Okay, this one is heavy CW for violence of the domestic and sexual nature.
Memories Fade – Tears for Fears
There's only need
I love your need
So much I'm losing me
I cannot see the reason for the Pain
With hungry joy
I'll be your toy
Just hoping you will play
Without hope my body starts to fail
Memories fade but the scars still linger
Goodbye my friend
Will I ever love again
Memories fade but the scars still linger
"I'll have one of those." Abby said, kicking her heels off. Chip sauntered over to her with a fresh glass of scotch. She felt his hand roam her ass, up her back, softly massaging the back of her neck. "That feels nice."
His lips started on her shoulder, as he brushed her hair off of her neck. "How long have you two been fucking?"
"What?" Abby tensed.
"You and Fitz."
"We've never fucked—Ow." Abby gasped as he tightened his fist in her hair.
He slowly walked around her. The alcohol on his breath stung her cheek. "You think I'm a fucking idiot? You think I didn't vet you before I decided you were going to be my woman? You two were together, your senior year of college. You went to multiple events as each other's dates."
"Just as friends. Fitz is like my brother—" Chip connected a hand to her cheek, making her stumble to the ground.
"Liar."
"Chip, please." Abby whispered, staying on the ground.
"Get up." He demanded, downing the rest of his drink. She slowly rose, keeping her eyes to the floor. "Look at me when you lie to me."
"I'm telling the truth." Abby whimpered, earning another blow to her cheek. "I never fucked Fitz."
"Stop crying. First Ladies don't cry."
Abby tried to stop the sobs threatening her chest. He stepped forward to her, making her flinch back.
"Abs, I'm sorry." He sighed, softening his tone. "You know, I am just so crazy about you. I couldn't handle being around that man, knowing that you two used to be a thing."
"We were never a thing." Abby insisted.
He softly caressed her cheek, bringing her eyes to his. Her cheek was still stinging, and her eyes were still blurred with tears. Without warning, he slammed her into the wall, making her yelp and slink to the floor.
"Ah." She groaned as he picked her up, slamming her back against the wall.
"I bet he doesn't fuck you like I do." Chip said in a low voice, his hands roaming her body in an invasive way. He ripped her dress to shreds, letting it fall to her ankles. "I bet he doesn't make you as wet as I do."
"Chip, I'm not in the mood." Abby whispered, as his hand pulled her thong until the fabric made uncomfortable friction. "Please, stop."
"Why? Because you'd rather it be him?"
"No, I—" Abby's air was knocked out of her as he pinned his forearm across her neck. "Chip." She gasped.
"Shut the fuck up." He ripped her underwear, "You have lost the right to speak."
She went limp from the lack of oxygen, so he released her, throwing her onto the bed. When she came to, he was on top of her, roughly pounding his dick into her. His hands gripping her thighs and waist until they stung from his grip. She reached for his face, trying to cause damage, but he was stronger, grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head. She kept resisting and trying to squirm away, but he kept beating her into submission. It finally got to the point to where she could resist. She couldn't see through the blood, and she couldn't feel anything but the pain. He finished, blowing his raw load into her. She felt him climb off of her and chuckle. The sound of his blithe laughter made her blood turn cold.
"You might want to call in at work tomorrow." He said lightly, heading off to the bathroom. Abby waited until he was in the shower. She knew that she couldn't stay there. He would kill her and cover it up. But she had nowhere else to go. She couldn't endanger Olivia. Not after the threat he placed on her. She knew Fitz was lying about his hotel being nearby – there weren't any hotels within walking distance of that bar. She had no way of getting in contact with him.
She couldn't go to the police, either. Who knew how many of them were on the Putney payroll.
What she did know was that she couldn't stay there. She went to grab the first clothes from her closet. She couldn't lift her arms, without a debilitating pain shooting through her ribs. She gasped in pain, as she shimmied a zip up hoodie over her body and pulled up a pair of shorts. By the time that her shoes were on, she heard his shower cut off. Abby panicked, knowing that she had about sixty seconds until he would come out of the bathroom in a towel. She put one foot in front of the other, until she was out of the door. She managed to grab her keys from his jacket pocket.
Once on the road, she wondered how much time she had. How long until Chip realized that she was gone and came after her?
/
Fitz sighed. "She's in deep. I don't like this."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing." Fitz sat on the edge of Olivia's couch, holding his head in his hands. "She nearly flinched every time he touched her."
"What does he have over her?" Olivia paced. "This is so unlike her."
"So what happened when you—" Fitz was interrupted by a frantic knock at the door. He shared a concerned look with Olivia. He walked to the door, but as he was about to answer it, Olivia stopped him, motioning for him to stand out of the view of the door as she answered it.
"Abby." She gasped, when she saw her battered friend in the doorway.
"I need help. I have nowhere else to go." Abby whispered through bloodied teeth.
"You did the right thing. Come in." Olivia stepped to the side, looking out of the apartment to see if anybody followed her or was watching.
When Abby stepped through the threshold, she saw Fitz standing there in shock at Abby's appearance. "I should go. I should have never – I can't involve either of you any—"
"Sit down Abby." Olivia said.
"This was a mistake. If Chip finds out that I am here, he will have you arrested, and—"
"Then he can't know you are here." Olivia said calmly. "Do you have your phone?"
"No, I didn't have time to grab it."
"Good. Did you drive here?"
Abby nodded.
"Shit, okay." Olivia grabbed her Yankee's baseball cap and handed it to Fitz. "Drive to the Rockville Maryland metro stop. Ditch her car on a residential street, with no cameras. Park illegally, call it in to parking enforcement. Take the train back. Don't look at anybody. Don't talk to anybody."
"I'm not leaving you two alone."
"It's only a matter of time until he tracks her car here. Someone needs to drive it away, and my Black ass isn't going to make it far, driving an Audi in this neighborhood. I'll lock the door. We will be fine, I swear. Don't give any well-meaning officer a reason to pull you over." Olivia advised, handing him the key from Abby. She turned back to Abby, tearing up at the sight of her bloodied best friend. "You need to see a doctor."
"No hospital." Abby said. "He will find me."
"Okay. No hospital." Olivia nodded. "Sit down."
Abby sat down on a towel Olivia laid out on her couch. Olivia pulled out a first aid kit and carefully cleaned and bandaged her wounds. She counted three lacerations on Abby's face. One on her lip, one above her eye which was almost swollen shut, and one particularly nasty wound on her chin. When she moved to her throat, Olivia saw the marks of fingertips, making her own hands tremble.
"What happened?" Olivia asked.
"Chip thought that Fitz and I had a history. I denied it, but since we were each other's dates to so many things in college, he got violent... He, uh..." Abby struggled to speak, "choked me... Then when I woke up, he was on top..." Abby started sobbing, but the movement hurt even more. "I tried to stop him."
"Shhh, shhh. It's okay. You are safe now. I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore." Olivia assured, dropping her hands with a conflicted look. "I should stop cleaning you. You need a rape kit. I shouldn't destroy any evidence."
"A rape kit requires a hospital and law enforcement."
"We will figure something out." Olivia said, squeezing her hand. "Where hurts?"
"I can't lift my arms." Abby said.
Olivia's brow crinkled as she slowly unzipped Abby's hoodie. "Oh my god." She gasped as she saw the dark discoloration of Abby's ribs. Even despite Abby's slender frame, her torso was swelling, much like her eye. Olivia looked back at Abby, trying to hide her concern. "Stay here."
Abby watched her best friend disappear into her bedroom and come back with her phone. She snapped multiple pictures of Abby from different angles. "He is not going to get away with this."
"What happens next?"
"I don't know." Olivia carefully zipped the hoodie up and started to pace. She put some tea on the stove, then went back to pacing. "What do you want, Abby? What do you need?"
"A shower." Abby whispered.
"No. Not yet." Olivia said sadly. "Just a little bit longer. Once Fitz gets back, we can talk about how to do this." Olivia took the tea off of the stove, pouring a mug for Abby. She sat next to her, taking her hand. They sat in silence for over an hour until a sharp knock at the door made both of them jump. Olivia motioned for Abby to be quiet and switched off the lamp. She grabbed the biggest knife from the kitchen and slowly inched towards the door.
"It's me." Fitz's voice came through the door.
Olivia sighed in relief, opening the door. "Did anybody follow you?"
"No." Fitz walked inside. "I was careful. Did he come by?"
"No. Not yet." Olivia said, locking the door and flipping the lamp back on. "Can I talk to you in the bedroom?"
Fitz looked to her bedroom door and then back at her. They were so caught up on Abby that they completely forgot about the tension and trauma between them. The mere mention of her bedroom brought all of it back. "We can talk here. Or outside."
Olivia looked at Abby and lowered her voice. "We need a plan. We need to know how we are going to keep her safe, and how we can get her from under Chip's control. We also need to get her a doctor, without going to a hospital. We need to get her a rape kit, without alerting authorities."
"A rape kit?" Fitz asked.
"A rape kit." Olivia shot him a look to lower his voice. "Do you have any connections at any hospitals here?"
"No. I'm not the one who lives here."
"Well I don't either. I have someone who might know someone, but we need to be sure that we can trust whoever to be discreet.
"Abby mentioned that Chip was running for Virginia's General Assembly next year." Fitz whispered.
"If she went public... It would tank his career." Olivia began to pace again. "Which would threaten the Putney legacy. That family would do everything to stop and silence her... Fuck."
"Chip is going to be president." Abby spoke up, reminding them that she was a few yards away. "The Virginia General Assembly is the first step. He is going to be the President of the United States, and I am going to be his First Lady."
/
"These late-night phone calls are starting to make me regret giving you my number that one time." David Rosen said, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses off of his nightstand. "It's midnight. Have you ever tried calling before the sun sets? Preferably between the business hours of 9am and 5pm?"
"I need your help." Olivia said. "I have a client who was raped. She can't go to the police, because of the profile of the person who raped her."
"And what am I supposed to do with that?" David asked. "And what do you mean you have a client? Is this official business from the 14th Congressional District of New York?"
"No, it isn't." Olivia said. "I need the name of someone in the sexual crimes division, that can do a rape kit anonymously."
"Any rape kit can be filed under Jane or John Doe. The victim has to give permission for their name to be assigned to the kit, and they can wait as long as they want to do so, as long as it is within the statute of limitations. Didn't you learn about the Non-Report Option in law school?"
"I didn't make it that far in law school." Olivia admitted. "I need this person to be able to come to my apartment." "Is that possible?"
"Well, yes, but also no. The kit should be completed in an approved facility, or else the validity and accuracy can be called—"
"Leaving my custody puts my client at danger, so that isn't an option. Also, sending my client through a facility that is owned by the government with multiple people interacting with her is risking her life. Can you send someone discreet? Or am I wasting my time?" Olivia snapped.
David sighed. "What are you involved in?"
"Take a wild guess, David." Olivia was losing all patience.
David was silent for a long moment. "I know someone. I can't guarantee they will pick up at this god forsaken hour, but I will give them your address."
"Thank you, David. You are a good person."
"I'd prefer if you thought of me as a terrible person. Then maybe I wouldn't be your first call when you need a fellow white hat. Good night, Liv."
Olivia hung up, looking back to Abby and Fitz. "David is sending someone over with the tools to do a rape kit."
"That's great." Fitz said. "That buys us some time. Gives us some insurance."
"Who is going to believe that I was raped by my own boyfriend?" Abby scoffed.
"You let us worry about that." Olivia said.
They stayed up all night brainstorming, until 5am, when a knock on the door gave way to a nursing student, who was a friend of David's. She laid out a white sheet on Olivia's living room floor. Fitz and Olivia gave them some privacy. Olivia went into her bathroom and Fitz went into her bedroom. Being alone together seemed like too much at this point. The nurse picked Chip's skin cells from under Abby's nails. She swabbed the inside of her vagina, cheek, and thighs for any DNA. She found a single short blonde hair on her collarbone. She gently scraped flakes of blood off of Abby's face, putting every little piece of evidence into individual plastic bags.
"I'm done." The nurse knocked on Olivia's door. "I have to take her clothes in, so you might want to bring a robe out to her."
"Thank you." Olivia said, bringing a robe out to Abby. "How bad are her injuries?" She asked as she walked the nurse to her door.
"I'm not a physician." The nurse explained. "But It seems like she has a cracked rib. She is either concussed or still in shock... Or both."
"Will she be okay without a hospital?"
"I can't answer that. I'm not certified, but I would recommend that someone seek medical care if they have suffered severe injuries like what I just described. Either way, I would keep her comfortable. Make sure she feels safe. Let her shower this night off now. Give her some Tylenol. As much pain as she's in, it is going to feel ten times worse tomorrow. Use standard first aid on all of her wounds. Ice where it swells and regular cleanings for her wounds." She handed Olivia a piece of paper with her number on it. "I will file it under Jane Doe. If this ever needs to be submitted into evidence, there will be a big call for dismissal, given that it was conducted in an unauthorized facility. You will have to testify as a witness, and it is best if your friend does too. Let me know when you want to change the name."
"Thank you." Olivia said, showing her out. She turned back to Abby. "Do you need help showering?"
"I'd like to do it alone." Abby said quietly, hugging the robe around her. Olivia set the temperature for her and placed a towel set within reach. When she finished, Olivia helped Abby put on one of her sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants. This was the first time Olivia could really survey her ribs. Her right side was fine, aside from some wincing. Abby couldn't raise her left arm past a few degrees, and any movement at all was laborious.
"Liv." Abby said softly, after she was dressed.
"Yes?"
"I can't brush my hair." Abby teared up again. "My hair needs to be brushed."
"I've got you." Olivia stood on her knees on her bed behind Abby, carefully brushing the tangles out of her wet hair. Fitz watched from a distance. Olivia helped Abby lay down and set a glass of water by her bedside.
"Get some rest." Fitz squeezed Abby's hand. "I'll be in the living room."
"I should actually start getting ready for work." Olivia said. The dawn was peeping through the cracks in her blinds. It was nearing 6am.
"You haven't slept in 24 hours." Abby whispered softly.
"Remember all of those all-nighters I pulled in college during finals week? I'll be fine." Olivia said lightly. "I will try to get off early. Call me if you need anything. My work and cell numbers are written on the sticky note on the fridge."
"Okay." Abby said.
Olivia showered, did her makeup, and put on a simple business casual dress to face her workday. When she entered her living room on the way out the door, she saw Fitz standing in her way. This was the first time they had been alone together since before their breakup. They had done a fine job of suppressing their emotions, pain, and vulnerability when Abby's crisis presented itself, but now they were alone. It was all too familiar. All too painful. She had so many questions, but she had no answers to them. She always had the answers, but not now.
"She's asleep." Olivia offered weakly.
"Okay." He replied. Everything about him oozed pain, and every bit of that was her own damn fault. "I should stay to make sure that she is safe."
"Nobody is going to break into my apartment and kidnap her."
"I'm going to stay." Fitz stepped closer, breaking the barrier of personal space Olivia set in her mind.
"Okay." Olivia inhaled deeply, trying to maintain her composure. "I can set up the couch for you to get some rest."
"I'm not sleeping." He said.
"Just in case." Olivia needed something to do, to put distance between them. She pulled a spare set of blankets from her closet. She neatly set them on the couch, trying to ignore that he was standing right behind her. She spread a sheet over the couch and positioning the blanket over it. When she awkwardly brushed past him to find a pillow, he grabbed her arm, spinning her around. His lips came crashing down hard on hers. Just as soon as he did, she squirmed out of his arms, slapping a stinging hand across his cheek.
He stood there stone still, breathless, and watching her like a hawk. Olivia searched his eyes for some explanation, but there was none. There was only a deep, hungry gaze that made her forget everything and nothing. She realized that whatever they were about to do, she wanted to do, so she let out a selfish gasp, crawling back to him. She attacked his lips, surrendering her tongue to his. With one hand invested in the hair at the nape of her neck and the other shamelessly groping her breasts, he backed her up until the back of the couch hit her ass. He roughly turned her around, bending her over the back of the couch.
"Fitz." Olivia gasped as he yanked her dress up to her waist in one tug and pulled her thin underwear to the side.
"Shut up." He spat on his hand, lubricating his dick before lining up with her. He didn't need it, because she was drenched in anticipation, raw naked want, and loneliness. He slid into her with no word, filling her until he couldn't fit any more in her. Olivia made an animalistic groan, that echoed out of her with no warning. She had nothing to hold on to, nothing to stabilize herself, other than the back of the couch that was cutting into her hips. She reached for him behind her, but he rejected every advance, pushing her hands away every time she reached for him.
He pushed her to lean completely over the couch, pounding into her relentlessly. He didn't care what she wanted in the moment. The only thing he cared about was the tightness of her walls around his dick, and the way her ass moved when his thighs slapped against it.
Olivia had never seen Fitz like this before. There was no intimacy between them. Passion, for sure, raged like an unstoppable fire between them that could never be dampened. But she had never experienced him so aggressive, with his hand firmly squeezing her hair and making it impossible to do anything but stand there and take it. The anger, the hurt, everything that she was feeling was too much to process, so she focused on the friction of her bare thighs against the couch and how he still managed to bring that upside down tingle to her belly that nobody else could.
She knew that she could put an end to this. At any moment, she could say apple, and he would stop. But she didn't want him to stop. She wasn't ready to admit that she missed the feeling of his cock ramming into her raw pussy. She also wasn't going to cum for him. He didn't deserve her pleasure or the satisfaction of knowing that he still had this effect on her. She gripped the couch in a death grip, failing to stop the guttural groans rumbling in her throat.
"Shut up." Fitz repeated. Pushing her face down into the cushions. He had his hands now around her neck, applying the perfect amount of pressure.
In spite of herself, Olivia eventually couldn't stop the wave of warmth that started at her core and quickly released itself into her extremities. Her body convulsed, and her limbs went weak. She hated herself for giving in. She hated herself for being the first one to succumb. He followed a few minutes later, spilling his seed into her exhausted pussy.
Olivia stood upright and felt his hands roughly yank her dress back down. She felt his sticky semen drip down her thigh, but that was the least of her concerns.
"Fitz..." She began, turning to face him. He was callously tucking his dick back into his pants. "We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about." He said shortly.
"I think there is." Olivia said, building confidence within herself. "You broke up with me, but you just..."
Fitz stepped closer to her, finally making eye contact. His expression was unreadable, but there was an undeniable coldness in what he was about to say. "I might not be able to control my erections around you, but that does not mean I want you. There is no future for us."
Tears stung Olivia's eyes with every word he said. There is no future. She wanted a fight. She wanted an explanation for why he was being so cruel. But she knew that crying was the next stage for her, and she refused to let him see her cry. Pride came before everything... especially reconciliation. She retreated to the bathroom, where she had nothing to do but clean herself up, tidy her makeup, and leave to get to work, without making eye contact.
/
Olivia chugged her large coffee with two espresso shots between the Capitol Rotunda and her desk. She got there before everybody else, as usual. She didn't expect to see Raymond Putney, North Carolina's junior senator sitting at her desk.
"Can I help you, Senator?" Olivia remained a neutral face, setting her purse on her desk, and crossing her arms. "Or can I have my chair back?"
"So you are the Olivia Pope." He smirked, looking her up and down. "The foolish, too-big-for-her-britches Olivia Pope."
"Can I help you?" Olivia repeated.
"I should hope so." He stood, stepping uncomfortably close to her. "Give the red head back."
"I don't know what you are talking about." Olivia walked around him, shuffling through the pieces of mail left on the edge of her desk.
"I think you do. I would hate for the D.C. police to make a spectacle about arresting a senior Democratic staffer on assault charges, because she attacked the younger brother of a prominent Republican senator. That's just bad optics, but they do love their theatrics."
"That would be bad optics" Olivia said. "Which is why I would never do something as stupid as trying to jeopardize my job and this office for someone who might have once been my friend."
"Don't act dumb, it's beneath you." Raymond leaned forward until he was inches from bumping arms with her. "I could be mistaken. I do have my hands full with blocking this upcoming spending bill, that you and this office are trying to jam down America's throat. I would hate for my own misconceptions to negatively impact this great welfare cause you and your boss are laboring for."
"I'm going to ask you to leave now. It seems we both have important work to do." Olivia said.
"I have a feeling we will cross paths soon." Raymond nodded, making his exit.
Olivia waited until he left the office, before collapsing into her chair, rubbing her temples.
"Liv." Dani came powerwalking in. "What was Raymond Putney just doing in here? Is this about the—"
Olivia cut her off by silently pointing to Dani's office. Once they were both inside with the door closed, Olivia started hyperventilating. It was all too much. Fitz. Abby. The Putneys. Dani saw the beginnings of a panic attack come across Olivia and guided her to sit on her couch.
"Hey, hey." Dani squeezed Olivia's hand. "It's okay. Just breathe."
Olivia nodded, making the effort to control her breath. She stared at the point of her shoe until she felt in control. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You look like you've seen a ghost. What happened?" Dani wiped a tear from Olivia's cheek, smoothing her hair. "Actually, don't answer that yet. Just breathe."
Olivia nodded, focusing on her breathing until she felt like she could speak. "Last night Abby showed up on my doorstep... Chip beat her up so bad… He could have killed her."
"Holy shit, is she okay?"
"I don't know." Olivia admitted. "I don't even know what I'm doing, but I do know that she is my friend, and it is my responsibility to protect her. Obviously, this puts you in a compromising position. They are a Republican powerhouse. Shit, they are the Republican party. I don't know—"
"You have my support. In any way." Dani affirmed. "Politics be damned."
"I don't know if they have proof that I have Abby, but they do know that I am her friend, and I previously tried to liberate her from them. This is the Putney family we are talking about. They can make this ugly, and I don't want to compromise your office. Especially with climate change bill. I am willing to resign—"
"Stop talking." Dani demanded. She lifted Olivia's chin. "You will not resign."
"It is the smart thing." Olivia said. "I should protect you by distancing myself."
"You will not resign." Dani repeated. "Who would I be – what is the point of me filling this office, if I compromise my morals for the sake of dirty politics? You know who I am. I know who you are, and that is why I hired you. If I let you resign because you are sticking up for one of the many reasons why I took this office, then I am no better than the Putneys."
"Dani—"
"How can I help?" Dani released Olivia's hand, leaning back on her desk. "The Putneys might have way more family members in power than the Flores's, but I still hold this office. What can I do?"
"I don't know." Olivia admitted. "I don't even know what to do myself."
"How about you tell me everything that happened." Dani pulled out her phone, typing a quick email to her assistant. "I just freed up my morning."
/
Olivia didn't say anything when she entered her apartment. She prayed that Fitz had left without so much as a word. She was hoping to enter her apartment and only find her friend. But he was there. In the same place. When she entered, he jumped up from the couch, defensively.
"It's just me. Nobody is outside."
Fitz was silent, sitting back down.
Olivia set her heavy bags of takeout on the kitchen counter. "Is she up?"
"No, she's asleep." He said simply as she unloaded the boxes of Chinese food from the bags.
Olivia wanted him to explain that morning. She wanted to air out everything between them, but seeing him sitting on her couch like he has done a hundred times, but so cold, made her hold her tongue. She finished laying out the Styrofoam containers. "There is food for you, just leave some for Abby when she wakes up. Especially the spring rolls."
Fitz didn't respond, pulling out his phone to scroll through whatever app he happened to open first. He needed a distraction from her.
Olivia sighed, observing his every movement. She crossed her arms, leaning against the counter. "What is your plan here?"
Fitz didn't respond, continuing his thumb swipes across his screen.
"Fitz." Olivia snapped, raising her voice. She felt anger rising in her and she didn't try to stop it this time. How dare he treat her like that, tell her she was worthless, then post up in her apartment for the entire day with no communication. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I'm here for my friend." Fitz said simply.
"Fitz, you can't just..." Olivia frowned. "You can't stay here. Not after this morning."
"One thing that is clear, is that I am not here for you. I am here for Abby. As a good friend, I will stay with her until she is safe." Fitz said from the couch, barely glancing up.
"If you aren't here for me, then why did you bend me over this couch?" Olivia demanded, approaching him with a raised finger. "That doesn't seem like a good friend move."
"This morning was a mistake." He stood up, finally facing her. "So get over it."
"It didn't seem like a mistake when you were cumming inside of me with your hands around my throat." Olivia spat. Abby was supposedly awake on the other side of her apartment's thin wall, but she wasn't thinking about that right now. "I can't have you here. Not after how everything went down. It isn't smart for either of us if you don't leave."
"From my understanding, Abby cut you off after you starting fucking that old ass creep Edison Davis. Why does that you give any right to be near her at this time? She doesn't even want to be you friend." Fitz bristled. He wasn't anticipating a fight, but if she came at him with her self-righteous bullshit, he would strike back. For the few hours that Abby was awake earlier, they caught up, and he pieced together the story of what happened between Olivia and her.
"That's not fair." Olivia shot back. "You broke up with me. You gave up on us."
"Who gave up on who, Olivia?" Fitz asked incredulously. "You were looking for a ticket out. All of that bullshit about protecting us... You were putting in a contingency plan, because you didn't think we would last."
Olivia stepped within inches of him with her finger pointed directly at him. He never knew the anger that had been festering in her being for the last months. "I did what I had to do for us. You think I wanted to go on those boring dinners? Have his hand around my waist on the red carpets? I was making a sacrifice, but you are too narcissistic and jealous and small to see that."
"I'll tell you how narcissi—"
"Enough." Abby's voice surprised them both. She had caught a majority of their shouting. She limped towards the door, trying to hide the pain shooting through her body with every step. "I should leave. Clearly, I'm causing problems."
"No." Olivia positioned herself between Abby and the door, still fuming from her fight. "I refuse to let you leave."
"I've caused enough harm already." Abby grabbed her keys from the coffee table with a soft grunt. She was barefoot, remembering that she didn't wear shoes in her rapid escape from her apartment.
"Sit down." Olivia said, putting her arms out, blocking any chance that she could get past. "Sit down."
Abby stopped, retreating back to the couch. The fact that she was so docile and willing to a source of authority softened both Fitz and Olivia.
"We are here for you, and that will not change." Fitz said, empathetically, which was a complete 180 from the tone he was using with Olivia.
"Lay down." Olivia said softly. "You shouldn't be vertical right now."
Abby nodded, carefully leaning back on the couch. Fitz precariously lifted her feet to the pile of pillows at the end. Olivia approached Abby, causing Fitz to take a step back.
"I have a plan." Olivia said calmly. "Going public."
"No." Abbey responded immediately.
"Going public is our best option." Olivia insisted. She went back to her purse sitting on the kitchen stool. She pulled out an envelope and some double-sided tape. She began to tape images of all of the Putney clan on her wall with hand scribbled facts on each. There were 14 Putneys in offices of power, from local to national level. There were 6 more who were out of office but could still potentially wield influence through former colleagues. Olivia devoted a corner of her living room dedicated to a profile of Chip's ex, Alice. Now that she had the whole situation visualized in front of her, the only option was clear.
"Everybody knows the Putneys as the 21st century Kennedys, but what if we call them out. Publicize this. This isn't the 60's. Reports of domestic abuse, rape, and sexual assault will destroy them."
"No." Abby repeated softly.
"They have a conglomerate of power in every avenue possible. The only thing that can break that is the power of the press – the power of free speech. We should push them against the ropes – force their hand. Their whole rise to power has been based off of the All-American family who is not only attractive, but polite and charming. You could rattle them from their core."
"And then what?" Abby asked. "What consequences will I face for speaking up and how quickly will they find a way to get out of it?"
"You go on to be a hero for every woman who has suffered against men who think they can get away with anything."
"I become a martyr." Abby scoffed. "Martyrs don't survive. They die. That's what makes them martyrs."
"Then what do you want?" Olivia asked.
"I want to be free. I want to be liberated from Chip Putney and I want to go on to have a mediocre life as a professional with a master's degree that I earned. I want to go back to how I was before I was introduced to him and let him convince me that I was integral to his life dream."
"The Putneys won't let you go quietly into that good night. You realize that, right? There is a reason why Alice Sterling's life was decimated."
"So, I should beat them to the punch by destroying myself and saving them the trouble?"
"You should fight back. Don't let them determine your destiny. Own the narrative from the start. You have more power than you think."
"I am a single woman against a dynasty."
"But you aren't alone." Olivia insisted. "It won't be pretty. I can almost guarantee that it will be ugly. But what is your alternative? To slink back into a relationship that will either end with you being a bloodied shell of a human, or worse – dead?"
"I could disappear. Run off and join the witness protection program, or something. Start over."
"Until he finds you and terminates you as a liability." Fitz muttered.
Olivia shot him a death glare. "You have the power right now. You are the proof, and I can control the narrative."
Abby slowly sat up, cradling her head in her hands. "When did this all get so... Fuck me. Where did I fuck up?"
"You didn't." Olivia assured. "You fell for a charismatic, charming, and handsome man." Her eyes flashed up to Fitz's. "He turned out to be a terrible person, but that is not your fault."
"I should have seen it coming. I mean... It wasn't bad at first. He was a gentleman. He made me believe that we had a future. First Lady, for crying out loud. Who could resist that?"
"What matters now, is that we move forward. If you can trust me, trust that I will fight for you until you are free... Then I will fight for you."
"I can't go public." Abby nodded. "But do what you need to do."
/
Olivia sat down across from David's tiny desk within the state department. Abby followed, taking the other seat. David cleared his throat, shuffling a stack of papers he had to sort through later to the side.
"Let's get started." He said. "My understanding is that you, Abigail Whelan would like to file a restraining order against your boyfriend."
"Ex-boyfriend. Charles Putney." Abby nodded.
"What are the grounds for this?"
Olivia spoke up, "The Sexual Evidence Collection Kit gathered on September 12th under the nomenclature Jane Doe 0742857 and the accompanying photographs are being submitted into discovery for this case."
"I'm sorry. I have to stop you there." David said. "Olivia Pope, you are not a member of the D.C. bar or any bar for that matter. You aren't a lawyer. You cannot enter this into record."
"I am her representation." Olivia said.
"You cannot legally be her representation. Only Abigail Whelan or an actual lawyer can represent her interests in this."
"I see." Olivia nodded, scribbling furiously into her notepad, and then sliding it to Abby.
"I submit the Sexual Evidence Collection Kit gathered on September 12th under the nomenclature Jane Doe 0042857 and the accompanying photographs are being submitted into discovery for this case." Abby said.
"Right." David nodded. "So, on the record, Abigail Whelan is representing herself in the filing for a restraining order against Charles Arling Putney."
Abby looked to Olivia for her approval, before nodding.
"I will send this up to the judge to be approved." David said.
"Can't you instate the restraining order yourself?" Olivia asked.
"I can't answer that question coming from a non-representative in this matter." David sighed.
Olivia huffed, scribbling into her notepad and sliding it back to Abby.
"Can't you instate the restraining order yourself?" Abby asked.
"As much as I would like to, there is a system of protocols. Justice takes time and has to check all of the boxes." David explained. "I don't have the authority, but a judge does. I will keep you posted with any updates."
"Thank you, David." Olivia shook his hand.
/
One week later
Olivia came home from work to see Abby in her usual position on the couch. Her recovery was slow, but at least she was progressing. The swelling in her eye has been reduced to where she could actually see out of it, but her ribs were still forcing her to stay on the couch all day and her bruises were only darker.
"Hey Abby." Olivia set her things down on the counter. "How was your day?"
"Boring." Abby sighed, wincing from the pain. "How was yours?"
"The opposite." Olivia put a bag of popcorn into the microwave and pulled out a bottle of wine. "Cable news is pounding Dani over this spending bill. They've been waiting for something like this to pounce on since she took office. She looks inexperienced and clueless out there."
"Can I have one of those?"
"No, you are on pain meds." Fitz had a contact with a supply of oxy to ease Abby's pain. He never dabbled in those kinds of drugs but knowing someone who dealt them was useful when hospitals were out of the question.
"I heard from David." Abbey said. "Can I have one after I tell you what he said?"
"What did he say?"
"The restraining order was denied."
"Dammit." Olivia pulled her phone out. "David."
"I was expecting this call."
"What the hell happened?"
"It was rejected." David said. "Based on the evidence, the judge decided to reject your petition for a restraining order.
"Based on the evidence?" Olivia asked. "She has cracked ribs. A rape kit showing signs of struggle and DNA matching the aggressor."
"There was no DNA match, because Chip Putney has not been subpoenaed yet for a DNA sample. There is no subpoena, because there have been no charges yet. Because there are no charges, the case for a restraining order is thin than the paper it was written on."
"It's thin, because the judge is in the palm of the Putney's." Olivia snapped. "Who appointed this judge?"
"I couldn't tell you—"
"You don't have to." Olivia said. "I already have an idea."
"Now, Liv."
"File an appeal. Get a new judge." Olivia demanded.
"I just can't get a new judge. I'm an extern here. I don't even have a business card—"
"Do something." Olivia snapped, hanging up. She looked to Abby. "We will keep fighting."
"Okay." Abby nodded.
"Where's Fitz?" Olivia asked. He had been coming and going like he lived in the damn place. When he was there, they pretended each other didn't exist. Olivia was too exhausted to even address it. She didn't have another fight in her.
"Out for a run."
"Okay."
"I'm so sorry for all of this." Abby began. "I know that it is painful for you two to be in the same room."
"Don't worry about us." Olivia said, carefully lifting Abby's feet and sitting under them. She set the bowl of popcorn on Abbey's lap so both of them could reach it.
"You two are not okay." Abby insisted. "What happened the morning after I showed up here?"
Right as Abby was drifting away in Olivia's bed that morning, she heard a faint commotion coming from down the living room. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it or hallucination, but it became clearer and clearer. She stilled, trying to discern what was happening. She heard Fitz saying shut up in a very demanding voice. She heard what sounded like a struggle and some very strange noises coming from Olivia. She wasn't sure if it was her own PTSD forming hallucinations or if Olivia was in trouble. She was in too much pain to get up to see or stop whatever was happening, so she just had to lay there, listening to what sounded like a struggle. When Olivia came through the bedroom, to clean herself up in the bathroom afterwards, Abby pretended to be asleep.
"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked.
"I heard you two." Abby fought back a choke of tears. "He was hurting you the way that Chip hurt me."
"Oh, Abby." Olivia's heart broke as she realized what Abby perceived. For someone who just went through a traumatic sexual experience to hear rough sex between two people who supposedly hated each other... "I'm sorry you heard that."
"You hate him." Abby accused. "But you let him do that to you."
"I hate him." Olivia confirmed. "But I also could have stopped him."
"Why didn't you?" Abby asked softly.
"I don't know." Olivia felt a tear fall down her cheek, but it didn't feel like she was crying. "Because even though it was wrong, it was still something? God, I sound pathetic right now."
"You don't." Abby squeezed her hand. "Do you think there is a chance for you two?"
"No." Olivia shook her head, dabbing the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath, inwardly building her confidence. "We are done."
/