Chapter Three: Standard of Proof

n. The level of certainty and the degree of evidence necessary to establish proof

"What do I even wear for this?" Olivia huffed, glancing at the computer sitting on her desk just in time to see that Oriel's attention was already on a book.

"Wear what you normally wear," Oriel responded, eyes still very much glued to her book as she turned a page, the old, yellowing paper appearing briefly on Olivia's screen.

"It's a photoshoot to announce our engagement, O." Olivia rolled her eyes, turning her back to the screen to survey the outfits she had thrown about her room. Much as she lamented the situation, and the sudden need for an even closer working relationship with the governor, she hated the thought of failure even more. She had to get this right.

"It's a fifteen year old with a camera."

Olivia twirled around, falling onto her soft mattress and gripping one of her pillows. Covering her face, she let a frustrated screech tear from her lips. Chest heaving, she tossed the pillow to the side and shoved the few strands that had fallen from her bun out of her eyes.

"Done?"

Lifting her head, Olivia glanced toward the screen to see Oriel watching the entire scene unfold, an eyebrow raised.

"You are no help." Olivia pushed herself from the bed, standing when her feet hit the floor. Surveying her bed, she reached for a pair of faded, ripped denims and quickly shook her head, tossing the trousers to the floor.

"Wear the tan slacks with your blue blouse."

Biting her bottom lip, Olivia turned toward her bed and located the two pieces of clothing Oriel had suggested. Hands on her hips, she lingered on the outfit. It still seemed too…formal. Too much like something she would wear to work or on the trail.

"What's the problem?" Oriel probed, a sigh punctuating her words.

"This looks like something I would wear to work. Just add a blazer."

"That's the point."

Olivia sighed, running her fingers through her hair and linking them together at the crown of her head. Exhaling through the side of her mouth, she turned around. Slowly, she walked across the carpeted floor and sat at the leather chair at the desk.

"The point is for me to look like I'm at work?"

"Yeah," Oriel drawled. "But no blazer! The point is to make it look like you just finished a long day working on his campaign. Together. And his daughter snapped a photo of you two relaxing at the end of your day. Together."

"I –"

"You're right, Liv. Kay? You go all out in an outfit you'd wear to work and it is going to look staged. But if you go the complete opposite way, you might look like you got your position because you're fucking him –"

"I'm not fu–"

"Hey - theoretical, right? This all about what it looks like. At least this way, it's going to come across as you guys being a team. No favors. No power inbalance. You're still going to have some assholes that'll say otherwise, but…" Oriel stopped mid-rant, honey-colored eyes widening with concern as Olivia closed her eyes, silently counting. After several minutes, once Olivia had reopened her eyes and was once more focused on the computer screen, Oriel began speaking:

"Are you okay, Livvie? If the stress is too much, you can back out. You haven't signed anything yet."

"I'm fine, O. Just…almost panicked there." Olivia stood, rubbing her sweaty palms on her hands and moving toward her bed. Grabbing her trousers and blouse, she turned back toward the computer. "I can do this."

"Yes you can." Oriel smiled, adjusting the green frames sitting on her face. "I can drive up this weekend."

"That sounds…perfect. I'll see you then."

"See ya, gorgeous!" Oriel blew a kiss, prompting laughter from Olivia as she moved toward the computer and placed her hand on the mouse. Hovering over the end call button, she said her goodbyes:

"Love you, O. See you Friday."

"I can do this," Olivia whispered to herself and turned toward her mirror. Not only could she do this, but she was determined that she was going to wipe that smug grin off the governor's face.

"Where do you guys want to do this?" Karen practically bounced outside, interrupting the whispered conversation between Olivia and Fitz.

Breaking into a smile at the teen's question, Olivia put some space between herself and Fitz as she answered: "Wherever you think is best. You're the photographer."

"Hm." Karen tapped her lips with her index finger, turning her back to Fitz and focusing on Olivia as she appeared deep in thought. "How about where dad proposed? Was it here? It would be so cool!"

"Actually," Fitz rumbled, stepping to Olivia's side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he shot her a look - one that was clearly meant to curb the near panicked expression she had been in the process of developing. "I proposed on the trail. Not here. You'll have to come up with something else, Kare."

"What about the balcony? I could get some nice shots from down here. And we could do a closeup of Livvie's ring! Where is your ring?" Once again, the teen was shooting off questions faster than Olivia could think of a believable lie. And, once again, Fitz was there to save the day.

"Force of habit," he chuckled, reaching into the pocket of his jeans and producing a ring. Olivia fought her initial reaction to allow her jaw to drop at the sight of the ring. It wasn't new by any stretch, that much was obvious, but it was still a damn beautiful ring. "Now that we're making the announcement, I won't have to hold onto it during the day, will I?"

"Is that gramma's ring?" Karen's jaw did drop as Fitz slipped the diamond encrusted, platinum band with its single, large teardrop diamond onto Olivia's finger. "Mom's going to be pissed."

"Karen," Fitz warned, making sure the ring sat snug on Olivia's finger before dropping her hand.

"She didn't get the ring."

"She didn't want the ring. She wanted her own. Now, on to the photo." Fitz gestured for Karen to lead the way, mumbling out of the side of his mouth for only Olivia to hear: "She was too good for a hand-me-down."

Despite her general dislike of the man whom she was practically clinging to as they entered his home, a first for her, Olivia found herself chuckling. She didn't know his ex-wife any better than any other person who had watched their divorce play out in the headlines. Certainly, she had no opinion of the woman either way. But she did not know her jewelry. The ring was old, yes, but it was beautiful in a way that most modern pieces couldn't quite capture. And Olivia was also fairly certain it cost more than anything she owned. Yet another reason for her to panic throughout this whole charade.

"Watch your step." Suddenly, Fitz's hand was at her waist as his other gripped her hand. He guided her up the wooden steps of the spiral staircase like that, always a step above him. She felt a little self-conscious, knowing that he was getting quite the eyeful with each step they took. At least, by the time they had reached the next floor and he had dropped his hands, there had been no inappropriate touching.

"This one!" Karen announced, leading the two onto a balcony that faced the back of the property. The white, sheer curtains blew in what little breeze was let in from the opened glass doors. Olivia followed the teen onto the balcony, her breath catching in her throat at the sight. Beautiful scarlet flowers dotted the boundaries of the green lawn below and a few tall, leafy trees provided a hint of shade. Olivia took a moment to glance about the balcony - it wasn't terribly large and felt slightly overcrowded with the three of them standing there. It would be the perfect place to take in the first rays of sunlight in the morning.

"Liv –" Olivia glanced up from her viewing of the flowers below as the teen addressed her " –you could lean over the railing like this –" Karen paused, resting her elbows on the metal railing and bending over, focusing on the spot directly below and in front of the balcony in a display she clearly meant for Olivia to mimic " –and dad can stand behind you. There's a good enough height difference that I'm pretty sure I can get you both."

Karen straightened herself, glancing around the balcony and pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. She paced in what little space there was left, stopping at different angles and looking toward the sun. Finally, when she seemed somewhat pleased with her instructions, she turned back toward the door.

"Give me a minute to get set up! We'll do the ring pic after." Karen's smiling face disappeared back inside the mansion, her footsteps echoing from the staircase as she descended.

"Ready for your closeup?" Fitz moved toward the railing, leaning over just as his daughter had moments before.

"Not much of a closeup, is it?" Olivia quipped, moving closer to the railing and, in consequence, Fitz's side. "You grope me and I'm not responsible for my actions."

"Because everything about me just screams that I'm that kind of man?" Fitz's tone was icy and his eyes hardened as he suddenly straightened. Olivia swallowed, aware of his sudden change in mood from playful to closed off. Generally, it wasn't quite so noticeable as Fitz almost always was in a less than pleasant mood around her. She supposed he had been making something of an effort since she had arrived - though she assumed that effort was purely for Karen's benefit.

"Governor –"

"Dad! Livvie! I'm ready when you are." Karen's voice, calling up to them from below, interrupted what Olivia intended to say.

Olivia bit her bottom lip and moved in front of Fitz, furrowing her brow when she noticed how he practically jumped backward to allow her in front of him. Placing her hands on the railing, she leaned forward a bit - just as Karen had demonstrated, and forced a smile. The teen made her feel slightly better when she began snapping photos only to yell:

"You look hot, Liv! But dad you've gotta be in the picture, too!"

"Is this acceptable?" Fitz questioned in a low tone, meant for her ears only, as he placed his hands on the railing outside of hers. He stood close behind her, but intentionally not touching and, again, Olivia felt a pang of guilt for what her earlier words had insinuated. Sure they spent the majority of their time arguing, but neither had stooped that low before.

"Governor –" she attempted again, keeping her voice low as he had.

"Just take the picture, Liv," he whispered. "And you might want to call me by my name or it's going to look suspicious."

Olivia nodded, inhaling deeply, and turned her attention back to the teenager on the lawn. Plastering a large, what she hoped to be happy, smile on her face, Olivia waited for Karen's signal that the photo had been taken.

"Hmm. It looks okay but I think we could totally do better." Karen tilted her head, a pensive look crossing her features as she eyed the two adults. She was silent for several moments before suddenly calling up: "Dad, you should like put your arms around Liv or something."

"I –"

"It's okay," Olivia whispered, heart suddenly thumping at the real possibility that he would reject her and her fear of failure would come true. She needn't have worried, though, as he cautiously wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands atop one another over her stomach. Inhaling, Olivia placed her own hands on his forearms and leaned against his chest.

"Perfect!" Karen decided after snapping a couple photos. "Come back down here and we'll do the ring pic next!"

Fitz practically jumped away from her once more and backed inside before she could say anything else. Sighing, Olivia followed him down the stairs and out the door toward an ever enthusiastic Karen as she was laying out her plan to Fitz:

"We could probably do it in front of one of the plants? You could hold Liv's hand –"

"I don't think we need my hand in the picture, Kare. No one wants to see that," Fitz joked, taking a step away from his daughter as Olivia drew closer. Shaking her head, cursing herself once more for her poor choice of words, Olivia watched as Fitz walked toward the flowerbed under the balcony - suddenly appearing extremely interested in the landscaping.

"Do we really need a picture of the ring, Karen?" Olivia questioned, tilting her head as she looked at the photos on Karen's phone. The pictures were…nice. A bit of the constriction Olivia felt in her chest began to dissipate - they might actually pull this off.

"Yes! Everyone is going to want to know what the ring looks like!"

"I don't think your dad is all that comfortable with so many photos." Olivia stuck her hands in her pockets, biting her lip as the ring caught on the fabric of her trousers before finally allowing her to force her hands inside.

"Dad hates pictures but he'll get over it. For you at least!" Karen laughed, slipping an arm through Olivia's and leading her toward the flowerbed and a pensive looking Fitz. "Daddy! Grab Livvie's hand. We're going to take a picture of the ring."

"Karen –"

"I think it would be easier if we just got it over with," Olivia suggested, disentangling herself from Karen and closing the distance between herself and Fitz. "Ready when you are."

"I am such a fucking idiot," Olivia whined, falling backward on her mattress and groaning as she bounced a couple times.

"What happened?"

"I told him not to grope me."

"And?"

Olivia held her phone up in time to catch Oriel's questioning look.

"I don't know. He seemed pretty angry about it."

"You two are always mad at each other."

"He was kind of nice when I first showed up. Until I made that comment," Olivia admitted, rolling around onto her stomach and propping her phone up against the wall.

"You've said worse to him before."

"Or have I? Giving him shit for his policies and letting him know how I feel about most of his political decisions is a lot different than insinuating he would –"

"Okay, okay. That's fair." Oriel ran a hand through her messy waves before adjusting her glasses. "Are you guys still doing this then?"

"Karen's supposed to post the pictures tonight. Just in time to be all over the morning headlines." Olivia's attention was drawn toward the ring on her finger, the one she had tried to return to Fitz as she was leaving. He had waved her off, practically shoving her into her car before Karen had had a chance to say her goodbyes.

"Apologize, I guess?"

"I already tried that."

"Pretend it didn't happen? Move across the country and change your name?"

"Now who's being dramatic?" Olivia shook her head, a small smile threatening to make itself known.

"Someone has to be the bigger person. Especially if the two of you want this to work out. There will be a lot of people with a lot of questions."

"Did Cyrus give you his 'how to convince Fitz and Olivia to work together 101' guide?"

Oriel chuckled before yawning and stretching. "Not all of us have to be fancy campaign managers to know how PR is ran."

"Thanks, O." Olivia found herself yawning as well. "I'll see you this weekend."

"Call me with any other crises you may encounter."

"You're a dork. Good night."

"Night!"

Olivia ended the call and grabbed her phone, rolling over again to reach for her charger. As she was preparing to plug the charger into her phone, the screen lit up with an instagram notification. Taking a deep breath, Olivia tapped the notification and watched as the app opened. Within seconds she was confronted with the photos she and Fitz had taken earlier that evening. Karen had done beautifully - capturing Olivia in wonderful, natural lighting. Even Fitz didn't look quite as sour as his mood had been. The ring photo, which Karen had taken in black and white, was, thankfully, a close up of Fitz holding her hand and so the mutual grimaces weren't on display.

All in all, it looked like they might just get away with this after all.