"Katie! You know what I said about running in the shop!" John called in his usual tone of endless patience as he watched her whizz across the large, open floor. She was giggling hysterically as her new friend, a YK800 android, ran after her. John did a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Only a few of those units had been released before Cyberlife's production shut down just over a year ago now. The children stopped, both out of breath as they grinned at him innocently. John couldn't help the small smile on his face. He was pleased Katie had made a new friend that day. It was rare for child androids to turn up even now.

"Dr John!" Katie gasped as she dragged her friend over by the hand. John couldn't help his small internal chuckle. She'd been living with him for around three months at this point, but she still called him Dr John. She called Lin by his name, but she'd always known him as her doctor, so it had just stuck. The YK800's LED was glowing yellow as they approached, perhaps a little nervous of John. John didn't see himself as intimidating, but if the YK800 was naturally shy, then it wasn't unexpected. It didn't take him long to realise that it was Lin scaring him. His taller form slipped in behind him so quietly he hadn't noticed his approach. John's eyes fluttered as he accepted the kiss that was pressed to his temple. "This is Richard," Katie introduced excitedly as he pulled him further forward.

The boy seemed somehow familiar, though he couldn't quite place it. He looked to be around twelve years old, but held himself much more like an adult. He had dark brunette hair, kept neat besides a single curl that rested out of place on his forehead, and he had the most adorable hazel eyes John had ever seen. He also had a dimple in his right cheek as he smiled, though he wasn't smiling now as he stared up at them uncertainly, eyes darting between them. He was taller than Katie's model by almost a head, which was quite rare. There were no teenage models, since the hormonal changes were too difficult to program authentically. Test groups of potential buyers had all complained the teenage androids were too creepy. They didn't act like real teenagers. They were either too childlike or too much like their adult counterparts, with no need for parents.

"Hello, Richard. Did you come with anyone today?" John asked kindly as he leaned down, knowing that YK androids rarely went anywhere unsupervised. He hadn't noticed anyone else entering the shop for the past few minutes, so he wasn't entirely sure where his parent or guardian was. The YK line had been designed to remain childlike, and the development of deviants hadn't changed that. Child androids still believed and acted as if they were real children. Richard shook John's hand politely and waved somewhere over his shoulder.

"I came with Chloe," he replied innocently. John looked up in surprise to see her talking on the phone, just entering the shop. She smiled and waved as she headed across the echoing space towards the white service counter. Looking around the large pristine space, John very much missed his old, smaller shop, but Elijah had insisted. He'd wanted John to run the main Cyberlife store in this area. The store was huge. The front area was a wide open space with empty display podiums still in place. He hadn't decided what he'd put on them yet, but Lin had agreed to help him think of something.

Despite it being a Cyberlife store, John had placed his own stamp on it. Around the walls were canvases of his own photos, including a reprint of the portrait of his younger self with his sister and Donald. A new addition was an image of the GT300, smiling softly at the counter in the old shop. He was lucky that Lin had stored a backup of his photos internally before the fire. Only the most recent shots and his camera had been lost in the blaze. Everything else was either on the internet or in Lin's memory banks. John was grateful. He'd have hated to lose so many wonderful images.

He was also considered somewhat ahead of the times, since he had android and human staff working alongside each other, though he had to admit it was mostly android staff. David had agreed to join him, and there was another student in his first year of university, Arthur, who came in twice a week. Lin worked in the store, along with an RG600 called Peter and an AX400 called Julia. David, Julia and Arthur ran the front of the shop while John, Lin and Peter were the mechanics, or doctors, in charge of procedures. The technicians were exclusively android, or hybrid, because most deviant androids were still afraid of human technicians. They were wary of being reprogrammed and returned to Cyberlife, even though Cyberlife was no longer the same.

"Hello, John! I see you met Richard...He's a sweetheart! We found him locked in stasis in a lab at the tower. Apparently, he was one of a few deviants handed over for research and they hadn't gotten to him yet," Chloe explained as Katie dragged Richard off to explore more of the shop, which had walls stocked with components and electrical displays to advertise the latest software and hardware upgrades. There were a few cosmetic options so far, but the more complicated procedures were still in testing. John watched the children with a smile. Richard was certainly affectionate. His hand automatically reached for Katie's at any opportunity. She was content to drag him around, the pair often interfacing to share thoughts or feelings as they went. Chloe had clearly dressed him, settling on trendy dark grey jeans, a white shirt, silver tie, and a blueish grey jacket. John let Katie pick all of her clothes, so she was running around in a pale pink dress with long sleeves for the winter weather.

"So you adopted him," John observed with a small smile as Katie tagged Richard's arm and hurried away giggling. Richard didn't hesitate before giving chase, though John was sure that he could easily have caught her with his longer legs. Chloe nodded her agreement as she watched with warm eyes, smiling affectionately as she watched Richard duck around one of the displays to cut off Katie's escape.

"The house was quiet without Katie," she excused softly, noting the slight pinch of guilt that crossed John's brow at the news. He hadn't really thought about it when he'd asked Katie if she wanted to live with him and Lin. He'd assumed she'd been stopping Chloe from working and getting under her feet, but it seemed that Chloe had formed strong maternal instincts over the nine months they'd stayed with Elijah. It had felt strange to finally leave all those months ago. Coming home, to this smaller city, had been the right decision. John still had his studies, though of course he'd had to square things with the university. They'd been more than understanding, considering what had been on the news. The last thing they'd want is to be seen as prejudiced against the only human-android hybrid in existence, and he clearly had an excellent and verifiable excuse for his sudden disappearance. He didn't have to finish his degree of course, but he wanted to. It would feel like unfinished business not to.

"Katie! I heard John warn you about running already," Lin scolded lightly as he peeled himself away from John to join the two younger models. John huffed in exasperation. Lin was the worst influence, poking and prodding Katie's sides until she ran away. He fended off Richard as he stepped in to distract him, and Richard easily ducked away from his quick hands. Richard and Katie were laughing as they continued to duck and weave around Lin while he tried to tag them.

"He's very good with children," Chloe praised with a chuckle as she watched the trio playing. She hadn't thought about it at first. At the estate, he'd been completely preoccupied with John and his recovery. Katie had been close to both of them, of course. She'd often huddled with John on the sofa and been carried to bed by Lin when she fell asleep, but she'd never seen Lin play like this before. He'd always seemed terribly stoic and serious with anyone besides John. With John, he was always soft and gentle, the most attentive and affectionate partner you could hope for.

"Yes, he's actually more popular with them than I am. He gets a lot of requests," John replied affectionately, glancing down at the order form in his hand. He'd just been checking their stock to replenish supplies. They hadn't been open long, but they were busy. They'd had the opening sale, bought in brand new cosmetics that many androids wanted, and since they were one of the few places with android technicians, they were even more appealing. "What brings you all the way down here?" John asked curiously, knowing it was rare for Chloe to leave Detroit. Cyberlife was heading in the right direction, but that meant Elijah and Chloe were usually extremely busy.

"Just checking up on our new stores in the area...It looks like you're doing well." She appreciated the individual touches John had added to the decor. His artistic side was really quite beautiful, and the almost warm atmosphere made the store more approachable to nervous androids who didn't quite trust Cyberlife yet. Not that she could blame them. It was almost closing time, so John let Chloe look around as she pleased while he finished the stock order and Lin entertained the children by letting them do as they pleased under his supervision.

"John, we'll be late if we don't leave soon!" Lin called after a while, turning around with Katie hanging from his back and holding Richard upside down by his legs. Richard looked somewhat indignant at his hanging position. John looked at his watch in surprise as he realised it was almost six thirty. Lin had asked him more than once why he wore a watch and didn't simply pull up the information in his HUD. He still wasn't entirely used to having a HUD, to the point that he often turned it off besides emergency alerts. Wearing a watch just felt more natural. "We need to head home and change first," Lin added as Richard continued to wriggle and writhe. John nodded his agreement as he checked his clipboard. All the stock seemed in order so far, so he could probably leave the rest for tomorrow morning.

John dropped the clipboard on the counter beside Chloe as he removed his lab coat. Both he and Lin were currently wearing black trousers and shoes with neat high-collared white shirts that looked like a cross between a chef's jacket and a dentist's smock. They were crisp and neat with the Cyberlife logo embroidered along with their names on the breast pockets. John would often wear his lab coat as well, especially during the messier procedures. Chloe looked up from where she was interfacing with the terminal behind the counter. She'd been checking over their financials and making sure everything was balanced properly. John and Lin ran a tight ship. Everything was in order.

"Do you have a date this evening?" Chloe asked brightly as she drew back from the computer terminal, pale skin trickling over her white hand with a blue glow. She already had her purse slung over her shoulder, ready to head out and let John close up in peace. She huffed her amusement as she watched Richard, who was still trying to shake free of Lin's grip. Lin didn't bat an eyelid as he gave John and Chloe his full attention He could easily remain on his feet with Katie clinging to his back and Richard kicking in his grasp.

"Just seeing some friends," John replied, though his excitement wasn't hidden very well.

"I hope you have a good time! I'll get out of your hair. It's quite a trip back to Detroit, and someone didn't drink his thirium this morning," she added meaningfully as she eyed Richard's hanging form. He looked a little sheepish as Lin carefully turned his body and placed him on his feet. Lin ruffled his hair playfully as he headed off to join Chloe at the doors. John waved as they stepped out into the street, Richard clinging to Chloe's waist affectionately as they headed up the street. John waved as Chloe looked back, and Katie ran to the window to wave to them all the way until they disappeared. They were likely headed for The Grand Hotel to take the helicopter back to Detroit.

"I'll put this away for you," Lin purred as he took John's lab coat from the counter and headed out back. John gave him a warm smile of thanks, busy typing in the stock levels from his clipboard. He left a short note for David the next day in case he got in early, letting him know the stock wasn't quite finished. They finally closed up the shop and headed down the street. It felt strange to own a shop and not live in it. With John's inheritance and their jobs, they now owned a large apartment in the city centre with three bedrooms. It was enough for the three of them to live comfortably and have guests. They walked ten minutes up the street, just outside the main shopping district, before heading into a brightly lit marble building. It could easily be mistaken for a hotel from the outside. It looked very grand. The non-deviant security guard greeted them politely, as he did every evening.

They lived right on the top floor, giving them an amazing view of the city from the large glass living area. It was a wide open space, with an open-plan kitchen overlooking a large dining table. From there, it flowed right into the living area, like one huge room. Katie's room and the guest room, both ensuite, were off to the right, while Lin and John had the bigger room to the left. It was a good thing, too. John didn't want to risk keep Katie up at night. She was a light sleeper. He couldn't blame her after the way her father had awoken her from sleep and tried to hand her off to those armoured men.

John and Lin changed quickly, dressing in casual clothing, while Katie waited patiently on the sofa in the living area, looking out over the twinkling city. Lin ended up in jeans and a white top, while John opted for jeans and a navy blue top made of a soft woollen material. They pulled on their coats. Lin had bought another warm woollen trench coat, while John had a thick brown coat that fell to his knees and belted at the waist. They actually needed the coats now. They could feel the cold thanks to some new software upgrades they were testing for Elijah. So far everything seemed to work. It felt strangely good to actually feel cold again. They were soon hurrying out into the street. It wouldn't take long to reach the café.