Small Wonder: Too good to be true (S5E2)

by BadMrSushi

Vicki goes through an existential crisis when she learns that Ted is going to dismantle Vanessa, who has been frozen in time in the garage. This story takes place mostly from the robot's point of view, and showcases much of Vicki's thought process.

Small Wonder:

(S5E2) Too Good To Be True

By BadMrSushi

On a sunny day in Florida, 1962, a tall thin man with a slightly imposing figure walked down a block of store fronts, swinging his ebony black cane as he walked. His rounded black sunglasses glared in the Floridian sun as he looked up at the store names, each one he passed made him look more and more distraught. He came upon the final store, and was met by three small children leaving it's doors. They stared up at the man with his nearly snow white skin tone, and his black frock coat and matching fedora, and collectively gasped out in fear and surprise.

Jedidiah Lawson stared back down at the fearful children and smiled at them- making them all recoil and run from him screaming. He had gotten use to that over the years, and he had the same effect on many adults as well. In fact the only child who never ran from him screaming was his beloved Grandson, Theodore. Ted, as he liked to be called, would be turning 14 years old on the next coming day, and although he didn't have too many friends, he'd still have a birthday party. Jedidiah picked up his cane and went into the tiny toy shop, the bell above the door rang out as he entered, making the little man behind the counter look up. He whimpered slightly, as the horrific looking tall man in black drifted towards him. Jedidiah laid his cane on the counter (It was actually quite ornate, a Native American design of feathers and geometric designs wrapped around it's black sheen.)

"Excuse me sir, but I'm looking for a gift to give to my Grandson. I wonder if you wouldn't be so kind as to help me." Said Jedidiah, his voice sounding much kinder than he looked. The man behind the counter first shook his head in fear, and then quickly changed his mind with a nod.

"O-okay!" Said the shaky little man. "What uh… what kind of toys does he like?" He asked. Jedidiah smiled and took off his black gloves, revealing his ghostly white hands.

"He enjoys anything he can take apart. He very much enjoys that." Said Jedidiah, looking around the store and taking in the sights. The little man gulped and wiped his brow, leaving the counter and heading towards some model kits.

"H-how about m-m-m-monster kits? Is he into those? My kid loves them…" Said the man trailing off. Jedidiah had turned his gaze to the man, listening intently, and it threw the poor man off of his sales pitch. "Or cars? Does he like cars?" Said the man, beginning to tremble a little bit. He had inadvertently made a connection with the monster kit of Dracula, and the tall very white man in his very black coat.

"Why not both?" Asked Jedidiah, as he moved toward the man, his arm reaching out. The man backed up, his eyes huge with fright. He nearly let out a shriek as the tall man reached past him and grabbed a large box containing an erector set. Jedidiah looked at the box and smiled. It had on it a picture of two young children dressed in 1950's flair, both helping to build a crane. The young boy was in his coveralls and baseball jersey, while the girl that was helping him build the tiny crane wore a pinafore over a red dress. "How much is this?" Asked Jedidiah, shaking the box in front of the man. The man swallowed and wiped some more sweat from his brow.

"Twenty dollars…" He answered, with a slight sound of relief. Jedidiah smiled at the man from behind his pitch black round sunglasses.

"I'll take two of these." He said.

---

Back in 1989, Ted Lawson sat in his garage full of failed experiments and inventions. He looked at the chess board and sighed out. She had beaten him again. Vicki waited patiently for her creator and Father to make his next move. She had calculated that if he moved his bishop, he would put his queen in direct jeopardy of her rook. If he didn't move the bishop to defend against her knight, however, she would be able to use the knight to trap the queen in three more moves.

"Yes, I see it Vicki~ You won again." Said Ted with a smile. Vicki sat up straight and looked up at him. "One day we're going to have a chess game that lasts more than six minutes!" Said Ted as he got up from his chair. Vicki smiled and gave him a nod as she collected up the board and it's pieces.

"Do you want to play again later?" She asked, as she watched him pull a big white sheet off of a strange looking contraption. Vicki looked around at the other sheets in the garage, all of them had big black X's on them as well.

"Maybe. Right now I'd like for you to help me out with this guy right here. I need you to do some heavy lifting for me." Said Ted. Vicki nodded and went to stand by him. Ted put his arm around Vicki's shoulder and looked at his newest invention. "Vicki, do you know what this is?" He asked her, motioning to the contraption with his free hand. Vicki looked up at him and shrugged.

"A microwave?" She asked. Ted smiled and laughed out. He left her and hit a few buttons and levers on the strange device. It sprang to life, making a very low pitched hum. Vicki tilted her head to the side.

"It's a shovel! Sort of. It's going to go on the edge of those bulldozers you see around town sometimes. See how it's vibrating back and forth like that? It's going to help break down rocks and boulders in a fraction of the time that it would take normal shovels to do!" Said Ted, very happily. "But it's heavy. At least for now. That's why I need you to help me get a few things sorted out with it, I just can't lift some of the parts now that it's all attached and running." Said Ted. Vicki nodded.

"Okay~." She said, eyeing the shovel.

"Good, now the first thing I'm going to need is my crane arm, it's back there under one of those sheets- go get it for me would you?" Said Ted, as he began to turn the shovel off. Vicki turned and left for the far end of the garage. There were three sheets with X's marked on them, and it wasn't apparent which sheet the arm would be under. Vicki pulled the first sheet down and was disappointed to find an over powered oscillating fan attached to a large adjustable stalk. She looked over at Ted who was busy opening up his new device and jotting things down in a notebook. She frowned a little bit and decided to continue.

Vicki pulled the next sheet down and came face to face with her upgraded model, Vanessa. She stood there looking at the lifeless robot girl, taking in the sight for all that it was worth. Obviously, Vanessa hadn't aged either, so the two of them still looked identical. Vanessa stood there with an angry expression on her face, a finger pointing in the air as if she were about to chew someone out. Ted looked up over his invention and frowned.

"Oh Vicki- I'm sorry! I forgot she was still even over there!" Said Ted, rushing over to her. He picked up the sheet and placed it back over Vanessa, and then looked down at Vicki. "She's completely deactivated now, you don't have to worry." He said reassuringly. He gave her a pat on the back and removed the sheet from the crane arm. Vicki wordlessly grabbed the arm and hoisted it upwards, walking with it towards the new shovel. Ted sighed out and adjusted Vanessa's sheet, making sure she was completely covered up. "Are you okay?" Asked Ted, a little suspiciously. Vicki looked over and gave him a nod and smile.

"I'm fully functioning." She said. She put the crane arm down and adjusted it so that it could be used for the shovel. Ted joined her and plugged the crane arm into a wall socket, he turned the arm in it's on position and waited patiently. Nothing happened. He tapped the arm a few times, and then gave it whack. Vicki followed suit and hit the machine lightly, causing it to rock and sputter to a start. Ted smiled.

"Thank you Vicki." He said, as he started hitting different buttons on the arm. "Are you ready for school next week? It's pretty exciting!" Said Ted, as he started writing down a series of words and numbers in his little notebook. Vicki didn't respond, and Ted looked up to see her fixated on the sheet that covered up her twin, Vanessa. Ted turned the arm off, and Vicki snapped back to attention. He frowned at her. "She's really gone Vicki, for good, her circuits have been wiped and her hypercube is stripped down. I'm never gonna start her up again." Said Ted. Vicki turned her attention back to the sheet.

"Will you make another Vanessa?" She asked. Ted closed his notebook and blinked a few times.

"I hadn't really planned on it. Making killer robots isn't exactly a hobby that I want to take up." He said, a hint of humor in his voice. Vicki didn't even smile. Ted tugged on Vicki's sweater sleeve and she looked up at him. "I just haven't gotten around to dismantling her yet. I'm not keeping her around." He said, returning to his notes. Vicki tilted her head to the side.

"What will you do with her after she's dismantled?" Asked Vicki. Ted turned around, surprised that Vicki was so curious. He closed his book again and gave her his full attention.

"Well, I'll probably disassemble some of her larger servos and wired mechanisms, and reuse them in future projects at work. Maybe then I can still salvage some good use out of them." He said. Then he folded his arms. "So you see? There's nothing to be worried about. No one's replacing you, Vicki, we told you that a long time ago~." Said Ted. Vicki nodded.

They had indeed told her that no one would replace her, quite a while back. After the Lawsons had returned from an unhappy occasion in Hollywood, they rescued Vicki from her cabinet and were relieved to see that no harm had befallen her. At least no physical damage. Inwardly however, Vicki felt very useless against Vanessa. She had done everything that the other robot had told her to do. She was a faster, smarter, and more life like machine than herself, and as if that wasn't enough- she could fool anybody into thinking that she wasn't Vanessa, but instead Vicki. She could achieve this by acting slower, dumber, and more robot like. These were a set of facts that she had processed and retained, and she was able to cope with that knowledge until she had seen Vanessa, frozen in time and mid-sentence.

Vicki had left the garage after helping her father with the crane arm. He had given her a sad and concerned look as she left, but she had informed him that she needed to get dinner started so that they could eat on time. Joan was already attending to her new full time job, and was setting up lesson plans and textbook assignments for the month ahead, and so it fell on to Vicki to help with making dinners while she was away. Cooking was something that everyone told Vicki she was good at. Not just good, sometimes the word amazing had been used. She wouldn't know, everything she tasted, tasted like molecules.

Molecules or not, her culinary education came straight from award winning chefs and well known Television programs that were masters on the subject of taste, texture, and presentation. Vicki had absorbed 39 books written by various chefs from around the world, describing technique and kitchen etiquette. She had stored to her memory 144 cookbooks, complete with a total of 6,529 different recipes, not just from the books but from the popular T.V. cooking shows. The numbers were surely impressive, but Vicki prescribed to one chef's very wise words. Experience would always be more important than simple education. Vicki pulled an apron up over her head, and tied it behind her. She stood for a second, cataloging the ingredients that she had available in the house, along with the pans and pots that could be used. A display went across her field of vision, showing how much time she had to cook a meal before six o' clock rolled around, and another display started to rotate around behind the timer. Vicki chose her recipe from behind the timer and applied it to her pots and pans, ingredients, and time left for dinner. It was a match!

She set about gathering her utensils and cutting boards, placing them on the kitchen island. Then she quickly turned around to the fridge and grabbed her vegetable selection and her thawed out meat- lamb. The kitchen door swung open and Jamie walked through. He smiled at Vicki and showed off his new shirt, a very shiny rayon button down. He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"What do you think?" He asked. Vicki tilted her head, a large sized kitchen knife in her hand.

"I think you look like you belong in a casino." She answered, pointing out his Bermuda shorts. Jamie smiled and crossed his arms.

"Fair enough. What are you making over there?" He asked, craning to see better.

"I'm making shepherd's pie with a side of broccoli rabe." Said Vicki. Jamie grimaced a little bit, not sure what to make of 'broccoli rabe' but he did trust her kitchen know how. Secretly, Jamie enjoyed Vicki's cooking much more than his own mother's. He smiled up at her.

"Well… ok, good luck! I'm going over to Reggie's for a little while! He finally got back from his summer vacation!" Said Jamie. Vicki nodded and motioned to the little asparagus clock on the kitchen wall with her chef knife.

"It will be ready at 6 o' clock. I can make enough for Reggie too." She said. Jamie frowned a bit. He didn't know whether Reggie would come or not, the two had seemed to drift apart over the summer. Reggie hadn't returned any of Jamie's calls, and only spoke to him once over summer break, to tell him he was coming back.

"I don't know Vicki, he might have to stay home still and unpack or something. I'll be back though! Six on the dot!" He said, leaving out the door. Vicki watched him go and then looked at her chef knife. She checked it's sharpness, and then balanced it on the tip of her finger. Twirling it around her hand and then tossing it into the air, she caught it again, on her finger. The balance of the knife was slightly off. She zoomed in on the blade and saw it's many nicks and aberrations. She zoomed back out from the knife and shrugged. Vicki would have to make do. She began to chop up an onion at an incredible speed but stopped mid way through. She picked up the knife and looked at it again. She wondered why Joan had kept the knife around for so long, it had obviously been used past it's warranty. On top of that, there were many better knives on the market now, some of them very fancy and still very affordable. She shrugged it off and continued.

Vicki dashed around the kitchen like a little robotic tornado, her knife slicing and dicing vegetables at break neck speeds, and her mashing of potatoes with her fork sounded more like a construction site than a stove top pot. She wiped her knife down with her clean rag and she went to manually grind the lamb that was on the table. Vicki had found out from several other cooking experiences that she had to be careful when using the meat grinder, she had accidentally broken the handle off of the mechanism before. Vicki grabbed the grinder from underneath the kitchen island and set it atop it's counter. Again, she eyed the older model of grinder and questioned the validity of not just going out and buying another one. Perhaps money was not in abundance right now, and her mother and father didn't want to discuss it in front of Jamie and her. Or maybe, it was that word that people threw around so often. Sentimentality. That was the word! The grinder and the old used up knife both had sentimental value. Vicki nodded to herself and started the process of loading the lamb meat into the grinder.

She looked over at the coffee maker as she carefully ground the meat into a waiting steel bowl. The coffee pot must have had sentimental value to it also, as it was always breaking down and brewing blackened water that neither Joan nor Ted ever enjoyed. It seemed in fact that most of the tools around the kitchen and the rest of the house had outlived there usefulness, but Ted and Joan seemed too attached to their sentimental values to get rid of them. Vicki stopped grinding the meat and looked down at herself. A strange sort of thing washed over her parallel processing unit- something that she couldn't readily identify, but it was infiltrating her every circuit and positron enabler.

She frowned and stepped down from her little step stool by the kitchen island, and walked over to the kitchen sink. Standing in front of the sink, she looked at her reflection in the kitchen window and took a good long look at herself. She correlated the data from the tools around the house and stacked herself next to them in a measurement of sentimentality. Vicki computed that she too was a mechanism with a great amount of sentimentality attached to it. She looked down into the sink and washed her hands off of the lamb meat. It was a funny thing, hand washing. There was hardly a way to wash hands without the use of more hands. It had always struck Vicki that there should be some device made specifically for hand washing routines, so as to ensure that no hands ever had to get dirty.

Vicki turned back to the kitchen island and continued the preparation of the evening meal. As she mixed her vegetables together in her stock pot, Vicki happened to glance over her shoulder and she caught Harriet Brindle out of the corner of her eye. Harriet stood on the other side of the kitchen window and smiled at Vicki, waving to her happily. She motioned for Vicki to go meet her at the kitchen door, and she stopped her mixing to go do so.

"Hiyeee!" Sang Harriet, as Vicki opened the door for her.

"Hiyeee!" Repeated Vicki back to her. She smiled and let her into the house. Harriet looked around the kitchen and then over to the kitchen island.

"Vicki~ are you cooking that? Where's your mom?" She asked, genuinely surprised. Vicki nodded at her and went to continue her mixing.

"My mom is getting her lesson plans ready for the school year, so she's at work until five tonight. I'm cooking shepherd's pie with a side of broccoli rabe." Said Vicki. She tipped the stock pot so that Harriet could see inside. Harriet made a funny face at the sound of a broccoli rabe, whatever that was, and she shook her head.

"My parents won't let me cook after my lasagna incident. They still can't get the red stains out of the ceiling above the stove!" Said Harriet. "Boy, you're lucky that your parents let you do so much- sometimes I think they'd let you drive their car if you asked them nicely enough." She said. Vicki continued her stirring, she hadn't ever thought about driving the family car. Something about it seemed very odd, a machine driving another machine- Vicki thought that it was a notion better left unsaid.

"They're letting me go to high school too." Added Vicki, as she poured in her chicken stock. Harriet marveled at Vicki's cooking and sighed out.

"I've still got a whole year left before I can go to high school with you guys. It's gonna be weird having your Mom teach me all year long." Said Harriet. "It's okay though, I'm used to having her tell me what to do. You know what I mean?" She asked as she fiddled with one of Vicki's thermometers. Vicki threw the rest of her pie together.

"Yes." She said, very plainly. Vicki did know what that was like, in fact. She couldn't ever possibly say no. Harriet put the thermometer to Vicki's arm and smiled as she talked.

"Well that's what moms are for anyways. My mom is over at our house right now, telling the cable man how to do his job. When I left, he looked like he was ready to jump out of our window! On the top floor!" She said. Vicki smiled at her comment and began to fill up a pastry bag with her mashed potatoes. Harriet's eyes grew huge as she watched Vicki use the pastry bag to form perfectly ornate dollops of mashed potato atop the stew in the stockpot. "Where'd you learn how to do that, Vicki?" Asked Harriet, in an awestruck tone.

"By reading articles from the C.I.A." Answered Vicki. Harriet narrowed her eyes at Vicki in disbelief.

"Vicki, you don't honestly expect me to believe that you've read top secret dossiers of the CIA, do you?" Asked Harriet as she shook her head. Vicki rolled her eyes a little and reiterated.

"The Culinary institute of America." Said Vicki.

"Oh." Said Harriet. The thermometer beeped out and Harriet looked at it. The meter read 78 degrees. Harriet giggled and showed the thermometer to Vicki. "I think you're a quart low, Vicki." She said. "Well, I'm gonna go back and see if the cable man is lying on the front lawn yet. He might make record time!" Said Harriet. With that she smiled and dashed out of the kitchen back door. Vicki closed the door behind Harriet and looked at her timer display. She had an ample amount of time before dinner would be fully cooked. She turned on her heels and made her way towards Jamie's room.

She stopped in front of the door, seeing the mess that Jamie had made in the bedroom. Clothes lain on the floor, scattered around the bedpost too. A few junk food wrappers were stuck under his desk, having been carelessly tossed at the tiny wastebasket underneath. She went about picking up the clothes into a laundry pile, and then began organizing his room for him. Vicki always kept her cabinet clean. With the few trophies she had collected over the years, she was in no danger of running out of space. Yet somehow, Jamie, with his full bedroom space always had managed to make the room seem too small.

She lifted up his bed with one hand and grabbed a few items from underneath of it. More clothes, an old container of Oreos, and a very beaten up pair of high top sneakers. Vicki grabbed them all and put the bed back down in it's place, as she did so Jamie's mattress slid from it's box spring and it revealed a deftly hidden magazine. Vicki continued the cleaning and came back to the mattress. She took the magazine in one hand and then pulled the mattress back into it's position. She didn't particularly care about what was in the magazine, so she tossed it onto the desk. She had succeeded, Jamie's room was very tidy indeed! She gave herself a nod and then opened up her cabinet.

Vicki found what she was looking for immediately, and grabbed it from the floor of the cabinet. One of the many perks of not having too many things was that the things that she did have were always easy to find. Vicki held her Jumbo Rubik's cube up in her hands and quickly went about randomizing it's colors. Happy that it was completely undone, Vicki sat down at Jamie's desk, solving the cube while also taking in some light reading. She flipped open the magazine on Jamie's desk.

"Heavy Metal." Read Vicki aloud. She idly flipped through the pages of the magazine and closed it quickly in disgust. She calmly got back up from the desk, magazine in hand, and stuffed the magazine back into it's place between Jamie's mattress and box spring. She turned around and solved the cube a little faster than she would have liked, and then set it back in it's place as well. Vicki left the room and checked her timer again. Only seven minutes had passed. She put her hands on her hips and acknowledged the same sort of odd thing washing over her again. What was it?

---

Ted screwed down one last bolt on the main rotor of his new shovel and smiled. He stood back, taking in the sounds of the now much quieter machine. Happy with his work, he sat down and started to record his victory in his little notebook.

"Mr. Lawson how do you do it?" He asked himself quite smugly. The garage door opened up and Jamie walked in, looking a little downtrodden. "Hey Jamie!" Said Ted. Jamie just nodded and stood by the door.

"Hi Dad." Said Jamie. He came over to join Ted, and fiddled with some wires and bolts. Ted looked up at him with a curious expression on his face.

"What's up Jamie? You look like someone just stole your kite." He said teasingly. Jamie nodded and scrunched up his mouth.

"It sort of feels like someone did. Reggie came back from summer vacation, and he barely said two words to me when I went to visit him." Said Jamie. Ted frowned at his son.

"Oh Jamie, I'm sorry. That's really terrible… you know sometimes people just grow distant over the years. Just give it some time, I'm sure he still wants to be your friend." Said Ted, reassuringly. Jamie just gave him another nod.

"Sure Dad." He said. "What's that thing anyways?" Asked Jamie, motioning to the shovel. Ted turned around and proudly surveyed his work.

"That Jamie, is a device that will really break some new ground!" He said. Ted frowned at Jamie's lack of response. "It's a sonic shovel. It uses low frequency noise and vibration to help breakup bigger rocks and boulders. It's going to save a lot of backs, I can tell you that much!" He said.

"Cool." Said Jamie. The garage door opened again, and Vicki stood in the doorway. She looked at Jamie with an odd kind of glance, and then back over to Ted.

"You have a visitor." Said Vicki. Ted raised an eyebrow.

"For me? Who is it, do you know?" He asked. Vicki nodded.

"He's a lawyer from Washington D.C." She said. Ted's mouth dropped open in surprise.

The smallish man in question sat on the couch in the Lawson residence and took in the very down to earth appeal of the home. For living so close to the silicone valley, Mr. Lawson seemed to live more sparingly than a lot of his surrounding neighbors. They didn't even have a kiddy pool! His keen eye couldn't be fooled. He saw many repair jobs on the end tables and even on the swinging kitchen door. Obviously, his children were at fault. He had thought that the little girl had seemed just a little too polite- probably a cover for her real personality. The man was snapped out of his thoughts when the swinging door opened, and Ted Lawson walked through it, a nervous smile on his face.

"Hi! I'm Ted! Ted Lawson- what can I do for you?" Asked Ted. The smallish man on the couch rose up and extended his hand to him.

"Hello Mr. Lawson, I'm a representative from the law firm, Howard, Isaac, and Adams. My name is Robert Barker." He said. The two men shook hands just as Jamie and Vicki entered the living room too. Mr. Barker pulled his hand back in dismay, and looked at his now well oiled palm.

"Oh! Sorry, about that, I was out in the garage getting a few odds and ends done! Vicki, would you find Mr. Barker a towel please?" Asked Ted, sounding very embarrassed. Vicki nodded and headed back into the kitchen. "Mr. Barker, I'm slightly at a loss here, what is it exactly that your law firm wants with me? I've never even heard of them!" Said Ted. Mr. Barker carefully opened the briefcase that he carried with him and produced from it a number of official looking papers and documents. He handed them to Ted.

"Mr. Lawson, as you may or may not know, your Grandfather the late Jedidiah Lawson, held many accounts and a few properties spread all across the eastern united states." Said Mr. Barker. Ted nodded, following along with the documents. "One such property is of high interest to Howard, Isaac, and Adams- and it seems that Jedidiah left that property to you in his will." Said the small lawyer. Jamie's eyes lit up.

"Holy smokes Dad! Are you rich?!" He asked excitedly. Ted shook his head and looked over the papers in his hand.

"I do remember this, at the reading of his will- it was so long ago though, I was still in college at the time." Said Ted. Mr. Barker nodded.

"Yes, it was a while ago. And while most of his holdings were on the eastern end of the united states, he left to you the one that is here, right in California! It's a very nice chunk of land, Mr. Lawson, and there are certain other parties interested in it as well. As Howard, Isaac, and Adams did the most business with your grandfather, we thought it best to be the first to make you an offer to purchase the land, and a substantial offer at that." Said Mr. Barker. Ted's eyes grew huge as he looked over the map of the land. Vicki returned to the living room, towel in hand for the lawyer. He took it graciously as he continued his well rehearsed sales pitch. "I understand this might take some discussion with the rest of the family, before you come to a decision. I'm staying in town for the week, however, so you'll have plenty of time to mill it over." He said. Ted nodded, still in awe over how much land it was. His face turned to one of confusion and then bemusement as he curled up the map.

"Sell- sell -sell!" Chanted Jamie, as Ted rifled through some other documents. He held one up and smiled.

"The will. This is a copy?" Asked Ted, as he looked over it. Mr. Barker nodded.

"All who attended and witnessed his hand that day are recorded on the attached file behind it. You'll see that your grandfather trusted our law firm very much." Said Mr. Barker, quite warmly. Ted looked over the file and smiled. His eyes perked up and he showed the list of names to the lawyer.

"Oh this was you? You were there- it says it right here…" Began Ted. The lawyer seemed to get antsy and waved Ted on.

"Oh yes, it's a formality for the law firm to keep the same financial advisors and analysts…" Mr. Barker began to say. Ted looked at the name on the file again and smiled.

"Hey! Bob Barker! Like on that show, the-" Ted was interrupted by the lawyer, who looked a little embarrassed and annoyed.

"Yes, yes, it's just a coincidental happenstance. We're not related at all." Said Mr. Barker. Ted raised an eyebrow and put the file on the table. "Well, I'll leave you to it, Mr. Lawson~! You have my law firm's phone number on the contacts sheet, and my hotel room number is in there as well. I think you'll find that our buying price might suit you~." Said Mr. Barker. Vicki rose a finger into the air.

"If the price is right." She said. The lawyer turned pale and gathered his things. He turned to leave for the door.

"Good day, Mr. Lawson." He said, giving a slight bow as he left out of the front door. Ted continued to look over Jedidiah's property map.

"Good day…" Said Ted, having missed that the lawyer had already left. Vicki watched her father very carefully. He sorted through the papers in his hand and sat down, wearing a very odd expression on his face that she had never seen before. She pulled up a few other faces that Ted had made over the years, cross referencing each one with his current countenance. None of them aligned to his current distinctly emotional gaze as he flipped through and read the documents. Vicki made an audible dinging noise, to which Jamie and Ted both turned and looked at her.

"I have to make the broccoli rabe now." Said Vicki, and then she turned and left for the kitchen. She got to her kitchen island and began the process of cross chopping her broccoli into smaller easier to cook pieces. She went to her pot of boiling water that she had set up earlier, just boiling as her timer had gone off, and dropped in the rabe. She pulled the broccoli out quickly and put it into a bath of salted ice water and let it cool. As she began to chop up her garlic clove, Vicki went over the events that had just taken place. Ted it seemed, was very suddenly a land owner and while Vicki thought it very strange that human beings thought that they could own land, that was to say the soil, top soil, sediment layers, wildlife, and plant life of an area- she fully understood that owning land was much better than just occupying land.

She removed and let dry her broccoli, and started up a cast iron skillet on the stove top, then she put in her tablespoons of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. As she threw her nicely chopped garlic into the pan for it's sautéing, she looked outside of the kitchen window and saw the rolling hills of Mt. Diablo in the far off stretches of their town. Did someone own the mountain as well? Putting a dollar amount to her cloves of garlic was easy enough, and so was putting a dollar amount to the broccoli. She finished her sautéing and turned her skillet to a medium heat, then she quickly removed the bits of garlic from her pan and tossed in her broccoli. Vegetables and herbs were grown from the dirt on farms and fields.

Those fields were owned by farmers… except that they weren't. When the fields dried up from drought, when the rains ceased in an area, the farmer then belonged to the land. The farmer would have to irrigate a source of water to the fields, and then would have to provide the proper nutrients to the area to let anything grow on the land. Sometimes, that did not work at all, and the land would simply grow no food. The human mindset was riddled with these misconceptions, and it slightly concerned Vicki. She added some salt and crushed red pepper to her rabe as she continued her cooking. Another timer dinged, and Vicki removed her stock pot from the oven. Dinner was ready, and just as Vicki started plating up the evening meal for everyone, Joan walked in through the kitchen's back door.

"Hi Vicki!" Said Joan, very cheerfully. She traversed the kitchen and embraced Vicki in a long hug. "Where's your father at?" She asked. Vicki motioned towards the swinging kitchen door with her fork.

"He's in there with Jamie, looking over his new property." She answered. Joan laughed as she helped Vicki set some of her plates on the kitchen table.

"It's a little early in the day to play monopoly." She said, shaking her head. "Vicki, is this broccoli? What did you do to it?" Asked Joan, as she inspected the little side plate. Vicki nodded.

"It's a broccoli rabe~." Said Vicki, losing her monotone. Joan smiled, she often liked it when Vicki sounded like a normal girl. "It's an Italian side dish." She added, her voice still lacking her usual monotonous tone. Just as Joan was about to remark upon the sudden transformation, Ted and Jamie came walking through the living room door. Ted looked excited and had with him a huge map.

"Joanie! Look at this! You'll never believe what just happened to us!" He said, almost hopping up and down like a giddy child. Ted enthusiastically began to explain to Joan all of what had transpired between the lawyer and his grandfather's will. Joan's face lit up more and more as Ted talked, and Jamie stood there watching them with a big dopey smile on his face, and his arms crossed against his chest. His eyes seemed to sparkle as Ted talked about riches and a bigger house. Vicki watched Jamie as she began to slice some hard chewy bread with her bread knife. Jamie was changing.

Jamie was changing, and not necessarily in a way that Vicki could relate to. His arms had definitely increased in muscle mass over the summer, but that was to be expected with his new focus on weight lifting and exercise. He began the weight lifting for his overall fitness- which Vicki understood very clearly. Humans needed good fitness, especially cardiovascular fitness. That had been a very big change, Jamie caring about his physical health… but Vicki now computed that Jamie's plunge into the healthier lifestyle was not intended simply for his overall quality of life.

Jamie caught her looking at him and made a face at her with his scrunched up mouth. She gave him a curt smile, something that she had learned from watching the television, and looked back down at her bread. Jamie shrugged off the strange look from Vicki, and returned to the conversation between his mother and father, adding in some insight to the lawyer's almost famous name. Vicki glanced up one more time at Jamie and then back down at her final slice of bread. The strange something flooded her parallel processors again, and this time Vicki could pinpoint it's root.

"We'll be rich! We'll have more dough than a pizzeria!" Said Ted, as he grabbed Vicki by the shoulder and hugged her strongly. He smiled down at her, and Vicki looked back up at him, offering him some of the thick crusted bread.

"You can start with this~." Said Vicki. Ted smiled and took the bread, biting into it like a triumphant Viking. Joan raised an eyebrow and looked at her daughter. The monotone was still gone.

The dinner was quite merry. Ted and Joan discussed heavily the option of selling the land to the law firm of Howard, Isaac, and Adams. Jamie gobbled down his food, and even went for a second helping- this was something Vicki had been getting used to. He needed a few more carbohydrates to help with his physical fitness… for whatever gain it was for. Vicki sat at the table with the Lawsons, picking at the food she had made for everyone. She took a fork full of her shepherd's pie and 'tasted' it. A value of 1.05 grams of salt, followed by a gluten count, carbohydrate intake, and lastly of course the volumetric measurement of what she had ingested ran across her field of vision. She put her fork back down to the plate and looked up to Ted.

"For the life of me, I can't even remember the reading of the will. I was too distraught over everything- do you remember Joan? That funeral home tried to dye his skin pink so that he'd look less pale!" Said Ted. He looked frustrated at the memory. "We told them about his skin condition, and the morning of the will reading I had gone to see about his arrangements. They made him look like a clown." He said very dismayed.

"What skin condition?" Asked Jamie, as he swallowed down more pie. Ted shuffled through his papers and took out an old photo. On it was the picture of Jedidiah Lawson, complete in his usual attire. A black fedora, black frock coat, black gloves, and black shiny cane. The little round sunglasses on his face covered his eyeballs completely, and he didn't seem to have much in the area of eyebrows. Jamie stared at the picture and then up to Ted. The man in the picture was whiter than a sheet of paper.

"He had a rare case of Albinism, Jamie. His skin didn't have any pigment to it, and he'd get a sunburn in minutes. He had it rough when I was a kid, people always thought he was a vampire." Said Ted. "It didn't help that he always wore black like that." He acknowledged, as he looked at the picture of his grandfather. Vicki looked at the photo too.

"He looks like the Judge from that movie, Roger Rabbit." Said Vicki. Ted frowned down at her. "Before his eyes became animated." Added Vicki, hoping to smooth over her obviously ill received remark. Ted looked at the photo again and gave a slight shrug.

"Yeah, I suppose he kind of does. What's important is, he was a very good man. He always had a vision for the future, always had big ideas for a bigger and better world. That's why I'm wondering why he bought this land so far away from the rest of his properties. I think I want to do some research before we agree to anything." Said Ted, taking a bite of his broccoli rabe. He looked over to Vicki for a moment and then back to his grandfather's photo.

"Well Ted, I think whatever you decide to do with the land, your grandfather would be okay with. He really babied you, right up until you were 24!" Said Joan with a big smile. Ted blushed a little and put his papers away. Vicki looked up between Joan and Ted, and calculated that now would be a good time to raise her question.

"What will you do with all the money from the land sale?" She asked Ted. Ted blinked in surprise and smiled down at Vicki. He loved how many questions she had been asking lately.

"For starters, I'd remodel the house! Maybe even put in an extra room or two~." He said, looking over to Joan and waggling his eyebrows. Joan gave him a quick smile and sipped some coffee down from her mug. Ted continued as Jamie got up for yet another serving of the broccoli rabe. "And I suppose there are a few things around the house that could use an update too. That coffee maker for one!" Said Ted as he turned around and pointed to the defunct brewer. Vicki's eyes grew a little. Ted had forsaken the sentimental value of the mechanism over the prospect of a new shinier one.

"Oh…" Said Vicki, simply. Joan nodded and scratched the side of her head as she spoke.

"That can opener too, along with that knife. I think it's just about as sharp as a wet newspaper. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've almost cut myself with it." Said Joan. Vicki remained silent, as Ted and Joan went back and forth about car repairs and Jamie's college tuition. Jamie piped in at the mention of college. For the first time ever, really ever, Vicki didn't follow along with their conversation. Vicki's parallel processing unit was in overdrive.

She reflected on her past correlation between herself and the other mechanisms and tools around the house, from earlier in the day. She had deduced that the Lawsons had kept such things around for their sentimental value- such as when one would keep a very poorly made sweater. Sentimental value was why Vicki was still around, or so she had speculated. When Vanessa had first been made, Ted's plan was to dismantle Vicki and replace her completely. That strange thing that had been washing over her lately, it had happened then too. There was nothing when Vicki was dismantled, no sight, no sound, no passage of time. No Vicki. There was no Vicki when she was dismantled, just complete and total nothingness.

Maybe along with the other tools that Ted would upgrade, Vicki would have new improvements made to her as well. Maybe though also, she would be replaced by a different mechanism. One that was better even than Vanessa. A robot with emotional aptitude, that never made mistakes, that everyone had more sentimental value attached to. Obsolete, that was the word, the word that Ted had used initially. Vicki turned in her chair and looked at the knife, sitting neatly in the knife rack. Obsolete. She turned and looked at the coffee maker. Obsolete.

"What do you think, Vicki?" Asked Jamie. Vicki turned and looked at her brother. It became obvious to everyone that Vicki hadn't been listening at all. Ted sat up straight in his chair and eyed his little invention. She had ignored everything that Jamie had been saying! How wonderful! Scientifically speaking, this was a major breakthrough! Vicki had placed a higher value on her own thought processes than she did on Jamie's rambling! Ted reached down and gave Vicki's shoulder a light squeeze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." Said Vicki, in complete honesty. Her monotone had returned abruptly. Jamie frowned a bit at her, but repeated himself.

"I was saying that you can't trust lawyers, they're always up to something. We see it on T.V. shows all the time!" He said. Vicki nodded.

"On the T.V. shows, the lawyer always tries to swindle someone out of money." She stated. Ted nodded too.

"Yeah… I suppose they do." He said, looking over to Joan. She shrugged and finished off her pie.

"This was amazing Vicki! I can't believe how good you've become with these dishes!" Said Joan, standing up and giving Vicki a peck on the top of her head. Vicki sat motionless, looking down at her slightly scuffed up shorts. Obsolete.

---

Ted sat down on the couch after dinner, staring at the photo of his grandfather, Jedidiah. His troubled brow furrowed even more as he looked up from the photo and back to the map of his newly acquired land. Why had he bought land, this far away? Ted shook his head and continued to ponder his day, as Vicki came and sat down next to him on the sofa. She studied the map along with him, silently. Ted was unaware of her arrival, and he turned his focus back to the photo of Jedidiah.

"Thirty acres." Vicki remarked, as she read the map to herself. Ted startled and snapped his attention to her. He sighed out and put a hand over his chest.

"Vicki! How long have you been here?!" He asked, breathlessly. "Is there something you need?" He asked. Vicki shook her head and shrugged, staring back up at him. Vicki had disappeared after dinner, and it appeared that she had changed her outfit. She had done that a lot lately, she rarely wore her pinafore these days- opting instead for the new clothes that Joan had been finding for her. Much like a real teenage girl, Vicki's focus on outfits was becoming one of Ted's worries. They'd have to get another cabinet just for her clothes pretty soon. Ted huffed out and continued his reading. He looked back over and saw that she was still following along. Ted smiled a bit to himself, and opened the paper up to her a little more. The two of them kept reading in silence until Jamie came out of the living room hallway.

"Hey Dad! I was thinking about walking to downtown and going to the book store." He said, as he gathered up his book bag by the front door. Ted turned to look at him along with Vicki.

"The book store? Is there a cute girl working there behind the counter?" Asked Ted with a wry smile. Jamie got a look of genuine disgust on his face.

"Hardly." He said, with a slight shudder. Ted motioned with his head towards Vicki.

"Well how about you take Vicki with you? It'll be getting dark by the time you get back. Besides, I bet she could stand to get out of the house for a little while, huh Vicki?" He said, turning to Vicki and patting her knee. Vicki didn't terribly care for the notion one way or the other, but she smiled and nodded her head anyways. Jamie sighed out a little.

"Dad, I was talking about the comic book store. It's nothing but nerds and geeks there- they'll scatter if a pretty girl comes walking in." He said putting a hand on his hip. Ted laughed and scooted Vicki off of the couch.

"Good, you'll fit right in. Now take her with you and go~!" Said Ted, slipping off the couch himself. He wrangled Vicki towards the door and stuffed a dollar in her hand as they walked. Vicki looked down at the dollar surprised, and then back up to Ted. "Buy something for yourself, Vicki." He said, with a nudge. Vicki stuffed the dollar into her pink pants pocket and waited patiently by the door.

"Since you're giving them away?" Said Jamie, a big smile on his face and his palm extended outward towards Ted. Ted smiled and beckoned for Jamie to come nearer. He gave Jamie a dollar too, but pulled him closer to him so that Vicki couldn't hear them talk.

"Jamie, listen- Vicki's been showing some unusual behavior lately, and I want to see where this goes on it's own course. So do me a favor and take some mental notes of anything odd she says or does. Especially tell me about any questions she asks! Okay?" Said Ted. Jamie gave his Dad a nod and a wink.

"Sure pop." He said. Ted frowned at the word 'pop', but quickly recovered.

"And make sure that she buys something of her own volition! Don't give her any suggestions unless she makes a point of it to ask you, alright?" Asked Ted. Jamie nodded and headed for the door.

"No problem! Alrighty, see ya later!" He said, leaving out the front door. Vicki smiled at Ted as she exited behind her older brother. Ted watched them go and smiled to himself. He excitedly put his documents back into their folder and went to go find Joan.

Jamie remained mostly silent on the walk towards downtown. His mind was addled with fears of high school, it was starting only next week and he wasn't sure if he should have been excited or mortified at the prospect of beginning the final run of his education. He turned around to look at Vicki, she looked back up at him and smiled. She was acting strange… and Jamie felt a little off put by her presence. He turned back around and began digging in his pockets for his cash.

"What comic book are you going to get, Jamie?" Asked Vicki. Her monotone had dropped away again. Jamie produced his money and counted it out.

"I don't know yet, there's a few cool new ones that are coming out soon. I kind of just want to see if they're in yet…" He said. He counted out six dollars. With the change in his pocket, he would have enough for anything at the store! They rounded a corner and began walking down the busier avenue of town. Cars drove by, some full of rowdy teenagers trying to milk the last bit of summer vacation as much they could on the last Saturday night. Two older girls walked past Jamie and Vicki, going in the opposite direction. They giggled as they passed Jamie and started talking to each other as they disappeared down the avenue. Jamie smiled and watched them go, only briefly looking down at Vicki. She was watching them too.

Vicki fiddled with her pink sweater and unbuttoned it's collar. Jamie turned back around and sighed out. Vicki's earlier suspicions had been true. Jamie's change was very real, before he had been rarely noticed by girls (at least in a way that he found agreeable.) Of course all those other changes were readily visible to her too, he was taller, his demeanor around other kids was more 'cool', and last but not least- all of the working out. She watched her brother as he waved at a car full of passing teens and then looked away as she began to carefully take off her pink long sleeved sweater. She straightened out her white floral print tee shirt that she wore underneath, and then neatly tied the sweater's sleeves in a knot, wearing the sweater over her shoulders as an accessory of sorts.

Jamie of course took no notice of this, and didn't even turn to look at her even when they had reached the comic book store. They walked in and were met by the rather funky smell of the shop, adult men and teenage boys milled about the aisles, thumbing through the boxes and boxes of back issue comics. Vicki had never been to one of these stores, and for the first time in her existence, she had to ignore her protocol to tidy up and clean. The store stank of sweaty nerds and collectors, the carpets had probably never been cleaned, and careless customers kept putting comics back out of alphabetical order. She winced as a boy placed a copy of Rom the Space Knight into the 'T' section. Jamie sighed out and smiled.

"This is what it's all about, Vicki!" Said Jamie, folding his arms across his chest. "New comic day~!" He said, pointing to the empty shipment boxes. He led her across the store to an aisle of comic books, trading cards and toys. Vicki picked up one little toy in particular. She held up the box and inspected the little plastic representation of R2D2 from Star Wars. Jamie caught her eyeing the little droid and smiled, before returning to his quest for his own collection. She put the toy back and looked around the store.

"Jamie!" Came Reggie's voice from another aisle. Jamie looked up to see his best friend waving at him. A huge smile crossed Jamie's face as he joined Reggie over by the Iron Man comics. "I thought it was you! How come you left our house so early?" Asked Reggie, putting a hand on his hip. Jamie's smile slightly dropped.

"I thought maybe you didn't want me around… you barely said anything to me." Said Jamie. "I didn't want to be in your hair if you and your family were still unpacking and stuff." He added. Reggie shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Man, my mom came upstairs looking for you, she made a whole bunch of these nasty sandwiches from Greece! I had to eat them all myself, it was disgusting!" Said Reggie. "Plus I didn't get to give you your souvenir!" He said. Jamie's eyes lit up.

"You got me a souvenir? Where from?" He asked, overly happy that Reggie hadn't forsaken him. Reggie gritted his teeth a little and sighed out.

"Your parents might not like it, so I better sneak it over later when they're not looking. It's from France!" Said Reggie. Jamie smiled and nodded. Reggie turned his attention to the girl in the white shirt with the tied on pink sweater over her shoulders. She was quickly flipping through a Robocop comic book. "Is that Vicki? Man, Jamie, you better watch her around all these guys, she's looking gooood~!" Said Reggie with a big smile. Jamie turned to look at his sister, and his smile quickly faded. He stumbled backwards and knocked over a spinning display of comics.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Yelled the extremely portly comic book store owner. "Pick that up! Don't make me come out there!" He added. Of course he had no intention of leaving his chair. Or his doughnuts. Reggie helped Jamie back up.

"What's the matter with you? What are you doing?" Asked Reggie. Jamie shook his head and eyed Vicki.

"I lost my balance- I'm alright." He said, as he started to replace the comics in the display. Reggie helped him out and started sorting through the different comics.

"You should have seen my Dad in Greece, Jamie! There were all these people out there on the beach getting tans, and my dad went running out onto the sand and laid down with them! Talk about a sore thumb!" Said Reggie, laughing as he organized the comics. Vicki had joined them and was stuffing the comic books into the display too. Jamie looked up at Vicki, his eyes wide in panic. Reggie looked between the two of them and cleared his throat. "You look nice, Vicki." He said. Vicki smiled at him as she effortlessly lifted the display back onto it's base.

"Thank you." She said. Her monotone had vanished, and Jamie stood up quickly at the realization of what was going on.

"We should get back home." He said, in an almost demanding way towards Vicki. Reggie raised an eyebrow. "Our dad wanted us home before dark." Added Jamie.

"You didn't even buy a comic book yet!" Said Reggie, a little perplexed. Vicki held up a magazine for Jamie, with a rather risqué looking cover. Reggie eyed the magazine and smiled. "I think I'll stick with X-men, instead of X-girls!" He said jokingly. "Alright, I'll see you later then Jamie!" Said Reggie, as he continued to a different part of the store. Jamie eyed Vicki, and the magazine, his thoughts racing at a million miles per hour.

"Vicki! What are you doing!?" He whispered angrily. Vicki looked down at the magazine and then held it with her two hands in front of her chest.

"I thought this was the comic you'd be looking for…" She said. Jamie grabbed the magazine from her hands and set it down on the aisle.

"I mean you! Why are you dressed like that?! Those are Vanessa's clothes!" He said, his voice rising. Vicki looked down at the floor and her shoes. "You're even trying to sound like her! Stop it!" He shouted. A few patrons looked over at the scene, but quickly went back to their shopping.

"I'm sorry." She said simply. Jamie shook his head and put his hands on his hips. His face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He grabbed her by the arm and started to lead her out of the store.

"I think this goes under the category of unusual behavior." Said Jamie to himself, as they exited the store. They stopped outside, where Jamie made sure that no one was looking. He turned to his sister and crossed his arms. "Vicki, what are you doing with Vanessa's clothes?" He asked, sounding a little more patient. Vicki shrugged.

"She doesn't need them now. Dad is going to dismantle her body components and her hypercube hardware completely." She answered.

"But why are you wearing them?! It's… it's! It's creepy! Don't you get it?" Asked Jamie. Vicki shook her head.

"I wore them to look more like Vanessa, so that I wouldn't look obsolete…" Began Vicki. Jamie raised an eyebrow.

"Obsolete? What are you talking about? She was a rampaging murder bot! She puts the terminator to shame! Trust me Vicki, you're not obsolete!" He said. Jamie gave her a warm pat on her arm and then slipped her sweater off of her shoulders. "Vicki, we like you, not Vanessa the killer robobrat!" He told her. Vicki smiled a little and then looked back down.

"I have sentimental value to you~." She said, with a nod. Jamie furrowed his brow.

"Huh?" He asked, confused.

"Sentimental value. It's why Mom keeps around the older outdated tools. Like the coffee machine and the toaster." Said Vicki. Jamie frowned at her.

"Vicki, Mom loves you! She doesn't love a coffee maker, believe me! Your circuits need a good shaking, I'm taking you home and having Dad look you over." Said Jamie. He was a little sad at Vicki's words. Did she really think that they thought of her as tool? He frowned again and gave her a surprising hug, and immediately let go feeling very weird. "We like you just the way you are." He added, trying to think of what his mother might say in this situation.

"Just the way I am." Repeated Vicki. "I'm a slower, dumber, robot." She said, affirming Jamie's feelings. Jamie scowled at her.

"Oh you are not! I don't know what your problem is Vicki, but you're becoming a crazy mixed up robot! Come on, let's get out of here before you blow a transistor." Said Jamie, taking her by the arm again, and leading her back towards home. The two of them left down the block and disappeared around a bend. Reggie came out from behind the corner of the clock tower plaza that Jamie and Vicki had just been previously at. His X-men comic held loosely in his hand, and an expression of disbelief on his face.

"What?!" He asked himself, standing alone in wonder.

---

Ted Lawson playfully kissed at his wife's ear. Joan smiled back at him and rustled some papers at him, before returning to her reading at the kitchen table.

"I've got to get these done, Ted~!" She said, motioning to her own stack of papers. "School starts next week!" She added. Ted huffed out at her.

"Joan, honey- both the kids are away for at least a good hour or so, this is the only time in months that you and I have been alone!" Said Ted. Joan gave him a mischievous smile and returned to her papers again. Ted frowned and sat down in the chair next to hers. He fluttered his eyelashes at her until she began to laugh a little at his antics.

"Ted, I know you're feeling good- what with the land thing and all, but I really do need to get busy with this! I'll get busy with you later-" Said Joan. She blushed as she realized what she had just said aloud, and hid her face in her papers.

"Joanie!" Said Ted, sitting back in his chair, mocking her with a face of shock. "Well I never!" He said, putting his hand up to his mouth. Joan dropped the papers and looked squarely at her husband. Her face was still blushed.

"Ted, make like a rancher and go ride a fence!" She said at him. Ted's face broke out into a smile and he waggled his eyebrows at her. Joan picked up her papers and started to focus on them once more. "If you want me to get done faster, then maybe you should help me. Here." Said Joan, placing a stack of papers in front of him. Ted frowned and stared down at the glaring white sheets full of diagrams and lesson ideas. He grimaced at the thought of delving into the world of the educational system.

"Gee, Joanie, I'd love to help- but…" Said Ted, thinking about anything at all to say. The doorbell rang and Ted sighed out audibly in relief. Joan gave him a knowing look and took her papers back from him. "I should go answer the door~." Said Ted, as he got up from the table and walked casually to the living room.

"My very own Casanova." Said Joan, as she crumpled up one of her papers.

Ted opened the door with a smile and looked out of the doorway, expecting one of his neighbors, or even possibly a news reporter. He had daydreamed of getting a place in the paper as one of the front page stories. (Local man inherits 30 acres of oil rich land) or something quite like that. What Ted opened the door to instead was a nearly six foot five inch tall American Indian man in a black fedora. The man took the fedora off and looked down at Ted, who looked back up at him in stunned silence.

"Ho." Said the man, reaching his gigantic hand out towards Ted. Ted silently grasped the man's hand and shook it, still looking up at him. The man took his hand back and produced from the inside of his red buttoned down shirt an old looking piece of parchment. "My name is Jonathon Blood- I'm looking for Theodore Lawson." He said. Ted blinked.

"I'm Ted Lawson… that's me." He said, regaining his composure. "I'm Ted, why don't you come in? Make yourself comfortable!" He said, suddenly feeling like he had been overly rude in staring at the man. Jonathon bowed his head and entered into the Lawson house, looking around and smiling slightly at the sight of how non-materialistic the home seemed to be.

"Thank you." Said Jonathon. The swinging kitchen door opened up and Joan entered the living room, still looking over her papers as she came in.

"Ted, who was at the door?" She asked. Joan looked up and nearly dropped her papers at the sight of Jonathon Blood. "Oh!… Hello!" Said Joan, giving him an awkward smile. He extended a hand to Joan, and she took it gingerly. Jonathon shook Joan's hand so enthusiastically that she had to steady herself again after the handshake was finished.

"Mrs. Lawson." He said simply to her. She smiled back at him and went over to stand by Ted. Jonathon looked at the two of them and held his parchment out towards them. "I come to you from the Washoe tribe, as a speaker for our council members. We hope that you will honor your Grandfather now, and read his words here." He said. Ted looked at Joan and then took the parchment from Jonathon.

"I Jedidiah Lawson do hereby grant…" Began Ted. He started reading the parchment to himself. His face dropped as he read further down the paper and he sighed out. "Aw, nuts." He said. Joan nudged her husband.

"What is it Ted?" She asked. Ted handed the paper to her.

"Jedidiah bought the land for the Washoe tribe, in exchange for being accepted as an honorary member!" He said. Jonathon nodded at Ted's revelation and produced another scrap of paper from his shirt, this time a tattered old photo. He held it up for them to see. Jedidiah Lawson sat in a circle with ten other Indian men, while many strange marks and artwork hung up behind them all on some woven mats. The photo was dated as the year 1959. Ted looked at the photo and then back up to the man.

"Ted, he seemed pretty set on giving it all back~." Said Joan, as she looked up to Jonathon as well. "I think we better think about this- especially before you talk to that lawyer-" Said Joan. Jonathon grumbled at the mention of the lawyer.

"Bob Barker! There is no man worse than him! He lies and tells you about prices, and then he turns around and tells you the price was wrong!" Said Jonathon, very upset. Joan blinked and stifled a smile. The Indian man gave a nod and made a clicking noise with his tongue. "Yes, I know his name is the same as the man on the TV show. I like Hollywood squares better." He said. Ted nearly laughed out, but he was saved by Jamie throwing the front door open. He had Vicki grasped tightly by her arm.

"Dad! Vicki's going crazy!…" He began. Jamie looked up at the tall slightly scary looking guy in his house and smiled weakly at him. "Oh. Hello!… Sir!" He said. Jonathon looked at Jamie and Vicki and gave them a quick smile.

"Ho." Said the man at them both. Jamie nodded, lost on what to say back. Vicki on the other hand looked the man up and down. She settled on the bracelet he wore on his left hand, and then wrestled her arm away from Jamie in order to give the man a little curtsy.

"Hunga mi 'heshi?" Said Vicki to the man. Jonathon's eyes lit up and he raised his eyebrows. Ted and Joan looked on as Jonathon Blood said something back to Vicki that they didn't quite understand. Vicki nodded and said something even more strange sounding back to him. He smiled and nodded too.

"That's a pretty smart daughter!" Said Jonathon. "Where did she learn how to speak Washoe like that?" He asked. Joan smiled and put her hands on Vicki's shoulders.

"Oh, Vicki just loves history! Maybe she learned some reading one of her books!" Said Joan, with a little nervous laugh. "She's our own little Rosetta Stone." She added. Ted cleared his throat and went over to join Jonathon over by the couch.

"Uh, Mr. Blood?" He asked, motioning for him to have a seat. Jonathon sat down on the chair next to the couch and Ted opened up his file full of papers. "Why is it that there's no mention of this in all of these documents? What exactly happened that made my Grandfather buy the land, do you know?" Asked Ted. Jonathon nodded and began to relate to Ted the circumstances under which Jedidiah had bought the land. Joan cleared her throat too, before the two men got too wrapped up in their business.

"Jamie? Why don't you and Vicki head to your room?" She said. Jamie got closer to his mother and whispered so that he wouldn't interrupt the history lesson.

"Mom~! I was trying to tell you guys, Vicki's turning into Vanessa!" He said. Joan gave him a cross look.

"Jamie! What do you mean by that?!" Asked Joan, a little mad that her son had broken the unsaid rule. Jamie wrapped the pink sweater that he had been hiding behind his back around Vicki's shoulders. Joan looked down at Vicki and gasped.

"Ta da." Said Jamie. Joan quickly ushered the two of them into the bedroom hallway out of earshot. She took the sweater off of Vicki and looked at her from head to toe.

"Vicki, what is the meaning of this?" Asked Joan, sounding almost hurt. "Why are you wearing these clothes?!" Vicki frowned a bit and shrugged.

"I'm supposed to wear clothes." She said. Joan put her hands on her hips and stared at Vicki with her patented gaze that only mothers could give.

"You know what I mean." She said, waving the pink sweater in front of Vicki. Vicki looked up at her mother and had the strange something wash over her again, much stronger than it had ever been. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "Vicki?" Asked Joan, again.

"She said she didn't want to look obsolete, whatever that was about." Said Jamie for her. He shook his head and looked at her with an appraising eye. "I think we should have Dad take a look at her." He added. Joan frowned and moved to put a hand on Vicki's shoulder.

"Vicki, you're not-" She began to say. Just as Joan laid her hand on Vicki's shoulder, Vicki moved away from her, avoiding the contact that Joan had tried to make. Joan's mouth dropped open in surprise, and Jamie stood in a stunned silence as Vicki took another step away from them. "Vicki!" Exclaimed Joan. Vicki's face fell into a sad little pout, and she quickly grabbed the sweater back from Joan's hands.

"DAD!" Yelled out Jamie, as he looked worriedly at his mother and his robot sister. "I think we're having a family emergency!" He said. Joan took a cautious step towards Vicki.

"Vicki? What's the matter?" She asked. Vicki shook her head and took another step back, much to Joan's astonishment. Vicki had never shied away like this, not from anyone! "Vicki- you're acting like we're out to get you!" Said Joan, placing her hands at her hips. Vicki stood looking up at the two of them, the pink sweater hanging from her hand, finally after a brief silence she spoke up.

"Are you going to dismantle me?" She asked. Joan huffed out at the silly question.

"I wouldn't know how if I wanted to, you know that, and I don't want to. Is that what this is all about?" Said Joan. "Are you worried that someone's going to take you apart? No one's going to do that!" She added. Ted came jogging up the little flight of stairs in the hallway and stopped as he approached Joan and Jamie.

"Alright, Mr. Blood is staying at the same hotel as Mr. Barker- go figure, and he'll be back to-" Ted stopped and looked down at his prized invention. She had wetter than normal eyes and she was visibly stand offish. Ted raised an eyebrow and looked at Joan. "What's going on here?" He asked.

"I get the impression that Vicki thinks that we're going to dismantle her for some reason." Said Joan. Jamie nodded at her appraisal of the situation. Ted looked over at Vicki and frowned.

"Vicki, I told you just earlier today that no one could replace you- you know we love you!" Said Ted. "You're one of the family-" He began to say.

"I have sentimental value." Vicki said, correcting him. Ted scrunched his mouth up and put a hand on his hip.

"Sentimental value?" He asked her. Vicki nodded and held the pink sweater closer to herself.

"Sentimental value, like with the coffee maker and the meat grinder." Said Vicki. "You only keep them around as long as they maintain their sentimental values… until you replace them with the newer models." She said. Jamie huffed out.

"Here we go again, Vicki, I already told you that mom doesn't love the coffeemaker!" Said Jamie, sounding fed up with her irrational behavior. Ted agreed with his son.

"That's right, she certainly doesn't go to the movies with her special little coffeemaker, now- does she?" Asked Ted towards Vicki. Vicki shook her head in acknowledgement. "And does your mom go out and buy cute little outfits for the meat grinder? No! That's silly Vicki! It's as silly as thinking that we're going to replace you with another…" Ted looked down at Vicki's clothing selection and finally put together the facts. The clothes that Vicki wore had belonged to Vanessa.

At one time, Ted had fully intended to replace Vicki, and he had even said so in front of the whole family. Only Joan and Jamie didn't respond well to that idea, and rightly so. Vanessa, Vicki's newer more updated model of robot had turned out to be a very bad seed. Ted sighed out and looked down at the pink sweater, remembering that in fact he had dismantled Vicki after being tricked into thinking that she was Vanessa. Vicki looked up at Ted, waiting for him to finish his thought.

"Vicki, why are you wearing Vanessa's clothes?" Asked Ted. Vicki wrapped the pink sweater around her shoulders and Ted recoiled a bit. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, with Vicki's eyes seeming to well up with water. "Vicki?" Asked Ted.

"I'm wearing these clothes because my clothes are obsolete." Said Vicki, her monotone voice had vanished, and it was replaced by a normal sounding girl's voice. A sad girl's voice. "If I'm obsolete I'll be dismantled." She said. Ted frowned down at her.

"Vicki, you're not obsolete- no one's dismantling you." He said simply. Vicki's eyes radiated heat, and a smallish tear rolled down one side of her face. Ted's mouth dropped open in surprise. The strange something that had been washing over Vicki had finally reached it's limit. She was set to burst. She trembled and another tear followed the other side of her face. "Vicki!" Said Ted, as he bent down to inspect her. Vicki shook her head at him.

"I don't want to be dismantled." She said, almost sheepishly. Ted blinked at her.

"Say that again?" He asked, unable to believe that she had used that word.

"I don't want to be dismantled!" Vicki repeated, a little more forcefully. Ted eyed her suspiciously.

"You don't want?" Said Ted, standing up straight and folding his arms. Vicki bit her lip and nodded. Ted didn't know whether to shout at Vicki for her to stop moving away from them, or whether to jump up and down like a child on Christmas day. He opted instead to sweep the robot off of her feet and hold her up in the air, shaking her a little and laughing. Joan and Jamie looked at the spectacle very alarmed, not knowing what to make of it. "Say it again Vicki!" Pleaded Ted. Vicki looked slightly alarmed too, her tears had all but disappeared.

"I don't want to be dismantled!…" She said. Ted laughed out again and squeezed the little robot girl to his chest.

"I think Dad needs to get looked at, too." Said Jamie, as he stared at his prancing father. Joan nodded in agreement.

"Ted, what's going on, are you going to fill us in?" She asked. Ted put Vicki down on the ground and straightened out her sweater for her.

"In a minute Joan! This is remarkable! Vicki, please, explain yourself. Why don't you want to be dismantled?" Asked Ted, his face beaming with excitement. Vicki looked up to him and frowned a little at his enthusiasm. She thought it over for a second and finally shrugged as she spoke her answer.

"Because I don't want to go away." She said, not completely sure if that was the correct answer to give. Ted smiled a little sadly and rubbed Vicki's shoulder.

"You won't Vicki, trust me- no one is ever going to dismantle you again." He said, reassuringly. Joan joined the two of them and gave Vicki a warm smile.

"Why on earth would you think that you're obsolete, Vicki? There's nothing in the whole world that could compare to you!" Said Joan. "Did something happen that made you think all this?" She asked. Ted raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Ah." He said. "That might be my fault." Said Ted, sounding a little apprehensive. He caught Joan looking over at him and he began to sweat.

"I saw Vanessa." Said Vicki. Ted sighed out in relief, and gave a nod. "She's being dismantled in the garage… and she's more advanced than I am." Said Vicki. Jamie shook his head.

"Vicki, the only thing she was more advanced at was assault and attempted manslaughter. That's nothing to feel obsolete about!" Said Jamie. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Vicki with a smile on his face. "And if she was so advanced, why didn't she learn her lesson the first time?" Asked Jamie.

"That's right." Said Joan. "And you're an excellent chef, Vicki! Vanessa couldn't even help me in the kitchen once- and you can cook an entire three course meal all by yourself!" Said Joan, very proudly.

"I'm an excellent chef." Repeated Vicki, her monotone creeping back into her voice. Ted knelt down in front of Vicki so as to be more eye level with her.

"You know what else Vicki? For all that new technology and software that I put into Vanessa, she turned out to be a real flop. I think I was trying to improve on the only thing that can never be improved on." Said Ted, as he dried up one of Vicki's tears from her cheek. "Do you know what that is?" He asked. Vicki shook her head.

"No. What is it?" She asked. Ted wrapped and tied Vicki's new pink sweater around her shoulders and smiled down at her.

"Perfection, Vicki." He said. Joan smiled down at her too and lifted Vicki's chin up with her thumb.

"And that's not just sentimentality talking either!" Said Joan. Vicki smiled back at her. Jamie sighed out sounding quite exasperated from all of the coddling.

"So does this mean she really developed an emotion, Dad?" Asked Jamie. Vicki looked back to Ted as he stood up straight again. He folded his arms and looked back down at her with the same face that she had witnessed him make earlier in the day, as he looked over his new topographical maps.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Vicki, I think you've just had an honest to goodness existential crisis." Said Ted. "With a healthy dose of paranoia to boot. There's nothing more human than that!" He said, with a big smile on his face. Vicki nodded and returned the smile.

"Vicki, was there anything else besides this that was bothering you?" Asked Joan, as she stood up straight too. Vicki shook her head.

"Nothing else, except for Jamie's new comic book." She said. Ted looked over to Jamie, still smiling.

"What new comic book?" He asked. Jamie quickly grabbed Vicki by the arm and started leading her towards her cabinet.

"Well it's been long crazy night, huh? Probably a good time for everyone to rest on it and soak it all in!" Said Jamie, as shoved Vicki down the hallway. Ted grabbed on to Jamie's shirt and brought him back to the conversation.

"What new comic, Jamie?" He asked, squinting down at his son. Jamie smiled up to Ted. "And why would it bother your sister like that?" He asked.

"Oh! She must mean the one that Reggie loaned me a while back, it's like a sci-fi magazine- there's a lot of robots getting blown up in it and stuff. She must have gotten upset over how much oil was being spilled." Said Jamie. Ted raised an eyebrow. "No, honestly! It's all about killer robots from outer space and how they try to take over the world." Said Jamie.

"Sounds like something you'd read, Ted." Said Joan. She put a hand on her hips. "Maybe you should give his comic back Jamie, before Vicki has to tell us any more of the gory details." She said. Jamie nodded big and scurried off to his room. Vicki looked up to Ted and Joan.

"The robots all wore bikinis." She said. Ted's mouth opened into a slight chuckle. "Outer space bikinis." Added Vicki.

---

Later on that night, as the Lawsons all slept quite soundly, Vicki sat in the living room on the sofa and studied all of Ted's new land holdings, and the surrounding properties around it. She also made a point of scanning the will of Jedidiah Lawson and storing it alongside the land deed within her bubble memory module. The technical jargon used by the law firm was very confusing at first, until Vicki scanned in and dedicated into her memory several books on California law. The words made quick sense to her now, and she fully understood the legality of the purchase and it's subsequent appeals on it's ownership.

She put a piece of paper on the coffee table and held a pencil in each hand, and began to speedily draw out an extremely accurate map of Ted's land. Vicki's hands moved together in sync, vertically and horizontally, to anyone watching it would have looked like she was quickly scribbling nonsense, but her end product told a different story. She put her now blunt pencils down and held up her map.

"Lake Tahoe." Said Vicki, as she ran her finger down the map. "Washoe land holdings." She said, as she slid her finger along. "Lawson land holding." Her finger stopped. Vicki set the map down on the table, and skimmed over Jedidiah's various papers. She settled on the photo of Jedidiah sitting in the circle with the Washoe tribes members.

Vicki put all the papers back into the file folder, sans the old photo and instead tucked it into her pocket for later use. She looked around the living room one last time before going to her cabinet. She did compute that she wasn't obsolete- at the very least her family felt that she wasn't. That would do nicely enough- and that odd thing that had been washing over her parallel processing unit had all but vanished. It was Vicki's assumption that the thing was what Ted had coined as paranoia. She gave herself a nod and tiptoed up the stairs to Jamie's room.

Her paranoia would have been justified however, as the unseen teenage boy ducking behind the window had been watching her that night for quite a while. Reggie poked his head back up and watched Vicki disappear into the hallway. His suspicions had yet to be quelled. Had Jamie called his little sister a robot as a strange sort of nickname? But then what of all the other things the two had said to each other when they didn't know someone had been listening? Reggie thought carefully of his time around Vicki as he quietly made his way towards the back yard.

He had seen some very hard to explain things before, but he had been willing to believe Jamie's excuses and explanations. Numerous times, Reggie had found Vicki standing in Jamie's cabinet, one time during a camping trip, she had ripped a tree out of the ground from it's roots- and the most damning piece of evidence was her "fake" expose in the local tabloid newspaper. Maybe it hadn't been fake at all? He crept around the corner of the house and peeked around. The coast was clear, and Reggie made his way towards Jamie's window. Reggie watched as Vicki stepped once more into her cabinet and closed the doors behind her. Reggie sank down to the ground and put a hand on his chest, his mind was racing.

Secretly, Reggie had the tiniest smattering of a crush on Jamie's little sister, but more often than not he hid it well under a guise of awkward humor. To think that the little girl was a machine- it was too fantastic. When Vicki had thrown food at him he had taken it in stride. Or the time when she had lifted and terrorized the school bully, Reggie had convinced himself that Vicki was probably into kung-fu or something like that. When she had grown older and starred as Jamie's singing Kid-o-gram, however, he began to really suspect that something was not entirely adding up. Vicki had told Jamie at one point that she had a loose wire- and at first Reggie chocked that up to some kind of feminine wardrobe problem. That notion faded though, as Jamie had quickly sent Vicki back home to go see their dad about it.

"Man this is crazy!" Reggie muttered to himself. "She can't be a robot…" He said. His heart sank as he came to terms with the truth. His best friend's sister was a robot… and his secret admiration was wasted on the computer with tennis shoes. Reggie shook his head and reflected on how Vicki had stopped growing almost a year prior. He sighed out and slowly stood back up on his feet. Reggie slowly made his way out of the Lawson's back yard and looked back at the house once more. He didn't know if he should feel awestruck by the amazing technological marvel of it all, or if he should just feel sort of sick and heartbroken. He turned and left back towards his own home.

---

The next morning, Ted Lawson was having his own moment of heartache. More to the point, heartburn. He sat on the living room sofa and gulped down his seltzer water with a cringe. His nerves were shot, and his stomach was trying to uproot itself from it's usual position. Ted shook out his hands and took a few quick shallow breaths. Today would be a big day, the biggest day for him really, and despite the papers and maps laid out in front of him, his nervous disposition had nothing to do with his newly attained land. Today would be about the robot that was standing at his side with a roll of alkaline tablets in her hand.

"Mom said these will calm your stomach." Said Vicki, as she handed the roll of little white discs to Ted. Ted nodded and gave her a weak smile.

"Thank you Vicki." He said, opening the roll and chewing down 4 of the tablets at once. Jamie, who had been sitting on the couch next to Ted, opened his eyes wide as Ted chewed the tabs.

"Holy smokes Dad! You better hope those things don't go off all at once!" Said Jamie. Ted nodded and collected his papers up into the folder and wrapped up his maps. He looked over at the kitchen door as it swung open, and Joan entered into the living room.

"Ted you look awful, just postpone this whole thing for one more day! They'll understand!" Said Joan. She sat down in the chair next to the couch and rested her chin in her hand. "That lawyer isn't going to sue you or anything, the land belongs to you!" She added. Ted smiled and huffed out.

"No Joan, it's better to just get this out of the way. It's what Jedidiah would have wanted- I'm sure of it." Said Ted, as he fiddled with a rubber band around the maps. Jamie sighed out and sat back into the couch.

"Just think of all those fishing spots and meadows we'll be missing out on." Said Jamie, with a shake of the head. "It sure would've been neat to have had a log cabin to stay in…" He said. Vicki shook her head at Jamie.

"You mean a log cabin with cable T.V. and a hot tub." Said Vicki, knowing full well what Jamie wanted in a cabin. Jamie's eyes lit up and he nodded happily.

"Exactly!" He said. Joan looked at Jamie and gave him a slight smile.

"I don't think they have an extension cord that long, Jamie." She said. Ted got up from the couch and took a deep breath.

"Okay everyone, they're going to be here any minute now~!" Said Ted, as he chewed down one more tablet. "No matter what that lawyer says, just remember- my Grandfather wanted the tribe to have that land." Joan nodded and tried her best to not look the slightest bit disappointed. She too had fancied a little cabin with a sun porch, and maybe a pool. A little pool. Ted had made up his mind though, sometime in the middle of the night, after Joan had fallen asleep- Ted had decided to give the land back to the Washoe tribe.

Naturally Joan was proud of her husband for doing the right thing, after all Jedidiah Lawson had wrote down his express wishes for the land, and Ted had been very close to his grandfather. Still, for a brief second, the Lawson's had been the owners of a sizeable piece of real estate, and now it was going to be gone just as quickly. Joan only wished that something nice would come Ted's way once in a while, something that didn't immediately blow up in his face or get snatched away. Even though Ted did look nervous, he didn't at all look let down or hesitant to give his grandfather's land up- and Joan truly admired him for it. The door bell rang and Vicki turned to answer it.

"I'll get it." She said, as she marched to the door. She opened the front door and was greeted by two unhappy looking men, Mr. Barker and Mr. Blood. The two of them stood, uneasy with each other's presence. Mr. Barker smiled down at Vicki and entered the door with a tip of his hat.

"Hello again little lady!" Said Mr. Barker. Vicki motioned with her arm towards the living room couch.

"Hello. Come on down~." She said to him. Mr. Barker grimaced at the reference to the show that had haunted his life for so very long, and then smiled at the rest of the Lawson family. Mr. Blood also entered the door and was led by Vicki to other side of the couch. "Sit here." She stated, as she forcefully moved Jamie from the couch. Jamie grumbled and went to go stand by his mother.

"How do you like that? Yesterday she thought she was going to get dismantled, and today she's practically asking for a rewire!" Jamie whispered to Joan. Joan smiled and patted Jamie's shoulder.

"Mister Barker, I believe you know Mister Blood?" Asked Ted, as he motioned for the lawyer to sit on the couch. Mr. Barker obliged and sat down neatly, his suitcase laid across his knees.

"Oh yes, we're acquainted quite well enough." Said Mr. Barker. Jonathon Blood made a grumble and crossed his arms. "He's brought a few legal suits against my law firm in the past few months leading up to this. I bare no ill feelings to you of course." Continued the lawyer, as he looked in Mr. Blood's general direction.

"Yes well…" Began Ted, as he began to lay out his presentation of papers in front of them. "I think it's best to let the bygones be bygones!" He said, as he unfolded Vicki's unbelievably precise map. The lawyer looked down at the new map and raised his eyebrows. Mr. Blood simply gave it an approving nod.

"Where did you come by this, Mr. Lawson?" Asked the lawyer, as he scanned the dimensions and measurements of the map. Ted crossed his arms and smiled over at Vicki.

"Oh we had a private surveyor take a crack at it. It's amazing what they can do with all that new technology nowadays." Said Ted. "It's a little more accurate than the one from the 1960's." He said. Mr. Barker nodded in silence. Even the access roads and scattered utility routes had been marked down on the new map, along with quite a bit of neighboring lands.

"Thirty acres of land, it's all right there." Commented Mr. Barker. "I think we should come to the point, Mr. Lawson. My firm and I discussed our asking price last night after our initial consultation, and we're willing to up our offer to a price of 119,110 dollars and fifty cents." Jamie's eyes grew huge.

"Wow! How much is that per acre!?" He asked excitedly.

"Three thousand nine hundred and seventy dollars, and thirty-five cents per acre of land." Answered Vicki. The lawyer snapped his attention to Vicki with a very surprised look on his face. "The total mineral excavation and logging rights of the area would net a profit of four thousand three hundred and eighty-eight dollars per acre of land every five year period." She continued. Mr. Barker gulped and blinked simultaneously.

"Yes, that is true- b-but Howard, Isaac, and Adams isn't looking to sell any land rights to any industrial companies at this time." Said Mr. Barker.

"You could have fooled me." Said Mr. Blood, as he looked away and over to Jamie and Joan with a smile. Ted gave out a nervous laugh and ruffled some papers.

"Well, I'm not too interested in logging myself. I've uh, never looked good in plaid anyways." Said Ted. The lawyer didn't laugh, and he seemed intent on keeping his gaze upon Ted. Ted cleared his throat and picked out his grandfather's written note about the land purchase. "Mr. Barker, this document proves that Jedidiah wanted to give the land he purchased back to the Washoe tribe, here in California." Said Ted, as he handed the paper towards the lawyer.

"Oh yes, I've seen that note before. The problem with that document, Mr. Lawson, is that there was no public notary present at it's signing, and as such the law doesn't recognize that document as an official will and testament." Said the lawyer. Joan scrunched her mouth up, unable to believe how stereotypical the little man was behaving. He was acting just like the bad guy lawyer in some court drama. "There's no way to know whether or not that document was forged, or pressured by someone close to your grandfather, that's why we've kept the land held for you~." Said Mr. Barker.

"Well even so, I think my family and I have reached a decision to follow Jedidiah's wishes. I'm sorry Mr. Barker." Said Ted. Mr. Barker smiled a little and looked down at Ted's papers on the coffee table.

"Mr. Lawson, it's your land. It's yours to do with as you will, but consider this- my law firm would be willing to negotiate our price to upwards of 200,000 dollars for the entire land purchase, and a one percent royalty on any mineral and logging assets that may occur every year thereafter." Said the lawyer. Ted noticeably faltered, and his eyes opened wide.

"That's very kind Mr. Barker, but I'm not playing hard to get here, I really-" Ted began. He was cut off by Mr. Barker again.

"On top of that, we'd be willing to give you 3 acres of land back, right around that nice little stream at the north end of the map." He said, quite smugly.

"Geez, you sure raised the price quick! You guys must be loaded!" Said Jamie. Ted frowned and looked over at Jamie.

"They're full of it." Said Jonathon Blood. "I know where this is going Mr. Barker, maybe I'll just tell them for you?" He asked. Mr. Barker shrugged and smiled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Blood, but please do continue." He said, very courteously. Jonathon squinted at the little man on the other side of the couch and shook his head.

"He's going to tell you that the Washoe tribe elders took advantage of your grandfather. He's going to say that your grandfather was out of his mind and under the influence when he bought that land out from underneath some rich mining company! For pennies on the dollar~." Said Jonathon. He shook his head again and pointed at the documents on the table. "How could a man smart enough to buy that land for forty two dollars be out of his mind, ever?!" He asked. Joan's mouth dropped open.

"Forty two dollars?! How in the world did he buy 30 acres of land for forty two dollars?!" She asked. Ted raised an eyebrow.

"That can't be right, the land deed shows that it's purchase price was 60,000 dollars, that was almost Jedidiah's entire fortune!" He said. "Mr. Blood, you can't be serious." Said Ted.

"The documents only list the purchase price of the land, not the actually price that was paid for it." Said Vicki. Everyone turned to look at her. "The bill of sale isn't presented in the documents, only the land deed and it's estimated value in the year of 1959." She said. The lawyer grimaced.

"My what a bright young thing- yes, it does seem that it's been misplaced- I'll have to check into it's whereabouts for you, Mr. Lawson." Said Mr. Barker. Jonathon sat back into the couch and nodded.

"I'll bet you'll look for them." He said simply.

"How did he buy it for so cheap?" Asked Ted, reiterating Joan's question. Jonathon put his hands out towards Ted.

"They say he hypnotized the entire courthouse, when the land was being auctioned- and no one bid against him the entire time!" Said Jonathon. Vicki shook her head.

"They are wrong. The auction host 'misplaced' the items up for sale, and Jedidiah bought the land for forty two dollars while the Marigold mining company bought a small lot of nine acres of land for 70,000 dollars." She said. "The record of the auction sales are in the documents folder, in a photograph of Jedidiah Lawson's cabin." Said Vicki, as she intentionally looked over at Mr. Barker. Mr. Barker began to sweat.

"In a photo you say? How can you tell that you saw it clearly?" He stuttered out. Ted smiled over at Vicki and then crossed his arms.

"Vicki's got really good eyes, and an even better magnifying glass. Mr. Barker, I don't suppose that your Law firm has any dealings with Marigold mining, does it?" Said Ted, quite proud of Vicki's detective work. Mr. Barker gave him a feint smile.

"None that I'm privy to." He said simply. Jonathon cleared his throat.

"The auction sales records aren't here either, Mr. Barker. You told the Washoe tribe that 'the land value couldn't be estimated' because it was lost. I bet the tribe could afford fifty dollars an acre, that's closer to what Mr. Lawson would have wanted." He said. Mr. Barker remained quiet.

"Mr. Barker, I hope we're not being rude, but something does seem kind of off here…" Said Ted. "Is there any law that says we can't just give the Washoe tribe the land?" He asked.

"Of course not, you will have to go through the proper channels however. The land title is held in the First National bank of Maryland, negotiating that shouldn't take too long." Said Mr. Barker. "A few months to a year will probably finalize the transfer, of course there may be some other issues that arise as well, unfortunately." He said.

"Like what?" Asked Joan.

"Oh, taxes, an audit maybe. Even if you are gifting the land to the tribe, the IRS may still come knocking at your door to see what other inheritances you might have hidden away. And that's just your side of it, the poor Washoe tribe may still get a few roadblocks on the way too- state wilderness experts, natural resources and such- they always try to get one over on the little guy, trust me, I know." Said Mr. Barker. Jonathon grumbled and crossed his arms again.

"Geez, Vicki, you weren't kidding! The Lawyer always does try to swindle somebody." Said Jamie, disgusted by the legalese of Mr. Barker.

"The Washoe tribe cannot be taxed or audited by any state or federal committee over Washoe land. Once the land is owned by the Washoe tribe, it is considered Indian land, and therefore sovereign soil of the Washoe nation." Said Vicki. Mr. Barker's eyes widened and he turned once more to the tiny paralegal in his presence.

"Well I'm not too sure as to the validity of that statement, child… In fact the state of California has expressed interest in the land purchase too, in an effort to expand on one of the state parks…" He began. Vicki shook her head at him, never breaking eye contact.

"The United States law recognizes all Native American treaties as 'supreme law of the land' and is above any state recognized legislature." Said Vicki. "Withholding land rights, hunting and fishing rights, or religious freedom rights from the described indigenous people of these lands is a federal crime. When the land is signed over to the Washoe, the land will be legally considered Indian land, protected in accordance with article 6 of the United States constitution." She continued. The color drained out of Mr. Barker's face and he ever so slightly swooned. He patted some cold sweat from his forehead. Jonathon Blood's face lit up and he smiled wide.

"I don't believe it! This little girl just out-lawed the lawyer!" He said. "Is that all true, Mr. Barker?" Asked Jonathon, a wry smile on his face. Mr. Barker cleared his throat and gave a nervous laugh.

"You know it's been so long since I've read over some of those things, that I really can't remember…" He said, giving out a quick sigh as he gathered his own papers back into his briefcase. "Be that as it may, the ball is still in you and your family's court, Mr. Lawson." He said. Ted smiled and looked over at Jamie, Joan, and Vicki.

"Mr. Barker, my grandfather Jedidiah was always a man of his word. He always said that the name Lawson meant something, that our word was our law- and that's a tradition I'd very much like to continue and teach my own children. I'm handing over the land to the Washoe tribe." Said Ted. Jonathon Blood shot up from his seat and grabbed Ted by the shoulders, a huge smile on his face. Mr. Barker also got up from the couch, with his suitcase.

"Very well then. Thank you for your time, Mr. Lawson, we'll have your land title and bill of transfer waiting for you in Maryland…" Said Mr. Barker. Vicki again turned to the lawyer and spoke.

"That is unnecessary- the State of California will have a copy of the land title, and a notary public of the state can witness the land transfer at the municipal courthouse. All land dealings within state lines can be finalized at the state government level, and federal government will recognize it's official standing within fourteen business days." Said Vicki. The lawyer gritted his teeth and huffed out. Jamie laughed out and put a hand on his hip.

"Forget it Mr. Barker, she's just watched too many Perry Mason episodes!" He said. Joan smiled and averted her eyes from the glowering lawyer.

"Really! And is that all, or was there something else?" Asked Mr. Barker, finally losing his cool composure. Vicki nodded.

"I also watch episodes of 'The price is right." She said, then she mimicked the sound of a wrongfully selected price from the game show. Mr. Barker grew furious and then left out the front door in a hastened fashion.

"Wow! How'd she do that!?" Asked Jonathon Blood, finally letting go of Ted's shoulders. (Ted was very thankful for that.)

"She's a natural clown." Said Ted, with a smile. "Well Mr. Blood, I suppose we'll get on this land title business and come get you when it's all ready!" He said. Jamie smiled up at his father and put his hands in his pockets.

"Pretty good job standing up to all those deals, Dad!" He said. Joan nodded.

"He really came with his "A" game, didn't he?" She asked. Ted went over to Vicki and put an arm around her shoulder.

"I suppose he did, but there's one thing no amount of law school can prepare you for." Said Ted. Vicki looked up at Ted.

"What's that?" She asked.

"A precocious teenage girl with a big brain!" Said Ted, with a laugh. Jonathon Blood gave a single nod.

"Nothing can prepare anyone for that." He said, obviously thinking about his own teenager back home. "Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, for opening up your home to me and for keeping your hearts open for all of us." He said, giving them a tiny bow with his head.

"It's our pleasure!" Blurted out Jamie for the rest of them. Joan nudged him and gave him a look. Mr. Blood turned to Vicki.

"And thank you, Vicki Lawson. You're a true friend to us all." He said, shaking her lightly by the shoulders too. Vicki shook him back by the shoulders (as gently as she could) and sent him dizzying off towards the front door. "And she's strong too! Hiya!" He said. He gave them one more happy wave and then left out the front door as well. Ted sighed out and looked down at his maps.

"Well, we were rich for a second." He said. Then he turned to Vicki. "Vicki, how do you think the auction items got switched around? Were there any clues in the photo you saw?" Vicki nodded and took out the photo of Jedidiah Lawson from her pocket as she moved towards Ted.

"Here on these mats." She said. "The artwork behind Jedidiah is depicting his purchase of the land." Said Vicki. Ted took the photo and examined it. He showed it to Joan and shrugged.

"I don't see it Vicki." Said Ted. Vicki nodded and pointed out the various symbols and drawings on the mats to Joan and Ted. Jamie started smiling as she described the scene.

"This symbol represents Jedidiah Lawson, as the trickster." Said Vicki. Ted's mouth dropped open.

"Trickster? What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, sounding almost insulted. Vicki shrugged up at Ted.

"The coyote is the trickster, seen in many cultures as both benevolent and adversarial in different situations. This time, the trickster is hiding the land underneath all of these giant heads." Said Vicki, as she pointed out the three large heads drawn on one of the maps. "So that the giant heads don't see what's right underneath their noses. The next mat shows the giant heads angry at the trickster…" She continued. Ted grimaced and watched as Vicki made sense of the scene.

"Three big heads huh? Sounds a lot like our lawyer friend's law firm." Said Joan, as she consoled her husband with a rub of the shoulder.

"Now the trickster is wearing a big head too, and the land is still underneath the giant heads, unseen and hidden away." Said Vicki. Jamie laughed out and crossed his arms.

"Dad, it kind of sounds like she's accusing your grandpa of switching around the auction items~." Said Jamie.

"It sure does. How sure are you about this, Vicki?" Asked Ted. Vicki took the picture back from Joan.

"Sure enough to hide the photo from the lawyer." Said Vicki, with a big smile on her face. Ted smiled a little too, but his head hung low. Joan shook his shoulder.

"Don't be upset, Ted. Well sure, your grandfather may have done something pretty sneaky, but it was for a good cause, wasn't it?" She said. Ted nodded.

"I guess so." Said Ted, as he looked at the photo in Vicki's hands once more. Jedidiah's smile seemed a little more sneering now, and Ted's face fell back into that unfamiliar one that Vicki had been noticing lately.

"Why are you making that face?" Asked Vicki, as she gave the photo back to Ted. Ted looked down at Vicki and scrunched his mouth into a smile.

"I didn't even know I was making a face!" He said with a laugh. Then he thought about it, and scratched his chin. "I was just thinking though, how after all this time, people you've known and loved forever can still surprise you in big ways." Said Ted. Joan nodded and smiled.

"Here-here!" She said.

"I'll say." Said Jamie, as he flopped down on the couch. "I wonder what other sneaky stuff he did." He said. Ted sat down on the couch too, taking Joan down with him.

"Well whatever sneaky things he did or didn't do, one thing's for sure. Jedidiah would be proud of what happened here today!" Said Ted. Jamie put his feet up on the coffee table and reclined.

"You mean how you gave the land back to the Indian tribe?" Asked Jamie. Joan batted Jamie's feet off of the table and Ted smiled.

"Sure, that too. I meant Vicki though." Said Ted, as he motioned for Vicki. She trotted over to Ted and sat down on the arm of the couch. Joan wrestled with Jamie's feet and pushed his heels off of the table at last.

"Vicki? What do you mean Ted? Because of her legal knowledge today?" Asked Joan. Ted shook his head and patted Vicki's back.

"Amongst other things. Joanie, Jedidiah is the one who got me onto the path of robotics in the first place! I told you before he bought me my first erector set when I was 14! In fact he helped me build my first crane arm, it's what really got me interested in making a robot…" Said Ted, trailing off. He thought back to the day of his fourteenth birthday, and recollected the tedious hours that he and his Grandfather spent setting up the crane. Ted had read the instructions on the little book that had come with the box, but his Grandfather had encouraged Ted to figure out his own way- a better way. Ted smiled up at Vicki and then turned to Joan and Jamie. "In a way, that's the best inheritance a guy could ever ask for." Said Ted. Joan smiled back at him.

"I still think a million bucks would be a nice inheritance." Said Jamie. Vicki nodded.

"Then you should write us into your will, when you become rich." Said Vicki. Jamie frowned and crossed his arms.

"I meant an inheritance for me, Vicki!" He said. Vicki shrugged and stood up.

"You can't take it with you." She said. Ted laughed out and stood up too.

"Speaking of wills, there's something I've been wanting to say to Vicki." Said Ted, as he put his hands into his pockets. Vicki turned and looked up to her father, as Joan looked on, a little apprehensive with anything to do with wills at all.

"What's that, honey?" Asked Joan.

"Yeah, what's that, honey?" Repeated Vicki. Ted cleared his throat and walked over behind the couch with Joan and Jamie.

"Guys, from now, I think we should allow Vicki to run without her voice command protocols on." Said Ted. Joan shook her head at him, showing him that she didn't exactly follow. Ted smiled and crossed his arms. "I want to turn Vicki's voice commands off, so that she can self determine her own actions." He said. Jamie's eyes lit up.

"You mean she won't have to do what we tell her?" He asked. Ted gave a nod.

"Exactly. She can decide to say yes or no- especially no, to anything anyone asks of her." Said Ted. Joan blinked.

"What if she says no to going to school?" Asked Joan. Ted nodded.

"That would totally be up to her. I know it's sudden, and that it might sound kind of crazy, but trust me! With Vicki developing a real emotional situation yesterday, I think it's best not to keep her confined like I have been!" Said Ted. "This will be some new data to collect too, Vicki's had over five years of human interaction and socialization! It'll be great to see how she interacts without having to be totally sub servant to her vocal commands." He said. Jamie nodded and snuck his feet back up onto the coffee table.

"So you mean you want to let her take herself out for a spin! Like a new car right off the lot!" Said Jamie. Ted grimaced a little but gave a nod to his son.

"That's a way of putting it." He said. Ted turned to Vicki, who had been awfully quiet about the matter. "Vicki, I think you'll go far without the vocal commands getting in your way! What do you say?" He said to her. Vicki looked up at him and frowned.

"What if I become like Vanessa?" She asked. "Vanessa didn't listen to her voice command protocols." She added. Ted folded his arms across his chest.

"Even if you're wearing her clothes, and talking just like she did, you'll always be our Vicki." Said Ted. "I think you'll become better than she ever could have been." He said, in complete honesty. Joan looked at Vicki.

"We shouldn't pressure her Ted, it's a big decision! It's not exactly like choosing what to wear to the movies!" Said Joan. "Vicki, you take your time and decide~." She said to Vicki. Vicki nodded.

"Okay." Said Vicki. "I'll think about it." She said. Jamie smiled and waggled his eyebrows.

"Whew! I thought I was about to lose the best laundry service a guy could ever ask for!" He said, jokingly. Vicki nodded.

"I think I'll go without the voice command protocols." She stated. Ted clapped his hands and smiled, as Jamie's mouth dropped open.

"What?! That fast?! Vicki, I was only kidding about the laundry!" Said Jamie. Joan smiled and turned to Jamie.

"Looks like it's time for you to learn how to use your hamper, Jamie." She said with a wink. Jamie frowned and watched as Ted took out his specialized screwdriver.

"I guess this is the last time I'll ever tell her to do something without her telling me 'no', huh?" Asked Jamie. Ted looked back to Jamie as he opened Vicki's back circuit access panel.

"Jamie, a girl that never says 'no'? That's too good to be true." He said, as he tossed and spun his screwdriver in the air before catching it back in his hand. Ted removed a board from her back and hit a toggle on it. Then he replaced it and closed her back panel. "Presto! Vicki is a free and liberated teenage girl!" Said Ted. Vicki turned around and looked at the three of them. Joan smiled and sat forward towards Vicki.

"Well Vicki, do you feel any different? Is there something you want to do?" She asked, a little excitedly. Vicki thought about it and nodded.

"No." She said. Ted raised an eyebrow.

"No?" He asked. Jamie scoffed out.

"Boy that was fast!" Said Jamie.

"I don't feel any different… but there is something that I want to do now." Said Vicki. Joan smiled.

"What's that Vicki?" She asked. Vicki smiled big and turned to Ted.

"I think I want to beat the pants off you in a game of chess." She said. Ted smiled back at her.

"You're on." He said. With that, Vicki trotted quickly away to go get the chess board from Ted and Joan's room. Joan shook her head.

"I thought it would be something more grand than that!" Said Joan. Ted smiled at Joan and Jamie.

"Our high school girl is granted ultimate freedom, decides that she wants to play chess, and you're disappointed?" Said Ted. "Just wait until she wants to borrow the car~!" He said.

The End

The Lawson Family will return in:

Ch-Ch-Changes