Seventy-six.

True to his word, Ed arranged childcare for the long Columbus Day weekend, booked a flight and a hotel room, and told Olivia to pack clothes for tropical temperatures. He'd considered going somewhere in New England and envisioned staying at a sleepy, seaside bed and breakfast where they could cozy up by a fire at night, but the more he researched those types of getaways, the more he wanted the opposite experience. So he set his sights farther south, and, in a few hours he and Olivia would be peering at the Atlantic Ocean from their Miami Beach balcony.

"Cash," Ed held up an envelope and slapped it on the island next to spare keys and the familiar list of emergency numbers which smart phones had rendered pointless but Ed still insisted on leaving.

Brooke nodded. The three Tucker children were bunking with Sarah and Justin for most of the weekend, but Brooke and Sonny volunteered to watch the kids Thursday night through Friday afternoon. Brooke felt bad about not being able to take the three kids for the entire weekend, but Sonny was on call and four kids on her own, even with Noah's help, was a herculean task.

"Liv's got their stuff all packed for the weekend. They'll just need to put the toys they want into their backpacks."

"Got it."

"Backpacks are on the chairs."

"Yep."

"And you know where the stroller and diapers and everything are."

"Wyatt keeps saying potty," Brooke pointed out, "And yanking at his diaper. Do we have to do anything potty training wise?"

"Yeah, we're slacking in that department," Ed replied, "We put 'em on the toilet before they get in the tub, but," he glanced out the window into the distance, "That'll be our winter project."

"You're going to miss diapers?" Brooke asked, accurately reading his expression.

"More like miss babies," Ed replied, "They're growing up so fast."

"Well, you could always have another one," Brooke joked.

Ed grinned sheepishly, "I don't think so."

"So you really buried a goldfish?" Brooke jerked her head at the aquarium and shot her father a grin.

"A tetra actually." Ed's reply was serious and he proved to be immune to the teasing. "Damn thing died about a week after we got it. Noah named it and everything and his friend at school conveniently had been to a funeral, so," Ed shrugged, "We had a fish funeral."

Brooke chuckled softly, "That is so sweet."

"I think it helped him."

"Better than flushing it down the toilet for sure."

"Honestly? That was my first instinct."

…

Frustrated with her daughter, Olivia threw up her hands, stalked out of Maggie's bedroom, and convened with Ed at the kitchen island. Instead of coming home from school, eating a snack, and enjoying some downtime, Maggie demanded she be taken out to buy a second dress for the next day's Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony. In her conversations and photo-sharing sessions with her peers, Maggie discovered she and three other girls had purchased the same dress. Ed was seconds away from grabbing his wallet and keys and taking Maggie, but Olivia beat him to the punch.

"Honey, everyone's in white," she said, "No one will notice that you and a couple other people have the same dress."

"Yes they will! The lace at the top and bottom is super noticeable and everyone will know! I don't wanna look like I copied someone else! Even though I HAD that dress way before they did! Ugggghhhh. Please can we take this one back?"

"I don't think so," Olivia replied, "You wanted this dress and this is the one you're going to wear." She and Maggie had spent three consecutive weekend afternoons searching for the perfect outfit. Maggie wasn't usually very fussy about her clothing, but, for some reason, this dress was extremely important.

"I'm sitting right in front of Josie and SHE HAS THE SAME DRESS!" Maggie stalked to her room and threw herself on the bed. She buried her face in her pillows and sobbed, but Olivia wasn't convinced there were actual tears coming from her daughter's eyes. She followed Maggie, sat down on the edge of the bed, and rubbed her back. "I wish I was a boy," Maggie moaned, "Boys just have to put on some pants and a shirt and tuck in and DONE."

"Sweetie," Olivia said softly, "It's fun being a girl. We'll curl your hair and put a little makeup on-"

"-Dad doesn't like that!"

"It's a special occasion, he'll be okay."

"I need a new dress! I. CAN'T. WEAR. THAT. ONE." Olivia thought Maggie was on the path to calming down, so this outburst took her by surprise. Maggie broke into another round of sobs, and this time Olivia knew they were for real. Maggie gulped and sniffled, and when Olivia tried to soothe her she shouted, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

In the kitchen, Olivia spoke to Ed in hushed tones. Noah wasn't home and Wyatt had already wisely retreated to his bedroom.

"This is ridiculous," she said.

"Maybe we should just take her to get another dress?"

"It took at least fifteen hours to find this one," Olivia grumbled, "There has to be some other reason why she doesn't want to wear it." She took a deep breath and glanced at Maggie's open door. "I'm going back in."

She found Maggie still face down on her bed.

"Maggs, sit up."

Maggie violently shook her head.

"Sit. Up."

Finally, Maggie complied. Olivia's attitude immediately softened when she saw her daughter's precious face red, blotchy, and streaked with tears. "Sweetheart," she sighed and compassionately tilted her head, "Tell me why you don't want to wear the dress. What is it, honey?"

"I already don't like that we all have to wear the same color," Maggie griped, "And I thought nobody would have that dress but then everyone has it and I. DON'T. WANNA. MATCH. THEM. This is STUPID. Teachers always say it's good to be unique and different then they want us all to be THE SAME! Dumb, dumb, dumb!"

Olivia had a hard time creating a rebuttal; Maggie's argument made too much sense. She considered telling Maggie that she was beautiful and smart and funny and, despite the uniform color, perfectly special and unique. However, those compliments could wait. Today, there was only one way to pacify her daughter, and Olivia could stand to see Maggie upset for only so long before she desperately needed to see the girl's dazzling smile.

"Okay, sweet girl. Let's go."

"Really?" Maggie's eyes sparkled and her entire face brightened.

"Yes. Put the other dress back in the bag," Olivia was sure Maggie would never, ever wear the old dress. "And we'll head out."

Maggie wrapped Olivia in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Mommy."

"You're welcome."

Having overheard the entire exchange, Ed was smirking when Olivia returned to the kitchen. Olivia dropped her own set of keys into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Yes I gave in," she admitted sassily, "And we could be gone for hours so...you and the boys may be on your own for dinner."

Ed leaned across the island for a kiss. "Keep us posted."

"Will do."

Maggie bounced out of her room. One would have never guessed that, minutes earlier, she'd been despondent and crying. "I'm ready!" She announced in a sing-songy voice.

Ed rounded the island and put his arms around Olivia. He gave her another quick kiss and whispered, "You're a good mother, Liv."

"Either that or a pushover."

Ed brushed off the latter option. "Nah," he said, "Good mother."

….

The balcony overlooked a section of Atlantic Ocean beach that was noticeably less crowded and boisterous as the public areas Ed and Olivia had seen on the ride in along Ocean Drive. Ed had no particular reason for choosing South Beach other than he'd never been there. He was curious, and always shied away from asking Brooke and Sonny about their honeymoon here because the vacation had culminated in Brooke learning her stepfather had shot and killed her former student.

Ed tipped the valet and joined Olivia on the balcony. "This okay?" He asked as he slid his arms around her waist.

"Okay? It's perfect. Paradise."

"It occurred to me on the flight I remember you once sayin' you hated Miami when you were here before."

"We were here to arrest someone," Olivia said, "And, you're right. I did hate it...but the coast is different. We were downtown, somewhere, it was muggy….no sand…" She leaned back into him, "No you."

Ed smiled and kissed her head. "Whaddya want to do? Lunch? Hit the pool? Walk?"

"I thought," Olivia turned around in his arms, "We were here to make love all day and night?" She seductively cocked an eyebrow but couldn't help grinning at his expression.

"Lieutenant...you're makin' me nervous."

"Ed Tucker? Nervous?"

"Doesn't happen often." Ed took a sharp breath. Olivia was kissing his neck and massaging his back. "You're one of the only people-" She untucked his navy polo and slid her hands inside his shorts. "God, Liv."

"I want you to make love to me," Olivia whispered in his ear and nudged him back inside. "Leave it open," she said of the door, "I want to hear the waves."

Ed himself didn't hear anything other than his wife's satisfied sounds. No kids around meant their sex was louder and wilder than usual. They used every inch of the king-sized mattress and joked about disturbing whoever was next door. It was lively, spirited sex, but when Olivia collapsed on her back afterwards Ed immediately collected her into his arms and sweetly cuddled her until their breathing went back to normal.

"That what you wanted?" he asked in his deep, gentle voice.

"Exactly what I wanted."

For the first time, Olivia assessed the room. The resort was either new or recently renovated. The walls were stark white and decorated with vintage photographs of the Miami area. A large flat screen sat on a sleek, low table and abutted a kiosk which held the mini bar, fridge, and microwave. The wide plank dark hardwood floors starkly contrasted with the walls but fit the modern decor perfectly.

"You want to check out the shower?" Olivia played with Ed's fingers. Though satisfied and still tingling from what they'd done, she still craved his touch.

Ed didn't respond verbally right away. He shifted positions and gave Olivia a sloppy, passionate kiss. "You know I do," he said afterward.

"And then we'll get some food? Some place on the water?"

"I absolutely want to take you to eat on the beach." Feeling possessive, Ed added, "I don't wanna be more than two feet away from you this whole weekend."

Olivia rose to her knees and took his hands, pulling them up. "Sounds good to me, Captain Tucker."

"But tell me if you want me to get lost for a couple hours."

Olivia eyed his body from head to toe and shook her head. "Never, ever going to happen."

…

Fleet week rarely conjured any rosy feelings in Olivia. Over the course of her career the presence of the sailors all but guaranteed at least one SVU-related investigation, and, in general, she was suspicious of the military, especially high-ranking officers. Ed, however, possessed a deep sense of patriotism and respect for the men and women in uniform, and he was awestruck by the interior of the massive ships docked at Pier 88. He led the way with his head craned upward and he enthusiastically pointed out technical specifications to Olivia and Noah. Noah tracked Ed's hands as they flew around; Olivia did too, but she did so with an amazed, borderline patronizing grin plastered to her face.

The tour of the USS New York concluded with a pass by the sailors' bunks. Olivia cringed at the confined space and the lack of privacy. The sailors slept in stacks of three and were apparently assigned only a narrow locker for personal belongings.

"Bed!" Noah exclaimed.

"You know what they're called?" Still awestruck, Ed poked his head inside the room, "Racks. This is home."

"A rack and a locker," Olivia murmured.

"Don't need much else when you're at sea."

"Ed, I'm sorry, but this seems awful."

He smirked and they continued on to the exit ramp, "Ah, it's how they develop a rapport with one another."

"It reminds me of something I saw in school when we learned about concentration camps."

He gently elbowed her ribcage, "I'm not gonna be able to convince ya there's merit in it, am I, Benson?"

"No...but I do have a new appreciation for what they sacrifice...life, time with their friends and family," Olivia's voice deepened and she added, "comfort."

They disembarked and found a grassy patch of park adjacent to the paved path. Olivia held up the plastic picnic mat she'd stuck in her bag at the last minute that morning and suggested they hang out there for a while. It was a gorgeous day, the area was slowly getting more crowded, and they were lucky to find such a prime boat and people watching spot. Of course, Ed agreed with the plan, and an added bonus was that the mat wasn't very large. In order for the two of them to sit side-by-side, inadvertent touches were unavoidable.

Noah jogged around and explored the area. Olivia had also packed a few toys, but, for now, he was content to pluck blades of grass, call them flowers, and deliver them to his Mommy and Ed, who had become a familiar face in their lives.

"He's good at stayin' close," Ed remarked, "My daughters? They always took off somewhere, got distracted, like with a butterfly or something."

"He probably senses how nervous I am."

Ed raised his eyebrows and turned to meet her eyes, "You're nervous right now?"

Nodding slowly and somewhat regretfully, she replied, "I think I might always be a tiny bit nervous. But not why you may think. It's because Noah was so...unexpected...I think that makes me extra overprotective." Olivia chuckled sardonically, "Poor kid."

"Ah, it might aggravate him from time to time but at the end of the day he'll know he's safe and loved." Olivia looked overly startled and Ed furrowed his brow in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Olivia accepted another pile of grass from Noah, thanked him, and partially turned her attention back to Ed, "Ellie, Noah's biological mother, she said something like that-safe and loved-right before she died. Not a day goes by when I don't hear those words in my head."

"She's probably restin' easy knowing that Noah will never struggle like she did."

Trying not to cry, Olivia pressed her lips together and forced a smile.

"Hey," Ed said in a bright voice, "Hungry? They got a bunch of food down there," he pointed to part of the path that jutted farther out into the river. "What sounds good?"

Despite wearing sunglasses, Olivia squinted into the sun and tried to make out the titles of the food stalls. She guessed they all had typical street food offerings all of which were acceptable to her and Noah. "I'll let you surprise us," she answered, matching his cheerful tone.

The options were numerous and some lines were long, so it took Ed several minutes to return. When he did Olivia couldn't help but laugh at the amount of food he'd bought. In one hand he balanced two plastic cups of beer and in the other was a bag containing three take-out containers.

"Got hot dogs, chicken and rice, and pizza," he said, "Napkins, forks, water, and a chocolate chip cookie."

"Thank you," Olivia gushed. She summoned Noah and cleaned his hands with a baby wipe. "Say thank you to Ed, sweet boy!"

Noah smiled, jumped up and down, and said, "Thanks, Ed!"

They made a fairly significant dent in the food. Ed and Olivia sipped the beer and leaned back on their elbows. Noah, still accustomed to taking a short afternoon nap, curled up next to Olivia using his sweatshirt as a makeshift pillow.

"You know," Olivia said, "I've always hated this week. It's nice to enjoy it for once."

"All we need is for them to ship out tomorrow without incident," Ed said, only partially joking.

"Can you make that happen?"

Ed smirked, "Lemme make some calls."

Noah was asleep now and all of Olivia's attention was focused on Ed. He was wearing green khaki cargo shorts, a tight-fitting gray t-shirt, and sneakers. The garments fascinated Olivia because she couldn't imagine Ed shopping for such casual clothing. She watched him pack up the leftovers, tie the plastic bag, and set it to the side. As he leaned over, the muscles in his calves flexed and Olivia got a quick peek at the skin of his lower back. Gestures of affection between the two of them were still new and initiated with the slight weight of uncertainty, so Ed blinked with surprise when she assuredly gripped his wrist.

"This was a great idea," she said in a hushed voice. "Thank you."

"Anytime." She wasn't letting go. Rather, she slowly let the upper half of her body drift closer and closer to his. Ed's eyes drifted from her eyes to her cheeks to her lips. He needed to make a split-second decision about the impending kiss.

Ah, what the hell, he boldly thought.

His lips met hers and he dared to thread his fingers through her hair. She didn't pull away, so he kissed her again and then a third time. When the moment of tenderness was over, Ed stroked her cheek with a knuckle, returned her smile, and said, "That was a great idea, too."

…..

In order to avoid potential embarrassment, Ed and Olivia made sure they Face Timed the kids while seated at their dinner table and with the shore as a background. It was a little difficult to hear with the waves crashing, so the volume was turned to its peak and Olivia hoped the patrons seated nearby weren't too annoyed. Sarah and Justin reported everyone was well-behaved and happy, and, to prove it, they handed the phone over to Noah.

"We're goin' to Max Brenner!" He announced gleefully, "So we put these babies in old clothes 'cause they get really messy there!"

Maggie and Wyatt were playing on the living room floor and Noah showed them the screen. They shrieked at their parents' smiling faces.

"HI MAMA!"

"HI DADA!"

Wyatt held up a plastic airplane and train-two parts of a set Sarah kept at her house for when the twins came over. "A'PANE! TANE! MAMA PANE!"

"Yes!" Olivia said, "Mommy and Daddy went on an airplane! We flew to Florida!"

"FEWTAFA!" Maggie shouted.

"You gonna eat some cake for dinner Maggie May?" Ed asked mischievously.

"CAKE! YUM! SAH CAKE!"

"Jussy cake!"

Maggie darted to the corner of the room and returned with a piece of strawberry cheesecake from her play kitchen set. She pretended to take a bite and repeated, "YUM!"

"Thanks, Dad," Sarah said, "Now she's going to expect cake for dinner."

"S'okay, Sare Bear," Noah said, "Small sister loves da mac and cheese there!"

"I think she had that in her ears the last time you went there," Justin said.

Sarah shook her head, "No, that was cake. Or, well, maybe a combination of things. Anyway, we'll be sure to clean up as well as we make a mess." She was interrupted by a thud and a crash and whirled around, "Oh, no, no, we're going out," Sarah pulled Wyatt away from the closet door. "He knows the art stuff is in there," she explained, "C'mon handsome, we'll draw after we eat."

"Well, we'll let you go," Olivia said. The kids seemed overly rambunctious and she felt a tiny bit bad that she and Ed were about to have a peaceful seaside meal while Sarah and Justin were about to have the opposite experience with their kids.

"Have a good night!" Sarah said. She showed no signs of distress. "We'll call you in the morning!"

"Okay!"

They all exchanged I love yous. Oliva hung up and emphatically dropped the phone into her purse. The waiter came over and asked how they liked the wine and if they wanted to order any appetizers.

"We're good right now," Ed told the young man who probably wasn't much older than twenty.

Both Ed and Olivia expected him to leave them alone for another few minutes, but the waiter lingered at the side of the table and pointedly looked at Olivia, obviously waiting to get her answer before he moved on.

"Yes," she said, "We're good. Thanks." She eyed the waiter with an appreciative expression as he walked away. "That was...refreshingly nice."

"I've never seen that before."

Olivia reached for one of his hands and shot him a teasing grin, "Not sure Ed Tucker loves that practice," she cooed.

"Ed Tucker," he leaned forward and smirked lovingly at her, "Loves the practice of respecting women, especially his wife."

"I love that about you," Olivia leaned over for a kiss, "Somehow you...you have that old school chivalry but it's not overbearing or offensive. I remember how I felt when I figured that out."

"How'd ya feel?"

"Similar to how I felt when I got Noah-stunned but so, so grateful. And happy."

"I still feel stunned from time to time," Ed admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"Me too. But I don't think that's a bad thing."

"No," Ed sat up, suddenly back to his assured and confident self. He stared out at the ocean for a few seconds before turning back to Olivia. "Exactly the opposite. It's one of the greatest things we have."

…..

#Tuckson

I'm going on vacation! Next update make take a couple weeks!