Ninety.

As the train rumbled south, Sarah and Noah became more crammed together among evening commuters, but Noah's questions about their destination didn't abate. Sarah wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders and answered evasively. Her bag was sandwiched between them and Noah played with its leather tassels as he wondered aloud where they were going. It was the day before his birthday and the final day of school before Thanksgiving break. Sarah picked him up, but, instead of heading straight to their 'venture, they stopped at the Tucker apartment where she explained he had to change clothes.

"We're going to have a special dinner today, Noey," she said, "Because turning seven is one of life's most important milestones."

Needing no further reasoning, Noah nodded and dutifully followed Olivia into his bedroom. She changed him into the navy suit he'd worn on the campaign trail with Barba, but this time paired it with a fancier, blue and green paisley tie. Had Sarah been traveling with another person, she would have taken a cab or an Uber, but Noah always insisted on riding the subway. The sharply-dressed duo settled in on the A Train. When Sarah good-naturedly complained, Noah shrugged and pointed out they were on an express line.

With his birthday and five vacation days on the horizon, Noah was in a good mood and even chattier than usual. He boasted about having no concerns about blowing out seven candles and excitedly brainstormed all the card and board games they'd play at Caroline's after the remnants of the holiday feast were cleared. As they became more crammed together among the rush hour commuters, Noah noticed an elderly woman having trouble handling her shopping bags and holding onto the railing. Noah stood up, tapped her arm, and offered his seat before hoisting himself onto Sarah's lap.

"That was so nice, Noey," Sarah whispered to him.

"Mommy always say to let people sit," he whispered back, craning his neck at an awkward angle. "And she looks like Gramma Careline!"

Age-wise, the woman was probably close to Caroline, but the resemblance ended there. Caroline was wiry-every one of her physical features, from her spiky hair to pointy toes was angular and sharp. The woman now sitting to Sarah's left was fleshy and round.

When the train finally stopped at the Fulton Street station, Noah and Sarah poured out of the car with most of its passengers. Sarah took his hand and they criss-crossed the crowd, headed for the exit that would take them out to streets east of Broadway. When Noah recognized where they were, he grinned. "We're goin' to World Trade."

"Nope."

Brow furrowed, Noah ventured another guess, "Goin' on da boat?" He wasn't as confident with this prediction. The sun was setting and the forty-degree temperatures weren't exactly ideal for a ride on the river.

"Nope."

"Are we going to your work?" Even though Noah did enjoy visiting Sarah's office, a few hours as her assistant didn't exactly seem like an appropriate birthday present. Besides, she'd mentioned food.

"Nope."

Sarah led Noah down narrow Liberty Street. The Federal Reserve building and a newer high rise loomed over them. They turned into a nondescript entrance and took the elevator to the Sixtieth Floor. When they were led to their table at Manhatta, Noah gasped.

"Whoa!"

"Isn't it awesome?"

Noah turned around in circles. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered an exclusive, expansive view of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Careful not to touch the glass, Noah peered into the cityscape. "Lotsa old buildings and new ones," Noah murmured to himself before turning to Sarah and pointing at a crane, "It looks scary to work up there!" He said.

"No kidding! No way I'd get up there!"

"You can even see all day way to Chrysler," Noah pointed in the direction of the skyscraper.

Sarah grinned, "Do you know all the buildings in Manhattan?"

"Only da tall ones."

"You know what, let's get a picture. This lighting's really good right now." Sarah waved the host back over and she gamely snapped several photos. "They're perfect," Sarah said, "We are the most photogenic couple in the universe."

The menu briefly stymied Noah. The restaurant served French-inspired food, and it would have been laughable to ask for a kid's menu. Sarah had been to the restaurant once before and, knowing it would be a great spot to take Noah, made sure kids were allowed. He slowly pronounced dishes like "foie gras" and "smoked trout mousse." Sarah assured him that the food was excellent, even if it was difficult to pronounce. Never one to turn down an opportunity to try new things, Noah, with Sarah's help, selected a dish for each of the three courses.

They sipped impeccably-garnished drinks and watched the skyline illuminate as darkness fell. Noah swung his feet as he talked, revealing navy socks printed with geometric patterns. Sarah wondered what her father thought of the footwear. Noah's shoes were more in line with Ed's taste-the camel-colored wingtips were classic, yet stylish and sleek.

"So, the big seven," Sarah said, tucking a section of her wavy blonde hair behind her ear, "This is a very important age, Noey, you know that, right?"

"It is?"

"Yes. At seven adults start thinking of you more as a big kid rather than a little kid. It's something about the way the number looks," Sarah drew a seven in the air, "It's a little more grown-up looking than the six."

Noah agreed. "S'okay," he said, "Big kids get to do a lotta stuff that little kids don't get to do. Like, in second grade, we get to go to da library by ourselves and not with da teacher! And I think...in soccer we play on da big field and if I play baseball it's with a pitcher and not the tee."

"A lot of changes coming up," Sarah said.

The restaurant's tables were filling with patrons and Noah peered around the dining room. The fact he and Sarah were seated at one of the best tables in the house was not lost on him. "Dis a really nice place, Sare Bear," he said, looking at her with the utmost sincerity, "Thank you for bringin' me here."

"You are very welcome. I'm glad you still want to hang out with your old Sare Bear," she said facetiously. "Usually big kids don't like to be around adults."

"You're not a 'dult," Noah said, scrunching his nose, confused by his own response, "Well, you are, but you're like a kid too!"

Sarah giggled. "I suppose I am."

"Sare Bear?"

"Hmm?"

"I like it when it's jus' us."

Sarah smiled at her young companion and started to feel slightly guilty about telling him he was no longer going to be considered a little kid. Despite his adult-looking clothes, Noah's babyface was innocent and pure and radiated happiness that could only come from a child. "I like it too, Noey. I love those babies and everyone else, but it's special when it's just the two of us. We," Sarah gestured to Noah and then herself, "We get each other."

"We sure do!"

Sarah laughed. Not many people would "get" her spending over two-hundred dollars on a meal at a place that was very far away from being kid-friendly for her almost-seven-year-old brother. But she didn't care. And she loved that Noah, although he acknowledged this particular outing was extra-special, had come to expect being treated as Sarah's equal.

Their first courses arrived, and Noah hesitantly picked up his fork. The artistic presentation made it seem criminal to actually touch the food. Sarah sliced a piece of foie gras and put it on one of the accompanying crostini wedges. "Here. This is a delicacy. Super good."

Noah took a bite, chewed, and briefly closed his eyes. "Dis reaalllly good," he murmured with his mouth still full.

"Told ya," Sarah popped a piece into her mouth and added, "When it comes to food and drink, gotta trust your Sare Bear."

"Can I have another piece?" Noah asked.

"Of course, Noey Boey. You can have anything you want."

….

Olivia shuddered a bit as she and Ed left the crowded bar and it wasn't from the cold. For two people who were intent on keeping their relationship under wraps, lately they'd been taking a lot of risks. Part of the reason for kicking off the restraints was that Olivia was simply tired. Her job was stressful, it had been a trying start to the year, to say the least, and she wanted Ed in her life. She craved his stability and his dry sense of humor. In his presence, she could relax and vent. Or, if she wasn't in a talking mood, Ed had no problem sitting with her on the couch and absent-mindedly flipping through television channels while Noah played on the floor. On nights like tonight, when all she wanted was a good meal and a drink, Ed was happy to be at her side. They'd eaten at an upscale midtown bistro and stopped at the bar for a nightcap. Olivia loved how easily Ed fit in at both places, but he looked most at home in his precious dives. There was something about how he looked in the dim, yellowish light that made his rugged features even more attractive. The problem was, a lot of those dives were also favored by current and former cops, so the two of them were careful about displays of affection in those places.

"I cannot believe Mullen recognized me," she griped, "That was three, maybe four years ago."

Who wouldn't recognize or remember her? Ed immediately thought. However, he did recall the conversation with Mullen from years ago and knew he had to tell Olivia. He cleared his throat. "Uh, well, I believe it," he said.

Olivia stopped in her tracks and her eyes shot wide open. They had been cutting through a small park on their way to her building and other pedestrians sidestepped them. A few raised their eyebrows, sensing the tension.

"Why?" She asked, using a decidedly accusatory tone.

Ed kept his cool. He grabbed her hands and pulled her toward him. "That time? A few years ago? Coincidentally enough...I bumped into him that night."

"And?"

"And other than taking all the credit for the peaceful resolution, he also said he was gonna give you a call."

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed softly. Ed breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh really?" She asked in a sing-songy voice.

"Yeah."

"Well, he never called."

"Glad he didn't."

Olivia moved closer to him and kissed his lips. Wisps of brown hair flew into her face and Ed's, but neither of them moved to slap them away. Their eyes remained fixed on each other and Ed tightened his grip on her fingers. He felt his face getting hot. In a way, he also felt busted, as if he should have told Olivia about the encounter earlier.

"I don't think I would have gone anywhere with him," Olivia said softly.

"Well, I think you were, uh, with someone at that time anyway."

"Wrong."

"Cassidy?"

"No, he was gone. That was over."

"Haden."

"Not yet...we were...circling each other, but, as you know, that also ended...as quickly as it began."

Breaking eye contact, Ed uncomfortably glanced around and fidgeted.

Olivia jerked his arms a bit and asked, "What?"

"I, uh, I don't wanna be that story," Ed replied, clearly struggling for words, "I don't wanna have you tell some other guy a year from now about me and use the word over."

The kiss took Ed by surprise and he stumbled backward, hit the small curb with his heel, and stumbled more. The clumsy start didn't faze the couple and they stood in the half-frozen, dead grass making out like teenagers getting in one last romantic rendezvous before curfew.

At a pause, Ed tugged on her thick coat sleeves and smirked. "You wanna continue this at your place?"

"Yes." Olivia looped her arm through Ed's and they continued their walk home at a brisk pace. She leaned into him and he kissed her head whenever they had to stop at an intersection. "Ed?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you want to kiss me in the bar tonight? In front of Mullen?"

"Yes."

"Next time," Olivia smiled slyly, "I want you to."

….

Ed wheeled the twins into the Benson Center and nodded to the young woman staffing the reception desk. Her face was familiar, but Ed couldn't remember her name so he breezed by hoping the silent greeting wasn't rude. Usually she cooed at the twins, but Maggie and Wyatt were both sound asleep. When Olivia saw him, she broke into a huge smile, got up, and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Hi there," she said before bending over and inspecting the twins. Their heads were slumped at similar angles. Maggie's mouth twitched and Wyatt sucked on his fist. They wore fleece jackets and beanies and their cheeks were pink. "So precious," she murmured.

Ed took a seat on the sofa and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Busy today?"

"Not really," Olivia said, "I was just following up with a few people over the phone and reading some research on cognitive processing therapy."

"That's stood the test of time," Ed replied.

"It's still apparently the most effective treatment for PTSD," Olivia said, "But it's not working well for two of our clients. I'm also talking to a few different therapists who use other methods, but," Olivia bit her lip, "I'm so worried about one particular woman...she has two kids, history of drug use...she's not doing great."

"EMDR?"

Olivia smiled, sat down next to him, and kissed his cheek, "That's on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting. You want to sit in?"

"No. I'll leave that to the experts." Ed kissed her on the lips and grinned, "I love comin' into your office and being able to do that."

"I think you kissed me once or twice in the old office."

"Did I?"

"Trust me, it happened," Olivia patted his leg above the knee and gazed into his eyes, "Did you have a good day?"

"Yep. Dug for fossils at the museum, got the rest of the decorations for Noah's party, ate pizza, and now we're taking a late nap. You hear from Sarah?"

"Yes, she sent me a few pictures. That place looks amazing."

"I'll take you there sometime. We haven't had a date in a while, Lieutenant." He saw clouds form in Olivia's eyes and quickly added, "Hey, I didn't mean that in a bad way, Liv. I meant...I want to take ya out soon, just the two of us."

"I haven't been the most available retired wife in the world."

"We knew it wasn't going to be the traditional retirement."

"I know," Olivia reached for his hand and kissed his fingers, "And I want you to know, Ed, how much I appreciate you giving me this space, this latitude. It's...if I were you, I'm not sure I'd handle it well."

Ed moved closer to her, "I am a little selfish with ya," he admitted, "But this makes you happy. This type of work'll always be part of your life, part of you. So, it's part of me, too. If that makes sense?"

"It does," Olivia replied, "But you'll tell me if it gets to be too much?"

"I promise I'll tell you."

"I love you, Ed."

"I love you," he smirked and played with a few strands of her hair, "You about ready to get outta here? Dinner?"

"How about we order in? Watch a movie? I'm ready to curl up on the couch and relax."

The plan sounded great to Ed. He stood up and tried to rouse Maggie and Wyatt and winked when Olivia let out an empathetic sigh. "They're gonna be up all night," he remarked, "Can't have that."

….

In the days between receiving his cap and gown and graduation day, the gown's polyester fabric had been ironed five times. Ed considered taking it to the dry cleaner, but Noah insisted it would be fine after one more press and a week hanging in the closet. The night before the ceremony, he tried on everything-stole, cords, and all-and stared at himself in the mirror while Maggie and Wyatt looked on.

"You nervous about your speech?" Maggie asked. She sat on the floor and hugged her knees. She'd gone with Olivia for a mani pedi that afternoon and her toes and nails were painted a shimmery lavender shade. White spots where scabs had been dotted the sides of her knees. Spring softball was already taking its toll on her body.

Noah grinned. He'd been giving speeches since he was in preschool. "Nope," he said, "But you're probably gonna be asleep by the time it's my turn. I saw the program today. There's like ten things before me."

Wyatt was more optimistic, "There were a lot of things on our program," he said of their recent promotion ceremony, "But it went fast."

"True," Noah said.

"Tell us what you're gonna say!" Maggie insisted, "We can be your audience. You have to practice!"

"I've already practiced a bunch. At school. The speech is a surprise. The only one who's heard it is Mr. Abadi. But I think a few other people approved it."

"Mom's gonna cry," Wyatt said under his breath, as if he were afraid of Olivia overhearing him and becoming prematurely upset.

"She always cries," Maggie said, "That's her EmOH!"

Noah laughed and started carefully removing the regalia piece by piece.

"I'm gonna have all those ropes and stuff," Maggie boasted, "Probably I'll have more than you!"

"I think he has all of 'em," Wyatt said.

"Then I'll have all of 'em."

"I don't have all of them," Noah unzipped the gown and draped it over the hanger. He untucked and unbuttoned his shirt and peered at his siblings in the mirror, "A little privacy please?"

Maggie and Wyatt had started brainstorming all of the ways one could earn the honor cords and became so absorbed in the conversation that they hadn't realized Noah was changing out of his school clothes.

"Oops! Sorry!" Maggie said. "C'mon Wyatt let's go eat something I'm STARVING!"

They skipped out of the room in search of food, leaving Noah to himself. Before he tugged on one of his favorite t-shirts, his necklace caught a ray of sunlight just right and flashed in the mirror. Noah smiled, rolled the pendant between his fingers, and thought about how much he hoped the spiritual people were right-that there was a heaven from where loved ones could observe the living because he hoped and wished his Grandma Caroline could see him. He closed his eyes and pictured her face, crinkled with old age, eyes squinted and jaw held high in a proud smile. It had been almost a decade since she passed away, but Noah missed her terribly, especially in times of celebration. One of the reasons why he'd wanted to give the speech so badly was to mention her, and he was thrilled to have the opportunity to honor his Grandmother in that way.

If only, he thought to himself, she'd be able to somehow hear his words.

…

On the morning of Noah's birthday he woke up early and wandered,bleary-eyed, into the living room and immediately gasped. The night before Ed and Olivia had filled the room with green and blue balloons and a shimmery sign reading Happy 7th Birthday, Noah! He covered his mouth with his hands, giggled, and skipped around until he came to a pile of wrapped presents topped with his name written in his mother's familiar script.

"Happy Birthday, sweet boy," Olivia said softly so she didn't scare him. Knowing he'd wake up early, she made sure to set her alarm. Noah ran into her arms and she turned in circles as she hugged and kissed him. "I love you so much, mister seven-year-old."

Noah giggled again, "And you got me balloons! And a sign!"

"We did. Do you like the colors?"

"Uh-huh! Green and blue! My fav'rite!"

Yawning, Ed shuffled into the room and collected both his wife and son in his arms, "Good morning and Happy Birthday, bud!" He held the two of them firmly, appreciating the moment, and thinking about how Noah was about the twins' age when he first became a regular in their lives. "What's the first thing you want to do?"

"Is it gonna rain?" Noah asked.

"Nope."

"Then I wanna go play in da park! We c'play football or soccer or maybe both. Or the frisbee!"

"Done," Ed replied.

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"C'we make choc'lit chip waffles?"

"Of course we can."

After breakfast and the park, Noah and the twins relaxed in the bean bags and watched a few shows. The three of them ended up dozing off and woke up an hour before guests were supposed to arrive. Ed ran out to get the cake, and, before he got home, Brooke and Sonny showed up with Sofia and Caroline.

"We're a little early," Brooke said, "Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Olivia said. She ushered everyone in and hung their coats.

Brooke plopped Sofia on the floor and she crawled over to Maggie and Wyatt. Sonny produced more presents from a large shopping bag and Brooke and Caroline hugged the birthday boy. When Ed returned with the cake he paused in the foyer so Noah could be shielded. They wanted its design to be a surprise until the last minute.

"Noah, why don't you come with me?" Caroline said, plucking a small rectangular gift from her purse, "I have something special I want you to open before everything else."

"Kay," Noah said. He led her by the hand to his bedroom. "What's da present?" He cocked his head and examined the box.

Caroline handed it over. "Happy birthday, honey."

Noah tore away the paper. The box's hinge creaked as he pried it open. "Wow," he said, "It's a...it's a-"

"-It's St. Brigid's cross," Caroline said, "I bought it a very long time ago and I decided you should have it," Caroline helped Noah remove it and carefully clasped the bead chain around his neck. "Anyone who wears it," she added, "Will be safe and happy forever."

Noah looked up at Caroline, smiled, and walked over to his mirror. He held the intricately woven small, offset silver cross between his thumb and forefinger. Caroline put her hands on his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. "I love you Noah," she said in her raspy voice, "You bring your Grandma so much joy."

Her voice wavered and Noah turned around. "You okay, Gramma?"

"Yes," Caroline replied in a whisper, "Give Gramma a hug and let's go celebrate. I think your Daddy got a double chocolate cake."

"Double chocolate?"

"Yes, sir."

"And didja bring da Irish bread and cookies?"

"Oh," Caroline's eyes shot wide open, "I forgot…"

"Gram-MA!"

"Of course I brought bread and cookies. We can't have a party without them!"

"And we have your gin," Noah said proudly. "It's in da high cab'net over da sink."

Caroline cringed but she mussed Noah's hair and put her arm around his shoulders. "You pay attention to every detail, don't you, honey?"

"Yep!"

"Well don't go back to first grade and tell everyone your Grandma Caroline likes gin."

"I won't," Noah said, "I jus' tell 'em you like Ireland."

"Good."

"Don't forget we gotta go there."

"I won't."

…

#Tuckson