She's hiding in the bathroom, sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up as close to her chest as they possibly can be, thanks to her enormous belly. It can't be much later than 3. She came in here around 2:30, and even though it seemed like she had been sitting in here forever, she knows it hasn't really been that long. The babies are kicking softly, in a way that oddly comforts her, keeping her mind away from the thoughts that were previously occupying it.

Occasionally, she'd have nightmares. Nightmares about the night where she truly lost her innocence, where she had to learn to hide her true emotions, her real feelings, the night where she had to become incredibly strong, even stronger than she already was. She was a strong woman before her father in law had forced himself upon her. Now, she was record-breaking strong. And she was so used to it that it didn't even phase her anymore.

She was so used to doing this, to quietly climbing out of bed and going into the bathroom to gather her thoughts, to be alone and to recuperate from the night terror that she had just woken up from. They were basically repeats of that terrible night, and just reliving it tore her to pieces. Just reliving it broke the strong woman that she had taught herself to be. Just reliving that night turned her into a vulnerable, broken woman, who had to deal with her problems on her own.

But now, with her marriage repaired, she could probably wake up Fitz when she had dreams like that. She could probably have him hold her and whisper to her that everything would be okay. But, she was too stubborn to ask for his help. She was too stubborn to admit that she had still had nightmares about that night nearly 17 years ago. Mellie had never been the type of person to admit self-defeat, and she wasn't going to start doing it now.

After spending the next twenty minutes gathering her thoughts and pulling herself together, Mellie drug herself off of the bathroom floor and back into bed, lying next to Fitz who hadn't moved a muscle in the past hour and a half. She glanced at the clock, noticing that it was nearly four, and as if on cue, yawned as she wrapped her arm around her belly, feeling one of the babies kick against her hand. She smiled to herself, closing her eyes and thankfully falling back into a deep slumber.

In the morning, she woke up to see Fitz rubbing her stomach, talking quietly to the babies. She quickly shut her eyes, hoping that Fitz hadn't noticed that she was awake yet. "Your mommy and I love you two so much already…We can't wait until we can finally meet you in a few months." He leaned down and softly kissed her stomach through her t-shirt, gently running his hand and circles. He truly couldn't wait to meet those sweet babies of theirs. He knew that him and Mellie were going to have a much better relationship with these two than they had with their other children. Of course, they were trying with Teddy, but part of him worried that they would be too late, even though he was still so young. With the twins, they had a second chance. Well, technically a fourth and fifth chance, but it was all the same.

After confirming that he was done talking, Mellie slowly opened her eyes, stretching and yawning as she looked at the handsome man in front of her. "Mm, good morning." She whispered, leaning in close to him and softly kissing his lips. He pulled her close to him and grinned, pulling away after a few seconds, staring at her beauty. Even first thing in the morning, when she had just woken up with no makeup on, and her bedhead at its best, she was so breathtakingly beautiful.

"Good morning, sweetheart." He told her, placing his hand on her belly once more. "And good morning, my two little rugrats." Mellie absolutely adored how into everything Fitz was. He was so excited about the twins, and truthfully, so was she. Everything was nearly perfect. Their lives were so absolutely perfect at the moment. Of course, she didn't want to curse anything by saying how great their lives were. They didn't have the best relationship with Karen, who went back to boarding school as soon as she could possibly get away from them, but other than that, everything was great. They had a beautiful son who they loved more than life itself, their marriage was at the strongest possible point ever, and their sweet twins were as healthy as can be. Life couldn't get any better at the moment.

"What's the date?" Mellie asked, glancing at her husband, who pulled out his phone and told her the date. October 3rd. She smiled to herself, looking at him. "33 weeks today." She told him, and he grinned wide, rubbing her stomach. They didn't say anything else to each other, just smiled at one another as they got out of bed and got ready for the day ahead of them.

A few hours later, Mellie was sitting in her office, going through the plans for a dinner that they were supposed to have at the Residence in a few days. She was making sure that everything was correct and ready, so that she didn't have to worry about it at the last moment, when she felt an odd feeling in her stomach. She thought it was cramping for a moment, but she knew exactly what she was feeling. It was contractions. She was only 33 weeks pregnant and she was having contractions. God, why did she have to be thinking about how absolutely perfect their life was this morning? She had cursed them. She couldn't be having contractions. These babies still had weeks left. They weren't ready.

She reached for her phone and picked it up, dialing Fitz's number. She waited anxiously as it rang, pain shooting through her as he finally answered the phone and she heard his voice. "Fitz, honey…Can you come to my office please?" She tried her hardest not to sound nervous as she fought the pain that was overwhelming her.

"Yeah, just let me finish up-"

"No." She interrupted him, sighing slightly as she clutched her stomach. "Now. Please come now."

He immediately knew that something was up with the babies. "I'm on my way." He told her, hanging up the phone as he ran to the East Wing, bursting into Mellie's office. So many thoughts were running through his head as he rushed to her side. "What's going on?" He asked, kneeling down next to her and softly rubbing her back.

Mellie closed her eyes tight, scrunching up her face as another contraction hit her. "Ohh..God. Contractions. I'm having contractions." She told him, trying to keep as calm as possible. He helped her up and told Tom and Hal to inform the ambulance that they were coming. He tried to calm her, telling her to take deep breaths and that everything would be okay. Of course, he was worried, but at this point, he just needed to be there for his wife. He just needed to keep her calm and make sure that she was alright. Because right now, they were a team. They were partners. And they were going to get through this together.