216. Hi Everyone! I spent time away from home and away from the computer this holiday season and while it was nice to get away I'm glad to be back home and back to my Tuckson saga! I hope you all are safe and healthy and ready for another year in the lives of the Tuckers!

Caroline had one of the neighbor kids drape fake cobwebs over her low, front yard shrubs and she hung three skeletons from the lone tree -an almost bare Norway Maple that she and her late husband had threatened to have cut down at least ten times a year. The Happy Halloween and Beware signs had been up the week before when the kids came over for dinner, but the new decorations were a surprise and they noticed them the second Ed turned onto her street. "Lookit!" Noah shouted, "Gramma did a haunted house yard! Dere's even a tombstone!"

"Grandma sure is festive this year," Olivia remarked. The neighborhood was already pulsating with Halloween energy and almost every home boasted some type of decoration. Many residents replaced their porch light bulbs with purple or green hues and someone was playing spooky music from a window. Two enterprising middle schoolers were selling rice krispy treats, donuts, and cider at a stand on the opposite end of the block, and older kids, perhaps their siblings, were tossing a football nearby. "I love this street," she murmured.

"Yeah," Ed replied, "It's like the good old days. Something from a movie. I hope it never changes."

"Do you know a lot of these neighbors?" Caroline's next door neighbors were both new residents, but Olivia knew many of the other homes had been passed down from one generation to the next.

"Not many anymore," Ed replied, "But I'm glad there're still a lot of families."

Ed parked in the driveway and Noah immediately unbuckled himself and the twins. They ran into the front yard, inspected everything, and ended up on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street, assessing all of the potential trick-or-treating routes.

"Hello my dears!" Caroline announced, making her way into the yard from the front door, "Happy Halloween!" She was wearing and purple and black striped sweater, leggings, and a black pointy witch hat.

"HA'HALLLWEEEN!" Maggie shouted.

Her siblings joined in and they ran to give Caroline hugs. She sat down on the steps and collected her grandchildren into her arms. "Are you hungry? Where's Mia? I thought my sweetheart was joining us?"

"Mia couldn't come," Noah said gloomily, "She's having Hall'ween at da stables."

"Oh, well, that's too bad," Caroline said, "But we'll see her again soon. Come in, come in and we'll have some snacks to get you all ready for trick-or-treat."

"Donuts oh'dere!" Wyatt said, pointing at the stand.

"Let Grandma get some money and I'll take you."

"Mama ha'cossumes," Maggie told Caroline with a very serious expression on her face.

Caroline smiled at Olivia who was shouldering her tote and the costume bag and at Ed who sheepishly held nothing in his hands.

"Let's wait a little bit for costumes. We can go get donuts," she said and then murmured to Ed, "It's Halloween, right? We can have donuts for dinner."

"Consider it an appetizer," Caroline said, "I have all kinds of things inside for us. Let me get some dollars, sweetie pies, just a minute."

"Here, Ma," Ed pulled out his wallet and handed over a few bills, "I don't know how much street donuts and cider are goin' for these days, but that should be enough."

"I shoulda brought my wallet," Noah mumbled.

Olivia felt terrible for him. Not only did Mia's mother, at the last minute, decide to take her to Long Island, but he neglected to bring his wallet, one of his most prized possessions. "Hey sweet boy," she went over and ushered him aside, "We didn't think to bring your wallet because it's Halloween and you don't really need it. I didn't know there would be a donut stand. Next year we'll know."

"Daddy said I should always have da wallet!"

Olivia smiled, "He meant when you're-" she had to pause because what Ed really meant was that he needed the wallet when he was on dates so the date didn't have to pay- "He meant when you're going places where you're planning on paying for things. We didn't know about this. It's okay."

"Alright."

"You know what? I didn't bring my wallet either!"

"You didn't?" Noah screwed up his face, "But you have your purse!"

"It's full of Maggie's and Wyatt's stuff!"

Noah giggled, "Those babies still need a lot of stuff!"

"They sure do," Olivia hugged him and kissed his head. "Go on with Grandma and your brother and sister. Daddy and I will be right here on the porch."

"Kay."

Noah skipped off and led the way down the block. Caroline held the twins' hands, and Ed and Olivia could tell they were chatting all the way to the stand. "They love her so much," Olivia murmured.

"Yeah," Ed replied, "She got a second round of grandmothering like I got a second stab at bein' a dad. I think it's added years to her life."

"Brooke and Sarah spent a lot of time with her, didn't they?"

"When they were little, yeah, but when they moved out to Long Island it was less and less," Ed replied, "And I, of course, didn't press anything with Angela or with them. It kills me to think, and just now realize, how isolated and alone they must have felt."

"But they took the train into the city to see you…"

"I dunno," Ed said, "I think all parents look back and wish they would've spent more time with their kids. Ma probably wishes she would've demanded to see Sarah and Brooke more often when they were in middle school."

"Now she demands…" Olivia was right. If Caroline went more than two weeks without seeing her grandchildren, she called and reminded Olivia they were welcome anytime. It was a subtle demand, but a demand no less, and Olivia appreciated the reminders. It had been almost five years since she and Noah had first met Caroline and deemed family, but it was probably going to take her the rest of her life to consistently remember she was no longer alone.

"Yeah," Ed murmured and grinned at his mother attempting to wrangle the kids.

Olivia chuckled. The twins were jumping around but Caroline refused to let their hands go, displaying a physical strength Olivia didn't know she had. Noah stood a couple of feet outside of the line, assessing what exactly was for sale and appeared to shout out the options. "She's going to demand they leave tonight," Olivia said, "They're wound up."

"They're supposed to be," Ed leaned closer to her, "It's Halloween." Olivia grinned and gave him a kiss. After, he smiled and gazed into her eyes and wished for the zillionth time he had a way to tell her exactly how much he loved her. "Liv-"

He was interrupted by Olivia's phone ringing. Even though she was almost two years removed from police calls, she had a hard time ignoring calls, even when her little ones and Ed were right in front of her.

"It's Sarah," she said before answering with a calm, "Hey, honey."

Sarah got right to the point in a panicked voice. "Livvie, Carmen fell, she's on her way to the emergency room and so are we, so we won't make it there tonight."

"Oh no," Olivia said and mouthed the news to Ed, "Is she conscious?"

"Yes. It's her leg."

"Ok, well, stay calm. Let us know if you need anything."

"We will," Sarah replied, "Thanks, Livvie, oh! We might need one tiny favor depending on how the night goes."

"What's that?"

"If G doesn't text me back and we're at the hospital late, we might need someone to go over and take Pearl out."

"Sure, just let us know." Olivia and Sarah said their goodbyes and Olivia slid the phone back into her pocket. "Sounds like a broken leg or ankle," she reported to Ed, "Hopefully she'll be okay with a cast and no surgery. We might have to take care of Pearl later."

Ed groaned.

Remembering the last time they were tasked with watching Pearl, Olivia chuckled. "We might have to go over and let her out," she clarified, "Not have her for a sleepover."

"Good," Ed muttered, "Dog creeped me out."

…..

Ed arrived at the precinct late and annoyed with himself for being late, but Olivia wasn't in her office and everyone in the squad room thought he was there for a sit down.

"Tucker, we're, uh, we'll get to you in a minute," Fin said curtly.

Before he could respond, Olivia breezed in from the other side of the room. "Oh, Tucker, hey, come on in," she said in a tone decidedly more friendly than Fin's.

Ed gave Fin a look, part contemptuous and part smug, and followed her inside. "Should I close the door, Lieutenant?"

"Please do."

Ed took a seat and watched her round the desk. She looked powerful and sexy in her blazer and black pants that deliciously hugged her thighs. He gripped the armrests and clenched his jaw, trying to look both intimidating and cute at the same time.

Olivia leaned across the desk on her forearms and asked, "So, what's up?" When Ed called earlier and requested they meet, he alluded to Hank Abraham but also hinted that it might be better if they talk in person rather than over the phone or email. Olivia saw right through the ploy to come and see her at the office but played along.

"Wanted to run the details we'll give at the presser about Abraham," Ed replied, "So we're all on the same page and nobody's blindsided."

"Blindsided? Is there something you know that we don't?"

"Not a thing. We're gonna keep it simple. Straightforward. It would be, uh, helpful if you were there."

"Ah," Olivia said with a grin, "There's the catch."

"Not a catch," Ed replied, "We'll take a few questions. You might be better at answering some of them than we would. Particularly…why nobody noticed or had a clue what he was hiding."

"Because people like Hank get very good at hiding it," Olivia said, feeling herself about to hop on her soap box, "That's exactly what I told Pippa. It's exactly what I would tell anyone."

Ed nodded. "So, can you be there tomorrow at ten to tell the press if they ask?" Ed raised his eyebrows and smirked. He imagined standing next to Olivia at the dais projecting their Hank Abraham-related frustration, horror, and regret to the media and desperately hoped she would say yes.

"Ten?"

"Yeah."

"Is this for you or for the department?"

Ed cocked his head and furrowed his brow. "Neither. For the people. I always knew Abraham was a scumbag-not this type of a scumbag, but a scumbag-and the department, well, they're gonna spin it any way they can to get the win. There's not a whole lotta trust out there, but you, Olivia Benson, people trust you."

A minute ago, Olivia was on the verge of being annoyed with Ed for using his personal "in" with her for this favor. Of course, she'd spoken to the press dozens, if not hundreds, of times, but as soon as Abraham pleaded guilty, SVU bowed out of the case. It wasn't their job to manage PR, it was the department's and, apparently, Ed's.

"Did they send you to ask me?"

"No. In prep today I…may have brought up your name."

Hearing this, Olivia smiled and relaxed.

"I wasn't lying when I told you you're on my mind…a lot," he added, feeling his cheeks turn crimson.

"So I pretty much need to bail you out at this point?"

"Yes please." Ed shrugged, "I'll uh…there's dinner in it for you if you and Noah are free?"

"We are."

"Somethin' simple? Pizza?"

"We would love that."

Ed nodded, stood up, and buttoned his blazer. "Want to give me a call later?"

"I'll do that." Olivia stood as well and followed him toward the door, hating that the blinds were open. Unable to do much else, she surreptitiously squeezed his hand. "Thanks for coming by, Captain. Beware of the sharks on the way out."

"They haven't killed me yet."

Olivia stopped and winked. "See you later."

"Bye, Lieutenant."

Five minutes later, the entire squad was in her office. "What's he want now?" Rollins asked.

"Closing out the Abraham case," Olivia said, "They want me at the press briefing tomorrow." Olivia looked up, "You seem disappointed."

"Nah," Fin said, "Usually when Tucker shows up there's nothing but bad news."

"Then this is a first," Olivia said. She opened her laptop eager to close out the day. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Carisi said, "Just wanted to make sure everything's okay."

"For now," Olivia replied looking down at her desk to hide the emerging grin, "Everything's great."

….

The news of Carmen's fall alarmed Caroline more than Ed or Olivia expected. She ran her fingers through her gray pixie cut and paced the living room. Noah and the twins were fast asleep on the couch, still dressed in their costumes, their plastic pumpkins, full of candy, on the floor below.

"Not good," Caroline muttered, "A fall, a broken hip, that could be death."

"Ma, don't be so dramatic. It's not a broken hip. It's her ankle."

"You never know, Eddie," Caroline snapped, "The same thing happened to my cousin Evangiline. She broke her leg and she dropped dead the next week."

"Ma." Ed glanced pointedly at Noah.

"He's snoring, Eddie."

"He has a way of hearing things even when he's asleep," Ed said, "We should probably get going."

"Why don't you stay here?"

Ed turned to Olivia, expecting her to politely shoot down the idea, but she was smiling. "I brought the kids' pajamas," she said, "And I'm sure you have extra t-shirts and sweats around here somewhere?"

"Absolutely! And I have extra toothbrushes, the beds are clean, what else do you need?"

"We could sit out on the deck with the bonfire…" Olivia added.

"What about Pearl?" Ed asked.

"G has her," Olivia replied and nudged her husband, "I'm glad you're concerned about the dog all of a sudden."

"I love that dog."

"Then it's settled," Caroline said, "I'll get the bed upstairs ready for these dearies. Eddie, can you light the fire and fix us some nice cocktails?"

Ed nodded."Yes ma'am."

"Olivia, do you want to get started getting these precious children into their jammies?"

"They look so sweet," Olivia cooed as she stood over her children piled together on the well-worn sofa. "I hate to move them."

"So don't," Caroline said, "We can do it later."

"Yes…let's do that." Olivia said. An added bonus about later was that they had a clear view of the living room from the back deck-extra security for an overprotective mother.

Caroline plodded up the stairs and Ed wrapped his arms around Olivia's waist. "Sure you want to do this?" He asked.

"Yes. It'll be fun. And your mom doesn't seem to want us to leave."

"She's not usually this clingy."

"I think Carmen's injury scared her a little."

Ed's eyes drifted upward to the sound of Caroline's footsteps scurrying back and forth. "Then she might want to think about slowing down a little bit."

"I don't know that's in her nature."

"Never has been."

….

For the first time ever, the Tuckers were hosting New Years weekend at the beach house. They had spent a few Christmases in Delaware as a family, but never with Brooke's and Sarah's broods added into the mix, and they typically made it back to the city before New Year's Eve. This year, though, the calendar fell perfectly with New Year's Eve on a Friday, so Ed and Olivia invited everyone down for the long weekend. On the day before the crew was set to arrive, the five Tuckers were busy getting the spare bedrooms ready. Maggie, though, had become distracted by the photo albums in the den.

"Hey sweet girl," Olivia stepped down into the room and sat down next to her on the big, fluffy sofa that seemed to half-consume anyone who sat on its cushions. It was the perfect piece of furniture for the space. "Whatcha doing?"

"Lookin' at pictures," Maggie said, not the least bit concerned her mother might be upset with her for taking a break from her chores.

In fact, Olivia had the exact opposite reaction. She had spent a lot of time during their summers in Bethany Beach selecting, printing, and placing photos in the albums. They were organized chronologically and included handwritten captions, dates, and relevant anecdotes. This particular album, though, was full of older images. They were less organized and placed in the plastic sleeves hurriedly, as a means of preservation rather than careful storytelling. When Caroline died, she left boxes of family photographs and Olivia immediately got to work putting them in albums. She eventually did the same with the photos she and Ed had from before they were married and they were now all combined in five thick books stored in the beach house's built-in cabinets. The den had become a repository of all of their family memories.

"Wow," Olivia said, "Those are old ones."

"Yeah," Maggie giggled, "You're like my age."

"A little older," Olivia kissed her daughter's ponytailed head.

"This one's when you got a pr'motion?"

"Yep. I went from Detective Benson to Sergeant Benson."

Maggie ran her fingers along the plastic and her face gradually contorted as she noticed a confusing detail. "What happened to this necklace?"

"Necklace?"

"Yeah! You're wearing it in all of these. Did you lose it?"

"No," Olivia shook her head. She pictured young Ariel, rescued from sex traffickers, and wondered what had become of her life and if she still owned the Fearlessness pendant or if she, too, had passed it on.

"Then where is it?"

"I'm not really sure," Olivia said. She explained the meaning of the pendant and how she had given it to someone who needed it more.

"You didn't need it to be brave anymore?" Maggie asked, wide-eyed.

On a daily basis, her children's outlook on life caused her to think differently, most times more simply, about so many things, and this was no exception. "No, I guess I didn't."

"Cause you were prolly always brave you jus' didn't realize it," Maggie said matter-of-factly. She let out a cute, quick, self-deprecating laugh, "That always happens."

"You're right," Olivia replied, smiling at her eleven-year-old who was wise beyond her years. "A lot of times we don't realize right away how much potential we have."

"Good thing ya have other necklaces!"

Maggie doubled over in silly laughter, cracking up at her making the spot-on but very obvious point. Olivia Benson Tucker could go a couple of months wearing a different necklace each day. Most of them had been gifts from Ed-she was fairly certain the first piece of jewelry he'd given her was a necklace-and she realized giving the necklace to Ariel coincided with the beginnings of her relationship with her future husband.

"Good thing," Olivia murmured. She gave Maggie a tight, quick hug and got back to business, "I'm going to go finish up in the kitchen…"

"Kay. I'm almost done in here."

Olivia glanced around the den. It was in more disarray than when Maggie started and her one job-getting the sofa bed ready-had not been done. Nevertheless, Olivia smiled, shrugged, and asked if Maggie wanted to join her for errands a little later.

"Yep! I'm there!"

"Good." Before heading to the kitchen, Olivia gazed at Maggie for another couple of seconds. She made absolutely no move to pry herself away from the photo albums and Olivia knew Ed or one of the boys would end up pulling out the sofa bed. As usual, Olivia fretted she was being too lenient, but, then again, how many kids her age were so obsessed with family photos that they effectively refused to do anything else? Kids, Olivia believed, had a unique, uncanny way of showing adults what was more and less important, and this moment was a perfect example.

…

Ed nodded to the doorman at Sarah's building and started to grab for his wallet, but the man waved him on. "The Vidals told me you would be here," he said in a voice so formal Ed wasn't immediately sure he believed him. "Do you need the key?"

"No," Ed muttered, "I have one." The doorman nodded and Ed moved along toward the elevators. He was grateful for his own building's staff who managed to be both protective of residents and personable at the same time.

Sarah and Justin were spending the day in the Bronx helping Carmen get settled. She had a broken ankle and some bruising on her hip and thigh but was home, resting, and medicated. In addition to monitoring her for any negative side effects from the meds, Sarah and Justin were cooking, cleaning, and making sure she had all of her favorite books and other pasttimes at the ready. Carmen lived with two of her children and three grandchildren and was never alone, but Justin needed to make sure he was doing everything possible to help and Sarah, of course, was on board.

Ed let himself into the apartment and Pearl came running. She jumped up on her hind legs and Ed carefully guided her other two paws back to the floor. "Ready for your walk, big girl?" Ed asked. Pearl threw herself onto her back and Ed rubbed her belly for a minute or so. "C'mon, let's go."

The sound of the door opening startled him. Instinctively, his hand went to his waist where, a long time ago, he would have holstered his Glock. He would have chuckled at old habits dying hard, but he was on alert, ready to face whoever was entering.

"Oh, oh, shit, I'm sorry!" G, embarrassed, froze in the foyer. "I didn't know you were coming and-"

Ed held up one hand and gripped Pearl's collar with the other until G closed the door. "-don't worry about it," he said, "little miscommunication…or, no communication."

"Sarah has a lot going on," G murmured.

"Yeah…" Ed watched Pearl run to G. She crouched and scratched the dog's ears. "How ya been?" He asked. "Good Halloween?"

Smiling politely, G nodded to Pearl and answered, "The dog and I hung out."

"Oh, yeah…thanks for that."

"I was working anyway," she said, "A lot of events in November and December coming up."

"I'm sure you're knockin' em dead," Ed remarked.

Intended to be polite and kind, his smirk instead made G's knees nearly buckle. "I try," she managed to say in response.

"Hey, ya know, if you're ever interested in watching the kids some night after the kids go to bed, I'd love to take Liv out."

"Sure," G said, "Anytime. And they don't have to be asleep. I love those kiddos."

"Yeah, well, I figured if you had work to do it'd be easier."

G shrugged. "I really don't mind. Just let me know."

"How about next Friday?" Ed had zero plans but he felt like he needed to make more concrete plans while G was in front of him. "Eight?"

"Sure." Pearl barked and jumped up, this time her front paws landed on G's shoulders. "Oof! Hey, I don't mind taking her out." G wasn't sure how she knew Ed wasn't a huge fan of Pearl, but she knew it nevertheless.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks," Ed replied, "I won't tell Sarah if you won't."

"I have a feeling she's going to call me in a panic in an hour and ask me to come and get Pearl not realizing she already texted me last night."

"You sure have her pegged," Ed grinned, "And I might get the same call." He held out a fist for G to bump. "Teamwork makes the dream work."

G chuckled. "Sure does."

…

At the sound of the door opening, Olivia looked up from her magazine and regarded Ed curiously. "Hey," she said, "That was quick."

"Ran into G," Ed explained, "She took it from there."

"Oh…"

Ed hung his jacket on the rack and went over to give Olivia a kiss and asked about the silence of the apartment. "Naps?"

"They're exhausted. I'm glad it's Saturday."

"What are you up to other than enjoying the peace and quiet?"

"I just finished talking to Brooke. She and Sonny are still out on Staten Island with his family. They had a good Halloween but it sounds like Sofia didn't last long."

"What are we doing wrong?" Ed joked. The twins and Noah crashed when they got back to Caroline's, but, before then, they had hustled from house to house as if they were competing in some sort of candy-race game show.

"I don't know," Olivia mused, "We seem to be raising kids to seize the moment…not that Brooke and Sonny aren't, but-"

"-hey," Ed interrupted, "I didn't mean to make you second guess anything."

"I know…I just…I always do. But," she flashed Ed a genuine smile, "I love that our kids…well, they go after life, they have fun, and we let them do it."

"So do I." Ed kissed her softly on the lips.

"Oh, and, in other news, they got Latimer."

"Oh yeah? Good. Where?"

"Quebec."

"Ugh," Ed groaned, "I hate that he sullied Quebec with his presence. It was so nice there."

"I'm sure it's still nice."

"We had so much fun there," Ed whispered into the side of her face. "Remember?"

"Of course I remember," Olivia leaned into him. "I loved it."

Ed leaned back into the cushions and held Olivia in his arms. "Where else do you want to go, Olivia Margaret?"

"Italy…London, Swiss Alps…so many places."

"We'll do it." Ed took a deep breath full of her hair, "How about Italy in the spring?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"The two of us or everyone?"

"I think the two of us this time," Ed replied, "A few days, nothing major, Sarah and Brooke will help out."

"We're going to owe them big time."

Ed shrugged. "We took out their dog."

Olivia laughed. "Right."

"They'll be happy to help," Ed replied, "And families don't keep score, well, except for us, when we play games, and, uh, well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Olivia cooed, "I'm still working on remembering that."

"So am I."

….

#Tuckson