This story is inspired by Season 1 Scandal, Vermont and the Olitz actors – Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn

NO-Mellie and NO-Joke: Public Service Announcement for any accidental non-Olitz readers

Olivia lumbered out of bed, easing away from the loose circle of Fitz's arms as he lay snoring, his face half buried in a pillow.

On her way back from her fifth trip to the bathroom that night, Olivia stood by the side of the bed looking down at Fitz, or more specifically his arm lying across her half of the bed. She thought better of moving it. Instead, collecting a bathrobe, she made her way out through the double doors to the Yellow Oval Room, intent on taking a midnight stroll along the Truman Balcony.

Olivia paused at the sight of the balcony door slightly ajar. Pushing it open wider, she strode forward, pausing again at the sight of Rowan seated on the cane sofa, staring up at the night sky.

"Dad?"

"Olivia!" Rowan said with a start, "What are you doing out here?"

"Can't sleep."

"Same." Then after a pause, he said, "I wanted to see the Blood Moon tonight."

"I didn't even know there was such a thing," Olivia sat down carefully next to her father.

"It's a total eclipse of a Super Moon."

"When does it start?"

"It ended earlier tonight, when Fitz had me under guard in my office, with Jerry."

Olivia glanced at her father. "I'm sure there'll be another Blood Moon eclipse soon."

"The next one will be in 2033."

"Oh."

Conversation ground to a halt, until Rowan said gruffly, "Your mother didn't get much sleep in the days leading up to your birth."

Olivia gave a soft chuckle. "I haven't been sleeping right for months."

They fell silent again, then seeing Olivia rub her arms, Rowan took the throw rug from the back of the sofa and draped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she murmured, pulling the edges closer.

"What are you going to do now that you're no longer First Lady and part-time-chief of staff to the President? Will you go back to Olivia Pope and Associates?"

"I haven't decided." After a pause, she added, "I don't think I want to go back to cleaning up other people's messes."

"Not when cleaning Fitzgerald's messes is a full-time job."

"Dad." Olivia frowned.

"You could start a career in public speaking."

"I'll think about it."

There was another long silence, then Rowan said heavily. "We need to talk about living arrangements, Olivia. Now that Fitz has decided to move the family back to Vermont, Felicia and I need to find our own place, but this decision is so sudden we haven't had time to look at real estate." He waited.

"Will you return to New York?"

Rowan turned back to face the sky. "Eventually... but in the meantime, Felicia and I don't have a place to stay."

Olivia clutched the blanket, biting down on her lip, but the words escaped despite her best efforts to hold them back. "You can stay with us, Dad, until you find your own place."

Olivia slammed the door into the bedroom, startling Fitz awake.

"What? What happened?" He sat up, his hair on end.

"Dad and Felicia are moving in with us."

Fitz blinked several times, then said cautiously, "But they're already living with us."

"I mean they'll be going to Vermont with us."

"Vermont?"

"Vermont!"

"Livvie, I swear it wasn't me."

"No, it was me. I asked them to move in with us."

"Oh."

Olivia caught the sly grin, just before Fitz collapsed back onto the pillows, placing an arm over his face. She marched up to him, and pulled his arm off his face.

"What's funny?" she demanded, glaring down at him.

"Nothing," he said innocently, his eyes dancing. "Come back to bed," he patted the space beside him, shifting further to give her room.

"Can't, I need to pee," she said shortly, dropping his arm to bounce a little on the sheets.

"Okay, I'll wait here," Fitz murmured, half-turning so he could watch her as he scrunched the pillows beneath his cheek.

When Olivia came out of the bathroom, he was fast asleep. She glared at his sleeping figure before carefully climbing into bed. He didn't stir. She sat watching his face, to the background noise of his snores, then noticing the tired lines beneath his eyes, she reached over to smooth back his hair gently.

"Poor baby."

Olivia had begun to doze when the alarm went off, and although Fitz slammed it silent, she still woke, feeling tired and grumpy.

"Hi," he rumbled in a sleep-roughened voice.

"I don't feel well."

"Do you want to stay in bed? I can write you sick note."

She gave a reluctant smile, earning herself a soft kiss. "Tell me it's all a bad dream," she whispered.

"It's all a bad dream."

"You're lying to me."

"You asked me to."

"That's no reason."

"Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"Yes, so you need to stop smiling."

"Can I choose what you're going to throw at me?"

"No."

"Should I be worried that you're this mad before the baby is born?"

"You can ask Tom for a protective vest."

"Can't."

"Why?"

"I fired him." Fitz rolled away, pushing back the covers and getting out of bed.

"What? You fired Tom? Our Tom? Why?" Olivia managed to get herself out of bed and stalk Fitz to the bathroom.

Fitz cast a glance over his shoulder. "He knew about Cyrus staying in Blair House." He shut the door on her. Olivia opened it immediately and walked right in.

"Why are you mad at Tom? I asked him to put Cyrus in Blair House! Wait, you're really mad at me, but you fired Tom?"

"Yes." Fitz steered Olivia gently out and closed the door again, this time locking it.

"Fitz!"

"I'm doing secret men's business!"

Olivia made an exasperated noise. Then waddled back to the bed, trying to find her private phone.

Unable to check under the bed, she gave up, grabbed a robe and went in search of Tom.

Olivia paused at the top of the stairs wondering how she was going to manage them unaided, just as Zeke appeared on the landing below.

"Hello, gorgeous," he grinned, sprinting up a couple of steps at a time to envelope her in a hug. "I'm going to miss seeing you looking all ready to set fire to some bastard when you've just rolled out of bed. Give me names, I'll take care of him for you."

Olivia glared at him crossly, not responding.

"Hey now, wait a sec. You mad at me? Why you mad at me?" Zeke wrapped one arm around Olivia, while extending the other as support as he helped Olivia down the steps. "FYI, I don't want to be President."

"You didn't talk Fitz out of it."

"Honey, you want me to talk a guy, crazy in love with you, out of doing what he thinks is best for you? The last guy who tried that is under house arrest." He managed to get her down to the ground floor before asking, "Where are we heading as a lynch mob of two?"

"We're not going to lynch anyone."

"That's a damn shame. I have a list of people I'd like to return the favour."

"We're going to find Tom."

"He ain't on my list."

Olivia glanced at Zeke, then sighed. "This isn't a joke, Zeke. You really are President."

"I know, hon, but if I don't laugh about it, I'm going to freak out and run outta here, screaming."

Olivia tucked both her arms through his. "You know we'll only be a Marine One ride away."

"Maybe you guys can stay here, and Oscar and I can move into the Lincoln bedroom. It'll save me a commute to Vermont."

Olivia smiled. "Fitz has already organised for our things to be packed and trucked out of here after you take the Oath of Office."

"I can issue an Executive Order to have it all unpacked as my first order of business."

Olivia grinned. "I'd like to see you try…" Then she paused, "Were you on your way to see Fitz?"

"Yeah. I need a Bible for the swearing-in ceremony. And I don't want word getting out that I don't have one."

Olivia gave him a droll look, then held out her hand. "Give me your phone. I'll get that organised for you."

Live Coverage of the Swearing-in Ceremony of President Lucas Zeke.

"We are live in the Oval Office, where in a few minutes Vice President Lucas Zeke will be sworn in as the next President of the United States. Mr Zeke's partner, the Cabinet and members of the First Family including Olivia Pope Grant, their three children, four dogs and a basket of yawning puppies have gathered to witness this extraordinary occasion…"

[The camera panned over Oscar, Olivia next to him, followed by the children in order of height with the dogs lying at their feet, except for the basket of puppies on Karen's lap. In the back row behind the government officials sat Rowan and Felicia]

"President Fitzgerald Grant, or I should say former President Grant has just walked in with our next President Lucas Zeke signalling that the ceremony is about to start…

"Mr Lucas Zeke stands before the Chief Justice. He puts hand on the Bible more than a century old, belonging to the Supreme Court, open to I Kings 3:9-11. Mr Zeke is now taking the Presidential oath of office, under Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

President Lucas Zeke speaks after swearing-in Ceremony.

"…For only the second time in our history, a man who never campaigned to be either the Vice President or the President of the United States has the benefit of occupying these positions of power.

"...I do not stand here as a result of a traditional vote by 'we the People' or their representatives in the electoral college'; I do not stand here as a result of power-brokers, deep-pocket money men or any other special interest group with an expectation that they can call in favours from me; I do not stand here on the strength of a party platform that I may not, personally, agree...

"...I have become America's first visibly black, openly gay President as a result of the decision of one man, a good friend and ex-Navy Seal buddy Fitzgerald Thomas Grant, a man whose passion - for ensuring that this great nation of ours, abides by its Democratic principles - is only second to his love and passion for his family.

"...As I stand here today, before you all, I can assure that I intend to continue the challenging but ultimately rewarding Grant legacy, with the help of my lifelong partner and best friend Oscar Zidambe and of course, all 'we, the people' of America…"

Fitz had just finished congratulating Zeke with a bear hug, when he heard a muffled scream, whining from the dogs, followed by gasps then a shocked silence.

He turned to see everyone staring at Olivia. She was standing, doubled over, clutching her belly and the back of her chair for support. Clearly visible on the skirt of her white maternity dress was huge wet patch. Then there was pandemonium.

"OMG, her water's broken!"

"The First Lady's having the baby!"

Telling everyone to stand back, Fitz sprinted over to put his arm around Olivia. "Livvie, sweetheart, don't panic – if your water's just broken, we have time."

"I wet myself before Zeke took the oath."

"Have you timed your contractions?"

"Ooh, there's one… and there's another one…"

"Damnit, Olivia!" Fitz shouted. Then turning to the circle around them, he yelled, "My wife is in labour! Get Marine One ready! Call the nurse! Call the hospital!"

"Yes, sir!" A couple of marines at the door, saluted and took a few steps towards the exit, but one of them paused and looked from Fitz to Zeke. "Sir?" After seeing the expression on both faces, he saluted smartly again and hurried away.

Jerry grabbed Teddy, while Rowan guided the dogs out of the room, followed by Felicia taking the basket of puppies from Karen, who'd run outside to keep watch of the helicopter.

Everyone else rushed forward, telling Olivia 'to breathe', 'don't push', 'walk around a bit' until Fitz yelled, "Move back! That's an Executive Order! Let her breathe!"

Olivia gripped his hand, unable to speak as another contraction ripped through her, and just when she wanted to scream again, Karen ran in through the open doors of the Oval Office to announce, "Marine One just landed on the grass!"

Before Fitz could lift Olivia, Zeke and Oscar had her up in a seated position – each supporting her thighs, while her arms clung to their shoulders.

"I need to push!" she gasped.

"DON'T PUSH!" yelled Zeke and Oscar, hurrying across the lawn towards the chopper.

After handing Teddy to Rowan who'd walked back into the Oval Office, Jerry pelted across the grass towards the helicopter as the doors opened and the steps unfolded. Fitz sprang up next to him and both helped Olivia inside the cabin.

Then Fitz yelled, "Close that door and get this thing moving!" They were airborne before he realised someone was missing. "Where's is that damned nurse?"

"Is that her?" Karen pointed to a woman standing on the grass, surrounded by an army of Secret Service agents.

Fitz came over to stare down at the speck and swore.

"I can tell the pilots to turn back and get her," said the Marine crew chief.

Olivia screamed.

"No," said Fitz rushing back to her side, then looked up exasperated when Jerry muttered, "Dad, there's a camerawoman in here," indicating the woman squished in a corner with a camera trained on them.

As all eyes turned on her, she looked away from the eyepiece to say, "I'm covering your first day as America's new President."

"You need to turn that off." Zeke said. "This isn't part of the official schedule."

"But I have a pass to cover the whole day."

In the background, Olivia grabbed Oscar's arm and screamed.

"That's it, sugar, hang in there. I didn't need that arm anyway."

In response, Olivia screamed again. "Ow, oh Oscar, it hurts! I can't do this. I've changed my mind. This baby has to stay in! FITZ!"

"Hang in there, sweetheart," Fitz kissed her face. "We're almost there."

Karen peeked under Olivia's skirt and said, "I think the baby's pushing against Mom's undies."

That got Fitz up off the seat beside Olivia and on his knees next to Karen, as he reached in to pull off Olivia's underpants, then cried, "Olivia, tell the baby to stay in! We're not at the hospital yet!"

Olivia gave a laugh, half strangled by another scream. "You tell the baby to stay in! She's not listening to me! AAAArgh!"

"It's okay, we can do this," Fitz took of his coat, rolled up his sleeves. "We've been in war zones, this should be a piece of cake."

"What do you need, sir?" asked the Marine, who was looking a bit red around the collar.

"Drugs! I need DRUGS!"

"You wanted a natural birth, sweetheart, this is as natural as it's going to get," Fitz soothed, as Zeke took the seat he'd just vacated. Then turning to the Marine, Fitz said, "We need towels. Lots of them."

Olivia screamed, clutching at both Oscar and Zeke's arms on either side of her.

"Breathe: huff, huff, puff, puff…"

"AAAAAAAaaargh!" Olivia screamed again.

Jerry pulled out his phone from his pocket and made a phone call. "911? Yeah, Mom is either dying or having a baby. We need help."

"Jerry, quit joking around."

"It's no joke, Dad. This is an emergency. Yeah, Mom's in labour. How close are her contractions?"

Olivia screamed again.

"Yeah, that's her. I'd say the contractions are deadly close. The 9/11 operator wants to know how far Mom is …what? Dye-ated? Dilated? Oh… that's a Dad job. Dad, you need to check Mom's stuff down there… can you see the baby's head?"

"I can see the baby's head," Karen said, beside Fitz. "This is kind of cool."

"The 9/11 guy said the baby's crowning. Make sure the um-something cord isn't around the baby's neck."

"Easy, sweetheart, easy," Fitz whispered, sounding a bit awed, as he took hold of the emerging baby.

Jerry bent to take a peek, then turned green and backed away. "That's gross. I think I'm going to puke." Then into the phone, he said, "No, I'm not going to faint. Yeah, I'm breathing and Mom's breathing…"

Olivia screamed again and pushed, and just as suddenly Fitz had his hands full of baby.

He stared dazedly at the baby, then up at Olivia.

"Is it a girl?" she gasped.

"I don't know, the baby's covered in blood," Karen said, matter-of-factly.

"She's a girl," Fitz whispered, cradling the baby in his arms.

Olivia stared at the bundle still attached to her umbilical cord, then gazed at Fitz. His eyes were wet as he leaned over to kiss her before placing the baby in her arms.

"Oh, Fitz, we did it," Olivia sobbed, laughing.

"You did it," He kissed her again.

"We all did it," Olivia smiled happily, including everyone in her radiance until Jerry said urgently,

"Mom, we need to get the baby to breathe. The 9/11 guy says we need to clean her nose and mouth."

The crew chief was ready with towels, and he wiped the baby's eyes, mouth and nose. The baby snuffled then started to wail.

"She's got good lungs," The Marine grinned, proudly, placing a clean towel over her for warmth.

Olivia half laughed, half cried. "She's so gorgeous."

"Is she supposed to look all wrinkled and raisin-like?" Jerry muttered, inching closer. Then he grinned hearing the response over the phone still glued to his ear. "It's okay, all babies look like that."

"What do we do with baby's bungee cord?" Karen asked. "The one that's still attached to Mom."

"The emergency dude says to leave it alone, until we get to hospital."

Breaking News

Story #1: It wasn't quite the handover America expected when President Fitzgerald Grant resigned today - only our tenth President to leave before completing a full term of office – and Vice President Lucas Zeke took the Oath of Office as America's next Commander in Chief…

Story #2: The first official duty for America's new President Lucas Zeke was delivering the fourth child of former President Fitzgerald Grant. President Zeke said it was sure to be the most rewarding experience of his short career in the nation's top job...

Story #3: "The Grant baby's birth was watched by an audience of 20 million people across the country, and an estimated 1.5 billion globally; making it the most watched non-sporting event since the rescue of the Chilean miners in 2010…"

Story #4: "America's latest President Lucas Zeke, once an ex-Navy Seal Commander and senator of Georgia, invoked the memory of President Gerald Ford a man who was nominated, rather than elected, to the Vice-Presidency and Presidency. Let's hope President Zeke does not follow in the footsteps of President Ford who's mostly remembered for the controversial decision of pardoning Richard Nixon for all his crimes while in office…"

While the medical staff were examining Olivia and the baby, Fitz and Zeke walked back to the private room where Oscar had taken the kids to wait with Rowan and Felicia.

"I should sue that damned network but I'm kind of glad the media dogs are going crazy about this birth, instead of sniffing around my private activities, if you get my meaning."

Fitz nodded. "My life with Olivia has been more or less front page news since I made our relationship public. So this is par for the course." He turned to Zeke. "I'll be glad to run interference for you anytime. Just ask."

"You wouldn't have another baby ready to pop out for the next media cycle?"

"I'll be a dead man for suggesting it," Fitz grinned.

They had barely stepped into the room when the White House Press Secretary and Hospital Administrator arrived to advise that the media, previously blocking the main entrance, had now been herded into the hospital Board Room.

As they walked towards the elevators, surrounded by Secret Service agents, the Press Secretary gave a mini-briefing of the questions that Fitz and Zeke could expect.

"Questions have already been asked about whether you'll be revoking your resignation now that the baby's born and Mrs Grant is out of danger?"

"No, I will not be revoking my resignation," Fitz assured.

"You sure? I won't hold it against you if you change your mind," Zeke chuckled.

"Me neither," muttered Oscar. He'd joined the group, out of concern for Zeke's safety.

"And do you have plans to sue the camera woman and her employer?"

Zeke and Fitz exchanged a glance. "I'm still thinking about it," Zeke said.

"You know even if Zeke does sue the media for that gross invasion of privacy, the 911 call is a matter of Public Record," Rowan said softly, staring at the sleeping bundle in his arms that was his grand-daughter.

Olivia had arrived in a wheelchair, carrying Baby G in her arms, shortly after the men had left.

"Zeke's not going to sue them, Dad." Olivia yawned, watching yet another replay of the birth on the television above the bed.

"That's good," Rowan smiled. "It was the closest I could get to being there with you. So I appreciated seeing the live coverage... along with the rest of the country."

"You've been holding my little sister for ten whole minutes," Jerry grumbled from his seat on Rowan's armchair.

"Considering you are quick to offload your responsibilities in an emergency…" With a glance, Rowan indicated the curious Teddy, leaning against Rowan's knees, staring at the newest member of the Grant family as Felicia took pictures. "You're in no position to make demands."

"Yes, I am. I helped bring her into this world."

Felicia captured the side-eye that Rowan gave Jerry with a click of her camera.

"What are we going to call her," Karen murmured, snuggled up next to a drowsy Olivia.

"How about Jeri Karen Lucasette Oscarina Grant," called the irrepressible Jerry, adding, "We could ask the 911 guy and the Marine crew chief if it's okay to include their names too."

"Jerry?" Olivia snuffled a laugh, glancing from Karen to Jerry.

"J.E.R.I – for a girl. It's sounds kind of cool."

"How come your name comes first?" Karen frowned.

"Hey, if I hadn't call 911, this little dudette wouldn't be breathing right now."

Oscar and Zeke took the kids and Olivia's parents back to the White House while Fitz would not be budged from Olivia's side.

When Tom arrived at the hospital with Olivia's hospital bag, and a change of clothing for Fitz packed by White House staff, he stared at the baby and smiled, "She's gorgeous, just like her mother."

Olivia chuckled. "Compliments like that aren't going to get you out of the baby-sitting roster in Vermont."

"I can't wait," Tom grinned.

Fitz waited until the door had closed behind Tom to ask, "What's Tom doing here? I fired him."

"I hired him back. He'll be in charge of security at Vermont. You know you get Secret Service as part of the perks of an ex-President under the Former Presidents Act. A lifetime of protection."

"Nope, the lifetime protection provision changed to 10 years under the 1994 statute signed by Bill Clinton, for Presidents elected after 1997."

"Zeke is going to change that back. You're getting Tom for a lifetime."

"I'll fire him again."

"You can't."

"Olivia."

"Fitz. I'm a new mother, and you shouldn't yell at me. Doctor's orders."

"I didn't hear the doctor give any such order," Fitz gave a rogue smile, shifting his gaze from the baby to Olivia.

"She was thinking it. I could tell."

With a soft chuckle, Fitz kissed Olivia. "I can't believe she's finally here."

"Me neither. Look at all her perfect little fingers and toes." Then lifting a hand, she stroked his cheek. "You're the perfect midwife any mother could ask for."

Fitz laughed, kissing her fingers. "Do you think that should be my new career - becoming a midwife?"

"Nope. You're not escaping nappy duty that easily, Mister."

He laughed again, kissing her mouth, then bent to feather soft kisses on the baby's head. "What a crazy day."

"I wouldn't change a single thing about today."

"Me neither, although next time we'll book you into hospital a week before you're due."

"Next time?" Olivia interrupted.

"Too soon?"

A/N: Happy New Year! I wish you all the very best for 2016!

No, the story isn't complete yet... :D