THE CHASE - Connor x OC (I Am Sequel)

Chapter 53

Nick walked in and looked at Sumo and Blueberry.

"Why didn't you guys tell me we were bringing the dogs? I would've gotten Kyle. Y'know. Puppy play dates," he smiled.

I looked at him from across the room.

"Really, Nick?" I asked. He sighed.

"You guys have to know by now my coping mechanism is humor," he answered.

"Does it matter?" I asked, staring him down.

"It does. It absolutely does. Give me a break, Bolts. I'm in the same boat as the rest of you," Nick nodded. "Just because you guys want to sit in silence and drink expensive wine doesn't mean I have to. Maybe I want to have fun."

"Okay, sorry. Point taken," I shrugged.

"How'd I do in the press conference?" Nick asked naively.

"Really...really..." Hank began.

"Terrible," Connor finished.

"Well, I was going to put it nicer than that but yeah," Hank frowned.

"Yeah I blocked it all out," Nick nodded. Well, that's good.

"Well...what are we all thinking?" Nick asked. "We can't all say no. Not when we're on national display now."

"I don't have a choice," Hank sighed. "The council votes me in, and I kind of have to take it. If I don't I'm all but guaranteed fired."

"With all due respect...can you handle it?" Connor asked. His tone was sweet, not condescending.

"I don't have a choice," Hank spoke through his teeth at Connor. "All that technology up there and you still can't listen."

"Can we at least not fight? If the three of you are going to be working above and under each other it's never going to work with all this arguing," I sighed.

"What do you mean by the 'three of us'? Have you already made your decision with no input from the group?" Nick questioned.

"We have to at least talk about this," Connor nearly whispered to me.

"Listen, I can't do Red Ice anymore. Not after Ethan. I don't even know if I can do DPD anymore," I explained.

"You're quitting the force?" Hank asked sitting up very quickly.

"No...maybe? I don't know. I just know I don't want to do Red Ice," I explained.

"Am I the only one here happy to take their job?" Connor asked.

"Yes," Nick nodded. "You were made for this."

"So was she," Hank said gesturing to me. "And she doesn't even wanna do it anymore."

"Where would you even go, Charlotte? Quitting the whole force?" Nick asked.

"Maybe we could have a baby," Connor shrugged.

I turned to him, quite seriously.

"A grandchild would be nice before I die of the damage I did to my liver," Hank sighed.

"I could be an Uncle!" Nick smiled.

"You are one, Nick," I yelled.

My eyes could've pierced Connor right then and there. If he could blush, he would. He smiled slightly.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No babies. Not right now," I said to the universe as a whole.

"You could literally make one," Nick answered.

"Oh, no. We want to adopt a human baby," Connor nodded.

"Do we?" I shouted into the void.

"A human? Why in the hell would you want a human?" Hank asked so intensely confused.

"There's something a little weird about a child android just...stuck in this constant childhood phase. Never really learning, never really growing," Connor shivered.

"Christen actually made an AI that can grow and learn over time. It ages over the years until you have like an adult human AI," Nick nodded.

"So you have to transfer your child's computer chip like every year to a new body?" Hank asked confused.

"That's somehow more uncomfortable," Connor answered.

"Right?" Hank laughed. "I get it. Everyone deserves a family but-"

"I don't want a baby right now!" I screamed.

Everyone turned to look at me. "Oh, sorry. Where were we before?" Nick wondered.

"I am going to Jericho," I announced.

"Jericho? Again? Didn't you hate that?" Hank asked.

"Things are different now. Jericho's grown. It's less a city or a town, or just a movement. It's a country. I mean think about it. There's a functioning court system," I nodded.

"Markus still hasn't found someone for that role," Nick shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"Plus, if Hank becomes commissioner, thats a pretty good working relationship," I nodded.

"At least that problem wouldn't exist," Hank groaned.

"Can I be completely honest here and say...I really love working with my wife?" Connor smiled softly.

"We all know how that went," Nick chuckled. Maybe I would've just killed Nick on the spot if Hank and Connor hadn't laughed with him.

"Is that whole...thing...just going to be a joke now?" I asked the group.

"We have larger issues right now, so we definitely are going to laugh at an issue of the past at your expense," Connor laughed. "Plus, I deserve to."

I couldn't argue with that reasoning. Connor had definitely been through more than I could even pretend to.

"Well, Connor is going to take the job. Hank might have to take the job. What about you, Nick?" I asked. Nick fell silent, suddenly nothing to say.

"I've got two kids, a husband who is definitely going to be jealous when I get home, and a sister who is arguably the most hated woman in America...but I also feel like I deserve this. So, I don't know," Nick sighed.

I got the feeling that there was going to need a discussion just between Nick and I. It seemed like we'd had a lot of those but when it's your best friend, there are never enough. Sometimes just drinking hot chocolate with your best friend helps you figure out your entire life.

Connor couldn't help but look a little curious at everything happening. He's just not that type of person. He couldn't understand why someone's job - their passion - wouldn't be appealing to move up on. For him, any advancement is wonderful, but for Nick and Hank, the pressure of the jobs and the amount of desk work weren't as palatable as solving crimes on the street.

"I think Nick and I are going to take a walk," I nodded.

"Don't leave me here with him," Hank begged.

"I can, and I will. Because I know, sure as hell, neither of you actually know what you're doing. As much as you claim to, anyway. At least Nick and I are honest about our confusion," I complained.

Hank went to rebut me but sighed disappointedly. "Fair enough," He nodded.

Connor looked at me in shock. "I know what I'm doing!"

"Sure you do," I winked. He frowned.

Nick looked at me and extended his arm gracefully. "Y'know when I was a kid taking a walk with your best friend did not mean actually taking a walk."

"What?" I asked taking his arm.

"Don't worry about it," He shrugged and we left out the door.