Ethereal

Family

"Alright everyone, time to cook!" Yells David as he stands in the doorframe of the house. Everyone heads inside and you walk and talk with Emily. While you conversate about traveling, you notice JJ calling Spencer. You walk inside but peek through the window and watch them talk. JJ looks concerned and has her arms are crossed. Spencer is speaking and he looks slightly angry and annoyed. You can't hear them, but you wonder what they're talking about. Once Spencer turns away and walks towards the house you quickly walk towards the counter and gather with everyone else. A few seconds later you feel Spencer's hands on your waist. You look up at him and smile.

"Now Penne Alla Vodka is an easy and delicious dish." Says David. Everyone's attention is towards him as he stands with a rag over his shoulder. "But if you don't do it right you're what the Italians call Spagato e stupido."

Everyone laughs. You don't know exactly what it means, but the word stupido doesn't sound like a compliment. David walks over to one of the pans that has a the sauce in it. He picks it up and lets everyone gaze over it, and you notice that he used tomato paste and heavy whipping cream as the base.

"Now the hardest part of the sauce is getting the texture right. You have to make sure it is perfectly creamy." He says. "But it's tricky because a lot of the ingredients are thick. Does anyone know how we thin it out?"

Penelope raises her hand and shakes it frantically. David's eyes slowly scan over the crowd jokingly until his eyes land on her.

"Ah, Penelope. Would you like to take a guess?" He says. A few laughs go around the room.

"Water, right?" She says.

"What kind of water?" Asks Rossi. Penelope looks around nervously.

"Tap?" She says finally. David makes a loud buzzer sound, signaling that she's wrong.

"Hey, you know better than anyone that I'm not a cook! You could not have expected me to get that right!" She says.

"Can I take a guess David?" You ask. He looks at you and nods.

"You have to add the pasta water. It adds flavor." You say. David smiles and does a little dance as he walks around the counter, and it makes everyone laugh. He reaches his hand out to you and you let go of Spencer. David leads you to the other side of the counter and continues to hold your hand.

"This my friends, is why I wish you guys would pick up another hobby besides looking at dead people all day." He says. Everyone laughs and you notice Spencer looking at you. He mouths 'I love you' and you give a small smile back. You notice JJ looking at him and you slowly start to go back to a neutral expression.

"Y/n will be my assistant this time since she obviously knows what she's doing." Says David. "Now, will you please mince two cloves of garlic?"

You grab two cloves and start to peel off the skin. Once you're done, you find a sharp knife and start to mince. You cut very quickly and efficiently.

"Watch out Spencer, it looks like she knows her way around a knife." Says Derek. He's grabbing Penelope as she leans against him and sips her wine.

"Trust me, I know." Says Spencer. You smile as you finish cutting the last clove. You use the knife to gather all of the tiny pieces and scoot them closer to David.

"Perfetto!" Says David. He picks up the cutting board and brushes the garlic into the sauce pan.
"Now, I need you to do the same to this shallot."

You take the shallot he gives you and start to peel again. You try and work quickly as you let the skin fall onto the cutting board below you. Once all of the onion scales are off, you start to cut again. Once it's perfectly minced you brush the shallot into the pan and admire the smell of basil and crushed red pepper in the sauce.