"I assume you'll want to speak with General Ramos about these newest developments before moving forward?" Cyrus changed the subject.
"I think that would be best." Fitz said. "It's bad enough that what we're looking at could put a strain on our San Collondias initiatives, but any unwanted interference could impact their neighbors as well - and not in a good way."
He glanced down at the map in his hands. "This info - if taken and used the wrong way - could turn around so that we'll find ourselves being accused of being the greedy colonizers too many are already to believe us to be."
"It's convenient that the resources being eyed are set along the borders of their larger neighbors - those who promise to be the most aggressive and particular about them if they feel threatened by the General's initiatives." Cyrus pointed out.
"Too convenient." Fitz said.
"Does anyone want to take a guess as to who's leading the silent charge?" Olivia asked. Both Fitz and Cyrus shook their heads; they all already had a good idea.
Seeing their expressions and knowing that she agreed, Olivia nodded. "Our good friend, Garner is a distinct possibility. The amount of traffic that spiked on his secure lines at home was the first red flag. It will take time to backtrack his feeds and uncover any and all details - but when they started to include long-distance offshore communications is when it was brought to my attention."
Fitz looked at both Cyrus and Olivia. "I don't want the general to hear any of this from anyone else but me."
Cyrus nodded as he stood up. "With that being the case, I'll head down to the Sit Room to see about arranging the call."
"Good." Fitz said. "The sooner the two of us get together, the sooner we can get started on putting out any fires on his borders before they get a chance to begin."
"I'll get right on it." Cyrus said. "We'll have to reschedule that dinner for another night. "
"We will." Fitz promised.
"I'll make the calls to let everybody know the change in plans." Cyrus said as he headed for the door.
Before Cyrus opened the door, he paused and looked back at them. Unexpectedly, his gaze softened - just a fraction - but it was enough that both Olivia and Fitz could see. "Take your time coming down, Mr. President - I'll tell your secretary to hold your calls for the next twenty minutes or so."
When the door had closed behind him, Olivia sighed and rested her head on Fitz's shoulder. He slipped one arm around her and they sat in silence for a moment.
"So much for dinner." Olivia said with a sigh.
"I was looking forward to it, too. Good food, good company…" Fitz said.
He leaned his head down and brushed his lips across the top of Olivia's head, breathing her in as he closed his eyes. "Especially the good company part."
Olivia closed her eyes, smiling as she felt Fitz lean into her. It's been a whirlwind of days and they hadn't had much time to spend with one another outside of taking care of business, with nothing but the promise of more to come, but at least the dinner would have served as the next best thing.
Fitz needed to take breaks where he could, she thought to herself. Sometimes he forgot that. Sometimes she did too, but never for too long; the recent past was still too recent for her and she couldn't forget what he'd been through in the last year and the stress that had never really gone away since then.
Unsurprisingly, their minds were in sync.
"Let me just state for the record that I am also very much aware that this was you taking care of me - all of you taking care of me - making sure that I got a chance to step away from the stress and strain of the Oval." Fitz said.
Olivia shifted herself, turning her face upwards towards Fitz with a smile that told him that he was right.
"We serve at the pleasure of the president." She murmured a soft sound of pleasure of her own as she reached up and with a gentle hand pulled his mouth down to hers.
The kiss that followed was soft and sweet enough that she let herself lose all of her worries and concerns in them. Instead, she felt herself focusing only on the taste and feel of him, tasting and savoring his touch, his taste. As she felt his hand lift itself to caress her face, he pulled her even closer and her senses dizzied beneath his touch.
When the kiss ended, he pulled back a little, just enough that she could look up into his eyes.
"We need a break, a little me and you time - both of us." His voice was soft. "You may be worried about me, but did you stop to think about me being worried about you?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you - you've been running yourself more than a little ragged, what with overseeing your people and their work on the San Collondias situation, you personally laying the foundations for my re-election campaign, coordinating the education summit with Susan, wrangling the Caldwell clan and now coordinating all of it with Cyrus..."
"I'm doing my job and loving every minute of it." That was the truth and it made her happy to do it, especially since most importantly, they were doing it together. "But since you brought up the fact of someone running themselves ragged…"
"Point taken." Fitz said. "Don't think I hadn't noticed how quickly and easily everyone had cleared their schedule for dinner tonight or guessed the reason why. This was your idea of down time, wasn't it?"
"Maybe." Olivia admitted. "But I will say that everyone was on board the moment I brought it up."
She went serious for a moment. "I can't forget what happened to you, Fitz. I don't think any of us can, not really."
Fitz kissed Olivia again before shifting them so that her head was resting on his shoulder again. "I'm not going to argue with you about it. I haven't forgotten about what's happened either. I don't think that I ever will."
And he meant it; Fitz had been given a taste of his mortality. If he'd learned anything it was that there was no time to waste in his life to go after what made him happy.
"I promise that I'm being careful." He told her. "And I promise to try and pace myself better, if that will ease your worries."
"I don't mean to be a nag about it, Fitz." Olivia said. "It's just that the hits just keep on coming…"
She took a breath and confessed what had been on her mind since they'd returned from the Caldwells. Fitz and Peter's verbal clash had stayed with her. Especially the points about Fitz's father.
"One thing in particular that's been staying on my mind is that I've been worried about how you felt about Peter throwing your father's deeds in your face." Olivia's eyes filled with her concern. "We both know your father is a weak point for you - even if Peter doesn't."
"Are we sure that he doesn't?" Fitz's expression tensed up with that thought for a long moment before he was able to force himself to relax.
Whether Peter's words had been an accidental shot in the dark or done on purpose, like it not, Olivia was right; even the merest mention of his father never failed to send a fresh rush of angry emotion through him and with it the potential to cloud his judgment.
"If he does know, it isn't from me." Olivia reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his. "And he knows better than to ask. Peter is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them."
"I've gathered that." Fitz said, with an effort, he pushed the rise in his emotions aside. One day, he promised himself, the mention of Big Gerry would lose its power to affect him. "Now can we talk about Peter some other time? I get it, Peter is an ally and you trust him. And if you trust him, so do I - or at least I'll try to trust him more. I will take into account everything that you've said, but right now, there are other things that are on my mind that hold a much higher priority."
Olivia knew better than to push; at least she'd spoken her mind and so she gave in, easily. Her smile said it all. "What things might they be, Mr. President?"
Fitz lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles before continuing. "As Cyrus mentioned, we're about to enter the holiday season and if we think we're busy now, we both know that it's going to get even worse."
Fitz's words came slowly, his thoughts forming as he spoke. Olivia's nearness made him adamant about a few things. "I'm thinking that I want to make a promise to you that with the holidays coming up - with all the craziness that's going to come with it - I want you to know that I have every intention of carving out some quality time for us."
"I like the sound of that." Olivia snuggled closer and they both sat quietly for a few minutes after that, enjoying the thoughts of the holidays and the times ahead.
Fitz kept going, his voice soft and heavy with satisfaction. "I'm really looking forward to this holiday season, because it's going to be the first of many that you and I are going to celebrate in the White House, Liv. And I promise you here and now, that this will be a season that you will never forget."
Something in Fitz's promise sent a thrill through Olivia. The holidays were right around the corner and Fitz was right, it was going to be a crazy few weeks - but it was going to be a good crazy - she was suddenly sure of it. And then there was what would come after. Fitz's campaign would go into full active mode and she could only guess at the controlled chaos it was going to bring.
They both lived for this kind of fight - and that meant that she'd better get to work on all of it.
Olivia smiled again as she reluctantly eased herself out of Fitz's embrace. She slipped her hands into his for a moment and felt them grip hers, warm, strong, vibrant. Fitz was everything this country needed - everything she needed.
Oh, how she loved this man.
"I can't wait - and I know you can't wait to see Karen and Gerry and Teddy." She told him as she stood up. "How are the plans for Thanksgiving going?"
Fitz stood up with her, reluctant to let go. "I've already had that particular chat with Mellie and now I'm just waiting for her answer."
That had gone as well as he could have expected. At least Mellie had been on the other side of the continent when they'd talked. She would insist on having them for Thanksgiving Day, but he was hoping to convince Mellie into letting him have the kids on his own over the weekend, even if he had to fly out to the West Coast to do it.
He hadn't told Olivia yet, but he'd also planned to convince her to join them - if not for dinner, then at least for a long dessert - but first he'd thought to see what Mellie had to say and deal with that first.
Fitz decided he'd tell her about that now, and added an explanation. "I hope you'll say yes. I want them to get used to the idea of you being around in the private spaces of my life." He explained. "It's a part of my plan of my personal life moving forward."
Mellie was still thinking about it - as she had put it - which was about as good of a sign that he could expect to get, but at least she hadn't given him a straight out no.
"Fitz, are you sure that's a good idea…"
Olivia sounded troubled and he could guess why. Before she could say anything else, Fitz shushed her worries by pulling her into his arms.
"We've got enough concerns on our plates, let's not borrow trouble." He said, brushing his lips against hers in between his words.
Then he was deepening the kiss, brushing away the world and all its worries, letting himself lose himself in the warmth of Olivia's lips, the slow dance of his mouth against hers…
He was suddenly, achingly hungry for her, the familiar ache surging through him and he let it show in his eyes.
"Stay the night." He whispered against her mouth.
Fitz's hunger had ignited her own. Even so, Olivia shook her head reluctantly.
"You've got work to do." She told him. "I've got work to do - you know that. Tonight was only supposed to be a working dinner as well as a break. As you said, I've got so much to do for the campaign - and since dinner is not happening, it's not too late for me to make some very necessary phone calls."
Fitz smiled down at her. "And yet, there's this little thing called eating - it's something of a required task."
"Fitz…" There was a protest in her voice, but it was weak; as weak as her resolve. Fitz was holding her close far too close and Olivia could barely think from his nearness.
"I could mention a few other tasks that require your attention as well." He murmured. "Your immediate attention…"
He let his voice trail off, his meaning clear. Yes, Fitz knew that they both had duties, but Liv couldn't possibly be mad at him if he stole himself a little taste, could she?
He let one hand travel slowly up the length of her back, sliding into her hair, sending shivers through her as he expertly maneuvered her so that her throat was exposed to his suddenly questing lips, his mouth gently tracing a path along her jawline.
Despite her protests and her better judgment, Olivia's eyes fluttered shut against the sensation of his mouth against her skin. Unthinking, her hands rose to rest on Fitz's shoulders as she tried to keep her balance against the sensations his touch was sending through her. It was a sweet struggle and one she almost lost. Almost.
"I really do need to make those phone calls…" her voice had gone all breathless from his touch.
"Which you can do from the Residence and you know it. You also know that it would only take a few minutes for Tom to have a separate private line set up for your use."
Fitz ghosted his mouth against the soft curves of her ear. It's been a long day and it's nowhere near over yet - for both of them. He knows it - they both know - but it was hard to keep his mind on duty alone when Olivia was so sweetly pliant in his arms…
He firms his determination and pulls back so that he can look into her eyes. If they can't have now maybe they can at least have later - even if it's only to fall asleep in each others' arms. "You know how much I need you by my side, Liv. Say that you'll stay…"
"I'll -" Olivia smiled up at him and he could see the same thoughts as his mirrored in her gaze. "- I'll think about it…"