Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal

Chapter Twenty: Faith When I Fall

I know it's been a long time since the last time we talked

I know I've been a stranger and that's all my fault

And asking you for anything don't really seem right

But the winds of change are blowing so I'm begging you tonight

Give me love when I ain't got nobody

A little hope when I ain't got none at all

Give me light up ahead on the journey

Give me strength when I'm standing

And faith when I fall

I know the rain is coming and it's sure gonna pour

I know there ain't no running from this kind of storm

It's gonna get harder and harder to keep on pushing through

I'm gonna want to quit so I'll be counting on you

- "Faith When I Fall" Kip Moore

Fitz chuckled at breakfast, "I'm telling you Sally, the way you brought those people to their feet in Iowa while it was raining, it was like they were your flock." He complimented her.

She patted his arm, "Fitz you've done an incredible job. They were hanging on your every word in Indiana." She sighed, "I'm sorry I'm missing out on Ohio, but I do agree that my energy would be better spent in the South."

Fitz laughed, "It's not like we have a say in anything anyhow, it's those three," he pointed down the table to Olivia, Cyrus and Billy who were hovered over papers as they ate, "who call the shots."

"They certainly do. Well thank you for giving me half of your staff." She smiled at him.

"Karen and Scott are great, they'll do fine with you." He patted her hand.

"And what about your little Karen and Jerry?" She gave him a sympathetic smile, "I hear Santa Barbara Hendricks is reopening."

Fitz sighed and glanced at his children sitting between Olivia and Mellie. Karen was attached to Olivia, "Jerry wants to go back to school. Karen doesn't, but they do need to."

"You could transfer them." She suggested.

Fitz sighed again, "I've thought about that. Jerry's 'friend'," he chuckled and shared a knowing look with Sally, "is going to Santa Barbara Prep, the other boarding school. Our families are both out in California so I guess that's the best place for them now."

"Are other children transferring?" Sally took a sip of her coffee.

Fitz nodded, "Quite a few. I'm not sure what Hendricks will do." He sighed a third time, "I need to discuss it with Mellie."

"Discuss what with Mellie?" Fitz and Sally looked up to find Mellie hovering over them.

"The kids transferring to Santa Barbara Prep." Sally spoke for Fitz.

"Well Jerry wants to." Mellie sat down next to her husband. "Karen will just do it." Fitz glared at his wife, but didn't respond.

Sally could feel the animosity between the two on the subject and chose not to respond, instead she said, "Well I guess Billy, Karen, Scott and I should head to the airport. Good luck in Ohio Fitz. Call me if you need anything."

Fitz stood and pulled her chair out, "You too Sally. Enjoy the food in Texas."

Sally have him a hug and then shook his hand, "Oh I sure will." She looked down the table and Billy, Karen and Scott took that as their cue to stand as well.

"Are you ready to go ma'am?" Billy asked as his phone buzzed in his hand.

"Yes Billy, I am. The bags are in the car ready to take us to the airport." She waved to the remaining members of the staff as they exited.

As they walked out, Billy answered his phone, "This is Billy Chambers."

"Hey Billy."

Billy forced the smile off his face, "Hey Amanda," he paused, "how's DC?"

Amanda laughed on the other end, "Good, finally warming up nicely, TJ and I miss you."

He chuckled, "How's the rascal doing?"

"Good, he's the best present anyone has ever given me, thank you." She whispered.

"No problem babe, hey look I gotta go, I'm getting ready to head to Texas."

"Of course, call me whenever you get a minute." Billy hung up the phone without too much of a goodbye. He rolled his eyes and stepped into the car taking them to the airport.

"Everything okay Billy?" Sally asked once he was buckled in.

Billy glanced at her, "Yeah, just a friend."

"She sounded like a good friend." Sally gave him a smile and he just shrugged.

SCANDAL

Olivia stood over a table filled with polling data and research, but instead of paying attention, she was watching Fitz from across the room. He was standing next to Mellie near their children talking to Hollis and Julie.

"Liv?" Mark tapped her hand that was covering a piece of paper, "You okay?"

She looked over at him, "Huh? Yeah fine." She glanced down at the papers, "What were you um, saying?"

Cyrus cleared his throat, "Something about Ohio?"

Mark groaned, "Were either of you even listening?"

"I think we need a break, Cyrus, sidebar." She grabbed his arm and took him to the window, "What are you so distracted about?" Cyrus shrugged, but said nothing for a moment. Olivia followed his gaze to James, who was hunched over his laptop. Olivia chuckled, "So you and James."

Cyrus sighed, "Yeah I went on a date. You know I'd forgotten what one of those was."

Olivia chuckled again, "Yeah I haven't been on one in a long time."

"Ah, I forgot you allowed yourself to wined and dined by Senator Edison Davis." Cyrus sipped his coffee.

"Not just wined and dined, engaged to." Olivia leaned against the window.

"The Olivia Pope was engaged?" Cyrus laughed, "Who would've thought. What happened?"

"I decided normal was overrated." She turned and faced the window.

"It is." Cyrus sighed.

"Well you could get some normal with James. He's a great guy." Olivia smiled, "Look forget Sally, forget Billy, forget that whole campaign. Just tell him how you feel."

"I'm not a feelings guy Liv, you know that."

"Well as your work wife, I'm demanding you find a man to give you some loving." Olivia poked his stomach.

Cyrus gave her a one-armed hug, "There aren't enough people like you out in this world."

Olivia's eyes traveled to Fitz. Her mind rewound to the night before when he'd come knocking at her door. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Fitz," Olivia mumbled against his neck, "I don't know what you want from me."

Fitz sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "I don't know what I want either. I just know I want you in my life."

Olivia leaned back, "I can't just come in and out of your life. I need stability."

"Well I don't know what I can give you now."

She stood up and crossed the room, "You have to figure out how you feel Fitz."

"Damn it Liv, I know how I feel. I can't be without you though. I do know that. And that means it's going to be hard. It's going to be a constant shadow over us and we may want to quit, that may be easier, but it's not the right answer. The answer is to have faith in me. You" he pointed to her, "you're the one who told me to fake it with my wife. That's what I've been trying to do, it's just so damn hard when you're here." He ran his hands through his hair.

"So what you just want me to pack it in and leave? I gave up my life for you. I gave up everything. They hired another attorney at Anderson and Murphy when you won the primary. I signed on for the long haul to fix this campaign. I never signed on to be your mistress." Olivia snapped back.

"Don't you dare degrade yourself to the status of a mistress. You know you're more than that." He crossed the room to her. He sighed, "All I'm asking for is faith that we can work through this."

"You know what Fitz, I just can't do this. It's feeling too much like Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. I think you need to leave." Fitz just stared at her so she opened the door for him, "Mellie will be wondering where you are anyhow."

Instead of responding to her accusation, Fitz marched out of the room without a second glance. Taking a deep breath, Olivia cut off the lights and laid back on the bed. She had to be through with this. Forever. But her gut was telling her something different now. She'd never really be done with Fitzgerald Grant.

"Liv?" Stephen came to stand next to her and Cyrus.

"Yeah?" She finally turned away from Fitz to face Stephen.

"You haven't eaten anything all day." He held a sandwich in his hand, "Abby's concerned. I'm concerned. Huck's concerned. Harrison's concerned. Tom's concerned. Julie's concerned. Mark's concerned."

Cyrus chuckled, "Would it be simpler to list the people unconcerned?"

Stephen looked worriedly at Olivia, "Maybe, it's time to eat something. Abby made it specially for you."

Olivia accepted the plate, "Thank you. I'll eat this while I go over Fitz's notes for his speech in Defiance tomorrow."

Cyrus clapped her back, "Oh Defiance, Ohio, it sounds like a wonderful city to be in."

Stephen grunted, "Sounds small town and backwater to me."

"So says the boy from London, England." Olivia played up a bad British accent for him and he grimaced.

"You know," Stephen began as he hooked Olivia's hand through his arm, "London is the center of civilization."

"In the 1500s maybe. Now we have America." Olivia shot back, "And we're free from British rule." Stephen snorted, but didn't respond.

SCANDAL

Fitz stood in the back of the town hall in Defiance. Mellie straightened out his coat and caught Hollis's glance. He'd just met up with them and was pursuing the idea of bringing Big Jerry into the picture. "Our numbers are down here." She commented.

Fitz glanced down at his notecards, "I know."

"Why are you and Olivia avoiding each other?" She asked.

"We're not."

"Well I think I have an idea to figure out how to bring the numbers up."

"Don't want to know. Run it by Cyrus." Fitz flipped the notecard.

"What if we brought your dad in."

Fitz pushed her away, "Are you nuts? That's the last thing I'd want." He stepped away before he could say anything else.

Mellie sighed and rounded the corner to find Hollis, "He doesn't want Jerry here. It was hard enough to get him to ship the kids back off to boarding school yesterday. We can only push him so hard."

Hollis sighed, "We'll get Olivia and Cyrus on this. I thought you two were on better terms."

"We were," Mellie stated flatly, "he overheard Jerry and me talking and knows what I did."

"You have to do a better job Mellie." Hollis told her.

"Don't lecture me about my marriage." Mellie got right in his face. Hollis held up his hands and smiled at her. She let out a small shriek and turned away from him.

Olivia and Cyrus walked up at that moment, "Why are you upsetting our First Lady?" Cyrus asked him.

"Just chatting about her marriage." He put a hand on Cyrus's shoulder, "I think we need to discuss Fitz's father."

Olivia swatted him away, "We need to figure this out later when Fitz is in a better mood. Not today."

Taking a deep breath Olivia approached him, "We can't dance around each other." She said from behind him.

"I don't know what to do right now Liv." He whispered.

"We can talk about that later. We can figure that out later. Right now what we need to do is get you on that stage and opening up to the people of Ohio. Okay?" She straightened his tie.

Fitz frowned, "Fine." He pushed past her to stand just off stage until it was time to go on.

"He's not a happy person." Abby mumbled next to her, "Why is that? Is it because his wife is such a bitch?"

Olivia chuckled, "Who knows."

"She really is though." Harrison whispered, "She's manipulative and ambitious."

"A real snake." Stephen agreed, "But she's our snake so we have to love her." Olivia chose not to comment.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS