"Beth is lucid."

"She can't be lucid. That's not possible."

Hearing from Victoria that Stephen's grandmother was completely with it, Olivia took hold of the piano beside her to stay upright. Fitz caught sight of her motion and moved to stand right behind her, lightly rubbing her arm.

"She's aware of where she is. She knows Adam is gone," Victoria told her while she eyed Fitz.

Introducing them, Olivia was able to wrap her head around the idea of going upstairs. "I'm still waiting for the 'but' in there. There's never been a patient in all the history of this disease who just woke up one morning knowing what the date and year was."

"Beth thinks it's 2016. To be exact, she says May 8, 2016."

"So, she's stuck on one date?" Fitz asked, trailing his hand to Liv's. "Anything special for that day?"

"Stephen's graduation from college, then he was headed to law school. It was one of the last times she was with it," Liv told them. "Victoria, do you think this is the paradox? Could this be it?"

Shaking her head with a slight shrug, "it could be. There's no way of telling for sure. We just have to wait it out and see what happens. When I checked her out when I got here, her stats were normal. But we do know that can change at any time with Alzheimer's. We need to prepare for everything."

"What does that mean? Paradox?"

Turning to lean against the piano, Liv crossed her arms looking at the floor. "Paradoxical lucidity. It's a point of complete clarity just before they die. No one knows how or why it happens. Every time there's been someone trying to study it, the patient dies before they can do something to test, like an MRI or a CT scan to see the brain function."

"Do you want to try to get her to the hospital for tests?" Victoria questioned, "It could help."

"I don't want her prodded like a lab rat. If this is the paradox, then I'll be with her. Since no one else will, apparently. I won't let her be alone."

Fitz leaned over to kiss the side of her head and squeezed her hand. "We'll be here until whenever you want."

All three gathered in the elevator to head up to see Beth. Getting to the floor, two aids stood outside her door in case she tried to leave. Victoria let the two of them go ahead of her into the room so she could observe.

Olivia took a moment to look around her suite before calling out since she wasn't in the main living area. "Beth? Where are you?"

"Olivia? In here, dear," Beth shouted from the bedroom. "I'm looking for those emerald earrings Stephen bought me for my birthday. They'll go great with the dress I picked out." Liv walked into the bedroom seeing her sitting on the chair in the room digging through the jewelry box on her lap. "I seem to have misplaced them. Is Stephen with you? He wasn't sure if we would have time to get lunch before the ceremony." Finally looking up at her, Beth gave her a happy smile. "Are you sure you want to wear those shoes outside?"

Looking down at her shoes, Liv slid them off her feet and put them to the side of the room. "I think I'll manage." Crouching down beside her, she took the box off her lap and set it on the bed. "Let's hold off on getting ready to go to the ceremony though. We have plenty of time to get ready. I haven't seen you for a while. How about we get some tea and sit in the living room?"

"It's only been a week, Olivia. Even to an old lady like me, that's not a lot of time," Beth patted her hand. "But I could use some tea. Stephen can join us when he gets here. You're earlier than I thought you'd be."

Standing up, Beth walked into the kitchen area to start the kettle while Liv followed after her. "You're right, I'm early again. Beth, Stephen won't be joining us though."

"Why not? He's graduating today, he should be with us. And who is that?" Beth asked her, pointing over towards the living room. Fitz stood by the couch with his hands in his pockets looking at Liv.

"That's Fitz. He's my… he's my…"

"A friend," Fitz told her, taking the steps towards them. "It's lovely to meet you Mrs. Finch."

Beth took a full minute to look him over. "I don't like that. And I'm sure Stephen won't either. Why would you bring him with you? Does Stephen know about you?"

Before Fitz could say anything, Liv jumped ahead of him. "He does. Stephen knows about Fitz. We're all friends."

"Friends, hmm? That doesn't explain why he's here in my hotel room."

"My car's in the shop. Fitz was kind enough to give us a ride."

"Perhaps if you didn't drag race those cars all the time, it wouldn't be in the shop. One of these days, you'll end up back in the hospital with another concussion, or worse," Beth warned her. "I told Stephen he should take those keys away from you. But he never listens. Well, except the one time. That he took to heart."

Fitz raised a brow looking at Olivia. "I'm sorry, you drag race?"

"Boy, I thought you said you were friends," Beth laughed, pouring the tea for all three of them. "What do you think she does Friday nights? The scratches on that car, I tell you! To spend all that money on a car you only dent up, shame."

"Sounds like you might have some inside stories to tell about this one, Mrs. Finch. I'd love to hear more."

Olivia side eyed him and circled her temple indicating Beth was just crazy. Slapping her hand away, Beth handed her the tea. "I saw that. And I'm not crazy."

"No one said you were, Beth," Liv said, hating that word 'crazy'.

"I could tell you stories of this one and Stephen."

Taking the cup of tea to the living room, Beth left the two standing in the kitchen. "Do you think you should tell her that Stephen is gone?"

"I'm not sure. I don't want to upset her and that's all she's going to be if I tell her. If she knows Stephen is gone, it'll ruin the rest of the day. I think if I just let her believe that it's May 8, 2016, then today can be graduation day."

"And what about when she wants to leave? Livie, you can't let her leave to go to a graduation ceremony that doesn't exist."

"I'm not going to tell her that the one person that's still in her life is gone. She's had enough people leaving her already. If she wants to go to the ceremony, I'll figure out a way to stall her. Make something up if I need to. This might be the one last day she has of clarity and I'm not going to take it away from her."

Joining her in the living room, Beth spent several hours telling Fitz stories about Olivia. She told him all about the drag racing and the couple broken bones she had from it.

"Stephen was so worried when you called him from the hospital. He called me and was nearly in tears when I answered the phone. You gave him quite a scare, Olivia. He loves you so much," Beth smiled and held her hand. "Where's your engagement ring?"

"Oh, well, one of the diamonds fell out of the setting. He took it to be repaired," Liv told her. "It'll be ready in a few days."

Beth looked between Fitz and Olivia several times during their conversation. "What's going on between the two of you? I don't like the way you're looking at her, Fitz. She's taken. I didn't think I'd have to remind you of that, Olivia. For two hours now, I've watched you sneak glances at her. It's despicable. She is engaged and you're at least twice her age. But you two… it's like you two are breathing in sync together."

"I'm not cheating on Stephen. He's…"

"Mrs. Finch, I'm sorry. Sometimes Olivia's beauty strikes me more than it should. She is a great friend and a wonderful girlfriend… to Stephen. I apologize for making you uncomfortable."

Shaking her head, Beth still didn't like what she was seeing. "Olivia, come help me find those earrings. I need to get ready." Following her to the bedroom, Beth handed her the jewelry box while she pulled out her dress and shoes. "I'm telling you, Olivia, that man wants you. You need to set boundaries with him. If he can't accept that you are engaged to someone else, then you don't need him as a friend. And you allowing him to look at you like that is disrespectful to your relationship with my grandson. I may love you like a granddaughter already, but I will be damned if I let you hurt Stephen." Turning around to her when she stepped out of the bathroom dressed, Beth smiled at her. "Did you find the emeralds?"

Shaking her head no, Liv got down on the floor and pulled out a safety box from underneath the bed. "I'm sure they are in here though." Liv put in the code and opened it, getting her the emerald earrings.

"How do you know the code?"

"You told me once. Just in case you forgot it," she smiled and put the box back. "I'll let you finish getting ready. I'm going to step out and make a quick phone call."

Grabbing her phone and purse from the counter, Liv left the suite with Fitz trailing after her. "Liv? What happened?" questioning her when he caught her at the end of the hall.

"Beth wants to go the graduation. How am I supposed to tell her that the graduation she wants to go to happened seven years ago and her grandson isn't coming to see her? He's the one she wants to see right now, and I don't blame her. It's a big day and it's the last time she's going to see him and know who he is. I can't tell her that! But she is dressed and ready to go. If this is the paradox, she could be gone at any minute. And if it's not the paradox, she could slip back into the Alzheimer's any minute. I'm in a no-win situation."

Fitz pulled her to him, hugging her tight around the corner of the hallway just in case Beth came out looking for her. "I know it's difficult to decide. Telling her that Stephen is gone would only confuse her and make her more upset. I can come up with something. Go back in there with her and try to put her at ease. She'll want to see Stephen soon. For now, we just keep stalling as much as we can."

Nodding against his chest, Liv agreed letting go of him and went back into the suite. "We'll meet Stephen at the college and head in with him. Do you have your purse?"

"Yes, I'll let them know… Sure… see you tomorrow then," Fitz held his phone in his hand coming into the suite. "Bad news ladies, Stephen just called. There's some sort of problem at the campus auditorium. He said one of the pipes broke and there's water all over the room. So, they are canceling the graduation ceremony for today. They'll reschedule it."

Beth let out a sigh and slapped her purse on the counter. "Well, then he can meet us for lunch. Give him a call, Olivia, tell Stephen to meet us at…"

"Stephen isn't going to make it, Mrs. Finch. He offered to help stay and clean up with the crew. They'll be there for hours," Fitz told them. "How about I take you and Olivia to lunch? There's a restaurant across the street I noticed."

"Sounds wonderful, Fitz, thank you," Beth nodded grabbing her purse and looked around for the room key. "I seem to have lost the key again."

"Not to worry, Beth, we'll get another at the front desk."

Fitz led them down to the lobby and out the front door to the car. Beth looked all around at the former hotel commenting on the floors looking so clean and the daily activities board by the check in.

After having long conversations during lunch and a walk through the garden, the time flew by to nearly six. Liv enjoyed hearing stories about Stephen again. Stories about him being a little boy playing with his friends, his first touchdown in football, the first girlfriend he ever brought home. Fitz was able to learn more about him without Olivia being pressured into talking about him herself. Sitting in the garden for a while, Beth went on to tell him about Olivia and Stephen.

"When Stephen told me about this new girl he was dating, I wasn't too sure about it at first. He said a freshman, and I instantly thought it was going to be some little sorority girl he met during orientation week that was just going to play with him. See, when Stephen dates, he likes to date for long term. He wants the end result to always be marriage. Naturally, I tried to tell him not to get invested too fast. But you know Stephen, he does what he wants," Beth told them looking at Fitz. "He wanted Olivia, and he got her. Of course, she didn't make it too easy on him. How many times did he ask you on a date?"

"Five, in that first week alone."

"Every time that you said no, he called me and asked what to do next. I could only tell him to let it be and try to be friends first. But it's all or nothing with him. That boy can be so aggravating. But you did eventually say yes. Took you long enough, Olivia."

"And then you two got engaged," Fitz reminded her.

Beth smiled looking at Olivia. "His proposal was a bit too public for my taste. All these new proposal dances and flash mobs. I'm glad I got to be there though. I've never seen him happier."

"You were there?" Fitz asked surprised that she would be.

"Of course, it's not every day that your grandson gets engaged to the girl of his dreams."