Tucker Has Some 'Splainin' to Do!

Ed Tucker stood at the entrance to Quinn's, shaking his head back and forth in confusion. What was going on? Off in the corner, near the dartboard, stood Brooke, Sarah, and Charlie.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself, trying to figure out if he was in some kind of weird dream. Memories of all three daughters were swirling in his head, but none of it made sense. Was this one of those times that a former life met a current life? Did that happen? "I need a drink," he once again muttered as he ordered his Bourbon, downing it in one sip.

Sarah ran directly to her father and practically knocked him over with her hug. "Daddy!" She gushed, "What are you doing here? I'm glad you came. I am so bored watching these people play darts. And I haven't seen you in forever."

"Just, uh…" Ed searched for words and motioned for another drink. He shot the bartender a grateful look when it was delivered quickly.

"Well, it's partially my fault, I've been sooo busy with work, ugh, I shoulda been a teacher like Brookey, she gets so much time off and, like, me? I'm constantly going going going." Sarah babbled on and on, but Ed couldn't process what she was saying. He stood motionless, staring at Charlie and Brooke...and was that Langan and Carisi? Sarah, hating darts but hating her father's stunned silence even more, dragged him over to the dart board. On the way Ed tried to figure out how to navigate this touchy situation. He still had no clue what to say or do when Brooke approached.

"Hey Daddio," she said nonchalantly, hugging him, and, in the process, peeling Sarah away. "Fancy meeting you here," Brooke joked. "I know you complain you never get to see us, but...are you tracking our phones or something?"

Ed forced a laugh.

Carisi was next to come over, greeting him with a "hiya Captain" and a collegial slap on the shoulder. "We're just about done with this game. You wanna play with Brooke in the next round?"

Brooke, Sarah, and Sonny stared at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, they noticed his eyes were now fixated on Charlie as Trevor went to put his arm around her offering support. She seemed to be staring back at Ed and then opened her mouth as she dropped the ultimate bomb on the group.

"Hey, dad," she said, now completely unsure of herself and the situation. "Thanks for coming down…"

They all just stood there, Ed still trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Charlie hadn't texted him an SOS for a while, so when he received her message, he figured something was really wrong. This scene right here was definitely not what he was expecting. The rest of them were clearly trying to work their way out of tipsy stupors, in an attempt to make sense of what was happening.

"Well, this is awkward." Ed muttered, not knowing what else to say.

Carisi temporarily saved them. "Here ya go, Captain," he said, shoving a handful of darts into his hand, "You're up."

Sarah pushed her way into the forefront. "Daddy, you'll play with me."

Even in the middle of this strange coincidence, Ed grinned and rolled his eyes at Sarah. "You want to play?"

"Yes I do," she replied confidently. "Us against Trevor and Charlie."

Ed glanced over at the other young couple and saw Charlie's hesitance at the entire situation. Trevor had moved to her side, also eyeing the Captain, curious as to how this was going to play out.

"I think I'm going to need another drink," Trevor muttered to Charlie, who quickly nodded.

"Next round is on us," Charlie said softly, avoiding eye contact. "Dad, your usual?"

"Sure," he replied. "I'll set up the scoreboard." He said, almost as if it were a question, and he made his way to the chalkboard, rubbing his temple along the way muttering "what the fuck…"

Sarah, muttering to Brooke, mocked Charlie in a nasally voice, "Dad, your usual?"

Brooke, ever the mediator, reprimanded her sister under her breath, "Shut up. Dad's freaking out. Don't make this worse."

"What the fuck is this?"

"I don't know but, just, play darts and be nice."

Sarah glared at her. "I'm playing darts, but I don't have to be nice. You're not my mother."

"Who is?" Brooke asked sarcastically.

"No fucking kidding." Sarah saw Charlie, Trevor trailing her, making their way back with the drinks, and Sarah turned again to Brooke with wide eyes, "And, did you notice? That girl-"

"Charlie," Brooke interrupted.

"Charlie," Sarah whined, "Drinks the G -n-T the same way we do."

"That could be a coincidence," Brooke pointed out.

"Nothing is a coincidence," Sarah said, "Especially not today." She took a deep breath. "Ok...if there's ever been a time to be good at sports, this is it. Wish me luck, sister."

"Good luck," Brooke said, "I hope you win and I hope Dad says he loves you best."

Sarah gave her a little wink and walked over to the game.

Carisi, who was now seated at a nearby high top table and clearing experiencing the effects of the shots and cocktails, slurred encouragement to Sarah. "Gogetem!" He exclaimed, laughing, just as Trevor placed a full glass in front of him. "Thanks counselor! Next one's on me!"

"Sounds good," Trevor responded. "I have a feeling we are going to need several more rounds tonight…" He then turned to Charlie, who still refused to make eye contact with anyone but him, and encouraged her to loosen up. "Come on, your dad may be decent at darts, but that blonde is sloshed and not coordinated at all. Piece of cake."

"Nothing about this is a piece of cake right now," she mumbled, but followed his lead to gather their own darts. "Why are we even doing this? I texted him. He's here to hang out with us, not them. They don't even like me."

"That's not true," Trevor weakly argued, and Charlie just glared at him. "Okay, maybe a little true. But we don't have to like them back. So down that drink and let's show her who is in control here."

Charlie just smiled at Trevor, he was the perfect balance for her introverted nature. "Okay," she said, taking a deep breath and clearly gaining her confidence. She turned to Sarah and Ed with her usual, competitive smirk.

"Show me what you got, blondie," she said, stepping out of the way and signaling for Sarah to go first.

Adjusting her ponytail, Sarah stepped up and took the darts from her father. Squinting, she lined up her first shot and instead of throwing it with the proper form, threw it more like a baseball...but like someone who had never thrown a baseball before in her life. The throw barely clipped the outer edge of the board and the dart bounded off to the side, nearly hitting Carisi's leg. Charlie unsuccessfully tried to hold in chuckle, but Trevor elbowed her to pull it together. Before she could get out another snarky comment, Carisi did his own ribbing at Sarah.

"Whoa there!" He called, giggling, "The object is to hit that round circle, ya know, the one with the numbers all around it?"

"Shut up," Sarah said, lining up her second throw.

"Just take your time," Ed coached, "And you don't need to wind up like that, just use your elbow, nice and relaxed."

Sarah craned her neck and batted her eyes at him, "Ok Daddy," she said sweetly.

Her next throw was better, but not worth any points.

"At least that one stayed on the board, " Brooke remarked.

Sarah threw the next one more confidently and hit seventeen. "Yes!" She exclaimed triumphantly and peered at Charlie, "That's what I got. Right there. I just needed to warm up a little!"

Charlie just rolled her eyes a little bit. "Helluva warm up," she muttered, but loud enough for everyone to hear her. She walked briskly over to the board, grabbed the darts, and took her place behind the line. She was about to throw her first dart, but then put her arm down and turned around to where Sarah was standing right next to Ed. "Hey Dad, remember last time we played?"

Ed finally let out a little laugh and shook his head. "Yeah, you destroyed me."

"You still owe me a shot for that," Charlie responded with playful smirk, before lining up and throwing her first dart expertedly. "Bulls-eye," she said, almost as if she wasn't surprised. She smiled over at Trevor, who was just grinning with pride, and continued her turn. Once she was done, she looked over to Sarah.

"Sorry, the math is a little too complicated with this much gin," she said. "Anyone have a calculator for my score?" Trevor just cracked up and came over, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Behave," he whispered.

"Didn't you just tell me to loosen up and take control?" She turned and asked, incredulously.

"Okay, well, yeah I did," he said. "But try not to get in a fist fight okay?"

"Fine," she muttered and stepped back, deciding to stand a little closer to Brooke since she seemed to be a little more sensible and safe. "Dad, your turn."

Still incredibly confused by all of a sudden having three daughters in one place, Ed quickly chugged his bourbon, shook his head, and grabbed the darts. "Focus, Ed," he coached himself. "This is just some weird dream…"

Ed was able to temporarily focus on the game because his own competitive drive was being crushed by Sarah's lack of skill. No matter what he did to help their score, her turns were wasted. He may as well have been playing on his own. After Trevor took the last turn and Charlie added up the scores, Ed's shoulders momentarily slumped in defeat.

Sarah tried to console him, "It's ok, Daddio," she said, wrapping her arm around his neck in a drunken hug, "We'll get 'em next time."

"I don't think there'll be a next time," he replied, "And if there is, I'm playing with Charlie."

Sarah's eyes shot menacing lasers at her father and she almost violently pushed him away. Ed made his way over to Charlie and high-fived her.

"Nicely done, kiddo," he said before turning to a now fuming Sarah and an incredibly confused looking Brooke. "Okay, let's rip the band-aid. Sarah, Brooke...this is Charlie. Charlie...meet Sarah and Brooke. Looks like I have three girls..." he said, hold his hands out as if he were gesturing to all of them

"Awwww, shit," Carisi said in his drunken stupor, slapping Trevor on the back. Trevor shot him an odd look, before looking back over at the, apparently, four Tuckers.

"Well, that was not where I saw this evening going," he said under his breath.

Ed swallowed. He needed a minute. And more alcohol. "How about I get us another round?"

Everyone nodded eagerly. Booze seemed to be the only way to navigate the weirdness.

Sarah, Brooke, and Charlie faced each other with Carisi and Trevor on the outside of their little semi-circle, looking like, at any minute, they were ready to break up a brawl.

There was no brawl, but Sarah's words were venomous.

"We," she snapped, gesturing at Brooke, "Are Daddy's daughters. He's been with us for Christmases and birthdays and everything else. Who the hell are you?"

Brooke nudged her, "Sarah, stop it. Obviously, Dad has some skeletons, er, and also another daughter...in his closet. He'll explain himself."

Charlie wasn't going to let Sarah's statement go, despite the obvious effort Brooke was making to keep the peace. "Funny," she said. "Because the last, oh, five Christmases or so, he's been with me. Maybe you need some medication."

Trevor, seeing the situation escalating, and noticing the lag in Ed's return, went over to stand by Charlie and get her to take a step back. "Calm down, babe," he said. "It's not worth it. Your dad...you know he's your dad. And he will explain this. I hope."

Charlie, feeling incredibly uncomfortable under Sarah's glare, but refusing to let it show, went in for the kill. She turned in Trevor's arms and leaned up to plant a deep, passionate kiss on his lips. "You're right," she said, kissing him again.

Sarah, having no one to kiss at the moment, instead scrunched up her face and mentally calculated how her father could have possibly made himself available to two separate families all these years. "I don't believe it," she murmured, suddenly sounding incredibly sober, "How old are you?" She asked Charlie.

"Why would I tell you that?" Charlie snapped back at her, not willing to give this girl an inch.

Sarah let out a frustrated groan. "Brookey, this is fucking ridiculous. Where's Daddy? Go get him. Why wouldn't he have told us he had another kid? He's always so…you gotta do the right thing," Sarah imitated his voice, "I. Do. Not. Believe. This."

Brooke shrugged. "Why would he lie now? He just said he has three girls."

"He has two," Sarah insisted defiantly, scowling at Charlie, "And he will always have two. Only two."

"No," Charlie said firmly. "He has ONE. And I will go get him, because I texted him to meet me here." Charlie walked off, in an effort to find her father, with Trevor following closely behind. He finally caught up to her and grabbed her elbow. Charlie tried to shrug him off, unsuccessfully, and finally resolved herself to his hold. "WHAT?" she demanded.

"Calm down," Trevor said. "Let your dad explain and stop pushing their buttons."

"No," she said. "Blondie started it. And he's MY dad."

"I know that, you know that," Trevor said, then lowered his voice to a softer tone. "But, it's possible he has some...well...things to explain here. So, let's give him the chance. And try not to make this worse?"

"How could this possibly get any worse," Charlie muttered, as Trevor drug her back over to the group in which Ed had finally rejoined. As they got closer, Charlie noticed Sarah laying her head on his shoulder and Brooke seemingly deep in conversation with him. "I can't compete with that…" she said, her voice suddenly resigned to being the outsider again.

Childlike Sarah always annoyed Brooke, but, for the moment, she tolerated it. After all, the past hour or so had been pretty distressing. "Dad," Brooke reasoned, "Should we, uh, me and Sarah, should we just go? I don't think anything good is gonna come out of this. We're all pretty sloshed."

Ed sipped his drink with one hand and patted Sarah's back with the other. "It's fine. We just need to get this one here to calm down."

"You're our Daddy," Sarah whined, "This girl, she's lying. What? Does she think you have money or something?"

"Sarah," Ed replied in his most soothing voice, "She's not lying."

"Now you're lying," she sneered, pushing him away for the second time that night.

"Sare, let's just go," Brooke said. "Sonny's ready, too. Maybe-"

"Where's Livvie?" Sarah asked.

"She's at home," Ed replied nonchalantly, as if they were in the middle of a normal conversation.

Before Sarah could ask if Olivia knew about Charlie, they were interrupted by Sonny. "CAPTAIN!" He said, slapping Ed's back again, this time, a little too hard. "Pool?"

Ed forced a laugh, "I don't think so, bud. Probably not the best idea. Even though Charlie here can kick everyone's ass at that, too."

The compliment was too much for Sarah. She stalked off towards the bathrooms and Brooke followed. Carisi, noticing the opportunity despite his drunken stupor, grabbed Trevor by the shoulder. "No worries, Captain. Trevor here will play with me. You and...err...your daughter? Yeah. Her. You can chat."

Ed just rolled his eyes and nodded to Trevor in thanks, even though the man's expression had one of "please save me" to it. As they walked away, Ed turned to look at Charlie who was standing completely still, arms wrapped around herself.

"Are they really, um, your daughters?" she asked quietly. Ed just went over to gently grab her elbow and lead her to the stools by their empty-glass covered tabletop.

"They are," he said. "And so are you."

"They said you spent Christmases with them…" she said. "But you were with me."

"Well," Ed began, trying to explain that one even though he had no idea himself.

"Do they know Olivia?" Charlie asked, but Ed still wasn't really sure to get an answer out. It was just too strange. "Ya know," Charlie finally said, pulling her cell out and again shooting off a text. "I don't need to know right now."

Ed just took a deep breath and examined the daughter sitting with him at the moment. Her face was almost the spitting image of Sarah, and her light brown locks seemed to mirror Brooke's hair texture. As strange as this entire situation was, he couldn't help but feel a strange peace come over him at having all three of his daughters in one place. Maybe...just maybe...this could work out for the better. He had no idea how, but a man can dream. Ed must have been lost in thought longer than he realized, because he heard Charlie mutter "shit" under her breath which could only signal one thing.

Brooke and Sarah, walking with their arms around the each other's waist, swayed their way back. Somehow, they looked fresh and clean, as if they'd just showered and put on a new layer of makeup. Unable to stay completely upright, Sarah nestled her head under Brooke's chin and smiled whimsically, as if her big sister were telling her the most pleasant story. However, when she saw how close Ed and Charlie were, she snapped herself upright and grimaced.

"Ugh," she groaned, "Lookit that."

"Sarah," Brooke warned, "You love Dad, right?"
"Of course, dummy, if I didn't, why would I be so upset?"

"He's probably upset, too. Don't make it worse for him by being a bitch."

The corners of Sarah's mouth turned upward into the most sickeningly sweet smile-it was a smile Brooke knew well. Sarah used it whenever she had to feign kindness. "Well, then," she replied firmly, again sounding way too sober for the amount of drinks she'd consumed, "I shall be the most pleasant young lady in Manhattan for the rest of the day." She sauntered over to Ed and Charlie. "Hey guys...whose turn is it to buy the next round?"

Before Ed and Charlie could recover from the complete 180 Sarah had taken, the jingle of the bar door sounded again, marking yet another patron's entrance. Brooke and Sarah ignored the new visitor at first, but Charlie's face fell in complete relief as she shot up from her stool and made her way towards the brunette who just entered.

"MA!" she exclaimed, as she went right into Olivia Benson's waiting arms, ignoring the slack jaws of the rest of their party. Olivia, still unsure as to why she was there, held the girl tightly before she met Ed's eyes and noticed his distress. That was when she saw Brooke and Sarah standing next to him, their eyes as wide as saucers. Olivia did a double take, looking down at Charlie's profile nestled on her shoulder, then back up at Brooke and Sarah.

"What the hell…"

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