Gavin never liked androids. But lord be damned if he wasn't impressed with some of Conan's capabilities. Gavin always had a natural affinity for being able to piece together crime scenes, and find unorthodox ways of looking at the evidence. That's what made him good at his job. But Conan, he was literally programmed and made from the ground up to do this. When Gavin turned around to see Conan licking blue blood off his fingers, he yelled out in disgust, "What the fuck are you doing you plastic creep?!"

Conan explained that he can analyze blood with his tongue, and determine the model of the android it came from, or the human it came from (if the person had a previous criminal record and/or blood samples on file). He could also determine how old the blood was. Gavin was skeptical at first, but secretly thought about how cool it would be if he could analyze blood on a whim.

And he soon learned that wasn't the only trick he had up his sleeve. He could also put together visual reconstructions of what potentially happened, using only the smallest details. He recounted to Gavin a whole scenario of what he thinks happened at the scene. Following along, looking at the evidence and markers, it all seemed to make sense. Huh, maybe the pile of plastic wasn't so useless after all? Not that he'd ever say that outloud.

With the evidence collected by investigators, and Conan's advanced abilities, they determined that the suspects were likely one human and one android, breaking in to burglarize the home, and got into an altercation with the victim. Fortunately the victim survived, but was currently hospitalized and couldn't be spoken with. Gavin heard Conan yell out from another room, "Detective Reed! I've found something!"

Gavin walked in towards the android, "What is it? This better be worth my time."

"I've found a trail of evaporated thirium. The android assailant must have been damaged during the altercation and was still dripping blood as they ran away," Conan explained, "They must have believed that the evaporation of the thirium would cover their trail, and didn't want to risk the time to seal the wound."

Gavin cracked a smile, the first genuine smile he ever gave the android. "Well let's follow it then! Come on, get a move on!"

Conan started walking, Gavin following just beside him, watching as the android was processing the invisible trail. His anticipation grew with each passing moment. Not only were they hot on a trail, the closer they got to solving the case meant the closer Gavin was to being free of Conan. Then, he had a moment of doubt. He saw how efficient Conan was, how his skills surpassed that of any human. How Gavin could never match him. Would he be replaced?

He pushed those thoughts to back of his mind. He couldn't get hung up on that right now, he had to keep his head in the game. They were leaving the property and off into the woods behind the home. "Are you sure this is the way they went," Gavin asked, voice dripping with doubt, "You're leading us out to the middle of nowhere."

"I'm positive, Detective. You will have to trust me."

Gavin scoffed, "I don't have much of a choice, do I? You'd better not be leading me to a dead end."

They walked for some time, scanning their environment. The trees and foliage weren't thick, so it was fairly easy to look around. Then, in the distance, they spotted a scraggly looking shack covered in graffiti. Gavin looked up at Conan as his LED turned yellow and he closed his eyes, "What the fuck are you doing?" Gavin hissed.

"I sent a message back to the investigators at the house. I requested backup, as the probability that the suspects are here is high. I suggest we wait until they get here."

"Hell no!" Gavin protested, "We don't have time to wait. What if they see us coming and bolt? We have to go now."

"I would strongly advise against it."

"Listen here, you fucking android," Gavin commanded, "I'm in charge. Backup will get here when they get here, but we can't lose our opportunity by waiting around!"

Conan's LED flashed yellow once again, but this time clearly due to stress. But, he relented, quietly nodding his acceptance.

Gavin pulled out his gun, holding it at the ready and began to walk forward, "Stay behind me," he ordered.

"No, it's unsafe. I insist that I lead, detective." Conan said, stepping in front of him.

"Fuck off," Gavin growled, shoving the android aside, "I have the gun. I'm going first." Conan once again reluctantly moved aside for the detective, but walked as closely behind him as he would allow. The two of them approached the shack, when suddenly, someone popped out, pointing a gun at the two of them.

Time slowed down. Conan assessed the situation in a fraction of a second. The assailant already had his finger on the trigger, and would likely fire within the second. Detective Reed was still reacting to the situation, lifting his gun to aim at the assailant. He calculated the probability that he could reach the attacker in time, and weighed it against the probability that Reed would be shot; 93% probability the he could stop the shooter, 68% that the bullet would hit the detective. He couldn't take that risk.

[Attack]

[Protect Reed]

Conan jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Gavin and twisting his body out of the way. The bullet pierced Conan's shoulder, missing the detective by only inches. Despite being thrown off by Conan's tackle, Gavin still managed to reach up and shoot the suspect in the leg. He fell to the ground, letting out a yelp of pain. Thank God he was a human, or else it might not have phased him. It gave Conan just enough time to roll off of his partner and onto the suspect, disarming and incapacitating him in mere moments.

Gavin jumped up, adrenaline rushing through his veins, and ran to the door of the shack, scanning for more potential danger. The place was empty. The rush of dopamine began to die down, and he turned to Conan, grunting in frustration, "Conan! What the hell was that?!"

"The probably that he shot you was 68%. I had to protect you."

"Look at your fucking shoulder!" Gavin yelled, gripping Conan's arm, "You're bleeding like hell!"

"The bullet did not hit any major biocomponents. The damage can be repaired easily."

"You need to look after yourself! You could have been killed!" Gavin protested, pulling on Conan's coat sleeve in frustration.

"I can be replaced," Conan said, stepping closer to Gavin and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Your safety comes first, Detective Reed."

"You don't have to do that, you plastic prick! I can take care of myself!"

Conan stared into Gavin's eyes, his LED flickering yellow. He remembered what Lieutenant Anderson had said to him. He opened his mouth, and hesitated a moment before finally saying, "I want to."

Gavin stared back at the android in disbelief, mouth hanging slightly open. He was completely caught off guard by that. Part of him wanted to fall back on his default reaction of insults and defensiveness, but he was at a loss for words. He held Conan's gaze, filled with frustration and bewilderment. Why would Conan want to protect him? Why did he care at all? And a more important question - why did he care about Conan? Why did he give a shit whether the android was shot, it was just a piece of plastic! Right?

Right…?

Gavin shook his head, almost as if he was trying to physically shake his thoughts out of his mind. It was then he realized how close he was to Conan, still gripping his jacket, and Conan's hand still placed firmly on his shoulder. Gavin could see all the details on his face, the freckles, the hints of facial hair, the speckles in his eyes. Even his facial expression was soft, and looked genuine. He looked so damn human. And Gavin hated it.

He shoved the android away from him, and walked in the opposite direction. The backup was just arriving, so he approached them, explaining the situation, and how they caught what they believed to be one of the perpetrators. Obviously, he chose to leave out the part where Conan saved his life. It… wasn't necessary.

Gavin began to head back towards the house, turning back only to watch them handcuff the suspect. He saw Conan standing there, looking at him from the distance, and then back down to the now apprehended suspect. Gavin watched as the sun slowly crept down to the horizon. Their job here was done. For now.