One.

Smirking to mask his jitters, Ed stood off to the side and watched the workers scurry back and forth across the rooftop terrace. They folded napkins and arranged silverware. Another crew arranged wine glasses and coffee mugs. Sarah and Brooke had already placed flower arrangements in the middle of each table and hung the Thank you, Lieutenant Benson banner across the temporary stage where a three-piece jazz band would later be situated. Olivia knew about the celebration, but she allowed Ed to keep the venue and the list of speakers to be kept secret. Ed began work on the party in early January. Everything was in order and ready to proceed without a hitch. Nevertheless, he was nervous.

Six Months Earlier

Olivia threw off her sweater, wrapped her arms around Ed, and threw her head back. He took his time kissing her neck, traversing her skin in no particular pattern but with the same tenderness and pace he'd employed the first few times they made love. He held her firmly—one arm around her waist and the other hand cupping the back of her head—but inched his way into foreplay so she had time to reconsider. At first, Olivia thought he was simply being sweet, he was, of course, but it was only after Ed confessed he was leaving room for her to change her mind that she understood how much respect he had for her.

She kneaded his back and very nearly forgot she was standing as she lost herself in the feel of his sturdy muscles and the sensation of his kisses. When his lips touched hers she kissed back ferociously, and they fell onto the bed. Moving things along, she unhooked his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and tugged the pants down far enough so he could kick them off.

Despite Olivia escalating their intimacy Ed continued moving at an agonizingly slow pace. He whispered various phrases of flattery and repeated over and over again how much he loved her. Olivia let him have his way, for it was her final day of vacation. Tomorrow, she returned to work and she and Ed both knew her final months of employment would transpire without much downtime and would, at times, be a dogged slog toward the July 1 finish line.

They had spent the morning sitting together on the couch with the laptop between them, shopping for beach house furnishings. With one arm slung across her shoulders, Ed patiently followed along as Olivia toured various websites. When asked, he offered his opinions, but Olivia seemed to already have a vision for each room in her mind. Ed was content to concern himself with measurements, Jet Ski specifications, and creating his ideal outdoor barbecue area. Nevertheless, he was attentive and sincere, and he clearly relished what most other couples would consider to be a mundane, irritatingly expensive process. If Olivia griped about an item's price tag, Ed immediately assuaged her worries with one phrase.

"An investment," he'd remind her in a hushed voice.

Indeed, everything in the home was a long and short term investment in their family; the furniture and the home itself would remain with everyone long after they were gone.

While they shopped, Maggie and Wyatt played nearby. They had received so many new items for Christmas, and each day they discovered something new. Today the twins focused on something called a Busy Ball Play Table. They experimented with the interchangeable pieces and took turns sending plastic balls a little larger than those used in ping pong down the rollercoaster-like paths. After a lunch of turkey, cheese, and fruit, the twins napped. Sarah and Justin had already taken Noah to a movie and planned to eat afterwards, so Ed and Olivia found themselves more or less alone.

"That projector is the best thing we've ever bought," Ed remarked as he left the twins' room, leaving the door ajar. Though the novelty of the stars and planets on their ceiling had probably worn off, both Maggie and Wyatt remained enraptured by the patterns at bedtime. Maggie still fought sleep, but she battled it silently and cuddled with her pillow and baby doll.

Olivia finished wiping down the high chair trays and clipped them back into place. "One-hundred percent agree," she said. "Let's remember to get a second one for the beach house."

Ed smirked and sidled up to her. "Good thinkin." He kissed her cheek and wrapped her in an extended embrace.

"So quiet," she murmured, her head against his shoulder.

"Real quiet," Ed replied.

Olivia pulled back slightly and held him at arm's length. "What to do with all this quiet?" she asked mischievously.

From there, the neck kisses commenced.

After making love, they passed the rest of naptime holding one another snuggled under the covers and Ed brought up the subject of her retirement celebration.

"Ya gonna let me plan a party, right?" The question was tinged with jesting undertones in case Olivia had strong objections.

"Sure," she cooed. "Good time to ask."

Ed's body shook with gentle laughter. "It'll be classy, I promise."

"I'm not worried."

"You're not?"

"No. You'd never do anything to embarrass me…" she stroked his forearm with her fingertips, "Well, embarrass me much."

"I only like to embarrass you when it's just the two of us," he said. "Because embarrassing you is very often a precursor to sex."

Olivia turned so she was facing him. "You make it sound like sex is rare."

"Nah," he replied, "I don't take it for granted is all."

Her eyes drooped and she traced his cheekbones with an index finger. "You're a good man, Ed Tucker," she intoned. "I will never take that for granted."

They exchanged a few kisses then hammered out the agreement of what party details would and would not be surprises.

"This is a lot for you to take on," Olivia mumbled.

Thinking of Sarah and Brooke, Ed assured her he would have help. "It's a big deal," he said, "I don't wanna be on the sidelines."

Flattered, Olivia smiled coyly and deflected a bit of the attention and pointed out that he had not had an official retirement party.

Ed grinned and quipped, "I don't know if anyone woulda shown up."

His self-deprecating manner was charming and hilarious to Olivia. Her head fell into his chest as she laughed.

He kissed the top of her head and rasped, "Don't think we'll have that problem with you."

At Sarah's go-to nail salon, Noah and his adult accomplices relaxed in massage chairs as the nail technicians worked on their feet. Sarah and Justin flanked Noah who divided his time between perusing a comic book and watching the tech run the buffer along his heels. The trio had already taken in the latest Marvel movie, hence the comic book, and eaten a sushi lunch. When Sarah suggested a mani-pedi, Noah checked the time on his new watch and, at first, reluctantly declined.

"We told Mommy we were comin' back 'round three," he said, holding up his wrist, "S'almost three!"

"I'm sure she won't mind if we're a little late," Sarah said, winking at Justin. "I'll text her, kay?"

Noah cheerfully agreed. Sarah did send a text but did not receive an immediate reply which made her giggle. Merely sending the message appeased Noah. He glanced up at Justin and asked if he had had a pedicure before.

"I have," he replied, "Sarah persuaded me to get one once and now I love it."

"Me too," Noah said before crinkling his brow. "What's per-sua-ded?"

"It means you try to get someone to do something they don't wanta do," Justin explained.

Even more perplexed, Noah quickly replied, "Daddy say if people don't want to do something that we do somethin' else!"

"There's a difference, Noey," Sarah clarified, "Persuading means someone doesn't know if they want to do something or not. Like, Justin wasn't sure about a pedicure because he thought it was something for girls, so I told him it would be fun and make his feet feel good, so he tried it. He didn't say no. What Daddy told you is right, but he was talking about when people say no."

Noah nodded as he processed Sarah's words.

She continued, "Another good example of persuading is when you tried sushi for the first time! Remember? You thought it was weird and that cute little nose of yours got all crinkly!"

"It did?"

"Yep! But I persuaded you to try and you liked it! If you hadn't liked it, I would not have forced you to eat it."

"Sushi's YUMMY!" Noah exclaimed, smiling broadly, "We gotta bring Maggie and Wyatt when they get a little bigger!"

"We will."

When they entered the salon, Noah chose the seating arrangements while Sarah picked her preferred color. Noah explained to Justin that getting color was mostly for girls but that he had seen some boys with their nails painted before. Noah's precociousness always amused Justin, and he stifled his laudatory laughter as best he could.

"So, Noah, how's the guitar playing going?" Justin asked, making small talk.

"Good," Noah replied, "I watch da videos and then I play. Mommy say I can go to a place to take lessons, but da videos are great!"

"Do you use the headphones we got you, or do your brother and sister like to hear ya play?"

"Both," he said, "If I play when they're sleepin I haveta use da headphones."

"What was your favorite birthday and Christmas gift, Noey?"

"So unfair," Justin muttered, shaking his head.

Unfazed, Noah replied, "Da tel'scope. And this bracelet from Gramma Careline!" He held up his wrist and remembered the watch, "And this! I tell time. And—"

"—that's a lot of favorites, Noey."

"—told ya it was unfair."

"Yeah, Sare Bear! Not fair!"

"Two against one now I see," she said, grinning at them.

Justin and Noah fist-bumped.

Sarah pretended to be offended, "Okayyyy," she groaned and focused on her magazine.

Unsure whether or not she was kidding, Noah reached over and patted her hand. "Sare Bear, you my best friend," he said reassuringly. "Don't be sad."

She held his hand, "Noey, I'm not sad! I was totally joking. And Justin was right," she made a face at him, "It was unfair of me to ask you to pick one favorite present. I don't think I can."

"What 'bout dis shinnnny ring?"

Sarah rolled her eyes good-naturedly and smacked her palm against her forehead. "Duh. Oh! And the locket you gave me for my birthday," she retrieved the necklace from inside her shirt. "You and Justin sure know how to pick out jewelry!"

"Daddy, too!"

"Yeah," Sarah said, "Save your money then someday you'll be able to spoil your woman like Daddy spoils your Mom."

"Good 'vice, Sare Bear," Noah replied sagely.

Hearing this, Justin and Sarah burst into laughter; unfazed, Noah went back to his comic.

….

It never failed.

Ed always met Noah at the train station.

Though he pretended to be incognito and alone, Noah shuffled along with the other passengers fully aware that his father was out there, waiting casually, maybe one or two bourbons in, but always having a keen sense of exactly when and where his son would emerge.

"NO! Over here!"

"Dad!"

The hug was always tight and quick. Ed asked about the ride. Noah reported it was uneventful. Now that Noah was twenty-one, Ed suggested they stop for a drink, just the two of them. He'd already told Olivia he planned to take Noah for a cocktail, but Ed pretended it was totally impromptu.

"Yeah, sure," Noah agreed, eyeing his luggage, "Mom know?"

"She does."

They had their drink—Noah still grimaced a bit at the burn of the bourbon, but he wanted to like it—and went home. Olivia, Maggie, and Wyatt greeted Noah with smiles and hugs, and they sat down for Noah's favorite at-home meal—ravioli, spicy tomato sauce, and garlic bread.

"Mom said I put too much red pepper in there but I think it's fine," Maggie said, tasting the sauce with her fork. She winced. "Then again…"

Wyatt dipped his fork into the sauce. "We're gonna need milk," he reported, "You're supposed to have milk when food's too spicy."

"That's an old wives' tale."

Wyatt screwed up his face. "Old wives tale? How old are you Maggs?"

Noah admitted he had heard of the remedy somewhere and Maggie smiled triumphantly as Olivia portioned out the first plates of pasta. Her children continued to banter and she and Ed were content to smile at one another and listen. Total peace engulfed both parents now that their three children were all at home. After dinner they played cards and Yahtzee. Around midnight Ed and Olivia kissed everyone goodnight. Ed kept his hand on the small of her back while they made their way to the master bedroom.

The three kids stayed up a while longer. It had been a few months since they'd seen each other and, despite all the available technology, they truly connected when they were in the same room. They laughed, stifled their laughter, watched a movie, ate popcorn and chips, and, right around the time the twins used to wake up as toddlers, retreated to their beds.

Having traveled much of the day, Noah took a shower first and, upon entering the room he shared with Wyatt, was surprised to see his younger brother's eyes open. Exhausted and not thinking much of Wyatt being awake, Noah collapsed into bed.

"Night, Wy."

"Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"I found this."

The room was dark save for the moonlight and Wyatt's tablet screen which he turned toward Noah's bed.

Noah winced. "How'd you find it?"

"It's out there," Wyatt replied as if his brother should've known better.

Noah groaned.

I sure miss Sarah, he thought, she was always so good at this.

Wyatt was not going to rest without at least a partial explanation, and he knew from his brother's expression that Noah knew way more than he was letting on.

"Tell me."

"I'll tell you a little," Noah said, "But for the rest…you gotta ask Mom."

….

Ed's goal for the end of January was to complete the guest list and print address labels. Sarah and Brooke insisted it was too early to send the invitations. Ed agreed to wait, but he wanted the stack ready to go when the time came. It didn't take long for him to pinpoint a venue, and, since he didn't have a firm date, reserving the terrace wasn't difficult. He settled on an early July evening after which he planned to whisk the family away to the beach for the rest of the month.

Olivia noticed signs of the party around their home. Ed wrote notes to himself on Post-its and left them by the landline telephone he insisted on having even though neither one of them used it very often. Occasionally he left the laptop open somewhere and, among the browser tabs, were catering and other entertainment websites. Eventually, the invitations arrived, and completed envelopes gradually filled a sideboard drawer.

One night after dinner, Noah made his regular request to go upstairs and look at the sky. The evening was mild for January, so Ed helped him gather the telescopes and he, Noah, and Wyatt took the elevator to the roof. Maggie shadowed Olivia as she stowed the rest of the dinner dishes. The large platter belonged in the sideboard, and, while there, Olivia couldn't resist taking a peek at the envelopes. She willingly left the guest list to Ed though she did write down some names from her early days on the force; nevertheless, she was curious about his choices.

Feeling a bit deceitful, she picked up Maggie as if her daughter's close proximity would excuse any wrongdoing. Maggie put one arm around Olivia's neck and contentedly waited for whatever was next; the look of anticipation on her face suggested she believed her mother was about to do something extremely interesting. To her disappointment, Olivia opened the drawer and flipped through the envelopes. Maggie bounced and reached for the contents of the drawer.

"Want to help Mommy?" Olivia asked. She slid a chair over and Maggie mimicked the movements with her own fingers. The shimmery, royal blue envelopes intrigued Maggie. She grabbed one, but Olivia immediately took it away. "No, no, sweet girl," she cooed, "Daddy worked hard to put these together."

Olivia chuckled at the weak reprimand. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to be stern with her children.

The names were expected—current and former colleagues, the ADAs, Dodds, Lucy, Cragen, Amaro, Elliott—and she hoped the people now living away from the city could make it back. It had been a while since she'd seen Nick and Cragen and both she and Noah would love to see Lucy again. Seeing no surprises, Olivia flipped faster. Bored, Maggie wiggled around and fussed for freedom. Olivia was about to put her down when one name caught her eye.

"Wow," she gasped.

"Wow!" Maggie echoed.

Olivia kissed Maggie's cheek and closed the drawer. "C'mon," she said, "Let's stop snooping and play."

"PAY!"

The two of them relocated to the living room floor. Maggie got right to work filling one of the dump trucks with miniature dolls and plastic safari animals. She rolled it to Olivia, grinned, and bellowed her word for "back."

Olivia returned the truck.

Maggie quickly grew tired of the game and began unloading the cargo. She put the dolls in one pile and the animals in another. Olivia smiled. She had recently read that children this age became adept at sorting items, and she was thrilled Maggie was accomplishing this milestone. Nearby, she noticed their Duplo blocks were mostly arranged according to color, and she assumed that was Wyatt's work since the blocks weren't on Maggie's list of preferred toys.

After covering the dolls and animals with blankets, Maggie brought a book to Olivia and plopped down in her lap.

"Ready to read, sweetheart?"

"NAP!"

Olivia laughed. Maggie had chosen The Napping House.

"NAP!" She said again and pointed to the sleeping scene she'd created, "BAY! NAP!"

"Yes, sweetie. The babies and the animals are taking a nap, aren't they?" She opened the book. "Is Maggie going to take a nap soon?"

"NO! NO NAP!"

Olivia flipped to the first page, nuzzled Maggie's head, and started reading.

…..

Ed crawled into bed and inched close enough to his wife so he could soak up the comfort of her presence without bothering her. Lately before bed she'd been voraciously consuming news related to the upcoming Presidential election. Though she had never thought of herself as politically inclined, she felt compelled to, at the very least, have a very informed opinion about this cycle's nominees.

Olivia leaned over and placed the iPad on her nightstand.

"Done readin' already?"

"Nothing new," she muttered.

He kissed her lips a few times. "You should run for President."

Olivia laughed.

"I'm serious. I'd love to be the First Man…or whatever I'd be called."

"First Gentleman, I think."

"Sounds weird."

"Hopefully we'll have to think about the title sooner rather than later."

"Agree." Ed continued kissing her. He was clearly paving the way for sex, but Olivia held him at bay for a few minutes.

"Ed?"

"Hmm?"

"I saw the envelopes in the drawer."

"Yeah," he was kissing her collarbone now, "Like the color?"

"I do…but I saw…I saw you're inviting Cassidy."

He propped himself on an elbow. "Yeah."

The "yeah" was devoid of all emotion. Olivia wasn't quite sure how to proceed.

"You…you don't have to do that."

"He doesn't have to come." Ed looked deeply into her eyes, "This isn't for me, Liv. It's for you. The people coming are people from your entire life, your entire career. Cassidy's part of that, right? You're my wife. I'm not worried about him. But if you want me to throw that one out," he shot her a smirk, "I certainly will."

Olivia cocked an eyebrow. "You're not going to sucker punch him or anything?"

Ed matched her sass, "Not unless you want me to."

"Let's keep the evening nonviolent."

Ed reburied his face in her neck.

"Noted."

#Tuckson