At exactly 6:39AM the next morning, Olivia's doorbell sounded. Fully dressed, she rushed over to her door and swung it wide open to reveal a harassed-looking Cyrus.

"You do know I don't work before seven?" Cyrus asked.

Olivia regarded him seriously without a hint of a smile, and hurriedly ushered him inside. She crossed over to the kitchen and pulled out two bottles of water. She handed one to Cyrus and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Cyrus followed suit, and twisted open his water bottle.

"We have a major problem Cyrus."

"You mean other than the fact that I could be out of a job whenever Fitz decides that he wants to stop being a grown up?" Cyrus asked, holding the bottle of water up to his lips.

"Stop that. I'm being serious. Hollis killed Edison, Cy."

Cyrus paused mid-sip. He looked at Olivia curiously, and then eyed his bottle of water.

"Before you repeat that, do you mind getting me something a little stronger than this?"

Olivia leaned in closer.

"He killed Edison, he set it up so that he would fall and die."

"How do you know this?"

"He called Mellie yesterday. She called him the Sunday that I told her about Edison's plan to leak everything about Defiance and he said that he would take care of it. He killed Edison– he planned it so that he would die. And now, they're halting the autopsy report. We should have told her about Cytron Cyrus, because she never would have gone to him."

"Mellie called Hollis that morning?"

"Yes."

"The morning Edison died?"

"Yes."

"And she told him everything you told her?"

"Again…yes," Olivia sighed.

"That Mellie," Cyrus said fondly, "she always knew how to get right in the middle of the game. It was her strong suit when she was a lawyer, but now as The First Lady…not so much."

"What do we do?" Olivia asked beseechingly

Cyrus shrugged, and then chuckled to himself.

"Forgive me if I am a bit too busy rifling through the yellow pages to start feeling useful and worth your while, but you just told me that the president's wife is in the know about the death of a US senator, who's passing is going to be ruled a murder as soon as the autopsy report proves so. And yesterday, the president unveiled his grand plan to resign from office. Not that you were upset about that. I mean…you must know what it's like."

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked, baffled.

"You know what it's like to want to give up all that you have just for one person. May I remind you of a certain White House intern by the name of Amanda Tanner, who was wrongly identified with the voice on the sex tape with Fitzgerald Grant. You wanted to admit it was you on that tape, didn't you? You would have dragged your entire reputation through the mud, you would have painted yourself as the all-knowing and culpable seductress who couldn't keep her hands off of a married man; you would have been the absolute irony; a modern day Monica Lewinsky, but with better hair. And seemingly, all of that would have been okay with you. You would have done all of that to save the presidency of a man who doesn't even want it badly. So I think I yes, you do know what it's like," Cyrus took a sip of water.

Olivia eyed Cyrus, bristling at his words on the inside.

"He wants it," she said after a few moment's silence.

Cyrus laughed, "That's rich. Were you even in the room two days ago?"

"I know he wants it Cyrus. But you berating him is not helping."

Cyrus scrunched his forehead, "So I'm supposed to baby him and sugarcoat everything and tell him everything's going to be okay and that sure Fitz, you can choose the color of your own lunchbox and of course, you can pick out your own clothes for the first day of second grade."

"No, you're supposed to trust that he'll make the right decision. You're supposed to believe that he wants the right things for him and that he hasn't lost sight of what they are."

Cyrus regarded Olivia carefully, scrutinizing her face and her words. Then he grumbled loudly and looked up at the ceiling.

"Like I told him, his life would be so much better if he were a cynic."

Olivia laughed, "Then he wouldn't be our Fitz."

Cyrus snorted and took a large gulp of water.

"Can he shut it down? Can Fitz shut down the autopsy? He did it for Pastor Drake; he stopped the US attorney."

"President Grant is in Mexico right now, with about as much ability to do so as the Vice President."

Olivia nodded and looked around her apartment.

"He has no idea," Olivia said, staring out the window, "He left for Mexico yesterday and he has no idea. I don't know what to say to him, and I don't know what to do."

"I'll take of care of that, but this is the second time that we've sat on this living room, on this couch, and you've told me that you didn't know what to do. Unacceptable. Do what you always do, Olivia Pope."

x X x

A few hours later, Olivia walked into Pope & Associates, breezing past Huck, Harrison, Abby, and Quinn.

"Everyone, we have a new client."

She tacked up a picture of the translucent window.

"Millicent Grant, wife of The President of the United States."

"The First Lady?" Abby asked, perplexed – staring at the picture of Mellie.

"Precisely. At around noon yesterday, The First Lady got a phone call – from this man…" Olivia taped a picture of Hollis next to Mellie's, "telling her that there is a chance that she could be implicated in the murder of Senator Edison Davis."

"Murder?" Quinn blurted out, "He died from a fall."

"His autopsy has been halted due to irregularities and concerns, and we need to avoid suspicions associated with members of The White House and The Capitol."

"What does that have to do with The First Lady?"

"Nothing," Olivia said, removing her jacket. "And 'nothing' is exactly what we want to maintain. The First Lady is like any other client, and we do exactly what she needs us to do to protect her privacy."

"Why would anyone be suspicious of the President's wife? What motive would she have?" Quinn asked, sounding unconvinced.

Olivia looked away, and Harrison cleared his throat pointedly. He looked at Quinn, who bit her lip.

"Okay," Olivia continued, "Now that you're all aware – the details. We need to completely disassociate The First Lady from Senator Davis. Find out what the general opinion is on their relationship. Do people think they were close? Do people think they didn't know each other at all? Anything. If there's a preexisting foundation and it doesn't favor us, debunk it – destroy it. You and Huck to head to the Capitol – be discreet, don't be seen by unnecessary people, don't ask too many questions, don't look too interestesd. You're detectives, but remain as third party as possible."

Olivia dropped her purse down onto the table.

"Harrison, Quinn,"

Quinn and Harrison stood up.

"I need you to see if you can find anything about the autopsy. Find out where it is, what's the status. Anything."

"For Senator Edison Davis?" Harrison asked.

"Yes."

"He's a senator…you want us to go up and ask the US attorney and whatever coroner is working on the Senate Majority Leader?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"This is the Senate Majority Leader…"

"I know."

"This isn't…impossible?"

"Maybe, but don't have time to determine what's possible and impossible. We don't have time to not try and get this done."

In her purse, Olivia's phone began to vibrate. She pulled it out as Harrison and Quinn gathered their things to leave – "CYRUS".

"What's up?"

"Details confirming the revision of the autopsy broke and the story will be up and out for press tomorrow morning. Everyone will be reading it over their morning muffins," Cyrus said solemnly.

"Crap," Olivia whispered.

She quickly hung up the phone and called out to Quinn and Harrison making their way to the door, "Quinn, Harrison – change of plans."

x X x

"…shocking news just emerging from the Capitol. New discoveries in the death of ex-Senate Majority Leader, Edison Davis, have surfaced and are being regarded as what federal police have described as suspicious and alarming. No further observations have been made from either the officials or the Capitol, and we…"

"…upon finding irregularities on the autopsy of Edison Davis, who was buried just this Wednesday…"

"…current Senate Majority Leader, Gerald Bynum, who took the position on Tuesday, May 22, two days post Davis was pronounced dead, has not yet commented…"

Olivia pressed MUTE on the remote, sank back into the chair in her office at Pope & Associates, and stared into the depths of colors and shapes that ran across her television. Since eight that morning, every news station was reporting the new and shocking findings on Edison's death. It was out now – his death would no longer being ruled a tragic accident from the fall, and the media was picking it at voraciously like vultures. A heavy sadness came over Olivia as she thought of Edison's parents, who must be holding each other somewhere, absolutely stricken with renewed grief, pain, and confusion, after laying their son to rest. Olivia bit her lips and watched the reporter mouth soundlessly. To her left, Cyrus cleared his throat.

"The Capitol and The White House is going to be swarming with reporters interviewing those who knew him best, close colleagues, anyone who ever even offered him a refreshment on the Senate floor," Cyrus said seriously.

Olivia nodded, hardly listening – a short clip of Edison's funeral was now playing.

"We need to be on our toes, Liv…Liv?"

"Yes, yes. I know," Olivia replied, startled.

"Are you okay?"

"Does he know?" she asked quickly, turning to face Cyrus.

"Briefed him last night. We're going to need to talk to him tomorrow morning, as soon as he gets in. Sound good?"

Olivia picked up the remote and quickly pressed 'OFF'. The television screen went black instantly, and Olivia closed her eyes.

"Sounds good."