Hey again!
Wow, you guys really liked seeing the new dynamic between Connor, Katie and Gavin. How did this trio sudden manage to steal everyone's hearts? Strange how it seems that almost everyone hated Gavin to start with (myself included!) and now it has flipped to wanting to see him get a happy ending. This evolution has caught me as off guard as anyone.
So, you guys are going to get a little more of my head canon here – not only for Gavin's previous relationship, but the rest of the story as to Hank and Gavin's own strained dynamic. Not to mention Hank going mildly into protective dad mode, which I know you guys love.
Plus…you guys have been wondering what's going on with Connor? You're about to find out in a slightly unexpected way. Nothing bad! Just…you'll probably empathise with poor Hank.
Special thanks for reviews: xNarielx, MugetsuPipefox, SheNoob, HK800, lordvaatithewindmage, Rachy and AnUnorthodoxDecision.
This chapter was at the request of an Anon on Tumblr, who wanted to see a little face-off between the partnerships of the DPD. I couldn't resist, and I've decided to add my own twist on that *winks*. And yes, there will be a part 2 where revenge is dished out!
It had been nearly six weeks to the day since they were both signed off from that precinct that marked Gavin and Katie's returns. Even though Katie had flitted in and out occasionally to visit some of her co-workers (mostly Connor, though she had, weirdly enough, been spending more time with Tina), this would be their first shift back at work. And they couldn't have timed it any worse.
After a quiet, but heartfelt, welcome back from the rest of the bullpen, everyone was called into a meeting with Fowler and HR. The news was not universally welcomed.
In an effort to improve the dynamics of the DPD as a whole, they'd made the call to change up the partnerships for six weeks, with everyone rotating partners in two week intervals. Not ideal timing given recent events.
Fowler, having foreseen that this new format was going to cause a lot of arguments, had planned well in advance who was going to be teamed with who. And despite all the grumbling, it had been done carefully.
Hence why Katie had switched over to android crimes, temporarily, to be partnered with Hank, and Connor was remaining in homicide for the moment to team with Gavin.
Honestly, they all expected it to be a lot more awkward than it was, but the quartet's dynamic had drastically changed after the undercover case. Aside from Hank's slight overbearing to make sure Gavin wasn't an ass to Connor, and Gavin's fierce protectiveness of Katie, they adapted well. Three days in, and there hadn't been any major incidents.
And that was the problem. When this lot were bored, they got ideas. Bad ideas.
Add to that the fact that the chief pranksters (Hank and Connor) were not in each other's company so often…
Well, Hank was enjoying bouncing ideas off someone new. Especially when Katie was just as eager to catch not only Connor out, but also her new boyfriend.
"So, how is it going with you and Reed, anyway?" Hank asked as he and Katie were headed out to interview the victim of a hate crime. In a slightly rarer twist, it was a human who had been targeted by an android. They didn't happen often, but in the fallout of the case with Zlatko's club becoming such major news, there had been an increase in the past month.
Katie blushed lightly and look out the window of Hank's car, keeping her gaze elsewhere. "Why do you ask, Lieutenant?" she muttered to the glass.
Hank raised an eyebrow. "Okay, we've known each other long enough now, Katie: you can drop the damn title and just call me by my name, especially seeing as we're partners for a while. Never mind the fact that you and Connor are literally best buds and I swear you only come over so often so that your dog gets to play with Sumo." Katie chuckled but didn't deny it.
"All right then, Hank…shit, that sounds weird to say," she admitted, which had Hank bellowing in laughter.
"Not as weird as it is to hear you say it, kid," he told her, which had Katie giggling. "You gonna make me ask again, or are you purposefully avoiding it?"
She just gave Hank a look. "I did answer you, I wanted to know why you are being so nosey."
Ah, I wonder if she knows this bit of the story.
Hank's expression turned a bit more sad. "You know everything about Gavin and his ex-boyfriend Matt now, right?" he asked softly, to which Katie nodded solemnly. "Does that include why Gavin hates my guts?"
"You stopped him from running into the building after discovering Matt was inside," she relayed quietly, remembering the night that Gavin told her about the tragedy which had shattered his life well.
"Yeah, and he's never forgiven me for that since. Not that I blame him, I could have fought harder for Matt not to go, stalled him. Who knows what might have happened…" he finished wistfully, before snapping himself back to the focal point of their conversation. "Sorry, got a bit side-tracked there. What I was wondering is, did Gavin ever tell you that I'm the reason he and Matt even got introduced?"
That had Katie's attention – Gavin had left out that little detail. "No."
The lieutenant smiled in remembrance as he continued driving. "God, that's a long-ass time ago now. It would have been, what, 2027? Yeah, that sounds about right. It was the New Year's ball for the first responders, and Gavin was heading right towards his promotion to detective. As such, he got strong-armed into attending the ball that year." Katie leant back with a smile, listening to the story eagerly. "You can imagine all my bitching, I didn't do those fancy shitshows, even in my prime. Gavin was eager to join in, and in between all our slagging comes across a few old friends – some of which I knew from the academy.
"Matt was one of them. I was a late starter and he was a youngster for our year, but before we graduated he was headhunted for the fire department instead. Never blamed him for taking that post, it was a sweet deal. So, I'm catching up with all that lot, and next thing you know, Matt's buying the 'pretty loudmouth' who I was bitching up a storm with a drink. I left to get home as I'd had enough of the bullshit, and asked Matt to make sure Gavin made it back safe. Phoned him up the next day only to find out he'd taken Gavin back to his place."
That had the android giggling. "Oh god, was Gavin embarrassed or proud?"
"Both, definitely fucking both. Wouldn't let him forget it for months." Hank's brightness dimmed again. "I think that's part of the reason Gavin projected so much of his anger on me. I was responsible in part not only for Matt's death, but also for them meeting in the first place. When you're grieving, your mind goes in all sorts of directions while looking for someone or something to blame."
He sighed deeply. "I guess what I'm getting at is that I just want the best for both of you. Despite all the shit between us since, I had a soft spot for Gavin once upon a time. He was a feisty but talented guy whose life got blown apart in one of the worst fucking ways possible, and I know it still haunts him now. I don't want any of that shit to get dragged into his relationship with you."
Katie gave Hank a grateful smile. "I appreciate that Lieu-Hank," she corrected herself, "but we are…we're really good," she said softly. "This has been a long time coming. We've known that we cared about each other since the shooting, before that honestly, and after everything that's happened recently…Things are where they should be." She blushed lightly and looked back out the front window. "To be honest though, I'm surprised you haven't been getting pestered by him more as to how I am."
Hank smirked and tossed his phone over after unlocking it, allowing Katie to see the stream of messages he'd been receiving from Gavin over the past two days. She was howling at the insults and threats the two of them were trading in concern for their respective androids. "You better fucking believe he's been on my case. Still, it's good to hear that you guys are solid." She gave him a soft smile and the sparkle in her eyes had Hank smiling. Connor and Katie's closeness meant that he'd developed somewhat of a protective urge over her too, and he was glad to see that everything was finally coming together for her.
Never in a million fucking years would he have thought Gavin would be the right person for her, but since Connor was so adamant that they were a perfect fit, Hank was quite happy to trust Connor's judgement on that one. He could only wonder if the conversations Connor and Gavin were having in their temporary partnership were like the awkward but genuine one he'd seen at New Year.
Thinking on the two of them stuck together somewhat unwillingly made the practical joker side of his personality burst in mischievous glee
His eyes took on a knowing twinkle as Katie passed his phone back over. "Well, I think we've got somewhat of an opportunity here, Katie. Fancy helping me out in playing a prank on our respective partners?"
Her small smirk and wink in reply had Hank sniggering. "Who says I don't already have a plan or two?" she teased.
By somewhat of a miracle, they had the exact same idea – and they knew Connor and Gavin were probably going to kill them if they pulled it off.
Since Katie had already been prepping for the prank herself before finding out that Hank had the same thought, she had already managed to think of a method for enacting it. The only problem they were going to have was that they needed both Connor and Gavin to be at least mildly co-operative.
Gavin wasn't going to realise anything, most likely, but Connor's sensors, and now semi-permanent alertness to pranks, meant that he was going to be a lot harder to catch. So, naturally, they brought in someone completely unexpected to hopefully draw Connor in, completely unawares.
The next day saw Gavin and Katie arriving at the precinct after Hank and Connor, but Hank could see she'd already managed to slip the little metal bangle around his wrist somehow. Raising an eyebrow, he fished out his phone and sent her a quick message while Connor approached Gavin about development (or lack thereof) on their case.
How the fuck did you manage to get Reed to wear that thing willingly?
She didn't even pause in the quick conversation she was having with Chris as she replied. Damned android multitasking.
I told him it was a prototype life signs monitor. They are actually developing one at Jericho for all those androids with human partners, so it didn't seem like too much of a lie.
And he bought it?
Not really, but I may have guilt tripped him into it after telling him I knew how much he was pestering you about my status. When I said that I didn't want to do the same to Connor about him, he gave in.
You sneaky little bitch. I love it.
He'll forgive me eventually. ;)
Hank couldn't stop himself from laughing at the winking emoji tacked on the end, that was Gavin's influence no doubt. He then had to fight really hard not to do it again as he saw Katie slipping the other bangle to Chris, casual as you like. The subtlety on Chris' part was somewhat of a surprise, he'd never known the young officer to be so sly.
Well…maybe Chris would make a helpful accomplice on another prank.
Fortunately, Connor and Gavin were so engrossed in looking over a report that they didn't notice either his laughter or their little handoff, so the next half hour passed without anything to tip them off. After dropping into Fowler's office to check that they could potentially do without the pair for the day (and giving the captain the heads up for what was about to happen, Jeffrey brushing him off with an amused chuckle and a shake of the head), Hank sent a message to both Katie and Chris, telling them that everything was good to go.
The pair seamlessly set about their roles. Katie dragged Gavin up by the arm to grab him a coffee and herself some thirium from the break room while Chris approached Connor, and spun him a story about the metal bangle which he was now holding out for the android to see.
"Hey, Connor, what do you think of this?" Chris asked him, allowing Connor to scan it.
Thank fuck its purpose wasn't obvious, or that would have given the whole game away. "It is well made," Connor observed.
"Not bad, is it? Some of Beth's students made it in their class, it's meant to be a prototype jammer so that androids can't be hacked," Chris continued, to which Hank was so glad that Connor was facing the opposite way from him, so that the android couldn't see his face.
That sneaky bastard, using his wife's job as a teacher for a convincing cover story. I'm definitely roping Chris in again at some point, I never realised he had such a fucking brilliant poker face!
"Such a technology would be highly useful," Connor noted while testing the catch holding the bangle together.
"I don't suppose you'd be up for trying it out, would you? When Beth mentioned it, I figured you'd be an ideal person to test it given our profession." Connor smiled helpfully and opened the bangle, before Chris stopped him. "Beth said the right wrist is best, something about putting it on the same side as your thirium pump could maybe cause complications?" Connor regarded him with surprise. "Don't ask me, Connor, her whizz kids are behind this. I'm just the messenger."
Well at least he's fucking honest in that last statement, Hank thought in complete amusement. Connor then slipped the bangle on without argument, right below his leather band, and clipped it in place; which had Hank smirking. This couldn't be going better.
Katie and Gavin reappeared a couple of minutes later, by which point Chris had tactfully vanished again, and Connor was still at Gavin's desk, looking over a file. Angel that she was, Katie had her arm wrapped around Gavin's right one to make sure that he could only go one way in standing next to Connor, the female android spying on their case file. The bangle on Gavin's left wrist was now right next to the one on Connor's right, his son having helpfully held the file in his left.
Showtime.
Standing as silently as he could, he casually picked up his own coffee cup to fill it up in the break room. Since their backs were to him, none of the discussing trio noticed his approach, nor the small metal box which he retrieved from his pocket. It powered up quietly, and he made sure not to stand right behind them until the last possible moment.
Connor was about to turn in greeting when he suddenly felt his right arm be pulled slightly to the side, and lifting it became much more difficult. The swearing from Gavin caught his attention too, and he suddenly had a very bad feeling. Sure enough, he looked down to see that the bangles he and Gavin were wearing were now joined together via the small magnet which Hank had deftly slipped into place.
They were effectively handcuffed together.
With a snigger, Katie let go of Gavin's arm and stepped away with Hank, flashing the pair a triumphant smile. Gavin just gaped at her. "What the fuck?! The hell is this, Katie?" he barked.
"This, is you two having to get up close and personal," she taunted as they walked away, Hank bellowing in laughter next to her while deciding to wrap an arm around her shoulders.
"Enjoy being stuck together," Hank told them while using his other hand in a beckoning gesture. "By the way, Gavin, Connor's never really had much concept of personal space, so enjoy that. Chris, come on, we've got some evidence to go over."
Chris pointedly didn't look at the two detectives who were gaping at him for his involvement, and the whole bullpen started laughing at seeing Gavin frantically scraping at the metal cuff, trying to unclip it. It was now magnetically sealed and could only be undone by deactivating the bar chaining them together. "You lying bastards!" Gavin shouted towards the trio heading down to the evidence room, having now twigged that he'd been had as to the purpose of the bangle.
Connor sighed in irritation. "I agree with that sentiment," he growled while bringing their joined wrists up to scan the curiously designed handcuffs.
Gavin hissed angrily at the motion, but soon realised what Connor was doing. "Any ideas on how to get us out of the this one, dipshit?" The nickname had long since lost any malice.
"Sadly not," Connor informed him. "This is something I have never seen before, the design is completely unknown to me."
"Great, just fucking great. How the hell do we get these damn things off?" he asked while trying to pull the box away.
"Not like that," Connor deadpanned, earning a glare from Gavin. His scanners directed him to a port on the underside of the box, and he ended up pulling their arms up to get a good look at it.
Gavin snarled at the unprompted change in position. "Watch it! I'm not as tall as you, asshole!"
"I am aware, thank you for the reminder." Gavin was tempted to drive his raised elbow into Connor's head for the sarcasm, but refrained. "It looks like there is a slot for a key of some kind here. That is probably going to be our best bet."
"Then let's get chasing after your shithead of an old man, my conniving partner and Chris. Why the hell was he even involved?"
"Chris informed me that this was a prototype jammer to stop androids being hacked, and asked me to test it out," Connor told him as the pair tried, awkwardly, to make their way to the other end of the bullpen so that they could head downstairs. "He said it was built by his wife's students."
"Well, that was at least halfway believable. Can't believe Katie convinced me that this thing is a bloody life signs detector, what kind of horseshit is that?" Gavin sighed tiredly.
"Actually, Jericho are researching that right now, but it is unfinished."
Gavin gave Connor a look. "Seriously?"
"Yes, many androids are reassured at the thought of knowing their human partner's vitals. Given humans are much more fragile, it is a comfort."
That had Gavin pausing in thought. "Sounds like you're talking from experience there, dipshit."
"I cannot deny that I do that with Hank regularly. Not being partnered with him for the moment and being unable to do it so often is…troubling."
"Well, you and I can agree that switching partners fucking sucks – and believe it or not, that's no offence to you, Connor." The android gave him an understanding smile and nodded. "Come on, lets hunt those assholes down. I dread to think of being stuck to you long enough that I somehow need to take a leak and we're still like this."
Of course, Hank, Katie and Chris weren't in the evidence lockup. Having taken the emergency exit, they'd actually gone out to do some follow up work on their case – not that they'd told anyone that, save Fowler.
When Connor and Gavin had learned that they were gone, Gavin had sworn up a storm…and then the pair had resigned themselves to being stuck together for a while.
Attempting to work was proving to be a headache. The one shred of mercy that had been shown was that in they'd left Gavin's dominant hand free. He could still do many things, including typing reports, and with Connor being an android, he was still able to interface with his other hand. Their major problem was the fact that they were practically in each other's laps when they'd tried to sit side-by-side at Gavin's desk given the shape of it.
Deciding that everyone's laughter at their awkward combination was not worth it, they'd since shifted to Connor's terminal. The android was sat on the desk itself, his back to the partition between his own desk and Hank's while Gavin was attempting feebly to type with only his right hand. The only comfortable place they had found for Gavin to rest his arm which was in range for the pair of them was, scarily enough, on Connor's thigh.
Pointedly, neither of them had mentioned it.
Much to their horror, the trio were still not back by the time the inevitable happened and Gavin did need a bathroom break, which made their already awkward situation descend to a whole new level. The whole bullpen's hilarity at their misfortune was only tampered by Fowler's intervention, but even he seemed amused at the sequence of events.
It was well past lunch by the time Hank, Katie and Chris reappeared. Gavin settled for flashing his most furious glare at them while Connor was more that a little unimpressed. Hank smirked on his way past the pair at Connor's desk while Katie held out a sandwich for Gavin as a peace offering. Chris gave them a small wave before hiding in the relative safety of his desk.
"All right, which one of you fucking wise guys has the key for this shitty thing?" Gavin grumped, watching with a scowl as Katie sat in Connor's customary spot on Hank's desk.
"Who says there is a key?" Hank teased, cackling when Gavin picked up his now empty sandwich wrapper and hurled it at him.
"Not fucking funny, Anderson! I had to take a goddamn leak while we were like this, and it was awful!"
"Could have been worse, at least it wasn't the other way," Katie pointed out, deadpan, which had Gavin howling in embarrassment and Hank shivering at the thought. Even Connor scowled at her from over his shoulder, which just added to her amusement. She smiled sweetly back at the chained pain, before looking down to twirl her dark brown hair around her finger. It had seemingly become a favourite colour of hers.
"This is highly unproductive," Connor added, his own impatience shining through. "How do we detach ourselves?"
Katie and Hank shared a smirk before the lieutenant fired it over to the other two. "You didn't think we'd get away with this without telling Fowler first, did you?" he chuckled.
Gavin growled again. "How the fuck does that- What the fuck, Connor?!" he yelped as Hank's hint clicked and the android abruptly stood. Hank was telling the truth, there was no way that the trio would have been allowed to stay away so long if they were in possession of the only key.
Connor swore at himself for having been so stupid. Gavin's swearing when he realised where Connor was dragging him indicated that the human detective had finally caught up.
Fowler waved them in without waiting for the customary knock, to which Connor and Gavin awkwardly shuffled in. The Captain sat behind his desk with a blank expression, but Connor knew from the results of his scan that it was an act. He was amused, and Connor could already see the shape which fitted the port of the handcuffs in his top pocket.
"What can I do for you, boys?" Fowler asked slowly, trying not to give the game away.
"We're here for the key," Connor answered while raising their linked wrists slightly, to which Gavin grumbled at the movement.
Contrary to their expectations, Fowler gave the key up without a fight, but did chuckle while tossing it over to Connor. The android swiftly slotted it into the port, to which the magnet deactivated. Now free, Gavin swiftly ripped the metal from his wrist and stormed out, intent on grabbing himself a decent coffee and take the break which he'd thus far been denied since he hadn't been willing to step beyond the bullpen. Connor sighed while picking up the discarded item and gave Fowler a quiet thank you before striding out himself.
Hank was surprised when Katie sprang up and dragged Connor to one of the interrogation rooms before he'd barely made it back down the stairs in front of Fowler's office. The pair could communicate mentally, so there was no reason to leave the area…unless they were sharing something physical.
Not trusting that the pair weren't going to be planning something to use on him, Hank slyly followed them and entered the observation side after realising that Connor and Katie were in the interrogation room. Part of him felt bad for sneaking after them like this, but he was adamant that he was simply making sure they weren't about to engineer another prank on him. He'd leave if they were discussing anything personal.
On the visible side of the one way mirror, he saw Katie bubbling with excitement as Connor reluctantly handed the cuffs out for her. "Thanks, Connor," he heard her say happily through the intercom. "I promised to give these back tonight."
"I still can't believe you decided to handcuff Gavin and I together, and then leave the only method of escape with Captain Fowler," Connor replied through a sigh.
"Believe it or not, the Lieutenant and I both had the idea to handcuff you guys together," she giggled. "As soon as he found out that Simon had made these beauties, he came up with the idea to involve Chris to catch you. Fowler wasn't part of the plan, so I'm guessing the Captain volunteered himself when your old man ran it past him earlier."
"I might have figured Simon was behind these," Connor told her, raising an eyebrow when she pulled out a third bangle and placed it on another side of the box. The three rings stayed together perfectly with the magnet reactivated.
"Of course he was," Katie winked. "And North wants them back for whatever kinky sex game she has in store for you guys tonight."
Hank's eyes almost bulged out of his head. Wait, what the fu-
Connor groaned. "I dread to think."
"Well, you're going to find out in a few hours," she teased.
The lieutenant couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Connor had said he wasn't going to be in tonight and would be going to the Jericho apartments, but he'd not-he'd not-
No fucking way is Connor going over there for some freaky sex games with- Holy shit, is he fucking around with Markus, North and Simon?!
Seeing Connor look at Katie unimpressed, Hank put his own thoughts on hold. "Come on, you know you'll enjoy it, you always do."
"And how do you know about this? I didn't even realise you that knew that I was having sex with them."
Well, Hank had his answer right there.
"North asked me months ago when they were toying with approaching you to be their fourth if I thought you'd be keen. I may or may not have suggested that you would be so long as it wasn't a romantic partner they were after, which she was over the moon at."
Connor sighed. "Great. There was me thinking this was still a secret."
"Oh it completely is, Connor. I'm the only one who knows, I think. Well, I've never heard rumours about them having a fourth player, and definitely not the sort of arrangement that you've got going on." Hank was surprised at seeing Connor ease at that.
Right, he's aromantic. So is Connor literally just sleeping with them to-what, spice things up? What the actual fuck.
"Small mercies."
"Don't worry, I'll be the hell out of there before you four get up to anything," she teased, to which Connor swatted her curls playfully. "What time are you heading there?"
"10. Hank and I are watching a film before I leave and he's on early tomorrow, so he'll be sleeping by then. I mentioned to him that I'd be out, but I think I want to spend some more time with him since we aren't getting that much at the moment."
Katie smiled at that. "Yeah. I can see why you enjoy working with him so much, he's pretty awesome." That had Hank's cheeks burning in a blush. He hadn't expected her to say that so…bluntly. "And it means that you have less explaining to do. Could you imagine his face at finding out you're really going to the Jericho apartments because you're the part-time fuck buddy of Markus, North and Simon?"
"I don't know what's worse, you putting it that way or hearing North address me as their 'booty call'." Katie howled in laughter. "Besides, can you imagine how awkward that conversation would be? I don't really want to scar Hank's mind with the imagery anyway."
"From what North's told me, sounds pretty hot in my opinion," she teased, to which Connor tickled her. Taking their playful laughter as his cue to leave, Hank silently emerged from the observation room with his mind spinning.
Never mind curiosity killed the cat, this was…it was…
…What the hell?
At least one of you called this from the subtle hint I dropped in Chapter 29, so well done to those that did! As for everyone else…surprise! Blame ValentineXCross, my amazing muse on AO3 for this twist. See you again soon!