The amount of reviews you are leaving me for this story is astonishing. I am SO happy. Please keep them coming, I'd love to hit 100 reviews soon. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter; I loved writing it.

Some of the tension that had kept him wound up tight for so long left Fitz' body as he allowed Olivia's much smaller frame to curl into him. She was firmly placed in his lap, and he cradled her much like one would a small child. Olivia's head remained tucked into the crook of his neck, and Fitz' upper body and arms formed a cocoon around her. For the first time since the accident, she felt absolutely no pain. The tips of his fingers had begun to run soothing circles up and down her back. Without a conscious thought Olivia allowed her fingers to play with the short curls at the nape of his neck, and she felt his sigh against her cheek.

Fitz remembered many times in the past when he had wanted to kiss her. Sometimes, it had been out of pure lust. Sometimes, it had been to place a quick, sweet peck on her lips just because he could. Now, he was overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her solely because he could not imagine going another moment without feeling her plumb lips against his own again. He let his lips rest against her soft cheek, mindful of any cuts or bruises that still remained, then gently kissed his way to the corner of her mouth. Fitz let them rest there, not wanting to push Olivia further than he thought she was ready for. She could feel the quick heartbeat against her chest, but couldn't be sure if it was her own or his. It seemed like her body had developed a mind of its own and before she could change her mind, Olivia's lips were slowly kissing his neck where his pulse beat strongly.

"We can't, Fitz.", she whispered, and her breath tickled his skin in the most tantalizing of ways.

"I know.", he replied, but his lips inched closer to their desired destination.

"One minute.", Olivia breathed, finally tilting her head upward.

Those words had never sounded better to his ears. Fitz pulled her full upper lip between his own, and kissed it gently. The sigh that escaped her throat fueled his longing even more, and he pecked her lips over and over again. Olivia tipped her head to the side to allow him better access, and Fitz didn't waste a second to trail his tongue along her lips, waiting for her to open her mouth to his. Every cell in her brain told Olivia to pull back because it was too dangerous, but every cell in her body was telling her otherwise. So she opened her mouth to his, and when their tongues met, she wished this minute would never end. Fitz kissed her like a man with purpose, one large hand cupping her face while the other one remained wrapped around her body protectively. Her tongue playing with his own felt so good, and somehow the kiss was more intimate than most of their sexual encounters had ever been. Eventually, Olivia broke away from the kiss to catch her breath.

"We need to stop…", she reminded Fitz, even though she sounded anything but convincing.

"My minute isn't over yet.", Fitz breathed against her lips, feeling hers bloom into a smile.

"Mr. President…", Olivia warned, and he knew he was going to be in trouble.

"I know. I know."

With a regretful sigh, Fitz turned sideways and gently lowered Olivia from her place in his lap onto the bed. He watched as she got situated under the covers, a faint blush coloring her cheeks because she knew he was staring at her. She always looked so good when she had been thoroughly kissed. Finally, Olivia seemed to be comfortable, and Fitz debated whether he should pull up a chair or continue to sit on the bed with her. He decided that it would be better for them to have some distance between their bodies once they'd start what was to be the most important talk of their relationship. Moving from the bed, Fitz grabbed the chair he'd become so accustomed to, and sat down by her bed. The self-confident Olivia he had kissed just moments ago was replaced by her shy alter-ego, and Fitz felt his own self-confidence leave along with hers.

"Before you say anything, Fitz, I want you to know that I am sorry. I truly am."

"I know that, I've always known that, but what I cannot wrap my mind around is why. Why did you ever do this to me, Liv?"

She sighed: "Because I truly believed – still believe – that you needed to become President of the United States. Even as a candidate, you had so much to give, and I just…"

"Stop.", he interrupted her. "I don't want any more well-rehearsed Olivia Pope answers. I can't take them anymore. I want – need – a Livy answer."

He didn't sound angry this time, just sad and defeated. Had she really caused this? Had she made this strong man feel so devastated? Olivia gulped, hoping to be able to keep the tears at bay that were threatening to overwhelm her.

"When they told me about the rigging, I was so appalled.", Olivia began quietly. "I told them no, and we agreed that it wouldn't be done unless we were all on board with it. Every time new numbers came in, you were so close. In the grand scheme of things, it seemed like we only needed a handful more, and you'd be President. And I really, truly believed we could win it – you could win it."

Fitz listened intently, and watched her struggle to collect herself before she continued.

"Then your dad died. The day of his funeral, when I found you in the backyard, I didn't see Governor Grant that was supposed to become President, I didn't see Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III that was destined to be President. For the first time I saw Fitz who wanted to be President of the United States. I saw my Fitz – the man who… who I had fallen in love with – wanting to be the man I know he could be. I think that's the moment I changed my mind."

A lone tear escaped Olivia's eye and ran down her cheek. Fitz watched it catch on her upper lip, and he almost reached out to wipe it away. She sounded so sincere that he believed her words, but that didn't mean that he could understand how she had been able to commit a crime.

"I gave them my okay to rig the voting, Fitz. And when I saw your face the day you finally did win, I knew I had done the right thing. Not legally, and probably not even morally right, but right because it made you my President."

"Liv, you broke the law. I'm not even supposed to be the President.", Fitz interjected.

"But you are, and I wouldn't change that for anything!", she cried. "I don't regret making sure you are voted into office, but I do regret not being honest to you. I regret that more than anything else. You need to believe that."

Olivia reached out for his hand and he let her take it. She squeezed it tightly and looked straight into his eyes. Her own tears were reflected in his eyes.

"I am sorry for betraying you, Fitz. I'm so sorry for the pain I've caused you."

Her tears were flowing freely now, and this time, Fitz did reach out to wipe them away. Olivia leaned into his touch, and allowed him to soothe her.

"I'm sorry too.", Fitz admitted. "The things I said to you… it wasn't fair, and it wasn't right. I knew that my words would hurt you, Liv, and it was wrong of me to say them anyway. But I felt so used and betrayed, that I wanted to hurt you. Once I had said them, I couldn't turn back. I… I wanted you to feel every bit as devastated as I felt when I found out about Defiance. It crushed me, and I wanted to crush you in return because you were the only person I ever trusted without any reservation."

"When you called me your mistress…", Olivia began, the sound of the word causing Fitz to flinch. "…a part of me died. Deep down, I knew that's exactly what I was – the mistress of a married man – but it hurt so much to know you thought of me as one."

"No.", he interrupted her, scooting himself as close as possible to her. "You were never a mistress, Olivia. I chose to call you that because I knew it would cut you deeply, and for that I am sorry. It was cruel of me, but I need you to understand that I could never think of you as something so low. If I could, your involvement in Defiance wouldn't have hurt me so much."

"You broke my heart, Fitz.", she whispered, but her voice held no accusation.

"And you broke mine.", he replied, utterly defeated.

A beat passed, and Fitz simply held her hand between his two larger ones, stroking his thumb across her palm.

"I couldn't move on.", Olivia finally breathed. "I can't move on."

"Neither can I.", he admitted. "For ten months I pretended that I could, that I was okay without you. But then you were hurt and I could no longer convince myself that I was going to be alright without you. I don't want to need you so much, but I do."

"I need you too. But, Fitz, nothing has changed. We are still the same people… we have still done the same hurtful things to one another."

For a long time, they sat in silence, both trying to comprehend everything that had happened. Then, it was Fitz' deep voice that cut through the air like a knife.

"I forgive you."

Olivia's head snapped up and fresh tears gathered in her eyes immediately. She had longed to hear those words for nearly a year.

"I forgive you too.", she cried quietly.

He brought her hand up to his face and kissed it, trying to convey all the emotion he felt at that moment. She had told him mere minutes ago that nothing had changed, but with their consentaneous admissions, everything had changed.

"Where does this leave us?", Fitz dared to ask, his voice almost fearful.

"I don't know.", Olivia admitted, and he hated how defeated she sounded at that moment. "We can't go back to the way things were before all of this."

"I know. But maybe… maybe we can start fresh. Maybe we can re-build the trust we once had in each other."

Olivia thought about his words, and wondered if they were being foolish. No matter what, at the end of the day he would still always be the married President of the United States and she would be the high-profile fixer and his biggest secret. Then again, if being foolish meant to get another chance with him, maybe it was exactly what she needed to do.

"Okay.", she agreed. "We start fresh."

The genuine smile that lit up his face warmed Olivia's heart so deeply that it almost ached. The tiny lines around his eyes crinkled, and his expressive blue orbs sparkled with pure happiness. She watched Fitz release her hand and stand up. Then he extended his right hand to her and waited for her to return the gesture in confusion. He shook her hand and smiled goofily.

"Hi. My name is Fitz, and I would like to get to know you."

"Olivia.", she replied with a giggle. "But you can call me Livy."