I went ahead and finished this story, because there are other projects I wanted to get started on.

For the rest of that day, the mood was melancholy. M-O's latest scare had taken a lot out of him. The cancer was growing at an increasingly fast rate, and the estimate was that he'd only last a week before dropping dead.

He spent the night at the Repair Ward, D-FIB never once leaving his side. At some point, Benny came over, and would've also stayed if D-FIB hadn't made him go spread the word.

It was noon by the time M-O was cleared to leave. He needed a lot of helping getting home, D-FIB having to hold him up by the brush to keep him steady.

And he hated it.

He hated feeling helpless, but knew he had no choice. The end was in sight, after all.

It bothered him that he wouldn't live to see their wedding anniversary, but who said they couldn't celebrate early? He could enjoy himself one last time.

And that's exactly what he was going to do.

After a long recharge, M-O sent Benny to invite their friends to their home. You could imagine D-FIB's bewildered look when she opened the door.

"Happy anniversary!" everyone yelled excitingly.

D-FIB squinted at them. "But...that's still a few months away."

VN-GO came up. "We know, but M-O wanted to celebrate early, since he'll be gone by the time the actual date comes around."

M-O, with help from Benny, appeared by her side. "Surprise, D-FIB."

D-FIB stared at him, then a smile broke out. She hugged him and gave him a spark-kiss. "Thank you."

Benny then let everyone in. "Sorry that this was kind of last-minute, but Father wanted to celebrate as soon as possible."

Kitty said, "We understand."

The festivities got started. WALL-E played tunes on his recorder. The music overlapped with chatter as some robots hit the dance floor. Kitty pulled Benny there, despite his protests, but he soon got into the mood. M-O and D-FIB also shared a dance, even though M-O was still weak with cancer.

For the first time since M-O's diagnosis, the defibrillator-bot was truly happy. It was like the recent events had never happened. M-O was still healthy. For just a few hours, she could allow herself to forget.

The cleaning droid could sense it. He felt proud that he could make his wife happy, even if it only lasted a short while. It was more than enough, for him.

It was midnight by the time the guests started clearing out. When they were gone, M-O took one last look at the night sky. He'd heard during the party that the place you go after you die was up there. He wasn't sure if he believed it, but it was a nice thought, to be among the stars.

He remembered the first time he ever saw the stars, on the day his life changed forever. The first time he ever felt true happiness.

"Pretty," he'd said.

And it was still true.

It was the last thing he saw before turning in for the night.

In fifth grade, a boy in my class had a mom with cancer, who wasn't going to make it to his graduation. So he and his friends held an early graduation ceremony. She died a month later.

We're near the end, folks.