Olivia woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. She yawned and stretched and jumped out of bed. She rubbed her eyes as she walked to the door and checked the peephole, it was a random woman dressed in what seemed to be a chef jacket. She opened the door.

"Hi?"

"Hello Olivia, I'm Leslie and I'm a personal chef here to cook you breakfast, I've been ordered by someone named Keith. May I come in?" Leslie said with a smile.

"Sure."

Olivia couldn't help but smile widely.

Leslie picked up a brown paper bag full of groceries and stepped in.

"The kitchen is right this way," Olivia said as she walked her over.

Leslie washed her hands and began taking the food items out of the bag.

"This morning, I will be making you an egg frittata with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese."

Olivia smiled and clapped her hands excitedly.

"I'm excited, I can't wait to eat it."

She heard another knock on the door and walked over to see who it was. When she saw that it was another delivery man, she opened the door. There was a huge bouquet of roses on the floor, so big that she couldn't manage to pick them up so she stepped aside and made the delivery man do it. There had to be a hundred red roses and in the middle where white roses arranged in the shape of a heart. It made her smile. The delivery man stepped out into the hallway and then came back with an assortment of helium foil balloon letters in red that said happy birthday. She tipped the delivery man before he left then went to brush teeth and wash her face before she called Fitz. He picked up on the first ring.

"Is it somebody's birthday today because I can't remember?" he teased.

"Thank you, seriously this is the perfect gift, food and roses and balloons,I love it."

She walked back over to the kitchen and sat on the stool waiting for Leslie to serve her, the food was ready.

"The day is still very young…"

She smiled.

"Does that mean more surprises?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"Breakfast is served," Leslie said as she placed the tray of garnished food in front of her.

"Wow, this looks great,"

"Eat up Livie, call me when your done,"

"Okay," she said, giggling like a giddy school girl.

She hung up and ate the food in it entirety, she was excited to see Fitz's other surprises for her.

She called Fitz back as she was getting ready for work, it was her last day at James Madison because in a couple days she would be leaving for Dubai. She headed to the hospital for a mid shift so she could be out by 7pm because she was sure Fitz was coming over. It's wasn't an overly chaotic day at the emergency room, things were calm by the standards she was used to. By midday Stephen offered to take her out to lunch as a birthday gift but she was still so full from breakfast that she declined. She was on break when Stephen came to tell her that she had a visitor waiting for her in the lobby. She followed anxiously, she didn't expect anyone so she wasn't sure who it could be. She walked out to the lobby, in the direction that Stephen pointed. A gentleman walked up to her.

"Are you Olivia Pope?"

"I am."

He pulled a birthday crown out of his bag and placed it on her head and then suddenly about twenty random people from oddly packed lobby stood up and broke out into song.

"Happy birthday to ya, happy birthday, happy birthday to ya…"

They danced circles around her, clapping and singing. She giggled shyly and felt awkward being the center of attention in a situation like that but she also felt special. At the end of the song they all gathered and shouted;

"Happy birthday Livie!"

Then just as quickly as they came, they filed out of the room after their grand performance.

She walked back off to Stephen after a few random people in the waiting room told her happy birthday and they walked back to the doctor's lounge.

"What was that about?"

Olivia smiled but didn't answer.

"Why, you jealous?"

"No but I'd like to meet this mystery guy that's had you giggling all morning."

"I'm sure you would but you're not going to…"

She pulled out her phone as they approached the lounge and called Fitz.

"Did you like it?"

"Are you kidding me, that was awesome. I didn't expect it at all, seriously."

Fitz smiled.

"Remember Livie that day is still young…"

"Fitz-"

He didn't wait for her reply, he just hung up. She had been so engrossed in her phone call with Fitz, she totally ignored Stephen who was right beside her.

"Who is Fitz? I thought you said his name was Keith?"

"His middle name it Fitzpatrick, sometimes I call him Fitz."

"Oh okay."

He didn't think twice about her answers because he didn't think she had a reason to lie, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Olivia went about her day as usually although she was so filled with excitement that she had to work that much harder to focus. She couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough, once her shift was over, she barely said goodbye to Stephen and then she sprinted out. It took her half hour to get home and once she reached her floor, she saw Tom, Hal, Josh and three other guards she didn't know lined up at different spots in the hallway. She walked up to Tom and Hal.

"Happy birthday Ms. Pope," Tom said.

"Tom, I told you to call me Olivia and how did he get in there, you know what, don't worry about. Thank you for the birthday wish," she said with a smile.

She opened the door and immediately the aroma of italian spices filled her nose. She walked over to the kitchen to find Fitz cooking. He didn't see her walk over, he was too busy washing something Olivia couldn't see in the kitchen sink. His jacket was thrown over the couch, his sleeve were rolled up, he looked normal and unsuspecting.

"Fitzgerald."

He turned around and smiled his charming smiled that made her melt every time.

"It took you long enough."

"Are you cooking Fitz? You can't cook."

"I am cooking, it's almost finished, 20 minutes tops."

She smiled and walked over and gave him a peck on the lips, to which Fitz grinned widely.

"Let me go shower really quickly, I smell like the hospital."

"Very quickly, five minutes max and then I'll pull you out the shower.."

"Five minutes max."

She went to go shower while Fitz finished preparing the meal. She bathed quickly and dressed in some cotton shorts and a tank top with no bra underneath just to keep him on his toes. She walked back over to the kitchen island and sat on the stool.

"Five minutes huh?"

"What, I had to take a proper shower," she said in defense.

He placed a wine glass on the counter in front of her and poured the glass full.

"Are you sure you're over 21?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes playfully and took a sip.

"This is my favorite wine, how did you know, I never told you that."

"I'm the president Olivia, I know things."

She watched as he stirred something in the pan.

"When did you learn how to cook?"

"This week."

"What?"

"Seriously, this week, I had the white house chef teach me how to make this specific dish, ask me to make anything else and I'm pretty sure I won't know how."

She chuckled.

"I'm impressed, never thought I'd see the day when you cooked."

Fitz smiled.

"Neither did I but I know how greedy you are so I figured if I feed you, you'll be happy."

"You were right, I'm excited, I can't wait to taste it."

"Well, it's pretty much finished now I think."

"Good I'm famished."

She took another sip of wine and waited as Fitz served her food.

"Dig in," he ordered.

"Aren't you gonna eat too?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"Well it's my birthday and I say you have to eat too."

He obliged and made a plate for himself and sat on the stool beside her.

Olivia waited until Fitz was beside her to take her first bite. Fitz watched anxiously and waited for her reaction.

"Do you like it? Is it horrible?"

She chewed the last bit and swallowed.

"No, it's actually pretty good. It definitely tastes like it was made by a professional."

She laughed.

"Look at you, learning how to do stuff," she teased.

He rolled his eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Sure, what's up?" she said as she took another bite of the shrimp on her fork.

"Is this your endgame?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is this what you see yourself doing for the rest of your life or do you have other ambitions and goals?"

She smiled.

"I'll always do Doctors Without Borders, it's an amazing experience and I get to meet the great little kids and strong women all over the world and I don't know if I'll ever be able to give that up but in the future I think I'd like to open my own medical center. It'll be technologically advanced and ideally whenever a doctor told someone that their condition was inoperable or incurable, they would come to my center and we'd be able to cure them. It's idealistic, at best, I know but it's fun to think about."

Fitz smiled.

"That's bring us to your last gift."

"More gifts," she said excitedly.

"One last one."

He got up and walked to the other side of the island and picked up a packet that had been on the far side of the counter. He placed it in front of her and moved her mostly empty place to the side.

She inspected the packet before opening it, she could tell there were pages inside.

"Is this a copy of the new game of thrones book that hasn't come out yet?" she asked with wide eyes.

"No," Fitz said it as if that was the silliest thing he'd ever heard.

"Oh,"

"Just open the packet and read it."

She smiled.

"Okay,"

She opened the packet and pulled out a stack of papers. It had to be about 200 pages.

On the cover sheet of the stack of papers read;

"Proposition to expand medical accelerator labs across the United States."

She gasped.

"No way!"

"Go on, read it,"

Fitz had never actually seen Olivia read anything before, it was truly a sight to behold. She was like a machine. It was as if she took a picture of each page mentally, processed it in about as much time as it takes a person to blink and then skipped to the next page, he had known speed readers, he was one himself. A skill he developed after years of reading thousands of pages, throughout law school and his governorship. A skill that had become most useful in his presidency given all the daily briefings he had to read but he'd never seen anything like Olivia. She was done reading in minutes.

She looked at him, still utterly shocked that he would do something like that.

"I've been thinking for weeks on what to get you for your birthday, it's not really like you want for anything and there's not much I can buy you that you can't by for yourself. When you told me about the labs I knew you were 100% right, we spend billions every year on guns and fighter jets without hesitation but not enough on labs and medical research centers so I got my health and science secretaries and a few other experts to help me put this together to introduce it to to congress."

She hopped off her stool and walked over to him.

"There is nothing you could have bought me that would make me feel the way I feel right now."

She wrapped her hands tightly around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you, that was the best gift you could have ever gotten me, I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it," she said with a chuckle.

She held on to him for a while longer, just content to take in his scent and then she stepped back. She hoisted herself up on the countertop of the kitchen island and took a seat.

"So, your plan was to romance me with a nice dinner and…" she trailed off seductively.

Fitz walked over and stood between her legs with his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

"Isn't the romance enough?"

She pressed her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Not right now it's not."

Fitz smirked at her cheekiness and kissed her. Olivia was ready and willing and wet for him after the extreme displays of affection he showed to make her feel special on her birthday. She opened her legs wider and wrapped them around his waist. She slowly began to unbutton his shirt. It was a vulgar kiss, it was hungry and erotic and there was no restraint on either of their parts. Their mouths open, their tongues explored and tasted as if it was their first kiss all over again. Once she had his shirt undone, she pulled it down his arms and threw it on the floor. His chest was cleanly shaven, she could see his scar from his gunshot wound where she had stitched him up. Fitz moved his hands under her shirt to feel her skin, it was soft as if she had just taken a bath in milk. He reached further and further under her shirt until he found himself pulling it off of her so he could get full view of her breasts, it had been too long since he last saw them. Once he had her shirt off, he reluctantly moved from the sweet taste of her lips to kiss and suck and nibble down her neck.

Olivia panted as she felt his tongue slither over her erect nipples and kissed down her stomach. When he reached down to her navel he pulled back. There was a slight paused in which he wait for her to object but when she didn't he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her slightly off the countertop so he could pull her shorts off leaving her in just her white lace thong. She spread her legs apart, inviting him to come to her. His eyes were dark with hunger and lust, hers were too. He pulled her closer to him so that her legs were hanging off the counter and kissed her again. As Fitz kissed her she felt his finger glide over the lace of her thong down her slit. She shuddered. He did it over and over and over again. She never dreamed that a gentle stroke, down her slit, barely touching her clit could drive her so wild but it did, she was on the verge of begging him to enter her when the was a knock on the door and everything was ruined. Tom rushed in not waiting for permission. Olivia covered her breast and buried her face into Fitz's neck. Fitz did his part to shield her nakedness too.

"Sir, we have a situation."

"What is it?"

Tom gave him a knowing look and Fitz knew that meant it was serious.

"Alright Tom give me a minute."

"Yes Sir."

Tom exited quickly giving them privacy.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Fitz said angrily.

Olivia ran her hands through his hair.

"Go, it's okay. I'm sure whatever it is, is very important."

She kissed him softly on the lips.

After years of pent up anger and sexual frustration he was ready to devour Olivia. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it together anymore. He was angry and annoyed but not with her, never with her, with himself for being in the situation that he was in and not being able to be with her freely and openly.

She hopped off the counter and picked up his shirt and began dressing him.

"Wow you were so close to getting some, so close," she teased.

Fitz's face finally softened into a smile.

"This is not funny."

She kissed him on the cheek again then she grabbed his jacket and held it out for him. When he had his jacket on she smoothed his hair out on last time, and gave him a once over to make sure he was perfect.

"There you go, you're perfect."

She walked him to the door.

"I'm sorry."

She was still naked save her lace thong and he tried not to look.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay, today was perfect regardless."

He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

She smiled and slapped him on his ass.

"Go. Tight buns,"

He gave her one last look before he left.

Once he was in the hallway he walked briskly behind Tom who was ready and waiting for him.

"What's going on Tom because I'm about three seconds away from choking you for stopping what was about to happen in there."

Tom knew he was joking about the threat.

"We found the assassin sir, they have him at the pentagon."

"What the fuck Tom, can you start with that next time? Let's go!"

They hurried back to the cars and then to the pentagon.

They had been hunting his assassin ferociously since the shooting, Fitz wanted answers. So far, they knew he had been paid 15 million to perform the assassination, they weren't sure if he was suppose to be paid more afterwards. Nolan Ronan, was an international mercenary. He was on the CIA watch list but he went quiet for a few years and they took him off of priority. He was an American, before he began selling his services he was a sniper for the marines.

Fitz stopped at the window briefly before walking into the room. Nolan sat quietly at the desk, he was as calm cucumber.

No one had touched him as Fitz ordered. When Fitz entered the room Nolan seemed shocked to see Fitz.

"Mr. President?"

"In the flesh," Fitz said casually as he sat across from him.

They sat quietly for a while then Fitz began.

"Who paid you to try to kill me?"

Fitz decided to get straight to the point.

"I don't know."

"Let's try again. Who paid you to try and assassinate me?"

"I don't know."

"Let's be amiable about this Nolan, we can work with you but you've got to work with us. I want to know who wants me dead and I want to know if they'll try it again."

"You don't really want to know who wants you dead."

"I don't?"

"No, you don't."

"Why not?"

Nolan stayed quiet. He was so calm and collected and that was what was pissing Fitz off.

"Who hired you?"

Nolan didn't answer.

Fitz took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

"Are you going to hit me Mr. President because I know my rights

"You don't have any rights, at least not in this room."

"One last chance," Fitz said as he stood and walked over to him.

Nolan stayed silent.

"Alright let's see how long you can hold out."

Fitz knuckle connected connect to his jaw and he fell off the chair. Tom, Hal, Josh and Rob stood by ready to pounce if Nolan tired anything. Fitz grabbed Nolan off the by his collar and punched him again. The blood drained from his mouth but Fitz didn't stop. The more he punched Nolan the angrier he got, he saw red and only red. Nolan's blood splattered on the ground and on his shirt.

"Who hired you Nolan?"

Fitz pulled back and waited for an answer. When he didn't get one, he gave him another forceful punch, Fitz heard his teeth crash together. Fitz pulłed back to hit him again but this time Nolan held his hand up, trying to get Fitz to pause and he did.

Fitz waited impatiently for Nolan to start talking.

"It was someone that's close to you," he mumbled.

Fitz felt his heart skip a beat.

"Who?"

Nolan was quiet again, his consciousness was slipping away.

"Who?"

"I can't -"

"You can't what?"

Nolan was silent.

"You better answer me or I'll punch you again and I won't stop this time."

Nolan slipped into unconsciousness.

Fitz shook him but his was totally limp.

"Fuck!"

Fitz started pummeling his face again and when it was getting too much Tom and Hal pulled him off forcefully.

"Let me go Tom!" Fitz commanded.

"You're going to kill him, we still need answers."

Fitz took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Fine but I want answers from him, do not stop until you get them Tom."

"We have the best interrogators waiting to talk to him."

Fitz put his jacket on and walked out, his guards in tow.

When they got pack to the car, the words kept running through his head; 'it was someone close to you',"

Paranoia set in and he needed to get something off his chest. He turned to Tom.

"Tom, did any one of your guards tell my father about my visits to Olivia? Do you know?"

Tom seemed thrown off by his questions.

"Sir, my agents don't reveal your whereabouts to anyone, I can promise you that none of my agents are revealing any information about you to anyone."

Fitz leaned back.

"I didn't think so either. Tom, you heard what he said back there."

"I did Sir, if that's true, we'll find out who it is."