Peter knocked firmly on the door of apartment 2A. It opened at almost the same moment, and something small hit Peter squarely in the knees. "Hey –" Peter laughed, "hey, Ella." he bent down to complete her hug.

"Peter, Aunt Olivia's making pancakes!" Ella informed him in a chipper tone.

"She is?" Olivia appeared in the entryway. "I hear you're making pancakes." Peter stood up, Ella in tow.

"Well, I'm attempting to," Olivia conceded.

"Sounds like dangerous business."

"Oh the worst. But Ella here thinks I'm the best." Olivia bopped her niece on the nose, and the squirming figure in Peter's arms emitted a giggle.

"I want you to help her make them," Ella told Peter. Peter raised his eyebrows.

"Then it really would be a dangerous business," he argued, chuckling. Ella began to plead with him, however, and Peter relented. Thrilled, Ella took off to continue her play efforts, and Peter shed his coat and scarf and hung them on the coat rack. He followed Olivia into the kitchen.

"Ready to get cooking?" she asked, extending a spatula towards him.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied. Twirling his spatula, he watched as Olivia scanned the back of the pancake mix box, her reading glasses perched precariously on her nose and a few strands of hair curved about her face.

"So," Olivia began, "2 cups of the mix, a cup of milk, and two eggs. Easy."

"Yeah. Piece of cake," he agreed slightly sarcastically. She gave him a look.

"I'll get the batter together if you cook the pancakes."

"Whatever you say, boss."

Ella wandered into the kitchen just as Peter was about to begin cooking the pancakes. "Hey, kid. You wanna help me?" Peter asked her. Ella nodded enthusiastically, and he lifted her up so she could reach the stove. "Just pour a little bit of the batter into the pan," he instructed, his arms around her middle. Ella bit her tongue and, before Peter could stop her, created an enormous, circular-shaped pancake that took up the entire pan. She giggled at it.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Peter acknowledged, grinning. Olivia peered over his shoulder and laughed.

"Did I do it wrong?" Ella asked, a shadow of worry crossing her pretty face.

"No, darling," Olivia assured her. "You did just fine. Can you let Peter finish cooking it, though, and go set the table for us, please?"

"Sure, Aunt Liv!" Ella skipped off to fulfill her task. Olivia and Peter exchanged a bemused glance.

"Just make them all like that," Olivia whispered. "We don't want to disappoint her."

"Miss Dunham, that is slightly dishonest," Peter informed her. Olivia gave him another look.

"Just do it, Peter."

"Yes ma'am."

Peter, Olivia, and Ella soon sat down to a meal of twelve inch pancakes floating in sweet syrup. Ella ate hers with relish, chattering on about how her new favorite thing to do was make pancakes. Peter and Olivia listened on, looking up now and again to smile at one another.

Part one of babysitting had been a decided success.