Early in the morning.

The sun is just starting to peek out in New York.
It was on this day a year ago that Mega Man - then known as Rock - and Roll came online for the first time.
It's been a long year since that day, and the past two days have really made it feel even longer.

The Corlett family mobile home is finally exiting New York City, after a nearly 20-hour voyage.
It was made even more unpleasant by sitting in the oh-so-friendly New York traffic, which they finally appear to have escaped.

"My God!" Peter says under his breath, "Even in this time of the day, these streets are gridlocked... and the language on these people."

"That's why they call it the City that Never Sleeps." Nancy adds.

The mobile home makes it's last turn before it reaches it's destination: Dr. Light's Laboratory.
He and his wife look out the windshield at the titanium structure before them.

"Wow!", he says, in awe of the mecca of science that is Dr. Light's Lab, "This is holy teritory for a geek like me, babe!", he says.

Nancy smiles, "You're weren't expecting this on a vacation to God's country, were you?"

Layne runs up to the front and sees the lab himself. "Whoa!", he says, "This is Dr. Light's lab! Hey Rush, you're home!"

Rush runs over to the front area and looks out the window! His tail wags like crazy and he lets out some barks and hoots.
Rush grabs Peter's hand with his paws and kisses it, barking gratefully. If only he spoke english, he'd be saying "Thank You" over and over again.

"That's right, big guy," he says, "You're home!"

Nancy rubs Rush's head and says, "I wish all dogs were as nice as you."

Layne says to Rush, "Keep kicking butt out there, boy!", holding out his hand.

Rush raises his paw and gives him a high five.

He then looks behind him to Lisa, who isn't smileing, because she can't help but be sad that her new friend is leaving.
After only a day, they formed quite a bond.
Lisa steps up to Rush and gives him a hug, wrapping as much of her short arms around him as she can.
Rush feels water dripping on his shoulder, followed by a quiet sob.

"I'll miss you", little Lisa barely says.

Rush reaches around with a front paw and wraps it around the girls little body, now looking sad himself, despite that he's happy to be home.
He pulls himself away and looks at young Lisa with her teary eyes. He wants to cheer her up, and he knows the way to do it.
Rush steps a little closer and gives her a lick on the face and Lisa starts giggling again, and the robodog nuzzles himself to Lisa a little
more so she can hug him again.

Inside the house ajoining the lab.

Roll is recharging, lying down on Dr. Light's couch and Eddie is in her arms, also "asleep."
Roll accidentally let herself slip into recharge mode while keeping an eye out for Rush.

"Roll?" quietly calls Mega Man, "Roll, wake up."

Roll's blue eyes open and look up to her brother and Dr. Light nearby, her pupils
shrinking as her optical circuits adjust to the brightness.
"Dr. Light?... Mega?... I forgot to wake you!"

"Hey, it's okay, sis," Mega says, forceing out a half smile, "I needed the rest anyway."

Roll sits up and hands Eddie to the good doctor, who sets him elsewhere on the couch as to not wake him up.
"You need any help?", Roll asks.

"All the help I can get." Mega responds.

"I'll prep the skycycle."

"I'll bring Item #2 to you, Mega Man," says Dr. Light.

"Hey... what's that noise?", Mega asks.

Mega Man is sure he can hear a scratching at the front door. Thomas hears it too and goes to a nearby office room and pulls of the
complex's security feeds.
A few key strokes later and he sees a live image of the camera stationed near the front door of the house... and sees Rush standing
there pawing at the door.

A smile comes accross Dr. Light's face.
"Well, I'll be!", he says, getting up to tell his children.

"Would you open the front door, both of you?" Thomas requests.

"Why?", Mega asks.

"Trust me," Thomas says, smiling, "You're going to want to open that door."

Mega and Roll go over to the front door and unlock it, opening it and there stands their dog Rush standing there, who instantly perks
up when he sees them.

"Rush!" Mega calls as Roll gasps.

Rush barks and Mega Man and Roll sink to their knees and embrace him.

"I've missed you, Boy!," Mega says, petting his dog "We've been lookin' all over for you!"

Rush licks Mega Man's face, which causes the hero to laugh and smile for the first time since two days ago.
Rush then turns to Roll and licks her face too, causing her to laugh.
The ladybot wraps her arms around Rush and hugs him and Rush snuggles in her grasp as Mega also puts his arms around them.

"Oh, we love you so much!" Roll peeps, "Hey!... I've got got something for you!"

Roll breaks the hug and reaches into her pants pocket, pulling out the same battery biscuit she placed there the other day.

"I know you want one of these!", Roll says.

Rush's eyes widen and his licks his lips, then he quickly scarfs the treat and he starts to feel better physically.

"Hey, come'ere, boy!" Thomas happily calls as he approaches.

Rush barks and licks him too and the Light family embraces, together at last. Mega looks over to the outside and sees a mobile home
and four humans standing there: a man, a woman, a boy and a younger girl.
These humans must have found Rush and brought him back.

Mega waves and says, "Thank you!" to them.

They all wave back and Rush looks back and lets out a bark towards the family, giving them a wink.

Late that night.

Rush introduced the Corletts to his family and Dr. Light has allowed them to store their mobile home in the lab's garage until they
can return to their home tommorrow.
The gesture was the least he could do in thanks for returning Rush safely.
Of course, Layne thought Mega Man was the coolest hero ever and was kind of starstruck.
Roll bonded with little Lisa like she was the baby sister she never had.

The Lights have gone to bed and Mega Man is in his room, taking off his helmet and setting it aside.
There lying in Mega's bed is Rush, who is finally resting comfortably in his own home with his own family.
It's so good to see him back here, alive, well and safe at last.
Mega lies down next to him and wraps an arm around him, holding his four-legged friend close.

No birthday gifts were exchanged today. There will be time for that tommorrow. They weren't needed today anyway.
Mega Man smiles as he knows that having his pet back home is the best birthday gift he and Roll could ever wish for.

The End.

Author's comments:
I told you there wasn't much left. Yeah, since I overloaded Chapter 2, this ending does feel very abrupt.

So, please leave a review and tell me how much you liked it... or how much it sucked if you didn't like it.
Don't worry, my ego isn't too fragile to take criticisim. If something is wrong, I'd like to know.