"Can you stop being mad at me?" Olivia pleaded, standing in the corner of her office, arms crossed.

Abby continued to wordlessly sort Olivia's things in a briefcase. Olivia had agreed to go to France because above anything, she would help Fitz. He deserved it.

And maybe Olivia deserved this shade but she didn't feel good about it.

"Abby."

"I'm not mad at you," Abby mumbled, latching the clip on the briefcase.

Olivia was set to go to the sun it that evening, but she couldn't do it with Abby throwing shade at her. She knew that she was wrong in what she was doing - messing around with a married man? That was not of the highest moral conviction and she knew it. She was not proud of it. But she could not lie to herself - not anymore. She liked Fitz and she could not stop thinking about him. With her. Together.

"I'm not mad," Abby repeated, looking up this time. "I just don't know what you want me to say, Liv. Every woman comes into the administration and gets heart eyes for him and I-"

"Abby!" Olivia approached Abby, her voice low and firm. "This is not some meaningless crush. If it were...I would not have told you. It wouldn't have been important enough."

Abby turned to Olivia and they just looked at each other for a minute.

Olivia inhaled, brutal honesty in her voice. "But it was important enough. Because I feel a certain way for him...and you know him, Abby. You know that this is not just a thing he does. This actually means something. I know you know that."

Abby pressed her lips together. Liv was right - she knew Fitz. He was a good man and he would not have a thing with another woman if he could help it. But apparently, he couldn't. This was different.

But that did not change the fact that it was wrong.

"I'm sorry," Abby said softly. "I know it isn't easy…falling in love."

"We're not in love," Olivia corrected her quickly. Then she hesitated. Were they? No, it was too soon. Not yet. "But I'm scared, Abby. What do I do? What type of person does this make me?"

Olivia's voice was desperate. She had always been reasonable, always the good person, always responsible and never wrong. Now she was confused, now she was -

"Human," Abby replied. "You're human and it's okay."

"It's not okay," Olivia argued. "We kissed and I liked it. I loved it. And I wanted more, I still do. There is no world in which that is okay. He is unavailable and he is away, by definition he is away."

Abby didn't know what to do or say. Although it would make her job a hundred times harder, she had to accept her friend.

She leaned in to hug her. "Liv, it's okay. It really is okay."

Olivia took the hug, surprising even herself. Like she had said, VP was a lonely job. Every job she had was a lonely job. She was a great worker, an incredible one but she had never learned to trust anyone else. And maybe that was for the better back then.

But now?

She needed all the support she could get.

Olivia inhaled, trying to hold back her tears. "This feeling real emotions? It's new to me."

"I know," Abby whispered against Olivia's shoulder. "It's new for all of us."


"Am I going with you?"

Fitz looked up at Mellie, trying to maintain a neutral expression. "If you want to."

"What's that supposed to me?" Mellie looked up from her dinner plate. "Really, Fitz, drop this attitude."

"I'm not trying to pick a fight with you," Fitz said, exasperated. And he really wasn't. He didn't care whether Mellie came to France or not. If Olivia was there with him, nothing could ruin it. "I don't understand why you constantly need to make things more than they are."

Mellie went on, as if she hadn't heard him. "You think you're the shit because your approval ratings are up? Well guess what, Fitz? You're still nothing."

"And you love making that very clear to me," Fitz scoffed, taking a sip of his water. Lately, everyone was getting on his nerves and he was sick of taking their crap. "I don't give, okay? I don't care what you do. I just don't care."

Mellie raised her voice. "That's your problem, Fitz! You never do!"

And she was right, he had to admit. Fitz did not care about anything she did, not anymore. He didn't even hate her. It was a bitter indifference. There was no passion and there was no love. They barely spoke to each other throughout the day and when they did, it was just political small talk and enough to stay civilized. Enough to fool the staff that everything was okay even when it so obviously wasn't.

It had been a while since Olivia had showed up at the residence and a while since they had a meaningful moment together. But she was all he could think about still. Just the smallest of stolen minutes meant the world to him and he unapologetically cared about her more than he had ever cared about any other woman.

"Do you want a divorce?" Fitz asked her point blank, knowing very well that that was what he wanted.

He also knew that it would be a complicated divorce - maybe even the most complicated one in history. The only divorce to ever happen while in office. And with Teddy in the equation, his ratings would definitely take a hit.

But….he wasn't happy. A while ago, he would not have cared about his happiness. It was only until Liv came along and showed him his worth that he ever even considered that he deserved more.

And anything would be more than Mellie.

The point was, Fitz wasn't in love with her. And he knew that she wasn't in love with him. There was nothing in between them and it was neither of their fault. It just wasn't.

Mellie bit the inside of her lip. She, unlike Fitz, did not know what she wanted. She wanted power but she did not know how to get there without Fitz. She needed him, even if she did not want him. That much was clear.

Mellie stood up and threw her napkin on her uneaten plate. He could not read her expression - he never could. They didn't know each other like that and they never would. "You're the President. You don't get off that easy."