"Any day now," Jason said excitedly when he walked in the door. "Unless she's already had her puppies."

"No, Jason. I would have called you."

"I'm sorry, Caity. I can't help it. I'm excited. When I took her temperature today it was below a hundred degrees. That means that she should have the puppies in the next twenty-four hours."

"Yes, I know," Caitlyn said, getting up from where she was stretched out in front of the TV. "You've read every book on puppies you could get your hands on and you've spent hours looking up care online."

"I want to make sure they'll be okay, that's all," Jason said with a blush as he sat down at the breakfast bar.

"And it's totally adorable," Caitlyn said, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "But seriously, dude. Chill out."

Jason laughed and gave Caitlyn's arm a light squeeze. "I smell food."

"Yes?" Caitlyn asked. "What about it?"

"It smells good."

Caitlyn smirked. "Tell me what kind of food it is and maybe you'll get some."

"I think I smell…meat? And…onions? With garlic?" he asked, sniffing the air.

"Very good. Anything else?"

"Um…tortillas?"

Caitlyn smiled. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" she said, pecking his cheek. "I have taught you well. It's fajitas."

Jason paused as he watched Caitlyn spin around the kitchen towards the fridge and put a hand to the cheek that Caitlyn had just kissed. That was a fairly new development. Maybe it meant she was coming around.

He smiled as he watched her get out a virtual feast considering there was only two people. Of course, Caitlyn usually ate far more than he ever did.

"Yes?" Caitlyn asked, raising a brow at him. "Why are you staring? Is it because of the food? I was bored today. Fajitas are labor-intensive. You have to marinade the meat, slice the veggies, make the pico de gallo and the guacamole and the queso and cook the meat and veggies."

"You didn't need to do all that for me," Jason said.

Caitlyn grinned evilly. "Who said I did it for you?"

Jason stood and went around to the other side of the counter to face Caitlyn. "I did," he said, reaching for a tortilla chip.

"Hey!" Caitlyn exclaimed. "That's not fair. I didn't say you could do that!"

He smirked. "But, Caity…I'm hungry now."

She gave him a hard stare and sighed. "Fine. But don't spoil your appetite. I still have to cook the meat."

"Is there salsa?" he asked.

"What kind of fajita feast would this be if there was no salsa?"

"A lousy one."

Caitlyn smiled. "Glad I have you trained so well. Green salsa's in the fridge. Red's in the saucepan on the stove."

"You do not have me trained," Jason said sulkily.

"'Fraid I do, Gray," Caitlyn said apologetically. "Feed Charlie and check on Abby while I start the meat?"

"Okay," Jason agreed. He whistled and Charlie came running in the kitchen. "What you want, boy?" he asked, reaching down to scratch behind his ears. "Beef? Chicken? Pork? Lamb?"

Charlie barked once and jumped up to lick Jason's face. "Okay, okay," Jason said. "You can have beef and pretend like you're eating fajitas like us."

He turned to the left and undid the baby lock on the cabinet where they kept the dog food. He dug around for a moment before bringing out the beef and rice bowl. Charlie caught sight of it and eagerly jumped on Jason affectionately.

"Down, boy, down," Jason said, pushing the dog away. He opened the package and put it down on the floor by Charlie's water bowl. He stood up and walked over to Caitlyn.

"We're almost out of…" Jason started before looking over at the dog. "T-R-E-A-T-S."

Caitlyn looked up at him. "Spelling out words, huh?" she asked. "Are you that paranoid?"

"Just as paranoid as when I spell out W-A-L-K."

Charlie barked and wagged his tail, looking over at the door expectantly.

"I think he knows that one," she said in a whisper.

"See? The dogs are smart, Caity. It's not just me being crazy."

"Just…go check on your dog, okay?" Caitlyn asked, pushing him out of the kitchen. "I can't concentrate with you in here."

She smiled at Jason's retreating back as he went down the hall to her bathroom where Abby was spending most of her time these days.

Jason had been really, really nice to her in the month or so since he had taken Abby to the vet and they had discussed their feelings. He was still affectionate, but he never pushed it. In fact, more often than not, Caitlyn was the one usually instigating hugs or other shows of affection lately.

She sighed and turned the meat over. Maybe she was ready for a relationship now…it had been a few months since Andrew had dumped her.

"Caitlyn!" Jason shouted.

She jumped, scared out of her thoughts and immediately pushed the pan to the back burner, and turned off the flame. Then she ran for her bathroom.

"Is it—?" she asked Jason as she ran in.

"Puppies? Yes," he said.

(LINE)

Caitlyn smiled at Jason over the four little puppies an hour later.

"Feel like fajitas now, Grandpa?"

"If you didn't let them burn, sure," he said, helping Caitlyn up from her spot on the floor.

"I put them on the back burner, dude. I know I might forget to do my laundry or drain the bathtub when I'm done, but I will never allow our place to burn down."

"Oh, so this is our place now?" Jason asked, sitting on the counter. He reached for another chip and dipped it in the guacamole.

Caitlyn shrugged non-committally. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, we both live here, don't we?"

"Guess so," Jason said softly, getting out bowls and spoons for the fajita toppings.

Caitlyn snuck a glance at Jason. He was paying very close attention to how much cheese he was spooning into the bowl. That usually meant he was trying to keep from doing something impulsive.

"The meat's done," she said. "I'll heat up the tortillas while I let it rest." She reached into one of the drawers and got out a small platter that she transferred the skirt steak to. While she moved the tortillas around the skillet, Jason poured them each some lemonade and got out plates and silverware.

When Caitlyn decided there were enough tortillas, she put them on a plate and slid them across the counter.

She hopped up on the counter and sat there with her plate in her lap, facing Jason sitting at the breakfast bar.

He gave her a look. "Why do you always sit on the counter like that?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Habit leftover from college, I guess. My roommate and I only had one barstool and no dining table. Ella tried to break me of this when we were roomies, but because I made her food, she didn't try too much."

"Ella can cook," Jason said, stacking cheese on his fajita.

"Yes, but I'm the foodie that can make a meal with five ingredients and switch up the leftovers to last an entire week."

Jason smiled and took a bite of his fajita. "So," he started. "What are we going to do about the puppies?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "Call around? See if anyone wants a puppy?"

"You don't want to keep them?" Jason asked.

"Two dogs, four puppies and two people in one apartment? That's a little much, don't you think?"

"Fine. But let's wait a few days before we start making calls."

"Okay, whatever you want. It was your dog that gave birth."

Jason laughed and went back to his food. There was silence for a while except for the hum of the fridge and the sounds of the two eating.

When Caitlyn pushed her plate away, Jason jumped up and started clearing away the dishes.

"You always do that," she commented, watching as he started loading the dishwasher.

"You made the food. We both ate it. It's only fair if I clean up afterward," he said with a shrug as he started putting the leftovers away.

Caitlyn looked down at her lap and the scraps of shredded napkin resting there. "Thanks for that," she said softly, spooning the guacamole into the container Jason was holding out. "I know I use a lot of pots and pans and stuff."

He shrugged again. "I don't really mind doing stuff for you." He turned and opened the fridge, stacking the plastic containers on the shelves.

Caitlyn bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "Jase?" she whispered.

He looked over at her in concern. "You okay, Caity?"

She sighed. "Um…you remember that conversation we had last month? When we found out Abby was going to have puppies?"

"Yeah," he said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Um…I uh…I sort of think that…maybe…I'm…uh…" she paused and looked up at Jason. "I think…I know…I'm ready now…for uh…a rela—"

She never finished her sentence because Jason had suddenly pushed her onto her back and was kissing her. On the counter.

Oh god.

He had climbed onto the counter on top of her and was slowly pressing his lips against hers as he played with her hair and stroked her cheek. She whined as he shifted on top of her and deepened the kiss, nipping her bottom lip. She gasped loudly and he took advantage of her reaction by slipping his tongue into her open mouth. After a few minutes of that, Jason pulled back and smiled deviously. Caitlyn's eyes widened as he began kissing her neck and she whined again.

"Jase…"

"Be quiet, Caity. I'm trying to concentrate."

She sighed and let him continue, deciding to run her fingers through his hair. Jason grunted and jerked away slightly and Caitlyn smiled. She sunk both her hands into his curls and pulled. Jason groaned and lifted his head away from her neck.

"You just had to pull on my hair, didn't you?" he asked accusingly.

She grinned. "I'd like to make out somewhere a little more comfy," she said. "Not that I don't mind kissing in the kitchen, but seriously. The granite is hard and cold and I'd like to not worry that I might fall into the sink or hit my head on the stovetop."

Jason grinned and kissed her cheek. "Fine. We can move," he said, sliding off the counter and pulling Caitlyn into his arms. He was about to drop her on the couch when he felt something nudge his leg. He looked down.

"No, Charlie," he said with a sigh. "No fetch tonight. I'm busy."

Charlie whined and stood up on his hind legs, pawing at Jason's knee.

"Charlie," Caitlyn said shortly. "Bed. Now," she ordered, pointing towards her room.

Charlie gave a short bark and turned and ran for Caitlyn's room.

When he was gone, Caitlyn smiled up at Jason and played with his hair. "Were you going to do something before Charlie bugged us?" she asked.

Jason blinked and smiled. "Oh, yeah, right," he said, tossing her onto the couch. He smirked at her before he kissed the side of her head. "You know, Roomie? You're a very good kisser."