Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in ReBoot. The only claim I have on characters are ones that come into play in later chapters. I am making no money off of this, but am enjoying borrowing the characters for a short time.

Note: This story takes place between the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4. It will have adult themes and angsty situations and will not have the normal humor and light heartedness of the show as it explores darker undertones in the characters. If this is not for you, you may want to choose another ReBoot fan fiction to enjoy.

The ReBoot Timeline used in this series is as follows: Hour= year/ Minute=month/ Cycle=week/ Second=day/ Microsecond=hour/ Nano=minute/ Nanosecond=second

A Crime of Passion

Chapter 1: Doubts

It had been several seconds since the system restart that saved Mainframe, and life seemed to be getting back to normal… as normal as it could be with all that had happened. Enzo, the little one, had a hard time at first coming to terms with the summary from the play, but his ever eager mind couldn't keep him in sad spirits for long. He rebounded quickly, but became much more challenging to handle when it came to the games. Still insistent on not being left out, and looking up not only to his hero, Bob, but his older self, Matrix, he couldn't seem to keep out of trouble.

Luckily, Matrix and AndrAIa were there to help, and though it took a while for Matrix to warm up to his younger self, Enzo's passion and stubbornness couldn't keep him protected from everything. Matrix took it upon himself to look after the boy, even if he wasn't willing to admit it out loud. AndrAIa played along with the charade, even though she knew better what was really going on.

Mouse was finishing up a few last security measures before she took off on a Web Tour with her new found mate, Ray. The two were inseparable as of late, and were unbearable to be around they were so sweet for each other. Once Ray finished a web armor suit for her, they would head out for a few cycles, but promised to return and check in with the gang.

Phong puttered around as usual in the principal's office, but was taking a more active role in serving the citizens of Mainframe as a physician and counselor, something he had enjoyed doing in his younger days before he became the hours before. He was never far from being involved in anything going on in the system, though he left the decision making and organizing to his successor, Dot Matrix.

Dot was as busy as ever, reviewing system diagnostics for each sector and monitoring the progress of working up a link to begin interstellar Net transportation. Dot was insistent that Mainframe needed to be brought online with other systems for trade and alliance, especially with the threat of Daemon on the horizon. In her off time, though, she still managed to meet the needs of her customers and partners at her Diner, where she also made time to catch up with her friends and family.

One friend she needed to get caught up with was Bob, Mainframe's resident and official guardian. The battle with Megabyte and the effective system restart left little time for them to be alone, and the new requirements of being the with a whole new city completely intact was causing just as many missed opportunities. Not to mention the influx of games that had been coming in every other second, the repair of tears that appeared as usual, the ever constant and time consuming energy that was Enzo, and Intel gathering on the super virus Daemon, Bob and Dot rarely got to spend more than a few nanos a day together.

After a cycle, it was starting to take its toll on Dot.

She sighed and removed her glasses, setting them down with the organizer on the diner table. Fingers rubbed across her eyes as her mind kept recalling the conversations she'd had with the Guardian. Greetings in passing, 'how are you's, 'how was the game', 'where's Enzo at now', 'I've missed you so much'…

Her shoulders slumped. No, that conversation hadn't occurred yet. She didn't know if it would. Her eyes flicked to a private file on her organizer, and she accessed it to view the only file inside: the picture Phong took after the restart, of Bob and Dot embracing after so long. Dot closed her eyes as she recalled the memory… The gentleness of his arms encircling her back, the coolness of his silver armor under her hands, the soft warmth of his lips when they finally met hers…

Dishes clattered as a customer fell out of a booth onto Cecil, who was carrying a tray of energy drinks. He sounded off to the customer in his typical nasal tone, but remained professional enough to ensure the check would be paid. Dot shook her head and smiled at the laughter coming from the diner at the scene. She missed that sound, laughter. It had been so long since the diner was full of that sweet sound, especially with her friends.

Dot glanced at the picture once more before closing the file, frowning as she did so. Despite the happiness that had been infecting Mainframe since the restart, Bob's smiles never seemed to reach his eyes anymore, and she couldn't remember when he last laughed. Matrix had hinted at what he saw in the web when they found Bob, and told her of the small exchange they shared before returning to Mainframe. Bob had summed it up briefly: "We've changed, we've grown." Dot knew what she went through, could somewhat imagine what Enzo endured, but couldn't begin to understand what Bob had to bear. She had never seen the web aside from the portal formed, and even that was only a doorway. Worse still, she had had Mouse to lean on, and Matrix had AndrAIa, but Bob had been alone. He didn't even have Glitch.

Dot looked again at her organizer, seeing several messages had popped up while daydreaming that required her attention. Yet her attention couldn't focus on anything other than Bob. A cycle after reuniting, and no more than a microsecond shared between them for just them.

She was still leaving him alone.

He promised he would never leave her again… she should have made the same to him.

"Right." She stepped out of the booth and shut down her organizer, attaching it to her belt before strolling for the door. "Cecil, you're in charge, I'm taking the rest of the second off."

The entire diner froze, all sound and movement ceasing at the same moment. She looked at the wide eyed customers, and raised an eyebrow at her manager, who lost all ability in his arms and dropped the dishes he was carrying to the floor. His flat mouth moved, but no words were formed.

"What?" she said defensively. "There's a first time for everything." With that, she exited the diner. Opening her zipboard, she called up a VidWindow to Phong, who was busy looking over a patient chart.

"Hello, my child! You look well, what can I do for you?"

"Hi, Phong. I need you to do me a favor. Can you hold down the duties for for the evening? I need some off time."

The chart and pen clattered to the floor in response.

"Thanks, Phong. Call me for emergencies ONLY." She closed out the window, smiling at the shocked expression that minimized with the window. Why was it so hard to believe she took time for herself? The last time she did was…

"Huh. Point taken," she muttered as she jumped on the zipboard and rose into the air over Kit's sector. Looking at her watch, she figured Enzo would be getting out of school and heading over to Bob's to go Jetballing, or at least as per the last message she received from Enzo. Maybe the three of them could go together, just to enjoy being in each other's company if nothing else. When Enzo went to do homework, then she and Bob could talk.

/

"… and Ms. Diskette said I scored the highest on my test, even though I didn't study at all! But don't tell Dot, because she'll make me stay in at night if she thinks I'm not learning anything. But the classes are so boring, they're nothing like beating out the User! When are you going to show me that move you did in the last game? It was so cool! I tried asking Matrix to show me some things, but he just ignored me like always. Why can't he be more like you? Can you talk to him? You both can train me, then I can become a real Guardian, just like you!"

Dot leaned against the door frame, listening to the non stop rant of her energizer brother. A few things she heard were filed away for later discussion, but at that moment she couldn't help but enjoy the overwhelmed look in Bob's eyes as Enzo overloaded him with the second's events. His blue hands successfully failed at trying to defend himself from the onslaught, and every time he opened his mouth to speak, Enzo rushed onto another topic. Dot decided to take pity on her helpless friend.

"Enzo, enough! Take a breath before you stop processing."

Both turned to look at her, surprised. Enzo jumped from Bob's chest and ran at her, throwing his arms around her waist. "Dot! What are you doing here? Did you come to tell Bob about a problem in the system? Do we have to go save someone? Is a game cube coming? Can I please go this time, I passed my test today, I did the best of everyone in the class, please?"

Dot pressed a finger to his lips. "Sorry, little brother, no fires to put out today." She looked at Bob as he sat up on the floor. "I heard about Jetballing, and thought I'd come along and watch, maybe take on the winner." She looked back at Enzo, smiling. "If that's ok with you, of course."

The nano of silence was broken by Dot's laugh. "If only Mike was here to document Enzo the speechless, no one will believe me otherwise."

"You're not busy?" Bob questioned, eyes wide.

"Nope, my schedule is free this afternoon, just for you two. So what are we doing first?"

"ALPHANUMERIC!" Enzo started jumping around the room. "This is so cool, I can't believe I get to spend time with both of you! I don't know what to do first!"

"WARNING: INCOMING GAME. WARNING: INCOMING GAME."

"Aw, man! End file!" Enzo whined.

Dot sighed and looked at the floor, shaking her head in dismay. 'Of course,' she thought. She glanced up at Bob and saw the disappointment in his eyes. 'We just never get a break, do we?'

She caught the hopeful glance Enzo was giving Bob, even though he kept his mouth shut. After several arguments, Dot finally convinced Enzo to stop trying to go into games, or she would offline him for a cycle at a time. She wasn't ready to let him go gallivanting into the games… not when the pain from before was still so fresh.

But she knew where his heart wanted to be, right there next to Bob, his hero. And no matter what she tried to do with him today, he wouldn't be enjoying it while knowing that Bob was in the cube. 'Oh, User, I hope I don't regret this.'

"If Bob says it's ok, you can go with him."

Once again, the silence was only broken by Dot's exasperated voice. "You can't stand around here all second, there's a game cube dropping!"

Enzo didn't waste another nano. "Can I?"

Bob rolled his eyes and smiled. "Like I could tell you no. Let's go!"

Dot stepped aside as Enzo rushed out the door, but was quickly taken by surprise when he ran back and crushed her in a quick hug. "Love you, sis!" he shouted, before he was gone down the elevator on his board. She stared after him, her heart worried and light at the same time.

"Catch you later?"

She turned back to look at Bob, his face neutral but his eyes warm as he moved past her. She nodded, her voice catching as his arm brushed hers, preventing her from speaking. Too soon he was gone after her brother. She looked out the hallway window to see them both fly off under the cube as it landed not far from the apartment.

"Be careful." She sighed again and headed down to the street level before jumping on her zipboard toward the Principal's Office to monitor the game.

/

"GAME OVER. GAME OVER." As the cube left, Dot called up a VidWindow to Bob. "How'd it go?"

"Fine, Enzo-"

"Totally won the game!" a little green body screeched as he pushed in front of Bob, nearly knocking the Guardian off of his zipboard. "It was pixilascious, sis! I totally kicked the User's bitmap!"

"Enzo, don't push, that's rude!" Dot scolded him lightly. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah!"

"Bob, can you bring Enzo home? I'll have some food from the diner waiting for you."

"Sounds good, Dot," Bob managed to reply when he pushed Enzo's head out of the way. "See you in a nano."

"Cool!" Enzo shouted before the VidWindow closed.

Dot checked a few more systems on her panel before she turned to Phong. "Ok, off time take two."

"Good luck, my child," Phong remarked as she walked away.

"No kidding," she laughed back at him.

/

"…and then Bob did this amazing punching combo that totally knocked the User out of the ring, but then a second User came out from behind and was about to delete Bob for sure when I knocked him out!" Enzo jumped away from the table and ran over to Dot. "It was so cool, he looked like this when I hit him!" He moved his body in slow motion exaggerating his face to replicate a nasty hook that made him sprawl face first onto the floor, using sound effects all the way down.

"Wow, just like that? That's some arm you've got there, Sprout."

Enzo jumped back up and ran over to Bob, who sat across from Dot. "Yeah, but not as good as Bob. He moves so much faster in games now with Glitch, it's so cool!" Enzo looked up at him. "Do you think if I train hard I can be as good as you one day?"

"Train?" Dot asked, sitting at attention in surprise.

"Enzo, you can be the best at anything you want to be when you believe in yourself." Bob glanced quickly at Dot before looking away. "And as long as you have your sister's permission."

Enzo didn't seem to catch the instant message. "As long as I think like you, Bob. You're the best Guardian ever! You'll see, one day I'll mend and defend Mainframe just like you, and I won't let you or Dot down. Viruses and evil-doers beware, you're no match for Bob and me!" Enzo jumped away from the table and began running around the kitchen, pretending he was taking out mini Megabytes that had invaded their little home.

Dot, though not thrilled at the prospect of Enzo becoming a Guardian, couldn't help but chuckle at his abundant energy and passion for the job. User, how she had missed him as a boy. She looked over to Bob, ready to playfully scold him for putting such thoughts in her little brother's head, when she noticed his face. It was drawn, uncomfortable, his body subtly recoiling away from the energetic little sprite. Bob soon caught her stare, flinching under her gaze, before getting up to throw away the remainder of his food.

"Enzo," Dot called him without looking away from Bob's back. "It's time for your homework."

"Awww."

"No excuses, young man."

"But I passed that test today, best in the class!"

"And without studying, I heard. I've got media for you, Enzo, luck runs out eventually, and big sister hears and sees everything!"

"Dang it!"

"Put away your dishes and get started. I'll check on you soon."

Enzo heaved a despaired sigh. "All right." He emptied his plate and put it in the sink, before turning to Bob who was getting another drink from the fridge. "Will you say bye before you leave?"

"Of course, bud," Bob smiled at him. Enzo smiled back before sulking off to his room.

Dot stood and moved over to the counter, but wasn't focused on the dishes. She looked at her companion who kept looking everywhere but at her.

"What is it?" she asked without preamble.

"Nothing," he answered quickly.

"I thought lying wouldn't be possible in a Guardian code," she mocked lightly.

Bob looked up at her, his face a clean slate and unreadable to even her trained eyes. She set her dishes down and moved over to him, placing a hand on his face. Last time she had done this, it was nanoseconds before their first, and only, kiss. She felt her breath catch at the memory, and thought his eyes softened as he also reacted.

"He loves you so much, you know."

Bob closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I know."

"You're the big brother he never had. He could talk about you all day, if I let him."

"Yeah, well, don't."

Dot frowned, concerned by the tone in his voice. Her fingers ran down his cheek and drew his chin up enough to look into his eyes. "Did something happen in the game today?"

"No, Dot. Everything's fine."

"Except with Enzo. Bob, you looked like you would have been more comfortable with Hex fawning over you." She laughed lightly at the sour face he made, feeling a small amount of joy in his negative reaction to the virus that held him so dearly in her infectious heart. "Why?"

Bob stared at her, and behind his eyes she could see his resolve crumbling. "I… it's not…"

Stepping forward, she grabbed his hands and brought them around her back before moving her arms around his neck and hugging him close. He placed his head on hers and they stood together for a moment, just enjoying the feel of the other so close. Dot could feel Bob begin to relax and waited for him to continue.

"I can't deal with the hero worship, Dot. He truly believes these things he says about me, but he doesn't know…"

"About what happened in the Web?"

"Yeah."

"Bob, whatever happened there stays there. We all have to make the best of bad situations, and whatever choices you made I'm sure weren't easy." Dot couldn't stop a quick reflection on bad choices she had made during Megabyte's reign. There were things she certainly wasn't proud of, and yet the people of Mainframe still looked at her positively. "And Enzo is just a young sprite, as he gets older he'll come to see that being a Guardian isn't all black and white, or all victories either."

She pulled back to look up at him, and her hand traced along the scars on his face, some from web degradation, and others from something else. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No." His answer was sharp, surprising her. "No, not yet."

"Bob." Her hand went up through his hair, now longer and darker than before, yet still soft for being affected by the web. "I'm worried about you. We haven't had any time, and there's so much to talk about."

Bob hugged her again, sighing as he pressed his head against hers. "I know," he replied softly. "Things are just hectic."

"But they shouldn't be, and I'm sorry I haven't made time to be with you."

"You're here now."

"Yes I am." She smiled at him. "And at your mercy, it seems. Well, Guardian, what do you plan to do with me?"

For the first time since the restart, Dot saw his eyes light up and a smile like that of the Bob she knew split his face. "Well, I'm more of a fly by the seat of your pants kinda guy."

"And are you flying yet?"

Bob's hand came up to cradle her head while he leaned down to catch her lips with his. Dot's breath left her and warmth spread from her chest down to her toes. She pressed closer into him, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. A small gasp was lost between them when his arms tightened around her waist, and she thrilled at the strength of his arms. Remembering the times he saved her and saved Mainframe with the strength of his body and of his heart, she felt like the intensity of the kiss heightened, and her thoughts were soon tumbling down into fantasies she had locked away long ago. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to live each one of those private dreams, to make up for all that lost time…

Bob pulled away first, resting his forehead on hers as he tried to even his breathing. "I should head back."

"No," Dot mumbled into his chest. "No, stay and talk with me." His soft laughter surprised her.

"Dot, I may be a Guardian, but even I have limits. If I stay, talking will be minimal."

She looked up at him, eyes widening and cheeks reddening with each passing moment. Her embarrassment at his bold but honest statement soon gave way to a saucy grin. "Then let's just talk about your limits."

His jaw dropped and she couldn't help laughing at him. Soon they were both laughing at each other, and Dot felt like it was the greatest thing in the Net. Looking at him, she could see the tension easing from his face and she was happy she was the one to do that for him.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer? I took the night off, you know."

Bob ran his hand through her hair and down her cheek. "And I wish I could spend every nano of it with you, but…" He sighed and looked down the hall towards Enzo's room, then back to her.

She nodded. "I know. That's a conversation I'm not ready to have. Besides, we both need more time." A flash of guilt went through her as she remembered the day she stopped expecting Bob to come home, and scolded herself again for giving up hope.

Bob's eyes had a similar far away look, telling Dot that they still had some doubts to work through before they both felt all right again. She grabbed his hand, pulling him back to the present. "But we will talk, right?"

He nodded. "I promise." He squeezed her hand before moving towards Enzo's room to say good night. A tug on his hand pulled him back and Dot's mouth found his again to share some final good night wishes.

Bob gladly returned a few of his own.

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