Author's Note:
For this fanfic, I am working with the following factors that in the "fanfic" aired episodes starting in the spring season:
1) Olivia and Fitz are not together and they have not spoken to each other.
2) There is no disclosure about the abortion that took place in the winter finale.
Kerry and Tony are meeting with the new writing team. The new writers have dubbed themselves as "Gladiator Writers" and are "Olitz's Gladiators" – taking on the fight to save Scandal and to bring Olivia and Fitz together.
While Kerry and Tony are happy that their new writers are dedicated and passionate, they need to be convinced that the new writers are up to the job…
Tony:
Changes? What kind of changes?
Kerry and Tony are nervous when they hear the word "changes."
Larissa:
We are not proposing any radical to the show that would change what Scandal is. However, there are some things that we think should do in order to move the Olivia and Fitz's reconciliation story line.
One is to make Fitz hotter and sexier…
Tony:
I thought Fitz was already hot and sexy given the Tweets I get on Twitter.
Larissa:
He is but he could even be hotter and sexier if he upped his presidential game.
Claire:
In the winter finale break up fight scene, Olivia called Fitz ineffectual which implies that she doesn't respect him. It also suggests that Olivia doesn't think Fitz is worthy of her.
It's one thing for Mellie to call Fitz mediocre – Mellie is the bitter ex-wife who spent over 20 years of her life on hold for a husband who she feels hasn't appreciated her enough and/or that she could have done so much with her life other than being the supportive politician's wife.
However, to have Olivia, the love of Fitz's life to refer him as ineffectual is devastating. Fitz needs to show that he has presidential mojo.
Larissa:
Tony, how you got to play POTUS has been driven by what the writers gave you. And not to disrespect the previous team, they didn't do Fitz any justice. Especially, since he is a Yale and a Harvard Law graduate. Not to mention a Rhodes Scholar Oxford PhD. With that kind of academic pedigree, the writers could have done a lot with it but chose not to.
Maggie:
We need to incorporate a bit of West Wing into Scandal. Just enough of it to make Fitz sound smart and presidential and we could get away with doing it because of Fitz's academic background. With that, Fitz will come across as being a confident and capable POTUS.
Claire:
Also, with you playing Fitzgerald Grant, you have a decided advantage over West Wing's Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet in that Fitzgerald Grant could give a speech about trade deficit and make it sound sexy while Jed Bartlet would be more a like a lecture from an economics professor, which would make sense since Bartlet was an economics academician.
Georgia:
To infuse the West Wing element, we told the studio that having a group of writers with specialist knowledge in history, law, politics, economics, public policy and foreign policy would help bring Fitz up with his presidential game.
Claire:
With Fitz being hotter and sexier, this would make Olivia regret her decision to break up with Fitz, and she would want to get back with him.
Kerry:
Ah what we need, a hotter sexier Fitzgerald Grant on screen. Do you think you can handle it, Tony?
Tony (laughing):
Oh, absolutely.
Stephanie:
Admittedly, a reason why Fitz doesn't quite have his presidential mojo is that he gets too caught up with Olivia and that puts him in an unhealthy state. Not to mention, his energy has been spent in combatting Mellie.
As part of him getting his presidential mojo is that he putting his foot down on Olivia's running and doing things that will hurt their relationship. And he is doing so because he knows.
Tony:
He knows? What does he know?
Stephanie:
That Olivia had an abortion and it was his baby.
Kerry:
How does he know? Olivia hasn't told him.
Larissa:
Fitz will want to know where Olivia was and what was the reason to cause her to miss the party at the winter finale.
Since he's POTUS, he can have Secret Service agents' duty logs checked and the agents can be asked where they went that night with Olivia.
Granted we are taking some artistic license in how Fitz finds out but we are working with the presumption that Secret Service agents can be asked and they would need to answer unless the answer would have national security consequences. In this situation, there are no national security issues of concern. If the agents just say that they were at "XYZ clinic or medical facility", Fitz can do some research to find out what kind of clinic or medical facility it was and put two and two together to figure out what happened.
Under the SP episodes, Olivia and Fitz are not together and they have not spoken to each other. We are using this help our storyline in that they are not speaking to each other because Fitz does know and it was the last straw for him, and Olivia has been avoiding him because she doesn't want to have to tell him.
Tony:
How does that help to bring them together, especially, if Fitz knows and is hurt and betrayed?
Claire:
That in of itself won't bring them back together but what they need to do to work through as to why Olivia did it and how does Olivia feel about what she did. If they work through it, they can survive what she did.
Romance writers have used abortion as a plot device, that is, as a reason that drives a couple apart but through careful story development, the couple can back together.
Tony:
So have you used it your works?
Claire:
Oh, I was so hoping that you weren't going to ask me that, Tony. I did use it for one story but it was under a different set of circumstances – it was done of out of medical necessity. So, I haven't had to save a couple under Olivia-Fitz's circumstances but I do have some ideas on how to "fix" it.
If Olivia is avoiding him, this can be inferred that there might be regret in her decision and that could pave the way for Fitz to forgive her. Well, eventually. We will need to speed things up in the path of forgiveness so to get together as a couple by the end of the season.
Stephanie:
The abortion incident is part of the bigger picture of the pathology of Olivia-Fitz's relationship. Olivia says she wants to be with Fitz yet her actions contradict her while Fitz thinks "this time" her behavior will be different but ends up getting disappointed.
In sort of a weird way, the abortion incident can be used to put Olivia and Fitz on the path to a healthier relationship which is what the fans want. It isn't just simply Olivia and Fitz being together but being together that is healthy. We can focus on a storyline where Fitz finally say "enough is enough" and Olivia working out her issues so she can be with Fitz, which is something that has not been addressed.
We don't have the luxury of time to have Olivia and Fitz to work through their issues with a relationship counselor on-screen but we can address their issues in a credible way, maybe using some psych babble, that would leave the audience with the belief that a path is being paved for Olivia and Fitz to be together in a healthy way.
Claire:
Getting back to Olivia-Fitz as a great romantic story, we are going back to elements from the first three seasons that have shaped their love story. Such as the "one minute" moments between Olivia and Fitz.
Kerry:
I confess that I did miss the "one minute" moments during the season.
Tony:
Same here.
Claire:
And there will be an episode about Vermont.
Larissa:
We, as the writing team, have grievance with the previous writing team by placing Olivia in the position to feel that she and Fitz were doomed and that attitude helped to facilitate the story line of Olivia and Fitz breaking up.
With that, there is going to be a change in attitude in Olivia and Fitz – they are meant to be together. While the road getting them together will be filled with bumps but that will be part of the greatness of Olivia and Fitz's love story.
Admittedly, the fans won't be happy that the road doesn't starts off immediately in the story arc but given the craziness that this couple has been through, a slow start is needed.
Tony:
So, what do you have in mind for the story arc?
Larissa:
Gladiator writers, let's present to Kerry and Tony the Olitz reboot multi-episode story arc…