One For the Dog

One for the Dog is the tenth episode of the second season of Scandal, and is the seventeenth overall.

Plot

Mellie forges Fitz's signature on a letter requesting to be reinstated as president now that he is awake. The letter is sent to Acting President Sally Langston and President Pro Tempe Edison Davis. With help from the gladiators Olivia and Cyrus help Mellie to keep the lie going. Sally eventually finds a loophole to prove that they are lying but did she find it too little too late???

Meanwhile, Quinn is about to get some answers from Olivia about why she helped her, Olivia's phone dings... who could be on the other end???

Scandals

Olivia Pope & Associates:

The team takes on Fitz Grant as their client after Mellie forges his signature on a letter requesting to be reinstated as president now that he is allegedly awake.

The White House:

After Acting President Sally Langston receive Fitz's reinstatement letter; she works with Hollis to find a way to keep her in office.

The Defiance Conspiracy:

Verna Thornton gathers the group together - without Hollis Doyle - to discuss why she thinks Hollis is behind the attempted assassination of the President; along with the death of Britta Kagen and shooting of Hal Rimbeau.

Recap

Verna lets Olivia know that she's the one who turned in Huck. She also lets the other members of her secret group know that she believes Hollis Doyle is behind the shooting of the president. Huck is violently tortured with beatings and waterboarding, but he refuses to crack. David is shut down when he suggests that the Justice Department may be going too far. Huck finally agrees to talk once he realizes that Fitz may be alive. A video camera is set up. David confirms that the president is alive. Huck warns that this means he’s still in danger. Becky will be coming for him. She won’t stop until he's dead.

Edison receives a copy of a letter stating that Fitz is asking to be reinstated as Commander-in-Chief. This has an emotional Olivia believing the president is finally awake. He's not. Mellie forged his signature on the letters needed to initiate this process. She did so to stop Hollis from weaseling his way into The White House where he's becoming best buds with Sally Langston. Speaking of the acting president, she receives news of Fitz's miraculous recovery while trying to order a military operation on East Sudan. She doesn't buy that he's awake for once second.

Sally leaks the reinstatement letter news to the press so they can ask the hard questions she can't. Olivia and her team work the problem. Harrison convinces a doctor to claim Fitz has made miraculous improvements. Technically, it's not a lie. The same can't be said about the statements they're all claiming the president is making from his hospital bed. Abby breaks into Hollis Doyle's office to find a burner phone that has been used to repeatedly call one number. It could be Becky's number.

David lets Olivia know that Huck is being tortured. He also reveals that Fitz is still in danger. Olivia manages to convince Sally Langston that they’ve made a mistake. The order is given for Huck to be released immediately. Another order is given for the president to be moved to Camp David. Edison wants to see Fitz. That request is denied by Olivia. She doesn't take too kindly to his threat of prosecuting her if she's part of a cover-up. Olivia says goodbye to Edison, possibly for good.

Hollis lets Sally know that he'll take care of the problem of Fitz being moved to a spot where it'll be difficult to prove he's incapacitated. He doesn't say too much else, as that wouldn't be prudent for the acting president's safety net of plausible deniability. A short time later, Becky gets a call to return to her special line of work. At the hospital, Huck is given a map of the presidential motorcade route. He promises Olivia that he won’t let her down this time. Moments later, Olivia visits a still unconscious Fitz. She lies in his hospital bed to gently hold his body close to hers.

Becky sets up her high-powered rifle on a rooftop across from the hospital. She’s waiting to shoot the president as he is transferred. Her phone rings. It's Huck. Becky turns to see him standing before her with a gun. She knows he can put four bullets in her by the time she reaches for her gun. Huck corrects her. He says it'll be five bullets. Four will be for the family she murdered and one will be for the dog. Armed agents swarm the rooftop. They cuff Huck and Becky, who reveals that her real name is Kate before being taken away.

Sally Langston lets the world know that they have captured the assassin who killed one person and seriously wound the president. The Justice Department has determined that this individual worked alone. While Sally is making this historic address, Huck is released into Olivia's custody. He sits at the conference room table where Harrison silently offers him some of the Chinese food they've been eating. All eyes are on an exhausted Huck. He was beaten severely, but was never broken. Quinn offers him a slight smile as she says, "Welcome home."

Sally Langston calls Mellie into the Oval Office. She knows the First Lady forged her hubby's signature. She threatens to go public with this information unless Mellie withdraws the letter of reinstatement. In other news, James quit his job as a journalist, but that hasn't stopped him from pushing David about the election rigging scandal. He's also skeptical that the president is up and running after such a serious wound to the head. In other news, James visits the hospital where he gets to hold the daughter Cyrus promised him for the very first time.

Quinn is shocked when Olivia agrees to talk to her about the fact that Hollis Doyle is the one behind the bombing that killed her boyfriend and that he also likely hired an assassin to kill the President of the United States. This would've been a very interesting conversation if not for the fact that it is disrupted by a phone call for Olivia. Cyrus is on the line. He says that someone wants to talk to her. Olivia is overcome with emotion when she hears a familiar "hi" on the other end of the line. It's Fitz . He's awake. He's finally, finally, finally awake.