Useless (Gavin Reed x [Android] Reader)

Gavin's Last Dance (End)

Dust hung thick in the air as the debris settled, pieces still crumbling to the ground. The explosives had gone off, so none remained, but they had done enough damage. A group of nearly two dozen law enforcement, all dressed in black SWAT gear, coughed and panted near the wreckage. They were jittery, nervous, and apprehensive, but they were all accounted for.

All except for one.

Eyes scanning the remains of the warehouse, it took everything you had not to let panic swallow you whole. Indicator blinking yellow, you had to physically bite your lower lip to stop it from shaking.

[Please be all right. Please. I cannot afford to lose you. Please give me a sign you're okay....]

Unable to control it, you cried out in a voice borne of despair: "GAVIN!!!!"

You'd begun to pace, still scanning the debris for his heat reading, but a hand on your shoulder stopped you. "Nove. Focus. We will find him," Connor reassured you.

The both of you scanned the destruction, but your fuel pump regulator was threatening to burst in your agony.

"--CONNOR!!" Your outcry was just as pained, but he hurried to your side, near one end of the warehouse, and his own regulator seemed to sink.

Gavin's heat signal was beneath what looked like a third of the ceiling.

There was no way you could lift it solo, but you tried regardless. The RK800 stood beside you, stooping down and trying to lift the slab but barely able to make it move. "HANK!! HE'S HERE," the male prototype shouted. The lieutenant ran to assist as well, bringing the rest of the group with him. It was terribly heavy but the slab was raised enough; Ralph took your place so you could crawl on your belly, grabbing Reed by the bulletproof vest and pulling him out from underneath the concrete.

"... Gavin?" Laid on his back, the hazel eyes were closed. A thick trail of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. "G-Gavin. Please, let me know you're alive... Gavin, please, I..." Chest heaving, you removed his heavy vest, tears blurring your vision. "... d-dolcezzo, please......." His heart was barely functioning, and you could see the damage internally.

Kneeling down, Connor took your shoulder. "Ambulance is on the way."

The wailing sound did not come from the approaching emergency vehicle but rather your heart.

◇___#$&!___◇

No one was allowed to accompany Reed when he was rushed to the emergency room. You were curled up on a two-person seat in the waiting room, with twenty-something law enforcement keeping an eye on you, all of them worried for one of their best.

You vaguely registered Ralph taking the fabric he usually wore around his shoulders and laying it over you instead. There was a murmur about the "nice Detective, who loves Miss Nove," wishing for his health. Ralph went home with a promise to send Elijah back, as well.

Little by little the other officers left; all of them stopped to talk to you, but you couldn't say a word. This was common, but no less upsetting, and no one could make you talk.

That left Connor and Hank with you in the hospital, with no idea how long they would be waiting, nor any information on Gavin's condition.

In your head, heard only by you, the waltz continued in an endless loop. Whether it was a good sign or a bad omen remained to be seen.

Running in impossibly long strides, Eli burst into the waiting room, seeing both the lieutenant and his partner first. Then he saw your form curled into the fetal position, and his expression began to crack at the edges. Nodding to the other two, Elijah approached you, sitting on the floor. It looked like you were ready to fall apart at the first sign of bad news... and he realized that he might have been in the same position.