A/N: Hey y'all! I absolutely LOVE reading what you all have to say, as well as your suggestions about what you want to read! PLEASE keep that up, because your suggestions really really help me in deciding what I'm going to write next. I've put a few of the suggestions that I've got recently into this chapter (actually I think I put three of them in here, but there may be more or less). Please keep reviewing and keep letting me know what you'd like to read and see! (And as for those of you asking for a love scene, don't worry, there will definitely be one very soon!)
"Teddy is asleep, the scotch is poured, and we are ready to have our conversation." Mellie came out into the living room, two glasses of scotch in her hand. She wasn't a big scotch drinker, but for some reason, she was feeling it tonight. She handed one glass to Fitz before sitting down next to him, taking a sip of the hard liquid.
"So, I think we should talk about what we both need to fix…" Mellie suggested, crossing her legs under her. Fitz just nodded and let Mellie talk, knowing that she would probably have more suggestions than he would. "We both definitely need to trust one another more…But I think that to do that, we both need to be completely honest with each other. We have to have full-disclosure with each other, no matter what. There is absolutely nothing that is acceptable to hide. And I think that was our main problem in the end…I think that we were both hiding things from each other, and obviously we see from experience that that doesn't work out very well." She took another sip of her drink, looking at Fitz as he nodded his head. There were quite a few things that they needed to work on, but that was definitely one of the most important.
"I definitely need to control my anger as well…I think that all of this, you being here, could have been avoided if I had let myself cool down a little bit. I know that I overreacted, and that is definitely something that I want to work on. I need to learn how to quit getting so angry and blowing every situation completely out of proportion." Fitz admitted, and the two of them were really feeling like they were getting somewhere. This was a huge step, talking to one another about their issues, and they were awfully glad that they were really trying to work things out.
Mellie nodded, looking at Fitz as she tried to think of what else they needed to work on. They needed to work on so many things, but it was difficult to pinpoint just what they needed to work on. "Honesty, trust, and anger management…What else?"
"I think we need to make sure that we communicate more often…Increase the romance and the time that we spend together. I mean, other than the other night, even before I became president, when was the last time that we had a date night with each other?" Fitz questioned, and even after some serious thinking, neither of them could remember the last time that the two of them had gone out together. "Exactly." Fitz said to prove his point, and Mellie knew that he was right; they definitely needed to spend more alone time with one another.
The two of them talked all night, trying to discuss what they needed to do to ensure that they wouldn't end up back in this same place again. They both wanted to be sure that it wouldn't get this bad ever again, and that they didn't make the same mistakes that they had made in the past. They were tempted to fix things, to fix everything, and to make their marriage and their relationship with each other better than ever before.
"I have something I want to tell you." Mellie yawned as she drank the last of her fourth glass of scotch. "I'm asking you to not get angry with me, and I'm asking that you just listen to me and not freak out until after I finish…I'm telling you because we agreed to be honest with each other and because we agreed to tell each other everything." She took a deep breath, biting her lip. "I've been talking to one of the agents that has been down here with me…Nothing has happened between the two of us. Just a kiss. One kiss, that's all. And it was a while ago, before our date the other night…I've still been talking to him, but we haven't done anything." She hated admitting this to him because she knew that he would be angry. She had no intentions of developing a relationship with this man, but she wanted Fitz to know regardless. She had just needed someone to talk to when she was down here.
Fitz nodded slowly, trying to process what she had just said. He was trying to figure out a way to respond, a way that didn't make them take ten steps back after they had just taken five forward. "Which agent is it?" He questioned, wanting to get all of the facts.
"Anthony."
"And how long have you been talking to him?"
"Since the day after you kicked me out. It's innocent, Fitz. I have no feelings for him."
He was relieved to hear that, but he knew that he needed to ask the next question. "Does he have feelings for you?"
Mellie's answer was what really scared him. "I don't know."
Fitz stayed quiet for a few minutes, trying to figure out what that meant. Mellie didn't have feelings for him, but he most likely had feelings for her. How could you not have feelings for Mellie? She was beautiful, selfless, graceful, kind, and one of the all-around greatest people that have ever walked this earth. It was nearly impossible not to have feelings for Mellie. He was in a trance until he felt something nudge his arm, and he looked to his right to see that it was Mellie's phone. "Here. Read through them. You let me read your texts with Olivia, so I'll let you read mine with Anthony."
He was reluctant at first, but Mellie insisted. He looked through the messages, which started a little over a week ago. They had texted every day, not always about anything important, but just about random things. Mellie hadn't really discussed anything personal with him, at least not over text, so Fitz had no reason to believe that she had any feelings for him beyond the friendship level. He handed Mellie her phone back, thanking her for letting him read the messages. Still, even after reading them and realizing that there was no connection between them, he couldn't help but feel jealous as he thought about Mellie with another man. His mind wandered back to Andrew and the relationship that him and Mellie had had previously, and he felt a pain in his chest from just thinking about it.
"It's getting late." Fitz looked at the time before looking back at Mellie. She just nodded, and he could see in her eyes that she didn't really want him to go. But he knew that they should probably keep at the pace that they were going at, and that he should go sleep in the Residence, in his bed, and that she should sleep here. They were eventually start sleeping in the same bed again, but the two of them wanted to give it some time; they didn't want to take anything too fast, just in case it messed up everything.
He gathered his things, pulling Mellie to her feet and giving her a hug. He gently kissed her lips, and Mellie kissed him back, slowly slipping her tongue into his mouth. Her willingness was a mixture of the alcohol and the fact that they had made some serious progress in the past few hours. Neither of them pulled away until they couldn't breathe any longer, and when they looked at each other, for the first time in a long time, they could see the love in each other's eyes. "I love you, beautiful." Fitz whispered, pushing a piece of her hair back behind her ear.
Mellie blushed, smiling slightly. She wanted to ask him to stay, she wanted to lay her head on his chest, to fall asleep with his arms around her. But she knew that they weren't ready for that, that she wasn't ready for that. She needed more convincing, which seemed awfully demanding, considering how much he had really done recently. "I love you too, Fitz." She told him, sneaking one more kiss before he promised that he would be back in the morning, and went back to the Residence.
When Fitz walked into Blair House the next morning, Teddy was curled up on the couch in his Superman pajamas, watching SpongeBob with a bottle in his mouth. Fitz had called Mellie multiple times before he showed up, but for some reason, she hadn't answered the phone any of the times that he had called. He looked around for a few seconds, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Teddy. "Buddy, where's mommy?" He questioned, and Teddy just shrugged. "Is she in her room?"
"Nos." Teddy looked up at Fitz, pulling his blanket up to his chest. "Me no see hers." His attention almost immediately went back to the television, and Fitz couldn't help but get the feeling that there was something really off; something just wasn't right.
Fitz nodded, kissing the top of his son's head as he walked down the hallway, looking for his wife. He walked slowly down the hallway, scared of what he might find when he looked in her bedroom. He peeked in the door, and his mouth dropped at the sight. The lamp on her nightstand was knocked over, the sheets were ripped off of the bed, there was broken glass everywhere, and Mellie's phone was sitting on the dresser. Fitz's heart dropped and his stomach was in knots as he wondered what in the hell had happened to Mellie, and how no one had noticed it.
A/N: Sooooo...Let me know what y'all think, and what you think happened to Mellie. It may or may not be what you think. ;) Stay tuned for an update tomorrow! :)