Fletcher led Two into Mel's nursery, a room full of pastel colors and streaming sunlight. The door to the balcony, carefully padlocked, was covered in scribbled pictures of trees and animals. The crib against the back wall looked more like a basket of stuffed toys, games littered the colorful carpet, and a short desk next to the holo console on the left held a huge drawing tablet covered in digital finger paintings. Fletcher shuffled around the room, straightening things out as he went. He and Asteri were leaving town for a friend's wedding, Nos-4-a2 was gone on an assessment, and Toby was away at camp, so Two was taking time off work to watch Mel.
"Okay, this is her favorite book, and these at the top of her crib are her favorite stuffed animals. She likes to make sure they all have even amounts of play time, so leave them all exactly the way she does so she can swap them out. This is her favorite movie, and this one always puts her to sleep. Once she falls asleep, make sure to leave this music on ‒ if she wakes up without it, she gets really scared. If she asks for candy, just distract her ‒ she saw Toby eating and thinks all food is 'candy,' and she hasn't learned that she doesn't have a digestive system yet. She can't be convinced so just gently remind her for now and try to give her a brightly colored power cell. Her journal is in the same file as Toby's, so just make sure to record naps, walks, electrical intake ‒ "
"I think I have it, Fletcher," Two grinned.
"But I still need to show you ‒ "
Two took her son by the shoulders. "Honey, I know. I see her every day, and if you'll recall, I raised you, too! You never seemed this worked up when we babysat Toby."
Fletcher frowned. "We never had to leave Toby when he was so young... and Mel is... different."
"Mel's barely a toddler, Fletcher. They can't know that she has any sort of irregularity until she's more stable, but I'm proud of you for worrying so much. The most important thing is that we treat her like she's just a normal kid ‒ which she is ‒ and trust her to let us know how she's feeling."
Fletcher nodded solemnly. "It just scares me when she shuts down... it's like she's afraid of us. I've never met anyone who guards their emissions so carefully."
"You know she loves you, darling, and she's the fifth Energy Vampire ever. Of course there hasn't been anyone like her before!"
Fletcher smiled sadly. "...That's what I'm worried about."
Two cupped his cheek. She had to hover a bit higher to look him straight on, but it wasn't an assertive move. Her eyeforms were soft and understanding. "No matter what, you'll love her the same, won't you?"
"Of course."
"That's all she needs! You can trust me to take care of her, too. I'm just excited to spend some time with my grandbaby!"
The hybrid sighed. "Thanks, Mom."
Two smiled and kissed his cheek. "Now, where is she? You need to get going!"
"Yeah, it is getting late... well, come on, Darwin has her downstairs."
They exited the room and followed the hallway to the third floor common room, taking the stairs down to ground level. They crossed the last hall to the den and found Darwin standing next to his and Fletcher's luggage, Mel on one arm and his mobile in his free hand.
"Fletcher! I was about to come find you, the car's going to be here in a few minutes."
"Perfect timing!" Fletcher smiled, coming up to their luggage and lifting a bag over his shoulder.
"Gram!" Mel reached her hands out as Two hovered closer, making Darwin laugh.
"Mellie! Here, dear, I'll take her," Two reached out, but Darwin hesitated. He put his mobile into his back pocket and gave Mel one last hug, nuzzling the top of her head. Mel tucked her arms around Darwin's neck in response.
"I miss you already. Promise you'll be good for Gram?"
"I promise, Daddy!"
Darwin kissed her forehead and handed her over to Two. Mel smiled and put her hands on Two's visor, giggling at how it made the white probe squint.
"We'll call you as soon as we land, alright?" Fletcher lifted the handle of their rolling bag. Darwin nodded, fidgeting as he lifted his carry-on. They seemed to struggle more as they came closer to actually leaving their daughter.
"Don't worry, you can take your time. Try to have some fun! We'll be here all night, right Mellie?"
"Yeah! Can I sleep over with you Gram?"
"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Two laughed, bouncing Mel in her arms to make her giggle again. Darwin relaxed a little bit ‒ at least Mel wasn't stressed about them leaving.
"We'll certainly call to say goodnight," Darwin smiled, stepping close and thumbing away a bit of dirt on Mel's cheek. Two began to hover out of the den toward the main hall, not sure that the couple would make their own way to the front doors. They followed behind her like puppies.
"We'll wait to hear from you then," Two hummed.
"And you can call us whenever you want, too!" Fletcher added, "Just ask Gram for our numbers."
"Yes, even if it's the middle of the night," Darwin agreed.
"Mellie, are your Papa and Daddy being silly?"
"Yes!" the probeling giggled for the sake of calling her parents silly.
They all stopped at the front door. Darwin opened it with his free hand because it was the only thing left to do.
"Won't you at least miss your silly parents?" Fletcher asked.
"Yes! Miss you, Papa."
Fletcher stooped down to kiss Mel's forehead. "Miss you too, little angel. You're going to have a lot of fun here with Gram, though."
She nodded vigorously and bunched her fists in Two's cloak. Fletcher stepped over the threshold, and Darwin swooped in for one last kiss before following him.
"We love you so much, Mel!"
"Love you too, Daddy!" the little robot waved.
Fletcher walked backwards down the gravel path to smile at them as long as he could, his hands too full to wave. They all called out their "goodbyes" and "I love yous" until the couple left hearing range, shrinking toward the gate in the distance.
Two closed the door and looked down at Mel. "Alright. We have this whole place to ourselves, so what do you want to do first?"
Mel's eyeforms opened wide as she considered the world of possibilities. She turned serious before leaning close, cupping her hand to Two's audio receptor. "Can we watch the good cartoons that Papa and Daddy don't like?"
Two pretended to deliberate for a moment. "You know... I think I might be able to allow that only if we make a pillow fort in the theater."
Mel's wings sprung out of her back and gave a few excited flaps as she shrieked in delight.
"You go pull all the pillows off the couches and I'll grab the blankets from the den!"
Two tossed Mel like she was releasing a bird, and the little robot caught the air accordingly before hitting the ground running on her pointed feet. They split at the end of the hall, Mel turning left into the theater and Two turning right toward the den, both filling the house with matching giggles.