Mellie is flustered beyond belief, as she gestures to move closer to Olivia as she responds, "How dare you…" Olivia squares up to her as she replies, "Take one more step Mellie, I'm begging you to." Seeing that Olivia wasn't remotely kidding; Mellie replies, "To hell with this. Where's my daughter?"
Olivia responds, "She's in the living room." As Mellie walks past Olivia, making sure she doesn't touch her. Olivia says, "And Mellie." She replies, "What?" Olivia says, "I suggest you gather yourself before speaking to her. Being careful not to mention this exchange to her. And in fact, not ever putting her in a position to defend myself or Fitz again. Because if you upset her in anyway, I promise you'll regret it!" Her tone left nothing to the imagination, and despite how upset she was. Mellie couldn't hide how afraid she was of Olivia in that moment as she stormed out the room.
With her gone, Olivia turns toward Fitz and he's speechless. He's looking at the woman he loves more than his next breath, and he is absolutely mystified. She sees him looking at her and she doesn't know what to say to him. So she just says, "Say something Fitz." He walks over to her and takes her into his arms, as he says, "That was hot as fuck!" She sees a smile spread across his face and it instantly lightens her stress, as he kisses her deeply.
The kiss erases her anger, and she melts into him. When the kiss breaks, she says, "I'm sorry you had to witness that." He replies, "I'm not." She shakes her head at him and he pecks her lips. She takes a breath and says, "I went hard huh?" He nods as he says, "Damn right you did. And I loved every minute of it. Because it was true Liv. Every word. Don't beat yourself up about it. She deserved to hear that and more. You've endured her bullshit for far too long." She takes a breath and says, "Thanks babe." He replies, "You're welcome."
They hug for a while longer, and he says, "Do you think we should check on Karen?" She responds, "yeah, let's make sure her mother is behaving." Fitz replies, "if not I'm game for letting you finish her off." They both smile as he kisses her hand and they head to check on Karen.
Two Weeks Later
Liv is sitting at her desk working; she's trying to finish up for the day, and head home. It's been a trying week, since New Year's Eve. After having such an amazing holiday with her love, she's dying from lack of relations. And a little romance, peace, and quiet, is just what she needs to rejuvenate herself. Her attention breaks, as her phone buzzes, and she looks down to see a text from him, which says, "I can't wait to see you tonight."
She smiles at the text, as she replies, "I can't wait to see you either. Tell Putin, you're a busy man, and have something pressing you need to take care of tonight." He replies, "Pressing is right. I just hope you can handle it." She sinfully responds, "Oh, I will handle it. Or die trying! LOL"
Her reply even makes her giggle, as she hits send, and he smiles and laughs as he replies, "LOL, I love you." She grins as she replies, "Love you too. Don't be late." He smiles as he responds, "I won't be. Bye." She replies, "Bye."
As she settles back into the reality of being at work, it's difficult to wipe the grin off of her face. Realizing she's got him stuck in her head, she looks at her watch and sees it's almost quitting time anyway. So her mind shifts to their upcoming evening together.
But just before she gets the details figured out, a knock on her door interrupts her thoughts. She looks up at the open door frame and hears a cheery, "Special delivery!" She smiles as Quinn walks in with a grin on her face, carrying the most beautiful tulips she's ever seen.
Liv sits back in her chair taking in the beauty of the bouquet she's carrying. As Quinn sits them on the corner of her desk she smiles at her as she says, "Thank you Quinn. Is there a card?" Quinn looks at her as she replies, "Of course there is. But is there any wonder as to who the flowers are from?" Olivia instantly grins as she says, "Not really. But I still want to read the card, nosey Rosie."
They share a laugh as Quinn hands her the card, and before she opens it. She sees Quinn still standing in front of her as if there's something she needs to say. So she asks, "Quinn, is there something wrong?"
Quinn takes a breath as she says, "No. Nothing's wrong Liv. I just want to say it's great to see you so happy. Happiness looks good on you." Olivia affectionately replies, "Thank you Quinn. I appreciate that; happiness feels good too."
Quinn smiles as she responds, "It's good to see you and Fitz are able to reconnect after everything going on with Karen and let's not forget Mellie." Olivia sighs as she replies, "Yes. I know. It hasn't been easy at all. But luckily Karen is doing better and her friend Ericka, has made a full recovery. So we really couldn't ask for a better outcome, given the circumstances."
Quinn nods in agreement as she says, "Yeah, Ericka is a very lucky girl for sure. It says a lot that Karen called you for help Liv. If she hadn't, I don't know that Ericka would've made it." Olivia nods as she says, "I know, it's pretty scary to think about what the alternative outcome could've been. But honestly, if it wasn't for you and Huck's quick response. This could've played out very differently too. So you two also deserve a round of thanks for your part in this situation. Thanks again for doing what you do best, at handling whatever I throw at you."
Quinn smiles with pride as she replies, "You're welcome Liv. It's what we do. Helping those who need it, is the right thing to do." Olivia smiles as she says, "Agreed!" Their moment ends when Quinn's phone buzzes. As she looks at her phone she says, "Oh, I Gotta go. Huck's texting the intel for the Barton case."
Olivia responds, "Isn't Marcus helping you?" Quinn replies, "No. He's doing surveillance with Charlie, on the Higgs case." Olivia almost forgot how busy they've been and how badly they're stretched to the max right now. Times like these she really misses Abby, Stephen, and Harrison. She then remembers the three candidates that Huck approved she still needs to review, and hire.
Life has truly changed. Her thoughts halt as Quinn asks, "Liv. Are you okay?" Olivia smiles as she responds, "I'm sorry. Yes, I am fine. Thanks. Just a lot on my mind. I'm sorry about being short-handed. I am going to take care of that soon. I promise." Quinn looks at her as she says, "No worries Liv. We do our best work when we are under pressure. Besides, this job isn't for everybody. So we understand it takes time to find the right fit."
Olivia appreciates her understanding, and says, "Thanks for that Quinn." Quinn smiles and nods as she replies, "Sure thing. Are you on your way out?" She responds, "Yes. I am leaving out now. So you all can brief me tomorrow afternoon on both cases." Quinn replies while reading the text from Huck, as she walks out the door, saying "Okay. Goodnight." Liv replies, "Good night."
Olivia takes a breath as she stands up. She grabs her purse and keys, and the folders of the candidates and heads out the door. She knows she'll have a few hours to poor over the files before Fitz arrives. Therefore she can make use of her time as she waits for him, after she gets ready for their evening. They really need this, after the week they've had.
As Fitz finishes his meeting with Cyrus, regarding the upcoming conference call they have in a few hours, with Putin. There's a knock on the door, and Fitz says, "Come in." The door swings open, and Abby steps inside. She says, "Mr. President, I just wanted to advise, we are clear on all fronts press wise, with the issue concerning Karen."
Fitz smiles as he says, "Good. So there's no connection between Karen and Erica that can be found correct?" Abby responds, "Correct sir. In fact, we had Ericka at the hospital, under an assumed name and her parents signed the confidentiality forms I drew up. So, officially, this has been handled."