30 MINUTES LATER
Fitz comes to Abby's office as she is clearing out.
"May I come in?" he asks.
Abby shrugs. "You're the president of the United States and we're in the White House. I can't exactly say no, can I?"
Fitz chuckles and walks in. "You're not fired," he says firmly. "And I'm not accepting your resignation. I hired you for this job in part because I trust you to give it to me straight. That said, I stand by my original assessment that you weren't being objective before."
Abby looks surprised. "What I said about Liv wasn't fair," Fitz admits. "I don't think she's manipulating you, at least not consciously. But I think she's your friend, and you're worried about what Mellie losing will do to her once she's forced to face reality. I can't fault you for that, because the truth is, I'm worried about her too," he admits reluctantly. He doesn't have to ask her to keep that between them.
"But I am the president of the United States, and I can't let being worried about Liv cloud my judgment. I've made that mistake too many times already. I need to be objective about this, and as my chief of staff I expect you to do the same, do you understand?"
Abby nods.
"So now, let me ask you: without thinking about Liv, what is your assessment of the situation? What does your gut say?"
Abby thinks long and hard before responding.
"My gut says Cyrus has obvious motive...so obvious that he could be an easy fall guy. And it doesn't fully make sense...if he were going to have Vargas killed so he could assume the presidency, why do it now? Why not wait until after he had a clear line of succession to the presidency?"
Fitz nods, her assessment confirming his.
"But my gut also says that something doesn't add up," Abby continues. "I've been going over it in my head for the past 48 hours, and the event was heavily secured. Secret Service ran everyone who got into the event through a metal detector and did background checks on everyone with VIP access. I don't see how a single individual with no apparent resources or connections to any government or organization that would have the resources could have gotten a gun in and gotten into position to be able to take that good of a shot. So maybe it wasn't Cyrus...maybe it was...but I think Liv's right that we haven't done enough to investigate."
The president buries his head in his hands, exasperated because he knows she is probably right.
"What do you think about the argument that it's dangerous to keep investigating, that the country needs closure and needs certainty about who the next president is going to be?"
"It's a legitimate concern. But I think the investigation can be done on the DL, while publicly you continue to stand behind Cyrus unless and until the FBI finds something that gives you a reason not to."
Fitz nods, contemplating for a moment. "Get whatever David has on the investigation. Then call Liv and get her back here," he instructs. "Better yet, have Secret Service sneak her into the Residence. Let me know when she's there." Abby looks caught off guard for a moment, until she realizes what the president is thinking.
I hope you enjoyed this installment. I will try to write the next one soon unless tonight's episode screws it up too much. It is always hard to write fanfic for any show in the middle of the season. Reviews are always appreciated. I have no idea why it keeps putting the random crap below this, so ignore.
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