Olivia's birthday was fast approaching and with only two weeks left with her, he need to do something big. Fitz had been meditating on her gift since she had thrown him the impromptu birthday party weeks earlier. It was perfect and thoughtful and he had no idea how he was going to top that or even reciprocate it. Money was no object for him but the problem was that Olivia couldn't be bought, he'd been around her long enough to know that just buying her a necklace or a purse wouldn't really impress her, she had all those things already. It took him some time to figure out what he was going to get her but he still had no idea what to do for her, he wanted to make her feel special, the way he felt when she threw him the party. He managed to steal Abby's number from her work phone before he left, he planned to call and try to get her to tell him what Olivia liked since she knew Olivia better than he did.

He sat in the oval office, waiting for Lauren to put him through on a secure private line to Abby. Once Lauren put him through, he sat waiting for Abby to pick up.

"Who is this?"

"Hey Abby, it's Keith, Olivia's friend."

"Hi Keith." Abby said awkwardly.

"Olivia's birthday is coming up and you know her better than I do, do you have any idea of what I could do for her birthday that she'd like?"

Abby pondered.

"She must really like you because she's totally been blowing me off for the last month, she won't even let me come to D.C. to visit but anyways she likes food so if you really want to impress her then cook something for her, don't take her out to eat because she goes out to eat all the time."

"I have no idea how to cook."

Abby chuckled.

"Even if it taste like cardboard, she appreciate the thought but if you really can't cook order a back up pizza or something, she also really likes wine, she doesn't drink it often but she likes it, it can't be anything cheap though."

"Do you know her favorite dish?"

"She likes everything."

"Thank you Gabby, I really appreciate your help."

"It's Abby and I just wanna say that I've known Olivia a really long time and she's the kindest, sweetest, most loyal and all around best person I know. I also know that she really likes you alot because she won't shut up about you every single time I get her on the phone it's Keith, Keith, Keith and that's not really her thing so what I'm saying is don't hurt my friend."

Fitz smiled.

"I hear you loud and clear."

Abby hung up and Fitz sat at his desk smiling, he kind of liked that Abby was protective of Olivia. After the handjob incident with Olivia days earlier, he couldn't stop thinking about what she said to him 'Hurry up and get divorced so I can show you how a woman is suppose to treat a man like you,'. He kept trying to think of ways to speed the process along but Mellie was above all, difficult. He had his lawyers harassing her every second of every day but she wouldn't budge. He had half a mind to walk into the press room and announce the divorce himself but that would mean an all out war and he wasn't ready for that as yet, not till Olivia left for her trip and was far out of reach so they couldn't use her against him. He sat bouncing ideas off of himself when he finally found a solution.

"Tom?" he called loudly.

Within seconds Tom entered the room.

"Yes Mr. President?"

"I need a favor…"

"Anything sir."

"I need you to leak to the press that I asked Mellie for a divorce and I need you to do it quick, I want it in the the midday news."

Tom nodded.

"Okay sir," he headed out to complete his task.

Right away Fitz called his press secretary's extension and told him to come to his office immediately. Fitz waited two minutes before he heard the patter of footsteps heading to the office.

"Mr. president?" Josh said as he entered.

"Josh, some time today a new story claiming that I have filed for divorce from my wife will break, when the reporters ask you about it, you will neither confirm nor deny, tell them that I ask that they respect our privacy, that's your line to everything regarding a possible divorce."

Josh nodded.

"Got it sir."

"Thank you Josh."

With that out the way, Fitz was finally able to go back to work. He planned to make a visit to the chef later on, he wanted the chef to teach him how to make something for Olivia but in the meantime, he was content to wait until the news of his divorce hit the press.

By 3pm that day, Fitz began flipping through news channels waiting for the divorce news to hit. As he was flipping through he came across a news story about Olivia and the gymnast she operated on. Marisa had regain her vision and was up and running like nothing ever happened earlier than Olivia gave her permission to. As she was exiting the the hospital, reporters bombarded her with questions of how she was able to come back after a fall of that magnitude. She stopped to answer the reporter's question proudly.

"Olivia Pope saved me, she operated on me for free and when I kick butt at worlds then the olympics, I'm dedicating my gold medal to her because if it wasn't for her, I would've been blind for the rest of my life."

The reporters began firing questions again but this time Marisa ignored them and was carried away by her father through the small crowd.

Immediately after Marisa's story was finished the divorce was breaking news everywhere. He waited patiently for Mellie arrival and as it turns out, he didn't have to wait very long because ten minutes later, in walked Mellie.

"Have you seriously lost your mind?"

"What?"

"I know you leaked the divorce story Fitz, I'm not an idiot."

"I didn't leak anything and I don't appreciate you accusing of leaking information to the press."

"Oh bullshit, why isn't Josh denying it?"

"Because that would be lying Mellie, I am going to divorce you, there is no two ways about it so. Are we done here?"

Mellie wanted to throw Olivia in his face if nothing but to catch him off guard but she didn't want him to know that she knew about Olivia as yet so she bit the bullet and stormed off.

Olivia walked into her apartment after a long and tiring shift at the hospital, she was leaving in less than two weeks and while she was excited to be going away, she was going to miss Fitz terribly and idea of missing him put a damper on the trip and since the handjob incident, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about being with him. Her dreams had gotten so wild that even after she woke up, she couldn't stop thinking about it and she found herself getting ridiculously wet whenever she remembered the feeling of his big hard cock in her hand and worst part was that the memories would flare at the oddest of times like during surgery or a random conversation with another person, it was torture. She wondered if he got boners during the day thinking about her too. Then she thought about the fact that he had been unusually quiet all day, only calling a few times to check in with her but she didn't think twice about it, she knew he was a busy man.

She showered and dressed for bed and scavenged through the refrigerator for leftovers. She ended up settling for a bowl of popcorn as she sat in front of the television and and switched through the channels. She flipped past the news channels absently until the headline caught her attention. She only needed to read the headline once before she pulled out her phone and dialed Fitz's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Livie.."

"Don't Livie me, why didn't you tell me you were going to announce your divorce you skittle dittle."

He chuckled, he had no idea where she came up with all the little nicknames that she did.

"I don't really have an excuse, I just wanted you to see it and call to ask me."

"Well you got your wish. That was smart of you though, to leak it."

"How do you know I leaked it?"

"It's obvious that you wanted people to know, you aren't denying it."

"Mellie might. She seems determined."

"She won't deny it unless you deny it with her, if she goes out there all by herself and tell them it's a lie without you by her side she'll look, I'm sorry to say it but... pathetic and she's a proud woman, she won't go out like that."

"I don't want her to make her look bad but I need to get this divorce, I want you Olivia."

She blushed so hard, her cheeks hurt.

"I want you too and I miss you, I'm going crazy a little bit over here."

"Well someone has a birthday coming up, maybe you'll get a little bit of me on your birthday."

"Don't tempt me, seriously don't."

Fitz chuckled.

"Ah ha, doesn't feel so good does it?"

"No," Olivia admitted.

There was a knock on Fitzs door in the oval, he had a late night joint chiefs meeting.

"Liv, I have a late night joint chiefs meeting I have to get to."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

He hung up.

"One sec Cy, I'm coming."

He organized his desk quickly to meet Cyrus but when the door opened it wasn't Cyrus.

"Dad?" the only reason he was shocked that big Gerry was there was because he was sure that he had been in New york a few hours earlier.

"You look surprised to see me, with everything that's going on I would have thought you would expect a meeting with your father."

"Why would I expect you here, whatever's going on between me and Mellie has nothing to do with you."

"I have worked way too hard and spent way too much money getting you elected for president, why are you willing to throw that away?"

"I'm getting divorced not impeached,"

"Fitz whatever your reason for the divorce, it isn't worth it, go out there and deny those rumors and clean this mess up."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"I'm not gonna argue with you, fix this now Fitzgerald."

"Okay, I'll fix it, first thing tomorrow I'll tell the press it's a complete lie."

Fits had no intention of doing so but if telling Gerry he would, could get him out of the current conversation then it was worth it. Gerry wasn't used to Fitz backing down so quickly, he had half a mind to throw Olivia in his face but he knew how irrational Fitz could get when he was angry and since he didn't yet understand the full scope of his relationship with her he didn't know if throwing her in his face would help or not. If she was just some fling then he couldn't really use her as leverage if she wasn't worth anything to him. He decided to wait and see if Fitz was going to keep his word.

Gerry left shortly after, Fitz went about attending his meetings then stopped by the kitchen to get a cooking lesson with the White House chef, who he begged to stay later in the night so he could have the lessons in private.

As the days past and Olivia's birthday got closer and closer. In between preparing for her trip and working shifts at James Madison, she was busy and they managed to have small conversations throughout the day but at night they would talk on the phone for hours about nothing and everything. Fitz was busy too, between the U.N crisis, the divorce drama and preparing for Olivia's birthday his plate was full. Gerry had been watching carefully, waiting on Fitz statement but it had been 5 days since the divorce broke the news and Fitz was still silent. People were growing antsy about his silence and between Mellie and Cyrus' complaining, he knew it was time to do something. He decided to pay Fitz another visit, he knew he had to tread carefully but he still needed to find out the extent of his relationship with Olivia to see if she was the reason behind the whole divorce debacle and then he would know what to do from there.

It was evening when Gerry walked down the hall to the oval office, he knocked and waited for Fitz to invite him in.

Fitz was in the middle of arguing with Mellie when he heard a knock on the door, he couldn't invite them in fast enough, it was a guaranteed way to get Mellie to leave but when Gerry walked in, it seemed to him like a double whammy.

"Oh god, both of you?" Fitz said in frustration.

"Gerry you need to tell him to stop with crap, people seriously believe this is going to happen, it's not dying down," Mellie complained.

"It is going to happen," Fitz fired back.

"Mellie, I need to talk to my son!" Gerry demanded.

"Good, talk some sense into him finally -"

"Excuse me Mellie!" Gerry said cutting her off rudely.

Mellie couldn't stand Gerry, he was a misogynist and was as elitist, narcissistic and pompous as they came but he was key to getting things done and he was a package deal with Fitz so she put up with him whenever she had to.

"Fine!" she said as she stormed out.

Gerry waited for Mellie to make her exit then walked over bar cart and poured a generous amount of scotch from the decanter and offered it to Fitz.

"You want a glass?" he asked.

"Sure," he said as he walked back to his desk and took a seat.

Moments later, Gerry came over with the scotch.

"So, it's been almost a week and you haven't said anything about these divorce rumors, what's going on buddy?"

Fitz sighed.

"First of all, don't call me that. Secondly, I already told you I plan on getting this divorce, what is it going to take for you to believe me because I'm about 3 seconds away from walking into the press room and telling everyone I gave Mellie the papers myself."

"I just want you to tell me why. Why do you want a divorce now, after all these years?"

"I've alway wanted a divorce, don't pretend you never knew that."

"I do but you seem so much more passionate about it now, what's changed?"

"Nothing's changed."

"You're my only son Fitzgerald, I know you like I know my own name. Something's different about you, admit it."

"What's different?"

Fitz was anxious to see where Gerry was trying to steer the conversation.

"I can't put my finger on it, you've got a little pep in your step, it can't be Mellie, are you seeing someone else?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure? I'm your father you can tell me? You can trust me, you know that."

"What are you trying to find out?"

"I know."

Fitz was getting a little defensive.

"You know what?"

"I know about you and the doctor."

"What about me and what doctor?"

"Come on Fitz, I'm not trying to chastise you, I just want you to be honest with me that's all."

Fitz calmed down, Gerry seemed genuine.

"Who told you?"

"Mellie."

"What?" Fitz asked visibly shocked.

"She doesn't really know anything, she suspects but I shut her down weeks ago, she hasn't said anything since but after she told me I had to find out for myself."

"What exactly did you find out?"

"I know you went to apartment a few times."

"How do you know that?"

Gerry wasn't about to tell Fitz he had a private investigator watching Olivia, so he decided to lie.

"One of your guards,"

"Really, which one?"

"It's not important."

"Yes it is. If I have guards that I can't trust to keep their mouths shut then I need new guards."

"Fitz don't worry about that. The point is what are you doing? Why are you seeing this girl?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because if this blows up in your face, I need to know what's going on so I can have your back, is it just sex or is it more? I'm your family, you're my son and number one priority, you and my grandson. I need to know so I can protect you."

"It's not just sex, we haven't even had sex."

"You expect me to believe you aren't having sex with you hot doctor girlfriend," Gerry chuckled lightening the mood.

"I swear, I'm not," Fitz said as he chuckled too.

"So what is going on between the two of you then? She's just a friend?"

"Noooo, she way more than that."

That was when Gerry saw it, he assumed it was what Mellie saw as well.

"You love her," it wasn't a question, it was more like an observation that Gerry made, a eureka moment.

"Yeah dad, I love her."

"So that's why you're getting the divorce."

Fitz sighed.

"Don't get me wrong, I know this divorce is gonna be nasty, both in the court of public opinion and in actual court and I probably wouldn't have bothered fighting for this divorce if I didn't meet Olivia but I did. She's worth it and I'm going through with this divorce whether or not you or Cyrus or the american people like it."

Gerry was silent for a moment then he began.

"It's quite the thing, being in love with a woman. I remember when I met your mother she was a bombshell, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She was so famous and I was a little intimidated at first and just like you and Mellie at first, she hated my guts. I tried to wine and dine her, dazzle her with my charm and money, she saw through all the bullshit every time. It wasn't until I honestly sat her down and told her my true feelings that she began to give me the time of day. I wasn't good to your mother, she deserved so much better than what I gave to her while she was alive. She might not have been able to stand me for most of our marriage but she loved you more than life itself. She always boasted what a great president you would be someday, she always wanted to see that, it's a pity she never did."

Fitz had been feeling sentimental from Gerry's performance up until his last sentence.

"Was that what this whole speech was about ,you're going to use mom's death to guilt me into staying married to Mellie? For one second I thought maybe you could put the politics behind you but I guess not!"

"I'm not trying to manipulate you, you are too stubborn for that."

"That's never stopped you before."

"What I'm saying is, you've made be proud since the day you were born. You've been exceptional at everything you've done since you could do things. You are the best thing about me, every single person I meet the first thing I mention is you, seriously they are tired of me. All I'm saying Fitz is that, you've worked hard to be president and you deserve it, don't throw it all away by trying to pull this quickie divorce to be with Olivia, you have to do it the right way. Let me help you, it's the first time a president is getting divorced in office, it's gonna take time."

"I don't want to be married to her anymore."

"I understand that, I promise to help you but promise me that you won't rush through this. Let me help you to do this the right way so that you can come out of this in one piece."

Fitz sighed.

"Olivia leaves for doctors without border in a 6 days. She'll be gone for a few months. I want the ball rolling on this divorce during that time and I'll know if your stalling."

"I won't."

"Dad seriously, Olivia is not coming back from her trip to a married man."

"I know Fitz, I told you I'm looking out for you and I meant it.."

Gerry got up from his chair.

"Give your father a hug," he demanded.

"I'm not a hugger."

Gerry chuckled.

"Alright buddy."

He down what little scotch he had left and made his exit.