Fitz sternly interjects, "Damn it! I don't care what you heard! Or what you thought! I said get the hell out, and don't come back in here, unless I call you! The young agent is embarrassed, as he backs out of the room, and closes the door behind him. Once alone again with her. Fitz looks down at her, as he holds her in his arms. He sees the tears and fear filling her eyes. She's terrified, and it kills him. He hasn't seen her this afraid since she was rescued from her kidnapers, and it angers him that she's in this much of an emotional upheaval. Again he thinks, "Damn, why didn't I warn her?"
He continues to comfort her, as he whispers, "I'm sorry Livy. I'm so sorry. It's just you and me now." She nods as she says, "Don't ever let me go." He sweetly replies, "Never baby." She feels the sincerity and compassion in his embrace, and hears it in his voice, as he kisses her sweetly. Then she puts her head back into his chest. He hears her breathing increase, as she begins to cry again, and he rubs her back until her tears slow down again. He soothes her fore several minutes, rubbing her back and rocking her back and forth in his arms. Knows that this is the only thing he can do to keep her stable.
For her, his embrace is the ultimate stabilizer. She settles down within minutes, and he feels her breathing level out again. He wants to lay her down, so she is more comfortable. But he doesn't want to scare her again.
So he places his chin atop her head, and nudges her. She immediately says, "I'm awake." He's surprised by her quick reply. As he says, "oh, I thought you were resting." She looks up at him, as she says, "I was resting, listening to your heartbeat. It sounds so good."
He strokes her face sweetly, and she presses her face into his palm, as he says, "My heart beats for you Livy. For you, and only you." He sees she's calmer, as she gives him a weak smile. Clearly she's improving, but she's still rattled. As she sits in his lap, staring into his baby blues. She says, "I love you so much Fitz." He smiles at her as he kisses her lips sweetly, and says, "I love you too baby." The kiss settles her anxiety, and tension, as they sit for a while longer, post kiss. With their foreheads pressed together, their eyes opening and closing, from time to time, eliciting sweet smiles from one another.
For the first time since he arrived, he feels like she's really starting to relax. So he says, "Can I lay here with you?" She smiles as she says, "Is that your way of politely saying I'm getting too heavy?" He smiles in return, as he says, "No, it's my way of saying I want to lay with you sweet baby." She sweetly smiles at him, as he references the ring she wears for him, and she replies, "Okay."
She climbs out of his lap, and into the bed. After he removes his shoes. He settles into the bed, and lies with her snuggled up to him. With her back to his chest. And once she's comfortable. He wraps his arms around her body, and wraps his legs around hers too. This position always comforts both of them, and they take a much needed sigh.
It's clear they need to talk, but right now. He's more concerned about her being okay. So the talk can wait. And he thinks, maybe that's a good thing. Because he still has to figure out how to explain all of this to her. As he feels like this is all his fault, for not telling her about the plan to draw out Jake; in case something went awry, like it did.
Morning arrives, and Olivia wakes to the familiar grip of her love, and the smell of pancakes in the air. She smiles as she looks back at him, and he shuffles a bit, at her movement. His eyes open and his rich, baritone sleepy voice asks, "Are you okay?" She nods as she responds, "Yes. Because of you. I am very much okay." He kisses her lips quickly. But as the kiss breaks, she grabs the back of his head, and kisses him again, with depth and passion behind it.
When the kiss ends, he says, "I'm glad you're feeling better Livy." She shyly replies, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that again. He responds, "I'm not." She gives him a look of confusion, as she asks, "What are you saying?" He reaches out to her, as he sweetly replies, "I didn't enjoy you being so upset. But I did like being here for you. And helping you through it. I like when you let me take care of you Liv. You're always fixing other people. Sometimes you need to let others help fix you."
She understands his point, and says, "Well, thank you for being here for me babe." He caresses her faces sweetly, as he says, "Always Livy. I will always be here for you." I mean it." She smiles at him as she nods and kisses his lips again, as she says, "I love you so much Fitz." He whispers, "I love you too baby."
As he strokes her arm, and they revel in their embrace. They both know the inevitable is looming. But he wants to make sure she's up to talking about it. So he asks, "I know we need to talk Liv. But did you want to call Dr. Baker first?"
She sighs before replying, "No. I'm okay to talk to you now. I can call her later." He nods as he asks again. "Are you sure Liv? I can give you some privacy. It's not a big deal." She adores his concern about her, but it can be annoying at times too. It's one of the main reasons she didn't want to tell him about her seeking therapy in the first place.
But she knows his response is out of love. So she calmly says, "Fitz,. We've talked about his before. I'm not made of glass. If I say I am fine. I need you to trust me, and believe me." He agrees with her. This is one of the many conversations they've had, and he agreed previously to back off, and trust her judgement when it comes to her telling him what she needs.
Not wanting to upset her, he takes a breath and says, "I'm sorry Liv. I meant well. It's just that seeing you this upset, after a panic attack worries me. And I just want to make sure you're okay. Especially since this was such a rough one." She has to agree; this one was one of the worst she's had since the kidnapping. She doesn't recall having one this bad since before she started therapy.
Understanding his concern, she says, "I get it. Your concern is sweet honey. And I appreciate it. I really do. But I still need you to trust me when I say I am good. Okay?" He smiles as he says, "Okay." They share a kiss and a smile, and the mood lightens. She's glad he's willing to make the compromise.
Their smiles settle and the brief silence breaks when he asks, "Are you ready to talk about last night?" As his words settle in the air he feels her body language change, and he feels the tension level in her muscles rise.
Additionally, she feels the shift in the air, and in her body too. But she takes a breath, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. As she says, "When I was waiting for you last night. I got a call from Jake. He said he hurt you. Because I crossed him. He told me to turn on the television when I said he was lying. And when I did. I saw the news about a car accident, and…" She can't finish the words. She just looks at him, and relives the moment she thought he was hurt, or dead.
She sees the concern in his eyes, as he stares at her. And he says, "Liv, I'm so sorry he got to you. I thought I could get to you before he could call you. And I guess I didn't think you'd be watching the news." His words settle on her, and she realizes what he's saying. She raises up as she asks, "Wait. How did you know he was going to call me?"
Fitz realizes he let the cat out of the bag too soon. Unable to fix it, or dance around it. He says, "I didn't know he was going to call you. But I guess I should've figured he would. Because he's sick bastard. And he likes tormenting you." Olivia begins to feel like there's much more she's not being told about last night. So she says, "Fitz I need you come clean here. Why did you think he'd call me?" Fitz sees the worry developing in her eyes.
So he says, "Remember when I told you after putting your father back in prison, for the pardon fiasco. I still had surveillance on him?" She nods as she says, "Yes." He replies, "Well, that intel led us to Jake. So for the last two weeks and a half. He's been on our radar too. And it didn't take long before that same intelligence revealed his plan to come after me, in the last 24 hours. Knowing that we didn't have much time to act; we decided to go with it. To smoke him out. So we leaked my schedule for travel, and he took the bait. We sent a decoy car out, the same time I would be traveling to see you last night. But I took an alternate route. So I was never in any danger."
He sees the array of emotion in her eyes, as she settles with the details of the story. But he continues as he says, "We knew something was up Liv. But we didn't know all the details. We just knew bits and pieces and that we had to stop him. I just didn't count on him getting to you before I could. I regret that badly baby. I know that if I were here with you when he called. You would've been fine. I am so sorry Liv." She sees the sorrow in his eyes, and she strokes his face. He continues to speak as he says, the only bright side in this is we got him. He's in custody and he won't be bothering you, or anyone else again."
The news of him being caught gives her some relief. But, at the same time she's not a fan of how this was handled at all. As she processes the events from last night again. She can't help but react to how she felt when she thought he was badly hurt, if not dead. Add the fact that he didn't tell her about this plan, also upsets her. Despite her knowing she had her best interest at heart.
She again decides to try to tell him how thinking he was hurt affected her. She painfully says, "When I saw the news. I thought you were hurt, or worse. And I.." He sees her struggle, and his guilt of not telling her about the operation pains him, as he grabs her and says, "I know Livy. And I am so sorry once again that you were put in that position. I didn't count on things going this way. I even tried calling you. And when you didn't answer. I raced over here as fast as I could. Please know that if I had it to do all over again, I would've warned you before anything happened. I feel awful about leaving you in the dark with this, and then seeing you on this emotional rollercoaster ride."
The sincerity in his appeal to her helps settle her anger, and her nerves. She hears him and allows him to continue to hold her. He feels her body relenting in his grasp. As she closes her eyes, taking in his scent. She's just thankful that he's okay. And he's here with her now. So she chooses to revel in the positive aspect of things.
They both settle in the silence as he holds her. It's their happy place; they are in their bubble. Nothing else matters right now. But their time together. The silence gives their minds a chance to react to everything, and process it. During the break in chatter, he thinks about her emotional distress. And the fact that Jake tried to hurt him, ultimately trying to hurt her too. He feels himself getting angry. But then he reminds himself it's over. He's caught, and he can't hurt her, or him anymore. He then thinks about her father also being locked up. As he contemplates both of their major detractors being out of the way, gives him more reason to relax, and revel in the fact that their path to a happy future is shaping up nicely.
As he looks down at her he sees the pleading in her eyes. And feels terrible for her struggle, and her worry. Those doe eyes get him every time, there's The silence ends as she looks up at him and says, "I know that you couldn't warn me this time Fitz. But I need you to do a better job next time. Because I can't take feeling like this. It felt like you being shot all over again. And my heart, just can't take that."
nothing he can do about it. As he looks into her eyes, he strokes her face, and says, "You have my word that next time; I will make sure I tell you whatever I know in advance. And trust me; I am going to make sure there's no next time to consider where Jake is concerned."
She sees a resolve in his eyes she's never seen before. Her emotions settle and she asks, "What do you mean by that Fitz?" He replies, "I mean I am going to take care of him once and for all." A wave of uneasiness comes over her. She feels a shift in his demeanor and sees a steely look to his gaze. Concerned he is going to do something he will regret. She replies, "Fitz, this isn't you. Don't let him make you somebody you're not."
Her response confuses him. Just when he thinks they're on the same page where Jake is concerned. She says or does something that defends him. He doesn't want to fight with her. But he needs to be honest with her about how he feels. So he replies, "Liv, what I am is your protector. So I can't let this go. Because he won't let this go. He won't stop until he destroys us. Whether that's killing one of us or hurting one of us badly. And I will be dammed if I let that happen. He may have started this bull shit. But I promise you I am going to finish it."