The second part of the Baker takes five months after Ben and Cassie's wedding.
Things start off a little rocky for the newlyweds and, even though their careers are going nowhere but up, there's that one piece of the puzzle that's still missing. Will...
"Daddy, wake up!" Liam jumped on Ben, causing Ben to jolt awake and shout, "Fucking hell!" Cassie walked out of the bathroom as she put on her earrings and scolded, "Ben." He wiped at his eyes and mumbled, "Sorry, sorry."
He turned to Liam, who was smiling at him like a loon. "Why are you all smiley?" Ben asked, his voice rough from sleep. "Isn't it someone's birthday?" Liam giggled and stood on his dad's stomach. Ben put his arms out on either side of Liam in case he fell. "It's my birthday!" Liam excitedly shouted.
Ben let out a pretend gasp and asked, "Is it? And how old are you?" Liam giggled as he said, "I'm four, daddy!" Ben hummed, then told him, "You don't look four, you look twenty!" He suddenly picked him up and held him in the air, laughing at Liam's gleeful giggles.
"Alright, you two," Cassie chuckled, "mom and her new boyfriend are going to be here any minute. Kelly and Alex should be here soon after that, so you both need to get ready." Ben sat up with Liam in his arms and said, "Yes, mummy. Come on, big boy." He got up with Liam and carried him into the bathroom.
"Alright, let's get you a quick bath in so I can take a shower." He started to run the water, but then Liam said, "I want a shower, too, daddy." Ben looked at him oddly. Liam's only had a handful of showers and that's when he was younger. If they were running late, he or Cassie would bring him in the shower with them.
Ben turned off the bath water, then said, "Alright, but you can't do it by yourself, not yet." He turned on the shower and got him and Liam in as soon as it was warm. Liam was trying to run around the spacious shower and Ben kept having to stop him. He was eventually able to get him to calm down.
"Ben," Cassie called, "I'm setting your's and Liam's clothes on the sink!" He rinsed out his and Liam's hair as he called back, "Thanks, love, we'll be out in a minute!" A minute turned into ten minutes because Liam kept wanting to be silly and try to get away from Ben.
When they got out, Ben got them in their robes and started to shave. "Daddy, when I can I do that?" Liam asked as he sat on the sink in front of his father and watched. Ben chuckled, "Not too far from now. Probably in ten years or so. Depends on when you hit puberty."
He rinsed his razor, then continued to shave as Liam asked, "What's pu-bear-ity?" Ben was trying to be careful around his chin as he explained, "Puberty is when your voice gets deeper, you get pimples on your face and when you get smelly easier." He washed off his razor completely before grabbing a rag and running it down his mouth.
Cassie will be very happy that he's clean shaven.
He got himself in Liam in their clothes, then walked out and went downstairs. Cassie was dressed nicely in a pair of jeans and a blouse, her short hair styled in a messy way (it drove Ben mad when her hair was like that, he found it so sexy) and had some light make up on. She had Sean in one arm while going around the kitchen and making sure everything she made was prepped.
"Hey, you," Ben said as he approached her. She halted her movements when he grabbed her by the hips and spun her around. He gave her a mind-numbing kiss, then said, "Happy Anniversary." She smiled at him and said, "Happy Anniversary, Ben." He pecked her lips, then took Sean from her. "Where's Michael?"
She gestured to the table where Michael was passed out in his feeding chair. "Sean kept him up all night last night," she said as she took some delicious smelling pastry out of the oven. "I looked at the baby monitor recordings and it's just Sean rolling over on him or taking his blanket."
Ben hummed, then looked to Michael. "Maybe we should get them separate cribs," he suggested. "You know, they have the ones where there's a little pathway for them so they can visit each other. At least Mike can get some sleep, then." He ran his hand over his sleeping infant's head.
"Hey," Cassie said, turning to him, "do you think it's weird mom won't tell us who her new boyfriend is? I mean, he can't be worse than that piece of shi..." She trailed off when Liam wandered in, then continued, "...garbage."
Ben sighed as he told her, "I don't know, love. I agree, though, he can't be worse because I don't think anyone is."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang and it rudely awoke Michael. He immediately started crying. Cassie swooped him up as Ben jogged over to get the door. He opened it to Julie a man that Ben immediately knew. "Mark?" He asked, his voice high and in shock.
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It was his friend and well-known actor, Mark Strong! "Mark, what...what the hell?" Mark laughed and brought Ben into a hug, mindful of Sean being in Ben's arm. Ben, still in shock, hugged him back and looked to Julie. She was smiling like a loon. Cassie came out a moment later with a calmed down Michael. Ben could see in her eyes that she knew who her mom was with.
Mark, when he saw Cassie, drew away from Ben and went over to her. "Cassie," he said in his thick Scottish accent, "we haven't met, but I'm Mark, Mark Strong." He pulled her in for a hug, then pulled away and said, "Now, these must be the twins. Michael and...wait don't tell me...Sean!"
Cassie nodded, then gulped and said, "Uh, yes! Yes, this is Michael, that's Sean and the birthday boy, Liam, is around somewhere. Sorry...how did you two meet exactly? I mean, I'm a huge fan and everything, but I never pictured my mom with...well..."
"An celebrity?" Mark asked. "I don't think anyone really pictures themselves in that situation, let alone their parents." He laughed and Julie laughed along with him. "Right," Ben breathed out, "well, we'd love to hear all about it. How about we discuss it over a few Bloody Mary's?"
As it turns out, one of Julie's newer friends is Mark's cousin. When Julie went over to the friend's house for tea one evening, Mark stopped by to drop something off. According to Mark, the moment he saw Julie, he was in love.
"We've actually been seeing each other for a while now," Julie admitted. "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want it to be another Bob situation." Cassie looked at her oddly. "A Bob situation?" She asked. "As in, that was somehow all my fault?"
Ben, who was making the Bloody Mary's, took a swig of vodka from the bottle. "Obviously, it wasn't," Julie assured her, "but with the way you reacted..." Ben took another shot. Cassie scoffed at her mom. "The way I reacted, mother, was because my dad, your husband, just died and you hooked up with his sleazy, no good ex-best friend! Now that it's been a while since dad and now that you have an obviously good man in your life, I don't mind it! Jesus, mom, learn how to communicate with your kids, will you? Don't pull this shit on Kelly and Leo when they get here."
With that, she stormed off. Ben sighed as he put down the vodka. "Yes," he said, "this is exactly how I wanted to spend my anniversary and my kid's birthday. Thanks for that, Julie." He went after Cassie and found her pacing around the nursery. "You alright?" He asked.
She took a deep breath, then shook her head. "Why? Why, Ben? Why, out of all the days, does she have to start this shit on birthdays and holidays and anniversaries? Every time!" He went up to her and massaged her shoulders. "I don't know, baby," he told her. "Listen, it's Liam's birthday, it's our anniversary and we are going to have a damn good time. Okay? I'll make it my job to keep things civil around here."
She leaned back into him and closed her eyes. "So help me God, Benedict, if she says one more thing to me about Bob or relationships or me, I will lose my shit." Ben gulped, then nodded. He had no doubt she would and that scared him to hell.
