Thoroughly exhausted and ready to drop, Connor had no choice but to admit that his search for the assailant from Skye's office had reached a dead end. Despite knowing that he had no right to work on the case due to it being a potential conflict of interest since he too was assaulted, Connor couldn't just stand back and watch everyone else working while he stood on the sidelines. Unable to locate any clues at the crime scene itself the resourceful deviant detective started from the beginning and had interviewed Casey at her own home and decided to go from there as he began his own quiet investigation in private. As expected, she couldn't give Connor any more details than what she had already shared with the police the day of the assault itself.

Once the fatigued detective was back at the brownstone, Connor let Bruno off his leash and proceeded to walk into the kitchen to get some replenishment Thirium for the loyal K-9 unit and for himself. Instinctively Connor attempted to initiate a self diagnostic to check his Thirium volume but a red 'Error' message appeared in his visual processors as the program failed to boot-up properly. Rubbing his hand anxiously over the back of his neck Connor let out a tired sigh and slipped his hand down to the knot of his black tie to loosen the garment from its place around his neck as if admitting defeat.

"I must still be suffering complications from the assault." Rubbing Bruno's ears Connor put his tie aside and opened the cabinet beside his refrigerator. "I'll get you some Thirium."

Circling around once at Connor's feet Bruno waited for the coveted Thirium to be poured into his bowl so he could lap it up. 'Bruno likes going on cases with Connor.'

"I know you do." Patting Bruno's back as he poured half of the Thirium bottle into the bowl Connor decided it was time to call it a day and change into more casual clothing. "Good boy. We'll go out again tomorrow and keeping looking for leads."

Walking up the staircase toward his bedroom Connor slipped off his gray blazer to place it properly on a hanger in the closet and draped his tie around it. Throwing off his white dress shirt, shoes and jeans in favor of a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants, Connor happily laid down in his bed and entered another round of rest mode for the remainder of the evening and hopefully well into the night.

It wasn't long before Bruno trotted up into the bedroom and had jumped up onto the foot of the bed to sleep alongside Connor. 'The suspect will be found.'

"I know they will, but for now, we should just take it easy. We don't want to cause problems for the precinct by investigating a crime I had been asked to stay away from since I too was assaulted."

'Connor is a good detective.'

"I hope I am, but even so, I cannot work on the case in any official capacity. All I can do is keep my eyes and ears open while hoping for a break in the case."

'Connor is worried.'

"Only about the assailant attacking someone else or going after Skye again. No one should have to live in fear like that."

'Connor is not scared.'

"No, I'm not afraid." Rolling from his back and onto his side Connor stared at the opened doorway of his own bedroom to where Lucas's own bedroom door was also wide open and wondered if Lucas would be able to give him an update when he returned. "With you and Lucas watching my back I know I have nothing to fear."

Wagging his tail happily Bruno settled his chin over Connor's ankle and prepared to enter rest mode alongside his guardian. 'Bruno won't let Connor down.'

The following morning wasn't anywhere near as calm or restful as any deviant in the city would've hoped for since the late night hours were interrupted by a mass of sick androids appearing all over the city. A strange new error had popped-up in New Jericho Tower, as well as the other deviant shelters and facilities, seemingly overnight and without any warning whatsoever. A slew of deviants of all models and designs were showing strange symptoms revolving around overheating, fatigue, low Thirium pressure, headaches, unbalanced gyroscopes and most notably, small blue blemishes marring the artificial skin anyone who had been affected by what was deemed a new virus.

All technicians were on alert and handling as many sick deviants as possible, and that included part-time technicians stepping up to lend a hand. One such technician had spent a majority of the night aiding deviants in need while they waited for a patch to be released and was now on his way back to the brownstone via autonomous taxi to avoid walking and infecting other deviants along the way.

After unlocking the brownstone's front door Lucas crept into the foyer and turned around to lock the door again behind himself as he let out a tired sigh. Using silent footsteps Lucas made his way up the staircase and heard the sound of Bruno's tags jingling on his collar while the shower was running in the bathroom. Surprised that Connor was up and about so early since he was still supposed to be resting, Lucas knocked on the bathroom door to speak with his brother through the door itself.

"Are you feeling well?" Lucas asked in a small voice as he heard Bruno's nails clicking over the floor behind him. "If you're experiencing any pain please let me know."

"...Not in pain." Connor responded through the door in a groggy voice. "Just exhausted."

"I know how you feel."

Turning around Lucas noticed Bruno now sitting behind him and actively scratching himself hard enough to send loose strands of his artificial fur flying into the air. The K-9 unit's L.E.D. was cycling between yellow and red as he let out small whimpers of discomfort.

"What's the matter?" Kneeling down in front of the loyal dog Lucas pressed his fingertips to the glowing L.E.D. and connected with Bruno's system. "Oh, no."

'Bruno is itchy.'

"I've noticed." Grabbing onto the dog's only back leg Lucas kept Bruno from scratching himself further and gently laid the dog down on his side. "Let me check your pelt for any sign of infection."

Using his fingers Lucas smoothed out the dog's fur and then parted it enough to check the artificial skin beneath the fur. There were several small blue blemishes appearing all over the dog's artificial skin and being concealed under the pelt.

"You're sick, boy."

Whining a little Bruno tried to kick at his itchy side again but Lucas wouldn't let him. 'Bruno is itchy.'

"I know you are, but scratching will only make the blemishes worse. You need to enter rest mode to avoid the itching sensation." Patting Bruno's head lightly Lucas realized his work with the new virus wasn't finished quite yet. "There's a patch that'll be released soon that'll remove the virus. But how did you become infected to begin with?"

'Bruno went with Connor into the city yesterday.'

"And where did you go?"

The bathroom door opened quietly and Connor appeared in the doorway wearing his gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. His hair was damp from the shower and his complexion was unusually pale. "We went back to the law office to check for any clues, then roamed the shopping district where the assailant in black had last been seen to try to find a trail to follow."

"That was very-" Standing up Lucas faced his older brother and saw that Connor hadn't escaped the virus either. Right before he eyes he watched as faint blue blemishes began to appear on Connor's exposed artificial skin along his arms, hands, neck and face. "...Foolish."

"If I had known about a virus we would've stayed here and away from other deviants." Rubbing his palm along his itchy arm Connor tried to rid himself of the uncomfortable sensation and had to resist the urge to use his nails to claw at his aggravated skin. "What type of virus are we dealing with?"

"An entirely new type of virus has been reported in deviants throughout the Detroit metropolitan area." Lightly Lucas pressed his palm over Connor's forehead and noted his brother's elevated core temperature. "The latest software update for android systems a reported a malfunction in the sensory protocols late last night."

"How many have been affected?"

"Too many to give an accurate count at this time." Taking hold of Connor's arm Lucas led his ailing brother back into his bedroom to resume resting. "Those who have been affected are experiencing anomalies including, but not limited to, the inability to use advanced programs or modes. Symptoms include overheating, fatigue, fluctuations in Thirium volume, Thirium pressure, gyroscopic imbalance and the most unusual effect of the glitch involves aesthetic defects such as these blemishes in the android's artificial skin that can cause an inflamed appearance and an unpleasant sensation to the androids affected."

"I can confirm experiencing several of those symptoms." Looking back at Bruno as the loyal K-9 unit scratched once more and then returned to the bedroom only reaffirmed that the itching on artificial skin was truly unpleasant. "As can Bruno."

"Try not to worry." Lucas urged as he made sure Connor laid back against his pillow before he entered the bathroom to create a cool compress. "Facilities throughout the city are working quickly to find the appropriate means of eliminating the glitch and undoing the damage to the affected androids."

"Where did this virus come from?"

"The virus itself had originated from an unfinished software update that had been scheduled for release from CyberLife, and it was mistakenly implemented in the newest update within the past seventy-two hours without the update being properly finished."

"Curious."

"What is?" Lucas asked as he smoothed out a damp, cool washcloth over Connor's forehead. "What's wrong?"

"My self diagnostic program isn't functioning. I cannot confirm or deny such a virus is present in my system."

"The virus is affecting the self diagnostic program since such a program is very advanced and one of the first programs meant to be updated by the improperly programmed patch that has essentially mutated into this virus. Please do not scratch."

"I'm sorry." Connor apologized as Lucas pulled his hand away from his opposite arm. "These strange marks are very uncomfortable and distracting. It feels like I have something prickling just under the surface of my artificial skin and I dislike it very much."

"How much better will it feel if you accidentally tear open your skin from constant scratching?" Lucas reached out his hand and pressed his palm down on Bruno's back to ensure that the ill dog didn't scratch as well. "Same for you, Bruno."

"I imagine it wouldn't feel pleasant if I were to commit such an act." Connor confirmed as Lucas let his hand go and he again began to scratch at his arm. "I haven't been able to-"

"Please stop." Lucas lightly scolded as he grabbed onto Connor's hand again to stop him from scratching the blemishes. "Did you potentially encounter an infected deviant yesterday while roaming the city with Bruno?"

"Unknown. Since our software automatically updates whenever we enter rest mode," the sick deviant tried to find an explanation as he again briefly scratched at his arm only for Lucas to force his hand to his side to prevent further damage to his artificial skin. "it could've entered my system when I entered rest mode and hadn't checked through the updates my system had been attempting to download due to being distracted with the case regarding the assailant in black."

"That's also a possibility. Since you and Bruno are both infected, I presume you accidentally encountered another infected deviant during your search yesterday."

"That is the most logical outcome. I wonder how many others have been affected?"

"Still unknown at this time, and fortunately my own software is too advanced to be infected as well. When I was assisting other infected deviants at the tower last night, we determined that cold compresses seemed to ease the persistent itching sensation. Would you like to try it?"

"Yes, I'm willing to try anything at this point."

"I'll get something for you and for Bruno as well."

Reaching his hand down toward to Bruno as the loyal dog curled up at his side Connor lightly rubbed Bruno's ears without making his skin itch again. "I'm sorry I got you sick, boy."

'Not Connor's fault.'

"It is. I was told to keep away from the case, but I've continued to investigate despite the warnings."

'Connor wants to help Skye.' Affectionately Bruno licked at the side of Connor's arm as he pressed up against Connor's side. 'Bruno wants to help Connor.'

"I know you do, you're a good dog."

Lucas walked back into the bedroom with several cold compresses in his grip. "Try using the ice to numb the itching, but don't hold it in place for so long that you'll damage the surrounding tissue."

"Understood." Connor nodded as he placed his hand over the icy cold washcloth and held it in place against the blemishes on his forearm. "Has there been an update about the patch's release?"

"Not yet. However, I'll call Abby and see if she can tell us anything further from the Zeta Facility." Laying a cool towel down over Bruno's side Lucas hoped that the compress would help the K-9 unit endure his own itchiness as well. "The facility's been reopened, and I know that she's gone back to work part time until she's in her eighth month of pregnancy."

"I don't want to disturb her."

"If you're ill and she's your tending technician, then it's not a disturbance."

Exiting the bedroom Lucas set up the cybernetic connection at the facility while also giving Connor some room so he didn't feel smothered. Taking charge of his brother's care Lucas stood in the hallway just out the door as he cybernetically spoke to Abby just down the block. At that moment Connor didn't have the ability to cybernetically tap into the connection to listen to the conversation and his head was hurting him too much to really focus on what was being said anyway.

"That is correct." Lucas returned to the bedroom casually while still speaking with the kind technician. "I believe Connor and Bruno have the virus as well. At the moment they both are only exhibiting a few blemishes; however, they are both overheating and suffering fatigue." There was a brief pause as Lucas listened to Abby's voice over the connection. "Negative, there is no sign of any Thirium pump arrhythmia."

Connor closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as the cooling sensation against his forehead and his itchy blemishes felt truly soothing. Even Bruno seemed more content and wasn't trying to scratch at his side again.

"I'm unsure of what Connor's system is indicating. As of the moment his self diagnostic isn't properly functioning." Arching his brow a little Lucas continued to listen to her instructions and turned to look down at Connor for a moment. "Please standby."

Without a word Connor watched as Lucas pressed his palm down over his abdomen and perform a scan over Connor's thermal regulator.

"One-hundred point two degrees even." Quiet for a minute more Lucas nodded and ended the cybernetic call with a faint grimace. "Thank you for your assistance, Abby. I'll inform him of your diagnosis."

Patiently Connor waited for his brother to relay the conversation he had only heard one half of during the cybernetic call. "Am I infected with the virus?"

"Abby says that, yes, you and Bruno were indeed infected with the virus and that you both need to rest."

"Rest? That's all."

"As of the moment the technicians working on this virus have called the condition that you and the other deviants are suffering 'Pyrexia Impairment', and it's being compared to what the humans call the 'chicken pox'. Until the patch is implemented the only way to prevent the virus from affecting your systems in any further negative manner is to rest and enter low power mode."

"Chicken pox?" Connor looked entirely stunned while the itching from the blemishes continued to irritate him. As his hand made a move to his chest once more, he noticed Lucas's own annoyance at the gesture, but continued to make the move to scratch seemingly against his will. "What else has been uncovered about this infliction?"

"For one thing..." Again Lucas grabbed Connor's hand and pulled it away from his chest before he had the chance to damage his artificial skin any further. "Scratching at the blemishes will only going to make your infection worse. Please stop harming yourself."

"I'm sorry. I don't realize that I'm doing it until you tell me to stop."

"It's okay, I'm not mad at you." Softening his tone Lucas spoke to Connor as the protective brother that he was always meant to be. "I just don't want you to make yourself sicker by accident by exasperating your condition."

"I fail to see how I can possibly get sicker."

"According to Abby, if the blemishes get opened up by scratching, then you risk getting foreign matter stuck under your skin that can get through your frame and into your biocomponents or Thirium lines."

"...I see." Connor dropped his hand from his chest only to reach up toward his neck instead. "That would be unfortunate."

"Brother," noticing the deviant's mounting discomfort Lucas put his hand under Connor's chin and gently tilted the deviant's head back and slightly to the side to examine his artificial skin further. "you now have marks on the side of your neck now."

Clenching his hands into tight fists atop his abdomen Connor tried to obey and stop scratching. "How do you make this itching feeling stop?"

"I highly doubt that human remedies will aid androids." Lucas admitted as he dropped his hand from Connor's chin. "Continue to hold the cold compress against the marks and do your best to ignore them." Patting Bruno's hip Lucas insisted that the K-9 unit do the same. "That's the same advice I can offer toward you too, boy."

Connor looked down at the washcloth still wrapped around his forearm and picked it up curiously. There were two additional marks on his arm near the first two blemishes, and a third mark had formed higher up on his bicep than the previous four blemishes. "There are even more blemishes."

"Curious." Lucas stared at the blue blemishes beginning to dot Connor's skin one by one. "It appears that you're breaking out with a serious infection."

"I don't like this." The sick deviant admitted as he dropped the washcloth on the bed alongside him. "I can confirm that this experience is very unpleasant, and I do not like feeling so limited in my own care."

"Perhaps like humans who are exposed to the chicken pox, you and Bruno will gain immunity to future infections."

Frustrated and tired, Connor fought the urge to scratch at the numerous blemishes that were starting to form all over his body. In fact, he was fighting the urge to tear off his artificial skin as he pressed his hands down against the mattress at his sides to keep himself from scratching at the irritating marks that were quickly forming elsewhere on his body.

"It'll be all right, brother."

"...It won't." Connor closed his eyes and he took in a deep breath as he discovered another side effect of the viral infection. "Shit. I can't even deactivate my artificial skin to make the itching stop."

"Try to enter rest mode instead." Lucas insisted as hated to see Connor so miserable, and he hated that there was very little he could do to ease his brother's discomfort. "Abby said you need to rest. Please enter rest mode and sleep through all of this until the virus can be patched."

"...That may be my best option." Connor agreed as he draped his forearm over his tired eyes. "I don't want to exasperate my current condition."

"Very good. Bruno?" Lucas addressed the K-9 unit in a level tone. "Please enter rest mode as well."

Loyally the dog obeyed the command and initiated rest mode for the next four hours and quickly fell asleep while remaining pressed up against Connor's side.

"Good boy."

Rolling onto his right side Connor's hand reached up to his neck to feel the new marks that had recently formed, but instead became distracted by three small blue marks that had appeared on the back of his hand instead. "Damn it."

"I understand that's frustrating," Lucas sympathized with his brother's current plight. "but please sleep."

"It's increasingly difficult to do so." Connor explained as he closed his eyes and tried to initiate rest mode, but instead he had to wait for the program to activate on its own. Manual activation had been disabled. "...I can't even make myself sleep when in this condition. This is truly inconvenient."

"Allow me." Reaching over to Connor's right temple Lucas accessed his brother's processor and pushed through all the temporary limitations being brought about from the virus. Fortunately, his own system was too advanced to be infected and managed to override the interference being brought about by the virus itself. "There. Rest well, brother."

Rising from the bed Lucas watched as Connor's body relaxed and he finally fell into a deep and relaxing rest mode within seconds.

"The case can wait a while longer for you to feel better. I know you'll resume looking into it despite being told to back off, and all I can do is try to support you."

The afternoon remained thankfully quiet and uneventful for everyone at the brownstone.

Periodically Lucas peered inside Connor's bedroom to check on the sick deviant as well as Bruno to ensure that neither one of them needed any assistance. Even from the distance Lucas could see that there were a few additional blue marks now lining the side of Connor's face and over both of his arms thanks to the virus causing more blemishes to appear as the error persisted. The fact that Connor was still asleep seemed almost miraculous. The deviant leader, part time technician, detective and new chief of security at New Jericho Tower could only imagine how many blemishes would appear on Connor's body, let alone all of the blemishes forcing beneath Bruno's thick pelt.

Moving quietly Lucas entered the bedroom and stood beside the bed as he put his hand over Connor's forehead with a light pressure to check his temperature again. Unfortunately, the deviant quickly detected that Connor's fever was getting worse.

Retrieving the washcloth that was left beside Connor's body Lucas carried it into the bathroom and ran it under the cool tap to freshen it up. As he wrung the cloth out just as he had done previously, Lucas silently walked into the bedroom and leaned over the sleeping deviant as he lightly smoothed the washcloth over Connor's too warm forehead without disturbing him in the process.

The fact that Connor didn't react to the cool compress being applied to his overheated forehead spoke volumes of how sick and tired he really was.

Still cuddled up at Connor's side, Bruno remained asleep as well and didn't react to Lucas's presence since he recognized the deviant's signature as an ally.

"I wish there was more that I could do to aid you."

A knock at the front door stole Lucas's attention and prompted him to walk back do to the first floor to greet who he expected to be a potential client. Approaching the front door curiously, Lucas peered through the peephole and let out a very human sigh of relief.

"Excellent timing." Answering the door with a prompt motion Lucas immediately stepped to the side to allow his unexpected but welcomed visitor to enter. "Come in, Abby. We appreciate your assistance."

"Hey, Lucas." With moderate difficult Abby walked inside the brownstone with her leather and canvas emergency satchel over her shoulder. The young technician looked as tired as Lucas felt, and he knew it was because she had been working hard taking care of her other deviant patients while also enduring the third trimester of her pregnancy. "The virus has been patched, but it requires manual activation to work properly."

"Thanks for stopping by." Closing the door behind Abby as she walked through the study and toward the staircase Lucas made his gratitude known and promptly took Abby's arm in his own to help her climb the stairs in her condition. "If I could determine if it would've been safe to take Connor to the Zeta Facility then I would have done it."

"I'm glad you didn't that, would've made things worse." Abby confirmed casually as she stepped into Connor's bedroom and adjusted her satchel over her shoulder. "Right now, isolation is the best thing for all of the affected androids so no one else gets infected from direct or even cybernetic contact."

"I'll remember that in the event of a future viral breakout." Taking Abby's satchel for himself Lucas escorted Abby to Connor's beside. "He's still in rest mode, but I can wake him up if you so wish."

"That's fine, sleeping is the best thing for him. All right, let's see how he's holding up." Seeing the deviant laying on his side with the loyal dog keeping him company would've been a sweet image if Connor's skin wasn't marred by the blue marks from the virus running rampant in his system. "Yup, he's got the virus." She then checked through Bruno's fur and saw the same blemishes. "Same for poor Bruno."

After Lucas placed her satchel down on the edge of the bed Abby awkwardly leaned over Connor and pulled back the cold compresses from his arms. With a controlled motion she pressed her hand down against Connor's chest to check his Thirium pump rate before moving aside the washcloth from his forehead - the removed cloth revealed more blue marks beneath - to press her hand over his warm forehead for her own fever-check.

Quietly Lucas observed the technician's behavior and did his best to not interfere. He knew that Abby was the one with the patch, not himself.

"Strong pulse." Abby confirmed as she noted Connor's elevated temperature and pulled a thermal wrap from the satchel. As she wrapped the device around Connor's wrist, she gave Lucas a somewhat worried glance as the display showed his fever had gone up to one-hundred and two point six degrees despite the numerous cold compresses being applied to his body. "He's definitely overheating. He'll need more ice."

"I can do that for him in a moment. Can you do anything about the blemishes?"

"I have something I can give him to ease the itching."

Searching through her satchel Abby pulled out a transparent plastic bottle containing a pale pink liquid. "This is diluted incrassation compound. It'll keep the marks from overreacting by his affected sensors, but it won't sting like its concentrated counterpart."

Next pulling out a small rectangular shaped gray electronic sensor from the satchel, Abby pressed it to Connor's right temple for a few seconds as she uploaded the appropriate software patch to reverse the effects of the virus. In doing so it would allow his normal system processors and advanced programming to resume full function, and with it his self healing program would remedy the discomfort to his artificial skin.

"This not only removed the virus from his system, but it will prevent his condition from getting any worse. His system will fully reboot and recalibrate in three hours. In that time his self healing program will repair any and all damage that the virus had caused to his artificial skin and let his core temperature drop."

"There's no permanent damage, correct?"

"Right." Doing the same for Bruno, Abby uploaded the patch and made sure the K-9 unit was taken care of as well. As she moved Abby let out small breaths to compensate for her growing baby pressing against her chest as her pregnancy progressed. "Just a few faint scars that'll fade over the next couple hours after the self healing program kicks on."

Using the cool washcloth that had been draped over Connor's forehead at her disposal Abby dabbed the pink compound onto the cloth and lightly pressed it down over the blue marks that had spread over Connor artificial skin fairly quickly. A pale pink coating of the compound managed to hide the blue marks, but the pink was almost as noticeable as the blue it was covering.

"This might take a while to get every blemish coated." After covering Connor's face, neck, arms and hands Abby lifted up Connor's t-shirt and visibly winced at the number of blemishes all over his chest and abdomen. "I thought you said he only had a few marks."

"He did back when I had initially contacted you." Grimacing at the numerous additional blemishes now marring Connor's chest and abdomen Lucas felt his own skin beginning to crawl empathetically. "How fast does this virus create such uncomfortable blemishes?"

"Pretty damn fast." Abby noted as she began covering the dozens of marks on Connor's chest and abdomen under the pink compound. There were additional ones along his shoulders stretching over his back as well, and now moving down his legs. "But I hadn't seen any other android with this many blemishes."

"Is it serious?"

"I doubt it." She stated confidently as she applied the compound over Connor's upper and lower back without disturbing him in the process. "He's stable and doesn't seem to be in any distress. My guess is he had a more severe outbreak because of his prototype programming."

Connor's tired but still soulful brown eyes opened slowly as he felt the cold compound being applied to his artificial skin. Glancing around the bedroom he noted both Lucas and now Abby now hovering over him as he laid on his side on the bed, while still feeling absolutely miserable.

"Connor, can you hear me?" Abby asked casually as she finished applying the compound to Connor's abdomen and pulled his t-shirt back down. She checked the thermal wrap around his wrist and read the recorded temperature. "One-hundred and two point four, that's already a little better."

"...Y-Yes." The sick deviant replied tiredly as he lightly turned from his side and onto his back. "I'm fully conscious."

"Can you run a self diagnostic for me?"

Connor's closed his eyes as he tried run the program, but the same red 'Error' message from before appeared in his visual sensors. "...No."

"All right, don't worry about it." Abby took the audioscope from her satchel and slipped the ear pieces into place. As she pressed the bell down against Connor's chest she listened to his heartbeat and ventilation rate carefully. "Everything sounds normal. Did you detect any arrhythmia or tachycardia after you became infected?"

"No."

"Name all of your symptoms."

"Mild headache, overheating, numerous skin blemishes and the inability to access my advanced programming."

"Any dizziness or nausea?"

"No."

"That's good, at least you're not a textbook case of this virus." She teased playfully at the semi good news. "I already uploaded the necessary patch to remove the virus from your system, and I did the same for Bruno, so you won't get any worse. I promise.

Accepting her words as truth Connor looked down at the pink spots over his arms curiously. "...The itching sensation has stopped as well. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Placing the bottle of the pink liquid into Connor's hand Abby packed up her satchel and hefted it back over her shoulder before hefting herself back up to her feet. "I'm going to go over to New Jericho Tower and take care of the deviants there before this virus spreads any further. By the way, I heard about what happened to Skye. I'm so sorry you two were hurt, but I'm glad you're both still alive and with us."

Lucas's brow furrowed and he crossed his arms defensively. "May I ask how you know about that?"

"Barry. He lives at New Jericho Tower and he was talking about it as soon as the tower was reopened two days ago. He was thrilled to sing praises of your heroism and confirm that you and Skye both survived."

"He shouldn't be talking about it at all."

"I know, and I warned him of the dangers of spreading gossip. Now," Abby patted her growing bump and gave both Connor and Lucas a respectful smile. "I'll be on my way. Just keep tending to his fever until his self healing program is able to resume normal function. He'll be just fine in a few more hours."

"Thank you, Abby. I'll see you out." Lucas readily volunteered as he watched Abby pet Bruno's head in passing before exiting the bedroom. "We appreciate all your help, especially in your condition."

"Oh, don't worry about us." The pregnant technician insisted as she let Lucas take her arm and help her walk down the staircase. "I may have some balance issues right now, but I can take care of myself just fine."

Once the two technicians were outside of the bedroom Connor proceeded to use the compound on the rest of his blemishes as they steadily began to itch at him mercilessly. Fortunately, the outbreak of blemishes seemed to stop as soon as Abby uploaded the new patch into his system, but the blemishes that had appeared and still remained were less than ideal for the deviant to deal with it.

After Connor finished applying the compound on his sides, his legs and his feet, he replaced his sweatpants and used the half empty bottle of android medication to cover as many of Bruno's blemishes as possible. Seeing the dog's naturally dark pelt slowly dying pink from the compound would've been amusing if Connor and Bruno both didn't feel entirely miserable.

Attempting one more time to run a self diagnostic resulted in the same annoying 'Error' message popping up as before, and Connor sighed loudly. Losing patience with his lack of information resorted in Connor using the thermal to check his temperature out of curiosity.

Feeling a little relieved himself Lucas returned to the bedroom with a bag of ice wrapped up in a clean, damp washcloth and presented it to Connor as the healing deviant laid back against his pillow. "This should stop your overheating entirely." Noticing the thermal wrap still Connor's wrist Lucas gave his brother a bemused grin. "I take it your self diagnostic still isn't responding properly."

"Correct." Connor looked down at the wrap and noted his core temperature was remaining static at one-hundred and two point four. "At least the blemishes have stopped spreading and have ceased in their uncomfortable sensation."

"Abby stated that you'll be able to reboot everything in three hours time." Lucas placed the cold compress over Connor's forehead casually and checked on Bruno's own compresses to ensure the fluffy dog wasn't overheating as well. "Get some rest and you'll feel better."

"Thank you for helping me."

"Of course, brother. That's what families do; we look out for one another."

The prospect of having Lucas help him through his current ailment in a similar manner as Hank had done when he had the flu made Connor's concept of a family unit seem all the more obscured. He understood brothers helping brothers as siblings share a special connection that only a select few people can understand, but friends taking on the exact same role and responsibility seemed almost like Hank was going above and beyond what's expected in a typical friendship.

"Do all families behave as us? Or are we an unusual outlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"We've taken care of each other and we've taken care of Sydney without even hesitating, and yet I've been given identical assistance from Lieutenant Anderson in the past. He's not a technician and I've only just begun to see him as an acquaintance as well as an ally."

"Are you not friends with the Lieutenant?"

"I think we can refer to one another as friends, but even so, it's strange to consider how much the Lieutenant has done for both of us when we were ill or simply in need of some assistance."

"Our understanding of human nature and their motivations is still developing." Pressing his palm against Connor's shoulder for a moment Lucas checked his brother's temperature and decided it'd be best to let Connor sleep through the remaining few hours of his illness. "Rest. We'll discuss this later if you still wish to talk."

Nodding in agreement Connor laid back and decided it'd be best to let his system recalibrate and adjust to the new patch. "Very well. Thank you for helping us today, we appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Sleep for now, I'll be down in the study cybernetically monitoring activity within New Jericho Tower."

As the healing deviant's eyes slipped shut Connor watched Lucas exit the bedroom and head back down the staircase to ensure Connor and Bruno had some space to rest without feeling like they were being watched. Confident that his brother would make a full recovery Lucas decided it was time to get some rest of his own and relax in the study while everyone else was sleeping on the second floor.

Holding four different positions at once was an exhausting responsibility that left Lucas feeling drained yet satisfied on a personal level. Despite issues in the past Lucas knew he had his stress under control and didn't need to worry about burning out a second time.

Evening fell over the city without any further issues from the virus or any other glitches popping up and impacting the deviant community. The patch was successfully passed out to all facilities, shelters and out to New Jericho Tower to ensure any and all infected deviants were properly aided without any permanent damage to their persons. With everyone making a swift recovery as the day came to an end the deviant community was able to rest relatively easy and the facilities were now far less busy with so many sick deviants being properly treated and now recovering from the strange virus that had swept through the city during the previous night while residing within their own homes or apartments.

On the second floor of the brownstone Connor had regained consciousness and had noticed that Bruno had already done the same. The two previously ill deviants had made a full recovery and were eager to check in on Lucas as the exhausted deviant rested in the study.

Moving with silent footsteps Connor descended the staircase with Bruno right behind him. Seeing Lucas asleep over the length of one of the sofas in the study was enough to remind Connor that everyone had their limits, even the most advanced android ever created.

"Lucas?" Kneeling beside the sofa so that they could be eye level, Connor gently awoke his brother from his rest mode. "How are things out at the tower?"

"Connor." Opening his green eyes Lucas quickly noticed Connor's presence and saw that his condition had seemingly improved. Quickly pressing the back of his hand to Connor's forehead Lucas noted that his temperature seemed normal, and that the deviant was no longer overheating. "You were in rest mode for six hours."

"I'm aware of the extended time frame for rest mode, but I felt it was important considering how long I had been ill. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Sitting upright on the sofa Lucas moved his legs aside so Connor could sit down beside him. "And New Jericho Tower has confirmed that everyone is okay. No casualties. How do you feel at the moment?"

"Normal. The virus has been removed from my system and I am able to run full self diagnostics once again." Pressing his fingertips to one of the pink tinted marks on his face Connor gave Lucas a somewhat embarrassed look. "I'm going to wash this compound off of my skin now that it has served its purpose. Any further reports on the virus itself?"

"Only that the patch that Abby helped create is working and they expect it to be entirely contained before the night is over."

"That's good. No one else will get sick."

Bruno snuffled a little as he put his paw on Connor's knee and gave him a somber look.

"I think I'll take a second shower now and give Bruno a quick rinse to ensure he doesn't have any of the compound left in his fur."

"That's a good idea." Lucas agreed to the refreshing shower and noted that the pink in Bruno's fur was simply not a good color on the dog. "And tomorrow, we'll start looking more into the mysterious assailant who attacked you together."

"I had been explicitly told-"

"It doesn't matter." After seeing how dedicated Connor had been to the investigation Lucas realized that it was wrong to tell him to not try to help find the assailant who had nearly taken two lives in one assault. "We can still investigate the case in our free time, and if we uncover anything about the assailant's identity then we can send the collected information over to the Central Precinct under the guise of an anonymous tip."

"Thank you for helping me." Having assistance in his investigation would undoubtedly give him the edge he needed to finally make progress. "I know it was foolish of me to venture out into the streets to look for the very assailant who had nearly killed Skye and myself, but I find it unacceptable to sit back and not at least try to help locate them."

"Understandable." Patting Bruno's side for a moment Lucas encouraged his older brother to keep up the search after he had more adequate time to rest. "Until this person is identified and brought to justice, I fear no one in the deviant community will be able to rest well at night. There is a dangerous person on the loose, and no one should be discouraged from trying to do their part to locate them."

"Right." With a gracious nod Connor patted Lucas's shoulder with appreciation and encouraged Bruno to follow him back upstairs so they could rinse the compound off of their bodies and feel more comfortable. "Tomorrow we will begin the investigation anew, and we won't stop looking until the assailant in black has been located. It's the least we can do to protect all of our people, not just ourselves and our friends."

-next chapter-