When All Q Breaks Loose

Chapter Twenty Seven: Don't Have That Much Time

"NO!" Hiro shrieked again as he grabbed the tiny fork near his seat and threw that, along with anything else he could reach. His sippy cup flew into the air, somehow coming unscrewed so juice flew out across the room in a sticky fountain of deep purple. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

Once he ran out of ammunition, he started pounding on the table, making his booster seat strain against the straps holding it in place. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he stared out in horror at what he'd done but couldn't seem to make his body calm down. Something had snapped and it didn't want to go back together again.

Fred was the first out of his seat, wiping potatoes from his cheek as he walked over to the screaming child. "Hey, Hiro, just calm down, okay?" He leaned closer so he could look directly into the raging toddler's face. "There's no reason to get so upset."

Hiro reached for Fred's hair, pulling him close enough for him to bite him on the nose. Hard.

Fred instinctively swung one hand to break Hiro's hold on him, accidentally hitting the toddler across the face, causing the child to let go. The otaku fell to the ground from the unexpected force, his eyes wide as he stared up at the tantrum-raving boy. The chair his booster seat was attached to wobbled. "Hiro..."

The unexpected smack momentarily stunned the young genius and he stared back at the man who'd administered it. Seeing the damage he'd inflicted, and feeling the sting of the blow, Hiro couldn't help but burst into inconsolable tears. Things were not going how they were supposed to at all. He had no idea why he felt so emotionally unstable, and knowing he'd done something he shouldn't didn't help. But he hadn't seemed able to stop himself. It was almost as if something else had momentarily taken over his body and made him cause havoc in the dining room.

"Oh no," Baymax commented as Honey moved to help Fred up off the floor. "I believe Hiro has experienced a sensory overload."

Deanna handed Honey Lemon her napkin so she could help clean off Fred's face. "Perhaps it would be wise to take Hiro into the other room until he can calm down," she suggested gently. She had mashed potatoes down one arm and in her hair.

Taking the counselor's advice, Baymax unbuckled the sobbing tot. He picked him up, cradling him as close to his vinyl skin as possible. "Counselor," he said as he turned to look at Troi for a moment. "I believe you are correct. Hiro is reverting more to his physical age." With that, he turned and left the room with his young charge.

Q, who sat at the far end of the table near Worf, began eating again. When the silence didn't abate, he looked up. He scowled at the looks directed his way. "What? The tantrum is over and I'm starving. He'll be fine soon enough." Almost doggedly, he continued to eat his meal, ignoring the staring throng.

Both Doctors exchanged glances. "This is far more serious than either of us imagined," the blue clad one commented to the other.

"Agreed," his companion answered back.

.........................................

With Baymax busy trying to calm Hiro down, Honey felt honor-bound to help Fred with his injury. Even though she was sure Hiro hadn't meant it, he'd managed to break the skin on Fred's nose with his teeth, causing a trickle of blood to appear at each of the different teeth marks.

Now in the nearest bathroom, Honey dabbed at the swollen nose with a washcloth. "At least he didn't take an actual chunk out of it," she comforted.

Fred sat on the toilet, the lid closed. This was one of the smaller bathrooms. Meant mostly as a powder room, it only had the toilet and a sink set in a small counter space. But at least there was a first aid kit handy, which he'd pulled out for her to use. "I'm not mad at him or anything," he said, sounding more than a little down. "I mean, he's been through a lot. And if he really is regressing like they say, he's got a lot of emotion in there he doesn't know how to handle. I'd probably throw a tantrum too if I were in his shoes."