The phone call came at 7 a.m., drowning out the hushed argument transpiring between Olivia and Edison in his office. That morning, the topic was where they would be having Christmas dinner. Every other year, they split the night in half, a few hours here, a few there. This time around, Olivia blatantly refused to set foot in Edison's mother's home, or to bring her children.

"They've spent enough time over there, and my mom is driving up to see them. So I'm taking them to Lauryn's," she told him with finality, putting an end to the entire conversation in her own mind. Edison was on another track.

"They spent Thanksgiving with your family; you can't take Christmas, too."

"Fine, then you can pick them up from Lauryn's around five, we should be done eating by then."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm very serious. You'll notice that I haven't been doing much joking recently. And in continuing with my new motto of seriousness, I feel the need to tell you that I put a deposit down on a townhouse in downtown Bethesda and I'll be moving in on the 30th. Just in time for the new year."

Edison's face began to look like he was struggling for air, and he took in a deep breath in preparation for whatever he was about to yell next when Olivia heard her phone ring. She snatched it from her pocket, noticing the number was blocked, and turned to walk out of the room without another word to her heated husband. He wouldn't yell, not after she had relayed her conversation with Avery back to him. Once she was safely shut in her own office, standing among the boxes she had already managed to pack, she took the call.

"Huck?"

The man on the other line cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's me. I got what you needed. Tamara Fisher, twenty-six, has been working at Edison's firm for four years. She started out as the secretary, but was promoted about two years ago to his personal-assistant. Single, no kids, her family lives in Dayton, Ohio. Went to school in the area for accounting, which explains why she works where she does, but it looks like she does some modeling on the side. Right now she lives with two other girls in an apartment in Takoma Park. I'll send you her information."

"Thank you, so much."

"It's no problem." There was a lengthy pause, and Olivia waited for him to continue speaking. "Liv?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? You don't know this girl. She might be crazy."

Olivia laughed lightly. "No thank you, Huck. I've got this. I'm just going to talk with her, very nice and civil. And really, don't worry about me. I can handle myself just fine."

The sky was blanketed in drab grey, a staple of winter in the area, and it made the morning dreary. Frost clung to brown blades of grass and without a creature in sight, it was eerily quiet. Olivia found it to be a bit depressing as she pulled into the parking lot below a brick apartment building and took one of the guest spaces not too far from the door. She could see from where she idled that anyone who wanted to enter needed a key fob, and she was rethinking her plan, preparing to switch the car into reverse and pull away unnoticed. From the corner of her eye, she caught the flash of another car pulling up a few spaces away and, recognizing the window of opportunity, quickly made her way to the front door, making a big show of rummaging through her purse.

A young man, who looked to be in his early twenties, stepped out of the car and went around to the trunk, taking his time while Olivia tried not to freeze in the icy breeze. After a few minutes, the guy made his way towards the door and eyed her warily.

"I seem to have lost my key thingy. Again." She smacked a gloved hand to her forehead and rolled her eyes, hoping she sounded ditzy enough. Had it been warmer outside, she would have popped a few buttons on her blouse. "Those things are so easy to lose."

The guy smiled knowingly and began to dig around in his gym bag, taking what she felt was an unnecessarily long time. "Yeah, I know what you mean. They should totally be bigger."

"Yeah, totally," she agreed with faux enthusiasm as he finally located the plastic device and tapped it to the pad. "Thanks so much, you're a sweetheart."

He held the door open only a crack, smirking at her and pretending he wasn't flexing. "Maybe I'll see you around the building? I'm over in 5C, you could drop by sometime."

Olivia choked back a laugh. "Right, that sounds good," she managed, wedging the toe of her high heeled boot in the door and prying it open. "Thanks again," she called over her shoulder as she took off quickly down the hallway, bypassing the elevator bank and turning into the stairwell. Tamara's apartment was only on the third floor, and she found it quickly, the door sitting diagonally to the door she flew out of at the top of the steps. Apartment 3F. As she neared the door, the base line to a loud hip hop song could be heard over a blaring television. Olivia knocked tentatively, then harder, squaring her shoulder and going into business mode. Tentative wasn't going to get her what she wanted.

A petite blond in a long nightshirt and fuzzy slippers answered the door, beaming emphatically. One of Tamara's roommates. "Hi," she practically squealed over the noise. "Can I help you?"

Olivia cleared her throat and tried to talk over the music. "Yeah, I'm here to see Tamara."

The blond cocked her head to one side, regarding Olivia curiously. "Oh?" She looked briefly like she was considering turning Olivia away. "Are you family?"

"A friend. From back in Dayton." Olivia hoped she sounded convincing, and that she looked young enough to pass for the friend of a girl a decade younger than her. The guy downstairs had thought her young enough to hit on, at least.

The faltering smile on the young woman's face brightened again and she resumed shouting over the din inside of the apartment. "Omigosh that's so exciting, Tammie never talks about her friends back home but I know she'll be super excited to see you." She leaned closer, prompting Olivia to do the same, and dropped her voice to a normal volume. "She hasn't been feeling well lately, something about her boyfriend. He's a total douche, from what I hear. She doesn't say much about him but I know he's older, and I'm pretty sure he's married. He buys her all of this expensive jewelry and takes her on trips. She really likes him though, and thinks he's going to leave his wife but that, like, never happens."

Olivia tried to compose herself and reign in the shell-shocked expression she was surely wearing, clamping her slack jaw tightly shut. Her heart plummeted to her stomach and she was fairly certain the hallway had tilted onto its side. Some time ago she had deduced that Edison had had sex with other women; that she could handle. But to hear it confirmed, and to hear that he had been carting this poor girl around for years with empty promises, stunned her and made her feel partially to blame.

"Ooh, look at me, being a little gossip," the blond giggled. "Come on in. Tammie's room is down that hall, second door on the left. I think she's just waking up."

Nodding, her mind still elsewhere, Olivia thanked the girl and slowly made her way down the hall. The door to Tamara's room appeared much too soon, and she knocked three solid times. Sounds were muffled but someone had finally turned down the music, and she pressed her ear to the door, listening for an invitation. Someone mumbled that she could enter, and she slipped silently through the door before shutting it tightly behind her.

Tamara was standing with her back towards the door, looking out of the window above her bed. She had on pajama bottoms decorated with exaggerated cartoon characters and though she looked almost topless at first glance, Olivia gleaned the neon green strap of a sports bra hidden behind a long sheet of ebony hair. Clearing her throat, Olivia stepped forward, making her presence known.

"Ellen, do you still have my red tennis shoes-" Tamara whirled around and stopped, shocked at not seeing her roommate, but a strange woman. "Who are you?"

Olivia took a deep breath and smiled, hoping it looked warm and inviting. She was here to ask a favor, not to terrify the child. "Hi, Tamara, my name is Olivia." She couldn't help but note that the girl reminded her of herself at that age, about the same age she was when she met Edison. The resemblance began to sicken her then. Tamara had wide brown eyes and high cheekbones like hers, but she was taller and built more like a model – if models had backsides. Her skin was tanner, and her lips thinner, and her nose had more of a classic Grecian shape to it. But the similarities struck Olivia harder than the differences, and she found herself focusing on those and becoming upset.

"I don't care what your name is. You can't be in here. I don't even know you."

Smile widening, Olivia helped herself to a seat at the small desk on the adjacent wall. "Of course you do. You have to recognize me, Tamara. You were at my house for a party last New Year's, I made you brownies once on your birthday, you've probably played with my kids when they visited the office."

The snarl on Tamara's face vanished completely, replaced by total shock, then embarrassment and shame. She slid down until she was seated on the edge of the bed and looked past Olivia at the wall, her eyes welling with tears. Olivia was beginning to feel nauseous but couldn't stop there. One final nail in the coffin, then she would reroute. Leaning towards the bed, and taking extra care to be sure her smile didn't falter, she said sweetly, "You've been having sex with my husband, so I'd say we know each other very well. Wouldn't you?"

The dam broke, and tears rushed down the girl's face as she buried it in her hands, hiding from Olivia's sickly sweet stare. She took a moment to calm down a bit before raising her head and blubbering, "I'm s-so sorry, Mrs. Davis. It wasn't supposed to ha-happen like that. He was just teaching me how to do what he does, so I can do it someday, and then we spent so much time alone together and he's just so sweet and I love him. You just don't understand."

Olivia lifted herself up to plop back down on the bed, leaning close to Tamara's bowed head. "But I do."

"You do?" Tamara's face was twisted in confusion, waiting for the explosion that should have already come. Instead, Olivia wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.

"I do," she confirmed with a nod. "Love sneaks up on you, and it's not always at the ideal time. Or with the ideal person. I get it, I really do. And that's why I came here."

"To tell me you're okay with me sleeping with your husband?"

Olivia's smile wavered and she was grateful Tamara's eyes were still unfocused. "No. I'm here because I don't love Edison, and I want to get a divorce. He's told me that he wants to be with you. You love him, and you want to be with him, don't you?"

Tamara nodded eagerly. "I do, I really do."

"Good. Then you'll be willing to help this process so everything goes smoothly and quickly?"

"Of course. Anything you or Edison need me to do, I'm there."

"The thing is, divorce in this state isn't just signing a few papers and running off. There's a lot of red tape, and you're the one who can help us get through it. All you have to do is make a statement – written is fine – saying that you and Edison have been in a relationship for a few years now, and that you've been intimate. Make a record of all the things he's bought you. This way, the court will allow us to part ways."

Tamara considered it, nodding slowly along with everything Olivia was saying. "What do you get out of this?" she asked angrily, and Olivia had to clench her hands into fists to keep from choking the entitled little brat next to her. Getting defensive over money that wasn't even hers to defend, and the likes of which she would probably never see. If prior knowledge was any indication, Edison had no intentions of marrying this girl. She was too high maintenance for his tastes, and too flashy, Olivia thought as she eyed the girlishly bright room. Of course Edison liked that she was young and sprightly, and that he could keep her content with a few well-placed gifts from Juicy Couture, but he was very clear about the fact that he wanted someone conducive to his image on his arm. Divorcing his wife and shacking up with his assistant was not the stuff of 'good images', especially if that assistant was ten years his junior.

"Nothing, I don't get a thing. And I don't want a thing except my freedom. You know he's got children that he has to continue to care for, financially and otherwise."

"I'm aware, and don't worry, I won't try to get in the way of that. Not even when we start having kids of our own."

The next smile Olivia gave her was sad, full of pity. She really wanted to whack the poor girl upside the head and see if it knocked some sense into her. That, however, was not her responsibility, and she already had plenty of problems of her own. So instead of getting on her soapbox, which she so desperately wanted to do, she gave the girl a small one-armed hug and stood, setting a business card on the desk.

"Mail the statement to me when you're done, and I'll be in contact. Don't try to run or do anything stupid, please. It will only prolong this and we all want it over fast." She paused in the open doorway, turning over her shoulder and noticing the wistful smile on the girl's face. "And you should call your mother, tell her about this. I know you think you're grown but...well, I'm thirty three and I still get lost sometimes."

From the brusqueness of Tamara's nod, Olivia knew she wasn't going to pick up the phone and make that call anytime soon. She didn't push, just wished the girl a happy holiday carefully shut the door behind her and let herself out of the apartment.

Between helping Lauryn cook, making sure her kids didn't break any of the toys she had just bought, ignoring the multitude of text messages Edison was sending her, and taking calls from her mother every few seconds to give detailed directions, Olivia wasn't sure she was going to make it to dinner. It was only one p.m. and food was always served at four. Once she thought she could catch a quick nap by announcing she was taking a bathroom break and Connor's noisy discovery of her hiding place among the pillows in one of the boys' rooms had ruined that. She had the expression of a petulant child as she peeled potatoes over the trash can and enviously watched the kids snooze among their toys in the living room.

"Have I ever told you how much I dislike being a grown up at Christmas?"

Lauryn let out a bark of laughter from her station, polishing silver at the kitchen table. "Please, you weren't even here for the cleanup. When have you ever seen my kitchen this shiny?"

"The day you moved in, maybe. When we did the walk-through."

"Exactly." Olivia's phone buzzed for the sixth time and Lauryn scoffed loudly. "Um, since when are you so popular?" Then she smiled suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows. "Is that your new boo?"

Olivia shushed her loudly, peering around the corner to make sure the kids were sufficiently distracted. "Quiet down, please. It's probably just Edison doing some more whining. He's picking the kids up after dinner."

"Right, and then you're going to see your boo. Dress up in a sexy Santa costume, hang some mistletoe from your belt buckle. Give him the Christmas cheeks."

A potato skin hit Lauryn's forearm and she looked up at Olivia's blushing face. "Will you please stop that? I'm not going to see him today, or any day until my divorce is finalized."

"I know you're trying to maintain this no contact thing but damn, Liv, it's Christmas. The man is smitten with you and he's out here on the East coast with no family. The least you can do is call." Olivia was about to admit her sister was right when Lauryn continued, adding, "And describe your sexy Santa costume to him, give him some over-the-phone Christmas cheeks."

"You're a sex maniac," Olivia said, exasperated. "There's no stopping you. Do you ever talk about anything else?"

"All the time. It's just that this is the subject you clam up about the most, and that makes me three times as interested. If you just told me all the dirty details I wanted to know, we wouldn't have to go through this every time we speak."

"Ooh, dirty details? I'd like to hear."

Both sisters turned towards the entrance of the kitchen and were greeted with the sight of their mother, arms outstretched in invitation. Lauryn rolled her eyes and resumed polishing the silverware and Olivia gave a small wave. As children, the girls had not been very close to either of their parents, both of whom preferred spending their time arguing with each other and avoiding the house altogether than with their kids. It was something both Pope girls had gotten over years ago, but they still weren't ones to jump for joy every time the mother they affectionately referred to as Patricia walked through the door.

"Well it's good to see you two haven't changed a bit," she humphed, gliding into the kitchen and taking a seat across from Lauryn and pointing at her. "You've still got that attitude and your sister is still a prude."

"I am not a prude," Olivia called, clearly annoyed, from her perch on the other side of the kitchen, "it's just none of your business. Either of you."

Lauryn waved a hand at her. "She's just a private person," she explained to their mother. Whenever their mother was around, Lauryn went immediately into big sister mode. "And I was just messing with her. You're kind of early, Ma."

"I know, I know. I wanted to spend some extra time with my girls and the kids." Patricia looked around. "Where are my sons-in-law?"

"Roger has work until three, so he should be here soon," Lauryn explained. "Believe it or not, there are a lot of fires on Christmas." She shot her eyes to Olivia, wondering if she should continue or allow her to answer for herself.

"Edison is..." Olivia trailed off, managing to make a perfectly spiraled peel and watching it twist its way down the plastic bag lined can. "He's at his parents. He'll be here to pick the kids up later."

"Trouble in paradise?" Patricia sniffed. "If you're as 'shy' about sex with him as you are with everyone else, I'm not surprised."

Lauryn looked ready to yell something but Olivia spoke up. "For the last time, we are not going to discuss my sex life tonight. At all. Okay? If you must know, Ma, we're currently seeking a divorce. It's really none of your business."

"Divorce, huh?" Their mother laughed sardonically. "I guess both of you are a bit more like me than you want to admit."

"Bite your tongue," Lauryn grumbled. "Why don't you go say hi to the kids? They're watching TV in the living room."

"Fine, fine." Patricia rose from her seat, straightening out the skirt of her dress. "I know when I'm not wanted. At least my grandkids love me."

"They're still young," Lauryn called to her retreating form. Then she turned to Olivia. "You don't think I'm like her, do you? Please say it ain't so."

Olivia giggled and pretended not to hear. In reality, they were both like their mother, though in different ways. Whereas Olivia had inherited her mother's creativity and love of foreign languages, Lauryn was brazen and blunt like Patricia. They both lacked the same verbal filter, the one that kept most people from asking insanely personal questions. Instead of saying that, she just shook her head. "She's not that bad, Laurie. I mean, she's gotten better. Patricia will always be about Patricia, but we could have had worse."

"Of course, there's always 'worse'. I just don't want to raise my kids like she did us, and have them end up all screwed up."

"Are we screwed up?"

Lauryn considered the question. "You're alright, I guess. You used to be a bit of a pushover and you were awful at expressing your feelings but you've recently grown out of it. I like that. I used to be a rebellious teenager who would do anything for attention, and I mostly grew out of that. So as far as people go, I'd say we're only a little bit screwed up."

"I can work with a little bit."

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door and it swung open, revealing an influx of cousins and aunts and uncles. Lauryn stacked the newly polished silver neatly in the box and stood.

"Here they come. I guess I have to go play hostess." A false smile spread tightly across her face. "Does this look sincere?"

Olivia glanced at her and gave a thumbs up. "Fantastic. I'm practically quaking with holiday cheer just looking at you."

The evening progressed smoothly – or as smoothly as one can when an entire extended family tries to fit into a one family home. Before dinner, everyone entertained themselves by opening presents and catching up with trivialities. Choruses of Last time I saw you, you were just a little thing and Have you heard what happened to Uncle Lewis? echoed amongst the relatives. The closer it got to dinner time, the rowdier everyone became. Empty stomachs and long drives made for an irritable crowd that milled near the opening to the dining room while dishes were being set on the credenza. Lauryn spent most of the night with her eyes rolling towards the ceiling, silently nudging her sister every time something she found utterly ridiculous was said. Olivia, on the other hand, only smiled at her family members. They were all a bit crazy, and somewhat loud, but they were sweet and the powerful aroma of Christmas dinner and the sparkle of the lights on the tree were putting her in a very good mood, though a shadow of melancholy hovered over her every time she thought about the fact that her kids would be leaving before the night was over. It would be the first holiday since they were born that she would not be spending every second with them.

Mealtime went off without a hitch, minus the glass of apple juice one of the kids knocked onto the tan carpet. Lauryn graciously informed the child's parent that since it was Christmas, no one had to get spanked but someone had better find the carpet cleaner and start scrubbing. Almost as soon as the last fork had fallen with a clatter to a bare plate, the doorbell rang, causing everyone to cast curious looks at the latecomer.

"It's just Edison," Olivia explained, rising from her seat and approaching the card table set up nearby for the children. "Come on, kids. Time for dinner number two."

A pronounced pout appeared on Avery's face but she didn't protest, only gave lackluster hugs to everyone seated around the table and followed her mother to the foyer. Edison stood awkwardly just inside the door, shuffling his feet and looking around as if he had never seen the place before. When they neared him, Olivia passed Connor to him along with his coat. They silently began to bundle the kids in jackets and scarves and gloves.

"I guess I should get used to this," Edison said quietly, one foot already out the door. "This is how it's going to be until they go off to college, huh?"

"Don't be like that, not today. Go be with your family and enjoy some time with your kids. And Merry Christmas," she tried with a weak smile.

The kindness she tried to offer was not returned, only swatted away with a curt nod. "See you back at the house."

Most of the family had returned to the living room to sit around and talk and drink, their eyes purposefully avoiding the interaction taking place by the front door. Olivia moved in the opposite direction of the flow of people, falling into step with her sister by gathering dishes from the dining room table and transporting them to the kitchen. She didn't want to talk, and Lauryn didn't say a word, only handed her the washed dishes to dry and stack. Once all of the china was neatly placed on the counter, they turned to each other and leaned on the counter.

"I know you're not used to not seeing them all day on Christmas, but you'll get through this Liv."

Olivia nodded and sighed. "Yeah, it's definitely a different feeling. They're my babies. It's not that I don't trust Edison with them, but he's not the most attentive. Thank goodness the rest of his family isn't as crazy as him and his mother."

"They'll be okay," Lauryn assured her. "What about you? You gonna make it through the night with the Peanut Gallery?" She jerked a thumb towards the crowd in the living room.

"I'm not really in the mood," Olivia admitted, watching them laugh and holler from a distance. "I want to be somewhere quiet, but I'm also not in the mood to be alone right now."

"You could always go see your boo." Olivia turned to her sister with a bitter look, wiping the smirk clean off of Lauryn's face. "Don't be like that. You have nowhere to be, your kids are safe, and you want to be happy on Christmas, don't you? He's probably miserable, and all by himself. Just call him and see where he is, Liv. I'll cover for you if you need it. Go be with your man."

The phone rested in its cradle on the wall and Lauryn picked it up, untangling the spiraled cord and presenting it Olivia. They both stared down at it, listening to the quiet hum of the dial tone, and Lauryn shook it in her hand. Finally, Olivia extended an arm and slowly wrapped her fingers around the receiver, lifting it from her sister's hand. As her fingers began to punch in the numbers she had already memorized, Lauryn stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek before returning to the guests in the living room.

"Hello?" Fitz's voice sounded muffled and slow, and Olivia realized she had awoken him even though it was still early in the evening.

"Hi," she replied gingerly, twirling the cord around her finger and feeling like a teenager taking a call from her crush.

"Livvie?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. But it's Christmas and the kids just left and I'm not really feeling like spending the rest of the night in a room full of my family. I was going to ask if I could come over but you go ahead and go back to sleep."

"No," he shouted, suddenly wide awake. "I'm up. I fell asleep somewhere between A Charlie Brown Christmas and Elf, and I'm pretty sure Babes in Toyland is coming on next. I don't know how much more I can take."

"I can't stay long but…"

"It doesn't matter," he finished for her. "As long as I get to see you. What time will you be over?"

"It shouldn't take me more than twenty minutes, if traffic is light." Just as she was about to say goodbye and hang up, he called out to her again. "Yes, Fitz?"

"Thank you."

A smile spread across her face and she curled her fingers, bringing her hand up to cup it over her mouth and mask the goofy grin. She drew them back slightly to whisper into the phone, "Like I said, it's Christmas. You're supposed to spend it with people you love."

A/N: Can I just say, I love "handling things" Olivia so I had to find a way to work that into this story. It wouldn't have felt right otherwise. I decided to release this chapter from captivity earlier than planned. Just FYI, the next chapter is going to skip over the rest of Christmas night but I'm thinking about writing a little interlude about their night. If I do, it will probably just be on my tumblr (jelzz). So look out for that. xo