A/N: This chapter is kinda short, but it resolves one of the major plot conflicts that has been dragged out for the last couple chapters.

[Chapter 14- Return]

Fred wanted Heathcliff to drive them home, but Tadashi insisted he and Hiro walk. The older brother wanted to stop by the hospital, and he didn't want to cause any extra trouble. Besides, the fresh air would be good for the tiniest Hamada.

The walk to the hospital was peaceful. Hiro dragged Tadashi into playing with him as they walked. The younger brother acted like a very small child the entire time, and Tadashi had no idea what to do.

Hiro freaked out when they finally reached the hospital, of course. He hated hospitals.

One of the nurses wanted to sedate him, but Tadashi stopped her immediately and convinced her to leave them with the doctor. The doctor silently checked over Hiro, just as confused as Tadashi was.

"As I wasn't there with you, I have no ideas to what could have triggered this. My only guess is that Mr. Hamada is mentally regressing to deal with the stress caused by this entire incident," the doctor sadly informed with a slight shrug. "It's happened before, and it's not dangerous. But it may cause problems when he finally pulls out of it. If you can handle what triggered his regression, he should return to normal on his own."

Tadashi had just frowned and begun to pace. He needed to research this as much as possible.

The doctor answered all of Tadashi's questions to the best of his ability. When they finished, the doctor gave Hiro a lollipop and thanked him for being such a good patient. The nurse gave Tadashi the bill and led the brothers to the front of the hospital.

The little red lollipop stayed clutched in Hiro's fist.

"I can't believe this," Tadashi ran one hand through his hair. His other hand held tightly to Hiro's as they stepped back out on to the street. "It's a coping mechanism? That doesn't seem right!"

Tadashi continued to rant until his little brother whimpered and ducked behind him.

"Hiro?" The older Hamada looked down in surprise. He looked up to search for what Hiro had seen. His eyes landed on the man walking towards them.

Callaghan.

Tadashi paled and subtly pushed Hiro farther behind him.

"Tadashi! Hiro!" The professor greeted with bright eyes. "I'm so glad to see you out of that stuffy hospital. You weren't there when I went to visit!"

"Wow!" Tadashi breathed out weakly. "I completely forgot about that. Yeah, Hiro got out a while ago. He's been recovering... elsewhere."

"How are you doing, Hiro?" Callaghan leaned down to be at eye level with the teen. Hiro pushed himself against Tadashi's back, hiding his face; he was shaking. The man seemed unusually pleased with Hiro's odd behavior. "Haha, I see he's not very talkative today." He straightened again.

A black bag swung at his side.

Tadashi wouldn't have cared, but he caught a glimpse of white peeking out of the bag and his heart stopped. Where was Hiro's Baymax doll? He looked down at Hiro, but the boy didn't have it. He didn't have it the entire walk to the hospital either.

The white could be anything, but Tadashi knew they were screwed anyway.

"I-It's getting late," he managed shakily. "We should be getting home. It was n-nice seeing you."

"Ah, I was hoping we could talk more, but I guess I'll have to let you go." Callaghan laughed. "I'll see you in class, Mr. Hamada." He continued on his way, leaving the two brothers rattled and anxious.

Tadashi got Hiro home as quickly as possible. The younger was falling asleep as they walked, so Tadashi elected to carry him. Aunt Cass greeted them when they walked in, but she went quiet at the looks on their faces.

"What's going on?" She asked. "What happened?"

"It's not safe," Tadashi whispered. "I need you to lock the door. I'm going to lock all the windows and close the blinds."

"Tadashi?! What's happening! You left this morning and didn't come back!"

"I'll tell you when the house is safe! Please! Aunt Cass, just trust me!" He rushed around, securing everything he could. Hiro was curled up under one of the tables, humming quietly.

"You're scaring me," Aunt Cass pleaded after she locked the door. "Hiro, sweetie, what's going on?"

"He can't answer you," Tadashi snapped. "I'm sorry... He can't-" The college student took a few deep breaths. "Let's go upstairs."

He picked Hiro up, and the small family went into their living room. Aunt Cass quickly served them plates of chicken wings. Her frantic energy and gentle worrying eased Tadashi enough for him to start talking.

First, because he knew his aunt cared about it the most, he explained why Hiro's behavior had changed. She was quiet throughout the entire explanation, and only asked a few questions at the end. She was silent for a couple minutes before she wanted him to continue.

From there, he explained Hiro's dream world, which she was familiar with but didn't know everything about. The dream world led into the events that had lined up in reality and the evidence they had. And then Tadashi had to actually say out loud that Callaghan was using Hiro's microbots to rebuild the portal so he could attack Krei.

Before that moment, it hadn't seemed very real.

But when he finished the statement, he knew it was true.

Callaghan was going to attack Krei.

A/N: I am 90% sure I did Aunt Cass correctly.

QUESTION OF THE UPDATE: If you had to put one topping on everything you ate for the rest fo your life, what would it be? I would pick strawberry pieces. They go great with just about everything, and they're delicious on their own, too.