Building a Family
Two years had passed since Digit had betrayed his creator and returned safely to Control Central. He'd been welcomed with open arms, but the fear of Hacker coming to take him back still lingered, despite constant assurances from Motherboard and Dr. Marbles. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, he was just afraid he would never truly be safe from the one who once loved him like his own son but then berated him in later years. It seemed there was nothing anybody could do to assist him in getting his mind off of the subject. That is, until Motherboard suggested something to him one day...
Digit sighed as he helped Doctor Marbles with maintenance on Motherboard. Normally he enjoyed learning from the Doc, but today he was just going through the motions. Hacker was haunting him even more than usual today.
"What seems to be the matter, Digit?" Marbles asked, concerned.
"It's Hacker again. I know you and Motherboard want to keep me safe, but I can't get my mind off of the fact that he could come take me back whenever he felt like it," Digit replied.
Marbles remained silent. He knew this whole mess with Hacker had taken a toll on everybody, but Digit seemed to be taking it especially hard and he couldn't blame him. Despite his immense courage in making the decision to leave him and join Motherboard, he still didn't feel safe. Marbles felt responsible for this fiasco, but he wasn't sure how he could fix it.
"May I suggest something?" Motherboard asked gently.
"Affirmative, Motherboard," Marbles replied gratefully, relieved that she had jumped in.
"Perhaps you and Dr. Marbles could work on an invention together, to help get your mind off things," she said.
Digit brightened slightly. "Can we, Doc? I've had an idea I've been meaning to work on for a while," he said, a bit of excitement in his voice.
Marbles smiled warmly. "Of course, Digit. Tell you what, when we're through working on Motherboard, we can discuss it at lunch, alright?"
Digit beamed. "You got it Doc!" he exclaimed as he continued working with renewed vigor.