Ninety-nine.

Olivia kicked off her shoes and smiled sheepishly. Ed strolled into the foyer, greeted her with a gentle kiss on the cheek. "What's funny?" He asked as he took her coat and hung it on the rack. Ed prided himself on his gallantry and tried to stifle his smirk. There was little doubt in his mind that he was the only man who'd ever doted on Olivia like this. At first, she was taken aback, maybe a little startled at the chivalry, but now he could tell she expected and craved it.

"A night ago I was telling Fin to get some balance in his life," she tilted her head and removed her earrings, "And I'm the one who worked all night."

"You're missin' a sarge, and got one undercover." Ed pointed out. "And I'm here to help. There's your balance."

He stepped closer and kissed her again. Olivia sighed and melted into his chest. Ed felt her weight against him; it was heartwarming, to feel needed and wanted...to feel necessary. He forgot all about offering her a drink or asking whether or not she'd eaten. Olivia sighed again, but, this time, she exhaled into his neck and began kissing, then sucking at his skin. Ed rubbed her back. The red blouse she was wearing fit tightly and the material didn't seem as if it would stretch easily. Olivia's kisses were sending chills up and down his spine, but Ed was consumed with trying to figure out how in the hell to remove the blouse.

Soon they were fully engrossed in an intense, standing makeout session and Olivia slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Ed's hands drifted to her hips. Along the way he felt the blouse's side zipper. "There it is," he whispered.

"There what is?" Olivia asked breathlessly.

"Zipper."

Olivia chuckled, "Next time just ask."

Ed cocked his head, "Yeah?"

"Yes." Olivia noticed a hint of uncertainty in Ed's blue eyes. She traced the line on his face below his eye, "What's wrong?"

"Nothin', I, uh, was just thinkin' about...where we're headed."

A sly smile formed on Olivia's lips, "To bed?"

Ed grinned but remained serious and focused. "While you were gone, I was thinkin' about how normal this is all getting to be. Me, you, Noah, Lucy not battin' an eye when I show up instead of you, getting him from day care," he brushed her cheek with a knuckle, "Waking up next to you…"

"Ed, what are you trying to say?" Olivia's voice cracked. A minute ago she was anticipating a night of sex and cuddling with the man she was certain she loved and now he looked like he was panicking which meant she was, too.

Ed saw the undeserved inner turmoil and quickly clarified. "I just want you to know, ah, you can tell me to leave if you want. If you don't feel the same way, Liv, I don't want you to be in a situation you're tryin' to get out of. I-"

"I don't want out," Olivia replied, "And I want you here. With me. With us. I can't imagine ever telling you to leave." She tugged on his belt loops, pulling herself closer to him, but he still appeared unsure of himself. "Why is this coming up now?"

"I, uh, I'm too comfortable. Was worried I've started to take this for granted."

"I have a very hard time believing that."

Embarrassed, Ed ducked his head. When he lifted his eyes to meet hers, a jolt of electricity sizzled between them. Olivia's eyes grew wide and her jaw slackened. Ed reached for her hands and intertwined their fingers. He grinned. "You feel that?"

Olivia managed to choke out a yes.

"Liv, I-"

"Ed, stop. You're obsessing."

"I do tend to obsess."

"Yeah, you do."

They kissed again and gradually made their way to the bedroom. Olivia closed the door, careful not to slam it, and slowly removed her blouse. She tossed it to the floor and watched Ed try not to drool at the sight of her in a bra yet still wearing pants, badge, and Glock. Ed stepped closer and, one by one, removed the gun, handcuff case, and shield. He placed them on top of the bureau and slid his arms around her waist.

"I don't think we'll be needin' those anymore tonight."

"No, we don't."

They clumsily collapsed onto the mattress and laughed through more kisses until Olivia stopped suddenly and held Ed's face in her hands. "How could you think I wouldn't want this?" She sincerely asked.

"I guess maybe I wanted you to want it as much as I do."

"I want all of it Ed. I might fumble and not quite know what to do all the time, but...I promise you, I'm in."

"I believe you."

Ed's voice and ensuing kiss were so sincere, Olivia almost burst into tears. Instead, she kissed back with equal passion. They made love and spent the rest of the night curled together in the middle of the bed, sharing a pillow, a practice that would become a regular part of their lives.

…

While Olivia applied makeup and styled her hair in preparation for her shopping date wtih Caroline, Maggie and Wyatt played with the bathtub faucet and a few plastic dolls that belonged to various playsets they'd acquired in their two-and-a-half years. The twins splashed water on the floor and dumped out half of Olivia's favorite peppermint bubble bath, but she didn't care. They babbled cheerfully to one another and were having the time of their lives. The simplicity of it all was sweet and heartwarming.

"Are you getting the people really clean?" Olivia asked.

"Keen! Skub, skub!" Maggie applied the loofah sponge to one of the plastic people. "Duh'ey! All keen!"

Wyatt hurled one of the miniature animals into the water, "Doggie baff!"

Olivia watched through the mirror. She couldn't get over the perfection of her toddlers, clad in their Christmas tree pajamas and sporting messy brown locks playing together in harmony. Maggie had always been the clear leader. Wyatt typically fell in line behind her, but he wasn't a pushover. When he disagreed with how Maggie was doing something, he'd started to say, "No, Magg!" and would take over. Olivia imagined them growing up-Maggie a little bit impulsive and Wyatt tempering her as the voice of reason.

"Alright sweet twins," Ready to go now, Olivia pulled on a navy v-neck sweater over the white tank she was wearing. "Let's go find Daddy and get dressed. What are you going to do today?" She turned off the faucet and nudged the twins out of the bathroom. Wyatt sprinted ahead and tried to climb onto the bed, but the mattress was still too high for him to get up there without assistance.

"Juh!" He exclaimed, "Mukkey on da bed!"

"C'mon, little monkey," Ed called from the hall, "How 'bout we hit the gym?" He kissed Olivia on the cheek, "Unless you want us to wait 'til later?"

"No, no," Olivia said, "Go and maybe we'll meet you for a late lunch?"

"Sure," Ed hoisted Wyatt over his shoulder and called for Maggie. "Maggs! Where are ya?"

The question was met with silence.

"Maggie?" Olivia hurried back to the bedroom. She hadn't heard any crashes or the water turn back on, so she was more worried about a mess than Maggie's safety. When she saw her daughter, she doubled over in laughter. "MAGGIE! What are you doing?"

A shimmery mauve line ringed Maggie's mouth. She clutched another lipstick tube in one hand, clearly planning to add another color to the mix. Maggie looked up, smiling proudly, and generously offered some makeup to her mother. "Lippick, Mama?"

"No thank you, sweetheart," Olivia said, still laughing, "I already have mine on. How about we show Daddy and Wyatt how pretty you are?" Olivia took her hand and led her out into the living room. "Daddy," Olivia said, "Look at your gorgeous daughter!"

Ed smirked, "Whadja get into in there, Maggs?"

Maggie pointed to her mouth, "Lippick! Pretty!"

"You are so pretty, Maggs," Ed replied. He picked her up and kissed each of her cheeks, "Which is why you're not going out on a date until you're thirty-five."

"One, two, thir-FIVE!"

Ed laughed, "Nope. Thirty five doesn't come after two."

"One, two, THIRFIVE!"

Olivia grabbed her bag and zipped her parka, "I'll let you two hash that out while I'm gone," she said. She gave Maggie and Wyatt a kiss goodbye and waited for Ed to put Maggie down. As expected, he enveloped her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Bye," Olivia whispered.

"Have fun."

"Never a dull moment with Caroline."

"That's for sure. See ya later." Ed gave Olivia a wink and watched her leave the apartment. There was a spring in his wife's step which he attributed to her anticipating a few hours of alone time with the family matriarch. A part of Olivia's soul still stung from her rocky relationship with her own mother, and Ed liked to think time spent with Caroline filled a longstanding void in Olivia's life.

…

It was a bit of a hike from Brooklyn, but Sonny took Ed up on the offer to join him and the twins at the toddler gym. When he and Sofia arrived, Maggie and Wyatt had already disappeared into the maze of tunnels, slides, and padded climbing areas. Ed was happy to have Sonny's company, for the twins were mostly self-sufficient, at least in this particular area of the gym which was designated for kids aged up to three years. Olivia typically shadowed the kids, but Ed felt comfortable giving the twins some independence in this environment. There was only one way in and out, and the staff strictly enforced the capacity limit.

Sofia, who had only recently started confidently taking steps, stood between Sonny and Ed at first, unsure of where to start. When Wyatt rounded a corner in chase of a gigantic rubber ball, Ed called him over. "How 'bout you take Sofia to play, bud?" Ed gestured to one of the less intricate tunnels and noticed Maggie had made her way to the top of the structure and was preparing to hurtle down the slide. "Look at Maggs," he said to Sofia, "Wyatt'll take ya up there."

Wyatt took off to join his sister and Sofia followed. Eventually, she crawled up the steps and joined Maggie and Wyatt, but not before the twins had taken several turns on the slide.

"Sofia's almost useful," Sonny quipped. He followed Ed to a low wall and they took a seat, "I've never been to this place before. It's nice."

"We've been to a couple of 'em," Ed replied, "But this one's our favorite." He took a sip of his coffee, "Day off today?"

"Yeah, I've been too wrapped up in the job lately," Sonny replied, "Took a few vacation days to get reset, if that makes any sense."

"Sure does. It's easy to let the work get all-consuming."

"You got that way?"

"More often than I'd like to admit," Ed replied, "There were nights I'd pore over interviews, footage, recordings, lookin' for that one shred of evidence I could use to prove a cop was dirty," Ed gazed at the twins who were now wading through the ball pit as Sofia watched from the ledge. "Times the only sleep I got was at my desk, a few minutes at a time."

"Wow, Cap, I always thought IAB was mostly a nine-to-five thing."

"It can be. But it wasn't for me."

"I'm thinking more and more about applying to the DA's office," Sonny said, "But there's somethin' that keeps pulling me back. I think maybe, deep down, I think I owe somethin' to Liv to stay. Fin's gonna retire soon, Rollins is working her way up the ladder, Liv gave me a chance, you know?"

Ed nodded. He knew exactly how it felt to be fearful of letting Olivia down. "Owe the vics," he said, "And you can fight for them on either side."

"True."

"I get the dilemma," Ed said, "I loved bein' a cop. The adrenaline rush, and, as much as I hate to admit it, the power. I liked walkin' into a room, into a precinct and seein' people tense up. And I believed in what I was doin' until, well, a couple cases that got more nuanced, you realize not everything's black and white. Your question is, are you gonna believe in DA work as much as you believe in police work?"

"And I won't know that until I'm actually in the DA's office."

"Probably not."

"And then on the other side of things, Brooke and Sof, they're on their own so much, I'm not around as much as I'd like to be, but will that really change? Every ADA I've worked with has been on call almost as much as we have."

"You'd probably have more flexibility," Ed replied, "But those middle-of-the night calls, the seventy-two hour shifts, those would go away. You'd have your weekends for the most part. Holidays…"

"Yeah. I-"

A woman's high-pitched voice interrupted the conversation. "Is that Wyatt?" The voice belonged to a woman, maybe in her late thirties or early forties, wearing khakis, practical, low-heeled loafers, and a fleece pullover embroidered with the logo of the production company that had created the SVU-inspired series.

Ed jumped up and met her at the ball pit. "Hi," he said, "I'm Ed Tucker, Wyatt's Dad."

"Oh, hi," the woman vigorously shook his hand, "I'm Kennedy Cain," she said, "I write and occasionally direct for Five Productions," she said, "I've been on set with Wyatt a few times. He is such a sweetheart." She waved again to Wyatt, he grinned, and Kennedy cooed, "Hi there you handsome thing! And is that Maggie? Oh, my, we may need to get her on screen, too!"

Ed chuckled politely, "I dunno," he said, "Wyatt bein' on the show kinda took up by surprise."

"We needed a baby quick," Kennedy said, "And there he was! So, have you been to set? I've only seen Olivia there, but I'm not around all the time."

"No," Ed replied, "Liv's the one who takes him since she's consulting. We always make sure to watch, though."

"Well good," Kennedy looked around, "Well, I better find my nanny and my kid and get going. It was good meeting you Ed."

"Good meetin' you."

Ed returned to a smirking Sonny. "Well that wasn't obvious at all," he wisecracked.

"What wasn't?"

"She was flirting with you, Captain."

Baffled, Ed shook his head, "According to Sarah and now you, everyone's flirting with me."

Sonny held up his hands, "I can't speak to any other time, but her? She was definitely flirting, but, don't worry," Sonny nudged Ed in the ribs, "I'll keep that between us."

…..

Ed made his usual rounds of the apartment before turning in for the night. He made sure to take Maggie's phone and laptop, for she hadn't proven she could be trusted with the devices at night. Wyatt was sound asleep. Since birth, Ed and Olivia never had to beg him to go to bed or worry about him being distracted by electronics. He typically read a book before falling asleep, and it was common for Ed to find his youngest son conked out with the open book on his chest. Noah pored over his own laptop at the dining table which surprised Ed. Noah was studious, but it was Friday and he hadn't mentioned any major school projects due soon.

"Whatcha workin' on, bud?"

"Just reading some articles."

"Articles?"

Never one to have an easy time hiding his emotions, Noah fidgeted and grimaced. "We had a debate today in Social Studies."

"Bout what?"

"If violence is genetic."

Now it was Ed's turn to wince. Noah knew his biological father was deceased and knew he had a violent history. Ed and Olivia had managed to spare him Johnny D's name and his specific crimes. Now Ed worried the whole truth would have to be told sooner rather than later. Then again, Noah had the opportunity to ask before and he did not. Olivia speculated that maybe he had an innate sense that knowing would be more difficult than not knowing.

"It's my understanding most scientists worth anything say it's not."

"That's what I'm finding, too."

"You know," Ed sat down across from Noah and grinned appreciatively when Noah closed the laptop. "Tabula Rasa always made the most sense to me."

"Tabula Rasa?"

"Yeah. It's the theory that everyone is born with a blank slate. That you aren't born with any innate knowledge or behavior, that a child grows up to be whoever he or she is based on experience and how they're raised."

"Do you really think that's true?"

"I think it's all very complicated," Ed replied, "But I also have a hard time believin' some people are doomed from the start."

"Then," Noah bit his lip, "If that's true, I should've been doomed."

His conclusion stung Ed. "That's the number one reason I don't believe it, bud," Ed said after he swallowed hard. "You had a lot workin' against you when you were born, but it ended up not mattering because your mom got you. And you're a fantastic young man because of that."

"And because of you," Noah said, looking his Dad square in the eyes.

"Yeah," Ed got up, rounded the table, and kissed Noah on top of the head. "You want to talk to your mother?"

"Nah," Noah said, "She's probably asleep anyway."

"She'll wake up to talk to you."

"It's okay," Noah said.

"Alright."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, bud?"

"You want to watch Sean Phillips?"

Ed grinned and nodded. Phillips was the new king of late night variety television. "Sure. Lemme go turn the lights off in the bedroom and I'll be right out."

Noah smiled knowingly. When his mother went to bed first, his dad always made sure to go in and kiss her goodnight, even if he'd done so only seconds before. Noah grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and a previously microwaved bag of popcorn and took his usual spot on the sofa. During his few minutes alone, he decided he wasn't bothered by what was said in class earlier that day. His Dad was right. Noah was one hundred percent likely to live a life that closely emulated the parents who raised him. He flipped the channels to Sean Phillips, and Ed showed up just as he comedian began his monologue.

"Mom asleep?"

"Sound asleep." Ed shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth. He wanted to tell Noah finding Olivia sound asleep used to be a rare occurrence, but he knew his son had had enough of the heavy talk for one night.

…

By noon, Caroline and Olivia had hit a combination of locally owned shops and retail department stores and the back of the Tuckers' SUV was filled with shopping bags. Caroline profusely thanked Olivia for humoring her and graciously driving around the north suburbs so Caroline could mine all her favorite stores for gifts. Olivia admired how careful Caroline was in selecting presents, even for her children who now, in their fifties and sixties, were particularly difficult to shop for because, as Caroline admitted, "if they want something, they buy it."

It was more fun and easier to shop for the little ones. Wyatt, Maggie, Noah, and Sofia all would receive handcrafted wooden sets of cars, people with bendable arms and legs, and, of course, trains. Caroline added a doll each for Maggie and Sofia, a stuffed tiger for Wyatt, and a parrot for Noah purchased simply because it was blue and green. There were other items-sweaters, pajamas, and slippers-but Caroline's eyes lit up when she selected the toys.

"I think I have everyone all set," Caroline said. She slammed the back passenger door and climbed in the front seat. "Now dearie, I know we're having lunch a little later but how about a cocktail?"

Olivia grinned, "Sure."

Caroline wiggled her fingers in front of her face, "Let's go to Frankie's."

The name was familiar to Olivia. Ed had taken her there once or twice early on in their relationship. It was a typical, long standing neighborhood bar. Its wood-paneled walls were covered with beer-brand mirrors, old street signs, and decades-old framed newspaper clippings. Rips in the leather of the bucket chairs were repaired by duct tape. Everything in the place, except for new flat screens, seemed dated enough to be museum-worthy.

"Now, you're sure Maggie won't be upset that her doll's dress is yellow?" Caroline asked after they'd chosen spots at the bar and ordered. She ran her long, spindly fingers through her hair then tapped her nails impatiently on the lacquered barrail.

"I'm sure," Olivia said, "The only reason she has so much pink in her world is, well, because Sarah buys pink and, girl things, tend to be pink or purple. Even now."

"I'm glad you and Eddie let it happen that way," Caroline said, "Everyone's getting too politically correct out there."

"Our three usually play all together," Olivia said, "Even though they have things of their own. Maggie plays with the trains just as much as she plays with her kitchen set or her dolls. And Wyatt loves the kitchen set, even though his favorite thing to do is see how many things he can fit inside the oven."

"Little darlings," Caroline mumbled while taking a sip of her gin and tonic and shouting to the burly, bearded bartender, "This is good, Charlie! After thirty years you finally figured out how to mix a drink!"

Olivia laughed. Caroline and Charlie bantered for another couple of minutes until a regular at the other end of the bar needed a refill and muttered something about the Jets being to blame for him spending too much money on alcohol.

"Now I'm still going to need some more wrapping paper," Caroline said, "But I'll have Sarah order that for me."

"We can order it," Olivia pulled out her phone and opened the Amazon app, "Color? Style?"

"Santas, candy canes, snowmen," Caroline replied, "It's all for the kids. I have other paper but it's not very fun. And I know my Wyatt loves snowmen."

"He does," Olivia pictured her youngest son and grinned, "Every time I put them in snowmen pajamas he spends half the night talking about them. I hope it snows soon so we can make one."

"Precious babies," Caroline murmured. She put her hand on Olivia's knee and lowered her voice, "You know, a few years ago? Before Eddie brought you to meet me? I was ready to go."

Olivia swallowed hard and raised her eyebrows. Even though she knew what Caroline meant, she croaked, "Go?"

"Yes," Caroline said. "Go. Go be with my husband and my son. I was ready. I was ready to die."

The blood drained from Olivia's face. "Caroline," she half-whispered, "I, um, it's-"

"-No, no," she patted Olivia's leg, "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I wanted you to know how much life you and Noah and now Maggie and Wyatt have given me. I know my Eddie got a second wind when you let him take you out and I know I did too. Now I don't plan on ever dying." Caroline grinned slyly, finished off her cocktail, and ordered another.

Stunned, Olivia waited a minute or so before speaking. "Noah has a grandmother," she finally said, "A grandmother like I always imagined a grandmother was supposed to be. And I didn't think I'd ever be able to give him that, but it happened. So, I suppose, me letting Ed take me out was one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Caroline lifted her glass, "Amen."

Olivia laughed softly and Caroline looked at her inquisitively. "Just thinking about Ed dropping me off after our first actual date and calling his mother," she explained.

"He did."

"What?"

"He did," Caroline said again, "Now, I don't know which time it was, but I do remember him giving me a call one night, I was watching the news and all of a sudden the phone rings-nobody calls me that late unless someone's dead-and it's Eddie calling just to say hi. And we get to talking and then I come to find out there might be this wonderful woman and her son coming to Sunday dinner."

"Then that was definitely not the first date," Olivia smiled and recalled the evening. It wasn't long after she met Sarah and Brooke for the first time, and it was one of the first times they spent an entire meal and walk home talking about topics other than police work. Olivia remembered how at ease they'd been with each other and how nice it had been to stroll home with her arm looped through his. "But it was a perfect night," she added.

Though the subject briefly took on a less morbid tone, Caroline again grew serious. "I have to go to Ireland at least one more time," she said, "With Noah. I promised him I'd take him."

"We can make that happen," Olivia said, "June? After he's out of school?"

"That would be the perfect time to go."

"We'll start planning. Maybe we'll surprise Noah...his present for finishing first grade."

"Ha!" Caroline erupted into her raspy, throaty laughter that always made Olivia wonder if she'd made good on her promise to permanently stop smoking. "You might be setting the bar a little too high, dearie. What on earth will the second grade present be? Third Grade? And don't forget you have those babies!"

"Very good point."

"You and Eddie will burn through the college funds by middle school!"

Olivia and Caroline laughed together for a few minutes. Charlie returned and asked what all the ruckus was about.

"Spoiling children with trips around the world," Caroline said.

"Sounds expensive."

"It is," Caroline retorted. She slid her empty glass across the bar. "So how about this last round is on the house?"

Charlie grinned and shook his head in a way that suggested this wasn't the first time Caroline had charmed a complimentary drink out of him. He shook up two more cocktails and placed them in front of his customers. Caroline found a photograph of the three Tuckers plus Sofia and showed it to Charlie.

"Wouldn't you spoil these precious angels?" She asked.

Charlie was drying glasses, but he took a look and winked at the two of them. "Every day of my life," he said, "Cheers."

…..

#Tuckson