Hello everyone! I'm back (ish) with a series of one-shots. These are all stand alone fics with different settings, ranging in length and tone. Some will be fluff, some will be angst, but all will be Tuckson. Feel free to PM me with requests or ideas, and I'll see what I can do.

This one in particular is a couple of years down the road...I'll let you figure out the rest.

#Tuckson


Ed and Olivia stumbled out of the bar and onto the West 23rd Street sidewalk. It was a clear night but the wind was brisk, causing a chill to immediately run through Olivia's body. Ed instinctively pulled her into his side, taking his place walking closest to the street, as they ambled towards the uptown C train entrance.

"That was fun," Olivia mused, her face totally relaxed, likely from both the bourbon and the evening out with her squad. "It's been a long time since we've all gotten together, outside of the precinct."

"Yeah," Ed said quietly, his arm still securely wrapped around his wife's waist. "Rough few months, huh."

"To say the least," she mumbled, moving to fiddle with her gloves and scarf, almost a characteristic move as she worked to shove unpleasant memories down. Shaking her head and looking froward, Olivia allowed a smirk to grace her face. "In the past now."

"Carisi seemed more grounded," Tucker continued to analyze, going over the body language of each of Olivia's detectives.

"He was," Olivia allowed, her head falling to Ed's shoulder. "Rollins was relaxed. Fin was…well, Fin. Nice to see everyone themselves."

It had been a rough stretch for New York City's dedicated detectives. A serial child rapist had inflicted terror upon an East Harlem neighborhood, consistently thwarting the NYPD at every attempt they made to capture him, for about six weeks. During that time, Ed had really stepped in and become primary care giver for Noah, as Olivia worked almost twenty hour days. Having retired the year before, Ed was easily able to arrange his contract work around whatever his wife needed, but it proved to be a trying time for the couple in their first year of marriage.

The case finally broke when the mother of one of the victims cornered their suspect in a coffee shop, but she had lost her cool and was holding the entire shop hostage. Emotions running rampant, the SVU detectives, alongside of HNU, had set up camp working tirelessly to talk the mother down. This particular case had been run by Carisi and Rollins, so they tried to talk the mother off her emotional ledge, only to end up watching in horror as she turned the gun on herself.

The rapist captured, and presumably locked away for good, the detectives slowly began to muddle through the paperwork and aftermath of that kind of case. But the reality was it was hard. Cases with kids always were, but it especially hit harder as they truly experienced the traumatic aftermath of what sexual violence can do to families.

"And how are you doing?" Ed finally asked as they paused, waiting to cross 9th Ave. He knew she had been more focused on the recovery of her detectives, but he had seen the worry and the trauma in her eyes throughout the ordeal. How she'd stay longer in Noah's room when she checked on him, the way she held onto the little boy a little tighter each morning, and how her body would just instinctively migrate to touch Ed's any chance she got.

Olivia was a wildly independent woman and perfectly capable of taking care of herself and her son, but with Ed she didn't have to. She was slowly adjusting to that reality, beginning to lean on him even when she didn't realize what she was doing. It was everything Ed had ever wanted, and he had worked hard to get them to that place of total comfort and vulnerability.

"I'm okay," she allowed quietly, looking up and kissing his chin, before dragging him to cross the street.

Ed just kissed the side of her head, agreeing to drop the subject for now, and they continued to walk in peace until they passed by a rowdier bar with a large group of intoxicated men outside. It was almost second nature for Ed to pull Olivia closer to his body, not having time to swap to the other side of her, placing himself between her and the men. But true to character, she didn't even flinch.

"Heyyyyyy hot stuff," one of the guys said, as they all looked up to eye the attractive older woman passing by.

Another let out a long whistle.

"Damn are you a MILF or what."

Ed's grip tightened even more and his stride quickened.

"Isn't it early for this?" he whispered to Olivia, as she just shook her head and ignored the catcalling.

"People are idiots at all hours," she mumbled.

"Mmm, she'd be a good time bro," the one said, his eyes following the couple as they now walked away from them.

Olivia gripped Ed's jacket at that statement, physically feeling his body tense at the words. No one spoke to, or about, his wife like that.

"Let it go," she said. "Come on."


Olivia snuck into Noah's room once she had changed and washed her face. She sat down on the edge of the bed, running her fingers lightly through his short brown hair. He was out cold, curled up on his side, cuddling his bear.

"Sweet boy," she whispered, still unable to take her eyes off of him. She'd made it a point to leave the office on time every day for the past week, trying to make up for the long hours she had worked, and this was the first night in about 10 days that she had missed bedtime, though the night out was needed.

Watching her son sleep, that familiar burn came back into her gut. She thought back to Carolyn and the anguish she saw on her face before she turned the gun on herself. It was the anguish of a mother who couldn't protect her baby. It was that anguish that Olivia felt bubble up watching Noah, completely innocent, slumber in her presence. Her little boy trusted her and Ed to keep him safe, and before she left him to his sweet dreams, she promised him that safety again.

"I love you, Noah," she whispered, leaning down and nuzzling his cheek with his nose, as she spoke softly to him. "I'm always going to protect you. Both Mommy and your Tucker…we are right here. And we'll never let anything, or anyone, hurt you."

She stayed like that for a few more minutes, gathering herself in preparation to leave him for the night. Finally kissing his cheek one more time, she stood up, adjusted his blanket, and crept out of the room, leaving the door cracked.

Ed was waiting for her on the couch, two glasses sitting on the coffee table with a small amount of bourbon and a few ice cubes.

"Thought a few more sips couldn't hurt," he said as Olivia fell onto the plush cushions beside him, her head sinking back and her eyes closing.

"Mmmhmmm," she mumbled, rolling her neck so her head landed on Ed's shoulder. He let out a chuckle and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing at her hair and letting her melt the day away.

"He's still out?" Ed asked, the need to just talk to his wife winning over the silent contentment.

"Like a light," she responded, looking up at him, her eyes drooping but her smile large.

"Good," he grunted out, stroking Olivia's cheek and searching her eyes. "And you?"

She let out a sigh, but didn't move away from his question this time.

"I'm okay, baby," she assured him. Looking at her in that moment, he knew she was telling the truth. But Olivia could sense that Ed, in fact, was not okay. "But I don't think you are?"

He smirked, tracing her lips with the pad of his index finger.

"Can't get anything by you, huh."

"The cons of marrying a detective."

"Lieutenant," he corrected, pride evident in his tone.

"That too," she said, her smile growing and the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Ya gonna talk to me?"

Ed reached out to take his tumbler, sipping at the bourbon before responding.

"I don't know why, but I can't shake the memory of those...men...from my head," Ed ground out, but his blue eyes darted down, almost as if he were ashamed of how upset he was.

Olivia took note, but couldn't help but dismiss the encounter at first.

"I've seen way worse, Ed."

"I know you have," he said, looking up again. "And I hate that. But it doesn't mean I don't wanna protect you from the little things too."

"Ed, it's fine."

"But it's not," he says, putting his glass down and taking both of her hands, his blue eyes piercing into her brown orbs. "Do you have any idea the lengths I'd go to, in order to keep you safe?"

Olivia froze. Even after being with Ed for a couple of years, sometimes the depth of his love for her took her breath away. This was one of those moments.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head, feeling terrible for dismissing him at first. "And…I do know."

Ed just kept his eyes locked on hers, trying to decipher if she really understood just how much he loved her, and all the things he would do in order to keep her safe and happy and in his arms.

"Anything," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers lightly, before whispering again. "I'd do anything for you."


The mattress creaked lightly as Olivia rolled Ed onto his back, straddling his waist as her lips made a trail down his neck and chest.

Ed's hands were restless. He caressed her back and sides, dipping down to tickle lightly on the backs of her thighs, before tangling them in her hair as she licked and nipped at his pecs.

"Liv…" he grunted out, his hips beginning to thrust on their own.

"What do you need, baby?" she asked, her deep, husky bedroom voice driving him further towards the cliff, as she resumed her torture on his body.

"You," he grunted, finally pulling her up and tossing her onto her back. Ed pounced, pinning her arms above her head and spreading her legs with his. Olivia squirmed, positioning her hips so that he could enter her, but he paused.

"Ed?" she asked, puzzled at how they had gone from him about to fuck her senseless, to the emotion and passion bubbling up in his eyes.

"I love you," he croaked out, leaning down and gently nuzzling her nose with his. He softly kissed at her face, whispering "I love you" in between each one.

Olivia sighed, her head falling to the side as his light facial scruff tickled her neck. No one had ever loved her better, and more completely, than Ed Tucker. But moments like these, when emotion just overtook his body, were her favorites. He savored her, cherished her, and loved every ounce of her, inside and out.

His head finally popped back up so they were eye to eye as he slowly moved to enter her body. Ed released her hands, so he could caress her breasts and stomach, before sheathing his entire manhood inside of her.

Olivia bit her bottom lip, willing her emotions down for the moment, and moved to cup his face.

"I love you, Ed Tucker," she whispered, kissing him gently and willing him to move. "And I've never felt more safe, more protected, than I do in your arms."


Ed arose from his slumber a few hours later, a chill taking over his body. He groaned a bit, rubbing a hand down his face, before opening his eyes and looking down.

Where was the comforter?

His head lolled to the side and a smile grew on his face. A mop of tangled, brown hair was sprawled on a section of his pillow. Olivia, as she usually did when she fell into a deep sleep, had taken the covers and wrapped herself up in a cocoon, her body still in the middle of the bed so she was close to her husband.

It wasn't often that Ed would wake up to the blankets being gone, but when he did, his heart fluttered. It meant his wife was finally at peace and able to sleep. He gently moved to uncover her face, making sure she had space to breathe, before grabbing the throw blanket from the ottoman under the window and laying back down on his back, hands behind his head, breathing deeply.

Olivia stirred a bit, mumbling something unintelligible, as her body shifted and she slung her head back on his chest. Ed wrapped his arms around her, his body still a little chilly as he got comfortable under the extra blanket, and he closed his eyes again.

He'd sleep with a chill every night if it meant that his wife felt safe.


Well?

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