A/N: Hey y'all! Thanks for the suggestions, please keep them up! As well as suggestions on the sex of Mellie and Fitz's baby, including names! I love to hear you guys' thoughts and suggestions, so please don't refrain from reviewing! Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
"You shouldn't be in here. If Mellie sees you in here, she's going to lose it." Fitz walked into the nursery, looking at his father. Big Jerry was playing with Bellamy and Ben, who were both giggling their little heads off. He was surprised that he was anywhere near the twins, considering that Big Jerry hated children, especially babies.
Jerry looked over at his son as he picked up Bellamy, who immediately threw her arms around her grandfather's neck. She giggled and laid her head down on his shoulder, looking at Fitz. "I just wanted to see my grandchildren, Fitz. I hadn't had a chance to meet them." He explained as he ran his hand through Bellamy's light hair.
"When did you start caring about your grandchildren? You never wanted anything to do with Jerry and Karen."
Jerry ignored his son's rude comment and gently bounced Bellamy in his arms. Fitz stared at him, not noticing when Mellie walked into the room with Teddy in her arms. "I see we're having a party in here..." She announced cooly, glancing down at her watch. "And I'm pretty sure that the twins should've been down for a nap over an hour ago." She didn't look at Fitz, knowing that it wasn't his fault that the babies weren't asleep. She just glared at Big Jerry, who didn't seem to even notice her presence.
"Fitz, would you take the kids and go put them down for their nap in our bed? I would like a moment alone with your father." Mellie frowned, subconsciously rubbing her belly. Fitz wasn't sure if that was the best idea, but he wasn't going to argue. She was coping, and she knew what was best for her. Mellie knew what she could and couldn't handle, and Fitz wasn't going to stand in the way of that. He just nodded and snatched Bellamy from Big Jerry, hard enough for Jerry to get his point, but not hard enough to hurt his precious little girl. The sudden grabbing made Bellamy start to cry out, and she looked at Fitz, who quietly calmed her down before taking Ben into his arms.
Mellie set Teddy down on the ground. "Baby, go with daddy. Mommy will be in to tuck you in in a few minutes, okay?" Teddy was reluctant, but he didn't like arguing with his mother, so he agreed, taking her hand and kissing it before walking toward Fitz. "I'll be okay." Mellie mouthed to her husband, who still didn't seem sure about the idea. But he saw the look in her eyes, the need for this, the need to have real closure, and he nodded before he left with the children.
Once the door was closed, Jerry stood up and looked at Mellie. "You must have your hands full with all of these youngin's. And another on the way." Hearing his voice made Mellie sick to her stomach, but she brushed it off, trying not to think to much about it. Jerry reached forward to put his hand on her belly, and Mellie smacked it away. The way that Jerry looked at her, you would've thought that she had slapped him in the face. He was beyond shocked that she wouldn't let him touch her stomach. It was as if he didn't even remember what had happened.
Looking at his black eye and the bruises on his face made Mellie feel slightly better. "Don't even think about it." She warned. "It was bad enough that you think you have any right to be near and bother my already-born children. At least I can keep you from touching and corrupting this one."
"What's so wrong with me being around the children, Mellie?" Jerry spat, tilting his head to the side. He couldn't possibly imagine why Mellie wouldn't let him near the children. "What have I done that makes you think that it's not okay for me to be around the children?"
"What have you done!?" Mellie laughed, slightly to herself, but more at his stupidity. "What have you done? Are you honestly asking me that question? You raped me! You put your hands on me, and you held me down, and you ripped off my panties and forced yourself inside of me. You moved inside of me, despite my screams and pleas, until you were content and done. Once you were content, you then decided that you were done with me, that you were finished, and that I go. You didn't once think about that again. You didn't think about the consequences, about how I felt." She took a deep breath, watching her father-in-law. He was speechless, but Mellie decided to keep going.
"Oh wait. You did think about it. Once. The next morning, when you apologized for things 'getting out of hand'." She rolled her eyes, remembering that day as if it was yesterday. "Getting out of hand. That's a nice way to put it. It makes it sound like it was consensual, like I was okay with it, like I agreed to have sex with you. But you and I both know that's not how it went. You and I both know that you didn't like the fact that I denied you, that I told you no, that I told you to stop. Nobody had ever told you no before. So you kept going. You cared more about yourself, about your own personal pleasure. You couldn't have cared less about me, about how that would affect me for the years to come. You only cared about you, you only cared about your three minutes of pleasure. You've never cared about anyone but yourself, Big Jerry, and that not only goes for me, that goes for your son and his mother as well."
She couldn't stop. She was doing so well and she had so much to say that she hadn't had the chance to say before, that she might never have the chance to say again. "You're lucky. You really are. You're lucky that Fitz and I were trying for a child so frequently. Because for the last 17 years, I was afraid. I was beyond afraid that my son, that Little Jerry could've been yours. He very well could have been if Fitz and I weren't trying so often, if every time that we weren't around you, we weren't in bed with our clothes off. God, how much of a scandal would that of been? How bad would it have been if my child ended up being yours? If Fitz's wife's child was really his brother as well? I'm sure you never thought about that. I'm sure the thought never even crossed your mind. I'm sure it was just a coincidence to you that I had a child just nine months after you raped me, after you pinned me down, after you forced me to have sex with you."
"Mellie-I..." Big Jerry tried to interrupt, but Mellie didn't let him. She wasn't finished.
"No. I have thought about that night every single day since it has happened. And I know for a fact that it hasn't been a thought in your mind more than a handful of times. I have suffered, I have sacrificed so much because of that night, because I didn't want to tell Fitz what had happened, because I didn't want to speak of it again. I ruined my marriage, I lost my husband, I never had a relationship with my children, I almost lost my life because of you, because of what you did. I have lived every single day of my life thinking about that. You ruined my life, you ruined me, you ruined Fitz and you ruined my marriage. You think you're all that, you think you're so much better than Fitz. You think you're a man. But the truth is, Jerry, you're not a man. You will never be even half of the man that Fitz is. Fitz has done so much better without you in his life. So I think it's time that you leave, that you go back to wherever you have been for the past 5 years. Because you're just going to ruin my husband again."
Big Jerry was going to apologize, he was going to try and apologize, even though he knew that it wouldn't do any good. But Mellie's last few sentences had pissed him off. She had no right to tell him that he wasn't a man. He was a man. He may have done some bad things, but he was still a man. "Excuse me?" Jerry spat, truthfully unsure if he had even heard her right.
"You heard me. You're not a man. You're a coward. You're a sick bastard who raped his daughter-in-law and has done nothing for torment his son since the day that he was born."
"You have no idea. You have no clue. You don't know what mine and Fitz's relationship was like before you came along. If I didn't care about him, you wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have gotten you for him if I didn't care about him, about his future."
Mellie shook her head. "You didn't care about him. You cared about your future, your name. You wanted your son to be successful so that it looked good on you. You didn't give a damn about how it reflected on him, only you. And Fitz and I would've ended up together without your help."
"You're an asset, Mellie. You're nothing. So I don't know why you're sitting here, still speaking to me as if you have some sort of authority against me. You're nothing, and I'm his father. He can live without you, but he cannot live without me."
"He can't?" Mellie questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Because I'm pretty sure he's done damn well without you, since you 'died'." She said the final word with the assistance of air quotes. "And I'm not an asset. I'm his wife. I'm always going to be here for him, and I know for a fact that he would choose me over you in a heartbeat. As for my authority? I have plenty over you. You have about thirty seconds to get out of my childrens' room, and about sixty to get your ass out of my house before I have security handle this."
Big Jerry scoffed and stared at her for a moment, but the fire in her eyes let him know that she was serious. "I'm not leaving because you're making me. I'm leaving because I'm done here." He pushed past her, and Mellie couldn't help but laugh to herself. Even now, he still felt the need to prove that he wouldn't listen to a woman, that women didn't have any authority over him. But Mellie knew that she had won.
After his departure, Mellie found her way back to her bedroom, where the twins were sleeping in the middle of the bed, cuddling with each other, and Fitz and Teddy were laying on either side of them. "Momma!" Teddy grinned from ear to ear when he saw his mother. He stood up on the bed and started jumping, but Fitz grabbed him carefully and pulled him down before he accidentally jumped on, or woke up the babies. "Yous late." Teddy pouted, and Mellie just smiled.
"Sorry baby. I had to finish up something." She squeezed his cheeks and gave him a kiss. "I'll be right back. Let me change really quick, okay?" With a nod from Teddy, she ruffled her son's hair and disappeared into the closet, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and pulling her dark, thick hair back with an elastic band. She came back out and picked up Teddy, laying next to Fitz and laying her son on her chest. Almost immediately, Teddy laid down and closed his eyes. Even quicker, Mellie noticed his slowed breathing, surprised at how quick he could fall asleep.
"Are you okay?" Fitz asked, genuinely worried about his wife. He couldn't imagine how difficult that was for her.
Mellie looked at him and gave him a sincere smile, nodding her head. "I'm great. I'm beyond great." Leaning over as best as she could with a toddler on her chest, she gently kissed Fitz's cheek. "That helped. That really did. I said all that I needed to. Everything I wanted to say for the past 17 years, I said. I got it all off of my chest and I feel great."
Fitz smiled and squeezed her hand. "I'm proud of you, Mel." He whispered, and he truly was.