Olivia stands eye to eye with her father. This is a moment of truth but it's also the moment he realizes that she's no longer that good little timid girl she once was. The spike of his voice used to scare her but not now. He can see the determination in her voice and in her eyes. She wants the truth and there is no amount of lies he can finesse to fix this. He starts with the cliche that everyone hates to hear when they know they are about to get less than pleasant news.
"Olivia, I am your father and I love you," Eli starts.
"Do you?" Liv spits back.
"Livvie," Maya says.
"If you did what I think you did, how can I believe you love me," Liv continues.
"As your father, my priority is to protect you and I did what I did to protect you."
"You had Fitz break up with me to protect me. That's not protection. That's control. You never liked Fitz and you found a way to get rid of him," Liv answers.
"Olivia, at least allow your father to speak," Maya tries to compromise.
Liv takes a breath, sitting down in the nearest empty chair. "Fine...I'm listening."
"I know you don't believe me when I say I never had anything against Fitz. I didn't. Was I angry that my baby girl thought she was in love?" he says almost with sadness.
"I was.." Liv starts, he interrupts.
"I knew you were in love. I saw the way you looked at him. I saw the way he looked at you. I saw the way he treated you. He was in love too," Eli admits. Liv can't help but let tears fall. "But he was…," Eli is looking for the right words.
"He was white. He wasn't the color you thought he should be. I thought we were more evolved than to still be living in a time when swirling was frowned upon," Liv says.
"I don't care that he was white. You know I'm not like that but the world has evolved but not everyone in it has evolved. I didn't want it to be hard on you. I didn't want you to be the subject of scrutiny because of who you loved," Eli further explains.
"That was for me to decide. It was my decision to see if I cared about the scrutiny, the judging, and the eye that would be on us," Liv answers.
"But I did what I thought was right," Eli says.
"What did you do Eli? After all this time she deserves to know the truth," Maya responds.
"Gerry came to me with what happened and we agreed that you two would be better off if you didn't continue this. He told me what happened with Mellie and Fitz and how devastated Fitz was that it happened. But that he was just going to tell you but I could tell when I met with him it was eating him up inside. So I told him, instead of risking you not believing he didn't mean for it to happen, just let you go," Eli says truthfully. He will never tell her that some things didn't add up for him with what happened.
"So instead of telling me the truth, you told him to just hurt me even more," Liv deduces.
"If he had told you the truth, you would have forgiven him," Eli says.
"And what's so wrong with that? He doesn't even know how he ended up sleeping with Mellie. He doesn't even remember it. I mean it's almost like he was drugged, on top of being drunk," Liv says. She stops letting it register what she just said. "You used his mistake against us."
Maya looks at Eli, "How could you do that? How could you and Mr. Grant do that to them?
"I was protecting Olivia," he says earnestly. He turns to Olivia, "I was protecting you."
"Did you ever think that protecting me was letting me make my own decisions?" Liv answers as she grabs her purse to leave.
Maya looks at Eli, pleading with her eyes for him to stop her. He speaks up, "Can we talk some more about this?"
"I need to go but I don't want to talk about this anymore," Liv gets to the door and stops. She turns back to him, "Did you know that Fitz's dad was in town?" Eli doesn't answer but the way his body drops, she knows the answer. Liv shakes her and leaves.
"All these years you knew what happened and you never told me," Maya says. "What did you and Mr. Grant talk about, since he's here?"
"Nothing that matters now," Eli answers, going toward his room.
"You know, that's why our daughter has stayed away for so long. She was heartbroken. Fitzgerald Grant was the love of her life. I suspect he is the love of her life and you and his father meddled your way in it. They've both been unhappy. You had no right Eli, no right."
"I would take it back if I could Maya."
"Would you? She's married to an NBA Star. You love telling that. I am sure you think it's all worth it now," Maya says as he goes to the kitchen.
Liv is sitting in her car crying. Suddenly everything makes sense even though it still doesn't. The one thing she knows is that knowing the truth doesn't make her feel any better. It just makes her feel worse and she has more questions now than she had before. She drives away angry.
The scene in Fitz's office is much like the scene between Olivia and Eli. Fitz squares his shoulder to look his father in the eye. Much like Olivia, he's no longer afraid of the wrath of Fitzgerald Thomas Grant Jr. He's older now. He's living his own life and has made his own name. Gerry is no longer his hell and high water although he suspects Gerry is at the center of all the hell he's endured.
"Cat got your tongue," Fitz says as he continues his interrogation of his dad. "How did Eli Pope get the proof he needed that something happened between me and Mellie? I never bothered to ask back then because I was so mad at myself. I was so worried about what I would tell Liv or even how I would tell her. At first I thought, with his connections, maybe he was having me followed?"
"Maybe he was. A father will do what he has to, to protect his child," Gerry hits back.
"That's bullshit and you know it. It was you. I am more than certain it was you," Fitz answers.
"Where is this coming from? Shouldn't you and Olivia be talking about business, not the past?" Gerry tries to cover.
"Everything was left unfinished with us mainly because she couldn't stand the sight of me and I can't say I blame her. I couldn't stand to look at myself but maybe we both should have been asking important questions, especially me."
"You are clearly upset right now and clearly seeing Olivia is not a good thing for you. Maybe you should rethink this whole business venture," Gerry says dismissively.
"So, instead of answering me you are going to try and deflect. Fine, don't answer me. I'll go to Eli Pope myself. After all these years I deserve to know the truth like how I ended up in bed with Mellie to begin with," Fitz says as he presses the button for his secretary.
"What are you doing?" Gerry says hastily.
"I am going to get some answers," Fitz says.
Just as he says this, Gerry gets a ping on his phone. He looks down to see it's a message to Eli. The message reads, Olivia was here, I told her. Not about Europe but I told her everything else. Gerry's eyes grow big. Never looking up to Fitz, he says, "I gave Eli the photos."
Fitz looks up at him. Gerry finally looks up at Fitz to meet his gaze. He has never seen that kind of hurt in his son's eyes before. "So, you helped ruin my life."
"I was trying to help you," Gerry defends. At this point he really has no argument to defend except wanting to control how his son lives his life. He knows he can't tell Fitz the lengths he went through for control because he knows he would most likely lose his son.
"I didn't need your help. I needed to live my life and my life should have been with Olivia and you and Eli Pope took that away from me," Fitz says angrily. He knows that he can be heard outside the walls.
Gerry puts his hands in his pockets, "Her father and I thought you kids didn't need to suffer the ignorances of people who haven't grown with the time and.."
"The ignorance is that you two thought we couldn't handle our lives. The ignorance is that you two haven't grown with the time. We went to an integrated school. We live in an integrated town. That's no excuse."
Gerry tilts his head, "Did you get stares? Did you get people doing double takes when you were together? Did you kiss her in public and get some glares?"
"Of course we did and I'm not naive to think all those stares were people who were uncomfortable with public displays of affection but I didn't give a damn," Fitz has to stop himself from throwing something across the room.
Gerry knows he needs to talk to Mellie. This is a fire that's waiting to spread and Gerry knows the only victim will be him. "You have a wife and a child. You have a great job and a great career you've built for yourself. Maybe things worked out the way they should have."
"Or maybe things worked out the way you engineered them to," Fitz cuts him off. He picks up the picture of Teddy on his desk. "You know, I always wondered why Mellie came to that funeral when she hated Jake. But she showed up and it didn't make sense to me. Did you have something to do with that?"
"Why would I have something to do with that?"
"I don't know, you tell me," Fitz glares.
"I am going to go before this conversation goes to a place it shouldn't," Gerry says going towards the door.
"You never said why you were here in the first place."
Gerry drops his head, shaking it from side to side. "I told you why."
"And I don't believe it."
"I was thinking you could gather up Teddy and Mellie and we go out to dinner but I guess that's out."
Fitz smiles, "Yeah, that's out."
"I leave in 2 days. Maybe we can talk before I leave," Gerry says as he goes out of the door, not waiting for Fitz to reject the idea.
Fitz sits down, finally breathing. He can't believe this day. He can't believe he finally got to tell his side of the story to the one person who never wanted to listen, Olivia. He can't believe that it seems she would have understood what happened. Did he overreact himself? Did he get so scared of losing Olivia that he lost her because he didn't trust her? Or because he didn't trust what all happened in the first place. He needs to talk to her again but he knows he needs to give her some space.
Liv makes it home. She sees a car outside she doesn't recognize. She gets out of the car, ready to walk inside her home. The home feels like a prison more than a place of comfort but she would never say it out loud. She takes a breath. She knows she will be interrogated the moment he realizes she is home. There is a honk of a horn that breaks her thoughts. She turns to see it is Mellie. God this is the last person she wanted to see today.
Mellie parks her car, getting out happily as she approaches Olivia. "I am so glad I caught you."
"Mellie, good to see you," Liv fakes.
"I was wondering, have you signed up yet for the country club?" Mellie asks.
"The country club," Liv repeats.
"Yes! It's amazing. They have a great spa. They have great swimming. And of course great golfing. Fitz just loves that. They have great tennis courts too. Maybe we can play some doubles," Mellie finishes. "And I'll be totally superficial, they have great food too."
"Well, I am not much for tennis. I am much more of a swimmer myself. Russ likes golfing too on down time. We haven't had a chance to talk about joining tho," Liv admits.
"How about this? I can set something up with Fitz and you two can go as our guest, see if you like it. Then we can get you all signed up," Mellie giggles.
Liv looks toward the door as she hears it open. Russ opens it, sporting his crutch as he looks in her direction, "I will talk to Russ about it."
"Perfect! I'll mention it to Fitz tonight," Mellie says, putting her designer sunglasses back and goes toward the car. "We might be as thick as thieves. You'll be working for Fitz. You are part of the family now."
Liv lets out a nervous laugh. If only Mellie knew, she thinks to herself. "Yes I guess so. I better get going, my patient has been waiting for me."
Mellie looks over, "Good to see you Russell," she says as she turns toward her car. She drives away.
Liv walks toward the door, "Why are you up on that leg?" She asks as she hears familiar voices inside the house. She stops looking at him, "Who's here?"
"I was gonna call you but my mom is here," Russell says.
"Your mom!" Liv says almost angrily. "You didn't tell me she was coming."
"I didn't know she was coming baby. She surprised me. When the gate called and said she was here, I couldn't say turn her around," Russell says. He reaches down, giving her a swift kiss.
Liv takes a minute, "I love your mom. I'm not mad she's here. I just wish we had noticed, that's all."
"She's staying a week," Russell finishes.
"The more the merrier," Liv says, going in after him as he hobbles ahead of her. Just then her phone beeps. She pulls it out seeing its from Fitz, We still have a lot to talk about.
Mrs. Emory breaks her thought, "There's my beautiful daughter in law," she says as she grabs her into a hug.
"Pat it's so good to see you," Liv answers as she hugs her back.
"I'm sure Russ told you. You got me for a week," Pat smiles.
"That's great! We need to catch up," Liv covers.
"Don't worry about dinner tonight I am working on it," Pat announces.
"Well I am going to go change into something more comfortable," she says going towards the stairs. She turns back to Russell, "Do you need something?"
"Nope! I got my two best girls. I'm good."
Liv smiles going up the stairs. She gets to the top of the stairs. There is a text from Fitz.
Fitz: We need to talk. I talked to my dad.
Liv: I talked to my dad too.
Fitz: Livvie…..I….know I shouldn't want to but..
Liv: I need to see you too but we can't. We shouldn't.
Fitz: Just talk.
Liv: I don't know when. My mother in law is here. I gotta go.
There is a cloud by his name. He is typing something. She stands at the edge of the stairs just waiting for him to persuade. Although, truth be told, he doesn't have to persuade her. He just has to say the words. She waits with baited breath and cloud disappears. A whim of tightness feels her chest.
Pat's voice can be heard from downstairs, "Come on Liv! Dinner is gonna be ready soon."
Liv shakes herself out of thoughts, taking a breath. "I'll be right down."
Fitz makes it home. He has so many questions floating around in his head now. Questions that he never thought to ask himself until his conversation with Liv. He wonders what actually happened and if Mellie can maybe fill in those gaps. The problem is, he doesnt trust her to be truthful and it pangs him to feel that way.
He makes it inside the door to be tackled by Teddy, "Whoa Buddy!" Fitz chuckles as they both fall to the floor.
"Daddy...daddy! You home," Teddy screams.
"Of course I am home. I had to see my favorite guy," Fitz says, putting his bag down and walking further into the house. Quinn comes into view. "Hello Quinn!"
"Hello Mr. Grant," she smiles.
"Daddy, look what Quinn and I did today," Teddy starts jabbering away.
"Let daddy take his coat off and you can tell me all about it," Fitz smiles.
"Where's Mellie?" He asks.
"She's upstairs," Quinn answers. "Do you want me to stay until dinner or is your father coming?"
Fitz's head snaps up. "My father. Why would my father be coming?" Fitz asks. Quinn immediately becomes red. She wonders if she should have said it but deep down, she wanted to say it. She didn't like the parts of the conversation she heard that morning. "When was my father here?" Fitz asks.
Teddy is mindlessly playing with his toy but hears the question, "Grandpa was here today daddy."
Quinn looks over at Teddy as if they both have shared a secret they shouldn't have, "He was here this morning," Quinn answers slowly.
"After I left for the office," Fitz says.
"Yes sir," she answers.
Teddy interrupts, feeling ignored, "Daddy you aren't looking," Teddy says frustrated.
"I'm sorry buddy, give me a minute," Fitz answers looking at Quinn. "Can you stay a little longer? I need to talk to Mellie."
"Sure," she says as she goes toward the kitchen.
"Let me see this picture Bud and then I need to go talk to mommy okay."
"Okay," Teddy answers, putting his picture close to Fitz's face.
Meanwhile, Mellie is upstairs talking to Gerry who has called to warn her. "What the hell did you say to him?"
Gerry laughs, "I didn't have to say anything to him," Gerry says.
"Why did you two even talk about that?" Mellie asks.
"Because sometimes the past has a way of smacking you in the face," Gerry answers. He knows he'll have hell to pay if reveals exactly who Olivia is. He knows his son hasn't done it and he knows why.
"He's home, I need to go but I hope you haven't made this worse. This is our secret to take to the grave. He can never know what happened. We are happy. We are a family and that's what counts now."
"I am not trying to upset the apple cart but secrets have a way of coming out and sometimes you can't stop them," Gerry answers.
Mellie doesn't know that Fitz has entered the room, "For your sake and mine Gerry we have to," she hangs up.
"We have to do what?" Fitz asks.
Mellie looks at Fitz, "You're home."
"I came up here with one question and now I have 3. Why is my father really in town? Why was my father here this morning? And why were you two talking just now?"
Mellie tries to compose herself. She tries to laugh it off. "Well you know that you and your father don't necessarily get along so he came here to try and get me to get you to have dinner tonight."
Fitz narrows his eyes, "But he acted like he didn't see you at all when he came to my office."
"Well, there's not much I can do about the strained relations that you and your father have," Mellie says defensively, which Fitz notices right off.
Fitz goes over to the chaise seat and sits down. "I want to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me."
She goes and sits by him, trying to be sexy and charming but Fitz is in no mood, "You know I'm honest with you. But since Quinn is still here, let's go out to dinner. We haven't had a nice romantic dinner in a long time. We can talk later," she says, draping her arms around him. He quickly breaks away and gets up.
Fitz puts his hands in his pocket. Mellie knows that look and she knows she can't get out of this one. "Were you going to tell me that my father was here first? It seems you two have a lot of little secrets."
"He came to see you . What does it matter Fitz? What is this about?" Mellie asks.
He carefully forms his words, before he says it. "Why did you come to Jake's funeral?"
Mellie tilts her head, "Why did I come to our friend's funeral?"
"That's just it Mellie," he shakes his head. "You all but hate Jake. You thought he was immature, cocky, and brash. You always wondered why we were friends at all."
"I did but he was your friend and I wanted to be there for you."
"What happened that night?"
Mellie's defenses are growing heavy. She can feel the interrogation that Fitz is giving her. "What night?"
"The night after Jake's funeral that led to me waking up in bed with you," Fitz continues.
She walks over to him, ready to caress his face, "Come on Fitz.." she starts. She's shocked by his flinching from her touch.
"What happened that night?"
"Are you questioning us sleeping together. Yes, we were drunk. We all were. And it happened," Mellie says angrily.
Fitz is now walking around their room. "I can't remember it all but I don't remember you getting that drunk."
"What are you saying? What are you accusing me of?"
"I didn't accuse you of anything but should I be? I feel like I should be accusing you and my father of something."
"Fuck you Fitz," Mellie spits. Fitz laughs, which makes her even angrier. "Is this funny to you?"
"No, but did I talk about my girl that night. The girl I was in love with."
"What! I can't believe we are arguing about your old girlfriend."
"You know me Mellie, when I'm drunk I'm very honest. Did I talk about her?"
Mellie rolls her eyes, "Yes! You talked about your precious Livvie." Fitz squints his eyes at her. "You have a thing for Olivias don't you. Should I be worried about you hiring one?"
"I talked about Liv and you slept with me anyway," Fitz asks.
"I didn't do anything you didn't want," she says sarcastically. Fitz starts going toward the door. He knows that if he keeps talking to Mellie right now, it's going to get worse. "Where are you going?"
He turns around, "What did I say about Livvie that night?"
She wants to hold that glass exterior she's so good at projecting but she can't help but feel some hurt that he's worried about someone who should be in their past but she knows that this woman has always been apart of them, "We talked about why things didn't work out of for us," she deflects. He shakes his head reaching for the handle. She closes her eyes, "You kept repeating how much you missed her and needed her but you didn't want her to see you drunk like that."
Fitz drops his head, "I am going out for a drive. I need some air."
"What about dinner? Teddy is gonna wonder," Mellie says.
"I'll be back," Fitz says as he goes out of the door.
Mellie is fuming. You can almost see the smoking fusing from his ears. She picks up her phone to call Gerry.
Liv finally changes to go downstairs for dinner. As she goes down the stairs, she's pretty sure she hears her parents downstairs. She stands on the stairs and listens and yes, it's her parents. Her father is the last person she wants to see right now. She takes a deep breath as she starts down the stairs.
She can hear Pat, "Olivia is supposed to be coming down."
"I'm right here," Liv says as she comes into view. She glares at her father and then looks at Maya, her husband, and mother in law. "Mom...dad.."
"Blame me," Pat quickly interjects. "Your mom called looking for you earlier and I told her I was here and come over for dinner. Russell thought it was a great idea."
Olivia just smiles, "He did," she finishes as she glares at him.
Maya goes over to Liv, taking by the shoulder. Hugging her close to the side, "Twice in one day I get to see you and I haven't seen Pat since the wedding."
"It's no problem," Liv says as she goes into the kitchen. "Pat, do you need help with anything?"
"No, you sit down and you all watch me labor," Pat says with a laugh.
"We can't wait to have some of your home cooking mama," Russell says. "Plus, I missed my beautiful wife today so," he says, beckoning her to his lap.
"Russell," Liv utters.
"Come on, your parents know we are married," he tries to joke.
Pat smiles, "That's what I like to see." Liv goes over to him and sits in the chair next to him instead of his lap. Maya notices that something is off but she can't put her finger on it.
"Son, how's that ankle doing there son?" Eli asks.
"I can walk on it. Hopefully next week they can take this cast off of me and I can get back on the court and spoil my wife the right way." Liv shakes her head.
"I hope that means you two are going to start working on that grandbaby soon," Pat adds in.
"We are already working on it," Russell says proudly.
Maya and Eli turn to her, shocked by this news. "You all are trying," Maya says.
Eli gets up and pats him on the back. He looks at Olivia. "That's great news. I want another extension of me running around."
Maya can see Olivia is not pleased with the display of testosterone. She decides to speak up, studying her daughter, "Well it will happen when it happens. When it's time nature will take its course. I mean Liv is starting this job. Which I would love to know more about. It sounds like a great opportunity, my daughter the Architect."
"Yes, that used to be a man's line of work. Nice to see the ladies invading the male domination," Pat says.
"Well I would like to work on extending our family. I don't particularly like this Grant fellow," Russell adds.
Eli looks at Olivia, "Who is this guy?" He directs at Russell but looks at Liv.
"Some overdressed privileged white guy who just does things because he can, Fitzgerald Grant," Russell adds.
Maya turns to look at Olivia, "Fitzgerald Grant." Maya can tell that Russell has no idea there is a connection. Eli gives Olivia a searing stare that could burn the skin off your flesh.
"Sounds like he should be a president of something," Pat laughs.
"He's a great guy. He's an entrepreneur and he has a great vision for things," Liv defends but she tries to downplay it. "My best friend Abby suggested it to me before we even got back here. She's his legal counsel. And looks like I'll be designing his new restaurant."
"Well it's good to have friends," Pat says. "Now we can get ready for dinner.
There is an awkward silence. Everyone goes to the dining room to have dinner. They chat about different things. Olivia can see the questions running through Eli's head. Maya has a lot of questions. The ladies are now clearing the table. Eli and Russell are watching ESPN.
"Dad, I've got you some tickets, good box seat," Russell says. He turns his head to get Liv's attention, "Babe, can you get your dad's tickets?"
"Sure," Liv says.
"Is my son driving you crazy? You know you can tell him no," Pat says.
"No it's fine and I can do the dishes," Liv suggests.
"Don't be silly. I can."
"And I'll help because dinner was amazing. I can at least clean up," Maya adds.
Liv goes and gets the tickets. As everyone continues their conversations.
"So you've met this Grant cat," Eli says.
"Yeah, he and his snobby wife. I mean I guess they are nice enough but I just get a vibe. He stares a little too long at Liv."
"What do you mean stare?"
"Like he's drooling," Russell says angrily. "I don't want to have to tell him that my wife is off limits," Russell says.
Liv is in earshot as she comes back with the tickets, "I can speak for myself if someone is trying anything with me. I don't need you telling him anything," Liv says as she passes him the tickets, almost throwing them.
"Babe, I know..I just," Russell starts.
"Marking your territory son, that's a good man," Eli defends.
"That's a caveman," Liv rolls her neck as she goes toward the kitchen when she hears what her mother and Pat are talking about.
"So, how long are you staying Pat?" Maya asks.
"A week. My son called me and said I was needed here. I just think he likes being pampered. Hopefully Liv doesn't mind me being here."
"Of course she doesn't," Maya says.
Liv shakes her head. She knew her mother in law didn't just show up out of the clear blue. She has a feeling Russell wants another pair of eyes on her. The conversation they need to have can't come fast enough.
Fitz is sitting at a bar, nursing the same glass of scotch he ordered when he got there. He's so angry he doesn't exactly know how to place that anger. He wants to hit something but what good would that do. He wants some answers but he can't imagine getting the truth from the two people he knows can give it to him. But he knows there is one person he can get some truth from.
Fitz gets a pat on the back, "That was some SOS you sent me man," the voice says.
"I am just glad you took it seriously," Fitz says.
"What is so important I needed to meet you at this time of night?"
"Charlie, it's really important," Fitz says.
Charlie stands about 6ft tall. He looks unassuming, kind of in a nerdy way. He and Fitz have been friends since high school. They all hung together. He brought Charlie on as his Construction Foreman for all his projects. He's one of Fitz's main confidants. "Okay, lay it on me. What did Mellie do now?"
Fitz just starts to laugh. He can always count on Charlie. Charlie never liked Mellie and he never made any qualms about it. "I need you to tell me what happened that night, Jake's funeral."
"The night we all got piss ass drunk," Charlie answers.
"Yeah that night," Fitz agrees. "I need to know what happened. I need to know how I woke up in Mellie's bed that next morning."
"You are still trying to figure that out," Charlie says.
"Yeah, something doesn't add up. I don't understand why Mellie even showed up in the first place. She thought Jake was an asshole. She hated him."
"Yeah she did. I couldn't understand why she was there either but for some reason I think she didn't come for Jake. She came for you and I guess it worked."
"That's just it. You know how much I loved Olivia. How much I will always love Olivia. Mellie knew that too. Liv was all I talked about that night and all I talked about was calling her and talking to her that night. Not getting my rocks off."
"Yeah, you were like a broken record. You were talking about leaving and flying home. You were booking a ticket. Mellie offered to take you to the airport since you were so adamant," Charlie reveals.
"That's what I remember. I remember leaving with Mellie and I don't remember anything after that," Fitz says. Charlie can see the frustration in his face.
"You really don't remember anything after that. That's weird man. It's like you were drugged or something," Charlie laughs off.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Fitz says under his breath. They keep chatting but there's a nagging feeling for Fitz that he's onto something.
Liv goes out to see her parents out. They are standing by the car. Liv knows exactly what's on their mind. She's waiting for the first one to say something and tell her how it's all a bad idea. Somewhere deep down, she agrees that it is.
"So that's what this is all about. You are going to be working for Fitzgerald Grant and your husband doesn't know that this man...is the man…."
"The love of my life," Liv finishes. "No he doesn't. I am going to tell him."
"You need to tell him Livvie. This is a fire just waiting to rage out of control. Why did you take that job?" Maya asks.
"I agreed to meet with Abby's boss about the job because I didn't know it was Fitz. I didn't know it was Fitz," Liv explains.
"And you should have said no when you did. Don't disrespect your husband that way. Don't disrespect your marriage. Don't put your integrity in question," Eli shoots off.
"How about you never should have disrespected my feelings all those years ago?" Liv says with so much hurt in her eyes.
"I protected you," Eli almost shouts.
"You hurt me," Liv says.
"Livvie, I know you are upset with your dad. And you should be. I am not happy with him," Maya says looking at him. "But on this, this could hurt your marriage. You and Fitz have unfinished business and that kind of unfinished business tempts the furies."
"I am a grown woman and I know how to handle myself," Liv answers.
"I don't want you to make a mistake. I don't want you to put yourself in a position to hurt yourself and no one else," Maya advises.
Liv walks up to her, giving her a hug. She needs that mother's touch and warmth right now more than anything. "I will be fine mama. I promise."
Maya whispers in her ear, "There's something else we need to talk about and soon." Liv nods her head, agreeing to talk to her.
Eli walks up to her, offering an olive branch of a hug. Liv steps back. Eli tries to act like it doesn't sting. "We will talk soon," he says as he gets in the car.
Liv watches as they drive away. She walks back into the house to find Russell watching television in the entertainment room. She assumes that Pat has gone to bed. She goes into the room and watches him from behind. She closes the door behind her. Russell turns, "Hey babe! Your parents are gone. I hope they had a good time. It was good to see them. We should do this more often."
"You mean fly your mother in and lie to me about it," Liv answers.
Russell turns to her, "What are you talking about?"
"You told me that your mother just showed up here. You should have coached her on her story. I heard her tell my mother you called her and said she was needed here."
"Babe, don't make a big deal of this."
"Make a big deal of you lying to my face," Liv says, shocked by his dismissal.
"Fine! I flew her down here."
"To patrol me," Liv asks.
"Come on," Russell says, getting up from his seat. "Don't take it that way."
"It's too late," she turns and heads for the door.
"Where are you going?"
Liv turns around, "I am going to take a job to clear my head. I need some space."
"Babe," he shouts.
Liv doesn't turn to address him. She keeps heading for the door as she leaves.
Flashback:
Fitz and Liv are sitting on the Spanish steps. It's a romantic and hidden spot in DC that people love to visit. It's quiet. It's anonymous and it's the perfect place to have a spur of the moment picnic which is what Fitz surprised Liv with.
"I can't believe we are having a picnic on the Spanish Steps," Liv says looking around.
"I wanted to do something different. I mean, my tutor is just so amazing. I had to reward her somehow," he jokes as he puts a grape into her mouth.
"Oh, I'm just your tutor," Liv smiles.
"Okay, you might be a little more. It depends. My tutor is playing hard to get," he winks.
"I can't be easy with you. You'll take advantage of it. That's why I stay on your ass," Liv rolls her eyes.
"There is a lot we could do with my ass," Fitz suggests.
Liv's eyes widened, "I can't believe you just said that."
He pulls her closer, "You are the best tutor girlfriend I have ever had."
"How many tutors have you had?" Liv tilts her head.
He plants a small kiss on her, "I play dumb so I can get the girls."
She pushes him away playfully, "Take me home."
"Not a chance, short stuff," he says, kissing the crook of her neck.
"I'm not short," she says pouting. He loves it when he can get her to pout. She widens those doe eyes at him. In those moments, he would give her the world if he could or die trying.
"You aren't short. You are just right for me," he smiles. "Now give me those pouty lips," he orders.
"Or what?"
"Or I'll lay you down and taste you right here," Fitz says.
"You would not," Liv says, almost wanting to dare him.
"Oh I would! Out here in mother nature. Seems like a perfect place to me," Fitz winks.
"We cannot do that here but for one minute can you just kiss me. One minute just kiss me and make me feel like there's no one else in the world but us," Liv asks.
"You never have to ask that," Fitz responds as he immediately takes her in his arms and begins to kiss her."
Fitz is now sitting on that step, coming out of that memory. He could walk the streets of DC and relive so many beautiful moments he shared with Liv. It's as if DC is their own little bubble that no one can take from them. Not even Gerry and Eli.
"You remembered," the voice says.
Fitz turns to see Liv standing there. He can't help but smile. There she is. Maybe it's the night sky or maybe it's just her, she's more beautiful than ever. "How could I forget? We had some of our best tutoring sessions right here."
Liv smiles. She has to admit, her heart is beating so fast just seeing him sitting there. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Fitz says.
"I needed fresh air. I needed to think. I needed to," she is too embarrassed to finish her thought.
"You needed to feel close to me," Fitz finishes it for her. He knows that feeling all too well.
"But I shouldn't feel that way. It's wrong Fitz. We are both married," Liv quickly tries to remind them both.
"You don't think I know that. I know that but the truth is some people fucked with our lives and decided our fate for us. We never had a say in that."
"It doesn't matter. We made commitments and we can't just act like we didn't," Liv says pained. Her heart hurts for both of them.
Fitz walks toward her, "Can you tell me you don't remember the last time we were here? Tell me you remember what happened that night."
Liv steps back, "You know I remember."
Fitz's hand is shaking as he raises it to her cheek. She jumps and then relaxes into his gentle touch as he strokes her face, "I made a promise to you that night with my grandmother's ring and I'll never forget what I said."
Liv lets a tear fall, "I'll never forget what you said either and looking at you right now just reminds me how you broke that promise and my heart."
"Not because I wanted to," Fitz answers.
She looks away from his gaze, "Fitz.."
"Do you still have it?"
"What?"
He turns her face to his, gently, "Do you still have the ring?"
She closes her eyes, letting the words escape her above a whisper, "I couldn't get rid of it."
"The same way we can't deny that what we had is very much there. It will never go away. No matter how far away you try to move yourself, we are connected."
"It doesn't matter," she repeats. She's trying to convince herself that there's nothing to remember and nothing to relive but here she is, in one of their favorite spots feeling everything she felt years ago. It's almost suffocating.
"Can you look me in the eye and tell me it doesn't matter?"
Liv shakes her head, "Next you are gonna say just divorce our spouses and get back together."
"Sounds easy enough for me," Fitz says confidently.
"Fitz we can't hurt people with our….," she searches for the words.
"Is he the love of your life? The man you call your husband. Is he the love of your life?" Fitz asks.
"I love him," Liv stutters to answer.
"That's not what I asked you," Fitz corrects.
"Don't," Liv tries to pull away.
"Mellie is not the love of my life," Fitz answers.
"But she's your wife and Russell is my husband," Liv says as she turns swiftly to walk away.
"One minute," Fitz says.
Liv stops dead in her tracks. She feels like her whole body is shaking. She turns to face him as he walks up to her. "What do you want from me?"
"For one minute, I want you to be honest with yourself and with your heart. I want you to kiss me like there's only you and me."
She takes a breath, "But after that one minute the truth will still be the same."
"One minute Livvie," he pleads.
Before he can plead again, she grabs his face and their lips meet. It's like the greatest exhale of both of their lives. They devour each other's lips with urgency. He snakes his tongue into her parting lips as they duel for the domination of each other. It's the taste they both remember. It's the feeling they both remember. But, there's something different. The passion, the need, the want is more than they ever remember having. He pulls her body into him as they are pressed to each other. They suck on each other's tongue as they survey each other's lips. Their moans could be heard harmonizing with the night breeze. Liv's hands are going through his hair. She missed those curls. She missed holding him close to her. He's missed her just as much.
"Sorry to interrupt," they hear as someone passes by.
They both stop, foreheads pressed against each other. They can't help but blush, laughing as they won't let go of each other.
"I shouldn't have done that. We shouldn't have…" she starts.
Fitz puts his finger on her lips, "We shouldn't have lost each other."
"I better go," Liv says, wanting to break away from his embrace but she can't,
"I can't let you go again. I can't," Fitz admits.
She brings her fingers up to his lips, "You have to," she whispers. It hurts her to say as she pulls away and leaves.
Fitz watches her leave, he whispers, "It's not too late."
What happens next?
