So I was kind of disappointed on the number of reviews on the last chapter. Like I said, if there's anything you want to see, anything I need to improve on, review and let me know. I hope I'm not disappointing any of you. I'm really enjoying writing this story and I hope you are enjoying reading it as well.
Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter! We're getting close to the big reveal! :)
"Captain Ballard, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Fitz asked as Jake was escorted into the Oval Office.
"It's a personal matter, sir."
Fitz looked at him and continued his paperwork. "What is it?"
"It's Olivia. She kicked me out a couple of days ago, which I'm assuming was your doing?"
Fitz just laughed. "Actually no. That was completely her decision."
"I'm sure it was."
Fitz stopped working and looked up at him. "Did you come for round two? I have better things to do than fight about your jealously."
"Look at the pot calling the kettle black."
"Jake, what Olivia chooses to do is none of my business. We haven't even spoken since the other day, so whatever happened was completely her."
"Are you going to tell her about Operation Remington?" Jake asked.
Fitz sighed. "If I don't, will you?"
"Yes. Unlike you, I don't like keeping secrets from her."
"Can we have a conversation for a second where we pretend that we're still friends and aren't fighting over Olivia?" Fitz asked.
"If that's possible, sure. Go ahead."
"How did you find out about what happened?"
"I can't tell you that sir."
"I may not be your boss, but I am your commanding leader. We also used to be comrades and friends."
"I know that, but I can't tell you how I found out. I'm still trying to put the pieces together."
"It's classified. It's not something that anyone should or needs to know."
"Because it can make you look bad?"
"Because it can make this country look bad. You know as well as I do that there are things that happen every day that the majority of the U.S. citizens will never know about. They don't need to know because the consequences could wreck havoc."
"But I'm not just a U.S. citizen. I'm not an ordinary person. I deserve to know what happened with Operation Remington. I deserve to know why Olivia's mom was killed."
"Why is Olivia's mother any of your business? It's not. So stand down Captain Ballard. Put Operation Remington at rest."
"I will when you tell Liv why her mother is no longer with us anymore."
There was a knock on the door.
"I'm sorry Fitz, I didn't realize you had a guest." Mellie said, strutting into the Oval.
"Captain Ballard was just leaving."
Jake rolled his eyes.
"It was nice meeting with you, Mr. President."
"You too Captain." They said, shaking hands.
They stared each other down, each wanting to do destroy the other.
"Madam First Lady." Jake said, nodding as he walked out of the office.
"What was that about?" Mellie asked.
"It's not important." he said, sitting down in his chair.
"That's not what it looked like. It seemed like you two were having an argument about something."
"Not an argument, just a discussion about an important matter."
"Would that important matter have to do with Olivia's mom?" she asked.
Fitz froze.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"How do you know?"
"I was standing outside. I heard the whole thing…well, most of it. But I caught the good parts."
"Mellie just leave it alone."
"Oh I will, as long as you don't call Olivia late at night anymore." He looked at her in surprise. "I'm not stupid Fitz. I just think that if you don't want her to know that you had something to do with her mother's death, you'll leave her alone. Like I said, Olivia Pope is the strings to your puppet."
"I'm tired of you blackmailing me into doing whatever you want. I will tell Olivia when the time is right."
"When the time is right? When is it ever the right time to tell someone that you're the reason their mother's dead?"
"Back off Mellie. Olivia Pope is not your weapon. You think you're so smart and manipulative, but you have no idea what I am capable of. Keep testing me and you'll find out."
"You're an idiot." she told him.
"Excuse me?"
"You actually think that Olivia is still going to want you after she finds out? That is the one that thing that is going to put the final nail in the coffin, once in for all. She's going to hate you. She's going to want nothing to do with you. And when that happens, you'll have no one left. So go ahead, play your games. We'll see who wins."
"Oh it's a lovely day to discuss re-election strategies." Cyrus said, walking into the Oval.
He saw Mellie and Fitz staring each other down, hatred imminent on their faces.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.
Mellie turned around to look at Cyrus. "He's your problem now."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Mellie turned back and looked at Fitz. "Nothing. If you would excuse me, I have other duties to attend to." she said, strutting out of the office.
"What the hell is going on?" Cyrus asked.
"Nothing Cy. I'm not in the mood for your shit today either."
"Excuse me? I didn't do anything to you sir."
"I just need some time to myself!" he yelled.
"If I may ask…does this have to do with Operation Remington?" Fitz didn't say anything, but nodded. "You can talk to me sir. I know what happened."
Fitz motioned for Cyrus to follow him, as they went into a secret soundproof room connected to the Oval.
Fitz took a deep breath and began. "I didn't know that it was Liv's mother. I didn't find out until Jake said something to me a couple days ago, and I did some digging. Do you think she'll forgive me?"
"Why do you need to tell her?"
"Mellie knows, so does Jake."
"Mellie? How does she know?"
"She overhead Jake and I talking. She threatened me with it, as did Jake. I need to be the one to tell Olivia. She needs to hear it from me. Jake wants her all to his self so I need to do it soon."
"Fitz, she can't know. We need to keep the number of people limited."
"She's going to find out! Someone's going to tell her either way! It needs to be me!" he yelled, his voice catching.
Cyrus wondered if he was about to see Fitz cry.
"I am the reason that Olivia's mother is dead! She's never going to forgive me. She's going to hate me. I know you don't approve Cy. I know all you care about is me winning the re-election, but this is killing me. The thought that I killed over 300 innocent people kills me. The thought of losing her kills me. I was young and stupid. I followed my orders. I didn't know what I was shooting down. One mistake that I made over 20 years ago is going to cost me the love of my life."
Cyrus grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. The gesture surprised Fitz. He never thought he would see the soft, caring side of Cyrus.
"It will be okay, sir. Just tell her what you told me. She's going to be mad, yes. It's going to take some time before she trusts and it isn't mad at you again. But she will. You guys always find a way back to each other. You won't be losing her for good."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I can't be right now. But all you can do is hope."
I'm not quite sure if there's really a soundproof room connected to the Oval or not, but just go with it. Hahaha. Anyways, we're almost there folks. Not the end of the story of course, just the big reveal.
Review and let me know what you thought! Have an awesome day! :)