The house was particularly cold on Christmas morning, and Simon took the opportunity to run as many wash cycles in the laundry and the dishwasher as he could since Jamie wasn't at home and the water heater was free. He hadn't seen Kate yet and there'd been no noise from her room, so he put breakfast off and instead worked on folding the laundry while Star Trek played on the TV. When he was alone, he would only watch the episodes that he had already watched with Kate. He had too many questions to ask, and she seemed to enjoy seeing his reactions. Although she acted annoyed and often told him to be quiet, he was beginning to understand that her surface-level responses didn't always reflect what she was truly feeling.

And he was becoming more familiar with what her feelings meant.

Since his first flash of joy, he'd discovered four new emotions over the course of several scans. One was a very powerful emotion that incited him to action, something he interpreted as anger. Kate had been tossing in her sleep that night making it difficult for him to keep the flow of information steady through his fingertips. On another night, he experienced an equally powerful emotion but less active. It was easy for him to identify that one as it was the most influential of all CyberLife accepted emotions: fear. The third perplexed him for nearly an entire day as he struggled to find an accurate comparison for it. It only occurred to him after watching an episode of Star Trek with Kate in which Beverly Crusher was alone in the universe that the emotion must be loneliness.

The fourth emotion completely eluded him. For days, he drew comparisons and looked for examples only to find it outside the realm of logic even for CyberLife. Again on that night Kate had been tossing back and forth, even making the occasional distressed noise as she seemed to fight against her own autonomous thoughts. However the emotion had been a strong combination of both positive and negative energy that seemed to tie into everything he had experienced so far. It surged deep into his core, and at first he thought several thousand of his programs had become corrupted. If he hadn't started the habit of cutting his link to CyberLife before each scan, he was sure he would have triggered a complete emergency reformat of his system.

He was determined to understand this new emotion despite its complexity. After watching dozens of Star Trek episodes, he'd found small connections that seemed to hint at the emotion but nothing that definitively proved his theories. Still, each glimpse was a small step towards the answer and he knew from experience that time would lead him there.

The episode he was watching while folding laundry wasn't doing much towards that goal. Once again, Troi's eccentric mother was sending telepathic sexual signals towards the Enterprise's captain which were going unnoticed by everyone except to Troi. Simon was getting better at recognizing emotions and allowing them to engage him in the story and the characters. He had even developed an automatic kill command to handle each warning CyberLife sent him in regard to these new feelings. He was also beginning to notice them in his daily routine and interactions with Kate and Jamie though to a lesser degree than when he watched Star Trek.

The feeling of joy was sparking through his system as Data appeared on the screen, causing him to slow down on his task in order to give the screen more of his attention and fuel the feeling a bit more. He was so focused that he almost didn't hear the knock at the door or the sound of it opening.

He glanced at the entryway expecting to see Jamie but paused as he saw Matt step carefully into the entryway, looking around as if afraid someone would stop him.

A fleeting shock swept through Simon's system. He set down the t-shirt he had been folding and immediately sensed his software flood with questions and errors. "Good morning, Matt."

Matt turned quickly towards him, stepping back slightly with his hand still on the doorknob. "Oh, hey uh… Simon." He looked around. "Is Kate not up yet?"

"She asked me to let her sleep in today," said Simon. "She said it was the only Christmas present she wanted."

"Oh shit, well…" Matt shifted and Simon saw he was holding a wrapped package in one hand. "I guess she'll have to put up with this." Matt moved into the hallway and his android Seph stepped in behind him, closing the door.

Simon looked between them, the apprehension building up again. He stepped forward. "Are you going to wake her?"

Matt slowed and looked over his shoulder as he moved down the hallway, a stunned look on his face. "Yeah?"

Again, Simon had to work internally to suppress his unusual discomfort. He looked toward Kate's bedroom door, then at Matt. "Please try not to startle her," he said.

Matt furrowed his eyebrows at him and gave a small smile. "Sure."

As Matt moved down the hallway, Simon stood at the corner of the living room doing his best not to appear as though he was watching him. He was aware of Seph still standing near the doorway though the android seemed to be busy observing his surroundings.

Matt knocked on Kate's bedroom door. "Hey Kate? Merry Christmas, Kate." He knocked again. "Come on, it's already noon. If I knew you were going to be in bed still, I would have brought you eggnog. You don't have a Christmas tree or anything. Where am I supposed to put─"

The bedroom door opened a crack. "What the fuck, Matt?"

"Oh, hi. I didn't think you'd be up that fast."

The door slammed shut again and there was a thump as if she'd pressed her back against it. Her muffled voice was barely audible. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I got you a present," said Matt. "Will you at least come out to open it?"

"I said I didn't want any presents."

"I wanted to piss you off."

There was a sigh. "Give me a minute."

Simon listened to the conversation from the end of the hall, unsure of when or if he should intervene. He knew there was no reason he should stop Matt from socializing with Kate, but at the same time the thought of Matt putting unnecessary stress on her made his caregiving protocols go into overdrive. He could hear Kate moving in her room and made a futile attempt to detect any hint of frustration in her movements. After a few moments, her door opened again.

"Why didn't you text me that you were coming over?" she said, stepping into the hallway. She had merely thrown on sweatpants and still wore one of the large t-shirts that she slept in.

"Because you would have told me no and then locked the doors," said Matt. He followed her as she moved down the hallway. Kate looked up and Simon made eye-contact with her, judging from her expression that she seemed to be okay with the situation. It quieted his system a bit, and he moved into the kitchen to begin making her toast as she went into the living room and settled on one of the couches.

"Are your parents coming over?" asked Matt.

"If they do, I'm not letting them in," said Kate. Simon glanced into the living room occasionally as he worked. Kate was sitting cross-legged on one side of the couch, half draped over the arm with her chin in her hand. Matt sat on the perpendicular couch next to her with his foot over his knee.

"What are you going to do, just leave them out in the snow?" said Matt.

"Sure."

"On Christmas?"

"Yep."

"You're not going to do that. You're too curious to see what they got you for Christmas."

"I told you, I don't want any presents."

"It doesn't matter. You're just as curious as I am."

"Whatever they bring me, you can have it."

"Well, here."

Simon watched them as Matt handed her the present. Kate took it and turned it over in her hands.

"What is it?"

"It's a machine gun," said Matt. "I made it myself. Is this your first Christmas or something?"

Simon put a plate together and carried it over to them as Kate began to unwrap the present. He set it down on the coffee table in front of them, watching as Kate pulled the paper off to reveal a shiny plastic box. She stared at it for a moment.

"What did you get me?"

Matt sighed and leaned back on the couch. "It's a cat."

Kate examined the box, her eyes narrowed. Simon recognized it as a CyberLife model of housecat that had just been released the year previously. This one was a short-haired orange tabby.

"A cat in a box?" said Kate.

"It's an android cat, idiot," said Matt. He reached for the box. She gave it to him and he began to work the plastic open. Simon stepped to the side where he could still see them in clear view, and saw Seph move next to him in the corner of his vision. He looked up at the android who gave him a small smile, and Simon gave an acknowledging nod as he returned his attention to the box.

Matt carefully tipped the box over so that a stiff, folded up cat rolled into his lap. Simon found himself leaning forward a bit to get a better look.

"I think if you…" Matt cupped his hand slightly on the cat's head so that his thumb was pressing the tiny unlit LED and his index finger on the back of its head. He held it there for a moment, and the cat suddenly uncurled. It arched its back, stretched its front legs, and yawned.

"Ha! Fuck instructions," said Matt. He scratched the cat's back which tensed and the cat lifted its tail straight up. He picked up the cat and held it out to Kate who simply stared at it. "So?" he said.

"It's… an android cat," she said. She straightened as Matt dropped the cat in her lap. The cat turned on the spot and sat down, lifting one of its paws to lick it. Kate held her hands up as if thinking about petting it, but she was frozen. "Why do I need another android."

"Because you don't have to feed it and it doesn't shit," said Matt. "Plus you could use a cat." He reached over and massaged the cat's cheek. "All girls need a cat."

"I don't need a cat," said Kate. She pushed the cat away with the tips of her fingers as if it were diseased but the cat didn't budge.

"Just enjoy the damn cat," said Matt. "I have a real cat and trust me, this is the only animal you're ever going to be able to put up with."

"A fake one?" said Kate.

"Exactly. I think this one's supposed to be a boy. I think his name should be Tichondrius."

"What the hell? That's a retarded name."

"It's the name of the main character in my book."

"Even more retarded."

"It's less retarded than what you would name him."

"How do you know what I would name him?"

"Because you would name him the first thing that came to your head. Go ahead. Pick any name."

"Spot," said Simon.

Matt and Kate both looked at him. He felt himself tense up as though he'd just made an insult. He hadn't meant to speak without being addressed first. He glanced sideways at Seph who was also staring at him.

Kate's blank expression suddenly lit up, and a smile spread across her face. It was an energy that Simon had never seen before. Pure and powerful happiness. Simon's nervousness was partially replaced by joy at seeing this reaction. He stood up straighter and his processes became more organized. Kate laughed.

"Oh my god…" she said in between breaths. "It's perfect."

She ran her hand over the cat's head so that he closed his eyes and kneaded his paws on her leg. She continued to shake with light laughter as she pet the cat, scratching under his chin. Simon felt the last bits of frantic protocol fade as he watched her. Something was celebrating deep in his system the fact that Kate was uncharacteristically happy right now because of what he did, even if it was by accident.

Matt seemed to be lost in thought as he looked at Simon. A sideways smile pulled his beard, and he turned towards Kate. "At least now you like the cat."

Kate picked the cat up around his midsection and held him in front of her so that his legs dangled. She touched her nose to his. "Spot."

"You watch way too much Star Trek," said Matt. He looked over towards the kitchen. "Hey Seph, you wanna make us some coffee?"

"Okay, Matthew," said Seph. The android moved towards the kitchen, and Simon watched after him. He looked back at Matt and Kate who were still interacting with the cat, then moved after Seph. The android was standing in the center of the kitchen, looking around as his LED spun yellow under his dark hair. Simon could see he was scanning the room.

"The coffee is in the cabinet to your left," said Simon. Seph turned to him and his LED faded to blue.

"Thank you, Simon," said Seph. He moved to the counter as Simon cast another glance behind him. Matt and Kate's conversation was quiet, and he noticed Kate's face was set in her defiant frown as she listened to him.

"It's likely that we will be seeing much of eachother," said Seph. Simon returned his attention to him as Seph worked at the coffeemaker. "My owner has a strong attachment to your owner. I believe he has romantic interest towards her."

Simon stared at the coffeemaker. "I've come to that conclusion as well."

The coffeemaker grinded into action, and Seph turned towards him. "Would you accept a Looper invite? I'm sure it would be beneficial for you to know Matthew's interests and activities, and I could provide better insight towards Kate if Matthew should ask."

Simon looked towards the living room again where Kate seemed to be saying something under her breath while petting the cat. Matt had shifted so that he was leaned against the arm of the couch closer to her. Simon watched the pair, observing how Kate seemed to be outwardly tensed but her expression was soft and energetic much in the same way she did when she seemed to be falsely angry with Simon. Unwittingly, he felt a hint of the puzzling emotion he had yet to properly identify. She was clearly showing it though in a manner that told him she wasn't aware of it.

He let his protocol make the decision for him. He looked at Seph who was still watching him expectantly. Simon held out his hand. "Of course."

Seph smiled and clasped Simon's lower arm. As he did, the skin on the arms of both androids melted away to expose the shiny white plastic underneath. The stream of information that Seph sent him updated Simon's social links with CyberLife, and he in turn forwarded all of his social information he'd gathered on Kate as well as establishing an open link with the android through the local server. Within a few moments the transfer was complete, and Simon let go of Seph's arm.

Seph nodded and stepped back. "Invite accepted."

"Thank you, Seph." Simon again turned and looked towards the living room. "I can't assure you that she will ever inquire about it. It's been very difficult to keep her happy."

"Matthew seems to make her very happy," said Seph. He stirred two coffee mugs. "I believe she makes him happy as well, although he often expresses frustration towards her."

Simon nodded even though he knew Seph couldn't see him, and he watched as Matt brushed part of Kate's hair out of her face. She was looking at Matt with the intense gaze that Simon was very familiar with when she knew she needed to do something but wouldn't. He didn't need any emotions to know that she was incredibly attracted to Matt, and Matt was doing his best to court her. But despite Matt's efforts, she was recoiling from him in the same manner that she'd recoiled from Simon when he performed his first scan of her in the closet.

Seph moved past Simon, the two cups of coffee in hand. The android set the cups on the coffee table next to the plate of toast that had been forgotten, then stepped to the side. Matt and Kate seemed not to notice, still deep in what appeared to be a one-sided conversation. Kate was picking at a stitch in the fabric of the couch, her face tensed in a defiant thinking expression. As Simon studied her small movements, she looked up and made eye-contact with Simon as though she just noticed him. Simon automatically gave an encouraging smile though he noted the discomfort in her posture. Her eyes lingered on him a moment, a strange energy growing in them as if she was trying to signal something. That perplexing feeling was back. He tilted his head slightly as his systems started to alarm. If he could just absorb it for a moment…

There was a loud knock at the door. Simon straightened and saw shadows through the windows. At the edge of his vision, Kate was sitting up rigid.

"Simon," she said. "Lock the door."

The front door swung open.

"Did you just say 'lock the door?'" said Susan Hall. She and Leonard stepped into the entryway removing their knitted hats and shaking away the snow.

Simon immediately moved forward and saw Seph do the same next to him. He motioned to take Susan's coat as Leonard handed Seph his snow-flecked hat.

"Oh, thanks!" said Susan, shrugging her coat off her shoulders and handing it to him. She turned back to the living room as Simon moved away to set it aside. "You know how long it took us to get here?"

"A half hour, same as always?" said Kate. Simon noticed she had settled back into the couch, the cat curled up on her lap.

"It took us two hours because of the snow," said Leonard. "There was a roadblock, and then a roadblock on the detour around the roadblock."

Kate buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Why are you here…"

"What do you mean? It's Christmas!" Susan moved forward into the living room. "Hi, Matt."

"Hi, Kate's mom," said Matt as he stood up and accepted her hug. He stood back and shook Leonard's hand.

"Can you stand up so I can give you a hug?" said Susan. Kate let out a heavy sigh, then slowly stood up from the couch. She let out a yelp as her mom pulled her into a tight hug. "You look so much better… and you've gained weight. Leonard, doesn't she look a lot better?"

"You look healthier," said Leonard. "Not going to say you've gained weight."

"Oh, she's gotten really fat," said Matt. "I mean look at all this toast."

"Well, you've gained a healthy weight," said Susan. "Did you get a cat?"

"It's an android cat," said Kate. "Matt got him for me."

"Really? That was so sweet of you! What's its name?"

"Spot."

"Spot? He doesn't have spots."

"It's from Star Trek."

"Oh. Of course it is." Susan moved further down the couch and sat down. "And what about your android? Did you ever give him a name?"

"Yeah," said Kate, nestling back down into the couch with her legs crossed. "His name is Simon."

"Simon…" Her mom looked sideways at her. "Did you actually pick that out?"

Kate stared at her for a moment. "Yes?"

"It's just not something I thought you would name him. I thought you'd come up with something creative like Legolas."

"Oh god." Kate put her forehead in her hand. "Never."

"Well, we would have grabbed lunch if we knew all you had was toast," said Susan, looking at the coffee table. "We can go out together and have lunch. Let's all head over to Ruby's for some burgers."

"That's okay, I'm gonna head out," said Matt. He stood up and Simon noticed a fleeting worry flash across Kate's face.

"Are you sure?" said Susan. "The restaurants are automated out here. Everything's still open."

"Nah, I still want to swing by a few places. Say merry Christmas to some family." He looked at Kate who seemed to make a feeble attempt to hide her worry. "Besides, I was just making sure Kate didn't sleep in all day. You guys have it from here."

"Well, merry Christmas to you," said Susan. "Wish we'd see you more."

"See you, Leonard," said Matt. He moved around the front of the couch and Simon saw Seph move away next to him. The android gave him a parting nod.

"Goodbye, Simon," said Seph.

"Goodbye," Simon replied, watching as Seph stepped to the front door. Before Matt could reach it, Kate sprang up from the couch.

"Wait," she said. Matt turned and Simon watched in interest as Kate moved quickly around the couch, then threw her arms over Matt's shoulders in a hug that was much closer than she'd had with her mother. She stretched herself up and pressed her face into the space of his neck, and he leaned into her, pulling her closer into him with his arms around her small midsection. When they moved apart, Kate looked up at him.

"Thank you," she said.

Matt smiled down at her. "You're welcome."

He turned and Seph opened the front door for him, letting in a wave of cold air. Matt bundled his hands into his coat pockets, then Seph followed him out the front door, closing it behind him.

Kate stood silently at the door for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself. Although Simon couldn't see her face, he knew she was feeling a great deal of distress. The morning hadn't been entirely positive though there was nothing that his software detected as a risk. Her behavior had been an example of many types of emotions, though the one eluding him was still a mystery.

He saw Susan lean forward on the couch. "You okay, Katie?"

Kate straightened. "Yeah." She turned and Simon caught her gaze. Her troubled gaze lingered for a moment, and then her eyes warmed. "Simon, you wanna come in here?"

Simon returned her warm gaze and moved forward. "Of course."

He followed her into the living room where she resumed her usual spot on the couch next to her cat. He sat in Matt's now empty seat, leaning forward to reorganize the coffee and toast on the table.

"So are you and Matt dating now?" said Susan.

Simon looked up. Kate dropped her hand which she'd been resting her chin on.

"No," said Kate. Her mom made a face and shook her head.

"Wish you two would just get on with it," said Susan. "I really like him."

"Yeah, I know." Kate pulled the cat onto her lap and rubbed behind the cat's ears. For a while, they were quiet.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Susan leaned sideways, fishing into her pocket. She pulled out a small envelope. "Your dad sent you something."

Kate looked up, a frustrated shock lined in her face. "What?"

"Probably a Christmas card," said Susan. She handed it to her. "He still sends everything to our mailbox. I don't think you ever told him where you're staying."

Kate stared at the envelope before she took it. She pried open the envelope and removed a flat card with holiday designs on one side and what looked like a written note on the other. Kate read the note quickly, her expression frozen. Then she quickly stuffed the card back into the envelope.

"What's he say?" said Susan.

"Just merry Christmas," said Kate. She tossed the envelope onto the table.

"Well, I can call a taxi if you want to get lunch at Ruby's," said Leonard. He was swiping away on his phone.

"Not really," said Kate.

"I just did," Leonard replied. Susan pushed Kate's knee.

"Go get dressed. I'll keep an eye on your kitty."

Kate sighed, leaning sideways where Simon caught her attention. He tilted his head, giving her a small smile that he knew she would be able to interpret. She stared at him for a moment, then dropped her head back as she groaned. Without a word, she stood up and moved out of the living room and down the hall.

"Awesome, we can give her your present while we're there, Leonard," said Susan.

Simon stood up from the couch and moved back towards the laundry pile, picking up the t-shirt he had been folding that morning.

"Hey Simon?" said Susan. He looked at her as she stood up and stepped toward him. "How…" She looked towards the hall as if worried Kate was still standing there. She leaned in a bit closer to him. "How has Katie been doing?"

"She's gained twenty pounds since your last visit," said Simon. "Her mood has greatly improved, and she seems to enjoy being back in school. I can email you a list of her updated grades if you'd like."

"Yes! You do that. And also, has Matt been spending a lot of time with her?"

"They've been in frequent contact for the past eighteen days, mostly during the time that they are both at the university campus. She hasn't been leaving the house after she gets home from class and this was the first time he's visited."

"Okay." Susan seemed to think for a second. "Did they… sleep together last night?"

Simon checked his protocol for a privacy violation. "No. He arrived at 12:32 this afternoon."

Susan nodded, then gave a small shrug.

"Told you," Leonard half-whispered from the couch.

"I'm not worried. I'm just… they've been friends for so long and she clearly likes him." Susan moved back to the couch but didn't sit. "I mean they had the house to themselves for Christ sake. They're young. Raging hormones. You'd think even with her attitude…"

"Why are you complaining?" said Leonard. "Be glad she's not like Emily. It's getting expensive."

"Well, I can't exactly speak for your daughter," said Susan. She went quiet suddenly, and Simon looked towards the hallway where Kate re-entered the living room dressed in jeans and a long blue sweater.

"Please stop talking about my sex life," said Kate.

"We weren't talking about you," said Susan. She moved towards the front door. "Let's go. It's supposed to start snowing again."

"And then you can embarrass me in public," said Kate. "Come on, Simon."

"Oh, let him keep working. He's got a couchload of laundry to do. We won't keep you trapped there for long."

Kate looked over at Simon, her eyes tensed in a slight worry. He gave her a reassuring nod. "I have plenty to do here."

She blew a bit of hair out of her face, then shoved her hands in her jeans pockets. "Fine."

Susan took her coat off the hanger as Leonard moved next to her. "Do you have a coat? Be sure to grab a coat."

"I have a jacket," said Kate. She moved to the laundry where Simon was working and pulled a thick cotton coat from the pile. As she did, the cat jumped onto the couch, climbing slowly up the pile.

Simon watched the cat as Kate picked it up in one hand. She held it against her chest for a moment, then smiled as she handed the cat to him. "Here, he's yours."

Simon stared at her. "Mine?"

She pushed the cat into his chest. "Yeah."

Simon dropped the shirt he was holding and held the cat with both of his hands. The cat meowed and placed a paw against his shiny white uniform. "But he was a gift for you," said Simon.

"You named him Spot," said Kate. "And you're an android just like Data. It makes more sense that he's your cat."

Simon looked at her, unsure of what to say. Her smile was pure like it had been earlier, and her eyes were full of a pleasant energy. It wasn't exactly possible for him to own anything at all, but this was making her happy. And at the same time, having anything in common with Data made him feel like he was accomplishing something. He could at least pretend that he owned the cat even if his software wouldn't allow it.

He cradled the cat against his chest. "Thank you, Kate."

Her smile grew wider, and she threw him a last energetic glance as she swung her coat over her shoulders. Simon watched her join her mother and Leonard as they all prepared to move out into the snow.

"We'll be back soon, Simon," said Susan. She looked at Kate. "Is that your coat? That's not big enough."

"I'm not putting putting on ten layers of clothes. Let's just go before I change my mind," said Kate. Susan sighed, then swung the door open and they headed into the cold wind. As they filed through one at a time, Kate made warm eye contact with Simon, sparking that pleasant feeling in his system. Then she wrapped her jacket tighter around her waist before closing the door after her.

Simon stood motionless as the sounds of the wind and snow became muffled. There was a mew near his chest, and he raised the cat in front of him with both hands. He couldn't help the smile that spread on his face.

"Hi, Spot," he said.