"What... on Earth... is this?" Nos-4-a2 uttered. Before him was his workplace in a state he'd never seen before. Every drawer was pulled open. Contents disturbed, disorganized, displaced. Copper wires pulled from their neat coils, tangled beyond repair, twisted about tools and chair legs and battery cases. Bottles of solutions that could have easily melted the metal he was made of lay haphazardly outside of their cabinets. The clasp that held the door over the heavy-duty solar power outlets had been pried open and applied to an ultraviolet lamp. The light was pointed at a bizarre tank filled with brownish-green sludge, a trail of which spattered the stone floor to the door and back. White bed sheets were stretched between the tables, apparently being used to strain the goo from the water. In the middle of it all was a short, pale-faced, eight-year-old probe dressed in muck up to his elbows. Nos-4-a2 had never seen such a guilty expression as the one on Fletcher's face.

Even more remarkable was the fury in normally placid Two, who was hovering directly between Nos and the culprit.

"Fletcher, what is all of this?" she started in a tone that suggested she was just as surprised by the emotion possessing her, "What were you thinking? How could you make such a...? No. You know what, no! Don't try to explain now, young man. You can speak after you've cleaned up all of this... this..." Two found herself at a loss for words. Nos-4-a2, stoic, hovered forward and put a hand on her shoulder, letting her know that he would take over. Two's anger faltered.

There was no debate about Nos being the sterner parent, quicker to punish. As mad as sweet Two was, she feared that Nos might scare Fletcher more than he needed to, but it was impossible to interpret the tall android's electrical wavelength. Much like Two and her anger, Nos couldn't justify his calm.

Nos-4-a2's optics searched Fletcher's. The young robot had frozen the moment his parents entered the lab, and he was petrified by his father's piercing red gaze. It was obvious that Nos-4-a2 was combing through Fletcher's emotions, though they were just as tangled as his own. Fletcher flinched when Nos finally spoke.

"For the past week when you told us you were going out to play with Darwin... you've been in here?"

"Y... yes..." Fletcher quivered, "but I was playing with Darwin..."

"Playing?"

"Well, not really playing, but..."

Nos-4-a2 slowly lifted his hand to his mouth. Fletcher waited for the storm, tense for an explosion.

"You weren't playing, then," Nos's voice was still level, "Do you care to explain what you've done with my supplies?"

Fletcher swallowed dryly, realizing that this was much worse than outright anger, but knowing that he'd have to face it just the same.

"I... I heard in class that they're making energy by burning the oils produced by brown algae," Fletcher began shakily, "But Mr. Burns said it wasn't a practical source of fuel. I thought... that it could be, if it was made right, even if it's not as powerful as crystalic fusion. I just wanted to see if I could charge a fuel cell with just biofuel... I didn't mean to mess everything up, I just wanted to see if it would work..."

Nos-4-a2's hands dropped limply to his sides, his emotions finally surfacing. A sparkle filled his optics and–much to Fletcher and Two's equal surprise–he broke into a smile.

"Eve, he's taking after me!"

Nos lunged past his befuddled wife and grabbed Fletcher under his arms, lifting him high into the air with a wild laugh before pulling him into a crushing hug.

"Fletcher boy, I've always known you had it, but just look at you! You're a bona fide scientist! To think that Mr. Burns has the gall to fail you when you're a total genius; this is exactly why I said you shouldn't have to go to school! – " Fletcher tried to interrupt and encourage the thought, but Nos's enthusiasm wouldn't be stopped, " – You can carry on the family business with me! I can teach you all about electrical engineering, and we'll clear a space out in here where you can run all the experiments you want – "

"Nos-4-a2!" Two sputtered. Her tone was the only thing that could have distracted him. When he looked over, he found that her eyeforms had changed target from the mess to him. His face fell.

"Would you come outside with me for a moment?" she ordered. Nos let Fletcher go reluctantly, following Two through the nearest door.

They stood at one side of the square courtyard in the center of their house, and after Two made it clear that she expected Fletcher to wait right where he was, she closed the door.

"What are you hoping to accomplish by encouraging him to play in the one room in this house that is full of things that could hurt him?" Two simmered, peeking through the window in the door to watch Fletcher. Not wanting him to overhear, she led Nos-4-a2 closer to the fountain sitting in the middle of the yard.

"You saw all of that, Eve, he isn't playing. I'm not saying that it's safe, but I can teach him how to properly use the area and equipment so that something like this doesn't happen again."

"What about Darwin? If he'd been hurt when he was in there it would have been on us; are you okay with that?"

"Of course not! I think we just have to be thankful that they were careful enough. They're obviously okay..."

"We can't rely on chance, Nos-4-a2!" Two exclaimed, "That's our baby in there, and you know that he's the only one we'll ever have!"

"And he's inherited the one good thing I have to offer," Nos murmured. Two blinked. When she didn't go on, he continued, "I was so worried that he was going to be aggressive, or rowdy, or a troublemaker, but it seemed after a while that all he got was my looks. I was fine with that, and I would be with whatever he decided to do in life, but if there's any chance that this is more than a one-time experiment... I want to be with him, maybe pass on some of my knowledge. I don't ever want to see him hurt, and I know how this must scare you, but you can't dwell on the 'what ifs.' Besides, aren't you even a little interested in what he's doing? Biofuel: plants and electricity! It's just like you and me!"

Two simulated a deep breath. She took a moment to think, studying the gravel path beneath them, before she looked back up to his optics. "If you want to teach him how to use the lab... you'd better make sure that he knows every safety rule inside and out. If he so much as burns his finger, I'll make sure he never goes in there again!"

Nos was stunned that he'd changed her opinion with so little fight. "O-Of course, Eve!"

"And I'm not getting near the lab until you've both cleaned it up! If you want to take Fletcher under your wing, any mess he makes in your lab is your responsibility, and I don't want to hear that you've enlisted Computer to clean for you," she added decisively.

"Yes, fine."

"Now before I let you back in there, I want you to promise you won't get it into Fletcher's head that he doesn't need to go to school. He may not be a troublemaker to the caliber you were worried about, but he's played hookie enough without you telling him he's too good for it."

"You're right, I got carried away..."

"Good," Two huffed. "If you need me, I'll be weeding the vegetable garden... I trust the carrots haven't turned the back yard upside-down..."

Nos-4-a2 pecked her cheek in thanks before turning back to the lab. He glided through the doorway, hovering a few inches higher with mixed excitement and sternness, and found Fletcher standing exactly where they'd left him. The fledgling looked expectantly at his father, though he wasn't sure whether he would find praise or punishment.

"Fletcher, we're going to have a very serious talk about how you use this area and why you felt the need to hide all this," Nos announced solemnly, "But first... would you show me what all this set-up is?"

Fletcher smiled into equally eager optics and proceeded to show his father the first of many experiments to be shared in their lab.

A/N: Some fun little lore and background: robots age differently than humans. They are knowledgable right off the bat (e.g. they can speak fluently a few months after their birth), but are slow to develop emotions and grow physically. Robots, as a culture, don't often go to school, but Two was worried that Fletcher would miss out on all the social experiences. (Two's motherly insistence overrode Nos-4-a2's pride). Fletcher hated school, which resulted in his children being homeschooled and taken out to social events to make up for it, though both of them ended up pursuing higher education when they reached an independent age.