Chapter Text
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>"Good Afternoon, Mr. Bishop. Packages for you."
>Despite his formal greeting, the doorman seemed somehow less enthused to see you than he normally is. You shake the snow off your coat and pull off your gloves.
>"Ah, thank you. The robot, I assume?". You can see two large Sterling-branded boxes behind his desk, covered with a sheet.
>The doorman forces a chuckle. "You'd be correct, sir. Your proof of purchase—" he responds, handing you a blue folder with its distinctive Sterling 'S' with a lifeless smile. You stuff it in your coat for later.
>Two boxes: The nanny and its docking seat. You walk over to the taller box and push it slightly to gauge its weight. It's... heavier than you assumed, though you didn't consider its weight before you made this purchase. You hardly even know what it's made out of, for Christ's sake. Robots have never been your forte, not like your job makes it easy to like them.
>...You don't want to bring these upstairs yourself, not after work. You awkwardly laugh.
>"It's heavy... huh." The doorman's smile loses even more life. He was expecting this, wasn't he. "Oh, I'm sure of it-" he half-heartedly responds.
>Neither of you want to give up. The standoff probably only lasts a few seconds but it feels like hours. He sighs and strains his smile. "Would you like me to bring these to your apartment, sir?"
>"Oh, would you? That would be perfect, thank you!" you respond, feigning surprise. You let go of the box and step towards the elevator.
>"Of course. I'll be up with your packages shortly." He's not even hiding the contempt in his voice. He hates you, he justifiably hates you.
>"Great, great!" You're already hopping in an elevator. "Merry Christmas!"
>"Merry Christmas-"
>You make a mental note to give him a good bonus this year.
>Hours later and you're still unwinding after work, hunched over the kitchen counter drinking your coffee and flipping through the proof of purchase you received. Nora, your 11-year old daughter, is barely doing her homework at the coffee table in the living room, instead fixated on the TV. Your apartment is cluttered and modest by any standard, but it's big enough for just you two.
>The doorman dropped off your packages at the door hours ago, and you snuck them into a closet with the rest of the presents before Nora noticed. The TV is playing some kids program about a talking robot dog, no doubt sponsored by a robotics company. You couldn't care less, but she seems invested.
>"Do you think robot dogs would play fetch better than a real one?" she yells to you, eyes still fixed on the screen.
>You squint at the TV screen, and sure enough, the robot dog is playing fetch, but with rocket boosters to go incredibly fast. "If they're programmed to be better at it, then they'd be better." you respond.
>Nora leans her head over the couch, staring at you upside-down and frowning. "That's a boring answer..."
>"They're just robots, angel. They do what they're supposed to do, like a car, or the TV." You point at the robot dog on screen with your cup of coffee.
>"That's so boring. I bet a robot could've said something nicer than that", she remarks with a smile.
>You smile back. "We should see if Atlas Industries has some robo-dads for you, then."
>"Is that my Christmas gift?" Her smile brightened.
>"That's a secret. You're stuck with me, for now."
>Nora snickers and returns her attention to her show, satisfied with the interaction. You get back to reading your proof of purchase, settling on a page with a full-page image of your new nandroid
>>"Your Sterling Robotics™ Android Nanny: WENDY. Physical specifications: BLUE Optics. FALU RED, SHORT BOB Wig. STERLING BLUE STANDARD Nanny Uniform."
>More specifications, basic instructions, warranty ticket, AEC regulations, legal nonsense. Seems... normal? Why a robot would have hair is a mystery, you think, but you suppose it's cute. Reminds you of your ex-wife.
>The streetlights outside activate on their timer, along with the Christmas lights wrapped around them. It's a sickening white glow, but they're how you and Nora can tell it's exactly 6 o'clock. She pipes up first: "What's for dinner?"
>You look around the kitchen, as if dinner will magically appear if you just look hard enough. You don't want to make dinner, as usual. You settle on the coupons and takeout numbers stuck to the fridge with magnets.
>"Mike's Subs, Bohemia Grill, High Street Deli..." You read off the list of local restaurants as Nora groans in response to every option.
>She springs up from the couch. "I'm feeling chicken alfredo. Wanna make it?"
>This time you're the one groaning, "No."
>"No?"
>"Nope."
>"Boring AND lazy-" She says in jest, genuine disappointment still bubbling to the surface.
>The two of you eventually order food and have dinner. You make enough money to be a bit lazy, you justify in your head. You hope the nandroid will be a good cook.
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Part I
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>Christmas morning, 5am. A half-dozen presents sit in a circle around the miniature tree Nora picked out. One last thing to pull out-
>Either your nandroid is heavy or you're weaker than you thought. You hope Nora won't mind the lack of wrapping as you pull the box into the living room.
>Speaking of Nora: her door swings open, and out skips your daughter in her special Christmas pajamas.
>Goddamnit. She already didn't believe in Santa but this seals the deal. The box slips from your grasp and hits the floor with a thud. "Nora—!"
>"Dad!" She shouts, seemingly more pleased to have caught you than anything. She runs into the living room and stops at the nandroid box on its side on the floor. "It's not wrapped-"
>You sigh in defeat. "Yes, well, Santa had a lot of long days at the union and didn't have time to wrap this one." You tap it with your foot. "Merry Christmas."
>"Merry Christmas, dad-" Nora awkwardly smiles. You nod in kind.
>"Want to open the big one first?"
>She hums a response and gets on her knees, pulling the sheet off the box with gusto.
>Scanning the box over and over again, she looks at you in confusion. "A robot...?"
>"A robot! Brand new!"
>"Don't you... hate robots?"
>"I don't hate robots, angel, they have their place-"
>She frowns slightly, but gets back to examining the box. She flips open the front of the box and looks down at the nandroid. "It's pretty!"
>The nandroid- Wendy. It looks exactly like they do in the Sterling ads all over the city. Just like the specs said, it has dark red hair in a bob, unfortunately messed up in the fall. It looks like a mummy in a sarcophagus.
>"She's asleep?" She waves her hand in front of the robot's closed eyes. "HEY-! What's wrong with her?" She picks up its arm, which does the trick.
>A red light activates on its wrist and its optics click open and glow blue, just like its specifications. It sits up in its box and beams at the two of you.
>"Good morning, Bishop family! My name is Wendy, its my honor to meet you!" It attempts to curtsey in its box, and smiles up at Nora in confusion. "And you must be Nora!"
>Nora responds with a "Hi Wendy!" and extends a hand, just like you taught her to do when meeting new people. Good girl. Wendy shakes her hand eagerly and stands up, straightening out its skirt and adjusting its hair. It's a whole head shorter than you, much shorter than Eileen was. Is.
>"So formal! My work here should be easy!" Wendy remarks in amazement.
>"What's your work?" Nora asks, head cocked in confusion.
>"Why, that's a good question! I'm here to help your father here take care of you!" It smiles again, eager to recite the script she'd been taught.
>Nora slowly begins to frown. "Why does he need help?" She mutters. Wendy's smile falters slightly, but is quick to reassure her; "Why, everyone needs a helping hand from time to time! Your father's a very busy man, as I've heard!"
>This hardly consoles Nora. "Oh... yeah. He's super busy. I'm home alone a lot."
>"Well, now you'll have me to play with! How does that sound?"
>"Okay." She looks at you, dejected.
>"Work has been picking up, I didn't want to leave you alone for hours on end-", you assure her. Wendy looks between the both of you, worried.
>Nora looks at Wendy and gives a sad smile "So she's like, my playmate?"
>"Exactly! Your playmate! Isn't that right, Wendy?" you say through gritted teeth, desperate to not have Nora think she's being abandoned. You hope Wendy gets the idea.
>It seems to understand, nodding at you and clasping its hands together. "We'll have lots of fun together! I'm a pretty cool girl, when you get to know me!" it giggles. A robot calling itself a female... unsettling.
>Nora looks back at Wendy, curious. "...How old are you?"
>"I was first activated exactly five months, three days, twenty hours, three minutes, and eighteen seconds ago!" it grins triumphantly. Nora doesn't seem pleased with this answer, though, muttering "Dad..."
>"It'll be fun, angel, just give it a few days and you'll adjust fine." Your patience is waning.
>She seems hesitant to respond, looking Wendy up and down. "Is this your replacement mom?" The smile on Wendy disappeared.
>"Nora. Don't say that." You say with a sigh, silently wishing you hadn't listened to the salesman at the electronics store. "
>"But dad-"
>"Nora, Not now." You say sternly. You worried this might happen. You almost feel bad for Wendy, if you thought she could process emotions like this. Nora looks at you, pleading, "Dad, it's okay—". You respond "Nora Bishop. Not now." Your tone hasn't changed. It seems to shut her up, though. Best dad in the world.
>Wendy finally pipes up, "Think of me as your playmate!" it says triumphantly, but wavering slightly. Why would a robot have discomfort programmed? It puts its hands on Nora's shoulders, beaming at her.
>Nora looks at Wendy, then you, then back at Wendy. She says, nodding, "Playmate... okay." She looks at you, then Wendy, then you, then back at Wendy. She seems slightly heartened.
>You put a hand on Wendy's back, cold and hard under the thin cloth of her dress, and force a smile at Nora. "We can discuss this later, let's finish Christmas morning first? I gotta take you to Eileen's at noon."
>Nora pauses, then nods her head. She grabs Wendy's hand and leads it to the tree for the rest of the presents.
>The rest of Christmas goes fine. Just fine, though. Wendy mostly stayed quiet, helping Nora unwrap presents and toying with her presents with her. The ride to Eileen's will be awkward.
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