OLIVIA'S APARTMENT
Mia, Olivia and Quinn are walking down the hall and into the kitchen as Amanda is finishing up a phone call.

Amanda: "Okay, I can't talk. Not now. You have to stop calling me." she says over the phone before hanging up.

Mia/Olivia: "Who are you talking to?"

Amanda: "That reporter from the 'Sun'. He keeps calling me."

Olivia: "Look, we're not gonna take your phone away,"

Mia: "But we cannot stress the importance that you only take calls from your parents and our staff."

Olivia: "You cannot answer your phone, not even to tell someone to go away." she instructs Amanda, before her, Mia and Quinn walk out and into the dining room. "Damn it. He knows something." she states as she turns to Mia.

Mia: "He's chomping at the bit. He must have something."

Quinn: "He likes me." she tells the two causing them to turn and look at her with matching confused looks.

Mia/Olivia: "What?"

Quinn: "The reporter. Gideon, I think he likes me. Maybe, I could talk to him, find out what he knows?" they both pause as Liv's phone rings and she goes to answer it.

Olivia: "Harrison?"

Harrison: "I want permission to look into Travis' finances."

Olivia: "What are you thinking?"

Harrison: "He said something about settlements, how they always take the money. I think we should know if he's speaking from experience."

Olivia: "Okay," she says to him while sharing a look with Mia, the two then turn towards Quinn.

Mia/Olivia: "Be careful." the two direct Quinn, as Olivia also says it to Harrison before hanging the phone up.

~~~~~

OPA
The entire group, minus Mia, are surrounding the conference table going over Harrison's findings.

Harrison: "In '07, he made 3 payments of $200,000 to a woman in Arlington."

Abby: "Her name's Rachel Kline. 23 year old waitress at Darcy's in Georgetown."

Olivia: "Let's track her down, find out what the money was for."

Abby: "Can't. She's dead."

Stephen: "Committed suicide three years ago. Pills."

Harrison: "600 grand is one hell of a tip for your favorite waitress, huh?"

Huck: "All the marks of a cover-up here."

Quinn: "Covering up what?"

Stephen: "Liv, I know Sandra's your friend, but—"

Olivia: "If he raped that girl and paid her off, it makes it a lot more likely he raped Helen, too." she states as she sighs and leaves the room.

~~~~~

Mia is sitting at her desk typing on her laptop as Olivia entered the room with a cup of coffee.

Olivia: "How are you?" she asked while walking over to the twenty-two year old and placing the mug in front of her, "I know that this week has been long for you. So how are you?"

Mia: "Liv, I'm fine."

Olivia: "Mimi, I just want to make sure that every—"

Mia: "Olivia, I really don't want to talk about this. Not now. Not with those pictures on the wall, that I have to walk pass every time I have to walk around in this office. Not now. I just... can't."

Olivia: "Okay... I just... don't want you to shut down. So please... and this is me begging. Please ask for help if you need it."

Mia: "I will, okay." she pauses as Liv gives her a look and she continues, "I will." then as Olivia is about to say something, Stephen opens the doors, that conjoin his and Mia's office, and enters the room.

Stephen: "Amanda settling in okay?"

Olivia: "I'm sorry we didn't vote." she tells him as Mia looks down and then takes a sip of coffee.

Stephen: "We never vote. Not really."

Olivia: "Trust me. We're on the right side of this."

Stephen: "Whose side, Liv, the White House's, Amanda's? Between you and Mia, you both have a conflict of interest so big in this thing, I don't even think there's a word for it." she goes to respond but her phone rings causing her to answer it.

Olivia: "Mellie." she greets as Stephen sighs and gives her a look that says 'I told you so.'.

Mellie: "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

Olivia: "No, not at all. What can I do for you?"

Mellie: "Well, you know we have that state dinner tonight, and I checked, and I couldn't believe it, but it looks like you didn't receive an invitation. Neither did Mia, but I ran into her yesterday and already told her but trust me it was an oversight, I swear."

Olivia: "I'm flattered, truly, but—"

Mellie: "Eight o'clock! See you then!" she tells her before hanging up. Liv then looks to Mia who's looking down at her coffee awkwardly.

Olivia: "No warning?"

Mia: "Like you said, I've had a long week. I forgot." she defends back.

Olivia: "You don't forget anything." she scoffs as Harrison walks in and looks towards the three.

Harrison: "You're gonna want to see this."

~~~~~

The group is standing at the board, while Mia is looking in from the back of the room, with a grieved look on her face.

Abby: "She met Travis in a bar in Adams Morgan."

Stephen: "She was just out of American, working at a lobbying firm. After a night of heavy drinking, Rachel went home with Travis, and he raped her." he says while reading the report in his hand.

Harrison: "She filed a police report, rape kit and all. Two days later, he made payments, three payments to her account. Bought her an S-Class to sweeten the deal."

Huck: "She recanted her story to the police, thought she could just move on, but she couldn't function. Had to move back in with her parents."

Abby: "And then one night about a year later, she swallowed enough Seconal to end her life. She was found by a friend. Her best friend. She changed her hair from brunette to blonde, but it's still—"

Olivia: "Helen Fisher." she finishes Abby's sentence as the sound of Mia's heeled boots can be heard as the twenty-two year old is walking away causing Liv to sigh as Stephen looks between the two curiously.

~~~~~

Olivia: "You were right about Helen." she said to Sandra and Travis, as the three were sitting at the conference table, "She was after Travis, but not for the money. She was after Travis because four years ago, he raped her best friend. Her name was Rachel Kline, and you destroyed her life, Travis. But you're not guilty of raping Helen, and Rachel can never testify against you, so you'll go free."

Sandra: "Is this true?"

Travis: "M-mom"

Sandra: "Answer me, honey."

Travis: "I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to disappoint you any more than I, I'm sorry. I screwed up, and I tried to fix it. I tried. You told me, you, you always said, I should fix my mistakes, so I took care of it. I handled it."

~~~~~

WHITE HOUSE
Fitz and Mellie are greeting people at the entrance of the ballroom at the state dinner when Liv walks in.

Fitz: "Lovely to see you. Here's the prime minister. Hello. It's wonderful to see you again. Hi." he welcomes a guest before turning to Mellie, "What's Olivia doing here?"

Mellie: "I invited her." she whispers to him before he focuses back on the guest entering.

Fitz: "How are you, Bill? Good to see you." he greets two other people when Liv finally approaches them at the entrance.

Mellie: "Liv. You look lovely."

Olivia: "Oh, thank you."

Mellie: "Doesn't she look lovely?"

Fitz: "Of course, yeah. I'm so happy you could come."

Olivia: "I wouldn't miss it, Mr. President."

Mellie: "Where's Mia? Was she coming with you?"

Olivia: "You know, Mia wasn't feeling the best today, so she probably won't make it, I'm sorry."

Mellie: "Well, I hope she's okay. I'll have to invite her over soon, I feel like I haven't really talked to her, or even you for that matter, in a long time."

Olivia: "I will tell her to expect your call." she says to the first lady before moving further into the room, leaving the couple to welcome more guests.

~~~~~

After dancing with Fitz and him telling her to meet him out in the gardens, Liv is heading out that way when a slightly drunk Cyrus comes up to the fixer.

Olivia: "Oh, Cyrus. Hello."

Cyrus: "I don't know what you and Mia think you're playing at, Liv, but I don't take kindly to blackmail."

Olivia: "Uh, I'm sorry. What?"

Cyrus: "I never took you for the 'hell hath no fury' type. It's a little trashy, but so is having an affair with a married man."

Olivia: "You want to be careful, Cyrus, with how you speak to me, because I might forget that we are friends. Now if you'll excuse me."

Cyrus: "What happened, you danced, he said he loved you? What, are you gonna go meet him right now? He's good. He has you in the palm of his hand. You're being played. You're being played by the best politician in the world. The upside? The tell-all book that you can write when you're old 'the President's whore' it's all very dirty and best seller. These very nice agents are gonna escort you off the White House grounds. You can tell Amanda Tanner that the meeting with the President is off, and while you're at it, tell Mia that I expected more from her and not to come to me for any favors again." he states to her before the agents escort her out of the room.

~~~~~

OPA
The next day, after Travis' lawyer had destroyed Helen's testimony in court, Olivia was, once again, sitting across from Sandra and Travis in the conference room.

Travis: "You want me to turn myself in? That's a little drastic. Right? Mom?"

Sandra: "You raped that girl, Travis. She killed herself."

Travis: "But that wasn't my fault. It wasn't."

Sandra: "Travis, please. This is hard enough."

Travis: "So I made a couple of payments? They can't put me away for that."

Olivia: "There's a rape kit. It's got your D.N.A. all over it."

~~~

Mia is standing in the doorway of OPA, waiting for the elevator doors to open.

Mia: "Hi, welcome. Please come right on in. Let me show you the way." she greets once they open up.

~~~

Travis: "She never pressed charges. They don't even have my name. It happened once. It'll never happen again. I promise."

Olivia: "Travis,"

Travis: "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to my mother. I'll go away. How's that sound? I'll go to Europe for a couple of years. And then I'll come back and run the company. That was always the plan anyway. That's a good compromise, right?"

Sandra: "That's what I thought you'd say."

Travis: "Well, good. That takes care of the problem."

Sandra: "I've already taken care of it, honey." she tells him as Mia directs David, along with a few officers that showed up with him, into the conference room to where Travis is, all while Sandra is standing up to walk out of the room.

Travis: "You didn't. Mom? Mom, don't do this, mom! Mom!" he shouts after her as he's being handcuffed and dragged out of the room. "Don't do this. Mom, listen to me. Please! This is crazy."

David: "Jane Powell, my friend? Got transferred to misdemeanors." he tells the two as they watch Travis being hauled out. 

Mia/Olivia: "Oh?"

David: "Something about incompetence, didn't research the defendant well."

Olivia: "How sad for you."

David: "Okay, maybe."

Mia/Olivia: "Maybe what?"

David: "Maybe we can be friends. Maybe." he says as he goes to walk away leaving Mia very confused and turning to Liv.

Mia: "Okay, I know that I didn't work on this case but what the hell did I miss, that the two of you are talking about friendship?" she asks but Olivia just smiles and walks away leaving Mia still very confused. "What?"

~~~~~

About a hour later, Mia, Liv and Quinn walk into the conference room, where Gideon is standing next to the table.

Gideon: "Wait. Where's Amanda?"

Olivia: "Change of plan. You're not getting a quote from Amanda."

Gideon: "Screwed by Olivia Pope and Mia James. What do you call it? Getting 'Joped'? Why am I not surprised?"

Mia: "You're not getting screwed over." she says, while both her and Olivia roll their eyes at his remarks, before continuing, "You're getting something better. Something that will actually help your career. An interview with Sandra Harding. Have you heard of her?"

Gideon: "H.D.X., right? Her company's worth $300 million." he states as Quinn hands him a folder with the information on Sandra.

Mia: "About an hour ago, she turned her son into the U.S. attorney for rape. Tomorrow she's going to resign. She's agreed to tell you and only you her side of the story."

Olivia: "Not only will your byline be on the front page of your paper, but this story, your exclusive story, will be chased by every major newspaper in the country. And they'll get nothing."

Mia: "I know it's not cherry blossoms, but..."

Gideon: "Thank you. Thank you."

Mia/Olivia: "Gideon, that was a meeting." they tell him as they walk out of the conference room and into Liv's office with Quinn following the two.

Quinn: "You know, I've been meaning to tell you two, it's probably nothing, but Gideon said this thing at drinks about how he never called Amanda, not once, and my gut says to believe him. My gut says he's not lying."

Olivia: "Reporters lie, Quinn."

Mia: "It's like second nature to them, so they can get their story."

Quinn: "But, my gut says she's lying. I don't think Amanda's telling you everything." she says to them before walking back out of the office.

Olivia: "You think she's right?"

Mia: "I don't know, but are you okay to talk to her alone, I just need to—"

Olivia: "Yes, but Mia please—"

Mia: "I will, if I need you, I will let you know." she tells her as she walks out of her office, grabs her stuff and leaves the firm with a solemn look, as Stephen is watching her.

~~~~~

About an hour later after Mia left, Liv is sitting at her desk when Stephen walks into the room and sits across from her without saying anything.

Olivia: "Did you need something?"

Stephen: "What's going on with Mia? I mean, I get she hates dealing with the agencies that are always after her, but—" he questions as Liv looks to him and sighs.

Olivia: "I can't tell you. But honestly, you should just go be with her for a while. You're a brother to her, Stephen, and right now she could really use one of those."

Stephen: "I don't underst—"

Olivia: "Just go be with her. Maybe bring her a bottle of wine, or some tequila, and some food. Just not pizza, it'll remind her of Chicago and she doesn't need a reminder of home right now. Gettysburger should do, but if you get that, you'll—"

Stephen: "Have to get a chocolate shake. And some fries, so she can dip them in the shake." he says before continuing, "With all her degrees, you'd think she'd know how weird that is."

Olivia: "For as long as I've known her, she has always done that." she says with a smile, before a serious look came back across her face, "But Stephen, just be with her. She's had a long week and just needs someone. I have to deal with Amanda right now, so be that person for her." she tells him as she stands to get ready to leave before pausing, "But Stephen, be aware that she may not tell you everything right away and you need to be okay with that." Liv then walks out of her office leaving Stephen to be silent and staring at her fading image.

~~~~~

OLIVIA'S APARTMENT
Liv is sitting next to Amanda on her couch telling her that the meeting isn't happening.

Amanda: "He's mad at me. I get that. But if I could just have five minutes alone with him, I know that I could explain."

Olivia: "I know how hard this is."

Amanda: "I'm sure you do."

Olivia: "You're afraid that it was nothing, that he's forgotten it already, tossed you like yesterday's paper, and moved on without another thought, and if he's forgotten, then it's almost as if it never happened, that what you had with him wasn't real, and that makes you feel completely and utterly alone. But I haven't forgotten. I know what happened. I know it was real. And whatever you decide to do here, however you want to play this thing out, we will stand beside you every step of the way. If you ask us to, Mia and I will make him remember and you will never, ever be alone in this again, but I'm gonna need everything. Every truth, every detail. If we're gonna stand with you, Amanda, I need to hear all of it."

Amanda: "I'm pregnant." she informs her leaving Olivia shocked as she hears the faint sound of music blasting from Mia's apartment.

~~~~~

MIA'S APARTMENT
A slightly tipsy Mia is swaying to the beat of Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone', and using the bottle of Jose Cuervo, in her hands, as a microphone while singing, off-key, to the lyrics when she hears a knock on the door. She goes over to the stereo and turns it down a little before going to answer it. When she opens the door she sees Stephen holding a Gettysburger bag and two shakes, one of them obviously being chocolate for the twenty-two year old.

Mia: "Ooh... chocolaty goodness." she mutters while staring at the drink before looking at Stephen, "Did you bring fries?"

Stephen: "Yes, I have your fries, you weirdo." he sarcastically remarks causing her to grin.

Mia: "Okay, you can come in." she says as he walks in and over to her living room. As he enters the room, he takes a glimpse at her coffee table that has a used wine glass, a half drunken bottle of merlot and a piece of toast with a bite missing from it. "So what are you doing here?"

Stephen: "You didn't seem like your usual self this week and with the FBI meeting it seemed like you may have needed this."

Mia: "Liv send you?"

Stephen: "She may have suggested it when I asked about you this evening."

Mia: "She wants me to confide in someone. Which I get, she doesn't want me to shut down. Neither of them do."

Stephen: "Why would you shut down? What does Olivia hope that you would tell me and who's them?"

Mia: "Well, if we're gonna talk about this, then we're gonna need drinks that are a lot stronger than Gettysburger shakes. What are you drinking?"

Stephen: "Mimi,"

Mia: "I'm gonna continue drinking Mr. Cuervo. I'd share, but I've been drinking out of the bottle so..., I do have another if you really do want some. I can go grab that and a shot glass or I can get a wine glass and you can finish off the red. I haven't drank directly out of that bottle, so..."

Stephen: "Mia,"

Mia: "So, shot glass or wine glass?"

Stephen: "Mia,"

Mia: "Shot glass or wine glass?"

Stephen: "Wine glass."

Mia: "Perfect. I'll go get that and some plates." she says before going into the kitchen and grabbing said items, "I'm assuming they put napkins in the bag."

Stephen: "They did."

Mia: "Awesome." she responded while coming back into the room as Stephen is taking the food out of the bag. She handed him the glass so he could pour himself some wine, as she transferred the food onto the plates.

Stephen: "So," he started finally breaking their silence, "You want to talk about what happened at the meeting the other day. I don't think I've ever seen you like this after one of them before."

Mia: "It's because it wasn't the meeting." she said while grabbing a French fry and then popping it in her mouth.

Stephen: "Then what was it?"

Mia: "Oh, come on. You are not that stupid."

Stephen: "I know, but if I'm being honest, I was just—"

Mia: "Hoping it wasn't true." she said, finishing his sentence, as he nodded, "Yeah, you and me both." she continued before taking a gulp of tequila.

Stephen: "If you don't mind me asking, whe—"

Mia: "Nine years. Nine years ago today, actually. It's been a long week, and those pictures on the wall did not make it any easier."

Stephen: "Nine years? That would have made you—"

Mia: "Thirteen."

Stephen: "That is absolutely vile." he started to exclaim with anger across his face, "Who would think— That's the thing they weren't thinking, they were—"

Mia: "Stephen, take a deep breathe and now take a sip of the merlot." she instructed him before adding on with a slight chuckle, "And wish that you had accepted my offer of something even stronger when I offered."

Stephen: "How are you joking about this?"

Mia: "I'm joking about your alcohol choices, not my rape."

Stephen: "But still, you're—"

Mia: "Laughing. Because I don't want to be upset or depressed anymore. I don't want him to have any more power over me like he did nine years ago." she told him as he looked at her softly.

Stephen: "Was it a professor?"

Mia: "No, thank God. I'm not sure I would've gone back to school if it was."

Stephen: "Who then?" he asked as she took a large sip from the bottle in her hands.

Mia: "You remember when I told you about my family."

Stephen: "Shitty mother, absent father."

Mia: "Well, when I was twelve I met his older children. Beth, who was sixteen years older than me, and Liam, who was thirteen years older."

Stephen: "Your brother, he didn't—" he started to ask before getting cut off.

Mia: "Liam, no. His best friend, he did."

Stephen: "Mimi," he softly said before she continued.

Mia: "While I was still talking to them, Beth got pregnant and at the beginning of her third trimester, her and her husband, Cooper, wanted a big bash. So, they went all out. Booked multiple hotel rooms, invited all their family and friends. It was this huge thing, their version of a babymoon."

Stephen: "A what?"

Mia: "A babymoon. It's the equivalent to a honeymoon. Except it happens before the baby gets here. It's supposed to be this last hurrah before the baby comes."

Stephen: "I've never heard of that."

Mia: "Yeah, neither had I. But I was thirteen." she said before taking a drink from the tequila bottle, "Anyways, the night was coming to an end. Beth was tired, so Cooper took her to bed and I told them that I'd clean everything that was left in the hall, that they had rented. Liam was completely trashed, so his mom, Lorraine, took him up. And then... then his friend offered to help me take everything up to my hotel room."

Stephen: "Mia," he said as a few tears threaten to escape the twenty-two year old's blue eyes.

Mia: "Afterwards, I couldn't move and when I was able to, I called Liv. She then got on the first flight to Chicago and got me to a hospital for a rape kit. Then her and Cyrus helped me file charges against him. Olivia knew I was going to wanna see him behind bars. She knew I was gonna want justice. But going after your brother's best friend is not an easy task."

Stephen: "This is why you don't talk to them anymore."

Mia: "This is why they don't take to me anymore."

Stephen: "What?"

Mia: "Liam was pissed, called me a liar, stopped talking to me and managed to convince Beth to do the same."

Stephen: "The jury found his friend guilty, right?"

Mia: "They would have, but he overdosed. Which caused Liam to talk to me one last time before completely cutting me off. He went from calling me a liar to a killer."

Stephen: "That's absurd."

Mia: "Haven't heard from them since. Though, Lorraine did find me about three years later. She wanted to apologize for her children's behavior and give me a letter that my father wrote me on his death bed."

Stephen: "I'm so sorry, Mia. You didn't deserve this. I wish I could have done—"

Mia: "But you did." she told him, as he looked at her confused, "You helped me realize that my family didn't need to be related to me by blood, but for the ones that stuck by me, through thick and thin. And through the years, I've realized that though I share blood with my mom, my father, Beth and Liam, they'll never be as much of a family to me as you, Liv and Cyrus, and Abby, Harrison, Huck and now Quinn are. Stephen, you entered my life after my brother walked away. Then you replaced him and you've done at least a hundred times better, if not more, with the role then he ever did. And I will always be thankful for that."

Stephen: "I will always be here for you, Mimi."

Mia: "I know." she said while putting down the bottle and bringing him into a hug.

~~~~~

posted — November 26th, 2020
reposted — September 29th, 2022

~~~~~