Author´s note:

Again many thanks to my dear readers and reviewers. :) A little note to you all: I will be without internet access for a few days starting Saturday, therefore the next update might take about a week. I´ll be able to write in between, but not upload most likely, so you´ll have to be a bit patient until next time unfortunately.

ShaunV76: Yes, she took him with her, she has to find a way out of the mess she created, in a way that´s only fair. :) Good to see that I made you so mad at him :D I see that as a compliment. :)

LoreneMichelle41: Like the point you make about different realities, that´s exactly like it is. I was trying to create a bit of a parallel in this chapter, with two side characters trying to influence our main guys. On the phone call..not telling yet ;)

Guest: Thanks for the compliment. :) And yes, I do like a nice happy ending, not sure what kind yet but even though the hurt is necessary and logical there, they will hopefully find some way to work through it, headstrong and stubborn as they both are ;)

Umusarah: The mystery of the phone call will be solved in the next chapter quite likely, so i´ll have to tell you to wait for that. ;) And yes, I found it necessary for her to stand up against that. I made the attempts of manipulation (hiding the pictures, announcing he has coffee) deliberately subtle yet hoped that they were clearly so provocative and vile that she would hopefully see right through him.

Cleo: Got to wait for the solution of that mystery there (the phonecall) ;) As for Jake: I always found that this is the most dangerous part of him, that in a way he is very calculating and almost always very calm, talking sense in a way that you can see (if you´re not involved with him) is dangerous and manipulative, but that veils itself in a dangerous kind of manipulative, emotionally abusive in some ways behavior.

AuntDee94: well, I think it´s safe to assume that the call he made has something to do with Jake. Even though,heh, maybe it was just the pizza delivery ;)

Apollonialust: Thank you very much for the compliment, it´s very much appreciated. :) I hope you´ll stick around and keep reading, your review really put a smile on my face.

Guest: So many emotions. :) Thanks very much for your kind words and yes, bewildering as her behavior in season 3 might have seemed to us, I would say a lot of it comes with the pressure of all of it. It´s a crazy situation she´s in even though of course that doesn´t excuse everything…I think at some point she just nearly snapped and that was when she fled and took that plane, believing she could escape it all…

DayDreamLover: It´s an honour to have you catch up on my fic, I really mean that, seeing that I really admire your writing style. :) Thank you very much for your reviews and if you went through an emotional rollercoaster like that maybe that means I did the right thing in the way I am writing this. ;) Hope you´ll stay around and thanks again.

Chapter 8 – Loopholes in national security

She had read somewhere, maybe Time Magazine, maybe something like National Geographic, years ago when she had still been at college, that it was impossible to eradicate ages of instinctive behavior with a mere handful of millennia of "civilization", that these survival instincts of our ancient forefathers and – mothers were still deep within us, observable in little everyday things and quirks. Such as in the fact that most people, entering a public space like a restaurant of café, if given the choice, would choose the seat that gave a good overview over one´s surroundings. Funny, Olivia thought, whether this were supposed to be ancient instincts was hard to tell, because her choice in a seat in this hotel bar seemed far more likely the result of her very present fear to be followed. As her eyes scanned the bar, she knew she was looking out for Jake. No, instincts could not explain this very rational behavior. It was only natural after what had happened earlier. That mild fear still lingering it also felt reassuring to tell herself that she was just being logical. That keeping a lookout was a sign of her ability to cope with the situation. She was in control. – She had never liked situations where she wasn´t.

It had been difficult and still was to keep a cool head, to not panic at what had happened. The sudden fear that had struck her when for a moment it had looked like Jake wanted to hurt her, mingled with the anger that came with it and the frustration that his behavior right before that dreadful scene had made Fitz hang up – all that had left her in emotional limbo in which her attempts to calm her nerves minutes ago in that taxi had almost felt welcome. Her impulse had been to directly head to the airport because if she hadn´t known after she had seen those photos, the sound of voice and… how his voice had sounded. It had told her without a doubt that he needed her, just like her first instincts after him hanging up being to rush off and leave her fragile second life behind showed her just how little she could imagine living without this complicated, sometimes oh so uncomfortable and enraging but nonetheless wonderful man.

When she had calmed down a little however, new obstacles had occurred to her. Her mind had flicked a few levers it seemed, turning her current situation into a situation she could handle – a problem that needed fixing. The goal of the client was: to get back home – the place that felt home, and that was not Vienna. But getting there would not be easy. One reason was that Jake might be on her tail once he had overcome the humiliation of her leaving him in that office, which was why she had not made her way to the airport right away, because unfortunately he knew her quite well and that would be the first place where he would be looking. Two, because even though she had made the decision to come here on her own, she was almost certain that her father had an eye on her – if not constantly, then he was definitely informed about the bigger picture. Which meant that he would be informed if his daughter attempted any bigger leaps – if he let her do those at all. Her gut, once more, was about to be proven right…

She didn´t have to look up the number, it was one of those she knew by heart, bless her good memory. It rang for a while, three, four, five times and Olivia watched a waiter approach a table near her, shaking her head lightly with a smile and pointing at her glass, indicating she was fine for the moment. The bar was not too crowded; she had deliberately chosen a hotel a bit away from the city buzz. She´d be safe here for the night and this corner of the lobby gave her as much privacy as possible.

"Abby?"

"Oh wow, look who´s calling. Have you fallen off the rim of the world?"

"Abby I´m sorry I didn´t call earlier." She could tell her friend was relieved and irked at the same time. "Are you at home?"

"Well, a good day, morning or afternoon to you, too, ma´am" the redhead gave back. "since I have no idea where you calling from but now I am at some big building with large rooms and a lot of wall space, formerly known as OPA."

"You´re at the office?"

"Well, someone is still paying the rent for this place we were told so…what is going on with that, Liv?"

She didn´t know. "Let´s talk about that later, okay? It´s really not easy, all of this. I…"

There was a pause on the other end. "I really have a few reasons to be mad with you but: Are you okay there, Liv?"

"I…yes. How are you guys?"

"We´re holding up," The redhead´s voice sounded a bit strained. "even though things seem to be falling apart without them revolving around you to be honest. People show up infrequently, Harrison has … he´s not with you, isn´t he?"

Olivia scowled, somewhat worried. "No." he said. "Is he…"

Abby interrupted her. "Well, why do you call?" Did she detect the slightest icy tone in her friend´s voice? But if so, could she really blame her? Was it fair, after all, to just turn your back on your old life? Wasn´t that a really selfish thing to do even when one believed it to be the best option there was?"

"This is a long story, Abby, but we will have time to talk about it soon."

"You´re coming back? When? Why?"

"That depends. I need Huck to check on something. Is he there by any chance?"

"Well, he is one of the people that I complained about being super infrequent. Apparently people don´t accept my authority even after my attempts to usurp OPA in the absence of a leader but…it´s your lucky day…"

Five minutes later, the call ended. Olivia could tell there were a lot of unspoken angers, disappointments. There was a lot more to heal, to repair and to fix than it seemed. Leaving had broken a few things and it hurt – especially when sitting in a random hotel lobby all alone in Vienna in the dead of night.

Her gut feeling had been right. She had asked Huck to check for her name in the Homeland Security database. Her own name – Olivia Pope - was out of question to use on the flight back, because all her papers were that of one Carolyn Bishop and that woman, as Huck had confirmed her suspicion, had, until a few moments ago, been listed on the No-Fly list of all general American airlines and the alert lists of American airports that scanned incoming people. She did not particularly like the thought of having to use her alias, it felt as false as all of the last weeks had been, but she didn´t have a choice there. And she needed to be back to the States to start actually fixing things.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I think this is an important discussion, an important issue."

"Oh I absolutely agree." Fitz walked around the sofa, handed her a glass of wine that he had poured from a decanter that sat on the marble counter near the mini bar. She liked his casual look today – a dark blue sweater, somehow going nicely with his full hair, sleeves half rolled up in a matter that looked casual and at ease now, whereas he used that as a means to look the man of the people when campaigning. Sleeves rolled up meant president Fitzgerald Grant was ready to do the business of the people heads on. Sleeves rolled up here meant Fitz was feeling laid back, despite the political discussion they were having. Olivia had always liked those with him because even though she had run his campaign, she did not agree with him on every tiny issue. She believed in the man – not in any tiny fragment of his policies. That, for her, had always meant democracy and he had told her on several occasions that she had often provided him with new perspectives on matters that had seemed clear to him. "The thing is, I believe it´s a different matter depending on the angle you look at it. It´s a matter of national security."

"So you´re thinking about signing the PATRIOT Act for another two years?"

He took a sip of his wine, leant back. "I have a few advisors on it. There are a few things about it I don´t like but right now, I believe it´s the best option we have."

"I never liked it."

"There is more to it that nude scanners at airports." he said, placed down his glass and came closer, placing his knuckles against the fabric of the sofa, shifting his weight and smirking. "even though those, I hear, don´t show anything. I am sure, aiport personnel are always disappointed when they see you step into one of those."

She chuckled, give him a playful nudge. "Fitz! I´m being serious."

He regarded her with a trace of that smirk but serious eyes. "So am I." he said. "I wish it were different, but believe me, you don´t want to even know about every little threat out there. If you had the full scope…"

"…I might think differently, I know, I know, Mr President." She flashed him a charming smile. "but as long as I don´t, I should be a watchful but behaved citizen enduring the scanners and accepting the danger of racial profiling for Arab Americans when it comes to the No Fly Lists?"

He gave a slightly overdramatic grunt. "Livvie…" He leant forward a bit. "Never just accept things. It gives us politicians the idea we can sit on our asses and be lazy." His tone was partly seductive, butshe could tell that despite his slightly joking words he took her concerns to heart. He always did. She was none of his advisors but it would have been naïve of her to believe she had no influence on this man´s decisions. He leant forward, kissed her neck gently as she tilted her head back, a small sound somewhere between a snicker and a whimper escaping her. "however, sometimes it´s wise to observe the rules, Livvie. There will be other times, Livvie… times when the world is more at peace. Let´s notlet down our guard till then." His right hand went to the front of her sweater, the back of his fingers softly running against the curve of her body. "How about we agree on me taking my oath to the Constitution seriously…" his lips moved a little higher up as his words began to trail a little and she herself started to lose focus on his actual words. "…and at the same time we´ll see for a little longer to make sure we know a few things, such as when people with funny businesses and funny names try to enter the country. Hey, they could be after me after all, right?" The rest of the discussion was continued at another time in all earnest and seriousness, she remembered, later, in front of the fireplace in a cabin in Camp David, but not then…

"Thank you, Ma´am, have a pleasant flight." Olivia was startled out of her thoughts and looked at the security officer who had checked her passport, a woman roughly her own age, drawn back to reality from memories and daydreams of a simpler, better, easier time, at least that´s what it seemed in retrospect. She had been tense for a moment, even though she needn´t have. A few mouse clicks had probably been enough for Huck to clear her name out of the Homeland Security database, her mind retreating into a memory about just that kind of issue while she waited. As she pulled her suitcase towards the boarding area, it became clear to her what had made such discussions so lively with him. He was the president, sure, he had a different viewpoint and knew more about national threats and international terrorism than the average protester that took to the street with a poster reading quotes from "1984", but she had a friend that had proven to her again and again that security measures like that usually evaded those that knew their way around it. ..we´ll see for a little longer to make sure we know a few things, such as when people with funny businesses and funny names try to enter the country. And boarding that plane she almost felt like doing something wrong. Sure she had no other choice if she wanted to go back to the US without getting into a bureaucratic nightmare, sure it was illegal, but did that mean it was the right thing to do? With regards to that question, her gut stayed silent.