Olivia stood in her shower and let the water rush over her. She wanted to forget the day. She wanted to forget what she had found in her dressing room. She wanted to forget the ominous letter that was sent to her. Olivia had had threats sent to her. She had even had a pretty aggressive fan a few years back but she had never really believed anything like this would happen to her. She never thought that she would be the news instead of reporting it. Olivia Pope was tough and she was determined to get to the bottom of this and move on. If not for her own sanity than for Quinn and her family. If Quinn lost her life because of Olivia she would find a way to fix it. She took a deep breath and turned off the water. Grabbing a towel from the shelf she wrapped it around her and stepped out. After wiping the steam from the mirror she stared at herself. I look tired she thought. I am tired. She really wanted to crawl under her covers and sleep until this was over but she knew she couldn't. She needed to do the right thing. Besides Detective Grant was in her living room waiting to ask more questions. Olivia went into her bedroom and dried off. After putting on her favorite vanilla scented lotion she put on a black pair of sweat pants and a pink baby t-shirt. She wrapped her hair into a twist and clipped it in place.

'Can I get you something to drink Detective?' She asked as she came into the living room. 'I appreciate you waiting for me to shower. I just needed to wash the day off me.'

'Coffee if you have it would be great and no problem. I understand.' He smiled kindly at her. Olivia noticed that Sabra was lying on the sofa next to Fitz with her head in his lap.

'Coffee it is. It will just take a moment to brew. If you don't mind I am going to have a glass of Pinot Noir. It's my go to stress reliever.'

'Whatever you need to do.'

Fitz glanced around at her place. The cream furniture with teal accent pillows and throws suited her. There was a large flat screen television mounted on the wall and beneath that was a small bookcase with photographs and keepsakes. Olivia Pope was a class act. Fitz had known that watching her all of these years on GNN so he was not surprised that her home reflected that same elegance and grace.

'Cream or sugar?' Olivia called from the kitchen.

'Just black please.' He answered. A few moments later Olivia appeared with a GNN coffee mug in one hand and an oversized wine glass in the other. She handed him his coffee and sat in the oversized chair to his right. He watched as she tucked one leg underneath her. The size of the chair made him notice just how small she was. Television has a way of making people appear larger than they are so he was somewhat surprised at how tiny she really was. He was also stunned that sitting here with no makeup and in casual clothes she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life and that was saying a lot for someone that grew up in Hollywood.

'She likes you. She normally doesn't warm up to men so easily.' Liv said motioning to a still sleeping Sabra.

'She is a beautiful dog. The feeling is mutual. I don't usually warm up to men easily either.' He smirked causing Olivia to laugh a little.

'So Detective how long have you been on the force?' Olivia asked sipping her wine. She needed a little bit of normal conversation before diving into the ugliness of the situation she had found herself in.

'Twenty years.' He responded. 'I've been a Detective for twelve.'

'Twenty years? Did you join right out of high school?' Liv was a little surprised he didn't look any older than forty.

'Nope. I joined right after I graduated from UCLA. Criminal Justice.' He gave her a small smirk.

'I went to Georgetown.' She responded.

'Yeah you seem to be a little more east coast than west.'

'I grew up in Boston. Born and raised. Go Celtics!' she giggled.

'Did you just say 'Go Celtics' to a true Los Angelino?'

'I supposed I did. You won't hold against me will you? I grew up in the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era. I have the utmost respect for Showtime. I just don't love what the Lakers have become. It's less of a team and more of "what can we do to keep Kobe happy so he won't cry"?' Olivia rolled her eyes. 'It's sad that a team with such a history…a dynasty caters to one player so much.'

'A girl that knows her basketball…..' Fitz started. She was suddenly even sexier. Fitz loved sports and had always loved a woman that could talk sports and enjoy games with him.

'Not just basketball. I love football more than anything. I spend from the Draft to Pre-season counting down the days. During the season you can find me every Sunday down the street at Link's Sports Bar watching all the games. One thing I miss about both DC and Boston is the lack of a professional football team. Though that will change once that stadium is built.' She smiled and took another sip of her wine never taking her eyes off of him. She was just taking notice of just how attractive he was. His eyes were now a deep blue, different from the stormy grey she saw at the studio. His features were defined and strong. And that smile. It was enough to make a girl swoon. She was staring and she knew it.

'So I am guessing you are a Patriots fan?' he smirked at her. He wasn't sure but he thought he had seen a hint of desire in her eyes.

'Nope! My dad is originally from Florida so we are Miami Dolphins fans. Growing up I had the biggest crush on Dan Marino. I have always been a sucker for blue eyes and a dashing smile.' Olivia grinned broadly at Fitz. She was shamelessly flirting with him.

Fitz felt his cheeks get hot. He cleared his throat. 'Well Marino was a great QB. I am a Niners fan myself.'

Olivia sat quietly for a moment and just stared at him. She was daring him to break the connection they had. She could see his interest and wanted to see how long he would let her see it before he'd try and hide it. They sat locked in a heated gaze for several moments. Finally Fitz looked away.

'It's getting late Miss Pope and you've had a long day. We can always revisit this tomorrow.' He finally said.

'It's Liv and no. Let's get it over with. I really don't want to take it to bed with me.' Olivia said.

'Ok.' Fitz opened the folder that was sitting on her coffee table. He pulled a copy of the letter that was sent with the video of Quinn's murder. From what she was told the person that attacked Quinn was covered from head to toe in black, including black gloves and a ski mask. There was no way to identify them. Harrison had watched the video just to check for mannerisms but was unable to see anything. It was agreed that Olivia did not need to see it, at least not at this time. The letter however they did want her to look over. Fitz handed the paper to her. Olivia placed her glass of wine down on the table and pulled her other leg up underneath her and read the letter.

Olivia,

You stole something. And as is customary a thief in the night will pay a price. How high of a price is entirely up to you. You cannot return what you have taken but you can admit to it. Once that is done you will have paid in full. In the meantime you will have something taken from you every day. Every day that goes by without your confession another thing you love will be lost. Dig deep Olivia. Can you live with what is lost to save your reputation? How many more will be sacrificed before you admit to what you have done? Are you willing to pay with your own life? You will be the final payment unless the wrong is righted, Olivia. This is just the beginning.

That's one.

Me

Olivia read the letter three times and set it back down on the table. She stood up, grabbed her wine glass, downed its contents and returned to the kitchen for more. She had no idea what this letter was about but it sent a chill down her spine. What did they mean she had 'stolen something'? Olivia had worked for every single thing she had. She never cut corners. She never called in favors. She believed that you must work to get what you wanted, what you deserved. She returned to the living room with a full glass of wine and the coffeepot. She absent-mindedly filled Fitz's mug, set the pot on a coaster on the table and returned to her chair.

'So? Can you give me any insight? Do you have any idea what this letter is referring to?' Fitz asked her.

'No. I have absolutely no idea. But it scares me. Are they threatening to kill more people? They are definitely threatening to kill me!' Olivia said loudly. She was on the verge of tears again. She didn't want Fitz to see her cry but she didn't know why.

'Ok. Well we are going to keep you under surveillance. There will be officers outside your building while you are here. They will follow you to the studio and there will be officers at the studio as well.' Fitz explained trying to calm her.

'Great. ' Olivia replied.

'You may feel better if you had someone come stay with you. Do you have a friend you could call? Your boyfriend?' Fitz asked.

'I don't have a boyfriend and I am not pulling the few friends I have outside of the studio into this mess. If someone wants to hurt me by harming the people I care about I am not going to make it easier for them. I am sorry but I have no faith in officers being placed outside my home or outside the studio. Whoever this is got past our security and into the studio! No one noticed. I live in a building with 70 other condos. You can't frisk everyone that comes and goes. Somehow I don't think my neighbors would appreciate it. I just think its best I hire personal security that can just be with me here and at the studio around the clock. I have two extra rooms.' Olivia was rambling. She was just not all that confident that officers staked outside would make it to her in time should something happen.

'Ok. I will put a call in and see if we can get some names of people we trust in here. Undercovers or something.'

'No that won't be necessary. I can just hire a service. Huck knows some people and I trust him.'

'Liv until we have an idea of who is behind this I don't think you should trust anyone outside of LAPD.' Fitz protested.

'For all I know this could be LAPD! You're asking for a whole lot of trust in people I don't know. At least with Huck's people I know he would check them out thoroughly. I just would prefer to do this my way.'

'Do you trust me?' Fitz asked her.

'What?'

'Do you trust me?' He looked at her with the most sincere eyes she'd ever seen. She felt her heart start racing.

'Y-Yes.' She whispered.

'Ok. Then I am staying tonight. We will figure out what happens next tomorrow. Deal?'

'But you don't have clothes or anything. I will be fine here tonight alone.' Olivia said.

'No way! I am staying. I will be back in a minute.' Fitz got up and went out her front door.

Olivia felt panic rise in her chest. He can't stay here she thought. He can't. He's too much. After about two minutes Fitz returned with a duffle bag in slung over his arm.

'I am cop. You never know what you'll end up doing so I always carry a couple changes of clean clothes with me. So which room is mine?' he asked. Olivia looked at him. She didn't know what to do. He smiled at her and suddenly the panic subsided. He did make her feel safe and it was only one night. She could manage one night with him. It'll be fine she thought even as she imagined what his lips felt like. 'Liv?' Fitz said causing Olivia to jump a little and then blush. He was looking at her like he knew what she was thinking.

'Um…this way Detective.' She started down the hall.

'Fitz.' He said softly as he followed.

'What?' She asked as she turned on the light to the room just across the hall from her.

'Call me Fitz.' He smiled as he walked past her and put his bag on the bed.

'Oh. Ok. Well the bathroom is the down the hall on your left. There are towels and extra blankets in the closet here. My room is right across the hall if you need me for anything. Please make yourself at home. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I usually get up around seven and go down to the gym on the second floor. Is there a time you'd like me to wake you?'

'Don't go anywhere without me. If you want to go to the gym, I will go with you.' He said to her.

'Of course. Well I am going to turn in. The remote for that TV is in the nightstand drawer. Sabra, come on.' Liv said as Sabra reluctantly got off of Fitz's bed and moved into Liv's room. 'Looks like she was a little disappointed leaving your bed.' Olivia smiled.

'Well can you blame her? I am an excellent cuddler.' He gave her yet another sexy smirk that made her knees feel weak.

'I am sure you are.' Olivia said surprising herself with how flirtatious it sounded. 'Goodnight Fitz.' She decided she needed to get out of there now.

'Goodnight Olivia.' He smiled back at her.

Each of them lay in their beds thinking of the other. Each wondering what it would be like to be cuddled up together in the same bed. Liv meant what she said. She had no doubt he was made for cuddling. Fitz thought about how small Olivia was and how she would probably fit perfectly up against him. They both fell asleep and into a dream starring the other. Somewhere in their subconscious they called out to one another. Deep down something was awaking in them. Something strong and powerful.

Thanks for all the comments guys. Next chapter we will learn a little more about Fitz and Liv will have a minor breakthrough on the letter. Please keep the reviews coming. Thanks for reading!