Finally, an update. I'm going to skip babbling about my excuses and just give it to you. Enjoy!
"What kind of situation? Like an OPA situation or a LOT situation?" Abby sighed.
"Try both and add on a personal hashtag. If you're with Fitz, get out of the room."
"Why?"
"He can't know about this. Just trust me." Olivia took a deep breath and glanced at her family through the glass door.
"He's inside feeding Bella. Hit me with it."
"I have one of Karen's friends standing in front of me. She hasn't seen her in three days. None of her friends at Wellesley have. The school won't notify you unless there's reasonable evidence she's missing, as you and I both know college kids cut class all of the time, but her friend Annabelle feels strongly that she's in trouble." Olivia closed her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line.
"Does Mellie know?" She asked.
"No. Annabelle came to you for a reason. Plus she's in California, what is she going to do?"
"I'm assuming you're already handling this?" She murmured, looking out over the mountains.
"Huck's currently tracking her phone down. Quinn is checking her bank accounts. Looks like she used her debit card in Boston, so our next step is to get some surveillance footage to see if she was with anyone."
"Keep Annabelle there. Her father is Senator Bruceman, so she's probably staying with him right now. I will be down today."
"Liv you're not going to help by coming down. Stay put. You have a lot on your plate with the Leaders of Tomorrow Ball and you might have to go get her up there. Consider this handled." Olivia took a seat in a rocking chair.
"I have to tell Fitz." She murmured.
"You can't Liv! He will tell Mellie and they will make this national news!" Abby exclaimed.
"It's his daughter, Abby. He and Mellie both have the right to know."
"But you know what will happen if you do." Olivia rubbed her temples. "Take this like one of your cases. Never mix business and pleasure. You always said that."
"What if your future son or daughter was missing? I don't think you'd want me to handle that behind your back."
"Olivia-" A heavy silence fell between them.
"He was just in the Sheraton ballroom dancing with Isabella. He has never been so happy in his entire life. But years ago that used to be Karen that he sung to and danced with." She leaned back into the chair.
"I promised him that I wouldn't do this anymore. We promised. No more lies and secrets. I know I'd be protecting him by keeping him blind to the situation but in the end it will hurt him more. I've seen that happen far too many times."
"I understand." Abby murmured. Olivia exhaled deeply.
"I will handle it from my end. Just keep me updated." She could hear Huck talking in the background.
"Update: we have her location."
"Where?"
"Easton, Massachusetts." Olivia sighed of relief.
"She's headed towards the Martha's Vineyard home. She's probably just vacationing with some friends to escape the stress of college."
"I don't think this is a temporary escape Liv." She felt her stomach drop. "The surveillance tape shows her alone in a CVS pharmacy. She used her debit card to purchase pills."
"How much time do we have until she reaches the house?" Olivia responded briskly.
"About two hours." Huck reported.
"We can get the Massachusetts cops pull her over for speeding. Teenagers always speed. She'll have no idea that there's another motive behind it. There won't be a news storm either. Have her detained until I can get to her. The drive will take me three hours."
"Quinn is on it." Abby reported. Olivia sighed of slight relief.
"I have to go."
"We'll call with updates." Olivia clicked the phone off just as Fitz walked out onto the patio.
"Is everything okay? You look distraught." He asked, taking her hand and pulling her close. She looked up at him with glossy eyes.
"Do you trust me?" She asked.
"Olivia, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Something's happened with Karen." She admitted. She felt his body tense up within seconds.
"What kind of trouble is it now?" He asked bitterly. She shook her head and ran her arms up his sides.
"She didn't create trouble. She's in trouble. I need you to stay here with the baby and hold up the fort. I will be back with her before bed."
"I need to come with you. She's my daughter. You don't need to handle this." Olivia shook her head.
"You coming will make her situation worse. There's already enough media surveillance on her, we can't have you walking into a police station to pick her up."
"A police station?" Fitz exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.
"I did what I had to do." She cupped his face in her hands. "My past with Karen is irrelevant right now. She's your daughter so I love her. Unconditionally. Please trust me." Fitz pressed his forehead against hers.
"Bring her home safely." He murmured. She looked up at him and squeezed his wrists.
"Consider it handled."
A cold-front whipped against Olivia's bare skin as she made her way into the police station. A New England summer storm was on its way, but it was nothing compared to the potential storm brewing behind the bolted doors she flung open. All eyes turned as her white heels clicked across the grimy tile and made their way to the front desk. She offered the desk attendant a weak smile.
"I'd like for Sargent Williams to take me to my step-daughter, please." She requested.
"Of course." She replied quickly as she rose to open the door. This was obviously not a normal day in the Easton Police Department; she could tell by the tension and nervousness in the air. Olivia walked through the heavy gray door, pausing at the security check to remove her jewelry and purse from her shoulders. Calmly and collectively, she put her items back on and walked over to the policeman who had pulled over Karen.
"Thank you Sargent. I'm sure we've reached a mutual understanding through my coworkers that this won't go on her permanent record?"
"Of course, Mrs. Grant."
"Good." She said with a small nod. "And the contents in her purse?"
"Mostly not harmful, minus the pills, which have been dealt with." A woman lieutenant handed her the blue Tori Burch purse.
"Her BMW will be towed to our residence in Vermont. She's coming home with me." The Sargent opened the door to the holding cell and decided to give them some privacy. Karen sat in the corner, a dead expression on her face. She had her romper balled up in her palms and her foot nervously tapped against the floor. They waited in silence for a couple of minutes before she spoke.
"I know you're the one who had me pulled over. I wasn't speeding." She murmured.
"I know where you were going Karen. I know what you were going to do." Olivia replied slowly. Karen pressed her lips together in a thin line. She brought her feet up to tuck under her bottom and pressed her hands against her knees.
"When I was nine years old, we went to Hyannis Port as a family. It was when we first bought the house. I can remember how excited Jerry and I were when we first caught a glimpse of it. We raced out of the blue Mercedes rental car bounded up the long, steep driveway. We practically knocked the front door down off of its hinges. We fought over the master bedroom until Mom and Dad told us it was made for parents exclusively." She looked down at the floor.
"Mom and Dad had been fighting a lot. The avoidance and formalities were normal, but this summer was particularly stressful because Dad had tough competition in that year's race. The house was a complete surprise. I think he got it to please her and to get away from everything." She took the sunglasses off of her head and folded them neatly on her lap.
"It's still the best bundle of memories I have. We went sailing and to the beach and to barbecues. Mom and Dad seemed so happy. He would hold her out over the edge of the sailboat like they were in the Titanic. My mother's contagious laughter dissolved the stress we all had been feeling." She smiled for a brief moment.
"I never wanted to go back to California. And I was justified. Once we went back, everything returned to normal. Less fighting, more stiffness." She looked up and Olivia noticed that she had tears streaming down her face.
"Now I don't even have normal. Jerry's dead, Teddy barely knows who I am, Melody is in California, and Fitzgerald is off living in a castle with his queen and princess. All of the characters in my play have left. I wanted to feel them again before I joined Jerry. I wanted one final act." She locked eyes with Olivia.
"Until Olivia Pope came riding in on her glorious stallion wearing her huge white hat. Should've known that would be the conclusion." Olivia crossed her arms around her suddenly chilled body and kept her gaze on Karen. Tears fell tragically down the young girl's face and onto the concrete floor.
"When I was 12, my mother died in a plane crash. Or so I thought. Not a week had passed before I was sent away to boarding school. I never returned home again." Karen looked at her expectantly.
"My dad fed me fairytale after fairytale. He worked for the Smithsonian in the archeology department, my mother died quickly and peacefully. Boarding school was the only place for me because I was so smart. What could be better than dining with the children of kings? The list goes on." She shifted her weight slightly.
"I have bundles of memories like you do. They haunt me sometimes. Especially when I look at Isabella and realize that I'm someone's mother. Both of my parents never wore the white hat. Only black capes. They lied and conned and schemed and played dirty. All of the things I originally went to Washington to change." She took a couple of steps towards the bench as she felt her stepdaughter warming up to her. She sighed.
"I love your father. He makes me happy. He filled this void in me that I didn't even know existed. I wined and dined with plenty of politicians during my college years, but the day he locked eyes with mine I felt my heart literally stop." She smiled and flung her hands down.
"I don't probably look like a homewrecker to you. I never aspired to be one. I have always been a woman that values profession over everything. We kept trying to push away our feelings, but we never could. And no matter how many times I tried to walk away from him and stand in the sun, I always found myself standing in front of him wanting Vermont more than anything." She ran her thumb over her wedding band.
"You might feel like you can never get that feeling you had in Hyannis Port back. I promise you, you can." Tears continued to flow down Karen's swollen face.
"It's so easy to blame you for everything when deep down you feel responsible."
"Karen-" Olivia took a seat down next to her on the bench.
"I miss him." She sobbed suddenly, collapsing into Olivia's arms. She rubbed her back gently.
"I know you do."
"It hurts!" Karen choked. Tears welled in Olivia's eyes.
"I'm going to bring you home. Everything is going to be okay." Her body vibrated against Olivia as she continued to cry everything she had been holding in. She rubbed her back soothingly.
"I love you Karen. I'm here for you."
Fitz finished washing up the dishes with Dorin and walked over to the bouncer his daughter was falling asleep in. He bent down and unbuckled her before taking her into his arms. Nanny Dorin watched intently. Her boss had been off ever since Olivia had left, and she did not have the slightest clue why. It had been sudden and abrupt, but he remained somewhat collected and cool.
"Leave two dishes of the ravioli out. I will heat it up for Liv when she arrives home." He requested, rubbing Isabella's back.
"Should we be expecting a guest, Mr. Grant?" She asked. Fitz sighed.
"Dorin, I thought we were over the Mr. Grant crap. Please call me Fitz. And yes, my daughter is coming home with her." There's why he's off, Dorin noted.
"Shall I make up her room?" She asked.
"I think it's already made from the last time she was here. She will be tired so just make sure everything is ready."
"Noted, Mr.-" He raised an eyebrow. She laughed. "Fitz. I feel sleazy calling you that when Señora Olivia is not here." He laughed slightly.
"She knows I have no eyes on anyone but her. This house is a constant reminder of that." He says with a small smile. Dorin does not know their whole story, only bits and pieces, but she knows that he had built this house to fulfill his and Olivia's dream. There were many touches in the house that only spoke to them, photos that she enjoyed to look at in her spare time. Her employers' relationship was not out of a Disney movie, but it was enchanting in its own right.
"When they come in please send them to my office. I have a few emails to send."
"Of course Mr. Fitz." He sighed and began to make his way to the nursery.
"Better than Mr. Grant." He quipped. Dorin laughed and continued to clean up.
"What book shall we read tonight my princess?" He bent down to pick up one of his favorites. "Goodnight Moon. Such a classic." He settled in to the rocking chair and repositioned Isabella in his arms. It felt cold and lonely sitting in the chair without Olivia. It was their tradition every night to read together as a family. It was his favorite part of the day, and Olivia's too. Even though Isabella was too young to really understand, her parents' voices lulled her into content. Fitz opened the book while his mind drifted towards Karen. He could remember sitting in a rocking chair reading this book with both Jerry and Karen on his lap. His day could have been horrible, but those two kids running into his arms every day made everything he did worth it.
No matter what Karen had done, he was always going to love her. She was his little girl who had her innocence taken away far too soon. He thought he had done the best for his kids only to realize he had failed them. It was something he always wrestled with on top of Jerry's death. The Presidency had not been worth the toll it took on his family. While Karen lashed out and distanced herself, he always wanted his little girl to come home to him. He slowly ran a finger against Isabella's naked toes before bringing them up to his mouth to kiss. Her eyes half shut, a small smile formed on her face.
"Now, where was I?"
Karen wrapped her father's Yale sweatshirt around her tighter as the signs for Vermont passed by her. She had thrown up at the police station after her panic attack in Olivia's arms. Luckily, her stepmother always came into a situation prepared. She had slept for most of the ride listening to the soothing playlist that flowed through the car speakers. Olivia kept her gaze fixated on the road, visibly in thought.
"Liv?" She asked quietly.
"Yes?" Karen pressed her lips together.
"Does my dad know?"
"No. Just that you were in trouble. I couldn't lie to him about where I was going." She nodded slowly, bringing her knees closer to her.
"If you're hungry I have a KIND bar in my purse with a Gatorade. You should replenish." Karen fished through the white purse and took both objects out. She sipped slowly on the red Gatorade, still feeling queasy from the earlier ordeal.
"What are you going to do with me?" She asked after a few more moments of silence.
"I'm not going to tell you what you have to do. You're an adult now. But I think we need to go see a professional about this."
"I agree. I was always too scared to ask my parents for a therapist." Olivia turned and looked at her, taking her hand off the wheel and resting it on top of hers.
"We will get through this, remember? You're a gladiator." Karen nodded. She turned her attention back towards the road.
"When I got kidnapped, I was scared to see someone too. I was in complete denial that I had PTSD. But it was the best decision I ever made." Karen looked at her in shock. She was learning a lot of new things about her stepmother tonight. She realized that she had never really gotten to know Olivia. She just automatically wrote her off and went about hating her.
"I'm sorry about how rude I was to you. It wasn't right." She picked at the label on the bottle in her hands nervously. Olivia turned back to her.
"Thank you Karen. That means a lot. While you shouldn't have acted the way you did, I understand how hard this all was for you." Karen leaned back into her seat.
"So you get to ask me questions. Anything at all."
"What do you mean?" Karen asked.
"We have an hour until we get home. In that hour, you get to ask me any questions you want about absolutely anything. Nothing is off limits."
"Okay…" She agreed hesitantly. Olivia turned to look at her.
"Go on. I know you have some."
"How did you get into politics?" Olivia sighed.
"My parents were both in political circles so I grew up surrounded by it. But of course then I went off to boarding school and there I found I really liked social studies. I loved public speaking. I was a member of Model UN, Student Council, all of those types of clubs. I wanted to believe in the goodness of democracy. But I found out relatively quickly that behind the dark curtain of power, our government could be so ugly. I felt challenged to rectify that."
"How did you get assigned to my dad's campaign?" Olivia smiled.
"Easy. Cyrus. He was my professor at Georgetown Law. After majoring in Political Science at Princeton, I decided I wanted to go down the law track. I wanted to either open my own practice or become a federal judge. I was his top student. He saw my strengths in Communications and knew I'd be a good fit for the job." She glanced over at Karen.
"I know you have more pressing questions than these." Karen shook her head.
"I don't need to know anything about you and my dad to trust that you are both meant for each other. When you're in the same room together it's sickening." Olivia laughed. "I just want to get to know you better." Karen offered with a small smile. Olivia nodded.
"Question for a question?" She asked. Karen nodded in mutual agreement.
When he heard Olivia's car pull in the driveway, it was 10 o'clock. He was just finishing an email to Cyrus finalizing the guest speakers list for the Leaders of Tomorrow Ball. Before he could rise to meet them, he looked up to find Karen standing in the doorway of his office. They stood for a few moments in silence, her tear-filled eyes locking with his.
"Daddy." She whispered. Before he could say anything, she was in his lap crying into his Chargers sweatshirt. He rubbed her back soothingly and kissed her head.
"I'm so sorry." She babbled in between sobs. He brought her closer to his chest.
"No matter what, you'll always be my little Kare-bear." Fitz comforted, kissing her shoulder. Olivia stood in the doorway watching the interaction. After a few moments, she left them to have their own moment and retreated to Isabella's nursery.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Karen's arc will only continue for the next two chapters, and soon we are going to be bringing Teddy into this. Next chapter is the ball! Please leave a review and don't forget to check me out on social media! I do weekly Scandal reviews and it would be cool to have some readers watching them. Make sure to leave a comment on them if you come from here!
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