Ours

Ed and Olivia kissed Noah goodbye and left him on the floor with Lucy and his toys. They had been heavily relying on Sarah and Brooke for childcare lately, and Ed was relieved when Lucy said she could stretch her normal day care pickup hours into the evening.

Olivia ditched her work attire for a casual version of work clothes—black jeans and teal blouse under a fitted leather biker jacket. She clipped her hair back in a messy updo and reapplied her makeup, darkening it just a little, before adding the finishing touch—burgundy lip gloss. She felt bad that she had to rush to get ready and thought she looked just ok, but Ed licked his lips when he saw her emerge from the bedroom.

"My date," he said, coming to her for a kiss, "I almost want to just stay here now, but other people deserve to see you, too." He cringed a little, hoping she didn't mistake the compliment for objectification. Immediately he was relieved because she merely blushed, kissed him once again, and made her own assessment.

"Did we plan to wear each other's gifts?" She adjusted the collar of his light blue hounds tooth shirt, one of his Christmas presents. The leather jacket was her birthday gift from him.

"Coincidence," he answered, only managing to tear his eyes away from her because they'd walked from the back hall to the living room and he felt Lucy and Noah staring at them, probably wondering when they were going to leave.

Once they were on the street, Olivia realized she had no clue where they were going.

"Maysville," Ed informed her.

Is that a town? "Never heard of it."

Ed stepped off the curb, hailing a cab, "They have over fifty types of bourbon."

"Sounds interesting," Olivia said, "And…different." They did spend an awful lot of time in pubs, or, when the occasion called, a slightly more upscale bistro. The bourbon bar was totally new to them.

The restaurant looked like a whiskey cellar with its shiny oak paneled walls—not the dingy, crumbling paneling of Ed's favorite dive bars. The light fixtures cast a golden hue throughout the space; it was neither too bright nor too dark. "Do you mind if we sit at the bar?" Ed asked, "I know it's not very, dateish, but Cole said it's better at the bar."

"Date-ish?"

"Yeah, like, acceptable for a date."

"Oh." Olivia grinned at him, "I don't mind. And I'm glad you talked to Cole. How is he?"

"He misses me."

"Of course he does."

"But, other than that, he's good."

The bartender approached and slid food and drink menus in front of them. He introduced himself and offered to help navigate the endless list of whiskeys and bourbons. Ed's response surprised Olivia. "I'll tell you what, can you put together some type of pairing? Like, a few of these small plates each with an ounce of a different bourbon?"

"Sure, sir. How about you pick the small plates and I'll match the drinks for you?"

"Sounds good. Just give us a few minutes." He noticed Olivia's expression. "What?"

"Nothing. That was a great idea. I've…never seen you leave everything up to a waiter before. And, you hated tapas."

Ed screwed up his face, "The bourbon list is almost too long. And, the tapas service was annoying. They brought the plates too fast, we started eating and then the next round came, I felt rushed."

Olivia leaned over and kissed his cheek, "We won't rush you tonight, Captain."

He returned her smile, but it wasn't simply a smile. It was the endearing expression he reserved only for Olivia, and it involved his whole face. The skin around his blue eyes crinkled, and his chiseled cheekbones seemed to melt as the corners of his lips turned upwards. It captivated her. When he looked at her like that, the moment became only about the two of them and absolutely nothing else.

She used to feel guilty, feeling this irresistible connection to Ed, because if Ed was her world then, what about Noah? Wasn't her world supposed to revolve around him?

Doctor Lindstrom talked her through it. "Olivia," he had said, "You are Ed's wife and he is your husband. You are Noah's mother, and Ed is his father. You and Ed must be irrevocably connected for Noah to thrive. You loving Ed and Ed loving you only adds to the love bestowed upon Noah. It's the good thing about human beings, we never run out of love to give."

Ed saw her drifting off into her thoughts and he brushed her cheek with his index finger, "Everything ok?"

She tried to replicate his adoring stare, "Absolutely."

"You sure?" Olivia had a history of saying she was fine but feeling otherwise.

"Yes, I was thinking about how happy I am."

That smile again.

The bartender came over with their first round. He explained the vintage and the aging process and took their food orders. Olivia, amused, looked on as Ed emphasized how important it was that everything not arrive all at once. The bartender assured him it would not. They sipped and savored the spicy liquor; Ed remarked he didn't taste a difference from what he normally ordered.

Olivia disagreed, "This is way smoother than anything I've had."

Ed twisted himself around so one leg was touching hers. "Hey, guess what I bought today?"

"Hmmm, something for the new place?"

"Yep."

"Not the fixtures."

"Nah, I wouldn't do that without you."

"Then I have no idea."

Ed took out his phone and found a picture. "This."

"The Whole Family Cookbook," Olivia read slowly. "You bought it?"

"Yeah, I thought, since we're going to have this huge new kitchen, we should start cooking more," Ed explained shyly, suddenly thinking his wife thought his idea was more annoying and burdensome than cute and thoughtful.

Olivia kissed him again, tasting a hint of bourbon on his lips, "I can't wait."

He shot her a relieved grin, "I flipped through it. A lot of pictures and simple stuff. I don't know if I can follow the directions, but at least Noah probably can," he joked.

They talked more about moving and which furniture to take and which to discard. Olivia pointed out that Ed could finally have his old leather couch back, but he furrowed his brow. "I don't know if I wanna bring that over."

"Why not?"

"I feel like everything should be new, ours, ya know?"

"Think about it," Olivia suggested. "It'll fit perfectly in the office."

Their first plate arrived, a flatbread, which they both raved about. "See," Ed said, "We could make something like this; it's not complicated."

Olivia lightly ran her fingertips over his thigh, "I'm on board with the cooking."

"I don't know," he bantered, "You seem a little pessimistic about it. But…you have two weeks to get used to the idea."

Is he under the impression we're going right from closing to the kitchen?

As they sipped their second round of bourbon, Ed cleared his throat. He was jittery tonight. "Brooke called me today," he said.

"She called me too."

"To apologize?"

Olivia nodded, "I don't know why she feels like she has to do that. We were in the same room with Angela for maybe ten minutes. We handled it."

Ed fidgeted, "She's worried that Angela will somehow make you not want to be around them as much."

Olivia screwed up her face, "What?" She replied incredulously.

"I told her she was being ridiculous."

"That is so far away from how I feel," Olivia said, "Seeing her makes me want to spend more time with Brooke and Sarah."

Ed laughed knowingly, "Angela's never, exactly, greeted her daughters with open arms, if you know what I mean."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about her?"

Ed pursed his lips thoughtfully, "We're not, usually, but it came up. It's out there, so we should talk about it, right?"

He was right and Olivia acknowledged his wisdom. "That's true." She paused, sensing there was more to what he wanted to say.

"You're such a good mother, Liv. The kids know you love them; I can't help but wonder, if Angela coulda been just a little more affectionate, if Brooke and Sarah would, well, if they would have, well, better relationships."

From the beginning, Olivia assumed Brooke simply had little time for a social life, and Sarah had always been in Philadelphia and was with Jeff, so she figured they had a robust network of friends there. "Do you mean with boyfriends or with everyone?" She asked gently, knowing he was uncomfortable discussing this kind of stuff.

"Everyone. Even when they were younger, they had friends, but never best friends. Except each other. And then when one of them had a boyfriend," he grinned, "not that I was ever happy about that, it never lasted long. I thought one of them would go to college and come back with something serious, but neither one of them ever mentioned a guy. Even after they knew I wouldn't kill him." His smile faded into solemnity. "Somewhere along the line, they both learned, unfortunately, not to completely trust other people. They push them away."

Hearing him extract these deep-seated and philosophical concerns about his beloved daughters both heartened and devastated Olivia. "Ed."

He squeezed her thigh and the smile returned, "But they trust you."

She covered his hand with hers. "Good."

"I've never seen them pursue anyone."

"Now you're flattering me."

Ed gripped her hand tightly, his grasp on her ring finger was particularly strong, "You need to know how important you are."

Another small plate and more drinks were delivered then, but neither Ed nor Olivia paid attention. You need to know how important you are. That sentence knocked the breath from her lungs, and she gaped at Ed, mouth slightly open, completely astonished. Ed, meanwhile, wore the unmistakable Tucker smirk; he also raised his eyebrows a little, sort of competitively, as if to challenge her. Top that.

"I don't know what to say."

He moved in for a kiss, "You don't always have to say, ya know."

The kiss lasted long enough that even the most self-involved patrons took notice. Ed was so dizzy with passion that he almost suggested they do something crazy like head back to one of the restrooms together or check in to a nearby hotel for the night because he just couldn't wait to get her home. The thoughts caused him to chuckle a bit, ending the kiss, and Olivia asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

He whispered in her ear, "Have you ever done it in a restaurant bathroom?"

Olivia swatted his chest. "No. And if you're asking—"

"I'm not." But his expression suggested otherwise.

Olivia turned back to the bourbon and food, "Can you wait until we get home?"

"Yeah, yeah…I'm ok. But, I think I wanna dance with you."

She smiled, loving how scattered he was when in the throes of a romantic mood. "We'll finish here and go do that. Someplace closer to home? Just in case?"

He grinned shyly and dropped his head in mock embarrassment, "Good idea."

….

Ed and Olivia didn't exactly stumble onto the street, but after five bourbons they each felt pleasantly buzzed and had to concentrate to steady themselves. Ed was working out in his mind where he wanted to take her for a few rounds on the dance floor when Olivia asked whether or not they were taking a taxi; their neighborhood was three miles away.

"Not yet," Ed said, "Let's walk for a little bit." He took her hand. The nighttime air was balmy and they strolled along in silence for a block or two with pleasant expressions on their faces, as if they shared a precious secret. Ed broke the silence only when they passed a heaping pile of broken down boxes awaiting morning pickup. "We probably should think about packing," he remarked.

Olivia laughed at their procrastination, "We probably should."

"I scheduled the moving company, but I figured we'd pack everything ourselves. Do you want them to do it?"

"No."

She wasn't saying much. "You alright?"

Olivia released his hand and, instead, linked her arm around his so she could be closer to him. "Just thinking about the last time I moved. The circumstances were so different."

Ed wasn't sure how to respond. Olivia had walked him through every excruciating detail of the William Lewis saga, but Ed tensed and cringed since he knew her last move came on the heels of him holding her hostage. The current apartment had also been home to Brian Cassidy who infuriated Ed for no other reason than he had once been Olivia's boyfriend, and, in his opinion, was not at all good enough for her. Ed hated thinking about another man loving Olivia Margaret Benson because he loved her best.

"Yeah they were," he murmured, kissing her cheek as they walked.

She sensed his discomfort, "Ed, it's ok. I'm thrilled right now. We're getting our home, and, really, with all the renovations, starting from scratch. It's completely ours."

"We should get a new bed."

"Brian never slept in the bed we have now," Olivia informed him, knowing what he was thinking and also a little surprised he'd never brought it up before. "I got a new mattress after we broke up. You're the only man who's ever been in it."

"And the only man who will ever be there."

Olivia stopped them in the middle of the sidewalk on Broadway and kissed him hard. "That's right."

"I changed my mind," Ed said, "I still want to dance with you, but let's do it at home."

…..

They looked in on Noah and went to the bedroom where Ed played soft jazz music and dimmed the lights. He held his arms out for Olivia, and she melted into his body and placed her head on his shoulder. They swayed in the small space between the bed and the closet and the moonlight drifted in, creating a hazy blue-gray ambiance.

"Brooke told me how you handled Angela."

This again?

"Mmmmmm," Olivia moaned, hoping he would change the subject.

"If she ever says something like that to you again, I'm—"

"No you're not," Olivia mumbled, still glued to his shoulder, "Let it go."

"She—"

"She's unhappy. And I'm not."

"We're not."

Olivia leaned back, "I love you," she cooed.

Ed responded by kissing her deeply, and he wasted no time removing her blouse and then unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans. She reciprocated, fumbling with his belt and shirt buttons before breaking away from him momentarily to fling his t-shirt over his head. She put her palms on his chest and resumed the languid kiss until Ed impatiently yet gently ushered them to the bed.

Date night ended with Ed making love to her so tenderly, Olivia was certain he worried about breaking her. Even when she asserted herself and rolled on top of him, he whispered, "slow down," and gently clasped her hips so he could temper her pace. Eyes closed, he savored her skin's softness and the feel of his arousal inside of her. He moved one hand between her legs, desperately wanting them to climax at the same time. He was close, and, as she defied his grip, moving more aggressively against him, he knew she was, too.

Moans.

Gasps.

"Ed."

"Olivia."

"I love you."

…..

Olivia grabbed her vibrating phone and saw it was Rollins calling. She threw on her robe and waited until she was out of the bedroom to answer.

Amanda frantically explained to her that Jesse had been up half the night with some type of stomach virus and her pediatrician told her to take the one-year-old to the emergency room. Olivia comforted her, explaining the doctor was probably worried about dehydration, but urged Rollins to put her family first and not to worry about coming in to work.

"We have it covered," Olivia assured her, "Take care of Jesse."

"Lieu—"

"Amanda, get to the hospital. Now. Check in with me later."

Olivia hung up, made a cup of coffee, and carried it back to the bedroom. On the way, she peeked at Noah who was still fast asleep. Also appearing to be in a deep slumber was Ed who insisted on sleeping naked. When Olivia returned from the bathroom last night wearing her customary shorts and tank top, he frowned and whined, "Take it off." After she undressed and crawled under the covers with him, he wrapped his arms and legs around her possessively and almost instantly fell asleep.

Olivia hadn't been back in bed for five minutes before she felt Ed's hand wander over to her side of the bed and come to rest on her thigh. She ignored it, and he responded by sliding his hand higher. Still no reaction. He inched it higher, effectively between her legs now, and her stoicism finally crumbled.

"Good morning," she said through a chuckle.

"Morning." He grumbled into the pillow, keeping his eyes closed.

"What are you doing?"

"I want sex."

Olivia was still coolly perusing articles on her phone. An outside observer would have no idea that her husband's fingers were almost inside her.

"Noah will be up soon."

"Then we better hurry."

…..

Friday was filled with cases and calls for both the Special Victims Unit and the Hostage Negotiation Team, but Ed and Olivia did manage to send texts back and forth at various points throughout the day. When they were both at home on Friday nights, their routine was to order in and have the girls over for cards or board games, but this particular night's get together appeared to be in doubt until Rollins breezed in just before five.

"Amanda," Olivia greeted her with surprise. She hadn't had contact with her Sergeant since the morning's phone call, "I wasn't expecting you. How's Jesse?"

"She's home. Better. Antibiotics and Pedialyte. Busy day?"

"Sort of."

"Well, I'm here now…thanks for covering for me…I think Fin and I can handle things tonight."

Olivia was skeptical, since Carisi was not scheduled for duty either, but she wanted to get home and Rollins could always call if she needed the Lieutenant. Olivia gathered a few items, thinking about how, just a couple years ago, she would have been stubbornly reluctant to leave. "Ok, then. But keep me in the loop."

"Of course. Have a good night."

On her way out, Olivia called Ed about dinner which he'd already ordered. Sarah and Brooke would be at the apartment soon, and Noah was occupied with his train set. Ed reported that they only had one bottle of wine left, so Olivia stopped at the market and picked up another bottle and some Prosecco for Sarah, hoping she still liked it. Everyone was at the apartment when she arrived.

"Livvie!" Sarah exclaimed and rushed to give her a hug.

"Hey, Sare," She said as she absorbed the contact and tried not to drop the bags.

From the couch, Brooke said hello and mentioned that Sarah had a head start on the drinks. "The fat dork head of her team took everyone out for cocktails after work," she explained, using Sarah's moniker for her boss.

Olivia disentangled herself from Sarah and Ed took the bags from her, including her purse which he carefully hung on the coat rack.

"Brooke, not that I'm not happy to see you, but I thought you had plans tonight?"

Brooke's expression betrayed her disappointment. "Sonny had to…he's helping Rollins out with Jesse."

Sarah sat down in a huff next to Brooke, "That dude is too nice."

"He wants to please everybody," Brooke said.

Sarah frowned, "Well, apparently everybody except you. That's bullshit."

"Sarah," Ed snarled, "Watch the language."

"I told you," Brooke implored, "We're not serious. We were just going to hang out and watch a movie."

"So he skips out on your Netflix and chill to go take care of a sick baby? Interesting choice."

Ed glanced at Olivia curiously and she whispered in his ear, "Chill means sex." She noticed his ears redden and wondered how long it would be before he employed the new slang.

"Well," Olivia said brightly, "I'm glad we're all together. What did we order for dinner?"

"Italian," Ed answered, "You want wine?"

"Yes!" Sarah answered.

"I was actually asking my wife, but I'll get you a glass, too."

"Sarah, I got you Prosecco."

"Even better!"

Ed delivered the drinks, first to Sarah then to Olivia. He teased her, offering the glass and then taking it away only relenting after Olivia kissed him. "Food should be here any minute." He said, "Hungry?"

"Starrrrvvvved!" Sarah said.

Ed remained within inches of Olivia's face, "Why did we invite her?"

Olivia gave him a quick peck on the lips, "She's always invited. And, yes, I'm hungry."

"I got you the lobster ravioli."

"You're the best."

Sarah elbowed Brooke and whispered, "Lookit."

Brooke was paying attention to the news and not to her father and Olivia. "What?"

"They're so cuuuuute."

Sarah gushing over the two of them was getting old. "Have another drink, sis," Brooke said, "and, mind your own business, will ya?"

Sarah dismissed her sister's advice and instead focused her attention on Noah. "Whatcha doin, Noey Boey?"

"Playin trains."

"Can I play?"

"Sure, Sarah. You have the green train."

"I want blue."

"No. That's mine. I'm the blue train."

"Ok, fine. Wanna race?"
"I beat you. Blue train goes fast!"

Sarah and Noah circled the Brio train track over and over again until Sarah collapsed into the bean bag. "That's enough for me, brother bear."

"I winned!" Noah shouted. He ran to Olivia and Ed who were on the opposite from Brooke on one end of the couch. "I winned!" He exclaimed again.

"You won! Great job, bud!" Ed lifted him into his lap and tickled away.

Noah giggled and threw his body towards Olivia who alternated kissing each cheek. "Ahhhhh!" Noah shrieked, "Brookey! Help!"

Brooke looked over, "Sorry sweetie, I don't think I want to get in there. But," she heard the knock on the door, "You're saved by the food."

They ate at the dining table and finished the first bottle of wine. After dinner, the game of choice was Rummy, which they played until Sarah could no longer shuffle the cards. "Ah, I'm out," she slurred, "I never win at this game anyway. Letswatchamovie."

Ed started to object, but Olivia spoke first, "Yeah, good idea. Let me get Noah in bed, you three choose." It was well past Noah's regular bedtime, and he offered no protest when Olivia picked him up. She made a lap around the table so everyone could kiss him goodnight and then disappeared into the back of the apartment.

Sarah teetered to the counter and refilled her glass with wine from the second bottle. She'd already polished off the Prosecco. "Daaaaaaady," She droned, taking a place next to him on the couch and putting her head on his shoulder. Ed, annoyed, didn't return her affection.

"What?" He grumbled.

"I need a favorrrrr."

Olivia returned and sat on the other side of Ed with her wine.

"Livvie," Sarah said, "I need to borrow Daddy for a weekend."

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Why's that?" Olivia asked.

"I need to get my stuff from Philadelphia, and I want Daddy to drive me and go with me."

"I told you I would take you," Brooke scoffed. "Dad and Olivia are moving. They don't have time for this."

Ed groaned, "Can it wait until after we move?"

"Or next weekend," Olivia suggested, "We don't close until the next week."

Another groan. "I can probably do that."

Sarah slung an arm across his waist, giving him an awkward hug, "Thank you Daddy. I don't want to go alone. I don't know what Jeff will be like."

Olivia raised her eyebrows, "You don't think he'll get violent, do you?"

Sarah took a drink and some wine dribbled down her chin. She wiped it with the back of her hand and waved the glass around as she babbled until Ed took it from her. "He's not gonna hit me or anything, but he can be mean and nasty and if Daddy's there with his gun and all he'll be nice I know he's gonna be mad about the wedding presents and I really want some of the things, WAIT! Am I supposed to give all that stuff back?"

She didn't wait for an answer.

"I really should go there with some other guy. Like a hot guy, maybe I'll ask someone in my office, some young hot intern and he can go with me and I can tell Jeff, you…fucking…asshole…you wanna fuckaroundonme? I can play that game."

"Sarah, tone it down," Ed reprimanded.

"And don't be ridiculous," Brooke snapped, "You're not going to hire an escort to go get your things. And grow up, too. You're acting like my sixth graders."

Sarah stood up and jabbed an accusatory finger at her sister, "Don't tell me what to do, Sonny. You're not so good at love, either, are you?"

"I'm not running out to find somebody else and parade him into the precinct to make Sonny jealous."

"Well, maybe you should," Sarah gulped down the rest of her wine, tripped over Noah's trains, and somewhat gracefully came to rest in the beanbag, "Livvie?"

"Yes, dear?" Olivia was now leaning on Ed, feeling the effects of the wine and food. His arm was draped across her. In his other hand was a glass of bourbon.

"What would you do if someone cheated on you? Like your husband?"

"Sarah," Ed sneered again even more sternly than before. "Stop it."

"Oh, Daddy, I know you would never do that I was speaking hypolectically."

"Hypothetically," Brooke corrected.

Olivia answered, "I would have my Dad take me to get my things, and file for divorce, if, that's indeed what happened and what you want."

"Divorce." Sarah rolled over into Noah's toys and when she revealed her face again, tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I'm an ex-wife. A failure. And you," she clumsily gestured towards Ed and Olivia, "I want to be like you guys, all lovey-dovey and, Just. So. Fucking. Committed. Brooke."

"What?"

"Don't you wanna be like Mom and Livvie?"

"You mean Dad and Livvie?"

Sarah giggled, "Oh, yeah, nobody wants to be like fucking mom. Livvie, you're my mom now, fuck, uh, what's my former mom's name? Oh fuck it who cares."

Brooke was snarky, "I guess we're not watching that movie?"

"Oh yes we are," Sarah jumped up but nearly fell over the coffee table. "Who wants a cocktail? I'm mixing. Divorce calls for vodka."

"We don't have vodka," Ed informed her.

Sarah widened her eyes and leaned down to Ed's face, "Well, I don't believe you, Daddio," she touched the tip of his nose with her index finger and grinned at him. "You know you wanna laugh."

Ed broke into a tiny smile, "What I want is for you to not fall on us."

"And I want vodka," Sarah sat on the couch and cuddled up to Olivia. Ed looked over at Brooke helplessly. Soon, Sarah was snoring.

"I'm gonna leave her here and go if that's alright with you two," Brooke said.

"Uh-uh," Ed said, "She can stay here, but I'll take you home."

"Don't drive, Ed," Olivia warned.

"Of course not." Ed stood up and leaned down for a kiss. Sarah's head was in Olivia's lap and Olivia cradled her as if she were much younger and smaller. "And then," he whispered in her ear, "maybe we can chill?"

Olivia laughed and kissed him. "Very good," she complimented.

Brooke pulled on her jacket in the foyer and pretended not to hear the amorous banter.

…

"Thanks for walking me, Dad, but you really don't have to," Brooke said as they headed towards Ed's old apartment.

"Yes I do. It's late. My sweet girl isn't walking home alone."

Brooke hugged him to her side. "I'm sorry about Sarah. I should've told her to stay home. She was half crocked when she got home from work today."

"It's not your job to be her babysitter."

"I know, but she has so much going on right now. That new job, I think, is challenging her more than she thought. She's going out with people every night."

"Burning the candle at both ends."

"Absolutely. And then this whole thing with Jeff…"

"You think she's right? Was he having an affair?"

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think it matters. Sarah isn't innocent in all of this. She blames Jeff for everything, but she was the one complaining about Philly all the time and then basically lying to him about kids and about her job."

"Lying?"

"Before they were married she let him think she was cool with having kids soon, then, afterwards, she flipped and changed her mind. And she would say she was working late but really she was going out or even just hanging at a coworkers house because she hates, and I mean hates being a wife."

"Then why in the hell did she get married? And what do you even mean by that?"

Brooke laughed, "Jeff's traditional. He liked to have dinner, like, at the table and stuff and talk every night. I think she thought, when they got married, that they would still be like they were when they first got together, but he was ready to settle down, he's almost thirty, ya know, and once she saw him digging in his heels on the whole family thing, she freaked."

"All things that shoulda been discussed before they got married."

"The damage is done, but she knows that now."

"Good. Hopefully she won't make the same mistake twice." They crossed over into the Forties and as they got closer to the apartment, Ed worked up the nerve to ask about Carisi. "Is, uh, everything alright with you?"

"You mean with Sonny?"

"Yeah."

Brooke felt around in her pockets in search of her cigarettes. "You don't happen to have any smokes, do you?"
"Is it that bad?" Ed joked.

"No, it's not. Do you have one or not?"

"No, I haven't smoked in probably a year."

Brooke ducked into a bodega and purchased a pack of Marlboro Lights. She lit her cigarette and got back on topic. "Sonny is a nice guy, but he has a lot going on. I like him a lot, and we have fun together, but I don't think it's going anywhere."

"Why not?"

"You know all that shit Sarah's always saying about you and Olivia? How she looooovvves you two so much because you looooooove each other so much?"

Ed nodded and rolled his eyes, "Of course."

"Well, she's right. She's annoying about it. But, she's right."

Somewhat surprised to hear Brooke say this, Ed looked at her, wide-eyed. "We're just being…us."

Brooke gave him a playful shove, "You don't have to apologize or justify anything. My point is that I don't see me and Sonny ever getting to where the two of you are. That's what I want. And what Sarah wants. So, why waste my time with this guy who I don't think will ever look at me the way you look at Olivia."

Ed pondered this as they approached the entrance to her building. He wrapped Brooke in an embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Just remember, Brookey, you deserve that type of love. Don't settle for anything less."

"I won't, Daddy."

Daddy was unusual for Brooke to use, so Ed tightened his grip and prolonged the hug for a few more seconds.

"You want me to walk you up?"

"No, I'm good. Night, Dad. Thanks."

"Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, too."

…..

Olivia had tucked a blanket around Sarah and put a pillow under her head. The room was dark except for the light above the sink. Ed took his bourbon glass, gave himself a refill, and went to the bedroom. The walk and conversation had taken longer than planned, and on the way back Ed predicted his wife would be asleep and he chuckled thinking about how they would have to postpone "chilling" until, if he was lucky, tomorrow morning. Sure enough, Olivia was asleep on top of the covers, as if she had been trying to stay awake until he returned.

He gently removed her reading glasses and put her phone on the nightstand, toggling the side switch so that the sound was muted. From his side of the bed, he tugged the sheet and comforter from under her body, she stirred a little, but then nestled into her pillow as Ed covered her.

Sipping his bourbon, he stood in front of the window and stared out contemplatively into the starry black sky hovering over the city. In ten days his bedroom view would be completely different, and Ed was almost giddy when he thought about Olivia talked about the new place being completely theirs. From the time he moved in with her and Noah, he had always felt comfortable, but there was something intensely special about creating this fresh home with his wife and son.

He downed the rest of the bourbon, considered another refill, but opted to call it a night instead. He stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed, making sure to cause as little disruption to Olivia as possible. Nevertheless, as he closed his eyes and felt fatigue cascade down upon him, he also felt her roll over, and reach out for him. Apparently, he wasn't the only one needing the feel of his body against hers in order to completely surrender to sleep.

…

#Tuckson

Fair warning: It will be a little while before the next update. Busy times ahead :-(