I felt like doing a little side story to my current running one. "Heart of Darkness" This happens before the events of that story. Enjoy.

Usual disclaimer: I don't own the Storm Hawks. They are owned by Asaph "Ace" Fipke and the wonderful people at Nerd Corps Entertainment.

Scent of a Sandcake

Stork was awake in the early morning, as usual, while the others slept. The nightmares kept him up, also as usual. He was running checks on ships systems, as usual. He sighed as he came across the various flaws and defects that appeared during the checks, as usual.

It was at that moment a smell hit his nose, giving him a sudden jolt. He stopped what he was doing as soon as he felt the first wisps make their way up his nostrils. He knew this smell. He quickly set down the diagnostic instruments in his hands as he sniffed the air, trying to catch another whiff of the odor. It was faint, but he knew that if he moved around more he could catch a better idea of it's direction.

He began moving around the bridge, taking in deep breaths through his nose. The smell was stronger in some places than others, but only faintly so. After a couple minutes of careful tracking, he finally figured out that the smell was coming in to the bridge from the vents.

That means it could be coming from anywhere on the ship. Stork thought to himself. But, he wouldn't let this hamper his efforts. Whenever he caught this scent in the air, Stork always felt driven to go and see the source of it. He knew his sanity would be driven to it's breaking point if he didn't go there now.

He opened the hatch to rest of the ship. As soon as he did, the scent came flowing out of the hallway. It was everywhere, and it was driving him mad. He had to find it now.

He moved down the hallway, past the living quarters, the ever growing scent driving him forward. He suddenly found himself standing in front of the kitchen. I should have come here first. He thought to himself, mentally kicking himself for not allready figured it out. But this scent always had a way of muddling his senses.

And there on the table was the source of the smell. Sandcakes! The word exploded in Stork's mind. And their fresh too. He took all of his willpower could do to keep himself from leaping at the fresh pile of sandcakes. He slowly stepped forward, drool already to form in the corner of his lips. As he approached the table, he reached out his hand to pick one up.

A wooden spoon suddenly appeared from nowhere, slapping the back of Stork's hand. The sudden shock caused Stork to regain some sanity. He suddenly noticed that Piper was in the room as well. "When did you get here?"

"Uh, duh." Piper said in a casual tone. "I've been here the whole time. You didn't here me just tell you to a least wait until I've cooked breakfast before you ruin your appetite."

"Oh, sorry." Stork replied in a sheepish tone. "I sometimes just lose my head when I smell these."

"C'mon Stork." Piper said with a grin. "Their just sandcakes."

Stork gave her a pleading look. "Can I just have one?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Alright, you can have one." She let out a quick sigh before turning around to get back to cooking breakfast.

Stork quickly snagged one off the table, he wanted to be sure to have it in his hands before she could change her mind. He sat down at one the chairs surrounding the table and took a bite of the sandcake. Letting the taste of sandcake roll across his tongue, Stork slipped into a state of pure ecstasy.

Truth be told, Stork had never really liked sandcakes before he came to know the Storm Hawks. He always found them a little dry, or some were to sugary or salty. But something about Piper's sandcakes just drove him mad.

Taking another bite of the sandcake, he leaned back in his seat and sighed. He looked over at Piper busily preparing breakfast for the still had sandcake in his mouth as he spoke. "I really love her." He said without giving much thought to what he had just said.

"Hm?" Piper looked over her shoulder at Stork.

Realization hit Stork as to what he had just said. He had meant to say he loved "hers." But the bit of sandcake he had in his mouth had silenced the "s". He quickly took in a breath to correct what he had said, but he still had sandcake in his mouth. A wad of semi-chewed sandcake became lodged in his throat, causing him to start choking.

Piper quickly grabbed a glass of water and gave it to Stork, who quickly began to drink. She patted his back while he drank, hoping to free the obstruction.

Stork quickly downed the water and took in a deep breath. Breathing in deep the air around him, he noticed more than the smell of the sandcakes and the food now starting to burn on the stove. There was another smell. It was strong but gentle at the same time. He quickly looked at Piper, who was standing next to him with a worried expression.

"Thanks." He said flatly. He suddenly felt uncomfortable when he realized the proximity of Piper's face to his. "Um" He tried to form words, but he felt to distracted. He quickly raided a hand, pointing behind Piper. "The food."

Piper turned to see smoke starting to rise from the stove top. "Oh, shit!" She said cursed as she ran back to the stove. She quickly tried to salvage what she could from the burning food.

Stork took his chance to leave the situation. "I better go back to bridge, still need to finish the diagnostics." He quickly moved to the door.

"If you wait a bit, breakfast is almost done." Piper said with a smile, then quickly added. "What's left of it anyway."

"Nah, I'm good." Stork said as he stepped backwards through to doorway. "Near death experiences have a way of ruining my appetite." He began to step away, but quickly popped his head back in for one last comment. "Just give the burnt stuff to Junko. You know he like it anyway he gets it." he then quickly began moving back towards the bridge.

...

The rest of the day passed without incident. The only one with any troubles was Stork. He kept replaying the entire scene in the kitchen in his head. kicking himself every time he thought about the one sentence he said with a mouth full of sandcake. "I really love her."

He put his forehead against the wall of his room. His eyes were shut tight as he tried to keep his thoughts clear. But, no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept going back to Piper. Her smiling face. Her radiantly glowing eyes. Bright smile. Her scent.

He slammed his hands against the wall, puling away from it with a heavy sigh.

He sat on his bunk and began to think to himself. I'll just go to bed, and in the morning I'll start my usual routine. I'll have forgooten this whole thing by morning. Just need to get some sleep and let my nightmares wipe this whole experience from me. And with that thought, Stork grabbed his covers and rolled onto his side. And sleep took him.

He had no nightmares that night. He dreamed for the first time in a long while. She was there, filling the whole of his being with a warm glow just from her being there. It was just him and Piper. No words were spoken. She simply smiled and leaned in as if to tell him something. But, she was getting closer to his face. He didn't move, he wanted her closer.

But before they connected, Stork woke up. He sat straight up, looking around his room. Looking at his clock, he saw it was morning already. He could still feel his dream at the back of his consciousness. All the memories of yesterday came flooding forward, mixing with what he had felt in his dreams.

Stork breathed in deep, and caught scent of something coming through the vent. He knew this scent. It made him feel madness sttart clawing at the back of his mind. It wasn't sandcakes this time, it was Piper's scent.

"I think I'm in trouble."

Hope you all enjoyed that. If you did, please review and tell me. If you didn't, also please review and tell me. Reviews are my crack and I'm in need of a fix. Later.