Black
The whole world was filled with darkness, as she realised she couldn't see anything. The far-away noise of the present echoed around her, some shouts, crying, a police siren, and the screech of tyre's hitting their brakes.
"Am I dead?", she thought, as light began to fill her head.
"Lily!?"
Hank's face came to view, the man breathing out a sigh of relief.
"Holy shit!", he gasped, clutching at his chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, Lil! I thought you'd died!". Lily blearily looked around her, she was lying on something that was moving; her memories flooding back.
"Kara…", she mumbled incoherently.
"Hold on Lil, you're in shock, but you'll be just fine, right Connor?", Hank tried to reassure her.
"C-Connor…?", Lily looked about for the android, finally seeing his face as his warm brown eyes stared worriedly at her. It was then that Lily took in her surroundings; there was blood on the ground, that she could only assume was hers, and also…. she was Connor's arms.
If she hadn't been so confused, Lily would've turned bright pink in embarrassment, as the android carried her, princess style, in his strong but tender grip, one arm under her neck and the other under her legs. Connor turned his face down to look at her.
"You'll be alright, Lily", he smiled comfortingly. From where she was lying, it looked like Connor had a golden halo around his head, like he was her guardian angel. With all the strength she could muster, Lily locked her arms behind his neck, holding him close to her. This action didn't go over the android's head, as he blushed (although it wasn't visible to others).
Lily felt herself being placed down on a stretcher, but she couldn't bear to let go, instinctively clinging on to him with her last few ounces of strength.
"It's alright Lily, I'm not going anywhere", he softly told her, making her slowly let go of her weak grip as a blonde woman's face appeared in front of her, shining a light in her eyes with a tiny torch.
"Hello, Miss. Can you hear me?", the woman asked kindly. Lily nodded slowly from the stretcher, her head turned and still looking at Connor, afraid that if she took her eyes off him he'd leave.
"Try not to move please, can you tell me your name?", the woman asked while strapping her into the stretcher.
"L-lily"
"Okay, Lily. My name is Sarah. You've been in a minor accident but you're gonna be just fine", Sarah reassured her.
"We'll take her to be checked out at the hospital", another paramedic explained to Hank and Connor. "She doesn't look like she's sustained many injuries aside from her head; but by the speed she got hit we don't want to take any chances"
"Can we come with her?", Hank asked worriedly. The paramedic nodded. "C'mon Connor, we're gonna stay in the back with her", Hank called to the android to join him. The RK-800 readily agreed, climbing into the ambulance with Hank.
"Keep an eye on her while I get us there", the male paramedic instructed.
The android was only too happy to comply, he sat in the ambulance with Lily lying next to him. Sarah watched over her as well, examining her person and trying to talk to her, keeping the lieutenant conscious - the ambulance quickly zooming through the city streets.
"Connor…", Lily only focussed on the android the whole time.
"Please try to refrain from talking, Lieutenant", he reassured her. Lily turned her head to one side, her face ghostly pale.
"What happened?", she asked blearily.
"Lieutenant-"
"Please just tell me", she looked at the android with pleading eyes, which made his heart leap. He couldn't say no.
"You ran after the deviants into oncoming traffic. I managed to stop a heavy-duty vehicle from crashing, but I believed you hit your head as it passed, rendering you unconscious", Connor explained.
"You… you saved me", Lily weakly smiled up at him, although it was clear she was having trouble staying awake. She gazed up at him gratefully, making Connor show a little blush on his face as the ambulance raced through the city streets.
"Thank you, Connor", she mumbled as numb blackness took hold of her once more
XXX
11:35am
"Y'all right?", Hank asked, standing up from his seat as Lily left the doctor's examination room. They were at the Detroit General Hospital, and she had been admitted about an hour ago. Hank had been pacing about the corridor anxiously the whole time, being irritable at the fact that Connor had been sitting calmly with a neutral expression on his face.
However, that was far from the truth. The android had been greatly concerned, especially at how long it had taken for her to be examined. He mostly blamed himself; if he had been fast, Lily wouldn't be in the hospital in the first place! He didn't have time for guilt however, he had to concentrate on her current well-being instead of focussing on past events.
"The doctor says I just have a little bump on my head", she indicated to the ice-pack she held to the left side of her head where a bandage also was wrapped around her skull. "It's to keep down the swelling. Apart from that, he just said I needed some rest but to come back if there's any other symptoms"
"Let's get you to the car", Hank said, hanging close by Lily as she walked a little shakily down the corridor.
"Crap", she thought as her legs suddenly gave way. Connor was by her side in an instant, holding on to her waist.
"Are you sure you're okay Lil?", Hank asked suspiciously. "How do you feel?"
"Lucky to be alive", she smiled weakly. "Let's just get back to the station"
"No way, Jose! You're going straight home, missy", Hank demanded, giving her a look, which meant "And that's final". Lily rolled her eyes.
"But there's so much work to be done!", she protested.
"And it's not your problem. We'll take you home, you can rest for the remainder of the weekend and then you can come back Monday if you feel up to it", he dismissed.
"Connor…?", Lily tried to reason.
"I agree with Lt. Anderson. After an accident, the victim can suffer from side-effects such as concussion and-"
"Alright, alright. Let's just get out of here then", she relented.
"Why do you only ever listen to him?", Hank rolled his eyes annoyingly. "Well, I can't complain about leaving; I hate hospitals", he groaned as he and Connor helped Lily out of the building.
"Me too", she shuddered.
XXX
Hank's car pulled up to the Lily's apartment block in Greektown.
"Thanks for the lift", she said hastily, trying to get out of the car. She tried to push the car door open; it wouldn't budge.
"Not so fast", Hank wouldn't let her go that quickly.
"Did… did you just put the child-locks on?", Lily questioned, staring at the driver curiously from the backseat as Hank turned around to face her.
"Look, I didn't want to have to say this in front of him…", Hank nodded to Connor who sat in the passenger seat in the back. "But, make sure you take your… stuff, right?", he said in a low voice. Lily felt herself go red as she saw Connor look at her worriedly.
"Yep", she gulped nervously.
"I'd go in with you to make sure you're not lying, but while you were seeing the Doctor, Ben called up and says he wants me back at the station ASAP", Hank explained, turning to Connor. "Go make sure Lily's alright"
"Hank I don't need to be looked after!", she protested as the android nodded and got out the car.
"I just wanna make sure you're alright, especially after today", Hank said. "Please just let Connor make sure you're settled, alright?". Lily let out a reluctant sigh.
"Alright", she said undoing her seatbelt as Connor opened the car door for her. "Thank you Connor, bye Hank", she waved at the lieutenant as she walked up to her apartment block.
"You don't need to worry about either of us, Lieutenant", he explained. "I'll make my own way back to the station, if I'm not needed at the moment"
"Sure thing", Hank started up his car. "Oh, and Connor?". The android turned to face him.
"Take care of her, for me"
XXX
Connor was being very kind to Lily, she was grateful for his attention to detail as he carefully helped her to her apartment door; but all the while she felt embarrassed. The android suddenly became alert, staring at her front door as if it was alive, as scratching could be heard from inside.
He reflexively pushed Lily behind him, out of any danger. She rolled her eyes with a smile on her face as she opened her door, and out flew a small, frantic creature. Lily knelt to the floor, stroking her cat with affection as the ginger-tom purred loudly in bliss.
Connor leapt back, unsure of cats and how to approach them. He was programmed to work harmoniously with humans; however, animals were something he had never thought he'd have to encounter in his missions.
"Relax Connor", Lily teased the android's slightly scared expression. "Scramble doesn't bite". However, it seemed Scramble had his own ideas as he glared up at Connor, arching his back and hissing at the android aggressively.
"Are you sure about that?", he asked nervously, backing away from the feline.
"Woah, I've never seen him do that before", Lily stared at the cat, which made one last disapproving look at the RK-800 before proudly strutting back into the apartment, his tail waving in the air. She followed her cat, as Connor nervously copied her action.
Tossing her jacket on her coat rack by the front door, Lily slumped down onto her sofa, as Smartie came trotting out from the bedroom.
"Don't worry, this one is too lazy to hurt anyone", she said affectionately as Smartie jumped up onto the couch and plopped herself down on Lily's lap. Connor cautiously approached the cat, sitting down next to Lily, who took hold of his hand.
He felt his thirium pump nearly explode with the sudden pressure he received around his body as his fingers brushed gently against Lily's.
"What are you-"
"Hold your palm like this", she showed him. Connor nervously held his hand out to Smartie, who looked from the android to her owner, before licking the synthetic hand. Lily felt Connor relax a little as the cat showed him her acceptance.
"See? She likes you", Lily smiled at him, her silver eyes exuding nothing but soft kindness. "She's a pretty cat, isn't she?", Lily gestured to Smartie. Connor gazed at the girl opposite him in adoration.
"I agree, she's absolutely beautiful"
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 51%*
XXX
After a few minutes had passed with the pair sitting on Lily's sofa talking about the case, Connor tilted his head to one side.
"Excuse me lieutenant-"
"Lily"
"Lily, may I ask you a personal question?", he asked politely.
"Sure. You wanna know how many more crazy cats I have hidden around my flat?", she grinned as Scramble walked into the room, giving Connor the dirtiest of glares due to the android sitting next to the ginger cat's mistress.
"Actually, I wanted to ask; what were the drugs Hank hinted at in the car earlier?". Lily's face fell as she turned away from him.
"They're… just tablets, for sleeping and other stuff that've been prescribed for me".
"I see", the android said politely. "Hank asked me to make sure you got some rest, where might the medicine be located, if you don't mind me asking?"
"They're in the bathroom cabinet, over there", Lily yawned as she pointed down the hallway.
"Thank you, lily", Connor said warmly. "I'll go get them", he got up from the sofa. It was then that the android actually took note of his surroundings, scanning the apartment.
Lily's home reflected her personality; her flat was decorated in soft pastel colours like pale pink, mint, light blue and lilac with some stylish, modern white furniture. Her living room and kitchen were the same, the kitchen was pretty humble, with plain white counters as well as cooking necessities like an oven, fridge, sink, etc. In the kitchen, there was also a small breakfast bar for two people to sit on stools.
In the living room there was the lilac sofa that Lily sat on, her two felines cuddled close, as well as a large holographic TV, a tall cat tower and a glass coffee table cluttered with magazines, a laptop, a video game controller, and some bottles of nail polish. Connor looked at the things Lily kept on the shelves in her living room, there were all kinds of books ranging from different manga collections to romantic storybooks by authors like Enid Blyton and Jane Austen.
Connor had never seen real books before, almost everyone in the world now had the digital eBooks, he was intrigued as to how Lily kept these. He found snow-globes, ceramic fairy figurines, lava lamps and framed photos on the shelves as he passed by them. From the ceiling, different coloured fairy lights hung.
He assumed Lily was a sort of romantic, dreamy person, judging by the inspirational quote posters around her flat and other items such as a dreamcatcher above her bed, scented candles on every available surface and the cartoon cushions on the sofa.
The android passed through the rest of the house, taking in everything he could find so he could remember Lily's likes and dislikes. He entered the bathroom, finding the medicine cabinet above the sink and mirror. Connor sieved through the different drugs kept there, finding vitamins, caffeine pills, until he eventually stumbled onto a small red plastic bottle which kept a number of different tablets.
"These are non-benzodiazepine sedatives" he thought after scanning the contents.
"You're only supposed to take these when you have time for rest, do you want me to bring them out?", Connor called. He received no reply. Confused, the android stuck his head out of the bathroom, walking back into the living room. A smile came across his face as he entered the room.
Lily was fast asleep on the sofa, with the black and white cat (Connor remembered its name to be Smartie) curled up on her lap and the other cat (Scramble) prowled around the room, watching over his sleeping owner.
"I guess you won't need these now, after all", Connor quietly spoke as he set the capsule of drugs on the coffee-table.
He took a blanket that hung over the back of the sofa and gently rested it over the sleeping partner, being sure not to wake her up. The android looked at the front door, he could leave her and join Lieutenant Anderson at the DCPD, but he still wanted to be sure that Lily was fine as she woke up.
Still…
The concern Connor felt for the sleeping girl was great. He wanted to know why she was prescribed sedatives, was she suffering from a sleep disorder? Or did she have a more serious condition such as depression?
Connor was torn; if he left, he would worry about her until Monday, and Lily may need his help when she woke up. However, if he stayed, he would be going against his directive, which was to investigate the deviant cases. He had never been in such a position before, and Connor found that he had to weigh up the life of a human, a life which was partially deemed unnecessary to the investigation, but a life he found himself caring about very deeply.
The android sighed, letting out artificial breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in. Sitting down gently next to Lily, ever so careful not to disturb her, Connor reached out and touched her forehead so lightly it would've felt like a feather.
A low growl came from one side of the room; Connor saw that Scramble, the more aggressive of the two cats was watching him intently, ensuring that the android didn't do anything to harm his beloved mistress.
"I'm watching you", Scramble's gleaming green eyes glared.
Connor put his hands up in mock defeat, as he watched Lily, not daring to move any closer for fear her over-protective feline would attack him.
"I'll be here for you when you wake up", he whispered.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 57%*