Don't Get Attached

Chapter Twenty

"This one's me." You pointed out your car where it sat in a mostly vacant lot about half a block away from the church. You watched Alice shiver against Kara's side as they continued to walk together. Luther loomed alertly behind all of you, Connor was at your side. He hadn't said anything yet, but you could tell he wasn't pleased with your decision.

"There are blankets in the car and the heat works great." You assured Alice as you walked on.

When you reached the car, Kara ushered her daughter inside. You turned the key in the ignition and got the car started so that the heat would begin to warm up. Luther, for his part, gave the lot and the surrounding area another look around. He was suspicious of the situation, but it didn't seem they had much of a choice other than to go with you.

"I'll get some blankets out of the trunk!" You called to them as you popped the truck open.

"I don't like this plan, [Y/N]." Connor confessed, now that you were alone together. "It's dangerous."

"I know, Connor." You said after retrieving the blankets and slamming the trunk shut. "You've made it clear how you feel." You leaned against the back of the car, still holding the blankets in your arms. "And I don't like the idea of you going back to Cyberlife."

"That's different." He told you, his jaw tightening. "I know what I'm doing. I can get in there without raising any alarms. You're not trained for something like this. What if they stop you and start questioning you?"

"I've thought of that." You assured him confidently. "I'll tell them that Kara is my cousin. That I've just picked her and her husband up from the train station and we're on our way back to Dad's where they're staying for a visit. They're all in human clothes. Kara's had her LED removed and Luther's is covered by a ski cap. No one will suspect anything. I can do this Connor."

"[Y/N]...I..."

"We're running out of time, Connor. I've got to get on the road if I want to get to Dad's before Markus and the others start marching and you've got to get to Cyberlife." You walked away to hand the blankets off to Kara.

"I'll call you as soon as we get home." You promised, turning your attention back to him for a final time. You placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "For luck." You told him with a smirk.

"My research suggests that in times of peril good-byes are usually much more romantic." He said with a hint of forlorn in his tone.

"Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, towards school with heavy looks." You recited for him with a wink.

"More Romeo and Juliet." He recognized with a smile but his frown quickly returned as he remembered another passage from the play."These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die. Like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume."

"Hey, it's one thing to romantically quote Shakespeare to me. It's another to threaten me with it." You scolded. "Dangerous or not we both know what we have to do."

"You'll call me as soon as you're home?" He demanded.

"And not a second later." You promised. You could hear police sirens in the distance. A reminder that you were running out of time. "I've gotta go Connor. You need your backpack." You reached into the front passenger's seat for the backpack that had the rest of his Cyberlife uniform inside. "Oh, and this." You shrugged off his jacket and held it out to him.

"Keep this one warm for me?" He asked exchanging his backpack and Cyberlife jacket for the green parka he'd been wearing most of the night. "Once you get home stay inside until it's all over."

You nodded in agreement and slipped your arms into the sleeves of the coat. You were glad to find that it was as warm inside as Connor's synthetic skin always was. Like his Cyberlife jacket, the coat was slightly too big for you but its warmth gave you a sense of security. It felt like Connor was holding you in his arms. With a final kiss, Connor finally stepped aside and allowed you to get into your car. He stood and watched from the parking lot as you maneuvered the car out of the lot and drove away.

"You're not an android?" Kara accused from the backseat. You watched her place a protective arm around Alice.

"No, I'm not." You agreed, turning your eyes from the rearview mirror and back to the road. "But you're safe with me."

"Are you and that android in love?" Alice asked.

"Alice!" her mother scolded. 'It's not polite to ask those kinds of questions."

"It's alright, the only way to learn something is to ask questions about it." You told them. "Yes, Alice, Connor and I love each other." You let the statement hang in the air for a minute. It was the first time you'd said that out loud. "My dad's a cop and he and Connor work together. Would you like me to tell you how we met?" Alice nodded in the backseat.

So you began to tell Alice, Kara and Luther the story of how you and Connor met. You left out any of the details that might be inappropriate for a small child, like your father's drinking habit and his too-recent-for-comfort-game-of-Russian-Roulette. Instead you decided to focus on the sweet parts of the story like your walks with Sumo, and the night you read Romeo and Juliet together. You were just about to get to the part where you acted as a getaway car from the police station when you saw blue and red lights in your rearview.

"Everyone stay calm." You instructed. "Just act normal, they have no reason to suspect that we're not who we say we are." You pulled your car off to the side of the road and waited for the officer who'd pulled you over to approach. You felt relief at the sight of one of the two figures that swaggered over to you. Along with a uniformed office you didn't know, you recognized detective Gavin Reed from your father's precinct. From your previous encounters with him, Gavin could be thick as a post sometimes. Gavin rapped on your window, not recognizing you at first.

"License and registration please." He said before crouching down and lowering his sunglasses. "[Y/N]? [Y/N] Anderson?"

"Hey Reed." You greeted him politely. "You still need my license and registration?" You asked.

"It's a formality." He shrugged. "Got have it for everyone we stop."

"I understand." You nodded. You retrieved the required paperwork from your glovebox and handed it over.

"And, ah, who are your friends?" He pointed to the backseat.

"My cousin Kara, her husband Luther and their daughter Alice. We've been planning this visit for weeks! They were supposed to stay at my place in the center of the city but those fucking androids ruined our plans. You can't get anywhere because of them." You rolled your eyes. "We're on our way to dads."

"Your old man at home?" He pushed his shades back up the bridge of his nose. "His android gave me a fucking knock on the head, and I want to return the favor."

"I have no idea if he's at home, but I willing to bet he's nowhere near that plastic fuck." You shook your head. "Dad never wanted that thing around anyway."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He nodded before handing you back your license and registration. "You better get going. Who knows what those fucking androids are planning to do next? They're clear!" He shouted to the uniformed office before walking back towards the patrol car. You rolled up your window and drove away.

"I can't believe that fucking worked." You sighed, feeling like you could breathe again for the first time in five minutes. "Sorry Alice, I'm sure your parents have taught you before that swearing is for grown-ups."

Oh, we're not her..." Kara began to say but after exchanging a glance with Luther she let the sentence trail off. "I guess we kind of are." Kara smiled at the idea before launching into her own tale of how she became deviant to protect Alice from her abusive father and how they'd come to find Luther at the house of a human they thought they could trust.