I'm still constantly amazed at the response I'm getting to this little family...but enough of that, you want an update.
"Momma!" Noah yelled as Charlie carried him into Ed's hospital room. They had moved him to a regular, single room earlier that morning so he immediately requested to see Noah. Once the doctor gave the go ahead, Olivia called Charlie, who had only returned to the hospital once briefly, then gone back to the little boy. It had Olivia a little worried, so when she agreed to bring Noah right up after his nap, there was a good bit of relief felt. As soon as Noah set his eyes on Olivia, though, he was scrambling from Charlie's arms and running across the room. Olivia stood and scooped him up, smothering him with kisses and also intercepting his collision with a still recovering Ed. Noah wrapped his little hands around Olivia's neck as she held him tightly to her.
"Oh, my baby boy," she cooed into his hair. "I missed you so much."
"Momma," he said possessively, as he stuck his thumb in his mouth and settled himself onto her shoulder. Olivia just kissed at his head and cheeks as she swayed back and forth with him in her arms. Just feeling his little body resting against hers began to melt her anxiety. As she turned around, the little boy finally caught sight of Ed.
"DADDY!" He exclaimed and leaned as far out of Liv's arms as he could. She was trying to keep a grip on him, as to ease the blow of his body to Ed's, but it was increasingly difficult. He wanted his daddy.
"Noah," Olivia said softly into his ear. "Remember daddy isn't feeling well. You need to whisper and be very gentle."
Noah froze as he heard the words and looked at Ed, almost as if he were trying to figure out just how sick he was. Olivia gently sat him on the side of the bed and Ed opened his arms for his son. Noah eased into them, his little hand reaching up to pat Ed's cheek.
"Daddy, you all better?" Noah asked as he settled himself on the bed, tucked into Ed's side.
"I'm getting there," Ed answered softly as he kissed the boy's head. "Seeing you definitely helps."
"I help you, daddy," Noah said, still cuddle up with Ed. "Tar-lie say your heart is sick."
"She's right bud, but it's getting better." Ed said as he looked at Charlie, who was still standing close to the door. "You and Charlie and your mom are healing my heart."
"That good," Noah said. "You need heart to love us."
Noah was reciting little things he could remember from books and lessons at preschool. From a three year old's perspective, a heart's primary function was to love people. And Noah was fixated on that element of Ed's recovery.
"Well, then I'm definitely all better," Ed said with a soft smile. "Because I love you even more than you know."
"I lub you too, Daddy," Noah said and once again popped his thumb in his mouth for comfort as he rested against Ed's side. Now that he had all four members of his family together, the relief was exhausting so his little eyes began to close. Olivia leaned up to stroke his arm a little and the boy was asleep within minutes.
"Are you okay?" Olivia whispered. "Should I move him?"
"No," Ed insisted. "Leave him here. I like having him close."
"Charlie, come on and sit here with me," Olivia said, pulling the other chair right next to hers. Charlie tentatively made her way to sit down, but her body was still showing a great deal of tension. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said quickly. "I'm fine. The exhaustion is finally catching up to me."
Ed and Olivia just eyed her, knowing that she was lying to them but neither one decided to press it. The last couple of days had been hard on all of them, and they needed to allow Charlie time to work through her own emotions. Really, they all needed to be gentle with themselves as they were still reeling from the terror of Ed's heart attack.
"Were you able to sleep any with Noah when he napped?" Ed asked curiously.
"A little bit," Charlie admitted. "But he was pretty restless, so eventually we both gave up on sleep and came up here. He's definitely feeling some separation anxiety."
"Yeah, it's been a rough week for him with you being gone, and now this," Olivia said as she kept stroking his little arm that was clutching Ed's hospital gown.
"We'll all be home and together soon," Ed said with a smile. He was ready to get his family back home and under one roof. As tired and weak as he felt, he also knew that his heart attack had thrown those he loved the most into a tailspin and it was time to get them all grounded again. Just then, Dr. Lee came into the room holding his chart and looking like he had some updates for them.
"Well, isn't this a sight for sore eyes," he said softly as he observed the family of four in front of him. Olivia reached over to try and take Noah from Ed, but the doctor shook his head. "He's fine right there, I just have some updates from your labs this morning."
Olivia noticed how Charlie visibly tensed up so she reached out to grab her hand in reassurance. Ed just looked at the doctor as he went to stand on the opposite side of his bed and check on his IV bag.
"Can you spring me outta here, doc?" Ed asked in his normal gruff tone. Olivia just chuckled and shook her head. They were two peas in a pod.
"How does tomorrow sound?" Dr. Lee responded as he looked through the charts in his hand. "All of your vitals are good, the tests are good, I see no reason why we can't spring you."
"Oh, that's just the best news," Olivia gushed, as she gripped both Charlie and Ed's hands in hers.
"You are going to have some major restrictions though, Captain Tucker," the doctor said sternly. "I want you resting, completely, for the next week. And then we are going to get you into some cardio-rehabilitation."
"What the hell is that?" Ed asked, already grumpy about the fact that he had to keep resting. The doctor just laughed a bit.
"You are going to be a hard patient now that you are awake, aren't you?" He said with a wink at Olivia, who just nodded in agreement. "You will work with a therapist who will slowly ease your heart back into exercise and stamina. I don't imagine you will need too much of it, given you were in excellent shape before."
"30 years in the NYPD will do that for you," he said with a little chuckle. Olivia just smiled at him and then glanced over at Charlie, who was being silent. She squeezed her hand a bit and the girl turned to look at her, trying to hide the fear in her eyes. The doctor started shifting around the room again, diverting their attention.
"Okay, well, if you don't have anymore questions for now I will leave you all to your family time," Dr. Lee said and took one more look around the room. "Just, keep in mind I need Captain Tucker to rest up this evening and tonight, so springing him tomorrow will be a reality."
"Yes, doctor," Olivia said with a quick nod. "Thank you so much."
"My pleasure," he answered as he made his exit. As soon as the door closed, Ed and Olivia locked eyes and shared a silent message of relief just as Noah began to stir from his happy slumber.
"It's getting close to Noah's dinner time," Charlie observed, wondering when she should try and pry him away from the hospital room. "Though, I can't imagine it will be easy to get him to leave."
"Well, I think I'm going to sleep at home tonight," Olivia said as she rubbed at her lower back and wincing a bit at the muscle cramps. It was really bothering her. "So how about we promise him a sleepover with both of us, and we can get the place ready for Dad's homecoming?"
"Sounds good," Charlie mused then looked to her dad for confirmation. "You okay if we steal Olivia for the night?"
"More than okay," he said quietly as he patted Noah's back to keep him calm as he woke up. "You all need some proper rest, and I'm pretty boring in this hospital bed."
"Maybe so," Olivia said. "But you are alive, and that is all that matters."
It was pushing 7pm and Olivia had yet to depart Ed's hospital room. Noah and Charlie had left several hours earlier, with minimal protest, but Olivia was finding it hard to leave her husband behind. She was spending most of her time fussing at his bedside, fluffing pillows and straightening blankets.
"Liv, if you ask me one more time if I need anything I'm going to go insane," he said in a joking tone, hoping to draw her attention to her current nervous habit. It worked and she just let out a laugh, bowing her head to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks. Ed just reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I'm okay, baby."
"Ed…" she said as she shook her head, trying to stop the tears from flowing yet again. It amazed her how being a wife and mother could reduce her to a blubbering mess at times.
"Olivia…." he sighed out as he watched his wife try to keep her emotions from bubbling over. "Come here."
Olivia all but collapsed on the bed and into his arms as she lost the battle with her tears again. Ed held her tightly to him and whispered little reassurances until she could calm herself down enough to lift her head up and kiss his lips gently.
"Sorry," she said softly and went in for another kiss. As she pulled back, Ed stroked at her cheek and looked deep into her tired eyes.
"No sorries, baby," he said. "This has been scary and stressful. Don't hide from me. I'm right here, loving you more and more every day."
"I don't want you to be worried about me," she said softly. "I want your heart to be calm and strong."
"You are my heart, Liv. It beats for you. For our family. That's what my heart needs."
"You have us," Olivia said and went to kiss him a bit more deeply before she departed for the night.
"Okay, pal, where should we build our fort tonight?" Charlie asked in a sing-song voice as her and Noah danced around the apartment to his Disney CD.
"MOMMA'S BED!" Noah shouted, suddenly remembering that Olivia was due home any minute. Charlie stopped to think for a bit, and then formed a smile.
"I think I can make that happen…" she said and scooped him up, carrying him by his ankles and upside down to the bedroom.
"Tar-Lie!" Noah giggled as he tried to sit up, failing miserably. Charlie tossed him onto Ed and Olivia's bed and went to pull out some sheets. She began to tie them to the tall bedposts, forming a little canopy while Noah watched in pure excitement.
"You da best, Tar-lie!" He said, bouncing up and down and clapping his hands. Just as Charlie finished the last knot, they heard the front door open and Noah looked at her with his mouth open in surprise.
"What do we have here?" Olivia asked with a little laugh as she entered her room, looking at Noah and Charlie already on her bed in a make-shift fort.
"We have sleepover in you bed, Momma!" Noah almost yelled at her. "Tar-lie make bed fort! Look-it!"
"Oh, I love this idea," Olivia said, thinking that a night curled up in bed with her two kids sounded like the best medicine for her day. "Let me take a shower and then I'll come join the sleepover."
"You want something to eat or drink, Liv?" Charlie asked as she stood up to stretch a bit.
"No thanks, sweetie," Olivia said and went to kiss her cheek. "You just relax with Noah and I'll be right out."
Charlie laid back on the bed and shot off a few text messages before placing her phone on the nightstand and attacking Noah with tickles. The boy just erupted in laughter as he rolled around the bed trying to escape. Finally, she relented and he got this micheivieous look to him, before out right launching himself at her and tackling her backwards on the bed.
"I got-ya, Tar-lie!" He shouted from his perch on top of her stomach and she just laughed.
"You sure did, pal," she said and then pulled him down for a hug. "You're the best, Noah. I love you so much."
"Lub you too, Tar-lie," he said and settled against her as Olivia came out of the bathroom and collapsed onto the bed with them. Charlie rolled over so Noah was situated in between the two adults and Olivia moved to stroke at her hair. Noah rolled onto his back and looked back and forth between his mom and sister. "Dis the best sleepover."
"Sure is, baby boy," Olivia said and looked at Charlie with a smile. "I've got my two babies with me."
Charlie just looked down a bit, feeling a bit weird about Olivia referring to her as her baby. But in a way, it felt good. All of a sudden her phone started to ring, disrupting the moment. Charlie reluctantly moved to sit up, answering before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?" Olivia watched as Charlie's face seemed to fall a bit and she shook her head. "Trevor, I don't know."
As soon as she realized it was Trevor on the phone, Liv sat up and reached over to grip Charlie's arm a bit.
"It's just…" she said, before he apparently cut her off again and she kept listening. "Okay, I'll think a little more about it. But I don't think I'll change my mind."
As soon as she hung up, she threw her phone down on the bed in frustration and worked to fight the tears. Olivia just kept eyeing her, waiting for the explanation. Finally Charlie looked up and pulled Noah onto her lap for a little comfort before coming clean to Olivia.
"I think I want to drop the lawsuits."
Okay, so we #SavedEd. But now what will happen? Leave a review to find out...