Gladiators! It's been too long! I've had serious writers block. But I finally came up with a chapter I think you all will enjoy. Side note- How amazing are all of these Scandal Fanfics! They are definitely helping until the 21st rolls around. But, on to the story. Happy Reading!

"Liv, I can handle it. Go home. Get some rest. Take it easy. Enjoy some time with El Presidente." Harrison was sitting in Olivia's office handing her the final report on their most recent case.

She sat at her desk putting on a front that she wasn't tired. But Harrison knew her all to well to ignore the fact that she could use some down time.

"El Presidente is out of town so I might as well be here with you guys."

"I thought his gig with Georgetown was supposed to keep him mostly local. Where's he at this time?"

"He had meetings with the Governor and his father in California. You know when Big Gerry summons you, you show up. Trust me, I wasn't happy about this trip."

"Well isn't his brother-in-law trying to make some moves after his time as Governor? It's kind of expected that the former President of the United States would get involved, no?"

"It wasn't just that. Look, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."

"Gotcha. Well you know you're more than welcome to come over later if your lonely. Can't have my big sis and my unborn niece or nephew eating alone tonight."

"I'm sure your girlfriend wouldn't be too thrilled at the thought of your pregnant boss crashing your evening plans. Besides I have a conference call with Mellie's campaign manager."

"You're still helping with that, huh?"

"Barely. I chime in with a few suggestions. They only bug me once every few weeks. Fortunately she's had a smooth campaign so I've basically just been an extra set of ears. I don't even bother talking about it with Fitz."

"He really hates her doesn't he."

"According to him 'she was only good for two things, Jerry and Karen'," her voice mimicked Fitz'. "His words, not mine."

"Wow. Well, then at least go home and get some sleep after the call."

"You're too good to me Harrison," she paused a second as she leaned back in her chair and watched him stand before her. "You know Fitz is under the assumption that you'll be my number one guy here after we have the baby."

"Your number one? As in, I get your office? You don't plan on coming back to the firm after our mini Pope-Grant gets here do you?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet. Fitz wants me to stay true to myself, also his words. But I know a part of him wants me to be in mommy mode twenty-four-seven."

"And what do you want?"

"I don't know what I want."

"Of course you know what you want."

"I really don't Harrison. I wish I did but I don't. This is all very new to me, you know that."

"Guess you have some thinking to do then, my dear."

"I concur." She's stood to her feet and pretended to shoo Harrison out of her office.

"Go, get out. Go home. Be with your girlfriend. As soon as I make this call I'm leaving too. Toms coming get me so I'll be fine."

"I wish I had a cool bodyguard to wait on me."

"It's not all its cracked up to be. One of the few downsides to being the modern day Mrs. Grant."

Harrison walked over to Olivia to give her belly a quick rub."I'll catch you next week Liv. Say hi to the Pres for me. Don't be too hard on him. He's a good guy."

"You're sipping on the Fitz kool-aid too huh?"

"I'm just saying..."

"Out. Go home." Harrison gave her his award-winning smile upon following her command. She winked at him before he turned to leave her office with his work bag in tow.

She sat thinking about what Harrison said. Her mind travelled back to the week prior when she found out he'd be out of town, again.

"I wash, you dry?"

"That works." She slapped his butt lightly as she walked by him in the kitchen to start drying the pots and pans. They had a perfect rhythm going as they worked to clean up. The music was playing and they gently swayed and sang along to the few lyrics that they remembered.

"So," Fitz interrupted, "not to ruin the mood but, the interview. I set it up. The end of the month on the 26th. I have it all arranged, the questions will be sent within the week."

"Okay. Just let me know when you have 'em."

"I will. And-"

"That's all I need to hear about it right now," she continued cleaning up.

"You don't want to know the magazine or interviewer?"

"Nope, not right now," she said cheerily. "Like you said I don't want to ruin my mood. I'll figure it out at some point."

"Okay, Liv." Fitz was suspicious about her seemingly careless front but he knew better than to force it.

"Babe, your phone is going off."

"Thanks," he looked down at the screen,"Liv turn the music down for a sec whole I grab this."

She lowered the speaker and continued drying as he leaned against a nearby counter on the phone.

"Hey Dad, no surprise getting a phone call from you today."

Fitz listened intently and didn't respond much.

"Yes, sir. Next week? What's the date of the first meeting?" He waited for a response.

"Uh-huh. Yes. Okay. Sure thing. See you then." He promptly hung up and jumped right back in the groove of cleaning up the kitchen and the remainder of the dishes as Olivia remained busy helping him.

"Looks like I'll be in California next week."

She didn't react much to the information but that didn't mean she didn't have an opinion about it.

"For how long?"

"They have meetings set up over a four day span, not including conference calls and one or two appearances. So I'm thinking at the most I'll be gone for five days."

"Cant you join some of the conference calls without flying all the way out to California? You were just in New York last weekend. I know that was for your charity but still..."

"I probably could. But Ken is lining up meetings. So in addition to the phone calls, they're going to want face to face contact. You know how this kinda thing goes." He casually explained himself without even looking up from washing the dishes.

"Don't forget we have the meeting with our contractor next week. We've had that planned twice and have had to push it back because of our schedules. We have got to look over the house if we ever plan on actually living in it."

"If my memory serves me correctly we've had to reschedule twice because of your schedule, not mine."

"Okay, but that doesn't change the fact that you're going out of town now. I'm not going to meet with the contractor by myself," she irritatingly assured him.

"You don't have to Liv," he tried to respond calmly to diffuse the obvious tension that was growing. "I'll call Zeke, we'll push it back two days. Not a big deal at all. He's a contractor, I'm sure he's used to it."

"I just...I thought we agreed to one out of town trip every few months. Not every few weeks."

"I know baby. I'm not exactly thrilled to go."

"You didn't really sound that upset just now when your dad called."

He stopped with his hands still in the sink but turned his attention to Livs direction.

"Listen, when my dad calls and tells me to show up somewhere, I show up. No questions. Not from me, or anyone else."

"Please don't justify the fact that your father makes a habit of ordering people around. You're a grown man, Fitz."

"That's not the point."

"And, by the way, next time you might want to, I don't know, consult your wife before agreeing to fly across the country for a weeklong trip."

"Olivia...c'mon. Stop it."

"Stop what, Fitz? Tell me I don't have a valid point." She had placed the dry towel down and crossed her arms above her growing stomach. Her neck was stiff as she raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes waiting for a response.

"Stop trying to start an argument. I'm not going to get upset, and seem like an asshole when I start yelling, and get you worked up. You're pregnant, we're having a nice evening, I really don't want a fight. Its not a big deal. We knew they'd be asking for my help. This isn't a surprise. So just turn it down a few notches, okay?"

"Fitz..."she focused on a random object across the room and took a slow deep breath, "I am absolutely not trying to start an argument. I simply would like to have an open discussion with my husband about how I'm feeling."

He immediately softened his demeanor and focused on her to give his undivided attention.

"Okay. I'm all ears. Talk to me Liv."

She pressed her lips together and shrugged her shoulders while shaking her head.

"You're going to think I'm being dramatic, I know you are. But I'm going to say it anyway. I think things are slowly going back to how it was when we broke up."

"Because of a trip to help my brother in laws campaign? Jesus, Liv. That's quite a jump don't you think?"

"No, I don't think that's a jump. This is how it started. You travelled, I travelled. We were completely satisfied with seeing each other here and there during the week and going wherever we needed to be the rest of the time. We never took a break to stop and talk. It was work, work, work, have welcome home sex, talk into the early morning, and then back to work."

"Stop right there," he walked over to her with a smirk on his face. His hands reached out to touch her stomach and rub her perfect bump."If my memory serves me correctly, our welcome home sex wasn't just something to toss to the wind."

"Fitz," she warningly expressed.

"I'm only mentioning how incredible in bed you are."

"I'm serious, Fitz."

"I know you are Liv. Trust me, I know," he stood in front of her looking her straight in her eyes as he raised his hands to gently graze the sides of her arms. "Yes, I've been working more than usual and sometimes traveling is a part of that. You and I are married, I'm completely in love with you, I am completely in love with our child, I can't wait for us to have this baby. There's no way we are ever going back to how it was before. That's in the past, Liv. It's me and you."

"I feel like that's what you say, but at the end of the day, you didn't even blink before saying yes to the California trip."

"You have a point, Mrs. Pope-Grant. Listen, Olivia," he lifted her chin up so that he could look in her eyes, "I am sorry." He kissed her lips gently and pressed their foreheads together.

"You are the most important person in my life. You're everything to me. Without you, who knows what kind of shambled mess my world would be. I should have talked to you before agreeing to help in California. No more trips for a while, I promise."

"Fitz. I just...I really want us to try and talk more. We don't always talk about our plans, let alone our feelings, and it just gets bottled up and then I get angry, and you get angry. It's too much. And it can be avoided if we just talk."

"I hear you," he looked down at her belly and slowly got on his knees in front of it."Did you hear your mommy? We're going to talk more, I hope we don't sound too boring lovebug." He kissed her stomach right against her belly button. Olivia smiled at the sight accepting the fact that she could never stay mad at this man for long.

It had been a few days into Fitz's trip to the west coast. She hasn't heard much from him, which was to be expected due to his busy schedule. Olivia sat on her couch planning her work for the following week. Her jacket was thrown on a nearby chair, her shoes kicked of under the coffee table, and she sipped on a large bottle of water. She had straightened her hair earlier before work so she wore it in a low ponytail to keep out of the way by the end of her day. As she proceeded with her work into the evening her cell phone rang. She immediately perked up at whose name flashed across her screen.

"Mister President. What a pleasant surprise."

He smiled at the sound of her voice."Hey beautiful."

Fitz stood in a quiet hallway outside of the conference room where he had been a part of meetings all week.

"I thought you were going to be stuck schmoozing the rich and famous politicians out there with your dad and Ken all day."

"I managed to sneak away for a few minutes. Wanted to hear your voice. I miss you Liv. How do you feel?"

She smiled to herself at his thoughtfulness. "I miss you too. And I've been feeling pretty good. A little nausea this afternoon but that passed quickly. My feet, on the other hand, are killing me." She leaned back in the couch to put her feet up on the armrest.

"Poor baby. Maybe you need to start wearing flats."

"Never. How's everything going with you?"

"I'm exhausted, honestly. We've been talking strategy for hours. They want help figuring out what Ken's next move is as Governor. It's a joke to me. Number one, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. If his family wasn't overflowing with money I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to find a supporter in the entire state. Number two, for some reason, they have it in their head that I enjoy being a consultant for them. I know it's only been five days but its getting old."

"Fitz, you did serve as a governor and a president before. Maybe, just maybe, they're under the assumption that you enjoy politics."

"Well before politics I'm a lawyer. I love the law. I happen to love people too, so yes, naturally, I turned to politics. But all of this talk with them about money, and funding, and lobbyists. It's exhausting. All I want to do right now is be laying in bed right next to you. Kissing and rubbing your belly."

"Mmmm. That would be nice right now. And I'm not saying that to try and make you feel bad. I'm just letting you know. I really, really miss you Fitz. A lot."

"Only one more day and I'm back to being all yours. I promise."

"I know. In the meantime, please don't let your father get the best of you. I really don't feel like flying across the country just to kick his ass."

He laughed to himself at her feisty nature.

"Don't worry. I know how to walk away now if he gets to be too much. Plus there's plenty of scotch here to get my mind off of this disaster of a plan."

"Fitz, don't joke like that. You know I don't like it."

"I know, I know. It was a stupid joke. I'm fine, really. It's just a lot has been going on over here."

Olivia sat by herself for a moment as she silently pictured him standing alone in some dark area of his office building.

"It must be weird to live so far from your family. And then when you see them it's all business and meetings."

"You have no idea. I'm not ashamed to admit this trip hasn't been easy for me. Its kicking my ass. My mind is just -"

"Has your father been-"

"It's not him Liv," he assuredly said in a quiet voice.

"If he's trying to put you down or make you feel bad you have every right-"she was cut off by Fitz again.

"Liv, no. It's not that." He exhaled deeply through his nostrils as he leaned his back against the wall."I wasn't going to tell you this until I got home. But I guess you'll find out either way."

Olivia sat back up in her chair waiting for him to explain.

"My mom, she...I don't want you to get upset so just listen to the whole thing."

"I won't get upset just tell me."

"She's sick right now. Really sick. Actually I guess sick is an understatement," he paused for a second. "She has cancer Liv. My mom has cancer."

Olivia slowly dropped her head in her hands and pinched the bridge of her nose as she processed the information.

Fitz began mumbling to himself as his thoughts trailed on."She uh..yeah, you know. So it's kind of tough over here right now." His voice began to sound weak over the phone as he strained to speak.

"Fitz, baby..I'm so sorry. I don't...I don't know what to say really. How is she? What's the prognosis?"

She knew that as he cleared his throat he was just trying to sound strong for her. "They've already started chemotherapy. She didn't want to alarm us in case it was "no big deal" as she simply put it. I don't know Liv. Call me crazy but she already looks like its taking a toll on her. I know she's putting up a front. I can tell. She's a fighter. I know she's going to give it all shes got. But it definitely hasn't been easy news for me to hear."

"Fitz..."

"Funny thing is, all she wants to talk about since I've arrived is the baby. And how she's already knit a million pairs of socks for her newest grandchild. You should hear her harass me about not finding out the sex of the baby."

"Honey, if you want to find out now, for her, I understand. No need to put it off when something like this happens."

"No Liv. That's not why I said that. Thats not...You and I both wanted a surprise. You know my moms going to kill me for even telling you anything."

"How was she planning on keeping this from me? I should've visited her by now."

"She doesn't want you to stress. She just wants to keep things quiet at least until the baby comes. Listen, I hate to do this but I gotta run. They're waving me down back in the conference room. I'll try and call you later. Okay?"

"Okay. Please take it easy Fitz. And send everyone my love."

"I will. This is my last conference call of the day I'm scheduled to sit in on. And then later I'll be preparing for tomorrow morning's last meeting before I head back east."

"Good," she yawned. "What time does your flight get in tomorrow?"

"Its the red eye. So technically not until the next morning. Hey, let me say goodnight to the baby."

Liv lowered the phone to her growing bump.

"It's over my stomach."

"Hi lovebug. Daddy misses you so much. I can't wait to get home and give you and mommy kisses. I love you." He gave air kisses into the phone causing Liv to grin at the sound. She raised the phone back up to her ear.

"I think somebody's homesick."

"Is it that obvious? Cant wait to be back with you two. But I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hang in there. Just one more 'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you more. Bye Livvie."

The next evening Olivia had arrived to her front door with Tom in tow.

"Thank you Tom. I'll call you if I leave the house. But I'll probably stay in. Fitz gets in late, so don't worry if you don't hear from me."

"Understood, ma'am. Have a good evening."

"You too Tommy boy." Ever since Olivia began keeping a detail she tried to make light of the situation.

As she walked into the house she was shocked to find Fitz standing before her in his dress shirt and suit pants. He looked tired but handsome as ever. She froze in place as he smiled and walked towards her.

"Fitz? How did you-" before she knew it he was hugging her like his life depended on it.

"I jumped on an earlier flight. I was feigning for you Liv." He dropped his head to her neck and pressed his face into her warm skin."I missed you too much."

"Me too babe." She leaned back to get a look at him and lightly scratch his jaw line. He looked like he was in heaven as he stared at every part of her.

"Your hair is straight."

"Yeah. I got bored while you were gone so I had time to straighten it."

"Looks sexy," he said in a sultry voice as his hands dropped to her stomach,"And your bump's grown."

"Fitz it's only been six days."

"I'm serious. It's bigger!"

"Whatever you say." She looked up at him with a special glimmer in her eyes as they gazed at one another in their living room. "I missed you. I don't know how we used to go weeks without being alone together. I can't even go a full day without wanting to touch you or hold you. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true," she said.

"Well if that's crazy then that makes two of us because I feel the exact,"he kissed her cheek,"same,"another on her chin,"way,"one more against her neck.

They stood and held each other in silence.

"I have a surprise for you."

"Is it a foot massage? My ankles are swollen. Very sexy, I know."

"I am more than happy to rub your swollen ankles. But that's not the exact surprise I had in mind. Follow me, my lady." He intertwined their fingers as he led her towards their bathroom. Clearly he had been home long enough to make a cute setup in the main bathroom The room had numerous candles lit, all different sizes and placed tastefully to keep the lighting warm. The tub was full of rose petals. Fitz walked over to turn the faucet on and began filling it with warm water and a few squeezes of liquid for bubbles. Throughout his preparation Olivia stood with her work suit still on as she leaned against the door frame with a wide smile on her face.

"I'm impressed Grant," she nodded.

"Yeah? I just wanted to have a nice quiet evening back. I figured since you love bubble baths and we haven't taken one together in forever, tonight would be a good refresher."

He stood up and walked over to her as the tub began to fill. He leaned down to give her a sweet kiss and whispered against her lips.

"Take off your clothes."

They both slowly undressed. Neither of them taking their eyes off one another.

"From the looks of it, you're not going to last during a simple quiet bath." She gave him a charming smile as her eyes briefly dropped to his hardening member.

"Don't mind me. It seems to have a mind of its own around you."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the edge of the large bathtub as he helped her get in. As she sat he placed himself behind her with her back leaning against his chest. She let out a shallow sigh as he began rubbing her shoulders.

"This feels amazing," She mumbled lazily. Her head rolled to the side to give him better access to rub her neck.

"How's that?"

"Babe. Your hands are...I can't even...Just...don't stop." She was enjoying every second of being in the water with him as his large hands kneaded her flesh around the base of her neck, in between her shoulder blades, and back up. After what felt like hours of him tending to her she gently grabbed his hands and lowered them to rest on her belly under water.

"Let's just sit here. I feel bad making you put in so much work."

His mouth was right next to her ear.

"It's not work Liv. Let me take care of you."

His right hand remained rested on the side of her belly as his left hand lowered to her thigh. She could feel him inching it slowly in between her legs.

"Fitz..."

"We're sitting in a candle lit room, in a warm bubble bath filled with rose petals. Are you really going to deny a simple act like touching my beloved wife in an intimate way?"

All she could do was relax, close her eyes, and nod her head.

His left hand rubbed the top of her left thigh. She leaned back against his chest and enjoyed the extra attention as his fingers slyly made their way to her center. He rubbed her slowly with three fingers, giving her her own special massage. She arched her back and pushed the back of her head into Fitz's chest.

"How's that?" He asked in a deep soothing voice.

She lowered her left hand to join his.

"Have I lost my touch?" He teased her.

"No baby. It's just-"

"Shhhh." He whispered as he kissed the back of her neck sensually and spoke into her skin. His hot breath elevating her arousal. "I like it when u help."

Her mind was cloudy and her breathing labored. He had inserted two fingers in her and everything about it felt right. Her small hand now held onto his wrist as he hooked his fingers inside her and stretched them in between her tight walls.

"God Fitz," she mumbled drowsily.

Her hips began grinding against his hand as she moaned in pleasure. Fitz loved giving her body the much needed attention. He was more than turned on with her sitting in front of him like this and the devilish grin he wore proved it. His hard cock pressing into her felt even better as she rubbed her firm back against it. She reached her right hand behind her to grab onto it but Fitz stopped her.

"Fitz..."she whined.

"No, Livvie. Just enjoy this." He kissed the top of her shoulder and bit lightly. Her caramel skin was soft, sensitive, and tasted like the bubbles and roses that floated around them in the water. He began whispering in her ear as he tried to make her climax.

"While I was away, this is exactly what I pictured." His fingers were completely emerged inside her and his thumb was now deeply rubbing her clit. Liv let out a gasp and Fitz growled lowly.

"Mmm baby. Is it that good?"

"Don't stop." Her right hand reached up behind his head and began trailing her nails against his scalp. The deeper his fingers travelled insider her, the deeper she clawed through his hair.

"I love you," his warm breath trailed against her ear as his tongue teased her soft lobe. Olivia could only moan in response. He could tell she was close.

"Almost," she whined.

Knowing she was close to her climax he lowered his mouth to the side of her neck and gently bit. He kissed the area lightly and bit again deeper while simultaneously pushing his fingers in her warmth as far as she could take. Her back arched quickly against his body as she came.

"Dammit Fitz." Olivia's hands squeezed him as her entire body stiffened and soon fell limp against his. He rubbed her thighs to relax her as he peppered kisses along her shoulders and back.

"God, I missed you," he lowly mumbled against her back.

She laughed quietly,"Yeah, I can tell."

"Seriously, I missed you. My day isn't the same unless I wake up next to you or at least get to see and hold you. There's nothing like being with my family. My wife, my kids... The older I get the more I realize how important family is. It's everything. It's..." He fell silent and Liv could feel his body language change. The only reason Olivia could think of was that his mind went to his mother.

"Hey," she tilted her head around to look at him. He gave her a forced smile. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Nope. Lets get you out of here. The waters getting cold and I want to jump in bed. That was the other place I was dying to be."

She didn't want to push but this was the exact thing she was talking about the week prior. Getting him to talk openly about his mothers illness was going to be a task. She just hoped that he would understand the need to express his feelings without shutting her out. Olivia knew she'd have her work cut out for her. But there's nothing she wouldn't do to make sure her husband was alright.

So I hope you guys enjoyed this addition to the story! Let me know what you think! Any specific story lines you'd like me to tell for focus on feel free to let me know. You can always PM me. Either way I plan on another update within the week. We'll see. Shoot and a review if you don't mind! Until next time...;)