NOTE: This chapter contains mild threats/violence, so please be aware of that before reading. Thanks for all the continued support with this story!

Olivia couldn't help but smile when she saw the text.

This man was shameless.

Maybe after six, she replied. When we've sorted through whatever happens in the Hessler deposition.

He didn't take long to reply.

Perfect. Let me know how that goes.

She was feeling more nervous about it, especially now that Leo had disappeared off to Connecticut. She trusted that he'd be back in time, but she couldn't help but worry what would happen if somehow, he didn't.

Her day was a distracted one. Half the time, she was worrying about the Hessler situation, and the other half was spent dreaming about Fitz's mouth devouring hers against his office door. There was no denying that it had been the hottest kiss of her life.

"Olivia," Abby sang out, rounding the corner to come into her office. "Where is Bergen?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You didn't know? He's gone to Connecticut to try and convince a witness to come forward in the Hessler case."

Abby frowned. "Huh. He didn't say anything. That's good though, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Abby could read her like a book. She sat on the edge of Liv's desk, and watched her carefully for a few seconds. "You need to stop worrying. You can handle this guy, easy. With or without Leo."

"It's not my own skills I'm worried about," she admitted. "It's Hessler himself."

"He's a misogynist," Abby said, straight away. "And a lousy pig. But he's not stupid. With Leo and his attorney there, he'd never say something incriminating – which means he couldn't make a pass at you."

Abby was right. Of course she was right.

"Yeah," Liv breathed out. "I need to just… act normal. Like I do with every other case."

"You've worked hard on this, Liv. Trust yourself to get the job done. And maybe we can go for a celebratory drink once it's over?"

She blushed, and Abby noticed.

"Oh. You already have plans with a certain other client?"

"Maybe," she muttered.

Abby clapped her hands and grinned. "It's getting serious. You've been seeing a lot of each other lately."

Liv rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the buzz of anticipation that coursed through her whenever she thought about seeing him again. "Chill out. It's strictly…" She was going to say professional, but after that kiss, it was anything but. "...business."

"Mhm." Abby could see straight through her bullshit. "Whatever you say."

Liv was waiting impatiently at the door to Reston North. It was past eleven on the day of the deposition, and Leo was supposed to be back already. She had no idea why he wasn't. He'd better have a good reason, she thought.

"Olivia," Liz North suddenly called from somewhere behind her.

Liv turned to see Liz approaching. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine, it's just Leo. Traffic is horrendous getting into the city." Liz bit her lip. She was obviously frustrated at the situation, too. "He's getting redirected straight to the Hessler offices. Wanted me to pass on the message to you."

She blinked. "Should I go and wait for him there?"

"Go now," Liz said. "Leo will make it. If somehow he doesn't, I trust that you can handle the situation. Stall for as long as possible, got it?"

She nodded. That, she could do.

The moment she stepped into the Hessler building, she felt uneasy. Leo had told her she was not alone with that feeling – he was usually nervous dealing with these types of businessmen, too, but he was impeccable at hiding it. She'd picked up a few tricks from him, in that aspect. Apparently you could never tell if Olivia Pope was nervous, and she prided herself on that fact.

"Ms Pope." Hessler's attorney greeted her as she located the conference room.

Hessler himself was facing away from the door, leaning back in his chair as though this was a casual Sunday lunch and not a deposition.

"Falkner, could you get us some water, please." Hessler directed this to his attorney, who reluctantly got up from his seat and left the room in search of the water tank.

Come on, Leo, Liv thought. She could only stall this for so long, and usually she'd be fine with handling something like this – but after all she'd heard about Hessler, she was feeling a little on-edge.

"Don't look so scared," Hessler smiled, but it was a threatening one. "Do you really need your babysitter with you at all times?"

"No, I don't," she replied instantly. "But I'd rather Leo be here to witness me prove that you're a liar."

He laughed dryly. "Good job that's not on record, Miss Pope. Calling me a liar isn't allowed when you don't know the full story."

She stared at him. "I know enough."

His gaze turned hard. She saw the instant it happened – when the false expression dropped, he went from sickly-sweet to who he really was – someone who didn't give a shit about anybody but himself.

It made her gut twist. She could handle the fake Hessler. It was the real man who scared her a little bit.

"You don't know anything," he sneered. "I'd bet half my company's stakes that you wouldn't last a day in a law firm if you didn't look like that."

His eyes dragged over her, and she felt sick at the way he was so shameless about it. The difference between him and Fitz was already glaringly obvious. Fitz was a respectful man; he'd never once made her feel uneasy in his presence. Dwayne Hessler, on the other hand…

"You're just a pretty face, Miss Pope," he continued, a disgusting grin on his face. "But I can't blame Bergen for keeping you around. Seeing that ass in the office every day would give me a little kick, too."

His words made bile rise in her throat, and she glanced away as he continued to speak. Halfway through his last sentence, Olivia swore she saw a flicker of movement in the background, just above Hessler's right shoulder. Interesting.

"You're disgusting," she scoffed. "You're acting exactly how I expected you to."

"Oh yeah?" He leaned back in his chair, smugly. "And what's going to happen about that, sweetheart? Nothing. You're giving yourself false hope if you think you're actually going to be able to pin some bullshit charges onto me."

"Men like you always think they're invincible," Liv said. "So let me tell you something for free." She leaned further forward, trying not to give away that the proximity was making her shaky. "One way or another, I will get you. I will put you behind bars. And when I do, that smug look on your face will be wiped right off."

He didn't bat an eyelid. "Fiery," he sniffed. "I like that. It's hot."

She curled her lip in disgust. "Do you prey on younger women just because you know they'll never actually go for a man like you?"

That seemed to strike a nerve. Hessler's demeanour changed. His expression contorted from carefree into something resembling anger, and suddenly his face was only inches from hers, his body leaning halfway across the table. His hand flew out and grabbed her wrist with an iron grip.

"Let go of me." Her voice trembled, but only slightly. She was desperately trying to remain calm.

"Bitches like you need to be taught a lesson," he hissed, squeezing her arm even harder. It would definitely leave a bruise. Good, she thought. She was finally getting through to him. He was making mistakes without his lawyer here to calm him down.

"So do men like you."

His eyes narrowed. "You've got some fucking nerve."

"I know. It's why I'm good at my job. It's why, contrary to your beliefs, I didn't sleep my way into the most respected law firm in the city. I got there on my own."

"Bullshit."

He was still holding her far too tightly. A few tense seconds passed, and then he dropped his grip.

Immediately, Liv cradled her wrist to her chest, the skin already starting to bruise a bluish-red colour. The second the exchange had stopped, the reality of it hit her like a ton of bricks, making her eyes sting. But she refused to be seen showing any kind of reaction whilst the man was still there.

"Where's my fucking lawyer?" Hessler pushed his chair back from the table and stood, craning his neck to look out of the doorway. Just as he stepped out of the room, he turned and barked out a laugh, making Liv jump in her seat. "Leo Bergen. Nice of you to finally show up. Your poor little associate's been having a tough time."

Leo emerged, and took one look at Liv's face before gesturing for her to step out. Hessler smirked as she grabbed her bag and went to stand with Leo.

"Leo, I'm done," she muttered. "I can't deal with any more of him today."

Just then, Hessler's attorney came walking down the hallway balancing three cups of water in his hands, and Leo rolled his eyes at the sight.

"Olivia…"

"Please," she hissed, feeling her eyes start to water. Her wrist was stinging, and she was a dangerous mixture of angry and humiliated by the things Hessler had said to her. "He's made my arm bruise, Leo. He's dangerous. Give me a day and I'll be fine, I just…"

"Olivia–"

She couldn't bear the sight of Hessler. At least, not for another twenty-four hours or so. Before Leo could finish whatever he was about to say, she took off down the hallway and got into the elevator just as the doors were about to slide shut.

Finally alone, she allowed the tears to spill over to her cheeks.

Fuck. She was never affected by clients – she'd had people verbally abuse her, accuse her of things, but never touch her. She'd known Hessler was a pig, but she never thought he'd risk doing that in his own office, with his own attorney roaming the floor.

Fitz had warned her. He hadn't wanted her to be alone with that man for a second, and now she understood why.

It suddenly occurred to her that the Grant Enterprises headquarters were pretty close to the Hessler building. With shaking hands, she dialled the number and pressed the phone to her ear. He'd probably be busy, doing something important – she was about to hang up, because it was so selfish of her to try and interrupt his day, and it was stupid to even think that he'd pick up, but–

"Hi," a soft, rough voice suddenly came from the other end. She didn't reply. Couldn't reply. Then, he audibly turned serious. "You okay?"

"No," she whispered, her voice trembling. "No."

"Olivia." She heard the rustling of him putting on his jacket. "Tell me where you are."

"Hessler's office." She felt sick just saying his name out loud. "Please– just, are you busy? Can you..?"

"I'll be five minutes," he replied, instantly knowing what she needed. "Can you wait in the lobby for me, Liv? Just wait for me."

She bit the end of her thumb anxiously. "Okay– thank you, I–"

"Don't say thank you, Livvie," he breathed. She heard the sound of a car door slamming. God, he was fast. "Are you hurt?"

When she hesitated, she heard him swear.

"Did he lay a hand on you?"

"Fitz…"

"Olivia, tell me right now if you're hurt."

"Please don't," she begged, softly. "I don't want to talk about it – can we just wait until you're here?"

"Okay." She could hear the reluctance in his voice. He wanted to know exactly what Hessler had done, but she didn't have the strength to recount it over the phone. She needed to see Fitz.

"Where are you going?" Stephen yelled, seeing Fitz fly out of his office.

"To knock the shit out of Dwayne Hessler."

Stephen's head dropped to his desk and he let out a muttered for fuck's sake.

True to his word, Fitz stormed into the lobby of the building four minutes later, fear etched onto his face.

The second he saw her, his eyes softened. He approached her almost tentatively. "Liv…"

"Please can you just take me home?"

His lips parted. "Olivia, I don't want you to be alone."

"Then…" Abby was working. Leo was in the deposition. Her friends would all be in the office. And here was Fitzgerald Grant, who'd hopped across town at breakneck speed just because she'd called. She glanced up to look at him. "Take me with you."

"Olivia…" Fitz's pulse was erratic. "You want me to take you to my apartment?"

"I just… you're right, I shouldn't really be alone – I don't want to be."

"Of course you can stay with me," he said, softly. When she didn't move to get up, he wordlessly bent down and scooped her into his arms, carrying her out of the front doors like it was the most normal thing in the world.

It was strange to her how normal it felt to be in his arms like that, her face buried in the crook of his neck. She felt safe. For the first time since she'd stepped foot into this building.

He lowered her onto the car seat beside him.

"Where to, boss?" His driver asked.

"My place."

"City?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

His house was located too far out of the city for this. She needed to warm up and be taken care of as soon as possible. But his apartment was a twenty minute drive, and he hoped that by then she would be able to explain to him exactly what had happened in that deposition.

She was leaning heavily against his shoulder, her eyelids already drooping. She was exhausted, he realised.

He slowly ran his fingertips over her arm, and she relaxed further into him.

He had to admit, when he pictured taking Olivia Pope home for the first time, this was not what came to mind. But seeing her like this… vulnerable, upset… it did something to him. He felt her flinch as his fingers ran down to her wrist, and he frowned.

"Liv..?" His eyes drifted down to her arm, and his stomach dropped.

There was a reddish bruise on her wrist, an imprint of fingers which had gripped onto her far too tightly. It was already turning a darker colour. He wouldn't be surprised if it was purple by the end of the day.

He tried to exhale. If he didn't breathe, he was going to lose his shit.

"Olivia," he grated out, his voice low.

She heard his tone of voice and re-opened her eyes in question. "Fitz?"

"Please tell me it wasn't Hessler that gave you that bruise."

She allowed herself to look at her arm. It was worse than she'd been expecting.

She swallowed. "I…."

"Motherfucker."

Fitz had every intention to demand the driver to pull over so he could run back to the office and beat the pulp out of that man, but he didn't want to leave her alone like this. He hadn't even noticed his fist curling itself into a ball until she felt her hand cover his own, gently pulling him back to her attention.

"I'll get him back for it," she whispered. "I swear."

He couldn't help but smile at the thought of Olivia Pope beating up Dwayne Hessler.

"Olivia," he breathed, sliding his fingers between hers. "You do realise that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure this guy never walks the streets of New York ever again?"

She buried her head into his shoulder. "Let me put him behind bars first."

His expression was pained. "I can't let him get away with hurting you. At least let me do something."

"Promise not to kill him. I swear, I need to see his face when we kick his ass in court."

"I don't kill people, Olivia."

"Don't hospitalise him."

He let out a gruff sound which she took as disappointment. "Fine."

Fitz took one last glance down, smiling at the sight of her lying against him. How had he known this woman for such a short amount of time, yet he was already so protective over her?

He pulled out his phone and texted Stephen.

Do me a favour. Can you find all of the contacts we share with Hessler's company and threaten that we'll pull out our support unless they break all ties with him?

Stephen replied instantly, On it.

Any predictions on what will happen with Leo/Hessler? Or any thoughts on Fitz and Liv's current situation? Let me know.