Ask and you shall receive. Here lies the third installment of my TucksoNoahLie series. If you have not yet read Come Together and By Your Side, I strongly recommend you do so before embarking upon this journey.

Buckle up - this will not be a smooth ride...

September

"I be fine, Mommy," Noah said as he stood outside of PS 191 looking up at his parents. Ed and Olivia stood, hands clutched together, amongst the other nervous and clingy first-time Kindergarten parents. Olivia had spent most of the previous night fretting to Ed about what a milestone Noah was hitting and how fast he was growing up. She worried about whether or not he would make friends. Would the kids make fun of him? Would he pick up bad habits? Would he lose the adorable tone in which he spoke? While Ed hummed his understanding as she lamented, he didn't quite see why she was so worked up - until this moment, as they watched their son stand tall with his Minion backpack, ready to embark on his first day of school.

"Okay, Noah," Liv said, kneeling down and straightening his light blue polo as she fought the tears. "You are going to have such a good first day of Kindergarten. And Daddy and I will be right here at 2:45 to pick you up, okay?"

"Right here? You proooomise?" he asked, still looking confident but showing a small sign of separation anxiety.

"I promise you, baby boy," Olivia said.

"I big boy, Mommy," Noah corrected, as Olivia let out a little laugh despite the water pooling in her eyes.

"That you are," she said. "And we will see you after your big, first day of school. Okay?"

Noah just nodded and smiled at his mom. "Okay, Mommy," he said before crashing into her for a big hug. It was then that Olivia lost the battle with her tears and let a few cascade down her face. Ed placed a hand on her shoulder for support, knowing that this was hard for her, but also not expecting his own emotions to begin bubbling up. Olivia pulled back and kissed both of Noah's cheeks, then moved to wipe her lip gloss off, before holding him at an arm's length to give him one last once over.

"My big boy," she cooed, fussing at his hair. "I love you so much."

"Love you too, Mommy," he said. Ed then crouched down on one knee next to Olivia and pulled the boy into his chest for his own little goodbye.

"Have a great day, bud," he said softly into his ear. "Be a good boy and we will get ice cream after school."

"Ice-Cream!" Noah yelled, pulling back and giving his Dad a big smile. "I be da best Kin-Der-Gardner in da room!" Ed and Olivia just chuckled, before standing up and noticing that his teacher was now at the gate to gather her students.

"Okay, Noah-Bear," Olivia said, taking a big breath and steeling herself for the hand-off. "There's Mrs. Rice. Go line up with your class, okay?"

"Okay!" He said and skipped off to line up with his new teacher and classmates. Olivia stood completely still, one hand over her mouth to stifle her building sobs, and the other waving to her son. Ed came up and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"He's gonna be great, Liv," he whispered in her ear, both keeping a close, loving eye on Noah as he walked confidently into the school. Once he was out of sight, Olivia turned in Ed's arms and tucked her head in his neck as she sniffled.

"He will be," she said softly. "He's just…growing up too fast. I need him to stay little."

"I know, baby," Ed cooed softly, before leading her back down the sidewalk towards Amsterdam Avenue. "I know. Come on, Charlie's meeting us at the diner."

"Aw, Ma…" Charlie exclaimed as she saw her parents approaching the back corner booth. Olivia had mascara streaks down her face and her eyes were red. "Come on, let's fix you up." Charlie stood, put her arm around Olivia, and led her towards the bathrooms while Ed collapsed into the booth and shook his head.

"Coffee?" The waitress asked a little too cheerfully.

"Please," he muttered. "My wife and daughter will take some as well."

"No problem-o," she said, plopping the milk and sugar in the middle of the table. "I'll be back for your order."

As the waitress bustled over to the next table, Ed let out a big sigh. He never admitted it out loud, but he had been dreading this day for a while. Noah going to Kindergarten was a big moment for their family. Even though he had been in preschools for two years now, they were only half day programs. Ed would always pick him up before lunchtime and they would spend the day together. He cherished those moments with his son. And now, all of a sudden, his day was empty. No more lunch debates and bargains about eating veggies in exchange for the park and ice cream. No more joint afternoon naps in his recliner, with some ridiculous show on in the background. No more pretending the grocery cart was a race car, while trying to buy ingredients for dinner with a bored out of his mind little boy. All of that was done until June. Noah was now in full-time school, and Ed was not ready for it at all. As strong as he tried to be for Olivia earlier that morning, seeing as she was in full Mommy-Meltdown mode, he was harboring his own bittersweet sadness. Luckily he was brought out of his pity-party by the return of Olivia and Charlie.

"Better?" Ed asked, as Olivia slid in next to him and began to fix her coffee while Charlie seemed to hesitate.

"Much," she said. "He will be just fine."

"Yeah, he will," Charlie said, reaching for the pitcher of water. "That kid is going to be the best Kindergartner PS 191 has ever seen."

Ed just laughed, but he had to agree. There was no way another five year old was smarter and cuter than Noah Tucker.

"Okay, what are we getting," Ed said, passing the menus around. "I'm starved."

"You just had breakfast with Noah," Olivia said, passing the milk over to Charlie so she could fix up her coffee.

"No," he corrected. "Noah had breakfast. I was too nervous to eat."

"Dad…" Charlie said, taking a good look at her father. He did look a little rattled.

"I'm fine now," he said. "But once I realize I no longer have a lunch date, that may be another story."

The women chuckled as the waitress came over and took their order and menus. Once they were left alone again, Olivia zeroed in on the young woman across the booth.

"So, how's the new gig?" she asked, still not entirely sure what Charlie was doing as she had been too focused on getting Noah ready for school.

"It's not really a gig," she explained. "It's more like, contracted work. The local new station wants extra coverage for the US Open, so I'm just a temporary writer. Which I like, for now."

"That's great," Ed said. "Do you get the full press-pass?"

"Yup," she said, sipping her coffee then making a little face. "This coffee is gross…"

"I think it's fine," Olivia said. Ed just elbowed her.

"That's because you spent years drinking that crap John Munch would break," he quipped.

"Touche, dear," Olivia said with a smirk, refocusing on Charlie. "Keeping you busy?

"Busy enough to have Trevor whining," she said and rolled her eyes.

"Keep him on his toes, Charlie," Ed encouraged. "Men need that."

"Okay, Tarzan, cut it out," Olivia said before jumping a bit and reaching into her back pocket for her phone. "I'm buzzing…hello?"

Ed and Charlie looked at each other with an amused grin. Olivia had been retired for about five months now, but she still managed to "consult" on cases three to four days a week. Ed knew she wouldn't be able to fully retire and he was happy that she was really just going in to talk cases through with the squad. But he had to laugh whenever she told people that she was a retired NYPD Lieutenant, because there was nothing about her that had retired.

She finally hung up the phone as their eggs and toast were put in front of them. "Speaking of Trevor, he's got a new referral. Wants me to come talk to her before he assigns her case to one of his volunteer lawyers."

"I love that he calls you," Charlie said with a little smile.

"What?" Olivia asked, defensively. "Who else would he call?"

"I meant it in a good way!" she quickly said, calming her mother down. "It's just…cute. It's like the family business now."

"That's us," Ed deadpanned with his mouth full of toast. "The Tucker Clan takes on the rapists of New York City."

The women just laughed and rolled their eyes at the crumbs he spewed while making his remark, before Olivia noticed Charlie wasn't touching her eggs. "Not hungry?" she asked, a concerned look falling over her features.

"I thought I was," she said, taking a bite of her buttered toast. "But I may just stick with the bacon part."

"That's my girl," Ed said with a proud grin.

"How are things going with Trevor?" Ed asked, as he and Charlie walked along the The High Line after putting Olivia in a cab to Langan's office.

She sipped her water and pushed her aviators up on her nose. "Good," she said. "Not much has changed."

"He still want you to move in together?" Ed asked cautiously. He knew this was a touchy subject with his daughter, but he just wanted to make sure she was doing okay and handling herself.

"He does," she admitted. "But he's backed off. We talked it out the other night, and he gets it. I just think…well…he's disappointed."

"He'll live," Ed said, but with a joking smirk. Charlie knew her father was still incredibly protective of her, but he had also grown to like having Trevor around at times. The whole unit was really beginning to feel like he was a good fit, at least for now. "You stand firm in however it is that you feel, Charlie. And when you're ready for that next step, we'll support you."

"Thanks Daddy," she said, looking up at him with a smile. "I think it is going to be a while. I still just, need space. And time alone. Some days I still can't get out of bed. So, that step in any kind of relationship is still far off in the distance."

"I know, sweetheart," Ed admitted, though his heart ached for the pain that still haunted her. "And, you know you can call on those really bad days."

Charlie just looked up at him again and stopped walking. "I know, Dad. And I will."

"Good," he said, pulling her in for a side hug and kiss on the head. "Now, are you going to be my afternoon company while I stew in the misery of Noah being in school?"

"Absolutely," Charlie said with a sympathetic laugh. "I've got us a batting cage reserved at Chelsea Piers. You're going down, old man."

"What do you think?" Trevor asked, as Olivia stepped into his office after what turned into a two hour conversation with a young, terrified 20 year old.

"She's petrified," Olivia said, rubbing her hands on her temples as she tried to process what she just heard. "Hudson really put her through the ringer…"

"I know…" Trevor said, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. "Do we push her? Contact the administration at Hudson?"

"Not yet. And don't push too hard," she advised. "I told her she can trust you and I think that she will come around. She's already too scared to go back to school, so let's give her a day and then call her again. Ask her to come meet you. I can be there too, if it helps."

"Olivia…" Trevor began, and then stopped himself unsure if he wanted to continue his thought process. But his colleague had already figured it out.

"I know," Olivia said softly. "She reminds me of Charlie, too."

"She can't slip through the cracks," Trevor said confidently. "She just can't."

"And she won't," Olivia said, hoping to instill confidence in the pained lawyer who sat in front of her. "Because you won't let her."

And we begin...but I'm gonna need your thoughts first...so leave a review!