Thirty.

There was no massive basement storage area in Sarah's building like there was at the Tucker's complex. There were fewer residents, seven stories, only four apartments per floor, and the newer construction resulted in more capacious closets and creative storage spaces. There wasn't much need for extra, underground space. So, in the rare event of severe weather, the mail and package room was the only option for sheltering in place.

Since the storm rolled in during the late afternoon, most of Sarah's neighbors were at work or otherwise out and about in the city. There were only eight people hunkered down there to wait out the storm-Sarah, G, Noah, and five other annoyed-looking folks Sarah knew only from nodding at them in the elevator.

"G, you wanna draw somethin?" Noah held out his aluminum colored pencil case to Sarah's neighbor.

The question was coupled with the world's most hopeful, eager expression. One would have had to have a heart of stone or none at all to say no. "Sure," she eyed the boxes, sides of which were now adorned with Noah's designs, but he produced a previously unmentioned small sketch pad from his backpack.

"Here, use dis. Then you can take it with ya when you're done 'cause all dis," Noah gestured to the boxes with a grand sweep of his arm, "is for other people!"

"Right," she said, grinning, "What should I draw?"

"Maybe some softball," Noah suggested, "Or soccer, I'm gonna start soccer, um, I think tomorrow. But you can draw your name too in da bubble letters and then draw stuff inside, those are symbols, and they rep'sent things you like!"

Like most people, G was flabbergasted by Noah's verbosity and his precocious intelligence and it took her a few seconds to respond. "Well, I'll write a big G on the paper and do the symbols because I can't decide what to draw. But I like my letter."

"S'agood letter," Noah affirmed, "I like N, but N only makes one sound! G makes two! It can be juh-juh-giraffe or guh-guh GO!" He turned to Sarah, "Sare Bear, S the same as N. Only one sound!"

"It's troubled me my whole life," she said.

"Yeah." Noah carefully tore one of the sheets from the pad along the perforation and folded it in half. "I'm gonna make Mommy a card. Sare Bear, c'you draw me a buncha hearts? I'll do the inside, but I need," he twisted his lips and jabbed at the paper with an index finger, "One, two, three, four, five. Five hearts, please. You good at drawin' em."

"Sure thing." Sarah got to work and asked about Olivia. "How is Mommy?"

Noah mimicked the sling again, "Her arm like dis and she can't pick us up! She sleeps a lot too! Last night Daddy got us pizza but Mommy was sleeping and then in da morning I saw she had pizza in bed!"

"Oh reeeally."

Embarrassed, G ducked her eyes and concentrated on her drawing.

"Yup," Noah said, "but she didn't eat da crust. It was still on the plate."

"Oh, I didn't know Mommy didn't like crust."

"She does like it! But she prolly got full."

"Probably." Grinning, Sarah drew the hearts for Noah and handed over the card. "After you finish this we'll go eat, I'll take you home, and I'll get to see my Livvie. Your Dad's been keeping her away from me!"

"Dat's 'cause you always huggin' her really hard!" Noah said. "You gotta be gentle, okay?"

Noah's "okay" came out as a stern demand rather than a proposal of mutual agreement.

"Fine," Sarah said.

"Kay. Now," Noah twisted his lips and thought out loud, "A big smiley face that looks like da sun….need da yellow…"

….

Olivia had cleared a space on the living room floor large enough for her to wrap a few Christmas gifts. Most of them were for Noah, intended to be from Santa Claus, but a few others were for Lucy, Mrs. Amaro, and Barba. Olivia always made it a point to purchase a trendy accessory for her fastidious friend and colleague.

Ed poured himself more wine and emptied the bottle into Olivia's glass. He was sitting on the floor as well, his back against the sofa, enjoying the simple pleasure of watching Olivia Benson wrestle with the scissors, tape, and colorful, shiny, unwieldy sheets. He assisted by clearing scraps and shards and holding larger items steady, but he was mostly a passive participant.

"Let me know if I'm overstaying my welcome." He took a long gulp of the red wine as if he were anticipating being kicked out at any minute. However, his tone was discernibly playful.

Olivia looked at him with a combination of amusement and flirtation. "Anyone who ice skates with me and my son is welcome for as long as he wants."

Ed mulled over her response in a businesslike manner. "Seems fair."

Two weeks ago, Ed and Olivia took Noah to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. During their visit, Noah gawked at the ice skaters. He pointed enthusiastically, jumped up and down, and tried to copy the skaters' movements on the sidewalk. Having come from work, Ed and Olivia weren't dressed for skating.

Today, when Ed called to see if the Bensons wanted to join him for a lunch date, he surprised both Noah and Olivia with the ice skating session. At first, Olivia assumed they would trail Noah without actually putting on skates, but Ed didn't think twice about putting on the blades. It had been years since either of them had been on the ice, but they quickly regained balance and technique. They let Noah try to skate on his own for a while and ended the evening with a few hand-in-hand laps. As dusk fell, they headed back to the Benson apartment and ordered pizza which they ate on the couch while watching Toy Story. After Noah went to sleep, Olivia dragged out the gifts, and, wanting to make the perfect day last as long as possible, opened another bottle of wine and refilled both glasses.

"That was fun today," Olivia kept her eyes on her work, "Great idea. I'd forgotten all about it."

"It was. Some of my favorite memories of my girls involve winter stuff-sledding, skating, taking them upstate to ski."

"Sounds so nice. I think...I think there's something about kids all bundled up in coats and hats and scarves...it adds something special."

Ed chuckled. "Yeah, I remember, Sarah had this hat-it was a frog, ear flaps, bright green, and we went to one of the snow parks, you know with slides?"

Olivia nodded even though she had never been to one of those places.

"Well, Sarah was prolly six, maybe seven, and Brooke two years older, so I'm hangin' out on the porch-outside but they had heaters, watchin' the two of them and here they come, Sarah's bawling-the hat flew off on the way down."

Olivia looked like she may cry herself. "Oh no…"

"Yep. So, I talked to a couple of the employees and nobody really cares. I walked around, under the slides, and, sure enough, there's the damn hat inside this fenced off area but the gate was unlocked so I went in there to get it, all of a sudden an alarm goes off and security guys come runnin' at me...and there I am standin' there with a frog hat."

Laughing now, Olivia dropped the wrapping supplies and scooted over next to him. "Did you have your shield? ID?"

"Yeah, in the car, and three of the guys, rent-a-cops, escorted me out there, Sarah and Brooke too. They wanted to fine me or give me a trespassing ticket or somethin' so I had to get it...and they spent at least ten minutes lookin' at the stuff so of course I'm annoyed and Sarah has her hat back so now she's wanting to go back into the park…" Ed shook his head, "...Took a half hour to get it all straightened out, then one of the guys asked me about gettin' in to the Academy. I walked away."

Olivia patted his knee. "You're a good Dad."

Ed shrugged. "I was always working so much, but when I had the girls I always tried to do somethin' fun with them."

"But...the hat...you didn't have to actually go find it. I'm not sure I would have."

Ed regarded the last comment with skepticism. "I don't believe that," he said softly, "I don't believe Olivia Benson would leave her child's favorite hat without at least an investigation."

"I suppose you're right. I would have; however, obeyed 'no trespassing' signs."

"I'm not sure about that either."

Olivia grinned. It used to be hell sitting across from Ed Tucker and his unforgiving, intimidating mien. Now that they'd found common ground, she craved their banter and the edgy playfulness. She also appreciated how they matched wits and intelligence-they couldn't fool each other, so their conversations required transparency.

She bit her lip. "Well...trespassing...it wouldn't land me at IAB, so, I would have probably considered disregarding the sign…"

"Ah, I'd let ya slide on that one anyway."

Olivia ignored the first thought that crossed her mind, which was, if whatever was going on with Ed was headed where she thought it was headed, it would have to be either kept under wraps or disclosed. Instead, she fixed her eyes on his lips and closed the distance between them.

She wondered if he'd kissed all women the way he kissed her. She guessed he had not. His kiss managed to feel both rehearsed and sincere-like he'd thought for days about the angles and how to swirl his tongue around hers and where to put his hands, all so there would be no mistake about how much he cared about her. Most importantly, Olivia felt no pressure to do anything other than kiss back; his patience was endearing yet his body was so firm, solid, and sexy she had a hard time abiding by their unspoken agreement to take things slow.

…..

Twenty minutes after the tornado warning sent the Tuckers to the basement, the burly super and Chet the doorman came downstairs and gave the all clear. Maggie and Wyatt parked their ride-on toys and Ed stowed the folding chairs. In their haste to leave, Olivia had forgotten her phone, so Ed called Sarah.

"She wants to know if she can still take Noah to dinner," he whispered, holding the phone away from his head.

Olivia gave a reluctant assent. She wanted to hug her son, but it was silly to keep him from having his regular Wednesday dinner with Sarah. The twins toddled alongside Ed and Olivia and, once in the elevator, practiced their somersaults to the delight of a few other residents.

"Some sault!" They repeated over and over, grinning up at the adults, "Some sault!"

Maggie and Wyatt, wound up from the basement experience, showed no signs of slowing down once they were back in the apartment. Wyatt found the basketball and Ed brought the hoop into the center of the room from its home in the hall closet. Maggie continued with her somersaults until she crashed into one of their guitars. The toy blared different tunes depending on which button was pushed and Maggie abandoned the acrobatics for a one-woman guitar-and-dance party.

"Why don't ya sit?" Ed came up behind Olivia and kissed her neck. "Want a drink?"

"Sure," she said, "But I'd rather stand. Sitting is so uncomfortable, so is lying down. I wish I could sleep standing up."

It had been only four days since the shooting but it seemed longer to Ed, so he was surprised she was still in so much pain. "Does it hurt when you're still?"

"It...I can tell something's wrong. But when I move or there's any pressure-even resting on a pillow, it hurts. It's like...a tetanus shot but worse."

"You wanna go to the doctor tomorrow?"

"No, it's no worse than it's been. I can wait until the one next week. Tomorrow and Friday...we have to get ready for the party. That'll get my mind off this. I...I...I'm not going to be much help, though, unfortunately."

Ed got as close as he could without jostling her bad arm. He kissed her. "It's not like we had planned to cook anything," he said with a grin, "And Sarah usually sets everything up anyway…"

"This is true." She leaned forward for another kiss and patted his butt. "Can we switch sides of the bed? Until this...is over?"

"Sure," he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I...I miss you next to me."

Crestfallen, Ed explained, "I don't wanna hurt you, baby."

"I know...so...let's switch sides."

"Okay. Anything you want."

"SAM DUNK!" Wyatt thudded across the parquet floor and did his best to dunk the ball. It caromed away and he chased after it. Maggie, never one to turn down any type of chase game, ran after him. Their squeals and giggles filled the room.

Ed held Olivia's head against his chest. She watched their little ones play and he felt her flinch ever so slightly when they veered toward a table or fell or otherwise appeared to be in danger. Ed was proud of her for letting them be; if there was one area of parenting where they sometimes clashed, it was scenarios similar to this one. Ed was inclined to give the kids more independence; Olivia had trouble letting go. Sometimes, this distinction made Ed chuckle. When the two of them took the kids to the park, Olivia never sat down. She continuously shadowed the kids. When Ed was on solo parenting duty, he was comfortable sitting on a bench, surveying the area. Other times, though, he worried she was too high-strung when it came to their children. He wondered how she would handle teenagers; he hated to think that after spending the last thirty years in a high-stress career she would spend the next thirty in a constant state of anxiety related to her children's safety.

…..

After Maggie dressed herself in her school uniform, she grabbed her hairbrush and went to the kitchen where she climbed on one of the chairs so Olivia could style her hair. It was Wednesday, and Olivia read the school calendar-the second graders had music and art today rather than gym class.

"I wanna pony, Mommy," Maggie said, slapping at wisps of hair falling into her face.

Olivia delicately brushed her daughter's brown, semi-wavy hair, careful not to tug or pull when she hit a tangle. "Okay, sweet girl."

"Cause I don't like ta paint and have the paint in my hair!" Maggie crinkled her nose and frowned. "R'member last time? My hair got BLUE!"

"I know, honey," Olivia said sympathetically and reached for a hair band. "Mommy will put your hair in a pony. You have such pretty hair, Maggie May."

"Mister Harp says that!"

Olivia froze. Words caught in her throat. She grabbed her coffee mug and took a sip. The liquid burned, but at least she could speak again. "Who's Mister Harp?" She asked, trying to not sound panicked.

"The guy who helps Miss Nordin."

Miss Nordin was the music teacher and, for the upper school students, the orchestra director. She was a veteran of the school, well-respected and trusted, but Olivia was alarmed to hear there was an adult working with her who was unknown to the parents.

"Is he new?"

"No."

"Is he old?"

"No. He's young."

"Like Justin?"

"No, like Aidan."

"What else does Mister Harp say?" Olivia made sure to restart the ponytail process multiple times and extend the conversation.

"Don't forget to breathe!"

"When does he say that?"

"When we're playin da recorders!"

"Does he ever say anything to Wyatt?"

"He always say everyone be like Wyatt 'cause Wyatt sits up straight!"

Olivia had dozens of other questions, but Ed and Wyatt came into the room and good-naturedly hurried the girls along.

"Everyone's hair looks great," Ed kissed Olivia's cheek and the top of Maggie's head. When he stepped away he noticed the sick expression on Olivia's face and his heart sank. He shot her his "what's wrong" face. She mouthed "later" and went to take a closer look at the schedule to find out when exactly in the day music class fell.

…

Noah finished his card, Sarah grabbed an umbrella and her rain jacket, and she and Noah headed back out to finish their Wednesday date. They walked out into a steady rain, but the sky was significantly lighter than it'd been an hour ago.

"Sare Bear, cover my backpack." Noah was worried about his card even though Sarah had put it in a plastic freezer bag for safe transport.

"I gotcha, Noey. Stay close."

"Kay."

When they began their descent into the Union Square Station, they quickly realized they were walking into a mess. Water rushed in from several directions, flooding the platform and forcing commuters to slosh their way to the steps or wait helplessly for the train.

"It's RAINING IN DA SUBWAY!" Noah shouted, his eyes open as wide as they could possibly be. He looked up and whirled around. "Sare Bear! It's raining in da subway!"

"I see," Sarah grabbed his hand and started walking back up to the street, "Come on, we'll try across the street and if not we'll get in an Uber. Or...do you just want to go to Max Brenner?"

"No! I wanna go to Mamacita! I want tacos!"

"No one will ever call you indecisive Noey, that's for sure."

"What's in-de-ci-sive?"

"It means you always know what you want."

"Sometimes I can't decide," Noah admitted, "But I know I want tacos right now!"

"I know the feeling," Sarah said, "Come on, I see people going in across the street. It's not flooded over there."

"It was raining in the subway," Noah murmured incredulously as he took Sarah's hand and they continued into Union Square.

"One more thing for you to fix, Noey Boey."

"S'lotta stuff to fix, Sare Bear!"

"I think you're the man for the job!"

"Yep I am!"

…

Due to the weather, Sarah and Noah were out later than usual. When Sarah texted Ed at six-thirty, she and Noah had just been seated at Noah's favorite neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Ed replied and requested they be as quiet as possible when they returned, for he wasn't sure Olivia was going to be awake much longer. They had eaten an early dinner with the twins. Olivia swallowed prescription-strength ibuprofen and downed three bourbons. Minutes after eating, her eyes started drooping.

Ed set her up in bed, on his side, and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back with water."

In the kitchen he put the last of the dinner dishes in the dishwasher. He was opening the cabinet for a fresh glass when he sensed a twin beneath him.

"Hey Maggs," he regarded his daughter with a huge smile. She was so gorgeous. He and Olivia often talked about how Maggie's features were equally hers and his, but when she smiled, she was pure Olivia, even though her eyes were still Tucker blue.

"Juice, Dada! Juice!" Maggie held up her favorite purple plastic sippy cup and added, "Peeeeease!"

Ed took the cup. "Sure thing, baby girl." He opened the refrigerator and held out two options for Maggie-grape and apple. She chose apple. He filled the cup three quarters full and secured the lid. "Here ya go."

"TAYOOO!"

"You're welcome, princess." He lowered his voice when he got to the "princess" part. It sounded old, antiquated, but he couldn't help himself sometimes.

Maggie trotted off, but not back to the play area. She disappeared into the back hall. Wyatt was content in his beanbag watching a video, so Ed trailed Maggie. He rounded the corner and saw her enter the master bedroom.

"Mama."

"Hey sweet girl." He heard Olivia adjust her position. "Want to come up?"

"Up, Mama! Up! Juice!"

Ed had to go in. He couldn't stand the thought of busted stitches and a trip to the emergency room. Maggie was on her tiptoes, juice in one hand and trying to propel herself onto the mattress with the other. Ed gave her a boost then retreated to the doorway.

"Hi, sweetheart," Olivia said softly, "Give Mommy a kiss."

Maggie puckered her lips and obliged. She spent a minute or so examining the sling. "Ouchie?"

"Yes, honey. Mommy has an ouchie. A boo boo. But it'll be all better soon."

Maggie leaned down and kissed the sling. "AhBetter!"

Olivia didn't have time to say anything or to start crying because Maggie put the sippy cup to her lips. "Juice mama." Maggie wedged her free hand between the pillow the the back of Olivia's head. "Dink Juice."

Ed had to blink back his own tears. Maggie's personality, even at almost two, could often be construed as aloof and devoid of affection for others, but here she was, taking care of her mother in the exact fashion Olivia took care of her babies when they were down.

Wyatt, a bit confused at the sudden lack of company, came toddling around the corner. He saw Ed and ran to him with outstretched arms. Wyatt was tired, and he curled into his Daddy's neck.

Ed carried him into the bedroom and took his place in his temporary spot.

"NO!" Maggie bellowed, "WHERE NO?"

"Noah's on his way," Ed replied, "Then we're gonna take baths and go night night."

Maggie indignantly replied, "Magg stay w'Mama!" She dove into Olivia's side. Ed cringed, but Olivia had no reaction other than to smile sleepily and use her good arm to cradle her daughter.

Ed gave up. Smirked. Sat back against the headboard with Wyatt and waited for the doorbell. Olivia would let all the kids sleep in the bed with them tonight which meant he would have to be alert and make sure no one got close to the damaged arm. He wouldn't sleep much.

But he didn't care.

….

#Tuckson