He walked forward, fingering the rounded rock that had caught his eye several days before. The headstone stood before him, and he moved towards it, but couldn't take that last step. He felt the muscles in his back tense as he stood with his head down, digging at the grass with his shoes, his hoodie just barely keeping out the damp morning chill. He sighed.

"Hey, been a while," Hiro said as he faked a laugh. "No flowers this time."

"I found this at the beach, and I just thought… honestly, I don't know," Hiro said, tossing the stone up into the air and catching it, "I thought it would stand longer than flowers would." He knelt down and wiped a few smudges of dirt from the gravestone, and pulled up a few tiny weeds from the base. He stepped back, and looked up at the sky: clouding over, rain likely. He looked back to the grave, steeling himself to talk again.

"Hiro," and he turned back to look at Baymax, who until now had watched him silently. "I have not scanned you recently. But I know you are experiencing elevated levels of stress, and your body language indicates that you are agitated. I do not believe you need to continue speaking."

"Don't worry," Hiro said, giving his friend a false grin, "I've got this."

"I am uncertain as to the accuracy of that statement, but very well," Baymax said, stepping back and keeping silent. Hiro turned back and sighed again.

"Baymax said he was curious as to where you were, and I thought he deserved the chance to say hello. He can be really nosy," and here Baymax tilted his head at Hiro's affectionate tone, "but he's been a great friend. He was there with me when it all went - well, you know - and he's still here." Hiro turned and motioned the robot forward, who waddled up with slight hesitation.

"This is where Tadashi is," Hiro said, pocketing the rock and taking one of Baymax's hands in his. He guided it to the gravestone and set it there, putting his beside it.

"But he is not here," Baymax said, breaking the silence.

"I don't need to watch the videos again, Baymax. I know what you're getting at," Hiro said, sighing and shaking his head.

"Hiro," and here Hiro tilted his head; his friend actually sounded unsure. "Do you believe you will see Tadashi again?" Hiro didn't answer, and turned his back to the grave.

"Do you wish to go home?"

"No, not yet, just… could we take a walk?" Baymax fell in beside him as they stepped onto the nearby path. Hiro looked at the graves on either side of him as they walked, staring at none but taking in their names. "Could I ask you a question?"

"I believe that was a question Hiro," the robot said, and Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Still that literal after all this time," he said, a hint of a smile on his face. "When you enter your charging station, what happens?"

"What do you mean?" Baymax asked as he watched a blue jay fly by. He moved to follow it, but stopped when Hiro groaned.

"I've looked over your programming dozens of times, and all it adds up to is that you go into stasis," Hiro said as he looked up at his friend. "Is that all?"

"I am uncertain of the words to use."

"So something does happen? I mean, other than just reviewing code?" Hiro asked in surprise.
"Yes," Baymax answered. "After Tadashi created me, I was not… "aware" of anything when I was in my charging station. Code was examined and checked for errors, new programs were tested for compatibility with old ones, and the sections of my memory banks that held each day's experiences were reviewed, but I was not "conscious" of this. Over time…" and here the robot stopped walking, and looked to the ground. Hiro took his hand; Baymax, somehow, sounded… worried.

"My programming greatly exceeds what Tadashi wrote for me. You have upgraded my circuitry several times. Gradually, what occurred as I was recharging grew in complexity."

"How?" Hiro asked as they began to walk again. Baymax noticed his tone, and found elevated neurotransmitters levels and decreased levels of stress hormones in his young friend. He continued talking.

"As time passed, my perception of what happened changed. The review of each day's events grew in intensity. It became something I could… experience." He stopped walking when he saw Hiro was no longer at his side, and turned back to see the boy staring at him, stunned.

"Did you seriously just say you're dreaming?" he got out.

"I suppose it is analogous to that."

"Dude, that's totally sick, why didn't you tell me?" When Baymax answered, it shocked Hiro.

"I thought it possible you might deem it something that could lessen my abilities as a healthcare companion."

"Baymax," Hiro said as he walked forward, "buddy, you need to talk to me!" His eyes were wide. "I wouldn't stop it; I mean, it'd be like killing a part of you."

"But you cannot kill me. I am a robot," Baymax responded in confusion.

"Are you kidding me?" Hiro asked, "I lost you once, you were gone, I…"

"I know, Hiro," Baymax, "and your concern is appreciated. But I am not human, I am not alive. I am different, I am yours."

"That doesn't make you a thing!"

"But I am," Baymax said, "I am your property, having passed into your ownership at the time of Tadashi's death. I have no rights under the law. You could, if you wish, pick up a sledgehammer and…"

"Baymax!" Hiro hadn't felt that horrified since… since he'd turned the friend standing before him into a mindless weapon. "I'd never… I can't…"

"I know that Hiro. Your production of stress hormones has increased, and your dopamine levels are dropping. I apologize." He walked forward and hugged the teen, who leaned into it quietly.

"You're more important than you know," Hiro whispered, taking comfort in his friend's big white arms.

"Do you wish to keep walking?" Baymax asked.

"Yeah, don't feel like leaving yet." They started again, Baymax following beside Hiro in silence; silence he eventually broke.

"Hiro, you did not answer my question."

"Huh?" The boy turned to look at him.

"Earlier, at Tadashi's grave, I asked if you believed you would see Tadashi again. Do you?" Again, Hiro ignored him. This time, something else had caught his attention: a burial ceremony.

It was a small group, but what drew his eye was a boy who couldn't be more than eleven. He stood next to a woman in black who had her arm around him; from the way she spoke to him, Hiro guessed she was his mother. Hiro turned his head away as the boy began to cry, and kept it down as he walked past the gathering, Baymax right behind him. He only looked back when they had passed the group, and saw the boy had buried his head in his mother's side.

He also saw, wrapped in a wreath, a picture of the two sitting close together in the arms of a man to whom the boy bore a striking resemblance. "I wonder if he does," Hiro murmured.

"Does what?" Baymax asked.

"Believe he'll see his dad again," Hiro answered. He continued walking, his hands in his pockets, Baymax picking up his steps.

"Hiro, I did not mean to upset you with my question."

"It isn't you, buddy," Hiro said, his head still down. "The truth is… I don't know. I honestly don't know."

"I would like to see Tadashi again," Baymax said, and Hiro sighed.

"I would too," Hiro said.

"But I know that I cannot," Baymax said, and Hiro looked up at him.

"Why not?" Hiro asked him, and Baymax tilted his head.

"I am a robot," he answered, "I am an artificial being, I know my consciousness will terminate when I cease to function."

"So will mine, big guy," Hiro said with a dark laugh.

"Many human belief systems include the idea that one's self will endure beyond death, as a 'soul.' I cannot have one."

"And I can?" Hiro wondered.

"I am uncertain," Baymax answered.

"So am I," Hiro said. They'd nearly circled the graveyard, and though he couldn't see the gravestone, Hiro knew his brother was close.

"Baymax…"

"Yes, Hiro?"

"Thanks for coming with me."

"You are quite welcome. I must thank you for acceding to my request to visit Tadashi."

"But you said he wasn't there."

Baymax stopped, and looked down at his friend. "That is true," the robot said, choosing his next words with care. "Sites such as this can serve as memorials to loved ones who are gone. I wished to "pay tribute" to my creator."

"You do that every time you help someone," Hiro said as they walked.

"As do you, Hiro. I believe Tadashi would be proud of you." Hiro smiled; really smiled, for the first time since he got here.

"Thanks," he replied, and Baymax nodded. Only a few more moments passed before they were back at his brother's grave, and Hiro took a breath before moving forward.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, niisan," Hiro said with a chuckle, "I'm sure you've got a lot to do. I just had to work out some kinks in my legs, think some things over. Baymax helped with both." He took out the stone, and walked forward again. This time, he put it atop the gravestone.

"Flowers can die, but stones don't," he whispered, "I know you're with me always." He turned back, looking at Baymax. "I'm ready to go."

"May I say something?" Baymax asked, and Hiro nodded. The robot walked forward.

"Goodbye Tadashi." He waved at the gravestone, and turned to Hiro. "I am ready to leave."

The two walked off, and as the rain began to fall, Hiro pulled his hood back and smiled. The tension was gone; he felt… free. He looked back, and imitated Baymax's wave.

"So long, 'Dashi," he said, and the two continued their journey home.

Revised on 6/16/15

I just went back and looked at what wasn't really necessary.