Things were fairly quiet inside the house, but outside a summer storm reeked havoc over the city and kept everyone cooped up inside. Connor was kneeling on the kitchen floor with a towel wrapped around Sumo's damp fur and tried desperately to get the dog dried off as much as possible, but it still wasn't enough to keep Aumo from shaking off his fur in every direction. Sighing with defeat Connor took off his water spot covered glasses and wiped off the lenses on the towel before standing back up to watch where the dog had gone.

"You're going to lay on the couch after I just vacuumed." The young detective lamented as he watched the massive dog plop down over the length of the furniture with a tired grumble. "...I guess I'll vacuum again tomorrow."

Hank had stepped out of the bathroom after his shower and saw Connor staring down at Sumo on the couch, and caught the distinct odor of wet dog wafting through the air. "Maybe it'll stop raining soon. Then he won't stink up the house every time he has to go out."

"That'd be nice, but I doubt it."

"So now that we're stuck inside all day what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Read?"

"I'm always down for a good book, but come on, you can read any day."

"What do you recommend then?"

"Why don't you go into the kitchen and go through all those groceries we've gathered in the past couple of months and go ahead and figure out what you like and dislike?"

"...You want me to just eat all day?"

"Not necessarily, but it'd be a good time to figure out what you do and don't like without having to worry about anything else today."

"I suppose that makes sense." Turning to look at the kitchen Connor made his way back to the room that reeked of wet dog and still had water all over the linoleum floor. "It's been a while since I've cooked anything, I might as well try a few new recipes."

"Sure." Following after Connor he watched as the younger detective began checking through the refrigerator and cupboards to check on the various possible ingredients he could use to cook. "I never really made anything complicated myself, but I think you can handle it. You were a pretty damn good cook as a deviant, so I think you'll be even better now that you're human again."

"Maybe." Connor pulled an old cookbook out of the cupboard and checked through the worn out, yellowing pages, and found a recipe that looked interesting enough to try. "...What about lasagna? I've never made one, and I don't think this is something I ever ate as a kid."

"Knock yourself out. If you're going to cook I'm not going to complain about what you want to make."

"...Right. It seems like we have everything we need in the cupboards already."

"Yeah. Ever since you came back to me a human I've had to double-up on the groceries and keep more than cheap frozen dinners and dog treats in the kitchen. Kinda' nice to not fall back on leftovers or take-out."

"...I hope those dog treats you mentioned for solely for Sumo."

"Smartass."

Connor gave Hank an odd tilt of his head as he began gathering what he needed to begin cooking. "I'll be sure to pay for my half of the groceries, Hank."

"Don't worry about paying me back, kid. Just don't burn down the kitchen, alright?"

"That's fair."

"I'll be reading in the livingroom if you need anything. Oh, and I'll keep Sumo from trying to beg while you're cooking."

"Thanks. He's a good companion but too big to have in the kitchen."

Left alone to his task Connor found it rather easy to get every together, but learning how to use his sense of taste when it came to using spices and overall ingredients was something he needed to relearn. While preparing everything Connor would take a small taste of everything, almost like when he needed to run an analysis in realtime at crime scenes, but far less disturbing since he was sampling all things edible and not blood or Thirium. After identifying the correct spices required in the recipe and isolating the spices that were more potent than the other, he began putting the recipe together.

Careful to not burn himself on the hot stove or make a mess Connor double-checked everything at his disposal and set the pans out to put everything together. As he checked one of the pans he read over a little details regarding a 'trick' to help keep pans from getting stained or food from sticking by using coconut oil to grease the pan. Unsure if the oil would affect the flavor of the overall meal Connor put a smear of the oil on his fingertips to taste it, and was immediately revolted by the taste.

"...Bitter." He mumbled as he spit the small mouthful into the sink and washed off his hands. "I won't be using that."

Ten minutes after creating the rich tomato sauce and placing it on the stove to simmer for an hour or two Connor returned to the livingroom and sat down on the couch next to Sumo, and put his hand on Sumo's ears.

"The kitchen is still intact," Hank joked as he looked away from the old movie on the television screen to glance at Connor. "that's a good sign."

"If I didn't accidentally burn down the house while a deviant, I won't do it as a human."

"I hope so."

Settling on the couch Connor began dragging his fingernails over his left arm as it rested over Sumo's head, and he sighed with boredom. "What's this movie?"

"It's an old one from- Stop scratching."

"Huh?"

"Your arm." The senior detective pointed at Connor as the younger detective tore into his own skin. "It's annoying."

"Oh." Casually Connor stopped scratching his arm and absentmindedly began scratching the side of his neck. "Sorry."

"And your neck!"

"...Sorry."

"Are you okay? You look a little uncomfortable."

"I'm just-" Glancing down at his arm Connor suddenly noticed that there were small pink welts forming on his skin, right where he had been scratching. "Oh. Damn it."

"What?"

"I'm breaking out into hives."

"Hives?" Walking over to the couch he lightly took Connor's arm in his hand and looked at the affected limb. Moving his attention to Connor's neck Hank saw the same hives forming on his skin right there as well. "Ah, man. What're you allergic to?"

"...I suspect coconut."

"Coconut? How'd you come into contact with coconut?"

"The small jar of coconut oil in the cupboard. I had considered using it to keep the pans from sticking, but the flavor wasn't compatible."

"You're damn right it's not."

"I washed my hands and spit it out after I tasted it."

"Go brush your teeth to make sure you don't have any of it still in your mouth. There should be some Benadryl in the medicine cabinet, too."

Connor got up from the couch, his clothes now smelling like the wet dog he had been sitting next to, and proceeded to rinse out his mouth in the bathroom. Checking over his skin and finding more small pink and red hives forming steadily over his body Connor proceeded to wash off his hands a second time to ensure he got all of the oil off his skin.

"How bad is it?" Hank asked as he leaned against the opened doorway of the bathroom.

"Not serious. I'm not suffering any anaphylaxis or stomach problems, just hives."

"Everywhere?"

Pulling up his black t-shirt Connor noted the hives forming over his stomach and chest and nodded. "Apparently so."

"Use some of the calamine lotion under the sink. Take care of yourself and I'll make sure nothing burns in the kitchen."

"...Right."

Locating two tablets of Benadryl in the medicine cabinet Connor quickly took a dose of the inflammatory medication and hoped it'd ease the allergic reaction he was suffering. Using the lotion to quell the itching of the hives Connor sighed, noticing the small blemishes now forming on his face, and applied a generous layer to stop the itching before it started.

"Damn it." Removing his glasses Connor pressed the lotion to his face and covered every hive he could see. "I wish that allergen screening at the hospital included coconut."

Replacing his glasses Connor walked back into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table and pressed his head into the palm of his hand as he leaned against his arm. He already felt miserable and a little embarrassed, even though there was no reason to feel such a way. Doing his best to not scratch at his raw skin Connor stayed perfectly still and watched as Hank finished checking the pot of sauce on the stove.

"You okay?" Hank asked without even looking back at Connor as he stirred the sauce.

"I'm itchy and I want to tear off my skin."

"So, that's a 'no'."

"I wish I still had the ability to turn off the pain sensors in my skin."

"Give that medicine a few minutes to kick in. If anything it'll knock you out and you'll sleep through the worst of it."

"That'd be more than welcome."

"If it helps you feel any better," putting the lid back down on the pot he turned to face Connor and crossed his arms casually over his chest as he leaned up against the countertop behind him. "I can confirm that the sauce you made tastes pretty damn good."

"Thanks."

"How in the fuck are you such a good cook? When you were a deviant I chalked it up to androids having infinite access to cooking tips and recipes, but now that I know you were once a human, and a human again, I'm beginning to think you're just a natural cook."

Connor sighed a little as he leaned back in his chair as he tried to give Hank an appreciative glance. "I hope that it turns out properly when it's all finished."

"You look like that Benadryl is already making you tired."

"...I must be a lightweight." He joked with a faint grin on his face.

"Yeah. Or a kid still healing from a two year long coma. Go lay down in your room, NOT on the wet dog smelling couch."

"Good idea."

Standing up from the table Connor covered his mouth as he let out a sleepy yawn and proceeded to walk into his bedroom to sleep through the worst of his allergic reaction. Placing his glasses down on the table beside the bed he plopped down face first onto his bed and was asleep in seconds. Four hours passed and Connor was startled awake by a deafening rumble of thunder shaking the house and making the windows rattle.

Sumo went barrelling into the bedroom and dove under the bed in fear of the storm.

Running his hand over his face Connor sat up in his bed and glanced about the dim room somewhat confusedly, then the memory of the allergy and sleep inducing Benadryl popped into his head.

"It's okay, Sumo." Connor stated in a groggy voice as he grabbed his glasses and knelt on the floor beside his bed. Reaching his hand underneath he rubbed Sumo's chin for a moment before getting back up. "It's just a storm."

The smell of the tomato sauce that Connor had made was filling the house and it made Connor feeling hungry. "I take it the sauce didn't burn while I was sleeping." He asked as he made his way back into the kitchen casually.

"Nope." Hank confirmed as he stirred the pot on the stove again and glanced at Connor over his shoulder. "Your face has cleared up already."

"Yeah." Pressing his hand to the side of his face gently he realized the hives were gone and his face was no longer itching him. "I guess I'm still a quick healer."

"Feel better?"

"Yeah. I'm okay."

"Good. Finish making your lasagna and then relax on the couch. Tomorrow the weather will be better, but we'll also be back on the clock."

"As long as I don't have to deal with any rogue coconuts I think I'll be okay." Connor made his way over to the stove and proceeded to finish the final steps in the recipe. "Thanks for keeping an eye on things for me while I was asleep."

"Sure, kid. I'm not going to expect you to keep doing something after you get sick or some shit."

"...I know." Connor felt a little guilty for making it seem like Hank being kind to him was a rare gesture. "I guess those childhood memories were more unsettling than I realized."

"Have you ever gone to see a therapist for that stuff when you got emancipated?"

"I did after I graduated high school. All the therapist told me to do was forgive my fa- my mother's husband, but what he did to me if unforgivable. Even when I mentioned how he killed my mother I was still told to forgive him."

Hank wanted to offer his own opinion on the matter but decided against it. His own father was a very kind, patient man who never struck him and rarely raised his voice to him. The same could said for his mother. She was as kind and patient, very loving and encouraging throughout his entire childhood. Unlike Connor, who had been raised by a demon from Hell without a mother, Hank had two very good parents who gave him a loving home to grow up in.

Fortunately Connor had changed the subject himself as he placed the pan in the oven. "It'll be another hour before it's done."

"Cool. Next time we have a day off I'll make something new for you to try."

"You don't have to make new recipes just because of me."

"No, but I want to. I've been in a dietary rut for years now. This is the perfect time to get out of it."

Connor nodded as a flash of lighting illuminated the backyard and made him turn to look at the storm through the kitchen window. The storm was continuing to rage and the rain was relentless. "Sumo is going to make the whole house smell if he goes back out in that rain."

"Yup. Don't worry about that, just take a minute to actually enjoy your day off doing nothing. Relax for once."

"...Okay. I'll go lay down on the couch."

"The one that smells like Sumo?"

"...Maybe I'll go take a shower then and change into clothes that don't smell like wet dog."

"Good idea."

With Connor out of the room and taking a shower Hank returned to his laptop in the corner of the livingroom and began typing a few details out regarding Connor's current progress of health, making sure to have his allergy to coconut placed in his medical records, then resumed his private search into Connor's traumatic childhood. There were a few more questions he wanted answered out of his own curiosity and a strange instinct telling him to keeping looking for something.

What that something was he didn't know.

The timer on the oven beeped loudly and Hank got up to take the finished meal out before it burned. As he placed it down on the counter Connor walked out of the bathroom and ran a towel over his wet hair.

"It's done. Looks like you mastered the art of cooking without even needing to try."

"Isn't there a game on television tonight?"

"It got rained out. But there's always a cheesy movie we can laugh at if you're interested."

"Sure." Connor grabbed a couple of plates and let out a weary sigh. The look in his eyes spoke volumes of how emotionally exhausting the past few months had been, but the exhaustion he still carried from his childhood was still present in his heart. "I could use a good laugh."

"Yeah, son." Empathizing with his son's emotional pain Hank put his hand on the younger man's shoulder firmly. "I know it."

...next chapter...