The Things People Will Do For An Oval Office
Chapter 5 A Time to Heal
The next day, Fitz and Olivia lay in the bed lovingly embracing one another. Messy hair, limbs tangled, breathing slowly, evenly, in accord. It was early in the afternoon and neither attempted to get out of bed. The feeling of intense love replaced hunger and thirst. Their need to touch, to embrace, to look into one another's eyes became as involuntary a function as breathing. Flesh rubbing against flesh reignited the symbiotic connection between their bodies. They fed off one another's energy reactivating their dormant spirit and soul. The familiar fragrance of after sex sweat combined with their colognes and natural body scent filling their nostrils and causing a heady euphoric feeling.
Olivia lay on Fitz's chest debating whether to speak and interrupt the solitude of their restored inner sanctum. It was an emotionally engineered fortress of love temporarily protecting them from the conspiring forces hellbent on robbing them of their happy ending. For the two of them this moment, in this bed, worry, pain, or sorrow did not exist. Olivia decided to honor the quiet comfort and forestall the planning of the firestorm of retribution they soon would unleash. Fitz on the other hand had different plans.
"Liv honey, we need to talk." Fitz says tenderly as he tightens grip around her waist.
"I know, but I don't want to talk about it now; can't we just enjoy being back together for a little while longer."
"No, I need to tell you some things."
Thinking she knows what he wants to discuss, she cuts him off. "Fitz, right now all I think about, other than being here with you, is making everyone involved with what was done to us pay. I have cried my last tear. My once perpetual sorrow is buried under a 50-foot shit pile called revenge. I'll reacquaint myself with mourning after we avenge our daughter."
"Liv, you don't understand. That's what I want to talk about. I am so filled with rage I'm afraid I won't be able to contain my anger much longer. Olivia, while we were apart I did things, terrible things, things I had to do while I was in the military. Up until this point I easily rationalized my actions as justified because I was following orders."
"Fitz, I don't understand. Where are going with this?"
"You weren't there as my moral campus, my touchstone. I did not have you to keep me centered. I lost myself in the job. The adrenaline rush, the power of sanctioned aggression without personal consequence, was addictive. I was lost because I did not have you. I was who I was because of you. I couldn't be me without you. Your absence birthed a void in my soul. I was callous, indifferent; I could care less, all traits necessary for becoming the consummate black ops soldier."
"Fitz, I...I...still…"
"The feeling is back. I can feel the aggression, the bloodlust rising within in me. I'm afraid I'll lose myself in the avenging and not make it back to being the person you love," he says choking on the words.
"Fitz, there isn't anything you've done or will do that will make me stop loving you. When you told me about Huck and asked me to give him a job and look after him, I had my suspicions. Your demeanor, your choice of words and the almost tortured look in your eyes spoke volumes. I knew something had happened to you; something you didn't want to share with me, especially given the change in our relationship. Taking Huck on for you gave me such joy. I couldn't be with you but I could take care of your friend. It was enough for me. I felt we were together through him in some way. Seeing Huck in action over the years I've gotten a glimpse into your time in the navy." Olivia took Fitz's hands and kissed each one.
"Huck has discussed some of the mission objectives he executed. It wasn't much of a stretch to assume if you knew Huck well enough to ask me to look after him, that you had a similar history."
"Liv, when my tour was over, I was able to leave of all of that behind me because of my father's plans. He made sure all my naval ties were severed. Huck was not as fortunate. He was forced into working for an off-the-books spy agency and live a lifestyle that few people are really equipped to handle well. His entire existence was dedicated to exercising extreme prejudice both overseas and domestically. Huck was mentally conditioned to protect the republic at all cost. You can't imagine the toll that takes on the psyche." Fitz pulls his hand away from Olivia and looks blankly out the bedroom window.
"What I'm trying to say is that I see what happened to us as an attack against the sovereign republic of Olitz. I see the rules of engagement governing our actions from this point forward. Gerry and his cohorts are terrorists and I will use extreme measures to extract retribution. They launched an unprovoked attack against us and I don't plan to respond in kind; I plan to go nuclear and obliterate the lot of them. Huck and I are going to take out these fucking assholes." Fitz was shaking as he spoke, his voice elevated and his eyes almost rabid with anger. Olivia moved quickly to wrap her arms around his waist and pull his face to hers. She needed to somehow quell his anger and bring him back to her world.
"Fitz, listen to me. You are my commander-and-chief; where you go I will follow. I live to serve you my love. We are in this together. I know we will never have closure until everyone involved is brought to justice." Fitz interrupts.
"Liv, you are not hearing me. I don't plan on any of them making it to court. They shed innocent blood. Our daughter's blood Liv! As a sovereign nation we are perfectly within our right to mete out our particular brand of swift justice."
"You're not hearing me Fitzgerald; I will not allow you or Huck to have blood on your hands. I won't let you two go back to the other life. I know you both. You won't survive the trip back. I can't lose the both of you. I know Gerry and his bunch need to be dealt with. Eliminating them is far too good for them. They need to suffer as we have suffered. They need to be crushed as we have been crushed. They need to spend every day for the rest of their long miserable lives bemoaning their very existence. They need to contemplate the heinous nature of their crimes every second of every day knowing that what they achieved in return was fleeting and temporary."
"I know you. You let me see who you really are. You made me fall in love with you. I love you so much I ache. I will not let you do something I know you will regret later. I won't let our family be tainted by death any longer."
"Livvie, yesterday you were ready to take your gun and render your own version of vigilante justice. What's different today?"
"You, she said tenderly. I have you back. You came to my rescue. You held me, brought me back from the brink. Your love for me destroyed the hate. I love you. Promise me you won't leave me, she shouted grabbing hold to him with all of her might. "I love you", she whispers again as she stares into his struggle filled eyes.
"When we do visit our daughter's gravesite once all of this is done, I want to be able to say mommy and daddy have avenged you sweet angel. I want to say every person that had a hand in your death has been brought to justice. I want to say all the bad people are suffering now for their misdeeds. I want to be able to say her name, smile and not cry. I want be able to go to her grave, leave flowers and imagine her singing and dancing among the flowers in heaven instead seeing her bones occupying a cold casket six feet underground. I want to be at peace. I want us to be at peace."
"Livvie, I don't know if it is possible for me ever to be at peace with her death. The senseless motives behind her death, I don't think I can ever reconcile with that. Gerry tricked us into killing our child because he wanted me to spend time in an oval office. Our daughter is not here because of a "possible" temp job. I'm sure at one point I'll be able to let go of the hate but be at peace; I just don't know. Our child is dead because of my father. Her own grandfather ordered her death. How can I ever be at peace with that fact. She's dead because of me."
"No! Stop this right now! Look at me! Look at me Fitzgerald! Do not take on Gerry's sin! He may be your father, but you, no we…, we had no hand in this. We were duped. "
"Why didn't we fight harder Liv? Why didn't we just let her grow to term? The lie would have been exposed and our daughter would be ten years old and with us now.
"Fitz we cannot afford to ponder the "what ifs"; if we do we will end up in a very dark place that we can never escape. The doctors told us her congenital defects were so severe that she would, at best, live a couple of days. They told us she would be in constant unbearable pain. We loved her too much to let her suffer. Olivia grabs his face with her two hands and looks him straight in the eyes. You are not Gerry. You released your child from what you thought would be a painfully hellish short life. You are not Gerry. You did not terminate your child out of ambition, greed or wantonness. You let your daughter go out of love. Fitz collapses falling to the floor wailing uncontrollably.
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Back at OPA
"What's the next step?" Abby asks anxiously. All the gladiators are assembled in the conference room ready to strategize and do battle.
"All I know is that the bastards are going to pay for what they did. Exactly what that entails I don't know, you will have to wait for Olivia and Fitz to come into the office."
"When will that be, questions Harrison?"
"I don't know. Fitz said at least a day; so maybe this afternoon or maybe not until tomorrow."
All heads turn as the door to the office opens. Expecting to see Fitz and Olivia, the group is disappointed to see a messenger walk in instead with a small package.
"Package for Huck Finn", messenger announces.
Huck dashes over to the slender, twenty-something, biker shorts clad courier. The messenger hands Huck the small package and the electronic clipboard to sign. Huck takes the package, signs for receipt of the padded envelope, nods thank you and follows the messenger to the door as he exists. Huck rips open the envelope and pulls out the micro USB drive. "Shit", he mumbles under his breath. He immediately races to his office to view the drive contents. The others, witnessing his response to the package contents quickly move to the entrance to Huck's office. Huck plugs the drive into the nearest computer. The drive contains a single audio file. Huck clicks his mouse to open the file.
"Am I the only one here with a brain? You know damn well where he's gone? He's sniffing around Olivia Pope! Now that he knows everything that happened was a lie, I have to figure out how to rein him back in. Looks like we're going to have to threaten or hold Ms. Pope indefinitely in order to keep my boy Fitz in line.
Do you want her held nearby or out of the country?
Let's keep her local. He'll demand to see her or spend time her with periodically.
I'll get right on it. Anything else sir? The voice on the tape inquires.
Yes there is. Eliminate the Gideon problem. Make sure it looks like an accident."
As soon as the tape ends, the gladiators fire off a barrage of questions at Huck. What the fuck was that Huck? Is that who we think it is? Who sent the tape? Are Olivia and Fitz still at her apartment? What are we going to do to protect them? We need to send the police over to Olivia's now!
Huck ignoring the tirade of concern for the moment Huck reaches for his phone to call Olivia.
"Huck what's up?"
"Liv you and Fitz need to get down here now and tell Fitz we are at DEFCON 1."