Chapter 10: Don't leave me.

Cass was not the most observant guardian or a strict one for that matter. She scolded herself numerous times about getting a parenting book because she always felt lost when it came to her beloved nephews.

Despite that, Cass had something better. She was a woman of faith. A woman after God's own heart, some would say.

Now she doesn't go around bible-bashing everyone she meets and she wasn't a volunteer in her local church but she believed in God and believed in Jesus. She believed in Him so much and her faith is what made her the most loving person anyone ever met. God was also the one who got her through every hill and sad valley she had to face since her sister's accident.

People laughed at her, especially the doctors. She heard them talking, saying that reading her comatose nephew the bible would not help but to leave her alone. "Let her have whatever eases her pain." It took a lot of prayers to remain calm and act like she heard nothing.

With Tadashi spending more time with his friends and the robot (as she was told) working on assignments with them, Cass found herself at the hospital more than usual. Not that she minded. It was, after all, her safe place now.

It was just God, Hiro, and her there. A place where she would care for her nephew's needs, read the truth to him, and talk to him about her day, the shop, his brother, etc. And without fail, Cass would pray over Hiro, begging God for a miracle.

She was thankful for the time she got to spend with her youngest nephew. Sometimes, we just have to be thankful even when things are bleak. That's where faith comes in, after all.

Yet, God knows that parts of her heart cried over the situation. "I'm glad I get to see you more now." She told the child, absent-mindedly stroking his bangs out of his face. His hair was longer than hers now. She made sure not to jostle the transmitter Tadashi placed on him. It saddened her, thinking of her older nephew. "Oh, Hiro, I wish your brother would visit you."

Tadashi stopped his visits once his invention worked. The only time he stepped foot in the hospital was to upgrade the device. That was once every year.

Sighing, she went back to the bible, continuing reading about Joseph - he was one of her favorite people in the bible to read about.

A boy who was dearly loved by his father but loathed by his brothers. The brothers sold him to slave traders, who then took him to Egypt. There, Joseph was sold to one of Pharaoh's guard and then got accused of raping his owner's wife and was unlawfully sent to prison. However, even when Joseph faced those unjust situations, God was with Joseph and gave him favor wherever he went and used those situations to get Joseph near Pharaoh because a famine was coming and God used Joseph to save both the Egyptians and his own family. In the end, both nations were saved, and Joseph was put second in command to Pharaoh. God also gave Joseph the strength to forgive his brothers who wronged him.

" 'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.' " With that, aunt Cass closed the book. "It always amazes me how God can take such tragedies and bring about good things." that was what she wanted; something good to come out of her situation.

It was late now, the sun was giving way to the moon. She loved seeing the reds and purples of the horizon but she wanted the sun to remain in the sky. She wanted to stay by her beloved nephew's side a bit longer. She wondered if he felt lonely here or if maybe he was dreaming of something nice?

Visiting hours would be ending soon, which meant she needed to pack up her things and kiss her nephew goodnight. Before leaving, she said her prayer and kissed her beloved child's cheek. Holding the bible close, she pondered the scriptures, thinking about how it says that words have the power of life and death. She didn't understand everything, but she believed that with God (Jesus), anything was possible even if the scene told her otherwise.

With that, she spoke into the room. "If God can raise the dead and bring beauty from ashes, then He could make a miracle out of this too." Nodding to herself, she wished Hiro one last goodnight and made her way home.

Back at Fred's manor, the team was training. It took time for them to figure out Hiro's note but together, they pulled through. Hiro's mind truly did rise above theirs - not only did the kid work out the kinks in their projects but he adjusted them to fit their personalities.

None was more over the moon than Fred.

Hiro had granted his longest-held wish - something none of their other friends were willing to grant.

However, past events had hit the otaku hard. He liked Hiro - the little genius, in some ways, reminded Fred of himself. Fred wasn't a prodigy in science and his maturity level was that of a four-year-old. But Fred knew what it was like to be too different from everyone else, and the sting of loneliness it brought.

As cheerful and 'nerdy' Fred acted, he had those days where he wished he was like his friends. His love for comics (as well as his childish antics) made him the laughing stock of every group and he honed those laughs to be with him rather than at him, but growing up was a different story. His childhood wasn't so bright as he made it out to be.

And as much as he appreciated the friends he had now, Hiro was different. The kid was a friend, Fred felt, could relate to him.

Being so young with a huge brain couldn't have been easy, Fred supposed, and from what he observed, he could see that Hiro didn't quite suit his surroundings either. The younger Hamada seemed safer with robots as if he belonged with them rather than humans.

This is why the grown otaku tried his hardest to make the child feel welcomed. Also why the comic lover felt hurt for the missing boy. Hiro was like an older brother towards him, only stuck in a child's body.

Go figure.

Needless to say, the man took this mission seriously, despite his immaturity. Tadashi didn't see it that way. Fred couldn't help it though - not when he was Fredzilla!

Now Tadashi was a whole different story altogether. As days passed making the suites and working out the gadgets, the older Hamada felt more desperate to get his brother back to his side. Everything was going so slow for him and he was running himself ragged getting everything done.

It made it hard for the young man to sleep at this point. Whenever he closed his eyes, the lad either dreamt of the past or he pictured the future.

Hiro in the crash or Hiro in the hospital room.
His heart rate flat and eyes open, unforgivingly blaming the older boy.

Baymax had to wake the teenager up on those nights.

The stress was consuming him but Tadashi refused to admit it. So much hit him all at once and the older boy felt gripped by the guilt. He promised Hiro he would make things right, that he wouldn't give up on him.

At last, everything was complete and the gang got adjusted with their armors. With Baymax's upgrades, Tadashi was able to fly into the sky and scan the whole city to get Hiro's new location.

The signal came from a small island that sat a good deal away from the city. Finally. Tadashi felt relief in what seemed to be forever. "I'm coming for you, Hiro. Just wait for me." Don't leave me.