"I have been facing extreme pressure to go to war from those in this country who see war as a means of gaining a profit. I want to make one thing clear; I am the president and I alone can declare war. I will not be coerced into putting American lives in danger because a few companies want to sell more oil or guns. I will not send people's children to hostile territory for a few extra bucks or a higher approval rating. I've seen war up close, it is gruesome. I know what it feels like to be in a foreign country surrounded by people who want nothing more than to kill you because of the flag your uniform represents and for that reason I will not engage in any form of warfare until I believe it is absolutely necessary. We are fighting a group of people of different races and nationalities that have bonded under one common ideology, hatred of America, democracy, and western values. While they might be concentrated in the middle east, they are everywhere. I will not order drone strikes because many of the places they gather have a considerable civilian population and I have absolutely no desire in causing harm to innocent people who just want to live their lives in peace, no matter what their religion or nationality. We will continue to fight with covert methods until they prove to be unsuccessful. Good night and God bless America."

Fitz didn't pause for questions, he headed straight out of the press room towards the oval office. He could hear Cyrus running behind him, panting as he came down the hallway. Fitz walked into the oval and made a beeline for his desk.

"Oh god Fitz please don't tell me you just started a war with the republican party?" Cyrus said in a panic.

"I didn't start anything, I finished it," Fitz said calmly

"They won't forget this," Cyrus warned.

"That was the point."

"But they can't actively come out and say anything against you because it would be seen as unpatriotic and warmongering but the liberals are going to love it, what you said about not harming people who want to live their lives in peace was gold. I can already smell the democratic votes coming in."

Cyrus mused for a moment and then went over to the couch and sat down.

"I have a bill I want to pass."

Fitz reached into his drawer, pulled out a thick packet then walked over to Cyrus and handed it to him.

"It's my healthcare bill and I want you to help me get it through the senate."

Cyrus inspected the packet.

"Did you do this all by yourself?" he asked.

"Yea, I had a few advisors but mostly it was me."

"When did you start working on it?"

"A while ago. People need insurance and I want to help them get it. Give it a read."

Cyrus stood up and handed him back the packet."I don't need to read it, not right this second, I know it's brilliant and if we are going to get this passed we can't let the media buzz off of this war thing die down. Announce it tomorrow bright and early and we'll start rallying votes tomorrow."

Cyrus turned and headed to the door.

"Where are you going, Cy."

"I'm going to get some rest. You should too, considering how much ass we are going to have to kiss tomorrow, and let me tell you, kissing ass is no light work," Cyrus laughed.

"How's the search for a baby going?"

"We found a young girl in Louisiana who is almost a month old, James is drooling over her but it'll take a little more time until we can actually get her, with all the paperwork it'll be a month or so."

Fitz sighed.

"Okay, well I look forward to meeting her."

"Thank you, Fitz."

Olivia and her team sat in the conference room waiting for their newest client, C.E.O. Victor Paxton. He was being blackmailed and needed help brokering a deal with the blackmailers. Olivia was sitting down when Stephen walked Victor into the conference room.

"Hello, the famous Olivia Pope, it's nice to finally meet the beauty in person."

Olivia stood to shake his hand and she immediately saw his eyes look down towards her belly.

"Oh my, I did not know what you were expecting."

"That's because I didn't tell you. Please, Victor, have a seat."

Olivia sat back in her seat and waited for him to sit down.

"I hope you appreciate how sensitive this situation is for me, they stole something from me that I would possibly face criminal charges and public condemnation if it were to get out."

"We understand, Victor, please sit down and tell us, we can only help if you tell us and time is of the essence," Olivia declared.

He sat down.

"They stole a sex tape of me."

"Okay," Olivia said flatly, waiting for him to go on because she knew there was more.

"With an underage girl."

Abby was the first to react, she scowled quietly from across the conference room.

"How old is she?" Olivia asked.

"I'm sorry she told me she was 19 but she might be younger," he replied.

"How young?" Olivia asked.

He hesitated to respond which told Olivia all she needed to know.

"What state was the tape made in?"

"New York?"

"The legal age in New York is 17 so you would definitely face criminal charges but for the time being, I'm gonna pretend she was 19 and hope this lesson teaches you to be a better man. Give us all the proof of contact they have made with you and we can broker the deal."

"Okay but I think that since you're pregnant may be one of these guys should spearhead this thing, I wouldn't want to cause you any stress, I know women are fragile during pregnancy, and with all the hormones and stuff-"

Olivia smiled."Harrison, would you like to spearhead the deal for the statutory rapist who loves to videotape child porn?" Olivia asked loudly.

"Nope," Harrison answered.

"Stephen? What about you?"

"I can't make a deal quite as good as you Olivia, so I think I'll pass.

Olivia turned her attention back to Victor.

"Unfortunately you're out of luck Victor, looks like Olivia Pope and Associates won't be taking your case after all. Have fun asking the cops for help, they'll be so excited to see your tape. You can show yourself out, I'm sure."

Olivia got up and so did the rest of the team.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. It came out wrong. You are the only ones who can help me?"

"Your fee just doubled."

Victor nodded.

"Okay."

"Tripled, since you have no problem paying double," Oliva said flatly.

"What?" he asked, outraged.

"It's tripled," Olivia said, "to help me ignore my conscience after taking your case."

"Okay, tripled," he agreed angrily. "I only hope you're this aggressive when making a deal for me."

"Nice doing business with you Victor, we'll be in touch," Olivia said as she walked out of the conference room.

"What a fucking asshole," Abby said once they were back in Olivia's office.

"That asshole just paid for a little of one of these babies' college tuition," she said.

"Speaking of babies; are you excited to finally find out their sex, later on, today."

"Actually I am. Everything's been so depressing lately. A little bit of good news would be great right now."

They went back to work and later in the evening, after taking a late lunch around 5pm, they went to Olivia's doctor to finally find out the sex of the babies. They both sat nervously until the doctor called them into her office. They did the routine check-up and then when it was time for the sonogram, Olivia got on the table while Dr. Williams prepared the probe.

"Dr. Williams, is it possible for me to have a boy and a girl?"

"No. You are having monozygotic twins, they developed from the same embryo. Everything about them will be identical, their genetic makeup, sex, their features, eye color, hair color, and skin color. Temperament and mannerisms will be different. Within the first few months, it will be hard for you to even tell them apart."

Olivia smiled. "Wow! Do identical twins run in families or something because there are no twins in my family."

"No, Identical twins are caused when the zygote splits, it's quite an anomaly. It isn't hereditary, it just happens by chance. Technically, when the zygote splits it's a malfunction but out of that malfunction comes two beautiful humans."

The doctor spread the gel all over her stomach once more and began gliding the probe over her stomach. Olivia waited nervously, searching the screen for clues.

"What do you want them to be?" Dr. Williams asked.

"Anything, I just want them to be healthy," Olivia said with a coy smile.

Dr. Williams smiled. "They are and I hope you aren't too disappointed because you've got two little princesses in there."

Abby squealed."Yay girls."

Olivia smiled wide with wet eyes. "God. I have two daughters." she wiped her eyes, "I'm just so happy. I can't wait to see them."

Dr. Williams chuckled. "This is usually the best part of my day."

She wiped the gel off of Olivia's stomach and helped her up then handed her a tissue to dry her eyes. Olivia took it and dabbed it against the tear duct.

"You are 20 weeks right now, I will see you at 23 weeks, I usually do every month until 28 weeks but since you're carrying twins I'll do every two to three weeks just to stay on the safe side. Also, twin pregnancies can and usually run shorter, they can come as early as 34-37 weeks. usually with twins they run tight on space and come on the early side."

"Will that affect them?" Olivia asked, "to come so early?"

"37 weeks is the most ideal time for twins to be born. Any later they run the risk of stillbirth, low birth weight, and a host of other problems. The same is true earlier than 34 weeks. Trust me, it'll feel like 40 weeks once your there and you'll be thankful for those three weeks you aren't lugging them around in your belly."

"Thank you, Dr. Williams," Olivia said, feeling a bit calmer about her potential early delivery.

They left the office and stopped at a Chinese takeout restaurant before heading to Olivia's apartment.

The second Olivia stepped into the apartment she kicked off her shoes and headed to the couch with her food. Abby turned on the tv and joined her.

"Okay so Abby, we have a lot to do, I'm thinking maybe we could go car shopping this weekend and we also need to secure an apartment. They have a three-bedroom available in this complex and I think it would be ideal. I talked to the building manager about it."

"This is a good building if you can get another apartment here that would be amazing and less hassle for us. We absolutely do need to go car shopping and it wouldn't hurt if I started teaching you how to cook."

"That's gonna be fun," She said sarcastically.

"Have you called him again-"

"Yes, still no answer."

Abby nodded and moved on."Okay. We need to get you moved out soon because we're gonna need to start working on the nursery."

Olivia pondered for a while. "It'll be good to get it done before I'm too pregnant."

Abby snickered."We have a lot to do, I'm so excited. We have to vet a nanny and you have to take birthing classes, I heard that people have ripped their vaginas giving birth, and unless that sounds fun…"

"It doesn't."

"Right," Abby teased. "Which is why we'll be at those classes." Abby grabbed her phone and began searching for local classes.

Olivia was quiet for a while.

"I have a gift for you, Abbs."

Abby raised her eyebrow and pulled her attention from her phone.

"You do? Why?"

"I'll be right back," Olivia said as she stood slowly, caressing her belly as she walked to the bedroom and returned with a gift bag. She handed it to Abby and sat slowly, still caressing her stomach which had become a habit. The moment she sat she felt a little flutter in her belly and stroked the spot where she felt them. She liked silently communicating with her girls through touches and strokes but most importantly she loved to talk to them because she wanted them to know her voice when they were born.

"Open it."

Abby grinned and opened the bag.

There was a folder, with some pages of information and 2 tickets. Abby read through them and smiled.

"You booked a vacation for me?"

"Yes, so you and David can spend some special time together."

"By 'special time' you mean bang for 5 days on an island."

"That's exactly what I mean. Go get stretched out and come back refreshed."

Abby cackled. "He's not really a 'stretch out' kind of guy but he is enthusiastic and eager to please."

Olivia shook her head.

"Thanks, Liv, I really appreciate this."

"This is the part where you say 'I don't deserve this."

"But I do deserve this."

"Yea but for the sake of my speech, you have to say it."

Abby laughed.

"Thanks, Liv, I don't deserve this, you have kids on the way, you can't spend frivolously on things like this."

Olivia chuckled.

"Abby, you've been an amazing friend to me these past few months and years before that. I don't know how I would have handled this pregnancy without being here emotionally and physically. I love you and you deserve this vacation so don't complain and let me treat you."

"Aww Liv, I love you too - soulmate."

Abby stood and hugged Olivia.

The next day.

Olivia called the building manager in the afternoon on her lunch to inquire about the apartment. It was in the process of being renovated and once the renovation was over it was going up for grabs. The manager told her it would be finished within the next two weeks and told her he would put in a good word for her with the leasing office. She was excited and hoped she would get the apartment but until then she had other things to get in order, like buying a car.

On Saturday morning, she headed to the dealership with Abby. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for but she hoped that by the end of the day she would have a new car. They already had a car service for the firm but she needed a personal car.

Abby called ahead and set up a viewing. When they arrived they were immediately greeted by their dealer Sabine. After their brief and casual introduction, Olivia decided to explain to her exactly what she had in mind and Sabine led them to the Mercedes-Benz hangar and showed them the latest model of the Mercedes e-class 4matic sedan.

"This model is 4 wheel drive, it has four doors as you requested. It's stylish and practical and spacious enough for two car seats in the back. The trunk is huge and can hold a double stroller easily. What do you think?"

Olivia inspected the car.

"I think she'll take it," Abby answered for Olivia, which caused Sabine to giggle.

"Sabine, I love it, it's perfect. What colors does it come in?"

"White, black, flat gray, and slate."

"I might have to take black but I want to take it for a drive."

Sabine smiled.

"Sure, I'll just need an ID."

"Run Karen!" Fitz screamed from the sideline.

Karen stole the ball from the other team and was headed to the goal. It was the playoffs of the local league Karen's private school team participated in. The other team was up 1-0.

"SCORE KAREN!" He shouted.

She ran and when she reached the goal, she kicked it but the goalie blocked it and threw it to the other side of the field.

"Nice try sweetie!"

Karen waved to him and then ran back.

"Karen's doing her thing out there. She's a better soccer player than you ever were," Richard teased.

"You were worse than me. So she's better than us both," Fitz countered.

Richard was Fitz's best friend since high school. They met in freshman year and have been close ever since. After high school, Fitz went to Yale and got Richard a scholarship from Grant Corps so he could attend NYU polytechnic because his family was unable to afford college. When Richard left NYU, Fitz got him a job at Grant Corp. While he and Fitz shared the same laid-back attitude, he hated politics and never settled down the way Fitz did. He enjoyed the attention women gave him because of his status as director of the technological interface at Grant Corp, he'd become very wealthy after holding that job title for many years. Fitz told him everything and vice-versa. he'd known about Olivia since the first time Fitz saw her.

"Has Mellie come to see Karen since she left?"

"Only when the cameras are rolling," Fitz answered.

"Karen's an amazing kid. I don't get it."

Fitz shook his head, "It's better this way, I'd rather her not be around, Karen doesn't seem to mind either."

Richard chuckled. "So you still haven't gathered the balls to talk to Olivia yet huh?"

"Oh no, we're not talking about that now."

"Weren't you the one who used to call me and blather on about her for hours, daily? This is payback," Richard laughed. "Oh Richie, I'm gonna marry her. She's so perfect. I can't believe she's real," Richard mocked in his worst impression of Fitz.

"Don't remind me about that. I'm serious," Fitz said. It wasn't easy to hear.

Fitz saw Karen steal the ball again and made a beeline for the goal.

"GO KARE!" he screamed.

She ran out in front of everyone and when the goalie came to meet her she kicked the ball in and scored.

"YESS!" both Fitz and Richard screamed from the sideline. The coach on the opposite team called a timeout and both teams hustled to their bench. Karen grabbed her water and ran over to Fitz.

"Dad, did you see that?" she said as she hugged Fitz.

"Of course we did. You kicked ass out there number 14," Fitz chuckled.

He held up his palm for a high-five and Karen gladly joined.

"Hey uncle Richard, thanks for coming."

"Are you kidding, I wouldn't miss seeing you in the playoffs, Kare."

The referee blew his whistle, signaling all the players to come back to the field. Karen gave Richard a quick hug and he looked around and realized all the soccer mom's eyes were on them, he was flattered.

"I gotta go," Karen said as she ran off.

"Where were we-" Richard began.

"Oh yeah, Olivia."

"Oh god," Fitz mumbled.

"I don't get you, you let that snake Cyrus still work for you, he did the same thing."

They both kept their eyes on Karen as she spoke.

"It's not the same."

Karen got possession of the ball and Fitz cheered.

"How? Is it not the same?"

Fitz sighed, the conversation was annoying him. He didn't want to answer any of the questions Richard was asking.

"She was supposed to be different. She wasn't supposed to be for them, she wasn't supposed to be like them. She was supposed to be mine," Fitz said angrily.

Richard was silent. He'd known Fitz for decades but he was shocked by his response.

"You got into your own head- this isn't you."

"Why are you defending her, you don't even know her, you met her once."

"I'm not defending her… okay well, I am defending her but look at you. This isn't good for you." Richard said. "You used to call me and explain in detail Olivia's goddamn facial expression and what you thought they meant. You knew the different patterns of pacing she did depending on how or what she was thinking. I know a useless level of detail about her because you've spent hours and hours telling me. I feel like I was in a goddamn relationship with her.

"You're being ridiculous."

"Her favorite dish is shrimp scampi. Her favorite snack is popcorn. She speaks 8 languages fluently. Her best friend's name is Abby and they call each other soulmates- you fucking loved that-"

"Okay, okay," Fitz said.

"After being with Mellie for so long and being so numb how can you let go of someone who made you feel that way she did. That kind of love- you'll regret losing it over this."

"It wasn't love. It was an infatuation. It's over and I've moved on."

Richard shook his head but said nothing in response.

Tom walked up and tapped Fitz's shoulder and handed him a black cell phone.

"It's the NSA sir."

Fitz took the phone quickly. He stepped back from the sideline and spoke for about 45 seconds before he hung up.

"I have to go, tell Karen I'm sorry and I'll make it up to her."

Richard smiled.

"Don't worry I've got it, she'll be fine."

"Tom, stop being so nervous, it's making me nervous," Fitz chuckled.

"Sir, someone is actively trying to assassinate you. I am nervous," Tom said flatly.

"They didn't get in the same city as me and it was almost a month ago. That's not 'actively' trying to do anything."

"That's only because we caught him before he got the chance to carry it out and after a month of interrogation, he still won't reveal who hired him. There is still a person actively trying to kill you."

"Tom, I've gotten thousands of death threats since I've been president, this is no different. We are in France, whoever ordered the hit is in the U.S. it's bad enough that our guys won't even let me piss without someone guarding the door. I've been on lockdown since Karen's playoff game. Just let me enjoy this trip."

"We would not have even let you come on this trip if you hadn't confirmed months ago. Your safety comes before everything else"

Fitz sat in the van, looking out at the street as they drove to the grand hall for president Hollande's birthday gala. He was dressed in a tux and a bow tie. They kept quiet about the foiled assassination plans because Fitz didn't want the media to sensationalize it nor did he want to scare Karen.

They pulled up to the venue, he asked Cyrus to accompany him on the trip but Cyrus had been quiet the entire ride, he guessed it was from being tired with a new baby in the house.

"Come on, a new baby can't be that bad. Cheer up."

"Ella's great, it's James who is killing me."

Fitz laughed."Married life Cyrus, get over yourself."

They parked at the platform of the steps. Fitz could hear the crowd cheering as he stepped out of the car. President Hollande waited on the steps of the hall to meet Fitz. The French police were scattered everywhere and the secret service guards were on high alert as they followed him closely up the huge steps.

"Bonjour President Hollande," Fitz greeted.

"Hello, President Grant."

They shook hands and faced the crowd and waved. They were still fully surrounded by police and agents when three of the French police officers opened fire on Fitz. It was as if time stopped. From the corner of his eye, Fitz saw one of the officers reach into his holster, and immediately he reacted but it was too late because the other officer had already had their guns out.

The first two bullets hit two agents but they wore bulletproof vests. The agents formed a phalanx around Fitz to guard him and it happened quickly. The officers fired recklessly, hoping to penetrate the phalanx and a stray bullet passed Fitz on the right side of his torso as he was reaching for the gun in Tom's ankle holster. The agents fired back, killing all three officers but then four more officers opened fire. One of the officers attempted to shoot Tom but Fitz shot him in between his eyes, killing him immediately. Then as soon as he saw the man fall, he felt awareness leaking down his chest. He looked down and saw blood leaking onto his white tuxedo shirt. President Hollande got shot in the lower stomach and fell beside him. Fitz felt another bullet in his chest and then suddenly Tom grabbed him and threw him into the car as the other agents made a barricade around his body. All the rogue officers lay dead on the floor as well as some of Fitz's agents and president Hollande's agents as well, and President Hollande's agents brought him back into the hall. Cyrus hadn't yet exited the car when the gunmen opened fire. It all happened so quickly Cyrus barely had time to react, he froze in the back seat and stayed that way until he felt Tom push Fitz's bloody body on him.

"DRIVE!" Tom yelled.

Fitz was barely holding on to his consciousness as he lay in Cyrus' lap, he coughed up blood and struggled to breathe, he felt like there was a fire in his chest while he drowned in his own blood.

"Olivia-" he cried as he panted for air with tears in his eyes.

Cyrus was stunned. Fitz fell unconscious immediately after. Cyrus could do nothing but hold on tightly to his hand as they drove to the hospital. "Just fight Fitz, we're almost there," Cyrus chanted over and over again until they reached the hospital.

Once the doctors had Fitz, they slipped an endotracheal tube into his lungs to help with his breathing and then scurried away with him. He lost a large volume of blood and went into hypovolemic shock on the operating table. The surgeon immediately went to work removing the bullets, while the nurses set up the IV drops. The bullets hit him in his right lung. Once the bullets were removed, he began working on repairing the damaged lung and inserted a thoracostomy tube into his chest to remove excess blood and other fluids from his chest cavity. They put him on a ventilator, gave him pain medication and antibiotics then left him to rest.

Abby sat on the couch debating whether or not to wake Olivia. She slept over at Olivia's apartment with the intent to help her monitor the mover in the morning but when she turned on the news and saw the continuous loop of the attack in France, she didn't know what to do. She pondered for about 20 minutes before she got up and went to Olivia's room to wake her.

"Liv? Wake up," she tugged her shoulder lightly.

"Abby?" she said sleepily.

"Liv, you need to wake up."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It's like 8:30, I think."

"Uh- it's Saturday Abby, just give me an extra hour.."

"No, it's not that, it's the president…"

Olivia groaned."Abby, I called him. He won't answer."

Abby hesitated, "That's not why it- Olivia - they shot him, in France and the French President too."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's all over the news."

Olivia sat up.

"Abby if this is a joke - "

"No, I would never joke about this."

Olivia got up quickly and ran to the living room with her heavy, pregnant belly in front of her. She froze when she saw the footage of Fitz getting shot, she saw him grab his chest and howl in pain and she saw the blood spew from his mouth as Tom grabbed him and shoved him in the car. They played it over and over again on a continuous loop. Abby stood by waiting for her reaction but there was none, she just stood silently, watching the footage.

"Liv?"

Abby tugged her shoulder and when she turned to face her Abby realized she had been crying.

"Liv, it's gonna be okay."

Olivia grabbed her stomach and ran to the bathroom to throw up. Abby ran behind her and rubbed her back as she vomited into the toilet.

"He'll make it. I know he will," Abby said as she consoled her and rubbed circles into her back. Olivia sat on the floor for a while, sobbing.

Abby wasn't sure what to do. It was her behavior after the breakup all over again and she didn't know how to console her or what to say so she just sat beside her.

After a while Olivia calmed down and got up, she washed her face and rinsed out her mouth.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't just sit here and cry and think about him dying because I'll fucking die. I have to call Cyrus until he picks up. I have to do something."