Connor tried not to think about the conversation with Anderson, but it was difficult to avoid. Why hadn't Anderson shot him? He should have known that would have fixed the issues with Connor's hardware. He had been upset with Connor for hiding his malfunctions and ruining the case. Connor would have come back better than before, so why?
"Connor?"
A patrol vehicle had pulled along the side of the road Connor was walking along.
"Good morning, Officer Miller."
"What are you doing out here? It's 6am."
"I was walking back to the police station."
Even as he answered the question he could see the issue with it. It was 6am. He had been walking for almost 7 hours. He looked at the buildings around him, suddenly aware of the major loss in time and his inability to connect to the network. 'No GPS available' flashed in his internal navigation center. He had no idea where he was.
"You're headed the wrong way. Hop in, I'll drive you back."
Connor obliged, feeling awkward about his blunder. He thanked Miller quietly and watched out the window as they headed back to the station.
"I just gotta make a quick stop at home. Hope you don't mind. My wife has an appointment, but the babysitter said she's going to be a little late. I just gotta watch Damian for a few minutes."
"That'll be fine. I'm sure Anderson won't mind if I'm a little late."
Officer Miller was obviously uncomfortable with the android, but Connor was surprised at his kindness despite that. It wasn't something he often experienced, kindness. It was pleasant to be considered, though.
"Officer Miller, I don't want to sound rude, but why is it people are uncomfortable around me?"
Chris looked bewildered. "Uh... I don't know. I guess you just look human and act human sometimes, but we know you're not. It's kind of creepy."
Hadn't Anderson called him creepy, too? It was obviously some error in his social integration software that gave people the impression. But how could that be fixed?
"My emulated interactions were designed to help me work more closely with real officers and detectives. Do you think I would be less creepy if I acted less human?"
"No, well, I mean... Look, I didn't mean to say you were creepy. You're just... not like the other androids, ya know? You talk more and ask questions and stuff. It's just different than what people expect, so it's gonna take time to get used to you. That's all."
"I see. Thank you for your help. I hope you will all see me as a helpful part of the DPD someday."
"Yeah, maybe."
The car turned into a small parking lot a minute later. Officer Miller invited Connor inside.
"Hey, babe. Thanks for coming back. I gotta get going."
Mrs. Miller handed the little bundle that was Damian to her husband and gave him a quick kiss. As she turned, she noticed Connor and jumped.
"God, I forgot you guys had those things." She walked past him without so much as a second thought. "Make sure she knows to feed and change him when he wakes up, okay? I'll see you tonight, honey. Love you."
She left before he could even respond, but he didn't even seem to notice. He looked down at the boy he was holding and walked towards Connor.
"Wanna hold him?"
Connor did not care specifically, but he knew the social custom was to accept. He quickly scanned the officer's posture and mimicked it as the baby was handed to him. It took a little repositioning to make sure the baby fit comfortably in the space between his arm and his chest, but he managed it just fine.
