The ride back to the Ito Ishioka Lab was a lot less stressful this time around. One, Hiro knew where they were going. Two, he knew, for the most part, what to expect. And three, though probably the most important point, he'd already had his run-in with Professor Callaghan.
Despite knowing this, Hiro couldn't help but feel some trepidation. He'd met his brother's friends twice now. The second time hadn't allowed the same kind of bonding as the first. He had no idea what to expect this time around. Things definitely wouldn't go in the same manner as last time, or the first time for that matter.
"I'm going to leave you in my lab for a bit," Tadashi explained as he led his brother slowly up the stairs to the main entrance of the star ship-shaped building. "I've got some classes before lunch so I'm going to ask you to stay there until I can come back for you." Tadashi paused at the look his brother gave him. "Hey, it's not like I'm going to leave you alone," he defended. "You'll have Baymax for company."
Hiro wasn't sure how to take that. He knew Tadashi only had his best interests at heart, but it kind of felt like his brother intended to use the robot as a babysitter. If that were the case, he'd have been better off just staying home. "I don't need a babysitter," he protested as they stepped into the elevator. If he'd stayed home, he could have at least played video games or something.
Tadashi pushed the button for the appropriate floor, then ruffled Hiro's hair. "Of course you don't," he agreed. "I just thought you'd have more fun at my lab than you would just sit at home doing nothing. If it makes you feel better, you can tinker around, maybe rebuilt your robot."
The younger Hamada knew his brother was only trying to make him feel better. It wasn't like he could do any real tinkering with his chest feeling like it wanted to squeeze the life out of him at every turn. But it was a nice sentiment.
In no time at all, Tadashi was holding open the door to his lab so Hiro could enter without jostling anything. "Password for the computer is Hamada7," he instructed as he turned it on. "There are a few snacks in my desk if you get hungry before I get back."
Hiro sat dejectedly on the same stool as the night before. Thankfully, he'd thought to grab a fresh notebook from home, though he anticipated hours of boredom. At least the notebook gave him something to do.
Tadashi moved over to the red case by the window, saying the one word sure to activate the robot inside. Once Baymax had inflated and begun his usual introduction, Tadashi waved him to silence. "Baymax, I need you to keep my brother company while I'm in class. Make sure he stays out of trouble." His words confirmed Hiro's sentiments about babysitting but it was too late to change anything.
Baymax blinked at his creator, then contemplated the younger boy. "Of course, Tadashi," he agreed.
"Thanks," the older Hamada said as he patted one vinyl arm. "I'll be back in a few hours." With that, he exited the lab, making sure the door shut securely behind him.
Baymax stared at Hiro, or at least seemed to. His eyes didn't so much as blink and the boy wondered what he saw. "Hello, Hiro," the robot finally said.
Those two simple words caused tears to well up in Hiro's eyes. They brought up memories of the day he'd finished rebuilding Baymax after losing him in the Portal. It brought back a piece of him he thought had somehow gone missing.
Baymax shuffled forward, wrapping his arms around Hiro's shoulders in such a way so as not to apply unnecessary pressure on his ribs and bruises. He raised one hand to pat the boy on the head. "It will be all right. There. There."
How had the robot known Hiro needed that contact? They'd only just met the once in this time line. That meant he hadn't yet downloaded a database on personal loss. So how had he known Hiro need physical reassurance?
Hiro's arms moved to encompass as much of Baymax's round belly as he comfortably could. "I've missed you," he breathed, trying to stem the flow of tears. He knew he'd feel ashamed of them if Tadashi had still been there. It would ruin his carefully cultivated image.
Baymax blinked at that declaration. "It has only been ten hours since our last encounter," he informed, sounding slightly confused.
The look on Hiro's face was wistful as the robot released him from his embrace. "Yeah," he replied. "It was. It's just been a crazy ten hours."
The robot tilted his head to one side. "Your neuro-transmitter levels are low. This indicates you are feeling depressed. Would you like to talk about it?"
Hiro pushed the stool towards the desk, setting his notebook down. "Not really," he admitted. He turned to the first blank page of his book and began idly sketching.
"Talking about ones' feelings helps to bring understanding and clarity," Baymax continued. "You have not hesitated to talk to me about your feelings before."
Hiro almost jerked from his chair. The sudden jolt, however, reminded him of his recent injuries and he had to take a moment to recover himself. It took even longer to get his breathing under control. "Baymax, you remember more than just this timeline?" He stared in incredulous disbelief.
The robot tilted his head to one side. "Of course. The alien entity we encountered with the Doctor told me you needed a companion."
Excitement coursed through Hiro, pushing all of his aches and pains to the background. "Does that mean they really did grant my wish? But how?"
"I do not know," Baymax admitted. "I was told you must make a choice."
That dampened Hiro's spirits just a bit. "What kind of choice? I don't understand."
"I do not know," Baymax said again. "They told me you would figure it out."
Hiro sat back down, slowly letting out his breath. Why couldn't things be simple or easy? And what was he supposed to figure out? The obvious answer was that he needed to figure out a way to save Tadashi. But what if there was more to it than that? His first attempt hadn't gone well.
"How many chances do I get?" Hiro finally asked. "And do you remember the last one? If so, why didn't you say something?"
Baymax shuffled closer. "I do not know. I have no memory of any other timelines prior to this current one and our original one."
Well, there went that idea, Hiro thought. But at least he didn't have to start completely over. "Okay," he said. "In that case, I'd better fill you in on what all happened last time so you can help me reason out whatever it is I'm supposed to figure out and we can get past all this."
And with that, Hiro launched into as detailed an account of his previous adventures as possible. He brushed over the less important details, going back over a few Baymax questioned. But, for the most part, he felt he'd gotten everything out in the open. It felt good to tell someone else, someone who wouldn't think he was crazy.
..................................
When Tadashi returned to his lab, he found Hiro sound asleep in Baymax's arms. The robot was sitting on the floor, Hiro cradled against his massive belly. He blinked a few times at the unexpected sight, the doors shutting quietly behind him as he entered the room.
"Hiro is sleeping," Baymax announced in a quiet voice. "I detected earlier that he had not received the recommended allotment of REM sleep. Please do not disturb him."
Tadashi smiled at his creation. He'd rather suspected something like that was the case. Pain was a wonderful deterrent for a lot of things, sleep being one of them. "Thanks, Baymax," he said as he set his school books down on the desk. He paused when he saw Hiro's open notebook, a half finished sketch on the pages. "What's this?"
Not moving, lest he disturb his patient, Baymax merely blinked. "That is the notebook Hiro was sketching in before he fell asleep."
The older Hamada scrutinized the drawing, a strange mix of emotions scrawling across his face. "Have you seen this?" He held it up, indicating the box-like object penciled onto the page. It had a very distinct look to it, like a very tall wooden crate with a door on one half of the front. And above that door was a partially scrawled script that read "Police Public Call Box".
"I fail to see the significance of this drawing," Baymax replied.
Tadashi shook his head, putting the notebook back down as he rubbed at one eye. "Never mind. It's probably not important."
Baymax seemed to contemplate his creator, filing away that tidbit for later. Apparently it was important, at least on some level. But if his creator chose not to dwell on it, neither would he. "I detect that you also did not receive the recommended amount of sleep," he said instead. He watched as the older Hamada rubbed at the back of his neck, his eyes looking a little dark underneath.
"I'd be lying if I said I had," Tadashi sighed. "It's just I get so worried about my brother. He gets into so many scrapes and is sometimes just so reckless that I-" He put his hands up in a helpless gesture. "I stayed up most of last night to make sure he was still breathing. Does that make me an overprotective brother?"
The robot tilted his head to one side, contemplating the man in front of him even more. "No," he finally answered. "This behavior means you are a caring brother."
Tadashi flopped down onto the swivel stool, his shoulders sagging a bit. "Thanks, Baymax. It's just that sometimes I feel I'm overdoing it. Ever since our parents died, I've done my best to take care of him, make sure he's okay. I sometimes think I worry about him just as much as our parents did. And I'd do anything to protect him."
"You are an excellent older brother," Baymax informed him. "I do not believe Hiro thinks you are intrusive."
The scientist shook his head. "I don't know about that," he disagreed. "There are times when he decidedly pushes me away, like I'm smothering him."
Baymax raised one arm, finger pointing upward. "This behavior is not uncommon for a young adolescent blossoming into manhood."
That put a smile back on Tadashi's face. "You're right. I keep forgetting he's hit that difficult age. Mine came a bit earlier. I guess it's not really unexpected." It was just that Tadashi had gone about puberty in a completely different way and he totally felt out of his element with Hiro. He let out another sigh. "Just what am I going to do with him?"
Since Baymax wasn't sure if this was a rhetorical question or not, he opted to err on the side of caution. "You can love and protect him."
Tadashi's eyebrows lifted at that one, wondering where that had come from. But decided to let it go. "Hiro didn't give you any trouble, did he?"
"On the contrary," Baymax informed, his arm returning to support Hiro so he wouldn't slip to one side and jolt his already sore person, "Hiro has been most informative."
Ah, so that's where the odd ideas had come from, Tadashi thought. He knew he hadn't programmed Baymax with anything about brotherly love. "Anything I should know about?" He wasn't serious in asking, but hoped to know all the same. It might give him some insight into what his brother was thinking.
Baymax looked down at the sleeping boy. "Hiro has asked that I retain in confidence anything said while you were gone."
Tadashi chuckled slightly at that. "Smart kid." He glanced affectionately at his brother, then decided it was probably best to get back to work until the boy woke up on his own.