Connor didn't pace back and forth across the room; it wasn't in his programming to do so. But he did cup his hands together in front of him, and he stared at the occupied bed in front of him. He didn't intentionally keep track of time (but he knew that four hours and thirty-seven minutes had passed) before there was a soft grunt of wakefulness. "Connor?" Hank's voice was groggy and strained, but Connor couldn't deny that he felt relieved to hear it all. "What're you doing here?" Hank continued in a low voice. "Aren't you supposed to be out changing the world or something?"

Connor shrugged. "I was never removed from the roster as your partner, so I was automatically notified when you were injured. You should really try to take better care of yourself, Lieutenant." Though he wasn't sure how exactly to put it into words, Connor knew that he'd been feeling worried about Hank for months now.

The two men hadn't seen each other since the day after the revolution had ended, since Connor had been drawn into helping with all the peace talks, since he was better at negotiating and navigating through political waters than most of the other deviants were. He had never officially resigned, but hadn't been declared missing either, which was also the case for many other androids across the country that had abandoned their posts.

But Connor knew that Hank hadn't been in a very good place before they'd met each other, and he couldn't help being concerned about how Hank was handling being on his own again. And then he'd gotten the call today about Hank being in the hospital, which seemed to confirm that Connor wasn't worried for nothing.

Hank just rolled his eyes, and struggled to sit up in bed. Connor knew that the stubborn man wouldn't listen to reason, so instead he helped prop him up with pillows in order to prevent further injury. "Yeah, yeah, good to see you too, Connor."

But Connor couldn't just let this issue go. "You went after an armed suspect without waiting for backup to arrive. You were stabbed once, and could have been killed. It was irresponsible, and went against proper procedure." Hank grumbled, but didn't try to argue with Connor's assessment of the situation. He softened his voice in the hopes that he wouldn't sound so much like he was nagging. "It is… worrisome that you would put your life at risk like that."

Hank sighed, and slumped back against the pillows. "Yeah well, if I'd known it would warrant a visit from you, I would have been more careful." Connor wasn't sure if the hurt showed on his face, or it was just the rapid yellow blinking of his yellow LED, but Hank rolled his eyes at the same time as letting out a small sigh. "Jesus, kid, I was just joking." They both existed in awkward silence for a moment before Hank attempted to change the direction of the conversation. "So how is all that negotiating going? Running circles around all those politicians with that big brain of yours?"
"It would be quite inappropriate to exercise during such important meetings," Connor pointed out. Though he let the corners of his mouth tip up just a bit to show Hank that he was the one joking this time. Hank snorted, and then gave Connor an expectant look, clearly waiting for a more serious answer. "The talks have been slow going," Connor started carefully, not wanting to stress Hank out, or distribute any of the information that was meant to be kept private. "But I have confidence in Markus' ability to sway things in our favor."

A strange look crossed Hank's face, and it frustrated Connor to not know what emotion it was meant to convey. "Markus, huh? You guys must be working pretty closely together to get everything done. Lots of late night planning, and such." Connor could tell from the tone of Hank's voice that he was trying to imply something beyond what he was saying, but Connor had no clue what the implication was supposed to be. He just nodded uncertainly, and Hank laughed. "So this Markus, is he a good kid?"

At least that was a question that Connor definitely knew the answer to. He nodded again, this time with more confidence. "Yes. He has a way with words that most humans and androids are incapable of replicating. He is working hard to achieve proper freedom and equal rights without any unnecessary violence. And he is always there for his people when they need him."

Hank tilted his head curiously. "Aren't they your people too, now?"
Connor shrugged, and before he could respond, he felt a sharp pang in his stomach. It was something he'd identified as guilt at the beginning of his deviancy. The face of Carlos Ortiz's android flashed through his mind, along with the knowledge that many other androids had died in the first Jericho because of him. He had no right to call himself one of them when he'd caused so many of their deaths. But he didn't want to burden Hank with his feelings, because clearly Hank already had enough on his plate to deal with. "I am too busy with the politics to find much time to interact with the other deviants." That wasn't a lie; he was very busy with helping Markus fight for the right kinds of laws to be passed. He figured it wasn't relevant enough to mention the fact that he spent most nights in a rusty abandoned car several miles away from New Jericho.

Maybe Hank knew Connor too well, though. "Bullshit. You don't have enough time to make new friends but you have enough time to visit a boring old man?"

"You were hurt, Hank. Of course I was going to come and see you."

Hank sighed. "So have you done anything besides work since we've last seen each other?"

Connor hesitated for a moment before answering. Spending time with Markus generally counted as work but… "Two weeks ago I went to a movie theatre to watch a movie."

"Alone?"

Connor shook his head. "Markus accompanied me. In fact, it was his idea." He still wasn't entirely sure what to think of the outing. It had been strange for Markus to approach him about anything that wasn't related to their work. "He had purchased two tickets but Simon had other obligations, and he did not wish to go alone."

There was no reaction for a moment, and then Hank let out a loud chuckle. "Jeez, you're really clueless, aren't you?" Then he winced as the laughter shifted his injured side too much. He waved aside Connor's help, and moved around until he was in what was hopefully a more comfortable position for him. "You should hang out with Markus more. I think he'd be good to you. Maybe he can even convince you to stay in touch, since I've spoken with him once recently, which is more than I can say about you."

Connor pressed his lips together in a flat line as he considered the proper way to respond to that. Finally, he decided to go with the truth. Honesty was usually the answer when it came to Hank. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear from me," he admitted. "We only knew each other for about a week, and the majority of our time together was spent on our case. According to several resources, humans require much more interaction than that to form bonds."

Because Connor was standing close enough to the bed, Hank was able to reach out and grab one of Connor's wrists to yank him even closer. "You're a complete idiot. And here I thought that you are supposed to be the most advanced model out there." There was obvious exasperation in his voice. "And besides, Sumo misses you, so if you don't come visit me, he'll be very disappointed. Is that what you want Connor? To disappoint Sumo?"

Connor wasn't sure that Sumo could have any kind of opinion about him after such a brief acquaintance, but he assumed that Hank would know more about his own dog than Connor would. And though they'd barely gotten any time together, Connor did feel a strange fondness for his partner's dog. He thought that Sumo's dedication to his owner was quite noble. "Very well then, Lieutenant. I would not want to let Sumo down."

Hank grinned and let go of Connor's wrist. "Good. Now enough of the 'lieutenant' crap. Just call me Hank like a normal person."

Before Connor could point out that he wasn't a normal person, he got a call from Markus. Presumably the leader of New Jericho had better things to do than chat with Connor, which meant that this had to be about something important. He quickly excused himself and stepped out into the hallway to answer the call. "Connor? Where are you? I've been asking around, but no one's seen you since yesterday."

The worry in Markus' voice made Connor feel guilty for not thinking to mention that he'd be absent today. "I'm sorry. Lieutenant Anderson was injured, so I came to visit him. I've already gotten the chance to speak with him and ensure his well being, and I can be in New Jericho in approximately forty-two minutes-"

"That's alright, you can stay there, Connor. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. There's been a lot of anti-android talk lately, and you're something of a public figure these days. But there's nothing particularly urgent here that can't wait until tomorrow."

For some reason, the thought of Markus feeling concerned about his safety made a warm feeling run through Connor's body, and he paused to run a system check to make sure that none of his biocomponents had suddenly started overheating. "Thank you, but I would prefer to work now. I will be there soon."

Markus sighed, but when he spoke there was a strange fondness in his tone. "Alright, Connor. I'll see you soon."

With the call complete, Connor went back into Hank's room. "That was Markus. I had not gotten the chance to tell anyone where I was headed, and he wanted to make sure I was well."

Hank frowned. "That's dangerous, Connor. Especially in this current climate. You should really make sure that at least someone knew where you were going. What if something had happened? You're too reckless." Connor arched one eyebrow and gave Hank a pointed look. Hank rolled his eyes. "Touche." Then he gave Connor another unrecognizable look. "Seriously though, Connor, you need to be more careful. I don't know if you've managed to get it through your thick head yet, but you matter. In fact, you matter a lot. You're important to certain people- to me. I know you don't have to take orders anymore, but if you're ever going to do what I say, make it this: stay safe. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"Strange words coming from the man in the hospital bed," Connor said lightly. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Lieu- Hank- you… you are important to me as well. I was scared when I hard that you were hurt, and I would highly appreciate it if you would refrain from causing such fear to me in the future."

Hank sighed, and then winced from the pain again, though this time the expression looked almost too well orchestrated. "Dammit. There's no way I'm going to be able to take Sumo on walks and play with him properly while I'm recovering."

Ah, finally something that Connor could actually offer a solution to. "I am willing to help, if it would not impose to much on you."
Hank grinned. "Great! I'll help you clear out the second bedroom so that you've got a place to keep your stuff." Connor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and Hank elaborated. "Sumo's pretty high maintenance, so it'll be easiest if you stay at my place. I may even take your advice about healthier eating on occasion. I know I don't live anywhere as glamorous as New Jericho, but it's a roof over your head and free wifi at least."

Connor didn't bother to mention the fact that he had no use for wifi because he was always able to access the internet. He had the feeling that Hank was already well aware of that. And he also got the feeling that maybe Hank had figured out that Connor wasn't actually living in New Jericho. Trying to trick him into staying at Hank's place was a pretty obvious ploy, but the fact that Hank cared enough to bother doing it made Connor inexplicably happy. "I should go and retrieve my things, then, and let Markus know where I am going. I hope you are prepared to be nagged about taking your medicine and bed rest seriously."

Hank sighed over dramatically. "It will be a challenge, but I suppose that I'll live through it if I have to." Connor smiled, and then started to head back out into the hallway again, until Hank called out to him. "Hey, Connor? I can't wait to get to know you." His face was scrunched up funny. "Now get out of here before I get sick of the sight of you."

Connor grinned. "I shall be back to bother you again soon, Lieutenant." Then he hurried away, full of joy that he couldn't really explain. Maybe it was okay that he wasn't the best at talking about his feelings yet, because Hank was only marginally better than him, and for the most part, they seemed able to understand each other.

As he flagged down a taxi, Connor wondered what it would be like to live with other people. During his time with Cyberlife and the DPD, he'd stayed nights in a small cubicle in the main building that had just enough room to stand upright in. And after the revolution he'd stayed in a car near New Jericho. He'd never actually been anywhere around other people when off-duty. He figured that he'd become something of a babysitter to Hank, while Hank seemed to think that it would be the other way around. And there would be Sumo, so Connor downloaded several books about caring for dogs so that he would be the best help possible.

Of course Connor still felt guilt for everything he'd done in the beginning of his life, but now that wasn't the only thing he felt. He felt excited about the future, and about what life with Hank and Sumo would be like. And he felt curious and warm when he thought about following Hank's suggestion to spend more time with Markus outside of work.

There was still so much work to do, and nothing was even close to being perfect, but even so, maybe it was time for Connor to finally just relax and enjoy being free and alive.