A/N: Takes place around Unholiest Alliance. I've chosen not to address the drinking in this chapter, but am toying with it for the next one or a different fic altogether. Characters aren't mine, and may be a touch OOC considering this is a light piece. Any errors are mine.

Thx to MarigoldMusings/ Fid2916 for subliminally motivating me to get back into fanfic writing. I hope this doesn't suck!

Find me on twitter bonosaurus. #Tuckson. That is all.

"I got a funny feeling, everything's gonna be okay. All of my worries, suddenly fading away…."

– Jon McLaughlin, 'You and I'

"GO, GO GO! Shoot! Shoot!"

Olivia was poised outside of her apartment door ready to slide the key in the lock when she heard Ed's muffled yelling from the other side of the door. Before she had an opportunity to reach for her weapon in alarm, she heard Noah's squeals of excitement, and smiled to herself as she opened the door. Setting the takeout she'd picked up on the floor as she hung her coat on the rack, she glanced over at the couch and saw Ed sitting on the edge of the couch cushion, Noah standing between his knees. Ed was gesturing at the screen and trying to explain in simple enough terms for Noah to understand what was going on. The sight touched her and she took the opportunity of putting her gun and badge in the entry table drawer to get her emotions in check.

It was Saturday night, and after she got called in to work for a few hours to help while Dodds was at a training session in Quantico, they were spending the rest of the evening in, just the three of them: Olivia and her boys.

"What are you guys watching?" She retrieved the bag of takeout from the floor and walked further into the living room. She turned to look at the TV before chucking, looking to Tucker. "Hockey, Ed? Really? What would the Yankees say if they knew about this?"

Ed tore his gaze from the TV and smirked at her. When she walked around the back of the couch to lean in for a kiss, he reclined against the cushions and angled his head to be closer to her reach. Their lips met in a sweet, chaste kiss and she softly stroked the side of his face with her free hand as she pulled away.

"What they don't know won't hurt them." She laughed, and made her way toward the kitchen to divvy up their dinner. "Besides, baseball hasn't started yet, football is over, and college basketball just ended. My options are limited and I refuse to watch golf."

"And thank God for that. I can't stand golf." Olivia got plates out of the cabinet, dividing up the Szechuan chicken and vegetables onto two plates for her and Ed before putting an egg roll on a smaller plate for Noah. "Noah, bring Mommy your cup. Two hands, please."

After some gentle prodding from Ed, Noah tore himself away from the action on the screen and walked to where Olivia stood in the kitchen. She refilled his drink before setting his prepped food on the toddler table in the living room and getting him situated to eat dinner. She then retrieved hers and Ed's plates and brought them to the coffee table, opting for an informal setting tonight so they could all relax.

"How's the squad?"

Ed slid a hand to her lower back, rubbing circles across the material of her shirt and she leaned into him in subtle acknowledgement of the gesture before responding, "Good. Carisi is still under at the shelter. We're getting closer; hopefully he can get something soon."

"He needs to be careful."

"You sound like Rollins." She smiled and nudged his shoulder with her own. "She's worried about him. He'll be okay, though. He's a good detective."

"When does your Sergeant come back?"

"This week."

Ed nodded. "He did pretty good running the show for you." He chuckled when he saw the look Olivia was giving him. "Oh, come on. Obviously no one can fill your shoes, but you gotta admit – he didn't burn the place down."

"Look at you, Captain. You were ready to tear him a new one before Carisi got Eugene to turn on the Church." Olivia nudged him again and winked at him before returning her attention to the TV. "You're right, though. He did keep it together pretty well in my absence. I've got a good team." Just then, Noah got up from his seat to dance to a car commercial that was on the TV, getting more into his little jig when Olivia and Ed starting laughing and cheering him on.

It was nice getting back into the normal routine of their lives following the case that saw Ed framed for murder and sex trafficking and her ousted from her Command at SVU. It was a trying time for them, but her squad came through to clear Ed's name, and they were both back to business as usual. It was a weight lifted off their shoulders, for sure, and she enjoyed being able to kick back and just hang with her guys.

###

The evening wound down and after spending most of the game running, jumping and screaming at the TV (sometimes necessarily and sometimes just to get a laugh out of his mom and Ed), Noah had thoroughly worn himself out and was fighting sleep on the floor, a pillow from the couch under his head.

Olivia got up and cleared plates, depositing them in the kitchen before heading back over to the living room and gathering her sleepy boy in her arms. "Alright, sleepy. Bedtime! Say goodnight to Ed."

Noah wiped at his eyes before mumbling goodnight to his mom's companion, clearly exhausted but not at all ready to be excused from the party. Ed got up from the couch and ruffled the boy's hair, "Goodnight, kiddo." He let his hand drop from Noah's head to Olivia's arm, giving it a small squeeze as he followed her from the living room area, detouring to the kitchen to finish cleaning up while she turned to bring Noah into his bedroom.

Olivia read Noah a story, getting about halfway through it before she looked up to see that he was sacked out. She ran the back of her finger across his cheek and whispered softly, "Goodnight, my sweet boy. Mommy loves you."

After closing door, she went back into the living room to find Ed lounging on the couch, tucked into the far side with his legs outstretched in front of him and his feet on the coffee table.

"Thanks for cleaning up." He smiled at her as she went to sit next to him, lifting his left arm and wrapping it around her shoulder as she nestled into his side.

These were some of the moments she treasured most in their relationship. She had never in her life felt the need to be swept off her feet, but it amazed her how these quiet simple moments with him often had her heart full-to-bursting with – dare she say it? - love. She sighed softly and reached up linking the fingers in her left hand with the hand the hung near her shoulder. She turned her head into his neck, planting a soft kiss on the skin of his neck just above the collar on his shirt.

Feeling her lips on his neck, he squeezed her shoulder softly and kissed the top of her head. Gesturing toward the TV, which was now on some old movie she hadn't seen before, he asked, "This okay?"

Olivia nodded, supplementing her assent with a soft, "Mhmm." Moving her thumb against the palm of his hand, she said, "Noah seemed to enjoy watching the hockey."

Ed chuckled. "Yeah, he saw it when I was flipping channels before and I thought I'd leave it on for a bit when he seemed to take to it." He chanced a sidelong glance in her direction. "Tonight was nice."

She smiled up at him at that comment. Tonight had been nice. It seemed like they had just barely gotten somewhat settled in their relationship before Barba had outed them to 1-P.P. and everything got sent into a tailspin while SVU investigated the case under Dodds Jr.'s command. Boy, was she glad that was over. Even with her being temporarily relieved of her SVU duties, she wasn't sure who in her squad knew about her and Ed's relationship and who didn't, apart from Dodds Jr. at least. Olivia knew at some point that it was going to come up, and it probably wasn't going to go over well, but if she could get past the history with Ed, certainly her squad could; especially once they saw that he made her happy.

They'd grown closer over the past year and a half or so and she felt content in her assessment that he had softened from the cold, gruff man she'd dealt with in their past. She saw a chink in the armor in the aftermath of Lewis killing himself, but after the fiasco with Nick's father, she found herself wanting to know more of Ed Tucker the Man as opposed to Ed Tucker the IAB Captain. In peeling back the layers, she found a kind, compassionate, sensitive soul; one that she could see a future with.

Olivia had never wanted to end up alone in life, although her luck in prior relationships seemed sure to dictate that she would. But bringing Noah into her world made her yearn for permanence in her relationships that she hadn't been able to achieve before. She loved that little boy with every fiber of her being, but she wanted him to have more stability than what she had growing up. Nothing made this clearer for her than the hostage situation Ed helped her out of earlier this year. She had to suppress a shudder thinking about that, what it could've done to Noah if Joe had seized any one of the multiple opportunities he had to shoot her that day. Her relationship with Ed had already begun to shift by that time, but it wasn't solid or sure enough for him to take responsibility for her son if anything had happened to her. Besides, she had to think that Noah had suffered enough loss already.

Fast forward a few months, and now she was beginning to see Ed as a potential father figure to her son. There had been plenty of times recently where, just like tonight, she would come home to Tucker and Noah. They didn't live together – it was still too soon for that – but there was a comfort level there. She'd cleared out some space for his clothes in her bedroom so he didn't feel like he was living out of overnight bags. Noah enjoyed being around Ed. Olivia had even gotten him to call Tucker "Mr. Ed" at one point or another, much to his chagrin.

This relationship with Ed was the first one in a while that she actually saw going somewhere. Dating as a single parent certainly changed the playing field for her, but she had found an equal in him. He cared about her son just as much as he cared about her, and for the first time in a long time, she had no desire to run.

###

By midweek, Olivia was waist-deep in her first case back as Lieutenant & they were close to nailing their perp. It was a tough case – they all were – but she was finding her rhythm again being back among her squad. There was nothing like a temporary assignment to make you appreciate your job that much more. She would not have lasted long if she had been relegated to Community Affairs on a more permanent arrangement. Serious reservations about the uniform aside, the people there damn near drove her crazy.

Olivia was mildly surprised when she saw Ed enter the squad room and make his way to her office late one morning.

As he entered, she pushed her glasses to the top of her head and smiled at him. "Captain Tucker. Should I be nervous?" There was a slight teasing tone to her voice; after what they just endured, she knew that if IAB had a reason to investigate her squad, they would not be sending Tucker – not now that 1-P.P. knew of their involvement.

Ed shut the door behind him and the corner of his mouth lifted in the subtlest of smirks. "Social call, Lieutenant." He sat on the couch on the far side of her office and she left the chair behind her desk to join him. She stayed a professional distance away, however, as the blinds were open on her windows and the last thing they needed were accusations of impropriety. "I was thinking -"

"Uh-oh..." His eyes narrowed at her and she smirked at him. "Go on, you were thinking...?"

"What do you think about taking Noah to a Rangers game? He seemed to enjoy watching it the other night; might be fun for him to watch in person."

"I think that's a great idea, actually. He's never been to a sporting event before." Olivia smiled at him. "Am I invited or is this a boys-only outing?"

Ed pretended to think about it, then acquiesced, "Since you asked nicely, I guess I could get you a ticket too."

"Gee, thanks." Olivia rolled her eyes and swatted his chest.

"There's a home game this weekend. Sound good?"

"It's a date."

He got up to leave and when she walked him to the door, she peeked through the window to make sure no one was looking before she leaned in and touched her lips to his. The mischievous glint in his eye giving away his delight at her unexpected, though not necessarily public, display of affection.

"Have a good day, Lieutenant."

And with that, he left the SVU squad room and headed back to his office to see about getting tickets to the upcoming Rangers game.

###

Saturday evening rolled around and Ed, Olivia and Noah made their way to Madison Square Garden about an hour before puck-drop so Noah could get the full experience. Considering neither Ed nor Olivia had followed hockey much before, Ed had gone out the day before and bought sweatshirts and beanies for all 3 of them, since it could get cold inside the arena.

When they arrived, Ed and Olivia took Noah down to the lower level so he could watch the players during their practice-skate on the ice. Noah delighted in seeing the action up-close-and-personal, and was even handed a puck through a hole in the glass from one of the players. Their evening had only just begun and already she could tell that her little boy's mind had been blown.

She had hung back taking pictures, but when it was time for the teams to go back into the locker rooms, Noah ran up to where she was standing just a few rows back, eyes wide with the biggest grin on his face that she'd ever seen. "Momma! Momma! Puck!"

Olivia knelt down to his level and kissed his forehead. "I see, Noah! Do you want me to hold onto that for you?" She reached her hand out for it but Noah was possessive, not willing to give it up just yet. He tucked it away from her under his arm, a challenging look in his eyes as he shook his head.

"Mine, momma!"

Olivia laughed, looking over her son's head to meet Tucker's smiling eyes, "Okay, bud. Just let me know if you get sick of carrying it. Don't lose it, okay?" She stood and grabbed Noah's hand that wasn't held in a death-grip around the hockey puck in one of her own, and turned to leave the lower level in search of the escalators that would take them to their seats. She didn't take two steps before she felt the warmth of Ed's hand wrap around her free one. She looked up at him and smiled before squeezing his hand softly. "Shall we?"

##

Ed had gotten them great seats. They were in the upper level, but were nearly center-ice and were close to the railing, so Noah would be able to see everything without obstruction.

Ed left Olivia and Noah to go get snacks and a drink once they were settled, and Olivia watched as Noah made friends with a little girl that was in the seats next to theirs. She kept him under her adoring gaze as he danced with the girl to the pre-game music being blasted on the speakers. She was mystified by the innocence in Noah at this age and thanked God that despite the enormous challenges he'd already had to face in his short life, they had all happened when he was still young enough to not be aware that his infancy was anything but normal.

"Hold this?" She turned to see a water bottle in front of her face and took it from Ed as he sat down immediately to her right.

Smiling, "Thanks, babe. This was a great idea. He's loving every minute of it."

"I'm glad he's having fun." Ed turned to watch Noah, still dancing with his new friend, though by now the song had changed. "How far into this do you think he's gonna make it?" He eyed her with a knowing smirk.

She scoffed, "Ha! We'll see how things look at the end of the 2nd quarter." She winced at Ed's face and corrected herself, "Period?" And then deadpanning, "Can you tell I don't watch hockey?"

Ed laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head when she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You'll learn."

###

At the end of the first period, the Rangers and their opponent, the Predators, were tied at 1 apiece and Noah was having the time of his little life. Even Olivia was getting into the game, not realizing before now what a thrill it was to watch hockey in person.

The house band was playing some great cover tunes during the intermission and Olivia was leaned up against Ed, both watching Noah as he danced to the music and observed the Ranger girls skating on the ice while the Zambonis cleaned the surface.

Every now and then, Olivia would glance at the Jumbotron and laugh at the fans it showed. The cameras seemed to find all the kids dancing their hearts out, and it even found a few adults that were getting in on the action much to the crowds delight.

Toward the end of the intermission, the arena switched to the Kiss Cam & both Ed and Olivia were oblivious until some of the people surrounding their seats started gesturing wildly at them to look at the giant screen hanging in the center of the arena.

Sure enough, they looked up and saw their own faces staring back at them. Olivia laughed and tucked her head down into her chest, feeling her cheeks warm with the unexpected attention of thousands of people. Even Noah was encouraging them, standing before them with a hand on each of their knees and jumping excitedly.

Ed squeezed her thigh where his hand was resting and she turned to look at him, silently answering his unspoken question in his gesture. They leaned in simultaneously, and eyes closing, she felt the smile on his lips as they touched hers in a tender kiss that lingered seconds after the camera had panned to the next unsuspecting victims in the crowd.

Ed pulled his lips from hers and opened his eyes to see her already smiling at him. He lifted their hands to his mouth and placed a kiss to the back of hers before lowering them again as she winked.

Though not prudish by any stretch of the imagination, neither Ed nor Olivia was big on public displays of affection. Rather than flaunt for the world to see, they preferred to show their adoration for each other in smaller, more personal ways. Ed half expected Olivia to recede into herself following their performance on the Jumbotron. It was so far outside of her comfort zone, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't warm his heart a little extra at her easy acceptance of the gentle prodding of nearby fans for their participation in the old public sporting past-time.

Olivia could sense his surprise that she'd so willingly participated in the Kiss Cam. Given how discreet they'd had to be at the start of their relationship, and the fallout that they'd still managed to face following the trafficking case, what won out over her desire to keep overly affectionate displays relegated to the privacy of her apartment – or at least smaller venues – was the overwhelming need to just stop caring about what other people were paying attention to.

But they'd just shared a big public moment together, with thousands of anonymous hockey fans to bear witness.

And across the arena from them and one level down, someone they knew looked away from the Jumbotron with a small smile on their face. This was going to be fun.

###

So, this is my first SVU fanfic and the first fanfic I've published in a while. I am a little rusty but I'm getting my bearings back. Already started working on the 2nd part of this – hope to get an update out soon. Let me know what you think in the meantime – review here or on twitter bonosaurus #Tuckson