The first week back at school Franklin finally got the courage to ask Lilly if she liked him too. She said yes and Franklin asked if she wanted to go on a date.
When Olivia arrived home that night Franklin was a bit gittery.
"You ok?" she asked.
"Lilly likes me too and I asked her on a date." He said letting his smile out.
"That's great Franklin." She said smiling at how cute he was.
"Do you think you might take us to the rollerblading place across town on Saturday night?"
"Sure. But remember to make sure it is ok with Lilly's parents."
"Of course. Thanks Liv. You're the best." He said pulling out his phone to text Lilly.
When Saturday rolled around Franklin ironed his shirt and layed out his clothes for the night. Olivia was at OPA in the morning but was home before 4pm.
"Liv, Lilly's parents will drop her off, is that ok?" he asked looking at his phone.
"Yeah, no problem."
Olivia got ready and at 5pm they headed out. They drove across town for about 20 minutes when they arrived. They headed inside and when she text him saying she was outside he ran out. Olivia had wanted to meet her parents, because it would appear they would probably be getting to know each other a little better in th near future but Franklin was so quick she didn't get a chance. Lilly said hi to Olivia before they went to get their blades and were on the rink.
Olivia sat at the bar and watched them for a few minutes before the seat next to her was filled. Olivia felt his eyes on her and turned to him. He was handsom with very green eyes.
"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" he asked with a stunning smile.
"Thank you but Im chaparoning a date at the moment. I wouldn't be very responsible if I drank, now would I." she smiled.
"Your chaparoning a date? Me too. Which ones?" he asked looking out onto the rink.
"Ah the boy with the red shirt and the girl with the blonde hair." She said looking at them.
"Franklin and Lilly?" the man asked. She turned her head qucikly back to him.
"How do you know their names?" she asked becoming suspicious.
"Because Lilly is my daughter, and I thought I was chaparoning."
They both looked over to Lillyand Franklin who were looking back at them now. They waved with big smiles. They both waved back less enthusiastically.
Olivia turned back to the man. "Well, it looks like we have been set up." She said blushing slightly.
"It certainly appears that way doesn't it." He agreed, turning to order a beer and ordered her a wine.
"Hey, I just said it wouldn't look good to have a drink while chaparoning didn't I." she chastised.
"I think between the two of us, we can manage. Besides, its only one. I promise." He flashed his best smile and she rolled her eyes before sipping the wine the bartender just put in front of her. He choked on his beer slightly.
"Im sorry I didn't introduce myself properly. Jake Ballard." He said holding out a hand for her to shake. She took it.
"Olivia Pope." They said in unision. They smiled at the other.
"How do you know my name?" she asked curious.
"Lilly was so excited when she first met you. She looked you up and was telling me all about you." He winked.
"Well, it is nice to finally meet you. Where is your wife, did you draw the short straw." She asked teasingly.
"No, my wife died of cancer two years ago." He said, not faltering.
"Im so sorry for your loss." Olivia said feeling embarrassed by her behaviour.
"Thank you. And what about you? Where is your partner?" he asked. Olivia's mind flickered to Fitz before she spoke again.
"Franklin isn't…I don't…Franklin is my adoptive son. I'm single." She finally got out before sipping her cheap wine. Firstly she wasn't sure how Franklin felt about people knowing he was adopted, and secondly, even though he had said it was fine to call him her son, she hadn't had to explain their relationship since then until now.
"Well, the two of them dating definitely wont be so bad if I get to see you more often." He flirted. "And maybe she will finally stop talking about him inscesantly." He laughed. She laughed too.
"Yeah, Franklin talks about her a lot too." She smiled. "I don't blame him though. Lilly is a great girl. You have done a good job." Jake laughed.
"My wife put in the hard yards. I was away a lot. So it has been a bit of a learning curve to say the least." He said sipping his beer at the end. Olivia could sympathise, feeling very much in the same boat.
"So what do you do? Seeing as you already know all bout me." She smiled.
"I'm a navy man. Currently stationed at the Pentagon, which is why we moved here."
"Interesting." She said taking another sip of her wine. "I kinda expected you to be the paper salesman myself." She teased. He feined hurt.
"I am even more interesting than I appear on the surface, once you get to know me of course."
And the playful banter continued, until Jake was called in for a work emergency.
"Lucky I was here then." She surmised.
"Well Olivia, I had a great evening, it was lovely to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again soon." He held out his hand for her to shake, but instead kissed the back of her hand before he said goodbye to Franklin and Lilly.
The rink closed at 9pm and that's when they headed off.
"So did you like my dad?" Lilly asked on the car trip home. She looked in the rearview mirror at the two of them smiling.
"He was very nice." She said casually.
"We promise we wont forget which of you is chaparoning next time." Franklin said looking at Lilly who blushed.
When they arrived at Lilly's house Olivia said goodbye as Franklin walked around to open her door and escort her to her door. She unlocked her door and Franklin kissed her cheek before Lilly slipped inside. He paused on her doorstep before almost running down the front steps and hopped in the passenger seat.
"So you guys had a good night?" she asked pulling away from the curb.
"Yeah. Did you?" she laughed. "It was Lilly's idea I swear." He said.
"You guys were very sneaky." She said sternly.
XXXX
The next morning Fitz rang and Olivia answered cheerfully.
"Good morning"
"Good morning to you too. Your in a good mood." He noted.
"Just well rested." She said while making omelets for breakfast.
"Are you cooking?" he asked astounded hearing a sizzle.
"I might be."
"I clearly need to occupy you with more campaign work." They laughed.
"What did you get up to last night. I called the home phone but you guys were out." He said casually. A sting of guilt sobered her happy mood slightly.
"Franklin had a date, I was chaparone."
"A date? The same girl you freaked out over a few months ago?"
"Don't remind me. But yes, the same."
"How did it go?" he asked genuinely.
"They went rollerblading and he walked her to the door and kissed her cheek goodnight. A true gentleman."
"I know I say this all the time, but he really is a good kid." He smiled.
"Mmmmm" she said with a hint of skepticism.
"What?" he asked. Olivia wanted to tell him about her night, but didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"The two of them tried to play matchmaker with me and Lilly's father." Fitz was silent for a few seconds, deciding how to proceed.
"So…?" he inquired.
"He was nice, charming." She said trying to sound emotionless.
"That's good Liv." He said, trying just as hard to sound happy for her.
"He actually works at the pentagon."
"Wait. Did you say Lilly?" he asked thinking back in their conversation.
"Yes. Why?" she asked.
"Jake Ballard." He said with a mixture of emotions.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"We were in the Navy together. He is, or was a good friend. I havent spoken to him in…I don't know how long." He paused, coming back to their conversation. "He is a good guy." He said honestly.
"Well I imagine I will be seeing more of him whether I like it not."
"So what are you up to today?" And he tried desperately to not think about Olivia and Jake Ballard.
XXXX
The next weekend Lilly and Franklin had dinner at a nice restaurant. She volunteered to chaparone again and sat at the bar of the restaurant. Not too long after Lilly arrived, the bar stool next to her was filled. She saw him sit down. Before she could speak he did.
"They told me you would be chaparoning. I decided to come anyway." Olivia rolled her eyes, but was glad for the company. Jake was nice, and funny, and never crossed the line. He kissed her hand goobye again, but that was all.
The next few weekend continued much the same. Olivia would chaparone if they needed to drive to get somewhere, or if they went to a restaurant that sold alcohol. And Jake would come along to spend time with her and Olivia grew to thoroughly enjoy his company. However she always felt guilt in the pit of her stomach. She knew she didn't owe Fitz anything, that he had specifically not asked her to wait for him but it still felt like betrayal. She kept her retelling of her interaction with Jake to a minimum, for both their sakes.
Franklin and Lilly also hung out after school, or studied together or went to the movies during the week. A month after their first date and Franklin officially asked Lilly to be his girlfriend.
About a month after that Olivia came home to find them making out on the couch. They both looked embarrased, but probably not as embarrased as Olivia was to find them like that. She realised that she really need to have the talk with him so she went downt to the shops later that night and when she got back she sat him down.
"Franklin, I think we need to talk about relationships, especially with you and Lilly getting closer." She saw him cringe slightly, knowing what was coming but she knew it was important and that it needed to be said.
"Sex is a big thing. I know that people say that all the time, and some people don't think that at all, but it is. Especially your first time." Franklin was just looking at his feet.
"You need to make sure that you are comfortable and so is your partner. You shouldn't do it because of what anyone else says ok." She asked and Franklin acknowledged.
"You need to be protected." She said pointedly. "Condoms are not just to stop pregnancy, but also sexually transmitted infections. Here is a packet, just in case." Olivia didn't know if she had ever been so embarrassed but persevered.
"And you need to have someone to talk to about sex. It doesn't have to be me. I understand that you might not want to talk to me about it, but you should talk to someone. Jerry, Andre, Harrison, James, Cyrus, Steven. Ok, maybe not Steven." She said shaking her head. Franklin laughed slightly.
"And if you and Lilly do decide to take that step, you need to make sure she has someone to talk to too. I know her mother passed away a couple of years ago, but I hope she has someone she can talk to. She can talk to me if she needs to, I would be happy to talk to her."
"And don't rush into anything ok." She cleared her throat. "There are other ways to make each other feel good, other than sex if eihter of your aren't ready."
"Ok. I think I'm done." She said with a small smile. "Any questions?"
"What was your first time like?" he asked nervously. She laughed and covered her face. Fitz' advice about honesty came into her head at this point. She exhaled.
"My first time was with my best friend. He was 2 years older than me at boarding school but I was in a couple of his classes. He had had sex before, but I hadn't. I never had boyfriends or really any friends other than him. So one night, before he was leaving I snuck into his room and asked him to take my virginity. It was a little bit painful and it wasn't very good, because that was the first time I had been exposed to those kinds of feelings."
"Boarding school? Weren't you and Steven best friends in boarding school?" he asked and Olivia covered her face once again, morified. Franklin laughed.
"My point is… make it special."
"Do you regret it?" Franklin asked. Olivia thought.
"No. I don't regret it. He was my best friend, and our relationship didn't change afterwards, but I sort of wish I had waited for someone I thought I loved. But I didn't realy believe in love back then." She shrugged.
"You didn't believe in love?" he asked confused.
"I believed in compatibility. I mean, I believed that you could grow to love someone based on compatibility, but I never thought I would experience the earth shattering love from the movies." Her mind drifted to Fitz. "I was engaged you know. Like 5 years ago." She said thinking about how long ago it was.
"Really?" she nodded. "Who was he? What happened?" he asked.
"Senator Davis." He stared at her. She laughed slightly. "And I just wasn't ready. He proposed and I didn't answer for a while, and then I did and it just felt wrong. So when Cyrus asked me to join the campaign trail he gave me an ultimatum and the rest is history. So much for compatibility huh."
"Wow." Was all Franklin said for a while. "Lilly turns 16 at the end of the month, and we have discussed waiting till at least then. We know we havnt been dating all that long, but she is my best friend" he said blushing, especially given Olivia's story. "And she says I am hers."
"Well as I said, so long as you are both ready, and you are safe, that's all I ask." She said smiling.
"Thanks Liv." He said standing up.
"Hey, remember these." She said handing him the box of condoms. He grabbed them quickly and left.
It was a little strange watching Franklin and Lilly getting so close. They were pretty much inseperable. They were always together, whether at their apartment or at her house. Franklin had been so preoccupied that Ella started asking about him, because her talking was getting so good. Olivia decided to have Ella over one night she knew Franklin and Lilly were at their apartment.
They were study cuddling when they arrived. Ella called his name and he spun his head around to the door.
"Ella Bella, is that you?" and Olivia put her down and she ran over to him. "Anklin miss." She said in her baby language.
"Im sorry Ella. I have missed you too. Hey, this is Lilly. Can you say 'Hi Lil'?" he said. Lilly waved at the little girl.
"Lilly" Ella said.
"That's right Ella. Hi 5." He said and Ella slapped his hand before holding her hand up for Lilly to Hi 5, and then squirmy to hold her hand to where Olivia was. Olivia Hi 5'ed her and moved to put Ella's bag in Olivia's room.
"Are you staying the night missy moo?" Franklin asked .
"Yeah, she was asking about you today and I knew you two were here so I thought I would bring her over." Olivia stopped in the doorway.
"Are you sleeping with Franklin or Aunty Liv Ella?" Olivia asked.
"Anklin" she squeeled excitedly. Olivia put her bag in his room. For about 20 minutes afterwards Olivia went around the apartment trying to babyproof it. It had been babyproofed for a crawling Ella, but some things were low enough for her now. Then she started on dinner.
"Lilly, are you staying for dinner?" she asked from the kitchen.
"Is that ok?" she asked coming into the kitchen.
"Of course." She said honestly.
They ate dinner and when Ella's bedtime came around Ella kissed Franklin and Lilly before Olivia picked her up and took her to Franklin's room to put her to bed. Olivia read her a story before laying with her until she fell asleep. Olivia stroked her hair and watched her precious god daughter sleep peacefully. She woke up next to Ella almost two hours later. She walked back into the loungeroom to find Lilly asleep on Franklin's shoulder. Franklin too was asleep.
Olivia picked up her phone and called Jake.
"Jake." She spoke when he answered.
"Liv, Im so sorry, I didn't even notice the time, I'll be right over." He said arranging his things to leave.
"It's fine, Im happy for Lilly to stay if you are." She said.
"Oh. That would actually be a massive help for me, work is just crazy today. Are you sure it is alright?" he asked just confirming.
"Yeah, no problem Jake."
"Thanks Liv. Goodnight."
Olivia went to get changed in her bedroom before getting a blanket and pillow from the cubpoard. She nudged Franklin.
"Franklin, I spoke to Lilly's dad, she can stay the night. She can sleep in my room, I'll take the couch." She whispered. Franklin shook his head.
"You stay with Ella, I'll take the couch." He said before waking Lilly.
"Lil, your staying the night here. I'll take you to Liv's room, she is staying with Ella in my room and I'll be on the couch if you need anything." When he stood he took the blanket from Olivia and gave her a look to say just go sleep with Ella. Olivia was impressed by his chivalry and followed them into the hall before retuning to Ella.
The next morning Olivia found Franklin on the couch. When she woke up she worried he might not have returned to the couch, but once again she underestimated him. She saw he was awake.
"Thanks for taking the couch, but I would have happily done so." She said.
"You let Lilly stay, I wasn't going to let you sleep on the couch." He said sitting up.
"You should go wake Lilly, we need to get going early to take her home before school." Olivia said going into the kitchen.
It was a full morning, that's for sure. She went from having one teenager, to two and a baby. Olivia rushed around getting everyone ready and fed and when they were ready, they piled into the car and headed off. Olivia took Lilly home to change and get anything she needed for they day and took them both to school before dropping Ella at home. She then headed into OPA for the day.
When she arrived at OPA she plonked down in her chair, slightly exhausted from her morning. She found herself wanting to talk to Fitz. She frowned, realising that he hadnt called in a while, which was odd for him. Perhaps he was busy, after all the election was only 1 month away. She herself had scheduled him for more and more events leading up to the election, but she still found it odd.
Before she could think too long Abby was barging into her office with a new case, sexual harrassment by a female Partner from Pry and Kimble lawyers, towards a male associate. They got to work.
That afternoon Olivia arrived home to find Jake on her doorstep. He was sitting on the bench next to her door technically, but he stood when the lift opened to reveal her. He was holding a large boquet of flowers.
"Liv. I wanted to thank you for last night." He said showing her his best smile and handing her the flowers.
"It was no problem." She said taking the flowers.
"I also thought I would take this opportunity to ask if you wanted to go out to dinner with me, I mean without the kids, just you and me." He charmed.
"Jake, I have an extremely busy work month coming up, and I am not sure it would be a good idea." She said honestly.
"Maybe next month." He said letting it run off his back like no big deal. She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I came to pick up Lilly." She gave him a look. "Three birds, one stone."
"Your quite a shot then." She replied cheekily.
"I would certainly like to show you just how much." He said leaning against the wall as she opened the door. She entered the apartment before he could see her cheeks flush slightly.
"Lilly, your dads here." She announced as she entered. She left the door open for Jake to follow her, but he remained leaning agaisnt the wall outside. "You can come in you know." She said moving back towards the door. Jake then moved inside. Olivia went to the kitchen to find a vase and put the flowers in it.
Olivia was just about to call Franklin and Lilly again when they made their way into the room, slightly flustered.
"Come on Lil, I promised you a movie tonight remember?" he asked. She smiled genuinely, remembering his promise and impressed he followed through. She turned around and kissed Franklin goodbye.
"Your coming on Saturday right Liv?" Lilly asked, suddenly remembering her birthday party.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it." She smiled.
"Great!" Lilly exclaimed excitedly.
"See you Liv." Father and daughter said before they left.
XXXX
Lilly's birthday was a lot of fun for everyone. There were about 40 of her friends from school at they Hay Adams hotel funciton room. It was a black and white theme, at Olivia's suggestion. There were balloons everywhere and a big silver 16 balloon at the front of the stage. Olivia had pulled in a favour and had a mid level DJ set up for the night. There was a chocolate fountain and they had arranged for a piniata and a few other games.
Jake was pretty much glued to her the whole night, which she didn't object to, however he ducked out to take a call and Franklin handed her a soft drink.
"Everyone looks like they are having a really good time." Franklin agreed.
"I hope your not dissapointed by your birthday party, I know it was nothing like this." She said feeling a little bad.
"Are you kidding, I had a patriotic theme, and the President was there, how many people can say that the President attended their 16th birthday party?" he asked rhetroically.
"How many 16 years olds want the President to attend." She countered.
"Seriously Liv, I loved my party." He nudged her with a smile.
Just then the DJ dropped a dance anthem and Franklin was dragged to the dance floor. The noise increased as all the teenage guests joined in. Suddenly she felt a hand around her bicep and found herself being pulled towards the balcony. The door closed behind them and she realised it was Jake.
"Jake, what are you doing, we should be inside chaparoning."
"All we seem to do is chaparone." He said moving from the door, closer to her. It was pretty chilly outside and Olivia was wearing a sleeveless dress. She crossed her arms across her body and rubbed her arms gently.
Jake replaced her hands with his own.
"Jake…" she said not really knowing what to say.
"Mmmm?" he asked mindlessly, his eyes moving to her lips. He took a step closer and her mind went blank. "If we go back in there now, I wouldn't have a chance to do this." He said and slowly leaned in to kiss her. She didn't resist, watching him lean in.
Their lips moved agaisnt one anothers for a few seconds before one of Jakes hands moved from her arm to her face. Olivia stayed still. Jake's tounge coaxed it's way into her mouth and her tounge started moving against his. That was when her hands moved, one around his waist to his back and the other up to his face. They were flush against one another, their bodies instincitvely moving against the other, in sync with their mouths.
However when they broke away for air, Olivia quickly retracted herself from him.
"Jake, we should get back in there." She said staying still for about a minute while he stared at her, admiring. When she couldn't take any more she slipped from his grasp and returned to the party. If her back wasn't facing him as she walked away he would see the smile on her face, and the quick brush of her hand against her swollen lips. However, for the rest of the night she kept her distance from Jake.
Thankfully for Olivia, she wasn't lying to Jake when she said her next month would be absolutley crazy in terms of work. She let Harrison take the reins at OPA and was working exclusively at the White House, with Steven too when required. The countdown to the election had begun and everyone was nervous, regardless of how well their main push had gone. She worked very late most nights. She would have one of her team go over and check on Franklin and make sure he had a decent meal, and play xbox or watch a movie with him, or something, just so he wasn't alone.
But before they knew it voting day was upon them and there was nothing left to do except wait for the result. For a group of such motivated, busy people, the wait was killing them. Franklin arrived at the White House after school and felt the nervous tension immediately. They ordered chinese and they waited some more.
It was 8:30pm when Sally Langston made her concession speech. They had done it, they had won, another 4 years of Fitz as president. Fitz walked to the podium, the halls lined with staffers congratulating him, shaking his hand, patting his back. Cyrus, Mellie, Andrew, Jerry who had flown down for the results, and Olivia with Franklin followed him. Mellie and Andrew on either side as he spoke, Cyrus, Olivia, Jerry and Franklin at the back of the room.
"We are so greatful to the American public for putting their faith in us once again. I know the last four years have been hard, but the next four are looking up." He concluded his speech. The room erupted into applause. Fitz' smile quickly dropped however when he saw Olivia leave the room.
He supposed his words had a deeper meanign for her. The last four years had been hard, but there was no signs of things getting better for the two of them. When he stepped off the podium his first instinct was to find her. He had to plaster a fake happy look on his face as he walked back through the crowds of staffers trying to congratulate him. He thought he had lost her when he caught a glimpse of her hair whipping around the corner.
He realised where she was going though and struggled through the last of the congratulations. He reached the door leading outside and stepped out. It was cold, he hoped she had her jacket on, but doubted she had had enough time to put it on. He walked briskly to where he knew she would be, before slowing down when he found her.
She was sitting on a bench neslted in a corner. She had her jacket on, thankfully. She was hunched over, her arms across her chest, her head only a few centimeters from her knees, her heavy breathing visible in the movements of her torso. He moved towards her slowly, not wanting to startle her. When he was close enough, probably only a few feet away he called her name softly. "Livvie."
She sat up, but turned her body away from him, and crossed one leg over the other. He sat down next to her. He wished he had picked up his jacket before he came out. He rubbed his hands together.
"Liv." He repeated. No answer again.
"Liv. Im sorry, I know how hard this is." She only nodded her head, still looking away from him. He waited a while longer. "Do you want me to go?" he asked sadly. She turned quickly to meet his gaze. Her eyes were brimmed with unshed tears, desperation also evident. She shook her head, silently pleading with him not to go. "Come here" he said just above a whisper. She hesitated slighly before moving closer to him. He put his arm on the back of the bench and she slid into his side. He gabbed her arm with his arm around her back and interlaced his other hand with the fingers of her arm that sat between them. Olivia rested her head on his shoulder.
For one minute they stayed like this, composing themselves before they got up and returned to the party, seperately of course. They cracked open the champagne and spend the rest of the night partying.
So I love Jake, really. It is so cliche, but he is the perfect guy (apart from the B613 part), he just isnt the right guy for Olivia. I think he serves an important purpose, dont get too disgruntled by it :)