Sixty-seven.

(I'm obviously revising some of the canon Sheila saga to fit which doesn't bother me much because I hated how they wrote it on the show. Long chapter so I could put the whole Sheila thing to rest.)

Sarah wasn't sure whether or not using the archery set in the park was prohibited, so as she and Noah took turns firing plastic arrows at the target she kept her eyes peeled for law enforcement or a stern-faced parks department employee. She and Noah had claimed a spot at the southern end of the park and fallen, yellow and amber leaves crunched under their feet as they jogged to retrieve the arrows and set up their next shots. After Sarah picked Noah up from school they stopped at the Tucker apartment so he could swap his school uniform for jeans and a green Jets sweatshirt. He briefly considered wearing his soccer cleats before opting for his trusty gray Nikes. After double checking for his phone and wallet, the pair headed out on their Wednesday adventure.

It took Noah no time at all to figure out how to successfully use the bow and he gleefully kept track of the points the two of them earned in his head. He completed his last turn and announced the score was ten for him and two for Sarah.

"Noey, I don't think that's correct," Sarah said, "I've hit the target more than two times!"

"But when ya miss we subTRACT!"

"I don't remember agreeing to those rules."

"Those are da rules, Sare Bear!"

Never one to pursue an argument with Noah, Sarah shrugged and relented. "Fine," she said, "But now that I know, well, you're going down little brother. I was goin' easy on ya!"

"That's what Daddy says when he loses at Yahtzee."

"You play Yahtzee?"

"Nah," Noah said, "Well, sometimes, but dat's a game Mommy and Daddy like ta play after dinner when we're all playin before we gotta go ta bed. Daddy say, 'c'mon, Benson, you and me, right here' den dey sit at da table and play and we play and sometimes I roll," Noah giggled, "Mommy always wants me ta roll when she really, really needs a number."

Intrigued and grinning at the images in her head, Sarah asked, "And who wins usually?"

"Mommy. She's really good. But dat's when Daddy say, 'I'm goin' easy on ya' and den Mommy laughs and writes down da score on da box then we gotta go to bed." The accuracy with which Noah was able to mimic Ed's voice made Sarah burst into laughter. Noah squinted, "Why you laughin' Sare Bear?"

"You tell good stories, Noey Boey."

"Thanks."

Sarah turned around and scanned the area before taking her next turn. The sun was beginning to set and the fall colors gleamed in the late afternoon sun. Sarah had experienced almost three decades of New York autumns, and the spectacle never failed to leave her awestruck. "Noey, come here, let's take a picture of us. Look," she pointed north, in the opposite direction of the midtown skyline, "Isn't it pretty?"

"Yes! Let's take a selfie!"

Sarah snapped several photos and she and Noah immediately inspected them. "Looks good," Noah remarked.

"We are a beautiful couple."

"Yep! Send 'em to my phone."

"Alright," Sarah texted them to Noah's number and tried not to laugh even harder. He sounded so old, so adult-like, yet he looked every bit like the first grader he was.

"S'your turn," Noah said, handing her the arrows. "Here ya go. And 'member, you SUBTRACT when you don't hit da target so con-cen-trate."

"Okay," Sarah bit her lip and narrowed her eyes as she lined up her shot. As she released the string, a woman rounding the paved path adjacent to the swath of grass caught her eye. Had Sarah not been on the lookout for cops and park police, the woman would have been just another pedestrian enjoying a leisurely fall stroll through the park. However, Sarah was certain she'd seen the woman pass them at least three times and she was suddenly overcome with a creeped out feeling. "Noey," she said, "Come here. Another selfie." Sarah took the photographs quickly, hoping to catch the woman in the frame.

"Sare Bear, we're not in da middle."

"It's okay, we can see more of the park in these."

Noah shrugged and jogged back to the target.

"Hey, Noey, after I shoot these how about we say you're the winner and we go eat? I'm famished."

"You're what?"

"Famished! It means very, very, very hungry."

"Oh, well, I'm famished, too!"

"Where are we eating?"

"Sushi!"

"You got it."

They packed up the archery set and slid all the parts into the cylindrical carrying case. Sarah slung it over her shoulder and she clutched Noah's hand before embarking on the path leading out of the park. Surely he regarded the gesture as suspicious. Sarah held his hand when crossing streets, but she rarely did so at any other time and never when they were within the confines of a park. Noah didn't object. He squeezed her hand and used it to propel himself in extra high skips while he thought out loud about what he would order at the sushi restaurant. Sarah made a mental note to mention the woman to Ed and Olivia when they returned and then tried to refocus her attention on Noah and remind herself that, from his perspective, everything in the world was perfect and she would do everything in her power to make sure it stayed that way.

….

Maggie begged to go. She even went so far as to rifle through Olivia's side of the closet and select a businesslike blazer and blouse to pair with her crisp blue jeans. When Wyatt commented on the outfit's incongruity, Maggie brushed off the criticism and fired back, albeit good-naturedly, at her twin.

"This is fashion, Wyatt," she said.

Nowhere near filling out the blazer quite yet with her middle schooler frame, Ed couldn't help but chuckle when he saw his youngest daughter in the bulky work wear. Insanely proud yet wary of her good looks, he had to admit he preferred Maggie playing dress up in Olivia's clothes rather than her attired in typical teenage wear.

"Mom, Dad, pleeeease? I won't say anything. Hey!" She grinned brightly, "I could just, like, be there! Like a regular customer! I'll go now!"

"Princess," Ed held Maggie's face and kissed her head, "You're going to hang out with Sarah and Brooke and everyone. We won't be long, and," he looked into her blue eyes, "we'll give you the recap."

"Daddy, are you ever going to stop calling me Princess?"

"Only when you stop acting like one."

Maggie shot him a good-natured dirty look and retreated to her bedroom where she changed clothes. Two hours later she and Wyatt were in the rec room on the top floor of Sarah's building playing pool with Anthony, Justin, Sofia, and Mari. Justin and Sonny "helped" their daughters. Anthony and Wyatt teamed up. The game was horrendously played, but nobody cared. Brooke and Sarah hung out nearby on the plush easy chairs and sipped white wine.

"I cannot believe Olivia and Dad are letting this happen," Sarah said, "I cannot believe Dad and Olivia didn't kill her years ago, actually."

Brooke, as always, was more down-to-earth, "They don't have a choice," she said, "Noah wanted to see her. He was going to do that with or without their blessing. It's better if they do it now."

"But what if he," Sarah screwed up her face, "Like, wants to have a relationship with her? Wants to see her on a regular basis? Wants to invite her to Christmases and weddings and Thanksgivings and…" Sarah groaned, "They really should have just killed her. The two of them could've done it, tossed the body, no trace, no problem."

"We're lucky," Brooke said, "It's a good thing you saw her in the park that time. If you hadn't, who knows what would have happened?"

"My parental instincts were sharp even then."

"That they were, sister."

Wyatt made a bank shot and Maggie erupted in cheers. She hugged her brother and gave him an encouraging shove, "Keep it going, Wy! Two in a row! Let's bury 'em right here!"

"She's so intense," Sarah said.

"I know," Brooke replied, "Sofia's always been a little afraid of her."

"Afraid?"

Brooke fidgeted, "I don't know if that's the word, but they've never been close. I'm glad Sofia has Mari."

"Until Sofia's a couple years older and doesn't want anything to do with her," Sarah joked.

"Family's different."

"Maybe, but you just pointed out that Maggie hates Sof."

"She doesn't hate her," Brooke said, "She...well, you remember. Maggie always running to Olivia when she held Sofia? I don't think Maggie likes anyone being close to her mom."

"Which is odd because she's the most independent of everyone, including me," Sarah said.

"And she's always, on the surface, so friendly, but it's like," Brooke peered at her young half-sister as she tried an impossible combination shot, "She's holding back because she knows something we don't. I don't know...she's always been tough to crack."

"That's good," Sarah said, "Nobody's taking advantage of her. Wyatt and Noey are too nice. Someone's sure to hoodwink them at some point. Sof? She's nice, too, but she has a little edge. Anthony and Mari? I'm going to helicopter them forever, so no worries."

Brooke chuckled, "Says the one who encouraged Noah to ride the subway by himself and study abroad and-"

"-Hey!" Sarah interjected, "I'll do the same thing for A and M, I'll just do it a little less enthusiastically."

"What about when they want to go to Puerto Rico and track down long lost blood relatives?"

Sarah flung her head back and stared at the ceiling. "I dunno, Brooke," she took a gulp of wine and continued, "But, if it's important to them, important to them understanding their identities, then I'll fly them there and back first class."

"First class being the most important part."

"No," Sarah retorted, "Back is."

….

With bellies full of chef's specialty rolls, Shirley Temples, and sake, Sarah and Noah slogged into the apartment. Noah flopped on a bean bag and gently warned Maggie and Wyatt against baby piling. Sarah fell into the large armchair and propped her feet on the coffee table. Maggie and Wyatt ran to her with hopeful expressions and batted at her arms and legs.

"Sah!"

"Pie, SAH!"

"Oh God," she groaned, "Don't mention pie. How about hugs? You have hugs for your Sare Bear?"

"Hug!"

Wyatt held out his arms and Sarah embraced him and then turned to her other side and snuggled Maggie. "You two are scrumptious," Sarah said.

"Want something to drink?" Olivia asked, "Tea? I have peppermint. It's supposed to be good for digestion."

"No thanks," Sarah quickly collected herself and sat up, remembering she had other important business to attend to. She eyed Noah. Not trusting he was fully absorbed in his puzzle book, Sarah asked if they could talk in private.

"Of course," Olivia said, "Let's go to our room."

They kicked Ed out of the room, he'd been reading a book in the oversized chair, and Sarah took his spot. The room was much tidier than usual, but she held back the compliment since it would reveal she'd spent more time in their private space than they realized. Slightly nervous, she unwound her blonde hair from the elastic band and immediately retied it on top of her head.

"What's up?" Olivia asked. She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the neatly made bed.

"It's probably nothing," Sarah began, "But today at the park I was freaked out we were gonna get in trouble for shooting arrows even though they're plastic," Sarah realized Olivia was oblivious to the archery set they'd purchased that afternoon, so she inserted that particular update and continued, "So, I was looking around more than I usually would and there was this lady, she passed us at least three, maybe four times, but she wasn't a regular jogger or someone walking around...she was like, without purpose." Sarah flipped through her photos and found the one that best captured the woman.

Though blurry, Olivia immediately knew it was her. The color drained from her face and she called for Ed.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked, alarmed and suddenly filled with terror. How close had she come to something horribly bad happening?

"It's-"

Ed came rushing into the room and needed nothing more than his wife's ashen expression to figure out Sarah's information had something to do with one of their children. Olivia held out the phone for him to inspect the image. His heart sank. It was her. It was Sheila.

Ed's presence made it possible for Olivia to breathe again, and the color gradually returned to her cheeks. "She's Noah's biological grandmother," Olivia said.

"What? I thought...I thought-"

"Thought he had no living blood relatives? Me too. Until a few years ago when she showed up requesting custody, arguing that the adoption should be void."

"What?" Sarah said again, her Tucker-esque face screwed up and her icy blue eyes narrowed into slits.

"Obviously," Olivia replied slowly, "She lost...the court case, all of it, was resolved as quickly as it blindsided me, but...the judge did recommend I allow her visitation, and I said no I couldn't do it; there was something about her I didn't trust. I had a horrible feeling whenever I was around her...like I knew she wanted to rip my heart out, destroy my life-"

Ed put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Sare, can you give us a minute?"

"Sure," she hoisted herself out of the chair, "I'll go make sure the kiddos aren't tearing the place up."

Olivia handed the phone back, "Will you send those to me?"

"Yep."

"Sarah, thank you. That was smart."

"Wish that was the case," she said brightly with her typical cool-under-pressure attitude, "If I hadn't been so worried about getting arrested I would've never noticed." She sauntered out of the room leaving Ed bewildered and Olivia chuckling at Sarah's unfounded and exaggerated assumption that she and Noah would have been subjected to hard core punishment if the arrows had, in fact, been prohibited in the park.

…

Olivia watched sheets of rain pelt the windows as she meandered around her living room talking with Ed on the phone. She spoke in a low voice, for Noah had gone down for a nap less than twenty minutes ago, and she was sure he wasn't yet in a deep slumber. Ed asked what she was doing for the rest of the day and Olivia grumbled that her plans to take Noah to the piers to watch the boats and have a late lunch had to be postponed due to weather.

"Maybe next weekend," she lamented. "But, I need to get him out of the house. He's had a lot of day care lately with Lucy gone...maybe we'll go to the Natural History Museum. I think he'd like that."

"That's a good idea," Ed replied, "Lotta stuff to entertain him in there."

"Do you want to go?" In hindsight, the amount of time Ed took to answer was maybe a second or two longer than usual, but in the moment it felt like an eternity, so Olivia added, "It'll be fun, or, more fun, for me, to have another adult there? To be honest I'm not the biggest fan of dinosaurs and fossils and…" she realized she was rambling and trailed off.

"I'd love to go," he said. "Couple hours?"

"Yes. I'll text you when he wakes up and we'll go from there."

"Sounds good."

Olivia and Ed spent the time between the two phone calls obsessing over their appearances and this new step in their relationship. Spending most of nap time with her head in her closet, Olivia finally decided on an extremely casual look-jeans and a burgundy t-shirt. She'd add a rain jacket when they left, but she liked the shirt because its scoop neckline was low enough to be flirty without being inappropriate for a day at the museum with her son and her...boyfriend? After a series of push-ups and sit-ups, Ed took a shower, let his hair air-dry so it had a look edgier than his usual IAB style, and chose a pair of jeans and a slate gray polo. As he gave himself a once-over in the mirror, he took deep, calming breaths. This was a big deal. He'd met Noah before, but only in passing, as he was saying hello or goodbye or goodnight before or after he and Olivia went out for drinks or dinner. Ed had not spent any extended time with the little boy, but he was getting a chance this afternoon. Sure, Olivia had presented the invitation as a favor to her, but Ed instinctively sensed part of her offer was born of curiosity about how Noah and Ed would interact with one another.

Ed met the two of them in the museum's lobby and soon they were strolling through the labyrinth of prehistoric creatures, taxidermy, and gift shops. Olivia opted not to bring the stroller. Though she held Noah's hand, she let him lead the way. On the dinosaur floor Noah made himself dizzy looking up at the room-sized Tyrannosaurus Rex. Olivia caught him as he fell backwards and held him for a minute like an infant so he could get a better view. The way she kissed and cuddled Noah warmed Ed's heart, but what happened next made him absolutely giddy.

As they crossed the room, Noah walked along the bannisters separating visitors from other, smaller, skeletons. When they came to the end of the line and were headed out of the room, Noah reached up for his mother's hand...and Ed's.

"Where to next, sweet boy?" Olivia asked sweetly. She checked her map, "Bears? Birds? Fish?"

"Bears!" Noah jumped up and down, growled, and giggled. "Lessgo!"

Olivia caught Ed's eye as Noah squeezed their hands and headed for the stairs. She could tell he was trying to suppress a smile even wider than the one plastered on his face. Noah skipped down the steps, counting them off as they descended.

"One, two, three," He craned his neck backwards, unconcerned about losing his balance, "Whassnext?"

"Four, five," Olivia replied.

Noah repeated the numbers and looked back again. This time, she waited for Ed to answer.

"Six, seven, bud."

"Six! Seven! Bud!"

Noah shrieked with laughter at his own joke. Ed and Olivia laughed, too.

"You are so funny, Noah," Olivia cooed.

"BEARS!" Noah ran ahead to the first set of windows and gawked at the two Alaskan Brown Bears. He gripped the edge, straining for a better view, and Ed picked him up. Enjoying the higher perch, Noah pointed excitedly at the mountainous backdrop and the fish the bears had purportedly caught. "Fiss are da dinner!" He exclaimed.

"That's right Noah."

Ed's voice dripped with effortless paternal affection. Olivia drifted closer to him and slid an arm around his waist. "Speaking of dinner," she said in almost a whisper, not wanting to interrupt Noah's fixation on the scene, "Can I treat you tonight?"

"Was gonna ask you the same thing," Ed replied.

Olivia grinned, "Well, it's settled then."

Ed shifted Noah to his other hip so he could kiss the side of Olivia's head. It was dark in this particular space, so he didn't think she'd mind. Judging by how she leaned into him, the kiss was welcomed. "My treat, though," he insisted.

"Okay."

"Got any favorite places nearby?"

"Other than bars? No…"

"How about Fred's? They have the dogs all over the walls?"

"That'll be perfect."

Despite the darkness, Ed easily found and squeezed her hand. "Turned out to be not such a bad rainy day after all, huh?"

Olivia nodded in agreement, "One of the best rainy days I've ever experienced."

"One a these days we'll see how well we can do when it's nice outside."

"We're in, Captain," Olivia replied, a hint of sass and flirtation in her voice, "Hopefully soon?"

Ed smirked, leaned down, and pecked her waiting lips. The amount of PDA she was allowing and asking for in the museum was thrilling beyond belief. "Soon as ya want," he said, "I think we'll do a nice day really well."

…..

Thursday, the day after Sarah snapped the picture of Sheila in the park, Olivia dropped Noah off at school and didn't leave until she had spoken with the office and security staff and the Lower School's director. They assured her no one other than family members on the list would be allowed to pick up Noah, and everyone was given a copy of Sheila's photograph. Olivia had no idea how long Sheila had been in the city or how she'd tracked down Noah and Sarah, but the obvious answer was that she'd tracked them from school, to the toy store, and then to the park. It was too much of a coincidence to assume she'd simply been walking around and been fortunate enough to encounter the duo by chance.

Next, she zoomed downtown to the precinct. In Rollins' office she unleashed an expletive-peppered tirade behind the closed doors and blinds. Rollins made multiple phone calls and almost too easily came up with a hotel reservation.

"She's at the Hampton Inn, Times Square," Rollins rolled her eyes, "Checked in two nights ago. Reservation's until next Thursday. For someone who hates the city that's an interesting neighborhood choice."

"Amanda, what do I do?" Olivia leaned forward on her elbows and buried her head in her hands. "She's committed no crime. I don't have a restraining order. I've never had one. I've only had a gut instinct."

"And that's all you need, Liv," Rollins replied, "Want me to send a detail there? Scare the shit out of her?"

"No...I...I'm going to call Judge Linden, maybe she'll...do me one last favor before she retires. And I need to get back to Ed...I left him with two sticky twins and I wasn't exactly the most pleasant person to be around this morning."

Rollins chuckled knowingly, "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks."

….

Wyatt's bedside lamp was out, but Noah knew his brother wasn't sleeping. He rolled over, tucked a pillow under his arm, and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and made out his brother's figure and also his open eyes.

"Can't sleep?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?" Noah asked even though he knew exactly what was troubling Wyatt. After they returned from the meeting with Sheila, the five Tuckers debriefed together in the living room. Noah gave his brother and sister his assessment of Sheila-she struck him as lonely, as having lived a difficult life, and also someone he did not plan on contacting again. As he and Ed and Olivia walked home, he confided in them that he, too, got an odd feeling about her and, for now, with all the changes coming up in his life, he thought it was best that they move on without Sheila in their lives.

"Nothin."

"Come on, Wy."

"Okay," Wyatt sighed, "I just...Noah...this whole thing happened fast and it was scary. Like, what if you woulda really liked her and felt this connection and had this whole second family?"

Noah turned on his own lamp and sat up. His younger brother's innocence and thoughtful concern were somewhat amusing but it mostly broke Noah's heart. Wyatt read voraciously and watched too many cerebral movies and documentaries, so his imagination and his reactions to reality were often skewed toward the dramatic. "Never was an option," Noah said, "And I didn't, there wasn't a connection, Wy, because she's not my family. You are, and Maggs, and Mom and Dad and everyone else. We're related, sure, have some same DNA, and maybe there are other people out there related to me...who knows...but those people, if they exist, don't matter. You do. I have a, um, unique history, but all I remember about being little was being your big brother. That's what's important."

"I'd be really confused if I were you," Wyatt admitted in his soft, hesitant voice.

"I was confused at first, when Mom and Dad started telling me, everything, but I'm not anymore. How can I be confused when I got really, really lucky?"

Wyatt pondered the sentiment for a minute. One hundred percent of his life and the lives of his siblings had been rooted in the unconditional and doting love of their parents. He simply could not wrap his head around the debauched circumstances of Noah's infancy, and it frustrated him that he couldn't empathize with what he perceived as his older brother's crisis.

"Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we gonna get to come visit you at college next year?"

"Of course."

"Okay." Wyatt stretched and turned to his opposite side. "Night."

Noah raised his eyebrows. It was an abrupt end to a serious conversation. But he didn't press his brother. "Night, Wy."

On the opposite end of the hall, behind two sets of closed doors, Ed and Olivia conducted their parental debriefing under the pulsating water of the shower. The four-feet by six-feet space had, over the years, become a sanctuary, one of the few places they could enjoy total privacy and raw intimacy. It was proof of their mutual, unabashed comfort with one another; even if they only went so far as to kiss and take turns lathering one another with soap and shampoo, Ed and Olivia made no distinction between their showers and sex.

"Mmmmm, Ed, that feels so good," Olivia closed her eyes and tilted her head back as Ed massaged her shoulders.

"Can't go to bed with all this tension," Ed kissed behind her ear and smirked when he felt her shiver.

"Then I'm going to need a turn with you," Olivia said, reaching up to caress his face, "Has this jaw relaxed yet?"

Earlier, as Noah and Sheila gingerly exchanged questions, answers, and anecdotes, Ed locked his eyes on Sheila and did not deviate from his most formidable IAB glare. Myriad emotions churned in Olivia's mind and in her gut; however, insecurity was not one of them. At the first sign of nefarious intent, she was sure Ed would jump up and, and the very least, verbally check Sheila. At one point, he'd been frozen for so long, she put a hand on his thigh. Keeping his eyes trained on Sheila, he put his hand over Olivia's and didn't let it go until an awkward silence fell over the round table and Sheila mumbled that it was probably time for her to go.

"It's back to normal," Ed murmured. He worked his hands from Olivia's shoulders to her elbows and then held her hands. He held her body flush with his and pressed his lips to her skin as he spoke. "Was I intimidating?"

"Yes. I got IAB flashbacks."

"In that case, I'm sorry. Didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Quite the opposite. I knew everything was going to be okay as long as we were all there together."

"I was surprised at the questions Noah asked," Ed remarked.

Neither Olivia nor Ed had prepped Noah before the meeting and he hadn't asked for any advice. Almost all of his inquiries were about Sheila's relationship with Ellie. At eighteen, he had heard his friends gripe about their parents, but he had trouble comprehending how that parent-child relationship could get so far out of control. At one point Ed and Olivia both agreed Noah sounded like an attorney when he couldn't quite square Sheila's interest in him and her apparent lack of concern when Ellie was killed. He pointed out how Ellie hadn't used a pseudonym and had been laid to rest on Hart Island. Sheila fumbled through the answer and, after that, the conversation tapered off into a brusque exchange of meaningless drivel.

"He was trying to prove his instincts wrong," Olivia surmised.

"I think he did a damn good job of proving them right," Ed turned her around so they were facing each other, "Are you okay?"

"Almost," she softly kissed his lips, "I...last time...I thought it was over, now I'm scared to think she won't come back again because I thought that way last time. I need this to end."

"I wish I could tell ya for sure it's the end, Liv, I really do," Ed toyed with her soaked locks and kept his hands on the sides of her face, "But, a couple things make me feel better. Noah was turned off, the first thing he said after she left, remember? He was glad he met her but he never wanted to see her again? And she knew it and she...didn't seem combative, only defeated. Maybe part of this is wishful thinkin' but I predict she'll go back to New Hampshire and hole up in the woods for the rest of her life." Though Ed was sincere, there was a buoyancy in his last sentence that made Olivia smile. He pinched her chin and gave her a kiss. "There it is." He felt her fingertips dig into his back and he opened his mouth wider, initiating a more passionate kiss which did not end until Ed was satisfied he'd chased all despair from Olivia's mind and body.

…..

With childcare options limited and Olivia insistent that Ed accompany her to the hotel, they were forced to wait until either Brooke or Sarah were available to watch the twins and, depending on the time, Noah. Brooke called back first and, having been briefed on the situation, picked up Sofia from daycare and rushed to Manhattan. Ed and Olivia camped out in the hotel lobby before Ed got impatient, and, wielding his badge that technically no longer held any power, demanded the room number from a mousy, meek reception desk attendant. Wearing a pleasant smile, as if she were expecting their company, Sheila opened the door but, wisely, did not invite the surly pair inside.

"Stay away from my son," Olivia seethed. "I'm filing for an order of protection. You're stalking him. If you come near him or my family again you will be arrested and I swear to God I will make sure you serve the longest possible sentence." She did not give Sheila a chance to respond. She grabbed Ed's wrist and darted toward the elevator. Sheila's door closed with a resounding click and Olivia hunched over, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

Ed rubbed her back. He wasn't sure what to say; they hadn't been operating with a script, and he hadn't been sure what to expect. Heaving, Olivia rocked back and forth from heel to toe and Ed urged her to stand up straighter. "C'mon, Liv," he held her hands, stared into her watery eyes, and took deep breaths with her. "Breathe, baby."

"Do you think she believed me?" Olivia asked through gasps, "About the protection order?"

"I think she believed you about her serving the longest possible sentence."

"I need Rollins to keep surveillance on her until she leaves."

"She say she'll do that?"

"Yes."

The first elevator car had come and gone. A second arrived and they stepped inside. Olivia was still stiff with tension, but she leaned into Ed's embrace. He held her head to his shoulder. "You're alright," he whispered, "We're alright. We'll make sure she gets outta the city; everything's gonna be okay, Liv."

"Ed, if she tries anything with him I will kill her."

His only response was to hold her more tightly.

"I'm serious, Ed. I will fucking rip her apart."

"Whatever you decide to do, Liv, I'm on board."

The mundane, sycophantic response made Olivia chuckle. The elevator doors opened and they walked into the lobby. "You sound like we're deciding what to order for dinner."

Ed shrugged, "What to order for dinner, what to do with a body...pretty much the same thing."

She paused, in the middle of the vast, busy tourist hotel lobby, and hugged him. "I love you so much, Ed."

"I love you, too, Liv. And I'll do anything for you. For us."

"I know," she noticed two patrol officers enter the lobby and speak with a desk agent. They could have been there for a number of reasons, but Olivia convinced herself they were there to keep tabs on Sheila, that Rollins had put a priority alert on this particular assignment. "C'mon," she said in a decidedly more cheerful voice, "Let's go rescue Brooke."

"I was gonna say let's tell her we'll be a little while longer and go get a drink. They're safe and sound at home."

Olivia looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, "Stop at a dive like the old days?"

"Yeah...kinda weird...to have good memories of having drinks after a near disaster."

"That was us for a while," Olivia pointed out.

"Yeah it was," Ed replied, "Maybe it was...it was the only way we could figure out we could trust each other?"

"Whatever it was, I came out on the other side, not wanting to weather any storm with anyone but you...and soon after, I didn't want to do life without you."

"Me neither," Ed gazed at her with his most sincere expression, "You are my whole life, Olivia Margaret, through the ugly and the beautiful. And it's been mostly beautiful when you look at the big picture."

They both pictured the blissful faces of their children, of Sofia, of Brooke and Sarah and Justin and Caroline, they saw their cozy apartment and all its clutter, their beach house, the jet skis and the boat, they heard the laughter, the twins' babbles, Noah's wise-beyond-his-years commentary. Olivia nodded. Ed was right. It was all beautiful, overwhelmingly so, and, no matter what, she trusted their lives would stay that way forever.

…..

#Tuckson