Fitz POV

The crimson ribbon fell to the ground in twos and the gathered crowd cheered and cameras flashed. Mellie kissed me and I'm betting the cameras picked up how uninterested I was in the show of affection. I'd decided months ago, I would allow Mellie to be the face of Jerry's foundation, and as of recently, I'm regretting the choice. I assumed because our dead child was involved she would handle this with grace and humility. But I was wrong, as I've learned over the years never trust Mellie's kindness for there will always be a price attached to it. To say I'm angry about her using our tragedy to capitalize on the sympathy of voters would be an understatement.

Mellie squeezes my hand. I'm supposed to give a speech on what a great honor it is to open a foundation for our late son. But I don't want to be here right now. Not because I don't want to honor my son but because I wish he was here and not just a memory of him.

"It's an astonishing day to be here with you all to honor my son Jerry and his memory. The First Lady and I are especially grateful for all those who came out to witness the unveiling of The Jerry Grant foundation. Whether reporting on it or just here out of support for my family. It means more than I can say right now." I force out. And Mellie hits me again with one of those unsuspecting pecks on the lips.

Behind the curtain, Mellie is practically bursting and the smile she's wearing is so big I don't think there's any room for her other features. "Do you hear it, Fitz? They love us." Too caught up in the brightness of her future she doesn't notice my shoulders fall, uninterested in her power grab. "We're strong, united, by the time I announce my bid for the vacant senate seat nobody will be able to question me or us. They'll remember that moment of us out there picking up the pieces of our lives. Voters won't even think of the other candidates, come next year."

"Congratulations," I say.

"Fitz? What's wrong" Mellie's heels click-clack against the linoleum floors as I continue my journey to my motorcade. "Don't do this here now Fitz. That was our moment."

"That was you and Cyrus' moment. I want no parts of it." I say "Are you getting in?"

She teeters on the heels of her feet, staring at me, one brow raised. Trying to keep from an outburst I can almost feel the flames growing. "I'll stay. Some people need persuasion and hands to be shaken."

"Okay." I close the door and watch her through the tinted glass.

She has no boundaries, no morals. I wonder if she's always been this way. The girl warming me in that rundown apartment underneath that southern charm and hospitality was just a wolf in sheep's clothing waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on power and rip its throat out. I don't miss her but I'm disturbed that at one point I was so blind to let her into my life.

When I get to the Oval Office there's a manila envelope on my desk. But there's also a pile of mock executive orders waiting to be read. More of a project for Abby, so I'll leave it for her and then have her repeat the important stuff. It's been weeks since we pulled the wool over Rowan's eyes and it's been radio silence ever since. I don't know how that man ticks but I know he's underhanded and quick. There's no gaining two steps ahead of him, we have to strike at the same time. Though we're no closer to figuring out how or when to strike.

I dump my jacket and roll up my sleeves. In the envelope is a picture of Olivia and who I assume are Kim and Javi. Her hands clasped around our baby and Javi's got one hand on her belly. I hope Huck gets his family back. There's more inside, a packet of papers, each page filled with black writing. None of it makes sense until I flip the page over. In seconds I'm up searching my jacket pocket for my phone. It would be reckless to call from the White House line.

"Is this possible and If so how soon can it be done?" I say into the phone.

"I've already started, the ball is in his court now. Before he realizes he's been hit he'll already have bled out" Huck says

Interrogation rooms are meant to scare criminals into confessions. The dim lights and concrete walls are designed to break a person's mind down and make them spill their deepest secrets. Though if I were interrogating a common criminal I wouldn't have to drag them to the pit of the pentagon and dangle them over the fire, they'd crack the moment they're handcuffed. Tom isn't common and the man he's working for is far from it. But I don't give Tom credit for intelligence, I give him credit for deception. He made me believe for five and a half years he was on my side and it was very convincing. But I'm not so trusting anymore nor am I understanding.

Tom believes I'll let him die in this room for what he did to my son, and there are moments that the cloth bag is over his head and I wanna just say put a bullet in his head. But that would be showing kindness and I'm not about showing mercy to my enemies.

The water is starting to seep through the bag and fill his lungs, he convulses violently, and water gurgles in his throat. "Let him up" I snatch the bag off and he flies forward expelling the water, tempting his life.

"Why?"

"Why what?" I say, he's still grasping for the breath as he tries to get more words out.

"You haven't asked me anything, why?" He finally chokes out.

"Because I want you broken down, every wall of armor Rowan built in your brain I want it to cease. And then when that happens you'll tell me exactly what I want to know."

"It won't work. Command has done things you couldn't even imagine, I won't break." Tom says.

"Three more days and he doesn't sleep," I order, and as I'm leaving the room, the bag is back on his head and he's fighting for air again.

XXXXXXXX

When I arrive at the oval office, Charlotte's chair is empty and an unfamiliar agent is standing guard at the door. As if he would deny me permission to enter my office. I straighten my tie and button my jacket. The agent moves to the side without looking at me.

A family photo is missing from my desk, a photo of Teddy, Karen, and Jerry. And Rowan is standing on my presidential seal, staring at it. Before I ask what the hell he's doing in the White House, he cuts in.

"Where is my daughter?" Rowan asks.

"Aren't you missing someone else?" Raising my brow to pique his interest.

"Larson is as expendable as you are, Mr. President. There are more where he came from and there always will be. Now I'm going to ask just this once, where is my child?"

"Funny thing, your child happens to be carrying my child, so you won't see her again. And she's not coming back until you're behind bars or in the ground. That's a promise I intend to keep."

"What's stopping you, Mr. President, I'm sure one of your agents has a gun. You aren't someone who can hold your own against me" He says. "Whether it's one or ten, your agents will always be under my command and my dollar."

"What dollar?" I ask, reclining in my chair, I kick my feet up on my desk."What money are you paying them with? Because I took a look at Acme limited books and it looks like the company has gone belly-up. as of-" I turn the face of my watch up. "Twenty minutes ago."

"You have no access to my things, I assure you that. You're a boy playing dress-up in suits and sitting at the grown-ups table. You're pathetic. But I'll tell you what, boy. Bring Olivia back to me and I won't lay a finger on Karen." He steps toward my desk, hovering menacingly.

"You don't seem to get it, you've lost. You no longer have a horse in this race. I'll tell you what, you can leave here today so you can see that I've destroyed your precious paper company but you will be arrested and brought to justice. Not just for the killing of my son, but the killing of 329 people."

"An order I gave you." he says "You are even more foolish than I thought."

"Oh I won't be mentioned but your puppet Tom will be" A smile creeps across my face. "You should get going. I hear the IRS works fast and I'm sure there's something valuable in your house that you want to see one last time."

There's a small voice in him telling him that this isn't possible. But whatever is or isn't going on in his brain he knows there's truth in what I just revealed. He bores into me, the darkness behind his eyes. He wants to call my bluff but I'm not bluffing. Without a word, he storms out of my office, and as the door is closing I see the agent following close behind him.

XXXXXXX

"Karen?" Her bedroom is empty. "Karen sweetheart?" She's not in the Tv room. My panic settles when I reach the dining room and Lenny is posted outside of the door.

"Want some?" She holds out a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

"No thank you. Why aren't you with Teddy?" I ask.

Karen sighs, dropping the spoon back into the tub. "He wants to be with his nanny. His choice, not mine."

"He's three, he just hasn't seen you in a while. Don't take it personally." There are tears in her eyes and she turns away. I'm ashamed to say this is new territory for me. I know nine-year-old Karen whose problems used to be solved with the promise of ice cream and a new unicorn action figure. "What's wrong, Kare?"

"Where's mom?" She asks and it's a knife to the gut. I want her to also know that I'm a parent she can come to. "Why does Teddy think the nanny is his mom? Dad, where is she?" Tears are streaming down her face. And for once I understand her frustration and anger.

"Jerry's death was hard on her. She's trying to cope" I say.

"You lost him too, I lost him. Why did she send me away? If my child died I would want to spend every minute with the ones I have left. She's so selfish."

"We wanted you to get some normalcy back. I know it was hard on everyone. But I can't speak for your mother. She'll come around Karen." I sigh. "...I'm divorcing your mother." She turns around, tears gliding down her cheeks. She doesn't look in the least bit surprised, but she hasn't objected or asked why.

"I don't want you to blame yourself or feel like we don't love you, because we do. Even your mother in her way. But I can't live a lie anymore. I won't. But I wanted to be the first to tell you so you didn't find out on some gossip blog or the news."

"Dad I love you and mom but I don't think you guys liked being married to each other. I know what you did for us, but I guess you can try to find some happiness by being single." Practically leaping out of her chair she wraps her arms around me. Her grip is tight.

"You are very mature, you know that," I say.

"Yeah, Olivia told me. And she said I'm brave."

"Very brave. Kare, could you do me a favor? I need you to keep being brave and mature, I have more to tell you"

His hands are cuffed behind his back, stripped of his armor and he's reduced to a man. Without the power of corruption holding his head up, it hangs. I wonder if he's reflecting on how this came to be. Rowan's arrogance and destruction were his downfalls. I didn't kill him, a courtesy to the woman I love. I don't think I could live with myself if I did it. Venges wasn't the goal. I promised I would make Washington safe for her and now I have.

Rowan looks up when I walk into his cell. His chest puffs out and he's not the defeated man I observed a few minutes ago.

"Tell me, Mr. President, does it make you feel good knowing that you took something from me?"

"You took my child, don't forget that"

"And you took mine. My prize possession, and poisoned her against me. Made her believe that someone like you is worthy of her. So yes, I did kill young Jerry. But that is on you"

"Your daughter is not some Consolation prize at a state fair, she is a woman who fell in love. Instead of being a good father, you torture her, you send your spies after her all in the name of keeping me away from her, but we're in love you can't break that, no matter how many men you try to throw between us"

"That's what you think, Olivia is not meant to be ordinary and she is not meant to be kept, she's meant to exercise the power I give her. She's meant to be great. Not the arm candy of Fitzgerald Grant. You sicken me" Rowan pulls against the cuffs.

"It doesn't matter now, you and your sidekick won't be around to see Olivia and I will be happy." I pulled the photo out of my suit jacket. It's Olivia, she's 26 weeks pregnant now and smiling. Something Rowan's never genuinely witnessed her doing. He gazes at the photo and for a moment I thought there was remorse in his eyes.

"She'll be gone when her senses kick in and she realizes daddy was right all along"

"Goodbye, Rowan"

It's been a week since I seized control over B6-13 and I haven't decided what to do with it. Huck and I minimized it to nothing but an unspoken name and an empty building on wonderland st. But two billion dollars are proving its existence. I want to burn with the rest of the organization but Huck's got his eyes on it. Apart from me wanting to let him have it, there's a voice in my head saying leave the blood money alone. It's part of the reason I haven't brought Olivia home yet.

It's late and I've been glued to the desk all day. Mellie's off again on one of her schemes for domination over the oval. Karen's stopped expecting Mellie to be a mother and though I've tried to send her back to school she says she wants to stay. Even though I've been working non-stop, leaving the oval in the wee hours.

There's an urgent knock at the door. "Come in" Abby struts in wearing a child-sized grin.

"Sir, this is history-making, the Brandon bill is being brought to the Senate floor. It'll be impossible to reject." She's a rocket ready to launch into space just on her glee alone. "Sir, why aren't you smiling?"

"I am…on the inside. I need your help with something else. First, keep me updated on the votes. And then I want you to personally speak with Noah Baker, regarding a family interview."

"I don't understand, sir" Her brows knit together, I've extinguished the fire in her. "The First Lady is running for Senate, it's now that she should try to appear as an individual in this race and not the First Lady of the united states. Sir, it'll hurt her chances of being elected."

"You believe that?" I ask and she nods firmly. "Are you and Cyrus doing her media training?"

"Not officially but she asked what Olivia would do?"

I laugh not on purpose but the irony of it all. "Okay, so scratch Noah Baker off. But I want to be updated on Mellie's numbers and the Senate vote."

"I will sir. Thank you."

"Good night," I say as she's walking out.

"Fitz. Fitz wakes up" I hear but it doesn't register right away I just want to sleep. But whoever is nagging me is persistent. They start shaking my shoulder. "Fitzgerald wake the hell up" her voice booms. Now I'm up and Mellie is leering at me.

"Good morning to you too, Mellie," I say, pulling myself against the headboard.

"Why isn't Karen at school?" She asks, folding her arms across her chest.

"Is that what this is about?"

"Answer my question"

"She begged me not to send her back. She wanted to stay and spend time with us. Is that so wrong?" I scrub my hands over my face and sigh. "You could try to spend time with her… and I don't mean dangling her in front of cameras to fake motherhood."

Her eyes widened as if I said something untrue but all she could say was "Don't talk to me about my children. You could be spending time with her too."

"I have, but she has more than one parent. Start acting like her mother instead of pushing her away. Karen knows where I am all day, with you, it's a guessing game until she turns on a Tv and you're everywhere but here." I say.

"I'm trying to accomplish something here." Mellie sighs "But I'll talk to her"

"No. What the hell is wrong with you? I'm telling you she needs her mother and you want to have a conversation. Karen likes tennis, she enjoys those boy bands and she wants to go to school for fashion-"

"I am her mother and I won't let you treat me like some stranger. Karen is old enough to understand that I am making history, and when I'm done with that we can talk about clothes and boys and whatever else she wants but I will not drag myself down when I've come so far up." Mellie screams, her fist balled tightly.

"I want a divorce. Not in four years, not in eight years, I want one now." I say. It's exhausting this travesty of a life with Mellie and I'm done trying to make her a better person. I'm jumping off this sinking ship.

"You would ruin everything I'm building for us. Fitz thinks about it, the first couple to both be Presidents, we would be politically royalty."

"For happiness, I would give all of that up. It doesn't matter to me."

"No" She walks out and the door slams so hard I was half expecting it to fall off the hinges.

Sinking back into the bed I replay what just happened over in my head until there's a beat at the door that breaks me away from my thoughts. Never a moment of peace in this house. What I wouldn't give to be with Olivia in our home right now.

"Come in"

"We did it Mr. President. You have a permanent spot in the history books to come. The Black community will love you the way they loved JFK but better because of what we've accomplished here today. There will be little black boys named Fitzgerald. We did it, sir." Cyrus cheers. I wonder about the crap that he spews, wonder if even it sounds offensive to him. "Get up, we have work to do, sir."

"Have Clarence Parker brought to the White House first, no cameras."

"Any specific reason?" Cyrus asks

"So I can shake his hand"

"Okay, sir. I'll have that set up" he smiles back at me "We're back in the game"

It's been a few days since the Brandon bill was signed into law preventing police from using deadly force on unarmed civilians. Cyrus was right, that was history in the making and it will probably be the second most famous thing I'm known for after tonight. Mellie's off in Springfield campaigning. And Abby was right. Mellie does need her independence from me and I'm happy to give it to her.

Karen trips on nothing as we're walking down the corridor. Not that she would admit it, but I know she's nervous. Truthfully I'm nervous for different reasons but I can feel the pressure. It has to be ten times harder for her.

We make it to the briefing room door and she's eager. I cover her hand over the knob. "Karen, you can go to your room and wait for me there."

"No dad!" she tries to push the door but I block her "Don't treat me like a child. I promise I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

The answer dies when the briefing room door is yanked from our grasp. Abby comes out smiling and I hear the press corps settling for the evening, likely packing up.

"Mr. President. Hi Karen" Abby says and she continues to whatever she's heading.

Karen turns to me and she says "I'm sure"

"Okay."

I hold the door and she walks in. Cameras flash and reporters whisper-like mice in the wall. The room goes silent and then they scramble to their feet when I take the podium. Voice recorders fly in the air.

"I want to begin this announcement by saying thank you to my fellow Americans. And I ask that I and my family be given the respect and privacy we deserve at this time" I sip the glass of water and clear my throat. "I am saddened to announce me and the First Lady have been separated and we are moving forward with a divorce"

The room buzzes and reporters were out of their seats again. Questions fly at me from every direction, mostly indistinguishable. "That is all. Thank you!"

XXXXXXX

Cyrus was lost in space when I walked in, the television was muted and he had an unreadable expression plastered on his face. Maybe devastation or disappointment, maybe a mix of both. His gaze doesn't leave the screen, reporters are practically scrambling to get in front of cameras, changing their prompters, and others are in shock like Cyrus. I passed Abby's office on the way here and she looked like the apocalypse broke out as she was frozen in terror following my announcement.

I sat a folder on his desk, even though the dust hasn't settled and I still don't know what Mellie's reaction will be. I know it won't be quiet or civil. "I'm setting some ground rules" the folder doesn't grab his attention. "You are not to consult on Mellie's campaign while you work for me. Any decisions about what happens next are up to me, I don't want you playing teams. If Mellie needs your services you are welcome to resign your position as chief of staff, I know Abby's had an eye on this office." I say.

Finally, he stops focusing on the tv and he looks at me. "Understood sir." I almost have to do a double-take. I expected explosions or for him to tell me that I'm out of mind.

"Are you staying?"

"Yes sir." He says "Where are you off to?" Pointing to the coat thrown over my arm.

"To bring my girl home," I say.

So Chapters 9 & 10 are in parts, same weeks but just a view of Olivia's activities in Vermont and what Fitz was doing in Washington.

That is the last of Papa Pope and B6-13 in this story. I didn't really care for it in the show but I wanted to destroy it in my own way.

Let me know what you all think in the reviews and let me know what your predictions are for upcoming chapters.