Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Twenty Six: It is okay to cry.

"Over here," Tadashi called from across the hall where he held another door open to his lab. With the fiasco of introducing his friends to his kid brother, he obviously wanted to put as much distance between himself and the mess as was possible.

Almost absently, Hiro followed his brother into the familiar lab space, wondering how long the argument between the others about being super heroes would go on. Probably indefinitely. At least Fred was on his side. "Guess being a superhero isn't your thing," he sighed. Tadashi hadn't been around when the Big Heroes had been formed so it wasn't all that surprising. But he wished his brother had been more supporting when he'd presented the idea only moments earlier.

"Not really," Tadashi confirmed. "But I'll show you what is." He turned to his tool box, reminding Hiro of how he'd used duct tape to demonstrate the healthcare robot the first time around. He'd taken a piece of tape and stuck it to his brother's arm, before pulling it off like a bandage.

There was no way that was happening again, Hiro decided, and rushed forward. In his haste, he almost tripped over a stool that stood in the way. "Ow." And it really did hurt, making his stitches pull once more.

Tadashi turned at the sound, duct tape in hand. At the same moment, Baymax's case beeped, indicating the start of his activation process. He stopped halfway to Hiro as Baymax stepped free of his case and waddled forward, waiting to see what would happen. He had to resist the urge to make sure his brother was alright, knowing Baymax would tell him soon enough.

"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion," the robot announced with a small circular wave. "I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said 'ow'." Then his vinyl belly lit up with a projection of ten faces depicting the different levels of pain. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

Unexpectedly, that question made Hiro think back to the nurse at the hospital and his response to her question. Physical or emotional? They'd never gotten around to the emotional part. The nurse had been more worried about the physical. Hiro felt his throat constrict just a bit as he tried to fight down the sudden need to cry.

"I will scan you now," Baymax announced, despite not getting an answer to his question. "Scan complete."

Hiro looked up at that, having slipped back into dark memories. They were still very much there, just below the surface. A long line of successive failures. And, technically, casually convincing his not-yet friends to become superheroes counted as yet another one. A stray tear leaked from his eyes.

"You appear to have recently had your appendix removed," Baymax observed. "While you seem to be healing well inside, your incision has been stretched and should be checked for stress. I also detect a fluctuation in hormone and neurotransmitter levels. This indicates you are distressed."

He gave a valiant effort, but it didn't work. The tears leaked out of Hiro's eyes and a half hiccup/half sob escaped his throat as he stood helplessly staring at the soft white belly of the one constant in his life. Then he felt warm vinyl arms wrapping around him in a hug. He didn't even remember seeing the healthcare bot move.

"It is okay to cry. Crying is a natural response to pain," the robot said in a gentle tone, inviting Hiro to just let it all out. "It will be alright. There. There."

And Hiro did. The tears coursed down his cheeks, smudged by the soft body of the marshmallow robot. He hugged him back, skinny arms only partially wrapping around the massive belly, despite them sitting closer to the robot's armpits.

Tadashi hesitantly walked over, his expression filled with concern. "Hey, what's going on? You okay? Hiro?"

But Tadashi's concern only made the tears flow more freely. Oh man was that embarrassing! But he couldn't make them stop. It had been a long time since he'd last let himself cry like this and he really, really needed it. And he knew that, somehow, Baymax understood that. Unfortunately, Tadashi didn't.