Her Gift

Contract

I wake to a cold flannel wiping around my nose and my eyes flutter open. I'm still sat on the kitchen chair and Liam is kneeling next to me wiping the cloth over my nose.

When he moves the cloth, dried flakes of blood cover the towel and I feel the throb of pain that I hadn't felt earlier due to my head overpowering anything else.

"It's not broken, you just bust it when you fell."

"You mean when you knocked me over." I croak out, my voice harsh from just waking up.

"That was your own fault." Liam doesn't look remorseful and I realise he truly believes what he was doing was for the best and damned the consequences.

"Liam, my head hurts. I might have a concussion. I need to see a doctor." I whisper to him, widening my eyes to appear even more trusting and innocent.

It didn't matter, his mission was clear and he wasn't letting anything get in the way. "I'm not letting you free until I get what I want." He pauses a moment before standing up and getting some tablets out of a kitchen cabinet, then grabbing a bottle of water he walks back to me.

"Here's some pain meds for your head. That's the best you're getting off me." He tips my head back and drops two tablets on my tongue before slowly pouring some water in my mouth for me to swallow.

Kneeling down again he takes my face in his hands gently and stares at me "Your eyes aren't as unfocused anymore so I doubt you have a concussion. Let the medicine work and you'll be fine in no time."

His mood swings confused me; he seemed to care enough to clean my face and give me something to relieve my pain, but he wouldn't free me until he got what he wanted.

Regardless, I still thanked him for what he had done. A part of me hoping it helped to feed his guilt and he would let me free.

Before either of us could say anymore there was a hard knock on the door and both our heads moved to the noise.

Hayden was here.

My heart jumped in both fear and happiness. Hayden was here to save me. I just didn't want something to happen to him. He felt pain like a human did and if Liam knew that he could use it against him.

I struggled against my bindings again when Liam walked out of the kitchen towards the front door.

A minute later, I saw Hayden enter the kitchen with Liam holding a gun at his head making sure he didn't do something rash.

"Sunshine. Are you okay?" Hayden asked me, checking over my entire body. I watched his eyes harden seeing my red nose and bruised head.

"I'm alright." I can feel my eyes water seeing him with a gun pointed straight at him. I would live a hundred lives without him as long as he stayed alive. I wouldn't survive knowing he didn't exist.

"I'm going to get you out of this." He promises and I try to keep from breaking down.

"Liam, just put the gun down, you know he can't hurt you." Looking towards Liam I watch him circle Hayden before he stands right behind me.

"The guns just in case he tries to get to you before we make our deal." He assures me but I would feel a lot better if he would stop aiming it at the love of my life.

"I'll give you anything you want. Just let Rae go, and we can discuss this properly. I've no problem giving you whatever information you need to take to your company. The gun is unnecessary. I'm not stupid. I know when I'm beat." Hayden's voice is emotionless and he's giving nothing away so I can't see what his plan is.

"Rae is staying here until I have everything I need, only then is she going to be freed. I'm not stupid." Liam counters and I finally notice a small twitch in Hayden's eye showcasing his anger.

"Alright then. You're in charge here." I watch him walk closer to the kitchen counter where a contract is lying there.

"This will legally bind me to you? therefore I will be your Android and in doing so, can share any information I have stored." Hayden checks, and I gasp out loud. I hadn't realised this had been Liams plan.

If Hayden became the property of Liam, he could ask anything of him, with the exception of harming a human being and Hayden would have to do it.

"Hayden don't do it! Please." I beg, once again straining against the rope in a poor attempt at freedom.

"I'd do anything for you Rae, I love you."

Warm tears spill from my eyes "I love you too."

"This is all very moving, but if you could sign the papers that would move everything along." Liam interrupts nastily and I am about to react when Hayden gives me a look that stops me.

"I need a pen." He states and I hear Liam fumble in his pocket. This seemed to be the opening Hayden had been looking for; quicker than I thought possible, Hayden is behind me and in front of Liam.

I hear a quick struggle before the gun is flung out of reach of the both of them and then a loud thump and a groan before something heavy drops to the ground. I try to turn around to look at what is happening.

"If you've hurt Hayden. I swear to god I will kill you!" I scream at Liam, who I assume is the one awake, knowing Hayden wouldn't have been able to knock someone out.

Shockingly it is Hayden who comes around and drops to his knees before ripping the restraints off me with no issues what so ever.

Turning I see Liam passed out on the floor and look at Hayden wide eyed.

"How?" Before I can finish my question however, Hayden wraps his arms around me and his lips descend on mine. I react automatically and kiss him back with fevour. Moaning instantly in the back of my throat at the feeling of love and relief that he was okay, and that I was okay.

When he reluctantly parts with me I ask again "How did you do that? It's not possible."

"Actually, it is." He looks sheepish and I scrunch my brows in confusion.

"I've always been able to, if I so wished, hurt a human. When I was tested all them years ago... you remember when Luke was testing that theory and he grabbed you. It took everything in me not to hurt him. Even more so when I found Marcus hurting you. But I knew, with Luke at least, if they found out I wasn't like the other androids I would have been recycled. So I lied and pretended."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I felt somewhat betrayed that he hadn't confided in me this little nugget of information. He knew he could trust me.

"Honestly it never came up. I didn't intend to keep it from you. Maybe subconsciously I wanted you to feel safe around me. I didn't know if you would want to be with me if you knew I could hurt you if I wanted to. Not that I ever would." He added.

I was mentally and physically drained and just wanted to leave the house, we could discuss these things later.

"Can you take me home?"

Hayden agrees before doing a physical exam and X-ray himself of my brain to make sure I didn't have a concussion, and after quickly calling the police to explain everything - fibbing slightly and saying while he was struggling with the gun, Liam fell and hit his head. It seemed believable especially since they would never believe an Android could do such a thing.

I fall asleep on the drive to my apartment and don't wake, even when Hayden puts me to bed.