Author's Notes: Welcome to my rogue January fanfic project. (I often write one every January, but they don't always get posted.) I fell hard into this fandom and I'm stuck here for now. I think I've had a human/android romance story in me for sometime now. It's always something that's intrigued me. But it was this world of Detroit that gave me the extra push. Writing this story has been like being in love. When I'm not with it, I'm thinking about it. This will be the most romantic piece of fluffy fluff you might ever see from me. Prepare yourself for more Connor fluff than you can handle, because I am enamored and I cannot stop writing about him.

I am also fascinated by the world of Detroit and how the public in general reacts to the androids. A large part of this story takes place in Chicago where I am feeling out a different android culture than what's in Detroit. Lots of world building goes on with the story and I hope it fascinates you as much as it has fascinated me.

Warnings: This fic contains the same mature language that you hear in the game. There will be a couple of violent scenes. Later chapters will probably contain at least somewhat explicit adult scenes. Right now the rating is T, but it will probably jump to an M further into the story.

Thank you so much for reading!

Chicago: Become Human

Chapter One: Connor Repurposed

October 2037 – One year and one month until the android revolution.

The RK800 model, serial number 313 248 317-48 sat in the back of the police cruiser with detached patience. Designated "Connor" by his designers, the android was at the mercy of the officers in the front seat. He went wherever they deemed to take him. Androids were not allowed to drive. They were also not permitted to carry any sort of firearm. They were allowed to work jobs and handle people's money, or look after children without human supervision. But cars and guns, the public was not ready to trust them with such things alone.

Connor had no opinion of it either way. He was not programmed to simulate opinion, only tell facts as he saw them. He was also programmed for infinite patience, which led to many, many hours sitting in the back of police cruisers, sometimes even locked inside alone. Connor had no opinion of this either.

Instead, he idled his time by rolling a quarter over his knuckles, back and forth, over and over in a perfect ripple. He had found the coin in one of the cruisers a few weeks ago and offered it to the officer on duty. The human just looked at it as if the money wasn't worth the effort to put it in his pocket and told Connor to keep it if he liked.

Connor didn't know about liking it, but he did keep it. In those quiet hours when he was forgotten and left behind, he would pull the quarter from his pocket and fiddle with it. Flipping it up in the air was the first thing he taught himself. Then it was rolling it over his knuckles from one hand to the other. Then came more complicated tricks: spinning it on his finger tips, flicking it from one hand to the other, nearly faster than the human eye could catch. He did not know why he taught himself these tricks, he just did.

The police cruiser pulled into a small neighborhood, responding to a call for assistance. Connor noticed young children riding their bikes and trikes in the cul-de-sac where their target destination was located. Not an adult in sight—human or android. Very irresponsible, Connor observed. As the two officers in the front opened their doors, there was clear yelling coming from the house where they parked. The car doors were shut, leaving Connor alone inside. The back doors of the cruiser did not open from the inside, as that was where perpetrators were placed. Connor was used to it.

The entire purpose of the RK800 test model was to construct a perfect program that would eventually allow Cyberlife to release an enhanced android exclusively available to police departments. Something far more advanced than the regular beat cop models, the PC200 and the PM700, they already used. The main goal was to provide quick analysis to on-site crime scenes and assist in more complicated police matters. Especially those involving other androids; which, in just the few past months, was becoming an issue that had never arisen before. When the Detroit Police Department was given the RK800 android, however, they didn't seem to know what to do with him, which was why Connor spent so much time in the car.

He expected it to be much of the same this time, until the officer on the passenger side opened the door for him.

Officer Green was his name. "There's an android on scene. We might need extra assistance."

"That's what I'm here for," Connor said politely. He returned the coin to his pocket as he stepped out of the car and straightened his tie. It was in his coding to always look as professional as possible. Cyberlife was trying to sell a product and it was his duty to make the product always look good.

Neighbors were gathering around the yard as the homeowner, a woman in her late twenties, continued to scream hysterically in the driveway. Particularly at the the individuals that sat locked in her car. She had been frantically yanking on the door handles, screaming and swearing, beating on the windows when the officers had pulled up.

"It's about time you got here!" The homeowner then turned her rage on the officers as they arrived. "That thing could have hurt my kids by now while you took your sweet ass time!"

Neither officer looked particularly concerned with the scene. As they tried to placate the woman about their lack of punctuality, Connor scanned the car. There were three bodies inside: two human, one android. The humans were in the back seat. Both were male, twins. Likely between the ages of five and six. They looked concerned, their hearts beating a bit faster than normal.

The android sat in the front seat of the car, hands on the steering wheel. She was an AH200: a domestic model specifically programmed for housekeeping and minding younger human children. Her face also looked stressed, her LED flickering quickly between yellow and red.

"That android could have taken off with my boys and done God knows what to them!" the homeowner continued to rant. "I called the station nearly forty minutes ago!"

"Ma'am, I assure you that is not a possibility," Connor offered before the other officers could reply. "The AH200 model is programmed to be protective of children, not to harm them. And all Cyberlife androids have a fail-safe. Their program freezes if they attempt to drive any vehicle. The time-frame of our arrival would not have mattered. The android is incapable of driving away."

The woman looked at him as if a lamp post suddenly started talking to her. She turned back to the officers. "Get that damn thing out of my car and away from my babies!"

Assured by Connor's words, neither officer responded as urgently as the mother. "Can you tell us why the android put the kids in the car?" asked Officer Barton, the one who had driven them to the scene.

"I have no idea. It's been glitching these past few weeks. I've been meaning to take it in for maintenance, but I haven't had the money."

"Ma'am," Connor offered again, "if you like, I can access the car's computer and unlock the doors."

Suddenly he was someone worth the woman's attention. "Oh, yes please! Unlock the car!"

Connor hacked into the car's system with ease, but as he ordered the machine to unlock the doors, he was blocked by another cybernetic entity. The clash of two sent a painful feedback into his processor as a female voice screamed in his head. "GET OUT!"

Connor jerked back from the assault, his systems scrambling to block out the other android.

"What's wrong?" Officer Barton asked him.

"The other android, she's communicating with me over my radio frequency."

"Stay out! They're safe with me!" the female android yelled in his head. Her voice was strained, static, and glitchy. "These are my children! Not hers! I raised them! I fed them! I put them to bed! My children! She can't take them away from me!"

"She thinks the children are hers. That you are trying to take them away," Connor translated for the rest of them.

"I am trying to take them away from it! It's broken!" the mother spat. "I am their mother! I carried those boys in my body! How dare that plastic piece of-"

As the woman stalked toward the car, the engine jumped to life and everyone froze.

"She can't," Connor insisted. "Her programming will never allow her to leave the driveway."

The car lurched and stopped, and lurched again, as if the driver were having physical trouble pushing down the pedal.

"Shouldn't be possible," Connor muttered to himself.

"Stop it!" the mother screamed. "Stop it from taking my babies!"

The car lurched again as it backed out of the driveway.

"No, no, no!" Officer Barton called as the android-operated vehicle plowed its back end into the police cruiser.

With a grinding of gears, the car was forced into drive, the damaged back bumper now scraping on the ground. Connor processed the car's intended pathway instantly. The android was driving blind with panic, focusing only on fleeing. It took no notice that it was now putting other children in danger. Something that none of the Cyberlife models should have been capable of doing. They were programmed to shut down instantly if they were about to act on harming any human. And yet, here was an android driving a car and careening straight for a little girl pedaling a purple plastic tricycle.

Connor sprinted into the pathway of the fleeing vehicle. As the little girl came up fast, he dove into the blacktop, shoving the small body out of the way. He saw the blunt nose of the runaway vehicle careening toward him.

He was aware of physical impact, then static.

Then nothing.

.

Model RK800 "Connor", serial number 313 248 317-48 became aware once more as he was brought online. His internal clock synced with online routers to confirm it had been two months since he had been active. Immediately, a smattering of damage reports flooded in. He felt no pain, but also could not feel his left arm. It was completely torn off. The rest of his limbs he was unable to move. He wondered if that coin was still somewhere on his person.

"Well, look, I guess it does still work," said a female voice.

Conor was not standing under his own power. His blue-stained body, what was left of it, hung from the wall amid other damaged parts. Other damaged RK800s. His vocal processor no longer worked. All he could do was hang there, watch and listen.

There were three humans standing in front of him. The one who spoke was Amy Witman, a technician with Cyberlife. Connor recognized her from his memory banks. She had begun working with the company two models ago. Each Connor, after the body was damaged, would have all programming, memories and data downloaded into a new body and sent back out into the field. The current Connor was eighth in the line of androids sent out in the field. After being offline for so long, no doubt the ninth Connor was already back with the police department for weeks now. Perhaps even that was damaged and now the tenth was in the back of someone's squad car.

There were two other humans with Amy: a broad, tall female with sharp features and short, dark hair, and a much larger male with a short marine-style cut and various pale scars on his face. Neither of these humans were in Connor's database.

"It's pretty hashed," said the unknown female. "Is it even worth the effort to put it back together?"

"Yeah, the Detroit PD is pretty rough with them," Amy agreed with a bit of irritation. "Those guys don't understand how expensive these are. They'll just take them anywhere. Several have come back with bullet holes. We do have other RK800's in storage that are brand new. Maybe you should ask about getting one of those."

The unknown male stepped closer to Connor, eyeing his form up and down. "This is the one that jumped in front of a moving vehicle to save a kid, right? This is the one I want. And since it's all chewed up, no one's going to care if we do a little customizing when we put it back together. Maybe change that innocent little baby-face, too, while we're at it.

The unknown female took her turn to get close to Connor's face. "Nah, leave it that way. He's cute. She'll like it."

Amy stepped forward and turned the android off. And Connor ceased to exist once more.

January 2038 – Ten months until the android revolution.

When Connor next came online, his internal clock told him nearly three weeks had passed. He was standing under his own power this time, instead of hanging on the wall. He was in a padded shipping container standing upright. An internal diagnosis reported he had since been repaired and was now whole. It also reported a vast amount of new programs and information that had been added to his files.

"Connor," a male voice greeted.

He saw the same human man standing before him from before at the Cyberlife labs. Only this time, now the information was available to him. The man's name was Garrett Brant, Security Director for the Hall Foundation, registered as Connor's direct supervisor. Hall Foundation CEO Elliot Hall was registered as Connor's legal owner. This person did not seem to be present in the room.

"Hello, Garrett," Connor greeted, pleasant but neutral.

"Yeah," the human replied, his tone blunt and commanding, but not impolite. "How are your upgrades? Everything working okay?"

Connor glanced around. They were currently standing in an enclosed garage, the January cold easily seeping in through the metal walls and concrete floors.

"Yes. All physical injuries are repaired and my systems are fully functioning." He paused as more and more programs began to come online and integrate themselves into his processor. "I was created by Cyberlife to assist with investigations with the Detroit Police Department, but... it seems I have been... repurposed?"

"Exactly," Garrett agreed. "You were heavily damaged on the job. My employer purchased you from Cyberlife and commissioned your repairs. We gave you a few modifications to fulfill our specific needs. You should have all this information in that head of yours, correct?"

"Yes, Garrett."

"I think I prefer Sir from you. Call me that from now on."

"Yes, Sir. May I ask, am I no longer in Detroit?"

The human smirked a little. "Yeah, but you haven't gone far. Welcome to Chicago. Come with me and I will introduce you to your assignment."

Connor stepped from the container and followed Garrett to the door where he pressed his hand to a consul. The door hissed open and the two went inside.

"I don't have any information about my access to the building," Connor reported.

"You don't have access, not for this side of the facility. You will have no reason to be in here so take in the tour now. You won't be back a second time."

Connor did look around as he was led down a straight, empty hallway. To either side were rooms; sterile and stainless. Labs, technical equipment; some in use, some empty and dark. The few personnel seen were all humans. No android assistants in sight. Usually they were everywhere, in every house and business. It was odd to be in a place where he was the only android.

"Sir, I cannot access any sort of GPS satellite to tell our exact location," Connor reported to the human's back.

Garrett did not look back or slow his pace. "We've purposefully blocked you from accessing open-public systems. This is a highly classified facility. You can log onto certain places on our closed wireless network here in the company, but that is all. We've never used androids here because it opens us up to hackers. You will be the first and have been heavily modified to prevent every possibility of being accessed by an outside source.

"If at ANY point we think your systems have been compromised, you're on a truck back to Detroit, got it?"

Connor's LED flickered yellow for a second. He had not expected to have his new assignment threatened so quickly.

"I understand. I will do everything I can to keep out unauthorized access."

"Good. If at any time you even think an outside source is trying to break in, you will tell me immediately. No exceptions. I will also be popping in randomly for one-on-one reports during this transition period." Garrett glanced back at the android. "This is a new thing for all of us. If it's not working out, your commission will be cut short and back to Cyberlife you go."

"Yes, Sir."

At the end of the long hallway sat another consul and Garret pressed his palm to it as well. "This side is the house. You will have full access to this part of the building and anywhere on the grounds."

The door slid open and a completely different world opened up before them. The sterile labs were gone and replaced with the warm browns of a domestic setting with wood floors and large picture windows. Paintings on the walls and tasteful furniture meant to convey all the comforts of home. Upon entrance, Connor found he had access to the blueprints of house side of the facility and adjacent grounds surrounding them.

Garrett continued to lead through the house and to another closed door which opened automatically when he approached it. Inside was a modest-sized library with tall, narrow windows, each opened to let in the gray of the January morning. It snowed feebly outside, making the inside feel even cozier. A small fire crackled in the fireplace and Connor's life scanners picked up a human body curled up in a tall chair mostly out of view.

"Hey, it's me," Garrett called. "Come see this. I brought you a late Christmas present."

There was movement from the chair. A glance by the person sitting upon it. Then the body jerked a little in surprise and stood up. A human female. She looked Connor up and down once, twice. Her eyes landed on his LED and remained there for a while.

"Did you just bring an android into my house?" she asked.

Connor knew exactly who she was. Her information was in his files. Samantha Hall, age twenty-three. His assignment. Identified as "The S.H." in his reports. Not a correct use of grammar, but organizations could have their own shorthand for things, especially for classified files.

"Surprise!" Garrett said.

Eyes still stuck on Connor, Samantha skirted around the coffee table in her way and approached. "You were the one who said having an android was too dangerous, Garrett."

The man placed a hand on Connor's shoulder. "We modified this one special. Triple firewalls. It's practically unhackable."

"Hello, Samantha," Connor announced, as he was programmed to do. "My name is Connor, I'm an android from Cyberlife. I have been recommissioned to serve as your bodyguard."

Samantha looked at him without reaction. She turned to Garrett with a raised brow. "Oh, he is, is he?"

"Yeah, I bought it to protect you," the man insisted. "It's here to keep you safe."

"Is that all it's for?"

"Yes," Garrett insisted, sounding a little tired as if they had had a part of this conversation multiple times before. "It's perfect for you. They use these models at the Detroit PD. We upgraded its systems with the most cutting-edge programming for survival, hand-to-hand combat, and firearms.

"Way better than any of my guys; it doesn't eat, it doesn't sleep. It can go anywhere and everywhere with you, day and night. Hell, you can bathe with it if you want to. They tell me its also waterproof."

Samantha looked at Connor again. Her eyes were large and deep, murky gray like the ocean during a winter storm. Connor had never seen such human eyes. Eyes with nothing behind them. In his short life, he had seen eyes that were bright, humorous, cold, or angry. He had never seen human eyes that held... nothing.

"Connor, huh?" she said it in his direction, but the words weren't aimed at him. "I don't even get to name him myself?"

Garrett shrugged. "I guess it's still got the name it had before. Cyberlife wasn't about to give us one of their new ones. I had to kiss some serious ass to get a hold of this one and it was so damaged they were about to throw it out. And then we had to foot the bill for the repairs to boot. You're looking at one of the most expensive androids on the market right now: a custom job of a specialized prototype. So be grateful, little girl."

She continued to look at Connor. Her gaze, he noticed, remained transfixed on his LED. She sucked in a long breath, held it, and then let it out. That was all the permission she gave and Garrett must have thought it was enough.

"Good," he said with finality. "I will leave you two to get acquainted."

"What?" Samantha protested, now giving Garrett her full attention. "You're leaving me alone with this..." She gestured to Connor, unsure how to address him. "Don't we have to... set it up, install something? Is there an owner manual?"

"It's not a laptop, Sam. We've already downloaded all the information it needs. You just talk to it, tell it what you want it to do."

"What am I supposed to say?"

"Tell it to do whatever. Or don't talk to it, I don't care, I have important shit to do."

"Garrett! You can't just bring this in here and then leave!"

Garrett was already leaving. "Bye Samantha. I'll come back tonight, okay? You can tell me how it goes."

The library door slid shut behind him and the two were left alone. Samantha closed her eyes, her thick, dark lashes fluttering down. They were a stark contrast to her strawberry blonde hair. She opened them again and looked at the android.

"...Connor?"

"Yes, Samantha."

She jumped a little at the immediate polite response.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Connor asked. "My apologies."

Her body language loosened a little, her delicate brows drawn in. "No, I guess I'm sorry. We've never had an android here before. I'm not entirely sure how we're supposed to interact."

"Cyberlife designs its androids to be as close to the human experience as possible," Connor recited from the generic company statements implanted in his programming. "It is recommended that you speak to me as if I were human. I assure you I am very comfortable with everyday conversation. If you say something I do not understand, I will ask for clarification."

Samantha breathed out loudly again. This human, he noticed, seemed to breathe as if the mere act were more of a chore for her.

"Alright, can I... give you a tour of the house?"

"There is no need. I already know where everything is. I have the blueprints stored in my processor."

"Okay then. Um..." She glanced around the room, looking uncertain. "Is there anything that you would need from me, Mr. Bodyguard Android?"

Connor recognized the title was a colloquialism and not an indication that she had forgotten his real name, so he did not address it. "Not at this time. Though I think it pertinent if I searched the property and checked all possible entrances."

"So... you're going to give yourself a tour."

"If you want to put it that way, yes."

Samantha looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to realize something. He didn't.

"Okay," she then announced. "Well, you go do that."

"I will Samantha, thank you."

.

The house was large for one person, but not overly extravagant in size. And it did seem to be all for one person. There was no sign that any other humans lived in the house as Connor checked every room and scanned for signs of invaders.

In the hallway he passed a narrow mirror on the wall and inspected himself. Whatever repairs and modifications were done to him, his face still looked the same. The more casual attire of his police uniform jacket and jeans were replaced with a sharp, charcoal suit, black dress shoes and a jet black tie. No subtle pattern upon it, just solid black. The usual reflective arm band and triangle printed on the chest were still present. They were visual indicators to all humans that he was an android and he was required to wear them at all times.

Connor checked his hair and adjusted his tie in the mirror. He preferred this look. Sleek, orderly, professional. And no one had left him in the back of a police cruiser to be forgotten.

Approaching the locked back door of the house, Connor could wirelessly ask it to unlock itself and allow him access to the grounds outside. The firm January snow crunched under his dress shoes as he wandered around the house. It was snowing harder now. This was helpful. As he scanned the grounds, he could see no recent tracks other than his own. Finding this to be satisfactory, he went back inside to keep a proper eye on his new assignment.

Samantha was found in the kitchen putting some water on the stove to heat. Connor sat himself at the table and watched her. He had little experience interacting with women in his short life as an android. There were female officers at the station where he had worked previously, but he had never been assigned to any of them.

In the part of him that learned from watching human interactions, Connor had the basic understanding that there was often a behavioral difference between men and woman. Not always. Sometimes human females were more masculine and sometimes human males could act more feminine, but there was a broad attitude that it was proper to be more polite and softer with the females. It often required more effort to gain their trust. Having Samantha's trust, Connor decided, would be ideal to help him do his job.

"What are you making?" Connor asked, looking pointedly at the stove.

Samantha turned and paused when she saw him sitting at the table. "Just some hot chocolate. It's very cold today."

"It is," Connor agreed. "I was just outside."

The barest hint of a smile tugged at the side of her mouth. Though her eyes... no emotion ever seemed to make it up to her eyes.

"What kind of hot chocolate do you like?" Connor then asked.

"Oh um... almost any kind. Though mint is probably my favorite."

Detail logged. "What is it you do? Do you have a job? A profession? Will I need to travel with you? I was not given any information on this."

"No." Samantha gave another one of those sighs, always as if she was put upon to be forced to take the breath in order to speak. "I'm afraid it will just be us remaining on the grounds. Everything I do, I do right here."

"That is preferable."

"Is it?"

"Yes. If you are inside, it is much easier for me to keep you safe."

Samantha poured some of the hot chocolate into a mug and took it with her. "Well, I'm happy to make your job easy, then." She saluted him with the cup and walked out the door.

.

The android followed her back into the library. Samantha wasn't sure what to think about that. She wasn't sure of what to think about this entire morning. She had never had an android or a bodyguard before. Having both at the same time... she was having a very difficult time trying to decide how to react. And was this thing just going to follow her from room to room? She thought maybe he would just park himself in a corner somewhere like a security system and stay there. This was not what she wanted. Samantha was used to having her own space—having nice quiet, empty rooms to herself.

When she sat at her reading chair, Conner sat himself in another available chair in the corner. Maybe he would sit there quietly and she could pretend he wasn't there at all. Unfortunately, it seemed the android was never going to let her forget him.

"What are you reading?" came the polite question from the corner, jarring her concentration just as she was getting back into the story.

"A book," she said tersely, trying to regain her concentration.

"Yes, I see that. I was asking about the title."

She steeled her jaw, but didn't say anything. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away.

"Samantha," came the response after a while. "Will you tell me the title?"

"No." The answer came out of her mouth before she could think about it. She knew it was rude, but could one even be rude to an object? This was an android. A robot; a thing. Was it even capable of being offended? A part of her was suddenly so curious to see if it was.

No response at all from Connor and she did not dare to look at him. Maybe he took that as a social cue to be silent from now on.

"What's the book about?"

"Oh my god," Samantha mouthed. There would be no peace for reading. With a huff, she decided she might as well get some cleaning done.

To her dismay, Connor followed her to every room. And the questions, he was always full of questions. He would ask her about items in the room. When she wouldn't answer to that, he would ask her any personal question he could think of: her favorite color, favorite movies, did she like animals, did she like snow. Samantha answered none of it, but the android just keep talking. It seemed he was convinced that if he just found the right question, she would finally engage him.

This went on for over two hours. Which was about an hour and forty-five minutes longer than it needed to be. But Samantha was stubborn. She wanted to see if she could wait the android out. Would it finally get that she didn't want to talk? Would it eventually run out of questions? It was getting into hour three when she realized that winning a contest like this against a machine was a practice in lunacy.

"That's it!" she suddenly announced in the middle of one of Connor's questions. "I can't take it anymore!"

She opened up the hallway closet, looking pointedly at Connor. "In."

Connor looked into the closet which was mostly empty save for a winter coat and an aqua jacket. "You want me to... go into the closet?"

"Yes, in."

"If I'm in the closet, how will I look out for-"

"Get. In," she hissed.

Connor stepped inside and rotated to face her. She shut the door on him and then walked over to the speaker on the wall and pushed the button. "Garrett, I would like to talk to you. NOW."

.

Ten minutes later, both humans stood in the hall, both equally irritated for different reasons.

"So, what exactly did you do with the android?" Garrett asked, still a bit confused over what was going on.

"I put him in the closet," Samantha announced.

"You... what?"

Samantha opened the door. Connor was still there.

"Hello, Sir," he greeted. "I would like to-"

Samantha shut the door in his face again, muffling the rest of the android's statement.

"That thing is driving me nuts, Garrett. It doesn't shut up. It's been asking me questions all morning."

"It's a police bot, Sam. It worked on investigations and crime scenes. It's programmed to ask a lot of questions."

"I can't handle it. I don't know how to make it stop."

"Did you ask it to?"

Samantha just frowned.

"Sam, this is a twenty thousand dollar machine, it's completely capable of learning. If you want it to do something, you have to talk to it." Garrett opened the closet again and Connor looked at them expectantly.

"Hey, Connor."

"Yes, Sir?"

"You need to shut your fucking trap. You're driving Samantha crazy with your yapping. If it's not something important, then shut up. Got it?"

The android was silent. His LED flickered yellow for only a moment and then whirred the usual blue as he processed this information.

"I understand, Sir."

"Good, now get out of the damn closet."

"Yes, Sir."

Garrett turned and looked at the two. "Anything else?"

They said nothing.

"Fucking fantastic." Then to Samantha, "Any other problems with the machine, find a way to fix it yourself. I'm busy."

Samantha frowned and glanced over at the android. How was she supposed to live with this thing?

.

"What are you doing? Hurry the fuck up!"

"I can't! She's fighting me!"

"They know we're here! We're not going to get her out! We have to go!"

"Fine! We'll do it here! Hold her down! Hold her the fuck down!"

No! What are you doing?! Oh God! Please stop! Don't! DON'T!

Samantha awoke with that god-awful noise still echoing in her ears. That thick, wet, sickening sound of flesh and bone meeting metal. It still made her stomach roil as the ghost of it haunted her. She sat up, clammy with sweat, her heart pounding. She clutched her chest, willing her heart to slow, forbidding her stomach from throwing up.

It refused. She ran to the adjacent bathroom and hurled into the toilet. Even after all the contents had been purged, she continued to heave until she was shaking on the bathroom floor. Eventually, she found the strength to pull herself to her feet. She stared at her haggard visage in the mirror before rinsing her mouth in the sink.

Stepping back into the bedroom, she retrieved her slippers and one of her many over-sized sweaters that covered her down to her fingertips. There would be no going back to sleep after that. She stepped out of the bedroom and padded down the hall.

"Samantha."

She jumped, spinning around at the unfamiliar male voice. The tall form standing directly behind her sent her stumbling back against the wall in fear. It was another second more before she realized she was not in danger.

"Connor!" His arm band glowed in the darkness. "Oh my god!"

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to scare you," the android said in a soft voice. He paused and looked her over.

She placed a hand over her heart as it threatened to nearly break from her chest. Breathe. You're safe. Breathe.

Connor moved closer. "You seem to be in distress. Can I assist you?"

She took another long breath. "No, it's fine. I'm just not used to seeing a form standing in my hall in the middle of the night."

"That was my fault. I should have let you know I was in the vicinity before standing so close."

Samantha said nothing, but merely canted her head in way of accepting his apology. She turned and continued down the hall toward the kitchen.

"Would you like me to turn on the lights?" Connor asked from behind her. She could now hear his measured footfalls on the wood floor as he followed.

"No," she said softly. "I like the dark."

The white world outside reflected a bit of light into the house from the windows as Samantha stepped unerringly into the kitchen. She knew the house by heart and could navigate with her eyes closed. She retrieved a glass from the cabinet and the small fridge light glowed blue as she activated the water dispenser.

As she sipped her glass, she watched Connor who stood next to the counter, watching her in return. He was still in his crisp new suit, not a stitch out of place. Androids didn't sleep. She wondered what he did in the house all night. What he was going to do here every night. For the first time, Samantha fully wrapped her head around the fact that this android was going to be a permanent presence in her house.

She suddenly felt sick again and moved to the kitchen sink in case she needed to hurl. She daintily sipped her water, willing the nausea to pass. She felt Connor move closer until his presence—she didn't know androids could have a presence—was nearly in her space. He didn't touch her. She had heard somewhere it was in their protocols that androids were not allowed to initiate physical touch with humans.

"Are you sure I cannot help you?" Connor asked.

She closed her eyes, trying to block him out. No, she would have to talk to him. Androids needed direct communication. "It's fine, Connor. Don't worry about it."

He was motionless for a few moments, then stepped closer, putting himself in her space. If he were human, she would have felt his breath on her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like questions." His voice came out as a whisper near her ear. "Please, tell me what I can do for you and I will do it."

The concern and sincerity in his voice shook her. How was this a machine when the emotion from him felt so real? Her heart fluttered at his words, her throat going tight. His broad, masculine shoulders framed the space around her and she felt... safe somehow. It was nice. Maybe having the android around could work.

She turned to face him, her eyes lighting upon the reflective triangle on his chest. Then she slid past him. "You can come with me, if you want."

He followed, both still walking in the dark. They entered the parlor where the windows were wider and the bright white of winter reflected into the room, making it easy to see.

To Connor she said, "Sit where you like."

He walked past her into the room, hands in his pockets as he strolled around. He meandered toward the baby grand piano and touched it with his fingers. He then looked up at Samantha. "Do you play it?"

She glanced to the piano, an old friend that she had stopped visiting. "I know how, but I haven't done it in a while."

Connor walked around the instrument, his fingertips trailing along its smooth surface as he went. It was so... human the way he moved. Was this how technology was these days? Did all androids act so life-like? She watched, enraptured by his movements as he sat at the piano bench and raised the cover. His fingers soundlessly ran over the keys.

"May I hear you play it?"

Again, his words gave her an uncanny tingle. That flickering blue LED light at his temple was the only thing reminding her she wasn't having a conversation with a living, thinking being.

"Not tonight." Samantha tore her eyes from his silhouette to gaze out at the world. She hated the cold of winter. But the beauty of the snow at night was calming, serene. It-

Plink.

Her gaze snapped back over to the piano. "Connor, please don't."

"Sorry," he said, and closed the cover.

He did not move from the piano, but he did not make any more noise either. Samantha eventually forgot he was there as she wandered back and forth in the parlor, gazing at the serene landscape out the window. As she had done time and time before, she nursed her glass of water as she tried to walk off the nerves and the fear.

She walked and walked, back and forth in the dark, lost in her thoughts. Lost in the night and the snow and the chill that came from the window glass when she moved to close. She paced until her body told her it was done and then she moved like a soundless apparition out of the parlor and back to darker parts of the house.

Connor's existence was all but forgotten until she reached the hallway and a hand gently took the glass, now empty for a while, from her.

"Would you like me to get you more water?" he asked.

"No, thank you. I'm going to bed."

"Then, good night, Samantha." His voice was so low, calm. She decided she liked it, as long as he wasn't using it to bombard her with personal questions.

She turned toward her bedroom. "Have a good night, Connor."