Olivia wakes up to a headache and an empty bed. Her Stanford t-shirt and shorts are on the floor along with her black-laced bra and matching underwear. Her head is pounding but she definitely remembers Mellie being there last night and now she's gone. Olivia thinks that maybe she deserves waking up alone and she wonders if this was Mellie's plan all along. She wonders if this was some kind of revenge for Olivia leaving her all those years ago. She grabs the pillow next to her and screams into it.

"Are you ok?"

When Olivia looks over, Mellie's standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee and breakfast. She's wearing the suit that she had on last night but her hair is pulled up into a messy bun instead of flowing down her shoulders.

"I'm fine. I just….I'm fine." Olivia says while sitting up and using the sheets to cover herself.

Mellie walks over to Olivia's side of the bed and sits the coffee and breakfast down on the nightstand next to her. "I figured you'd wake up with a headache so I went out and got you some food. You haven't eaten anything in hours."

"Thanks." Olivia says while grabbing a coffee. "You didn't have to do that."

"I don't mind." Mellie picks up Olivia's shirt off the floor and hands it to her. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Olivia puts her shirt on before answering. "Yeah. Last night is just kind of a blur. I remember waking up and then I remember kissing you. Then I wake up completely naked. All of my clothes on the floor but we couldn't have had sex because I would remember that. No matter how out of it I might be, I would remember every detail if you and I had sex last night."

"You're right. We didn't have sex last night. We were going to. We were kind of in the middle of it and then you fell asleep."

"I didn't."

" You did. I was just as shocked as you are. I mean you were very responsive and then I look up and you're knocked out." Mellie replies with a laugh. "Normally my ego would be a little bruised but you did faint from exhaustion last night. Plus the doctor gave you some pills to help you sleep."

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." Olivia says while covering her face from embarrassment.

"Don't be." Mellie says with a shrug. "It was probably for the best. We should talk about the elephant in the room before anything happens between us."

"The proposal."

"Yes."

"I told you that you didn't have to do the dishes." Olivia says while walking over to Mellie in the kitchen.

"Well I cooked so it's only right that I clean up the mess I made." Mellie replies while standing over the kitchen sink.

This had become a routine for the past five months. Mellie would cook for Olivia or bring dinner over for the both of them. After three months of this, Olivia asked Mellie to move in with her and who was Mellie to say no.

"You didn't have to cook either." Liv says while standing behind Mellie and wrapping her arms around her.

"If I didn't cook for you, all you would eat is popcorn. That's not a meal. That's a snack." Mellie dries off the last dish and then turns around to face Olivia. "Besides, I like cooking for you. It's awfully domestic."

"Well I'm glad you like it because I actually don't mind you cooking for us or doing the dishes. I just feel like I'm obligated to protest."

"So you're just using me for my cooking and cleaning skills?"

"Mhmm. And sex." Olivia replies while unbuttoning Mellie's jeans. There's about a three-inch height difference so Olivia actually has to stand on her toes when she kisses Mellie. The kiss is slow and soft. Olivia moves to lift Mellie's shirt but Mellie grabs her wrist to stop her.

"Wait."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. I, um, I got you something. Wait here." Mellie says before disappearing into Olivia's room. It takes her all of ten seconds to reappear from the room with a small box in her hand. "I've been carrying this thing around for a couple of days trying to find the best time to ask. Today was our last day of exams so I can't think of a better time." She doesn't get down on one knee because she knows Olivia won't like that. It's cliché. So she remains standing.

"Mellie…" Olivia starts but stops when Mellie opens the box. There's a ring. A small ring. She can tell that Mellie's a little embarrassed by the size of it, but if she wasn't in such a state of shock Olivia would tell her that it's beautiful.

"I know that we've only been together for five months. We've only known each other for five months but I love you. I'm in love with you. I want to marry you, Olivia Pope. So, will you marry me?" Her voice is shaking from nervousness. So much that she barely gets the words out of her mouth.

"You don't want to marry me."

"Of course I do."

"Same-sex marriage isn't even legal."

"It will be someday."

"You can't be president if we get married, Mellie."

"I don't have to be president." She says with a shrug.

Olivia just stares at her in complete disbelief. "You've wanted to be president since you were twelve years old and you're going to throw all your hard work away just so you can be with me?" Olivia spits the words out angrily and Mellie's composed state is not helping her calm down.

"I want to hold your hand in public. I want to kiss you without looking to see if anyone is around. I want people to know that we're together. I want everyone to know. I want to be with you."

"You don't want to be the first female president of the United States because you want to hold my hand in public?"

"Yes."

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not going to marry you."

Mellie closes the box and rakess her finger through her hair. "So you don't want to be with me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Just not publicly." She's crying now. There are tears running down her cheeks and Olivia thinks this is the first time she's ever seen Mellie cry.

"You'll resent me one day, Mellie. You'll see the first female president get elected and you'll think that it could have been you."

"No, I won't. I love you." She says the last three words so low that Olivia almost doesn't hear her.

"I know. I love you too." Olivia says as she wipes the tears from Mellie's eyes. Olivia kisses her again but it's harder this time and it tastes like salt.

Mellie actually picks Olivia up and carries her into the bedroom. Mellie fucks her like she has something to prove and Olivia looses count of the number of times Mellie makes her cum that night.

And even though they're both exhausted, Mellie doesn't go to sleep until she whispers 'I love you' to Olivia one more time. When she wakes up, Olivia is gone and there's a note on the nightstand with the ring on top of it.

"I shouldn't have left. Not like that." Olivia says to Mellie who is now sitting on the bed with her.

"So you don't regret leaving? You just regret leaving the way that you did."

Olivia sighs before responding. "You can make a difference, Mellie. You can change the world. Imagine what you can accomplish in eight years with your presidency. I wasn't going to let you throw that away."

"You think I made the decision to propose to you lightly? I didn't. I thought about it. I went over it in my head. Over and over again. I knew exactly what I was giving up if you would have said yes. It would have been worth it. Marrying you would have been worth it. It would be a hell of a lot less stress. You know what, I take that back. Being married to you would probably have the same stress level."

Olivia picks a pillow up from the bed and throws it at Mellie. "That's not funny."

Mellie smirks and before she can respond her phone vibrates. "I have to go. My stylist needs me. You should probably get out of bed too. We have work to do today." Mellie gets up from the bed and walks over to the door. "I'll see you later."

She exits the room to see Abby, Huck, and Harrison standing in the hall. "Don't you guys have things to do?"

"We're waiting on orders from Liv. You're up five points in the polls." Says Abby while leaning against the wall.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You might actually win this thing."