Filling out the Sideline: A pillow's present (Patreon)

“Have a good day, ma’am!” the A-doll who staffed the quarterdeck bade.

Suomi nearly curdled inside of her huge tubby trench coat, her long blonde hair tucked safely beneath a black scarf and a fluffy gray ushanka that still possessed the red soviet star. The overweight T-doll was shaking much more than her usual heavy duty jiggling as she briskly huffed and puffed out into the cold, not acknowledging the A-doll’s farewell.

She was thankful that the civilian model doll only checked the identities of those entering the building, not those passing outward. She must truly believe she was just another of G&K’s many human staff members. T-dolls didn’t get nearly as fat as Suomi. 

Well… most T-dolls… but there were a few sisters that were even bigger than her fluffy hips and pillowy tummy. She briefly wondered if Mosin-Nagant and RFB had as much trouble controlling their diet as she did. 

Suomi just couldn’t help herself. She was the newest recruit to Office 505 Alpha, and her weight had quintupled since she’d signed on! The other girls could at least fit into size 20-25 clothing, but Suomi’s belly had torn through so many dresses in such a short time that Commander Bellows had to take her custom measurements, and even then, he ordered them three sizes too big… Not that that mattered, given how quickly her tummy swelled with food and with fat.

It was like she had lost every bit of her willpower when she was broken from ‘The Suppression.’ The moment that UMP45 put something in front of her, she had to taste it. And she could eat and eat. Chocolates, pies, cakes, marshmallows, but it was the meats that were her favorites. Full and filling dinners, not just something to endlessly snack on but a true meal to throw herself into and munch and chomp and…

The chill of the cold air brought Suomi back herself. She realized she’d begun drooling into her scarf and coughed several times. “Ewww,” she mumbled into the thick wool. “Icky…” 

She couldn’t take off the disguise yet, though. A light graupel fell from the sky, marking the base with a fluffy white coat. Even in Russia, people were bitten by the cold, and she stood out enough being the size that she was. 

G&K’s main building opened onto the base proper, and it was quite a waddle until the heavy-hipped girl would exit the facility. Luckily, today was a relaxation day, which meant almost every single T-doll was cohesively playing around in their dormitories. 

However, as she passed several stizmarks where sisters had built angels in the snow, it was clear she wasn’t the only one out and about. She needed to be wary… if she was recognized…

She pushed the thought from her mind, abjuring from even considering it. Today was the day, and it was the perfect chance to get off base. She had to hurry, get everything finished before dinner tonight. USP and 45 said they’d handle the cake.

45’s bright voice rang in her mind. ‘You know what he’d want? You to get me chocolates! So pick some up while you’re out, okay?’

Suomi glanced around. The base was comfortably silent, only the crunch beneath her feet and the waves of the nearby shoreline could be heard through the muffled weather. She felt slight vindication when she saw the unused track and field, macerated by layers of snow. Not many girls practiced their physical prowess when they didn’t have to. 

Suomi and her squad never had to. 

The length of the walk began to feel much more real, her quivering tummy bouncing up and down against her fat thighs beneath the trench coat. She quickly came to regret her decision to walk, and wished she’d pushed harder to convince 45 to drive her. She began to believe the reasoning ‘somebody needs to open the door!’ was just an excuse…

Only two hundred yards and Suomi’s breathing was coming in deep husky breaths. She sucked in air through her nose, felt her tummy push out even further, and the strain it put onto the coat. She pushed onward.

The parking lot for the main building.

Her thunder thighs burned.

As a defense, her mind wandered where it most often wandered.

Meatballs covered in a thick creamy sauce. Spicy yet sweet, with an orange nummy tang that burned ever so pleasantly. She could get some for herself when she was in town. She doubted anyone would even realize she was a doll.

Her body seemed lighter, thinking about food.

When she reached the base’s gateway, an A-doll in an unheated and windowless hut clicked the release button and the gate slid open. No questions were asked. No farewell given. Suomi couldn’t blame the poor thing, a young-looking Doll with chocolate tan skin and dark purple hair. 

But jobs were hard to come by, and you took what you were offered to stay off the streets and out of the dump. No doubt, she’d be Griffin’s next recruit. “You can stay in the nice warm dorms if you sign your name on the dotted line.”

Suomi turned and saddled down along the sidewalk, chunks of salt and wet slush crunching beneath her heavy footfall. Her bright blue eyes searched around the overcast city, taking in just how sad and gray everything looked. Especially the people she passed on the street.

Hunched. Covered in furs that looked as if they’d sewn them themselves, large Russian men and women with dark pale faces stalked past the short doll, going about their business. There weren’t many working cars on the streets, but there were many, many unworking ones that were rusting away.

The blonde girl tugged her scarf beneath her chin, letting her breath through her mouth. She fixed the cap atop of her head, doing her best to pay as little attention to them as they were to her, and continued on towards the market.

When she finally trundled to the town’s center, her very first stop was to a warm coffee shop that practically glittered like gold to the exhausted T-doll. The blast of warm air that flowed over her chubby face was as welcome as the scent of chocolate pastries was refreshing.

Eyes turned onto her. They always did. When a girl that’s as nearly as large as the doorframe enters a building, most normal people noticed. Some looked at her with disgust. Others, infatuation.

Suomi returned none of their gazes. She was too tired, and just wanted to hurry things along. She went up to the counter and was greeted by an exceptionally cheery raven-haired girl wearing a deep green apron. “Hi! What can I get for you?”

“Um, hello,” Suomi dipped her head. “I’ll take… an extra-large blonde cappuccino, with two shots of espresso, and some whipped cream and chocolate shavings, please. And three of the fudge brownies.”

“Oooh… brownies,” the girl pined good naturedly. “Will that be all?”

Suomi hesitated. She swayed guiltily. She’d walked so far today… she deserved some little reward for herself. “And a chocolate chip cookie.”

“One chocolate chip cookie, coming up!” Again the girl asked, “Will that be all?”

Temptation. “… And a blueberry muffin.”

“Blueberry muffin!” she repeated, tapping her keyboard. “Anything else?”

The girl’s mood was proving infectious. Suomi found herself grinning slightly, feeling more at ease then when she’d walked in. Her tummy gurgled hungrily. “And…” Suomi looked over the display again. She pointed. “One of the… snowman suckers?”

The girl giggled into her hand. “That’s a cake pop. They’re really good!”

Suomi smiled and nodded. “Yeah, one of them too please.”

“Okey dokey!” the girl replied, tapping the screen and thankfully not asking if the fluffy doughball wanted to add anything else. “Your total will be… ₽1,500 or a discounted 1,200 gems if you have them!”

“Oh, no…” Suomi shook her head. She removed her scarf and then opened her trench coat, revealing her white coat and pretty baby blue dress beneath. She then reached into one of her pockets, withdrawing a thick woman’s wallet with a teddy bear pattern sewn into the leather. “I don’t have any of the premium currency on me. Rubles, please.”

She withdrew the money and gave it to the girl, who handed her the change. She then received her hot coffee shake, along with her bag of pastries before shuffling off to the sitting area.

An unoccupied couch was the only seat that would be capable of handling Suomi’s thick rear, and she plopped down onto it with a light puff before releasing a sigh of relief. 

She sipped at the cream on her coffee, pulling the warm fluff past her soft lips and into her hungry mouth. Hints of the espresso filled her senses and her nostrils flared, feeling the energy and flood of calories she was about to receive. Her tum demanded food, and so she fed herself.

The first fudge brownie disappeared, as if she’d done a magic trick that instantly transported it into her belly. She was more careful with the second, switching between tiny nibbles and sips of her hot coffee shake. The whipped cream allowed her to take her time, licking the shavings out.

So focused was she upon eating her lunch that she hadn’t noticed one pair of eyes had never turned away from her. Ever since she walked through the door, a pair of green eyes that were as vibrant as shamrocks had stuck to her like the cream of a doughnut. They belonged to a girl that wore her long silver hair back over her shoulders, with two blue hairclips that framed either side of her bangs.

She approached Suomi, sitting down in a chair across from her, watching the girl as she chomped through her muffin. The blonde doll only noticed the girl when she finally moved onto her delectable cake pop. 

She froze, lips puckering around the pop. The silver woman was sitting forward, on the lip of her chair. She wore a black sweater, black stockings, and gloves as gray as her hair, but the first thing Suomi noticed was the red teardrop tattoo beneath the girl’s left eye.

The woman spoke. “You’re a T-doll, aren’t you?” From her no-nonsense tone, it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Suomi gulped. She nearly swallowed the entire stick along with her cake pop before she caught herself, briefly gagging. It gave her a moment, and she could hear 45 whispering inside of her head.

‘You’ve been spotted in the open. First, denial. State your purpose.’ 

Suomi coughed into her hammy mitten before looking back into the girl’s green eyes. “No,” she denied with a slight shake of her head, “I’m an A-doll.”

‘Deflection. Remove suspicion from yourself.’

“Are you a T-doll?” Suomi asked.

The girl didn’t respond. She had a cutting expression, but her skin was as pale as the snow outside. When she moved, Suomi could see the muscle even beneath her dark sweater. “Do you work for Griffin & Kryuger?”

‘Give ground, it’s a back and forth. Get them talking.’

“How could you tell?” Suomi asked. “I work in the sorting room at the mail center. You must be on one of the combat teams.” An idea hit her. 

‘Demonstrate ignorance.’

“Are you on that Anti-Rain team? What’s your name?”

The girl’s expression soured. “No… I’m not.” She sighed, almost sounding bitter. “I thought I was onto something. You look like a friend of mine.”

Suomi’s mind immediately flicked to Mosin-Nagant. “O-oh,” she giggled nervously. “I don’t look like a lot of girls…”

The white-haired girl huffed. “I suppose she doesn’t either… Sorry.”

“It’s okay!” Suomi waved her hand, feeling more comfortable now. “So do you work for G&K too?”

“I used to.”

Suomi tilted her head, curiosity getting to her. “Did you retire?”

“… It’s a bit more complicated,” the woman frowned. She looked like she did that a lot. “So, what’s a Griffin doll doing out here?”

Suomi’s heart thumped. The girl was still testing her. “I’m… not a Griffin doll,” she attempted a chuckle to explain. “The T-dolls get to live on base. I’m an A-doll. Civilian.”

“Oh, right,” the girl nodded. “Sorry. So you live around here?”

‘Not too specific.’

“No. I’m just here shopping for a birthday gift.”

The woman squinted. “A birthday gift? For another doll?”

“No, for a human.” Suomi crossed her arms over her chest, frowning at the woman. “I’m not sure I’m that comfortable with all of your questions… I still don’t know your name, or who you are.”

The chill seemed to finally leave the woman’s green eyes. “Ahh… sorry,” her head dipped. “I’m not really… used to talking. Without the military bearing. My name’s Heather Kochlier.”

‘And don’t ever tell anyone your true name.’

“Sarah,” Suomi lied. “It’s good to meet you Heather.”

“Likewise.” And for the first time, the icy doll smiled at her.

Suomi braced herself on her knee. It took a lot of effort for her to stand, the warm pastries in her tummy pushing her back to be lazy. But today was important, and she had to get a move on. “Well, I’ve got to get back to shopping. Good luck with… um… retirement?”

Heather’s lips scrunched as if she’d just tasted something sour. “It’s not… Well…” she sighed. “It kind of is, I suppose. I’m just waiting around till my friend calls me, but she’s probably sleeping anyways.”

Then Heather’s green eyes turned Suomi from bottom to top, looking at her exactly like UMP45 did before retrieving a hidden slice of thick chocolate cake.

“Would you mind if I maybe tagged along with you? I’m sort of new to having nothing to do.”

“Um… W-well,” Suomi began.

She looked at the girl, and her snow queen expression. She was a combat doll, there was no doubt about it, but if what she said was true… Tactical dolls conforming to civilian life had an even rougher time about things than even normal A-dolls did.

And this girl was a sister. Even now, she might be under the effects of The Suppression. Did Griffin remove their programming during separation?

She couldn’t be sure. It’d never come up before. But the girl’s downcast attitude struck a chord with the good-natured Suomi, and she agreed.

******************************************************************************

The girls walked down a couple of buildings until they came to an unmarked concrete structure. An old Soviet apartment bloc. Groups of humans and dolls streamed in and out of the main entry way. Two space heaters warmed the crowd as they trickled through into the passage, and vendors called out their wares and their prices.

“Isn’t there some other shop we could go?” Heather asked, seeming completely out of place in the crowd.

“Hmm?” Suomi responded, hardly even noticing them. “Oh, well, sure, but these markets have the best stuff. And nobody really cares about serving dolls here. Some other places get…” she looked around, “uncomfortable.”

Heather didn’t respond, but the look told Suomi she understood. A lot of humans had trouble understanding that dolls had wants and desires all of their own. They figure it was just hardwired programming, and treated dolls like second class citizens. Griffin was in no way public about its reprogramming, but it was certainly not the only one to see them as tools. 

Together, they passed by a couple of stands selling bottled water and basic soups. Heather actually stopped to purchase a pillow, one that felt comfortably soft, which she said was for her, “sleepy friend.”

Suomi finally found the shop she had been looking for in an old concrete apartment. The window had been fixed since the last time Bellows had taken her here, but she recognized the place by the tiny figurines that filled the area.

The shop keeper, an A-doll who wore a very, very fluffy, white jacket, grinned wide enough that it looked painful when they entered the room. “Aha! You must be looking for my sister!” she greeted. “Candice! The baker girl is here!”

“E-err… I’m not a…”

“We’re shoppers,” Heather cut in briskly.

“Oh!” she clapped her hands, speaking in a thick Eastern accent, “it is my mistake!” She dipped her head, deep blue hair flowing over her chest. “How may I help?”

“Just… looking around,” Suomi felt a dribble of sweat, trying to laugh the encounter off. She missed Bellows. He was better with the common people.

“Ah, well please, if you find anything, you will bring them to me,” the doll instructed.

Out of a corner room, another doll with hair the color of blackberry wine emerged. She was at most five feet tall, and more than four feet wide, wearing only a simple green apron. “Yes, hello?”

The first doll hollered something in a deep dialect of Russian that Suomi couldn’t begin to piece together. The new girl stabbed back, her words as sharp as the kitchen knife that she brandished, before vanishing back into the kitchen area.

Suomi pressed her lips together uncomfortably, suddenly feeling like she should have tried the designer store anyways. But she was already here, so she began to browse.

Multiple tables had been set up, with all sorts of figurines displayed. There were ones made of wood, of plastic and steel. Little wooden animals, great metal beasts. She was looking over a field of fantastical plastic creatures, a sign of which displayed ‘can you collect all 151?’, when Heather spoke up.

“You said you’ve been here before?” she asked.

Suomi nodded. “My…” 

She paused, unsure of how to refer to Bellows without saying ‘Commander.’

“Your human?” Heather prompted.

Suomi felt the blush before she realized what she was thinking. A light color of pink twinged her cheeks. “Y-yeah… my human… um, he took me here once. After a really difficult time.”

She opened up the buttons of her blue top, and Heather’s eyes went wide when she dipped her hand into her shirt. She fished her prize from between her breasts.

A pendant hung there. The chain had gotten a little tight, digging into her fleshy neck when she held it up. A deep red garnet glowed from the eye of a silver lion. She felt her smile soften, remembering how nervous she’d been coming off base. She’d held his hand the entire time. “He called me his brave kitten,” she explained without thinking.

Heather nodded, though she said nothing, and Suomi returned the pendant to her chest. She looked around, trying to imagine what a man like Bellows would even want.

And then she remembered the night before, at Spas’s party. Her Commander’s normally cheery expression, humbled and touched with reservation. ‘This could be our final meal together, you know that.’

And suddenly, she knew what she had to get.

She found it sitting atop of a hand-carved chess set. A small little angel wearing a white dress, with fluffy white wings and long blonde hair that fell down her back. Suomi unconsciously fixed her blonde bangs, looking the trinket over.

“Is that it?” Heather asked.

“Yeah…” Suomi breathed. “It’s perfect.” 

******************************************************************************

Very suddenly, Heather had become Suomi’s best friend. 

Not for her certainly cheery disposition, nor for her obviously warm attitude.

Rather, because she had a car. One that Suomi could comfortably fit in.

And it had heated seats.

The young Finnish doll sighed happily as they easily coasted through the worsening snowfall. She bit down on her fourth saucy meatball, her tummy releasing a satisfied purr.

Heather huffed, smirking over at her from the driver’s seat. “Yeah… You two would get along just fine,” she said.

Suomi swallowed, but didn’t ask for a follow up. Instead she closed the lid on her to-go container. “I’m gonna call my friend and let her know we’re on our way back, okay?”

“Sure.”

Suomi resisted the urge to simply use her communicator. It’d be a dead giveaway of her true nature. Instead, she withdrew an ancient flip phone from one of her pockets, and then activated her internal device.

“Hello?” she asked empty air. “Hey! Am I breaking up?”

After a moment a sleepy grumble came through into her inner ear. “Mynnug, whaaat?” 45 groaned. “Suomi you woke me up…”

“I… thought you were baking the cake?”

“USP can handle it… ugh. Are you back yet?”

“Not yet. We’re approaching the gate to the base now.”

There was a tiny pause before 45’s voice was suddenly alert and collected. “We? What do you mean we?”

“I’ll explain more when I get there,” Suomi replied.

She heard 45 grunt through the communicator. “You can’t talk, can you?”

“No.”

“Is your cover blown?”

“No.”

“Is it another doll?”

“I think so.” Then for Heather’s sake, “I know he’s going to love it!”

“Alright… don’t do anything stupid. I’ll meet you at the eastern doors.”

And then she was gone. Suomi clapped the non-functional phone shut.

Heather didn’t say anything.

Traffic had lessened as the weather progressed. When they approached the compound, there wasn’t a pedestrian in sight, and they pulled into the drive. 

As they approached, a sudden thought struck the blonde girl. She’d need to present her access code for the gate to be raised. That would mean giving her ID to the other girl, who could easily see a much, much, much thinner girl grinning back up at her, along with her team identification.

“You can let me out here,” Suomi offered. “It’s not too far a walk. My friend’s meeting me anyways.”

The girl cocked her brow. “It’s no trouble. Like I said, gives me something to do.”

Suomi gulped.

However, when they pulled up to the box, something strange occurred. Instead of asking Suomi for her ID, the other woman instead presented a card of her own. Not the standard white Griffin card, but a black card with a scarlet red stripe that cut through the side.

A card that she’d seen once before, on UMP45’s desk.

A chill went through Suomi’s spine and she turned away, trying to seem as if she hadn’t just seen it. 

The gate slowly opened, and when they passed the booth, Suomi couldn’t help noticing the A-doll inside stood with her back turned to the car. Her posture was too purposeful to not be deliberate. 

UMP45 didn’t exist. That’s what she’d said, that was why no camera nor doll could recognize her. Why she could move around freely, impersonating humans without any care. Unless they had direct contact with her, nobody would ever know 45 was even a T-doll.

But Suomi suspected the girl beside her would. Her icy demeanor, curt personality, it all suddenly fit, and she could perfectly picture Heather Kochler standing in 45’s curvy shadow. 

“So, where’s your friend meeting you?”

Suomi nearly jumped. “Eheh!” she giggled forcefully. “A-at the eastern entrance to the main building.”

Heather eyed her for a moment. “Not at the Quarterdeck? Don’t all personnel need to sign in?”

“I snuck out!” she grinned, trying not to panic, and failing. Her squishy tummy churned uncomfortably, and she suddenly wished she was still covered by her trench coat and scarf. 

Heather made a thoughtful, “Hmph,” before saying, “I didn’t think Griffin dolls could sneak out. That’d be breaking orders.”

“Oh, well, us mail room girls,” Suomi again chuckled. “T-they’re more like guidelines than orders.”

“I… suppose that’s true,” Heather relented. Her driving had slowed to a crawl, but she wasn’t looking at Suomi anymore. Her spring green eyes were scanning the base, and a slight twinkle inside led Suomi to believe she was recording. “I’ve never talked with the mail room dolls. I never received any mail.”

Suomi was trying her best not to tremble. The tiny red teardrop seemed all the more threatening when it was compared to a long scar across an amber eye.

They pulled into the eastern lot and Heather put the car into park. She looked immediately towards the eastern door with her watchful eyes.

It didn’t open.

Suomi hesitated to open her coms link. If she tried to get some sort of warning to 45, the other girl might pick up on it, or 45 might come out thinking she was in trouble.

“Well, t-thank you for the ride,” Suomi bade, reaching for the door handle.

“Don’t you want to call your friend? That door will be locked.”

“Oh, no, it shouldn’t be an issue.” The car door popped open at the slighted touch, flung outward by Suomi’s tubby thighs. Snow drifted into her hair while she reached in the back seat to secure her coat, scarf, and tiny gift box, and with a tiny wave she bade, “Thanks again!” before hurrying off.

“Hey, Sarah!”

The call froze her in her tracks. She turned around and saw the open car window. Heather was holding her to-go box full of meatballs.

“You forgot your dinner!”

Suomi looked down at her full hands, back to the door, back to Heather. “Y-you keep it!” she called through the snow. “Give them to your friend! She’ll love them!”

She didn’t wait for a reply, turning about and hurrying towards the door, praying it would be unlocked.

And then it opened.

Suomi’s internal communicator flared and she was about to shout out to 45 when a T-doll stepped out wearing a very familiar baby blue outfit. The girl was shorter than Suomi, with very bright brown hair pulled back into a long-braided ponytail.

FNC waved pleasantly to Suomi. “Come-on, sister!” she giggled, shaking her pudgy hips in one of Suomi’s old dresses. “You’re so slow! Did you bring chocolates like you promised?”

Suomi only just managed not to look over her shoulder. She heard the tires slowly crunch over the thick layer of snow, heading back toward the main road.

And then she was inside, and she was gasping for breath, her heart beating louder than her tummy ever grumbled. 

FNC’s finger jabbed into her stomach. “You better have something to share!” she exclaimed. “I had to dig through all your old uniforms to find something that’d fit!”

Suomi ignored her. She realized the strength of her grip on the small white giftbox and then nearly dropped it when she loosened her fingers. “Where’s 45?” she asked.

“Watching,” a voice in her ears responded. “Get upstairs. He’ll be back soon.”

The line went dead.

******************************************************************************

By the time Suomi reached office 505, she was beyond out of breath. She had to lean on the wall for support, gasping for air with sweat dripping off her forehead. FNC, who had gone on ahead, was already snacking on another individual container of M&Ms. She waved at Suomi as she came into the room.

45 was laying down on the couch, wearing only a gray tee atop of black short shorts that hardly went past her hip. She was staring up into the ceiling tiles, not moving.

Suomi plopped into her usual loveseat next to the couch, resting her hands on top of her tum. She felt slightly nauseous, as if she had eaten too many chocolates and upset her big stomach, but the rumble inside reminded her she’d lost out on another dozen meatballs, and she just felt upset.

It took a moment for her to catch her breath, and by the time that she had, she was yawning instead. She wanted to ask questions, to figure out who that was or what had occurred, but a much more indulged side of her wanted to just curl her thighs up to her belly and take a cat nap.

It was at that moment that the office door opened. Commander Bellows filled out the frame, his strong stocky shoulders showing through a button-down dress shirt. His commander’s coat lay over one arm, and his loose tie showed the state of his mind.

Each of the girls sat up, then. “Happy birthday, Commander!!” FNC and Suomi greeted in unison.

“Oh, good afternoon girls,” he chuckled, removing his cover. “Sorry, I’ve been helping Winters all day with the equipment. We’ve got the grill all set up now, if you’d like to try it out.”

“G-grill?” Suomi asked. “I thought it was just diner stuff.”

“Well, diners have grills,” he explained with a smile.

Her tummy rumbled. “I-I’d like… a burger…” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“You and everyone else,” 45 snorted. “You should have seen the new girl’s face when they gave her her first.”

“Well, we can go back up there if you girls would like,” Bellows offered. 

“C-Commander,” Suomi interjected. She made to stand from her seat but felt trapped beneath exhausted muscles and the weight of her tummy. She was suddenly surprised when he was standing before her, offering his hands.

She took them and felt the air scoop from her chest as he tugged her onto her feet, her hips coming loose of the love seats armrest. 

“Thank you…” she blushed. 

Her human.

“I-I got you this,” she said, looking down at the gift box.

“Oh?” He took it from her. “Suomi, you didn’t have to trouble yourself.”

“I told her, you’d be happiest if she just got me chocolate,” 45 said, dipping her hand into a fistful of candy.

He rolled his eyes. “Ah, yes. The perfect present. Letting you be even lazier.”

She blew a raspberry at him, but held out her leg which he affectionately pat.

He turned back to the gift and opened the lid, withdrawing the small angel figure by the tiny length of string. 

“I-it’s to keep you safe,” Suomi explained, her thighs rubbing against one another as she swayed from side to side. “A good luck charm, for when you guys go to…” she trailed off, leaving it unsaid.

He turned it over in his hands. “It reminds me of a Christmas tree ornament.” When he looked up to her, Suomi felt all the exhaustion and worry of the day melt away. “Thank you, Suomi,” he grinned. “I really like this. I’ll treasure it.”

Suomi giggled, feeling warmth in her cheeks and in her tummy. “You better.”

******************************************************************************

G11 awoke to find her head resting comfortably atop of a very nice pillow. She’d been moved from her station into an old abandoned living room. She turned over, yawning, chubby fingers scratching her bare tummy, and wished for a thick blanket to cover herself.

Then her nose twitched, and her tired eyes opened to find what had awoken her. A box of food lay open on top of a dusty coffee table.

Thoughtlessly, she sat up, taking the box and putting it into her lap.

It was full of meatballs.

She looked from one side of the dark room to the other. Empty.

Tiredly she mumbled, “Thank you, 416,” and then popped the first of the treats into her mouth using her bare fingers.