hey guys! i know im a day late with the update but i needed a break. i had to step back and see where i wanted to go with this one. i hope yall like this update and keep an eye out for liv's mom and her letters. they will be back. readers, reviews and favorite-ers, thank you for the out pouring of support. if you aren't doing so already, follow me on twitter. mostly because im obsessed with scandal and i need more people to enable me ^_^

q and a's

simmabugs: lol i was evil! im sorry...not really lol

scandalfanatic: we shall see if she is indeed faking...

JFJD: i tried to tie all of that into my story. it looks like i weaved it all in well. and you dont have to wait any longer! here's the update.

starinthem: you know fitz aint even going down like that. we bought to snatch wigs left and right. his woman gone be his again. mellie...ugh lol and "gideon" is in it to win it. no glass played here lol

oceans00711girl: she has a mission, she better not fuck up this time lol mellie is dumb but smart at the same time.

daprinces: dont kiss my toes, my ticklish lol please dont throw your phone. i dont have insurance to help you get another lol shit is going to get real

mmrb0908: nope, he is painfully awake.

jealisagosling: if this was to happen on scandal, i would probably die lol fitz is confused at the very least. someone else is also question the new and improve liv. mellie always tells on herself. its only a matter of time.

kelleekellkell: yep...damn

lorene: get ready, because it's here.

kelsey: she is...different lol

smneal: it is good. read below!

clio1792: rowan has unlimited resources to get what he needs done. and yes, liv is brainwashed to the high heavens. im surprised she remembers anything about her old life.

beautifulmindedprincess: aww i didn't mean to break your heart!...well maybe i did. sorry :)

"Where is she?" Mellie ran into the office out of breath.

Fitz never looked up from the paper. He wouldn't even dignify her with an answer.

"Where is she?" Mellie asked again.

"Why do you want to know?" Fit asked unfazed.

"I just wanted to catch up. Have girl talk."

Fitz dropped the paper on his desk. He kicked his feet up and stared at Mellie. He studied her face before speaking. "No, you wanted to know if she was coming back to take your precious First Lady spot. Well rest assure Mellie, Olivia wants nothing to do with me."

"She doesn't?" Mellie asked excited before adjusting her disposition. "I mean she didn't? Oh, I'm so sorry honey."

"No, you're ecstatic. She is one less problem you have to worry about during re-election."

"Is she helping for the re-election campaign?"

"No, she is not." Fitz answered picking the papers back up.

"Why not? Surely she would want to help you. I mean if she's worried about the affair talk, that all died down."

"You misunderstood me. She offered to help me. I declined."

"WHAT? Why in the hell did you do that? We need her!"

"I can do this on my own!"

"You said the same thing before we brought in Big Jerry. If we couldn't do it with him, you sure in hell don't have a chance without Olivia."

"And here I thought you would be happy I turned her down." he answered with a smile.

"Are you-" Mellie sighed roughly before hitting the desk. "Fitz, are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?"

"Why do you want her on the trail so bad?" Fitz asked curious. "This is the Jezebel that stole your husband from right under your nose. The woman who singlehandedly nearly brought down your legacy as First Lady."

"I hate Olivia Pope. I used to mildly hate her. I was pregnant, had more things to worry about. But now that I have that kid out of me and I can think more clearly, my hatred is clear. She knows I hate her. She knows if I wanted to , I could expose her for the leg spreading whore she is but I also know what she is capable of. And lets face it, your administration has seen better days."

"So has our marriage but you don't see me complaining do you?"

"Get her back. And do it now!" Mellie stalked out of the door slamming it behind her. With the Ice Queen back in Winterland, the room begin to warm up again. After twenty years of marriage, he still had not figured out Mellie's aim. She was a fickle as a schizophrenic. Her aim was never entirely clear.

Mellie reminded him of Olivia. Not his Livvie but the Olivia that walked into his office today. The Olivia that showed up that day and read him to the high heavens. The same Olivia who was all business and NEVER pleasure. The sudden change made no sense. She was the one that skipped out on him. For eight months, she was in the wind. She was nowhere to be found. He worked alongside Huck after about two months of looking himself. Huck wasn't much help either. Olivia literally disappeared. It was as if she was a ghost. As if she changed her name and her face and lived somewhere else.

But then today, she comes over today happy and willing to help. She talked as if they were nothing. As if they never happened. As if she didn't love him. What was going on with her? He wondered if Huck had seen her yet. He stalked to the phone quickly picking up the receiver, "Secure line, please." Maybe Huck could offer some insight.

"Quinn! Are you make decaf or regular? I need something strong."

"Olivia?" Quinn asked. "Guys, Olivia is back."

The rest of the group rushed from separate parts of the office. Abby rushed to Olivia squeezing her until Harrison pried her away. Harrison then stepped to Olivia, eyeing her cautiously. He smiled after a few minutes then leaned in to hug her as well. Quinn pour a cup of coffee, handing it to Olivia with a smile.

"I'm so happy you're back. I thought you...I'm just glad you're back."

Olivia studied Quinn before smiling slowly. "It's good to be back." Olivia turned around when a noise behind her caught her attention.

"Huck."

"Olivia."

"Oh, come on Huck. I know you're all Mr. Show No Emotion but this is Liv. She's back." Abby said.

"I can see she's back."

"Abby, it's fine. Everyone has their own way of showing emotion. Some better than others."

Quinn's eyes darted between Olivia and Huck. They seemed to being having some sort of conversation or stare-down. She wasn't really sure what was going on but she was positive something was transpiring before her.

Without taking her eyes away from Huck, Olivia begin rattling off directions. "Okay people, vacation is over. Let's get back into the groove of things. Do we have any open cases?"

"No cases but we have TONS of potential clients that need us." Harrison answered.

"Okay. Meet at the wall in 20 minutes for debriefing."

Olivia backed away from Huck giving him a small smile. She finally turned away walking to her office leaving her associates in her wake gushing.

"I can't believe she's back!" Quinn squealed.

"I know, finally. I wonder where she went?" Abby asked.

"I knew it would come out sooner or later. I thought you would have just asked her directly." Harrison said with a smile.

"There has been a lot going on. The election thing, the First Lady's press conference, the tension between us and the White House. She needed a break. Hell, she deserved on." Quinn said sipping her tea.

"True." Harrison and Abby said in unison.

Huck stood in the shadows of his office door watching the scene before. It was nice to have Olivia back. Even if it wasn't the same Olivia. He thought about Olivia's homecoming then pushed himself off the door frame. Something was off.

"He didn't bite."

"Fitz or Huck?"

"At this point, both. I went straight to Fitz after our meeting. He seemed happy to see me at first but after we talked for a minute, he went cold. I couldn't do anything to convince him of letting me on for the ride. It was like he was disgusted at the thought. I mean, it was only me who single-handedly turned his first campaign around. He would still be a Governor if it wasn't for me. And that's if he and his bitch of a wife could hold their hatred in long enough."

"Stay the course. What was the first thing you learned when you came to me?"

"Patience is key. I'm trained to wait them out longer than they could ever think possible. Eventually, they will be mine."

"Very good. You are one of my best students, Heir."

"Thank you, sir." Olivia, seeing a shadow pass, looked towards her door. Huck stood outside the door studying her. She turned her head slightly, without making it seem purposeful before whispering, "Maybe I was wrong. I think I have a bite. I'll report in later." She waved Huck in while ending the call.

"Olivia."

"Huck."

"Where did you go?"

"I went on a much need vacation."

"We don't vacation."

"We do now."

"How'd you pay for it? I had tabs on your savings and credit cards."

"My trust fund."

"Why didn't you tell any of us you were leaving?"

"I knew certain people would be looking for me."

"And we could have handle that problem if it was to happen."

"You shouldn't have too. It was my problem. I handled it."

"Where'd you go?"

"Out of the immediate area."

Huck's eyes squinted with frustration. Getting answers out of Olivia was hard but this was like pulling a deep-rooted oak tree out of the ground with your bare hands.

"Was it even secure Olivia?"

Olivia thought back to the training she received from Rowan and her trainer Hal in the basement of the Pentagon. She chuckled, "Yea, it was pretty secure."

"Are you okay? You seem...off."

"Well for the exception of a car wreck totaling my rental, I'm fine."

"Car wreck?"

"Oh yea. I was traveling to my vacation house. Drunk driver came out of nowhere. Flipped the car. Totaled it. I was pretty banged up but nothing a few pain killers couldn't handle."

"Why didn't you call us? We could have come to help you."

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Didn't want worry you all. Everyone deserved a break."

"But that was the thing, we didn't have a vacation. We spent the whole time looking for you. We thought...we were worried."

"I sent you an email telling you I was leaving."

"No, you didn't. We didn't get anything from you."

Olivia opened her email going to her sent folder. Sure enough, there it was. She pointed to it with a triumphant smile. "See?"

"Sent March 3rd to Quinn, Harrison, Abby and me. We didn't...I didn't get it."

"Not my fault." She stood to her feet, putting her jacket back on while slipping her shoes back on. "We're late for the debriefing."

Huck walked to his office grabbing his laptop. He was certain he did not receive that email. He was positive something was not right in this scenario. He sat at the back of the table as the team talk about potential cases. He opened his email, going back to that day seeing it there. That was impossible. He never received it. He opened it reading it silently to himself.

Guys,

I really need some time to myself. I need a break, a vacation from all that has been going on. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'll be back before the start of the new year. Enjoy your break and try not to get into any trouble.

Olivia.

He started a trace on the email, trying to find out the location it was sent from. If she did send it, it would let him know where she vacationed. Then he could check on more stuff. Maybe with the hospital to make sure she was truly okay after the wreck.

"How about the White House? Re-election coming up. With all the fuck ups that has happened there, they will need help."

"We are not handling the White House. If they want our help, they will ask. But as far as I'm concerned, we are done with the White House."

"You weren't done with the President eight months ago when you-"

"What Abby is trying to say," Harrison jumped in, "is why aren't we offering to help?"

"I've extended my services. If they bite, we'll help. If not, we have dozens and dozens of people begging for our help."

"What about the pentagon sex sting? I'm itching to get my hands in that one." Abby said with a smile. "Can you pull some strings?"

"I have no pull there anymore. That ship has sunk."

Huck's tracing software dinged. It was finished. Pages popped up as he read through the information. That can't be right. He started over, rereading everything he just glanced over. It was sent...from the Pentagon. The Pentagon. But she just said she had no connection there anymore. He glanced at Olivia through his hooded eyes. There was an evil glint there. One that hadn't been there before. Huck clicked away trying to find the date and time the email was sent. His eyes widen the size of saucers when he saw the date and time. December 16. 1:10 am. Today.