Thank you for the great reviews for this story so far! I really appreciate them and I love hearing what you have to say.
Fitz pulled a chair up to the side of her bed to avoid falling to his knees at the sight of her. He sat down heavily and rested his hand on her bed, close to where her own was lying. Gazing at her, he finally felt the tears begin to roll down his cheeks. Olivia's hands and arms were covered in small cuts and bruises and every inch of her normally smooth skin seemed to be violated by some needle. She was covered with a thin white sheet up to her chest, but he could see a large bruise peeking out from under the covers. Finally, his eyes fell on Olivia's face. That breathtakingly beautiful face that had pulled him in the second he'd first laid eyes on her was now painful to even look at. There was a large cut starting at her left eyebrow and running across her forehead before disappearing into her hair. It was stitched and he wondered briefly if it would leave a scar on her flawless face. Her cheek was swollen and bruised and she had another smaller cut just above her full upper lip. A breathing tube had been inserted into her throat and he watched the artificial rise and fall of her chest. Then, Fitz noticed the small spot on the side of her head that was shaved and now covered by a bandage where they must have had to cut into her to release the pressure on her brain. The thought alone made him nauseous.
She looked so small, so frail and broken. Carefully, he took her right hand into his own, mindful of her injuries and the needles. Fitz bent down to place a gentle kiss on her hand, then one on each of her slender fingers. He hesitated, but after a few minutes of simply staring at her, he lifted his other hand to her face and stroked his fingers across her right cheek that seemed to be relatively uninjured. Scooting his chair as close as possible, Fitz lowered his head again, finally placing it on the pillow next to hers. His lips found her cheek, and he cried quietly, his tears wetting both her cheek and the pillow below them.
"Livy…", he whispered, his forehead and lips resting against the side of her face. "You need to be strong, sweet baby."
Fitz had not been this close to her in so long, and while it should have felt good to be able to feel her soft skin again, or look at her sweet face, it was nothing but pure anguish.
"I love you.", he cried softly. "I'm so sorry for everything, Livy. You're still my everything, so I need you to be strong for me and wake up. I need you to be okay."
For the next four hours, Fitz slept on and off next to Olivia. He continued to hold her hand and he was somewhat aware of nurses entering and leaving the room several times. It was a risk to be seen so close to her, but he had no other choice than to trust in the hospital staff's integrity because he simply could not even begin to think about leaving Olivia's bedside. The monotone beeping of her heart monitor and the quiet sound of her breathing machine were an ever present reminder that Liv was struggling – but alive.
Shortly before 6am, the door opened again and Cyrus entered the room. He stopped just short of Olivia's bed and took a deep breath. Seeing her like this was difficult for him too.
"Good morning, Mr. President.", he nodded. "How is she?"
Fitz didn't bother letting go of Olivia's hand.
"Nothing has changed. Her doctors told me last night that she crashed twice, suffered a collapsed lung and internal bleeding, and had to be operated on her brain. She hasn't woken up."
As he remembered the information the doctors had given him, Fitz wondered if this was what Olivia had felt like when she'd visited him in the hospital after the assassination attempt. The feeling of being so completely helpless and useless was all-consuming and it hurt him to think that Olivia had felt like that when it had been him fighting for his life.
"Good God.", Cyrus sighed, Fitz' words sinking in. "I've brought you a clean suit and shirt to change into before you return to the White House later. I don't want anyone to have an opportunity to notice you wearing the same outfit they've last seen you in."
"What if she doesn't wake up today? I don't want to leave her here alone, Cy."
"I know that. But we don't have a choice. Once I inform the press about you not being in D.C., speculations will begin. We can't afford to have you gone for more than 24 hours. I'm going to need you to walk back in there later today, preferably with a smile on your face."
"Somebody should be with her.", Fitz interjected, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.
"Somebody will be. She has her team that's itching to see her and it's not easy to convince them that she can't have visitors quite yet. You are lucky her doctors are willing to keep up this charade for now."
Fitz head came up at the mention of Olivia's team. He knew how much they all meant to her and he also knew that they would do nearly anything for her. As he thought about it, he was surprised that it had been possible to keep them out of the hospital until now.
"So they know what happened to her?"
"Actually…", Cyrus began, "It was one of them who informed me. I got a call from this guy, Harrison, minutes after the crash. Apparently he thought the President would want to be informed."
A small smile played on Fitz' lips as he watched Cyrus raise an eyebrow at him. Olivia worked with good people – questionable, but certainly good.
"How did they know about it? So soon after it happened?"
"It seems like one of them is monitoring the local PD and such for cases like this.", Cyrus replied casually.
He had long stopped being surprised at the techniques that Olivia and her team used. According to Tom, who was still standing guard in front of Olivia's hospital room, all four team members had tried talking their way up to this hospital floor and into the room. Cyrus was sure all of them could see right through the doctor's attempts to keep them away, but they had no choice but to wait until they were allowed to see her.
"I'd like to stay until tonight.", Fitz spoke, interrupting Cyrus' musings.
"6 o'clock, Fitz. No later than that. We need to bring you back into the White House while it's still buzzing with activity. We need people to see you come in so there is no speculation about your whereabouts whatsoever."
Fitz nodded, understanding the plan, even though he didn't agree with it. He obviously needed to return to the White House sooner rather than later, and he knew Olivia's team would take turns just to make sure she was never alone, but he wanted to be the one that sat with her, held her hand, and was there when she would finally open her eyes.
"Every day, I need three hours cut out of my schedule to be with her here.", he bargained.
"Two hours and only at night, after you have officially retired to bed.", Cyrus allowed, his no-nonsense attitude leaving no room for discussion.
"Okay.", Fitz agreed, although getting through an entire day at the office seemed impossible right now. "What did you tell Mellie?"
Cyrus sighed heavily: "She was waiting for me when I returned to my office last night. I considered lying to her but it is impossible to keep her away once she's gotten wind of something not being in order. So I told her the truth."
"You did?"
"Yes. And let me tell you, I don't get paid enough to deal with her.", he answered, shaking his head. "She is furious, Fitz, as was to be expected. No matter what kind of condition your marriage is in, you should not be spending the night with your… with Olivia!"
"Cyrus, I'm not here because I'm having fun with Liv while my wife sits home alone, dammit.", Fitz replied angrily. "I'm here because for all we know, Olivia is hanging on by a thread!"
"You are here because you love her."
"Yes.", Fitz replied immediately. "This is where I need to be. What does Mellie want in return for her cooperation?"
"Nothing. I don't know what she has up her sleeve, but despite her being angry, she agreed to keep this quiet and go along with it. I swear to God, this is too easy. Something's going to happen, Mr. President."
"I don't care. I will deal with her when it comes to it. For now, it's a good thing."
Cyrus rolled his eyes, knowing that if Mellie would change her mind on this, it wouldn't be the President dealing with the fallout – it would be him. He didn't believe for one second that it was going to be this easy – that the First Lady would simply allow her husband to sit by his mistress' bedside day in and day out. Sooner or later, the fragile house of cards that was Fitz and Mellie's relationship would come crashing down once again.
"I have to get back to the White House and prepare for the press conference. I will see you tonight, Mr. President."
With those words, Cyrus leaned down and placed a fatherly kiss on top of Olivia's head. He looked at her for a moment and sighed.
"You hold on for us, Olivia. You are needed here."
Moments later, Fitz was left alone with her again. He began to gently stroke her hair, waiting for a sign – any sign – of her waking up.
Olivia slumbered on.