Disclaimer: I don't own Scandal.

AN: Hello everybody! So I know it's it been a while, but hey, stuff happens. Anyways, so this chapter is mainly a filler of sorts, a means to an end. We mainly find out Jake's secret and deal with the fallout from that. I apologize in advance if it's a bit anticlimactic and say thank you in advance if you like how it goes. Happy reading...

"What do you mean you saw the crossword puzzle book?" Jake asked, his brows rising along with his anger.

"I was looking for a pen and I saw it. Jake. What the hell has been going on? All those dates, places, and other random numbers, what's going on?" She was definitely caught off guard when she saw the evidence of the secret he was keeping.

"I messed up really bad, Olivia," Jake confessed, burrowing his head in his hands and going silent.

Getting up, she went into the bedroom to get the crossword puzzles from the drawer in his nightstand. She needed to look at it again, study it, and try to figure out what the heck was going on. She came back into the living room, sat down, and opened to the page that a pen was wedged in. She scanned the piece of computer paper that was folded and stuck in the crease, no doubt put there to ward off her suspicions of him doing anything other than filling in letters to blank spaces by using the provided clues. She started looking a little more closely, noticing that there was a specific pattern.

The dates were all significant events in her lifetime. There was each of their birthdays, her birthday, her parent's wedding anniversary, her graduation from college and medical school, the day he proposed, and other days that she couldn't exactly recall the significance because her mind was still reeling from what she was seeing. Then there were places, locations they had been, and under the first letter of each place was a number that corresponded with the letter's numeric place in the alphabet. But he would only do four numbers, no matter what it was, dates, places, and other combinations, there were only four numbers. Combinations.

"Jake, please tell me you're not trying to crack my safe," Olivia said quietly, not being able to look up at him.

"I owe someone some money. A client from the office," he said in lieu of answering her question. "He, uh, he gave me a briefcase," Jake paused and stood up, pacing back and forth, "and he told me to make sure it got to a specific place. I had no idea what was in the briefcase and on my way to deliver it, I lost it."

"You're a lawyer, what are you doing playing delivery boy? And what do you mean you lost it?" The guy he was describing sounded like some sort of gangster that could potentially cause problems for her if he didn't get the contents of his briefcase back.

"At the firm, they make all new lawyers go through this rite of passage. It's almost like hazing. They give us the scum of the earth as clients and make us prove that we're capable of handling anything before giving us a real case. Anyways, this guy, he ordered me to deliver the briefcase and knowing the type of person he is, I obviously agreed." He hadn't stopped his pacing, in fact, it picked up, and he was adding more and more hand motions when he was talking. A signal that he was in panic mode.

"How much money, Jake?" She had to know what they were dealing with, because upcoming divorce or not, he was still someone that was important to her and she wanted to help. Also, a little less noble than her first reason, she wanted assuage her guilt and figured helping him out of his bind would settle them even.

"Um, twenty five thousand," he admitted sheepishly.

"Twenty five thousand? Are you kidding me? How do you lose a briefcase with that amount in it?" She thought it was only a couple thousand, ten at the most. Ten she could've dealt with. But twenty five thousand? They didn't have nearly that amount of money.

That must have been why he wanted all the money in the joint account. The money in the joint account, however, wasn't a lot in comparison to what he owed. It was only a portion of their separate incomes that was put there specifically for bills and other household expenses. It had maybe eight thousand dollars in it and that was the peak. Each month, money would be taken out and put back in, keeping it at that steady plateau. They each had personal accounts that the bulk of their money went to and she assumed that Jake had been spending his trying to dig himself out of the pit he was in.

"I stopped off somewhere, I can't remember exactly, and I must have set it down and forgot about it. The point is, it's gone and I have to replace it," he explained, getting upset that she was focusing on the details of how he got into the situation and not how they were going to get him out of it.

"You can't ask your parents for the money?" Jake's parents were loaded and they weren't shy about throwing money at him whenever he asked.

"I did. The twenty five thousand is what is left after their help and payments I've been making with my own money," he confessed, finally stopping his pacing.

"How much money can fit into a damn briefcase?" she wondered rhetorically.

"You'd be surprised…"

Then the whole reason they were having this conversation came back into her mind. The crossword puzzles and the fact he was trying to figure out the combination to her safe.

"So you were going to break into my safe for what?" She thought over everything she had in there and that's when it hit her. "The necklace that's been passed down my family for generations. That's what you wanted didn't you?"

Before giving it to her on her twenty first birthday, her father had had the necklace appraised. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, lined with diamonds and pearls with a rare gem hanging down in the middle. Due to the quality of the stones, it's age, history and rarity, the necklace was worth around thirty thousand dollars. Apparently just the right amount for Jake to steal it from her.

"I tried to pay him off. I did everything I could and it wasn't enough. So I got to thinking and that was my only option. My client was intrigued and gave me a deadline to get it to him. You told me the combination long ago and I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was. I tried everything and nothing worked," he said in a way as if it were her fault that he couldn't break into the safe.

"And what, you thought I wouldn't notice it was missing?" She was fuming now, any thoughts of helping him flew straight out the window.

"I was going to take everything and make it look like we had a robbery," he chuckled cynically, humorlessly, pitifully, "but I couldn't get the damn thing open."

In some kind of weird, ironic twist, she had actually recently changed the combination of the safe to the last four digits of Fitz's phone number. Had she not, she would've been blindsided with a robbery because the original combo was the anniversary of when she and Jake first kissed. He never could remember that day, but she knew that he was getting close.

"And to actually think that I was considering helping you," Olivia remarked, standing up and going to their bedroom.

She walked towards their closet, pulling out multiple suitcases and started stuffing her clothes into them. She no longer felt guilty about Fitz, not when Jake was planning to do something like this. She would lie awake at night, contrition eating at her insides, and as she lay next to him, he plotted against her, writing down number after number in attempts to find the right blending that would rid him of all of his financial problems.

"You have to, Olivia. You don't know him, this guy Huck will kill me if I don't get him his money," Jake pleaded.

"Huck?" Olivia tested the strange appellation out on her tongue.

"That's not his real name of course, but why does his weird name matter?" Jake was getting frustrated that she once again was not looking at the bigger picture.

"And what exactly does he do that he's so dangerous but needs a lawyer to drop of his dirty money?" Olivia questioned, folding her arms across her chest.

"He's some sort of computer programmer by day, but that's just a cover. He hacks online bank accounts and transfers money, but he works under someone else. Apparently his boss also has him take people out when plans go awry. You see, this is serious, I need the money or I'm dead," his eyes were full of worry and it was clear that he'd been losing sleep over this issue.

Olivia shook her head in disgust then continued to pack, throwing everything she owned into her bags. She really did not want to deal with this right now. Her father's funeral was coming up soon, she still had to sort out how to end their marriage as quickly and quietly as possible, find a new place, and in the midst of it all was Fitz. She was overwhelmed to say the least and just wanted everything to be over.

Sighing, she wiped her hands down her face and after zipping up her last bag, turned to face Jake. "Fine. I'll give you the money, but only as a loan. I expect to be repaid in full. You can deposit a set amount monthly into an account that I'll set up. You can keep the apartment, but I am taking the money in the joint account. That doesn't count towards the money you owe me however. I don't want any problems going forward with the annulment and the only time I ever want to hear from again is when we sign the final papers. Got it?" Even though she couldn't stand the sight of him right now, she still didn't want him to die.

He looked surprised that she was going to help him. He obviously hadn't expected it but beneath the surprise was appreciation and relief. "I understand. Thank you. I'll pay you back every dime."

"I'll have my lawyer draw up a contract that states how much and for how long you will be repaying me and I'll have him send it with the divorce papers," Olivia told him and wheeled her bags to the front door.

Unexpectedly, she felt a twinge of sadness for the man that she was leaving behind. He was her best friend, lover, and husband and in a blink of an eye, all of that came tumbling down. They had some good times, were truly happy once, and she would remember it fondly. But they could no longer be together and it was time for her to go.

"Olivia," Jake called out to her.

"Yes, Jake?" she responded, keeping her back still turned to him, her hand on the knob.

"I just wanted to let you know that I love you and I hope that you find everything you're looking for. You deserve to be happy," he said sincerely.

A tear fell down her cheek but she quickly got it together. Turning slightly, she gave him a weak smile. "You do too, Jake." She opened the door, twisted the key to their home off her key ring, placed it on the catchall, then left without looking back.

"I would've never guessed he was into shady business like that," Fitz said, his voice still smooth and silky even though it was coming from a phone receiver and not gracing her ears in person.

"Me neither, I mean, I had no idea," she replied, still not completely able to wrap her head around the week's events.

Olivia fell back onto her childhood bed, feeling like a teenage girl again as she looked at her NSYNC and Backstreet Boys posters that adorned her wall. She was even talking on a phone with a cord, twisting the curly wire around her finger as she silently mused about the gadget still working. When she left Jake, she did so with the dire need to get out of his presence, not thinking about the fact that she had nowhere to go. She called a real estate agent and she was excited to be looking at apartments the following week. She didn't want to impose on her mother for too long even though her mom insisted that it was no trouble at all.

"So are you going to help him out?" Fitz questioned.

"Yeah. My father left me some money and I'll use a portion of that to bail him out of trouble," Olivia told him and she could almost hear him grinding his teeth.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I don't think you should get caught up in his mess," Fitz said, his voice full of concern for her safety.

"What other choice do I have?" It was both rhetorical and something she wanted the answer to. If he could give her a better option, she'd take it.

"Not giving him the money," was his brilliant solution.

"I can't just let him die, Fitz," she sounded exhausted for having to debate her choice.

"The man was going to rob you blind and not even blink an eye at it," his tone was one of frustration, like he couldn't believe that she was even considering helping out her soon to be ex-husband.

"Two wrongs don't make a right, especially in a situation like this. I can't let my pettiness cloud what is really the right thing to do here. If something were to happen to him because I didn't help him over what he was planning to do, I would never forgive myself," she tried to explain. "I don't want to discuss this anymore."

"Okay," he conceded but she could still tell he wasn't over it. Nevertheless, he changed the subject. "So what time does the funeral start tomorrow?" Fitz asked, "Do you want me to meet you at the church or…"

"Fitz, I don't think you should go," Olivia interrupted.

There was a lengthy pause before he spoke again. "Maybe you're right. Funerals aren't the best time to meet your girl-" he stopped abruptly. Olivia wasn't his girlfriend, but she wasn't just his friend either, "to meet your family."

"I'm happy you understand. The day should be about Daddy and not about me worrying if my mother likes you or not." Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, happy he wasn't going to hassle her on this too.

"If you want to meet up afterwards, you know to vent or to just talk, let me know and I'll meet you anywhere. I already took the day off," he told her.

"I appreciate that, Fitz, but I think we need some time apart," she forced the words past her lips.

"When you said that you needed time to find yourself, I didn't think that meant we couldn't see each other outside of work." He couldn't hide hurt from his voice.

"Being around you is going to make me want to be with you sooner than what I'm ready for and I just want to curb the temptation." She knew if she spent time with just the two of them that she'd end up in his bed and as great as it felt, it wasn't conducive to what she was trying to accomplish right now.

"Well if that's how you feel, I respect that. I won't say that I'm crazy about the idea, but I promised I would wait for as long as need." When he said things like that, so understanding, it made her want to forgo her self imposed break and go see him right then.

"Thank you," she breathed into the phone and heard a distant and familiar beep come through the line.

"They're paging me, I gotta go," he said regrettably, then after a short pause, "I love you." He sounded hesitant, almost as if he didn't know if it were appropriate to tell her such because they weren't going to see each other for a while.

Before she could respond, he hung up. "I love you, too," she professed to the dial tone.

A knock on the door brought her out of her feelings and Olivia called out her permission for entrance, knowing that it was her mother and that she was probably coming to gage Olivia's feelings on the funeral tomorrow.

"Hi, sweet pea," her mother greeted, coming in and sitting on the edge of her daughter's bed.

"Hey, Mom," Olivia returned, "so are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I don't think I'll ever truly be ready, but I understand that it is necessary," she sighed, a sad look coming into her eyes.

"I understand completely."

They both sat in silence for little bit, just soaking in each other's company as they thought about what tomorrow would entail. Olivia had been to funerals before, both sets of grandparents were gone and there was the occasional relative that she never met but she was forced to attend the service anyways. And while each had a potent aura of grief and sadness, she was able to disconnect in some shape or form. But she knew that seeing her father in his coffin, stiff and lifeless, would be one of the hardest things she'd ever have to do.

"Are you bringing that young man you've been seeing?" her mother asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Ever since Olivia told her mother about her affair all of three days ago, they hadn't discussed it further. Olivia could tell that her mother wasn't comfortable discussing that subject matter and probably wasn't too keen on the idea of meeting Fitz so soon. That was another reason she didn't want Fitz to come to the funeral. She wanted to give her mom time to get used to the idea of another man being in her life and thrusting Fitz into her face during the hardest time in her life wasn't such a good idea.

"I don't think that it's the right time or place to introduce him to the family. Especially since everyone will be wondering where Jake is and why I showed up with another man," Olivia informed.

"I think that was the right choice," Patricia agreed, standing up and heading towards the door. "Well, I'm going to go and try and get some sleep so I don't look positively horrible the last time I see your father," she tried to joke but the melancholy in her voice made the statement anything but funny.

Standing in the doorway, Patricia turned a bit and with a catch in her throat, said, "I still expect to wake up and have him beside me. I loved your father with all my heart and I hope that you will someday find that with someone. If that man that you're seeing makes you feel like you can't live without him, then don't. Be happy with him," she advised then silently walked away.

It was like her mother knew that Olivia was holding herself back from Fitz, not giving him her whole heart yet. She mulled over the words her mother told her and she was both happy and relieved that she got her mother's blessing. She knew that Patricia wasn't jumping for joy over the way the relationship came about, but she also knew that she wanted her only child to be happy.

The music started to play, cuing Fitz's turn on stage. Tonight he was dressed up as a UPS man, coming to deliver a big package. For some reason, the ladies went crazy over the short brown shorts, brown shirt that he never bothered to button, and oiled down abs. It was nearing wedding season so the bachelorettes were out in full swing which demanded that he bring out his best moves. He worked as often as possible, barely getting any sleep between the hospital, the Naughty Kitten, and constantly thinking of Olivia.

As he walked out on stage, shaking his stuff and grinding his hips, he couldn't help but think back to the night he met Olivia. He was completely disconnected from the dance and the person he was dancing for, but having done this routine many times, it was second nature anyways. He could feel her hands running over him, stuffing money into his waistband and was happy that the show was almost over. Deciding to concentrate, he looked down at the bride-to-be and wasn't in the least bit impressed. She was a regular blonde hair, blue eyed woman and was trying her absolute hardest to get Fitz's attention. She was pushing her breasts out, licking her lips, and inching her hand closer and closer to his crotch. He wasn't even tempted, and honestly, he was a tad disgusted by her blatant display of desperation.

Catching her hand before it could go too far, he played off the movement by standing her up and personally walking her off the stage as the final notes of the song drifted to an end. As he walked her through the audience and towards her chair, random women tucked more money into his waistband and grabbed at his ass as he passed them. He gave them each an appreciative smile and looked out at the tables trying to see which would give him the most money as he passed. Usually the girls with the most drinks on their table were a lot looser with their purse strings and he saw a slew of women that fit that description. But one woman caught his attention. Mellie. She had a smirk on her face as if she just discovered the juiciest secret and she even had the nerve to wink at him.

"My table is over there," the woman he was escorting told him in what he guessed was supposed to a sexy, husky tone. Instead, it sounded as if she was a lifelong smoker who was in desperate need of a lung transplant and a stoma.

He followed the direction her finger was pointing with his eyes and once again moved away from the fake breasts she pushing against his arm. Of course she was pointing to the table Mellie was sitting at. Damn. He was highly tempted to just leave her standing there, but because the table was towards the back, it was too much of a money making opportunity to pass up, knowing as he moved through the crowd, there'd be endless ones shoved into his hands. Sighing, he continued on his journey.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Mellie laughed as Fitz approached the table.

"Hello, Mellie," Fitz addressed, "ladies, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening," he said politely then started to walk away.

"See you at work tomorrow," she called after him and he could hear the other women at the table say how jealous they were that she got to work with such a "hottie".

Fitz wasn't ashamed of his job, in fact, if people would ask, he would be honest about what he did on the side. But that was the thing, they had to ask, he wasn't readily forthcoming with the information. Over the weeks he got to know Mellie, he learned she was vindictive and cold hearted and knew that there was no way that the entire hospital wasn't going to know about his second job by the time he showed up for his shift the next morning.

3 weeks later...

"So I just got settled in to my new place and I'm throwing a housewarming party Saturday if you wanna come," Olivia informed Abby as they looked over some charts.

"Of course I'll be there. What time?" Abby asked, still glancing at a patient's information.

"What time for what?" she heard a voice that didn't belong to Abby ask. Fitz…

"Olivia is throwing a housewarming party Saturday night and I wanted to know what time to show up," Abby blabbed.

"This is the last time I trust you with anything," Olivia mumbled to herself, then out loud, "It's just a small get together at my new place, don't feel obligated to come."

Over the past few weeks, Olivia and Fitz's interactions were extremely limited. Even though they both worked in the same area of the hospital, the ER was always busy so there was rarely downtime for them to actually have to have a real conversation. They would bump into each other rushing around, nod or say hi if they passed one another in the halls, and on a few occasions, Fitz would bring her lunch and simply label it as hers and put it in the fridge in the break room. But that was pretty much it. The limited physical contact, however, did nothing to stop her of mentally envisioning his hands all over her. She was kept awake at night just thinking about him.

"I don't have anything planned for Saturday, I would love to come," he interjected with his signature smile.

"Um, okay, I'll text you my address and the time…"

AN: So there we have it, Jake's big secret is revealed. How many of you saw that coming? How many would have helped him out of his situation? And Huck being involved? That was mainly because I hadn't given him a role and it seemed to fit at the moment. Jake is for the most part gone but we may or may not run into again, I haven't decided. We got to interact with stripper Fitz some more(I believed I ordered a package that still hasn't arrived yet, lol) and Mellie now knows what he does on the side. What kind of problems do you think this will cause in the future? Feel free to answer all of the questions posed in a review below. Till next time...