Lana Winters had been working all day in the bakery at Briarcliff Manor, preparing goods to sell at the upcoming Fall Festival. Sister Jude had put her on candy apple duty, which meant she spent hours washing fruit by the dozen, melting and mixing caramel, chopping peanuts, and grating chocolate before finally beginning to decorate the succulent treats.

She was on her third batch when Sister Mary Eunice entered the kitchen, troubled. "You should be at lunch, Miss Winters."

"I know, Sister," she said apologetically. "I'm trying to get these done for Sister Jude, so that I can make it to dinner tonight. If you don't have anything to do, I wouldn't say no to an extra set of hands."

"Oh, of course," she smiled, "I'm sure Sister Jude wouldn't mind." Stepping forward, the nun assessed the array of ingredients spread across the island. "So, what do you need me to do?"

"Well, this batch is just caramel. The next will have nuts, and then chocolate. So, if you want to just dip the apples? Then, we can do a sort of assembly line for the next batch, if you're still up to it."

"Sure," she took an apple that had already been given a handle and submerged it in the viscous coating, "And then, just put it on the wax paper?"

"Yeah. Thanks for doing this."

"I'm happy to, Lana."

The pair shared a smile before returning to their silent, though harmonious, work. They continued as such for nearly forty-five minutes, until the nun let out a "Oh, Saint Anthony!" as if it were the most brutal profanity. The journalist did her best not to laugh at the woman's plight, hiding an adoring smile behind her hand. "What's wrong?"

"I lost the popsicles," was her frustrated cry.

Lana glanced over, seeing the 'missing' item, hidden between a large bowl and bag of flour from earlier. "You mean those?" She tried not to smile as she asked.

"Oh! Yes! That was foolish of me."

"Not at all." She lifted her hand to cover her mouth conspiratorially, "I lost the caramel earlier."

"No! Where was it?" The nun asked cheerfully.

"In the cabinet where I left it," she shrugged, a small smile gracing her face.

The nun giggled as she returned her attention to her work, reaching for a popsicle to create a handle for the sticky dessert. She was enjoying herself, not often given the opportunity to relax in her days at the asylum. Though, intellectually she knew it was unwise to befriend a patient, it certainly didn't feel wrong. They had cycled through caramel, chocolate, and peanuts twice since the blonde entered the kitchen, making quick work of the candy apples. With only one batch left, they began to alternate between toppings, occasionally mixing all three together.

As the last of the apples were placed in the walk-in refrigerator, Lana looked at the other woman with a smile. "Do you want one? It's the least I can do."

"No, no. I couldn't. I'm not supposed to accept gifts from patients."

Having temporarily forgotten her station, Lana was disheartened, but offered once more. "You put all that work in, though. I would feel bad if I didn't pay you back somehow."

"I…I'll tell you what. I'll take one, but only if you swear to ask for help next time. We can't have you missing meals."

Lana knew the likely outcome of asking Sister Jude for help, but agreed, handing the nun an apple from her first batch with a light smile. "Was that an offer to help me next time, Sister?"

"We'll see, Miss Winters. Come on, now, they're about to serve dinner."