Lone Stowaway

12

A/N: Flashback in bold.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robot and Will drew more ochre pictures on the wall. Shadow watched Robot carefully, and Maureen was crouched beside SAR's body. Robot was, surprisingly, left handed, and Shadow praised him for his uniqueness.

"Hey! Might be a better artist than me now!" cooed Will, looking over at Robot's drawing of stick figures, which were, indeed, nicer than Will's wobbly scribbles.

"Don't let it go to your head," advised Will jokingly. "It's not saying much."

"That's supposed to be us," he said softly, gesturing to his picture. "From now on, how about we stick together?"

Robot gave him a little whir. "No matter what."

_____

Will dipped his finger in more ochre. He drew a circle on the wall. "This is where we are now-" he said, then drew a little mess of rings, "-and this is the Resolute. You've been there before, twice, and neither time was that great, but... roll with me here."

Will scampered a couple meters away and drew another blob.

"This is Alpha Centauri. I've told you all about it. It's our new home, and the only way of getting there is you. I think we'll like it there. I mean, I think we will."

_____

Robot and Will went to go see the horses. One of them spotted Robot and neighed loudly, and Robot's face instantly flashed red.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's okay," said Will, patting Robot's arm. "It's okay," repeated Will. "Gypsy's a friend."

Will gently stroked Gypsy's neck. "I think you two got off on the wrong foot," said Will.

"This is a horse. He's a domesticated animal. Before we had things like chariots, we used them for transportation."

Will gently stroked Gypsy's back. "This is how we calm them down when they're nervous or upset."

Will went to but the reins back onto Gypsy. Robot stepped back nervously.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, this... is called a bit. We put one in so he doesn't run away," he explained softly. Robot tilted his head a little.

"All right, um..."

Will carefully slipped the bit into Gypsy's mouth. He chewed it a little and Robot watched.

"Friend, Will Robinson," whirred Robot.

"Yeah, he's a friend," agreed Will. "It's just to make sure we keep him under control," he added.

"It doesn't hurt. I promise you."

Will climbed onto Gypsy's back, slinging his leg over the side.

"See? He likes to be ridden. C'mon!"

Robot suddenly spotted SAR's arm sticking out underneath the tarp. He walked over to it, observing the corpse.

Ben and Maureen came down out of the cave and saw Robot.

"I can't tell what its reaction is," said Ben quietly.

"I imagine it's positive," replied Maureen. "That thing was hunting my son. Wanted him so badly it threw the robot in a pit for 7 months in the distant chance that it would lure Will down here."

"But why do you suppose that thing was so interested in your son?"

"I don't know. Maybe because what they have is special. Special things are often considered a threat."