Chapter Text
Letting out a long sigh, you stopped your police car in front of an old bungalow. You'd always thought it had been abandoned, a few windows were boarded up and the garden was overgrown, but the police reports you'd received proved otherwise. You read through the documents you had on the case: young mother, significant other disappeared after android purchase, was/is a potential danger to the family after substance abuse, nothing new for the DPD. You'd been assigned this mission alongside Hank and Connor, who had yet to show to the scene. It wasn't your first time working with them, so you knew that they weren't always punctual. It was dangerous for you to go in alone, so all you could do was sit there and wait, counting down the minutes for your partners to arrive while listening to the heavy rain pour down onto your vehicle.
"Unbelievable." You muttered under your breath after a good five minutes had passed. Reluctantly, you opened the door and stepped onto the rainy street. You walked up to the door and knocked, you couldn't wait any longer. Knowing Hank, he might not have shown at all. "Miss Palmer?" You called. "Miss Palmer, Detroit Police. I'd like you to open up." You stood there in the pouring rain, waiting for the sound of footsteps or keys unlocking the door, but nothing. It was a little disconcerting, being on your own and having no one to cover you. You took a deep breath and walked around to the front window, hoping for a sign that there wasn't any real danger. Wiping the rain drops away and holding your hands to the glass, you saw possible signs of an intruder: drawers open and paper thrown all over the floor as if someone had been looking for something.
You headed back to the door and knocked harder. Nothing. "Well, you leave me no choice." You shouted, taking a step back, readying your weapon and kicking the door in. Everything was quiet, worryingly quiet. You walked in slowly, holding your gun with both hands, ready to use it if needed. You stood for a second, listening for movement but were taken aback when you heard faint crying. You followed the sounds through to the living room and your heart sank because of what was in front of you. A baby, crying quietly in her crib. You lowered your weapon, walking slowly over to the crying little girl. "Hey." You smiled gently. "Where's your mother then?" You questioned, rubbing her belly gently to stop her crying. You weren't a fan of babies or small children in general, but something made you feel extreme guilt for this young girl, having to grow up in such a place.
Just as you thought you'd be accomplishing this mission by yourself, you heard a car pull up. You sighed, looking out the window at a slightly drunken Lieutenant and his partner. "Figures." You muttered, looking back to the baby. As you looked closer, you could tell she had marks on her clothes, red stains. You picked her up carefully, hoping not to hurt her if she had suffered injuries. "Detective (Y/L/N)." Connor said in a stern tone, making you raise an eyebrow. If anyone had the right to be angry, it was you. Looking at Hank, you could understand why Connor was a little on edge. You didn't bother replying, you had nothing nice to say anyway.
You put the girl back in the crib and went back to searching the house. You weren't sent here to deal with the baby, even though you knew you'd have to do something sooner or later. "Connor, the baby has blood stains on her clothes, could you analyse them?" You asked as you walked slowly towards the bedroom. Hank grunted and turned to the papers on the floor. "It's not hers." Connor told you, much to your relief, the baby wasn't injured. "The blood is her mothers, Madison Palmer." He added. "Was there a break in?" Hank asked, confused. "Not that I can tell." You informed him. "Why?" Hank stood up. "Cause these papers are all about the android that was purchased a few years back. It's been sold since but someone seemed to want this information. I doubt Miss Palmer would have done this."
You nodded, Hank had a point. "Connor, follow me?" You asked, showing him a faint smile. You pushed the bedroom door open slowly, your right hand on your holstered gun. "Where is she?" You sighed, placing your hands on your hips as you looked over the empty bedroom. "There are traces of blood in the carpet." Connor said, kneeling down to analyse it. "Madison Palmer again, it leads to the bathroom." You sighed and prepared yourself for what was to come. You could feel Connor scanning you, making you slightly nervous, but in a good way. "Are you okay Detective?" Connor cocked his head. "Some cases are just harder for me to deal with than others." You answered honestly, trying to hide the slight redness in your cheeks realizing that Connor was concerned.
"Miss Palmer?" You knocked on the bathroom door. "Miss Palmer I'm coming in ok?" You tried the door but it was locked. "Connor could you get this one for me please?" You smiled. Connor nodded and rammed the door open with his shoulder in a few hits. You smirked as he stepped back to straighten his tie. "Thank you." Connor smiled and you could feel the warmth return to your cheeks. You walked into the bathroom and peered around the door, rushing to the bathtub before Connor even knew what was going on. "Madison, Madison can you hear me?" You asked, your voice shaking.
The water was red and her wrists were cut, a bloody blade on the floor by the side of the tub. "She's still breathing." You shouted frantically as Connor joined you. "Hank get in here." You ordered the now almost sober Lieutenant. "Get her to her bed now. Connor I need you to tend to the baby, I'm going to find something to stop the bleeding." You explained, composing yourself. Everyone did as planned and you found the supplies necessary to tend to the young mother's wounds. "Let me see." You asked quietly as you took Madison's hand. "You're lucky, the cuts aren't too deep." You sighed, cleaning the wounds. Hank stood out of your way, watching.
"Now you're all cleaned and bandaged up." You smiled, helping Madison to sit up a little, her nightgown soaked from the tub water. "Hank could you give us a few? I need to help her change into something dry." Hank nodded and headed to help Connor, who you guessed had little to no information in his program to know what he had to do. You helped Madison change and sat with her a while, hoping to get some information about what had happened. "It was Chase." She started. "He got into the house for the second time this week. He was out of his mind on Red Ice." Madison started to cry so you took her into your arms, realizing just how dangerous Red Ice abuse had become.
Madison's breathing was all over the place, you tried your best to keep her calm. "What did he want?" You asked, rubbing her back slowly. "I don't know exactly, he came in shouting about how I bought an android to replace him and how he wasn't a good enough father, which was untrue until he started using Red Ice. I bought the android to help with the baby because he was in no state to do so half the time." Madison continued to sob, making your right shoulder damp. "And how did he get in? There aren't any signs of forced entry." You stated, confused. "He still has a key to the house." The young mother sighed, calming down slightly as she let it all out.
"We found papers on the floor about the model you bought, who you sold it to and the like. Is there any reason Chase would be looking for those?" You asked. Madison sat back up on her own, but didn't once look at you. She was too traumatized by everything that had happened in the last few hours. "I don't know. Maybe he wanted to track down the android. All I know is that when he uses Red Ice, he becomes a different man entirely." You nodded. "Alright then, you stay here, I'll get you a glass of water and some painkillers." Madison smiled faintly.
"Connor could you call the paramedics please?" You shouted before exiting the bedroom. "NO! No paramedics!" Madison pleaded. "They'll take away my baby, say I'm unfit to be a mother." You stopped in your tracks, leaning against the bedroom door frame. "Madison." You tried to reason with her. "Please Detective." She whined, a tear falling down her cheek. "Fine, just don't move." You sighed, shaking your head as you made your way to the kitchen. "Her name is Olivia." You heard Madison shout. You passed through the living room to find Hank still going through the papers. "Take care of my baby." He said, reading a note that had gotten mixed with the rest. You sighed and looked at Connor who was holding the baby, Olivia.
You stood there for a moment, watching as he awkwardly rocked Olivia back and forth in his arms. You couldn't bring yourself to say anything, you just stared, with a slight smile. "Hank could you clean up the bathroom? I still have some questions for Madison." You asked, knowing that Hank would rather not empty a blood filled tub, even though he was the only person available at the time. Hank cursed under his breath, nothing you weren't used to. You filled a glass with water and found some painkillers, taking them back to Madison. "Why did you do it?" You asked. Madison shrugged, unwilling to answer. "If I can't call the paramedics I need to know why you did this, Madison. And also why Olivia has blood on her."
"I couldn't take it." She whispered. "First Chase abused Red Ice. Then I got an android to help because I couldn't take care of Olivia all on my own. Chase got violent as he felt replaced, so I kicked him out. I have no job, therefore I don't have much money. I didn't want my daughter to grow up without a father." Madison started crying again. "I just couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to put an end to it. After I did it, I realized I hadn't said goodbye to Olivia so I got out of the tub and did so. That's why she has my blood on her." You nodded. "Well I need you to rest now Madison. Don't you worry about Olivia, we'll make sure she's okay before we leave." You smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you for everything, Detective." Madison sighed, placing her hand on yours. "Please, call me (Y/N). Just don't try anything like this again, you hear me? If you need help, you know where to find me." Madison sat back, closing her eyes. "Thank you, (Y/N)." Was the last thing you heard before you pulled the cover over her legs and exited the bedroom, leaving her to sleep. Connor was still holding Olivia, his LED flickering yellow, not really sure what to do with the crying baby. "Here." You smiled walking over to him. "Let me show you how it's done." You took Olivia in your arms and rocked her gently as Connor watched, his LED flickering yellow and blue, taking it all in. He didn't know what he was feeling, but seeing you with a baby, being so gentle made him feel funny inside. It was a side of you that he hadn't seen before, he liked it.
"I think she's hungry." You sighed as the crying never came to an end. You carefully passed the baby over to Connor, who now held her with more confidence and headed to the kitchen to warm up a bottle of milk. "Have you ever fed a baby before?" You asked as you headed back over to Connor. The way he was looking at Olivia, you could tell he was finding all this to be fascinating. "No, I haven't. I don't know how, it's not in my program." Connor shrugged, confirming your thoughts from earlier. "Well it's easy!" You smiled, taking Olivia back from him. You just need to cradle her as you were before, prop her head up slightly and tip the bottle almost upright to limit the air that could cause painful gas for her." You showed Connor, letting Olivia drink half the bottle.
"Have a go." You smiled, passing her back to Connor who seemed somewhat nervous again. He did as told, holding the bottle perfectly for the baby girl. "Like this?" He questioned, his LED flickering slightly. "You're a natural." You smiled, leaning back on a chest of drawers, watching him. You started to feel warm, watching Connor being so gentle to a human baby. You didn't know why, or what it was that you were feeling, but the moment was just too precious, all things considered. "You're going to have to burp her after." You smirked, waiting for Connor's reaction.
Connor looked at you, confused. "Is that so?" He cocked his head at Olivia as she finished the bottle. "Detective, how do you do that?" He asked, almost embarrassed. "Bring her up to your shoulder, and pat her back." You explained, helping him to place her properly against his shoulder. "Why are you making him do this, apart from the obvious personal pleasure you're getting while watching an attractive android make a somewhat good father?" Hank smirked at you. You glared at him. You knew he was only joking around, although deep down, it was partly true. "Connor may run into this situation again." You cleared your throat. "He needs to know the basics, he should be happy he doesn't have to change her diaper." You chuckled.
Connor patted Olivia's back gently until she was happily gas free. "Thank you." He sighed, giving Olivia back to you. "For what?" You smiled, placing her back in her crib and rubbing her belly gently. "For teaching me." Connor replied, placing a hand on your shoulder. You blushed, failing to hide it from him this time. "Detective, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He apologized, taking his hand off. "No Connor, it's quite the opposite." You said quietly so Hank wouldn't hear and torment you about it later that night. Connor stepped back and straightened his tie. "Alright you two, if you're quite done here we'd best get going. Madison will soon be back to normal, all we can do now is keep an eye on Chase." Hank crossed his arms, clearly feeling awkward about Connor and I spending a slightly intimate few minutes together.
Hank was the first out of the bungalow, followed by Connor and then by yourself. Good luck, you thought as you closed the door behind you. Hank had made his way to his car which left Connor and you. "I hope we get assigned some more cases together." You sighed, looking over at your partner. "As do I." Connor smiled. "It gets a little tedious doing everything with a hard boiled eccentric police Lieutenant." He chuckled, making you smile. You couldn't help but realize how attractive Connor looked with messy hair and wet skin, the rain was certainly doing him justice. "We make a pretty good team, too." You smiled, diverting your gaze as you realized you'd been staring for a little too long.
You'd noticed that Connor was flipping a coin in his right hand, something that told you he was slightly nervous. You smiled, maybe you had the same effect on him after all. The moment was broken with the honking of Hank's car horn. "Well it was good while it lasted." You smirked, trying to hide the fact you were bitter that Hank had just ruined a sweet moment. "It was nice." Connor confirmed. "Well, duty calls." He smiled, referring to the impatient Lieutenant. "It was nice to see you again, out of the office I mean." Connor smiled. "And that's not just my Social Relations Program talking." You blushed, not really knowing what to say. Hank honked again, growing more and more impatient. Connor looked at the car and then back at you before placing a gentle kiss on your cheek, and heading to join the Lieutenant.
You smiled, placing your hand on your cheek. It was true, you did seem to have the same effect on him. And with that, you drove back to the DPD to close the report with a smile plastered on your face and a fuzzy feeling in your stomach all the way.