TWO WEEKS LATER

The President of the United States was addressing her, and Abby couldn't care less and was completely toning out.

"… you got that? Abby? ABBY!" Fitz had to yell to get her focused again.

"What? Oh, yeah, um meeting with Senator Randolph and move your nine o'clock tomorrow to ten. Got it."

"You okay?" He looked at her. It was very unlike Abby to not pay attention, much less to be off her game like he had noticed she had been the last couple of weeks. She was talking and contributing less, getting confused and lost with simple tasks, and seemed to be avoiding him, her boss, at all costs. Fitz didn't know what was going on.

"I'm fine, sorry. I'm just tired," she said, not looking him in the eye.

Fitz didn't believe her, but let the lie pass. "Okay. But if there is anything you need to talk to me about… just, I'm willing to listen." Fitz didn't assert this type of help to his employees, but he knew something was up, and was just praying that it didn't have to do with Olivia.

It of course did, though.

Abby couldn't stop thinking about the conversation she had with Olivia two weeks ago. They met for coffee each day, and Liv went on like nothing had happened. But in those ten minutes that Abby had gotten Olivia to open up, Abby could see what a mess she was, internally. And she had no idea how to fix it. This one wasn't fixable, not even by Olivia Pope standards. It was stressing Abby out, more and more. But she couldn't tell the President what was going on. This one was on Liv to tell him about. Abby knew at least that if Liv really wanted him, and was willing to try for him, she would have to tell him without somebody else telling him first, like all their secrets had come out previously. Abby couldn't take the chance at a real, honest relationship away from her best friend. So she kept her mouth shut.

—

AT THAT SAME TIME

Olivia and her associates were in the middle of briefing a new client when Jake Ballard walked in. Huck saw him come in first and immediately signaled for Jake to go into his office. But Olivia still saw him. As Jake disappeared into Huck's room, Olivia hissed, "Get him out."

"Liv, he's worried about you," Huck said.

"I honestly could not care less. He needs to leave, or you need to remove him."

"If your father wants to talk to you and Jake is his delivery boy, he won't leave."

"Jake isn't his delivery boy, and you and I both know it. I'm not speaking to him, I'm not going within ten feet of him. Get. Him. Out." Olivia whispered as Quinn looked up while Marcus continued to speak with their client's wife. She watched as Huck and Olivia stared at each other for a long time, almost like a staring contest. It became apparent that Olivia won, because Huck excused himself and went to his office.

"You need to go. She wants you to go," Huck said quietly, shutting the door behind him. Jake looked up.

"You know I can't do that, Huck."

"I know, but just tell me. I'll pass on the message." Jake shook his head.

"That's not going to cut it for Command. You of all people understand. I need to speak to her."

"Even if I was willing to let you do that—and lets be clear, I'm NOT—she wouldn't let you go within ten feet of you. I'm quoting her. She literally said to me that she's 'not going within ten feet of him.' So telling me is the best your going to get. I shouldn't even be allowing Command that curtesy, but I am to help you out. So you should stick with what you've got." Huck looked at Jake fiercely, not braking their eye-contact.

Jake sighed. "Fine. He wants… well needs her help. He's in danger, someone is coming after him. You know who's coming after him. Rowan isn't safe not now, not until he is dead," said Jake, not speaking the perpetrator's name out loud.

"Liv's not going to do anything to help him. Not now, not ever. Getting him out of jail, that sent her over the edge. The disasters it created in her life… What happened to Liv because of Rowan getting out is the reason she has been messed up for weeks. I know you've been watching her Jake. She's not okay, it's never been this bad for this long." Huck sat down, but Jake stayed standing.

"Rowan needs her."

"No, Rowan wants to get B613 back on track, and you know she won't help with that. And I'd stop her before she'd even think about assisting him in starting Wonderland up again."

"I need to see her, Huck," said Jake.

"No. You need to leave." There was a pause. "You're dead to her, you know that right? You and her are never happening. Not after what you've said to her. The ideas and the threats you've put in her mind."

"What I've said to her? What about what she's done to me? Our entire relationship was fake, built off of lies! I gave myself openly to her, and she just kept shutting the door in my face, messing things up, playing games behind peoples' backs! She deserved everything that she got." Jake hissed.

"You ruined the one good thing she had!" Huck said, raising his voice. "You killed it! You talk about how she is the spitting image of Rowan, but that's not true! You are his son. You are the monster living underneath Liv's bed, poisoning her dreams and throwing knives in her back left and right. You say it's her, and she believes you! She's blaming it all on herself. But you're the one that always goes back to Rowan, every single time. And you do it for yourself. She only gives into Rowan when it will benefit someone else. You're a self centered coward that refuses to own up to what you really are, and you need to get the hell out of my office and Liv's life before I kill you."

"I love her. And I hate that I love her but she still has me in this trap, this cage, and I can't get out of it," Jake ran his hands through is hair viciously.

"Yes you can!" this time Huck was yelling. "Nobody wants you in that cage except for you! Liv certainly doesn't want you in the trap that is her life. You are the only person that's keeping yourself under lock and key. But you have the key. So use it, and break free and leave." Huck got up and opened the door. "She'll always choose him. You can ruin them over and over again, but she'll always choose him and they will always rebuild their lives together." Jake stood up, seething with rage.

"You better watch out, Huck. Anyone not on Command's side is an enemy. That means you, that means Olivia. He'll do anything to get what he wants," Jake grabbed his coat off the chair and left the room.

"Use the key, Jake," called Huck as he got on the elevator.

Olivia rounded the corner. Quinn and Marcus were still in the conference room.

"He's gone?" said Olivia.

"He's gone. But Rowan's not," warned Huck.

"I know," said Olivia, but the darkness that had been in her eyes for so long got ever so lighter, and just for a second, Huck saw the real Olivia emerge, the one they had been trying to get at for weeks. But then, just like that, she went away.

—

LATER THAT EVENING

Abby and Olivia were lounging on her new couch, eating popcorn and drinking their second bottle of red wine. The TV was turned on, and some clips from Abby's press corps from that day were playing.

"Let's see," said Liv with a smile, knowing how much Abby hated watching herself of TV.

"No, let's not," said Abby quickly, trying to change the channel, knowing who was about to come on after her to address the press.

"Come on, I want to watch! I'm sure it wasn't that bad. What were you talking about today? Something about recent gang shootings? That's interesting stuff, you—" but Olivia immediately stopped talking and the goofy smile that had been on her face was replaced by a look of sadness and The President walked onto the podium.

"Liv, we don't have to…" Abby stopped, knowing that Olivia wanted to watch. The clip ended and Olivia turned off the TV and sat back, staring out of her window. She finally spoke.

"It was good, classic Fitz. But it wasn't good. He wasn't into that one as much, it didn't sound like he cared. He needs to fix his tone. Tell him that he should focus more on addressing the families affected by gangs that have come into the spotlight recently, he needs to go more into depth, into the subjects that people really care about. The press will eat it up. We don't need numbers, we need solutions," she looked up at Abby. "How is he?" she finally asked.

"He's not good. It's not just this press meeting that he wasn't into. It's all of them."

"I know," said Liv, who watched anything new about him. "You need to change that. He needs to be happy again, he needs to finish out this presidency at least acting like he cares."

"He needs you," said Abby. Olivia winced.

"I'm not going there Abby, don't you dare suggest it. He should deal with his own problems for once without me getting tangled up in them. I am fully willing to pretend that we're not broken up for the optics, but that's what it's for; the optics."

"No, it's so that you are able to see him every once and a while," Abby said boldly. Olivia gave Abby a look but chose not to fight with her on this one.

"He needs you," Abby said again, this time softer. "He's so tired all the time. Even after you guys are together for the photos and press, even though it's not real, he's better. He lights up, he's…"

"The man I voted for," Olivia whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Look, he's going to have to do these ten months without me. I'm sorry, but I can't go back there. Not now. The White House is poisoned, and you know it." Abby laughed. And then laughed some more.

"There's all this talk about poisoned White Houses and poisoned relationships and bad guys and good guys, but really it just comes down to you and him needing to sort your crap out for the good of the republic, this great nation that you and I live to serve. The burden that you have, the abortion, the crappy cancerous genes, I'm so sorry Liv. That isn't your fault. But you made it look like your fault the second you aborted his child and didn't tell him about it. It was your choice, but you could of brought it up after wards. That was you giving up, putting down your weapons without even using them. Try a little, Liv. You love him and God does he love you. So you can wait these ten painful months out, I really don't care. But once your ten months, and your excuses with them, run out, you'll have to face him, face reality. And reality is that you two deserve to end up with one another but are so scared of ruining it that you build walls between each other instead of around each other." Abby's phone buzzed, cutting her rant short.

"It's Cy, I have to go in… crap!" said Abby, referring to her work problem. Olivia got up with her, and walked her to the door. Before Abby left she grabbed Liv's hand.

"Start trying to break down those walls," she said and left. After Abby was gone, Liv sat down with her back to her front door, and buried her head in her hands. For the first time in her life, she was willing to admit that she needed him. But she feared that he wouldn't come for her after what she had said to him, and that was the worst thought of all.