EPISODE 18
As always, Harrison has managed to leave her smiling, Olivia thought as he turned away and headed in Shireen's direction.
She saw the moment when the younger woman noticed him; Shireen smiled and even from this distance, Olivia could see some of the tension flow out of her.
Olivia couldn't help but smile again, this time wholly for Shireen's sake. Harrison had been right once again - Shireen could use a friend right now and Olivia couldn't think of a better one for anyone than Harrison.
She hopes that Shireen allows him to be the same kind of friend for her that he's been for Olivia - perceptive, loyal and above all honest when you most needed him to be all with the compassion his brash exterior often hid.
Everybody needs a friend like Harrison.
Olivia turned back to the others to find that Jocelyn had joined Fitz and Susan, while Annarosa had already wandered off on her own again and had disappeared into the crowd. That, she thought, was a pity; Olivia had wanted a moment to speak with the younger woman in an attempt to get to know her better and allow her to do the same. If they were going to work together, then as far as Olivia was concerned, it wasn't too soon to establish a better sense of one another.
Jocelyn's gaze happened to come up just in time to catch Olivia's eye. She spoke to the other two briefly, excusing herself to catch Olivia before she could join them.
"How's Annarosa?" Olivia asked.
"Thawing slowly." The answer came with a sigh, but it was clear from the way Jocelyn's eyes flicked briefly past Olivia that it was one that had nothing to do with Annarosa.
Olivia turned to watch Harrison with her daughter before she turned back to Jocelyn. She didn't say anything, wanting to respect their privacy, plus she wasn't sure of Jocelyn's thoughts one way or the other on the matter.
Jocelyn was the one who brought the matter up. "Annarosa reminds me of Shireen right now. The situation isn't quite the same, but I need to earn their trust in both cases - so there's that."
"And I'm sure you'll succeed with both of them - after all, you've got skills in that whole diplomatic thing, right?" Olivia said.
"This is true." Jocelyn said, trying to match Olivia's lightness with her own. "I believe the term is mad, crazy skills."
That made them both laugh a little and lightened the mood for both of them for a little bit.
"I won't keep you." Jocelyn gestured towards Fitz. "I just wanted to take a moment to thank you - you and all of your people - for looking out for my daughter."
"There's no need to thank us - Shireen made it easy for us all to work together - and as for Harrison - that's that's all him - and he's a good man."
"Is he?" As much as she tried not to show it, Jocelyn couldn't quite hide her concern or the hint of relief that showed briefly in her eyes. "I think Shireen could use a good friend right about now."
Jocelyn paused and took a deep breath. "As you might have guessed by now, I'm not her favorite person at the moment."
She needed no answer - Olivia knew that they both knew why. Shireen's life had become a tangle of secrets and lies and the blame was all Jocelyn's, never mind that her intent had been to protect her daughter.
Olivia found herself happy to at least be able to offer Jocelyn a honest reassurance. "That won't last forever - and in the meanwhile, Harrison is the best friend you don't even know that you need to have - until you do."
"That's good to know - and I know you said not to, but thank you again, Olivia." Jocelyn said.
Olivia wished that she could do more. After years of living with the lack of any real family ties beyond her people at OPA, she found herself hating the idea of watching Shireen and Jocelyn's relationship fracturing along its edges. It hurt to know that she could see both sides of the argument all too clearly What was even worse was that she could feel the hurt on both sides.
They both went silent for a long moment, Olivia thinking that if there was anything she thought that she could do to help them both, she would.
With that thought came another. Olivia realized that in another time, she would have not only questioned this line of thinking - seeing such concern as unprofessional - but she would have wondered why was she even thinking this way. It used to be that she kept her clients' lives fully apart from her own. The job was the job and that was that.
But now, she's become more aware of people, that they had lives that existed beyond the secrets that they had paid her to keep, lives that went beyond those cold and clinical case files locked up in Olivia's files and safe boxes.
She's changed, and now she knew why. This is what allowing Fitz more fully into her life than she's ever done before has done for her. It's torn down walls that she hadn't even known she'd had and in turn, something emotional had not only taken root inside her but it was growing - and this time, she wasn't afraid.
"Harrison is a lot of things - and one of them is being a very good listener." Her words did a lot to put Jocelyn at ease; Olivia can see the tension lifting from her shoulders and her next words confirmed it.
"Good to know -" Jocelyn said with a laugh that fooled neither of them. "But remember, I've seen Mr. Smooth Criminal in action. Should I be concerned with the rest of his skill-set?"
Olivia grinned back at her. "I'm sure that I can promise you that in this instance, Harrison has every intention of using his powers for good."
Fitz came up to join them just in time to hear Olivia's last words. "Who's this that the two of you are referring to as using their powers for good and is this someone I should be hiring for my re-election campaign?"
"Too late." Olivia smiled at him as Fitz moved to stand by her side. "We're talking about Harrison and he's all mine. But maybe - if you're extra nice to me - we can share."
"Not a problem." Fitz said. "I'm all about sharing and we can discuss that when we're back to DC."
"Get a room, you two." Jocelyn joked.
"As soon as possible." Fitz said. He watched as Jocelyn and Olivia laughed and he joined in. It felt good, knowing that he could be so open about his feelings in front of his friend. "But speaking about getting back to DC, I'm afraid that it's almost time for me to think about it."
Olivia sighed. "It was fun while it lasted."
"Yes, it was definitely that." Fitz said. "But the time for fun and games is just about over -"
"Mr. President? I hope that I'm not interrupting?" They all turned to see Susan standing a little ways away from them.
"Never, Susan." Fitz waved for her to join them.
Susan looked around at them. "I just wanted to thank you once again for the opportunity you've presented to me."
"Don't thank me yet, we've got a lot of work to do." Fitz told her. "But I have no doubt that you're up for the job."
"Thank you for your confidence, sir." Susan glanced back at the corral where her daughter was still riding with her new friends. "My only regret is that as much fun as Casey is having, with everything that I've learned today, I know I've got a lot of homework to do - and I need to get to it sooner rather than later."
"Don't remind me, Susan - I've got a ton of homework to look forward to too." Fitz paused as a new thought popped into his head. "I know how to make up your having to leave early to your daughter - why don't you both fly back to DC with me?"
On Air Force One?" Susan was clearly both shocked and in awe of the offer.
"It's the only plane they let me fly around in." Fitz said with a laugh. He looked around the group. "Of course, you're all invited to hitch a ride back if you'd like."
It took everything in him not to let his gaze linger on Olivia. Even if it were in the company of others, every moment he could spend in her presence was a joy. Even so, he could see the moment the wheels began to turn in Olivia's head after he spoke. "What?"
"Actually, I think it would make more of an impact if you were to arrive in DC with just Susan." Olivia started off speaking slowly at first, clearly thinking out loud. "I'm thinking first and foremost of the photo op that would go along with your return - a sign of progress being made on what's sure to be an election issue."
She warmed to the idea and began to expand on it. "Think about it - a double whammy of the combination of work and play put out there for the public consumption - in the company of yet another possibly eligible - and even more important - progressive female member of congress."
Jocelyn gave Olivia a look of admiration. "Damn, you're good." She said.
"Thank you." Olivia smiled - and there was just the tiniest bit of mockery in it. "I try."
Jocelyn turned back to Fitz to add her own two cents. "I have to admit, this is pretty much perfect. This goes beyond a simple photo op; your women constituents will approve and at the same time, your opponents won't know how to read or react to this - think of the time they'll waste scrambling to figure that out."
Her grin brightened a bit. "Not to mention that Cyrus will absolutely drool at the idea of sowing chaos into the opposition, no matter the denomination."
"Bingo." Olivia said. "Seeing Cyrus in non-partisan dragon-slayer mode is… well, let's just say that when it happens, be ready to break out the popcorn."
"I can only imagine." Jocelyn said.
"I don't mind the idea either." Fitz was clearly enjoying the conversation; he loved the way the women in his life thought.
"Eligible - what?" Susan's voice came out as a startled squeak and she looked at them all with an embarrassed expression. "Me?"
"There's nothing to worry about, Susan." Olivia explained to her. "The photo op is just a minor bonus and we don't have to make anything out of it if you're not comfortable with it."
She knew Susan all too well and knew exactly what she needed - the truth. "No one is asking you to lie. It's just that the more time you spend around the president, the more speculation some minds will play with the idea anyway - we can't stop any of it, so we might as well use it."
Fitz rightfully guessed at Susan's most immediate concerns. "Nothing we do will compromise you - or your daughter - in any way. You have my word on it. As Olivia said, we're just taking advantage of the speculation that is going to happen anyway - I hope you can understand that."
Susan nodded slowly as she absorbed their rationale and Fitz was relieved to see some of the anxiety leave her. "Your positioning on the education debates that we know are coming is the most important factor to your obvious addition to my personal team and we will - I will personally - make sure that the press knows it."
"So my political goals remain intact." Susan was definitely relieved.
"Think of this as political strategy; we'll all be watching to see who reacts to anything other than your appointment as Chairwoman and that will tell us a lot about who we need to keep an eye on, both inside and outside the Party - and yes, your goals will not only stay intact, they'll be enhanced. You'll have the full weight of the White House behind you." Fitz smiled at her. "That's got to be worth something."
As he'd talked, Susan's expression had slowly changed from awe to acceptance to anticipation as she began to accept the idea that she was going to be an actual asset to the president in real time and to his re-election campaign.
"If you're sure that I can do it -" she began.
"I have no doubts about your abilities, Susan." Fitz said, meaning every word of it.
"Then I would be honored to come aboard, sir." Susan visibly straightened up. "I am honored to serve at the pleasure of the president."
"I'm the one who's honored, Susan." Fitz's smile flashed around at everyone in the group. "Can I be forgiven for stating that I never get tired of hearing that?"
The smiles that answered him told him that he was.