TRIGGER WARNING: There is mention of abuse in this chapter. If that makes you uncomfortable, please do not read.

Olivia's giggles filled the room and she brought her fist to her mouth - trying to quiet the noise she was making. Fitz's kisses against the bruises on her throat tickled thanks to his morning stubble. Her hands snaked into his hair - tugging on the thick curls, and her legs widened to give him more room. One hand ventured to his back, trailing a path down his spine, and she tilted her head back against the pillows sighing at the feel of his hard cock sliding between her slick folds. A breathy moan left Olivia's lips and her back arched off the soft mattress as her hips bucked involuntarily against Fitz's. They were well on their way to a repeat of the previous night when:

"Mommy, I can't find...Why is daddy on top of you?"

Fitz closed his eyes, chest rumbling as he chuckled, and he dropped his head to her shoulder. Olivia, fairly mortified, pushed at his shoulder until he rolled over onto his back. Blushing, Olivia pulled the sheets to her neck.

"Seph, can you give daddy and me a minute to wake up?"

"But you're already awake."

Olivia glowered at Fitz when he laughed, eyes sparkling at Seph's observation. Pushing himself into a sitting position, Fitz addressed their daughter:

"Seph, mommy and I have to get dressed. Can you please give us a few minutes? You can watch tv while you wait for us."

Fitz fell back against the bed as the door shut behind Seph, covering his face with his hand and laughing. Olivia joined in on his laughing, the burning in her cheeks slowly beginning to go away.

"It's been a second since we've had to deal with that," Fitz noted.

"The other two never walked in on anything. We were a lot better at locking doors then."

"After what I walked in on last night -" Fitz sat up, leaning across Olivia and placing his hand on the bed beside her head, "I think you can forgive me for forgetting to lock the door."

"What are we going to tell her?" Olivia wondered, hands trailing up his arms to grasp his biceps. He'd started working out again, slowly, after he was cleared by his doctor.

"Not the truth," Fitz grinned, covering her lips with his and settling between her thighs once more.


Olivia stood in the doorway, arms wrapped around herself. Seph sat wrapped in a blanket, cartoons playing on the television. Old cartoons - Olivia was sure Fitz had started that tradition with Seph just as he had the other two. She jumped when Fitz came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her against his rock solid chest.

.

"We have to talk to her," Fitz whispered, resting his chin atop Olivia's head.

"What do we even say?"

"I think we need to find out what she saw, first." Fitz kissed her cheek before releasing her. Sitting on the sofa beside Seph, Fitz reached for the remote and turned the volume down.

"We need to talk."

"Because you were hugging mommy?" Seph twisted in her seat, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees.

"Hugging?" Fitz glanced back at Olivia who only shrugged, moving into the room to sit on the other side of Seph.

"Right. Hugging." Olivia rested her arm on the back of the sofa, her fingers grazing Fitz's shoulder.

"Except mommy wasn't crying."

"Huh?" Olivia tilted her head, frowning at Seph's statement. The little girl twisted around, staring right at her mom as she said:

"When we lived with Jake you always cried when he hugged you like that. But you were laughing now. You were happy when daddy hugged you."

"Crying?"

Therapy, Olivia mouthed toward Fitz.

"Ahem," Fitz cleared his throat, "Do you have any questions about what you saw, Seph?"

"Do you love mommy now?"

Olivia lowered her gaze, a grin spreading across her face, at Fitz's words:

"Yes. I love her a lot."

"Okay." Seph shrugged.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"Can I watch cartoons now?"

Olivia and Fitz laughed, settling back into the sofa - Seph nestled between them.


"No Fitz today?"

Olivia glanced behind her at the door she had just closed, took a shaky breath, and marched past Nathan. She could already feel her nerve slipping.

"He's giving me a few minutes to talk to you first. Alone."

Nathan frowned, crossing his arms, and leaned back in his chair. Olivia took her usual seat on the sofa across from him, feet tapping in a steady, fast rhythm as the words began pouring forth:

"Fitz and I slept together. Seph walked in on us the next morning and when we were talking to her about it, she thought we were hugging. Then she mentioned that I always cried when Jake hugged me and…how do I tell Fitz that not all my…encounters with Jake were consensual?"

"Slow down. Take a breath." Nathan paused, waiting for Olivia to visibly inhale and exhale before continuing. "This is a lot to take in, Olivia. You have never mentioned this before, and I think we should continue this session now and Fitz can join us at our next session."

"I want Fitz here." Olivia shook her head, patting her hands against her thighs. Nathan tilted his head, pursing his lips.

"Olivia, have you been taking your medications?"

"Yes."

"As prescribed?"

"Yes."

"When did you start experiencing an increase in energy?"

"I'm not manic," Olivia snorted. "I know when I'm manic and this isn't it. I am nervous. And scared. I've never told anybody about that side of Jake and Fitz…It's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Olivia."

"I chose to stay with him. I chose to believe him. And even after the first time he…forced me to sleep with him, I believed that he did nothing wrong. We were dating. Living together. I didn't have a right to tell him no…"

"That's not true, Olivia."

"Can I get it all out? I don't need validation right now or…anything else. I just…" Olivia sighed, digging her nails into the fabric of her jeans. "I'm not sure I'm even ready to admit to everything Jake did or call it what it was. I'd still be burying it if Seph hadn't said anything. I…"

"It's okay if you don't want to continue, Olivia."

Olivia closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. Re-opening her eyes, she looked at Nathan: "How do I tell Fitz?"

"You tell Fitz what you're comfortable telling him, when you are comfortable. This is your story."


Athena rested her head on her knees, arms wrapped around herself. Her gaze followed Sadie, watching the blonde as she applied another coat of lime green polish to her toenails.

"Mom and dad are together."

"Saw that one coming," Sadie laughed, setting the bottle of nail polish on her nightstand.

"What if this doesn't work?"

"What if it does?" Sadie raised a brow, stretching her legs out and leaning back against her pillows.

"I want it to," Athena said, quietly.

"Then hope that it does and maybe make things a little easier for your mom and dad, kiddo."

"Ugh," Athena rolled her eyes, unwrapping her arms and flopping against the pillows, laying her head on Sadie's shoulder. "I know I'm annoying."

"You're not annoying. You're a teenager."

"I think my mom would disagree." Athena laced her fingers together, resting her hands on her stomach. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling and the small, plastic stars that were stuck there - remnants from Mercedes's childhood.

"Your mom doesn't think you're annoying. Maybe a little mean sometimes…" Sadie nudged Athena's leg with her own and Athena smiled. She knew her aunt was trying to take some of the sting out of her words.

"I know." Athena frowned - done with the conversation. "Are we going to work on my science project or not?"


The cheering from just inside the family room made Olivia smile. It was carefree and happy - the complete opposite of how she felt. Inhaling, she held her hand against her stomach in an attempt to stop the violent, swirling turmoil that had started immediately after her conversation with Nathan. Normally, therapy helped. Just not this time. Exhaling, Olivia entered the room.

Fitz reclined on the sofa, Lio beside him, shouting at the scream with Jerry. So engrossed in the game, they didn't notice Olivia until she was sitting beside Fitz. Shakily, she returned Fitz's smile. She was half-tempted to keep quiet - continue to bottle this deep, dark secret of hers and let Fitz continue to watch the basketball game.

"Can we talk?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she had time to stop herself.

Fitz tousled Lio's hair, smirking at the annoyed look that crossed the kid's face, and stood. Olivia led him from the family room, down the hall, and to the empty kitchen. Sitting across from him at the breakfast nook, she began speaking:

"I'm not sure how to talk about this. Therapy wasn't a lot of help earlier." She kept her gaze glued on her hands, picking at the skin around her nails.

"Is that why Nathan rescheduled our session?"

"He thought I needed an individual more than we needed a joint session," Olivia admitted, her lips curling upward just a hair when Fitz reached across the table to grab her hands - stopping her picking. "I didn't know that any of the kids had seen the things that happened with Jake. Or knew about them. Even if Seph thinks it was just hugging."

"Liv...we don't need to talk about your...relationship with Jake. I'm willing to forgive you, like I said, but I'm not -"

Olivia sighed, pulling her hands free and shaking her head. "Not everything with Jake was...Sometimes I said...He never...It was never my choice if we slept together -"

"He -"

"I'm not ready to use that term," Olivia interrupted. "He wanted to have a baby, too, and hid my birth control. Then he…"

Olivia swallowed, blinking as the tears started falling. Fitz slid his chair back, standing, and moved toward Olivia.

"I'm going to hug you, Livvie. Is that okay?"

Olivia nodded, biting her bottom lip, and turned into Fitz's hug. Rubbing her back, Fitz placed his chin on her head and held her tightly against him as he mumbled:

"I'm going to fucking kill him."


A/N: This chapter was a little uncomfortable to write although not as uncomfortable as the next chapter. There isn't a lot of detail right now (not that there will ever be a lot of detail into what happened - I'm just not comfortable giving it too much detail). Olivia, like a lot of women coming from a situation where they had an abusive spouse, has not accepted what happened to her. She's unwilling to even call it what it is as of right now because that would be admitting that she is a victim and she's just not ready for that yet.

As for why I added this to the story? This is the sad reality for most women with a Bipolar or Schizophrenic diagnosis. 1 out of every 6 women experience rape. 40.25% of women diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder experience rape.

Lastly, as always, if anyone has questions: I am always available to answer them. And if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7.

Until next time,

Gabi