Thanks for the catch! I have no ideas what happened to the formatting but hopefully this fixes it. It's been a while since my last post, so I hope you all enjoy it. Please share your thoughts!

Post Jerry Funeral

I always wished they had went deeper the day of Jerry's funeral. Where was everyone else? How did the day end up? Does Fitz share more? Here's my take on it.

She could feel the anger radiating off of him. Twack! Twack! She watched as Fitz swung repetitively at the logs, splitting them as he tried to drown the complex feelings trying to fight their way to the surface.

"Honestly I'm relieved. I'm free," Fitz looked at Olivia with a small smile before returning to swing the axe, not having even convinced himself of his words.

"Put the axe down." Fitz heard the command in her voice and kept swing. "Put it down. Come here." Fitz felt the emotions he tried to bury with his father, struggle to break free. The closer he walked to her, the more his walls lowered as he began to feel. His body began to shake as he cried bitter tears of anguish over his father's death, regret that he would never get to see him do things his way, and sadness of what would never be. He'd never fully dealt with the complicated, host of feelings his father brought out of him, but in the moment he leaned into the one person who seemed to truly understand him and offer both unconditional love and support that he so desperately wanted, that he needed.

His tears continued, soaking into Olivia's dress as she ran her hands soothingly through his hair and over his back. He had no idea how long they stood there in the moment and only became aware as she lifted his tear-streaked face up to hers. "Come on." She took his hand and led him inside through the quiet house into the living room and onto a sofa. Not fighting the urge, Fitz laid his head into her lap as he laid out onto the couch, turning his face into her as he continued to grieve. She continued to stroke her hands through his hair and pressed soft kisses to his face and hair as he cried himself out. She felt his body grow heavy in exhausted sleep.

She stroked his back, comforting him in his sleep, enjoying the opportunity as she knew the time was limited. As she shifted to attempt and grab a couple of nearby blankets, Fitz tightened his grip and burrowed deeper subconsciously in sleep, as though she would leave. She leaned down and murmured in his ear, "Fitz, I'm not going anywhere baby…" causing him to relax his grip and Olivia to smile softly. After draping a blanket over him and one around her shoulders, she sighed as he settled more comfortably against her.

Mellie staggered in; a glass of clear liquid half-filled her glass. "Oh. He's asleep."

Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but Mellie continued. "Doesn't he look comfortable? At least one of gets to be today. In this miserable house." Taking another bracing sip from her glass, Mellie stared pensively at Fitz, clearly lost in her own thoughts, before clearing her throat and turning to leave. Though finding the interaction strange, she chalked it up to different grieving processes.

Without meaning to, Olivia drifted off, waking with a start feeling surrounded by warmth. As she slowly came to her sense, she felt the steely grip of Fitz's arms around her and the even, steady beat of his heart thrum through her body. She realized he had shifted in sleep and now slept halfway on top of her with their legs tangled between each other and his blanket. His face was still burrowed tightly between her chest and stomach. With a quick glance at her watch, she knew he'd only slept about three hours and could probably use a meal and sleep as the last 72 hours had been draining. Hating to wake him, but knowing that she needed to, she softly stroked her hand through his curls and whispered his name against his ear.

"Fitz. Fitz, baby you have to get up." Olivia said softly into his ear.

Mumbling something incoherently, his arms tightened briefly before he slowly blinked his eyes open and looked up at her solemnly.

Deciding against trying to get him to eat at the look on his face, she smiled warmly. "Let's get you to bed."

Taking his hand, he followed meekly behind her as she led him to his bedroom. Sitting him on the edge of the bed, she quickly gathered a sleep shirt and soft shorts before she kneeled and took off his shoes and socks. Standing she started to unbutton his shirt as his eyes softly roamed her face and his hands stroked her sides briefly before dropping to his side. She slowly pulled off the dress shirt and his undershirt and with her eyes on his, she placed a soft kiss on his chest before pulling on his sleep shirt. He wrapped his arms around her once again burying his face into her stomach with a soft sigh. His hands ran slowly up and down her back soothing them both.

With a sigh he stood and removed his pants before donning the shorts she had placed on the bed. Olivia pulled back the covers as he walked over and lowered onto the bed. As she pulled up the covers, he gripped her hand. "Stay with me a minute Livvie?" he asked softly. She nodded and as he scooched over, she sat up on the bed atop the covers, while he settled in beside her.

"He always made me feel like I could never measure up," Fitz mumbled into Olivia's warmth. "I spent so much time miserable trying to be the man he tried to make me. Even knowing it was someone he could never measure up to. Why is that?"

"You wanted what all children want; unconditional love." Olivia said softly in response.

"He will never get to see me do this my way…" Fitz released a long sigh.

"He already did. The night of the debate with Ruston when you did it your way and showed him and the rest of the world the man you've always shown me you are."

His body relaxed as he released a burden he hadn't realized he was carrying. "Livvie…" he whispered her name softly in gratitude.

She leaned down and kissed his cheek and hair gently. "I love you," she whispered softly. Wrapping his arm loosely around her body, he was lulled into a peaceful sleep with the comfort of love next to him.