A/N: Hi. You continue to blow my mind with the reviews. Thank you so much for all your kind words. It is truly a motivation to keep going.

So, I am mainly a descriptive writer. Writing in dialogue is difficult for me. This chapter, there was so much dialogue (for me anyway), I enjoyed it. It took me two days to proofread, but I did it.

I started the next chapter but I can't make any promises, but I hope to have it up by Friday. We're going to be getting into some serious business soon with our couple.

Hope you enjoy the meeting with Fitz and Huck. Also, Chloe plays a big role here, so try to follow her little mind.

Happy Reading and I hope you enjoy. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

Chapter 18—The Past Remembered

At first glance, Huck saw Fitz's eyes. They were filled with pain. Upon recognition of Huck, though, Huck would swear the pain subsided and turned to confusion and a hint of relief. Olivia had taught Huck to look at a person's eyes. She told him they were the windows to the soul, and he always looked first at a person's eyes because of Olivia. Fitz's went from pain to confusion to relief as he just stared at Huck.

After Huck put his hand down from the salute, he continued to meet Fitz's stare. "You ok, Fitz."

Fitz took a poke at Huck's shoulder. He looked at Huck while he was poking his shoulder. "Are you real? I have had so many dreams about you, I don't know if you are real."

"Oh, I am real Fitz. As real as you are. I am very happy to see you doing so well for yourself." Huck looked down at the mess on the floor. "You want some help with that?"

"What?" Fitz looked down. He waved his hand. "No, no, please come have a seat. Oh my God, I cannot believe you are alive. I thought you were dead. I thought you…. I just didn't know what to think."

They were sitting across from one another now at the kitchen island, Fitz' body was still numb with shock, and Huck was smiling, because it's what he seemed to do when he was nervous.

"Honestly Fitz, I never thought I would see you alive again. I didn't think you would be able to face the real world, to leave that torture behind and live a normal life. I thought it would break you, lead you to…well…suicide. I know it almost did to me, and I wasn't even tortured, not like you were anyway."

Fitz tilted his head a bit at Huck, not believing the words coming out. "After what you did for me, I couldn't possibly take my life. I owed you a life, my life. I had to do something."

Huck nodded. "I remember you said you wanted a legacy, kids, something better than that legacy. I just didn't believe it at the time you said it. Of course, I agreed with you because I wanted you out of there. I wanted you to believe your own words, even if I didn't."

"It broke you, though, didn't it? You were homeless? You wanted to give up, didn't you?" Fitz was still staring at him, for a moment, he thought he may be talking to a ghost.

"It did break me. I did want to give up. I wanted to give up because I thought you weren't alive. I thought you had died because of me. I wrestled over again with the fact that I saved you for what, to go back out into this cruel world and hide from demons." Huck shook his head. Even as he spoke the words, he felt as though they weren't leaving his mouth. His body was numb also, never thinking he would ever have the chance to tell this soldier how much of an inspiration he was.

"I looked for you Huck. I really did try to find you. You disappeared though. Even the ties I had; they couldn't find you. It would've blown your cover and all the work you did as an operative. No one knew you, like you didn't even exist. I gave up about three years ago. I figured there would be a way for you to find me." He patted him again on the shoulder as if to see if he was still real.

"There was no way for me to find you. I never knew your real name, and I knew you had ties, but I didn't ask what they were. The less I knew the better. It just wasn't meant for me to ask. The sounds though, they live with me, even today, they live with me, and they hurt my thoughts as much as they hurt you physically." For the first time in as long as Huck could remember he let out a sob, a deep sob, and he brought his hand to his eyes. Soldiers don't cry. Soldiers don't show emotion, but seeing Fitz, actually seeing him brought it all back.

"Hey, there's no need to get upset. That's all in the past now. We can't change the past. Trust me, I went to years of therapy, and I still have blackouts. I can't function sometimes. Every time though before the blackout, after the blackout, you are the one I am thinking of. Your words for two years, always believing in me and giving me the strength, I couldn't find, those words still bring me back. I never held an ounce of anger towards you, never once." Fitz waited for Huck to respond.

Huck took a deep breath. "I always wanted to apologize. You know I was an operative I could've put an end to that torture, I could've taken them out anytime I wanted. I begged them to stop hitting you and for a time they did, but then they just started again. I shouldn't have let it go on for so long. That's what I live with." Huck just shook his head almost disgusted with himself.

"You were a trained agent. You were on a mission. I was on a mission too. I was a trained pilot. The only difference is I fucked up my mission. I fucked it up bad. It was no one's fault I got captured except my own. I couldn't have expected you to blow your mission because I was a fuck up. You did the best with your knowledge that you could, and you didn't blow your cover. That took courage. That took more courage than I have ever seen any soldier take." Fitz took a deep breath because it was true. He didn't know Huck was an operative during his captivity and even if he did, he never would have expected him to blow his cover.

Huck now shook his head in agreement. "Fitz, I need to tell you, though, the strength you showed in those two years, I haven't seen that in my life. On days when I did want to blow my cover for you and the others I thought of your strength and I told myself if he can go on for one more day, so can I. I just hoped I didn't push that one more day too far and open that door and see you had done something to yourself that I couldn't live with."

"I was just thinking of you last night. You remember the day you came in, my last lashing? I didn't talk, I didn't eat, I wanted to die honestly. I never told you I wanted to die. I wanted you to end it, to kill me right there. You talked me through. You talked me down. You made me realize I was getting out and I was going to live. I never got to thank you for that, and look, now I can thank you." Fitz walked around the island.

Huck just looked at him. He gave a sigh. "Crazy because I was thinking about that too. I remember you sitting in the dark corner, and you hated the dark. I remember you falling apart when I had to cover that little hole in the roof to keep you from counting the days. You hated the dark, but after that lashing you took all you wanted was the darkness. That scared me because you had come so far. That's why I stayed and talked you down. I didn't want you to throw away two years of strength and survival. You needed to hang on, I knew the end of the captivity was near."

Fitz reached in and gave Huck and hug. A man-to-man soldier to soldier hug. So much was left unsaid, and the initial shock of being with each other again had just died down for a bit. Fitz pulled back and shook his head in disbelief again. "I just cannot believe this. You are Liv's Huck. Mike, my Mike is Liv's Huck. Wow! Did you know who I was when you came here? Had Liv told you anything?"

"She told me over the phone after she was here a few days that she met you. She just called you Fitz, nothing else. I couldn't really look up Fitz, so I just listened to her talk about you. She talked about you being in Iraq, but how many thousands have been there. What were the odds? Then, I saw you with her from my car, when I was waiting for Liv. I thought I saw a ghost. I didn't see any pictures of you in Liv's house to double check, but I knew it right away who you were."

Fitz remembered Chloe had taken the picture of them, so Liv didn't have a picture. "Liv and I were just talking about you yesterday. She said I said your name in a dream, she heard me and asked who you were. She said she felt you were alive in her gut. It was Liv. She was our connection. She…"

Fitz stopped and looked around. Huck started looking with him, but Huck wasn't exactly sure what Fitz was looking for. He glanced over at the clock. Fitz looked confusingly at Huck. "It's been a half hour. Where the hell did Daisy chase Liv to?"

If Olivia tried to run, Daisy would run, she learned that about Daisy. Every thing was always a game with her. So, she walked at a fast pace with the flashlight shining. She had the light on Daisy for a second, then she would lose her, but it was clear Daisy was heading to Liv's place. She was on course.

Finally, Liv saw Daisy sitting right outside her back door. She caught up to Daisy and just stared down at her. Daisy looked up at her and began wagging her tail. She was waiting for a good girl pat, but Liv wasn't going to give it to her.

"Daisy, what has gotten into to you? Why did you come all the way…."

Daisy began to bark, and Liv saw some approaching flashlights. At first, she got scared, but then realized they were wearing police reflectors and across the front they read "SHERIFF of RUTLAND". There were about four men all approaching Liv's house.

Liv started to get a bit nervous. What if they found something that didn't match Dante's death with an accidental fall? She took a hard swallow. She wished Huck was here, but she was ready to face whatever it was.

The first officer approached her while the other three stayed back. He tipped his hat. "Good evening ma'am, I am glad you showed when you did. We were about to leave."

"Is everything alright, Officer…." Liv looked for a tag but didn't see one.

"Sorry, Ma'am." He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his badge. "I am Second Deputy Jackson O'Brien. I don't mean to disturb you, but we were just finishing up our search of the mountaintop. Bryce, um, Sheriff McClellan asked to search the yard where you found the phone."

Liv, realizing this was taking longer than she wanted didn't see any problem with it. She was sure whatever Huck did, he covered up. She just wanted to get back to Fitz's and eat. She was starving and she didn't know if Fitz and Huck would have anything to talk about after five minutes.

"Please, Deputy, call me Olivia, and I have no problem with you looking around. I am just going in to grab Little Miss Daisy's leash and head back over to…"

"Oh no, Ms. Po..I mean Olivia, I cannot let you do that. Rutland law. We cannot search the premises without a warrant unless the owner gives up permission. With that permission, you have to stay on property. . I do apologize because I know you are Fitz's girl. That man deserves happiness, and you Ma'am, um, Olivia, you bring him happiness."

Liv pursed her lips but blushed at the same time. "I appreciate that Deputy, thank you. How long are we talking about?"

"Again, my apologies, but it shouldn't take longer than thirty minutes."

"What? Thirty minutes!" She threw her hands up. She looked back down at Daisy, who had lost all interest now in the officers and with Liv. In fact, she was starting to doze off on the grass. "Oh no you don't Daisy, you see what you caused now. Let me get my cell and call…" She reached into her pocket. She didn't have her cell. It was connected to the Bluetooth in the car.

"Ms. Po..sorry, Olivia, do you mind if we start the search." He looked at her politely and patiently waiting for her answer. "If not today and we have to come back tomorrow it's going to cost the town time and a half, and I wouldn't…"

"It's fine, Deputy, go ahead. But do you have a cell phone I can use, I just want to call Fitz and let him know what's taking so long."

"Oh no, Rutland's finest isn't allowed to carry phones on the job. We just have our radios; would that help at all?" He waited again for her answer.

Olivia laughed to herself. Yeah sure, she thought, radio to Bryce to call Fitz and tell him what's going on, oh wait, no don't do that because Fitz doesn't know the plan yet. He would wonder why you're searching here again. Liv took a deep breath. She couldn't make this up if she tried.

"No, Deputy, go ahead and begin, I am going to take Daisy inside though, it's too cold to be out here. Is that OK?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We will let you know when we are finished. Again, I am sorry for the trouble."

She took one look at Daisy who didn't hesitate to follow Olivia into the house. Daisy knew she was wrong, but she didn't know the men she was hearing were officers. She was only trying to keep Liv safe. Feeling she did no wrong, she cuddled up on the rug and started back into a sleep as Liv waited for the men to finish.

Surely, Liv thought, one of the two would walk over to see what was going on. At least Liv thought one of them would, but after the minutes kept ticking away, she kind of lost hope in that. What in the world can the two of them be talking about? Better yet, why hasn't one of them come concerned enough to come and find me? "Fine protectors they are, huh, Daisy."

Liv looked down to see Daisy sound asleep. "Fine protector you are also, Little Miss." Liv just threw up her hands. At least she would be getting a hot meal when she got back. That much was enough to keep her frustration in check.

Huck jumped down from the chair, his protective instincts kicking in. Fitz wasn't too concerned as he knew Daisy could be stubborn at times. He put his hand up to stop Huck. "Let's give her five more minutes. I am thinking she didn't take her phone when she left the car?"

Huck thought for a minute. "No, I don't remember her grabbing it….she just took off after Daisy. Then, I…"

"Then you gave me the shock of my life that I am still wondering is real or not. Wow, this is crazy. Hey, Huck, you know Liv knows some things about me being over there, but she doesn't know about the captivity or the lashings. She doesn't know about my back either. I am waiting for the right time, so…"

Huck shook his head. "That's not something you share with someone too quickly right. It's fine. Fitz, just be cautious with Liv. She can be difficult. She distances herself sometimes. She's even done it to me. She doesn't mean to, it's just what she's been through. That's for her to tell you like it's for you to tell her about your situation. She talks so highly of you though. She swoons over you."

Fitz cracked up laughing hearing that word come out of Huck's mouth. Huck started laughing too. The two of them had cracked the initial ice. The first shockwave of who they were had settled down. While they were laughing, loudly the door pushed open.

In the doorway stood a very angry and frustrated Liv. She had Daisy by the leash. She didn't look like she'd been through anything. Fitz looked at her for some signs of mud or being wet, maybe some dirt from falling. She seemed fine.

"What the hell, you two?" They both turned and looked over at her. "Did you guys even notice someone was missing? You better not have eaten all the food, I am starving." Liv pulled Daisy in closed the door and headed towards the kitchen.

Daisy gave a long pull on the leash and lunged towards the kitchen and Liv looked to see what had Daisy's interest. Liv looked down at the floor, saw all the chicken and sauce and pulled Daisy back harder to keep her back, and then turned and look at Huck and Fitz.

"What is going on?" Her mouth was wide open, her eyes opened in surprise as the two just looked at each other and then looked at her.

Fitz took Daisy from Liv, walked Daisy to the bedroom with a treat and closed the door to keep out her of the kitchen.

Fitz then walked over to Olivia. He put his hands on her shoulders and coaxed her neck to cup her face gently. "Liv, we have news."

Liv's eyebrows crossed in pure confusion. "You have news?" She looked at table. "Is the news that dinner is on the floor and there's a delicious, tossed salad waiting on the table for me? What happened here?" Then Liv's stomach dropped. What if Huck walked in on Fitz having an attack? Did Daisy running away spark an attack. What if….

"Oh my God, Fitz." She grabbed both his hands from her face. "Did you have an attack?" Did you…"

"No, no, Livvie, not that at all. You were right. Your gut was right. Remember what you told me about your gut yesterday morning?"

Liv looked at him, holding his hands. "What I said about Mike being alive?" Liv glanced at Huck then back at Fitz. Her mouth opened again in shock. "Wait, Huck knows who Mike is. Is that what you two were talking about?" Liv looked at Huck. "Do you know who Mike is?"

Huck shook his head no. "No, Liv, I don't only know who Mike is, I am Mike."

Liv looked back at Fitz, who was smiling from ear to ear then she looked back at Huck who was nodding in approval. "You're Mike, the Mike from Iraq who saved Fitz's life? But you're Huck from the subway who saved my life."

"And you're Olivia from the subway who saved my life. Everything comes full circle Liv. Because you saved me, I get to see Fitz again and because I saved you, you and him got to meet each other."

Liv dropped her hands from Fitz's. She folded them in her defensive mode Fitz had grown accustomed to. She was still in shock over what she just heard, and she walked, dazed, over to the couch and sat down. She had to get a minute for this all to register. If Huck didn't save Fitz, he'd be dead. If Huck didn't save her, she would be dead, or attacked. If she didn't save Huck, he would be dead. So, all three of them would be dead. She looked up. "So, all three of us would be dead if you think about it, then."

Both Fitz and Huck gave out a small chuckle. "You would see it like that Liv." Huck was shaking his head not expecting much more.

Both walked over to the couch. Fitz sat next to her while Huck sat across from them. Liv covered her face and put her head into Fitz's chest. She took a deep breath to process everything. She looked back up. "That still doesn't explain the dinner on the floor."

Fitz got up to begin to clean it and started explaining what happened when he first saw Mike was Huck. His initial shock had him numb and he lost all feeling and unfortunately his hand was holding the tray of food and it just toppled.

Liv looked sideways at Huck. "You knew Fitz in Iraq." She said in almost a whisper. "He said horrible things happened to him there, were you with him too, is that why you were like that, on the subway?"

Fitz had rejoined them, sitting next to Liv with his arm around her. Her head was tilted towards his shoulder, and she looked at him, cautiously. "This must be a shock to you. I had no idea."

"It's a shock to us all. We have so much to talk about, so many things to share with one another." Fitz just looked back at Huck again. "In due time, we'll catch up. So, you saved Olivia. I think she left that part out." He pulled her a bit closer to him and she nodded to Huck to tell the story.

"It was that moment on I realized there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to keep her safe."

"Even if I was still on those subway steps, I would make sure she was safe." Huck smiled at Liv; she knew it was true.

"So, what took you a half hour to get Daisy?" Fitz questioned Liv.

Liv gave him a frustrated look. She turned to Huck. "We need to tell him about Dante and the plan. That was the reason for the hold up. There were a few Sheriff's officers there to search the yard where the phone was found."

Huck explained the situation to Fitz. He told him everything from tapping Edison's phones to being there on Wednesday night and intercepting Dante before he could do any harm. He told them about sending Edison the picture, although Edison doesn't know who sent them.

Fitz nodded in agreement. "It's a good plan. How do you think he will react to the warrant?"

Liv shrugged. "It doesn't really matter what his reaction is, he has a choice to make. He can stay out of Rutland, or he can come back and face charges. I don't think Edison is that stupid."

Fitz rubbed Liv's shoulder as she faced him. "So, you are definitely going back to NYC?"

Liv nodded; a bit reserved. She turned to Huck and back to Fitz. "Mr. Harris needs me there to close the deals on the clients. I should be back here after the holidays. We are leaving a week from tomorrow. But what about you, you have the baseball meetings right?"

Fitz looked sadly in her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I have the baseball meetings, we'll talk more about that tomorrow." He turned to Huck. "We have so much to catch up on. We have the salad, I know it's not much, but I can throw on some grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches."

"You seriously have a boxing gym in your basement!" Huck seemed impressed by Fitz's revelation. They hadn't stopped talking all while Fitz was cooking and now that the plates were cleared.

"Yeah, remember all those times in the hot Iraqi sun. We'd get a few punches in, a small workout just to loosen up the tension. That stayed with me, and I still use it as therapy. I'll take you down there to see it tomorrow."

The three of them sat in front of the empty dishes, Liv just listening with admiration as the two of them reminisced. She noticed they didn't bring up too many bad memories and tried to stay focused on the good. However, with each conversation it seemed they were leaving out a very important piece of information. Liv couldn't pinpoint it, but she had never seen either one so comfortable talking about such a terrible thing.

Liv noticed immediately that talking to each other comforted them both. If they talked about the good times and that eased the pain of the horrors, then they could talk all night. She just enjoyed listening.

They made their way, with a few drinks, back to the couch. Liv was having trouble keeping her eyes open, but she was also cold. Fitz didn't want her to leave just yet, so he grabbed a sweatshirt for her. She held it up and said "Really? Is this to match the macho talk going on?" She turned the sweatshirt to show Huck and it had thick black letters across the front. NAVY. Liv put it on, despite it being three sizes too big, but it wrapped her in warmth and comfort, best of all, it smelled like Fitz.

Liv put her head on Fitz's lap, and she stretched her legs out on the couch as the two continued to bring up war stories and reminisce. It was soothing to Liv who was now warm. Fitz was inadvertently caressing her face as he continued to talk, and Liv found herself drifting off to sleep.

"You're welcome to stay here for the night up in the guest room. I'll carry Liv in by me. I don't want to wake her to bring her home." Fitz was looking down at Liv but talking to Huck.

"No, it's fine. I am going to walk back to Liv's place. I'm going to shower and get ready for tomorrow, or is it today?" Huck looked at the time to see it was already 2 in the morning.

"Will you come with me over to the station? I told Bryce I would look at his computers and see if we can upgrade the Rutland Sheriff's Department to the 21st Century. I think Liv is taking Chloe to lunch anyway."

"Ok, sounds good." Huck stood up in front of Fitz. He gently moved Liv's head to the side and stood up. Huck saluted again. "You always did outrank me."

Fitz gave a chuckle, "yeah, but you always did inspire me." Once more, before Huck left, they gave a quick embrace. As Huck was leaving, Fitz said to him, "today, my new life began. Thank you, Huck."

Huck nodded as he left. Fitz turned to look at Liv sleeping so comfortable on the couch. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts of what happened. It still felt it so surreal that Mike was back in his life. This was the moment he dreamed of. This was the proof that what he was doing with his life meant something. As he stared at the woman he loved sleeping so peacefully a feeling of desire spread over him.

In just a little over a month, she had turned his life upside down. He wouldn't have it any other way, but sooner or later he would have to come clean with his truth, and he didn't know how to do that yet. Liv was damaged in her own way, and it could just form a wedge he never intended. He shook his head, not ready just yet to face that truth.

He carefully picked up Liv, who scrunched her arms close to her, as he tilted her towards his chest. He gave a her a soothing kiss on her forehead as he lay her down gently on the bed. Once he got in, she comforted herself, almost by routine, into his arms. She briefly opened her eyes, she took a long look in his eyes. They seemed different. He saw her looking at him. "Hi" he said caressing her cheek. "Hi" she whispered back, half sleeping, half awake. Before her body let her drift off again, she felt a need to feel him close to her body.

She rolled over on top of him, still somewhat sleepy, and found his lips to hers. He returned the kiss, his hand holding on firmly to her ass, and with the kiss deepening, she felt his body respond. He guided her by her firm ass and moved her up and down his erection. Liv gave a slow moan, biting her bottom lip.

"Livvie," his baritone voice whispered in her ear. "I told you our first time is going to be special. We only get one first time, and it's not going to be while you are half asleep."

"mmmm…but you feel so good. So. Damn. Good. Mister."

He slowed the rhythm down a bit, and gently began kissing her. Their lips connected and they calmed each other down with each passionate kiss. He"d do anything to watch how beautiful she looked in her sexual weakness, but tonight, there was just too much on his mind.

Liv rested, still on top of him, and put her head on his shoulder just below his jaw. He felt her breathing go shallow as she drifted off to sleep.

He was too wound to sleep. He just stared at the ceiling, caressing Liv's hair and thinking of his years in captivity. Now, they didn't seem as dark, knowing that Mike was alive and back in his life. They could finally share good times together and not dwell on captivity and fear. He looked at Liv, still not a care in the world, as her chest slowly went up and down. It was all thanks to her, and at that moment, Fitz didn't think he could love her anymore than he already did.

The three had decided they would call the McClellan and Sophie gang over to Fitz's house one day during the week. They had enough information to divulge, but right now there were other things to tend to.

Fitz had suggested Liv take Chloe to a small pizza place just outside of Rutland. Liv wanted a place where Chloe didn't know anyone, and there were no distractions. She needed to get in this little one's mind.

Fitz and Huck were heading to the station. Huck was going to look at cable connections and Bryce was going to take notes on wiring. Fitz was just tagging along to keep Huck company in the strange town. It would also give them more of an opportunity to talk about the subject Fitz wasn't ready to tell Liv.

The pizza place was not your average NYC style pizzeria. It was small, just two tables and there weren't more than two workers. There was an ice cream shop next door and Liv promised Chloe some ice cream when they finished lunch.

During lunch, in between bites, Chloe talked about princesses, her sisters, and Huck. Huck made an impression on the young girl and Chloe couldn't contain her excitement about making a new friend.

"Chloe", Olivia began once they finished eating, can you tell me why you think Huck has to protect you and me from the bad police officer? Are you talking about DJ? Is he the bad police officer?"

"Fitz punched him, he punched him wight here." Chloe pointed to her nose. "But you, Wivvie, you stayed, and you helped Fitz. You didn't let him get in twouble wight? You stayed because you wuv him too. Pwease say you wuv him too Wivvie."

"Chloe, how do you know I helped Fitz and how do you know Fitz punched him? Who told you?"

Chloe looked around the place. She made sure no one was listening. Liv looked too, but besides the two workers, no one was in there. Still, Chloe leaned towards Olivia to whisper in her ear.

"Sometimes, I hide where my mommy and daddy can't see me, and I hear evewything they awe saying. I mean evewyyyyyyyything. But Wivvie, you can't tell them, pwomise me you won't ever never tell them."

Liv shook her head, "I promise. I won't ever tell them. Did you hear something about DJ, is that why you are afraid of him?"

Chloe stayed quiet; she shook her head. "I am afwaid he will hurt you and me and Fitz. I am just afwaid."

"Chloe, you said something about July 4th, the fireworks do you remember that night? Did something happen on that night, something that you saw, or someone told you about?"

Chloe took a deep breath. Wivvie, I saw something, but pwomise it stays a secwet, not even my sisters know. If anyone knows he's going to hurt them." Her eyes started filling up with tears and the last thing Olivia wanted to do was make her cry.

"Here, Chloe, I tell you what, why don't you draw a picture of what you saw. This way you don't have to tell me, you can draw it and then tell me what is in the picture. You explain pictures so well right, and you are a wonderful artist."

Chloe's head started shaking in agreement and a big smile formed on her face. "I wuv to dwaw so so much, you bwought my cwayons?"

"I did bring your crayons, your mom suggested it just in case we had to wait too long for the food, but no one seemed to come out today." Liv put two sheets of paper and the box of crayons in front of Chloe as Chloe looked around again to make sure no one was there.

"Oh no!" Chloe's palm went to her face. "Just who we need Uwsuwa" Chloe pointed to the door and Liv recognized the woman from Sophie's, Judy Whitman.

"Chloe, why do you call her Ursula?"

"She is like the sea witch fwom the Wittle Mermaid. She twies to take things that awen't hers and keep them. She is infowiating."

"Did you just say infuriating?" Liv laughed. "Where did you learn a word like that? You're only three" Liv noticed Judy walking towards the door to enter now.

"Oh, I will be 4 in Januawy. That's soon. I heard my mom and dad say it about her. She is and" Chloe leaned in again to Liv's ear. "I think she wikes Fitz, but she is too owld for Fitz, Yuck!"

"Well,", Liv cleared her throat, "sometimes it's better just to show respect to someone like her. Don't say things that are mean. Sometimes adults don't like it even if you are just saying the truth."

Chloe threw her hands up and shrugged. "Fine by me, you tawk to her, because she is standing wight behind you now, show the wespect." Chloe then began drawing and taking out colors as Olivia turned towards Judy.

"Hello," Olivia said, trying to make a good example for Chloe. "What brings you outside of Rutland?"

Again, Judy pursed her lips. She looked at Liv, glanced at Chloe, back to Liv. "Ms.?"

"Olivia." Liv said, "Just Olivia is fine."

"Hmmm, yes well did I hear Abigail correctly say that you are dating Fitzgerald?"

Olivia's eyebrows went up in a surprise, and she tried to keep her cool. She nodded, "yes, that's correct, Fitz and I have been seeing each other for about a month now." She kept the fake smile on her face for Chloe's face, who wasn't watching, but Liv knew she was hearing every word.

"You knew a good thing when you saw it, huh, you've only been in town a month. Interesting. Anyhow, will you be seeing Fitzgerald later?" Liv noticed how she emphasized the word seeing and her blood was slowly beginning to boil. Chloe glanced up to switch colors and continued.

"I should be seeing him later, yes, is there something you need?"

"Do tell him to call me dear, I have tried calling him, but he hasn't been answering. There are a few things I need done in my home that only he can fix. Make sure you let him know, do not forget, that's if you do indeed see him as you say you will." Her eyes went to a semi roll and Olivia about had enough.

"You know on second thought Judy," but it came out JUUUUUUUUUDYYYYYYYYY "since you have his number why don't you continue to call him. If he decides to call you back, then you can tell him what it is you need. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a guest I need to entertain, a bit more mature than you are."

Liv turned back around, feeling the heat rush to her face. She heard Judy turn away and saw Chloe staring at her with a small smirk on her face. Chloe just nodded her head yes. She patted Olivia's hand. Liv looked at Chloe as the heat was slowly leaving her face and her body was calming down.

"Infowiating, I towd you. Uwsuwa, the sea witch. Nice wespect, Wivvie."

All Liv could do was laugh. Chloe was so right. That woman was not only infuriating, but annoying, and irritating, and…Liv could go on all day. She made a mental note to tell Fitz about her encounter. Chloe jumped down from her chair and jumped on to Liv's lap with the picture in her hand.

Chloe leaned her head on Liv's shoulder as Liv looked at the picture. She tried to study it, so Chloe didn't have to explain too much in detail. From what she could make out of it, she saw a police car, fireworks, and two people. One was a police officer, with a nasty, mean face, the other a woman with an evil face.

What really caught Liv's attention was a small figure off to the side. It was graphic. A knife seemed to be going across the neck and there was blood as if the throat was slit. Chloe then buried her face in Liv's chest, and began to sob, as Liv rubbed her back. "Chloe, what is this? What did you see?"

Chloe calmed down. She wiped her tears away as any three-year-old would, with her hand and sniffled in the rest of them. "My sisters were being mean to me on Juwy 4th. Daddy was working and mommy was hewping Sophie with food. I wanted to wun away fwom my sisters, so I went to the back by the open space woods. The powice car was there, but there is aways one there. Evewyone was watching the fireworks, but I saw the powice car. "

"Mewwie was supposed to be awwested, but she got out of the powice car. She kissed DJ, here." Liv saw Chloe point to her lips. "It was so gwoss. Then she turned. She saw me and then DJ saw me. Then Mewwie jumped back in the car. DJ stared at me. He wouldn't stop wooking at me. I was so so scared, but I couldn't move. Then he went like this." Liv watched as Chloe put her finger from one side of her throat to the other, "then he pointed at me. Mewwie got out of the car again and was shaking her head yes agweeing with him and then she went wike this." Liv watched as Chloe put her finger to her lips.

"Chloe, why do you think Mellie was being arrested?"

"Because she was not a nice person to Fitz. She left Fitz's house. She was mean and mean peopul get arrested."

"I am so so scared Wivvie. Now you know and he wiw hurt you. But now Huck can know, and he won't hurt us right. I am so so scared. I won't tell anyone that Mewwie wasn't awested." The tears just started streaming down this child's face. No wonder she was a bucket of moods when Mellie returned.

Liv just continued to rock Chloe to try to comfort her. She looked again at the picture, and she realized what she was seeing was much more than what a three-year-old saw. She was holding a three-year-old's impersonation of two people who just had sex in the back of a police car. Two people who saw they had a witness to what they did and threatened to harm her or kill her.

It was at that moment, Liv realized, Chloe has been living with a fear for 4 months now, and it was eating away at her. What happened at the festival a few weeks ago just ignited the fear in Chloe, especially after seeing Mellie again, and she was trying to tell the adults in her life the best she can without putting them in danger.

Most of all, Mellie is carrying around DJ's baby. She is going to be a mother and the baby's father is one of the most hated men in Rutland. How is Fitz going to react to this news now? This means Mellie will be making an appearance in the future. Liv just rubbed her face, just to shake the thoughts away.

Liv continued to comfort Chloe the best she could, and they had a talk promising one another that it was their secret. Chloe shook her head and hugged Olivia around the neck "pwease pwease pwease don't tell Fitz. He will hurt DJ because Fitz wuvs you so so much Owivia. If DJ knows that I towd you DJ wiw hurt you and then Fitz wiw hurt him. Pwease Wivvie, don't wet Fitz get in twouble."

DJ is the father of Mellie's baby. Olivia couldn't shake the thought. Mellie knows this and yet she tried to pass it off as Fitz's. With the news that Fitz just received about Huck being Mike, Liv decided it best to hold on to this secret until after the holidays.

"Come on Chloe." Liv grabbed Chloe's hand. She used a cloth from her bag to wipe Chloe's face and packed away her supplies. "Let's go get some ice cream. Ice cream makes everything feel better."