Dakota woke up. He was still on the couch, in the same position as when he went to sleep. He must have been tired, as he usually only got about four hours of sleep. He shifted slightly and felt a weight on his left shoulder. It took a moment for his still-groggy mind to remember the events of last night. Kara, he realized, as he remembered that they fell asleep on the couch. Dakota was somewhat surprised that she was still next to him. He wondered if she was truly asleep in the human sense. She was an android, so she shouldn't be able to, but sometimes things deviated from what they should be around him. Well, whatever she's doing, he thought, I should let her keep doing it. He shifted his weight slowly, so as to not wake her. He tried to move his shoulder slightly, and found that his arm was also draped around her, in a protective gesture. He did not remember doing that. He sleepily opened one eye and looked at the clock hung up on the wall. 9:23 in the morning. Time to get up.

He slipped his arm out from behind Kara, trying to not move her as much as possible. Her head rolled off his shoulder and onto his chest. Kara made a soft noise, registering the movement. She opened her eyes, slowly at first, as her internal systems booted up. The first thing she saw was Dakota's face, looking down at her. She sat up quickly, somewhat confused as to why they were on the couch. Her memory processors recalled the last thing that happened before going into rest mode half a second later, and she relaxed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said, with a teasing note in his voice. "How are you feeling?"

Kara was somewhat taken aback by the question, and was unsure how to answer. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to answer literally. "My systems are running at full capacity, if that's what you mean."

"That's good, though not quite what I meant," Dakota said, a faint smile crossing his face. After a moment of silence Kara spoke up.

"I should go check on Alice."

Dakota nodded. "Go ahead. I'll get ready for the day. I figured I'd go and buy some clothes for her." They both got up from the couch and went the opposite way, as Dakota's bedroom was on the main floor.

Kara cracked open the door to Alice's room and peeked inside. Alice was sitting on the bed, looking out the window. Kara knocked on the door to let Alice know she was there. "Alice?" Kara asked softly.

"Come in," Alice answered, not looking away from the window. Kara walked in the room and sat down next to the girl, and looked outside the window. There was a nice view of the backyard. A raised wooden deck came out from the back door. There was a fair number of large trees, now barren in the cold November there was more, it was hidden beneath the snow from the night before. The two stayed there, looking outside at the white world before them, for several minutes

"I like it here." Alice spoke, breaking the silence. "It feels safe here." Kara smiled next to her. "Do you like it here Kara?"

Kara put her arm around Alice. "I'm happy wherever you are," she answered.

Alice frowned slightly for a moment, as if that wasn't the answer she was looking for. "I like Dakota. He's really kind," she said.

Kara remembered that Alice didn't see the confrontation with Zlatko. "He definitely seems to want to keep us safe," came Kara's response.

"Do you like him?" Kara asked, breaking her eyes away from the window to look at Kara, with an almost eager expression on her face.

Kara found herself somewhat taken aback by the question. "I appreciate what he has done to help us," she answered, frowning. Why was the question hard to answer?

"He likes you," Alice said, her face that only a child could make, a face of one who had learned a golden secret.

"What do you mean by that?" Kara asked, confused.

"I couldn't sleep, and I came downstairs to get some water. I saw you and him on the couch, sleeping. He had put a blanket on you, and you were leaning on him."

Kara didn't know how to respond. She was so confused and taken aback by the statement that she actually blushed, as her Thirium lines within her face dilated. That was not something she knew could happen. In the background, the doorbell rang.

Dakota checked the viewport on the door. He saw who it was and his face fell. "Aw, shit" he breathed.

Kara and Alice were still sitting on the bed when Dakota ran upstairs. "It's the police."

Kara started up. "What do we do?"

"Stay here, keep the door closed, stay away from the door and window, and stay quiet." Kara nodded, taking Alice's hand. Dakota closed the door behind him.

Hank Anderson impatiently rang the doorbell again. "You sure this is the right place?" He asked the android next to him.

The android's LED flickered yellow as he checked information. "This is the address the plates were registered to," he responded coolly. The door opened and a man opened the door.

Lieutenant Anderson," Dakota greeted. "This is an unexpected visit.".

"Nicholson," Anderson nodded.

The android standing next to Hank scanned the face of the man. Dakota Nicholson, born 2004. No criminal record to date. His records say that he worked as a consultant for the DPD, but they didn't say when or for which section. "You know each other?" the android asked.

"Yeah, he worked for the DPD for a while. We crossed paths on the Red Ice case." Hank said gruffly.

"Though on completely unrelated cases," Dakota added. He looked at the android next to the grizzled cop, taking in the crisp clothing and the model number printed clearly on the side of the blazer. RK800, part of the prototype series. "Forgive me for asking, who is your partner?"

The android spoke up. "My name is Connor. I have been assigned as the Lieutenant's partner and to all cases involving android deviants."

"That brings us to why we're here," Anderson cut in. "We have some questions to ask you. Can we come in?"

Of course. Come in," Dakota said, standing aside to let the two in. He kept looking at the android accompanying the lieutenant. There was something within him that intrigued Dakota. It was something important, like his choices would influence events more than most.

Dakota guided the pair to the living room, where Anderson sat on the couch. The android, Connor, seemed to prefer to stand. Dakota sat on a recliner across from the couch. "So, what brings you here? You mentioned deviants?"

Connor spoke, "An AX400 android was reported missing by its owner. He said that it assaulted him, kidnapped his daughter, and ran away. The trail of this android was tracked to the Ravendale district. Security footage of a local convenience store showed the android getting into a car. The plates of that car match the one in your possession."

"The android is registered to this person?" Dakota asked.

"Yes, to Todd Williams." Connor replied.

"Then couldn't you track it through GPS?" This was a big marketing feature CyberLife used when it was first implemented to prevent theft of androids. Dakota didn't think such a thing would work, but he mentioned anyway, as his mind was trying to scramble together a plan to get the pair of police out without them becoming suspicious.

"Unfortunately, any tracking software in a deviant becomes disabled, otherwise it would be easy to loca-" Connor stopped mid-word as he heard a thump come from upstairs. Dammit, Dakota thought. Connor immediately went up the stairs to find the source of the noise.

Dakota quickly weighed his options, and none of them were anything he liked. He decided on what he was going to do. "I'm really sorry about this, Lieutenant," he said apologetically, and promptly drove his fist into the detective's stomach. Hank doubled over, the wind knocked out of him. Dakota rushed up the stairs after Connor. He reached the top of the stairs just as the detective android wrenched open the door to the room Kara and Alice were hiding in.

Connor opened the door, body ready to defend from an attack. He stepped in and saw her, no, it. The AX400 they were looking for was there, and behind her, it, was a little girl. A quick scan revealed her to be Alice Williams, age nine. Connor was confused. He did not remember such a girl on the security footage. Was he really just that focused on his mission to find deviants? It disturbed him that such a large detail bypassed his memory entirely. In his hesitation, Dakota came from behind and with a swift sweep of the leg tripped Connor. By the time the android had recovered, Dakota put himself squarely between the two parties, his stance defensive and practiced. "Do not touch them," he growled.

Hank caught up to everyone else, still slightly out of breath. He stood in the doorway, surveying the scene before him. "Holy shit," he breathed, "The fuck is going on here?" Connor looked about the room and read the situation. In such close quarters, firearms would be useless, and from Dakota's posture and stance it was safe to assume he was experienced in hand-to-hand combat. Space was limited, so simply maneuvering around him was not an option. Any course of action that could lead into a physical exchange had an unfavorable probability of success. The route with the highest possibility of success was a more rational approach.

"Please step out of the way, or you will be charged with obstruction of justice," Connor stated calmly.

Dakota didn't move. "You never checked Todd's records, did you?"

"No, they had nothing to do with the case." Came Connor's reply.

"Well, if you did, you might have gained some useful information. It would show that he has had a history of illicit drug use and domestic abuse."

"And what does that have to do with this case?" Connor's LED pulsed a confused yellow for a moment.

"She is a household android. Even in the original programming, household androids are tasked with taking care of any children, including protecting them from harm. That's all Kara did. Any injury done to Todd was in self-defence, and there aren't any other charges that can be brought up against her." Dakota said, his defiance set.

"She is a deviant," Connor stated, his resolve shaken slightly.

"So what?" Dakota spat back. "It means she can feel. If that's a crime, the whole human race would be locked up, and you with it."

Connor's face hardened. "I am not a deviant. I do not feel."

"Bullshit. You feel all the time. You just don't understand it yet."

Connor didn't understand what he meant by that, but it struck something within him. He couldn't develop an appropriate response,either, so he simply disregarded the comment. "She must be taken to CyberLife for further study," he continued.

Dakota saw that what he said was making an impact on the deviant hunter, but not enough to change his mind. Not moving away from between where Kara and Alice were standing and Connor, he relaxed his posture slightly, from purely defensive to a more conversational stance. "Then we are at an impasse. I will not let you take her, and you are determined to take her into CyberLife."

"That is correct," Connor agreed, unsure of where the conversation is going.

"But perhaps there is a solution. What if I gave you a copy of her code?"

"That requires specialized equipment that is expensive to purchase and illegal to own. You couldn't possibly have a copy of an android's code."

"Expensive to purchase, yes. But to make, not necessarily. That's beside the point, though. I have a copy, and I can give it to you. It can be sent to your company, and compared to normal code for differences. We both get what we want."

Kara frowned. He hadn't taken a copy of his code, had he?

Connor ran the proposal through his processors. "It is… an acceptable solution," he said finally.

Dakota relaxed. "Good." He turned to the two behind him. "Stay here for just a little while longer, it's all gonna be okay." He gave them a reassuring smile, and turned to the two detectives. "I'll get the code for you, on one condition.

The lieutenant spoke up, his posture relaxed, yet ready. "Go ahead."

"Don't come after them again. If something comes up, let me know.

The grizzled cop nodded. "Got it," he acknowledged.

Dakota went down the stairs, the detective pair following behind him. Dakota went into his room to grab the device in which the code was stored. After about a minute, Connor's LED flashed yellow as he received the file transmission. Dakota exited his room, looking at Connor. "Did you get it?"

Connor nodded. "The file transfer was successful."

"Good. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, we're good," Hank spoke up. "Thank you for your cooperation." Dakota nodded in recognition of the thanks. "Come on, Connor." The android followed the lieutenant out the door. Dakota closed it behind them and breathed a sigh of relief. He just hoped the code that he gave would work. It was just repeats of the old Windows 10 OS saved as an android bio-code file

Dakota went upstairs and slowly opened the door. "It's okay now, they're gone." Dakota opened the door and walked inside. Kara and Alice were still in the same place, sitting on the ground now, with Kara protectively holding Alice in her arms. Dakota walked over to them and sat down. Alice looked up at him. Her face was wet, tear tracks running down her cheeks. The poor girl was so scared. "It's okay, you're safe now," he said softly. He reached out and touched her face, wiping away her tears. "You're gonna be okay. They're gone, they won't hurt you."

Alice sobbed openly and buried her face into his chest. Dakota, almost on an instinct, wrapped one arm around her in a comforting embrace. He held her, letting her sob into his side. "I got you, don't worry," he said, his other hand tracing her hairline, soothing her.

He looked up at Kara, who was watching the interaction between the two with intent curiosity, with concern in his eyes. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

Kara looked up at him and attempted a smile. "I'll be okay," she said weakly.

Still holding Alice in his lap, Dakota moved himself closer to Kara, coming to sit right next to her. He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll get through this, I promise".

Kara found his touch strangely comforting. She squeezed his hand back. Ever since becoming deviant, she has found herself swimming in an ocean of new sensations, thoughts, and emotions. Most of them were concerning Alice, which were fairly easy to understand. But with Dakota, her feelings were unknown to her. He always was there when it mattered, and seems to genuinely care about both herself and Alice. Kara was immensely grateful for that. Gratefulness she could understand. But there was more than just that. He seemed to have a gravity about him, something else that Kara liked about him. Something she couldn't define yet. It frustrated her that she couldn't figure it out, but now did not feel like the time to try. She felt tired and scared, and just wanted to feel safe. She knew that Dakota would keep them safe, and that was all she needed to know at the moment. She didn't let go of his hand, but held on to it, almost as if it was a lifeline, something that provided life itself.

They all stayed that way for a while, nobody moving from where they were. It was peaceful, really, with drawing comfort from the presence of the others. After about half an hour, Dakota moved to get up. Alice protested slightly, but he gave her a gentle nudge to Kara, and she sat in Kara's lap. The poor kid was exhausted from the emotional strain of the morning. Dakota stood up, one of his legs almost asleep from sitting down for so long. "I should get going," he said. "I'll get some clothes for both of you, and likely grab some groceries." He could see Kara was about to protest, obviously concerned about their safety, and countered her. "No one else is going to come, and the police have no interest in this place." He could see she was still unsure. "They have what they came for. I trust the lieutenant, and Connor, the android, has received information from here, and saw that he wouldn't get anything more. If anything, they would come providing aid to you." Kara sat back, frowning still, but it was clear that her concerns were quelled. Turning to leave the room, Dakota added, "there's some leftover macaroni in the fridge if you're hungry, Alice."

Heading to his car, Dakota put on a heavy coat. Doing so, he noticed something on his wrist. He stopped to look at it. It was something that was there before, but hasn't in a long time. He frowned, wondering what it meant. Shrugging, he put on his hat and headed to his car.