05x13 - The Fish Rots From the Head

[bunniefuu]

[Camera shutter clicking]

Liv.

Okay. What do you think?

You went with Cover "B."

Well, Cover "A" made me look frigid.

Cover "B"...

There's got to be some warm blood flowing behind those eyes, wouldn't you say?

Looks good.

[Chuckles]

I'm guessing you didn't call me here to talk cover art.

Susan Ross.

So what's our move?

Mellie, we talked about this.

Officially, I do not work for you.

I cannot work for you. The optics alone...

Then, unofficially.

What's my move?

You need Fitz.

Fitz?

If Fitz gives his support to Susan...

If he endorses Susan...

In what world is there any "if" in that scenario?

Fitz has a legacy to protect.

Of course he's gonna throw his support behind his Vice President.

Why wouldn't he?

Because his ex-wife is running, too.

He will never endorse me.

He doesn't have to endorse you.

He just can't endorse Susan.

Your move is going to Fitz and convincing him to remain neutral in the primaries.

He needs to sit this one out so that you can have the same access to donor money and the same attention from party leadership that Susan will have.

And... trust me... She will have plenty of it.

Fitz's best pick for president is no pick.

[Cheers and applause]

[Bill Withers' "Use Me" plays]

♪ My friends ♪

Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for coming.

Abby: From time to time...

♪ Feel it's their appointed duty ♪

.. a pick will be made.

♪ They keep trying to tell me ♪

We refer to the picks only as "guests."

I'll answer that question, Linda, if you'll admit that it was really three questions in one.

[Laughter]

Abby: It is of the utmost importance that we treat these guests with both respect... and a strict, unyielding protocol.

♪ Ah, ah ♪
♪ Yeah, to all that use me stuff ♪

Upon entry to the Residence, cellphones and cameras must be removed and stored.

♪ Is that I wanna spread the news ♪
♪ That if it feels this good... ♪

A non-disclosure agreement will be signed prior to entry...

♪ Oh, you just keep on using me ♪
♪ But, oh, baby ♪

.. and personal items will be returned only when the visit is over... at which point, the guest will be escorted off the premises, via the service elevator.

Everything needs to run like clockwork.

Are we clear?

Crystal, ma'am.

That's great to hear, Sam.

[Elevator bell dings]

♪ Oh, you just keep on using me ♪

Hi, there.

I'm Abby Whelan, and I'm just gonna need a couple of things before you go in.

♪ Till you use me up ♪

[Camera shutter clicking]

You ready?

Well, this is the easy part.

What if he doesn't want to?

What?

Go on TV?

Who doesn't want to be on TV?

Frankie: You're not worried about being seen here with a Democrat?

You're not a Democrat.

I am a Democrat.

[Chuckles] You're an American hero.

You transcend politics.

So that's why we're here together?

Oh, Governor.

Madam Vice President.

[Laughs] No. Call me your biggest fan.

Oh.

Now, when are you coming on "The Liberty Report"?

Well, I...

The Lovers of Liberty want to hear from you, Governor.

[Clears throat] The man who sh*t you was a Lover of Liberty, Governor.

Well, I didn't see you there, little Cyrus Beene.

Please tell me you'll come on my show.

I will if I can.

I look forward to it very much.

Yes.

I'm not going on her show.

No?

She's crazy.

She's got 15 million viewers.

15 million crazy viewers.

Who vote.

Against people like me.

No one believes more strongly that the success of Sally Langston is a harbinger of cosmic doom.

But I do think you ought to seriously consider going on her show.

I'm not doing any media.

No media?

I need to get back home to get my education bill through before the end of the term.

I shouldn't be here right now.

Talk about your education bill on the shows.

You have a platform now.

People d*ed in the Capitol that day.

I was sh*t.

I don't want to use that experience as a platform for my education bill or anything else.

It's unseemly.

It's politics.

Why are we here together?

What is it that you want?

You have an opportunity here to rise above a terrible tragedy and make a mark... to say something.

I may not agree with what you want to say, but I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job as a public servant if I didn't try to help you say it.

At least come back to the White House.

I'll get you a meeting with the President to talk about the education bill.

It can't hurt to have an ally in Washington.

[Camera shutter clicking]

Do you have a minute?

Not really.

[Sighs]

What's going on?

I just got a call.

Some of the Secret Service guys are having a party at a hotel tonight.

I guess it got a little out of hand.

How out of hand are we talking?

[Sighs] Which room is it?

1522. Suite at the end of the hall.

The Secret Service screwed up?

Shh. Not so loud.

So we're working for the White House?

Yes.

Even though Olivia dumped the President?

No, the President didn't call. Abby called.

Huge difference.

Also, you walk too close to people.

That's only because you're making me whisper.

[Sighs]

Letty, I think you're due for an extra long break, don't you?

Gentlemen, I'm Olivia Pope. These are my associates.

Can you tell us what happened?

I'm not sure where to start.

The four of us got the room for the night, and, uh, things got a little out of control.

In what way?

I can't believe Megan's dead.

I need a cigarette, like, right now.

Dead? Who's dead?

[Camera shutter clicking]

Ugh.

A little out of control?

Promised the guys a party. It's a campaign year.

So pretty soon, everybody's gonna be working around the clock.

Figured this would be our last chance to cut loose.

Quinn: Boss of the Year.

So, what happened?

So, they were both dancing.

And all of a sudden, this one decides...

"This one"? She has a name.

She said it's Fantasia.

But we're gonna venture that Fantasia isn't your given name.

I'm Erin.

She's Megan.

Was Megan.

So Megan falls, hits her head on the table.

No one thought to call 911?

We tried CPR, but, honestly, I think she was dead before she dropped.

She was pretty messed up when she got here...

Slurring, glassy eyes.

Huck: Glass shards from the coffee table, so that checks out.

And see here?

Track marks. More than a few.

Erin, did Megan have a drug problem?

She promised she was gonna quit.

What those gentlemen described, is that what happened?

Yes.

This can't get out.

For the President's sake.

How noble.

So what do we do?

Uh...

Okay, uh, the four of you... out.

Go to the Peabody Pub on 10th.

Sit in Molly's section.

I'll make sure she says you were there all night.

[Snaps] Go!

Erin, you can leave, too, because you were never here.

Okay?

I understand.

Marcus, you and I will scrub her cellphone and wipe down every inch of the place.

Huck, get rid of anything digital that can connect the agents with the two women...

Hotel camera feeds, the reservations database.

We're really gonna cover this up?

It was an accident, and she was a hooker, so yes.

♪ We want to the funk ♪

In the morning, housekeeping finds a prost*tute...

♪ Give up the funk ♪

.. who overdosed.

What they don't find is anyone else's DNA, any evidence, or anything suspicious.

♪ We want the funk ♪
♪ Give up the funk ♪
♪ Ow, we need the funk ♪

Bellhops, door guys, reception... anyone who could've seen the agents come up to the room gets paid.

♪ You've got a real type of thing goin' down, gettin' down ♪

Those agents, they're more upset with the idea of getting caught than that poor woman dying.

Makes you a little concerned for the President's safety, right?

They make a mess, and we just clean it up?

Doesn't sit right.

Okay, when are we gonna stop hearing from Reverend Marcus?

It's a job.

Sometimes you get to save the day.

Sometimes...

♪ Ow, we need the funk ♪

.. you do this.

♪ We gotta have the funk ♪
♪ Ow, we want the funk ♪

[Sighs]

♪ Give up the funk ♪
♪ Ow, we need the funk ♪
♪ You gotta have the funk ♪

[Footsteps approaching]

Hi.

Oh, wow. She's...

Olivia: Her name's Vanessa Moss.

She's a lawyer at Martin, Brown, Roberts.

Human rights, all pro-Bono.

Rhodes Scholar, debutante, top of her class at Cornell Law.

Does she rescue puppies and orphans in her spare time?

Probably.

It's their ninth date in the last four weeks.

I just can't figure out what the angle is.

Look at her. We both know what the angle is.

It can't be that obvious.

Liv, this? With the car and the spying and the deep background?

Not healthy.

Oh. How's it going with the Secret Service?

You mean, beyond the fact that I had to cover up a dead hooker who O.D.'d on their watch?

Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.

All my guy said was that it was a party that got out of hand.

Is this gonna be a problem for the President?

I have the team on it.

Good. Because if it ever got out...

Oh, if you knew what I've been dealing with...

He's spinning. He's spinning, and I don't know what to do.

Liv, are you listening to me?

What are you up to?

He's on a date!

He k*lled someone to get that job at the NSA, Abby.

This isn't a date. He's up to something.

[Camera shutter clicking]

The party's endorsement is great, but what you need is the President's support.

Oh.

I wasn't planning on asking him for anything.

You have to.

If he doesn't endorse you, it looks like he doesn't think you can do the job.

And if he doesn't think you can do the job, the American people won't think you can do it, either.

When I decided to run for president, I promised myself I wouldn't compromise my values to get ahead.

You don't have to compromise anything.

All you have to do is shake his hand on a stage somewhere.

I see the women Abby Whelan is sneaking into the White House.

He's going through a phase.

And I'm a female candidate for President.

Eventually, that b*mb's gonna go off, and I can't afford to be anywhere near it.

I mean... once a cheater, always a cheater, right?

Elizabeth: What do you mean she won't do it?

I thought we had a system, Rosen.

You give her what she wants, so she gives me what I want.

We need the President's endorsement or else we're dead before we're even out of the gate!

I can talk to her again.

[Sighs] Don't bother. I'll figure it out myself.

I've got 26 minutes.

Take off your pants.

I thought I'm in trouble.

You are.

That's why I want you to take... off... your pants.

[Camera shutter clicking]

You need to make five minutes for Frankie Vargas before lunch.

The governor who took out that lunatic in Harrisburg?

Mm.

He's back in town?

[Chuckles] Flavor of the week.

Somebody's obviously in his ear, telling him to milk his selfless act of heroism for all the political capital he can muster.

What does he want? I already gave him his photo op.

Mm. It's his education plan, sir.

I already have an education plan.

Yes, you do... a very rational, prudent education plan.

Can't you take care of this, Cyrus?

No. But you can.

You're the only one who can offer Vargas the stiff sh*t of political reality he needs right now.

Tell him you don't need the distraction, because you're focused on one education plan and one education plan only... Your own.

Three minutes.

Smart thinking, sir.

Mr. President.

Welcome back, Governor.

How are you enjoying Washington?

All people talk about are politics and cherry blossoms.

But my Eagles are playing your Redskins this weekend.

I don't have much time to follow football.

Shall we sit?

First of all, I wanted to thank you for seeing me.

[Sighs]

I'm here to talk about...

Your entitlement program.

Is that what it is?

It's not an education plan, that's for sure.

He can be...

A jerk.

I was going to say "stubborn."

It's this place, the office... It can change you if you let it.

You didn't meet the man I voted for.

Screw it. This bill is good.

It's what the people want.

You think I can still get on Sally Langston?

I think I can make that happen.

[Camera shutter clicking]

[Keys clacking]

I think she's bored.

What?

Olivia... I think she's bored.

With the job, with her life.

And not just a little bored... A lot bored.

I mean, did you see her in that hotel suite?

She couldn't wait to get out of there.

Yeah, there was a dead body.

She doesn't like dead bodies. She's not like us.

No, the woman lived in the White House.

She got to run the country, and now she's back to stepping over dead hookers in a hotel room.

And spying on Jake.

What?

She's tracking him.

Why?

Because he's being... shady.

He's not.

No, it's not Jake, Huck.

It's the White House.

She misses the White House.

Yeah, she misses a lot of things.

What if Megan didn't just O.D. and hit her head?

[Sighs] The job's done.

There's no point in second-guessing now.

But what if those agents lied?

What if something else happened in that hotel room?

What are you talking about?

When I went to wipe the data on Megan's cell, someone had beaten me to it.

Everything was deleted.

Not just on her phone, her cloud, too.

Marcus, we're fixers, not detectives.

We don't solve crimes.

We make our clients' problems go away.

Who deleted it?

I don't know.

But I'd like to find out.

Don't encourage him.

[g*nsh*t]

Those now familiar images of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, still shocking, still haunting even days later.

What a brave man you are.

Yes, well, it's easy to be brave when you don't have a choice.

I was scared, Sally.

I just reacted like anyone else would.

Not anyone.

You had your Special Forces background to fall back on.

I wish I could say that made me less afraid.

But you know what scares me even more, though, Sally?

The future.

We can keep spending taxpayer money on welfare for the least educated amongst us, generation after generation, or we can place a bet on this generation of Americans. Saying, look, we'll pay for college, and you'll pay us back tenfold by creating jobs, by becoming innovators, global competitors.

Told you he's good.

What's wrong with survival of the fittest? Easy for the President to say when daddy greased the wheels and made whatever contributions necessary to get him into all the best schools.

Touché. And spoken like a true candidate.

No, Sally.

That's not what I'm after here.

Yes. Yes, it is.

With your newfound popularity, you'd be a fool not to consider testing the waters.

Then call me a fool.

No chance you'll run?

Zero. None.

I have too much work to do back home in Pennsylvania.

I really like this guy.

Shut up.

[Sighs]

[Cellphone beeps]

Tom, did you just see that?

Something isn't right.

You need to find out why he doesn't want to run... now.

[Cellphone beeps]

Who's Tom?

What are you doing?

Working on Ella's braids.

Got the twist-top pony down, but I'm having trouble with my milkmaid.

You want to give it a whirl?

[Camera shutter clicking]

You see Vargas on Sally?

Insulting the President's education bill?

Everybody saw it.

Blood's in the water now, right?

Susan's sharpening her teeth?

I'm busy.

What are you rambling about?

Oh.

"Oh" what?

No, nothing. I just would've thought...

But I get it.

You're going the whole hairy-armpit feminist route...

[Scoffs]

Susan doesn't want the President's endorsement.

Smart.

Well-played.

Mm.

Sir, we need to stop Frankie Vargas in his tracks.

Frankie Vargas? Again?

I get it, he's a hero, blah blah blah, but we need to shut him down before he gets momentum, before he starts making the administration look cruel and out of touch.

This education thing?

We can fix it. We put Susan on Sally's show.

Dismantle his stupid plan piece by piece.

It'll just draw more attention to it, extend his 15 minutes.

She's a loyal soldier. She could tear into him.

Put this whole thing to bed.

Make it so.

[Camera shutter clicking]

I got it.

Got what?

[Door closes]

The autopsy report.

Wait. You have the autopsy report?

Wait. Why?

Because I want to know what it said.

[Scoffs]

Do you want to know what it says?

Megan's death wasn't an accident.

She was m*rder*d.

Liv, I told him our job is not to...

Just look at the report.

The blunt-force trauma to her head happened before the dr*gs entered her system.

That doesn't make sense.

Well, it does if they were trying to cover up what they had already done to her.

Listen, I know. This isn't our job.

But I also know what's right.

And I think you do, too.

What's right is that our clients trust us to fix their problems and not investigate them as potential suspects.

You need to let this go.

[Camera shutter clicking]

Fitz?

Where's daddy?

[Gasps] Oh, here we go.

Go find daddy.

Go find daddy. Ready? Oh!

There he is!

Come here, you!

[Laughs]

Didn't expect you guys till Friday.

I know! I'm sorry.

Teddy was missing you, and if it's a problem, then I can...

It's no problem at all. What do you say, Ted?

Should we make it a movie night?

Oh, I didn't pack any DVDs. I should've thought...

We'll be fine. Say goodbye to mommy.

Bye, mommy.

Bye, pumpkin.

Mwah! Mwah! Mwah, Mwah, Mwah, Mwah, Mwah!

[Chuckles]

Mwah!

Here.

Fitz, do you have a few minutes?

Right now?

There was something I was hoping we could discuss.

Fitz?

[Chuckles]

Senator Grant...

Uh, Lisa.

From Treasury?

Am I right?

Give us a minute, Lisa.

[Door closes]

Mellie...

Put him down.

What?

Put... him... down.

Mwah!

Aha.

[Grunts]

Okay.

Aww.

Aw.

Screw as many whores as you want, Fitz.

I wouldn't expect anything less.

But you sure as hell better keep them away from my children.

Come on, pumpkin.

A bathrobe?

Yes! And she was just reeking of sex.

I mean, I had to tell poor Teddy she had spilled something on herself, which, come to think of it, she probably did.

Uh...

Apparently, this is his thing now.

He sees a woman, nods to one of his agents, and the next thing you know, she is in the Residence with His Hornyship slobbering all over her.

And no one finds out about it because the Secret Service...

America's Secret Service... The one we pay for with our tax dollars... Covers it up.

This isn't making you jealous, is it?

What? No.

I mean, I'm used to him being a cad.

It's the last six years of my life.

I'm immune to it.

But considering it used to be you wearing the bathrobe...

The point is, this is not a man whose endorsement we need.

Yes, he's being discreet...

Everyone!

The dead escort.

You thought it might not be an accident?

That's right.

See if you can get more proof that it wasn't.

What about our loyalty to the client?

Just do it, Quinn.

[Camera shutter clicking]

I know what a promise is, Elizabeth.

I'm saying it wasn't yours to make.

David!

Hi!

David's here.

You're just in time to settle a quarrel.

How lucky.

Come. Sit.

Nice flowers.

So what's the quarrel?

The quarrel is that Elizabeth booked me on "The Liberty Report" without my permission.

Governor Vargas is making a mockery of the President's education bill.

He needs someone to defend him.

The President's education bill stinks.

That doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter? Elizabeth!

What matters is that you're running for president, and without President Grant's support...

I told you, I don't want his support.

He is the leader of your party, Susan.

Without it, you'll lose the election.

Tell her.

Well, it's tricky.

You both have such wonderful arguments.

Before I offer my opinion, though, maybe I should just put these in water.

Sit.

What do you think, David?

Sally: Lovers of Liberty, I bring you the Vice-President of the United States and Republican presidential hopeful, Susan Ross.

Glad to be here, Sally.

Let's just cut through the hay and talk horses.

Francisco Luis Vargas... doesn't that just roll off the tongue?

Ma'am, if you could just take one step back from the monitor...

I will literally m*rder you.

What say you?

The Governor's education plan... is a dud.

The bottom line... It does more harm than good.

There's no way to cover free college education in this country without raising everyone's taxes by a lot.

Thank you for being here.

Up next, are your hard-earned tax dollars going to educate our youth in the ways of Satan?

Woman: And we're clear.

[Indistinct talking]

[Camera shutter clicking]

[Both breathing heavily]

[Laughs]

Sorry.

What?

Nothing.

It's just, one minute, I'm writing a fluff piece on the White House pastry chef, and the next, I'm... with the President of the United States.

Look, I should probably...

Right.

Running the country.

Oh.

While I'm putting my journalist clothes back on, can I get you to comment on the rumors?

What rumors?

The ones about Olivia Pope secretly running your ex-wife's campaign.

Some courier reached out to my editor, said he picked up a copy of Mrs. Grant's memoir from Olivia Pope's apartment last month.

Saw them sitting in there like two old besties.

No comment?

[Camera shutter clicking]

It's Frankie's daughter.

What about his daughter?

She's sick.

What do you mean "sick"?

She has the flu? What kind of sick?

She has cancer, Cyrus.

He doesn't want anyone to know while she's getting treatment.

He goes to the hospital as often as he can.

This man is not going to run for president.

His daughter's dying.

[Camera shutter clicking]

I want to go back on Sally.

That's not a good idea.

You were encouraging me to do media.

I made a mistake.

You're better off staying at home, keeping your head down, doing what you can do at a local level, taking care of your family.

That's the life I think you want, and that's a noble life.

That's not the life you chose.

[Clears throat]

It wasn't really my choice.

When I was 17... my little brother, Oliver, was hit by a drunk driver on his way home from school.

The car threw him 37 feet across the street, and he landed on his head.

The impact crushed his first and second vertebrae.

He stopped breathing for...

[breathes deeply]...

3 minutes and 47 seconds.

I knew this because I was standing next to him when he was hit.

He was paralyzed from the neck down.

I had recently been accepted at Harvard...

First kid in my family to go to college...

But I decided to enroll at Sauk Valley Community College instead, because I could live at home and help my mother take care of Oliver.

This was my family, and they came first.

When I went that Spring to register at Sauk Valley, they looked confused.

They told me that I had declined admission weeks ago and there was no space for me anymore.

And when I got home that afternoon, there was a package in the mail from Harvard...

A welcome packet.

I knew it was Oliver.

He said that he couldn't let me stay there at home.

He said... that I had too much to offer, too much life to live.

He said that I could... be President one day.

I've tried to honor him in my life by choosing to believe that he was right, that sometimes, some of us have a calling to do something beyond ourselves, beyond our friends, even our families.

That's why I've... done this.

That's why I've given everything to this.

[Camera shutter clicking]

[Gasps]

What are you doing here?

Giving you what you want.

Giving me what I want?

Well, you've been following me, right?

Keeping tabs on me?

I'm the head of the NSA.

You don't get to keep tabs on me unless I allow you to.

I'm only gonna ask you this one more time before I call the cops... Why are you here?

For the same reason you keep following me.

I'm not doing this.

I'm not playing whatever game you and my father want me to play.

What do you think of her?

Huh?

You saw her... my girlfriend. You were watching me.

I just hope you're happy.

Her name's Vanessa.

Okay.

She's gorgeous, right?

And smart...

You can stop now.

Independent, ridiculous pedigree.

She's a descendant of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson or whoever.

She's perfect.

But she's not you.

Of course, no one will ever do for you what I can do for you.

What are you doing?

You know what I'm doing.

[Inhales sharply]

All you have to do is say the word.

All you have to do is fight how good this feels, fight everything your body is saying to you and tell me to stop... and I will.

[Gasps, moans passionately]

That look on your face right now...

Oh.

That is why I'm here.

[Moaning continues, breathing heavily]

I... need... you.

Oh. Stop.

Oh.

What are you up to, Jake?

Goodbye, Liv.

[Camera shutter clicking]

So, is it gonna be the both of you?

If so, I'll take you first.

But no pics or videos, and if you want to go half and half, it's full price for both.

But I don't charge to watch while you wait your turn.

Hey, we'll pay you for your time, but we didn't ask you here for your... services.

We need to know what happened the other night in that hotel suite with those agents.

I already told you.

No, you told us what they paid you to tell us.

We're asking what really happened.

I thought you guys weren't cops.

We're not. We just have some questions.

Well, I don't have answers.

I'll do a lot for money, but snitching isn't on the menu.

You know, she didn't die right away.

Excuse me?

Megan.

After she bumped her head, she was still alive.

If one of those agents had just made a call to 911, they would've saved her life.

Those are the men you're protecting, Erin.

Now, what really happened that night?

[Camera shutter clicking]

And when those agents wouldn't pay her, they got into a fight.

She fell, hit her head, and then they pumped her body with twice the amount of heroin it would've taken to k*ll her because they had to cover it up.

She was alive, and those men let her die, Abby.

The United States Secret Service.

These guys are supposed to be protecting the President, but I guess when the President is just using you to facilitate his sexual escapades, maybe you lose all sense of right and wrong.

We need to talk to David.

These agents are your clients, Liv.

They k*lled her!

You're not...

That's the way it was when I worked at OPA.

You fix problems for your clients.

You don't create them.

[Scoffs]

They're not my clients.

You're my client.

You hired me.

So what do you want to do about it?

He'll be here in just a moment, ma'am.

[Sighs]

[Sighs]

[Sighs]

[Door closes]

It's good to see you.

You too.

You look well.

So do you.

I am... well.

Good.

So am I.

"It's good to see you"? [Chuckles]

[Chuckles] What'd you want me to say?

I don't know.

Should I have gone with "hi"?

Hi.

[Sighs]

So...

You have something important to discuss?

I do.

Members of your Secret Service detail were involved in the death of Megan Matthews, a prost*tute whose body was found at the Dorsey Hotel a couple nights ago.

My God.

Your agents...

They let her die, Fitz.

Why didn't anybody tell me about this?

Why didn't Abby tell me...

Abby's been busy handling other things.

Oh, don't go there.

Then don't blame Abby.

She's just doing what you told her to do...

Keeping a lid on your... transgressions, which, I hear, is not an easy task these days.

[Chuckles]

So that's what this is really about.

My transgressions.

Is that what you and Mellie are calling them?

The two of you are spending time together now, right?

Are you working for her?

That's none of your business.

But what goes on in my bedroom is yours?

I didn't say it was.

This...

This is not why I came.

Right.

You came here to tell me about the Secret Service.

Thanks for the heads-up.

I can make it go away, but if I do that, then, Fitz, you're going to have to...

Do not tell me what I have to do.

You don't get to do that anymore.

The fish rots from the head.

What?

Your boys in the Secret Service, they're taking their cues from you because you're the head of the fish...

Reckless, negligent, selfish.

You're letting things get out of hand, and your boys are following.

What kind of example are you setting for the people who work for you, for the country, for your son?

He looked up and saw his dad with some woman he didn't know, some woman in a bathrobe.

What is that?

A Grant family tradition?

You basically saw your own father do the same thing, right?

Is that who you are now?

Are you your father now?

Are you Big Jerry now?

I don't care what you do in your spare time.

I really don't.

But you... you better think, and you better ask yourself, is this really who you want to be?

Good to see you, Fitz.

[Door opens, closes]

[Camera shutter clicking]

[Elevator bell dings]

Susan.

The President wanted to see me.

Come this way.

Susan.

Take a seat.

I caught your interview with Sally.

You did?

You were poised, sharp.

I couldn't have done it better myself.

Oh. Well... thanks.

What do you really think of the Governor's plan?

Do you think state college should be free to anyone who wants it?

Well, like I said in the interview, no one's against free college.

The problem is...

Susan.

Do you see any TV cameras in here?

No, sir.

So be honest with me.

You like Governor Vargas' free-education plan, don't you?

That's correct.

And you want to see it implemented around the country?

I really do.

Then why did you torpedo it on national television?

I don't know!

Everyone was telling me to appeal to the base, focus on the primaries, toe the party line!

It felt so... ugh!... gross.

That's a good thing, Susan.

It means you're still you.

Does that make sense?

Yes, sir.

Then do me a favor.

Never lie to the American people again.

I can do that, sir.

Good.

Now, I presume you did this to get my endorsement.

Well...

You've already got it.

I'm not sure that I do want your endorsement, Mr. President.

You said you wanted me to be honest.

I'm being honest.

Everything that's happened, all the...

I'm not sure how to say this...

You don't have to say anything.

I understand.

But let me say this to you.

You want my endorsement.

I am going to earn that from you.

I am going to be the President, the man, you want to endorse you.

Well, then... thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Susan.

That was really good.

I'm gonna need the briefing room, Abby.

Yes, you are, Mr. President.

But while I have unending admiration for the Secret Service, I have zero tolerance for those who abuse their power, no matter what their office.

Exploiting their authority and seeking to hide behind the badge is a gross violation of your trust and a break with the values of this administration.

These agents have been relieved of their duties, effective immediately.

Any further questions can be directed to the Attorney General, who will be handling this case from here on out.

David?

Thank you, Mr. President.

It may be easy for some of us to judge Megan's life, but we need to remember...

This was a human being.

She deserved better.

My office will be prosecuting the individuals responsible for Megan's tragic death to the fullest extent of the law.

[Reporters shouting]

Nice work.

Makes you feel good, right?

[Camera shutter clicking]

Well, it's been a real pleasure getting to know you, sir.

[Chuckles] Likewise.

And I want to apologize for last night.

I didn't mean to talk your ear off about my personal life.

No need to apologize.

If there's anything I can ever do for you, please do let me know.

Well, you can pour me a drink, for starters.

Yeah. Okay.

Hm.

Sure.

And you can go easy on the ice tonight.

Okay. I didn't realize...

And you can run my campaign for President.

My daughter, Anna, has cancer, Cyrus.

She's 5.

I don't talk about it with anyone... but I'm telling you.

The, uh... prognosis isn't good, but she's already lived six months longer than they thought was possible 16 months ago.

I think she's gonna go to college one day, and I think it's gonna be free.

And I intend on doing everything I can to be with my daughter while I run for President.

But I'm running for President.

[Knock on door]

You want to say good night to Ella before I put her to bed?

Sure.

Michael, this is Governor Vargas from Pennsylvania.

Please... Frankie. Nice to meet you, Michael.

[Sighs]

I don't want to take up any more of your time, uh, but first, a quick toast.

Okay, yeah, yeah.

[Chuckles]

To Ella.

To my daughter, Anna.

To Oliver.

Ah. I will call you from Harrisburg.

Thanks, Cyrus.

Nice to meet you, Michael.

Good night, Governor.

Who's Oliver?

My brother.

I thought you were an only child.

I am.

[Doorbell rings]

[Laughs]

Oh.

"Oh"?

[Both laugh]

It's Sunday-night dinner.

Can I come in?

Um, this is a surprise.

You keep saying that you don't want to eat at the house.

Well, tonight, I do.

[Cork pops]

[Laughter in distance]

[Indistinct talking]

Liv?

Olivia decided to show up for dinner.

Oh. Vanessa, this is my daughter.

Please, join us.

We were just about to have some champagne.

What's the occasion?

Uh, Vanessa and I are getting married.

To new beginnings.

To new beginnings.

[Glasses clink]

[Olivia chuckles]

[Laughs nervously]

[Camera shutter clicking]