Chapter 19

After arranging for a car to deliver Harrison back to OPA, Olivia went straight to work, a previously scheduled after-hours meeting with several media personnel attached to some of the more influential members of the Senate in the press room for an informal briefing.

Overall, it seemed the consensus seemed to be that with the president having not formally announced his re-election, elements within both the House and the Senate were in a state of agitation.

One purpose of her public meeting was to pave the way for the series of private ones that was, if she were right - would follow. And it turned out that she was.

In the space of the next few hours, several of them called and arranged to stop by her office for more private conversations. From them she learned a few troubling details. Factions were being formed and reformed and alliances were understandably - fluid - as Olivia was to tell Fitz later.

Olivia added a final paragraph to the paperwork she'd been working on, then slipped that and some other papers into a folder on her desk and sat back, momentarily closing her eyes. She thought over what she'd just written, which included a directive for her inner White House staff to initiate a backtracking of Sally's comings and goings as well as a closer scrutiny of her itinerary from this point forward. She couldn't wait to discuss this with Fitz.

That thought brought a smile to her face. With both of them having to deal with increasingly heavy workloads, at least they'd managed to set aside a little time for them to share dinner, because after one too many good-nights over the phone,they'd both come to the conclusion that if they wanted to spend any time together, they'd have to make it happen.

She was just putting away the last folder when a quiet knock at the the door interrupted her thoughts. Olivia called out permission to enter and was surprised to see Tom at the door.

Her heart thumped unpleasantly in her chest; it was unusual for the agent to be far from Fitz's side, even inside the White House.

"What's happened?" she demanded.

Tom was quick to reassure her. "Nothing, ma'am - my apologies - it wasn't my intention to scare you - and I'm sure that the president hadn't meant to either."

"Fitz sent you?" Tom's words sent relief washing through her.

"Yes, ma'am." Tom let a rare smile show. "It was just to let you know that he had a slight change in plans."

He smiled again. "I think he means for it to be a surprise."

They left her office, Tom leading her to one of the lesser used elevators. What surprised her next was that the elevator went past the second floor of the Resident quarters and continued on to the third floor guest quarters.

He stepped out with with her, but stopped and took up a guard position just outside the elevator doors. "The president requested me to tell you that he's waiting for you in the Guest Resident Sitting Room."

"I know the way." Which she did from her previous stay; Olivia smiled at him before she turned and headed down the hall. She knocked once before she opened the door and stepped inside, dropping her jacket and briefcase on the chaise next to the door before turning back to admire the view of Fitz, where he crouched in front of the exquisitely carved marble fireplace coaxing its flames into being.

A very appreciative warmth went through her as her gaze traveled over the sight of Fitz's back muscles working beneath his shirt as he used a poker to manipulating the logs into a position to feed the growing flames.

Then Fitz turned turned towards her, his gaze dazzling her as he read her gaze.

As he came to his feet in one long smooth and graceful motion, she couldn't help but appreciate what else captivated her gaze. Fitz's tie was loose - his jacket had been settled on the back of one of the chairs, she noticed obliquely - his shirt sleeves were rolled back to expose his forearms with their curves and carving of chiseled muscle and without realizing it, a soft "hmm" of wordless appreciation escaped her lips as she was reminded once more - that this remarkable, incredible sexy, incredibly sensuous man loved her.

"Hi." Fitz started across the room towards her. Olivia moved forward to meet him halfway. Their arms wrapped themselves around each other at the same time, and Olivia barely managed to get a "hi" out before his mouth came down to kiss her gently.

His kiss was a hello all its own - soft, sweet - tasting of warmth and a fond welcoming. It deepened for a few breath-snatching moments, as the trace of scotch upon his lips mingled with his own unique taste, one that dazzled her senses. For a few moments the rest of the world was swept far, far away, lost in time.

"Hi, hello, how are you?" Olivia murmured against the firm curve of his lips as she slowly came back to the here and now. Before he could answer, she was kissing him again, wanting nothing more than to not leave this place where only they existed. It had been so long - too long…

Olivia stopped thinking once again as their lips met and held, as their tongues tangled and twined themselves against one another again and again.

…and again.

Eventually, the need for air and replenish the need to breath forced them apart.

Fitz looked down at Olivia; her eyes remained closed for a few seconds more, then they opened and once again he was drawn in by the light in her eyes and the luminous smile that ignited as their eyes met. He was amazed all over again at just how much he loved the woman in his arms - and despite all the facets to her complicated soul - how much she loved him.

His smile was a twin for hers and his voice was a husky baritone when he spoke. "I was going to say that I'm fine, but I'm much better than that now."

Her gaze narrowed in concern; Fitz wasn't surprised when the glow in her eyes dimmed just a little as she ran soft fingers along his jawline.

"You do look tired." Most people wouldn't have noticed, but she did. Olivia couldn't help not see the palest of shadows under his eyes.

"Comes with the job, Livvie." Both of them were aware that he was trying to make a joke about this undeniably sign of his mortality.

He deliberately changed the subject. "See anything else different?" He made a gesture with his head.

Now that Olivia looked around, she did. The room had held an old-fashioned combination of stiff upholstered furniture but Fitz had made some changes.

In place of that more formal decor, instead there was a small table with seating for two that had been placed a few steps away from the marble fireplace. Draped in rich jade green silk, framed by several groupings of potted plants in several sizes and a few carefully placed screens left the redecorated space feeling smaller, which it turn made it warm, inviting and intimate.

Against the wall behind this space stood a long sideboard filled with a huge selection of covered dishes that filled the air with several delicious aromas.

"Looks like someone's been decorating." Olivia's eyes came back to his after she'd finished looking around, her smile restored. "Any particular reason?"

"Since I've had so many lonely nights -" Fitz grinned down at her. "I've been doing some research on de-stressing activities. It seems that shades of green are supposed to be very calming and therapeutic - although I can think of several other therapeutic activities worth pursuing."

Before she could remind him of the plan, Fitz reached out and took Olivia's hand, turning them both towards the sideboard and the food waiting for them. "Unfortunately, we both have other priorities this evening - and time is a priority so -

"Yes, we do." Olivia agreed. It was a shame that it was. Fitz had obviously gone through some effort to set this dinner up, when all she'd really expected was a quick dinner in the Residence, if not the Oval itself.

"But at least we managed to find this time to spend together."

"And everything smells so good." She continued as they turned their attention to the buffet. There was almost too much food - with everything from salads to several of their favorite Chinese dishes, from Fitz's dim sum, to her spring rolls.

"Beats the hell out of popcorn, doesn't it?" Fitz said as they each selected a plate and started serving themselves.

Olivia flashed him a look. "You are never going to let that go, are you?"

"Probably not." Fitz agreed as they made their choices and headed back to their table.

"I noticed that there's no desserts." Olivia let a tiny pout shape her lips for a moment, drawing Fitz's attention.

"I'm trying to behave myself. Long nights require healthy foods." He said, even as his gaze lingered on her mouth. "Not to mention the fact that dessert could lead to such messy things."

Their eyes met for a moment, both of them thinking the same thing; they both had memories of several occasions when dessert, with its sweet sticky sauces had done exactly that.

Not that any one was complaining at the time.

"Eat, Fitz." Olivia commanded him. She watched as he dipped his siu mai into his favorite chili oil sauce and shuddered. "I still don't understand how you can even eat those!"

She remembered the one time - the first and last time - she'd tried one. She'd sworn that her lips had tingled for hours afterward - hot wasn't the word for it.

"I like things - spicified." Fitz grinned a mischievous grin at her.

"You know that's not even a word, right?"

Fitz laughed at her. "That's where the privilege of executive orders come in - with one quick scrawl of my pen, I can make all sorts of interesting things happen."

The look he gave her after that was filled with wicked intentions. "Who knew these hands could be so powerful?"

Olivia certainly did; in spite of herself, memories of his hands on her brought a hot flush to her face and sudden awareness of heat spreading throughout her body. She reached for her glass of fruit-infused water, suddenly needing a deep drink to try and soothe her suddenly dry mouth.

"Thirsty?" Fitz's smile was deliberately knowing.

"Parched."

"So am I." That was said with a slow lick of his tongue across his lips.

"Mmhmm." Olivia arched an eyebrow at him, letting Fitz know that she knew exactly where his mind was.

"Mmhmm." His answer let her know that he knew hers was in the same place. Or close enough that it didn't matter.

"Stop that." She mock-scolded him. "Eat your dinner."

"I'd rather be -"

"Fitz!"

He smiled. "Sorry."

"Are you?"

"Not really. Stop being mean."

"Cute." Olivia said. "And I am not being mean."

She really wasn't. The problem was, he really was.