The moment I arrive home I get the urge to just collapse right onto the floor in exhaustion. I throw off my soaked coat and shoes. It had started raining later in the night, which did not make my job any easier or pleasant. I shiver, walking over to the thermostat to turn up the heat.

Next, I flick on the lights, revealing a neat, orderly living room. The room still smells of the new birch flooring I installed, and the wood still shines of its newness. The fluffy blue couches and chairs I found at a garage sale, and after fully washing, vacuuming, and disinfecting them, they look pretty presentable, despite being well-worn. All the other furniture in the room was also found in a similar fashion, thrift stores, Goodwill, anywhere you can get reliable items for cheap.

I grab a hard cider from the fridge, before getting out my tablet and leaping onto the couch. My head against a pillow, body slouched over the couch, tablet leaning against my legs.

"What is up you guys, my name is Mark Water and today we're going to be continuing our playthrough of the video game tie-in Target, in theatres now. Last time, we just discovered that our son was kidnapped by someone calling themselves the Origami Killer…"

I turn my brain off, watching the let's play as I sip my cider. Other than the energized chatter of celebrity Let's Player Mark Water, the house is quiet, almost empty. The rain outside a distant, otherworldly sound trying to get in.

The Let's Play is paused by the ringing of a video chat request from my cousin. Sitting up straight, I put down my beverage before answering.

"Hey Em, did you just get home from work?" my older cousin Amelia's face is too close to the camera as she adjusts herself, her nose and chin exaggerated by the angle.

"Yeah, yeah. My partner and I were planning on heading out for a drink after work, but then it started raining over here, and after a long day at work I think we both just wanted to go home."

Amelia grins, "Honey, you should get out more though, meet somebody. Have you tried any dating apps? I mean, it's not like there's a rush, but you are turning the big 3-0 next year-"

"Amelia, if I didn't know you any better, I would think you're trying to marry me off. And what's with me turning thirty have anything to do with it? Both of our parents didn't get married till their mid-thirties, your dad was almost forty," I counter, my arms crossed and a knowing smirk plastered across my face.

"True, true, I'm just saying. It would look good to your mom and dad, to settle down. ...have you tried calling them? At all?"

My smile fades, and I bite my lip, "No...no I haven't."

"You should try. I don't get to talk to them all that often, but who knows, maybe it'll help things?" Amelia senses my discomfort, and switches the topic, "And you should keep putting yourself out there. What about your partner? Reid, right? He's into girls, isn't he?"

"Yes, but we're just friends," I clarify.

"...is it because you're not into black guys? I mean, I totally get it, I never thought I'd ever be attracted to Asian guys, so it shocked everyone when I married Jason-"

"Oh my god, Amelia, no! Race has absolutely nothing to do with it!" I bring Amelia's train of thought to a screeching halt as fast as I can. I love my cousin Amelia, she helped babysit me a lot growing up, but she has a very...old-fashioned mindset.

"So is there anyone else then? C'mon, you work at a police station, there's got to be at least one hot cop roaming around."

Connor. Why'd I just think of Connor? It's an android, not a real person. Even if, let's say, I had a thing for it, an android could never reciprocate those feelings. It's just not possible if it's not in its programming, and romance is definitely not what Connor was programmed for.

"No, there really isn't anyone," am I lying? Even I'm not certain.

"Well, I've gotta go. Andy's making us pesto fettuccine tonight," she glances around the room before continuing, "Jason and I have been thinking about replacing it after what happened with that android back in August. The one who went rogue and held the family's daughter hostage? Andy's the same model, so better safe than sorry, you know? I mean, it's never acted strange or anything, but it's become outdated anyway, the newer models have so many more features-"

The sound of a door opening comes from my tablet speakers, as Amelia looks somewhere offscreen.

"Amelia, dinner is ready."

She turns back around, "Alright. Talk to you soon, Em!"

I wave goodbye as the screen on Amelia's side goes blank. What happened with that android back in August? Honestly there have been so many stories of androids going rogue lately, I forgot which one that was. With my tablet already in front of me, I do a quick internet search.

Images flash up of a blonde android seen from a bird's eye view on the ledge of a penthouse patio, holding a gun to a young girl's head. An officer is floating, dead in the pool, and another is bleeding off to the side, somewhat obscured by the overturned patio furniture.

"Jesus…" I can't help but murmur aloud, as I click on the Detroit Today article that corresponds with the image.

Amelia was right, the android that went on a rampage is the same model as Andy, a PL600, it even had the same physical appearance. It killed the father, and took the daughter hostage out on the rooftop. The father was the same age as Amelia, and the daughter was also named Emma, no wonder this has Amelia spooked. I'm surprised she hasn't gotten rid of Andy already. Maybe she's afraid it'll snap like this one did.

But then I notice another figure in one of the images of the article. There aren't any pictures of the crime scene on the ground until long after the android had been shot, but in the aerial photos taken during the hostage negotiation, there's clearly a man on the opposite side from the android. The images are blurry and taken from far away, and it doesn't help that his gray suit and dark hair cause him to blend in with the patio. But there's a spec on his arm, an unmistakable bright blue armband that's clearly visible even from high up.

It can't be…

I keyword search the article for "RK800", and it takes me all the way down to nearly the very end. A very brief paragraph explains that the hostage situation was negotiated by a prototype developed by CyberLife, the company's most advanced android to date.

It couldn't have been Connor, could it? Even if it's the same model, there could be hundreds, even thousands of RK800s operating out there. Who knows, I could have talked to two totally different "Connor" models at the police station today, and I wouldn't have even noticed.

I remember something about Reid, or rather, about his brother, and, with perfect timing, my computer lights up with a video chat request from him.

"Hey Emma, I'm sorry we didn't go out for drinks tonight. It was just a long day on the job, and especially after it started raining, I just really wanted to curl up in bed."

And it's clear that's what Reid has done. In the background of the video, I can make out the baseboard of his bed, and the navy blue pillow he's resting against. Reid himself is no longer in his police uniform and now sports a bright red t-shirt with a yellow star on the front.

"No worries, Reid. Hey, I know this is coming out of nowhere, but was the hostage situation your brother was injured in the one where the android went rogue and took a little girl hostage?"

He nods, "Yeah, Marvin got shot in the arm when he and another officer tried to engage the android. Lucky bastard made it out, but only because someone had applied a tourniquet on the scene. Much to his shock we later learned that someone was an android-"

"I think that android might have been Connor," I interrupt him, unable to contain the excitement of my discovery.

Reid's eyes widen, "No...way! What makes you think so?"

I send him the link to the Detroit Today article, "Apparently the android handling the negotiation was an RK800, just like Connor. When does Marvin start work again? It's gotta be soon, right?"

"Next Monday, actually. Although it's not like we run into each other on the job all that often, maybe once he's back he can verify if Connor's the same android...man, that'd be cool. And it would totally justify your crush on Connor-"

"I do not have a crush on an android!" I react almost too quickly to Reid's accusation, and he gives me a knowing smirk.

"Oh, c'mon, Connor's your type. Slim build, dark-haired, kinda pasty, Connor fits the bill to the tee. Or at least, from what I know of your preferences. The only other person I've seen you date was that other guy...that ex of yours we ran into that one time-"

"Yeah, let's not talk about him," I dismiss right away, a distinctive snarl in my tone.

Reid nods, "Okay, okay, I understand you. But hey, I'm not judging you for having a bit of a crush on Connor," my eyes widen as my frown intensifies, but Reid's smile just grows as he continues, "I've gotta admit, I respect the guy."

"Respect? I mean, sure, I guess you can respect an android. Ha, maybe you're the one with a crush, Reid, you're already obsessed with androids as it is," now it's my turn to laugh, but Reid just raises an eyebrow and twists his lip.

"My god woman, just admit you think he's cute. Yes, I am an android enthusiast, but I'm saying I respect him because his hyper determined to accomplish his...I mean its mission in a way a human could never be. Plus, as you pointed out earlier today, it got all white knight when Detective Reed was being...well, Detective Reed. Just admit it, it's okay to have a little thing for your savior."

"Connor didn't save me from anything other than a broken man's ego," I dismiss, before looking at the clock in the corner of my tablet screen, "hey, it's getting kinda late, I should probably get some sleep. See you on the next shift."

"Yep, see you then," Reid waves, before the video chat screen goes blank.

I turn off my tablet, and set it on the coffee table next to me. I finish up my hard cider and then head to the bathroom to start getting ready for bed. What Amelia said creeps back into my head. Maybe I should call Mom and Dad. When's the last time I talked to them anyway? I keep telling myself I'm going to do it, tell them about my house, my job. They don't even know I'm a police officer, and how long have I been on the force? Five, almost six years now?

As I slump my way out of the bathroom, and into the small kitchen that separates the bedroom hallway from the main bathroom, I spot the basement door, slightly ajar, nestled into the corner of the kitchen. Out of all the places in the house, the basement needs the most work. I've done a pretty good job renovating most other parts of the house, but the basement is its own daunting challenge.

I close the door, both the lock and hinges are ancient, so the door keeps opening on its own. And the last thing I need is rats or whatever else lives down there to come up into the kitchen.

With a sigh I change into sweats and a tank top, removing my bra and throwing it onto a nearby chair before collapsing into bed. From my bedroom, I can hear the damn basement door creaking open on its own again. I groan, and too tired to deal with it at this hour, I reach my foot over from my bed and slam the bedroom door shut.


Author's Note: From here on out, I'm going into the major plot points of Detroit: Become Human, and am going to be spoiling the various consequences of different choices. In the main canon of Welcome, Robot I can really only take one path, but I am open to writing AU bonus chapters for the different endings as milestone celebrations. Which ending would you like to see?

ShadowOfSans: Awe, thank you so much! But don't beat yourself down, I'm sure your story isn't that bad. And even if it's something you're not proud of right now, it's all about constantly improving and building up your writing skill to where you'd like it to be. The first story I wrote back in 2011 was an absolute trainwreck, but I still keep it on my profile because it's a testament to how far I've come since. If you'd like, I can check out your fic and post a review giving you some pointers

Darkwriter: Thank you, my philosophy when writing fanfic is to always leave the canon perfectly intact, god knows how many hours I've already spent scrubbing through the wiki as well as D:BH footage on YouTube making sure I got everything right. I also try pulling in as many characters that already exist in-universe as possible, for example, both Reid Wilson and his brother Marvin can be found in D:BH

SilverZelenia: Connor is evil villain android :)

HeroSeekerFrost: Awe, thanks! And Connor is going to experience a lot of road bumps on his journey to "Become Human"

OnceUponAReset: We'll just have to wait and find out what Hank was thinking ;)

Kaycie: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Hope you liked this chapter!

Edges05: Thanks! And even though police officers are expected to keep their cool, Emma's got a big heart. Big enough for an android ;)

HappilyCat: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! And I'll make sure to check out your fic!

jily shiper: Thanks! Hope you enjoy!