The Relocation Job Chapter 13
Title: The Relocation Job Ch. 13
Author: SageK
Rating: pg-13
Genre: Teamfic (Gen thus far with a focus on Eliot) and Eliot/Parker
Summary: What happens after the finale?
Chapters 1- 10: http://community.livejournal.com/parker_eliot/21776.html#cutid1
Chapter 11: http://community.livejournal.com/parker_eliot/22052.html#cutid1
Chapter 12: http://community.livejournal.com/parker_eliot/22578.html#cutid1
The warm, early morning sunlight woke Parker shortly before 7am and she stretched contentedly. Cozy and content she snuggled into the soft sheets and slapped a hand down on the down comforter, enjoying the way it puffed up in response. The faintest scent that was beginning to cling to the blankets was like warm leather and tea with an Earthy undertone, a unique scent she had come to associate with Eliot. Which made sense considering it was his bed.
Looking over at the other side of the big bed, she found that she was alone. She stretched out a hand and laid it where Eliot had slept. The mattress was cool, indicating he had left the bed some time ago. With a yawn, she stretched, then sat up and swung her legs over the edge. The wood floor was cool under her feet as she rose and made her way into the bathroom.
After using the facilities, she padded down the stairs to the first floor and made her way to the kitchen. There was music in the air, something folk-rocky that echoed through the empty dining room.
You are the hole in my head
I am the pain in your neck
You are the lump in my throat
I am the aching in your heart
We are tangled
We are stolen
We are living where things are hidden
Eliot was sitting on a stool at the island, reading a newspaper and drinking from a mug. He looked sleepy and rumpled with a spectacular case of bed head. Parker giggled and hopped onto the seat beside Eliot, propping an elbow up on the granite countertop and resting her chin in her hand.
You are something in my eye
And I am the shiver down your spine
You are on the lick of my lips
And I am on the tip of your tongue
We are tangled
We are stolen
We are buried up to our necks in sand
Putting the paper down, Eliot looked at her and said, “Mornin’ Buttercup.”
Parker grinned. She liked the nickname. No one else had ever really given her one before. “Morning,” she replied, then glanced around the kitchen. “Can I help make the waffles?”
We are luck
We are ]fate
We are the feeling you get in the golden state
We are love
We are hate
We are the feeling I get when you walk away….
Walk away
“Sure,” Eliot said, standing and opening a cabinet. As he pulled out several stainless steel mixing bowls and measuring cups, he said, “Can you grab the strawberries and raspberries out of the fridge? We’ll want to get the sauces started before the waffles.”
Well you are the dream in my nightmare
I am that falling sensation
You are not needles and pills
I am your hangover morning
We are tangled
We are stolen
We are living where things are hidden
Opening the doors of the huge sub-zero refrigerator, Parker quickly found the berries and placed them on the island where Eliot was setting out the bowls. “Should I get anything else out of here?” she asked, waving a hand at the open fridge.
“Butter, a lemon, 3 eggs and the buttermilk,” he said, adding spatulas, whisks and a variety of other paraphernalia to the pile of cooking supplies.
We are luck
We are fate
We are the feeling you get in the golden state
We are love
We are hate
We are the feeling I get when you walk away
Walk away
Walk away
After selecting the requested items, Parker moved over to the counter by Eliot and said, “Okay, what now?”
He handed her a stainless steel sauce pan and a measuring cup with a small paring knife in it. “Cut the greens and stems off the strawberries, the put 4 cups of them in the pan with a cup of water. Heat them on high,” he told her as scraped some of the lemon rind off into a bowl, then chopped the lemon in half and squeezed the juice onto the rinds.
You are the hole in my head
You are the pain in your neck
You are the lump in my throat
I am the aching in your heart
As Parker went about cutting the leaves and stems off of the strawberries, the music that had continued to play in the background faded away. “What was that song?” she asked, looking over as Eliot mashed the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, rind and cold water into a paste, then began adding raspberries and smushing them as well.
The specialist gave a one shouldered shrug and motioned to the Ipod docked in the small sound system. “Hardison made some inarticulate sounds of disgust when I told him I didn’t have one of those and set one up. So far I can only get it to play random songs that I’ve never heard of,” Eliot told her, dumping the mixture he had made into another sauce pan and putting it on the stove.
Parker nodded, placing her own pan on the stove and reached over to tap the Ipod.
“The Golden State. John Doe.” she said, then accepted two silicone spatulas from Eliot.
“Stir ‘em and tell me when they boil,” he said, then looked at her and smiled. “Something’s missing…hold on.”
He crossed over to a drawer and pulled out a bundle of white cloth. Shaking it out, he returned to Parker and wrapped the apron around her hips. “There ya go. A real Giada.”
Parker grinned although she wasn’t sure who or what a Giada was. Eliot seemed to mean it in a good way though, so that was enough. As she stirred the pans, he returned to the counter.
In one bowl he mixed together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Then in another bowl, he beat together the eggs, butter and vanilla then stirred in the buttermilk. Carefully, Eliot added the wet mixture to the dry, dropped in the chocolate chips, then stirred it until it was smooth. When he achieved a consistency he liked, he took the bowl and placed it on the counter near where Parker was working before bending to retrieve the waffle iron fro one of the cabinets.
“It’s boiling!” Parker said, pointing at the two pans which were beginning to bubble happily.
“Okay,” he said, using a pot holder to move the raspberry sauce onto a cool burner as he lowered the heat under the strawberry sauce to simmer. “We gotta let that simmer a bit. Can you add a tablespoon of butter to the Raspberries and mix it in.”
Quickly, she added the butter, stirring it in and saying, “This smells really good.”
“It’ll taste better,” he assured her, pouring some of the waffle mix into the iron and closing the lid. The he picked up a small steel bowl and laid a few sheets of cheesecloth over the top. “Pour the strawberries there,” he told her handing her a pot holder, which Parker smiled at. It had a horse on it.
Eliot held the bowl and cheese cloth, allowing the strawberry mixture to drain through the cloth into the bowl below. He then gathered up the cloth and squeezed out any juice and pulp that got caught with the seeds. Then he poured what was in the bowl back into the pan. “Stir in two cups of sugar and bring it back to boil,” he told her, moving back to check the waffle iron. Deeming it not done, he set the oven on warm, ready for when the first waffle would be ready.
Parker was stirring the strawberry sauce when she felt him looking at her. “What?” she asked when she saw he was smiling.
“How’d you manage to get flour on your cheek?” he laughed, brushing the side of her face with his thumb.
Sucking in a breath as his callused fingers moved over her cheek, parker sighed, “This is why I don’t cook. I always end up with it on me.”
“Not doing too bad today,” he assured her, stepping back to pop the waffle out of the iron, then stick it in the oven to keep warm. Quickly, he reloaded the iron, then moved to a cabinet and withdrew two white plates and glass cups, which he set on the island with forks and knives. Then he withdrew two heavy mason jars from another cabinet and said, “Okay, pour the sauces in these.”
As Parker accomplished this task, Eliot pulled the second waffle from the iron and put it directly on a plate, then retrieved the first waffle and set it out as well. Returning to the fridge, he pulled out the orange juice and filled the cups before asking, “You want whipped cream on yours?”
“Do ducks quack?” she said, turning to face him with the mason jar of sauce. “Where?”
Eliot pointed to the little breakfast nook and Parker walked over to set down the jar. He followed with the plates and a Tupperware container of fresh whipped cream, setting one down in front of Parker and at another seat. Then he grabbed the Juices and slid into a chair.
Liberally pouring the strawberry sauce on her Waffle, Parker topped it with a mound of whipped cream and tucked in. Half the waffle was gone before she came up for air. “Good,” she told an amused Eliot, the glanced out the window and froze. “Cop!”
Following her gaze, Eliot shook his head. “That’s just my neighbor, Katie.”
Parker looked at him incredulously. “You live next to a cop. Why?”
“Didn’t know she lived there when I bought the place. Not that it matters. It’s her folks place, but she still lives with them. Nice family,” He said, taking a bite of his waffle.
“Weird,” Parker murmured, turning back to her meal. She was quiet for a moment before she said, “Is Sophie’s audition thing this week?”
“I think so,” he told her whit a smile. “She still on about you trying out?”
Nodding, Parker said, “Yes. I may have to escape and evade a lot.”
Eliot smirked. “Oh come on. You don’t wanna get up there in one of those poofy dresses and act.”
Parker glared. “Laugh it up funny man. It’s a musical. She was muttering about bring you along too.”
Choking on a waffle was never comfortable Eliot thought, made even less so by lingering injuries.
TBC
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Please Read and Review!
Recipes Used in Story!!!!
Chocolate WafflesIngredients
In saucepan, bring berries and water to a boil.
7 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 3/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3 tablespoons
1.5 ounces cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 whole eggs, beaten
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
4 ounces chocolate chips, approximately 3/4 cup
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron
Directions
Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl beat together the eggs and melted butter and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir in the chocolate chips just until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the center of the iron. Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve
Raspberry Syrup
Ingredients
1 cup strained raspberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
Directions
1 Mix cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, rind and cold water to make a smooth paste.
2 Stir strained raspberries into paste gradually until smooth.
3 Heat in saucepan until mixture boils and thickens.
4 Stir constantly.
5 Remove from heat.
6 Add 1 Tbsp butter if desired.
7 Serve warm.
Strawberry SyrupIngredients
4 cups strawberries
1 cup water
2 cups sugar (approximately)
Directions
1 In saucepan, bring berries and water to a boil. 2 Lower heat, simmer 10 minutes. 3 Pour mixture through several thicknesses of cheesecloth, pressing pulp lightly with a spoon. 4 Measure juice into saucepan, adding 1 cup sugar for each cup of juice. 5 Bring to a boil again, stirring until sugar is dissolved. 6 Boil 2 minutes. 7 Skim off foam. 8 You can also use other berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries (Note: Syrup can be bottled and preserved for later use. Just pour hot syrup into hot, sterilized jars. Seal.).
You can also use other berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries (Note: Syrup can be bottled and preserved for later use. Just pour hot syrup into hot, sterilized jars. Seal.). Skim off foam. Boil 2 minutes. Bring to a boil again, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Measure juice into saucepan, adding 1 cup sugar for each cup of juice. Pour mixture through several thicknesses of cheesecloth, pressing pulp lightly with a spoon. Lower heat, simmer 10 minutes.