215.

Before there was any light at all in the sky, Noah wandered into his parents'

room and burrowed between them. As soon as he saw an adult eye open, he asked if he was going to school and announced he felt better. Seconds later, his body betrayed him and he sneezed loudly.

"Guess still a little sniffly," he said dejectedly.

Not quite awake, Olivia fumbled around for his forehead. Noah had never had

a fever, but feeling foreheads was what moms were supposed to go when diagnosing illness. "I don't know," she murmured, "Maybe one more day."

"But what about da learning?"

"Sweet boy, how about we sleep for a little while longer until it's really time to

get up and we'll go from there and see how you feel, okay?"

Noah sniffed, nodded, and replied, "Okay." Instead of going back to his room, he wriggled himself under the covers. A minute later he was breathing loudly through his mouth and Olivia knew he would probably need another day off even though he clearly didn't want to miss another day at school. She was grateful he loved school and learning. Each morning he half-skipped into the building, eager for what the day had in store. The only thing she worried about, and the only negative his teachers ever mentioned, was that he liked to finish his assignments quickly and prided himself on being the first one done. Noah insisted he never rushed, but his preference for being first to finish bordered on obsession. As content became more rigorous, Noah was sure to be caught between mastering content and racing his classmates.

Unable to fall back asleep, Olivia rolled to the side and turned on the iPad baby monitor. She and Ed used sound-only mode most of the time now, so it seemed a bit intrusive to peek in on the twins via video. There they were-two little mounds underneath their favorite blankets. As usual, Wyatt's pillow was on the floor. He never warmed up to the idea of pillows. In fact, when he and Maggie first got one, he scrunched up his face and pushed it to the side of his crib, irritated at the intrusion. The youngest Tucker boy's personality was filled with endearing quirks.

It was Friday, and Olivia considered keeping the twins home, too, but quickly nixed the plan. It wasn't fair to them or their teachers and the real reason she wanted them home was the urge to keep them close after seeing the Latimer kids in interrogation yesterday. She thought she would have retained her thick skin, but, in fact, the opposite happened. Being in the room again was upsetting and disturbing. The kids' impending heartbreak and bleak, uncertain future played out in front of her eyes and she saw no happy ending. Her own instincts to protect her three babies intensified, almost to the state of panic. When she left the precinct, she was certain it would be for the last time. It had been almost two years since retirement, but this was the first time she'd been forced to see how drastically she'd changed.

At some point Olivia fell back asleep, because she awoke to Ed nuzzling her neck. "We playin' hooky again today?" He joked.

"You sound better," Olivia said, stretching.

"Good as new," Ed replied, "Noah showed up at some point." He glanced lovingly at their son who was barely visible between them.

"I know. We had a whole conversation. You were out."

"Guess so. We keeping him home today?"

"I think so. Another day won't hurt. And he'll be good by Monday."

Ed sat up. "I'll get a shower and get the twins going. I'll bring coffee on the way back. We're out."

"We are?"

"Yeah, rookie mistake." Ed came back to the bed and gave her a kiss, "But that's alright."

"Yes it is." Oivia smiled and watched him disappear into the bathroom. And, for what had to be the billionth time, thanked her lucky stars that she didn't have to do all of this alone.

…..

Ed let the twins take their scooters to school even though he was going to have to lug them back home. He didn't think the building had scooter parking, and he wouldn't have trusted leaving them in the lobby unlocked anyway. They knew the route and rolled ahead of him a couple of feet, chatting and pointing, probably imagining they were on an important, wild adventure. Wyatt had a stegosaurus helmet and Maggie's was leopard print with pink cat ears which she chose despite having a well-documented disgust for felines. Stubbornly, they each insisted on carrying their own backpacks, so they looked a little top-heavy on the scooters.

At the street where they needed to make a right, they stopped, noticing the familiar bodega, pharmacy, and flower stand.

Wyatt turned around and asked, "Tuh' here, Dada?"

"Yup. Good job, bud."

"C'mon, Magg!" Wyatt furiously rammed his foot against the pavement and shot ahead. The street was less busy than the avenue, and the twins drove faster and more erratically until they came to an abrupt stop in front of the school building.

"Alright, let's put 'em against the fence," Ed suggested.

Maggie and Wyatt dutifully leaned their scooters against the chain link fence. On the other side was the playground and a landscape crew was blowing leaves into three separate piles. Maggie grinned, "Jump inna PY!" She shouted gleefully.

"I dunno," Ed replied, "I think they're gonna take the leaves away before you get out there." Maggie pouted and Ed immediately felt terrible for so bluntly bursting her bubble. "We'll make a leaf pile this weekend, alright?"

"A BIG PY?"

"Yep. The biggest ever." Ed helped them remove their helmets and looped the straps around his wrist. Inside, the twins were greeted with smiles and cheerful hellos by the front desk attendants. Ed nodded to the women and breezed past, following the twins. Ordinarily, drop off was a quick process, but one of the teacher aides stopped him after he hugged Maggie and Wyatt and said his goodbyes.

"Mr. Tucker, here's information about the Halloween parade," she said breathlessly as if she'd chased him down. "Next week, Friday," she added.

Ed squinted at the brightly colored flyer in his hands. "Kids coming in their costumes?" He asked, sure the information they needed was on the page but he didn't have his reading glasses and the font was miniscule.

"Yes!" She answered enthusiastically, "And we have the party afterward with lunch and cupcakes!"

Ed sensed a volunteer solicitation was next.

"...And we're looking for a few parent volunteers to help us."

There it was.

Ed grinned. He had volunteered and chaperoned more in the past three years than all of the years Sarah and Brooke were in school combined. Back then it was easy to decline. Now he had no excuse. "My wife and I will be happy to help," he said, setting a mental reminder to tell Olivia right away instead of forgetting about it until the last minute.

"Great! We'll put you down."

"Do we need to arrive earlier?"

"No."

"Alright then. Count us in."

"Oh!" She said brightly, "Costumes for adults are optional but encouraged."

"Yeah, okay," Ed mumbled. "We'll see you later."

….

Ed listened to the cops deflect one accusation after another with the usual stories. He sighed over and over and shifted in his chair. When it was Draper's turn to ask a question Ed let his thoughts drift two floors above them to where Olivia was working. They'd had a nice sort-of date the night before, but he was a little nervous about texting her about being in the building. The last thing he wanted to do was to be overbearing.

Draper slapped his folders closed, signaling he'd had enough of the meeting. They had gotten nowhere, but sometimes the best strategy was to let things go and let the officers think they were off the hook. If they were guilty, typically they would reoffend, thinking they were untouchable.

"Let's get outta here," Draper muttered.

"Yeah."

They marched to the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive. When it did, the doors opened and there she was, Lieutenant Benson, clad in dark suit and blouse, radiating sex, power, and sheer beauty. Ed's breath caught in his throat and he was grateful for Draper's presence, because his partner maintained normalcy by speaking first.

"Lieutenant," he said, stepping into the elevator.

"Hi there," Olivia said. She stepped aside to make room, but not much, for Ed.

"Hey Benson," Ed finally said. "How's it going up there?"

"Oh, fine," Olivia replied breezily, "So fine I'm able to head out and grab a coffee…on my way to a meeting of course."

"Of course."

Draper stared at the ceiling with a smirk on his face.

Ed's hand was inches from hers. It was too risky to try for even a second of contact and he fantasized about being alone in the elevator with her even though there were security cameras in each corner ready to reveal their secret to anyone watching the monitors.

"Headed to One PP?" Ed asked.

"No…DA's office."

"Oh…"

The elevator arrived on the lobby level and the doors opened. Draper nodded and stepped out. Olivia followed. On the street they parted ways and Ed muttered an awkward, "Knock 'em dead."

Draper smirked again. He and Ed continued on to the car and were inside before Draper said anything. "You might wanna check your phone," he suggested slyly, "She probably sent you a text asking why you were acting so weird."

Ed peered at his partner and friend. "Was I acting weird?"

"Tucker…you might be able to fool everyone else, but not me. And not her."

Ed fought back an embarrassed smile.

"Go on," Draper said, "Check the phone."

Begrudgingly, Ed yanked the phone from his pocket. Sure enough, there was a message from Benson.

"What's it say?"

Seeing an opportunity to save some face, Ed shook his head. "That's between us," he said cagily.

Draper chuckled and steered into traffic. "Need me to drop you off somewhere?"

"Nah," Ed replied, "I'll see her tonight."

…..

Back at home, Olivia and Noah were awake and busy in the kitchen. Noah carefully chopped pieces of cantaloupe with a small knife, and Olivia whisked eggs in a bowl. Ed immediately smelled bacon, which was crisping in the oven. He deposited the scooters in the foyer and shifted one of the two coffees to his opposite hand. It had been no small feat to carry the scooters and the drinks back home.

"We're makin' breakfast, Daddy!" Noah said, without taking his eyes from the fruit.

"I see. Smells good." He handed a coffee to Olivia and gave her a kiss.

"You think you can chew?" Noah asked.

"I think so."

Ed smirked at Olivia. "I coulda brought breakfast." He said this only to tease her, for he was certain Noah had charmed her into making the elaborate weekday morning feast.

"Oh, I know," Olivia replied, "We thought it would be fun to cook since we're home."

"Ah, okay." Ed said with a wink.

Even though Noah had a voracious appetite, it was clear he was still under the weather. After eating he conked out on the couch within a few minutes of starting a movie. Olivia covered him with a blanket, kissed his forehead, and left the movie on. She and Ed sat at the island and flipped through the stack of mail that had been sitting there for a few days.

"Hey," Ed said softly, "I never asked ya. How'd it go at the precinct the other day?"

Olivia groaned. "It was awful," she said. "Those kids...I don't see a happy ending for them. Dad on the run. Mom gone. I don't know what family members were in their lives, but I'm sure they're in for a long, nasty custody battle. And I was totally off...like I had never been on the job."

Ed reached for her hands. "I don't think it's possible to flip a switch and get back into Lieutenant Benson mode," he said.

"Do you think you could step back in at IAB and handle an interrogation?"

"Not like I used to," Ed replied. "To do that kind of work you have to see things in black and white. Either they breached policy or broke the law or not. There's no gray area. But it takes practice to get to the point where you have a guy sitting in front of you accused of whatever he's accused of and you don't consider anything other than what's in front of you in the folder. You can't look at those guys as fathers or husbands or anything other than a cop accused of something. And I could do it again, but it would take a lot of practice."

"That's exactly how I felt."

"We're a lot more similar than anyone would think, my dear."

Olivia leaned across the island for a kiss and murmured, "I suppose so."

"Oh, hey, I signed us up to help at the Halloween parade next week."

"Hmm?"

"At preschool. Parade then party."

"Oh, okay. Do we need to bring anything?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Oh. Costumes are optional but encouraged."

"Are you suggesting we wear costumes?"

"Nah," Ed replied, "I'm gonna go as a former cop."

Olivia grinned, "Me too."

…..

On Sunday, as promised, Ed made a leaf pile for the twins in Caroline's back yard. It wasn't huge and he had to transfer some fallen leaves from the neighbor's yard, but the kids thought it was a mountain. They took turns jumping in, burying each other, and helped to rake the leaves back together into a mound. They played until the sun dipped below the treeline in the backyard. As dusk fell, Olivia herded the trio inside.

"S'cold, Mama!" Wyatt said, loudly chattering his teeth.

Olivia smiled and picked up him, "You're quite an actor, sweet Wyatt," she said, kissing his pink cheeks. "I love you baby boy!"

"Luhyoubabymama!"

Ed and Olivia burst into laughter. Noah came running into the room, wondering what was so funny and Maggie laughed because the adults were laughing. She threw her head back, spun around, and Noah caught her seconds before she slammed into the door jamb. The rescue made him forget why he was there in the first place, and he admonished Maggie instead. "Small sister! You gotta be careful! There's lotsa stuff at Grammas to bump into and BREAK! And lotsa sharp edges!"

"I be c'ful, NO!" Maggie assured him.

A few minutes later, everyone was seated around the table breathing in the aroma of pot roast and freshly baked bread. Noah smiled regally as Caroline made his plate. She piled on large portions and sternly reminded him to eat all of the carrots. "I will, Gramma," he said, "I love your carrots but no one else's! 'Cause they're a little spicy and super duper yummy!"

"They are delicious," Olivia added.

"Why thank you," Caroline replied, "And never forget the secret ingredient!"

"Kerrygold!" Noah exclaimed.

"That's right." Caroline took a sip of wine and buttered a piece of bread, "Noah, you've been out of school, but, Maggie and Wyatt, tell Gramma what you did in school this week."

"Peeschool, Gramma!" Maggie said.

"My apologies."

"Hall'ween p'ject!" Wyatt said excitedly.

"A Halloween project? Well, that sounds exciting!"

"Paint a punkin!"

Maggie said and she and Wyatt proceeded to tell all about what sounded like a massive painting project and explained why they came home from school with remnants of paint on their hands and arms. The kids fell into their own Halloween banter, and when Caroline deemed it safe to bring up a more adult topic, she asked, under her breath, if Ed and Olivia had heard about Dave.

"We shouldn't gossip about family, Ma," Ed mumbled.

"We're not gossiping, Eddie! I assumed you knew, but it nearly knocked me out of my chair when Brookey told me! I feel most bad for the boy, though. And also a little bit for Angela."

"For Angela?" Ed asked incredulously. One of his hands instinctively flew to Olivia's.

"Yes, Eddie," Caroline snapped, "It's hell living a lie."

"I don't know that she thought of it that way. Or if she thought about it at all. She ended her a life a different person, a stranger," Ed eyed the three kids, "Can we be done talking about this? Forever?"

"She's Brooke and Sarah's mother," Caroline said, "So probably not forever. But yes, for now, let's move on to more cheerful topics. Like, Halloween! You're coming here this year, right?"

"Yep we are," Noah suddenly chimed in. "You know what our costumes are?"

"No I do not. But I want to be surprised."

"Okay," Noah grinned, "Babies, no telling Gramma 'bout our costumes!"

Wyatt put his index finger and thumb together and made a zipping motion along his lips.

"Maggie, you zip, too," Noah said.

Maggie complied and grinned. She took a bite of mashed potatoes, chewed, and, ever so sweetly, said, "F'Hall'ween, I'm Skye!"

"Small sisterrr!"

"Who's Skye?" Caroline asked.

"From Paw Patrol," Noah said. His shoulders slumped, "I'm gonna be a fireman for my school but I'm gonna be Ryder for trick or treat so we match. Maggs is NOT good at secrets." He tried to glare at his sister, but the way she happily continued eating made him smile. Noah shook his head and went back to his own meal.

"So, Noah," Caroline said, changing the subject, "I'm so glad you're feeling better! I hate to hear about any of my grandbabies being sick!"

"All better, Gramma," Noah said, grinning, "Thanks to your cookies!"

"Well, I have more for you for dessert."

"Then I'll be super better! Gramma?"

"Yes my dear."

"Did you make Daddy cookies when he was little when he was sick?"

"No," Caroline replied, "He got some broth and crackers. Grandma didn't have time to make cookies back then."

"You didn't?"

"Nope. I was busy, busy. I started making cookies when my kids all grew up. That's what grandchildren are for, you, know, for eating cookies and unwrapping presents."

Noah nodded. This made perfect sense to him.

"After Halloween you know what we have to start thinking about, right?" Caroline asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Christmas!" Noah exclaimed.

"Yes, sir, we're going to make a bunch of cutouts."

"Are we skipping Thanksgiving?" Ed asked.

"Eddie, who on Earth has ever heard of Thanksgiving cookies?"

"Yeah, Daddy! For dat you have pie!"

Ed shrugged and looked at Olivia with a defeated expression. "Just don't want to forget the turkey…" he murmured.

"And Noah's birthday," Olivia cooed.

"And da parade!" Noah shifted in his chair so he was facing both his parents and delivered his question with utmost seriousness, "Are we gonna go see da balloons again?"

Ed smirked and glanced at Olivia. "Welllll…"

"Please!"

"PEEEEEESE!" Maggie and Wyatt shouted in unison.

"Of course we can," Ed replied.

Maggie, Wyatt, and Noah cheered and clapped their hands.

"Ma, you in?"

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about but it sounds like fun, so I guess I am."

…..

Noah returned to school to great fanfare. His best buddies ran up to him and peppered him with questions. Embarrassed at the attention, Noah brushed off the concerns and insisted he was absent because of "a little cold" and he had been well enough over the weekend to go to his Grandmother's house and jump in leaf piles with his brother and sister. When he returned home he produced a few pages of make-up work to complete and a folded piece of red construction paper which left a trail of silver glitter on the counter as Noah took it from his bag.

"What's that?" Olivia asked.

"A card," Noah replied.

Olivia gingerly unfolded it. Inside were three glitter hearts and Welcome Back, Noah was scrawled in wobbly printing. Beneath the message, Mia had signed her name in fancy script which was impressive and more carefully written than the other words. She'd even dotted her i with a star.

"This is so nice," Olivia cooed. "I bet your friends missed you."

"Uh-huh," Noah said, "And my teacher."

"We haven't seen Mia in a while," Olivia remarked, "We should have her over again soon."

"C'we go trick or treating with her like last time?"

"Sure. I'll call her Dad tomorrow."

"Not her Dad," Noah said matter-of-factly, "He's gone."

"Gone?"

"He's away on business."

"Oh...okay," Olivia was trying to sound unfazed, "I'll call her mom then."

"You should call her nanny."

"Sure…I'll do that. Or I'll see her tomorrow at pick-up."

Noah nodded and wrote his name on the first of the worksheets. "My teacher said I don't have to do this all tonight, but I want to," he said.

"Why don't you do that one and I'll check it and then we'll have a snack?"

Scrunching his nose, Noah replied, "Nah."

Olivia decided not to argue and kissed his head. "Okay, sweet boy. It seems like you have a plan."

"Yep." Olivia wandered over to where the twins were playing. Noah twisted in his chair and added, "I'll tell ya when it's time to check the first one, kay?"

Olivia nodded dutifully and replied, "Got it."

…

Wyatt cautiously eyed his brother, or, rather, his brother's plate. He and Noah had enjoyed a productive, informal meeting with a group of non-profit leaders, but Noah's aversion to carrots was making Wyatt nervous. When he accepted the offer to become Chief-of-Staff, Wyatt had been worried he wasn't suited for such a public-facing role. He never pictured himself answering questions from the media or telling other people what to do, but he quickly realized he not only was good at the work, but he also enjoyed it. Unlike many other politicians, Noah didn't care about getting reelected. He was intent on doing the work needed to achieve his two major priorities that always seemed to dog urban areas-affordable housing and upgrading public transportation-and he paid zero attention to opinion polls. Wyatt did, but he spent the bulk of his time studying issues, crunching numbers, and listening to citizens like they were doing tonight. Everything was going smoothly, except for how Noah ate around the mound of carrots that had been served with his chicken. The meal was concluding and they were all that was left on his plate.

Eat the damn carrots! Wyatt urged his brother silently. It was all he needed for some idiot to tweet a photo of the mayor petulantly refusing his vegetables. Wasting vegetables! Overpriced, restaurant vegetables! But Noah had not eaten a carrot since the last meal their Grandmother prepared, and, Wyatt supposed, that tearjerker of a story could save them if this thing went viral.

Luckily, other than carrots, Noah was not a picky eater and had no food allergies, so dessert went off without a hitch. The brothers climbed into the car, buoyed by the progress that had been made. As he always did before they went their separate ways in the evening, Noah ran through the agenda items for the next day. "With any luck," he said, "We'll be home in time for the game," he said about the Knicks home opener.

"Yep," Wyatt said cheerfully, "I hope I get to enjoy it."

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I have nightmare scenarios about carrots."

Noah sized up his brother and saw he was only partially joking. "No one cares if I don't eat carrots."

"If I've learned anything in the past few months it's that people care about a lot of things we don't expect them to care about."

Noah grinned and nodded. "You're right."

"So, worst case scenario, we bring up Grandma."

"Why wouldn't we?" Noah asked, hearing a shred of doubt in Wyatt's voice, "It's the truth."

"Yeah…"

"I wish she could be here," Noah said, "She'd be so funny."

"And proud."

"Yeah…" Noah stared out over the river and pictured his Grandmother's face. He could hear her voice-firm yet encouraging, raspy yet loving-and wondered what she would think about his administration's work so far. His family never offered much criticism, but Caroline would not have hesitated to tell him the honest truth. He was grateful his memories of her were so vivid.

"This is gonna be good, Noah," Wyatt said. "This housing plan. It's going to work."

"I hope so," Noah replied.

"Are we watching the game at your place tomorrow?"

"How about yours?" Noah suggested, "It'll be nice to go somewhere else. I wish we could…go out like normal. I guess it's going to be a little while until we can do that again."

"Yeah," Wyatt sighed, "But I think we can sacrifice a few years for the city."

"You're right," Noah replied. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't think about how much he loved New York. The city and its people deserved a mayor who would fight doggedly for everyone, and Noah was certain he was that guy.

….

Ed moved his fingers in circles on Olivia's bare shoulder and rested his chin on the top of her head. He could feel her shaking, but it wasn't from cold or nervousness or anything other than laughter. "What's so funny?" He asked, trying to sound offended, but had no reason to be offended. Post-wisdom-tooth extraction sex had been a resounding success.

"The fact that every time they need a chaperone or a volunteer the teachers ask you first."

"I don't know if that's one hundred percent true."

"More often than not," Olivia lifted her head enough so she could give him a kiss, "They ask you first."

"Probably because they think I'm a pushover."

"Probably." Olivia nuzzled his neck, "And you are."

"No I'm not."

"Whatever you say, Captain." She wrapped her arm around his torso and added, "Actually, it's probably because they all have the hots for you."

"Yeah," Ed puffed up his chest, "Probably."

"I imagine them getting giddy when you walk in."

"They do start whispering to each other."

Olivia laughed, certain there was truth in his joke. "They'll be disappointed next week when they're reminded you're married."

"They'll be crushed."

"Poor things."

"Hey," Ed said softly, "All the talk about Angela…I'm sorry-"

"-Ed, she's going to come up. It didn't bother me. Well, mentioning her didn't bother me. All of the hassle Brooke is going through, all of the mess her life apparently was…that's troubling, but not for me. For them. For you."

"It has nothing to do with me. Not the last part."

"Honey," Olivia sat up so she could see his face, "It doesn't bother you that the woman you married changed so drastically?"

"I guess it does."

"It should."

Ed's chest inflated and he exhaled the deep breath slowly. "Maybe…the stroke was a sign of something else wrong with her…brain tumor? Something that affected her personality?"

"It's not unheard of."

Ed took Olivia's face into her hands and kissed her on the lips. "I think I've convinced myself that you, me, and the kids are all Sarah and Brooke need or ever needed. Sarah looks to you as her mother, but Brooke…she's probably always gonna be confused about why Angela couldn't be more like you."

Blinking back tears, Olivia settled back in against his chest. "All we can do is love them and be here for them."

"Yeah," Ed whispered, regaining his hold on her, "We always will."

…..

#Tuckson