Before she left out of the office, she spoke to her team. "Dig into something that happened when Fitz was in his early twenties. Something that was worth covering up and how that tracks to my father." She looked at David. "You're not one of us David. You need to go back to your office and do your job."

"Olivia, I am really sorry for my part in putting your daughter's life in danger."

Olivia shrugged, "I get it David. You were evening things out from me ruining your life with Quinn's trial."

David was appalled, "Olivia, no. I would never leverage your child over any hurt feelings we've had in the past. I did not know that I was being used as an avenue for Edison Davis. I'll admit, I was extremely curious as to whether or not there was any truth to all of this. I'm mature enough to admit my mistakes. Therefore, I am sorry that my actions jeopardized the safety of your daughter."

"I appreciate that David, I do. But I still think it will be best that you return to your office and not further involve yourself with all of this." David left OPA and headed back across town to his own office.

"Hey Liv?" Abby asked.

"Yes Abby."

Abby hesitated momentarily. "Are we just not going to look for Edison after what he did to you?"

"We have bigger fish to fry." Olivia said before grabbing her purse. Olivia wasn't exactly thrilled to be having a conversation with Mellie, but she wanted to know why Mellie suddenly wanted to have a sit down with her. She got to the restaurant, that was extremely discreet, and located Mellie at a table near the back.

Mellie quickly did a cursory glance around them. "Liv, you look well."

"Don't do this Mellie. We don't do small talk with one another. Let's talk about that envelope that you gave David Rosen."

"I didn't want anyone to know I was meeting with you."

"Clearly. What do you have to tell me?"

"Fitzgerald killed Verna."

"You know this how?"

"He can keep very few secrets from me and i know how to connect the dots. The both of you think that the other is an angel but both of your are just as messed up as the rest of us."

"Mellie, what does knowing any of this do for you?"

Mellie sighed, "Liv, we've both been used. I'd like to think that we could've been great friends in a different life. We were both used by Fitz, Cyrus, Edison, and Hollis."

"Stop. We aren't tied together by who fucked us over."

"But we are. They all got what they wanted from us with no consequences. However, we've had to endure the fallout from their actions against us."

"Mellie. WE all agreed to Defiance. You and I are not innocent in that. Edison may have used you to dig up info on my kid, but he nearly killed me. Cyrus uses everyone for anything that satisfies him. You and I both know that we've used Fitz just as much as he's used us. You used him to get FLOTUS."

Mellie countered, "And you used him to muscle his way into situations that would benefit you and your clients."

"Fine. We're both bitches. That doesn't mean that we are on the same path."

"We both want power and will use our feminine wiles to get it."

Olivia narrowed her eyes, "I don't want the power that you do Mellie."

"Your power needs are adjacent to mine. You want to run D.C. I want to run the country."

"Get back to the point of why we're having this conversation."

"It'll help you give you some closure about Verna."

"And why would you care about that?"

"Because you seem to be trapped between Fitz and Ripley. If you know Fitz' true colors, then maybe you'll realize that the damage has already been done and that the two of are going to sail off into the sunset and move to Vermont-or whatever the hell you two were planning. You and I aren't angels but Fitz is hiding important information from 'the love of his life."

"So, what secrets is he hiding?"

"My my how the mighty have fallen. I finally know something that the great Olivia Pope doesn't. Fitz can keep very few secrets from me. When Fitz was a freshman in college, he threw a big party at Big Gerry's vacation home. There was a girl there OD'd and died. Big Gerry called in a favor to keep everything quiet and make sure that Fitz' future wasn't ruined. Although he did nothing to the gril, it was still his party and he was the Governor's son. The truth would've prevented him from ever having a successful political future. His image needed to be spotless, so Big Gerry made sure it was."

"For fucks sake Mellie, you were married to the man! He chose to marry you. I didn't win anything. Did you ever even love him?"

Mellie scoffed, "Our marriage was one of necessity and orchestrated. He may have married me but he gave you his heart and a one-of-a-kind ring.

Olivia narrowed her eyes, "You think if I choose Rip then Fitz may come crawling back to you? He filed for divorce. Me either being in or not being in the picture doesn't change that."

"What kind of question is that?"

"Mellie I'm sorry that your marriage didn't work out but-"

"It's your fault."

"How?"

"I had Fitz right where I wanted him but you stormed into the picture and made him lose focus. I did so much to get him where he is right now."

"Like fake a miscarriage on the trail in order to get sympathy votes or having an abortion of a baby who wasn't his under a false name? "Mellie, don't insult my intelligence. If you were pregnant by Fitz then you would milked that child for all the political capital in the world."

"This conversation is not why I brought you here."

"Why did you really ask me here Mellie?"

Mellie broke eye contact, "I didn't intend for any harm to come to you or your child. I don't like you most of the time but I wouldn't wish that someone would give you a beat down." She motioned towards Olivia's face, "I can see some of the black eye. Look Liv, Fitz and I were a team-a team that you broke up on more than one occasion."

"Mellie, we aren't friends. Stop acting like you're looking out for me by telling me to choose Rip."

"Olivia, the fallout out of the men in our lives will punish you far worse than it will me."

"Mellie, I have something you don't—street smarts. While you're busy playing Nancy Drew with them, they're solidifying a way to cut you out completely without a safety net to fall on. Fitz is already divorcing you, Cyrus is your biggest frenemy, Edison will continue to play you like a fiddle, and Hollis has you on his personal hitlist with the rest of us. Why don't you tap into that Ivy League brain of yours and do what you have to do in order to protect yourself."

Olivia stood up to leave, "Olivia?"

"Yes Mellie."

"Are we going to always be enemies?"

Olivia said. "I can't trust you Mellie. You helped Edison go after my child. What if I would've had a part in putting Gerry and Karen in mortal danger?"

"I don't think I could ever forgive you."

Olivia grabbed her purse, "Now you see where I stand."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Mr. Rip."

"Yes Squirt."

"Can you teach me how to train Gypsy? Mommy has never trained a dog before."

"Of course I can." Rip taught Ivy and Gypsy some basic commands. Rip smiled wide and laughed with Ivy when Gypsy licked her face. Ivy looked at Rip with the brightest smile on her face before looking at his upper arm. She looked at the ink quizzically and he caught her eye. "Yes Squirt."

"What's on your arm?"

"A tattoo."

"What does it say?" she asked.

"Charity."

"What does it mean?"

Rip ran a hand across his tattoo. "Charity was my wife. She went to heaven a few years ago."

Ivy reached over and hugged his neck. "I'm sorry. Did I make you sad by asking?"

"Not at all Squirt."

"Did my mommy know Charity?"

Rip nodded, "Yes she did. We were all friends a long time ago."

Ivy was quietly playing with Gypsy for a few minutes. "Mr. Rip. Do you love my mommy?"

"Yes Squirt. I do. But you know what that means?"

Ivy was curious. "What does it mean?"

"It means that I love you as well. You and your mom are a package deal."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if I love your mom, then I love you as well."

"Do you have any kids?" Ivy asked hopefully.

"No, I don't. But I like kids."

"No kids with Charity?"

"No Squirt. We didn't get the chance."

"Do you want kids with my mommy? I want brothers and sisters." She said with a big grin.

"That's a question that you will have to ask your mommy."

Ivy studied his face and body language for a moment. "What happened to your hands and face?"

"I got into a disagreement with someone."

"Did that person also hurt my mommy's face? Was it the bad man that wanted to hurt me?"

Rip grabbed her tiny hand, "A bad person did hurt your mom but I won't let anyone else hurt her or you."

"Please don't promise me that. Quinn promised me and she couldn't protect my mommy. I don't want you to do that too."

"Okay Squirt. I won't promise you that but I will tell you that I will do everything in my power to keep you and your mom protected. I'll need your help though."

"Oh yeah? How can I help?"

"Well, there's this thing called an invisible protection cloak. No one can see it but as long as you wear it, you will be safe from getting hurt."

"Where can I get one?" Ivy asked.

Rip made a dramatic show of removing his invisible cloak. "Lift your hair Squirt." He made the motion of tying the cloak around her neck and shoulders. "As long as you're wearing this no one can hurt you."

Ivy gave him a toothy smile and hugged him tightly. "Do you have one for mommy?"

"I can get one for your mommy."

"I love you too Mr. Rip. Does that mean we can be a family?"

"How about we wait and ask mommy about that okay?"

"Ask me about what?" Olivia asked as she walked into the house.

Rip could see that something was bothering her and distracted Ivy. "Squirt, you want to show Solomon (Rip's personal security guard) the tricks we taught Gypsy?"

"Of course." They watched her joyfully run, with Gypsy in tow, out to where Solomon was watching the perimeter.

"What's going on Bambi?"

"Mellie is trying to force me to get out of the picture so that she can sink her claws back into Fitz. She pretty much told me that she didn't intend to play a part in jeopardizing Ivy's safety.

"You believe her?" Rip asked.

"No. I think that she went into cahoots with Edison and Sally because she wanted to get back at me for the affair with Fitz. There was a crazy argument between all of us when Fitz confessed, to her face, that he was in love with me. That probably felt like a gut punch and she wanted to get even. She shrugged, "Also, Fitz came by my office earlier and told me that he wanted to confess his involvement with my father."

"Did he?"

"We got interrupted and I was informed about Mellie wanting to have a sit down." Olivia bit her lip, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Can we just focus on whatever we're building together? I don't want to keep focusing on and letting all of this consume me. I want to be present for Ivy."

"Bambi, you don't know how to let sleeping dogs lie."

"I need to learn then. Everything is unraveling and I'm actually somewhat terrified."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Olivia looked over at Abby, who sat happily eating popcorn. She'd come by after she and Leo had a fight. Olivia chose not to press Abby to talk "You'd tell me if you thought I was a slut right?"

Abby was caught off guard by the question. "Do I even want to know where that question came from?"

Olivia shrugged, "I've just been thinking about a lot of things lately and that was one of the things that I've been thinking about."

"Okay. Do you want me to be honest with you?"

"Abby, you're always honest—even when I'd prefer you weren't."

Abby slid the container of fruit towards Olivia. "I think that you have slutty ways…as does everyone at some point."

"Abby."

"Fine. I think you use sex as a defense mechanism and I also think that you keep things physical with the men in your life because you're afraid of letting people get close."

"So, that's your nice way of saying that I'm a slut?" Olivia asked with a smile.

"Welll, you asked." Abby said. "Did one of the men in your life call you a whore or something?"

"What? No. After my conversation with Mellie, I had a moment of self-reflection. I think you're right. I do use sex as a defense mechanism."

"Why do you think you do that?"

"Are you my therapist now?"

"I could be Liv. You only went to her once. Why do you think you weaponize sex?"

"Because it's easier." Olivia avoided eye contact. "My father always told me that I was smart and pretty but he made an emphasis on the 'pretty' part. He did always instill in me that I had to be twice as good to be successful. I guess I just decided that I would be the person who controls who I give my body to. I guess it was some wild belief that I would always be in control and limit who gets to hurt me. It was probably the dumbest way of thinking that I've ever had but that was how I felt for at least the past 10-15 years."

"Except with Mac."

Olivia smiled, "Yeah, except with him."

"Could you tell me about him?"

Olivia let out a soft breath, "Mac was…everything. He was the first man that saw me as more than a pretty face. He courted me for over a year. I'd never been pursued like that by anyone who didn't just want a roll in the hay with me. Mac and I connected on—it's gonna sound super cliché—a spiritual level. Mac was the safest place on Earth for me. I'd never really told anyone about my mom dying before meeting him. He never met my dad, thank God, but he wasn't afraid of him either. I was used to people being afraid of my dad because of the way he was. Mac and I had somewhat similar lives. We'd both lost our mothers; Mac chose to look after Ingrid. We wanted a quiet little life together away from everything and everyone. We wanted to move to Canada so that he could play hockey and I could be a law professor. Mac was the only person that I ever dreamed of having kids with. I never wanted kids before, out of fear that I would turn out like my dad." The fond memories faded from her face and she said, "Then I lost him. He died and I fell apart. I fell into old habits. Old habits that led me right to Edison. I was so deep in my depression with losing Mac that I allowed someone to break me down even further."

Abby's heart broke for her, "I'm sorry that I never got to meet him. He seems like a good guy."

"He was."

"You know what I think?"

"Hmm?"

"I think you should let all of this go. I know you want answers but I think you're better off just letting people be who they are and try to find your little slice of peace. I mean don't leave us high and dry but maybe work on living a quieter life."

"How is it so easy for you to let things go?"

"It's not Liv. It's the hardest thing ever but sometimes it's the only way that you don't self-destruct. You've been self-destructing for a little while now. Just let everything and everybody go except Ivy."