It was a cold morning. Up woke up to hear the wind howling by the window. It was a strong contrast to the faint breathing next to him. Taz, his wife for the last forty years, was beautiful. Others might have disagreed with him, but he would still fight for her, no matter what his age was.

Up quietly walked out of their room and went to the kitchen. He poured water into the tea kettle and let it boil. Their pills for the day were in separate containers, and he put his wife's in a bowl on the table. Up looked at his own as he poured two glasses of water. Five little pills, different shapes and colors, kept him moving. He wondered what would happen if he didn't take his pills. While his muscles may weaken, the robot in him would still carry on, wouldn't it?

Up heard a small whimper just as the tea whistled. Sprinkles, a small K9DX, was looking at him with her big eyes.

"Alright, alright," Up said with a smile, "I'll take you outside."

Up held the door open wide, letting in the cold air. Sprinkles, looking frozen, ran right back inside. Silly pup, he thought, rubbing the dog's stomach.

"Do you want to get Mama up?" he asked. Sprinkles twirled around and ran towards the bedroom, putting her paws on the door.

Up opened the door and walked to the still-sleeping Taz.

"Taz," he said, "Taz, honey. It's time to get up."

His wife stayed fast asleep.

"Taz. C'mon, Taz, it's 7:30. Time for breakfast."

Taz slowly opened her eyes and groggily looked around.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"We're at home, honey."

"I can't hear…"

"We're at home," Up said, a little louder.

"We're at home?"

"We're home," Up repeated with a sad smile. "Let's get ready for the day, dear."

Up helped Taz change out of her night clothes into a shirt and pants. Sprinkles put her paws on the bed and whined.

"Hola Sprinkles!" Taz said, petting the spaniel before standing up slowly.

"Hold on!" Up grabbed Taz's walker and put it in front of her. "Now we can go."

They slowly walked into the kitchen, and Up held out Taz's chair for her. "Time to take your pills, Taz."

"What are those?" she asked, pointing at the pills and capsules.

"Those are your pills, Taz."

"They are?"

"Si," he replied, giving Taz her water. "We have to take these before you eat, so the sooner you take them, the sooner you can eat."

With some difficulty, Up helped Taz with her pills. He handed her a bowl of cereal and her tea, and they ate in silence, interrupted by the occasional yawn from Sprinkles. It was how they had eaten breakfast for the past three years.

Taz was falling asleep with her finger in her mug. She had pulled the tea onto herself before, and Up didn't want that to happen again.

"Taz, honey," Up said, waking his wife. "We need to take your walk before you go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Taz mumbled. Again, Up helped her stand, and she shuffled from one side of the house to the other before stopping by her chair next to the fireplace. Up covered her with a blanket and kissed her forehead.

The days were quiet now. They had been retired for years, and it seemed like their fighting days had finally caught up to them. Up's limp was a bit more pronounced, and Taz… he didn't know where to start with her problems. Her hearing was shot, and though hearing aids had worked for a time, she was now practically deaf in her left ear. She had been diagnosed with diabetes, so it was now an obstacle to get her blood sugar at a steady rate. Taz's health certainly took a downturn after a long battle with pneumonia.

And then there was the dementia.