Thirteen-(Sunday, December 24, 2017-Monday, December 25, 2017)

Sarah and Brooke helped Ed set out the food and drink for the Tucker's Christmas Eve get-together. Olivia checked in earlier and projected a late afternoon arrival and reminded Ed to pick up the bacon-wrapped scallops and antipasto tray. Everything else had already been purchased and was in the refrigerator, waiting to be transferred to serving trays and bowls.

Sarah busied herself arranging jumbo shrimp around a bowl of cocktail sauce. Noah stood next to her as she worked and occasionally plucked a sample.

"Hey," Sarah scolded him playfully, "You're messing up my presentation!"

"Just eatin' a shrimpie, Sare bear!" Noah chewed hungrily, "Dey good!"

"Is there any food you don't like, Noey boey?"

"Don't like carrots. YUCK!"

"Do you like any vegetables?"

Ed came over and cupped Noah's head lovingly, holding him close for a second, "He likes cauliflower and broccoli, right bud?"

"Uh-huh," Noah answered with his mouth full, "Wiff cheese!"

"Oh," Sarah said, smiling, "Well, put cheese on anything…you could put cheese on a sardine and I'll eat it."

Ed squinted at his daughter and muttered, "Disgusting."

Over at the dining table, Brooke lit the sterno lamps under the chafing dishes and tried a scallop and then another. "Wow, okay, get me away from these," she said, "They are so good!"

Noah scampered over, "I try one, Brookey?"

"Sure," she took a toothpick and plucked a smallish piece for him.

"YUM!" Noah exclaimed as he chewed.

Ed opened bottles of wine and organized them on the island from dry to sweet. "Hey, No, Did you eat anything today?"

"Cereal wiff Sare bear!"

"Oh shit," Sarah said under her breath, "That's all he's eaten. No wonder he's eating all the food before the guests arrive. Whoops."

"Why didn't you tell us you were hungry, No?" Brooke asked.

The little boy shrugged.

"Didja eat enough junk last night?" Ed asked.

"No junk," Noah replied with a hint of sass, "Oreos. And pizza! And…And…Sare bear what those chips?"

"Doritos."

"Doritos!" Noah exclaimed.

Ed added bottles of vodka, gin, and bourbon to the island along with a large bucket filled with ice and assorted beers. He put out the glassware and cocktail napkins, scanned the room, and let out a satisfied breath. "Looks good in here."

Sarah turned around and stood shoulder to shoulder with him and agreed. In addition to the gigantic tree, Olivia strung lights and garland along the mantle and along the built-in shelves on the other side of the room. Neutral-colored candles had been swapped for red and green ones, and on each side table rested some sort of holiday accent—a snowman, a Santa, or a miniature poinsettia. It was classy and elegant, festive but not overdone.

"Sure does!" Sarah said, "I just hope there's enough room under that tree for Santa Claus to put Noey's presents."

Noah took her playful comment extremely seriously. He looked back and forth from the tree to Sarah who was grinning mischievously, knowing she'd rattled her little brother. Brooke came to his rescue.

"Don't worry, No," she said sweetly, "That's what Santa has the reindeer for. One of 'em will move everything around."

Noah chewed a finger as he considered Brooke's reasoning. "Santa have room," he concluded, turning himself around and pointing out space, "Room here, and here, and here. It okay."

"You're so mean," Brooke said to Sarah as she grabbed a beer.

Sarah stuck her tongue out.

"How old are you?" Brooke asked derisively though unable to hold back her grin.

"Girls," Ed warned through clenched teeth.

"Daddy, get used to it," Sarah said, nudging him, "Your days of moderating sibling disputes are far from over."

Brooke cracked up. "What if it's two more girls?"

"Omigod, omigod, omigod," Sarah said through giggles, "Daddy starts being a Daddy with two girls and he wraps it up with two MORE girls. Ugh. Poor guy. You and Noey are gonna be besties."

Ed cracked a beer for himself. "Yeah, we might have to turn Noah's room into the man cave," he joked. "Special lock. Mini fridge. We'll put the brown couch in there." Ed's phone pinging interrupted the banter. "Liv's on her way with Rollins."

"Who else is even coming?" Sarah asked, realizing she had no idea who they were entertaining.

"Her whole squad, as long as they can get away. Jesse'll be here. We invited Noah's Spanish teacher, Miss Melia, Cole said he and his wife will stop by. Barba. Also, kinda a surprise, Liv's old Captain is here in town with his girlfriend. He was going to stop by the precinct but I told him to come here instead."

"I remember him," Brooke said, "Nice guy."

"Don't you have any friends who aren't cops?" Sarah asked.

"A few," Ed replied, "But it's Christmas Eve…they have other things goin' on. And Liv wanted something small, informal."

"Looks pretty fucking borderline formal to me."

"Sarah." Brooke glanced at Noah, but he was now occupied with his tablet and oblivious to the profanity.

"Brooke." Sarah retorted.

Ed shook his head, collected his phone and his beer, and went to join Noah.

….

What Olivia had envisioned as a low-key gathering quickly became spirited and lively. Before either Rollins or Olivia had a chance to remove their coats or stow their bags, Sarah shoved a glass of Prosecco into Amanda's hand and offered to make Olivia any mocktail she wanted. "We have sparkling cider, juice, soda, anything you want, Livvie, and if we don't have something you want, Daddy will go get it."

Noah ran down the foyer to his mother and Olivia crouched down to hug him. He was already talking a mile a minute about the food and Santa and how his sweater was green just like Daddy's. She held him close, kissed his head, and cooed, "You look so handsome, sweet Noah. And thank you for helping get ready for the party!"

"We have shrimpies, Mommy! And cake! Sare bear let me have some arready!"

"She did?" Olivia acted surprised.

"It's 'cause it's Christmas!"

"Oh," Olivia grinned at him, "Okay then. That makes sense."

Ed meandered down the hall, "Are we all hanging out here tonight, or…?" Not caring that Rollins stood within a few inches of Olivia, he threaded his fingers through his wife's hair and pressed a firm kiss to her lips.

Rollins wiggled out of her coat and hung it and her purse on the coatrack. "I'll leave you two alone," she joked.

Sarah looked on with a goofy grin, awestruck by the romance. "Gawwwwd, I just love you two," she gushed.

Ignoring her, Ed asked Amanda about Jesse. He was expecting her to be in tow.

"My mother's dropping her off in about an hour," Amanda replied.

"She gonna stay for a drink?" Ed asked out of courtesy.

"No," Amanda said, grateful he'd even offered, "I don't think that's such a good idea. She's having dinner with Kim somewhere and we'll meet them later. We're doing better, but I'm not ready to parade everyone around as the happy family quite yet."

This was all too serious for Sarah. She slung an arm around Amanda's shoulder. "Let's go get you some food. C'mon, Noey Boey, let's show Detective Rollins what a good job we did cooking!"

"We didn't cook, Sare bear," Noah replied honestly as they walked into the main living space.

"Shhhh, Noey, jeez, kid, work with me here."

Taking advantage of a few seconds alone, Ed kissed Olivia again and gazed into her eyes. "How are you?" He asked.

"I feel good. But…I need new pants."

"Maybe Santa will bring you some."

"Did he?"

"No," Ed answered bluntly, a twinkle in his eye, "But you can wear sweats all day tomorrow."

Olivia slid her arms around Ed's waist, "You don't mind?"

"Of course not. You don't have to wear anything if you don't want to."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Right. Naked Christmas with our four-year-old son?"

Ed quickly thought of an alternative. "How 'bout we put the presents out naked?"

"How much have you had to drink?"

"Two beers. One bourbon." He pulled her close for a quick, passionate kiss. "Taste it?"

Olivia ran her index finger over his lower lip, "I do."

"I'll slow down."

"I'm not worried," Olivia said, "But maybe we should go be social?"

"Alright."

"I'm going to change. I think I have some old, stretched out jeans in there somewhere. If I'm like this at almost ten weeks, I can't wait to see me in a couple of months."

Ed looked her up and down. Unless someone was really studying her closely, she didn't look much bigger when she had her work clothes on. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And you'll always be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

They shared another kiss.

"Okay, Captain," Olivia said, "Let's join our party, shall we?"

Smirking, Ed nodded. "So you'll get back to me about later?"

"Later?"

"Putting the presents out…with no clothes? Remember?"

Olivia laughed; she hadn't really thought he was serious. "Yes. I'll get back to you on that."

…

As soon as Jesse arrived, Noah guided her over to the corner of the room where he had already placed a few select toys from his room. Jesse added her own things from her bag, and the two kids sat across from one another.

"You keep those dolls over there," Noah directed his younger friend, "And I build dem a house!"

Jesse smoothed her doll's hair and watched intently as Noah gathered a pile of Legos and began his construction project.

The adults mingled around the island.

"So," Sarah said, "Where's this new detective. I need to check him out."

Rollins choked a little on her drink. "I don't think he's your type."

"No?" Sarah asked, disappointed.

"No."

Sarah looked at Olivia for confirmation and she echoed Rollins. "No."

"Looks like both of us are single for Christmas, sis," Brooke teased.

"You're not single," Sarah said, poking Brooke's shoulder, "You're just on…hiatus…"

"What'd Fin and Stewart find out over at Narcotics?" Rollins asked Olivia.

"Not much. Their Captain was out."

"Daddy," Sarah asked, "Have you ever gone undercover?"

"Yep," he replied.

"Livvie?"

"Several times," she answered.

Ed quickly stepped in to divert and further attention on Olivia's undercover assignments. "Didja at least get Carisi's presents wrapped, Brooke?"

"I did."

"How 'bout you Rollins, all ready for Santa to come tonight?"

"My mom took care of it," Rollins replied. "We're good to go."

There was a knock and the door and Olivia excused herself to answer it. She did a double take at her visitors. Fin was there with Stewart, but standing behind them, beaming, were Captain Cragen and Eileen.

"Captain!" Olivia stepped between her two detectives to hug him and then his girlfriend. "I was wondering if you'd be in town! What a great surprise!"

"We're not here long, but I had to make sure to see you," he replied as Olivia ushered them inside and took their coats.

Ed stood at the end of the foyer, smiling.

"You knew," Olivia concluded.

"I did," he admitted.

Cragen shook Ed's hand, "Tucker, how are ya? Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you. We're good." He called over to Noah, "Hey, bud, remember Captain Cragen? He brought you the police car?"

Noah looked up. His house was now almost as tall as Jesse. Cragen and Eileen went over and said hello to the kids and had them explain what they were doing. They returned with pleasant smiles on their faces.

"Noah's leading construction," Cragen reported.

"So sweet," Eileen added, "He said the house has to be big enough so the dolls don't hit their heads."

Fin, Ed, and Olivia looked at each other. Cragen shifted from foot to foot. Eileen gazed at Noah and Jesse, doing her best to pretend she didn't notice the awkward silence.

Olivia figured everyone who knew about the pregnancy was waiting for her to speak first. "He's very sweet," she said, "And…we can't wait to see him as a big brother."

Cragen's eyes fell to Olivia's waistline. "Are you…"

"Yes," Olivia said, breaking into a wide grin, "I'm pregnant. Ten weeks. With…twins. But Noah doesn't know that yet."

Eileen hugged Olivia, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you."

Cragen shook Ed's hand and then wrapped Olivia into an embrace. "That's so great, Liv. Wow."

Sarah walked up to the group. Fin was standing next to Ed, and she put one arm on each of their shoulders, "Well, I see more people have learned of the Tucker twins," she said, her voice low, "Who wants a celebratory cocktail?"

…

With the crowd a little larger, they broke off into smaller groups. Ed talked with Fin and Stewart, who seemed reluctant to leave the older detective's side. Rollins and Sarah chatted with Brooke and Eileen around a bottle of wine, and Olivia and Cragen sat in the living room near Noah and Jesse who were now sitting side by side in the beanbag watching a Christmas movie on the tablet.

"I'm so happy for you, Liv," Cragen said as he took a bite of a scallop.

"Thank you. Me too. And…thank you for, I guess," Olivia nervously tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Cragen finished her thought, "Not being judgmental?"

The two of them had known one another for a long time, but Cragen's ability to read her mind was uncanny and unaffected by time spent apart. "Yes," she admitted. "I appreciate that. And so does Ed."

"Noah and those babies are lucky to have you two as parents," Cragen said.

"Thank you."

"Are you going to think about a different gig?"

"Maybe eventually," Olivia replied, "I know I have a lot of options. But…I can't see myself anywhere other than SVU. It's still a huge part of who I am."

"And it always will be," Cragen said sagely, "But seeing you with a family, Liv, I'm so glad you have that."

"I'm glad you have that."

"Almost missed it."

"Me too."

…..

The group thinned out fairly early. Rollins left after Jesse and Noah finished their movie. Eileen and Cragen followed. Sarah talked Fin and Stewart into staying for a few hands of rummy before they, too departed, leaving only Tuckers remaining. Not ready to go home, Sarah begged to play Uno.

"C'mon. We haven't played in so long, and I bet Noey can play his own hand now. We can add him to the scoresheet!"

"Okay," Brooke huffed. "A couple of games. But I'm tired and I think a little drunk."

"Better you than me," Sarah said, hiccupped, and giggled, "Or…never mind, Noey! Come here and sit by your best sister. Livvie, are you tired? You don't have to play."

"I'm good."

Ed rubbed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Want me to get Noah in his PJs before we start?"

"Sure."

"C'mon, bud. Let's get jammies on then we'll play."

Ed and Noah quickly returned, and everyone complimented Noah on his red toy soldier pajamas. Sarah pulled Noah's chair close to hers, explained the rules again, and promised to help him.

"Don't show your cards to anyone but me, Noey."

As soon as Olivia came into the picture, Brooke kept two running tallies. One for the original three—Brooke, Sarah, and Ed—and another for the four, now five, of them. Ed led in both categories. Noah caught on quickly and was able to play almost unassisted except for the fact he couldn't hold all of his cards, so Sarah put a box of Carr's crackers in front of him so he could lay his cards on the table so only he and she could see them. They had played for about an hour when everyone started yawning.

"Might be time to wrap it up," Ed said, "We'll put the snacks out for Santa and the reindeer and head to bed."

Santa talk perked Noah up a bit. "I get da plate." Sarah helped him down and he went into the kitchen to get the special serving tray for tonight.

"Sare, let's help them clean up before we go," Brooke said.

"Nah," Ed said, "I'll do it while we wait for him to fall asleep."

The knock on the door startled everyone.

"Santa?" Noah asked.

"No, sweet boy, not Santa, not yet."

Sarah showed Noah the Google Santa Tracker, "See Noey, he's not even in the USA yet."

Being that whoever was at the door got to the apartment without being buzzed in, Ed assumed the visitor was a cop or a neighbor. "Maybe someone forgot something," he remarked as he went to see who it was.

The women and Noah heard Ed's jubilant voice say, "Hey! Wasn't expecting to see you!"

Seconds later, Carisi appeared.

"OMIGOD!" Brooke exclaimed, borrowing Sarah's signature expression. She jumped up and ran into his arms.

"SONNY!" Noah shouted and trailed Brooke. He hugged Carisi's leg as he and Brooke kissed.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" Sarah said and ran to join the group hug.

Given the interruptions, the kiss was short-lived, but Sonny and Brooke laughed about it, knowing they could continue later.

"What happened?" Olivia asked, sounding like a cop.

"Someone made me."

Olivia's eyes widened. "And…they just let you leave?"

"Nah," Carisi said, either not aware of the type of danger he'd been in or choosing to ignore it, "They picked up somethin' on the wire and got me outta there. 'Bout an hour ago."

"You're lucky."

"Yeah," Carisi met Brooke's eyes, "Yeah I am."

…

In a veritable nest of lush cotton sheets and blankets, Ed possessively clutched his wife so that every inch of their still-damp bodies was touching. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. No matter how hectic her day had been, he could always detect at least a hint of her shampoo, and he had come to find an immense amount of comfort in that fresh, clean scent. Nuzzling her neck just below her ear with an arm draped across her chest and a leg looped between hers, he whispered, "Was that okay?"

"Mmmmhmmm. Perfect," she mumbled sleepily.

"We always do it good at Christmas."

This elicited a faint chuckle. "We do it good all the time."

"Think we spoiled him too much?"

Presents from Santa now sat in concentric circles around the tree, and Ed realized some merit in Brooke's comment about not having enough room.

"We always do."

"Next year…three of 'em to spoil."

"Yeah," she murmured, "That'll be…chaos."

"Fun chaos."

"Absolutely."

Olivia imagined Noah helping his two infant siblings open their presents, maybe being a little bossy about it, and explaining the function of each toy.

"Am I bothering you?" Ed smiled into her skin.

"No."

"Liar." He felt Olivia shake with more laughter, "Okay, okay, I'll stop talking. But…one more thing."

"Hmmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you."

…

By the time Brooke, Sarah, and Sonny arrived, Noah had torn through his presents and was playing with his new toys while his mom and dad set out brunch items. As they opened boxes, Ed tried to neatly categorize the loot into neat piles, but Noah now sat in the middle of a heap of games, books, and other gadgets. He gave a few minutes of attention to one thing before moving on to others.

Sarah jumped right in with him. "Merry Christmas, Noey boey! Santa come yet?"

Noah absorbed her hug and gestured around him, "Santa bringed all dis stuff!"

"Wow! Can I play with something?"

Noah grabbed a jigsaw puzzle, "Wanna do this?"

"If you'll put it together with me." Sarah examined the box, "Vintage trains. Daddy musta got this for you."

"From Santa."

"Oh. Hey! We brought the presents you made at school. Can we open them now?"

Noah quickly jumped up to his feet. "Yes!"

Olivia mixed and passed out mimosas and everyone gathered in the living room. Sonny put the colored bags on the coffee table and Noah took inventory.

"Have one for Brookey, Sare bear, Mommy, Daddy, small sister." He looked over at Ed, "Daddy, where Sonny's?"

"Under the tree, bud."

Noah ran over and retrieved the box.

"Kay! Open!"

"All at once sweet boy?" Olivia asked.

"Uh-huh!"

"Who opens the baby's present?" Sarah asked.

"I open it," Noah replied.

Sonny peeled back the metallic silver paper and everyone else dug into the small bags. Later on he and Brooke would leave for Staten Island, but he took a second to appreciate the warmth and comfort of the Tucker home. He appreciated how the Lieutenant so easily and readily accepted him into the family, and even before he saw what was in the package, he was touched that Noah thought of him.

Carefully wrapped in tissue paper was a framed piece of original Noah Tucker artwork. On a piece of gray construction paper, was the image of the man in a suit. While the image had the expected distortions of a child's hand, Noah had taken extra care with the hair. He'd perfectly captured Sonny's slicked-back locks.

"Wow," Sonny gushed, "Wow…Noah…is this me?"

Noah could barely contain his excitement, "Uh-huh! It you, Sonny! You're police! See da badge?"

"I see it. Thank you, Noah! I'm gonna put this on my desk!" Sonny stared at the picture with a silly grin on his face while everyone else marveled at the bagged gifts—small, handcrafted bowls. Each was painted a different color and was emblazoned with the initial of each recipient.

"Omigod, omigod, omigod." Sarah cradled the bowl in her hands, "This is soooo niiiice!"

Brooke held hers up to the light, "This is amazing, No! I didn't know you did pottery at school!"

"We maked dem in art!" Noah said proudly.

Ed and Olivia's bowl was slightly larger and contained an additional detail—Noah's handprint.

Tears pooled on Olivia's lower lashes, "Sweet boy," she whispered shakily, "This…this is the best present."

"C'mere, bud." Ed reached for Noah and he and Olivia wrapped him in a bear hug which Noah tried to fight his way out of after a few seconds.

"I show you small sister's."

Sarah nearly collapsed when Noah produced the bowl. She propelled herself forward and landed dramatically, face down, on the coffee table. "I cannot handle the cuteness," she said, her voice muffled. "Oh. My. Gawwwwwwwwd."

While the other bowls had clearly been designed by Noah, he'd obviously received some help with this one. It was painted in a light gray and was covered with small pink hearts.

"We put da hearts on dere," Noah explained, pointing at each one, "Hearts 'cause I love small sister."

Olivia would have started crying, but the thud of Sarah's body hitting the floor elicited laughter instead.

Concerned, Sonny, who was wedged with Brooke in the oversized chair, leaned over the armrest, "Are you okay?"

"I'm dead."

Noah climbed on Sarah's back. "You dead Sare bear?" He asked, wide-eyed, collecting a few of her wavy blonde locks in his hand so he could see her face.

"You've killed me with cuteness, Noey," she said, starting to giggle. "You are the perfect brother."

"You perfect."

"You're perfect."

"No, you perfect."

"No, you're perfect."

"No, you perfect."

"No, you're perfect."

….

#Tuckson

Sorry for the delay in updating. I fully intend to finish this story, but my #Tuckson heart is a little broken at the moment. Even though this is fic, there's a very thin thread connecting it to canon, and, without that connection, my heart just isn't in it. Hopefully that doesn't show (much) in the ensuing chaps.