The Baker, Part 2: Sous Chef

Chapter 24

Ben smiled as he pushed Liam's stroller into the almost completely renovated restaurant that his wife was planning to open in just a few weeks. He took a couple of hard hats that were by the door and put one on himself and Liam, who laughed at the obscenely large hat on his head. 

"Alright, Liam, this is where mummy works," Ben said, as he slowly pushed him though the place. "That is where mummy bakes," he said, pointing to the bakery's back kitchen. "That's where mummy cooks," he pointed to the double doors that led to the kitchen.

He opened the door to the office and walked through as he announced, "And this is where you were conceived." He chuckled when he heard Cassie laugh. He then heard Jess say, "Ew, is that true?" He rolled his eyes at that. 

Of course, Cassie had given her another chance. 

Cassie got up from her desk and went over to Ben, as she said, "It very much is. This is a nice surprise!" She leaned up and kissed Ben, then knelt down to Liam. He was playing with his hard hat, but threw it aside once he saw his mom. 

He put his arms out to her and kicked his legs in excitement. She giggled and picked him up. "We were just taking a walk and Liam thought we should stop by and ask you for lunch." She smiled at Liam and said, "Well, that was very thoughtful of you, sweetie." 

She kissed his cheek and he gurgled a laugh. Ben loved seeing them like this. It's been a few weeks since she's been released from the hospital and he has never seen her so happy. She wasn't faking it, there was no way she could. 

He saw the pride and happiness in her eyes every time she looked at their son and he's never been so proud of her. He made her promise that if she even felt a pang of sadness that she would talk to him, even if it meant she had to call him during and interview or a meeting.

With the Hobbit just about to be released, he was going to be away on a press tour for a while. On top of that, he was going to do some more tours for Penguins of Madagascar. After that, he'll be in Boston for a few months to film Black Mass. 

He wasn't a fan of leaving his family here for that extended period of time, but it was a part of the job and he had to do it. Obviously, he'll fly Liam and Cassie out when he's in Boston (especially since Cassie practically threatened to divorce him if she didn't get to meet Johnny Depp) and he also had a special surprise trip planned for her.

"Actually, everyone's going to be going home pretty soon," Cassie said. "They're going to be done in about an hour and this place will be officially done. What do you say we have a family dinner here?" Ben smiled and said, "That sounds wonderful, love. I can take Liam home and we'll meet you back here?"

She looked at Liam, then said, "Why don't I take him?" She leaned into Ben and whispered, "I need him to keep me sane." She glanced over to Jess, who was typing away at her computer. Ben pressed a kiss to Cassie's cheek, then said, "I understand. I need to get some work done anyways, so I'll be back in a few hours."

With that, he gave her a loving kiss and pressed another one to Liam's head. "Have fun with mummy. Bye, love." He walked out and waved to Liam, as Cassie waved his tiny hand at him. After he left, Cassie brought Liam over to her desk and set him on her lap while she continued to work a little more. 

**

"Put it here...no, don't eat it!" Cassie laughed and wiped the chocolate crumbles Liam had stuffed into his mouth. "Silly boy, you're just like daddy." He giggled and held a fist full of the crumbled chocolate up to her. 

She took a taste out of his hand and "mmm'd". A moment later, she heard the door to the restaurant open, then Ben's voice call, "Hello?" Cassie called back, "In here!" Ben came into the main kitchen and said, "Hey, you two. Having fun?"

Liam's answer was holding out the rest of the chocolate crumbles to Ben. "Oh, yummy," he said, before eating it out of his son's hand. Cassie chuckled and rolled her eyes. "You boys, I swear." Ben smiled as he chewed, then told her, "You know I'm a sucker for sweets." 

After washing Liam's hand off, Cassie tried to get him to put the rest of the chocolate crumbles where they belonged, on top of the strawberry cupcakes. She helped him sprinkle them on the three cupcakes and both her and Ben clapped and cheered. 

"You're going to be a chef just like mummy, aren't you?" Ben asked, as he took him from her. As she plated the cupcakes, she said, "He's going to be my sous chef one day." She gestured to the set up of covered dishes on the other side of the kitchen. 

He went over and uncovered one of them. There was a tray of fried chicken and steamed vegetables. The smell was making his mouth water and his stomach growl. "This looks delicious, love, though I'm not sure Liam can have any of this."

She walked over and lifted up another tray that had baby food underneath it. Ben looked over at her and said, "Ah."

The remainder of the night was a fun and full laughs, especially since Ben kept making silly faces at Liam and made him giggle up a storm. As usual, Cassie's cooking was paramount and Ben praised her endlessly for it.

When it came time for the cupcakes, Ben's eyes practically rolled to the back of his head. "Bloody hell, are there real strawberries in here?" He asked with a mouth full. She nodded and watched with a smile as he devoured it. 

"You know, I'm not sure Liam can have this..." He said, as he took the second one, but Cassie snatched it from him and fed Liam a tiny piece. His eyes lit up and he started clapping. Ben pouted as he watched his son being fed the best cupcake in the world. 

Cassie tsk'd and said, "Aw, does daddy want something sweet, too?" Ben glared at her and said, "Daddy always wants something sweet. I bloody love sweets, you know that." That's when Cassie leaned over and gave him a tender kiss. 

He smiled, then said, "Well, now that is something sweet." He kissed her again, while gently moving his hand over her's. "I love you, Cass," he murmured against her lips. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

She put her free hand on his cheek and said, "You're tied in first with him." Ben looked over to his son and chuckled. "I'm so glad things are okay now," he said. "You are feeling okay, right?" She nodded and told him, "I've honestly never felt better. I hit rock bottom, Ben, and it was awful, but it made me realize so many things. Everything is perfect now."

After placing a kiss on her cheek, he said, "Well, I think they might get even more perfect because I have something to tell you." She quirked up an eyebrow at him, as he took her hands and gave them a squeeze. 

"I was told a few days ago that I am going to be attending an event this summer and I said I would go...as long as I could bring you with me." This was starting to get interesting. "Okay," she said, "and what is this event called?"

He took a deep breath to prepare himself for her reaction. "It would be called....Comic-Con." Her reaction was exactly what he had expected. She jumped up from her seat and squealed, as she covered her mouth and widened her eyes. 

"Are you fucking serious?!" She asked. He laughed, "Yes I am! I've got V.I.P passes for all four days. Granted, I'll be busy two of those days, which is why I also got passes for Kelly." Cassie jumped and clapped, then pulled Ben put from his seat and kissed him like he was her only source of life. 

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he wandered his hands all over her. "You are the best husband ever," she told him when she pulled back. "Seriously, you are just...fuck, I love you."

He chuckled into the next kiss she gave him, then pulled back and said, "I suppose this will be Kelly's graduation present, then? And no, this does not count as your birthday present because I have something very special planned for you, Mrs. Cumberbatch."

She pouted and told him, "But I really don't want to do anything this year, Ben. Can we please just stay in this time? Last year was a disaster, besides you getting Hunter." He carted his fingers through her hair and said, "Last year is exactly why I plan to make up for it this year. But it will just be you and me, baby, no one else." 

They were just about to kiss again, when Liam started squealing and hitting his high chair to grab their attention.