Hello Gladiators-
This is my first time writing a fan fiction so I apologize in advance for errors, etc.…I have been such a fan of the show and OLITZ of course and love fan fiction but I got through most of the finished stories on here already so I thought it was time to start one. Please don't hesitate to give feedback- good or bad. Thank you! Also, I have a twitter dedicated strictly to my Scandal obsession- Nicole_F0403, follow me
The apartment is bare aside from a few pieces of furniture and moving boxes. There is no other way, she has to leave, she can't stay here knowing she is the reason his son died, the reason he is grieving, the reason his family is shattered. The only thing that can be done is to take her father's offer and leave, run, do what she does best and fix the problem, fix her.
In the kitchen Olivia is opening a new bottle of California Oak, after finishing off the half bottle she already had opened when there is a knock on the door, looking at the time she wonders who it is a 10:30 at night and knowing she already said her farewells to her associates. Dressed in her signature white satin pajamas, she opens the door after looking through the peep hole and seeing who it is.
"You're running." Jake walks right passed her dressed in his usually attire, jeans and a black leather jacket and starts surveying her now empty apartment he has become so familiar with.
"Hello to you too" She says rolling her eyes going back into the kitchen and grabbing a second glass. She then pours herself a glass and one for him.
"Liv, you can't just leave, they need you" She walks over and hands him a glass then sits on the couch motioning for him to sit also which he does.
"OPA will be just fine without me for a while, I need to do this Jake, I can't be here knowing I am the reason this happened" She takes a big swig, then another, more concentrated on the wine in her glass than on the man sitting on the side of her.
"Your mother is the reason his son is dead, not you, where are you going to go, what are you going to do?" Jake turns so he is facing her on the couch and puts the wine glass down he is holding, waiting to see Olivia the fixer he has come to know so well but all he sees is a shell of a person, vulnerable and lost.
"I need to get away, clear my head, and give him space" She has never looked as broken as she does now and Jake is having a hard time seeing this side of Olivia.
"Again, where do you plan on going, he has resources, he will look for you" Knowing the president, he will search every surface of this earth until he finds her.
"My father has it all set up and will make it so I can't be found, I am sorry Jake but it has to be this way and I am sorry you were dragged into all of this but you are free now, there is no more B613, no more command, you can move on with your life" She gulps down the rest of her glass then stands and walks into her empty kitchen a refills her wine glass. Jake follows her into the kitchen giving her a look of uncertainty and hope.
"Take me with you…, let me come with you Liv" Liv freezes and looks up at him contemplating this. She can easily say yes, it would make it easier for her having someone she is familiar with her, not to mention he really does not have anything to go back to. But in that moment looking at him so hopeful she knows that taking him with her, wherever her father is sending her would be wrong and taking the easy way out. She needs to stand on her own and figure out where she goes from here.
"Jake….." She walks over to the side of the kitchen he is standing at and looks up at him since he is almost a foot taller than her. Jake takes her hands in his and gives her a sad smile.
"Save me, stand in the sun with me" Jake pleads looking down on her tiny frame with hope and using the phrase that always help hope for them.
She lets go of his hands and turns around while talking. "I need to do this alone, there are things I need to work through and I need to find my way through this by myself" She goes back to her glass she just refilled and takes a sip.
"You don't have to do this alone, I am here for you" He states as he looks at her from across the kitchen.
At this point there is no need to pretend or try to make and excuse she needs to be honest with him so he truly understands what she needs. "I love him Jake, I am desperately in love with that man, and I am the reason the person I love is in pain, I can't run away with you, I have to do this alone without you."
She continues to face him waiting and after a few moments of silence he walks over to her so he is towering over her and in that moment she can see that he understands, his face says it all. He is letting her go. She reaches for him and wraps her arms around him and he places a kiss on her head. Jake moves out of her grasp and moves towards the door and takes one final look at her.
"Your father may be able to hide your location Liv…but hiding won't make everything go away, you have to face it whether you want to or not" With that Jake walked out and closed the door behind him.
Olivia watched him leave feeling no emotion for the events that just partake, she had made peace with the fact that she was alone and this is how it had to be. And with that she decided to chug down the rest of her glass and go to sleep in the bedroom.
5:00AM came quick along with the ever so familiar dull wine headache. Crawling out of bed Olivia looked outside and realized the weather reflected her mood, dark and rainy. She decided to dress casual since she was in no mood to care much for her appearance. Throwing on black skinny jeans, knee high black boots, a grey t-shirt, her black leather jacket, her favorite white scarf, and a black baseball cap to shield her hair from the rain, she was ready to leave D.C behind.
Most of her boxes and furniture will be going into storage since she wasn't really sure where she would end up, so she hired movers to come later that day to pick everything up. Olivia laughed a little when she realized all she had was one piece of luggage and her purse, usually she would over pack wanting to have every outfit option available that she may need but this just proved how out of it she really was. Grabbing her suitcase and purse she opened the door and looked down when she heard the crunch of the newspaper under her feet. Another thing she will have to remember to do, change her mailing address. Where would she chose though, she could send it all to OPA and have them contact her if anything important comes but that is an issue for another day.
Leaning down she retrieves the newspaper just to regret it immediately.
"President Grant wins re-election while copping with the death of his son" As soon as she saw the picture of the first Family that was taken moments before Jerry collapsed on stage she felt it hard to breath. This was something she has been experiencing since Fitz told her, her mother killed his son. She has had a total of 5, well now 6 panic attacks. One of the reasons she stopped turning on her TV realizing that any mention of Jerry's death brought them on.
Olivia leaned against the wall and slowly slide to the ground. Usually putting her head between her legs would help with the breathing. Think of something happy, this allowed her to concentrate on something aside from her labored breathing. Vermont, this was safe, the only memories she had from there were happy. The orchards she never got to see but imagined in the huge fields surrounding the home, their home. She pictured the bedrooms he built filled with children with dark skin and his grey/blue eyes. This allowed for her breathing to become steadier. It was funny really, one of the things she used to calm her down was something that now seemed like a fantasy, one that never happened and never will.
Finally regaining her composure she threw the newspaper in the bin in near the elevator and walk back to lock the door to the apartment that held so many memories, she wasn't sure if she would ever be back.
"Ma'am we should be taking off within the next 10 minutes" A tall blonde flight attendant announced pulling Olivia out of her thoughts. She was sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off and only knew that she would be going somewhere outside the U.S. At this point she was not sure she even cared where she ended up she just needed to get out of D.C away from the sinking hole that has become her life. She felt buzzing and forgot that she had put her cell phone in her purse. Rummaging through her purse she pulled it out and sucked in a breath when she saw it was the White House.
It started again, the shortness of breath, her whole body heating up and the sweat start. This cannot be happening, why would he be calling Olivia thought, I am the reason his son is dead. Her breathing was getting worse and the flight attendant from earlier came over to see if she was ok.
Vermont. Orchards, babies, jam, Fitz. She waved off the flight attendant and kept repeating those words and images in her head until her breathing steadied. At that moment she never felt more alone. Getting on this plan would allow her to disappear but would it heal her, would she find that peace she needs? She would be in debt to her father once again.
Without thinking she jumped out of her seat and grabbed her purse and walked to the door that still had the steps deployed.
"Ms. Pope where are you going the plane is taking off momentarily" Wow she really is tall, Olivia thought and she sized up the pretty blonde.
"No need, I won't be flying anywhere, thank you." And with that she walked down the steps and spotted a young man about to put her luggage on the slider to enter the plane and she stopped him and grabbed her luggage.
Her phone started ringing and without looking at it she knew who it would be and why he was calling. There was no need to answer, she needed to do this alone, and without his help. Olivia wheeled her luggage to her car which was parked on the tarmac thankfully since she was going to have someone pick it up to sell but now that wouldn't be necessary. She got her luggage into the car and gave one final look at her way out of the country and decided that she needed to fix herself and there was only one way and one place that could help her heal, and with that she started off towards the highway.
Please review and let me know if it's worth continuing or not! I know there are a few fanfics with this concept but it really threw me for a loop when she left with Jake and clearly over a year later I am still not over it!