Chapter 7: Rock-a-bye
"What the hell happened to you this afternoon? Why did you rush out like that?" Mellie was pissed. It was after 10 p.m. and this was the first time she was seeing Fitz since he had stormed out and left the luncheon with the French president earlier that day.
"I suddenly remembered that there was something that needed my attention," Fitz said wearily, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking off his shoes.
"And I suppose that conveniently timed fire alarm and then the disappearance of Olivia had nothing at all to do with it, right?" Mellie asked, sarcastically.
"Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?" Fitz said, yawning. "For someone who graduated top of her class at Harvard, you're not too bright sometimes."
"I don't fucking believe this! You and I, we have a deal! No interns, no aides, no Olivia Pope!" Mellie screamed.
Fitz just looked at her. "That wasn't my deal, remember? That's a deal you made with Olivia, not me. And if it turns out that she's changed her mind and is backing out of YOUR deal, who am I to discourage her?" Fitz said, with a self-satisfied smirk.
The truth was that nothing had fundamentally changed between him and Olivia, but Mellie didn't know that. Fitz could be terribly passive aggressive when he wanted to be, and he relished the opportunity to rub Mellie's face in the fact that Olivia still had a lot of influence on him.
"Look, I don't know what the two of you are planning, but you both need to wake up and face reality," Mellie said. "There will be no happily ever after for you two ever. Never, ever, in a million years. Olivia knows this, at least, I thought she did."
Fitz laid back on the bed, spread eagle. He wished he could drown out Mellie's annoying voice and just fall asleep right then and there. Mellie was a constant reminder of how much he had grown to hate his life as POTUS.
Mellie looked at Fitz. He was just laying there on the bed, still dressed in his business attire, his legs dangling off the foot of the bed. She was trying to pick a fight with him and nothing. Fitz wasn't taking the bait. He didn't even seem like he was even listening to her. Before Olivia, they used to argue a lot. Now, the knock down dragged out fights had gone and had been replaced by a simmering resentment and apathy on the part of Fitz. He was no longer willing to be goaded into an argument with Mellie.
"Fitzgerald, are you even listening to me?" Mellie yelled. And then she realized that Fitz had fallen fast asleep. He was snoring and sleeping like a baby. In that moment, Mellie got confirmation that Fitz had indeed been intimate with Olivia earlier that day since he normally had trouble falling asleep. "Damn you, Olivia Pope," Mellie swore under her breath.
Author's Note: OK, this was just a quick hit of a chapter, a lull in the action. In the next chapter, the you know what is going to begin to hit the fan as Olivia heads to Pakistan. Thanks for reading and reviewing!