Post-Paris; Post-Engagement; Olivia, Ed, and Noah are moving on with their lives… I wasn't sure where to put this one or if I should just post it as a oneshot. Decided to put it here…in my land reserved for a bit of #Tuckson darkness. Forgive me for errors in police procedure…ok, here goes...

Switch.

Ed and Olivia trailed the real estate agent through the apartment, only half listening to the property's specifications. They were awestruck by the high ceilings, spacious rooms, and immaculate views, even though much of the place needed renovating.

"It's got good bones," the agent said prior to entering, "just needs some updating. The former owner lived here for over thirty years. Renovated units in this building are going for over three million, so this one is really a steal if you want to put in some elbow grease."

Ed put his hand on Olivia's back, "It doesn't look too bad, just some paint. Kitchen probably needs the most work."

"And the bathrooms," Olivia added.

Excitement flooded Ed's face, "But two bedrooms, an office, and this floor plan? I don't think we'll find anything else like this in our price range."

Both the agent and Olivia nodded, endorsing the assessment. The apartment was in an older building, but resembled the newer lofts they'd toured. The living space was twice the size they had in Olivia's current place with an open kitchen, dining area, and living room. In addition to the two full bedrooms and baths, there was a small office and ample closet space.

Sold already, Ed continued, "We need to list my place." He'd owned his apartment for years and was sure to make a substantial profit since it was located in what had been one of the city's least desirable areas. Now, Hell's Kitchen real estate was in high demand.

The agent smiled, "Well, I have a few hours until my next appointment. We can go over there and talk about pricing. Two bedrooms?"

"Yeah, the second one is kinda tiny," Ed replied, "One and a half baths. Nothing flashy, but it's nice." He looked at Olivia, "What do you think?"

"About your apartment?"

He held his arms out, "About everything."

She took another lap around the living area, paused to take in the north-facing view, and turned around, resting her elbows on the sill. "I think we should move on it."

Ed broke into a wide grin and rushed over to where she was standing. The agent pretended not to notice as he wrapped Olivia in a bear-like embrace and kissed her firmly on the lips.

"Paris and now a new apartment?" Olivia mused playfully as he held her.

Ed misunderstood, "Do you want to wait on this?"

"Absolutely not," she replied confidently. "But, have you done renovations before?"

"I can paint," he said.

"And…everything else?"
"I can call people."

She laughed, "Ok, Captain. Let's do this."

….

"Lieutenant Benson?"

Olivia turned from Noah's day care cubby and there stood a younger woman, probably mid-thirties, with whom she had only previously exchanged brief coming and going pleasantries. Olivia wasn't sure how she even knew her name.

"Hi," the woman said tentatively, holding out her hand. "I'm Camila Lee. My son, Diego, is in Noah's preschool class."

Olivia, who towered over Camila, shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Do you mind if I walk out with you?"

Actually, Olivia did mind, she was later than usual, but the meekness in the request suggested something was awry. "Sure."

Camila wasted no time getting to the point. "I'm concerned about my former nanny."

Olivia stopped walking so she could face Camila. "What's the problem?"

"She was with us for about a year when she asked for a raise. We were already paying more than average, at least, according to the other families I talked to. We gave her holiday and birthday bonuses, and we even paid for her to see her family in Puerto Rico. We were good to her."

Olivia contorted her face, "You said she was with you. What happened?"

"I felt bad saying no, but my husband, he wouldn't budge. She was crying, talking about her son and how she was trying to put him through school and everything, but he didn't see how to justify it. She only worked for us in the afternoons and sometimes on weekends and she was making the same as full time people. So, I suggested that we could add to her workload, and that way she could make more."

"And your husband agreed to this?"

Camila appeared ashamed, "I'm not…the best housekeeper. Now that we have three under three, well, I get behind on things. So, my husband agreed to pay her extra for laundry and some cleaning."

"Did she agree?"

"She did. For a few weeks. But then she demanded more money, saying it was more work than she thought and it was impossible for her to watch the children and do housework. She would complain that we were enslaving her. So…we had to let her go. I…I felt terrible because she does have a son…but it just wasn't working out. And my husband refused to give her a recommendation."

Olivia noticed Camila's eyes filling with tears. Obviously, there was more to the story. "Has she threatened you?"

Camila responded in a shaky voice, "She's been texting me, telling me we owe her severance or she's calculated her hours and we underpaid. And last night, she said she was coming over to pick up her things." She startled Olivia by grasping her arm tightly, "She doesn't have anything at our apartment."

"May I see the texts?"

Camila handed the phone to Olivia, and the Lieutenant scanned the messages. Indeed, they began rather innocuously; the demands escalated, but they were erratic. The nanny threatened a lawsuit in one text, and then, in the next, was conciliatory, apologized, and begged to be rehired. She lamented that her son was suffering and lambasted the family for being cruel. She used the word "slave" more than once, but then expressed her misery at being away from the Lee's "three beautiful children." Olivia was alarmed. Clearly, the nanny was unstable and desperate, and she had a connection to the day care and preschool Noah attended.

Olivia requested that Camila send her screen shots of all the texts and then advised her to go immediately to Family Court to apply for an order of protection. "Do this now," Olivia emphasized. "The order will be served immediately. I'll call and let them know you're coming."

Camila nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant Benson."

"You're welcome."

Camila hurried off, and Olivia placed a call to Judge Linden's administrative assistant and advised her of the situation. "I need that order signed and delivered today," Olivia instructed. "The complainant's name is Camila Lee. She's on her way down there now."

"Got it," the assistant replied, "I'll be waiting for her."

"Thanks."

Satisfied the situation was under control, Olivia headed towards the precinct.

…

Later that evening after dinner, Olivia sat on the couch and rummaged through Noah's backpack. She paged through his folder and removed his artwork, a newsletter, and a field trip permission slip. Included among the finger painted construction paper was a folded piece of cardstock. A pre-cut rocket was glued to the front. In the rocket's "window," was a picture of a jubilant Noah. Olivia opened the card and read the message.

I love you to the moon and back! Happy Father's Day!

Below the message, Noah scribbled what was supposed to be his name.

"Noah, did you make this for Ed?"

He ran over to her, "Yeah, I make this at school. Make the chain, too."

"The chain?"

He grabbed the backpack and nearly stuck his whole head inside before he remembered something and tried to unzip the front pocket. "Chain's in here."

Olivia opened the pocket and took out a plaster disk connected to a key ring. On one side of the disk was Noah's fingerprint, and on the other side one of the teachers had neatly printed his name and "Father's Day 2016."

"Oh, wow!" Olivia cooed, "He's going to love this, Noah! We'll get a box and wrap it for him, ok?"

"Ok."

She put the school items aside and took Noah into her lap. He squirmed at first, anxious to get back to his toys, but then gave up and sat back in Olivia's arms. She told him all about the new apartment and his bigger room. "And we'll all live there together, me, you, and Ed."

"Ed live here."

Olivia laughed a little bit. Ed had been de facto living with them since Paris, but he was still shuttling back and forth between apartments for more clothes or forgotten items. Noah, though, was accustomed to having him around at night and in the mornings.

"Where is Ed?"

"He's working."

"At police?"

"Yes. You'll be asleep when he comes back, but he'll be here in the morning."

"I give him the chain tomorrow?"

"No, that's Sunday. Three more days." Olivia kissed Noah's head. "It's so nice you made him a present and a card."

"Yeah. It's blue."

"You and Ed love blue, don't you?"

"Uh-huh."

Olivia held out her left hand, "Remember the ring? Ed gave it to me in Paris?"

Noah nodded.

"It means we're getting married, we're family, but it also means Ed wants to be your Daddy forever and ever."

"Yeah, he does," Noah replied matter-of-factly and, once again, restlessly tried to escape Olivia's grasp.

"Ok, sweet boy, go back to your toys. Bedtime soon though."

Noah resumed playing while Olivia found a hiding spot for the gifts.

…..

The sun was rising when Ed trudged into the apartment. He tiptoed into the bedroom, stowed his weapon, and changed clothes, but he was too hopped up on adrenaline to go to bed. For nearly twenty hours he led negotiations with a man holding his girlfriend at knifepoint and threatening to leap from a twenty-story apartment building; it was the most tense scenario he'd been a part of since he transferred, and he was elated it ended peacefully.

He gave Olivia a gentle kiss on the head and gazed adoringly at her as her lips curled into a faint smile.

"Hey," she greeted him in a voice raspy with sleep.

"Go back to sleep, Liv. I didn't mean to wake you."

"What time is it?"

"Five."

She mumbled something unintelligible. Ed kissed her again and went to the kitchen to make coffee and check his email. He was waiting for the realtor to get back to him about their offer on the new apartment and his listing, but his inbox was empty. Tapping his fingers on the countertop, he looked around for something to do. Olivia went to bed and left the place a little unkempt—Noah's things were everywhere, his backpack was open with its contents spilling out, her briefcase and a stack of accordion files were dumped on the dining table, and outgoing dry cleaning was piled on top of Noah's car seat. Ed rifled through the garments, heartened she'd included his things. Why wouldn't she? He questioned himself and then shrugged. It was going to take some time to get used to having someone thinking of him all the time.

Dinner must have been pasta; the colander was still in the sink with dried pieces of fettucine stuck to the sides. Ed tried to flick them off with a knife, but the pieces seemed irreversibly affixed to the stainless steel. He ran the water and added dish soap. A soak would do the trick.

Just as he'd finished putting Noah's toys back in the toy box, he heard movement from the little boy's room. Eager for company, Ed walked briskly back there and found Noah sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, pal!" Ed said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Noah didn't respond verbally, but he snuggled up to Ed, still groggy. Ed tousled his hair and kissed the top of his head. "You wanna watch some cartoons?" Noah nodded. Ed attempted to lead him out of the room by the hand, but Noah dug in his heels and lifted his arms.

"Up, Ed."

Obliging the request, Ed picked him up, slinging him playfully over his shoulder. Noah responded with giggles, gradually becoming more alert.

The two of them were still on the couch when Olivia finally emerged. She should have been more cognizant of the time, but she wasn't. She cuddled next to Ed and Noah as if she had nowhere else to be.

"When did you get home?"

"A couple hours ago…you don't remember?"

"Vaguely. How'd things go?"

"Great. Talked him down."

Olivia kissed his cheek, "Well done, Captain."

"Chief Gabriel, though, the ESU guy, man, he's quick to get tactical."

"And you're not." It was a statement, not a question.

"The whole point of hostage negotiation is to avoid that."

"You'll get used to working together," Olivia replied optimistically.

"You know…I investigated three of his guys when I was in IAB?"

Olivia and Ed had talked about the potential challenges he would face if something like this occurred. In his years at IAB, he'd investigated maybe thousands of complaints and conducted hundreds of interrogations. It didn't matter where he transferred, there was sure to be bad blood with someone in his new unit. "Do you think he's holding a grudge?"

"Probably, they were cleared, I'd like to think not, but…"

She held him tighter, "I know."

Ed kissed her forehead. If Olivia Benson could move on from his past, then, surely, Chief Gabriel could. It would take time-just as it had taken time to win her over-for him to prove himself as a negotiator and shake off the bitterness of his time at IAB. He did miss Cole, though. At least the two of them were collectively despised.

"I'm just gonna stay home with him today," Ed said, nodding towards Noah who was transfixed by animation.

"Are you sure? You haven't slept since last night. Let me take him to day care and you can get him early if you want."

Ed pondered this and assessed his fatigue. He still didn't feel tired, but the inevitable crash would come at some point. "You're right," he conceded, "but I'll take him. You must be late."

Olivia checked the time. "Not yet, but almost."

"Friday night," Ed reminded her, "Where to?"

"Someplace with a patio," Olivia replied, "The weather's gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous."

She gave him a stern yet flattered look and headed for the shower.

…..

Lieutenant Benson's Friday proceeded uneventfully, and she was just about to sneak out early and leave the newly installed Sergeant Tutuola in charge for the weekend when Camila Lee showed up in her office. Carisi escorted her in.

"Uh, Lieutenant, she says she knows you?"

Olivia peered up at them and removed her glasses, "Yes, Camila, come on in. Thanks Carisi." She motioned for the woman to have a seat and asked, "Is everything ok?"

"Well, um, for the moment, but, I called my husband before I went to family court, and he said he didn't want me to file an order of protection."

Olivia, shocked, quickly shot back, "Why not?"

"Some tax thing. He didn't go into detail, but he was furious that I was about to go in to see the judge."

Olivia wondered why Judge Linden's assistant failed to tell her Camila hadn't shown, but, more importantly, she was bewildered that Mr. Lee was willing to sacrifice the safety of his family for what would probably amount to a slap on the wrist from the Internal Revenue Service. "So, she's undocumented," Olivia surmised.

"Yes."

"Listen, Camila, go home and talk to your husband. Tell him how afraid you are. Explain to him that there is almost no chance Family Court and the IRS will compare notes. Has he seen the texts? Does he fully understand what's going on?"

"Yes," she said desperately, "he's seen everything, but I have a feeling. He's not around enough, so, no, I don't think he fully understands."

Olivia took a deep breath. "Is he home? I'm willing to come and talk to him."

Camila frowned, "He's not home. He's at a work function until late tonight."

"Where are your kids?"

"At home with our new sitter."

"Ok, well, go home, make sure your doorman knows not to let your former nanny in, and," Olivia produced a business card, "Call me if you need something. But make sure you talk to your husband."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Benson."

"You're welcome. Listen, I'll walk you out."

"Thanks." Camila sounded truly grateful, "On another note, did you see the cute keychains the kids made for Father's Day?"

"Yes, so adorable."

"My husband probably won't use it much, but, hopefully, he'll play along for a couple days."

Olivia tried not to frown or scoff at Camila's description of her husband's lack of sentimentality. She was one-hundred percent confident that the plaster disc would have to break before Ed jettisoned it from his key ring.

….

Olivia, Ed, and Noah were seated at a patio table munching on an appetizers—calamari for Olivia and Ed and potato skins for all three of them. Calamari was a food Olivia introduced to Ed when they first began seeing one another, and he balked at first but quickly relented. Now, he ordered it wherever it was offered on the menu.

"I'm not sure we need to order much more than this," Olivia said, taking a sip of her orange-garnished hefeweizen, "I'm getting full already."

Ed glanced at the specials board, "We can split a burger or something. No, you want a burger or chicken fingers?"

"Bugger," he replied enthusiastically, "And frefries."

"You got it, bud." He noticed Olivia shredding her cocktail napkin absentmindedly. "Liv, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, ah, well, do you know the Lees?"

Ed looked back at her blankly, "Lees?"

"Their son is in day care with Noah."

"I don't think I know them."

"The mom is tiny, cute, Brazilian I think, her name's Camila?" Ed maintained his clueless expression, and Olivia continued, "Anyway, she's having trouble with her ex-nanny and I told her to get a protection order, I thought she was going to do it, but she told me today her husband was against the idea."

Ed acknowledged he missed nearly a full day of their lives, but this was some seriously heavy information Olivia had been keeping from him. "What kind of trouble?"

Olivia told him everything Camila told her and showed him the texts.

"Nothing there that's chargeable," He mused and then screwed up his face, "But why in the hell would the husband say no?"

"Nanny's illegal."

Tucker was still frowning, "So what? Family court won't ask about that."

"That's pretty much what I told her."

"What an asshole."

Olivia glanced at Noah who was busy coloring and didn't appear to be paying attention.

"Sorry," Ed muttered.

Olivia brushed it off, "I offered to go over there and talk to him, but he's away for the night…so I told her to notify the doorman."

"That's all you can do."

"Yeah."

He reached over to hold her hands, "Hey, lookit me." She met his eyes, "That's. All. You. Can. Do. For right now. Ok?"

Olivia blinked and looked down at their hands. "Ok."

"So let's talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact the owners of that apartment accepted our offer."

Olivia smiled broadly, disbelievingly, "Are you serious?"

"Yes. And…there is already some interest in my place."

Ed and Olivia beamed at one another before Ed just couldn't take it anymore and leaned over for a kiss. "I love you, Liv."

"I love you."

…..

"Captain, we got a call. ESU's on scene at Fifty-first and Ninth. We got an adult female barricaded in a bedroom with two kids."

Tucker abandoned his paperwork from the previous hostage crisis, donned his vest, and grabbed his cell and radio. "Notify them we're en route."

The Sergeant sped to the location, sirens blaring, and they hustled through the barricades to where Chief Gabriel and the local precinct's Captain were set up.

"What's the situation?" Tucker asked Gabriel.

"Female hostage taker is reportedly in a secondary bedroom with two children, ages three and almost two. Suspect has a gun and demanded the babysitter and mother leave the apartment. No visual, she has the blinds drawn and the lights off."

"Have you made contact?"

"She's not picking up."

"Then I'm going in."

Chief Gabriel nodded. The apartment was accessible, and closer proximity could possibly work in Tucker's favor. An ESU officer rattled off other details as they made their way to the unit.

"The 911 caller was the mother, Camila Lee. She returned home and found the former nanny in the apartment with the new nanny."

Ed felt like he'd been punched in the stomach as he remembered last night's conversation. He swallowed hard, opting to keep Olivia's involvement out of it for now. "How'd she get up there?"

"We talked to the new nanny. She was frantic. Apparently there had been prior problems with the old nanny, but she didn't know. Let her in as she was bringing the two older kids back from day care."

Noah's day care.

"There are more kids?"

"A baby. Mom had her."

"And the two kids, what are their names?"

"Diego and Nicky. Both boys. Nanny's name is Yarely Pacheco."

"Nanny speak English?"

"Yes."

Tucker thought about what Olivia had already told him and debated whether or not to call in one of the few female negotiators. He radioed the chief. "Gabriel, you may wanna call in a female as a secondary here," he suggested.

"Copy that."

"Spanish speaker."

"Copy."

Tucker and the ESU Sergeant entered the apartment gingerly. The Sergeant pointed down a hallway and Tucker followed him, trying not to make any sudden, loud noises. When they came to the closed bedroom door, he softly called the nanny's name, "Yarely?"

"Who's there?"

"Yarely, I'm Ed. I'm here to check on you and the kids. Everyone ok?"

"We're fine."

Ed pressed his ear to the door and tried to discern any sounds from the kids. "Yarely, will you have the kids say something?"

Ed heard a whimper and then a weakly uttered, "Mommy."

"Is that you, Diego?"

Silence, and then a soft, "Yes."

"Yarely, is Nicky there with you, too?"

Ed heard a yelp and another whimper, but this one was different from Diego's. Apparently both boys were alive and well for the time being. Tucker went through preliminaries before they got to the core issue which led to such drastic measures.

"Ya know, I understand what it's like to be broke," he was chatting easily now, seated with his back against the wall, "My fiancée and I, we're trying to buy this new apartment, but, New York real estate, it's a bitch, you would think they'd give us police officers a break, ya know?"

Yarely muttered a few sentences about the cost of living in the city. Ed felt better. His spirits were further raised when she mentioned her son. He asked her more about him until she became slightly agitated about the cost of college. "Yeah, I understand," He said soothingly, "We have a little boy. Raising kids. It's hard, but, you know, when they smile at you, it's all worth it."

"How old's your little boy?" She asked.

"Two and a half." He wasn't about to mention their connection to Diego for fear that Yarely would conjure up ideas about some sort of conspiracy, but he did see an opening for a possible exchange.

"You know, Yarely, I can help you. I can get you what you need."

"I need money."

"Sure, whatever you want." Ed was momentarily distracted. The Sergeant was holding his cell phone for Ed to see.

SWAT has a rappel team ready to go in.

Ed set his jaw in a classic Tucker scowl. Again, Gabriel was trying to get his guys in there unnecessarily. He was confident Yarely was calm and that he could convince her to release the kids, so he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Gabriel and showed it to the Sergeant.

I need more time. She's backing off.

"Tell me the number," Ed called through the door.

"What they owe me."

"How much do they owe you?"

"Five thousand."

A trivial number. They could have that in the apartment within minutes. "Ok," Ed said, "I'll get you the money, but I'm gonna need the kids, Yarely. Money for the kids."

"You get me the five thousand, I give you Diego. Nicky stays."

Tucker fired off another text and made sure the Sergeant saw it, too. "Fine. When the money gets here, you'll give us Diego and we'll go from there, ok?"

"Ok."

The Sergeant showed Ed his phone screen again.

And, Nicky?

Tucker sent a quick reply. One step at a time. Let me assess on the exchange. Tucker planned to see if he could singlehandedly disarm the nanny and grab both Nicky and Diego as he handed off the money. In the meantime, TARU brought miniscule listening devices to place in the door jamb and more ESU officers filtered into the apartment. As Tucker predicted, the five thousand arrived quickly.

"Yarely, your money's here. Is it ok if I come in?"

Silence.

"Yarely? I have your money. Remember our deal. You give us Diego, I give you the money."

Tucker was standing now, waiting for her response.

Nothing.

Complete silence.

"Yarely?"

More silence. Not even a cry from the kids. Tucker couldn't hear breathing. Dead Silence.

"Captain," The Sergeant hissed into his ear, "Gabriel's sending in the tac teams. Standby."

Tucker opened his mouth to object, but he was too late. The sound of breaking glass, the subsequent breaking down of the bedroom door, and then two gurgled shrieks interrupted the stillness. The heavily armored ESU guys froze as Tucker and the Sergeant rushed to the bloodied bodies of the children. Another agent disarmed and cuffed the nanny. The boys were still alive, eyelids fluttering slightly from shock or pain or both.

"Dammit," Tucker muttered under his breath. He grabbed his radio, "We need EMTs up here now. Stab wounds, massive blood loss, get up here now. Secure the weapon!" He shouted before ripping off his vest and removing his shirt. He applied pressure to the older boy's wounds while simultaneously starting CPR. The Sergeant did the same with the younger one, but, after a few attempts, he rocked back on his knees and put his face in his hands.

Tucker continued pumping Diego's chest and breathing into his mouth. "C'mon, buddy, stay with me," he muttered desperately. Diego was just a few months older than Noah, but his body looked and felt smaller as the color drained from his face and life vanished from his eyes. When the EMTs arrived, Tucker reluctantly let them take over, knowing their efforts were probably too little too late.

Both boys were gone.

Chief Gabriel appeared in the room. "What the hell happened?"

Tucker glared at him and seethed, "Why'd you order your guys in? I told you it was under control."

"It wasn't under control, Tucker. We got the money and she went dead."

"No, the kids are dead."

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds. Finally, Tucker pushed past him before abruptly turning on his heel. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me she had a knife?"

Gabriel looked truly regretful. "I didn't know. The 911 caller said she had a gun."

Tucker clenched his jaw and went after the Chief, grabbing him by the collar, "There was no fucking gun. If you wanted to set me up to look incompetent, you coulda done it any other time, you bastard. But now two little boys are dead. Happy?"

Gabriel pushed him away, "Get off me."

Tucker put a finger in his face, "This is on you, Chief. This blood," Tucker gripped his blood-soaked t-shirt and shoved it in his face, "Is. On. You."

Tucker stalked out of the apartment, ignoring the various people calling after him.

"Captain!"

"Captain Tucker, wait!"

"Cap?"

He ignored everyone and found the stairwell. Instead of descending, he climbed up to the rooftop. His head was fuzzy, clouded. Anger surged through his body and he bit down hard on the insides of his mouth until he felt pain and tasted the warm, salty saliva that preceded blood. On his way to the ledge he kicked a lounge chair, and, having entangled his shoe in the slats, wrestled it free and tossed it aside. Below, police cruisers, ambulances, and satellite trucks sat parked at odd, sporadic angles, the kind of park jobs that indicated something devastating had happened. Tucker pressed his eyes shut and massaged his forehead.

"Fuck."

Did this just happen? Did I just see two toddlers bleed out in front of me? He patted his pockets, searching for his phone. He thought he'd felt the vibrations, but maybe not. Where is the fucking phone goddammit?

"Tucker?"

Ed snapped his head in the direction of the voice. It was a uniformed officer.

"What?"

"Uh, the Sarge wanted me to bring this to you, and, uh—"

He swiped the phone from the teenage-looking cop. "Make sure I'm not about to take a header off the building?"

"Uh, not exactly, sir, um—"

Tucker waved him away. "Just go." Fuck. They must really want me gone if they're sending a rookie to talk me down. He paid no attention to previous messages or calls. He dialed Olivia.

She didn't waste time with preliminaries, "Ed, oh my God, are you ok? I heard everything over the radio, are the kids ok?"

"No, Liv," he croaked, "No, they're not."

"Oh no."

The two of them just listened to one another breathe for what seemed like an eternity.

"I'm coming," she said."

"No, no, don't do that. I'm coming home."

"Now? What about—"

"Fuck them," Ed interjected, "They can fucking wait to debrief me."

"Ok," Olivia said hesitantly, "Just…come right home, Ed. Are you sure you don't want me to meet you?"

"No. I'm fine. I just need to get out of here."

….

Olivia gasped when she saw the blood. Not only was his t-shirt covered in it, there were streaks on his arms, hands, and face. It was worse than she'd seen on Chief Dodds. She was immediately grateful that Noah had fallen asleep early.

"Ed, baby…" She was at a loss for words and immediately felt bad about that. He was always so cool and calm with her when she was hurting, now that he needed support, she faltered.

He stood, frozen, in the foyer, arms hanging straight down and a hollow expression on his face. She'd never seen him so pale.

She dared to grab hold of his hand. "Ed?"

Finally, he showed signs of life, blinking and then squeezing her hand. "I…" he stammered, "I…tried." Then, he convulsed against her in sobs. He didn't want to do this. He had never done this—cry in front of anyone before—but he had never seen anything so horrific in his entire career, at least not that he could remember at the moment. And he could've prevented it. He had a handle on it; he was doing his job; he was diffusing the situation, talking her down, about to end things peacefully, but Chief Gabriel wrestled that away from him, and, in the process of asserting his authority, got two little boys killed. They moved to the couch and the details spilled out in spurts as Olivia cradled his head, rubbed circles on his back, and shed tears along with him.

"Ed," she whispered once he'd finished venting and calmed down, "Let's get you cleaned up, ok? Come on."

He followed her to the bathroom. Olivia turned on the shower and steam soon filled the room. She lifted the bloody shirt from his body and tossed it aside. Next, she removed his pants and underwear and lifted each ankle to peel off his socks. She gently pushed him towards the shower, but he clung to her.

"Are you coming in with me?" She raised an eyebrow and he clarified. "I just want you close, that's all Liv, I don't want you out of my sight right now."

…

Sleep had not come easily. After the shower, Ed lay next to Olivia and alternated between more gripes about Chief Gabriel and, more seriously, questions about how the Lee family would ever recover from losing two young children.

"That guy," Ed had said as if the words tasted bad, "he's never gonna forgive himself."

"Probably not," Olivia agreed.

"That little boy, Diego, I saw him…slip away…and it was like I was seeing Noah."

"Ed…"

"How could she do that? The money was there. How could Gabriel order that without talking to me first? Why did that nanny let her in in the first place?" He asked question after question, and Olivia knew from experience that he didn't expect answers. There were no satisfactory answers anyway. All she could do was keep him in her arms until he fell into a fitful sleep.

Guilt prevented Olivia from drifting into slumber. Part of the reason Ed transferred to hostage negotiation was for her—so that there was no conflict of interest if IAB had to investigate her squad. Sure, he said he was unhappy and the job no longer satisfied him, but it was still his home for nearly two decades and he jumped ship while he was in his comfort zone. He chose this, he chose to inject himself in these life-or-death scenarios, and this particular one was unimaginably tragic, and, according to him, completely preventable. Ironically enough, Tucker and Gabriel would have to be interrogated by IAB in order for the media and the public to assign blame and clear the innocent. Olivia wholeheartedly believed her fiancée's version of events; she only hoped whoever was assigned to the case was not vindictive when Ed was on the other side of the table.

He had fallen asleep with his head just under her chin. She was supporting most of his weight with one arm, and even though it was slightly uncomfortable, she endured.

It was her turn to be the rock.

…

Ed slept well into the late morning hours. Each time he found himself ambling out of sleep, he forced himself back and managed to eke out another hour or so before waking up again. At eleven-thirty, he decided he'd been in hibernation long enough and dragged himself to the living room.

"Hi Ed!" Noah exclaimed and scampered over to him, hugging his legs before being hoisted in the air.

"Hi, bud! Gimme a hug!" Noah wrapped his arms tightly around Ed's neck. "Aw, that's great! Thanks, little man."

Olivia had been on the couch, but she got up, kissed Ed, and started the Kuerig. "Noah, what did we decide we would say to Ed when he got up?"

"Happy Favvers Day!" Noah ran over to the side table and pulled his card from the drawer. He brought it to Ed. "This for you."

Tucker's hands shook as he ran his fingers over the rocket ship and smiled through tears at Noah's joyful face. When he read the message on the inside and saw Noah's scribbles, his eyes spilled over. Olivia darted over to him, held his face in her hands, and kissed away the tears; it was a move he'd used on her a few times before. Now, it was her turn to mop those tears. He pressed his forehead to hers in a silent thank-you. He tried not to think about Mr. Lee's card.

Noah interrupted the moment by tugging on Ed's pants and jumping up and down with excitement. He held a box wrapped in metallic blue paper.

"This for you, too!"

Ed looked at Olivia. "I don't know if I can handle anything else today."

Olivia winked at him. "You'll love it."

Ed unwrapped the gift and smiled as he held the keychain in the air for examination. "Wow, No! Lookit this! And it has your fingerprint on it! Get my keys from the table over there. I'm gonna put it on right now."

Noah brought the keys, and Ed wound the new keychain around another ring. "You know what? I'm gonna use that ring for our new house key."

"We get a new house?"

Ed sat him on the counter so they were face-to-face. "Yep, we're getting a new house." He smoothed Noah's hair. "Thank you for the card and the keychain, bud. I love you."

Noah tried to muss Ed's short hair, and, as he did, he murmured, "Love you, Daddy."

It didn't register at first, but, when it did, Ed's eyes glassed over with tears again. Daddy. Noah called him Daddy for the first time on the day he probably needed it most.

Olivia grinned and went over to hug him from behind. She kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear.

"Happy Father's Day."

Ed leaned back into her, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Everything was going to be ok.

…

I don't really like writing stuff like this…but I've had the idea since the finale. Hope it didn't suck too much. Back to fluff. Peace!