Dinner With Friends

"It's gonna be great. Right?"

Fitz was in the bathroom styling his curls into submission. It was the last thing he had to do before he and Liv went to go meet their soon arriving guests. They were due to be at the White House any minute. His hands paused the familiar task and he squinted into the mirror as a nagging thought popped into his head. Did he remember to ask Charlotte to put out Liv's favorite flowers? He thought he had, but now he couldn't remember.

Olivia had been stressing and obsession over this informal friendly dinner. She had lists of all kinds all over the residence to ensure she wasn't forgetting anything. Fitz had never been so happy for a date to finally arrive on the calendar. The flowers would be a small way to remind her of how amazing he thought she was.

"Fitz? Did you hear me?"

Her voice brought him back to the moment. He quickly raked his fingers through his damp curls, getting them right where he wanted them. "What?" he called back.

Suddenly, she appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. He gave her a smile as he rinsed off his hands. "Busy?"

"Not too busy for you." He dried off his hands and put his arms around her waist.

"But you didn't answer me." Olivia threaded her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to make myself presentable for my hot date." He wiggled his eyebrows down at her before dipping his head and pecking her lips. "You look amazing, by the way."

She chuckled at him. "This old thing?"

Olivia had warred with herself all week about what she would wear to their small gathering. She wanted to wear jeans, or something equally casual, but being the President, as well as the hostess of this little soiree had her scrapping that idea for a dress. The one she ultimately chose was a little more casual and a little shorter than the ones she normally wore. It was a fitted, sleeveless, red dress with a slight flare at the hem that hit just above her knee. She felt pretty and feminine in it, and after giving herself one last once over in the mirror, Olivia thought it was casual without being overly so. She dropped her hands from his neck to his blue gingham shirt and opened the top button. A small patch of sandy brown chest hair immediately became visible from behind the little white button.

"I see that look on your face, Madam President." Fitz said, giving her a stern look without any heart in it. He grabbed her wrists and pulled them between their bodies. When he had her full attention he released them. "We don't have time."

Olivia smiled up at him before dropping her eyebrows. "You're no fun today."

He leaned towards her until he was in her neck. Tucking her hair behind her ear he growled lightly as his lips grazed her jawline. His gravely baritone whispered something he hoped she would take as a warning and not a simple threat. "The second the last guest is out the door you should consider running because I'm going to be all...over...you."

Fitz smirked to himself when he felt her grip on his wrist tighten and her breathing get heavier. When she shivered lightly, it made him wish that they had just ten minutes to spare right now.

Her fingers found their way into the curls at his neck once again. Turning her head slightly, she ran her tongue along the shell of his ear and whispered, "You might want to consider the same thing."

She was trying to kill him. Or make them late. He clenched his jaw, took an unsteady breath, and took her hand. "If we don't get out of these very private quarters right now, I'll forget that we don't have time for this."

Olivia gave a smirk of her own, knowing she had effectively distracted him. She quickened her steps to keep up with him and decided to add a little fuel to the fire for good measure. "I'm going to have a hard time forgetting that we are entertaining our guests next door to the Red Room."

Fitz inhaled deeply and squeezed her hand. She'd pay for that later.

The first guest to arrive was Huck. He was greeted by the couple, and his eyes took them in like the seasoned well trained agent he used to be. Their flushed expressions mixed in with how tightly Olivia and Fitz were holding hands, coupled with their bodies pressing as close together as humanly possible told the ex CIA agent all he needed to know. They needed a diversion.

Pointing at his boss' crotch, Huck stated mildly, "your fly is open."

Fitz quickly released Olivia's hand and his head dropped to look at his zipper.

While Fitz checked his already closed zipper, Huck shyly went to the President and repeatedly averted his gaze from her to the floor. She looked beautiful in red and today was no exception.

"Hey, Huck." Olivia held her arms open and help him close when he timidly stepped into her embrace. "I'm glad you could join us."

"Asshole" Fitz muttered, when he realized his fly was indeed up.

"I wouldn't miss it, Madam President." He pulled out of the hug, knowing the uncomfortable feeling would quadruple if anyone saw it. Especially his co workers.

"Thank you. Call me Liv."

"I couldn't do that."

"How about Olivia then?"

"Okay." He relented. "Olivia."

She grinned at him and looped her arm through his, leading the way down the hall. Olivia knew this was her opportunity to ask about the tough guy's personal life. "How have you been?"

"Very well, thank you, Madam...Olivia." he stammered out.

She squeezed his arm and chuckled lightly. "How's Quinn?"

He glanced over at her and the two of them shared a grin. Leaning closer towards her, he shared a little more. Later he would wonder at how easily she got him to open up about himself. "She's very good. She could be the one."

Olivia stopped walking and shot him a surprised look. "Really?"

"What? What did he say?" Fitz asked from behind them. Huck shook his head back and forth almost imperceptibly, but Olivia caught it.

In a soft voice he told her, "we'll talk about that later."

"I figured you'd say something like that. Are there any new photos of the two of you at least?" she asked.

He gave her a shy smile and pulled his phone from the pocket of his khakis with his free hand. "Yea. She takes pictures all the time. I'm not really used to that, but I'm starting to, little by little."

Olivia scrolled through a couple of pictures. There was one of Huck and Quinn sitting side by side wearing t-shirts and jeans in what appeared to be his hotel room. The next picture was one of them bellied up to a bar. Both of them were wearing leather jackets and looking tough as nails. The next photo took her breath away.

"Ohhhh, Huck!" she breathed out. He was wearing a black suit, minus the tie and standing beside a very dressed up Quinn, who had her arm around his neck. Both of them had flirty smiles. "You look so handsome in a suit. And Quinn is so beautiful. The two of you make a good looking couple no matter what you are wearing."

"Let me see." Fitz said from behind them. He poked his head between their arms and examined the phone screen. "That's actually a really good picture of both of you. Quinn is gorgeous. How'd you get her anyway? I was expecting her to be missing a few teeth."

"You're an asshole." Huck replied and elbowed his ribs.

Olivia's finger automatically slid to the left and another picture took up the space of his phone screen. She leaned closer to make sure she was looking at what her eyes were trying to process. Huck was sitting on what appeared to be a hotel bed with his computer on his lap. The quiet ruffian was wearing a pink bathrobe and looking very comfortable in it.

"What the hell is that?" Fitz demanded before he dissolved into wild laughter.

"Oh no! I'm...I'm so sorry, Huck." Olivia said with wide eyes.

"Holy shit!" Fitz said in his fit of laughter. "That image is going to be burned on my brain forever."

The Leader of the Free World handed the phone back to Huck, who had gone silent, and rounded on her fixer. She pointed a finger at him and asked the one question she knew would shut him and his laughter up. "Would you like for me to show Huck a picture of you in a peach speedo?"

Two playful blue eyes turned serious and then doubled in size while Huck's mortified expression softened and was replaced by one of disbelief. He glanced at his boss and began to laugh. "That exists? No way!"

"Shut up, Huck!" Fitz turned to the threat and began to whine. "Liiiiiv!"

"Promise me that you'll never bring up Huck in a pink bathrobe ever again..."

"Livvie..."

"...Or I'll not only show the picture that does exist to Huck, I'll email it to everyone you've invited tonight."

"Awww, Liv. This is a perfect opportunity for me to give him hell."

Huck had always known the President was a bad ass, but watching her handle the hell out of Fitz with ease and class cemented that belief in him.

"Fine. I promise." Fitz sighed and shot a scowl at Huck. "You happy?"

Huck ignored him. "She took that picture as I was emailing him the info on..."

"Nope!" Fitz demanded and put his fingers in his ears. "Never tell me what you're wearing or not wearing when you email me work stuff. Keep that shit to yourself!"

Olivia and Huck chuckled and continued towards the State Dining Room. When the three of them passed the Red Room, Fitz lightly tugged on Olivia's hair. He got a small measure of satisfaction when her steps faltered before she quickly recovered.

"Hey!" A voice behind them called out.

The three of them turned around and saw Abby grinning as she happily made her way towards them.

"This place is huge! A girl could easily get lost in here." She was trying not to gawk at everything, but was quickly losing that battle.

"Abby! I'm glad you could make it."

"Thank you, Madam President. I couldn't pass up a chance to spend a little more time with you. Besides, it will probably be my first and last invitation to the White House." Abby told her.

"Oh, you never know when another invitation to stop by here will come around." Olivia said with a strange smile. "Once dinner is over, we'll give everyone a proper tour of the place. Come on, everyone should start trickling in."

"That sounds great." Abby exclaimed. The redhead noticed that President Pope had her arm comfortably looped through Huck's. She didn't ask any questions, but a thousand were on the tip of her tongue. Instead, as the President and Huck talked and continued forward, Abby pointed to a portrait on the wall and asked Fitz, "who is that?"

Fitz glanced up at the piece of art and stated, "Frances Cleveland."

"Why is her portrait hanging up?" Abby asked.

"I don't know, but there's one way to find out." The moment there was a lull in the conversation going on in front of them, Fitz asked, "Olivia? Abby would like to know why Frances Cleveland's portrait is hanging up out here."

Olivia turned around and smiled. "Because she was the youngest First Lady."

"Really?" Abby asked intrigued. She looked back up at the woman and studied her face. "How old was she?"

"Twenty one." Olivia explained. "Her husband, Grover Cleveland, was President from 1886 to 1889, and then again from 1893 to 1897."

"Wow." Abby breathed out. She was impressed with this young woman. "That makes me feel so unaccomplished."

"Me too." Olivia confided with a chuckle.

The four of them reached the open door of the Dining Room when another familiar voice spoke from the hall where they had just walked. "I hope I'm at the right place. My GPS took me on a weird route."

"You must be Harrison." Olivia said, moving forward with an extended arm.

"Yes, ma'am." He told her with a grin.

"We didn't really get the opportunity to formally meet at Alena's kick off. I apologize for that."

"No need. It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam President." Harrison told her as he shook her tiny hand.

"Oh, please don't call me ma'am. It's much too formal. And truth be told, it makes me feel old too." She dropped his hand and smiled at him. "Please. Go inside and have a drink. We'll get started once everyone has arrived."

As Huck, Abby, and Harrison entered the large room and began to take it in, Olivia looked to Fitz. "You chose your people well. The four of you get along great. Like family."

"Huck insists that Abby is a better find than Harrison. But I think that's just his need to be right all the damn time."

"The two of you have more in common than you realize." Olivia told him with a grin.

One by one each of the invited guests arrived. They each made small talk with Olivia and Fitz before they were ushered into the Great Dining Room. "Is everyone finally here?" Fitz asked.

Olivia glanced around at the attendees who were introducing themselves to each other and making small talk. "Yes" she told him confidently.

"Good." He took her hand and started leading her away from the door.

"Fitz?" She hissed. "Where are you taking me? We have guests!"

He opened a door and yanked her inside before pushing it shut behind them. She squeaked out the word no before be pushed her back up against the closed door and whispered, "yes."

His eager lips landed hungrily on hers and he quickly devoured them. When his tongue invaded her mouth, his hands began to roam her body. "Mmmm" he hummed appreciatively.

Her thin small fingers once again delved into his hair and Olivia pulled him impossibly close, even though her brain was screaming at her to get out of there. She lifted a leg and moaned when she felt his hand grab her bare thigh and lift it even higher.

Fitz broke the kiss but continued to suck on her bottom lip for a moment before he rested his forehead against hers. "Liv. I'm..."

"Don't you dare say you're sorry, or I'm going to be pissed off." She threatened quietly.

"I...wasn't going to." Yes, he was.

"Oh. Okay. What were you going to say then?" She asked a bit breathlessly. He opened his mouth, probably to come up with a good lie, but she wasn't interesting in entertaining it. She kissed the edge of his mouth and worked her way towards his neck.

He shouldn't have brought her in here. They had guests waiting for them, and a history in the Red Room. Reason was starting to get lost in his clouded judgement, and he knew if they didn't leave soon, their guests would hear a whole lot more than old stories about the two of them. Why did he have to be the voice of reason every damn time? "Liv? We've got to...Fuuuck...We've got to go."

She made a whining noise he expected to come from an over exhausted three year old and it made him smile. One day, when she eventually showed up, their daughter was going to be a handful. Just like her mother. He couldn't wait.

They did have to go. But they still had a minute until someone came looking for them. The first order of business was to get her mouth out of his neck. Fitz grabbed her wrists like he had done not even a half hour ago, and quickly spun her around so she was facing the door. Then he got into her neck to see how she liked it. "Liiiiv?"

His warm breath on her skin was fogging up her brain, and turning her on at the same time. She had to get the hell out of this room. "We've really got to go, Fitz."

"Funny. I tried telling you that a few minutes ago. It didn't seem to be as urgent when your mouth was in my neck." He lightly sucked on the skin just below her ear. She gave a half hearted attempt at struggling against him and Fitz knew it was just because she didn't want him to mark her neck. He chuckled at her and softly said, "don't fight it, Liv. You want it as badly as I do."

She shivered at his admission. Or was it at his tongue that was currently running up the column of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut. They had to get out of here now! She shoved back against him, causing Fitz to stumble a step backwards. Turning around to keep an eye on him, her hands went to her hair to make sure it was presentable. He had the audacity to grin at her. God, she wanted him desperately. He must have seen it in her eyes because he took a step towards her before she pointed at him and firmly said, "no!"

Nodding, Fitz tugged on the collar of his shirt and gave her his inspection. He was thankful that she had come to her senses and put a stop to their activities. Her hair was fine. Mostly because he had refrained from touching it. Her lipstick must have been one of those stay put jobs, because it wasn't even remotely smeared. He touched her neck and felt her pull away from his fingers. It made him smile. He wasn't looking forward to her looking him over and touching him right now either. "you look perfect."

It was Olivia's turn. She walked around his body as he stood still, waiting for her assessment. Her eyes dipped to his ass when she was behind him and, feeling defiant, she grabbed a handful murmuring, "very nice" before releasing it. When she was looking at his ridiculously handsome smirking face once again, she glanced at his face and neck. Nothing was out of order. Her eyes lingered on his neck for a moment longer than they should have, and Olivia contemplated sampling it once more, but she knew they really didn't have any more time. "You're beyond tempting." She said, and grabbed the doorknob.

His hand quickly and firmly covered hers. He intentionally leaned a little closer to her ear, brushing his body against his. "You can taste all you want once these people go home."

Olivia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled the door open. She had to get the hell away from him, and practically speed walked to the next room. She stopped just outside the door and mentally composed herself as she waited for him so they could walk in together as a united front. As a couple.

"Hello everyone!" Olivia called as she and Fitz entered the room holding hands. "I'm sorry we were called away for something that demanded our attention, but we're here now."

"We are! And we're very happy all of you could join us for an intimate meal with our closest friends. Have you all mingled a little bit?" Fitz asked.

The smiling group looked around the room and nodded at their hosts.

Fitz clapped his hands together once and decided to break up the awkwardness. "You all have spoken to each other, but I think it would be a good idea for Olivia and I to get to know you all. So, let's pretend we're new to fourth grade, and let's go around the room and introduce each other."

The sound coming from the dining room was a mixture of chuckles and groans.

"And tell one interesting thing about yourself too." Olivia added.

"Yes. I like that." Fitz agreed. "I think we should start with our gracious host."

She shook her head back and forth as the room chuckled collectively. "My name is Olivia and I like red wine on occasion."

There were some surprised looks as well as some sounds of agreement from the people in the room at the President's admission. She glanced at Fitz and gestured for him to go next.

"I'm Fitz, and I make a mean potato salad."

"Shut up!" Abby blurted out disbelievingly.

"It's true." Harrison agreed. "We used to beg him to make it back in college."

"You should have made some for dinner and let us be the judge of that." Someone else said.

"Maybe next time?" Fitz chuckled and gestured to the man beside him whom he didn't know.

"My name is Jerry McIntosh and I've never had a driver's license."

Sounds of disbelief came from the room.

"Dude, that's impossible!"

"How do you live your life?"

"It would make life a whole lot cheaper in some ways."

"There is so much freedom in driving. Of course, there's probably a lot of freedom in having your own chauffeur too though?"

"Wow. You all have a lot of opinions on that one. How about you go next and take their focus off me?" Jerry politely said to the person standing nearby.

"My name is Abby, and I can tie a cherry stem in my mouth."

Huck and Harrison exchanged smirks.

"You cannot!"

"I've heard of people being able to do that, but I've never actually seen it done in person."

That's a dare if I ever heard one." Someone challenged. "Do it!"

They were all chanting "do it, do it, do it" before long. Abby's face turned as red as her hair. "I don't keep cherries on me. Sorry everyone. Somebody else go please."

"My name is Kurt Thomas, and I...can't believe I am admitting this out loud and in her presence. I have a shorkie that I named after the President." He chuckled and covered his face in his hand after meeting eyes with Olivia.

The women in the room let out a joint, "awwwww" as if it had been practiced ahead of time. The men knew he had just scored some points with their leader.

Olivia walked over to Kurt and asked, "that could be one of the sweetest things I have ever heard. What is your shorkie's name and do you have a picture of her?"

Nodding, Kurt fished his phone from his back pocket and unlocked it. He had dozens of photos of his baby, but right now he had to act cool in front of the President. "I have taken too many pictures of her over the past month, Madam President. Her name is Pope and she has...if not big shoes to fill, fancy ones."

"Oh my goodness. She is so cute. I am honored to know I have a canine with my name out there. Thank you for sharing her with us."

Kurt touched the person beside him and said, "please have mercy on me and introduce yourself" before answering the President's questions in a whispered conversation.

The woman beside him nodded. "My name is Denise Miller, and I was on a game show."

"That's awesome."

"Which one?"

"Did you win?"

Denise giggled. "It was The Price is Right, and I never made it past the bidding part at the beginning. But it was a lot of fun."

"What a great thing to be a part of."

He was standing closest to Denise and knew he would be going next. He wasn't looking forward to it, but did it anyway. "My name is Huck, and I am pretty good with computers."

"Huck is being shy. He is a genius with computers." Harrison supplied.

"Thanks, man." Huck told him.

Fitz wanted to say something about the pink bathrobe, but he knew Liv didn't make empty threats. He didn't want everyone in this room to see him in that stupid scrap of material she had coaxed him into several years ago. So, he kept his lips clamped together. Dammit.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ellie and I have six toes."

"Wow. You are the one I have been looking forward to meeting most." Fitz told her.

"Me? Why?" she asked.

Fitz put his arm around Olivia's waist and explained. "Because you have stories of Olivia when she was a girl. I am very interested in knowing what kinds of things she got into, how she acted, all of it."

"Don't tell him any of the really good stuff." Olivia told her cousin. Her nose crinkled and she added, "wait! You don't have six toes, now that I think about it. What on Earth made you say that you did?"

The woman shrugged with a grin. "I just didn't have anything interesting to share with everyone."

"That is not true. You have the most interesting stuff to share, and it's exactly what I fear the most." Olivia told her cousin.

"You can sit by me at dinner." Fitz told Ellie.

"I think that means I'm up next. My name is Alex and I can't believe you took my interesting fact, Ellie."

"You do not!" She declared and left her mouth hanging open.

"Oh, but I do. I have six toes on one foot."

"No way! Let's see it." Harrison demanded.

"Really?" Alex asked.

"Definitely." Huck said, encouraging him.

Alex plopped down in one of the chairs and proceeded to take his right shoe off. And then his sock. He wiggled all six appendages.

"The man was telling the truth. How refreshing." Miranda said with a smile.

Alex put his sock and shoe back on and got to his feet. "And you are?"

He was very handsome with a great smile. And on a fantastic pair of pants. She might have to sit beside him at dinner and flirt with him a little more. She tucked a long strand of her wavy brown hair behind her ear and extended her hand in his direction as if they were the only two people in the room. "Miranda Lawler."

She had a great name. Wasn't shy, and was a great dresser. He wondered what it was she did for a living, but decided to save that question for dinner. He was going to try to sit beside her and learn as much about her as he possibly could. "And what is something unique about you, Miranda?" He hoped she had an interesting answer.

Releasing his hand, Miranda gave him a smile. She wondered if her answer would scare him away. "I own my own business."

"Really?" Harrison said, trying to get into the conversation. It was useless though. The two of them only had eyes for each other. It was clear to everyone else in the room.

"That is very interesting, and I would like to hear more about that over dinner." Alex told her. "But right now, we are being a teeny bit rude. My apologies everyone. Where were we?"

"My name is Harrison and I can speak four languages. Five, if you include the language of love."

Huck crinkled up his face and shook his head back and forth. "We don't."

Harrison went to Huck and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Man, shut up. You're making me look bad in front of Miranda."

"Dude, she doesn't even know you're alive. She is halfway in love with Alex." Huck chuckled and started to walk away. "That language of love thing was dumb as hell by the way."

"Well, that just leaves me. My name is Donna. I'm the chauffeur to the unlicensed man who spoke a few minutes ago."

Everyone chuckled and glanced at Jerry.

"That's not my interesting thing though. It'd be kind of pathetic if it was." She laughed at her own joke, which made everyone else like her a little more. "I saved Adele's life once."

"What?"

"The singer?"

"Nah uh!"

"She did. I was there." Jerry said, chiming in. "I was in the passenger seat."

That earned him a chuckle.

"She was on tour and was playing at the Ohio Stadium that night, but it was early and she was out sightseeing."

"Adele just walks around and no one notices? Come on." Abby said in a doubt filled voice.

"She had on a disguise. A brown wig, sunglasses, and a big floppy hat. I didn't even know who she was. I was at a red light and she comes through the intersection crossing the street. But she was looking the wrong way for traffic. Because they drive on the opposite side of the road in the UK. Anyways, she was going to get hit by a truck that was barreling down the street. She was oblivious to it. I jumped out of the car, grabbed her, and pulled her to the sidewalk right before the truck goes flying by. He never even slowed down!

She got to her feet and threw her arms around my neck. She was mumbling something, but I couldn't understand her. Finally, it gets through what she's saying, and who she is. I was star struck. Couldn't talk. I'm sure I looked like an idiot. She tried to give me concert tickets, but we had to take our son back to private school and couldn't go."

The room was completely silent and then got very loud. Everyone was a little upset at the choice Donna had made that afternoon.

"I can't believe you didn't go!"

"Right? It's Adele!"

"She says her name so cute too!"

"I would have made my kid walk back to school."

Donna laughed and felt like a celebrity herself in that moment. "I just hate that I turned into a mute as she was hugging me and saying thank you. But I'm sure she's used to people reacting to her that way. Her accent is super cute!"

"Okay, now that we have mingled and know a little more about each other than we did before we arrived, let's all take a seat at the table. I don't know about all of you, but I'm hungry." Olivia admitted. She sat down next to Kurt and struck up a conversation with him about puppies.

Fitz sat down next to Ellie. He was getting some Olivia stories before this evening ended, and he was most interested in what his little woman was like as a kid. Huck and Harrison stayed side by side and tried not to talk shop. Harrison was hoping to sit beside Miranda, but it was exactly like Huck had said. Alex had her full attention. And she had his. Donna and Jerry sat near Abby and Denise, and the four of them had a great conversation about a great many things.

"She did not do that!" Fitz declared on a laugh before leaning a little closer to get the details.

Harrison and Olivia spoke about where they had grown up. He shared what life was like with six siblings and Olivia listened with envy, and then told about life as an only child. Huck ate quietly and learned even more about both of them.

Abby and Denise wanted to hear more about a life without the responsibility of driving. They thought they would be enlightened, but soon discovered that Jerry had failed his driving test four times before he gave up altogether.

Alex and Miranda wore shy enchanted smiles as they picked at the food on their plates. Their flirty conversation took precedence at the moment, and taught them so much more about each other. The spark between them was easily visible, as was the way they looked at each other.

There was a lot of chatter all around the table, and at one point Olivia smiled looked around at all of them. That was when her eyes landed on the flowers sitting in the center of the table. A rather large arrangement of red carnations. Her eyes searched for the only man who could possibly be responsible for them. His head was thrown back and he was laughing at something Ellie was saying. Probably something embarrassing she had said or done when they were little.

The sound of his laugh was a melody all its own. For a moment his sparkling blue eyes locked with her brown ones. She mouthed the words 'thank you' to him, but the look on his face made it clear that he had no idea what she was referring to. Olivia nodded her head at the flowers on the table and smiled at him. Fitz winked at her and went back to his conversation.

Dinner consisted of ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, garden salads, fresh from the oven homemade rolls, and dessert was peach cobbler. Everything was delicious and Olivia brought the chef into the Dining Room to receive all the praise first hand from everyone. More than one attendee tried to poach him to come work for them, but he held a hand up in protest and gave the President a smile before telling them he couldn't ask for a better person to cook for.

No one protested when Olivia suggested a tour of the White House after dinner. They were full and feeling sleepy. But very curious about where their friends spent the majority of their time. The very knowledgeable tour guide Olivia had arranged ahead of time to provide the tour began with the room next door. It just worked out that way. Fitz's smirking face didn't go unnoticed, but Olivia acted as if it had.

Fitz politely pulled Alex aside while the small gathering moved along on the tour. "Alex, I just wanted to personally take a moment to say thank you for coming."

The two men shook hands. "Of course. I was happy to be invited. I hoped there wouldn't be any awkwardness between the two of us."

"Not at all." Fitz assured him. "I'm glad you and Olivia hit it off so well during your time together."

"You are?" Alex asked.

"Absolutely. You were a good friend to her when she desperately needed one, you helped keep her mind occupied when it was weighed down by loss, and you made her laugh. You did all of those things while being watched like a hawk by the press, and you did it pretty damned flawlessly. It was one thing to be there for Olivia. It was quite another to do so publicly. I owe you my deepest thanks for both. You are a true gentleman, Mr. Coleman."

Alex sent Fitz a doubt filled look followed by a chuckle. "Call me Alex. And I don't know about all of that. She is very easy to talk to. We had enough similarities to keep the conversation easy, and enough differences to keep it challenging. I know it was my...task, for lack of a better word, to spend some time with her. I didn't realize it would be so easy and enjoying. Olivia Pope is a one in a million."

He caught Fitz looking away and followed his eye line. He was looking at Olivia and smiling at her. This fixer was very obviously in love with her. He nodded. "But something tells me you already know that, Mr. Grant."

Fitz returned his gaze to the man standing in front of him and studied him for a moment. "Call me Fitz. And I do. Liv thinks we would be good friends if we got to know each other a little more. What are your thoughts on that?"

"I consider the President a friend of mine. Getting to know the man she is so enamored with would be a privilege. You're not a Buckeye fan, are you? I'm not sure I can deal with another one of those so soon."

Fitz chuckled and clapped the man on the back as the two of them headed in the direction of the tour in progress. "We really need to broaden the President's mind when it comes to sports, Alex."

"I'm in complete agreement on that. Who is your team, Fitz?"

"I'm a Bulldog fan. Basketball in particular."

Alex felt immeasurably more relaxed. "I do love a good basketball game. We should catch one this season. What do you say?"

"I say absolutely." Fitz agreed. This was going better than he imagined. Liv was right. Alex was a good guy, and one Fitz could see himself hanging out with. Bonding over basketball was a great beginning.

The young woman, named Candace showed them each room on the first floor – the floor they were already on – and pointed out a few details in each room that made it special. Touches that previous Presidents had added. Things First Ladies had changed or redone. She made the tour fun and interesting for everyone.

"Now that we've seen everything on this floor, what do you say to heading up to the second floor and looking around for a while?" Candace asked. "That floor is considered the White House museum. It's where Lincoln's bedroom is, as well as the Queens'. You'll notice the portrait hanging on this wall..."

Tom and Jeffery quickly made their way to where the President was standing in the middle of a small crowd. They looked at each other. Shit. It was the night of her dinner. Olivia saw them, excused herself from the group, and went to her Secret Service agents. "What is it?"

"You need to come with us, ma'am." Jeffrey stated.

"But I have guests." she protested.

"This can't wait ma'am." Tom told her.

"What is it, Tom?"

"Ma'am, there's a serious matter that requires your immediate attention in the Situation Room. I'll have an aide explain your absence." Tom began to lead the President in the direction he had just come from.

Olivia stopped abruptly. "No. I need to speak with Fitz for a moment."

"Ma'am." Jeffrey said with urgency.

"I just need a minute."

Fitz had kept his eye on Olivia and had almost reached her. "Liv? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"There's a situation that demands my immediate attention. Can you please tell everyone I'm sorry and tell each of them goodbye for me?"

"Of course. Don't give it a second thought."

"I hate that I have to go, but it can't be helped."

"I'll go home tonight and you can catch me up tomorrow."

"No." She pulled him into her arms for a hug, needing to be close to him. His strength and calmness settled her like nothing else could and she held on tight. She looked up at him and repeated herself. "No. Please stay. I sleep better when you're here."

"Alright. If that's what you want." Fitz said softly before he lightly grasped her chin and dipped his head to brush his lips across hers. He pulled his head back slightly and stared into her eyes. He saw less panic and more determination. It helped settle him. Before they parted ways, Fitz added, "go get 'em, Madam President."