Dot's abdomen was steadily growing larger. It was not long before the Mainframers knew why.
Bob found out before anyone else did. Dot was not feeling well one second, and Bob, worried, gently scanned her. His brown eyes went wide when he found out about Dot's condition.
"Dot! You're...you're..." Bob gasped.
"Uh, huh," Dot smiled coyily.
"A baby?"
"Uh, huh..." Dot giggled.
Bob was stunned, and she was enjoing every nanosecond of it. Bob finally found his voice. "A baby," he smiled. "A new, little sprite. And it will be ours."
"Yes." Dot was enjoying Bob's obvious pride.
Bob hugged Dot close, pride and happiness sparkling in his eyes.
"Why don't we go tell the others?" Dot suggested, her own amethyst eyes shining.
"Of course," Bob grinned. With a quick portal, they were at the diner.
"Hi, Bob; Dot!" Matrix grinned.
"You seem happy," AndrAIa smiled.
"Yeah," Matrix agreed. "What's up?"
Bob and Dot looked at one another and grinned. They would be so surprised!
"You tell them," Bob smiled at Dot.
"You do it," Dot giggled.
"Tell us what, mates?" Ray asked.
"Well..." Bob smiled, "No, Dot. You should tell them."
"Tell us WHAT?" Mouse exclaimed impatiantly.
"I'm going to have a baby!" Dot announced, smiling.
"Ohhhh...!" AndrAIa squealed, running to Dot and hugging her.
Matrix clasped Bob on the shoulder. Mouse grinned and hugged Dot, while Ray shared a handshake with Bob.
"Congratulations, mate!" the Surfer grinned.
"ALPHANUMERIC,BOB!" Enzo cried. "DOT'SGOINGTOHAVEABABY!I'MGOINGTOBEANUNCLE!THISISSOCOOL!"
Dot hugged her littlest brother, while Bob ruffled Enzo's hair. At that moment, Mike, the T.V., bounced into the Diner.
"Is what I hear on the grapevine true? Are Bob --Guardian 452-- and Dot Matrix of Mainframe-- going to have a blessed event? It there truely going to be a little Guardian and/or Tune in tonight for 'Boolean Bottles and Digital Diapers' on BBN -- The Bouncing Baby Network. I like that."
"MIKE!"everyone warned. Mike winced, then, dejected, walked out of the diner, looking down at his feet as he went.
Crystal laughed from her stroller. In her right hand, she held a bottle of energy milk. Crystal held her arms out, wanting someone to pick her up, her tiny hands openning and closing as she reached for the adult sprites.
Grinning, Bob walked over to the stroller and knelt down in front of Crystal. Gurgling happily, Crystal reached for Bob.
Gently, the Guardian lifted the child into his arms. Giggling, Crystal played her game with his icon. Then she gave him a "baby kiss" -- she opened her tiny mouth wide and pressed it to his cheek. He chuckled, and gave her a little kiss on her cheek.
"You're going to get a little cousin, Crystal," Bob smiled into her eyes. She giggled at her blue-skinned uncle.
Bob held her gently, but firmly, brushing her hair out of her eyes with his hand and smoothing the fine strands of blond down. Crystal reached up to touch Bob's hair, and ended up pulling on it.
"Owww!" Bob cried in surprise. "No hair-pulling, Crystal!" he smiled. Gently, he untangled her fingers from his hair. She laid her head on his shoulder, sticking a tiny thumb in her mouth. Her thumb slipped out and the little mouth moved.
"B...ob..." Crystal mumbled, half-asleep.
The sprites watched as their Guardian's eyes opened wide in happy surprise as Crystal spoke his name. The blue Guardian loved children, and children trusted him. A memory came to him of an incident when he was a cadet...
There had been a disaster that had befallen a small system called The Guardians had come to the rescue. The Hanako and Claire, planned the defence of the system with Turbo, while the Cadets helped evacuate the citizens to the Principle Office.
Amoung the Cadets was 452, a blue-skinned and chrome-haired young sprite named Bob. Bob helped in evacuating the system's children, sprites and binomes, alike.
The children had been extremely frightened by the Viral Big invasion, so the younger Guardians had been assigned the task of keeping them calm. Bob did his part by telling the children stories. One after the other, Bob told the stories: Peter Pentum; Sleep-mode Beauty; Snow White and the Seven Binomes; The Little Mersprite; and several others.
Soon, the Viral Bugs were cleared out and the system was back to normal. Turbo sealed the system against further invasion.
The children had not wanted for Bob to go, but he had to leave, so that he could continue his Guardian training.
"B...ob..." Crystal mumbled again, leaning against Bob's shoulder. She closed her eyes and went to sleep. She felt safe and secure in the Guardian's arms.
Bob brushed a kiss to Crystal's forehead, then very gently handed her to Matrix. Carefuly, Matrix took his daughter and held her so that she was asleep on his shoulder.
Bob reached over to smooth down Crystal's hair. Soon --very soon-- he was going to be a father.
The second had come at last. Dot's data broke, and she went into labor. In nanoseconds, Dot was in the Principle Office infirmery, giving birth to her first child.
"Come on, Dot," Bob encouraged his wife gently. He held one of her hands, allowing her to squeeze it whenever she had a contraction. Holding her other hand was Matrix. Neither male minded the pain in their hands every time Dot squeezed hard. It was Dot that they were worried about.
"Come on, Mz Matrix," the one binome doctor urged. "Push!"
With each push, Dot felt a surge of pain. Bob willed some of his healing energy to ease the pain.
"There's the head, Mz Matrix," the doctor said. "Keep pushing!"
Dot did so. It seemed like an eternity as she pushed with each contraction. She gasped for breath each time she pushed.
"There!" the doctor said finally. "It's here!" He cleared out the newborn's mouth and it immediately let out a healthy squeal. Quickly, the doctor tied the ends of the umbrical cord and cut it. Then, he wrapped the baby in a blanket and gave it to Dot.
"Congratulations!" the doctor smiled. "It's a girl!"
Wearily, Dot gazed at her daughter and smiled. The baby had her mother's voilet eyes and her father's blue skin. The fine strands of her hair was chrome, with a streak of dark green down the middle.
"Any names you like, love?" Bob asked.
"Robin," Dot smiled. It was a nice, female version of Bob's name.
"'Robin'," Bob smiled at his wife and daughter. "I like it."
With Robin's arrival came the hope of sprite renewal for Mainfame. Someday, Mainframe will, once again, be filled with sprites.
Dot nursed her baby as Bob and the others looked on.
Next: Chapter 7: Toddler Time. (An adventure from Crystal's toddler years.)