Twenty-Six.

For the entire week following Justin's party, Ed beat himself up for his lack of consideration for Brooke and his forgetfulness surrounding Angela's death. Olivia tried to assuage his guilt, but, each day, Ed found himself shaking his head and muttering reprimands. Brooke had always needed the least attention, and, as a result, she often received none. Now that she was an adult, the cycle continued. Ed vowed to nip it in the bud right away. To start, he invited Brooke and Sofia over one early afternoon for lunch and, weather permitting, a walk in the park. Pop-up thunderstorms had thwarted Ed's plans to get the twins outside earlier in the week. Olivia implored him to take Maggie and Wyatt to day care, but he resisted the idea. Errands could be done with the twins in tow, and they would have plenty of time to socialize when they started preschool. He was fine with giving up their spots at the day care center, but, as usual, Olivia would make the final call.

Ed spent the morning consumed with typical household chores and the twins played together on the floor. He would pause as he unloaded the dishwasher or wiped down the counter tops and grin at the almost-two-year-olds. They were adorable, happy, and, in Wyatt's case—about to have a haircut. Maggie's brown locks seemed to naturally grow away from her face, Wyatt's loose curls hung in his eyes more often than not. Ed wondered if, after the trim, he would notice that he no longer had to keep slapping at his forehead.

After a snack, he parked the twins at the dining table, spread newspaper, and set finger paints down just out of their reach. Ed added a large piece of cardstock and rolled up his sleeves.

"Alright, babies," he said, chuckling a bit because he sounded like Noah, "Let's start the poster for Mommy."

"Mama!"

"MAMAMAMAMA!"

"PAY!" Wyatt bellowed, "PAY!"

"Yep, bud, we're gonna paint." Ed poured a saucer-sized dollop of paint, held Wyatt's wrist, and dipped his hand. "Oh-kay, and…we press…and, done! There's one Wyatt hand!"

"WYHAND!"

Ed wiped down Wyatt's fingers and switched to Maggie who was watching patiently and with extreme interest. "Alright, Maggs. Your turn."

"Magg! Tuh!"

Ed poured magenta paint and repeated the process with Maggie. She squealed at the sensation of the gooey, cool substance, and gawked at her handprint. "Oooo! Magg! Hand!"

"Yes," Ed managed to kiss a spot on her hand not covered with paint, "Love my girl's hands."

"Da! Face!" Maggie caught Ed off guard, dipped fingers on her opposite hand in the paint, and touched Ed's cheek. "Wy! Da! Painface!" Maggie erupted into laughter and Wyatt followed suit.

Ed grinned. "You got me, Maggs!"

"Gotya!"

Ed managed to press one more handprint each and get the twins and himself paint-free before Brooke arrived. Sofia was crawling now, so the two adults leaned against the island in case she had to be intercepted. The Tucker home was no longer completely baby-proofed.

Brooke and Ed munched on chips and salsa as they chatted, and Ed wasted little time tackling the issue bothering him most.

"You doin' okay lately?" He asked. "Almost a year since your mom—"

"—Dad, I'm fine," Brooke said. She tucked her chin-length blonde hair behind her ears, a mannerism that often showed up when she was uncomfortable. "At the party, well, I just didn't feel like going is all. And, Sonny and I aren't very close to Justin, we haven't spent much time together, so it was a little awkward."

Ed didn't want to be confrontational, but, inside, he questioned Brooke's explanation. Unless he was working, Sarah dragged Justin along almost everywhere—Noah's school events, holidays, informal dinners, and drink meet-ups. He suspected Brooke had never truly relinquished the initial skepticism surrounding her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

"Yeah, I usually don't like goin' to things like that," Ed replied, "Where I don't know many people, but we had a good time. And Noah and the twins loved it."

"Food was good."

"It was."

Both their heads snapped to the play area when they heard Maggie shout, "DA!"

"Oh my God," Brooke gasped.

Maggie and Wyatt were standing proudly in front of the smallest bean bag. Sofia was in the middle and Maggie and Wyatt had covered and surrounded her with every single baby doll and stuffed animal they owned.

"Baby!" Wyatt exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Bay Pie!" Maggie said, stealing Noah's Baby Pile line.

Little Sofia sat compliantly with a bewildered expression on her face. Her entire body, save for her head, was buried. Brooke came over and crouched down.

"Hi Sof! Are you comfy under there?"

Sofia smiled and squealed at her mother. She tried to move her arms and legs, barely jostling the stuffed toys.

"C'mon, honey," Brooke said, "You can do it!"

Sofia moved her arms more wildly and kicked harder. Finally, a foot popped up between an elephant and a bear.

"There you go!"

"Bay! Feet!" Maggie rushed to cover the foot, but by the time she arrived, Sofia had almost completely freed herself.

Ed watched with amusement and thought about how Olivia's absence was a good thing. She would have probably read way too much into Maggie's desire to bury Sofia.

…..

The Tuckers returned home from the meet-and-greet laden with supply lists, uniform requirements, and instructions for completing the various forms the school insisted on having on file. Counting preschool, Noah was beginning his sixth year in the building, and he led the twins to their Kindergarten classroom, pointing out important places along the way.

"There's the bathrooms…"

"That's the way to the gym…"

"That's how you go outside, but you don't go unless you have the teacher with you!"

Maggie giggled. "Noah! We know we can't go anywhere without a teacher! We know da rules!"

"But you have to follow them," Noah replied sagely.

Wyatt trailed his sister and brother by a few steps. He took in everything with wide eyes and occasionally scratched his head out of uncertainty. Olivia watched him and tried to swallow her own nerves. Ed strolled next to her, seemingly unaffected by the reality that their twins were starting actual school in a week.

"Noah?" Wyatt asked, "How we get to your class?"

"I'll show ya after we meet your teacher."

Olivia reached down and tousled Wyatt's hair. He was sporting a new, shorter cut, and exposure to the summer sun had added natural, golden highlights to his chestnut locks. In response to his mother's touch, Wyatt looked up and gave her a relieved smile, as if he hadn't been completely sure his parents were going to remain with him for the entire event.

The twins met their teacher, a cheerful, stout young woman only two years out of college, and walked around the classroom, slowly inspecting each area. Maggie touched everything. She slid chairs out from under the tables, ran her finger along the spines of books on the shelves, and sat down on the large rug located in the sunniest corner of the room.

"This is the story rug," the teacher said as Maggie plopped herself in the center.

"I know howta read," Maggie said confidently.

"Oh…that's fantastic."

"I read chapter books."

The teacher raised her eyebrows and looked to Ed and Olivia for guidance. Ed slung an arm around Noah's shoulders and murmured, "With her brother's assistance."

"What do you think, Wyatt?" Olivia asked, concerned he was being too quiet. He was less talkative than his sister, but usually no less enthusiastic.

"S'like da room with Miss Cat," he said, referring to preschool.

"It is. Did you find your cubby?"

"Uh-huh! S'higher than da other one."

"Yep, because you're taller. Can you reach all the way in?"

"Uh-huh. I dunno if my backpack will fit though!"

Noah stepped in, "There's a hook under for your backpack. And your coat."

Wyatt whirled around then, needing a closer look, trotted back to the cubbies. He returned with a satisfied grin. "Yep! There's a hook!"

After meeting Noah's teacher, they departed for home. Once there, the kids gathered in Noah's room to unwrap and organize school supplies, and Ed and Olivia started dinner.

"You okay?" Ed kissed the side of Olivia's head. She'd taken a head of broccoli out of the crisper and he handed her a cutting board.

"I think so," she said weakly. "But no guarantees next week."

He kissed her again.

"Why is this so hard?" She asked, "I was okay with preschool…"

"Cause preschool doesn't count."

She saw his smirk and couldn't help but smile. "Right."

Ed waved a dismissive hand in the air, "All they did was paint."

"I don't think that's true."

"I'm pretty sure that's all they did." Ed shuffled closer to her until his arms were around her waist. He leaned in for a proper kiss. "We have a whole closet full of artwork to prove it."

"Okay…I guess that's it then."

"Just think," Ed started planting soft kisses along her jawline and her neck, "All the time we'll have during the day…the two of us. All. To. Ourselves."

"It's going to be hard at first," Olivia was part sincere and part playful, "You'll have to…help me."

"Don't you worry, sweetheart."

Olivia grinned at his mischievous expression. She loved his desire for her, and, even more appealing, was his refusal to hide it.

"It might be fun," she said, "To start…biking…or playing tennis, do some regular exercise…"

"Yeah," Ed quipped, "Biking…tennis…that's exactly what I had in mind."

….

Rather than muffling screams with a pillow or Ed's neck, Olivia whimpered softly as Ed moved on top of her. Had she asked, he would have admitted to preferring screams, for the cries were so close to actual crying. However, when he saw her face, he knew his wife was miles away from sadness and despair. When he looked up, which was often, she was either smiling dazedly or had thrown her head back, closed her eyes, and puckered her lips with each pant.

The adult part of the evening had commenced with drinks on the sofa and a debrief about Brooke. Frustrated, Ed grumbled and complained he had gotten nowhere during their afternoon together. Olivia put her arms around him and comforted him the best she could. She suggested that, perhaps, Brooke wasn't interested in getting close to Justin because she didn't trust Sarah would stay married to him. Ed acknowledged there was some truth in the speculation.

"Or," Olivia added, "Maybe she's holding back. Maybe it is her mom and she's not ready to talk about it?"

Ed nodded. He played with Olivia's hair and gazed at her admiringly. "Never thought I'd want to talk about this kinda stuff 'till you and I started seein' each other."

"I think you're giving me a bit too much credit."

"Nope," Ed replied assuredly. "You, my dear, deserve all the credit."

"That's interesting considering I wasn't exactly forthcoming with information at first."

Ed smirked. This was true. Olivia Benson had been a tough nut to crack, but, once she realized she could trust him, the floodgates opened. "You had every reason to be cautious."

"You were cautious…with me…that's why I opened up."

"Well," Ed shrugged and grinned, "If I woulda been all over you right away I don't think that woulda went over too well."

Olivia laughed. "No way you would've done that. Out of character."

"I wanted to."

"Starting when?"

"Way before you think."

"The night at the bar after the thing with Nick's dad?"

"Nope."

"When?"

"After we took down the Twelfth."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. He was referring to the operation that almost resulted in Cassidy's death. In the immediate aftermath, Olivia was certain Tucker had been lying and had no intentions of returning Cassidy to detective. Without telling anyone, she marched into IAB and warned Tucker he had better keep his word. She had no ammunition, nothing to hold over Ed other than his questionable tactics during the sting operation, but Olivia felt better after she said her piece.

"I walked right out of your office," she recalled, "You didn't even have a chance to respond." Olivia's jaw dropped in realization. Amazed she hadn't put two and two together then, she murmured, "Putting him at IAB was your response…"

"Not directly, but, subconsciously, yeah, it was in the back of my mind. But," the smirk returned to his face, "When you were goin' off on me? I was…I wanted to throw everything out the window, get up, take you into my arms, and start kissin' you. Tell you…you should be with me, that I'd take care of you, love you, like you deserved."

"That would have been—"

"—a career ender, probably."

Olivia smiled sheepishly, "Is it odd I almost wish it would've happened?"

"I don't think it woulda went over well."

Now it was Olivia's turn to shrug. "Probably not worth debating it. I have," she bit her lip and cocked an eyebrow, "And extremely biased perspective now." She scooted closer, kissed his lips then bit his earlobe. "Show me, Ed," she droned into his ear, "Show me what you wanted to do that day."

In one motion Ed jumped to his feet, half-carrying Olivia with him. He kissed her ravenously on the way to the bedroom. When they were out of their clothes, Ed abruptly slowed the pace. Olivia gave him an odd look; she was breathing hard, her face flushed.

"If you woulda went along with it, I woulda slowed down," Ed explained, still living in the flashback. "I woulda needed to savor the moment…'cause…it woulda been unreal. I still savor it. It's still…unreal."

He laid her on the bed and began the long, slow, amorous process of kissing every inch of her body. Olivia watched him as best she could—his shoulders, the way his biceps flexed when he propped himself on his hands, the slight curve of his torso, his face relaxed yet intense—she remembered how she'd seen that deeply focused expression the first time they made love. It was a tad baffling, how someone could concentrate so much, care so much, about loving her.

Afterwards, they laid together and stayed awake for a while. With retirement looming and talks with the television writers becoming more frequent, Olivia had a lot on her mind, but she didn't feel like talking. Instead, she nestled herself under Ed's arm and silently appreciated everything and everyone she had in her life. The Benson Center was going to give her a way to contribute to SVU's work. The show, if done right, had the potential to for wide-reaching change. Retirement itself meant she could devote more time to being a hands-on mom. Maybe she would volunteer at Noah's school. The twins needed to be potty trained. They were getting coordinated enough to start riding their scooters with little assistance. As much as Olivia wanted to freeze time so they could stay little, she was grateful she'd be there every step of the way as they grew up.

Ed's breathing grew heavier, a little noisy, not quite a snore but loud enough to indicate he had fallen asleep. Olivia smiled. His firm grip on her hadn't weakened. She and Ed were about to have a lot of free time to spend together. What else would they learn about each other? Becoming closer seemed inevitable, but would the opposite happen? Was it possible that they could drift apart?

No, Olivia thought, that's not going to happen.

The smile returned to her face.

From time to time she was prone to let herself drift into isolation. Ed let her have her space, but only for so long. He was unabashedly possessive, and, to her continuing surprise, what could have been an annoying personality trait had become yet another reason Olivia loved him. She kissed his chest and closed her eyes, finally ready for sleep.

…

Half-full suitcases sat open on Olivia's bedroom floor. Tomorrow they would be zipped, tossed into the trunk of a cab, and eventually loaded into the cargo area of the airplane taking the trio to Paris. Coming out of an incredibly deep sleep, Ed blinked his eyes a few times against the early morning sunlight creeping through the blinds. Feeling guilty from sleeping so well, he quickly turned his head and checked on Olivia. She was facing him, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. Ed had woken up next to her enough times by now to gauge her level of consciousness, and he was quite sure she'd be out for another hour if he managed to get out of bed and get Noah without making much noise.

And also…if Ed could stop himself from cuddling her.

On this particular morning, he couldn't resist the urge.

He kissed her lips, barely touching his to hers. She was wearing a tank top and cotton lounge pants and he slid his hand under the shirt, at the small of her back, and used the leverage to inch closer so their bodies were flush with one another.

Olivia made a few soft noises. Smiled ever so slightly. Keeping her eyes closed, she draped her free arm across Ed's shoulders. He smirked and kissed her again.

"Happy Mother's Day," he rasped.

Her eyes snapped open and she craned her neck for a view of the iPad. When she saw Noah barely stirring, she smiled and turned her attention back to Ed. "Thank you."

"All kids should have a mother like you."

Olivia's first instinct was to object; after all, lately, she wasn't feeling as if she deserved any accolades, even those that had nothing to do with Dodds' death.

"Thank you," she said again. This time, her words were accompanied with a suggestive tug at Ed's waistband.

Arousal fluttered around his midsection. He looked at the iPad then back at her.

"I want you," she reached back and put the screen face down on the nightstand. "It's going to have to be quick, but I need you right now."

They shimmied out of their pants and shorts. It was incredibly difficult for Olivia to admit she needed Ed, and, when she verbalized it, he was overcome with love, admiration, and gratitude. He kissed her deeply, performed an abbreviated version of his usual foreplay, nudged her legs apart, and pressed inside of her. They writhed together, in sync, under the covers, until they both surrendered to pleasure, knowing they were on a tight timetable. Ed wanted to stay there, hugging and kissing her, but he remembered he had a surprise waiting in the kitchen. He popped up and dragged her out of bed. They made a quick stop in the bathroom and went to get Noah.

"Gotta 'prise, Mommy," he said in a thick, sleepy voice as Olivia picked him up.

"You do?"

"Uh-huh." Noah rubbed his eyes. "You put it in da kishen, Ed?"

"Yup."

"C'mon, Mommy. In da kishen. Lessgo."

…..

Ed crept out of bed as carefully and quietly as possible. First, he inched away from Olivia. Then he slid each leg over the side of the mattress, one at a time, making sure his feet came into contact with the carpet before he actually stood up. He tiptoed around the bed, conscious of the ottoman, which he often bumped on his way out. The night before he intentionally left the door ajar to avoid the inevitable clicking. He slipped out and went down to the doorman's desk where he retrieved the outrageously oversized flower arrangement that had been delivered there the previous night. Back in the apartment, he placed it on the island, stepped back, and admired his purchase—three hundred dollars' worth of pink-hued roses and dahlias. From atop the refrigerator, he plucked the oversized card. Over the past two weeks he managed to cover it with the kids' handprints. Only once did Olivia comment on flecks of paint under Maggie's fingernails, but she didn't ask for an explanation. It wasn't uncommon for Ed to let the kids use paint for art projects during the day.

In the middle of the card, under Noah's printed Happy Mother's Day, was a photograph of Olivia and the kids, all three of them piled in her lap, taken only a few days earlier in Central Park. Wyatt's and Noah's smiles were compliant, on-demand grins. Maggie's was more of an action shot. She was smiling, but her mouth was open wide, like she was mid-shout. Olivia's smile was huge—as if Ed had snapped the picture right before she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Ed was so caught up in staring at the image he didn't hear Olivia's footsteps until she rounded the corner from the hallway and gasped at the sight of the flowers.

"Oh my God."

Ed saw the phone in her hand and his spirits sank. Nevertheless, he forced a smile and went to kiss her. "Good morning. Happy Mother's Day." He wrapped her in a possessive embrace. "You gotta go in?"

"Yeah." Olivia groaned. "Did I ruin a surprise?"

"Tell ya what," Ed said, ready to improvise, "I'll hide the flowers again and we'll give 'em to you when you get home. Unless…you have a few minutes? I can wake up the kids now."

"No…that'll be worse…I think," Olivia bit her lip and tried not to cry.

"Hey," Ed sounded like a coach, "It doesn't matter what time we surprise ya," he said, "And, this just means we have more time to buy you another present."

"All I wanted was the day with my family," Olivia griped.

Ed hugged her more tightly and kissed the side of her head. "You'll get it…delayed…but you'll get it."

She tilted her head back. "Promise?"

"Promise."

….

#Tuckson