Paris Trilogy occupied my time, so sorry for the gap in updating this one. In the previous chapter, Ed and Olivia's honeymoon came to a close and Ed worried about Sarah's marriage. Enjoy the Tuckson sweetness!

Home Again

Ed screwed up his face as he peered at the Iphone screen. Noah and Sarah were sitting across from one another in the kitchen, a mound of Oreos between them. Black crumbs littered the countertop. "What exactly are you doing?" He asked critically.

"Oreo math," Sarah replied as if he'd asked the dumbest question ever posed. "Watch."

Olivia and Ed looked on as Sarah slid a cookie stack towards Noah and asked him to count. He quickly and easily rattled off the numbers.

"Onetwothreefourfivesix. SIX, Sarah!"

"Excelente!" She cried. "We're also learning Spanish," she added for Ed and Olivia's benefit and then turned back to Noah, "Now, if I take four away, how many are left?" Noah frowned as Sarah retracted the four cookies, but he counted obediently.

"Two," he reported less enthusiastically.

Sarah leaned forward, "In order for you to eat those two cookies, you tell me, No. I gave you six, I sub-trac-ted, four. Sub-tract means minus. So, six minus four equals…."

Noah concentrated hard. His eyes toggled back and forth between his pile and Sarah's pile before he triumphantly repeated, "TWO!"

"Muy Bueno!" She exclaimed, "You may eat the cookies!"

Noah munched away, oblivious to the compliments from his parents streaming in from the Key West airport bar.

"And, how many cookies has he eaten since we've been gone?" Ed inquired.

Sarah shrugged, "I haven't kept count. But, you should be grateful…he mastered addition too easily so I had to challenge him with subtracting. He's consumed significantly less since then."

Olivia conceded her point, but Ed wasn't finished interrogating, "Lemme put it another way. How many packages of cookies have you bought since we left?"

"One."

"You're lying."

Sarah frowned, "Ok, two…but Noah's not the only one eating them! I have a sweet tooth, ya know! Instead of wine at night I have cookies when I'm on mommy duty."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"You've done a great job, Sarah," Olivia complimented. "I can't tell you how much we appreciate it."

Sarah beamed. "I'd offer to stay and be the nanny, but my boss told me I'm not allowed to leave again. Apparently they cannot function without me."

"We'll be home late," Ed told her, "Probably midnight-ish."

"And I'll take you to the train in the morning," Olivia said.

"It doesn't have to be first thing," Sarah said, "I took the whole week off."

"Ed," Olivia whispered, "We're boarding soon."

"Alright, Sare, we're off. See you later."

Noah said goodbye and blew kisses. Ed and Olivia ended the call, swilled the rest of their drinks, and headed for the gate.

…..

As the plane ascended and the lights dimmed, Ed startled Olivia with a sudden and very aggressive kiss. He raised the armrest separating their two first class seats to get closer and her face contorted with laughter as he pressed his body against hers.

"Ed."

He responded only by kissing her harder.

Ed returned to the parameters of his assigned seat after the brief burst of passion, but he maintained physical contact, lightly stroking the top of Olivia's hand with his fingertips.

After a few minutes of silence, he muttered, "Every once in a while I just have to do that."

"I was wondering if you forgot we were on a plane and not at home."

"I'm very lucid."

She leaned her Ed on his shoulder, "So, tomorrow we go back to normal."

"Not exactly, no work for a couple days."

"I'm on duty this weekend."

"If it's not too cold, I'm going to take the training wheels off Noah's bike and see what happens."

Olivia, though skeptical about Noah's ability to ride a two-wheeler, smiled as she imagined Ed running alongside the teetering bike. "That sounds…brave."

"Yeah," Ed chortled, "I'll make sure I'm hydrated and stretched out. With Brooke, she caught on quickly but she would freak out and stop suddenly. I fell over her. She kept doing that until I finally quit running alongside her, then she was fine. Sarah, well, she just took off, out of control, and crashed when she slowed down."

"Did she cry?"

"That's the weird thing. No. She would just jump up and ask me to get her started again. Like it was a carnival ride and not transportation."

Olivia recalled Noah's confidence with the sled and with the bike on training wheels and predicted his two-wheeler style would fall in the middle of Ed's descriptions of Brooke and Sarah. Then, overcome with gratitude for Ed's easy assumption of fatherly duties, she kissed him just as he had done earlier.

"Whoa," he said, feigning surprise, "What was that for?"

"For being you."

"Liv, if this is some type of reward for teaching Noah to ride a bike, I just want you to know…first, it's not necessary, and second, if you feel it's necessary, there are many things I plan to teach him in the future…so," he leered, "be prepared. You're setting kind of a lofty precedent here."

"Don't you worry," she sassed.

"I'm not. Just letting you know."

"I consider myself warned."

…..

"Liv, you gotta quiet down."

"Then," she gasped, "you have to—" She couldn't finish. Instead she swiped a pillow and pressed it to her face.

This only made Ed more intent on making her scream with pleasure. He broke into a satisfied smile as he amped up the intensity and teased her most erogenous places. She clutched the pillow even tighter as her body convulsed.

Ed draped himself on top of her and slowly peeled the pillow away, revealing her sweat and makeup-smeared face. "You ok?"

"I think so," she replied breathlessly.

"I'm sure you woke somebody."

"You share some of the blame."

Ed looked at her with a cocky, lopsided smile, "Oh yeah?"

"But you knew that already."

He shrugged. "Maybe." Olivia tried to sit up, but Ed led more of his weight rest upon her. "I'm comfortable. Stay here."

"I need a drink."

Ed reached over to the nightstand and grabbed her glass of water. "Here," he offered it to her.

She took an awkward sip, trying to not spill. "Do you want some?"

"No." He was kissing her again.

"Where are you getting this energy?" Olivia thought for sure they would return home and crash, but once they said goodnight to Sarah and checked on a snoozing Noah, Ed escorted her to the bedroom and made it immediately clear that he had other ideas.

"You're gorgeous. It comes naturally." He replied matter-of-factly. Ed took the glass from her and put it back on the table. He grinned slyly as he dropped the pillow next to her head. "Here, you may need it again."

Olivia ran her fingers through his hair as he moved his lips farther and farther down her midsection.

….

The clock read seven a.m. when Olivia woke up, stunned she hadn't slept longer. She slid out from under Ed's arm and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, opening the bureau drawers slowly, trying not to make noise. Ed spent most of the early morning hours enjoying her with an addict's fervor, and it was almost three o'clock before he finally succumbed to sleep.

She tiptoed to the bathroom and washed her face. Her reflection in the mirror was not indicative of someone who'd been up half the night with her amorous husband.

Noah was awake and still cuddled with Bernie and his fleece blanket, but when he saw his mother, he shot up, arms out, exclaiming, "Mommy!"

"Hi sweet boy! I missed you!"

"I missed you!"

"Did you have a fun time with Sarah?"

Noah smiled and nodded vigorously. He rattled off a list of what they did together—movies, puzzles, math, learning Spanish, junk food, and dinner dates. "And every night," he added, "Sarah rock me and read and tuck me in!"

"That's so nice! Sarah took good care of you."

"Uh-huh. Where's Daddy?"

"Sleeping."

"Where's Sarah?"

"Let's get some breakfast and see if she's up."

"I waked her up when you were on your honeyboon."

"Well, show me how you wake her up."

Olivia followed Noah into the main living area. He shouted, "Wake up time, Sarah!"

She was already up and on her phone, but when she heard Noah she pretended to be asleep and snored loudly.

Noah shook her. "Sarah. Wake up. Mommy's here. You can go home now."

She snored even louder.

"Sar-ah!" Noah gently patted her head.

She snorted and moved her head back and forth. "Huh? Huh? Where am I?"

"You here, Sarah!" Noah giggled.

"Oh! Hi Noey! Is it lunchtime?"

More giggles. "No. Coffee time."

Sarah let him drag her to the kitchen where Olivia was making coffee and breakfast for Noah.

"Hi, Livvieeee," Sarah purred and wrapped her stepmother in a gentle hug.

Olivia was mildly taken aback. By now, Sarah had hugged her too many times to count, but each time the embrace was quick and firm, almost a tackle, as if the young woman was trying to knock Olivia into understanding how much she was loved. This was different. Sarah nestled her head in the crook of Olivia's neck, Noah-style, and held her close for much longer than the customary two-three seconds.

"Hey, Sare," Olivia said softly, simultaneously patting her back and her messy blonde bun atop her head. "It's good to see you too!"

"I'm exhausted," Sarah admitted, but not in a tone that made Olivia feel guilty. "I don't know how you do this."

"What do you mean?"

Sarah took a mug from the cabinet and poured coffee. She took a seat in a bar chair. "I can handle running around after a kid and playing with him and all that stuff, but how do you not constantly worry?"

"What were you worried about?"

Sarah ticked off a list of all things which had caused her anxiety while Ed and Olivia were away, "Let's see, where do I begin? Ok, leaving him at day care. That is so scary. Like, you trust those people? Ugh. Then, eating. What if he choked or had an allergic reaction or got food poisoning? And at night, I must've checked on him every hour. What if someone came in and took him?"

Olivia held back a laugh, not wanting to diminish the weight of Sarah's concerns. She answered breezily, "Well, I think all parents worry about that at first, I did, but then you realize you have to let go a little bit or you'll go insane."

Sarah nodded slowly, "Yeah, but…day care is the absolute worst."

"You had it easy. The first few times he cried when I left. Try leaving him then!"

She covered her face, "Oh gawwwwwwd."

"No wonder you're exhausted," Olivia mused, "If you constantly were getting up at night."

"Well, two nights we slept in the fort in his room, so that was better."

Noah, animated and waving his arms all around, added, "We build a fort, mommy! Sarah builded it and we sleep under the sheet!"

"Yes, and we read the books with the flashlight and talked about our days, right Noey?"

"Right!"

Sarah dumped a heaping spoonful of sugar in her coffee, "So, my drama aside, we had an awesome week. How was yours?" She asked mischievously, returning to her typical, puckish self.

"It was great. Key West, it's so laid back, so unlike here." Olivia grabbed her phone and slid it to Sarah, "Take a look at the pictures. We went snorkeling, ate too much seafood…probably had one too many beach drinks. The B and B we stayed in was so cute, I'm sure there are pictures of the room on the phone."

"Are the room pictures G rated?"

Olivia blushed, "Of course." Sarah swiped through the photos and Olivia added, "We also met some fun people."

"Dad hung out with strangers?"

"He did. Took a few drinks, but he did."

Sarah looked shocked, "He's always so…territorial…like," she tried to imitate Ed's voice, "this is my family, don't talk to us, leave us alone."

"There was one couple, from Maine, they were really nice. We met them on the first day and then ran into them a couple more times. Your dad entertained them with cop stories."

"Oh gawwwwd," Sarah gasped, obviously familiar with her father's catalogue of police tales, "at least he's in hostage negotiation now. IAB stories were…so…yawn." She widened her eyes, "He didn't tell them about arresting you, did he?"

"No," Olivia responded with a silly smile, "He did not."

He also didn't talk about negotiating with Utley or being framed as a sex trafficker, but Sarah, wisely chose not to bring up those subjects.

"He did not do what?" Ed appeared just then, shirtless, and wearing sweatpants.

"Daddy!" Noah nearly flung himself out of the high chair.

Ed went over and picked him up, "Hey, bud!" He held him at arm's length, "You look good. No noticeable injuries." He blew a strawberry on Noah's exposed belly, "You seem well-fed. Sarah musta done a good job looking after you!"

"Oh, Daddy, stoppppp."

"Sarah gived me Oreos."

"I know."

"I do math. Two plus two plus two plus two!"

"Equals?"

"THREE!"

Sarah shook her head with mock shame, "He's much better with the cookies in front of him."

Olivia set a mug on the counter for Ed who, after a few more snuggles, replaced Noah in the high chair.

"Ed, just out of curiosity, why aren't you wearing a shirt?" He did not normally parade around the apartment shirtless, even when they were alone.

"Couldn't find one."

"You couldn't find one t-shirt?"

"No. They're all in the laundry, and I'm pretty sure you may be wearing my last clean one…but that's ok."

Olivia looked down sheepishly at the gray pocket tee which was, indeed, his. "We'll do laundry today."

"I did Noey's," Sarah said proudly, "I probably changed his outfits too many times and I felt bad."

"Why?" Ed asked.

Sarah was eager to explain, "Well, he was grubby after day care or after we went out during the day, we…dressed for dinner. And his clothes are so cute."

"The sushi date was adorable," Olivia said.

"Oh, that was an amazing night. After dinner we came back and had a dance party. Brooke even danced with us." Sarah produced her phone and found the video. "See?"

All four of them chuckled at Brooke, Sarah, and Noah contorting their bodies to the hip-hop music, none of them particularly skilled at moving to the rhythm.

"I'm sure the people living below us were thrilled," Ed remarked dryly.

Sarah scoffed, "Dad will you lighten up? Look at us, we're having so much fun!"

Ed's face softened and Olivia rubbed his back, implicitly agreeing with Sarah. After all, he wasn't really worried about the neighbors and he didn't care, much, that Noah had been eating junk food, staying up late, and otherwise ridiculously spoiled while they were away. He relaxed, leaned into Olivia's caresses, and allowed himself to soak up the bliss even though, in the back of his mind, Sarah's personal life troubled him.

Sarah played a few more videos and flipped through the pictures she'd taken. They finished their coffee and batted around the idea of going out to breakfast before deciding against it.

"Sare, do you want to get cleaned up before I start laundry?" Ed asked, trying to simultaneously be considerate and prod her to leave.

"Um, I'm not leaving today. I'm gonna stay through the weekend with Brooke, so I'll head over there soon."

Ed shot Olivia an alarmed glance.

"Well, that's actually perfect," Olivia said brightly, "Then I can take you two out for a thank-you dinner today or tomorrow."

Sarah had no idea about Olivia's ulterior motive, and she gleefully accepted the invitation. "Great idea, Livvie! Girls only. Fantastic. I'll text Brooke…she'll probably want tomorrow since it's Friday."

Ed and Olivia plopped Noah among his toys and went about unpacking. Sarah changed clothes and gathered her things. She declined Olivia's offer to drive her the short distance to Brooke's apartment.

"Goodbye, my love," Sarah sing-songed to Noah before smothering him in kisses. "You're a doll."

"Bye Sarah. You a doll, too!"

"Omigod, omigod, omigod," Sarah gushed, "This dude…just, gahhhh!"

Noah, unaware of his charm, wiggled free of Sarah's grasp and busily returned to his trucks and trains.

…

Sarah was correct in her assumption that Brooke preferred a Friday dinner date, and she, Olivia, and Sarah occupied a familiar table at Quinn's just as the after-work crowd began trickling in. Brooke had had a particularly trying week at the middle school and ordered a Jameson's to go along with her beer. Sarah followed suit.

"You hate beer," Brooke reminded her.

"Ah," Sarah batted her hand dismissively, "It was just easier to copy you. Alcohol is alcohol."

"Well, ok, then," Brooke ignored Sarah's capriciousness and raised her glass before downing half of the whiskey. "Ahhh, that's better. This job is going to kill me."

"You need a new one," Sarah said as if it were the most obvious statement in the world.

Olivia agreed. Brooke routinely told stories of the perils of teaching in the South Bronx—illiteracy, gangs, drugs, broken families, and the general aura of despair. Until now, she'd resisted her own urges and her family's calls to change schools, but she was seriously considering looking elsewhere. Even though Noah was a couple years from kindergarten, Olivia had been scoping out neighborhood schools. "Brooke, there are at least three public schools in our neighborhood that are highly rated. You really should start sending your resume. Just to get feelers out."

She finished the shot and chased it with a sip of IPA. "I know, I know, Suh—" Brooke caught herself before she finished saying "Sonny," but Sarah picked up on it before her sister could backtrack.

"BUSTED!" She was so loud several patrons glanced in their direction. "Sis, you can no longer deny it. You and Sonny are Not. Just. Friends."

Brooke looked helpless and maybe a little disappointed that her fun little secret was no longer a secret. Olivia grinned cryptically, for she caught Sonny revealing a little too much after Valentine's Day. However, she had kept that to herself.

"We really are not that serious," Brooke insisted.

Sarah pried for more details, "I thought we all thought he had a thing for that detective. Livvie, what's her name?"

"Amanda."

Brooke shook her head, "They're just friends."

Olivia started to say something, but Sarah beat her to the punch. "He thinks they're just friends, but what does she think?"

"Like I said, we're not serious. We're really just, kind of, going out, seeing where this goes. He doesn't lie—if he's helping her with Jesse or something, he tells me."

"I don't like this," Sarah said bluntly. Olivia observed and listened as Sarah warned Brooke about what she felt was an impending love triangle. "I bet," Sarah predicted, "This Amanda person thinks there is more to their relationship than just friends."

Olivia hated to admit it, and she stayed silent on the matter, but she believed Sarah was probably right. Carisi was so sweet and so family-oriented, it was not a stretch to see Rollins perceive his kindness as something other than pure friendship. She didn't want Brooke to get hurt, but she also didn't want her to slam on the brakes. Olivia held Carisi in high regard, and Brooke deserved someone like him in her life.

"Just take it one step at a time," Olivia advised, "And, keep the lines of communication open. Carisi's a good guy."

"Right," Sarah said, "And we got your back, sis."

Olivia bit her lip and briefly thought about the discord Sarah's predicted love triangle could potentially create at the precinct. She was suddenly anxious to talk to Ed who, unknowingly, was going to get more information than he'd bargained for.

"Olivia," Brooke asked, wanting to divert the conversation away from her life, "What are the boys doing tonight?"

"Your Dad's taking Noah to a movie and then dinner…I don't know where."

"Awww," Brooke cooed. "Noah missed Dad. Whenever I saw him while you were gone he was always Dada this and Daddy that."

"But he talked about you, too, Livvie," Sarah interjected as if Brooke's recollection would injure Olivia.

"Jesus, Sarah, of course he missed both of them. But I'm just saying, when you had him all dressed up, he would talk about Dad wearing a tie and Dad wearing black shoes…that kind of stuff."

Olivia tempered the mild argument, "You know, I thought I would have a hard time with Noah bonding with your Dad, but I truly haven't."

"Not at all?" Brooke questioned, "It seems like…Noah is always glued to Dad."

"Lately he has been…but, if that's my worst problem? That Noah loves his Dad? I think I'll take that." Olivia and Lindstrom hashed out this issue over several sessions, each time Olivia felt like he was belaboring the point when she saw it as a nonissue. Of course, there were occasional pangs of jealousy when Noah cried out for Ed when he was hurt or when he ran to Daddy first, but Lindstrom explained a preference for one parent over another was completely normal. And Noah wasn't ignoring Olivia, he simply had two parents he adored. "And…of course…your Dad gives him anything he wants, so…"

"That'll do it!" Sarah finished for her.

"So, what are you two doing this weekend?" Olivia asked.

Brooke answered first, "Well, this was kind of unexpected, so, not much. I have a lot of work to do."

Sarah sulked, "We can at least go see a show or something. My treat? I miss New York."

"Have you talked to Jeff about moving?"

Olivia, unaware that moving was an option for Sarah and Jeff, widened her eyes. "You're thinking about relocating?"

Sarah played with her napkin. "I actually got an offer from a firm downtown," she said in a voice not much higher than a whisper.

"I didn't know you even interviewed!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I sent some resumes out, just to see…and did a video interview. It's a really good offer, way more than I make now."

"Sarah," Olivia said, "That's…great…right?"

Sarah's eyes were downcast as she replied, "Jeff will never leave Philadelphia. His job…he loves it so much. He loves the city too much. Maybe, if I take this job, I'll live here during the week and commute back to Philly on the weekends."

"Sarah, that's unrealistic," Brooke admonished her.

"Lots of people do it," Sarah retorted.

"Do you think that would work for you two?" Olivia asked, trying to be diplomatic. She couldn't fathom living apart from Ed.

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know if we work."

Brooke and Olivia shot each other alarmed glances. Brooke grabbed her sister's hand. "Sarah, what is going on? Does Jeff even know you got this job offer? Or that you were even looking?"

Sarah rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. "We're pretty much living separate lives."

"Sarah," Olivia sighed consolingly.

"When he's not working, he's out with his buddies, or he has them over at the house. He's acting more like a single guy now than he did when we were dating."

"Have you talked to him about it?" Brooke asked.

"Yes," Sarah snapped, "I talk to him about it all the fucking time. And he's just so, so, flippant…Before he left for Clearwater, I was like, do you even want to be married anymore, and he just looked at me like he wanted to say no. He didn't answer. He just left. Maybe he won't come back."

"He'll come back," Olivia assured her, "But when he does, you really should sit down and have a serious conversation. A tough one. But, you have to figure out what you want. Do you want to be married?"

"I…I…" Sarah stammered, "I guess…if it's like this? Then, no. No, I don't."

"Have you thought about marriage counseling?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah," Olivia agreed, "One way or another, therapy can help."

Sarah frowned. "Jeff won't go to a shrink."

"Not a shrink, a counselor."

"Same thing. Uh-uh. He's too proud to do that. He'd rather just ignore me for the rest of his life."

"At least suggest it," Brooke urged.

"Livvie, would you ask Dad to see someone?"

Olivia swallowed. "If there was something so off that we needed to go, I would ask. And I like to think he would agree to go. Admitting you need help is difficult. It was difficult for me at first, but without it, I would have, well, I don't like to think about what would have happened. I definitely don't think I would be here, I probably wouldn't have Noah, I wouldn't have your Dad."

"I don't know," Sarah griped, "Maybe I just need to see someone."

"Maybe," Olivia replied, "But the marriage is yours and his."

Sarah looked around. "I need another drink."

"Last one, sis," Brooke warned, "Then we'll go home and see what tickets are available for tomorrow."

"Let's go see something funny," Sarah suggested, "I can't handle any more drama in my life right now."

….

A cold rain began falling just as Olivia approached their building, and she shook the raindrops from her coat before entering the apartment. She nearly tripped over Ed's and Noah's shoes which apparently had been kicked off haphazardly when they returned from their night out. She added her boots to the pile.

"Hello?" She called.

"Hey!" Ed's voice was coming from the bathroom where he was wrapping a freshly-bathed Noah in a towel.

Olivia kissed both of them. "Hello, my loves!"

Ed studied her, trying to determine how many drinks she'd had. "Have a good time?"

"Not exactly. How about you two?"

Ed raised his eyebrows, but he knew he would have to wait for further explanation.

"We saw Minions!" Noah exclaimed.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. And we had popcorn, and, and," Noah looked to Ed for help.

"Whoppers."

"Whoppers!"

Olivia pulled his pajama top over his head and threaded his arms through the sleeves. "And where did Daddy take you for dinner?"

"Mamasita!"

"Did you speak Spanish?"

"I tell Rosa hola and adios."

"She says hola to mi esposo, as well," Ed relayed the message from their regular server at the Mexican restaurant.

"Noah, go pick out two books for tonight sweet boy." While he was inspecting the bookshelves, Olivia turned her attention to Ed and stroked his head lovingly, "Did you enjoy the Minions movie?" She asked, expecting a complaint.

"It wasn't that bad, surprisingly enough."

Noah handed Olivia his two choices and she sat with him in the rocking chair. Ed kissed Noah. "Night, bud. Love you."

"Love you too, Daddy! We ride bikes tomorrow?"

"If it's not too cold, pal."

"K."

"Liv, you want tea or anything?"

"No thanks," she smiled up at him sweetly, "I'll be out in a bit."

…..

"Ok," Olivia said as she sat next to Ed on the couch. She crossed her legs and faced him, "Which daughter would you like to start with?"

He grumbled, "Oh man, both of them?"

Olivia nodded, "Brooke, well, it's not that big of a deal. Apparently…she's seeing Carisi."

"What?" Ed gasped, screwing up his face, "When did that happen?"

"I think they started hanging out around Christmas. She says it's not serious."

"Isn't he dating Rollins?"

"That's the thing," Olivia said hesitantly, "Carisi says they're just good friends. Sarah, and I, think Rollins may have the wrong idea about what's going on."

"Does Rollins know he's with Brooke?"

"I didn't ask."

"Lieutenant."

She grinned, "I know, I know, I've been on vacation too long. I'm off my game." The semi-ashamed expression on Olivia's face was adorable to Ed, and he couldn't help but take a quick break from the chatter to kiss her.

"Alright, so, am I supposed to know about this, uh, sort of boyfriend?"

"I think so."

"Ok. Now…Sarah's mess?"

"A mess indeed," Olivia said regretfully, not particularly excited to tell Ed about Sarah's crumbling marriage. She explained what was going on—Jeff's regression into the single life, Sarah's desire to return to New York, and their ugly conversation prior to Jeff leaving for the Phillies spring training camp.

"Great. Divorce. After what? Four months?"

Olivia patted his leg, "Hold on. They may stay together. I get the feeling they don't communicate well, or at all really."

"They seemed fine—at the beach and over the holidays."

"It's easy when things are good. Not so easy when there's something wrong."

Ed stared intently at Olivia, a pained expression on his face. At first, she assumed he was agonizing over his daughter's misery, but then he said, "When things are good…you said it like good times don't last. Why can't a marriage be good all the time?"

Olivia understood his implicit concerns, "Because when you're twenty-four you don't always know what you want. And Sarah and Jeff seem to want different things."

Ed wasn't sure what to say. He didn't like feeling helpless, but there was really nothing he could do. If Sarah's marriage was over, it was over. "I guess I'd rather have her be happy than stuck in a miserable marriage for the rest of her life. At least they don't have kids."

"Brooke and I did suggest they see a marriage counselor, but Sarah doesn't think Jeff will go."

"Then, there's her answer right there. If he doesn't want to try to save it…it's over."

Olivia touched his face, "If we needed it, you would see someone?"

He looked at her as if he were shocked she felt the need to even ask, "Liv, I would do anything for us. I don't plan on going off the rails so badly that we need counseling, but I wouldn't think twice about it if that's what was necessary."

She leaned in for a kiss and when she pulled away she stayed nestled against his chest. "I'm glad to hear you say that."

"But I really hope it never has to happen," Ed emphasized, "Really. Hope."

"I know," Olivia said softly, "But we talk, we communicate, I think we'll be just fine."

"You know what else we do well?" Ed asked flirtatiously.

Olivia acted clueless, "What's that?"

"I'd rather show you." Ed stood up and took Olivia's hands. "Come on."

…

#Tuckson