Babysitting
Closing her eyes, Carla leans back on the couch, moaning in relief. She can hear the children's laughter drifting in from the backyard and smiles. Stretching, Carla looks at the clock. Four. Almost time for dinner then. Except she's really, REALLY tired and doesn't want to get up for an hour at least.
"Just five more minutes…"
"MAMI!"
"Oh…"
Opening her eyes, Carla watches as her four, almost five year old son, runs into the house, dirty but smiling.
"Hey Johnny. What's wrong?"
"Hungry," he pats his stomach, "Very."
Groaning, Carla gets up from the couch just as Sammy and Izzy run in, panting. Turk comes in next, panting and sweating. He grins at her and kisses her cheek. Carla scrunches up her nose.
"What were you guys playing?"
"Soccer!" her husband pats Sammy's and Izzy's head, "They're naturals!" Turk winces and looks at their son, "So is Johnny, apparently."
Johnny giggles and hugs Turk. Carla drums her fingers on the counter.
"What would you guys like to eat?"
Turks eyes light up.
"I bought some Pizza dough yesterday! And the sauce and cheese, and some pepperoni!"
Izzy gasps and jumps, "Yes! Pizza!"
Johnny and Sammy join in, "Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!"
"Alright alright!" she waves her hands at them, "Go away so I can make it. And wash your hands too!"
Both her children and Turk run off but Sammy stays by her side. He looks up at her, blue eyes bright, "Can I help. Please?"
"Of course. Wash your hands first."
Sam nods and grabs the small stool by the kitchen island. Turk had bought it a couple of years ago, when Sam started showing an interest in cooking. He still needed it to wash his hands in the sink and help cut things on the island, but he didn't need to stand on the highest step anymore as he once did. After he finishes washing his hands, Sam helps her lay out the ingredients and grate the cheese while she chops up some vegetables.
"Tia Carla?"
"Yea?"
"Do you have other kinds of cheeses?"
Carla thinks for a second, "I think we have some cheddar and some pepper-jack…"
Sammy nods steps down from the stool. He opens up the refrigerator and gets both of cheeses. Carefully, he sets them down and looks up at the spice rack.
"How about some crushed red pepper?"
Carla smiles, "I'll get it."
Sam nods and continues grating the cheese. After fetching the red pepper, Carla tosses the dough, and sets it down. She goes to put the sauce but Sammy stops her.
"Not yet!"
He jumps from the stool and goes to the fridge again. Sam takes out the butter and puts it on the counter. He opens a cupboard and takes out a small glass bowl, a brush, and a spoon. Carla watches him, amused, as Sammy scoops out some butter, puts it in the bowl and pops it in the microwave. A minute or so later, the microwave dings and Sammy takes out the melted butter.
"We can brush it on the dough and wait a minute for it to absorb. Then we can add the crushed red peppers, but only a little, then the cheese with more crushed peppers, and then the toppings."
Carla laughs, "Alright."
She watches him dip the brush in the melted butter and carefully brush it onto the dough. After that's done, he looks over at where she's been cutting up some mushrooms, red peppers and ham. Sam licks his lips.
"Ok, we can put the sauce on now."
Carla spreads the sauce and cheese, but Sammy adds the crushed red peppers and the toppings. After she pops the pizza into the oven, Sam runs into the living room where Izzy and Johnny are watching cartoons. Carla sighs and starts to pick up the slight mess left behind. As she's washing the knives and cutting boards, Turk comes up behind her and gives her a hug.
"Smells good…"
"Sammy helped."
He laughs, "I don't know where he gets his love of cooking. JD couldn't even boil water."
Carla smiles and nuzzles her husbands neck. A year ago, Turk had finally managed to say his best friends name with a steady voice and no awkward pauses.
"I think Kim had a love of cooking…"
"Mhmm. Almost ready?"
"A couple of more minutes," he kisses her cheek, "Sammy and Izzy are still really getting along."
"Baby-"
"No, no, hear me out! She's getting weird around other boys, but not Sammy!"
She turns around in his arms. Turk continues, "Do you know what this mean?"
"That Sammy and Izzy have known each other forever and possibly don't realize that they SHOULD feel awkward?"
Turk scoffs, "No! It means, that when its time to start dating, Izzy will naturally-"
"Turk…" she sighs, "I know…I know, you really want them to end up together but please don't force it on them. Let it be their choice ok?"
Her husband waves a hand, "Of course, of course."
Carla says nothing more. She hasn't won this fight in eleven years and she won't win it now.
"By the way…did you mail that letter?"
"Elliot's monthly letter?"
"Yea."
Turk nods, "Yea, I did," he frowns, "When is that girl gonna come visit? Sammy's almost eleven you know…"
Carla shakes her head. She doesn't know when Elliot will be coming back. It's not as if she doesn't love Sammy. Carla guesses she still hasn't gotten over the fact that Dr. Cox and Jordan are his parents. Maybe one day she'll be able to see and know Sam and person, and not through long letters and photographs.
Sighing, she looks into the oven.
"Tell the kids to wash their hands if they haven't and come in. Pizza's ready."
Minutes later, all of them are sitting down and eating their pizza. Out of the corner of her eyes, Carla watches her daughter and Sammy interact. Although Izzy HAD been getting awkward around other male friends, she was still very comfortable with Sammy. They hugged, pushed each other and got into each others personal space easily, but Carla knew it wouldn't last. Sooner or later, Izzy would get weird around Sammy as well, and vice-versa. She desperately wanted Turk to leave them alone, less he inadvertently creates a rift between them.
"This is really good! And spicy…"Izzy looks at Sam, "You helped, huh?"
Sammy nods, "Yes," he takes a bite of his pizza, "I knew you guys liked spicy…and I like spicy too. It leaves a funny feeling in my mouth…."
He tilts his head to the left and goes silent for several seconds before blinking and smiling at them. Carla looks at Turk, who's smiling at Sam and Izzy in a slightly worrying way. She sighs. Carla hopes, she really hopes Turk doesn't mess them up.
A/N-This was supposed to go up a week before, but life gets in the way, as always. So that's why…BONUS CHAPTER! From *gasp* Elliot's POV!
