I know you all are used to a chapter a day, but that won't always be the case. Don't fret! I'll try to make each chapter worth the wait...

"Here Tar-lie," Noah said as he gently placed his race-car ice pack on her jaw. "This make it hurt less."

"Thanks, pal." She mumbled as best she could, given his arm was covering her mouth in his attempt to hold the ice on. He then settled onto the day bed with her and stroked at Snickers' ears.

"Tar-lie?"

"Yeah?"

"How you get hurt?" He asked and looked up at her with wide eyes. Charlie swallowed hard, unsure of how to answer this question. After a little thought, she went with a three year old version of the truth.

"A bad man hurt me. But Captain made sure he wouldn't ever hurt anyone again," she said as she stroked his little cheek and watched him try to process. After a couple of minutes, he seemed to accept the answer.

"Cap'in good. He protect us." Noah said confidently, as if he wasn't surprised that his Cap'in had fixed the problem. The boy went back to stroking the big floppy ears of their new stuffie as he kept thinking. "You sad, Tar-lie?"

"Yeah, I'm a little sad pal," Charlie answered thoughtfully, but then looked down at him with a smile. "But you make me happy!"

Noah just got a big grin on his face and sat up.

"I always be here when you sad, Tar-lie. It be my job." Noah said, matter-of-factly. Charlie got a little teary eyed at just how loved Noah made her feel, but quickly pushed the emotion down.

"You are very good at your job. And I'll always be here for you too, okay pal?" She said and lifted her arm back up so he could snuggle in. Charlie propped her laptop up on the night stand and hit play on Peter Pan.

Meanwhile, Olivia was sitting at her dining room table doing some research on possible getaways and listening to their conversation. She couldn't quite nail down the emotion she felt when Charlie and Noah were together. It was a beautiful thing, almost as if they were perfectly placed in each other's lives. Noah so needed that older sibling to love on him and spoil him. But Olivia was also convinced that Noah had some kind of deep understanding that Charlie needed to be loved on a little extra. And he was able to do so in the most adorable way. He had clearly made it his mission to make sure his Charlie was okay.

"Mommy?" Noah yelled from his spot next to Charlie, so Olivia made her way into the little alcove. "I have juice?"

"Sure, baby. I'll get your cup."

"Tar-lie need juice too so she get better," he informed her and Olivia looked to Charlie for confirmation that she wanted something to drink.

"Do you want more Sprite?"

"Yeah, thanks Olivia. It tastes really good." Charlie responded quietly, feeling a little weird about Olivia waiting on her. But she was really too sore to move around much. Olivia quickly put her thoughts at ease by winking as she grabbed her cup and headed towards the kitchen.

"Tar-lie, mommy a police officer too. Like Cap'in. But she Loo-tint," he said, clearly having been told their titles enough that he could somewhat recite it back to people. "She keep the bad man away too, otay?"

"Okay, pal. Sounds like a plan."

"Hey dad?" Charlie slowly made her way to the door of Olivia's bedroom, where Ed was reading on his iPad. He looked up as he heard Charlie call for him.

"Hey, what are you doing out of bed?" He said, immediately putting his iPad down and taking his glasses off.

"I needed to move a bit," she said as she slowly walked towards the bed, holding the stuffed dog against her ribs. "Do you mind if I sit in here with you for a little bit? Noah fell asleep on my bed."

"I'd love that," Ed responded and watched her carefully as she went to get settled. He added one more pillow behind her back, which seemed to get her as comfortable as she could be.

"How are you, kiddo?"

"I don't know…" Charlie responded honestly. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel."

Tucker looked at her face and could see the exhaustion and confusion in her eyes. He couldn't blame her. She'd been running from this asshole for years. There's not a person on the planet who would know how to feel. So he took a hold of her hand as they laid side by side, propped up on Olivia's queen sized bed.

"I don't think there's a certain way you are supposed to feel here, Charlie." Tucker stated softly, hoping whatever he said would be okay. "You've been through a lot."

"Yeah..." She responded as she let out an exhale.

"Do you want me to call your mom? Do you think that would help you?" Tucker asked as he ran his thumb over the top of her hand, hoping to soothe her a little bit.

"No," Charlie just shook her head slowly, then immediately regretted the movement and winced.

"What's wrong?"

"I probably shouldn't move my head like that," she admitted, then continued on to explain her answer. "Calling mom isn't going to help. She won't care."

"Now isn't the time for me to ask what happened between you two, but I do feel like I should call and let her know that you were in the hospital." Ed said it cautiously.

"Okay. I just...I don't want to talk to her."

"Fair enough. You want to sit here while I call?"

"No, will you her call later? I just want to spend time with my dad right now." Tucker's heart swelled when he heard those words come from his daughter. He smiled as he leaned over to lightly kiss her temple, careful of the bruises. They returned to a comfortable silence, though Ed had still not let go of her hand. Finally he got the courage to try and get her to talk about what happened during this last attack.

"I know you aren't wanting to talk to the police about what Josh did this time around. But do you think you can talk to me about it?" He asked her quietly. As hard as it would be to hear, Ed wanted to make sure that she knew he was with her 100%. "It will stay within the walls of this room for as long as you want it to. Just...will you talk to someone? Me...or Liv...or..."

"A shrink?" She asked, somewhat emotionless and without looking up from where her gaze was fixed on the stuffed dog in her lap. Ed just eyed her.

"If that's what you'd prefer, yes, but I'm not going to force you into therapy. I want you to make your own decisions here, okay? I just wish you would talk to us..." Ed and Olivia had spoken at length about whether they should just make Charlie an appointment with a therapist or not. Ed was beside himself that she wouldn't talk to anyone, but Olivia remained firm in her stance that she needed to make decisions for herself. It was important for her healing process that she be allowed to control the entire situation. He reluctantly got on board, but he didn't have to like it. Lucky for Ed, Charlie threw him a bone.

"He didn't...you know..." she spoke softly, but loud enough for Ed to hear. He just closed his eyes and squeezed her hand in relief. He wasn't sure if he would've been able to live with himself if Josh had raped his daughter again, after he spent months promising to protect her. It was obvious that she was traumatized from the confrontation, but the fact that she didn't have that devastation to deal with lifted a weight off of Ed's conscience.

"He smacked me around a lot. Taunted me about not really having a family. Said this was all pretend. Threatened Noah. I saw he had a gun with him. So I just stayed still and quiet. Even when he hit me." She was looking straight ahead as she spoke, but she kept her hand in Ed's. "I kept thinking that maybe…if he would just kill me…then he wouldn't hurt Noah. Or you. Or Olivia. I was so mad at myself for bringing you all into this. And I'll never forgive myself for the fact that he shot you…."

Her tears overflowed from her eyes at that point and she dropped her head down, almost as if she was ashamed at what had happened. Ed was stoic, not letting his emotion show, as he moved his hand up to her chin and turned her to face him. He looked into her watery eyes as he spoke to her.

"Charlie, this is not your fault. This is Josh's fault. He did this. No one else. Olivia and I, we wanted to get involved. We want to help you. I would take a thousand bullets if it meant that bastard would never hurt you again. I'm just…so thankful that you are alive, sitting here with me, and talking to me."

They sat there for a little while, father and daughter, just looking at each other. Charlie still had tears streaming down her face, but Ed remained a rock for her. Neither one of them knew what to say or do next, but they also didn't want to leave that moment. Finally, he continued on.

"Sweetheart, Josh is never going to see daylight again. It's over. He can't get to you, or anyone else. All you have to focus on now is healing. Physically and all other ways. And I promise you that Olivia and I…and Noah…will be right here, beside you, every step of the way."

Charlie slowly moved her hand to lightly brush over the bandage on Tucker's shoulder. Her breathes were harsh and uneven, as she fought the tears that were threatening to overwhelm her entire being yet again.

"I'm so sorry, daddy. I love you."

"I love you too. It's going to be okay."

Later that night, Olivia made her way out of the bathroom and was surprised to see that her bed was empty. She expected to see Ed settled in or even asleep already, as she had been in the bath for almost an hour pruning away the stress of the last few days. Thinking he likely went to get some water, she sat on the bed and rubbed lotion into her arms and legs. When Ed still hadn't returned five minutes later, she went to look for him. As soon as she got to the bedroom door, she saw him sitting on an ottoman next to Charlie's bed. The girl was out cold while Ed held her hand and hung his head. Olivia approached them slowly and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ed?" She spoke his name softly, but he never raised his head as he responded.

"He didn't rape her this time," his voice was low and gruff, thick with emotion and exhaustion. Olivia squeezed his shoulder tightly and let out an exhale. "I just…he put her through hell, and I feel terrible for being so relieved….but I can't help it."

"I'm relieved too, babe." Olivia admitted to him, hoping it would ease his worry. "There's no way the position you are in feels good to your injured shoulder. Come on, let's go to bed."

Ed still remained frozen in place. The only sign of movement was the rise and fall of his shoulders with each breath he took. Olivia just kept her eyes on the top of his head, trying to figure out how to help him in that moment.

"What do we do next, Liv? How do we help her? How do we navigate this?" Ed was not a man to ask for help, but he was at a loss here. There was no one he trusted more in the world that Olivia Benson, and she knew that.

"We start by getting some sleep, allowing your body to heal." She paused for a bit, before continuing. "Then we take it step by step. We stick together. Face each day together."

Ed finally moved his head so he could look at his girlfriend. Her beauty ran deeper than he thought was possible, and as she stood over him in her pajamas and no makeup, he couldn't help but thank God she was his.

"Thank you. Thank you for being here through this." Olivia just smiled at him as he spoke to her.

"Don't thank me for this. I love you. I love our family."

"Still…"

"Come on, let's get to bed and I'll show you the cabin I booked for us earlier today." Olivia smirked as she helped Ed stand up and he gave her a surprised glance.

"Cabin? Where? When?" He took both of her hands in his as he asked her one worded questions.

"Yes, a cabin. Up at Lake George. For all four of us to get away. And thanks for Finn, we can stay there for 2…whole…..weeks." She kissed him between each of the last three words she spoke, and then watched as his eyes finally got their sparkle back.

"You, Olivia Benson, are amazing. And I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Now really, let's go to bed."

Up Next: Our favorite family gets settled in at Lake George. Don't forget to leave a review!