Olivia stretched her arms out over her head, yawning as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. The previous night's events came rushing back to her, and she sat up, looking around the room. "Fitz?" she called. She remembered falling asleep with his arms around her last night, but he was nowhere to be found.
She got out of the bed, still clad in her yoga pants and his sweatshirt. "Fitz?" she called a little louder, walking across the room. She opened the door, looking around the hallway. Where the hell is everyone? She wondered. It was very quiet for a Thanksgiving morning. She walked down the stairs leading to the family room, to find no one there either. "Hello?" she called out.
"In here!" A gruff voice replied.
Olivia followed the voice through a hallway with a swinging door. She pushed the door open, ready to ask Fitz why the hell he left her alone. "Okay Fitz, seriously, you can-Oh! Hi."
"Hello. Can I help you with something?" The man replied. His hair may have gotten a few shades grayer, and his face lost the laugh lines, but that was definitely Big Jerry sitting in front of her.
"I was looking for Fitz. Um. I'm Olivia Pope, I don't know if you remember me." She did a little half wave before cringing slightly, putting her hand back at her side.
Big Jerry picked up his glasses off of the table, placing them on his face. He leaned back slightly. "Ha!" He clapped his hands together, standing up. "Well, haven't you grown? Long time no see, kiddo, how ya been?"
Olivia wanted to laugh at that question. "Never better. Um, have you seen Fitz?"
Big Jerry cleared his throat. "He stepped out about an hour ago. Why don't you try and give him a call? Did you stop by to say hi?"
Olivia realized at that moment that he didn't know they were dating. She didn't know how to handle this situation. "I'm just gonna call Fitz really quickly," she said as she reached into her pocket. She put the phone to her ear, silently pleading for Fitz to answer.
The phone rang three times before he finally answered. "Hey, I'm sorry I left. I'm parking in the garage now." He said with an apologetic tone. She could hear the garage door closing over the phone.
"No, that's fine, um, I'm in the kitchen with Big Jerry. He asked if I stopped by to say hi to you." She said, flashing a smile in Big Jerry's direction.
"Oh, great, I forgot he doesn't know. You didn't know if you should tell him or not, huh?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right. So you're coming inside now? Great." She said, hanging up the phone. "He's parking the car."
About a minute later, Fitz walked into the kitchen. The moment he did, Big Jerry stiffened, and Olivia now had an idea as to why Fitz left this morning. The look on Fitz' face showed how much he didn't want to be there. The tension in the room became so thick you could taste it; Big Jerry was the first one to break the silence.
"Son, look who it is." He said, gesturing to Olivia.
"Yeah, she's my girlfriend. She's staying Thanksgiving break with us." He crossed the room to Olivia, holding her hand in his.
Olivia held her breath as she watched the words register to Fitz' father. "Girlfriend, huh?" He said, with a shake of his head.
"Yeah, you know. Girlfriend." Fitz said with a condescending tone. "As in having a monogamous relationship, that could potentially lead to something more, like, I don't know, marriage. You know marriage, right? One of the most sacred bonds of all time? A bond that should never be broken, especially not for some skanky 26 year old."
"Fitz!" Olivia had never heard him speak with such malice and hatred in his voice.
"Now is not the appropriate time for this, Fitzgerald. We have a guest."
"Was there an appropriate time for your affair?" Fitz commented smartly.
"Okay, that's it. Come on, let's go for a walk or something." Olivia pushed Fitz out of the kitchen as she spoke. They got up to Fitz' room before she decided to ask him about his behavior.
"Do you want to explain what the hell that was? I know you're upset, but you just antagonized him."
Fitz ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "Do you know my mother hasn't gotten out of bed yet?"
"So she slept in, maybe she's tired."
"No, Liv, my mother doesn't sleep in. And she isn't sleeping. She's catatonic. Like, worse than you were last week. He broke her heart. He broke my mother, one of the strongest women in the world." Fitz sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. "My life as I knew it is over, and he's sitting down there acting as if nothing happened. I confronted him earlier this morning, you know. He said that my mother and I were being dramatic. That I would understand once I experienced life and its temptations. I could never do something like that to you." His voice broke on the last word. He cleared his throat, not wanting to give his father the satisfaction of his tears.
"I know, baby. I would never even think you would." Olivia sat next to him, placing his hand in her lap.
"What if I turn into my father, Liv?"
He looked up at her with such fear in his eyes, that she could tell he was genuinely concerned. She had never seen this side of Fitz before. He was always her savior, the one who was always brave. Now he needed her to do the same for him.
She ran her free hand through his hair, letting it rest at his neck. "You will never be your father. You are your own person, and your own man. And you are in charge of your own destiny. Not him. Got it?"
"I'm in charge of my own destiny, got it." He nodded.
As she stood up, Fitz wrapped his arms around her midsection hugging her to him. "Thank you, Livvie." She ran her hands through his hair, knowing it always relaxed him when she did.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out with her free hand, Harrison's name coming up on the screen. "Harrison, Happy Thanksgiving!"
"Happy Thanksgiving, Liv. How are you?" Her cousin Harrison asked. As kids, she and Harrison were practically like siblings. But when their mother's stopped speaking, they weren't allowed to spend time together anymore. The last time Olivia saw her Aunt Karen, was at her mother's funeral. Aunt Karen passed away a few months later. She never knew exactly what happened, just that Harrison had found her and was sent to live with them. She didn't know where his father was, but through all of her dad's bad moments, Harrison was there by her side.
"I've been better, I'll definitely say that. How are you? How's dad?" Olivia couldn't help but ask. She had been doing so for so long now, it had practically become a reflex.
"I'm okay, and he's the same. A little more bitter since that whole…situation." He said uneasily. Olivia knew her father was going to tell him. But she knew Harrison would ask her what really happened.
"Yeah. I bet." She said dryly.
"Wanna talk about it?" He expected her to say no, to bottle it up like everything else in their lives. But she surprised him.
"I'm in town, wanna meet up at Rocky's? I'm dying for a milkshake." Olivia offered.
"Yeah, that sounds great. And Liv?"
"Yeah?"
"Bring Fitz. I haven't seen him in ages."
Olivia smiled as she hung up the phone.
After the introductions, and a few bear hugs, Olivia, Fitz, and Harrison found themselves seated in a booth at the neighborhood hangout, Rocky's. Anytime Olivia's dad would reach one of his bad days, which ended up being quite often, Olivia and Harrison would ride their bikes down to Rocky's and drink milkshakes until closing time.
"What'll it be, guys?" The perky waitress asked as she bounced over to the table.
"I'll take a cookie dough milkshake." Olivia stated, handing over her menu.
"Alright, I'm trying some of yours." Fitz licked his lips at the thought. "I'll take a mint chocolate chip."
"You guys are weird, I'll stick to chocolate. You can never go wrong with a little chocolate." Olivia's cousin Harrison said with a wink to the waitress.
Olivia rolled her eyes, trying to hide the growing smile on her face. "Some things never change."
The waitress took the rest of the menus, leaving the trio alone.
"Alright, Liv. Spill. What the hell happened at Princeton?"
Olivia told Harrison everything: seeing Fitz on the first day of school, the prank war with her friends, Cyrus' involvement in her downfall. "-and he got dad's email, I don't know, I guess maybe from the school's system. It's not that hard to hack into it, he's taught us all how to do it." Olivia looked down at her milkshake while she played with the straw. "I've never been more embarrassed in my entire life, Har. I've decided I'm not going back to school there."
"What?" Fitz and Harrison yelled simultaneously.
The restaurant patrons glared at their table, Olivia mouthing the word sorry for their actions. "Seriously guys? Lower your voices." She looked around again before continuing. "That's right, I'm not going back there."
"But what about school? What about your friends? What about…us?" Fitz finished quietly. He didn't want to come off selfish, but with everything going on in his life right now, he needed Olivia more than she knew.
"Liv, just relax for a minute, okay?" Harrison pleaded. "Think about it, what are you gonna do, move back home? Don't do that. You have way too much potential to be stuck at home taking care of your alcoholic father. And don't even try and deny it, I know that was your plan. He has you programmed, Liv. You've got to start living your life for you. Not for him. Have you talked to him since you saw him?"
"Ha. No, he made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with me."
"Well, we're about to change that." Harrison signaled the waitress, taking out a few bills from his wallet.
"Oh, yeah?" Olivia scoffed. "How?"
"Well first, we're going to the supermarket." He handed the bills to the waitress, paying for the milkshakes. "Then, we're going home and you guys are going to work this mess out."
"That's not happening. Besides, I'm having Thanksgiving at Fitz' house." Olivia crossed her arms across her chest.
"Liv, don't be stubborn. Not to mention it's not much of a Thanksgiving at my house, you know that. Not this year, at least. Go to your dad's." Fitz encouraged.
Harrison looked over at Fitz, a slight look of amusement on his face.
"Did you think you weren't stuck with us today, pretty boy?"
"What? Nah, I don't think that's a good idea. You didn't see the way Eli looked at me."
"All the more reason for you to show up. If Eli has distain for you, you're practically already family!" Harrison joked.
About thirty minutes and 100+ dollars spent on groceries later, Olivia and Fitz drove behind Harrison to her father's house. She stared out the window; unsure of what to expect when she walked into her home. So much had happened in the three months she left home, travelling cross-country for college. Fitz' words echoed in her head, about what she would do about everything back at Princeton. Truthfully, she had no idea what to do. Everything in her wanted to run away, never having to face any of those people ever again. But there was still a part of her that wanted to go back. She always loved a challenge; she just never thought it would be something like this.
Fitz watched Liv out of the corner of his eye while he drove. He knew she was weighing her options, simply because of how quiet she was being. He knew this was a decision she would have to come to on her own, but he couldn't help but wonder if she was taking him into consideration along with her plans. More importantly, he was so nervous about facing her father again, that he thought his mint chocolate milkshake might come back up.
They drove the entire way in silence, both too wrapped up in their thoughts to really notice. Olivia took a deep breath as they turned into the driveway of the only home she'd known her entire life. It didn't look any different; the gardener Sarah was still taking good care of the property, so none of the bushes nor the lawn looked overgrown. She made a mental note to ask Harrison about all of the bills, when Fitz' voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Livvie?" He called for the third time.
She turned her head to him, her eyes scanning his face. "Sorry. There's a whole lot happening up here." She tapped her temple while giving him a halfhearted smile.
He took his seatbelt off, turning off the engine of the car before turning to face her. "Tell me what you're thinking about." He signaled to Harrison that they needed a minute before going in, to which he nodded and headed inside with the groceries.
"Everything." She said with a sigh. "School, the whole scandal, my father, this whole day, you. I'm trying to figure out the right solution to each situation, and it's just. A lot."
"You don't have to figure anything out alone, you know that right? We're in this together. I'm not going anywhere."
Olivia looked at Fitz, fully amazed at how perfect of a boyfriend he was. He had seen her at her absolute worst, and stuck by her side through it all, no matter how she had treated him. She had taken him for granted, she realized that now. "I know that I don't say it often enough, but I love you, Fitzgerald. No matter what happens when we go in there, just know that I love you. And despite whatever choice is made about school, I'm not giving up on this. I'm not giving up on us. I promise."
She leaned across the middle console, kissing him softly. He held her there for a moment, smiling against her lips. "I'm going to marry you one day, I hope you know that."
She opened the car door, hopping out. "Like I said, you're in charge of your own destiny." She said with a wink, closing the door behind her. She took one more deep breath before she made her way to the front door, ready to face her father. She turned around at the lack of footsteps following her to see Fitz still in the drivers seat, a look of absolute terror on his face.
She beckoned him out of the car with her finger. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counted to three, and got out of the car.
He walked over to Olivia, who had her hand held out to him. "Together, right?" she asked.
He nodded, intertwining their fingers. He brought their hands up to his lips, kissing the back of her hand. "Let's do it."
Olivia opened the front door, stepping over the threshold into the living room, Fitz walking in behind her. She closed the door as he looked around the room, slightly puzzled. "Where are all the pictures?" He asked quietly.
She walked up next to him. "We don't do pictures. Not since my mother died, anyway." She tugged on his hand slightly, motioning for him to follow her. She led Fitz into the kitchen, where Harrison was already getting started on taking the groceries out of their bags.
He moved around the kitchen, placing certain items on different parts of the counter. "Alright, Liv, your cheese section is all set up."
"Awesome! Thanks" she said as she walked over to the sink, getting ready to wash her hands.
"Cheese station?" Fitz raised his eyebrows.
"Olivia makes some of the best baked macaroni & cheese I've ever encountered." Harrison said without missing a beat, walking past him to grab a pan.
"And what about you?"
"I'm about to put my foot up in these candied yams." Harrison smiled proudly. Olivia shook her head and chuckled at her cousin. Fitz looked over to find her cutting up cheeses.
"What should I do guys?" Fitz felt kind of useless just standing there.
"Put on some music, that'd definitely be a good start. We'll be in here for a few hours, at least. After that, whatever you think you can cook without burning." Olivia teased.
"Ha, ha." Fitz fake laughed as he pulled up itunes on his phone, pressing the shuffle button. Olivia and Harrison laughed as Lauryn Hill started playing through the speaker. "I love this song!" They both exclaimed.
The trio worked in their respective spaces as they sung along and danced to the music: Olivia working on the mac & cheese, Harrison on the yams, and Fitz got started on the turkey. After an hour has passed, both the turkey and the mac & cheese were both in the oven. Harrison leaned on the counter, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his yams behind him.
"This is some bullshit." He muttered under his breath.
"Harrison, cut it out." Olivia rolled her eyes, her annoyance clear by her tone.
He scoffed. "You cut it out. Actually, no, you TAKE it out!"
"You're being a child! It makes more sense to cook the turkey first because that takes the longest, as does the mac & cheese!"
"It wouldn't take so long if you didn't make that damn cheese sauce every time!"
"It wouldn't taste so good if I didn't make my cheese sauce!"
"Guys, stop. You're giving me a headache." Fitz called over his shoulder. He currently stood bent over the oven, basting the turkey, carrots and potatoes with the juices surrounding them. "Harrison, yams don't take long to cook, and you know it. The mac & cheese will be done soon, until then, can someone please start the deviled eggs, or the mashed potatoes?"
They both mumbled fine, and set off to their assigned tasks. The next few hours went by without incident, and before long they had cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner. It wasn't until they started setting up the dining room table, that Eli Pope made his first appearance.
"Smells good in here." Olivia's head shot up as she heard her fathers baritone voice.
"Daddy, I-"
"Olivia, Fitz, would you two mind following me? Harrison will finish setting the table." Eli turned around, back through the doorway, leaving Olivia and Fitz staring after him.
"Go!" Harrison whispered.
Fitz extended his hand out to Olivia, and together they walked through the door to face her father.
The door swung shut behind them, and silence stung the air. Olivia didn't take her eyes off of her father, and Fitz' didn't take his eyes off of her face. Eli, on the other hand, still had his back to the couple.
Neither teenager said a word; they both knew Eli had to be the first to speak.
"You know," Eli started, as Olivia exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, "I've been in a lot of situations in my life. Dangerous situations, stories that you wouldn't even believe if I tried to tell you. But never would anything I've been through, have prepared me for the kind of situation I found myself in last week."
"Daddy, I'm so sorry, I-"
"No. It's not your fault. Either of yours, I realize that now. And while I still may not approve of you being in a relationship so soon, or being sexually active, I do realize that this was something out of your control. A very disturbed young man took advantage of both of you, that's all there is to it."
Olivia ran over to her father, throwing her arms around him. She couldn't believe what she was hearing; he was actually seeing things from her perspective.
"So you're not mad?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm fuming. The entire situation is ridiculous. And you shouldn't have taken those pictures; I don't give a damn who they were for." He cleared his throat.
"However, you are my baby girl. And one of the best things about my life. And I could never forgive myself if I lost you. I already lost your mom, I can't go through losing you too. I'm sorry for how I reacted. You've never given me a reason to treat you like a bad kid, and I should have listened to you."
"I love you, daddy." She clutched her father tighter to her, tears finally escaping and making their way down her cheeks.
"I love you too, pumpkin."
Fitz couldn't help but smile at how well everything worked out. "Fitz?" He heard his name being called, taking him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, sir?" He replied.
"I owe you an apology. What happened to Olivia wasn't your fault, and I was wrong to say that your relationship was the cause of all of this. If you make my daughter happy, then I'm happy. But hurt her, and I'll break your kneecaps, is that understood?" Eli stood up straight, showing Fitz just how menacing he could look if he wanted to.
"Yes, sir."
"If you think I'm joking, ask your father. He and I were quite the dangerous duo, back in the day." He said with a chuckle.
"Guys, table's set!" Harrison called from the other room. "Let's eat, I'm starving!"
"Can I join you guys for Thanksgiving dinner?" Eli asked.
"Well, that depends." Olivia answered warily. "How many drinks have you had today?"
Olivia could practically feel how tense her question made her father, but he barely showed a reaction.
"Actually, I haven't had a drink since yesterday morning." Eli walked past them as he spoke. "Nothing but empty calories." He said nonchalantly as he reentered the dining room.
Olivia laughed, covering her mouth. Her father was back. She and Fitz were okay. Going home for Thanksgiving ended up working out after all.
Sorry for the delay, so much has happened in my life, it gets kind of hard to update sometimes. In any case, I haven't forgotten about you guys! I hope this helps to make up for it. So, Olivia and Fitz had their first Thanksgiving together! What did you guys think? Do you approve of the talk with Eli? As always, I loe to read your reviews. Til next time!