A/N: Thank you for the reviews - there will be more Zoe/Max one shots to come later on. And I will write for past pairings providing I know the characters; so I'll do a Sam/Tom one shot soon since I have an idea ;) this one is Connie/Rita and quite random but I hope you enjoy it! :D

~Mini Peacelet~

Wintry Advent

4. Gingerbread

A toasty and warming essence of sweet gingerbread had hovered in the atmosphere of the cosy home for months now. The spiced aroma was particularly potent currently as gingerbread cookies baked to a delicious gold in the oven, the scent fusing out of the scorching oven and into the confined air. Rita was cooking another batch of her favourite biscuits even though it was 2 o'clock in the morning.

Candidly, Connie was starting to the loath the scent, especially since she had been tolerating the aroma since early July. Gingerbread was not a summer or autumn flavour. But now that it was finally December - Christmas was just a matter of months away - she was gradually learning to be more fond of the spiced smell that was indeed festive.

The blonde had deposited the raw mixture on the baking tray into the preheated oven and padded into the living room where she had flopped down onto the plush couch, covering herself with a fluffy blanket that was too small as he feet poked out the end, and absentmindedly rested her hands on her forever expanding baby bump.

Connie suddenly roused with a start, a piercing and continuous bleeping noise reverberated the previously muted ambience. She squinted at the clock, bewildered with the abrupt awakening and still half dozing as she rubbed her eyes sleepily. It was then a burning aroma tickled her nostrils and she leapt to her feet.

The clinical lead dashed down the stairs, taking them two at a time, and raced into the smokey kitchen where she located the source of the burning that resulted in the smoke alarm blaring stridently, and her wife. Bloody gingerbread biscuits. She raised her hand to conceal her mouth as she coughed, the hazy smoke irritating her dry throat and then grabbed a magazine off the counter and waved it frantically in front of the smoke alarm sensor, wafting the smoke away and regaining a pleasant silence.

"Are you okay?" The brunette inquired, tone laced with compassion and concern as she unlatched the windows in the kitchen to allow the smoke to float out and the fresh breeze to wisp inside.

Rita nodded as she ran her hand tentatively over her swollen stomach, "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what happened...I put the cookies into bake and the next thing I'm being woken up by the smoke alone." She frowned with a perplexed expression and raked her fingers through her tousled hair subconsciously.

Connie peered at the seared biscuits and screwed her nose up slightly, "Well, judging by the colour of them I think you left them in the oven far too long. And obviously long enough to set the smoke alarm off in the process."

The nurse dipped her head shamefully and gazed at the floor, "I only went to sit down whilst I waited for them to cook, I must have fallen asleep." She concluded logically before pouting forlornly and prodded at one of the charred gingerbread cookies, debating whether it was at all edible.

"I think these are for the bin; in fact they definitely are." The former heart surgeon grasped the oven-mittens to protect her delicate skin against the scalding tray and ambled towards the bin until Rita spoke and halted her in her tracks.

"No! Wait!" Her pregnant wife exclaimed abruptly, drifting towards the older woman gradually.

"What?" A mystified frown succumbed Connie's neutral features, curious as to the reason why she wanted the toasted attempts at home baking because it certainly wasn't appetising and palatable.

"You can't throw them away." The blonde shook her head, orbs flickering with faint anxiety and fear for the cookies safety, "I've eaten all the ginger biscuits you had made and the emergency packet from the shop. And I used the last of the ginger in that set of cookies. But your daughter is demanding gingerbread right now." Rita had developed a real craving for the flavour gingerbread from almost the start of her pregnancy.

"But these are really not going to do you a lot of good, or the baby for that matter. Besides, you won't be able to even taste the ginger because they are that burnt." She stated bluntly and dropped the cookies into the bin before puckering her perfectly arced brow, "Wait! Why is she my daughter when she's ordering for gingerbread at this ridiculous hour?!" Stifling a half-hearted laugh, she deposited the tray in the sink and observed the younger female as she awaited an answer.

Rita shrugged innocently, her already rosy cheeks flushing a deeper shade of crimson as she smiled mischievously, "She must be yours to have such a desire for an odd taste; especially at this annoying hour. You like weird thing - like those green, pear-shaped things that have wrinkly skin." She juddered at the thought, the texture just creeped her out completely.

"Avocados. It's called an avocado."

"I don't care what it's called. They're still horrible." The nurse huffed and folded her arms across her chest, "Connieee," she whinged petulantly, "I want some gingerbread."

The brunette shuffled towards the cupboard, opening it and rummaging through the contents in search for something to cure her pregnant wife's craving until a more sensible hour, "Uhhh, what about a gingerbread latte?" She presented the box containing individual sachets of a coffee, milk and gingerbread concoction.

"Coffee?" Rita disapproved with a serious scowl, "Are you serious? I have enough trouble sleeping without the extra caffeine. And she certainly doesn't need anymore energy since she already treats me like a human football."

"I am more than aware of the effects of caffeine but it is all we have that contains gingerbread." The clinical lead exhaled a sigh, hinted with exasperation. Perhaps marginally patronising. She was tired. And when she was tired, she was extremely grumpy, "What do you want me to do?" She placed a hand gracefully on her hip, a natural action that had accompanied her role in the ED.

"Uhm...go out and buy me some more gingerbread cookies? Pretty please?" The blonde fluttered her eyelashes that were coated with two layers of jet black mascara, now smudged around her orbs slightly since she had been wearing it all day. A flawless imperfection. She had never been brilliant nor accurate when applying the make-up component.

"What? At this hour? You must be joking." The brunette scoffed and rolled her rich orbs, brushing her wild, curly locks from her face.

Her expression was totally solemn, there was no humour in her manner, "I never joke about something so serious."

"It's just as well I love you." Connie muttered as she collected her coat off the hook and slipped her feet into her fury boots,"Oh, and while I'm gone please spray something around the house to mask that awful scent of burning gingerbread. It's bad enough that for the past five months I've had the fragrance of gingerbread without smelling like a burnt gingerbread man."