Author's Note: Good evening, everyone. I haven't been this hyped for the return of the show since the lead in to Season 3 and I'm glad to have that enthusiasm back. I've stuck with the show out of habit and devotion to Liv, Fitz, and Olitz but the very idea of having a whole show worth watching again warms the cockles of my heart. Maybe our Kerry can score an Emmy like Queen Viola did or at least a nomination, our Admiral, too. It's a brand new SCANDAL-ous world now and possibilities are endless. I'm hoping for good shit but y'know how it can be in Shondaland. Anything can happen and anything doesn't necessarily mean good. Regardless whatever happens to our heroes and the overall SCANDAL-verse, I'ma keep doing me and me always, always, al-ways wants stable and happy Olitz.

(CMW2/Trumpetnista: Draftbook Drabble #29-(The Trail/First Term AU, Follow up to D.D.s 1,3,5,8,14,16,23, and 26, Fitz, Olivia, FTGIV and Karen, Eli/Rowan, established Olitz, Pope vs. Pope battle royale, family dynamics, step family dynamics, NSFW))

Words from the Gladiator in a Hoodie: Once Eli/Rowan's character development went where it went, I knew that I'd have and want to do a story like this. There have been hints of Liv being very protective of the Grant kids in canon, especially with the whole kiddie porn thing with Karen in 4A, so I'm going to take that and run with it with this AU. I've been looking forward to writing something like this since I started watching the show. Contrary to the belief that The Creator has been pushing off on us, Olivia Pope is not only a nose to the grindstone, coldly objective Fixer and a Protector. She has a huge loving heart on lockdown and the people that she allows in are most precious to her. Anyone trying to fuck with them's gonna get got. Simple as that.

I'm also not going to pass up the prime opportunity for Liv to do some Reading/Monologuing for filth towards those who feel like they have the right to rake her over the coals all the time in canon. It's been an ongoing trend with my fics lately and I'm going to keep on with it, even if (and it's a big IF) The Creator finally lets Liv go H.A.M. on the all of the fuckers that be. I hope that happens in 5candal and beyond, if there is a beyond. It's long overdue...

Anyway, I've got new D.D. ideas in mind after this, as well as more for the WIPs and here's hoping for a good season, Olitz and otherwise from stem to stern. It's long overdue and while things are looking good so far, it's still a Shondaland show and anything can happen. Mad Love, Jam, and Power Drills, ~*Trump*~

Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"

Excerpts from Draftbook Drabbles #23 and #26…

"Mom? You mean Olivia, right? He means Olivia..."

"Brilliant deduction, Grumpy Gay Sherlock. Look, obviously and unfortunately, Liv's not our bio-mom but she is our Mom in all of the ways that matter. She supports us. She listens to us. She'll be silly with us and she'll help Dad discipline us without being unfair about it. She keeps us out of trouble and out of the headlines. She remembers important things like what we're allergic to, when our schoolwork's due, and what kind of music we like. She actually loves Dad for Dad himself, not for the Politics and she actually cares about me and Quatro, which other women in her position likely wouldn't. Other women would hate us on G.P. or do the bare minimum with us to keep Dad happy. Liv isn't like that. She gives a fuck about us. She gives a whole winery of barrels of fucks about us. The woman who carried us and pushed us out doesn't give a fraction of a fuck about us and Dad like Liv does. The Incubator never loved us or Dad unconditionally. She only pretended to in the name of the almighty Optics and for the sake of her own personal political power plays."

"And Millicent didn't put that much effort in pretending…Olivia Pope is our mother, Cyrus and we love her dearly, just as much as we love Dad, if not a little bit more. It's really not that shocking, all things considering…"

"We're really sorry, Mom."

Mom. Now, there was a title that she never thought would be given to her. Not from a lack of desire…contrary to popular belief, Olivia had always wanted to be a mother. It just seemed like it wasn't in the cards for her. She was driven, married to her work and plus with her taste in men, the last thing anyone needed was a child brought into the middle of a train wreck relationship. It had been a common bone of contention between her and Edison Davis. Olivia was religious about her Depo shots and wouldn't even consider letting him inside her without a condom. Edison wanted kids. He wanted to get married and he wanted kids. Olivia always said that she wasn't ready for it, which was true but really, she just didn't want to be married to him or to have his kids. It had taken a while for Edison to accept that but once he had, the relationship had quickly imploded.

As had become the norm, things were very different with Fitz Grant III. Not only because she was willing and eager to marry him and take him bareback and have his babies but just…Fitz had come into the relationship with children, with teenagers. They were a package deal and instead of running away, Olivia had plunged herself head first into being a positive mother figure for them. They desperately needed and wanted one. She'd never try and replace Mellie but she could be there for them. She could listen to them. She could protect them and play with them. Olivia had lost her mother at age 12 and her father was more like a Father in Name Only. She knew what it was like to feel all alone and unwanted. She didn't want that awful feeling for Karen and Gerry. She didn't want more of that awful feeling for Karen and Gerry…

"You and Fitz really want to stick it to her, don't you?"

"Who?"

"Mellie. First, you two become the Political and Social Powerhouse of #Olitz while she's still known as the Cuckolding Jezebel.Then, you two very pointedly have not gotten married and are blissful in the White House while she's having public battle royales with Nichols over wedding cake samples, who I will bet my best bottles of wine is already cheating on her by the way, and now you want to legally adopt her kids."

"Cyrus, Karen and Gerry are not Mellie's kids. They're Fitz's kids and my kids, not hers. Yes, she is their biological mother but parenthood is about more than passing DNA. It's about active participation and it's about showing genuine, non self serving love at all times. Mellie didn't do that for them, even before I came along and it's highly unlikely that she'll start now…"

Olivia had long equated family with vulnerability and pain. Her mother Maya had perished in a plane crash when she was 12 and her father Eli, Rowan, whatever the hell he wanted to call himself was far from father of the year. A Chia Pet was in better hands with the bastard than a child. Materially, he had provided for her and provided well but emotionally…it made sense. Her father was the big bad wolf in the forest, the thing that goes bump in the night, the monster in the closet. What could someone like that really know about love? What could someone like that really know about care? What could someone like that really know about nurturing?

One couldn't become and remain the Grand Master of the Dark Ops realm without losing massive portions of their humanity...

Family still automatically meant vulnerability to her but pain? No. As long as Eli/Rowan kept his distance (and who knew how much longer said distance would last, given that she was now the high profile live in lover of a WASP RINO POTUS!) and as long as she had her Grants, she would be okay. No, not just okay. She would be happy. She deserved to be happy…

"Rowan Pope is your father? B613's Command is your father?"

"Yes. Legally, he's Eli Pope, one of the Head Curators at the Smithsonian. He had one of his minions cause the car accident Edison was in and I haven't spoken to him since."

"Why the hell did he do that?"

"He didn't like him with me so he tried to kill him to scare me into breaking up with him. Honestly, we were circling the drain, anyway but I ended it like he wanted me to so Edison would have a shot at dying of old age. I know that Rowan's still been keeping tabs on me. He always does, somehow. He'll make contact soon and if he doesn't, then I'll just go to him. I can't avoid or ignore him forever. I shouldn't even have to but…well, you know how better than I do about toxic dads. Big Jerry's a prime example of one."

"Which is exactly why I haven't bothered with him since before the divorce…Olivia, if he didn't like you with Davis, who was perfect for you on paper, then I'm sure that your being with me will have him spitting nails."

"He'll be disappointed that I fell in love with a white man and enraged that of all the white men I could've gotten tangled up with, I picked the most problematic one of them all."

"Wait a minute, since when am I problematic?"

"Fitzgerald, you are the President of the United States. You're divorced with a half crazy ex-wife. You're almost 16 years older than me. You have 2 three-quarters grown children with the aforementioned half crazy ex-wife. You're a WASP. You're a Grant. How are you not problematic?"

"…fair enough."

"And worst of all to him, I'm not working as a POTUS or a Chief of Staff in 1600 Penn. I'm living here as the First Lady and that's not even legal in the eyes of Church and State. He's always wanted me to achieve greatness and his definition of greatness is not this. This is his worst nightmare."

"Will he hurt you?"

"No, he won't hurt me. Threaten and belittle, sure but he won't harm a hair on my head. Wayward or not, I'm his daughter and that still counts for something. Not much but enough to keep me intact. I'm more worried about you."

"I can take care of myself, Liv. I've done it for years."

"I know that but he could still go after you and the kids. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried something with Karen, specifically. After all, in his eyes, you've completely sullied and ruined his daughter for the rest of her life. It's only fair that he does the same to yours…"

"If he even looks at Karen and Gerry wrong, I'll Patriot Act him and snap his fucking neck."

"Not if I do it first. It took a long time for me to feel like I was worthy of being unconditionally loved and of having a real family and now that I have both, no one is taking it away from me, especially not the bastard who made me feel unworthy to begin with."

"I'm not used to you being this quiet, Livvie. Usually, your mother and I could barely get you to stop and breathe between sentences."

"I've mellowed out with age."

"Don't say that. It makes me sound old."

"You are old, Dad. I'm 33. Once your kid is in their 30s, you have no choice but to be old."

"You are 33 now, aren't you?"

"I am. January 31st came and went just like always. It was a good day. Cold but good."

"I'm sorry that I missed it. It's been a really big year for you, Livvie."

"It has. Don't worry about it. It wasn't the first birthday you missed and it won't be the last."

"Birthdays should be spent with your family."

"I did spend my birthday with my family, all 3 of them and it was awesome. Listen, since you're going to have someone torture and kill me now, could you please make sure that my body stays intact overall? I still want to be cremated but I'd appreciate being able to have an open casket viewing."

"I am not going to have you tortured and killed, Olivia. You're my daughter."

"Yes, I am but you didn't approach me as my father. I'm in this study with Command right now. If you're not going to torture and kill me, then why am I here? Why did you send for me?"

"We need to talk, Olivia."

"More like you need to condemn me for all of the horrible life decisions you've allowed me to make and I need to defend myself. Well, get on with it and make it quick because I have other things to do today. I'm applying for a small business loan at noon, I'm picking up the kids from marching band Sectionals at 3:15 and it's Bimonthly Public Date Night for me and Fitz. We're going to get Lebanese food and then, we're going to hang out at the Air and Space Museum until closing time. Fitz loves all of the World War II plane exhibits and you know that I have a strong love for all things NASA. Remember when I dressed up like Mae Carol Jemison for Halloween? I wanted to be Nyota Uhura but I was too much of a chicken to cut my hair short until Toni Braxton did her pixie cut…"

Olivia Pope knew that even though his face was utterly blank, Eli was not only angry at her but also very confused. As usual, she wasn't behaving the way he wanted or expected her to. He had expected her to reject his call outright. He had expected her to turn his representatives away when they came for her, even though she had allowed them into 1600 Penn. He had expected her to show up at his house angry, defensive, and jonesing for a yelling match. Instead, she was sitting in one of the plush leather arm chairs across from his desk like she used to when boarding school was out. More accurately, she was perched on the large right arm and her feet, clad in steel gray over the knee 4 inch lace up boots kicked as if she were pushing a swing. Her long sleeved hip length cardigan was snow white, her mid sleeved scoop neck dress was shocking pink and stopped just at the top of her boots. Her hair was waved and put up in a messy but stable updo, tendrils framing her face. She wore no makeup and Eli's hawkeyed gaze kept lingering on the necklace she wore.

It was a collaborative effort. Karen had designed the piece, Gerry had the picked gemstones and metals, and Fitz had bankrolled the custom jeweler with a blank check. The only caveat was that it had to be done in time for her birthday and if she hated it, then he'd get double the money back.

As soon as Olivia had opened the jewelry box, she had been speechless. Even if the three of them had gotten her something from an old gumball machine, she'd cherish it for the rest of her days but the necklace was absolutely exquisite.

The metals were a blend of copper and bronze, the colors warm against her skin tone. The necklace was designed to look like her birth flower, a carnation in bloom and the center petals were decorated with all four of their birthstones. Those birthstones were garnet for her, emerald for Fitz, moonstone for Karen, and opal for Gerry. When the gemstones caught the light, the adornment seemed to glow from within. At the center of the bloom was a white diamond, which was a nod to her strength and her trademark color choice of snow white. The Woman in White was one of the Media's many names and hashtags for her. The necklace had its own hashtag and its own Twitter account, now…

"Mom? Oh, man…she doesn't like it…she's crying and she's not talking so she doesn't like it…"

"Of course she likes it, Numb Nuts! She put it on! Dad, she likes it, right?"

"We fucked up."

"No, we didn't fuck up! Did we? Dad? Mom?"

"Livvie?"

Olivia finished walking to her nervous children and nearly tackled them to the floor in an embrace, causing all 3 of them to sigh with relief. After being sure to kiss both her son and daughter on the brow, she turned her attention to their father. Walking to him with the same unhurried pace, she grabbed him by the collar and forcefully kissed him, conquering and claiming his mouth. Only when air became absolutely mandatory did she end the kiss and she held his gaze. When she gestured towards the master suite, Fitz swallowed thickly, nodded, and hastily retreated, removing his maroon sweater in the process. Good. It was one less thing she had to get rid of before she could get to his skin and she absolutely wanted his skin, his lips, his touch, his everything…

He'd better be naked when she got in there because whatever clothes he was left wearing would only be good as dust rags once she was done with them.

"Quatro, K.G., I love you both but get out of here. I'll text you when it's safe to come back. Take whatever you need to keep yourselves occupied and when you see Cyrus, tell him that your father has his hands full. If he asks just what he has his hands full of, simply remind him that today is my birthday and as the birthday woman, I can and will do whatever I want to do, including his Commander in Chief. Do you understand?"

"Yep."

"Gross. Since you two are going to break the headboard again, we'd better get a baby out of it."

"Karen!"

"Fitzgerald, you were just saying that you want to be a big brother again! I wanna be a big sister! Little siblings don't come from the motherfucking cabbage patch! They come from whatever Mom's gonna do to Dad and vice versa! Accept it and move on!"

"I fucking know all of that! It doesn't mean that I want to have images in my head! Gross!"

"Language. Both of you get your stuff and get gone. Yesterday."

The pair of them bolted towards their rooms and Olivia walked to the other side of the kitchen counter. Carefully, she removed the white and pink '33' extinguished candle from her red velvet vanilla cake and cut two large slabs, placing them in a large Tupperware container. She put the rest of the cake away and proceeded to their bedroom. Fitz was resting on his back in their bed and although his eyes were shut, she knew that he was awake, especially from the waist down.

His eyes opened to half mast as she set the container on her nightstand and he sat up when she pulled her knee length periwinkle turtleneck over her head. Before he could speak, her lips were on his, this time tender but no less heated than before. One of his hands rested on her left thigh, the other on the small of her back, covering them fully. Her fingers worked at the front clasp of her aquamarine bra and she held it to her, waiting for him to look at her.

"Thank you. Not just for the necklace but…I have a family, now. A real one that loves me and that's…that's everything, Fitz."

Her bra hit the floor.

"You're everything, Fitz."

His back hit the mattress and she shifted her panties to the side, too impatient to take them off.

"I love you so much…"

The sound of Eli's hands slamming on the desk as he stood brought Olivia back to the present and she followed him with her eyes as he began to pace near the windows. He was trying to regroup, trying to collect his thoughts so he could spew his venom and Olivia just waited patiently. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid of the power he had to wield but she wasn't afraid for herself. Her fear was for the ones who loved her most. An ego bruised and angry Rowan was an utterly merciless one. If he wanted her Grants, if he wanted her Gladiators, then he would have to go through her twice. She would protect them all to her dying breath.

"I didn't raise you to be…"

"You barely raised me. Mom did and after she died in the Crash, the boarding schools took over. You provided food, shelter, and money but overall? I raised myself. You and I both know that but you're not ready to accept that. What didn't you raise me to be, Rowan? Happy? Functional? Worthy? Just because you're content to be the lone wolf monster in the closet doesn't mean that I have to be."

"You are my daughter! You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me!"

"You're half right. You fertilized the egg but Mom's the one who pushed me out and kept me alive long enough to be independent. You were always working. I wasn't a priority to you. Being Command and pulling the puppet strings of the DC elite were your priorities. They still are. I'm nothing but a bitter disappointment to you and I'm all right with that."

"I never called you a disappointment. You are putting words in my mouth, Olivia."

"I am taking the words out of your mouth and speaking them so you can't hurt me with them."

"Why do you automatically assume the worst of me?"

If she were dealing with anyone else, Olivia would feel bad about the hurt cloaking those words but she knew better. Rowan wasn't hurt. Okay, maybe he was but outweighing the hurt was confusion and the slight anger was festering into an outright rage. She was getting to him. Rowan loved to throw people off balance but when they did it to him, he turned into a schoolyard bully with fangs. Instead of telling the teacher or his parents, he was the kid who'd lie in wait for you after school and beat the hell out of you for wronging him. She was needling him.

Olivia hadn't come to here to needle him. She had shown up so he wouldn't come to her and catch her off guard. She was just being honest about their situation and if he got offended, then at least he would specifically angry at her, providing a buffer to her loved ones. He wouldn't make a hostile move on any of them until he struck first blood with her and she had no intention of letting him do that without it leading to their Mutually Assured Destruction.

She rose up from her perch and got right in his personal space, looking him dead in the eye. Her face was still calm but she knew that he could see her own rage in her eyes. Rowan may be Command but she was Olivia Pope and she had a formidable Reputation of her own despite her being the de facto First Lady.

She was functional, not ornamental.

If anyone had a real shot of ever taking Command down, it was her and they both knew it.

That was why he spent so much time tearing her down and prompting her to become her own worst enemy. Once she lost the little girl awe and the 'Daddy will always fix it and protect me' trust in him, he had started the psychological warfare. For years, she had allowed him to win but now, things were different. She had learned the Game he was playing and was now playing for keeps.

"I do so because you automatically assume the worst of me. In your eyes, I'm naive. I'm misguided. I'm childish and colorstruck in love with a rich spoiled white manchild who is only using me for my body and for live in childcare. In your eyes, I have allowed myself to become the modern day Sally Hemmings to Fitzgerald Grant III's Thomas Jefferson and I am ruined. I am nothing but wasted potential and time. I am unable to accomplish anything useful for you or the Republic. I am lost to the point of your pitying me so you want to control my life for my own good. That's not happening. You didn't summon me here because you're concerned about me or even because you love me. You don't love anyone or anything but yourself and your own Power. You called me here to tear me down and to make me feel like I'm defective. I'm not defective. I'm not perfect but I'm not defective. I'm human and I'm happy. That should be enough for you but it's not and I don't care. I don't care about your approval, anymore. What I do care about are my kids and my man. I adopted Gerry and Karen. They're legally mine, now. Fitz and I aren't married yet but he's as mine as I am his. I'm promising you that if any sort of harm ever comes to them, I will automatically assume the worst of you and I will personally put you down."

"And if after you do so and it comes out that I had absolutely nothing to do with hurting your precious little family…what happens, then?"

"I get rid of the evidence. I burn and bury you. I cry. I throw up. I drink 2 whole bottles of wine. Fitz finds a very discreet therapist for me to work through the demons and misery that he can't fuck out of me. I move forward and keep on loving my kids as they transition fully into adulthood. I raise their younger siblings and make sure that none of them ever feel like they need to put a bullet between mine or their father's eyes. I live a full and happy life, comforted by the fact that when I eventually wake up in hell for murdering my own father, you'll be right there burning with me."