Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal
AN: So, while I'm very interested to see how Fitz and Olivia's relationship plays out for the rest of the season, was anyone else slightly creeped out by Fitz in the last scene. Cause I wasn't thinking sweet or manipulative or anything like that. . . I was thinking it was played (or written) kind of creepy, stalker-like. ~ XOXO MAS
Chapter Twenty
Seven Days Until the General Election
"With only two weeks left until the General Election, polls have Grant and Reston neck-in-neck. It looks as though the election will really come down to a few counties in Ohio. The federal government has finished their investigation into the Grant Campaign regarding planned voter fraud in the General Election. They found no evidence that anything was planned or to be executed. The Grant Campaign suffered only a few minor setbacks due to the rumors."
"Governor Grant and California First Lady, Mellie Grant, have officially signed their divorce papers. According to recent polls, it appears Governor Grant's divorce did not cause him to drop at all in the polls. The majority of Americans seem to support Grant's decision to separate from his wife of more than ten years. Though the Catholic Church and other right wing groups are condemning Grant, most are still in support of the ticket due to his vice presidential candidate, Senator Sally Langston."
"Governor Grant has completely cleaned house on his campaign. He dumped, not only his wife, but his campaign manager, Cyrus Beene. Beene was the one who got Grant into the Governor's Mansion in California years ago. It has also been rumored that he pushed away big money from some of his father's supporters, such as Hollis Doyle of Doyle Energy. DC attorney turned fixer, Olivia Pope, has taken over at Governor Grant's campaign manager. Ms. Pope, of course, was married to New York Senator Edison Davis. The two recently split citing irreconcilable differences. The split does appear to be amicable and Davis has already been seen around town with other prominent DC attorneys."
"The Grant Campaign is scheduled to make five stops in the Midwest before heading back to California for the night of the General Election. As of right now, Grant is three points down in the polls to Governor Reston. While that's not enough to give Reston any sort of comfort in knowing he should win, it is enough to make Grant worry about gaining traction in the few remaining days of the trail."
Sally flicked each of the televisions off and turned to Olivia. "You've done quite a good job with us considering everything that we've been through in the last few weeks. I must admit, Olivia, I'm impressed."
Olivia found a small smile for Sally, "Thank you, Sally. It hasn't been easy or pretty, but I think we're on the right track. We just need to lock Ohio up. You ready to tackle the Midwest over this next week?"
Sally chuckled, "Olivia, you don't even have to ask. Of course I'm ready. Now, let's discuss this event we're going to. It's in a barn?" She asked.
Olivia nodded, "Yes, the weather is iffy. There's no telling if we'll have rain, snow, or sunshine at this point."
Sally drawled out, "You'll find, Olivia, that it won't matter. We'll bring them to their feet regardless."
SCANDAL
Defiance, Ohio
Fitz stared out the bus window as they trucked along the highway into Defiance. "So this is where they were going to disregard everything we stand for. Everything this country stands for."
Olivia bit her lip and glanced around. Slowly, she placed her hand over his, "Are you alright, Fitz?"
He sighed and turned to face her, "Yeah, I am. We're doing this right. We're doing this clean. It's good. Win or lose, this is how the game should be played."
She squeezed his hand encouragingly, "Very true. And let me tell you something, Fitz." She paused and sent him a soft smile, "We're proud to be working for this campaign, to be working for you. All of us are. You've done an incredible job. You're a great leader. You're going to make a wonderful president." She assured him. He just beamed at her.
SCANDAL
It was 32 degrees and pouring rain. The ground was icy. More people had slipped and busted their asses than Olivia thought possible. She was worried one of the older people who'd come out to the event were going to wind up in the hospital with a broken hip, or worse.
And the barn had been a disaster. Something had died inside of it the evening before and the event had to be moved outside. The campaign workers from the local office had done their best to get rid of the smell, but the ultimately had to admit defeat. And there were no other places to move the event to on such short notice, so they simply moved the podium and benches outside in the grassy field surrounding the barn.
And now everyone was freezing and wet and bound to get pneumonia.
And yet they were on their feet.
It was a sight unlike any other. When they'd all willingly sat on the wooden benches outside the barn, just before the rain started to fall, in the freezing cold, Olivia thought the event may work. Perhaps the predicted rain would hold off and the cups of cocoa, tea and coffee that were being passed out for free (Abby and Quinn were geniuses), along with the muffins and cookies (they'd bought the two grocery stores out of them), would keep people warm and sated while they listened to Sally and Fitz speak on foreign policy, taxes, gun laws, immigration, and everything else they'd planned.
Then the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down.
And they had no back up plan.
Instead of running for shelter, Sally had simply stood up and started speaking about the bravery of the men and women in uniform and the unwavering support of the people of Ohio. The crowd followed her like a group possessed, singing and hopeful and entirely proud to be standing in the rain with her and Fitz.
"I can't believe this has worked." Stephen muttered in disbelief. "I can't believe they stayed and they're actually engaged and happy to be here. Hell, I work for the campaign and I'm freezing and want to go inside." He whined.
Olivia snorted and smacked him lightly for whining when he was a grown man. She adjusted her grip on her umbrella, not that it was helping much with the whipping winds, but nodded her agreement, "I know, it's amazing." She said in awe, "Look at the way they work so well together."
"Here's to a successful eight years." Stephen tapped his coffee cup against Olivia's.
She beamed at him, "Here's to a successful eight years." She agreed.
OUAT
"In other news, a win for the Grant Campaign today in Ohio. Despite the rain, ice and cold, the well-publicized rally at a barn just outside of Defiance, Ohio, that wound up outside was a huge success. The turn out was phenomenal and people stayed despite the weather. Current polls show Grant and Langston taking Ohio in the General Election next week."
Fitz turned to Sally, "Well, Sally, that was the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen. I can't believe how you rallied those people. You brought them to their feet with no problem whatsoever. Hell, I was ready to leave when the rain started coming down." He admitted.
Sally flushed lightly at the praise, "That was nothing. You'll see a real miracle when we take election next week." She took a sip of her coffee, "How do our numbers look?"
"Not too bad, actually." Billy came up with Harrison and Stephen following him, "After Defiance, you two are actually up two points in the polls to Reston. Still too close for comfort, but better than being down. Not to mention that one event gave you five points." He commended them.
Fitz accepted the pages with the polls on it. "Well, Sally, if we keep this up, we could actually win this thing."
She glanced down at her own page, "A few more events like that and we'll have a big enough spread to actually win." She agreed.
SCANDAL
XOXO
MAS