Iowa, 2003.

"No, for the last time Cyrus, look at the poll numbers with women, okay we are down, which in effect cuts my lead down to me trailing behind Langston. If we cannot win the swath of down state Iowa, I will lose the entire Midwest and just win the coastal areas." Fitz said wearily. It was a late bitter cold night in Des Moines, Iowa. Mellie and Fitz were sitting in a large presidential hotel suite with Cyrus Beene, the campaign manager and trusted advisor for the couple.

Cyrus shook his head, skeptically. "No, no…I think you can make up for the loss of women's votes with maybe a speech on family values, but you need to worry about New Hampshire, not Iowa, after all this is Langston country."

It was almost midnight and Mellie was exhausted from a long day of campaigning around the state. However, strategy was in desperate need for discussion. The Grant campaign for the most part, was not a bad one. But it was one that was not particularly generating kind of excitement from the base of the Republican Party and was lagging in every poll behind popular longtime conservative hero, Senator Sally Langston.

On paper, Mellie's husband had it all. Smart, ambitious and even she could not argue, incredibly handsome and charismatic. Not to mention young, and as far as his resume was concerned, polling really suggested that voters, a good majority of them thought him to be incredibly qualified for the job. And were even more impressed at what he had accomplished at this age. Naval Aviator, Attorney General, Governor of California, and an Ambassadorship to England were all the good seal of approval they needed.

His performances on the campaign trail however left something to be desired. This was strange, given that Fitz was typically the most charismatic person in a room. But this had all changed. He had become wonky, distant and boring, relying on policy heavy speeches and steering clear of the red meat issues like social issues…or family values.

Well, that tends to happen when you're not getting any ass. Mellie thought darkly as she watched with folded arms Fitz and Cyrus debate each other on the merits of campaigning in smaller venues versus bigger venues.

"…maybe you should do a town hall, so people can see you in your element-"

"No, Cy, for the last time, this election is about real issues. We have two wars going on, economists are talking about a potential recession and we are facing the risk of terrorist attacks every day. I need to communicate real solutions and that is what I'm doing." Fitz said adamantly, his eyes steely with slight annoyance. Despite his respect for Cyrus, he seldom seemed to listen to his advice.

"Fitz, Cyrus has a point." Mellie said intervening, placing a hand on his arm as she spoke. She had become very conscious since he announced his run to be more "wife-like" when people were in their mist.

Fitz and Cyrus both stared at Mellie. They looked surprised (and somewhat relieved on Cyrus's part) that she had finally decided to join the conversation. Her advice normally was needed; however, knowing Fitz, he would find some way to argue against listening to her.

"Why?" Fitz asked with somewhat of an edge in his voice while his brow furrowed. His eyes were alternating at a rapid pace between the hand on his bicep and her face. His face said it all. Not helping.

Mellie sighed. She could not believe him. Here he was, blessed with this great opportunity for them, and he was going to throw it all away because he wanted to be the modern day Adali Stevenson II.

"Look, it would not hurt if you could just lighten up a bit. I mean, in interviews your great but on the stump, too much fact and policy. And the crowds are way too big. That stuff works better in a smaller environment with voters who want kitchen table issues. Not a bunch of rah-rah activists who want you to throw them applause lines. But you still need to turn on the sparkle." Mellie analyzed carefully. She took satisfaction in Cyrus's smile and head nodding. However, Fitz rolled his eyes. He shrugged her hand off and leaned back in his chair.

"I understand you guys want me to ham it up a bit, and I will, maybe I will even met with Dan tomorrow after the prayer luncheon to make the speech a little less wonky but I will not do that at the expense of campaigning on the real issues." Fitz said running both hands through his dark curls. He was growing a five o'clock shadow and his lids were heavily drooping.

Mellie knew he was tired, cranky and annoyed. He often got like that after a long day. Unfortunately, if he stayed up any longer, he would not fall asleep. It was times like this she missed England. At least he'd be fucking to take the edge off. She observed. But there was too much at risk now…

"Umm…why don't we wrap this up Cy, Fitz looks like he's about ready to fall over." Mellie said sweetly. Cyrus nodded, as his own electric blue eyes were red with tiredness.

"Could not agree more. You know sometimes Mellie, I wonder if maybe you and Fitz should switch places, that would make my life easier." He joked kindly as he gathered his belongings from the table.

Mellie laughed. She wondered the same thing herself. After all, campaigning was one of the few things she actually liked these days. She was equally as well versed on the issues as her husband and crowds tended to respond well to her. While she was no rock star like Langston, she had a following.

But Mellie could see the muscle bone in Fitz's face twitching slightly from the corner of her eye. Looks like Cyrus touched a nerve.

"Goodnight Cyrus." Fitz said softly, with a glimmer of playfulness in his eyes and voice. But Mellie could hear just a touch of ice in his tone as Cyrus walked toward the door.

Someone's mad.

But before Mellie could get up from the table toward the bed, Cyrus spoke once more.

"By the way, Governor, Operation Vatican is a go." Cyrus said smiling. Mellie stopped halfway and suddenly was intrigued. What the hell was operation Vatican? It surely had nothing to do with religion? Fitz and she were Episcopalians. Was this an attempt to appeal to Catholic voters?

"What are you talking about?" Mellie asked curiously. She looked over at Fitz to see him rolling his eyes.

"Cyrus says he has this former student of his-"

But Cyrus interrupted Fitz with a glimmer of happiness in his eye. "She's more than a former student. She's a genius. Top of her law school class, VP of a consulting firm in New York now. She's going to give this campaign the shock it needs." He finished. Mellie studied Cyrus. His chest was puffed out and he was practically aglow with pride. This woman sounded impressive…

"Ha!" Fitz laughed obnoxiously. "Sounds like another high paid hack to me. Let's at least wait until she starts working for us." It was a she? Fitz had finally been on the straight and narrow lately thanks to the campaign. She did not need anything distracting him now; sure, he needed the sex but come on. They could not afford any bimbo eruptions, well maybe if they kept their mouths shut. But luckily he sounded skeptical. As Cyrus moved toward the door, shaking his head amused, he said something that shook Mellie.

"I did not nickname her Vatican for nothing, the girl works miracles." And with that, he left.


Mellie had been up for hours. She had called a few people to get the name of the new press secretary. Olivia Pope. She had heard the name before. Pope…Pope….

But when she finally waited for Fitz to fall asleep, she jumped to her laptop and scurried into the adjacent sitting room. Pope suddenly became familiar.

She was the daughter of the famed neurosurgeon, Dr. Harvey Pope. He had operated on a family friend of the Valmonts. He was one of the preeminent doctors in the neurological field not only in the country, but in the world. But what got her stunned her more so than anything was the woman's looks. She was striking. Long, dark cascading waves, big brown Bette Davis eyes and smooth cocoa brown skin. She had full lips and long eyelashes from the up close beauty shot had of her. Exotic…

She's so Fitz's type. Mellie thought annoyed as she skimmed through the gushing profile. She had a nice background, loved horseback riding as a girl, and had just broken up with Jamie Anderson, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. She searched for anything she could find, from her days as the editor for the Yale Law Review to her being the spokesperson for Tom Lorry, the ultra-conservative Speaker of the House who had managed to hold on to his job despite a sexual harassment suit from a pharmaceutical lobbyist.

This Olivia Pope was good…beautiful, smart and from the looks of the photos of her about town in New York, very stylish. Mellie went so far as to watch a YouTube interview of her on CNBC. She was poised, well-spoken and had an infectious laugh. And seemed to be something a flirt….

Maybe this isn't a good idea. Mellie's rational brain thought. But the other half of her brain knew that she would be the shock to not only the campaign's system, but to Fitz's.

Maybe she can work miracles after all…. This woman had a reputation to uphold. Hopefully would be discrete.