Chapter 1

Raya Pope sprinted through the streets of Zanzibar City, desperate to make it back to her mom's resort, which she had called home for all her life. Her mom had owned the tourist resort for as long as she can remember, and living at a resort had its perks, but also plenty of challenges too. Once Raya turned 13, her mother was quick to put her to work, helping maintain the resort. And today was no exception, despite her approaching wedding. She was still set for front-desk duty, and she was running late. She couldn't let that happen, especially not today of all days when she knew who was going to be checking in. She had to make sure she encountered them before her mom caught wind.

"Raya, slow down!" Raya quickly glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of her best friend Leena, standing in the doorway of one of her favorite cafes. Raya halted to an abrupt stop almost stumbling from the inertia.

"Where are you going?" Leena asked her coming out of the café's doorway and joining her in the paved street.

"I-I have to go I'm running late to work," Raya panted and tried to get air back to her lungs.

"You mean to tell me that your mother has got you working the week of your wedding?" Leena knew that Olivia's business was demanding and required all hands on deck from all her employees. Leena has even had to volunteer her time to assist with the resort every now and then. She didn't mind of course. The Popes were always so nice, and Raya was like the sister she never had. Still, Leena thought it was a bit ridiculous to not give Raya a break the week of her wedding. Raya was getting married on that Friday, which was why she was downtown in the first place in order to take care of some of the decorations for the big day.

Raya shook her head.

"Yes, well kind of. My mom's easing up since this is a big week. I don't have to work, but I need to today. You see, I have to go because…" Raya trailed off with a smile growing on her face as quick as lightning.

"What is it?" Leena insisted. Raya looked around and checked over both her shoulders to make sure no one was around.

"Come with me!" Raya grabbed Leena's hand and pulled her into an alley just next to the cafe. She took hold of her small leather backpack and opened it, revealing a notebook inside that she flipped open.

"I found this while I was going through some storage at the resort. It's my mom's diary. It's from the summer she spent in California before she moved to Zanzibar," Raya explained, elated. She shoved the book to her friend, pushing her to look inside.

"You mean this has….him…in it?" It was no secret to Leena that Raya had always wanted to know the details about who her father was. Her mother was very reserved about it. The only information Raya knew was that she met him in California when she lived in LA. Leena felt bad for Raya. She knew that Raya wanted to know more, and couldn't blame her for the lengths she had gone to try and find out more information. Leena had witnessed Raya's mother's dismissive behavior whenever she mentioned her father whenever Leena visited the resort.

"It's my wedding on Friday, and all I could ever dream is to be walked down the aisle by my dad. Which is why I have to go. I'm on front desk duty and-"

"Raya Pope! You did not invite him to your wedding?" Leena interrupted. She knew this could only end poorly.

"I didn't." Raya assured her friend. "I invited them," she smirked.

"What?"

"If you read it, there are three possible guys that my mom saw that summer: Stephen, Jake, and Fitzgerald. I invited all three of them to Zanzibar for the wedding. Ok well, I didn't invite them. Technically 'my mom' wrote them all emails asking them to come and visit this weekend. But once they're here, I'll find out which one my real dad is, and invite him to the wedding."

"Raya, are you serious? That has got to be the worst idea imaginable! What are you going to have all three of them escort you down the aisle?"

"Of course not. Once I see them, I'll know which one my dad is."

"How?"

"I just will," Raya insisted. "I'll be able to feel it. Daughter's instinct," she stated simply.

"While I feel like I should definitely be against this…I have to admit, this does seem pretty entertaining. I'm in." Leena giggled. She was always down for any mischievous adventure; nothing exciting ever happened on their small island, so a chance to participate in an adventure like this? Leena would be a fool to turn it down. Plus, who was she to be an unsupportive friend to her childhood bff on her wedding week.

"So you'll help me? Because I might actually need your help right now."

Leena nodded yes. She would always be there for her best friend.

"What do you need me to do?"

"They're going to be arriving off the boat at any minute. I have to be the one that's there to check them in. I can't let my mom catch them, because you know she would do anything necessary to ensure my father doesn't check into a villa." Raya placed the diary back in her backpack. "I'll need you distract my mom while they enter the lobby just for a little bit. Once I see them, I'll figure out which one my dad, check him into the resort, and it should be easy from there."

"Okay, let's go." Leena declared, and the two sprinted through the streets toward Raya's home.

The Fuwele Beachside Resort had been Olivia's home for nearly 23 years. She saw Zanzibar as her home now: she had spent about half her life here, started a flourishing business here, and raised her beautiful daughter here. She had no intentions of going back to the United States. She had long let go of everything she had back there. The one and only person she kept in contact with was her best friend and college roommate Abby who frequently came by about 2-3 times a year to visit. To Olivia's delight, she just arrived yesterday to be at Olivia's daughter's wedding, and she was glad to have such a close friend there with her for a moment like this.

Olivia looked at the picture frame facing her. It was a picture of her and her daughter right after she was born. It was hard for her to believe that Raya was going to be married in just a matter of days. How had she grown up so fast? Where did all the time go? But also, where was she? Olivia's mind snapped noticing her daughter's shift ha started about ten minutes ago. Almost as if on cue, Olivia saw her daughter and Leena turn the corner out of breath.

"Sorry Mom, the meeting downtown took longer than expected." Raya went around the desk to hug her mom tightly.

"Don't worry about it sweetie." She replied, holding back tears. The two had always been close, but it seemed as though Olivia was getting more and more emotional these days with her daughter. "It's your wedding week. You do whatever it is you have to do." Olivia remained holding onto her daughter tightly.

"Hey Ms. Pope, we noticed that the sprinklers on the East lawn are still running and it's looking a little flooded," Leena lied, pointing to the direction they came running from.

"The sprinklers were supposed to turn off three hours ago. Leena, can you show me?" Olivia gasped. There was always something at the resort that wasn't working properly. For once she would love to go a day without something breaking on her. She grabbed a set of master keys and ran out the lobby, following Leena outside.

Raya let out a sigh of relief. Leena would keep her mom distracted for the next hour or so, while she waited for her potential dads to check in. Then she would determine which one was her real dad and check him in to the one cottage she had secretly reserved prior to remain open during the weekend (they were in their peak tourist season so the resort was pretty much booked out). She would then get him situated in his room all before her mom came back, and from there delicately explain the situation to her mother.

That was the one part of her plan that Raya hadn't quite figured out yet: how to tell her mom. She knew she was going to have to be careful since her father was always a sensitive subject. She pulled out a notebook to write down some thoughts to help her prepare a speech when she heard the sounds of the airport shuttle bus screeching into the resort's entry way. She knew this would be them. She tracked all of the flight times from Los Angeles, and all previous LA tourists who stayed at The Fuwele came in the late morning. She dropped her pen and stood at attention practically shaking with excitement as she watched the shuttle doors open.

Raya breathed deeply. This was a moment she had spent 22 years of her life waiting for. She was finally going to meet her dad. She tapped her finger intensely on the front desk as the clock ticked on and looked in complete awe as three figures got off the shuttle and shuffled into the lobby with their bags behind them. The shortest man approached her first.

"Hello," he said in a Scottish accent, "I'm here to check in. I believe a cottage has been reserved under my name for 'Finch.' I'm friends with the owner."

Raya stared at him, unable to speak, unable to move. She looked over his should stealing glances at the two men who stood behind him waiting. She then looked at the Scottish man in front of her. One of these men was her dad. The problem was…she couldn't tell who. They all had a slight resemblance to her in some way, and that "daughter instinct" that she had mentioned to Leena was not functioning in the slightest. Raya was at a loss.

She stood there for a solid minute in complete silence, figuring out her next move. When she saw the fellow in the way back shift his weight and begin to step forward.

"Is everything alright?" He spoke in a soothing deep baritone voice.

"I um-yeah…It's just that we only have one co-cottage and you all…I think we might have overbooked…and umm…." Raya stammered unsure what to do next when out of the corner of her eye she saw her mom coming near. "Mom!" She called out in near panic.

All three men flinched simultaneously at seeing Olivia Pope walk through the door. They blinked repeatedly. Olivia hadn't aged a day since they last saw her. She looked thriving and as beautiful as ever, just like the 22 year old they had met in LA. Had this girl just called Olivia Pope "mom?" How could she have a near adult daughter when she still looked so young?

"Raya, I don't know what your friend was talk about but-" Olivia glanced upward and froze like a deer in headlights. She could have sworn this was all some sick, twisted dream. There was no way she was seeing this image right before her.

"Stephen?...Jake?...Fitz?" She barely whispered. "What are – what are you guys doing here?"

The men quickly picked up that they were not actually invited. Perhaps that email that Olivia sent was a mistake meant for someone else. Whatever the reason, all the men came to the same conclusion that they weren't about to leave this resort and leave Olivia. They wouldn't let Olivia escape again like she had all those years ago.

"I'm um…I'm on vacation. I wanted to go somewhere relaxing," Jake quickly covered to provide an excuse for him to remain at the resort, and the other men followed suit.

"And I actually am here on work. I have a piece I need to write for this new travel magazine I work for now," Stephen followed up to quickly cover his tracks.

Her attention turned to Fitz. Her eyes narrowed so intensely at him in particular, Raya could feel their heat, like inviting him was a serious mistake. Fitz swallowed, realizing that her angry gaze was enough to make him break a sweat.

"And I-uh I…just wanted to drop by to say hi," he stuttered. "So, you know…hi."

"Hello," Olivia spoke harshly and walked around to her daughter. "I'm going to talk to you later." She whispered in her ear. Olivia knew her daughter was clearly the reason behind this. What are the chances that three of her ex-lovers from the same summer would show up at the same time?

"Gentlemen, it's funny to see you all, but I'm afraid that our resort is all booked up. I would be happy to give you information on some of the other similar resorts that are nearby and may have openings-"

"We still have one villa open!" Raya interrupted. In Raya's mind, her mom was going to let her have it for her stunt regardless, so she figured she may as well at least carry on with the plan and have all three of the men stay at the resort. This way she could buy herself more time to determine which one her father was.

"Yes, but the cottages are pretty small and can only fit two people max. Company policy," Olivia trailed off, hoping to turn them away and down the road, or at the very least turn Fitz away.

"That's alright I don't mind sharing. How about it, mate?" Stephen turned his head some to look at Jake and Fit and see if they would take him up on the offer. Stephen grabbed Olivia's hand and held it.

"It really is good to see you, Liv," he whispered lowly, making Olivia blush.

Fitz felt a wave of jealousy flush over him. He knew he had no right to feel angry over this Scottish man. He had no idea who this man was. Probably just some guy that dated Liv after he lost her.

Fitz already knew Jake Ballard though from the Navy, and he even knew about Jake's past with Liv, although Fitz was pretty sure that Jake never caught up with his past with Liv right after she had broken up with Jake. When he came across Jake on the plane, it was nice to catch up with his navy pal. He was surprised to find out that Olivia had invited him, although watching the scene before him, it was all starting to make sense that the whole thing was a mistake, and none of them were invited.

"I'm game," Fitz spoke up, desperately seeking a way to stay and make sure this Stephen fellow wouldn't become a threat. Fitz missed her desperately, and while he realized that he was not actually invited to the resort by her, he hoped he could get her to warm up to him once again. It had taken him some time to get her to warm up to him before; surely he could do it again.

"No," Olivia simply stated.

"What you can't just reject me?" Fitz repeated an all-too familiar phrase. Olivia gave Fitz a glare, forcing him to shut up and rock back and forth on his heels terrified that he would end up leaving after being so close to his Livvie once again.

"You were not next in line. So, he's next," she simply replied as an excuse, pointing to Jake.

"Okay. I don't mind those roommate arrangements. Thanks, Stephen…right?" Jake said sticking his hand out. Fitz had to bite his tongue to hold back from lashing out at the two men who he was sure had a history with Livvie.

"Yep, and of course, mate," Stephen shook Jake's hand. The two men stepped aside, making room for Fitz to come over. Olivia looked down, refusing to look at those piercing blue eyes she knew could unravel her.

"I'm sorry sir, but we are now officially out of rooms. I can give you information of other places nearby or a brochure-"

"Sir? Seriously? Livvie, please," he pleaded. Alas, Olivia looked up and glanced into his eyes. She couldn't help but notice how sad they were. He had a melancholy demeanor to him. Until recently, she had kept up with his career online throughout the years and noticed a growing sense of gloom. And as ruthless as it was to say, it made Olivia a little happy to see him so miserable.

"No. You don't call me that. You can address me as 'ma'am or 'Miss Pope.' Do you understand, sir?" she hissed, emphasizing the "sir" to make clear that they were complete strangers to each other. Raya knew she had to think quickly to lighten the situation before it escalated too far.

"What about the old boathouse? We're turning it into another room," Raya explained and offered as an answer.

"It's not ready yet," Olivia shot back.

"That's fine," Fitz replied, giving off the lightest smile as the corners of his mouth turned upwards.

"There's not even a bed," she tried again determined to make him turn away.

"Fine by me," he retorted unaffected.

"There's no running water in that building. It might not be a boathouse anymore, but it's not nearly ready to be a livable room, yet," Olivia tried one more time to shoo him away.

"So it'll just be like camping. I'm sure I went through worse at the Navy. Don't worry Miss Pope, I won't leave your resort a bad review on Yelp in light of the last-minute accommodations," he joked. "You know I don't mind roughing it for a few days," he whispered in a somewhat husky and sexy voice. Olivia scolded herself for still finding him so attractive all these years later. But she was determined to show him that she was unaffected by his presence.

"Fine, your call. Raya, will you show these three gentlemen to their rooms?" Olivia instructed. Olivia looked on, watching her daughter skip away leading all three of the men that she had met from that one summer through the courtyard. Olivia's eyes watered slightly, realizing after all this time her daughter was walking with her father.

Once Raya and the guys were out of sight, Olivia sprinted to Abby's villa just outside of the lobby building. She banged vigorously on her door.

"Geez, Liv calm down. You're knocking like a mad woman," Abby said slightly annoyed while she opened the door to let her friend in.

"Abby they're here!"

"Who's here?" Olivia looked to see Quinn standing in the corner of Abby's room. Quinn was a fellow American expat like Olivia who moved to Zanzibar after the sudden death of her husband Gideon. Olivia quickly took her under her wing when she arrived to Zanzibar City alone and hired her to work at her resort. She had been a great employee, becoming Liv's second-in command, but also a friend to her as well. While Abby and Quinn did not get along at first, throughout the years they had managed to set aside their differences, much to Olivia's pleasure.

"Raya's father! Raya's father is here! Remember the summer I spent in LA?" she turned to look at Abby.

"Oh my god! Which guy is here?" Abby asked recalling Olivia's detailed descriptions of all the events she had told her from that summer.

Olivia opened the blinds to the windows. She peaked out seeing the small figures of her daughter and the men walking the grounds toward some of the other cottages and pointed.

"All of them!"

A/N: Hi everyone. I'm glad to be back here with a new story. It's an Olitz take on the Mamma Mia movies. That being said, I do want to give fair warning that there will be some Olivia and Jake moments and some Olivia and Stephen moments that are shown through flashbacks, but at the center of the story is always Olivia and Fitz. They're going to be the element I focus on the most, and I will not be too detailed in the other relationships to save everyone the nausea. I hope you guys can stick with me through this ride of a story. I hope to be uploading on the regular since I have got some more free time ahead of me.