Disclaimer: I don't own 'Scandal' in any shape or form

Chapter 8

Calm Before the Storm Part III

How many of us have them?

Friends

Ones we can depend on

Friends

How many of us have them?

Friends

Before we go any further, lets be

Friends

Friends – Whodini

"I'm not normally a sunbathing kinda gal being so fair 'n' all, but I'm treating you today," Abby declared, as Camille approached her in the hospital entrance.

"Okay...?" Camille said slowly and warily.

"Did you know between the hospital and airport there's a beach? Goleta Beach to be precise."

"So...?"

Abby rolled her eyes impatiently.

"So Missy Pope… we're going to the beach."

Camille studied Abby's lilywhite face.

"Seriously, Abby, I know you don't do sun," Camille said with raised eyebrows.

"Forget that! I've brought a hat the size of a flying saucer, and super strength sun block, so let's roll."

Grabbing Camille's hand she began heading for the revolving doors.

"But Abby," Camille protested, as she skidded across the floor holding onto Abby's hand. "I don't have anything to wear..."

"It's handled! Bikinis, towels, sun block, and drinks! I even rented a convertible so we can drive in style, a la Katy Perry, or should that be LA Katy Perry?" she said laughing at her own on-the-spot humor.

Goleta beach was busy with families and students who attended the local university. They found a parking space near to the pier, because Abby explained that after they had lunch they should take a walk and see if they could spot any dolphins known to swim in the waters from time to time.

"Thanks, this is a nice surprise… you didn't have to," said Camille as they settled under their umbrellas, with drinks in hand on their sun loungers.

"I thought you could do with a change of scene and take a break from the hospital drama," Abby said, covering her long slim legs with a towel and settling back.

"Ya got that right… mmm, this is just so the best," she murmured, lifting her head to take in the heat from the baking hot sun she was partly shaded from, thanks to a perfectly angled umbrella.

"Yeah, I'm having a ball," mocked Abby, adjusting her hat to fully cover her face.

"I'm sorry, but I love coming to the beach," she said, looking out at the gorgeous blue sea, crisp yellow sand and numerous happy bathers. She spotted a group of bare-chested teenage boys carrying a volleyball, and laughing and kicking sand at each other.

Abby followed her gaze to the group of young boys walking about three hundred yards away.

"Hey missy, keep your eyes to yourself!"

"Just looking," she said smiling.

"Hey Cam, I don't want to be a mood killer, but I spotted Grant this morning."

She rolled over on her stomach and looked across at Abby, adjusting her bikini top.

"Yeah, he had to come in and sign some paperwork for the doctor."

"He must be spending some serious bucks," commented Abby with a sneer. "The bigger the diamond, the bigger the guilt."

Camille smiled nervously at Abby, sweeping loose strains of hair behind her ears.

"I'm sure you make half the stuff up you say at times," she quipped back.

Abby shrugged her shoulders, and picked up her quickly melting ice soda and took a long drink.

"Was this morning the first time you'd seen him since his Darth Vader routine?" she asked Camille.

She nodded.

"See, I like how you know who Darth Vader is. We must have a Star Wars marathon one evening," she promised Camille.

"As long as the movie stars Melissa McCarthy. I love that woman she's too funny. Did you see Bridesmaids?"

Abby's face fell for a minute, and Camille became immediately concerned.

"Hey, sorry just a joke… you don't find Melissa McCarthy funny? That's alright."

And just as quickly Abby was smiling again, but there was sadness in her eyes she couldn't hide.

"Aunt Abby…"

"I'm fine, sweetie. The name Melissa just takes me to a bad place. Anyway, we were talking about Captain America… what did he have to say?" she asked, resuming her upbeat tone.

"Oh, he just talked about tomorrow and what time we're leaving for his house or ranch… I didn't argue with him or anything. I -" and she stopped. She thought about telling Abby they'd shared a friendly moment, but held back because she felt confused by what had gone on during their last couple of minutes together.

"Good for you."

"You really don't like him do you Abby?"

"Cam, I've know your mom my whole adult life, and I love her like a sister. He was the reason she quit OPA and left DC. And I went from seeing my best friend every day to barely once a month over the last next four-five years."

Camille's breath hitched as she remembered being eight years old, and Huck collecting her from Stephen and Georgia's house, and announcing he was taking her back to live with Olivia full-time. Abby had just confirmed what she'd always known about her Mom's decision to leave her business: Fitzgerald Grant.

"But Abby, my Mom cheated too…" Camille commented.

"Call me a hypocrite, but Liv wasn't married, he was, is, whatever. So to answer your question, no, he's not on my Christmas List, and won't be any time soon."

Camille started tapping her feet on the lounger and wringing her hands together nervously.

"Have you ever met her? His wife, I mean?"

"Been at the same event, but I was never introduced to her. She kinda glided around the place constantly smiling and chatting away like the consummate politician's wife. But it's those eyes that give her away. Blue cold steel. Underneath all the smiles and platitudes, she's ruthless to the core, and makes The Ice Queen seem like the Easter Bunny,"

"Huh."

"Can't you feel the chill as we're talking about her? Quick! Grab me a sarong, no make that a scarf!"

Camille laughed out loud, admiring Abby's quick wit.

"Thanks Ab."

"For what?"

"For making me laugh."

"All part of the Gladiator service. What time does he think he's dragging you away?"

"Five… he says he wants us 'home' in time for dinner."

"We should make sure you're packed and ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning. The house should be ready to move into, Harrison's on the case as we speak."

"Great..."

Still fiddling nervously with her hands, Camille took a deep breath and thought for a moment. For some reason her mind was constantly thinking back to earlier, when she was standing with him by the elevator. Maybe... because, for once, they hadn't been arguing, and she'd felt slightly calmer, and a bit sheepish about their last encounter, their interaction felt different.

She remembered she couldn't help being drawn to the sound of his deep voice as he repeated his invitation asking her to stay, and when she looked up and saw the depth of warmth in his eyes, and open smiling face.

"Do you think he really does love me?" she blurted out.

Abby pursed her lips together and tilting her head, she lifted the sun hat partially from her face to look directly into Camille's eyes.

Camille swallowed hard, and braced herself for Abby's answer, feeling as though an unbearable truth was about to hit her.

"Yes, I do… I believe his loves you, but the problem is he loves Fitzgerald Grant III even more. He takes what he wants, and everyone else can go hang - that's my real issue with him."

Camille dropped her head onto the lounger and began shaking when Abby had finished.

"Hey Cam…" she said softly. "I'm sorry... look, I'm not saying he's the worse guy in the world, but he does seem to make a habit of dropping emotional H-bombs where ever he goes."

Abby could see Camille was upset, and that wasn't her intention, she just had to be honest. In fairness she felt she'd held back compared to the rant that was on the tip of her tongue, since today was about them both relaxing and having fun.

"I'm sorry, Cam… you okay?" she asked carefully, and Camille nodded.

"Huh-uh," she sniffed, with her head buried into her chest. "I'm just gonna close my eyes for a bit."

"Okay, honeybee, you do that…" and Abby pulled her hat back down to fully cover her face, and also closed her eyes. She could do with the rest before tomorrow's shit storm.

Camille and Abby reluctantly left Goleta Beach mid-afternoon. On the drive back to the hotel, Abby got a call from Harrison to say they were back at the hospital with Olivia, and confirmed they'd meet the two girls in their usual place: Starbucks on the third floor.

"That's the two H's saying they're already at the hospital… are you happy to drive straight there?" Abby asked Camille, with one hand firmly on the steering wheel, and gently placing her cell phone in the side arm pocket of the car.

Camille looked at the time on the car's dashboard clock; it was nearly five o'clock.

"Yeah, I don't mind… seeing as it's my last night, I'd like to spend as much time with Mom as I can. Plus, I want to play her those songs we downloaded today, to cheer her up."

Camille sunk back smiling in her seat. Bar the one heavy conversation about him, she'd had miraculously managed to enjoy her time away from the hospital doing normal fun stuff that most kids were doing over the summer vacation: kicking back, relaxing, and having fun in the sun. Suddenly, she didn't care why... maybe because Abby had mentioned her earlier, she started singing one of Katy Perry's songs:

"California girls, we're unforgettable

Daisy dukes, bikinis on top

Sun-kissed, so hot

We'll melt you popsicle…"

Abby shifted her gaze to sneak a peak at a singing and smiling Camille.

"You're in a good mood," she said semi-shouting, and smiling brightly at her companion.

"Ooooh Oh Ooooh," sang Camille, waving her arms in the air, as she nodded and smiled at Abby.

Camille and Abby spotted Harrison and Huck sitting nearby the hospital canteen's cash register, nursing half eaten sandwiches and coffee. They soon joined both men, dropping their bags on the floor, as they collapsed into their seats. Camille was sitting next to Huck and gave him a hug and kissed his stubble cheek, and Harrison a friendly wave.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully.

"How was your day?" Harrison asked the happy sun seekers.

"Great, Goleta beach is amazing, we kinda just lazed about all day, didn't we Abby? I found songs on Spotify, I thought Mom would like to hear, and we took a walk along the pier, so yeah, it was pretty cool," Camille chirped to Harrison, feeling happy and relaxed. She stretched out her arms and pulled up her lightweight cardigan to admire her deep caramel tanned arms.

"You're looking healthy, girl, your tan's coming along nicely… yours too, Abby," Harrison mocked Abby.

"Ha ha, straight to TVO," she replied dryly, rolling her eyes at him.

"I picked up the house keys this afternoon," Harrison told Camille.

She grinned from ear to ear. She'd enjoyed a great relaxing day at the beach with her friend, she was staying the night with Mom, and the house rental had been sorted. In a strange way it felt like one of the best days Camille had had since arriving in Santa Barbara.

"How did you manage to sort it so fast?" she asked.

"I know some people, that know some people, that know some other people," Harrison smiled smugly, with a wink. "Huck and I went to check it out this afternoon. Four bedrooms, two receptions, pool and tennis court, not too shabby. It's about half an hour drive from the hospital."

"Location location location," beamed Abby at Camille "We're set for tomorrow," she said with a sense of satisfaction.

"Have you seen Grant?" Huck asked Camille, his knee was bopping up and down at a frantic rate.

"I saw him this morning," she said, exchanging looks with Abby.

"And…?"

"He talked about what time he wants to leave tomorrow, that was it, really."

"You sure this is what you want Camille?" asked Huck.

"Of course she's -"

"Abby," Huck cut across his fellow Gladiator. "I'm speaking to Camille…" he turned back to her. "I need you to be sure this is what you want?"

"Yeah, you know it is. Why, don't you want to live with me?" she asked defensively, her heart sinking at his sudden change in attitude.

Why was he asking her this, after they'd all agreed? she thought worriedly.

"Camille, this isn't about what I, Harrison or Abby want. This concerns you and Grant."

"I-I met him two weeks ago, I-I don't know him, and we argue, it's- it's -"

"Things are difficult Cam, but you said it: it's been a couple of weeks, you've had a lot to digest," Huck interjected, recognizing how confusing the situation was for her.

"Huck, what are you -" Abby tried again. She had a bad feeling the guys weren't on the same page with their original plan anymore.

"Abby can you go get me a soda? Thanks," said Harrison, giving her a hard prolonged stare. She gave him a wide side-eye look and didn't move. "Abby," he prompted, staring her down.

After a few seconds, Abby reluctantly got up and looked at Camille with raised eyebrows, and made her way to the self-serving counter displaying an assortment of drinks. Looking back over her shoulder she worried about what had been said between Huck and Harrison in the last few hours. If she was completely honest with herself she knew the guys had reservations about Cam's new living arrangement, but told herself this is what Liv would want: Camille being looked after by her Gladiators.

Harrison scooted forward on his chair, and Camille immediately shrunk back in her seat and started biting her nails. Every previous good feeling was disappearing, like sand slipping through her fingers.

"What's wrong?" she asked anxiously, her eyes darting anxiously from Huck to Harrison.

"Nothing's wrong Cam, we, Huck and I we wanted to talk to you about tomorrow," said Harrison, with a friendly smile. "We have no problem with you moving into the house, but we think you need to tell Grant about your plans."

"What? No, he won't let me, he'll say no, if I tell him!"

"Let me finish. We'll be there with you, and we can explain to him you're initially gonna come stay with us, and as a concession, you'll visit him and your brothers at his ranch, until you get to know each other better, and take it from there."

"I thought it was okay, me staying with you guys, and now your dumping me. That's fine, I'm use to people dumping on me," she sobbed, feeling tears prickling at the back of her eyes.

"Cam," Harrison began seriously. "We're not dumping you. We love you. Don't ever question our love for you. But it's a sensitive time and we can't afford any more drama around Olivia. Your Mom came to Santa Barbara for a reason and that reason was Grant."

"No! She would've told me," she cried, grabbing her bag from the floor and leaping to her feet.

"Camille, where are you going? Sit down. C'mon, sit down." Harrison repeated lowering his voice and watching her, with nothing but concern in his eyes.

She dropped her bag on the floor and slowly sat down, her eyes narrowing at Harrison all the time.

Abby arrived back and slammed a can of Dr. Pepper in front of Harrison, and he gave her a scathing look. She knew how much he hated the soft drink.

"What's going on? What have you been saying to her?" demanded Abby her eyes flickering between the three sour faces.

"They want me to go and live with him," Camille told Abby fiercely. "Saying he's the reason -"

"I thought we'd had this discussion, Cam is coming with us," Abby said angrily.

"Cam, that's not what we said… we wanted to have a quiet discussion about tomorrow and avoid potential problems with Grant."

"I don't believe this! Have you forgotten who Olivia Pope is: our mentor, our friend. She's gone beyond the call of duty for all of us over the years. She asked us, as her Gladiators to look after and protect her daughter, and you want to back out?" Abby asked, hissing angrily.

"We can't just walk out of the hospital with her," Harrison said wearily to Abby, he couldn't keep the frustration out of his voice.

"Why, why you can't you just look after me like Stephen did?" Camille asked desperately.

"That was a different time, Cam, your Mom was working in DC when you were living with Stephen and Georgia. Grant has rights, he's your father, which makes him your legal guardian," he explained to her.

"You think he'll go to a court or something?" she asked panicking.

"I don't think he'd take it that far." Harrison looked at his watch. "Listen, it's nearly six, why don't we continue this in the communal area, because we need to have this conversation, people, okay?" Harrison asked looking around the table at everyone.

"Don't ask me," said Abby in disgust. "I'm done."

Harrison could feel his earlier frustration with Abby stepping up a gear, and taking a couple of long deep breaths decided to ignore her.

"Okay, Cam?"

"What do -" Camille stopped speaking. A couple from a nearby table openly staring at her in amazement caught her attention.

She stared back with a raised eyebrow, thinking they might look away, but no, they continued staring back. She frowned, and shook her head. "Okay, okay, fine, we can talk, but -" The buzz of Huck's cell phone interrupted her, and she exhaled loudly in annoyance.

Huck's cell ringing was soon followed quickly by Harrison's, and finally Abby's - it was like an orchestral cell phone performance. They looked at each other bemused at the coincidence, but their smiles were short lived when they began speaking on the phone.

"I'll call you back… I said I'd call you back," said Harrison angrily, jumping up from his seat, and hanging up on the caller.

"What's wrong?" Camille asked, and involuntarily shuddered, feeling something was very wrong.

He held his hand up at her, and began quickly scrolling through his phone.

Abby was shouting into her receiver.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard. I suggest you be very…" Camille started waving, trying to get her attention, but Abby shot up out of her seat, and deliberately turned her back on her.

She quickly turned to Huck but he too was preoccupied with his caller.

"Yes, she's fine…she's fine. No. We're in Starbucks on the third floor… when? What? T-that's not a good idea - mmm," Huck was saying to the caller. He was scratching his chin and looking frantically around the canteen. He caught Camille's eye and mouthed at her, but she put her hands out, shrugging her shoulders in confusion.

Who wanted to know where they were? What wasn't a good idea? The two questions were spinning round Camille's head but no answers were forthcoming.

"C-can one of you -" she began nervously, only to be interrupted by her cell phone ringing in her bag.

Pulling her phone out, she saw it was Jess calling. Harrison instantly snatched the phone and switched it off.

"Hey - " she began to protest.

"You'd better look at this," he said seriously, shoving his cell phone in her direction. "Take it!" he demanded.

Staring in confusion at Harrison, she slowly took the phone to see why everyone had suddenly lost it.

Gasping out loud, and her eyes blinking shutter speed rate, Camille's head was rocking back and forth, as the words came flashing in and out of her mind:

Five heavily black typed words on the screen:

President Grant's Secret Lovechild Revealed

AN: Thanks for the thoughtful comments. Whoa! The big secret's out! Next chapter: Fitz finds out about the plan, a surprise visitor, and Camille leaves the hospital, but with who? I'm back to the grindstone (work!) next week so wanted to get the final part of this chapter out. I will do my best to stay on top of this story. Your reviews are welcome.

Happy Reading Gladiators (-;