Olivia's POV

"So the cafeteria is on this floor. Take two lefts."

"Thank you," I reply taking my visitor's pass from the nurse. Apparently I'm 'the sister of Jenny Smith on the fourth floor'. I wonder what name David is under as I walk through the maze of hallways in this large, quiet hospital. Maybe it's as silent as it is because it's so late. I didn't want to leave Fitz but to my surprise, he fell asleep, leaving me idle and more alone than I've ever been. I checked my phone and I had numerous messages from David to get my ass to the hospital. I also had a ton of messages from Jake, but after I was laying in a motel bed with another man, I don't really want to think about him right now. I just took off Fitz's shoes, covered him with my MK coat because I didn't trust the motel blankets, and locked the door after me. I called a taxi and here I am.

When I enter the relatively empty and large cafeteria, David is in a corner seat alone, sipping a coffee and nibbling at what seems to be a muffin. When he spots me, he sets it down and paces towards me. To my surprise, envelops me into a tight hug. I've never hugged David before...it's strange. When he lets go of me, I see that the linking of his eyes are a bright pink, as if he's been crying. Being so close to the death of a seven year old, I wouldn't be surprised if he were.

"Liv, we don't have a lot of time," he tells me. "There are so many reporters trying to get into the hospital for publicity reasons and if they find us just idling by, they'll kick us out."

I fold my arms, suddenly feeling very cold without my jacket. "So? Why are we here, David? No offense, but I just really wanna go to my hotel and sleep this day away."

"I know." David leads me to his small table and pushes an untouched coffee cup towards me. "I know you don't drink coffee but I would figure that after what I'm about to say, I think you'll need it."

I wrap my fingers around the styrofoam cup. It's cold. How long has he been waiting? And why is he sweating in this freezing hospital cafeteria? Today is just a confusing day for me.

"What's going on?"

He closes his eyes. I know what's going to follow isn't gonna be good, but at this point I'm not expecting anything else. Karen. Is she dead? How about Mellie? Why doesn't the universe kill the whole fucking family just to make it that much worse on Fitz? I'm prepped and numb for everything after today.

"Ever since Gerry died, I've been surfing the web. Word on the street is that the jury has been brought back to the court and the judge has been taken off the case for 'ignorant call of judgment'. Ever since Gerry died, the judge can revoke his bail."

I know I said I was prepared for almost anything and I am, but I'm at a loss for words. I've had enough experience in this field to know that anything is possible in the courthouse but I'm so confused.

"This doesn't change the case," I finally argue. "Nobody in the public knows the family was even alive to begin with."

"That doesn't matter," David shakes his head. "It's from the inside. There's obviously no possible way Fitz could've made his way into Gerry's hospital room but it's too much of a coincidence that an hour after Fitz was released, his son flatlined? It doesn't make any sense and I think the jury knows it's impossible but it just doesn't sit well with them. And now it's not an attempted homicide case - it's an murder."

I cradle my head in my hands. It's ridiculous but believable that the courthouse would try and pull this shit. I'm so fucking annoyed and exhausted and I wanna put this whole day behind me. No, fuck that. What I really want is to be back in DC with Jake, coming home to a glass of wine and a big hug right about now. But instead I'm here in an LA hospital with a client I care way too much about. I hate getting attached but I can't imagine having Fitz go back to that hellhole of a prison. Not only does he not belong there, but he's a genuinely nice person to talk to, so as selfish as it may seem, I want to keep staying with him for myself. I don't want him to leave.

"Screw you," I lift my head up and try my best to look David in the eye. I know it's not his fault but now I know just how easy it is to toss the blame someone else. It's a big relief from just burdening it in yourself. Maybe that makes me a horrible person, but I'm just trying to get by. So is he and so is Fitz. I'm starting to realize so is everybody in this world. So if being a bitch is gonna help me find the motivation to win this case, then so be it. Or maybe it's just gonna enable my lazy, unproductive, angry-at-the-universe ass. Oh well. I don't really have much left to lose. "I wanna win this case and you're making it extremely difficult. So screw you."

David just stares at his muffin, not saying a word, taking my shit. It just makes me feel worse. I'm a big bully. I thought blaming him would make me feel better, but it doesn't.

"I'm sorry." I tell him, sighing and picking at his half eaten muffin with my fingernail. "I'm honestly just really tired. I feel like I've been through hell and back today and I really just want to go home. Not to the hotel room, just home. I mean, I know if I do, Fitz is screwed. But isn't he already?...Whatever. I'm just gonna go to the hotel room and sleep this shitty day off."

"I'm with you," David snorts, collecting his briefcase and slurping the last bit of his coffee. I'm glad he doesn't seem too offended. When I'm really stressed or upset, I tend to go off on people and I'm really grateful when they don't take it personally. And I'm never angry for too long. It's just been a really crappy day overall. "Do you need a ride home?"

Yeah, I do. I'm about to answer him but something in my mind is irking me. It's a ridiculous notion and a stupid thought and idea.

So why won't it leave my head?

It's completely idiotic. But I know that if I don't do it, I won't be able to sleep tonight. And that will drive me crazier than I already am. So yes, it may very well be the dumbest thing I ever do but I feel obligated to do it for myself, for him and for her.

"Um," I press my lips together. David looks up. "You go ahead. I'll get a taxi to the hotel. I have some unfinished business I have to do here."

I thought I would be better about doing this, but my heart is beating so hard I can hear it in my ear drum. I feel like my steps are setting off alarms to the hospital security. God, I wish it was busier here so I wouldn't be such an outlier. Thank God there's only a handful of nurses on call in the whole hospital and she's been taking out of the CCU, where all eyes would be on point and security would be doubled.

I clutch the handle of my purse even harder, which I didn't know was physically possible. I thought I would drive myself insane by not doing this but it might just be the opposite. I don't want to see her. I'm not ready to. But I have to. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that i have to see her. And I may not get another chance to.

There are charts on the hospital doors. If you look closely, they have names on the top left corner. I look one by one, secretly relieved every time I don't see her name.

Madison Hernandez...Harry Powell...William Brown...Courtney Dunn...Melinda Grant.

I stand in front of the door for a good minute after I find her name. Am I really gonna do this? I guess the better question would be, would I come all the way up to the fifth floor and not do this?

This has really been a day for unanswerable questions.

I swallow and before I can convince myself to do otherwise, I swing open the door. Not to my surprise, when I flicker on the lights, she's fast asleep. She doesn't look as bad as I expected though - she doesn't seem to be injured until I come closer and her gown rolled up just enough to display a clean bandage on her waist. I stand back and run my eyes up and down her sleeping body. Maybe it's the fluorescent hospital light or just some bad pictures I saw of her on Google, but she's really a lot prettier than I expected. She's young looking but really mature with full, brunette curls, pale, clear skin and a thin but curvy figure. She must look really beautiful when she's not sick in a hospital bed. Fitz is a really lucky guy. Now that I think about it, she's lucky to be with him too.

I think he would be happy to know that she doesn't look that injured at all. She just has an IV in his wrist but that's all. She looks like she hasn't been sleeping too long, but she looks rested.

It doesn't make sense, but I feel jealous. I don't know of what exactly, but there is an envious vibe there. It almost makes me want to dislike her, but I've never met her so I don't understand my feelings at all. Maybe it's just the insanity of the day catching up with me. Or maybe it's the fact that Fitz has someone else besides me in this world.

Just when I'm about to leave, she stirs a bit. I think it's normal until her eyes flutter open. They're a deeper blue than Fitz's. She doesn't look alarmed, just confused.

"Who are you?" she asks. It's barely there, but I pinpoint a faded southern drawl in her voice. "Are you someone from social services? Because I'm really not ready to plan my son's funeral yet...I'm sorry."

"N-no." I reply, stunned for a second before walking back by her bedside. I'm taken aback at how nice she sounds. Even though she knows about Gerry dying and is probably going through the worst day in her life, she's holding it together. Or at least acting like it. I admire that and I feel sorry for ever hating her. She's been through a war and she's going through a loss while still recovering from a lethal injury. Yet she's still managing to keep her humanity and manners. "No, ma'am. My name is Olivia Pope and I'm your husband's lawyer."

"Fitz's is a suspect?" she blinks before looking up at me. She sounds surprised but not upset. It's unsettling. I don't think Fitz did it, I know he didn't, but I guess she doesn't love him enough to care. I just nod. "Well isn't that something? Just so you know, he didn't do it."

"I know," I reply gently. She doesn't seem sleepy or anything and suddenly I'm wide awake, so I go ahead and settle myself on a plastic covered chair. "I know he didn't do it, Mrs. Grant. I'm surprised that you didn't know that your husband was a suspect."

She sighs and turns to her side facing me. Her expression switches to a grimace, so I can tell she's still in some pain. She tries her best to hide it though.

"Oh, honey, they don't keep me in the loop here. I don't even have a TV in this room," she explains in a groan. I look around the ceiling and sure enough, it's barren. "This is the first I'm hearing about it. But hey, good for Fitz, having a hot young lawyer like you. Maybe he'll get a good lay in the midst of all this."

I just gape at her. Finally, I have the gall to stutter, "M-ma'am, your husband and I are not... together in...that way."

She laughs, an energetic sound coming from such a wounded woman. It's throws me off completely, like this whole conversation so far. I'm seriously regretting my decision coming into this room.

"If you're not right now, you will be soon," she chuckles, folding her arm across her forehead and laying on her back. She inhales, as if she's thinking deeply about something instead of just laying there making me uncomfortable. "Fucking him, I mean. Oh, don't look at me like that. And don't you dare tell me you haven't thought about it. Even though I haven't screwed my husband in well over a year, I know he's a catch. And he's got a heart the size of Texas. That's not the only big body part he has, if you know what I mean. It drives me crazy. The first part, I mean. Like, how exactly am I supposed to hate him when the man won't even hurt a fly? That's why it's so ironic that the cops think he hurt us all. He didn't."

I just blink. I can't keep up with this woman. If I wasn't the person she was talking to, I would be laughing my ass off at the size of her balls and her dark humor. But somehow, this isn't funny at all to me. All I can do is lay back, wide eyed and ask, "Well, do you know who did?"

Mellie sighs.

"I wish I could tell you, Ms. Pope. I really do. But in all honesty, I can't remember anything from that besides screaming like a little bitch baby to a handsome young cop." Mellie shakes her head, as if she's reminiscing. "I want to help you. And as crazy as it sounds, I want to help Fitz. I know he didn't do it. And the poor man would never survive prison."

"You can help him," I stand up and walk to her again. "Mrs. Grant, you can testify and say that you know Fitz didn't do it."

I expect her to enthusiastically accept my offer and ask me about court dates but she doesn't. She looks down at her stomach and offers a half hearted shrug. Something's not right. I can't exactly put my finger on it but something's off about the whole situation, the whole story. I'm missing something. Something about that night is hidden in the mind's of only three people in this world - Mellie, Fitz and Karen. And I'm gonna have to dig through some secrets and lies to find out exactly what it is.

I pick up my bag and turn to leave the room. I'm already in the doorway when I hear my name come from Mellie's mouth. I stop walking but I don't turn.

"What is it?"

"It's about Fitz," she replies. As much as I want to, I force myself not to turn around. I'm in charge here and Mellie won't get a reaction out of me unless she's willing to cough up some answers. But she doesn't seem like a woman who lets up easily. It's a good thing I'm not either. "He's a good guy, Ms. Pope, but he's real sensitive. You need to take care of him. I noticed that rock on your finger...but don't deny your feelings for him if they're there."

And with that, I slam the door shut. I don't mean to cause a scene, but I knew there was a reason I had an instinct not to like Mellie Grant. She's a grade A bitch. But she's a smart woman. She knows Fitz - she's been married to him for twelve years. She knows the effect he has on me.

I know I'm engaged, I know that. And I also love jake with all my heart. But I'm not ignorant enough to deny my feelings for Fitz. They could blow up into something intense really soon.

And I'm too weak to stop them if they do.

A/N: Hey guys. I hate writing an author's note every chapter or so but I don't know how I feel about this chapter.

I'm working out a lot of glitches on Google Documents, so bear with me. Also...how do you feel about this chapter? :/ I'm kind of Switzerland about it.