Cooking Up Love

Tired

Ana was occupied by personally inviting the families of the three remaining chefs and arranging their transport. In a matter of two days she had arranged three families to land in Los Angeles, load up in limos and head to the restaurant that evening.

One of the first things you learn as a chef is how to not only survive but be at top performance with little to no sleep. A trait that had kept them sane through three children so far. To test this on the contestants Gordon had only taken a nap for a few hours before leaving for the restaurant for the 4 am bread making shift.

All bread served at Hell's Kitchen, or any Ramsey establishment, was made fresh daily. The crew were getting a paid day off and the aspiring head chefs would be in charge of making the bread today. She knew Gordon didn't miss the 4 am wake ups but that he never minded doing so if needed.

It was something she found incredible about the man. He never let any skill get rusty. He might own the restaurant now but you could find him filling in for any position if he was needed. Every job was important and deserved doing right.

She had kissed and waved him off that morning with his promise to bring her back a fresh loaf for breakfast. She was going to whip up some of her famous, well at least in this house, French toast.

She looked at the clock and saw it was 6am and she had fallen asleep for a few more hours. Gordon would be home any minute and the kids would be up quickly after. She thought about closing her eyes for another moment until her newest child decided mums bladder was a bed.

"You're just like you're father." She said tiredly as she slid on her house shoes and threw on her robe. "What are you telling them?" She heard Gordon's voice say from the bedroom door. She didn't break stride as she walked into the bathroom. Calling through the open door she answered him.

"I'm telling them they're just as lovely as their father." She laughed. She heard his laugh. "Ya, I'm sure that's what you meant, dear." After washing up she leaned against the door frame and winked at her husband. "So, how did the baking go?" She asked shuffling over to the warm man standing in jeans and a tee shirt.

Wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. His scent mixed with his cologne making her feel safe and sleepy. "It went very well. Had to send Scott up for two of them, but Michael pulled an all nighter and powered through." He mused as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Ana smiled at the tone he was using. She knew he would judge them all fairly but Michael has pulled ahead in her husband's favor. His drive did remind her a bit of Gordon. "Darling, are you going to make it to breakfast?" He asked softly. She picked up her head and blinked trying to wake up a bit more.

"Yes, I'm awake. I could use a cup of tea, but I'm mostly awake." She amended at his eyebrow lift. "Alright, Darling." He said kissing her head. They both heard noise coming from the living room as the kids were waking up. "Go ahead of me and start your masterpiece. I'm going to wash up and I'll be right there." He said striding toward the bathroom himself.

She walked to the kitchen smiling when she saw her babies bouncing around the kitchen. They loved French toast day. She spotted the two loaves of fresh bread sat on the stovetop and clapped her hands. "Right, who wants French toast?" She asked to happy shouts.

-_-_-_-_-

That evening she was happy and scared to say they were fully booked for the second service in a row. She also had already met the contestants families and had sat them in the balcony so the chefs wouldn't see them before the reveal. The chefs were each making a dish and their families would vote for their favorite before knowing whose was whose.

Dinner was not going well, actually it was going well for two of the chefs. The girl that had given them so much trouble the other day, Jessica, seemed to have forgotten how to multitask and had Michael helping her with her dish. She did heard Gordon yelling at Ralph to "move his ass." However, it was said and followed.

Jessica seemed to be falling more apart by the moment. She knew when Gordon hit his limit. She saw the amazed and infuriated look. The girl had the audacity to ask Gordon, the head chef and expediter, to help make her desserts. Ana could only rub her eyes at the incompetency.

If the girl said 'thanks, Chef' in that sarcastic tone again she was going over the pass herself and would worry about the consequences later. She knew she must have shown it when JP appeared at her table with a chocolate cake. "The chef sends his love." He said with an uncomfortable grimace.

The cake and message made her smile and erased the anger building in her. "The man knows me too well, JP. Thank you." With a grateful nod JP walked off to the next table.

Ana was pleasantly surprised when the last desert left the kitchen. She caught the smirk Gordon wore when the fully booked restaurant was served for once. She stayed long enough to see the families reunite before signaling to Gordon between takes she was going to his office.

She sat back on his comfy couch and sighed happily as she took off her heeled shoes. Wiggling her toes in the area rug. She had worked hard and had been rewarded in seeing the families reunited.

As had become a bad habit she must have dozed off because the next thing she realized Gordon was shaking her awake so they could go home. This baby was making her more tired than she had been with either of her other pregnancies. This baby was making it so that she had trouble staying awake when she sat for more than a moment.

"Come on. Let me take my babies home." Gordon said picking up her shoes before picking her up in bridal style. She snuggled into his shoulder gratefully. "You're gonna get so lucky when I wake up." She said already half asleep again. He simply laughed as he reached the main floor.

"Everyday with you is my lucky day." His only answer was light snores and he was blissful.