Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal
Chapter Nine
The Grant for President campaign bus bumped along the highway up to New Jersey. The front of the bus was buzzing with energy. Poll numbers were up, the Veteran's Breakfast in DC had been a hit. Fitz had done very well and the optics were prime. The back of the bus, however, was silent. Olivia, Cyrus, Stephen, Fitz and Mellie were all sifting through the latest poll numbers, each trying to come to terms with what they were seeing. Olivia stared at the numbers on the page, "This is pointless." She decided after a few minutes, effectively breaking the silence.
"No, no, no," Cyrus shook his head, "it's not pointless." He shuffled through the pages, loudly, "No, it can't be."
"Our numbers are up." Fitz pointed out hopefully. At Mellie's seething look, he shrugged. It was true, their numbers were up. They just weren't up enough. He was lacking in one very large demographic that spanned generations and race.
"But woefully low when it comes to women." Stephen muttered.
"You won't get women." Olivia closed her folder and stuck it into the bag by her feet. "Not when they have a strong female candidate. Sally is irrefutably their candidate."
"Okay, okay," Cyrus closed his own notebook and tossed it on the empty seat next to him, "so we go digging. Let's dig up something in her backyard. What about her early days? Before she got married? What skeletons can we rattle in her closet?"
Fitz was already shaking his head. "No, not happening, Cy."
Holding up his hand, Cyrus attempted to interrupt. "But"
"I said not happening." Fitz repeated, "We play the rest of the campaign clean."
Before Cyrus could object again, Olivia jumped in, "It wouldn't matter if we found anything anyhow." At his incredulous look, she interjected, "Sally found God, Cy. Once you find God everything's forgiven, that's kind of the point."
"We play it clean, we'll figure something else out." Fitz stood, "I've got the best team here, anyhow." He patted Stephen's shoulder and moved to talk to Brenda.
Olivia sighed, "I'm going to go give Kyle and Will some directions for when we reach Trenton." She glared down at Cyrus, "Clean. You got that, Cy?"
Cyrus's own scowl was almost as intimidating as Olivia's glare, "Yes ma'am." He quipped, gathering up his own things and moving to talk to James, who was given a nice seat on the bus for the Trenton events.
As the team spread out on the bus, Mellie leaned back, content to just wait. Her time was coming. She could practically taste it.
SCANDAL
Trenton, New Jersey
"I want to see Mellie's outfit for the lunch." Olivia called out, "That town hall outfit in Texas was a disaster. Whoever was in charge of that needs to see me. We need to talk." She stopped at a table in the hotel conference room they'd taken over, "Also, Super Tuesday is just around the corner, people, and we're way behind. I want to see the numbers from all the headquarters for calls and door-to-doors." She picked up a clipboard, "And I want to know if any of the local offices are lacking in shirts or anything."
Fitz watched her move for a moment before finally approaching her. "Olivia?" He questioned softly.
She didn't look up at him, "What?" She asked, shuffling around some things on the table. He sighed and grabbed her wrist, spinning and dragging her back into the hallway, "Governor Grant, what do you want?" She asked after he'd settled her against the wall.
"One minute?" He asked quietly. "Please?"
She glanced down the hallway, "We have to stop." She pushed on his chest, but he remained firmly planted in front of her.
"No one is around, Liv, just one minute, please." He stuck his hands in his pockets and took a tiny step forward.
She sucked in a breath, nodding slowly, she agreed, "Fine, one minute. Then it's back to work for the both of us."
Pulling one hand out of his pocket, he leaned against the wall, hovering over her silently. She chewed on her bottom lip, watching him with her big doe eyes. She wanted to reach out and touch him, not to push him away like she usually did, but to actually feel him.
"Olivia?" Mellie's voice echoed and the door just down from them opened. Fitz instinctively pushed himself off the wall and took a step back, while Olivia took two steps to the right, putting an appropriate amount of space between them. "Oh, there you are." Mellie smiled and sighed, "You should see this outfit they've put together. It's a disaster. Please tell me you can help. I don't know what to do about this wardrobe consultant, I think we need to find another." She admitted. She eyed Fitz for just a moment before turning to lead Olivia back through the door.
Throwing a look over her shoulder, she sighed to herself, trying to put the Governor back in his appropriate box.
Fitz watched her walk away. His eyes longingly following her as the door banged shut. He hit his fist lightly against the wall. He wanted her. More than he cared to really admit. And it didn't look like he could have her at all.
SCANDAL
"Does Lorraine have any updated numbers for us?" Olivia asked quietly, as she moved to stand next to Cyrus at a restaurant event they were having in Trenton.
Cyrus shook his head, "No, I don't. What's wrong with Mellie? She's being cold and sad and pathetic. More so than usual." He motioned to the brunette who was barely eating her pie.
Olivia glanced away from the couple. A wave of guilt swept over her. She knew that Mellie had seen them and surmised that there was more than an innocent conversation happening in the hallway. It was the clattering of Mellie's fork that forced her eyes back on the two of them.
"I'm sorry," Mellie's hands lightly fluttered before landing primly in her lap, "I just, I can't do this anymore."
Fitz's eyes widened and they narrowed in on his wife, "Mellie? What's wrong?" He asked quickly.
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes as she replied, "I can't keep hiding the truth anymore." Camera flashes doubled as she continued, this time turning her sad gaze onto the people of Trenton, "You may have noticed some tension between Fitz and me lately." She swallowed hard.
"What is going on?" Cyrus whispered.
"I have no clue." Olivia admitted.
Mellie sniffed and brushed away a tear, "A few weeks ago, Fitz and I found out we were expecting a baby. And we were just so excited. A third child. We didn't think that was going to happen." She admitted. Her voice faltered and cracked, "But being on the road is hard. Campaigns are hard. And I'm not as young as I was when I had Karen and Jerry. And my body just couldn't handle the stress." She laid her palms on her flat stomach. "Fitz, he wanted to stop, to take some time off from the campaign, but he's just," she looked up at her husband fondly, "he's the best man for the job. And we can't let our personal hardships affect the American people. So, we've been grieving for this loss in our own way. We may not have had this baby for long, but he, or she I suppose, was still apart of our family and we loved him very much. That grief must've translated as distance." Her eyes fell to her lap, "Anyhow, I just think it's time the American people know what we've been going through and why it has been just so incredibly hard for us."
By the end of her speech, women were sniffling and wiping tears, men were looking at Mellie as if she were something precious to protect. So, Fitz did the only thing he could do, he pulled his wife into a hug, gently rubbing her back. "That ought to do it, don't you think?" She murmured quietly in his ear.
His wife was a political animal.
SCANDAL
Later that night, the bus bumped along the coast up to Maine. Most of the staffers were asleep, but Olivia noticed Fitz was still awake. Standing, she moved to the seat next to him, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Fitz." He turned to stare at her, "If Mellie needs some time off"
"She's on her way to Oklahoma now. Something about literacy and the arts." He chuckled, "I'm a lucky man, nothing stops that woman. Not even a fake miscarriage." The bitter edge to his voice startled her.
"What?" She asked.
He shook his head, "She lied."
Her mouth gaped open and it took her a moment to get her spinning mind back under control. "Fitz, I'm sorry I"
"Don't," he murmured, "Don't apologize for my wife." He scoffed, "It's twisted and low and the oldest trick in the book." At her confused look, he elaborated, "Me, complaining to you about my wife."
"Governor" Olivia began.
"Your husband doesn't deserve you." He changed topics so suddenly.
Her eyes were wide as she asked, "What?"
Fitz gazed down steadily at her, "He has no idea what he has in you. He has no idea how amazing you are. He underestimates you and undervalues you."
She shook her head, "No, Governor, don't."
"Say my name." He demanded softly.
"Governor Grant, it wouldn't be appropriate." She objected softly.
He didn't soften his gaze, he just continued to stare at her, "Say my name, Olivia." He demanded again.
She closed her eyes and leaned back. She could feel him caving in, ready to drop the subject, when she whispered, "Fitz."
His eyes snapped back to her, "Say it again." He pleaded.
This time she turned her eyes up to his, locking into his steely blue gaze, "Fitz." She replied more confidently, "Fitz."
SCANDAL
XOXO
MAS