"I can't believe you actually pulled that off, you manipulative little shit."

Connor's expression could be described as nothing but smug. "I have been called 'the negotiator'. I assure you it wasn't without reason."

Hank barked out a laugh. "Yeah, yeah. Sure."

He took Connor's hand, helping him down the steps that lead from the Captain's office. He would have protested if it wasn't helpful in avoiding tripping. A helping hand was far less embarrassing than face-planting in the middle of the precinct. "I can't believe he gave the Sawyer case to Gavin."

"Well, it's ours now," the Lieutenant said. "We just need to get the files from him." He let go of his hand and they continued on. Connor couldn't help but marvel at how much different the precinct looked from this angle.

"I think it's safe to say that Mr. Sawyer is involved with the shooting," Connor mused, it felt good to be back at work. "What did they find when they searched his apartment?"

"How the hell would I know?" The Lieutenant scoffed.

Connor looked at him confused for a moment before realization hit him. "Right, you've been off since-"

"Since you died, yeah," Hank finished for him. He shook his head in disbelief. "You're somethin else, you know that, Connor."

Connor sincerely hoped that was a compliment, but judging by the Lieutenant's tone, he doubted it. He kept quiet as they made their way to Gavin's desk. He actually appeared to be working, which was a surprise, and didn't notice them.

"How's the case goin?" Hank asked as soon as they got to the desk.

Gavin jumped, startled by the sudden question. "Anderson? The hell are you doing here?"

"Haven't been fired yet," the Lieutenant shrugged.

"Yeah, but…I thought you were taking time off after, you know," he waved his hand uselessly in the direction of Connor's desk. "With what happened to Connor…"

Connor concluded that the Detective hadn't seen him yet and couldn't resist poking a little fun at his coworker. He stood on his toes to poke his head over the top of the desk. "So, do you only address me by my name if I'm not here?"

"Shit! What-" Connor smiled at Gavin's dumbfounded expression. He clearly had no idea what to make of his sudden appearance.

Hank laughed and turned, leaning his hip on Reed's desk so he could better see the both of them. "Kinda hard to get time off for grieving when the kid isn't dead."

"Wait," Gavin leaned forward in his chair to get a better look at him. "Is that the tin can?"

"Hello, Detective," Connor greeted cheerfully.

Reed leaned back again, not taking his eyes off of Connor. "Holy shit. Why the hell are you so small?"

"After I shut down, my consciousness was able to be transferred to a new body," Connor explained. "Unfortunately, this was the only one available."

He looked back at the Lieutenant as though he were waiting for him to drop some kind of punchline, but Hank just smirked at him. "Kid sure as hell doesn't go down easy."

"Jesus," Gavin said, looking over at Connor again. "This is crazy. I saw your dead body less than ten minutes ago."

Connor nodded his understanding. "Yeah, I'm going to need that back eventually."

"Speaking of which," the Lieutenant chimed in, cutting off whatever Reed was going to say about that. "We're gonna need you to send over the files for that case. Jeffery put us back on it."

"Wait, the Captain is letting him work like that?" The level of disbelief in his voice was borderline comical.

Hank just shrugged again. "Don't ask me how the hell he convinced him, I was in the damn room and I still don't get it." His smirk turned on Connor and if he didn't know any better, he'd swear the Lieutenant looked proud. "Honestly, I wouldn't put it past Jeffery to have only agreed to this to mess with me."

Reed just continued to stare for a moment. Whatever he would have said in response was interrupted by Tina's arrival.

"Oh my god it is true!" She exclaimed excitedly as she reached the three of them.

"Hello, Officer Chen," Connor greeted politely.

"Wait," Gavin interrupted. "You knew about this?"

Tina shook her head. "Captain Fowler just sent out an email letting the department know. I'm guessing he didn't want to be getting a shit ton of questions about an unattended six-year-old running around the precinct."

"Fair enough," Hank chuckled.

"I just had to come see for myself,'' she admitted. She smiled back down at Connor. "I'm so glad I did. Connor, you are adorable!"

Connor nodded. He didn't really get why people found his small features so much more appealing than how he was normally, but it hadn't been the first time he had heard so. "That does appear to be the general consensus."

"Nice to know he's still the same Connor," Tina laughed, apparently finding his response humorous. "Even if he is three feet tall now."

"Three feet nine inches," Connor countered. All three of them seemed to find his statement funny for some reason. He didn't understand why everyone seemed intent on rounding down. He was closer to four feet than three.

"Gotta count every inch when you don't have very many," Gavin quipped.

The Lieutenant grinned at Reed. "Well, you'd sure as hell know about that, wouldn't ya?"

Gavin's smile fell as Tina's laughter only increased with the joke at his expense. "Oh, screw you, Anderson," he clapped back.

"You couldn't afford me."

"You-!"

"We really should start working on the case," Connor interrupted, trying to get them back on track before the conversation got even farther off topic.

They all glanced back down at him and seemed to simultaneously come to the realization that they would, in fact, get yelled at if they didn't start doing some actual work.

"Alright," Tina said first. "I've got to head out on patrol anyway. See you later kiddo." She ruffled Connor's hair affectionately before turning to leave. He had the uncomfortable feeling that such a gesture wouldn't be uncommon from his coworkers while he looked like this.

"I'll send over the files," Reed said to Hank after she left.

Hank nodded, pushing away from the desk. "Yeah, alright. Heaven forbid Connor do something other than work for five minutes."

"We are currently on the clock, Lieutenant," he reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah." Hank gave a halfhearted wave to the Detective before they made their way to their own desks.

Connor was grateful that the Lieutenant helped him into his chair without prompting. He was eager to work and didn't want any more distractions. He jiggled the mouse bringing the screen out of idle and was pleased to see the files already transferred.

Overall, that had been the most pleasant interaction he'd had with Detective Reed. While he was no longer openly antagonistic to Connor, their relationship had been tense at best. He figured the hostility was only quelled by the laws being in his favor. The last thing Captain Fowler and the precinct wanted was bad publicity surrounding the first android detective.

He opened the files, scanning the information quickly. "It looks like Bridget, the android that was shot, has been repaired and will make a full recovery," he informed the Lieutenant as he took a seat across from him.

"Finally some good news." Hank booted up his own computer. "Reed get her statement?"

"Yes, but it doesn't give us much to go on," Connor responded, scanning the file again. "She was shot from behind and didn't see her attacker. Aside from general anti-android sentiment, she had no known enemies."

"So basically we've got nothing to go on yet."

"Maybe not nothing," Connor said. "Assuming Mr. Sawyer was involved. They searched his apartment and found over two dozen loose biocomponents. It looks like black market dealing."

"Well shit," Hank pulled up the report on his terminal, reading it over himself. "That's all kinds of fucked up. Looks like Bridget got lucky she didn't end up getting dissected."

"It would appear so," Connor agreed. "There doesn't appear to be any information on the source of the recovered biocomponents. I should head down to evidence and take a look."

Hank looked over at him skeptically. "The hell are you going to do?"

"Run samples, of course," he responded. It took him a moment to realize why the Lieutenant was giving him a funny look. "Ah, right," he frowned.

Hank just smirked and shook his head. "Looks like you're gonna need to get used to waiting on lab results. No more licknig evidence."

Connor frowned. "Not ideal, but I suppose you're right," he conceded. "Do we know-"

"Connor!" A voice interrupted. "Thank god you're ok."

"Hello, Officer Miller," Connor greeted, hiding his annoyance at being interrupted as his coworker walked over. "Yes, I'm alright."

"And you're tiny!" He exclaimed, grinning at him.

"Yes," he agreed with the obvious observation. "I will be using this body until mine can be repaired," he explained. He was already getting tired of reiterating the fact. Hadn't the email Captain Fowler sent already explained everything?

Evidently not.

Officer Miller wasn't the last. Practically the whole precinct stopped by his desk throughout the day. Each person seemed intent on personally seeing if the Captain's email was accurate. While he appreciated their sentiments as to him being alive, the constant interruptions became more and more aggravating.

His strangely drained battery didn't help either.

For the first time, Connor was more than ready to go home as soon as it was time to clock out.

"You know, everyone's just happy you're ok," Hank told him as he fastened him into the car seat. Connor didn't argue it this time. He just wanted to get home. "I think even Reed missed you."

"I appreciate that," he said, sounding annoyed even to himself. "But it made for an exceedingly unproductive day."

"I know, kiddo. We'll get more done tomorrow, I promise." Hank ruffled his hair before heading around to the driver's seat. The man's assurances did little to lift Connor's mood. "Let's just get home, alright?" Hank called back.

Connor just nodded. He chose to say nothing, worried he would lash out at the man despite his aggravation being in no way his fault. He looked out the window, as they pulled away from the station.

-o-

The next thing Connor knew, Hank was gently shaking him awake. He blinked up at him in surprise.

"No wonder you're grumpy," he joked. "You look tired as hell."

Connor rubbed at his eyes. "I'm not grumpy," he insisted, even though his tone suggested otherwise. "I don't get it. My battery shouldn't drain this fast. Maybe it's damaged, or my processor is overtaxing it."

"Or," Hank suggested, unbuckling him. "Maybe you're six and need a nap."

"I don't like the sound of that."

Hank just chuckled, helping him out of the car. He continued holding his hand as they made their way into the house. "It isn't the end of the world, you know. I'd kill for a nap most days."

Connor just frowned. "There's no getting around this, is there?"

"Doesn't look like it," he shook his head. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You'll feel better."

He didn't really have any room to argue, the low battery being quantifiable proof that Hank was right. "This will impede my productivity at the precinct," he complained.

Connor wasn't looking at the Lieutenant, but he could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "You're more productive than anyone else there, they can give you an hour for a damn nap. Besides, you're entitled to a lunch break you never take anyway."

"I guess that's acceptable," he agreed reluctantly. Being a child was proving to be more cumbersome than he would like. The sooner he got his normal body back, the better.

Hank squeezed his hand in response, smiling down at him as he opened the door. At least the Lieutenant seemed to be enjoying this.