Connor and Brooke took Annabelle to the station early that day, they wanted to get answers as soon as possible. Hank had met them down there, doing his own investigation into the young android, but his search turned up nothing.
Connor was able to find out she was the YK500 model, specially made to resemble a child and do much more normal human things that Connor's body could not. She could sleep without it being a dormant state, eat food if she wished to and could cry, show fear and anger without having to be a deviant. They had much more freedom of programs than adult androids.
"Could you find anything about her family?" Brooke asked as she leaned over Connors desk. Annabelle had been taken for ice cream with Hank, it seemed the older man enjoyed the child's company. She kept calling him Hank-Hank, her pet name for him.
"No, her memories had been wiped up after the revolution. I would presume her parents abandoned her and fled Detroit." Connor wasn't sure what the answer would be.
"Let's contact Kamski, maybe he has a way of knowing?" Connor nodded as he looked down at the terminal. The only other android child he had met was Alice, a child android on the run with her android career, Kara. Connor nearly killed them all on a highway chase, but he let them both go, seeing the danger for both. He did get the chance to say sorry to Kara and Alice for his actions and hoped them all the best in Canada since they were trying to get there.
"Okay, I will call him now." Connor closed his eyes as he connected with Chloe. "Hello, Chloe. This is RK900 Connor, is Kamski available? It is of some urgency." Chloe didn't reply straight away, most likely asking Kamski if he would like to speak with him.
"Hello, Connor. It is good to hear from you. Elijah would like you and Brooke to meet him at his house in the next two hours." Connor put his thumbs up to Brooke to tell her Kamski would see them.
"Thank you, Chloe. Goodbye," he says with a smile and ends the call. "We need to call Hank and pick them both up." They both hurried out of the station, calling Hank on the way to get to the location of the ice cream parlour. It seemed Annabelle had passed out from a sugar rush of ice cream. Brooke could not believe how human-like she was.
A couple of hours later they arrived at Kamski's house. The river outside had frozen over again, reminding Connor of the previous time he had come during that season and was near pushed to shoot Chloe in the head. He shook his head at the memories.
"You okay?" Brooke whispers to him, putting her hand on his knee.
He looks down, smiling and stroking his hand over hers. "Yes, just some memories about this place." Brooke nodded, she knew all about that incident, an action she did not like Kamski for.
"This place is scary," Annabelle mumbled from her seat, she held her hands close to her lips. Brooke had gotten her some actual clothes, now she looked like a normal child and not a homeless one.
They all got out of the car, Brooke carried Annabelle, stroking her long hair behind her ears. "It will be fine, darling. This man will help us and maybe we can find your family." Annabelle nodded silently, hugging Brooke's neck tightly.
Hank and Connor walked ahead, knocking on the door. Chloe answered just a few moments later. "Welcome, please come in," she says with a welcoming smile and a gesture of her hand.
"It is good to see you again, Chloe," Connor comments as they all enter the familiar entry hall. Brooke and Annabelle came in last, Chloe paused as she analyzed the small girl.
"Well, who is this?" she asks with another smile, leaning in closer with her bright blue eyes startling the girl. Annabelle squeals and hides her face in Brooke's neck. Connor chuckled at the little one's shyness.
"This is Annabelle. She is the reason why we are here," Brooke explains. Kamski had walked out just as Brooke finished speaking, he stared right at the little girl, knowing instantly she was an android.
"Well, it seems you brought a child android. Adopted her, I presume?" he asks as he shakes everyone's hands and beckons them through to the living room. Everyone sat down before explaining the situation.
"We found her last night at the New Years party. She was being bullied by some kids, trying to grab her money." Connor sat forward, taking over the story.
"She wore old and ruined clothes, she was also shivering cold. She has no memory of her parents or life before the end of the revolution." He looks over at Annabelle, she sat close to Hank, not wanting to leave his side. "I was unable to access her memory cache."
Kamski looked at the child, it was a normal thing for androids to wipe their memories after a life-changing experience. But a child to do it was something very rare. "I can access deleted memories. It would require me to apply some wires to her head."
They all looked at Annabelle, who buried herself into Hank's side in fear. "Come on, kiddo. This kind man would like to help you, he might be able to find your parents," Hank gently explained as he slowly pulled her up to look at him.
"I am scared," she whimpered. Hank brushed the small tear away and cupped her small cheeks in his giant hands.
"You have nothing to be scared about. Me, Connor and Brooke are here to protect you. Mr Kamski knows a lot about androids, he created them." Annabelle looked at Kamski, she pointed at him and barely spoke in a coherent tone.
"You made... me?" Kamski looked at Connor, he got rid of his hard exterior and came closer to her. She furrowed her brows as he knelt down in front of her.
"That is right, I made you and Connor. I can help you if you allow me?" Annabelle looked at Brooke, she offered her a reassuring nod and smile.
"...okay," she shyly replies, letting Kamski scoop her up. He led them all to his office out the back of the house, it was the same room Connor's body once laid unresponsive. Brooke stiffened at the memory, but this time it was to help someone. She swallowed her sorrow and pushed on.
Kamski sat Annabelle on the bed, she hugged herself tightly as she watched him wheel over some equipment with patchers to attach to her head. "Chloe, would you please deactivate her skin," Kamski asked as he put his work coat on.
"No, no. Please," Annabelle cried. Brooke instantly rushed over, holding her tightly.
"Shhh, darling. It does not hurt, they need to do it to help you. Chloe is gentle as an angel, I promise." Annabelle looked up at her, lip trembling and eyes watering. She was so scared, Brooke felt her heartbreak into tiny pieces. All she wanted to do was keep her safe.
"You may stay with her, Brooke," Chloe comments as she stands behind Annabelle. Brooke nodded at her, before looking back down at the little one. She holds her cheeks in her warm hands as Chloe gently touches against Annabelle's temple and deactivates her skin.
Hank felt his breath hitch as he now looked at a pristine white body with a bald head and little girl clothes on. Annabelle caught his sudden change and looked at him. "Don't be scared, Hank-Hank. It does not hurt one bit," she smiled. Hank nodded at her, biting his lip hard. He felt so protective of this kid and he had no idea why.
"Okay," Kamski said as he moved next to Brooke. She nods and gives him room. "Annabelle, these will go on your head, they don't hurt. I just need some reading to get your memories back." Annabelle nodded, holding her teddy bear that Brooke got her tightly. Kamski and Chloe started to stick the patches around her head.
"Will this give us all her memories from when she was first created?" Brooke asked as leaned against Connor, his arm wrapped around her.
"Yes, we will be able to see everything from her creation to this moment in perfect detail. It would be as if we are looking through her own eyes." Kamski knew early on when creating his androids he needed a way to upload their memory just in case of situations like this. No one other than those in that room knew this existed, he rarely used it before doing it for good by giving some traumatised androids their memories back.
The last patch went on and Kamski turned the machine on. It was much like a normal heart monitoring device, just used for the brain. Nowadays scans did a better job than monitors, but Kamski only had so much technology when he first created it.
"It will take some time," Kamski announces as he backs away and looks them over. Annabelle smiled at him, making it contagious for him to do the same.
Twenty minutes later all her memories were uploaded. "Okay," Kamski shouts, getting everyone's attention, all but Annabelle joins him at the large TV that was attached to the wall behind his desk. "We will see all her memories from first creation to now."
Kamski started the vid, it started off with Annabelle in the testing room at Cyberlife. She was being asked questions, the Turing test. She passed with flying colours. Next was her being transported to the store and then some footage of her standing on display as she waited to be bought. The store was very private, only one on one consultations were given due to it being a delicate matter with a child like a figure being sold. Brooke felt her stomach turn as she saw people come and go to see her.
"This is disgusting, why did you allow this to happen?" Brooke asked as she clamped her hand down hard on Kamskis shoulder.
"It was necessary. All customers were people that had lost their own children, many mothers and fathers cried for another child. I gave them the option, I now see it was the wrong thing to do. But it's too late to change it now." Brooke was close to blowing, Connor pulled her close, calming her down. He knew she was angry, but it was true, they couldn't change the past.
"This one is adorable darling," a lady said. They all looked up at the video. An older woman, forty, maybe older, said as she pointed at Annabelle.
"She sure is, darling. How much is this one?" Her tall, slender husband replied. The couple seemed nice, dressed in expensive clothes, well-groomed. Brooke guessed fertility issues and they had given up trying after years of disappointment. Until this option had been given to them.
"Ahh, this one is an older version. It is available for six thousand dollars," the store clerk explained, who himself was an android. The couple looked at each other and back at Annabelle.
So cheap, any reason why?" the husband asked.
"We've had this one for many months, it has been discounted in the hopes it can have a loving home." The couple looked at each other, before agreeing they would buy her. "Brillant. YK500, registry your new name."
"Annabelle," the lady announces. Annabelle's body seemed to flinch until she finally spoke.
"Hello, my name is Annabelle. You are my mummy and daddy," she says in her sweet voice. Brooke shook her head, she was so angry they bought her like a pet dog.
The video went on and gave them some details of the lifestyle of the couple. They actually treated Annabelle well, fed her good meals, played with her and treated her like a normal child. But the start of the revolution started to change that. Her parents kept her at a distance, trust issues obviously arising.
Soon the clampdown on androids being destroyed had come to their door. The couple argued about whether or not they should get rid of her. They decided they wouldn't since Annabelle can give off heat. She passed the temperature check when the police came to the door.
The day the city started to be evacuated came and the couple were packing all but Annabelle's things. "Mummy, daddy. Where are we going?" The couple jumped as they saw her standing by the door. They looked at each other before replying.
"Mummy and... daddy have to go away for a couple of days. You will have a new friend to look after you until we come back." Hank already knew they were lying, they were leaving and not coming back for her.
He was right when they pushed Annabelle back, shutting and locking the front door behind them. The video skipped through nearly three weeks of footage of Annabelle all alone in the house, she ate scraps and even consumed mouldy food. Soon she was close to shutting down until her deviancy kicked in, the memory then wipes.
"Those fucking cowards," Brooke said as the video ends with them all looking at themselves through her eyes. "They abandoned a child, a fucking child. They don't deserve her."
"She is not going back to them," Hank adds, crossing his arms over his chest with a grumble.
"Thank you, Kamski," Connor says, putting his hand on the man's shoulder.
Kamski looks up, then behind him at Annabelle. She sat on the bed, kicking her legs and swaying her head as she mumbles a song. "What are you going to do with her?" Brooke already knew the answer to that, she pushed her way out of the hoards of bodies and stormed towards the child.
"Annabelle, darling?" she says getting her attention. Annabelle beams a smile at her. "Darling, we are sorry... but we couldn't find your parents. They loved you very much but knew you were safer without them. Me..." She looked at Connor, she wanted to tell Annabelle the truth. But it would break her heart. Connor offered her a reassuring nod. "Honey, me and Connor would love it if you would like to join our family?" Annabelle looked at them all, she craned her neck to the side as she studied each one of them.
"Does that mean you and Con-con will be my new mummy and daddy?" Brooke looked at Connor. Hoping he would answer that one. He walks over, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Yes, sweet one. Hank will also be your grandad." Annabelle froze for just a second then squealed in excitement. She threw herself off the bed and into Connor's arms, hugging him tightly. He felt a new warmth he never had before. A new type of love, one different he had for Brooke and Hank.
"Yes, daddy. I want you, Brooky and Han-Hank, please," she whispered in his ear. Connor's cheeks went blue as he nearly cried at her words. Brooke hugged him as Hank slapped a hand on his shoulder.
They all thanked Kamski for his help, he offered them all the best with the child and gave them some advice and information about the model before letting them leave. Everyone had gone back to Hank's, deciding to spend the night at his place.
Annabelle couldn't stop smiling the whole way home, she asked hundreds of questions about Connor and Brooke's job. Hank and Brooke being human and also what her new family was actually like.
They got home and she went straight to playing with the dogs. Brooke and Connor had prepared dinner and they all but Connor ate together. The rest of the day they spent it going through Hank's family photos and explaining to Annabelle, who Cole was. She said she would love to have been best friends with him, that near broke Hank and his angry, old man attitude.
The evening came quickly and they all decided to get some sleep. Hank offered Annabelle his bed and he would take the couch, but she was adamant she wanted to stay with Brooke and Connor. So that's just what they did.
They all got into bed, Annabelle squashed between them. "Night, mummy," she says as she kisses Brooke's cheek then turns to Connor. "Night, daddy," she adds as she kisses his cheek. Connor wasn't sure how he had gone from an android that destroyed and killed others to get his investigation completed to now being a father of a child he only met yesterday. Life had a funny way of giving someone happiness.
"How did we get this lucky?" he whispers as he hears Annabelles breathing level out while she is sleeping. Brooke looked down at her, shaking her head.
"I don't know. But we are now a family, babe," she says as she reaches to cup his cheek.
Connor put his hand over hers, "I love you, Brooke," he gently says.
"I love you too, Connor," she replies.
A/N: Well! There we go, many conversations, arguments and tears later, they have what they both craved most for in their life... a child. Annabelle is just the cutest, don't worry this isn't the end just yet for them all. I have a few more surprises for you all and the growing Anderson/Quinn family!