It's been weeks. Weeks of the same routine. Weeks of driving out to the hospital and coming home without her. Weeks of getting his hopes up and his world crushed. Weeks of him asking the doctors millions of questions, weeks of worrying, weeks of signing checks for hospital bills. Weeks.

His alarm wakes him up every morning, not like he sleeps much anyways, and he gets himself ready to go to the hospital. He follows the same routine: rolling over to hit the snooze button, rubbing his face in his hands, reaching for the pillow she usually sleeps on that he sprayed with her perfume and hugging it closer for a few minutes before he takes a shower and gets dressed.

His family had been long gone, returning back to DC over a month ago and he's been able to manage on his own. He returned to work, opting to send his men out in the field and staying behind at the office to do paperwork in case the hospital calls him. He can never focus on his work. His mind is constantly running on her. He continues living life without her temporarily, scared that it might end up being permanent. His family calls often, checking up on him. His mother keeps trying to convince him to let her come back and take care of him, his father constantly telling him to not lift a finger to pay any of the abundance of hospital bills, and Kelly telling him how much Olivia needs him to be strong for the both of them. He gets frequent phone calls about updates on Olivia's conditions from Abby and Quinn, who don't get to see her as often because they both decided to split up her responsibilities at work among themselves.

He was trying, at least he was trying. He told himself that over and over again. But the truth remained that he missed Olivia dearly. He missed having someone to talk to, having someone to listen to him, having someone to come to after a long day at work. He missed having someone to surprise with home-cooked meals, to goof around with, to fight for the covers in the middle of the night. He missed hearing her heels clacking on the floors on her way out the door, or hearing her hum songs in the mirror while she fixed her hair. He missed everything about her and although he saw her everyday, it was never enough to fill the void.

Flashback

"Well, thats pretty much the craziness that involves my family. What about yours?". They were sitting in her dining room, taking turns picking out of each other's plates of food. It was Fitz's turn to cook and he decided to go with seafood after finding out that it was Oliva's favorite.

"I don't have a family", she said, taking a bite out of the lobster tail that he had on his plate.

"What do you mean you don't have a family?", he tried swatting her fork away. "Are they.."

"They were lawyers. They met each other at law school. They fell in love. They wanted a house full of kids, but there were some complications during my birth and my mother ended up having to get her tubes tied. Olivia Pope, the only child of Debra and Rowan Pope. They wanted me to be a lawyer. I didn't want to be a lawyer. I wanted to help our youth, to give back to the community. So, when I chose social work over pre-law, they chose to disown me. I was eighteen years old, fresh out of high school, fighting for something I believed in and my parents abandoned me. Then, I met Braxton. He was my family and now he's no longer a part of my life".

"Livvie.."

"Debra died a few years ago. She killed herself after Rowan left her. He told her he had been cheating on her for 15 years and left her for his mistress. She jumped right out of a window. I didn't go to the funeral. She killed herself because my father left her, yet she slept like a baby while her only child struggled to make a life for herself. And Rowan, he remarried and has two boys. One's 14 and one's 12. They both want to be basketball players and play for their school teams. Apparently Rowan attends all their games and represents them proudly. I couldn't even get him to attend my high school graduation. I don't have a family."

"Liv, how do you know all this?"

"Quinn knows a guy who knows a guy".

He puts his fork down, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She leans into him, resting her head on his chest. He inhales, basking in the scent of his cologne. It soothes her. He soothes her. She nuzzles her face under his chin, he rests his chin on the top of her head. He inhales, smelling her shampoo. It smells like tropical fruit and he can never get enough of the scent. Of her scent. He rubs her back softly, letting her know that everything's okay. They continue to sit in silence.

They had moved the conversation to the couch, Olivia with a glass of wine and Fitz with a bottle of beer. The discussion had gone from family to their pre-teen and teenage years.

"I was such a geek. Oh my god, the girls in my class used to tease me so much. My parents made sure I was neatly dressed and my hair was freshly combed before I left in the morning. They made my own uniform for me: khakis or navy blue skorts and white polo shirts. I didn't even go to a uniform school! Ugh, those girls drove me crazy. And then, in high school when they were spending less time at home and more time in the office, i would leave the house extra early so I could go to Abby's and raid her closet for outfits. If I ever needed a mini skirt or a halter top, you would find all of them from the mall in Abby's closet. We taught each other how to do makeup. Those same girls that used to tease me carried my books. Not because I wanted them to, but because they wanted to please Abby. I just reaped the benefits. I would have never made it out of high school alive without Abby by my side".

"Well, I'm pretty sure I would have definitely been trying to carry your books, to please you and you only", he flashes a smile and her and she blushes. "I was a popular kid, but not really by choice. I mean, my parents were famous, so I did have a million people watching my every move. The twins soaked up the whole fame thing, and still do until this day, while I was the more reserved and quiet one. I was nerdy I guess, I had good grades and spoke up in class. I studied hard and partied never. I knew what I wanted to be in life and I went after it.."

He's sitting next to her in the hospital room, replaying scenes of them together over and over in his head. He remembers their talks about family, about school, about growing up and their plans for the future. Visiting hours are over in fifteen minutes and he gets out of his seat, wanting to say his goodbyes. He places a kiss on her cheek, letting his lips linger for a bit before he grabs his jacket and makes his way out of the room. He runs into Amanda in the hallway, who was on her way to let him know that his time was almost out for the night.

"Fitz! I was just coming to remind you of the time! I hope you have a good night! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, thanks", he says, walking away from her as quick as possible. After Kelly discussed her concern about where Amanda's attention lies, Fitz started picking up on small things. He did notice that Amanda seemed to be very interested in him and assumed that it was just a harmless crush, but he didn't want to lead her on so he began keeping his distance.

She noticed. She noticed that he wasn't so friendly anymore, that he barely spoke two words when he saw her. She noticed how he didn't make eye contact with her and how he always hurried away whenever he saw her. It pissed her off. She walked into the room for her daily check-up of Olivia.

"Well, Ms. Pope, it seems that you're still clinging on to life. Sadly. You know Olivia, you're really making this hard for me. I can't even get him to look at me anymore. He's absorbed in you. You don't deserve him. How could you lie there and let this man wait for you day in and day out? You are such a bitch Olivia, you really are, and if I couldn't guarantee that keeping you alive would bring Fitz back here everyday, I would have killed you a long time ago".

She took some notes and looked over her charts a final time before she decided that it was time for her to move on to her next patient. "Goodnight Olivia, don't let the bed bugs bite!", she said, quietly exiting the room. Closing the door behind her and proceeding down the hallway. Had she stayed for a few seconds longer, she might not have missed the fingers on Olivia's left hand twitching.

AN: Sorry it took so long to update this week, but I really unhappy with this chapter. I've lost my mojo with this story so it's taking me a little longer to post new chapter. This is definitely some filler and some background.

Anywho, HOW SHOCKED WAS EVERYONE BY THE PREMIERE? The episode was kinda blah and all over the place but I loved how things randomly kept popping up. I loved Rowan's lecturing and Fitz beating Mellie at her own game. I can't remember which fanfic it was that predicted that Fitz leaked the name but GOD I was shocked lol! Can't wait until next week! Until the next update (: