A Very #Tuckson Christmas—This is probably a bit overkill on the fluffiness but I don't care. It's the holidays! I have, however, tried to stay pretty much within canon. Merry Christmas!

Someone in the Special Victims Unit had clearly been captured by the holiday spirit. Garland hung on every ledge and sill. On each detectives' desk sat some type of holiday trinket. Carisi had a snowman, Rollins had a Santa, and Fin propped Ken's Christmas card against the old NYPD mug he used to hold his pencils and pens. In one corner sat a fake Christmas tree and Rollins and Carisi decorated it with colored lights, tinsel, and a cheap set of ornaments they bought at Duane Reade. The Lieutenant hung a wreath on her door and swapped the photo of Noah sitting on the soccer ball with one of him on Santa's lap. Carisi offered to string lights around the perimeter of her office but Olivia politely declined.

With the days becoming shorter and a recent spate of overcast weather, it was nearly dark when Captain Tucker strolled into the squad room late that afternoon. Tucker's presence surprised no one. Fin and Rollins smiled politely and said hello. Carisi rushed over and shook his hand.

"Merry Christmas, Captain!"

Slightly taken aback by Carisi's friendly nature, Ed took a second to adjust to the beaming young detective's warmth but he finally offered a hint of a smile and replied, "Merry Christmas to you."

"Date night?"

Tucker's smile grew, "Not exactly." He looked around Carisi towards Benson's office. The blinds were drawn and the door was closed. "She in there?"

"Yep. She's been on a call for a while, but," Carisi looked at his phone. All lines were now open. "Looks like she's done!"

Tucker mumbled his thanks and went to knock on her door. He rapped the window lightly and heard her faint "come in." Having expected a member of her squad, Olivia broke into a huge grin at the sight of her boyfriend.

"You're early." She peeled off her reading glasses, backed away from her desk, and rose to her feet. "Not that I'm complaining about that."

They stepped toward one another. Olivia made up her mind to kiss him, but Ed was unsure of how much affection she considered appropriate for her office.

"Yeah, I cut out early, and—"

Her lips were on his before he could finish the sentence, and she sucked on his bottom lip a little as she pulled away causing him to break into the classic Tucker smirk.

"What were you going to say?" Olivia cooed.

Ed licked his lips, "I cut out early hoping for that," he replied, still a little dazed.

"Oh. Well. Lucky you." She played with his tie, "I like the green." The festive accessory was way out of Tucker's fashion comfort zone and she appreciated the effort.

"Thanks."

Ed expected Olivia to retreat back to her desk, but she didn't move. In fact, he felt her hands clasp around his waist.

"You wanna get a drink before we go?"

Ed furrowed his brow. "You sure you want to show up under the influence?"

Olivia shrugged. "Just one. We won't be the only adults there who snuck a pre-show cocktail."

"Okay. Ready now?"

She leaned in for another kiss, "I am."

Olivia closed her laptop and grabbed her bag. On the way out of the office she took Tucker's arm, once again throwing him for a loop.

"Where you two headed lookin' all merry and bright?" Fin asked, grinning slyly.

"A…musical performance," Olivia said with a smile, "At Noah's day care."

…

The children concluded the show with a rousing yet somewhat garbled rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and then, after a few words from their teachers, they were released to find their parents. Noah ran over to Olivia and Ed. He had one hand on his construction-paper reindeer antlers to keep it from falling and covering his eyes. The headgear stayed on while he was standing still and singing, but it flopped around uncontrollably whenever he moved.

"Hey there, sweet boy!" Olivia picked him up and wrapped him in a bear hug. "Great concert!"

"You hear jingle bells?"

"Sure did, bud," Ed cupped Noah's head, "Sounded great!"

"And I love Rudolph," Olivia said, "You were nice and loud with that one."

Noah just smiled and played with Olivia's necklace as she smoothed his hair.

"Liv, are we staying for the reception?"

"Reception?" She followed Ed's gaze to the other end of the small multipurpose room where trays of cookies and punch were set up on plastic tables. "Um, I didn't know about it, but, Noah, you want a cookie before we go home?"

"Yes!" He replied enthusiastically. "Fru' punch, too!"

Ed smiled at him, "Kids musta had a sneak peek."

They made their way over to the tables and nodded politely to the volunteers overseeing the snacks. Maybe it was the small venue, but the place seemed overly crowded for a small day care. Olivia exchanged a few pleasantries with Noah's teachers and they thanked her for the Christmas gift she'd sent with Lucy that morning. Noah was still munching on his cookie when she told Ed they could leave.

It was still early; however, the sky was almost black and the streets dazzled with the glow of Christmas window displays. Ed and Olivia each held one of Noah's hands, and he stopped them at almost every store to ooh and ahh at the elaborate holiday scenes. At this rate, it would be time for the late evening news by the time they got back to the Benson apartment.

"C'mon, sweet Noah." Olivia tugged on his hand, but Noah, entranced by a toy train driven by snowman, refused to budge.

"Wanna see!" He protested, gripping the ledge and trying to pull himself up for a better view.

Ed knelt down to his level, "How 'bout I put you on my shoulders, bud? Then you can see everything from up high!"

And we can move along at a quicker pace, Olivia thought, feeling a little guilty.

Noah agreed and Ed deftly hoisted him onto his shoulders. "Wanna head over to Fifth? Gonna be crowded, but, at least see Saks? It's supposed to be amazing this year."

Olivia happily agreed. "Great idea. And we can stop at Rockefeller Center, too. I haven't taken him to see the tree yet and I asked Lucy to hold off on it so I could see it with him."

Ed raised his eyebrows, "Um, well, you wanna wait 'til it's just the two of you?"

"No," she answered swiftly, firmly, "I want the three of us to see it together."

Ed smirked at her, gave her a quick side hug and kiss, and then put his hands around Noah's ankles and continued down the street.

….

"Kissmas tree!"

Noah excitedly bounced up and down on Ed's shoulders as they made their way across Rockefeller Plaza. Down below, ice skaters glided around the rink, but the little boy was so fixated on the gigantic, ninety-four foot tall Norway Spruce.

"Lookit!" Ed encouraged. "All those lights!"

"All da lights," Noah echoed.

They found a spot off to the side and stood in silence, taking in the magnificent sight. The area milled with people, mostly tourists, but Olivia sidled up to Ed and, for a few minutes, was able to block out the cacophony around them. Confident Noah was secure, Ed draped his arm across Olivia's back, pulling her even closer, and his heart filled with warmth when he felt her head on his upper chest.

"I've lived in Manhattan my whole life," she murmured, "And I never get tired of seeing this."

"I hadn't bothered to come here for a long time," Tucker replied.

"Too cliché?"

"Nah. More like I didn't have a reason to."

Olivia leaned up for a quick kiss. "Now you do," she whispered.

"Yeah," he said with a smile and tried not to read too much into her comment. Now you do. Lately, Tucker spent a lot of time piecing together Olivia's words in an attempt to figure out where their relationship was headed. They'd been seeing each other for almost a year, but those months had been peppered with several stops and starts and rough patches. Whenever Olivia felt herself being spread too thin, she slammed on the breaks and reprioritized. Ed usually came in third place. He could handle that, but the uncertainty gnawed at him. Olivia couldn't seem to accept that it was possible for them to be a family and still be effective at their jobs. Right now, things between them were good and comfortable, but there was no telling when the next crisis would hit, sending their relationship backwards a few steps. Adding to the conundrum was Ed's reluctance to voice his concerns. He needed to figure out an innocuous way to broach the topic, but for right now he was content and hoped the next couple of days were drama-free.

Finally noticing the ice skaters, Noah kicked his feet and pointed, "Whassat?"

"Those people are ice skating, sweet boy."

Ed turned so Noah had a better view, "If I wasn't in this suit I'd take ya now, bud. But, we'll skate sometime soon, okay?"

"Kay!"

Olivia regarded Ed with some skepticism. "You're going to skate?"

"Yeah," he said casually, not sure where the uncertainty came from, "You're not?"

Challenged, Olivia steeled her jaw confidently, "I hope you can keep up with me."

A bit naughtily, he looked her up and down, "I think I can more than keep up with you, Benson."

There was that smile. The wide, genuine, carefree, Olivia Margaret Benson smile that he loved so much and didn't see nearly enough.

"C'mon," she said, "Let's go to Saks. We should be right on time for the next light show."

On the short walk over to Fifth Avenue, a few uniformed officers nodded to Tucker and Benson. The night was balmy for December and they both left their coats open, and their shields were conspicuous.

"Unis are getting a lot of overtime lately," Olivia remarked.

"And they will be. Indefinitely. As long as Trump's here and as long as those sonofabitches keep attacking civilians," Ed lowered his voice when using the profanity but it probably didn't matter. Noah's eyes were already fixated on Saks' Christmas light display. "That's horrible," Ed muttered, "What happened in Berlin. Horrible everywhere, but at Christmas? Those poor families."

Olivia loved this side of Tucker—the sensitive, introspective, big-hearted side, characteristics that he'd slowly revealed over the past year. It made her love him even more, and it made her feel guilty that, not long ago, she'd considered telling him maybe he was better off without her. Prior to Thanksgiving her life and job had been so hectic—murky cases and concerns about Noah's academic development left little time for Tucker. He was such a good man and he was committed to their relationship. Olivia believed in him with all her heart. The problem was, she didn't completely believe in herself.

"It makes me feel even more lucky," Olivia said, "Lately I've felt so safe."

She didn't need to say it; Tucker knew she was talking about his presence. He reached down for her hand and held it as the lights danced to the tune of Carol of the Bells. At the end of the two-minute show, Noah clapped furiously.

"Again!" He shouted.

Ed looked at Olivia, "Stay for one more round?"

"Sure."

They waited another ten minutes and laughed sweetly when Noah reacted the same way. He put up a minor fit when they hopped in a taxi, but Ed calmed him down by talking about ice skating and then Santa Claus. He and Olivia decided to order in, and Ed placed their take-out order over the phone as the taxi weaved across the congested midtown streets.

They ate informally on the couch with Noah moving back and forth between his toys and his dinner. Olivia cleared the remnants of their meal and was in the kitchen storing leftovers when she heard Noah's sweet voice ask Ed if he would help him build a tower with blocks. When Olivia returned, Ed was on the floor, explaining the importance of first constructing a stable base in order to maximize height. Noah listened intently, followed directions, and after the blocks were stacked a couple feet high he took his dump truck and rammed the structure. His game seemed to involve catching as many blocks as possible in the truck's bed.

It was no surprise that Noah didn't want to go to bed. He squirmed and whined when Olivia plucked him from the floor.

"Ed's going to be here with you all day tomorrow," she reminded him softly. "And tomorrow night, Santa comes."

Remembering the correlation between being a good boy and the number and quality of Santa's gifts, Noah quickly calmed down.

"Say goodnight to Ed," Olivia prompted.

"Night, night," Noah said softly, reached out, and squeezed Ed's neck.

"Night bud." He kissed the top of the boy's head. "See ya tomorrow."

Olivia put him down without any further fuss and took her usual spot next to Ed on the couch.

"Thank you for watching him tomorrow," she said, "I'll try to get out of there as soon as possible."

"Take your time," he said. "We'll be fine. And thank you. For trusting me with him."

"Of course. I…I never want you to feel like you're obligated to—"

Ed gently placed an index finger over her lips. "Shhh," he implored softly, "Enough of that." He kissed her lips tenderly and stared into her eyes as he pulled away, "Enough," he repeated, this time in a whisper.

"Okay."

"Okay," he echoed resolutely. "Now, come here," he cupped the back of her head so her lips were, once again, only millimeters from his, "I've been wanting to kiss you all day."

…..

The next morning, Christmas Eve, Ed lounged in bed as Olivia readied for work. She ping-ponged between the bathroom and the bedroom aware that Ed was watching but pretending not to notice. Still makeup-less and dressed in only her bra, panties, and camisole, she paused to give Ed a quick kiss.

"Thank you," he said, sounding truly grateful. He touched her cheek gently, "I like those freckles of yours."

She grinned at him and disappeared again, this time coming back with full makeup. Ed groaned when she pulled on her pants, buttoned her blouse, and grabbed a black and white tweed blazer.

"I can't believe Noah's still asleep," she said.

"He was up pretty late I guess. Right?"

"He was. Okay. I'll see you later." She gave him a tender goodbye kiss and he playfully refused to release her from his grasp. "Captain."

"Sorry."

"Bye."

"Bye. Oh, and Liv?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't go to Vermont again this year."

She sassily cocked an eyebrow, "I'll try to stay in-state."

….

Ed and Noah spent the morning playing on the floor, and, thanks to abnormally warm temperatures, went to the park for a bit in the afternoon. Ed pushed Noah on the swings, shadowed him on the slide, and chased him and the soccer ball around the open fields. When the sun began to set, Ed collected Noah and the toys he'd insisted on toting, and they went to the market to shop for dinner. Since he had the day off, Ed offered to cook rather than them going out or ordering in. Olivia agreed, albeit hesitantly. She and Ed were not exactly culinary experts.

Ed narrated as he led Noah through the market.

"Gonna a few different types of cheese, some fruit, crackers, we'll snack on that first. How's that sound?"

"Good!" Noah replied, eyeing the packages Ed tossed into their basket.

Next, they stopped at the butcher counter.

"I'm gonna be honest with ya," Ed told the attendant, "I need something foolproof."

The man smiled. "How about our beef tenderloin? It's already been marinated and rolled in peppercorns. All you need to do it roast it."

"Sold," Ed said with a smile and continued talking to Noah, "So we'll get some potatoes bud, mash 'em, and a vegetable. Mommy prolly wants us to have some vegetables. You want green beans?"

Noah wrinkled his nose.

The butcher overheard. "Buy some baby carrots," he suggested, "Put 'em in the roasting pan with the meat. They'll be perfect."

"Great, thanks, hey, any wine suggestions?"

"Head over there," he nodded in the direction of the wine racks, "Mark's over there. He'll help ya."

Having picked up all the necessary ingredients including dessert, two bottles of red wine, and one port, Ed and Noah entered the checkout line. Though burdened with a basket full of provisions, Ed held Noah's hand tightly.

"Ed?"

Tucker looked down. Noah held a gigantic candy bar in his hand.

"I have dis?"

"Sure pal, put it up here," Ed started unloading their items onto the conveyor belt. Noah stood on his tiptoes and tossed the sweet treat alongside everything else.

And then he hugged Ed's leg tightly and whispered, "Fank you."

The cashier was already scanning his items, but Ed had to fight back tears as Noah clutched his leg even more tightly.

"You're welcome, bud. Love you."

"Luvvvvvyou, Ed." He looked up with the most pure, innocent eyes, "We cook now?"

"Yep. We'll get everything started so when Mommy comes home she won't have to do anything but relax. Today and tomorrow we're gonna wait on her hand and foot."

"Hand and foot!" Noah exclaimed and then broke into giggles, repeating, "Hand and foot!"

…

Christmas Eve went according to plan. Olivia arrived home in the early evening, and the minute she stepped in the door she was greeted with the savory smell of the tenderloin. The lights in the apartment had been dimmed and there was a pleasant reddish-green glow enhanced by Apple Music's Children's Christmas Sing-a-long station and Noah, festively dressed in dark green corduroys and a red sweater, danced around, haphazardly crooning along with the lyrics.

Ed immediately served her a glass of wine and brought the cheese platter to the coffee table. Everything was in order—he'd already made the potatoes and the meat would be ready in about an hour. They sipped wine and reported on their days. Olivia's included purchasing wrapping paper for tomorrow's gift exchange at the Tucker matriarch's home.

"Are you sure everyone really sticks to the fifty dollar limit?" Olivia was nervous about underbuying for her Secret Santa recipient.

"Yes," Ed replied, "My mother threatens to take anything over fifty."

Caroline had strict rules. No gift cards. No lottery tickets. No cash. And also no lists. The Secret Santa process was every-man-for-himself, including people new to the game. Luckily, Noah had "drawn" Ed's brother who was a die-hard Jets fan, and Olivia drew Ed's nephew who was fascinated with Star Wars. Those gifts were easy for the first-timers.

"You sure?"

"Yes. But, expect my mom to have extra things for Noah."

"Ed."

"She insisted."

Olivia eyed Noah, "He's certainly going to have a nice Christmas."

"Good age for it though, huh?"

"I think so," she murmured. "I want…I want us to have a nice Christmas, too."

"We already are."

She smiled sweetly at him and leaned over for a kiss while he held her hands, "And you're going to be amazed with the dinner I've prepared."

Noah heard "dinner" and jumped up, "I help mommy! I help with cooking!"

"I can't wait to taste it, sweet boy."

They ate at the dining table. Noah sat in his new booster seat rather than the high chair and Ed, who didn't exactly trust the meat thermometer, was relieved when everything turned out perfectly. Eventually, he confessed that he'd received some help from the guy at the market, but Olivia barely heard him. With the apartment bathed in Christmas lighting, holiday jazz streaming from the speakers, a happy son at her side, and Ed Tucker smiling at her from across the table, her holiday was already perfect.

Using Santa as a bribe, they put Noah in bed at his usual time and got to work wrapping the last of his presents. Ed realized they forgot dessert, but Olivia told him it wasn't necessary. He opened the port anyway and they sipped on the sweet wine as they folded and taped and applied gigantic bows.

"That's a lot of presents," Ed remarked when they finished.

"It is."

He broke off a piece of cookie, ate it, and carefully broke off corners of the sugar cubes Noah left for Santa's reindeer. He poured some of the milk into the sink, and then got to work slowly writing a note in careful cursive. He placed the disturbed plate and the note on the coffee table, turned around, and saw Olivia standing in front of him with a small box in her hand.

"Here," she said.

"What's this? I thought we weren't opening anything til tomorrow?"

"I want you to have this now."

Ed tore off the wrapping and lifted the lid. Inside was a key. He picked it up gingerly and met Olivia's eyes.

"What's this?" He asked even though he knew exactly what it was.

"Your key," she responded.

"Liv."

She walked toward him. "I want you here," she said, her voice soft but firm, as much as you want to be."

Ed was having trouble finding the appropriate response. "Liv," he repeated.

"Put it on your key ring," she directed.

He walked over to the coat rack, fished his keys out of his jacket pocket, and complied. By the time he returned to where he was standing before, Olivia was there and she hugged him. "You've been so patient with me," she whispered in his ear. "And I want you to know that I've noticed. And I love you. And…I'm almost there."

Tucker briefly entertained the thought that this gesture was preemptive, that Olivia was merely trying to nix any plans for a Christmas marriage proposal. Ed had a ring, but he was not planning to propose on Christmas or New Year's or Valentine's Day or any other holiday. He was patient enough to wait for the perfect time, and that instance had not yet presented itself even though he was quite confident it was imminent.

"Thank you, Liv."

"You're welcome."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." She grabbed his hands and started walking toward the bedroom. "C'mon."

…

The Christmas crowd at Caroline's was slightly larger than what she'd had at Thanksgiving. All of her children were present this time as well as most of her grandchildren. Ed's daughter was still overseas, and the two eldest of the Tucker cousins were married and had other family obligations that day.

The party began at two in the afternoon, and Noah was asleep when they arrived. He slept late, but the excitement of Santa Claus visiting coupled with all his new toys overwhelmed him. Before Ed had a chance to put together his new train set or un-package his set of matchbox cars, Noah was reaching for his coat and requesting to go outside to try the scooter Santa had left in front of the tree adorned by a gigantic red bow.

"Okay, bud," Ed had said, "Hang on, lemme get my coat."

"Ed," Olivia objected, "You're not even dressed."

"I'm sure I won't be the only guy in sweats out there with a kid trying out a new toy." He'd almost said "the only dad in sweats." Olivia knew it, too. She saw him catch himself. And it warmed her heart. She'd been looking forward to Caroline's Christmas celebration since Thanksgiving, but, suddenly, she was ridiculously anxious for it all to play out. She craved family.

While Ed and Noah went out with the scooter, Olivia showered and started getting ready for the afternoon and evening. The presents were wrapped, Noah's outfit was pressed, and Caroline had insisted on everything else. Olivia scanned her closet. Like Thanksgiving, the Christmas celebration was casual, but Olivia felt like she needed to look extra good, given that she would be seeing some of the Tuckers for the first time. Noah was wearing light khakis and a green sweater over a red and green plaid shirt. She opted for dark skinny jeans and a long, red, tunic-style top.

Ed and Noah returned almost two hours later, with apologies but having sent several texts and photos, and they prepared to depart almost on time.

"Traffic shouldn't be bad," Olivia remarked as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. "We'll just be a little late."

"Ma expects that," Ed replied. "But, ya know what? We're not ready."

Olivia spun around on her heel, "What?"

Ed reached for something in his back pocket and produced a small box. To Olivia's relief, it wasn't a ring box, but it was a box. "You need this."

Inside was a necklace, silver in appearance, but Ed had an additional explanation. "It's Titanium," he said. "The strongest metal in the world. And the pendant…it's an Irish infinity design. I like those Tiffany ones, but everybody has those. I had this one made especially for you. Somewhere in there," he twisted the bauble, examining it closely, "there's the Irish Gaelic three. Ya know."

"For the three of us," Olivia finished for him.

"Yeah," He strung it around her neck, closed the clasp, and kissed a trail along the back of her neck and along her shoulders. He admired her in the mirror. "Perfect."

"Yeah it is."

So when they showed up at Caroline's with a sleeping Noah and a newly baubled Olivia, Caroline was extra fussy.

"Give him to me," she insisted waving her hands in the air, "Give him, Eddie, give him, give him."

"Ma, he'll wake up soon."

"I know, that's why I'm putting him in my chair. With his new train pillow." Caroline quickly produced a gigantic likeness of Thomas the Tank Engine, took Noah from Ed, and rested him against the pillow in her recliner. Satisfied Noah was taken care of, she turned her attention to Olivia's neck.

"Eddie! This is gorgeous!" She closely examined the infinity charm, "Almost as good as my gift." She winked at Olivia, "Yes, dearie, I drew you, well, I chose you." With that, Caroline disappeared into the kitchen, barking orders to her assistants, leaving a bewildered Olivia in Ed's arms.

"Did you know your mother drew my name?"

"Not exactly, but I suspected it."

"We should've brought her something."

Ed smirked and shook his head, "She doesn't want anything. Other than to see Noah. She's been bothering me since Thanksgiving for us to come and see her."

"So why aren't we doing that?"

Maintaining eye contact, Ed confessed, "I was worried it'd be too much."

"That's my fault," Olivia said.

"No."

"Yes," Olivia insisted, "Yes it is. I haven't…allowed…a whole lot. And I should have. I should have, Ed, because I've known you were good for a long time, I—"

"Liv." Standing in the middle of Caroline Tucker's too-warm cozy living room surrounded by cluttered Dickens village displays and dozens of wrapped and unwrapped gifts, Ed and Olivia were momentarily all alone. Except for Noah who was still snoozing in the recliner. The other Tucker men were outside near the meat smoker and everyone else was scattered throughout the house since the living room where all the presents were planted was off-limits until Caroline gave the go ahead. "Liv, let's not look backwards."

"Okay."

"Okay."

At least three Tuckers attempted to cross into the living room, but each person immediately retreated when they saw their Eddie's passionate liplock on the apparent love of his life. Both Oliva and Ed knew they were being watched, but neither one of them cared. Ed buried his tongue in her mouth and she kissed back with equal fervor, hearing but not caring about the occasional interlopers.

"Merry Christmas, Liv," Ed rasped as they reluctantly broke apart.
"Merry Christmas, Ed."

"MARRY KISTMAS" Noah shouted from the recliner. He was cuddled with the Thomas pillow but had obviously been awake for several minutes.

The two of them turned to Noah, smiles on both their faces.

"Merry Christmas, sweet boy," Olivia cooed.

Noah wrapped his arms around Olivia's neck. "You an' Ed done kissing now?"

The adults shared a laugh. "For now, pal," Ed replied, "Just for now."

…

The gift exchange took a long time, particularly because almost everybody brought a gift for Noah. By the time Ed opened his gift from his niece, Noah was surrounded by a pile of toys.

Caroline addressed Olivia unapologetically, "We haven't had a little one around in a while," she explained, "So….you and Eddie haveta haul all this back to Manhattan. I'd say some of it has to stay here, to bribe you, but that's not nice. Olivia, you know you're always invited. Sunday dinner. Every day if you want. You don't even have to tell me you're coming.

"We know, Ma," Ed said.

Olivia squeezed Ed's forearm, "New Year's resolution. Hit Sunday dinner once a month."

Before Ed had a chance to answer, Caroline exclaimed, "I LIKE this woman, Eddie. She GETS IT!"

The whole family collectively broke into knowing laughter; Caroline's children and grandchildren, much to her displeasure, had gradually drifted farther and farther away from her home.

"Okay, well, we're almost done," Caroline said, "Olivia, that's your present there, dearie. Under Eddie's ornament."

One of Ed's nieces plucked the box from underneath the shiny blue "Edward" bulb and handed it to Olivia. She tore off the snowman paper and gaped at the contents of the box, a deep emerald green beaded bracelet.

"I noticed you wear something like that," Caroline explained, "That there is Connemara marble. It's six hundred million years old. Only found in Ireland."

One of the tween grandchildren screwed up his face, "Oh c'mon, Grandma. Six hundred million years?"

"Believe it, Jakey," she snapped. "Six hundred million years. Ultimate permanence. Hint, hint, sweetheart." Her eyes danced as she reached for Noah. "Come here baby," she coaxed, "Grandma wants a cuddle."

…

Noah had been dressed in his toy soldier pajamas well before Ed drove the three of them home. Like she'd done at Thanksgiving, Caroline transferred him into the PJs and rocked him to sleep, singing lullabies and soaking up the feel of his little body falling into slumber against hers. They passed the rest of the night playing board games and cards. It was very similar to Thanksgiving, only this time Ed wasn't worried about Olivia. Her smile and body language proved she was completely at ease.

Back at the apartment, Olivia placed Noah in his bed and Ed plugged in the Christmas tree lights. He had just programmed a Christmas music station on the iPad when Olivia emerged clad in red snowflake pajama pants and a white tank top.

"Be right back," Ed said, "Gonna get a little more comfortable."

Olivia looked him up and down approvingly when he returned in gray sweats and a white t-shirt. He immediately descended upon her lips, delving deeply into her mouth, desperate for her to know how much he wanted her.

But a song caught his attention.

"Christmas Waltz," he commented. "Sinatra."

"Yeah," Olivia said, eager for him to continue with what he'd started.

"Dance with me a minute," he requested almost apologetically, knowing she was more than ready to move to the bedroom. "Christmas Waltz. My Dad loved this song."

Olivia rested her head against his chest. "Okay. But I have no clue how to waltz."

"Me neither. Just dance with me for a little bit." Ed held her possessively and swayed them across the room. "Just, lemme hold you for a second."

Olivia clasped her hands along Ed's back, knowing "for a second" meant "indefinitely."

And she was okay with that.

"Merry Christmas," she mumbled into his chest.

"Merry Christmas, Liv. Merry. Merry. Christmas."

…

#Tuckson

#Trilogy

#NewYearsNext