Writer's note: This is a continuation of I Can Craft It's fic, "Midas". She'd written the first 4 chapter a couple years ago, but never could get back to finishing the story. I asked Crafty recently if it'd be okay if I finished it for her and she gave me her approval!

Here is a link to the first 4 chapters (just tag on fanfiction dot net slash to the beginning): s/11386205/1/Midas

Part 5

Felix had insisted shuffling and cutting the deck himself. Carefully, with his tongue sticking out from between his closed lips, he stacked the cards as neatly as possible with his uninjured hand. The whole process took far too long for Vanellope. Her legs kicked faster and faster against the front of the couch until Ralph placed a huge hand on them to stop her. She crossed her arms as she flopped against the back of the couch, pouting.

Felix finally had the cards stacked and ready to be spread face down. He scooted up to the coffee table…only to scoot right off the edge of the couch. His companions gasped in unison as the deck of cards flew everywhere.

"Whoopsy!" they heard from underneath the coffee table. A raised thumb shot up from between the table and couch. "I'm okay!"

Ralph leaned over the furnishings, pinching the back of Felix's nightshirt like he had in the kitchen and lifted the handyman to his feet. "Maybe it's time to go back to bed, Felix."

"Nah," Felix replied, his goofy grin making him appear almost drunk. "I'm fine. Let's play this game." He peered around for the cards only to find Vanellope had collected and stacked the deck again. She quickly fanned the deck out on the surface of the table. "Thank you, sugarplum."

"Let's get started!" Vanellope yelled a little too enthusiastically.

The news from the research lab didn't improve Calhoun's mood at all. They'd informed her that the hammer couldn't be removed. Once an object was consumed and absorbed into the cy-bug's code, there was no possible way of retrieving it outside of game play. The only option was to have the golden cybug killed by a player during a quarter alert. If the player killed it, the hammer would become a drop item and be recovered after game over.

Calhoun stalked out of Hero's Duty, face contorted in anger as she tried to tamp down the fear threatened to explode inside her. Not only did she have to keep up with the golden cybug, but they needed just the right player to kill it. An inexperienced gamer would be no match for the nearly invincible creature. Waiting for the right player could take hours, maybe days and Fix-It Felix, Jr. didn't have that kind of time. One player noticing the game wasn't working right would immediately result in the orange glow of an "Out of Order" sign.

Tossing her cruiser to the metal floor of the outlet, it unfurled in one swift movement and Calhoun shot off to her husband's game. Only a few hours remained until the arcade opened its doors for business. All she wanted was to spend a little time with Felix before the uncertainty of the day became reality.

She'd expected her little handyman to be sound asleep in bed, knocked out from the painkillers. Tamora's eyes widened at the sight – and sounds – that awaited her in their living room.

"BULL-ROAR!" the drawl of Felix's voice rang throughout the room. Ralph had just laid out three cards facedown claiming they were 3s. Immediately, Felix yelled his doubts of the wrecker's claim.

Ralph and Vanellope sat on the couch facing the front door, both wearing shocked expressions. For a man who couldn't even say "boo" without apologizing for his language, hearing him say one of his soldier wife's curse words fly out of his mouth was completely out of character. The painkillers were definitely doing a number on him.

Vanellope spotted Calhoun first, and she quickly glitched, appearing at the sergeant's feet. "Sarge! Thank gumdrops, you're back!"

"Good to see you too, princess," Calhoun greeted absently, her eyes focused on the back of her husband's head.

Vanellope grabbed her hand, pulling Calhoun down and whispered, "Felix is really loopy."

Calhoun nodded. "I'll take care of it." She walked around the couch, and planted palms on her hips as she watched her husband try (and fail) to pick cards out his collection with his injured hand. For the sake of her sanity, they needed to get that hammer back and get him fixed up.

Calhoun cleared her throat – loudly, and Felix nearly fell back against the couch cushions to gaze up at her. "How're you feeling, Fix-It?"

"Tammy." His eyes were glassy, and the goofy grin was back. That was all the answer she needed.

"It's time to hit the sack again," she told him, leaning over to take his good hand.

"Whatever you say, honeybunch."

As she led him up the stairs, she heard Ralph sigh in relief. "Glad that's over for now."

"Where's my hammer?" Felix asked as Calhoun tucked him in bed.

"It hasn't been retrieved yet," she answered, heavily. "The only way to recover it is during game play. It's extremely risky, but we have no other choice." She was thankful he was slightly out of it as she explained. Felix was fairly level-headed with situations, but there were the rare times when he would lose his cool and start panicking. Right now would have most likely been one of those times, but with the painkillers altering his mood, he only gazed at her trustingly.

"I know you can do it, Tammy." He laid his good hand on hers that rested beside him on the bedsheets.

Calhoun leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead, holding onto his words that would help her get through the day. "Get some rest, Fix-It." She was about to stand, but Felix held onto her.

"Can you stay with me for a little while?"

After relieving the wrecker and racer from watch duty (Vanellope had to be back in her game soon anyways), she'd planned to stay with him for as long as possible. "I'll be right back."

Taking care of that, Calhoun made her way back to their bedroom to find Felix under the covers, droopy-eyed but still awake. He patted the space beside him, and Calhoun leaned her back against the headboard, wishing she had more time to shed her armor so they both could be comfortable.

Felix didn't seem to mind. He placed a pillow on Calhoun's lap, and rested his head there, closing his eyes. She began to comb fingers through his hair, savoring the calm before the unpredictable storm that was to come.