Morning came far earlier than Hiro wanted. Sunlight streamed down through the window he'd forgotten to cover the night before, waking him. In his defense, he had been rather loopy at the time. And it had been late.
Hiro groaned, more out of protest than from pain, though everything still throbbed dully. The medicine he'd taken last night hadn't worn off just yet, which he thought a blessing. But his skin itched under the bandages and he had to resist the urge to scratch. It was a sign of healing, he'd been told countless times over the years. And if what had happened last night was any indication, scratching them again was not a good idea.
"Good morning, Hiro," Baymax greeted from across the room. He'd returned to his charging station once he was sure Tadashi had gone to sleep. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" His stomach lit up with the ten faces that went from happy to agony.
Rubbing at his eyes, Hiro moved to sit up. He didn't have far to go, but it still took more than a little effort. "Four?" his throat felt a little gravely, though whether from sleep or something else was still up in the air.
Baymax stepped free of his case and shuffled towards the bed. "If you feel the need, you may take more pain medicine now." He indicated the prescription bottle on the computer desk next to the bed. "It is also advisable for you to take your antibiotics. You should take them at the prescribed intervals to insure maximum recovery."
That announcement brought another groan from Hiro's lips. They'd given him more than enough pills. Admittedly, part of him wished they'd given him the liquid form, though the taste probably wouldn't have made up for the difference in texture. "You take them," he grumped.
"I cannot take medicine," Baymax protested in a somewhat confused tone. "I am a robot. It would be more effective if you ingest the prescribed medication with food. Shall I inform Tadashi or your aunt that you are awake?"
That question seemed to get Hiro moving. 'No," he protested. As per usual, his body was stiff. Maybe it was because of the painkillers he'd been able to sleep, he realized. "I'm up. I'm up. I can make something to eat without their help. I'm not an invalid." To stave off Baymax's further concerns, he took one of the antibiotic pills and swallowed it dry, making him gag a bit. It threatened to stick in his throat, but, once he'd worked his mouth a bit, he managed to produce enough saliva to make it go down.
Baymax shuffled after Hiro as he made his way down to the second floor. He made sure to grab Hiro's other medicine before following the boy. He noticed Hiro had forgotten to take it with him. At least he'd used the banister for support, taking each step one at a time, instead of flying down them as he might have had he not been in pain. That was an improvement.
By the time the robot made it down the stairs, Hiro had made his way to the kitchen. He was halfway inside the fridge when Aunt Cass came into the room. "Morning," the woman yawned.
Not expecting anyone up just yet, Hiro almost jumped out of his skin, and that hurt. He swung around, the fridge closing as he braced himself against the counter, one hand to his chest as he tried to control his sudden heavy breathing. He clenched his teeth against the sensation, willing it to stop.
"Oh, Hiro! I'm so sorry!"
Before he knew it, his aunt had him by the shoulders and was gently steering him towards the nearest chair. She paused when she saw the giant inflatable marshmallow standing near the stairs.
Baymax gave a small wave. "Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. It is nice to meet you, Ms. Hamada."
Cass blinked, not realizing Hiro had slid down into the chair she'd steered him towards. She gave a half-hearted wave in return. "Hello. Where did you come from?"
"Your nephew, Tadashi, made me," Baymax informed. "He brought me here to keep an eye on Hiro."
"Oh." Cass seemed to chew on that thought for a moment, then shrugged it off. "Well good. He needs someone to keep an eye on him."
Hiro groaned in protest, still trying to get his pain under control. "Thanks a lot." He shot Baymax a scathing look as he clenched his teeth.
The robot shuffled forward and placed the prescription bottle on the table. "You forgot to bring your medication with you," he admonished the glaring boy. "Proper recovery requires you to take your medication at the appropriate times. Not only will it help you manage your pain levels, but will stave off further infection."
Grabbing the edge of the table, Hiro ground his teeth. Anything else he could add to that, be it protest or not, would only grab his aunt's attention even more. And he certainly wasn't happy with the information the robot had just leaked to his aunt already. Yes, they'd told Aunt Cass about the incident, but she didn't know the extent of the damage. "Shut up," he muttered, hopefully quiet enough that his aunt didn't hear.
"Infection?" Cass paused mid-turn at that, hand halfway to a cupboard door.
Crap! Why had Baymax opened his big, non-existent mouth? He'd forgotten that his aunt, though often distracted, had the ears of a fox and the eyes of an eagle when it came to trouble. Well, close enough to count.
"Yes," Baymax continued. "Hiro sustained many injuries that require the use of an antibiotic, as well as heavy painkillers."
Hiro's scathing look turned into full out glare, mixed in with a healthy dose of "you're so dead", directly aimed at the robot. What in the world was Baymax trying to pull?
Aunt Cass gave both the robot and her nephew a funny look. "He didn't mention anything about that," she admitted, clearly intending to inquire further.
Still ignoring Hiro's expression, Baymax plodded on. "Along with five cracked ribs, Hiro sustained multiple contusions and abrasions across his hips, chest, and thighs."
Hiro's knuckles were white. He somehow wished he had some kind of cutoff switch that would make Baymax shut up. At least the robot hadn't brought up his little projection of the human body to illustrate his point. They obviously needed to have a discussion about patient-doctor confidentiality. All the same, he just wanted him to stop, though the damage had already been done.
Wait. Now that was an idea. The tension in Hiro's shoulders relaxed as his fingers let go of the table, his mind suddenly on other things. He was so preoccupied he didn't notice his aunt gingerly lifting the corner of his pajama shirt to look at the dressings underneath.
A cutoff switch might possibly solve his problems, Hiro thought. Baymax was right about him joining SFIT. It was a defining moment for him. And what better way to get in than the tried and true? After all, if it wasn't broke, why fix it? The showcase itself wasn't the problem. It was Yokai.
But he'd have to make a few changes to his microbots. Instead of keeping the transmitter with him, he'd allow it to remain behind. But he'd install a kill switch, just like he had with Megabot. The next problem, of course, was how to keep Tadashi from getting killed. That notion put a roadblock on his mental train tracks, giving his brain enough room to realize someone was poking his wounds.
"Hiro," Aunt Cass's voice sounded strained. "Just what did you do to yourself?"
The boy winced as her fingers found a particularly painful bruise. He moved to pull his shirt back down. "Why does everyone keep poking me?" he complained. "I'm not a pin cushion!"
Cass pulled back. "When you and Tadashi told me you had a little run in with some bot fighters, I had no idea just how bad it was. Why didn't you tell me?"
Hiro could see the hurt in her eyes. Guilt swam up like a living thing. "Because...we didn't want to worry you?" he finally answered, giving her one of his half puppy dog/half guilty looks.
Clearly that was the wrong thing to say. He knew the moment he saw her bite her nails. "Don't you trust me, Hiro?"
It was like a blow to his body. He felt the air rush from his lungs. Images he hadn't thought about in a while rammed themselves into his vision.
"What? Don't you trust me?" GoGo asked in that all too familiar tone. It was one third sarcastic, two thirds disbelief.
And, after all the times they'd spent together, it was a good question. Did he really trust them? The answer, of course, was yes. Yes, he did. With his life. But what she was talking about doing was more than dangerous. Someone could get hurt, would get hurt. In fact, many people might get hurt.
GoGo's plan was simple. Storm the hospital and take out the gunman with a solid clunk to the head using her discs. She was fast, but the mad man might be faster. All it took was a quickly executed phone call and it would be all over. One button on speed dial was all it took.
"I want to try and talk to him," Hiro countered. "Maybe he'll back down."
GoGo let out an exasperated sigh. "Who do you think you're fooling? Not everyone is going to back down once they see the errors of their ways. Callaghan proved that."
"He would have if Krei hadn't opened his big mouth," Hiro protested.
She glared at him, hands on her hips. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"What? Don't you trust me?" Hiro echoed at her as he settled his helmet in place. He had this. He knew he did. "If my plan doesn't work, we'll use yours as backup."
"Hiro?"
The boy blinked, coming back to the present. His aunt was staring at him like she wasn't sure what to think. A mix of concern clouded her eyes and she moved to feel his forehead. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem kind of out of it. Is it because of the pain?"
"I'm fine," Hiro protested as he evaded her touch, albeit awkwardly. "I need to go-" he headed towards the bathroom, his aunt trailing behind him. But he cut her off with the closing of the bathroom door, locking it behind him.