[SYNOPSIS: In a halfhearted attempt to be a less crappy parent, NotOrange meets up with Mother and her children at the playground for some hands-on learning. Mini Orange insists on bringing his favorite toy with them. Fair enough...What's the worst that could happen?]

[LOCATION: NotOrange's home & the local playground]

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"I swear dude, there is NO WAY the police just decided to let that case go cold for no good reason. Whoever set up that creepy motel must've given them one heck of a bribe!"

"Goes to show you can't trust anyone to solve your problems. Not even the people you pay taxes for in order to do it..." NotOrange said to Blue over the phone. "You find anything with your own investigation yet?"

"Ugh, no. Since we didn't even know where the area was, I couldn't really find any signals coming from anywhere suspicious. But I do have an idea: if I bring a drone the next time we go across the pond, we could go to the spot we came out at and I could get a bird's-eye view of the area to see if I spot anything suspicious. I'm not gonna let that trapping weirdo go undiscovered so easily!"

"Well, I can't say I'm not still a bit curious myself...I hate to cut this short, but I should probably get off. I'm supposed to meet Mother at the playground today, and I'd like to get at least two cups of coffee into my system before that nightmare starts."

"Finally decided to step up and be a better dad?"

"ONLY for the sake of my skin," the orange crewmate insisted. "I can't take another shot of...WHATEVER acidic concoction he keeps in that spray bottle."

"Well you're still killing two birds with one stone in that case, I guess," Blue shrugged. "Guess it does sound like a busy day, though. Talk to you later, man."

"Later."

Click...

The moment the call ended, the orange crewmate flopped back into his chair and let out an exasperated sigh. He didn't really want to go anywhere today, but he made a promise to Mother and he figured he'd use the excuse to get some fresh air...That, plus the fact he didn't want her two little psychopaths to come after him for cancelling what was meant to be their playdate with Mini Orange.

Speaking of whom, he turned his head to look at the mini crewmate in question; Mini Orange had already scarfed down his eggs and was now slurping away at his Gogurt...a little too loudly for his liking.

"Slow down," the bigger crewmate said to him curtly. "You'll give yourself indigestion."

Mini Orange stopped, nodded, then went back to eating, just a bit more slowly and quietly than before...NotOrange rolled his eyes and sighed, taking a swig of his coffee as he wondered how on earth he'd gotten stuck with this kid.

"Did you eat Gogurt when you were still a kid?"

"Whuh-?"

Mini Orange's question pulled him out of his own head and back into the dining room.

"Or were they not around yet?" the smaller crewmate continued. "Like how you said there was no Nintendo Switch yet back then, so instead you used a Wii?"

"Oh. Uh, no, they were around," NotOrange shrugged. "...There was this commercial for them where a kid got turned into a paper airplane, sorta."

"Really?"

"M-hm."

Mini Orange giggled. The thought of such a thing sounded pretty silly.

"You gonna be ready to leave by 10:30?" NotOrange inquired.

"Oh, right! We're s'posed to meet Timmy and Franklin at the park today, aren't we?"

"Yeah, and I'd rather not be late. Last thing I want is for you and your little fiends  to hold me for ransom again..."

"Can I bring David?"

"Who?"

"You know, David! He's over there on the couch, see?"

The smaller bean pointed, and NotOrange was hit with recollection when he spied the flimsy stuffed T. rex resting on the arm of the sofa.

"Oh. Right. That thing..." he remembered. "Ugh, I...I guess  you can take it, it's not like it'll hurt anyone."

Elated, Mini Orange rushed over to grab his beloved dinosaur...NotOrange couldn't help but roll his eyes as the thing's name hit him again.

WHO names a T. rex DAVID??  he wondered. At least call it something cool, like Crusher, or...heck, even TONY. "David" sounds like the annoying co-worker at your office job who sits in the cubicle to your left.

"Daddy, are we going now?" Mini Orange asked him.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on a second. Lemme check the time..."

He pulled out his phone, then deflated.

"Well, it's already ten after ten...Times flies on Saturday, huh? Yeah, go ahead and get ready to leave; might as well now so we don't have to rush."

"Okay! Oh, um...Can you help me tie my shoes?"

"Help you-!? I taught you how to tie them three days ago!"

"Yeah, but...I forgot how."

NotOrange inhaled sharply, then let it out with a frustrated huff.

"...Fine..."

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...

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NotOrange was barely two steps out of his car when he spied Mother waving at him over by one of the park benches, flanked on either side by one of her two children. He steeled himself, taking in a deep breath as he locked in for what was likely to be a long morning as he and Mini Orange made their way into the park grounds and approached the cyan family.

"Hey, NotOrange! Boy, you don't know just how glad I am to see you here; I've been hoping for a while now that you'd try stepping up your parenting game a bit more!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Guess I'll see what I can do so we can get this over with..."

"Alright. Lesson #1: whenever you go somewhere fun, make sure to lay down some ground rules for them to follow. Watch and learn..."

With that, Mother turned to her two children and looked down at them firmly.

"Now remember, you two. No screaming, no roughhousing and no chasing the people walking their dogs. If I catch one of you in the act, that's a time out. Got that?"

Franklin was the first to speak up, as per usual.

"Yes, Mommy~!" he promised, hands folded behind his back.

"And put your hands where I can see 'em so I can make sure your fingers aren't crossed!"

Franklin scowled, unfolding his hands and uncrossing his fingers.

"Fine, ya got me."

"That's what I like to see. Timmy, you got all that stored in the ol' noggin, too?"

He nodded.

"Great...Now, before you kids run off, let's see if our buddy NotOrange can do what I just did."

She turned to the helmeted bean in question, who seemed a bit caught off-guard by her remark.

"Oh. Um...Alright, let's see..." he mused, looking down at the smaller orange crewmate in front of him...He was giving him that curious big-eyed look, David held tightly in his hands.

"Okay, um...First things first. Don't do any of the things Mother told her kids not to do. No screaming, no fighting, no chasing dogs, or anything like that."

"Or else?" Mother pressed.

"Or else...or else we're leaving, you got that?"

"I got it," Mini Orange nodded.

"And...and make sure you don't lose that thing!" he continued, pointing down at the stuffed dinosaur. "I'm not driving all the way back here if you forget about it only to find out some other little snot rag snatched it up for themselves. Because that's what'll happen if you leave it here, you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"And don't call me that."

"Yes, sir."

"That's more like it, now go on and play on the swings or something."

At that, the three mini crewmates scurried off towards the swing set, leaving Mother and NotOrange alone at the bench.

"Okay, you're firm. That's good. But maybe tone it back just a little bit," Mother advised. "Leaving the playground at the first offense is just a little much."

"You want me to give him an inch so he ends up walking all over me?"

"No, I'm not saying that. But you do need to work on your system a bit...How about you give the ol' three-strike method a try?"

"Three-strike method? What, like baseball?"

"Sort of. But instead of missing the ball, it'll be for when he's missing his manners! First time, he gets a warning. Second time, you stick him in timeout. Then if there's a THIRD incident, THEN you leave. Three strikes and you're out, get it?"

"I see...Guess that could work. Though he does usually listen the first time, I guess."

"And make sure you keep an eye on him. You don't have to be watching him the entire time, but check to see where he's at and what he's doing every minute or so, because kids can get themselves into trouble quickly if you give 'em a chance...Like now; we've been standing here talking for about a minute, so let's see what they're up to."

He nodded, and the two looked over by the swing sets where the three smaller beans ran off to...Mini Orange was pushing David on one of the kiddie swings, Franklin watching the toy intently as it went back and forth as though being hypnotized by a pendulum. Timmy was minding his own business on one of the bigger swings and watching the other two.

"...Timmy's not much of a talker, is he?" NotOrange pointed out.

"Can't say you're wrong," Mother nodded. "But let me tell you something; there's a LOT going on inside his head. You can tell by the look in his eyes that he's very analytical."

"Always looking for an opportunity to pounce, huh?"

"Hee hee...More or less."

"I have to ask; how exactly DO you handle them so well? I know kids in general are little psychopaths, but from what I've seen yours take the cake...Literally AND figuratively," NotOrange remarked. "You must have the patience of a saint."

"Well, the thing is since I'm...kind of the one who sparked that behavior in them, they look up to me in that regard," the cyan crewmate explained. "Therefore, they still listen to me. It takes a bit of effort sometimes, but that's to be expected with just about any kid. Only difference is that it turns out I'm the ONLY one they'll listen to; I tried putting Franklin in an independent daycare a few months ago, and by the end of the day he had half of the kids terrorizing the other half PLUS the caretaker with slingshots he made out of rubber bands and markers!"

"Uhh, wow. That's...um...well, it's definitely creative, I'll give him that."

"Oh yeah, he's pretty ingenious at times."

"Now that I look back on it, I was a bit of an intelligent menace myself when I was a kid," the helmeted bean recalled. "Back in 3rd grade when we were using the computer lab, I hacked into the school's system, synced all of the monitors and made them play asdfmovie2."

"Noooo  way, really!?"

"You should've heard it; the entire lab was HOWLING. Except the teacher, of course...Did you watch stuff like that?"

"Ohhhh man. A.S.D.F.-movies weren't a thing until I was in my teens, but I saw the first five."

"...Did...did you just pronounce it 'A.S.D.F'?"

"Yeah, the four left letters on the home row. Isn't that right?"

"Mother...it's pronounced 'ass-duf'."

"'Ass-duf??'"

"Yes. Like, you say the first four letters like they're a single word. That's how the guy who made 'em says it."

"But there aren't any consonants separating the-"

"GIVE HIM BACK!!"

"Oop, sounds like something's going on," Mother realized. "Like I said, anything can happen and it can happen fast, so let's see what's up!"

"Alright..."

NotOrange recognized the scream as Mini Orange's, so he found himself outpacing Mother just a bit as they approached the swing set...Timmy was the only one still on the swings, and he pointed over at the other two racing across the grass, Mini Orange in a clear state of panic as he chased after Franklin.

...It only took one peek to see that the latter had snatched David and was running around with the poor T-rex in his mouth.

"HEY!!"

NotOrange took off after the cyan terror once he realized what was happening.

"Wait, don't do anything he might not like!"

Mother ran after him as she called out the warning, knowing it could end badly if NotOrange tried to usurp her position over Franklin...She knew very well what her youngest was capable of in the face of adversity.

In spite of Franklin's surprising speed, the orange crewmate managed to skid in front of him and stop the cyan figure in his tiny tracks.

"YOU," he growled, pointing down at him. "What do you think you're doing with that in your mouth?"

"Mph...Moving up the food chain!" he exclaimed, voice muffled behind the stuffed animal.

"Franklin, put him down!!" Mini Orange hollered at him.

"Make me, kumquat."

"HEY! Nobody insults Mini Orange except me!"

NotOrange stomped closer, hand outstretched to snatch David back.

"NotOrange, WAIT-!"

Mother called out again a moment too late.

The distinct sound of ripping fabric followed, and a moment later came a guttural scream of horror as Mini Orange watched David's now headless body fall limply onto the grassy ground and spill out its fluffy white innards.

...When NotOrange registered what'd just happened, his eyes widened with deep concern.

"...Crap."

"Franklin G. Jefferson, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO!?!" Mother screeched, hands grabbing at the sides of her head in shock...Franklin shrunk back only slightly at the sound of his full name, David's head still in his mouth.

"Ermph...I became a T-rex hunter?"

"Spit that head out THIS INSTANT!!"

"But you only said no screaming, no roughhousing and no chasing the people walking their dogs. Never said anything about attacking stuffed animals!"

"That's because you should ALREADY know not to do that!" Mother told him. "If you don't spit that out RIGHT NOW, I'll have you in timeout until we have to leave and in your playpen  for another hour when we get home!"

"Eugh...Fine. You twisted my nonexistent arm."

He complied to Mother's demand reluctantly, letting David's dismembered head fall out of his mouth and onto the ground beside the rest of his body...Mini Orange had grown deathly quiet, staring in wide-eyed horror at the damaged plushie as though he'd just witnessed someone die.

...Well, to him, that was exactly what'd just happened.

"Erm...Mini Orange?" the older orange crewmate addressed him. "...Are you good?"

He got no verbal response. The smaller bean trudged over to David's "remains," hands sifting through the scattered stuffing as he reached down and took both pieces. He placed the stuffed dinosaur's head back on its body; it wouldn't stay on there anymore, but he wanted to see him whole again.

"I think he's in shock," Mother said to him. "...In which case the answer is a hard no."

"You, uh...don't suppose that thing could be fixed somehow, do you?"

The word "fixed" seemed to get Mini Orange's attention, and his head tilted up to look at his guardian with a dazed visor.

"Well, let me take a look at it and I'll see what I can do."

Mini Orange silently handed the cyan crewmate the ripped plush, and the latter studied the damage closely.

"Hmmm...The rip is mostly around and along the seam of the head, and there isn't any other damage from what I can see. I could probably just pack a bit more stuffing in and sew the head back on with a ladder stitch."

"Ah, phew. That's good to hear."

"Although I don't have any sewing supplies on me right now," Mother told him. "If you want me to fix him, I'll have to take him home with me then bring him back the next day."

"Fine with me," NotOrange nodded. "He can go 24 hours without it, isn't that right Mini Orange?"

...The orange mini crewmate remained blank.

"As for YOU, young man..." Mother turned to Franklin. "You are going to apologize to Mini Orange right now for what you did."

"Fine. I'm sorry I ate your dinosaur."

"Good. Now ten minutes on the bench."

"Hey, you said I'd only get timeout if I didn't  spit it out!"

"I said you'd be sitting there until we had to leave. Unless of course you'd like to give me more trouble."

Franklin muttered something under his breath as he turned and headed over to the bench where Mother and NotOrange had been sitting.

"Well, that's settled, I guess. Your dinosaur will be fixed by tomorrow," NotOrange nodded. "Uh...how about you go on the slide, or the merry-go-round? Might help...y'know...take your mind off all this."

...Still nothing.

"Um...Mini Orange?"

...

"...Great, so if he's just gonna stand there and do nothing, does that mean we have to go home anyways?"

"Not me. Timmy's decided to go play with some of the other kids on the spring riders, so I don't wanna drag him away just yet," Mother replied. "...But if you think you have to bring him home, by all means do. There are a lot of other noisy kids out here today, so I don't think the extra stimulation would help him after such a...traumatic event."

"I don't get why he's so bent out of shape over it. I mean, it's just a stuffed animal. There's probably a million others just like it out there. What's the big deal?"

Mother sighed.

"Things don't necessarily have to be valuable in order to have value to us, you know. It might not have been worth much money, but...It looks like it was worth the whole world to him."

NotOrange looked away, not sure whether he was annoyed or concerned...Maybe both. Concerned that he was annoyed. He was never the sentimental type, knowing that whatever possession he had could be replaced with something better in good time. But he knew deep down that she was right. He was different about things like this...Why was he like this?

"...I see."

"In the meantime, just go easy on him," Mother instructed him. "Try not to get too upset over anything, or load a whole bunch o' chores onto him. I should be popping over with his dino at around 11:15 tomorrow, good as new."

"David."

"Huh?"

"The dinosaur. His...his name is David. That's what he calls him."

...The cyan crewmate smiled warmly.

"You do care about him," she said to him. "Even if you don't like to show it."

"I'm only trying to be accurate, Mother."

"Mmmm-hm. Sure you are, buddy..."

"Whatever," he snipped quietly. "...I guess we'd better be going, then. Sorry we couldn't stay longer than you wanted."

"I think we've still made some progress, even with the little time we had. When I drop by tomorrow, why don't we pick up where we left off, but we switch the setting from the park to the house?"

"I...guess that'd be fine," NotOrange nonchalantly agreed, taking Mini Orange by the hand and practically dragging him back to the car. "See you then."

"Take care, you two!"

He gave her a quick nod back as his final response before slinging the orange mini crewmate back into his car seat and buckling him in...He'd gone limp at that point, eyes staring blankly up at the car ceiling. NotOrange went out of his way to press his ear against his chest just to be sure his heart was still beating. It was, as he'd expected it to all along. But still, seeing him like this was...kind of unsettling.

Mini Orange was silent the whole drive home. Had to be dragged out of the car and back into the house, and NotOrange sat him down on the living room floor. He brought out some of his other toys and even turned on the television to see if there was anything on he liked...But Mini Orange still refused to respond to any stimuli.

"I swear, it's like you've been lobotomized," he commented before leaving the room to make some lunch...When he returned a few minutes later, he placed a plate of chicken nuggets and carrots down beside him alongside a cup of apple juice, hoping he would at least react to the smell of food. But alas, it was in vain.

That was where NotOrange gave up and decided to let nature take its course. He left the room with his own food and went to go work on a line of code in his home office; it was due by that upcoming Monday, so he had to hop to it unless he wanted the team to push their project back another week. And he wanted to impress the CEO with his speed this time around.

Man...Parenting sure involves a lot of multitasking, doesn't it?  he said to himself as he logged into his program and started to type.

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...

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The next time NotOrange took a peek at the clock in the corner of his screen, he found that a good three hours had gone by.

"Oh shoot, 3:00 already?"

This was usually the time of day Mini Orange would either be looking for a snack to tide him over until dinner or trying to enter his office to make mischief with his computer somehow. But he hadn't been disturbed yet.

"...Hm."

It was quiet. NotOrange thought he would be delighted to have a break from that, but the silence just didn't sit right with him...for some weird reason. Begrudgingly, he saved and downsized his code program and got up from his seat, exiting his office and heading back up the hallway into the living area to see what his ward was up to, not entirely sure what to expect.

...Therefore, he wasn't entirely prepared for what he saw in the living room.

The TV had shut off automatically from lack of use, and the untouched plate of food was starting to attract a few ants. In the center of it all, there was Mini Orange, but now instead of sitting there like a vegetable he was lying on the floor and curled into himself...Long, suppressed whines escaped his tight throat, but no tears came from his eyes; the faint puddle just beneath his visor indicated that he'd already used them all up.

"Oh, jeez..."

Mother hadn't tutored him on this  situation yet, so NotOrange found himself at a loss for what to do. But he at least knew he probably shouldn't leave the room, so that was a start.

...Might as well play it by ear, he figured.

"Hey, um...Are you...good?"

He already knew what the answer was, really...Mini Orange didn't even shake his head to respond; he simply hid his face away behind his hands.

Ho, boy...

"I mean...Come on, it's...It's just a stuffed animal. It's not like the end of the world that it got damaged," he tried to assure him. "Besides, you're gonna get it back fixed tomorrow, remember?"

Still nothing but dry-crying...NotOrange wasn't sure whether this was better or worse than him being catatonic. But in any event, he huffed and shook his head, deciding to sit down beside him to make sure he didn't end up passing out.

"Look, Mini Orange. It's...not that I don't give a single crap. I mean, I don't want you to die  on me or anything, because that'd be...not great. There are just things that I don't get about you, or...other people. I'm not the type of person who gets attached to their belongings. To me, it's always been, 'Oh, they're gonna break eventually, or someone else will break them.' When I was younger, stuff at my house got broken a lot. My  stuff, usually...So eventually, I stopped caring so much about it. Sometimes, in order to make it in this world, you have to let go of things you don't need, or can do without. It's not always easy, but-"

He hadn't noticed that Mini Orange had shifted back upright until he felt a pair of tiny hands fling themselves around him.

"Egh-!"

NotOrange's skin twitched uncomfortably, the sensation of being touched already sending his nervous system into a tizzy. He shuddered and sighed; if he pushed Mini Orange away there was no doubt he'd go from crying to screaming in a heartbeat, and he decided getting a good night's sleep was worth this temporary discomfort.

"...Uh-huh...y-yeah. Thanks for listening to my Ted talk."

So there he stayed, unmoving and doing his best to ignore the flaring sensation at his side where Mini Orange held onto him for dear life. The only sound in the room was the ambient ticking of the clock on the wall as time passed...He wondered whether or not he should return the favor a couple times as he sat there on the floor, but he was hesitant to give leeway; sure, Mother had said he didn't have to be super strict all the time, but if he gave him an inch in the way of affection, he could walk all over him...He might've considered it if not for his darn skin.

Stupid hyperesthesia. What'll it take to at least make it subside except for expensive medical bills?  he lamented silently. Sure, he made decent money as a programmer, but he still had both a mortgage and a car to finish paying off before he could even think about expansive medical bills.

...Unless someone were willing to do it for a reduced price, at least.

Maybe that Engineer guy from Mother's lobby could lend me a hand some time, he wondered. Heck, if what Mother said about him being able to reverse age with his gamma ray blaster, maybe he could modify my genes to make this stupid thing go away...

NotOrange wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting there at that point, but by then the unpleasant tingling where Mini Orange's hands gripped him had stopped; maybe his body had blocked it out after an extended time. He looked up at the clock...Only half an hour had gone by. He looked down at the smaller orange crewmate...Mini Orange looked about ready to doze off, glazy-eyed and exhausted.

He shifted slightly against the older bean, causing his skin to flare up again.

"Okay, welp, that's good for now," he decided, slowly and carefully prying Mini Orange off of him as he stood to his feet again. The smaller figure didn't try to fight him leaving.

"I'll start making dinner in two hours. Any idea what you might want?"

"...Spaghetti..."

That was probably the first word he'd uttered in over four hours. Well, at least it was some  kind of progress.

"Noted," NotOrange replied, stooping down to pick up the untouched food he'd left out for him earlier. He thought about making a comment to instruct him to clean up his leftovers so bugs didn't invade the house, but given what Mother had told him before they left the park he decided to let it slide for now.

"I've got a line of code to finish working on right now," he continued. "After dinner, I'll probably put on a movie or something. Got a preference?"

"...No..."

"Okay, then. Good to know. I'll be done and out around 5, so just...keep breathing until then. Got it?"

He gave a barely discernible nod, then turned away from him...NotOrange took that as a que to leave, and he slowly retreated back to his office to finish his work, shutting the door behind him a bit more quietly than usual.

...Okay, not exactly what Mother might do in a situation like this, he reflected. But hey, that's better than pretending he's not there. Or telling him to clam up...Great. Progress! Progress is always good. Yes...Good job, me. You're improving.

He sat down and pulled his tab back up, feeling a bit less bad about himself as he wondered where he left off...The two hours passed a lot more slowly than the last three had; it was mostly finished by then, so they mainly consisted of looking for slip-ups or patches to fill in before he saved the program to his files and left the office.

Mini Orange was still sitting in the living room, though he'd moved from the floor to the couch in the time NotOrange had been gone...He supposed that was good. But he still wasn't sure how much he would eat, so when he took out the spaghetti box he made sure to put in a bit less into the pot than what the instructions said.

Dinner was silent, but at least Mini Orange ate. Post-dinner was also silent, but at least he picked up after his plate this time. He was also silent when NotOrange went digging for a movie, and for once didn't complain about being bored when he pulled out 2001: A Space Odyssey, but the fact that he was sitting upright on the couch and not hunched over on the floor was a good sign. He wasn't perfect, that was for sure...But he was better.

...They were both doing just a bit better.

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...

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When NotOrange's alarm went off the following morning, his first thought was as to whether Mini Orange would have improved anymore by now...which was a new record for how early in the day he started to wonder about the smaller bean, he realized. He cleaned himself up, plopped his helmet on his head and emerged from his sanctum, not expecting Mini Orange to be awake for almost another hour.

...So he was surprised to see him already sitting at the dining room table, eating a bowl of corn flakes.

"Oh. Uh...you're up early."

"Couldn't sleep."

"I see..."

He scanned the kitchen, expecting to see a splash of milk somewhere on the counter or a few bits of cereal on the floor, but from what he could tell the place was clean.

"...Is it because of David?"

"Yeah..."

"So which was it? Are you just excited to get him back today, or were you not able to sleep without him at all?"

"Um...Both, kinda. But I fell asleep eventually," Mini Orange replied, a bit more laxly now. "...I don't know if I trust Franklin around him anymore."

"Welp, looks like we're in the same boat on that," NotOrange smirked. "Only a psychopath like him would think to give you that dose of diluted hydrochloric acid to spray on me."

"Oh, yeah, that...He didn't tell me what that stuff did; all he said was that it would make him, uh...'put away his spray bottle once and for all.' In a really creepy voice."

"That sounds like him."

"...I'm sorry I sprayed you with acid...I didn't know it'd make your skin worse."

"Eh...Whatever. People get duped all the time by scumbags in this crazy, cruel world. Besides, I had an idea yesterday that might help solve that problem."

"Oh...Okay."

With that out of the way, NotOrange turned back into the kitchen to fetch a cup of coffee. He eyed the box of corn flakes still on the counter on his way to the machine, and wondered if he should get a bowl of them himself.

...He kept a closer eye on Mini Orange than usual throughout the rest of the morning. Sundays were his rest days, so with his line of code from the previous day finished that meant he was free to do whatever. So as he sat on the living room sofa, his eyes frequently shifted between looking at the true crime show on the TV and Mini Orange as he pulled out a couple of toy cars, then checked the window by the door, went back to playing, sat down on the couch for a bit, checked the door again, put his toys away, checked the door yet again...

"You're looking out that window an awful lot," he finally pointed out.

"Well, um...Mother's s'posed to be coming today with David, so I wanna be sure she gets here and that he's better."

"Oh, yeah. That's right," he remembered. "She's stopping by today...Probably won't be here until around 11:15, though."

"The clock on the wall says 11:14."

"Already?"

He looked up at the clock on the wall to find that, yes, that much time had already passed.

"...Wait, since when did you know how to read analog clocks?"

"There's another one on the wall in daycare," he explained. "Whenever Ms. Mercury says what time it is and what we're gonna do now, I look up at it and see where the hands are and what numbers they point at."

"...So you just figured it out yourself?"

"M-hm."

"Huh...I didn't know how to read one until I learned it in first-"

DING-DONG

"...Grade," he finished after the doorbell sounded off. "Wow, right on the money."

"Izzat Mother!?"

"Wouldn't surprise me. Why don't you take a look through the window again just to be sure?"

Mini Orange gladly obliged, racing to the door and peering through the glass...Sure enough, the cyan crewmate stood on the other side, and she had some kind of fabric bundle in her hands.

...It didn't take a computer programmer like NotOrange to figure what it could be, so the small orange bean wasted no time opening the door for her.

"Hi Mother!"

"Well hello, Mini Orange~! How've you been so far today?"

"Okay. I got up early this morning!"

"Must be excited, I gather," she smirked. "I do believe THIS is what you're waiting for, right?"

Mini Orange gasped excitedly as Mother presented to him the repaired plush...The stitching around his neck was slightly more uneven than before, but it's fleece was also brighter and fresher-a clear indication the well-loved dinosaur had been washed and brushed on top of being sewn back together.

"DAVID!!"

The moment she handed it back to him, the tiny orange bean gathered the stuffed animal up in his hands and squeezed it tightly.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you again!"

"How'd it go fixing that thing?" NotOrange inquired.

"Oh, it wasn't hard. Ladder stitches are pretty rudimentary. Figured while he was opened up, I'd put a bit more stuffing in him and clean him up a bit before I closed the, erm...'wound,' so to speak. Hee hee."

"Glad it wasn't too much trouble. Did you, uh, bring the terrible twosome along with you?"

"No, I dropped them off at their dad's," she explained. "He had some kind of meeting at his job he needed to attend yesterday, so I let him have them till Tuesday morning to make up for it...granted he doesn't get himself lost trying to take them to school and daycare."

"I see...Well, if you have any time on your hands, uh..."

"What's that, NotOrange?"

"Do you think we could...I dunno, pick up where we left off yesterday? We didn't exactrly have a lot of time to go through everything, so if you have the time..."

He shrugged as he trailed off...Part of him wondered why he even brought up the question to begin with, and another part scolded him for taking up someone else's precious time. But Mother didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

"I thought you'd never ask," she beamed. "Given the setting, why don't we focus on things like indoor safety for the day?"

"I guess that'll work."

"WHEEEE-HEEEEEEE!!"

An excitable Mini Orange sprinted past them out of nowhere and scurried around the living room and down the hallway with David still in his hold.

"...For example, why you should discourage your kids from running in the house," Mother finished.

"Ah-ha. Good call...Oh. One more question before we get started with lesson #2."

"And what's that?"

"Do you think you could get me in touch with Engineer? There's something I'd like to negotiate with him..."

____________________________________________________________

Man, these always turn out a lot longer than I anticipate them to be, you know? XD

It's been pretty busy where I'm at lately; just got more hours added to my schedule, and we're currently having company over, so haven't gotten as great an opportunity to write as I usually do. XP

But hey, I did it! This one's been in the works for a while now; NotOrange's character needs a bit more development, don'tcha think?