Chapter 1

Dorian swiveled with the chair he was sitting on, trying to figure out what to do next. John had plans for the night so he'd stayed in the department to go through a few files about the case John had been working on when he lost his partner. There had to be something, anything the others had missed before. He liked John; he had become a friend lately, especially after understanding that unlike the MXs he did have feelings.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Dorian looked around. There were only a handful of people in the building since the night shifts were handled by the MXs most of the time. Times like this he started to understand the true meaning of the word boredom. There was nothing to do there. Absolutely nothing.

Quite a long time had passed before he gave up and went for a walk around the floor, looking for someone to talk to. He hated being alone, having no plan for the evening, but it was a part of his life; he couldn't do anything about that. Only a minute or so later he heard a woman swear quite loudly a few doors away, making an MX going in right away to ask if everything was okay with her.

"I'm perfectly fine," she said angrily. "Only because you hear me swearing you don't have to march into my office. Now get out of here."

The android stepped out to the hallway, his eyes falling on Dorian for a second before he turned around and disappeared behind a corner. They barely noted the real nature of human emotions, designed to be unable to fully understand them. He did, sometimes even better than John, but he knew he still had a lot to learn. A small smile had crept on his lips at the thought.

The moment he reached the door, Dorian stopped. Maybe she wanted to stay alone. Maybe she could use some company. He didn't know. All he knew was her name and position along with everything in her files but those told him nothing about her personality. Her name was Allison Burgess, thirty years old, the communications liaison of the department. She had a degree in both communication and law, but turned to this profession after her father became the district attorney. That was it.

One thing he'd learned from Detective Stahl was how much someone could appreciate a small act of kindness. It was late but she was still working so Dorian assumed she would probably enjoy a cup of coffee. This is what he did; going back to the kitchen, making a cup of coffee then returning to her office. He knocked and waited. Then he knocked again but she still didn't answer.

"I thought I was clear when I told you to leave me alone," she snapped the moment he stepped in. When she looked up and noticed it was him, she spoke up again with her head slightly tilted. "Oh, you are not the MX, sorry," she said with a small smile. "But I thought androids didn't drink or eat."

Dorian smiled at her, reaching her desk with two long steps so he could hand her the paper cup. "We don't, but after I heard you shouting at the MX like this I thought you could use some coffee."

"Wow," the woman said with wide eyes. "Thank you. Can I ask you something?"

"Yes," he replied while he sat on the nearest chair.

Allison hesitated, her grey eyes set on him. He knew she was nervous, there were many physical signs that proved it, but John had already told him to try and not look at people like an android would. "Why are you doing this?" she finally asked quietly. "We don't even know each other."

"Maybe this is why."

"Really?"

"Or maybe I have an ulterior motive," Dorian added with a smile.

The woman laughed and her reaction was surprisingly honest. "I think Kennex has a bad influence on you," she said, pointing at him.

"Why were you so," he started slowly, trying to change the topic by asking the next question, "tense?"

For a few seconds Allison stared at him with a frown, but then her expression changed and she said, "Oh, that. Some idiot talked to a journalist about a case at the crime scene without my permission. Now it's my responsibility to clean up his mess, but the editor-in-chief doesn't want to cooperate. Okay, my turn again. What is it like to work with Kennex?"

Dorian thought about it. How could he describe their relationship? Partners? Colleagues? Friends? He wanted to believe they were closer to the latter but wasn't sure. Not yet. So he shrugged. "Not that bad," he replied.

They kept asking questions, completely unaware of the time, but somehow it didn't matter. Dorian liked the fact that Allison didn't treat him as if he was only an android; she acted as if she was talking to a friend. It was really nice.

"Captain," Allison said with a small nod as she walked into the office and stopped in front of the desk. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Sit down, Ms. Burgess. How's our little journalist problem?" she asked.

Allison leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. "I took care of it. Actually, I'm here because of Dorian." The captain raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent. "Maybe you should read this," she said, handing her a device.

A minute passed while she read the text, letting out a short humming sound every once in a while. In the end Captain Maldonado put the device on her desk and said, "I'm listening."

"As you could see this blog post had been published a few weeks ago, but ever since then a really small group of people have been paying a bit more attention to crime scenes than they normally do. It wouldn't be such a big problem but there are a handful of people among them who are not only against the idea of the DRN but androids in general. Radical groups can find certain ways to influence the public especially after what happened with the DRN series. Letting Dorian work on crime scenes might be dangerous."

"You don't like Dorian either," she stated.

Allison quickly shook her head. "It's not about Dorian and has absolutely nothing to do with my personal preferences when it comes to androids. I'm not the best terms with the MXs, that's true, but the reason behind that feeling is more than simple. They are really, incredibly creepy."

"That was very professional from someone responsible for the department's communication," the captain noted. "But why now? You said it yourself, the post is a few weeks old but you only mention now. Why?"

"The problem is Dorian's synthetic soul. People usually don't have a problem with androids but if they become too human it can become a problem. Remember what happened when the DRN series was introduced? Dorian is," Allison started, stopping for a short second to think. "He looks human. He acts like a human being. I swear sometimes he's a better human being than some of us."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Yesterday I worked quite late as usual. Someone made me angry, I was shouting then I swore loudly, an MX came into my office, I sent him away without even trying to be nice, and a few minutes later Dorian appeared with a cup of coffee. I mean, he thought I could use some caffeine. Even my intern doesn't take the time to bring me coffee."

The captain let out a sigh and gave her a questioning look. "So your problem is that Dorian is too nice?" Allison shrugged in response. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing," she admitted. "My intern will monitor every website, every post, comment or article that has something to do with this. Until it becomes a real issue, I'll forget about it, but I wanted you to be aware of it."

The captain nodded and dismissed the young woman. She tapped her fingertips on her desk before grabbing her phone and calling John to come to her office right away. Allison seemed calm about it, but she had a feeling it was nothing more than an act, otherwise she wouldn't tell her intern to monitor the topic.

Once the detective arrived, she started talking almost immediately and without a greeting. "I'll be short, John. From now on, if you go anywhere with Dorian and see someone taking pictures of either the two of you or only him, you'll inform me as soon as you can."

"What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Sandra, I know you," he insisted. "There must be a reason."

Captain Maldonado shook her head. "Just for once, do it without asking why. If it becomes relevant and important, I'll tell you. Oh, and make sure Dorian doesn't find out. I don't want him to worry about this."

Author's note: Hello! OMG I love Almost Human and Dorian so much that I couldn't resist. Sorry. The chapters will be longer later, and the story is normally written in Dorian's POV but there are parts where I have to change it. Well, tell me if you like it.