Thank you to the guest review from Neil Purling!

Alina pressed her face against one of the police precinct's cool black desks, sulking as she stared hard at Connor.

"Staring intensely at me isn't going to decrease the sudden workload," Connor smirked.

Alina puffed up her cheeks, shot straight up, and glared at him. "You're only happy about having a new case because it gives you an excuse to not attend the Jericho celebration."

"What makes you say that?" Connor playfully cocked his head to the side.

"Whatever!" Alina declared, throwing her hands up into the air. "I did my best."

It was now December 23rd, a day before the Jericho Christmas Celebration. Just yesterday, a new case dropped onto Hank and Connor's desk. Apparently, another hybrid household carbon monoxide incident occurred.

This time the incident involved four roommates sharing a one-story house rent: two of them were humans and the other two were deviants. The two humans fell victim to the same carbon monoxide MO from the previous incidents: tightly closed windows and doors, ventilation shafts clogged up, and an appliance 'malfunction' due to tampering.

Since this was the third time that such a crime occured, the Captain was a bit anxious and sent out a word of caution to the media. He advised hybrid families to install a carbon monoxide detector in their houses, since these seemed to be the people that the serial killers were targeting.

Alina didn't know the details other than the bare minimum information provided by the television station. The television station mentioned something else about the victims' house being spray painted with the letters 'HF'.

I think the victims were young adults by the names of Jack and Jill?

She found it kinda ironic how their names matched the famous nursery rhyme

Their parents must have loved it so they named their children after them.

Alina sighed again, resting her head on her folded arms. She narrowed her eyes at Connor some more while pouting. She knew that she was technically still in his field of view even if he was focused on the latest case.

"Don't you have to get ready to go to Tina's place soon? It's almost 2pm, right?" Connor asked in an attempt to steer the topic.

"Yesssss, in like five minutes," Alina answered, despite knowing what Connor was trying to do.

"Well, just make sure to have fun kiddo." Hank popped up behind her with a coffee in hand. "You don't need to make the Christmas cookies super fancy like in our usual lunch boxes."

Tina then surprise attacked Alina, wrapping her arms around the young girl. "Just you guys wait. Pearson, Alina and I are going to make the best Christmas cookies this year. Compared to past years', this year's cookie batches will blow you guys away"

Gavin, who was nearby, rolled his eyes. "She's gonna work you to death, pipsqueak. All for some Instagram photos."

Hank gently ruffled the top of Alina's head. "I'm sure it will be fine."

Alina bit into one of the freshly baked gingerbread cookies from Tina's oven and frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Tina put in the next rack of cookies into the oven.

Alina flashed a lackluster smile. "Nothing too big… It's… just the taste is a bit different from what I remember. But I'm 100% sure I followed my mother's recipe."

Pearson stopped decorating a gingerbread man cookie and broke off a piece off its arm. "It tastes pretty good to me. How is it different from your usual?"

Alina quickly finished the cookie in her hand, trying out a cookie from another batch. "Hmmm, I can't really discern the exact feeling, but I think it's a bit bitter compared to my usual Christmas cookies with my mother?"

Tina put down her oven gloves, biting into a fully decorated Santa-shaped cookie. "It's not really bitter, I say it's just the right amount of sugar."

Tina then broke the Santa cookie in half, handing the unbitten portion to Alina to try out.

Bitter. Why is it a bit bitter? Did I forget an ingredient? Mess up the portions?

Alina sat on the wooden kitchen stool, her right foot rapidly tapping against the chair's footrest. It was strange: every single time she tried out a cookie from a new batch, the taste got more bitter and yet Tina and Pearson insisted they all tasted the same.

What Alina found even stranger was that the one time she tried making a small batch of cookies with her own variation of her mother's recipe, the taste seemed to be fine.

Did I memorize my mother's recipe incorrectly?

Out of frustration, she stopped working on the cookies and instead, worked toward helping Pearson with making the Christmas cake.

"Baking was fun today! Thanks for inviting me over!" Alina exclaimed excitedly as the trio stood in front of the apartment building gates. "It was especially nice since I normally do it with my mother annually."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Tina wrapped a large scarf around Alina's neck. "You sure you don't want us to drive you back to the precinct?"

Pearson fitted Alina's hood tightly around the little girl's head and let out a content sigh after properly bundling the teenager.

"I'm sure. The taxi is good enough to get to the precinct." Alina bobbed her head. "Besides, I don't want to inconvenience you two, especially when you guys are already finished with your work day."

"Ahhh, our little Lina is so cute!" Tina hugged the teen and pulled in Pearson as well. "You're so responsible, Hank and Connor are lucky to have you."

Lina?

Alina cocked her head at Tina's comment. It had been a while since she heard that nickname.

Tina noticed Alina's reaction and abruptly took a step back. She looked flustered and awkwardly twirled her loose hair curls with her index finger.

"Ah, sorry for using a random nickname. It kinda just came out."

Alina shook her head feverishly and her lips spread into a toothy smile, "No, I don't mind. It's a nickname that my mom and my friends used for me. It's actually kinda nice to hear it again."

Tina went in for a second surprise hug. "Aww, our Lina really is the best!"

Pearson pulled Tina away from Alina, chiding her co-worker. "Alright, alright. Alina needs to go back to the precinct now. It's almost 5pm, that's around the time Hank and Connor are usually done with their work."

Alina hopped into the small taxi vehicle and waved goodbye to Tina and Pearson. Pearson inputted the precinct coordinates to the taxi's GPS, paying the machine with the palm of her hand.

"Get home safe Lina," Pearson softly said, giving her regards as the taxi doors closed and began moving.

For a second, Alina's body froze as her mind began processing the phrase spoken to her.

'Get home safe.'

She knew that it was a normal thing for people to say...but somehow it made her stomach churn.

Home. Do I have one technically? I'll be house hopping soon.

Alina let out a harsh breath and looked to the windows, hoping that the view would distract her from her thoughts. She inclined her head against the glass window panel, watching as the streets slowly zoomed past. It was about 10 minutes into the ride when something caught her eye.

"Wait, wait! Stop! Please stop!" Alina cried out loud, seeing a familiar street name.

It took Alina an extra second to realize that 2038's taxis were automated. she silently cursed underneath her breath as she tried to remember how automated taxi systems worked.

"Would you like to stop here?" The female taxi voiceover stated as the taxi slowed to a stop.

"Yes! Yes, please." Alina beamed, glad that the voice recognition system understood her request.

The taxi doors opened up and she rushed out to peek at the street poles.

Dubois Street and East Canfield Street. Connor had said they found her there. We're at Dubois and Garfield. We just passed it, by a block I think?

"Thank you for your patronage. A partial refund will be given since your destination point changed. We hope you enjoyed your ride with Detroit Taxis today."

Huh?

Alina twirled around, her eyes widening as she watched the taxi doors close and the vehicle speed away.

Ah, shit.

She didn't expect it to just speed away after pausing midway in its route. Although, she probably should have expected that considering there wasn't a physical driver.

You would think you would get used to a new world after two weeks.

Alina walked through the dim street, hearing only the echoes of her boots against the concrete road. It took her about five minutes to reach her destination of Dubois and East Canfield.

Once she did, she let out a hefty sigh as she stood in the middle of the road.

What am I even doing here?

Alina put her hand to her forehead, looking up the nearby streetlights.

It's not like a magical door or portal will suddenly appear.

She couldn't explain it in exact words, but there was this funny feeling in her chest when she passed this area. It was as though her body instinctively knew that this was the exact location she ended up when she entered Detroit Become Human.

There was this pull, tugging the back of her mind.

It didn't happen the last time she came here though, so she silently wondered what triggered this peculiar phenomenon.

Alina bitterly laughed at her predicament and began picking at the tiny blades of grass still alive within the cracks of the road.

She was technically stuck in the middle of nowhere-

Oh. Snowflakes.

Her eyes lit up as snow flurries slowly descended from above. She stuck out her hand, letting the snow instantly melt on her skin upon contact.

Maybe...maybe it isn't so bad. Maybe I can figure this out, right? I've been on my own before, I can do it again.

Alina stuffed her hands into her coat pockets after letting it freeze a bit in the open air. She raised her eyebrows, her right hand hitting something plastic-like in her pockets. She pulled out the unknown item from her pocket and held it out to the street light, revealing a packet of freshly baked warm Christmas cookies.

Puffs of her breath materialized in front of her as she gingerly held the source of warmth.

Tina must have snuck them into my pocket.

A smile graced her lips as she opened the plastic wrapping to reveal a gingerbread man and candy candy cookies. Hidden underneath were also some mini chocolate chip and sugar cookies.

Alina chewed off a piece of the gingerbread man cookie, relishing how the sugar in the cookie wasn't too overpowering for her taste buds.

But...the taste is still off.

Alina knew that all the gingerbread cookies they made today were based off of her mother's recipe. It pained her that they were just off the mark in terms of taste, despite her having made them for years. Frustrated, she ripped off of the rest of the gingerbread man's head and chewed it to bits.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

Alina looked down at the plastic wrapping in confusion as drops of water appeared on it.

That's strange, how can it be raining and snowing at the same time? Didn't they say on the news channel, only snow flurries were appearing today? Were they off the mark again on having a White Christmas?

She raised her chin, trying to take in a glimpse of the precipitation in the sky. She furrowed her brow when she only saw snow flurries and got the same result when she held out her left hand.

Was it just a brief little sprinkle then?

Alina scrunched her face some more, trying to understand the current weather phenomenon.

Pitter-patter.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

Alina looked around her, seeing that nothing else seemed to have been rained upon other than her cookie wrapper. If anything, the ground and street poles were slightly damp from the melted snow, but there was no evidence of being splattered by a bit of rain.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

Alina was getting increasingly frustrated and confused, wondering if she should just ask the nearby houses for shelter. If it was raining, her request would be a bit more reasonable. If it was snow flurries, she could technically handle being outdoors.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

Realization crossed Alina's face as she went to touch her cheeks. Her hands shook not from the freezing cold, but rather fear of the truth.

Ah.

Alina studied the tears glistening off her fingertips.

I'm crying. That's why water is splattering on my cookies.

Alina touched her face once more, testing her theory.

This is ridiculous. Why are you crying? Because you ate a cookie? It's just a cookie.

Alina chomped down on another piece of the gingerbread man as if she was challenging herself.

See? Noth...

"Why...Why are you crying?" Alina murmured to herself as tears began spilling down her face harder than before. "I don't understand."

"Is it because you're alone?" Alina began furiously wiping her face with her sleeves but to no avail. "We've been alone before in the past, what makes this any different?"

Alina clutched her chest, her heart pounding from within as tears continued to welled up.

Breathe, breathe… take slow breaths. That's right. Look at something distracting.

Alina threw her head up and the first thing she saw was the Detroit city skyline.

Ba-dum, Ba-dum.

Abruptly, her legs gave out and a great sob escaped her mouth. There was now a burning sensation in her chest and she hugged her small trembling body, trying to will the tears away.

That's right, I'm in Detroit.

Detroit's skyline could never compare to New York's. She never thought she would miss the bright ambience of Manhattan. New York, the city that never sleeps, with its familiar towering Empire State Building glowing warmly in the dark nights. And who could forget the usual looming Brooklyn Bridge in the background, crowded with tourists.

Detroit's skyline felt very different despite having similar skyscrapers. To her, they felt foreign and rigid-like with their futuristic blue lightning outlining their silhouettes in the darkness. While playing 'Detroit Become Human,' she had loved the dreamy-like atmosphere. Now, it seemed like a haughty reminder that she might not be able to return home.

Alina's throat began tightening up and her breaths became shorter as gut-wrenching sobs tore through her chest.

Stop. Stop crying, you idiot. Mom's got it worse, she lost her husband and her daughter. Why are you sitting here and crying?

Alina slammed her fist against the pavement, her nails digging into her skin as she clenched them.

I guess this is the price I pay for wanting to be a bit selfish...to enjoy this fantasy world.

Alina clenched her jaw as tears steadily dropped with no signs of stopping. All she could do was wipe them as they fell.

"I'm sorry Mom. I'm so sorry for leaving you alone," Alina cried out.

Hank rubbed his chin as he repeated his question through the phone. "Are you sure her taxi arrived at the precinct?"

"I'm sure, I remember hearing the notification earlier. I'll go check the taxi app for the details," Tina said through the phone line.

There was rustling on the other side of the call and Hank hastily kept tapping his finger against his desk. He was unable to keep still while waiting for a response.

"Wait, I got a partial refund," Tina inhaled sharply. "Apparently the taxi stopped earlier than its original destination, Dubois and Garfield?"

Dubois and Garfield? Why does that sound so familiar?

"Connor, does Dubois and Garfield ring a bell or something?" Hank threaded his fingers through his hair, trying to guess why Alina would get off early there.

"Dubois and Garfield…" Connor's LED whirled yellow as he went deep in thought. "I believe we passed by that area when we first found Alina. The exact street intersection we had found her was between Dubois and East Canfield Street. Do you think...perhaps?"

Hank let out a sigh, "Of course, it's Christmas. Who wouldn't think of family?"

He cursed himself for not realizing sooner and fulfilling the girl's requests to be swept into Jericho's affairs.

No one could be that cheerful during Christmas if they just lost some loved ones. Was it all a ploy to just keep herself distracted?

Hank recalled that the two times he had gone to pick her up at Jericho, he heard immense praise from some of their members. According to them and the bits of conversations from Connor's Jericho phone calls, Alina was picking up almost every task available.

In some cases, she even suggested improvements to their various activities. Other times, she just inserted herself in various projects scattered around Jericho.

In Hank's opinion, Alina was working hard, maybe even too hard for someone who had just lost their family. For him, losing his son sent him in a depressing spiral for years. How the hell was this girl surviving?

"Do you want help? Pearson and I can help search for her," Tina offered through the phone call, worry laced in her voice.

"We have a feeling we know which direction she could have gone," Hank answered as he grabbed the car keys from his desk. He motioned for Connor to join him, but the android was already one step ahead of him and at the precinct door.

Hank thanked Tina for her assistance as he hopped into the driver seat of his car, hanging up to focus on finding the teenager. As they drove to the GPS coordinates of Dubois and East Canfield Street, Hank found himself speeding through multiple yellow lights as he anxiously tapped against the steering wheel.

It took him an extra second to realize that Connor had turned on the police lights to make it easier to bypass the traffic lights. He smirked at the boy's cleverness and will to slightly bend the rules to search for Alina. Normally, the boy stuck to the rules without fault, so it was surprising to see Connor make an exception this time.

Connor finally decided to speak amongst the quietness. "How...do you think we can help her?"

Hank nearly jumped up from his seat from the sudden question. He kept an eye on the GPS device as he mulled over what to say in response.

Approximately 5 minutes till we reach the intersection.

"Sometimes...if you're just there for someone, it helps them feel better," Hank huffed out, his voice just barely above a whisper.

Connor simply nodded back, his LED glowing bright yellow in the darkness of the night.

Minutes later, Hank's GPS beeped to notify their arrival. Sure enough, when Hank exited the car, he could clearly see that there was a tiny figure sitting on their knees. They were smack middle in the road and he couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu as the snow continued to fall around them.

Hank couldn't see the person's front to confirm if it was Alina, but it was his best guess judging by the small frame and this peculiar location.

"Alina?" Hank called out, slowly trudging forward with Connor by his side.

The lone figure turned to reveal the small teenager they had been looking for the entire time.

Hank was about to let out a sigh of relief until he noticed Alina's eyes glistening with tears. As he slowly approached the girl, the streetlight reflected off her face and revealed all the dried up tear stains on her cheeks.

For a moment, time slowed down and the snow flurries paused midway in their descent. All of a sudden, he was reminded of the fact that despite all the maturity Alina displayed the past couple of days: she was still a kid at the end of the day.

Alina widened her eyes at the sight of Hank and Connor, quickly turning away and burying her face into her hands.

Alina didn't expect Hank and Connor to find her so soon, but that wasn't her biggest worry . Rather, she was fixating on the fact that they were witnessing her in such sorry state. She rarely cried in front of others: to her, it was a sign of weakness.

There was never any time to cry; there was never a reason to cry; there was no need to cry.

To Alina, crying simply took up precious time in solving a stressful situation. It did nothing to solve the problem at hand and made her feel emotionally exhausted afterwards.

Most importantly, she hated how vulnerable it made her feel. When Hank locked eyes with her, Alina instinctively wanted to cower away to cover her despicable appearance. She didn't know how long she had been crying: all she knew was that her clothes were now sullied with tears and snot.

It surprised her when Hank and Connor rushed forward to her side, concern etched in their faces. What startled her more was when Hank decided to cradle her gently in his arms, whispering encouraging words. He kept telling her that 'things were going to be okay' and she continued sobbing in his arms.

Not wanting them to see her flustered expression, she buried her face into the crook of Hank's neck as Connor rubbed circles on her back. She desperately tried to hold back her cries, but the more she suppressed them, the harder her tears came pouring out.

Alina finally gave in to her emotions, letting the tide wave of feelings wash over her: anger at herself, guilt towards her mother, and the sadness of being separated from her hometown.

Her choked sobs were occasionally interrupted with a couple of unanticipated hiccups, but Hank soothed her with a series of pats on the back. Wordlessly, Connor then draped another coat over her shivering body.

Alina tightly clung onto Hank's jacket, not sure how to handle all the excess emotions leaking from herself.

"I'm sorry," Alina eventually whimpered out.

She wasn't sure what to say in this situation, but it was the only thing that she could find herself murmuring out.

"Why are you saying sorry?" Hank replied, hugging her closer to his body.

"For being pathetic," Alina choked out as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "Crying does nothing. It doesn't change the past; it only makes the present more difficult."

Connor shifted his position, making sure that his body shielded her from the cold brewing wind and snow flurries.

"You once told me that 'Crying makes you feel better because a lot of times it's because you feel helpless and you need to relieve that stress somehow.'" Connor gave her a piercing gaze. "Why didn't you say anything? Do you not trust us? We could have helped you."

Alina's body went rigid as Hank scolded Connor for the pressing questions.

Connor continued asking though, confusion in his voice.

"You said, 'Sometimes, people cry because they reached their breaking point.' That means they've been under a lot of stress and enduring a lot of hardship...it doesn't mean you're pathetic." Connor steadily worded out.

Alina said nothing back at first, just slowly turning her head around to meet Connor's gaze. His eyes bored into hers inquisitively and she found herself having to look away a second time.

It took a couple of seconds for her to compose herself and thread her tornado of thoughts into a sentence.

"B-Because what's the point of crying if it just makes you feel vulnerable and in turmoil?" Alina sputtered out. "C-Crying...it doesn't change anything that's already happened. I should just move on and get on with life. Emotions just get in the way of things."

Hank's muscles tensed up, pressing Alina's shaking body to his own in a protective manner.

"Kid...Crying can be a healthy way of expressing your emotions. You can't always just push them away, believe me when I say that."

Alina ignored his words, she just wrapped her arms around his neck as she shook her head 'no' vigorously.

"Sweetheart…I need you to look at me." Hank said in a soft and tender manner. "Just look at me in the eye for a couple of seconds."

Alina let go of Hank to give him her undivided attention, steadying her gaze.

"Crying can make you feel weak. The sadness that accompanies it can make you feel helpless. But it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, in the short term you'll feel bad. But long term wise, it helps you face your problems." Hank explained to her in a forebearing tone.

Alina pressed her lips into a grim line, she had heard something like this once before from friends and family. But she was determined not letting her emotions sway her, it had worked so far… at least until now. To her, it was easier to just work on something productive versus wasting her time with crying. Crying didn't bring her old father back, crying didn't help her overburdened mother and crying won't magically bring her back to New York.

Hank tried reasoning with her again, noticing her expression. "I'm telling you this because I ran away from my emotions by drinking alcohol and things are slightly better now that I'm facing them. You need to properly express your emotions now, so they don't stay latched onto you forever."

Alina curled into a ball, shaking her head 'no' once more. She was determined to stand by her principles even if it meant rejecting Hank's counsel.

"Why are you contradicting yourself?" Connor inquired. There was no frustration in his voice, just genuine bewilderment.

Alina looked up to see Connor slightly frowning and his forehead puckered.

"You told me 'sometimes we need people to be that gentle prod and guide us to talk about our feelings before it's too late and we explode on our own.'" Connor quoted Alina's words for a third time. "We're trying to do that for you. So why are you being so hard on yourself? Why won't you let us help you?"

Alina froze up with her mouth agape, the gears churning in her brain.

She blinked a couple of times before the edge of her lips curled up into a small smile.

Alina laughed darkly for a mere instance at how Connor managed to corner her.

No wonder he got the negotiator role in the game.

"I guess it's because humans are hypocrites," Alina chuckled once more. Her laugh became more light and fluttery after Connor poked through her arguments. "We tell other people advice, but don't listen to it ourselves."

Connor hesitantly reached out, placed his hand on Alina's head and tenderly ruffled her hair. "Why don't you come back home with us for now? We can talk more in a warmer place."

Home. She missed having one. Even if this fantasy world was cooler than her own.

Alina started tearing up again and Connor panicked next to her. He squirmed and looked to Hank for guidance on the situation.

Hank wiped away some of Alina's tears and then proceeded to pick her up in a princess carry style. "Don't worry, I got you sweetie. I can't guarantee the future, but at least for this Christmas we'll be your home for today."

"Okie." Alina squeaked back, resting her head against Hank's chest. She was grateful that Hank understood at least a part of her sentiments and that she didn't have to explain herself.

A stillness hung in the air as the trio walked back to the car, the only sound coming from the winds blowing around them.

Connor extended his arms out once they reached the car, "I can sit with her in the back, Hank."

Hank handed Alina over to Connor to place the girl in the backseat. Then the older man sat in the front driver seat and peered over his back as if to check on the kids.

Connor, on the other hand, laid Alina across the backseat and placed her head on his lap.

Alina was a bit embarrassed by the gesture, it was something she hadn't done in a while. This was something she did back when she was a kid. However, Connor insisted on letting himself be a lap pillow and kept patting her head to lull her to sleep.

Being eighteen, she didn't think the technique would work; however, she soon found her eyelids slowly drooping and the darkness of sleep becoming increasingly welcoming.

"We'll still be here when you wake up, so just relax." Connor whispered to her.

It was the last thing she heard before her exhaustion took over.

"Mmm." Alina replied sleepily underneath the coat cover.

Extra:

Character Card:

Alina Niu

(18 year old) 16 year old Alina Niu hails from one of the most known cities in the world-The Big Apple aka New York City. She's widely known in her local community for taking various part time jobs as well as some odd tasks from the TaskRabbit App to make ends meet. Some in her community joke that she spends more time working than being an actual kid and hanging out with friends. She doesn't deny it though when her neighbors call her a busy bee, simply flashing a smile before looking for another TaskRabbit client on her phone app.

Alina is also an avid gamer and home cook.

Thk u cait for ur beta reading. Also Wow, just wow, it was a heck of an emotional roller coaster trying to write this one chapter. Lots of plot webs being planted here for the future. On other news. . .

#1 so ive been very addicted to genshin lately and one aspect of genshin I liked was the 'character cards' that had tiny voice over lines n descriptions of the characters. So i did one for Alina, never tried voice acting before-first time technically. Hope you guys like this little extra thing in making Alina more 3D-like.

#2, i thought i was gonna update faster since i have winter break...but bad news is that my mom works as a nurse in a tiny primary clinic and one of her co-workers got covid so its possible that my mother got it too, and i have to take a covid test too. I'm really not sure what's going to happen in the next 2 weeks, crossing my fingers that me and my family will be fine.

#3 happy new year guys! I pray 2021 will be better.