#totn

"Huh, she's gotten better with them."

Olivia half-laughed, "Yeah, it's an election year. There's no press here but just this one stop will cause people to talk and we get the entire town in the bag come November."

Jake looked at her through the corner of his eye and lightly shook his head. "So… how have you been?"

"Busy with Mellie," she replies abruptly. She hears crowd laugh in the background as she turned towards him, trying to figure out his angle. She was waiting for an explanation on everything, his divorce, resignation, how he could walk out like he did, but didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

"Do you want to go somewhere quieter? Well, relatively quieter, there's only one bar in Blackstone."

Sam's Bar had a creaky front door and an old school jukebox playing old school music in the background. The bar had few customers on a weeknight, mingling among themselves in their own space. Jake got up to get drinks for the both of them and Olivia was left alone with her thoughts. She felt anxious, an emotion she didn't usually feel with Jake. There was a gap between them and Olivia didn't know what would and wouldn't cross the line. They had been making polite small talk about the weather on the walk over- the weather! This was a man who she thought she knew better than anyone else and believed that was a two- way street. He seen her, literally and metaphorically, in ways that she didn't show to most people and now it was like they were strangers.

As her eyes wandered, she heard a group of middle aged men laugh out loud. This was a bad idea; someone could snap a picture and with social media at its pinnacle, within minutes everyone would see the two of them together. Anything could blowback on the President and with her history with Jake, Jake's show stopping wedding (and divorce), then his disappearance, Olivia didn't know how this would play out it the media.

Jake walked back over to her and seemed to pick up on her nerves, trying to calm her with a hesitant smile, "Don't worry, I was worried about what the townspeople would do at first, but no one really cares, and besides Sam would probably kick out anyone who tries to take pictures." Olivia relaxed for a moment and took a swig of her drink to distract herself.

"Right, so-""How's-"Olivia and Jake started at the same time. For the love of God, this was getting cliché like the movies.

"Ok, I'll start," Jake said with a growing smile, "how's Mellie? QPA?"

And before long they were falling into the groove they were used to. Laughing, catching up on gossip and the dirty secrets of D.C., the drinks kept coming and the walls went down. "Two peas in a pod, sharing inside jokes," his ex-wife once said.

"Oh yeah the intern was so embarrassed. His face turned all red and Mellie was trying to make it less awkward and pretend like nothing happened," Olivia said, wincing as the strong alcohol burned as it went down her throat. Jake was laughing, rather intoxicated too, when Sam shouted out last call. Olivia realized how long she had been sitting with Jake, well into the night. She had completely ignored her phone, thus ignoring many calls and texts, but the one that caught her eye at the top- We're on our way back to WH, figured you're staying the night here. Have fun with Jake. –Mellie. That sobered her up very quickly and she started rushing to make calls. How could they just leave? Where is she supposed to stay? There was so much she had to do back in D.C. she couldn't just stay here. She couldn't even drive up there now.

Jake saw the cool, calm, collected Olivia leave and started to sense an upcoming freak out and offered to drive before Olivia reminded him that he had been drinking too and their blood alcohol concentration was well beyond the limit.

Wanting to help, wanting to fix things for her, he didn't even realize until the words were out of his mouth and the offer was up in the air- "You can stay with me."

There was a pause that seemed to last for an hour before Jake stumbled on, half- drunk, half- surprised at himself, "I mean, it's pretty late and you can stay in the guest bedroom and leave in the morning." At this point it was too late and she was too tired to consider any other options.

When they got to Jake's house, Olivia took in her surroundings; the house was spacious and modestly decorated. Everything was new, but she could see the bits and pieces of Jake in them.

Jake offered her a change of clothes and showed her where the guest bedroom was. Olivia stood in front of the mirror and reflected on the last 24 hours. She was happy that Jake was happy but it still felt like something was missing. They have gone through so much together and so many phases of relationship, dating, friends, dating (again), Quinn calling them an old married couple, Command/Chief of Staff/ National Security Director, then most recently strangers, but a couple of drinks can't rebuild a friendship or relationship. Tomorrow, she would go back to the dark pit of D.C. and Jake would return to his school and perhaps they would occasionally text to make plans to meet again.

She shook her head and quickly exited the bedroom before being hit with 6 feet and 1 inch of a man whose body she was very familiar with.

Olivia looked up and suddenly she was transported back 4 years; the two of them were getting ready for bed, 2 nights before Jake was supposed to get married, if only she had known then the triumphs and disappointments that were coming. It seemed like everything was the same as Jake still looked at Olivia with the love like he did before but everything was different-like a gust of cold air blasted in, killing the mood-

"Uh, sorry I was just going to get some water."

"Oh… glasses are in the first cabinet on the right when you walk in the kitchen."

Olivia woke to her phone ringing, not unlike other days, but other days she's comfortable in her apartment in D.C., only 10 minutes away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, ready to fix another crisis. This time it took her a minute to get oriented to where she was before she picked up the phone.

"Olivia!" Olivia groaned, she really didn't need Mellie in her ear at 5 in the morning, especially as she was trying to fight the hangover from last night.

"Mellie, yes I'm about to get on the road, I can get to the White House by 8:30, before Ethan even brings the donuts," in a biting tone, partially because of the hangover pounding in her head and partially annoyed at the assistant not even in her vicinity. Some of Cyrus's Chief of Staff tendencies had rubbed off on her.

"Oh no, no, no, no"

"What?!" God, what has gotten into Mellie?

"The snow storm remember? It's about to hit D.C. and Virginia and you shouldn't be out on the road. Don't worry we'll be fine here, you stay in Blackstone and make your way up tomorrow or Thursday."

"Mel- Madam Pres-"

"No buts! I'd rather you didn't die on the road so just relax; you haven't taken a vacation in so long, maybe Blackstone is nice."

"No, there's nothing in Blackstone, I should be coming back to work."

"I'm sure there's something or someone there to entertain you. If it makes you feel better, I'll email you some things that you can take a look at if you have time." Olivia sighed in exasperation. How was this happening to her? Right when she needs to be in D.C. to work on this bill, she's stuck in the middle of a snowstorm.

She had the worst timing.

Olivia was pleasantly surprised at how many hidden gems Blackstone had to offer. She was lounging on the couch, with a takeout box in her hand waiting for Jake to grab the hot sauce before starting the movie, reflecting on her mini-vacation.

Earlier that morning she asked Jake if he was ok with her staying until the roads were clear and as always, a brief look of surprised crossed his face, but was quickly covered up and he was ready to accommodate. Jake still had to go to work as it was only lightly snowing but told her to check out the town square if she wanted to get out of the house. After breakfast, she went back to bed for the first time in months to get some more sleep.

Everything seemed to be within walking distance, so in the afternoon after she had checked her email (she couldn't resist), Olivia took his advice and went out, stopping at a cafe to pick up something small to take to Jake while he was at practice afterschool.

She walked into the gym, intrigued as she saw a group of teenage boys grouped around the former spy; she was reminded of another time Jake had been a leader, stepping up to the plate as Command and how as much as she had wanted Quinn home, she knew the young brunette was safe with Jake in charge. Soon one distracted high school kid noticed her and, like wildfire, the whispers spread before one of them shouted out "Coach, you have a visitor!" Jake turned around and his eyes lit up.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt. I just stopped by a cafe and bought some doughnuts and wanted to give them to you."

"Oh thanks," he saw the amused smirks out of the corner of his eye and turned to the teens, "Guys, why don't you start warming up?" Unfortunately they were reluctant to start, all of them thinking about the headlines from a few years ago with the woman standing in front of them and the former President, confirming their sordid affair. And now that woman was here and seemed to be awfully friendly with someone who had caused schoolwide gossip the moment he stepped foot on the school, but now was a normal sight. It wasn't until Jake blew his whistle and ordered, "I meant now!" that they got up, with a new set of gossip ready to be spilled during AP Bio.

"Nosy kids…" he muttered.

Olivia smirked, "Ok old man, how's your team doing?"

"We've only had a couple practices and this weather isn't helping, but they're alright."

"Yeah, the principal was telling us yesterday. With good coaching, I'm sure they'll be great," a smile crept up on her face as Olivia turned to him with an innocent expression, "Know any good coaches?"

Jake rolled his eyes as he elbowed her, "Haha, you're hilarious. You can stay, if you'd like."

"Oh, I can't, I have to go back hom- to your house- to finish reading over some things Mellie forwarded me."

"Yeah, of course, America never sleeps," there was a split second of unease that came with the reminder of his past, before "but hey I can pick up some Chinese food for dinner if you'd like."

So she went back to a place she'd only been for 2 days but surprisingly felt very homely-in a way that was different from the houses she had before, namely the Vermont one that had been built up and glorified before being met with harsh bouts of reality- and tried to get some work done but her mind was drifting off every so often. She recognized the familiarity, and felt the warmth even though it was the coldest time of the year, as they slowly reconnected like on island when it was just the two of them, but this time it seemed as though there was another layer that needed to be peeled back.

"One Extra Hot Hot sauce," Jake said, shaking Olivia out of her reverie "Did you choose a movie?"

"Yup, Miss Congeniality"

"Oh my god, nothing has changed, Liv," the nickname dancing off his lips, a sharp contrast from the "Boss" or "Ma'am" that he'd been addressing her as the last time he saw her, "we've watched this a million times." Jake said shaking his head, but reaching for the remote to press play.

2 hours of watching Sandra Bullock kick-ass, well Jake was watching her kick-ass while still critiquing her technique, Olivia was watching Jake as she thought about how things weren't awkward anymore but still felt like they were just starting to break down the walls that had been building up over the last few years.

She had shifted towards him as the movie went on and had managed to get up close against him, cuddling into Jake's body as the snow fell outside, and if anyone had asked then, she would've said it was because it was too cold. But the heater was on and it was just the two of them, with no one, Command, her father, or Fitz there to stop her as she leaned closer to him and stared at his lips before looking up into those deep green eyes, daring him to make the first move.

His lips brushed against hers and it was like it was in slow motion; the room got warm and it wasn't the heater protecting from the outside cold. And maybe it was them being a little wine drunk, or maybe it was the reminder that it didn't matter where in the world they were or what position they held but for Olivia and Jake, home was a person. Home was a person that had been gone for months now and now maybe it was the stars that aligned so that Olivia and Jake had the opportunity to go back to being, well, Olivia and Jake, and that night they were reminded that it wasn't just conversation and trust that they missed from one another. Their lips met again, more eager to fill what had been missing for so long, and that night they remembered.

Pretty soon, the storm calmed, the snow started to melt, and the two had to return to reality. Jake didn't wake up alone for the first time in a while, sometime that night they had made it to the bedroom, but as he looked over to the woman next to him, he didn't know what to think. He slowly shifted away, careful not to wake her as he grabbed his discarded clothes and made his way to his kitchen. Did this one night change anything between them? Nights like this hadn't before, but it wasn't a conversation he was ready to have and wasn't sure if she was ready either.

Olivia fell asleep cuddling, pressed against Jake's chest, but when she woke to an empty bed she wondered for a moment if it was all a dream. If she was being honest, she had woken up confused like this, after a passionate night only to wake up to find it all was just a dream, a few times after Jake left. But this time it was real; this time the space next to her was still warm. And yet there she was- alone. She stared up at the ceiling with a million thoughts flying through her mind before finally finding the courage to get up. She could hear the rustling in the kitchen and when she walked through the doorway, caught Jake's eye when he looked up from the stove and flashed her a polite smile. Ok we're going to talk about this right? Maybe he just doesn't know how to bring it up.

That morning was filled with casual, tranquil amity like they had been getting dressed and ready for the day together for years. Jake was driving her up to the nation's capital, making it a road trip, much more pleasant than the last one they went on before she stood up and admitted to being the President's mistress. No, this one was filled with pre-popped popcorn, a road trip playlist filled with surprisingly a lot more Niall Horan than Jake expected, and a lot of quiet laughter. Olivia knew something was on Jake's mind because she did know him as she had said before. They were both smiling but they were also the two best people at wearing masks.

Over the last few days a lot of walls had come down, and it was as if their friendship was stronger than ever, but during the comfortable silences Jake reminded himself that this isn't her life, and he has to protect himself.

Finally, they entered familiar territory; a place that they had each taken a turn controlling from the depths of Wonderland or the White House, but for Jake was now simply an old memory, a touristy city that held secrets around every corner. After a making a call to Quinn, the two of them pulled in to the QPA building so that Jake could visit all of them for the first time since leaving.

They spent the rest of the morning catching up with the Quinn, Huck, Charlie and Abby, with the redhead and brunette making knowing eye contact every time Olivia and Jake shared a smile from across the table.

"Oh, we better head out. I need to get to the White House and check on Mellie. I'm just going to run to the restroom real quick."

Olivia was washing her hands when Abby barged in. "Ok, what was all that about?"

"What?"

"That! You leave for D.C. and you're not talking to Jake at all and now you're back and you're- well, you're happy! And it's a good look on you!"

"I don't know what to tell you Abby, it was just a mini vacation. It was surprisingly nice being down there. "

"I'm not talking about Blackstone," Abby said recognizing the Olivia Pope style of spin and ignoring what's right in front of her.

"Oh, Jake. We talked a lot and maybe slept together last night," Olivia said, rushing through the last part of her sentence, walking back into the QPA foyer.

"Wow, are you going to get back together?"

"I mean, I don't know what this means for us." She was still waiting to get a moment for them to talk about what happened the night before and how they had gotten there. It was ironic, usually she never wanted to talk about their long and complicated history but this time she wanted to know, she was open to seeing where this could go.

Meanwhile-

Quinn turned to Jake, her eyes lighting up and a smirk creeping on her lips, "Did something happen? And don't even try to lie to me." He had trained her too well and all this time running QPA and dealings with stubborn clients made her internal lie detector pretty good.

Jake sighed, knowing he wasn't getting out of this, "We slept together."

"So now …"

Jake turned away from the interrogation, "So, nothing. "

Quinn scoffed, "Really, don't you still love her? You can make your move now. What's stopping you?"

"Of course I still love her," he shook his head and paused, "but she's here and probably thinks it was nothing, just a normal Tuesday, or a last hurrah maybe."

"What if she doesn't think so?"

Jake looked over at her with his eyes just begging for her not to push. It wasn't a road he wanted to go down again; falling in love with the formidable Olivia Pope only to be left out in the cold. "I doubt that; we've slept together before without any emotion being involved, nothing is gonna change between me and Olivia."

"Do you want to get back together?" Abby said, trying to catch up with Olivia.

"I- Maybe? You know me, I'm not saying we should jump into anything, but everything felt so real, you know? Like we actually have a shot this time. We don't have to worry about my father or-" Olivia quieted when she heard her name.

"I'm not getting back together with Olivia."

"Jake," Quinn said with a knowing tone.

"Really, nothing is going to change."

She really does have the worst timing.