Eighteen.

Hand-in-hand, Ed and Olivia walked a few busy Manhattan blocks, mostly in silence, until Ed stopped in front of a nondescript building entrance. He clutched Olivia's other hand and shifted from foot to foot. Even more suspicious now, she narrowed her eyes and tried to silently coax an explanation from his pursed lips.

"There's gonna be a few people in there," he warned in a low voice. "And a video camera. You're probably gonna be asked to say a few words…"

Olivia couldn't decide whether to be frustrated or excitedly curious. "How about…we go in?"

Ed held the door for her and kept his hand on the small of her back as they made their way down the narrow corridor. When they came to a set of paneled double doors, Ed took a deep, nervous breath, and opened them with a flourish.

Olivia gasped.

Members of NYPD brass lined either side of the room, both journalists and guests aimed cell phones and video cameras at the Lieutenant, and Olivia squinted at the barrage of flashes. Applause and shouts of congratulations followed her reaction.

Olivia clutched the lapel of her blazer and stared at the block lettering in front of her.

WELCOME TO THE BENSON CENTER

"I…" She struggled for words and turned to Ed. "What is this?"

Ed smiled, pleased with her reaction. "There was a lot of discussion about…what to give you, how to recognize everything you've done for SVU, for victims, for the city. You mentioned once how victims' services needed to do a better job at streamlining, making things more accessible and less intimidating. This…the part of the book's royalties you earmarked for help to survivors, it'll go here, directly to special victims."

Stunned, Olivia could only bring herself to murmur a barely audible "Wow."

The man who replaced Chief Dodds stepped to the podium and began official remarks. Olivia leaned into Ed and pretended to listen, but she hardly processed the words. Whenever she handed victims a card and suggested they call victims services, she always felt a twinge of guilt. New York offered a myriad of counseling options, but they operated independently from the NYPD and, despite good intentions, could often be perceived as impersonal. After working so closely with victims while in pursuit of justice, the squad was forced to move on, leaving the traumatized families on their own to wade through their options for recovery and healing. Now they could walk four blocks to this warm, inviting space, and have their needs assessed and addressed by a small, specially trained staff.

"…We left a few things undone," the new Chief said, "We toyed around with a mission statement before deciding you should be its author. We've finished this space," he gestured to the wide, airy waiting room, "But the rest of the square footage is waiting for your vision. In addition to the funds from your book, our staff has solicited private donations, enough to set up an initial endowment. Lieutenant, you can be involved as much or as little as you want, but, no matter what, your name will be a beacon of comfort for years to come." After more applause, he waived her to the podium. "We'd love for you to say a few words."

She glanced at Ed. He gave her an encouraging kiss on the cheek and smirked as he watched her stride confidently to the front of the room.

…..

Caroline sat at her usual place at the head of the table flanked by Noah and Mia. The family matriarch didn't pay much attention to anyone else, even baby Sofia who was sitting in her grandfather's arms. Not only did Ed manage to eat one-handed, he also succeeded in accidentally on purpose nudging his wife's thigh a few times. He earned a peripheral, semi-serious glare, but Olivia's mild admonitions only encouraged him.

"Dad, are you sure you don't want me to take her?" Brooke said, wiping her brow with a napkin, "It's so hot."

"I'm good. Eat."

"EEEEEEE!" Maggie shouted gleefully with a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Startled, Wyatt dropped his fork. Sarah saw his expression as he turned to look at his sister and she burst into laughter, "Omigod, omigod, omigod," she guffawed, "I think he rolled his eyes. I really think he did. Wyatt you are adorable, and, um, you have food in your hair. C'mere." Sarah tried to smooth back his loose curls but a few strands eventually made their way back to Wyatt's face. "Time for a haircut," she murmured.

Ed pretended not to hear. Olivia had been dreading Wyatt's haircut for at least a month. He concentrated on Caroline's conversation with the Kindergarteners.

"So, Mia," Caroline said, "I've seen you sing. You are such a good singer. I have a piano. After dinner we should sing a song together."

Mia nodded vigorously and talked with her mouth full. She didn't have to worry about food getting in her hair because her jet black locks were pulled back in the characteristic ponytail. Despite hours of play, no strands had escaped the elastic.

"Whatcha know howta play?" She asked.

"Oh, honey, I know every song."

Mia and Caroline grinned at each other, and Olivia saw an instantaneous bond form between the pair. Despite an age gap of nearly eighty years, they each had a zest for pure fun and enjoying life. Additionally, both Mia and Caroline had an air of mischief and unpredictability about them; they were both also incredibly blunt.

"Gramma," Mia said, "I like your spiky hair."

"Thank you, my dear. When you get old you need something you can run your fingers through and go."

"You're cribbing from Steel Magnolias," Brooke mumbled.

Caroline ignored her.

"Sometimes Noah have spiky hair," Mia simpered at her friend who had been in a state of pleasant bewilderment for several minutes while Caroline and Mia bantered. "When we went to see 'Laddin he did."

"Sare Bear did it," Noah said.

Mia giggled, "I touched it and said OOO! This's sharp!"

"Sare Bear used da, da," Noah scrunched up his face and looked to Sarah for the word.

"Hair glue," she finished for him.

"GLUE!" Mia shouted. She laughed uncontrollably as she undoubtedly imagined the large glue bottles used in their classroom being used to style Noah's hair. Mia snorted and made herself laugh even harder. At this, Noah cracked up too. Seconds later, the twins joined in. Maggie and Wyatt slammed their forks and spoons against the high chair trays, sending bits of food flying.

Sarah repeated her omigods as the chaos unfolded in front of them.

Justin, Sonny, and Brooke wiped tears from their eyes.

Olivia shook with laughter and leaned into Ed. He smiled into her hair and kissed her cheek. Whenever they visited Caroline, Ed always remembered how Olivia had told him how badly she'd wanted a family all those years and how she never thought she would have one. For her, these moments were extra special.

Little Sofia's eyes darted around the room. "Lookit her," Sarah said, "She thinks we're all crazy!"

"We are," Caroline said as she recovered from her own giggle fit, "It's good to be a little crazy. Now, Miss Mia, finish your food. We'll rehearse our songs and make everyone else clean up. How do you like that?"

"I like that a LOT Gramma!"

…

The sun was beginning to set when the Tuckers commandeered the closest beach volleyball court and divided themselves into the teams Maggie had arranged. After breakfast, Ed and the boys went in search of a suitable ball, and Olivia and Maggie walked back to the condo along the shore. By the time they returned, the pockets of Maggie's cover-up dress were filled with shells. Justin suggested they make necklaces and bracelets out of them, and Maggie's face lit up at the idea.

"Thanks, Unckie Justy!" She hugged his legs and promptly deposited her horde into the pile they'd collected over the past few days.

The day hadn't been very action-packed, so everyone was ready to move a little by evening. The men and the kids arrived at the court first and warmed up. Ed showed the twins and Noah how to hit the ball. He chuckled to himself at how their personalities translated to sports. Wyatt concentrated on everything—at the tender age of four, he had a knack for focusing on a task and a desire to perform well. Maggie hit the ball as hard as possible, sending it flying in all directions. Noah was more coordinated and planned the direction of his strike before the ball was passed to him.

Sarah, Brooke, and Olivia had stayed behind to prepare drinks. For the adults, Sarah mixed her Gulf Coast Iced Tea, a twist on Long Island Iced Tea. The kids were getting Alligator Punch—a Shirley Temple with green food coloring. She divided an entire jar of maraschino cherries between the four cups, secured the lids, and placed them in the cooler beside a few cans of beer.

"Livvie, you know Dad's on your team, right?" Sarah said, pinching a section of Olivia's sheer cover-up which she wore over a black bikini. Even though it was a two-piece, the style was quite tame. Nevertheless, Olivia had put it on knowing Ed would drool.

"Oh, I know."

Brooke grinned. While she did not share Sarah's obsession with her father's sex life, seeing him and Olivia flirt with each other was entertaining and inspiring. Since Sofia had been born, she and Sonny had functioned more as family managers than as husband and wife. The love was still there, but the romance was sparse and she missed it.

At first, Ed didn't notice. Olivia helped Sarah serve the drinks, the ten of them agreed on rules, and Sonny walked around the court's perimeter, demarcating the boundaries with his heel.

"Lessgo!" Noah said. "Your ball first, Brookey, 'cause you have Sof and youngest first."

Olivia casually tossed the cover-up aside.

Ed's jaw dropped. He nearly dropped his drink. Olivia trotted past him and slapped his behind. "Ready?" She asked with a sly grin.

"For what?" He lightheartedly muttered under his breath, unable to take his eyes away from her skin—smooth almost everywhere save for a few small whitish marks below her collarbone and the corner of the C-section scar peeking out from above the bikini bottom. She'd removed all jewelry except for the Cartier which she rarely went without. It glistened against her neck.

"Daddy!" Maggie shouted sharply, "C'mon! We're playin!"

Ed shook himself out of the distraction and huddled up with his family. He put one arm around the three kids and the other hand on the small of Olivia's back. "Alright, remember, keep your eye on the ball and hit it over the net."

"Hit it to Sare Bear," Noah said. "I was practicing with her and she's not very good."

"Noah!"

"He's right," Ed said, "Try to hit it to Sarah. Ready? Team on three."

They piled their hands in the center.

"One…two…three…TEAM!"

…

An hour after dinner, Caroline's family room had transformed into a piano lounge. Sarah wheeled the antique drink cart into a corner and acted as bartender. The other adults sipped carefully garnished cocktails and listened to Mia belt out standards. Caroline's piano skills were average and she had to pause every so often to remind her young partner of certain lyrics, but for a pair whose rehearsal time amounted to twenty minutes, the performance was impressive.

After When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Caroline playfully tugged Mia's ponytail, "Let's give 'em the grand finale now."

"Kay!"

Mia must have known the song. She started out in a low, innocent-sounding voice; the expression on her face resembled that of a singer giving a once-in-a-lifetime performance rather than a six-year-old singing while seated on a dinged-up piano bench in a too-hot, cluttered house in Riverdale.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

And the dreams that you dream of

Once in a lullaby

The twins abandoned their toys and wandered to their parents. Mesmerized, Maggie and Wyatt cuddled into Ed's and Olivia's laps. Little Wyatt sucked his fist. Maggie absent-mindedly played with Olivia's rings.

Caroline pounded away at the keys, sensing a magic only artists know.

When Mia came to Someday, I wish upon a star; Wake up where the clouds are far behind me, she hopped to her feet and sashayed around the room. She was wearing jeans, threadbare at the knees, and a simple purple long-sleeved shirt spotted with dinner remnants. She'd kicked off her sneakers, revealing mismatched socks—one gray and one yellow—and, on her wrists, were an assortment of plastic bangles and elastic hair ties. But she could have been clad in an evening gown singing at an elegant supper club. She was that good.

Oh, somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

And the dreams that you dare to

Why oh, why can't I?

Mia elongated the final I until she was out of breath. Met with stunned silence, she peered around the room, brow furrowed in confusion, not necessarily expecting applause but finding it strange there was absolutely no reaction.

"C'mere, dearie," Caroline finally said. She waved her hands frantically and Mia walked over and into a hug. "You are spectacular. You are a special, special girl." She kissed the top of Mia's head and addressed Noah, "Don't let this one get away, Noah! Marry this girl!"

Noah shot her a smile and a loving eye roll. "Gramma Careline! I'm a little kid! I'm not gonna get married! Sare Bear's gettin married!"

"Well, Mia must attend," Caroline said, "As my plus-one."

"Absolutely," Sarah mumbled, still in shock.

"We'll mention it to her parents," Olivia said.

Mia skipped over to Noah. "You gonna have spiky hair for the wedding?"

Noah shrugged. "Maybe. And I have a suit and shiny shoes!"

Mia grinned knowingly and addressed Ed and Olivia. "Noah always like the fancy shoes!" She exclaimed, "He hasta CHANGE b'fore r'cess when he wears 'em!"

Ed leaned over and mussed Noah's hair. "We like to look sharp, don't we, bud?"

"Yep! Daddy? You gonna wear your shiny shoes to da wedding?"

"Sure am. We'll make 'em extra shiny."

"Wyatt too?"

"Yep. Prolly need to get some new ones for Wyatt."

"Oh!" Sarah said, "Shoe shopping! So fun!"

Noah nodded vigorously. "Yep! Mommy an' Daddy gonna get us everrthing we need!"

…..

Ed was stretched out on his sofa watching the news when he received Olivia's text message asking if he wanted to meet for a quick drink. He'd heard about Abraham's suicide attempt through the grapevine and assumed she'd been with Pippa at the hospital. Ed responded in the affirmative and swapped his sweats for jeans and a sweater and headed for the appointed spot.

Olivia looked weary, not exhausted, maybe a bit annoyed and frustrated, but when she saw him enter, her face broke into a relieved smile. She greeted him with a hug and took a deep breath while in his arms. It felt good; Ed didn't want to let her go.

"I can't stay long," Olivia said apologetically.

Ed shrugged. "S'alright. How're things?"

"You heard," Olivia asked rhetorically. "I just left the hospital. Pippa found him…he'll live but, I hope she gets through to him, gets him to plead this out."

"He's in a hell of a lot of trouble. Be stupid not to. And horrible for his family to have to go through a trial."

"Exactly."

"I feel so bad for Pippa," Olivia said. Her shoulders slumped. "She's blaming herself of course, wondering…how she didn't see it…" Olivia trailed off, stared straight ahead for a few seconds before looking Ed in the eyes. "Let's not talk about this."

He smirked. "Good idea."

"How was your day?"

"Boring."

For reasons unknown to him, the reply made Olivia laugh. The sound made his spine tingle. He loved making her laugh, even when he had no idea why he was so funny. She was still smiling when she sipped her drink.

"Didja eat?" He asked, "We can go grab a quick bite if ya have time."

"I'm good." She reached for his hand. "I…I…I'm good right here."

"Okay." He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm glad you called."

She smiled sweetly. "I needed to do something normal."

"Nothin' more normal than this."

"True."

"You, uh, wanna do somethin' normal this weekend?"

Olivia inched closer so their knees were touching. She briefly sized him up—seeing him in casual clothing was still a new thrill. "Such as?"

"Wanna go bowling? We can have 'em put those things in the gutter…you know, for Noah." He grinned. "Or for me."

"Ed Tucker, I bet you're a great bowler."

"You'll soon find out?"

"Yes," she said, "I would love to go bowling with you. Saturday? Loser buys Valentine's Day dinner?"

Ed blinked, pleasantly surprised she had already made up her mind they would be together on February 14. But there was no way he was going to let her pick up the check. "I, uh, how 'bout I get that one?"

"Are you ever going to let me pay?"

"No."

"Not even on a bet?"

"Not even then."

…

Olivia thrashed around, frantically trying to yank a pillow free from the entangled sheets. Ed was furiously moving on top of her, grunting, groaning, and occasionally smirking because he was sure he was hitting all the right spots tonight.

"Go 'head, Liv."

He covered her mouth with his, ready to muffle her shrieks. She had already been borderline too loud with the "yes, Eds" and "don't stops" and "Ohs and Ahs."

"Come, baby."

The combination of making her writhe uncontrollably and the feel of being inside her warm body threatened to overtake his will to make love to her for as long as possible. He nibbled her earlobe and sucked skin on her neck. Too hard, there was the possibility of a mark, but he knew his lips on that particular place right above the collarbone drove Olivia crazy. Her hands had been flying all over his back, clawing at his hips, but as her back arched, her arms flew behind her head and he gripped her hands for the final thrusts.

For a few minutes, they didn't speak; rather they stared dazedly into one another's eyes, lying on their sides with lips curled into tiny, cocky smiles. They would never be able to prove it, but Ed and Olivia were quite sure no one had better sex than them.

"You hot?" Ed asked when Olivia partially kicked off the single sheet covering the two of them.

"A little."

Ed gave her some space and she frowned. "Come back here," she demanded.

"Sorry."

"You know better than that."

"Won't happen again."

She grinned and stroked his damp forehead. "What did I ever do without you?"

"I dunno," he quipped, sensing her question was more playful than serious. "Prolly the same thing I did without you…wander around the city, aimless and miserable."

Her lips puckered into a sympathetic pout, and she whispered, "That's so sad." She kissed him, sucking his bottom lip between hers.

"It was."

"I love you, Ed."

"I love you." He played with her hair, "You had a good day?"

"Of course. I'd go to your mom's every weekend if we had time." Realization formed in Olivia's eyes, and they widened, "I suppose…we'll have time soon."

"Gettin' nervous?"

"A little," she admitted. There was no use in trying to lie to him. "But…it's…it's not because, well, it's not personal. It's more…I don't really remember I time when the job wasn't in my life. I don't know how it's going to feel…being without…that kind of stress, pressure…and, well, the reward when, well, those few times cases actually end up with some sort of promising resolution."

"I think it's different for everyone," he said. "And I think you'll miss it for a while."

"I'm sure I will. Poor Sonny. I'll probably have him cornered whenever we're all together."

Ed laughed, "Ah, he won't mind."

As often happened, Olivia found herself torn between letting Ed hold her against his chest and positioning herself so she could look at him. She stayed put, her eyes locked on his, for what she was about to say would be more meaningful with eye contact.

"The few times over the course of the past thirty years, the times when I wondered if I was done, if it was time to call it quits, when I thought about it I always said no, and it wasn't only because I love my job. It was because, minus the job, I had nothing else." She found Ed's hand in the sheets and played with his fingers. His hands were thick and strong, protective yet gentle. "That was a terrifying thought…me, alone, in my dark apartment…with nothing. No one. And now that scenario is so far away, it's so impossible. It really, truly, is impossible. Yes, it's gonna be tough and a little weird," she smiled, "But it's not going to be as hard as either one of us think. I gave the first part of my adult life to the job. Now I can give the rest to you and our family."

…

#Tuckson