Once again, I'm sorry for the delays in between chapters. I haven't had much time, and a lot has been going on in life. Ah well, that's all a part of growing up, right? Hopefully I'll have both of my stories updated before my 22nd birthday (May 7th, I make no promises though). Anyhoo, enough about me, here's the update!

"Olivia, are we ever going to talk about what happened downstairs?"

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, Fitz."

Olivia and Fitz were cuddled up on the couch, absentmindedly watching the tv. About a week had passed since the dreaded incident outside of the elevator, and no matter what he did, he couldn't get Olivia to talk about it.

"Your fathe-"

"I've told you. My father is dead. He's been dead since I was 16."

"Liv-"

"Fitz! Leave. It. Alone. Now." Olivia warned, her temper getting the best of her. She hated arguing with him, especially when she knew he was just trying to be a good boyfriend. But the discussion of her father was off limits.

She disentangled herself from Fitz, standing up to go to the bathroom. She shut and locked the door behind her, before turning on the shower. She rid herself of all of her clothes before stepping under the stream of the water. She closed her eyes, letting the water wash all over her, before sitting down on the floor of the shower, the water cascading over her as she finally let her tears escape.

Fitz sighed, his head against the bathroom door. He didn't know what to do, or how to help her. He walked back to the living room, before grabbing a towel from the closet, getting ready to go to the exercise room for a work out. He left Liv a note, grabbed his cellphone and headphones, and made his way out the door.

As the elevator dinged and opened, Fitz walked out, passing the front desk where the doorman Tom stood.

Just then, he had an idea. He walked over to Tom, who acknowledged him with a smile. "Mr. Grant, always good to see you."

"Likewise, Tom. Listen, I need a favor."

"Anything, sir."

"Is there a resident here by the name of Pope?" Fitz asked. He had never tried to get to know any of the neighbors beforehand, so he didn't know anyone in his building.

"I'm sorry, I'm not really allowed to give out that kind of information."

"Of course, of course. I'm sorry for even asking. It's just that, I just found out that my girlfriend's father lives in the building, and I was trying to reconnect them. He looked so happy to see her, I just…nevermind, sorry Tom."

Tom looked at Fitz, a look of deep thought on his face. He began to write something down as he said loudly "I already told you sir, I can't give you that information. I'm sorry."

He handed Fitz a piece of paper, and as he looked down at it, realization came over him.

Eli Pope, 6th floor Apartment D

Fitz looked back up to see Tom wink at him and smiled his thanks. He walked back over to the elevator, walking in when it opened, pressing the 6th floor. The doors dinged open, and Fitz' insides fluttered. He hadn't been this nervous since he asked Olivia to marry him, and clearly that hadn't worked out so well.

He practically dragged his feet as he walked to the door marked with a brass D. He stood outside of it for a minute, trying to figure out just what exactly to say. No matter what, nothing would really prepare him for this moment. He took a deep breath, lifted his hand, and knocked on the door three times.

He heard movement inside, and felt that nervous feeling again. The door opened and the two men stood face to face. "Mr. Pope," Fitz stated, standing up straighter.

"Ah, lover boy. To what do I owe this surprise? Please, come in." He backed up, allowing Fitz to enter the apartment. Hanging in the hallway leading up to the living room were different abstract paintings, some of which depicted jazz musicians. Fitz looked on in wonder, his hand unconsciously reaching up to touch them.

"I take it you like them." He heard from behind him.

"They're incredible. They remind me a lot of Rowan Elijah's work. He's this artist I used to be obsessed with."

Eli chuckled. "Well, I would hope they look like his work, seeing as how they are."

Fitz turned around, stunned. "These are original Rowan Elijah pieces? They must have cost you a fortune."

"Well, I don't know if 60 bucks is a fortune. Paint supplies and canvas isn't too hard to come by."

Fitz' eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He tilted his head; unable to form the words he was dying to ask.

"Nice to meet you, young man," Eli said as he extended his hand, "Rowan Elijah Pope, at your service."

Fitz was barely able to register the fact that not only he was meeting one of the greatest artists of all time, but that said artist was his fiancé's father. He shook his hand, trying to find words. "Fitz. I'm Fitzgerald Grant."

Understanding washed over Eli's face. "You were the boy my daughter was seeing in college."

"That's correct, sir. Um, I'm sorry, but does Olivia know that you're THE Rowan Elijah?" Fitz couldn't believe that she wouldn't tell him that his favorite artist was her father.

Eli laughed, walking past Fitz. "Follow me, son."

Fitz followed willingly, his brain spinning with all of the new information he had learned in a matter of five minutes. He followed Eli into a room that was filled with awards and various different paintings. His eyes landed on a painting of all different colors, but in the middle of the canvas was a little girl with big, brown, doe-like eyes, laughter etched all over her face. Fitz remembered that piece well, it was one of his favorites.

"Sweet Caroline. You mean to tell me, this is Liv?"

"Yep, my little Carolyn. She was nine when I painted that." He turned away from the painting, clearing his throat. "What can I do for you, Fitz?"

"Well sir, uh. I was wondering why I've never known about you. Back in college, Olivia told me you were dead. Speaking of, how did you know we were dating?" Fitz sat down on the chair behind him, determined to get all of the answers Olivia wasn't giving him.

"Just because my daughter considers me dead, doesn't mean I do the same. I've always kept tabs on her, even up until a few months ago, when she was dating a Jacob Ballard."

Fitz felt a tinge of anger hearing his apparent half brother's name, but it quickly vanished once his eyes fell back on the Sweet Caroline painting. He smiled softly to himself, finding it funny that Olivia could always calm him down, even if she wasn't right near him.

"I'm going to assume Olivia didn't tell you why I'm dead to her."

Fitz shook his head no, urging Eli to continue.

"When she was 16, her mother and I were in a car accident. The official report was that I was driving behind the wheel, and that I was drunk, and her mother died. Olivia never forgave me for it." Eli looked off into space, as if he were reliving the event all over again.

Silence hung in the air. "Wait a minute," Fitz said, "you said official report. What was the unofficial report?"

"Olivia's mother Maya and I were arguing at dinner, she had a few things to drink, and she got behind the wheel. We drove off the road. I managed to get us both out of the car, but I took responsibility for everything. I paid to have the toxicology report kept out of the papers, for Olivia's sake. She worshipped the ground her mother walked on. It would break her heart if she ever knew."

"But she hates you for that! You have to tell her the truth, it's over a decade ago now." Fitz exclaimed. All this time, her father was trying to protect her. And he needed her to see that.

"The damage has long been done, Fitzgerald. There's no point now. But thank you for coming by. If you'd like, maybe I'll show you the rest of my work one day."

"Thank you sir, I'd love that. I'd better get back up to Olivia. If you ever need anything, I'm on the top floor, apartment C. Please, you're more than welcome to stop by whenever you want."

The two shook hands, and the elder gentleman walked Fitz to the door. They said their goodbyes once again, and Fitz walked to the elevator, determined to reconnect father and daughter once more.

"Liv?" Fitz called out as he opened the door to his apartment.

"I'm in here." She replied quietly from the kitchen. He walked in, leaning against the doorway, her back to him. She was making a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. "How was your workout?"

"I ended up not working out."

"Well, you were gone for at least 30 minutes, where were you?"

"…I was visiting your father."

Olivia dropped the knife she was holding. Fitz could visibly see her take a deep breath, before picking back up the knife, spreading the jam onto the slice of bread. "And how did that work out for you, Fitzgerald? How did betraying your girlfriend's trust, and deliberately interfering with a situation she asked you not to, go for you?" She turned to face him then, waves of anger floating off her body.

"If you can't even respect me enough to leave a situation alone when I ask you to, then how the fuck do you expect me to spend the rest of my life with yo-"

"He didn't kill her, Liv."

Silence stung the air, along with Olivia's shock at his words. "Wha-what are you talking about? You don't know what you're talking about."

"When you were sixteen, your mother died. At the age a girl needs her mother the most, I know. I get that. And I'm so sorry, Liv. You know that I know the pain you felt. But you need to listen to me, when I say this: you need to talk to your father. There are things you don't know. Things that were kept in the dark to protect you. Here."

He handed her the folded paper with her dad's information on it. Olivia's mind whirled with all of the information he told her. She didn't know what to do.

"I-" she shook her head. "I can't do this right now. I won't do this right now." She walked across the room, grabbing her purse. "You had no right, Fitz. None." Her voice faltered on the last word. She looked at him, tears brimming her eyes, and walked toward the front door. She opened it, walking out of his apartment.

He heard the elevator ding, and still couldn't bring himself to move out of the same spot. His heart ached, and he closed his eyes. He screwed up, bad. At that point, he didn't know where his relationship with Olivia stood. He couldn't bring himself to chase her, and end up pushing her even more away than he just had.

He took out his phone, dialing one of the only numbers he knew by memory.

"Hello?" the voice answered.

"I need to see you. I just really need someone to talk to. Can we meet up at the bar on tenth? Okay. See you soon." Fitz wiped his face, unsure of how he was going to fix things with Olivia. He went to his bedroom, changing into a pair of jeans and some converses. He grabbed his jacket, wallet, and keys, and walked out the door, his mind full of worry.

Fitz sat at the bar, nursing his scotch. He played with the rim of the glass with his index finger, pausing, before lifting the glass to his lips, downing its contents. He raised it in the air slightly, signaling to the bartender that he needed another.

"You alright there, Fitz?" He felt a clap on his back. He turned around to face his best friend, Christian Jacobs. Fitz and Christian had been best friends since before the both of them could even remember. When Olivia and Fitz broke up nearly six years prior, Christian was the one to pick up his best friend's pieces.

"Hey, Chris. Thanks for coming, man."

"No problem. You know I'm here anytime of day or night. What's going on?"

Fitz sighed a little bit, giving a light smile in thanks as the bartender set down his drink. "I fucked up, bad." He filled Chris in on the day's events, his shame escalating as he realized he had done more harm than good.

"Jesus, Fitz. Has she talked to you since?" Chris asked. He knew Olivia well enough to know that when she says to leave well enough alone, she meant it. But his best friend was the do-good type, no matter what the directions were. He knew Fitz had meant well, but he could definitely understand why Olivia was pissed.

"No, she left my place about an hour ago. All calls and texts have gone unanswered. I just got her back a few months ago, I can't lose her again, Chris. I just can't." His voice cracked on the last word and he cleared his throat. He lifted the drink to his lips, downing its' contents in one gulp.

"Fitz, how many drinks have you had?"

"Enough that I decided to take a taxi here."

Chris stood up, shrugging off his jacket. He knew it was going to be a long night, and he wasn't going to leave his best friend's side at his most vulnerable moment. "Excuse me? Can we get two shots of jack down here? And keep em' coming, please."

Olivia sat with her hands on the steering wheel. She had been this way inside of the parking garage at Fitz' apartment building since she left his apartment over an hour and a half ago. Still tucked into her left hand, was the piece of paper with her father's address on it. She hadn't looked at it.

She was so mad at Fitz for talking to her father, but now, more than anything, she needed to know the truth. If there was any truth to any of the things Fitz had said, she needed to know. But she couldn't face her father. Not after all of these years. Finally, the lump in her throat rose, and the floodgates opened. A large sob broke the silence in the air, and it wasn't long until Olivia's sobs shook her entire body. She screamed into her hands; screamed out all of the years of hurt, the years of hating her father, the anger she felt towards Fitz. And when it all subsided, she knew what she had to do.

Eli placed his dinner down on the dining room table. He had cooked steak with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and some corn. He placed a wine glass down next to his food, pouring himself a glass of Pinot Grigio. He walked over to the record player, letting the soothing sounds of Miles Davis fill the room. He got ready to sit down, when he heard a knock at the door.

"Oh come on, I just turned the record on Mark, there's no way in hell you can already be complaining about the noise!" He said as he walked to the door. He opened it, ready to combat with his grumpy neighbor, but what he saw shocked him more than anything.

"Can I come in?" Olivia whispered.

Well, there you have it! I liked the idea of getting out of the scandalverse a little, so I changed up Rowan a bit, and I created the character of Christian. Do you guys like the changes so far? How do you think Olivia's visit with her father is going to go? Like always, reviews are much loved and appreciated. Til next time! 3