SHORT CIRCUIT, connor dbh (discontinued)

; 21

Liv awoke to Connor sitting next to her, with the bouquet of sunflowers and roses in hand that he had purchased the night before. He handed them to her and she read the note on the tag. "Happy Birthday Liv," in his perfectly neat handwriting.

"I hope you like it."

"I really do, thank you." She smiled at him, "Sunflowers were always my favorite."

"I thought so, I saw your tattoo yesterday."

"Yeah, I had that done a few years ago."

"I like it."

"I used to always want something with some sort of deep meaning, but I couldn't ever decide on anything. Then the artist showed this completely random design to me and I fucking loved it," Liv said, "Some of my most spontaneous decisions have turned out be some of my favorite memories."

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The rest of Liv's hospital stay was quite uneventful. Noah and Hank came to visit almost everyday, and Connor stayed with her. She was able to adapt to her new enhancements well. Physical therapy had also taught her that her new body is a lot stronger than before. The strength in her new arm was especially hard to control.

Due to being mostly android now, her recovery process was considerably fast. She was released almost a week after she had the surgery.

"I'm happy to be out of here. It's gonna be really nice to not hear something about me being some sort of scientic miracle every damn second," Liv complained about the several doctors she had seen over the past few days.

For the first time in awhile, Liv was able to dress in her normal clothing and go outside. Cold snowflakes fell down on to her face as she stepped out. Her longing for fresh air was fufilled as she took a long breath. Hank went to get his car, and Connor and her stayed right outside of the entrance. Waiting for Hank to get them, Liv asked about the investigation.

"You haven't said anything about work lately," she said.

"We're getting no where. We have no leads and know nothing about these deviants. If we don't make any progress," he said, but stopped before he could finish. Connor looked away from her, avoiding eye contact.

"What happens if we don't make progress?" She grabbed a hold of his shoulder, turning him towards her.

"Then I fail my mission," Connor stated. Although this was true, it didn't matter as much to him as the real reason did. Liv could tell there was more to it.

"That's it? I don't believe you."

"That's it."

"Tell me," Liv insisted.

"Then they'll replace me! I'll be deactivated and another Connor will be sent to work with you and Lieutenant Anderson." Connor turned away after making the statement.

"CyberLife will do that? They can't do that!"

"I'm a prototype, Liv. If I fail this mission, then I'll be invaluable to them. I'll be shut down and a Connor model that's better than me will replace me. It will work with you and Hank, and you'll forget all about me. I don't want to die. I don't want someone else to be here in my place," he paused for a moment, "Because just the thought of never seeing you again kills me."