OPA
Harrison and Quinn are sitting at the conference table looking at files when Olivia and Mia walk into the room.

Olivia: "Where are we?" she asks as her and Mia walk over to the wall of photos. 

Harrison: "Waiting on forensics on the gun to come in." he states as Abby rushes into the room cheering.

Abby: "Whoo-hoo! Paige is a whore! She was screwing some guy named Tom Henderson. She canceled on the embassy party to meet up with him. We have another viable suspect! Paige is a whore!" she exclaims as she put another picture on the wall.

Mia: "Abby," she mutters as she shakes her head.

Abby: "I'm gonna run down Henderson, see if I can make something stick." she mentions ignoring Mia and then running back out of the room.

Olivia: "Quinn, Mia and I need you to find out everything you can about an Amanda Tanner. You have an hour and then we need you to come with us." she shakes her head at Abby's antics before stating to Quinn and handing her a file. Afterwards her and Mia walk out of the room, leaving Quinn a little awestruck and looking towards Harrison.

Harrison: "Impress them." he tells her before she heads off to find the information.

~~~~~

Mia is walking past Stephen's office and heading towards her office, after getting a cup of coffee, when she looks towards his office to see Sully staring around the room looking lost, and heartbroken. Olivia walks out of her office in search of Mia when she finds her looking into Stephen's office staring at Sully.

Olivia: "Hey, you got a minute, or you gonna add to you hypothesis?" she asks with a smirk.

Mia: "Not a hypothesis, just a few guesses on how the case will pan out." she replies after she turns towards Olivia.

Olivia: "I don't know if you knew this, but guesses, especially educated guesses like yours normally are, is what hypotheses are." she responds back with the same grin.

Mia: "Did you need me right now, or can I go back to work?" she asks trying to ignore Olivia's comment.

Olivia: "Nope, go on. I'll talk to you later." she pauses as Mia turns to go head into her office, "Go and write down your very accurate thoughts." she teases Mia as she heads back to her office, but not before Mia raises her middle finger, without turning around, at her leaving Liv to chuckle.

~~~~~

JEFFERSON NATIONAL PARK
Mia, Olivia and Quinn are walking through the park. Mia and Olivia are looking down at their phones, while Quinn is trying to ask questions about why she's there. 

Quinn: "Can I ask what we're..."

Olivia: "You're acting as our witness. Just stay by our side. Don't say anything." she answers before spotting Amanda Tanner. "Mia."

Mia: "It will all make sense shortly." she adds in as she finally looks up from her phone. Quinn just nods her head and follows the two over to a bench where Amanda is sitting. Olivia sits down right next to her while Mia sits on the other side of Olivia and Quinn is standing behind the two.

Mia: "Cute dog."

Olivia: "Golden Retriever, right?"

Amanda: "Yeah. His name's Thomas Jefferson, which is lame, I know, but he's very presidential. Aren't you, T.J.?"

Mia/Olivia: "Amanda, it would be a mistake to think there will be no consequences to you telling lies about the president."

Amanda: "How do you know my name? Who are you two?" she questions nervously. 

Olivia: "My name is Olivia Pope."

Mia: "And I'm Mia James."

Olivia: "And I want to be clear, I'm not here on any official capacity."

Mia: "Nor am I, we're only here to warn you, because you should know what could happen. It could become hard for you to find employment, your face would be everywhere."

Olivia: "People would associate you with a sex scandal. All kinds of information about you would easily become available to the press."

Mia: "For example, you've had 22 sexual partners that we know of. Also, there's that ugly bout of gonorrhea."

Olivia: "And your family, your mother's mental illness, a psychotic break, two years at Bedford Hospital. I bet that's private."

Mia: "She runs a daycare now, correct?"

Amanda: "He told me he loved me. He gave me this dog." she responds on the brink of tears.

Mia/Olivia: "See, it's those kind of lies that could hurt you if you said them to other people, people not as nice as us."

Mia: "I'll give you some free advice. Hand in your resignation and pack up your dog and your things and get in your car and go."

Olivia: "Find a small city Minneapolis, maybe, or Denver, get a little job, meet a boring boy, make some friends. Because in this town, your career is over. You're done."

Amanda: "Why are you doing this to me? I'm a good person." she says with a few tears running down her cheek. 

Olivia: "You know who else was a good person? Monica Lewinsky."

Mia: "And she was telling the truth, but she still got destroyed." she says with a small shrug. Amanda then stands up and walks away. Olivia and Mia turn to each other.

Mia: "You calling him, or should I?"

Olivia: "I'll do it." she answers as they both stand up. Olivia begins to walk away to make a phone call, while Mia turns to Quinn.

Mia: "If you get subpoenaed in front of a grand jury, you can testify as an officer of the court that we were working on our own. We didn't blackmail or threaten her. If you don't get subpoenaed, this never happened." she tells her before going to follow Olivia leaving Quinn shocked at what just happened.

Olivia: "It's handled." she tells Cyrus, over the phone, just as Mia walks up beside her.

~~~~~

OPA
Quinn is sitting in a bathroom stall crying over what Olivia and Mia just did to Amanda Tanner. Huck walks into the bathroom and stands outside of the stall that she's in.

Huck: "Are you crying?"

Quinn: "This is the ladies' room."

Huck: "Are you crying?"

Quinn: "No."

Huck: "Yes, you are."

Quinn: "No, I'm not."

Huck: "You are."

Quinn: "Fine. I'm crying." she says once she unlocks and opens the door. She then goes over to the sink to wash her hands.

Huck: "Well, don't let Olivia see you doing that. She doesn't believe in crying."

Quinn: "She doesn't believe in... what is that? Who says that?"

Huck: "Olivia. She says that."

Quinn: "And what, is Mia going to throw a book at my head if she catches me crying?" she asks sarcastically but truly curious.

Huck: "No, only when you respond with 'I don't know'. She really hates that." he responds as he goes to walk out of the bathroom but then gets stopped.

Quinn: "Wait. C-can I ask you why did they hire me? I mean, they must get a hundred resumes. Why me? What about me... what about me says 'stand next to us while we decimate a girl walking her dog'?"

Huck: "You're here because you worship Liv. You worship both of them actually. You want to be them. You think if you're near either of them, if you stand in their light, then you'll finally do stuff that matters. Because you need to believe that there's something greater than a-a 9 to 5 crap job, that there's a higher purpose, that your life has meaning, because the world feels big and you feel lost. Am I right?" he pauses as she then nods "Olivia Pope fixes things. While Mia James knows all. That's who they are. You need fixing and you need answers. I don't know your story. I don't need to know. We all have a story. Everyone in this office needs fixing and needs to know things. You're a stray dog, and they took you in. Don't question it." he goes to hand her a towel, "No crying. We don't cry, ever."

~~~~~

Olivia is in her office and is sitting at her desk watching one of her many televisions, when a news station has the President returning back from Camp David, and she focuses in on that one.

TV: "The President and the First Lady are just now returning to the White House, where tonight they will be hosting a state dinner for President Sarkozy,"

Mia: "Liv," she says while walking into Liv's office with a half drunk cup of coffee in her hands as Olivia raises her hand telling her she needs a minute. Mia stays quiet, as Olivia is still staring at the screen.

TV: "and the French first lady. Even though many see this as a positive move in relations between the two countries..." Olivia then picks up her cell to make a call to him.

Cyrus: "Cyrus Beene." he answers and you can see everything on the screen. Mia then walks over to watch the television, while taking a sip of her drink.

Olivia: "Put him on. I just need a second."

Cyrus: "Olivia needs you." he tells him as he hands over the phone.

Fitz: "Hi, Liv."

Olivia: "Did you buy her a dog?"

Fitz: "What?"

Olivia: "Just answer the question."

Fitz: "No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

Olivia: "Do me a favor. Turn your head a little to the left." he follows her directions and turns his head so he would be looking straight into the news station's camera. "Okay. Sorry. Forget I asked. Thank you, Mr. President." she then hangs up the phone and turns to Mia. "I made the right call, with Amanda Tanner, right?"

Mia: "What does your gut tell you?"

Olivia: "He didn't sleep with her."

Mia: "Then I trust your call, your guts never wrong." they look at each other for a moment before Olivia responds.

Olivia: "Oh, you came in with something. What's up?" Mia goes to answer but Stephen walks in.

Stephen: "Sully's on the crawl on the big three cable news stations, all over 'Drudge.' Network news is still hours away, but, uh, Diane Sawyer's already sniffing."

Mia: "That's what I was about to tell you." she tells her before Abby comes in as well.

Abby: "I've got good, I've got bad, I've got ugly. The good, Tom Henderson spilled his guts the minute I leaned on him. Bad, he has an airtight alibi. He was working as a bouncer at a club at the time of the murder. Ugly, Henderson claims that Sully knew he was sleeping with his girlfriend, which gives Sully motive."

Harrison: "Even uglier, gun found in the murder has Sully's prints all over it, which gives him means."

Mia/Olivia: "Damn it." they both exclaim before rushing out of Liv's office and barging into Stephen's, causing Sully to look up as the rest of the team follows them in. "Did you know Paige was sleeping with Tom Henderson?" both of them ask pointedly.

Sully: "What?"

Mia/Olivia: "Did. You. Know." both now emphasizing each word.

Sully: "I hired you. You can't come in here and—" he responds back.

Stephen: "Yes, they can. They can do whatever the hell they want, because without them, you are definitely going to jail. My guess is 20 years. Mia, you're the statistics expert, what do you think?" he says getting angry and then turning to Mia.

Mia: "Definitely 20 years, but if the judge wants to make an example out of you, a life sentence is a definite possibility." she says with a straight face.

Stephen: "Life sentence? Is that what you want?" he scoffs.

Olivia: "Did you know Paige was sleeping with Tom Henderson?" she asks more softly than before.

Sully: "Yeah. Yeah, I knew." he states with a sigh. The entire group then sighs before they go into recovery mode. Olivia walks over to Abby, while Mia is staring at Sully trying to analyze what's going through his mind. Olivia and Stephen are talking over each other as one is talking to Abby and the other is talking to Harrison.

Olivia: "Get me five soldiers. Preferably with bars on their uniforms, who are willing to attest to Sully's heroism and kindness. On the record."

Stephen: "Look over our statement. Make sure it uses the words 'war hero.' And get our defense attorney down here."

Sully: "Wait. Wait. I did not kill Paige. Paige, she slept around a lot before. I would've forgiven her. But I didn't kill her. You have to believe me." he declares as he stands up.

Olivia: "Sully, your finger prints are on the gun." she tells him as she walks back towards him.

Sully: "That's because I picked it up off of the floor."

Mia: "It's actually happens a lot more than you think," they all turn to Mia, "I mean a judge and jury buying it that's different story but a lot of the time the witness or the person that find the body pick up the weapon because they're in so much shock and they're not thinking clearly. With that and the fact that he was covered in blood when he showed up..."

Sully: "See," he points to Mia.

Stephen: "What's the statistics say?"

Mia: "Like I said, with a judge and jury that's a different story, it happens a lot but they don't normally end up buying it. Usually the stats comes from after they take lie detector tests, but since they aren't admissible in court, they don't usually rule in their favor." they all wait for her to continue and answer Stephen's question, "Statistics wise, it's not good."

Sully: "Look," the group turns to him, "I am a soldier and I have looked into the faces of men as I killed them. I know what it means to take a life. I don't know how a person could do this to someone they love. I loved Paige. She was my best friend. I did not kill her." the group looks at Sully one last time before retreating back into Olivia's office.

Olivia: "Find me somebody, anybody, who can say they saw Sully at the time of the murder. Make his alibi stick." she says as she walks over to her desk.

Abby: "Liv."

Olivia: "I believe him. Abby, I believe him. Go make his alibi stick."

Stephen: "I'll get the car." he then turns to leave before Mia and Olivia stop him.

Mia/Olivia: "Wait, in a minute."

Mia: "Huck, did you talk to our guy?"

Huck: "Yeah."

Olivia: "You got it?"

Huck: "I got it." he hands Mia a box. 

Stephen: "What?" Mia and Olivia lead Stephen over to the couch and the three of them sit down.

Olivia: "Open it."

Stephen: "They're engagement rings." he says after opening it, causing Abby to walk out. 

Olivia: "Yes."

Mia: "I told you I'd get to the bottom of this ring thing." she says with a smirk.

Stephen: "They're engagement rings." he repeats still awestruck.

Mia: "For getting engaged. Like you're going to be doing with Georgia."

Stephen: "They're engagement rings."

Olivia: "Stephen, we made you a reservation, 8:00pm Chez Henri, best table. Huck already called Georgia. She's meeting you there. Pick a ring. Marry the girl. Be normal."

Stephen: "You can't just," he looks between the two and points between them, "you're bullying me." causing Mia to smirk.

Olivia: "As long as I've known you, you've dated a series of women I can only describe as trashy and too young for you,"

Mia: "And most of all, stupid."

Olivia: "Georgia is funny and fun and old enough and brilliant, and you know you want to marry her."

Mia: "We all know you want to marry her, so pick a god damn ring already so we can go find an alibi for Sully St. James." he then looks between the two before looking back towards the box.

Stephen: "She'll like this one." he chooses one of the rings in the box.

Olivia: "Excellent choice."

Mia: "And I... will always bully you, if I need to." she tells him with a smile.

~~~~~

About an hour or so later after everyone went their separate ways to try and find Sully an alibi, Amanda storms into the office wanting to see Olivia and Mia but Quinn it trying to stop her from getting by. With all the noise from outside their offices, the two leave them and head into the hallway.

Amanda: "I want to see them."

Quinn: "They're not available."

Amanda: "I want to see them."

Quinn: "They're not available."

Amanda: "Let me through."

Mia/Olivia: "Amanda."

Amanda: "I want you to give him a message." she looks towards the two that are walking down the hallway in her direction. 

Olivia: "That's not appropriate."

Amanda: "Not appropriate? Not appropriate? You came to me, and I know he sent you. I know you can give him a message." she states as the two walk her back to the elevator. 

Mia: "This conversation is over. Please leave." she states as they put Amanda in an elevator.

Amanda: "I quit my job, okay? I did it. Now please give him a message!"

Mia: "Marlon, take her down." she tells the elevator operator.

Olivia: "Do not let her back up."

Amanda: "I'm telling the truth. I am." she shouts as the doors close. And as Amanda is riding the elevator going down, David and a few officers are riding the other elevator coming up to collect and arrest Sully.

David: "Time's up, ladies. I have a warrant." he says as he walks off the elevator.

Olivia: "We still have 40 minutes." she tells him as she looks at her watch and backing into the office.

David: "Fine. 40 minutes and then I want Sully St. James in handcuffs."

Olivia: "You stay out here." she states and then walking inside getting ready to shut the door.

Mia: "Nobody crosses this doorway." she points to the doorway. Once Olivia, Mia and Quinn are all in the office and the door is shut the three of them start to head in the direction of the conference room.

Olivia: "Get Abby on the phone. Tell her we've been invaded." she instructs Quinn.

Mia: "Tell her time is up." she adds in. Quinn then goes off to call Abby, when Olivia turns to Mia.

Olivia: "Okay, we're almost out of time Mia. Whatever theories you think you may have you need to put them into action now." she tells her as they head towards Olivia's office.

Mia: "Okay, I'll take care of it. I'll go talk to Sully." she starts to head in the direction of Stephen's office with Olivia following her. "Liv, let me talk to him... alone."

Olivia: "Why?" she asks confused.

Mia: "Because if I'm right, then the conversation I'm about to have with him, is not one he's going to want to have with multiple people present." she tells Liv, causing the fixer to still look at the twenty-two year old skeptically, "Do you trust me?"

Olivia: "Yes, of course."

Mia: "Then let me go talk to Sully alone."

Olivia: "Okay, go take care of it." she says as she hesitantly nods and allows Mia to go to Stephen's office.

~~~~~

Mia takes a breathe before walking into the office and sitting across from Sully. He looks up at her with a confused look.

Mia: "You're running out of time. So, as much as I really didn't want it to come to this. I think I may finally have to ask you a question I've been trying really hard to avoid." she pauses. "Before that though, I need to tell you why I came to have this question... You see, I have this very overactive brain. Like way too overactive at times. And having the degrees I have in psychology and behavioral analysis it just adds on plus my eidetic memory. So I have been replaying every word and action that you have said and done since you walked through the doors." she stands up and begins to walk around, "But there's two things that just keep standing out. You keep saying, you loved Paige, but you never said that you were in love with her. At first I just chalked it up to you being in distress and heartbroken over your loss of her." she then goes to sit next to Sully as he's looking down. "But then you were constantly saying how she was your best friend." she pauses, "Sully, I really don't want to ask you this—"

Sully: "Then don't." he states clearly as he looks up to her.

Mia: "But it may be the only way you stay out of prison, it could give you your alibi. If you we're with someon—"

Sully: "I just ca—" he stops and looks back down.

Mia: "I know. It's one of the big reasons why I didn't want to ask when I first thought of it. This shouldn't be the reason why you have to admit it, but we're running out of time. I may not know how you feel or what's running through your mind, but we live in a different time now—"

Sully: "It doesn't matter, it's not what I stand for." he pauses from getting emotional and looks back up at her. "You can't tell the others, you just can't." Mia goes to reply but Olivia and the others are walking through the door.

Olivia: "We don't have a lot of time. The police are here, so I need you to listen."

Sully: "What's going on?" he turns to Mia, "Mia?"

Mia: "I have no clue. Liv?" she responds confused.

Olivia: "We were able to verify your alibi."

Sully: "You were? That's... that's a good thing, right?"

Olivia: "Sully, you're the most decorated hero since the Vietnam War, you come from a family of soldiers, you make your living giving speeches for the conservative right, and you've said over and over,"

Mia: "Liv," she sternly says except Olivia ignores it.

Olivia: "Paige was your best friend. Not your lover, your best friend. Paige knew, didn't she? She was your best friend." Abby goes to show the two the security footage they found that shows Sully kissing another man. "She knew you were gay. The two of you had a deal."

Mia: "Liv."

Sully: "You can't show that tape to anyone."

Olivia: "I need the name of the man you were kissing."

Sully: "You can't show that tape and you can't have a name."

Olivia: "It's your alibi."

Sully: "No. I'm... you cannot tell people that I am gay. I am a hero."

Abby: "The police have a warrant for your arrest. All due respect, people finding out you're gay is no big deal compared to that."

Sully: "No. I am a hero. I honor the uniform." he proclaims towards Abby.

Olivia: "Sully,"

Sully: "I honor the uniform!" he yells towards Olivia before turning around and walking towards the other side of the room.

Olivia: "Sully, look at me. The rules have changed. Don't ask, don't tell is over."

Sully: "That is talk! I am a conservative republican! I am publicly anti-gay! I am the deacon in my church. They're talking about me running for Congress one day. I am Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan St. James. I'm a hero. I can't be gay."

Olivia: "But you are. This is who you are. This is your alibi. Let us help you."

Mia: "Come on, Sully."

Sully: "No." he declares before walking out of Stephen's office with Olivia and Mia behind him heading in the direction of the hallway with the police ready to arrest him. 

Mia: "Sully."

Olivia: "Sully!" she shouts before he reaches the door, opens it and turns around so the police can handcuff him.

Cop: "Sullivan St. James, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you..." Olivia then shuts the door as David and the officers take Sully away.

~~~~~

D.C. POLICE STATION
Abby comes running into the station's lobby, heading over to Olivia, Mia, Stephen and Harrison.

Abby: "Reporters are starting to gather outside." she informs the group.

Mia/Olivia: "Crap."

Stephen: "Our defense attorney's with Sully now, but it doesn't seem optimistic."

Abby: "What do we do?"

Mia: "We can't use the alibi." she says sternly.

Harrison: "Can we leak it? We—"

Mia: "No." she interrupts.

Olivia: "He's our client. We have to do what he wants."

Mia/Olivia: "I hate this!" they exclaim as Olivia's phone dings and she goes to look at it.

Olivia: "Mia and I have to go."

Mia/Harrison: "Now?" they both ask exasperatedly, as Mia holds a slightly confused look too.

Olivia: "It's after 6:00. They won't arraign him till morning. We'll be back. Get in to see Sully. See if you can change his mind... Mia let's go." the two of them then walk out of the station. 

Stephen: "Georgia's gonna be waiting for me at Chez Henri. I could cancel." he says when he glances at his watch then to Abby.

Abby: "We'll work on Sully. Go. Go!" she tells him. 

Stephen: "Okay. Thanks." he reluctantly agrees but then heads to leave. 

Abby: "Get down on one knee. Women like that." she shouts after him. 

~~~~~

HOSPITAL
Olivia and Mia are walking into the hospital to find Quinn.

Olivia: "You knew, didn't you?" she asks quietly, Mia looks at her. "About Sully?"

Mia: "I had a guess." she whispers.

Olivia: "Mia," she says with a sigh, as Mia stops the two.

Mia: "No. Don't 'Mia', me. I tried to talk to him before the rest of you came barging in there telling him something that he didn't want to hear." she pauses. "Liv, he deserved the chance to say it himself before anyone was going to say it for him. I wanted to help with that. I admit it wasn't going to be easy... or fast, but at least with that, than the man may have been more open to coming forward about it." she says while glancing around them to make sure no one is listening.

Olivia: "Mia, we were running ou—"

Mia: "Out of time. I know. It's the only reason I went in to ask him in the first place." she turns to Olivia once more. "But I'm just... he shouldn't have to come out just to stay out of jail."

Olivia: "I understand, but he may not have a choice anymore." she says as they continue to walk.

Mia: "I know." she says, "And you don't understand, not what he's going through, not the decision he has to make... none of us do." she says and with that the two walk in silence the rest of the way there. Olivia and Mia then walk up to Quinn, who is standing outside of a hospital room, where Amanda Tanner is sleeping.

Mia/Olivia: "What happened?"

Quinn: "She slashed her wrists."

Olivia: "Any press sniffing around?"

Quinn: "No. No one. One of the nurses told me her dad's flying in. He'll be here in the morning."

Mia: "Okay. She hasn't spoken to anyone... no nurses or doctors about anything?"

Quinn: "Just to me."

Mia/Olivia: "Good. Stay with her."

Quinn: "Olivia, you said to trust your gut. My gut says she's telling the truth."

Olivia: "She's not."

Quinn: "How do you know?"

Mia/Olivia: "Because we know the President."

Quinn: "Okay. It's just she was going on and on and on about how there's this secret room off of the Oval Office where they've met, and I've read about the White House. There is a little room."

Mia: "If you read it, she read it. Hell, I've read that."

Olivia: "People are crazy. They get fixated on famous people. They stalk them."

Quinn: "But I don't think she's crazy." she says causing Olivia and Mia to look at one another before looking towards Quinn.

Mia/Olivia: "Tell us why."

Quinn: "Has anyone told you both, that when you speak at the same time like that, it can be really creepy... and also slightly intimidating—"

Mia/Olivia: "Tell us why." they both state again with a slight irritation in their voices.

Quinn: "Okay. She tried to kill herself, but she didn't want to die. She called you right after she did it because she wanted him to find out she was hurt and come see her. She thought he would do that."

Olivia: "Quinn." she sighs as Mia is listening to her with complete focus.

Quinn: "She was going on and on and on about how she thought he'd come and call her 'sweet baby' and everything would be fine."

Olivia: "What?" she asks shocked, while Mia looks towards Olivia.

Quinn: "What?"

Olivia: "What did you say?"

Quinn: "That he'd come if she was hurt."

Olivia: "And he would call her..."

Quinn: "'Sweet baby.' And I was just thinking that if she really thought that if he found out..." she continues to say before Olivia turns to walk away and out of the hospital, leaving a shocked Mia and Quinn.

Mia: "Stay with her," she tells Quinn while pointing to Amanda. Mia then goes after Olivia. "Liv, Liv." she doesn't respond so she continues to run after her. "Olivia!" Olivia turns around to give her a look and then rushes out of the hospital, with Mia staring at her completely lost. She then takes a minute to get herself together before walking out of the hospital to go back to the police station.

~~~~~

D.C. POLICE STATION
Mia is walking up the steps to head back inside when her phone starts to ring and she answers it once she sees its Stephen.

Mia: "Hey, what's up? I'm about to—"

Stephen: "Mimi, I'm freaking out over here. I'm at Chez Henri, but I don't know if I can go through with this. I tried calling Liv, but she said that she won't be here for, I don't, half an hour. Should I even do this? This is insane—"

Mia: "Okay, okay, Stephen. Listen to me. Go to the bathroom, clean yourself up, and calm yourself. I'm heading there now." she goes to hail down a cab, "TAXI!" she then gets into the car, "Chez Henri... look Stephen, I'm across town but I will be there as fast as I can." she can hear an almost inaudible 'Okay' before the two hang up. She then turns back to the driver. "Step on it."

~~~~~

CHEZ HERNI
Mia is about to open the door to the restaurant as Olivia sees her.

Olivia: "Mia?"

Mia: "Hey, he called me right after you. Seems like he needs a little help." she tells her as they walk in and begin to look for him.

Stephen: "Liv! Mia!" he whisper yells from a coat closet.

Mia: "Y-you're in a coat closet." she comments as the two walk over to the closet.

Olivia: "What do you need?"

Mia: "Did you forget the ring or something?"

Stephen: "No, I have the ring."

Mia/Olivia: "You can do this."

Stephen: "That's the thing. I don't think I can."

Mia/Olivia: "Tell us."

Stephen: "You know, what if I-I marry her and I cheat or she gets bored with me or she doesn't love me enough? I am not a good guy. Ladies, what if she leaves me?"

Olivia: "I gotta trust my gut and my gut is what?"

Mia/Stephen: "Never wrong."

Olivia: "Never wrong, and my gut tells me she's in this. She's in this with you. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but you have to try, because if you try, if you leap and you try, and it doesn't work out, it's not on you."

Stephen: "It's not on me." he says still a little bit unsure, then looks to Mia, "Mimi, there's gotta be like a hundred statistics about marriages and divorce, right?"

Mia: "Yes, but they're not always right. They don't include the one thing that truly matters,"

Stephen: "What?"

Mia: "Love. And there is not a doubt in anyones' mind about how much you love her."

Mia/Olivia: "You can do this."

Stephen: "Okay. Okay. I can do this."

Olivia: "Go. Be happy. Get some normal." she tells him. Stephen then walks out of the coat closet and over to his table with Georgia, leaving Mia and Olivia to watch from the closet.

Stephen: "Georgia, it would give me the greatest honor..." the entire restaurant claps for him as Olivia begins to tear up.

Mia: "Hey, are you okay? Where did you go?" she questions as Olivia composes herself and turns to Mia.

Olivia: "Go home. Go get some rest, you've done a lot today."

Mia: "Liv, we still have to deal with the Sully St. James case, I can't go home."

Olivia: "Mia, you were right. I should have trusted you and let you take care of it. But now I need to handle this. So go home, please." she tells her before walking out of the restaurant leaving a stunned and confused Mia.

~~~~~

D.C. POLICE STATION
Sully is sitting on a bench in a holding cell, when Olivia comes in and sits next to him.

Olivia: "We may never know who killed Paige. But this isn't about you not going to jail for Paige's murder. This is about you not living a lie. Sully, I saw that kiss. You love that man, whoever he is. You love him. You have been living with a secret for a really long time. I know what that's like. I honestly do. And you think you're doing it for the right reasons. You think you're doing it for your country and for the people who look up to you, but the thing is, who you are, who you love, that shouldn't be a secret. It shouldn't have to be a secret, should it?" she pauses and there's a silence between the two so she gets up to walk out but gets stopped.

Sully: "John Latimer. That's his name. And I do... love him."

~~~~~

SULLY'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Mia and Olivia are standing off to the side, when Mia turns to Liv.

Mia: "You did it... Good job." Olivia nods with a smile before the two turn to Sully.

Sully: "I am honored to have served my country. I am honored to have been injured serving my country. And just as importantly, I am honored to be a gay man who served my country."

~~~~~

OPA
Harrison, Huck and Quinn are taking down the pictures and documents to put them in boxes.

Quinn: "So Sully's innocent. He didn't kill Paige. Then who did?"

Huck: "Don't matter."

Harrison: "It matters, just not to us, all that matters is Sully. That's the job."

Huck: "Look, I'll take all this stuff to the police. Maybe it helps them. Finding Paige's killer is their job." he states before walking out of the room.

Quinn: "You said we were the good guys."

Harrison: "We are."

Quinn: "Really? I mean, is Olivia and Mia... are they the good guys?"

Harrison: "No. They're not the good guys. They're the best guys." he pauses and looks towards her, "It's not enough to say it. You gotta believe it."

Quinn: "Gladiators... in suits."

Harrison: "That's what I'm talking about." he says with a smirk.

~~~~~

Mia is sitting at her desk and writing some final thoughts down in a notebook when Cyrus walks in with a chocolate shake. She finishes writing down her sentence, as he shuts the door before walking over to her desk and setting the shake in front of her.

Mia: "Hi. Hello. How are you?" she greets jokingly, before looking up and seeing the drink, "Oh, and thank you."

Cyrus: "Funny, and you're welcome." he says while she takes a sip. He then pauses causing Mia to put the shake down.

Mia: "What's u—"

Cyrus: "Did you know?" Mia gives him a look to tell him to go on, "About the two of them. Olivia and... Fitz?"

Mia: "Wait, you just found out. I thought you knew already. He tells you anything and everything."

Cyrus: "Well he didn't. Not this... but you knew? She told you?" he asks her, causing her to sigh and close the notebook.

Mia: "Yes I knew, but she didn't tell me. Neither of them did. I knew because I was working with both of them on a campaign while earning a PhD in behavioral analysis, and through that I noticed some things. The shared looks, the smiles, the brief moments when the two would try to hold each others hands when they thought no one was watching. Hell through all of the flirting, I did something incredibly ballsy on the trail and told him not to consider it. I realized that he didn't listen to me when I overheard him and Liv in his hotel room, a few days later." she pauses, "You really didn't know? Liv's probably gonna think that it meant more to her than him."

Cyrus: "She said that already."

Mia: "Lovely... I'm going to guess you didn't come all this way just to ask me this, you going to see her?" he nods as she gets up to put her notebook away, "Okay, well I'll let you go then, I've got something I have to do anyways." she states as she heads to grab her coat and then her chocolate shake, before walking him out of her office. "Bye Cy."

Cyrus: "Bye, Meems, oh and by the way, good work on Sully St. James."

Mia: "Thanks." she responds with a smile as the two hug and then go their separate ways.

~~~

Olivia is standing in her office and in front of the television sets watching the news, as Cyrus walks in.

TV: "Congressional conservative leadership is expected sometime..."

Cyrus: "Nice work on Sully St. James. He wants to see you."

Olivia: "Tell him to go to hell."

Cyrus: "I'm just the messenger." he says with a slight laugh. 

Olivia: "You tell him that he better hope to God Amanda Tanner doesn't want to come forward with her story, because she just became my client." she says as he looks at her in disbelief before silently walking out.

~~~~~

WHITE HOUSE
A white house aide escorts Mia into the Oval Office informing her that Fitz will be there shortly and then walks out. Mia walks further into the room and stands over the Presidential Seal. 

Fitz: "Hey Doc, I wasn't expecting you. What are you—" he says as he walks in the office and shuts the door.

Mia: "I'm gonna skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point," she tells him as he looks at her speechless. "You got in her head, you got in her head and she was wrong. She's Liv, she's never wrong."

Fitz: "Mia," he sighs.

Mia: "No, you don't get to talk right now. Right now, you're gonna listen because you didn't listen to me on the campaign and look at where we are now." she pauses, "It seemed strange to me that Cyrus texted only her when he first asked to meet but now it makes complete sense. You told him, that you wanted her to handle it, not both of us, just her because you knew that if we both were on this, I would be able to see the truth the second you spoke. But I decided to trust my friend, my best friend, because she's never wrong. Her gut is never wrong, but you got into her head. She couldn't think straight."

Fitz: "Mia,"

Mia: "No, you're going to leave her alone. You're going to continue to run this country and leave Olivia Pope alone. Do you hear me? Because I need my best friend. I need her to be able to trust her gut and not have Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third clouding her judgement." she goes to walk out, "Okay, okay."

Fitz: "Mia," he says as he grabs her arm to stop her from leaving causing her to look at him.

Mia: "A girl is in the hospital, Fitz. The hospital. I will not let that happen to her. I won't." she then walks out leaving Fitz lost for words.

~~~~~

Hi Lovelies!

I'm reposting 'The Genius Gladiator'. I've spent a lot of time editing and changing some timeline things around for Mia's background so that I would have a better idea on how to continue with her story.

I also decided to cut scenes that Mia wasn't in or didn't pertain to her, rather than include every scene from the episode. So the format of this book is more like my other books now.

And I've also included more gifs to the book. I'd love to hear what you lovely readers think about the changes and if you're new to reading the story I would love to know what you think as well, so please comment!

As always, thank you so much for reading!

- H.

~~~~~

posted — November 16th, 2020
reposted — September 29th, 2022

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