This story is the sequel to "Come Together". If you haven't already, I'd give that a read before tackling this one so you are caught up. It is set during the last scene of the Season 17 Finale, which in the case of this saga is about six months after "Come Together" concluded. I realize that I added an entire year between "Manhattan Transfer" and "Heartfelt Passages", but it's fanfic so I'm allowed.

A few things to note: Ed and Olivia have been married about four months, are settled into their new apartment, and Charlie is living in Olivia's old place six floors below them. The rest you will find out as the story progresses.

Enjoy...

"I don't know how you are still standing after this year," Ed murmured as he walked along the pier with Olivia and Noah. Noah was happily skipping along in between both of his parents, while Olivia and Ed tried to just soak in the fact that they were together and alive.

"Yeah…" Olivia said softly and then looked down at Noah. "Luckily I have this little guy to wake me up at 6am!"

They continued walking along the pier in silence, towards the water. They stopped a bit for Noah to acknowledge the large dog passing them, and Ed just soaked in the normalcy of their little outing. If he was being honest, the last couple of weeks had him more than a little on edge. Ever since the call came through that an SVU officer went down, he had been living in fear of losing Olivia. Finally seeing her and holding her at the hospital helped a little, but there was still a terror inside of him. She had just been in that house with Dodds. If anything even slightly different had happened, he might have lost her. That realization was devastating to him, which caused him to not leave her side at the hospital and his blood pressure to go up when they were separated for long periods of time. He hadn't yet voiced that to Olivia, however, as she was still battling with survivor's guilt. He knew she suspected that his emotions ran deeper than he let on, but she was letting it all go for the time being and relishing in the extra hugs and kisses and "I love you" moments.

Another part of him was incredibly grateful he had retired all those months ago. Being at the hospital with Olivia while they were waiting on Dodds' next of kin was an all too familiar scene for the former IAB Captain. He definitely didn't miss sitting with fellow officers and their families as the bad news came in. Only now, he couldn't shake the fear that it was almost him that was receiving that news about his wife. He finally stopped them along their little stroll and turned to look at her, Noah still holding their hands in between their bodies.

"Olivia…." he said in his gruff whisper, as his eyes scanned all over her face. There was so much he wanted to say to her. To beg of her. To make sure she knew, just in case anything happened. But all he could do was stare into her eyes and ground himself in the knowledge that they were all okay and together. She seemed to sense that and moved in closer to him for a kiss.

"I know, babe, I know." she said, her voice also low. "I love you. So much."

"I love you, too."

"I lub you too Mommy!" Noah finally chimed in, feeling a little left out. Both adults laughed a bit and Ed dropped down to tickle his little belly.

"We love you to the moon and back, bud," he told Noah and watched his little face light up.

"We go see boats now?" He asked, having been promised an afternoon of watching the vessels sail down the Hudson. It didn't take much to get the tyke excited about an outing with Mommy and Daddy. Those outings didn't happen all too often, given the recent work hours Olivia dealt with. But he had them both home the last week and to Noah, it was a little slice of heaven. Add in the nightly visits from Charlie and the boy was living the life.

"Absolutely, sweet boy," Olivia said as the trio turned to keep walking. Occasionally they would count to three and swing Noah through the air as they continued to walk. His giggle was likely the best therapy the two of them could ask for in this moment. As they finally neared the edge of the pier, Ed found an empty bench for them to perch upon while Noah watched the boats come and go. He had his little face smushed against the railing of the pier so he could see, and it made the adults laugh from their spot about a foot away. After a few minutes, Ed took a deep breath and turned to look at Olivia.

"Olivia, I know you don't want to dwell on this," he began and felt her stiffen as he spoke. "But, I need you to know how much I love you. And that, I can't imagine living without you. It kills me to just think about it."

They just sat for a minute and looked at each other, Olivia occasionally stealing a glance to make sure Noah was okay. It was unlike Ed to be this clingy and this anxious, but she knew that Dodds' death had rocked him in a way that seemed to be deeper than she first thought. They were less than a year out of Charlie's last assault, and only six months out from Miller's sentencing. To say they'd had a traumatizing year was almost laughable. So as hard as it was for her to hear his words right now, given her own state of mind, she knew it was important for his sanity and their marriage that he get this out.

"Go on," she gently encouraged, letting him know it was okay to continue.

"We've only been married for four months, Liv. For four months you've been my wife. And to think that you could've been taken from me….I just can't shake that fear." He kept speaking, but slowly and softly. She knew it was hard for him to admit his vulnerability around this. But she also knew once it was out, he would eventually go back to being that rock for her and their family.

"I'm okay, Ed," she said probably for the hundredth time. "I'm right here. I don't know why I wasn't in that house, but I'm alive. Focus on that, okay? Focus on me."

"What would I have done? What would Charlie have done? She needs you, too," he continued, his worries just bubbling up to the surface. "What would happen with Noah? I'm not his legal guardian. So on top of being terrified of losing you, I'm now left wondering if someone would take that little boy away from me."

Ed finally stopped and went to watch Noah. The tot was three and a half now, and his little personality was still golden. Currently he was standing by the railing, waving at all the boats that passed by. He would occasionally turn around to ask Ed and Olivia if they thought a pirate ship would come by, and would always be disappointed when they said it wasn't likely. Ed knew that his last statement had hit Olivia hard. He refused to push, or even bring up, the idea of him adopting Noah again. That was her decision, and hers alone. But the idea that if she had been killed in the line of duty, he would have no legal claims to Noah just added to his fear.

"Ed, we went over this when we got back from our honeymoon," she reminded him gently. "We can't file adoption papers until we've been married for at least a year. But in the meantime, I've changed my will to reflect you are his legal guardian in case anything happens, so Noah is yours. Period."

Ed just rubbed his hand over the back of his neck like he always did when he was worked up about something. He knew she was right. And he knew that he was making too much of this, but he just couldn't let it go.

"Babe, Lindstrom suggested that I bring you with me during my next session. And I think it's a good idea." She watched his reaction, hoping that he wouldn't just blow it off. To her surprise, he just nodded.

"Maybe that's a good idea…" he said and then turned his head again to watch Noah and avoid talking more about the idea of going to therapy. Olivia just squeezed his hand in both of hers tightly, knowing that if he agreed to go see Lindstrom that easily, he was scared. Wanting to pull him out of wherever his head was at the moment, she came up with a plan.

"Ok, how about this?" Olivia offered. "Let's get Noah and head home. Call Charlie on the way and see if she wants to come over for dinner and to hang out, maybe stay the night. And just have some family time."

"Sounds good, baby," he said, back to his usual gruff self. He leaned over to kiss her and stood up. He scooped up the little boy and threw him onto his shoulders, causing Noah to laugh. Olivia wrapped her arm around Ed's waist, as he held tightly to the boy's ankles and they made their way back home.

"Tar-lie! Tar-lie! Tar-lie!" Noah yelled as he ran full speed to the door when she made her way inside.

"Oof," she said dramatically as he plowed right into her and started to try and climb up her legs. She dropped her bags and hoisted him up, so he could put his little hands on her cheeks and smile at her.

"I missed you, Tar-lie," he said with a big sigh.

"You just saw me yesterday, silly," Charlie responded with a playful eye roll, while secretly loving how much attention she got from Noah. Ed came over to grab her bags so she could keep hold of the little boy and make her way into the large, open living space. Olivia was in the kitchen attempting to make cobbler. Ed assured her there was really no way to mess it up, but she wasn't convinced. Charlie chuckled a little at the sight of her step-mother looking exasperated and spots of flour decorating her face.

"Momma tryin' to bake, Tar-lie," Noah whispered loudly, as Olivia shot them both a little look.

"I can see that, pal," Charlie said, keeping a straight face. "Looks good, Liv."

"Thanks, sweetheart. But no need to lie," she said with her characteristic smirk. "Granted it is literally just fruit, sugar, butter, and flour. So how bad could it be?"

"Exactly," Charlie said as she breezed over to take a peek and wipe some of the flour off of Olivia's face. "Oh, and peach too. My favorite!"

"Well, a little birdie may have told me it is your weak spot," Olivia said slyly as she put the pan into the oven. She stood up, dusted her hands off, and turned to fully face her step-daughter. "How have you been?"

Charlie had officially moved into Olivia's old apartment after they returned from Hawaii, and Noah was not too happy about that change. Even with Charlie making frequent trips up to their new apartment, it wasn't the same to him. He missed waking her up in the mornings or sneaking into her bed for midnight cuddles. At least one night during the week or over the weekend, he would go sleepover with her and they would make their usual fort and watch Peter Pan while eating Snickers. Noah lived for their nights together, and Ed and Olivia had yet to complain about having one child free night a week.

The only downside was that Charlie would not admit to struggling with the idea of living on her own. Ed and Olivia, being seasoned detectives and also frequent visitors of her apartment, knew she was just covering up her struggle. Noah had also let it slip that when he sleeps over "it daytime all night", because Charlie leaves the lights on when she sleeps. Not wanting to push, and knowing she was still going to therapy, Olivia just opted for the silent support. And either her, Ed, or both made sure to text her daily, offering the spare bedroom if she needed.

"I've been okay," Charlie allowed quietly. "Work has kept me busy. Lots of spring sports are beginning to wrap up, so that's always fun."

"Any more meetings with Trevor?" Olivia asked cautiously, knowing that the pending lawsuits had hit a little stall, and that was not helping Charlie in her recovery.

"Not recently, no," she said and went to fix herself a drink. "You want a gin and tonic?"

"No thanks, sweetie. Your dad might, although I have no idea where he and Noah went," Olivia said as she looked around. All of a sudden she heard Ed let out a celebratory yell and Noah giggled.

"Guess who just scored four Yankees tickets for tomorrow, behind home plate?" Ed said as he came down the hallway, did a little dance around the kitchen, and went to kiss Olivia. She just laughed and pulled away.

"I guess that would be you?" She said, completely amused at his childlike excitement.

"Yep! We are going to see the Yanks!" He said and gave a little fist pump to Noah. Charlie was quiet but smiling, so Olivia turned to look at her.

"You are free to go with us, right?" She asked and reached to play with her long, light brown locks.

"Yeah, sounds like fun!" She said with some enthusiasm that Olivia picked up on as fake. Ed, however, was oblivious as he and Noah celebrated by dancing their way into the dining area.

"Boys," Olivia said with a little head shake, causing Charlie to laugh a bit before responding.

"Yeah, but we love them."

Alright, we've set off on another adventure with our little Tuckson family. I can already tell you that there will be some definite bumps along the way...

Leave a review so I know your thoughts/what you are hoping for.