Executive Orders

CH 68 | Episode 18: One Thousand Percent

As always, Harrison has managed to leave her smiling, Olivia thought as he turned away and headed in Shireen's direction.

She saw the moment when the younger woman noticed him; Shireen smiled and even from this distance, Olivia could see some of the tension flow out of her.

Olivia couldn't help but smile again, this time wholly for Shireen's sake. Harrison had been right once again - Shireen could use a friend right now and Olivia couldn't think of a better one for anyone than Harrison.

She hopes that Shireen allows him to be the same kind of friend for her that he's been for Olivia - perceptive, loyal and above all honest when you most needed him to be all with the compassion his brash exterior often hid.

Everybody needs a friend like Harrison.

Olivia turned back to the others to find that Jocelyn had joined Fitz and Susan, while Annarosa had already wandered off on her own again and had disappeared into the crowd. That, she thought, was a pity; Olivia had wanted a moment to speak with the younger woman in an attempt to get to know her better and allow her to do the same. If they were going to work together, then as far as Olivia was concerned, it wasn't too soon to establish a better sense of one another.

Jocelyn's gaze happened to come up just in time to catch Olivia's eye. She spoke to the other two briefly, excusing herself to catch Olivia before she could join them.

"How's Annarosa?" Olivia asked.

"Thawing slowly." The answer came with a sigh, but it was clear from the way Jocelyn's eyes flicked briefly past Olivia that it was one that had nothing to do with Annarosa.

Olivia turned to watch Harrison with her daughter before she turned back to Jocelyn. She didn't say anything, wanting to respect their privacy, plus she wasn't sure of Jocelyn's thoughts one way or the other on the matter.

Jocelyn was the one who brought the matter up. "Annarosa reminds me of Shireen right now. The situation isn't quite the same, but I need to earn their trust in both cases - so there's that."

"And I'm sure you'll succeed with both of them - after all, you've got skills in that whole diplomatic thing, right?" Olivia said.

"This is true." Jocelyn said, trying to match Olivia's lightness with her own. "I believe the term is mad, crazy skills."

That made them both laugh a little and lightened the mood for both of them for a little bit.

"I won't keep you." Jocelyn gestured towards Fitz. "I just wanted to take a moment to thank you - you and all of your people - for looking out for my daughter."

"There's no need to thank us - Shireen made it easy for us all to work together - and as for Harrison - that's that's all him - and he's a good man."

"Is he?" As much as she tried not to show it, Jocelyn couldn't quite hide her concern or the hint of relief that showed briefly in her eyes. "I think Shireen could use a good friend right about now."

Jocelyn paused and took a deep breath. "As you might have guessed by now, I'm not her favorite person at the moment."

She needed no answer - Olivia knew that they both knew why. Shireen's life had become a tangle of secrets and lies and the blame was all Jocelyn's, never mind that her intent had been to protect her daughter.

Olivia found herself happy to at least be able to offer Jocelyn a honest reassurance. "That won't last forever - and in the meanwhile, Harrison is the best friend you don't even know that you need to have - until you do."

"That's good to know - and I know you said not to, but thank you again, Olivia." Jocelyn said.

Olivia wished that she could do more. After years of living with the lack of any real family ties beyond her people at OPA, she found herself hating the idea of watching Shireen and Jocelyn's relationship fracturing along its edges. It hurt to know that she could see both sides of the argument all too clearly What was even worse was that she could feel the hurt on both sides.