Last night’s episode of Scandal had everyone asking if you can really trust your friends.  Olivia reconnects with a friend who may or may not have played a part in a murder, and Jake may not be “fake selling fake paper,” but he may be dabbling into blackmail.

First up, Mellie seems to be getting better because she decided to pass on the daily cemetery visit in order to obsesses over a national “news” story, about a “killer” bride. But when Mellie all but calls a cabinet meeting in the name of cracking this mystery, which just hours earlier had been resolved, we see that the cracks she tried to paint over are starting to show.

When Fitz is not worrying about Mellie, then his other main concern for the hour was the Elliot Gun Control Act, which was in danger of getting (and actually did get) roadblocked. Summoning recently anointed AG David into the Oval Office, Fitz talks to him about how he needs his administration to mean something, even if it means wackos no longer being able to shoot up schools with AK47s. Rosen decides to use a B613 file to “convince” a problematic judge to reverse his stance. That move earns David a pat on the back from Fitz & Co. I mean, it resulted in the judge killing himself, but they got what they wanted right?

The president’s good mood was also good for Gabby (formerly known as, and is actually named, Abby), who after she was invited into the office for some Scotch saw an opportunity to let him know–in the classiest way–that he doesn’t even know her name. Fitz apologizes, then starts to ask Abby for any news on Liv, whom she says is “good.” It’s not like she would know, seeing as how their already fractured friendship just keeps getting worse, especially after this week.

Olivia’s two priorities this week were 1) getting Jake to have dinner with her and her dad, at Command’s house, and 2) helping college pal Catherine Winslow (Lost‘s Sonya Walger) find her MIA teen daughter. But when Huck discovers that Catherine was doing things that mothers should not be doing to her kid’s 17-year-old boyfriend, which the daughter then threatened to reveal to her dad. Liv races to the teen’s hotel hideaway, but is too late because she finds Caitlin dead. Even though Catherine insists she had no hand in it, she ends up arrested. The Liv and Abby friendship hits another roadblock when Abby stops by to ask Liv about their mutual college friend’s situation, only to get shut out.

When Jake isn’t mulling the worst dinner invite ever, he’s smashing Charlie’s face into a candy machine, then taking the spook-for-hire prisoner. In exchange for his knowledge, Charlie has but one request: a “night with” Quinn.

Jake comes through, and though Quinn claims indifference to her onetime lover, Charlie’s head games. You know the usual about how Quinn has no people, get to “Robin,” and then eventually suck some face. Charlie’s words start to have their effect when Liv and Huck don’t even realize that Quinn was missing for 24 hours.

Cyrus and Michael the Brainless Whore On Track for an MBA just keep crossing paths, until Michael finally invited the Chief of Staff to quench his thirst to replace the “dry lump” in his throat with… something else. Cyrus gives in to temptation and hands over $2,500 to Michael the next morning — after which, Michael reports back to RNC boss Liz, that all is going as planned.

After a sad, needy and frustrated Liv tells Jake  that she is “done,” he agrees to dinner  at Rowan’s. Of course there is an ulterior motive involved now that Jake has seen video footage of Secret Service agent/B613 mole Tom infect Jerry Jr. with the bacterial meningitis. All is well until Olivia exits the dining room to take a call. Jake asks Rowan why he had Harrison killed. This apparently hit a nerve, because Jake commands Command to get out of town pronto, and never come back, but Rowan doesn’t retreat quietly. Rather, he plunges a steak knife between Jake’s spread fingers and declares, “I’ll be the one standing over you when you die.” And as the hour ends, Jake the next day spies Rowan going about his day.