Hello, Folks! This is Dragoncat. I can't thank you enough for your patience. So much has been happening, making my writing time limited even more than before. Like any writer, I believe in making sure the chapters I write are worth reading, and your reviews are very important to me, and that is why I have made sure not to include any pancakes or lucky charms in this chapter...

Don't ask.

And now...

Chapter Three

As Zee lies on the bed, he stares out through the window watching the sky become brighter with each second. It has been over a week since Bennet allowed him to stay with Ro while the NSA reviewed the memory disc. Even though they haven't heard from Bennet, Zee and Ro are relieved that they are no longer wanted criminals. Now they are walking the streets during the day, and sleeping peacefully at night.

There is no doubt in his mind that he can actually feel Ro, and holding her at night fills him with such a warm sensation. Even now, as the sun rises, he wishes that the sun would stay down a little longer and give him more time to enjoy these moments.

Suddenly, he hears the shower being turned on. Ro is taking her morning shower. This should guarantee a few more minutes of caressing her pillow, to enjoy the traces of heat she left behind before it disappears completely. (So warm... so soft...) As he savors the sensation, he closes his eyes - despite the fact that he's fully recharged - and falls asleep.

"Zee... Zee..."

Upon hearing Ro's voice, he looks around for her, but everything around him looks so white and fluffy, as though he's walking through clouds. A moment later, he finds a tall mirror rimmed with gold. His reflection has him in his Zee form, but he's wearing a black tuxedo. This is very strange to him, especially since he does not recall morphing into this form.

"Zee..."

The mirror shows a figure behind him. He turns around and sees Ro approaching him from the misty distance. He is so relieved to see her; he almost does not notice what she's wearing. As she comes closer, Zee can see she's wearing a long, white gown with triangular elbow-length sleeves. Around her waist is a long, white sash, and around her neck is a shining pendant as blue as her eyes. Zee can't help but stare at this wonderful sight. She approaches him with the grace of a medieval princess.

"Zee..."

Seeing her smile fills him with such soothing warmth. He reaches out to touch her cheek...

"Zee... Zee, wake up. Wake up!"

A gentle shaking of his shoulders transforms the misty scene into a hotel room, and Ro's lovely gown turns into a casual green outfit.

"Rise and shine, tin man. It's time to get going."

"But... But where...?"

"To San Francisco. Now that you're off the hook, it's safe to look for my family. Casey will be waiting for us." Ro grabs her backpack and waits at the door.

Zee takes a moment to check his memory banks. "Oh, yes. I remember now. You're right. We should leave now." Zee removes the covers, gets out of bed and morphs. He's ready to go, but Ro's raised eyebrow startles him. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, Zee...? Don't you think that's a little too formal?"

Zee catches a glimpse of himself in the dresser mirror. He's wearing the tux from his dream. "Oh! Uh... Sorry." He morphs into his purple outfit.

The ride on the hover bus starts off quietly. As Ro glances through a magazine she had purchased at the station, Zee thinks back to the dream. This is not the first time he's had this dream, but it is the first time it affected his holomorphic program. He morphed into the tux without thinking. But he couldn't deny it was a wonderful dream, and he hopes to have it again.

Zee makes sure no one is watching when he reaches into one of his chest compartments and pulls out Dr. Selig's pocket watch. As he stares at the second hand ticking away, he remembers Selig saying how there was never enough time. (He was right. There just wasn't enough time. Every time I tried to talk to him, something happened to prevent it. Finally, after years of searching, there he was, at the place where I was born, talking about the module that changed my programming. I wanted to tell him who I was so badly, but then everything exploded around us. And to make matters worse, his escape pod was shot down. Why did it happen this way? Why?)

As Ro flips a page from her magazine, she notices Zee's face. It looks as though he's ready to cry again as he stares at the watch in his hand. Ro does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what's happening here: Zee is still mourning for Dr. Selig. She couldn't blame him, though. After everything that happened, it's no wonder he became depressed. Any other robot would not have reacted the way Zee did, but Zee was not any other robot. (Let's face it; he's a human trapped in a titanium body.)

"Why did it happen, Ro? I only wanted to talk to him."

Ro gently put her hand on Zee's knee. "Not everyone believes a robot can do the things you do: knowing right from wrong, feeling emotions. You're one of a kind."

"I can't stop thinking about him. I still wish I had more time with him, and then I'd know what kind of plans he had for me."

"You miss him, Zee. It's natural to feel this way. You lost someone important to you. To tell you the truth, I miss him, too. I never got to congratulate him. He created something wonderful."

Zee stares into the glass window and sees his reflection in the glass. (How can this be natural for me? I'm a robot, a machine hiding behind a hologram. And yet, I feel sadness when I think of Dr. Selig; and at the same time, I feel love when I think of Ro. Is this normal human behaviour?) Zee places a hand behind Ro's neck and onto her shoulder, gently pulling her close and whispers, "Ro?"

"Yes?"

"Bennet said I can stay with you while he looks at my memories, but that was eight days ago, and he hasn't gotten back to us. Even though no one has been after us, I can't help but wonder if the NSA will still try and take me away from you. I don't want to lose you, Ro. I know I'll never be completely human, but I can learn what I need to know if you'll keep teaching me. Please, Ro, promise you'll always stay with me. Please?"

Ro understands what he's going through; she was there, after all. From the moment they first met, she was there for him. She pushed him in the right direction, answered his questions and even covered for him when he made mistakes: all just to keep him from getting captured and destroyed by people who didn't understand him. His creator had reprogrammed him without telling anyone, and Zee paid dearly for it. He's been hunted down, shot at and even taken apart. And all the while the man responsible for all this was too busy to be reached. And after everything they went through just to find him, he dies. Ro knows what it's like to be alone. She wouldn't wish it on anyone. And besides, she made up her mind days ago that she loves Zee. So as she looks into his eyes, she doesn't think twice as she smiles and whispers, "I promise, Zee. I will never leave you."

As they cuddle, they do not notice the bus driver adjusting his rear-view mirror to catch a glimpse of the two lovers in love. Nor are they concerned with the other passengers pretending not to notice them. One passenger in particular peeks at the scene from behind a newspaper, and it's making him sick to his stomach.

Later that afternoon, the hover bus makes it to San Francisco, and amongst the snickering passengers, Zee and Ro disembark. As they head toward the main doors, they are spotted by Casey, who greets his sister with a big hug.

"Little Bulldozer! You don't know how relieved I am to see you. When a co- worker showed me an updated Federal Warrant list, your pictures were gone. I didn't know what to think. But then I got your e-mail saying you were finally off the hook." Casey takes a moment to stop and look at the little sister he thought he'd never see again, and then he gives her another hug. "You can't imagine how relieved I am."

"I guess having a relative on the run from the government can be big news."

"Yeah, my boss felt everyone had a right to know. He still hasn't forgiven me for blowing his big exclusive, but enough about that." He goes to Zee and shakes his hand. "Congratulations, Zee. How does it feel to be free at last?"

"It feels..." Zee glances at Ro and says, "...lovely."

Casey raises an eyebrow at Ro, who's trying her best not to blush as she says, "Well, look. We'd best be going. There were a couple of details I didn't mention in the e-mail."

As the threesome leaves the station, the man with the newspaper stays a safe distance away as he dials his cell phone. "It's Jack. We've just arrived in San Francisco. They're heading out with some red-haired guy. I will maintain surveillance and report again in a few hours."

Two hours later, they are in Casey's apartment. As Zee enjoys the view from the living-room window, Ro and Casey are in the kitchen preparing sandwiches. As Casey sorts out the deli slices, Ro tells him about Dr. Selig and the Nosis explosion.

"Oh, man! That must have been awful. How's Zee handling it?"

Ro is not sure if she should mention Zee's nightmares. "Well, I know this will be hard to believe, but..."

"It was very hard to deal with." Zee's appearance in the kitchen entrance startles them both. "In fact, it still is. I'm very thankful for Ro. She gave me hope when I needed it most."

Once again, Casey pretends not to notice Ro blushing.

Later that night, Ro and Zee turn in for the night. Casey had prepared his foster mother's room for them. Casey, in the meantime, takes a look at the disc Ro had given him. Ro told him that they were going to send it to him in the mail, but that was before Bennet gave them the good news. Casey cannot believe what he is seeing. Through Zee's eyes Casey watches his little sister getting into one dangerous situation after another. And she was willing to put herself in this kind of danger just to protect this one robot. But at the same time, Zee was willing to protect Ro and anyone else who was in danger. The reporter in him begins to admire the footage. The stories he could write from this could put any exclusive his boss could conjure up to shame. But the big brother in him begins to intervene, and he dreads the thought of losing his sister again.

After a few more minutes, he decides to call it a night. As he walks to his room he hears a strange, repetitive noise, and it seems to be coming from the other bedroom. He carefully opens the door, and what he sees puts him in shock. Not only is the robot on the bed, cuddling Ro like a teddy bear, but the noise he hears is coming from the robot. He's snoring. The robot is snoring! And Ro is sleeping comfortably through it all.

Casey lies in his bed wide awake. His long-lost sister is sleeping with a robot that can look like a human, sleep like a human and, to top it all off, snore?! (It's going to be a long night!)

Okay, folks! That's all for this chapter, but don't worry. There will be plenty more chapters where this came from, and the next chapter should be arriving soon. By the way, if anyone happens to remember the name of Casey's boss, I'd greatly appreciate it. He might be appearing in future chapters. Ta-Ta for now! ^_^