I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter! I love to read the reviews and see how invested people are in this story. This chapter is a bit of a filler, but it sets us up for the things to come.

That evening, Olivia fell asleep on his shoulder accidentally. They had sat together after their mutual revelations, and Fitz had watched her eyes get heavy and her speech more quiet. He knew how much she hated not feeling as strong and healthy as she usually did, so he didn't say anything – just allowed her to relax against his side. One of his arms was wrapped around Olivia's shoulder, and when he was sure that she was indeed sound asleep, Fitz used his other hand to hold hers gently. He watched his own fingers play with hers, careful not to wake Olivia from her much needed rest. Slowly, he traced an invisible line up and down her ring finger, finally resting the pad of his own finger against the base of hers. Someday, he would like to place a ring right there. Something small and understated, beautifully sparkly but not flashy – just like Olivia. It was not late by any means, only a little after ten at night, so Fitz knew it was okay for him to stay a little longer. With Olivia breathing evenly against his neck, he allowed himself to recall the turn their little game had taken earlier.

Fitz had always believed that, one day, he would be able to build a life with Olivia that wouldn't consist of stolen moments and a secret I-love-you whispered here and there. He had to believe that it was possible, because for the longest time, that was what got him through. When his days had been long and tiring, he had turned into himself and remembered that he had Olivia. And although he tried to push the thoughts aside, the President had always been painfully aware that Olivia never talked about where they would stand in the future or how they could create a real life for themselves together.

Today, for the first time ever, Olivia had done just that. She had given them a future. A real chance to be what he had always assumed they could be.

He remembered just barely being able to hold back the tears when she has hugged him so tightly, telling him that she wanted to be with him – truly and completely till the very end. Their situation was unique and oh-so-difficult, because he was the President of the United States, and there was Mellie, and his children, and pushy Cyrus, and an entire country that looked to him for guidance. Now he could allow himself to look past all of that for just a moment, and see the possibilities that waited beyond any of that. One day, his presidency would be over. He could divorce Mellie and end their farce of a marriage, he could explain himself to his children and hope for their understanding and maybe even support, and he could hopefully make the American people realize that – at the end of the day – he was a man in love with an incredible woman.

He thought about Mellie then – the wife that he had been with for so many years. Despite all of their fights and problems, he respected her political ambitions and her strong will, even if he did not agree with the ways she had tried to assure her standing in society over the years. In the same way, Fitz also didn't always agree with the way she parented their children, because most of the time, she was an absent mother at best. But he could not place all of the blame on her, because he barely saw his children now that he was President, and he knew that both of them had a lot of room for improvement. He wondered what a divorce would do to the three children they shared. Would they be shocked and upset? Would they understand because their oldest children had to know that their parents' marriage was not a happy one? And what about the baby they had brought into this world as a political move? The thought still made Fitz sick to his stomach, because no child should be brought into the world for any reason other than love, but as much as Teddy's conception had been a mistake, having the little boy was not. Fitz realized that out of all of them, a divorce would probably be easiest on his baby boy, because he had never actually experienced his parents being together in the way parents should be. He wouldn't know any better.

His thoughts were interrupted when Olivia groaned quietly next to him.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep on you.", she mumbled, without putting much effort into actually moving off of him.

He was warm and solid, and so very comfortable, and even in her sleepy state Olivia marveled at how perfectly her body seemed to mold itself to his every time. She felt like a puzzle piece that connected to him just right.

"It's okay.", Fitz replied, pressing a kiss into her hair. "You should go to bed though, Livy. You'll be sore tomorrow if you're sitting on the couch like this for much longer."

"Mh.", Olivia replied sleepily, subconsciously threading her fingers through his.

She had always liked doing that, because his hands were so big and strong, but always so gentle. They were never really too warm or too cold, but felt perfectly comfortable around her own much smaller hands. Most of all, Olivia was beginning to realize that she once again trusted those hands to engulf her with that feeling of safety she cherished so much.

"Let me help you into bed and then I'll go back to the White House."

Fitz was only slightly disappointed that he would be leaving her, because he knew that taking things slow needed to be the base of their relationship. They had tried fast, passionate, and overwhelming, and in the end it had almost broken them beyond repair. So this time, he would do it all differently. He stood and pulled Olivia up by her hands.

"You're so pushy.", she smiled, trying to find the strength to move to the bedroom. "Let me walk you out first."

"Are you sure?", Fitz questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I can let myself out once you are situated."

"I'm fine.", Olivia assured him, adding: "I promise."

They walked towards her front door together, and Olivia watched as he pulled his sleeves down and put his jacket back on, transforming from the Fitz that wanted to play 20 questions on her couch into the President he needed to be as soon as he walked out of her apartment. When they reached the door, he turned and smiled at Olivia. She returned his smile and stepped into his open arms for an embrace.

"You've made me very happy today, Livy.", Fitz whispered into her hair, hugging her tightly to his broad chest. "Your promise means the world to me, and I know we can do this. Together."

Olivia nodded her head in agreement and then looked up at him, placing a sweet, lingering kiss on his cheek. It felt wonderful to know she had made him happy, because his words had made her feel equally as happy.

"I will see you soon, Mr. President?", Olivia asked, although she was sure she already knew the answer to that question.

"You will.", he confirmed. "I'll call you, alright?"

She nodded and stepped out of his arms. Part of her wanted to kiss him goodnight, but Olivia refrained because they'd been doing so well and as much as she longed to feel his lips on hers once again, she wanted to actually do this right this time. Olivia wanted to date this man, and she wanted to do it the old-fashioned way – the no-kiss-unless-there-is-a-real-date kind of way.

"Goodnight, Fitz.", she smiled.

"Goodnight, Liv. Sweet dreams."

Then he turned, opened her door, and stepped into the hallway before turning back to smile at her one last time. Olivia blew him a kiss and then closed the door, leaning against it briefly before turning in for the night. When she finally snuggled her tired body under the covers, Olivia's mind was still on Fitz. Her Fitz – her very own Mr. President. She had learned some of the most trivial and some of the most life-changing things about him in a matter of minutes that night. He loved horses and yucky marshmallow Peeps, his eyes sparkled when he talked about his only daughter, he found her to be a complex woman, he loved and shared her determination, and he wanted to grow old with her.

She fell asleep with a smile on her face.