All That Is Expected.

He didn't belong. No matter how much his parents constantly tried to prove him wrong. No matter how much he assured himself. No, he didn't belong.

Hey guys! So you probably wondering... what's up with this? Well I constantly create characters and explore different sides of them at different moments of a story so... this is me taking on Charlie. I do hope it makes sense and connects with "Hang In There" as much I want it to.

I do not own anything. Just my desire to put down my emotions down to words

Here is the next chapter enjoy!

Chapter 4:

He is afraid. Not of what might happen monday at school when his father takes on those crappy directors. He is afraid for his mother. She has been stressing too much over the last few days. He can't take the guilt of knowing that he is to blame if her mother loses this baby, she might not be able to recover. two loses over the last six years had taught him better. "Dad?" Fitz is in his study. He is tired and weary and he gives him an smile that he knows is somewhat of a safety net.

"Hey buddy" Charlie sits in front of Fitz. He feels as if he at the principal's office. It has always felt like that being around Fitz. He knew him later in life so he felt even more than Teddy did. His father was an intimidating but kind man, specially when his mind began to spin into conspiracy into how to kill those politicians that had dared to raise their kids so poorly as to allow them to hit his son. "What's up?"

"Is mom okay?" Fiz can see the guilt in his boy's eyes. "I don't want her to go into fixer mode and worry, that's why I didn't tell you" Charlie bit his lip. "I don't want her to get sick"

"Your mother is fine" He is now standing up to sit next to him. "She is in fact more than okay, letting me and her team handle this"

"She just let you?" Fitz nodded. "She doesn't let it see but I know she's scared about the baby"

"I know" His father is suffering inside as well. 5 months into the pregnancy is how long they lasted last time. Another boy. A bright angel they woyuld never get a chance to meet. "But let's work on one thing at a time okay?"

He trusts Fitz.


School is brighter as he walks in with Tom and Fitz next to him. He keeps his head high. There is so much he can do to hide his excitment of how cool is the fact that he is going to see his father swing a couple of politicians right in the gut. He is the right man for the job, Liv is there too. He wants her to be there. He also wants Huck who offers him a reassuring smile as they all wait to see the principal. He can see kids staring at him. Maybe they are glad he is in trouble. Maybe they are afraid.

Teddy rolls his eyes as he enters with them. He doesn't like to be the center of attention. He is so unlike his mother in that way, Mellie is too much of a control freak, she needs all eyes on her to feel safe.

"I never did like private schools anyway" He chips in taking Liv's hand. He too is worried about her. About what might happen if things go out of hand. He loves her. She has never treated him differently than Charlie. For him it's the cool fact that he has two moms. The one who he resembles and the one who he hopes to be like. "Too many rules"


Rules are to be respected. Fitz knows that. But rules can be broken spcially to protect those who one loves. He is there staring at those people in the eye. He knows them, He was friends with them at one point and he just wants to rip their heads off.

James McKiNite. Senator. Washington born and raised. Has two sons. Toby and Ricky. Both have had their share of trouble trough the years.

Richard Pike. Lawyer. High and fat political clients. Southern, Much like Hollis. He might have learned his dirty ways from him for all he knows. A wife. A mistress or two. Lord knows how many children. One he can think of. Shane.

These three kids are here too in the office where all is a bit too quiet. He can see Charlie's body language, "I'm going to have to ask the children to step in" The principal, a quite nice guy Charlie has said. "I would like to talk to them first." Olivia is about to argue but Fitz makes her look at Charlie. They have some kind of understanding. A man to a man deal she has not being informed of.


He was ready for this, he was a big boy. Gerry and Fitz smiled at him from the other side of the rink. Teddy was behind him. He loves these rare moments with his bothers and his dad when it was just them against the cold, hard ice. Monday was still one day away.

He closed his eyes as if he wants to forget his senses. He is like Daredevil. He can only feel the ice hitting the blades.

He is not afraid. This is his world.


The principal looks at him first. The other boys are smiling and he is too frustrated by their lack of respect. He has been trained in the ice. He is a warrior. His is a gladiator. "How long has this been going on?"

"It was just this one time, sir, We were just playing, you can ask anyone" Ricky offers. Charlie doesn't want to look at him. "He shouldn't be with the big boys if he can't take it"

"He's just a black crying baby" Shane says and the principal's eyes harden.

"Enough!" Mr. Taylor isn't going to take anymore of this. He has seen too much hatred in a lifetime to have to listen to whiny kids use it to have fun. "You think it's fun to make people less?" He tells Shane calmly. Charlie is looking down at his feet. He is not a crying baby. He is a coward for not doing thi sooner. He is a coward for getting Teddy in the middle of this mess, but he is not a crying baby. He is Charlie Thomas Grant. He is better than they make him seem to be.

They showed him the pictures. The articles they took out of the internet. He looked up the word legitimate and bastard on a dictionary more than once. He knows what t hey think of him and he doesn't take it back. He gets angry and he allows them to make him less because yes, early in life he hadn't had a dad. His life was less than normal. He was not allowed to answer the phone at home or open the door alone. Olivia had explained that it had been because she was trying to keep him safe.

He only allowed himself to feel safe when he finally took on the Grant last name afer his parents got married so how come he was still considered all those things by a bunch of hard headed selfish brats? Because that was the way life worked. Their parents, as most of the people in this school had been just like Fitz. Were like Fitz. They had been thrown into a ravished game of power.

Charlie was a player in it too. "I let them take it out on me sir, because I knew that they would get tired of it, then they didn't" There it was. His first political statement. He might be just a kid but he had been raised by strong willed, passionate people and he wasn't going to play the victim. He was much more than that.

"What do you mean?" The elder man seemed utterly surprised.

"I know why they want to hurt me, because they think it's okay to make people less because of who his parents are. My dad was president and you don't see me taking it on other kids" He was being cold, objective. He had been trained by Fitz. That day in his office. They talked about what they wanted. Fitz had been subjective about it. He had wanted to make those kids pay, Charlie took it on the part that maybe they could be given a second chance.

Charlie had always been an observant kid. He had heard stories too, of children raised by politicians. The children had never needed to work for anything. He took his own father as an example. Fitz had been scarred as a child. Maybe that was why he had taken this other road when he got a second chance, you could be the best but you still had to remind yourself that you had come from somewhere.


Fitz was trying to keep his cool. He had made his son a promise. He was going to let him handle this the way he wanted, He envied his child. He could still see goodness in people when you knew they were doomed by their own humanity.

They had decided to play the diplomatic card to make sure Olivia was okay. He was choosing a head for a head. He saw Tom glancing at him. The other parents hadn't even dared to talk to them. He was a pirah to them.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked him as his body tense from all the talking next to him as if the other parents had considered his to be a social call.

One of the mothers, Pike's wife had showed up late. "Honey can you believe what our boy did?" He said it with such pride. It was like listening to Big Jerry all over again.

"Playing rough at a playground now is enough to be called into the principal's office, oh my children these days, I am sure that boy provoqued my Shaney" a Fitz's face snapped up.

"Looks like it" James whispered to her. "The kid, umm he is more of a trouble maker than you would think.." He winked at Fitz as leaned into whispering something else.

"Ignore it" Olivia pleaded. She had wanted to punch that man for a while now. But she knew better than to exceed herself. She had too made a promise to Charlie.

"I could cut their fingers off" Huck put in making them smile.

The kids came out a moment later. Charlie seemed to be unreadable. Fitz reached to him but he just glanced anxiously at Olivia.

"If you please" Mr. Taylor called in.

Fitz straightened himself. Shared a knowing glance with Tom and with Olivia by his side entered the office.

This was about to get ugly.


Well a 12 year old is playing the better man in this! Hope you liked it! I don't think Fitz will be so lucky though! Can u imagine Olitz being quiet about it?