It was odd, being tall again.

A good odd, but still. Connor had grown used to his smaller stature and being back to all six feet of his usual height was a change. He had already smacked his head on the car twice and tripped over his own legs more times than he planned on admitting to the Lieutenant.

It was his calibration that was off, really. Despite Simon assuring him it would even out after a short while, it was still proving to be cumbersome.

"You know, we can always take another couple of days," Hank said from his place behind the wheel. "No need to rush back to work, I'm sure Jeffery will be fine with it."

Connor looked away from where he had been staring out the window to give Hank his full attention. "We have already been off far too long," he countered. "It's not fair to our coworkers to continue covering our cases when we are perfectly capable of returning to work."

"Still a fuckin' workaholic," he sighed, carefully merging onto a far busier street then they had been on.

Admittedly, he had only gotten his adult body back the day before. He hadn't had it for more than twelve hours, so it was understandable why he might find it a little fast. But Connor wanted to get back into his normal routine. He missed his job. "I do enjoy my work. You know that, Lieutenant."

"Lieutenant." The word was said like it left a bad taste on his tongue and he wrinkled his nose as though in disgust. "Right. Guess we're back to that shit."

Connor frowned at the negative response. It always eluded him why Hank was so resistant to his professional title at times. "We are going to work," he pointed out. He always called him Lieutenant at work.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." As if to illustrate that point, he pulled into the precinct, taking only a few moments to find a vacant parking space.

Connor took the time to evaluate the Lieutenant's odd behavior.

He certainly didn't seem opposed to other people using the title. He was a man proud of his accomplishments and had no issue with people acknowledging them. Hank only seemed irritated when he addressed him that way. Despite Connor's issues with self-esteem, he knew better than to believe Hank had a problem with him. Hank loved him.

No, this was different. And more pronounced than what he had seen before. They had been off work for several days, so perhaps he had just grown used to the familiarity over professionalism.

He tried to catch Hank's eye, but he was staring stubbornly at the dash. "Lieutenant," he started, but noticed how his brow twitched in irritation at the sound.

Then again, maybe it was less the title and more professional distance it commanded.

His bigger body wasn't the only thing that he needed to adjust to. He and Hank had grown used to their interactions with him being small and neither really knew how close they were allowed to be now that he was an adult again. It was a drastic difference considering how inseparable they had been following his kidnapping and while Connor would readily accept any of the affection Hank had shown him as a child, he understood that it wasn't how grown men typically behaved.

But in all honesty, he missed it.

He missed it a lot.

Maybe… Maybe Hank missed it too.

"You know," he started softly, averting his gaze to the bland, unscenic view of the parking garage. "It doesn't matter what title I use to address you. I'm still your little fish… right?"

There was a long moment of silence and with each second that passed, Connor began to fear that he had misread the situation. That Hank wanted distance from him.

Then, that distance was gone completely.

In a single movement, Hank unhooked his seatbelt and wrapped his arms around Connor. Warmth flooded his system and he melted into the embrace he had craved so much.

They stayed like that for a long moment. Hank's thumb rubbed up and down the back of his neck reassuringly and his beard scratched at his ear as he took several shaky breaths. "Yeah, you are," he said at last. "You are. Fuck, I… I was worried you wouldn't want to be now that you're all big and shit."

"Why would you think that?" Connor questioned, still not pulling away from the hug. If these were going to be rare now, he was going to make it last for as long as possible.

Regrettably, Hank pulled away. Likely, the embrace was getting uncomfortable for the man considering the odd angle and that he was reaching over the center console of the car. "I just thought, now that you're all grown up again, you wouldn't want your grumpy old dad smothering you," he explained with what appeared to be a self-conscious shrug.

Connor let his expression show his confusion. He had assumed Hank was exercising distance due to being less comfortable with open affection for adults. He hadn't considered that it was because he believed Connor would have a problem with it. "I don't believe it is possible for you to smother me, Hank," he insisted. "At least, not in the sense you are implying."

Hank's eyes formed little wrinkles at the corners as he smiled warmly. "Maybe I should take that as a challenge," he teased.

He leaned into the touch as he pulled him in again, planting a kiss on his forehead. Maybe an average adult would be put out by it, but Connor just enjoyed the affection. "Just so long as we maintain a sense of professionalism while on the clock," he was sure to specify.

"Yeah, you and your professional bullshit." Hank rolled his eyes, but didn't look as though he were actually annoyed. It was a definite improvement on the strange tension that had been there since he had re-uploaded. "Come on, might as well head inside, 'Detective'."

Connor certainly didn't miss the sarcastic lilt to the Lieutenant's voice with the use of his own title. He was proud of it though, proud of his position at the DPD and happy to be returning to work, so he just smiled pleasantly at his father.

Without any further notable discussion, the two of them made their way from the car to the precinct. As was usually the case, the whole place was too busy to give them much mind, but the receptionist, Linda, welcomed him back warmly. They exchanged brief, polite greetings before Connor eagerly followed the Lieutenant to their assigned desks. He was anxious to get back to work after being off for so long.

When he got there, however, confusion awaited him rather than professional satisfaction.

Evidently, someone had been using his desk while he had been gone, but for what purpose, he couldn't work out. Brightly colored crepe paper was wound around the legs and draped haphazardly across his computer monitor. Several packages and decorative bags littered the surface, and there was a helium balloon tied to his chair that said 'celebrate!'.

"Uh?" he said to no one in particular. A subtle glance at Hank indicated that he wasn't surprised by the state of his desk, which only furthered the mystery.

"Surprise!" Tina shouted from behind him. He turned to look at her and she yanked violently on the cord of a firework popper. The string pulled away, but there was no pop of confetti. "Dammit," she complained, frowning at the defective object.

"Officer Chan?" Connor asked. His confusion was only worsening. While she was prone to spontaneity, this behavior was still out of the ordinary.

"It's a party, Connor," Chris supplied. He pulled the attached to his own popper, spraying colorful bits of paper across the precinct floor.

Tina looked annoyed that his had worked while hers hadn't. She frowned comically, but didn't comment, choosing instead to elaborate on Chris's statement. "It's kinda a combo of 'happy birthday' and 'welcome back'."

"Would you look at that, these assholes can actually be nice once in a while," Hank joked, putting an arm around Connor to guide him closer to his desk and the festive clutter that adorned it.

Connor reverently picked up one of the packages. It was wrapped with bright green paper, converted with stars. A curly, yellow, plastic ribbon was stuck to the top with tape. "I wasn't gone very long," he said, touched that they would go through so much effort for him. "And my birthday was yesterday. The Lieutenant took me to the aquarium."

"Well, yeah," Tina shrugged. "But we didn't get to celebrate with you, so we're doing it now."

"And we still missed you, even if it was only a few days," Chris added.

"If that's the case, why don't I get any welcome back presents?" Hank asked with an amused smirk.

"Because nobody missed you." Gavin chimed in from where he sat at his desk. He hadn't joined their little group, but was apparently listening in.

"So, you're actually admitting you missed Connor?"

The jibe came from Ben this time. He meandered over, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a cup of coffee. He gave Connor a warm smile as he got closer which he returned.

Gavin just scrunched his nose at the question instead of answering. He turned back to his computer and continued pretending he was occupied with work.

"Ah, don't mind him, you know how he gets," Tina told him, shooting her colleague an exaggeratedly annoyed look. She draped an arm over Connor dramatically, pulling him away from the Lieutenant. Hank gave a disapproving grunt, but didn't argue beyond that. "Now come on, open your presents!"

Without waiting for him to agree, she took one of the packages, presumably the one she was responsible for, and deposited it on top of the one he was already holding.

"Thank you," he said genuinely. He readjusted the items, setting the one he had picked up initially back on the table to give Tina's gift his full attention. He was intrigued. While he certainly had his share of birthday presents from his friends at New Jericho when he was there yesterday, the concept of receiving things from people other than Hank was still a novel concept for him.

"What the hell is going on here?" The stern, unamused voice called from the other end of the precinct.

Connor quickly deduced that the entirety of his adult tendencies had yet to reactivate as he had to fight his first instinct of hiding behind Dad under the Captain's apparent disapproval.

The whole group turned to the Captain as he approached.

"Don't be a hardass, Jeffery," Hank said. His hand found its way to Connor's arm, giving it a gentle reassuring squeeze, still attuned as ever to his anxieties. "It's the kid's birthday."

"You don't think I know that?" Captain Fowler snapped, annoyed. He turned his attention from Hank to the rest of the group, though he seemed to omit Connor from his glare. "Now which of you idiots thought it would be a good idea to start this thing without me?"

Ben just looked away and took a long drink of his coffee while Chris and Tina pointed at each other comically.

"Fine then, be that way." His expression took on a more amused than annoyed look, but he still slid the package Connor was holding from his grasp leaving him wondering why he was the one facing repercussions from the apparent transgression. "You all get your first-present privileges revoked."

Connor really didn't have time to process how the bizarre situation was unfolding before the present was swapped, for the second time, with another different but equally decorative package. "Happy birthday, Connor," the Captain told him with a smile.

He was about to thank Captain Fowler, relieved that apparently no one was actually in any trouble on his behalf, but Hank interrupted instead. "As if you weren't just lookin for an excuse," he scoffed, unamused. "Just let him open his damn presents, for fuck's sake."

Jeffery just rolled his eyes at the Lieutenant's insubordination before waving a hand at Connor to indicate the package he was holding. "Well, he can get to it then, I'm not stoppin him."

"Come on, open it so you can do mine next," Tina insisted, grabbing his arm excitedly and inhibiting his mobility to comply with the request. In Connor's opinion, they were making far too big a deal of all of this. He would open them all eventually after all, the order was ultimately irrelevant.

Still, he knew enough to understand that this was all for their enjoyment as much as it was his, so he would continue to indulge them and their strange traditions. He was touched they had put in so much effort for him after all.

One arm still inhibited by Tina, Connor finally managed to voice his thank you to Jeffrey and carefully pried open the paper on the Captain's gift with surgical precision.

Inside the colorful package was a miniature diorama kit. According to the picture on the box, tiny bits of wood and plastic were designed to fit together and create a detailed cafe scene perfectly sized to fit between two books on a shelf. It was tiny and quaint and Connor genuinely loved it.

The gift amused him as well. The Captain had long since joined Hank in his campaign to find him suitable hobbies besides work, it seemed this was another attempt to spark an interest. "Thank you," he told him, honestly excited to begin working on it. The finished piece would look great between his copies of the books Deadly Deserts and A Taste of Death.

Jeffery just smiled at him, then waved at the others that they could start in with their presents.

Tina wasted no time, shoving her contribution back into his hands with a frighteningly mischievous grin. Once it was open, he could see why. "You're wearing that for our Sharknado marathon," she said, leaving no room for argument as he stared down at the adult sized shark onesie in his hands.

He thanked her, trying not to let the dread he was feeling seep into his voice. Earlier in the week, put on that t-rex onesie Hank had been so enamored by for movie night. His father hadn't been able to resist snapping a picture and sharing it with their coworkers, much to Connor's horror. He stood by his opinion that the article of clothing was entirely impractical, even as sleepwear.

It was cozy though.

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

From there, the others were far less insistent on the gift-giving order. Ben had gotten him a tie with little dog faces on it. They were beagles, not St. Bernards, but still had no right to be that cute. Chris gave him a decorative pen set. Its handle was beautifully inlaid with mother of pearl and the ink flowed smooth as butter.

There were several other gifts from practically every coworker in the precinct. Decorations for his desk, trinkets, toys for Dog and Sumo, cards with varying levels of sentiment and familiarity. All little assurances that they cared and he had been missed. He couldn't quite express how happy that made him.

"Seriously, Hank?" Tina scolded the Lieutenant as Connor centered the little ceramic pug figurine on his desk. "You didn't bring him anything?"

"Hey, I got him plenty of shit, I just gave it to him yesterday," he countered. "You know, his actual birthday."

"A likely excuse." Tina draped herself across Connor's shoulders dramatically. If he wasn't built so solidly, he would have crumpled under the sudden weight. "I just hope you remember who really loves you, Connor."

He couldn't help but crack a smile at her theatrics. Hank had, of course, given him several presents the day before. In fact, in Connor's opinion, the Lieutenant had gone a bit overboard with everything he had given him. Hank, on the other hand, disagreed. He argued that, as his father, it was his God-given right to spoil the shit out of him. He genuinely didn't mind that he hadn't held back a gift to participate in today's festivities.

But the joking sarcasm was heavy enough in Tina's voice that even he could pick it up with ease. It appeared this was a time for teasing, not sincerity. "Well, of course," he played along. "Perhaps I should start going by Connor Chen."

"Ungrateful brat," Hank chided around a chuckle. He playfully swatted at the back of his head, being careful not to hit Tina. "I'm taking your squid back."

"Henry is an octopus." Connor was reasonably sure the Lieutenant had mixed up the species intentionally to get a rise out of him, but he wasn't going to let it go without correction. "And he is non-refundable."

"Yeah, yeah. You're non-refundable."

It was said as a jest, like a middle schooler would say in a playground argument, but there was an underlying note of truth to it that warmed Connor's thirium pump. He was non-refundable. At least, in the sense that they had finalized the adoption papers. He was now, officially and legally, Connor Anderson.

It was, indisputably, the best present he could have ever received.

"Alright, enough fighting you guys," Chris interjected. "Connor still has one more to open."

He was right, there was still one package left. It was the one he had first picked up, actually. The small star-covered box still waited patiently for its contents to be uncovered, but it wasn't the package that intrigued him with this particular gift. This one, unlike the others, had no note. There was no to/from sticker, no card, no hand-scrawled message on the paper itself. No way to define who it was from.

As a police officer, one that was particularly prone to death threats at that, an unmarked package was usually cause for alarm. But none of the others seemed concerned by it, so he proceed.

Once the gift was opened, Connor had no doubt who had given it to him.

Inside was a small, egg-shaped, electronic device. It hung from a keychain and a black and white pixelated screen displayed a tiny, undefinable, creature.

"Holy shit, is that a Tamagotchi?" Hank asked in disbelief as he looked over Connor's shoulder to see what was in the box. "Fuck, I haven't seen one of those things since I was a kid. Who gave you that?"

Instead of answering right away, Connor finally removed the small plastic toy from the box. It made tiny, electronic beeps whenever he pressed a button, and the digital animal performed various animations expressing its 'mood'. He loved it.

"There is no card," Connor said, already setting alarms on his internal clock to remind him to feed his new electronic pet. "I do believe that means the person who gave it to me wants to remain a… secret."

"Ooh, I like a good mystery." Tina made a grab for his toy, but Connor pulled it away. She pouted, but didn't reach for it again. "I wonder if you've got yourself a secret admirer."

"I highly doubt that," Connor deflected. He was certain that Detective Reed had given it to him and doubted he would appreciate being called an admirer. He himself didn't particularly like the idea.

Hank picked the toy from his hand. "Well, whoever gave it to you," Connor swore he glanced in Reed's direction, "they've gotta be an old fuck like me."

"Oh come on, everyone knows what a Tamagotchi is," Gavin protested, speaking up for the first time since the gifts had been handed out.

Tina grinned, apparently catching on to Hank's suspicion. "I dunno, Gavin. I'm not old enough to remember those things. Are you?"

The 'you' was pointed and almost accusatory. Reed went pink in the face and turned back to his desk, ignoring the question rather than engaging. It was as good as a confession for Connor, but he wasn't going to antagonize the man for it.

"No matter who gave it to me," he said, taking his new toy back from his father. It beeped as he accidentally pressed a button. "I appreciate it."

His colleagues seemed to take his cue, leaving Gavin alone for now despite them all being sure he was the mystery gift giver. After all, none of them were particularly keen on antagonizing him into being cruel to Connor again.

He smiled back down at the little game. He could see why these things had been so popular when Hank was little. There was a genuine possibility, while his mind was still adjusting to being an adult again, that it could actually affect his productivity. Connor would need to be careful about that.

Then again, maybe a small drop in productivity wouldn't be terrible, he thought, looking at the people around him. They were joking with each other, laughing. No productivity at all really.

But they were happy.

And maybe, just maybe, that was more important.