Hickory

The Arrangement

"Detective Reed? Detective Reed...Gavin..." The voice was barely above a whisper. A hand was shaking his shoulder, body leaning low over his back. Was it the android? His new partner? Temporary partner...What was his name? The RK...RK...nine...hundred...nine...ha, nine-nine-nine-nines...Lots of nines..."Gavin, wake up..." It was higher than his partner's voice. Softer. Warmer. Like melted caramel. Connor...Reed opened his eyes tiredly, following the gentle pull on his arm with a pathetic whimper. He looked up with bleary, unfocused eyes, squinting to focus. He was still in the bullpen, sitting at his desk. Was I here all night?

"Connor?" he murmured with a groan and a wince. It must be late morning if Connor was there. He closed his eyes again, unable to focus on anything besides the massive pain that clenched his spine, shoulders, and chest like a vice. He winced and whined as he looked around, the jacket falling unnoticed from his shoulders to the chair, where it pooled and almost slipped to the floor. The room was pretty empty and his partner wasn't at his desk. He looked around in confusion until he saw him standing against the wall across the room. "What the..." What the phck is he doing? He was just standing there.

"RK900 is running a stasis cycle...Gavin, you've been here all night. You can't keep sleeping at your desk like this." Reed was too tired to fight back or give one of his usual biting responses. Besides, Connor was right, and he fucking knew it. His back was a mess. Despite it being his own fault, Connor was sympathetic as he slowly encouraged him to his feet and took hold of his arm. "Come on...You still have an hour or so before your session with Dr Marr. You should at least lie down on a proper bed," he encouraged softly as he led him, stumbling, into the infirmary.

"Wait...Connor, it's important! The YK600 cases...The guys...We think they-" Reed cut off his tired, disorientated explanation as Connor hushed him and rested a finger against his dry lips. His LED span yellow as he fussed over his dazed form, insisting that he lie back against the pillow. Reed didn't fight it as he was eased down, eyes already fluttering as he sank into the thin mattress. He was vaguely aware of his boots being pulled off and a cotton sheet being tossed over his body.

"Just rest for now. I'll interface with RK900 when he comes out of stasis, alright?" Connor assured gently, watching him nod tiredly before leaving the room. Detective Reed troubled him sometimes. When he got like this, it was dangerous. He'd hoped that having a partner would encourage him to settle down, but it seemed the RK900 wasn't quite equipped to handle him just yet. He would be sure to speak to him and find out what he needed in order to assist more efficiently.

"Fuck, they worked on this all night?" Hank sighed as he looked down at the scattered files across Reed's desk and the information still lit on his terminal. Connor nodded his troubled agreement. He felt terrible. This was supposed to be their case. All of them together. He shouldn't have been so emotional the night before. He should have held it together and done his job. If he had, then perhaps Detective Reed wouldn't have overworked himself. "Hey, don't you go putting this on your shoulders. Reed's an independent asshole. He would have done this either way." Hank had more than a little fondness in his tone as he fingered through the open files. He'd done some good work over night.

"That's not true. If you'd been here, you would have ordered him to go home at a reasonable hour, but you weren't here...because of me." Connor frowned guiltily as he noticed the cold coffee. He'd worked until even coffee couldn't keep him awake. Connor looked up as the RK900 stepped out of the alcove he'd been resting in, smiling softly as he approached. The RK900's LED span yellow as his sharp eyes darted to Reed's desk and found him absent. "He's resting on a proper bed in the infirmary," Connor said, holding his hand out to interface and catch up on what he'd missed the night before. The RK900 almost seemed reluctant to share, but he did so, blue eyes looking away almost shamefully.