Just a reminder that this story is about a year ahead of time. This particular chapter skips forward a little from the previous one—it's April, 2017. Noah is now well into his third year; Tuckson has been married four months, the OCs are a little restless in their personal and private lives…Time for more family interactions!

Little Talks

Noah gripped a crayon and concentrated intently on the inside cover of the store-bought birthday card. Olivia already helped him outline stick figures, and he carefully added details to his and Brooke's faces and clothing. Olivia lightly ran her fingers through his hair as he worked, and he wiggled his head, annoyed at the attention.

"Sorry, baby," she apologized. "Tomorrow we'll go pick out a present for Brookey. What should we get her?"

"Brookey likes pizza."

Olivia chuckled, "I know, sweet boy, and we'll take her out for pizza. But we should buy her a present, you know, like you get on your birthday."

"The police badge?"

"Maybe something like that—a bracelet or a necklace?"

Noah's eyes did not depart from the card as he gave his nonchalant response, "I get Brookey a bracelet. Like this one?" Noah raised his left arm. On his wrist was a silver cuff, almost identical to the one Ed wore daily; Noah's was engraved with his name and on the inside was another inscription:

From Daddy With Love December 31, 2016

"We could do that. Good idea. We'll go after lunch, ok?"

"We eat with Brookey?"

"No, Daddy's having lunch with her and Sarah. We'll see them later at the street fair." Olivia sat back and drank what was left of her lukewarm coffee. She was thrilled to have a lazy morning after what had been an ugly first week of the Terrence Reynolds trial. Plea negotiations with Campesi and Donlan had broken down, and the two of them were taking their chances in court on the manslaughter charges. Olivia expected to be called as a witness for the defense which meant she would face cross-examination by Barba and, perhaps, a repeat of what happened in front of the grand jury.

"Liv, have you seen my jacket?" Ed came out of the bedroom clad in jeans and a navy long-sleeved t-shirt. He looked deliciously casual. He noticed her glance at the coat rack. "I looked in all the obvious places," he said with mock scorn before coming over to the couch and kissing her.

"Your hair's still wet," she observed, thinking about the cool early afternoon temperature.

"It'll dry."

"I took the lighter coats to the cleaners last week. It's in our closet in plastic."

He noticed Noah's artwork. "Whatcha workin' on, bud?"

"Brookey's birdday card."

"Wow, she's gonna love it. Good colors."

"I wear blue, Brookey wears yellow."

"Yellow's her favorite?"
"Uh-huh. Mommy said we can get her pizza and a bracelet too."

Ed pinched Olivia's cheek, "Whatever Mommy says." Ed disappeared and returned wearing the freshly cleaned field jacket. "I'm off. See you two in about an hour or so?"

"Ok. Let me know when you're finishing lunch and we'll head down there."

Ed gave them both goodbye kisses. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Love you, Daddy! See ya later!"

…

Brooke and Sarah were late, but Ed didn't mind. He was one of the first people at the pub, so he parked himself at the mahogany bar, ordered a bourbon, and absent-mindedly watched ESPN on the flat screen television. This was his off weekend; unless something terrible happened, he was not being called in to work. Comfortable with the idleness, he downed the first drink quickly and ordered another.

His blonde daughters showed up, tardy by twenty minutes, and practically tackled their father from behind.

Sarah greeted him with her usual, "Hi, Daddy!" She kissed his cheek and then wiped the spot with her thumb, "Whoops, got some lip gloss on ya."

Tucker looked helplessly at the bartender as Sarah and Brooke took the stools on either side of him.

"You get all moved in?" he grumbled.

"Yes," Sarah replied breathlessly, "Um, sir, I'll have a Jack and Diet Coke."

Brooke peered over at her, "Jack and Coke? You're the most inconsistent drinker I know."

"Hey," Sarah shrugged, "New job, new life, new libations. Maybe you should order something different…since you're cutting the cord with that freaking Lean on Me school."

Ed's mind was already spinning. It was only a week ago that Sarah broke the news to him not only about her new job but also that she was moving back to New York, to the extra room in his/Brooke's apartment, and temporarily separating from Jeff. Her new job was also too good to pass up, so she accepted the offer and packed her bags.

Sarah's mess of a personal life bothered Ed, but she seemed genuinely happy to be back in the city. The comment about Brooke changing jobs made him smile, "So you're finally done with it, huh, Brookey?"

Ed's oldest daughter sipped her beer contemplatively, almost ruefully, "Yeah, I can't do it anymore. It's been five years. If I don't leave, I'll burn out."

"Interviews?"

"Two weeks. After spring break. One at P.S. 35 and the other at a private school."

"Your boss know yet?"

"I told her last week, had a heart-to-heart. I even cried—"

Sarah interrupted, "She musta understood. I mean, come on. How many times did you have to be escorted to the subway after a fight or something in the neighborhood?"

Brooke rolled her eyes at her sister. It wasn't that bad. At least, not all the time, but trying to improve the skills of students three and four grade levels behind was wearing on her. That, coupled with the neighborhood violence and drugs, made it seem like she'd been there twenty years instead of only five.

"As I was saying," Brooke cleared her throat dramatically and continued, "she was very understanding and even wrote me a letter of recommendation. So…I feel good. Better."

"Great," Ed said and focused his attention back on Sarah, "And when do you start this new gig?"

"Monday."

"And what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm in their international tax division—working with companies to make sure they're compliant but also maximizing revenue…not sure which specific team I'm on yet, but, you know, I speak Spanish, so…"

Ed took another sip, "Sounds exciting," he lied. Brooke shot him kind of a sideways simper, sharing his sentiments. "And what's going on with Jeff?"

Sarah grimaced. "I told him to take a month to decide what he wants. But, I live in New York now. I mean, lookit what they offered me—almost twice the salary, stock options, I couldn't say no. I think," she took a deep breath, finished her drink, and signaled for another, "it's over."

"Did you ask him about counseling?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"Yes. He did not take that suggestion well."

Ed faced Sarah, "You do what you feel is right, Sare."

Sarah leaned into him, "Daddy, I love you."

"I love you, too. And I want you to be happy, so…if it's over, it's over."

"I feel like I'm disappointing everyone," she whined.

"Don't do that. I'm proud of you. You're beautiful, smart, funny, generous…you're a good person, sweetheart."

"But a terrible wife."

Brooke almost spit out her drink as she guffawed, "Oh c'mon. Jeff turned into an ass. Maybe he always was one and he was fooling us."

Sarah rubbed her eyes, "You know what it was?"

"What?"

"When he realized I was not budging on the kids thing…that's when he started acting like a college dude again."

"Good for you," Ed said, "If he didn't respect you enough to wait, then he's not good enough."

"So, you didn't buy a house together or anything," Brooke pointed out, "Should be an easy split, at least, as far as the legal part of it is concerned."

"Yeah," Sarah murmured. "Ugh, I can't believe it. I'll be a divorcee. And I cannot wait to hear mom's reaction," she added sarcastically.

"Oh, fuck her."

Ed raised his eyebrows. He expected that type of comment from Sarah, not Brooke. "Hey," he warned. "She's your mother."

Sarah took Brooke's side, "Well, she really isn't in a position to give marital advice or judge me, so…I'm not gonna worry about her right now."

Brooke, seeking a subject change, swatted at Sarah's arm, "You fall in love too quickly."

Sarah frowned at her, "Maybe…but you, sister, are too slow. Sonny."

Ed groaned as his daughters bantered back and forth about their past, present, and future love lives. "Girls," he interrupted, "can we order lunch, please? I told Liv we'd only be an hour."

Hearing Olivia's name, Sarah broke into a silly grin, "Well, we cannot keep Livvie waiting," she cooed whimsically, "Daddy misses her. Look at him, Brookey, he's blushing just thinking about his wifey."

"Will you stop?" Ed demanded albeit with a grin.

Brooke tried to steer the conversation away from Sarah's swooning, "Dad, did you put an offer in on that new apartment?"

"We did and they accepted it. And that's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. You two can stay in my place as long as you want, but I decided to sell the Kill Devil condo." Ed expected his daughters to protest this decision, but they both supported it.

"It's too far away to use very often," Sarah said.

Brooke agreed, "Yeah, and you don't rent it or anything. And you'll probably make a lot—those property values have skyrocketed."

Sarah grinned slyly, "And I would much rather have you sell that one instead of the one we're living in."

"He's not going to keep it forever," Brooke pointed out.

Ed held up his hand, "We'll talk about that later. I want you two to save money while you're young, so I'm fine with keeping it for now…but it's not going to drag on forever."

"Of course not," Sarah said, "It's worth too much. But, thank you, Daddy. We really, really appreciate it."

Ed put one arm around Brooke and the other around Sarah and pulled them close. "You're welcome."

"Omigod," Sarah gasped, "We got sidetracked again, jeez, let's order already. Livvie and Noah will think we stood them up."

…

Ed and the girls found Olivia and Noah on a busy Sixth Avenue street corner at the northern edge of the fair. Various artisans lined the avenue selling jewelry, clothing, accessories, artwork, and sculptures, among other things from tented booths. The air filled with scents from the food vendors, and Sarah immediately made a beeline for an arepa stand.

"You just ate," Brooke said critically.

"Not that much," Sarah scoffed, "And I love these. Noey will help me eat it." She returned from the stand with the cheese-stuffed cornmeal pancake and broke off a piece for Noah. "Like it?" She asked.

He chewed thoughtfully. "Uh-huh, more please, Sarah."

"Here," she handed him another, larger piece, "And we can get more later if you want."

"What do you say?" Olivia prompted.

"Thank you!"

The five of them meandered through the displays, occasionally stopping to more closely inspect certain items. Olivia watched Brooke closely, trying to get some clues about what she might like for her birthday which was in two days. Noah was a trooper, walking along with them for a while until he asked to be picked up. Ed hoisted him up and on his shoulders.

"Nice view up there, huh, No?" Brooke asked.

Noah grinned and pointed out a few things of interest including two mounted uniformed officers, "Look! Police! And a horsie!"

"That's right!" Olivia gushed.

"Livvie, we should take Noah horseback riding!" Sarah suggested.

"When have you ever been on a horse?" Ed asked critically.

"Never, but that doesn't mean Noey and I can't learn together!"

Olivia smiled, "Maybe someday."

"See?" Olivia poked Ed's arm, "Olivia is open to new things. Like, Livvie, I bet you would go salsa dancing with us!"

"I'm not so sure about that," she replied doubtfully.

Brooke cracked up, "I can maybe see you, Liv, but Dad? No way!"

The three women laughed together and then laughed even harder when they saw Ed clench his jaw and go into austere mode.

"Uh-oh," Sarah said, "Let's behave. Dad's getting mad."

Olivia knew better. She put her arm around his waist and gave him a little side hug, "He's trying not to laugh."

Ed smirked at her, "Just you wait. When Noah's older, you three won't have quite the numbers advantage you have now."

Sarah started to say something, but a louder voice superseded hers.

"Tucker? Is that you, you sonofabitch?" Ed whirled around, tensed, and his grip on Noah's legs tightened. A tall, disheveled-looking man stumbled towards them. Ed screwed up his face, trying to figure out how he was connected to the guy.

"He's fucked up," Sarah whispered to Brooke who nodded in agreement.

Olivia stepped in front of Ed, but he nudged her aside, brought Noah down, and handed him to his mother. Tucker glared back at the interloper. "Can I help you?"

"You already helped enough, you mother—" Tucker grabbed the guy by his jacket and shoved him towards the curb, between two booths.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Tucker hissed, "Talking like that in front of my family? My wife and kids? And I'm the sonofabitch?"

Unsteady on his feet, the man was unable to fight free of Tucker's hold on him, but he still seethed with anger, "Must be nice, huh? To still have your shield and your salary and your pension? When you spent your whole career screwing over your brother officers?"

Tucker still couldn't remember who the guy was or what he could've done to lose his badge, but it didn't matter. "Fuck you," he snarled and pushed the guy away, releasing him so he hit his heels on the curb, stepped backwards, and swayed across the sidewalk before slumping against the side of a building.

Olivia, Noah, and the girls looked on as two unis trotted over. One detained the man and the other addressed Tucker.

"What's the problem?"

Tucker produced his badge from his coat pocket, "Captain Tucker." He gestured towards the aggressor, "Got a D-n-D there."

Seeing such high ranking credentials, the young officer immediately softened, "Oh, ok, sir, you want us to take him in?"

Tucker scowled at the humiliated, drunken man, "Nah, just…take him home."

"Yessir."

Ed took a deep breath and returned to his family. Noah had been passed to Brooke who placed her hand on the back of his head, trying to shield him from viewing the altercation. Olivia reached out for Ed's hand which was still shaking from the adrenaline rush. The small crowd that had formed to witness the action began to dissipate, and the girls followed Ed's lead as he resumed strolling down the street.

"Who was that?" Olivia asked under her breath, feeling like everyone was still watching them.

"I don't remember his name, but I musta taken his shield at some point." Ed let her hand go and slung his arm over her shoulder instead. "It's over…I'm, uh, surprised that hasn't happened before I guess."

"I thought you were going to kill him," Sarah said proudly and reached up and mussed Ed's hair. "Yep. Nobody messes with my Daddy and gets away with it. No sirrreeee."

…

Ed was more reticent than usual that night over dinner and then later as they lounged on the sofa, but Olivia figured he was still decompressing. When it got to be Noah's bedtime, he silently plucked his son from the pile of toys, took him to Olivia for a goodnight kiss, and then headed back for their nightly routine of two stories and a snug tuck-in. He returned to the living room after what Olivia thought was an unusually long time, sat down, and motioned for her to lean back against his chest.

"Ed, are you ok?"

"I'm sorry about today."

"That was not your fault."

"In a way it was."

She fought against his grip and turned to look into his eyes, "How was it your fault? Because you did your job when you were in IAB?"

"How many former cops out there are just like that guy—ruined? Because of me?"

Olivia was shocked to hear him second-guess himself. "They're ruined because of their own decisions, not yours."

"Noah didn't see it, did he?"

"No. Sarah and I did…Brooke stayed back with him."

"Good. I don't want him to see me like that."

Olivia put one hand on his cheek, "You weren't out of control, Ed. He was. But, I get it. And, he didn't see it. But," she started flirting a little, "you were defending us."

"Nobody gets to talk that way around my family."

"If it weren't so upsetting for you…I was going to say, well, the way you handled it was…kind of sexy."

His eyes drooped a little and his jaw relaxed, "Well, what if I'm not feeling upset anymore?"

She kissed both cheeks before planting her lips on his. "You can be upset." She kissed him again, "but…maybe open to the idea that I can help you…get in a better mood."

He slid his hands under her shirt and rubbed her bare back as she nipped at his neck and then his earlobe, "I'm feeling better already," he murmured.

"I love that you protect us."

He felt her lips move against his neck. Ed Tucker loved that his wife could take care of him and make him feel ultra-masculine at the same time. She made him feel strong and necessary but also loved and appreciated.

"I'll always protect you," he promised, his voice deeper than normal. "And I'll always want you. And," he groaned as Olivia unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, "I want you right now. More than anything."

"I'm all yours."

Ed laid her on the bed after meticulously undressing her. Awestruck, he fixated on her, maybe for too long, but she exercised enormous patience. She didn't furrow her brow in frustration nor did she mutter an exasperated "what?" When they first started sleeping together on a regular basis, he frequently paused like this, ogling then apologizing, chalking up the delay to nothing other than enormous and overwhelming pangs of gratitude.

Today that jerk threatened their peace and harmony and Tucker was pissed, even if the instance was short-lived and not likely to linger in their memories for long. Still, now that he had his perfect domestic life, he was not letting anyone, even for a second, fuck it up.

He ran his hands all over her body, contemplating every curve and crevice of this precious woman, his wife. He really had to focus now because images of the guy were coming back and he felt anger swell in his gut and he didn't want to get too rough. Next, with his lips, he traced the path his hands had just taken.

Olivia watched his face. Somehow, this exploration of her body was almost more intimate than the actual sex; his attentiveness and pursed lips turned her on. He looked so appreciative and enamored. If it weren't so erotic, it would be cute.

Then, the smirk. Confidence oozed as she writhed, shivered, looped her legs around his, and dug into his back. He heard her mumble something that sounded like "Ed, I want you," and then it was just "Ed" over and over with some moans and maybe an "Oh God" or a "Don't stop" or maybe that was him who said those things because most of the time when he made love to her he couldn't tell where she began and he ended; the gasps, sighs, grunts, groans—all sounds of sex—they all sounded the same, not his or hers…theirs.

"Liv, why do you love me?" He faced her, head on the same pillow, with one arm under his head and the other tracing little circles along the side of her body.

Olivia thought sex would erase any remaining bitterness, but his question indicated he was not only still troubled by the afternoon's encounter but also feeling unlovable. She looked at him with a combination of concern and affection. "You want me to run down the entire list?"

"Yes," he responded seriously.

"Well," she played with his hair, "When we started meeting for drinks, those conversations, I saw how very smart you are. Then, you let me see your kindness and generosity—and your sharp sense of right and wrong, and how you always try to do what's right."

"Anyone can try…it doesn't always happen."

"You're a good man," she insisted, "And you would do anything for me and for your kids. The way you support us and care for us is…amazing...and comforting."

"I'd go to prison before I let someone hurt you."

"I know. But, I'm not done."

His eyes widened with surprise. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I love how you love me. I love right now and I love seeing you in the mornings and coming home to you at night. And that look on your face you get when the girls tease you and the other look you give Noah whenever you see him—pure, pure affection. I love our life."

Ed blinked. "You always know what to say."

"It was an easy question."

He kissed her tenderly, "Thank you."

….

This chapter is a little shorter than I normally write, but I split a longer one in half. Look for another update soon. Thanks for reading! #Tuckson