Fifty-one.

Ed insisted Olivia didn't have to be overly concerned about hair and makeup for their date, but she wanted to add a little flair to her typical, au naturel beach style. She kissed him and sent him downstairs to wait stating that if he stayed in the bathroom with her, there was a chance they'd never leave. Downstairs, among the toddler babbles and adult chatter, Ed heard his mother's voice say "Ante up, Noah. My deal."

Caroline expertly shuffled the cards and dealt five each to herself and Noah. They were playing Crazy Eights at a dollar per hand. Noah held his cards close to his chest, bending them in an arc and tilting them downward so only he could see. To his left sat a neat pile of dollar bills, seven in all.

"You're gambling?" Ed muttered.

"Don't worry, Eddie, he's winning."

"Oh, so, that doesn't make it gambling?"

"Makes him four dollars richer than he was an hour ago."

Refusing to fight a battle he wasn't going to win, Ed rubbed Noah's shoulders like he was a prizefighter and wished him luck.

"You know how ta play dis game, Daddy?" Noah asked, keeping his eyes on his cards and the deck in the middle of the table.

"Yep."

"You can play when you get back from da date!"

"How 'bout tomorrow, pal? You'll be asleep when we get home."

"Kay." Noah played three cards in rapid succession before he got stuck and had to give up his turn. He groaned and muttered, "Sugar."

Ed raised his eyebrows but said nothing else and went to say goodbye to the twins. He sat on the edge of one sofa and waved them over. He and Olivia had already given them baths and dressed them in nautical-themed pajamas. Ed hugged them both at the same time and nuzzled their necks until Wyatt erupted in his deep belly laughter and Maggie giggled and shrieked.

"Thanks for staying in tonight," Ed said to the lounging adults. All four of them were sun-drenched and didn't look like they minded a quiet night at home. "They can go to bed when Noah goes if it's easier."

"I'm stayin' up late, Daddy!" Noah called from the table. "Gramma said!"

"We'll figure it out," Brooke said. Wyatt smacked one of Sofia's toys that played music and he and Maggie bobbed their heads and danced around. "Although," she added with a smile, "They may put us to bed."

"Maybe we'll all camp in the den," Justin said. His suggestion was met with sarcastic snickers, even from his wife, but he was undaunted. "Oh c'mon. That's classic sleepover. We'll make tents out of sheets."

Sarah was leaning against him with her head on his shoulder and mumbled, "Okay, honey." Olivia came downstairs just then. Sarah looked over her shoulder and cooed, "Livvie, you're so pretty."

Olivia looked down at her attire-cropped jeans and a simple white t-shirt; she smiled and patted Sarah's head as she went to say goodbye to Noah and then to the twins.

"Be good for everyone, especially Grandma," she said as she hugged and kissed Maggie and Wyatt.

"Goo! Gamma!"

"Gamma dere!" Wyatt pointed to the table. "Gamma! SING!" He meant "swing." Wyatt had spent almost an hour after dinner rocking in the swing with Caroline.

Olivia smiled sweetly at her twins, kissed them once more, and followed Ed outside where he gallantly opened the passenger door of the SUV for her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." When Ed was seated, he leaned over for a kiss, stared into her eyes, and said, "You are so pretty."

Olivia tickled the back of his neck. "I think we make a decent looking couple."

"Mostly because of you."

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

Their faces were still only an inch or so apart and Olivia's eyes darted from his lips to his cheekbones to his eyes. He really was underestimating how handsome he was. "Are we going somewhere or…"

"Oh we're going," Ed grinned, "You don't think my plan was to sit in the driveway all night do you?"

Olivia glanced suggestively toward the rear of the truck. "Well, we were trying to find some privacy."

Exaggeratedly so, Ed shivered and started the car. "Lieutenant, you kill me."

…..

After losing eight dollars to Noah, Caroline declared card playing for the night over and surrounded herself with all four little ones on the couch. She recited old stories from memory. They were fanciful tales full of princes and princesses and flying carpets and personified animals. When she paused to take a sip of water, Maggie took over and talked excitedly. Most of her words were indecipherable, but the two-year-old's story, what the adults could decipher of it, had something to do with flying zebras splashing into a body of water. Brooke, Justin, and Sonny listened and stifled giggles. Sarah was fast asleep with her mouth open. It wasn't long before she was snoring.

"Since we didn't build the tents," Justin said, "I think I'll put her in the den tonight." He smiled lovingly at his wife.

"Smart man," Caroline said.

Curious about the noise, Wyatt wandered over to Sarah. He cocked his head and peered at her, crouched to get a view of her nostrils, and finally tapped her cheek with one of his pudgy hands. "Ki-ET, Sah!"

Nobody minded Wyatt trying to stop the snoring, and he chanted his command a few more times. Finally, Brooke pulled him into her lap and snuggled him. "You are sassy this week, aren't you Wyatt?"

"Sah_piggy!"

Noah erupted into giggles. Only he understood the words between Sarah and piggy. "Wyatt said Sarah sounds like da piggies!" Noah exclaimed. He snorted and flung himself on the floor.

Maggie copied the sound and sent herself into a giggle fit of her own.

"It's a goddam zoo in here!" Caroline remarked gleefully.

"Uh oh," Sonny said. He eyed Wyatt warily, waiting for him to repeat the phrase.

Brooke held him tightly and kissed his head. "I think he's over his experiment in swearing." Wyatt yawned and curled into Brooke's chest. "Aww, sweetheart, you're tired, aren't you? Noah? Let's go read and go to bed."

Noah was on all fours and Maggie was in the process of draping herself over his back. "We're playin' horsie now, Brookey," he said matter-of-factly and in a tone that made clear there was no possible way he or Maggie could sleep in the immediate future. "Cause it's da zoo!"

Brooke looked at Sonny with a helpless expression on her face. He shrugged and quipped under his breath, "At least he didn't say it's the goddam zoo."

Careful not to jostle Wyatt too much, Brooke shook with soft laughter and leaned against Sonny. She saw Sofia starting to doze off in Caroline's arms. "Grandma, you have one down," she gestured to Noah and Maggie, "and two to go."

"Easy peasy, Brookey, I'll put this one down, grab a Jamie, and get started on those two."

Sonny's jaw dropped, for he perceived the comment to mean she was going to give Jameson's to the kids.

Caroline noticed his reaction and clicked her tongue. "I meant one for me, Sonny, Jesus Christ in heaven...I'll sing them a little Too-ra-loo like I used to do with Noah...I sing better with a little whiskey to wet my whistle."

Sonny grinned sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, I knew that."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "No ya didn't."

"Well don't have too much," Brooke said, "Big day for you tomorrow."

"What big day?" Caroline asked cluelessly.

Even though he was crawling around saddled with Maggie, Noah had been listening to the conversation and he shouted, "Your BIRTHDAY, Gramma!"

"Oh!" Caroline said. "I remember now. When you get old like me your memory gets fuzzy."

"GI'YUP! Gi'YUP, HORSIE!"

With Noah temporarily not in the conversation, Brooke took over. "Did you think we forgot?"

"No," Caroline replied, "But it's not one's responsibility to make sure everyone else remembers their birthday."

"We have the whole thing planned," Justin said, "Starting with breakfast in the morning. So don't drink all the Jamie...need it for the coffee."

"Bless you, young man."

…

When they boarded the boat, Olivia immediately noticed a cooler that they did not leave on board the day before. She opened it and discovered some beer, champagne, and a small container of bite-sized desserts from a local bakery.

"When did you have time to do all this?" She asked a smirking Ed.

He collected her into his arms and pressed his waist to hers. "Remember when I went to the store earlier? I may have picked up a few extra things and taken them here."

"I love you."

The shared a deep passionate kiss and parted when they were interrupted by the gentle waves of another watercraft entering the marina. "Ready to go out?" Ed asked.

"Yes."

He flipped switches, making sure the lights worked, started the engine, and navigated slowly to the center of the bay. Aside from distant lights from a few waterfront homes, they could only see the moonlit water, the surface of which was so still it resembled obsidian. Ed tossed out the anchor and stuck the legs of the removable plastic table into the floor slots so they could reach the food and drinks from their perch in the back corner seat. Olivia sat back against Ed's chest and stared up at the stars sprinkled against the clear night sky.

"I love this," she murmured.

Ed agreed. "Doesn't get much better."

"It does not." Olivia put her hands over his and rubbed his thumbs. "I'm so happy everyone's having a good week," she said. "Brooke seems so much happier, and your mom's loving it."

"I knew she would," Ed replied, "She loves the water, it's just a matter of gettin' her out of the neighborhood. Set in her ways…"

"And Brooke? Have you noticed how different she is?"

"Yeah, just hopin' it's not an act, or, I dunno, drugs."

"Drugs?"

"She saw a psychiatrist, right?"

"She told me therapist...I don't know which kind. I think we should look on the bright side and assume she's feeling good about her new job and she and Sonny are getting along...and all is well."

"Yes ma'am." Ed kissed her head.

"Ed, I'm scared about going back." Olivia blurted out the admission so unexpectedly and so frantically, Ed flinched. The sentence was a stark contrast to the serene setting. He started to sit up, but Olivia held his arms in place. "No," she said, "Please, just, stay right here."

"Okay." He kissed her again. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know if there's all that much to say," she said, "I have a hard time picturing myself anywhere other than SVU, well, I mean," Olivia cringed but she needn't have worried. Ed knew exactly what she meant.

"I did, too," he said. "Even though I was ready, and I'd been ready for a while, the idea of bein' a full time Dad and husband was a little scary."

Now Olivia sat up and looked him in the eyes. "You never told me that."

Ed assessed her expression. Her words had not come out as accusatory. It was more like she felt guilty he had had to sift through the mixed emotions of his own retirement on his own. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "It didn't last long, not even a couple weeks."

"I always worried you would get restless."

"I'm not," he insisted. "And I never was. Hell, Liv, they have to drag me out every once in a while to give a talk at the Academy. It's...just...like you said before, after all those years of bein' a cop and doing almost nothing but that kind of work, it's hard to imagine what life's like after. It sounds good...but in practice? A little daunting."

"I, uh," Olivia felt a burning sensation in the middle of her chest. She knew exactly what it was-it was the dread she'd experienced years before when she and Noah were becoming more reliant on having Ed in their lives and she was sure, at some point, Ed would reconsider taking on the responsibility of a toddler and bolt.

Despite the lack of light, Ed saw the color drain from her cheeks. "Liv. I am one hundred percent committed to you and the kids. I have been since that morning, remember? That Saturday morning? That whole weekend? We didn't do anything but hang out with Noah, watch TV, go to the park? That was it for me."

Remembering the weekend, Olivia smiled. As quickly as it faded, her color returned. "If you would've told me then-"

Ed knew she was going to continue with "it would've been a lot less stressful" or something along those lines. He disagreed.

"-If I woulda told you then, it woulda been too much. We were in show-not-tell mode. You were worried about me not wantin' to be a Dad again? I was worried if I told you how much I wanted that, it'd backfire."

"And somehow, with all that hanging up in the air, we made it."

"We did." Ed smiled at her, relieved that the moment of tension between them was over. "So, back to your original, uh, well, back to what you said. I'm not sayin' it's not gonna be hard for you, Liv, but whatever you need...to adjust...tell me and I'll do it."

"Thank you."

"And don't forget, there're other things happening-the Center, the show-"

"-the kids."

"Oh yeah. Them."

Olivia laughed and landed a soft punch in the center of his chest.

"Seriously, Liv. It's gonna be good. You'll see."

"Okay Captain," she said in a low voice. "I trust you."

…..

Given the slow progress of their relationship over the course of its first year, Ed found himself pleasantly astonished when he realized he could rightfully claim the title of Olivia Benson's boyfriend. When she had the benefit of a regular work day, dinners together were implied. Weekend afternoons were spent at the park, and Friday or Saturday nights were becoming exclusively reserved for dates at new restaurants followed with nightcaps at one of Tucker's favorite dive bars.

Spending the night in her bed had also become a regular occurrence. However, Ed always respectfully left early in the morning before Noah was up and moving around. He'd done this of his own accord, Olivia had never kicked him out, but she had also never stopped him from leaving. Ed stayed the course and stuck to the routine until, one Saturday morning, Olivia snuggled into his side when he started to stretch and move around before slinging his legs off the mattress.

She kissed his cheek twice and burrowed her head under his chin. "Don't go."

Ed wasn't sure what to say. He assuredly put his arms around her and they lay together in the middle of the bed for several minutes in silence, listening to the sounds of the apartment-the clank of new ice cubes, the whirring of the HVAC unit, and, eventually, the rustling of Noah's bedding and then his soft babbles as he coaxed himself into consciousness.

"Hungry?" Olivia asked.

Ed self-consciously wondered if his stomach had been growling. "Uh, not really, not yet. Are you? Want me to go out and get you somethin?"

"I was thinking...coffee now? Maybe we'll all go out later?"

"Yeah, sure."

Noah was now semi-urgently calling for his mother, so Olivia decided to rescue Ed from the depths of his obvious uncertainty. "If you don't mind...will you start the coffee while I go get him? I, um," she sat up, kissed him, and caressed his head, "I'm ready for this. And Noah is, too. If," she bit her lip, "You are?"

He played with the ends of her brown locks. Elated, he grinned and said that he, too, was ready for this next step. While Olivia took care of Noah, Ed dutifully prepared the coffee and Noah's milk, which he knew he drank out of one of two preferred sippy cups. Seconds later, the little boy came running out, shouting Ed's name.

"Hey, bud!" Ed picked him up for a hug. "Good morning!"

Noah mumbled something that sounded like "good morning." He saw the cup and reached for it.

"Here ya go. You wanna sit on the couch with me?"

Noah nodded.

"Alright," Ed put Noah on the floor, "Head over there, I'm right behind ya." Ed brought his and Olivia's coffee to the table and sat in the middle of the sofa with Noah at his side.

The apartment wasn't that big, and Olivia heard the entire interaction. She slowly made her way into the room. With every step, her heart filled with more joy. Ed found Sesame Street on the television and was helping Noah name the characters. Sensing Olivia's presence, he eventually looked back and saw her standing there, watching them with a look of fulfillment on her face he couldn't remember seeing before.

"Got your coffee out here," he said casually.

Noah kicked his feet and pointed his cup at the screen, "Bi'Bird, Mama!"

"I see, sweet boy," Olivia said, taking the seat on the other side of Noah. She smoothed his hair and kissed his cheek while keeping her eyes on Ed. "Ed sure knows how to find the good shows, doesn't he?" Olivia sat back against the cushion and rested her feet on the coffee table.

Ed smirked and copied the position. "Maybe we'll order in for breakfast?"

"Let's do that," Olivia said, "I think we're good right here for a while."

….

Ed held up his coffee mug and the rest of the family, including little Wyatt and Maggie, followed suit. "Ma, we're so happy you're here with us and we're so lucky to be toasting your-"

"-no numbers, Eddie!"

"Okay, we're so lucky to be toasting your birthday here in our own little paradise. Love you, Ma. Cheers."

Maggie, Wyatt, and Noah gleefully bumped their plastic cups together. The twins kept chanting "Cheers, Gamma!" and Noah explained how they were supposed to take a drink after saying the word. Sarah burst into laughter when he said, "so, if ya keep sayin' cheers ya haveta keep drinkin!"

"I hope he doesn't abide by that rule when he's older," Sarah mumbled under her breath. "Could be dangerous."

After a sip of the spiked coffee, Caroline spoke. "Thank you, Eddie. And thank you two for having me here. It's a beautiful house. I'll be back. Fair warning."

Olivia locked eyes with her mother-in-law. "Anytime," she said.

"Alright, let's eat," Justin said. He and Sonny had woken up early to prepare the food and Justin took the lead in passing around the serving plates. He had even taken it upon himself to prepare separate portions for Sofia, Maggie, and Wyatt, but Brooke thought Sonny did it.

"Nice work, Son," she said, happy to simply hand the food over to Sofia.

"That's all Justin," Sonny said.

"Yeah, I put onions and peppers and some spices in the potatoes," Justin explained, "So I made some plain ones for them and put 'em on separate plates and went from there."

"Very smart," Brooke said. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Sarah simpered at Justin and gave him a quick kiss. She whispered something and he sweetly grinned back at her.

"Gramma," Noah said, "Whaddya wanna do on your birthday?"

"Well my dear, I think I'd like to watch you on that board thingamajig and then take a walk and then, later on, we'll watch the sunset on the boardwalk and your Daddy will make us dinner on that fancy grill of his."

Noah grinned, "We can get da claws tonight. AND, gotta have your cake!"

Caroline opened her eyes wide and pretended to be horrified. "Claws?"

"Yup. I take ya to da store and show ya! And we got ya a blue and green cake for da Irish."

"You're such a good boy, Noah," Caroline blew him a kiss. "You're my favorite."

Noah blew her a kiss back and giggled. By now he was used to Caroline passing around the "favorite" title. He took a bite and noticed that Sofia's plate was almost empty. "Wow, Sof! Hungry baby over dere!"

Hearing her name, Sofia waved her arms and slammed her cup against the high chair tray. The cup went flying, hit Brooke's coffee mug, the drink spilled and its contents pooled across the table, headed for Sarah's spot.

"AH!" Sarah leapt to her feet.

"Crap," Brooke said, trying her best to catch the mess with her napkin before it seeped any further.

"Here," Sarah tossed more napkins on the mess.

Out of nowhere, Wyatt shouted, "OH SIT!" Everyone's face turned to the toddler. His blue eyes, fixed on the spill, were wide with alarm. "Oh. SIT!"

Completely bewildered, Noah stared, slack-jawed, at his brother.

Everyone else burst into laughter. Caroline and Olivia wiped tears from their eyes. Recognizing the connection between his words and the others' collective reaction, Wyatt said it again and, this time, Maggie joined in.

"Omigod, omigod, omigod."

"Wyatt, Maggie," Olivia said softly yet firmly after everyone calmed down, "How about we say oh darn?"

"SIT!"

Noah shook his head sagely, took a bite, and said with his mouth full, "Those babies are gonna need some dollars for da jar."

Sarah skipped over to her purse, produced a twenty dollar bill with a flourish, and slapped it between the twins. "Here ya go, babies. Go crazy."

…

#Tuckson