Ed wasn't sure how long they had been lying there. He never really got to sleep. Mostly, he just dozed. But he was grateful when he felt Liv's breathing change. He got the impression that she hadn't gotten too much rest since Noah had been taken. He was pretty content to lay there with her until he heard someone scrounging around in the kitchen. He slid out from under Olivia trying not to wake her and allow her a few more moments of sleep. As quietly as he could, he left the room gently closing the door behind him. When he came into the kitchen, he saw Noah standing with the refrigerator door open, seemingly pondering what he wanted for breakfast.
"Hey bud," Ed said softly, startling the little boy.
"Tucker!" Noah shouted, slamming the refrigerator door shut before leaping into his friend's arms, wrapping his legs around Ed's waist and hugging him tight.
"What are you doing here?" Noah asked at a much quieter volume, remembering that his mom was likely still sleeping. Ed smiled into the little boy's curls before placing a kiss against his temple.
"I finished all my errands and thought I might come over here to spend Sunday with you and your mom. Ed explained, before asking, "is that ok?"
"Yes!" Noah exclaimed. "Does mom know you're here?" He asked as he continued to cling to the man.
"Of course she does. She let me in when I got here." As the two stood there, Ed allowed himself to bask in the love the little boy so freely gave him. Noah had stolen a piece of his heart the first time they met.
After the incident with Joe in that townhouse, Lucy brought Noah up to the hospital at Liv's request. By some miracle, Olivia had convinced her squad to let a uni take her home after she was discharged. Something about just needing to be alone with Noah after the traumatic events of the day. When they eventually left her room, she texted Ed, letting him know the coast was clear. She never intended to be escorted home by anyone other than Ed.
When the three of them arrived at Olivia's apartment. She went to take a shower, leaving the toddler in Ed's care. The little boy was playing an elaborate game with his blocks. Ed made an effort to understand the seemingly endless and ever-changing rules the little boy had for his toys. Inevitably, Noah got annoyed because Ed just wasn't playing right, but the little boy wanted the man to stay right with him on the floor while he continued to play alone. So Ed sat on that floor for nearly 2 hours before dinner had finally arrived and Olivia called the two to the table to eat. Noah took so much pride in showing Ed how to wash his hands before a meal.
When it was time for bedtime stories, Noah rebuffed Olivia's attempt to read to him, insisting that Ed read him the book "How do Dinosaurs Say 'I Love You." On the fly, Ed decided to do voices, and from that point forward, Noah only allowed Ed to read those books. He forced his mom to find a different series to read to him. The Christmas before the break-up, Ed had bought him 5 of those Dinosaur books, and Noah wanted to read them over and over again. Ed supposed that Noah was probably quickly outgrowing the series and would be looking for some more "grown-up" books soon, if not already. Ed would have to ask him later about what he likes to read now. There were so many things Ed wanted to know about the little boy now. It hadn't quite been a year, but Noah was more mature and has continued to grow more into himself. He wasn't the same shy kid he remembered, and Ed wanted to know the big kid wrapped up in his arms.
Ed gave Noah one more assuring squeeze before loosening his grip, intending to put him down. The little boy just wrapped his legs tighter around the man holding him. Ed did pull Noah back so they could make eye contact.
"So, No, your mom is still sleeping. But I bet we can go ahead and start breakfast if you're hungry." The little boy nodded his head furiously. "I brought some stuff to make omelettes. How does that sound?"
"Can I crack the eggs?" Noah asked excitedly.
"Of course you can!" Ed assured him. "Why don't you go wash your hands, and we can get started?"
"Ok!" Noah exclaimed before he finally released his near-death grip on Ed. Noah essentially flew out of Ed's arms before running to the bathroom to do as the man had asked.
Ed washed his own hands in the kitchen sink before he began pulling out the skillet and the ingredients he had brought over last night. He got a cutting board to cut up the onion and other vegetables he was going to need. All the while, he organized everything to make it as easy as possible for Noah to be involved.
"All clean!" Noah exclaimed as he came back into the kitchen. Ed smiled at the young boy before helping him to sit on a stool pulled up to the sink.
"Ok buddy, how about we start by washing the vegetables?" Ed said as he began to put the produce in a strainer. Noah nodded excitedly.
"Ed?" Noah asked as Ed turned on the skin to allow water to run over the fresh ingredients.
"Yeah, bud?" Ed responded almost absentmindedly while he made sure to thoroughly rinse each item before setting it aside on a paper towel to be dried before cutting.
"Are you going to leave again?" Noah asked in slightly above a whisper.
Ed didn't think too much of it before answering, "Well, I'm going to have to go home tonight so I can get all my stuff to go to work tomorrow."
"And then you won't come back again?" Noah pressed, grabbing Ed's attention. He hadn't realized what Noah was trying to ask him.
"You know Noah, I'm hoping to be around for a long time." He said cautiously.
"Like forever?" Noah sounded hopeful, and Ed weighed his words carefully, not wanting to tamper the little boy's feelings.
Ed breathed out a laugh, "Hmm... none of us really know what's going to happen in the future. And your forever is going to be a lot longer than mine."
"Why?" Noah asked.
"Because you're a little boy, and I'm an old man."
"You're not old!" Noah exclaimed almost through laughter.
"Well, thanks, bud." Ed responded before lightly tapping his young friend's back with an elbow to keep from contaminating his hands.
"So, are you going to leave again?" Apparently, Noah was not going to be deterred from this line of questioning.
"I'm not planning on leaving." Ed assured the little boy.
"Why did you leave before?" Noah asked. Ed was beginning to realize that Noah had grown up so much in the past year. It was nearly mind-blowing.
"Hmm," he started, continuing to tread lightly into this conversation. He didn't know how much Noah and Olivia had talked about what happened between the two of them. "Because sometimes grown-up relationships just don't work out."
"Is it because you did something bad?" Ed had begun to cut up the onion while Noah continued what was beginning to feel a bit like an interrogation.
"No, I didn't do anything bad," Ed assured him, "it just didn't work."
"Did mom do something bad?"
That question caused Ed to stop and look directly at Noah. His heart stuttered for a moment while he contemplated how to respond. He picked up Noah and put him on the counter so he could be eye level with the little boy
"No, Noah, your mom didn't do anything bad." He stopped his explanation briefly to make sure he had the boy's full attention. "We were in different places. We just... didn't need the same thing. So we broke up."
"Jason's Dad left them because he had a slut." Noah told him before further explaining, "That's what Jason's mom said."
Ed pursed his lips before responding. "That's not a very nice way to talk about a woman. And you shouldn't say that about anyone, for that matter. Alright?"
Noah nodded.
"I don't know what happened between Jason's parents." Ed started, and Olivia moved into his line of sight. "But I know that I love your mom very much. I love you very much. I am very committed to making all of this work, ok?"
Noah nodded again, and Ed noticed that he looked quite solemn.
"What if it doesn't work?" Noah asked quietly as he looked at the wall over Ed's shoulder to break eye contact.
Ed used a finger under the little boy's chin to encourage Noah to look at him."If it doesn't work, you will always have me, ok? You can tell your mom and she can call me. I can come to your baseball games, and we can even have boys' days." Ed smiled at his little buddy, "I'm always going to be here for you. Always."
"Promise?" Noah asked as the optimism returned to his voice.
"I promise." Ed gathered Noah into his arms and kissed his temple. Noah hugged him fiercely. Looking over the little boy's shoulder, Ed's eyes connected with Olivia, and she gave him a watery smile. He looked sheepish and hoped that he hadn't overstepped. But even if he did, he meant what he said. If their relationship didn't work, he was committed to Noah. He was just hoping Olivia wouldn't push him out of her son's life.
Olivia came into the kitchen. "Good morning," she said quietly, and Noah turned around to see his mom.
"Hi, Mommy! Me and Ed are making omelets, and he's going to let me crack the eggs!" Noah's excitement had returned in full force.
Olivia smiled and said, "That sounds delicious. Can I help?"
"No, we got it," Ed told her. "Why don't you put on some coffee, and then you can sit over there and keep us company?"
Olivia softly laughed and did as she was told. Today was looking like it was going to be a good day.