Apologies if I didn't get the epipen use correct O^O no allergies haha...

So I was told that there might be a blackout anytime soon in this storm, but so far we're still good

Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 11: Good to Go

"Well, Mr. Hamada, it's been a while, but I think Hiro is well enough to go home tomorrow," the doctor told Tadashi happily.

Tadashi let out a breath of relief. It had been almost three weeks now. He would watch nervously at every test and treatment the doctors did on his baby brother. While he still felt nauseous every so often, Hiro no longer needed any machinery to help him breath. His arm was still in a sling and it would probably stay there for at least another month or two.

"Thank you, doctor… That has to be the best thing I've heard in a while…" Tadashi said. Which was true. After weeks of coming to the hospital and watching his little brother struggle to breathe while confined in a bed, the doctor's news was the greatest thing he's heard since Hiro woke up.

The doctor nodded at Tadashi and turned to leave. Quickly, Tadashi called out, "Wait! Doctor!" Glancing around quickly, he lowered his voice and asked, "Do you have Hiro's files?"

For a flash, the doctor looked nervous and scared, but it was gone as quickly as it was seen. Tadashi convinced himself that he had imagined it.

"Unfortunately, Hiro's files were taken by the police to help them piece together what happened at your home."

"Don't you have a computer copy or something?" Tadashi asked exasperatedly, desperate to find out what happened to his little brother in the fire.

"Sorry… but I was never one for technology," the doctor said sheepishly. "I'll give them to you when the police return them," he offered before walking away.

Groaning in frustration, Tadashi turned and walked back to Hiro's room. Aya was trying to convince the child to take his medicine for the day. Although Hiro's lungs had healed enough to not need machine help to breathe, not all the damage had been fixed. The child had relapsed into asthmatic symptoms, similar to when he was younger. As a toddler, Hiro was very prone to asthma attacks, and Tadashi would always make sure to carry around extra inhalers. The younger Hamada wasn't happy about going back into using the cursed device.

"Here, I'll do it," Tadashi sighed as he reached out to take the pills and the inhaler. Glancing at him gratefully, Aya handed Tadashi the treatments then left the room.

Taking Aya's former position next to Hiro, Tadashi shook the bottle of pills and gave Hiro a "you-know-what-to-do" look. Hiro replied by sticking out his tongue and turning his head with an angry huff.

"Come on, Hiro," Tadashi sighed. "You're so close to leaving the hospital, but if you don't take your medicine, they'll keep you here longer."

That got his attention. Snapping his head back, Hiro's eyes widened when he asked "How much longer?"

"Months," Tadashi lied. Well, he had to get his brother to take his medicine somehow.

"Ugh, fine!" Hiro grabbed the bottle and shook out two pills. Tadashi handed him a cup of water as he threw the medicine into his mouth.

Being the drama queen that he was, Hiro gave a visible shudder as the pills slowly slid down his dry throat. Tadashi snickered as Hiro made a face, showing his obvious disgust for his medicine.

"Next," Tadashi held up the small red inhaler. Since one of Hiro's arms was in a sling, and the other was strapped down with wires and cords, Tadashi had to help his brother with this process. He carefully placed the opening in Hiro's mouth and pressed down, allowing the flow of aerosol medication. Hiro gave a small sigh of relief as the medicine did the work and helped him breathe. He plopped back into the big white pillows and closed his eyes.

"I hate medicine…" Hiro muttered.

"They're good for you," Tadashi said as he capped the medicine bottles. "Here, drink more water."

Hiro shook his head when Tadashi handed him a bottle. Raising an eyebrow, Tadashi asked, "How much water have you had today?"

Refusing to look into his brother's eyes, Hiro tried to change the topic. "So how's everyone doing in school?"

"Hiro," Tadashi said with a slight warning in his voice. "You know the doctor said to drink at least 8 cups a day."

"Dashi, I doubt you even drink that much per day," Hiro scoffed.

"Well, I'm not the one in a hospital bed right now," Tadashi retorted. "You know if you drink water, the pills would go down faster, right?" Tadashi stared hard at his baby brother. Was it his imagination, or had the kid lost weight too? Hiro was already slim to begin with, but now he looked scrawny and frail. "Have you been eating?"

Hiro looked down, refusing to speak. That only confirmed Tadashi's suspicions.

"Hiro," Tadashi groaned, "have you been starving yourself?!"

"Not on purpose!" Hiro shot back, glaring at his brother. "The food here is yucky!" The child sniffed and tears welled up in his eyes. "I want Aunt Cass's food."

Tadashi felt his heart clench. Tadashi had been busy for the past few weeks, looking for the apartment Aunt Cass had told him about. Luckily, around the second week, he finally found it. It was a small place, cozy, and heart breakingly similar to their old house. It was two floored, with a small kitchen and living room on the first floor. The second room had the bedrooms, one big room and one small one. However, as Tadashi and his friends moved everything into their new home, they decided to have the brothers share rooms again. Tadashi could already tell that Hiro was not going to get any good night sleep for a while, and with the amount of time Hiro has snuck into his bed, they might as well just keep sharing rooms. The paper screen that survived was placed just in case they needed to use it. The smaller room became used as a storage room. His friends helped him unpack and make the empty apartment look welcoming. They hung the pictures that survived on the walls, went on runs to buy anything that was missing and even stocked the fridge full of food. Tadashi tried to make their room look like their old room. He had to buy another computer, but he hung up the robot clock and taped posters and pictures on the walls. By the time they were done with the place, it felt friendly and homey.

While he was working, Tadashi didn't have time to think of Aunt Cass.

But Hiro did. He had all the time in the world, being stuck in a bed all day with nothing to do but stare at a wall. Baymax would give him hugs and Mochi would jump into his lap, but that didn't make him feel better. That actually just made him miss her more.

Tadashi looked at his brother, unsure of what to say. Hiro just stared at his robot plushy, as though he expected it to start speaking, tears still falling from his big brown eyes. Sighing, Tadashi said quietly, "I'm sorry, Hiro… but she's gone. She's with mom and dad now, and they're all watching us together."

Hiro glared at his brother. Tadashi tried not to flinch from the fury he saw in the child's gaze. "I know that!" Hiro snapped. "I know she's gone, Tadashi! You don't have to sugar coat everything for me, I'm not a baby!"

"Yeah you are, bonehead," Tadashi gently placed a hand in Hiro's hair and messed it up, ignoring his dark mumbles. Weeks of exhaustion and worry were getting to him. Usually, he would be lecturing Hiro about attitude, but he was too relieved to bother. "You're my baby brother," he cooed as he brought Hiro into a big hug.

"Get off, Tadashi," Hiro grumbled, pushing against his brother's big build. Why did he have to be so. Darn. BIG.

"I'm sorry you're frustrated that you couldn't help her," he muttered, ignoring Hiro's weak attempts of escape. Hiro stopped struggling when Tadashi spoke, shocked. "I'm sorry all this stuff had to happen so soon," Tadashi continued. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Hiro sniffed, guilt gnawing at his stomach, both for Aunt Cass and for lashing out at his brother. "It's just… if I had been faster… or if I hadn't gotten sick… none of this might've happened..."

"It's not your fault, Hiro," Tadashi grabbed a tissue and wiped his brother's tear streaked face. "What happened happened, and it's all in the past now. I know you miss her… I do too, believe me. But right now we just need to focus on staying alive. We'll figure out what happened when you get better, but to do that you need to eat and drink. Can you do that for me buddy?"

Hiro sniffed, then nodded. "But the food tastes gross, it all looks the same…" he complained.

"Well," Tadashi stood and messed up Hiro's hair again, earning him a smack from the child, "as a reward for taking your medicine everyday, doc says you're good to go.

Hiro's eyes widened in excitement. "Really?" he gasped. "I can leave?"

"Yup," Tadashi nodded. "But you have to eat tonight, or I'll tell them to keep you here one more day," he threatened.

Hiro nodded eagerly, too excited to care about the gross food. "Yay! I can get out of this boring place!" he cheered.

"Yeah, yeah…" Tadashi sighed. Glancing at his watch (2:34), he stood up and patted his brother's head. "Gotta go, buddy… Wasabi should be here in a few minutes. I'll be back before 5." He stooped down and kissed Hiro's forehead, much to the younger Hamada's embarrassment. Grumbling, the child wiped the place Tadashi had kissed with the back of his right hand while the older Hamada laughed.

As Tadashi turned to leave, a small hand grabbed onto the back of his cardigan. "Umm… Dashi?"

"What's up buddy?"

Hiro looked down guiltily. "Sorry for being mean… I didn't mean it. I'm just mad that I can't do anything right now but lay useless in bed…"

Tadashi swallowed. Hiro was too young to have to feel obligated to do anything. Part of Tadashi wanted to run out and hunt down the man that shattered his life, but another part wanted to stay with Hiro and fix what remained of their family. "This isn't something you should be worried about," Tadashi replied quietly as he turned to look at his brother. "All I want right now is for you to get better, got it bonehead?"

"I guess…" Hiro sighed. He still looked troubled and unsatisfied.

Frowning, Tadashi quickly stooped down and gave Hiro another crushing hug. Hiro squeaked in surprise at Tadashi's sudden attack. "Cheer up, little brother! Just think, by this time tomorrow, you'll be lying useless in bed at home," he joked.

Hiro glared at his brother, but he knew Tadashi was just trying to make him feel better.

A small knock sounded at the door. Surprised, Hiro quickly shoved at Tadashi's chest, embarrassed at being caught while his brother was babying him. Snickering, Tadashi let go and turned to see Wasabi at the door. "Hey, Wasabi. Think you can handle this guy for a few hours?"

"I'll do my best," Wasabi chuckled.

Giving his little brother one last hair ruffle and earning another (missed) swat at his hand, Tadashi started to leave. As he walked by Wasabi, his friend whispered, "Gogo and Honey Lemon are buying some more decorations, think you can manage by yourself for a while?"

Ever so slightly, Tadashi nodded. As he walked towards the elevator, he heard Wasabi say, "Ok, little man! Let's talk lasers!"

Tadashi climbed onto his moped while fishing around his pockets for the keys. The new apartment was only a few blocks from the hospital, and he easily could walk there, but he needed to get back fast.

Fred had asked Tadashi if he and Hiro wanted to stay with him in his family mansion. There were plenty of rooms, and the security would be top-notched. However, Tadashi had turned down his friend's suggestion. He didn't want to impose in Fred's life. Also, he doubted Hiro would feel comfortable to be living under such a strange roof, with Fred and his crazy antics.

As much as Tadashi knew living in a mansion was a dream come true, he couldn't imagine himself living in one. True, his parent's incomes were always above average, but they made sure to only stay in a house that was comfortable. Most of the homes the Hamada's lived in were regular houses, and although they weren't huge, they were comfortable.

"Just because it looks nice, doesn't mean it is, Tadashi," his mother would tell him when he was younger. "We don't need a big house to show we are happy."

Finding his keys, he quickly started the moped and started heading to his new home. The storm clouds were looking really ominous…

Walking down the hallway, the figure looked around nervously as it grinded its teeth together. It had made sure to leave a voicemail for the doctor, telling him if he disclosed the younger Hamada's files, his family would feel the consequences. That had been enough to shut that stupid man's mouth. Just as an extra precaution, the figure had snuck into his office and burned the only existing file.

As it passed the younger Hamada's room, it couldn't help but glare at the door. Why was this kid still alive? The mere shock of being shot should've killed him. Was it because he was a child genius? Did his intelligence help him out of the shock?

As it passed the door, the African American man in the room with the child called out, "Excuse me? Could we get another pitcher of water? We're out…" The child was wheezing, still recovering from the fire.

With the kindest voice it could muster, the figure replied, "Sure thing! I'll get someone to bring it to you immediately." One well placed smile, a little bow, then it walked away. As it left, it heard the man say, "Don't worry buddy, you'll be outta here tomorrow. Then Tadashi will be with you."

What? He's leaving? As soon as the figure was out of earshot, it walked into a corner and pulled out a cellphone. Quickly dialing a number, it covered the mouthpiece and whispered, "Sir, it's me… the kid is leaving tomorrow."

"Which color do you think he'll like more?" Honey Lemon asked, holding up two options and head tipped to the side in deep thought.

Gogo looked at the two colors she was holding up. "Purple," she said with a pop of her bubble gum.

"Hmm…" staring hard at the purple, Honey Lemon nodded and practically threw the other color back. "Tadashi should be home by now, wanna text him?"

"Sure," Gogo pulled out her phone. "Might as well ask what else he needs, too…"

Tadashi unlocked the door of his new home. Flicking on the lights, he dragged his tired feet to the couch. Collapsing into the soft cushions, he buried his face into a plush pillow, picked out courtesy of Honey Lemon. Most of the preparations were done, and most of the stuff they needed was being bought right now. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Gogo had messaged him.

Hey Hamada, what's to eat?

Thinking for a second, he replied:

Gotta make sure Hiro eats tonight… wanna have another picnic? Send.

A second passed before his phone buzzed again.

Sure, we'll grab pizza.

Lying back, he sighed and closed his eyes. Exhaustion clouded his mind as he thought of everything Hiro had told him today.

"I want Aunt Cass's food" echoed through his head. Now that Tadashi was alone and not busy, the pain of losing his aunt crashed down on him. Looking at the pictures that hung on the wall, he felt his stomach drop as each picture of Aunt Cass smiled back at him.

Swallowing, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Aunt Cass… I'm erasing the after images that are floating around, burning the remaining memories up to the sky. I miss you, and I love you, but Hiro needs me now. I can't have one foot stuck in depression while the other is trying to juggle life. I don't want to ruin myself any more with these memories that aren't ending even though it's over. I'll never forget what you did for me and Hiro, but I need to move on. For him. Please understand… please…" A single tear fell from the older Hamada's eyes. He promised himself that this would be the last tear he shed for his aunt.

"Hey, buddy, I'm back!" Tadashi opened the door of the room with Gogo, Honey Lemon and Fred right behind him. Fred was busy balancing five boxes of pizza and paper plates in one arm, while Gogo and Honey Lemon were carrying soda and cups. They had gone back to the house, dropped off the things they bought and picked up Tadashi. Fred had met them in front of the hospital with pizza boxes in hand.

Hiro gasped and smiled his gapped tooth grin when he saw the pizza boxes. "Pizza!"

"Yup! And we got a bunch of different toppings, so you better help us eat it all," Tadashi said sternly as he ruffled the younger Hamada's hair.

Not even taking his hair into thought, Hiro's eyes looked hungrily at the pizza boxes as they were set done before him. A small growl escaped his stomach, much to the older students' amusement.

"Which do you want little man?" Fred asked as he pulled out a plate. Before he could list the pizzas they had, Hiro said quickly, " Cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom."

Surprised, as he gave the child his pizza, he turned and looked at Tadashi. "Dang, man, you were spot on with which toppings he would want."

Tadashi shrugged. "He's always liked these toppings, ever since he had it for the first time." He smiled as his little brother ravenously bit at the giant slices. At least he was finally eating now. "Slow down, Hiro. The pizza's not going anywhere." Tadashi poured him a cup of soda, which was half drained as soon as the younger Hamada took the cup.

"Someone's hungry," Honey Lemon giggled as she took a bite out of her cheese pizza.

"Don't forget to breathe between bites, kid," Gogo said as she bit into her pepperoni slice.

"Was he hard to handle while I was gone?" Tadashi asked Wasabi as he took a slice of pizza for himself. Wasabi was already working on a veggie pizza slice, and he shook his head at Tadashi's question.

"Kid was an angel," Wasabi said. "No problem whatsoever. We had a small issue when we ran out of water, but a nurse came by and refilled the pitcher." He tilted his head towards the half empty glass pitcher. "Took your words to heart though, drank half the pitcher as soon as she refilled it."

"Good," Tadashi sighed in relief. "Can I borrow your car tomorrow? So I can pick him up when they finally let him out."

"Sure thing, man. I'll just get a ride from Fred."

"Thanks," Tadashi smiled gratefully before turning to look at his little brother and burst out laughing. Hiro had tomato sauce all over his face and even some on his nose. "How'd you get sauce on your nose, bonehead?" Tadashi asked as he wiped his little brother's face clean. Hiro struggled in Tadashi's grip and scrunched his face as his older brother wiped the last of the sauce off. Their friends started laughing when they saw how red his newly cleaned nose was from Tadashi's rubbing.

They somehow managed to finish all five boxes of pizza. Hiro's eyelids were drooping as Tadashi and his friends cleaned up.

"We'll wait for you in the car," Gogo whispered as they left the room. Tadashi nodded as they walked out. He wanted to say goodnight to his baby brother before they left.

"You excited, otouto?" Tadashi asked as he took a seat by Hiro's bed. They child looked so full and content that he had a giddy smile plastered over his face.

"Home…" he muttered. "Going home tomorrow," a giggle escaped from his lips.

"Well, someone just ate themselves into a food coma," Tadashi sighed as he placed a hand in Hiro's messy hair.

"No touchie… hair…" Hiro mumbled tiredly. He brought his hand up to Tadashi's, but lost the energy to push it away. Instead he ended up just putting his hand over Tadashi's while it rested on his head.

"Yeah, yeah…" Tadashi bent over and softly kissed his forehead. Taking the child's hand, he placed it carefully on the bed. "Goodnight, bonehead. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Cuddling his robot plushy, Hiro smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, nii-chan… love you…"

"Love you, too… sweet dreams," Tadashi whispered. He was unsure if Hiro heard him. Soft snores were coming from the child's mouth.

Watching his little brother's peaceful face, Tadashi stood and quietly muttered Ow.

Immediately, Baymax inflated out of his case. "Good evening, Tadashi," the robot said quietly. "I was alerted by a sound of distress. What seems to be the problem? I see no visible injury on you."

"Hey, Baymax," Tadashi greeted his robotics project fondly. "Can you watch Hiro tonight? Make sure he doesn't hurt himself in his sleep or something… I don't need him staying here any longer…"

The robot blinked. "Of course."

"Thanks, buddy," Tadashi smiled and placed a hand on the robot's inflated arms. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Tadashi."

As he left the room, Tadashi chuckled as he heard Baymax coo, "Hairy baby."

Real quick, for anyone wondering...

I don't intend to include ANY romance in this story (NO shipping :/), but if you guys really want one, I'll consider making a smaller story... just make sure to say so if you do!~

Yay, or nay for how the story is going so far pls :3

Crossed fingers for no power shortage...