Disclaimer: Scandal belongs to Shonda Rhimes

Author note: Thanks for reading and all the very, very nice reviews.

Take It Easy On Me

Chapter 11

Everything was ready in the Treaty Room, the camera was in position along with the lights and microphones and Kimberly studied her question cards for the last time. Olivia supervised it all to make sure everything was in order; her eyes landed on a family picture of the Grants and immediately realized, it would be caught by the camera. Swiftly, she placed the picture on another table in the room. Right now, it would be unwise to remind the viewers of a united Grant family, it would distract them from understanding that divorcing was sometimes the right thing to do for a couple.

The interview was set to be aired two hours from now, Olivia would've preferred a live interview knowing the higher level of honesty it added to an interview, but she judged Mellie to be too unstable for live television. The damage made by a break down by Mellie might very well be unfixable.

Kimberly came over to Olivia and asked her, if she had any last minute instructions for her or the crew, if not they were ready. Olivia looked at the scenery one last time and became very still inside in search of errors or last minute insights.

"Just one minute" she said to Kimberly.

Swiftly, Olivia walked to Fitz and told him in a low tone, "find a moment when Mellie shows emotions to place an arm around her shoulders and squeeze her gently. Don't rush the moment but don't prolong it either. This gesture will show your strength."

Fitz nodded his head but kept his eyes on the working crew, he tried hard to appear as unfriendly to Olivia as he had been before he left for the G8 meeting.

Olivia nodded to Kimberly who told her crew to take their positions, and turning to the President she said, "please take your seats, Mr. President and Mrs. Grant, we are ready to begin the interview.

Fitz waited for Mellie to walk past him, then he followed and kindly helped her down on the couch. He took his seat next to her, not close enough for their bodies to touch, but close enough to seem friendly and caring.

Mellie played along and smiled kindly at him, "I seem to take up a lot of room these days." Gently, she rested her hand on top of her pregnant belly.

Fitz laughed and replied, "don't worry the couch is big enough for us all three, and I don't mind sharing."

Olivia was satisfied with them.

Mr. President and Mrs. Grant, thank you for inviting us into your private rooms."

"You are very welcome, Ms Mitchell." Fitz answered sincerely.

"Today you informed the American people that you're ending your marriage and have filed for divorce. This is a hard time and yet you look serene and friendly tease each other."

Fitz smiled kindly to Mellie, before he turned his focus to Kimberly, "Kimberly, please understand that Mellie and I still are friends. We have a long marriage behind us and we built a home together and have children together, that won't change because of a divorce. We made the choice of filing for divorce together, and we still care about each other."

"Fitz will always hold a special place in my heart, we built a home and a family together and nothing can take that away." Mellie smiled sweetly at Kimberly.

"I will never regret the family we started together." Fitz added.

"Has it been an easy decision to end your marriage?"

"No, it has not been an easy or fast decision to make." Fitz sounded serious, "as you know Mellie and I have been together for the greater part of our adult lives, first in engagement and then in marriage, this means we have shaped our lives around each other and our shared values. Breaking up is never easy. In many ways Mellie has formed me into the man I am today, and I'll always be thankful for that." He looked at Mellie and gave her a smile mixed with respect and sadness.

Mellie smiled back, "we thought long and hard on this decision, and we fought to stay together, but in the end we had to admit a divorce was the best solution for our family. We have drifted too far apart to be more than devoted friends. It's sad but true." Mellie was a little too emotional but Fitz leaned into her and grounded her by encircling his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it. He made it look like he gave her a quick hug.

Olivia was pleased, she looked at Kimberly and saw the effect the President's gesture had on her, and was very pleased. Kimberly was attracted to the President and touched by the gentleness and devotion Fitz showed Mellie. If the female voters would fall for him as fast, a part of her job was well done.

"Did something specific happen to start the drifting in your marriage, or did it happen so slowly that you didn't notice? I know, many marriages ends because the couple grows apart, it this what happened to you? "

Fitz followed Olivia's instructions and took the lead again, "if only we had seen it coming we may have been able to save our marriage. No, it wasn't a specific event that leads to this sad and serious decision. I do believe however, it was due to many small events that we were not wise enough to recognize. Unfortunately, our close friends and families didn't notice any changes in us, as well, and therefore couldn't guide us or give us a wake- up call."

"But at some point you must have had the wake- up call, as you call it, Mr. President?"

"Yes, we did get a wake- up call. It was a warning that shook us awake and forced us to take a deep look at our marriage and lives. We took immediate action and began to fight for our marriage. But to our disadvantage we began the rebuilding work too late, which I can only regret and apologize for to Mellie, my family and the American people."

Kimberly smiled sadly at the President, her crush was clearly developing and she sympathized with her leader. "Why was it too late, Mr. President?" They were opening the box with the difficult questions.

Fitz took a brief moment to share a look with Mellie who nodded in agreement, "this is a complex situation and it's even hard for us to fully understand it, and we may never get the answer to why it happened. Sometimes an explanation is just not available. A long time ago, Mellie had a sweetheart, this was before she met me, and they maintained a friendship thought the years and their marriages. A friendship I knew of and approved of. A couple of years ago his wife died and Mellie stepped in to help him though his grief. I encouraged her to help her friend, and slowly they understood that the love between them had never died. Of course Mellie fought it, and explained it with sympathy for her friend." Fitz held a brief pause to breathe, "one day they slipped and crossed the line between friendship and love. It was a mistake and I fully forgave Mellie. We agreed to fight for our marriage and we thought we had succeeded, and we wanted a baby together. But true love is hard to fight and Mellie lost that fight, and we were at a cross road in our marriage."

"This cross road you mention, was it the decision between having a child together or not?"

Fitz smiled regretfully, "no, that decision had been taken out of our hands, Mellie was already pregnant and unfortunately the baby wasn't mine. Mellie had resumed the relationship with her former sweetheart, it wasn't a moment's weakness or thoughtlessness but fate kept pulling them toward each other."

At the end of his speech Fitz eyes found Olivia's and she knew he was talking about them, and she felt warm inside.

"Mrs. Grant is clearly not in the beginning of her pregnancy which means, that you stayed with your wife even though the baby was not yours?"

"I forgave my wife again, knowing she didn't want to hurt me or our family. The baby was an innocent part of all this and deserved love and a family, and I had room in my heart for both. We decided to give our marriage another chance and to protect the baby, thus I accepted it as my own."

"That was very gallant of you, Mr. President. You did not felt threatened."

"By a baby, no!" Fitz smiled amused before he became serious, "I am not easily intimidated, and most certainly not by another man, I was hurt but that's another matter."

"Then what changed since you have filed for divorce? You had accepted the baby and forgiven your wife but something must have lead to deciding for this drastic step?"

"I came to realize that love is the most powerful thing in the world, Mellie loves her former sweetheart and he loves her and the baby, and though I care for Mellie and the baby, I don't love them as much as they deserve. Over the time, my love for Mellie has changed into the love you have for a very dear friend. That's not enough in a marriage in our age. Our love changed without we realized it. I believe that we are supposed to follow our hearts and do the right thing, and in our marriage the right thing is to let this innocent baby grow up in a home with both his parents and a lot of love."

"But that leaves you alone, Mr. President?" Kimberly sounded wounded at his account.

"I'm a grown man. I'm looking at the bigger picture and not my personal little piece of the picture."

"That's a nice way to see it. Mrs. Grant, this must not be easy for you, your actions is breaking up your marriage, how do you explain falling in love with another man, when you were already married?"

Mellie blinked but kept a pleasant smile on her face, "it has not been easy at all, please understand that I never stopped loving my husband, and I still love him as the father of two of my children. I married the President with all my best intentions and was deeply in love with him, and I never once imagined that I would break up our marriage. I'm a firm believer in marriage, but sometimes fate has another life in store for us, a life we cannot see the purpose of when we begin the journey of it. I wished I had been more aware of what happened in my marriage, how the President and I drifted apart but I wasn't. I have to believe we were only meant to spend a part of our lives together, because I can't regret the baby I carry, and I love it dearly, as much as I love my other children. However, I regret causing my family pain and distress. I wished I had done things in the right order, what I have done was thoughtless of me and I take the full blame."

"Mrs. Grant when you take the full blame does that meant that the President has been a good husband and trustworthy in your marriage?"

Olivia kept her breath, this was an important question and the answer was fatal to how Fitz was valued as President.

Mellie smiled fondly at Fitz, "the President is an honorable, trustworthy man and husband. He honors the values of marriage and this country, and believes in doing the right thing and he always acts on his believes. He is a great husband and leader."

Olivia let go of the breath she had been holding, Mellie was stable and kept her part of the deal.

"Mr. President it is no secret that this is a difficult situation for you personally but it is also a difficult situation for America, you are the first President to be divorced, and the crises in your personal life may reflect on the stability of our country. Does that concern you, Mr. President?"

Fitz leaned slightly forward and closer to the camera, "Of course it concerns me, I'm first and foremost the President of the United Stated of America, and my county's wellbeing is always first on my mind. I do not take my responsibility easy, neither as a family father nor as the President. My divorce has been in progress for a long time, and during that time I've leaded my country without hesitation or showing any signs of weakness, that should tell the American people, that my divorce changes nothing in my leadership. If anything, it will make me a better leader, a leader who knows the daily lives and hardship of his citizens, a leader who knows when to fight and when to reach the best settlement, a leader who can handle a crisis without giving in to the pressure. If I had been weak and afraid of the pressure, I had stayed in my marriage and kept Mellie from her right path, I had been more concerned about votes and keeping up the façade than doing the right thing. I would have dishonored my integrity and I will never do that, I do not bow for pressure or weapons, and I am a man of my word. This is the United State of American, the land of freedom, the land where you can make your dream come true, poor or rich, black or white, Latino or Hispanic, single or married or divorced. We all stand a chance and deserve it."

"Your divorce won't slow you down or make you less devoted to our country?"

"No that will never happen, my obligation to my country is as strong as ever."

"Thank you, Mr. President and Mrs. Grant. One last question, when will the identity of the baby's father be revealed?"

"When our divorce is final and Mellie is free to accept a marriage proposal." Fitz smiled fondly at his soon to be ex-wife, who smiled back at him.

Kimberly kept her eyes on the President with a look of awe in her face. Olivia felt mildly jealous, if Kimberly was representative of the female population, she would have to fight hard to keep Fitz.

"Thank you for inviting us into the Treaty Room for this interview"

"Thank you for coming, Ms Mitchell." Fitz said.

They all got up and the crew began to clear the room for their equipments. Olivia walked over to Kimberly and gave her a warm hug. "Thank you, you took it easy on them but made the tough questions as well."

Kimberly returned the smile, "he's a man with the right heart for this office and I'll gladly help to keep him here, Olivia."

After saying goodbye to Kimberly Olivia went to the Library to debrief the Grants and entered directly into a fight.

"This interview did nothing for me, we never once talked about my political talents and ambitions. I want more Fitzgerald, you promised to help me into the Senate."

"I'll keep my word, Mellie, but I can't get you a seat without an election, and we need to divorce peacefully for me to me able to support you afterwards. Suck it up."

"I'm taking the whole blame and that's not fair." Mellie yelled. "I made it possible for you to become President and stay President, and what did I get in return, nothing."

Olivia closed the door soundly behind her, glad that the television crew would never get near this room on their way out. "This interview did a whole lot for you, Mellie." Olivia raised her voice without yelling.

"You are pregnant with another man's child, you will be judged as a whore and weak if you don't have the President's support. He gave you a whole lot of support today. A support you cannot buy for money. The President forgave you on National Television and partly took blame for your failing marriage. Stop being so self- centered and try to understand how much we all work to give you what you want."

Mellie turned to Olivia, her eyes full of rage and self-pity, "he suffers nothing." Pausing she half smiled, "or maybe he does, I don't see you all dove eyed on him."

"Mellie, we are fixing the situation as well and fast as we can but we have to take first step first. The first step is to have you divorced without the President stepping down, it's the only way either of you will be staying in the political arena, understood?"

Fitz nodded tiredly and Mellie calmed down, "yes and I'm sorry I lost it."

"It's okay but it's important that you keep it together, Mellie. I can't fix anything if you break down. I know you're under a lot of pressure and that your pregnancy is probably part of your mood waves, but control it. Ask for a break if you need one but control it. Ok?"

"Sure, Olivia." Mellie replied.

"You both did an excellent job in there, you nailed it. Congratulations. Now back to the phone calls and save your asses."

Olivia left the room and walked directly to the oval office where Cyrus was already on the phone. The interview was scheduled to air in 30 minutes. Pausing at the entrance, she poured a cup of freshly made coffee and found her favorite armchair.

"They nailed it, good job, Olivia." Cyrus commented. The rumor is already out there that the President and Mrs. Grant are being civilized towards each other, and that makes the calls easier to handle. I do want to keep my job so thank you."

"Cyrus, schedule a meeting with the President and his closest political friends tomorrow, we need their help, and schedule a meeting with the CIA, FBI, NSA and military about the situation in the East of Sudan, and let the President comment on each meeting. We need an active President, and if possible get Germany and England to help him comment on the situation in East Sudan."

"I'll keep his focus on this office, as I said I do want to keep my work, and I never wanted to work for Sally Langston, not a huge fan of her."

Smiling, Olivia reached for the cup of steaming hot coffee when a knock on the door disturbed her and she paused. "Yes?"

A member of the staff came into the room, "would you like something to eat?"

"Yes, please! What's on the menu?" Cyrus requested.

"Steak with salad and bread." The man replied.

"I'll take that. "Cyrus said.

"So will I, thank you. "Olivia smiled to the man.

Sipping her coffee, she switched on the television, at one channel a priest stated that marriage was sacred and divorce a deathly sin, on another channel another priest stated that divorce was not a sin in the eyes of God, he was an understanding father and wanted his children happy. Moreover, he stated 'we don't live in the dark age anymore.' Olivia changed the channel again and turned the volume down.

The door reopened and Fitz and Mellie came into the room looking exhausted, like they had just had another fight.

"Tonight Mellie will into the city apartment her brother owns, she thinks Santa Barbara is too far away." Fitz informed taking his seat in a chair next to Olivia, "we think it will be best for us, if we don't live together anymore."

"Santa Barbara is too far away, we will be on crisis control until the divorce is final." Olivia kept her focus on her coffee, besides that they needed Mellie to be where they easily could keep an eye on her. "What is the time aspect?"

"The fault-divorce normally takes six months and requires we live apart, due to the birth of Mellie's baby my lawyer will try to speed up the process, stating that the baby will be better standing legally being born after the divorce. But the laws are strict here in DC." Fitz answered the question.

"We need to start Mellie's campaign for Senate within 3 months. It will be a close call with the divorce and the birth of the baby, you'll have to work extremely hard, Mellie." Olivia studied Mellie wondering if Mellie knew what a seat in the Senate demanded.

"I'm up to it, I've waited a long time for this, and won't let a child or husband get in the way again."

"You need to find a campaign runner soon, Mellie." Olivia said, she was not going to be a part of it.

"I've some people in mind."

"We need a press release informing the country that Mrs. Grant has moved out of the White House." Cyrus said casually.

Any further conversation was made impossible with the arrival of their dinner, the staff member served the food at the coffee table and left them alone to eat. Cyrus turned the volume up, it was almost time for the interview and they all focus on their food and the interview.

The network had invited a famous marriage counselor to comment the interview, and Olivia and Cyrus leaned forward in their chairs and paid close attention to him.

"The President and Mrs. Grant handle this interview very well, they are gathered and seem to have come to an understanding with the divorce and each other. Especially, I am impressed by the President, he is the wronged part, his trust has been betrayed twice. First his wife is unfaithful and this affair results in a baby, but he shows no bitterness or ill-will towards Mrs. Grant. The President has personal strength and compassion to support Mrs. Grant, we see he put his arm around her and comfort her. This means the President is an emotional strong person, very compassionated and has the ability to adapt and teamwork in difficult times. He is an honorable man and leader. These abilities will be easily adapted into matters of the State. In addition, he puts his foot down, the baby is not his and he won't lie about that fact anymore. He is trustworthy and not easily bullied."

"Do you think the divorce will be easy on the President and Mrs. Grant?"

"Divorce is never easy but they seem to be friends and they have kept the respect and care for each other intact. Yes, I think it will be a fairly easy divorce from what we have seen tonight."

Cyrus switched the television off, "back to the phone calls, we need two-third of the House to support the President to keep him in office. We don't want the President to be impeached as Clinton was by the Senate."

Olivia picked up her phone and started to make calls.

A few hours later Olivia leaned back in the chair and stared at the white board stating the pro and cons, the room was silent. Fitz had left with Mellie to see her off; it was time for her to leave the White House and her husband. Cyrus and Olivia had stayed in the oval office to leave the private moment to the couple. Olivia felt disconnected, a part of her was scared that Fitz would regret his decision of divorcing his wife, another part was scared that he would find her less attractive now that he was free, and instead find a new love interest. She was also worried that she wouldn't fit into the White Hous, she worked better in the shadows and behind the scenes.

The blurred letters and numbers on the white board came into view again, they were close to their goal of getting the two-third of the House. It was unbelievable no one had ever dared to hope that a President would survive a divorce, and a cheating wife. It would be a miracle if they succeeded.

"We still have a long way, we may win the House this time, but the divorce isn't over and the President has to be flawless for the rest of his time in office, or his enemies will be all over him." Cyrus sounded tired and bitter. "I still believe in him but why does he make my job so damn hard!"

"Because he is the man he is – if he did things differently, he wouldn't be that man, Cyrus." Olivia replied tiredly, "I've asked the Communication pool to manipulate the press and networks to use president friendly experts for statements and interviews. We have to call in all the favors we have."

"Good girl."

"We need to work on the time frame for the divorce, we can't afford to wait six months for it to be final, as long as the divorce runs it will take the focus from his politics." Olivia got up and poured a cup of coffee, pointing it toward Cyrus she offered him a cup.

"No, thanks. On a day like this, I almost wished I had allowed James to adopt a baby, I could be home nursing the baby instead of nursing a childish President and his foolish wife, I never signed for joining the circus. Welcome to the freak show."

"Suck it up Cyrus, he's not worse than the former presidents, they just didn't get caught in doing their wrongdoings. You have heard the same tales as I've about cheating presidents, presidents who was controlled by lobbies and firms, and you even know one president who got a child out of wedlock, when he was in office. They just got away with it."

"Why can't we get away with anything?" Cyrus complained.

"He is too honest." Olivia replied. "That's what you fell for, you just won't admit it." She smiled.

Fitz came back from his farewells, his face bore no signs of dried tears or trouble, instead he seemed relieved like a burden has been lifted from his shoulders.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

"We've a press release to write and a few meetings for plan. That's all, no biggies." Olivia chuckled, so tired that she became silly.

"Oh." Fitz almost sounded disappointed,

"Another late night at the circus, our specialty is ticking bombs and trying to be impeached by the Senate every other month, just for the fun of it, and because we can't keep our pants on."

"You sound like a spoiled brat, Cyrus." Fitz looked more amused than angry. "You are welcome to stay again. I know James was here earlier with fresh clothes for you Cyrus and Emilia picked up fresh clothes for you at your office Olivia."

Sighing, she began working on the press release. A few hours later they were ready to call it a day, all three were drained and needed sleep badly and tomorrow was another busy day.