Just as Olivia and Cyrus reached Fitz's side, the secret service agents grabbed Jake.

"You son of a bitch! How could you"?

Fitz stood with Olivia's help and wiped the blood from his mouth and nose with the back of his hand.

Jake struggled against the agent's grips. He wanted to punch Fitz again.

"You knew and you didn't tell me! How long Fitz, how fucking long"?

"It's been almost a month".

Jake was enraged! He continued struggling to free himself from their hold.

"A month!? You have kept this from me and from her for a month"!? He lurched at Fitz but unsuccessfully.

Olivia looked at Jake.

"Jake what the hell has gotten into you"?

Jake looked at Olivia. "So he also has kept it from you huh? He hasn't told you the whole story about Emma".

Olivia looked from Jake to Fitz to Jake again.

"What about Emma"? She paused for a moment. "Wait you know Emma? How do you know Emma"?

Still being held by the secret service agents, Jake dropped to his knees and when he looked up again at Olivia tears were running down his face. The agents released their hold on him but stayed alert. With one of his hands he went inside his inner jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and took something out. He held out what he had in his hand so that Olivia could take it.

Just as she took it and turned it around to look at it she heard him say: "I'm her husband"…. Olivia's hand was shaking as she looked at the picture Jake had given her. It was a picture of Jake and Emma on their wedding day!

Olivia looked at Fitz then at Jake. She was in utter disbelief. The man she had been with, the man she had stood in the sun with was married to the sister of the man she loved. It all somehow made sense, how close Fitz and Jake were and it was a bond that was way beyond having served their country together. They were family. That being the case, she like Jake, didn't understand why Fitz would have kept this a secret.

Jake looked at Fitz. The look in his eyes had changed from rage to hurt. "Why"?

Fitz walked over and served himself a scotch, it would help to disinfect the sores he had in his mouth from the punch.

"I was trying to protect her and…."

Jake cut him off. "Protect her from her own husband"?

"Let me finish"! He drank a swab of scotch and it burned like hell. "I was trying to protect her and you. We had no idea how this was going to turn out, how she would turn out, physically, emotionally and psychologically. I did what I thought was right".

Jake stood and walked over to the sofa and sat down taking his head in his hands. "You talk about her as if she was damaged goods. I'm her husband, no matter what the outcome would have been, I would have been there for her. That was our promise, through the good and the bad, in sickness and in health. I know those vows never meant much to you but they did to me, they did to us! Unlike you, I married out of love, not out of interest or opportunity"!

Olivia looked at the secret service agents and waved to them to leave the office. She could tell the tone had settled down and they would no longer be needed.

Fitz could say nothing. He knew deep down inside that Jake was right. He shot Jake a look and Jake caught it.

"You still blame me for what happened don't you"?

Fitz said nothing at first and sat down in the sofa across from Jake.

"You were supposed to protect her"!

"I did. I was there, remember"? He stood, turned around and lifted his shirt revealing in his back a bullet-sized scar. Olivia knew that scar well. He had told her it was from when he was in Iraq but she had never asked more. He turned around and sat back down. "The minute the first shots were fired, I told Emma to leave, but she wouldn't leave, I gave her a direct order that she refused to follow, your sister was one stubborn young woman and you know that. I woke up two weeks later in Landstuhl and I was told she was gone, that there was nothing more I could do. That they were sorry for my loss. I grieved my wife Fitz"!

"I grieved too"!

"Oh bullshit. You grieved her, like what, ten minutes. You went on with your life as if she had never existed. You went on to campaign for the Presidency, we were never to speak of Emma again. I bet no one in this room knew about Emma until you brought her home. You didn't grieve Fitz you carted her aside like damaged goods. And now you are simply guilty that you did and your trying to buy your soul back, on her account".

Olivia stepped in. "Are you two done"?

Both Fitz and Jake looked at her. "This is not going to help Emma. What happened to Emma is not any of your faults and debating about it and talking about the past is not going to solve anything".

She looked at Fitz. "You were wrong Fitz. Jake should have known about this from the start. Put yourself in his shoes, how would you have reacted if it had been me? How would you have felt if when I was kidnapped, no one had told you or kept you in the loop until…".

She looked at Fitz. "When were you going to tell them"? The minute she asked the question she regretted asking it. She was afraid of what he was going to say. "Tell you what, I don't even want to know".

The door opened and the assistant walked in. "Mr. President, I have Doctor Baker on the phone, he says Miss Grant is conscious". With that she closed the door.

Fitz stood up and towered over Jake. "what did you do to her"?

Jake in turn stood. "what did I do to her? Don't point the finger at me. You are responsible for this. Emma was in shock and fainted when she saw her husband, who was supposed to be dead and, whom her brother omitted to tell her, had survived"!

Jake walked over to the door with Fitz following in his tracks.

Fitz tried to get to the door before Jake. "where do you think you are going"?

"To be with my wife, where I belong".

"I'm coming with you"!

Jake stopped in front of the door, blocking it. "The hell you are! You are going to stay in this Oval Office and let me fix this"!

"I am the President of the United States! I don't take orders from you Ballard"!

Jake kept his position.

"Right now you are not the President and I am not Jake Ballard of the NSA, right now you are my brother-in-law who has majorly overstepped his boundaries. You said my job is to protect Emma, well that's what I'm doing. You owe us that much".

Olivia knew that Fitz wouldn't stand down. She slowly walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. He turned to face her.

"Fitz…".

Fitz said nothing but turned his attention to Jake and nodded.

Jake left the Oval Office and headed for the Clinic.