Chapter Text
V had changed her mind. This sucked so much. This was so much harder than she thought it would be. She initially had been so happy after her surgery: the amputation and attachment of the prosthetic connectors were a success and in addition, her legs had regained some motion. She was all set to finally get this road to recovery in high gear.
And then she took her first step on said road …and it was filled with potholes, cracks, detours and crashes. It had been months, and she felt like she was taking more steps backwards than forward …metaphorically speaking.
Her doctors had warned her; this wasn’t going to be easy. She was required to do extensive physical and psychological therapy, which would all take time. Despite the warnings, V had been optimistic, if not a bit dismissive, about all of it. She had survived the Absolute Solver, she had survived the Sentinel attack, she had overcome – or was at least on the right path - her own reluctance about forming close relationships, be it platonic or romantic and most of all, she had survived the surgery. Some therapy wasn’t going to be a big deal.
But …it was. It was a big deal. In fact, she’d rather face the Sentinels again than this …torture they called a ‘gait training’. It was humiliating, using this parallel bars thingy to learn how to walk again. V huffed and groaned as she took careful steps, wincing as pain shot through her right leg while it felt her left leg was getting peppered with spikes. Her grip around the bars was so intense, she could hear the metal groan.
“Are we almost done?” V asked, trying so hard not to make it sound like she was whining.
“Almost, Miss V.” her doctor, Steen, said on the other end of the bars – the far end, to V’s chagrin. “Just once more, and we are done for the day.”
Robo-God, that was easy for him to say. He wasn’t struggling out here. V bit back a sarcastic comment, not wanting to waste her energy on something that pointless. She knew he was only doing his job, and she couldn’t have made it this far without his expertise. So, she’d cut him some slack …for now.
V reached the end of the bars and took a few moments to catch her breath, which somehow only managed to make her feel the pain in her legs even more. The nurse that had helped her put on her prosthetics had tightened the screws just a bit too hard where they kept the connectors in place. It felt like the prosthetic was scraping against them with every step, which made walking very uncomfortable.
She took a deep breath and spun around …only to feel her entire body seize up again and everything cramped up tightly. She gripped the bars so hard that she wasn’t surprised that they didn’t snap in two. Luckily, while the seizure was fierce, it was also very fleeting. It only took V a few seconds to relax again. With a grimace, she noticed her doctor peering over his glasses.
“You okay there, Miss V?” he asked.
“I’m just fine!” V snapped, sounding a bit harsher than she intended to be. She took a deep breath. She threw her doctor an apologetic grin. “Sorry about that.”
“That’s quite alright.” Steen said, waving her apology away. He was probably used to it by now. V tended to snap like that once or twice during their sessions. “Take a few seconds to compose yourself, and make your way to my side.”
V took a few deep breaths, calming her buzzing core down and started to take careful steps towards the other end of the parallel bars.
“Yes, that’s it. Almost there. Just few more steps, aaand …good, finished.” Steen helped guide V towards her wheelchair and gently helped her sit down. He smiled as he gestured V towards his desk. He hummed approvingly as he made his way to his desk and sat down, waiting for V to roll herself there as well. “Excellent work, Miss V. You’re making great progress.”
“Really? Doesn’t feel like it.” V mumbled. She flinched, realizing she had said that out loud. She hadn’t meant to say it, but it came out before she could stop herself. “I’m sorry, I-“
Steen held up a hand, his face friendly, no indication whatsoever that he had taken offense to V’s comment. “No need.” He assured, folding his hands on his desk. “It’s quite normal to feel …frustration, when progress is slower than you were hoping it would be.”
“You sound like my therapist.” V stated flatly, leaning back into her wheelchair, letting out a content sigh. It was ironic, really. At first, she had been so eager to get to walk again, and now she ended up trying to avoid it all together most time.
“Speaking of which, how are your sessions with Dr. Baher?” Steen asked. “I hope you’ve been keeping up your regular appointments with her?”
V hoped her doctor hadn’t seen her flinch. “Yeah, yeah, I have. It’s been going great.”
“Well, that’s not what she’s been telling me.” He chuckled when he saw V’s shocked expression. “Did you forget that she’s my sister-in-law?”
“No, but I do know about a little thing called ‘doctor-patient confidentiality’.” V stated, crossing her arms and looking away, a bit embarrassed that she got caught.
“Which is true, but we are both assigned to your case, so we need to keep each other informed about your progress.” Steen adjusted his glasses, still smiling sympathetically at his patient.
“It’s not like I haven’t been going …” V couldn’t stop herself from blushing, feeling flustered about the interrogation – or ‘consultation’, as everyone seemed to be calling it. “I just …don’t like getting someone in my head since, y’know-?” she gestured at herself. “This whole situation being the result of the last time that happened?”
“Miss V, no-one is denying that you and your kin have gone through very traumatic events-“
“I’ve caused a few of those too.” V interrupted, producing – what she hoped to be – a cocky grin.
Steen continued, unperturbed by her interruption or dark statement. “And because of recent changes, besides your surgery and semi-loss of your legs, but also your past and current role in our colony, it is necessary – nay, vital – that you come to certain form of closure about …everything.” He gave her a warm smile, one V imagined a father would give a daughter. “It’s all for your own good. The body can’t mend, if the mind remains damaged.”
V felt something surge deep inside her. A need to defend herself, to make him eat his words and vehemently deny everything he just told her …but she managed to push that urge back down again. She often needed to remind herself that people actually just wanted to help her, and sometimes that meant listening to things she didn’t want to hear.
V let out a frustrated mumble. “I guess I could …maybe, be a little more …cooperative.” She let out a deep sigh, and nodded to his statement, leaning back into her wheelchair. Her eyes glanced down at her legs and she scowled. The change in her expression was involuntary, something she didn’t want to show to her doctor.
But alas …
“Something else bothering you, Miss V?” Steen asked.
V let out a surprised squeak, crossed her arms, shrinking into herself and avoided any eye contact with Steen. “No!”
Silence fell over the room, neither of them speaking up. After a few moments, V glanced up, sighing when she saw Steen’s gaze fixed on her, like he was waiting for her to answer. She realized that she wasn’t going to win this fight. She relaxed her body and folded her hands on her lap. “Okay, something is bothering me.”
“Go on.” Steen’s voice was soft and patient.
V bit her lower lip, mulling over her words. She eventually took a deep breath. “You said that when I would do the surgery, I would get back my ability to walk, yeah?”
“What I said was ‘improve your mobility’, which has happened.” Steen gestured to the parallel bars, as to prove his point.
“But that’s just the thing.” V exclaimed loudly, frustration building up in her voice. “I’m not improving. I’m …not getting better. I still need this …stupid wheelchair or crutches, I still get seizures, my legs hurt all the time, and …and-“ She buried her face in her hands, more out of frustration than the tears that had started to trickle down her visor.
A silence fell over the room once again, this time lasting for what seemed to be an eternity, before Dr. Steen took a deep breath.
“V?”
The familiarity in his voice made V look up. Steen was giving her a warm, sympathetic smile, nothing in his face saying that her outburst had shaken him.
“It’s completely natural to feel this way, like you’re not progressing fast enough, or not at all, even.” Steen began, his tone soft yet serious. “But you must understand, progress takes time and improvement doesn’t happen overnight.”
“I know that, it’s just …” V sighed, rubbing her arms. “I thought …”
“Thought what?”
“I don’t know …” V wrung her hands together.
“Miss V, the speed of your progress might not be what you wanted to be, but let me tell you, as your doctor, that you are doing very good, and at a faster pace than I initially thought it would.” He smiled when V looked up at him in surprise. “So cut yourself some slack, don’t rush this and just …take it day by day, okay?”
V smiled, a genuine one since she’s had set foot inside his practice, and nodded. “I think I could do that.”
“Good.” Steen opened a drawer and took out a set of coloured data sticks. “Now, I’ve got some new medication for you – don’t give me that look, you need them.” He pointed at each one of them. “This one is a new patch for the legs, that should fix up the balancing issue the last patch caused. The blue drive should help your system deal with your seizures a bit more. Take one shot in the evening, and one when you wake up. The last one is a just a little something to help you sleep, since you’ve mentioned you’ve been having trouble with that lately.”
V grabbed the drives and put them in her purse – yes, she was a purse person now, courtesy of Lizzy with providing her one – and nodded her head. “Thank you, Dr. Steen …and sorry for being such a difficult patient.”
Steen stood up with a chuckle and accompanied V to the door, opening it for her. “Oh, you’re hardly the most difficult patient I’ve had over the years.” He said with a chuckle. “Miss Uzi always gives me such a run for my money when she’s over here.”
“Does she now?” V asked with a mischievous grin, already using the ammo her doctor had unwittingly provided her to formulate a little tease for the purple haired girl. She rolled out of the office. “See you next time, Doc.”
“Oh, I’ve almost forgot!” Steen suddenly cried out, taking long steps to catch up to V. “Has someone informed you that you are being discharged from the hospital wing today?”
V screeched to a halt. Did someone tell her? The nurse that helped her in the morning, one who seemed to have extra energy when it came to talking and yapping about pointless things, did announce she had exciting news, but …V had kinda tuned out. She grimaced nervously. “Uh …maybe, but can you tell me again, just in case?”
“Well, since you’ve improved significantly since you’ve started your treatment, we have determined that you may return home.” Steen informed her with a soft smile.
V bit her lower lip, her brow furrowed. ‘Home’? Did she have one? She had been in that hospital room for the last few months, and had only ventured outside the hospital wing a few times. It had never really occurred to her that she’d move out eventually, even though it seemed only logical. She couldn’t just take a room there and call it her own. Would she need to go back to the pod? With this wheelchair? Her wings didn’t work anymore, so how-?
“V!” A voice suddenly called out, making the latter look up. She was surprised to see N walking up to her, carrying several bags of what she assumed to be her stuff on his person. “They said you were here!”
“Here I am.” V joked teasingly. She pointed at the load N was carrying. “What’s all this?”
“Your stuff.”
“Yeah, I’ve realized that, dingus.” V bit back teasingly, rolling her eyes. “What are you doing with them?”
“I’m taking you home!” N announced, nodding to Doctor Steen, who patted V on the shoulder a few times.
“I’ll let you two on your way.” Steen said, turning around and walking back towards his office. “I’ll see you on your next appointment, Miss V. Don’t forget to do your exercises in the meantime.”
“So, what’s this about, N?” V asked, taking a few of the smaller bags from N’s back, giving him a bit more room to move. “Last time I checked, the pod was destroyed by J, when she still thought she was helping Tessa, and not the Solver-controlling-Tessa.”
“I’ve got my own apartment here now, remember?” N asked, as she started to roll V’s chair down the hallways.
“Yeah, so?”
“So?” N chuckled, and V really had to contain herself from slapping him. She was trying to be a ‘kinder person’ now …which was as much of a struggle as her situation with her legs sometimes. “So, you’re moving in with me. It’s certainly big enough, like …three time the space the pod had. We’ll all have our own room, there’s space for your wheelchair.” He chuckled when he saw V’s surprised expression. “What, did you really think I wouldn’t share my space with you?”
“No?” V answered, actually surprised. “I figured you and your girlfriend were going to be moving in together?”
“Uzi still needs to go to school, and …well, her dad …”
Yeah, okay, V saw what N was saying. Khan Doorman, ever the vigilant doorkeeper. Although he had begrudgingly started to trust that the ‘Murder Drones’ – which Uzi kept saying was an offensive term to use – weren’t going to attack the general populace, he certainly had trouble warming up to the idea of Uzi dating one. Lizzy’s dad, Teacher – what was the guy’s name anyway? – seemed not to care about his daughter dating the literal apex huntress of Dronekind.
“Listen, N, I really appreciate that you would do that for me – especially after all the abuse I’ve thrown your way over the years – but …are you sure?”
“Sure I’m sure!” N cheerfully announced, waving towards some people they were passing. With him pushing her wheelchair, V couldn’t see his expression, but she could feel his demeanor change a bit. His tone became somewhat …serious. “And what about you did …I know that you had your reasons. You was …protecting us. Trying to make sure the Solver wouldn’t-“
“Shhh!” V looked around her, making sure no-one was around. N chuckled sheepishly and gave an apologetic nod. No-one knew the real truth about the Absolute Solver, and V, for one, wanted to keep it that way. If the whole truth came out …who knew what was going to happen?
“You were doing bad things for the right reasons.” N said instead. “That’s something that makes sense, right?”
“Right …” V smiled, a genuine warmth – not from overheating this time – building up inside her. “Thank, N. I mean that.”
“Hey, we’re family, aren’t we? And family looks after one another.”
“A bit weird to say, since we’ve both had crushes on one another at some point in time.” V mused, letting out a silent giggle.
“So, we are a weird family.” N chuckled. He gave V a soft pat on the shoulder. “But it looks like we both ended up with someone amazing, right?”
“Yeah …” V couldn’t help but blush a little.
“Speaking of Lizzy, she said she’d come over after school.” N said with a grin. “Help you ‘unpack you stuff’, which I think is code for ‘making out without interruption’? She seemed happy to hear that you’d finally move out of your hospital room.”
“Shut up.” V growled, blushing fiercely. She looked over her shoulder with a sarcastic grin. “Since when did you get confident enough to crack jokes like that? I thought Golden Retrievers had ‘gentle mouths’, and not ‘sarcastic bites’?”
N chuckled, turning a corner. “I guess that being with Uzi helped me grow like that. I’m not the same guy as before.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“Neither are you. Not the same girl, I mean.” N chuckled.
“Jeez, I wonder why?” V asked sarcastically, knocking on her legs.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know.” V leaned back into her chair. “And I know what you mean …it’s weird, being here. Actually being around other drones, and they’re not afraid of us.” Her audio receptors picked up some whispers from Drones they passed. Some more of the same whispers she had gotten accustomed of hearing these days. “Well …mostly not afraid.”
“It’s getting better every day, though. We’re here.” N stated, stopping in front of a door and rummaging in his pockets for his keys. “Since I’ve been working with the WDF, people seem to warm up to me more and more. I’ve shown that they can trust me. Maybe you can do something similar?”
“My options are a bit limited, with these legs of mine.” V stated with a roll of her eyes. N had a point, though. Maybe, once she’s well enough to actually be active, she could find something to do in the colony. Not the WDF, that’s for sure. Not much use for a crippled Drone there, she thought. Maybe something ..productive? Something where she could provide a service or something. Back in the Manor, she mostly worked the Library wing, tending to the books, keeping them organized. It was something that she loved, something that she begrudgingly missed about her old life.. Maybe …?
V shook her head with a silent giggle. Look at her, already planning out her future, like she was going to be a regular Drone like any other.
Then again …maybe that’s what’s she could be. Just …normal. Herself.
“Got it!” N cheerfully said, opening the door to his apartment. “Welcome home, V!”
V rolled her wheelchair inside, letting out a soft whistle as she gazed around the room. N hadn’t been lying about having space. It was certainly bigger than the pod. It was …nice. It suddenly hit V …she never had something like this before.
Back in the Manor, when she was still a servant/companion for Tessa, she slept in a corner of the room, plugged into an outlet.
As a Disassembly Drone, she shared the pod with two others – first with J and N, and when J was -temporarily - out of the picture, it was Uzi who briefly filled that ‘void’.
The last few months, she was recovering in a hospital room, but it’s not like she could call it ‘her own space’.
This … this was her place. Sure, she was sharing it with N, but at least she would have her own room. Speaking of which …
“Where’s my room? I’d like to rest up a bit.” She asked. Today’s physical therapy had worn her out, both …well, physically but also mentally. She hadn’t planned to have a semi-emotional breakdown before her physician.
“Oh yeah, right here.” N walked over to a door and opened it for her, allowing her to wheel herself inside. It looked much like Uzi’s bedroom, albeit a bit …actually, a lot emptier. N chuckled sheepishly as V looked around, placing the latter’s bags on her bed. “Yeah, it’s a bit …barren for now. We thought we could try to decorate it with some of your stuff from the pod, but Uzi pointed out that it would look less like a bedroom and more like a, uh …”
“Torture chamber?” V guessed, wheeling around with her wide, trademark psychotic grin. She always kept some ‘snacks’ in her space, in case she’d start overheating between hunting missions.
“Uzi went with ‘food storage, but yours works …disturbingly better..” N rubbed the back of his head nervously. “We figured that your, uh …reputation needed a little sprucing up, so we didn’t go for it.”
V crossed her arms with a huff. “Uh-huh.”
N flinched, feeling he was being inconsiderate. “V, I didn’t mean to-“
“N, I get it. I know my image. I never was the most ‘stable’ Drone out there, no matter the reasons I had for acting so.” V sighed. “I know people are afraid of me. I’ve heard them whisper when they think I don’t hear them. Some people – a lot of them - are happy to see me in my current crippled state. And honestly …I don’t blame them.”
“V…”
“N, it’s okay.” V wheeled over to him to grab his hands and squeezed them with a reassuring smile. “From the moment I woke up in that hospital bed, I knew I had a hard road ahead of me. I’m not stupid, I know I have a lot to make up for. To these Drones, to Uzi and you …I’ll figure something out. Figure myself out, ‘kay?”
“You know you’re not alone in this, right?” N stated softly, squeezing V’s hands as well.
“I know, you goof. Stop giving me those puppy eyes.” V rolled her eyes. Dang him and his considerate, helpful nature.
“Just saying.” N grinned, reaching into his pockets when something buzzed in there, taking out a phone. His expression changed when he read the message. “I’m sorry. I would like to help you unpack, but I need to go.”
“Something wrong?” V asked, following him as he walked out the room and into his own.
“Not really, I think?” N soon walked out of his room, wearing a backpack with the WDF insignia. “The WDF has been trying to clear out the rubble to the deeper parts of Cabin Fever Labs, and they’ve just managed to breach through. They wanted to go deeper, but heard …things inside. They want me to check it out first.”
“Still the disposable one, huh?” V teased, laughing as N rolled his eyes. Her expression turned curious. “What do you think it is?”
“With our luck, maybe some stray Sentinels.” He flinched, realizing what he just had said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” V waved his apology away. “Jeez, no need to tiptoe around the subject, you know? It’s not like I’m seize up whenever someone mention those things. Now get going, I wanna rest.”
“Okay, okay, I’m gone.” N chuckled, spinning around and making his way to the door. As he opened it, he got knocked in the visor by Lizzy, who yelped in surprise.
“Oh my gosh!” The pink-eyed exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment. “N, I swear I didn’t mean to do that.”
N rubbed his visor with a chuckle. “No biggie, no damage done, Lizzy.” He gestured her to get inside. “V, you got company!”
“I noticed, dingus!” V shouted, rolling her eyes. “Get lost!”
N just grinned, and with a final salute, left the two drones alone.
Lizzy wasted no time, quickly running up to V to hug her, giggling as the latter kissed her on the cheek. “So, happy to get out of that boring hospital room?”
“Yeah, and right into the boring regular room.” V joked, gesturing towards her room.
“Meh, we’ll get it decorated in time.” Lizzy reassured, winking at her girlfriend. She took command of V’s wheelchair and rolled her into her bedroom. She helped V from her chair into the bed, the latter sitting down with a big, relieved exhale. After she parked the wheelchair in the corner of the room, Lizzy took a seat next to V, her expression turning a bit more serious. “How was it today?”
V sighed deeply. “Fine, I guess.” She smirked. “I got reprimanded for missing out on my psych therapy, though.”
“Told ya they’d catch you.”
“And …I had seizure. A MILD ONE!” V quickly stated when she saw the instant worry on her girlfriend’s face. “Nothing to worry about. Just overexerted myself a bit too much. Been stressing too frequently lately.”
“About what?” Lizzy asked, hooking her arm around V’s, resting her head on the latter’s shoulder.
“A bit of this, a bit of that …” V sighed, pulling Lizzy closer against her.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.” Lizzy grabbed her phone and started to browse through her messages. Or at least, pretended to. She smirk that was forming in the corner of her mouth was a dead giveaway. Lizzy knew how she could help V – rather ‘manipulate’, if you’d ask the latter – if she was in one of her moods.
“Jeez, give up fast much?” V snorted, knowing very well what her girl was up to. “Okay, fine, I’ll lay out my feelings for you.”
The grin on Lizzy’s face matched the one on her own. “Thought as much.” She grabbed V’s hands and squeezed them. “C’mon, tell me what’s wrong.”
V gave her girlfriend a quick recap of what had transpired at the doctor’s place. How she felt that she wasn’t getting anywhere quick, how she felt like a burden to her friends, and, most pressingly, how she was getting sick of that wheelchair.
By the end of her little tale, Lizzy had pretty much wrapped herself around V, hugging her tightly.
“And then, I guess I kinda realized that, well, I need to figure out myself, and what my place is going to be here.” V rubbed Lizzy’s back, nuzzling her face into her blond hair. “I need to be something more than just ‘the former Murder Drone’, or ‘N and Uzi’s friend’, or ‘Lizzy’s girlfriend’. No offense.”
“None taken.” Lizzy released herself from the hug, smiling softly at the downtrodden Drone. “You’ll figure things out eventually, V. You’ve got me to help you.” She smirked, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “And your other friends too, I guess.”
“You're starting to sound like N.”
“Ew!”
They both bursted out in laughter, V pulling Lizzy in a tight hug, which the latter greatly appreciated. V suddenly let out a pained hiss, making Lizzy quickly jump off her.
“V? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” V hissed, rubbing her legs. When Lizzy’s seemingly unending gaze started to weight down on her, she let out a long sigh in defeat. “ It’s my prosthetics. The nurse who helped me getting these things on just screwed the bolts on too tightly. It’s been painful to walk on them.”
“And the reason you didn’t tell anyone is …?”
V huffed, not wanting to give an answer.
Lizzy sighed. “Of course.” She crossed her arms, giving her girlfriend a disproving scowl. Her tone was sharp and accusatory. “Miss Tough Shit doesn’t need help, right?”
“I’m working on that!” V actually felt embarrassed, being reprimanded like this. Not that she didn’t deserve it. She could’ve just said something to the nurse, to her doctor the entire time she was there for her therapy, or even to N. Yet, she didn’t. “I’m sorry, okay?”
“You better be.” While Lizzy’s voice was still anything but soft, concern was clearly woven between the sharpness. Her expression softened, planting a fist on her hip while letting out a sigh. She smiled warmly at her girl. “Do you feel like you want to ask me something?”
V sighed, biting on the inside of her cheek. She was so grateful that Uzi wasn’t here. The purple-haired Drone also could be such a nag when V was like this. She preferred it when Uzi was just angry with teenage angst.
…
Okay, that was a lie.
“Lizzy, could you help me take them off?” V asked, lifting up one of her legs with great difficulty.
“I could do that …” Lizzy stated, grabbing her backpack. She took out a first-aid kit and opened it, revealing a set of tools inside. She took out a wrench and knelt down at V’s legs. “But first, you’re going to do your exercises.”
“Lizzy …”
“Uh-uh, none of that.” Lizzy reprimanded sharply, pointing the wrench at V’s face. “You want me to forgive you for not saying you were in pain, you’ll do this. But before you do that …” She placed the wrench on one of the bolts that kept V’s prosthetics in place and gave them a gentle twist, loosening them just a little. V felt the pressure in her legs give away a little, and she involuntarily let out a deep sigh of relief. Lizzy giggled. “Yeah, I figured that would feel nice.”
V looked down at her girlfriend as the latter worked, smiling softly. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Few do.” Lizzy joked, giving the other bolts on V’s prosthetics the same treatment. She huffed. “Man, it’s like that nurse didn’t want these to come off ever again. These are screwed on tight. Like …forcibly tight.” She looked up with concern. “You think she did that on purpose? To make sure you were in pain?”
V just shrugged. She wouldn’t put it past some of these drones, considering her, uh, violent history with the colony. She had been the most prominent hunter out there. While N and J also had been hunting Drones for their oil, V had been the one trying to get inside those doors protecting them for months. She was the one who had pleasure in hurting them, maiming them.
“Like I said …” V stated with a sigh. “I’ve got a lot to make up for.”
“Still isn’t right.” Lizzy mumbled, caressing V’s legs. “I’m going to have a talk with your doctor about this.”
“Eh, Steen is a good one.” V stated, moving her legs to test them. They felt a lot better, now that Lizzy had worked her magic touch on them. “He actually wants me to get better. Speaking of ‘better’ …thank you, Lizzy.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” Lizzy stated with mischievous grin, jumping up and walking over to the closet in the room. She threw the doors open and took out a set of crutches. “I’m still making you do your exercises.”
“Are you – ah!” V let out a yelp when Lizzy threw the crutches at her, catching them just in time before they’d hit her straight in the visor. “Are you really going to make me do this?”
“Yup.”
“You’re a vindictive Drone, you know that?”
“Aww, what a nice thing to say!” Lizzy chuckled.
“You know I hate walking with these, right?” V stated, attaching the crutches to her forearms. She didn’t like her wheelchair, but she couldn’t help feeling just ridiculous walking with these. For one thing, it was uncomfortable. Just the fact that they were just that bit too short, because they wouldn’t give her custom ones before her doctors would give their consent, infuriated her.
“Well, you better learn to love them, because the doctor said you’ll need them, even if you learn to walk on your own again.” Lizzy stated sternly, crossing her arms. She smiled softly. “C’mon, just do this for me, and then you can rest.”
“Fine.” V reluctantly agreed. With a bit of effort, she managed to get herself upright, taking a few moments to steady herself. “You know, you could be a teacher. You certainly sound authoritarian enough when you want to.”
“Funny thing about that.” Lizzy stated, folding her hands behind her back with a sway of her hips. “I actually decided that I want to become a teacher, like my dad.”
“Seriously?” V huffed as she took a few steps forward.
“Maybe not ‘just like him’, but …” Lizzy grinned. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Well, let’s get you some practice as well, then.” V grinned. “What do you want me to do, oh mighty teacher?”
Lizzy giggled, taking slow steps towards her girlfriend. She stopped in front of her, visors almost touching. “Something simple, with a great reward.
“Oh?” V gulped down a nervous lump. How was Lizzy the one who could make V feel this flustered, and not the other way around.
“Yup. Your task: use your crutches to get to me, and…” Lizzy walked over to the far side of the room. She leaned against the wall in a rather seductive manner, like she was presenting herself to V. “I’ll give you a kiss.” She made a kissy face, for good measure.
V grinned, really liking where this was going. Why couldn’t her entire therapy be like this? “Seems easy enough.”
“Seems like it, right?” Lizzy stated, her tone just a bit too casual for V’s liking.
“Okay, here I come!” V took a deep breath and started to make her way towards Lizzy. Her stance was wobbly, her steps uneven. Yeah, okay, she needed to practice more with them. But, at least she didn’t have to go far. She was only a few steps away from Lizzy, and-
“Too slow!” Lizzy suddenly ran to the other side of the room, leaning against that wall now.
“Hey, no fair!” V growled, almost losing her balance when she tried to turn around too fast.
“Well, I said ‘get to me’.” Lizzy grinned, sticking out her tongue. “I never said I was going to make it easy on you.” She winked at V, curling her finger suggestively. “Now, come get me, you big, scary, yet pretty Disassembly Drone.”
“Shut up.” V blushed, making her way to where Lizzy was now. Her posture was a bit better, the placement of her crutches a bit more calculated. She got there faster than before, but –
“And now, I’m over here!” Lizzy shouted, laughing as she dodged as V attempted to grab her. She ran out of V’s room, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen area. “I’m waiting for you, babe!”
Although she was getting really annoyed, V couldn’t help but smirk. She did like a good hunt, after all. No fun if her prey gave up too easily. With renewed energy, she began her chase. She hadn’t even entered the kitchen area, when Lizzy ran off again, laughing in a delighted manner. V couldn’t stop herself from laughing as well.
Lizzy had made V walk around the entirety of the apartment. V was getting better with her crutches, determination – and the promise of a kiss - fuelling her progress. At one point, Lizzy ran back inside V’s room, with the latter closely on her heels, and planted herself on the bed. She yelped when V, who had dropped the crutches when she went through the doorway, practically threw herself on top of her, which quickly turned to laughter as the silver-haired Drone started to tickle her.
“Okay, o-kay, yo-ou win!” Lizzy laughed, trying to push her girlfriend of her. She let out yelp when V pulled her onto her, making the blonde Drone straddle her. She started to blush so hard, it almost lit up her entire visor.
“And now, I claim my price.” V whispered triumphantly , digital sweat dripping down her visor, slowly pulling Lizzy closer to her.
“I guess …” Lizzy swallowed hard, wrapping her arms around V’s neck. “I guess you earned it.”
“I sure did, but first …” She let out a breath, giving Lizzy an apologetic grin. “Do you mind if I take a breather first? You did let me run around the entire apartment, you know?”
“Oh, oh okay.” Lizzy pouted, definitely not okay with it. Nevertheless, she did grin as she got of V. “This is payback, right?”
V just chuckled, grabbing the wrench that was still on the bed. She was about to unscrew the bolt, when Lizzy snatched it out her hand.
“Here, let me do it.” Lizzy said softly as she knelt down. Her eyes gazed upwards, still blushing. “I figure I’ll better get used to helping you with this. Just relax, catch your breath.”
V smiled warmly as Lizzy got to work, loosing the bolts that kept her legs in place. She couldn’t help but hiss a little when the first prosthetic got removed. When Lizzy gave her a concerned look, she just shook her head, mouthing a quick ‘I’m fine’, taking a deep breath when the former gave her other prosthetic the same treatment.
The feeling of relief that washed over her when the last prosthetic slid off was so intense, V couldn’t help but let out an audibly deep sigh.
“Feels good, right?” Lizzy chuckled, stashing the two prosthetics next to V’s bed. She glanced over her shoulder, throwing V such a sultry look that the former Disassembly Drone thought that she’d overheat in a flash. She hopped on the bed and wordlessly instructed V to lie down. “Now relax, close your eyes, and I’ll make you feel even better.”
V closed her eyes.
That first moment where their lips met never tasted sweeter.
***
V opened her eyes with a groan and sat up to stretch. Man, did she have a good dream. She raised a digital eyebrow when her internal clock showed her the time. It was an hour later than she had set the time for. Did she sleep through her alarm clock? V had the day off, but even then, she liked getting up early. She looked at the empty space next to her. Seems like Miss Perfect Teacher had already gotten up, and neglected to wake up her wife.
With a precision that years of practice brought, V threw her legs over the edge of the bed and got herself into her wheelchair that was parked right next to it. She noticed something missing. Where the heck did her legs go? She was certain she had left them in her room to charge.
Sighing, V rolled herself out of the master bedroom and into the living area. She smiled when she saw Lizzy sitting at the table, still eating while reading the morning paper.
“Morning, Liz.” V greeted as she wheeled over to her.
Lizzy looked up from her newspaper, a massive smile forming on her lips. “Good morning, Babe. Slept well?”
V kissed her wife, casually letting her hand slip down south to give her butt a squeeze, making the normally prim and proper teacher giggle. “I slept, alright.” She gave her wife an accusatory grin. “Did you disable my alarm this morning?”
“It’s your day off, honey.” Lizzy said, turning back to her newspaper. “They can handle the library one day without you. You’ve been working way to hard lately.”
“But I promised Andrea that-“
“And that’s why I called Andrea with clear instructions.” Lizzy glanced over, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “If she sees you anywhere near those books, she has my express permission to kick your cute little keister out of there.”
“Okay, fine. I guess I can use the time to rest.” V chuckled, and gestured Lizzy to lean in so she could kiss her cheek again. She rolled over to the fridge and got out a carton of coolant, grabbing a glass to fill it up. “So, what are you up to today?”
“Just giving my classes. Mostly history today, with Drone Independence Day approaching.” Lizzy stated, finishing the rest of her breakfast.
“You free tonight?” V asked, albeit jokingly.
“Why, you wanna do something?”
V glanced over her shoulder, throwing her wife a deadpan expression.
Lizzy giggled. “Oh, don’t be so sour. It was just a joke.” She walked over to her wife and booped her on the non-existent nose. “We’re meeting Uzi, N, J and Tessa at the restaurant around 7.30PM.”
“It’s been a while since the 6 of us were together.” V mused.
“And N has asked me to ask you ‘please, do not make any jokes about TJ, or any suggestions about Thad.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault J got drunk and hooked up with an equally drunk Thad.” V chuckled. “Inside the Untrained Neural Network storage. And they’re not even together. The only reason that she didn’t obliterate Thad out of existence, is because of that little guy.”
“It’s been 12 years, it’s time to drop it.” Lizzy warned.
V held up her hands, chuckling nevertheless. “Okay, I promise I’ll behave.”
“Thank you.” Lizzy walked over to the counter and started to collect some of her things. She let out a sigh, her expression softening. “Too bad J isn’t able to have a bigger role with TJ’s upbringing, though. Not while she’s working with Tessa for the New Earth Alliance government of the Unified Colonial Planets” She stated softly, a hint of sadness in her voice. “Especially because she adores that little troublemaker. She’s always going on about wanting to have a ‘take your son to work day’ with him.”
“Yeah, wanna bet that, after a few glasses of kerosene wine, he is all that she’s going to be gushing about?” V asked, a glint of amusing in his eyes.
“Oh, it’s only going to take half a glass.” Lizzy added with a equally amusing glint. She glanced over at the clock. “I’ll better get going and make sure that Dad is in his office on time. You’d think after he’d became the principal ….”
“Hey, before you go.” V quickly interjected. “Have you seen my legs? They weren’t in their charger.”
“Huh, now that you mention it, no.” Lizzy scratched her cheek. A grin spread on her lips. “Have you asked our resident troublemaker?“
V sighed, throwing her gaze up. Of course. She turned her wheelchair around and rolled over to the only closed door in the house. “Avery, can you come out here, darling?”
The door opened, and a 16-year old blue-haired Drone’s head peeked out, their amber eyes curious, yet alarmed. “Yeah, ma?”
“Good morning to you too, sweetheart.” Lizzy said cheerfully, Yet her tone of voice was filled with a warning she hoped their daughter would understand.
Avery flinched, grinning sheepishly as they walked out. “Oh yeah, sorry. Good morning, mom, ma.”
V wanted to chuckle, but she had to commit to her role as mother right now. “Have you seen my legs?”
“Oh yeah, got them right here!” Avery quickly ran into their room and soon emerged with V’s legs.
“Did …you polish them?” V asked, suspicion rising inside her core. This kid was up to something.
“Yeah!” Avery presented V with a wide, sharp grin, non unlike the one she had when …she still was in her old life.
V and Lizzy threw each other a look, and turned back to their daughter. “Okay, Avery Casio, what’s the catch?”
“Whaaa? No, no catch!” Avery exclaimed loudly, their voice rising as they played nervously with the non-binary/transgender flag that was stitched on their jacket. “Nah, I just wanted to helpful, because you did such a good job of raising me, so I wanted to do something out of the goodness of my core; and by the looks in your visors, neither of you is buying any of this, are you?”
“Not at all.” Lizzy stated, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
“Yeah, thought so …” Avery admitted with a grin. “Okay, there is something I wanted to ask you guys.”
“So?” V asked. “What is it you want to ask us?”
Avery hopped from one foot to the other, their voice eager. “Okay, Lexi Valdez is holding a movie marathon tonight. Nix, Jackie, Lin and Gloria already said they’re going and I was really hoping if I could go too?”
“You’re on time to ask that.” V stated, making Lizzy giggle.
“She only asked me yesterday.” Avery explained. “And …then I forgot about it until this morning. C’mon, Auntie Uzi and Uncle N are letting Nix go, and you’re out with them too tonight anyway. Please, I can’t be the only one who has to stay home tonight.”
V shook her head in amusement. She glanced over at Lizzy, who sighed and nodded.
“Okay, you can go.” V agreed.
Avery pumped their fist. “Yes.”
“But, you’ll be home by 10PM.”
“Aw, c’mon, It’s Friday.”
V glanced over at Lizzy again, who rolled her eyes but nodded again.
“Okay, 10.30PM.”
“Agreed.”
“But on a few conditions.” V stated sternly. “You’ll listen to Mr. and Mrs. Valdez. I don’t want to get a phone call about you misbehaving, okay?”
“Understood!”
“No R-rated movies, and I mean ‘none’!” Lizzy added, crossing her arms with determination. She, of all Drones, knew exactly what happened on such parties.
“Aw, mom …” They flinched when Lizzy cleared her throat. “Okay, fine.”
“And tomorrow, I better not smell gasoline on your breath, otherwise …” V gave her daughter a look, the implied consequences of breaking this rule burning in her gaze.
Avery gulped. “Yes, ma.”
“And Avery?”
“Yeah, ma?”
V smiled and took one of her daughter’s hands in her own, giving them a loving squeeze. “Promise you’ll have fun, okay?”
Avery chuckled, showing their sharp grin. “That, I can promise with 100% guarantee.”
“That’s my little bird.” V said softly. She clapped her hands together. “Now, wanna help your mother with her legs that you’re still holding hostage?”
“Oh, yeah, right!” Avery quickly grabbed on of their ma’s legs and carefully slid it on the connector. The leg beeped and whirred, a buzzing sound hearing as it secured itself into place.
V’s current legs weren’t like those first ones she got all those years ago. These ones were more advanced, and were controlled by a program that V had installed on her own internal system. They still hadn’t given her back her full mobility, since she still often required a crutch to walk, but she could be without aid for several hours before she needed to rest.
Her seizures were pretty much completely under control. Only during moments of great stress did they dare to rear their ugly heads around. It’s for this reason that V had really worked on being more mellow over the last few years, especially after Avery was born. It really helped improve her reputation around the colony too.
She smiled softly at her daughter as they attached the other leg to its connector. When she was certain that her legs were both online, she got out of her wheelchair. Avery quickly grabbed one of her ma’s crutches and gave it to her. V caressed her daughter’s cheek, giving them a warm smile. “Thank you, dear.”
“Anytime, ma.” Avery said with a grin, blushing a little.
“Ave, we need to go.” Lizzy called out. “Grab your things, you don’t want to be late for class.”
“yeah, I heard that your teacher can be a real-“
“V!”
Both mothers and daughter laughed. Avery ran into their room to grab their backpack, while Lizzy walked over to V to kiss her goodbye.
“Don’t forget to give your mother a kiss before you leave, Ave!” Lizzy called out as she walked out the door.
V had already spread her arms before her daughter even ran out of the room. The Drone in question gave their mother a quick hug – and the promised kiss on the cheek – and joined their other parent by the door.
“Have fun at school, you two!” V called out with a soft smile. As the door closed behind the two Drones she loved more in the entire universe, she let out a sigh. She walked over to the big bookcase – can’t be a librarian without her personal collection of favourites – and picked out a book she could keep herself busy with for few hours.
“Hope, Love, and Me: My Journey of Choices and Second Chances.” V read aloud, as she took a book out of the shelf. “I think Tessa brought me this one, last time she visited. Haven’t read that one yet. Guess I have found my book for the day.”
V hobbled over to the couch, got herself comfortable and turned the first page. Before she read the first word, something made her look up and gaze around the room. It was filled with pictures on the wall, of her life these last 20 years.
A picture, taking during her stay in the hospital.
Her first day working at the library.
Her and Lizzy moving in together, with the latter sitting on the her lap in the wheelchair.
Uzi and N’s wedding, with Lizzy in a beautiful pink dress, and herself in a suit.
Her own wedding with Lizzy, both in dresses this time.
The two of them holding baby Avery in their arms, both crying their visors out. Right under there, there was a picture of baby Nix and baby Avery together.
And so many more decorated the wall.
It made V smile. Despite all the odds and obstacles she’d endured and overcome, she was living a full and happy life.
And she wouldn’t change a single thing about it.