There seemed to be some confusion at the end of Chapter 3. Hopefully this chapter helps clear it up. Chapter 4 happens before the end of Chapter 3 when Cyrus tells Fitz about the accident...so this is a flashback of 24 hours...thanks! Reviews help!

24 hours earlier

After Fitz left her apartment, Olivia let her emotions overtake her again and she threw herself on her couch and sobbed.

It wasn't long before she heard a knock on her door. Her heart leapt for a moment thinking that it might be Fitz again, but when she peered through the peephole, the man she saw was a stranger.

She wiped the tears from her face and opened the door.

"Hello. Can I help you?" She made sure her voice was clear and strong. She was back into professional Olivia Pope mode.

"Captain Ballard. You can call me Jake. I was asked to bring you in for a meeting. Are you ready to go?" He extended his hand for her to shake and she gave it a brief shake. He seemed nice enough. He was attractive, but not like Fitz. No one was like Fitz.

"Great. Thank you. Give me one minute?" She asked

"Take as long as you need" He said as he smiled at her.

She slipped on some shoes, grabbed her purse and phone and met him back at the door.

"Ok, I'm ready. Let's do this" She said this more to herself than to him. Panic was slowing starting to creep in. Her heart was beating a little faster, and her palms were sweating.

"Keep it together Olivia" she muttered to herself as Jake escorted her down the elevator and into a black limousine parked in front of her building.

He opened the door for her and she sat climbed inside.

The darkness outside provided the perfect backdrop to this bizarre family reunion. The soft light in the limo gave Olivia some comfort because she could mask her emotions better in the dimly lit car.

"Dad" She kept her voice steady and authoritative. She blocked her emotions. When he had left her and her mother years ago, she had vowed to never let him hurt her again. She was not going to cry in front of him after all these years.

"Olivia. What can I help you with?" His voice was devoid of feeling, like a robot. Nothing had changed.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "I need to disappear…for good"

"Is this because of the mess you have gotten yourself into with the President?"

There was a rapid increase in the tempo of her heart at his words. How could he know? She quickly covered up her shock and regained her composure. Her father had a way of knowing things. This was not the time to question it. Hadn't she chosen him for a reason? He was a powerful man. Of course he knew about her and Fitz.

"Yes, I need to disappear. But, it has to be done in a way that he won't come looking for me. I need to fake my death." Once the words left her mouth, a chill ran down her spine. That was the first time she was saying it out loud. She was going to fake her death. Even after she met with Fitz, she knew she still had to leave. They were always in this cycle of making up and breaking up. They just continued to hurt each other and she had to end things for good. She was thankful she had the chance to see him before she left though. It would make it easier leaving him knowing she was able to at least partially explain herself to him and say sorry.

"That can be arranged. I will have Captain Ballard assist you. He will provide you with all of the instructions necessary." He nodded in Jake's direction and Jake nodded in return. Jake had been so silent during the exchange between her and her father, she had nearly forgotten he was there.

"Also, my team has to know. I can't leave them in the dark on this."

"No, that is out of the question. If you really want to disappear, you can't tell anyone." Her father had responded with some irritation in his voice this time. At least he wasn't a complete robot.

"Well, either you help me or someone else does, but my team has to know. I am their gladiator. I can't just abandon them. They need to know the truth. Otherwise it might crush them, and I can't do that to them. I will be careful about it. My team is smart. They won't compromise the situation."

"Fine. Captain Ballard, please assist Ms. Pope with her needs. Good evening to you both"

And with that, Olivia and Jake were dismissed from her father's presence.

Olivia and Jake made their way back to Olivia's apartment in silence. When they reached the door, Olivia looked to Jake for the next move.

"Let's discuss this inside the apartment." Once they were safely inside the apartment, Jake began to instruct her on the plan.

"Pack what you want, but keep it light. It can't look like you were planning to go on a long trip. We will tell your associates to put out the story that you were taking a short trip, but they didn't know where you were going. We will make reservations for a hotel about 200 miles away. When we get to a deserted stretch of road, we will fake the car accident. I am going to need some of your blood to make this more believable. We have a body that we can put in the car that has been cleared of all indentifying parts. We have an extraction team that will meet us at the accident. They will take care of everything else." Olivia visibly shuddered at his reference to the body and he put his hand on her shoulder "Don't worry. This person was not killed by us. We just happened to come into possession of the body. The car accident will result in your vehicle catching on fire. The body will be burned beyond recognition. We will spread some of your blood around the glass of the vehicle to ensure that any DNA tests that are done will show up as you. "

"Wow" Olivia was overwhelmed hearing the whole plan and she took a seat on the couch. Her hands were shaking violently and she felt as though she was going to be sick.

Jake sat next to her on the couch and put a hand on her leg and gave it light squeeze.

She felt herself moving into his touch, but she stopped herself. She knew she was just craving comfort. It wasn't about Jake. She just wanted to be held. She wanted Fitz."

"Can I get you a drink" Jake's voice broke Olivia from her thoughts and she muttered a weak "yes" as Jake left to get something from the kitchen.

4 hours and 3 glasses of wine later, Olivia was feeling more prepared. Liquid courage tended to do that for her. She had called an emergency meeting with her team at her apartment and explained to them what was happening.

Of course, Huck wanted to go with her, but she explained to him that it would be too suspicious. Abby was silent, Harrison was angry, and Quinn seemed to genuinely understand why she was leaving. She gave them a burner phone to use so that she could contact them if needed. They said their goodbyes and left.

Jake had stayed in the kitchen to give them all some privacy, but as soon as they left, he came back into the living room.

"Everything is set. Are you ready to go?"

Olivia looked around her apartment. Would this be the last time she saw it? It should be, but she couldn't force herself to look at it that way. Maybe one day, she would be back here. A lone tear escaped and made its way down her face.

"I'm sorry, but we should go now. Its midnight and we need to do this while it is dark out. Let's head out." His voice was soft and she appreciated his gentleness.

"Is taking care of damsels in distress part of your job description?" Olivia asked trying to lighten the mood for a moment.

"No" He replied softly. Olivia looked up at him. Their eyes locked for a moment and she blushed.

"Umm. Oh…I see. So you got stuck with this job for the day?"

"No…Olivia, you are my job, always have been"