"Something smells awesome." Emily commented as Aaron let her into the apartment. Ever since she'd come back from Paris, they'd gotten into the habit, cases permitting, of spending time at one another's apartments. Whilst their relationship wasn't the same as it had been before Doyle turned their lives upside down, it was getting there.
"We've been busy." Aaron replied, leading her into the kitchen where Jack was stirring a mixing bowl. The kitchen looked like a mini-bakery with flour, eggs, chocolate chips and milk everywhere and what looked like trays of cookies in the oven.
"I can see, I didn't know you can bake." Emily said, giving Jack a hug, mindful of the flour he'd scattered onto his t-shirt.
"Sean's not the only one who knows his way around the kitchen." Aaron said. "Jack's school is having a bake sale for their soccer team."
"And the parents are all roped in to help." Emily finished, smiling as she helped Jack scoop the cookie dough into the containers to go into the over. Jack glanced at his dad before quickly running his finger around the bowl to scoop up some of the mixture. Emily smiled at did the same, catching Aaron's eye and he playfully aimed the spatula at her.
"I saw that," Aaron joked as the oven beeped and he pulled one batch out and Jack handed him the next tray. Emily smirked at him and scraped some flour into her hand.
"You saw nothing." Emily said as she threw the flour at him. Jack laughed as Aaron looked at Emily before putting his hand into the bag of flour. Emily shrieked as the flour hit her in the face and Jack shook the flour that landed in his hair.
"It's on!" Emily said, reaching over to grab the bag of sugar off the side and threw some at Aaron. Jack scooped up some flour and sugar that landed on the table and threw it up. Aaron looked at his son, pretending to be betrayed.
"I thought you were on my team Jack," Aaron joked and Emily grinned at him.
"Nope, me and Jack have always been a team right?" Emily said, offering her hand for Jack to high-five and Aaron shook his head, smiling at them.
"Of course you have, Jack why don't you wash up and we'll start to clear this mess." Aaron said. Jack ran off to the bathroom and he and Emily began clearing away the bowls, jugs and equipment used for the baking as well as the ingredients. As she placed the bowls into the sink, Emily felt something hit her back and she reached her arm around to feel some more flour.
"Seriously?" Emily asked as Aaron looked at her innocently as he placed the bags of flour and sugar into the cupboard.
"Sorry," Aaron apologised and Emily smiled at him, shaking her head and watching some of the flour dislodge itself.
"Don't be, by the looks of it you boys were having fun." Emily said casually. "When I was younger I used to hate Home Economics, I burnt everything I made."
"Really? You wouldn't think that." Aaron replied; they were all good cooks, well skilled enough to ensure they didn't give themselves food poisoning on a daily basis.
"Yeah, I guess it also didn't help that most of the time I was still learning the language of whatever place we were living in so naturally instructions tended to get lost in translation." Emily explained, thinking about the numerous teachers who yelled at her in French, Arabic, Italian, Spanish. Not that fun really.
"I can see how that wouldn't help." Aaron said. "You could help us properly next time something like this comes up."
"I think I will," Emily said with a smile as she hugged Aaron. It wasn't much but it was a sign that things were slowly starting to get better again. One flour fight at a time.