Connor is in my house, looking through all my stuff.

I watch the android walk around, making frequent sudden stops, making jilted, isolated turns of its head, before starting up again, sometimes turning around and walking in a completely different direction.

When I told it I'd called 911 but then realized nothing was there, most officers would have been relieved, and would have left straight away. But not Connor. Of course I had to get the android.

I notice it's staring at an old family picture I have framed up on the wall in the living room. It's still, its stance inhumanly neutral, except for the slightest tilt of the head that indicates it's looking at the picture. Weird.

Turning away, next it moves on to the kitchen, and it makes an instant beeline for the basement door.

"This door was forced open from the outside. Someone did break in," Connor reports, gesturing to the chipped away bits of wood near the door's lock.

Holy shit, how did it know that? With that door being as rundown and aged as it is, no human police officer would have been able to tell the difference between signs of a break-in and the massive wear-and-tear that thing has gone through.

"Oh...no kidding," is it going to realize Leo broke in? How much is it seeing that I'm not?

Connor turns to me, its tone very matter-of-fact, "No, I'm not."

Uhm...okay?

As if that was a completely normal exchange, Connor continues to talk as it scans the rest of the kitchen.

"Also, there are signs that you may have exposed asbestos in the basement. Breathing in asbestos particles is very dangerous for humans."

"Ah shit, really?" there was no way I would have known that on my own. At least something sorta good came of this android inspection, "I had a feeling there was something wrong with the basement. There was no way I could get this place so cheap without some kind of catch. God, hopefully that was only recent..."

My eyes widen as both Connor and I spot the wet, muddy footprints left on the kitchen tile. Shit, shit, shit...Leo's dumb designer shoes leave a very distinct footprint on the ground. Although, his feet are on the smaller side, maybe I could claim those footprints are mine?

While I've been looking down at the footprints, Connor has continued on into my bedroom. I follow it, turning on the light for it, although it's been walking around in the dark just fine. The lights flicker on, and I catch Connor examining the bra I'd thrown onto a chair before going to bed.

"Uhm, do you really need to be looking at that?" I question, crossing my arms.

Can you report an android to HR? Not that they'd do anything, but I'm genuinely curious.

Connor turns around, its mouth slightly pursed open, gritting its teeth, shoulders tense, like it knows it's done something wrong. But its words say otherwise.

"I am simply analyzing all aspects of the area."

I march over, lifting the bra off of the chair. I should have probably put that away when it rang the doorbell, but I didn't think it'd come in, "Uhuh, yeah right, pervert. Here, I'll put that away, trust me, it's not part of your crime scene."

I walk out of the bedroom and stash the bra in a little hamper I have in the small laundry room off in a corner of the hallway. I return down the hallway and round the corner back to my bedroom, but Connor steps through the door frame at nearly the same time, and we almost bump right into each other.

"Officer McMaghnuis, I have some questions for you," it states, its tone direct and harsh.

I raise an eyebrow, "...okay? Wanna sit down somewhere? The living room, maybe?"

"Yes, I would," it agrees, as it turns and begins its robotic strut down the hallway, eyes staring straight ahead, unmoving and unflinching.

I follow it, my steps having a little more hesitation, as it quickly seats itself in the middle of the blue couch. A little off-put by its brisk, assured movements, I sit down in one of the armchairs across from the couch. Hands on its knees, Connor's body posture is slightly shifted towards me, its dark, glassy eyes staring into my soul.

"Officer McMaghnuis, did you know the man who broke into your house?" his tone is coarse, almost accusatory, and my hairs stand on end.

Keeping my cool, I shake my head and shrug, "That's assuming someone broke in, in the first place. Like I told you, when I went to look, there wasn't anyone there-"

"Don't play dumb," Connor interrupts, "there are multiple pieces of evidence in your house that point to a break-in, and I have recorded proof that you spoke with the intruder."

Shit, my cell phone. Androids can interface with pretty much any technology, and I never fully hung up on the 911 operator. The call must have caught what Leo and I were saying.

"Okay, fine, so someone did break-in. Doesn't matter anyway, because I don't wanna press charges. You're wasting your time, Connor-"

Connor stands, its fists clenched, "Regardless of whether or not you want to press charges, breaking-and-entering is still against the law and the incident needs to be recorded. Now you will give me the truth or I will have to arrest you for obstruction of justice."

Jesus. I know this thing is just trying to do its job, but this is extreme. My back is arched into the chair, my hands spread out on either side. If I thought I could handle Connor in a fight, I might have considered trying to make a run for it.

Connor's expression completely flips, what was once a scowl now shortens and straightens, its eyes softening as its eyebrows go from hard downward arches to upturning significantly, to the point where the little wrinkles on its forehead become emphasized. It backs up, and I can hear a soft thump as the back of its leg hits the couch.

"Look, I understand you know the intruder personally, Leo, right? You want to protect him."

Connor sits back down, but this time it takes a totally different sitting position. It folds its hands together, elbows resting on it knees, leaning forward at the hips, legs spread apart slightly. I'm stunned, this is the most relaxed I've ever seen Connor.

"But I'm sure you know, Leo isn't a good person. He broke into your house, and you know he uses drugs. He could have hurt you."

Huh, so it's changed its approach? I guess it realized being an insistent asshole doesn't really get you all that far. And it's not like I can argue with Connor on that, if Leo is still the person I dated in college, it's safer to assume he's on something rather than not.

"Leo's kind of a messed up kid. He's got a lot going on," I explain, "we met in high school, and ended up going to the same college-"

"Can I ask you a personal question, Emma?" Connor interrupts, its tone soft, almost hesitant.

Raising an eyebrow, I shrug, "Go ahead."

"Are you and Leo...involved?"

I honestly don't know what would make Connor think that, even if it did listen in on our conversation, "Uhm...no. At least, not anymore. Not for a long time."

"But you use to?"

My eyes wander away from Connor's persistent, almost unnerving stare. During this whole conversation, it's tone has had a strange undercurrent of...something. Curiosity? Concern? Jealousy, even? Something urgent and burning, I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's all in my head, after all, a normal android doesn't feel any of these things. Am I projecting emotion where none exists?

"Yeah, in college. But we haven't spoken to each other since we broke up, him showing up at my house came out of nowhere. Probably because he has nowhere else to go, now that Carl's gone."

Connor nods, "I see. And could you possibly give me any idea of where the police might locate him?"

Now this is where I didn't want to give things away. If Leo's not at his mom's place, he's probably couch-surfing with anyone willing to tolerate him and his expensive habits. If they're already dealing with Leo, the last thing I want to do is hoist the police on top of them too.

"No. He said he didn't want to go home, so he's probably not with his mom. But as to where he is, I have no idea. Most of our mutual friends only liked Leo for his money and reputation, I can't see any of them actually helping him out."

It's not like I'm completely lying. Leo has an abrasive personality that caused him to burn a lot of bridges back in the day, and I doubt that's changed.

Connor's expression shifts more serious, "And what kind of...'reputation' did Leo have?"

"He's the son of famous painter Carl Manfred. Although Leo didn't meet Carl until high school, when Carl suddenly showed up in his life and had Leo transfer to University Liggett School. That's where we met."

The LED on Connor's right temple turns yellow, blinking rapidly for a few seconds before returning to its standard blue, "Carl Manfred was declared dead last night of a heart attack, after his android became belligerent and attacked him."

My eyes widen, "Wha…"

"When police arrived, Leo identified the android, and it was promptly destroyed with a bullet to the head," Connor finishes explaining, its tone informative and matter-of-fact.

So that's the full story, that explains a lot. Leo's stupid, but he's not stupid enough to kill his own father. As for Carl's android, that thing has pretty much followed Carl around since he lost the use of his legs. Carl was really fond of that android...what would have led an android to killing someone like him?

And here I am, alone in my house with an android. Would Connor ever get the urge to become deviant and kill people? It doesn't seem likely, Connor is about as robotic as they come, but then again, I'll bet Carl didn't see it coming either.

Connor stands, "I think that's all I need. Thank you, Officer McMaghnuis. I should probably let you get some rest. After all, your next shift is in exactly five hours and forty six minutes."

"Ugh, don't remind me," my eyes squint, as it starts to hit me how tired I am, I'd only been asleep a couple of hours before Leo broke in. I look out the window as the sun peeks out over the house across the street. Crap, it's already dawn.

As Connor finishes its statement, its eyes widen, as if it's surprised by what it just said, "Wait a minute, your last shift ended at 1:30AM this morning, and you're scheduled to work again from 10:00AM to 6PM. That's over eight hours of work within a twenty-four hour period, shouldn't you be receiving overtime for that?"

I laugh, a dry, cackling laugh, "Oh, I wish I got overtime. No, it's just we're understaffed, especially after all this deviant crap started. Especially in my department, we've got a lot of people showing increased signs of paranoia over androids, and I don't know, maybe some of it's justified."

"Deviant androids are a threat to society, but CyberLife is working with authorities to ensure that all deviant androids are found and neutralized. That's why they sent me," Connor puffs out its chest a little, tilting its head upwards.

I can't help but smile at that. Yes, Connor can be abrasive, invasive, and somewhat clueless, but it's those little gestures, the little hints of personality underneath the robotic exterior, that I gotta say make Connor kinda charming.

Connor looks down at me, catching me smiling at it. It's reaction is...confusing. It seems to cycle through several emotions, first a frightened grimace, then a curious stare, then nervous glancing.

"I should go now. Good day," it says, its tone clipped and abrupt.

It barrels its way to the door, bumping its legs against the couch cushions and nearly running into a small end table on its way out, only to veer out of the way just in time with a strange, sudden shift of the legs. I chuckle to myself, who knew a calculated android could be clumsy?

I get up, stretching out my muscles. Hopefully I can get a few more hours of sleep before my next shift. I'm about to start walking back to my bedroom when its voice calls out.

"Oh, and Emma?" it's stopped itself at the door, turning its head to look back at me.

As sunlight pours into the living room, I realize that Connor's hair, which had looked pitch black under the police station's harsh fluorescents, is actually a soft dark brown, the open windows and incoming dawn creating a halo of light that surrounds him.

"Please be careful, and call the police if you suspect that anything, anything at all is wrong."

Huh, of all things, I did not expect an android to say something like that. Crossing my arms, I'm unsure of how to respond.

"Uhm...sure. I will, Connor."

The left corner of his lip creases into a smile, and for a split second, we not quite in harmony, but there's a mutual understanding between us. Something unexplainable, within just a moment of smiling at each other.

Connor quickly snaps out of it, recomposing itself, straightening its back and shoulders, "Good day, officer."

It tilts its head down, before exiting out the door in a hurry. Sheesh, I guess even an android's got places to be. I let out a deep, loud yawn as clouds begin to cover the morning sky. Oh good, hopefully with less light coming into the house I'll have an easier time falling back asleep.

Throwing myself back into bed as fast as I can, I groan and wonder if it's even worth it trying to fit in a small cat nap before work. I glance up from my bed, and realize that Leo's jacket is still up on my dresser. Shit, that's probably why it thought Leo and I were dating. A man's coat in the bedroom and my bra hanging out, I guess I could see why Connor leapt to that conclusion. But still, of all the questions to ask, that one sticks out to me the most. Not just that it asked, but also how it asked the question. It seemed insistent on knowing, and I guess it would reframe the situation if Leo's break-in was a domestic dispute, but still, an android wouldn't be interested in the emotions behind a case, only the cold hard facts.

Getting annoyed that Leo's jacket is right in my field of vision, I turn over onto my side. Maybe I should just toss it out, or better yet, burn the jacket out in the backyard. But then I remember the asbestos Connor found in the basement, and the fact that I still haven't called my parents. Now that I know Carl's passed, I really should, I don't want to miss his funeral. Maybe I shouldn't set the damn thing on fire. Maybe I should focus more on fixing my present, rather than burning my past.


Author's Note: Hey, I only just noticed now, but we've hit 100 follows! Thanks everyone!

ShadowOfSans: Everyone makes mistakes, and that's okay as long as we strive to learn from them. And have you ever considered seeing a therapist? I also have depression as well as anxiety and I find that talking to someone helps. If you'd like to talk more about it, feel free to PM me. And I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, but I find that posting more than once a week actually starts to burn readers out. Also, I'm writing chapters in advance so that once my job starts next week I'll still be able to consistently post content for everyone to enjoy

Savage Kill: Eh, it's Leo, I actually have a harder time imagining an interaction that would go well lol

VeronicaMars1983: Thank you very much!