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"I have! Miss Lee enjoyed the last time I baked for her." Lauss wasn't familiar with humility. He opened the oven further and reached inside. He shot back at the burn when he touched the pan, looking up at Ellandra. "Is it not ready to come out?" He didn't remember it hurting so bad when he made something before.

Lauss had never had any concern for safety, not even when an assassin paid a visit. No, he was too clueless not to live "on the edge". He examined Ellandra's movements. "You are truely a superior baker, Miss Ellandra." He bowed to her, not meaning what he said as a compliment but more as a fact. The proto looked down at his hands. "This hurts."

The smell of sweets was too overpowering, and Lee stood and stepped to the kitchen door. "It's done already?" She asked, peeking in at the two.

"So baking isn't always this painful?" He asked as she ran his hands under the faucet. The pain was starting to dull, and, thinking it would stay that way, he tugged away from Ellandra's grip to continue working, but the woman's grip was tighter than he realized and he stayed put.

Lee couldn't help but let out a small laugh at Lauss' misfortune. It was bound to happen sooner or later. He needed to learn about consequences for being careless, and a little fear of danger wouldn't hurt. "Yeah, hold on..." She nodded to Ellandra, not sure where it was, but she knew they had it somewhere. She took her time going to the laundry room -- which was really more like a storage room, with everything the help stuffed in there -- and rummaged through a few shelves until she found something she figured was what Lauss needed. Kitten covered band aids. Perfect. She hurried out and over to the others once more, setting the ointment and four colorful bandages on the counter in front of Ellandra.

Lee snuck over to the cheesecake, and, taking a small sniff, had to restrain herself from gobbling it all up herself.

Lauss lifted his hands in front of him, looking at the band aids carefully. It felt... odd. He tugged at them a bit, not wanting his fingers to be wrapped with something that felt so hindering. He gave up when they didn't budge; his fingers were too wide to peel them off. The proto went on with his business, learning from Ellandra and putting the oven mitts on before taking hold of the pan. Lee, happy to see a future filled with delicious desserts, led the way out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Lauss had set the plates and silverware where the ends of the long table were set, not in the least a practical idea for such an occasion. Shrugging it off, though, Lee took her place at the far end, where her mother usually sat for dinners. Lauss pulled out Ellandra's chair for her, remembering that it was the gentlemanly thing to do from his extensive research, but waited for the woman to settle before serving the cheesecake.

Lauss was glad to have his manners acknowledged, sensing he had imitated the gesture quite effectively. Everyone seemed ready as they'll ever be, so he held the knife he'd brought in from earlier and cut away at the cake. Lee nodded over to Ellandra with a small smile, though she wasn't totally confident. Lauss placed a sliver of cheesecake on Ellandra's plate, then hurried over to Lee and did the same. She was surprised to see how evenly the pieces had been cut. Each were the exact same size, something she knew she'd never be able to manage. Lee looked back up at Ellandra, allowing her to take the first bite out of both courtesy and reluctance. "How does it taste, Miss Ellandra?"

Well, Ellandra hadn't died yet, so it must not be that bad. Lee looked down at her plate, back up at Ellandra again, and then over to Lauss. She sighed. Picking up one of her forks -- Lauss had laid three out even though there was only one dish -- and dug into her slice. Shoving it into her mouth as quickly as she could, she chewed it and swallowed in one motion. Hmmm. She wasn't vommiting. That was a good sign. She took another bite, this time letting herself actually taste what she was eating. Not bad... She looked up, and after swallowing this bite, turned to Lauss. "It's okay." "I see." Was all he responded with. Had Lee not known him as well as she did, she might think she'd hurt his feelings. But Lauss was ever confident in himself, and there was nothing Lee could say that would damage that self-esteem of his.

Lee followed Ellandra's lead and gobbled down the rest of her dessert. Sweets were sweets, and though this wasn't the best she'd had it was worth eating. That kind of thinking couldn't be good for her waistline. Ellandra's question got Lee thinking. She remembered the woman's earlier statement, about how something tastes better when you helped to make it. Doesn't seem like it... She looked down at her plate. It was likely Lee didn't love the cheesecake because she'd helped make it. She knew there must have been something wrong with it. Those eggs were probably rotten, or maybe she added too much butter. So many ways this could have gone wrong, and every way crossed Lee's mind. It was difficult to enjoy a meal that way. She shrugged to Ellandra, thinking she wouldn't want to hear what Lee's thoughts were conjuring up.

Lauss had a totally different view, though. "It was very entertaining, if that's what you're asking." He nodded quickly and confidently. He hadn't tried it, but that didn't matter. Following all those instructions was almost too much fun. "Do people do these kinds of things regularly, Miss Ellandra?" Lauss watched Lee eat all the time but had never seen her actually cook anything. He wondered to himself why she'd pass up such a chance.