A couple of months later Olivia was settling in her apartment on a Sunday night when she went through her mail. She opened one from the White House. It was an invitation to a state dinner. She had barely finished reading the invitation when the phone rang. "What" she answered, obviously annoyed about something.
"I see you got your invitation then?" he knew she would be unhappy. She exhaled.
"I thought the deal was one phone call a week?" she said.
"Well as my friend, it would be unusual if you weren't at least invited." He said cheekily.
"Fitz. I don't think I can make it." She said.
"Well maybe you should reconsider any plans because Karen specifically asked if you were going to be there as this is going to be her first big event."
"That's not fair. Using the children!" she said somewhat jokingly.
"Im the President of the United States, I do what I want." He said in return.
"You don't need to remind me." She said with more seriousness in her tone than she anticipated. Fitz' smile faded.
"Livvie please." He pleaded.
"I'll think about it." She said before they returned to their weekly discussions of law reforms, proposed bills and anything else Fitz wanted her opinion on.
XXXX
The next day Olivia received a message from Karen.
"Hey Liv. You coming to the state dinner?"
That sly dog, sending his children to do the dirty work. He knew she might be able to say no to him but she couldn't say no to Karen or Jerry.
"I'll have to see Kare, but if not we will have to have a sleepover."
XXXX
A week later she received a call from the first lady's office (just a staffer) wanting to obtain final numbers for the state dinner.
Olivia reluctantly agreed assuming that very little could happen in a room full of people, including his wife and children. She then messaged Karen who said she was very excited.
XXXX
The night of the state dinner arrived sooner than Olivia expected. She was wearing a white, halter neck of sorts, floor length dress that had no back with a string from her collar-bone around and under her arms. Her hair was curled and half was pulled back and the rest was hanging loosely around her neck. She had natural makeup on with some pink lip gloss.
She sat in her car on the way over feeling very nervous. It had been 6 months since she had physically seen, or been in close proximity to Fitz and didn't know what to expect when she saw him.
She had arrived early so as to try to avoid having to do the handshaking, but the President and the First Lady had unexpectedly arrived early. She wanted to vomit as she moved down the line to be greeted.
She peered down the line to see everyone shaking hands with Fitz. At one point their eyes made contact and the biggest smile spread across his face. She blushed and looked away. When she arrived at the first lady she had composed herself somewhat and received a tight hug from her but was not expecting what she had to say. "Olivia, you look beautiful as always. Karen is so happy you are here. She made sure you would be sitting next to her so I hope you are prepared for that" Mellie said lightheartedly.
She was sitting at their table. Surely that was reserved for only the most important people. She made niceties with Mellie before moving onto Fitz. She gave him a knowing look as he grabbed her hand in greeting before kissing her on the cheek. "You look lovely tonight Liv. I'll see you at the table." She swore she saw him wink at her as she moved along the line.
She somehow managed to make it to the bar, however she didn't know how because after Fitz, everything was a blur. She was placing her champagne on a waiters tray when she felt arms wrap around her waist. She looked down to see long luscious brown locks of hair. She wrapped her arms around a much taller than she remembered Karen. When they pulled away Olivia held her at arms length "Look at you. You look beautiful Karen! How much have you grown? If it wasn't for these heels I would think you are catching me." She said with a big smile.
Karen smiled "Not long now Liv. Thanks for coming by the way."
"Sure thing. Couldn't miss your first state dinner. Are you excited?" Karen nodded.
"Im a little more excited to get to talk to you." She said with a smile that was all Fitz. She melted at this and wrapped one arm around Karen's shoulders.
"Where's Jerry?" Olivia asked.
"He should be around somewhere" Karen said looking around. They found him standing next to a much older woman, seemingly flirting. Upon seeing Olivia he excused himself.
"You look positively stunning Liv." He said before hugging her.
"And you Mr, are looking very handsome in a tux, and you have certainly had a growth spurt. " Jerry flashed her the same smile that she had just received from Karen.
By this time the room was filling up and Olivia suggested they take a seat. Mellie and Fitz were still greeting guests. The three of them sat down talking and were shortly joined by Cyrus and James, Vice President Langston and Daniel Douglas and the president of France and his wife and their son who was similar in age to Jerry (17).
The MC soon stood up to introduce both the President of France and Fitz who made brief speeches before the meals came out and the band played subtly in the background.
They sat down to a lovely meal and the whole table conversed with one another. Karen and the son of the French president, Andre, seemed to hit it off straight away and even though she had said how excited she was to speak to Olivia, her attention was focused on the French boy. She found it fascinating to watch her communicate with him. Even in French, Karen carried herself well.
Cyrus sat on the other side of the table next to Fitz so they weren't able to have much significant dialogue but Olivia enjoyed listening mostly. Mellie did engage her in a conversation about her new business which she found pleasant. She spoke to Jerry about school, which seemed to be going well, they spoke about where he was going for college, which looked like Harvard for medicine.
Soon after they had finished their meals both presidents were invited to begin the dancing. She was sure she saw Fitz glance sadly at her before offering his hand to his wife. The two couples swayed to the music for a minute or two before Andre asked Karen to dance. Karen accepted gleefully.
Olivia was observing the now three couples dancing when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Jerry with one hand behind his back with his other out "May I have this dance" he asked. She smiled and took his hand, being led onto the dance floor. He placed one hand on her back and held the other up for her to take. He expertly twirled her around the dance floor, everyone was watching them and the band increased the tempo to match them. She saw Fitz and could swear she saw jealously in his eyes. Eventually they went back to the traditional swaying and Olivia commented "Such the ladies man", smiling at him.
"Billy Chambers once told me that was the most beneficial class he took at Andover, and I must say I agree" he said cheekily. Olivia threw her head back laughing. She was thinking that he certainly was his fathers son.
After her dance with Jerry she returned to her seat. After about half an hour of dancing Fitz was pulled away by a few republican senators. Olivia was on her way past when she made eye contact with Fitz who abruptly left the conversation.
"Liv, there are some people I would like to introduce you to." He said smiling. She nodded and she followed him back to the group of men that he had left moments ago.
"Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you all to Olivia Pope, the woman behind my campaign. She has recently opened up a crisis management firm in DC."
Olivia held herself well in conversation with the men and they all seemed impressed by her brilliant political mind and stunning body, much to Fitz' displeasure. A few senators left the group before a couple of high powered business men took Fitz' attention. Once again he introduced Olivia.
Olivia was finding it difficult standing next to Fitz, his scent was invading her senses and his closeness had her in a buzz. After what she felt was an acceptable amount of time she excused herself from the conversation.
She glanced at the dance floor to see Cyrus and James dancing. Olivia asked James if she could cut in and he obliged. They spoke about life and work and had a pleasant dance when they heard someone clear their throat beside them. They turned to see Edison Davis standing there. "May I cut in?" he asked. Cyrus looked at her watching her response. She thought for a moment before nodding at Cyrus and dropping her hands from his shoulders. Edison held out his hand for her and she took it.
"I've missed you." He said baring those white teeth of his to her in a broad smile.
"Edison" she said looking down and blushing slightly.
"Say you missed me too" he demanded.
"Edison" she repeated, this time cocking her head slightly and raising her eyebrows.
"How's business?" he asked. They continued talking work and dancing.
Meanwhile Fitz was watching the whole encounter and could barely contain his temper. He had just been asked to dance by a congresswoman, his 12th dance partner for the night and hand to concentrate on not crushing her hand with his. Shortly after Edison asked her to dance Fitz made some excuse to find a waiter with scotch. He watched their interaction from afar and did not like what he saw at all. He accosted the waiter for another before walking over to where they were on the dance floor.
As soon as he approached Edison dropped his grasp on her to greet him. They shook hands. "Sorry to interrupt Senator, but may I catch up with my old campaign manager?" he asked.
"Of course" he said. Edison kissed her on the cheek with a promise to speak soon before departing. Fitz quickly took her in his arms. They were both relaxed in the others arms, that was until Olivia smelt the scotch on his breath.
"Have you been drinking?" she asked.
"Watching you with Edison warranted a couple I think."
"Your jealous." She said looking away, trying to play down their conversation.
"Damn right I'm jealous. Meet me in the rose garden in 20 minutes"
"No. This was a bad idea, me coming tonight." She said smiling at fellow dancers on the dance floor as they went past.
"Maybe it was" he confirmed annoyed at her refusal.
Olivia waited an appropriate time before dropping her hand from his, he however did not let go of her waist. "I should go" she said. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed their interaction, no one seemed to be paying attention.
"Fitz" she said sternly prying his hand from her waist. She walked over to their table to collect her belongings. Mellie intercepted her line to the table.
"Leaving already?" she asked seemingly disappointed.
"Duty calls" she said while trying to keep her emotions under control.
"Of course. Be sure to let Karen know. Thank you for coming Olivia" and she hugged her. Olivia's lip quivered with guilt. She picked up her clutch and made the necessary farewells to Karen, Jerry, Cyrus and James as quickly as possible before almost running out of the venue.
The ride home was long, spent trying to keep the tears in. She was tapping her foot trying to concentrate on something else. As soon as she made it into her apartments she collapsed against the door.
Twenty minutes later she stood and brushed off her dress before heading to her bedroom to change and get ready for bed. She was laying in bed when the phone rang. She lay there letting it ring, knowing who it was. It rang twice more in quick succession before he gave up.
XXXX
He slammed the receiver down in the Oval as the phone rang out for the third time. He was now very intoxicated
XXXX
Olivia had a steady increase in work since the state dinner, it seemed her attendance had done wonders for her visibility, particularly in the political scene. That was what she thought at first.
As the weeks went by Olivia noticed that almost 80% of the people Fitz had introduced her to had become her clients and she began to wonder if Fitz had purposefully introduced her to these politicians knowing they would most likely need her services. This thought made her soften. Perhaps she should answer his call next week.
But by that time it had been four weeks since the state dinner and Fitz was heading to France for the G8 summit.
XXXX
His drunken state had more or less continued from the day of the state dinner.
The second day of the G8 he was at the bar of the hotel when a young mousey haired woman sat next to him. They talked for an hour or so, drink after drink. Before he knew it they were in his hotel room and she was naked. He pounded into her relentlessly before collapsing next to her.
He woke up the next morning with a huge headache and a lump in the bed next to him. He groaned as he turned over. She was smiling back at him.
"Amanda…my name is Amanda" she said answering his unspoken question.
She stayed longer than he had expected and Fitz found himself wishing her to leave but didn't want to be rude. She eventually began dressing and made for he door. She kissed him but he made no attempt to pucker his lips to hers and exhaled with relief as she left. Her departing words were "Ill be at the bar most nights if you are up for it."
Fitz avoided the bar for the next few days, feeling terrible about what happened. What made him feel worse is that he could pinpoint his guilt, not to cheating on Mellie, but to cheating on Olivia.
When the next Sunday rolled around he rang her number like usual, no answer. While he felt incredibly guilty, he still found his way to the bar down stairs again, where Amanda happened to show up again.
Inevitably, in his inebriated state, they ended up sleeping together again, however this time he insisted on going to her room and he left as soon as the deed was done, where he lay awake feeling terrible.
His guilt didn't stop it from happening again thought, four more times. The last night he realized that this feeling he had, was probably the feeling Olivia had every time they were together. That made him realize how hard things must be for her. He decided then that he would try desperately to let her go, so she never had to feel that feeling ever again.
XXXX
With Olivia's increased workload, and since Fitz was in France for the G8, she did not expect his call and was disappointed when she noticed a missed call on her phone on Sunday night. However being in a French hotel probably was not the most secure place for him to call her from, so in that sense she was pleased.
The next Sunday however she would make herself available in case he called.
XXXX
Fitz returned from the G8 with mixed feelings. He was sexually satisfied but emotionally in ruin. He felt terrible. His third day back at the office Lauren advised him that he had a meeting with one of Sally Langston's staff members.
When Lauren introduced her later that day Fitz had almost fainted. The door close behind what he thought was a discreet French fling. She smiled at him.
"Amanda. What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I work here and I thought you might need a little break from your stressful job." She said as she made her way over to him where he sat at the resolute desk.
Internally Fitz was freaking out. He would have to handle this situation very delicately. If he said the wrong thing she might decide to go public with their escapades and he definitely could not afford that.
'I…I didn't know" he stuttered out. She moved behind his chair rubbing his arms.
"Would that have changed the amazing week we had?" she asked seductively.
"Im not sure." He said honestly. That first night he probably wouldn't have cared, but he may not have continued if he did know he wouldn't be leaving it in France. She spun his chair around at which time he needed to find an excuse.
"Amanda, I am expecting Cyrus here at any minute, we can't." He said avoiding eye contact. She pouted, which reminded him of Olivia, except he would think it was cute if it was Olivia but right now it was just childish. He was extremely relieved when he heard a knock on the door. Amanda moved to the side of his desk as Cyrus entered.
"That will be all thank you Amanda." He said and could not have been happier when she walked out of his office. Fitz immediately stood and walked over to his scotch decanter and poured a large glass.
"Sir. It is 10am." Cyrus said. Fitz shot him a death stare daring him to test him.
After Cyrus left, Fitz called in Lauren.
"Sir?" she asked.
"Lauren, If Amanda Tanner, or anyone from Sally's office for that matter, tries to schedule another appointment with me, tell her I am busy. I don't care what you say, just lie. And if she comes by un-announced, same story."
"Yes Sir. I appologise if I did the wrong thing booking her in for this morning." She said.
"Not at all Lauren. Just from now on." He smiled reassuringly. Lauren left and Fitz filled another glass.
XXXX
Sunday rolled around and Fitz was conflicted. She had avoided his call for almost two months now. He had been away for three Sundays and due to being in transit, had only been able to call the middle Sunday, and she had not answered.
He drank five glasses of scotch while looking at the phone deciding whether he should even try this time. He didn't know what he would say if she did answer. Should he tell her about Amanda. She would surely ask about France and he didn't know if he could keep it from her, but he didn't want to hurt her any more. But they were being friends, is that what you tell your friend? He hadn't told Cyrus, so maybe not.
Eventually at 11:30pm he picked up the phone and dialed her number by heart. She picked up after two rings.
"Hi" she whispered.
"Hi" he said back.
"Hi" she repeated reveling in his voice in her ears. He began laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"I didn't expect you to pick up the phone, let alone seem happy to hear from me." He said honestly.
"Im sorry Fitz, I overreacted." She admitted, which coming from Olivia Pope was rare.
Fitz was silent. She was sorry, but he was the one who should be sorry. Guilt washed over him all over again.
"Fitz?"
"Sorry, its just, The Great Olivia Pope appologising. Can I get this in writing?" he asked jokingly. She laughed.
"Well I also realized that a certain someone may just have been introducing me to troublesome politicians all night at the State Dinner which has really helped business."
"You figured it out?" he asked.
"I did. So thank you." She said kindly.
"An apology and a thank you in the one night. I am a lucky man."
"Not as lucky as me" She said contemplatively. Fitz was silent, he was thinking of all the ways he was lucky to have her, her body, her mind. Olivia realizing the implications her words could have clarified "To have you as a friend."
"Way to kill the mood Liv" he said. Olivia blushed knowing what he was probably thinking, if he considered there was a mood to kill.
"How was France?" she asked changing the topic, unknowingly, to the one thing he did not want to talk to her about. He exhaled.
"It was fine." He said shortly. Olivia was slightly taken back by his abruptness.
"Sorry Liv. I just really don't want to talk about work." He said. She accepted that and they went on to talk about the kids.