Seventy-four.

Boss Baby had become the Tucker kids' fall movie obsession. The original hit had premiered a few years prior, but the creators followed up with Bossier Baby and then Even Bossier Baby. The latest release featured a new baby sister and Noah immediately recognized the similarities between the characters and his own family. He and the twins watched the movies constantly, even during the week as they ate breakfast standing around the coffee table. Between bites of eggs, waffles, or whatever Ed or Olivia prepared for them, they recited the movie lines and took turns declaring "I'm the boss!"

Most days, Ed and Olivia operated without a strict timeline after they dropped Noah off at school. If Olivia went in to the Benson Center she arrived mid-morning or later if they had errands to run or if they took the twins to the park. On this particular day, however, Olivia was taking Wyatt to the set of the show. She had been consulting more frequently as the production gained fans and traction. The most recent script included a character who had a toddler son and one of the producers suggested Wyatt play the little boy. All Wyatt had to do was smile in the arms of the actress as her character spoke to detectives, so Olivia and Ed agreed.

With the three kids occupied and a good hour left before they had to leave, Ed wandered into the bathroom intending to take a quick shower. Olivia must have just finished blow drying her hair because Ed caught a whiff of the faint charcoal odor before he wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her neck.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

Olivia smiled at him through the mirror and replied with a sweet, "thank you." She tilted her head back, allowing him more room, and entangled her fingers with his.

Ed raised his eyebrows when he realized she was nudging his hands lower. "Yeah?" he asked softly and maybe a bit hopefully. The prospect of a morning quickie thrilled him.

"Yeah."

Together, they bunched the fabric of her oversized night shirt in their combined fist. Ed stroked her in a circular pattern and shivered when Olivia ran her fingernails up his arm then reached back and curled her wrist around his neck.

"God Ed," she sighed, "Amazing."

"How bout now?" He thrust his fingers inside of her. With his other arm he held her more tightly and adjusted the angle so he could get more aggressive.

"Even better," she managed to croak. She felt Ed growing harder and harder against her. "Hurry," she said, "Lock the door." The last thing Olivia wanted was for him to finish what she started all alone in the shower.

Ed shoved his shorts down far enough to free his erection. Olivia watched their reflection in the mirror and smiled. Ed sucked at her neck and clutched her left thigh; he smirked when Olivia responded to his first thrust with a sharp, yet approving breath.

"Harder," she commanded. When he complied she moaned, "Yessss! Oh, like that. Yesss." Ed was working furiously and Olivia felt his skin dampen against hers. She cried out again, quivering, going almost limp in his arms, and when he pulsated and came inside of her, the familiar feeling of being completely satisfied in his arms was intensified by the impromptu nature of this particular bathroom tryst.

"Goddamn I love you," Ed gasped and kissed her with his mouth wide open. He pictured her showing up on set still flushed with afterglow and he shivered again.

Olivia slapped at his hips. "You're so good, Captain."

Ed smirked proudly and kissed her again. He clasped his hands behind her back and they swayed together for a moment.

"Get in the shower," she eventually said, "I'll, um, get cleaned up and get the kids ready."

"You sure?" Ed showed no signs of letting her go.

"Yes."

"I won't be long," he said, "What time do you and our movie star have to be there?"

"Ten."

"Time to get a coffee after we take Noah?"

"Of course."

"When are we gonna get away, just the two of us, again?" He leaned in and whispered the next sentence, "I wanna make love to you all day."

Olivia grinned. "Surely we can beg or bribe someone to stay with the kids one of these weekends."

"Give me twenty-four hours," Ed replied confidently, "I'll make it happen."

"Where will we go, Captain?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't know...and, if you're there, I'm not sure I care."

…

While the fourth-graders waited impatiently for Field Day to officially begin, the adult volunteers, each dressed in a bright, lime green shirt, listened to instructions given by the Physical Education Director. She read from a prepared list and assigned each person to a particular station. Olivia was sent to the softball throw and Ed and a few other fathers were manning Tug o' War. Ed was disappointed he wasn't working with his wife until he noticed the stations were next to each other-close enough for him to casually stare at Olivia and shoot her the occasional naughty smirk.

The teachers led stretches for the students and then released the kids to their first events. They were divided into teams of ten and identified by different color shirts. Maggie was part of the yellow team and Wyatt wore orange. Before they left that morning Ed privately joked to Olivia that their youngest son looked like he was training to work at Home Depot.

Olivia and her partner quickly established an efficient system for recording the throw distance and returning the softballs to the next participant. Olivia stood in the "outfield," shouted the measurement, and returned the ball. She approached the job in a businesslike manner until Maggie's team arrived and her competitiveness took over.

"Hi Mommy!" Maggie shouted and waved from the line. The yellow tee-shirt was too big and Maggie tied the shirttail in a knot at her waist. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but loose strands flew around in the breeze. Maggie's legs showed signs of a kid who played hard-there were patches of lighter skin where scab had been, a purple bruise on her left knee, and a few other innocuous scrapes.

"Hi sweet girl!" Olivia jogged over for a quick hug. "How's it going? Having fun?"

"We won the relay race," Maggie reported breathlessly, "But we lost soccer. To Wyatt's team! Wyatt doesn't even play real soccer but he went," Maggie moved one hand in the air in a snake-like pattern, "Like this and was really fast!"

Olivia wasn't surprised. Even though Wyatt's sport of choice was swimming, he liked to play most sports and picked up on new skills quickly. He was probably the best athlete of the three kids, but he was the least interested in competition. Maggie and Noah hated losing. Wyatt would gleefully celebrate a victory, but easily shrugged off defeats.

"Well, you and your team can pick up some points here," Olivia replied, "Remember to step into your throw."

Maggie practiced her technique in slow motion.

"Yep, that's it," Olivia said.

Over at Tug o' War, Ed snuck a glance at his wife and smirked. She was waiting for the throws but her shoulders were tense. He could tell she desperately wanted Maggie to win. Ed let the other two volunteers handle a couple of rounds so he could watch his wife and daughter. When it was Maggie's turn, she confidently stepped up to the line, slapped her hair away from her eyes, wound up, and threw the ball. It flew in a high arc, straight at Olivia, and landed far beyond any previous attempt.

Olivia beamed, "Great throw, Maggs!"

Ed clapped his hands and shouted, "Way to go, Maggie May!"

Maggie grinned and turned back to her team. She slapped hands as she jogged back to her place in line.

One of the other fathers was watching as well. "She's got an arm on her."

Ed turned around and nodded, "Yeah, she's been playin' softball for a couple years now."

"Send her to any camps? Looks like she's had a lot of practice."

"Nah, just tossing the ball around in the park with us and her brothers."

"Dad!"

Ed snapped his head in the direction of Wyatt's voice. He and the orange team had arrived to take on the waiting blue team. Ed went over and asked Wyatt the same general questions Olivia had asked Maggie. Wyatt, though, reported that his team had not lost one competitive event and accounted for fifty pushups and twenty pull ups.

"Wow, bud, that's impressive! Good thing you have a strong team-the blue team hasn't been beaten in tug o' war."

Wyatt stretched his arms and sized up the opponents. "We can beat them." He kicked the ground and inspected the tread of his NIkes, "I wish I had my cleats."

"You'll be alright. But we'll remember for next year."

Ed helped Wyatt's team line up strategically. On the whistle, he and his orange-clad comrades had no problem out-tugging the other team. Ed clapped his hands and congratulated the winners. Olivia, however, let out a loud whoop from the softball field.

"WAY TO GO ORANGE!" She yelled with a wide smile plastered on her face.

Ed grinned back at her but shook his head. "So competitive," he mumbled to himself. Most other parent volunteers robotically went about their duties, but Olivia wholeheartedly performed hers. She cheered for everyone (for Maggie and Wyatt the loudest) and encouraged even the least skilled participants. He was sure she would sit through the awards ceremony on the edge of her seat, hoping Maggie and Wyatt would win individual honors and that their teams would place high enough to win one of the shiny fake gold trophies displayed at the school's entrance.

During a water break, he wandered over to Olivia's side. "Hey there," he gave her hand a quick, surreptitious squeeze, "Havin a good time?"

"Yes," she replied, grinning and sporting flushed cheeks, "Maggie's throw is still the best...boys and girls. I don't think her team is in the overall lead though," she added, "They didn't do well in soccer."

"Wyatt said his team hasn't lost anything."

"Orange had a lot of good athletes," Olivia remarked, biting her lip, "I wonder how they chose the teams."

"Had to be random," Ed speculated, "To be fair."

"Maybe that's why they didn't put Maggs and Wyatt on the same team."

"They'd dominate."

Ed was joking, but Olivia responded with utmost sincerity. "They would."

Ed couldn't help but chuckle.

"What?"

"You're funny."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're so into this."

"Hey," Olivia quipped, "Go hard or go home, right?"

Ed couldn't resist. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "That's right, my dear. That's right."

…

The first stop for Olivia and Wyatt at the production studio was a large conference room where the episode's writers and directors sat down for a quick briefing before the day's filming got underway. Olivia's place was marked with a card printed with her name and title. A fresh glass of ice water sat on a coaster imprinted with the company's logo. One of the assistants added an iced coffee.

"Almond milk; light sugar?"

"That's right," Olivia said with a gracious smile.

Wyatt lunged forward and reached for the cup. "My Stahbucks!"

"Oh, no, no no, sweet Wyatt," Olivia adjusted her grip on the toddler, "No coffee for you. I have your drink in the bag. Thirsty?"

"No dink!" Wyatt crinkled his nose, "Stahbucks!"

The members of the production team broke into polite laughter and the comely assistant stepped back to Olivia's side, "Would you like to me to run and get him something without caffeine?"

"No, no," Olivia replied, "He's fine."

"Ah, he's part of the cast," one of the writers interjected. She simpered at Wyatt, "He needs a treat. How about a mango smoothie? My daughter's three...she loves them."

"He'll love that. Thank you," Olivia kissed Wyatt's chubby cheeks and snuggled him. "Your Starbucks is on its way, baby boy."

Wyatt grinned and kicked his feet.

"Happy kid," another writer remarked.

"Is he dressed okay?" Olivia asked of Wyatt's tan khaki pants and navy striped button-down shirt. On his feet were brand new brown chukka boots that matched the pair she'd bought Noah for the beginning of the school year. This was Wyatt's first opportunity to wear them.

One of the directors answered. "He is. We'll need him in pajamas for the second scene, but we won't film that until later this week."

"Oh, I thought this was a one-day thing."

"We made some alterations to the script and added a scene. If it's a problem we can try to squeeze it in today...we'll have to change the set."

"Don't do that," Olivia said, "It's not a problem to come back."

Everyone seated around the table smiled and nodded approvingly. They proceeded to summarize the scenes that would be filmed that day. As they were concluding the conversation, the assistant returned with a small mango smoothie and Wyatt squealed excitedly when she put it in his hands. Olivia reminded him to say thank you.

He beamed and shouted, "TAYOU!"

"If he goes on to do anymore acting," the assistant said, "Make sure to write mango smoothies into his contract!"

"Will do," Olivia murmured into the side of Wyatt's head knowing it was a long-shot to think she and Ed would allow their son to become a child actor. "Alright, Wyatt Edward. Are you ready to meet Marisa? She's so nice."

"Missa!"

Olivia and Wyatt were taken to another room and soon joined by the actor who would play Wyatt's mother. Either she or the assistant had done their research because she carried a yellow dump truck in one hand and a stuffed dinosaur in another. Wyatt wriggled out of Olivia's arms and ran to the toys. He loaded the dinosaur onto the truck and pushed it around. Marisa sat on the floor and she and Wyatt took turns rolling the truck to one another. Olivia stood off to the side. She knew it was important for the show to have Wyatt warm up to the actor, but it was a tiny bit painful to see her normally-clingy little boy so quickly befriend the stranger.

Perhaps sensing his mother's unease, Wyatt plucked the dinosaur from the truck and gave it to Olivia. "Dino, Mama! RAWWWR!"

"Thank you!"

Wyatt babbled something that sounded like a jumbled "you're welcome" and ran back to the truck. A few minutes later someone popped in and summoned everyone to set. Wyatt abandoned the truck and dinosaur without protest and half-skipped alongside his mother and Marisa.

"To set!" Olivia said to him.

"T'SET!" Wyatt giggled and repeated the words, "T'SET!"

…

Olivia turned around in her chair and stared out into the dark, rainy night. Carisi and Rollins were on their way upstate to intercept Carl Rudnick and Fin had gone home for a few hours' rest. To say she was exhausted would be an understatement; Olivia barely had the energy to swivel back to face her desk, and she groaned to herself when the desk Sergeant called her name from the squad room.

She tilted her body from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of a visitor, but there was no one other than the Sergeant and the usual patrolmen weaving around the detectives' desks. Groaning again, Olivia stood up and walked on achy feet to the desk.

"What's goin' on?"

"Delivery."

He indifferently slid her a brown paper bag and continued shuffling papers and folders around his desk leaving Olivia to inspect the package on her own. She hadn't ordered food, so the unexpected meal was a bit disconcerting. She gingerly flipped over the receipt stapled to the top of the bag.

Chicken Lo Mein.

Egg rolls.

Soda.

And the word PAID written in large block letters.

Baffled, Olivia nevertheless took the bag back to her office and took a second look at the receipt before removing the contents. She noticed the name of the restaurant and whoever wrote the order had placed her middle initial between her first and last names. Nervous energy swirled in her gut.

The sender was Ed Tucker.

Now that she knew the package didn't contain an explosive device or something else that would injure or kill her, she spread her meal out on her desk and took a bite of an egg roll before calling to thank Tucker.

As usual, he picked up immediately and answered with a raspy "Hey."

"Thank you for dinner," she said, sounding slightly flustered. "I, uh, it was a nice surprise."

"Heard everything that's goin' down," he replied, "And it's easy to forget to eat."

"Sure is."

"Sorry about the soda...they couldn't do coffee. But I can bring you some later if you want."

"Soda's good," Olivia replied, "And once Carisi and Rollins check in from up there I'll go home. They won't be back until tomorrow anyway. So...can we do that coffee in the morning?"

"Sure."

"Ed, thank you," she said sweetly, "This was so nice. So thoughtful."

"Enjoy, Sergeant."

"I will," Olivia found herself disappointed that their conversation was ending and she almost wished Tucker had delivered dinner in person so they could eat together. "I'll see you tomorrow? The same Gregory's where we went before?"

"I'll be there."

"Great."

"Oh, hey, Sergeant? What time?"

"Eight?"

"Eight it is."

…

Olivia kissed Noah goodnight, placed the book they'd finished back in its place on the shelf, and joined Ed on the couch in the living room. He was watching the news with the volume low and kissed the side of Olivia's head when she nearly sat in his lap while cozying up to him. The room was bathed in soft light from one lamp and the aquarium glowed blue against the light gray walls.

"How's the mother of the movie star?"

"She's sleepy," Olivia replied through a yawn, "Long day."

"Didn't expect you home so late."

"Me neither. They must have shot that scene a hundred different ways. This'll be our first and last foray into acting. I don't know how people do it...but I suppose they make it worth it with the salaries."

Ed agreed. "Too many horror stories of what it does to kids."

"Not worth the risk."

"Nope. But, he was good?"

"Perfect," Olivia replied, "I think he liked watching everyone move around behind the cameras. They had to start over a couple times when he pointed at something and started talking, but he really was good."

"We'll have to have everyone over and watch it."

"Definitely."

Ed sat up, suddenly interested in something that was on the screen. "Lookit that!" He said brightly.

The anchors were doing a segment on a movie theatre in Sweden that boasted double beds rather than regular seats. The camera panned around the theatre as its manager narrated in accented English; the space looked more like a mattress warehouse than a venue for viewing films.

"Now that's a great idea. You know how I hate those huge armrests." Ed remarked. He kissed Olivia again, "We need one of those in New York...or...maybe I'll just take ya to Sweden."

"Seriously?" Olivia jovially screwed up her face. "You wouldn't last through the previews."

Ed raised his eyebrows. "And you would?"

Olivia leaned in for another kiss and whispered, "Probably not. It'd be a waste of, what? Thirty dollars?"

"We could do way more than thirty dollars worth right here," Ed eased Olivia onto her back and crawled on top of her, "Dontcha think?" He slowly placed soft kisses on her neck and answered his own question, "Yeah...we're already at wayyyy more than thirty. But you know what? I wouldn't mind making love to you in Sweden."

"Should we," Olivia gasped, "Maybe-" Another gasp. "Go to bed...before someone catches us...kissinglayingdownonthecouch?"

Ed chuckled into her neck. "We better do that," he rasped, "Cause I wanna do way more than kiss you."

…

#Tuckson