9S thought about taking off the ribbon before going to visit 42S. However, he'd already seen it, and 2B would be upset if he took it off, so he left it in place. Word had gotten around regarding its significance and he was greeted with smiles and congratulations from various members of the Resistance camp. 9S smiled and waved shyly, feeling more than a little awkward. It was weird having the entire camp know he was expecting (and by association, how he'd gotten that way). It felt a little too much like advertising his own love life. Well, so long as 2B was happy, he supposed it didn't really matter.

Devola and Popola had 42S awake and upright, making some adjustments to his new legs.

"Hope you don't mind being a couple inches taller," Devola commented, assisting him as he slid off the bed. "These are all we could find that would fit you."

42S' mouth pulled up on one side in a warped imitation of a smile. "Taller is good."

"How's your arm?" Popola asked. "Reflex relay working alright? No lagging?"

He stretched and flexed the fingers of his right hand. His new limbs were skinless at present, every joint in the plain black carbon plating clearly visible as he tested them out.

"Yeah. It's fine."

Pod 219 hovered close, all but touching his shoulder. A ring of energy appeared around 42S' middle as the twins helped him stand.

Devola held him steady by his new arm while he found his balance. "You got it?"

"No," 42S grabbed at her shoulder, legs trembling. "I can't really feel them. Like...they're there, but they're not listening. They don't feel like me."

"That's okay," Popola assured him. "Take your time."

"Need a hand?" 9S asked, entering the medical wing.

"Oh, hey Nines," 42S tried to smile for his brother, but it was as if he'd forgotten how, the expression coming off twisted and painful.

"You look good," 9S told him with all sincerity. "Hey, when did you get taller than me?"

That made 42S laugh, a short bark of a sound. Like his smile, it looked as if it hurt.

"Try taking a step," Devola suggested.

42S tried to do as instructed, but his foot went out from under him, Pod 219's safety ring keeping him from hitting the ground. He only sank a few inches before she and the twins managed to rebalance him.

"You're both taller than he is," 9S pointed out. "Let me."

Stepping closer, he stood in front of his brother and put his hands on his waist as if preparing to waltz. 42S gripped 9S's shoulders, studying the ground as he tried again. Devola and Popola hovered on either side, ready to intervene should 42S lose his balance.

Pod 219 caught him as his knees buckled, 9S likewise lunging to keep his brother from collapsing to the floor.

"Let's leave walking for another time and concentrate on fine-motor realignment," Popola suggested. "You're not going to get far if your reflex relays aren't properly synchronized."

"Okay," 42S agreed tonelessly, letting the girls help him back onto the bed. Pod 219 circled him, evidently checking for injuries before pressing against his chest. 42S rested on hand on top of her chassis, holding her there.

"We'll let you talk," Popola said, drawing a blanket over his legs and then following her sister out of the room.

"How're you feeling?" 9S asked once the girls had gone.

42S looked down at his covered legs. "They couldn't fix my old legs, so I got new ones."

"Does that bother you?"

42S shrugged. "I guess not. If the Bunker were still around, I could have just uploaded my memories to a new body. I've never really had to sit through repairs before."

"It kinda sucks," 9S agreed. That earned him another brief, twisted little half-smile.

"Sorry about the info dump the other day. I probably should have waited to fill you in."

42S shook his head. "Nah, s'okay. I mean, it's nice to know we're not at war. Weird, but nice."

"Yeah. Once you're feeling better, I'll take you to meet Pascal. He's pretty cool. B9's got a lot of little machine friends from his village. It's not like there are any other android kids she can play with."

"Not yet," 42S reached and poked the edge of the blue bow.

9S blushed scarlet. "Not yet."

"So you and 2B, huh?"

9S rubbed at the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Yeah."

The brief smile that flitted across 42S' face seemed genuine this time. "Good. You had a huge crush on her, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Good. I'm glad the two of you got together. And...and you have a kid now? That you…?"

"Yeah. It's complicated. I can go into more detail whenever you feel up to it."

42S nodded absently. Leaning back on the pillow, he hugged his pod with his original hand. The newer arm lay inert and unresponsive at his side.

"Does that one not work?"

"I dunno. I keep forgetting it's not frozen."

"You still cold?"

9S' cloak was still draped over 42S' shoulders. "I can't seem to get warm. It's probably all in my head."

"I'll find you something warm to wear," 9S promised. "You deserve to be comfortable."

"Oh, you're already here."

Both 9S and 42S looked up to see 4S standing in the doorway, a forest green ribbon tied around his head. 42S just stared, expression so blank 9S was afraid he'd bluescreened.

"42?" 9S put a hand on his shoulder. 42S jumped at the contact and shook himself.

"Sorry. You too, huh?"

"What? Oh!" 4S put a hand to his head, touching the ribbon. "I forgot about this. I… I can take it off..."

Tears had begun trailing down 42S' cheeks, soaking the bandage over his eye. "No it's okay. It's… It's… It's fine, really. I'm… I'm happy for you. Really, I am. It's just…so much…"

Pulling the bow off, 4S came over and put an arm around 42S. 9S kept his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" 42S sobbed, "I can't stop…"

"It's okay," 9S tugged his own bow off and shoved it in his pocket. Now was not the time. "It is a lot. I'm sorry we keep dropping bombshells on you without meaning to."

42S leaned against him, swapping arms with his pod so that he could put one arm around 9S. For a moment they just sat there, the three of them crowded together on the little hospital bed, arms around each other.

"You guys are nice n' warm," 42S mumbled, tears having finally stopped.

9S gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Yeah, side-effect of being expecting. Your processor's in overclock for as long as you're compiling the extra code. I blew my cooling fan when I had B9."

"I wonder if that helped keep me from freezing?" 42S mused.

"Maybe."

"Benign," 42S tested the word, seeing how the syllables felt in his mouth. "Can I meet her some time?"

"Sure. You can meet everyone. Come and stay with us once you're feeling better. We've got lots of room in our new place."

"Really?"

9S smiled for him. "Really."

Amazingly, 42S smiled back a tiny bit. "Yeah. Okay. Sounds good."