"These Are My Confessions"

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" Fitz asked.

They had been sitting in the car for at least 15 minutes; she hadn't said anything for the last 5. She alternated between staring straight ahead at nothing in particular to looking out the window at the house, as if she was contemplating whether to actually go inside or run away.

He figured that 'running away' was actually winning in her mind.

"Do I have a choice?" she replied, a little harsher than she intended.

"You're still angry with me?" it was a question and a statement. He had hoped the anger wasn't directed at him – anymore. He expected the initial anger and understood it. He didn't try to justify his actions because he knew it had not been fair to keep the secret from her. But she seemed to understand and accept the reason why and as a result the anger seemed to dissipate rather quickly as she began focus on another more potent emotion: regret.

She gave him a quick side glance and sighed, "Not angry, just….look I know why you did it, why you kept it from me, I probably would've done the same if your Mom asked me to, but…we can't do this again. We can't be the people who keep secrets like this from each other."

He nodded in full understanding. She was right. "I know…I know. It won't happen again."

She nodded in acceptance; but still made no move to get out of the car.

Olivia turned to look at sleeping baby Ava in the backseat and whispered, "I should have come sooner…I shouldn't have let the past stop me and now it's too late."

Fitz immediately shook his head. "It's not too late Sweets…it's not. We're here now and there is time."

"Remember before we left the hospital we promised her…we promised her the very best life. And I haven't…" her voice broke off, choked through tears.

Fitz took her hands in his, forcing her blurry vision to focus on him. "Sweets, we ARE giving her the best life we can. We aren't perfect and we can't promise perfection but we are all family who loves her and she will know it. That, I can promise you."

XXXXXXX

"Are you going to stand in the doorway all day? You can come closer, I won't bite you Olivia," her mother gruffly invited.

"I know…I just," She had no idea what she expected to see but somehow even after hearing

Fitz, then her Father describe her mother's advancing illness still had not prepared her for this.

As strained as their relationship was, she always saw her mother as one way - strong, overbearing, unemotional, never frail, and never weak. Now, she had no idea how to reconcile the person she knew with the person lying in the bed before her. If this was anyone else, she would have eagerly gone to them; expressed the deepest of sorrow for their present state, hugged them, cried with them, and even prayed with them. But her mother? It would seem like such a forced pretense to initiate those sentiments and she wasn't even sure her mother would welcome it.

"You're shocked to see me this way," Maya surmised.

"Of course I am. You knew I would be."

"Oh I don't know. I wondered if you would be happy."

"Happy?" shocked and offended by the callous estimation of her character. She came out of the doorway, closer to her mother's bed. "You think I would be happy to see my mother dying? Is that really what you think of me?"

Maya sighed heavily. "Sit down Olivia."

Dropping down in the chair beside the bed, Olivia had only been in her mother's presence for a few minutes and already felt emotionally drained.

"Why are we like this?" Olivia asked, somewhat rhetorically although deep down desperate for an answer. And when her mother said nothing, she carried on. "Why would you not tell me how sick you were? Why keep that from me? And then you burden Fitz with your secret. Why couldn't you just let me in?"

She was breathing heavily by the end of her rant. Maybe she said too much. Her mother was dying and she was railing in on her.

"Are you finished?"

Olivia waived a hand in defeat. Their relationship would always be a disaster and it was too late to salvage it.

"I am not an emotional or sentimental person, you know that. If I were then maybe I could say these things to you in a way that would not hurt but I just don't know how."

Maya grunted in pain as she attempted to situate herself more comfortably in her bed. Olivia rose slightly from her chair to help her but Maya put her off.

"I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't want you here every day fussing and crying over me. I was starting to accept my fate and I did not want you here trying to give me hope. Don't waste your time worrying about me, focus on your family."

"How can you expect me to…."

"Because I don't want it!" she tried to assert but ended up in a near coughing fit. Olivia helped her get a drink of water. Upon hearing the noise, her father and Fitz started to come into the room but Olivia shook her head at both of them and they quickly exited again. She needed more time.

When she finally calmed and leaned back against her bed pillows, Olivia resumed her seat.

"Mom…" she started only to be cut off again.

"No Olivia. I'm ready to go and you need to let me go. It shouldn't be that hard."

"My God, how can you be so cold, so…."

"Real?" she filled in with an implied dare to Olivia to contradict her. "Life is meant to be lived, not wasted on mourning the dead."

"You don't get it. It's not just that you're leaving…you're dying. It's everything else; our entire relationship. Why couldn't we be better? I'm mourning everything about who we are. Don't you wish we could've had more?"

Maya didn't answer her question; instead she began to explain from the beginning. "When your father and I were dating and decided we would marry, we had agreed that we would have no children. We both had our separate careers with the agency. We were both ambitious, eager to move up and climb higher. But then I got pregnant by mistake."

Maya paused to allow her words to sink in.

The agency - another secret, another lie. She was today years old when she found out what her parents really did for a living. And she was sure that even the explanation they gave her now was filled with half-truths, all redacted statements conveniently left out of the conversation. A multitude of thoughts, memories, fragments of information collected over the years were floating in Olivia's head trying to connect to one another and create a full picture.

As an afterthought, she replayed her mother's words - she was a mistake. Funny though, the revelation did not feel like a revelation at all. She must have already subconsciously known that, processed the reality and accepted it.

"Your father, being the amazing and irritating man that he is, was overjoyed at the news and wanted to marry immediately. Unfortunately, it meant that I had to give up everything and become a stay at home mother; a role that I was not prepared for and never truly wanted.

"For so long I resented you Olivia. I resented you being born and changing my life. And when you came, your father absolutely adored you and it made me resent you more. I was jealous of your relationship with your father because I couldn't be the same with you. I just couldn't. It's not who I am.

"I could've gone back to work after you had gotten a little older but by then I no longer had the drive that I had before. I no longer had the passion for the work and I knew I couldn't go back without giving it my all. I blamed you for taking that away from me…for changing who I once was.

"I know I have never been a good mother to you. And you've always wanted me to be more; for us to be what you think is 'normal'. So this is my last chance to do something for you. I'm giving you the gift of my honesty.

"None of this, none of who we are was ever your fault. There was never anything wrong with you. It was me, all me. Our relationship is what I made it and I need you to remember that even when I'm gone….Do not blame yourself for what could've been or should've been."

Olivia remained speechless as an uncontrollable rush of tears overwhelmed her. All her life, all she wanted was a mother who genuinely loved her, cherished her and wanted her. She still wanted it. And it was the one thing her mother could never give.

"I am thankful that you became your father's daughter. Despite my failings, you are beautiful wonderful woman. You have a gorgeous daughter - my granddaughter whom I will never see grow up…that pains me but maybe you'll tell her about me…in a good way. Make up something if you have to," Maya managed a tight smile.

"She has your middle name "Rosemarie". She'll always have a piece of you with her," Olivia offered, feeling that she had to give her mother something; a possible comfort.

"At most I have a few months left. You may think I don't have the right to ask anything of you but I'll always be your momma and that gives me every right," she paused again to measure Olivia's attention on her next words.

"What is it? What can I do?" Olivia prompted.

"I need to see you get married. I need to leave this earth knowing that you are safe and secure in your marriage. It's all I need."

XXXXXXX

"Oh my God that feels so good," she said as her body became drenched in sweat under the intense heat. Her muscles loosened as all the tension drifted away.

"Has it been that long?" Kelsey joked.

"Shut up," Olivia said chuckling as she positioned herself to lie down on the wooden bench in their private steam room. It had been a perfect spa day. She was so glad Kelsey came down to stay with them for a few days. Although her arrival had been a bit comical being that Olivia completely forgot she was coming at the same time Fitz forgot Jackson and the girls were also coming and they almost collided on the door step.

There were a few hiccups in getting everyone situated but overall, Olivia was delighted to have a house full of people with an addition of the two puppies, that Alex and Cassie were determined to give to them since their dog Buttercup had given birth to a full litter.

Their presence had occupied her mind and kept her from dwelling on her personal troubles.

"So where did the nickname come from?" Kelsey asked curiously. She had found it immensely interesting watching Fitz and Olivia in their own habitat; their dynamics and interactions were a joy to watch. Olivia poked one eye open to look at her cousin who kept her eyes closed while smirking at what she knew was the answer to her own question.

"It's just a nickname…a…a term of endearment."

"Mmmm"

"It was something he called me in private at first, but then….well, then he started using it all the time."

"Mmmm"

"I like when he calls me that….It reminds me of things we do and the way he makes me feel."

Kelsey could no longer contain it and burst out in laughter. It felt good to hear Olivia talk so openly about her relationship with Fitz especially with dealing with her PPD. Kelsey regretted that she could not come sooner; she had hoped to be here for the birth. And when she found out how depressed Olivia had been after Ava's birth, she felt even worse for being out of the country.

"So everything is good?"

"You've been asking me that for the past two days and my answer is still the same: YES!"

"Alright, alright damn…but you're not going to tell him about your mother's request?"

Olivia remained silent for several minutes. "What did she say when you saw her yesterday?"

"Pretty much the same thing she always says. I need to stop fucking so many men and settle down; have some kids before my pussy dries up. I need to be more like you. Yadda, yadda, yadda."

"I'm sorry," Olivia said in sincerity. She never liked being compared to anyone else and knew Kelsey didn't appreciate it either.

"Don't worry about it. I expected it," Kelsey paused before adding, "She also asked me to help you get this marriage thing worked out."

"I just…my emotions are all over the place about her. I should WANT to give my mother her dying wish, especially because I WANT it too but part of me wants to defy her for spite; for never loving me like she should have. I don't want to give in to her wishes and I hate that I feel that way. Plus Fitz is super, super busy with this new role. It takes up nearly all of his time. We can't plan a wedding right now. We just….can't."

"Mmmmm"

"Shut. UP!"

"I didn't say anything."

"You said more than enough…New topic."

"Ok…well I had sex with Jax last night."

Clutching the towel to her breasts, Olivia abruptly sat up, smiling at the possibility of a new piece of juicy gossip. "Really?...Jax who's that, some guy you met somewhere. Who is he?"

Kelsey's smile widened. "Oh I forgot you all call Fitz' brother 'Jack', well I like "Jax" much much better."

Olivia's mouth dropped open and she may have gasped but couldn't recall.

XXXXXXX

"You're lying," Jackson said as he struggled to bench press his last set.

"I'm not!" Fitz countered but with a slight smile clearly conveying that his argument was half-hearted. "Don't distract me; you need to finish that last set."

Between two puppies, two bickering pre-teens and a baby, Fitz thought his house had instantly become bedlam, but he loved it. He loved the constant state of activity of a full house and he loved his family. The only challenge was trying to get peace and quiet when he needed to concentrate on work.

Jackson told him that some major renovation work had to be done on the house and instead of staying there amidst all the dust and construction noise and instead of going to a cold hotel, he and the girls preferred to stay with him and Olivia. Fitz extended the warm invitation for them to come anytime and then promptly forgot about it.

He saw the immediate benefit of Kelsey's visit and the improvement in Olivia's mood. He was profoundly thankful. So when Kelsey suggested a spa-day for her, he was more than eager to stay home with Baby Ava, his brother and the girls.

Taking advantage of Ava's nap time, he and Jack decided to get in some exercise in his lower-level home gym.

"Fuck it! I'm done," Jackson said, releasing the weights with a loud clank. Toweling his face, he continued with the original conversation. "You are lying to me and to yourself if you seriously want me to believe that you didn't realize that your beautiful co-star looks exactly like your gorgeous fiancée."

As Fitz continued lifting the weights, he could feel his brothers eyes trained on him, forcing him to respond. "What does it matter?"

Jackson scoffed, "It matters a hell of a lot; especially if you can't be honest with yourself. I read the scripts for the first five episodes, there's some heavy intimacy in there, barely keeping within network TV sex boundaries. It's been a long time since you were in front of the camera, doing sex scenes with an extremely attractive co-star. Last time you didn't handle it so well."

Fitz grunted. He didn't need to be reminded of the past. He knew he foolishly allowed a fascination with more than one female co-star to damage his life. But that was a long time ago; he was older, wiser now and madly in love with Olivia Pope.

"That was a different time and I was a different person."

"Are you sure Olivia will understand?" Jackson tested. Annoyed, Fitz put down the weights and turned to his brother but before he could speak, Jackson continued. "Listen to me for a minute, you and Olivia are from two different worlds. This may seem normal to you but it is and will be completely foreign to her. You understand that most of what you will have to do is pretend bullshit, she won't understand that. Anyone who has seen the dailies knows that you and Marissa are the shit! Everyone is going to love you and want to see you together on and off screen. Olivia's going to have to sit back and watch all of that unfold. Do you get that?"

"I get it Jack. But you are underestimating Olivia. She will understand…she does understand and we will be fine."

Jackson gave him a look severely lacking in confidence. "Just be 100 with her; open, candid – the good, the bad and the ugly of this life. Don't let her be caught off guard and blindsided. She doesn't deserve that."

He went to refill his water bottle from the filter and asked, "You set a date yet?"

"If we had I would've told you."

"What are you waiting for?"

Fitz finally put his own weights down, toweled his face and turned to his brother. "When Olivia's ready we will do it. I'm not rushing her."

"Oh it's HER that's not ready?...Are you sure about that?"

Fitz frowned, wondering why his brother doubted him. "Stop analyzing me Jack. Olivia has a lot going on with the baby and her mother; I can't add planning a wedding on top of that."

"So you've talked to her about it."

"I don't need to."

"Mmmmm."

God he hated when his brother was right. Fitz sigh came out more like a growl. "What do you want me to say Jack?!...YES! I've had crazy sex fantasies involving my co-star and Olivia doin' me at the same time and it's fucking with my head! And YES! I'm getting cold feet about getting married because I want it and then I'm afraid at the same time!...Is that the confession you want to hear?"

Jackson came over and patted Fitz on the back. "Yep that's it baby Brother. I'm proud of you for admitting you're human. Now you owe 100 push-ups for lying."

"Asshole," Fitz laughed, good humor restored and dropped to give 100 as instructed.

After finishing, he sat on the bench to catch his breath. His brother handed him a bottle of water to hydrate.

Moments later, Jackson had his own confession. "In the interest of honesty and admissions, I should tell you that I slept with Kelsey last night."

Mouth full of water, Fitz stared, blinked and stared some more. His throat tightened and he couldn't swallow; water spewed all over the place as he choked and gasped for air.

XXXXXXX

"If you feel the need to talk about it we can," Kelsey said as they looked over menus at lunch. Since she told Olivia about her and Jackson, Olivia talked about any and everything except the main thing that she knew she truly wanted to talk about. Thankfully, no conversation was needed while they got their hair and nails done.

Olivia sighed heavily. Speaking her thoughts out loud, she asked "How did this happen?"

"Well that first night when everyone else went to bed we stayed up and got to know each other. I really like him; he's wonderful to talk to."

"Did he or did you…."

"I did. I kissed him first. But after that it was all him…all him." Kelsey smiled and looked away, no doubt recalling every detail of that night. "God, it was good…I think it's been a long time for him."

The waiter suddenly appeared and Olivia couldn't think what to order. She ended up getting the same dish as her cousin, hoping by the time it arrived she would actually have an appetite to eat the food.

After the waiter collected their menus and walked away, Olivia started, "I really just…I don't know what to say."

"Say whatever you feel. You know me; I'm completely open with you Liv."

"He's a married man with children, Kelsey."

"And a dog…Yes, I do know that."

"What about his wife, Gina."

"Listen Liv, it was just sex. That's it. It was great, it was fun. We're attracted to each other. Sometimes you just need a human connection, you know? Someone to make you feel something; to take the edge off the loneliness. You understand?"

Olivia nodded, trying to accept what happened under her own roof. "So it's going nowhere?"

"Well….I'm sure we'll have sex again before I leave but after that…" Kelsey shrugged.

"Oh my God!"

"To be honest Liv, I think he needs to go back to his wife and I told him so. He really loves her. He doesn't want a divorce and likely she doesn't either. They both just need to admit they still want each other."

"Does he know that's how you feel? What if he wants more?" Olivia kept thinking of Jackson's devastation after Sophia ended their relationship. She didn't think she could handle knowing that her cousin broke his heart too.

"He does. We've talked. We're both adults and we both know what this means and doesn't mean."

"I don't know it just all seems so quick… sudden."

Kelsey paused before speaking to allow their food to be placed in front of them. "Thank you," she said to the waiter. She sighed as she watched Olivia look at her food with a frown.

"Haven't you ever…..I don't know," Kelsey struggled to explain and started again. "Haven't you ever met someone and that first look or the first time you touched there was some type of sexual energy you couldn't quite shake off. I'm not talking about some love at first sight bullshit. It's not love. I mean something more instinctual, electricity connecting you two like magnets…And even after you first meet, you can't stop thinking about that person."

"Mmmm", Olivia considered her words.

"And please don't say Fitz," Kelsey said rolling her eyes as she took a bite of food.

Olivia rolled her eyes back. "I wasn't going to say Fitz." They ate in silence as Olivia considered Kelsey's words.

It was minutes later when she finally spoke again. "Well…. I guess I have felt that way before." As Kelsey clenched her chest in mock surprise, Olivia was tempted to throw her napkin at her face.

"You know how Fitz loves to barbeque for people," she started slowly, still hesitant about revealing very private information. "Well a few weeks ago, Fitz had a pool party for the cast and one of the Directors came, Rafael or Rafe, he's Cuban and my God, he was beautiful…everything about him – his face, his body, his voice, his personality - was just…" she shook her head unable to continue without rekindling those feelings again. "The entire party, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I had to keep my shades on to make sure no one noticed me staring at him. Several times I noticed him staring back at me too. He was definitely attracted and it felt….exciting.

"That night, when we were having sex, Rafe's image kept popping in my head. I couldn't get it out. I was fantasizing about fucking him while I was with Fitz and it felt so good and….and I woke up feeling so guilty. I could barely look Fitz in the eye. I felt horrible….And it's happened several times since then."

Olivia ended her confession with her head in her hand. She never thought she would reveal that to anyone, ever. She would've gladly taken that secret fantasy to her grave.

"Maybe I'm not as ready for this marriage thing as I thought. I mean what kind of wife fantasizes about her husband's co-workers."

"Every single wife who has any sexuality left in her body and whose husband has hot co-workers."

XXXXXXX

Before they left last week, Alex and Cassie helped her rekindle her need for swimming. They wanted to swim nearly every day and she joined them each time. "Where did you learn to swim like that?" Alex had asked her and she explained that she had been on the swim team in high school and college.

After they left, she continued the practice. She did lap over lap, stretching, pulling exerting herself; exercising those muscles she hadn't used in a while. She swam in Catalina but never like this; there, it was always for recreation; this felt like therapy.

When she finished it was late and she re-entered the world of a quiet house. Ava's sleep patterns were changing, she was sleeping longer through the night, so Olivia knew she wouldn't be up for another feeding for quite some time.

The puppies – Sheba and Egypt – followed her through the house, whimpering for attention but she put them in their pen for the night in a designated section off the wing of the kitchen.

She showered, changed into lingerie. She didn't expect him home until the early morning hours. He had warned her that the meeting with his father, brother and other studio execs may run late, especially if it included dinner. The last time he had one of these meetings he didn't get home until 3AM.

She sighed and, missing him already, found herself in his study. It seemed like his presence was much stronger here. This is where he did his business, where he rehearsed, meditated and spent countless hours trying to connect with his character. It was his seat of power.

She walked through the room aimlessly, touching nothing and everything – books on shelf after shelf. Had he read all of these books? Every genre of publication was present – historical fact, fiction, English literature, mystery, romance, instruction, biographies. Her hands glided over the spine of the books, then his chair, then his desk; she could feel him everywhere.

What was she doing here? It was late and she should be asleep but she was restless and too hyped up to calm.

So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice his presence. She heard movement from behind her and turned to find him leaning against the doorway, staring at her.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi….What are you doing here?" She was surprised that he made it home so early. It was barely midnight.

"It's my office," he easily responded, as he removed his suit jacket and laid it on the sofa back. He started unbuttoning his shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves.

"You're supposed to be with your Dad and your Brother and all those other people."

He heard something in the tone of her voice and quirked an eyebrow. Didn't she know that he would always prefer to be here with her?

"I've been with them for hours and now I'm here….with you." He said as he took two steps in her direction.

She blushed at his attention and bit her lip. "Great job today Mr. President," she said with a warm smile. He had taken her and Ava down to the set today, shown them around and allowed them to watch a couple of scenes. Fitz was determined to include Olivia as much as possible. He could not allow her to feel like an outsider as if she were not a part of this world he occupied. She was part of everything with him, in every way.

"Oh I like that say it again." He continued to advance upon her.

Her smile widened as she coyly backed away. "Mr. President….You must have more work to do, I'll leave you to it," she teased.

She tried to skirt past him and he caught her from behind. As he pressed her backside against him, one spaghetti strap of her night gown slipped and exposed her breast. With one hand, he cupped it, while the other hand kept her pressed against his enveloping hardness.

She could feel her nipples harden under his palm and her insides begin to melt; she almost moaned from his embrace. And she did moan when he began kissing and sucking at her neck and behind her ear.

"You showered without me."

"Well I was swimming."

"You swam without me."

"Next time I'll let you know and you can join me."

She was becoming breathless, as the heat of his palm continued to penetrate through the thin silk of her night gown.

"You see that desk over there," he said in her ear, directing her attention to a new proposition. It took a full minute for it to register what he meant.

"Fitz you're crazy….. We can't." The idea was exciting; enticing and extremely arousing, yet she hesitated.

"We can and we will."

"Fitz…" she managed as she broke free from his embrace, replaced the strap on her night gown and took his hand, ready to take him to bed but he wasn't budging.

"I have spent the last several hours charming up old men and their heavily perfumed wives for investment money when all I wanted was to come home to you….to feel you…to taste you."

He had her back in his arms and moved with her dancing her back to his desk until she felt the edge of it against her ass. "From now on when I'm working at this desk, I want to imagine you spread wide, open for me."

Then his phone went off and she was positive that at this time of night, it must be something or someone important - an emergency. "You should get that," she suggested as he continued kissing and sucking her neck.

"No."

It stopped ringing momentarily, and then it started again.

"Fitz, we should stop."

"No."

"Fitz."

"No," he wouldn't be deterred. Whoever was calling would kill the mood and he would rather die than let that happen right now.

She pushed against him until he backed away and she had his attention. "Fitz, stop….answer the phone."

He took the phone from his pocket, without looking at the caller; he turned it off and tossed it on the couch. "I can't stop...are you sure you want to?"

She bit her lip and realized that the gesture was meant to symbolize that she was more important than anything else he had going on. She would always be more important.

She pulled down both straps of her negligee and it pooled at her feet, leaving her completely naked in front of him. "No."

He smiled at the sight and like a predator with his prey now caught and compliant, he quickly advanced on his prize. His lips crashed against hers and they both opened wide to accept the other – dueling, sucking, tasting. Clued in on each other's desire, the give and take produced an eclectic energy and the passion fevered them.

His hands were all over; worshipping her body; alternating between gentle glide to intense gropes. And then abruptly she ended the kiss and taking in his look of surprise, she sat on the edge of the desk and opened her legs in invitation. "You said wide open, right?"

"I did."

When he came closer, she immediately reached for his pants, anxious to remove his clothing. But he had other ideas and removed her hands, "Lean back," he directed and she obeyed. He went down on his knees and used both of his hands to open her legs wider as his tongue went to work.

"Oh God," she gasped at contact. She was splintering, nerves pulsating at all different ends of her entire body; emotions climbing higher and higher. Convulsing, she nearly bucked off the desk. She was thankful he continued to hold her legs because they were weak now and she could no longer support them.

Over and over she kept losing her breath, struggling for air and when his tongue entered her wetness, her eyes rolled back into her head. When she tried to move he gripped her thighs harder, effectively holding her in place – she would move when he allowed it. "Please," she begged, not quite knowing what she was begging for.

Fitz was determined for her to come in his mouth. When he felt her on the brink, he deliberately slowed his pace, giving feather like licks, to bring her back from the edge. She was close and they both knew it but he needed it to last longer. When he felt her calm a bit, he went back in; plunging his tongue in as deep as possible, withdrawing, circling her clit and delving back in again – the rhythm drove her insane and her legs began to shake.

"Oh God…I can't…I can't….FUCK!" she screamed before her moans filled the entire room, echoing off of the walls and becoming a melody to his ears.

She was spent, exhausted but before she could recover and regain her sensibilities, she felt him enter her swiftly, deeply. Her eyes opened and widened at him filling her, claiming her with the most wonderful sensation. She had no time to be worried whether he would or could hurt her; he didn't give her a chance to panic out of shyness or fear of the unexpected.

When he kissed her and she tasted herself on his lips, she invited him deeper inside. "Oh shit, Sweets, I'm so deep…am I hurting you…does it feel good…should I stop?"

She captured his face in her hands, she loved the concern he had for her and it was evident for him to see.

She smiled, "Don't you dare stop…not now."

Not ever, she thought.

XXXXXXX

Dr. Olivia Pope,

Your proposal and application submitted last year on a conservation strategy for the protection of animal life in Catalina Island has been reviewed.

We are pleased to inform you that the funding you requested for an extended animal research and preservation facility has been granted.

The USC Wrigley Institute of Environmental Studies has agreed to sponsor the project and secure funding from corporations supportive of this venture.

Please find the attached outline of next steps including construction and staffing…..

…..Construction scheduled to begin in the fall…..

The department heads of the institute are requesting an in-person meeting and tour in Catalina; an opportunity to discuss specifics…..

….Contact as soon as possible to confirm your receipt of this approval letter and dedication to this project…..

(A/N: Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time. Still working on finishing my stories. Based on what I have prepared, it looks like "In the Wind" is next up for right now...hopefully.)