AN: Wow! Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and watches! Please enjoy this update!
[4] Breathing In
Being at the mercy of others was never something Pidge had felt comfortable with, especially when the other people were ones she did not know well. Fred, however, did his best to make-up for that by talking with her about relatable subjects. He was definitely one of a kind in that his nerdy level of knowledge in science fiction - and how much of it was actually reality - came close to bordering on obsessed. That much was confirmed after they came to his personal quarters in the sizable mansion.
Okay, so she was a little surprised to see a life-sized wax figure of his alter ego riding a sabre tooth tiger – even if Fred was the only child of some wealthy millionaire.
Lance had nothing over this. Neither did her brother. Sigh.
At least Pidge was in like company, one that was accepting of her equally unusual situation and willing to help. Honey Lemon also held that sort of air about her which caused Pidge to believe that the tall fashionista had a level of authority as well. Allura left that much of an lasting effect on her 1to think this way, she decided. The tall blonde was much more amicable in comparison, however.
Baymax was far more fascinating to the green paladin, however. 'He' was a robot, and yet he seemed to contradict that fact by showing genuine concern for her well being. The healthcare robot came across as being personable, like he had feelings. But he was a healthcare robot after all, and it would be natural to assume that Baymax was programmed to respond to a patient like a human caretaker. Whoever programmed him must be an amazing inventor, and she wanted to meet him (or her) just to learn how they did it. She felt it wasn't Hiro, because he had not made any indication that he built this robot. However, she had figured that Hiro was a prodigy of some sort, since he was already going to college.
The ability for the robot to scan her with his hyperspectral optics coupled with electromagnetic radio imaging, like an MRI, to study the damage in her knee was very impressive. This method did not present the hazard that x-rays possessed, and the hyperspectral cameras looked to be effective enough if the electromagnetic waves may cause problems with those who had pacemakers. Fortunately, her knee injuries weren't that severe and didn't require surgery. Regardless, she had decided to tough it out with the hope that she would find the others soon. Then the healing pod could take care of that and the rest of her trivial aches.
The green paladin currently sat on a curved, crème colored leather couch. She had changed into her green and white shirt, and her baggy shorts. The others had made comment about finding some clothes for her, but Pidge had reassured them she had her own in her backpack. But since it was late September, and a lot more chiller than the castle-ship, she accepted someone's blue SFIT hoodie sweatshirt. The rest of her paladin armor was put inside a reusable shopping bag. Her helmet sat next to her on the couch, just in case one of the other paladins had by chance found Green and tried to contact her.
"Does it hurt when I touch here?"
"No.. okay, yes," she winced after the living version of the Pillsbury Doughboy shifted his finger to press lightly on a more bruised section near the top of her kneecap. The redhead promptly pushed the finger away, just to make that clear how much it hurt the more he prodded there. "Yes, that hurts.. thankyouverymuch!"
"My apologies. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?" Baymax had responded by now displaying a series of emoji faces ranging from happy for one to red hot angry for ten.
Was this really a question? Is it possible to express her emotion apart from the pain? To be honest, mediocre aches rarely slowed her down, but the sharp pain coming from her knee did make her stop and take notice. "An.. eight," paladin said as she curled her lip in disapproval, as if to match the emoji's expression.
"You also have: subperiosteal contusions," Baymax had turned away from her now, looking to see if Heathcliff had returned with the icepacks yet.
Pidge mentally cursed, finding it hard to not be sarcastic about the obvious. Her knee did look swollen where the bone bruising was, and she frowned again because the pain still lingered after being touched.
"If you're hungry, you are in luck! Breakfast will be served shortly too," Fred rubbed his hands together as he approached. He rested his elbows as he leaned on the back of his couch next to Pidge. She hadn't felt especially hungry though, even though she was aware of how much time had passed. The young paladin was more tired and worried than anything.
"Wonderful," she glanced slightly over her shoulder, then back to Honey Lemon. The blonde was preoccupied with texting someone about something on her phone.
Baymax relinquished by placing a cooling port in each his palms gently on top of her knees.
"So, is 'Pidge' like your nickname?" Fred wondered, trying to keep from smiling too much at her reactions from what Baymax was doing.
"Yes," she sighed, a little hesitant in going into that explanation. They knew about her dislike for the Garrison now, so was it that important to explain exactly why? "It's kind of a long story.. for why."
"Long backstories are what makes us unique," Fred quirked a more sincere smile in response. His tone was not insistent, as to not push her beyond her comfort level. But she could tell they used nicknames too, so it was also a valid question on his behalf.
"My real name is Katie, but I'm okay with being called 'Pidge'," the Green paladin admitted that much to them.
Fred's face seemed to have brightened after she told them this, oddly enough. He looked away, changing his expression. "I still find it flattering that half our team still goes by the nicknames I gave them."
"Especially Wasabi," Honey Lemon spoke up to agree.
"Heh, yeah!"
The new name did create a different mindset, an original idea of who she wanted to become. 'Pidge' became synonymous with bravery, determination, and a paladin that wouldn't stop at anything to find her family, all while defending the universe too. Shiro and Hunk were the same, keeping their Garrison nick names when introducing themselves to the Alteans for the first time.
Hunk explained once to her and Lance that he went by 'Hunk' because his real name was hard to say, and remember. Plus the name 'Hunk' reminded him of his little brother, who had called him that. As for Shiro, she figured it must have been his pilot name, like a shortened version of his last name. Though, it was interesting watching that phased reaction cross the older pilot's face the first handful of times Keith addressed him as such. It was like he had forgotten that identity.
Pidge sighed, reminded by the circumstances that she was in. It had been only a short period of time, but those guys have grown on her. Now Pidge felt just as driven to find her second family as much as her first. She also needed to get a hold of equipment capable of sending and receiving long range signals from space.
Heathcliff finally had returned with the icepacks, gauze, and some bottles of water for all if them.
"Thank you, sir," Baymax rose up and turned toward the butler to accept the medical items. Honey Lemon took the bottle of water from the cart, nodding politely.
"Breakfast is now ready," the butler formally told them.
"You're the best!" Fred added his appreciation while Heathcliff left.
"Apply the ice packs in fifteen minute intervals," Baymax advised her when he placed one on top of both knees.
"Thank you," she took the extra one to place on her tender ribs and held it there by pressing her left arms against it. They had also given her ibuprofen earlier for the pain and swelling.
"Do you need anything else? If not, I will deactivate once you say 'I am satisfied with your care.'" Baymax explained to her.
"That's just his way of saying he's tired, and needs a nap," Fred added, with a teasing grin.
She just looked at Fred with a cocked eyebrow, then turned back to Baymax. "No.. thank you. I am satisfied with my care."
He was programmed by verbal and auditory cues, and the artificial intelligence adapted to respond to the patients needs. Made perfect sense to her that the robot would want to go into 'sleep-mode' when his services were no longer needed. Especially after Baymax had practically crash landed with them on a small, rocky beach, due to a low battery.
"So.. Hiro said that you are also students at the University of San Fransokyo, right?" Pidge used the question to change the topic. Hopefully the IT Department had the tech she had in mind to reach the outer limits of space.
"Yes, that we are," Fred nodded.
"Even you?" Pidge realized too late she said that thought out loud.
Honey Lemon actually had to stifle a laugh.
"Yeah, even me," Fred stood more upright to puff himself up more. "English major, with a side of criminal forensics, right here."
Pidge just bobbed her eyebrows. Well, take that back then. The spoiled rich kid probably needed college to get a foot up on the real world, just to have something practical to do.
"Why do you ask?" he wondered.
"I'm not able to reach my team with the radio in my helmet, or through my Lion. So I will need to find a long range signal that can reach deep space. Does the university have this kind of equipment?" she turned in her seat to ask.
"Possibly," the older redhead scrunched his face in thought. "If not, I'm sure it could be built."
"That's what I am hoping for," Pidge sighed.
"Okay, I arranged for all of us to meet later for lunch. Except GoGo still has a few deliveries to make, and Hiro said he wouldn't be done with his shift until one o'clock, but he said it was okay to not wait for him," Honey Lemon spoke up as she pocketed her phone.
"So.. we'll start with breakfast first? Because I am totally starving!" Fred confirmed her news with his own statement.
"Well, of course, my darling," she humored him while standing up. The tall chemist walked toward Pidge, holding a hand out. "Here, do you need help?"
"Um, maybe," Pidge picked up her ice packs and stacked them together first, before taking her hand to be lifted to her feet. Yes, Pidge wasn't really used to this, but what choice did she have?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::
A feeling of regret loomed over Pidge again as she quietly chewed the piece of savory bacon. She gazed at the plates full of sliced fresh fruit, muffins, and the nearly empty platter that held the scrambled eggs and bacon. All this was basic breakfast food, but it was food that she thought she would never see again in a long time. Especially bacon, because apparently Allura thought the way humans eat so much animal meat was rather barbaric. The discussions about food between Coran and Hunk got rather dicey sometimes, until the Altean finally conceded that the yellow Paladin really did know what he was doing when it came to food. Hunk still wasn't allowed to take anything from the planets they visited that wasn't considered some sort of non-sentient plant safe for human consumption, however. That didn't stop the big guy, after asking her to help in making equipment to test the composition of all sorts of flora. Her Dad would be so impressed of what she remembered of his scientific lectures on this kind of research .
Bacon, on the other hand, just couldn't be substituted, especially since Coran wouldn't allow anything resembling a wood-burning stove to smoke food on the castle-ship. So this crispy, smoked meat item on her plate was something that she enjoyed with some remorse. Maybe she could buy a few bags of jerkied meat she could take back with her?
Pidge also wondered when the others came to find her, if they would be able to stay just long enough to visit their families before heading back out? Would that even be possible, after all the misinformation their parents might have received beforehand? She still felt reluctant toward the idea of calling her mom. A visit in person would be better, but… the trip to get there would take even more time. There was no way she was going to risk the safety of Green by flying anywhere near the Garrison either!
The other two sitting on the opposite side at the end of the banquet table were having a hushed conversation about projects they were working on. Pidge didn't pay too much close attention, as she was caught up in her own thoughts. Because knowing what to do after this was something she wanted to be ready for.
When Fred's voice rose, asking the blonde chemist about the development of a serum that could alter DNA and enhance strength, Pidge couldn't help but listen a little more closely.
"Hiro's still working out the details to ensure stability before we test it," Honey Lemon explained. "On a lab rat."
"It would be so awesome if you two can make it work!" Fred crooned. "Instead of relying on that temperamental 'ol suit, I could instantly turn into a thirty foot monster, Hulk-style!"
"Yes, and having you rage around town like the Hulk is the last thing any of us wants!" Honey looked him square in the eyes.
"I don't really have much of a temper though," he smiled sweetly at her.
"Can't rush science.. okay, Freddie-bear," she responded in kind, tracing a couple fingers along her cheek.
Ugh. Pidge rolled her eyes, looking away before they noticed she was listening. But did she just hear them right? The redheaded kid wanted to be able to morph into a giant monster upon will? That.. that was unbelievable.
They have the ability to do that?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hiro walked to the front if the café, after finally getting the okay from Aunt Cass to leave thirty minutes earlier than she intended.
Well, maybe he got a little help from GoGo as well.
She came by on her motorcycle to stop by for a 'visit', with the objective to give Hiro a ride over to Fred's. Of course, the thought of having to wait over half an hour more until one clock really tested her patience. So with much cleverness and plotting with Hiro, the two of them came up with a viable reason that Aunt Cass could not argue with.
Hiro finally put on his brother's helmet as he followed after GoGo to her shiny black motorcycle with yellow accents. His own helmet was getting too small to get on, so he had to settle with the slight bigness of Tadashi's. He planned to save up some money to get his own, because this wasn't going to work long term. Yet, GoGo wasn't going to give him a ride without a helmet (nor did he want to risk wearing his superhero one).
Hiro usually looked forward to motorcycle rides with GoGo, just because it still hadn't lost its charm since she got the bike earlier that summer. This time he acted a little more reserved about it.
He was also little more careful about how he wrapped his arms around her waist, before he rested his helmeted head against her shoulder.
"Rough day?"
"Tired.. headache... plus Aunt Cass threatened to ground me again," he mumbled. How did his morning go downhill so fast anyway?
"Your fault, y'know."
"Hnn.." the younger Hamada didn't have much desire to say anything else. He did feel, at the least, thankful that she came to his rescue.
"I can't be held responsible if you fall off after zonking out," she continued to tease him, despite his heavy silence.
Hiro did not have a come-back to her banter that time. He just sighed, his headache making it hard for him to want to sleep anyway. Nothing did not feel like it used to, anymore.
At the next stop light, the speedster turned her head to glance at him. "Okay.. what is it, really?"
Well, yes… there were a lot of things that he had been more hesitant about lately, like talking to her. He wanted to talk to her, but how candid could he be if she was wanting space. Now he wasn't even sure where to start, because at this point it felt like too many things to consider. So far, over a year had passed since his brother's accident, and now they were coming up on the first year anniversary that the five of them came together as superheroes to help him. Then there were annoying professors and challenging assignments at school, peer pressure from some of the jerks in his general classes… and an unnatural, stretch of quiet on the crime scene. Now, he happened across a young pilot who crashed down from the heavens, and talking about a possible alien invasion.
"Just tired," he responded instead, giving up all together on her offer to talk. Now wasn't a really good time anyway.
"Well, maybe.. you should get more sleep. At night?" she spoke loudly over the roar of her engine accelerating.
"I know…" Hiro sighed, but I miss being with you.. wrapping my arms around you.. Those were words he could not tell her, lonely feelings he had to get over by himself. He really didn't want to open that issue up again either.
Hiro lifted his head up and repositioned his hands to her shoulders. The young genius exhaled, to refocus his attention on the scenery that whipped by to distract his thoughts.
In the slower traffic, she brought a hand to one of his, squeezing it slightly, as if to say 'I'm sorry'.
AN: I apologize for the shorter chapter. Just an effort for a quicker update!
Also used this time to lay down more character feels for these characters, being themselves, with a lot of what-if's thrown in! ;)