See Ch 1 for disclaimers…

Angela let herself into the main house with a handful of mail and startled when Maura greeted her.

"Maura honey! You scared me half to death. I picked up your mail when I was getting mine." She offered her the handful of envelopes and catalogues. "I didn't expect you'd be home already."

Maura curled her feet around her kitchen chair and pushed her laptop aside. "I wasn't in the appropriate humor to stay with the guys at the Dirty Robber and Jane was indisposed."

Angela sat down next to Maura. "So wait a minute. She wasn't with the boys at the Dirty Robber?" She had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. "Vince mentioned he was meeting Barry over there for a drink and I assumed that included Jane. In fact I refused his invitation to join everyone because I assumed my daughter would be there."

"No, it was only Frankie." Maura shot her a glance out of the side of her eye. "Apparently Jane had to go buy cake mix."

Angela gave in and laughed. "I never actually thought she'd listen. At the most I was expecting her to drop by a bakery box." She propped up her chin with a hand. "And if she did decide to make something to shut me up, I figured she'd be here baking with you. Never did I think she'd actually try to bake the damn cake on her own. Over 36 years of being her mother and I still get caught off guard by her."

Surprised, Maura sat up straight and turned to face Angela. "Now I'm confused. She didn't have to bake the cake?"

"I'm going to make some tea. Do you want some?" When Maura nodded, Angela stood up to start the electric kettle. "Don't worry about it. It was never about the cake. My daughter is my daughter and I love her just the way she is. So does Teresa when it boils down to it, after all she was the one that suggested a cake." Angela held up a box when the kettle chimed. "Regular earl grey okay with you tonight?"

Thoroughly perplexed, Maura nodded. "But if this isn't about Jane having to bake her godmother a cake what is this about?"

Angela sat down with both mugs of tea and passed one over. "Apparently figuring out how stubborn my daughter actually is. Nothing for you to be concerned about, I've got it covered." She took a tentative sip. "This is good. I needed a hot drink." She sipped again, eyes twinkling. "So do you have any idea how the cake process is going?"

Maura tried not to smile but the minute she picked up her phone and scrolled to Jane's text her face broke into a grin. "I was unable to dissuade her from a boxed cake mix, but I managed to have her refrain from purchasing a 'funfetti' version. Despite her insistence that the matching frosting would be festive."

Angela put her glasses on and read the text from Jane with the accompanying photos of various cake mix options. "I don't know, the funfetti option may have added flair."

Maura shook her head. "I thought perhaps we should stick to more traditional options to increase her chances for success." She took the phone back and it lit up with a new message. Glancing at it she laughed into her fist. "Oh that is not good."

Angela eyebrows shot up as she looked at the photo of Jane's cabinets. "How did she manage to get cake batter all the way up there?"

Laughing, Maura pointed back at the screen. "Read the text above it. Apparently your daughter thought that when the recipe said beat at low speed that you could make the entire process faster if you put it on high."

The phone buzzed again and Angela read the incoming message, laughed harder and passed the phone back to Maura. "Now I'm starting to think she is doing this on purpose."

Maura typed out a response and drank more of her tea. "I did try to tell her before she left the store to make sure she had enough oil. But I'm sure the olive oil will add an interesting flavor. You're lucky the smoke point isn't high enough on the baking cycle to completely wreck it."

The phone buzzed again and Maura closed her eyes and shook her head before sliding the phone over.

Angela looked at the picture of Jane holding a dripping spoon like a sword and pointing it at her oven. She closed her eyes and muttered into her cup. "I must have dropped her on her head as a baby."

Maura looked at the photo again and smiled affectionately. "I don't know, I think it's cute when she gets proud of herself." She glanced at her watch, missing Angela's triumphant smile. "Now she has around 40 minutes to kill. I predict she'll either forget to set the timer and burn it, or get bored and check it so many times it cooks unevenly."

Angela barely had enough time to fill Maura in on the latest conversation with Korsak when the phone lit up again. Maura pulled up the photo of and sighed. "Looks like you'll be enjoying uneven, possibly uncooked, cake tomorrow." She quickly typed a response. "I suggested she consider allowing the timer to go off and check it at that point but somehow I doubt she'll listen."

Angela shook her head. "At least the frosting is canned right?" She let out a sigh of relief at Maura's nod.

They sat in companionable silence, both watching Maura's phone for the next installment. The screen remained black and eventually Maura realized Angela was focused on her. When she offered the other woman a smile Angela leaned an elbow on the counter and smiled back. "You know, I can't help but notice that you're still dressed."

Maura paused mid sip. It was moments like this when it was clear Jane had inherited certain personality traits from her mother. She bought a moment by sipping at her tea. "I decided to check my email when I came home."

Angela didn't say anything.

Maura put the mug down. "I also happen to believe that Jane is perfectly capable of baking that cake."

Angela nodded. "Absolutely, but why is she going to bother when she has you? Capable and willing don't always go hand in hand." She gave Maura a full grin. "Do you want me to put together the ingredients and pans for you to take over?"

Shaking her head, Maura refused to make eye contact as she gestured to the front door. "I already did."

Cheerfully, Angela picked up Maura's phone and pushed it at her. "Don't you think she's suffered enough?"

Maura put the phone down on the counter. "After the rather dramatic display in my office earlier? Where she was short of temper and patience?" She folded her arms over her chest. "Not yet."

The phone buzzed and lit up, the incoming texts coming one after the other.

Together they looked at the latest photo, wincing before they shared a look. Maura stood up from the table. "Now she has suffered enough." She picked up the waiting tote bag and called back to Angela. "Dobos Torte okay with you?"

"Is that one that caramel cake you made the last time your parents were in town?" At Maura's nod, Angela clasped her hands together. "All those layers and so pretty when you cut into it. It's better than anything you can get at a bakery." She waved Maura off. "You girls have fun."

Maura was closing the door when Angela's parting words rang out.

"I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm going to knock Teresa right off her chair."

A/N – Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and the excitement over the story. Good to know I haven't lost the humor touch since S&S. But anyhow, all of you are going to make me blush. So how does one say thank you to her readers? By making sure they get another chapter (even if it is a little later at night than I like to post).