Baking Bread
Title: Baking Bread
Rating: G
Pairing: Luke and Reid
A/N This is loosely based on a true story. It’s Thanksgiving here today, so I thought I would have the boys bake something. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!
Setting: This is set sometime in the future. Reid and Luke are happily living together.
Disclaimer: These are not my characters.
As usual all mistakes are mine.
Please let me know what you think.
Luke’s phone rang…again! “Don’t answer that, Luke, every time you answer your phone it just encourages them to keep calling you.” Luke rolled over and kissed Reid lovingly, while managing to reach for his phone. “Hello,” he croaked into the phone after breaking the kiss.
Reid rolled his eyes and waited to hear what drama was unfolding this morning in Snyderville.
“Luke, I’m so glad that I managed to reach you. Listen it’s Mama,” Holden said.
“Grandma Emma? Is she okay?” Luke asked his voice full of concern.
Reid’s ears immediately perked up. He loved Emma and he loved her food, if something was wrong with her he was definitely willing to help out.
“We don’t know yet. She’s at the hospital having some tests run.”
“Okay, we’ll be right there,” Luke interrupted, looking at Reid who nodded in agreement.
“Wait, wait,” Holden shouted into the phone. “I need you to go to the farm and check on the kids. Mama had just started baking bread this morning, when she must have felt dizzy; fortunately Jack was there and caught her before she hit the floor.”
“Oh my God, what happened next?”
“Mama had fainted so Jack called 911 to take her to the hospital. She managed to come to when the paramedics arrived and was only concerned about her bread. The paramedics were examining her and she was going in and out of consciousness, but she managed to give Jack the recipe and he promised that JJ would finish making the bread for her. It was the only way to calm her down. I need you to go to the farm to check on the kids and to make sure that the bread gets made, okay?”
“Sure,” Luke answered with a sigh, “but please tell Grandma Emma that I am thinking about her. Reid and I will come to the hospital as soon as everything is sorted at the farm.”
Luke turned to Reid with tears in his eyes; Reid reached over and grabbed Luke’s hand while already dialling the hospital with the other.
“Gretchen,” Reid snapped as soon as the phone was answered, “this is Dr. Oliver and I need a status report on a patient.”
“Go ahead, Dr. Oliver I am in front of a computer,” Gretchen replied nervously, she could already feel the tears gathering in her eyes.
“Emma Snyder, she might still be in emerge.”
Gretchen quickly typed in the patient’s name, wondering why this patient was so important to Dr. Oliver.
“Mrs. Snyder is still in emerge and is having all of the standard tests done. None of the results are in yet. Do you want me to put a rush on them?”
“Yes and cc me on all of her results, make sure that she gets the best possible care,” he finished and hung up before Gretchen had a chance to respond.
Reid turned to Luke and hugged him tightly while he whispered the news into Luke’s ear.
“Thank-you for checking on her for me, and now I guess that we should get dressed and head out to the farm.”
Just as the two men arrived at the farm Luke turned to Reid and asked “uh…do you know anything about baking bread?”
Reid just gave Luke a quizzical look and shook his head. ‘What fresh hell have I walked into today?’ he wondered to himself.
“Hello,” Luke called out as he entered the house. There was no answer so he called again. Still no response, “can you check upstairs and see if the kids are up there?”
“Sure.” Reid answered and went to look around. He finally found JJ who was upstairs in Luke’s old room listening to his IPOD. “Hey JJ,” Reid said after he pulled the ear buds out of the teen’s ears. “Luke’s downstairs, where is everyone else?”
JJ just shrugged and tried to put his head phones back in, but Reid held them captive. “Let’s go downstairs so you can explain to Luke what’s going on.”
JJ heaved a deep teenager sigh to indicate how very unfair he found the world today. Reid ignored him and hauled his ass downstairs.
They found look standing over a big bowl of brown bubbling goo and staring at a piece of paper as though it held all of the secrets of the world.
“Hey JJ, where is everyone?”
“Uh… hi Luke, My mom came by and picked up Sage, Natalie and Ethan and took them to my house. Faith is out with some weird guy and I’m not sure when she will be back.”
“Is this the beginnings of the bread?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Do you want some help?”
JJ sighed again, “I’m supposed to make it, but I’ve never baked bread before. I have no idea how to do it. So yeah, I need some help. Can you just make it yourself? I just want to go back upstairs and listen to music.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing either, but I will try to muddle through. I’ll need you to help me later though, okay?”
“Whatever,” JJ answered already heading back upstairs.
“You are such a sucker, Luke. I would have left this task up to your cousin,” Reid complained. “Then we could have gone to the hospital to check on Emma. I’m sure that’s what you really wanted to do, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’m sure that JJ is scared. Both of his parents are dead and I’m sure that he is terrified that Grandma Emma is dying.”
“Why didn’t Carly stay to make sure that JJ is okay?”
“I don’t know. Alright, stop complaining and help me figure out how to make this bread.”
Luke passed the recipe to Reid and then went into the pantry to haul out the flour and the wheat germ to add to the yeast mixture.
“Well it looks fairly straight forward, you just need to add the flour and wheat germ and then let it rise.”
“Alright, here goes.” Luke started to add in the ingredients, but soon ran into trouble. He had only been able to add 1/3 of the flour to the liquid ingredients and there was no way that he could get anymore in.
“Reid, what should I do? The flour has already absorbed all of the liquid. I don’t think that this amount of dough is going to make enough loaves of bread.”
“I’m guessing that you should have added more liquid before you started adding the dry ingredients.”
“Thanks, Sherlock, I kind of figured that out for myself, but how much? Oh my God, I have no idea how to fix this.”
“Relax, we can just go and buy the necessary loaves at the bakery along with the buns. Problem solved.”
Luke just gaped at Reid. “Are you kidding me??? This is Grandma Emma’s bread we’re talking about. You can’t just buy it at the bakery. Did you know that she grows her own wheat to grind into flour to put into the brown bread that she makes? She is very serious about her bread.”
“She grinds her own wheat into flour to put into her bread? Is she crazy?”
“She’s not crazy, a trifle obsessed perhaps but you do have to admit that she does make amazing bread.”
“It is amazing bread; I will give you that, but the wheat thing, that’s just plain nuts.”
Luke turned the dough that he had onto a lightly floured surface and began kneading it. After about 10 minutes he put the dough into a lightly greased bowl and covered it with a wet towel and left it to rise.
Reid just stared at his boyfriend with a look of awe on his face. “How did you know how to do that?”
Luke smiled, “osmosis. I’ve been watching Grandma Emma make bread for years. Don’t be too impressed, I’m pretty sure that we’re going to have to start again. Let’s go to the hospital so that I can see how she’s doing and ask about the recipe.”
While Luke went upstairs to tell JJ that they were leaving, Reid phoned the hospital for an update and to arrange for Emma to be moved into a private room.
As soon as Luke came back downstairs the two men headed to the hospital.
Luke pulled out his phone and phoned his dad for an update.
“Hi Luke, the doctor just told us that they don’t know why Mama fainted yet and that they are moving her into a private room. They have ruled out a heart attack so that’s good news. How are the kids? Is everything alright at the farm? Mama keeps asking about the bread; please tell me that there is progress being made on that front.”
“Do you think that it’s a bad sign that they have moved her into a private room?” Luke asked and then heard his partner smirk. “Oh never mind. Reid had her moved to make her more comfortable. Faith is on a date, JJ is upstairs listening to music and the rest of the kids are at Carly’s house. I’ve started the bread, but I think that the recipe was wrong. I’m going to clarify things when I see Grandma Emma. Do you think that she’s going to be okay?”
“Yes Luke, Mama is strong. A little fainting spell is not going to slow her down for long.”
Looking up Luke realized that they had arrived at the hospital. “Dad we’re here, where are you and what room is Grandma Emma in?”
“She’s in room 311 I’ll meet you there, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
Luke turned to Reid and kissed him before they got out of the car. “Thanks for looking after my Grandma for me.”
“Who says I did it for you? I need her well and cooking all of that delicious food for me,” Reid teased gently. “Come on let’s go see for ourselves that she is going to be fine.”
As they approached room 311 they could hear Emma’s voice, “are you sure that someone is looking after the bread? I feel fine now, and I’ll feel better when I am kneading that dough. I am completely out of buns and you know how disappointed Ethan gets when that happens. They’re his favourites!”
Luke gave Reid a pointed look, and Reid just smiled in return.
Emma looked up and saw Reid and Luke enter her room and immediately felt embarrassed. “Oh Reid, you shouldn’t have to see me like this,” she said, trying to hide under the covers.
“Nonsense, you look as beautiful as ever,” he said with a reassuring smile.
Emma blushed in response but felt much better because of the warmth of his tone and in his smile.
“Luke, is the bread getting made?” Emma asked anxiously.
“Yes, it’s at the farm rising.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I’ve been so worried about it.”
“Grandma, please don’t worry about the bread, you need to take care of yourself. How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine, a little ridiculous, but fine. Reid can you find out when they are going to release me? I just want to go home where I belong.”
“I’ll go and see what I can find out.”
“Mama, I’m going to go and call Lily and let her know that you are feeling better. I know that she has been worried sick about you,” Holden stated.
Emma gave him a dubious look but all she said was, “by all means go and reassure Lily.”
“Grandma, are you sure that you are feeling okay? We’re all worried about you.”
Emma patted his hand gently, “I’m going to be fine. Now I hate to kick you out, but I need you to go back to the farm with Reid and check on my bread.”
Luke laughed. “You have a one track mind, Grandma. Can you please explain the recipe to me? Reid loves your bread and I’ve been thinking that I might like to make it for him, as a surprise.”
“Oh Luke, what a wonderful idea, I bet that you could become an expert baker if you put your mind to it.”
Luke smiled to himself as he paid careful attention to Emma as she carefully explained how to make the bread.
Reid returned to the room with the news that Emma was going to have to stay overnight for observation, but that all of her test results looked good.
Emma pouted slightly at this news, but cheered up when Luke promised to come back with fresh buns when they were ready.
With that the boys took their leave so that Emma could rest and they could go back to the farm and make the bloody bread.
“So I take it she explained the mysteries of bread baking to you?”
“Yes, and I now know all. We’re going to have to throw out the dough we have and start again.”
As soon as they got into the house Luke assembled all of the ingredients he needed to make the bread. He threw out the first batch of dough, cleaned out the bowl and began again.
“Can you go and check on JJ or do you want to be in charge of the bread?” Luke asked Reid.
“Those are my choices? Why can’t I have a nap on the couch until the bread is done and then I can be your chief taste tester? That is a job that I am truly qualified for.”
“Reid,” Luke answered with a glare.
“Fine, I’ll go and check on JJ,” he said and went grumpily up the stairs.
He knocked on the door and waited for a response, when none was forthcoming he opened the door and walked in.
He realized he had made the wrong decision immediately. JJ was lying on the bed with tears streaming down his face. Tears, Reid hated tears. He thought about making a run for it, but JJ was looking straight at him and Reid realized that he had missed his chance.
“Is she dead?” JJ asked in a small, scared voice.
Reid was shocked by the question, “no, of course not. Emma is going to be fine. She is resting comfortably in a private room and the hospital is keeping her there for observation. Luke and I just saw her and she says that she feels fine. Her only concern seems to be about her bread.”
This brought a smile to JJ’s face, “Grandma takes her bread baking very seriously. I once suggested that she just by bread at the supermarket and she was completely horrified.”
“Well she does make amazing bread.”
“I know,” JJ paused. “Is she really going to be okay? You’re not just saying that to try to make me feel better are you?”
“No, she really is going to be fine. She should be home tomorrow. Luke and I are going to go and visit her later tonight, why don’t you come with us and see for yourself?”
“Really? I can go and see her tonight?”
Reid smiled at the relief that he saw on JJ’s face, “yeah, you can come with us. We had better go downstairs and see if Luke needs any help.”
“Do I have to come downstairs? I would much rather just hang here and listen to my music.”
“Yeah, me too, but I think that we better see if Luke needs any help.”
By the time they came downstairs Luke had everything well in hand. He was currently kneading the new dough into submission.
“Perfect timing,” Reid whispered to JJ and then asked Luke if he needed any help.
“No thanks, I’m just going to cover the dough and let it rise for an hour,” Luke responded. “JJ do you have your laptop with you?”
“Yes, do you need me to look something up?”
“Yes can you search for a webcite that will show us how to form the dough into loaves?”
“Sure”
“Thanks, JJ.”
Luke then went about cleaning the enormous mess that he had made of Emma’s kitchen. He didn’t know how Emma always managed to keep it so tidy with all the baking that she did. He had no idea baking could be so messy.
All too soon it was time to punch down the dough and shape it into loaves. Fortunately JJ had found a web cite that showed them how to form the loaves.
Luke got out the scales and carefully weighed each lump of dough.
“What on earth are you doing now?” Reid asked out of curiosity.
“Grandma Emma insisted that each loaf weigh two pounds.”
“Of course she did,” Reid sighed to himself as Luke passed him is dough to shape.
The three of them worked in companionable silence as they each shaped their loaves. Reid’s of course were the most perfect of the three. Secretly he wanted to fix the other one’s but decided to just let it go. The three of them then shaped the rest of the dough into buns. The entire finished product was then covered with wet tea towels and left to rise for one hour before being placed in the oven to bake.
The three of them sat down together on the sofa and watched some TV. “How does she do it? I’m exhausted, and all we did was the bread. If Grandma was here she would have also cooked a three course meal and probably baked some cookies and some muffins. I just want to go to sleep. What’s wrong with me?”
Reid smiled at Luke, “perhaps she didn’t tell you all of her secrets. You have to remember, she does this all the time so she knows how to pace herself. If you baked all the time you’d get used to it too.”
“Well, I don’t think that I’m going to test your theory,” Luke responded with a smile, "but I do have a whole new appreciation for what she does.”
Soon enough it was time to put the bread and buns in the oven. Luke set the timer to go off in time for him to rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom so that everything would cook evenly. Reid stared at him like he was a crazy person.
“What?” Luke asked defensively.
“Is there a reason for all of the shifting or were you just worried that the loaves had placement envy?”
“I’m just doing what I was told. I want to do everything that I can to make sure that I don’t have to start over again.”
Reid just laughed. “Relax, everything looks and smells great. Emma is going to be thrilled with the job that you have done.
Just then Carly and the kids burst into the house. “Wow, it smells great in here,” Carly announced. “Emma is going to be so pleased with you three.”
“I hope so,” Luke replied.
“Are you guys hungry?” Carly inquired.
“Starving,” Reid and JJ replied at the same time.
Carly laughed and started unpacking all of the food that she had brought with her.
Soon everyone was eating dinner at the large table. It was quieter than it normally would be as everyone was feeling the loss of Emma’s presence.
After dinner the kids began cleaning up the dishes and Carly packed up what little leftovers there were and put them in the fridge.
Luke packed up some buns to take with him to the hospital and he, Reid and JJ headed out to see Emma leaving Carly in charge at the farm.
When the three boys arrived at Emma’s room they found Holden asleep on a chair and Emma quietly reading a magazine in her bed.
JJ was so relieved to see Emma looking like herself that he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying. He rushed in and offered her a fresh bun.
“Thank-you JJ. Did you help make these?”
“A little bit, Luke did most of the work.”
“Thank-you for coming to see me,” she paused to take a bite. “Mmm it’s delicious,” she proclaimed and Luke and JJ blushed happily.
“Well I’m sure their not as good as yours, Grandma, but I hope they are good enough for now.”
“Luke, don’t sell yourself short. This is delicious. See for yourself, before Reid eats the rest of them in one go.”
“I can’t help it, they really are good,” Reid replied with a shrug.
Everyone laughed.