When he got to the baseball diamonds it took him a minute to find the right field was playing on. He didn't actually see Noah, but he did spot Olivia. She was standing down the third base line away from other parents. He thought about how hard it must be for her. She works so much to be able to provide for Noah, that she probably doesn't have a lot of opportunities to create meaningful relationships with other kid's parents.

She looked beautiful standing there in her green hoodie, blue jeans, and some white sneakers. Her weekend casual look was his favorite look. It always took his breath away. She didn't let many people see her like that. Occasionally, when she was called in over the weekend she'd show up in the squad room dressed like that. When she wasn't wearing her professional garb during her day to day, then she'd be dressed to the 9s for a work event. She didn't particularly like those fancy events, and she didn't seem to realize that she owned those rooms. He never stopped appreciating how lucky he was that she let him in. Even when she kicked him out the door, he knew that he was a better man because of the time she allowed him to love her.

He walked up behind her and reached out to touch her back, "Hey," he said and she startled. When she realized it was him, her face broke into a wide smile. The same smile she had the entire time they were in Paris. All he ever wanted to do was help her find that smile everyday for the rest of their lives.

"Hi," she said before pulling him into a tight hug. She had been looking forward to seeing him for the past week. She placed a soft kiss against his cheek. Before she could pull away, he captured her lips and she melted into his embrace. She hadn't told Noah that Tucker was coming to his game. She didn't want to risk something coming up and Noah feeling let down. She still felt guilty for how she pushed Ed out of Noah's life.

The little boy had loved Ed in his own way. Noah had finally stopped asking about when his friend Tucker would come over to play when Shelia showed up. Olivia was worried when Shelia went to Jail that Noah would start to wonder where his Tucker was, and ask about getting to play with him. Surprisingly, or maybe it was more disappointingly, Noah didn't ask about Ed. He instead had chosen to keep asking about Grandma Sheila. Everytime it was a knife in her heart. Even so, she felt that her little boy would be excited to see his playmate once again.

"He's playing shortstop right now," she told Ed as she pointed him out on the field. Ed found the little boy standing with his hands on his knees looking towards the batter. He smiled as the ball flew towards third base and Noah ran towards second base. The third baseman stuck his glove in the air while the ball passed by him about 4 feet to the left. The little boy chased after the ball while the left outfielder came running in. The outfielder tried to pick the ball with his glove and was unsuccessful. The third baseman tried to grab it off the ground, when the outfielder almost fell on top of the ball to keep his teammate from picking it up. The scene was exactly what Ed expected when he thought about a t-ball game. A coach trekked out to help the two players sort out getting the ball back to the pitcher for the next batter.

Ed put his arm around Olivia and pulled her close. He pressed a kiss to her temple and breathed her scent in deeply. He felt Olivia lean into him wanting to be as close as possible. It felt good to be here with her like this. He had missed, tremendously, the everyday things they would do together as a family.

"I'm glad you made it," she whispered, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked down at her and found her smiling up at him. He smiled back and placed another kiss on her lips, "me too."

"I've been looking forward to seeing both of you all week." He said causing her to smile she turned so she could wrap her arms around his torso and buried her face in his jacket. She had missed him so much.

"So, this is little league?" He asked cheerfully.

"Yeah," she let out a breathy laugh as she pulled away from him, "this is little league. They play for about an hour or so. At the beginning of the game, the kids are really engaged. But towards the end, well, they're tired."

He let out a laugh, "yeah, I bet."

The two stood there watching Noah as a ball soared directly at him. The little boy put his glove up and the ball bounced off the top. He went and scooped it up before throwing it to 1st base. He was able to throw the ball pretty far, but his aim wasn't as good. The 1st baseman had to run to pick it up and the runner ran right past him.

"Good hustle, Noah!" Olivia yelled in her son's direction. He turned to wave at her and spotted Ed. His tentative wave turned into him almost flailing his arm at Ed, his face breaking into a wide smile. Ed waved back and smiled brightly at the little boy who had wormed his way into his heart. When Noah turned back to watch the next batter, Olivia slipped her arm around his before sliding her hand into his. She took her other hand and squeezed his bicep while leaning her head against his shoulder.

After a moment of silence between the two, she said, "He's missed you, you know?" Ed turned his head sharply to look at her. She didn't lift her head trying to hide the shame in her eyes. She wanted him to know that Noah cared about him, but she wasn't ready to acknowledge just how big her fuck up had been. Not just for her or for Ed, but for her little boy who so desperately wanted and needed people to love him. She let out a shaking breath waiting for him to respond. She felt him exhale before he said, "I've missed him too."

"Ed, I'm so sorry." She told him earnestly. "I know that I let my fear push you away, and… I'm just so sorry."

"Hey," he interrupted her and used his forefinger to bring her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "I know Liv, and I forgive you." He saw the tears flood her eyes, and pulled his hand from her to envelop her in a hug. "I do, Liv. I forgive you," choking back her sobs. She didn't want to make a scene at her kid's baseball game. "Shh, it's ok." He held her closer, giving her time to compose herself.

When she was confident the tears had stopped, she pulled away from him enough to reach up and kiss him. He smiled at her. "So, how does Noah like baseball?"

"Uh, he loves it. He came home from school in November and some of the other kids were talking about playing baseball in the spring. He was so excited. He asked me about it everyday for nearly a month. So I signed him up on the first day."

Ed smiled out at the little boy who was now waiting in the dugout for his turn to bat. "He's gotten big."

Olivia looked up at him and smiled. "He's been growing like a weed."

The two fell into a comfortable silence. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close. She let herself fall into him. It felt so good to stand there with her. This is what he wanted. He wanted to spend his life with her. He wanted to watch Noah grow up, to watch the little boy experience life. He wanted these moments away from the NYPD out in the world with her. And he believed in his heart that she wanted this too. He slid his hand up under her hoodie to her hip. She grinned up at him and kissed him softly on the cheek. He slipped his finger under her shirt to caress her skin. She fell deeper into him trying to use the closeness to fend off the crisp air.

When the game came to an end, Noah ran out of the dugout and launched himself at Ed. "Tucker!"

Ed barely had time to let go of Oliva before the boy's arms were around his neck. He smiled at Olivia as he wrapped Noah up in a tight hug. "Hey Noah," he whispered against his hairline.

Olivia's eyes couldn't have been shining brighter as she watched the man she loved and her little boy interact. "Mommy! Tucker came to my baseball game!" He yelled at her causing Ed to loosen his grip on the little boy in an attempt to protect his ear from the kid's excitement.

"I know sweetheart." She smiled and her heart swell at how happy her son was to see his Tucker. She placed her hand on Noah's back, "Why don't you go get your bag?"

Noah held on to Ed a little tighter. "Then maybe I can take you and your mom out for pancakes?" Ed asked him.

"Can I get blueberry pancakes?" He asked as he nodded excitedly.

"Absolutely." Ed affirmed as he let the little boy down to grab his stuff. Olivia reached out and grabbed his hand squeezing it with gratitude.

Ed realized that even after she shoved him out of their life, Ed still trusted her and he trusted Noah. His heart was still in this little family, and he knew that they were going to get back to the relationship they had before he mentioned retirement. He was also hopeful that now they could take the next step, whatever that may be for them, towards a future together.