Disclaimer: Scandal belongs to Shonda Rhimes.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading and reviewing, I like to read what you think of the story.
I think Shonda is forcing Liv and Fitz to consider what is important in their lives with the shooting of Fitz, and make a choice as you point out animelover6000 – somehow, I understand why Liv would choose the man, who can offer her a future, but I hope she sticks to following her heart, Fitz, and not her mind. But in this episode they both believed that the other had moved on, so the question is; will they be honest with each other? I still think jealousy is a strong motivator, and I wonder if Fitz can stay away from Liv and the other way around.
Guest: thank you – but I think the Scandal writers are brilliant.
Take It Easy On Me
Chapter 15
In her apartment, Olivia checked the news channels before she began to prepare for bed. Just when she was ready to get into bed, she heard a key opening her front door and she smiled happily. "Olivia." Fitz called.
"In the bedroom." She answered and she heard him start walking in the direction of the bedroom. When he came into her bedroom, he walked directly to her bed where he bends to kissed her. "Thanks for the key."
"I'm glad that you used it." She spoke very softly.
"Did you doubt that I would?" He looked puzzled.
"No not really."
The next morning, Olivia woke early and saw that she was nestled against Fitz with her head on his right shoulder and her arm around him. She liked to awake like this, she moved her hand and softly caressed the skin on his chest. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin against her skin and pressed a soft kiss to his neck. Carefully, she moved her body trying not to disturb him in the process, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, his arms locked around her and he deepened the kiss and made her breathless.
"Good morning, Livvie." He said when their lips parted moments later, "I can get used to this."
"Good morning." Olivia stretched her body lazily, "I bet you could. You need to go back to the White House."
Frowning he looked at the watch, "I've time."
"No, you haven't. Your Communication Director and Cyrus need to manipulate the press corps to focus on the Fundraising on Friday, your meeting with the Committee on Intelligence today, and the education program. We need you to be efficient and competent to run the country. You need to be in a lot of meetings over the next three weeks. The statements from the British and German leaders helped regarding the situation in East Sudan, but we need more."
"The Committee on Intelligence? Great." He grimaced. "Is there a problem?" Olivia asked.
"No, I'll be nice and friendly. He assured her but he didn't look happy.
It was time for a short coffee break at the Committee on Intelligence and Senator Davis approached the President, Fitz watched the man out of the corner of his eyes. In the past, he had never paid much attention to Davis and had always thought that he had nothing in common with him. Now, he knew that they had one thing in common, one very important thing; Olivia. This man had been living with Olivia for years and had been intimate with her, and that was something he hated being reminded of.
"Mr. President, thank you for allowing me a second chance on the Committee." Davis smiled thankfully to Fitz.
In a cold voice, Fitz said, "don't thank me, thank Olivia Pope, she appraised your deeds and I trust her."
The smile became wider on Davis's face, "she did, didn't she? Liv is amazing, you're lucky to have her on your staff."
"I know I am lucky." Fitz replied coldly, he studied Davis briefly this was the man, Olivia had wanted to marry, and he couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
"Liv has always been dedicated to what she believes in, she is loyal to her friends and a loving woman. She appears to be tough on the outside but she is highly sensitive, and she tries so hard to hide it. She is the best."
"I assure you, Senator Davis Olivia Pope is highly valued by the White House." Fitz gave the man a last cold glare and walked away to speak to another Senator. He was very much aware that Olivia was the best in every way, but he had no interest in hearing another man say that about her.
Verna Thornton invited Olivia into her office with a small smile, she had worked too long in a man's world to put her feelings on display, men saw emotional women as weak and would never allow them to advance professionally. "You look good, Olivia."
Olivia smiled warmly, "so do you, how are you?"
"Fine, just fine, but I didn't ask you to come to discuss my health. You're keeping busy these days?"
"I am."
Verna gave Olivia a warm smile, "I'm glad for you that the Superior Court of the District of Columbia-Family Division has agreed to speed the divorce through the system."
"Thank you, I'm sure you and Walker are behind this decision." Olivia returned the warm smile. "Why did you want me to come, Verna?"
"We have a situation with the Danish Ambassador's eldest daughter, she is protected by diplomatic immunity, and normally, this would be a case for the Danish Government to handle, but the Ambassador has asked for my help. He is afraid of losing his job."
"How old is the daughter?" Olivia wondered why Verna wanted to help the Danish Ambassador.
"She is seventeen and is adapting poorly to American morals and standards, she is a party junkie it seems."
Olivia was confused, "why do you care?
"The Ambassador is a good friend. He believes in a close association between Denmark and America. He has worked as Ambassador in a couple of countries, and six months ago he moved into the Embassy with his family after working for a year in Denmark. He is a good ally for us."
Trusting the elder woman's judgment Olivia nodded, "I'll talk to the family, how bad is it?"
"It's getting serious."
Olivia parked in a parking spot outside the Danish Embassy, the Embassy also held the Ambassador's residence. The architected construction of the building didn't impress her until she stepped into the residence entrance hall, it was large and light poured into it from the large windows. A middle tall woman with blond hair and blue eyes met Olivia in the hall.
"I'm Hanne Skov, I'm married to the Ambassador, Niels Skov. Welcome."
"Olivia Pope." Olivia accepted the offered hand.
"Please come this way, Niels is ready to see you. We are very happy that you had time with such a short notice. Sofie wanted to stay in Denmark with her friends and I guess this is her revenge. Her teenage riot."
Olivia followed behind the talkative woman and they stepped into a small representation room, where a lean man with dark blond hair and blue-grey eyes finished a phone call, and came to greet them.
"Niels Skov." He said
"Olivia Pope." Olivia said.
"Verna Thornton speaks highly of you, and claims that you are the best," he smiled kindly. "Please sit down. I thought we could talk before I call Sofie in to join us, will that be ok?"
"It's fine, Mr. Skov."
"Please, call me Niels."
"Would you like some coffee or juice, Ms Pope?" Mrs. Skov joined them at the table where she chose a chair next to her husband.
"Olivia is fine. White coffee, please." Olivia accepted the cup Mrs. Skov handed her. "You daughter is in trouble?"
"Sofie is a bright young girl, but she was heart-broken when we left Denmark after living there for a year. She had hoped to stay there during her time at a youth education it is similar to the last three years of high school. In the past, my wife and children used to live in Denmark for extended periods, so the children would know their native country. Before I was stationed here I worked for a year in Denmark."
"Is she attending high school here?" Olivia studied the couple closely they seemed warm and attentive towards each other.
"She is in her junior year, she finished her sophomore year in Denmark." Mrs. Skov answered.
"What is the exact problem?"
Niels Skov frowned, "Sofie has a problem with accepting she has to adapt to the American morals and standards, she wants to have the same freedom that she had in Denmark. Basically I think she misses her friends and her old school. The cultural differences are very large, in Denmark, the legal drinking age is sixteen for soft liquor and eighteen for hard liquor, though bars and clubs are not allowed to sell any kind of alcohol to a person under eighteen. However, some clubs have a special license to entertain persons from sixteen and up, but they don't have a license to serve alcohol to anyone under the age of eighteen. Normally, the age limit for clubbing is eighteen." Niels paused.
Mrs, Skov looked at Olivia, "please understand that most people in Denmark are very liberal towards alcohol. When the teenagers have high school dances, they are allowed to drink alcoholic drinks inside the school. Sofie wasn't running wild, she wasn't a heavy drinker and we had rules for how much she could drink. Most parents set rules for their children's drinking habits. In Denmark Sofie was a normal kid."
"How often did she party?" Olivia needed to know the details of Sofie's former lifestyle.
"Two times a month, she was allowed to go to the club once a month. We always picked her up when it was time to go home. Niels replied.
"It sounds like the teenagers drink a lot of alcohol in your country." Olivia was chocked.
"Unfortunately, we have a sad record of the amount of alcohol consumed by teenagers, which is a lot. Most people claims it's part of our culture and refuses to see the seriousness in the record, I don't agree with those, but it's a matter of finding the balance so your child doesn't become isolated."
"I see, so how is Sofie's behavior now?" Olivia had had all the background she needed.
"For the first months she seemed to try to adapt, but for the past two to three months she has been running wild. She is out partying a lot with her friends from high school, and I believe some older friends, but we're not sure. We've tried to control her but she is creative in finding ways to leave the Embassy. She has informed us that many of the rich kids drink every weekend even though they're minors. We've had to pick her up at private parties a few times. She never drank this much before. We're worried. It's has become a matter of her security, and her behavior reflects on my creditability as Ambassador."
"What are you not telling me?" She wasn't a parenting coach and so far she didn't see a problem she could fix.
"Last Thursday the police arrested Sofie, she was drunk driving and in a fender-bender."
"Did anybody get hurt?" This was serious.
"No thank God. Sofie was lucky she was only mildly bruised, she is protected by diplomatic immunity, but this is damaging for Denmark, and for my husband." There were tears in Mrs. Skov's eyes, "we so are grateful she didn't hurt anybody."
"Will you like to talk to Sofie now?" Niels's voice wasn't steady anymore.
Olivia nodded, she liked the Danish Ambassador and his wife but wondered how they were as parents.
Mrs. Skov rose from her chair and went to get her daughter, she returned shortly after with a lean sullen girl. Sofie had blues eyes like her mother and dark blond hair like her dad, she was pretty but the constant frown on her face was annoying.
"Sofie, this is Ms Pope, she is here to talk to you and hopefully help you." Mrs. Skov briefed her daughter.
"Hallo, Ms Pope." Sofie greeted politely.
"Hallo, Sofie. You got into trouble the other day, what happened?" Olivia asked.
"Yes but I didn't mean to drive, I hate drunk driving. We were just bored, so we bought some beers and heard some music. I'm so sorry."
"Were you alone in the car?" Olivia studied the girl closely Sofie seemed very nervous, and wasn't looking at Olivia at all. "Yes," Sofie whispered.
"Who was buying the beers?"
Sofie's body became stiff and she looked at the table, "just some friends, we hung out before they had to go."
At the Olivia Pope and Associates Olivia gathered her team in the conference room and briefed them.
"Huck, find out who was in the car with her, I don't believe that she was alone. Harrison and Quinn find out who her friends are and talk to them. Abby speak to her teachers."
"We're not voting?" Abby stared angrily at Olivia.
"Sure, do you want to research this teenager's fender-bender?" Olivia wanted to listen to her team this time but also knew she would take the case no matter what, she owed it to Verna.
"I'm in, it sounds like the girl is being framed." Harrison said.
"Yes." Huck stated and Quinn nodded in agreement, "I think there is more to this story than being bored."
"A spoiled kid from a country nobody knows of, sure we'll take it." Abby didn't sound displeased. "I think she is being framed too."
"You've a visitor." Huck said in a tense voice. "It's your Senator friend."
"I'll be in my office, she didn't want the others to overheard any conversation she had with Edison. She turned on the televisions and focused her attention on the screens. One screen showed Fritz leaving the Committee on Intelligence, a second showed Mellie telling about her miscarriage, a third showed how the voters viewed the divorce. Olivia focused on the third screen, the women supported Fitz, the older white men wanted him removed from office, and the young ones found the President honest and worthy of the presidential post.
Edison knocked on her door and she waved him in."Hello Edison," She gave him a small smile.
"Liv." He said and looked at the screens, "oh, I was in a meeting with the President today, what a mess he's in."
"Was the meeting about the Thorngate?" Mainly, she wanted to take Edison's focus away from the president's mess, but she was also curious about Thorngate.
"Liv! You know I can't answer that, it's top secret." He smiled at her, "besides that, don't you have a better source at the White House?"
"I work with communication not state secrets." She bit back.
"I'm warming up to the President, though he seemed a little cold when I thanked him for getting my job back."
Olivia just watched Edison not sure she wanted to know about that conversation. "You're a friend of Mrs. Grant?"
"You know I am, why?"
"Can you see her in the Senate?"
He grinned, "I can, but the real obstacle is to make the voters forget that she is an adultery wife. I share many political ideas with Mrs. Grant, more than I share with the President. Do you know that you're highly valued by the White House?"
The question made Olivia chuckle, she could easily envision Fitz saying that, and knew he probably had a different meaning of the words in his mind than Edison had in his. "It's always nice to know your work is appreciated." She replied innocently.
"It is a vague standard phrase," Edison stated, "but I didn't come here to talk about Mrs. Grant or the President. I came to invite you to the Fundraising at the With House tomorrow as my date."
Olivia plastered a smile on her face and said, "sorry, I'm already invited as staff of the Administration, I won't have time for dating. But I guess, I'll see you there."
She walked Edison to his car and then walked the short distance to her own car, Fitz was waiting for her in the oval. When she arrived the door was opened so she walked directly into the office after a small knock. Fitz looked up from behind his desk and smiled broadly.
"Close the door, please. " He said and she obligated. "I've ordered sandwiches for us, I expect that you haven't had lunch yet."
"No, I haven't" He had gotten up from the chair and met her halfway in the room, pausing they took a moment to just look at each other, the cameras made it impossible to touch. It grounded her when she saw the love for her in his eyes, and it told her more than a thousand words could.
Cyrus will be here any minute." Together they walked to the armchairs and sat opposite each other, a knock on the door announced Cyrus.
"Have you seen the polls today?" Cyrus asked before he took a bite of his sandwich.
"Yes, stay with the education program and you'll keep the young voters, focus on that." Olivia replied.
"Not to mention the women, maybe you should stay bachelor for the next couple of years then we can hope for reelection." Cyrus stared at Olivia, "is that a plan?"
"How many single men were elected as President?" she stared back.
"I'm not staying single for a couple of years, let's not think about reelection." Fitz was not amused.
"The polls are good and they help us to keep the support of the House. Right now, the real threat is funding, unfortunately the older white men give money support, and women and young people rarely do, but we'll find a way to fix that, we've time." Olivia said.
"We need to find someone to run Mellie's campaign soon to keep her happy and quiet." Cyrus said.
"We also have to remind her to set the wedding date soon. What about Charlie Ferguson, he's good and supports the President?" Olivia asked.
"He is good, I'll talk to him and set up a meeting soon, maybe after your meeting in the Court on Monday, that ought to calm Mellie." Cyrus finished his sandwich. "I want to go home early today, and unfortunately I still have a lot of work to do." He excused himself and left the oval office.
"He has never been a charmer, but he is a good Chief of Staff," Fitz smiled. "What are you working on?"
Olivia leaned back in the chair, her sandwich only half eaten, she wasn't hungry. "The Danish Ambassador's daughter has been involved in a fender-bender, she was drunk."
Fitz frowned, "I recently saw Mr. Skov, isn't his daughter rather young?"
"Seventeen, I don't think she drove the car."
"You think she was set up?" Fitz looked worried.
Olivia wished she could reach out and touch him, missing being close to him, "it's a hunch, the girl lied about something."
Fitz locked eyes with her, "I talked to Davis today, he was full of admiration for your attributes." The love in his eyes was mixed with something else.
Olivia kept his eyes fixed with hers, "yes, he told me that I was highly valued by you. Thank you." She smiled. His eyes narrowed, "he told you?"
"He came by the office to invite me to the Fundraising tomorrow." She didn't blink.
Fitz tensed slightly," and your answer was?"
"I told him I was unable to date tomorrow after all, I'm invited as a staff member of this Administration."
"No you're not." His eyes gave nothing away. "I'm not invited?" She kept her face straight too.
"Not as a staff member. May I have a minute with you in private?" He looked very serious. She nodded and got up, and he followed her into her office. He closed the door behind them and found her eyes, he didn't touch her but just stared into her eyes, and she felt their connection instantly and was transfixed. Slowly, he stepped closer until he could touch her, he reached out and caressed her cheek.
"You are invited as my girlfriend." Olivia stood on her toes and found his lips.