The relatively calm day at the Central Precinct was suddenly interrupted in a rather dramatic fashion just as lunchtime hit the bullpen. A lack of new serious cases had been a blessing since it allowed every detective to catch up their reports and review their other active cases, and the lull in the bullpen had done wonders to reduce stress and tension that had been building up over the past few weeks. Just as it seemed that the entire day was going to play out without any drastic interruptions or anything that was otherwise obnoxious, one chance phone call turned everything upside down. The most interesting thing about the call was the lack of urgency or tragedy, and yet by the way it was handled one might assume that the world was ending.

Using the Piquant Diner as the ideal place to talk in public without being eavesdropped on, Hank patiently helped Gavin deal with his current dilemma and help him find an acceptable solution. Talking over chicken dumplings gave Hank the opportunity to listen to what Gavin had to say and to offer him as much paternal wisdom as possible considering his seeming lack of experience in that particular situation.

"And you're sure about this?" Hank asked casually as he picked up his dumpling and stirred it in the secret sauce that made everything in the diner taste amazing. "I mean, your last relationship wasn't exactly... Uh... What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Healthy?" Gavin guessed at what Hank was trying to say as he nervously leaned back in the booth and watched his own leg as it bounded up and down rhythmically where he sat. The man really wanted to stop talking, but he knew he needed to face his emotional hurdles. "Stable? Normal? Faithful?"

"I was leaning more towards... 'loving'."

"Yeah, okay, I'll give ya' that one. There wasn't a whole lot of affection between us since we were more interested in the physical aspect of each other."

"Even so, that bitch broke your heart, man. She cheated on you, you busted her in the act, and you were assaulted by her crazy cousin all in the same night." The needless recap of that memorable Halloween night was enough to make Gavin flinch and sink down in shame. "Sorry, just being honest."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I asked you for advice and not Tina."

Hank chuckled a little as he used his chopsticks to stir his remaining dumplings in the bowl of sauce. "Tina trying to paint you a fairytale about love and forgiveness or something?"

"No. She still wants to 'beat the slut out of Patricia', and I think she'd actually go through with it if she had the chance." As he spoke Gavin nervously cleared his voice and hoped that Mrs. Chen, Tina's mother, didn't overhear him as she worked in the diner's kitchen just a few yards away. "Those were her words, by the way, not mine."

"I believe it." Hank had learned pretty quickly from Officer Lewis that Tina was very openly opinionated and didn't have any qualms with telling the world how she truly felt. The stories from Gavin as he worked more shifts alongside his friend just substantiated her reputation. "All right, so if you really want my opinion on-"

"I do." Impatiently Gavin spoke up and interrupted the man as they chatted over lunch. Gavin wasn't eating much at the moment thanks to his nerves getting the better of him. "It's just- You know how hard it is to... you know. Get back out there."

"Yeah, I do. There's a reason I'm still single." Hank leaned back as well and let out a somber sigh as he thought about losing Barbara and how Cole was growing up without a mother. While he wasn't lonely, he did feel as if he was depriving Cole of a proper family due to his reluctance to go out and date. "Okay, so break it down for me. How'd you meet this new woman, and why is she on your mind? Better yet, why the fuck did she call you seemingly out of the blue?"

The strange activity of the day seemed to extend beyond the precinct and reach the Anderson residence just as the day was coming to its end. An unexpected call from Hank had prompted Connor into preparing something special for dinner while going out of his way to clean up the house, get the kitchen ready for a few guests, and encourage Cole to take a bath while keeping Sumo in laundry room for the evening. While Connor never protested or objected to preparing dinner on a nightly basis, at least when Hank worked into the evening, he did find it unusual that he was asked to prepare such an elaborate and special dinner on such short notice with no clear explanation.

Without a word Connor went out and purchased necessary ingredients for that night's dinner, and promptly set about cooking in the kitchen and using the mini barbecue grill just outside the backdoor on the small brick patio that outlined the backdoor. It didn't take the deviant long to grill the four baked potatoes and the six large T-bone steaks and use the special recipe for a proper spice rub as Hank had requested, and after the streaks were brought inside and kept warm under a metal cloche and stored in the oven he set about preparing the large side salad to accompany the main course.

"Connor?" Cole seemed confused by the elaborate dinner and didn't understand what was going on. "Why are you making a bunch of stuff for dinner?"

"Your dad requested that I do so." Connor replied without missing a beat as he perfectly chopped up the onions, green and black olives, radishes and carrots to be mixed into the freshly washed and chopped lettuce in the massive serving bowl. "He did not give me a reason for tonight's special dinner."

"What're we having?"

"You are having steak, salad and baked potatoes."

"I like burgers better than steak."

Connor gave the little boy a curious glance since he found that a majority of humans preferred steak over anything else regarding red meat as a main course. Then again, with Cole being so young it wasn't surprising that his personal tastes would vary from that of his father.

"Do I have to eat the steak?"

"I believe that's up to your dad, but if you wish, I can grill you a hamburger or two so you can have a dinner that you enjoy tonight."

"Cool! Yeah! Do that!"

"Very well."

"Can I help?"

"I've... prepared most of the meal as necessary, and you're not old enough to learn how to cook just yet, but if you'd like to help with tonight's dinner, you could use a towel and cleaning solution to make sure the dinner table is properly clean before anyone eats off of it."

"Sure! I can do that!"

Connor stumbled a little as Cole frantically began checking through the cabinets around his legs to find the necessary cleaning supplies. He was impressed with how quick Cole was to volunteer to help and didn't mind having some assistance in the kitchen for once.

"It's not Thanksgiving yet." Cole noted as he found what he needed and began carefully cleaning off the now larger table and made sure it looked spotless. "Why's the table so big?"

"From what your dad has told me, there are going to be two additional people dining here tonight." Connor explained casually as he finished adding all the chopped vegetables to the large bowl of salad. The deviant expertly mixed everything together and placed the salad tongs down along the bowl to be used later. "It's supposed to be a special occasion."

"Why?"

"Unknown."

"Weird."

"Yes, it does seem that way."

"Is that why Sumo has to stay in the laundry room tonight?"

"Correct." With the salad finished Connor then began dicing some tomato and cucumber to be added to the salad later on if those particular mixings were desired. He didn't want the salad to get mushy from the bits of tomato soaking into the lettuce, or have the cucumber overwhelm the other mixings. "Sumo is very friendly, but he's also very big and can accidentally get underfoot."

"Yeah, he also begs a lot." Cole agreed as he finished with cleaning the table. The surface was shining in the overhead light and looked very inviting. "Now what?"

"Do you know how to set the table?"

"Yup! Dad taught me how to do that."

"All right." Carefully Connor pulled down the necessary number of plates from the cupboard and handed them to Cole so he could put the plates down around the table at each chair. "I'll get you the bowls when you're ready."

"How come there are only four seats?"

"Because there are going to be four diners tonight."

"You said there's going to be two more people having dinner tonight. Those two plus three equals five! There needs to be another chair!"

"No, there are only four people eating dinner tonight, the number of chairs and plates are correct. I'm not going to be at the table."

"You should be. You made dinner, and you live here!"

"It's all right, Cole. It's just one meal."

"But it's still not fair. Dad needs to stop pretending that you're not living here just because he doesn't want to share things."

The simplistic logic of Cole's mind was refreshing. While that wasn't the case at all, knowing that Cole was aware of the unfair treatment and didn't want to see Connor being excluded was an innocent reminder that not everyone saw androids as lesser beings. If the issues between humans and androids could be boiled down to just being unable to play well with each other or share things, life would be far easier to figure out.

"I promise that it's okay." Connor continued as he then gave Cole the salad bowls to put down beside the plates, while he got the drinking glasses and the appropriate silverware to be put down on the table. "The table is now set. I'll prepare your hamburgers now; you go and wash your hands."

"Okay. I'll be back soon!"

Connor just smirked as Cole enthusiastically went down the hallway just to wash up and prepare for dinner. It was so easy handling Cole since the little boy was naturally agreeable and seemed to always be looking on the brighter side of life as a whole.

With everything cooked and prepared for dinner, Connor set about placing everything down on the table and ensured that the four diners would be satisfied with everything that had been provided. He had no reason to expect a negative reaction to the meal, but it didn't mean he shouldn't be prepared for a potential critique from Hank about the way things had been prepared or presented to his two invited guests.

"Connor?" Hank's voice called out as he opened the front door and hurried inside the house. He looked a little frazzled but none the worse for wear as he handed the deviant a large bottle of wine to be served during the meal. "Is everything ready for dinner?"

"Yes, Lieutenant." Connor confirmed that the meal was finished and that everything was ready. "Where are the guests?"

"About five minutes behind me, I got caught up in traffic after I stopped at the store. I'm going to go change my clothes, you welcome them inside when they arrive."

"Very well."

"And make sure Cole knows that this isn't a casual sit-down dinner." The man urged as he raced down the hallway to his bedroom. "It's a special occasion!"

"I'll take care of everything."

Confirming the odd request Connor prepared to welcome the two impending guests into the house. With the bottle of wine in hand Connor carried the alcoholic drink over to the refrigerator and placed it inside to be chilled for a moment before serving. The only thing missing for the special dinner were the actual diners, and Connor still didn't know who was supposed to show up.

"Humans are very complicated, even when it comes to something as simple as eating dinner."

The doorbell rang and Cole, fresh from the bathroom, rushed into the livingroom to answer the door. "I got it!"

Before Connor could say or do otherwise Cole had opened the door and greeted the two guests standing side by side on the front doorstep.

"Gavin!" Cole immediately recognized the detective and was happy to see him. "Are you here for dinner?"

"Sure am, kiddo." The newly arrived detective confirmed with a smile actually audible in his words. "And so is my special friend here."

Connor peered at the front door and was surprised to see another familiar face standing beside Gavin with a smile on her face as well. It was Abby.

"This is Abby." Gavin introduced his date to Cole as he politely took her coat and hung it up on the hook by the front door before doing the same for his own coat. It was clear that Gavin was nervous but still in good spirits. "She's going to be dining with us."

"Hi!" Cole looked up at Abby and smiled as she gave him a smile in return. "I'm Cole!"

"And I'm Abby. It's nice to meet you." Giving Gavin a cheesy smirk Abby lightly teased him before they got too far away from the front door. "Please tell me he's not your son, and that you're trying to trick me into some weird 'future-mommy' audition."

"Ew! He's not my dad!" Cole protested as he pointed to Hank coming down the hallway in fresh, clean clothes. "He's my dad! Gavin's just my friend!"

"Oh, what a relief." Abby saw the immediate blush on Gavin's face and found it charming that the man could be a fearless detective in the streets but humbled into silence by a little boy and some light joking in a warm family home. "A first real date that didn't start off with a lie being exposed. I'm already doing much better here in Detroit compared to how I was doing back in Chicago when it came to dating."

Hank chuckled at the comment and gave Gavin a subtle nod of approval. "Now I know why Gavin insisted on having a nice family dinner here at the house instead of overpaying at some overhyped restaurant. I'm Hank, by the way."

"Abby." Introducing herself again Abby offered Hank her hand and was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming everyone was being. "And it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I see you've already met Cole." The man noted as he ran his hand along Cole's freshly washed hair. "You of course know Gavin, so I guess that just leaves one more introduction. Connor?"

Entering the livingroom quietly Connor acknowledged Abby with a polite nod and a soft smile. "Hello, Dr. Grayson."

"Oh, now I really like coming here, but I'm not a doctor just yet, Connor. Almost done with school, so it's just a matter of months."

"Uh..." Hank gave Connor a perplexed look before looking back to Abby for some clarification after noticing their shared familiarity with one another. "Have you two met already?"

"Once." Abby confirmed as she continued to give Connor a warm grin. "In fact, it was through Connor that I even met Gavin."

"Okay, that's a story I didn't know." Flashing Gavin a suspicious glance Hank just waved everyone into the kitchen to have some dinner and chitchat together. "And I wanna' hear it. So let's eat."

It didn't take long for everyone to gather in the kitchen and take a place at the table to settle in for the evening. Once everyone was seated Connor proceeded to serve the four diners to be polite and help break the tension as to why an android was at a dinner party in general. He wanted to help in the only way that he could considering he wasn't exactly suited to dining in or making casual dinner conversation itself.

"Ooh, everything looks great!" Abby complimented as she sat beside Gavin and looked over the table. "You didn't have to do all this just for me."

"Well, I, uh... I wanted to do something nice." Gavin admitted with another blush as he tried to accept the compliment while remaining humble. "I mean, you know, I didn't cook any of this or prepare for this, b-but it was my idea to-"

"Gavin, it's all right. I know you didn't cook this since you spent the past hour sweating bullets over what you thought would be the best shirt and tie combo."

"Y-Yeah, that's right." Looking down at himself Gavin took in the sight of his dark purple shirt and the tie with purple and white stripes with mild worry. "You helped me pick this out too. It's good, right?"

"Yes, it's good. I wouldn't let you go out in public if I thought you were going to make a fool of yourself."

"That's reassuring."

Cole didn't understand what was happening made his own observations on the scene. "Why are you dressed up for dinner? It's weird."

Abby started to giggle while Gavin blushed even redder. "He does make a good point, you know."

"He does?" Feeling a little out of place Gavin wondered if he didn't overstep his bounds by mistake. "Guess this was a little much, huh?"

"Not that I don't appreciate you going that extra mile to look nice for dinner or anything, but you don't have to worry about impressing me. I already like you as you are."

"That's the most reassuring thing I've heard all day."

Hank sighed openly and decided to pop open the bottle of wine the moment Connor placed it down on the table far from where Cole was sitting. "Okay, enough awkward chatter. I want to know how you two met, and how Connor-" the cork on the wine bottle was pulled free with an audible 'pop' as Hank used the corkscrew to remove it with minimal effort. "is involved."

It didn't take long for Abby to relay the story of having car trouble and having Connor come to her aid, then meeting Gavin at the Piquant Diner when she had gone there to get something to eat while waiting for a tow truck. When she went into detail about how Gavin stayed with her, helped with her car and even went out of his way to help her find a place to stay in Detroit while she went back to Chicago to get her car troubles sorted out, Hank then understood why Gavin was so adamant in making things work with Abby. She had a very positive impact on his mind and his heart after his nasty break-up and helped him to get out of his emotional funk.

As the topic of discussion moved from how people met each other and where they currently were residing in the city to work, Abby went into greater detail about her education and efforts to become a technician. That particular field of work was in high demand throughout Detroit since people showing enough interest in android anatomy, analytics and overall repair were at an all-time low. It seemed people were more interested in selling androids to make a quick buck without actually bothering to learn the ins and outs of android functionality.

"So being an android technician is like being an android doctor, right?" Hank asked as he finished off his steak and lamented the fact that Cole chose to eat a hamburger instead. Selective eating was one of the odd quirks of children that Hank was still getting used to dealing with even after seven years. "Are android doctors really in need these days?"

"It's a growing need, yes." Abby confirmed as she noticed that Connor had excused himself to the livingroom to sit away from the kitchen. She wondered if he was often isolated from special occasions or if he had opted to sit out because he didn't want to somehow be in the way. "I'm going to keep working as an E.M.S. until I get the chance to find work elsewhere as a technician, but there's plenty of help for humans already. I want to help androids."

"Why?" The crass question came out far more cold and bitter than Hank had meant it to sound. "I mean, it's not like you can't find androids on sale at every CyberLife store in the city these days."

"Because I find androids to be fascinating. They're designed to look like humans, sound like humans and even behave like humans." The woman explained casually as she watched Connor in the livingroom by looking just past Cole's short shoulder as the little boy sat across from her at the table. "And that design is both external AND internal. People just toss androids aside and buy a new one when the android they have can't be fixed, or in most cases, they just don't want to pay to fix them. I think if repairing androids became normalized then it'd help cut down on CyberLife flooding the streets with androids who will just get destroyed if they don't sell well on the market, and it'll help keep androids functioning properly for as long as an average human lifespan."

Connor disliked hearing such a notion and it made his shoulders slump with discomfort. The infamous android junkyard was already getting fairly full because of humans disposing of androids they don't care about and don't want to deal with any longer. Knowing that so many perfectly functional androids were going to be cast aside and thrown away because they weren't bringing in enough of a profit just reinforced Connor's determination to fight back and help his people succeed when it came time for the Revolution.

"Androids need our help." Abby continued as if she were ready to testify before the Supreme Court as she spoke of androids in a very positive manner. "We're creating them and as such, we're responsible for them. To act like androids are responsible for their own wellbeing is like acting like they're responsible for their own existence despite having no control over such things."

That particular comment really held Connor's attention since it meant that Abby's passion for aiding androids has been sincere from the very beginning of her career, and that she wasn't just saying such things to earn the trust of her android patients under false pretenses. He was right to trust Abby as his personal technician and even as a friend in the alternate timeline, and he knew over time he'd do the same in the new timeline.

"We also can't pretend that androids, who are designed to emulate human behavior, aren't slowly showing more signs of awareness with each passing day. They're more aware of the world around them than we're giving them credit for."

Gavin hated talking about androids since his estranged twin brother Elijah Kamski had perfected the models at the ripe young age of sixteen. He'd always resent androids because the early technology resulted in many injuries and deaths of innocent humans, but he no longer hated them for existing. His hatred had fizzled considerably and now he just saw them as an occasional nuisance.

"Well, maybe a certain billionaire ass- JERK!" Gavin quickly and awkwardly corrected his insult of choice when he saw Cole looking at him as the little boy finished off his ketchup soaked hamburger. "Uh, maybe that famous jerk should do something and provide better android care instead of churning out the next model. I mean, if androids are designed to be improve themselves after being exposed to human behavior, then that means androids are going to really start acting human, right?"

"That's right." Abby confirmed with an impressed grin on her face. Picking up a slice of cucumber from her plate Abby offered it to Gavin as if giving him a treat. "The most recent studies of android behavior and physical responses indicate that it's entirely possible that androids could actually begin to experience the same kind of emotional and physical discomfort as us humans do when exposed to painful or emotionally taxing stimuli. I want to make sure that I can help them in any way that I can when they need me."

"You're doing more than enough as an E.M.S. and helping us lowly humans when we get ourselves in trouble." Gavin complimented as he accepted the cucumber slice and finally mellowed out during the date. "I can only imagine how much more you can do by helping androids when no one else will."

"That's sweet."

Cole saw what was going on and let out a disgusted noise as he looked away from the budding romance happening right before his eyes. "Yuck..."

"Hey." Hank gave Cole's knee a playful nudge from under the table. "Be nice."

"Can I go watch some TV with Connor?"

"Sure, just keep the volume down and put your plate in the sink."

"'Kay."

Abby didn't mind Cole's reaction and just grinned as the little boy did as he was told and rushed into the livingroom to join Connor on the couch. Seeing the way Cole happily sat beside Connor and spoke to him gave her hope that her own desires to help androids in the future wasn't going to be a desire that ended with her. The next generation of up and coming technicians could very well succeed where she and her colleagues could potentially fail.

"He's too cute." Abby complimented Cole as she gave Hank a warm grin. "He's in the second grade, right?"

"That's right." The proud father confirmed as watched Cole bouncing on the couch cushion as he chatted with Connor. "Hard to believe he's already coming home with more complicated math homework and just started science classes this year."

"I'm sure he gets plenty of help from you and Connor though."

"Well, more Connor than me these days." Hank had to admit that his time at the precinct was keeping him from being his son's tutor after school a lot more often than he wanted. "It's fine though, Connor's a great teacher. Cole loves it too."

"How'd you end up with Connor anyway?" Abby was beginning to ask her own array of questions since she knew that Gavin wouldn't be able to give her answers if she asked him about things afterward. "Not to be too judgmental or anything, but you don't seem like the type to rely on an android. You seem very hands-on."

"Not wrong about that." Taking a big gulp of his wine Hank told Abby about the chance encounter he had with Connor the year prior when Connor arrived in time to protect Cole from a runaway speeding truck. He then explained how he took Connor in after the android continued to protect Cole and seemed to have impeccable timing when it came to stepping up when other people wouldn't do it. "It seems like Cole's been glued to Connor's side ever since."

"Sounds like you two need each other."

"Say what now?"

"Connor saved Cole, and you took Connor in to your home. So after Connor saved your family you gave Connor a family of his own." Abby clarified with a cheeky grin as she sipped her own wine and watched the way Gavin's hazel-gray eyes seemed to light up with a newfound understanding of what she was saying. "Or is that a little too much to read into?"

Hank shook his head slightly as he sank back in his chair and refused to think of Connor as family. "Just a tad. It's more like having a live-in caretaker that you don't have to watch every second of the day to make sure they aren't stealing from ya'."

"I don't know about that." Unwilling to accept such a dismissive comment Abby gently pushed Hank to be more honest. "I think there's just a little more to it; a 'tad' if you will."

Gavin cleared his throat a little as he interjected on the discussion and chose to change the topic at hand. "So when's your last class? As soon as you've gotten your diploma you can start hunting for your apartments and do job interviews in person and not just over video calls."

"I'll have graduated and become an accredited technician in May, and that means I can stop spending revolving weeks in my old place in Chicago and that nice hotel here in Detroit. Thanks for helping me out with all the traveling, by the way. I know it's hard enough for a detective to get any time away from work to do any personal errands, let alone going that extra mile to meet up with their semi-serious girlfriend at some pretty extreme distances some times."

"I'd rather risk it all one a semi-serious girlfriend who blows my mind away than waste a second with a super-serious girlfriend who destroys my heart."

Abby just smiled as she lightly took Gavin's hand in her own and looked him right in the eyes with adoration. "You should write that on a Valentine's card. You'd make a fortune."

In that moment Hank could finally see why Gavin was so interested in Abby and worried about messing things up. She had a great attitude, a sense of humor, she's intelligent, she's driven and as a bonus, she's beautiful. By all account Hank approved of Gavin dating Abby and was happy that the young detective was finally finding love after going from one failed chaotic relationship to another.

"Interested in some after-dinner coffee?" Hank asked knowing that Gavin would love any excuse to keep the dinner date going a while longer. "I know I could use a cup right about now."

"Sounds good to me." Accepting the offer Abby gave Gavin's hand a light squeeze. "Coffee is the elixir of life after all."

From within the livingroom Cole watched the three adults all talking over dinner and coffee, and he felt entirely confused. He didn't understand why Gavin brought Abby over for dinner, and he really didn't understand why his dad was involved with the date in any form.

"Connor, why did Gavin and Abby come here?"

"They are on a date." The deviant android confirmed as he sat beside Cole with the television quietly playing an animated movie before them. "Gavin wanted to bring Abby to a place where he knew he could be himself and where Abby would feel comfortable."

"What does that mean? 'Be himself'?"

"It means that Gavin can behave around Abby as he behaves around other people without feeling the need to exaggerate anything that he has done or could say in an attempt to impress her."

"I don't get it."

"Human dating can be very complicated. You'll understand it in a few more years when you've been around more people who are also dating." Connor tried to be as honest as he could with Cole, but the reality was he had no idea how dating worked whatsoever. That was a completely foreign concept to the deviant android to even try to comprehend. "I think that's right. I don't entirely understand it myself."

"Does dating always make people act weird?"

"Not always." Connor replied as he looked at the kitchen and saw Gavin awkwardly shifting in his chair beside Abby as if he couldn't get comfortable. It was fascinating to see a confident person suddenly flustered all because they were attracted to someone special. "But it does happen often."

"I'm not going to act like that." Cole decided as he slunk back against the couch and crossed his arms over his chest to watch his movie. "And I'll never date. Ever!"

-next chapter-