Disclaimer: I don't own Big O or any of its characters.

Chapter 6

It was just past dawn. The mansion's windows were portals to the cool blue sky, silk ribbon clouds floating with the reflection of the sun still shining their cheery sherbet pinks and oranges. Dorothy was the first up that morning, to clean the forgotten soup off the carpet in the enchanted corridor. It had indeed been some enchantment, thought Dorothy. How stupid of her to let him leave after something like that. She would have to have a long talk with him as soon as he woke up. Yes, that would be the best thing, she was sure of it. She had to hear the rest of what he was going to say. It sounded so important. As he had spoken the night before, she felt the electricity moving through her wire and light veins zap her pleasantly, as though her heart were skipping a beat.

Her heart, if indeed a heart she had was light and airy today, however, slightly dismayed. Even if Roger did feel "that way" about her, what could be done about it? Could she give kisses? Could she marry him? Could she… Uh, ahem… But, no, that was nonsense! If she were human, her face would have turned three shades of red. Why think of such things? Only she could know what she was capable of… Had she been built with…? That? With resolve, she made a mental note to, uh, find out about that issue. Oh, if only she could blush…

That brought up another issue that sent shudders of what she supposed was despair through her body. Would Roger want children? If he did, there would be absolutely no chance of getting them from her. Would he really want such a barren and cold being to marry, and share a bed and home with for the rest of his life? He would grow older and older, while her looks of youth would remain, constant and evergreen. How could she possibly watch him, the man who held her synthetic heart so tightly and painfully, slowly age and eventually die right before her eyes? What would she do? Her reason for living would have ceased completely, yanked from her with a violent and agonizing tug. What would she do after such a thing?

The more she thought about it, the more the light and airy heart she had begun the day with, sank. Perhaps he was better off with that blonde woman who called herself Angel. Her legs gave out on her and she fell to the ground as quietly as she could, forgetting completely the soup stain on the floor. What an awful and deadening thought that was! It made her usually stoic face to contort in an expression of utter pain. She clutched her chest where her mock-human heart was, and could have sworn she felt a burning, all-consuming despair rattle her veins. But… If it allowed Roger to be happy for the rest of his days… And he would be happy, too… Perhaps she could bear it. Angel was beautiful and a fully matured woman. Dorothy was forever cursed to be the perpetual woman-child, the little girl with the voice like a nightingale and talent playing the paino. Angel could marry him, age with him. She could give him pleasure and children and happiness until death do they part. What could Dorothy give him that could measure up to that?

Yes indeed, the more she thought about it, the more did it seem that Roger's outburst the previous night was not so much reluctant passion and love, and more just uncomfortable curiosity.

Her face slid into its usual blank expression as she heard steps coming down the stairs leading to Roger's room. Hurriedly, she grabbed the bucket and sprinted back to the kitchen, where she dumped the water and searched frantically for a place to hide. His steps were coming closer and closer, oh no, what would she do? She felt the electricity zoom through her veins just a little bit quicker. Spotting the back door at the very last moment, she shot out of it quicker than a bolt of lightening, and ran down the deserted alleyway.

Why was she doing this? She was acting so foolish! Just where did she think she was going? Norman was gone on holiday, and would be for another week. How was Roger supposed to get his meals? There were chores to be done around the house. Where would she go, if she could not return to him? As an android, she felt the tug of her master and master's house calling to her, compelling her very convincingly to go back right this instant. Was she forever doomed to feel the need of a lord, someone who would tell her what to do? It was ingrained upon her. Androids were pets, they were there for human use and control, do be done with as the slightest inclination and whim indicated. It was just when she wanted to escape when she turned around and headed back with her head sadly watching the pavement move slowly backwards. Right foot, left foot, and then more of the same. It was back to the source of her newly found pain and pleasure, her love and her curse.

Dejectedly, she opened the back kitchen door and entered the mansion once again. There was Roger, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal. The door shut behind her, and his head shot up with a look of embarrassed surprise. They looked at each other, both seeming to expect a sharp reprimand or something of the sort. A very long and uncomfortable silence followed the usual morning greetings. Roger went back to his cereal, looking as though he were having some trouble swallowing. Dorothy took her apron out of a cupboard and put it on, getting things ready for the daily chores. She reached out for the door into the hallway, when she heard him speak suddenly from his seat at the table. She paused.

"Dorothy…" His voice sounded scratchy and groggy. "I'm sorry about… About last night. Lets… Let's just forget it ever happened okay?"

At this, she whipped around, feeling for some reason hurt and angry (if those were, indeed, the right words). Just because she was an android did not excuse her from the feeling of indignation.

"Roger Smith, you are the biggest louse I have ever met." Her voice had risen only slightly, but it was enough to gain a very shocked expression from him. There was something in her voice that he had never heard before. It sounded so… Forlorn, forsaken, and utterly without hope. Never had he heard such a concentration of emotion in her voice. She was motioning to open the door once again, and he shot out of his chair, grabbing her arm, not even aware of himself or what he was doing. She stopped, even though she could very well have pulled herself out of his grasp. Her eyes were on the floor, her eyebrows knotted in one of her rare moments of emotive expression, this particular one of unreserved anguish.

"Wait…" He held her arm as tightly as he could. He refused let her go just yet. "Dorothy… Would you just look at me?" His voice had the command that negotiators have in abundance. She turned her head slowly, dreading what she would find in his eyes.

Her eyes met his, and she almost fell down in a sudden swoon, something she had never felt before. Imagine that! An android, fainting! His expression was so tender and intense, she just wanted to… To… Oh, his lips - they looked so awfully soft and enticing, his perfectly shaped nose and forehead, his masculine and yet refined jaw and cheekbones, and his black hair was messy and attractive; for such a meticulous personality, he looked so damn good when he was so out of sorts. And his handsome face was coming so close to hers… She felt her eyes slide shut in anticipation, her mouth opening for his kiss…

Ding dong! Rang the doorbell, so loudly and suddenly, that the two jumped. Dorothy, abruptly coming back to herself, fled the scene with as much dignity as she could muster. The door, she had to get the door, of course! She left Roger there, not daring to chance one last glimpse of his face for fear of losing herself altogether. She would surely faint if that happened again! Her circuits must have been overloading, because she felt an unpleasant zap just behind her left ear as she opened the door. Yet another surprise awaited her at the other side. There stood the last person on earth that Dorothy wanted to see - ever, as a matter of fact.

It was none other than Angel, with two suitcases at her feet and a taxi driving off down the street behind her. What a pleasant thing to be left on the doorstep. Dorothy had half a mind to chase the cab down and tell the driver that there must have been some kind of mistake. Angel? No, we didn't order an Angel. Take it back, I refuse to accept this delivery, sir!

"Oh, hi," said the blonde woman, nodding at Dorothy and picking up her suitcases. She seemed rather apprehensive. "I'm here to see Roger, if that's alright." She waited while Dorothy just stared incomprehensibly. "It's rather urgent." Her weight shifted impatiently, and the android moved aside for her hesitantly. She showed her into the parlor, and told her to wait. If she could have scowled, she would have done so, with gusto. Too bad she had already used up too much energy in that department this morning… She would no doubt spend half the day plugged to the wall, recharging. Something had most definitely snapped within her.

Quickly and with as much indifference as she could muster, she stuck her head in through the kitchen door. Roger was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, in an uncharacteristic pose of frustration. For some reason anger surged through her, and she felt sure that her face was turning green with jealousy. He wasn't thinking of her! How could she have possibly thought that he was going to kiss her? What a fool she was! For the first time in her life, she felt the humbling pain of rejection. Of course it was Angel, who was the only one who could give him the true bliss that all men surely sought. Angel was the only one he could possibly love with all of his heart, with all of his soul. How could he love an empty shell of refined metal and silicon - electricity and lights flowing through her veins instead of blood? What an idiot Dorothy was, to actually fool herself into believing, for even a fraction of a second, that he could love her.

"Sir," she said curtly, "A lady is here to see you. She says it's urgent." And with that, she fled once more to her room, daring herself to never leave it again. For no reason would she leave it! Even if a thousand megadeuces came pounding on her door, demanding that she come out, she would refuse! She would sit motionless and stare out the window, gathering dust for ages, by god! As she ran, she felt her strength waning more and more… Soon she would collapse, as her battery came to its last ounce of energy. Her feet dragged along the carpet, her arms were swinging at her sides as if they were two anvils. If she didn't make it to her room soon, she would fall to the floor in a coma. How long would the two lovers leave her there, lying in the middle of the hall, she wondered? Her room was so out of the way, no doubt they would live their entire lives before she was found. They could be married, have their children, and die of old age, and she would be there, stranded, her battery dead and corroded beyond repair. How horrible it would be to die that way, completely conscious of her own broken heart, and how happy her love was without her.

As soon as she reached the sanctuary of her room, she locked the door behind her and plugged herself hastily into the wall. Sighing with relief, she lay back on her bed, falling quickly into a deep and fretful sleep.

(Oh my god, has it been a long time. I am so, so sorry, you have no idea! I lied in the last chapter, but I really didn't mean to. It just kind of happened that way. Writer's block really bites… I doubt that the next chapter will take too long, but I've never been very reliable in that aspect, have I? Well, we'll see. At least it has come this far. For incentive (and for those who are about to give up on me), I don't plan abandoning the story, it like it far too much. So, at least the story will reach the end, no matter how long it takes. Many reviews will most definitely quicken the writing process, without a doubt.)