Special Blend 4: Sunday Pancakes
by AJ
EMAIL: entilzha01@yahoo.com
CATEGORY: series
RATING: PG
PAIRING: Daniel/Janet
SUMMARY: Daniel comes over for Sunday pancakes.
SEASON/SEQUEL: 5, sequel to "Special Blend," "Yo Yo Ma at 2 am With A Little Sugar," and "That Dress and Her Smile."
SPOILERS: none
DISCLAIMER: MGM, et al own the characters.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This one really goes out to Mark tonight!
There is a fine art to making pancakes. Many people
think it’s just about throwing the ingredients in a
bowl and stirring. One could do it that way, but the
secret is in the stirring. If you stir too much then
the dough becomes rubbery and the pancakes go flat.
You need to keep the right amount of lumps to make
them light and fluffy.
Then there are the ingredients. All-purpose flour is
the best but a little bit of buckwheat makes them
tastier. Use butter, not margarine on the griddle.
Always use fresh eggs and never forget the
blueberries. And most important, fresh, pure, warm
maple syrup. Because when you get down to it, it
really is all about the syrup.
And of course there is always the coffee. That special
blend.
Daniel could smell the enticing brew as Cassie opened
the front door to welcome him in. She was still in
her pajamas and Daniel wondered for a split second if
he had accidentally arrived too early.
"Hey Daniel. C'mon in. Mom's in the kitchen." the
sleepy teenager pointed towards the kitchen and then
went back to her room. He yelled out to Janet as he
approached the kitchen. She was waiting for him with a
steaming hot cup of coffee and smile on her face. He
decided that he could get used to this.
"Hey." she said softly as she handed him the cup.
He leaned and gave her a small kiss on the cheek "Hey"
he whispered against her cheek and took the mug from
her hands. She watched as he savored the first sip as
if he'd been denied coffee for far too long. Her
cheeks went slightly red when she realized she'd been
staring at him but he simply smiled and took her hand
in his, pulling her closer.
"I had a great time with you last night." he said,
looking into her eyes to ensure that truth. All she
could do was stand there and smile. The spell was
soon broken by a phone ringing. But with a teenager in
the house it only needed to ring once. It was soon
followed by screaming and cries of "Oh, know, he
didn't!" and "He is so cute!".
Janet pulled away as they both laughed and began
preparing the pancakes. All the ingredients were
laid out on the counter, ready to be thrown into the
mix. Daniel offered to help but Janet sat him down at
the table with his fresh cup of coffee and told him to
relax.
"Jennifer stayed over last night and I don't think I
slept a wink..." Janet began "...of course they wanted
to stay up all night telling me the latest drama -
who's dating who, who broke up with who, you get the
idea."
Daniel nodded.
"So we were up till about 2 o'clock this morning."
"That would explain Cassie's tired state."
"They never went to bed. Speaking of whom..." Janet
walked to the hallway leading to the rest of the house
"Cassie, Jennifer, I'm starting the pancakes if you
want to help."
Daniel had never spent much time around teenage girls,
even when he was a teenager himself. So this morning
was a new form of cultural anthropology. He noticed
that they screamed...alot. Maybe squealed would be a
better adjective to describe the piercing sound.
Just then, the two subjects strolled lazily into the
kitchen. What happened to the hyper, squealing teens
of 2 seconds ago, he pondered. Jennifer was
dressed...well...clothes were thrown on for the short
ride home.
"Jennifer, are you joining us for pancakes?"
"No, my mom said she's be here a little after 10." she
said as she eyed Daniel sitting at the table. She
hadn't been able to get a good look at him the night
before and now she would have to size him up in the
event he could be her best friend's future father.
Daniel could feel her eyes on him and he wondered how
it was that a 16 year old girl could make him feel
this uncomfortable.
Janet noticed the scrutiny and acknowledged it for
what it was.
"Jennifer, I think I hear your mom pulling up."
"Ok." she said and turned away but not without one
more glance in Daniel's direction. "Thanks, Janet, mom
said she'd call you later" and she was gone.
Daniel shook his head slightly.
"You ok?" Janet smiled.
Daniel just nodded and took another sip of his coffee.
Cassie returned and announced she was going to get
dressed and that she wanted blueberry pancakes.
"I think she's trying to give us time alone." Janet
confided.
"Ah. How very considerate." Daniel walked over to
Janet and watched as she assembled the ingredients
into the bowl. Measuring precisely. Slowly adding the
liquid ingredients and then stirring just enough to
mix everything together. He found that there was a
wonderful sense of home as he watched her. He felt
part of a family - her family and it made him smile.
"What?" Janet responded to Daniel's grin as she
prepared the griddle for the pancakes.
"It's just...well..it's just nice...being here, this
morning, with you..and Cassie." He stared into the mug
of coffee he was holding then looked back up at Janet.
She just stood there, looking at him, not sure how to
respond to his openness. She decided that maybe words
weren't what was needed. She put down the spatula
she'd been holding, walked over to him and just as
their lips were about to meet...
"Mom, have you seen my....Oh. sorry." Cassie stood
there not sure if she should leave or stay.
"What, honey?" they pulled away from each other.
"Um, my history book, have you seen it?"
Janet retrieved the history book from the desk in the
living room while Cassie stood there smiling awkwardly
at Daniel. He was pretty much feeling the same way.
"Hey, Cassie "he tried to ease the situation "why
don't you show me what you need help with."
***
After pancakes were served and eaten and eaten some
more, Daniel and Cassie left the dishes to Janet and
continued with the homework.
Daniel needed more coffee if he was going to get
through more studies. He excused himself from Cassie
and went off in search of more coffee. Janet was just
putting the last dish in the dishwasher when she felt
two strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her
close. At first she was suprised by Daniel's boldness
but soon warmed to his touch.
"I'm sorry you got stuck with the dishes" he whispered
into her ear.
"You can apologize like this any time."
"Think it might also get me another cup of coffee?"
She turned around to face him and was about to speak
when he kissed her. It wasn't the hesitant kiss of
the night before but had more confidence in its force.
She pulled away, out of breath "Uh...wow".
"I've wanted to do that all morning."
"I'm not complaining." She smiled before kissing him
gently. "But you better get back in there. " She moved
the kisses along his cheek, working her way to his ear
and whispered, "You do know she has a date this
afternoon..."
The feel of her warm breath against his ear sent
shivers throughout his body; he could barely speak.
"Oh really?" he managed to get out.
She pulled away from him completely "I just thought
I'd let you know." She turned and started walking out
of the kitchen towards the living room.
"Cassie. It's 1:00, you guys about finished?"
Daniel walked in behind her, still reeling from what
just happened. He found it very hard to focus at the
moment and was relieved to find that he was finished
helping Cassie.
Cassie gathered her books and thanked Daniel, who just
nodded.
"Mom, should I wear the green top that Sam bought me
or the blue one we got last Saturday?"
Janet suggested the green one as she helped Cassie
carry the books back to her room. Daniel sat down on
the sofa, relieved to have a moment to pull himself
together. He wasn't exactly sure what Janet was
suggesting for this afternoon and that made him a
little nervous. Not that he didn't want THAT to
happen. He was a brilliant linguist. His job was to
"read the signals" but these were signals that baffled
him.
He took a deep breath and decided that he would just
take it slow and not assume anything. But what if she
wanted him to assume something? He realized he was
thinking too much, something he always had a problem
with.
Half an hour passed with a few frustrated squeals and
one argument about what amount of makeup was
appropriate and the door bell rang. Daniel offered to
get the door.
It was THE DATE. Suddenly Daniel was thrust into the
role of the male of the house and feeling obliged to
size up the young man who was taking Cassie out on a
date. He felt a fatherly rush come over him and
before he could ask the first question, Cassie
appeared with Janet trailing behind her, looking a
little tired.
"Hello, Dominic." Janet knew the boy, Daniel realized,
and his fatherly role was put aside.
The two teens were eager to get out the door and be
alone and so introductions were quick. After a run
through of where they would be and what time they
would be home, the two were quickly out the door.
Once Janet heard the car drive away she turned to
Daniel... "Now, where were we?"
Oh yeah...he was defiantly going to able to read the
signals.
Copyright (c) AJ 2001
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