Sammy & Ilna - "Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find." - Shakespeare
I'm thankful every day I found both of you.

Readers & Real McRollers - "Friendship - my definition - is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don't have trust, the friendship will crumble." - Stieg Larsson Thank you for trusting us when we told you they'll always be safe with us. They are. And they always will be.

Thanks to Sammy for another title and Ilna for posting because ff net wouldn't let me upload today xo

Patience Is Baked In

Steve buckled Angie into her highchair and placed a few banana slices on her tray.

"EEEEE! Babababa Dada!" she said as she happily squished a slice in each hand before shoving one in her mouth.

"You're welcome." He kissed her head and went to the sink to wash his hands, grinning over his shoulder at Catherine who was collecting ingredients to bake with an amused expression. "What? She clearly said, 'yay, thanks for the bananas, Daddy'.

Catherine began mashing overripe bananas and shook her head with an indulgent smile. "Of course she did." She faced the baby. "You're gonna love these yummy cookies. Your cousin Joan makes them with her grandma and now we have the recipe."

"Mama!" Angie held another piece of banana up for display before eating it with a grin.

Steve threw his button down over a chair, exposing a tshirt that featured his daughter's tiny handprints and read I love my Daddy! He'd donned it before opening his other Father's Day gift, this one from Catherine, a My Heart Belongs to Daddy frame with a photo of himself and Angie for his desk.

He fed Cammie a piece of banana and said, "Okay, baby girl, now we're all gonna assist Mommy with Operation Cookies, how does that sound?"

"Mama, ahhh ahhhh baaa."

"I suppose that was, 'aye, aye'?" Catherine teased.

He nodded with absolute certainty and she chuckled at his confident, "Yes, actually, it was."

"Okay, then." Catherine passed him a bowl. "You can mix the dry ingredients … Angie, you supervise Daddy, okay?"

"Dada!" She smiled and tossed a piece of banana to the floor. "Caaa eee."

"Are you sharing with Cammie? Go ahead, pretty girl," she told the obedient dog who'd glanced up for permission before snatching up the fruit. "That's very nice, but let's eat your bananas and Cammie can have a cookie when we're all done, okay?" she said conversationally while softening butter.

"We're good," Steve announced when his and Angie's part of the recipe was mixed. "Here, let me …" He added the dry mix to the rest of the ingredients and attached the Mix Master bowl after handing her the spoon.

Catherine grinned and leaned up to kiss his cheek before slowly licking the spoon clean.

"Really, Lieutenant?" He switched on the mixer and bent to kiss her. "Cause she's …" He tilted his head in Angie's direction. "Not gonna nap for like an hour."

She shrugged and grinned against his lips, kissing him again before pulling back. "Patience, Commander."

At the baby's "Ahhh baaa mama!" they both laughed.

"So much patience." Steve pecked her lips again before moving to lift Angie from the highchair. "I got her. You spoon those onto the cookie sheet, I'll take diaper detail."

She smiled at them both. "Ya know …"

"What?" He turned from the kitchen doorway.

"I remember burning a few batches of cookies because we had no patience …"

"Didn't have to have any then." He chuckled and kissed the baby's cheek. While he left the kitchen, he said, "Later we'll call and tell your cousin Joanie how you helped make the cookies." He smiled as he thought of how his niece's face lit up at anything his daughter did.

"Because you are definitely the number one topic of all her Skype conversations."

Last night…

"Your niece already commandeered it for you," Mary said with a laugh. "Do I get points for using 'commandeered,' big brother?"

"I com ...een dere it?" Her parents smiled when Joan looked between them for an explanation.

"That means you got one for us. That's how we say it in the Navy, Joanie," Steve explained with a grin as Joan nodded happily.

"I com-eendere the cookies so you can make them for Baby Angie! Gramma Sue said give her a picture of Baby Angie eating them, 'kay?"

"Absolutely. I'll send a bunch to your mommy so you can pick out your favorite picture to give your grandma, okay?

"Okay! You're gonna love them, Baby Angie. They're so yummy. They got stuff like banana and oats meal but they still taste yummy." She looked at Arron for confirmation. "Right, Daddy? Daddy used to eat 'em with Aunt Lyssa when they was little."

"Were little," her father said.

"Were little," Joan repeated.

Aaron kissed her head when she automatically corrected with a grin. Joan's speech was worlds better and he was so very proud of how hard she worked. "We still love 'em." He addressed the screen. "It's a plus Avery and Joan do, too, because now Mom has a reason to make them all the time. Joan even brought some home yesterday after she and Avery spent the afternoon with Mom and Dad."

"Ohh, fun!" Catherine said and Angie echoed, "Ooooooh," making everyone smile.

"Mama and Daddy had a date," Joan announced. "To a grown up movie with Aunt Lyssa and Uncle Paul. We went to the zoo. I'll show you the stickers I got!"

"Awesome, what'd you see?" Catherine asked Mary as Joan darted off to get her animal stickers.

Aaron grinned. "Jaws."

"Jaws, the original?"

He nodded. "Paul saw it was playing at the Egyptian and we really wanted to see it on a big screen."

"Here's my stickers!" Joan flew back into the room waving two sheets of animal stickers. As Catherine said, "Those are amazing, sweetie," Mary caught her brother's expression and said, "What?"

"What, what?" He furrowed his brow. "You watched Jaws?"

Catherine snorted a laugh. "You know …" She kissed Steve's cheek. "We're gonna do a diaper change before this conversation goes where I know it's going. Say night, night, Angie." She waved the tiny hand.

"Night night, Baby Angie!" Joan waved enthusiastically as Aaron said, "Goodnight. And it's story time for you, pumpkin."

Everyone said their goodnights and as Catherine stood with the baby, she laughed, "You have fun, Mare."

"Really?" Steve asked with a smirk.

"Absolutely. Because I know where you're headed… 'Night, Mary."

"Good night, Cath." Mary finger waved at her sister in law and niece before turning back to the screen. "So what's wrong with Jaws?"

"What's wrong with … seriously, Mare?"

"Oh my God, you think the shark got a bad rap!"

Catherine moved towards the steps with a huge smile as she heard the siblings banter and Steve begin a list...

"First of all …"

Present

Angie shoved a piece of banana cookie into her mouth and tilted her head at the new taste and sensation. "Ahhhh mamamama," she said with grabby hands for more.

"Wait till your cousin Joan hears you love her favorite cookies!" Catherine clapped and Angie followed suit, laughing at her daddy as he ate a whole cookie in a single bite and leaned in to say, "Mmmmmm" against her cheek.

The soft oatmeal and banana cookie recipe had been a favorite of Susan Reyes' for years and the previous evening when Joan had spoken to Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath they'd promised to make the treat for 'Baby Angie'.

"We'll make them again when Joanie's here for your birthday and you can show her how you eat cookies like a big girl." Steve snagged another one and took a bite before giving her and Cammie a piece.

"Caaa eeeee!" Angie tossed her piece off the highchair and squealed. "EEEEEE!"

"Go ahead." Catherine grinned as Cammie gobbled it up and did a little twirling dance. "And you, baby girl, that's good sharing, but let's not feed them all to Cammie, okay?"

"Caaa eeee," Angie repeated and took the bite Catherine held out and put it in her own mouth. This time, she chewed the soft cookie slowly, her eyes suddenly starting to droop as she said, "Dada" and reached for Steve.

"Is my big girl sleepy?" Steve kissed her head and lifted her, grinning at Catherine as he did.

"I'll clean up and meet you upstairs." She stood and pecked his lips.

He nodded and walked towards the living room. "I'll put her down."

"She didn't nap long this morning. She's good for two hours at least, so I'm thinking …" Catherine raised her brows as she grabbed a cloth to wipe the highchair tray.

"Hmmm?" He turned in the doorway.

"These cookies could use a chaser ... of chocolate sauce."

His eyes lit. "Looks like having patience paid off in spades. As usual, I like the way you think, Lieutenant." They shared a look of amusement before hers turned saucy and his grin became a smile. "Meet you upstairs."

# End. Thanks for reading!

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