Thank you all for the variety of comments and feedback on the last chapter. I will post it as a standalone story when I am ready to add chapter 2. I definitely hear the concern about her age and rest assured I've already thought about how it will unfold. :)

Season 2 was my absolute favorite and is ripe with opportunity for these one shots. I always wanted a little more after what happened in the hospital between Olivia and Fitz. Here's my take on the emotions they were both feeling and words that needed to be said between S2E19/20. As always, please review.

Olivia heard Jake as if through fog as she watched Secret Service agents line the hall outside of her door.

"Do you understand Olivia?" Jake looks at her earnestly.

Her eyes track to the door as Fitz walks in and shake hands with Jake and agents close the blinds of her room.

He knows him? What the hell?

"Hi." Fitz said in a tone brimming with emotion.

Conflicting emotions flood Olivia as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Did Fitz assign him to watch me? Why? Olivia was struggling to process the thoughts in her head and what was happening in front of her. When Fitz looks at her his eyes brimming with emotion, their separation hit her full force. She was just starting to think she could try to move on with a guy who was nothing but kind to her and truly made her feel wanted again. Why can't things be simple?

Fitz slowly eased down on her bed, his gaze never leaving hers. When his hand stroked down her cheek, her confusion amplified as she felt both anger and need flood her. Fitz slowly laid beside her, burying his face in her neck with his arm around her. "Livvie…" Fitz whispered. She laid there both wanting to comfort Fitz and push him away. The surprise in Jake's eyes as they met hers told her there were things they both didn't know. Her body tensed as Fitz wrapped his arms around her; she fought her instinctive desire to relax in his hold, remembering the immeasurable hurt and pain she felt when he last reminded her that she was nothing more than a repeatable mistake when his desire got the best of him. More than the spite-filled words, it was the act of him walking away from her the way he did, leaving her as if she were disposable that cut so deeply. I can't let him back in; I can't let him back in. She thought with fever.

He sighed deeply as he settled into her tense body; he could sense her efforts to emotionally distance herself from him. I could have lost her. If Jake wasn't there… thought with a shudder. He took this short time just to hold her, knowing how difficult it would be to get through the wall she'd put up to protect herself from him. He knew how deeply he'd hurt her; knowing he wanted her to feel just as deeply wounded as she had wounded him.

After the past few days of going through the emotional gauntlet with Olivia in the hospital, Fitz refused to give up on them. He held tightly to the fact that she still loved him; he knew that he would always love her, though there were moments when he wished he didn't. He found himself once again breaking the rules, making his way over to her apartment. While he knew she was home after making sure she made it safely from the hospital, he knew it was a crapshoot of whether she would let him in. With a sharp rapt on the door, he waited, hearing the soft patter of her feet on the floor and the peep door open, before he heard her swear lightly on the other side of the door.

"Go home Fitz. I'm tired and don't want to go another round with you." She said firmly.

"Not until I see you." He responded in turn.

Olivia waited a full minute in silence. She thought of the fact that he had never left the hospital while she was there, though she'd tried repeatedly to send him away. Opening the door, she glared at him and tilted her head. "There. You saw me. Satisfied?"

"Hardly. I need to talk to you Liv. Look, what I need to say is as much for you as it is for me." His eyes shone with sincerity as he looked at her intently.

She shifted back slightly; Fitz accepted the tiny movement as an invitation and walked into her apartment.

She moved toward the sofa and stood beside it with her hand resting on top of it. It was clear that she wasn't inviting him to sit down. Fitz smiled slightly, understanding she was letting him know he wouldn't be there long. He knocked her off balance by crowding her against the back of the sofa, moving into her space. He wrapped his arms around her as she gasped and gripped his upper arms. They stared into each other's eyes.

"Fitz." His name was a breathy whisper. "You said you wanted to talk." She fought to firm up her voice. "So talk."

"I did. And, I needed to touch you. Your instinctive response to me is always… enlightening." He said in a warm soft tone, running a finger down her cheek. He stepped back from her so that she'd feel grounded again, pushing his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her.

"I meant what I said in the hospital. We deserve another chance. While I'm still so angry at you and hurt by what you did, that in no way excuses how I hurt you. I think on some level a part of me thought that if I could hurt you enough, make you hate me, then I could hate you too and stop hurting. A small part of me wanted you to be just as miserable as I was, just as hurt as I am."

"Well you succeeded."

"I know." He looked down at his feet before meeting her eyes again. "But when I saw you in that hospital bed, I knew that as much as I wanted to hurt you for what you did, I couldn't stand seeing you physically hurt. I was so scared thinking what could have happened to you; I can't live without you."

Olivia felt a twinge of guilt knowing the danger from last night wasn't what he thought but fought against it. "You're going to have to learn to. Just as I've had to for the past 10 months."

He smiled sadly. "I punished us both. It broke me Livvie, knowing that not even you believed I could win this presidency. I needed that time and the distance for that wound to begin healing. I needed to see if I could believe in me again." His voice waivered as his eyes misted.

She felt a fist squeeze her heart at that admission. Olivia moved closer slowly, until she could feel the heat emanating from his body again. "I never stopped believing in you Fitz. It's because I believed in you that I did what I did." Silent tears slid down her cheeks as she looked up into his eyes. "I know it was wrong, but even worse is the sense of doubt I caused you to feel. For that, I can't say sorry enough. I don't expect you to forgive me…"

Fitz pulled her into his arms, gently kissing her forehead and her cheek before brushing a soft kiss across her lips. "Livvie, I love you. Because I love you, I have to forgive you. And you have to forgive me for hurting you because you still love me." He rested his forehead against hers stroking his hands up and down her back to comfort them both. "It will take time for both of us, but I know that we can survive this Liv. We are stronger than this baby."

Pulling back he looked into her questioning eyes again. She hesitated a moment before saying "This was really the first time we deeply hurt each other. I never want to feel like that again. I never want to make you feel like that again. I'm sorry Fitz."

He cupped her cheek, watching her eyes close and her breath deepen. "It's getting late. I know your tired and one night won't fix us," he said. "But let's go to bed baby; let me hold you tonight. His eyes held the same warmth as his tone. She missed seeing that look in his eyes directed at her; she warred inside both wanting to protect herself from him while instinctively knowing that having him with her would be a soothing balm to her lonely, aching heart.

She looked at him before walking toward the front door. With her eyes on his, she locked the door and turned off the light before making her way to her bedroom. Fitz followed behind her, turning off the hall light before walking in her bedroom and closing the door. They slowly undressed, watching each other. Striping down to his boxers, Fitz draped his suit neatly over the upholstered bench in front of her bed. Olivia silently went to her drawer and handed Fitz a shirt as she took a silk short set and walked toward the bathroom.

As she donned her pajamas and brushed her teeth, Fitz smiled holding up the old Navy shirt that she'd clearly kept over the years.

When she came out of the bathroom, he was waiting leaning against the wall, his eyes darkened, filled with emotions. He stroked her cheek briefly before going into the bathroom, washing his face and brushing his teeth. Walking out of the bathroom and hitting the light, his eyes locked onto hers before he slowly crossed the room and joined her in bed.

He never took his eyes off her as she turned off the light and lay back in the bed. "Come here," Fitz murmured. As Olivia moved into his arms, they both let out a sigh of contentment having felt the power of being apart. He buried his face in her neck, just breathing her in. God I've missed this. I've missed her… Pulling back, he looked deep into her eyes while stroking her back with warm, strong hands. She slipped a foot between his, rubbing small circles against his calf and ran her fingers through the tight curls at the base of his neck, needing to touch him.

Inching closer, their breath mingled. His eyes alternated between her mouth and her eyes, gauging her response. Fitz pressed a warm, soft kiss against her mouth that lingered in that way that pulled at her and got her lost in him. Olivia felt her breath catch and tears flood her eyes. He left me all alone. I can't let him back in to go through that again. As she started to pull back, Fitz tightened his hold. "No. Livvie, I know I hurt you," he whispered against her mouth, looking into her eyes. "When I left you, when shut you out, I know how much that hurt you. And I'm sorry baby; I won't make that mistake again. You are too important to me; I can't lose you." He whispered into her neck. "You have to believe me Livvie. You have to forgive me."

He held her as she wept into his neck, kissing her head repeatedly. Though his heart hurt as she cried, he knew this was part of the process for getting back to them. He continued to stroke her back as her tears slowed and her body relaxed into his. Laying on his back, he wrapped his arms around her, settling into the quiet. As they both started to grow limp with sleep, he heard her mumble "I will..."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "You will what?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Forgive you…" she pressed a soft kiss against his neck before settling once again against his chest.

With a ragged breath, he kissed her forehead before wrapping his arms around her. He felt her arm lock around him, and her leg slide comfortably between his as they settled into each other. Closing his eyes, he felt at peace for the first time in months.