David was right; both Claire and Newton were where he said they'd be. Not that it particularly doubted the man's words but still it noted that he had told the truth. There was a few other humans close by, but they did not seem to have noticed its presence at all. It was unsure how anyone would react to it so was careful to stay pretty inconspicuous whilst it got closer to Newton.
The two siblings were talking to one another in hushed tones about their family. It seemed that Claire was trying to comfort him, or trying to convince him to go and see someone; it was not very sure. She was the first to spot it, and she smirked ever so slightly. Number Five then realised that it was not so sure why it had been looking for her in the first place; maybe it thought she would be able to do something about her brother's behaviour, but it seemed she was already doing that without it having to ask. Humans were strange; they seemed to know what to do or say in order to make another feel better.
"You know I don't think everything turned out all that bad," Claire muttered to him, nudging him with an elbow. "Look, here comes trouble."
"Huh?" Newton looked up and their gazes met. "Oh. That trouble."
Number Five did not understand why Claire had referred to it as that, and just to make sure she had not been talking about something else, it glanced behind and saw nothing out of the ordinary. It gave the pair a questioning look.
"Well what are you doing standing there like a brainless chicken?" Newton beckoned, "come here, you."
He did not sound angry, if anything he sounded happy, which was completely the opposite of what he had been that morning. The robot stared, not understanding why his moods could change so quickly without explanation. It did not know whether to take 'brainless chicken' as an insult or a joke, so it stood where it was, trying to make sense of him. "Inconsistent treatment. Do not understand your motivation."
Newton's expression dissolved, and his beckoning hand dropped. He seemed to think about something for a moment and then came towards it, wrapping his arms around it. "I'm sorry if I seem a little angry at times. I don't mean it."
Number Five was dumbfounded by his gesture. Only Stephanie had tried this kind of action on it before. It still was not very sure what it meant, but it was slowly warming to the idea of it.
"Five, you really ought to learn how to hug." Newton said, snickering slightly. He took a hold of its arms and tried to place them around him. Number Five left them there until Newton pulled away, during the short time they stayed like that it tried to figure out what it all meant. Meanwhile Claire looked like she was trying to stifle a small giggle.
It could not help but stare between its hands and Newton for a minute after they separated. "Why?"
"I was just trying to make you feel a bit better," he said. "I care, alright? Even if I seem angry at times."
"But…" Number Five started. "Why do humans hug? Do not get it."
"To comfort." He patted Number Five on the head. That simple action seemed to bring something to mind because his eyes lit up. "Of course… you wouldn't understand. You haven't been conditioned to feel touch in the same way; it's just a sense to you." He stroked the top of its head, gently tickling its more receptive sensors. It always liked that and found it difficult to hide the fact; it shut its eyes and tilted its head forwards. "You'll probably begin to associate hugs as comfort over time though."
He took his hand away and the robot opened its eyes again.
"Hey have you ever shown the kids the tree houses, Claire?" Newton turned to her. Claire seemed surprised by the question.
"No. I don't think they've found it either otherwise they would've said something, and probably would never shut up if they did. Why?"
"Well I showed him." Newton pointed at Number Five. "And he said he wanted to build one."
She laughed, not unkindly. "Alright I see where this is going. But I do find it hard visualising Five climbing up those trees, Newton."
"Newton?" Number Five interrupted, probing his checked shirt with a finger.
"Yeah?" He looked at him with raised brows.
"Hmm…not think 'Number Five' is silly name? "
"He's got a point there, Newton. You know if you're serious about all this you might as well give him a name that complements his personality. I know that's what the old you would've said." Claire pointed out. Number Five nodded, agreeing with her.
"Well, what would you want to be called?" Newton asked, turning to it.
Five was at a blank. It could not think of anything. "Not sure."
"Not many people get to choose their names you know," he encouraged it.
"Still not know. You decide." Five waited patiently for a reply.
Newton chewed his lip for a while. "You trust me to name you? Not Stephanie?"
"Not want a name like 'Beasley', or 'Quothe' or 'Pepper'. No animal name. Especially not 'Fluffy'."
He laughed. "I don't know; you kind of suit Fluffy." Number Five scowled at him. "Just joking." He did not say anything for a moment, his eyes seemed to dart around the numerous headstones in the graveyard, then rested on his father's. "I've got an idea."
Both his sister and the robot looked at him, awaiting his suggestion. "Come here, Five. I think you might like this one."
It complied and let Newton gain access to its systems monitor. After pressing numerous keys he finally reached the option to edit the name it was supposed to respond to and overwrote 'S.A.I.N.T. Prototype Number Five with something new. All in all it did not take him very long; he'd been working on its systems for years so probably knew it very well. Once he finished he closed the interface and stepped back. "What do you think?"
"Johnny?" It queried, not sure of Newton's reasoning for this. Despite the fact that Newton had changed its name formally it was taking it a while to set in properly.
"That's a nice idea," Claire said.
"You're now named after our father; it was his second name. Well Jonathan actually, but I think you suit Johnny better. Don't you like it?"
It thought for a moment, letting the idea sink in. Eventually it nodded. It made sense in a peculiar way. Not only that but it suddenly felt that the act of naming it after someone he clearly loved was a sign that he had finally accepted it as a being. There was no guarantee that there would never be any more off moments between them, but it certainly found itself trusting him and even liking him more than what it had done before. The electric current running through its systems increased and it let out a garbled noise of excitement before leaping on top of him, knocking him to the ground.
He screamed, but after realising he was not being attacked by a heavily armed machine he calmed down. "This better be affection and not dominance," he warned. People were looking at them, but for once it did not care, not even if what they were seeing was a massive robot, quite capable of killing, pinning Newton to the ground.
"It's affection," it assured him, rubbing its head against his.
"Great, but maybe be a bit gentler in the future; I think you broke some of my ribs."
"Crosby wants more affection?" it asked gleefully.
"Well…yes. But only if it's a little bit less…painful."