Olivia got out of that house as fast as she could. She certainly didn't want to be there when Russell got home. She needed time to think and figure out her next move. She chastised herself in every way possible. She entertained the thought of staying and talking to him she did keep a secret from him. But he put his hands on her and there is no excuse for that. She's been hiding in the JW Marriott since she left. She couldn't go to her parents. She didn't want to explain anything to them, especially her father. She wants to nurse her black eye in peace and cry the tears that she can't believe she still has left to cry. There is a knock at the door. She knows who it is, so she goes to open. She doesn't wait to greet the person; she just opens and walks away.

"Liv, I got here as fast as I could. I knew something was wrong," Abby says, going a mile a minute. Not realizing Liv is focused on looking out of her window at the Washington Monument in the distance. "What happened?" Abby asks, going toward her. Liv turns away.

"Russell and I had a fight," she says softly.

"Oh, I thought you were here for something else," Abby answers.

"Like what?" Liv says, still not wanting to reveal her face.

"I don't know, meeting Fitz maybe," Abby chuckles.

Liv sighs. She knows Abby will go ballistic, but she can't hide forever. She turns to her, "No, I am not meeting Fitz."

Abby sees her eye and the side of her face, "What the hell happened to you? Russell did this." Without answering, Abby knows the answer. "I am going to kick his ass."

Liv just shakes her head, walking over to the sofa. "Not now Abby."

"Why not now? He hit you. Have you looked at your face?" Abby asks angrily.

"Of course, I've looked at my face Abby," Liv says.

Abby knows she always becomes extremely angry before getting a story. She can see that her friend just needs some gentleness and calm right now. "I'm sorry Liv."

Liv wipes the tear the slowly falls from her eyes, "Thank you for being here. I didn't know who else to call. I certainly couldn't call my father. He thinks Russell walks on water and my mother was going to tell him."

"Does Harrison know?"

Liv lets out a faint laugh, "I can't tell Harrison, he will kill him."

"Your dad may be a bastard, but I think he would kill Russell too," Abby says. She studies her face, "What happened Liv?"

"I came home after what happened at the office and Russell was in my office. He had opened my locked desk and pull out my box," Liv starts to explain.

"What box?"

"I had a box with the stuff in it of me and Fitz. I shouldn't still have it but, anyway he found it," Liv wraps her arms around herself.

"Don't you dare say you brought this on yourself. He had no right to be in your private things and he certainly had no right to hit you. He should have never put his hit you," Abby stresses.

"He found a letter in the box that I had written to Fitz, but I never sent it to him. I think he put two and two together. There aren't that many Fitz's in this world. He already didn't like him. He felt like Fitz wanted had his eyes on me," Liv further explains.

"Well," Abby shrugs.

"One thing led to another, and he hit me," Liv wipes her tears. "And then of course he apologized and then begged me to leave him."

"You should have left, and you aren't going back. Hell no!" Abby yells.

"I should have told him from the beginning who Fitz was. That is my fault, Abby. He's my husband and I didn't tell him that my new boss, the man that I thought was the love of my life…. the man I gave my virginity to was who he was."

Abby must stop herself. She can see the inner turmoil going on in Liv. "Okay, I understand but it still gave him no right to hit you."

"No, it didn't."

"You can't go back Liv. He's going to do it again," Abby answers. She can see how embarrassed Liv is. "Is this the first time?"

Liv's neck snaps as she looks over at Abby, "Yes!"

"Once he's done it once, what's to stop him from doing it again?"

It's as if a panic attack rises in her. Her senses are in overload, "You can't tell Fitz, Abby. You can't tell him. Fitz is going to go after him." Abby doesn't say a word, she shrugs at the thought. She doesn't say anything. "Abby, you can't tell Fitz. You have to promise me you won't tell him."

"I am not promising anything. You have to promise me that you aren't going back to that house. If Russell wants something to hit, he can hit a wall."

The soreness has set in from hitting the wall. She gets up and walks back over to the window. "I had never seen his eyes like that. It was like he became a different person."

"Bastard, he hits you and then goes and plays a game like nothing happened at home," Abby rolls her eyes.

"He got ejected for fighting," Liv says barely audible.

"So, he took his act on the court."

"I need to go back," Liv announces.

Abby looks at her as if she's grown a third eye, "Are you kidding me? You want to go back."

"I need to get some more clothes. I need the space to figure out my next move."

"No, let him get his things and move out," Abby says.

"No Abby, I rather move out," Liv say with a slight shutter.

Abby studies her body language. If it was one thing she learned about Liv when she shuts down. She would shut down because she's running. And there is only one person she could be running from. "You are avoiding Fitz, not Russell."

"Abby, can we not get into this. I am starving. I was too upset to eat before," Liv interrupts.

"Liv, you can't run from Fitz or your past. Fitz is no longer your past. It is very much your present."

"You don't understand Abby," Liv says turning to her.

"Okay, well explain it."

Liv huffs, "For one, Fitz lives right around the corner from me. I won't be able to get my head clear and think about things I need to think about. Not if Fitz is so close." She shakes her head. "Fitz always made everything better. He always made everything clear for me. I can't walk that road. I can't involve him in this. I can't…"

"Liv he's already involved. He's why all of this happened."

"Because I wasn't honest with my husband. That's not Fitz's fault. That's mine. I need to deal with this myself."

"You are going to go back to him, aren't you?"

"I just want you to go with me. I just need you to hold my hand. I'll go from there," Liv pleads.

"Of course, I'll go with you, but I think you need to tell your parents and you need to tell Fitz," Abby stresses again. She takes out her phone and begins to snap pictures of Liv's face.

"What are you doing?" Liv asks moving away from the clicks of the phone.

"I am making sure you have pictorial evidence so when you file the papers, you have all the evidence you need."

"Abby," Liv holds up her hand.

"I need to talk to him. I owe him an explanation, for my part in this." She can see that Abby is biting her tongue. "It's not excusing him. It's just me owning that the moment I found out my boss was going to be Fitz, I should have told him. He deserved to know that."

She doesn't want to concede that point, even though she knows what Liv is saying, "Okay."

"Thank you!"

"I can't say I won't attack that asshole with a bat when I see him," Abby says. "Do you want to go now?"

"No, I want to go tomorrow morning. He leaves for the away game in the morning. He won't be a problem. It's a crucial game 7."

"I'll meet you there I promise," Abby assures her. Abby walks to her, wrapping her in a hug that she's surprised that Liv let's her give. "I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry that this is all so complicated."

"I always knew the past was going to catch up with me."

"Where do you want to go eat?" Liv points at her eye. "Okay, stupid question. Let's order in."

"Sounds good. I just need to go freshen up. You know what kind of food I like. I just want to pig out," Liv says with a little spark in her sad eyes as she goes into the bedroom.

"Okay," Abby says as she gets up, looking at the room service menu. Nothing catches her eye. She decides on something else when she see the open box on the counter. She sees the letter on top. She starts to read the letter, realizing it's the letter that Russell found. There is a frown that forms in her forehead. What is Liv not telling Fitz?"


Fitz gets home to a very boisterous little boy running around the house. Teddy is running around the house with his superman cape on. He can't seem to part ways with it these days. He's convinced he's superman and Fitz is not about to break his little guy's heart.

"Daddy look! I'm the great Superman," he says with a giggle as he stands on the ottoman.

"Okay little guy, we don't stand on furniture," Fitz says trying to coax him down gently.

"But daddy, Superman has to stand above the world," Teddy tries to explain.

"I thought Superman could fly," Fitz questions He loves these little animated talks with his little guy.

"He does everything daddy," Teddy answers quickly which makes Fitz throw his head back in laughter.

"Of course, he does. He's a superhero," Fitz answers.

"Like you daddy," Teddy says. Mellie is watching this in the doorway. Quinn appears from the laundry room talking.

"Okay Teddy," she stops when she sees Mellie. "Mrs. Grant….," then she looks over to see Fitz who has now turned when hears Mellie's name. "Hello Mr. Grant!"

"Hello Quinn!" He answers as he just looks at Mellie. The sneer at Mellie doesn't go unnoticed by Quinn.

"Teddy, your outfit is ready. You want to put it on."

"No, I am going to wear my superman," Teddy says, all ready to cry if his choice is rejected.

"Buddy, you are going for a sleepover. Don't you want to wear something else?"

"No, Jack is gonna have his spiderman on," Teddy says.

"I'm sure it's okay," Mellie says to Fitz.

Fitz puts Teddy on the ground. "Okay buddy! You got get ready to go. Quinn is going to drop you off. You be a good boy this weekend."

"I will daddy. Do I get a present if I do?"

Fitz sees so much of himself in Teddy. He's very precocious. "Yes buddy! You do." Quinn takes him by the hand and gets ready to leave. "Have a wonderful weekend off Quinn."

"Thanks Mr. Grant. I will," she says.

Mellie tries to act engaged, "Thank you Quinn!" Quinn just rolls her eyes. "Umm Teddy, aren't you going to say goodbye to mommy."

Teddy lets go of Quinn's hand and runs to her. "Bye Mommy!" It's a quick exchange and then its over.

"You didn't tell me where we were going tonight for dinner," Mellie says.

"I want it to be a surprise," Fitz says.

"We haven't been out on a date in so long. I almost forgot what it was like to have a date with you," Mellie acknowledges.

Fitz doesn't offer anything to her. "Well, I thought with Teddy going away for the weekend. It was a perfect time."

"Can you help me pick out my dress?"

Fitz walks over to her, in a move that surprises even her, he kisses her on the cheek. "You are going to look beautiful in whatever you wear."

Mellie does that signature giggle. "Fitz," she giggles.

He hates every minute of this. He is determined to get down to the bottle of this. Mellie doesn't know that there are a few surprises at this dinner. Fitz had to choose a public place. Mellie would never let Washington D.C.'s elite see her make an ass of herself. "A night to remember." He says as he goes upstairs.

Mellie starts to blush, thinking she's getting her husband back. Olivia Pope will no longer be a problem. And she thinks the better of telling him that she confronted Olivia this evening. She turns and goes up the stairs to change her clothes.


Abby and Liv are pigging out on Ooohh and Aaahhh's. There's containers of mac and cheese, collard greens, yams, yellow rice, mashed potatoes, blackened shrimp, lemon pepper chicken wings, beef ribs and teriyaki salmon. It's like one big buffet with every southern staple you can ask for.

"Abby who were you feeding?" Liv laughs. It's good to hear her laugh.

"Well, I didn't know what to do and anyway. I'll bring some to David. You have a fridge in this suite and a microwave, you can eat leftovers."

"You know I love their cornbread. My grandma Hazel used to make all this stuff. I miss her cooking so much, but this is close to it."

"I remember she brought you over a care package to the dorm that time. I could get over that being a care package. She said the cabbage was for money and the black-eyed peas were for health."

"Yes, a traditional New Year's dinner," Liv laughs as she eats one of the lemon pepper wings. She almost forgets she is wounded. She feels the sting of her bruise.

"Let me get you some more ice," Abby says. Liv smiles.

"Did you read the letter?" Liv asks. She can tell that it has been moved.

Abby walks toward her with the ice pack. "Yes, I did. I am sorry. It was just lying there."

"It's okay! I mean the genie is already out of the bottle. I know you have a lot of questions, don't you?"

Abby answers slowly, "Yeah, I do. But I don't want you to tell me if you aren't ready."

"What happened Liv?" Abby asks.

"What do you mean?"

"In that letter you tried to tell Fitz something, but you didn't finish it. What happened?"

"I can't tell you that Abby and it doesn't matter now," Liv says as she gets up going to the pour herself another glass of wine. "Would you like another?" She says motioning the bottle toward her.

"Don't try to evade the question Pope and of course I'll take another glass," Abby laughs.

"It's hard for me to talk about okay. I did what I had to do at the time," Liv says as she brings the bottle over and pours.

"What did it have to do with Fitz?"

Liv holds the glass into her lips. Before she takes a sip, she utters, "Everything!"

"He's going to leave Mellie whether you like it or not. I know him in beast mode and he's unstoppable when he's like that. He's in beast mode about you. I can see it in his eyes."

Liv tries to ignore her words, "It doesn't matter now Abby."

"Of course, it matters if you still love him. I remember what it was like for you when we met. You were hurting and it had been almost 6 months already."

"I survived it, didn't I?"

Abby shakes her head, "Barely."

"She came to see me this evening before the blow up with Russell."

"Who came to see you?'

"Mellie," Liv says turning to her.

"What did she want?"

Liv lets out a laugh, "She wanted me to know that she knows who I am, but that Fitz is her husband."

Abby is more curious than ever, "How does she know who you are?"

"I don't know but I assured her that I am not trying to take her husband," Liv shakes her head.

Abby takes a breath, "You already have her husband."

"Abby," Liv sighs.

"Liv, that man loves you. That man has always loved you. Just like, you've always loved him. You both got married to try and live without the other and from where I sit," Abby says as she points to Liv's face, "It's not working out for either of you."

"Fitz believes our fathers had something to do with why we broke up. He's convinced they made Mellie happen."

"I've met Big Gerry and I put nothing past that piranha. I've never liked Mellie. Before I knew that Fitz was your guy, I didn't like her. I couldn't understand why he would ever be involved with her. And your father, he's always thought he knew what was best for your life."

"I don't want it to be true Abby," Liv confesses.

"Why the hell not? Fitz is a good guy. I can't believe he cheated on you willingly. Wouldn't it make you feel better to know that Fitz didn't hurt you like you've always believed?"

Before she can answer her phone rings. She's avoided his call all night. But this time she answers, "What do you want Russell?"

"I want you to come home baby. I'm sorry."

"I'm not coming home Russell," Liv stresses.

"You have to forgive me. You know I never meant to hurt you," he pleads.

"But you did," Liv says sadly as the tears gathers in her eyes.

"Hang up on him," Abby says.

Russell can hear the talking in the background. "Who's that with you?"

"Russell, I'm going. Just give me my space," Liv answers.

"You ran to him," Russell asks directly.

Liv rolls her eyes, "Abby is here with me."

Abby snatches the phone away, "And you ever hit her again you fucker, I'll break your kneecaps. You'll never play ball again."

Liv takes the phone back, "Russell, I am not coming home. Just back away."

There's a dead silence over the phone. "Okay. I'll be back on Monday. Can we talk then?"

"Yes, we can," she says softly. Truth is, she doesn't hate him, but truth is, she's not in love with him either and in some ways something like this was bound to happen. "Have a good game!" He doesn't say anything, he just hangs up.

"Does he think a little sweet talk can make this all better?"

"Maybe he does but…everything is so messed up," Liv says getting up to get another bottle of wine. She starts to open it and puts it down. "Drowning myself in vintage Bordeaux is not going to help this either."

"What do you want to do Liv?" Abby asks.

"The right thing. I want to do the right thing," Liv says.

"And what do you want?" Abby asks.

Liv walks over to the window. She stares out at the D.C. night life. "I want to turn back time."

Liv doesn't know it but that's exactly what Abby wanted to hear. Abby knows what she needs to do.


Mellie and Fitz are sitting at dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, The Capital Grille. Mellie is going on and on, not knowing what is about to come. She decides to start the conversation off in a way that she thinks will help push the agenda of family and starting over.

"I am so glad you wanted to spend time together. Now, I don't feel so bad about going to see Olivia tonight."

Fitz lifts his head, "What do you mean?"

"I went to see Olivia; you know Olivia Pope." There is a vengeful look in her eye when she says, and it doesn't go unnoticed.

"Why? And what did you say to her?"

"I wanted her to know. I knew who she was and that my husband and my son were off limits. I was protecting my family, our family." He shakes his head at her arrogance. "I put two and two together Fitz. Olivia is THE Olivia."

Fitz claps his hand in sarcasm, "Well congratulations Mellie. You stopped thinking about yourself long enough to figure that out." Her snide smile turns upside down. "Olivia has done nothing to you but I'm pretty sure you've done something to Olivia."

"Excuse me," Mellie glares.

"I should have told you, the moment Abby introduced me to Olivia that she was back. I was going to get around to it. I shouldn't have kept that from you but that doesn't change the fact that you, my father, and Olivia's father ruined our lives so many years ago."

"I didn't ruin your life. I gave you a life. I gave you a son," Mellie spits back.

"Yes, you did. And he's my life but I know what you did Mellie," Fitz informs her.

She sits back in her chair, taking a sip of her white wine, "What did I do?"

Fitz pulls out an envelope and hands it to her. "The internet is full of greatness."

Mellie's heart starts to beat rapidly. She's seen Fitz in this mode when he's about to make a business deal. He is overconfident but assured. Her hands start to shake as she takes the envelope. She pulls out the papers. They are emails between her and Big Gerry. She looks up at Fitz, "Fitz."

"I can only assume your job that you acted like your status as graduating 1st in our class got you when in fact, it was all my father. I would assume payment for services rendered."

"I never slept with your father. That's disgusting," Mellie defends.

"I don't think you slept with my father at all. But you slept with me, and you made sure it broke up me and Olivia. I find that disgusting."

She goes through more of the papers, "Fitz, I loved you. We were each other's first love's. Our relationship was never one that didn't mean anything. You and I found each other again."

"With the help of my father and whatever role her father had in this," Fitz corrects.

"We were in love once," Mellie tries to remind him.

"And then I met and fell in love with Olivia. Olivia was my soulmate, and you knew that. So, what was it? What was it about Olivia that you two hated so much?" Fitz shakes his head after asking the question. He knows his father's conservative ways but he's not sure of Mellie's motives. "I would hate to think it was the color of her skin. I mean I know that her father thought she should marry in her race because it would be easier for her but what was your motive?"

Mellie almost looks saddened, "Are you calling me a racist?"

"You tell me," Fitz says.

If she answers the question, she has to be honest. She's dreaded this day for so long. The day when past catches up with her and this day has come. She knows she'll lose him if she tells him what really happened. The truth is, she's already lost him. "My motive was you. I wanted you back Fitz. I knew we could do many remarkable things together."

"The moment you came back into my orbit, I told you about Olivia. I told you she was the one," he starts.

"I was the one once too," Mellie answers.

"I want to know what you did Mellie." Fitz looks at her sternly.

She knows she is cornered, and she can't lie. "I drugged you. I got naked and got you naked and I took pictures. I made you believe it happened. I gave your dad the pictures and he gave them to her dad. Her dad was going to use the pictures if by some miracle, you two didn't break up."

"Do you know how it nearly killed me to think I cheated on Olivia that way. To think I killed what we had. I couldn't even tell her what happened because I didn't want to hurt her by saying I slept with someone else. I let her go believing that was a dog and everything her father said I would be when all the time, all of you were pulling our strings." The pain in Fitz's eyes, for the first time, it hits Mellie.

She tries to reach for his hand, "Did I hate Olivia? Yes, I did because she had your heart. Something I thought I once had. So, when Big Gerry came to me, I went for it."

"You honestly thought our relationship would survive on a lie. Lies have a way of coming out, no matter what."

"Everything would have been fine had she never come back," Mellie says angrily.

Fitz looks at her as if he's amazed by her cluelessness. "My restaurant, the name, it's for Olivia. You think there's a day that goes by that I'm not thinking about her."

Mellie's throat catches, "What do you want Fitz?"

"I want out of this marriage. I'll give you your share. We will share custody of Teddy, although I am sure you wouldn't mind relinquishing all your rights, but I'll try not to think of you as being that unmotherly."

Mellie looks around. She finally understands the setup. "You brought me here so I wouldn't make a scene. To tell me that you want out of marriage for a woman who hasn't been in your life for 7 years. You are going to throw all we built away for her."

"Don't act like what we had was or is perfect. I married you because once Olivia left, I figured what the hell. We had a past. We had memories and I'll admit a lot of them were good. It was something I could be content with, but I always love Olivia and that was never going to change. You and I have been going through the motions for the last couple of years and you know it."

"I know she decided not to take the job. She told me that. I am sure that was a disappointment," Mellie decides to rub that in his face.

"Minor technicality…. I want her back much more than I want my building built, which will be built," Fitz assures her.

The pain in Mellie's smile, Fitz can't ignore it. He wants to apologize for being so harsh, but he knows Mellie always comes back swinging. She was top of her class. "You may want her back, but she has a husband who might have a slight problem with you taking something that belongs to him. And have you asked her if she wants you back. Unlike you, I think she actually likes her spouse."

Fitz had to be honest. He didn't have a comeback for that. Mellie could be right. Her marriage is what she wanted to be. Russell is who she wants him to be. Maybe, he's fighting blindly for something that will never be his. "Maybe she does."

"Would be a shame to make yourself look like a fool," Mellie says with a grin.

"I've been made a fool of before. I survived it; wouldn't you say?"

Mellie gets her purse and gets up from the table. "You can go to hell." She leaves out hurriedly and angrily.

Fitz sits back in his chair and right then, his phone beeps. He has a message from Abby. He can tell it's a photo. As soon as he opens it his eyes burn with anger. Abby's text reads, You don't have to wonder who did this. I shouldn't be telling you this or showing you this, but you need to go to her. Fitz ask for the check and pays the bill. He remembers that he and Mellie came together. He sees her getting into taxi and leaving. He calls Abby.

"What happened Abby. I am going to kill him," Fitz says.

"You need to talk to her. She'll probably never speak to me again, but I am doing this for her," Abby says.

"Where is she?" Fitz asks as he gives his keys to the valet.

"She's at the J W Marriott," Abby answers.

They talk a little more. Abby gives him the room number. She knows Liv is going to be angry, but Abby knows what she is doing is right.


Liv has been a cross between waterworks and hot steam. She keeps reliving the night in her head and it all seems like it didn't happen although she knows it did. Her husband struck her. He laid his hands on her. She feels guilty about because she hid a piece of her life from him that she shouldn't, especially since that piece of her life was present again. But hitting her, that is never alright. She looks at the letter and reads it again and then she remembers that night. The weekend before her graduation. Fitz snuck in for the weekend and they spent some time together. They knew it would be hard with graduation. It was the night she thought that love never felt better.

With Fitz she's learned so many things about herself intimately and sexually. She felt inexperienced and embarrassed about sexuality and now she craves it, but only with him. She lets him explore her body, teach her body, and love her body however he wants, and he lets her do the same with him. Sometimes they are reckless, but their love makes it worth it. She's on top of him, riding him slowly, letting him fill her to the hilt. Her body is on fire.

"Fuck….," Fitz hisses as she grounds her palms into his chest.

"Am I going to fast?" She asks out of breath.

He grabs her hips, holding in place. Her walls are wrapped around him. Drawing him out and inside of her. It can only be described as heaven. "Just right baby," he says as he meets her thrust for thrust. "Don't stop….!" He says with a heightened voice.

She loves to hear him enjoying their lovemaking. She feels like a woman, most of all, she knows she's, his moment. She slides her body up to him. Her breasts, pressed against his chest as she moves for her lips to meet his. He's still inside her and she's moving slowly. She kisses him slowly as she moves her tongue inside his mouth. He holds her tight as he's so close to letting go. She's doing everything right. "I love you," she whispers as he squeezes her ass, pushing her more into their thrusts.

"I love you Livvie," he whispers back as she picks up the pace. "Shit, I'm going to come."

"Don't let me stop you," she laughs faintly as they are now both sweaty and close to an amazing release.

He flips her over. She squeals in anticipation. He hooks one of her legs over his forearm and pushes inside her deeper. He stops, looking her eyes, there's a need there she hasn't seen before. It's more of pleading eyes. "Don't ever leave me Livvie. Promise me, we won't let anyone, or anything come between us." There are tears in his eyes. If she didn't know he loved her before, she knows it now

"Fitz, what's wrong?" She asks as her eyes searches his.

"Nothing, I just need you to know you are everything to me."

She lifts kissing his softly, "You are everything to me. My first and my last."

He begins moving, slowly but purposely inside of her. Their bodies are one, "I want you to be wife one day. I want you to carry my babies one day. I want to spend my life with you."

They begin to softly moan into each other, "I want that too." She's now gripping his back as he makes love to her slowly and rhythmically.

Tonight, was special because they told each other with words and with their body. They keep moving to the rhythm, filling the room with moans of love. They reach their point of explosion. He comes hard inside of her. Her juices coat him and their bodies are now sated. He collapses on her, staying inside of her, laying his head on her chest.

He says it to her again, "Promise me, we are forever."

She lifts his head. He looks up at her, "Fitz, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…I just…," he doesn't finish. He just kisses her chest softly, repeatedly.

"I could never give myself to anyone but you now. You ruined me for anyone else Fitzgerald."

"You ruined me too." He finally pulls out. The distance emptiness is felt by both. "That was amazing."

"I hate you have to go back," she says sadly.

"I'll be back next Friday. You will be a graduate, and everything will be right," he says. But she doesn't hear the confidence in her voice that she's used to with him.

"Everything will be perfect." She snuggles herself into his side. She can't see the worry in Fitz's face but there is fear in his eyes.

Liv is brought out of the memory by a call from Abby. "Hey Abby!"

"I'll be there in a few minutes; I left a folder there. Do you see it?"

Liv looks around and eyes it, "I see it."

"I need it for a meeting in the morning. I'll be there in a few," Abby says.

"Okay, no problem! I'm going to jump in the shower."

Liv goes and takes a shower. She puts on her robe. She stands in the mirrors staring at her face. The swelling of her eye could have been worse but it's bad enough. Her jaw is sore too. She slightly touches the bruises, wincing at the pain. She utters softly to herself, Scars heal.

There is the knock at the door. She tightens her robe and goes into the living area. "I'll be right there Abby," Liv says as she gets the folder. She opens the door, and her eyes grow wide, and she's rendered speechless. Immediately she wants to close the door and hide, except she can't hide. There's Fitz and her face is there for him to see.

"Fitz, what are you doing here?"

He's momentarily stifled by the evidence on her face. She drops her head in embarrassment. She knows why he is looking at her that way. It's not pity. But it's a mixture of sadness and anger. "I'm here for you," he answers as he walks in, leaving her standing at the door. She knows she can't make him leave. She closes the door and walks behind him.

"Fitz, you shouldn't be here."

He turns her around, so they are facing each other. "And this shouldn't have happened."

"This doesn't concern you."

"He hit you, that concerns me," Fitz says, lifting her chin to look at her. The tears start to fill in her eyes. He's only seen her cry one time in his life and that one time nearly killed him, just like it's killing him now. "I am going to kill him and don't dare tell me I won't because I am. He's going to regret the day he ever laid a hand on you."

She looks at him. The words are all over her face, but she can't speak it. She can't say it. She knows if she does, the door will be open that she can never close again. She walks away from him. The inner battle she's feeling is consuming. "You can't be here."

"If you want me to leave, I will leave. But I don't think you do," Fitz says. She doesn't answer as he decides not to push, and he starts walking to the door.

Without turning to him, Liv utters, "I missed you so much."

He turns around and moves slowly to her. He wraps her in his arms from behind. "I missed you so much too."

"What happens now?" She asks.

He turns her around, softly touching the bruise, "You start from the beginning."

She wants to talk to him. They have so much to talk about. She just doesn't know if she's ready but here she is hiding out in a hotel room because her husband hit her. He hit her over the man who is now holding her in her arms, wiping her tears away. The man who always made her feel safe. Fate has a funny way doing things.


What will they talk about? Stay tuned!