The air was becoming increasingly brisk as the autumnal chill won out over summer and would give way to winter in just a few more weeks. As October continued with an unusually calm and quiet manner courtesy of the previous mandatory citywide evacuation, it seemed everyone in the city was walking on eggshells. No one wanted to deal with any more domestic terrorist groups or nutjobs with misplaced vendettas, and as a result everyone was mostly keeping to themselves. It wasn't as eerie as it felt when the entire city had been vacated, but the noted lack of activity in the city beyond a few people going about their business or decorating for Halloween taking place at the end of the month.

Having fully recovered from his past injuries and having closed two big cases - the identity of the man who had attacked Skye and himself, and the identity of the domestic terrorist group "Quondam" - Connor was feeling a little restless. Without any new cases to work on or any clients stopping by his brownstone seeking his assistance Connor decided to spend the day doing what he wanted, when he wanted and for any reason he wanted.

Interested in touring the city during autumn so he could enjoy the changing leaves as nature slowly became dormant during the impending winter, Connor decided it was an ideal time to use his motorcycle and go sightseeing. It was a simple idea, and yet it was too enticing to ignore.

Slipping on his helmet Connor pulled his motorcycle out of the newly constructed garage built on to the side of the brownstone and began a steady tour of the city. Passing by the local parks, along the floral shops and the neighborhoods with massive properties kept in ideal condition. The sight of the trees changing colors and the flowers going dormant for winter was a beautiful and hopeful sight to behold.

The only sight that marred the beautiful nature came in the form of digital billboards reminding the city of the upcoming mayoral election and of the sole candidate running unopposed. Seeing the smug man's face plastered on the display screens with reminders of the impending date and election was enough to ruin what was supposed to be a relaxing day to just drive about aimlessly and enjoy the sights of the autumnal atmosphere.

The near silence of the motorcycle had initially helped Connor enjoy his day a little more, but soon found himself dealing with an unexpected issue that he had hoped to avoid while riding his modified and very mobile motorcycle. Turning the corner of the block with great ease Connor cybernetically tapped into the motorcycle's functions to ensure everything was performing within optimal parameters, and only came to a stop when he needed to idle at a red light. Glancing about the intersection as the light turned green Connor resumed his drive only to catch sight of a large dark car screeching toward him as it slammed on the brakes and blew its horn at the deviant.

Unable to get out of the way in time to avoid the collision, all Connor could do was brace for the impact and try to endure the damage as much as possible.

Feeling the car slam into the front of the motorcycle Connor closed his eyes as his body flew over the handlebars, struck the hood of the car and rolled up over the glass windshield before he came to a violent stop via impacting the street beside the car on his right side. Numerous red warnings bombarded his vision as his self diagnostic confirmed the damage, and a warning Klaxon sounded off inside his head indicating the severity of his physical condition.

While Connor had escaped internal trauma to his biocomponents and his intracranial processor, his arms and shoulders weren't as fortunate. The impact with the car head on had effectively dislocated both shoulders with so much force that his arms were nearly severed from their sockets. The main internal Thirium lines were torn open and now leaking heavily as the deviant began to bleed out from his injuries.

"Hey!" The driver of the car opened the door to get out and check on Connor, then yell at him for the accident. "What the hell man? What were you-"

Two 'blips' of a siren sounded off as a patrolling squad car happened to witness the accident from the intersection. Chris stepped out of the squad car to check on the situation and handle the problem himself. "Whoa, hey. Back off, man. Let him breathe."

"It's not my fault!" The driver argued as Chris knelt beside Connor and began checking the deviant's legs for any breaks while radioing in the accident to dispatch. Until Jack was cleared for duty Chris would have to work solo for a while. "I didn't hear him coming!"

"It doesn't matter if you could hear him or not," Chris refuted as he moved his hands up to check Connor's torso and then his arms. "you ran a red light and I caught it all on my dash cam. Just because the streets are quiet doesn't mean you can illegally pass through intersections without any consequences."

"But he's-" Noticing that a heavy amount of Thirium was pouring from Connor's arms around his shoulders the man scoffed and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just an android. Thought I was in trouble for second."

"You ARE in trouble!" Chris confirmed as he requested E.F.T.'s to the scene of the accident. Recognizing Connor's face through the cracked visor of the black helmet Chris carefully removed the helmet entirely so he could speak to Connor more directly. "Hey, man. Help's coming, just lay still."

"...Chris?" Blinking once Connor dismissed the red warnings in his visual processors and took in a pained breath. Trying to get up despite Chris telling him to stay down Connor realized that the damage to his shoulders and arms was indeed very serious. "...M-My arms. I can't feel them."

"They're both still there, they're just pretty banged up." The way Connor's shoulders were dislocated, and the upper arms were twisted, Chris was actually glad that Connor couldn't feel them at the moment. That level of hypothetical pain that made Chris's stomach twist. "You're just numb, but they're both still there."

"...D-Driver hit me." The deviant detective needlessly confirmed as he assessed the situation. "C-Couldn't stop in time."

"I know, I saw. So did the dash cam." Shrugging off his jacket Chris draped it over Connor in a comforting manner while he gauged Connor's lucidity. "I'll call Lucas and the Lieutenant for you."

The driver was trying to take his leave of the accident while the young detective was distracted by Connor, but Chris caught sight of him attempting to sneak away.

"Hey!" Standing back up Chris confronted the driver and warned him against trying to run. "You not only ran a red light and struck another vehicle, but the driver of that second vehicle is a DETECTIVE. If you even try to run then you're guaranteed fifty years behind bars for the hit and run of a police officer!"

"But..." Paling considerably the man just couldn't seem to fathom that he was in the wrong. "It's just a-"

"Deviant or not, YOU broke the law! I saw you speed through the red light, and I saw you hit him. You're going down, don't make things worse!"

A white news van rushed to the scene as a news reporter and camera converge on the scene to report the accident since they were in a rather nice neighborhood and word of anything unusual happening travels fast. Connor turned his face away from the camera and was grateful when a second, larger vehicle arrived at the scene to effectively cut off the news report.

The android unique ambulance arrived at the scene of the accident and Connor gave the vehicle an irritated sigh. Despite knowing he needed to go and get repairs Connor loathed the idea of making his friends and family worry about him. Things were finally getting back to normal and then something stupid and pointless like a car accident just ruined the moves.

"We're taking you to the Zeta Facility." The first E.F.T., Marie, stated as she checked over Connor's bleeding arms and proceeded to apply line clamps to stop the severe leaks. Due to the extreme nature of the dual shoulder dislocations neither E.F.T. wanted to try to reconnect or even fully remove Connor's arms to cause the internal couplings to shut off the Thirium flow for the time being. They might accident make the damage worse. "You're going to remain numb until you're at the facility, but you are in fact stable."

"...Thank you."

"Try not to move." Marie urged firmly as she and her partner cut way Connor's road tattered t-shirt and slipped off his leather jacket to ensure all of the leaking lines had been clamped off before they picked him up to put him down on their rolling gurney. "Refrain from entering stasis mode. We need to run a full diagnostic and you need to give us an idea of how well your processors are responding."

"I-I understand. I won't... move."

Clenching his teeth as the movement from street to gurney sent a burning pain through both shoulders, Connor closed his eyes and cybernetically let Lucas know what had happened. Feeling the security straps of the gurney being placed over his shins, thighs, waist, chest and forehead Connor just glanced about the area and caught sight of Chris handcuffing the driver who hit him, and then placing him in the back of the squad car. Knowing that everything was under control Connor just closed his eyes and trusted the technicians to help him through his current condition and hoped that Lucas wouldn't worry too much about him.

Glancing down at his blue blood soaked, cut open black t-shirt and the torn open artificial skin along his shoulders, Connor tried to flex his fingers, but the damage to the internal lines cut off the blood flow to his arms from the elbows down. "...Shit. I can't move anything in my arms."

"You'll be fine, sir." Packing gauze onto the wounds Marie did her best to remain professional and kind. "Just relax. You'll be at the facility in no time."

Looking through the opened ambulance doors just before they were shut, Connor stared at his wrecked motorcycle with a sense of defeat and promptly laid his head back down on the gurney to lay still. He wanted something to do, but repairing his motorcycle wasn't exactly the most appealing task at the moment.

Granted that it wasn't unusual for Hank to get calls regarding one of his fellow officers being in some sort of accident in the line of duty but getting calls about Connor getting hurt was becoming more frequent. Being shown to Connor's recovery room down the corridor of the Zeta Facility Hank and Lucas were informed that the deviant detective had suffered severe damage to his arms, but he would in fact recover within a few days. Due to the way his shoulders were dislocated Connor's arms had been partially severed, and as such the internal lines needed to be repaired and the plastimetal of his twisted and mangled arms and shoulders needed to be soldered back into place.

The deviant had both arms wrapped up in gauze bandages and he had two slings supporting both healing arms. His arms were resting over his chest and the healing limbs were being held against his chest with additional gauze to ensure they remained as still as possible while his self healing program functioned. Sitting upright in the recovery bed Connor's soulful brown eyes were a little glazed over and he was staring at the gauze on his chest as if he had never seen such wrappings before.

"Connor is going to be just fine and go home tonight." Abby confirmed as she stood with Hank and Lucas outside the recovery room door. She was looking increasingly uncomfortable as was reaching her seventh month of pregnancy. "However," looking a little sheepish the kind technician cleared her throat and tagged on something interesting. "in order to get his arms properly repaired I had to use very intricate and invasive procedures that would cause quite a bit of pain to his person."

"Yeah, well, the kid isn't exactly a stranger to pain." Hank sighed as he looked at Connor through the observation window while the deviant was resting in his bed and was seemingly staring off into space. His arms were secured in canvas slings that were supported by straps wrapped around his neck and shoulders. "So why do you look so nervous?"

"Because I gave Connor a new type of android painkiller called Thiricetomal to take the edge off the pain, and this new type of painkiller apparently has a rather... intoxicating side effect on prototypes."

"Intoxicating?" Peering at Connor again as the deviant sat on the bed with his glassy eyes Hank's own eyes narrowed a bit. "Wait, are you saying he's high right now?"

"More like he's... drunk." Abby admitted while still looking sheepish. "We made sure to update the manufacturers of this painkiller to let them know that it seemingly gets prototype designs drunk."

"You're kidding." An amused smirk appeared on Hank's face as he contemplated what babysitting a drunk deviant would be like. "He's actually drunk?"

"It'll pass after he gets some sleep." She managed to just barely answer without laughing as she rubbed her palm alongside her growing bump. "I assure you that he's not in danger, he'll just be a little... loopy."

"All right, I've handled drunks before, so I know what to do." Chuckling a little Hank entered the recovery room and stood beside Connor's bed while Lucas stood just behind him unsure of what to say or think. "Hey, son. How do you feel?"

Slowly Connor's head turned to face Hank as he blinked his eyes very slowly. His glassy eyes lit up for a moment he recognized Hank after a few seconds of thought. "I feel... light."

"Yeah? Being lightheaded is a typical sign of a good buzz."

"They..." Tilting his head in confusion Connor stared at Hank for a moment as he tried to comprehend what was happening to him. "There aren't bees in here."

Putting his hand over his mouth to hide his amused laugh Hank kept his cool. "You're right. Uh, want to go back to my house for a few hours?"

"...Are there bees there?"

"No, son." Withholding his amused laughter Hank did his best to remain in control and mature in the odd moment. "No bees."

"Oh." Quiet for a second as he processed what Hank was saying Connor continued to speak in fluent 'drunkenese'. "Bees... Bees buzz. I think."

"Yes, they do." Putting his hand to the back of Connor's shoulder, mindful of the damage that had been repaired, Hank helped him to sit more upright on the bed so he could get up and walk. "I'll help you stand up. Move nice and slow."

"I... I am 'ztanding."

"Huh?"

Staring at Lucas standing behind Hank the goofy deviant tried to nod at Lucas only to wobble where he was sitting. "Behind you."

"No, son. You're looking at Lucas right now!" It was proving to be a real challenge to not laugh at Connor as he continued to speak with utter confusion. "You're still sitting down."

"...I am?"

"Yup."

"Oh..." Connor looked down at himself and then up at Hank again. "I didn't notiz'."

"Yeah," chuckling softly Hank helped the deviant to slide his legs over the edge of the bed to stand up. "that's okay."

As Connor stood up on his shaking legs beside the bed, he stared at Lucas again and then down at himself, then up at Lucas again. "...Mirrorz' broken."

Doing his best to keep his amusement to himself Hank just slipped off his coat and wrapped it around Connor's shoulders to ensure he was warm after losing so much Thirium and needing to heal. "That's not a mirror, that's your brother."

"...Oh. Hi, brother."

"Lucas, take him to the car." Hank was practically biting his tongue in half to keep himself from laughing. "I need a minute to myself."

"Yes," leading Connor away Lucas had no problem with helping his brother to walk. "of course. Come with me, Connor."

"Okay."

Watching as Connor stumbled a little as he walked and kept looking as Lucas as if suspicious of the full length and talking 'mirror', Hank walked back over to Abby and gave her a somewhat annoyed glance as he pushed his laughter aside. "You said his arms were almost entirely severed and that he'll need a few days to heal, what about his Thirium?"

"His Thirium levels have been restored." The skilled technician confirmed as she handed Hank the discharge papers to sign. "He just needs to sleep. The sooner he sleeps the sooner that enhanced Thiricetomal can get absorbed his Thirium filter and disposed of. Oh, there's also reports of the enhanced Thiricetomal causing nausea. So, yeah, keep a look out for that."

"Great... Sounds like fun."

"You're the one who said you've dealt with drunks before, you should be used to cleaning up a little vomit!"

"Yeah, and blue vomit at that." Signing the chart Hank handed everything back to Abby and gave her a curious glance. "The potency of blueberry daquiris shouldn't be underestimated. So, why are you working right now?"

"Got bored sitting around the house with just the cat to talk to. Lucky's good company and all, but she sucks at holding a decent conversation."

"And how'd Gavin respond to you coming back to work after the bomb blast a few weeks back while you're still pregnant?"

"He wasn't thrilled, but I reminded him that if he was going to complain about me making some extra money for the baby then he could work every second of overtime until the baby's full grown and out of the house."

"Eighteen years of overtime sounds torturous."

"Try being bored while having a good six pounds or so pressing down on your bladder all day long."

"No thanks." Patting his hand over his abdomen Hank gave Abby a truly sympathetic look. "I dropped my gut and I don't want it back. Just take it easy and know that there's no shame in asking for help if you're feeling overwhelmed with the new baby and all that stuff."

"I know, and thanks. Now go take care of your own kid and make sure he doesn't throw-up on anything you don't want dyed blue. But in the event that he does puke on something you don't want to throw out, red vinegar helps remove Thirium faster so that you don't have to wait for it to evaporate."

"Yeah..." The idea of mopping up vomit was one Hank despised needing to contemplate. "Looking forward to seeing how well that works out!"

Having to essentially carry Connor out of the Oldsmobile to get him inside the house, Hank and Lucas had considered putting padding and pillows on the corners of the tables and locking doors as the inebriated deviant stumbled about clumsily from room to room. Connor wasn't being too outrageous or doing anything dangerous, but he was still not to be trusted to be alone. Even without the use of his arms Connor was able to wander about and get into things that might prove harmful to his health. Just as he was about to take an analysis sample of Sumo's food right from the dog's bowl Lucas managed to grab onto Connor's shoulder and pull him back up to his feet and out of the kitchen.

While Lucas took Connor down the hallway and into his guestroom Hank decided to take the initiative and check on the Thirium available in the cabinets and make sure he had some vinegar just in case. The senior detective and experienced father knew to always be prepared for messes and messy people.

"Fuck me."

Pressing his hands to his lower back as he checked his phone Hank looked at the images of the wrecked motorcycle and winced. The mangled white frame was in need of serious love, and he could only imagine how much worse it looked on the inside.

"That kid's lucky he isn't worse off than he is."

The sight of the scuffed up and damaged helmet sitting on the workbench beside the motorcycle made the senior detective's stomach drop. As he peered at the cracked visor Hank had a weird, twisted sense of Deja vu and to the car accident that took Cole away from him all those years ago.

"I'm buying him a new helmet first thing tomorrow morning!"

Heading down the hallway Hank checked in on Connor and spotted the deviant sitting upright on the bed with Lucas beside him. The sight of Connor looking so helpless, confused and sick was enough to make even the most hardened heart soften for a beat.

"How do you feel, Connor?"

"...I can't." The deviant replied in a delayed manner as he gave Hank a totally lost stare. "Armz' are broken."

"Well, we know how your arms feeling, what about your head or any other part of your body?"

"Shoulderz' are broken."

"Okay, uh... What about your head?"

"No. I don't have that."

Hank stifled another laugh as Lucas proceeded to put his palm against his older brother's chest and perform a basic system scan. "Lucas, what's going on with him that he can't quite put into words?"

"Aside from numbness through his fingers, hands, arms and shoulders, his system is struggling to process the Thiricetomal since his system considers the painkiller as a foreign contaminant in his Thirium lines." Lucas confirmed as he lowered his hand and gave his brother somber look. "There is no internal damage that had been accidentally overlooked and his self healing program is functioning properly."

Slowly Connot turned to look at Lucas and gave him a lost stare. "...'Zen whyz' my 'ztomach weird?"

"What do you- Oh! I know." Hustling Connor out of the bedroom and into the bathroom across the hallway Lucas managed to get Connor over the toilet just as the deviant threw-up in two painful wretches before falling back against Lucas's leg tiredly. "You're okay, big brother. That's just your system trying to rid your lines of the lingering Thiricetomal."

After following the two deviants into the bathroom Hank proceeded to dampen a washcloth under the cool tap and used it to clean off Connor's chin and lips gently after he was suddenly sick. "Yeah, you're okay, son."

Coughing once Connor seemed to gain some form of lucidity. "...S-Sorry."

"It's okay." Placing the washcloth down on the sink Hank nodded at Lucas they worked together to help Connor up to his feet to slowly escort him back to the guestroom across the hallway. "You should be able to sleep now."

"...Got sick."

"We know." Hank sympathized as he helped Connor to lay back down on the bed to sleep. The moment Connor's head hit the pillow he was asleep, and Hank was relieved to see it. "Could you tell Abby that he's thrown-up that stuff and is now resting?"

"I will do so." Lucas confirmed as he closed his eyes and cybernetically contacted Barry at the Zeta Facility to pass the message over to Abby. "I'll remain here and monitor his system while he's in rest mode. I don't want him to suffer any further complications or roam anywhere he shouldn't be."

Hank watched as Connor's chest slowly rose and fell with his steady breathing and proceeded to drape the quilt over his body. "Well, based on your reflexes when Connor tried to eat dog food," he was beginning to grin as he watched the compassionate deviant remaining protectively vigil over his brother. "I think you'll have no problem in keeping him from walking out into the street or something."

"Thanks for the confirmation." Now smirking himself Lucas backed away and gave Connor some space as he and Hank retired to the livingroom for the afternoon. "It's also nice to know what I could potentially look and sound like if I let myself get intoxicated."

"Never get drunk, it's an unpleasant look."

"Clearly. It also makes you want to put dog food in your mouth."

Laughing as the two sat down on the couch Hank just rubbed his hand over his tired eyes and tried to process the fact that someone as advanced and sharp as Connor almost at actual dog food out of the bowl. "We'll keep the dog food part to ourselves to use as metaphorical blackmail later on."

"I doubt that'll be necessary." The too kind deviant replied as he ran a quick biometric scan over Hank's vital signs. "How's your head?"

"Concussion's on the mend." Hank confirmed as he looked at Lucas sitting beside him on the couch and soon had Sumo rising from his pillow in the corner of the livingroom to check out the deviant technician before wandering down the hallway to then check on Connor. "I still get a few dizzy spells if I move too quickly, but the headache's gone, I'm not nauseous and my memory is still intact. I heard Jack's going to be back in the field in the next two days, so we're all on the mend."

"That's good to know. I'm very glad that no one was killed during Quondam's reign of terror."

"Me too. Think that their little stunt is going to affect the deviant community?"

"Unknown." Glancing back over his shoulder toward the hallway Lucas honed in on Connor resting in the guestroom and continuously monitored his brother's condition cybernetically. "Considering the group nearly killed Markus and would've succeeded if it hadn't been for other resourceful people banding together to aid the city's first responders, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if suspicions and paranoia didn't play a factor regarding the impending mayoral election."

"Fuck, I almost forgot about the election completely." The Lieutenant had been so preoccupied with Quondam and the other problems in the city that he hadn't thought about the impending mayoral election for months. "Sure as Hell hope someone else runs against Kamski before it's too late to stop him."

"As do I. I can't imagine that the city will be improved in the way it needs to change if someone as controversial and unpredictable as Kamski takes any form of power and authority over the city."

"Can you guys vote in any elections yet?"

"Yes, that was one of the very first rights that Markus had fought to acquire when he began stepping up as the leader and reaching out to those with any legal authority regarding rights and laws within the state of Michigan."

"Good. You guys all need to vote for whoever runs against... Know what?" Stopping himself before he got started Hank sighed and gave Lucas a humbled glance as he realized what he was about to say. "You guys know better than humans do about taking responsibility and making the right decisions. Besides, blindly voting for 'the other one' just because you don't like the primary candidate is a waste of a vote and a blind, arrogant way of thinking. Don't just vote for someone because you don't like the competition. Always doublecheck who you're voting for and why, since you need to make sure their values and plans for the city aren't all entirely self serving or shortsighted."

"Speaking from personal experience?"

"Let's just say that for humans, the past twenty years were full of a lot of hatred, bigotry, resentment and incredibly selfish mindsets that nearly tore the entire country apart when it came to big elections. People forgot that we were meant to be voting for leaders, not mascots or hoping for 'our side' to win. We were supposed to be putting people who were actually concerned with aiding the country as a whole rather than just padding their pockets and saying catch phrases while the people around them and beneath them suffered."

"With any luck the deviant community will remain strong with such convictions even as our personalities develop, and we form our own opinions."

"Yeah, a lot of luck and WAY more patience than any human could ever muster. You'll be fine, son. I know that you, Connor and the other deviants are going to make this world a bearable, livable place again."

Feeling sore, weak and like he was recovering from a nasty bout of the android-flu Connor awoke in a bed that he didn't remember laying down in and was startled for a moment when he realized he couldn't move his arms at all. Sitting upright slowly Connor watched as the quilt fell away from his chest and he suddenly remembered that he had been in a motorcycle accident that had left him with horribly injured arms and shoulders. With no memory of leaving the facility or going to Hank's home, Connor just laid back down and tried to get his head to stop spinning and aching as soon as possible. Barely able to move his fingertips Connor knew he still needed to heal and hoped he'd heal sooner rather than later.

Sumo felt Connor awaken and happily greeted the deviant with a slobbery kiss to his cheek. The gentle Saint Bernard had been keeping Connor company as he healed and was happy to see Connor awake and alert again.

"Hello, Sumo."

The large dog wagged his tail as he rested his paw over Connor's knee.

"It's nice to see you again, although, I'd prefer if I remembered why I was brought here to heal instead of remaining in the facility or going back to my brownstone."

Lucas had detected that had Connor woken up and decided to check on his big brother in person. "You were brought here to prevent any potential issues with you trying to ascend or descend the staircase at the brownstone, and I was able to continue to monitor the Lieutenant a while longer as he continues to recovery from his concussion."

"...I see." Tilting his head a little Connor acknowledged his brother's arrival with a confused glaze over his soulful brown eyes. "What happened after I was admitted to the Zeta Facility? I remember speaking with Abby and of her explaining my treatment process, but after that... It's all a blur."

"You were strongly affected by Thiricetomal and were left rather inebriated after your treatment."

"...Oh."

"You also threw-up after you came home, but after that slept all through the night."

"I believe that."

Placing a chilled bottle of Thirium down on the nightstand beside Connor's bed Lucas gave him a somber look. "That should help your stomach. Would you like me to help you drink it?"

"N-No, I'll be fine." Whether it was pride or shame keeping Connor from accepting Lucas's help, he couldn't quite say. "Thanks."

"Hey, son, check this out." Hank addressed the deviant as he entered the guestroom and held up his phone for Connor to see. "You made the news last night."

The images from Connor's motorcycle accident were being played out much to the deviant's dismay. Despite his best efforts to look away from the camera his face was clearly Connor on the screen, and he hated it.

"Want me to go threaten the broadcast center since you didn't consent and sign a waiver?"

"Actually, yes." Connor admitted with a mild hint of irritation to his words. "My personal incident is no one else's business."

Proud of the answer Hank pocketed his phone and agreed to handle it. "Consider it done. I've always wanted to tear into those nosy reporters..."

"Do not do anything that'll ruin your career or influence at the precinct."

"A little late for that warning."

"But you've been striving to regain a respectful reputation, and you've succeeded. Don't let this incident be the one to undo all your hard work."

The kind words weren't necessarily unexpected, but Connor mentioning how Hank had been working hard to atone for his past mistakes and be a better person seemingly came out of nowhere. It was nice to have his efforts being acknowledged by someone that Hank actually respected the opinions of.

"All right," Hank responded with a surprising amount of patience to his tone. The previously gruff and volatile detective that Connor had first met seemed to have vanished entirely and was replaced with someone harboring a heart of gold. "I'll do what I can to not fuck up anymore. And I'll start by not getting my ass thrown to the wolves by sucker punching a bunch of nosy reporters."

"That's a good idea."

"Speaking of punches... How're your arms?"

"They are still attached." Connor replied almost indifferently as he flexed his fingers slowly and allowed Lucas to carefully remove his arms one at a time from their supportive slings keeping his arms pinned against his chest. With the slings removed Connor felt slightly freer, but his consistent lack of strength and movement in his arms reminded him of his temporary limitations. "They feel... heavy."

"At least you can still feel them."

"Barely." Trying and failing to lift his right arm quickly left Connor feeling weak and almost useless. He could feel his synthetic muscles tensing in response to his urge to get his arm to lift up and budge, but the arm itself failed to actually move on its own. "Shit."

"You'll be fine in a few more hours. After that, you can fix up your motorcycle again."

"That'll be difficult to do without the use of my hands."

"Give yourself time to heal and then you'll have that slick ride up and rolling all over again. I'll even help ya' if you want me to."

"That'd be nice. I'd hate to put all that money and effort into something just to dispose of it because another person made a mistake."

Lightly Lucas lifted up Connor's right arm and slowly moved the limb to rotate it in the shoulder joint and help the arm regain some use. "Can you feel that?"

"Yes, but I cannot move it on my own."

"Try creating a fist."

Watching as Lucas held his arm outward at its full length, Connor slowly but successfully curled his fingers into a fist and managed to hold it for a few minutes. "I can move my fingers at the very least."

"At your estimated rate of healing, you'll have full use of your hands within two hours, then your arms in six hours." Lucas confirmed as he helped Connor to slowly climb out of the bed and stand up and move about the house. "However, you won't be back to full strength for another twelve hours."

"Damn. I dislike being unable to function without assistance."

"We all feel the same way."

As he let out a dejected sigh Connor felt another wet slobbery kiss on his cheek as Sumo tried to help the deviant feel better. Seeing the Saint Bernard standing on the bed and wagging his tail was enough to help Connor feel a little less stressed out.

"What of Bruno?"

"While you were resting, I had returned to the brownstone to ensure that your motorcycle was secured in the garage and then I brought Bruno back with me upon my return here so that he and Sumo can play together. Right now, he's playing with Sumo's fetch ball in the livingroom."

'Bruno is here!' The K-9 unit had heard Connor speak his name and immediately trotted down the hallway to greet his deviant guardian with green fetch ball in his mouth. 'Connor is better?'

"Not just yet, but I am getting there." Moving his hand slowly Connor invited Bruno over for some ear rubs. The loyal dog quickly put his head beneath Connor's limp left hand and wagged his tail as Connor managed to gently scratch behind his ears. "Good boy."

Hank lightly put his hand on Connor's opposite arm and gave the deviant a small nod of the head. "Since you two were taking care of my when I was hurt, and you're not going to be able to do anything on your own for a while anyway, why don't you just relax with me and enjoy a movie or two?"

"Movie night? In the morning?"

"Sure. I..." Trailing off as he looked away from the deviant brothers for a moment Hank put his hand to the back of his short gray hair and ran his thumb up and down through the locks somewhat anxiously. "The truth is, I miss just having company with me. Barb, Cole and I used to watch a movie every Friday night as a form of family bonding. Barb and I had our first date at the movies, and we just really connected over it and wanted to do the same for our son."

Connor could tell that it was difficult for Hank to admit that he was feeling lonely. The deviant detective knew how hard it was to function while entirely alone, he also knew how much easier it was to endure physical, emotion and even psychological hardships with the support of a family member or a friend. At the moment Hank didn't have any family left, but he did have at least one friend whenever Connor or Lucas spent time with him.

In that moment though, Hank had two friends with him.

"If we agree to watch a movie with you, will you agree to make an effort to ask for help whenever you're injured or ill in the future rather than try to suffer in silence?"

"I'll tell ya' what..." Stepping out of the bedroom so Connor could exit the guestroom without stumbling Hank suggested a counter to the deviant's offer. "I'll stop trying to hide or ignore my own problems if you do the same. Sound like a deal?"

Connor was quiet for a moment as he processed what Hank had asked of him and reluctantly agreed. "That is acceptable."

Lucas was impressed with the way Hank was able to get Connor to agree to such an arrangement. He had been hoping for Connor to do such a thing under his own freewill for months, but he'd consider the compromise as a win even if it only came to fruition from Hank's willingness to be more open about his own issues.

"Perhaps you should run for mayor, Hank." Lucas urged as he watched Connor slowly but surely maneuver around the couch to sit down and rest. Within seconds both dogs were at Connor's sides and pressing their noses against his limp hands resting over his lap in an affectionate manner. "You seem to have quite the skill with making arrangements and creating mutual agreements."

"Yeah, fuckin' right." The Lieutenant practically laughed off the suggestion as he took the recliner for himself and leaned back against the thick cushion to ensure that his back wouldn't ache at him for sitting for a long time. "Maybe if I was still suicidal then I'd make a run for mayor, but now that I'm not feeling self destructive these days I'm not gonna' do that. Besides, I'd lose in a massive and comical landslide during the actual election."

"How so?"

"Aside from my three years of absolute anarchy during the lowest part of my life giving the competition plenty of leverage over me by bringing my shadier moments to light, having my exemplary record beforehand would guaran-damn-tee a massive target on my back from the hundreds of 'red ice' dealers wanting to get revenge on me for putting their sorry ass in jail and destroying their schemes."

"That's a shame."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I think you'd be a good mayor due to your experience with working within the city, with its people, with its laws and with the deviant community."

"Nah, I appreciate it though."

Connor had to agree with Lucas and hoped that someone else with a similar experience or mindset as Hank would be an ideal mayor. The senior detective was an ideal mayoral candidate whether he agreed to run or not.

"Now, let's see what's playing." Hank suggested as he picked up the remote and settled into his comfortable chair. "I bet there's a ton of cheesy horror movies we can choose from right now."

"Why do you like to watch movies that seem to favor horrendous plots, subpar acting, unconvincing special effects and poor overall production?"

"Because it makes me laugh."

"Why not simply watch a comedy instead?"

"Because humor is subjective." The Lieutenant replied so casually that it was as if he had answered the question a thousand times before. "Comedies tend to aim at a single demographic with its humor rather than trying to reach a wider audience. Not to mention the fact that I have a pretty fucked up sense of humor, which means finding movies that make me laugh aren't going to be found in the standard comedy sections meant for the public."

"Oh." Moving his hands a little more despite his slow self healing program, Connor managed to rub at Bruno and Sumo's chins as he sat on the couch with Lucas at his side and Hank in the neighboring recliner. He was healing just fine. "Every movie you've chosen in the past has proven to be entertaining. I suspect you'll be able to find something entertaining in its own right."

"You bet your ass I will." Using the remote Hank cycled through the movies available for streaming and just smirked as he ran across a classic that helped define his generation's taste in horror and psychological dramas. "Here we go, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. It should still hold up after all this time, but if it doesn't then we'll have a good laugh."

Neither deviant knew of the film and they had no interest in horror movies in general, but they were willing to give the movie a shot. They didn't have anywhere they needed to be at the moment, and they didn't like the idea of going back to the brownstone while leaving Hank all alone in his warm and open home.

They just wanted to finally feel at ease.

-next chapter-