Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal

Chapter One: Temporary Home

This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong

Windows and rooms that I'm passing through

This was just a stop on the way to where I'm going

I'm not afraid because I know this was my temporary home

This is our temporary home

- "Temporary Home" Carrie Underwood

Twenty-one year old Olivia stared blankly into the locker in the back room of the 24 hour Denny's Diner off I-95. Grudgingly she slipped out of her cream colored coat and carefully hung it up. She pulled the apron hanging on the other hook and tied it around her tiny waist. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror she'd hung up and sighed. She slipped the band off her wrist and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. She slammed the locker shut and thought back to four nights earlier.

"What did you do?" She stood at the table her father was sitting at and looked down at him with puppy dog eyes and her lower lip slightly jutted out, quivering.

"Olivia, you're late. I've ordered us a bottle of wine." He gestured to her chair.

She remained standing, "What did you do to Edison?" She made her question more specific.

Rowan Pope slipped his glasses off and set them next to his water, "Please have a seat Olivia, do not make a scene."

Olivia looked around the five star restaurant. People were beginning to stare at her. Carefully she took off her coat and hung it on the back of her chair. It should've gone in the coat room, but she'd bypassed everyone in the restaurant in her quest to get answers from her father. "Fine I'm sitting. What did you do to Edison?"

"Edison was not the right choice for you." Her father explained calmly. "He made choices that were," he paused, "questionable."

Olivia's mouth dropped open, "Edison is harmless. And he's a good man who is on his way to becoming a Senator." She paused, "So because you didn't like him you somehow managed to break both of his legs?"

"I'm the curator at the Smithsonian, I'm not capable of that Olivia."

Olivia watched the dangerous flash in his eyes and she realized that Edison had been right, her father was not the curator at a museum. He was a dangerous man. And she needed to stay away from him. She stood back up, "I don't ever want to see you again."

Rowan tipped his chair back and smiled, "Good luck paying for law school at Georgetown without me."

"I'm my mother's daughter." Olivia straightened her shoulders, "I will find my own way. Just stay the hell out of my life. And let Edison go." She slipped her coat on and paused, "If it weren't for Edison, your only daughter would be very dead now."

Olivia pulled her pad and pen out of her apron and stepped into the restaurant. She was going to make it on her own, without her father, without any of his money, she was going to be fine. She was correct when she told him she was her mother's daughter. She was more than capable of paying her way through law school. She didn't need a father. "You're in section three today." Abby, another waitress and a student in the criminal justice master's program at Georgetown, bumped her hip. "Quinn, Harrison, David and Huck are on the graveyard with us tonight. Should be a good one." She called over her shoulder as she picked a tray up.

"Thanks Abs." Olivia headed to her section as she smiled at Huck, David, and Harrison, busboys who were standing by the bins in the corner looking at Huck's phone. David, another law student at Georgetown, was the one who told her a position had opened up at the Denny's and got her the job on such short notice.

"Finally Liv, I told Shonda that you got caught behind an accident." Quinn mumbled to her.

"Thanks Quinn." Olivia plastered a smile on her face as she stopped at her first table, "Welcome to Denny's my name's Olivia, can I get you all something to drink?"

SCANDAL

Abby propped her feet up on David's lap and leaned back. It was 2:45 in the morning and there were no customers in the restaurant. "I hate the graveyard shift." Abby moaned as she flipped the page in her notebook dramatically.

"Don't we all. Especially when we have class in the morning." David ran his hands up her legs. "Tomorrow's gonna suck in Poland's class, huh Liv?"

Olivia looked up from the law book she was hunched over, "No shit. We've got that debate tomorrow too in Crenshaw's class too."

"Fuck, I forgot about that." David took his glasses off and tossed them on the table. "I hate shift work."

Harrison chuckled and continued typing the paper he was writing, "It's not like we can work regular hours, we have class and internships."

"You'd think internships that aren't paid would stay at the office, but nooooooo" Quinn waved a folder around, "they follow us around too."

"Quinn, baby," Huck took the folder from her, "please calm down."

"I want to go shoot something." Quinn muttered.

"Oh me too, I've been thinking about getting a gun." Abby straightened up closed book from her evidence course she was reading.

"Seriously Abs?" Olivia frowned, "A gun? And when did you take up shooting?" She asked Quinn.

"Huck took me to calm me down." Quinn shrugged, "It was a lot of fun."

"I hate guns." Harrison muttered, "Huck you really should keep your military training away from the girls. They're moody. They may shoot one of us for fun."

"I'll shoot you if you keep making chauvinistic remarks like that Harrison Wayne Wright." Abby snapped at him.

"Enough!" Olivia held up her hands, "It's three in the morning. I have worked graveyard shifts the last two nights and I'm tired. And I have an evidence exam at 9am."

"Someone needs to get laid." David sang out.

"Don't you have an evidence exam at 9am too David?" Olivia poked his side.

"Yeah, but you still need to get laid."

"I need to meet a guy to get laid."

"I'm a guy, I'll lay you." Harrison offered with a wink.

"Just finish your paper for Poland's class and keep it in your pants Wright." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Hey Abby?" Caroline, the hostess on duty tapped her shoulder, "Sorry, but I sat someone in your section."

Abby yawned and stretched, "It's fine." She threw her highlighter in her textbook, "I wasn't studying anyhow." She picked up her pad and pen and walked over to the couple, "Good morning, welcome to Denny's what can I get for you?"

"Lots of coffee and water." The woman looked up, "That good with you Fitz?"

"And a glass of orange juice."

"I will be right back with your drinks while you look over the menu." Abby smiled at them and moved towards the back of the restaurant. She stopped at the back corner table her friends claimed during graveyard shifts, "Liv, Quinn, serious hottie in my section. Wow!"

"Seriously? Abby, I'm right here, can you at least moon over other men when your wonderful boyfriend isn't around?" David put his hand to his heart, "I'm hurt."

Abby smacked his arm, "You're so melodramatic, you should be in the theater department." She darted away to get their drink order.

Fitzgerald Grant watched their waitress walk off, "This is cute." He remarked, "I can't believe I've never been here in the few years I've lived here."

"Seriously Fitzgerald?" Melanie Carmichael rolled her eyes, "It's a disgusting diner. If we hadn't been driving from Boston all night to get here and I weren't starving I would've said lets just get to your place now."

"My place has no food, I've been out of town." Fitz's eyes wandered the restaurant. It was empty, they were the only patrons. The only other visible people were the hostess and a collection of younger employees who appeared to be studying in the back corner on the opposite side of the restaurant. His eyes skimmed over them and he suppressed a smile that wanted to curve up when he saw the beautiful dark skinned woman look up at the man next to her and laugh. She was breathtakingly beautiful. "I'm going to the bathroom Mel, I'll be back."

"Good luck in there." Mellie muttered as he walked off.

While Abby was gone the man from her table walked up, "Excuse me, where's the restroom?"

Olivia answered without looking, "Back right corner, where the sign is." She pointed with her left hand as she continued jotting down notes.

The man chuckled, "Thank you and sorry to interrupt your studies."

Olivia looked up. She had a sarcastic comment planned, but stopped herself, "No problem." She whispered as he walked off. He had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. So blue they startled her into silence.

"Whew, Abby wasn't kidding." Quinn muttered, "Super hot!"

"I am also sitting next to you." Huck looked over from his laptop where he was working on a computer program for his graduate program. Quinn just shrugged.

"Well he shocked Liv into silence." Harrison pointed out and took a bite of his apple.

Olivia rolled her eyes, "I'm getting a muffin and coffee, anyone want anything?"

Quinn caught her arm, "Wait until Abby goes to give the chef their order." Two minutes later, Quinn was dragging Abby to the kitchen, "Okay he is fine."

"Yes he's hot, are we seriously back here discussing this? I have an exam in a few hours." Olivia picked up a muffin and the mug she'd filled with black coffee.

"Liv, he totally came over to us on purpose, he wanted to talk to you." Quinn poked her side.

"He was looking for the bathroom." Olivia stated flatly.

"Which there are clear signs from, as you pointed out to him." Quinn continued.

"He came over and talked to you?" Abby propped herself up on the counter, "What'd he say?"

"Where's the bathroom?" Olivia rolled her eyes, "You two are such girls."

"Yeah we are. We have vaginas, not penises." Abby huffed, "What else happened."

"He stunned Liv here into silence." Quinn smiled cheekily at Olivia.

"What?"

"No snarky remarks, just a no problem. Once she looked up at him." Quinn laughed.

"Order up, Ab!" The chef called out to her.

"And that's our cue to go back to studying, Come on Quinn." Olivia motioned for Quinn to follow her back to the table so Abby could get back to work.

SCANDAL

Olivia yawned and leaned her head against Harrison's shoulder, "I don't want to debate today. I want to sleep today." She muttered.

Quinn laid her head on her desk next to Olivia, "Me too." She glanced over at David who was on her other side and poked him, "Wake up Rosen. Poland will totally kick you out for sleeping."

Olivia chuckled, "I'd love to see that."

"Maybe I should tell Poland." Harrison suggested.

"Do it and I'll let Abby shoot you." David opened his eyes and put his glasses back on, leaning around Quinn to glare at Olivia and Harrison.

Judge Poland shut the classroom door, "Alright, we have a special guest here today to mediate our debate," all eyes turned to the front of the room, "the newly appointed Judge Fitzgerald Grant III." Judge Poland motioned to the younger man standing next to him.

Quinn slapped Olivia's arm, "It's hot guy from last night."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS