Fletcher crouched in the stairwell, peeking into the hall. He had come down the stairs when he felt his father left the lab. He watched him now, the way he straightened his cloak as he swept toward the door ? someone was here. Fletcher couldn't tell who, not from this distance, but it felt like family. He stayed hidden as his father opened one of the tall double doors.

One hovered on the porch, causing Fletcher's head to tilt. Where were Wall.E and Willow? His father bowed, speaking softly, and One responded in the same low tone. What were they saying? Fletcher ducked back further, dampening his signature as she came inside and his father closed the door, leading her toward the den. They were quiet, and One felt... somber. Fletcher drifted out of his hiding place as they passed him, following a good distance behind.

They kept going past the living room. Fletcher ducked behind a sofa and watched them turn down the hall toward the bedrooms. They stopped in front of the closed doors to his parents' room ? they were speaking again, still too soft for Fletcher to pick up, still solemn. Before long, his father opened the door and nodded to One, who hovered inside. He closed the door behind her. Fletcher watched his father hover in place for a moment, staring at the door knob. To Fletcher, his emotions were inscrutable, and it was quite some time before he turned to make his way back toward the lab.

Out of range... out of comprehension. The little bot came out from behind the couch and snuck toward the door. Quinn was doing something to block the electrical emissions on the other side of the wall, so Fletcher pressed his head to it. They were speaking inside... it was still too quiet. Signal jammed, too quiet. He could be quiet... the seams at the end of Fletcher's arm glowed, and his palm and fingers separated. He laid his hand on the knob as lightly as possible, applying a slow pressure ? a set of talons encompassed his shoulder before he could pry it open.

Fletcher stifled a gasp and yanked his hand away from the knob, whipping his head around to stare, eyeforms wide, into his father's stern gaze. What now? The towering robot let go of Fletcher's shoulder and offered his hand. Fletcher took it ? he wasn't dumb enough not to ? and let his father take him away from the silent doors, past all the rest of the bedrooms. They kept going right through to the library, where he finally sat in one of arm chairs by the hearth, patting his lap. Fletcher sat obligingly.

Muffled light spread through the windows here, the late afternoon of an overcast day making the spines of the books seem less saturated than usual. Even the light was quiet.

His father let out a low sigh while Fletcher made himself comfortable, sitting sideways across his lap to lean back against the armrest. "Now, Fletcher, I told you that your mother was not to be disturbed."

The little probe stared at the upholstery. "...I only saw Mom at breakfast yesterday, and now she needs to be alone... is she okay?"

A swirl of emotions came off Fletcher's father. It jostled and twinged, confusing and uncomfortable, far more complex than the kinds of things Fletcher had been learning to read. When he felt like this, he usually left the conversation or went to focus on his work. Fletcher had never been the one to cause these feelings before, and he looked up to apologize ? but the optics that met him held sadness. His father didn't try to leave or change the subject, but sank a little, almost curling into the chair. His hand covered Fletcher's back, and something more soothing came through the contact, still a feeling he couldn't name, but it made Fletcher relax.

"Mom is dealing with something very difficult right now, my dear. She needs time," his father said softly.

Softly. Quietly. Frustration suffused Fletcher's wires and he leaned against his father, pressing the side of his head into his chest. "But why? What happened, and why is everybody sad? Why didn't I notice it?"

"It happened a long time ago, dear."

"Then why is it such a big deal? Why isn't it all better now?"

"Fletcher, when people are hurt, you must be sensitive," a note of seriousness came back into his father's voice.

"But if she's hurt, she needs us!"

"Fletcher ? "

"What can Aunt One do that we can't? Why does she get to see Mom, she doesn't know how she feels like we do!"

"Fletcher!" the edge in his voice made the fledgling bite his tongue. "Calm down, darling. Aunt One may not have the same sensors we do, but that's not what your mother needs. There are some times when the people you love can't help you, no matter how close you are. Some pain can only be helped by people who are dealing with the same problem."

Fletcher tried to stay calm, but couldn't keep the hint of bitterness from his speakers. "What has Aunt One gone through with Mom that we haven't?"

"One is your mother's sister, and she's known her for years longer than either of us have. Just because we're family doesn't mean we know everything there is to know about one another. There are things I don't know about you, aren't there?" his father offered as an example.

"Nothing that I would lock myself in my room because of," Fletcher muttered, looking down again.

Another complicated wave of emissions came from his father. Why didn't Fletcher practice harder to learn what they meant? There were so many things he didn't understand, and maybe they were the sorts of things he wasn't supposed to know until he was older, but that somehow made it even worse. His mother was in pain and nobody was giving him a chance to help, it wasn't fair, it wasn't ?

"She misses her sisters."

Fletcher blinked. "...Oh."

He didn't know anything about his other aunts. It had always been a subject that Was Not Spoken Of, something he'd seen people avoid time and time again. The only things he learned about them were on the days when their family went to the lake to release lanterns over the water in honor of the people they'd lost.

"It... hurts her?" his voice shrank.

His father was still for a moment before nodding. "As you go through life, one way or another, you will have to face heartbreak. I would give anything to protect you from that, but that would mean I was protecting you from loving the people around you. It's a terrible, essential part of being a family ? losing people you love will always break your heart, and you can't really fix it. All you can do is lean on the people around you and trust that time will take its course. You and I do help your mother, Fletcher, really. You don't need to feel frustrated or powerless. You cheer her up in ways that nobody else can, but sometimes... she needs her sister."

Fletcher nodded slowly, twisting his fingers into his father's cloak. "Then she'll be better after she talks to Aunt One?"

"...She might need more time than that, my dear. She could wake up tomorrow feeling like herself, or she may have to take a few more days, but I promise Mom will be back to doing all the things you like to do together in her own time. These spells don't last forever."

"I've never noticed her like this before, though."

His father rubbed his back. "She doesn't want you to worry. We both love you so much, Fletcher. You have every ounce of your mother's kindness in you, and I know that makes this harder to bear, but everything is going to be just fine. I promise."

"...Okay."

"Chin up, my boy. You can rest assured that Aunt One is taking care of her, and in the meantime ? I know Darwin is out of town, but we could play video games together in the theater. Or... or we could set up a pillow fort in the planetarium, camp out there for the night?"

Fletcher thought for a while, looking out the window at the twilit gardens. "Do you think it would be okay if we picked some flowers for Mom first?"

His father let out a quiet laugh, holding Fletcher's head to his chest. A helpless warmth flooded his sensors as the Energy Vampire spoke, "I think that would be just fine."