I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewing on the last chapter and gave me insight on what her code name should be. I am thrilled that you are all enjoying this as much as I am!
Enjoy this chapter, it's obviously my favorite so far! :)
"Mr. President, it is an honor to meet you."
Dr. Richard Peterson was the psychiatrist that Fitz had chosen. He had great credentials and all of his clients loved him. Before the meeting, he was asked to sign a confidentiality form, stating that if he repeated any of the topics Fitz and him discussed, he would be prosecuted at the highest level.
"The pleasure is all mine Dr. Peterson. Thank you for meeting with me."
"Of course, of course. Please, come sit down."
Fitz walked over to the couch and took a seat. He looked around the room, taking in everything. He was here. He was actually in a psychiatrist's office, ready to release his demons.
"What brings you to therapy, Mr. President?"
"Fitz. Please, call me Fitz."
"Alrighty then. What brings you here Fitz?"
"I…have some issues."
"How so?"
"Well as you know, I lost my son just a couple months ago."
"Gerry. Yes I heard. I am very sorry for your loss."
Fitz looked down and tried to gain his composure. He was nervous all of the sudden. Was this a good idea? Should he apologize and leave?
Images of Olivia immediately remedied those thoughts. He wanted her and nothing but her. She was scared of him. She was hurt. He needed to prove to her that he could change, to be a better man for her.
"Fitz? Are you okay?"
"I have an anger problem," he stated, as Dr. Peterson waited for him to continue. "Which is probably heightened because of my jealously problem."
"What does the First Lady do to make you so jealous?"
"It's…not the First Lady that I'm jealous of. Dr. Peterson, what I am about to tell you is why your trust is so important. I have no one else to talk to about this. I think that's why I get so angry so easily. It's always bottled up inside of me because I have no one to confide in."
"Fitz, you can trust me. I know it must be hard for a man of your status to trust people. The majority of the people out there are looking for a quick dime. However, I am a man of my word, sir. You trusted me out of all of the other doctors in DC. I respect you and I intend to respect what you confide in me."
Fitz nodded and smiled in approval. He looked down at the ring on his finger. He mentally laughed at himself. He was about to tell an outside source that he was not in love with his wife. He could only think about how it was wrong on so many levels. But in his heart, he knew it was right.
He took a deep breath, before looking Dr. Peterson in the eyes. "I am in love with a woman that is not my wife."
Dr. Peterson stared at him, contemplating what he should say. The president of the United States had just told him, of all people, that he was having an affair with another woman. He took a second before nodding his head.
"So the rumors are true."
"Yes. They are."
"Holy shit," Dr. Peterson thought. "Stop it, Dick. The president is trusting you. Be objective. Hear him out. Help him."
"Alright. What is the woman's name, if you don't mind me asking? If not, we could use a code name. It's completely up to you."
Fitz laughed. "A code name, yeah let's do that."
"Alrighty then. What shall we call her?"
"That's what I'm currently trying to think of. Hmm…let's go with…Sweet Baby."
Dr. Peterson laughed. "Alright. Tell me about this…Sweet Baby."
Fitz took a deep breath and told the doctor about the years leading up to meeting Olivia. How him and Mellie were an arranged marriage, how she didn't want nothing to do with him and they began hating each other and only stayed together for appearances.
"Then…I met my Sweet Baby. She was…breathtaking. Within the first minute of meeting her, I knew that she was it. She put me in my place. She made me want to be a better person. I fell in love with her and she fell in love with me. So many things have happened since then, good and bad, but I love her. I am so in love with her. That's why I'm here. I need to better myself for her."
"Let me ask you, does Mellie know about this affair?"
"Yes. She's even encouraged it…when it's convenient for her. She knows that I'm not in love with her and that it's never going to change."
"What do you mean she encourages it?"
"She'll call Li…I mean, Sweet Baby, in when I'm in trouble. There were even times where she would let me be with her to get it out of my system. She has known since the very beginning. She lied when she went on TV. She didn't find out after my shooting. She lied just to make me look bad. And trust me, I know I already look bad. I really wish I wasn't here right now telling you that I am in love with a woman that is not my wife. I never wanted to be that man, to be my father. But when I met Liv, it all just fell into place for me. I knew that she was the one I was destined to be with. I knew she was the one that I would spend the rest of my life. And somehow, some way, I want to make that happen."
Richard took all of what Fitz had just told him in. Even the fact that he just accidentally told him what his mistresses' name was. That's when it all clicked to him. This "Liv", his mistress and love of his life, was none other than Olivia Pope.
He knew Olivia. They had went to college together in undergrad. They had eventually became good friends and still kept in contact every once in a while. When he had first heard the news of Olivia and Fitz, he couldn't believe it. Yeah, Olivia had always had a thing for older men, but she would never screw around with a married man, the president of all people.
"Damn. It was all true," he thought.
He decided to push that out of his mind and focus on Fitz and Mellie. They were the real problem here.
"Why haven't you and Mellie discussed the topic of divorce?"
"Something always happens. The powers that be do not want Sweet Baby and I together. They think it would be catastrophic to the country."
"But could you imagine how powerful a presidential divorce could be? It's never been done before in office. It would set such a powerful statement."
"I wish it was possible. However, she will never go along with it. She doesn't want me."
"Maybe this could be the second step. The first was you finding the courage to come to me and admit that you have problems. The second could be you divorcing Mellie, proving to Sweet Baby how serious you are about this."
Fitz nodded. "I just always feel like it's not up to me. Being president, I feel like my life is no longer in my hands. It's in someone else's. People that are more powerful than me."
"I didn't know it was possible being more powerful than the president of the United States."
"You have no idea."
"This is your life. You may be the president, but you are still human. You have flaws, you have marriage problems, you have urges. You deserve to be happy. Stand up for your life, for the woman that you love."
"I grabbed her," he whispered.
"What?"
"I grabbed her. She told me I was hurting her. I didn't mean to. I was just…so pissed off."
"About what, Fitz?"
"She left me. After my son died, she disappeared without a trace for two months. At first, she told me she went alone, but then she tells me she went with another man. A former friend of mine. One of my most trusted comrades."
"But now you hate him, correct? Because of his relationship with Sweet Baby."
"He knows that she doesn't love him, but he still won't give up."
"Could you? You say that this woman doesn't want you anymore, but here you are. You aren't giving up either."
Fitz didn't say anything, keeping silent.
"Tell me more about the confrontation you two had."
"We kissed…for the first time in almost three months. She told me to stop and then proceeded to tell me that she didn't go alone. It made me furious. I walked away from her and she tried to apologize, tried to touch me. I didn't mean to be so rough, but I grabbed her arm and squeezed it. I'm not an abusive man. I've never psychically harmed a woman before…"
An image of Verna came to his mind. He had tried so hard to forget about that, to not think about doing such a terrible thing, but it just came spiraling back to him.
"Fitz?"
Fitz looked up and shook his head. "Shit. Sorry. As I was saying…I never intend to. I know it could've been a lot worse than just a squeeze of the arm, but I still hurt her. She told me I hurt her. That broke my heart. But I was just so angry…so hurt. I have so much going on in my life that everything just piles up."
"I can imagine that being the president comes with great stress and responsibility. But you need to learn how to channel that stress and anger. Also, you need to learn to not be so jealous. She knows that right now, there is no way for you two to be together. You're married and you're the president. Do you honestly expect her to just sit around and wait for you? You just got elected for four more years of office. Do you know what that probably did to her? Knowing that she can't be with the man she loves for four years? You can't blame her, Fitz."
"She told me she's happy. That Jake and her are in a good place and they're happy. What if she falls in love with him? What if she forgets about me and ends up married and having kids with him? I won't be able to handle it. She's it for me, Dr. Peterson. She's the love of my life. Without her, I am nothing."
"Then here's my advice. Let her be happy, for now. While she's being happy with…Jake, did you say? Take the time to work on yourself. Start with telling Mellie you want a divorce. It's not going to be easy. By the sounds of it, everyone is going to fight you on it and stop you from doing it. But don't just do this for this woman either. You need to do this for yourself. This is, however, one step to showing Sweet Baby how serious you are."
"Do you actually think I can do this?"
"I know you can, Fitz. I have learned a lot about you in a very short time. You are unhappy. Unhappy being president, unhappy being a husband to Mellie, and unhappy that you cannot be with the woman you truly love. You deserve to be happy. You need to take control of your life. Show the world that you are not just a strong president, but a strong man as well. You are human. You are still a normal person. Don't let being the most powerful man in the world make you forget that."
"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much your time has meant to me."
"It was my pleasure sir. I am grateful to be able to assist you."
Fitz stood up and shook his hand.
"I'll see you same time next week?"
"Yes sir, Mr. President. I can't wait to hear the changes you have made. Here's my card. If you ever feel that you need to talk to someone, just give me a call. Don't just think of me as your shrink, think of me as a friend."
"Thank you. You have a great day, doctor."
"You as well. Goodbye Mr. President."
So Dr. Peterson knows Olivia? Do you guys trust him?
Also, if any of you have any suggestions on what you want to see them talk about in future sessions, please let me know. I love hearing what you all think! :)