Author's Note: I've been meaning to tackle this idea since it happened but I was too hurt to do it. Now, I'm not. Enjoy the latest and another brand new D.D. will be up soon. Or maybe a follow up to #7. I don't know yet.
(CMW2/Trumpetnista: Draftbook Drabble #34 (Canon Corrector AU, RIP FTGIV aftermath, Fitz, Olivia, Jake, Eli/Rowan, Cyrus, Mellie, mentioned Karen and Teddy, Olake and Mellitz Zombie DONE, unabashedly Olitz, NSFW))
Words from the Gladiator in a Hoodie:The worst SCANDAL Summer Finale and worst season in general (at least the part leading up to the Summer Finale) was Season 3. Even the Haters agree with me on that. It was the Season of Fuckery and it wasn't until the Season 5 Winter (thank FUCK it wasn't the Summer!) Finale that shit got worse all around, especially for Liv, Fitz, and Olitz.
While Defiance will forever remain the Scandal that altered things forever between Olivia and Fitz, the Shatterpoint for Olitz, the
absolute do or die Moment for them was when Fitz was calling for her, asking for her when his entire world had fallen apart, when his firstborn had been stolen by someone he trusted, and instead of being by his side, she ran away to the Isle of Doom with Joke.
Everything since then (even the good we were oh so very cruelly taunted with during 5A) has been tainted by that one Moment and other than smut, the best thing I write for these two precious k'nuckleheads is a Canon Corrector. So, in this D.D., I'm Fixing shit. I'm Handling shit. I hope you guys think that it's dope shit.
There will be more on the WIPs soon. Enjoy the latest!
Mad Love, Jam, and Power Drills, ~*Trump*~
Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"
"You had one Job. You had one simple job, a job that was made easier for you and yet…well, I suppose it's for the best. You haven't been quite the same since the Art Auction Op in '06, since…I think her cover name was Elise, wasn't it? Ah, yes. It started as a simple marriage of convenience but it became something more, something very romantic, something dangerous. You two were supposed to run off together, skip away into the Sun, and away from the Big Bad Wolf but it didn't work out that way, did it? She said that she loved you and she used you. She played you like a fiddle and left you holding the bag, just like Olivia has now. It's a shame. You were a good Operative, one of my best Sons but now…you had one job, Ballard. What was that job?"
" 'The relationship between Olivia Pope and Fitzgerald Grant III poses a grave danger to the Republic. It must be neutralized or at least derailed long enough for his Presidency to end, one way or the other. Grant is a weak leader propped up by her mind and soothed by her body. Keeping them apart will destabilize the Grant Administration and the man himself and while that is unfortunate, it's better than the alternative…'"
"Very good, son! Your memory is as sharp as ever! You had one simple job, a job that the Grant moron made even easier for you when he asked you to monitor her movements, but you failed. You failed miserably, leading me to have to step in and clean up the mess. And then, when you were gift wrapped a second chance to get it right, when I so graciously let you out of The Hole because of Olivia's pressing need to save you and every other stray dog in her path, you screwed the pooch again. "
"…you failed, too. You were trying to get her to leave DC after her name was leaked to the Press. You did all this planning, moved all the chess pieces to try and break her, to make her run away from him but you failed. You're Command again but that won't last, not after she figures out the truth about what happened to Gerry Grant and she will figure it out. She always does. She'll take you out. She'll put you down with everyone's blessings. You underestimated her. We both did. She didn't run away from DC. She didn't run away from Fitz. As a matter of fact, she's…"
"I know exactly where she is, boy. I have working eyes. It sickens me to know where she is and what she's doing right now but as always, I will regroup and I will recover. The Organization, B613 will regroup and recover from this and be stronger than ever. And Olivia's day of Reckoning will come soon enough. She can't hide from me forever. They thought that they were going to slay the dragon. You thought that you were going to slay the dragon. You thought that helping Olivia hide those all of those boxes of Intel you stole and emptying my budget fund would grant you freedom and the power you feel entitled to. You thought if you did everything that she asked of you, if you let her use you until you were all dried up, she would actually love you like she foolishly and so recklessly loves the Grant boy but you were wrong. You were so very wrong, Jacob and now, it's time to pay the piper."
"Rowan, please…"
"Goodbye, Son."
Normally, the three gunshots would be loud enough to alert her elderly neighbors, even without their hearing aids but he was Command and Command didn't use subpar equipment. Subpar people, yes but never subpar equipment. The silencer and the revolver were top of the line and untraceable. Eli/Rowan Pope shook his head as his wayward operative pitched forward and landed on the beige tarp covered floor, his face frozen in an expression of pure horror. He had shot the idiot straight through the heart and the neck. Scarlet red blood splattered against the cool gray walls before pooling and spreading out rapidly over the tarp, heading towards large cardboard storage boxes and the dull gray tarp covering the snow white couch Ballard had been sitting on. When Rowan had arrived to his daughter's apartment, the boy had been watching the television and leaving what sounded to be truly desperate voicemails on Olivia's phone.
He knew that his end was near and had been hoping for Olivia and her vaunted White Hat to save him from the fate he had earned.
Leaving Ballard to the tender mercies of his guards upon entry, Rowan had entered the master bedroom suite and as expected, Olivia's entire wardrobe was gone, her toiletries were gone, and her comforter set was gone as well. Calling her himself, the cell phone's voicemail had been full and the line at OPA yielded nothing but the cheerful automated 'the number you've called has been disconnected' message.
The building her Firm had been housed was empty and the OPA floor showed signs of being booby trapped against intruders. For a while, Rowan had thought that his wayward daughter had finally saw reason and left DC for good. He would've preferred her doing so with Ballard.
The boy would've kept him informed and the revelation of her running off with his old NAVY buddy could've been just the push needed to break Grant down for good. The fact that she was sleeping with him, working with him, kept the precious baby POTUS crying every night. If she had run off, if she had run off and took Ballard with her, if Ballard had been smart enough to get her to run off, then…alas, it was not meant to be.
Seeing her standing by Grant's side as Cyrus Beene delivered a statement to the assembled Press Corp the evening after the Grant boy was re-elected, seeing her look at him with so much tenderness as she allowed him to literally run away from the Press with her in tow, her uber expensive heels left on the floor, seeing their entwined hands as they ran together…
It wasn't often that Rowan lost his composure but he had, startling his security detail into fleeing from his Wonderland office like the cowardly rats they were.
So many plans, so much effort, so much bloodshed, and Rowan had failed to achieve his goal!
Rowan hated to fail! Not even his return to his rightful place as Command or the relief of having Maya Lewis back where she needed to be could soothe the sting of his overall failure.
Footage of Fitzgerald 'Gerry' Grant IV's beautiful sunrise back dropped funeral currently played on the muted primetime news television program, along with attached appropriately sympathetic commentary. The sacrificial lamb had been laid to rest in one of the best cemeteries in the region. The headstone was white marble with shiny black engraving. There were over 5000 people in attendance (2K on the ground and 3.5K through internet streaming) but most significantly, the First Lady was nowhere to be found. Melody 'Mellie' Grant had left the White House shortly after her husband had been re-elected and no one knew exactly where she was or if she would ever come back. It didn't seem like she would, leading to where the Media's focus truly was…
Just like during Beene's statement, instead of his darling wife, standing tall next to the tranquilized President at the gravesite, holding the solemn youngest Grant child on her hip and allowing the sobbing middle Grant child to cling to her like ivy had been Ms. Olivia Pope, officially reigniting the firestorm connecting her to Fitzgerald Grant III. It was one thing for her to be in the Press Room. She was a valued family friend and a trusted ally to the Grant Administration since the 2007 Trail. Her presence there could be explained by saying that Olivia Pope was aiding the White House PR machine so the Grant family could grieve in peace and without lost poll points.
Her being at the funeral could've been explained in the same way if she hadn't been where the immediate family got to stand and if Cyrus Beene's worried/exasperated expression at the sight of all the remaining Grants glommed onto her hadn't been captured by a cameraman with good timing. Rowan knew that look all too well and so did Mass Media.
The sharks smelled blood in the water and it was only a matter of time before they hit pay dirt.
The sympathy for the life of a young man snuffed out so soon was starting to be outweighed by salacious curiosity, just like always. The questions were being asked by top tier BNN broadcasters all the way down to the bottom feeder gossip bloggers like Perez Hilton.
Where was the President's wife? Were the Grant divorce rumors true? Why was Olivia there so prominently at the funeral? Why was President Grant still holding her hand so tightly? Why was Olivia staying full time in the White House Residence? Why were Olivia Pope and Associates' doors closed? Would they stay closed forever? Why were Grant's remaining children so attached to the woman? Could they have all been fooled? Was Olivia Pope truly the President's Mistress and Jeannine Locke just a red herring, along with that random guy she had been strolling merrily in the park with? Had they been 'Poped' into following a narrative that just wasn't true?
Rowan knew the answers to all of those questions and disgusted rage blazed through him.
Ballard had been right. He had overestimated himself, thoroughly underestimated his daughter and now, she was closer to Grant than ever before, more securely in his Camp and under his thrall than ever before. He had allowed too much slack in the ropes and now, he was back to Square One again. Rowan had failed miserably and after he repaired the damage, he would make sure that those involved in his failure would pay with interest.
He had made so many blunders in forming this Operation. Rowan was man enough to admit that.
He should've forced Olivia onto the private jet, drugged her and used his connections to prevent her from returning to America, to Grant ever again.
Before that, he should've killed Ballard instead of throwing him in The Hole.
He shouldn't have assigned Ballard to deal with Olivia and Grant to begin with. Russell would've been a better choice of Operative but Rowan had decided to indulge his daughter's preference for white cock so he had chosen Ballard and kept Ballard on the assignment once he realized the fool's personal connection to the sniveling Grant manchild.
The smell of Ballard's bowels loosening in death made him nod once in satisfaction.
At least that was another thing that had gone right, other than regaining Command and recapturing Maya. Ballard had more lives than a cat and if anyone could survive fatal wounds, it was him. He had survived so much that he shouldn't have.
Not anymore.
Not ever again.
Jake Ballard was dead and dead by Rowan's own hand, granting him satisfaction.
Normally, Rowan would've had Larsen or Russell complete the execution under his watchful eye but Larsen had quietly gone on the lam and Russell was in Beirut. Plus, it was personal. Jake Ballard had been one of his best B613 operatives, one of his most cherished Sons (the only one more dear to him was Diego Munoz AKA Huck) and the boy had failed him.
Jacob had turned on him in the name of pussy, pussy that was already thoroughly tainted by the Grant manchild, and if Ballard had just completed his one simple job, if he had just gotten to Olivia before she had willingly locked herself inside of Grant's gilded cage…
If Rowan had just gotten Olivia to stay on that goddamned plane like she should've when the Grant fool leaked her name before his pet Antebellum Demon could, then all of this mayhem could've been avoided and Rowan would've forgiven. He would've forgiven Olivia for choosing so foolishly. He would've forgiven Grant for being such a weak leader, a weak leader who his contemporaries had to lie to get into 1600. He even would've forgiven the little Insurrection against him, the unlikely events that led to Ballard ascending to Command. Rowan would've forgiven and forgotten it all.
He was capable of Grace and understanding when the situation warranted it.
The situation no longer warranted it, not even for his offspring.
Jake Ballard had been played by many masters. Rowan had played him. Grant had played him. Olivia had played him and in the end, Ballard had played himself straight into his grave.
It was sad that things had turned out that way for the promising young man but such was Life.
Turning off the television, Rowan stood up and after a moment's thought, called in for Cleanup.
As satisfying as it would've been to leave Ballard's corpse until Olivia came back to her apartment, Rowan knew that the stench of decomposition would eventually reveal the truth before she could. He was tempted to try and frame Olivia for the execution but her alibi was much too public for it to work. Her minions had gone to ground before she fled to Grant's side so framing one of them wouldn't work either. His remaining contingencies hinged on Olivia preventing the Grant boy from revealing their relationship as she had in the past but something told him that the death of Gerry Grant had shifted things permanently between the modern Hemmings and Jefferson pair and not in the way Rowan would've preferred…
11 Days Ago…
"Where's Olivia? Where's Olivia…I need Olivia…find her! Fucking find her!"
"Put me on speaker, Mellie."
Acid churning in her guts, Mellie Grant obeyed the command and placed the phone on the Great Seal next to her collapsed husband. He had gone from sitting to lying listlessly on his side with his back to her, his suit jacket off and his whole body wracked with grief.
"Fitz, can you hear me?"
His hand moved quicker than lightning and he picked up the phone like it was his last lifeline.
"Livvie…where are you, Livvie?"
"I'm at my apartment."
"W-with Jake?"
"No, baby. I'm alone. He doesn't matter. He's never mattered. What do you need? Tell me what you need..."
"I need Gerry back!"
"…if I could, I would give him back but I can't, Fitz. You have no idea how much I wish I could give him back to you, that none of this had ever happened but…what else do you need? What can I do? Talk to me, Fitz. Let me help you…"
"I just need you…please come here and stay with me, Livvie…I can't…I can't think…I can't breathe…everything hurts and I need you with me…I'm all alone…please…"
"…stay on the line with me while I arrange some things, okay? It'll be a while but I'm coming, baby. I'll be there by sundown, I promise…"
"Okay…thank you, Livvie…I love you, Livvie…"
"I love you, too…"
The sense of rejection, rage, and grief Mellie felt at the entire exchange made her want to scream. Screaming wouldn't solve anything, though. Screaming wouldn't bring Gerry back from the dead. Screaming wouldn't make Fitz love her again or even respect her, apparently. Screaming wouldn't undo the colossal mistake she had made by encouraging his affair with Olivia Pope. Screaming wouldn't undo the colossal mistake Cyrus Beene had made by introducing the two of them to them. Screaming wouldn't undo Big Jerry's violation of her. Screaming wouldn't give her back all of the lost years, her innocence, all of the shattered and wasted dreams she had by being so fucking determined to be and stay Mellie Grant, to be and stay First Lady of the United States Mellie Grant!
And even now, Fitz couldn't see past his own nose, his own cock, to be there for her! Mellie had been there for him for years, decades but he just couldn't do the same for her. She thought that he finally could. When Olivia had left him again in the wake of the truth coming out about Big Jerry, she thought that Fitz would be committed to being a partner for her, if not a loving husband, then at least a supportive partner but no…no, it was all about his precious Livvie and his special little broken heart! She was just tired of it all! She was so sick of being disregarded as a pretty little bauble, so sick of being disrespected, so sick of coming in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place to him.
To Fitz, it was all about the kids, all about the politics, and mainly all about Olivia goddamned fucking Pope, leaving nothing but bone scraps and grizzle for her. She had been his faithful wife. She had pushed out babies. She had propped him up. Mellie had done everything that she was supposed to do like a good little political Barbie and what did it get her? What did she really have to show for it all?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing but a dead firstborn, a daughter who thought she was a filthy whore, a toddler who called the Help ' Mommy', a husband in name only who endured her and indulged his Jungle Fever without a lick of shame…being FLOTUS was supposed to be a dream come true. It was supposed to be a springboard to her own political career, her own place in the Sun, but it had been nothing but a disaster! One disaster after another had befallen her. It wasn't worth it!
It wasn't worth it.
It wasn't worth it.
It wasn't…
The line went dead and she snatched her phone from a now eerily silent and still Fitz before stalking towards and through the side entrance to the Oval, slamming the open double door behind her with a satisfying bang, a bang made more satisfying by the way Lauren let out a startled squeak. It served the little traitor right. She aided and abetted Fitz being all over Olivia more than once and Mellie wasn't deaf to the opinions the woman held about her, the woman and others on the White House staff. Selfish bitch, annoying bitch, a cold obligation to their Boss…
They didn't understand!
None of them understood, especially Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, and Mellie was done!
She was just done with all of it and them!
Something had to give, someone had to change, and once again, it would have to be her!
She would be the grown up.
She would be the bad guy.
Why did it always have to be her?
He was "all alone", was he?
He just needed "his Livvie" and nothing else, did he?
Well, fine. Just fucking fine, then! Mellie would give him what he wanted, what he so desperately wanted and she would go away. It was the perfect opportunity to do it. She would sign the custody agreement, the signed divorce papers that he had drawn up and thought he had oh so cleverly hidden from her and then she would go away. She would go far, far away and let him see what life without her would really be like! Olivia would run away from him again, eventually. Olivia always ran away from him and this time, Mellie wouldn't be waiting in the wings. Fitz would truly be all alone, then and that was grimly comforting, something to look forward to witnessing from a safe distance away.
Why should she be the only one miserable?
Why should she always be the bad guy, the Iron Maiden?
Fitz would eventually pay for casting her aside, for ignoring and humiliating her.
All she had to do was wait…
"You fuckin' win, Olivia! I signed the Papers and I'm giving him exactly what he wants. I moved out and I've got me a masseuse with a very happy ending waiting for me on my jet plane outta dodge. Good luck in dealing with Fitzgerald Grant III's bullshit for the rest of your life and any Jars that I missed…they're all yours, baby girl! Consider it a parting and housewarmin' gift from good ol' Mellie! Payin' it forward…"
"Mellie, I…"
"I'm free…I'm finally free…free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, I am free at last!"
"Mellie, I understand that you're done with Fitz and I wish you all the best, I really do but what about Gerry's funeral? What about Karen and Teddy? They're going to need you…"
"They don't need me! None of 'em do and I don't need 'em, either, especially Fitzgerald!"
"That's not true…"
"Oh, really? He didn't take the phone off speaker, Olivia. I heard what he said and how he said it. I was sitting less than 2 feet away from him but he said that he was all alone and that he needed you to make the hurt go away. Cyrus looked like he had just seen Jesus come down from the Clouds when I said that you were on the way and I'm sure that you'll work your magic on my kids, too… my two kids…I only have two kids, now and that…god, that's so fuckin' sad…I can't deal with it, Olivia. I really can't. I can't stay and watch 'em put Gerry in the ground like a glue factory horse. I can't stay and watch Fitzy constantly pine for you. It used to be funny but now, it's just too fuckin' sad and too fuckin' real and he wants me gone anyways. He's been tryin' to get rid of me for the last 5 years and I'm tired, Olivia. I'm just tired of bein' tired and since I had to outlive my firstborn baby, the best way I can honor him is to live a good life with a decent man. He doesn't even have to be political…all I want is just someone to fuckin' love me for me…"
"Thank God! Mellie's on the first thing smoking out of town and the Press Corp is…"
"Where is he?"
"Liv…"
"I'm not here to deal with the Press. You can do that easily. I'm here for Fitz. Where is he?"
"He's still in the Oval…I can…I can put together a statement by sundown."
"That's great, Cyrus. I'll make sure he's there for it."
Keeping pace with a very determined Olivia, Cyrus Beene could feel yet another shift in the air in 1600 Penn. Yes, Fitz had been re-elected but the cost…it was unholy. Gerry Grant had only been 16. The kid had his whole life ahead of him and he was just gone. He had died suddenly, publicly, painfully, and shattered what was left of the Grant's marriage to smithereens. Mellie had been like a whirling dervish as she had her staff pack her things and between chugging something caustic out of a mason jar, she had said goodbye to him and wished him luck in the New Grant Era.
Initially, he had dismissed all of it as corn liquor and grief drenched rambling but now…Olivia was there and by the looks of all the black and white luggage, along with clothes racks being hustled towards the Residence, she was moving in. Mellie had crowed about signing 'tip top secret Papers'. Were those Papers divorce papers, custody papers, or both? If they were any of them, then there would be a whole new set of problems to deal with but…
Cyrus stopped short in the doorway and felt another scrap of what was left of his heart die.
Fitz looked…ruined.
He was on the Great Seal and although his breathing was audible, the normally jovial and strong man looked like he was made entirely of shattered glass. Olivia rushed to the Seal and manhandled him onto his back, her knuckles in front of her mouth. Tears brewed and spilled over her wide doe eyes, tears that Cyrus could feel on his own face.
This wasn't right. What had happened to Gerry Grant, what was happening to the remaining Grants, Mellie, and Olivia…it just wasn't right. Yes, Fitz had been re-elected, saving the country from the Bible thumping WWIII starting rhetoric of a very murderous Sally Langston but at what cost? Was it worth it? Would it ever be worth it?
Rowan would pay for this shit. Cyrus wouldn't go to his earned place in Hell without helping to make that dirty son of a bitch pay for it. Allegedly, it was Maya Pope who had orchestrated all of the dark deeds but Cyrus knew better. This whole ugly situation, all of the pieces of the puzzle, all roads led back to Rowan and his precious, precious B613 Empire. Even if Maya had gone rogue, it was Rowan's fault that he had kept the demented terrorist on ice instead of outright killing her. Therefore, he and his crazed resurrected wife in name only would pay with interest for all of this pain, all of this misery because this? This just wasn't right. Even a monster like him knew that!
His surrogate son was mostly sober and awake but silent tears slid from thousand yard staring eyes. His untucked blue dress shirt was open to his white t-shirt covered ribs and the scattered buttons indicated that Fitz had ripped it in grief, rending his garments, so to speak. His hair was standing in different directions, as if it had been gripped and pulled and his face…
"Olivia?" he rasped hopefully.
She nodded quickly and Fitz yanked her down so she was flush against him. With practiced ease that Cyrus refused to dwell on, Olivia hooked a leg over his hip and leveraged until their positions were reversed, Fitz's face half buried in her neck. His face was still shellshocked, tears were still sliding, but there was a spark of life back in his cerulean slate eyes. Olivia had brought the spark back and as time passed, she would…well, he would never be normal again but Fitz wouldn't be so devastated, so shattered, so damned miserable…
Olivia was here and she would Fix it. She would preserve Fitzgerald Grant III alive and in doing so, the Grant Administration would not collapse into the Abyss, at least for a while, anyway.
She always Fixed it and for that, Cyrus was eternally grateful that he had made the colossal mistake of allowing Olivia and Fitz to fall into each other's orbit and arms.
Fitz sniffled and squeezed Olivia tightly, still in disbelief that…
"…you're here? You really came? You're really gonna stay with me?"
"I'll stay with you as long as you need me to, baby."
"… stay forever."
"Forever sounds good but let's start with the next few weeks, okay?"
"…okay…it just hurts…everything hurts so much, Livvie…I can't…I…my son is dead, Olivia…he's gone and it's not fucking right…parents aren't supposed to outlive their children! It's not natural!"
"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry, Fitz…"
"I…I have to make an official statement to the Press soon but I don't have any words. I can't think, Liv. I can't…I can't say anything. I'll just end up breaking down at the Podium and I can't do that in front of them and the whole World. Everyone's watching me, now. I'm the President so I'm supposed to be strong. Gerry would want me to be strong…"
"Cyrus will Handle it. He'll do all the talking. All you have to do is be there when he does it."
"I can't…I don't want to go down there…I want to stay up here with you…"
"I know you don't want to but you have to. I can be there with you. Will that help?"
"That always helps…you make things better…you make me sane again…oh, Livvie…"
"Let it out, Fitz…let it out…you're safe with me…"
"Olivia…"
"C'mere, baby…"
Having seen and heard enough, Cyrus took his leave of the couple and leaned against the secretary's station, accepting a bundle of Kleenex from a solemn Lauren Smith gratefully.
"I'm glad Ms. Pope came back. She'll take good care of him. She always does. Mrs. Grant never really cared about him, just the Administration and her own political power. She always made things worse for him and everyone else. Mr. Beene, am I a bad person for being happy that she's gone, especially given the circumstances?"
"No, you're just honest…Liv's got him so you can go home or to a spa or whatever you want."
"Okay. I…I cancelled his appointments and appearances for the next 3 weeks. I would've done more but I wasn't sure if…I just wasn't sure. Nobody's sure about much of anything, anymore. I'm gonna go find Daniel…"
"Daniel? SSA Daniel Benson?"
"Yes, sir. We're dating."
"I thought you and Tom Larsen were…"
"We were but he got odd. He kept lying to me so I left him. Good night."
"Good night, Lauren..."
Cyrus wasn't a betting man but if he were, he'd bet the Ranch that the reason Larsen had gotten "odd" had nothing to do with Lauren or even the man itself. The reason very B613 ridden and the fact that Tom was in the Inner Circle (within the Service and Olivia and Fitz's ongoing affair), was one of the last people to see Gerry alive, and one of the last people to touch him… touch him…bacterial meningitis couldn't be transferred through simple touch. It needed to go through bodily fluids and it wasn't like it was kept over the counter or in a high school Chemistry lab, especially such potent samples of it.
It wasn't that simple.
However if Tom had gotten a sample from someplace secure that his high clearance allowed him to go without question, if Tom got his hands on a particularly fast acting and lethal sample, all he'd have to do is find a way to get it into Gerry's system and the poor kid…
Before Fitz had taken the stage, Tom had clapped Gerry on the shoulder and in doing so, must've opened a wound small enough to go unnoticed but big enough to…oh, dear God, no…
Cyrus had to get solid proof of it all. He had to be very quiet and careful about getting the proof, working with as few people as possible. He had already lost James this year. He didn't want to lose Olivia and Fitz. He most certainly didn't want to lose Ella, either. If he fucked this up, losing Ella would be inevitable.
Rowan had no qualms about killing children, after all…
/
Her hand must be killing her.
Fitz knew that he was squeezing it much too tightly. He knew that it would be red and swollen by the end of this. At worst, there could be broken fingers but, he couldn't let go of her hand. It had been all he could do to let her get out from underneath him in the Oval. His whole body felt weighed down with all 53 of his years and his mind…it wasn't blank. He still couldn't think straight but his mind was far from blank. It would be a blessing if it were.
His mind was full of memories of his firstborn, from his first steps to the last big blowout they had over him supporting Samuel Reston. It was full of all the years he had allowed Gerry and Karen to be shipped off to boarding school by Mellie, to be raised and nurtured by other people in the name of Politics. It was full of sadness, full of deep sadness blended with a black rage, a rage that he couldn't do anything with. What happened to Gerry was either a cruel twist of Fate or a deliberate assault upon his family that he couldn't do anything about yet. He didn't have proof.
Maya Pope may have been the one to execute the mayhem but Fitz was certain that her husband, that Command had put the idea in her twisted mind. If he hadn't, then his inaction spoke of approval. The only good thing to come from the pair, the only brightness they had contributed to society was standing right next to him. Olivia Pope was standing right next to him, letting him hold her hand to its breaking point, and she intended to stay in the White House with him.
When he had followed her back to the Residence to fetch a new shirt, the master suite Closet had been full of people putting away her belongings. He had seen her comforter set on the first guest suite's bed on the way to the master suite and when he had splashed some water on his face in the master bathroom, his gaze had gone to the Neutrogena facial products that she preferred. The products were arranged neatly in a specific order and her Sonicare was next to his Spinbrush, both of them bathed in UV sterilizing light…
The evidence supported her words. She had come to him and she had decided to stay with him. Fitz had been expecting her to flee. Whether it would be because of guilt over her parents' actions or because of her feelings for Jake, he had expected Olivia to be gone or to be making preparations to leave.
She always ran away from him and from them.
For her talk and walk of being a Gladiator in a Suit, of being a fighter and never giving up, as soon as things got too big and scary in her personal life, she bolted like a spooked baby deer. Usually, Fitz would be up for chasing her to the ends of the Earth but if she had run away from him again this time, at this vulnerable and awful time, he was certain that it would've been the death knell for them. Maybe not immediately but the breach of faith would've blown up in their faces, worse than Amanda Tanner and Defiance combined. Knowing that, he had still called for her, asked for her, expecting the worst but…
Cyrus stepped down from the Podium and the shutters and flashes of the ever present cameras went into double time as Fitz took off, Olivia's hand now clearly visible in his. Of course, the assembled reporters couldn't take that lying down and Fitz could register them shouting questions at him, at her. He couldn't hear them but he knew that they were and he had to get out the hell of there, had to get her away from them and to safety.
At the doorway, Olivia dug her heels into the carpet and he stopped abruptly, looking at her over his shoulder pleadingly. Instead of yanking her hand out of his iron grip, instead of staying behind to deal with the new Optics (like Cyrus was silently demanding with wide darting eyes), she grabbed onto his forearm for balance and unbuckled her black 6 inch slingback Prada heels. That was a very good idea. He didn't want her to fall or twist her ankle. That wouldn't be good for her. As soon as the shoes were off, she nodded once and Fitz resumed their hasty retreat, feeling something other than despair and rage for the first time since before he went on that damned Stage.
Hope.
Despite what past behaviors indicated and defying all logic, Olivia come to him, planned to stay with him long term, and had given him hope again.
For that, he'd be forever grateful.
Present Day…
"Huck and Harrison are looking for Jake. I think something bad happened to him. He left me some voicemails and they didn't sound good at all. He said that he was at my apartment and that he needed me to call him. I did but he didn't answer."
"Do you think Rowan got to him?"
"Most likely…when he tried to get me to leave after you leaked my name, he mentioned that he had been trying to kill Jake at the time, not me. Rowan will keep a grudge and B613 isn't the type of business to send a reprimand in an email when its people fuck up. Remember that Jake was assigned to come between us. It worked for a while but…it is what it is, Fitz. If he is dead or back in The Hole, it's very sad but it's not my fault."
"Did…did you love him, Livvie? I'll understand if you did…"
"I wanted to love him. It would've been so much easier to fall in love with him and move on but I couldn't do it. I could use him but I just couldn't love him like he and Rowan wanted me to. It's been you from the start and it's always going to be you that I love, Fitz. There's no use running away from it or fighting against it, anymore. Life's too short and fragile. Did Karen and Teddy go down okay?"
"Yeah, they did. Karen wants to live here full time. She says that California has too many memories and she wants to stay close to what's left of her family. Her words, not mine. I think it's a good idea. I don't want her spiraling out of control and if she's alone out there…"
"I'll help you look into schools for her. Quinn managed to trace Mellie to a private hangar at LAX and from there, she's off the grid. She was looking into heading West so she may end up someplace like Hawaii or Guam. She wired some funds to Switzerland and she withdrew 450K from a Chase branch outside of Las Vegas."
"She's not coming back, Liv. She signed the Papers before she moved out."
"I know. You should wait a while before filing them, though. Let the dust settle a little."
"People are starting to ask about us, again. It's only a matter of time before they hit pay dirt."
"I know. I'm still not ready for it but I'm tired of hiding, Fitz. I'm tired of settling and being unhappy. I'm tired of making you lie about us. For the longest time, I thought that us being out would bring on the end of the World but it really doesn't have to be like that. We're two smart and capable people. If we work together, we can Spin it. It's not impossible, just insanely difficult to the point of being impossible."
"What else is new?"
Olivia chuckled at his sardonic statement and sighed softly as she settled into his…their bed in the Residence's master bedroom suite.
After everything that had happened, she had been at a loose end. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do but what she had been doing wasn't working, anymore. She was miserable in her personal life and as the disaster with trying to defang B613 proved, she had lost a lot of her Fixing chops. Her Gut didn't work anymore and her mind was too muddled by her own issues to do the job properly. Something had to give. Something had to change.
When she had decided to shut down OPA, she pitched the idea as a long overdue vacation for her and her Gladiators but they knew better. She had dispensed the 'CODE BLACK' funds that she had been squirreling away for years and passed out burner phones and email addresses. Harrison was in Rio. Abby had gone to St. Petersburg (and most likely a freshly divorced Stephen Finch...) and Huck and Quinn were still in DC but lying very low. All of them communicated through encrypted emails and daily text messages. She wasn't sure what Rowan was planning next, not to mention Maya, but until she had an idea, her Firm and People would stay out of the public eye.
Standing in her apartment amongst the possessions she had packed, Olivia had come to a crossroads. Things were bubbling over and she had to make a choice. She had done what she could to protect her People. Now, she had to decide. Would she stay or would she go? Would she go by herself and would she stay long enough to say goodbye? Would anyone even care if she left? Anyone…would Fitz even care if she left? He assured her that he didn't blame her for any of her parents' madness but that could've been a lie. He had lost his firstborn son. He had been re-elected. He had so many other fish to fry, so much more important things and people to worry about than his Mistress who always seemed to do more harm than good…
As soon as she answered the call from Mellie, all thoughts of fleeing from Fitz went out the window. She could hear him asking for her, yelling and pleading for her with tears in his voice.
She may very well be the Scandal, she may very well be the root cause of a lot of their problems but Fitz still needed her to stay. Fitz desperately needed her and Olivia needed him, too. She needed his reassurance. She needed his love. She needed his faith in her. She needed to feel needed and like she could still do something right. When she allowed herself to, she always loved Fitz right and he wouldn't turn her away if she came to him, not this time. It wasn't like after Verna's funeral. There wasn't a big bad secret revealed between them, anymore. There had been breaches of trust, especially when it came to Jake Ballard, but nothing that would have Fitz shutting her out, shutting her down, pushing her away like she had done to him so many times before…
Turning onto his side, Fitz drew her against him and pressed a soft kiss to her brow. Olivia rested her head on his chest and her eyes drifted shut, comforted by the steady beat of his heart and his warmth. She was glad that he was starting to do better. The first few nights had been sleepless. He drank and she drank with him. She sat with him and let him hold onto her as he shed tears. She wept with him and together, they had planned Gerry's funeral, along with the establishment of a foundation in the young man's name. Gerry had a deep love for all things technology so The Gerry Grant Foundation would focus on getting children, especially girls, into Computing and Coding.
Karen was on the Board and it helped channel her grief, as did her stage acting. Olivia made a note to focus on schools that had strong arts and music programs. She knew better than anyone that every bit of stability, every bit of familiarity she and Fitz could give the young woman, would be crucial to keeping her sane and safe. "Party Girl Pope" had happened because she felt adrift, unloved, and lost. Well, that and she loved to dance but still…she didn't want Karen to fall into the same tiger traps she had fallen into after Maya "died" and Rowan sent her away to Boarding Schools in Switzerland. She didn't want Karen or any of the remaining Grants to feel forgotten or like they were all alone in the world…
Fitz raised her chin up and she readily accepted his kiss to her lips, moaning at the feel of his arousal against her thigh. While they had kissed and cuddled, she and Fitz hadn't been sexual. The grief and the stress had been too much for both them to even think about making love, which was okay. Sometimes, they would use sex as a way to avoid their feelings, to avoid talking about anything important or difficult, and while it felt physically good, emotionally it would cause bedlam. They would avoid until they couldn't anymore and that usually led to a big blowout and an ugly, painful separation.
That pattern had ended between them and it was a long overdue and very welcome change.
Only when the need for air became absolutely mandatory did the kiss break and Olivia could feel him looking at her. Swallowing thickly, she opened her eyes and nodded, drawing him into a deeper, wetter kiss. Their new pattern of maturity was nice and all but it had been much too long since he had been inside of her. She wanted him. She wanted to make love with her man and she would get what she wanted, what they both wanted and needed.
Fitz shuddered and surrendered to her, letting her maneuver him onto his back. Their lips parted with a soft pop and she sat up to straddle him fully. Holding his gaze, she lowered the spaghetti straps of her cotton candy pink nightgown and bent forward so she could capture his lower lip between her teeth. He groaned at the sensation and his hands slid over her sides, lowering the nightgown until it was pooled around her bare hips and his pajama clad ones. Rising up, she discarded the nightgown and he sat up to take her in.
They hadn't been together in so long, since the hotel room that degenerated into an epic screaming match and then Vermont before that. Fitz cupped her cheek and pressed a tender kiss to her brow, making her smile.
"I've missed you, Livvie…missed us…"
She nodded in agreement and undid the drawstring to his pants. She wanted to see him. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to feel his skin on hers. As soon as he was naked, Fitz's hands spanned her middle and put her gently onto the mattress. Olivia relaxed into the pillowy surface and her knees bent and spread as he settled between them. Both of them shivered at the full body contact and he rose up on his forearms to kiss her.
"Invite me in, Livvie…"
Delicate fingers opened her lower lips and the head of him slipped into her waiting core.
"Welcome home, Fitz."