"Ms. Pope is doing better," Dr. Shelep told them. "No seizures or flare up in her heart rate. She's doing her therapy extensively, both the physical and the speech."

Olivia had spent the past month in the hospital. She had speech therapy every day and physical therapy every other. She had gained strength and movement in her right hand and was able to write now. Her speech wasn't doing well though. She still couldn't form a word.

"Are you saying she can go home?" Fitz asked.

"That is up to Ms. Pope. She still needs someone to care for her," Dr. Shelep explained. "She can't be alone. She would need constant care."

Fitz knew that Olivia wouldn't want to be taken care of. She never had been. But this was different, she couldn't be by herself. It only made sense to come home and stop living in the hospital.

"James, you can't take care of her. You have a daughter now," Fitz said.

"You have three children. What's the difference?" James countered.

"Mine live with their mother in California. Olivia needs constant care like he said. I can provide that for her."

"Fitz, you're forgetting a major fact," Cyrus added. Fitz gave him a confused look. "You are the President!"

"I resign. No one can take care of her like I can."

"We aren't talking about her sexual needs," Cyrus bellowed. "Olivia needs physical therapy every other day and her speech therapist comes every single day. You have responsibilities at the White House that you have to tend to. Her team is…"

"Not equipped enough to handle her," Fitz yelled. "James, ultimately it is her decision. All you have to do is let her decide."

Dr. Shelep interjected at that point. "Actually, Sir. Ms. Pope is able to write now. She just has to write down where she wants to go and it is binding. She can decide for herself even though she can't speak. She's writing full sentences and can tell us."

They all went into Olivia's hospital room to talk to her. She was sitting in the corner looking out the window. Liv had gotten into the habit of going outside for a walk with someone about three in the afternoon and now it was nearly seven. She hated to be in the hospital all day. It drove her crazy to not have any wind or fresh air around her.

James went in ahead of everyone and sat on the window sill in front of her.

"We'll go on a walk soon, I promise. But we need to decide something," James told her. She looked at him sternly, making sure that he was being serious. "Dr. Shelep says that you can go home, if you want. You do need constant care though. The thing is… Cyrus and I both work and take care of the baby all day. We love you but we can't take care of both of you."

"I understand." Liv wrote down.

"Your team could take care of you," James continued.

"They have their own lives. I'd rather stay here."

"There is another option. You could stay with Fitz in the White House."

"NO!"

"It would get you out of the hospital, Liv. You can actually go outside any time you want to with the therapists you have and the nurses that take care of you."

"Fitz will only worry about me and he will hover. I can take care of myself. I have plenty of money to pay for the therapists and the nurse that I need at my apartment. I don't want to change anyone's life."

Fitz read every word that Olivia wrote down. Of course she would want to go home to her apartment. But there wasn't anyone living with her who really did care about her. Nurses could be bought but you can't buy their actual care.

"I want to go home to my place. I've been gone long enough. I can do my therapies, have nurses come in, and run OPA from there."

"Absolutely not!" Fitz yelled. Everyone turned to see him. His face was red with anger and his arms crossed across his chest. "You were shot. You just barely have function in your hand. You will not run that business in this condition." Cyrus and James were waiting for the foot to drop, and this was it. Now it was between Fitz and Olivia about her work. "We need the room."

Cyrus, James, and Dr. Shelep all left them alone to talk.

"You don't have a say in this."

"Really? You were shot in the head because of me! And I don't get a say?"

"It wasn't your fault. Not everything is about you."

"We know who shot you. She wasn't aiming for you. She was aiming for me but you got in the way. I know why she tried to shoot me. Your Defiance scheme played to your favor. You got me to the White House and then Verna wanted me dead." Fitz stopped to shake it off. He knew he would have to deal with that later. "You aren't going back to your apartment."

"You can't stop me."

Fitz pointed outside the door to the two agents who stood guard all day for the past month. "They work for me. You are not going back there. I will have the two of them drag you to the White House, even in your condition, and you will stay there if you try to leave. I can take better care of you than anyone else can. We will get you set up with therapy and nurses at the White House in the Residence. You can do all that there but I refuse to let you run OPA in your situation."

"This is why I wanted James as my proxy and not you."