All Olivia wanted to do was forget the events of the day. There are many days that she would like to completely forget, ones that turned out much worse than this one had. But this day just happened. It's fresh. Today. She was threatened, today. She was hit, multiple times, today. She had a gun to her head, today. She could have died today.

The knock on her door was soft, she barely heard it over her thoughts.

'It's midnight' she thought, hand immediately going to her hip reaching for the gun that was currently in evidence lock-up.

"Who is it?" She asked through the door.

A pause and then "Tucker." was the quiet and succinct reply.

Olivia opened the door and was met by blue and somewhat troubled eyes.

"I'm sorry it's late, I just…" he stopped speaking. Tucker looked like he didn't have the words or the strength to finish that sentence. Neither spoke, until seconds later Olivia opened the door completely and stepped back.

"It's okay, I wasn't close to sleeping." She said over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen. Tucker took a deep breath and crossed the threshold.

Turning away from her, he closed the door and asked "How are you?" A soft chuckle was the only reply he received. He took a deep breath and shrugged off his heavy jacket, hanging it on the coatrack next to the door.

"Would you like a drink Tucker?" Olivia asked.
"What are you drinking?" he shot back.
"Wine. Red."
"Sounds good."

Olivia busied herself with pouring another glass for her unexpected guest. She had been reliving the events of the day, trying to relax and remind herself that she made it. She's been going over her decisions throughout the day, verifying that her decisions were good and that everything worked out in the end. Worked out, right. I still ended the day with blood on my clothes.

When she walked back to the living room, Tucker was sitting on the couch looking at home but not at ease.

"Thanks." he said as he took his glass from her hand. Olivia sat down next to him on the couch and took a drink from her glass. "I've been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself Captain." she joked, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

His eyes met hers, seriously he replied "I've been trained on hostage situations, even been in a few over the years. This one was different." Again, the weary cop seemed at a loss for words.

Olivia looked away, taking another drink from her glass. "I don't know what you want me to say Tucker."

"I'm not sure I know what I want you to say." He sat his wine down on the table and put his head in his hands. "I don't know if I can do this."

She turned her body towards his, bringing her knee onto the couch "Do what?"

"This. It doesn't…" he trailed off as he raised his head and looked around the living room. His eyes scanned the pictures, scattered toys, her shoes in the corner. "How's the kid?"

A genuine smile graced Olivia's face "He's fine. Good. A little confused as to why his Momma wouldn't put him down all night." She took another sip and then placed her glass next to his. "Sometimes I think he's helping me more than I'm helping him."

Tucker flashed her a small smile and then relaxed back into the couch. "I meant what I said today. You did great out there."

"Thanks. I meant it when I said 'thank you' too." she mimicked his positioning, leaning back into the couch facing him.

Tucker looked down, swallowed hard, and then quickly asked "Why did Joe ask for me?"

"I told him to." Olivia answered, looking down at her leg on the couch.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe I wanted to check that you didn't lose your edge after your promotion."

"Olivia." he said, lowering his head trying to meet her eyes. "Why?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Lately, you've done right by my squad," she looked up, meeting his eyes "and me. When he asked if anyone cared if I lived through this, if I knew someone high ranking in the NYPD, I thought of you." She gave a half-smile, which he reciprocated. Olivia put her foot back on the floor, reaching for her glass. Tucker picked up his and the two drank in silence for a minute.

"How are you?" He asked again, hoping to get a reply this time.

"I'm alright. I'm safe," she took a sip "the family is safe." Tucker nodded. "And now, my son is asleep and I'm drinking wine with you, so the day hasn't turned out too horrible." She smiled.

Tucker chuckled. Turning his body towards hers, he said "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you Tucker."

"You can call me Ed, you know. We are sort-of friends right?"

Smiling she replied "Yes. You could classify us as friends." He smiled back. He has a nice smile. Huh, I've seen this man smile more tonight than I have the whole time we've known each other. They finished their wine in silence, listening to the faint city sounds cutting through the quiet night.

"Well, I should be going." Tucker said, standing from the couch. He took the empty wine glass from her hands and walked into the kitchen. Olivia stood from the couch and watched him place the glasses in the sink as she stretched her tired arms above her head. Tucker walked back passed her towards the door.

"Thanks for coming by, Ed." She said as she followed him.

He grabbed his coat from the stand and said "Of course, and thank you for the wine." After putting on his jacket, he turned back to her and met her gaze. She stared back into the eyes of this man that she met over a decade ago but only recently began to know. He smiled and, unsure if their newfound friendship included any kind of intimacy, he moved his arms slightly away from his sides. Olivia returned his smile and moved into his arms.

As they hugged he whispered "Goodnight Olivia."

Pulling out of the hug, she looked into his eyes and said "Goodnight Ed. Thank you, really. For everything today"

He nodded with a small smile and turned towards the door reaching for the knob, "I do, you know."

Olivia cocked her head at the man's back "What?"

He turned back slightly to look at her with one hand still on the doorknob, "Care if you live or not. I do care." Not knowing how to respond to that, she smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I just wanted to make sure that you knew. It does matter - to me." They looked at each other, fondness in both sets of eyes.

"Thank you." She replied, lowering her hand from his shoulder to his bicep. "That goes both ways." She gave his arm a squeeze and then let her arm drop to her side.

"Thanks. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight. Get home safe."

With one last smile, he turned back around opening the door and leaving the apartment, quietly closing the door behind him.

Alone once again, Olivia replayed the last 30 minutes over in her head. Why was he the first one I thought of? Sure, he's a Captain now but I could've asked for another NYPD official.
She sat back down on the couch, leaning against the armrest and placing her feet in the place he vacated minutes earlier. I'm glad he stopped by.