Hey, guys. Here's a new chapter! This one might have been better to post before the previous, because in a way, it continues chapter eight. Or at least references it. Anyway, enjoy

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Cause of Death. Olivia is my own creation, though.

One Monday night, Mal and Natara took Olivia to a restaurant for the first time. She was immediately mesmerized by the decor, and even more awestruck by the menu.

"Olivia, can you please sit in the highchair?" Natara asked as Olivia sat on the table, coloring the children's menu.

"No."

"Well. That settles that," Mal commented. Olivia snapped a red crayon in two and put one half in her mouth. Natara grabbed it quickly.

"No, that's gross," she scolded gently. Olivia scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Mal, she scowls as much as you do sometimes." When Olivia furrowed her brow and frowned, she resembled Mal. And when she smiled, she looked like a blue-eyed version of her mother.

"When she's not giggling and being mean to me? Which is about ninety nine percent of her time since she was born."

The toddler quickly recovered from her annoyance and resumed scribbling over the menu, taking great care to press down as firmly as possible, causing the crayon tips to dull quickly.

A waiter passed them with a dessert tray, and Olivia's eyes widened,the crayon slipping from her fingers as she sat straighter, watching with longing. She turned to her parents, silently pleading.

"After dinner," Natara promised before Mal had the chance to say yes. Both Mal and Olivia scowled for a moment, and Natara had to laugh. "Don't worry, I'm sure our dinner will be here soon."

Olivia clapped her hands in delight and hugged her favorite stuffed rabbit, which she took nearly everywhere. She placed the stuffed animal in the highchair and scooted closer to Natara, stealing a sip from her milkshake.

"You're supposed to steal your daddy's stuff, sweetie."

"No," Olivia giggled, taking another sip before the waitress arrived with their food.

"Aww... she is so sweet!" The waitress's name tag said Tina, and the young woman smiled at Olivia before setting their food down.

Olivia grinned and took a bite of turkey before pretending to feed her bunny, talking to it in both baby babble and the words she knew. Tina laughed before walking away, and Olivia checked over her shoulder before stealing one of Mal's fries.

"Hey, that's not funny. You act so sweet when someone else watches, then you steal from me?" he grumbled. Olivia nodded and ate the fry with a proud smirk.

She frowned at the small portion on her plate, but continued to eat, pushing the broccoli away once she finished the turkey and the small amount of mashed potatoes. She looked longingly at Mal's steak. She had never tried it, but she reached a tiny hand toward it, looking at her daddy pleadingly.

Mal cut a small bite and handed it to her, watching as the little girl chewed it with a thoughtful expression. Olivia's eyes lit up, and she reached for another piece.

"Why did I do that?" Mal sighed as Olivia sat in his lap and picked up another bite, stuffing it into her mouth. She obviously loved the taste, and eventually Mal cut several bites and placed them on her plate. She sat on the table again, chewing the meat as if she would die of pure enjoyment.

She frowned sadly when she finished, and returned her attention to Mal's plate. His fries were still left, and she quickly grabbed one.

"You just ate part of my steak! Let me eat my fries. Steal something from Mommy."

Olivia eyed Natara's garden salad. "No." Then she remembered the milkshake and edged closer to Natara. With a sigh, Natara poured part of the milkshake into Olivia's empty juice cup.

"Thanks, Mal," she scoffed.

"It's fair. I lose a third of my steak, so you lose a third of your milkshake," Mal argued.

Olivia started to join the conversation, but was distracted as she caught sight of two familiar people. "Kai!"

Mal looked up. "Where?" He followed Olivia's gaze and groaned. "It never ends..."

When Kai spotted Olivia, he hid behind Amy. "Oh, no... I was just getting over the nightmares," he whispered in horror.

Natara frowned and looked at her daughter. "What are you talking about?"

"She's a monster!"

"Well... she wasn't that bad," Amy added after a moment's hesitation. "Just a little... mischievous."

Olivia shrugged with all the innocence in the world, as if she had no idea what her parents' coworkers were talking about. "Hi!" she cooed.

"No wonder we can never find a sitter," Mal commented.

"Probably because any sitter who watches her would show up in the obituary!" Kai exclaimed. "She's scary!"

"What exactly did she do?" Mal asked.

"Well..." Amy began. "She threw her bowl of green beans, dumped my purse, answered my phone-"

"That's where I came!" Kai interrupted proudly.

"And she just ran around the apartment and made messes," Amy continued. "And then Kai lost her."

"I did not! I turned my back and she left!"

Olivia's innocent facial expression remained, and she blew a kiss with a tiny laugh.

"No... no!" Mal nearly shouted.

Chanting the subject, Natara asked, "What are the two of you doing here?"

"Uh... we wanted to see if we looked even hotter under these lights..." Kai responded. Amy glared at him. "I mean... never mind." He quickly turned and walked away, and Amy rolled her eyes before following him.

"Well... that was unexpected." Natara wiped some crumbs off of Olivia's blue shirt.

Tina soon returned. The waitress gave them a friendly smile. "Anything else?"

Olivia nodded and pointed at a large beer on a table across from them. "Dat."

"You're a bit little for that," Tina chuckled. She pulled a dessert cart over.

Olivia stared at all the desserts before pointing at the chocolate cake. "Dat," she confirmed. Tina set the plate in the center of the table and handed them some forks before leaving.

Olivia took such a large bite that her cheeks puffed out. "Yummy," she said, her voice muffled. She dropped the fork and grabbed a handful of cake, her little hand already coated in chocolate.

Mal and Natara were able to cut pieces of the large slice for themselves, and left Olivia the rest. Eventually the little girl grew tired and fell face first into her dessert.

"Cake," she mumbled.

Let them eat cake! Olivia's somethin', ain't she? Wow... that sounds country...

Okay, so...

Keep going...

Just a little longer...

Review please!