A/N - Thanks again to everyone who is reading this, especially those of you who left a review. I love reviews! This chapter was fun to write. I always wanted to try my hand at a fic or chapter dedicated to grocery shopping. I'm weird that way. ^.^

Cookies to anyone who catches the Kane's Kitchen reference.

The case turned out to be fairly straight forward, though it did nothing to ease the minds of the expecting parents. The clippings book sent the team to a small town in search of what was thought to be a killer doll. As it turned out, the doll itself wasn't actually killing people, but it had been cursed and as a result, the heart of anyone who touched it would stop. The team was able to bring it safely to the Library with gloves that Jenkins had engineered specifically for this sort of case.

"Just so we're clear, our kid is never getting a doll," Jake declared as he sealed up the vault Jenkins had told him to store the doll in.

"No worries there," Cassandra agreed. "Our kid isn't playing with any toys that aren't approved by Jenkins first."

Jake chuckled and put his arm around Cassandra's waist, pulling her closer.

"What do you say we head home and enjoy a nice, quiet evening in?" he asked. "It's been a long day."

"Sounds good. Can we swing by the grocery store first? There's some things I want to pick up."

"Sure thing, darlin'."

…

They arrived at the grocery store and Jake drove around looking for a parking spot.

"How pregnant do you think you have to be before we can park in one of them expectin' mother parking spots?" Jake joked as he drove past several empty spots reserved for pregnant women.

"I'm guessing pregnant enough that I need the spot for reasons other than my husband's laziness."

Jake finally found an empty spot to park in near the back of the lot. He and Cassandra got out of the truck and headed into the store hand in hand. Jake grabbed a basket on the way in, thinking they were there to just pick up a few things.

"So what are we here for, anyways?" he asked Cassandra, who was walking determinedly to a particular aisle. She still held his hand in hers and as a result he found himself being dragged along behind her.

"We need pickles," Cassandra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "There aren't any pickles at home."

"There are never any pickles at home, darlin'." Jake replied.

"Yeah, well you've got a pregnant wife, Jake. What kind of husband doesn't keep the fridge stocked full of pickles for his pregnant wife?" Cassandra said as she continued to drag him into the pickle aisle.

Jake opened his mouth to remind Cassandra that he had only just learned of her pregnancy a couple of days ago, but thought the better of it. Instead he forced his mouth into an amused smile and picked up his pace so that he was walking beside her instead of behind her.

When they found themselves standing in front of the shelves of pickles Jake expected Cassandra to grab a jar and continue on. Instead she stood and studied each jar, contemplating what to get.

"Darlin', they're pickles. Just grab a jar and let's go," Jacob encouraged in his most patient voice.

"It's not that simple, Jake," Cassandra shook her head and picked up two different jars. "Do I want regular dill, or baby dill?"

"Uh…"

"Baby dill is just so fitting, don't you think? And they're smaller, they'll fit in my mouth easier," Cassandra continued talking, not giving Jake a chance to jump in with his opinion. "Oh! Look! Pickles come pre sliced now!" Cassandra set down the jars she had been holding and reached out for a jar of sliced pickles.

"Pre sliced?" Jake scratched his head. "How lazy do you have to be to buy pre sliced pickles?"

"Says the man who wanted to exploit my pregnancy just so he could park closer to the door," Cassandra smirked, setting the jar back on the shelf. "But you're right. Besides, I want to eat them whole. They're crunchier that way." She picked up a large jar of baby dill pickles and put it in the basket.

Hoping that the worst of it was over, Jake followed Cassandra through the store to her next destination.

"Now what are we getting, Cassie?" he asked, a little hesitant.

"Cream cheese," she answered as they reached the dairy section.

"Cream cheese? Honey, you know we have cream cheese at home, right?"

"Yeah, but only your homemade cream cheese. That garlic and herb one you always make," Cassandra said, her attention on all of the different kinds of cream cheese that the store had to offer.

"You love my garlic and herb cream cheese," Jake reminded her.

"I know, but I don't think the baby does," Cassandra said as she added a tub of plain cream cheese to the basket.

"Great," Jake rolled his eyes. "Kid ain't even born yet and already it's a picky eater."

Cassandra smiled at Jake and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I'm sure our baby will come around eventually. But right now it wants regular cream cheese." Jake couldn't help but smile back at her. For a split second their attention was on nothing but each other, before something caught Cassandra's attention out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, cheese curds! I love these things," she snatched up a couple of bags and added them to the basket. "Seriously Jake, pregnancy or no pregnancy, we need to buy curds more often."

Jake just smiled and rolled his eyes. "Where to next?"

"Ginger ale," Cassandra answered, once again dragging Jake along as she was determined to get every item off her invisible list.

Jake's arm sagged a bit as the weight of the ginger ale bottle made the basket heavier. "How much more stuff is on your list, darlin'? This thing is getting pretty heavy."

"Just one more thing. I want ice cream. And I can just carry it to the check out so that your arm doesn't get any more tired than it already is."

"Okay, now I know we've got ice cream at home. Plain ol' store bought ice cream," Jake reminded her.

"Yeah, exactly. Plain ice cream. Chocolate and vanilla. Boring," Cassandra sang that last part. "I want mint. No! butterscotch!" She let go of Jake's hand so that she was free to pick up a box of both flavours and, true to her word, carried both of them as to not add to the bulk of the basket.

"We done?" Jake asked skeptically. Cassandra just nodded, a big grin on her face.

"Good. Please tell me you don't plan on dipping those pickles in the ice cream?" he asked as they reached the check out and was finally able to start unloading some of the weight from the basket.

"Actually, that's what the cream cheese is for. But now that you mention it, pickles and mint ice cream does sound pretty good," Cassandra said thoughtfully. Jake just shook his head but didn't say anything.

The cashier loaded all of their items into two bags and like a gentleman, Jake started to carry both bags out to the truck. Coming up beside him Cassandra took one of the bags from him and replaced it with her hand.

"Thank you for putting up with me," she said softly, her usual self finally coming back.

"Believe me, darlin', there's not a moment in my life where I'm 'putting up with you,' " Jake smiled and squeezed her hand. "I love everything about you, and there's nothing I'd rather be doing than spending time with you, pregnancy hormones or not."

They walked out of the store and Jake once again looked longingly at the row of empty parking spaces reserved for pregnant women. It wasn't that his bag was too heavy for him to carry, or that he usually minded walking, but it really had been a long day and it was starting to catch up with him. Jake was looking forward to a quiet dinner at home and then curling up on the couch with Cassie in his arms.

The drive home was quick and when they reached their apartment Jake carried the bags up to their floor and Cassandra unlocked the door. After setting the groceries on the kitchen counter and taking his coat off, Jacob turned to his wife and pulled her into him.

"Now please tell me you didn't plan on pickles and cream cheese for dinner, because I think we could both use somethin' with a little more substance after the day we've had."

"Actually, I kind of have a craving for your fried chicken. Oooh, and waffles!" Cassandra beamed.

Jake hesitated. "Cassie, darlin'. I don't think we have any of the ingredients for waffles. Not all of them, at least."

"Oh," Cassandra's face fell. "Well that's okay. Just chicken, I guess."

Jake sighed and reached for his coat.

"Jake, no. You don't have to go out again," Cassandra assured him. "It's fine."

However, Jake ignored her protests. "Why don't you put these groceries away and get the stuff out for the chicken. I'll be back in ten minutes," he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head. He was out the door before she could say another word.