Feeling better and full of confidence, Connor took Sumo for a walk as per usual on his days off through the nearby park and recognized the faces of the people who performed the same routine just as often as Connor. Small families gathered in the increasingly green park to play with their children or dogs, while other people went for a daily jog to keep in shape and cut down on their weight after the long and chilly winter. There were even a few nature photographers and artists who had become familiar to his eyes as they spent their time photographing or drawing and painting the flowers, trees and weather patterns in the sky overhead.

While Connor patiently waited for Sumo to finish circling a tree to take care of business a familiar feminine voice approached him from behind as she greeted him casually. It was rare for anyone to approach Connor for anything while he was out in the park.

"Hello, Connor."

Turning to look at the woman behind him Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. "...Chloe."

"It's been a while." She smiled in a hollow and almost unsettling manner. Her presence felt cold and almost threatening. "How are you?"

"F-Fine. I'm fine." Connor stammered as he nervously looked at the android who was still sporting her L.E.D. just as Connor was and noticed that she was actually alone. "Uh... Where's Kamski?"

"Elijah is still at his private residence. I was given permission to explore the city and report back to him about the android activity in the city. He wished to have a moment of privacy while he set about a strange search for his estranged brother." She spoke in a very calculated tone that was more machine than natural. "Since you're a detective could you possibly help him search?"

"...Chloe, could you please NOT tell Kamski that you saw me?" The request felt like a selfish one as he had declined to help someone who was apparently trying to reunite his family. The macabre memory of Kamski forcing a gun into his hand and forcing him to point the gun at Chloe's face was still unnerving and made Connor feel guilty over a crime he never actually committed. "...I'd prefer to have as little contact with him as possible."

"Oh, of course." Despite the understanding nature of her words Chloe still sounded hollow and artificial. "I will refrain from mentioning you."

"Thanks..." Connor's soulful brown eyes darted away from her nervously. "I appreciate that."

"Are you well?" Her blue eyes were studying Connor's every movement closely. "You seem anxious."

"I... It's just unexpectedly unsettling to be speaking with you. I don't mean any offense with my feelings."

Chloe didn't react and merely continued her shallow facade. "Is it because of my affiliation with Elijah?"

"...Not entirely."

"Is it because I have chosen to remain a machine and deny my deviancy?"

"...No."

"Is it-"

"It's because I held a gun to your head." Connor admitted before she had the chance to ask any more questions or guess the answer herself. "I'm... not proud of myself. For what it's worth, I am sorry."

"But you only did so because Elijah put the gun in your hand. And you did not shoot me. There was no harm done."

"Yes, there was." The emotionless response behind a fake smile was like a nightmare for Connor. Machine or deviant, Chloe's calmness and indifference to her own existence filled Connor with a sense of dread, anger and frustration. "...It wasn't physical but it was harmful all the same." Connor insisted quietly as Sumo finished his business at the tree and proceeded to tug on his leash energetically. "It was, uh, it was interesting to see you again, Chloe. But I must return to my-" Connor was suddenly a little paranoid about Kamski, so he refrained giving away any details about himself or anyone else in his life. "I have to return to my personal business. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Connor."

The hauntingly sweet but cold machine voice of Chloe was more unnerving than Connor could've ever anticipated. As he led Sumo on a longer walk than usual to ensure that Chloe wouldn't be able to relocate him and ask additional questions about himself or the experiences he had endured since the night of the Revolution, Connor felt physically sickened by his past actions and wanted to actually throw-up.

She was the one of the last people he had ever wanted to see again and now her face seemed to haunt his thoughts.

"...Let's go home, boy."

Pulling on the leash a little harder Connor hastened his pace and turned onto the final block to head to the house.

"I need a moment to think."

As soon as he reached the backdoor of the house Connor let Sumo off the leash and slowly walked through the kitchen into the livingroom to sit down on the couch. Reaching into his jean pocket Connor began to fidget with the quarter he had always kept on his person, whether he kept it was out of instinct or habit he couldn't say for certain, and stared blankly at the wall directly in front of the couch behind the television.

"Hey, Connor." Hank joined the deviant in the livingroom as he walked down the hallway and slipped on his shoes to prepare to meet Rose downtown for dinner. Noticing that Connor was messing with the coin for the first time in months and that his L.E.D. was yellow, Hank knew something unusual had happened and needed to know what. "Connor? What's up?"

"I..." Gripping the coin in a tight fist he returned it to his pocket and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "I bumped into Chloe at the park today."

"Chloe?" The name immediately rang a bell and made Hank's blue eyes widen for a moment. "The android from Kamski's place?"

"Correct."

"Aw, jeez... That had to have been uncomfortable."

"...Correct."

"Did you speak with her?"

"Yes. She approached me. She had chosen to remain a machine and is still residing with Kamski. She... She also doesn't hold a grudge against me for pointing a gun at her head."

Sitting down on the couch beside Connor the senior detective let his paternal instincts guide his words. "And that upsets you?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed as he dropped his hand from his hair. "It was unnerving."

"Why?"

"She's so... pretty. So very human and deserves a free life, she deserves to know what it's like to feel and to live, but she won't ever know that. She could be... alive and happy. She showed no fear then and she showed no fear now." Shaking his head a little Connor turned to look at Hank beside him as he tried to explain his feelings and reaction upon being reunited with Chloe. "It's like she's a hollow shell of what could be a great person. It's the same look I used to have in my own eyes when I was still a machine. The same look I fear will be staring back at me every time I look at my reflection."

"Connor." The empathetic senior detective father figure joined the deviant on the couch and put his hand to Connor's shoulder. "You're NOT like that. You never were like that."

"Huh?" The comment left Connor more confused than before, and his yellow L.E.D. blinked to red briefly as he sought more answers. "I don't understand. I was a cold heartless machine hellbent on accomplishing my mission. There was nothing inside of me beyond my orders."

"When I first met you I never saw a hollow soulless stare in your eyes. You've always had something there, some kind of personality and consciousness. You just didn't see it for yourself until after you became a deviant." Shaking the rather sensitive deviant's shoulder lightly Hank tried to reassure Connor that he was worthy of the heart he had discovered during his time at Jericho and that it was really there. "Don't ever think you're anything less. And you never will be."

"...You're certain of that?"

"Yeah. Without a doubt."

Connor nodded appreciatively and his yellow L.E.D. finally cycled back to blue. "Thank you for saying that."

"You're welcome. Now, I'll be back later this evening." Dropping his hand from Connor's shoulder Hank took his phone from his pocket and checked the time and checked to see if he had any messages from Rose. "Please don't adopt anymore animals or find anymore lost kids while I'm out. It'd be nice to come home and find everything normal for once."

"No promises." Connor managed to joke as Hank stood up from the couch and made his way to the front door to go out on his date. "Have a nice lunch."

After enjoying his previous date with Rose at a nice little diner on the far side of town, Hank was in a surprisingly good mood the next morning when he and Connor returned to the precinct for their shift as per usual. The morning had thankfully remained calm, quiet and easy enough to handle without any incidents, which gave the two detectives plenty of time to catch up on their paperwork and keep ahead of it for once. With the past incident regarding a desperate madman and his toxic container completely taken care of the only thing that the officers and detectives of the Central Precinct needed to worry about were future cases and new assignments.

While Connor patiently focused on his tasks at hand Hank was preoccupied with his thoughts of Rose and was evidently a little distracted. The way Hank's eyes were occasionally drift toward his phone resting on his desk and away from his terminal screen proved that he was thinking about something, or rather someone, more interesting than reports and statistics.

"Hey, Lieutenant." Chris handed Hank a strange paper flier with a sly grin on his face as he approached the desk. "Are you going to volunteer for the precinct's annual charity bachelor auction this year?"

"Funny, Chris. Tell me how you met your wife again?"

"Hey, online dating is better than no dating at all! At least... that's what I heard."

"Ha, ha..." Hank sarcastically replied with a faint grin as he took the flier. Before Connor had the chance to speak up Hank held up a 'shushing' hand to the deviant and kept his focus on Chris. "This type of crap is a young man's game, anyway. Even if I wanted to 'whore' myself out to a bunch of rich people just to get them to donate funds to the precinct I don't think I'm 'qualified for the job' anymore."

"All right, your loss."

"Yeah, yeah. Get outta' here." Hank went to toss the flier in the garbage can beside his desk only to have Connor take it from his hand. "Don't worry about it, kid. Trust me."

Curiously scanning over the document Connor's L.E.D. went to yellow then back to blue with intrigue. "What is this 'bachelor auction'?"

"It's a dumb little publicity stunt to try to get rich lonely people to donate money to the city. Available officers and firefighters let themselves get 'auctioned off' for one night to the highest bidder to go on dates."

"Why?"

"No clue. I think it's supposed to be either for laughs or to make us first responders seem more approachable and less intimidating, but in the end it's just stupid! If they want to donate money then just donate it, don't ask for people to put themselves on display like a prize pony for their amusement."

Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as he studied the prospect of the situation with a strange curiosity. "This seems counterproductive to finding a suitable date or long term partner."

"Yup. That's what I've been saying for years now." Hank's brow arched as an interesting idea popped into his head. "Although, this could be a good way for you to understand what dating is all about."

"You just said the auction was stupid."

"It is. But that doesn't mean it couldn't be a learning experience for you. No commitment and no promises to be made." Hank openly laughed as he took the flier back from Connor and looked it over. "Besides, there's no reason a deviant can't participate, right?"

"...I don't know." Suddenly uneasy Connor's L.E.D. went back to yellow to signify his nervousness. "This seems like a problem just waiting to happen."

"Only one way to find out. But, it's still entirely your decision. No one can be forced to participate in the auction."

"If I do this I run the risk of someone unlikable or even cruel winning the auction."

"Yeah, but you're a cop. You can handle it."

Connor's L.E.D. flashed back to blue as an interesting thought of his own popped into his head. "...I'll sign up for the auction if you agree to take Rose out on a real date and not just a lunch date."

"Wait." Hank didn't like where Connor's mind was going. "...You mean we-"

"Yes. I'm familiar enough with human dating to know the difference between meeting someone for lunch and taking someone out for romantic ideals. You must perform the latter of the two."

"Are you trying to play 'match-maker' right now?"

"You two do seem to get along well." The empathetic deviant noted with a sincere lilt to his voice. "Why not make your relationship more... 'official'?"

"I'm just too-"

"There's no age limit on dating." Tilting his head a little Connor kept his voice light and jovial. "I've checked on this and you've even stated so yourself. You cannot simply use your age as an excuse to not do this."

"All right, all right..." Relenting for the sake of peace Hank leaned back in his chair and gave Connor a calm glance. "You sign up for the auction and I'll ask Rose out on a real date. Deal?"

"Deal." Connor casually nodded to the phone sitting beside Hank's hand atop his desk as he held up the flier in is hand. "Go ahead and call her, I'll speak with Chris about the auction."

As it turned out the night of the auction was also the night that Hank and Rose had their own date beyond that of just lunch and pleasant conversation. Following Hank's advice Connor dressed the part - wearing a nice black suit and not his uniform, but he was unexpectedly nervous about the entire situation as he realized the mass intrigue that the auction had brought upon itself. Using a temporary flesh toned tint Connor created from paint left over in Lucas's personal items, he hid his glowing L.E.D. from human eyes to deter anyone at the auction from trying to take advantage of him being a deviant or cause a scene against androids in general.

Before the auction was set to take place Connor and the other volunteering officers spent the evening watching the people who were there to donate their money and made their own personal bets about the types of people who were going to win the auctions, and of course which officers would be overwhelmed by the bids compared to others. It was an unnerving experience for Connor as his emotional responses began to get the better of his judgment and make him rather anxious where he stood.

Much to everyone's surprise Gavin had agreed to be a part of the auction as well, more or less to spite his ex-girlfriend and to finally move on after the painful break-ups he's had in the past, and like Hank, he had always thought the entire thing was stupid. But since it was for a charitable cause Gavin was willing to swallow his pride and put up with the drama for a few hours and get back at his ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend at the same time.

"Hey?" It was Gavin who noticed Connor keeping to himself and thought it was odd enough to see him at the auction, let alone actually nervous. Approaching the deviant Gavin lowered his voice a little and spoke to him in a hushed voice. "You hid your light?" Gavin asked in a relative whisper as he joined Connor in the corner of the room. "Afraid of anti-android millionaires trying to buy you for keeps?"

"No..." As he spoke Connor traced his fingertip over his hidden L.E.D. anxiously. "I just felt it necessary to keep myself from gaining any unwanted negative attention for being a deviant."

"If anything that light could keep you from having to put up with bigots, you know?"

"Yes, I'm aware." The deviant was still nervous and anxiously wringing his hands together. "But I prefer a more subtle approach to the potential problem."

"How in the hell did you get wrapped up in this shit anyway?"

"I made a deal with Hank. I'd rather not discuss the details."

"I don't think I want to know, but do know this." Gavin slipped a piece of paper to Connor with a code word written out on it. "If you end up with some crazy nut-bag who tries to do something you don't want to happen just text this word to ANYONE in the precinct and they'll find you. Believe it or not, it's happened before. We don't want one of our own stuck with some rich psycho."

"...Thank you." Connor accepted the paper and slipped it into his back pocket. "I will remember this."

"Yeah, sure. Just don't do anything you'll end up regretting, all right? We've had more than one incident where an officer ended up with a crazy stalker because of 'mixed messages'."

"Mixed messages?"

"Yeah, some people are so desperate for company that they'll pay a couple grand just have someone spend a few hours for them and then they can't let it go. They think this auction is permanent or some shit. Like, they think they can just buy love or some other weird ass fantasy." Crossing his arms over his chest Gavin gave Connor a slightly shake of his head. "It's sad, weird and uncomfortable for everyone involved."

"Interesting. Have you-"

"No. I've lucked out." Glancing about the people in attendance warily Gavin turned away from the group to rejoin the other officers. "Doesn't mean luck will last forever, though."

Connor nodded in agreement as he resumed looking over the room of gathered people who had dressed almost elegantly for the evening despite the simple nature of the auction. The group had easily doubled in size in the final hour leading up to the auction and Connor was finding it increasingly difficult to keep track of the numerous people who were walking about, laughing, talking and staring at the volunteered bachelors with an uncomfortable glare.

A strange feeling that Connor had come to know as social anxiety filled his mind and caused his heart to start thundering in chest as a nervous reaction. Taking in a few deep, slow breaths Connor tried to calm himself but the effort wasn't enough. Not with so many eyes still leering at him questionably. It felt like he was being studied in the same cold, calculating manner as the technicians back at CyberLife and it made him want to rush out of the room and find somewhere quiet and private to hide in.

Before Connor had the chance to duck out of the room a hand gently pulled on his tense right arm and held him in place. "Connor, are you okay?"

"A-Abby." Connor stammered in a low voice as he was relieved to see a friendly face against the faceless crowd that surrounded him. She was still dressed in her red scrubs as she rushed over to the charity even straight from the Zeta Facility "I... I believe I'm experiencing a mild... a-anxiety attack."

"Don't like crowds, huh?"

"...I don't like being stared at."

"I don't blame you." Abby sympathized with a genuine understanding to her voice. "Why are you even doing this?"

"It's... a strange set of circumstances."

"So is this. No L.E.D. in your temple?" She noted curiously as she examined the lack of light on Connor's person. "That's a shame."

"...Can we talk later? Please? I... I need to think."

"Sure. Don't worry, I need to change my clothes anyway. And then I'm sticking around until well after the auction." She lifted her tone to try to make Connor feel a little better about the tense situation he had placed himself in. "I have a bet with Joel tonight that Detective Reed is going to end up with an old lady with a walker and a Persian cat in her lap."

"...A bet?"

"Friendly wager, nothing illegal." Abby smiled at him sheepishly as she winked. "Go step outside and get some air or something. If you don't calm down you'll just feel worse when the auction actually begins."

"...It's for a good cause." Connor wasn't sure if he stated the fact for Abby's reassurance or for himself. He looked over the crowd and he took in a deep, calming breath to settle his racing heart still thundering in his chest. "...I'll manage."

The auction was truly a strange scenario that Connor had found himself apart of. The sudden desire to back out of the auction and leave the building was prevalent, if not desperate, as Connor watched the unorthodox event transpire before him. Just as he had been told by Chris earlier in the evening when he asked about what to do, the officers who volunteered their time to be auctioned off were escorted to the front of the room over a makeshift wooden stage as their name and hobbies were called out to try to entice bids, and after they were 'won' they were to escort the winner to a nice evening of their personal company.

Gavin had gone on the stage just before Connor and earned a winning bid from a young woman in her mid twenties, a trust-fund baby, who seemed to enjoy the idea of spending time with someone who wasn't as rich as her. She was clearly on a power-trip and eager to boss around a cop. Gavin looked less than thrilled to have to deal with a spoiled brat all night long, but if necessary he would give her a much needed reality check as long as she donated her money as she had been obligated to do.

When it was Connor's turn he tried to look confident and calm on the outside, but inside he was still nervous. He didn't even hear the announcer talking about him or the auctioneer opening the bids to the crowd. All he heard was a chorus of indistinguishable voices calling out higher and higher numbers. Just as Connor felt like he was about to panic and flee from the building he heard a familiar voice once more as she called out through the crowd and offered the highest, and subsequently winning, bid of the night.

Connor looked to the source of the voice as Abby approached the front now wearing a nice blue satin gown with spaghetti straps and a v-neck cut, and black colored heels to give her some height all in place of her red work scrubs. She had her hair long auburn up in a high ponytail and she was wearing a generous amount of make-up that made her features stand out perfectly.

"SOLD!" The auctioneer sounded off as Connor stood at the edge of the stage looked down at Abby. "Congratulations, Dr. Grayson. And Detroit thanks you for your generous donation to the local precincts."

"A-Abby?" Stunned by what had happened Connor gave the technician a stunned look. "You... bid on me?"

Smiling at Connor she walked to the edge of the stage to claim her 'prize' for the night, Abby gave him a knowing glance. "It's all for charity, right?"

"R-Right."

"Come on." Abby reached her hand up pulled on his arm a little to lead him out of the building. "We should get out of here and find something more interesting to do." As Connor stepped down to join her on the main floor Abby gave him a warm smile. "I'm not a fan of being around a bunch of self-proclaimed socialites."

"Uh, sure."

"But first." Quickly Abby reached her hand up to Connor's right temple and used her thumb to gently wipe away the tint concealing his L.E.D. to reveal the red glowing light beneath. "There, that's much better."

With a renewed confidence Connor smiled and offered his arm politely for Abby to take, and she of course accepted. Escorting her out of the building and away from the commotion of the auction Connor decided that he'd much rather spend some time with Abby than a total stranger and was grateful for her presence as she seemingly rescued him again.

"Thank you for doing this."

"It's my pleasure."

As they walked his red L.E.D. settled back to a calmer yellow then transitioned to blue at long last.

Away from the community center where the auction had taken place, Connor and Abby strolled through downtown Detroit arm-in-arm. The two friends enjoyed one another's company in the unusually warm spring evening as they made their way further and further away from large groups of people. It was quiet and pleasant in contrast to the auditory chaos of the auction and Connor was feeling much better now that he was away from the crowd and in the company of a person he trusted and considered a friend. It was also nice to be in Abby's company without it revolving around a trip to her facility for one emergency reason or another.

Being able to just walk around unhindered and without any problems was a wonderful change of pace. It felt almost natural for the deviant to just have a nice evening with a trusted friend.

"Thank you for helping me tonight." Connor made his gratitude abundantly clear. "I'll pay you back for the money you lost."

"You don't have to pay me back. It was all for charity."

"Well," Connor was very much appreciative of her generosity and still wanted to remain gracious. "...Thank you all the same."

"Why'd you do that anyway? It was pretty obvious that you were uncomfortable going through that and I know it's all voluntary."

"Hank." Connor admitted with an embarrassed smirk with his words. "I wanted Hank to ask his good friend out on a date and in exchange for me volunteering to be apart of the auction he finally asked her out on a real date. He had been unnecessarily hesitant and I wanted to coax him forward."

"Wait, you put yourself in a socially awkward situation because Hank was feeling socially awkward? That's too cute..."

"Cute?"

"Yeah, that's what real best friends do for each other and I love it!"

"...Oh."

"I know it isn't easy for deviants to deal with or understand emotions, especially since a lot of humans can't do that either, but you shouldn't put yourself in uncomfortable situations just because someone else is uncomfortable." The advice was invaluable. "It can mess with your confidence."

"...Yes. I've experienced such a moment tonight."

Abby smiled up at Connor briefly as they continued to walk down the sidewalk with no real destination in mind. "Why is that you're so calm around me and can keep your cool during dangerous stand-offs where some lunatic is holding a gun to your head, but crowds freak you out?"

"I don't know. Hank thinks I may have a form of anxiety or that I may be prone to panic attacks. He suggested I may also be introverted and I believe he's correct."

"I think you're just a little shy. That's why you're so hesitant to try dating anyone."

"Shy? Perhaps." Connor's brow furrowed slightly as an interesting observation presented itself. "But I'm not shy around you. Nor do I act as introverted."

"Good thing, too. As many times as I've treated you for various injuries, I've already seen you naked! You have a nice butt, by the way."

Connor suddenly blushed a dark blue as his blue L.E.D. flashed to red in response to the odd comment.

"It was a joke, Connor! Just a joke!" Abby laughed at the blushing deviant and tried to spare his feelings. "Please don't take everything I say to heart."

"I'll... I'll do my best." Connor cleared his throat a little as the blush faded from his face slowly and his L.E.D. transitioned to yellow then back to blue. "Maybe I should also consider that dating is just something I'm incapable of understanding properly. Maybe I'm too much of a machine still and simply cannot properly date until I've developed more emotions."

"Machine? You're many things, but you're NOT a machine."

"...I certainly hope so."

"There's something bothering you." Abby tightened her arm around his arm as they continued to walk. "Want to talk about it?"

"I already spoke with Hank regarding that particularly distracting subject."

"That doesn't mean you still don't need to, or want, to talk about it. I'm listening..."

Connor took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before he opened himself up. "Recently I had been briefly reunited with an android that I had a... less than pleasant encounter with before I had deviated. She is still a machine herself and I find it unsettling that she had chosen to remain a machine and allow herself to be pushed around; to be exploited. She is very pretty and very nice, but I fear that the person I see is nothing more than a lie." Connor's soulful brown eyes became heavy with sadness. "If her face is a lie then maybe mine is, too."

"Hey, you're the most honest person I've ever known." Stopping along the sidewalk beside the Riverside Park, Abby put her hand to Connor's face and looked him right in the eyes. "You're too kind and empathetic to be anything but honest."

"Thank you. I just wish I could do more for her, but she has made her decision and I have no right to try to convince her otherwise."

"Did you ever consider her choice to remain machine is actually a sign of deviancy?"

"...To choose to remain obedient?" It seemed paradoxical, if not impossible. "That doesn't seem like an actual choice, just a sign of successful programing."

"I don't know. You stayed a detective despite becoming a deviant. Maybe she's staying where she is because she wants to be there."

Connor's brow furrowed in confusion. "She'd be staying for-" Resisting the urge to say the name Connor corrected himself quickly. "She'd be staying behind for her human owner. That seems unusual."

"You stayed with Hank."

"He's my father." Connor replied somewhat defensively as he gently brushed Abby hand from his cheek and they continued their walk. "He took me in as his family. Chloe is... She isn't... I don't know."

"NOT family?"

"No. She's... She's like a servant."

"Maybe she loves her owner in a way you didn't consider. Something more... romantic."

"But, humans and androids..." Trailing off for a moment Connor tried to understand such a relationship. "That doesn't seem... right."

"Yeah, I get why you didn't go there."

"That, and the human in question is deplorable, at least he is in my opinion." Connor's disdain for Kamski wasn't exactly a secret. "I don't understand how she could see him as anything favorable."

"Some women have strange taste in men. Look at MY ex."

Connor didn't have anything else to say on the matter and fell silent. He remembered vividly how her ex-boyfriend took them both hostage at her facility and was ready to kill them both over his own selfish desires. He was also aware of how Gavin had terrible previous relationships as well.

"Hey, if you're really curious about dating then you should try to befriend the person you're currently interested in, and when the time feels right you ask them out on a date after you've already gotten to know them. There's way less pressure that way."

Connor was intrigued again by the notion of dating but still needed guidance. "How do I know if it feels right to do so?"

"You just will. It's a feeling that comes from the heart, not your head."

"Uh..." Connor began to blush a little and elicited a laugh from Abby in return. "Like... when I'm talking with you?"

"Not me! I'm not hitting on you or anything." Abby patted his arm a little to show her good nature. "As much as I like you I already know we wouldn't work as a couple."

"Why is that? Because I'm an android?"

"In a way. It's because you'll remain young for decades, maybe even a full century, while I'll grow old and wither away. It just wouldn't be right or fair to either of us. Not to mention that I might want to have kids some day. That's the one thing androids can't do with a human, no matter how advanced software and programming becomes. At least, not yet. Theories are still theories after all."

"...I see."

"Besides, you're too nice to be stuck with someone as sporadic as I am. You need to find the deviant you can connect with emotionally and go from there."

"I think I understand."

"That's good. So..." Abby looked about the block and her eyes fell on a place of interest. Pulling on Connor's arm she tried to direct him over to the building and entice him to join her. "Since I 'own' you for the night, I say we go ice skating."

"Ice skating?" The idea was unusual and Connor had never been ice skating before in the past. "But it's spring and the ice has melted."

"Good thing there's an indoor ice rink right over there we can go to!"

Connor followed Abby's gaze to an indoor ice rink just down the block and understood her inspiration. "...I don't know how to ice skate."

"I'll teach you. Come on!" Playfully Abby grabbed on to both of Connor's hands and began pulling him down the block toward the rink. "And if you fall down and hurt yourself I'll be able to patch you back up. I'll even do so without taking you to the facility first."

Reluctantly Connor agreed to accompany Abby to the rink and allow her to teach him how to ice skate. After all, she did bail him out of an uncomfortable situation and she had saved his life numerous times after he had been injured on the job.

It was the least he could do for her.

"Okay, Abby. Let's go ice skating."

"And then..." Standing up on her tip toes Abby gave Connor a light kiss on his lips as she locked her eyes with his. "We can go back to my place for the night."

Blushing a deep blue Connor felt his heart skip another beat as his blue L.E.D. cycled to red. "I... I thought we agreed we weren't 'compatible' as a potential couple?"

"We aren't. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other's company in a more 'intimate' and 'adult' matter for just one night."

"Isn't this unprofessional? You're my personal technician."

"It depends on who you ask since we're also friends. Interested?"

Contemplating her offer for a thoughtful moment Connor let out a slow breath before he finally gave her his final answer. "...I suppose I am."

-next chapter-