A/N: Hi everyone! I absolutely love reading your reviews and hearing what you have to say. Thank you for giving this story a chance, as different as it may be. I'm trying to get through as much as the back story as possible so we can focus more on main part. The next couple of chapters are meant to illustrate the growing friendship between Olivia's family and Fitz's family, and covers a pretty large chunk of time.

I also want to give some warning that this chapter deals with the heavy topics of race, police brutality, and protests. I began writing this story way back in April, and with everything that is going on now, it seemed so relevant. I tried to go back and highlight certain parts more than before to try and give the chapter more justice, however it is sometimes difficult to accurately portray the struggle of these topics through written word alone.

Chapter 3: Fathers and Daughters

October 6, 1967

As the months moved by, the family adjusted to life in McLean. Mellie was thriving at school, becoming a member of cheerleading squad, and being in a steady relationship with the team's quarterback, Fitz. Olivia struggled to make friends with her classmates in her new junior high where she was the only black girl. But she did manage to find a nice, solid group of friends she could rely on after a couple of weeks, and she made the school's jv swim team where she excelled. As the weeks went on, the family made a routine out of their new life in the suburbs.

Maya and Cyrus were pleased to hear about Mellie and Fitz's relationship later in the summer when they came forward to both of their parents. Cyrus and Maya caught Mellie trying to sneak out one night, and the two had no other choice but to come clean to their folks. Lucky for everyone, the Grants also loved the idea of their son dating the girl next door. It gave them more reason to spend time at each other's houses, and while Cyrus and Gerry were already friendly with one another, a true friendship formed between the two fathers along with a friendship between Maya and Maggie. Their households practically merged that summer, with the Beene's/Pope's spending the evening at the Grant's house, or the Grant's spending the evening at their house.

Although it hurt Olivia to see Fitz with Mellie all the time due to her intense puppy-dog crush, she was glad to at least get the opportunity to see him literally everyday. At evening dinners and morning breakfasts he was a regular attendee. And there were even times where she got to spend some one on one time with him when he helped her in piano. He had played for years at the insistence of his parents and he was happy to help Liv out, frequently showing her his skills every time she would ask him to play a song, and performing for her and Mellie who would drop into their lessons from time to time.

The kids were wrapping up one of Liv's lessons with Fitz when they greeted their parents in Cyrus' office.

"Hi kids," Maggie greeted them as they all walked in, seeing the parents squishing together on the black leather couch, overlooking papers on the coffee table.

"Hi ma," he greeted her back. "What have you guys been working on in here?"

Big Gerry looked at Maya for a confirmative nod and then spoke up, "well, the four of us are helping plan a march."

"A march?" Mellie asked intrigued, coming closer.

"Civil Rights protest over purchasing property. Some realtors practice contracts barring certain people from buying property depending on the seller's preferences. As though that completely abides by the 14th amendment," Big Gerry answered full of bitterness toward the racist practice.

"A protest? Can we come?" Mellie asked eagerly. "That sounds really cool, and I want to help."

Cyrus looked at Maya for an answer, of course he wanted his kids to get involved in activism, but with such a serious and heated subject, he was worried whether they could handle it.

"I think it would be good for them," Maya said. "We can make a whole day of it. It's this Sunday down at the National Mall."

"Cool! What can we do to help?" Fitz exclaimed, excited to start this protest, and seeing it as a milestone in his life toward adulthood. Helping his parents work, becoming involved in the political sphere, it seemed like a big step in terms of maturity.

While the parents spent the rest of Friday and Saturday organizing and putting together the logistics of permits and recruitment, Fitz took Mellie and Olivia to the store to buy supplies, and spent their Saturday making signs and handouts.

"Whoa, Liv…that's a real nice design," Fitz said in awe, looking over at hers.

"Thanks! Mellie says I've got the art gene."

Mellie nodded supportive of her stepsister, "she's been drawing since we first met. Liv, do you mind helping me out once you're done?"

"Sure thing."

Sunday came quickly and the families took two cars down to the nation's capital. The streets were overcrowded with protestors, cheers and chants were rehearsed as they group went down the National Mall. The march was successful, and Olivia couldn't help but notice how much Mellie was enjoying the march, participating in chants and holding the signs she held high. She even opted to be interviewed for a local news report while the rest of the families stayed on the side applauding her on the side. It was a big step for all of them to be exposed to such activism, and they loved every minute of it.

They went back to the Grant's house after the protest for dinner and to watch the evening news report on the event.

"In other news, the Supreme Court has agreed to look over the Jones v. Mayer Co case for the upcoming year."

"Did you hear that?!" Mellie said pointing excitedly to the TV screen. "They're actually going to look over the case."

"Pretty cool what activism can do, huh?" Maya spoke out loud, thrilled to see both of her daughters so delighted by the accomplishments they together made.

"Yeah. Just to see everyone coming together like that, and for it to make an actual difference…it's incredible!"

Big Gerry laughed, "looks like someone's got the teenage activist bug." He looked over at Cyrus, "you raised her well, Cyrus."

"I want to be more involved," Mellie state declaratively. "Dad, can we do more stuff like this?"

Olivia and Maya were the family that Mellie had known for most of her conscious life. She knew the plagues of racism were ever still prevalent in their country, though she herself was never a victim. Mellie knew that the Civil Rights Movement still had a long way to go, and she just wanted to be there for her family.

"Of course, sweetie. I'll let you know about anything I hear."

Mellie grabbed Fitz arm and squealed, "Fitz, do you want to too? We can go to protests together."

"Of course! I can't think of a better date than one that's got impacts like that," Fitz said, gesturing to the TV screen. Fitz and his family had been big supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, and spending time with his family and his girlfriend, while changing the world seemed like a double win for him. And so it was there that Mellie and Fitz began to organize a series of "protest dates" about once a month in which they would go downtown.

ooo

March 31, 1968

Olivia woke up to loud honking outside of her house. It was persistent and long. She turned over, putting the pillow over her head to try and drown it out, but there was no way it was going to stop. She looked at her alarm clock. It was just after 8am.

"Well I guess I may as well," she uttered to herself and put on her slipper, going down the stairs.

A sleepy and frustrated Mellie came out of her room as well as the horn kept honking.

"Jeez!" she groaned, as they walked down the stairs together. They saw Cyrus sitting in his armchair, reading the paper, unbothered by the ruckus.

"Who is honking!" Mellie demanded aggravated.

"It's for you," Cyrus answered, not even looking up from his paper.

Olivia and Mellie went toward the front window and saw Fitz standing outside his car, parked in the driveway blaring the horn through the open window, while holding a bundle of birthday balloons.

"Fitz!" she screamed, her smile beaming as she ran up to Fitz and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him, much to Olivia's disgust. "What is all this?"

"Happy birthday sweetheart!" he kissed her again. "Now, grab something to eat and put on some clothes, because I told my parents I'd be back at noon."

"What?" she asked him confused.

"I'm going to teach you to drive," he explained.

"Fitz, but-"

"-It's your sixteenth birthday, what better way is there to celebrate than by learning to drive?" he smirked.

"But it's your car?"

"And I'm totally fine with it."

Mellie looked at him, contemplating her next move.

"You're too good to me," she smiled, and ran inside to slip something on and grab a bite to eat.

Fitz saw Olivia lingering in the doorway.

"Hey, Liv! Do you want to come to?" he called out.

"For real?" she asked, excited by his invitation.

"Yeah, come with us!"

Olivia ran upstairs and slipped into a nice spring sundress. She took her sketchbook with her in case she got bored and ran downstairs to join Mellie for a quick breakfast.

Fitz moved aside to let Mellie into the driver's seat, taking the passenger seat while Olivia sat in the back.

"Ok…now you're just going to take it nice and easy," he instructed smoothly.

Mellie hit the gas pedal, and jerked the car forward, slamming on the brake and sending Fitz nearly flying into the windshield.

"Not like that," he tried to speak as calmly as he could although his heart was pounding. Liv couldn't help but snicker in the backseat, which made Fitz shoot her a look that only caused her to chuckle harder.

They drove around the neighborhood with Mellie trying her best, but violating just about every traffic rule imaginable in the process. Fitz held on tight to the handle by his door, gripping it for dear life. He was convinced he was going to die. His yelling and tense reactions only stressed Mellie out more. Olivia laughed to herself in the backseat. Seeing the two of them bicker, and working on her drawings in the meanwhile. Finally they pulled back into the Grant's driveway. Fitz and Mellie were clearly tense from the driving lesson that was meant to be a kind and romantic gesture, but had gone wrong.

Mellie left the car and went back to her house without a word. Fitz shakily got out of the passenger side of the car and grabbed the roof of the car to steady his legs once his feet met the ground. Olivia came out after him.

"You alright?" she chuckled.

"How are you not the slightest bit dizzy right now? We were practically off the road for that entire time."

"I wasn't paying attention to the driving, I was more focused on your reaction," she laughed and showed a quick drawing she made of Fitz looking terrified in the passenger seat.

"You must think you're so funny, Olivia."

"Yep."

Fitz took a breath, "you don't happen to have any ideas on how I can make that up to her. I don't think my gift turned out nearly as well as I imagined."

"I'm sure you'll think of something. You're a pretty romantic guy," Olivia confessed and immediately blushed in embarrassment.

"It's kind of sappy," she added, trying to cover her tracks.

"Ha, you say that now, Olivia Pope," Fitz scoffed. "But just wait until you're older when you'll have guys fawning all over you ridiculously."

The comment made Olivia feel far more embarrassed. She didn't care for whatever future men there would be. Her crush for Fitz was still so intense. She knew it shouldn't have, which only made her feel so much worse.

ooo

April 5, 1968

Olivia laid in her bed contemplating the events of the past 30 hours. Martin Luther King was shot and killed yesterday, and it felt as though the world was falling apart around her. The news was met with protests and riots in all major cities from Los Angeles to DC, and as a result her whole family was forced to stay inside. School was cancelled, and for the first time since he told his family about his work on Bobby Kennedy's campaign, Cyrus had to miss a day at the office.

The news was filled with violence and speculation about the assassination, and to Olivia it all felt unfair. A leader who promoted a successful, peaceful protest, assassinated simply for fighting for freedom for all, for believing that rights shouldn't be decided by the color of one's skin, killed in the name of white supremacy.

She was also afraid to forsee the aftermath of his death. She understood people's frustration with the news of his death, and why they were protesting. When Olivia first heard yesterday evening her entire family almost fell to their knees. The violence and police brutality being demonstrated on protestors however was being broadcasted all over America. Anchors talked about a growing race war, and living in a mixed, blended house, that made Olivia feel sick to her stomach. She felt like her throat was closing up, and it almost felt like a labor to breath.

Olivia popped up onto her elbows and realized that it wasn't her imagination; she was having trouble breathing. She took a deep breath and immediately coughed, realizing that she was smelling smoke coming from downstairs.

She jumped out of bed and sprinted to the door. Just as she made it to the doorway, the smoke detector sounded off, alerting the rest of her family.

"Fire!" Cyrus yelled, running out of his room with Maya.

"Maya, get the kids!" he ordered.

Maya swooped toward Olivia's side, going next door to Mellie, who jumped out of her room, while Cyrus tried to ravage anything he could of value. The upstairs hallways started to fill with smoke, making it cloudy and hard to see.

"Mom!" Olivia cried, furiously rubbing the sting away from her eyes. Maya wrapped her arms around both girls

"It's okay, we're going to be fine," Maya assured in a slightly abnormal, calming tone.

They shuffled to the top of the stairs and could see the glow of the fire from downstairs. It looked as though it was coming from the direction of their kitchen.

"Ok, no stalling," Cyrus ordered. "We're going to sprint down that stairs and run out the front door. Don't look around, don't wait for anyone, just go down and run, got it?"

Mellie and Olivia nervously nodded, as he gave them a pat on the back and told them to go.

Olivia never ran so fast in her life, she wasn't even sure if she ran down the stairs, as it seemed more like she just jumped her way to the bottom, She felt pressure on her ankle, but kept going, listening to Cyrus' instructions. She didn't look back. She didn't see if her mom or Cyrus were running right behind her. She could see Mellie running beside her from the corner of her eye and that was enough for her as they crossed the foyer in what was probably the fastest time she ever ran out of the house, but time appeared to slow.

Olivia and Mellie pushed on the front door, barging it open and continued to run until they were a safe distance away and panting.

Maya and Cyrus quickly followed behind them, and Olivia let out a sigh of relief, seeing that they were safe. Olivia saw the door to the Grant's house shoot open as Big Gerry, Maggie, and Fitz toward them.

"Oh my god!" Big Gerry yelled in disbelief, seeing the flames on the side of the house. "I'm glad you guys are safe. I called right away. The fire department is on their way."

Fitz took to Mellie's side immediately, seeing how shaken she was. He bought her into a tight hug and tried his hardest to soothe her. Fitz was in his bedroom trying to fall asleep when the quick movement of Olivia jumping out of bed and running to the door caught his eye from his bedroom window. It looked panicked so he ran downstairs where he saw a better view of the house, and immediately alerted his parents.

Olivia bent her knees with her hands on her caps, trying to steady her breathing. It wasn't the smoke as much as it was the fear that had just taken the life out of her. But she was out, and safe with her family. Olivia paused, making a terrible realization that someone was missing.

"Mom!" Olivia cried out bursting in tears. "Louie is still in there!"

"I got it," Fitz called out, dropping his arms out of Mellie's embrace and pivoting toward the house.

"Fitz, no!" she tried to stop him, but he already started sprinting toward the house.

"Fitzgerald!" Olivia heard Maggie scream as she watched Fitz run into the burning building.

Olivia's heart stopped. She didn't just cause Fitz to run to his death? That couldn't happen. She couldn't let that happen. She was so accustomed to having him around and couldn't imagine a life without him. And now he disappeared, all because she had cried over her missing dog. Olivia felt tears well in her eyes, struggling to not start to sob. Her fear once again rising to new heights, but this time for his safety.

She turned and saw Big Gerry wrapped around Maggie who began openly crying. Olivia felt a knot so tight in her stomach and her head pulsed harder than ever. She vigorously looked around, hoping the fire department would be there soon. She had no way of knowing how long it had been since Big Gerry called.

She wasn't sure if it was two minutes or ten minutes when she finally saw Fitz run out of the house. The high stakes made time go completely still for her, and although she knew he was running she couldn't help but see him in slow motion.

Fitz sprinted across the yard, holding onto the furry little lump under his shirt in order to protect him from anymore smoke. He found Louie, terrified and hiding up in Liv's room under her bed. The dog was squirming under his shirt, trying to get out, clearly confused as to what the hell was going on. His active squirming told Fitz he was going to be okay and he continued sprinting. He ran toward Olivia, handing the puppy off to her.

"He was…under…your bed," Fitz coughed, taking some pauses for deep breaths. He felt fine, but the smoke had gotten to him a little, and he needed some deep breaths of fresh air.

Olivia stared up at Fitz in complete awe. Fitz had a tendency to make her feel a little nervous, but she was speechless at this moment. His sweaty body in his tight pajama shirt coupled with his stoic pose, Olivia was simply at a loss for words. The awkward silence of the moment only made her heart pound faster. What do you say to a man who just risked his life to save your dog? Olivia couldn't even form a coherent thought to say thank you to him.

"Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third!" Maggie shouted, diverting Olivia away from staring at him. "What the hell were you thinking?"

His parents rushed over to them, immediately going to his side to help in any way that they could.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he assured them, trying to push them off to the side.

"Don't you ever do something that stupid ever again!"

Olivia took a few steps back to stand closer to Cyrus, Mellie, and Maya as Big Gerry and Maggie began scolding Fitz for his action. She put Louie on the ground. Other than being a little shaken up and scared, he seemed just fine thanks to Fitz. Who knows how much longer he could have stayed there, she thought.

The fire department arrived on the scene no less than a minute later and managed to put the fire out, assessing everyone for any injuries. As the family would learn a kitchen window was bashed open and a torch was thrown into their house. It was the product of a hate crime, a response to the riots that were going on in DC. And the police had absolutely no leads on the perpetrators.

The kitchen and the dining room were miraculously the only rooms seriously damaged by the fire, and needed to be redone. Repairs would take between 4-6 weeks of construction, and the Grants generously offered up their house to them in the meantime. They had quite a few guest rooms since Fitz was their only son. Mellie and Olivia had to share, but for most of their childhood they shared a room, so they could handle a couple of weeks, also, although she wouldn't dare say anything to her parents, she witnessed Mellie leaving the room each and every night when it got dark to go to Fitz's room.

After six weeks the family was allowed back into their newly renovated home, and the police found the perpetrators: white supremacists from deep into Virginia's southern region who had caught wind about Cyrus and his integrated family. Cyrus hired Big Gerry as their lawyer and got the group of heinous terrorists charged and convicted.

Slowly things went back to normal as May went by. Olivia finished the 8th grade, Mellie began studying for her SATs, and Fitz was already looking at colleges. The summer was upon them.

ooo

June 6, 1968

Fitz sprinted across the yard to Mellie's house. He was a bit hesitant to knock seeing as it was only 7:30 in the morning. When Fitz woke up and heard the news about Bobby Kennedy's assassination he immediately thought of Cyrus who he knew was working with the campaign. He felt a pit in his stomach and stormed next door. He wasn't sure if they would be awake yet or not, but Fitz wanted to check on them and make sure they were okay.

He was about to knock when he heard a voice.

"Mellie and my mom are still asleep."

Fitz saw Olivia just out of the corner of his eye. He walked toward her and sat down next to Louie, giving him a scratch on the head and calling him a good boy in the process.

"Oh…is your dad here? How's he doing? I heard about Kennedy and I just…." Fitz sighed, feeling terrible.

Olivia looked at up at him a little bit quizzically.

"Cyrus is in DC at the campaign office for damage control. He hasn't been home since he got shot," Olivia frowned.

"God, I'm sorry Olivia. I know how much this meant for your dad…or eh Cyrus," Fitz corrected himself.

"Thanks. Honestly the whole world just seems messed up right now…" Her mother had woken Mellie and Olivia up at 4 in the morning to give them the tragic news after it had been made public. There was still no official word from Cyrus though on when he would be coming back. Olivia had trouble falling asleep again, her mind racing with a million questions of why someone would do something like, especially when only two months ago the country was in uproar over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually she went outside with her dog to at least enjoy the sunrise as best as she could.

"You don't see him as a father, do you?" Fitz asked her, changing the subject.

"Hmmm?" Olivia asked confused, thinking he was talking about Kennedy.

"Cyrus," Fitz clarified and sat next to her. "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping. It's just that you go by 'Pope' and everyone else in your family goes by 'Beene.'"

"Well, why would I not go by 'Pope?' That's my actual father's last name."

"You're right…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I guess I was just wondering. I don't really have that many friends with divorced parents."

Olivia smiled inwardly hearing Fitz call her a friend. She always that he just viewed her as his girlfriend's little stepsister, but to hear him call her a friend brought her some glee.

"That's alright. I'm way too young to even remember. He left when I was a baby."

"Oh…I'm sorry," Fitz said, awkwardly staring at the floor. "Do you see him ever?"

"It's fine. I have a few pictures of him still, but I don't know him at all…I know that he's from Pittsburgh and served in Korea, and that's about it."

Fitz could sense the sadness in her voice, and regretted asking that question. He tried to change the subject to his own father.

"Korea, huh? You know that my father served in World War II?"

"Big Gerry? Really?"

"Yeah," Fitz nodded. "He served a tour in North Africa, and then in Europe. He was on the front lines on D-Day," he smiled proudly.

"That's pretty remarkable."

"Yeah it is. He parachuted into Normandy. He used to tell me stories when I was a kid."

"You must be really proud," Olivia observed the genuine awe in Fitz's voice.

"I am very proud. It's a lot of pressure. Big shoes to fill," he said a little uneasy.

"I don't think you'll have any trouble. Your father is a great man, Fitz, but you are too."

Fitz looked at Olivia. She looked and spoke so maturely, far beyond her age, and Fitz admired her for that. In the last year that he had gotten to know her, he was consistently dumbfounded by how wise beyond her years she was. And now here she was with the emotional intelligence of an adult comforting him, when his purpose of changing the subject to his father was to comfort her.

"You-you really means that?"

"I do. After what you did for Louie…I don't think I ever thanked you for what you did that night of the fire…but it was astonishing."

Fitz blushed, "It was nothing, Liv."

"You ran into a burning building for our dog," she spoke more slowly, emphasizing each word.

"I mean it's not storming the beaches of Normandy, but it's definitely not nothing," she teased, making Fitz chuckle. A warm feeling grew inside him talking to Olivia.

He couldn't quite figure out what it was, but for some reason things just felt so natural talking to her. He noticed it when he started teaching her piano. He found that he could talk to her about anything, any of his deepest insecurities like not being able to fill his dad's shoes, and she somehow had a way of easing his mind and making him laugh in the process. He was glad to have picked up Olivia as a friend and basically accept the entire Beene family as a second family of his own through his relationship with Mellie. It was weird to him that it hadn't even been a year since he met them, and already he was having trouble picturing his life without Olivia and Mellie.

A dark black car pulled up to the side of the street a couple of feet away from the house. Fitz and Olivia had an idea of who was in it, ad their suspicions were confirmed when they saw a dreary and worn out Cyrus stumble out of the backseat of the car, trudging his way up the driveway.

Fitz cleared his throat, "you know Cyrus is a pretty great man too."

"You're right…he is," Olivia smiled.

Olivia got up out of her seat leaving Louie and Fitz on the porch and met Cyrus halfway up the driveway. He was exhausted and grieving, Olivia could tell that this loss was affecting him far more personally as someone who had known RFK more than professionally as his campaign advisor.

She wrapped her arms around him supportively and felt him tense up, trying hard not to cry.