It was early mid-day on Monday when Fitz stopped by the residence to see Olivia and Karen before they left for their shopping trip. Olivia was in her closet when he called her and she answered. "In here baby."
When he walked in Olivia was sitting by her vanity table adding touch-ups to her makeup. The feedback from the interview had been great with most of the attention falling to Karen and the twins. He smiled when he saw Karen trying on Olivia's heels and jewelry.
"Kare, you're very busy it seems," Fitz said.
"I'm trying on mom's heels. They're so high," Karen said with a smile as she stepped around in the black Louboutin pumps. It still took some getting used to Karen calling Olivia mom. She'd been doing it religiously since the proposal. He kept trying to sense if Olivia had any discomfort with it but to her, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
Olivia turned around, "Hey honey." Fitz leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Are you ready to head out?" He asked.
Olivia nodded.
"You look stunning," he whispered.
"Always."
He chuckled. "What time will you be back? We might end up having dinner with a group of Senators who need a little convincing to support a bill."
"Which ones?"
"Shaw. Davis…to name a few."
"Why Them? They hate you. Aren't there others you can court."
"It'll be nice to have them come sit across from me and pretend to be happy that you're my fiancé."
Olivia's mouth fell open, "is this because they tried to get my number at that state gala years ago."
Fitz shrugged, it wasn't the main reason but he decided to get into that later.
"Fitz, this is actually psychotic that you remembered that and you're doing this to get back at them for flirting with me."
"You didn't answer my question."
She groaned. "I planned to stop out for lunch with Karen so probably not until late afternoon."
"Okay," he said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her once again.
Olivia smiled as Fitz leaned up. "Alright. I'll see you two in a bit."
She nodded and watched as he walked to Karen and fluffed her hair playfully before he left.
Olivia finished her light makeup before she stood and slipped on a pair of sandals. She headed out with Karen shortly after Abby texted her that she'd arrived at the White House.
After all the discussions with Leo and Cyrus over the past two days she knew she had to seriously consider stepping into the role of First Lady. It wasn't something she had really considered and she hoped she could have abdicated that role but with the craziness of the media and attention, she'd been getting it seemed like trying to go back to work at her firm- at least in the short term was impossible unless she wanted a swarm of crowds outside of her office every day. She planned a meeting with Stephen, Huck, and Harrison in the morning. She was going to officially promote Stephen to run her firm since he'd had experience in management of his prior law firm and she'd promote Harrison and Huck as his lead associates.
Abby, on the other hand she planned to ask to become her chief of staff. She hoped Abby would agree to come on because working with Abby in that role would be much easier than the alternative.
She met Jake, Fitz's loaned assistant, and their security team downstairs after she kissed the twins goodbye in the nursery. She would have to continue to use Fitz's assistant until she could hire her own team.
When Jake opened the back door to the SUV Abby was already inside waiting for her. She helped Karen in before she climbed in as well.
"Hi Abby," Karen said with a smile.
"Hi Karen," Abby greeted.
Olivia sat beside Karen and placed her bag on the seat. "Hey, Abby."
Abby smiled. "You seriously look amazing Liv?"
Olivia chuckled, "Thanks! You do too. Richard is a madman for losing you."
Abby laughed and shook her head, "you've never really been a liar!"
Olivia was sporting a cream-tweed Chanel skirt with a fitted shirt tucked into the waist and a pink Chanel bag.
"I love your entire look, by the way. It's stunning."
"Some of the things I ordered came while we were on vacation and even better Leo also told me that companies have been sending boxes and boxes of clothes to the white house for me. The staff moved it to storage until I could go through them."
"Well if there's anything that doesn't fit I'll take them off your hands."
Olivia nodded, "Of course, and um..Fitz is getting some staff to quietly move my stuff from my apartment."
"Really?"
"No furniture, just clothes, shoes, books, pictures."
"What are you gonna do with the furniture?"
"I'm not sure," Olivia said. "But I'll figure it out eventually."
They continued driving until they arrived at the girl's luxury clothing store. There was no press there and Olivia was glad because she'd asked Fitz to try to ensure that the press weren't waiting for them. She walked around with Karen and Abby pulling outfits for her in the store that was closed to other customers. After they got all the outfits together Karen tried them on in the fitting room and the three of them along with a few sales associates decided on which outfits and accessories she should keep. They went to a few more stores before they stopped for lunch in the afternoon at a small Japanese cafe.
Karen bounced up and down in her seat from the excitement of the day as she ate her sandwich. Olivia watched her and smiled.
"Karen, are you excited for school this Thursday?" Abby asked in between bites of food.
"Yes," Karen said. "I'll be in 4th grade."
"You're at Sidwell Friends right?"
Karen nodded. "And on the first day of school Mom and Dad are coming with me for a morning meeting and to meet my teachers."
"Oh, that's exciting," Abby flashed Olivia a look because it was still surreal to hear Karen refer to her as mom so casually.
"So Abby," Olivia began. "I wanted to talk to you about something important."
"What's up?"
"So Leo and Cyrus have really been on my case about stepping up as first lady. Fitz says not to do it if I don't want to but I think-"
"-You want me to be your chief of staff, don't you?" Abby asked with a smile.
Olivia nodded, "what do you think?"
"I mean…I'm not opposed to it but it's a significant pay cut. What does a chief of staff in the Whitehouse make..like 170k a year."
"I would keep your salary consistent with what you made at the firm for sure? I wasn't even considering you taking a pay cut," Olivia said.
"Then yeah, I'm in."
"Really," Olivia said with a grin. "Oh thank god because I was dreading having to take on being first lady without you."
"So you've decided then, you're leaving the firm?"
Olivia nodded.
"How do you feel about that?" Abby asked.
"I feel okay. I plan to ask Stephen to permanently run it and I feel good knowing that even though I'm not there running it day to day, we still created something and it's doing well."
"Yeah and you should be proud of that," Abby said. "when the presidency is over you'll still have something to go back to."
Olivia nodded and smiled, "and Fitz is taking care of me financially so that takes a big stress off my shoulders as well."
"Well duh," Abby said with a chuckle. "Being showered in dough is nice."
Olivia chuckled and they continued eating. "I want to keep the scope of everything we do really limited. My main focus is being a mom, the first lady duties come second and probably even third because I'm running Fitz's campaign next year so I'll have to start thinking about that as well."
"Oh- you didn't tell me that."
"Yeah, he asked me while we were on vacation and I agreed but we won't officially start campaigning and all that stuff until year end but I need to prepare."
"Yeah but while all this is going on you need to figure out when you're going to get married."
Olivia nodded, "I know Abby, it's so much. That's why I need you. The first thing we have to do is hire assistants so we can get some help sorting this out."
"Yeah sure and you also need to think about what you're going to do. I think you should have a nice wedding. Not something big or anything but a nice intimate wedding at the white house would be really amazing. The pictures would be beautiful, Karen and the twins could be flower girls and I'm sure magazines would want to take pictures so we could have Vogue or one of those really big fashion magazines do a spread on it."
"You think so?" Olivia asked.
Abby nodded.
"Okay, I like that idea so I'm going to think about what I want it to look like then we can look into a planner."
Abby nodded and they continued eating and chatting. When they left the cafe there was a group of spectators and press. They quickly headed into the vehicle surrounded by agents then they headed back to the whitehouse. It was almost 5pm.
She went to the nursery immediately and found the girls with Bonnie on the rug.
"Hi my sugar muffins, mama is back," Olivia said as she slipped off her sandals and walked over to them. Karen was in her bedroom after the assistant brought her shopping bags of clothes to her closet.
"Hi Bonnie," Olivia said. "How have they been?"
"Good, they took a long nap and had some roasted sweet potatoes and shredded chicken for lunch. They ate it all."
She sat beside them on the rug and both girls excitedly climbed onto her. Luna was smiling behind her pacifier.
"That's great. You can head out now. I'm gonna take them with me to help Karen sort out her outfits."
Bonnie nodded and stood from the rug. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Oh no, take tomorrow and Wednesday off, you've done so much in the past few weeks. Thank you so much by the way."
Bonnie smiled and shook her head, "Please Olivia, you paid me for months while Luna was in the hospital. I don't mind making up some of that work."
"Oh no," Olivia said with a smile. "It's okay. You've been such a help to me and Fitz. please take the days."
Bonnie nodded, "What did you decide to do for their birthday since I won't be in on that day."
"Feel free to stop by to see them if you want but I'm not doing anything too fancy. I ordered them each a cake and I planned to sing them happy birthday at dinner."
Bonnie nodded then she said goodbye to Luna and Lana and left. Once Bonnie stepped out Olivia leaned down and kissed both her daughters. "We're going to help your sister in her bedroom, okay babies?" she said softly before she stood and lifted them then headed down the hall to Karen.
She sat with Karen for some time as they sorted out outfits for her first few days of school while the girls crawled and walked around.
Fitz had moved from the Oval Office to his private office and was working with Cyrus when his cellphone rang. He assumed it was Olivia but when he looked at the caller id it was Mellie. He smiled and answered.
"I'm very busy."
"What the hell is going on?"
"What do you mean?" Fitz asked innocently.
"I kept quiet when I saw Karen in the interview with you and Olivia because I understood it was damage control but now she's taking Karen out on shopping trips and fucking lunch? I can't even take a picture with her-"
"You remember several days ago when I called you and told you your daughter was crying because she thought you didn't love her and you called her dramatic- do you remember that?"
"You're a spiteful bastard. I should've known you'd try to end my political career before it starte-"
Fitz hung up on her mid-sentence and chuckled.
"Don't piss her off Fitz," Cyrus said. "We need her to be amiable going into this next year."
"Fuck amiability," Fitz said.
Cyrus sighed as he checked his phone, "all the senators are confirmed for dinner. So that's Senator Davis, Shaw, Mendez, and Carter. They'll be here at 7."
Fitz nodded as Cyrus texted one of his assistants to confirm with the kitchen. They continued working until Fitz got a text from Olivia that she was back in the residence. He knew this because the Secret Service already told him. He called her in response and waited for her to answer.
"Livie?" he answered when she picked up.
"Hi baby, I'm in Karen's room with the girls. We got back a little while ago."
"How was it?"
"It was great. Karen got a lot of things that she really loved and now we're just sorting them out."
"Alright, dinner's at 7 with Senator Davis, Shaw, Mendez, and Carter."
"Okay, I'll bring the girls down for an early dinner in a little bit then since they won't be joining us."
"Thanks, Livie, I'll see you in an hour or so."
"Okay," Olivia said before she hung up then turned to Karen.
"Hey Karebear, so I think in a few minutes I'm going to take you and the girls down for dinner. Your father and I have dinner with some senators a little later."
Karen nodded, "That sucks. I like it when we all eat together."
"I know but if it makes you feel better it will be very boring."
Karen laughed, "I know and I'm tired so I want to go to bed early tonight."
Olivia nodded and then shortly after she took the girls down to the kitchen. She sat with them for dinner and when they were finished she called Sarah to take them and ready them for bed. It was almost 7pm when her phone rang and she answered quickly.
"Hey baby, I'm on my way to the dining room. Lana was just a little upset I was leaving-" she said.
"Don't rush, I'm leaving the oval now," he said.
"Okay," Olivia said before she hung up. Since she had a little more time she stopped in her bedroom closet, touched up her makeup and brushed her hair before she slipped her heels back on and then headed to the dining room. When she reached the dining room door secret services were lined in the hallway. She tried to give herself a moment to take a breath but one of the agents opened the dining room door immediately as she approached.
"Good evening Ms. Pope," she greeted as she opened the dining room door for her.
"Thank you," Olivia said as she stepped inside.
Fitz stood when he saw her, walked to her and greeted her with a soft, affectionate peck on the lips. "Hey Livie," he greeted.
She smiled and blushed, "Hi honey."
She heard Edison take an audible sigh and she watched Fitz's smile turn to a grin. He turned to the group of senators, "Gentlemen, this is my fiancee, Olivia."
"Good evening, I'm sorry I'm a bit late," she said with a smile.
Edison walked first to her from around the table and kissed her cheek. "You're forgiven for anything and as always you look absolutely stunning."
"Thank you," she said as she glanced at Fitz, trying to read his expression. He seemed fine, almost smug. Senator Shaw walked to her as well and greeted her with a cheek kiss as well. "You all but disappear for more than a year then remerge as first lady," he ribbed. "I'm sure there's a very interesting story behind this."
Olivia shook her head, "it's not interesting at all."
Senators Mendez and Carter greeted her with cheek kisses but had much fewer words for her other than congratulations on her engagement. Fitz pulled out a chair beside his for Olivia and once she sat down he and the other gentlemen sat as well. Moments later, servers entered the dining room with trays of food. They would have a main course and desert. The main course consisted of red wine braised short ribs over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.
Once everyone was served a steaming plate of food and chilled drink the servers left.
"So," Edison began. "I guess you invited us here because we're the holdouts on your bill-"
"God dammit Davis can I stuff a couple spoonfuls of these fucking mash potatoes down my throat before we start-" Fitz said with a chuckle.
"I don't want to beat around the bush-"
"Sure but I'd hoped when I invited you to dinner some eating would be involved, no?"
Edison groaned and took a sip of his drink.
Fitz smirked and took another bite of his short ribs and mashed potatoes.
"So Olivia, how have you been? I was really sorry to hear about the incident with those burglars," Shaw asked.
"Thank you for asking Senator. I've healed up really nicely and I'm just grateful they didn't cause more harm."
"Hopefully they put them away for a while," he said, then continued eating.
There was an awkward moment of silence before another senator began.
"How are the children? Twins girls, I believe?" he said.
"They're doing really well," Olivia said. "As is Karen."
He smiled and nodded and continued eating.
"You know, one day I'd love the story about how the most sought-after woman in D.C. ended up as first lady," Edison said. "We all wondered who you were dating Olivia but in my not in my wildest dream did I imagine Grant."
Olivia smiled.
"Why couldn't you imagine it?" Fitz asked as he took a sip of his drink.
Edison sighed, "I guess I should be honest and say that I thought if it didn't happen on the campaign which is when everyone else thought it would happen then it wouldn't happen at all."
Fitz chuckled, "I'm sorry- what?"
"How's the weather?" Olivia asked.
The group laughed.
"Was that sufficient to change the subject," she asked. "I'm really hoping it is."
"Ah, sure, let's change the subject," Fitz said. "Let's discuss why you're stonewalling my bill."
"It's a bad bill," Edison said matter-of-factly.
"Oh good since it's only a bad bill then you'll have no problem signing your name to it just like the other 150 bad bills with your name on it. I was worried it was something more meaningful than that."
Edison's lips tighten into a straight line. "I'm not signing your bill because I won't do anything to help you or give you ammunition to campaign on."
"Ah, there it is. I just wanted to hear you say it. Senator Shaw, why are you blocking my bill? I am hopeful though not convinced you'll have something more interesting to say."
Shaw chuckled, "I'm sorry Mr. President, can't let you get this bill through. Once you're out of office we'll try to get it through under a democrat."
Fitz chuckled, "Now you guys are hurting my feelings. Carter, don't tell me you're going to toe the line like this. You're from a purple state."
Senator Carter sighed, "Sorry we have to play hardball like this Grant but next year is an election year, it's hardball time."
"I'm assuming you have the same thoughts, Mendez?"
The senator nodded.
Fitz nodded, "All five of us are up for reelection next year and last I checked, I won all four of your blue/purple states- I guess that was enough to keep you amiable just after the election but I understand because after all Carter, you said it's hardball time again right?" Fitz said. "Well, I'm running as an independent. Edison, you're underwater in Illinois, as are you in your state Carter so running on being a pain in my ass won't help you, and just imagine how fucking embarrassing it'll be for you when a former Republican wins more votes in your blue state than you. Shaw and Mendez, you're treading water in your polls so I guess you're a little safer than your friends over there but don't rest easy because if you fuck me on this bill I will do everything in my power to ensure you're embarrassed at the ballot next year- up to and including using my own fucking money to fund people to primary you."
"You're not running as an independent-" Edison said.
"My chief of staff filed to amend the papers just hours ago. The story will break tomorrow," Fitz responded as he took a sip of his drink. "So I'll give you some time to think about how to move forward."
"We're going to run a really great campaign next year and we're going to win, don't find yourself on the other side of that. We can have a coalition government where everyone gets something for themselves. If you're worried about all of his accomplishments being under the republican party then that's no longer the case because he'll be an independent now," Olivia said.
Edison smiled, "See when you say it then it's more palatable to me. I loathe Grant so it's hard hearing anything that comes out of his rich, privileged mouth."
Fitz laughed, "and that's just one of the many reasons Olivia makes a great partner."
Olivia blushed and smiled, "Oh my god Fitz you're going to give me a big head."
He chuckled and just like that the tension in the room eased. They finished dinner and their dessert of coconut cream sorbet before they parted ways. Fitz took Olivia's hand and they headed upstairs to the bedrooms. It was almost 8:30 pm.
"I want to check in on the girls before we go to bed," he said as she reached the top of the staircase and turned down the hall. Olivia nodded and they continued walking until they reached the first room which was the twins' nursery. Fitz opened the door quietly and walked in. Olivia stayed by the door and watched him. There was a small noise machine with a night lamp on. He looked in on Luna who was sleeping on her back as she sucked on her pacifier and clutched her elephant blankie in her arms. Fitz leaned down and kissed her on her curly golden blonde hair then he moved over to Lana who was sleeping on her belly with her butt perched up in the air. She too was hugging her elephant blankie but she wasn't as fond of a pacifier as Luna was. Fitz kissed her as well and then they headed out and down the hall to Karen's room. He cracked the door open and Karen was snoring lightly. He quietly walked over to her while Olivia once again waited for him by the door. He kissed Karen lightly and pulled her blanket up to her shoulders before he walked back to the door and closed it. Once he stepped out to the hall with Olivia Tom, Jake, and another agent were walking down the hall toward him. He groaned annoyed because he knew it was something that demanded his attention.
"Sir," Tom said. "We need to speak with you urgently."
"It's not national security or else Jake wouldn't be a part of the conversation?" Fitz questioned.
"No sir but it is important," Tom said.
Fitz nodded and turned to Olivia.
"I'll just hop in the shower while I wait for you," she said.
"No, wait for me," he said firmly.
Olivia chuckled, "Okay, okay."
Fitz pulled her close and kissed her lips softly before he let her go and allowed her to turn and walk a few steps to their bedroom. Once she went inside Fitz began walking towards his private office on the other end of the hall. "What's going on?" Fitz said as they walked.
"Sir, there's something we need you to see," Tom said.
"I don't need the suspense," Fitz said.
"It's Brandon Duncan," Jake said. "He's becoming a problem."
Fitz nodded and continued quickly to his office. Another small group of agents were waiting at the end of the hall with a briefcase and followed him into his office.
"Okay, what's going on," Fitz said. "And this time I need a really detailed answer."
Tom took the briefcase from one of the agents and placed it on the coffee table. He then took a pair of gloves from another agent and slipped them on before he opened the briefcase. Fitz moved closer and saw several letters in plastic evidence bags and envelopes inside.
"He's been writing letters sir," Tom said. "To Ms. Pope for almost a month. They are anonymous but we were able to trace them to him."
"A month and you're just finding out?" Fitz asked.
"There was a high volume of letters sent to Ms. Pope sir, greetings, death threats, love letters, we had to sort them accordingly sir and it took some time before he noticed these were all from the same author."
"What is he saying?" Fitz asked.
"He sending death threats sir, threats of rape, love letters. He's very specific in his words."
"Where is he now?" Fitz asked. "Why haven't you arrested him?"
"We don't know sir."
"What the fuck do you mean you don't know?" Fitz asked, bewildered.
"Sir, he's been missing for at least a week, which is when we received the last letter from him. His mobile phone is off, he hasn't been on any of his social media accounts, he hasn't been to his home or been seen by family or friends."
"Let me see the last letter," Fitz said.
Tom held out the letter to Fitz, "I wouldn't advise you to touch it sir."
Fitz nodded and looked down at the sheet of paper with handwritten words on it.
You're still ignoring me I see
That's fine Olivia.
When you see the barrel of my gun in front of your eyes and feel the bullet pass through your skull and leave the back of your head the very last thing you'll think about before I take you out of this world forever is me.
Sincerely,
Your long lost boyfriend and partner in death.
Fitz stood staring at the words for a moment to digest it.
"You think he's going to try to kill her and then kill himself?" He asked.
Tom nodded, "this was the last letter he wrote. He purchased a semi-automatic pistol and silencer days before this letter was mailed.
Fitz took a breath and sat silently for a moment.
"Tom, I'm gonna need you to triple her security detail," Fitz began. "Have you notified the FBI?"
"Sir, they are aware of the situation and we are currently collaborating our efforts to find him. The director of the FBI is aware of the situation as of tonight and would like to meet with you as soon as you are able."
"Tonight," Fitz said. "I want to see him tonight."
Tom nodded and moved to another agent to do as told. Fitz walked to the phone on his desk and dialed the extension to their bedroom. Olivia answered after a few rings.
"Fitz?" she answered, surprised he was calling her from that phone.
"Livie, I'm sending an agent to meet you and escort you to my office."
"Escort me? Is something wrong? I can just walk over."
"I don't want you walking by yourself. He'll be there in a couple of minutes."
"Okay," she said puzzled.
One of the agents left the room to collect Olivia and a few minutes later she walked into Fitz's office as the agent held the door open behind her.
She was surprised by the sheer level of agents in the room. Fitz walked to meet her and took her hand as he walked her to sit on the couch. "You're scaring me now," she said nervously.
"I don't want you to be scared," Fitz said softly.
Olivia nodded, urging him to go on.
"I didn't want to keep you in the dark about this. Brandon has been making some threats against you. As a precaution, I'm going to triple your detail. It'll probably be a pain in your ass for as long as it takes us to figure this out but this has to be done."
"What did he say?" she asked.
"It's not important."
"I want to know."
She turned and saw the briefcase on the table but before she could get a closer look Fitz shut it.
"Fitz, I deserve to know what he's saying."
Fitz took a breath, "do you remember when you watched that vile video and cried in bed for hours-"
"-This is different," Olivia said.
"There's nothing on those papers that's worth you reading. You don't need to see it," he said firmly.
"What did he say?" Olivia asked.
Fitz stood and pointed to the briefcase for an agent to take it.
"Fitz," Olivia said angrily. "Don't ignore me. If he's threatening me then I need to know what he's saying. How can I even know what I'm to be afraid of if you don't let me see it."
"That's the point, Olivia, you're not supposed to be afraid-"
Olivia rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You can't tell me there's a threat and then not tell me what it is and expect me to just go on and be fine."
"You're doing exactly what he wants. He wants you to be afraid, he wants you to think about him. He wants to fucking take up space in your life- don't fucking give it to him."
Olivia steeled her resolve because he was being entirely unfair. How could we expect her to function when some unknown threat that he was obviously taking very seriously was out there and everyone knew what it was but her.
She took a breath and tried to calm down. "Please," she begged. "I need to know."
He sighed, knowing that he would regret letting her read the letters. He looked at the agent. "Open it."
The man brought it back to the table and opened the case in front of them. Olivia leaned forward to take a letter but the agent stopped her. "We don't advise you to touch them."
Olivia nodded, "can you show me?"
He nodded and lifted the first letter from the case. It was the last one. She read through it as the agent held it in front of her and when she was finished she looked up at him. "Can I see the next one?"
"Just one-" Fitz said.
"Fitz, I need to know."
He sighed frustrated by her demands and nodded for the agent to continue. He moved the old letter to the side and showed her a new one.
Last night when I lay in bed, unable to sleep, I started to think of you.
I thought about how small your neck would feel under my hands as I strangled you. I thought about how your eyes would water and your mouth would gape and froth. You would kick and fight but I wouldn't let up until I watched the light go out behind your eyes.
I slept very well after knowing that I put you in your rightful place.
Sincerely,
Your long lost boyfriend.
"Can I see the next one?" she asked once she was finished reading. The agent lifted another and she read it. Then another and another. The letters grew more vile and sadistic as she read but it wasn't until she came upon the fifth letter in the pile that she stopped after reading. It was long.
I won't stop until you end up like your mother
Washed up on a dirty beach, raped, rotting and defiled
Face down like the useless whore she birthed
It's a bit ambitious, I'll admit since you live in the crown jewel of the American prison system
But
There are quicker ways to have you rotting
As for raping and defiling you
Even if I have to dig you up from the grave I will be inside you again
When I'm done I'll do you the favor of bringing you to the exact place they found your mother-
She didn't finish the last words because Fitz took the letter and read through it. Her expression as she read the letter told him it was bad but even so, he was shocked at what he read. When he was done he stuffed it back in the briefcase, not caring that he'd touched it.
Olivia let out a deep breath, trying to hold back tears but the grief felt too heavy and they began to roll down her cheeks.
"I was really trying not to cry but that one was-" she lost her words as she sniffled.
Fitz moved closer to her and held her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs.
"I didn't want you to read it," he said to her softly.
"Did you read them all before?" she asked.
"I'd only read the first one you read."
She nodded and took another deep breath. "I'm okay."
"No, you're not," Fitz said as he kissed against her temple and hugged her closer.
She chuckled humorlessly, "I think I'm just more confused than anything because I have no idea what I've done to make him hate me this much. I don't even know how he found out about my mom. I never told him."
"You didn't do anything. He wants you and he can't have you. We'll catch him as soon as we can and this will all be over."
She nodded and let out a breath. Fitz stood and helped her up from the sofa. They walked back to the bedroom and both Tom and Jake escorted them to the door.
"If the FBI director is available to meet, let it be first thing in the morning," Fitz said.
Tom nodded.
He opened the door and allowed Olivia inside their bedroom then he walked in behind her. Once she closed the door he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. She let out a breath and allowed him to hold her. His warmth and smell were comforting.
"Do you want me to start the shower for you?" He asked.
She nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there in a second."
He nodded and stepped off. Once he gauged the shower faucet he headed to their closet to undress. He found Olivia there just as she took a few pills and a sip of water.
"What did you take?" He asked.
"Xanax," she said as she began to undress. She pulled off her skirt and then her shirt and tossed them in the dry cleaning hamper. Fitz pulled off his suit jacket and pants and did the same. She walked to the bathroom in her bra and panties and Fitz followed in his boxers and undershirt. She walked to the sink and pulled her hair into a ponytail before she brushed her teeth and then finished undressing once again then tossed her bra and panties in the laundry hamper. Fitz did the same and then they both stepped into the shower.
Thirty minutes later, Olivia crawled into bed wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of black panties. Fitz wore pajama pants and nothing more. Once he pulled back the sheet and got in beside her, he covered them both before he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her.
Olivia rested her head on his shoulders and hugged his muscular torso under the blanket.
"How are you really feeling Olivia," Fitz asked quietly, "I need to know what's going on in your head."
It took her a moment to respond. As he waited for her response we felt a warm droplet of water on his chest. A sniffle escaped her as she moved to wipe her eyes.
Fitz hugged her tighter.
"I'm just trying to digest it," she mumbled quietly after trying to find her words. "I was always afraid that what happened to my mom would happen to me but every time I thought that I would tell myself it would never happen. He made it real. He put that image in my mind and it's been there for the past 30 minutes. What if somehow he gets me alone and does that to me."
"That will never happen. Do not ever, ever think that."
Olivia felt more tears and Fitz moved her head from his shoulder and sat up so he could see her. She was drowning behind tears and all he could do was lean down and wipe her eyes tenderly. "I can't see you cry like this. I really can't Olivia. If you're not okay then I can't be okay."
She let out a breath and wiped her eyes as well. "I'm trying to be okay. I really am," she said through sniffles. "Because I know you worry-"
"I don't want you to pretend to be okay. I want you to actually be okay. As much as I hate it, if you have to cry all night to be okay then I'll hold you while you do it." He wiped her eyes again.
"I don't want to cry," she said as she took a deep breath. "It's our daughters birthday tomorrow. They're happy and healthy and turning 1 year old. We just came back from an amazing vacation and you proposed to me with a giant fucking diamond. I should be happy but it's like every time I take a breath and I try to be there's something else thrown at me."
He nodded and caressed her cheek.
"I know, it's a lot. This year has been a lot so don't force yourself to be anything. We'll take it day by day and we'll get through it okay?"
She nodded and Fitz leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly as he caressed her cheek then he laid her head against his chest once again. Olivia threw her leg over his as she hugged him closer. Fitz lay with her until she drifted off to sleep.
He couldn't sleep and found himself staring at the ceiling through the bed canopy until early morning as thoughts raced through his mind. He dozed off for a few hours before he woke up after 4 a.m. and decided it was time to materialize his plans for the day. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and dialed his executive assistant Joseph. Miraculously, he picked up and Fitz laid out his plans and he quietly moved from under Olivia and put a pillow in his place to cushion her head.
Olivia felt something ticklish on her nose and lips. It stopped and she stretched in her sleep then she felt it again and she opened her eyes quickly to see Fitz lying in front of her. He had a single pink rose in his hands and she chuckled when she realized he was tickling her with it.
When she sat up she saw large bouquets of flowers around the room as well as a beautiful breakfast on the coffee table.
She smiled, confused.
"You got flowers for the twins' birthday?"
"They're yours," he said.
"Oh," she said. "Why?"
"A year ago you birthed our daughters, didn't you?"
"Yes!" she said with a smile then she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "and it was not easy."
"I know but who told you to be so ambitious and have two."
"Oh really, you want to go there?" she asked. "You were inside me all night long, of course, I fucking had two."
He laughed and lifted her on top of him and stared up at her face as he tucked her hair behind her ear, wondering how much she had recovered from the night.
"Are the girls awake?"
"I haven't heard them on the monitor as yet," Fitz said.
"Mmhmm…" she moaned as she leaned down and kissed him.
"Of course, you woke up thinking about cock," he teased.
She smiled as she broke the kiss and leaned up. Fitz sat up and lifted her body before he reached for the band of her panties and pulled it down just slightly. He licked his middle finger and slid it between her lips until he reached her hole. Olivia grinned and bit her lips as he circled his finger at her entrance to feel her wetness before he slid it inside. She closed her legs tightly and Fitz chuckled before he pulled it out and licked her juices off his finger then pulled her face against his and kissed her softly.
She felt him reach for the hem of her t-shirt and broke the kiss just as he pulled it over her head. Olivia leaned up and allowed him to pull her panties down. She stood on the bed and kicked them off as Fitz pushed down his pajama pants and kicked them off as well. Once he was naked he reached for her and pulled her on top of him. He was erect as Olivia straddled him and pressed her crotch against his. He held her face against his and kissed her. Olivia wrapped her arms around his shoulders and she enjoyed the kiss and the comfort of his touch. He reached one hand down and opened her legs wider then raised his hips and slid into her wet folds slowly.
"Mmm," he moaned against her lips as he squeezed her ass.
She held him tighter as he began to thrust into her. She loved how tightly and possessively he gripped her as he made love to her.
When they climaxed Olivia dropped against his chest and smiled. Seconds later, they heard crying on the monitor.
Fitz chuckled. "At least we finished."
Olivia laughed as she raised her lips and lifted herself off his penis that was now soft. Once she stood there was cum running down her thigh. Fitz stood as well and pulled on his pajama pants quickly. His penis was wet and sticking to her thigh but he ignored the sensation and quickly went to the closet to pull on a t-shirt. Olivia waddled to the bathroom to wipe between her legs and as she did that Fitz came in quickly and washed his hands then went to the nursery for the girls.
It was after 8am.
Olivia slipped on his t-shirt and her underwear once again then went to the closet for a pair of shorts. Just as she slipped into the shorts Fitz returned with both Lana and Luna in his arms. They had bedheads and looked irritated.
"Good morning my wittle sugarplums," Olivia said with a smile as she walked to them quickly. "Happy birthday my girls." she reached for them in Fitz's arms and kissed them both on the cheeks. Both girls reached for her as well and she took them from Fitz and walked them over to the couch. Their diapers were soaking wet.
"God Fitz, their diapers," she said with a chuckle.
"They need a bath so I didn't bother changing them."
"I know but I hate when their diapers are wet. It must feel so gross."
She lowered them to the carpet so they could eat eat from the table and Lana immediately grabbed for the bowl of berries. Fitz smiled as he walked over to them.
"I'm gonna get them some milk and wake Karen, I'll be right back."
"Thank you baby," she said as she sat on the carpet beside them and fed Lana and Luna berries. A few minutes later Karen knocked on the door and Olivia told her to come in. She walked in and walked over to them quickly. "Happy birthday twins," she said with a smile.
"Hi Karen," Olivia said as she reached her arm out to her for a hug. Karen happily moved to Olivia and hugged her. Olivia kissed her against her hair. "Are you hungry?" she asked.
Karen nodded.
"Eat up honey," Olivia said as she fed more fruit to the twins. "I think in a little while we can get dressed and take some pictures for the twins birthday."
Karen nodded and smiled as she reached for some food from the table.
"The flowers are pretty," she said as she ate.
"Thank you," Olivia said as she began eating as well.
A few minutes later Fitz returned with bottles of warmed milk for the girls. They held their bottles and drank before they began eating again.
After they enjoyed breakfast together, Karen went back to her bedroom to brush her teeth and change out of her pajamas while Olivia took the girls to the nursery to bathe them and pamper them. Fitz got showered and dressed for his meeting with the FBI director and head of the Secret Service to discuss Brandon. He was wary of bringing up Brandon to Olivia especially since she woke in a significantly better mood than she fell asleep in.
Meanwhile, once Karen was dressed she went to find Olivia in the twin's nursery bathroom and watched her she finished bathing them then oiled their skin and combed their hair before she dressed them in matching pink frilly rompers. She asked Sarah to keep an eye on them as she went back to her bedroom to bathe and dress.
There were two secret service guards posted out each room as she moved between them.
Just as Fitz finished his meeting, a guard approached him.
"Sir," she said. "You're ex-wife is at the white house gates."
Fitz groaned. "Did you let her in?"
"Yes sir, we were worried it would cause an incident if we didn't. She is requesting to come to the residence."
Fitz took a breath, "bring her to my office."
The agent nodded and then headed off. Just as the agent left another two knocked and entered.
"Yes," Fitz said.
"Sir, we were able to find out who allowed the photographer to take those unauthorized photos of your family on the trip."
"Who?" Fitz asked.
"It was Cyrus Beene sir."
Fitz nodded and gave himself a moment, "he's in the west wing?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay."
Fitz waited for a moment until Mellie arrived and was brought into his office by the Secret Service.
"This really is ridiculous having to go through all of this just to get into the white house-"
"Why are you here?" Fitz asked.
"I'm here to spend the day with my daughter," Mellie said. "She starts 4th grade in a week or so right-"
"She starts fourth grade in two days," Fitz corrected.
"Regardless, I'm here to spend time with her."
"Why? Because you saw the media coverage of Olivia taking her shopping yesterday. You booked a private flight over to get your shot too. You're not taking any pictures with her, you're not taking her away from the Whitehouse either."
"I'm her mother-" Mellie said angrily.
"Biologically…but not much more than that."
"You don't want me to start talking to sources Fitz, you don't want me to tell them you're keeping my daughter from me."
"I'm sorry- do you think I give a fuck-you remember when I called you about your daughter crying and you all but told me to fuck off. I keep reminding you because I'm hoping you'll be ashamed but you're not."
"I want to see Karen and I'm not leaving until I do."
Fitz shrugged, "fine."
He headed towards the door and opened it. Mellie followed behind him down the hall to Karen's room. He knocked on her door and when he didn't get an answer he figured she was with Olivia so he moved further down to their bedroom. He knocked on the door beside the two Secret Service agents posted outside.
"You're prized possession has to have two guards posted outside the door," Mellie murmured.
"Shut up," Fitz groaned.
"Come in," Olivia called.
Fitz opened the door and walked in. Mellie attempted to follow behind him. "I don't want you in our bedroom. Wait here."
"Bastard," Mellie mumbled as Fitz closed the door in front of her face.
When Fitz walked in Olivia was in her closet with the twins and Karen. Fitz walked to find them. "You sure love this closet," he said with a smile as he looked down at the twins. They were adorable in the pink outfits. They began to crawl to him
Olivia turned to him, "I was just fixing my lipstick- by the way, don't be mad but I put some lip gloss on Karen. She wanted some and it looked great on her."
"Why would I be mad at that?"
"I don't know if you're the kind of dad who makes a fuss about stuff like that- I should know because we have two daughters…"
"I don't," Fitz said with a chuckle. "You look great Karen."
"Thanks, daddy," she said with a grin.
"That's good, you're warmed up so now I can tell you this- your mom is outside the door. She wants to spend some time with you."
"Daddy no," Karen said.
"Kare, can you just give her a chance?"
"No, I'm not going."
"Mellie's here?" Olivia asked.
Fitz nodded as he lifted the twins from the carpet. Olivia stood from her vanity chair.
"I don't want to see her," Karen said. "I'm not going."
"Karen, can you just give her an hour?"
Karen folded her arms, "no!" she said firmly.
"Karen-" he began to say but she marched to the door. He followed her with the twins in his arms and Karen opened the door to see Mellie in the hallway. He was right behind her.
"I don't want to see you," Karen said to her.
Mellie tried to smile as pleasantly as possible but it was jarring to see Fitz holding the twins. It was even more jarring when Olivia approached behind them, looking stunningly beautiful with a large engagement ring on her finger- larger than Mellie's was. She was hit with a pang of jealousy and tried to muster all the pleasantness she could to not let it show. "Honey, I just want to spend some time with you. Even if it's just to watch a movie together-"
"No," Karen said. "I don't want to spend time with you."
He stepped out into the hallway and stooped to Karen's level. Luna reached for her but Fitz moved back slightly so she couldn't grab Karen. "Remeber when I said we'd give her a chance."
"Yeah but-"
"Kare, we have to start somewhere okay. You're just going to spend time together, no cameras or anyone else will be around. Just you and her."
"Dad, I really don't want to. I want to spend the day with Luna and Lana for their birthday."
"You still will, you'll only be with your mom for a little while. I have to go back to the Oval Office to take care of some things and so we won't really celebrate until we're all back."
"Then we'll sing them happy birthday, cut their cake, and all that good stuff," Olivia said.
"Okay fine," Karen said with a huff.
"Thanks, Karen," Mellie said with a smile. "We can go to the sit room or your bedroom."
Karen folded her arms and walked down the hall to her bedroom. Mellie followed her into the room and closed the door behind her.
Karen sat on the couch and grabbed her teddy bear. Mellie sat beside her. "Should we watch something?" she asked.
"The only reason I'm sitting with you is because Dad and Mom asked me to, not because I like you."
"Dad and mom?" Mellie asked confused.
"Dad and Olivia," Karen said.
Mellie shook her head, "Olivia is not your mother."
"Yes she is," Karen said. "She's gonna get married to daddy so she is my mom."
"That doesn't make her your mother. I'm your mother."
"No you're not," Karen said.
"Just because your father and I are divorced that doesn't mean I'm not your mother anymore-"
"Mellie,-" Karen began but Mellie cut her off.
"You will address me as mom Karen, do not call me Mellie. I understand you want Olivia to be your mother and I'll have a conversation with your father about what's appropriate but you will not call me Mellie, do you understand."
Karen shrugged, "Mellie." was all she said again.
Mellie sighed. "I understand that I haven't been around that much but I want us to work on that-" she said as she leaned closer to Karen- "Honey, is that lipgloss?"
Karen nodded, "Mom let me have some of hers."
Mellie gritted her teeth, "Olivia is not your mother Karen and it's not appropriate for her to put makeup on you. You're 9 years old."
"It's only lipgloss and Dad said it's okay."
"You know what," Mellie said after taking a breath, "let's just watch TV."
She grabbed the remote on Karen's pink couch and turned it on to find something to watch.
Fitz brought the twins back into the room with Olivia and let them down to the floor. "Look at my birthday girls," he said with a smile and then let out a sigh.
"Did you know she was coming?"
"No, and if I did I would've told her not to come."
"She just popped up," Olivia asked.
He nodded pulled Olivia towards him by the waist and kissed her lips lightly. "You look beautiful."
"Always," she said and he chuckled because that was her usual response.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
She shrugged and smiled, "Good. I got all the crying out last night so I feel much better and waking up to beautiful flowers also makes it really hard to be sad."
Fitz smiled, "So you're telling me it paid off that I woke my assistant up at 4 in the morning to scour D.C for flowers. Noted."
She laughed, "Yes! Okay so around 2pm I want us all to take pictures together so do you think you'll be able to make it back here for a few minutes."
"Of course," he said. "Let me head out now. I have a meeting with the leaders of the senate in 30 minutes."
Olivia nodded. "I'll see you in a bit- wait when is Karen coming back?"
"I'll grab her when I head back from my meetings," Fitz said.
Olivia nodded. Fitz kneeled and kissed Luna then Lana before he headed to the west wing. Cyrus was in the Oval Office, sitting on the couch when he walked inside. "The senate leaders are on their way," Cyrus said without looking up from the papers he was reading.
"Why did you hire that photographer to take pictures of my family in Hawaii?" Fitz asked.
Cyrus froze for a moment before he looked up from the papers. "It needed to be done."
Fitz walked to his desk, "Tell me more about things that need to be done after I tell you not to do them."
"I understand you want to protect Olivia but hiding your relationship from the public is not the way to do that. The photographs went over really well with the public. I ensured nothing inappropriate was released-"
"Nothing inappropriate was released?" Fitz said incredulously. "Me grabbing her ass and tits on the beach wasn't inappropriate?"
"Not when you're attractive…apparently."
Fitz shook his head but before he could speak Cyrus began.
"I'm sorry I had to go behind your back to do this but it worked just like I knew it would. I don't trust your judgment when it comes to Olivia and this whole situation. You're too absorbed in her and she's too absorbed into you but this is not the Fitz and Olivia show okay, there's an election and presidency in the balance and since you won't do what needs to be done because you're too worried about her feelings- I did it."
"Whose election and whose presidency? Remind me?"
Cyrus shook his head, "I'm doing my job-"
"You're job is to be my word and my will but I don't think you're up for it so you're fired."
"Fitz, you're making a rash decision-"
"I warned you about doing shit behind my back after I found out what happened on the campaign. I can't trust you Cyrus and I don't want you around me anymore. I'll have your assistant step in as interim chief of staff until I find your permanent replacement. You can finish your day or you can go home, it's entirely up to you but give me your two weeks by tonight."
"Fitz-" Cyrus began.
"That will be all."
Olivia waited with the twins at the back entrance of the white house for Abby. She had half a dozen secret service agents around which- which she thought was excessive since she was in the white house but she knew it was just because Fitz wanted to be thorough.
When Abby drove up and stepped out of the car her eyes opened wide before she smiled and quickly walked up the steps. "Happy birthday babies. They are so freaking cute. Look at these little outfits."
Olivia smiled, "thanks. I've been taking pictures of them all morning."
Abby took Luna from Olivia's arm and hugged her but Luna fought her way out of Abby's arms and reached for Olivia. "Excuse me, I was literally at your birth," Abby said with a chuckle.
"They're very attached today-"
"And every other day," Abby said with a chuckle.
She moved from the step to inside the Whitehouse. "What's with all the guards?" Abby asked. "Are you leaving?"
"No, I'll tell you about it in a second."
Abby nodded and followed her back to the residence. Olivia took her to the dressing room a few doors down from her bedroom with Fitz where she was moving the rest of her closet.
The guards followed them and waited outside as she, Abby, and the twins stepped in. Olivia let the girls down to the floor so they could play in her clothing, bags, and shoes as she talked to Abby.
"What's going on?"
"Brandon has been writing me letters," Olivia said. "Death threats."
"What?"
Olivia nodded, "he threatened to shoot me in the head about a week ago and he's been missing ever since so they think he's going to do it."
"Oh my god- what a bastard- are you okay?"
"I mean, I felt like shit last night because one of the letters he sent me was of him telling me that he would make sure I ended up like my mom and that even if he couldn't rape me while I am alive, he'd kill me and then after I was buried he dig up my body and then rape me and leave me face down at the same place they found her."
Abby's mouth fell open.
"Fitz tried to keep me from reading them but I insisted."
"He tried to keep you from reading it? Why?"
"I know what you're thinking but it was just to protect me. He didn't think I should see the vile things he wrote to me and he was right."
Abby shrugged.
"What?"
"He can't keep doing that."
"Doing what?" Olivia said, slightly annoyed.
"Deciding what you can and can't handle."
"That's not what he's doing. He's just protecting me and considering the life that I've lived, it feels good to be protected. I wish I hadn't read it last night but I did and I cried because it was really hard to read."
Abby sighed, "When you put it that way I get it but I just don't want you to put walls around yourself."
"I need walls Abby, if last night is any indication."
Abby nodded. "How are you feeling now?"
"I woke up in the morning and our bedroom was filled with my favorite flowers and an amazing breakfast. We had a great morning so I feel better."
Abby nodded and they continued on.
When Fitz finished his meeting with the senators, Cyrus left the room right away after opting to finish his day instead of leaving right away. Fitz stayed back in the oval to touch base with his assistants while Cyrus made his way over to the residence to find Olivia.
When Olivia heard a knock outside her private dressing room door she assumed it was Fitz or Karen, when she opened it it was Cyrus.
"Cyrus, what are you doing here?" she asked as she held Lana in her arms.
"Fitz fired me," Cyrus said.
"Fire you? Why?"
"You don't know?" Cyrus asked.
"If I knew then I wouldn't ask why."
"I hired a photographer to take those pictures of you in Kauai. He found out."
Olivia took a moment to digest what he told her then she stepped aside and allowed him in the room so they could speak more. When Cyrus walked in, Abby and Luna were there as well as Fitz's assistant that she borrowed.
"Abby's my chief of staff," Olivia said.
"That's good," Cyrus said wearily.
"Why did you do that?" Olivia asked.
"It needed to be done."
"Needed to be done?" she said incredulously. "Putting pictures of my babies on the internet for people to consume needed to be done? Putting pictures of me in a bikini on the beach being felt up needed to be done?"
Cyrus shook his head, flabbergasted by her naivete. "yes it needed to be done! In the same way, when you came on the campaign you plastered Fitz and Mellie kissing and holding hands, touching, smiling, and doing everything short of taking off their clothes and banging in front of the camera to get people interested in them as a couple and to get Fitz to win his primaries. It worked, didn't it? Objectively, you saw what needed to be done and you made them do it. I'm doing the same because you're not objective anymore and Fitz won't do anything you don't want so I had to do it behind your back. I don't regret it because it's working. You're on the cover of Time magazine for god sake Olivia. I don't know what's going on with you, I'm sure it is hard being first lady, and what little empathy I'm capable of I give it to you but you need to stop being a pussy. You're the most brilliant woman I know so you need to start acting like it again."
"None of that makes releasing half-naked pictures of me okay," Olivia said. "Get out Cyrus. It's my daughter's birthday and I'm trying to enjoy it."
He rolled his eyes and stormed out. Olivia walked to the door and closed it once he left then turned back to Abby. "Wow," Abby said.
Fitz walked down the hall of the residence and headed towards Karen's bedroom. He knocked briefly before entering and when he walked in he found Karen and Mellie on the couch. A movie was on the tv screen but neither of them seemed to be paying attention.
Karen stood once she saw him and headed towards him.
"How was it spending time with your mom?" he asked.
She shrugged but didn't respond.
Fitz sighed, "alright you can go to your sisters. I'll be there in a second."
Karen nodded with a smile and sprinted out. Fitz waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps before he began. "Okay, well, you saw her so you can leave and remember not to ever show up uninvited to my home again."
Mellie stood from the couch and walked to him. "Karen will not call Olivia 'mom' any longer. I will not allow that."
"You won't?" Fitz teased.
Mellie growled angrily.
"You don't dictate shit here."
"I'll be coming for Karen every weekend. I'll fly in on Friday night and book a hotel close by. A guard can bring her to me and I'll keep her until Sunday night then send her back. I'll bill your accountant for the expenses or you can give me a monthly allowance to care for her and pay for transportation and lodging while I have her." Mellie walked closer and stopped beside him. "I'm not sitting by while Olivia takes over my daughter."
"You're pathetic," Fitz said.
Mellie huffed and walked out of the room and away from him. He took a breath and went to find Olivia and the children. They took pictures in the sit room with the twins wearing cute polka dot birthday hats before Fitz returned to the west wing for his security briefing and then a host of other meetings.
He returned in the evening for dinner. Olivia, Karen, and the twins were already waiting in the dining room. When he walked in, the table was set differently with the small pink cakes in the middle of the table. The twins were sitting in their high chairs with no shirts on, just bibs.
"Where's your shirt, little lady?" he asked as he walked to Luna.
"She'll be feasting on cake in a second so I thought it would be better to take her shirt off," Olivia said.
Fitz kissed Luna then Lana before she stopped at Karen and kissed her against her hair, finally, he walked to Olivia and kissed her lips before he sat in his chair. They began eating together. The twins ate pasta with salted butter and salmon while Fitz, Olivia, and Karen had the salmon with wild rice.
"Today was one of the worst days to be busy," Fitz said.
"You didn't miss much- I just did some planning with Abby. She wants to start hiring some staff to help us function."
"That's great. You need help," Fitz said in between bits of food.
They continued eating as Karen chipped into the conversation discussing how excited she was for school to begin in a few days. After dinner, Olivia stood and brought the two tiny pink cakes to the girls' high chair and placed them just out of reach. Luna and Lana began to grab at the cake as Olivia placed one candle on each cake before she lit them. Fitz and Karen moved closer to them. "Happy birthday Luna and Lana," Karen sang.
Olivia smiled and pulled her phone from her pocket, "can you blow out their candles for them?" she asked Karen. Karen smiled and blew out the candles before Fitz lifted the cakes and brought them closer to the twins. They both grabbed at the cake icing and began licking it from their hands. The servers from the kitchen brought up slices of cake for Fitz, Olivia, and Karen to enjoy as well.
After dinner, Olivia and Fitz took the twins to their bathroom to wash them off and clean them up before getting them ready for bed. Karen was happy to help until Fitz brought her over to her bedroom to help her get ready for bed as well before he returned to the nursery.
It took the twins some time to go down to bed but once they did he and Olivia returned to their bedroom. As they walked in Fitz lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. Olivia laughed and grabbed him tighter as he carried her and sat her down on the bed. He lifted her legs and she fell back on the bed as he pulled her slippers off. Olivia laughed and leaned up as she slid his jacket off his shoulders and then kicked off his shoes.
She giggled, "Oh my god, you're moving fast."
He laughed and lifted her over his shoulder once again then took her to the bathroom. They both finished undressing before they stepped into the shower. The moment they were both under the showerhead Fitz grabbed her by the cheek and brought her lips to his before he kissed her slowly and slipped his tongue in her mouth. Olivia dropped her hands to his torso and closed her eyes as he controlled the kiss.
Fitz enjoyed it for a moment before he broke it. "I missed you today," he whispered.
Olivia sighed as she reached for his face, "I missed you too." She kissed him briefly before he broke the kiss and turned her around so her back was against his chest. He loved feeling the curve of her perfect ass against his groin and as he nestled her into his arms he reached around her and cupped her stiff breasts in his hands.
"I have plans for us tonight," he whispered.
"What plans?"
He smiled though she couldn't see him. "You'll see," he said before he grabbed her soft bath sponge from the built-in bathroom shelf then he squirted some of her body wash on it before he ran it over her breast and then continued all over her body, cleaning every crevice of her. Olivia happily returned the favor and when they were finished they both stepped out and dressed their wet bodies in towel robes. She wrapped a small towel around her wet hair as well before she walked to the vanity and brushed her teeth then moisturized her skin with her night creams then she added oils to her hair. Fitz brushed his teeth at the second sink on the counter then hopped on the top of the counter and sat as he waited for her. When Olivia finished she grabbed a hair clip from the drawer in the bathroom and wrapped up damp hair.
"Okay, I'm done," she said exasperated.
He smiled and hopped off the counter then wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked from the bathroom out to their bedroom. Olivia gasped when she stepped out and saw their bedroom then she looked up to Fitz and smiled. "Is that why you took so long in the shower?" she asked with a grin.
"Perhaps," he whispered as he took her hand and walked her over to the sofa. There were red rose petals all over the room as well as white candles. The room smelled divine and on the coffee table by the sofa was a bottle of Chateau Lafite Bordeaux wine and two glasses.
Olivia sat on the sofa and Fitz sat beside her. "Thank you. I really love this- and this morning too."
Fitz smiled and reached for the bottle of wine. It had already been opened to breath so he poured a glass half full and handed it to Olivia. He poured himself a glass as well.
"The best part of all this is that you're actually drinking it with me," she said as she took a sip and gushed. "Wow, this is delicious."
Fitz took a sip of the wine and nodded, "It's not bad at all…a little sweet."
"That's the best part."
Fitz nodded and took another sip. Olivia smiled as she stared at him before leaning over into his arms. "Thanks for today."
He caressed her cheek and kissed her. "How was it while I was gone?"
"Cyrus stopped by and lectured me about how much of a pussy I am."
Fitz's mouth fell open. "He what?"
"He told me you fired him," she said as she took a sip of wine.
"I fucking did fire him. Did he tell you why?"
"He told me he released those photos of us and then he tried to convince me he was doing us a favor…as if I should be grateful he tried to exploit my fucking body because it played well with the public."
"Really?"
Olivia nodded, "he tried to say that I essentially made you and Mellie do the same thing during the campaign-"
"That was different. We both agreed to it."
"That's what I thought," she said with a sigh, "all that said, he's a good chief of staff and you shouldn't fire him."
"He is handling me…us…and I don't like that. He's not treating us like people anymore, he's too focused on winning re-election, and considering what happened last time I don't trust him."
"I understand. It's up to you and I worry about the same thing but I do think he genuinely loves us…even if he is very frazzled by how the public is taking our relationship. We're also his daughter's godparents."
Fitz groaned, "One more chance Livie."
She chuckled, "Just one last one."
Fitz took another breath, "enough about Cyrus. How are you feeling about the Brandon situation?"
"I didn't think about it until I talked with Abby. She ranted for 20 minutes about all the ways she wanted to castrate him," she said with a chuckle.
Fitz nodded, "she's a good friend."
Olivia nodded as well, "did you hear anything from the FBI director."
"He's living in his car. The last place they were able to locate him was crossing Pennsylvania state lines a few days ago. In the next few days, they'll be notifying law enforcement agencies in the eastern states to watch out for him- so that's state troopers, sheriff's offices, local pd, federal. It'll probably make it to the news soon after but that's good, that means that millions of eyes will be on him and we'll catch him before he steps foot in D.C."
"Okay," she said as she took another sip.
"I also got an update about the case concerning your housekeepers and those criminals who attacked you. They're all taking plea deals. There won't be a trial but the prosecutor wanted you to consider writing a victim impact statement."
"No, no, no, I want to completely put it behind me and forget it ever happened. The very last thing I want to do is to write a detailed statement about what happened to me."
"I told them as much but I wanted to confirm with you."
"I really want to forget about it."
She gulped down the rest of her wine and leaned forward to lift the bottle and pour herself more but Fitz was able to beat her to it and he poured her glass full.
"Thanks," she said as she took a breath and decided to change the subject. "What happened with Mellie?"
He chuckled humorlessly, "She told me she'll be taking Karen for the weekends going forward."
"Really?" Olivia said, shocked. "Are you going to let her?"
He nodded, "I think so."
"Why?"
"Honestly Livie, I'm still trying to figure out why I keep trying. She'd made it clear she's not interested in parenting so I know I should just cut off her access to Karen but she's such a liar and she's a little too good at garnering sympathy. My fear is that if I do that, when Karen's older she'll spin this whole thing and make me into the villain."
"How can she do that Fitz, Karen is a really smart girl."
"Really Livie- I'm the wealthy, powerful president that she'll say divorced her for a younger woman and took full custody of Karen because I could. She'll say I tried to keep her away and that's why she was a shitty parent. She'll say anything so I think it's best for Karen to spend as much time with her as possible because at best it'll force Mellie to parent and at worst she'll see for herself who her mother is."
"She already knows who her mother is. She's almost 10 years old. I understand why you'd do it and in a sense, I agree but if your instincts are off and it feels wrong and more importantly if Karen hates it then you shouldn't force her because she'll probably end up resenting you for that too, or maybe she'll think you're trying to get rid of her."
He chuckled and shook his head, "You're right of course. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Parenting is really fucking hard."
"And it doesn't get easier. Luna gave me so much lip today." she drank another sip of her wine and smiled. "She just knew it was her day for maximum attention and just like her mom, she took full advantage."
He chuckled, "They're such beautiful babies."
"Look at their parents," Olivia said with a giggle.
"That brings me to the entire reason I wanted to talk to you tonight," he said as he took some of his wine.
"Okay," she said with a smile, just a bit nervously.
"When are you going to marry me?"
She grinned, "I'm trying to figure that out."
"I need you to be my wife as soon as possible. What do I need to do to make that happen?"
She grinned even wider and blushed. "It can happen as soon as I get a decent dress. I was just talking to Abby about this actually…I was thinking we could do something at the white house before it's too cold."
"That's perfect-"
Olivia nodded, "but-"
"But why am I bringing it up?" Fitz asked.
She nodded and took a sip of her wine.
"Because I'm ready for you to give me some more beautiful little babies."
She blushed and laughed. "When?"
"Tonight…tomorrow…next week. I want to start as soon as you're ready."
She smiled, "I'm ready but I would have to take my birth control out. It's non-hormonal so I should be able to get pregnant right away…ugh the next few days would've been great because I should be ovulating."
"Let's play doctor then-"
She squealed. "Not you…"
"Why not…does it hurt to take it out?"
"It's never really hurt me getting it removed before…"
He stood and gulped down the wine in his glass. Olivia watched him amused with an elevated heart rate. He took her hand and pulled her up from the sofa. She gulped down the last of her wine and placed the glass on the coffee table before she followed him to the bed.
He sat her at the edge of the bed. There were rose petals sprinkled on top of the white comforter.
He pulled on the belt of her robe and let it fall open.
"Oh my god- I can't believe you're actually doing this-'' she said nervously.
Fitz held her by the hips and pulled her to the edge of the bed before he opened her legs. He pulled her legs open and leaned down closer. "Why don't I taste you first?" he said raspily.
Olivia nodded absently as her breath became shallow. Fitz moved closer and licked his lips before he ran his tongue up her slit, wiggling it between her lips as he did. She bit her lips to prevent a grin from forming on her lips. It felt so good but she didn't want to get ahead of herself because he was just getting started. He moved back up to her clit and sucked it into his mouth before swirling his tongue around it and planting a wet kiss on it.
Her breath shuddered but she held firm and kept her legs open. Fitz smiled and leaned up and kissed her up her torso slowly until he reached her breasts. Her nipples were stiff already and when he took them into his mouth she moaned softly. When he released her he moved to her other nipple before he continued kissing up her neck.
He kissed up her chin then finally met her lips and stuck his tongue in her mouth for a deep, wet kiss. Olivia reached between the folds of his robe and grabbed his erect penis. Fitz allowed her to stroke him for just a moment before he broke the kiss and slid his index and middle finger into her mouth. She sucked them as Fitz demanded before he pulled them from her lips and moved between her legs and inserted them into her slowly.
He kissed her as he began to work his fingers in and out of her with increasing speed. He made sure to apply pressure to the rough patch inside her and he felt a small gush of fluid around his fingers as he did so. As she grew wetter and looser around his fingers he began to feel for the strings of her iud. He was sure not to grip it too soon, he focused on feeling it against his fingers so we would know where to pull. He deepened the kiss as she began to grip him tighter and as soon as her orgasm began he gripped the strings and pulled her IUD out before she could close her legs around him. A gush of squirt came out and he felt it on his hands.
He broke the kiss and leaned up just slightly and held the iud up by the strings. Olivia gasped when she saw it because she barely felt it come out.
Fitz smiled as he dropped it on the bed and then pulled off his robe before he climbed between her legs and reached under her then lifted her to the middle of the bed. Olivia pulled his face against her and kissed him.
He pressed his erect penis against her vagina, thrusting his shaft between her lips. She groaned in response and broke this kiss. Fitz leaned up and turned her around on her belly then lifted her ass up. Olivia got on her knees and pulled a pillow under her head and hugged it as she arched her ass.
He felt him against her back as he kissed down her shoulders. She smiled and bit her lips. She could see his large muscular veiny arms on both sides of her and after a moment she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his lips kissing down her back.
He held his shaft and pressed it against her opening, feeling the wetness for a moment before he slowly buried every inch of his thick cock inside her, stretching her walls around him.
"Ooooh yesssss," she moaned breathlessly
He pressed his hand against her lower back to hold her in place as he slowly worked his hip against her ass, grinding into her with his length. She was opened wide in front of him with a perfectly arched ass. His balls slapped against her dripping wet clit with every smooth thrust, sticking slightly as her fluids dripped down her lips and lathered between them. The way he worked his hips into her, making sure his penis reached all the right places inside her left her in a heightened state of pleasure…as he always did.
He quickened his pace and the pleasure was so intense that she collapsed on her belly. "Fitz-" she whimpered, breathlessly. She'd expected him to stop but he moved right on top of her without a falter in his rhythm and continued riding her until a gush of squirt flushed down her wall. She began to swell around him and it forced him to stop and pull out.
Olivia sucked in a deep breath as she felt him lift her and turned her on her back and opened her legs around his hips. Olivia pulled him on top of her, eager to kiss him as he positioned himself between her legs to lessen their height difference.
Olivia reached down and grabbed his stiff, slippery wet cock and stroked him as he leaned down and kissed her lips hungrily. She loved feeling the soft skin and thick veins all over his penis. She moved her fingers down to the tip of his penis and felt his firm curve. Fitz thrust his hips and pressed his tip against her clit.
"Why are you teasing me?" he groaned against her lips. "I'm barely fucking holding on."
"Mmm…baby," she moaned as she bit his lips. "Me too."
He reached down and grabbed his shaft and they both guided him back inside her. It was euphoric. She was more swollen than he left her and just a few thrusts inside her brought them both to their climax.
Olivia clung to him with one arm wrapped around his shoulder and the other clutching a tuft of his soft hair. She ground her hips underneath him, meeting his thrust as she cried out his name shamelessly, hopelessly, and deeply in love with him. He continued to ride her intensely until he emptied himself inside then finally he slowed and stopped just as her orgasm waned as well.
He pressed his forehead against hers and let out a breath before he raised his hips and slowly pulled out of her. Just as she felt a gush of cum ready to run from her walls she felt Fitz's hand pressed against her opening, stopping it from dropping out.
She chuckled.
"I need every fucking drop of my cum to stay inside you."
She smiled, "I love you so fucking much."
"I love you more," he said as he kissed her lips softly and slid one finger inside her. "You're all mine. Every inch of you and you're a magical pussy."
"Mmm…all yours and yours alone," she said as she blushed and locked her legs.
"I can't fucking get enough of you," he said as he added another finger inside her. He leaned down from her lips and took her nipple in his mouth and sucked it hard as he began to move his fingers in and out of her. He met some resistance because of her locked legs but all the same, he added another finger.
"Mmmm…" she moaned as she bit her lips and grabbed his hand and closed her eyes.
"Baby, I need you to open your legs and take it," he whispered as he let go of her nipples. She felt his breath on her wet nipple as he leaned up.
"Open your eyes and look at me," he said as he continued thrusting his fingers into her. She opened her eyes and her legs as he requested. The only audible sound was the sound of the wetness of her vagina as his fingers moved in and out of her. As the moments passed the pleasure once again became too much and she found herself instinctively locking her legs around his fingers but Fitz leaned up and pulled open her legs then just seconds later a gush of liquid squirted from her plump pussy before she came.
Fitz slowed his fingers as her orgasm waned then once she came down from her high he removed them and leaned down breaking from their gaze to kiss her lips. He brought his fingers to her lips and Olivia happily licked both their fluids from his fingers as she stared into his eyes. Fitz smirked as he watched her, entirely turned on.
"You're gonna give me a heart attack," he said as he pulled his fingers from her mouth and rolled her to his belly on the bed. Olivia giggled as he covered his head with the pillow she'd been hugging for support during Fitz's onslaught.
"You took my emotional support pillow," she whined playfully.
"Your emotional support pillow?" he said as he popped his
"Yes, I grab on to it for dear life when you're inside me."
He laughed and shook his head. "It's mine now."
Olivia rolled her eyes then turned and leaned over his back. She ran her finger through his curls and watched as they reformed everytime she did it. "I can't believe you actually pulled my IUD out."
He smiled, "why not."
"I was so turned on," she said with a laugh. "I've never wanted a load blown in me so bad."
"Please, I didn't think it was possible to want to be inside you more than I did the first night we got together."
She smiled, "really?"
"I might have a breeding kink because I really want you to see you pregnant. I think about it so much and I'm ecstatic we're trying," he said as he faced her.
She smiled, "Me too. I've never had sex with the intention of getting pregnant."
"How was it when you were pregnant with the twins?"
"I was obsessed with my belly. In the beginning, it was so cute and perfectly round. I'd stare at it for hours and hours in my mirror because I couldn't believe I was pregnant with twin babies. I didn't get that sick…so physically it wasn't that bad until the last few months they got so heavy in my belly and I'd waddle everywhere and pee myself if I laughed, sneezed or sat down too fast."
Fitz smiled and caressed her cheek, "this time will be different. You know that right?"
She smiled, "I know."
He leaned over and kissed her lips pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her body..
"If I get pregnant within the next month, I should give birth around early summer. What would happen to the campaign? I would need some time with the baby."
"We would need some time with the baby," Fitz corrected.
She laughed, "we."
"That's why we have campaign surrogates and you'd have deputy campaign managers. Once we know you're pregnant we'll just have to plan for that so we can take as much time as we need that summer and if that's not enough and you want more time then we'll do whatever we have to do to make it work for you."
She nodded and smiled and nodded, "I like that."
