Chapter 10

The Pretenders

Tim sat staring at the sofa. His cheek rested in his palm supported by his forearm that was perched on the arm of his wheelchair.

Everything is functioning properly and then some. Should I have let that happen?

The door's chime interrupted his thoughts. He cursed himself because he hadn't yet installed the surveillance cameras or lowered the front door's keyhole. This was the second time today someone had come to his door unannounced, not counting Olivia, who did so all the time. This was not a good sign. He maneuvered his chair forward to answer.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"I'm Millicent Vanderbilt, District Attorney. I need to speak with Timothy Pope," Mellie explained through the door.

"This should be interesting," Tim whispered to himself. He set his cell phone on record. He already had a plan. Quinn had finally gotten around to sharing the information that prompted her to visit him today. Apparently Mellie knew that Olivia and Tim were brother and sister. She also knew that Tim and Fitz were both staying at the brownstone.

"Let the games begin, I guess," he mumbled to himself. He unlocked the door and then sunk his shoulders. He wanted to look weak and pitiful.

"Come in, please," invited Tim. Mellie entered slowly through the door. She gave Tim a pitiful look as her eyes swept over him in the chair. On sight, he knew she totally bought his act.

"I'm Tim, but I don't know why the District Attorney would need to talk to me," Tim said, weakly. "Why don't you have a seat in this chair?"

He observed Mellie as she surveyed the apartment. He knew she was looking for clues of Olivia, Fitz, or anything she could use to reinforce her theories.

"How do you know Fitzgerald Grant, Mr. Pope?" she inquired turning her attention back to him.

"Fitzgerald Grant? I don't know anyone by that name. Why do you ask?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, opened her purse and pulled out a photograph. She handed it to him.

Tim looked at the photograph. "This is a photo of Fitz from 2A helping me into his car."

"But you just said you did not know Fitzgerald Grant," she countered acidly.

"Oh, you mean Fitz? I know him as 'Fitz', but I don't know his last name. He sometimes takes me to run errands. It is hard getting around in this chair. Oh no! Has he done something illegal? Is he a serial killer or something? Good fences make good neighbors they say, but what if you don't have any fences? Aside from that, I don't know anything else." Tim watched her look at him like she was trying to catch him in a lie.

"He is in trouble. Does anyone live in 2A with him?" She narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know. When Fitz has taken me to the store those few times. I've never seen anyone with him. He never mentions anyone to me either. I'm sorry I can't help you, ma'am."

Mellie and Tim both looked toward the hallway, drawn by the sound of a door closing.

"Tim, I think we worked up an appetite. I am famished," Quinn said sauntering down the hallway drying her hair with a towel. When she saw Mellie, she gasped. The towel dropped to the floor. Tim breathed a silent prayer of thanks because she was dressed and hadn't made a sexual comment given what they had just done on the sofa. He cleared his throat to get Quinn's attention. She was frozen in place, but she turned to him. He glanced at her, attempting to give her the signal to just follow his lead.

"Olivia, this is District Attorney, Millicent Vanderbilt. She has some questions about Fitz in 2A. Ms. Vanderbilt, meet my sister, Olivia Pope." Tim made the introductions.

Quinn picked up the fallen towel and threw it on the sofa. She wiped her hands on her jeans and stepped forward falling into the role of Olivia. She was nervous which helped.

"Hi, Ms. Vanderbilt," Quinn said, extending her hand.

Mellie's face went stone cold still, and she stood crossing her arms. Her heeled feet made her about a half-foot taller than Quinn who stood with bare feet.

"Olivia Pope. So you are the one who my fiancé has lost his mind over. You can't be more than 25, almost half his age. Do you live in this brownstone with Fitz?" Mellie demanded.

"I-I-I don't know what you are talking about," Quinn stammered, glancing at Tim. She wasn't sure if she should deny as Olivia or assent and get angry.

"Don't try to deny you are sleeping with him, Olivia!" Mellie walked a complete circle around Quinn like she was her prey. "But what I don't understand is why he's hiding you. And how is this guy your brother? Explain that."

"Is this true, Liv? Are you sleeping with Fitz from 2A? Did you know he had a fiancé?" Tim asked, playing the horrified brother. She closed her eyes for a moment and knelt in front of Tim.

"I'm sorry for all the drama, Tim" Quinn pleaded. She resumed standing and adopted Mellie's antagonistic stance. "But this woman has no right to come into our apartment like this. Fitz is not married to you, Mellie. I think he has made it crystal clear that he doesn't want you. I doubt he ever did since he makes love to me like he's never had it so good."

Mellie slapped Quinn across the face. "You bitch! You don't know anything about Fitz and me."

"O-O-Okay! I think we need to sit down and talk about this without getting violent, Ms. Vanderbilt. As a District Attorney, I know you are aware of the law. You can't just barge into someone's apartment, throwing accusations around, and then start slapping people around. Please have a seat," Tim said. He was tempted to drop his scared brother act, but did not.

"You touch me again and there will be consequences," Quinn screamed. She sat on the sofa holding her cheek. Even though her cheek stung, she had the irresistible urge to laugh at what was happening.

Mellie sat down, still glaring at who she thought was Olivia.

"Ms. Vanderbilt, to answer your question, Olivia is adopted. But it is possible for us to be brother and sister. Given all the possible combinations of physical characteristics, it's a wonder children ever look like their parents or each other. Let's be rational about all this, something most people fail to do as I'm sure you as a practitioner of the law sees a lot," Tim rationalized.

"I didn't come here to be rational. I came here to negotiate," Mellie said calmly. "Olivia, what is your price? How much do you want me to make out a check for?"

"My price for what? To leave Fitz? Don't you get it? He does not want you anymore. Just go away. You are pathetic," Quinn said.

"Quiet, Liv," Tim intoned. "Ms. Vanderbilt, Don't listen to my sister. You are clearly not pathetic. From where I sit you are a beautiful and powerful woman who has been deeply hurt by someone she loves. You two were headed in one direction together, and he decided to flip the script on you and take up with someone else. Another way to put it is that you two entered into an unspoken contract of sorts to be together, to be partners. When he ended the relationship, he broke that contract. Since there was no indication in your mind that he wasn't happy in your relationship, you think my sister has bewitched and enchanted him with sex and excitement. Something you obviously aren't giving him. No matter what he says to the contrary, you just won't believe him and will go to any lengths to get him back. Is that a fairly good summation counselor?"

"I guess so, Tim. You seem very astute. What do you do?" Mellie asked. She seemed calmer, but she was definitely more intrigued by Tim.

"A little bit of this. A little bit of that. I like to tinker with things. I'm a tinkerer. In my humble opinion, I think you should let Fitz from 2A go. Even if he is having a mid-life crisis, it is not your responsibility to bring him out of it. You should be with someone who recognizes and celebrates your…uniqueness…someone who is as successful as you. What does Fitz from 2A even do for a living? It couldn't be anything as important as your job. He can't be worth all this effort. You're antagonizing a man in a wheelchair and his slightly off track sister. What if we decided to go to the police and press charges against you? An investigation alone would sully your reputation enough to hurt you professionally," explained Tim. "But that is just my opinion."

"Like I said, Tim. Very astute. I am not moved by your veiled threat to report me. You seem pretty invested in me forgetting about Fitz. Maybe you're just trying to save your sister's ass," she surmised.

"Why should I have to save my sister? I thought you wanted to pay her off to stay away from Fitz from 2A. Are you now threatening her?" he asked. Tim was just as tickled as Quinn by this entire charade. Mellie, however, was none the wiser. In fact, she was quite serious.

Quinn sat on the couch watching their conversation like a tennis match.

"I don't make threats, only promises. So if Olivia won't take my money, then I'm going to make life very hard for the both of you in every way," she said triumphantly.

Tim pulled his cell phone from its compartment in his wheelchair. He pointed it at a Mellie, snapped a photo, and then pressed the video record button. "Liv, could you take over recording for me? Now, Ms. Vanderbilt, how do you plan to make life hard for us in every way? I've been audio recording so far, but I think video would be better for this explanation," he said.

"What is wrong with you? Put that thing away! None of this would be admissible in court. Ugh!" she screamed. She covered her face and rose from the chair, departing the room in a flash. "This is far from over."

Quinn stopped the recording and locked the door.

"Tim, that was insane. I hope she was convinced I was Olivia. Thank God she doesn't know anything more than Olivia's name. I wanted to crack up when you kept saying, 'Fitz from 2A.' "

"I don't know if it's the circumstances, but Mellie is insane. I saw it in her eyes. She is fixated on Fitz and now my sister. Why can't Fitz see it now? He seems to think she is moving on." Tim assessed.

"Why couldn't he see it before now? How long have they been together?" Quinn sat on his lap and circled her arms around his neck.

"More than 5 years," he replied. Without a word Quinn kissed him. He deepened the kiss pushing his tongue into her mouth. After a while, she pulled back.

"This feels a little incestuous since I was just playing the role of your sister," Quinn said kissing him on the nose.

"Quinn, That was very nice…being with you earlier. I, as you say, fired you because I couldn't give you the life you wanted or deserved because of my disability," Tim began. He put his finger to her lips to quiet her protests. "I know things are changing with me, but I still can't give you want you deserve. My first priority is still Olivia. I have to make sure she is safe before I can even think about myself. I meant what I said about loving you, but I cannot commit to you or anyone right now."

"Tim, I know this. I have not asked you to commit to me. I understand what you are saying. Olivia is very fortunate to have a brother like you. I want to continue helping you with this. I won't lie. It is exciting. And by the way…I don't want this to be the last time we make love."

"Quinn, you know it doesn't work like that. What we did felt like a commitment to me. We would be fooling ourselves to think that we could continue, friends with benefits style. What about Huck—"

"I'll end it with him. What about Helen?" Quinn asked.

"As I said before, she and I are just friends, period. But for the sake of argument, let's say you broke it off with Huck and I didn't hang out with Helen again…wouldn't that be a commitment? This will be hard enough as it is. I'll admit that I don't like that you are with Huck. To be completely honest, I don't really like Huck. I know it is surprising considering I've known him so long. He is a good guy, but I just don't like him."

"What? Who doesn't like Huck?" she asked incredulously. She leaned back and observed Tim.

"I know what it is! You are jealous! He and Liv are close like brother and sister and you're jealous. And you got jealous when I taunted you about me having sex with Huck. So you're doubly jealous. That's so sweet and a little childish, but you have to have one flaw I guess." She kissed him again.

"Jealous? Please!" Tim countered. They chuckled.

Quinn leaned in with a serious expression on her face. "I understand your loyalty to Olivia. That's one of the reasons I love you. I am not asking you for a commitment right now. But I do intend to seduce you whenever I have the chance so Helen will have to get back. I don't know her from Adam, but I am sure she likes you as more than a friend."

"Will I survive Olivia? Will I survive you? If I ever regain my ability to walk, I would probably be smart to, 'Run, Forrest! Run!' Now get up so I can call Fitz, Olivia, and...Huck. Something needs to be done about Ms. Vanderbilt."

Olivia made several attempts to open her eyes, but her heavy lids closed as soon as they lifted halfway. With each try she was able to get a look at her surroundings. She was lying on her back in a bed. The room was small and smelled of antiseptic. A small white board was on the wall directly in front of her. The words, 'PM: Lisa' was written in green. The other words were indistinguishable. When her eyelids shut involuntarily, she instantly realized that she was in a hospital room. She opened her eyes again, and beheld the face of Idris Elba.

"Idris Elba?" Olivia questioned drowsily. She was sure she was dreaming so she smiled since he was one of her favorite actors. She admired his face and body more than his acting.

He chuckled softly. "No, beautiful. I get that a lot. I'm Isaac. Special Agent Isaac Lee with the FBI.

When Olivia heard FBI she suddenly realized she was not dreaming. She tried to sit up, but a rush of pain to her head caused her to collapse against the pillow.

"No, beautiful. You shouldn't move right now. Can you tell me your name?" he asked.

Olivia knew she couldn't give her real name. Her eyes moved around the room looking for inspiration for an alias. She looked forward and saw the 'Lisa' written on the white board in green marker. She couldn't use that name since it would be too much of a coincidence.

"Alissa," Olivia answered. "Alissa…umm…Green."

"Okay, Ms. Green. I'll have to stop calling you, beautiful. Although you are very…beautiful."

Olivia couldn't contain the smile on her lips at his shameless flirting.

"Ms. Green, do you remember what happened today?"

Before Olivia could answer, the door opened and Fitz rushed inside the room. Olivia's heart sped up as it always did when she saw him or heard his voice.

Isaac stood quickly when Fitz entered. "Mr. Grant?" Isaac said in surprise.

Fitz didn't look at Olivia. He extended his hand to Isaac. "Agent Lee, have you questioned Jane Doe? Do you know who she is?" Fitz asked.

"I was in the process of doing that, sir. She reports her name as Alissa Green, but that is all I've gotten so far," Isaac answered. He looked confused and a shocked at Fitz's presence.

"You are dismissed, Agent Lee. I'll take over from here," Fitz directed, impatiently.

"Mr. Grant, sir. You don't have to do that. We just started our interview."

"Agent Lee. You are dismissed," Fitz repeated forcefully.

"Did I do something wrong, sir? She came out of nowhere and attacked me. I had to subdue her. I didn't know if she was one of our targets or if—"

"Agent Lee, you have not done anything wrong regarding this operation, but you will be in jeopardy of being suspended from your position for an unspecified amount of time if I have to dismiss you from this room a third damn time!" Fitz demanded.

"Yes, sir," Isaac said. He glanced at Olivia quickly before he left the room."

Fitz shut and locked the door behind him. He walked to the bed and touched her hand. They looked at each other for a few tension filled minutes. Fitz broke their gaze and slowly sat beside her on the bed. He kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug.

"Fitz…I…."

He pulled back to look at her. "How is your head? You hit it pretty hard, but the doctor said you don't have a concussion."

"There's pain when I sit up, but I'm okay. Fitz, what happened? Why am I here? Why are you here? Why is the FBI here? The agent who was just here said he took me down?" Olivia asked confused.

Fitz sighed. He rubbed the back of his hand across her cheek. His finger traced her jaw, over her chin, and the outline of her lips. Her breathing became shallow and her lips parted. He leaned forward and their breaths mingled together. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue and then slid it inside her mouth to meet hers. When his hand cupped her breast, she pushed against his chest.

"Fitz…stop. Tell me what happened today. The last thing I remember was… I was trying to help this poor girl who was being attacked by some man. But I have a suspicion that the man was the guy who was just in here, but he looked different then."

Fitz stood. His expression was stony. "Olivia, you are major pain in my ass, but that comes with having you so I just have to deal with it. Today you stepped in the middle of major sting operation. You attacked Agent Lee who had apprehended a man who is one of the major players in a sex trafficking ring."

"But Fitz, that was a woman!"

"No, it was a man dressed as a woman. He dresses like a woman to lure young girls, mostly runaways, into his van and to one of his bosses many network of sex houses. You rushed in to help that asshole that almost got away had Agent Lee not done what he'd done to you which resulted in your head injury. How did you even get to that spot in the park? It was roped off and posted with no trespassing, construction signs."

"Oh my God, Fitz! I swear I didn't see any signs. I was out for a run to clear my head. I guess I was too preoccupied. I try not to take the same route…I'm sorry. Agent Lee seemed surprised to see you here. Did you have to be so mean?"

"He should be surprised. I shouldn't be here. Everyone is going to wonder who Alissa Green is to bring out the Deputy Director. I'll think of some explanation later, but I had to make sure you were okay and prevent you from giving yourself up since lately that's all you've been trying to do," Fitz said, exasperated.

"You are exaggerating as usual. Try to see this from where I sit. I am practically a prisoner. You have mandated this ridiculous boundary around the brownstone that I cannot breach. If I do, you show up like a truant officer to take me back home. I am tired of being treated like a child, Fitz."

"Stop acting like one then! We are in a very delicate situation, but you are acting as if everything is normal. You want to plan parties and traipse around the city. Next, you'll be trying to visit Tim and me at the office."

Olivia didn't say a word. She looked at him through narrowed eyes and then turned her head away from him.

"What form of birth control do you use?" he said.

Olivia whipped her head around quickly and winced at the pain. "What?"

"What form of birth control do you use?" he said a little louder.

"I have an IUD," she replied angrily and turned her head away from him.

"Do you use anything else, Livy?" he asked.

"No, you bastard. You don't have to worry about knocking me up," she bit out.

"If you remember, when we moved in together, you told me you would never marry or procreate with me. When you were brought in this morning, you complained of pain in your side. The doctor examined you and found that the device was out of place and needed to be removed. I thought it would be the gentlemanly thing to tell you that Fort Knox is no longer secured, though I probably should have kept that piece of information to myself. Getting you pregnant right now might slow you down," Fitz said.

"You are an arrogant ass! Tim says that is what they call you. I've never heard anything so sexist in my life, Fitz. My IUD is gone? Don't they have to get some kind of consent before removing something like that? They violated my privacy by telling you! Where is the doctor? I need to speak with him or her about my body."

"Livy, I'm sorry if I sound a little rough around the edges. This has been a rough day for both of us. I'm at work monitoring all our current operations when I hear that an agent has been attacked. Then I hear the description of the attacker, and I know it is you. Olivia! I literally had a heart attack trying to check surveillance to see where you were. And voila! There you were! Then Tim calls to tell me that Mellie has paid him a visit. Tim being Tim took care of it temporarily. We can talk about it tonight. But Olivia, this madness stops today!"

Fitz walked to the door and unlocked it. "Tom, Hal, please come in."

Olivia was too overwhelmed to speak at the moment. She was on information overload coupled with shock, awe, anger, and arousal. It was Fitz so there would always be arousal.

"Olivia Pope meet Tom and Hal. They have been assigned to you. Where you go they go with the exception of inside our apartment, which is now a new place. It is not far from the brownstone so Tim will be close. They will take you there after you talk to the doctor. They know everything about you and us, and they have a direct line to me. Any questions?" Fitz asked.

Olivia laid her head back on the pillow and turned away from all three of them and towards the window.

"Okay, thanks guys. You can wait outside," he said.

"I love you, Livy," he breathed against her neck.

She pulled the sheet to cover her neck.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours. I know you are mad at me right now, but today was too close for comfort."

He kissed her on the cheek, squeezed her arm, and left.

"He has been acting like a total tyrant lately. I have two guys whom I don't know from Adam standing outside the door right now. I am a prisoner. I had gotten used to living so close to you and now we have moved again. How was he able to get these two guys? He said that they know everything about…well everything," Olivia stressed.

"You should ask him that question, Liv. Calm down. You are only a couple of blocks away from me. He should have done this sooner. You need handlers until we figure this out. Just think what could have happened. I know you are bored out of your mind. At least you can go beyond the two-mile perimeter. Take this time to think of some things you can do now, like writing or sculpting. Maybe you can take some classes."

"I'll think about it. I also need to think about what I'm going to do with the art I've stolen that is hidden underground. Tim, I really want to give it back—"

"Liv, that is admirable, but you need to talk to Fitz about that before you make any steps to return anything. I know that you shouldn't be involved in any sort of return."

"Right again, but I wouldn't return it myself. You'll never guess who the agent looked like that I attacked…Idris Elba, Tim. He looked exactly like him. I woke to his face staring at me, so, naturally, I thought I was dreaming. Tell me about your encounter with Mellie," Olivia asked.

As Tim told the story, Olivia explored their new dwelling. It was more modern and spacious. It was furnished but without any of their personal things. I should bring some of the art here to get it out of storage, she thought.

"Wow, Tim. How did you think to claim that Quinn was me? I don't know what I would have done. I hope your threat will make her leave us alone. Abby and Harrison have been neutralized. Mellie is the final obstacle. I don't think I'll ever be totally comfortable, though. Why was Quinn at your place?" Olivia asked.

"I have to go. I need to do some exercises. You know Mary will torture me if I don't keep up with them."

"Tim, wait. What night do you want to have your birthday dinner?"

"Friday night is fine. So Fitz got up the nerve to cancel the party? I hope you aren't angry with him. Your jog in the park exposed your face to a couple of the agents so the party would have been cancelled, anyway. Goodnight, Liv."

"Goodnight Tim."

Olivia hung up the phone. She tiptoed to the front door and looked through the peephole. She opened the door when she didn't see Tom and Hal.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?" Tom asked.

Olivia saw them standing to her right.

"You can leave now. I'm in for the night," Olivia said.

"Those are not our orders, ma'am." Hal added.

Olivia sighed and shut the door.

"Cy, I appreciate your assistance and discretion with this situation," Fitz said to Cyrus who sat across from him at the office. Fitz had called a meeting with Cyrus earlier that day after Olivia was taken to the hospital. He knew he needed Cyrus' assistance to get Tom and Hal as well as the use of the apartment.

"Fitz, this is more than a situation. Are you sure about this and the consequences? If this ever gets out, you both are going to jail for a very long time. Now I on the other hand will plead ignorance."

"I am very sure, Cy."

"It is fortunate that she is an art thief instead of a terrorist or murderer. What's going on with my favorite District Attorney? I would've thought she would be giving you hell for calling off the wedding" Cyrus inquired with a smirk.

"That is why I want to talk with you again. I need to wiretap her home and office and put an agent on her. She is intent on finding out more about Olivia. She is convinced that I am going through a phase and will come back to her."

"Fitz, you can do whatever you want along those lines. It all depends on what you will do with whatever you find out about her. If you plan to bring her down, she is going to try to pull you down with her, which might expose the truth about your situation. Today was a close call at the park. You need to keep Olivia away from the Bureau, which will be dicey since you are using the Bureau's resources to keep tabs on her. There is no room for any further errors or screw ups here. And most importantly, you will owe me for this."

"What do you want?" Fitz asked.

"Nothing right now, but it feels good to know I have a blank check sitting around. I hope you know what you're doing. Your life would have been a lot simpler had you just married Mellie. Keep me posted. " Cyrus said as he rose and slapped Fitz on the back."

Fitz watched him leave flanked by his entourage.

Later as Fitz prepared to leave, he received a call from Australia.

Olivia spread her legs wider to accommodate what was between her legs causing the pleasurable sensations to radiate throughout her lower body. She wasn't entirely sure if the fingers between her legs were real or a figment of her imagination. The pain medication prevented her from waiting up for Fitz. She had fallen asleep fully clothed on top of the bed. As she came to complete consciousness and close to orgasm, she realized that she was completely naked, lying on her side, thighs spread open. Fitz was behind her orchestrating it all.

"Hi," he said, slipping his middle and forefinger inside her while massaging the swollen nub of flesh where the sensitive folds met.

Olivia was completely awake now. She moved against his fingers and let the sensations ripple through her.

"Hi," she said before she turned her head kiss him. When she felt his manhood sliding into her from behind, it took all her strength to pull away. She grabbed the box of condoms from the table.

"Condoms?" he said as he watched her open the box. He rolled onto his back. "So how did your doctor chat go?"

"She gave me a 30-day supply of birth control pills. I'll have to see a gynecologist about another IUD. Until then, condoms," she explained as she rolled the condom down his shaft and straddled him.

"Aren't the pills enough?"

She ignored his question and lifted herself over him, but he flipped her over on her back.

"Your male chauvinism is showing. I can't be on top?"

"This is better for your head injury," he breathed entering her swiftly.

"Fitz, I've been thinking that I need something to do. I was talking to Tim and he suggested writing or sculpting, two things I used to be good at before the accident. I think I'll sign up for a sculpting class and then maybe a creative writing class. I'll wear a disguise, but I don't think it will be necessary since my face isn't recognizable. I won't make any friends. I'll have my two shadows who'll be watching, hopefully from afar. Having two guys walking two steps behind me at all times will draw attention. What do you think?"

"I think that is a great idea. I'll look forward to seeing or reading anything you created. Of course, I need to know the name and location of where you would take the classes. So you've warmed up to Tom and Hal? They are very skilled at their jobs."

"Of course I'll let you know the location once I find a studio. Thanks!" She gave him a peck on the lips. "Tom and Hal can't be warmed up to. They are like two stone walls. How are they able to know everything? Are they FBI or something else?"

"It doesn't really matter where they are from. Just trust me. They will keep you safe and out of trouble. You never answered my question about the birth control pills. Aren't they enough?"

"There is still a chance of pregnancy using the pills only. Condoms are a good back up. You'll get used to them. I know it puts a damper on the spontaneity, but you already killed that. We haven't done it in a museum, restaurant, or car in a while so as long as we keep them stocked here, we are good. It only takes a second to slip on."

"So sex is boring now. Is that what you're trying to say, Livy?"

"Absolutely not! Making love with you is always exciting, baby. Those crazy first times we were together, not counting the first time, were once in a lifetime sexual experiences. Considering our situation and your demanding job, we can't be spontaneous like that anywhere but in the comfort of these four walls. I'm okay with that. It is safer this way. Now let's go to sleep. I finally have something to look forward to doing tomorrow. I have to plan Tim's birthday dinner, that is Friday, by the way and find a studio. Goodnight," Olivia snuggled against him and closed her eyes, totally content.

Fitz was less content because of the things he had one his mind. He wondered if Olivia made those comments to deliberately goad him into being more sexually spontaneous. She liked use reverse psychology and other little games to get her way, like teasing him about their age difference or going outside of the two mile radius he set as a boundary. She seemed to do these things when his schedule got really hectic and he had to work long hours. It was as if she used this to get his attention. He knew she would never admit to this if she even knew what she was doing.

Then he thought about his agreement with Cyrus and his comment about owing him. He pondered if that had been a smart decision, but he knew he needed a more effective way to manage her when he was away.

His last thought was of the call from Australia. His contacts there had apprehended Abby as she tried to board a plane headed for London and then the states. She was in custody and demanded to talk to him. She purported to have important information about Harrison. She would not share the information with him until her brought her back to the US. Fitz promised to get back with her in 24 hours. He wanted to talk to Tim and Huck about it first. He finally drifted off to sleep.

Agent Isaac Lee had waited all day to be called into Grant's office, expecting to be reprimanded for what had occurred during the sting operation. His heart had stopped when the Deputy Director had shown up without warning to take over his interrogation of Ms. Green.

"Shit like that never happens, Helen! He barged in and dismissed me on the spot. I had not finished interviewing her. He wouldn't let me explain," Isaac said to Helen. They were leaving work, walking to their cars in the parking garage.

"That's Grant for you. Don't sweat it Isaac. You didn't get reprimanded. For some reason, he wanted to talk to her. Maybe he wanted to make sure she wasn't going to sue. That will bring the bigwigs out, preventing a lawsuit. Maybe he wanted to make sure she wasn't apart of the sex trafficking ring. I don't know. Don't look a gifted horse in the mouth. Grant is an asshole. That's nothing new. He's done worse," Helen said. She unlocked her door and sat in the driver's seat. Isaac leaned against her car.

"There was a reason he wanted to talk to her. I plan to find her. I want to know so this won't come back and bite me in the ass later."

"You know what I think? You like Ms. Alissa Green and you are pissed that Grant thwarted your plans to ask her out. You've been talking about this chick all day. She nearly cost you the suspect. You should be mad at her, not trying to run game on her. See, look at that smile. You know I'm right. Just leave it alone. You don't have any trouble getting dates," Helen counseled.

"You have no room to lecture me. You are running after Grant's Wheelchair Wonder Boy," Isaac said.

"I hate that nickname. All you guys are just jealous of Tim. Stay out of my business, Lee."

"I have tremendous respect for my brother, Tim. Stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours, Tate."

They said their goodnights and Isaac walked to his car still thinking about Ms. Green.