Hello everyone, its a bit of a morbid day because I found out tht an amazing artist, Qinni( qinniart) just passed away. She was just updating us a couple days ago on her condition fighting cancer and a heart disease and how she would keep fighting. And we just found out tht on 2/11 she passed away. It just goes to show, please cherish everyday that you have and live your life to the fullest bc u never know wat can happen and u dont want to live with regrets. Im going to be honest, being a writer of an original character story tht isn't really romantically involved rn with the main characters of DBH has been a bit difficult since the audience size is smaller, and I've like considered giving up multiple times in the past but seeing this event just reminded me tht we should keep pushing forward with our dreams n test our abilities since difficulties can come out of the blue. This chapter was hard to do due to writer's block, but I made sure to keep pushing through.

Now onto SHOUTOUTSSSS: BIG BIG shoutout to Vin, ur support in the comments is always super helpful in keeping me motivated for this story when im doubting myself and get silent responses. shoutout to Th3RedPyro for the amazing review and encouraging me on this story. Also shoutout to MaydayMarbear and the guests tht left kudos! 3

All in all, everyone, please take care of your health if u can and for now here is ur ch3 tht i hope u all will like and maybe cheer you up if you know of the twitter artist as well

In all honesty, Hank wanted to ask a barrage of questions to the two kids now situated in his car as they drove to his house. But he was afraid that he was going to lose his temper and distracted driving was a big no-no for him right now.

He looked to the right for a moment while at a red light and caught a tiny smile on the fringes of Connor's face. What the kid was so happy about, he didn't understand. Hank let out a huge sigh and silently cursed.

Out of all the goddamn stupid things Connor had to do, why the hell did Connor offer their place to the kid? Hank drinks, curses all the time, and barely knows how to take care of himself, much less someone else. Heck, Connor was still going about Hank's unhealthy diet. He was willing to change his burgers only diet, but Connor's method was too drastic. The android would ramble about the total number of calories intake the older man shouldn't be going over, put lots of veggies onto his plate for dinner, and bombard him with a lot of facts on the importance of exercising more. It was just too drastic of a change, especially the vegetables suddenly inserted into his palate with no seasoning at all. I-It just didn't work for him.

Before he knew it, Hank found himself in front of his driveway and parked right in front of his garage. He glanced up to the rear mirror and found Alina clutching her doll with a guilty expression. Did she think he was mad at her? If anything, he was more mad at the fact that Connor didn't ask for permission first before letting the kid stay with them.

"Come on, out of the car. We're here."

They stepped out of the car and walked to his doorstep. That's when Hank paused and realized he should probably warn Alina about Sumo coming out to greet them.

"Oh yeah, I have a dog. He's a Saint Bernard." He watched as Alina's somber expression from the pavement became uplifted as soon as he mentioned the word 'dog'. "He won't attack or anything, but pretty sure he's going to give us a big greeting when I open the door. He's quite friendly." He was going to ask if she was good with dogs, but judging by her elated face, he didn't have to.

As expected, as soon as he opened up the doorway and walked in Sumo met them at the door with a friendly bark.

"Woof!" The older dog went up to Hank first and then Connor, before approaching the girl behind them. As Hank closed the door behind them, Alina bent to the floor so that she was at Sumo's level and let Sumo sniff her. As the dog examined the child, Alina laid her arms by her side with her palms facing upwards and Sumo took a sniff at her hand as well. A few seconds later, Sumo happily barked at her before licking her hand and then her face, which caused laughter to erupt from Alina. Slowly, she patted Sumo's shoulder and the dog leaned into her touch while its tail wagged to the right.

"Hello little guy, what's your name?" She said, cooing at the dog. She gives a big smile to Sumo while scratching him behind the ear.

"Sumo." Connor replies and scratches Sumo's other ear to which the dog's tail wags even faster, happy to have the attention of the two.

"Awwww, he's so cute!" Alina squeals as she gives him one final pat. When she stopped, Sumo put his paw onto her lap and playfully nudged her on the shoulder.

It looks like she gained Sumo's approval. Out of the corner of his eyes, Hank sees Connor with a happy expression, most likely due to finding another dog lover.

"I think Sumo wants some more attention kid. Why don't you chill with him on the couch? Scroll through some TV channels, I've got to talk to Connor for a bit and then we'll order pizza for dinner. How does that sound?"

She gives him a nod back and as she gets back up from the ground, her eyes slowly widen at the surroundings. Was his house really that messy? He knew he wasn't the cleanest or tidiest of people, but mostly because he didn't want to bother with cleaning. Connor had been helping around with organizing the house a bit. But he told Connor not to bother too much about it, so it ended up being only slightly better than its original messy form. Maybe he should clean up a bit.

Alina sank into his couch and Sumo quickly followed after her. The Saint Bernard climbed onto the couch, sitting right next to her and resting his head on her lap as she picked up the TV remote to scroll through the channels. He hoped the dog wouldn't get too attached to the girl in the limited number of days she was going to be staying here. Hank did not want to deal with a whimpering dog after Alina leaves their household.

"Oh yeah, any toppings?" He asked.

"No, plain is fine," she quickly replied back.

"Alright then." Hank turned his attention to Connor and pointed to his own bedroom. "A word with you Connor." Instantly, Connor's expression turned a bit grave.

Hank shuts the door behind them and he finds Connor sitting down on Hank's bed. Connor's head is hanging downward and his eyes refuse to look directly at Hank. It reminds him a bit of Cole when the little boy did something mischievous and got caught red handed. The similarity makes his heart ache a bit, but he pushes the feelings aside to focus on the problem at hand.

"Connor, you can't randomly invite people to stay in our house!" He watches as Connor winces to his tone and he groans as Connor looks up at Hank with puppy eyes. God damn it, he knows Connor doesn't intentionally make those expressions, especially as a deviant. The boy was still emotionally awkward, so he knows it isn't exactly a ploy and that those emotions are genuine. He drew in his breath and let it settle for a moment. Why the hell did CyberLife give Connor such a weird face?

"From my database, I know...that when people are in an unfamiliar environment they tend to prefer to stay near those who they are most familiar with," Connor tried to reason, this time properly looking at Hank and giving eye contact.

Hank ran his hand through his hair and let out another sigh.

"Yeah, well. We only met her for a few minutes," He hissed back fiercely. "There's no way she got attached that easily." He continued on angrily, jabbing his fingers into the air. He took a quick glance at the door and silently thanked his ability to be able to contain his voice in such a situation. No need to let the kid know that he didn't want her here, especially when she just lost her family. He turned his attention back to Connor and saw the boy's shoulder sink. well at least he still got the message through to Connor, that's what mattered.

"I'm sorry that I've upset you Lieutenant." Connor responded back, eyes trained to the ground once more and somehow his shoulders have slumped even more. Oh god damn it, Hank just realized that Connor receded back to Lieutenant outside of work instead of saying Hank.

"I-I just thought...when I looked at her and she was lost. It reminded me of after the revolution, where I had nowhere to go. Markus had welcomed me to Jericho of course. But I didn't feel like I belonged there after being a deviant hunter. It was you that offered me a place to stay and find a place to call home."

Hanked simply stared back at Connor's heartfelt comment. He was stunned that Connor saw him so highly.

"She's an orphan that lost everything. Even if her background is suspicious," Connor paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "I believe the two of us are more than capable of handling her. She's lost...just like I was. And according to DPD records, after the revolution Detroit's Foster Care Centers closed and relocated the children elsewhere. I believe they won't be coming back for a while."

For a moment there was just a standstill between them as Hank tried to process everything. This kid, Connor, was so sincere and genuine. It was hard to believe that some at Jericho still nicknamed him the Terminator.

"I apologize if I abused your hospitality, Lieutenant." Connor's elbows were on his knees, hands clasped in front of himself as he waited for Hank's next move.

Hank rubbed the nape of his neck once more and took a seat next to Connor on the edge of the bed. He was initially going to reprimand Connor, but he lost that urge after hearing Connor's reasoning.

"Look son, I'm not mad." Connor instantly turned his head to Hank's direction, disbelief and confusion written across Connor's face.

"Well, I am. But not too much now." Hank watched as Connor's body relaxed a bit more as he continued talking. "It's just-you can't just let people suddenly stay over. Just, you know, give me a heads up. Talk it out with me and I know I don't exactly have the best record with people. Maybe that's why you chose to have Jeffrey tell me. But I ain't exactly a crappy person either...especially after I met you."

Connor's body froze upon hearing the last part of what Hank had said and simply stares at Hank for a moment before a smile escapes the boys' lips.

"I'm, uh, glad you feel that way." Connor fidgeted around with his fingers before uttering another statement that stops Hank in his tracks. "Thanks Dad."

Hank's mouth curled into a fond smile and he gave Connor a hug.

"Anytime, son." As far as Hank knows, he'll never regret the decision of adopting Connor to become one of the first android-human hybrid families. He'll do whatever it takes to protect Connor in this mess of Detroit. They let go, and Connor is returning a warm smile to him.

"So she's staying, right?"

"Well, of course. Jeffrey gave me the order. What? Are you happy that you got another dog lover here? Am I not enough?" He teases, giving a quick pat to Connor's back before getting up. "Only for a few days though. A WEEK at most." He sees Connor grinning back as the other gets up as well.

"I count that as a win."

"Only for a few days though. Also, you are ordering the pizza and keeping her entertained."

"Already ordered it prior to our discussion. It should be arriving in 15 minutes." The younger android smirks back.

Hank opens up the door to see Alina's eyes focused onto the television. KNC was being broadcasted and because she was so focused on the television, she had stopped petting Sumo, much to the dog's disappointment. The older dog had pawed the young girl's shoulder, but she didn't respond, so it simply decided to rest its head on her lap with its eyes closed. They were discussing the statistical chances of a third world war after talking about the disputes between Russia and America in the Arctic. For now, both countries agreed to ceasefire in the small bouts of conflict, but tensions were still running high.

"And now we move onto our brief interview with the Deviant Leader Markus on how relations between Congress and Androids are currently running."

He heard shuffling to the side of him and saw that Connor was rushing to the doorway to get a better view of the interview. The TV paneled to a prerecorded video of a conversation between Markus and Rosanna Cartland, sitting across from each other on two red couches.

"It is a pleasure getting to speak with you, Markus."

"No, the pleasure is all mine." Markus spoke back with his eloquent speech as usual.

"Tell me, how do you feel about the recent workings with Congress on the official Android Assimilation Act? President Warren put out an Executive Order allowing androids some rights similar to humans, but there has been talks of conflict between you and several US Senators. Androids currently have high amounts of support from the public and it seems that you have the backing of the President as well. However, it seems that the same momentum has stopped when it comes to Congress. It is said that about 20% of Congress still disagree with recognizing androids with human rights. Furthermore, an additional 40% are either indifferent or unsure about their opinion on the issue."

He noticed that Alina was gingerly watching the TV in awe and her attention was particularly on Markus.

"It has been a difficult month trying to obtain android rights. One of the most important issues being discussed right now is the potential for androids to vote in future elections and gaining representation in American society. It has been a heavily debated topic so far. But I believe that with time and cooperation Congress will recognize the potential in allowing this right to androids. So far, we have made great progress due to the President's generosity and support. Just recently some androids working in the American government system were able to receive some payroll for their hard earned work and this has been a huge step in helping androids reintegrate themselves into society. With more diplomatic discussions in the upcoming future, I believe that we can convince Congress to open up to androids and accomplish more together." Markus finished the dialogue with a determined expression, but still emulated a friendly smile for the cameras.

"That is all that we have for Today's Nightly News. Good night, America." KNC ended its news broadcast and shifted over to commercials.

He noted that Connor was staring intensely at the TV as well and Hank knew that Connor was most likely thinking back to his disconnect with Jericho. During break times at work, Connor would talk about the regrets of distancing himself from Jericho and how he wished to do more for the community other than android crime activity. The kid decided to distance himself from Jericho because he apparently feared being taken over by his programming as a deviant hunter. Hank had asked if Connor spoke with Markus about this, but apparently not. Connor was extremely resilient when it came to avoiding as much contact with any Jericho members unless he absolutely had to for police related reasons. Hank ended up just telling Connor to take things at his own pace and to go talk to Markus whenever he felt ready, but the boy still expressed doubts about talking with Jericho members.

"You alright there, son?"

"Yeah...I just, you know, wondered if I should have done more."

"Just take things your own way, alright?" Hank quickly reassured Connor and the boy smiled back.

"Thanks, Hank."

Woahhh word count of 2500, i wanted to write more. But this felt like a good place to stop. this chapter in all honesty was not planned fully, and neither was the hank and connor moment. Like it just like kinda happened and appeared :D but im glad the way it turned out. Writer's block was not fun, have a midterm in a week and then hip problems unfortunately so i rushed this ch a bit. Couldnt walk for a bit or bend or like sit properly wo being in pain.

Also, yes we have some new vocabulary~ that is being introduced in this story. So in this world as of rn due to Markus's amazing efforts, hybrid families meaning families with androids and humans co-existing in a household are legal and definitely legit. Instead of saying android-human hybrid families, the term being coined by society is simply hybrid families. So humans can adopt androids(like hank adopt con), the marrying androids thing is still being worked on and a bit shaky in legislature but be technicality yes they are considered legit families if a human chooses to marry an android.

Please Kudos, subscribe, bookmark, comment or watever :D to show ur support or just let me know how u feel about certain plot points, especially tht hank n con father son moment .~

Welp the rest is just me rambling a bit on the parts and decisions of why i chose certain things:

Hmmm i wanted to add more, but it was a good hank n con moment and nice way to end the chapter n make it feel complete. This story is going slower than i thought

Had to do a bit of research on how to approach n greet a dog that doesnt know you, lol now dog videos pop up on my utube feed

President warren is actually a pretty interesting character to play around with in the politics struggle after looking up the articles up on her, in the tablet news we hear about her being inexperienced bc she's a vlogger and has no political experience at all and her messing around with international communities

Byeeeeeeeeeee. Enjoy ur weekend or weekday, idk which is it since the world is on different time zones. AND *POOF* IM GONE LADIES N GENTS