A/N: HOT DAMN. Can't believe we're at 100 reviews with this story! Thanks so much for the continued feedback and banter on Twitter! :) I ask that you be gentle with me on this one – still pulling myself out of a work-related funk and this one was really, really hard to squeeze out for some reason. Sorry if it's not my best, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Btw, in case you forgot, Tuckson kissed. And I've watched the YouTube video of that last scene no less than a kajillion times.

##

Olivia walked out of her office in the evening, scanning the squad room from her doorway. Dodds had been gone for a couple of weeks now, but there was still an underlying current of sadness permeating the unit, one she didn't expect would completely let up for a while.

The banter that they'd once shared as a team was slowly returning as they adjusted to the lesser headcount and Olivia hoped they'd be back on solid ground soon.

The other day, Fin had made one of his usual wisecracks, and Amanda started laughing before she stopped herself, covering her mouth with her hand as if she'd crossed a line, broken a rule.

"The Sarge would've thought it was funny, too, Rollins," Carisi had reassured her.

Olivia had smiled at this. "We can't stop living our lives because of this, guys," she'd said.

Lord knew she was still wracked with guilt over leaving him in that house, but Lindstrom was helping her with that, and Ed and Noah were helping her with everything else.

She looked at her watch. She still had some time before Lucy would need to be relieved, and Ed was heading straight home this afternoon.

"Guys?" Three heads looked up from paperwork and behind computer monitors. Olivia shrugged. "Let's get a drink."

Rollins looked to Carisi, who shrugged before looking at Fin, who was rising from his chair and grabbing his jacket. "Let's roll," he said, leading the way to the elevators.

"So what happens now?" Rollins asked, rolling her beer bottle along its bottom edge in front of her.

Olivia sighed, absently stirring her drink with a straw. "That's a good question. I don't know." She looked up and met each of her detective's eyes. "We'll need a new Sergeant, so it'll either come from within the unit," she looked pointedly at Fin and then Amanda, her senior detectives, "Or we'll get a Sergeant from another command. Either way, we get another new guy."

Somber nods surrounded the table.

"We'll figure it out," Fin offered. He was proving to be the pillar of strength for the squad. Olivia had taken Dodds' death exceptionally hard, but Rollins and Carisi had been affected tremendously as well. If Fin was hurting as bad as they all were, he was good at hiding it. "Carisi," Fin challenged. "Pool?"

Sonny nodded, took a swig of his beer, and got off his stool, following Fin to a billiards table and leaving Amanda and Olivia at the table.

"I signed up for the Sergeant's exam," Amanda shared, shyly avoiding eye contact with her Lieutenant and choosing to watch Fin and Carisi set up the pool table instead.

"Yeah?"

Finally, Amanda turned and met Olivia's eyes. "Yeah." She nodded. "I'm not sure if Fin is interested in it this time around, but," she shrugged, "I figured…Can't hurt, y'know?"

"It definitely can't," Olivia nodded, sipping her drink.

"So I guess we'll see if Tucker thinks I'm damaged goods like Nick was," Amanda said, resigned.

Olivia sighed, running her fingers through the condensation built up on the side of her glass. "It's a possibility, Amanda, I'm not going to lie…" Amanda nodded. "But, y'know… Ed's not actually IAB anymore, so…"

"What?"

A small smile adorned Olivia's face. "Today was his last day. He starts HNT a week."

Amanda was stunned. "Wow."

"That's what I said," Olivia huffed out a laugh.

"Did he do that for you?" Amanda asked curiously.

Olivia looked at her, "In a way, yeah, he did. But he also knew it was time. He was over it."

"Cannot have been easy being on the rat squad for that many years…" Amanda took a swig of her beer. Her gaze fell back to Olivia, and she studied the Lieutenant's face. "You smile more."

"Sorry?" Olivia's eyebrows lifted and she turned her head toward Amanda, but kept her gaze at the table.

"You smile more," Amanda repeated. "With Tucker - Ed, I mean. You smile more." Amanda shrugged, cocking her head to the side. "So does he, for that matter."

The observation settled between them for a moment and they each sipped their drinks silently. Olivia found herself smiling at the awareness that Rollins was right. Ed had perfectly rounded out the little family she started with Noah; he was everything she didn't know she needed. And she knew their relationship brought out a side of him that not many knew existed.

It was like he'd said. They had a good thing going.

"I guess we just give each other more reasons to smile…" she replied simply.

Rollins clinked her bottle against Olivia's glass and raised it in a silent toast. "Good for you, Liv."

##

"So that's it, huh?"

Ed looked up from packing his desk into evidence boxes to find Draper leaning up against the doorframe of his office. He offered his now former partner a small smile.

"That's it," he nodded.

Ed pulled his keys out of his pocket and opened the bottom right drawer of his desk, lifting the velvet box and opening it.

Draper watched him scrutinize the contents of the small box. "You doing this for her?"

"Nah," Tucker shook his head. "Because of her," he clarified proudly.

Cole nodded, stepping into the office and sitting in a chair opposite Tucker's desk. He nodded at the velvet box that encased Olivia's ring. "You know, traditionally, when you buy something like that, you're supposed to actually give it to the girl," he said sarcastically.

"I am," Ed insisted, meeting Cole's eyes. "I was going to earlier, but then…Dodds…" He sighed, "I didn't want her to think that's why I was asking, y'know?"

Draper nodded. "How's she doing with all that?"

Ed sat down in his desk chair, linking his fingers together behind his head as he leaned back. "She's…better," he shrugged. "She still feels a lot of guilt, but she's working through it." Ed's eyes glazed over as he allowed himself to think about what would've happened if it had been her in that house with Munson instead of Dodds. "I can't imagine what I woulda done…"

"Good thing is, you don't have to," Draper said softly, knowing exactly what his longtime partner was thinking. He stood up, "Well, look, I'll leave you to it… Give Olivia my best." He reached out a hand and Ed shook it as he stood. "Don't be a stranger, Ed. We need to get our girls together every now and then, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll give ya a buzz sometime soon."

"Take care," Draper paused in the doorway, looking back over his shoulder. "Take care of Olivia, too, okay?"

Ed nodded assuredly, "You bet."

##

"The Mets are at home for an early game on Wednesday," Ed called to her from the bed as she brushed her teeth later that night. "I was thinking about taking Noah."

Olivia poked her head out of the bathroom and smiled at him. "You sure you're up for that?"

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, why not? He's gotta learn about the greatest sport ever played some time."

"I meant the part about the Mets," she joked, coming out of the bathroom to join him in bed. "I thought the Yankees were your team."

Ed cocked his head at her and grinned. "So he'll learn the basics on Wednesday, and as soon as I can get him to a Yankees game, they'll show him how it's really done."

"I'll call Lucy and tell her to take Wednesday off," Olivia offered, rolling to her side and propping herself up on her elbow. "You're brave, you know." At his questioning look, she continued. "Taking a three year old to a baseball game on your own." She nodded, "Brave." Her words were serious, but there was humor in her eyes, and he smiled softly at her.

"I think we'll be okay," he replied. "Bribery was invented to appease little boys," he added drily.

She laughed, and he leaned over to her, finding her hand and lacing their fingers together. She, of course, knew nothing of his elaborate plan, how this outing with Noah would lay the groundwork for his proposal.

"I love your relationship with him," she said softly, gazing into his cool blue eyes. "Thank you for being there for him," she said sincerely. "For me, too."

"Liv…" She interrupted him with a gentle, but powerful kiss. When they broke, he was breathless, and he lowered his forehead so it was resting against hers. "You have no idea how happy I am that you made it out of that house."

"Me, too," she agreed. "I hate what the Chief is going through right now, but the thought of never seeing you or Noah again…" Her voice broke and he stopped her train of thought with another kiss. "Did I ever tell you what Lindstrom said to me that day I went to see him, right after the funeral?"

Ed shook his head no.

"He said it wasn't my time. It was Dodds'." She took a deep breath. "I don't understand it, but if everything happens the way it does for a reason, it must mean that my story isn't over yet."

"Well, that's good," Ed said, climbing over her until he was resting between her thighs. "Because I kinda think that ours is just beginning."

He leaned down to kiss her, and when they parted, so looked up at him with a smile, her eyebrow lifted. "That was poetic."

"Thank you," he kissed her again, and lifted himself so he could look in her eyes. "That spark is coming back," he observed. "That Olivia Margaret Benson spark." She smiled, running her hands up and down his sides. He liked to middle name her. She couldn't really say she minded.

"Because of you," she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a deep kiss, rocking her hips up into his so he'd get the message that conversation time was effectively over.

##

The day of the game rolled around and Tucker approached Citi Field with an excited Noah perched on his shoulders, his small hands framing Ed's face.

The day before, Ed had patronized a sporting goods store and grudgingly purchased Mets gear, so they were both appropriately decked out in support for the home team. Ed had even gotten a toddler-sized hat for the munchkin.

Ed was hit with a wave of nostalgia as he handed their tickets to be scanned and he held tight to Noah's leg as the young boy pointed excitedly at each new bit of stimuli that crossed his field of vision.

Ed saw Mr. Met on the concourse ahead, and he tilted his head up to look at Noah's face. "Want a picture with the mascot, bud?"

Noah squirmed on Ed's shoulders as he yelled mastot excitedly.

"Let's take a picture with Mr. Met and send it to mommy."

It was still early, plenty of time before the game was going to start, so Mr. Met hadn't attracted too large of a crowd yet. Ed walked up to him easily, and Mr. Met crouched down so all three of their faces were easily visible in the frame of the photo when Ed turned his phone to selfie mode. Or rather, Ed and Noah were visible and you could make out the face painted on the giant baseball.

He sent the picture off to Olivia with the caption: I'll make a baseball fan of him yet. Love you.

Her reply came almost instantly: Give my sweet boy a kiss for me! Have fun. Love you too.

Their seats were off the 3rd base line, and he instructed Noah to always pay attention to the game just in case someone hit a ball in their direction. The warning was more for safety than anything else, but he bought Noah a toddler mitt and he knew the kid was dying to use it.

He did the whole peanuts-and-cracker-jacks thing, introducing Noah the sport that was closer to a religion in his house growing up than any actual religion ever was… He could still remember walking into Yankee games with his own father; it was a past time that they shared until he passed away.

Now, it was something he could share with Noah.

The iconic "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" song came on the sound system, and Ed took a short video of Noah attempting to sing along, sending that to Olivia, as well.

The game started and it didn't even take one out into the first inning for Noah to get swept into the electricity of it all. Not necessarily the sport – even Ed could admit that baseball could be slow; but the crowd… He would giggle when one of the diehard fans would yell at the ump, cheer when one of their guys made a good play in the outfield… And the first time the ump called a runner safe, Noah was obsessed with the hand signal. He stood between Ed's parted legs, imitating the gesture, yelling SAFE with a look of deep concentration on his face.

"Is this his first game?"

Ed looked toward a younger guy with a couple of small kids of his own a few seats down from them.

"Yeah," Ed affectionately adjusted Noah's baseball cap and smiled at the stranger down the row. "Gotta start 'em early, right?"

The guy laughed. "You bet. These two," he gestured to his daughters, both a little older than Noah, "they've been coming to games with me about as long as they've been walking."

"That's how it was when I was growing up," Ed nodded, remembering his childhood fondly.

The guy jutted his chin out at Noah. "He your only one?"

Ed looked down. Noah had his hands on either of Ed's knees and was doing an awkward jig with his feet, fidgeting between Ed's thighs. His attention was fixed on the field, where one of the coaches was having a pow-wow with the pitcher on the mound. Noah threw his hands up in frustration and shouted, "C'mon, play ball!"

Ed immediately busted out laughing, along with a few other fans close enough to hear.

"So far," he smiled.

This was why he didn't go to Mets games.

Innings-wise, the game still had three to go. But if you looked at the score, it'd been over since the top of the 3rd. Marlins were up 5-0 and the mitt that Ed had bought Noah was cast aside to a neighboring seat when it became apparent that nothing the Mets were hitting was going to make it to where they were sitting today.

"You ready, kiddo?" Ed adjusted his cap and lifted Noah to sit on his thigh.

"Game not over yet, Daddy," Noah whined.

Oh, it's over all right.

"I'll take you to another one soon, okay? Let's go get some ice cream."

Noah's eyes lit up. The ice cream had been a cheap shot – Noah would agree to do almost anything if there was a promise of ice cream.

But this had been Ed's plan all along, regardless of the game. Wanting to spend time with Noah one-on-one before broaching one of the most important questions he would ever ask anyone.

And though he knew it was likely that Noah wouldn't really understand what he was trying to say, he wanted to make sure the boy was included in the conversation, and that how he felt mattered.

They're a packaged deal, even if Noah didn't know what that meant.

##

"Hey bud," Ed started, watching with amusement as Noah dug into the sundae he'd purchased for the two of them to share. "You know how Aunt Heather and Uncle Ben are Jackson's mommy and daddy?"

He was diving in headfirst.

Noah nodded. "Uh-huh."

"And you know how Aunt Heather and Uncle Ben are a mommy-daddy team?"

"Like you and mommy," Noah shrugged almost dismissively, as if he didn't understand why Ed felt the need to tell him something he already knew.

Ed smiled. "Sort of. Your mommy and I aren't married like they are." Yet. Noah looked at him blankly before turning his attention back to the sundae. "Do you know what being married means?"

Noah looked at him curiously before shaking his head no.

Ed sighed, thinking carefully for a moment before diving into this explanation, wanting to make sure it was as clear as possible for Noah's young mind to wrap around.

"It means that two people stand up in front of all their friends and family and promise to love each other forever, no matter what."

Obviously, this was a very basic definition. Being married didn't always equate to a ceremony like what he described. He wouldn't be at all surprised – or disappointed – if all Olivia wanted was a courthouse wedding. As long as, at the end of the day, he could say she was his wife, he didn't care how it happened or who was there.

Not to mention, it wasn't enough just to love someone. Marrying them meant, among other things, always fighting for them, even in the hard times… And with the road they'd had getting to this point, he knew they'd already conquered that a few times – what was a few more over the course of a lifetime?

"You marry mommy?"

"I'd like to," Ed answered honestly. "Do you think you'd be okay with that, bud? It means I'd be your daddy forever. If I marry your mommy, it means I'm kinda marrying you, too, kiddo."

Noah twirled his spoon in the melting ice cream. He shrugged, "Okay."

Ed chuckled. It wasn't quite the enthusiasm he was hoping for, but Noah wasn't kicking and screaming in objection, so he'd take it. "Do you want to see the ring?"

"Ring?" Noah asked, confused again.

"Yeah," Ed reached into his pocket. "When I ask her, if she says yes, I'm going to give her a ring, and everyone will know that we are going to get married."

"I get a ring, too?"

"I can get you one, too, if you want." Ed assured him with a smile. "D'you want to see the one I got your mom?"

Noah nodded and Ed pulled out the box, opened it up, and held it in front of Noah. His eyes went wide as saucers. "Pretty," he breathed.

Ed tilted the box back toward himself, and he could see the inscription that he'd gotten engraved along the inner part of the band. "I know, bud." He left the box open on the table between them. "So what do you say, kiddo? Think it's alright if I marry your mommy?"

This time, Ed got more of the reaction he was hoping for, when Noah threw both fists in the air and shouted, "Yes!"

"Good," Ed laughed. "Now, do you think you can keep this a secret, man-to-man? Just daddy and Noah?" He gave the boy a serious, but loving stare that Noah returned, nodding assuredly.

He whispered dramatically to Ed. "It's a sepret. I keep sepret."

Ed ruffled Noah's hair. "Good job, bud."

##

"Honey, we're home," Ed called in jest as he opened the door, ushering Noah into the apartment first as he hung their jackets at the coat rack. "What smells so good?"

"Hey," Olivia called out from her position at the stove. "I'm making stew."

"Mommy!" Noah ran to the kitchen, tackling Olivia's lower legs.

She propped her wooden spoon on the pot and turned, picking Noah up and settling him on her hip as she rained kisses all over his face. She held tighter to him as he squirmed in her grasp. "And how is my sweet boy?" she cooed.

"We got ice creams," Noah shared.

Olivia looked at Ed with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "It was a while ago," Ed explained, smiling guiltily. "And we walked most of the way back to burn it off."

"It's okay; he won't eat the stew anyway. I've got something in the oven for him," she kissed Noah once more before putting him back on the ground, smacking his butt playfully as he ran away.

"My turn," Ed said huskily as he walked into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her softly. "Hi."

"Hi yourself," she smiled at him, kissing him back. "How was the game?"

Ed shrugged dismissively, "Mets suck."

She snorted a laugh, "I'm sorry."

"It was no surprise. I think he liked the baseball part of it, though," he pulled her into him a little tighter and shifted so they could both watch Noah play with his toys in the living room. "We'll go see a Yankees game when they're in town."

"I'm sure he'll enjoy that," Olivia smiled. "Thank you for taking him today. That video was hilarious."

He laughed, nodding in acknowledgement at the video. "One of these days you'll stop thanking me for things like this," Ed replied wryly. "I love spending time with him, Liv." He leaned over the pot on the stove, using the wooden spoon to fish out a piece of carrot to sample. "Mm, this is so good, babe." She muttered a shy thank you and Ed replaced the spoon. "How was your day?"

She sighed. "Not bad. Getting back into the swing of things. There's still a fog over the squad room."

She thought about mentioning Rollins taking the Sergeant's exam and soliciting some off-the-record advice from him, but decided against it for now, wanting to leave the NYPD outside the apartment as much as possible tonight.

He kissed her forehead and ran his hands quickly up and down her upper arms. "It'll probably be that way a while, unfortunately. It'll get better." She nodded and kissed him sweetly. "Have you looked up anything you want to see in Paris?"

"A little," she smiled. "About that…" He looked at her cautiously and she could see his body tense up. "No, it's nothing bad… I just – I know I said the next trip we took would just be us…"

Ed shook his head, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Forget it. He's coming with us." Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. "Plus… I am taking you on this trip, so it doesn't count toward that promise you made me," he winked at her and she laughed.

"Fair enough," she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So the next trip I take you on will be Noah-less," she confirmed. "You know, that's probably going to be awhile… Paris isn't going to be cheap—"

Ed cut her off with a kiss, moving his lips over hers for a few seconds before pulling away. "Doesn't matter. Whenever. I just want to get us all away from here for a bit, to hit the reset button, y'know?"

"Mm," Olivia nodded. "Thank you, Ed," she whispered.

"For what?"

"Being here," she said simply. "Being you. I don't know that I would've made it through any of the past couple of weeks without you."

It was not lost on either of them the gravity of her statement. He'd been surprised in the hospital when she hadn't tried to dismiss him with her normal "I'm fine" party line. Rather, she accepted his comfort, she leaned into him when she needed to, and she did so unabashedly.

"You've never needed anyone before," he said softly.

She placed a lingering kiss on his lips, her eyes boring into his. "You're the only one I'll ever need."

##

Noah woke up early the next morning, and when Olivia felt his small hands on her face, she opened one eye and smiled at him.

Glancing at the clock and seeing it was just past 5:00am, she whispered, "What are you doing awake, my love?" She reached out a hand and rubbed what he called the sleepies out of his eyes.

"Out of sleep, mommy." She needed to publish a book of Noah-isms like this one.

He moved to climb onto the bed next to her and she wrapped an arm around his small waist, hoisting him up and rolling him over her to settle in the space between her and Ed, who was still sleeping soundly. She turned onto her side to face them and Noah curled himself into her chest.

She pressed her lips to his forehead and stroked his face before letting her hand rub his belly soothingly. "Did you have a good time at the game yesterday, baby?"

He nodded. "I tried to catch the ball," he told her.

"Oh yeah? I bet you came really close."

"And then Daddy bought me ice creams and he told me a sepret," Noah spoke quietly.

"A secret?" Olivia smiled at him, glancing over at Ed and finding that he was still asleep.

Noah nodded, beaming with pride. "Man to man."

Olivia smiled, her heart swelling at the affection in Noah's face for Ed. She had been nervous about dating with Noah, but Ed had squashed any concerns she may have had almost from day one with how quickly he and Noah took to each other.

"Well, if Daddy made you promise not to tell, it must be pretty important," she reasoned, winking at him.

"He give me a ring," he whispered dramatically, which meant that he wasn't really whispering at all.

Olivia looked at Ed again. There was no movement from his side of the bed. "A ring?"

Noah nodded vigorously. "He want to marry us."

Olivia stopped breathing momentarily, her eyebrows lifting as she looked from Noah to Ed, who's eyes were still shut, his torso rising and falling steadily as he breathed deeply in sleep.

As Noah watched the realization flash across his mom's face, his hands flew up to cover his mouth; his eyes alight with amusement at his unintentional slip-up.

"Whoopsie!"

##

A/N: I know, I know… There was a small part of me that didn't want to end it here because I don't want to be hunted… but I'm maxed out for the moment and need to regroup before writing the big proposal. Don't hate me. Or, do. But either way, tell me about it. :)