"Hey, babe?" I said, limping into her room.

"Yeah? What's up?" she said as she set down her diagnostic probe and looked up from her workbench.

"I'm feeling a weird twinge in my left knee. Would you mind having a look?"

"Sure." She pushed her stuff aside to clear a space. "Hop on up."

I climbed onto the table and carefully lay down in front of her.

"Does it feel structural or more like a wiring problem?" she said, opening her toolbox and sorting through her screwdrivers.

"Not structural," I said. "Maybe a wonky sensor?"

"Any unusual activity lately? Maybe you tripped on something and didn't notice the damage?"

"I don't remember tripping, and I haven't been any more active than usual. Maybe I'm just getting old."

She groaned. "Don't say that. I don't want to live with an old lady." She undid a few screws and popped open the panel on my left thigh. I tried to keep still while she poked around inside. "Definitely nothing fatigued or loose. I don't see any bad wires. You mind if I unplug the main feed and get in there?"

"Please do," I said. "I assumed you'd have to." I lifted up my shirt, and she gently inserted the screwdriver into the seam beneath my navel. Once the central panel came loose, I could hear her tinkering around for a while before I felt my legs and butt go numb. I pulled my torso away from my legs a little as she opened a drawer on her workbench and pulled out the cap, connecting it to my waist socket and plugging the main feed back it before closing my central panel.

I lifted myself into an upright position on her workbench as she bent down to get a better look at my leg. She removed a few more panels to expose more of the problem area, and then she handed me a little light.

"Could you hold this steady for me, babe?" she said.

"Sure thing." I balanced myself on her lap and shined the light inside my thigh so she could work. She nuzzled her cheek against mine as the screwdriver went back in.