Author's Note: I'm so happy to be back and I want to thank all of you for your love, your patience, and your support through these last few months. I've missed my writing so much and having access to a fully functioning writing computer is something that I will never take for granted again.
Season 6 came through for me in many unexpected ways but it makes me sad that Liv still hasn't gotten the mental tending she needs. It seems that Season 7, the last season ever, will be the one where she finally has her long overdue psychotic break & I really hope that we can actually see her get help. I mean, she just took Command and the Darkness already has deep roots. Granted, there are only 18 eps left and So. Many. Loose. Ends. but goddamn it, Olivia Pope is the leading lady (not Mellie, Shonda. Fuck off.) and she deserves a good endgame, not to mention Fitz. They're saying that there's gonna be a major death & I swear to God...
Hope for sense, expect utter bullshit. That's been my motto for the show since 3B and it's worked for this long. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Whatever happens in canon, we will always have fanfic and that is comforting. More WIP updates are coming, as well as Draftbook Drabble 40. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"
"Olivia..."
"Don't."
"Liv, I..."
"I don't want to hear it. You've said and done enough tonight. Hang up the phone."
"You don't understand..."
"I understand enough. Jake, you owe me 450 dollars. 150 was to keep him from calling the police on you and the rest was to help cover his medical costs. I want my money by Monday and this? This is done. Whatever new assignment Rowan gave you is done. You're off duty, Son and good luck explaining this to him. Maybe he'll just exile you to Switzerland instead of putting you back in The Hole or into a shallow grave."
"Rowan didn't assign me to do anything. He has no say in what I do now. I'm free."
"You really believe that? You really expect me to believe that? Okay."
"...Olivia, the guy back there wasn't just a photographer, he was a PI hired by BNC and TMZ. He's been following you around for weeks and he had notes on a story about you going to your Group sessions. He found your therapist's office building and even got copies of all of the prescriptions that you're on and... I was just trying to protect you and your business. Reputation is everything in DC. Image is everything. You know that better than anyone. I mean, I'm glad that you're getting better but still, no one is going to hire a Crisis or Campaign Manager whose..."
"Crazy. That's the word you were going to use, right? I'm just so crazy and just so helpless, aren't I? I can't even tie my shoes or wipe my nose without someone holding my hand, isn't that right? I'm just so pathetic and let's be honest: you're not happy about me healing at all because you can't benefit from it."
"That's not even close to true!"
"...okay."
"It's not, Olivia! I really care about you and..."
"...you have a very bad way of showing it. Huck will be at your place on Monday. Don't make him have to look for you. Goodbye, Jake."
"Liv..."
"Goodbye, Jake."
"I'm retired from Politics, Cyrus. I'm a Fixer, not a King or Queen Maker. I'm done."
"Look, I know that you and Mellie have a past but there's a chance for History to be made here and..."
"Has Susan Ross decided to leave DC? I hope not. She's already doing a fantastic job as Vice President. America's future is in good hands."
"I'm not talking about the Oval. I'm talking about Virginia."
"It is always about the Oval with you. You want Mellie in there next. You want a Grant Dynasty."
"She could be a great President, Liv. She just needs a little polish..."
"What she needs is a lot of nepotism, handholding and conniving, not polish. She isn't Fitz, Cyrus. Mellie is unqualified. She has no political experience or capital of her own. She graduated top of her class at Harvard and passed the Bar with flying colors, which is nothing to scoff at but it's not enough. The Oval is not going to happen for her yet. It may not even happen at all. If she really wants to be President, then she needs to put on her big girl panties and pay her dues. She can't cut corners, cheat, or ride on someone's coat tails, this time. She needs to legitimately get the job as Virginia's Junior Senator, do the job correctly for at least 4 years, and then she can run for President. She also needs to establish a more humble and approachable image, not to mention that she's still only known as Fitz's wife. Contrary to popular belief, being First Lady isn't just being arm candy and a Stepford Wife in red and pearls. You can do a lot of good, powerful things as FLOTUS but Mellie hasn't taken advantage of that opportunity, not really... don't give me that look. I'm not telling you things that you don't already know, Cyrus."
"...you're right. I just...can you really walk away from it all? The Game?"
"Not walking away from The Game when I should have has led to me losing some of my closest friends, breaking my own heart by constantly hurting those who are still around to love me, neglecting my business, and losing a good portion of my sanity. I'm finally recovering. I'm stronger than I've been in a long time and I have absolutely no intention of setting myself back, especially not for Mellie of all people. She wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire so why the hell should I go out of my way to help her? I've done more than enough for her. She doesn't deserve any more of my time or effort and to be honest, she doesn't deserve any more of yours and Fitz's either. She's always said that she's been held back, that we and the whole world has done nothing but conspire to take away her dreams. She's said that she is a political animal that can handle herself no matter what so let her prove it. Let her earn her place in the sun all by herself. As for your future, instead of trying to make a Grant Dynasty, I say that you should back Susan's campaign for the Oval when it kicks off or go and hook up with Frankie Vargas out of Pennsylvania if you want to switch Parties. They are the Candidates for '16. They are who America deserves to represent them after Fitz is done. Mellie is nothing. People like Hollis Doyle and Donald Trump are more qualified to lead than her and that's both very sad and downright terrifying. What a time we live in, huh?"
"I thought you said that you were retired from Politics."
"I am but that doesn't mean that I don't keep up with things. How's the Brandon Bill going?"
"Slowly. They're fighting like cats and dogs over every word."
"Figures. Don't give up on it, though. It's needed legislation and it will be Fitz's Legacy when it passes. It'll be his New Deal, his Medicaid, his Interstate System, his Moon Landing. You'll see."
"Speaking of Fitz..."
"We can talk about Fitz when we talk about Michael."
"...right. I just...I noticed that he's been happier and more much focused, lately. I know that you came to see him a couple of weeks ago so I was wondering if you two were..."
"It's none of your business, Cyrus."
"I'm asking as your friend, not as his Chief of Staff, Liv."
"Asking questions as my friend can and will lead to you interfering as his Chief of Staff where you have no right or business doing so. It's happened before and it won't be happening again. What is and isn't going on between Fitz and I is between us and only us now. That's how it should've been from the start but I wasn't ready for it to be like that. Now, I am. Finish your coffee before it gets cold."
To accent her words, Olivia drank the last of her hot chocolate and kept her gaze straight ahead. Sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial gave them both a prime view of the Washington Monument, highlighted by the Saturday morning sun. Cyrus had texted her after her run, wanting to know if she could meet him to catch up.
Saturday was her off day. Unless there was a catastrophic emergency, she was to be left alone.
She would go on a run and then, depending on her mood, she'd go home to relax or she'd pick someplace to hang out for the day. The Monuments, the museums (sans the Smithsonian), her favorite gym for boxing & swimming, and she had joined the evening Bikram Yoga classes at the rec center that housed her Group sessions. That was how she discovered what Jake had done to the reporter. She had hurried over to help just in time to see him fleeing into the night and the groaning man coughing up blood on the pavement...
"Just...be careful with whatever the hell you're doing now, all right? Both of you."
"Because we could bring the Republic for which we stand crashing down and end up ruining countless lives for having the nerve to love and want the best for each other, even in secret?"
"...because I never want to see either of you hurting like you've been ever again."
As if letting air out of a balloon, the piss and vinegar in her body language drained away. After a long beat of silence, Olivia scooted over on the step they were sharing and put her head on Cyrus' shoulder. For all of his flaws and manipulating, Cyrus Beene was still one of her closest friends, her mentor. He was a member of her family, as dysfunctional and twisted as it was at times. He did care for her, even loved her in his own Cyrus way and she couldn't forget that.
Cyrus Beene was a Monster but he was her Monster, Fitz's too.
"Sorry."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I've given you plenty of reasons not to trust me over the years."
"An encyclopedia's set worth of reasons."
Another long beat and then both of them laughed.
