Olivia was working on her birthday the next year when she got a call from Franklin.
"Happy Birthday Liv!" he chirped.
"Thanks. How are you?" she asked changing the subject.
"Good, cant wait to come and stay with you again." He said.
"When are the school holidays?" she asked.
"In a couple of months, April I think" he said.
"Well, would you think about whether you would like to come up to DC for a few days this time?" she suggested. She had wanted him to come during the holidays, but had been hesitant because she didn't want to push him.
"I would love to Liv!" she could tell that made him smile.
"Great, well I will talk to the Ferguson's and Mrs Doherty about it ok, see what we can do. But it is getting a bit late, so you should probably head to bed."
"I guess" he said begrudgingly.
"Night Livvie" he said before hanging up.
Olivia had been stunned by the use of his nickname for her that she hadn't responded so she quickly sent him a text saying goodnight.
XXXX
Three weeks later she got a call Cyrus asking to meet her for lunch. She hadn't seen him since her birthday when he took her to lunch, so she gladly went.
She arrived at one of their favourite restaurants and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
She recalled their lunch this time last year, after he had met Franklin for the first time.
She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. He didn't really react, which Olivia thought was strange. Cyrus asked about work and slowly softened up. She asked him about work and he dismissed it saying it was 'fine'. She received a text message from Franklin during their lunch.
"Who has you smiling this much?" he asked. Olivia stopped smiling.
"Franklin." She said as she replied to his message about the book they were reading. He didn't respond, but she could see the questions in his head. She put her phone back on the table and responded.
"His mother died in the Lake Anna plane crash and I have just been trying to help him out." She replied simply. Cyrus knew of the circumstances of her mothers death so he nodded.
"You know, if he wasn't 12 years old, I would think he was your son." He said, insinuating more than he was saying. She blushed slightly.
"I know. Those eyes." She said, smiling without realizing. Cyrus was happy to see her so happy. She was not a happy person. She used to get happy and excited about work, but since the campaign he didn't see her happy, and with hindsight he could recognise why.
"Does he know?" he asked. She shrugged and shook her head.
"It is none of his business." She said. Cyrus looked at her quizzically. He had come to see how much they truly cared about each other and knew this was a defence mechanism.
There food arrived however halting the current course of the conversation which Olivia was thankful for. She started asking Cyrus about his own baby plans. They had found a woman locally who was looking for parents for her baby who was due in 8 weeks. Olivia could see he wasn't just excited about this because it was what James wanted, he seemed genuinely excited (as excited as Cyrus is capable of being about anything not political in nature), but they were not getting their hopes up just in case.
It was a very different vibe, in terms of conversation, to those which they usually shared and they both enjoyed themselves.
From that day they had tried to make more of an effort to talk about things that were not work. With her increased involvement with Franklin, and James and Cyrus now having adopted Ella, Olivia's god daughter it was easier to do, but it always seemed to come back to work.
XXXX
The week before Franklin was due to come up Olivia had been shopping a lot. She hoped that one day he might be ready to come and live with her and wanted him to have whatever he needed if he did. She purchased an xbox and some games that looked fun, some books, some DVDs, toiletries, a new quilt cover set and half a wardrobe full of clothes. She knew she had gone overboard, but she was just excited about having him for a whole week. She had worn herself out most nights getting his room ready and had noticed that she had missed calls from Fitz on Wednesday and Thursday night, which she thought was unusual but clearly it wasn't urgent because she had not heard from Cyrus.
She was driving down to pick Franklin up on the Friday afternoon and when she arrived at work that morning she called everyone into the board room. They all looked at her expectantly.
"I will be taking the next week off work. I am only to be contacted in the case of emergencies."
The team looked at her worried. Abby was the first to speak.
"Is everything ok Liv?" which seemed to reflect what they were all thinking. She decided that it wouldn't be so bad for them to know.
"Franklin will be here for the school break." She said in an even tone.
"Liv, that's awesome. You should bring him in, we havnt seen him since your birthday." Harrison was genuine in his words. He felt somewhat like a big brother figure to the younger black boy, even though he had only met him once. The whole team also smiled at the idea and nodded.
Olivia smiled at her team. "Thanks guys. We will see how we go. Anyways, I am leaving early to pick him up from school, so lets get to work."
XXXX
Olivia picked Franklin up from school and he was so excited to be staying with her. He spend the car trip back to the Ferguson's talking about one of his teachers, who he really liked. When they arrived Franklin ran up to his room to get changed and get his bag.
Olivia took this opportunity to speak to Mr and Mrs Ferguson about their situation. Mr Ferguson was bound to a wheelchair but otherwise looked in good health, much the same as the last time she saw him. They said that things were ok at the moment, Franklin was helping out and it was good having another pair of hands around, but they had asked Mrs Doherty to try to find an alternate solution for him because they knew that Mr Fergusons health would not last.
Olivia was reluctant to suggest that she take him on for any period of time until he had spent this week with her. He had only spent a limited amount of time with her and it was not for as long as this. She didn't want to disappoint anyone.
Franklin didn't take very long to get changed and ready and was down in five minutes. He walked up next to Olivia and said "Ready". She looked over and noticed that he was just as tall as her now with her heels on.
"Woah. When did you grow" she said stepping back looking at him.
They all laughed. It had been a very quick and painless (thankfully for all) growth spurt about a month ago. He gave Mr and Mrs Ferguson heart felt hugs before they left.
On the drive home Olivia asked if he had any home work for the break and he jumped with excitement.
"I have an assignment due on the President of my choice. I thought I could do it on President Grant, and you might be able to help me with it." He said excitedly. Olivia looked over at him smiling.
"I would love to help you." She said.
"Awesome." He said looking ahead.
XXXX
They arrived home and Olivia showed him all the things she had got for him. They had a laugh at some of the clothes, which were now much too short for him because of his growth spurt. He thanked her for everything, hugging her. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him too.
They were walking back to the loungeroom and Olivia spoke "So, Chinese for dinner tonight. What do you want?" she asked. She walked into the kitchen to get the number for the chinese restaurant and he was still rattling off his order. She looked at him and he said "What? Im a growing boy!" she laughed.
They ate their chinese, watched a movie and then went to bed. They both must have been in food coma's because neither heard the phone ring that night.
XXXXX
The next day Olivia took Franklin hiking, but first they had to stop off to buy some suitable footwear for Franklin. Olivia purchased a picnic lunch and they were off. They had a great day and went for a swim in her pool upon their return. They then went out for dinner and a movie.
Once again, Olivia missed a call.
XXXX
The next day they went to watch a football game. They pigged out of popcorn, hotdogs, etc.
Another great day. And another night in with movies and this time Gettysburger.
Franklin had strewn his clothes all over the place and it surprised Olivia that she really didn't care. She liked that he was comfortable enough to make himself at home. His shoes and socks were next to the TV cabinet, his hoodie was over the back of the couch and the remnants of their dinner were on the coffee table in front to the couch. Olivia had a wine glass and Franklin a can of coke.
They were in the middle of the Avengers when Franklin fell asleep. She paused the movie and gently woke him, sending him to bed.
Olivia looked at her watch and realized it was pretty late so she thought she would jump in the shower. Just as she was finishing up her shower the phone rang, but she was in the middle of brushing her teeth so she let it ring, just hoping it didn't wake Franklin.
She finished her shower routine, dried her hair, put a dressing gown on before going out to clean up.
She picked up her wine glass to finish the remnants and she lifted it to her lips when there was a knock at her door. She furrowed her brow and placed the wine glass back on the table. She walked towards her front door and pulled her dressing gown around herself as she did so. She reached the door and opened the peephole/door.
She opened the door slightly before slipping out and shutting the door behind her.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered.
"We need to talk." He said. Olivia crossed her arms and adjusted her position waiting for him to speak. Before he could Tom interrupted them.
"Mr President, Ms Pope, I have to insist you take this conversation inside, it is not secure" he said looking towards the lift. Fitz nodded and looked at her expectantly.
"How about I come to the White House tomorrow?" she suggested.
"No." he stood his ground. She really did not want him to come into her apartment, she was afraid they might wake Franklin, which would be far from ideal.
"I have company" she said.
Tom interrupted again "Sir, Ma'am. I must insist." He said clearly becoming anxious.
Olivia let out an exasperated growl before opening the door to her apartment and allowing Fitz to follow.
"What is so important you couldn't wait until tomorrow?" she asked in an angry whisper.
"Cyrus got this in the mail, it is a sex tape, im on it, I need you to listen to it."
"I do not need to hear this right now. I said I will come to the White House tomorrow." She said as she grabbed him by the arm and tried to escort him to the door. He pulled out of her grasp and walked towards the television determined for her to listen to the audio tape.
When he got to the TV he noticed the shoes on the floor nearby before observing the rest of the room. The food, more than popocorn, the coke, instead of wine, the movie on pause, rather than the news, and the mens clothes he knew were not Olivia's. He surveyed the room, becoming more hurt as the seconds went by. He quickly met her gaze and she looked guilty.
"You have company" he said as he walked towards the front door, realizing that coming was a mistake. She could see that he was hurt. He walked past her and picked up her hand and placed the usb in her hand.
"Fitz" she said as he let her hand fall and moved to the door. He ignored her. She grabbed his arm again but this time he truly reefed it out of her hand and yelled "DON'T". He regretted this immediately seeing the look on her face. He saw something he didn't think he had ever seen in her eyes before. Fear. But regardless he did not hang around to apologise. He took her shock as an opportunity to get out of her apartment.
Olivia took a deep breath and adjusted her jaw, trying to regain composure. Hearing the lift ting on the other side of the door she turned around and began cleaning up like she had attempted before Fitz showed up. Instead of merely emptying her wine glass, she added more too and finished that and another before she finished cleaning.
She then poured another glass before taking the usb Fitz had given her and sitting down at the dining table with her laptop. She opened her laptop, typed in her password, pluged in the usb and some earphones and opened the file.
She listened to heavy breathing and the noise of things falling before all was silent. The silence was quickly broken by Fitz muttering "Take off your clothes". Her next breath was taken in so quickly it was audible.
That whole night began replaying in her mind. At any other time, it was a great memory, but not in this context. Not when it had been sent anonymously to the President's chief of staff. He had not stayed long enough to fully inform her, but she could only assume that because he was there it was worst case.
She rang Huck quickly, asking him to check on Amanda Tanner before she headed to bed herself. Sleep did not find her easily that night. She thought about who could be doing this, and how to fix it. She thought about his reaction tonight and knew she would have to go in tomorrow. On the bright side, at least Franklin wouldn't be disappointed, having to visit the White House.
XXXX
The next day Olivia was up early, only finding sleep intermittently. She made some pancakes from an "add milk" mix and got dressed for the day. By that time Franklin was making his way out of bed.
They both sat down at the dining room table. "How did you sleep?" she asked.
"Good. I thought I heard someone yelling last night, but other than that I slept right through." Olivia looked away momentarily.
"Well good thing. We have a big day today. I hope you have had a chance to think about your presidential assignment." She said as she sipped on her orange juice.
"Why?" he asked.
"Well, I need to go into the White House, and I thought, what better place to learn about American Presidents." She smiled.
"Woah Livvie. That is awesome" he said excitedly. "But I don't think I have anything appropriate to wear." He said thinking about the clothes he had with him.
"Easy fix." She said "When you finish eating, go get ready and we will head off." She said. He hurried to finish the rest of his pancakes and came back shortly after.
They headed out and she purchased a navy blue suit for him and a light blue dress shirt and tie, and of course some dress shoes. He looked very handsome in his suit and Olivia snapped a photo of him looking in the mirror holding the lapel of his jacket and she laughed. He turned around and laughed with her.
"Ready to go?" she asked after they stopped laughing. He nodded and Olivia paid for the outfit.
They arrived at the White House half an hour later. "Now, I have some business with the President, so you can ask him some questions, then go hang out with James and Cy. Is that ok?" she asked. He nodded excitedly.
They walked through the White House a little slower than she would have liked, but Franklin wanted to look at everything. Additionally, she was stopped by a number of staff who worked with her on the campaign. She engaged in small talk before excusing herself.
When they arrived at the White House Lauren was not at all surprised to see her, but was certainly surprised to see the boy with her. She stuttered "Ms Pope, ahhhh, umm, wh-who should I say is here?"
"Is he alone?" she asked simply in return. Lauren nodded before opening the door and advising him of Olivia's presence.
"No." was all she heard. Lauren exited the room with an apologetic look on her face which Olivia ignored and proceeded to the door. She turned back to look at Franklin and said "It ok, just follow me in." she said and Franklin nodded.
Lauren attempted to stop her but Olivia opened the door.
"Mr President" Olivia said sternly as she opened the door.
"Don't even bother." He said.
"Mr President," She repeated, more sternly this time "I would like to introduce you to Franklin Washington. He is staying with me at the moment."
Fitz spun around about to blow a gasket at the fact that she would introduce him to some she was living with, like it was nothing. His face softened as Olivia pulled Franklin into the room and closed the door behind them. The boy could not have been more that 16. He was clearly intimidated, he had his head down.
Fitz looked at Olivia who was giving him the if you had given me a chance to explain look. That expression quickly faded as they made eye contact. Fitz walked over to where they stood and held his hand out "Franklin Washington. That is a very presidential name if I do say so myself".
Olivia saw his hesitation and placed one hand on his back as comfort. Feeling reassured he looked up to meet the gaze of the President of the United States of America, in the flesh. The eye contact seemed to stun Fitz as much as it had surprised Olivia when she first saw them, but Fitz smiled broadly and he reached for his hand and shook it firmly.
"Firm handshake, even for the President. Im impressed." Fitz said and they all smiled.
"Mr President. Franklin has an assignment due after the holidays on one of America's presidents and he has chosen you. I thought considering we had business to discuss that he might be able to ask you some questions before hand, then he can go and hang with James and Cyrus."
"Certainly" he said motioning for the couches in the middle of the room. Olivia and Franklin sat next to each other, with Fitz on the other couch across from them. Fitz sat back casually with his arm stretched across the back of the couch and one of his legs crossed over the other, his ankle resting on his knee.
"Ask away." He gestured with his one hand in a sweeping motion. Olivia placed a recording device on the table and Fitz didn't even think about it.
Olivia helped him prepare some questions this morning so he was prepared. He cleared his throat.
"What is it like to be President?" he asked.
"What a question." He paused. It was possibly the most generic question he was asked, especially by the younger generation. Nevertheless he thought it important to be honest, especially to this boy. "Well, it is very rewarding when you are able to make a difference in this world, it is heartbreakingly devastating when a US citizen looses their life in this war, it is sometimes very isolating to have all these people around you, but no one willing to communicate with you like your just a normal guy, and it can be frustrating when you have all this power, but cannot make something happen." On the last point he looked at Olivia, but she was smiling at Franklin.
"What would you do if you were just a normal guy?" Franklin asked, coming up with the question in the moment. Fitz didn't really have to think about his response, he always thought of the mediocre and menial tasks he would do if he could.
"Take my son to a lacrosse game, watch my daughters play, go to the movies with the love of my life. And sleep." He chuckled at the end. Upon hearing that he would sleep Olivia looked up at him concerned. She could see that he didn't sleep. He was looking at Franklin awaiting another question. She continued to study him until he looked at her and she looked away.
"What would you say is the main reason you got into this job?" Franklin asked next.
Fitz' eyes bulged as he thought on that one. "Umm. I would have to say that I wanted to help the average American, and to end this war."
"And do you feel you have accomplished that?" Franklin asked. Fitz looked down at that question thinking, disappointed in his own accomplishments. He exhaled before he responded.
"I honestly think I have tried. But I can certainly admit that I have not been as successful as I had anticipated when I was elected. And I will continue to try as hard as I can, and I certainly hope I can end this war in the near future."
Franklin nodded. "And will that be the basis for your campaign moving forward. I think you might need a little more oomph to get you over the line to be honest." Franklin was obviously now much more comfortable. Fitz laughed.
"And what may I ask, would you suggest." Fitz asked. Franklin looked at Olivia who gave him a reassuring nod and a smile.
"You need a new VP. Sally Langston ticks a lot of boxes, but she also is not the ideal you want moving forward. You should get Senator Ramirez on as your VP. She is a woman, Hispanic, a single mother, but most importantly a democrat with liberal views. Being a democrat, you might not get much love from the Republican party, but you are already president. You need to grab the points from the right."
Olivia smiled broadly with pride, and Fitz looked at him somewhat stunned.
"And here I was going to ask Liv to be my campaign manager this time, maybe I should recruit you instead" Fitz said with a slight chuckle. Franklin smiled.
At the mention of hiring her to be campaign manager her head whipped around to look at him. She was frowning. Fitz looked at her quickly but looked back to Franklin "Do you have any more questions?" he asked.
He continued to ask a few more questions before finishing with."What is your favourite meal, and what is your favourite sporting team?" Fraklin asked.
"Favourite meal would have to be spaghetti bolognaise, and my favourite sporting team is definitely the Lakers." He smiled.
Olivia knew that was Franklin's last question so when Fitz answered she stood up and walked over to his desk, picked up the phone and dialed Cyrus' number.
"Its me…I have a visitor for you…We are in the Oval…See you shortly."
Fitz had began asking Franklin questions about school and the particular assignment he was doing on him, the two of them were still sitting on the couch when Cyrus walked in a few minutes later.
"Franklin. Good to see you again." Cyrus greeted with a handshake before sitting down next to him. Olivia leant against the arm of the chair next to Cyrus.
"Cy, Franklin is doing an assignment of President Grant, do you think you might show him your office, and he can ask you some questions while the President and I talk business?" she asked smiling between Cyrus and Franklin.
Cyrus glanced between Fitz and Olivia, Fitz who was only looking at Olivia, and Olivia who was doing everything to avoid looking at him.
"Sure thing. Come on Franklin, I'll give you the tour, you can ask me questions, and then we can go visit James." Franklin stood up, picked up the recorder and Cyrus lead him out of the office with one arm around his shoulders.
"I'll come get you when we are finished" she called to them as they left.
"He is a clever kid." Fitz said after a few seconds of silence. Olivia smiled briefly but broadly.
"So what exactly is he to you, and why is this the first I am hearing of him?" Fitz asked confused, and mildly angry but trying not to show it.
"What I do is no longer any of your business." She said crossing her arms as she still leant on the arm of the couch.
"Bull shit Liv" both he and his voice rising. "Cyrus knows, has even met him before now." He accused.
"Cyrus is my…" she tried but Fitz interrupted.
"Cyrus is your friend? What am I Liv. I though you said we could be friends" he said, hurt now. Olivia looked at her feet. Without meeting his gaze she began speaking.
"His mother died in the Lake Anna crash and I have just been helping him out since. One of his foster parents is not well, so I became an authorised foster carer and he is staying with me for the school break." She shook her head slightly before looking up at Fitz who was now sitting on the couch she was leaning against, but not too close to her. She continued "I am thinking about taking him on when his current foster carers cant anymore."
Fitz eyes softened with every word she said. He knew how she lost her mum, so he knew it was important for her to be to Franklin what she didn't have. He was proud that she wanted to take him on, he always knew she would be a good mum, he just imagined it with their children, but he was happy for her. She then looked away from him. "He ran away when he found out about his foster parent being sick and he came to see me, so I let him stay the night. It was my birthday, so Cyrus and James met him at my surprise party last year."
"Ok" he said as he scooted closer.
"Ok?" she questioned.
"Ok" he nodded. "Im sorry I jumped to conclusions." He said scooting closer still so now he was right next to her on the couch. She could feel him moving closer but wasn't going to stop him because this would probably be as close as they would get for a while.
"Your forgiven" She said. All of a sudden she felt his arms around her pulling her over onto his lap. "Fitz, STOP" she said squirming but he had a good hold of her.
"Livvie. Stop for one minute." He said. She looked at him annoyed before accepting that she was not getting out and to just enjoy the moment. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her forehead to his as they looked into each others eyes.
He moved the hand that was holding her legs onto his lap up her body slowly, resting it with his palm behind her ear and his thumb in front brushing her cheek ever so lightly. They began breathing in sync. She then moved one of her hands to rest at the nape of his neck, her fingers in his hair. He closed his eyes at the feeling, before they both loudly exhaled.
So slowly that neither really noticed, their heads moved closer together so they were mere millimeters from the lips of the other. They could feel the others breath. Olivia then pulled him closer and fused their lips. It started as a passionate closed mouth kiss, both reveling in the feeling they could never forget, but tongues quickly began to tangle.
They broke away a few minutes later both breathless. Olivia smiled as she removed herself from his lap which somewhat confused him. He stayed sitting.
"Liv?" he asked. She walked towards the door but her bag and gloves were still on the floor next to the couch. Olivia stuck her head out of the office and spoke to Lauren, but Fitz couldn't hear what they said. She walked back into the room and poured a scotch, one for herself, and one for Fitz. He looked at her funny as he took the glass.
"I think you might need it." She said as she sat on the couch opposite him and swirled the liquid before throwing it back. She frowned and sucked in her teeth as the liquid burnt her throat before shaking her head.
"Liv. We need to talk." He said still cradling his scotch.
"I know" she said as she stood up to put her glass back next to the decanter.
Just then a knock on the door was heard before the door opened to reveal Mellie, wearing one of her signature dresses with matching bolero. She smiled as she walked in.
"I hear we have a problem." She said much too cheerily.
Fitz looked over at Olivia angry and quickly threw back his own scotch. Olivia walked over to the couch she had been sitting on moments ago and motioned to the spot next to Fitz "Please sit." Olivia said. Mellie did so without a second thought.
Mellie sat down next to Fitz and moved to put her hand on his knee which he quickly pulled away, crossing it over his other leg and leaning into the couch watching his scotch glass, avoiding both of them.
"Fitz" Mellie scolded "Stop sulking, you have your precious Olivia here. We need to figure out how to diffuse the bomb that is the sex tape that the two of you were reckless enough to create."
Olivia kept up her poker face, while wanting to slap Mellie square across that rosy cheek of hers.
"We need to release the tape. Say it was Mellie, that you are appalled by the media."
"I'm not sure that is going to be enough." Mellie said.
"Do you have an alternative Mellie?" Olivia asked annoyed.
"Well, I have been thinking about this, with the election impending in just over a year, I thought we could use this as an opportunity." She smiled. At this, Fitz scoffed and stood up, walking to his decanter to fill the glass once more.
Just then Cyrus interrupted. "Sir. There is a situation. You are required in the Sit Room ASAP" He looked around the room, sensing the tension and the awkwardness.
Cyrus said nodding at her with a smile before heading to the door as Fitz grabbed his jacket.
"Shall we continued?" Mellie asked. Olivia nodded.
"The country loves family, what better strategy than to increase ours mid-term. It will neutralize the sex tape and likely improve poll numbers."
Olivia knew it would be political gold, but it would be painful for her. "Im not sure that Fitz will agree." She suggested.
She scoffed "We both know he will do whatever you tell him. But, just to sweeten the deal for him, how about you agree to be his campaign manager?" Olivia was silent.
"He has already asked you?" Mellie inquiried.
"Not exactly." She replied.
Mellie let Olivia think for another moment before speaking "So, do we have a deal? Fitz gets to grope you in hotel elevators during the campaign and Fitz and I start expanding our family." She said with a smile that quickly faded.
There was nothing in it for Olivia, it was a lose lose, it always was for her, especially when it came to making decisions about Fitz. Say no and have the tape released, and all the speculation that would accompany it, and try to get him elected after that or not have the tape released, no speculation, but still have to work with the man she loves who is having another baby with a woman that is not her. Fitz loved kids, he would love this one too, regardless of conception and she knew he wanted her on the campaign, he already said he was going to ask.
So Olivia agreed, she held out her hand and made a deal with the devil, again. She did that for him, but he would not understand, she was prepared for that.
She quickly left the room headed for the press office. She found James and Franklin chatting about politics.
"Hey you two." She said leaning against the wall.
"Liv, thanks for bringing him round, he has been chewing my ear off about politics the whole time" he said as he stood to kiss her on the cheek. "You have had a big influence on him" James smiled.
Olivia walked over to Franklin who was sitting in an office chair and placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him. "Ready to go?" she asked. He smiled and nodded.
They went and had lunch at one of Olivia's favourite restaurants right near the White House. They ordered their meals and waited for them to come. The whole time Franklin was talking about what a great time he had, how he cant believe he met the president, how cool James is, but Olivia was mostly quiet. When Franklin had finished his rambling he could tell something was wrong.
"Livvie?" he asked and she respondent with "Hmmm" while trying to look enthused.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, just listening to you" she said with a smile. "So you think you got everything you need for your assignment?" she asked.
"Yeah, if not, I can just ask you right?"
"Right" she confirmed. They ate their food and left the restaurant.
"Hey Livvie?" he asked.
"Yeah" she said wrapping an arm around him as they walked.
"I was wondering if we could cook dinner tonight, rather than ordering in." he asked shyly. She laughed.
"Im not much of a cook, so if we burn down the apartment, Im blaming you" she said but squeezed him a little tighter. "So I suppose we should head to the grocery store next" she said and off they went.
XXXX
They decided to make home made Pizza. They purchased all the things to make dough, tomato paste, some cheese, pepperoni, pineapple, mushroom, capsicum, some chicken.
They had a late lunch so they began preparing at around 6pm. They had fun making the dough and trying to make it into round pizza bases, they were throwing dough at each other, but by 8pm, they finally had two pizzas. They sat down to eat them. They sat around for another hour or two before Franklin said goodnight. That night he kissed her cheek goodnight, which he had never done before.
As he walked to his room Olivia had completely forgotten about the events of earlier in the day and was happy. She picked up her phone, which she had not touched since they started dinner, and she found 7 missed calls from Fitz. She exhaled. He knew. He was angry. She debated whether or not to call him. She decided to wait till the morning, to let him calm down somewhat. She flicked the TV to the news for a while before deciding to head to bed.
She turned the tv off and was putting their plates in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. She knew who it was, she could not believe he was this stupid to come to her house, again. She went to the door and opened it. As she did he simply barged into her house before she would say a word.
"Fitz. Franklin is asleep, you need to leave." She said in a hushed tone. He simply walked into the kitchen.
"What were you thinking Olivia." He said loudly. He was using her full name, he was angry.
"Fitz. Please keep your voice down." She said again.
"ANSWER ME" he yelled this time.
"Don't you dare come into my house and yell at me, demanding answers for something I agreed to, to keep you in your precious White House. You wanted me to run your campaign, this is how Mellie would agree, and it solved our tape problem." She had gotten right up in his face at the beginning, but was now casually leaning against the countertop with her arms crossed.
"You make all these decisions about me and my life, but you never consult me. It is insulting." He said.
"Im sorry if I insulted your ego. Im sure the baby will increase that for you too" she said.
"Who are you right now?" he asked
"The woman who got you elected, and who will you get you elected again."
"And what if I don't want to be President anymore?" he asked seriously. She looked at him with sad eyes.
"What?" she asked softly.
"What if, what I want, is to divorce Mellie and marry you?" he said stepping closer to her.
"We discussed this. You are what the country needs, right now, you cant just not run." She said.
"But what if I don't." he said and took another step closer to her, putting and arm on either side of the counter, effectively locking her in place.
"Im not the same person Fitz. I…I have people who rely on me, my team at OPA, Franklin" She motioned for the other end of the house. "And I wont have you resenting me." She finished.
"I could never resent you" he said shaking his head.
"You don't know that." She said.
"I do." He said as he leaned closer to her. Her chest heaved up and down, she was going to loose control. His scent was invading her nostrils and she was slipping.
"Then do it for me." She whispered and he halted his movements giving her some clarity of mind.
"Do this, so that I know you wont resent me." She pleaded. He paused for a long while before leaning in and kissing her cheek lightly. "Ok" he responded. Upon hearing his confirmation she pushed passed him and walked to the front door holding the handle. He followed her but kissed her on the lips and lingered a moment before leaving.
Olivia pressed her back to the door and put her hand on her heart trying to control her emotions. After a few minutes she got up, wiped the tears that had fallen and headed to bed.
Bed did not however bring her solace, she thought more about what they had discussed and found herself weeping into her pillow.
How did she get into this position, in love with the President of the United States of America, who is about to impregnate his wife, who is not her, to uphold his legacy. And furthermore she had agreed to work on his campaign, so she would have to watch them play happy families and listen to the world faun over her baby bump.
She didn't know how long she was crying before she felt a dip in the bed next to her. She stopped crying immediately, she pulled herself up to see Franklin sitting on the bed with sad eyes.
"What are you doing up?" she asked.
"I heard someone yelling." He replied. It was the most subtle way of letting her know that he knew who was there tonight and why.
"Im sorry Fraklin, you shouldn't have to see me like this." She said trying to wipe her face with the sleeves of her shirt and sitting up.
"My mother taught me that it is ok to cry. But I would always hug her when she did. Do you want a hug?" he asked. He looked at Olivia and a fresh wave of tears overcame her as she nodded. She held out her arms and he scooted into them, wrapping his own arms around her. She cried and cried and as he felt the dampness on the top of his head his opinion of the man he had met earlier in the day drastically changed. Olivia was right, he was what the country needed and he would throw that all away? And Olivia clearly loved him, but wouldn't let herself be happy because she knew what America needed.
Olivia's cries eventually subsided and she pulled slightly away to look at Franklin's face. He smiled at her.
"Thank you." She said as she kissed his forehead and Franklin sat up properly.
"Are you ok now?" he asked.
"I'll be fine. Go back to bed and get some sleep." She smiled at him. He moved off the bed and went back to his room.
XXXX
The next morning Olivia made omelets for breakfast with some of the leftovers from the pizza. Olivia was finishing off one for herself when Franklin walked out in his pajamas.
"Good morning. Hungry?" she asked his cheerily.
"Starving" he said smelling the food.
"This one is pineapple and peperoni. You can have this one, or I can make you another one.
"Ill have cheese, peperoni and capsicum please." He responded. Olivia began making his omelet.
"So I was thinking we could go into OPA today, what do you think?"
"Really?" Franklin asked.
"Yup." She replied happily.
"Awesome!" he exclaimed.
"I know everyone is excited to see you again." And Franklin smiled at that.
XXXX
An hour or so later they walked into OPA to find the gang dispersed. They walked into the board room and Olivia yells "Franklin's here" and a few moments later everyone appeared greeting Franklin warmly.
"So what are you two doing here?" Quinn asked.
"Well, I have something I have to do, and Franklin wanted to see everything in action, so here we are… Also, I thought I should tell you that we will be working on President Grant's campaign for re-election."
Quinn and Harrison high-fived each other and Quinn hooted, Abby groaned, Steven eyed her suspiciously and Huck didn't react. Franklin could see that Steven was unhappy and wondered if he knew what he did.
"But, it is business as usual until he announces alright?" she asked and they all responded in the affirmative (well at least Quinn, Harrison and Abby).
Olivia walked into her office and began writing Fitz' re-election campaign commencement speech in which he will also announce their impending new arrival. She wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible so that she can move on, until the campaign really got into swing anyway.
Franklin hung around with the rest of OPA while she was in her office, they came up with some ideas for their current case and also just chatted generally. Huck showed him some pretty cool stuff on the computers, which Franklin really had no idea about.
It hit lunch time and Olivia was still in her office, so Quinn asked Franklin what he wanted for lunch and they ordered in. Olivia didn't come out until 3pm. She handed Steven two folders.
"Steven. Can you please take these to the White House. One is for the First Lady, and one is for the President."
The whole team thought it was odd that she didn't deliver it herself, but nobody questioned her.
"So, Franklin, you ready to go cart racing?" she asked casually and he looked at her like a kid in a candy shop. Olivia nodded once. "Good. You guys ready?" she asked looking around the room. They all looked at her. "My shout" she smiled.
They all chimed in with their consent.
They all drove out to the nearest track and had a really good time and then headed back into DC for dinner at some local diner for some dinner.
XXXX
The next three days Olivia devoted entirely to Franklin. Whatever he wanted to do, they did. They went to the movies again, went on one of those double decker buses, played some xbox, ate lots of food and had a good time.
Olivia knew that Fitz would be regretting his decision and would call, so she turned her phone off and told OPA that if they needed her they would need to email or come to her house if it was urgent. Thankfully there wasn't anything too difficult.
On Saturday Franklin sadly packed up all his things and sat on the couch waiting for Olivia. She sat down next to him.
"What's up?" She asked him.
"I had a great week Livvie. Honestly, I don't want to leave." He said sadly.
Olivia didn't know what to say. She had decided that she wouldn't tell him that she might like to have him on a more permanent basis. Maybe it would be pushing him too far or maybe he wouldn't want to. Looking at him now she thought that perhaps she should say something.
"I had a great week too" she paused and cleared her throat "and I was wondering how you would feel if perhaps it was more permanent? Of course it is fine if you don't want to, we will figure something out." She said beginning to ramble, nervous of his answer. She looked at him and he had the biggest smile on his face.
"Are you serious?" he asked. She nodded.
"Of course I would love to live with you. When can I move here?" he asked.
"Hold your horses. School is very important and I would never make you change schools half way through the year, unless it was necessary. So how about we revisit this after the school year is finished." Olivia knew that Mr Ferguson was not going to get any better anytime soon, but she didn't want to disrupt him any more than necessary. And she hadn't even really spoken to Mrs Doherty about anything more than a week.
Next thing, Olivia felt him crash his arms around her and she smiled.
"Thanks Liv." Was all he said. She ruffled his hair.
She waited for him to let go of her before she spoke again.
"Hey, I was wondering if maybe you would like to go to the memorial on the way home." She could see the sadness wash over him, but his smile lingered, somewhat more solemnly.
"I would like that" he said with a nod.
"Well, we better get going." She said standing up.
XXXX
They arrived at the memorial for the plane crasht hat killed his mother, which had only been finished quite recently. It had taken so long because the investigation had been so meticulous and they needed to keep the site as it was.
The memorial was nothing too extravagant. It had a large sandstone plaque with a prayer on the front, and on the back was the names of all those who had perished, along with their age. They also had holes next to each name where you could put a flower, or something precious. Expanding into the crash site, which Olivia knew because she had attended the site (which was now clear of any sign of the fuselage), were 119 saplings, one planted for every person. They looked lonely in the vast space, but when they grow they would surely create a lovely forest. The fertilizer for the plants would be made up of the flowers placed across the nation at the time of the crash.
Olivia parked and went to the boot of the car. She pulled out a bunch of beautiful flowers with roses, gerberas and lilies in an array of colours. Franklin had hopped out of the car but was leaning against it not quite ready to move toward it. Olivia walked up next to him. He looked at her.
"Where did the flowers come from?" he asked.
"When we stopped for snacks in DC I saw these and thought you might like to lay them here." He nodded with a weak smile. She handed him the flowers.
"Are you ready?" she asked. He nodded and slowly took a few steps forward. When he realized that Olivia hadn't moved he turned around.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked. Was it desperation in his voice that she heard, she couldn't tell.
"Do you want me to?" she asked somewhat surprised. He nodded.
Olivia takes a few steps forward so she is standing next to him then they both start walking towards the sandstone wall. They stand a few meters back and just look at the wall. He eventually steps forward to lay the flowers before returning to Olivia's side. When he returns he moves closer to Olivia so their arms are touching. She pushed her arm under his and rested her head on his shoulder, and in return he rested his head on hers.
After a while she turned him around and looked at the saplings. "You can talk to her you know" she said softly. He moved his head off hers to look at her. "I talk to mine sometimes." She said looking into his eyes. He looked back towards the trees. "I'll be just by the car ok." She said rubbing his back and moving towards the car.
Olivia leaned against the car, checking emails and messages, looking up to check on Franklin every so often. He had gone to sit on a bench that was facing the trees.
Probably about half an hour later he walked back over to the car.
"Thanks for bringing me Liv." He said solemnly.
"No worries, anytime." She said smiling at him. "Ready to go?" she asked and he confirmed.
They were driving the rest of the way when Franklin asked "So will you be my mum if I come and live with you." She was driving so she couldn't look at him as she replied but she wished she could have, to reassure him.
"Franklin, you have a mother, we visited her today. I will never replace her, and I would never want to. I'll be like a cool Aunt or something." She said laughing at the lameness that she felt.
"What will you call me?" he asked.
"Franklin?" she said without thinking.
"No, I mean, what will you introduce me as. Your…?" he clarified.
"Umm, I hadn't really thought much about that. What would you like me to introduce you as?" she asked.
"I don't know." He said watching the road, thinking.
"Well, how about we both think about it and we can figure it out when school finishes. Ok?"
"Ok." He said.
XXXX
The next couple of weeks went very quickly. She spoke to Franklin frequently over the phone. He was enjoying school, but also looking forward to coming to stay with Liv. She found it hard not to get his hopes up too high because nothing was set in stone just yet.
When she spoke to Mrs Doherty she could not see a problem with her adopting him full time, and made the necessary calls to other agencies etc to make sure there would be no issue. Everything seemed to be going smoothly on that front.
XXXX
She had begun working on the campaign, but avoiding the White House as much as possible. She would speak to Cyrus over the phone if she needed to and he would give her the phone numbers of any staff she needed to order around. To say she was avoiding him was an understatement. She had pretty much stopped watching the news, trying to avoid anything to do with him, which was very hard, considering her job.
One night in late June, just before Franklin's term finished, she did turn on the news and the words "America's Baby" with a picture of Mellie and Fitz flashed at her. She sat there speechless for a few moments before having to fight the urge to vomit.
She had to compose herself when her phone rang, it was Franklin.
"Hey you" she said putting on a brave voice.
"Hey, are you ok?" he asked. While he tried to be indirect, she understood what he meant.
"Fine, and you?" she asked trying to avoid the thoughts of America's baby. Thankfully he placated her and began talking about his day, and about school almost finishing.
From that day on, Franklin would make sure he rang her more frequently to make sure she was ok, especially when something about the President and his wife, and their baby was covering the news. She had known what he was doing from the start, but honestly, talking to him made things better.
XXXX
A few days later, Franklin's last day of school for the year, Olivia was in a meeting with Cyrus as the White House discussing strategy, before going out to lunch, when her phone rang. It was Franklin.
"Franklin, you should be at school. What's up?" she asked as she remained sitting across from Cyrus.
"Mr Ferguson died Liv. He's gone." He managed to get out. Without him needing to say another word Liv responded.
"I'll be right there." And hung up the phone. She was already out of the room by this time and trying to get out of the White House as soon as possible. She was walking so quickly it was almost a run. She rounded a corner so quickly she slammed into the person walking in the opposite direction. She had on heels so as soon as she smashed into the person she knew she was going to fall over. She braced herself, but instead felt arms wrap around her.
"Livvie." she heard and didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Her eyes flew opened and his eyes were staring at her. Confusion and worry were written across his face, mixed with being happy to see her. He stabalised her and put his hands on her hips.
She pulled away from him and tried to go around him, but he held his arm out to catch her. "Liv. Whats wrong?" he asked.
"I have to go. It's Franklin." She said trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "I have to go" her desperate eyes meeting his concerned ones. He let her go and watched her practically run down the hall and out of sight.
He walked past Cyrus' office, where he knew they were meeting. He walked straight in. "Liv just ran out of here saying something about Franklin. What's happened?" he said flustered.
"Your guess is as good as mine sir. He called, she answered and was out the door before I could ask." He said. Cyrus was worried, but knew she would call if she needed anything. Fitz on the other hand was silently panicking.
"Sir, she will call if she needs anything." He said trying to minimize his concern.
"We both know she wont call me." He said running his hand through his hair.
"Sir, why don't you go grab a coffee, and go call Karen." He suggested. "Your next meeting isn't for another hour."
Fitz thought, he was about to agree when he looked up to speak to Cyrus but he beat him to it.
"Yes, if I hear anything from her I will let you know." He said and Fitz left his office.
XXXX
Olivia drove to the brink of the speed limit as she raced down to see Franklin. She didn't really understand, yes he was sick, but she had talked to them just a few weeks ago and things had been ok. Did he really deteriorate that quickly. Was Franklin Ok? He sounded so off on the phone.
She arrived in record time and ran up to the house. She knocked quickly and was greeted by someone she had never met.
"Where is Franklin?" she asked not caring to introduce herself.
"He is in his bedroom" the woman said before stepping aside to let her in. Olivia walked in and saw Mrs Ferguson on the couch.
"Olivia?" she asked as she entered.
"Mrs Ferguson, I am so sorry for your loss." She tried to console her.
"Thank you dear. Thank you for coming. He hasn't left his room since he got home." And nodded towards the stairs. Olivia took the hint and all but ran up the stairs. She approached his room and could see there were no lights on from the crack in the door. She pushed it open slowly.
"Franklin" she said before she could see him. She finally saw him sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor. Olivia slipped her shoes off and sat next to him on the bed, one leg bent and one on the floor so she could look at him.
"Franklin" she said again. She hesitantly placed a hand on his back and rubbed his back in circles. He slowly fell against her shoulder. She kept one hand on his back rubbing circles until she heard him cry and she wrapped her other hand around his face, rubbing his hair with her thumb. As his cries got louder she began rocking back and forth gently and humming a mindless tune.
She thought he might have fallen asleep after his crying had subsided and she felt little movement but he spoke shortly after.
"Maybe I shouldn't come and stay with you." He said softly. She pulled his head from her shoulder to look at him.
"You don't want to come and live with me?" she asked. He shook his head no before continuing.
"I just… What if something happens to you?" he said.
"Why would something happen to me?" she asked confused. He didn't respond right away feeling stupid.
"Well first Mum, now Mr Ferguson" he gulped "What if it is me…"
"Franklin, none of that is your fault. Mr Ferguson was sick." Having someone else talk it out with him made him feel a little better. "Why don't you lay down and have a sleep? I'll be downstairs."
Exhaustion hit him and he took her advice and lay down on his bed. She wasn't even out of the room when she heard his deep breathing. She picked up her shoes and walked out of the room. She put them back on as she headed down the stairs.
"Olivia, can I offer you a tea or coffee?" the woman who greeted her at the door asked.
"A black tea thank you." She gave a smile. Olivia returned to the lounge room where Mrs Ferguson motioned for her to take a seat.
Mrs Ferguson and Olivia spoke about plans for Franklin. Mrs Ferguson explained to Olivia that she and Mr Ferguson had lived in that house since their marriage and Mrs Ferguson did not want to spend even one night there without him, but she wanted to make sure that Olivia was set to take Franklin. She knew she was due to pick him up in just a couple of days, but needed to make sure. Olviia rang Mrs Doherty who said it would be fine.
She waited for Franklin to wake up, and told him what they had discussed. He nodded and began packing the last of his things. He didn't have a whole lot of stuff really. Just his clothes, school books, some posters, some books and a box of things from his old house. They would fit easily into Olivia's car. When he was finished packing Olivia put the stuff in her car while Franklin sat with Mrs Ferguson. With the last box Franklin and Mrs Ferguson walked to her car with her.
Olivia hugged her "Please let me know when the funeral is, we wouldn't miss it."
Franklin then hugged her and whispered "Im sorry. Thank you for everything you have done for me."
They hopped in the car. "We should probably go get your things from your locker shouldn't we."
"Last day of school today so I had cleared out my locker already" he said.
So they drove straight back to her house, quietly, listening to music. And as soon as they arrived at her apartment he went straight to his room.
She text Stephen asking him to cover over to help her bring up some of his stuff and grab some groceries. She knew he didn't always enjoy their take away dinners and knew she should make more of an effort, but she didn't want to leave him alone, even though she supposed he was alone in his room.
Once he was finished bringing up Franklins things she filled Steven in on the situation.
"Why didn't you tell us you were going to have him live with you?" he asked. He was slightly offended that she hadn't, but also understood that she was a very private person.
"I was going to tell everyone when I went to pick him up." She said unconvincingly.
"Well, apart from the campaign stuff you were working on I think the office is under control, so you take a few days off if you need to." She nodded.
"I think I should go check on him." She said. Steven took the opportunity to say his goodbyes.
"Liv, your doing a great thing you know. I'll talk to you later." He said kissing her cheek before leaving her apartment.
She walked towards his room. She knocked. "Franklin, all your stuff is out here whenever you are ready." No response. "Are you hungry?" no response. She opened his door to find him asleep again.
She returned to the kitchen to put away the groceries Steven had brought up before turning on the news. She pulled out her laptop and phone and began working. She emailed Cyrus quickly just letter him know she was at home and everything was under control.
It was about 5pm before Franklin emerged. He plonked down next to her on the couch smiling at her with her paperwork and laptop scattered across the table and couch.
"What?" she asked smiling back at him.
"Nothing." He returned his gaze to the television "Anything new?"
"No, thankfully." She said packing up her papers. "You hungry?" she asked.
"A bit." He responded.
"How do you feel about some spaghetti bolognaise?" she asked.
"Sounds good. Need a hand" he asked as Olivia stood to go to the kitchen.
"If your offering. You know I'm a terrible cook." they both laughed.
It wasn't really too bad they both thought as they sat down to eat.
He pushed his plate away full. She had finished a while ago.
"So, we should probably figure some stuff out I guess." She tried to start the conversation.
"Ok." He said, happy to do so.
She didn't really know how to truly get it started.
"I umm… Im going to have the next few days off, at least until Mr Ferguson's funeral. But, I will need to work on the campaign a fair bit, mainly at OPA, but occasionally at the White House. I was wondering if you would like to help out? Im sure Cyrus would give you a glowing reference." She was nervous for his response.
"Seriously?" he asked as his eyes lit up. She nodded.
"Oh my god I would love to help out with the campaign." His mind started running through everything, what he might get to do.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "You don't have to. Im sure we could find a summer program at the Smithsonian or something more interesting."
"Livvie, you know I love politics." She did know that, but she didn't really know how he felt about the particular politician they would be supporting.
"Ok then. And, you should probably start thinking about which school you want to start at next term."
"What are my options?" he asked curiously.
"Anywhere really. I know that DC has some pretty good private High Schools, but there are also some equally good public High Schools. There's Sidwell, Without Walls, Maret, Benjamin Banneker. Why don't you do some research, see what you like and we can talk about it again. You could even write a pro's and con's list for each."
"Ok" he said thinking.
"Great. So what do you wanna do?" she asked.
"Watch the news?" he said cheekily.
"I think you might have enough of the news by the end of the holidays, why don't we watch something else if you want to stay in?" she suggested. He grabbed the remote to see what was on while Olivia cleaned the table.
"There's a documentary on JFK?" he yelled from the kitched. She shook her head. She returned to the loungeroom.
"James was right. I really have been a bad influence on you havn't I!" she exclaimed.
"I think he said 'big' not 'bad'" he corrected her. She nudged him.
"Fine, if there is nothing else on." And she returned to clean the dishes.
The documentary was pretty good, although she laughed at some of the similarities between JFK and Fitz, other than sharing part of their name. They were both young and handsome, family men, with doting wives and adorable children and if the speculation was correct, they both stepped out on them.
They watched till the end and Liv suggested he put some of his things away befoe heading to bed.
"Night Liv." He said before kissing her on the cheek and heading to bed.
She stayed up a good while longer, like usual, doing work and watching the news.
At around 11pm there was a knock on the door. The only person who visited her this late was Fitz and she was going to slap him for being so reckless. She stomped up to the door and flung it open, opening her mouth to speak. It was Tom, alone.
"Tom?" she asked.
"Ms Pope. A delivery" he said handing her a very dated mobile phone. "Expect a call any minute." he said as she reached out for the phone. She closed the door as she looked down at the phone.
As predicted, a few minutes later, probably just long enough for Tom to get to the bottom of the lift, call the President, and him call her, did her phone ring.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hi." He responded.
"Whats with the phone?" she asked.
"Cyrus told me you were home, but I thought you might have Franklin with you and I didn't want to wake him by calling your home phone, and I know you don't want me calling your mobile, so I had Tom arrange a secure line for us. I have one phone, you have another."
"Who says I want to speak to you?" she asked.
"You answered." He stated. She conceded on that point but didn't respond. "What happened today?" he asked when she didn't respond.
"One of Franklin's foster carers passed away last night. He had been sick for a while but it wasn't really expected per se."
"Im sorry to hear that." He consoled. "What happens to Franklin now?"
"He is going to stay with me." She had spoken about that to him very briefly when she explained who Franklin was.
"Indefinitely?" he further queried.
"Hopefully untill he goes to college or moves out I guess." She cleared her throat. "I will be adopting him" she finished.
"Wow. Im proud of you." He said. She could hear in his voice that he really was.
"Thanks."
"I always knew you would be a great mum." He said with a smile. Her heart started beating faster at his implication. "So will we be seeing more of Franklin?" he asked.
"He will be helping out with the campaign, so I would imagine so." She said.
"Will be great to get to know him." He stated. She didn't respond.
"Are you ok?" he asked after a long silence.
"Fine, peachy, just dandy." She said sarcastically. "Congratulations on the news by the way." She continued with the same tone. He huffed, was it worth continuing this conversation.
"Ok Liv. I guess I'll talk to you later." And Olivia hung up.