Thirty-seven.

The mood in the squad room was unusually cheerful and lively. Even Fin and Rollins had a jovial air about them as they worked their way through the latest of SVU's cases. They breezed in and out of the Lieutenant's office, delivering updates and nodding at directives. When Olivia sent the pair on what amounted to a fishing expedition, she and Carisi found themselves alone in what was an almost eerily quiet precinct.

"Lieu, I'm gonna go out and grab some lunch. You want somethin?"

Olivia started to say no, but she realized lunch with Carisi would give her a perfect opportunity for an impromptu chat. She gave him her order, and, when he returned, they ate in her office. Olivia amusedly watched Carisi shovel lo mein into his mouth using chopsticks.

"Slow day," he said, mid-chew. "Slow couple of weeks, actually."

"I don't know how to feel about it," Olivia said, "Could mean nothing, could mean we're getting a barrage of calls tomorrow….or, tonight."

Carisi nodded.

"But, since it's slow, and, before summer...you have so many vacation days...why don't you take some? Let us watch Sofia and you and Brooke take a little vacation?"

Carisi raised his eyebrows. "You tryin' to get rid of me, Lieu?"

Olivia folded her hands and rested them on the desk in her let me reason with you pose. "Not at all," she said, "But you and Brooke haven't had a vacation in over a year. Not a real one. There's something to be said for a couple going away together. Trust me."

Carisi flashed her his boyish grin; it was a look similar to the expression that crossed Sarah's face whenever she was picturing intimacy between her father and Olivia. "You think me and Brooke are in a rut?"

"I think she would benefit from a vacation."

Carisi took another bite and pondered her words. "She has mentioned wantin' to go to Quebec City, like you did. Good time of year for it."

Memories of the Quebec getaway sent pleasant chills down Olivia's spine. She and Ed had such a wonderful time in the enchanted old city. "I highly recommend it," she said. "Good choice."

"You'll really watch Sof?"

"Of course. Between us and maybe Sarah and Justin, we'll make it work."

Carisi sucked in air through clenched teeth.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"Brooke's still a little on the fence about Justin," Carisi answered with reluctant honesty. "He's always rubbed her the wrong way for some reason."

Olivia screwed up her face. "I thought that was over and done with," she said. "At first...I got it...but I think Justin's more than proven himself."

"I really don't know what it is," he said, "It's somethin...I like the guy, I always have, and she gets annoyed because of that...somethin' just bugs her about him, I guess. And then...she didn't like when Sarah took Noah to his mom's…"

"She took him there to sample wedding cake," Olivia protested, suddenly feeling defensive since she had okayed the trip in the first place.

"Yeah, well," Carisi fidgeted, "Don't tell her I told you this...but she's always been a little, uh, jealous of Sarah and Noah. It's stupid, I know, and she didn't exactly say that, but I can tell. And she didn't know you told Sarah it was alright until after the fact, and then she was surprised at you."

Completely baffled now, Olivia had trouble making sure her tone was even-keeled even though she was deeply annoyed. Carmen's neighborhood had seen its share of violence, but crime had been in steady decline. Also, Sarah had taken Noah by car in the middle of the day and they'd spent the afternoon on Carmen's back porch gorging on various dessert samples.

"Carmen lives in the Bronx, not the Middle East," Olivia replied sharply.

She didn't have much of a reply regarding Brooke's purported envy of Sarah's relationship with Noah. Sarah had taken it upon herself to designate an afternoon a week to spend with her little brother and they started while Brooke was still working. Sarah was fortunate to have a job that allowed her to take those hours off; Olivia understood Brooke's jealousy, for she, too, had experienced those feelings. However, the alone time with Sarah never diminished Noah's love for her or anyone else. He possessed infinite reserves of affection.

"Working in the South Bronx really gave her some insight no one else has," Carisi said, "She's protective is all," he reasoned, "She knows a lot of times there are some pretty dark things lurking below the surface in people who grew up in rough neighborhoods."

Olivia wanted badly to roll her eyes, but she remained as sensitive and responsive as she could. "We're going to have to agree to disagree on Justin," she said.

"Yeah."

"So, pick a long weekend...and take Brooke to Canada. I'll make a list of the places we went. We stayed at the Chateau Frontenac...a room with a river view. It was gorgeous."

"I'll check it out." Uncomfortable with the tiny rift that had formed between them, Carisi quipped, "Sure you're gonna be okay without me here for a few days?"

"We'll power through."

….

Ed couldn't help it. His wife was cute when she was annoyed. Olivia was home in time to help with dinner. "Helping" actually meant sipping wine and sampling the sauce while Ed cooked, but Ed didn't care. He was perfectly content preparing their meal and listening to her vent about her conversation with their son-in-law earlier that day. Despite the weightiness of it all, Ed couldn't help his amused expression.

"...And he was still so flippant about the whole thing!" Olivia was waving her hands all around yet careful not to spill the wine. "He shifted the blame to Sarah! Or, to Justin, or, both of them," Olivia groaned, "I don't know what to think."

Ed recognized Brooke's psyche was more complicated than Sarah's. Sarah wore her heart on her sleeve; Brooke was guarded and less likely to express discontent when she was upset and excessive excitement when she was happy. Nevertheless, his eldest daughter had noticeably changed both in demeanor and in physical appearance. She had lost weight and her normally round, lively face had become gaunt and somber.

"Sounds like ya got some insight, though," Ed remarked, "At least as far as Brooke, Sarah, and Justin are concerned."

"Do you think Brooke knows something? About Justin? Something we don't?"

Olivia's eyes were wide and full of genuine uncertainty.

Ed kissed her pursed lips. "No. I don't think that. Because she woulda told us."

"You think?"

"I know."

Olivia didn't look convinced. Ed kissed her again and held her chin between his thumb and forefinger. The kids' chatter filled the room. They padded around the living room, playing in their imaginary world, their bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. In the kitchen, steam rose from the pots and pans, and the savory chicken marsala bubbled in the skillet. Its savory aroma wafted throughout the space. The scene was idyllic-a beautiful, perfect family beginning their evening together.

"I hate that she's jealous of Sarah," Olivia griped.

"I do too," he replied, "But, Liv, that's on her. And, like you said, it's weird Carisi brought that up. She doesn't trust Justin with Sofia? Fine. I don't agree with it, but I respect it. But why go there? Why tell you that? Other than to deflect attention away from the point you were making."

"Well, I didn't exactly come out and say I thought their marriage was in trouble."

"Surely he picked that up."

"I learned a long time ago not to assume such things."

Ed grinned. "Didja now?" She was sitting on a barstool and he moved closer, stepped between her legs, and planted a sloppy, passionate smooch on her lips. Olivia held him by the waist and grinned.

"I love you."

"I love you," Ed replied, "And you're really gonna love this chicken."

"Good. I'm hungry."

"Except...it has wine in it…"

"I think the alcohol burns off," Olivia said.

"I better Google it."

She chuckled.

"What?"

"Sometimes you say things that are so...not Ed Tucker things to say...like I better Google it."

"Can't have our kids getting drunk."

"I really don't think that's gonna happen."

Ed poked around on his phone for a few minutes. "Yep, we're good."

"I knew it."

"Worst thing that was gonna happen was we throw some nuggets in the oven."

"They eat too many chicken nuggets."

"They like 'em."

Olivia turned and gazed lovingly at her children. She had no idea what they were playing, but it involved some type of obstacle course loosely defined by strategically placed legos and blocks. Noah tried to instruct Maggie to go a certain way, and she responded by crashing into him and screeching "PIE!" Hearing this, Wyatt toddled over and he and his sister tackled Noah into the beanbag in their classic "Baby Pile" fashion.

"Got about ten minutes," Ed said softly, recognizing his wife was in the middle of a pleasant distraction. "Eating at the table or couch?"

"Table," Olivia said. "I got it...I better make myself useful."

"You were useful just now."

"How so?"

"I want to make a dinner so good it makes me worthy of being your husband."

Standing now, Olivia wrapped her arms around his torso and gave him a firm squeeze. "You could make the most disgusting dinner in the world and still be worthy of being my husband."

"If that ever happens...I'm gonna hold you to that."

….

Bayard Ellis and Benson slowly made their way down the steps of the courthouse, trying to blend in with the crowd and avoid the press scrum waiting on the sidewalk below. The reopening of the Derek Thompson case had attracted more attention than the DA's office predicted, and, for that, they blamed Ellis' involvement.

"Drink?" The burly defense attorney asked Olivia.

She paused to check her phone. As often happened after a closely-watched verdict, message after message appeared on her screen, but she zeroed in on one in particular. IAB hadn't been directly involved in the case, but, after they caught wind of the possible misconduct by the retired Detective McCormick, Tucker and Draper requested SVU keep them in the loop.

"I actually have to go," Olivia said. She smiled at Ellis and bounded down the rest of the steps, headed for the preappointed meeting spot. Tucker was already waiting at the bar.

The place was packed, mostly with after-work Wall Street types, but Tucker had commandeered a spot for two tucked in a corner near the window. He waved as she approached and she couldn't help but grin at his boyish expression.

"Hey there," she said, ridding herself of her blazer and draping it over the stool. The April weather was cool, but she'd walked briskly and it was a bit stuffy inside the bar. She looked at the glass in front of her and smiled. "How'd you know I was in the mood for the hard stuff?"

"Figured you'd maybe be a little torn about this one."

Olivia eyed him with a combination of awe and suspicion. "Do you have me on a wire?"

Tucker chuckled sardonically, "Tough case."

"Certainly was."

"Brought out the heavy artillery for sure. "O'Dwyer? Ellis? That guy…"

"He's good," Olivia said, "Definitely not someone I'd want to go up against in court."

"He's got an agenda though," Ed muttered.

"Doesn't everybody?"

"Maybe. But those cases of Ellis'-I always get the sense the actual case isn't really his focus."

"You're partially right," Olivia said, "But he does take the cases nobody else will. He really is on the side of justice...whatever that may be. He sees the bigger picture." She looked across the hightop table at Ed and sensed he didn't like her laudatory remarks about Ellis. She decided to needle him a bit. "Ellis is like the justice system's IAB," she said, "he's making sure everyone's on the up and up."

Tucker realized she was teasing him and his effort at appearing annoyed manifested as a cocky smirk. "Alright, Benson," he muttered, "I'll give ya Ellis. But...O'Dwyer?"

"What do you have against him?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Nothin," Ed grinned, "Just checkin' to see if maybe you had some dirt on him."

Olivia returned the smile. "I don't." She sipped the bourbon Ed had ordered for her. "Can we talk about something else?"

Ed took a sip of his own. "How's Noah?"

"He's good. Really good, actually."

"Adoption comin' up?"

"Next month. It was fast tracked...and you would think fast tracking would actually seem...fast, but it's been a slog at times. I know ACS has to do their job, but it's really been tough. I feel like they've been tougher on me than they would have been with anyone else." She looked up, expecting Ed to have a dazed, disinterested look in his eyes, but he was leaning forward on his forearms and listening intently. "All I want right now is it to be over with, to not constantly have the possibility of him being taken away...hanging over my head." Olivia would have burst into tears if she weren't shocked at her own transparency.

"ACS would be insane to do that," Ed replied, "But I get it. Must be hard to look too far into the future right now."

"It is."

"Well, just think, next time we have a drink, Noah'll be all yours."

Ed's countenance was mischievous, almost naughty. Olivia returned a playful glare. "What are you saying, Lieutenant?"

"I'm saying we don't meet for drinks nearly enough."

"I didn't know that was something you were interested in."

"Oh, I think ya did."

They each ducked their eyes and took another sip. The din of the surrounding conversations was enough to make the silence comfortable, or, at least, not awkward.

"Seriously though," Ed finally said, "I'd be open to seein' ya more."

Olivia almost laughed, but she realized how bold Ed's words were. It was obvious something was developing between the two of them, and he was sticking his neck out, pushing the envelope, even though he knew she could easily shut him down.

But that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I'd like that," she finally replied.

"You wanna get somethin' to eat? Here or...some place else? I skipped lunch."

Olivia checked her phone both for messages and for the time. It was early, and nothing urgent was on her plate. She, too, had not eaten since breakfast and even then she'd had only half a bagel and coffee.

"Sure. Here's fine. We have a good spot."

They split a meat and cheese board and, despite the server's wine recommendations, ordered more bourbon. When Ed wasn't sure about adding the accompanying blackberry preserves to the cheese, Olivia grabbed a piece of baguette and arranged a portion. She handed it over and softly said, "Try it."

He took a bite and nodded approvingly. "Good."

"New things…" she murmured.

"Yeah," he fixed his eyes on her, "New things...sometimes they turn out okay."

Olivia's breath caught in her throat-a reflex that had been happening on a regular basis whenever she saw Ed socially. Though they were meeting infrequently, each time, he said or did something that made her freeze or do a double take.

She had already stayed later than planned and reluctantly declined dessert. Ed offered to split a cab, but she had to go back to the courthouse and retrieve the cruiser she'd parked in a city employee spot.

"I'll walk ya?"

"Sure."

"Nice night."

"It is. I've been taking Noah to the piers a lot lately-he loves the boats...and the old train? Near the Sixties?"

"Oh yeah, ya know, they were gonna remove it, said it was polluting the green space, but it was grandfathered in with the historical preservation over there so they restored it instead."

"I didn't know that."

"It wasn't such a big deal...but my neighbor was on the committee, so I heard all about it. You gonna take Noah to see the tugboat race in September?"

"Oh," Olivia brightened, "I didn't think about that. I will. You'll have to remind me."

"Sure."

They passed a group of heavily tattooed men and women and, when they were out of earshot, Olivia grinned and asked, "Tattoos, Tucker?"

"None."

"Me neither."

"My daughter was in a tattoo parlor once, with her sister's ID, and about two seconds from the needle pokin' her arm when I got there."

Picturing Tucker's angry face, Olivia let loose a genuine laugh. It seemed to startle Tucker. He slowed his pace and continued with the story, hoping to hear that laugh again.

"She was pissed. I even flashed my shield, the gun, the whole nine, the guy backed up, spilled his trays all over the place."

"Oh my God…"

"...yeah, she was embarrassed as hell, mad at me...funny now but I don't think she spoke to me for a week. Maybe two."

"Your poor girls," Olivia said, still chuckling softly. "You have the quintessential Dad glare."

"I guess so." He gently elbowed her in the arm. "Don't worry...your Mom glare will be just as intimidating."

"Think so?"

"I've seen somethin' close."

"I guess it's naive to hope I never have to use it."

"Yeah, probably."

They rounded the corner and came to the part of the building grounds where the imposing structure gave way to a parking lot cordoned off by a chain link fence which curled in on itself in some places. About twenty feet away, a patrol officer sat in a booth, hunched over a newspaper and paying little attention to the quiet side street in front of him.

"Thanks for the food and drink," Olivia said.

"Anytime."

Olivia took her hands out of the pockets of her lightweight trench and balled and unballed her fists. All throughout their small talk, she had been agonizing over how they would say goodbye.

"Have a good rest of the night," Tucker said, his voice extra deep and raspy...and sexy. The streetlight shone on his ruddy face and his blue eyes sparkled.

"You too." Olivia shuffled her weight from foot to foot and glanced into the parking lot. "I'll uh...I'll talk to you later?"

Tucker had no idea what she meant by later, but he nodded and pretended he did. Then, in one smooth motion, he grabbed her wrist, kissed her cheek, and immediately stepped back to gauge her reaction. To his relief, she was smiling.

"G'night," he said softly.

"Night."

"I'll wait for ya to get in the car."

Knocked sideways by his gallantry, Olivia nodded and, in a voice barely above a whisper, thanked him. She walked briskly to the sedan and waved to Tucker as she pulled onto the street. At the light, she looked back. He was still standing in the same spot, watching her drive away.

…..

"Ed, I have to go. Sarah's out there. Brooke's probably wondering where we are." The "we are" part of Olivia's sentence was actually a mishmash of nearly incoherent sounds because Ed continued kissing her. They were in the master walk-in closet where, seconds earlier, Olivia had pulled a lightweight sweater over a t-shirt when Ed came up behind her and started kissing her neck.

"I love kissing you," Ed mumbled, his lips curling into a smile against hers. He looked down at her casual outfit and smirked. "I could kiss you all day."

"Let's try that when I'm not needed as a wedding planning consultant and we don't have a house full of kids."

"I also like having a house full of kids."

Grinning, Olivia tapped her index finger to his chin. "You certainly have a lot to like in your life, Ed Tucker."

"Yeah I do. But I like you most." He gave her behind a slap, nudging her out the door. "Have fun with the girls. I love you."

"Love you."

Out in the living room, Sarah and the kids were playing ring-around-the-rosie. The twins could, more or less, sing the song and they screeched when they came to the "fall down" part. Maggie and Wyatt rolled over, giggling, into each other and repeated "FAH DOWN" until Sarah and Noah yanked them upright.

"Phew," Sarah said, wiping her brow and addressing Ed and Olivia. "I am guh-laaaad to see you two! These little people are giving me a workout."

"Workout, Sare Bear!" Noah said, "We gotta do da workout like we do with Daddy!"

"No way. I gotta go potty. Then we have to skedaddle."

"I haveta go!" Noah sprinted to the hallway bathroom.

"Go ahead and use ours," Olivia said to Sarah. She crouched and cuddled each twin, kissing their cheeks and repeating over and over how much she loved them. Maggie and Wyatt smiled and their blue eyes danced with joy. "You be good for Daddy!" She looked up at Ed. "Are you sure you don't want me to take one?"

"I'm sure. We're goin' to ride scooters and play in the park...much more fun than wedding planning," Ed replied with a grimace.

Sarah sauntered back into the room with a silly grin on her face and looped arms with Olivia. "Come along, Livvie. We have things to do!"

Olivia let Sarah lead her out of the apartment as Noah, Maggie, and Wyatt chased them with a chorus of "Bye Mommy!"

…...

Arranging table locations, choosing music, and deciding the order of toasts and special dances did not take long at all, and Sarah admitted her true purpose for calling the meeting of the minds was to get some alone time with her Livvie and her Brookey. Carmen, Justin's mother, was handling the food and drink, and the traditional Catholic ceremony was being held in the church the Vidals had been attending for decades. The reception location was a nearby banquet hall; and, with a noon ceremony, the vibe would be decidedly much more laid back than Sarah's first wedding.

"So, Livvie, I really didn't want to bring this up around anyone but us but I simply cannot wait any longer." Sarah was noticeably slurring words. She had been downing drinks quickly and was clearly in a celebratory mood. "I noticed...when I was in your bathroom-"

"-why were you in their bathroom?" Brooke snapped.

Sarah frowned, "Livvie let me, geez, anyway, when I was in there, I noticed a certain little bottle..." On her face was the unmistakable Sarah Tucker I'm-going-to-cross-so-many-lines grin. Her cheeks were flushed and she bounced up and down awaiting Olivia's reply.

Though for a vastly different reason, Olivia's face reddened as well.

Brooke started giggling as she put two and two together.

"It was an experiment," Olivia self-consciously stared at the bar but she, too, started to chuckle.

"Was it good?"

"Sarah!"

Sarah smacked her lips at her sister's admonition. "Come on. We're all friends here. Livvie. Seriously." Sarah's eyes grew wide and serious. "Good results or bad results? I'm trained to analyze data."

Olivia took a drink and replied, "Good results," and, probably encouraged by the alcohol, added, "Very good results."

"Gahhhh! I have to try it. I took a picture." Sarah found the photo and showed it to Brooke. "Uberlube, Brookey. Apparently it'll change our lives." Sarah side-hugged Olivia, "I love you so much...good for all kinds of advice, this one."

"This is so wrong," Brooke murmured critically, yet with an air of amusement.

"Oh, come on Brookey, loosen up." Per their typical seating arrangement, Olivia was between Brooke and Sarah and Sarah reached around her to poke Brooke's shoulder. "It's always a good thing to learn from our elders." Sarah put her elbow on the bar, rested her head in a hand, and gazed dreamily at Olivia. "Is it order some right this minute good?"

"I think so."

Sarah pounded away on her phone. Brooke shook her head. Olivia, though on the verge of being mortified, also felt a sense of relief. The three of them were bantering, drinking, and being silly just like they'd done so many times before, but not so much in the past year. So, she played along when Sarah didn't let up on the sex talk. She rambled on about Justin-how he presented himself as calm and low-key but, in bed, had a sometimes insatiable wild streak.

"He likes to try all these positions," Sarah said, "And, well, I have to admit there are times when I'm like, can we get on with it already?"

"Yeah," Olivia drawled, "I know what you mean."

Brooke's jaw dropped. She could not believe what she was witnessing.

Sarah giggled. "Omigod, omigod, omigod."

"Not in a bad way," Olivia quickly clarified.

"But sometimes you're thinking, okay, honey, I know you love me and think I'm fucking gorgeous but...let's go?"

Olivia looked at Sarah. She was beaming. The conversation would never be referenced again, but Sarah was mentally collecting and keeping more pieces to the puzzle of what made her Dad and Olivia click.

"Yeah," Olivia replied softly, "It does come to that sometimes."

"Omigod, omigod, omigod."

Feeling a bit uncomfortable yet left out, Brooke posed a less intense question, "How many times a week?"

"Three to four," Sarah said. "Depending on Justin's work schedule. But then again he will wake me up from time to time...well, yeah, three to four."

They both turned to Olivia.

She was wavering between being honest and giving a lowball answer Sarah would never believe. "Five to six."

"Omigod."

Shocked, Brooke asked, "How? With your job? Kids?"

Olivia shrugged. "We...make time. We find it.

"That there," Sarah said sagely, raising her glass, "Is the trick. Cheers to finding the time."

They clinked glasses and, almost as spontaneously as Sarah brought up what she'd seen in the Tucker bathroom, she veered to other subjects. Later that night, as she curled into Ed's chest, ready to drift off to sleep, Olivia couldn't help but wonder about Brooke.

Three to four.

Five to six.

Brooke...had asked the question but offered nothing.

….

Ed had never pictured himself getting old. He didn't fear the inevitable. When his hair began turning gray he didn't go through any type of crisis. In fact, as he aged, he liked his appearance more and more. His body was still firm, thanks to good genes, and he thought he was fairly decent looking, at least compared to other men his age he knew. But, his impressions of himself didn't matter. The only opinion he cared about was Olivia's, and she had aged as gracefully as one could. Even more remarkable was it happened despite thirty years of stressful police work. From the bed, Ed stared at her as she changed into cotton shorts and a tank top.

"I'm going to open the window, okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Never get tired of hearin' the waves."

She smiled sweetly, opened the window halfway, and joined him, copying his position against the headboard. "Quiet tonight."

"Suspicious."

Olivia laughed. With two teenagers, Noah in his twenties, and Mia joining them, she and Ed expected chatter and activity to last into the wee hours of the morning. Noah and the twins played board and card games whenever they were together, even more so at the beach, and all three of her kids were night owls. Wyatt was usually the first one to turn in, but even he rarely fell asleep before midnight. He would go to his room but get caught up in a book or an article or just lay awake and think.

"They did say they were going to watch a movie," Olivia said.

Ed grunted.

"What?"

"Maggie get over her Mia aversion?"

"I don't know if she ever will," Olivia sighed, implicitly recognizing the real reason they kids weren't engaged in their normal activities. Between the two of them, they had chatted individually with the twins, Noah, and Maggie, yet, the fiercest fighter in the Tucker family refused to give an inch. Maggie was steadfast in her resentment. "She's overprotective...wonder where she gets that."

Ed sat up straighter and turned Olivia's face toward him for a kiss. "If that's the worst thing I've passed down to our kids, I'll take it."

"Me too."

"She could cut Mia some slack though."

Olivia gripped Ed's hand. "She could...I tried to tell her Mia was following a dream-"

"-And Maggs said that didn't give her the right to trample on his heart?"

"Exactly."

Ed slid farther down the bed and Olivia put her head on his chest. He toyed with her hair with one hand and entangled the fingers of his other hand with hers. "Maggie does have a point, though. Mia, she's always been...capricious...but to tell him she was gonna move in, actually move her stuff there and then...she's gone the next week? That was wrong."

"It was," Olivia winced, "I still get sick thinking about it. I don't know if it's good that I wasn't there or not."

"Definitely good."

"My baby…"

"Trust me, Liv. It woulda killed ya."

"He acted like it was no big deal but still...I think about his face…"

"He's a strong kid. Practical. He prolly knew she'd come back."

Olivia tilted her head back, "Can we talk about something else? Everything seems so...repaired...at the moment."

"Sure."

"Except, of course, for Maggie."

"I pity whoever crosses her."

Olivia chuckled softly and scooted toward the headboard to she had enough leverage to plant a firm kiss on Ed's lips. "We've done a good job."

"And we're not even done…"

"Ed, I-"

He saw the pensive look in her eye, and put a finger to her lips. He knew what was coming. She was going to launch into a litany of things she owed to him, of thanks, of historical hypotheticals that never materialized. Usually he let her go there, but, tonight, he made the executive decision to stop it so he could concentrate on loving her. Above all, loving Olivia was the only thing Ed Tucker really wanted to do. Everything else in their lives was a corollary. If he didn't love her with all his being, there was no way he could love anyone or anything else.

….

#Tuckson