SYBIL POPE'S HOUSE (OAKLAND)

They stood there just looking at each other. Sybil cleared her throat before opening the door fully gesturing him inside. Fitz walks in, looking into the mansion-like house. Taking in the interior with a woman's touch made it look so special. Sybil gestures the agents in also because she knew her dad and August would overact from their outing.

"Martin!" Sybil shouted.

Martin had come from the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am?" Martin asked.

"Can you bring some water with lemon for our guest and the food from today," Sybil said as she looked at Fitz. 

"No, we're fin-" Fitz started.

"No, Martin please," Sybil asked making Martin nod before leaving. 

"You didn't have to do that." Fitz comments.

"I know you, Fitz. You probably didn't eat tonight and you bringing your agents also. Are you trying to burn them out?" Sybil motioned for the agents to sit down in the foyer just five feet away from the living room.

"I'm not burning them out, Sybil," Fitz responds.

"Why are you here, Fitz?" Sybil asked as she and Fitz sat across from each other.

" I didn't kill Amanda Tanner," Fitz told her as Martin came back with drinks and food. Martin sat food and water with lemon and mint in front of him. Sybil motioned him to the two agents that sat away from them, and he nodded. Setting down their food before walking away as Sybil released him for the night.

"I know," Sybil tells him. Fitz looked at the food sitting in front of him. Short rib eye on top of mashed potatoes and green beans with the sauce on top. The water looked just as appetizing as the food, but he thought it was just the liquor talking.

"Really? Do you want me to detail for you how where and in what positions Amanda Tanner and I had sex? Would that help make you feel better? 'Cause I'll do it." Fitz states as Sybil crosses her legs.

"No, I don't want to hear it. Does Mellie know about her like she does me or am I just special?" Sybil wondered.

Sybil could almost smile at his face as the shock rained down on his face.

"What are you talking about, Sybil?" Fitz questioned.

"Eat your food, President Grant," Sybil replies.

"No not unless you tell me how Mellie knows about us." Fitz wondered.

"Can you eat please, or I'll have to feed you. I think you little too old to be fed don't you think." Sybil pointed out.

Fitz rolled his eyes before taking a bite of the now-warm food that was sitting in front of him.

"It was after I broke it off. She cornered me, but I knew that she was there listening in. I'll have to teach her better than that. The words we had for each other-" Sybil whistled a slow tune indicating that it was a lot of words thrown.

"So, she knew this entire time and never said anything." Fitz wondered.

"She did. She's a very understanding woman if you ever listen to her. An amazing friend." Sybil flicks an invisible feather off her knee.

Fitz couldn't believe his ears right now. His mistress and wife were friends- wait what!?!

"Friend? Christ" Fitz huffed.

"Fitz, me, and Mellie have an understanding and in front of others we act oblivious to everything." Sybil comments.

"So, what her understanding is that I am in love with you," Fitz mentioned. It was silence before Tom had to pat Hal back from coughing as they heard the revelation.

"Words and then some. What's your point?" Sybil says before calling out to Hal.

"Are you okay?!" all she got back was a thumbs up.

Fitz could only stare at her.

"Why are you here, President Grant?" Sybil questioned.

"Cyrus got this in the mail a week ago. It's a sex tape. I'm on it. I need you to hear it." Fitz answers finishing eating before drinking the water and pulling out the recorder.

"I don't want to hear you and Amanda Tanner having sex." Sybil made a look of disgust.

"Sybil. I need you to listen to this." Fitz states before pushing the button she dreaded.

GRANT CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS (Flashback)

Sybil walked the hallways of the firm that supported Governor Grant's campaign for president. She wanted to wait for Olivia but just said fuck it. She could hear talking in the auditorium.

"Well, there's no way to sugarcoat it. We got our ass handed to us by Sally Langston in Iowa last night. So, does anyone have any great ideas? Anyone?" Fitz said to the people who helped with his campaign.

"We have to swing farther right. We haven't said a thing about gay marriage, school prayer-" Jeannine suggested before getting cut off.

"Oh, come on. It's not our stance on the issues. We are not getting our message out there. People don't know where I stand. The problem is-- Fitz huffs before getting cut off as footsteps walk into the room, showing a girl neither he nor Cyrus has seen before. 

"Your marriage. It looks like you don't screw your wife Which would be fine, except that family values matter to Republicans. It's why they vote for who they vote for. And since Sally's got Jesus firmly on her side, that just leaves the family. Marriage. And yours, whatever the truth may be from the outside, it looks cold, distant, dead. Where is your wife, by the way? People want to like who they're voting for. Voters thought Al Gore was a big stiff until he stuck his tongue down Tipper's throat. They put George W. in office because he and Laura seemed like a fun couple to have a beer with. People have to want to invite you in for dinner; and right now, you and your wife are standing in their doorway, not looking at each other, letting in the cold air. That's why you lost Iowa. It's why you'll lose New Hampshire." Sybil states as she stands staring at him, who has caught her interest.

"And you are?" He and Cyrus questioned.

"Sybil Pope. I was waiting for Olivia who was parking the car and then I heard your conversation and hear I am. " Sybil says with a head tilt. Other footsteps were heard before Olivia made her appearance.

"Sybil, I told you to wait." Olivia started as she walked in.

"Well, I couldn't. You know how I am. Nosy for my good." Sybil smiles at Olivia before she and Fitz seem to stare at each other.

"I'm so sorry for her. She wanted to come. She'll be on her best behavior." Olivia apologized. 

"Right," Sybil says but the damage was already done.

Cyrus and Fitz were talking in the hallway as Sybil secretly watched the flowers on the stand while listening.

" Fire her," Fitz tells Cyrus as he sides-eyed Sybil as she stares at the flowers.

"It's one mishap. Olivia is a pistol. We have to deal with the girl while she is here. So, what? Lives for her work, a political nun, best student I ever had." Cyrus shook his head no.

He wouldn't let Sybil, Olivia's cousin ruin Olivia's opportunity to help them win. He'll have to stick it out and Fitz too. He just wouldn't know that it would be the best rollercoaster they had ever been on.

"Fire her," Fitz repeated.

"'Cause her cousin said what every staffer on your campaign was afraid to say?" Cyrus called out.

"Just get rid of her." Fitz started again before they were cut off by Sybil.

"Olivia will have our hotel room for the campaign. Don't worry. I haven't had a chance to raid the hotel minibar. We'll be rooting for you governor." Sybil states before turning to Cyrus.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Beene," Sybil said before walking off her hips swaying as she did.

"Let's be clear about something. I run a sausage factory." Cyrus states as they watch Olivia's cousin walk away where she will tell Olivia the outcome.

"Which makes me ... sausage?" Fitz sarcastically says.

"Handsome, highly qualified, smart, idealistic, and energetic sausage. The stump, the electrifying speeches, the baby kissing that's all you. The nitty-gritty, morally bankrupt, back-alley-brawling rest of the game, that's me. It's filthy and thankless, and it's my hallelujah, heroin, and reason to breathe. And you, you don't have half the stomach for it, so you go, and you make nice with Olivia's cousin. So, we can get Olivia on board, or you can find another sausage maker." Cyrus suggests making Fitz walk away to catch up with the girl.

"Ms. Pope? Ms. Pope, wait." Fitz calls out to her. Sybil stops to look at him.

"I, I apologize for firing your cousin." Fitz apologized.

"I'm the wrong one to be apologizing to. You have to apologize to her not me." Sybil crossed her arms.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Fitz said.

"Why?" Another voice cut into the conversation. Olivia now standing next to her cousin.

"Why do I apologize?" Fitz asked.

"Why did you fire me? I had a job, a paying job, from which I took a leave of absence to do a favor for my friend Cyrus because I was good. I am brilliant. I would eat, breathe, and live Fitzgerald Grant every minute of every day. You would be lucky to have me. Just because you don't like hearing the truth about yourself-" Olivia started.

"I loved hearing what your cousin had to say. I agree with every word. Very astute. And she's right. I would be lucky to have you, you both. Look ..." Fitz comments as he sends a look over to Sybil who now leans against the wall as she watches them talk.

"This is why you fired me .." Olivia says as she sees the small looks that were being thrown at Sybil.

"Can we just...?" Fitz started.

"Go back in there and work." Sybil finished.

"Okay." Three of them said but she wouldn't be helping a lot only if she had to. 

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN PANCAKE BREAKFAST / Sybil POPE'S HOUSE (OAKLAND)

The next day was the presidential campaign pancake breakfast. Olivia had dragged her out of bed early that morning so that they would be there to help. Sybil sat at a picnic table eating some pancakes, not caring for the world. Olivia stood close as she shuffled with papers, looking at them. Sybil looks at Fitz as she eats as he charms everyone. 

" Oh, it's perfect to meet you. Yeah, thank you for having us." Fitz told someone before walking over to Sally, greeting and hugging her.

"How are you, Sally? Hi."

She'll give him that he has potential. Her phone rang, making her sit her pancakes down as she reached into her purse to get her phone.

"Hello." Sybil smiled before she heard her sister's voice.

"You won't believe who asked me on a date," Veronica told her.

"Who? Is it someone I know?" Sybil asked into the phone.

"No. Laroy, he's in a business on Daddy's side." Veronica answered making Sybil's mood go sour.

"V, no. Does Dad even know?" Sybil responded.

"No. at least not yet." Veronica walks down the stairs in the house as she whispers good morning to Martin and Sylvie. 

"I want you to be careful alright? Your decisions sometimes scare me." Sybil says.

"I will, sometimes you act just like Dad. Like I don't know about you and August's friends-with-benefits situation." Veronica smartly said as Martin gave her a Keto-friendly breakfast.

"Hey, I'm the oldest. Smart ass." Sybil says before laughing.

" I'm just saying B, I'm starting to like him," Veronica said into the phone.

"Just for me be careful. I'm a one-call away. If I have to shut that ya'know what down. I will" Sybil vaguely said because of the people she was around.

"Okay," Veronica states.

"Okay. Give kisses to Dad and August for me and I love you." Sybil laughs.

"Okay. Love you too. bye," Veronica replies.

"Bye." Sybil hung up the phone.

Olivia came to stand by Sybil, who just got off the phone.

"Veronica," Olivia stated.

"Abby," Sybil responded.

"Yep." They both cued before they watched Fitz as Cyrus walked over.

"Ooh, he's good, our boy. You'd never know he's dying to rip Langston's throat out." Cyrus says eating.

"If only he were that good at faking it with his wife we wouldn't be losing," Sybil says as she eats a pancake.

Olivia and Cyrus looked at her as she ate. Sybil would sometimes cue in on some conversations as she merely was just a bystander as everything happened. Cyrus had noticed that she was smart just like Olivia and seemed to have a knack for politics as well. Another voice cue on their conversation.

"Schedule of events?" The voice stated.

Everyone turned to look at the girl.

"Thanks," Olivia said as she was handed one.

"What's your name?" Cyrus questioned as he got one.

"Amanda," Amanda says with a small smile.

"Thanks, Amanda. I don't care which campaign you're volunteering for; I want to thank you for coming out today." Cyrus spoke as he was handed one.

Amanda went to hand Sybil one, but Sybil declined it.

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STOP

Sybil sat cross-legged as Olivia and Cyrus explained that they stopping days of campaigning. Sybil stared amused as the back in forth went on.

"You canceled all our events for the next two days?"- Mellie

"Yes." -Olivia

"The primaries are in less than a week. We can't miss two days of campaigning."- Fitz

"New Hampshire's a small state."-Cyrus 

"I have a literacy fund-raiser in Nashua tomorrow. I can't possibly cancel that."- Mellie

"That's why I canceled it for you."- Olivia

"Maybe I'm dense, but I have to confess, I don't know what you want from us."- Mellie

"First off, I'd like you to talk to each other." - Olivia 

"Oh, good luck with that". Sybil cued in as the attention was now on her.

" We talk all the time, Ms. Pope," Mellie stated looking at Sybil. Sybil looked at her.

"Not to each other, you don't. At house parties, town hall meetings, and baseball games you barely look at each other. And I know because I've been watching, and everyone can tell. You two are a unit. They need to see you as such. A wife that's going to be there and be the first lady that children and women need. And a president that will get the job done and be there for his people." Sybil explained. Fitz and Mellie could only just stare at her. Olivia smiled at her cousin as she captivated the two. Cyrus starting to like this girl.

"Fine. We will add a couple of events to the schedule where we are together." Mellie looked at Fitz as she thought it over.

"That won't do it. You two need to be a couple. A believable, loving, dedicated couple, just like Sybil said. Or you might as we throw it in right now. Why don't we give you two a moment?" Olivia tells them before Sybil and Cyrus follow her out the door. The last face they saw was Sybil as she shut the door.

Sybil stood by the door as they listened to the two yells at each other. Sybil was glad that her father and mother's relationship wasn't like this. 

" This is why they don't talk to each other." Cyrus sighs.

"It's good they are getting it out. Communication is key. " Sybil states as the door opens showing two aides before Olivia and Cyrus send them away.

As they heard the last sentence.

"Fine! Then if living on Pennsylvania Avenue is that important to you, we better suck it up and start acting like this isn't a dead marriage!" - Fitz

OUTSIDE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STOP

Sybil stood with Cyrus and Olivia as they watched the reporter question Fitz.

"Governor, you're 5 points down in New Hampshire. Taking time out from the primary for a parent-teacher conference isn't that a little risky?"- James

"If it's a choice between losing touch with your family and losing a primary. That's not a choice, is it?"- Fitz 

Sybil and Olivia smiled at each other before nodding. Fitz saw the scene looking at Sybil as she turned to face him she nodded at him, and he subtly nodded at her back.

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY PREPARATION

Sybil had walked in as Olivia called her name. Her boots heels thudded.

"I have the ties, I just got anyone that looked nice," Sybil says as she walks near them, looking as stylish as she always did. Fitz could only stare at her. They both were attractive women, but Sybil caught his eye the most.

"Okay, thank you. You're a lifesaver." Olivia said before she chose a tie better for him. Choosing the red tie, Cyrus had called out for Olivia, who handed the tie to her cousin.

"B, can you help him with his tie please thank you," Olivia says before going to see Cyrus. 

Sybil walked close as she put the tie around him as she did the loops. 

"You decide who you're voting for?" Fitz asked her.

"I don't vote. It's a family tradition that my father started." Sybil states with a smile. Her dad would never let them vote because he knew that he could always add them to his pockets. Her father believed that money made the world go round, and anyone would do anything for more. So, they never voted.

" Interesting tradition. Maybe I can be your first voting candidate." Fitz told her. Sybil creased out the tie as she was done before responding.

"We'll see." with another smile.

INTERVIEW WITH FITZ & MELLIE

Sybil, Olivia, and Cyrus watched from the sidelines as Mellie and Fitz did their interview. They sat close but they still were not touching. Cyrus had whispered to them that they were doing not bad before Olivia said what they both were thinking.

"But they still aren't touching," Olivia stated.

GRANT CAMPAIGN ICE CREAM SOCIAL

It was the social ice cream, as Fitz and Mellie gave ice cream to children as reporters took pictures of them as they talked.

"One more. There you go. One more." Fitz said as he gave the two children some ice cream.

"Very good job." Mellie complimented.

Sybil smiled.

"That's great," Olivia whispered where she, Sybil, and Cyrus could hear.

"It's your turn. It's your turn, Fitz." Mellie says as she wants to give him some ice cream.

" Okay, it's my turn. Mm-hmm. Delicious!" Fitz says as he wipes off the ice cream from his lip but misses his chin.

"Oh, wipe it off ... Wipe it off," Olivia whispered.

"Come on, Mellie. We work on this." Sybil muttered as Cyrus and Olivia whispered.

" Wipe it off."

"Wipe it. Wipe it off. Wipe it off, Mellie. Come on." 

"Come on."

But they didn't see Sybil motion with her hand to her chin as Mellie now saw what she was talking about.

"Oh honey, let me get that for you," Mellie said as she wiped it off using her finger, making Fitz kiss her.

"Oh. Thank you." Fitz smiled.

They could only whisper cheer in the back.

"Perfect," Olivia says with a smile.

"Ice cream, anyone?" Mellie said with a big smile. Sybil threw her a thumbs up.

GRANT CAMPAIGN STOP (NEW HAMPSHIRE)

Sybil stood as she and other aides listened to Fitz's speech.

"I'm a little superstitious, so we're not going to have any victory speeches until tomorrow night after everyone's voted. But for now, I just really want to say thank you. Okay? Thanks. It's all you guys." Fitz told them before they broke off to do their own thing. Fitz walked to Sybil, who turned to look at him.

"Sybil Pope. I don't know how you and Olivia do it." Fitz stated.

"No governor it's all Olivia and of course you and Mellie too. You two seem to be doing much better." Sybil smiled at him.

"I think you underestimate how good a politician I am," Fitz says before Cyrus and Olivia come in.

"Livvy, what's up?" Sybil questioned Olivia.

"We're not going to win New Hampshire," Olivia stated to them.

"What?" Sybil wondered.

"What are you talking about? The polls have us up by" Fitz started.

" Story's coming out in the morning paper, 6:00 A.M. They'll be reading about it over their damn coffee, right before they vote." Cyrus cut in.

"What story? What's coming out?" Sybil asked before Olivia and Cyrus looked at each other.

"Mellie's having an affair."

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