Written for neverdie for Yuletide Madness. This is set directly after 3x06 (6955kHz).

"Astrid? Astrid?"

She felt a slight tap on her shoulder. "Come on. Wake up," encouraged the familiar voice,

Astrid lifted her head slowly, finally convincing her uncooperative eyes to open at the sound of the incessant voice. "Peter?" she asked slowly, her mouth feeling as though it was filled with cotton.

When had she fallen asleep?

"Didn't you go home last night?" he asked, taking in the appearance of her rumpled clothes.

She shook her head, sending the last of her sleepiness to the far parts of her mind. She stood up and attempted to smooth out some of the wrinkles that had appeared on her suit jacket during her nap. "No. I didn't want to leave my work until I copied it all to Broyles." She smiled sheepishly. "I guess my exhaustion caught up with me."

She remembered how she had finally allowed herself a break after hours of non-stop work, intending to lay her head on her desk for a short nap. Based on the sun rays that were shining in the room, she had been asleep for several hours.

"Hey don't worry about it. I know I was able to catch a few minutes of sleep on the flight from New Jersey," Peter said with a friendly smile. "Besides, you were the one working all night, figuring out that code. If it wasn't for you, we still wouldn't where we needed to look for the parts of the machine."

She felt a slight blush dust her cheeks. "I'm sure Walter-"

"Is very impressed," Peter interrupted. "We all are. You did a hell of a job, Astrid."

A slow smile spread across her face. It was nice, she privately admitted, to receive praise for a job well done; so much of the work she did with Walter was completed with very little acknowledgment. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

She looked around the room and noticed that she and Peter were alone in the lab. "Where are Walter and Olivia?"

"Olivia had some 'official business' she needed to take care of this morning and Walter should be back any second now," he said, looking at the door.

"What's going to happen with the pieces of the machine?" Astrid asked, walking to the half-filled coffee pot. She poured out a cup of the tepid liquid and popped the mug into the microwave. She had a feeling it would be a while until she was going to be able to go home.

"Broyles is taking care of that. He's working with the Department of Homeland Security to try to get the pieces from the other countries, but you know with all the red tape that's going to be involved, it could be a while until we make any real progress," he replied.

"Do you really think we'll be able to get all of the pieces? The pieces are spread throughout fifteen countries," Astrid said, concerned.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Broyles is very convincing when he needs to be."

She smiled as she removed her mug, taking a long sip of the coffee. "Yes, he is."

The lab door burst open, revealing a rather excited Walter. "Aspirin! You're still here!" he greeted happily.

Peter flashed her an apologetic smile, but Walter's mispronunciation of her name no longer bothered Astrid. In fact, it was the rare times that Walter did correctly spoke her name that caused her to be concerned.

"I told you she was an early bird!" he said to Peter knowingly.

"Actually, Walter, she never left," Peter returned.

"Now, that's dedication!" crowed Walter with a wide grin. He reached over and handed her a small plastic cup with a spoon.

To no surprise, it was filled with pudding.

She set down her coffee cup, wondering if it was possible for someone to have a pudding obsession.

"They didn't have butterscotch, I'm afraid," he explained as she took the sweet treat from him. "But, I thought your breakthrough deserved some kind of celebration, despite the cafeteria's dreadful pudding selection."

"Walter's very sentimental like that," Peter said dryly.

Walter turned to Peter, his eyes wide. "Oh Peter! I forgot to grab you a cup of pudding. Here…you can have mine," he said reluctantly, holding the pudding cup close to his chest.

"It's ok, Walter, you keep it," Peter insisted, holding up his hands.

Walter held up a spoonful of the gloppy pudding above the cup. "To Astro, who managed to see what we could not. Cheers."

Astrid lifted up her spoon and tapped Walter's. "Cheers," she said with a smile.