124.

During the flight to Orlando, Ed wrote annotations in the margins of old notes and statements he had emailed to him from IAB. Olivia paged through a magazine but hardly read any of the words. When she glanced at Ed, her heart filled with sadness. He was deep in concentration, tense, and his writing made noticeable indentations on the pages. Two days earlier, at Noah's basketball game, at lunch afterward, and the rest of the afternoon, Ed behaved normally, but when Rollins called him and asked him to provide her with specific information about Rachel's allegations and IAB's findings, the gloom and self-doubt returned. While Olivia packed, made travel arrangements, and collected extra snuggles from her children, Ed worked on procuring the documents he needed to prepare useful information. In the process, he confronted the fact that he'd investigated Gary almost entirely on his own, a detail that Rollins and others would surely find incriminating. When he brought this up with Olivia, all she could do was hug him and offer reassurance that she was, no matter what, on his side, for he was right and it would have been futile and a little insulting to try and mitigate his point. They boarded the flight with heavy hearts; this was the first trip they'd taken together for a reason other than pure pleasure. It was one of the factors in them deciding to leave the kids at home. The other was that Justin insisted he could work from the apartment and in the evenings when Sarah was home. Noah slyly suggested he could trade school for Sarah's office while his parents were away, but his plan was quickly though politely nixed.

If it wasn't causing him so much personal torment, Olivia would have secretly welcomed Ed temporarily returning to IAB mode because it distracted her from Brian's death. She knew she would have to eventually grapple with a web of emotions, but she hoped this could happen in Florida, away from her children and from their home. When the pilot announced the aircraft was beginning its descent, the anxious burning in Olivia's chest increased. It was agony to acknowledge she dreaded the next couple of days. In the morning she was meeting Brian's mother for breakfast. The funeral was the next day. It was possible that Mrs. Cassidy would ask her to help make the arrangements for the New York services, and Olivia would have to agree. She sighed at the thought and it was enough to cause Ed to stop writing and hold her hand.

"You okay?"

Olivia put her head on his shoulder and held his arm. "I'm okay as long as you're here with me."

Ed kissed her head, "Always." He shoved the papers and the pen into the seatback pocket so he could give her his full attention. Hearing Olivia admit she needed him, even in an implied manner, would never stop taking him by surprise. It was the pinnacle of their shared trust, for she revealed this to Ed only after they'd first made love and after they first exchanged I love yous.

The plane angled toward the ground and turbulence increased. Olivia's grip tightened, not out of landing jitters but because, in a matter of minutes, they would be on the ground and forced to face reality.

"The rental car place had a Ford Mustang convertible available," Olivia said, lightening the mood, "But I reserved a regular sedan."

Ed chuckled, "Probably not the best optics for the circumstances."

"Probably not."

"But the hotel on the ocean'll be nice," he said.

"I made sure to get one with a balcony."

"Great work, Olivia Benson Tucker," Ed kissed her again.

"I love you, Ed."

"I love you."

….

Ed had never picked Olivia up in his vehicle before, so she raised her eyebrows when she saw his SUV double parked on her block. Then again, they had only been out on official dinner dates a few times, so he hadn't established any type of predictable routine other than he enjoyed nightcaps at divey, decades-old bars. Ed opened the passenger door for her, closed it, and hustled over to his side. "Don't mind a little ride, do ya?" He asked, yanking the gear shift into drive.

"Not at all, but, where are we going? Am I dressed okay?"

"You look great," Ed replied, "And we're goin...somewhere off the beaten path."

Remembering that part of their last in-person conversation, Olivia grinned. "Excellent. And, how far off the path are we going?"

"Staten Island," Ed replied.

"Wow...we could stop by and say hello to Carisi's mom."

"Mind savin' that for next time?"

Olivia laughed, "Right...let's not do that."

Forty minutes later, Ed valet parked the car at Blue, a waterfront restaurant on the north side of the borough. The weather was perfect and they were seated at a table under a pergola. Warmed by the early evening sun, Olivia removed her sweater and draped it on the back of her chair. Ed's jaw dropped at the smooth skin of her arms, her hair falling in waves around her face, and the peace that surrounded her as she gazed at a passing tugboat.

"This is a great spot, Tucker," she murmured without taking her eyes off the water. "Been here before?"

"Yes," he said, "Arrested someone here."

Olivia turned back to him, "Stop it."

"I'm serious," he said, "Roman Franco from narcotics was sitting-" Ed twisted around in his chair and pointed across the small lawn to the other side of the outdoor dining area, "-right over there with his wife, brother, and sister-in-law."

"Too bad for them."

"Ah," Ed shrugged, "They'd already eaten. Only missed dessert."

"So kind of you."

"Yeah, well, in the middle of the whole thing I thought to myself that it'd be a nice place to come back to one day," he paused and made sure her eyes were on his, "With, uh, more interesting company of course."

"Or at least company you weren't going to arrest?" Olivia laughed at her error, "Ooo..."

Ed sat back in his chair and cocked his head, "Nice we can laugh about that now, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Their drinks arrived and Olivia raised her glass, "To laughing...together."

"To laughing together," Ed repeated, "Cheers."

"Cheers." Olivia's eyes drifted to the menu, "I'm guessing you didn't get a chance to order anything while you were here last?"

"Nope. But they're famous for their baked clams. Wanna try those first?"

"Sure, but," Olivia swirled the wine around in her glass, "Let's not be in a rush."

"Yeah, sure, I didn't mean, uh, I didn't mean to rush but didn't know how long you wanted to be away, on your weekend off and all."

Olivia reached for his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "I really appreciate you being so considerate...of time...I do, and now, I want to enjoy the time here, with you."

Ed nearly choked. "Okay."

Olivia saw that her response rattled him in a good way. She cocked an eyebrow and took another sip of the wine. "But I really am looking forward to trying those clams," she intoned. A gentle breeze sent a few wisps of hair into her face and she tossed them away with a flick of her neck. It was an impromptu, sexy move, and Ed was clearly blushing. She anticipated a night of flirty banter and smiled. Ed smirked. It had only been a few months since they'd known one another as something other than adversaries, but she was sure she'd never seen him happier.

…

Sarah, Justin, and Pearl moved into the Tucker apartment for the three days Ed and Olivia were away, so the kids' routine didn't change much. Sarah took Noah to school in the mornings, Justin hung out with the twins during the day and picked up Noah in the afternoons. When Sarah returned, she was greeted with a chorus of enthusiastic "HI SARE BEARS!" and also with the aroma of whatever Justin had started cooking for dinner. He was an excellent chef and when Ed and Olivia called to check in on the first night, they joked that the kids might go on a hunger strike when Ed returned to head the kitchen.

On their second full day together, an unexpected addition to the apartment made Justin's daytime routine slightly more chaotic. Brooke called Sarah early in the morning and begged her to take Sofia for the day. Sonny was in the middle of a trial and she was feverish and achy. "It's the flu," she moaned, "I thought when Sonny had it and I didn't get it we were in the clear." Sarah used the SUV to go and get Sofia. She promised Justin she'd do her best to leave the office early.

"No problem," Justin had replied with his characteristic, casual grin. "I got it." By the afternoon, though, Justin was worried. He had paid cursory attention to a new, mysterious virus that was spreading quickly through Asia and Europe and had recently been detected in a handful of people in the northwestern United States. It seemed to be concentrated among elderly populations and the media had been downplaying its severity, but Justin was troubled. He thought about the city's population density and its high rate of people traveling in and out via airports and train stations-it didn't take a high level of medical expertise to draw the conclusion that the virus had permeated through the entire country and nobody was paying attention.

"Jussy!" Maggie ran over to him with a broken crayon, "Jussy fixit!"

"Uh oh," Justin said, "I dunno if I can fix it-" he eyed Maggie's little toddler hands and briefly panicked. He had taken the kids to the park and to shops. Had they picked up something? Was the apartment now a petri dish of infectious disease?

"Hey, guys, let's go play bubbles."

The twins' eyes brightened. Justin grabbed Sofia and they went into the bathroom where he filled the two sinks with water and liquid soap. Justin scrubbed each set of hands and hovered over them as they played. The vanity was covered in suds and the bath mat was soaked, but the impromptu session eased Justin's nerves. Afterward, he set them up on the couch with snacks and a movie, found cleaning supplies, and got to work sanitizing the entire apartment. On the way to and from Noah's school, he made sure not to stop anywhere and when Sarah came home she immediately asked about the scent of disinfectant mixed in with arroz con pollo.

Justin didn't say anything until he made sure Noah was out of earshot. When he finally got Sarah alone, gloom filled his eyes. "We might have a huge problem," he said gravely. "And by we I mean the city."

"Huh?"

"Corona virus?"

"The one in China?"

"Yeah, but now it's here."

"In Washington."

"But, Sare...how many people do you think come into the country from JFK? Newark? And it's been spreading since before Christmas?"

"And you think Brooke has it?"

"I'm not saying that, but, I think we need to be a lot more worried about it than we are." He felt his phone vibrate and saw three notifications already on the screen. Justin was a news junkie and subscribed to dozens of online periodicals. "Look."

New York's Department of Health Investigating Suspected Coronavirus Cases in Westchester County

"Omigod."

"Sare, I think this is gonna get bad."

….

Freezing rain bombarded the tri-state area late on a frigid January Sunday afternoon, and the Tucker kids kept their eyes on the sky and their devices, wishing and hoping for a day off of school. Amused, Ed and Olivia sipped wine on the couch and finished reading the newspaper. They were quite sure the storm would result in a day off, but they kept that prediction to themselves.

"You just had a Christmas Break," Ed teased. "You need another day off?"

Maggie flipped herself over the back of the sofa and landed between her parents, "Yes we do! That was a super DUPER long time ago!"

"It'll be spring break soon."

"Daddy!" Maggie grabbed Ed's face and pointed it to the window, "Do you see it's ice out there? ICE! We're gonna need skates jus' ta' go to da bodega!"

Ed kissed Maggie's nose, "Ya think?"

"I THINK!"

"If you're off tomorrow, you'll have some assignments from your teachers on Google Classroom," Olivia reminded her second-grader. "So it'll be, get up, have breakfast, and start working. All we'll miss is the walk to and from school."

Maggie crinkled her nose. "Not fair, Mommy!"

Olivia laughed and bear-hugged her daughter. "We'll find some time to do something fun."

"Like make slime?"

"That is a very fun and also educational thing to do," Olivia said. "And maybe some art and definitely reading. An hour or more of reading."

Maggie groaned but was still focused on slime, "We have all da 'gredients for slime?"

"I don't know," Olivia said, "Will you get my phone?"

Maggie ran to the kitchen and took her mother's phone from its charger. Olivia found the ingredients. "Uh oh," she said, "We're going to need to make a run to the store."

"Which store?" Ed asked.

"CVS or Walgreens."

"I'll go now."

"Ed, we don't even know if they'll be off and if they are-"

"-if they are it's gonna be bad in the morning," Ed stood up and gave Olivia a peck on the lips, "Better to go now. Text me what we need."

From the dining table where the boys had started a puzzle came loud cheers. School was closed. Wish granted. And the Tucker kids were ready to party. They danced around, ran into one another, and bragged that they got to stay up late.

"We need some other snacks, Dad," Noah said breathlessly. "Not a school night anymore and we're gonna watch a movie or play somethin'. You wanna play Uno when you get back?"

"Of course I want to win at Uno," Ed replied. "You want to come with me, No?"

"Yep," Noah replied dutifully.

"C'I go?" Wyatt asked. He ran and stood next to Noah as if he thought the two of them standing together in similar attire-jeans and hoodies-would cajole a yes out of his father.

"Sure, pal," Ed replied. He glanced at Maggie, expecting a request from her, but she was uninterested.

"Icy out there," she answered without having been asked a question. "I'm gonna stay here with Mommy. Girls in. Boys out."

"Let's go boys," Ed put a hand on each of his son's shoulders and marched them down the foyer.

When they were in the elevator, Wyatt looked up at Ed, his eyes partially covered by his knit cap, and asked, "Daddy, c'we go to da pub on the way?"

Noah giggled, but it was clear he was on board with the idea. "Can we, Dad?"

"Why do you want to go to the pub?"

"Get mozz'rella sticks," Wyatt said.

"And chicken wings," Noah added.

Ed took out his phone, and dialed the pub. "Anything else?" He asked while the phone rang.

"Prolly chicken tenders for Maggs," Noah said, "And Mom likes the quesadillas. With half chicken, half steak."

"Alright." Someone picked up and Ed relayed the order.

"If we get there early c'we have a Shirley Temple?" Wyatt asked.

"Absolutely, bud," Ed replied, "Let's live it up."

…..

At an outdoor table overlooking palm-tree lined S. Beach Street, Olivia and Joannie. Cassidy reunited over iced coffees and house-made pastries. Even though she'd been in the town for less than a full day, Olivia understood why Brian had relocated here. The parts she'd seen were classy but not pretentious and the overall vibe was laid-back and surprisingly tight-knit considering the area was overrun with visitors many times throughout the year. Mrs. Cassidy looked almost exactly the same except for her tan and a few more gray hairs than Olivia remembered. For someone who had experienced unimaginable grief, she was in decent spirits and approached her son's death with insight and perspective.

After Olivia offered her condolences, Joannie wistfully recalled her last conversation with her son. "He was headed out to hit golf balls," she said, chuckling softly, "And we made tentative plans for dinner the next night. So normal, such a mundane conversation, but he ended it with 'love you ma' and that, in hindsight, should've been a clue not all was well."

Olivia didn't want to give Joannie the details of her last encounter with Brian, so she spoke as vaguely as possible, "The last time I saw him was when Munch passed away."

Joannie nodded. "He was heartbroken by that. He had a lot of heartbreak, Olivia. In the past few years there were times he was really down, I think he missed working but didn't want to go back; he seemed...a bit trapped, and I wasn't sure why...I'll never know."

Olivia patted her hand. "I'll always remember how devoted he was to you; he wanted so much to be a good son."

"And he was." Behind her dark sunglasses, Joannie blinked back tears. "He loved you, Olivia. I know you moved on and you have this beautiful family, but Brian talked about you a lot. There were many times when he'd be reminded of you and get this look on his face...happy and sad all at once-" Joannie saw Olivia's chin tremble, "-I'm sorry," she said. "Perhaps that was unfair of me."

"No, no," Olivia replied, "We had good times together. We did. It just wasn't meant to be." She peered across the table at the woman who probably thought, more than once, that Olivia would be her daughter-in-law and possibly be the mother of her grandchildren. In those seconds Olivia came to understand Joannie's pain extended more deeply and more broadly than she realized. "I'm glad you have your sister and brother nearby," she added.

"And I have wonderful friends. They'll get me through this."

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

"No," Joannie replied in a soft voice, "Being here to say goodbye is plenty. But, Olivia?"

"Yes?"

A smile grew on Joannie's face, "Would you mind showing me some pictures of your babies?"

Olivia grinned and eagerly took out her phone. "Of course." She started with the most recent one of all three she'd snapped Sunday night before they all went to bed. They were piled on the couch under a blanket, freshly bathed, and ready for their one show before stories. "Noah's seven. Maggie and Wyatt are two, three this spring…" Once Olivia started talking about her children, she didn't stop for several minutes. Joannie asked questions about their lives and the two of them laughed at little anecdotes like the twins clearing the pantry to build a fort and shared maternal agony over Wyatt's stitches and Noah's broken wrist. For a while, all was well, cheerful, and normal, and both Olivia and Joannie forgot, for a few minutes, they had been brought together by tragedy.

…

Ed and Olivia's spot at Blue treated them to an amazing sunset. It was so beautiful, they adjusted their chairs to face the water and watched as the sun gradually descended. Minutes before the day turned to dusk, Olivia stood and held out her hand. "C'mon," she said, "Let's get a picture."

The gesture both stunned and thrilled Ed. Olivia increasingly wanted to do couple-ish things, and he was eating it up. She put an arm around his neck and angled a selfie, but then wandered over to a nearby host and asked him if he wouldn't mind snapping a proper photograph of them. Ed looped his arm around her shoulders, held her close, and the images captured them in various stages of smiles and laughter.

"You want to head back...get a nightcap somewhere closer?" Olivia asked, "Or is there another hidden gem around here?"

"I have no idea," Ed replied, "So we should probably head back."

Olivia took another glance at the water. "I wish there was a path along here...to walk a bit."

There was a gravel walkway leading to the parking lot and Ed suggested they take that route to the valet stand. "A short walk...but...a walk," he said.

"Sure." They started out slowly and Olivia took his hand. "This was...so wonderful, Ed, it was really one of my favorite nights. Ever." She stopped, slid her arms around his neck, and, before kissing him, whispered, "Thank you."

"Ever?" He asked breathlessly at pause.

"Yes. Ever."

He smirked, held the back of her head, and they kissed again. The water lapped at the seawall and the breeze, now having a chill to it, made Olivia shiver. "Should get ya to the car," Ed said, rubbing her arms.

Olivia held his face and they traded a few more kisses. "Can we do this again? Some time soon?" She knew the answer and she also knew her schedule was packed, but being with Ed Tucker brought her so much contentment and joy she had to carve out time for him in her life. They had moved on from perpetual police talk, and, on this particular night, other than Ed's initial arrest story, the conversation had been far from police chatter. He was funny, kind, and genuinely interested in her, all of her, and she wanted this man in her life.

"Anytime you want," Ed replied. "Same place?"

"I love the idea of being close to home but feeling like I'm far away."

"Got it."

Ed started to walk toward the parking lot, but Olivia didn't move. She wanted another kiss and Ed was more than happy to give it to her. They would kiss goodbye after the nightcap, but practically making out in full view of anyone was off limits in Manhattan. Here, no one was watching and no one cared. Ed and Olivia were just two people infatuated with one another trying to savor the final seconds of a romantic evening.

…..

Ed stretched his legs and propped his feet on the balcony slats. Using his notes, he typed his summary and emailed it to Rollins using his old account IAB had activated for him. Anything he sent via the "TuckerFive" email address he and Olivia now shared would be fair game for an open records request. Although there was nothing incriminating in their personal emails, he didn't want to open them up to scrutiny. He was feeling better about everything, or maybe he was taking solace in being away from New York and the specter of Rachel Wilson. As he gazed out into the ocean and watched beachgoers slowly arrive and set up chairs, Ed thought about Noah and the twins and got excited about summer. He hoped Olivia would agree to spend a month or more in Delaware and he made a mental list of home improvements he wanted to begin as soon as it got warmer. Maybe he and Noah could go down there for a weekend or two once it got a little warmer and assess the porch, the backyard, and the upstairs full bathroom which was on the list to receive some modern touches.

For fun, Ed sent a text to Noah's phone. It was unlikely to be on and even if it was, Noah certainly wouldn't be near it at school, but Ed sort of hoped Noah had broken the rules. He finished his first cup of coffee and ducked inside for another. As the Keurig did its work, Ed watched the news. Reports of the virus were flooding in from around the country-Washington, California, Oregon, most parts of the southeast, and, New York. When Ed heard "Westchester County," he sat on the edge of the bed and zeroed in on the broadcast.

"This afternoon, President Harris will give a statement on plans to contain the spread of the virus and provide guidance for states as they combat it in their cities and towns."

"Good thing that clown Trump's not in office anymore," Ed muttered to himself. He swiped the cup of coffee from the Keurig and went back outside. As expected, Noah hadn't replied, but Ed grinned anyway thinking of how delighted his son would be to find the text later that afternoon when he was allowed access to his phone. Olivia was on her way back, and wrote she wanted to spend the rest of the day on the beach or by the pool.

The plan was fine with Ed. Maybe they'd carve out some quality couple's time after all.

…

#Tuckson