163.

Olivia took the news of Ed's therapy session with typical compassion and grace. She recognized how difficult it was for him to admit he was suffering and reminded him it had taken a great deal of strength to seek help. The entire conversation proved, once again, Ed's dogged devotion to her and their family. He never stopped trying to be a good husband and father, and Olivia assured him he exceeded the self-imposed expectations. Time would inevitably pass, but they had to make peace with the fact that all they could do was love their children and each other as much as possible and make it a point to enjoy every day they had together. By the time she concluded her brief pep talk with a kiss and a sincere "I love you", Ed's chest puffed up again and the cocky smirk returned.

"Do you want to take a look at some ideas for the twins' birthday party?" Olivia asked. "I have some things pinned." She started to reach for her laptop, but saw Ed's disinterested expression.

"Not really," he mumbled.

Ed inched over to her seat cushion and curled his arm around her neck. He kissed her deeply and insistently, pausing only for quick breaths and then to suggest they move to the bedroom where he carefully closed and locked the door. Ed knew he was extending foreplay far too long, but he appreciated Olivia's patience. Like so many other moments in his life, he didn't want the night to end. She was unforgettable, but that didn't mean he didn't relish every kiss and touch. They smiled and locked eyes, and afterward, as Olivia lay sated in his arms, he was more in love and more optimistic about the future than he had ever been. Life with Olivia kept getting better and better.

"Want to look at those birthday party ideas in the morning?" Ed asked, a hint of jest in his voice.

Olivia laughed, "Sure."

"You think Noah will be able to keep the bikes a secret? I'm supposed to go pick them up this week."

"I think so," Olivia said, "He's good about that kind of stuff. And he's so excited about being able to ride bikes all together. Even though I did have to explain to him that Maggie and Wyatt won't be quite up to his speed yet."

"Won't take long."

"No, it won't."

"We may have to start jogging," Olivia said, "Have to get in shape for when the training wheels come off. Running alongside two of them will be a challenge."

"Oh, I'm in shape, Benson," Ed boasted.

Olivia tickled his thigh, "I know you are," she purred.

They traded a few kisses. When Ed rolled over toward his nightstand, Olivia whined a bit before she saw the small bottle in his hand. "Apricot bourbon," he said. "Springy."

Olivia grinned, "That drawer…"

"Full of good things." Ed opened the bottle and offered it to her first. He could tell she liked it. "Good?"

"Very good."

Ed gave her another deep kiss.

"Want a sip?"

"Nah," he replied, his lips grazing hers, "Lemme taste it on you a little bit first."

…

With just under two months until the Ireland trip, Sarah congratulated herself for being on top of all trip preparations. Vowing to pack lightly, she purchased a mid-sized suitcase and started filling it with clothing she would not need in the coming weeks. Each weekend she made a trip to the market specifically for food the twins liked, and juice boxes and fruit snacks were starting to occupy significant real estate in the refrigerator and the pantry. She and Justin had also purchased a few toys which would remain hidden until the Ireland week. Justin kept a growing list of possible outings he and the twins could take, and his mother was looking forward to tagging along.

"Don't forget," Sarah said as she unpackaged toddler-sized utensils. The twins would certainly arrive prepared, but she enjoyed making the purchases. "G will be around, too. She's always down for helping out with the kiddos."

"Last time I saw her she looked pretty jumpy," Justin said, "You talked to her lately?"

"No, not really, but, she's kind of hard to figure out. Sometimes she's totally normal and other times she, well, she hides out. She has a lot going on in her head. I can tell." She dropped the forks and spoons into the dishwasher compartment and closed the door. Justin appeared from the bedroom with his backpack and an apologetic look on his face. "Have to go?"

"Landon's about to lose his shit," Justin said of his professor who was leading the current research project which would eventually become a book. "I'll only be gone a little while."

"Okay," Sarah gave Justin a kiss and a reassuring hug. The vaunted Dr. Landon was an upstanding guy, a pioneer in his field, and, best of all for Sarah, loved Justin. However, the academic could also obsess over the tiniest details and it was common for him to call in the research team at random times to pore over an inconsistency or a theory that popped into his mind. Justin always felt guilty being subject to the whims of his boss, but Sarah could not have been more understanding or encouraging. She saw Justin's passion for the work and did everything she could to support his endeavors. It was one more reason why she was confident turning down the Frankfurt offer was the correct decision.

Suddenly finding herself with nothing to do, Sarah wandered downstairs for the mail and a package delivered that morning. On her way back she stopped at G's floor. It was another gorgeous spring afternoon, and Sarah wanted nothing more than to have a drink on a patio somewhere. Before she could knock on the door, though, it opened and a man Sarah recognized but couldn't quite place stepped into the hallway. G thanked him and poked her head out just enough to see Sarah approaching.

"Oh, hey Sarah," she said.

Sarah's eyes darted from G to the man and back again. "Hi," she said brightly as if running into a guy coming out of her neighbor's apartment was a common occurrence. "I was coming over to see if you maybe wanted to go get lunch, but-"

"Sure!" G said, a little too brightly.

Sarah grinned at the man, "Want to join us?"

"No thank you," he replied in a clipped voice. "You two enjoy."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, "I know you."

"Rafael Barba," he extended a hand to her, "Nice to see you again. Sarah is it?"

"Yes."

Sarah must have looked confused because Barba added, "I used to work with Olivia. We've met before."

"Yes!" Sarah grinned. "The ADA!"

"And now the Assemblyman," Barba replied pointedly, intending to clear up any confusion as to why he was there. In G's line of work she frequently met with a vast array of people, including politicians. There wasn't much he could do about the location.

"Well, good to see you again, sir," Sarah said. "G, I'm going to change. Meet you downstairs in a few minutes?"

"Yep," G said, "I won't need long."

….

Olivia and Ed did not get called in to school often. They were regular volunteers and never missed a game or a performance, but the Tucker kids were well-behaved and did not cause problems that warranted parent-teacher conferences. When Olivia opened her email and saw "Meeting Request" in the subject line, she assumed Maggie was the guilty party. The first sentence, though, indicated otherwise. The twins' teacher wanted to meet about Wyatt.

"I hate how they don't tell you what it's about," Olivia said on their way into the building. She and Ed, in the most delicate fashion, asked Wyatt about what was going on at school and he reported nothing out of the ordinary. It was the end of the school year and he was looking forward to the science fair and also to field day.

"I suppose we could've asked," Ed replied.

Olivia shrugged and shot him a helpless look as he held the door for her. They met the teacher in the classroom while the students were with the PE teacher. Much to Ed's relief, there were adult-sized chairs in the back of the room adjacent to the teacher's desk. He seemed to remember being forced to sit in miniature chairs a few other times before. Of all their teachers, this one, Mrs. Ryan, was Ed's favorite. She was older, most likely nearing the end of her career, soft-spoken and gentle, yet it was clear she demanded the best efforts from her students. Olivia liked her too but thought she could be intimidating. Wyatt and Maggie thrived under her instruction, and, the only part of the day they disliked was when the class was split up for math. Mrs. Ryan taught remedial lessons during the block and both Maggie and Wyatt were in the advanced group.

Mrs. Ryan thanked them for coming and apologized they didn't have more time. She had plenty of wonderful compliments for Maggie and Wyatt and could have spent an hour bragging about and showing examples of their work. But, she would have been remiss if she didn't mention how distracted Wyatt had been in the past couple of weeks. "He's daydreaming a lot," she said, "He doesn't seem sad or upset, but he does prefer to stare out of the window instead of pay attention to whatever we're doing. Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Ed and Olivia exchanged glances.

"Our daughter," Ed began, "Wyatt's older sister and her family moved to Europe about a month ago. They're in Barcelona for at least a couple years."

"We're all struggling with it in our own ways," Olivia added, "Maggie Face Times them probably too much-she doesn't always take into account the time difference-Noah, our older son, he's planning a trip to see them this summer. Wyatt, well, he hasn't said much. He's been adding to what Noah's doing, but, maybe he's more bothered by this than we realized."

"He's still doing excellent work and still has his keen sense of humor," Mrs. Ryan reported with a smile. "But I can tell something is not quite right."

"We appreciate you letting us know," Olivia said, "We'll talk to him tonight."

"Yeah," Ed stood up and shook the teacher's hand, "Thanks a lot."

On the way out, Ed and Olivia saw the kids walking back to class. They rounded a corner and looked on, trying to remain unseen so they didn't embarrass their fifth graders. Maggie and her cluster of friends led the way. She and the other girls were so absorbed in their conversation they didn't notice anything or anyone else. Wyatt and another boy walked in the center of the line. For some reason, they were examining their wrists, turning them over and over and making circles with balled fists. Seconds before turning to enter the classroom, Wyatt's head jerked up in the direction of where his parents were standing. Acting as if spotting them there was totally normal, he smiled, waved, and ran over to them.

"Hi," he said breathlessly. "We just did pushups for the physical fitness badge. I did twenty-nine!"

"What? Twenty-nine? Wow, bud, that's great!"

"Awesome," Olivia said.

"And two minute plank. I slipped. Tomorrow it's pull ups." Wyatt crinkled his face, "Is there a place I can do pull ups in the gym at home?" Wyatt's light brown bangs fell across his forehead in wisps and his blue eyes were wide and hopeful.

"Yeah," Ed replied, "There's a bar in there."

"Can we go later?"

"Yep," Ed eyed the classroom doorway. "You better get back to class."

"Oh yeah," Wyatt giggled.

"We'll see you in a little bit honey," Olivia said, "Noah has debate after school today, so I'll pick you up."

"Dad? You're not coming?"

"I got an, um, I have an appointment."

Wyatt grinned, "Is it for our birthday?"

Ed mussed his hair, "You're too sharp, Wy," he said, "Can't get anything past you."

"Wyatt?" Mrs. Ryan, realizing she was short a student, peeked into the hallway.

"Oh, sorry, my Mom and Dad are here!"

Wyatt gave both parents a quick hug and ran back to class. Ed and Olivia offered a polite wave to Mrs. Ryan and went on their way. It was funny, they agreed as they chatted on the walk home, how Wyatt could be such a smart, deep thinker, yet he didn't question his parents' presence at school at such an unexpected time.

"He trusts us that much," Ed surmised.

"He does," Olivia said, "So we have to be honest with him tonight."

"We will be."

"Honest about how we're feeling, too," Olivia looked at him sharply, "There's no shame telling him how much we miss them."

Ed nodded.

"And if Noah's plans work out we'll see them soon."

"You're right," Ed kissed her cheek and grabbed her hand. "Can I take ya for lunch, Mrs. Tucker?"

Olivia leaned in for another kiss. It was a little clumsy and she grinned. "It's a date."

…

Noah and Ed left the twins' birthday bicycles with the doorman and parked the car nearby. They returned and took the presents to the basement storage unit which was becoming cramped once again after they had purged some items a few months earlier.

"Daddy? Are we gonna wrap da bikes?"

"No bud," Ed replied, "We're gonna get big bows for them."

"Thatsa good idea." Noah twisted his lips and asked, "What should I get those babies for the birthday? Oh, wait! I know! I'm gonna get Maggs and Wyatt helmets! They need new helmets for the new bikes!"

"Now that's a good idea," Ed remarked.

Noah grinned proudly. "I'll look on my c'puter for da best helmets! I dunno if they should be da same. But maybe...they should match da bikes. Daddy, can you take a picture of da bikes so I can remember?"

"Yep."

"But don't show those babies."

"I won't." Ed smirked thinking about Olivia questioning Noah's secret-keeping abilities.

"Itsa good thing we can't go down here by ourselves," Noah said.

Ed agreed but made a mental note that the storage area would only be an ideal present-hiding location for a couple more years. Noah was honest, but Ed wasn't sure he could resist the temptation of taking a premature peek at Christmas and birthday gifts. They could always make use of Sarah's and Brooke's apartments and Caroline's house.

"Are we gonna have two cakes or one cake?" Noah asked.

"Two cakes that look like one," Ed replied. "Got strawberry for Maggs and chocolate for Wyatt."

"I'm gonna have a little of both!"

"Me too, pal."

"Where we gonna have da party?"

"Grandma's house."

"Yes!" Noah rubbed his hands together and grinned from ear to ear. "It's good to have parties at Grandma's house 'cause she has da yard and we can run through the sprinklers. It's hot outside on Maggs' and Wyatt's birthday. S'cold on mine."

"Maybe we'll get ya a slip 'n slide."

"What's that?"

"It's like a waterslide you put on the ground. You run and dive on it." Ed found a picture and then a video using his phone. "See?"

"Dat looks FUN! We should have a slip 'n slide party!"

"Mommy and I will do some research and we'll order one."

"On Amazon so it's d'livered on time?"

Ed grinned, "Yeah bud. On Amazon."

Noah leaned in for a side hug. "Always gotta use Amazon."

…

Rollins fidgeted in the chair and answered questions about her sister in terse, clipped phrases. To her left sat her PBA representative. Her lawyer was on her right. Olivia was present too, but she sat behind her detective, perhaps trying to subtly signal she had no part in what Rollins had done. She supposed it would have been much too easy for the case to be resolved, Kim sentenced, and have everyone else return to the status quo. In the days after Kim took the plea, members of the NYPD brass started sniffing around SVU, so Olivia, in an effort to preempt any investigation and get them out of her office, ordered Rollins to give a statement to IAB.

Draper did most of the talking. In fact, he did all of it. Ed, having already spoken to Olivia in off-the-record fashion about Rollins and her sister, unofficially recused himself. Draper probably thought he was simply uninterested. Or, perhaps, he assumed Ed was simply annoyed that this Kim Rollins person showed up every once in a while to wreak havoc on her sister's life. She'd played Ed once before, so Draper taking the lead was the right move.

Without changing her expression, Olivia snuck glances at Ed. He was in typical IAB mode-stiff-jawed, austere, a little impatient. He crossed and uncrossed his legs, tugged on his blazer, adjusted his tie-Olivia noticed all of these movements from her place opposite him. When they made eye contact, they managed to keep straight faces, but Olivia had to grit her teeth against the chills that ran up and down her spine. Ed was right about them having to be careful, but she wasn't sure how much longer they could keep their relationship a secret.

If she looked under the table she could see his polished black wingtips and the hem of his pants. She thought about how he would stand with a hand on his hip as if to show off his shield. Today he was wearing a black tie with pinstripes. It was knotted impeccably, but Olivia hoped to see him later when the knot was loose and his shirt open at the collar. He didn't want to be here. They'd had deep conversations about the Rollins sisters and about her relationship with her own half-brother. Everyone involved with the case agreed family was complicated, Ed included, but the case was important for reasons unrelated to the crimes. In their discussions, Olivia and Ed finally admitted to one another that what they had was something more than a fling.

"Lieutenant?"

Olivia snapped to attention. She didn't have time to wonder how many times they had been calling her name. "Oh, sorry. Yes?"

"Anything to add?"

"No," she replied, "That about covers it."

Draper had already switched off the camera. He made a show of unfurling the pages of his legal pad, took a breath, and told Rollins they would be in touch. His tone suggested a report would be finished and the file closed quickly. Olivia was glad she hadn't been asked any direct questions, but she hadn't truly expected any. Outside, Rollins, the rep, and her lawyer huddled on the sidewalk. Olivia excused herself and walked briskly down the street to her car, waiting for Ed's text. She kept her hand on her phone, afraid to miss it. Sure enough, the message came through seconds later.

The only information it contained was the name of a bar located on the west side between the Village and SoHo. She turned the key in the ignition and laughed. As their bond strengthened, the watering holes where they drank became increasingly divey. She wondered how much longer places like this would survive. The bar was now sandwiched between a trendy tapas joint and a luxury real estate development office in an area which had become prime real estate. For the second time that afternoon she found herself lost in thought and oblivious, this time, to Ed saying, "Olivia?"

She turned around and smiled.

"Hey," he said, looking concerned.

"Sorry," she said, "I was noticing how this place seems like it's going to be swallowed up soon."

"Nah," he said, "Or, I hope not. You, uh, want to go in, or…"

"Yes," she gave his elbow a squeeze, "Let's go in."

They took seats at the front of the place at the bar where they could easily monitor who was coming in and who was coming out. It was impossible for them to be spotted through the front windows thanks to the flyers that were plastered to most of the panes. They ordered drinks and sat so close to one another that other patrons, if they cared, must have thought they were discussing a clandestine operation.

"I might as well say it," Olivia said, "That was tough."

Ed raised his eyebrows.

"Just now? In there with Rollins?"

"I was bored."

Olivia laughed. "Of course you were."

"Smart of you to have her come in though."

"I'm tired of the Chief and Abraham stopping by."

"Don't blame ya there." Ed smirked and asked, "Why was it tough for you?"

"You know why," Olivia played with the cocktail straw. Ed was teasing her, and she liked it way too much.

"I was tryin' to look like a bigger asshole than normal…"

She smiled and put her hand on his knee. "You didn't look like an asshole at all."

"Then that explains it." He grinned and gave her a kiss. It was like so many they had shared in public places. Quick. Coupled with a squeeze of the wrist or hand or, in this case, Olivia clutching his knee. But really, really sexy and loaded with mutual attraction. "I wanna do something with you and Noah this weekend. Get outta the city for the day. Go...pick apples or something."

"Pick apples?"

"Yeah. What?"

"Nothing, I, yes, I have the weekend off and picking apples sounds...perfect."

"I do normal things Benson," Ed replied with a smirk.

"I'm sure you do," she said, "I, well, it's still a little surreal to be doing them with you."

"Good surreal?"

Olivia angled her body closer to his, "Yes," she said, "Very good surreal."

….

Brooke picked up the phone and said an expectant hello even though she knew it was Noah. "Hi Brookey! It's me!" Noah said brightly.

"Hi Noah! What's up?"

"I'm calling to invite you to Maggs' and Wyatt's birthday party," he continued on with the date and time, "It's gonna be a water party so you gotta bring bathing suits."

"Oh, okay. What else should I bring?"

"Presents!" Noah replied with a giggle, "For da birthday."

"Of course," Brooke said, laughing herself, "No food?"

"Nope. We're gonna have hot dogs and hamburgers and cake. Prolly p'tato salad too, I dunno, Gramma and Mommy are gonna cook. Prolly Gramma actually."

"Probably."

"So," Noah said, "Are you gonna come?"

"We'll be there," Brooke said, "With presents and bathing suits."

"Great! Thanks!"

"Um, you're welcome."

"I haveta make more calls, Brookey, so I'll see ya later."

"Okay No," Brooke said, "Bye."

She tossed the phone aside and was still smiling when Sonny walked into the room. He'd been working from home after a colleague was stricken with the flu. With everyone still on edge in the post-pandemic world, the DA's office wasn't taking any chances and sent everyone home so their offices could be deep cleaned and contact tracing could begin.

"Do I feel hot?" He asked.

Brooke felt his forehead. "No. But your eyes...you need a break."

"I can't look at a screen all day," he whined.

"Why don't we go out for a walk and bring dinner back?"

Sonny readily agreed, "Who were you talking to?" He wasn't prone to these types of questions, but Brooke's tone suggested she wasn't talking to an adult.

"Noah. He was calling to invite us to the twins' birthday party."

"Oh, cool."

"It's a water party, so bring your suit."

Sonny grinned, "I'm sure it's just for the kids but I'll bring mine just in case."

"You're such a good sport."

He shrugged, "I'm a kid at heart."

"Thank you," Brooke's voice softened and she stepped toward Sonny and put her arms around his waist.

"For what?"

"For encouraging me to go on this trip. For making me feel like it's okay to leave Sof. To leave you."

"You're coming back," Sonny said, "And you deserve it. You deserve a break and to be with your family there. It'll be special. And one day we'll all go together. And don't worry about us. My mom's gonna help with Sof and, who knows, I might be still working from home."

"I hope not."

Sonny looked crestfallen.

Brooke grinned, "I didn't mean it that way." She kissed him and slapped his chest. "Come on. Let's get you some fresh air."

….

#Tuckson