Chase occupied the back seat of Gemma's car, fidgetting faintly and lime-green gaze flickering around before darting outside. He was so filled with anticipation and excitement that it was almost as if the seat-belt was the only tether keeping him from floating around the roof of the car. It was the eve of January the Twenty-Seventh, the eve of his ninth birthday, and for the first time that Chase could remember, his birthday was being celebrated. He was an easily-pleased child, whose day could be brightened by evven the simple sentiment of "Happy Birthday", but Miss Gemma had insisted that they do something for his birthday. Chase was delighted, and asked what they were going to do, to which his mother lightly replied that they could do whatever he wanted.

Now, given that opportunity, doing "whatever one wanted" could have been a dangerous amount of freedom in the hands of a nine-year-old, but Chase was a child of simple, down-to-earth pleasures. He was by no means extravagant, and timidly proposed that, if it were alright, he'd really like to go have spaghetti at Jorge's apartment, and maybe watch a movie? And of course, birthday cake was a must-- it wouldn't be a birthday party without birthday cake. That was the extent of Chase's request, even when Gemma asked if that was all, or if he wanted anything else-- Chase gave a matter-of-fact "yes", if it wouldn't be a problem. He didn't dare ask for any more than that. Gemma replied that it'd be no problem.

It was a step in the right direction, and a bit of a surprise-- since Chase had nearly taken to the streets once again, Chase had been to the Detective's apartment a handful of times, and always with miss Gemma. And, though Chase insisted that he liked Jorge very well, the child still regarded him with a shyness. He knew that Jorge was a nice guy, and a good guy-- and Chase was absolutely enamored with Jorge's bulldog, Lizzie-- but there was just something about being involuntarily stuck without a human face to hide behind that made him clam up, particularly in the pressence of men of authority.It wasn't an attitude that Chase consciously adopted, and would be shed with time, but he still bore it. But, the fact that, on his own fruition, Chase had specifically requested spaghetti at Jorge's apartment was a very, very good sign.

Gemma's car rolled up to the curb and into a parking space, before the car came to a halt. Chase's excited lime-green eyes swept towards the seat-belt, and Chase undid it, quickly stepping out of the car and onto the sidewalk, before he closed the door behind him. He looked toward Gemma, wearing that same, quiet smile that Chase tended to wear.

Three were traveling in the car: Gemma, Chase, and Chase's excitement. Gemma smiled to herself, keeping her eyes on the road; she did not need to look to tell her son was about to float away.
Chase was a strange kid; strange in a good sense, but not the usualy mutant sense. His mind was not occupied with his powers all the time; he liked life simple, and not exciting, and for now, he seemed to be only enjoying the quiet and peaceful family time he had been lacking before. He also seemed to like Jorge, even if he was a little bit shy around him, and Jorge turned out to be a pretty decent father figure, even if they never discussed that.
She parked the car, and opened the door, walking around to the other side just to see Chase already standing there, waiting for her. Smiling, she took his hand.

"Come on then. It's your birthday, isn't it?" carrying bags in her other hand, she walked up with him to Jorge's apartment, and knocked on the door.

"If you change your mind, we can still go out, you know. If you want to." she smiled at the boy. The birthday, after all, needed to be perfect.

Jorge sighed as he stirred the boiling pot of noodles that churned and let out cloud after cloud of steam. The warmth of it brushed over his cheeks as he stirred, turning the once rigid pasta into long, malleable noodles that curled and attempted to cling onto the wooden spoon. They were always completely cooked all the way through, but he did not want to pull them too soon. Otherwise they would taste underdone. On top of that if he let them cook for too long they would burn and be completely rough, rubbery, and absolutely flavorless.

Yup, Jorge did enjoy cooking. Everyday stuff was fun, but what he loved cooking for was special occasions. Today was definitely a special occasion, it was Chase’s birthday.

As Jorge turned to his skillet, he began to mix the mixture of tomato sauce, beef, and seasonings, as he reached into his spice rack to pull down a small jar which contained oregano. Shaking a few of the flakes into the sauce, his mind began to dash to the reason he was doing this.

Gemma Taylor, his significant other, had adopted the boy in order to keep him at the mansion and away from his cruel parents. The action came as a bit of a shock to Jorge, after all, his first day hearing about it was the day of the mediation. Now his girlfriend of over a year, suddenly had a new 8 year old (9 year old today) son. Jorge understood though, after all, he did not want Chase to return to an abusive home either. And though, for half a second, he was partially hurt because Gemma had not told him about her plan beforehand, it quickly passed. They talked, they were fine, and everything was well.

Since then, Jorge has had a few meetings with Chase. The boy was really sweet but extra shy around him. To be honest, Jorge was not surprised since this was an entire new thing for the boy. To having loving attention from adults probably came as a bit of a shock, especially after his upbringing. The knowledge of that was upsetting, though. To know that Chase had never really so much as celebrated his birthday, since he was born, that was truly heartbreaking.

That was why they had to pull out all the stops today. Chase had actually wanted to include him in his birthday by wanting a small get together at his apartment. Though Jorge was partially sure that that was motivated because he also wanted to spend time with Lizzie (Lizzie adored Chase for whatever reason), Jorge was only too happy to oblige. On the agenda was dinner, cake, movies, presents, and just generally hanging out. If it meant that it would make Chase more comfortable around him then so be it!

Sizzzzzle

He stirred the sauce and enjoyed the scent of it. He hoped that Chase would like it. He also hoped that the boy would like the birthday presents he had gotten him. Even though Gemma told him he didn’t have to, he insisted and was happy to do so. The last gift he bought was for a cousin’s daughter, but other than that, that was it. It was actually more difficult than he thought but Jorge finally managed to find something that he hoped the boy would like.

Another stirring of the sauce, another stir of the noodles, and Jorge lowered the flames on both so that they could simmer and not burn. Once that was taken care of, he knelt down and opened his oven. The smell of thick cut garlic bread wafted across his nose. A peek inside and he saw that it still needed a couple minutes. Good!

KnockKnockKnock![/b]

He peeked up, glanced at the clock, realized it was them. Perfect timing! Standing, the detective, dressed simply in a pair of blue jeans and his loose Miami Dolphins T-shirt, he made his way to the door. A peek through the peephole and he already spied Gemma’s familiar face. A quick turn of the knob and he swung the door open with a warm smile.

“Hey you two,” he said with a grin. “Come on in! You’re just on tim—

ScamperScamperScamper!!![/b]

Jorge felt the small beast as it ran from behind him, through his legs, and excitedly began to lick and nip at Chase’s shoelaces in order to encourage him to play. Lizzie, his old English bulldog, excitedly barked and demanded full attention from Chase as she circled and continued to bite at his shoes.

“Lizzie!” Jorge said with a laugh. “Behave yourself young lady…”

>> "Come on then. It's your birthday, isn't it?"

Chase fastened onto his mother's hand, smiling fiantly and nodding in agreement. The two of them walked together into the apartment building, up to the floor of Jorge's apartment. Chase was full of jitters and excitement, grinning up at Gemma on occasion, until they came to a pause at the doorway of the familiar apartment. Gemma knocked upon the door, and shifted her attention to the child.

>> "If you change your mind, we can still go out, you know. If you want to."

"No, Mama," Chase assured her, "This is good."

Chase fell silent as a pair of footsteps drew closer to the door within the apartment. There was a click, and the door swung open, revealing Jorge, Gemma's boyfriend. Chase smiled in acknowledgement, his lime green gaze flickering up at the man before venturing to Gemma, and then past Jorge into the apartment.

>> “Hey you two. Come on in! You’re just on tim—"

"Hi Jorge, h-" Chase greeted, his salutations quickly cut short by a white streak of fur as it bolted out of the apartment. It was Lizzie-- the wild white bulldog went about licking and biting at Chases' shoelaces. Chase let out a short laugh, and exclaimed, "Lizzie!"

To which Lizzie barked at him and continued circling and nipping. Lizzie's tail waggled so furiously that her entire back-end pivoted to keep balance as she tugged at the shoes. Chase only giggled more.

>> “Lizzie! Behave yourself young lady…”

Chase knelt down to give Lizzie a good scratch behind the ears, to which the bulldog replied to by licking at the childs' hands. After a sufficient amount of attention was paid to the bulldog, Lizzie turned to lead Chase into the apartment. But, when Chase trailed in too slowly (for he trailed in alongside Gemma and Jorge), Lizzie returned to attacking his shoes and barking excitedly. Chase grinned and followed, shuffling aside so that he could plop down, remove his shoes, and return to showering Lizzie with attention. He had to have priorities.

Chase undid his shoes, with minor help from the dog, and remained on the floor for a few moments as Lizzie pressed her nose to the knee of Chases' jeans, sniffing at the pants speculatively before waddling her way closer to Chase's face, pink tongue lolling with the impending threat of licking him. Chase grinned and returned to petting the bulldog, turning his attention to Jorge and Gemma.

((ooc: My control of Lizzie, is it okay, Jorge?))

Gemma laughed as Chase got sneak attacked by Lizzie, and stepped carefully over the dog before she leaned up to kiss Jorge on the cheek. Once they all managed to get out of the doorway and close the door, whe let Chase play with the bulldog, and walked to the kitchen to deposit all the shopping bags she had been carrying.

"Something smells good in here" she remarked with a smile, peering at the plates and bowls that covered all the kitchen surfaces "Do you need help with anything?"

She could hear the growling and laughing from the other room, and that made her smile. Chase might have been shy around Jorge, but nothing said normal childhood more than a nine-year-old playing with a dog...

>> "Lizzie!" [/color]

Jorge smirked Lizzie attacked and re-attacked Chase’s shoes. She was definitely a bundle of energy today and it was a fact that was surprising him less and less. He loved Lizzie. She was his oldest friend and he took her for walks, played with her, read with her, but this was a side of his bulldog that he rarely ever saw. Lizzie has bustling with the energy of a puppy and seemed to do so every time she was in the same area as Chase. The few times that Chase came over, he left a great impression on the dog and Lizzie just loved to basked in the attention and playtime.

But he was happy for it. Lizzie gave Chase a reason to not feel so shy around his apartment, or him, and just being around Chase filled his old bulldog with the energy of a puppy. It was a glorious sight to see and one that he was only too happy to take part in.

With a chuckle he stepped aside as Lizzie dashed back into his apartment and was followed by both Gemma and himself as they all entered. He gratefully accepted a kiss from his girlfriend and led them inside. The smells of the cooking spaghetti dinner was much stronger now that everyone had entered the apartment: pasta bubbling in water, tomato sauce sizzling lightly in the skillet, bread toasting in the oven, it was a very homely and inviting scent. He hoped everything would come out well, for Chase’s sake since the boy apparently had never had a birthday before.

Once inside, he smirked as he watched the playing continue between Chase and Lizzie. The boy was having a grand down, sitting on the floor, letting the dog nip and lick at his hands and face. Jorge shook his head because it was hard for him not the smile at what he was watching.

When the boy looked up at them, he smirked as he nodded. Jorge was still a little worried at saying the wrong thing and demolishing any of the good will that the boy was starting to have towards him. But his warm smile he hoped was enough to show just how happy he was to have the boy there. Especially for Lizzie’s sake because the dog was in full out play mode now.

He chuckled as Lizzie fished around until the sofa and pulled out her favorite toy, a knotted chew tug toy that allowed her to play a little tug of war with Chase. He smirked at that. So long as it was not one of his socks, he was fine with it. Jorge turned to head back into the kitchen when he spied Gemma inside already, hoisting a few bags onto the counter.

>> "Something smells good in here…Do you need help with anything?"

“Sure, ugh, be my taste tester?,” he asked with a grin. He then plucked up a clean spoon from the drawn, dipped it into the meat and tomato sauce and very gently lifted it up. He blew on it briefly to cool it down and held it out for Gemma to take a taste of it. “Need anything? Salt? Pepper? Oregano?” He beamed as he waited for her to answer. Once she did, he smirked as he glanced over to the living room to make sure that Chase and Lizzie were still playing on good terms and gently lowered his voice. “How’s he doing? Any second thoughts about being here?”

Gemma and Jorge were in the kitchen, conversing lightly about the meal. Chase, all the while, was giving Lizzie some love and trying desperately to avoid getting slimed by the bulldog's slobbering, pink tongue. Lizzie gave a soft growl at the resistance, and scampered away, leaving Chase sitting on the floor in mild confusion. He loked towards Gemma and Jorge again. Perhaps he should join them? Chase caught Jorge watching him and Lizzie, at which the detective gave a grin and a nod.

Chase smiled silently back, with an air of hesitance and warmth, before he returned his attention to the bulldog, who had returned after a momentary interlude with a toy grasped between her teeth. It seemed to be a large segment of colored rope, which had the express purpose of being utilized as a toy for tug-of-war.

"Whatcha have there, Lizzie?" Chase murmured an inquiry, taking hold of the rope toy and giving it a tug. Lizzie gave a warning growl at the yank, and Chase smiled again, "Do you have a toy? Can I have it?" Another yank, another growl, and then the duel ensued. Lizzie was tugging on one end of the rope, digging her canine feet into the floor as she pulled with all of her might. It was a formidable battle, which led Chase to seek more leverage against the dog by getting to his feet and positioning them apart on the floor, so that he, too, was utilizing his entire body in the game of tug of war.

The two fought long and hard, but Chases' hands were weak, and he ultimately lost his hold on the rope, and landed on his butt in a giggling fit as Lizzie reigned victorious. The old bulldog trotted about proudly, before realizing that her playmate had fallen. Chase's giggles faded as she drew closer inquiringly, whilst Chase laid very still, a smile on his lips. The bulldog drew so close, her nose touched his cheek, and Lizzie sniffed Chase's face with a huff.

"You killied me, Lizard," Chase rasped, "I can't go on."

Of course Lizzie was probably short for "Elizabeth", but Chase much preferred to call the dog "Lizard". The dog huffed again, moving on to nose Chase's forehead and sniff his hair, rope still tightly grasped in her mouth. Chase shifted his attention ever so slowly, and then-- BAM, counterattack. He latched onto the rope and began tugging once again.

>>“Sure, ugh, be my taste tester? Need anything? Salt? Pepper? Oregano?”

She blew on the sauce to cool it down and tasted it, humming happily as she licked her lips "Mmm, that's perfect. I knew I should let you handle the cooking. I might not ever cook again." she grinned at him. The food smeleld good, and tasted even better.
Jorge glanced into the living room where boy and bulldog were furiously playing, and she smiled.

>>“How’s he doing? Any second thoughts about being here?”

"None whatsoever" she chuckled, starting to unpack the shopping bags "He was really excited about coming here. I think, after all the adventures he had, spending a quiet day in makes him more excited than an amusement park."

>>"Whatcha have there, Lizzie? Do you have a toy? Can I have it?... You killied me, Lizard... I can't go on..."

She laughed as she listened to Chase and Lizzie playing. This was going to be a great day. They all needed more days like this.

>> "Mmm, that's perfect. I knew I should let you handle the cooking. I might not ever cook again.”

Jorge smirked and laughed at that comment. He really had no problem cooking since that was one of his favorite things to do. It was such a cathartic experience, one which calmed him, allowed him to work out problems, or just plain allow himself to embrace nothing but the cooking. He was sure that if he had not turned out to want to be a police officer, Jorge probably would have stepped into the culinary field. Two completely different paths in life, but the detective was thankful the way it turned out.

“Sure, so long as you don’t mind setting the table from now on,” he chuckled.

Once he returned to cooking he heard the sounds of Lizzie and Chase playing in the other room. He had to smirk as he turned the sauce off, not wanting it to burn. Those two really seemed to like one another and he was happy for it. If there was one thing he would have disliked it would have been for Chase to come over and completely be bored out of his mind or hate being in his presence.

Chase was shy, Jorge could be intimidating, but thankfully Lizzie was there was a good buffer between the two of them. It was then that he had asked if Chase had issue with being here, after all, it was the kid’s birthday and he didn’t want for him to be someplace he really didn’t want to be.

>> "None whatsoever…He was really excited about coming here. I think, after all the adventures he had, spending a quiet day in makes him more excited than an amusement park."

He smirked.

“That’s good. I mean, not good that he had to go through so much,” he replied as he pulled the pot of boiling pasta off the burner. “But good that he doesn’t mind being here. I can certainly understand.”

>> "You killied me, Lizard…I can't go on."

A glance to the living room and he chuckled as Lizzie was suddenly pulled into another tug-of-war with Chase.

“Uh-oh, am I going to have to haul you off to jail, Lizzie?” he said with mock sternness.

Lizzie paused and tilted her head towards her master, the rope hanging loosely in her mouth. Apparently this served as the perfect distraction as Chase immediately jumped onto the moment to continue the tug-of-war.That dog was certainly more spry than he was used to her being. He played the game a few times with her before but Lizzie was always quick to stop and lay across his lap, wanting him to read. With Chase it was different. The kid brought out the puppy in Lizzie and Jorge liked that.

Shaking his head with a laugh, the detective knelt down and opened his oven. Instead he could see that the bread was toasting but it was not there just quite yet.

He turned his attention back to Gemma.

“Well, it’s almost done,” he said with a sigh as he straightened up. “Want help from a strapping man to set the table?” he grinned as he flexed and posed in a rather humorous way.

The duel for control of the rope toy paused as Jorge peeked in. Lizzie looked up, and that was when Chase made his counterattack. Things were quieting down in the kitchen, or so it sounded. Jorge was checking the oven, Gemma was helping-- Chase surrendered the rope toy to Lizzie, who trotted off with her boon victoriously.

>> “Well, it’s almost done-- Want help from a strapping man to set the table?”

His suspicions had been correct-- dinner was nearly ready and it was about time to set the table. And all Chase was doing was sitting on the carpet and playing with Lizzie. Chase jogged up quickly and quietly, standing at the entrance to the kitchen. He didn't grasp the concept of just sitting back and relaxing. Chase always had to be in the action, helping, or at least somehow involved, even if that meant just being in the way.

"Can I help, too?" he inquired quietly, from a good distance behind Jorge. Jorge was flexing his muscles and acting rather silly, and from out of the man's vision, Chase smiled at the detective's antics.

>>“That’s good. I mean, not good that he had to go through so much. But good that he doesn’t mind being here. I can certainly understand.”

Gemma smiled, and finished putting the groceries away. She knew Chase and Jorge would eventually get used to each other. If her grown-up kids could get to like Jorge, Chase most certainly would. If no one else, Lizzie would make sure of that.

>>“Well, it’s almost done. Want help from a strapping man to set the table?”

"If only I could find one" she chuckled, opening the cupboards.

>>"Can I help, too?"

Gemma turned to grin at Chase.

"Oh look, there is one. Sure, Chase, I could use some help."

They set the table together, with plates, glasses, silverware and all. It looked quite nice; Gemma even folded the napkins to make it look more birthday-ready. Chase got to sit at the head of the table (after he washed his hands).

"Let the feast begin" Gemma smiled, nodding to Jorge. They were ready to eat.

>> "If only I could find one"

His hand crossed over his heart as a mock look of hurt appeared on his face. He shook his head a little sadly at Gemma’s words but could not help the smallest of chuckles that escaped with his voice.

“Wooow, that one burned just a tad, Gemma,” he said with a smirk and a wink.

>> "Can I help, too?"[/color]

Jorge turned and just barely caught the tail-end of Chase’s most masculine display. He could not help the smile that appeared on his face as he nodded in the kid’s direction. What was he doing back there?

>> "Oh look, there is one. Sure, Chase, I could use some help."

“Smart decision,” Jorge said with a well-meaning chuckle. “He definitely stronger than me. I’m old.”

As the pair of them went off to begin setting up the table, Jorge busied himself with removing the rest of the cooking food (now done) off the burners. Once they were secure, he knelt down and pulled the finished garlic bread out and set it carefully on his kitchen counter. While in the other room he heard the sounds of them setting up, Jorge produced a pair of serving bowls and a tray. The spaghetti and meat sauce were place in separate bowls while he carefully set slices of fresh and warm bread onto a serving tray.

>> "Let the feast begin"

He glanced at Gemma as she peeked in and he nodded his head. She was directly on time.

“Alright, it’s coming!” he announced. Placing serving spoons in the bowls he carried both out to already set table. There he found Chase at the head of table, he grinned as he gave a slightly goofy bow towards him. “Me lord Chase,” he uttered in an extremely bad accent of what HE claimed was English. “I hope dinner is to your liking,” he said as he placed the serving bowls down before he gave another elegant bow and retreated into the kitchen to grab the tray of bread. Upon his return, he sighed a bit contentedly. He hoped dinner was going to be okay and that Chase wasn’t allergic to anything. Gemma would have told him…right?

Gemma pretended to search for a strong man, at Jorge's offer, and Jorge feigned offense. She turned when Chase spoke, wearing a grin.

>> "Oh look, there is one. Sure, Chase, I could use some help."

>> “Smart decision. He definitely stronger than me. I’m old.”

Chase grinned in response, puffing his chest out proudly at the humored sentiments. However ironic the statements were, they still made Chase even more eager to help. Chase and Gemma handled the table-- Chase took-on the plates and glasses, which didn't require as much formality as the napkins and silverwear. He was then sent to wash-up, and when he returned, he was directed towards the seat at the head of the table.

The head of the table?

Chase reverently took his seat at the head, wriggling into the chair until he was situated, and glancing towards Gemma.

>> "Let the feast begin"

>> “Alright, it’s coming!"

Takin his cue, Jorge strode into the dining room, bearing bowls full of food. He spied Chase, giving him a goofy bow, and Chase muffled a laugh, watching the detective closely. Jorge could be so silly sometimes.

>> “Me lord Chase, I hope dinner is to your liking.”

"It looks delicious," Chase assured Jorge, bowing his head towards the plate.

With another bow, Jorge retreated into the kitchen once more, and returned bearing bread. Chase waited politely, his hands wedged under his legs, as Jorge deposited the bread.

"Thank you for having us over for my birthday, Jorge," Chase mumbled, shifting slightly and smiling as he spoke. His gaze flicked to the detective, to Gemma for approval, and then back to Jorge. Chase had really wanted to come to Jorge's for his birthday, but he didn't have the nerve to say that.

>>“Me lord Chase. I hope dinner is to your liking,”

Gemma chuckled at the display; Jorge was good at being silly when nobody was watching... well, scratch that, when nobody outside his friends and family was watching. Lizzie walked up to join the fun, situation herself at Chase's feet, waiting patiently to be noticed, giving the puppy eyes.

>>"It looks delicious,"

It really did. She smiled as she filled Chase's plate with the best parts of everything. He was the birthday boy, he got to eat first. Besides, being the nice polite kid he was, he probably would have taken either less or more than he could eat...

>>"Thank you for having us over for my birthday, Jorge,"

"Indeed. Thank you Jorge." she smiled at her boyfriend.

The feast was exceptional. Jorge really did his very best. Once they were done cleaning their plates, she felt like she could not eat anything more; but still, the feast was not over. This was a birthday, after all...

>> "Thank you for having us over for my birthday, Jorge,"[/color]

>> "Indeed. Thank you Jorge."

Jorge had slipped away for only a second to bring drinks. As he did, he returned to many praises and thanks for the food and chance to use his apartment to host the party. It was only the three of them but that still made a party, right? He grinned a little as he took a seat at the table, already Lizzie and made her round to sit at Chase’s feet and wait for food to be passed to her, and the good detective had to sigh with a grateful thanks.

“You both are very welcome,” he said with nod. “But don’t spend the whole night inflating my ego,” he beamed and then motioned to the food. “Enjoy, eat, and be merry. And don’t be stingy with how much you take. There’s plenty of food.”

The dinner went on without a hitch. To Jorge it seemed as if everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals and he was glad it all came out as good as he hoped it would have. He would have hated to have made a horrible meal on Chase’s birthday. The kid had enough hardships in his young life. If there was anything that he deserved it was a good birthday.

By the time they were done, he had to smirk across the table at Gemma, she looked rather stuffed. Poor thing. Chase looked especially pleased with the food! Excellent! But, as filled with food as they were, the party still had to continue.

Jorge began to collect dishes for washing when he turned to Chase.

“What would you like to do next?” he asked sincerely. “It’s your day after all.”