Bargaining
"Okay, I think I've got it," Willow reported, snapping the front panel back into place.
A few buttons were pressed, and the BuffyBot blinked to life once again, smiling brightly at them. "Hi! Is it time to kick vampire ass yet?"
Giles hid his smile behind his cup of tea, taking a sip before he told her, "Almost, Buffy. It's not quite dark yet."
"Oh that's right. Vampires don't come out to play unless it's dark." Blinking mechanically and audibly, she turned to Willow then. "Hello, Willow! You have red hair."
"I sure do," Willow smiled indulgently, and then turned over her shoulder to him, dropping her voice to a near-whisper. "Is there any way to get rid of her stating-the-obvious thing?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Jenny's already tried, but apparently the deductive reasoning and cognitive processing she programmed in means she'll occasionally spout off redundancies."
"Those are a lot of large words, Giles," the robot told him. "If I had a brain, it would probably hurt."
"I apologize, Buffy."
They had spent the last few weeks testing the robot in various conditions and situations. The girls had taken her shopping, both to the grocery store and department stores to ensure she could interact with the clerks in a normal fashion. Willow and Xander had accompanied her out on patrol, to ensure she was using the proper fighting technique and spouting off puns as Buffy had done.
Not to mention he had been spending every afternoon training with her, making sure the advanced robotics could endure the strenuous activity of a true Slayer. For all intents and purposes, she was doing splendidly portraying the real Buffy. Though unfortunately, she was a poor substitute for the real thing.
Giles still missed her terribly; he knew the same was true for everyone else, but for him especially he was finding it difficult to cope with the loss. And Jenny had been correct in her assertion that re-activating the robot would only hinder the road to acceptance. For both he and Dawn, things hadn't been easy.
Luckily, they both had Jenny. She had been marvelous over the summer -- she'd had her time to grieve, and still did occasionally, but for the most part she had accepted the loss, and instead put focus on helping he and Dawn move forward any way she could. She programmed the robot with maternal tendencies, as well as basic moral support and kinship so she could provide a proper home life for Dawn. And what Dawn couldn't get from the robot, she got by spending time at their house.
"Where's Jenny?" Willow asked, finishing up some programming on her laptop.
"She's, ehm... upstairs. She'll be down in just a moment," he replied cryptically, and threw a glance up the stairs, wondering if he could truly divulge to Willow what his wife was occupied with upstairs. He checked his watch and nodded, confirming, "Yes. Any minute now, she'll be back."
Willow frowned. "What's she up to?"
A few buttons were pressed, and the BuffyBot blinked to life once again, smiling brightly at them. "Hi! Is it time to kick vampire ass yet?"
Giles hid his smile behind his cup of tea, taking a sip before he told her, "Almost, Buffy. It's not quite dark yet."
"Oh that's right. Vampires don't come out to play unless it's dark." Blinking mechanically and audibly, she turned to Willow then. "Hello, Willow! You have red hair."
"I sure do," Willow smiled indulgently, and then turned over her shoulder to him, dropping her voice to a near-whisper. "Is there any way to get rid of her stating-the-obvious thing?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Jenny's already tried, but apparently the deductive reasoning and cognitive processing she programmed in means she'll occasionally spout off redundancies."
"Those are a lot of large words, Giles," the robot told him. "If I had a brain, it would probably hurt."
"I apologize, Buffy."
They had spent the last few weeks testing the robot in various conditions and situations. The girls had taken her shopping, both to the grocery store and department stores to ensure she could interact with the clerks in a normal fashion. Willow and Xander had accompanied her out on patrol, to ensure she was using the proper fighting technique and spouting off puns as Buffy had done.
Not to mention he had been spending every afternoon training with her, making sure the advanced robotics could endure the strenuous activity of a true Slayer. For all intents and purposes, she was doing splendidly portraying the real Buffy. Though unfortunately, she was a poor substitute for the real thing.
Giles still missed her terribly; he knew the same was true for everyone else, but for him especially he was finding it difficult to cope with the loss. And Jenny had been correct in her assertion that re-activating the robot would only hinder the road to acceptance. For both he and Dawn, things hadn't been easy.
Luckily, they both had Jenny. She had been marvelous over the summer -- she'd had her time to grieve, and still did occasionally, but for the most part she had accepted the loss, and instead put focus on helping he and Dawn move forward any way she could. She programmed the robot with maternal tendencies, as well as basic moral support and kinship so she could provide a proper home life for Dawn. And what Dawn couldn't get from the robot, she got by spending time at their house.
"Where's Jenny?" Willow asked, finishing up some programming on her laptop.
"She's, ehm... upstairs. She'll be down in just a moment," he replied cryptically, and threw a glance up the stairs, wondering if he could truly divulge to Willow what his wife was occupied with upstairs. He checked his watch and nodded, confirming, "Yes. Any minute now, she'll be back."
Willow frowned. "What's she up to?"