* * *
Phong sipped his hot cocoa and kept an eye on the punchbowl. He had noticed the foolish TV slipping something into it earlier. Judging from the way the others were acting, it had been some form of alcohol.
AndrAIa was looking pleased, he noted. She did enjoy dancing very much and the alcohol had helped entice Matrix into dancing with her. Of course, the fact that Dot was singing had a great deal to do with the number of people on the dance floor.
None of the sprites needed to be sent home yet, fortunately. He didn't want to spoil the party. Besides, while zip-boarding under the influence was all but impossible, Bob did have a car.
Speaking of which, where was the Guardian?
Phong rolled out of the party hall and began to check the nearby conference rooms. He didn't have to check very many.
Hexadecimal stood on a conference table, with only her icon offering the illusion of being clad. Her four toes lifted slightly so that she was standing on the very tips. Phong winced as he noted claws sinking into the table-top.
Bob stood in front of her, his silver armor gleaming in the dim light. "Wow, Hex, you look...." He said with the careful intonation of the very drunk.
Hexadecimal was extremely aesthetically pleasing nude, Phong decided. However, there were certain forms that had to be observed. "Ahem."
Bob turned to look at him carefully, while Hexadecimal glared down at him. "Oh, hey, Phong."
Phong removed a package of condoms from his drawer. "I believe you will need these, my son."
* * *
Hexadecimal gently stroked her daughter's silver hair. Hanabyte was such a cute little girl. Big brown eyes, crimson skin, and a little snub nose all made her immeasurably cute by virus standards. If AndrAIa and Mouse's reactions were typical, she was cute by sprite standards, too.
Well, she amended, if Mouse and AndrAI's first reactions were typical, she was cute by sprite standards. Their later reactions hadn't really had all that much to do with how Hanabyte looked.
Hexadecimal set her daughter in the crib floating nearby. It rocked for a minute, before settling. Hanabyte didn't stir.
Hexadecimal smiled down at her daughter. The sprites had been so happy when AndrAIa had announced that she was pregnant. Why had they been upset when they found out that Bob was the father of Hex's baby?
* * *
Megabyte stared down at the drunk green sprite that was sitting in his lap. At best, this was an annoying side-effect of his plan. However, Bob, the system's Guardian, had picked up the habit of wandering into Ms. Matrix's apartment whenever he could.
The virus sat very still and tried to think of a way to get Dot off of him without upsetting her.
"...and I don't really dislike her. She's a pretty cute kid. But a part of me is kinda upset 'cause she's Hex and Bob's daughter. I mean, I know he was drunk at the time and Hex took advantage of him, but I'm still feeling betrayed, you know?" Dot's purple eyes looked up at him with vague curiosity. She was only vaguely anything at the moment, because the alcohol was well into effect.
"I know that right now, Ms. Matrix, you are extremely-" Megabyte was cut off by Dot kissing him. It wasn't a particularly great kiss, but it was good one. It was more than enough to shock Megabyte into silence.
"You're cute." Dot Matrix giggled.
Megabyte considered dumping the green sprite on the floor and making a break for the door.
Dot slipped her hands over his shoulders and pulled him down for another kiss, effectively distracting him from any attempts to escape.
* * *
Dot felt a thoughtful frown settle on her face as she consulted her private blog. The entries scrolled past quickly as she looked for a line of red text at the bottom of each.
There! She checked the date on that entry and cursed. It had been three minutes since her last period.
She switched the Vidwindow into Call mode and tapped out Phong's personal number. "Phong? I'd like a complete physical sometime today."
He blinked. "Certainly, my child. Is there any particular reason?"
"I think I'm pregnant," Dot said very quietly.
The End