233.

On Wednesday evening, Noah could not stop talking about his afternoon with Sarah and G. First they stopped at Sarah's apartment and dropped off his backpack. While there, he changed out of his school uniform, as usual, and he now had two uniforms at Sarah's place because he forgot, like last week, to put his clothes in his bag. "I was rushing," he explained to his parents unapologetically. After that, there was the subway, and then the skee ball competition, and then another subway ride, and, finally, a stroll down St. Mark's where they stopped to eat and shop at some of the more outré shops that still existed in the area. Noah came home with a studded leather bracelet, a few vintage comics, and a henna tattoo. "Doesn't wash off even with loofa!" he reported with a giggle after he took his shower.

Turning Noah's arm in every possible direction, Ed inspected the intricate design. "I like it," he said, "good choice, bud."

"S'my name in Hindi," Noah replied, "Or…dat's what da man said. S'doesn't look like letters in English but Sare Bear said not everyone in the whole wide freaking world uses English letters. So," Noah shrugged, "Dat's my name! You like it, Mommy?"

"I do," Olivia said as she settled in on the couch with the two of them. The twins had already been put to bed and were sound asleep, "But let's maybe…oh, never mind."

"What?" Ed and Noah said at the same time.

"I was going to say let's not show Maggie and Wyatt," she said, "You know…tattoos."

Noah and Ed laughed.

"Are those babies troublemakers?" Noah asked after a minute. His wide eyes suggested he was very concerned about his siblings' reputations.

Ed jumped to answer. "Nah bud," he said, "Maggie and Wyatt just have an advantage that other kids don't have at preschool." Noah and Olivia were both waiting for the rest of his theory, so Ed smirked and continued. "They have a built-in best friend. They have a leg up on everyone else because they're a team. So, if one of 'em has an idea for tattoos, the other one helps out. If one decides to block off the listening center with a password, the other one enforces it."

Noah doubled over in laughter and collapsed against Olivia. He buried her head in her side to muffle the sound.

"Bud, when you were in preschool you followed all the rules. You didn't have twin sister or brother to help you get in trouble."

"Nope!"

"But," Olivia added, "The twins are still learning how to behave in school. They're doing better. We told them no tattoos and they stopped. We told them no passwords, and…I think they've stopped."

"Yeah," Noah said, "They jus' gotta learn all da stuff." He shrugged. "I don't r'member learning all of it, but I guess I jus' knew it."

Ed glanced at Olivia.

She smiled and ran her fingers through Noah's hair. "We all have to learn it, honey," she said, "But when you have a good heart like you, and you listen to your teachers and to your parents, you don't even realize you're learning."

Noah smiled and murmured, "Dat's good. I like learning."

"We're so proud that you like learning," Olivia said, resting her chin on top of Noah's head. "If you learn a lot you can do anything you want to do when you grow up."

"I wanna learn howta drive da subway," Noah said.

"Someday I'm sure you can do that. What else do you want to learn?"

Noah sat up and twisted his lips and nose the way he did when he was curious about something. "Dontcha always wonder how these big buildings we have in New York got built? And why dey don't fall down?"

"I do…"

"I'm gonna learn dat," Noah resolutely proclaimed before collapsing back against his mother. He yawned. It had been a long, eventful day.

Noah closed his eyes and Olivia closed hers too. On the other end of the couch, Ed contentedly flipped through the rest of the newspaper, happy to read in silence while his wife savored this moment. He was relieved that tonight's conversation didn't include creative answers to Noah's questions about him as a baby, which he had started asking with more frequency. They had explained adoption to him when the twins were born and he asked questions, but he was so young then. A more sophisticated explanation was on the horizon.

So, Ed was sure Olivia took solace in the fact that Ed remembered preschool and he was able to relay an anecdote about it. He had been there-it was the beginning of his relationship with Noah-and those memories were important for everyone.

….

Ed frantically scoured internet sites and then his phone, desperate to find another ticket or two to the Knicks-Nets basketball game. Maggie had surprised everyone by coming home for her winter break a few days early, and, though he was thrilled to have his daughter home for a few extra days, he only had tickets for himself and the boys. With the kids away at school, they'd given up their partial season ticket package, so when three prime seats fell into his lap he jumped at the chance to go. Olivia enjoyed the games, but she was more than willing to stay home and give Ed a boys' night. But then Maggie called from a cab and said she was on her way home from JFK. And she loved the games just as much as her brothers.

"Liv, I can't find shit," Ed muttered.

Olivia rounded the table and rubbed his shoulders. She peered at the screen as if her mere presence would make five tickets appear. "Ed, honey, there aren't any good ones even available. We'd be in the nosebleeds. Just go. Maggie will understand."

Ed considered this. Maggie probably would understand. But he still felt bad. Then again, she was the one who decided to get cute with the surprise visit. "I'm gonna keep lookin," he grumbled.

Olivia kissed his head and went to Maggie's room to make sure it was in order. She had been using part of the closet as storage for large plastic tubs of photographs and other mementos of the kids' lives, and occasionally she left things on the floor, bed, or desk. After all, the chance of Maggie popping in from California was almost zero…until today. Olivia smiled as she tidied the room, pausing by Maggie's cork board of photographs. Each kid had been gifted a board years ago, and Ed and Olivia never balked when they asked to print pictures. In subtle ways, they managed to pass on certain habits and values to their kids many people would think of as antiquated.

Olivia found it interesting to see which pictures the kids posted and which they didn't. Maggie's best friends were there as were a few more formal snaps at graduations and school dances. Most of the photos, though, were of family. Maggie and Anthony and Mari. Maggie and Brooke and Sofia. Maggie with Justin and Sonny. Maggie, as a toddler, with Grandma Caroline. And many, so many they were wedged in and overlapping each other, with the immediate family. One of Olivia's favorites must have been one of Maggie's because the very same photograph was framed and had a home on the master bedroom bureau. In it, the three kids were sitting on the Bethany Beach Boardwalk railing with Ed and Olivia flanking. Their smiles were cheerful and genuine. Ed, in particular, looked so proud.

Olivia hadn't realized she'd been lingering so long, and she startled when she heard Maggie's voice. For a second it seemed as if the photos were talking to her. She went out to join her now-all-together family, and Ed was in the middle of an apology.

"Why don't the three of you go," Ed offered. "Mom and I will stay here. We'll go on a date, huh, Liv?"

The idea sounded fun, and Noah and Wyatt smiled. But, Maggie clearly felt guilty. "No, no, that's dumb," she said. "You guys go. Mom and I will find something to do, right Mom?"

Flattered and thrilled, Olivia broke into a wide grin. She reached for her daughter's hand and squeezed it. "Right," she said softly and then hugged her daughter in a delayed greeting, "Oh my gosh it's so good to see you!"

"You're not mad I got here early?"

"Of course not!" Olivia played with Maggie's hair and did a quick once-over. She looked good, healthy, gorgeous, and her freckles were prominent, a sign she'd been out in the sun recently. "I'm so happy we get more time with you."

"Well, boys, could you please put my bags in my quarters?" Maggie asked in a high society accent before giggling.

"They're on wheels," Wyatt said. He used his knee to propel the larger of her two suitcases toward Maggie's room. "There ya go," he added with a grin.

"C'mere, brother!" Maggie threw herself at Wyatt like she did when they were toddlers. After the bear hug, she kissed his cheek with an exaggerated, "MWAH!" and attacked Noah next.

Olivia drifted toward Ed. He kissed her cheek and whispered, "Happy?"

All she could manage was a nod. Their trio fell into their familiar banter, and Olivia watched and listened and didn't bother to fight the few happy tears that trickled down her face. Everyone in the family was used to her crying at the drop of a hat anyway. In an hour or so, the guys would have to leave for the game, especially if they were going to get Wyatt's favorite Pizza Suprema before tip, and Olivia and Maggie would have the entire evening to do…whatever. Of course the happy tears were going to arrive. Olivia's heart was full.

….

A combination of things happened all at once on the last Friday morning of January. Olivia and Ed, only three or so hours removed from a middle-of-the night lovemaking session, groaned as their alarms went off. But, before Ed could fumble around and grab his phone, Olivia's phone actually rang. It was Mia's dad. She picked up, said "hello" and immediately scrambled to grab clothes because she heard Noah shouting from the living room. Olivia stammered a few words to Mia's dad, glared at Ed who was laughing, and disappeared into the bathroom. Ed pulled on a shirt and shorts and went out to see what was going on, but he didn't need any explanation once he took a peek outside.

Snow was falling in sheets, and it was so thick and dense, their normal view was mostly obscured.

"Daddy," Noah said, "It's a BLIZZARD!"

Out of nowhere, the twins came running, shouting "BIZZARD! BIZZARD!"

"BIZZARD BIZZARD!"

Great, Ed thought, the preschoolers were already hyper and it was only six-thirty. Then, he flipped on the news and saw that school closure announcements were pouring in. New York had been forecasted to get snow, but the storm had caught even the most seasoned meteorologists by surprise.

"Hey, No," Ed said, "You know what you can do for a job when you get older and not worry about ever getting in trouble?"

"What job?"

"Weatherman."

Noah giggled and shook his head. He had never expressed a desire to be the person on television telling everyone about whether the day would be sunny, cloudy, hot, cold, or whatever, so his Daddy's suggestion amused him.

"I'm serious, bud, you can be wrong all the time and nobody cares."

"Dat's weird."

"Yup."

"Are we going to school today?" Noah asked.

"I don't think so," Ed replied. He grabbed his phone and tapped the school's app. Sure enough, an alert popped up. School was canceled. All students were to complete assignments remotely, if possible. Ed had no intention of making Noah do school work on a snow day. "Confirmed," he continued, "No School!"

"YAY!"

Noah did a lap around the living room and the twins followed him even though they weren't exactly sure what or why they were celebrating. When Olivia came in with more news, the whoops grew even louder.

"Mia's coming over," she said, shooting Ed an apologetic glance for not consulting him before giving the okay, "At least until noon. Her nanny's stuck."

Ed went over, gave her a kiss, and whispered, "The more the merrier."

"Do we have food?" Olivia asked.

"We do."

"C'we make dose little pizzas where we can put whatever we want on 'em?" Noah asked, somehow hearing his mother's hushed-voice question.

"For lunch," Olivia replied.

"Kay! Wish we could have bagels for breakfast!"

"We could try makin' em," Ed said.

"Oh no," Olivia said, "I think we should leave the bagel making to the experts."

"Mia likes waffles," Noah said. "And we like waffles!"

"And we have Eggos," Ed replied, "Good thing I went to Costco last weekend."

"I love Costco," Noah said. "Daddy, next time can I go with you?"

"I don't know, bud, when you go with me we spend a lot of money and buy too much, uh, too many things we don't need."

"But it's fun."

"Sure," Ed grinned at Olivia's expression. "You can go. But we'll have to control ourselves."

"Dat's what we're learnin' in SEL!" Noah said, "About self-control." He pronounced the phrase slowly and deliberately as a child who recently learned its meaning would.

"Then this will be a good test," Ed replied, "But first…Mommy and I are going to have coffee. How 'bout you and the twins do a puzzle until Mia gets here?"

"Kay! C'mon, babies!"

Ed poured Olivia a cup and handed over her favorite mug.

"You remembered to set the timer and everything last night?" She asked, smirking, for they rarely remembered to do this.

"I did." Ed poured coffee for himself and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Proud of yourself?"

"Considering everything that happened after that?" Ed gazed into the living area with an amused expression. Noah was struggling to get the twins to cooperate. He pulled Olivia close with his free hand and murmured. "Yeah. I'm proud of myself."

…

Olivia watched the snow pelt her window and took a couple of long swills from her glass of wine. Two hours ago, she and Fin touched down at JFK from Chicago, leaving the specter of Greg Yates behind them, but, soon found they were in another battle-this one against time and a storm front bringing snow and hail coming from the southwest. The cabbie almost didn't want to take their fare since it ended at Fin's place, far from where he lived. But, after a flash of both badges and cash, he agreed.

At her building, as the snowfall increased its intensity and began to stick, Fin insisted Olivia send Lucy down so he could make sure she got home okay, but Olivia lied and said Lucy had already made other arrangements. The 'other arrangements' actually meant Ed was going to drive her home which he had done a few times before, so it was normal to the three of them, but, of course, Fin had no clue.

Olivia did have to laugh, though, at Fin's expression when she hurriedly got out of the car. She'd been eager to get home for the past two days as they gave their statements and helped the Chicago folks fill in the blanks on their paperwork, and the eagerness was something someone like Fin certainly perceived as odd, maybe suspicious. She assumed he chalked it up to her wanting to be with Noah, but, deep down, Olivia knew Fin had sensed something else was up. Olivia had been feeling lately like she was floating on air, and Ed had a lot to do with it.

Ed knocked softly when he returned even though the door was open and he let himself in. His jacket was damp, and, no sooner had he hung it up that Olivia was right there with a bourbon in her hand, offering it to him along with a kiss and a hug.

"You're so great," she said, "Thank you for taking her home. It's um…I think Lucy kind of likes you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…she says you're nice. And funny…an adjective I've never used to describe you. Ever. But…yes, she did say funny."

"She reminds me of Brooke," Ed replied and took a sip of the drink, "Big heart. Good kid. Oh, shit, we didn't toast."

"I'm a half glass of wine ahead of you," Olivia replied, "Don't worry about it. But here," she stepped to the coffee table, grabbed her glass, and raised it, "Cheers, Captain."

"Cheers." He said, his eyes never leaving hers.

Olivia remained close and said, "It doesn't seem like it's letting up."

"It's not."

"So you'll stay?"

"Yeah," Ed kicked off his shoes, "I'll stay." He smirked and followed her to the couch. "I, uh, it's good to have you back. I almost called you for a drink yesterday and remembered you were in Chicago and then I got worr-"

"-you were worried?"

"Yeah," Ed admitted, feeling his cheeks redden, "The guy shot Dodds. I figured Yates had a death wish…wasn't sure how many he wanted to take down with him before he finally gave up. And…this hasn't been…the easiest couple of months for you."

They were sitting so close together, Olivia didn't have to move much to lock eyes with him again. She toyed with the fingers on his free hand. She eyed his chest-the black Henley he was wearing fit perfectly, and the jeans…his favorite pair…they were probably ten, no, fifteen years old, frayed in places, but he wore them well…too well. He was irresistible in these casual clothes.

"If you hadn't been here for me," she said softly, "I don't know that I would've come through as well as I did."

Ed shrugged. He was always hesitant to accept credit of any sort.

"It's true, Ed," she leaned and kissed him on the lips. "You're really good at…just…all of it. Being here but not being overbearing, you always, you…how do you know? The proximity of it all? So many other people…they're either smothering or distant. You…just know."

Ed played with her hair as he replied. "I've known you for a long time, Olivia Benson. Not like this, no," he smirked, "But…I think we have better instincts about each other than we realize."

"You're probably right."

"Maybe…maybe not…but, the point is, I think, we…we're okay right now, right?"

Olivia smiled and kissed him again. "I think we're more than okay," she replied and laid back against his chest so she could watch the snow fall outside.

"You want to watch something?"

"No. I want…I want this. For as long as possible."

Ed kissed the top of her head, settled himself against a few throw pillows, and replied, "You got it."

….

By mid-morning, calls had been made and everyone in the family was accounted for. The twins weren't quite sure how to navigate Mia's presence, so they played in a sort of secondary orbit to their brother and his friend. Olivia swore she saw Maggie grimace at Mia once or twice, but Maggie made all kinds of faces at all times, so she let it go. Nevertheless, she was thrilled when Noah suggested they bring out the large drawing paper because she knew it would bring everyone together. But, while Ed transported the materials from the hall closet to the main living area, Noah realized he'd forgotten a call.

"Mommy!" He ran to Olivia, "I have to call G!"

"Okay, sweet boy. You can call her. It's okay."

As if Olivia had denied his request, Noah continued, "Da weather man said to check on your friends and family and G's my best friend!"

"Hey!" Mia snapped, "I'm your best friend!"

"I have eleven best friends," Noah countered. "And G's a super best friend 'cause she's best friends with Sare Bear."

"Go ahead, sweet boy," Olivia said.

"C'I use your phone? Mine's charging."

Olivia handed over her phone and tried not to dwell on how grown-up Noah sounded, and, for that matter, acted. He hated for his phone to be below half battery, so, as a result, he didn't use it very often.

As he often did, Noah walked around when he talked, but, as soon as the twins heard G's voice, they clamored to join the call. Noah sat down on a beanbag. The twins and eventually Mia piled in behind him.

"HI GEEEEEEE!" They all yelled before Noah got down to business.

"G, I'm checkin' on ya like da news people say," he explained. "Are ya snowed in? Are you cold?"

G was having trouble stifling her laughter. She was totally astonished and honored Noah would call to check on her, but the scene on the screen was far too cute and adorable and a bit chaotic for her to get emotional.

"I'm snowed in," she said, "But I have heat. I'm good! Just sitting on the couch and working a little on the computer but also watching Netflix."

"Yeah…" Noah murmured and then brightened, "Hey! You should go see Sare Bear! She's up dere with Pearl and Justy! You guys could go out and take Pearl to play in da snow. Daddy and Mommy say we haveta wait 'cause it's still blizzarding."

"Yeah," G said, "I'm gonna wait until it's done blizzarding to go out. But I'll text Sarah. Maybe we can have lunch."

"We're having PIZZA and we're makin' it ourselves."

"Oh, that sounds like fun."

"Yeah…I'm gonna do pepperoni and mushrooms and maybe somethin' 'sperimental like…watermelon."

"Ew. Let me know how that goes."

"Why you think ew?"

"Because watermelon is…well…watery, and I don't like watery pizza."

Noah twisted his lips, considering this. Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah…I'm gonna see what else is in da fridge. I'll text you pictures!"

"Awesome!"

"G…I want you to come over."

"Yeah…well, it's really bad out there, but, the good news is, it won't storm forever, so I'll be able to come over probably…in a day or two."

"You promise?"

G had not been in the practice of going to anyone's home just to drop by, but she would make an exception for Noah. "I promise," she sincerely replied. "It looks like your brother and sister and Mia want to play…"

Noah glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah."

"Go play," G said, "And enjoy your fun day. I'll see you soon, okay, Noah?"

"Kay, G! Say hi to Pearl for me!"

"I will."

Noah hung up and tossed the phone back to Olivia who was practically sitting on Ed's lap on the sofa. She and Ed were embracing the lazy day and still dressed in their pajamas.

"Holy shit," Ed muttered under his breath.

"What?" Olivia asked.

Ed waved the remote at the screen and asked, "Didn't you arrest that family?"

Olivia sat up, narrowed her eyes, and peered at the screen. "Holy shit...well, sort of…but I guess, wow…Baker's Dozen-Doubled," she read from the screen, "This spring."

"Should I set a reminder?" Ed joked.

Olivia hit him with a throw pillow.

He smirked. "Just checking. I always like to check."

Olivia rolled her eyes, settled back in against him, and murmured. "Thorough as always."

"You expect anything less?"

"With you? No."

….

#Tuckson