We stepped off the bus. Ralph had been on edge the entire journey, so I tried my best to reassure him. "It's just a short walk from here" I took his hand, to make him start moving. I may live in an area not many know of, but that doesn't mean it's a bad place. Every one here does take care of our little neighborhood, even though the houses aren't touching, or sharing fences. It's a nice, beautiful, open area.
I could feel the android tense, holding my hand tighter, as we walked past houses where people were outside. Repairing stuff, tending their gardens, children playing. They're all human, aside from their android assistants, of course. They glanced up from their work to see who was passing, but returned to their tasks when they noticed me. A familiar face.
I turned, and walked up to my house, taking out my keys in the process. I braced myself for Tai to jump at me when I opened the door, but she didn't appear. I moved out of the way to let Ralph step inside, and closed the door behind us. "Feel free to look around. I need to find Tai" I said, putting my bag onto the floor.
I started calling for my dog, and found her laying by the sliding door in the dining room. "Oh, my sweet angel. Here you go" I opened the door, and she ran outside to do her business. I honestly didn't expect her to hold herself for that long, but it seems she did.
I walked over to the kitchen, and looked around for something to eat. I didn't feel like cooking anything just yet. After that, I went over to the living room, which is connected to the dining room. Finding the android there, inspecting the new place. I saw that the scar had started leaking again, and walked up to him. "If you want to, I could try and repair your damage. I know what to do, since I work with repairing androids" I offered, grabbing his attention, brushing my fingers lightly against the scar, which caused him to flinch. I wanted to design and produce androids, but I never made it further than this. I rubbed the thirium in my fingers. "Not sure how much I can do, but it'll stop the bleeding" I added, waiting for an answer. "Yes... Ralph would like that" he answered, with a small smile. "Then wait right here" I said, and went over to the small storage under the staircase to the second floor. There I have a bunch of spare parts for different models. Originally kept for my studies, but now I repair the androids here in the neighborhood from time to time, so I always keep stocking up on them.
Now, let's see. I read the different labels on the boxes, to find the correct parts. And a couple bags of thirium as well. I'm honestly surprised that he's survived this long without bleeding out. Unless he's got his hands on thirium while he was hiding. I returned to him with the parts, along with a couple rags. One dampened, and one dry. I asked him to sit down on the couch, which he did. I looked under the couch, and reached for a small tool box. "I'm going to need you in idle, or sleep mode. Could you do that for me?" I asked, as I took the correct tools for the job, and put them down on the coffee table. He nodded, and closed his eyes, staying completely still.
I took the dampened rag, and wiped it over the scars to clean the thirium, and dirt away. So I can see what I'm doing. I took a small hook to carefully lift, and move the undamaged blood vessels away. The ones that are damaged, have very small cuts. Some have melted as well, which is the reason he keeps bleeding. But very slowly. Androids don't exactly heal like humans do. They can heal their skin. But any internal damage need to be repaired. I grabbed a few of the vessels from the table, and changed the damaged ones with the new as quickly as possible. To avoid more blood loss. After that, I checked with the hooks again, and put the moved vessels back where they were, before moving to the next scar, and doing the same. Filling the scars with a sheet of latex, using a bit of liquid latex to glue it in place. To avoid any debris finding its way into the scars and damaging the android any further.
When I had finished my work, I took the dampened rag, wiping off all the dirt across his face, and dried the scars by dabbing the dry rag against them. I took his hands, and inspected them. Nothing that I can repair at the moment. And it's nothing life-threatening since it's just a skin error. But I took the moment to clean them instead. I packed up, putting the extra parts back into the storage, and throwing away the damaged ones. I went back to the living room, and sat down on the coffee table, in front of the gardener.
I stretched my hand out to his LED, pressing my finger lightly against it. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "I did what I could. Replacing the thirium vessels that were damaged. I also covered the scars to avoid further damage" I said, as he started waking up properly. "It will at least stop the bleeding" I added, grabbing one of the thirium bags beside me. "Here" I handed the bag to him, and he hesitantly took it from me. Throwing his head back, drinking the entire bag in one go. I gave him a small smile, and took the empty bag from him.
Tai whined, and I looked to the side to see her laying flat on the floor. "C'mon girl" I clapped my hands, and she walked closer to me. Putting her front paws on my legs, to let me pet her long fur. "I know I haven't been home since yesterday morning. You must have been worried for me, haven't you?" I talked to her, while scratching her neck. I pushed her back to the floor, and stood up. I noticed Ralph very hesitant to pet her. I turned Tai around, and told her to sit down, while I sat down next to the android. "Ralph would like to pet her" he stated. I already figured. "Just put your hand up to her so she can sniff it first" I answered, guiding him by doing the gesture myself. The LED changed colors between red and yellow at a steady rate. Tai sniffed his hand a few times, before licking it. "Look at that. She seems to like you" I commented, and turned my attention back to Ralph, who was smiling with his eyes closed. The LED turning blue, and not going back. I couldn't help but smile myself, seeing him at peace.
I got back up when my phone rang in my pocket. I went over to the dining table before answering it. "Hello?" I answered. "I'm looking for (Y/N) Manfred" an android answered. "Yeah, that's me. How can I help you?" I asked. The android told me about how my grandfather had been bed-bound at home, and wanted to speak with me. "Of course, I..." I looked back to Ralph, who was still playing with Tai. "I'll be there as soon as I can" I hung up the phone.
I started walking to the front door. "Ralph? I just got a call from my grandpa's caretaker. He wanted me to see him as soon as I could, so I'll have to leave you with Tai for a while" I called. As I was throwing my coat over my shoulders, I noticed him creep up from behind the corner. "(Y/N) won't leave Ralph, right? She'll come back?" he asked, a bit shakily. "I'll be back in the evening. I promise. Just stay in the house, and you'll be safe, alright?" I tried to reassure him. "And don't answer the door to anyone" I added. He nodded, holding his damaged arm. I opened the door and stepped outside, saying goodbye before closing and locking it behind me.
