Half an hour later, Mellie opened her eyes to the now bustling waiting room. She thought she was only going to close her eyes for a second, but she had fallen asleep, and in her unconscious state, visitors arrived. Huck and Quinn leaned against the far wall, looking as out of place as ever. They were really only there for Olivia, not because they cared what happened to Charlotte. Cyrus was seated in a chair opposite Mellie, head in his hands, the slight shake in his shoulders giving away his fear. Abby had come too, not quite sure why, but feeling some attachment to this girl who was in the same situation Abby herself had been in. And there's a certain pull, a pull that only appears between two women who know what it's like to feel a man's hands around their throat, night after night. So she had come, because that is what the pull makes you do. And Fitz was there too, alone in a chair as far from everyone else as possible. He was the President, he couldn't look as terrified as he felt. But Mellie knew him too well, and only she could see the clenched fists, the red face, and the vein in his neck that popped out when he was terrified. There was an inner struggle going on, out of sight from the rest of the world. He knew exactly where Evan was being held, and part of him, the part that usually won out, wanted to go down there and have his way, just as he had done with Jake after Jerry's death. But the other part of him knew he couldn't do that, not now, when the situation was so public. And yet, the struggle continued, and even Fitz himself didn't know which part would win.
As Mellie stirred, Marcus lifted his arm to allow more movement, and to bring feeling back into it. He gave her a tender smile, still all too conscious of the impending fight between them. But now was not the time for that. Right now, Mellie simply needed comfort and support, because she was going through things that he didn't think he could ever understand.
All eyes in the room flipped to Mellie like she was a magnet, unsure of her mental state. She breathed deeply, looking over every person, one by one, before she turned to Fitz. It hurt Marcus to watch her unsteadily make her way towards him, but Charlotte was their daughter in all the ways that mattered, and right now was a time for them to come together as parents, despite all their differences.
She delicately lowered herself into the seat beside him, and he immediately reached for her hand. They sat for a moment in pained silence, before she spoke.
"Has there been any news?" He shook his head just barely, holding it all together by a thread.
"A nurse came in about ten minutes ago, but she said we shouldn't expect to hear anything for a while. 'Surgery is a much lengthier process than it appears on t.v., Mr. President,' she told me." Fitz sighed heavily, looking at Mellie for the first time that day, tears in his eyes. She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, trying to be strong, and giving him her best try at an optimistic smile. It failed miserably, and she knew it.
"So, we wait." He nodded.
"We wait." A hushed silence overtook the room for a lingering moment, and Mellie bit her lip, trying to stop the horrible thoughts that were running around her brain. Fitz shook her out of it with a quiet question. "What happened?"
Two words. That's all his question was. Two tiny words, strung together in a common way. But that question held a great weight. And they both knew it. Because it went deeper than just the singular events that led them here. That question went back twenty years. What happened that got them here, yes, but what happened that made Charlotte think what was happening was okay in the first place? What happened that broke their family apart? What happened that made the two of them somehow forget to watch out for their little girl? What happened to create a person who would do what Evan did? What happened to allow him into the Secret Service? What happened that made them lose Charlotte?
But those questions were all too much for both of them at the moment, so Mellie decided to answer the simplest one first, and began to recount the events of the day to her ex-husband.
Outside, swarms of news vans and reporters surrounded the entrance to the hospital, reporting the breaking news. Huck leaned over to whisper in Olivia's ear, and she stood silently, exiting the room unnoticed, to make a statement. Her head spun as she remembered the last time she had stood outside this same hospital and made a statement about a Grant child. She hoped she wouldn't repeat those events tonight. Instead, she stood tall and strong at the podium, arms resting on the sides, and cleared her throat. She fixed each reporter with a classic Olivia Pope look, and began.
"Earlier today, there was a domestic disruption in the home of Senator Mellie Grant. Her twenty year old daughter, Charlotte, was attacked by her boyfriend, Evan Sanders, a member of the Secret Service. The attack culminated in the young Ms. Grant being stabbed, and she was rushed to the hospital. She is currently receiving treatment of the best quality from the surgeons here. The President and Senator Grant remain strong in this time of need, and thank you for your hopes and prayers. Mr. Sanders is being held, without bail, awaiting trial. Thank you." Olivia didn't finish her thought, knowing that Evan was also waiting to see if her would be charged with aggravated assault, or murder. But none of the reporters were idiots, and they all heard what went unsaid. Olivia exited the podium without taking any questions, and walked casually back in the hospital doors. She paused to take a breath, and sent a silent prayer to whatever God there might be, that Charlotte would live. She couldn't watch Fitz lose another child.
