New chapter! Enjoy!

"Mal, why does she have to go with me?" Natara groaned.

"I'm sure you don't want her watching me play poker."

Natara scowled. "But it'll take me twice as long to go to the grocery store if she's with me."

"C'mon. She's in a good mood. And she's never even been to the store. She may not throw any fits."

"Fine. But I'm blaming you if she does anything." Natara slipped Olivia into her shoes and picked her up. The baby's interest was piqued at the idea of going somewhere, and she clapped her little hands together.

"She's thirteen months old. You can't exactly blame me if she has a tantrum or something."

Natara rolled her eyes and left the apartment. "Alright, Olivia, you'll have to be good, alright? If you are, I may get you something."

Olivia nodded seriously and started playing with one of the various toys in the backseat. They arrived at the store shortly, and Natara had no trouble getting Olivia to sit in the child seat of the shopping cart. The baby hummed contently as Natara started to gather the groceries they needed.

The little girl grew bored in a few minutes, and started playing with the belt buckle in the cart seat. But her attention was piqued as they passed a rack of jelly beans. She pointed excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"Okay, since you've been good so far, you can have some." Natara added a pack of jelly beans to the cart.

Natara picked up a can of soup, and when she turned around, Olivia was holding a chocolate bar. "Olivia, you already have jelly beans." Olivia stuck her bottom lip out, holding the candy close. "Sorry, sweetie."

Olivia widened her eyes and wound her arms around Natara's neck, giving her a tiny kiss on the cheek. Natara groaned. "Alright, you can have it. Maybe I should stop teasing your daddy about falling for that."

At the mention of her daddy, Olivia flashed a toothy grin. "Dada..."

Natara nearly stopped dead in her tracks. "...Really?" After all the pleading and even bribing, Olivia had finally uttered her first normal word, as Mal would call it.

"Dada," Olivia repeated.

"Well, you didn't exactly stay on my side, but Mal's gonna be proud." Natara stopped in front of the deli, and Olivia's gaze immediately landed on a rotisserie chicken.

"Oh..." she whispered, pointing at it. Natara chuckled at the desperate look on the baby's face.

"We can have that for dinner." Natara started to place it in the cart, but Olivia grabbed it and hugged it tightly.

"No," she sighed, embracing the roasted poultry product.

"You're the silliest baby, Olivia." The next time Natara looked at her, Olivia had somehow managed to tip a box of flour into the floor. She looked up at her mother innocently.

"Olivia..." Natara quickly moved out of the aisle before an employee saw the mess Olivia had made. "You can't do that in the store."

By the time they reached the checkout, Natara noticed several items int he cart that she hadn't picked up. Olivia had a mischievous smile on her face, and Natara discarded several of the items on the counter.

Several shiny packages hung on a rack near the checkout, and Olivia grabbed one. Natara's eyes widened as she read the label. "No... put that down, sweetie."

Olivia frowned and held it tighter. "No..."

"Olivia... you're really too young for that." Natara tried to pry it away, but Olivia's grip was strong.

Olivia studied it closely, obviously having no idea what she was holding. Natara managed to take it from her, and Olivia pouted. "Sorry, but you won't need that until you're in college. I hope..." Finally they climbed into the car, and on the ride home, Olivia burst open a bag of chips Natara didn't recall buying.

"Olivia, next time, you're going with Daddy."

"Dada."

"That's right." Natara parked in their driveway and carried two bags in one hand and Olivia on her hip. She walked into the apartment, seeing that Mal was home. "Mal, since you made me take her, you're bringing in everything else."

"Why? What did she do?"

"She picked up several things, spilled flour, and now my backseat is full of chips." Natara set Olivia down and put the milk in the fridge. "Now go get the rest of the stuff!"

Mal bit back an amused laugh. "Slave driver." They were able to put most of the groceries away without much incident, and Natara noticed a stain on Olivia's shirt.

"By the way, she said Dada at the store. Go you."

"Seriously?"

"Mhmm. Say it, Olivia!" Natara lifted Olivia onto the counter. The little girl shook her head, pressing her lips together.

"No."

Mal scolwed. "Okay, Nat, that isn't funny..."

"She really said it!" Natara defended. She handed Olivia to him. "She needs to be changed. And since you're to blame for this, it's your turn."

"Fine." He carried Olivia into the nursery and set her on the changing table. Olivia folded her hands behind her head, grinning up at him. "Gross... how can you smile about this?"

After he changed her diaper, he peeled off her juice stained shirt. As he did so, a small object fell out, and he stared at it in shock and slipped it into his pocket. "Natara?"

"Yeah?"

"Why does Olivia have a condom in her pocket?"

"What? I took it from her!"

"Well, she got it back." Mal showed it to her as Natara slipped into the nursery. "See?"

"She picked it up at the counter. She must have got it back when I had my back turned."

"And one of you bought denture cream..."

"Not me." Natara threw the condom away and left the room. As soon as Olivia felt certain that Natara was out of earshot, she started speaking.

"Mama."

Don't ya just love Olivia? LOL :) Review!

Oh, and if you guys have any suggestions, feel free to offer! Not that I'm running out of ideas. I still have lots in store for Maltara and baby Olivia.