I have no idea what I'm doing, writing a full-length multi-chaptered fic about Daniels and Walter starting a family but I'm doing it *shrugs*


"...Hey, that's not fair! Walter, Billy tripped me up before I could get to the post!"

"No, I didn't! You fell!"

Walter's face was patient and calm as he looked between the two boys, a whistle hanging from his neck and a clipboard in arm. "Billy, I saw that you stuck your foot out when Connor ran to second base. That is cheating and a clear violation of the rules - I'm afraid you'll have to sit out the rest of the round. Connor, you may proceed to second base."

Billy grumbled but didn't argue - if Walter said something, then it was final. Connor folded his arms smugly as he stepped behind the small post that marked a base, clearly pleased. With this altercation out of the way, the synthetic reached for the whistle before giving it a loud short blow to indicate for play to continue; immediately the children were laughing and cheering again as a girl (Elena) stepped up to bat.

Daniels had been watching a short distance away as she fiddled with her datapad, a small smile starting to grow on her face - watching Walter referee a game of rounders was far more interesting than reading the reports of the council of colonists she'd been given, especially as he was so good with them. It was a well-known fact that all of the children adored Walter because he was fair and patient; he was also extremely kind, and he never showed favouritism towards any of them - each and every child were viewed equally to him, and yet he managed to somehow make them feel special and appreciated.

"Figures - the one day you're down here and you're not even paying attention."

"Shut up," She laughed, turning her attention back to Tennessee somewhat reluctantly. "I am paying attention, but it's a good game."

"It's children's rounders," He retorted, though he was just as amused. "We both know that's bullshit - there ain't nothing good about it. Admit it: you're checking out Walter's ass."

Daniels rolled her eyes but didn't deny it. "How's stuff been, anyway?"

"Same as always - Mary Jane's been driving me up the fucking wall, though, with all her nagging about safety precautions."

"Safety precautions?"

Tennessee snorted, reaching for his coffee. "Yeah, saying the new playground ain't safe or some shit. She said something about splinters and it not being durable...I dunno, I stopped listening halfway through."

"Splinters? Everything's made out of steel and hard plastic," She muttered, shaking her head to herself. "And Walter examined it thoroughly when we were done - it passed all tests with no problems."

"Yeah, I know. Think she just wants something to complain about - she's been like that since she got pregnant."

"Again?!" She had, admittedly, lost count of how many times this particular couple had procreated - she'd stopped counting after the fourth one. "Jesus. Anything else I gotta worry about?"

Her friend looked somewhat hesitant all of a sudden, she noticed - any reason for Tennessee to appear that way didn't exactly bode well. "Yeah, we got a few official complaints at the last council meeting."

"The one they forgot to invite me to," She said dryly; they both knew no one had 'forgotten' anything, rather that they preferred to meet without her nowadays. "Great. What complaints?"

"The usual again," He sighed. "The wheat crop isn't growing as tall as last year, they want more houses...someone made a complaint about Walter."

Daniels felt herself bristle at this. "What complaint about Walter? He's done absolutely nothing-"

"I know, I know," He agreed, somewhat apologetic now. "Nothing too serious, Danny, just some asshole getting 'uncomfortable' that he's still around. The council chose not to pursue it."

She huffed, turning back to her datapad in annoyance. "Great, just fucking great."

"Hey, I said the council ain't gonna pursue it - even they know it's bullshit," Tennessee frowned before reaching out to touch her arm. "Danny, come on; they're not gonna decommission him now - I mean, look how good he is with all the rugrats running around. The parents love him."

This was true; Walter had proven himself to be a highly valuable asset to the colony on multiple occasions, from helping to tend to developing crops to assisting in the numerous births of the children on Origae-6. He was polite and well-mannered to every single individual he interacted with, listening to whatever queries they might have had and doing his best to reassure or answer them. No one in their right mind would want him decommissioned now.

But that wasn't the point: they saw him as a machine, as a tool, albeit one that could walk and seemed friendly, and they treated him as one as well. Too often had she seen people wave off any opinions he gave, people who didn't thank him for helping with crops or watching the children while their parents worked - and it drove her mad.

And that wasn't even starting on how the colonists viewed her relationship with Walter.

"One asshole won't change everyone's mind," She heard Tennessee saying, clearly trying to reassure her in some way. "And I ain't gonna stand for that shit either - anyone tries anything, I won't hesitate to smack them down."

Daniels managed a weak smile at this; she didn't doubt this for a second, for he was just as loyal to Walter as she was. "I know you will, Tee. Thanks."

He nodded and grinned at her before turning back to the report in front of him, getting back to work; she glanced down at her datapad before her eyes wandered back over to the field where the children were playing still. The game was about to finish, and a group of children wearing red tags were cheering loudly for the batter as the other team - this one wearing blue tags - spread across the field; Walter stood nearby, a clipboard with scores under arm and his whistle against his chest as he waited for everyone to settle down. Once the children had fallen silent, he announced that this would be the last batter before reaching for his whistle and giving it a short sharp blow. As the teams started to scream again for their team mates and the last batter took a turn, she found herself admiring how handsome Walter looked in the afternoon sunlight, at how well-built his form was.

Okay, so perhaps Tennessee had a point - Walter did, in fact, have a rather fine ass and, yes, she was definitely checking it out. She was fully within her rights to, after all.

The final batter managed to go all around the field without being stumped by one of the fielders on the other team, and his team-mates cheered in celebration; Walter merely made a note on his clipboard before totalling up the scores of each team. The children came together in a group to sit before him, clearly eagerly waiting for him to announce the winner - and to possibly give out prizes, if they were lucky.

"You all did well today," He said, and he made sure to smile at all of them before continuing. "Sarah's team wins with seven points - Mason's team have five and a half, so you were not far behind."

He had been able to proffer enough small wrapped chocolates for all of the children today, and he patiently handed them out one-by-one to each of the children; they beamed and thanked him happily before setting off to go back to their homes. Daniels had once mused that prizes were usually only given to the winning teams in sports games, but Walter had explained that it didn't seem fair to give chocolates to one group just for being better at a certain sport - they all deserved something for trying, to build their confidence to try other things in the future.

"Thank you, Walter!" A girl - Sarah - called cheerily, waving to him as she walked away. "Bye!"

"See you tomorrow, Walter!" A boy - Bertie - chimed, already digging into his wrapped chocolate.

Walter was smiling as he gave them both a small wave in return; a few of the children were still on the field with him, clearly eager to ask him some questions. He knew so much more than their parents, they had all decided, because he was the synthetic on the planet and that meant he knew everything. He was always patient with them when they asked questions, even when he was asked the same things dozens of times or when he had to explain his answers over and over again - he had a way with the children that no one else seemed to have, and it was no surprise that they adored him so much.

Grinning to herself, Daniels turned back to her datapad to continue working. "Alright, Tee: what else is on the agenda?"


Walter was back at the cabin before her that evening, sitting out on the porch that overlooked the lake and looking out over the landscape; Daniels grinned at the sight of him as she drew closer, her demeanour improving immediately. Her synthetic was so relaxed, she noted, simply admiring the view like one might view a beautiful piece of art – most humans passed off sunsets and nature as dull or uninteresting everyday things, but he appreciated these things as special and worth the time to process.

"Hey," She greeted as she went up the steps and made to sit with him.

He raised his head and smiled warmly at her. "Hello, Danny. How was your day with Tennessee?"

"Oh yeah, great," She deadpanned good-naturedly as she flopped down beside him. "Reading colony complaints all day, having to finalise building plans – doesn't get much better than that. Tee's doing good though, same as always: he's set up a barbeque tonight, so most the colony's going to that."

"And you don't wish to go?" Walter questioned curiously.

She shrugged. "Not really – too many people, not enough booze to go around… Not my kind of thing. Besides," She added, leaning in closer to take his hand. "Why waste my time over there when I've got you and this cabin to keep me company?"

He seemed rather puzzled by this, even as he allowed her to squeeze his fingers in her own. "If you wanted to spend some time with the colonists, I would be content to remain here by myself. I am aware that you will have a much easier time socialising with the rest of the colony if I do not attend-"

"Walter," Daniels interrupted, just a tad sharper than she had been intending. "I meant what I said: I'd rather spend the evening here with you than over there pretending I care what they all think about us. You know that."

A small frown creased her lover's features. "You shouldn't have to miss out on colony gatherings because of me."

"I'm not missing out because of you," She disagreed quite calmly. "Honestly, I'm tired as hell anyway – I need a shower and a bite to eat, but then I'm heading to bed. There'll be other barbecues or events or whatever, and we'll go to those."

"I see. Well, if that is what you wish," He said placidly. "I will attend these events to please you, but I shall be sure that I remain a fair distance away should you wish to socialise."

"That's not what I meant," She told him, furrowing her brows; after a moment's hesitation, she put her hand on his cheek and turned his face towards her. "Listen to me, Walter: you know that I don't care what anyone else thinks, for one thing, and if anyone doesn't like us then they can honestly go fuck themselves. Besides," She added, giving him a small smile. "A lot of the colonists like you: you're polite, friendly, intelligent… They'd probably really enjoy you coming to one of the gatherings."

Walter seemed to consider this briefly, going over the data he had of his interactions with each and every one of the colonists. "You do appear to be correct. Alright, Danny, we will go to a colony event together."

He would keep his promise – if he said something, it was the truth, for he was incapable of lying. Satisfied by this, Daniels leaned into him once more, resting her head on his shoulder and looking out at the lake beyond their cabin; it really was a beautiful evening, the sunset casting warm amber rays across the trees and onto the water. A few strange serpentine-creatures native to the planet could be seen bobbing and twisting in and out of the water in the far distance, and a peaceful calm settled over her at the sight.

"Are you hungry?" She heard Walter ask. "It has been a long day, and if you like then I would be happy to prepare something for you to eat."

Truthfully, she was starving, seeing as she hadn't eaten since a short lunch-break with Tennessee – but it was so nice outside, so calm, that she couldn't bring herself to want to go into the cabin just yet. She could eat and shower after the sun had set completely, she decided, but for now she was more than content to sit with Walter.

"Maybe in a minute," She told him, smiling to herself. "I'm enjoying the view."


"Walter? Will you please play with me?"

Walter looked up from where he had been fixing a piece of terraforming equipment; he immediately identified the little girl as being the one called Louisa, the younger child of a doctor and a pharmacist, aged five-years-and-4-months. She was holding two handmade dolls in her arms, clothed in tiny patterned dresses that bore similarity to the one she currently wore herself.

"Of course," He told her, straightening up. "I will be finished with this task in a few minutes, and then I'll play. Where is your brother?"

Louisa pulled a face. "He doesn't wanna play with me – he's playing with the other boys in his class, and they don't want me hanging around. You're better than him anyway – you have manners."

It took a mere two minutes and fourteen seconds for him to finish adjusting the cables inside the machine, and a further thirty seconds to close up the hatch and screw it on tightly. When he turned to the little girl, she was rocking on her heels impatiently and staring at him, clearly waiting.

"What would you like to play, Louisa?" Walter asked.

Her face lit up, and she took his hand eagerly to pull him towards a small cluster of houses. "I wanna have a tea-party – I have all my stuff in my mama's basket, I'll get it! Would you like to have tea, Walter?"

"I do not usually consume tea," He mused seriously, allowing her to lead him. "But I will do so for your tea party."

Children liked to pretend such things, he had learnt over the past several years; while he himself could not pretend with such an imagination (he did not have such a capability in his programming), he knew the motions of what he was supposed to do during imaginary tea-parties, and to nod in agreement with a smile to make the children happy. It was not his first tea-party on Origae-6, and it would certainly not be his last.

This was how he found himself sitting on a picnic blanket that afternoon, holding a tiny plastic tea-cup as Louisa fussed with getting her dolls to sit upright properly. It took her a few minutes to settle them properly before she finally sat back on her knees and beamed at Walter – she was missing two teeth, he noted, one near the front and one off to the right-hand-side of her mouth.

"Would you like me to pour you some tea, Walter?" She asked happily, lifting up a plastic teapot that matched the cup he held. It would be empty, of course, but children liked to pretend that they weren't for some reason.

Nevertheless, he nodded and smiled politely. "Of course."

Louisa pretended to pour some tea for him, then pretended again into the mugs of each of her own dolls, and finally into the one in front of her; once finished, she put down the teapot and lifted her mug. "And now we drink!"

Walter went to imitate taking a sip (a well-rehearsed action after so many years), only for her to cry out in protest; confused, he lowered his mug and tilted his head at her. "What is the matter?"

"You haven't raised your pinkie!" She stated, and she wiggled her little finger to show him. "You have to raise it, it's polite!"

"Ah. I see. I apologise," He said, and he slowly raised the little finger of the hand holding his cup.

Louisa looked extremely satisfied by this, he noted, and beamed again. "Okay, now we can drink! Just watch me if you're not sure." With that, she pretended to drink from her teacup daintily; keeping his eyes open so he could watch her, he imitated her perfectly and tilted the cup as though he were taking a sip.

The little girl suddenly put her cup down, licking her lips and making satisfied noises; he quickly put his own cup down too, watching her intently. "I think that's my best tea yet. What do you think, Walter?"

His mind searched for responses that usually placated children during tea-parties, and he was sure to smile as he answered. "I think so too."

Louisa was clearly pleased by this, and he made sure to file her response away for future reference. "Yay! Would you like some more? There's lots to go around!"

"I would like some more," He agreed, his answer almost immediate – if it satisfied her, then he would continue to do it. "Thank you."


"Oh, Jesus."

Daniels looked up at Tennessee's laughter, intrigued by what had made him so amused. "What? What's got you so happy?"

He was still chortling as he gestured for her to look across the field; on a rather colourful picnic blanket was Walter, sitting with one of the colony's children and holding a bright pink plastic teacup. She couldn't help but snort with laughter too at the sight, unable to help herself – there was something rather amusing in seeing Walter so perfectly composed and serious whilst pretending to drink tea with a little girl.

"Poor sucker got roped into another tea-party," Tennessee chuckled. "At least he ain't been forced to dress up for this one."

"Ah, come on," Daniels said, a twinkle in her eye. "He looked good with the tiara on – and that pink tutu was manly as hell."

Her friend shook his head, still grinning. "Well, you ain't catching me in one, that's for sure… The stuff he does for those kids - it's no wonder they all love him so much. I certainly wouldn't do any of that shit."

She saw Walter raise his cup, pinkie raised and a polite but kind smile on his face, and she couldn't help but feel her heart warm; it was obvious that he loved all of the children of Origae-6 dearly, even if he didn't call it 'love', and it was a reciprocated affection because they all adored him unconditionally too. It was easy to understand why, seeing the way he interacted them on a daily basis – he was certainly more capable than she was, for one.

Without warning, her mind wandered back to Jacob – just for a second, one fleeting second – and her smile slipped; he had planned their entire lives on Origae-6 out, from the cabin to having children someday. One of his arguments for joining the mission had been that it would have been impossible to start a family on Earth, that any children they had would have a far better life on a different planet, one that wasn't dying.

He would have been a great father.

"Danny? You okay, darlin'?"

"I'm fine," She muttered, trying to shake the thought from her mind. "Just got lost in thought, that's all."

Tennessee didn't look convinced by her feeble excuse in the slightest. "C'mon, no need to bullshit 'round me. If you wanna talk, then talk."

Daniels huffed – but her shoulders sank in defeat; he was one of her best friends, after all, and there was no use in lying to him. "I was just thinking about Jake, that's all."

"Oh. Right." Hesitantly, his hand covered hers, and he looked slightly at a loss for what to say. "What about him?"

"It's stupid," She brushed off, shaking her head and pulling her hand free. "Really. I just…I miss him still, you know? Stupid little things sometimes just make me think… It doesn't matter," She muttered, hurriedly reaching for her datapad again. "Let's just get back to work."

Tennessee frowned but said nothing, reaching for his own datapad to continue working; meanwhile, Daniels cast a small glance back across the field to see what Walter was doing now. He was smiling politely at the little girl – Lisa? Laura? She couldn't remember – and listening as she chatted away mindlessly to him about something or other; he would no doubt play with her all afternoon if she wished, for that was the kind of person Walter was.

A part of her warmed at the sight, at seeing Walter interacting and doting on the small child – but the other part of her couldn't help but think of what could have been, had Jacob still been alive.


Don't you just love the angst?

Not to worry, this story will have a healthy mix of fluff and angst – we'll see more of Daniels and Walter together, and more of Walter interacting with the other members of the colony (including Tennessee and some not-so-nice people). Hopefully I can work and finish this fic for you all, but it's also mostly a passion project because I love this pairing and want to create my own fix-it for the film (the ending didn't happen, nope, not at all).

Please don't forget to comment/review if you enjoyed – it spurs me on more to write!