"Something Was Wrong"

PROLOGUE:

FLASHBACK: 20 YEARS AGO

If I could - I would teach you all the things I never learned.
And I'd help you cross the bridges that I burned.
Yes, I would…

The eleven year old Olivia hummed along to the Ray Charles version of the song. It was one she had heard her parents hum and even duet occasionally. Now, she subconsciously maintained the happy memories when reaching into her bag pack to begin her homework. Slowly, she brought out each textbook, heaving with a loud huff when dropping them onto the table before her.

Mrs. Greene had been extra harsh on the sixth graders, probably because she was no longer a 'Mrs'. Olivia rolled her eyes at the reminder of how she had forgotten her place as a teacher when ranting to the math teacher, Ms. Morris about the divorce, in front of the class.

Anyway, Olivia knew she couldn't afford to frustrate her anymore. That was why she now gripped her HB pencil and began to work through her English writing assignment. She'd already read ahead and was close to finishing Treasure Island. This made it easy to get ahead on the book report.

Fifteen minutes in and she had finished her character analysis but before she could move onto the setting, the door was flung open. Olivia hesitantly reached up and pulled down the headphones, looking up to welcome her mother.

"Liv" her mother gasped.

Olivia grimaced, noticing the surprising frenzied state of her mother. Her hair was in disarray and her eyes were wild with worry. She watched as her mother huffed and flung her bag to the armchair and raced to the sink for a glass of water.

"Hey mum, how was work?" Olivia asked, frowning with concern. Her creased brows only deepened when no answer was given.

She watched as her mother gulped down the water and wiped across her lips with the back of her hand. "Is your father back yet?" Maya questioned, finally flickering back to her daughter. All the while she strained herself to remain composed.

"No, he's still at work" Olivia turned in the chair, training her mother with her perceptive eyes. Something was wrong. The smile her mother adorned was falsified. Now, she watched as her mother placed the glass down and walked across the room and into the closet. Second ticked by and then she emerged again, leading down a blue suitcase. "Where are you going?" Olivia murmured and stood from the chair, crossing her arms and pressing herself against the wall.

"Not just me Livvie" her mother finally snapped her head up to face her. The mask flailing as she watched her daughter anxiously bite her nails. Usually Maya would berate her but she was too preoccupied with the doubts rushing through her thoughts.

Olivia waited as her mother inched closer and leaned down to her level. "You're coming too baby" her mother purred softly and stroked down her cheek.

"Wh-what? Where?" Olivia gasped, her trepidation intensifying.

Maya forced another grin and brought her hand up to the young frightful daughter. "It's a surprise" she urged, fighting for patience. "One that you will definitely love"

"But my homework-"

"Don't worry about that" Maya shook her head and reached down for Olivia's hand. She tugged gently but Olivia knew there was something more. She could feel it in her gut that her mother was keeping something from her. You don't just have a pre-packed bag and you don't just decide to up and leave. Something was wrong.

"What about dad…?" Olivia persisted.

Maya's grin widened but her eyes darkened further. Her patience was withering as was her time to escape, which was why she briefly considered going alone. "I already called him" Maya assured her but this only seemed to confuse her daughter. "Aw come on baby, you've been complaining about how boring it is here"

Well she had a point there.

They lived in the suburbs but their neighbourhood was located next to the care home. That meant that the kids had to be quiet and proper. Regardless of how much she loved reading and listening to music, she knew there was more to the world. Also, the last holiday they'd had was three years ago and it was visiting their grandmother in Virginia.

"I-I haven't even packed" Olivia wavered, considering the possibility of being taken somewhere new in the world; Paris…? Mexico…? England…? Brazil…?

Maya could see that her daughter was hooked and knew that she just needed a little push. After chancing one last glance towards the time, she looked back to Olivia and pulled her towards the entrance. "I packed a few things but we can buy you new clothes"

"But-"

The mother stopped and whirled around, bending down to grab Olivia by the shoulders. "Where is your sense of adventure?" she pressed. An excited grin stretched across Olivia's lips, mirroring her mother's.

"I wish dad was coming" Olivia muttered. Guilt piqued for Maya but she gulped it down. There was no room for regret in this business. Once you make a choice, it's your decision and you can't turn back, which is what she had done.

Mother and daughter now hand in hand. Two suitcases following after them as they strolled out of the front door, towards the parked car.

"It's just me and you baby" Maya said happily when throwing their bags into the back seat.

Olivia's fear struck at the change in her tone. Her happiness diminished and she was more apprehensive when her mother kissed her cheek and repeated. "Just me and you"

However, Olivia forced a strained smile and decided to trust her. After all, this was her mother. If she couldn't trust her, who could she trust?

-PRESENT-

1600 hours, Iran, found Olivia crouched at the edge of the marsh cliff, under the blaring sun. She watched over the army base, binoculars in hand with her feet planted firmly against the unstable rock. 48 hours – no sleep had her frantic and somehow more alert.

Wide eyes searched over the masses loading planes, others gathered in a small group as they played football while others cleaned their weapons. The town was a few miles further but most of the privates had been given a day off.

Olivia sighed in boredom but her breath hitched when she heard the scuffle behind her. Relaxing her shoulders, she casually let go of the binoculars, allowing them to hang loosely around her neck. Then the other hand slipped down to her black boots.

Within seconds, the retrieved knife was slicing the air as she stood and whirled around, facing her attacker. Only the move was anticipated as a hand gripped her wrist, swiftly stopping her.

"You're too tense"

Olivia groaned at the familiar voice and groaned again at the familiar face before her. "I'm not a morning person. You know that" she sneered and stalked back to the edge, falling back down to a crouch. The knife slipped back into place.

"Here"

She turned and glanced up to her visitor. "Thank God" she gasped and hastily took the coffee cup, like it was her holy grail. She greedily brought it up to her hungry lips and slurped.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope, slurping is undomesticated behaviour" her mother disapproved with a deep frown.

Her daughter swerved around and pushed herself up to her feet, meeting her mother's steely glare with ease. "So is killing but we threw morality out of the window a long time ago" Olivia muttered and stormed back to the Jeep behind them. "You do not get to talk about the rights and wrongs" she added and turned to face her mother who had followed her.

Maya looked on sadly at the shell of the person supposedly her daughter. One hand now rested on Olivia's cheek as they locked gazes. "You know I could handle this. For you. If you want" she offered, crushing her daughter's hope for some humanity – some regret – just something to be shown.

"I don't need you to handle anything for me" Olivia snapped and moved away from her touch.

Maya's hand fell limply to her side but she followed after her. "You're so angry all the time" she commented worriedly but the words only frustrated her daughter further. "What happened in Berezovsky shouldn't-"

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Olivia pleaded, loading the rest of the apparatus into the back of the Jeep. The task was helping keep her mind of what had haunted her nights. They had done things…unspeakable things but she hadn't expected – It had never been a problem…until now.

Every time she saw her mother, all she could see was that night. That night where her mother was holding up the Glock 42, wearing a confident smirk. Olivia could simply hear the loud bang crackling through the air as the son jumped, caught in the fire.

It was the first time Olivia thought of her mother as a killer – as ridiculous as it may seem.

"Do you know the plan?" Maya demanded, falling back into business mode.

She faced her and placed her hands on her hips. "We've gone over it a thousand times. I'm perfectly capable" Olivia replied, now hating that she was being undermined and second-guessed. She had always followed through and never made a mistake. There was no cause of doubt.

"Olivia…"

"Just don't" her daughter snapped and ran her fingers through her hair.

Maya watched her for a second before nodding in compliance. "Fine" she relented, knowing that she needed this done. Then after another second passed, she handed her the duffel bag, the new ID badge and passport. "Just keep your cover and update me"

"Don't I always" Olivia said.

Her tone irritated Maya and she grimaced, crossing her arms and glaring. "If you have something to say…"

"Not now" Olivia finalised, thus ending the conversation as she jumped off the edge and ran towards her new mission.

CHAPTER 1

Silence.

That was all there was.

An eerie silence that left echoed shuffles of boots scraping against the dust. The three agents were not supposed to be seen or heard. They had been chosen privately and because they were the best. The mission they had been sent on was urgent and they had to remain out of sight.

Agent Foster, Agent Ballard and Agent Grant.

Agent Foster craned his head and brought up two fingers to his comrades attention. They both watched attentively as he wagged them towards the building ahead.

Both agents nodded and pressed themselves against the crumbling walls when shuffling forwards. They had been patrolling the area for weeks and being away from base camp was both nerve-wracking and exciting.

It was evident in how Agent Grant jumped at the tap on his shoulder. He inclined his head towards his best friend and watched as he indicated towards one of the worn out bridge. Jake gave an inquiring nod towards it and Fitz offered an agreed nod but watched regrettably as his friend headed towards the direction.

No words needed to be shared

Agent Grant then realised that he had been left alone. Foster had moved ahead and Ballard had chosen where he would search. He was better at moving forward but before taking another step, he froze at the sound of a child's cry.

The sound broke through the silence, then it was doubled with more cries and shouts. He glanced around but found nothing out of sight. He was in the middle of an empty street, sun beating down on him alone.

He bent down and knew that he couldn't ignore the sound, regardless of his orders. "Dammit" he hissed through clenched teeth as his fingers tightened around the gun as he marched towards the cries. As he closed in, he noticed the run down shack of a home and it seemed that was the origin of the sound.

He readied himself and swept over his surroundings once more before taking another step. Only, he was suddenly knocked down to the ground, rumbling beneath him as a loud, earth shattering crash broke out. Glass shattered, the fragments falling down on him and his saviour, scattering around them. Both closed their eyes to prevent from getting any in their eyes.

"You have to move" she urged, pushing at his chest. He blinked but couldn't focus past the aching burn from where his head hit the rocky ground. "You have to move!" the angelic voice screamed louder at him and the heavy weight on his chest lifted.

Somehow, he found the strength to scramble to his knees and clamber further away. He stopped, slumping and resting against the wall, breathing heavy and frantically. Finally he opened his eyes again, only to be pushed to the ground.

They were hiding behind a burnout car and he looked under the space, watching booted feet of the attackers march across.

Defeat hit him as he released what he assumed was his last breath. Only, he found warmth as hands began to trail up the back of his neck. Gently fingers pried off the helmet expertly and set it aside before him. "What…?" the barely audibly question remained on his lips as she turned him over.

The female voice closed in to his ear. "There was a mole" she spoke, purposefully brushing her lips against his ear and leaving him with a strange warm sensation. "Someone who got their hands on the NSA files and found out where we were sighted" she added and he tried to focus on the words and the situation, rather than how compelling she sounded. "There were never any hostages"

He tried to fight against the darkness and the unconsciousness that slowly built. He wanted to see her; see the person that had saved him; the person that was now straddling him. He listened to her whispered curse and frowned in worry.

"What?" he rasped, suddenly acknowledging the burn down his arm and his back. The twisting pain had him arching his back but she held him down.

"We need to get you on the table. I don't have the right equipment" she informed him and placed her hands on his chest, trailing over his body and trying to find any more injuries. She assessed him with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows, all of which Fitz couldn't see. His mind was trapping him and the pain was distracting.

"What?" Fitz repeated as it was the most intelligent thing he could think of.

Another curse left the sweet soft voice. "There's risk of compression onto the lungs so I can't wait for a stretcher" she said and leaned in, swarming Fitz's senses with her delicious scent. "Are you having any difficulty breathing?"

Before he could say anything, his jacket was being popped open and the silver blade was retrieved. She effortlessly cut through the shirt and surprised him when placing her cheek to his chest. The warmth was overwhelming and perfectly welcomed. Fitz concentrated on that and it was all it took for the pain to fade.

"Good" his saviour muttered. "But this will hurt" she promised quietly and her knees tightened at his torso. Fitz realised how inappropriate he was. They were in the middle of the battle ground but all he could think about was rolling her over so they could switch positions.

That was all swept away when he felt something slice into his side. Olivia had stuffed a cloth into his mouth, muffling his groan as she carefully cut around the shard of glass stuck to his side. The only good side of this was that the anguish had been enough to awaken him.

He escaped the shadows and snapped his eyes open to the angel sitting on him. His imagination could have never done him justice. Luscious and sleek coffee-brown curls framed a gentle face. Her skin was sheen with beads of perspiration, dripping down her exposed neck, due to the black tank top. All he could think about was reaching up and licking and tasting every inch of her skin.

Only he could feel himself slipping…but he had to know…

"Who are you?"

Her features softened and the crease on her forehead smoothed as she stared down at him. A smile lifted at those perfect pink lips. The bottom lip was plump and jutted out slightly, inviting him in but holding him back. A wicked gleam played in those beautiful chocolate brown eyes, the unknown and lost secrets swimming within. "Go to sleep" she lulled him.

It was the last thing he heard before succumbing into awaiting darkness.

A/N: Hope that you liked the start and want more. Leave a review and let me know.

Love a fierce Olivia and I don't like that we haven't seen that in S3. At least this gives me a chance to write her in that manner. WARNING; Slightly darker side of her.

NEXT: We'll be meeting another Pope and more Olitz.