Boo!

So, here we go, chapter 2. I seem to have got a little bit of interest with this story, so I'm hoping you all enjoy where this goes. A few people mentioned about getting to see Gavin's sister: have no fear, she will be making cameos, and her first is in this chapter! She won't be a major player in the story, but she will be dropping in every so often. Just a little more to build my headcanon of Gavin.

Special thanks for reviews: lordvaatithewindmage

Chapter 2: Quiet Loyalty

By the time Gavin tumbled back into his house at the end of his shift, he felt exhausted. Despite his initial reservations, he'd found Katie relatively accomplished in the field. She was succinct and approachable when interviewing witnesses, a grafter when it came to gathering evidence, and she wasn't shy about posing theories. Their scene had not been a pretty one: some poor bastard had got his brains blasted out, but she took it in good stride. Their subsequent investigating over the following days had involved a lot of leg work in some unsavoury neighbourhoods – she hadn't bat an eyelid.

Gavin chuckled at remembering how one guy had thought he could intimidate her before trying to run, only for his young partner to tackle him to the ground and cuff him without so much as a scratch. Her work ethic reminded Gavin of his own, and he could admire it. He was intrigued at the prospect of interviewing the same suspect the next day.

Now just gone midnight, having put in some overtime before he collapsed back through his front door, Gavin dropped on to his sofa with a beer to unwind. Letting loose a deep groan, he opened his eyes to stare at the cat which had leapt up on to the arm at seeing her owner was home. With a raised eyebrow, he continued his staring contest with her. "What? Don't give me that look, Min," he said warily. The black and white cat did not move, save for her slowly twirling tail. "You really are a weird one. What sort of mood are you in tonight then?"

He got his answer when the hand he'd outstretched to pet her head was pulled back with a pained hiss, complete with two new lines courtesy of Minna's claws. "'Fucking bitch' is the mood you're in," he spat, glaring at the cat. "Don't know why I took you in the fucking first place."

…That wasn't true. Gavin knew exactly why, and he'd been well warned that Minna was a moody diva. During one of his cases, he'd ended up interviewing the owner of an animal shelter over a year ago: a murder had taken place in the alley just behind. Finding himself lonely, Gavin had gone back there every so often to seek out the company of animals which seemed in the same boat as he was. The man in charge had recommended Gavin take one of them home, since he was being forced to downsize his premises. It turned out having four androids as your only staff was expensive when the animals inadvertently damaged them.

Minna had been described as anti-social, bad tempered and feisty. Seeing something of himself in the animal – and knowing that the cat would almost certainly take care of herself so long as he left food, water and clean litter out for her – he'd taken her home.

The man had made sure Gavin was aware that she was not one for human affection, preferring to keep to herself, before adopting her. So, it wasn't as if this behaviour was that out of character having now had her for seven months.

"Ugh, whatever. Be your bitchy self for all I care!" Gavin spat at the cat, who just cocked her head slightly at him. She then decided to jump on to Gavin's lap and curl up for a sleep. The detective shook his head fondly. "Sure, you scratch me up before deciding I'm a comfy pillow. Fuck you too, Minna."

This damn cat has me around her little finger, he thinks as he began scratching behind her ear. Minna's contented purr had him smiling unconsciously.

He'd been in his flat for not more than half an hour when he heard a body bashing up against his front door heavily. Gavin jolted from his light doze, Minna jumping off with a hiss at the loud noise and was abruptly on alert, having missed the clumsy scraping of a key in the lock seconds before the thump. Grabbing his gun from where he'd dumped his holster on the table in front of him, Gavin was bracing for the door to be broken down when it instead swung open wildly…

And his drunk sister stumbled her way in, drinking out of what appeared to be her handbag.

She spied her brother on the sofa, dropping the bag so that it was swinging from her elbow as she waved at him enthusiastically. "Hey, fuckface!" she screeched.

Gavin rolled his eyes and groaned as he flopped back on the sofa, tossing the gun back on the table. "For fuck's sake, Sophie! You're fucking plastered…Why the hell are you here at near as damn 1 in the morning?" he mumbled while glaring at her.

Sophie hiccupped as she wobbled around, kicking off her shoes and slamming the door shut. "Awww, don't be like that, Gav!" she chirped while dropping her handbag on the kitchen table and pulling out a bottle of vodka. "Mom kicked me out again, so…"

"Let me guess, cause you were getting shiters?"

"Nuh-uhhhhh! She walked in on me and a girl while we were at it, and-well, you know how she is…"

Gavin understood all too well, having been at the wrong end of his mother's homophobic views when he was Sophie's age and, as she was doing now, experimenting. At least their father had stepped in to protect him: Sophie didn't have that luxury with their other parent now dead for ten years. He stood and crossed his arms at her, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to know where the fuck you got that vodka, Soph. You do realise I ought to take that shit off you, right?"

The intruder proceeded to stick two middle fingers up at her brother, barely managing to not spill her alcohol in the process. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Like hell I wouldn't, you're fucking 19, Sophie! I can get in serious shit if you get caught shitfaced!"

Sophie looked at him smugly. "Not as if you didn't do this shit at my age, Gav."

"At least I learned to be a bit more fucking subtle."

"Hah! You, subtle! That's a laugh, Gavin."

"If our father had caught me, I'd have been permanently kicked out of our parents' place." Gavin sighed and looked seriously at his younger sister. "Where you staying tonight?"

Sophie pouted heavily, at which Gavin finally noticed what she was kitted out in for the evening. What he could only describe as a pink bikini top and black shorts so tight that they left nothing to the imagination, a see-through black kimono-style wrap that was sheer (and if Gavin was honest with himself, looked like it belonged from a set of lingerie), and silver high heels that made her small five-foot frame get much closer to his own 5'9". Similar brown hair to his own, cut in an erratic bob, had been blown about in the weather while her makeup was smudged by rain.

In short, she was a state. He was seriously thankful Sophie at least had the smarts to turn up at his door that night and not go back with whatever one-nighter she had no doubt been looking for.

Of all the things he'd been hoping she would avoid, it had been the slut phase he'd fallen into at the same age. Fuck knew he'd had a couple of close shaves with not being careful enough.

"Well…" Sophie's miserable voice brought him out of his musings, "you did give me a key in case I needed it…"

Though he was inwardly relieved, Gavin wasn't going to show it. "Goddammit, Soph, you could have at least asked before tumbling in here!" Sophie's face fell even more and Gavin growled loudly, going to the linen cupboard just next to the bathroom and throwing a duvet at her. "Puke on it and I'm making you clean this place from top-to-bottom for a week, got it?"

Sophie grinned and plonked down on the couch inelegantly as Gavin threw a couple of pillows at her too. She quickly grabbed them and after being satisfied with her arrangement, she curled up. Gavin shook his head at the sight. "I've got work at 7 in the morning, Soph. I hope for your sake you aren't working tomorrow."

Grumbling unhappily, Sophie's mumbling could just be made out through the pillow. "I'm on 8 till 3 tomorrow…"

"Fine, you're getting kicked out with me, unless you want to trade maybe another ten minutes of sleep for the fifty minute bus ride to work?"

"Can't I just be miserable here, Gav? Oooo, or I can keep drinking!"

"No fucking way, Sophie. You are comin' with me, and you can try coming up with an excuse to your boss why you're hungover at nine-fucking-teen."

"You're a dick, Gavin."

"Fuck you too, Sophie. See you in four and half hours."

She yowled in what sounded like agony at the thought of being woken in such a short space of time. "Go fuck yourself, asshole…"

"You crash at mine, it's my fucking rules. Plus, you've wrecked my own night's sleep, reap what you sow."

The silence in reply made Gavin think she'd finally fallen asleep, to which he sighed long and wandered over to place the duvet over Sophie's limp form. Just as he'd finished arranging it over her shoulders, a sleepy sentence poured out. "Thanks, Gav. Love you…"

Gavin chuckled affectionately. "Get some fucking sleep, Sophie." Soft snores from the sofa had his lips quirking up, and he turned at hearing the gentle tinkling of a bell to his right. Minna had jumped up on the coffee table and was watching the pair curiously. Retrieving his gun and holster to make sure they weren't in range of either his baby sister or the animal, he looked down at the black and white cat steadily. "Look after her, Min."

He smiled proudly as he watched Minna jump from the table to the back of the couch, laying down to study the new addition to her domain. As much as Minna might be a temperamental little fuck, she was fiercely loyal to those she loved: even if she was so emotionally backward that she couldn't express it.

Another trait they shared.

Walking through to his own bedroom, he flopped on to the mattress and glared at the display of red numbers next to him. 01:28. With a long sigh he stared up at the ceiling, trying his best to unwind – but the tension would not leave him.

It's gonna be one of those nights…

Unsurprisingly to him, Gavin got minimal sleep. He tossed and turned for a couple of hours before giving up, instead psyching himself up for a long-ass shift before he could get another attempt at sleep. Mild insomnia was nothing new, and he knew the tricks to help him get through the next 16 or so hours.

Dealing with his belligerent and hungover teenage sister at just before 6 in the morning was not fun. They were fiery with each other normally, let alone when both sleep-deprived and one was also hungover. Gavin dropped her off with a few nasty insults traded, but they'd be back on speaking terms within a couple of days. That was how it always went.

Or that night if Sophie still couldn't find a place to stay.

Debating on what to do with his troublesome little sister, Gavin braced himself to call in a favour with one of the two people he could count as an almost friend. He couldn't deal with Sophie again, but she and Tina were well-acquainted by now. Maybe she could take Sophie for the night.

When he pulled up at the precinct at 6:42, he was mildly surprised at the car parked next to him. Most officers turned up just as their shift was starting, not before. Being an early-bird was a rarity in the DPD.

Seemed like Gavin had ended up partnered with one. That was a pleasant surprise.

Wandering through to the bullpen, he found said young woman speaking with Chris Miller. The officer had made a point of reaching out to Katie and making sure she was settling in to the precinct. Gavin was happy that Chris had taken an interest in her integration as that removed the responsibility from him. He was able to show Katie the ropes and make sure she wasn't useless, but social interaction?

Nope, no chance. He wasn't known as the precinct asshole for nothing. If Katie was looking to make friends, she was going to have to find some other schmuck for that.

His mood soured as he saw Connor walk past and briefly chat to the pair, Katie's face lighting up. Chris' interest in his new partner was welcome; Connor's most certainly was not. The last thing he needed was for Katie and the plastic prick to be friendly, that meant he'd have to see Connor more often.

Like fuck was he going to give that asshole even more opportunities for his damn pranks.

Deciding to ignore all of them, Gavin headed to his desk and began reading up on their suspect due for interrogation. Edward Simons, age 39. Some past brushes with the law due to unlawful possession of weapons and assault, but nothing major. Nothing like the murder charge he was staring down if they could connect him to the body at the harbour. Evidence was more than a little circumspect, so they were going to need a confession – or something to point them in the direction of the killer.

Well, they had him on resisting arrest at the bare minimum. That meant he was going to be staying in the cells for a while.

A chiming voice had him looking up. "Good morning, Gavin."

His eyes met with Katie's smile, and it was only now – fuck, he had be tired to miss this before – that he noticed her hair had changed. No longer the warm blonde it was before, it was instead a pale, icy blue. Gavin absently thought that it made her unique eyes stand out even more, but he simply raised an eyebrow at the female detective at the greeting. "Get bored of a simple hair colour, Katie?" he teased.

Katie rolled her eyes at him. "Hardly. Changing my hair is one of my 'things', Gavin, so get used to it. I like to flit between colours."

Gavin snorted. "Oh yeah? Like being a little out there, do you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Who wants to be normal? That's boring shit. I'm happy just being me, thank you." Gavin chuckled at that, to which Katie continued. "Our lovely suspect is being taken to room one. Hope you've got some popcorn on standby."

Instantly picking up on her angle, Gavin sat back in his chair and stared at her. "That so? And who says you're getting to interrogate him, newbie?"

Katie narrowed her eyes at Gavin. "Since I'm the one who nabbed him, smartass. You aren't throwing me out of this interrogation because I'm a rookie, Gavin. I earned my badge, so let me do my damn job."

Oh yeah, this girl's got some fire. This could be fun to watch.

Shit-eating grin spreading over his face, Gavin gestured with his hand towards the interview rooms. "Don't get your panties in twist, Katie. Fine, the bastard's yours. You want me in there with you?"

A contemplative look fell over her face, and she cocked her head as she thought. "Hmmm. Nah, I'm gonna fly this one solo. Hang around on the other side of the mirror though, I might call in backup if the guy proves to be an irritating one."

Gavin roared in laughter, which had Katie sniggering lightly. "Fuck it, go on then. Get in there and get us some good shit. I'll drag Chris along, let him play your second judge."

A glint came across her eyes as she smirked. "Giving me an audience, huh? Fine, I'll give you two a good show."

And give a show she did. Gavin watched with incredible amusement as Katie chipped away at their suspect piece-by-piece. Needling him about his priors convictions, his failure of an escape, illegal weapon possession…all nicely built with a chastising tone to rile a reaction. Even Chris was finding it great entertainment. Neither of them had quite seen an interrogation like it.

Sure, they could all fire up suspects enough to get a rage-induced blunder. But teasing one out through subtle digs about their inadequacies and playing it off as nothing more that barely-there interest? That was an art.

Gavin liked her style – a lot more than he would ever admit out loud. She was a classy detective, if highly unconventional.

"Look, here's your situation," they could hear her voice ripple through the speakers, a more serious tone creeping in through what was almost playful earlier. "You're going to go down for resisting arrest, and we've enough to place you at the scene of our murder. Doesn't matter if you killed the guy or not, you're looking at accessory to first-degree murder as a best case scenario."

"Ha! You ain't got nothing on me, bitch. Might give you some nice scoop if you flash your tits at me though," he spat lecherously, staring lustfully over Katie's form.

Chris shuddered from behind the mirror, admiring how Katie didn't even flinch. "Guy's a lowlife," the younger man said spitefully. "I've no idea how Katie isn't decking him right now, I know my wife would if some asshole said that to her."

Gavin snorted in response. "Chris, Beth is a hell of a lot scarier that you, and you're the one with the badge. You've no idea how often I've wondered what some of our suspects would do if we left her in the room with them for an hour. I can guarantee you we'd get a hell of a lot more confessions."

The younger man just shook his head. "Well, being a teacher takes a lot more courage than being an officer does, I think. I couldn't deal with so many teenagers every day with the patience she does. To be honest, though, I think she's enjoying the break to take care of Damian."

Watching Katie lean over to make sure that she is towering over their suspect, Gavin's eyes gleamed. "Don't look now, but I think our perp's about to get a rude awakening about our rookie." Chris laughed as the pair went back to watching.

"Oh I'll flash something at you, big boy, but it won't be anything pleasant," she hissed back, making sure to pull her gun out and leave it out of harm's reach on the table. "Ever wondered what a bullet graze feels like? They sting like you wouldn't believe. A few people think they hurt worse than a bullet hole, since they're part burn as well as a gouge." Both Gavin and Chris spied their suspect shift in his seat, and Katie did too. It was getting under his skin. "I bet the guys you're working for would know all about those sorts of methods, wouldn't they?

"Your victim was shot in the back of the head, execution-style, but only after a long and protracted period of torture. Burns from cigarette, flashes with knives, water in the lungs from simulated drowning. My guess is that he was a snitch, and you were the muscle to make sure he squealed about his employers. Now, given your efforts to hide the body – rather than make an example of it – he didn't talk. Imagine where that leaves you, especially once word of your arrest makes the rounds. Nowhere for you to go, Edward."

Gavin laughed. "She's got him, the bastard's gonna squeal."

Chris whistled in appreciation. "That switching of gears was impressive. Katie would make a good actor."

"I…Look, I can't say jack-shit, all right? I'll be bled like a stuck pig in prison if I do."

"And who is to say we won't tell them you did anyway, Edward? Gossip has to start somewhere, and we know all the right channels," she suggests idly. More sweat breaks on the guy's forehead. "Your stay might not be very long at that rate."

Shrugging in faux disinterest, Katie hopped off from her place on the table and picked up her gun. "You might want to think about what friends to pick in this situation, Edward. Cops might be your enemy on the streets, but we're useful friends when you're going down. An informant gets a much cosier deal on the side: the media only relays what we tell them about sentences anyway. Have a little think."

The door slid open and Katie walked out proudly, quickly striding into the observation room. Gavin and Chris both looked at her with matching smirks, to which Katie winked at them. "You two might want to grab him some extra pants, I think he soiled those ones," she teased, earning a quiet laugh from Chris and a sinister smile from Gavin.

"Ten minutes, you think?" he wondered aloud.

Katie wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Please, I did a better job than that. I'd say six."

Gavin held a hand out. "Ten bucks says you're wrong."

The glint in Katie's eyes was noticeable as she took his hand, but not shaking. "Now that's just kids' stakes. Fifty bucks," she challenged back.

Smirking at the confidence, Gavin shook. "Easiest fifty bucks I've even made."

Gavin's smugness evaporated when Edward broke 4 minutes and 39 seconds later. He was now fifty dollars lighter, still exhausted and craving more caffeine; but that interrogation had been highly enlightening.

Katie was ticking all the boxes, and the damn girl was impressing him. That just didn't happen.

He had the feeling she was the real deal. Now he had to dig a little deeper to find out just who the woman he was working with really was.

He didn't trust anyone he didn't know would have his back in return.