My dearest readers, I am so sorry for my lack of update! I have been in a bit of a writing slump lately, and was having a difficult time deciding what to write next. I sincerely apologize.

Disclaimer: Mine, this is not.

Some Assembly Required

"Wait, I think this goes here." Peggy pointed.

"It doesn't fit."

"Well what about that piece?"

"Nope."

Three hours. That was how long Peggy and Daniel had been trying to assemble the crib they had purchased. The set had come with instructions, but the words were impossibly small, and had too many technical terms that neither agent understood.

"Well then where on earth does the bloody piece go?!" Peggy squinted again at the instructions. Peggy was seated on a chair next to the space where they had laid all the parts out. She had tried to sit on the floor like Daniel, but had found the task of lowering herself that far down impossible with her eight-months-pregnant belly in the way.

"I thought it was part of the top, but I just can't get it to fit up there." Daniel tried fitting the board in question with several other pieces, none of them remotely working.

"We will have to try again after lunch. Our son is hungry, and we have a lunch date to get to." Peggy rested a hand over the swell of her abdomen.

"Think you mean 'our daughter.'" Daniel he gave her a pointed look.

"Keep telling yourself that." Peggy got up from the chair slowly. Standing up had become quite difficult. Much like many other menial tasks, to Peggy's chagrin.

"I'm just going with my gut here, Peg." He shrugged.

"Well since my guts are currently being squished by the baby in question, I think I have more credibility." She handed him his crutch.

Daniel laughed and pulled himself up. They headed to the car, and drove to the Jarvis residence, the location of their lunch date.

It was more of a garden party than a lunch date. The meal was outdoors, and nearly everyone they knew was there. Ana, Edwin, Howard, Jack, Lilly (Jack's new girlfriend), Angie, Jason, Rose, and Maria (some lady Howard had met at a charity event a week ago) were all in attendance.

At some point during the conversation, the topic of the impossible crib came up.

"How hard can it be to put a crib together?" Howard laughed, reclining in his chair and putting his arm around Maria.

"Quite difficult. Especially when the instructions were printed too small for even an ant to read." Peggy gave him a pointed look.

"Well, why don't you bring it here? I could help, I took a carpentry class a few years ago at the local library, I might be able to sort it out." Jarvis offered.

Peggy and Daniel shared a look. It couldn't hurt.

"Alright. I'll go it it."

Daniel stuffed the pieces back into their box awkwardly and brought it back. Jarvis began to attempt to place the pieces together, but found himself with the same luck as Peggy and Daniel. None of the pieces fit together correctly.

After twenty minutes of Jarvis's attempts, Howard stepped in, "Let the genius try, Jarvis." He said, earning an eye roll and groan from the whole group.

Fifteen minutes later, Howard gave up. "I think it's faulty." He declared.

"Let me try." Angie piped up.

And so it went. Angie tried and failed. Rose tried and failed. Jack and Lilly tried and failed. No one could make the pieces fit.

"Well, I think we are going to have to find something else. Howard must be right, the crib is faulty." Daniel put an arm around Peggy. "Maybe we can get a refund."

"Wait."

They looked up the see Jason examining the pieces. He was the only one who hadn't tried yet.

"I really don't think it can fit together. There is no use trying." Peggy said.

"Do you mind if I take this home and fiddle with it a bit? I might be able to fix it." He looked up at the couple.

Peggy and Daniel looked at each other in silent communication. They both nodded at him, "Alright. Give it a whirl." Peggy smiled.

The party ended and everyone went home. The Sousas forgot about the crib until Jason knocked on their door three five days later.

"Do you mind giving me a hand?" He pointed a thumb at his car, where Daniel and Peggy could see something poking out of the trunk.

They walked around to the back of the car, and watched as Jason removed the tarp from the unmistakable shape of a crib. Both Peggy and Daniel's jaws dropped as the crib came into view.

It was beautiful, and not at all what they had expected. Jason had added intricate carvings of stars along the top and the bars on the sides were rounded and shaped to be curvy. The legs were also decorated with carvings, but these were of trees. The whole crib had a dark stain and shiny finish. It was far nicer than it had been when they bought it.

"I hope, this is okay?" Jason looked a little nervous.

"Okay? It's beautiful, Jason." Peggy ran a finger along the stars. "Where did you learn to do this?"

"My granddaddy taught me growing up. I spent a lot of time with him in his woodshed."

"Wow. I mean- holy cow. I don't know what to say. This is incredible." Daniel was shocked.

"Well, Howard was right. The pieces wouldn't have fit together on their own. I had to widen some of the holes. Then, I felt like I needed to add something extra." He shrugged.

"You didn't have to do all this." Peggy said.

"I wanted to." Jason smiled brightly at them. "Consider it the baby's first birthday gift."

Peggy hugged Jason. "Thank you." She smiled at him as she pulled away. "Thank you so much. It really is beautiful."

Daniel also gave Jason a quick hug and a pat on the back. "I really can't thank you enough. Would you let me pay you?"

"No no no! Like I said, I wanted to. It was fun to make." He waved away Daniel's offer.

"You are a good man, Jason Wilkes."

Jason smiled, and the two men hoisted it up. Daniel was able to carry his side with one arm, his crutch in the other hand. It was a bit awkward, but they managed to get it through the doorway.

They hauled it into the nursery, and set it in the corner. It fit right in with the rest of the furniture they had in the room. The rocking chair and nightstand had nearly the same stain color.

Jason left the two to stand in the room, admiring the look of it all.

"I can't wait." Daniel said, putting his arm around Peggy.

"For what, specifically?" Peggy leaned her head on his shoulder.

"All of it. Using this room. Being parents. Raising a baby." He kissed the top of her head.

"Being woken up at god-forsaken hours of the morning. Dealing with dirty diapers." Peggy added sarcastically.

Daniel barked out a laugh. "Okay, maybe not that. But, even so, we might look back on that fondly one day."

"Sap." She swatted his arm playfully. She was quiet for a moment, "I can't wait for it either."

She pulled her head back to look at him, before pulling him into a kiss.

Yay! Jason to the rescue!

IDK why, but I always picture PeggySous as being completely incompetent when it comes to assembling furniture. I also really liked Jason's character, and I really wanted to see what his life was like after he realized he didn't have a future with Peggy. Also, he is a cinnamon role who doesn't get enough attention.

Confession: I actually had an entirely different chapter typed out that I was going to post, but it accidentally got deleted so I decided to write this instead and I actually like this better than what I had. I guess it was meant to be.

Have a great week everybody!

-Fish