'Happy Birthday, B9.'

There's a voice coming from somewhere. She can't tell where, exactly. Not outside, but inside. How is that possible?

'I'm your mom. I want you to know that you're special and precious to me. You're my baby. I love you with everything I am, and that will never change.'

She wants to respond, wants to answer back, but isn't sure how.

'It's okay, sweetheart. Here, let's get you set up. See this here? That's your Brightness setting. Turn it up until you can see me, okay?'

It's nothing more than a series of little vertical lines, but they appear and disappear if she prods them. Brightness does indeed filter into her optical receptors, sharp and painful at first, and she squints and cries out. However, the pain fades quickly, and she's able to look around. There isn't much to see. Just a plain gray room and...a face.

Fair hair, blue eyes, a kind smile. He's smiling so hard, tears run from his eyes. Funny. He doesn't look sad, yet he's crying. Why?

Another face joins him. This one has longer hair, held back by a ribbon. Gray eyes, a single beauty mark on her chin. Her smile is closed-lipped, but she's crying too. Whatever is the matter?

'Hi, baby.' A hand rises into view and waves at her. She assumes it's attached to the face with shorter hair.

'Mom.'

'Yeah. Let's get your Voice Recognition set up. Turn it up until you can hear us. It might be a little loud at first, but don't be scared, okay?'

She sees the setting, pokes at it until the bar goes from narrow to wide, and she can hear his voice from the outside too.

"There we go. Now, let's check your Vibration Controls. I'm gonna squeeze your hand, okay?"

There's a light pressure, a sense of warmth. Without thought or feeling, the corners of her mouth turn up.

"Felt that, didn't you?"

"Yes," the word leaves her mouth unbidden. It tastes funny and sounds weird, but not in a bad way.

The voice is constricted when next it speaks. "Good. That's good. Okay. I'm gonna take you out of Safe Mode, so you should be able to move and sit up if you want."

Something releases. She feels her body go limp, sinking deeper into the soft surface where she rests. She is here, inside this gray room, lying on a bed, and two people are looking down at her.

"Mom," she says, reaching for him.

He gathers her into his arms, holding her close and she snuggles into him immediately.

"Yeah…" the word is barely more than a whisper. "We've been waiting a long time to meet you."

She pulls back and smiles for him. Mom smiles back, wiping his eyes with one hand.

"This's your dad," he nods at the second person.

"Happy Birthday, B9," Dad says, holding out her arms. B9 lets go of Mom to receive a hug from Dad. A fragile little noise escapes Dad's throat.

"Dad?"

"It's okay, baby," Dad tells her, stroking her hair. "I'm just so happy to finally meet you."

"Why is everyone crying?"

Dad laughs and wipes at her tears with one hand. "I don't know. I'm not sad."

"It happens sometimes when you feel too much at once," Mom explains. "Strong emotion often produces tears. In this case, we're both super happy."

Ah. That explains it. She can feel herself smiling wide. There's water welling up from her eyes, driven there by a warm feeling that's growing in her chest. The water slides down her cheeks. She's happy too.