omg! 2,500! im tired. please excuse errors. im hella tired and im converting a new gladiator at this very moment. he is an awesome guy and i hope to learn more about him. heehee well enough about my non existant love life or possibly looking up love life, on to the story! oh yea, this is NOT the end of the story!

q and a's

oceans00711: america can be bitches sometimes but we shall see later on. lolzzzz not this chapter but maybe next chapter

guest: thanks!

daprinces: cyrus better slow down. i can't wait to write more!

guest: lakers in this piece! lol and thanks :)

fitzisgold-win: i don't have the ability to can or can't at this point with olivia and fitz and mellie and cyrus. ugh lol my feels!

evoria: awww! read the last part of this one! its so cute ^_^

lorene: liv like, step back fitz, imma handle your lightweight lol

msattitude: liv has grown a pair of nuts! no fall out...yet lol

auntdee: youre welcome.

kelleekellkell: me too!

galen: no backtracking! i promise :) boldness is something i like!

mackg4: aww! *blush* olivia took the reigns to that pony and rode it ALL the way to town lol

lagub: ohh liv standing up to her man is...my heart is melting! :)

marie: im all about olitz bravery! SR clearly doesn't feel the same way lol jkjk hope you love this chapter


"What happened to you giving me the scoop? What happened to, 'Don't worry James. When we are ready to come out, you will be out guy. You'll get the scoop. You will get the EXCLUSIVE!" James yelled.

"James-"

"No, I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear, 'Oh, we decided to go with someone else. We decided Kimberly Freaking Mitchell was a better platform. Cyrus thought it would have the stink of a conspiracy if you did it.' I don't want to hear it, Olivia." James paced red in the face.

Olivia waited until he turned around and faced her again. She picked up a folder from the stack on the Resolute Desk. She smiled as she placed it in front of him. He cocked his head to the side, sighed in anger then snatched the folder. He walked away from the desk as he glanced over the sheets of paper. He jerked his head in recognition. Olivia nodded her head with a small smile.

"Olivia."

"The top sheet of paper is the letter of intent to your network, BNC, that we, President Grant and Olivia Pope would like to formally set up a tell all, no holds barred interview. We also request that we will only do it if you, James Novak, is our interviewer. It will be more of an intimate setting. We'll hold it in the residence. I'm thinking the informal family room. The First Children would also like to be involved in the interviewing process as well. It will be an hour-long program with limited commercial breaks. It will be held one week from today. Mainly because the First Family, along with Ms. Pope will be taking a small vacation to clear their minds and prepare for their upcoming future endeavors.

Sheets Two through Four are suggested questions to be asked. Questions we would really like to cover and are more than willing to cover. Question that will help our relationship with the American people.

On Sheet Five, those are questions we nor the children will answer. You ask them, we shut not only the interview down but also you as a reporter, no offense."

"None taken." James added nonchalant.

"What I am about to tell you is off the record and only friend to friend. From one of your closet friends, confidant and the Godmother of your child."

"Of course."

"We have a huge announcement. One that I am sure America is asking themselves a million times over right now."

"And that is?"

"I'm not at liberty to say." Olivia said crossing her hands in front of her.

"Oh come on, Olivia! Give me something!"

She chuckled, "James, I've given you at least 35 somethings to work with. Read your questions, come up with your own. Go, work!"

"Oh, Olivia. Thank you so much. Thank you as a reporter. But most importantly, thank you as a friend. I'm honored that you entrust me with this interview. Thank you."

James begin grabbing his things whispering ideas and nonsense to himself. "I need to have Cy watch the baby tonight while I work. Ugh. He won't be able to. He's dealing with the 'end of his life.' Oh, Ella. I guess I can work while she sleeps. But she's getting bigger. She's always on the move. I can't just leave her alone."

"James, she can come with us to Camp David. You'll be preparing for the interview. Cyrus will be here surely wanting to die, so it's not a problem. I will take care of her. I can handle it."

"I've been meaning to ask. How are you with...everything?"

Olivia took in a deep breath, shutting her eyes as the pain tried to resurface. "I'm...fine. The pain is still here...there...hiding underneath the surface. But I've lived with pain my entire life, so I'll be okay."

"Hunny, you didn't eat. You didn't sleep. You didn't talk. You just laid in the bed forever. You shut yourself off to the world. You are internalizing your pain. You are going to crack. Look, you're crying."

"James, today I'm crying because I still grieve for my daughter. Once I work through it, I'll be fine. Having Teddy with me helps me. He shows me that I am worth something. That I am worthy of the life that God has given me. So, you will pack for Ella, she will come with us and you will prepare. We will do the interview, you will be fab and...life will go on."

James grasped her hand with a smile, "Yes, it will."


Karen and Gerry stood in the living area of the residence waiting for Liv to get back. She said she had a meeting downstairs but promised it would be twenty minutes at the most. After the ordeal known as "Olivia's Vacation" the kids had given Olivia her space. Then when she refused to get out of bed and refused to eat, they backed away even more. When they read about her outing with Teddy on , before they were denied internet access, they decided now was the time to sit down and have the talk with her. Everyone skirted around the issue with them when it came to their mother. If they could depend on getting the truth from anyone, it would be Olivia.

"Hey guys. Did you time me?" Olivia joked.

"No, we didn't. We waited patiently. We know you wouldn't lie to us, Liv." Karen said setting up the conversation.

"Well, I'm glad you belive in me kiddos. So you guys wanted to talk?" Olivia sat down in between the two kids.

"We want to know why Mom is not here." Gerry questioned.

"We want to know why no one around us speaks about her." Karen jumped in.

"We want to know why everyone walks on eggshells around you." Gerry added.

"We want to know why you got so sad and didn't come out your room." Karen suggested.

"We want to know why you're all of a sudden better." Gerry challenged.

"We want to know why Dad asked if we would be willing to do an interview with Uncle James next week." Karen commented.

"We want to know why we are going on a family vacation when Dad finishes up in the oval office later." Gerry stated.

"And we want to know now." Karen declared, finishing the double team job on Olivia.

Olivia didn't response. She sat quietly, trying to decide how to go worth with this conversation. Are these questions that should wait until they were together as a family? Should she answer them from her point of view? Should she sugar coat the truth from them? Should she be brutally honest? Her mouth bunched to the side, eyes tracing the pattern in the ceilings paint, willing herself to find an answer. How does she become the fixer in this situation?

"Kids," Olivia started.

"Olivia, we aren't little anymore. We know when stuff is going on. You don't think we notice when our internet usage has been denied? You don't think we notice when news channels and pop culture channels suddenly "go missing" from the channel lineup? We know things Liv. We know something big happened to you. You came back bruised and your arm in a cast. You were different. You were cold towards us. You're never cold to us." Karen said, shedding light on the pain they endured.

"Please Liv, we're trusting you. Please tell us the truth." Gerry insisted.

"Kiddos, I went through some personal stuff. Me and you Dad went through personal stuff. All of us as a family, went through a lot of stuff. If you want the truth, I'll give you the truth. It's not pretty. It's hard, and rough and mean and painful. I want to spare you both as long and as much as I can. I like you with your innocence. I don't want to rip you from your childhood and child-like thoughts."

"What? You mean like the bet we had to call Mom a bitch?" Gerry asked.

"Gerry, your Dad told me about that. Don't make me get a switch."

Gerry's eyes went big. "Yes, ma'am." He answered.

"So you want the truth, I'll give you the abridge version because we are short on time okay?"

The kids nodded their head, getting comfortable on the couch, ready to listen. She laid the story out as best she could without giving too much detail. She covered how Edison and Mellie and Jake were all in on a plan to hurt her. How their Dad saved her and how Mellie and Edison would be going to jail for a very long, long time. She explained how the lost of a child affects a person and how she went through a mini depression. She also told the kids about Teddy calling her Mom, effectively pulling her out of her painful and sorrow filled drowning. She explained how things were going to get crazy, even more than it already was, after the interview. Fitz hadn't decided if they all would take a trip to Camp David after the interview but for sure, the kids and Olivia would be going. Fitz really wanted the family to get together and just enjoy their time before the interview aired. That was the point of the vacation.

The kids sat quietly after the story. Karen, tucked into Olivia's side, was crying silently. Gerry, coiled like a cobra, was ready to strike at the first thing that set him off.

"So all of this is Mom's doing? Her idea? Her choice? Her payback to you for falling in love with Dad?" Karen asked for clarification.

Gerry shot to his feet, swiping all the dishes and cups off the coffee table. "I knew this had Mom's stink all over it. I know she was a sick and evil BITCH!"

"Fitzgerald! You will stop this language, now. I don't care how upset you are at your Mom but you will not disrespect her either." Olivia reprimanded him.

"Olivia, are you listening to yourself? She messed up your life. She basically had you beat, nearly raped and killed...twice! She played her hand in the death of my baby sister. She KILLED Natalia. Killed her! I'm not letting her get away with this. I'm not going to sit by and say poor Mom, all she ever wanted was love. No, she wanted power and didn't care who she had to mow down to get it, including me and Karen. We all know about the Amanda Tanner crap and how Teddy got here. Since Mellie cares about herself, I won't care about her." Gerry hissed out in anger.

"And that's okay." Every head whipped around towards the door. Fitz stood against the door frame. "Gerry, it's okay to feel that way. I don't like what Mellie did to you and Karen and Teddy and Liv and Nattie. I don't like how she played with me. But she is behind us now. We will not let the actions of someone else determine how we live and the choices we make. Mellie has messed up her life. Don't let her take you down with her."

Gerry looked around, trying to keep up his hard exterior. Olivia traced the circles on the back of Karen's shirt as she openly wept into her side. Fitz walked to Gerry, pulling the young man into his chest.

"I'm sorry, son. I'm so sorry." Fitz whispered over and over in his son's ear.


"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Fitz asked. They were laying across the bed in the master suite at Camp David.

"As ready as I will ever be. I want this Fitz. I want us. And I will not stop at anything to get what I want. If I have to tear down every person in our way, I will. We will have out day. We will have our life together."

"The kids are doing better."

"I'm sorry about that Fitz. They pulled me aside and wanted the truth. I couldn't just blow them off. I had to explain this to them."

"It seemed like they took it well."

"Yea, I guess."

"Livvie, they are not dumb kids. They know their mother is not a good woman. They know she is conniving and power-hungry. They know she likes to play with everyone as if they are pawns in her personal game of chess."

"I know but they're kids-"

"-who were forced to grow up early. They will be okay. They are fighters. They are Grants...Pope-Grants to be exact."

Olivia whirled around to face Fitz. The tears flowed down her face, wetting her shirt as they fell. Her mind was no longer pacing in circles. It was running in circles. Could he really mean what she thought he meant? Maybe he meant it as a solidarity thing. They would stand as a family. Yea, that what it was. He just wanted to add her to the family. She kissed his cheek as she started to roll over. Before she could get to far away, Fitz gripped her hand and pulled her back. He frowned slightly, why had she not said anything? Was she upset? Maybe she thought it was dumb idea.

"Livvie,"

"Fitz, thank you for the pep talk. We'll be fine."

"Livvie, I'm serious. They may not be Pope-Grants now, but they will be. And so will our other kids."

"Other...kids...Pope-Grants...Fitz, what are you talking about?" Olivia asked confused.

"I wanted to talk to the kids about this but, when we get married, the kids names will be Karen, Gerry and Teddy Pope-Grant. We are in this together, right? We're a family."

Olivia tackled Fitz with force, wrapping her arms around his neck. The love and acceptance that she felt from this suggestion was more than anyone could ever give her. Her parents royally screwed her up as a child. But they didn't matter. They died a long time ago and because of that, the world was a better place. They kissed slowly, letting this moment sink in. They would get married eventually, and if the kids agreed everyone would have the same last name. They would truly be a family.

Olivia and Fitz walked hand in hand back to the patio where the children where. Karen and Gerry were playing cards at the table, most likely teaching each other how to cheat. The sun was shining and the grey clouds that once held them hostage were now floating away. There is always sunshine after the rain. They just had to endure the storm first. And while the storm that was known as the Olivia Pope: Mistress of the President scandal was still swirling, they never felt more closer as a family. Fitz pulled Olivia from her thoughts with a stifled chuckle. She glanced over to where he was looking, now with Karen and Gerry doing the same.

There in the hammock, lay Ella with her head in Teddy's lap. He patted her hair, as if he was imitating the soothing touch over a forehead. His other hand rested on top of her belly, with her arms wrapped around his waist. His eyes were closed, as if in deep thought. As if he were working out life's hardest and most challenging problems and questions. Ella's yawning brought him out of his trance.

He smirk with the Grant charm, "Hi."

Ella smiled, "Hi."