Plot Summary: It's 2:00 AM. Peach forgot to make the deserts for Marlin's Christmas Party so she wakes Gill so he can help her with the baking. What will go down? (I swear there won't be lemon, I wouldn't do that to y'all XD)

A/N: Yay! We starting the 5 Christmas short project! For those who are unaware, I made 5 Christmas shorts and the first 4 are going to happen at the same time until the 5th one brings them all together! I'm so excited for these to finally be published! So this may be the first short, but it's also the last one I got an idea for. God was it hard to come up with an idea for this one, but thankfully I had Tumblr. Also, out of these first 4 shorts, this is the 4th one I've managed to complete. Anyways, hope you all enjoy! :3

OCs Featured: Maggie

Tomorrow was Marlin's Christmas party and the Lab Gang were looking forward to it. They always had the pleasure to attend the parties he and Dory host at their place because they get to see one of the children they saved in Sydney, Nemo. Or as they like to call him, Sharkbait. The gang were like a second family to Nemo and holidays just wouldn't be the same without them. This year, Peach wanted to go all out and make everyone at the party some deserts. She wanted to give them out as a way to help out and to thank Marlin and Dory for not only hosting the party, but in general allowing Nemo into their lives.

'The deserts... THE DESERTS!' Peach's eyes suddenly shot open. 'I FORGOT THE DESERTS!' Her mind screamed. She quickly looked at the clock. 'IT'S 2AM!? HOW DID I LET THIS HAPPEN!? I CAN'T MAKE A WHOLE PLATTER OF DESERTS BY MYSELF!" Peach silently sobbed into her hands. 'How could I have forgotten! Marlin and Dory are gonna hate me for this.' "Mmm." She suddenly heard a raspy voice tiredly groan. She glanced down so see an unconscious Gill stir in his sleep. 'Carp! Way to go, Peach. He must've heard you panic.' Shr scolded herself. "Peach..? It's late. Why are you-" Gill slightly opened his eyes, to see Peach looking down at him with tears in her eyes and a panicked expression. He knew it was something serious whenever she woke him up late with that look on her face.

"Love? Hey hey, what's the matter?" Gill asked more awake, wiping Peach's tears from her cheeks. "I forgot the deserts!" "Ah shit. Forgot you offered to help Marlin make some for the party." Peach sighed in frustration. It was rare for her to screw up something or miss a deadline and whenever that would happen, she'd go ballistic. So she'd work as hard as she could, sometimes even going to extremes to meet those deadlines. It was something Gill hated to see of her. He just wanted Peach to not have to worry when she really shouldn't because then it makes him worry. "I promised Marlin and Dory I'd help with the deserts, and what do I do? I go and screw it up for everyone, like I do with everything!" "Peach, you and I both know that isn't true." Gill argued, setting a hand on her shoulder. "You're the most hard working person I've ever met. You rarely ever screw up anything, and you make sure of it. Yeah you forgot to make the deserts, so what? Everyone makes mistakes, it'll be alright."

She shook her head. "No it isn't. Marlin and Dory are gonna hate me for it, I just know they are." "Love, don't be ridiculous." he pulled Peach into a hug. "Marlin and Dory are good friends of ours. They're not gonna hate you over some pastries." Peach's eyes widened. She had an idea. "I have to make them now!" "What!? No Peach, it's 2AM." "Better now than in the morning, we won't be able to get them done by then." Peach argued, trying to get out of bed, only for Gill to pull her back in. "Nope, you're not going downstairs." He ordered. "Yes I am!" She tried to free herself from Gill's grasp to no avail. "Who's the leader here?" He teased, making Peach smirk. "Who's the leader in the relationship?" Silence. "Damn, how do you always manage to pull a fast one on me? Still, I'm not letting you stay up all night making pastries." Peach sighed before getting another idea.

"You're right, because YOU'LL be making them with me." Gill's eyes widened. "Oh no I'm not. You and I are going to stay in this bed and rest until the party." He tried to pull Peach back into bed, only to have her finally break free from his grasp and stand in front of him. "Gill, come on. Please, I can't bake a whole platter of deserts on my own." She begged making Gill sigh. "I don't know. It's so late and you've already worked so hard for your secret Santa gift. I'd feel better if you'd at least rest before the party." Peach gave him a sympathetic look. "I know. How about this, once we all get home from the party, we can cuddle for as long as we want. Deal?" She held out her hand for Gill to shake to which his hesitantly accepted. "Alright, only because I want you happy." Peach kissed his cheek in satisfaction before the two quietly stepped out of the room and to the kitchen.

Once they got there, they quietly took out the essential ingredients as to not wake anyone up. "For the record, this is one of the craziest things you've ever thought up." Gill whispered. "And your escape plans weren't?" Peach teased, making him roll his eyes in amusement.

Later...

"Okay, I think the cookies are ready to be baked." Peach proudly declared as she took out the batter and placed it onto the tray. Whilst she did this, Gill scrapped his finger against the bowl and popped a sample of the batter into his mouth, much to the annoyance of Peach. "Gill, hold on. We need to have enough for everyone at the party." She explained. "I was also hoping to save some of the dough for Maggie, Sharkbait and Bluejay." Gill chuckled. "So you were going to save some of the batter for the kids and I can't so much as have a small taste, huh?" "Isn't that something a child would do anyway?" Peach argued. "Plus, I don't want your gross fingers in the bowl." Gill smirked, an idea popped into his head.

"So you'd be pretty mad if I got my 'gross' fingers in the bowl?" Peach suspiciously nodded. "What if I placed my gross fingers.. here!" Gill started to tickle Peach's sides. "Hahahaha! Gill haha s-stop! We'll wake up the others!" She complained between laughs. "Alright," Gill playfully sighed. "I'll just settle with this." Before Peach could ask what he meant, he put all of his fingers into the bowl, making her force his hand out of it. "Gill, quit it!" She whisper yelled, only to have Gill stick one of his fingers, with batter still on it, into her mouth. "Nope." He teased. Although she admitted the dough tasted good, now was not the time to be fooling around. "Just help me get the rest of this onto the tray." "Fine, fine." Gill gave in after tasting the batter off the rest of his fingers. At last, the cookies were in the oven. "I think we still got time to make the cinnamon rolls as those are baking."

Peach turned around, only to feel woozy. Her vision became blurry and she tumbled with each step she took. Gill quickly helped Peach up to her feet. "Whoa, Peach? Are you okay?" "Yeah, I-" Peach suddenly felt her head painfully throbbing. 'Why does it have to happen now!?' She thought in panic. "Hold on, I'll set you on the couch." Peach was about to protest, but Gill scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the living room, gently laying her down on the couch. "Wait here, alright. I'll get you some water." "Gill, I'm fine. This isn't necessary." Peach insisted, trying to sit up, only for Gill to lay her back down. "Peach, you're not fine. Look at you, you're pale all over." She gave him an ashamed look, feeling guilty for making Gill worry. She was hoping nothing like this would happen tonight, but it unfortunately has.

"I'll be right back." Gill went back to the kitchen to return with a glass of water and some pain killers. Peach hesitantly popped the pills into her mouth and took a couple sips of water. "I don't understand." Gill finally spoke up after a moment of awkward silence. "How did you get like this? You were fine a few minutes ago. Did something happen?" "I-It's nothing." She lied. "It clearly isn't nothing. You looked like you were about to pass out." Peach glanced down and the floor, guilt written on her expression. Gill sighed, setting a hand on her back. "Sweetheart, you know you can tell me anything, right? I'm not here to criticize you. I'm here to help you." He got no response from her. "Peach, I love you and I want to take care of you, that includes making sure you're healthy."

Peach finally gazed up at Gill, the regret not leaving her eyes. "I swear I'm fine. This happens a lot. I'd grow pale and get a little dizzy, but it goes away after a while." "How often would it get like this?" Gill asked, confused as to why he was only informed of this now. "I don't know, maybe once a week. Twice if it's a bad one." Peach replied sheepishly. "And you never said anything about it?!" She nervously shook her head. "Peach, why didn't you tell me? If you're not feeling well, you have to tell me! If not, then at least someone! If this is about work again, I thought we promised you wouldn't overwork and stress yourself out anymore!" Gill scolded making Peach feel even more guilty. "I know, I'm so sorry. That's why I didn't want to say anything. After what I had promised you, for me to go back to my old work ethic. I thought you would've hated me for it."

Peach started to tear up again. To her surprise, Gill pulled her into a hug. "Peach, I'm not upset you broke your promise, I'm upset that you didn't tell me. I would never hate you for being honest. Hell, I would've done anything in my power to help you put your work ethic back together." Shocked by Gill's words, she returned the embrace and cried into his shoulder. "I-I didn't.. want you to worry. I felt as if I could be able to handle it on my own. But now I know that was a dumb decision." She explained between sobs. Gill sighed once more. "Love, it's my job to worry about you if you're not feeling well because you're stressed out. You don't have to carry that weight alone. You really don't." He assured.

"But, I feel like I'm being a burden." "Peaches, you're not being a burden. It's a pleasure of mine to take care of you. Nothing can make me say otherwise." Peach sniffled, looking up at Gill and giving him a slightly relieved smile which made him grin back at her before kissing the remaining tears she had on her cheeks. "How about we let this slide, and the next time this happens, you tell me. If not, I'll just have to give you my help, weather you like it or not. Got it?" Peach slightly giggled before kissing him. "You got yourself a deal." She replied once she let go. More silence came and went until Gill spoke up once again. "So, work is now making you suddenly pale and dizzy?" Peach slightly nodded making him chuckle. "Who could've guessed. Seriously though, you need to give yourself a breather. I know you're a hard worker and we all admire that, but you shouldn't let it get this extreme. As much as you wouldn't want it, you need a break every once in a while so it doesn't get this bad."

Peach sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry." "You don't need to apologize. I just want you to take care of yourself, okay?" She nodded. The two suddenly hear a ding. "The cookies are done." Peach was about to stand up, but Gill was quick to set her back down. "I got it." He insisted. "All you should be concerned with is taking a break for a few minutes." "But what about the other deserts?" Peach asked. "We got time. You only got two other desert platters to make. We'll get them done before the party." "Are you sure?" Gill pecked her lips before replying "I promise." and stepping back into the kitchen to handle the cookies. Once he entered the living room again, he finds Peach asleep out on the couch. Not hesitating, Gill laid her down on his lap and pulled a blanket over her, watching her before he eventually fell asleep beside her.

Morning...

The rest of the lab gang came downstairs to find Gill and Peach sleeping on the couch. Bloat chuckled at the sight. "Whoa, what did we miss?" Gurgle entered the kitchen and started to panic over the mess. "Look at the kitchen! What have they been doing!?" "Why were they baking late at night?" Asked Maggie. "Didn't Peach promise she'd make everyone some deserts for Marlin's party?" Deb pointed out. "She must've forgotten." Replied Bloat. Maggie giggled, looking back at Gill and Peach. "She must've dragged Gill along to help her." "She's got some other deserts she has to make before the party. We should help out!" Deb suggested. "How?" Asked Maggie. "The only other one she allows to cook there on their own is Jacques and none of us speak Fre-"

"Jacques, nous aideras-tu à préparer le reste du désert de Peach? (Jacques, will you help us bake the rest of Peach's deserts?)" Gurgle asked Jacques, much to the surprise of the others. "Gurgle, you speak French?" Asked Bloat. "Jacques' been teaching me." Gurgle confirmed. "Ask him if he wants to help us!" Deb ordered. "Que dis-tu? (What do you say?)" "Bien sûr, je vais aider. (Sure, I'll help.)" Jacques replied, making Gurgle smile in approval. "He said yes." He translated for the others. "Yay!" Maggie hugs Jacques. "Thank you, Jacques!" "Aucun problème. (No problem.)" He replied.

Later...

Gill and Peach woke up to a sweet smell filling the air. "Hey, they're awake!" Gurgle informed. Maggie quickly approached them. "Morning, guys!" "Maggie? What's going on?" Asked Gill. "Hope you don't mind, but we helped you bake the rest of the deserts." "What!? Is something burning!? Is the kitchen on fire!?" Peach started to panic. "Relax! We had Jacques help us." Maggie assured. "How? None of you know French." "Jacques had been teaching me French. It's not as fluent as Peach's, but at least he understands it." Gurgle informed Gill. "The cinnamon buns are ready!" Bloat announced, taking the tray out of the oven. Deb stepped out of the kitchen with one of the cinnamon buns in her hand. "Would you two care to be the first to try one, so we know we didn't ruin them?" Peach took a bite of the cinnamon bun and was actually surprised. "This is really good!" "Really?" Gill tore a piece off and tasted it to realize she was right.

"I'm impressed, guys." He said. "You can thank Jacques." Said Maggie. "If he didn't correct us on what we were doing, they'd all probably be burnt." Bloat added. Peach gave everyone a warm smile. "You guys, thank you. Gill and I would've been up all night making these if you hadn't helped." "Yay, Peach isn't overworked!" Maggie happily hugged her. "About time, girl. You needed a break." Said Deb. "That's what I've been saying." Gill replied before kissing Peach's forehead. The others all either aw'd or gagged. "Aaaaaaw you two are so adorable!" Maggie squealed. "Get a room you two!" Bloat joked. "Je me demande ce que vous faisiez tous les deux pendant notre sommeil. (Wonder what you two were doing while we were alseep.)" Jacques added, grinning at the two. Peach laughed. "God, you all act like a bunch of immature children." "Yeah, I expect this behavior from Maggie, not the rest of y'all." Gill added. "Hey!" Maggie exclaimed, making him chuckle. "Thanks again for your help, guys." "Our please, leader." Gurgle replied. Peach smiled at the rest of the gang. Maybe she doesn't have to worry about everything all the time. Because she knows she has a family, and a loving fiancé that's willing to help her out.