Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal
AN: This is the sequel to "History in the Making"
Chapter One: Brand New Day
It's a brand new day
The sun is shining
It's a brand new day
For the first time in such a long, long time
I know, I'll be okay
- "Brand New Day" Joshua Radin
"Sally," Fitz stood up from his desk in the Oval, "thank you for joining me." He rounded the desk and held out his hand to shake hers. "Olivia, Cyrus and Billy should be joining us any time now." He informed her.
"I'm happy to help our new President set the agenda for the first 100 days." She gave him a firm handshake and sat down on the sofa he motioned to in front of a coffee table.
"Sorry we're late." Olivia pushed the door to the Oval open, "Someone is cranky today." She rolled her eyes at Cyrus.
"Cranky is an understatement." Billy Chambers chuckled in good humor, "But Liv and I handled it."
"Good to hear it." Fitz pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek, "We're just sitting down to set the agenda for the first 100 days."
"Which, I'm told, now includes nominating a Supreme Court Justice." Sally adjusted her seat as everyone settled into their places.
"Yes it does," Olivia and Cyrus shared a look as Fitz answered, "if you'll give me your nomination we'll work to push it through."
Sally smiled warmly at him, "That sounds wonderful."
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"Verna won't like it." Olivia settled in a chair across from Cyrus's desk, "You know she was expecting"
"We never promised her anything." Cyrus reminded her.
"Not explicitly, but"
"I'll handle Verna." Cyrus deadpanned. "Let's just see who her nomination is."
"You know it won't be Verna. It'll be some ultra-conservative judge." Olivia told him with a sigh. "I knew Sally would be a problem."
"We all knew Sally and her Bible thumpers were going to be a problem." Cyrus muttered. "Let's get he name and then we'll handle it from there. And I'll talk to Verna."
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Olivia retreated to the Residence after her sit down with Cyrus. She relieved the nanny (she really wasn't sure how she felt about having someone who wasn't family watching over her kids yet, but the woman was nice enough) and settled herself in a rocking chair in Karen's nursery. She listened to the steady breathing of her daughter and closed her eyes. Eleanor was picking Jer up from school and taking him for ice cream for some special Jer-Nana time. As she continued to rock, Olivia's mind flicked back a few months.
October 2008
"Liv?" Cyrus poked his head into her office, "Think you can disappear for a few hours?"
Olivia's head shot up, "Um, yeah, sure, why?"
"I'll tell you on the way. Grab your coat." He held the door open and she picked up her jacket and slipped into it and grabbed her purse.
"Let me just tell Fitz we're stepping out for a few minutes." She met him by the front door of the headquarters a few minutes later. "Okay, where are we going?"
"We're meeting someone." Cyrus told her.
"Who?"
"Verna Thornton." Cyrus turned the car over and backed it out of the parking lot.
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Olivia tapped her fingers against the tabletop of the diner they were waiting for Verna at, "Did she say what she wanted?"
"She said she had info on Hollis and Reston." Cyrus informed her as he wrapped his hands around a ceramic mug of coffee.
"Thanks for meeting me." The older woman's voice came up behind them. She sat down, "I have confirmation of exactly what they're doing. Something to connect them to Defiance."
"So that's definitely the town they're using?" Olivia asked, "I'm Olivia Grant, by the way."
"Yes, I know who you are, Mrs. Grant." Verna snapped impatiently. "Look," the judge pulled out a file, "this will prove everything."
"How did you get it?" Cyrus asked, taking it from Olivia to flip through it himself.
"When Hollis approached me about supporting the Reston campaign I was curious. He said something about guaranteeing the election, but needing more funds." She shrugged, "I hired someone to look into it."
"What do you want?" Olivia asked, snapping the file shut.
"Excuse me?" Verna cocked her head to the side.
"For the file. What do you want?" She clarified.
Verna smiled at them and leaned across the table, "The first time a seat opens up on the bench, I want it."
"A seat on the bench?" Olivia echoed.
"For Supreme Court Justice." Verna explained.
Cyrus leaned back, sliding the file towards him, "Done." He held out his hand and shook Verna's.
The woman smiled, nodded and stood, leaving them alone, "Cyrus, you can't just promise"
"We need this file." Cyrus told her. "Without it, we don't have enough to ensure a conviction." He sighed and finished off his coffee, "We'll convince Fitz when the time comes. She's a good fit, anyhow."
"I just hope that's true." Olivia sighed, "Particularly," she leaned forward, "because you seem to have forgotten about that we promised the first nomination to Sally for taking on the VP slot." She snapped.
"We'll handle that, as well." Cyrus stood up and tossed some cash on the table and held his hand out for Olivia.
Olivia was drawn out of her thoughts as Karen started crying. Standing up, she reached into the crib and picked up her baby, "Hey, sweet girl, what's all the fuss about? Are you hungry?" She asked as she rocked her little girl. Settling into the rocking chair, Olivia set Karen up to feed her, "Oh, baby, Momma and Uncle Cyrus are in a deep hole right now. Your daddy is not going to be too happy once we tell him what we promised Judge Thornton. Oh boy is life complicated. You don't know that yet, sweet girl. I hope to keep you from that for a while."
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"Hey, Livie," Fitz wandered into the kitchen to find Olivia standing over the stove, "that smells amazing."
Olivia raised her head for a kiss, "I hope you guys don't mind being stuck with my cooking most of the time. I know the White House chef is a far better cook, but"
"You want some normalcy." Fitz finished, "And for the record, I love you cooking." He dipped his finger in the pot and scooped up a little bit of the sauce, grinning when Olivia slapped his hand away, "So, how was your day?"
Olivia cleared her throat, "I have something to tell you."
"That doesn't sound good." He leaned against the countertop, "What happened?"
"It's more about what Cyrus and I did." She sighed.
"What did you do?" He asked.
"Well, in October, we met Verna Thornton." She sighed.
"The judge who told us about Ohio?" Fitz crossed his arms, "What did she want?"
"She gave us the evidence that we really used to nail Reston and Hollis." Olivia explained, stirring the cream sauce and avoiding her husband's eyes.
"Why didn't I know about this?" Fitz asked slowly, "What happened at that meeting?"
"She was promised the first open seat on the Bench." Olivia blurted out.
Fitz processed that information for a moment before finally saying, "You mean the seat we promised Sally months before for her to sign on as VP?"
Olivia nodded, "Yeah, that same one."
"Let me guess, Cyrus agreed to it before anyone had a chance to actually to make a decent decision." He surmised.
Olivia nodded, "Pretty much, but I didn't stop him. And I didn't say anything because I was thinking that it may just disappear. Shows what I know, right?"
Fitz chuckled, "I'll talk to Cyrus tomorrow and we'll handle Sally and Verna. Let's start by seeing how bad the judge is who Sally chooses. I'll handle it, Livie. Thanks for telling me."
"Sounds like a good plan. No more secrets. Promise." Olivia rocked up and pressed a kiss to his lips, "Now out of my kitchen. Go see your kids." She swatted his ass as he walked away.
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XOXO
MAS