When Fitz landed on the South Lawn in marine one in the early morning, he headed straight to the residence to shower and take a nap for a few hours and woke up around noon to head to the oval office to see what work need to be done. Gerry's last day of school was Wednesday and he left for California on Wednesday night to spend his summer vacation with Mellie.
As Fitz sat in the oval, reading state department briefing packets on Iraq and Afghanistan's latest shenanigans, Cyrus strutted into the room.
"Fitz please go on the date we planned for you."
"No, I already made up my mind Cy."
"You're going to try and pass small business legislation in a couple weeks, I think it's better to have dinner at a small business restaurant where the press can see you instead of your private boat."
"What kind of restaurant is it?"
"I don't remember, I can ask Ethan."
"Is the food good?"
"I don't know."
"Okay, I'm not going, I told you if it wasn't good enough, I wasn't going to take her there so I'm not taking her there."
Cyrus sighed exasperatedly.
"Should I send hair and makeup over to make sure she looks appropriate for the camera?"
"She has great taste Cyrus, I'm sure she'll look fine."
"It's your first date after your divorce, the media is going to be wall to wall with picture of you two for a week."
"Cyrus, just calm down, it's going to be fine."
"I'm going to tip the press off at around 7:30, they should be at her apartment by then."
"Cyrus I'd rather you didn't do that."
"Fitz, you know we have to."
"I don't want them hounding her and shouting awkward questions at her and making her uncomfortable, they'll find out about the date and I'm sure they'll get a few pictures and that will have to be enough. I just want her to have a good time Cyrus, I'm sure you'd want the same for James if you were in my position."
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll let the press know after you've left so they won't have that much time to gather outside, I'll send only the friendly reporters and make sure no one shouts anything at her and they'll get a few pictures when you guys walk out and then they'll get some when you drop her back, how does that sound?"
"Good, I can work with that."
Around 2pm, Olivia headed to Barneys to pick up her dress for the date. She went to the suite and found Kate, who set her up in a room once again and went to call the seamstress to fit the dress.
Olivia dropped her purse and stripped anxiously waiting for the dress to arrive. Moments later, Kate returned with the seamstress.
"Hello Olivia, we've got your dress."
Olivia smiled and clapped her hands excitedly.
"I'm so excited to try it on."
The seamstress carefully pulled it out of the garment bag and unzipped it and held it out for Olivia to step into it then she zipped it up for her.
Olivia walked in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.
"It's perfect, exactly how I wanted it, thank you Elena," she said kindly.
Elena smiled.
"See, I told you, I fix for you."
Olivia chuckled.
"Yes, you did it perfectly."
Olivia walked around in the dress just to see how it felt to move in it and then she asked Kate to help her zip it down.
Once she was out of the dress, she pulled on her yoga leggings and t shirt and then took two hard $50 bills out of her purse and handed one to Elena and one to Kate.
"Thanks for all your help ladies."
Elena grabbed her face and kissed her cheek and she almost jumped back but she was able to maintain her composure.
"Thank you very much," Elena said appreciatively as she hurried out the room.
Kate chuckled at the exchange.
"Thank you, it was really nice working with you and if you ever need anything, just call me."
"I will, I promise."
She took Olivia's dress and placed it back in the garment bag and then put it on a shopping bag. Olivia thanked her again before she grabbed her purse and headed back to her apartment.
As she walked down the hall on her floor, her phone rang. She checked the caller id and it was the hairstylist that was scheduled to come to her apartment at 6pm.
"Hello, Carson?"
"Hello Olivia, I was just calling to confirm my appointment at 6."
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, she thought he was calling to cancel.
"Oh perfect."
"I also have a partner who is a makeup artist so if you need makeup services we can provide that as well."
"Oh yeah, that's sound great."
"Perfect, I'll let him know, we'll be there at 6pm sharp."
"Thank you, I look forward to seeing you."
Olivia hung up and opened her apartment door and immediate hung her dress up in her closet. It was 3:30 in the afternoon and she had a little time to kill so she grabbed her laptop and finished working on her lecture.
As she was writing, her phone rang, it was Fitz.
"What's up?" she answered.
"Nothing, just called to make sure you weren't gonna stand me up tonight."
"I wouldn't dare."
"Good, what you are doing?"
"Working on my lecture, you?"
"You have to work on that, won't you just remember her everything you have to say?"
"It doesn't work like that Fitz, my stem research dossier is 15,274 pages long, if I don't condense that, I'll ramble on for hours and confuse those poor kids."
He chuckled.
"Good point."
She was quiet for a while then she decided to try asking him for details once more, she was a little nervous that she might be over or under dressed for whatever he planned.
"Fitz, just please tell me where we're going?"
"What's that, I'm breaking up, come again?"
She knew he was about to hang up.
"At least tell me what you're wearing so I know."
"I can't hear you, I'll see you at 8."
He hung up.
Olivia laughed and threw her phone on the couch, she didn't know why she even bothered asking.
She continued working on her lecture until around 5:30pm, then she went to shower and when she finished she put on her underwear and a silk robe and waited for Carson to show up.
He was exactly on time, ringing her doorbell at 6pm sharp. When she opened the door, Carson; who was a rather short man was accompanied by an even shorter man.
"Hi," she said as she opened the door to let them in with their cosmetic suitcases.
"Hi, you already know I'm Carson, this is my boyfriend Tucker."
"Hey guys, come on in, make yourself at home, can I get you anything to drink?"
"No, we're good, we just had lunch."
"Okay, well I have a vanity mirror, you know, the one with the light bulbs all around it, in my closet, I think that's the best place to do this."
"That's perfect."
"Okay, follow me."
She led them to her closet and left them to set up while she finished oiling her body and then she went back to see if they were ready.
"Are you guys all set?" she asked.
"Yes," said Carson.
Olivia took a seat in the chair and waited for them to begin.
"What kind of dress are you wearing?" Carson asked.
Olivia got up quickly and walked over the garment bag hanging on the wall. She unzipped the bag and revealed her dress.
"Yes girl, that dress is fierce!" Tucker blurted out.
Olivia chuckled.
"I know, I love it so much."
"With a dress like this you need to show off the detail, I'm think we can give you some loose curls and wrap it up and we'll leave a few curly strands hanging down to frame your face, how does that sound?" asked Carson.
"It's sounds perfect."
"And I'm thinking, a matte red lip, with a soft dewy look and long lashes and some highlight for those Naomi Campbell cheeks honey, we'll add a little natural shimmery eyeshadow but I want to keep the look light and clean, your lipstick is the statement, it's gonna make men fall over themselves when they see you."
"I only want one man to fall over himself," Olivia said playfully.
"I hear that," said Tucker.
"Jewelry, what about jewelry?"
"Diamonds earrings, bracelet and rings," Olivia responded.
"Perfect, you don't need anything at the neck," said Carson.
Olivia sat as they worked on her for almost an hour and a half but when they were done she looked in the mirror and she was impressed.
"Wow, I think I'm gonna keep you guys on retainer."
The both laughed loudly.
"No, I'm serious," she said laughing.
She check herself out in the mirror for a little while and then she got up and gave them space to pack their things.
She realized she only had a half hour until Fitz came so she quickly took of her robe and grabbed her dress from the hanger. Once she had it on, Tucker helped her zip it up. Then she put on her diamond earrings and the diamond bracelet Fitz got her.
"Cash or check?" she asked.
"Cash," the both said in unison.
Olivia chuckled and reached into her purse for the cash and paid them both with a generous tip for which they thanked her profusely.
"I'm serious, I'm using you guys every time."
"Please do," they said laughing.
She strapped on her heels and then faced both Carson and Tucker.
"One last question, if you weren't gay would-"
"We do you, absolutely," answered Tucker.
She laughed.
"Perfect."
After 10 minutes, they were heading out the door with their suitcases full of makeup and curling irons.
"Thank you guys so much."
"Thank you, we can't wait to work with you again," said Tucker.
"Yes, don't hesitate to call," said Carson.
"I won't."
She gave them both a kiss on the cheek and closed the door after they left.
She went back to her closet and finished putting on her jewelry and then she grabbed her clutch. She checked the time, it was 7:55 and she began to get anxious so he went back to the mirror to check her hair and makeup as she waited.
The presidential motorcade pulled up to the front of Olivia's building and Fitz stepped out holding a bouquet of roses and a small Hermes gift bag. The press was ready and waiting and snapped thousands of picture as he made his way into her building lobby. As he headed to the elevator he could see the mouths of the people in the building lobby falling open as they realized it was him. He took the evaluator up to her floor and then checked his watch, it was 7:59, he was right on time. At 8pm sharp, he rang her doorbell and waited.
He heard the click of her dainty heels coming his way and he couldn't control the excitement that came over him. Second later she opened the door, he took one look at her and then pretended to faint.
"Fitz!" she shouted as she grabbed his arm.
He stood straight and smiled, so did Tom who was right by his side.
"I'm sorry, you just knocked me out," he said with a smile.
She rolled her eyes playfully and laughed.
"You are so silly."
"You seriously look so beautiful, I'm still processing it."
She blushed.
Fitz looked down and remembered brought her roses and a gift.
"These are for you."
"Wow, thank you," she said as she took the roses and gift, "you look very handsome."
Fitz was wearing a black, slim fitted Dolce and Gabbana suit that could pass as a tuxedo and a pair of sleek Christian Louboutin black suede loafers.
"I'm just trying to look acceptable enough to be your date."
She smiled and opened the Hermes bag and pulled out a silk scarf and bracelet.
"Wow, you got me an Hermes scarf and a bracelet, Fitz I'm gonna get robbed."
He chuckled.
"I love them, I'm gonna put these beautiful roses in water and I won't give you grief about the gift tonight because you look so cute but any other time I'll complain."
"I expect nothing less," he said with a smile.
She quickly put the roses in water and then headed back to the door.
"Fitz are you sure I'm not over dressed or under dressed?"
"You're perfect, come on, let's go."
He held her hand and tugged her out the door. She closed the door and followed as he led her to the elevator and down to the lobby. As the neared the entrance of the build Olivia saw the reporters and gripped on to Fitz's hand a little tighter. He stopped just before they walked out.
"We can go through the back?"
She smiled.
"No, let's do this."
Fitz smiled.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you."
Tom held the door open for them and once the press realized the were about to exit the building the cameras began flashing. Once again Fitz led the way as they walked outside. She expected embarrassing questions but there were none.
"Olivia!"
"Olivia Pope!"
"Olivia, look at me Olivia!"
"Mr. President!"
"President Grant!"
Olivia felt the urge to hide her face but didn't. Fitz held onto her hand and walked slightly ahead to hold the door open for her. He helped her into the car then got in as well and they sped off in the presidential motorcade.
Once they were away from the press, Olivia relaxed and threw her leg over Fitz's leg.
"So can you tell me where we're going now?"
"No, we'll be there soon."
"Just one clue."
He took her hand and kissed it.
"No."
"Fine," she was with a pout then she smiled.
She tried staring through the window to get a clue as to where they were going but there was none until about 20 minutes later when they pulled up to the marina.
When Fitz helped her out of the car, she looked around and saw a bunch of seafood restaurants so she figured that was where they were going but Fitz took her in the opposite direction, to the moorings.
"Where are we going?" she asked excitedly.
"You'll see."
As they walked further out on the boardwalk, they passed a variety of sailboats and yachts, he walked to the end of the dock and stopped at the largest yacht.
"Welcome to the Queen Selene of the sea."
She looked at him and smiled.
"This is your boat?"
He smiled and helped her into the boat and up the steps to the higher deck. As they made their to the front of the ship, she heard live music. Once they got to the hull of the ship, Olivia's mouth fell open.
There was a table set for two with red rose petals and candles everywhere. There was a live band, with the male and female lead singer, the man was singing 'the way you look tonight" by Frank Sinatra. By the table stood two waiters and a sommelier dressed in uniform.
"Too much?" Fitz asked.
She smiled.
"It is too much but that's what makes it so perfect."
Fitz gave himself a mental pat on the back and then took her over to the table, he held out her chair and waited as she took a seat then he sat as well.
"Wine for the lady?" the sommelier asked.
"Yes, thank you."
The sommelier poured the wine in her glass and Fitz's as well.
"This is a 1999 bottle of Domaine Leroy Musigny. Coche-Dury is best known for its white wines, but Domaine Leroy is best known for red. The Grand Cru vineyard of Musigny is arguably the best plot for Pinot Noir in all of Burgundy, and this wine is liquid power and finesse in a bottle," he said with a smile, "have a taste."
Olivia smiled and took a sip of the wine.
"Wow, that is really good."
The Sommelier smiled.
"My name is Jean, I'll be in the bay just give me a call if you need another glass, enjoy your night."
"Thank you Jean."
Olivia took another sip of her wine then the chef came up from the lower deck.
"Dinner will be served momentarily, the appetizer tonight is Wagyu Steak Tartare: hand cut Kobe style beef prepared tableside with quail egg, Cognac gelee, traditional garnish with toast points and it will be followed by the main course: Poached, fresh Nova Scotia lobster, celery root puree, sweet & sour butternut squash with brussel sprout leaves and the caviar service will be Tsar Imperial Ossetra imported from Italy, each served with traditional garniture. Dessert will be my specialty Pistachio Semifreddo and my chocolate brooklyn bridge sculpture served with milk chocolate marquise, raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, crisp meringue and drizzled with dark chocolate glaze."
Olivia smiled.
"Thank you, I can't wait to taste it all."
The chef smiled and nodded politely and then headed back to the lower deck followed the the waiters. Olivia was about to say something to Fitz when the captain came from the upper deck.
"Sir, we will leave the marina momentarily."
"Thank you Randy."
He nodded and left.
"Queen Selene, did you name the boat?"
He chuckled.
"No, Gerry did, a few years ago when I was having it built, I took him to see it, he had a crush on a girl name Selene when he was in 3rd grade, so he named the boat Queen Selene and he said he was going to sail the ocean with her, unfortunately we found out Selene had a boyfriend so that never happened and I had already painted the name on the boat so I couldn't change it."
She chuckled.
"Gerry is such a romantic, sort of like his father I guess."
"Well he didn't just get his looks from me you know."
She heard footstep approaching them and then the waiters appeared with their appetizer. They placed the food on the table and then made themselves scarce.
"This looks so good," she said as she spread the napkin across her lap.
"Yes, Chef Gustav is very good, I'm surprised I got him on such short notice, I'm sure he stiffed a couple people to come here."
Olivia tasted her appetizer and smiled.
"Fitz this is amazing."
Fitz laughed and tasted his as well.
"I concur," he said with a smile.
As the waiters, served them course after course, Olivia fawned over how good the food was, she was careful not to eat too much because she didn't want to get full and feel lethargic. After the main course, the chef personally brought them the desert, which was a beautiful sculpture of the Brooklyn bridge that was made from chocolate with garnishings on the side. As soon as the chef left, Olivia broke a piece of the chocolate bridge and fed it to Fitz.
"Now, take a sip of the wine and tell me how it tastes."
He took a sip of the wine and smiled.
"That's pretty good."
"Pinot noir and milk chocolate together is like the 8th wonder of the world."
He backed out of the chair and stood up then walked around to her side of the table and took her hand.
"Come on, let's go to the railing," he suggested as he helped her out her chair.
He walked her to the front rail so they could look out at the horizon. The moon was perfectly full and at it's apex. The music was low and sensual and the waiters and sommelier left to give them privacy.
As walked her up to the rail, he could see the goosebumps on her arms and without asking, he took his jacket off and held it out for her to put on. She smiled and pushed her arms through the sleeve and then turned and faced the ocean. Fitz wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek as they looked up at the moon and stars and listened to the music.
She turned around and faced him.
"Thank you for a perfect night, it's times like this that I like not being able to forget anything because I never want to forget just how perfect this was."
He caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes, they sparkled in the moonlight.
"I didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as I love you, I worry about you more than I worry about myself, I think about you more than I think about myself, it's almost a burden and I don't mean that in a bad way, it's one I'm honored to carry."
She turned her face away.
"Fitz stop, you're gonna make me cry and ruin my make up," she said shyly as if her eyes weren't already filled with tears.
"I'm sorry, I just need you to understand how much you mean to me. You and my son are the only two people I need in this world."
She held his cheeks and kissed him softly on the lips.
"I love you too, you mean the world to me too. Always and forever right?"
She held out her little finger for a pinky swear. Fitz smiled and wrapped his little finger around hers to complete to promise and them gave her a peck on the lips.
"Right."
She smiled and turned around to face the ocean once again.
"It's such a beautiful night, did you know it was going to be a full moon tonight?"
"Of course, I can't take you on a night sail without a perfectly full moon in the sky Liv, I'm not an ammateur."
She laughed.
"You don't miss a beat, do you?"
She heard someone clear their throat and they both turned around, it was the captain.
"Sir, we'll be sailing back to the marina momentarily."
"Can we stay out here a little longer?" Olivia asked.
"Sure," said Fitz, "Randy give us some time, we'll let you know when we're ready."
"No problem," he said with a nodd and then left.
As they stood out on the deck, Fitz remembered Olivia had mentioned she needed to talk to him about some things.
"Remember when you said you wanted to talk? What was it about?"
She smiled.
"Yeah, I'm looking around for lab in the area, there's one that I like at AHR biospace research facility in downtown but there's a waitlist which sucks. I'm gonna take a 'break' from any doctor related work right now and I think I wanna go back to doing research, I have a lot of lab equipment at my office in New York, I'm going to move it here so I can use it and that's what I'm going to be doing for the foreseeable future."
Fitz smiled.
"So no travelling around the country and being gone for days at a time to perform surgeries?"
"No, but I am going to hand my Pope Procedure dossier over the the scientific research center, without the particle accelerator they won't be able to replicate it but I'm sure the information will be very helpful."
"Good, so your gonna go back to the drawing board and create something new."
"Ideally, hopefully whatever I come up with will be easier to perform with less equipment."
"I think that's perfect, I'm gonna see if I can get you past the waitlist for that lab downtown."
"You will, thank you," she said with a smile.
They hung out for another hour and then they let the captain know that they were ready. When they docked at the marina, Fitz helped her out of the boat and down the moorings into the car, she laid on his chest with his arm wrapped around her for the entire ride back. When they pulled up to her apartment, the press was crazier than before and as soon as Fitz helped her out the car, they began screaming both their names once again. He held her hand proudly as they walked through the crowd of reporters and paparazzi into the building.
When they arrived at her apartment, she took his jacket off and handed it back to him.
"I'm gonna add some more agents to your detail to deal with the press."
"Okay," she said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She puckered her lips for a kiss and Fitz happily obliged.
"Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?"
She blushed.
"Only every 20 minutes."
"Did I mention that his dress looks like it was made for you, your ass looks great."
"I said the same thing in the mirror when I tried it on."
He laughed and picked her up and spun her around, kissed her, then gently eased her down to the ground.
"Call me when you get home okay."
"Okay," he said with a smile.
She walked him to the door and gave him another kiss before opening the door.
"Goodnight," he said as he walked into the hallway.
"Goodnight," she replied.
He was about to walk away when she stopped him.
"Wait," she stepped closer and inspected his face, " you're good, I thought you might have had lipstick on your lip but I guess this matte stuff really doesn't come off."
He stood staring at her for a moment and she wondered if something was wrong.
"What's wrong?"
"You know everything changes now right?"
She smiled and took a deep breath.
"I know."
Fitz nodded and smiled.
"Don't go to sleep, I'm going to call you."
"I won't."
She watched him as he headed down the hall and disappeared into the elevator and then she closed her apartment down and took her phone out of her clutch and turned it on. She's turned it off because she didn't want to be disturbed during the date. She had 140 missed calls, 97 voice messages, 86 text messages and more were still coming in. She turned the volume on her phone down and went to get ready for bed as she waited for Fitz's call.