Author's Note: All right, seriously? I'm not watching her new show. I love Viola Davis but I'm not doing it. Despite my love of KW, I tried valiantly to avoid SCANDAL, failed miserably, and now look where I am right now, look where we are right now. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to be a Gladiator in a Hoodie because I've met some amazing as fucking hell people in the fandom and expanded my writing skills but…yeah, no. I have relearned my lesson thoroughly when it comes to how Ms. Rhimes rolls with her shows and I'm a lot of things but I'm no masochist. Unless my boss ends up into it and turns a DVR recording on during my shift (which is how I originally fell down the SCANDAL-ous rabbit hole), I'm not…unh-uh. Y'all let me know how it is. Enjoy this week's Bugs installment and a Shattering update is in the works!

Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"

"…you missed our appointment yesterday, Olivia."

"I'm prosecuting the Times Square Rapist. Although the prosecution's case is watertight, the high profile has the potential to be problematic. I was looking over my notes for this morning and I lost track of time. There are 3 other Sundays in this month alone. Pick one and I'll show up."

"Alone or with Dr. Grant?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. I'm glad to see that the Gossip Grapevine still flows like the East River's pollution…"

"The fact that I have to hear about what's going on in your life through gossip is…"

"…more than you deserve. We don't have the sort of relationship that would allow for me to come to you personally with these things and we both know whose fault that is."

"…how long do you plan on staying angry with me, Olivia?"

"How long do you plan on living, Dad?"

"What happened to your mother was in no way my fault."

"If you had kept it in your pants, then you two wouldn't have gotten divorced and she wouldn't have been on that plane to London. And need I remind you that you dropped me off on Grand-mere's doorstep not a month later and didn't look back? I was 12 years old, my mother had just perished in a plane crash and instead of being there when I needed you, you ran away."

"I sent checks to cover your schooling and living expenses…"

"…and money and cards on my birthday and for the graduations you couldn't even bother to take 5 minutes out of your precious time to attend. The only reason that you're even reaching out to me now is because I've made a name for myself as a prosecutor and the fact that you were cut completely out of Grand-mere's will."

"I don't need any of her damned money."

"That may be true but you were expecting it and when it didn't come, when she called you out on your bullshit in front of everyone in the funeral parlor on that tape, it was a huge blow to your ego and reputation. For a brief shining moment, everyone saw that the legendary Eli Pope was nothing more than another deadbeat dad on the corner, talking big and saying nothing. "

"...Next Sunday at Enrique's. 8PM sharp. Bring Dr. Grant."

The victory she felt at the brittleness in her father's voice before the dial tone was pyrrhic. It was nice to know that she had gotten to him, that she had broken through the icy composure that had been a part of him for as long as she could remember but speaking to him brought up so much pain. Eli Pope had been a distant figurehead of a parent, leaving the warmth and nurturing to her mother Maya. Then, one day, after she and her mother came home from taking her to a mid school day tooth cleaning, they had walked in on him with his secretary on the living room floor. Olivia being 9 at the time really didn't understand what was going on but she soon found out.

Her first time in a courtroom had been during the custody battle. While her mother and father threw every legal tactic they knew at each other like missiles, Olivia had been amazed by the size of the room. It was just like in Law and Order but better. She could see every part of the room, hear the typing of the court reporter, smell the polish on all of the shining wood around her. Some of the lawyers and judges around were mean but the vast majority of them were nice to her, impressed by her good behavior and patiently answering every question that popped into her head.

By the time her mother won custody of her on her 11th birthday, Olivia had her heart set on being a lawyer, just like her momma, just like her daddy but better. She wanted to make a difference. She wanted to help those who truly needed it. She wanted to be the best prosecutor in the city, in the state, in the region, in the country, in the World. She wanted to be the DA. She wanted to be the AUSA. She wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice. That had become her dream.

After her mother passed away and Eli had abandoned her, she had thrown herself deep into her studies, becoming obsessive almost. While the other 14 year old girls were reading the latest gossip rags at the lunch tables, she was reading law textbooks and compiling stack after stack of notes on the information. She had started going to open to the public lectures on the weekends after she turned 16 and her first real job had been as a court reporter's assistant. She had gotten her credentials and taken the job at Isles, Morton, and Bernstein, where she stayed until 3 years before, when Cyrus had offered her the current job she had and loved.

In the end, she had done it. She had endured her pain and worked hard and now, here she was. She was Olivia Pope, 'the Pope Pistol', and she was an example of excellence in the field. She had integrity. She had strength. She had guts. She had…she had…she had…

A warm hand went to the small of her back and she turned around on her bar stool to look up into his eyes. Soft sobs shook her form as Fitz wiped her tears way and she took a handful of his t-shirt, using it to anchor herself back to the present. The past was done. It would always hurt but it was the past. Her mother had always told her to live in the moment, not to be too impulsive but to slow down, to relish the peace and joy that she had now, instead of worrying about what was to come later or what had come before….

Her peace and joy came in the form of the man in front of her.

She was so glad that he was in her life…