It had started a few days ago. Larry experienced periods of feeling drained of energy, not that he would tell anyone- no use worrying Otto over a bit of tiredness. It wasn't until morning a few days later that things began to unravel. Otto and Buck were seated at the table, tucking into breakfast, while Larry stood by the counter, waiting for some toast to pop out of the toaster. All of a sudden a wave of exhaustion washed over the robot, forcing him to stumble over to a chair and sit down heavily. This did not go unnoticed by his teammates, of which Otto moved forwards automatically, grabbing Larry's arm.
"Larry? Are you ok?" He asked worriedly. Buck didn't move from his seat, but he had stopped eating to watch his partner warily. The former delegate straightened up and forced a smile towards the child, waving him off.
"I'm fine, I'm fine! Just a little virus- my malware programs will take care of it soon enough I'm sure. Just finish your breakfast and go have some fun alright?" With that he stood up, a little shakily, and went back to the counter to renew his work. Otto frowned but accepted it and finished his food, running off as soon as he was done without a word. Buck finished up himself and stretched with a burp before moving into the living room to watch some TV.
It was about half an hour later when Otto ran into the living room, a large book in his arms and a stricken look on his face. He ran right up to the time officer and climbed up next to him on the couch.
"Tuddrussel!" he panted, having run all the way there. "You- I think you might need to hear this!" Buck glanced down at him and rolled his eyes behind his visor. What was it now?
"Yeah, what is it?" He asked, not overly interested.
"I was looking through Larry's manual and- Well it mentioned a virus that drains energy." That got his attention- The kid's voice sounded frightened, so he guessed there must be something more to this tale. "The thing is" Otto continued, "If his energy drops too far, it'll start attacking his other systems- including his primary programs!" At his guardian's blank stare he changed the explanation.
"It could eat up everything he is- he might die Tuddrussel!" His shoulders were shaking slightly; it was obvious that he was scared. The officer opened his mouth to reply, but their conversation was interrupted by a loud clattering from the kitchen. The two humans were up in a second and bolting towards the room, the same name on their lips.
"Larry!"
The robot lay prone on the ceramic floor, eyes offline and a toppled bowl of brownie batter beside him. The humans were there in an instant, Buck lifting the Larry off the floor and laying him on the table. He was unsure what to do now, and worried. He turned to Otto, searching for some kind of instruction. Otto noticed and flailed about with the manual still in his hands, flipping it open to the right page.
"Ah, it says he needs to be plugged in to recharge. Um, also he might need some energy to be added artificially, like with a battery." He paused for a moment to continue reading while Tuddrussel gathered their friend back up to bring him to his room to recharge.
"It says that the first sign that it's bad is overheating. Extra energy is sent to the malware program to fight the virus, shutting down his cooling systems…" The boy read, nerves making him stutter a bit. Tuddrussel swore loudly, causing Otto to gasp. Larry's form was searing hot. The bookworm put the manual on the table and leaning over it, still reading.
"He won't catch fire or anything- his vents are open, but it's still not good for him; and it can make a lot of his oil burn off so he needs to be given some more often… that's all." The only adult left nodded and carted Larry off to his room. It took a while for the two of them to figure out how to plug the robot in, but they got it eventually. They left him to his rest then, going out to the living room for distraction. It was quiet and tense, but there was nothing more to do.
Tuddrussel had flipped the TV back on, watching some sort of old cop show. Otto had disappeared into the kitchen, the officer assumed to make some lunch. Well, whatever. The kid could fend for himself right? He settled into the couch and started to veg. It was a little while later that he was shaken from his stupor by a pained shout from the kitchen, followed closely by a thud and a crash. He moved into the room to find Otto on the floor about a foot away from a spilled pot of half cooked noodles and water. He was holding his right arm close to his chest as if to protect it. Tuddrussel walked over and set the child on his feet.
"Alright, what happened here?" He questioned with authority. Otto hesitated and held out his arm, the lower half burnt bright red. On closer observation it was obvious that the kid was holding back tears. Panic welled within the officer as he realized he was the only adult around to deal with this situation. He desperately tried to remember what Larry did for him when he got burned. Thankfully it came to him and he plucked Otto off the ground to sit him on the counter by the sink. He flipped on the tap and ran the water until it was cold before taking Otto's arm carefully and holding it under the stream.
"Right, lemme know when it stops feelin' hot." He ordered, making sure the whole burn got wet. The youth nodded.
"It- it's not hot anymore… it just hurts." He flinched as his arm was pulled back, holding it with his over hand gingerly. He was lifted back up and into a large set of arms, being carried out of the kitchen and to the medical room.
"Gotta get that thing cleaned up some more right?" Tuddrussel commented as he placed Otto on the heightened bench and started digging around in the long, white cupboard full of medical supplies. Eventually he identified the cream that had been used on him multiple times, along with a good pile of clean bandages. He took Otto's arm, working automatically to clean and wrap up the welt. A small voice in the back of his mind seemed to berate him for being so stupid as to allow an eight year old in the kitchen unchecked. It bombarded him with images of other things that could have happened- the whole pot could have fallen on the boy's head; he could have cut himself on a knife or any number of things. These thoughts disturbed him to the point where he couldn't help but pull Otto into a hug once he was finished, finding it a huge relief to know that he was alright. However, once he had calmed down he was quickly embarrassed by his actions and pushed the child away, not harsh, but gruff, telling him to go read a book or color in the living room. Something Safe! The voice begged, though he made no outward reaction to the thought, simply stating that he was going to the gym for a while.
On his way to the gym Tuddrussel stomped passed the kitchen, only to double back to get a better look at the disaster area. There were matching streaks through the chocolate mess, leading to the over turned stepping stool. It would seem the whole fiasco was caused by the stool slipping through the batter still on the floor, which was now added to by the macaroni and water from the pot. The little voice started throwing up hazard signs and silently whispering ideas about other horrible accidents the mess could cause. The man growled lowly out loud, but gave in, reaching for the mop and bucket grumbling the entire time. After that was done the man practically threw the mop back into the closet and began rooting around in the fridge, intent on getting something to eat. The new voice made a soft suggestion, to which Tuddrussel shrugged and went along with, pulling out extra ingredients and laying it all on the counter.
Otto looked up from his drawing when he heard the large man enter the room. Tuddrussel dropped onto the couch, two sandwiches in hand. He gave one to his rather surprised charge before digging into his own.
"Yeh were hungry righ'? Earlier?" That was the only explanation he offered. They polished off their lunch quickly, as was usual for them. Tuddrussel found himself watch Otto draw, feeling strangely content. The little voice was silent, and he grinned, grabbing the game controllers and dangling them in front of the kid teasingly. The message was understood clearly, and the challenge accepted. They spent a good amount of the afternoon that way, only moving on when it was decided it was a good time to check on Larry, now that the robot had gotten some rest.
Larry's bed room had been kept mostly dark, making it more comfortable for sleeping. The humans entered quietly, moving over to the bed. Tuddrussel leaned down and shook Larry's shoulder nervously, calling his name.
"Mm… Wha'?" The metallic voice was raspy with static, tired and disoriented. The robot's eyes powered on and opened, slowly registering who woke him.
"What happened?" he asked. Otto replied quickly.
"You collapsed this morning because of the virus." He held up the batteries he was clutching in his hands, offering them to his other guardian.
"Here, you need them. It's a really nasty bug you've got…" It was clear to see that he was struggling to be brave, seeing someone he relied on so much in such a state. The voice in the back of Tuddrussel's mind seemed to purr, and he felt proud of the little guy's strength. Larry took the batteries with a 'thank you' and shakily plugged them into a compartment in his chest one by one. After about four he seemed to be almost back to normal and accepted the tall glass of oil from his partner. It was only after he had finished it did he look over at the time. Seeing that it was already early evening sent him into a flurry, trying to get up without success as Tuddrussel held him down.
"Is that the time?! I have to go make supper- and lunch! You must be starving and the brownies-" The time officer managed to gently push him back into the bed, using another wave of tiredness from the robot to his advantage.
"Already done buddy. We had sandwiches and some cookies outta the cupboard. Nothin' fancy mind you, but we'll make do." That earned him an incredulous stare.
"You? Made food? Real edible food? And for Otto too?" Larry faked a swoon.
"What is the world coming to?" Otto chuckled, and the robot smiled, glad to see the child was lightening up.
"Well if I'm going to be bedridden until this virus is gone, I suppose I should call dispatch and tell them we need a few days off." Larry pondered. Tuddrussel rolled his eyes and growled.
"Now you ain't movin' from that bed until yer completely better ya hear? I'll go call dispatch so don' you go getting' all bent outta shape." Larry finally relented, lying back more comfortably in the bed, plug shifting to connect more fully into his back.
"Fine…! I'll just stay here then…" He was drifting off again, unable to keep his eyes on. Tuddrussel tugged on Otto's arm and they left the room, the officer heading towards the main hub to make the call to his higher ups. Otto went to his room and started playing with his historical figures. His collection had increased over time to include other people he had met, such as Cleopatra and Caesar.
The day began to wind down. Pizza was ordered, movies were watched (both action and historical drama) and games were played. After one last check-in on the patient it was time for Otto to go to bed. It didn't take him long to get ready and curl up under the covers with a book. It was one of his favorite historical novels even though he had read it a dozen times. A few minutes later Tuddrussel came in, looking a bit dusty with an old looking book in his hand. He coughed gruffly and passed it to the kid, look just as awkward as he most likely felt. Otto looked down at the book curiously. The cover was a faded blue- it appeared to have weathered over time- with a picture of what looked like a phone booth outlined in black. The title read 'The Time Traveller'. The adult was sat on his own bed, staring intently at the wall, embarrassed and a little nervous.
"That was my favorite book when I was a kid." He grunted. "Thought you might like it too- there's a TV show based on it that was really popular around your time…" He was cut off by a sudden hug from Otto who had jumped at him midsentence with excitement.
"Thank you!" The boy gave him one last squeeze before hopping down and running back over to his own bed to start reading his new book. Tuddrussel scratched the back of his head and got up, heading to the gym to get some exercise before head off himself.
The next few days passed in much the same way, though thankfully without any more accidents. Larry steadily improved, and once he was tested clean by the main computer they were back to work. Tuddrussel went back to relying on Larry for most things, though the little voice never really went away, and every so often he would do something to help out. Whether it be making a snack to share, or picking up something off the floor, it happened, most of the time without really thinking about it. The change may not have been extremely noticeable after that week, but it was there; and that was good.