Disclaimer: Shondaland/ABC owns these characters. But I've taken the Gladiator oath as a writer: #OLITZ4LIFE #JAMMMmmmmm

No Mellie or Joke: Public Service Announcement for any accidental non-Olitz readers

"I'd like to thank each and every one of you for giving up your Saturday to be here at such short notice. Your dedication is remarkable and we appreciate it," Fitzgerald Grant said, looking at the interns assembled in the East Room.

"Having said that, I want to remind you that this a request, not a command. It's okay, if you've changed your mind about being here and decide you'd rather be home, watching a movie or walking the dog," He paused at the encouraging bark from Daisy, sitting at his feet, followed by a ripple of laughter. "Daisy approves of option two."

There was more laughter.

"So does anyone want to leave?"

No one moved.

"If you change your mind, just let Jan or Pete know." He indicated the White House aides, standing behind him. "Or they'll worry that you've been abducted by those aliens we keep in the basement."

Again there was laughter.

"So for those of you determined to stay, your folders contain a list of telephone numbers – each folder has a different list so you won't be doubling up on calls. These numbers belong to key members of advocacy groups either for gun rights, or for gun control. We want to know their top five concerns, and what's number one on their wish list of any legislative initiatives.

"Once you've done that, I would like to know your views, for and against gun control within the framework of our Bill of Rights, not just the Second Amendment."

"Excuse me, sir, but isn't that the job of the White House lawyers?" one of the interns asked.

Fitz grinned. "You're right, but sometimes it helps to get a fresh perspective and you are all my fresh perspective. Out of interest, are you for or against gun control, TJ?"

The intern appeared taken aback that Fitz knew his name, then he rallied. "I'm against, sir."

"Then I'd like to hear your views for gun control. Think of this as a college debate. The Supreme Court is your opposition. And..." Fitz swept his gaze over the interns again, "...all I ask is that you keep your essays to under 1000 words, with a brief summary of your argument. This would be a kindness to me – even though I'm a good speed reader, I'm not that good."

Again there was laughter.

"Now, as you're aware you'll be working out of the offices you're normally assigned to. If you need anything else, let Jan or Pete know or come see me, I'll be in the Oval office. Any questions? No? Great, let's get to work!"

"Hi."

"Hi. That was quick."

"I'm a fast talker, and most of them were too intimidated to ask questions," Fitz smiled. "Like you said, I need to get more involved with the volunteers. This was a good start."

"Mm, very good start."

"How are my girls?"

"We're very excited to be taking a trip on Marine One. Baby K is sitting next to me with her nose stuck to the window."

Fitz chuckled. "Let me know how you go."

"We will. Would you like anything from the Mid West?"

"Only my girls back safely." When she didn't respond immediately, he asked, "Hey, are you still there?"

"Yep, still here."

He smiled at her husky response. "I love you."

"I love you too. And here's Baby K."

Fitz had just finished speaking to his daughter, when Jerry came out of Oval Office, holding Teddy at arm's length.

"The little dude's a bit stinky. I think he's done poos."

Lifting Teddy into his arms, Fitz took a whiff of his nappy, and agreed. "Yep. He sure has. A motherload by the smell of it."

"Want me to take him to the nurse?"

"I'll take him. This might be my only chance to spend time with him today."

As they walked down the hallway towards the residence, Jerry said, "You know, Dad, I've been thinking..."

"Yeah?" Fitz angled a wary look, which prompted a grin from Jerry.

"Dad, don't give me that look."

"Said the kid who nearly got us incinerated by a nuclear missile."

"Geez, Dad, that was a one off, and I learned from that mistake. Now I only tweet harmless stuff, like that picture of you with the dogs last night."

"What?" Fitz stopped dead in his tracks.

"Dad, it was just a picture of you on the couch with the dogs. Nothing serious. I put it on Instagram, and Facebook, now it's going around Tumblr and people are writing captions on Twitter."

"Jerry..."

"Dad, before you go ballistic, you should know that the PrezAlert hashtag is trending on Twitter. That's better than the 30 people who watched your yawnfest Press Conference on Youtube."

Fitz gave an exasperated sigh and resumed walking. "Jerry, talking about nuclear disarmament is a bit like calculus – complex therefore boring, but necessary."

"Yeah, Dad, that's okay if you only want Math nerds to vote for you, but what about the rest of the school – you know the jocks, geeks, emos and weirdos. You've got to appeal to a lot more people."

Fitz turned to Jerry, a smile ghosting his lips. "Rowan was right, you are a very smart kid."

"Wait, did you say Rowan? Mom's fake dad? That Rowan? He said I'm smart."

"Yep. And he's not Mom's fake dad. He's her real dad, and I get the impression he likes you."

Jerry thought for a bit. "Nuh, still don't like him."

"Jer, he's going to be family," Fitz said softly.

"Anyway what I was thinking, is that you should get kids talking about what scares them about guns. There's a lot of kids who've seen their friends die in school or in the neighbourhood, so why not get them talking?"

Fitz secured Teddy in one arm, then snaked the other out to haul Jerry into a hug, adding a kiss on top of his curly head for good measure.

"Dad! Get off!" Jerry protested, struggling, but he didn't bother hiding the big grin on his face.

"Mr Guildford."

"Now, Olivia," The tall, white-haired man grinned as he gathered Olivia into a hug. "I know it's been a few years since you helped my son, but I do remember asking you to call me Hank the first time we met."

Olivia smiled. "Hank, thank you for seeing me at such short notice."

"Olivia, we're honoured to be part of the President's campaign. Now, who is this lovely young lady holding onto your hand as if she's afraid to let go?"

Keeping her left hand tucked firmly in Olivia's, Karen extended her right. "Hello, I'm Karen."

"Well, hello, Karen that's a lovely name for a lovely young lady." Hank Guilford bent at the waist to shake her hand. "Now my confidential sources tell me that you love horses. Is that true?"

Karen smiled, sneaking a glance at Olivia. "Yes, it's true. Mom said you have Appaloosas."

"That I do. I used to breed them, but now I give a home to the old and blind ones."

They were interrupted by a whirr of wheels across the floor tiles, and Hank turned round grinning. "Ah, the cavalry has arrived to rescue you from my horse talk."

"Hank, I knew you'd be holding these poor girls hostage. Olivia, it's so lovely to see you again, my dear." The salt and pepper-haired woman in the wheelchair embraced Olivia, before turning to Karen. "And this must Karen Grant. Oh now, don't be shy. Come over here and give me a hug."

"Ginny," Hank addressed the new arrival. "Karen here was asking me about the Appaloosas."

"Oh, you love horses too? Now isn't that a coincidence? My grand-daughter loves horses and she's visiting us this weekend."

Ginny turned her chair around, then holding hands with Karen, she led the way through the sprawling home while Olivia and Hank followed at a more leisurely pace.

"Now from what that little girl said, I believe congratulations are in order," Hank turned to Olivia with a twinkle in his eye.

"It's not official yet. We're getting married next month, but we haven't gone public with the news, because of what happened."

"Ah, yes the tragedy at Blair House."

Olivia angled a glance at him. "It's okay, you can say her name."

Hank smiled, taking her hand and tucking it through his arm. "My dear Olivia, I'm not being sensitive to your feelings. Well, perhaps a smidgin. But I met the woman when her father and I moved in the same circles. She was a nasty piece of work; went out of her way to insult my Ginny, and I have never forgiven her for that.

"But I must not speak ill of the dead." He patted Olivia's hand. "And I am pleased that the man who captured your elusive heart is none other than President Grant. He's an impressive young man; Ginny started campaigning for him, the day after he went on national television to declare his love for you. So ignore the hate-mongers, my dear, and know that you have friends who are 100 per cent in support of your marriage."

Olivia gave a wry smile. "You and Ginny are in a unique position to know the problems Fitz will face by marrying me."

"Olivia, Ginny and I married seven years after the Loving case in 1967, but people's minds had not caught up with the law. I would say they still haven't. Ginny had a harder time of it, than I did; just as I'm sure you will, compared to the President. But could you live without him?"

"No. I tried. It didn't work for either of us."

"And it didn't work for Ginny or I. Yes, it will be difficult, Olivia. But seeing you and the President be happy together, is what we need to understand the beauty of love in all its many shades."

"We got the right to keep and bear arms from the 1689 English Bill of Rights, and the English came with it after King James II of England disarmed the Protestants in favour of the Catholics."

"The English said Parliament not the Monarchy could regulate the right to bear arms. So when you think about it, the Parliament armed the public so they couldn't be kicked out by the King's army."

"They were living in a state of war between their government and their king. But the Parliament realised that when the Monarchy lost influence, an armed public would turn against the government, which is why the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia abolished this common law right by Statute in the last century."

"And we enshrined it in the Second Amendment of our Constitution, because our Founding Fathers couldn't imagine a day when a kid would use a semi-automatic rifle to gun down a bunch of elementary school kids."

Fitz looked at his security advisors and legal counsel sprawled on couches, armchairs and even the carpet in their casual clothes, wearing the same intent expressions they had during the working week.

"Paranoia is what made gun ownership a right, and it's a gift that keeps on giving to the NRA. Nothing sells more guns than fear."

"Sir, but the Constitution doesn't say we have the right to assault weapons."

"Or the right to avoid background checks."

"Or that we have the right to own armour-piercing bullets."

Fitz digested that information, before posing another question. "What about the illegal trafficking of firearms and the Gun Show loophole?"

"We could make it a law that you need a Federal Firearms License to sell firearms at a gun show."

"Yeah, those licensees are required by law to do a background check using the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System."

"Or we could have a specific gun show permit that incorporates the safety check requirement."

"You know, what gets me, is that we have stricter regulations for building and food safety than we do for the sale of guns." One advisor shook his head.

Another looked at him. "We're not exactly breaking new ground here – we already have seven States demanding background checks on all gun sales at gun shows. We just need to make that a federal requirement."

Fitz tapped his pen on the notepad in front of him. "What about the issue of kids having access to guns?"

"Olivia, you know Hank and I are not in total agreement on this issue," Virginia Guilford said as she topped up the plate of home-made cookies.

They were seated on the patio at the back, with a clear view of the paddock where, in the company of the Guilford's teenaged grand-daughter, Karen was feeding apples and carrots to handful of horses crowding near the fence.

Olivia smiled. "That's why I chose the two of you. We need to hear more than one perspective."

"I know Ginny believes in responsible gun ownership as opposed to gun control, partly because of her heritage."

"Mostly because of my heritage. It's no secret that the Klu Klux Klan were among the first to advocate gun control because they wanted to disarm African Americans and leave us defenceless. The legacy of race is never too far from this debate."

Hank reached for Ginny's hand, taking it in both of his. "I am well aware of the Black Codes that operated in the Southern States after the Civil war. And that Martin Luther King Jr was refused a gun permit in 1956, after his house was bombed."

"He was denied a permit by the police, even though the NRA and Republican Party supported his application."

"Not out of the goodwill of their hearts, Ginny. You know the colour of money rules in this country. But look at where we are at now – gun violence is the number one cause of death among African American kids."

Ginny gave Hank a wry look. "I know that, Hank. I read the figures by the Children's Defence Fund –that more African American children—"

"60,000" Hank said.

"That 60,000 of our kids have been killed by guns between 1963 and 2010, which is seventeen times more than the total number of African Americans lynched between 1862 and 1968."

A heavy silence followed Ginny's statement and Hank shifted closer to her. Then a shout of laughter from the paddock, drew their attention to the two girls getting nuzzled by the group of eager horses, and the tension dissipated.

Ginny turned to face Olivia. "I can understand that the personal tragedies suffered by President Grant, are giving him the impetus to fight against the tide on this issue. He was shot, and that woman he married was killed. But he's a Republican, and Republican Presidents don't fight for gun control. Even Ronald Reagan who passed one of the toughest laws on gun control - the 1967 Mulford Act - during his time as Governor of California, went on to become the first presidential candidate in a hundred years to be endorsed by the NRA."

"You fight to protect the ones you love, Ginny." Hank murmured, "Just like I stand with the President, if he's serious about tighter gun control. I don't want anyone else to go through what you did, Ginny."

"Hank, you know I got shot by accident. It wasn't premeditated. It was a random drive-by shooting; I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But I was lucky enough to live… It hurts me ever day to remember those kids who didn't survive."

"Kids, Ginny, like our grand-daughter."

"I know, Hank! Don't think I don't know that!" Ginny glared at Hank. "But we have to be real about all this. We need to have protections that won't make people have a knee-jerk reaction to their Constitutional rights! The only way we can make headway is if we increase victims' rights; make the gun manufacturers responsible for their product like Big Tobacco. That's what I'm talking about. We won't get anywhere if we keep talking about taking away people's guns."

Hank leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, reminding Olivia of Fitz.

And just like Fitz, Hank then sneaked a kiss on Ginny's lips until a rogue smile appeared and she pushed him away.

"You're embarrassing, Olivia," Ginny said primly.

"She don't look embarrassed to me," Hank said, with an unrepentant grin.

"Nope," Olivia shook her head.

"Oh, don't encourage him. He's too much of a reprobate as it is."

"But she loves me anyway," Hank chuckled, giving his wife another kiss.

When Marine One touched down on the South Lawn, Fitz was waiting for them on the helipad.

"Daddy!" Karen launched herself into his arms, squealing with delight when she was lifted off her feet. "Did you miss us?"

"Maybe a little," he grinned hugging her tightly. Then shifted her in his arms to gather Olivia close, and give her a kiss.

"Did you guys have a good time?"

"Very good," Olivia smiled, hooking her arm around his waist, as Fitz carried Karen across the lawn.

"Daddy, can I have a horse?"

Fitz raised a brow at Olivia, who just smiled. Then he turned to Karen and said, "No," before kissing her nose.

"So I can have one for my birthday?"

"No."

"Christmas?"

"No."

"Daddy!"

"Pumpkin!'

She giggled then cried, "Oh look, there's Poppy!"

Fitz set her on her feet so she could go running to greet her dog, racing towards her.

Then with a soft rumble of satisfaction, Fitz wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulder and kissed her as they walked.

"Someone's happy," she teased him.

"Mmm..." He kissed her temple. "Someone has unpacked her bags and decided to stay."

"I didn't take any bags on this trip."

He chuckled softly. "I'm talking about the bags you've had ready and waiting to get out of the White House, to avoid being First Lady."

Her startled gaze clashed with his, and he grinned.

She gave a rueful smile. "You know this was never about you."

"I know."

"I love you. And the kids. Even the dogs."

"I know."

"It was always about the job. "

"I know."

"But I think I'm okay about it now."

"You think?"

"Baby steps, mister. This isn't an epiphany; it's a work-in-progress."

He stopped to cup her face and kiss her full on the mouth. "Any progress is good." Then he raised his head and said huskily, "Want a piggy back to your new incarceration complex?"

She laughed. "Yes! Let's race Baby K and Poppy!"

A/N: I feel like I've lined up way too many soap boxes for this story, but the truth is – it's an addiction and there is no cure! I lurrrrrve US politics and sadly I will bombard you with errrrything I can find and misrepresent in my crash-learning of whatever the hell is going on right now or as close to right now as I can get! Hopefully I remember to include some Scandalish stuff as part of the story!

So there's the reference to Loving v Virginia 1967 (Thank you – Clio1792!) the Supreme Court case involving Mildred and Richard Loving, which overturned laws banning interracial marriage in the United States. Yes, that's only been legal since 1967!

A lot of the gun stuff for the conversations was taken from the following : Black youth gun deaths exceed US lynchings- by Janell Ross in The Age on Oct 9, 2013; For some blacks, gun control raises echoes of segregated past by Ehab Zahriyeh in Al Jazeera America on Sep 1, 2013; The Secret History of Guns - by Adam Winkler in The Atlantic on Jul 24, 2011; Right to Keep and Bear Arms- Wikipedia.

I also filched President Obama's gun initiatives : Obama Gun Control Proposals Unveiled, Marking Biggest Legislative Effort In A Generation - by Sam Stein and John Rudolf in Huffington Post on Jan 16, 2013 (there's a link in there that takes you to the 23 executive initiatives President Obama has already signed through. And the Guilfords were inspired by Gabrielle Gifford, but I couldn't have a white ex-Congresswoman as that would not tell the other side of the story.

And I had a bunch of interns doing cold-calling instead of what actually happened with Vice President Joe Biden's task force holding 22 meetings with 229 organisations over two weeks in January last year, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.