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

Breaking News from XYZ newsdesk in Atlanta, Georgia…

"Ms Olivia Pope, the fiancée of President Fitzgerald Grant made a surprise appearance in court today, in the company of State Senator Lucas Zeke. It has been reported that Ms Pope is staying as a personal guest at the Senator's residence. Many of our regular viewers will know that Senator Zeke has been a key proponent of tighter gun control legislation for convicted criminals. But his initiatives have few supporters. There is speculation that Ms Pope's public appearance with Senator Zeke is a signal that the senator intends to pursue higher office in the coming months. Over to you, Sam."

"Thank you, Lacey, but it's not just convicted criminals that the Senator has been targeting. Isn't he also trying to have licenses revoked if a person is known to be involved with a hate group?"

"Yes, Senator Zeke has made no secret of the fact that he's against what he calls the stock-piling of deadly weapons by people who see hate as their calling. His detractors say that kind of legislation would lead to a witch hunt, and there are fears that people will be discriminated from owning guns on the mere suspicion of belonging to a hate group, when all they may have done is yell a racial slur in the heat of the moment. Sam…"

"Yes, a very concerning prospect indeed. Thank you, Lacey. Now to other news….

Fitz switched off the television. Then adjusted his tie, picked up his jacket, and headed for the door. Opening it, just as Rowan Pope was preparing to knock.

For a moment, both men stood frozen in place, then Fitz offered a cautious smile. "Mr Pope. Settled in okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Mr Grant. And under the circumstances, I would think it's advisable that we drop the formalities. You can call me Rowan."

Fitz bit back a smile at the implied honour and extended his hand, "Pleased to meet you, Rowan. I'm Fitz."

Rowan raised a brow looking from Fitz to his hand, then back again. "Ah, I see where your son gets his deviant attitude. Where are the children? Are they in Georgia with my daughter who is doing her best to avoid me?"

Fitz dropped his hand. "Olivia is working, unofficially, on a matter of national interest. The timing wasn't great but it's important. And I trust her to get the job done quickly and safely. I want it to be over soon too, because I miss her."

Rowan's stony expression softened as he fell into step beside Fitz, walking along the central hallway on the second floor of the residence.

Seeing the expression, Fitz proffered an olive branch. "But I'm sure she regrets not being here."

"Oh, I'm sure she does not," Rowan said pleasantly.

"How is Felicia?"

"Unpacking. I see you have acquired quite a menagerie since the last time we were here."

"Yes, the kids have always wanted a dog."

"So you gave them four. Yes, I can see the logic in that. Of course, I would never let one of those flea-ridden mutts inside my house. No matter how well Olivia pleaded her case to have a pet, and let me tell you, she was very good at presenting her arguments."

Fitz tried to ignore the twinge of dislike that surfaced. "Olivia is a very loving woman. I would imagine that even as a child, she would have wanted a pet to lavish affection, and receive it in return."

"I knew it would be a harsh world out there for my child. I could not allow a smelly furball to distract my daughter from the realities she would face. Her mother had a difficult enough time as it was."

"Rowan, I'm not about teaching the people I love about harsh realities, they'll learn about them soon enough. I want them to be happy. I hope you can tolerate that, even if you can't bring yourself to understand it."

They walked several steps in total silence, then Rowan said, "I have decided to accept your offer to stay at the White House."

"About that; Olivia was not happy that I hadn't discussed this with her first."

Unexpectedly, Rowan smiled. "But now you have, it's all fine, yes? Good. So Felicia and I will stay."

"Great," Fitz said, gloomily, as they parted ways on the stair landing.

Olivia looked around the courtroom, which had started filling up after she and Zeke had taken their seats. Olivia had already allowed a reporter to approach - after Tom and a couple of other agents had tried to block access - but all the reporter had wanted was the name of the designers for her navy blue peplum jacket and charcoal pants. Olivia had given the names, and smilingly accepted the subsequent compliment with a graceful 'thank you'.

"Nice." Senator Zeke chuckled. "Now all you have to do is practice your queenly wave."

"Funny, funny man." Olivia smiled, glancing down the aisle to see Harrison and Abby making their way around protruding knees and feet, carrying bottled water from the vending machine. They'd just taken their seats beside her, alongside Huck and Quinn, when a hush fell over the room as the court clerk came in and asked everyone to rise.

Olivia watched Judge Claudette Liston enter, a short, plump woman with a weary expression. She knew the judge had been up most of the night, waiting for updates on her grand-daughter, who was now safe at home, being guarded by men from Zeke's team. The judge had also been informed that Senator Zeke had spoken to the hospital chief in confidence, to have the child registered as a Jane Doe for her safety.

Judge Liston looked around the courtroom, her gaze resting for the briefest of moments on Senator Zeke and Olivia before moving on. "Go ahead and be seated. My, my, I wasn't expecting such a turn-out today for this hearing. I must say it's refreshing to see y'all take such an interest in matters of law. So are we ready to begin?" Hardly waiting for a response, she added, "So we're going to decide on this petition for a preliminary injunction in the case of The Guns for Freedom Alliance v Fitzgerald Grant III. Please state your appearances for the record."

The petitioners' legal team introduced themselves, followed by US Attorney Patrick Dent for the Government, who looked sickly and disorganised in his rumpled suit and messy tie.

Judge Liston then informed the lawyers present that she had read their briefs, as well as the draft executive order presented as evidence. "Y'all don't need to repeat yourselves in court today, but for the benefit of all everyone else here, I'll summarise the arguments. The petitioners want to stop the President from signing his executive order on gun safety, as it violates their Constitutional rights under the Second Amendment. Is this correct?"

The plaintiffs' legal team assented.

"And the Government's defence is that this executive order is not legally binding and can be overturned by the next administration?"

Dent nodded, looked distracted.

"Do you have any new evidence to present?"

"No, your honour."

"No, your honour."

Olivia felt a sharp shock run down her spine. Instantly she texted Fitz. "Get ready. It's going down."

As soon as he got the text, Fitz ignored the sudden racing of his heart and made a call to Cyrus. "Get everyone ready. It's on."

"What, already? But the hearing just started. Do they even bother with the judicial process in courtrooms anymore?" Cyrus groused, then paused, "Are you sure she sent the bat signal? She could have been sitting on her phone."

"She sent a bat signal." Fitz exhaled a long breath. "Which means she's can come home earlier than planned."

Olivia sat forward as the Judge continued with a smile, "Well, I have questions that need asking before I can decide on the facts. Starting with the question of Second Amendment rights, y'all want me to focus on the words 'a well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed'. The section – 'right of the people to keep and bear Arms' has been highlighted, but I'm looking at the words 'well-regulated'."

"If I may interrupt, your honour, the power to regulate has been vested in Congress under Articles I and IV of the Constitution," said one of the plaintiff's lawyers .

Judge Liston nodded. "I hear you, but the power to regulate has also been given to the President in Article II section 1 of the Constitution, them being the words 'executive power shall be vested in the President'. There's precedent for Executive Orders to be issued on that basis."

Judge Liston paused as there was muttering at the plaintiffs' table, but when no further objections were voiced, she continued, "So in consideration of the executives powers vested in the President, we come to the question of 'standing' – do the petitioners have standing to file this petition."

"They do, your honour, they feel they will be adversely affected directly and indirectly by the passing of this statute."

"Have any of the members of the Guns for Freedom Alliance been convicted of a crime?"

"Of course not, your honour!" The plaintiff's lead attorney appeared outraged.

"Are they undergoing psychiatric treatment?"

"No, your honour," There was less outrage, but more background whispering among the attorneys.

"But they have a problem with the President's plan to increase funding for psychiatric services under Medicaid?"

"We have no objection to that, your honour. But our clients, who are federally licensed firearms dealers, object to the additional paperwork required by the proposed mental health test to be administered at the point of sale."

The judge shuffled papers. "Where's that stated on the Draft Order?"

"It's, uh, in reference to the matter of funding."

"Oh, you mean this bit here about a funding allocation to develop a psychological test. Are you telling the court that your clients have a problem with research and development in the area of mental health?"

"Um, no, your honour."

Judge Liston waited a moment before asking, "Are your clients under the age of 21 years, which is the minimum age to buy a handgun, or under the age of 18 years which is how old they need to be to buy a rifle or shotgun from a federally licensed dealer? And do they have a problem with current legislative prohibitions on gun ownership for minors?"

"No, on all those points, your honour." There was more whispering at the table. "But they feel it's not their job to police those regulations."

"Again let me take a moment to check the draft order - I can see nothing in here saying gun retailers should police regulations. What I do see is the President proposing to harmonise gun control laws current in seven states, them being California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts. New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Are you telling me that your clients have never taken part in a gun show in any one of those states?"

"Uh, they have, your honour."

"And did they fail to follow the regulations required by law?"

"Uh, no, your honour."

"Then I don't see the problem. Oh, I see, did y'all get confused about the President's plan to get tough on police refusing to enforce existing gun control laws? That's a plan to get the police to do their job, not for gun retailers to do the job of the police. Why don't I give you a minute to read over that section, and you can tell me if you still get a different meaning."

"Uh, no, your honour."

"Then I rule that the plaintiffs have not met the burden of proof required within the scope of the Executive Order presented. Therefore this petition is denied and dismissed."

Heart thumping, Olivia typed: SIGN NOW and hit send, for a moment there was a stunned silence in the court-room. Then the plaintiffs' lawyers turned as one, and glared at Patrick Dent who appeared to be shrinking in his seat as cheers and jeers broke out in the crowd.

Breaking News from XYZ White House Correspondent…

"…President Fitzgerald Grant today signed the Executive Order on Gun Safety after a shock dismissal of a stop order by a Federal Judge in Georgia. Gun control groups say that while the order is a step in the right direction, it has not gone far enough to address the issue of military assault weapons in the hands of civilians in peace time. Gun rights advocates, on the other hand, say the President has over-stepped the bounds of executive power under the United States Constitution…"

Now Live from the courthouse in Georgia, where our reporter is speaking to First Fiancee Ms Olivia Pope and State Senator Lucas Zeke.

"Ms Pope, how do you feel about the judges' ruling today?"

"Personally, as a civilian, I was happy to hear that the petition was dismissed."

"Are you also speaking as a representative of the government?"

"No, I am here as a woman who saw the man she loves get shot and almost die. I am here because I believe the President's Executive Order addresses some of the concerns the National Rifle Association has raised in connection to guns being in the hands of criminals and people in need of psychiatric treatment."

"And you don't feel that gun control legislation will restrict our Constitutional right to gun ownership?"

"I would say that the Federal government has passed several laws on gun control since the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, and yet Americans own half of all guns worldwide. Federal gun control legislation has not prevented us from owning the 310 million guns we have in the US today."

"And how do you think the President will react to news that attorneys for The Guns for Freedom Alliance intend to file a new petition for a permanent injunction?"

"I cannot comment on that. Thank you."

"Senator Zeke, what is your involvement in this matter? Are you going to announce your bid to run for Governor?"

"I'm just here to support a friend. That's all. Y'all have a nice day now."

"Why is Olivia Pope taking it upon herself to tell the nation about the actions of this Administration?" Sally Langston said frostily, intercepting Cyrus on his way out of the White House East Room, where Fitz had just finished signing the executive order and was now responding to questions from the attending media.

"Why are apples green and red, instead of orange and purple?"

"What?"

"Exactly, I had no idea what you're talking about either." Cyrus said, side-stepping her to continue walking

"Cyrus! This is an outrage! What is Ms Pope even doing in Georgia? And what is her connection to Lucas Zeke?"

"Sally, I am not Olivia's mother; I do not concern myself with the company she keeps. As to what she's doing in the lovely state of Georgia – I would say she's giving a boost to tourism – and it's working, because they're talking about Georgia on every news channel."

"Cyrus!"

"Got to go, Sally. Duty calls." Cyrus hurried away, breathing a sigh of relief; then cursed when he turned the corner and nearly crashed into James.

"What are you doing here?" he glared, exasperated.

"Yes, lovely to see you too. Mwah, mwah," James kissed the air on either side of his husband's face, and smiled. "And take a deep breath, that's right. We don't want you to spontaneously combust, now do we?"

Cyrus rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for your witty repartee. I have work to do."

"I'm not here to repartee either. I'm here to start my new job."

"Olivia is still in Georgia." Cyrus muttered, continuing down the corridor.

"I know. She told me to pass on her regards. I'm starting my new job as communications strategist. You know the one you ranted over for a solid 24 hours and then ungraciously accepted that I wasn't going to turn down the job offer."

"Oh, yes, that. But I thought you were going to inflict your presence in an official capacity, after the wedding."

"I was, but Olivia wants me to organise a series of web chats for Fitz. He'll be responding to questions from the public about his Executive Order on Gun Safety, and get a chance to give a broader perspective outside the usual media sound bites."

"Why wasn't I informed about any of this?" Cyrus glowered.

"I don't know. But we can have fun with the conspiracy theories during dinner tonight. Gracious, is that the time? Got to run. I have a very busy schedule today. Oh, and if you want to say 'hi' to Ella, she's with Teddy in the nursery."

"I'm going to miss you," Zeke muttered as he gave Olivia a long hug. "And you know I don't say that to a lot of women."

Olivia laughed. "I'm honoured, and I'm going to miss you too."

"We make a good team, don't we?"

"Yes, we do."

"And you know that if you ever need my help, you just have to call me. I'll be there!" Zeke sang.

Again Olivia laughed, then she angled her head. "Are you and Oscar free to fly to DC on Valentine's Day?"

"Mm, this peach jam is delish. I might make a crumb cake with this as a filling." Abby dipped her finger in the jam bottle and scooped up another dollop to taste.

"I'm loving this salty pecan brittle," Quinn broke off a piece and savoured the taste. "Wish I'd got some for the Dent kids. I feel so bad for them."

"Oscar said the wife has found herself a good lawyer. A real shark."

"Good, I hope he takes a huge bite out of Dent's big, hairy ass."

"Ewww! Could you not talk about that?"

At the conference table, Harrison and Huck were peering into a laptop, replaying the recordings of the previous night. "So how much do you think it cost to set up that operations centre in Zeke's bunker?" Harrison asked Huck.

"A lot. The equipment was state-of-the-art; he must have friends at the top."

"Yeah, the President."

"No, higher than that. People with money, who don't have to answer to Congress or the public."

"Man, sometimes I forget who really runs this country."

Nor far from them, Olivia sat curled up in a leather chair, gazing out the window, absently rubbing her engagement ring. The flight was taking too long. She missed him. She missed them. She missed her family. The thought made her smile.

Her family...

She glanced over at her associates having their private conversations and Tom, who was dozing in his seat. The other agents were reading magazines or playing cards, while still keeping watch, unobtrusively.

Olivia turned her attention back to fluffy clouds and blue skies, feeling warm comfort settle in the pit of her belly. Then she sat up with a jolt of anticipation as her phone buzzed; and seeing the caller ID, she smiled.

"I'm almost there," she said softly

"Almost is not good enough," he grumbled.

"Mr President…" she gave a soft chuckle.

"Mmm…" he rumbled softly. "So did you try them out?"

"No!" She laughed, then whispered. "We can try them out tonight."

"Oh, I like that."

She blushed and whispered, "I can't wait."

Further down the cabin, Abby rolled her eyes. "No second guesses as to who she's talking to."

"Nope," Quinn giggled."She's fallen deeply, madly, truly."

"Isn't the movie Truly, Madly, Deeply?" Abby sniffed.

Quinn took another bite of candy. "You know, it was nice having her around, being the boss lady. I miss that."

"Yeah, me too," Harrison turned to look at them, murmuring, "And the undercover stuff ain't bad."

"You need more training. I can help with that," Huck said, his attention still on his laptop.

"I wonder if the President needs to sign more Executive Orders," Quinn said. "You know some really unpopular ones."

"Pretty sure he does, now that he's in love and wants to fix everything that's broken. Forgetting of course that it was mostly the Republicans that broke it," Abby muttered, closing the jam jar.

Quinn and Harrison exchanged a glance, then Quinn extended her box of candy to Harrison, "Brittle?"

"Salty, too."

Abby frowned at them suspiciously, but they just avoided her gaze and munched away.

When they landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC, the pilot asked them to remain seated until they received clearance to disembark.

"I could get used to travelling this way," Quinn sighed, settling back into the soft leather of her seat.

"Lots of elbow space," Harrison agreed.

"And meals on a plate," Abby added.

"And vegetarian that's not chicken," Huck nodded.

Just then Olivia felt a flutter along her spine as conversation came to an abrupt halt. Anticipation singing through her, she looked over her shoulder to see Fitz enter the cabin, his gaze searching and settling on her.

"Hi."

Other than an inarticulate gasp of joy, she didn't respond as she leapt out of her chair and launched herself into his arms.

He grabbed her to him, lifting her off her feet, burying his face in her neck.

"So does this mean we can leave now?" Abby asked drily.

Olivia snuffled a laugh as Fitz groaned softly, kissing her ear and her cheek before carefully setting her down, while keeping her snug against his side.

"Abby," Fitz smiled, extending his free hand. "Nice to see you again."

Abby twitched a smile, and shook hands gingerly. Then watched as Fitz extended the same courtesy to the other associates. "I'd like to thank you all for helping us out in Georgia. We'd never have managed to rescue that little girl without your help."

"Yeah, well, you know - all in a day's work," Quinn grinned.

"It was good to have Liv with us, being hands on," Harrison said.

"Yeah, we're available if there's anything else you need us to take care of," Huck added.

"I'll keep that in mind," Fitz chuckled, turning to give Olivia a lingering kiss on the lips.

"Okay, that's our cue to get out of here," Abby said, giving Olivia an awkward hug while trying to avoid touching any part of Fitz.

"It's because you're a Republican," Olivia explained after the associates had left.

"But I'm a good guy, just tell her to ask these guys if she doesn't believe me," Fitz teased, referring to the agents going past on their way out, including Tom who received a special slap on the back.

Once the last agent left, a small silence descended in the cabin as Fitz and Olivia looked at each other.

"I missed you," he said with fervor.

"I missed you too."

He cupped her face, lowering his mouth to brush a featherlight kiss across her smiling lips, then tugged playfully at her lower lip making her laugh. Instantly he deepened the kiss, taking her weight in his arms as she stood on tiptoe, straining towards him.

"Livvie…" he groaned hoarsely, pressing his forehead against hers when they broke apart. Drawing back, he stroked her cheek with his thumb, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Me too."

"You go first."

"I invited Zeke and Oscar to the wedding."

"Your dad's here. And he's staying at the White House."

There was a silence, then he said softly, "Say something."

"Are you upset about my news?"

"No," he shook his head. "Are you upset about mine?"

"Yes."

"Can I still get a kiss?"

In answer, Olivia pressed her mouth to his fiercely, then kissed a trail along his jaw before burying her face in his shoulder. "Why does he have to stay with us?"

"I think he's trying to get closer to you," he murmured, rubbing her back. "They're on the third floor. And I'll ask him to give me an itinerary of his and Felicia's movements so you can avoid them at all times."

She snuffled a laugh, lifting her head to look at him.

He leaned down and kissed her nose. "We should go. The guys must be getting impatient for us to leave."

They made their way out, arm-in-arm. At the bottom of the steps, Fitz shook hands with the agents waiting, and saluted the military personnel on guard before gently guiding Olivia to the Presidential limousine.

He kissed her once more before opening the passenger door. Then grinned at her squeal of delight, which was followed by shrieks from the two kids inside. As Olivia disappeared in a flurry of hugs and kisses, he followed, resigning himself to taking the seat opposite, while Jerry and Karen sandwiched Olivia, peppering her with questions about her adventures in Georgia.

Breaking News from XYZ news desk in Georgia…

"US Attorney Patrick Dent was found dead at his home this evening, with a gun shot wound to the back of his head. Atlanta Police are treating his death as a homicide after the shock discovery that the victim had been stripped naked and tied to a chair. He was reportedly alone at the time of the incident, after Mrs Dent and the children moved out of the family home in the early hours of this morning. Mrs Dent was not available for comment. Our sources say that police arrived at the house to arrest Mr Dent on charges of kidnapping and obstruction of justice. Mr Dent was Federal Prosecutor in the hearing to prevent the President signing an Executive Order on Gun Safety, which concluded earlier today with a dismissal. It is unclear at this stage if there is a link. Police have no known suspects for Mr Dent's murder at this time, but say they have in custody four associates of Mr Dent's who are helping with the official investigation..."

A/N: Thank YOU again for your lovely, encouraging, informative comments. I LOVE them!

And I've also realised my author's notes have been a bit too brief! Sorry about that, my job hunt is depressing and it's affecting my sense of humour but I've resurrected it today (death warmed over) to write a super looooong note.

Anyway, I've been feeling bad about making OPA drift off like flotsam and jetsam. Hence, Olivia Pope and Associates 'fixing' undercover with the help of a secret army. And there were two articles that helped me decide on the Rainbow crew.

One was Why It's Rare To 'See A Black Face' In The SEALs, a radio interview with transcript on the NPR website published May 28, 2012 - where the African American SEAL senior chief says it's not racism but a lack of awareness and swimming skills – for SEA, Air And Land – that's holding more people of colour from being recruited into elite forces. I don't know enough about the US military to disagree with him, but I can tell you as a woman of colour, who grew up 5 minutes from a Sri Lankan beach – I can't swim.

The second article was The U.S. Could Have Its First Female Navy SEALs By 2016 by Josh Voorhees published in Slate on Jun 18, 2013 – meaning there currently aren't any women SEALs. (Apparently, there is a limit to the improbabilities I will include in this story – shock, horror!)

And I wanted to choose military personnel because the crazies are supposed to be weeded out, so the sane can be ordered to kill, while they themselves die in the process. (Oops, did I just let slip my disdain for the games big boys play with other people's lives).

Also felt the need to include a few healthy relationships in this story, as I'm over the dysfunctional ones in Scandal.

The next point to note is that in real life an injunction hearing would probably take a lot longer – I referred to (as in shamelessly pilfered) Hedges v Obama and the transcript was 152 pages long! If you care to read it, please do, it's very entertaining! Anyway as this is a Scandal story, best keep the action scandalously short.

I should mention my crass re-working of the US legal system was misappropriated by information gathered from the following articles:

Hedges v Obama final hearing transcript on scribd website; Milestones in Federal Gun Control Legislation - written by John Gettings and Catherine McNiff on Infoplease; Articles I, II & IV were taken from Cornell Law and The Reach of Congressional Power: Specific Article I and IV Powers from Law2 UMKC websites; Executive Orders: The Power of the President's Pen by Kirs Strohman in The Legality published Dec 11, 2008 and Psych tests for gun owners recommended by Andrew Drummond, Oct 18, 2010 in the Sydney Morning Herald (this was a recommendation for Australia, but figured I'd use it here for the US). Did I leave anyone out – yes Wikipedia for everything from Standing to Injunctions to Federal Firearms legislation!

And I hope to have a few OLITZ-centric chapters coming up soon…!

Happy Valentines for those still enjoying February 14 in your parts of the world! Quote for every day of the year: Being Deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage – Lao Tzu