**A.N.: Talking with you all is a lot of fun, thank you to those who reviewed! A huge thanks to Telemain's Daughter for beta-ing!**

The drive to Callaghan's house was completely quiet; even Fred failed to fill the silence as the team anticipated the inevitable confrontation. Honey Lemon was driving, since Wasabi was convinced the earlier accident proved that he needed to avoid driving for a while, so Gogo didn't even have someone to gripe at to reduce the tense atmosphere.

Tadashi was in the back, seated between Hiro and Fred, where he couldn't even distract himself by looking out the window. He fiddled with the edge of his red scarf, which both Honey and Hiro had insisted he wear, even though he didn't think it was cold outside.

In fact, he hadn't felt so much as a chill in a while, long enough to start to worry about it. The first couple of days after he had returned had been plagued with near-constant frigidity, but suddenly, every trace was gone. He noted that he didn't feel particularly warm either.

Tadashi focused on these thoughts to try and ignore the growing anxiety about the upcoming visit, but his mind inevitably strayed back to it. Running his scarf along the palm of his hand, Tadashi tried to picture the professor he had known hurting someone. He tried to see him in his mind's eye deliberately harming someone for the sake of— of revenge. The image simply didn't compute.

Sure, he had seen the professor –no, not professor...not anymore- angry before, but it had always been a cold, disappointed anger. Hands tucked in his pockets, Callaghan had always been one to use words –biting words that left shame stuck to your throat, bound to your lungs, wrapped around your heart, because you knew they were true- to express his ire. But physically attacking someone? Never.

Though technically, he had used mental attacks, which had caused something else to physically attack, which was closer to being a mob boss... Tadashi shook his head, earning a concerned look from Hiro, but nothing more. He wished he could turn his brain off, at least until he was standing in front of Callaghan and it was too late to try to back out.

Not that Hiro would let him get out of it. He had quickly latched onto the idea, seeing it as a way to get back at Callaghan, if only a little. The extent that Hiro seemed to hate Dr. Callaghan worried Tadashi, and he wondered if Hiro's presence would make the reunion worse for both parties.

Tadashi hadn't exactly thought this one through. He decided that he would probably have just avoided Callaghan for the rest of his life if he had taken the time to think about it. Now that he was already on the way, there wasn't much he could do, especially since he wasn't sure he wanted to back out when he was almost there.

Looking out the window, Tadashi felt his gut clench and his lungs tighten as he noticed they were pulling to a stop in front of an unassuming two-story house. Driving by, he wouldn't have been able to pick it out of the rows of others; though it was obviously well kept, nothing seemed to indicate that there was anything special about it or its occupants.

The doors of the van opened, and the group began to file out. Tadashi paused in the doorway, nearly losing his nerve, but Hiro nudged him from behind, and he climbed out onto the sidewalk. He didn't go much farther, though.

"You okay?"

Tadashi turned to Wasabi and saw that, yes, he was addressing him. He glanced towards Hiro's back, since he had gone ahead towards the door before looking back to his friend.

"Please don't make me answer that."

Wasabi dropped the subject, though not before sending a worried look his way, and the two went to join the group as they neared the door. Tadashi felt a growing need to hide behind someone.

Hiro reached out, and was about to ring the doorbell when the door abruptly opened.

Dr. Callaghan had clearly been on his way out; a winter coat was draped over his shoulders, gloves covered his hands, and he was in the process of putting a slip of paper into one of his coat pockets.

Looking up, he noticed Hiro, and gave an involuntary sigh of exasperation. Tadashi, who had hidden himself behind Wasabi, had to wonder what could have caused such an automatic response.

"Hey, gramps, had any psychotic episodes lately?"

Tadashi felt his jaw drop in shock. Hiro!

Callaghan chose not to respond to the question, attempting to move past Hiro, who was effectively blocking the doorway.

"If you'll allow me to pass, I was just leaving. I'm sure you lot are here to see Abigail."

Hiro stepped directly in his path again, with an impish grin on his face. "Actually, we're here on a routine check-up. Have you been feeling any sudden urges to murder someone recently?"

Tadashi looked on, appalled. Hiro never acted like this; was he trying to rile him up?

...Probably.

Tadashi wondered if he should have come on his own, or maybe not at all. Looking at the other members of the group, they didn't seem too surprised, though Honey Lemon looked a little worried.

Callaghan didn't become as angry as Tadashi would have expected, though it was clear he was getting annoyed. Maybe Hiro should just get out of the way; they could come back another time.

Callaghan didn't raise his voice, but the tone with which he spoke gave it a sharp edge. "You really need to let that go. It was five years ago. Stop bothering me, and get over it."

"What, like you did, along with everyone else around here? I wonder what Tadashi would think of that..." Hiro paused, as if pondering the answer to his own question. "I know! Why don't we just ask him?"

Hiro turned to the group, spotting Tadashi from where he was still standing behind Wasabi. Tadashi froze.

Was Tadashi supposed to respond? Walk over? What?

Hiro, unfazed, walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him forward until he was in front of Callaghan. Tadashi immediately fixed his eyes on the ground, and Hiro kept a hand on his shoulder, presumably for comfort.

Why are you doing this, Hiro?

"What are you doing, Hiro?" Callaghan seemed to be of the same mindset.

"Aw, you don't recognize him? Hmmm..." Hiro paused, and Tadashi nearly looked up to see what he was up to, but kept his eyes glued to the sidewalk. "Anyone have a baseball cap?"

Callaghan wasn't impressed.

"Your antics are getting out of hand; don't bring a child into this. You can't honestly expect me to believe-"

Tadashi thought fast. He needed something only he and Callaghan would really know about, something he wouldn't likely have told Hiro...

Glancing up, Tadashi made eye contact with Callaghan and started to recite the first thing that popped into his head.

"The day Abigail... disappeared, Baymax shut down the power to the lab... for the third time. It took a while to bring the power back." At this, he looked down, unable to hold eye contact. "You wanted to know why I didn't use a battery in the first place, instead of plugging it into the wall. You said you thought I was smarter than that."

Callaghan looked at the five year old. He was still skeptical, but he appeared to be considering something.

"I... vaguely remember something like that. But how could you know-"

"Maybe because he's my brother, who you let die." Hiro clearly had a plan for this conversation, and Tadashi didn't think he wanted it to play out.

"Do you really think I could have seen him after I shielded myself? Or heard him, over the flames? He shouldn't have come running after me in the first place! It is incredibly stupid to run into a burning building without protection."

"I don't remember you complaining when I did something similar to save your daughter."

Tadashi wanted to leave. He would have gone back to the van, but Hiro's hand was tight on his shoulder, and he wouldn't have been able to leave unnoticed.

"That-"

"Is something going on?" A female voice came from inside the house. Callaghan fell silent, softening his expression as he turned to his daughter, Abigail.

"I was just heading to the store when I ran into your friends. We were just having a little chat."

"Well, how about you continue it inside? Standing there with the door open is letting all of the warm air out; I could feel a draft in the living room. Besides, I'm sure they're freezing."

Hiro made the universal 'after you' gesture, which Callaghan pointedly ignored as they all entered the house after Abigail. As they each shed their respective coat, Abigail started to chat animatedly with Honey Lemon about her return from England. The last time they had interacted had been through video chat when Abigail and Gogo had last gotten together, and they had quite a bit to catch up on.

Tadashi tuned out the conversation about long flights and stolen luggage, and focused on not bringing the attention back to him. He managed to get his coat buttons undone on his own, which he was glad for; he really didn't want to have to ask for help. He passed his coat and scarf to Hiro, since he couldn't quite reach the coat rack, before looking around. He'd never been in the Callaghans' house before, and he didn't know what to expect.

It was tidy, with rugs covering the hardwood floor and bookshelves lining the walls of the front room. A handful of couches and armchairs surrounded a coffee table that had a couple of sizeable books stacked haphazardly on it, the titles of which Tadashi couldn't make out from where he stood. The coloring was warm, unlike the lab or the classroom, and the room had something inviting about it, with a fireplace crackling merrily in the corner.

The group filed into the room, and Tadashi took a seat at the arm of the couch closest to the fire, enjoying the warmth that he had been missing for the past few days.

"So, who's this little guy?" Abigail gestured at Tadashi, wondering why her friends would have brought a child with them.

"My name's Tadashi." He wasn't about to let someone else answer for him. It had been happening too often lately, and it was starting to grate on his nerves. "Tadashi Hamada. I'm Hiro's brother."

It was bad enough that someone had mistaken him for Honey's kid; he really didn't want a repeat of that occurrence when Hiro was involved... or ever.

"Oh, I didn't know Hiro had a little bro- wait, 'Tadashi'?" Abigail turned to Hiro, "I thought your older brother was named Tadashi."

"He is."

"But-" Abigail looked bewildered, looking between the brothers before turning to her dad for possible clarification. "Okay, I'm officially lost."

"Yes, Hiro. Do explain." Dr. Callaghan settled back into his seat, waiting for a proper explanation rather than the sparse mentions that he had been given before.

"Actually, I think I'll let Tadashi tell you. It's his story, after all."

Tadashi slightly recoiled when all eyes turned towards him.

I take it back. Hiro can answer for me all he wants, he likes being the center of attention.

He didn't even know where to start.

With the fire? Sure, if he wanted to start another argument on morality.

With his abilities? He was still coming to terms with those himself; it had only been a day since he had become aware of some of them. He wasn't even sure he wanted them to know about those. It would also lead back to the fire, though in all honesty, that couldn't be avoided.

Taking a steadying breath, and hoping that Abigail's presence would prevent any outbursts, Tadashi focused on Wasabi, trying to pretend that he would only be speaking to him. He was the least likely to distract him or try to prompt him to say something before he was ready.

"So, I've already introduced myself as Tadashi, and yes, I am the 'older brother'. I was in the middle of my junior year at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, when Hiro entered the student showcase and got accepted to the university."

Okay, now is where I have to make sure not to step on any toes.

"A fire started in the exhibition hall, and I was made aware that Dr. Callaghan was still inside. I ran inside, but... I don't remember seeing him. I don't remember seeing much of anything. It's... kind of fuzzy. I do remember thinking that I should have been in pain when one of the exhibits that had caught fire collapsed and fell against my leg... but other than that... nothing. It's dark."

Now, how to explain returning...

"I 'returned to consciousness' as a child. Well, I was apparently pulled from the building as an infant, but I can't remember that far back, memories don't work like that."

Of course they don't, everyone knows that.

"Um, no one could identify who might have left me behind, so I was placed in an orphanage until someone claimed me or I would be put up for adoption. I grew up relatively normally, at least until I started to remember. My old memories started resurfacing a week or so ago in flashes, and I would have days where I wasn't entirely sure where I was, since both sets of memories were vying for my attention.

"There were days where I would go to walk through a door and I would reach for a door handle, only to find that it was much higher than I expected it to be. I tried doing things that I couldn't physically do yet, and no one would answer my questions about people that I shouldn't have known the names of. I think they were beginning to think I might be crazy, though it wasn't too unusual for a kid to make up imaginary friends or a family.

"When I remembered how to spell words, I used one of the computers they reserve for the older kids to look up what I could remember and see how much of it was real. It was easy to find an article on the fire I had been pulled from, and the name I kept trying to refer to myself as matched. The memories fit after that, though I still didn't know why."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt, but it is a totally relevant question that I don't think will be answered on its own." Fred drew Tadashi's attention, and he wondered just how relevant the question actually was. "What was your name? Like, what did they call you before you remembered?"

Okay, so it was slightly relevant.

"They didn't know if or when I might be picked up, so they just called me Maigo, meaning 'lost child'." Tadashi shrugged. "It worked. Although, any time I introduced myself in Japanese, someone would try to give me directions."

This got a couple of laughs from the group, and Tadashi decided to continue his story so he could get to the part where he could pass it off to Hiro and stop talking.

"I remembered the Lucky Cat Café, though I looked up how to get there so I wouldn't actually get lost. I managed to get my coat and scarf on, and I left when no one was looking. No one would have noticed I was gone; it was a big place, and no one expects a kid to actually go anywhere.

"It had been raining pretty hard, so almost no one was outside, even though it had lightened a bit. It took me a while to get to the café, longer than I was expecting. I made it a little bit after the sun had set."

At this, Tadashi turned to Hiro, clearly indicating that he wanted him to take it from there.

"Okay, so this little kid," Hiro pointed at Tadashi, who chucked a throw pillow at him in response, "-hey! I'm just telling how I saw it. Anyway, he shows up at the café, completely drenched, dripping water everywhere, and I see no adults in sight. Naturally, I'm a little concerned. I went to check on him, and I almost had a heart attack when I realized who he was. He told me... basically what he just told you.

"I took him up to Baymax, who confirmed that it was actually Tadashi, and not some strange mutual insanity. I mean, I believed him, but it was nice to be absolutely certain." Hiro looked at Callaghan with an expression that clearly stated 'I told you so.' "Oh! That reminds me. Fred, have you set up anything for Tadashi's paper work?"

"Yup! Got you covered. I told the lawyer what was up, and he'll handle it from there."

Tadashi wished he had been there to witness that conversation.

"Awesome."

"So, wait." Abigail still looked confused. "That's nice and all, and I'm glad for you, but... what happened? People don't just turn into babies when they go into burning buildings."

Fred spoke up before anyone else could, clearly having anticipated the question. "I'm afraid that's confidential information."

Wow, good job, Fred... wait did she just buy that?

Abigail simply nodded, though Tadashi supposed that working for a large, somewhat secretive organization taught her to respect that some of her questions might not get answered.

"Well, anyone want to congregate in the kitchen for some hot chocolate?"

Fred was out of his seat in an instant, almost beating Abigail to the door, and was closely followed by Gogo, Wasabi, and Honey Lemon.

Abigail turned when she noticed her dad had remained behind.

"Do you want me to bring you anything, dad?"

"No, thank you, sweetie. I'll just wait in here, where it's quiet."

Hiro asked Tadashi if he wanted to join them, but he declined. Glancing at the still-seated Callaghan, Hiro decided that they would be close enough to hear if Tadashi shouted, and if he left the door open, he could see most of the room.

Tadashi hadn't told Hiro, but he'd much rather stay by the fire. He wondered if he had the strength to move the couch closer, but quickly scrapped the idea. He chose instead to stand and lean against the brick that outlined the fireplace. The warmth and the appearance of the dancing flames comforted him.

He listened to the noises that filtered in from the kitchen: Fred's fast-paced speaking; Honey Lemon's laughter; the sound of something breaking. He was slightly worried after the last one, but upon hearing no sounds other than a slight scolding, decided it wasn't worth leaving the fireside to check on them.

"For someone who died in a fire, you seem remarkably comfortable around it."

Tadashi jumped at Callaghan's voice; he had almost forgotten he was in the room.

"Oh, um- it's just warm, so..." Tadashi shrugged. "It can't hurt me from here, so why would I be afraid?"

Callaghan merely chuckled, moving to the couch Tadashi had just vacated so that he wouldn't have to speak across the room to him. He fell silent for a bit, before continuing.

"I'm sure you have questions." Callaghan looked over to Tadashi, as if trying to gauge how much he already knew.

"Hiro answered a lot of them, actually. I just... wanted to hear it from you. Why-" Tadashi couldn't finish the question, and couldn't look Callaghan in the eye.

Callaghan sighed, but was on guard. "Did Hiro put you up to this?"

"No! I asked him to bring me here, though he was glad to do it."

"Of course he was, Hiro won't be happy until I'm imprisoned for life or he succeeds in driving me insane." Callaghan was clearly agitated, and Tadashi was stuck between defending his brother against something that was at least partially true and letting it go to keep Callaghan from getting angrier.

"It's not without cause." Tadashi struggled with finding the right words, but his mind wouldn't let him ignore the one phrase that echoed through it. "It's just... you aren't who I thought you were."

Callaghan scoffed slightly at the clichéd phrasing.

"You always did believe the best of people, even to your own detriment. I almost envy that naïveté. It's a gift, of sorts." He sighed, and continued when Tadashi didn't speak up.

"People react in ways you wouldn't expect of them normally when those they care about are harmed... or in danger." At this Callaghan looked pointedly at Tadashi. "You can't honestly say you've never felt like that, when it came to your own brother's safety; you told me so yourself."

Callaghan stood up, moving so that he stood directly in front of Tadashi, looking down at him. Tadashi suddenly felt like he was on the defensive, and it was starting to make him anxious.

"But I didn't act on it. Whatever state of mind you were in, you endangered so many people, needlessly."

"Did I? Apart from property damage, what harm did I really do? You're standing here. Where are the casualties?"

"That's because Hiro stopped you! You tried to kill him!"

"Would you be this upset if your brother hadn't been involved?"

"Y-"

"And what of Krei?"

"Wha-"

"What of your friends? They were all there, as well. And yet, you fixate on your family. Everyone else is secondary in comparison."

"That's not-"

"The same? Really?"

Tadashi felt his temper flaring. This wasn't about him, it was about Callaghan, and he couldn't even get a word in edgewise.

"Did Hiro tell you he tried to kill me?" Callaghan took in the lack of shock from Tadashi as an affirmative. "For vengeance, to avenge a family member, he attempted to take a life. But he was forcibly stopped. Tell me, have you forgiven him?"

"Of course, he knew it was wrong-"

"Really? Or did he just think you wouldn't like it?"

"Stop it." The fireplace crackled as a log broke, sending sparks into the air.

"Stop what? Telling you the truth? Would you like me to lie to you?"

Tadashi decided he'd heard enough of this, and attempted to move past Callaghan into the kitchen to join his friends, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Let go!"

And Callaghan did, quickly, and with a cry of pain.

Tadashi thought he felt his heart stop when he turned and saw Callaghan cradling the hand that had just been on his shoulder. The palm was bright red and was starting to swell. It looked... burned. Tadashi panicked.

Hiro, who had heard Tadashi's shout, arrived just in time to see Tadashi sprint for the door, and only spared a quick glare at the injured Callaghan as he ran after him.

His longer legs allowed him to catch up quickly, but Tadashi noticed he was following and stopped before he tried to grab him. Turning around, he gave the universal hand signal for 'stop,' though he kept his arm close to his body.

"Don't touch me!"

"Tadashi?" Hiro tried to approach him, but he continued to back away. "What's wrong? What did he do?"

Tadashi shook his head, and was clearly shaking, though not from the cold.

"He didn't— I—I burned him, Hiro. I didn't mean to, but..."

Hiro relaxed slightly; he had been scared that Callaghan had hurt him, somehow. "He had it coming, come on."

Hiro reached to put an arm around Tadashi, but Tadashi sharply recoiled, attempting to avoid contact.

"Didn't you hear me? I didn't mean to." Tadashi was clearly on the verge of something akin to a panic attack. "I could hurt you, too."

"You won't." Before he could react, Hiro bent down and swept him into a hug.

Tadashi tensed at the contact —why didn't Hiro ever listen to him— but allowed himself to relax when no harm came to Hiro, and returned the hug.

"See?"

"You bonehead, that was stupidly dangerous."

"We'll just add it to the list then: The Stupid Adventures of Bonehead and the Nerd!"

Tadashi giggled into the crook of Hiro's shoulder, before they separated from their hug. A look of realization came over Tadashi's face.

"I gotta go heal him!" He was stopped, however when Hiro took a hold of his arm.

"Haha, no."

Tadashi started to protest, but Hiro spoke over him.

"First off, he totally deserved that and more. Secondly, you would have to cry to get it to work, and just... no. Finally, you don't even know what effects your tears have on other people. For all you know, you could turn him into a frog."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Maybe, you don't know."

"It didn't affect Gogo, when she got them on her hand."

"But she wasn't injured, now was she?"

"Hiro."

"Dashi."

"Really?"

"He'll be fine. He can just go to a doctor, like any other person. Besides, it serves him right for laying a hand on my brother." At this, Hiro scooped Tadashi up into his arms, effectively preventing him from trying to return to the house.

The rest of the group made their way out the door, Honey Lemon trading hugs with Abigail in farewell.

"Welp, looks like it's time to go. How sad. I guess I have to put my teddy bear down now."

"Stop calling me that."

"Stop calling you what?" Fred had reached them, having been one of the first to walk out the door.

Don't tell him-

"Teddy bear."

Dang it, Hiro.

Fred looked pensive for a moment, before a wide grin spread across his face.

Oh, no.

The others reached them, completing their group of six, and Fred raised his hand the way you would when you had the answer to an easy question in middle school.

"I have a very important announcement to make!"

"Do you need to use the bathroom?"

"Quiet, Gogo, this is serious." Fred cleared his throat before continuing.

"I have officially picked a nickname for Tadashi!" Wonderful. "He shall forthwith and forevermore be known as... Teddy!"

Gogo let out a short bark of a laugh, whereas Honey commented on how adorable it was.

"...and I get no say in this, do I?"

"Nope!" Wasabi looked a bit too pleased at this; Tadashi needed to bring him down a peg.

"Could be worse. I could be named something like 'Wasabi'."

"Hey!"

The group laughed and began to pile in the van. Hiro climbed in while still holding Tadashi and set him down in the backseat.

Wasabi turned to Tadashi as he was buckling in, meaning to allay any worries that might be still on his mind.

"Hey, don't worry about what happened back there. At worst it was a first-degree, nothing worse than moderate sunburn. I think you shocked him more than anything."

Honey Lemon spoke up from the front seat. "I gave Abigail the quick run-down of what was going on, and let her know you probably didn't mean to do it, since it surprised you as much as Callaghan. Don't be afraid of talking to her again, she isn't angry, honest."

"Yeah, she was more curious as to what made you feel threatened. Callaghan had to do some quick talking." Gogo was clearly amused by this.

"Do you want to tell us what was going on?" Wasabi always asked in such a way as to not make you feel pressured to answer.

"Not really." Tadashi leaned against Hiro, using him as a pillow, firmly intending to sleep for the rest of the trip. For some reason, he was suddenly exhausted.

"Cheer up, Teddy. You never have to go back there again. 'The Hero has attained closure after a final confrontation with the dastardly Villain'."

"Really, Fred?" Hiro had started at what he had thought was his name, only to realize Fred was being dramatic.

Tadashi let a grin slip onto his face, and was quickly lulled to sleep by the steady movement of the car.

**A.N.: Well, that's Callaghan taken care of (for now), that means Tadashi and Hiro should get a break, right? ...lol that's cute.**