"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Early the next morning, Larry woke up to a loud cry. It was a little after 6, and Otto had already woken up from his slumber. The baby was lying belly-down on top of Larry's chest, bawling at the top of his lungs. His face was red with ferocious anger as Larry failed to respond to his needs fast enough. With dark circles already forming under his eyes (not that a robot could form dark circles, to begin with), Larry rolled out of bed and began to rock and sway Otto back and forth. He sang gentle lullabies to the baby in a hopeless, desperate attempt to silence the crying. In addition to the poorly-sung lullabies, he shushed the baby, patted the baby's back, and even used the built-in radio on his chest to play nursery rhymes. Nothing worked. Nothing could soothe Otto's troubles. But what could've triggered Otto to get so upset at 6 in the morning? He was wrapped snugly in a blue towel, so he would not have been cold. However, Larry still hadn't bought any supplies for Otto, whether it was food or clothes. Not only was Otto lacking a proper piece of clothing and nutrition in his belly, but he also lacked a proper father figure. And that supposed father figure was…
"Oh, for the love of… LARRY! WHY IS THE KID CRYING?! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"
Tuddrussel shouted as loudly as he could from his bedroom, clenching the covers in his hands. When shouting and yelling at Larry to shut Otto up didn't work, he got out of bed and grabbed a broomstick from the closet. He banged the broomstick against the metallic wall while continuing to harass Larry for failing to quiet Otto. The banging only made Otto cry more. Larry (who had been sleep-deprived from last night) muttered angrily as he stormed into Tuddrussel's bedroom. Upon seeing Larry enter the room, Tuddrussel could definitely tell by the robot's face that he meant business.
"TUDDRUSSEL! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT NOT SCARING THE BABY?! THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DON'T TRUST YOU AS HIS FATHER!" chastised Larry, poking Tuddrussel in the chest.
Tuddrussel began to pout, "But I just wanted to sleep!"
"Well, you're gonna have to buy yourself a pair of earplugs and some heavy-duty construction headphones… because this is your life now!" told Larry as he rocked Otto in his arms.
"Hey! But I thought you didn't want me around the baby! What's the point of telling me to suck it up when you don't trust me around him?!" retorted Tuddrussel.
"Well, first of all… You screamed because the baby was crying. And secondly, you seriously thought it was a good idea to use one of my cherished broomsticks as a weapon?! Ugh, uncivilized beasts like you just have no empathy whatsoever… I don't think you're aware of the fact that I literally spent all night trying to get him to stop crying! And when there was this magical time I could finally get some rest… he would wake up again!" cried Larry, forming oil tears of frustration in his eyes as Otto continued to wail.
"Sucks for you, I guess," Tuddrussel muttered before getting rewarded with a huge slap in the face by Larry.
"You seriously have no empathy, don't you?!" scolded Larry.
Tuddrussel sighed and shook his head sullenly, "I guess I don't…"
Larry's eyebrows and mouth lowered into a concerned expression; he was finally starting to realize how left out Tuddrussel felt without his partner-in-time here to help him. Not for helping the baby, but for discovering his emotions and how he could control them like the adult he was. Perhaps it was a sign of jealousy that Larry was acting like a mother toward Otto — yet he couldn't act like a father toward his own son? Where was the consistency? Why couldn't he be a father to Otto? Why was he letting himself be bossed around by a robot? Those were thoughts that were swirling inside Tuddrussel's head as he shot a skeptical glare at Larry. He highly doubted that Larry would let him have a chance, knowing how stubborn the robot could be at times. Well, he was wrong — at least mostly wrong. When Larry handed the baby to him, he felt a mix of confusion and shock. He glanced down at the crying baby in his arms before staring at Larry. He held his gaze until a metallic arm was placed on his shoulder.
"I apologize if I was too extreme yesterday… You can watch the baby for a little while! But only for now!" Larry declared, flashing a grin of reassurance and audacity.
Tuddrussel tilted his head confusingly.
"Listen, I'll be zapping down on Earth to buy some supplies for the baby! You stay here, and if the historical instability alarm goes off, call me! Whatever you do, do not go anywhere with the baby without me! I still can't trust you to go on missions while I'm away! If you have to go, contact the headquarters and say that you're babysitting a nephew or something," Larry inched his face closer to Tuddrussel, specifically explaining what to do in full detail.
Tuddrussel perked his head up and smiled.
"Okay, buddy! I'll do anything for you! I'll make sure the baby's washed, fed, changed, and everything! I promise!" assured Tuddrussel.
"You better… Because if the headquarters finds out about him, we're screwed! DO NOT tell the chief that he's our son… he's your nephew! Got it?!" Larry growled, grabbing Tuddrussel by the collar of his suit and pulling him close to his face.
Tuddrussel choked a bit when Larry released the collar of his suit. Surprisingly enough, Otto was starting to calm down, even if he was in the arms of the man he was afraid of most: Buck Tuddrussel. He traded his wailing for soft whimpers as he desperately looked up at Larry. The watery glaze in Otto's eyes prompted Larry to plant a kiss on top of his head.
"You be good for Tuddy, okay?" Larry gently told Otto before planting one more kiss on his head.
Otto continued to stare intently at Larry, trying to soak in every little detail about him. Larry giggled lightheartedly as he grabbed a pink frilly handbag off a coat hanger and hopped into the time machine. He pressed the red button required for teleporting himself to planet Earth, where the stores needed for Otto's supplies were. Right after Larry left, the historical instability alarm went off, causing Otto to resume crying. His entire body shook with fear as the alarm wailed throughout the space station. Tuddrussel frowned as he watched the baby boy in his arms bawl his lungs out in crippling fear. It hadn't even been a full minute since Larry left and Otto was already being difficult.
"Hey, kid! It's alright! Nothing's gonna hurt you! I promise!" soothed Tuddrussel, rocking the bawling baby vigorously in a desperate attempt to calm him down.
Otto's face turned bright red as Tuddrussel tried his hardest to calm him. The alarm was indeed scary for a newborn baby; it sounded like a mix between an ambulance siren and a tornado siren. The deep, repetitive wails of the alarm only grew louder as Tuddrussel neglected to respond to the historical instability. Whether it was patting and rubbing his back, making funny faces, or (badly) singing lullabies to him, he tried everything he could to get Otto to stop crying. Nothing worked. He was stuck dealing with an incessantly crying baby and a blaring alarm. What was a time cop to do?
Tuddrussel had to think if he wanted to become successful as a father. He knew not to go anywhere without Larry around, but the alarm was just going to keep blaring if he neglected to respond. Flashes of blue and red lights were going to keep flickering and Otto was going to keep crying. Tuddrussel felt like he was going insane with all the commotion around him; he seriously needed to find a way to make things peaceful. He rushed into the central computer room and pressed the enter button on the keyboard, causing the self-destruct alarm to go off (which in turn only amped up Otto's crying).
"WARNING! WARNING! SATELLITE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 30 SECONDS!"
Tuddrussel gasped as flashes of bright yellow lights flickered rapidly. The robotic voice constantly warning him about self-destructing made his heart rate go up (as well as his chest getting tighter). He frantically paced around the room, not knowing what to do about the alarm.
"Well, guess I'm gonna die!" Tuddrussel shrieked, holding Otto close to his chest.
The poor man threw himself onto the floor and huddled into a ball, complete with Otto nestled in the crook of his arms. He was prepared for the worst — or was he? About a few seconds before the space station was expected to explode, the alarm suddenly went quiet. It was as if the alarm knew that Tuddrussel couldn't spare his life for the sake of Otto. One could easily tell that he was protecting Otto from potential danger — even if the latter didn't necessarily enjoy being in his presence. The way he cuddled him close to his chest proved that he wanted nothing but the best from the baby boy. But just because the alarm unexpectedly went quiet didn't mean that he felt safe; he felt strong emotions of confusion and fear as he stared gapingly at the giant static-filled computer screen.
"Hm! That's strange… I thought that we were gonna die for a second!" thought Tuddrussel as he curiously walked toward the computer.
He sat down in the reddish-orange chair and with one dominant arm, began to aimlessly type on the keyboard. As he continued to type, a large photo of a young, petite man appeared on the screen. The man's name was Thomas Paine and he was from 1776 Philadelphia. At first, Tuddrussel was confused about why a painting of Thomas Paine was on the screen, but then he realized that it was part of the mission he was required to accomplish. Knowing that he could potentially get fired for missing the mission, he grumbled and buried his hand in his face.
"Come on, Otto… Let's go kick some butt…" sighed Tuddrussel as he sauntered to the time machine.
With Otto somewhat quiet in his arms, Tuddrussel was able to successfully focus on what he was going to do without interference. He carefully dialed the coordinates on the console attached to the wall on the right. Once he dialed the coordinates, he was immediately transported to 18th-century Philadelphia, where Thomas Paine lived. If you didn't know, Thomas Paine was an English-born political activist who wrote some of the most important pamphlets in American history. If it weren't for him, America probably would've not been the country it was today. Well, apparently he didn't write any pamphlets nor was he philosophical. Instead, he was a professional boxer who often participated in worldwide events. He was rather zealous when it came to training for the world championship — and boy, could Tuddrussel tell by how the man knocked the tooth out of another boxer. Paine was indeed his last name.
Tuddrussel wasn't intimidated. Not at all. Not even in the slightest. He was just as strong as Thomas Paine was (if not even more). With a determined look on his face, he marched toward the man and grabbed him by the collar of his white tank top. Thomas Paine shook with fear as Tuddrussel brought him close to his face.
"Hey! You there! Mr. Paine! You're supposed to be writing intellectual crap, not beating up people!" chastised Tuddrussel, pointing violently at Thomas Paine as he kept his grip on him.
Thomas Paine wasn't afraid either; he didn't flinch when Tuddrussel tightened his grip on his tank top. Instead of panicking, he glared at Tuddrussel and began to swing his legs around.
"Get your stinkin' paws off me, you creep! I'm training for the world championship, can't you see?!" hissed Thomas Paine, trying to escape Tuddrussel's tight grip.
"Yeah, I can see that!" Tuddrussel quipped.
He dragged Thomas Paine out of the boxing ring as the crowd booed and hissed at him. Thomas Paine's glare grew bigger, presumably due to Tuddrussel's hand tightly clenching his ankles. It hurt like heck, but hey, he was a boxer… So be it!
"Your boxing days will be over soon…" growled Tuddrussel as he dragged Thomas Paine into the locker room, dodging all of the rotten tomatoes and garbage that were being tossed at him.
Thomas Paine grumbled annoyedly, face-planting onto the floor as he neared the locker room. He had come to accept his fate — he would no longer be a boxer, but a political activist instead. Though he accepted his fate, he still muttered the occasional swear words at Tuddrussel. He was more than done with his lifelong dreams. He just was.