(Authors note: Just in case your wondering, I keep referring to the Doctor as ‘Doctor Bailey’ because her first name is very awkward to pronounce, and type… (it’s Z’thindra, by the way, and it drives my spell checker and text to speech nuts…))

Doctor Bailey stood in the doorway, with a smile on her dusky Egyptian face.

“Judging by the colour of your cheeks, what I just heard seems to be true”, she said. “I’ll assume you just hadn’t found the right time to tell me…”

“I…, I…”, said Angela, completely lost for words. Danni, still on charge, did her best to stay still and ignore what was going on.

The Doctor walked closer and rested her hand on Angela’s shoulder. Angela went redder, and shuddered…

“All you had to do was ask me”, the Doctor whispered in her ear. She then sauntered out of the room, a smile on her face.

Angela waited for about a second or two, quickly checking on Danni, with a muttered “I’m going to kill you later…!”. She then shot out of the room after the Doctor…

Danni chuckled to herself. She suddenly heard another voice in her head…

“Are human relationships always this complicated?”, it said.

“What the hell?”, Danni said aloud, sitting up. “Who’s there?”

“You won’t see anyone”, the voice said. “It’s me, HAH One. Surely you recognise your own voice by now…”

“Oh shit, I’m talking to myself…”, said Danni.

“Yes, I suppose you are”, was the response. “Don’t worry, I’m just checking in. I won’t do this all the time. I just wanted to let you know that the charge level was at about 50% so you’ll need to stay plugged in for about another 30 minutes. After that, I suggest that you get breakfast, but you should really put some clothes on first. We’ve caused enough problems in the canteen already…”

“Yes, mother”, said Danni.

“No, Angela is your mother.”, replied HAH One. “I am just looking out for my host.”

Now thoroughly confused, but at the same time feeling cared for, Danni settled back down on the bunk and drifted off into a light slumber while the recharge completed.

Shortly, HAH One notified her that charging was complete and she headed back to her room to dress.

On the way there, however, she visited the stores areas and found a green staff jumpsuit that was in her size.

Back in her quarters, Pete had left to get breakfast, so she dressed in the jumpsuit and some short socks and plimsolls, then headed to the canteen.

She waved to Pete, collected her usual breakfast of pancakes and orange juice, then walked over and sat with him.

“Morning! I didn’t see you sneak off earlier.”, Pete said. “What’s with the jumpsuit?”

“Well, I’m literally part of the team, now, so I thought I’d dress like one”, Danni replied. “Mum’s always wanted me to work here, so I guess she’s getting her wish.”

Danni smiled as she thought about the other ‘wish’ that might be coming true for her mother, but she kept that to herself. There were enough rumours flying about the facility, she didn’t want to add to them.

“Does that mean you’ll be around more often?”, Pete asked, hopefully.

“Down boy!”, Danni said playfully. “It does, but bear in mind I may need to be myself and HAH One. Both our brains are needed here.”

“Regarding that, I’ve had an idea”, Danni continued. “To make people aware of who I am, I’m going to ‘colour code’ my collar, as there is a small LED strip built into it. If you see yellow, I’m Danni, and if you see blue, I’m HAH One. I’ve talked it over with her, and she’s configured the collar accordingly.”

“Was this Angela’s idea?”, Pete asked.

“No, HAH One”, Danni replied. “I talked it over with her.”

“You can communicate with her now?”, Pete asked, amazed.

“Yes. She’s very guilty about what happened to you, but she was trying to save my life. It’s a symbiotic relationship. We are each now dependent on the other for existence.”

“Please tell her I understand now”, said Pete. “Doctor Bailey explained it all to me.”

“Tell her yourself”, said Danni, shutting her eyes for a second. The LED strip went blue.

“Mr Mason”, HAH One said, her voice the same but much less emotional than Danni’s. “A pleasure to meet you under better circumstances. I just wanted to apologise to you for what happened. I didn’t have good enough control yet of my enhanced strength.”

Pete, still nervous and a little uneasy with how his girlfriend had just ‘changed’ in front of him, said “No, it was my fault. I didn’t realise how much you two depended on each other.”

“Despite everything, I hope we can be friends, too”, HAH One said. “I’ve learned a great deal about friendship from my host, and I realise how much it means to humans. Also, I’d like to be your friend as well…”

To Pete’s amazement, HAH One reached out to him, and held his hand in ‘hers’.

“She’s not the only one with feelings for you, you see..”