All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
*
Five days post-breakup.
"I'm worried about him, Winnie. He stays in his room all day. Barely talks. He hasn't even mustered the strength to call me a bad name since the breakup." Penelope hovered over the stove, keeping an eye on the oil temperature of her frying chicken. "It's been days. We don't even know what he's doing in his room."
"Your temperature is over 400, lower the power and get it down to 375." Winifred sat on a barstool, overseeing her mistress's work in the kitchen. Penelope had come a long way with her cooking, but she still needed some supervision. "As for what Teddy is doing in his room, it isn't a mystery. He's investigating."
"Investigating? What on Earth is he investigating?" Penelope looked over at her friend with eyebrows raised.
"It's time to flip the chicken," Winifred said. "It seems he developed a taste for detective work when Cora was missing. I suppose it's not surprising. He always excelled at math and logic at school. He's investigating you."
"Me?" Penelope used tongs to turn the breaded chicken over.
A good mother loves to cook. And I do. I hope this meal coaxes a smile out of Teddy.
"What do you mean, 'me'?"
"Felix and I searched high and low for you after you left. But you didn't want to be found. Six months before you returned, Felix was despondent. He told me to end the search. And then, miraculously you came back to us." Winifred smiled. "Since the breakup, Teddy has poured himself into finding what happened to you during the two and half years you were gone. I think he hopes finding answers might help repair your relationship. I have been helping him when asked. Mostly I've been negotiating with other AIs when the need arises."
"He's doing it to help our relationship?" Penelope took some deep breaths. She tried to ignore her flipping belly and thrumming vagina. She needed to focus on making supper. "I see. So, his seclusion has been productive at least. Has he found anything?"
"First, he spent several days reviewing my notes from my earlier search. He's trying not to replicate our work. He hasn't found anything yet, but he feels that searching memory clinics might give him a clue." Winifred nodded at the sagacity of her human. "Felix and I didn't think to check such places beyond a cursory investigation. We didn't know you would have amnesia when you returned. But Teddy feels you may have wiped your own memory. He has been using bots to search hours and hours of video feeds from whatever cameras we can gain access to. It is difficult work, as you were likely hiding your face. We didn't find you on any cameras when we looked in the past. But Teddy hopes to identify you by your body and walk. He's very clever."
"Oh... that sounds... thorough." Penelope wanted to say insane. She imagined her poor son couped up in his room, programming algorithms to search years of recordings for her. She hoped he wasn't reviewing any of the feeds manually. That would be true lunacy.
He's doing this because he loves me. A good mother supports her son's endeavors.
"I see your worried look. I agree that he's set himself an impossible task." Winifred leaned closer, her elbows resting on the counter. She lowered her voice. "But the loss of his bond with Victoria has hit him hard. It's good that he's found a distraction. He'll end the search when he's ready. Although, it would be good if he got out of the house now and then."
"Indeed." Penelope nodded. "You said Felix told you to stop looking for me two years after I left. Is it okay that you're helping Teddy now? Should you avoid the topic of my disappearance?"
"It's not the same search. You are found." Winifred thought it over. "Felix had lost hope that we would find you. But here you are. I could ask him if he thought Teddy's investigation was a good idea. But it seems harmless, and Felix has been very busy lately with his work. I only want to bring things to his attention when they are important."
"Yes, yes. You're right, of course." Penelope nodded. "Felix has been very busy lately." She frowned and stared into space. It was difficult not talking to her husband daily. And when they did talk, the delays made communicating arduous.
"Check the internal temperature," Winifred said.
"Huh?" Penelope gazed at the robot, holding the tongs absently in her gloved hand.
"Your chicken is likely done. Check the internal temperature." Winifred nodded to the thermometer.
"Oh, yes." Penelope focused back on her cooking and pushed her son to the back of her mind. Winifred was on top of things. Everything would be okay.
~~
Two days later.
"Teddy, please pass me the peas." Penelope smiled at her son.
Theodore blinked at her blankly and passed her the bowl. "Here." He looked back to his plate, pushing food around.