Tres was programmed for protection, not babysitting, but it was a detail the inquisition seemed unwilling to acknowledge. So here he was, standing against a wall in one of the Vatican's many gardens making sure young Elise didn't wander too far. The Inquisition had handed her over to Tres earlier that morning saying that they were unable to keep an eye on her and ordered Tres to take watch after her for the next few days.

Although she had been charged with being a witch and had been the subject of a great many experiments, Elise had lived fairly well in confinement. It was mostly because she was allowed three hours everyday to play on her own and excessive attention by the staff. Mental well-being was important to the Inquisition. Without it, they knew they would never truly understand just how the child's abilities worked.

All of this was irrelevant to Tres. Katerina had ordered him to comply with the Inquisition, so he did. After all, he was the only one who was unaffected by Elise's power. Able would have been a slightly better choice, but he was away on assignment elsewhere and was not expected back for another few weeks.

Elise chased after a butterfly, giggling all the way. Tres watched her. He was, as always, on high alert for any problems, but there was something about Elise that bothered him. Able had been kind enough to not mention that Tres had blatantly lied and disobeyed orders when he had been placed on Elise's case, but the memory of it hung in the forefront of his mind. Why had he disobeyed orders? Some part of him may have become attached to the young girl, but that wasn't possible. He was a machine and machines aren't encumbered by person feelings or relations.

Or so he proceeded to tell himself.

The little blonde ran over to him and tugged on his sleeve. "Father Tres?"

He put his thoughts aside and looked down at her. "Yes?"

"How long will you be taking care of me?"

He looked straight ahead as he recalled the information. "According to the Inquisitorial department, five days."

Elise smiled. "Good. I missed you while I was locked up."

Tres wasn't quite sure how to respond, so he decided to not say anything. It was enough to satisfy her because Elise just smiled at him before taking off again. He followed her. She ran around the bend and vanished from view. When he caught up with her she was kneeling next to a bush.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She shushed him. "There's a kitty."

He walked over to her and knelt down next to her. Hidden in the shadows of the vegetation was a small brown cat. It peered out at him and he gaze back. Then, much to the cat's and Elise's surprise he reached out and picked it up. Elise shot up as he began to walk off with it. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"This animal could prove to be a danger, so it must be removed."

"Don't do that!" She pulled on the back of his shirt and he stopped. "He's not hurting anyone and I like cats. Maybe I could take care of him."

Tres processed this information for a few seconds before responding. If Elise watched over it, it would no longer be an unwelcomed intruder, but rather something that belonged. However…"The Inquisition will not allow you to keep an animal."

"So? Just let me keep it until I have to go back."

Tres and Elise both knew she would no sooner give up the cat than she would severe one of her own limbs but despite this, Tres found himself turning around and handing the mewing animal to her.

Elise smiled and petted the cat lovingly. "Thank you. I'll take good of him, I promise."

Whatever reservations he should have had about her keeping it didn't seem important at the moment. Perhaps it was an error in his programming? He decided to ignore it. He was sure Elise would be easier to handle now that the cat was around.

For a strange reason, Elise liked being around him. His expression never changed and his voice was always the same monotone but that didn't bother her.

They made their way further into the gardens. Elise always ran ahead much to Tres' annoyance. He had already scolded her several times for it, but she didn't ever seem to listen. But no matter how many times he told her "It is not safe for you to leave my range of vision" she persisted to take off. In some ways she was like Able, except a lot less predictable. Social skills were never his forte, but dealing with children was something completely outside of his range of expertise.

He rounded the corner and found a majestic fountain yawning in the middle of the courtyard. The brown kitten sat on the edge cleaning itself but Elise was nowhere in sight. With a yell she leapt from the tree behind him and landed on his shoulders. He knew she was coming before she jumped, but didn't bother to move. "What are you doing?"

"Playing. Did I scare you?"

"I am an android and therefore unable to feel fear."

She pouted. "You're no fun."

"Amusement is not part of my programming."

Elise leaned forward and played with his hair. "Don't you ever get bored just hanging around here?"

"Negative."

"Hm. When do you think Father Able will be back?"

"According to Lady Katerina within approximately twenty-seven days."

"That's a long time."

Tres remained silent. Something told him he should probably get her off his shoulders, but he didn't really to mind her sitting up there.

She leaned forward so she could look at him. "So where am I going to be sleeping? The doctors said I'm supposed to stay with you."

"Lady Katerina has arranged a room for you to stay in."

"Where will you be?"

"I will remain close-by."

She scowled. "You don't like talking much, do you?"

"Conversation is a form of information and if no new information can be passed it is a waste of time."

She crawled so she was hanging off of his neck. Tres shifted his arms and held her, but was unsure as to what she was up to. Elise hardly ever did anything without a reason. Those reasons were often something he didn't understand, but he was charged with watching after her, not understanding her behavior patterns.

"Do you think they'll keep me here for the rest of my life?" she asked sadly.

"That information has not been made available to me. But according to the Inquisitorial Departments previous actions, it is likely."

She frowned and looked away.

"However, as long as you are here I will protect you when I am able."

His words brightened her sour mood. "Good, because I think I'd get lonely without you and Able around." She leaned up and kissed him on the forehead before jumping down. Tres was unsure as to why she had done that but he didn't inquire after her.

***

Ester appeared in the gardens an hour or so later. She was surprised to find Tres sitting in the grass with Elise. The little girl was busy making a wreath out of daisies. Tres has a little brown kitten cradled in the crook of his arm as he looked at Elise, as if trying to discern what the purpose of the wreath was.

Ester had heard of the young girl from Able and had been delighted to hear she would be staying with the AX members for a while. Though she had been troubled to hear Tres was the one in charge of her, seeing as he came off as cold most of the time. But it seemed like Elise was having a good time with him. Ester stepped forward and smiled. "Hello Father Tres, is this Elise?"

"Affirmative," Tres replied blandly.

Elise stood up and regarded Ester hesitantly. The red-haired girl smiled down at her. "It's nice to meet you Elise. I'm Sister Ester Blanchet."

"Oh, hello."

"Are you having a good time with Father Tres?"

Her face lit up. "Yup. I'm actually really glad he's the one looking after me."

"R-really?"

Tres turned his dark eyes to Ester. "Why are you startled at this information?" It was a serious question. After all, the logical choice would be him, seeing as he was immune to Elise's power. Social skills didn't compute into his logic, but that was just the way he was.

Ester blushed. "Um…well, I just thought you…" Her voice petered off.

"He was the one who saved me from the vampires," Elise said. "Him and Father Able."

"I…see…"

She looked at Tres. It was a surprise that this little girl loved being with him so much, but it was a pleasant revelation. It was almost as if she was seeing a different side of the android, one he never showed. He must of felt her gaze because he turned and looked at her. "Is something wrong, Sister Ester?"

The pink tinge on her cheeks exploded into a violent red. "No! No! Nothing wrong! Nothing at all! I was…. just wondering where that cat came from."

"I found him in the bushes," Elise said. "Tres is going to let me keep him."

"Oh. That's awfully nice of him."

Tres didn't respond. Elise added the last flower to her wreath and placed it atop his head. "There you go."

He looked at it and then at her. "Does not compute. What purpose does it serve?"

"Nothing. It's just supposed to look nice."

After a moment of silence Tres removed it from his hair and considered it. Then he handed it to Ester. "Here."

"Oh…t-thank you." She looked at it and then at Tres. –Why did he give it to me?—

"Put it on, Sister Ester," Elise sang.

"Alright." It looked a little silly sitting on top of her habit's veil, but Elise gave her an approving smile.

"It looks good. I think it looks better on you than Tres."

"Thank you. Well, I guess I better go or everyone will be wondering where I went. It was nice to meet you Elise." She waved good-bye and left.

Tres watched her go and then looked at Elise who was giving him a mischievous smile.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," she sang. "Why did you give her the wreath?"

"It serves no purpose for me therefore I gave it to Sister Ester. I would be more appropriate for her."

"So you thought it would look prettier on her?"

He pondered her words for a moment. "Does not compute."

Elise sighed. "Never mind." She yawned and crawled onto his lap. In a matter of minutes she was asleep. The cat curled up on top of her and followed suit. Tres however remained motionless and kept a careful eye out for any trouble.

Humans were strange things, but human children were even stranger. But, he found he rather liked it that way. At least as much as a robot can like something.

***

"Tres?" The professor asked.

"Playing with Elise?" Sister Kate added.

Ester nodded. She had run into the pair when they were having another of their disputes. They had forgotten their argument quickly as soon as Ester told them about finding Tres in the gardens.

The professor put his pipe to his lips. "Well, he can be a bit unpredictable at times. At least that's what Father Nightroad tells me."

"But I just didn't think he could be social."

"It's true," Kate said. "Tres was programmed for many things, but having genuine interaction with people was never one of them."

"I would rather like to see this for myself," the professor said. "How about we go and take a look, shall we?"

Kate's hologram bristled. "You will not spy on a fellow member of the AX."

"It's not spying. Call it, a casual investigation of Tres' behavior."

"Hmph." Kate folded her arms. "Well, I'm not taking part."

"Suit yourself," the professor said with a shrug. Kate vanished in a myriad of colors and he turned to Ester. "Now, I bet you the little girl is hungry by now, so let's take a look at the galley and see if they're there."

Ester followed. "Um…are you sure this is a good idea. Don't you think Tres will find it a little odd that you're showing up out of no where?"

"Nonsense. We haven't seen each other in ages. I've been meaning to catch up with the old stiff. And I haven't seen Elise since she was handed over to the Inquisition."

She bit her lip but made no further protests. After all, she was curious too.