Double posting, sorry that's what I get for trying to multitask. , I was so excited when I typed 'Huck knew the woman in the photo". ,that was not in my notes or in my outline, I started hitting all the wrong buttons. This started out as a one shot and my excitement grew as I typed that last sentence.

Sorry about the double postings. I will try not to make that mistake again.

A Match to Remember

Chapter 3

It was a short flight to Chicago which did not give Huck much time to think about the past so he decided to think about the present and how he was going to handle meeting Olivia again. He had to reestablish contact with Liv without her knowing it involved Fitz.

He was able to complete some of the research before he left all he had to do now was to compile his information and the information from a few friends . Liv was living in Chicago with her Aunt. She was on sabbatical while doing research on clean water. She had picked Chicago as base for two reasons, Chicago has twenty five miles of fresh water, they have a long history of water innovations and she had the University of Chicago as a research partner.,

Huck located Liv and followed her for a few days. He decided it was best to contact her at her home when her aunt was present, he only hoped she remembered him. He also wanted to contacted her during the daylight hour to not alarm the two women.

HPOV

Huck

It was September 12, 2001. American was under attack . Some smart person understood the usual people who did undercover work could no longer pass the smell test. The buzz cuts and blue eyes no longer fit the undercover work now needed. America needed a new kind of warrior, that opened the door for Hector Munoz,…. American born to parents of Cuban and Dominican ancestry. He could easily pass for any ethnic group so when his written and physical test showed his adaptive skills he was immediately pulled from the ranks of the grunt soldier and sent for specialized training. He was sent to work with all branches of the military so he could easily adapt if assigned. It was an assignment as a homeless person living in the underground metro system in Washington DC he first met Olivia Pope. In the beginning she was one of numerous metro riders over a year she became much more than just another metro rider.

When he first saw Liv she was loaded with books so he assumed she was a student, probably at Georgetown since she was wearing a Georgetown jacket. He watched for her each day and was able to determine her class schedule by the times she caught the train. She was one of the few people who made eye contact with him so he paid closer attention to her. One cold January day she brought him a cup of coffee, a week later she added a sandwich. For the past year every weekday it was a coffee and sandwich in the morning , a sandwich and drink on her return trip. Sometime during that period she introduced herself and asked if he need help, wanted to help him find a safe place to live. He could not accept because he wasn't homeless so he told her he had emotional problems that it was safer for everyone if he stayed where he was.

That did not stop her from talking to him or bringing him food, soon she was stopping by some weekends . Huck knew this could be dangerous for him so he asked to be transferred to another assignment or at least another station.

Olivia's schedule had changed she was taking trains later and later. About a week after asking for a transfer he saw Olivia coming down the stairs, much later than usual, two men who had harassed him earlier also saw her and decided she was a good target. When they attacked her it was all he could do to not kill them. .

Huck knew then he had to leave, whether he was moved or not.. He could not chance his cover as a homeless person being questioned . Before leaving for his new assignment in New York he slipped a note and a photo in her bag one day during class. No one noticed the clean cut man with the buzz cut enter or exit the room. The note thanked her for her kindness and reminded her not to take the metro after the rush hours, she heeded his advice.

Years later and after numerous assignments he stood at her aunts front door hoping she would remember him from the photo he left in her bag .

Olivia opened the door and looked at him for a moment,.. he said " Olivia", she recognized his voice looked closely at him ," Huck"…" yes" he answered

Olivia threw her arms around him hugging him , calling his name over and over again. Her aunt came to the door wondering who was there and what was happening.

"Auntie this is Huck, a friend.. "

"yes, Hello Huck come in, stay for dinner, please".

" How long are you in town for ….do you need a place to stay…..how did you find me,…..I kept your note so I don't need a lot of explanations " Olivia said as the jumble of words poured out

Huck followed the women into the house and sat in a chair at the dining room table where Aunt Dee told him to sit while she got him something to drink.

Liv sat looking at Huck, took his hand and placed in on her cheek. "I'm so glad to see you again, I know you being homeless was not really you being homeless"

"and I knew you were smart and would not look for me or say anything "

" You were always too calm, too alert ,knew too much. You did not talk much, but I noticed as you listened to me your eyes were always watching . I knew the person I was seeing was not the person you were. Why are you here now, why did you look me up?"

"I was able to get your information from Professor Beene, I'm glad you kept in touch with him."

A small lie but one that would hold until a Fitz made contact, he hoped,. They talked for a while exchanging numbers and email addresses. He declined dinner putting it off for another day hoping it would get him more contact with Liv.

As he was leaving he said offhand," don't you have a birthday soon, why don't I take you out to celebrate, unless…. if there is someone special you are spending it with, maybe the day before if you already have plans,"

" no-one special, no plans it's Wednesday , will you still be in town?."

" if I can celebrate with you I will stay in town , I'll call you , you can fill me in on what you would like to do".

" lets make it dinner Tuesday , is 8 pm ok",

Huck gave Olivia a hug as he left telling her he would see her at 8pm on Tuesday.

Huck called Fitz, told him he had located Olivia and told him her birthday was in three days . He suggested he find that card fast and post it. He gave him her address telling him he would get back to him as soon as possible. He also related he did not think she was married or there was anyone special in her life.

Hector Munoz, soldier extraordinaire. He was smart, had special physical skills, was good in electronics and had a face that blended in well. Now he was having dinner with a long lost friend in a well know Italian restaurant in Chicago,. . He had to know more about Liv's life now before he shared the information with Fitz who was pestering him every day, with new questions most he refused to answer.

"Huck what are you doing in Chicago , something that you can tell me or is it better the less I know the better it is?"

" Yes kind of , I want to thank for your kindness"

"Noting special one kind deed from one human to another"

"I know It looked like I was in a bad place and you were willing to help."

" Where did you go, where have you been?"

NOW he thought here is where the half truth begins so he changed the subject.

' Liv, did you ever get married?"

"nope, never found that right person, " she said then thought quickly about Fitz, it had only been two weeks since they parted."

" remember when you talked about my eyes, your mouth say no but your eyes had a hint of sadness when you answered,. bad experience and if so how recent?"

" not bad, very recent"

"If not bad why the sadness in your eyes?"

"Huck, lets talk about us not about me"

"Olivia when we were in that subway, you talked I listened , so talk"

" don't want to "

"why not, don't want to talk about recent events in your life or your life at all?"

"don't know. It just makes me unhappy"

"talk to me, why does it make you unhappy, is he married is he unavailable, is she married is she unavailable ?" Huck said with a grin. Hoping he could find the key to make her talk about why her eyes were sad, hoping it was Fitz.

"It's a he,… great guy I met him when I went to New York a few weeks ago,"

Huck sat, waiting for her to continue, not saying anything if she were going to talk about this man, who he now knows is Fitz he must let her talk about it without him prodding her.

Huck sat there not saying anything so Olivia decided to talk about him., he smiled inside hoping his inside joy did not spread to his face

" It was such an odd meeting, unplanned , easy and we bonded quickly"

Huck still said nothing, trying hard to remain silent.

Olivia looked at Huck who was still mute and continued

"I went to the US Open , I wanted to see the players I enjoy watching one more time. Venus, Roger, Rafa, Serena even Maria. Serena threw a wrench into the mix when she announced she was pregnant, and now has a baby girl. Her story is so romantic, she and Alexis bonded over a tennis match. "

Olivia stopped talking and her eyes grew wide

" OMG"

"OMG, what ?"

"She and Alexis bonded over a tennis match, It was the same for me and F,, "

"You and who?"

Olivia dropped her head and kept saying omg. Omg. Omg omg, over and over again. She looked up at Huck as she placed her hand over her mouth and a single tear escaped from the corner of her eye.

"Olivia what's wrong?"

" Everything, Huck , Everything"

" I think I missed my chance , I missed my chance"

"Why do you think you have lost your chance, talk to me about what happened. Do you want something more and he's not available, Olivia please talk to me, tell me what happened"

Per the gossips, Alexis, not a tennis fan , was invited to see one of Serena's matches. She called and invited him to another one a few weeks later. Per the gossips they walked around Paris for hours and bonded. True or not I'm going with it. ALSO I wanted to expand Huck a bit more there is more to come about his past. I hope you guys will stick around for this story.