Flora pulled the pan from the oven just as the Professor, Luke, and Clive walked in.

"Wonderful," she smiled, setting the pan on the table, the soft and sweet aroma of fresh baked cookies beginning to waft around the room, "you boys are just in time to try these cookies I've made!"

The three of them just stared at the beaming girl in front of them, eyes flicking in unison towards the tray of suspicious looking cookies…only; they weren't suspicious looking at all, really. No mysterious goo was seeping out of the cookies, they weren't discolored in any way, and they weren't bubbling furiously or covered in gravy…yes, that had happened before. But their normal appearance was exactly what was suspicious. After all, this was Flora who'd baked them…

"Now, who wants to be the first to try one?" Flora asked, picking a warm cookie off the baking sheet and waggling it in the air, the smell drifting towards the boys, catching them by surprise once more: They didn't smell like laundry detergent or burning oil this time.

The Professor gulped and took a wary step forward, knowing that he was expected to be the first to try any new and potentially dangerous things, Flora's cooking falling more towards the "dangerous" side of that group. "This looks…delicious, my dear." Layton said, a smile stretching across his face to mask his unsure-ness from the eager looking girl. Glancing over his shoulder at Clive and Luke, who simply motioned for him to continue, he sighed and bit into the cookie. He proceeded to chew…

…He couldn't believe it.

"Flora, these cookies are quite scrumptious," he declared, not bothering to hide the shock in his voice as he took another bite.

Luke and Clive, looking confused as could be, looked at each other and both reached out for a cookie. Taking the smallest nibble possible, they tasted Flora's creation…

Flora Reinhold had finally managed to make something edible!

The shocked looks on the boy's faces and the praise from the Professor were enough to make Flora blush and say, "Oh, I'm so glad you like them! I tried my hardest you know, and it looks like my hard work has paid off!"

Three nods were shared while three hands reached out for another miracle cookie. Flora just stood with a look of pride on her face.

Well, pride and mischief.

-:-

For about the next week, whenever Professor Layton, Luke and Clive arrived home, they were greeted with both a warm welcome and a warm, fresh baked cookie from Flora. It had to have been some miracle, Luke kept saying, due to the fact Flora had gone from kitchen zero to hero in less than 24 hours. "But, hey, if the cookies stay as good as they are, who am I to be suspicious!"

That changed, however, one fateful Friday night. Flora had greeted them with the usual "Hello, boys! Cookie fresh out of the oven?" and, as usual, they had taken their snack and gone to their rooms to, in Luke's case, catch up on homework, and in Clive's case, simply to kill a few hours until it was time for supper. But Clive, who was feeling particularly peckish that evening, decided that after waiting a whole hour already, he would go into the kitchen and have another cookie to satisfy his hunger. So, he had gone into the kitchen, gotten his cookie…and spotted something peculiar.

A small box was sticking out of the trash pale next to the back door…a pastry box. Clive walked over to it, picked it up out of the trash, and examined it. Bailey's Bakery the box advertised, and when Clive opened it, the strong smell of cookies hit him head on.

Now, that wasn't suspicious at all.

The young man knew, however, that it wasn't a smart idea to go up to someone and question, possibly accuse them of something. One needed to be sure of himself and have at least one bit of evidence before doing something like that.

So, the next day, Clive decided to follow Flora on her way home.

-:-

On any other day, Clive went to Gressenheller University and helped the Professor sort through papers before going to pick Luke up from school in the late afternoon, early evening. But since this was the day Clive was stalking Flora, he went to work with Layton, and around noon, told him he needed to run a few errands, and would meet him, Luke and Flora back at the house. The Professor agreed, and with that, Clive was off to investigate.

After a brisk 20 minute walk, he arrived at Bailey's Bakery, where, low and behold, stood the girl who had supposedly been baking all the delicious cookies he'd eaten for the past week. He casually strolled into the shop, and made his way up to the cookie counter. A familiar smell tickled his nose, and he knew instantly these were, indeed, the cookies Flora had been passing off as her own. He reached out and, ever so gently, tapped Flora on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, but are you in line?"

He sensed her tense up at the sound of his voice before slowly turning around. "Oh, um, h-hello, Clive." She flashed him a guilty smile, then, with a hearty sigh, she nodded, "Okay, so you've caught me. Those cookies weren't mine."

"I must admit, you were doing such a marvelous job of making it seem as though you baked each batch, that had I not found that box in the trash, I would never have guessed they were made somewhere else. I guess my question would be, Flora, why did you feel you needed to impress the Professor, Luke and I with your supposed "baking skills", hm?"

Flora gave a small shrug, "I'm not sure, exactly. I guess…well, ever since the Professor adopted me, all I really do is stay at home and wonder what I could do to be helpful. I mean, I'm obviously not fit to his standards of "travel worthy," and I know he thinks it's for the best and all, but still, the least I can do is show I'm not just lounging around the house all day. So I've tried to do a little cleaning and learn how to cook, but, obviously, that hasn't been such an easy task."

Clive snorted, "I'd have to agree with that, your latest dinner of green slush surprise almost caused me to cluck like a chicken and walk like one as well. Thank goodness Luke was there to talk me out of doing so."

Flora blushed, "Yea, sorry about that. But see what I mean? I couldn't cook for you guys, and I felt so bad that after such a long day, the Professor had to make dinner for all of us. So I just decided the other day that, even if it was a small thing, I could pretend to finally be able to bake a tasty batch of cookies."

Clive stroked his chin and nodded. Flora's face was a mixture of guilt and sadness. Now her secret was out, and she was back to square one with her terrible cooking skills. Poor girl, he thought, she only wanted us to be proud of her.

"So…are you going to tell the Professor and Luke when they get home?" She asked. When Clive didn't answer, she sighed, and turned to leave the store.

"Actually, they won't be home for another half an hour, so…" he trailed off, walking up to the woman at the counter. "Hello, I'd like half a dozen chocolate chip cookies please." The woman nodded and went to get the cookies, appearing mere seconds later with the same box Clive had spotted in the trash. After being rung up, he and Flora began to make their journey home, Clive whistling merrily, and Flora looking quite confused.

When they arrived home, she finally spoke up, "So…you won't tell?"

"What, and miss out on these delightful treats every day when we come home? I wouldn't dream of it!" he winked and prepared the cookies on a pan and placed them in the oven. As he began to leave the kitchen, Flora attacked him in a massive bear hug. He smiled at her, winked, and whispered, "Our little secret."

"Promise?" she whispered back.

"Promise."

And with that, the scent of "Flora's cookies" filled the kitchen once again.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Any thoughts, suggestions, or love letters may be left with that adorable little review button down there. C'mon, look how cute it is, you know you want to poke it!

…No, seriously, poke it.

Until next time,

-Lizz