The night before the Camp David weekend, Mellie couldn't sleep. It was five in the morning and she hadn't once closed her eyes. If someone had asked her why, she would have blamed it on the pregnancy and how uncomfortable she was. But in all honesty, it had nothing to do with that. It was actually becoming a sort of habit lately - stay awake at night wondering about things, worrying about things, thinking of things that could have been but weren't. Tonight she was stuck on one thought in particular, where had things gone so horribly wrong?

Mellie turned toward her husband, and found herself studying his face, his light eyelashes, his worry lines, his chiseled chin, the scar near his ear you couldn't see unless you were looking for it and probably wouldn't even be able to find unless you were as close to him as Mellie was now…she wondered if Olivia knew about that scar…or how he got it…she fought the urge to reach out and touch it.

Fitz' hand was curled up near his face. He had always slept with his hands like that. Mellie had once teased him about it: "You look like sleeping beauty" she had joked. He had fired back something about Mellie looking like the frog when she slept because of all her snoring. Mellie had feigned dismay and then they had laughed and shared a kiss… that had probably led to more. Where had things gone so horribly wrong?

Lost in her thoughts, Mellie reached for his hand and grazed the tips of her fingers over his knuckles. These same hands have held me once, she thought. They have held me, and it had meant something. She covered her small hand over his and was about to close her eyes when Fitz' suddenly peeled open. Blue orbs met grey ones. She didn't remove her hand but a blush did appear on her face. She was glad it wasn't too light outside.

Fitz blinked in confusion and groaned, "What time is it?"

"Still early," Mellie responded. If Fitz thought her hand placement was odd, he didn't say so. She chalked it up to him being half asleep.

"Why are you awake, then?" he yawned.

"I don't know, can't sleep I guess."

"Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" He was still groggy and his eyes were struggling to stay open. Slowly his eyelids would close and reopen. Close and reopen.

Mellie squeezed his hand gently, "I'm fine. Go back to sleep, sleeping beauty."

Fitz knitted his eyebrows together, momentarily confused. But then his mouth twitched and he grinned, pulled Mellie's hand under his cheek, and kissed her wrist, "You should get a few hours in too, froggy," he chuckled. Mellie smirked and then closed her eyes, fighting the urge to say I love you. She had to quickly remind herself this was not 1999 and Fitz did not still love her the way he once did. It was not the same. Where had things gone so horribly wrong?

When Fitz woke up two hours later, Mellie's hand was still wrapped in his, curled under his face. She was facing him, her knees touching his own. He didn't move right away, caught off guard by the urge he felt to just pull his snoring wife into his side like he used to do in the mornings. He didn't though, partly because he didn't know how she would react but mostly because if he did, lines would be blurred and he would find himself hurt again when she decided to reject him like she would inevitably do. Mellie was not the same woman he married and sometimes it was hard to remember that, especially when she was just inches from his face, her mouth parted slightly, her hand under his cheek. He had to remind himself that she was not the same, that she was cold now. Olivia was his new warmth and no matter what was about to transpire this weekend at Camp David with Mellie, that wouldn't change. This weekend was for public image. Nothing more. Mellie had years of practice at pretending, but now it was Fitz' turn to try those shoes on for size.

Fitz untangled his fingers from his wife's and propped himself up on his pillow. The movement alone was enough to wake Mellie. She had always been a light sleeper. She opened her eyes groggily and the couple exchanged small smiles; Mellie's for once was sincere, Fitz' slightly forced.

"I'm exhausted," she groaned, reaching her arms above her head and stretching.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't sleep all night. Am I right?" Fitz smiled teasingly down at her. He rolled to the side of the bed and threw his feet over the edge while she responded.

"Unfortunately…" she moaned, "I don't know what was going on. I just couldn't seem to shut my mind off, you know those kinds of nights…"

"I know them well," Fitz chuckled as he made he way to the bathroom. Mellie watched as he disappeared inside. She smiled to herself remembering their middle of the night talk. The smile was still plastered on her face when Fitz returned a moment later with her robe in his hand.

"What are you grinning about?"

A giggle escaped Mellie's lips as she sat up and reached out for the robe Fitz was walking over to her, "I must just be delusional from lack of sleep," she lied. She giggled again at the expression on her husband's face as she wrapped the robe around her figure.

"Seriously," Fitz said bemused, "What is going on with you this morning?"

She shook her head and walked past her husband into the bathroom, "We're going to Camp David, today," she said simply.

Two hours later, the couple was hand in hand on the tarmac walking toward their plane. The press captured photos from a couple yards away. They walked up the steps and waved to the cameras from the door: the money shot.

"Thanks for doing this, Mels," Fitz whispered as they turned to enter the cabin.

"Sure, Fitz," she beamed. Fitz thought this morning was the most he had seen his wife genuinely smiling in the last fifteen years combined.

They both took their seats across from each other and Fitz for the first time noticed what Mellie was wearing; dark wash jeans tucked into knee high brown boots, a white cashmere sweater and olive green military style jacket.

"You look good, Mellie," he said honestly. He liked when she wore things that reminded him of before the presidency, before the governor's mansion even. He couldn't recall a time when she had worn jeans since then. But he liked it.

"Wait, hold on," she said, reaching into her purse. She pulled out a navy blue baseball hat with the USA Eagle Seal printed with the words "Camp David." She fitted it firmly over her perfectly done curls and grinned.

"That's –

"The hat you got me for our first anniversary, yes," she finished for him.

Fitz couldn't help but match her grin, "I didn't think you still had that!"

"Of course I do," Mellie laughed, "When you gave it to me you said –

"This is for our trips to our future vacation home." This time Fitz finished.

"Who would have thought that you had been right," she smirked.

"Well, kind of, we haven't actually ever been there together…" he said, "Not truly anyway, and not the way I meant it back then."

The smile slipped from Mellie's lips and she quickly folded her hands in her lap and turned towards the window, "I know," she murmured.

Fitz found himself wishing for her smile to come back. He had forgotten what it was like to witness her true smile and how beautiful she was when she was happy.

A/N: Okay, so I don't really know where this is going yet… I suppose this was kind of just a filler chapter. But if you faithful readers out there have any suggestions, I would gladly consider! I need some inspiration, so comment away! 3