I'm completely blown away by the amount of reviews for the last chapter. THANK YOU!

It was just a little past noon when Fitz found himself back at his desk in the Oval Office. His secretary had left a pile of files there for him to read, but he didn't mind. For the first time in a very long time, he felt happy, relaxed, and almost care-free. Olivia had left Camp David after the two of them had shared breakfast in bed, and Fitz had returned to the White House soon after. Thankfully, it was a relatively quiet day, and he was looking forward to spending a couple of hours with Teddy later. When the door opened, he was fully prepared to see Cyrus. Instead, his wife entered the office.

"Mellie?", Fitz greeted her with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were in Louisiana all weekend. I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow."

"I'm sure you weren't.", Mellie replied in that syrupy sweet voice that told him he was in trouble.

"What do you want?"

"How's Olivia?"

Just like that, Fitz knew why she had come back to D.C. earlier than originally planned. He didn't know how Mellie had found out about him seeing Olivia, but he had learned years ago that his wife had her ways.

"Much better.", he offered, deciding it wouldn't be worth denying anything at this point. "Her wounds are healing nicely."

"I'm sure you inspected them thoroughly."

"Let's get to the point here, Mellie. We both know you're not here to ask me about Olivia's health."

"For months I watched you sulk, Fitz. I watched you drink yourself into oblivion and I put up with your constant frowning. And that's okay, because I am your wife, but I will not let this woman swoop back in now and destroy what little normalcy you have regained. I let you sit by her bedside like a lost puppy for days, but enough is enough. Let's be completely honest here.", she huffed. "You were a complete and utter mess for God knows how long and…"

"You should be relieved then.", Fitz interrupted his wife. "I am a much happier man now that Olivia is back in my life."

Mellie stared at him incredulously for a moment before she reminded herself to school her expression. She was too good and had come too far to let him see her falter now. Mellie stepped closer to the desk until she was right in front of it. She looked down at her husband and studied him for a moment. He looked calm and relaxed, and for the first time in longer than she could remember, there were no dark circles under his eyes. The spark had returned to his blue orbs and he looked happy and healthy. It infuriated her.

"I will not sit by and watch this."

"Nobody is asking you to, Mellie."

"You don't seem to understand me, Fitzgerald.", she hissed.

"Look, I don't want to fight with you, especially not in here.", Fitz replied, tipping his head up and pointing to the cameras that surrounded them.

"The cameras never stopped you before from being inappropriate."

He sighed, because she was right and that annoyed him more than the statement itself. She looked so resolute, so very much Republican-First-Lady, and Fitz wondered if somewhere in there, she was still the Mellie that had once been his best friend. He'd never considered her to be the love of his life, and her almost brutally ambitious nature had sometimes made him wonder how they'd ever even managed to even be friends, but at the end of day, Mellie had always been that good friend he could count on. But now, he did not want to count on her anymore. He didn't have the need to count on her.

"I'd like to talk to you later, Mellie – just the two of us without anyone watching or listening. I was hoping we could sit down tonight."

She looked like she was going to argue with him, but then Mellie nodded her head and left the Oval Office without another word. Fitz sighed and returned to his work. He didn't look forward to talking to his wife later, but he knew how badly they needed to have this talk regardless. His mind drifted to a happier place, to Olivia, and the way she had looked just a few hours ago. Her gorgeous lips had been kiss swollen and there had been such a glow to her that it made him smile even now. Fitz hoped that she had taken his advice and was at home right now, just relaxing.

Hours later, the President found himself sharing dinner with his wife in icy silence. Lately, Mellie had taken to chattering her way through dinner nearly every night, and he knew it was her way of trying to engage him, to get him to open up to her. Tonight, Fitz had to admit, the silence he had so often wished for, bothered him. Out of all the awkward meals they had shared over the years, this one was almost painful. When Mellie pushed her plate away, Fitz took the opportunity and stood up.

"Come on.", Fitz urged, taking his wife's hand and helping her up.

Her hand felt cold and uncharacteristically clammy, almost foreign in his own. Fitz thought about Olivia's hands and how they had felt so familiar even the first time he'd touched her after months of being apart. When he touched his wife now, it felt like he was holding the hand of a complete stranger. He led Mellie into their private bedroom and after shrugging off his jacket, Fitz asked her to take a seat. She hesitated for just a split second, but Fitz caught it and sighed at how incredibly weary and awkward they'd allowed themselves to become around each other.

"What did you want to talk about?", Mellie asked tensely.

"I am not going to insult your intelligence, and I won't even ask how you found out about Camp David, but you obviously know that Olivia and I have reconciled."

"That's lovely. I'm sure you don't expect me to give you two my blessing."

"Of course not.", Fitz admitted. "But I would like to ask for your understanding and support to keep this quiet."

"You have some nerve.", Mellie replied, her voice rising just slightly. "Do you even realize what you are doing here or has Olivia finally managed to turn you into a complete lovesick moron?"

"Mellie…"

"No, Fitzgerald. You are asking your wife to support your affair – again. I did it once because I thought it was for the best, because I thought that if getting to rid her of her panties every now and then keeps you happy, so be it. I was wrong then, because as we both know being with her destroyed you just as much as being away from her does. I will not allow it again."

Fitz regarded her quietly. To others, she would have looked exactly like the woman everyone got to see on TV, but to him, she looked so different at that moment. The confidence Mellie liked to show was merely an act at this point, and Fitz could tell by the slight, barely noticeable twitch of her eyes. Her words were meant to sound authoritative, but he knew she'd had to fight to make them sound that way. Mellie was nervous, maybe even afraid.

"I'm not asking you to allow me anything. That's not your place, and you know that. I need you to understand that what Olivia and I have is not an affair. It never was to begin with, but it definitely isn't now."

"Why is that?", Mellie asked with a perfectly raised eyebrow. "What did she promise you this time around?"

"A future."

It was such a vague answer, but it knocked the wind out of Mellie. For as much as Olivia had interfered with their life and their marriage, Mellie had never considered her to be a threat. She had been an inconvenience, a disruption of their 'normal', one that would eventually go away. But she hadn't. Olivia Pope was back, and if her husband's words were any indication, stronger than ever.

"Your future is here, in the White House and even beyond that, you will always be a President with a political presence to uphold. Your precious Olivia doesn't fit into that equation, Fitzgerald."

"That's where you're wrong. I didn't just ask you to talk to me to tell you that Olivia and I are seeing each other again. I want a divorce, Mellie."

She snorted: "Doesn't this sound awfully familiar? It didn't happen before and it certainly won't happen now, Fitz. I will never agree to a divorce. It would be political suicide, the end of your career."

"But that's not what worries you, is it? You are worried about what it would do to you, what you would do if you weren't the First Lady."

"Fitz…", she warned, because she hated to be reduced to a woman with a title but no actual career.

"Let me finish.", he interrupted. "I am not asking you to let me divorce you right now, because I know you wouldn't agree, and I realize it would be very difficult to come out on top if our divorce was made public right now. However, I am asking you to sign an agreement."

Fitz handed her a folder, and while she took it, Mellie did not open it to look at the papers within.

"What is this?"

"This is a divorce agreement I asked my lawyers to draw up. If you sign it, you would agree to a divorce at the end of my first term. I want to keep the ranch, and I will not allow anything less than shared custody of our children, but everything else is negotiable."

"It would ruin your career, Fitz.", she laughed incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I would like to run for a second term, and if the American people support me as a divorced President, I would be blessed to run this country for another four years. If they do not support my decisions, then I can live with that as well. No matter what, I am not willing to uphold this farce of a marriage any longer than we have to, Mellie."

"This marriage isn't the problem. Olivia is. I will not let her take my marriage from me, Fitz."

"Mellie, this isn't a marriage, and you know that. It's a political contract, and quite frankly, I'm no longer willing to settle for that. I love Olivia, more than I could ever even begin to describe to you, and I am not going to force her to live this life of secrecy forever."

"Then let her go, dammit!", Mellie yelled and he was taken aback by her anger.

"I can't. I don't want to. Please take a look at the divorce agreement and sign it, Mellie. I know I said it won't come into play until this term is over, but I want to be sure that we have a legal agreement that is binding. For both of us."

Mellie stood, placed the unopened folder on the table, and walked towards the bathroom. Before closing the door behind her, she forced a smile.

"I hope you don't mind sleeping in the nursery tonight."