231.

The Christmas and New Years holidays passed with a whirlwind of parties, shopping, drinks, dinners, and, of course, Ed's and Olivia's wedding anniversary which they celebrated with two nights at an upstate lodge. The atmosphere was romantic and serene. Even though they were less than two hours from the city, it felt like they were thousands of miles away. As an added bonus, the kids were left in the care of Justin and Sarah which served as a nice warm-up to the week they would spend together in a couple of months during the Italy trip. The new year began on a positive, cheerful note, so when Ed received a frantic phone call from Caroline's neighbor one mid-January weekend, he was immediately frightened but also let down. The wind had abruptly left their sails.

"I gotta get up to Ma's," Ed muttered after the call ended. "She fell."

"Oh my God," Olivia gasped.

"I'm goin' with you!" Noah screeched. He ran to the foyer for his coat and shoes.

"Sweetie, I think you should-"

"-I'm going," Noah declared with more defiance than he'd ever used toward his mother. He yanked on his boots, zipped his coat, and cemented his stance in front of the door.

"It'll be okay," Ed whispered to Olivia. "She's inside, was able to walk…"

Olivia met Ed's eyes. She couldn't tell if he was genuinely looking on the bright side or trying to convince himself that the injury wasn't in the worst-case-scenario range. Trusting him either way, she relented and reminded Noah to put on his hat. "Keep me posted," she said after Ed kissed her goodbye.

"I will."

He and Noah rushed out, and the twins raced across the room, bewildered and curious. "Hey!" Maggie shouted, "Where'day'go?"

Despite the emergency, Olivia couldn't help but smile at her daughter. Maggie dressed herself that morning and chose a pair of jeans with rhinestones lining the pockets and a neon green long-sleeved t-shirt she got at the Disney on Ice performance they'd attended after Christmas. Her hair had mostly fallen out of her ponytail, and she'd set her jaw exactly like her father had done so many times at the IAB interrogation table.

"They went to help Grandma," Olivia answered.

"I wa'GO! MAGGO!"

"How about we get our Play-Doh out instead?" Olivia suggested, hoping to distract the twins with one of their favorite activities.

Maggie's demeanor immediately changed. "Okay," she said brightly, "WY! PAYDOH!"

One step ahead of her, Wyatt was already yanking on the closet door, eager to grab the plastic bins where the Play-Doh and the old cookie cutters were stored. "I gottit, Magg," Wyatt said, his voice straining. He finally got the door open, but frowned. "Ma! Da lightI ! Ca'see!"

Olivia darted over and flipped on the light. "Here we go, sweetheart," she said gently and handed him one of the baskets. "Take that one to the table."

The twins climbed onto their chairs and peeled the lids from the containers. Olivia watched them organize the colors, careful to keep them separate like Noah always urged them to do. One can held the glob of mixed-color Play-Doh, and Maggie giggled when she rolled it around in her hands. "Dissa trouble dough!" she exclaimed.

"Trouble dough?" Olivia asked.

"No'say you mix it you ge'in'trouble!" Maggie burst into laughter.

Olivia joined in. Clearly, the little sister was not at all fearful of whatever trouble Noah had alluded to.

"What are we making?" Olivia asked.

"Dinos," Wyatt replied, "Lotsa dinos!"

"I may'a dino for you, Wy," Maggie said.

"Tayou, Magg."

Olivia kissed both twins on the head and sat down at the head of the table. Wyatt offered her some Play-Doh but she declined. "I'm just going to watch you two for a little bit," she said, "Mommy loves you so much."

At the same time, Maggie and Wyatt looked up, shot her a quick smile, and eagerly went back to their projects.

…

When Ed and Noah entered Caroline's home they found her lying on her side on the couch and her neighbor sitting in the recliner. Ed thanked the man and walked him out while Noah ran to Caroline's side and assessed the damage. "Gramma!" He said, "What hurts?"

Caroline moved to muss his hair or at least squeeze his hand and groaned. "My leg, dear boy. Grandma crashed and fell on the ice in the driveway. But I have my ice pack and I'll be as good as new in a day or two."

Noah peered at the two gallon Ziplock bags resting on Caroline's upper leg. He gently adjusted one that looked like it was poised to slide off and onto the floor. "You think it's a broken leg?"

"No, I think it's a bad bruise." Caroline lowered her voice, "Your Daddy is very worried, isn't he?"

"Yes," Noah said, nodding and wide-eyed.

"Well you need to help me help him not be worried," Caroline whispered.

"I'm worried, too," Noah admitted.

"Dear boy, do not be worried about Grandma. I have survived famine, heartbreak, heartache, and everything in between. You always remember this. Grandma will always be fine." Caroline reached over and nudged his chin. "Say, 'I believe you, Grandma'."

"I believe you, Grandma," Noah said solemnly. He perked up when he heard Ed come back inside. "Do you need me to get you somethin' to drink?" He asked.

"Yes, dear boy, I need a small glass of gin. You know where-"

"-Ma, he's not gettin you gin," Ed interrupted. "No, go grab Grandma a glass of water, okay, bud?"

"Kay, Daddy." Noah walked away, but he turned and smirked at Caroline. She winked back.

Ed, not seeing the exchange, began with a gentle scolding. "Ma, I told you not to try and work outside until the guys came to clear the driveway and the sidewalks. And this is why," he gestured to her leg.

"Eddie I was going out to the freezer in the garage," Caroline retorted, "I was not doing anything different than what I normally would do. I just put my foot in an unlucky spot on the way back in. By the way, where's my meat? I don't want that chicken to go bad."

"It's in the fridge."

"Good."

During the brief lull in the conversation, Ed heard noises which was unmistakably the sound of a bottle top being unscrewed. He frowned at his mother and called to Noah. "Hey! Bud! Water only! No gin."

"Dammit, Eddie, you're no fun."

Noah walked slowly into the room with a glass full of water. "Sorry, Gramma," he said, "I tried to be quiet."

"I won't be under lock and key forever," Caroline replied, "Thank you for the water."

"You're welcome."

"Can you move?" Ed asked. "Walk? Get up to go to the bathroom?"

"I walked in here, Eddie, for Pete's sake." Caroline started to sit up and groaned, but she was able to get herself into a seated position. Slowly and with Ed and Noah standing at her sides, she stood up and took a couple of slow steps. "I can walk," she said. "I can feel it, but I can walk."

"Feel it how?"

"It's a bruise," Caroline said, "It feels like a bad bruise."

"I think we need to get you some X-rays to be safe."

"Eddie, I know my body. I've known my body for eighty-three years. Nothing's broken, trust me. And no brittle bones here. Even my doctor is dazzled by my strong bones."

"The doctor can tell how strong da bones are?" Noah asked, amazed.

Caroline smiled, glad to change the subject if even for a moment, "Yes the doctor can. But they usually don't check you out until you're an old woman."

Noah scrunched up his face and replied, "But I'm a boy."

"Then you have nothing to worry about!"

Ed rolled his eyes and guided his mother back to the couch. "We'll stay here a while. Get you some dinner. Make sure the bedroom down here is all set."

"I'm sleeping in my bed, Eddie."

"Ma…"

"Fine. I'll sleep down here."

"I think we're gonna stay here tonight," Ed said decidedly. "I can't leave you alone."

"Daddy we need our PJ's!" Noah crouched at Caroline's television stand and inspected her array of DVDs. He was already planning their sleepover activities.

Ed pulled out his phone. "I'm going to ask mom to pack us a bag and have Sarah bring it up."

It was obvious Caroline was pleased with the impromptu family time, but there was no hiding she was annoyed with all the fuss. "Tell Sare Bear I'll give her gas money."

"Yeah, okay," Ed replied as he tapped into his phone.

"Gramma, you gonna be able to play cards?" Noah asked.

"Yes I will."

"Kay. Daddy, tell Mommy to put some of my dollars in da bag please."

Ed smiled and shook his head. "Got it."

….

Amanda Rollins strode into Lieutenant Benson's office and got right to the point. "Liv," she said, "I'm so sorry, but I'm going to need next Monday and Tuesday off. My mother…" she trailed off, rolling her eyes.

Olivia held up a hand. "Say no more," she said kindly, "We have your back."

"Thanks." Amanda took it upon herself to sit down in one of the chairs in front of Olivia's desk and she blew out an exasperated breath. "I knew when my mother offered to come here to help with the baby the help was going to be more of a pain in the ass than it was worth."

"What's going on?"

"She signed up for one of those new age retreat things," Amanda said with a sigh, "And conveniently didn't tell me until this morning. So I'm on my own for four days, which, of course, it fine, but she's not here for…whatever this is. She's here for me and Jesse, but, then again, when has she ever put me first."

Olivia did not have much to say. Amanda's family routinely let her down, and there seemed to be no end to the disappointment. "Just know, Amanda, we're here for you," she said, hoping this would suffice as reassurance.

"It's fine…" Amanda murmured, still clearly trying to muddle through the exasperation. "Sorry to interrupt. I'll get out of here."

"Not a problem," Olivia said, "I was reading the weekly updates…have you heard about all the shuffling positions in Brooklyn? Wow, and I thought we could be a mess over here sometimes."

"No…what's going on?"

Olivia turned her laptop around so the screen faced Amanda. "See for yourself."

Amanda scooted forward and scrolled through the internal newsletter sent to squad leaders and NYPD administration. "Wow…" she murmured, "This is a lot of shake up."

"Yep." Olivia looked up and saw one of her fellow Lieutenants about to leave the squad room. "I'll be right back," she said, "I want to say hi to one of my old colleagues."

"Sure…"

Amanda kept reading. The information wasn't overly interesting or even gossip-worthy, but it was fun to get a glimpse of such exclusive information. She had scrolled to the last page of the document when she heard Olivia's phone vibrate from an incoming call. On instinct, she looked at the screen and saw Ed Tucker's name glaring back at her. Amanda groaned and rolled her eyes. "Tucker," she muttered under her breath and wondered what he might want. Contact with the IAB Captain was never good news.

After the phone stopped vibrating, Amanda waited to see if there was a voicemail notification. Arriving instead was a text message notification. Amanda's interest was piqued. A call. No voicemail. And a text. What was up? When Olivia returned, she tried to appear as indifferent as possible.

"You missed a call," Amanda said, sliding the phone toward her boss.

"Oh, thanks," Olivia said casually, "See what I mean about Brooklyn?"

"Yeah…have to wonder what's going on behind the scenes…and what heads are going to roll at the top."

"We'll see…" Olivia tapped the phone. She felt Amanda's scrutiny. She knew her detective had seen Tucker was calling and was dying to ask what the message was all about. Certainly she was speculating who was in trouble this time, but it must have been baffling, for SVU hadn't had any IAB-worthy cases in a couple of months.

"Everything alright?" Amanda asked.

Olivia finished replying to the text which was not at all job-related. She suppressed a smile, but there was no way she could control her eyes. Inevitably, they sparkled as they had come to do as the result of Ed's subtle flirting and his obvious desire for her.

"Everything's fine," Olivia said. She wiggled the phone in the air and continued with a vague explanation "Just a follow up."

Rollins shrugged. "I get nervous…and he's shown up here a little too much lately."

"Right now," Olivia said with a grin, "We have nothing to worry about."

"You sure?" Amanda asked intently.

Olivia nodded and replied, "Absolutely."

…

A call from Sarah was not unheard of, but she almost always texted first so when Brooke saw her sister's picture pop up on the phone when it rang, her stomach immediately flip-flopped. She answered hesitantly, sounding like she had not wanted to take the call at all. Skipping pleasantries, Sarah informed her that their grandmother had fallen and explained that Noah and Ed were staying there that night to keep an eye on her in case the bruise was more than a bruise. Brooke had not yet calmed down when Sarah asked if she wanted to ride up to Riverdale with her and she barely remembered saying yes. When Sarah showed up at her apartment, it was very close to being a surprise.

Sarah spoke in rapid-fire cadence as she turned onto Myrtle Avenue. "Waze says the FDR is the best way so the FDR we go. I can't believe she freaking fell. What the fuck. She doesn't need to be out doing whatever it was she was doing. Anyway, how is your class going? I don't think we've talked since like Christmas."

Brooke rested her head against the window and smiled. "It's going really well. I thought I was going to be in over my head and overwhelmed, and I am, but it's a good kind of overwhelmed, you know? Like, I'm actually making progress. And growing."

"That's awesome," Sarah said, "Do you have to, like, do a session in front of everyone and they pick apart what you do?"

"There's a lot of role play, yes," Brooke said, "But everyone's in the same boat. That part isn't intimidating. At least not for me. We actually have a study group and we're doing more practice sessions on Thursday nights. So that's cool."

"Oooo, fun!"

"Yeah, they're really cool guys."

Sarah raised her eyebrows and replied, "Guys?"

"Yeah," Brooke replied casually, with a slight shrug.

"I wasn't aware this was such a male-dominated field."

"I wasn't either, but, this class is split half and half and in the elevator after the first class I was there with the guys and we decided to form a group."

"Does Sonny know about this?"

"Yes," Brooke replied, "And it's a study group, not an orgy."

"Well, things can change."

Brooke rolled her eyes and smiled. "Not this thing. Anyway, change of subjects, is Grandma's hip broken? Because, if so, that is going to really be terrible for her. She's so old…she'll need surgery, rehab…ugh."

"Dad said it's a bad bruise. I don't know. We shall see. Noey's there. He makes everything better."

Brooke noticed they were almost out of Manhattan and waved a hand in the air. "I thought you said we had to pick up a bag from Dad's?"

"I did it before coming to get you. I figured that was the easiest thing to do."

"I could have taken the subway to you so you didn't have to come all the way out."

"Nah, that would've probably taken more time. Anyway, I don't mind, I love to drive."

"Since when?"

Sarah giggled. "Oh, well, maybe I should say I love to drive on Saturday late afternoons when traffic isn't so bad. Other than that, I usually make Justin drive. He's far more patient than I am."

"I can't believe he's going to be a doctor in a few months!" Brooke twisted a piece of her shoulder-length blonde hair, stared at the passing cityscape, and tried not to feel guilty about how skeptical she had been of Justin early on in his relationship with Sarah.

"Yep. He's trying not to be nervous about defending his dissertation, but, I'm like, dude, you wrote it while you were working on the project with your advisor so I don't know how much can possibly go wrong."

"Still, it must be intimidating," Brooke offered.

"I'm sure it is. Thank gawwwd I'm done with school. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of you for going back. I'm proud of Justin. I am proud and happy for anyone who wants to further their education. But. I'm done."

Brooke chuckled. She didn't blame Sarah for being so adamant about being finished with formal schooling since she remembered all of her whining about going to school when they were younger. School for her had always been a means to an end, and she'd achieved her end, and more.

"So…you want to be one of our test subjects in study group?" Brooke asked, joking.

Sarah shot her a quick, incredulous glance and replied, "Hell no!"

"Nervous?"

"Yes!"

"Well, the offer stands."

"Okay," Sarah said, smirking, "I'll keep that in mind."

…..

Ed and Olivia were still bleary-eyed when they made their way down the sand to the boardwalk, beach chairs and coffee in hand, to watch their kids compete in Bethany Beach's annual sand castle building competition. Wyatt had woken up first and taken it upon himself to make whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana for his siblings. Even at ten, Wyatt paid attention to nutrition and was a huge proponent of this type of breakfast. Noah joined him next and filled water bottles. Maggie followed, dressed and ready to go, and ate her toast on the journey to the boardwalk.

When the Tucker parents arrived, the competition chairperson was reading the rules. Noah, Maggie, and Wyatt stood straight and stared at the man, nodding where appropriate yet looking eager to get started. Ed chuckled and whispered to Olivia that Wyatt had his goggles around his neck and Olivia playfully swatted his chest. "He's so cute," Olivia said, "And you never know…he might need those goggles."

"He might…"

After waving at the kids so they knew they were there, Ed set up the chairs and he and Olivia relaxed and watched the competition. There were a dozen or so teams, most of them appeared to be composed of siblings, and a few contestants operated solo. The Tucker kids had spent the past week drawing up plans and agreeing on roles, and as far as the parents could tell, the plan was being implemented without a hitch.

"How long do they get?" Ed asked.

"An hour," Olivia replied. The proud smile was cemented on her face. Other teams were already starting to bicker or battle power struggles, but her three were working diligently without saying much at all.

"Only an hour?" Ed furrowed his brow. At least once a week he was cajoled into sand castle construction and the projects typically lasted half a day. "No wonder they look so serious."

Olivia snapped a few photos. In one, she captured Wyatt carving a design into a tower and so unwilling to pause that he blew air upwards in an attempt to get his bangs out of his eyes. "They're competing for big money," Olivia said, "They better be serious."

"A hundred bucks and a trophy. It'll be the highlight of the summer."

"You know what I love?" Olivia asked rhetorically, "It's that they'll be more proud of and happy to have the trophy than the money."

"They do love the hardware," Ed replied.

The centerpiece of the Tuckers' design, a medieval-looking tower, had been secured first, but suddenly started tilting. They would lose valuable time if they had to rebuild it. Maggie noticed it first and rushed to save it. She glanced up at Noah and grinned, proud that she'd rescued the structure. "Need more sand at the bottom," she said, "Need the foundation."

"Got it," Wyatt said, coming in with reinforcements.

Noah crouched and patched the cracks. "Okay," he said, "I think it's good. Let's just watch it and make sure."

"Yup," Wyatt said. "Good job, Magg."

Noah fist-bumped his sister. "You saved the day."

Over in the spectator area, Ed glanced at Olivia and knew she was tearing up even before he caught sight of her face. Sure enough, she was wiping her eyes under her sunglasses and felt Ed's eyes on her.

"It never gets old," she said, "I'm so proud of them."

Ed kissed her hand and replied, "They're the kids everyone dreams of having."

"And they're ours."

"Yes they are."

….

With Caroline and Noah in bed and asleep, Ed stepped out onto the enclosed front porch and called Olivia. It took her a few rings to answer, which he thought odd, for the twins were surely conked out by now. When she finally picked up she explained Maggie and Wyatt were, indeed, asleep, but they were asleep in their bed, so she had to tiptoe into the living room to take the call.

"Ya caved, huh?" Ed teased about the sleeping arrangements.

"I did," Olivia replied. "How's your mom?"

"She's good actually. Played cards, watched a marathon of Family Feud-Noah wants to go on the show by the way-and then either she got tired or drunk, I don't know which, and went to bed. I can hear her snoring."

Olivia chuckled. "So she's getting around okay?"

"I think she's doing her best to hide how much it hurts. We'll see tomorrow. I'd still feel better if we got an X-ray."

"I would, too." Olivia heard Ed's long exhale and asked, "Did you sneak a smoke?"

"No," Ed replied, "But I'm sure I could if I wanted to. I know her hiding spots."

"It was a scare," Olivia said, "I wouldn't blame you."

"Sure was a scare," Ed replied, lowering his voice, "And, well, I know she doesn't have much time left, but I realized tonight, I don't want it to happen like this, by an accident that could've been prevented. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell her that. I fussed at her today, but not quite from that angle."

"She might respond better that way."

"Probably." Ed stared into the deserted street and realized being on the phone with Olivia, even in silence, was the comfort he had been craving. "I miss you," he said in his sweetest voice. "I hope you're not mad at me for taking Noah like that."

"I'm not mad at all," Olivia said, "You were right. And, I guess, my first instinct is to hold him back, keep him away from anything that might be in any way upsetting, and that's not…that's overprotectiveness gone too far. I don't want to be that way. And you're not, so, once again, we balance each other out."

"Yeah…hey, you didn't say you miss me too."

Olivia laughed. "I miss you, Ed Tucker. I miss your kiss goodnight…"

"Ouch."

"You'll make up for it tomorrow."

"You know I will."

"Oh, hey," Olivia said cheerfully, "I meant to ask earlier when you talked about watching Family Feud-do they even make that show anymore?"

"I have no idea. But I'll check if you want to throw our names into the hat."

At home, Olivia put her feet on the coffee table and gazed ahead at the bookcase where she kept at least a dozen family photographs. She thought about the game show which she had seen a handful of times and was sure, if they were to compete, it would be hilarious. "We'll have to break some hearts in choosing who competes," she said.

Ed agreed and said, "Noah would have somethin' to say about it being adults only."

"So it would be you, me, the girls, and Noah. But then again, your mom…"

"We'll get the board game," Ed suggested, "Have tryouts this summer at the house."

"Great idea."

"So, I'll, uh, I'll call you in the morning with an update?"

"Yes," Olivia said, "Don't rush it. If you need to stay the day tomorrow, or even another night, do it."

"We'll see," Ed replied, "Love you, Liv."

"I love you," she said softly, "Get some sleep, okay?"

"I will." Ed smirked to himself. The tables had turned. For once, she was the one worried about him getting rest.

….

#Tuckson