Sorry for the delay. I usually don't like posting little cliffs like that if I'm not sure I can update soon, but I've left you all on much bigger cliffs than that one! I'll stop babbling now and just get on with it...
#Tuckson
Previously:
Charlie padded back into the kitchen, having changed into pink flannel shorts and a gray tank top.
"Kids are all tucked in," she said, not looking up from her phone. "The water must've exhaust Li…"
Stopping dead in her tracks, she struggled to not drop her phone from her hands.
Trevor was in front of her, candles flickering on the dining room table around the Scrabble board, and he had a look of pure love with a hint of anxiety on his face.
"Trevor?" she asked, placing her phone on the counter as her hands began to shake.
"Charlotte…" he began, glancing over at the Scrabble board, causing her to do the same.
"Oh…Oh my…" she whispered, one hand reaching for her heart and the other to grasp Trevor.
Through teary, blurred vision, she swallowed as she took in what he had designed.
In the middle of the board sat a very large, teardrop diamond ring, with the words "Will You Marry Me" surrounding it in the tiles. She stared at the question for a long time, hand still squeezing Trevor's before turning to him. Tears were streaming down her face as both sets of blue eyes met, and Trevor took a deep breath.
"Well?" he asked, before reaching out to grab the ring and dropping down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"
"Trevor…" Charlie breathed out, watching the man before her on his knees, as her heart began to overflow. Her hands began to shake, causing Trevor to immediately reach out to grasp them and kiss her knuckles, attempting to wait patiently for her answer. But she remained still, clearly in a bit of shock, as her mind processed what had just taken place.
"Baby?" He asked, trying to quell his panic that maybe he had sprung this on her too soon. That this was too much for her. But he was sure he had read her words and mood correctly earlier at the park, though that confidence was beginning to wane.
Charlie began to see the panic in his blue eyes, so despite her shock and sudden bout of anxiety, she dropped to her knees, pulled her hands from his so she could cup his stubbled face, and leaned in to kiss him. She kept it brief, but as she pulled away, she opened her eyes so that she could see his reaction as she whispered her answer.
"Yes…" she whispered. Though her voice was soft, her tone oozed confidence and excitement.
"Yes, I will marry you…"
Trevor's eyes lit up, as he too reached out to cup her face and pull her in for another, deeper kiss. As he explored her mouth with his tongue, all of a sudden Charlie pulled back and winced.
"What? What is it?" He asked frantically searching her eyes, hoping she hadn't suddenly changed her mind. But she just chuckled and rubbed the side of her head.
"Nothing, babe, just…the ring was digging into my skull there…"
"Oh," Trevor exhaled sheepishly, looking down a bit before catching her eyes again and smiling. "Forgot I was still holding that…got excited…"
"Yeah, well, you wanna maybe…put it on me?" Charlie asked with a smirk that Trevor swore she got from Olivia, thought biologically impossible.
"More than anything," he said softly. The couple stayed kneeling on the floor in the dining area as Trevor grabbed Charlie's left hand, kissed each and every knuckle and saving her ring finger for last. He placed a light kiss on said finger, before slowly sliding the large diamond into place. He froze momentarily, gazing at the site of it snuggly sitting there, before kissing it one more time and then looking up at Charlie who had tears streaming down her face.
"You okay?" he asked gently, wiping her tear drops away with the pads of his fingers.
She nodded.
"I"m more than okay," she said. "But my knees are beginning to hurt being on this tile floor…"
Trevor laughed and stood up, pulling her with him and immediately engulfing her in a protective hold.
"I love you Charlotte Tucker," he said, resting his chin on her head as they swayed a bit in the dimmed room. "And I will spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman alive…"
Charlie pulled back slightly so she could look up at him, stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a quick kiss.
"You already do."
The couple stayed like that for a bit, almost doing an impromptu dance around the dining room, until Trevor stopped and ran his hands up and down her sides.
"So, should we tell your parents?" he asked, knowing how close Charlie was to them and wanting her to take the lead at this point. But he watched as she got a sly smile and shook her head.
Taking his hands, she walked around the table, blowing out the candles, before backing them towards the living room and her bedroom.
"Nope," she said. "We can tell them tomorrow. Tonight…I wanna celebrate."
"Anything you want."
The next morning found Ed and Olivia sipping coffee while passing the paper back and forth at the kitchen island. They had both woken up unusually early and decided to spend a few moments just the two of them before Noah awoke, demanding his mug of orange juice, along with the cartoon section of Newsday.
The couple both had their glasses on and would occasionally manage to bump arms on purpose, as they lifted their respective mugs to sip and turn the pages of the paper.
"You notice the candles left on the table?" Ed murmured, clearly not actually reading as something was on his mind. But Olivia just shrugged.
"Maybe they had a late night dinner or game," she said.
Ed just grunted his response, causing Olivia to roll her eyes and pat his arm.
"Ed…"
"I know, I know," he said.
"She's happy," Olivia said looking over at him, her eyes peering above the thick, brown frames that rested on her nose.
"I know she is," he said. "I just don't want Trevor to push it…"
"I think she's ready…she just has to let herself go…"
Just as Ed began a response, Trevor and Charlie both padded into the kitchen. Charlie stretched a bit, wearing a different set of flannel pajamas than she was the night before, and made a beeline for the coffee pot. Trevor, sporting gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt, went to the fridge to grab the creamer, and then joined his other half at the counter to make up their drinks.
Neither one noticed, or let on that they noticed, the looks they were getting from Ed and Olivia. They casually poured their coffee, mixed in the hazelnut creamer, then taste tested before heading over and taking a set across the island from the older adults.
Ed put the paper down and looked at the younger couple expectantly through his glasses, while Olivia took a long swig of her coffee. She eyed her daughter carefully, watching as she took her own sip, and that is when she saw it.
"Oh my god," she gasped, her eyes widening as she slammed her mug onto the countertop and racing around the island to grab Charlie's hand. "It's gorgeous…"
Charlie leaned closer to Olivia as they both admired the ring and chatted. Her smile was unmistakingly happy and large, as she showed off their new engagement. Trevor sat tall, a smile also gracing his face, as he kept a hand on Charlie's lower back in support. His eyes cut over to where Ed was still sitting stoically at the bar, a tight lipped smile on his face and an iron clad grip on his coffee mug.
"Ed?" Olivia asked, noticing his hesitance, but also able to tell that he wasn't upset. Charlie and Trevor, on the other hand, couldn't make that distinction.
"Daddy?" Charlie asked, removing herself from Trevor and Olivia's hold and making her way around the island. She stood in front of Ed and grabbed his hands, looking down into his eyes. "Are you okay with this?"
"Yeah," he croaked out, his voice raspier than usual, before standing up and kissing Charlie's forehead and engulfing her in a hug. "Of course I'm okay with this…I've never seen you this happy."
Charlie pulled back and looked at him quizzically, before reaching out and tugging Trevor over to stand next to her.
"I'm not sure I've ever been this happy," she admitted.
"Well, you have my blessing," Ed said, wrapping an arm around Olivia who had now joined them on the other side of the counter. "Our blessing."
"I love you, Daddy," Charlie said, leaning in for one more hug and managing to get it returned from both parents, as Ed pulled Olivia right into the mix. As she pulled back, she wiped a tear then leaned into her new fiancé.
Just then, the tiny celebration was interrupted by the sound of a little pitter patter in the living room.
"Morning bud!" Ed said as Noah came into the kitchen in his Cars pajamas, bed head sticking out every which way.
"Morning Daddy," he said softly, immediately allowing Ed to hoist him up for a cuddle. Eyes closed, resting on his father's shoulder, Noah didn't immediately notice everyone else. Until he let out a yawn and looked up. "Oh, hi guys," he said, causing them to chuckle.
"Good morning my sweet boy," Olivia cooed, coming over and brushing his hair back, kissing at his head. "You sleep okay?"
"Uh huh," he said. "Good dreams this night."
"Good," she said, kissing him once more and feeling thankful that his nightmares had seemingly died down. The last few nights, the little boy had been up and in tears over his dreams. The little boy was so rattled, that Ed and Olivia just let him sleep with them once he woke up. But last night was the first night they hadn't gotten the teary eyed visitor. "Want your orange juice?"
"Yes please," he said, squirming to get down. "And my paper…"
The adults laughed as Ed helped the little boy climb onto his stool and take a sip of his beverage, before Charlie went and sat next to him, nudging his shoulder.
"What Charlie?" he asked, not even looking up as he neatly folded his comic section just like Ed had taught him. Noah Tucker was never overly thrilled to have his morning routine interrupted, even by his beloved sister.
"Whaddya say about me and Trevor getting married?" she asked nonchalantly, expecting him to give some kind of reaction. Questions, excitement, cautiousness, but he did none of that. Instead he shrugged, sipped his juice, placed it down and looked up at his sister.
"I already told Trevor it okay," he said.
Charlie, stunned, turned around to Trevor with a smile.
"You asked Noah's permission?"
"And your father's. And Olivia's."
The room was silent, watching the newly engaged couple communicate through their eyes, before Charlie hopped up and kissed him. It was quick, but full of love and gratefulness.
"Love you," she whispered.
"Love you too."
"AND I LOVE YOU TOO" Noah yelled, not wanting to be left out, and causing the family of five to laugh before the baby monitor went off.
"That's Lizzie," Charlie said, extracting herself from Trevor but he stopped her.
"I'll get her, you relax…"
Later on that afternoon, Trevor and Charlie had taken Noah and Lizzie to the beach, leaving Ed and Olivia home alone. Ed had been acting pretty odd since the engagement announcement, and Olivia thought maybe if they had some time just the two of them she could get him to open up.
"You gonna talk to me now?" she asked from her spot on the couch. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table and Ed had his head resting in her lap. She lightly ran her fingers through his gray hair, occasionally rubbing his temples, them moving back to his scalp. "I thought you were okay with this. Trevor talked to us days ago…"
"I am," he said softly, eyes closed and relishing in the feeling of his wife trying to relax him.
"But?" she prompted him, know there was more to this.
"But," he said, letting out a sigh. "It's just a change."
"It is a change."
Ed sat up, staying right next to Olivia so their legs were touching, but he rubbed his temples as if he were trying to calm himself.
"It's just, ya know, I like us all together like this," he admitted quietly, reaching out to twirl Olivia's hair in his hand like he always does when they talk like this.
"Oh, Ed," she said, reaching to grasp his hands and kiss his knuckles.
"I missed so much of her growing up," he continued. "Then…I finally get her back, and it's crisis and crisis. Her attacks, my heart attack. And things are finally better. And I love it. I love us like this. And…now…"
"Now she has one more person to take care of her," Olivia said, finishing the sentence for him. "Now she has one more person who is going to love her, and put her first. After all of those years feeling unloved and unwanted, she's just adding to the people in her life that will look out for her…"
"I suppose…"
"Ed, what's going on? You gave Trevor your blessing. You just gave Charlie your blessing. Where is this coming from?"
"I just, well, my baby girl doesn't need me as much anymore," he finally admitted, his eyes watching their hands as if he were embarrassed to say that out loud.
Olivia took one of her hands from his and cupped his chin, lifting his face so he was looking into her eyes again.
"Charlie is your little girl," she whispered. "Getting married? Won't change that. She will always, always need her father."
Ed kept his eyes on Olivia's, both sets of orbs watering a bit but neither allowing the tears to fall.
"I love you, Olivia."
"I love you, too."
"Ya know," he said, checking the time on his watch, before looking his wife up and down from his place beside her on the sofa. "The kids were gonna go for ice cream after the beach…"
"Oh yeah?" she asked, knowing what he meant, but deciding to make him work for it.
"Yeah," he said, running his fingertips softly up and down her arms. "Whaddya say we go nap?"
"I mean, I am a little tired," Olivia responded, faking a yawn and then smirking at his expression.
He stood up, pulled her up with him and backed her towards the bedroom, kissing at her neck and earlobe along the way.
"Ed…" she gasped, loving the feeling of his lips on her skin.
"Still tired?" he asked, his voice slightly mumbled from where he was buried in her collar bone.
"Not at all."
Olivia was resting comfortably against her husband's naked and sweaty body on their bed, both of them panting and trying to come down from the high they just went on together.
Ever since Olivia's surgery, they hadn't had quite as active of a sex life. Olivia went through bouts of insecurity about her scar, and Ed also went through a stage of being afraid to jostle her breasts too much. But they seemed to have found their groove this afternoon, with Ed taking special care to kiss around her incision while making love to her so softly, so gently, that Olivia thought she might cry.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice deep and raspy. It was Olivia's favorite tone of his, the post-sex rusty voice.
"I'm more than okay," she reassured him, before propped her chin on his chest and looking up at him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm always okay when I'm with you," he said with a smirk, knowing it would melt his wife just a bit.
"You say the sweetest things to me."
Ed just shrugged, before reaching over and checking the time on his phone that was sitting by the nightstand.
"We might wanna get cleaned up," he said. "Kids will be back soon."
"Okay," Olivia said, but she made no attempt to move.
"We should grill tonight," Ed mumbled, his lips now buried in her hair.
"Fine with me," she said. "We'll open that bottle of prosecco came in that retirement basket. To celebrate."
"Sounds perfect. We have a lot of reasons to celebrate," Ed said, despite his melancholy reaction to his daughter's engagement.
"We really do," Olivia replied, snuggling into him a bit further. "We really, really do."
Next chapter we make a time jump...and I think we need more Noah. But before we do that, how about ya click that review button?