It had been 8 months exactly, since she had spoken to Fitz. Fitz was nearly halfway through his first term, and he would be due to announce his re-election campaign any day now. She was in frequent email correspondence with both Karen and Jerry and she would see them on the odd occasion, they would visit her, or they would have lunch somewhere in D.C. during school break. She assumed they were keeping him up to date on what she was doing, not that she was doing anything of substance, other than work.
Every morning she would wake up and see him on television. It was equally the best and worst part of the day. She loved being able to see him without seeing him, but re-election would mean another four years of him in office. She was slowly coming to the realization that she needed to move on. She couldn't put her life on hold for six 1111more years.
This particular morning though she didn't get to see the news, she received a call from the Pilots Union at 4:30am. There had been another large fatal plane crash, this one in Lake Anna State Park en route from Richmond to New York. Olivia rang Steven and they drove down to Spotsylvania where the crisis centre had been set up.
When they arrived it was pretty much chaos. They were approached by a member of the pilots union and briefed on the situation.
The information centre had been set up in the town hall of the small town and there seemed to be a number of concerned and frantic family members congregating.
Olivia and Steven got right to work. They had been devising a speech on the trip down and they had a meeting with the plane company representatives and Search and Rescue representatives.
XXXX
They had been there for a couple of hours when Olivia noticed something. There was a young boy sitting by himself, slumped over, hands on his knees, one knee bouncing up and down. She frowned but made a bee line for the boy. She sat down next to him.
"Hi." She said tilting her head slightly. The boy looked at her without moving his head.
"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked. The boy didn't respond straight away.
"My mother" he cleared his throat "was on that plane."
Olivia's heart sank. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Franklin"
"How old are you?" she asked.
"Twelve." he said. She looked up to see Steven walking over to her. Olivia reached into her folder and handed the boy a business card.
"I'm sorry I have to go, but if you need anything" she bent down to try to make eye contact "And I mean anything, let me know." She smiled genuinely. He took the card.
Olivia got up to speak to Steven. Steven said she had a phone call and led her away. As they were walking away Olivia glanced back at the boy, only to see him looking back. She almost lost her breath at they eyes that looked back, they were a piercing colour of steel grey/blue. They reminded her so much of Fitz. Steven broke her from her trance and Olivia continued her day, somewhat haunted.
They went home that night but Olivia got very little sleep. That boy, she couldn't stop thinking about him. His brown skin, only slightly lighter than her own and those eyes, deep blue-grey eyes.
She thought of him and of how he reminded her of herself. He was twelve years old, just like she had been when she lost her mother in a plane crash. That thought saddened her deeply. She hoped he had someone to take care of him, who wasn't going to ship him off to boarding school. She fell asleep thinking of Franklin.
XXXX
The next day the gang was working, partly for the Pilots Union, partly on other cases. Olivia was monitoring the news when, at about noon, her phone rang. It was an unknown number.
"What"
"Is this Olivia Pope?" the voice asked.
"This is she." She confirmed.
"Ma'am, I have one Franklin Washington here at Fredericksburg Police station. He was caught stealing and he gave us your number to call." Olivia paused. It was the boy from yesterday. Without a second thought she replied.
"What is your address?" she asked. She jotted down the number. "I'll be there in an hour" she said before hanging up.
She headed out of her office to where her team was. "I have to head out for a while, call me if anything comes up." Before anyone could answer she was leaving. She heard someone walking behind her as she left the office. When the door closed behind them he spoke
"Your not going to see him are you?" Steven asked concerned. Olivia strode to the lift hitting the button before turning around.
"No. I have not seen him in almost a year, what makes you think that's where I am going" she asked somewhat confused.
"You usually tell us where you are going, especially when you leave in the middle of a big case."
"Well, it is not what you think." She felt no obligation to explain where she was going in this moment. Steven was about to argue when the lift arrived. She stood in the lift and her face told him to drop it. So he stood there and watched as she dropped below the floor in the lift.
XXXX
It was times like these Olivia appreciated being a lawyer as well as a fixer. When she arrived at the police station she signed in and was allowed straight in to see him.
If she thought she had seen this boy at his worst yesterday, she was wrong. She walked into the room and he had his head on the table, wearing the same clothes as yesterday which appeared to be damp. When he heard the door open he looked up, his face was stained with tears.
"I'm sorry for calling, I just didn't know who else to call." He said as she sat down.
"No problem at all, I gave you my card for that exact reason." She let that sit before asking him what happened. He explained that he had not taken any money with him when he hitch-hiked to Spotsylvania to try and get some answers about his mum. He slept at a bus stop last night and was hungry, so he stole some food and they called the police.
"Where do you live?" she asked.
"Petersburg, near Richmond."
"And do you have family there." She asked, he only shook his head no.
"Ok. Then, how about we grab some food, head to your house, get some clothes and figure this out?" she asked. He looked at her and nodded. She could see this was difficult for him so she reached out to grab his hand that was resting on the table. The contact briefly startled him. In that moment though he knew he could trust her.
After a few more moments Olivia stood and left to make arrangements for him to be released. She had to pay a small amount and say she was his sister to get him out. Half an hour later they walked out of the police station and to the first McDonalds they could find. Franklin ate a large big mac meal and half of Olivia's fries.
While they were eating Olivia looked up how long the drive would take. Realising it was about an hour, she then escorted him into a nearby shop to buy him some pants and a shirt so he was no longer damp.
The car trip to Franklin's house was pleasant. They mostly sat quietly listening to music. When they arrived Olivia was pleasantly surprised to find a large two storey house that looked well looked after.
Franklin ran up stairs to his room. Olivia took this opportunity to ring the appropriate authority with regard to his future welfare. They stayed at the house until a representative showed up, she was a portly woman in her late 50's, Olivia guessed. Olivia called Franklin down and the three of them sat down to discuss his future.
Obviously he was too young to even consider making it work by himself. The woman explained that he would have to go into foster care, at least until it could be established whether or not he had any living family that he could stay with. He was sure there was no one. The woman asked if Franklin would go pack his bag, but Olivia asked to have a word with the woman.
"Yesterday he had to hitch-hike to the crisis center only to find out his mother was dead, he slept on the street last night. Can we give him one more night in the home he grew up in and shared with his recently deceased mother?"
With some discussion the two agreed that he could have one last night. Olivia went upstairs to tell him but found him crying on his bed. She walked over and sat next to him.
"Would you like to stay one more night here?" she asked. His eyes shot up and he nodded. "Ok then" she said. He was staring at her.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked. She breathed out deeply.
"When I was 12 years old, my mother died in a plane crash too. I see myself in you." She confessed.
"Really? What happened to you?" he asked intrigued.
"My dad sent me off to boarding school" she said bluntly. Franklin nodded.
"You don't talk much huh?" she asked. He shook his head no. Olivia smiled and stood up "Well I just have to go call work, get some dinner and I'll be back ok? Will you be right with Mrs Doherty downstairs?" She knew he didn't really know either one of them, let alone feel comfortable with them, but she thought she should check. Franklin nodded.
XXXX
Olivia headed out and her first stop was a nearby phone shop. She wasn't really sure why, but she wanted to keep in contact with Franklin so she got him the latest iPhone and had the guy give her a list of good apps he thought a 12 year old boy might like. She then stopped off at the book store. When she gave a gift it was almost always a book, it was something that could be personalised to almost everyone regardless of their interests, but it also sparked intrigue and thought, especially in children she thought. She asked the store assistant what they would recommend for a 12 year old boy and was directed to a book the fourteenth goldfish. It was perfect. She purchased a copy for herself too.
Before heading back to Franklin's house she stopped at the local take away shop. She walked in the door and was asked what to order. She realized that she had no idea whether he liked chinese food. She hoped he did. She purchased a variety of dishes, going way overboard for just three people, and then headed back to the house.
When she arrived back she placed all the food on the dining table and went up to get Franklin. Upon hearing they were having chinese he bounded down the stairs. His eyes lit up when he saw the smorgasbord of food to choose from.
They all ate quite a bit, particularly Franklin. Once he had finished he asked if he could be excused and went to his bedroom. When he left the table Olivia spoke to Mrs Doherty.
"I would really like to be kept up to date on him and if he needs anything don't hesitate to call" she said as she passed Mrs Doherty her business card.
"Can I ask why you are so invested in this child?" she asked confused.
"I lost someone close to me at his age, I understand what he is going through. And, I am a fixer, it is what I do."
XXXX
The next morning Mrs Doherty had arranged a family for Franklin to go stay with and he was just about to head off when Olivia stopped him.
She handed him the bag with the phone it in. "I want you to be able to call for help if you ever need to ok. No more hitch-hiking, no more stealing food, no more sleeping in bus shelters ok." He looked up at her gobsmacked. "My number and a few fun apps are already on it so you contact me anytime ok" she smiled. She quickly ran back to her bag.
"Aaaaand, here is a book. I bought myself a copy, so when you finish it, message me what you think. I will have questions, so you better not cut corners" she teased while handing him the book.
He took the book and looked at it before putting it in his bag with the phone. He then placed the bag on the floor. Olivia was watching him do so when all of a sudden she felt him hug her. She was not a hugger, not in anyones book, but she rubbed his back and felt moderately relaxed. A smile spread over her face. He pulled back.
"Thank you" he said with a smile.
They all walked down the path together. Olivia stood on the path and waved as they drove off before getting in her own car and heading back to D.C.
XXXX
When Olivia returned to D.C. she went straight to the office. She walked in, "Can someone get me a copy of the passenger manifest" she said before walking into her office without a second glance at the rest of OPA.
A few minutes later Steven brought it in. "Here you go Liv." She took the paper and perused the list.
Steven sat down in front of her desk. They sat for a goo 20 seconds before Olivia realized he was still there. She slowly looked up at him questioningly.
"Are you going to tell me were you were last night?" he asked crossing his arms. She thought about whether she should tell him or not. She supposed it wasn't a bad thing, and didn't have to be a secret.
"Do you remember that boy from the crisis center?" she asked.
"Yeah" he looked confused.
"Well, he needed help, so I helped." She said vaguely.
"Oh." Steven replied surprised. "Well next time a text or call would have been nice" he said.
"Im sorry, I meant to call, I just…forgot." She said frowning. Steven frowned too. Olivia, forgetting? It was like a solar eclipse. After neither had anything else to add Steven stood up and left.
Olivia found Franklin's mothers name on the manifest and did a quick google search of Nora Washington. She was a solicitor at a medium tier firm in Richmond. She found their number and gave them a call.
She was initially put through to their practice manager and given the media spiel. Upon further discussion Olivia was able to get them to inform her of the firm that would be handing the will to (as it would be a severe conflict of interest for them to handle the matter).
Olivia then called Mrs Doherty, Franklin's case worker. Olivia proposed that she act as Franklin's solicitor with regard to his mothers will and any other matter. Olivia said she would do it free of charge. Ms Doherty didn't see a problem.
Next she gave the firm that would be handling the will a call and said that Franklin was her client and that she would like correspondence to be sent to her.
XXX
With the formalities that go with a plane crash, that Olivia unfortunately knew all too well, she knew she would not be hearing from the law firm with Franklin's mothers will until all passengers has been declared legally dead by the coroner, which took over two weeks. She would text Franklin occasionally just checking up on him but never got a reply.
As soon as she got the call from the lawyers saying her will would be read she made arrangements with Mrs Doherty to attend the meeting with Franklin.
XXXX
Two days later Olivia arrived at Franklin's foster families house to pick him up. Mr and Mrs Ferguson seemed like a genuinely lovely couple who had spare room in their big house once their children had moved out and had decided that they could share that space with someone who needed it.
On the way to the law firm Olivia asked Franklin how things were going and he was his normal quiet self but did say he liked the Fergusons'.
When they arrived she briefly told Franklin what he could expect.
They walked into the office of the main probate solicitor, and were seated. There were three main provisions to his mothers will:
1 – Franklin would go and live with his great Aunt, who had unfortunately passed away since the making of the will.
2 – The house would go on trust for Franklin for when he turns 21.
3 – Residuary of the estate goes to Franklin upon her death.
The solicitor pointed out that as the house was subject to a mortgage which had not been completely paid off, it would need to be sold and the rest would be placed in a trust account for when he turned 21. The solicitor advised that once the house had been sold, but pending settlement, he would be allowed to retrieve anything he wanted from the house and would receive the residuary once anything left had been sold.
XXXX
A couple of weeks later Franklin had been sitting in the lounge room with the Fergusons when he spotted Olivia on the television. She was doing a press conference for a politician. Franklin sat there glued to the television, listening to every word she said.
He was really impressed. He had text her right after saying she saw him on television and how he thought it was cool. She suggested she take him to work one day. From then on he tried to learn a bit more about politics. A lot of what she had said during the press conference he hadn't fully understood, but he would watch the news and read articles trying to become accustomed to those terms.
This was the first time he had seen her on tv, but it was not the last. He hung off her every word whenever she was on.