A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! I'm still working on my other Tuckson and the Benisdy too, but I thought that as a kinda Christmas present I'd write this. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and has a wonderful time.
As usual, I don't own anything recognisable. All mistakes are my own and my laptop is still issing the CDF keys :/
Anyway, please drop me a review. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's Christmas and I wanted to do something family oriented.
~X~
The words were music to Olivia's ears. They had been waiting weeks for this day. Now it was finally here. Just in time for Christmas. She knew it was pointless to even attempt to hide her elated smile as she called Ed from the waiting room.
Waiting for Ed to pick up the phone was torture. The three rings before she heard his voice felt like an eternity.
"Liv, is everything okay?" Ed's voice was full of concern and it only made Olivia's smile grow.
"He can come home." Olivia blurted out.
"What?"
"We can bring him home." Ed could hear the smile in Olivia's voice as he let a smile of his own spread across his face.
"When?"
"Now. I'm gonna stay here with him. Can you come here? And bring his car seat."
"I'll be there ASAP."
Olivia hung up the phone and slid it back into her pocket before she washed her hands and reentered the pediatric ICU. She was greeted by one of the nurses she had become close with over the extremely grueling last five weeks.
When she reached the plastic cot holding the baby boy, she was filled with joy when she saw that during the phone call to Ed, the nurse had been in and removed all of the monitors and wires that had been attached to him.
It didn't take Ed long to arrive with both a diaper bag and a car seat in tow. He placed the items on the floor beside Olivia's chair before he bent down to kiss her head. After taking a seat, Olivia passed the baby to him and he smiled at her.
"Just in time for Christmas." Ed beamed. "I called Ma and told her we wouldn't be at dinner tomorrow. She understood. Says we're welcome any time. Means we can have our own little Christmas, just the five of us."
"I'm so happy he's coming home." Olivia said, stroking the baby's head gently as the doctor walked into the room with a stack of papers in his hand.
"Mr and Mrs Tucker, it's good to see you both again." Dr Woods started. "Now, I have the discharge papers here for you to sign. I also have an information pack about what is and isn't normal after a baby is released from a lengthy stay in PICU. Did you bring the car seat?"
"It's right here." Ed nodded.
"Good. Why don't one of you get your little guy dressed and comfortable in there while the other signs these papers?"
Ed allowed Olivia to dress their new baby while he signed the relevant the time he was done, Olivia and the baby were ready to go.
"Well, Ivan Benson Tucker, it's been a long road but you're a tough little trooper. Don't give mom and dad too much trouble now." Dr Woods smiled at the sleeping baby boy. "I'll see you guys again next week for a check up, just to be sure he's keeping the weight on and that he has no more health problems. Until then, have a very merry Christmas and enjoy the sleepless nights ahead."
Olivia and Ed thanked the doctor before making their way to Ed's car.
~X~
Olivia wasn't sure what had woken her, whether it was Noah standing beside her bed, trying to wake Ed, or the baby's cries coming from the crib only a few feet away from her.
"Noah." Olivia said softly, holding her arms out to the toddler. When he moved towards her, she scooped him up and placed him between herself and Ed. "Stay here."
Ed stirred and eventually woke to find Noah watching Olivia intently as she cradled the baby in her arms.
"What time is it?" Ed mumbled, Noah obstructing his view of the clock.
"A little after seven." Olivia answered as she sat back down on the bed.
"Mama, it kiss-mas!" Noah exclaimed excitedly.
"I know it is, sweet boy. Why don't I leave you and Ivan here with Daddy and I can make sure Santa has been?" Olivia said enthusiastically.
Noah nodded, barely able to contain his excitement as Olivia passed his new brother to Ed.
Olivia disappeared into the living room and reappeared a few moments later. She smiled at Noah and held her hand out to him. "You've been a good boy this year, Noah."
Noah leapt off the bed and grabbed Olivia's hand, allowing her to lead him to the living room where he froze at the sight of all the presents surrounding their tree.
"What 'bout baby?" Noah asked sweetly. "He get any?"
Olivia nodded. "He got some too, but they're different from yours because he's smaller."
Noah nodded and fixed his gaze on the presents once more, clutching his favourite stuffed teddy as he waited for Olivia's permission to dive into the pile.
"The ones with the blue paper are yours, okay, buddy?" Ed told Noah as Olivia released his hand.
The parents watched as Noah tore the paper off of present after present posing for pictures here and there on Olivia's request.
By lunchtime, the apartment was a sea of new toys and discarded wrapping paper. With Noah engrossed in his new train set and Ivan asleep, Ed and Olivia were taking the opportunity to get dressed, tidy the messy apartment, and start preparing for their small Christmas dinner with their boys and Ed's daughter, Laura.
When the knock on the door came at three pm, there was no sign of the carnage that had been only hours earlier. Ed opened the door with Noah on his hip, letting his daughter inside.
"Hey, No! Did you have a good morning?" Laura asked excitedly, plucking her brother from Ed's arms and carrying him into the living room before she plopped down onto the couch.
Noah nodded happily. "I got da trains!"
"You got the trains? Can I see 'em?" Laura asked, getting down onto the floor to investigate Noah's favourite new toy.
"Laura, hey, I didn't know you were here. When did you arrive?"
At the sound of Olivia's voice, Laura stood up. She froze immediately when she saw the baby in her arms.
Olivia took a step towards the younger woman. "Laura, we'd like to introduce you to your new brother, Ivan Benson Tucker."
"Oh my god, Livia, he's adorable!" Laura gasped. "When did you get him home?"
"Yesterday." Olivia beamed as she handed the baby to his sister.
Ed appeared from the kitchen, announcing that dinner would be ready in an hour. He took a seat in the living room with the rest of his family and that was when he noticed the confusion in his daughter's eyes.
"What's up, Laur?"
"What's his story? I know the basics, but what're the details?"
"My squad found him during a raid, just like before." Olivia answered. "He was only a week old and severely malnourished. If Carisi hadn't found him when he did, the doctor thinks he would have died."
"That's why he was in intensive care?"
Ed nodded. "He had a few infections too, but once he was in the hospital they cleared up pretty quickly. It was just a case of boosting his immune system and getting his weight up. They wanted to be sure that he was healthy before they released him."
"So he's what, six weeks now?" Olivia and Ed nodded. "And he's healthy now, too?"
"Yeah. We need to be careful with exposing him to germs for a while until his immune system gets a little stronger, but he's as healthy as a normal baby would be after birth." Ed explained.
"I'm happy for you guys. You deserve this." Laura said sincerely, cradling the baby close to her as Noah stood at her side.
"Smile guys." Olivia said. Pulling out her phone, Olivia snapped a picture of Laura holding Ivan with one arm wrapped around Noah's waist.
The rest of the evening went well, Ivan slept through most of it, waking up every now and then to be fed, Noah alternated between playing with his train set and cuddling with Laura, and Laura, Ed and Olivia kept the conversation light while watching old Christmas movies.
Looking around the room, Olivia was thrown back to a conversation with one of Ivan's nurses. The woman was younger than Olivia, single with no family, and during a discussion about Christmas plans, the woman had revealed that she volunteered to work Christmas day, allowing those with family to spend the day at home. Olivia had sympathized, telling the nurse of how she had done the same until Noah came along.
Now, it felt as if those days were centuries ago. Happily married, with an amazing stepdaughter and two beautiful sons of her own. It was something Olivia had always dreamed of, but had almost given up on. Now it was a reality, and Olivia couldn't ask for more.
It's now 2AM, I'm sorry if this is kinda crappy, it took longer than anticipated to write and now I'm really tired. I love you all, have a very happy Christmas, and drop me a review 3