Dickory

A Welcome Surprise

Reed groaned as he flopped down on his sofa, not relishing the idea of leaving again. It was four in the afternoon. His head was a little fuzzy, and he was tired, even with the flu medication. He'd been stuck at the office since the night before. He'd spent the whole day sitting at his terminal typing unless he'd been babysitting Sandy. She'd latched onto him again the moment she'd finished with Dr Marr. He'd only been able to escape her clingy little hands because Simon had arrived to take her back to Jericho. It was surprising it had taken so long for someone to get down there, but, what with it being Christmas Day, the contact details had been misplaced. Miller had done his best to find them, but he'd been due to clock out and head home. In the end, it had been Dr Marr who'd finally gotten Sandy to open up and tell her who to contact. A simple conversation with Nines afterwards as Sandy had crawled into his lap was all it had taken to get in contact with Simon and arrange for a pick up.

"It seems we owe you yet another debt," Simon had greeted kindly as he'd stepped into the bullpen with that soft look on his face. Reed had been sitting with Sandy still on his lap, typing over her shoulder as she'd read a book that Dr Marr had found for her. It was a simple fairy tale story. Reed assumed it belonged to the psychiatrist. It was the only reason he could think of for it to be in the building. No fairy tales here, that's for sure, he'd thought as he'd re-read the report he was writing. Another android left smashed up behind a dumpster. Ho-ho-ho...

"Just doing my job, Goldilocks," Reed had replied as he'd spun in his chair and helped Sandy down. She'd eagerly wriggled free the moment Simon had appeared. It had been nice to see her smile, finally. Not that he could blame her. PL600s were built for childcare, and Simon certainly still seemed to follow that side of his programming. He hadn't even hesitated as she'd thrown her arms around his shoulders and allowed him to lift her. "Is she yours?" Reed had asked curiously. Simon had chuckled in response as he'd adjusted his hold. Sandy's small legs and arms had clung to him like a koala.

"No, she's just one of the many children that we take care of at Jericho," he'd replied and, for once, it didn't even occur to Reed to question whether they were human or android. For one thing, it was obvious, for another, it just...didn't matter. Children were children. He'd been happy to see that particular child go home. He'd given her a smile and ruffled her hair gently as she'd peered up at him, saying a quick goodbye before they left.

After that, he'd tiredly pushed through the final grind of his shift before speaking to Fowler about going back to his apartment. Fowler had been adamant about him not staying there, especially alone. He'd pretty much been told to go in, grab whatever he needed, and leave as soon as possible. The rest of his belongings could be shifted when he found somewhere else to go. I can't believe I'm being strong-armed into moving house! It's phcking ridiculous! He couldn't help being annoyed, though it was hard to be resentful of people who were just looking out for him, especially Fowler. The man had been looking out for him for over a decade at this point, and he hasn't steered me wrong yet...

"Are you intending to pack, or shall I do it for you?" Nines asked in an almost teasing manner as he appeared above Reed's tired form. Reed was currently stretching like a cat across the sofa. Nines watched the shift of muscles beneath his clothing, unable to help the way his eyes paused as his bare waist was shamelessly put on display. His stomach was flat and toned as he raised his arms and hips, a low, contented groan escaping his throat. His eyes were closed, chin raised to bear his neck in an almost inviting manner. Nines enjoyed the view while he could, watching Reed's toned legs stretch out, his toes pointed. The leggings really did leave nothing to the imagination. Not that Nines needed to imagine.

He bit his lip as a preconstruction started, watching curiously as his outline passed around the sofa to stand above Reed's dazed form. His mouth was suddenly dry as it raised one knee to the edge of the sofa, gripping the backrest for support as it leaned down towards Reed. The Gavin in his preconstruction didn't stop his outline as he leaned down. In fact, one hand reached up to support his head and pull him closer as his lips latched onto his throat. He blinked the moving images away as he felt his sexual subroutines kick in.