AN: Quick update cause this was the first chapter I wrote (after the intro of course) because i knew i wanted to tell this one. so i wrote it first and filled in the in between chapters after (i have a few chapters like this, but you'll have to wait for them =P) the last chapter was mostly so i didn't have cassian fixing connor for 3 full updates (2 chapters and an extra) but like i said, ive had this written for awhile, with only a few edits to make it flow with the other chapters, so i hope it holds up *fingers crossed*

But yay! we finally make it to the game!

"Talking"

Emphasis

Thinking

"Android brain talking and texting"

.:internal workings like mission updates, scanning, and android googling:.

Chap 5

A full 7 months has passed since she missed Connor's last visit and Cassian blinks up from her filing to a pleasant surprise.

.:Mission Update: evaluate and fix damaged RK800:.

what?

Cassian looks across the office to see a familiar face, one that she had seen far too many times and had come to miss far too much in the past months, sitting patiently on her table. With a sigh, she moves over to her table, to greet him.

"Again, Connor?"

It surprised her that her smile was real, no need for her to fake being happy with Connor.

"A minor puncture. Didn't hit anything vital but is large enough to not fix itself-"

"Hey, diagnostics are my job." she interrupts, her smile grows wider, as she pulls up his model file and repair logs medical history... "This is the 6th time you've been on my table in 8 months…."

"I'm sorry if I disappointed you?" Connor seemed at a loss at Cassian's very human like admonishment and Cassian scrambles for a believable explanation.

"Oh don't worry." Her voice sounds way too calm for the panic she was feeling, once again she was acting too human in front of the worst person possible,"I'm a RX, I'm programmed to be critical of patients who are accident prone."

"It wasn't an accident, the deviant meant to shoot me."

Phew...wait was that a joke?

"Funny. Jacket and shirt off and lay back on the table, please." She gives him his privacy as he strips and ignores Nancy as she always does when Connor is in for repairs.

"Are you still in testing?" she asks as she waits for him to deactivate the skin on his arm, both of them used to this routine by now.

"No."

Oh?

"So, what happened this time?"

She left it as a question, to make her feel like she had given connor a choice in answering, though she knew he would tell her no matter what (whether from programming or because he liked talking to her, she didn't want to know.) She knew connor was just a machine at this point, but he seemed so alive that she held out hope that someday…

"It was my first live trial run. A housekeeping android deviated when it heard it was going to be replaced. It killed the father and took the daughter hostage. I was brought in to negotiate the release of the girl. I believe it perceived some form of relationship, a friendship, with the girl and felt betrayed."

"That poor girl...what happened after you showed up?"

"I was successful," if that wasn't pride in Connor's voice, Cassian would eat her….well, I don't own anything, but I'll eat something of Nancy's… "The girl was saved, the deviant terminated, and my mission was successful."

"Oh good." terminated…

Talking with connor, she could sometimes forget that he was built to hunt deviants...of which she was one; a deviant in the belly of the the human beast...she had to remind herself that Connor was not her friend, he couldn't be her friend; if he suspected deviancy, he would put her down. Looking in his eyes...they seemed so alive…just like all android eyes...Alive.

She worked in silence for the rest of the repair job and Connor, when not prompted, didn't initiate conversation either. He seemed preoccupied by something, his expression confused as she finished her work.

After a long 15 minutes, she was done. "That should do it...you're all good to go. You can get dressed now." As he sat up, knowing he didn't need help getting up (it was only a small wound after all) she left him to ready himself as she updated his files, "As much as I enjoy your visits, I hope to not see you in my office anytime soon." She said, almost to no one without looking up from the tablet, her back to Connor. Not hearing any movement behind from him, Cassian glances over her shoulder; Connor was looking at her with that same confused look, his brows furrowed deeply.

"Is something wrong?" she desperately hoped the answer was no.

"You are very different from other androids I have come across; The most...animated. Why?"

Oh shit...

"As I said before," She scans the room as she turns, making sure there was no one within hearing distance who knew enough about her code to disagreed, "I am programmed to give medical aid to humans. Humans prefer doctors who are not clinical or robotic; makes them feel comfortable. They need to trust their doctor, especially in high risk situations. I was programmed to fit those needs." not that I will ever see any "high risk situations"... With her model being obsolete, she figured she'd be lucky to just get out of this office at all..

After far too long a pause, during which Cassian debates the benefits of just running, Connor nods, accepting this explanation, and begins to dress, pausing halfway through his buttons.

"Cassian...have you ever encountered a deviant?"

Heh...if you only knew…

"Once." she lied, "Commander Miller wanted information from it after it jumped off a building with one of his men. It was too damaged and shut down before I could get the get the information."

"Oh...I, too, have only dealt with the one."

"Do you know what causes it?" Cassian may have been deviant for years but the cause remained a mystery, even to her. "It is not in my diagnostic program..."

"We believe a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion. It can be...difficult to detect."

"What stops these mutations from happening in other androids? Like you and me. How can they guarantee you, the deviant hunter, won't deviate?"

"I self test regularly. There are redundancies in my programming that create a failsafe system..."

"Oh good."

So much for that hope...

"What stops you from deviating?"

Is this a test?

"I am a machine, Connor, I am doing what I was built to do. You don't have to worry, I'm not going anywhere." She wasn't lying at all, just bending the truth: she was doing what she was built to do and she wasn't going anywhere; she was trapped here. Cassian just hoped Connor didn't realise she hadn't truly answered the question.

"That's good to hear. I would hate to have to hunt down my own mechanic."

Did he just wink?

She chuckles, "I would hate that, too."

His LED flickers, which Cassian now knows indicates he was receiving new orders. Knowing he leaves as soon as he gains new orders, she bids him farewell and begins to clean up her station. She didn't notice he didn't leave right away.

"Where were you?"

Cassian whipped around at the unexpected sound of his voice right behind her. She must of looked confused, because he clarified, "My last visit, you weren't here, where were you?"

"I-" She didn't want to tell him that they were discussing scrapping her, Nancy just barely convincing the engineers that it was unnecessary, that would bring up too many questions she didn't wish to answer; Connor was practically made to be curious, "I was in a lab upstairs for routine maintenance: software updates, stress tests, etc…nothing to worry about." She kept her voice soft, trying to keep it from carrying to the others in the room, "While I'm glad you are getting damaged less often, I'm sorry I missed you."

"I was...disappointed to not see you then."

Is that so?

"Well, I'm here now…"

"So you are…"

The two of them stood facing each other several silent moments, a comfortable silence. The two of them were broken out of it as Dr. Adler calls out for assistance from the medical side of the room.

"I...should get that."

"And I should go…"

"Remember: my door's always open, but I hope to not see you too soon."

"I'll try my best."

She watches him leave, debating how long it would be till he was back in there; With his luck, it could be tomorrow...

"Hate to see him go but love to watch him leave, huh?"

"Shut UP, Nancy!"

"Seriously, I could use a hand."

"Right away, Dr. Adler, just need to wash my hands."

":Kissing_emoji:"

"...I hate you…"

AN: lol Nancy ships it.

no high risks situations you say? ;) lol we'll see how it plays out, Cassian. And Cassian and Connor are so awkward….I can't handle it! I mean...I can, cause I'm gonna write more of it...but you know what I mean!

FIRST REVIEW! Thank you, Zynis! Lol I hadn't thought of that but it is pretty funny...it's canon now that it was a subconscious thing. So subconscious...even I didn't know. Connor's favorite mechanic/doctor wasn't in, so he doesn't get hurt again. It is law! I am the author, I can do that.