03:46pm

Several hours after Lily had fallen asleep, her phone began to ring. Connor looked up from the magazine he was reading (he had decided to keep himself busy via learning more about his sleeping partner).

The android cautiously approached the mobile device; it only buzzed so it didn't wake Lily up, but Connor had no clue what he was supposed to do in this situation.

He didn't want to ignore the phone, what if it was Hank calling him back to the police station?

He didn't want to answer the phone, what would Lily do if she caught him snooping through her personal belongings?

The buzzing sound become more and more rapid, so Connor decided to pick up. Hopefully, it was nothing important and he could take a message. But nothing could prepare him for what was on the other line.

"LILY!? Darling?", a very loud, fruity voice practically shouted into the phone. Connor winced, looking back over at the sleeping lieutenant; he was grateful she hadn't stirred.

"I haven't heard from you in a while, dearest! How have you been?", the voice continued, it belonged to a woman.

"Th-this is Connor speaking. Who are you?", he managed to get out.

"Pardon? I haven't heard of anyone called Connor. Where's my daughter, Lily?", the android relaxed a little, it was only Lily's mother.

"She is sleeping next to me, at the moment", the android said, slowly sitting down on the sofa next to Lily.

"Ooh", the mother replied. Connor could've sworn he heard her giggle. "Well then, I shan't keep you"

"Thank you-"

"What did you say your name was, again?", the woman persisted.

"Connor, my name is Connor", he sighed.

"Hm, I thought her boyfriend's name was Gavin". Connor's eyes widened.

Her boyfriend!?

"Anyway, let me give you a hint. Girls just love to be made breakfast the morning after! Lily's favourite are pancakes, to give you some idea"

"The morning after?", Connor questioned.

"Oh! I've got to go now, send Lily my love! Ta-ta!", the woman hung up. Connor stared in the phone in wonder.

"What was that all about?"

XXX

It was the second time that day when Lily awoke to darkness. Wherever she was, it was pitch black.

Her eyes flew open, her heart pumping madly as she let out a strangled gasp for air. Lily tried to examine her surroundings, but there was no light anywhere. She heard footsteps approaching her, indicating she wasn't alone in the dark which made her back away in terror.

"Lily-", a soft voice tried to speak to her.

"WHO'S THERE!?", she cried, tears of fright streaming down her face like waterfalls.

"It's me, Connor", he tried to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder but she flinched. Suddenly, she remembered the name.

"C-Connor? Where are you!?", she cried, blindly turning her head as she tried to look for the android.

Her eyes squinted, as sudden soft light filled the room. Shielding her face, Lily saw it came from a lamp. She was in her apartment.

She was safe at home

Breathing out an immense sigh of relief, Lily suddenly turned red, sitting up straight as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Oh god, he's just watched me freak out and cry like a baby". There had never before been a time in her life when she had wanted to crawl in a hole and die of shame more than now.

"Are you alright, Lily?", Connor carefully approached her, not wanting to startle the human he cared about. She hastily rubbed away her tears.

"I'm…", Lily was about to say 'fine' until she knew it was pointless trying to pretend anymore and instead broke down into a fresh set of tears. Connor felt his heart wrench horribly at the sight of her crying; he didn't hesitate to sit next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"What's wrong?", he whispered softly, grabbing the box of tissues on the coffee table nearby. Lily blew her nose, after a few minutes she managed to stop shaking uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Connor I-", she sobbed.

"Don't even think about apologising", he smiled, gently brushing away a stray tear with his thumb.

"God, you must think I'm nuts", she joked, despite the circumstances.

"I would never question your sanity; unless you do possibly have a hundred cats hidden here", he teased lightly. Lily laughed at the thought, although she still felt embarrassed and… pathetic, basically.

"I won't pressure you into telling me, but… may I ask, is it depression you are taking your sedative's for?", Connor tried to put it as gently as possible. Lily shook her head.

"No… it's insomnia"

XXX

"It's chronic… I've had it for years", she said, staring into the cup of tea Connor had made her. They were still sitting on the sofa, as Lily explained to the android about her medication.

"I've got sedatives that make me fall asleep, drugs to keep me asleep and then caffeine pills to make sure I stay awake once I'm up".

Despite the fact that she had prescribed sedatives to put her asleep, the drugs were very unpleasant. When people asked her about it, Lily had usually been lost for words at how to describe why she disliked taking the medication. It wasn't just the thought of being reliant on drugs that put her off the pills, it was how they worked.

The sedatives didn't replicate the calm, relaxed feeling of sleep; the opposite actually. They made her feel groggy and sick, like she was hot and flushed and about to pass out from exhaustion or heat. When she woke it wasn't much better, she felt unwell and tired, and not refreshed and energised for her day. That was where the caffeine pills came in; supposedly giving her energy and keeping her awake for the day.

Lily didn't like to broadcast or tell anyone about her insomnia, she didn't want pity or people thinking herself incapable of being a cop, which was why she went to great lengths to hide the dark shadows under her eyes with makeup, making her look brighter and healthier than she actually was.

Connor knew what insomnia was; however, being an android, he had no need for sleep anyway so he couldn't understand how it felt to go nearly days at a time without any rest.

"I bet you're also wondering why I freaked out when I woke up, huh?", she turned to him.

"I would certainly like to be given an answer, but I understand if you don't want to tell me", he nodded. Lily swallowed nervously.

"Well, it's because…", she shook her head suddenly. "No, forget it, it's stupid"

"Please Lily, I can tell it's bothering you", Connor looked at her endearingly. Lily sighed, how could she refuse those big brown puppy-eyes?

"Okay, but… promise you won't laugh?". Connor took her hand, he leaned close to her and spoke in the softest voice she had ever heard.

"I promise"

Lily turned pink. It was sweet but at the same time, a little unsettling how calm he was. Almost seductive. She let out a nervous sigh.

"The truth is… I'm afraid of the dark". No sooner as she had said it, she wanted to bury her face in a pillow and never speak again.

"The dark?", he repeated curiously. He was honestly expecting something a little more…. scary?

"Yes! I mean, I can barely sleep anyway, but never in complete darkness. That's why I have so many lights", Lily explained hurriedly, pointing at the many different lamps and string lights she had around the room. She slumped over, hiding her face behind her hair.

"I know it's stupid and childish", she muttered.

"No, it's not", Connor told her. Lily looked up at him. "It's a natural response to a feeling of helplessness"

"Helplessness?", Lily tiled her head.

"Let me explain", he reassured her. "People, humans, are afraid of the dark because they can't see any potential threats. It triggers the reaction of feeling vulnerable and exposed, and the fear of the dark remained through history as humans evolved from their primal ancestors", Connor explained. His programming really did come in handy!

"Woah", Lily looked at him incredulously. "You know a lot. Did CyberLife give you a super-computer as a brain?", she teased, cheering up a lot.

"Not exactly", Connor grinned. "But I am the most advanced prototype they have released so far", Lily had to admit, Connor did look pretty cute when he was proud. "If it reassures you in any way, 40% of adults are afraid of the dark, lieutenant", he said. Lily smiled.

"Thank you, Connor". The android thought for a moment, his cranial components whirring.

"I also have reason to believe that it may be the cause of your insomnia"

"That would make sense", she ran her hands through her hair, careful to not disturb her bandage. "But I know why I've got it", Lily turned to him. "My doctor said that it's because of PTSD". Connor's eyes widened.

"My Dad had an accident a few years ago… I've kind of had… issues ever since"

"Is there anything I can do to help?", the android asked immediately.

"You're sweet, Connor", she smiled sadly. "But I've already been seeing a therapist about it for a long time"

"I assume the Nyctophobia worsens your condition", he theorized.

"Yeah", she sighed. It wasn't a tired, bored sigh; it was a sigh of release. Strangely, she felt better after telling Connor, something she never would've expected!

"Thanks for listening, Connor. I really appreciate it", Lily beamed at him, feeling comfortable from the closure.

"You're welcome, Lily", Connor straightened up in pride. "I'm honoured for you to share such private information with me".

"Well, my Dad did once say that talking about an insecurity makes you feel better", she said, fond memories flowing through her head. Lily sighed, feeling a lot more at peace than before, and with a stretch got up off the sofa, and went to check on the food in her fridge.

"What time is it?", she yawned.

"07:19pm"

"Jesus, it's night already?", Lily asked, opening the curtains on the other side of the room. Sure enough, the bright billboards and high-rise skyscrapers of Detroit lit up the city skyline.

"You were asleep for roughly 6 hours", Connor told her, looking out at the night sky as well.

"God I slept like a log", Lily rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Maybe I should get hit by trucks more often. At least then I'll get a decent amount of rest", she joked, looking at Connor and giggling a little at the concerned expression on his face.

"Jokes"

"I think both me and Lieutenant Anderson would prefer if you don't make a habit of running in front of cars", he said semi-seriously. Lily laughed, but no sooner than she had done so, she clutched at her bandaged wound.

"God, I feel like my head's going to explode", she said, clenching her eyes shut. "Now I understand how Hank feels after a long night"

"You should still take it easy, lieutenant", he advised, guiding her back to the sofa gently.

"Thanks mom", she teased lightly.

"Speaking of which", Connor changed subjects. "She called, asking about you", he handed Lily her phone.

"Oh really? What did you say?", Lily turned on the phone and blinked uneasily at the screen's light, reading that she had 17 new text messages.

"I didn't really understand what she was talking to me about, I'm afraid", he said sheepishly.

"That sounds like her", Lily grinned.

"But she mentioned something about pancakes? And about having breakfast the morning after, whatever that means-"

"WHAT!?", Lily gaped at Connor. "Oh crap, please, please tell me you're joking"

"Did I do something wrong?", Connor asked innocently. The RK-800 clearly didn't understand. "I only answered it because I didn't want you to miss anything important"

"No, it's alright you haven't done anything wrong, Connor, it's just… my dang, interfering MOTHER!", Lily groaned. "Did she think you were my boyfriend? She's obsessed with setting me up with people"

"She mentioned…", he trailed off. "Detective Reed being in a relationship with you", the android spoke in almost a whisper.

"Holy moly, where did she get that demented idea from!?", Lily gaped. "Gavin isn't my boyfriend, he's not even really a friend, he's just someone I talk to sometimes". Lily suddenly sat up, aware of the topic.

"I'm really sorry again about this morning, Connor. He's been absolutely unfair and horrible to you", she said sadly.

"I am grateful for your concern, Lieutenant but I can assure you, he is more of a threat to you than me". Lily looked at the android curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"If I am destroyed during the investigation, CyberLife will send another model to replace me", he explained.

"So… you could die, and you'd come back as if… nothing happened?"

"That's the idea", Connor wondered how this would affect Lily, but her answer surprised him greatly.

"Cool". He looked at her in awe. "What? That's like an awesome superpower to have"

"I don't believe I shall ever understand you, lieutenant Dover", he said honestly. Lily just grinned.

"Good, it's always handy to have a little bit of mystery about oneself", she winked at him slyly. Connor grinned and blushed a little goofily. Now it was her turn to stare at him.

*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 59%*

"Wow Connor, your face is turning blue! Is that supposed to happen?", she asked, a little concerned.

"Oh that…. it just sometimes happens, the engineers who made me can't explain it", he lied, feeling his face flush further. "May I ask you a question, lieutenant?", Connor switched subjects.

"Sure, go ahead", Lily assured him, checking her phone for text messages.

"Why do you apologise for Detective Reed?"

Lily looked up at him from her phone, unsure of how to answer.

"Erm, well…", she bit her lip. "When I joined the DCPD, I only really had Hank and my best friend, Madison, to talk to. But Gavin didn't know anything about me and he still came up to speak to me a lot and include me in conversations with others, even though I usually just sat by myself in the office", she explained. "Now after working there for a while, I know nearly everyone in the office and I'm quite grateful for Gavin for introducing me", Lily said, but as she spoke, she noticed Connor staring a little sadly at the floor.

"But, I don't think I like him very much now, after he tried to shoot one of my friends in the face", she explained, playfully nudging Connor. He looked up in a mixture of shock and happiness.

"Friend…?"

"Yeah, I think of you as my friend, Connor", she smiled brightly at the android. He looked almost taken aback.

"I… I would be honoured to have a friend", he gave the tiniest smile of unsure shock.

"Then no more 'lieutenant' and 'miss', I now can have you call me just Lily", she rubbed her hands together gleefully. Connor threw back his head and laughed.

Connor laughed!

"You sound just like a tiny supervillain", he teased. Lily (who was having trouble getting over her new friend laughing) managed to overcome her daze momentarily to nod her head and grin wickedly.

"I try my best", she joked. Looking around her apartment, Lily then realised she hadn't eaten anything since a yogurt at breakfast.

"Connor, do you want to stay and eat something with me?", she asked him. She knew androids didn't need to eat food, but she wondered if he was interested all the same.

"Thank you for the offer, but I believe CyberLife will be asking for my return shortly", he said graciously.

"Sure thing", she smiled politely. "But it's sometimes a bit unsavoury out there at night, I'd be careful getting back home, Connor", she told him.

"Home?", he pondered her words.

"Yeah, you were built at CyberLife, isn't it your home?", she asked him, tilting her head to one side.

"I suppose I'd never thought about it like that", he confessed. "Thank you for your company, Lily, I wish I could've been more help"

"Nonsense! You were incredibly kind to look after me for such a long time. I should be thanking you", she beamed at the android. It made Connor feel warm and fuzzy inside!

"I was only doing what a friend would", he immediately liked that word.

"Well, if you really have to go, good-night then, friend", she smiled.

"Goodnight, Lily", he said with an adorable, flourishing bow. Lily went bright pink at the action, as the android went towards the front door.

"Connor", she stopped him as he reached the door.

"Lily?"

"Happy first day on the job", she smiled.

"But we have worked together the previous day?", he was confused.

"Yeah but that was just one night; this is your first proper 24 hours", she grinned before stepping closer to the RK-800. "Be careful, Connor", Lily was blushing profusely.

"I will", he assured her. "Make sure you get some rest", the android smiled kindly at her.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. The RK-800 and Lily looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Lily nodded at him, so Connor slowly opened the door. Outside the apartment, a very pretty, tall girl stood with a plate of cupcakes which read "Get better soon" in colourful frosting.

"Madison?", Lily smiled. The girl turned around, suddenly realising that the door was open.

"Hi Lil! How have you been-", Madison cut off at seeing a very gorgeous, dark-haired young man in a suit standing in her best friend's apartment.

"Hi, erm", Lily stifled a giggle as Madison cleared her throat, before putting down the cupcakes on a side-table in the apartment and putting on a sultry voice while striking a seductive pose.

"Hello, my name is Madison", she tried to flirt with the handsome stranger.

"My name is Connor", he said politely, clearly oblivious to the obvious advance. "I was just about to head home", Connor explained, looking directly at Lily when he said "home".

"Goodnight Lily", he said softly. "Goodnight Madison", he politely did his signature bow, making Madison only eye him even more. Connor left through the apartment door, closing it behind him after one final goodbye.

Immediately as soon as he had left, Madison's head snapped back to eye Lily.

"Who was- wait! OMG what happened to you, Lil?", Madison rushed over to her friend in worry. "They told me you got hit on the head, but not that you got smacked in the face!"

"What do you mean?", Lily asked confused as Madison pushed a compact mirror from her purse in front of her best friend's face.

"Jesus! I look like I've had a boxing-match with the pavement", she laughed at her own reflection. Lily had bruises all over one side of her face, namely around her left eye.

"Didn't someone tell you about it at the hospital?", Madison asked, putting the mirror back in her purse.

"I can't really remember that much", Lily confessed, tenderly feeling the painful bruises she hadn't noticed before. "Ugh, the stress of the world is too much", she cried dramatically, falling backwards onto the sofa and pretending to die comically.

"Drama Queen", Madison laughed, bringing the box of cupcakes into the room and setting them down on the coffee table. "Soooo…. Who was that hottie?"

"He already told you his name", Lily teased.

"Oh, come on! SPILL! Who is he? Why was he here? Are you two a thing?"

"One question at a time, please!", the lieutenant held up her hands in surrender. "No, we're not going out, and anyway, he's an android if you didn't notice"

"Aw, really?", Madison asked, clearly sad. "Why're all the good ones either robots or gay?", she asked herself.

"Hey! Just because he's an android, doesn't mean he's not a really lovely person", Lily defended Connor.

"Lil, they're androids, they're designed to be polite and junk", Madison rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"But-"

"Anyway, how have you been? I was really worried when they told me at lunch that you were in the hospital!". Lily sucked in her breath, she decided not to argue further; no one seemed to think like her when it came to androids.

"I'm sorry if you were worried, I just hit my head a little", she explained.

"Yeah, on a speeding car! I'm so glad you're alright though", Madison pulled Lily into a big hug.

"Aw, thanks Mads", she smiled.

"And seeing as we missed our coffee meetup this morning, I brought these beauties", Madison gestured to the box of cupcakes with pink and blue frosting, offering one to Lily.

"You're such a sweetheart", Lily thanked her best friend as she took a blue cupcake, with Madison taking a pink one.

"Cheers", they both said in unison, pretending to toast.

"These are really good", Lily said through a mouthful of cupcake.

"Not as good as your mom's though, I bet", Madison gushed. "She just released her new book, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I haven't really spoken to her in a while though so I'm not really sure", Lily said a little disheartened, but remembering the call from earlier.

"I'm so jealous! I bet you had cupcakes and cookies at home all the time with your mother being a celebrity chef!"

"Er, not really. My mum's more of a gourmet chef, she's not really that kind of cook", Lily awkwardly explained.

"Or that kind of mother", she thought to herself before immediately feeling bad. She knew her mother loved her very much, it was just that sometimes Lily grew fed up of all the constant prying that she had to put up with.

Delilah Westfield (formerly Delilah Dover before her divorce), was sometimes incredibly difficult to handle; she was quite a snobbish busybody at times and could sometimes be a little mean in her "constructive criticism"

"What are you wearing, Lily!? Go back upstairs and change, you're not fit to be seen!", her mother's words echoed in her ears, bringing back embarrassing prom memories.

Lily often felt smothered by her mother's constant nosy attitude, sometimes calling Lily on the phone late at night to talk about meaningless things like what clothes she would be wearing the next day. Still, Lily loved her mother, it was non-negotiable.

As if sensing their mistress' awkward emotions, Scramble and Smartie ran into the room, meowing and purring loudly for attention. Madison happily rubbed the black and white cat's soft, fluffy belly but was hesitant to touch Scramble.

"God, I swear that cat is evil. I think he actually hates me", Madison said as she stared at the ginger tom. He glared back at her, as if to agree.

"He's not evil, silly", Lily cooed and Scramble practically melted like butter, jumping onto his mistress' lap and rolling around, purring with bliss at being petted. "He's just a little green-eyed; he gets jealous whenever someone else comes over"

"You can say that again", Madison grinned as Smartie contentedly plopped her chubby body down onto the blonde's lap.

"So, what made you miss coffee today? Was it the case?", she asked her brunette friend.

"Actually… um, Gavin asked me to spend the morning break with him", she nervously explained. "I'm so sorry for not being there though! It's just that, I had only just got into work and then I couldn't find you, and Gavin appeared and I couldn't think of an excuse and I didn't want to be rude and-"

"Lily! Chill!", Madison interrupted. "It's totally fine! I'm not mad. Besides, you got to spend time with a pretty hot guy", she winked, nudging her BFF playfully.

"Me and Gavin?", she asked, wide-eyed.

"I'm not so sure now"

XXX

The two had been chatting about guys until Madison had to leave and go back to her home. Lily sighed, looking around at the empty apartment as she put the rest of the cupcakes in the fridge. She felt kinda bad, apart from Madison, she had no-one to share them with; she'd be eating them all on her own.

The two cats meowed at her, reminding her they were there too.

"Of course, I won't forget about you guys", she smiled as she smothered each cat in kisses.

"Well, I guess it's time I get some rest", she shrugged.

Smartie and Scramble blinked at her in agreement.