Fine" she wearily replied.

"By the way Fitz has someone on the side. A woman named Miranda. Just letting you know that you have some competition, honey." It was petty but he enjoyed that little stab into her heart. She should know that she hadn't chosen a very loyal lover in Fitzgerald Grant. The fact that he got to tell her was delicious icing on this particular cake.

"I'll have to find a moment to deal with that tonight too." Olivia sighed loudly and shook her head back and forth. She didn't want to drag this whole thing out with him, but Will had left her no other choice.

A little over a half hour later, someone announced Olivia and Will a moment before they walked into the party. She looped her arm through his, plastered on a huge fake smile, and walked into a room full of applauding people. They stopped talk to a few attendees and made their way to the head table. Will pulled her chair out like a perfect gentleman and kissed her cheek before she took her seat as everyone watched. To anyone watching them, they were a happily married couple.

Olivia scanned the room, searching for the one face she could always pick out from a crowd. The one person who could settle her like no one else could. She spotted him at a table not too far away. He was sitting beside a gorgeous leggy brunette and laughing at something she was saying. The rich sound of his delightful laugh echoed through her ears and she found herself smiling even though she had no way of knowing what had been said that was so funny.

The woman Fitz was with was nothing short of breathtaking. She had miles of beautiful brown hair that loosely flowed down over her shoulders. Her make-up looked like it had been applied by a professional. Her dress was floor length and rich emerald in color and it looked stunning against her flawless skin. It would have been easy for her to give in to the sadness she was feeling and have herself a little pity party. But the words he had told her recently spoke to her soul and comforted her like they always did. She was the only woman for him. She had nothing to worry about.

He looked very handsome in his tuxedo and she admired how elegant he looked. She saw him catch her eye and everything else just dropped into nothingness. It was just the two of them in the large room enjoying a moment together. Olivia sent him a smile and watched him send one back.

She needed to be around him. Sometime before the birthday song started, she'd ask Tom to have Fitz meet her on the balcony at the back of the building. No one would be able to see them out there together. By then she'd be needing some fresh air anyways.

Cocktails were flowing freely, and Will was doing his best to keep up with where the servers with flutes on trays were at all times. His hand was never empty, and neither was his glass. He made small talk with a lot of people as he moved throughout the large ball room. His hand "accidentally" grazed several asses of females as he went by too. It was his birthday and Will considered it a gift of sorts. People picked out their own birthday gifts all the time. What was the difference?

He found Miranda standing alone in a corner of the room and grinned at the perfection of the situation. He sauntered over in her direction. His eyes scanned the room to see if Olivia was sitting in judgement somewhere watching him have the audacity to enjoy his party. He didn't see her anywhere. Shrugging, his feet picked up the pace a little before some asshole caught the long legged beauty in a boring and lengthy conversation. He just needed a little patience. He'd steal her away from the windbag in a minute or two.

Meanwhile, Tom tapped Mr. Grant on the shoulder and gave him the 'follow me' motion with his hand. Fitz was well versed in what this meant. Olivia needed him for something. He wondered how she was holding up? He wondered if she was handling things okay? He wondered if she was pregnant? He needed to have a moment alone with her. There were a million questions swirling around in his head that needed answers. He had missed her so much over the past few weeks.

Tom led the way down a long winding hall, much like one inside the White House. After several turns, the carpeting stopped at a door. Fitz looked at Tom for guidance. "The president will be out there in just a moment."

Fitz grasped the doorknob and turned it slowly. He found himself outside on a balcony he didn't even know the building had. The early March air was still chilly in the early mornings and in the evenings, and this evening was no different. He slid his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and went to the white railing. Leaning over it he took in the sights of the city. It was only seven thirty, but it was already dark outside and the multicolored lights from the many buildings and cars twinkled brightly against the dark background.

"See anything you like?" a husky voice hind him asked.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention upon hearing her voice. He turned around slowly and his eyes automatically drank in the sight of her. Her hair was neatly pulled up on top of her head in a bun. Her dress was sexy as hell. Olivia was a vision in the black lace off the shoulder number she was wearing. As his eyes traveled down even further, he smiled as he noticed her signature sky high heels. She had on very little jewelry; just earrings and a bracelet, but the simplicity of it was jaw dropping. His eyes traveled back up to meet hers and he gave her a hungry look. "I do now" his deep rich voice rumbled.

She smiled at him. As fun as it was to flirt with him, Olivia had missed him. It had been a long two weeks without a Fitz fix. She glided to him and a secret thrill shot through her when his hand immediately went to her waist. "I've missed you."

"Have you now?" he asked. Desire filled him as he possessively pulled her closer. "It just so happens that I have missed you too."

"Really?" she asked giddily.

"Really." He assured her. "The last fourteen days have been hell. I think I caught Huck looking for jobs on the internet at one point."

Olivia laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sure he was just paying you back for giving him a hard time lately."

He had missed her laugh. That magical sound that made the world seem a little more bearable. Like it did right now. He found himself laughing with her.

Fitz saw her shiver and he began to unbutton his tuxedo jacket. As hot as she looked, Fitz knew with those bare shoulders, Olivia was bound to be chilly.

"I don't need the jacket. Thank you though."

He touched her skin. It was cold just like he knew it would be. "You're going to get sick, Liv. Please put it..."

"No." She turned towards him and looked up into his sparkling blue eyes. "I don't want the jacket. Hold me instead. Please?"

That wasn't even a question that required an answer. He gathered her into his arms and held her close. A moment later, they started to move. Just slightly at first. But then Fitz took her small cold hand in his larger warm one and pulled them both to his chest. She smelled as divine as she looked, and Fitz closed his eyes and savored the moment with her. He knew they would have to keep their meetings few and far between until things between her and Will had begun. So, he made sure he memorized this moment.

"I'll always hold you, Liv. Are you getting warmer?" He really didn't want her to end up sick.

She let go of his hand and slid both of her arms around his neck. "I am. That was nice, but this is so much better. Don't you agree?"

His only reply was a throaty, "mmmm" before he leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss that was supposed to stay tame. It very quickly turned anything but, and he breathlessly pulled away from her knowing things between them couldn't go any further. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started something we can't possibly finish."

"That's a good point. There's also the fact that you have someone on the side." Olivia told him plainly.

He stopped moving and exclaimed, "what?!"

"I'm sorry. I know Miranda is just your plus one for the evening. I was just repeating what Will had told me before we arrived at the party." she explained.

"Will is an asshole who likes to get a rise out of people. I'm sorry he made that comment to you. I hope you understand that she is..."

She put her hand on his chest. "Yes. I do."

"I'm guessing you confronted him tonight?"

"I did. In hindsight it might not have been the best timing, but what's done is done."

"And what other words of wisdom did he have to share with you?" Fitz asked with an eyeroll.

"For starters, when I laid out chapter and verse about his past with the who and where, his comeback was that I had left a few out."

"What?" he said with shock.

"When I told him that I wanted a divorce, he said he wasn't done being First Gentleman and no thanks."

"What?" he repeated.

"Fitz, please stop saying what."

"I'm sorry. I just...can't believe that he said those things to you. The guy's got some seriously big balls. What else did he say?"

"That he knows about you and I and if I move forward with a divorce, or go public with what I know about him, he will tell the press about us."

Fitz stepped away from Olivia and began to pace and rant. "That little fucker! I will kick the ever living shit out of him! You know what will happen, don't you?" He pointed a finger at her. "If Will goes public about you and me then your presidency will be over. Your name will forever be linked to a scandal. The next time a woman..."

"Runs for office both of our names will be mentioned unpleasantly. I know, Fitz."

"That cannot happen!"

"Do you have a plan?" she asked.

Tom came through the door "I'm sorry, Ms. Pope but Hal tells me that they are about to bring out the cake. You have to go downstairs and lead everyone in the birthday song as it's wheeled out. You're supposed to say few words as well."

Fitz looked at Olivia and watched her turn her head towards him. "We will discuss this more after the birthday formalities are over." she told him.

He went to where she stood and once again held her hand. "That'll be fine. And this will too. We'll come up with something. I promise. He is not staying married to you." Fitz leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Tom had known about the two of them for quite some time, but it was still slightly awkward with him being right there.

"After the cake is cut and I give him a gift there will be a lot of hands to shake. Well meet up here in about an hour." she explained.

"Do what you have to do. I understand."

Fitz watched Tom open the door for Liv and the two of them go through the door to head back to the party. He'd wait ten minutes and then wander back himself. Sighing loudly, he turned back towards the blinking lights of the city. It really was a beautiful sight. It was quiet out here too.

Damn it! Fitz turned to look at the closed door Olivia had left through. He had forgotten to ask her if she knew whether or not she was pregnant yet. He'd ask her when they met up later on. His thoughts automatically went back to the moment she told him about their baby she daydreamed about. Sitting beside Liv in a hospital holding a sleeping newborn that was a perfect combination of the two of them would be heaven. The proud smile on his face was there before he even realized it.

Of course, that could present some problems too. But both he and Will had blue eyes, and were tall, and had sandy brown hair. The American public would naturally assume that the baby was her husband's when they saw a baby that looked kind of like him. Fitz knew he could easily spin that in Liv's favor. He found himself beginning to wish that Olivia was pregnant with his child. He was smiling to himself imagining what life would be like with a newborn. The endless diapers and late night feedings as well as all the typical first moments. Before any of that could happen, they had to get rid of Will. But how could they do that and keep him from running his damned mouth to the press?

As he stood there trying to come up with a plan B that would work, a loud noise pierced through his peace and quiet. Fitz turned his head and listened intently. He heard the faint sound of screaming and then the loud sound echoed again. Before he even realized what he was doing, Fitz was jerking the door open and running back toward the party. He had one thought on his mind, and one thought alone.

He had to get to Olivia before whoever the hell was shooting found her.