Summary: One step forward is all it takes.

Fitz's POV

"Good evening, Miss Pope, Mr. Grant. What brings you here?" the tender voice asked.

Fitz almost scoffed at the rhetorical question because he was most certain that she'd read over their file before conducting their first couple's therapy session.

Their therapist, a middle-aged African American woman who favored Phylicia Rashad in appearance, saw the look on his face and clarified, "I know why you're here but it serves best to have you say why. Starting with you, Fitz." She gave him a reassuring smile.

Fitz cleared his throat and fidgeted slightly with the leather band of his watch as he tried to formulate words to answer her. Olivia, on the other hand, looked ahead at their therapist who was waiting with her pen firmly pressed against the blank sheet of white paper for his answer.

"I was..." he cleared his throat again before taking a deep breath. It was his idea to come and see a therapist but being there freaked him out for he felt like he was on the judgment seat waiting to be sentenced for all of his wrongdoings. He wasn't complaining but it was an honest assessment of how he felt.

"This is a safe space, Fitz," Dr. Dublin encouraged, seeing that he was struggling and he appreciated it.

He turned his attention back to Olivia who was looking anywhere but at him. She sat beside him looking so resolute and strong despite what he had put her through. If anyone deserved to come out of this happier was her and he owed it to her to give these sessions his all even if it pained him.

With a final deep breath, he stated, "I was unfaithful to my girlfriend and I'm here to fix it."

"That's a good place to start." Turning to Olivia, Dr. Dublin asked, "what do you hope to get out of these sessions, Olivia?"

Olivia was startled briefly at the mention of her name but quickly recovered. "Honestly, I have no expectations at the moment. I want to hope for the best but I'm also preparing for the worst."

Her words unintentionally stung Fitz but he did his best not to physically recoil in response.

"How does that make you feel?" Dr. Dublin asked picking up on Fitz's temperament.

Fitz shook his head and sighed before answering, "it makes me feel hurt, to be honest. I just want her to know that I'm gravely sorry for what I've done and I'm here willing to do anything to make it up. I just want to know that she won't give up on me in the process."

Before their therapist could intervene, Olivia said, "I cannot promise you that. You hurt me, Fitz." She stated in quiet surrender without any bitterness.

"And I want to fix it!" He shouted out in frustration which prompted Dr. Dublin to respond immediately.

"Okay, okay, wait a minute now, Fitz. Take a deep breath. Your reason for being here is very clear but please understand that once trust is broken, it takes time to rebuild, time to heal; and you cannot hurry up the process as much as you would want to. And from what I understand is that you want assurance that Olivia will not leave you, is this correct?"

Fitz bowed his head because the thought of her leaving him permanently devastated him from the inside out. He would feel as good as dead if that happened. Olivia was the best thing in his life and he just couldn't understand how he was foolish enough to toy with her. What was wrong with him? Was he the best thing fucking shit up?

"You want Olivia to promise you not to leave?" Dr. Dublin reiterated.

Fitz looked up and declared, "yes."

"Why is that so important to you? Isn't she being here good enough to assuage your worries?"

Fitz looked at Olivia who still wasn't looking at him. "At first it was but now she can't even look at me and I'm scared that she's realizing that what I did is unforgivable and-"

"What you did is unforgivable," Olivia echoed, her eyes still glued on Dr. Dublin. "But I want to forgive you. I want us to be us again but better. She paused and turned to face him for the first time since the therapy session began, looking keenly into his eyes. "I'm hurt, Fiz, so please don't ask for more than I can give you at the moment."

He swallowed in defeat, there was nothing he could do but wait. Coming to therapy was making him much more anxious than the one week since Olivia had moved out.

Thirty-four minutes later, they bid their therapist goodbye with the promise of seeing her in the next two days for their next session. They walked the hallway in silence until they got to the elevator. Once inside Fitz pressed the button to take them down to the lobby. Again, silence ensued in the almost empty carriage. Both spent from their one-hour long session.

"So, how have you been?" Fitz asked, breaking the silence.

Without missing a beat, Olivia returned, "I've been better. You?" Even though they stood side by side they could still make out each other's facial expressions in the mirror-ish glare of the steel doors.

The elevator doors dinged upon opening and Olivia made a quick exit before Fitz could've gotten his thoughts right to answer her question.

"Olivia," he called after her retreating body. Her slender figure cloaked in a simple wine colored sheath dress paired with brown wooden heel sandals. She looked breathtaking as usual and it served to remind him of her strength and resilience in the face of adversity. She stopped long enough for him to catch up with her. From habit, he placed his hand on her lower back as he guided her through the revolving door of the building and kept it there long after they were on the outside. "I was hoping that I can take you out for dinner tomorrow."

Olivia turned towards him ignoring the tingling feeling his hand produced on her lower back. "Let me think about it."

Fitz took a deep breath, something he seemed to do a whole lot as of late, a coping mechanism that also served as a reminder not to rush things. It was proving harder because all he wanted was to move over this hurdle with Olivia as selfish as it sounded. Despite his internal struggles, he replied, "okay."

A few seconds later, George pulled up curbside but before Olivia could enter the car, Fitz pulled her into a hug. It was hard being so close to her without the ability to touch her, it physically ached knowing that they were no longer on those terms. But for just one moment, he held her and pretended that what he did was only a bad nightmare. He breathed her in deeply and whispered, "I love you so much, baby." But their time soon ended and he released her, watching as she gracefully entered the black town car but before she closed the car door, she returned, "I love you, too." He stood motionless as he watched the car drove off with his heart. For the first time since the night of the gala, the night that she'd chosen to take some space for herself, he could breathe.

Flashback

"I don't deserve you. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But, I'm begging you to please don't walk away from us. We can get couple's counseling or, whatever you think will fix us. I am willing to do anything, *except give you up."

Olivia listened as he poured out his heart and as much as she wanted to believe him and forgive him she felt even more betrayed. His reason for cheating sounded weak and it made her angrier. To the point where she didn't want to talk to him moreover look at him. "So that's it?" she questioned, pulling her hands out of his grip. "That's it? Someone stroked your ego a few times and you forget about me? Am I that replaceable to you?"

"No, no. That is not what I meant. That is not what I was trying to say," he responded defensively.

"It sounded like I wasn't a good enough girlfriend to you."

"That's not true and this is not your fault, Livvie, it's mine. I did it. I'm the one to blame here."

Olivia was feeling confused and very emotional, it was like a wall had gone up and she wasn't registering anything he was saying anymore, so she stepped back from him and held up her hand to stop him from following. "I need space, Fitz, I'm leaving."

"What you mean you're leaving?" Fitz ignored her and advanced towards her.

"I mean I am moving out. I can't put myself through this anymore with you. It's too much," she sobbed. "Please don't," she cried when he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Don't make it harder than it has to be. I'm going to go stay with Nicole and I would appreciate if you respect my space. Don't!" Olivia wiggled herself out of his grip. Nicole was right maybe she was only fooling herself into forgiveness. Fitz had annihilated her trust and she didn't see that being repaired anytime soon.

Fitz got down on his knees in his Armani suit and begged her to stay but instead of a response he watched as she walked away.

He showed her his scars but she still walked away

Olivia's POV

Olivia directed George to her sister's apartment but before they could make it there a call from her mother diverted their plans and they rerouted their destination to her parent's address. When Olivia got there she was greeted with her mother cooking dinner while her father was out. The two ladies conversed over a glass of red wine while her mother's lamb shepherd pie was baking in the oven.

In between catching up on current events, Olivia noticed her mother giving her that 8look, the one she avoided receiving. "I know Fitz hurt you, baby," her mother began.

Olivia was going to kill her sister for not keeping her big mouth shut! "Mom-" Olivia started, dropping her eyes to her drink, she didn't want to do this but Celine interrupted, "I know you didn't want me to know and God bless your sister for keeping it a secret for so long because we both know she can't hold water in her mouth but baby, I want you to know that I am here for you and I know too well how you're feeling."

Olivia looked up from her wine glass to study her mother then. The woman she'd looked up to all of her life.

"I never wanted you, girls, to know about this but there was a time before you were born when your father had an affair."

Olivia's eyes widen, unable to reconcile her father with a trait of a cheater. He was the most loyal person she knew.

"Yea, that Marley wasn't always husband of the year," Celine joked. After so much time had passed she was able to talk about a painful time in her life without any grief.

"How did you forgive him?" Olivia asked after composing her scattered thoughts.

Celine stretched her hand across the clean surface of the countertop and grabbed ahold of her daughter's. "Time and love are the only two ingredients that can heal a broken heart. I didn't force myself to forgive him because too often we do not allow our hearts to process things on its own. You, have to give yourself time to come to grips with. And, in the end, love is the deciding factor in all of this. If love is there at the end of it all it is easier to forgive. Love allows for forgiveness."

For the next hour or so Olivia unloaded her burdens onto her mother. She didn't know how much restoration could've come out of that process because in the end she truly felt better knowing that someone understood the hurt and the confusion betrayal caused. A newer and deeper understanding was birthed between mother and daughter. And by the time Olivia made it back to her sister's she didn't want to kill her anymore. Instead, she focused on the positive. She grabbed her phone and texted the contact still stored as HoneyBun: Yes, for dinner.

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