"You know," North mused allowed, "you should feel lucky. You're the only human in existence with undisputed access to New Jericho."

Hank followed after her at an even pace, hands in his pockets as they made their way through the halls. "You telling me Carl wouldn't be able to just drop in without a word?" He countered with a laugh.

He could tell she was rolling her eyes even without being able to see her face. "Alright smartass, Carl doesn't come here. Markus always goes to see him, easier that way, so my statement stands."

"Fair enough," Hank shrugged. He would normally enjoy a good back and forth, but he wasn't in the mood to engage in too much witty banter with her today. It had been hours since he had seen his kid and, while it was admittedly nice not having to tote around a toddler while he ran his errands, he missed him.

"You feeling alright, old man?" North asked, looking back at him over her shoulder. There was actual concern in her voice which was a rarity. "You usually don't cave that easy."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed. He didn't really want to get into it with her. In reality, it was more than just missing Connor. After the shit at the precinct and leaving the kid here, his dumb ass had actually thought it would be a good idea to swing by The Paper Crane. Hank had intended to thank Shaun for helping with Connor the other day, or at least that's what he was telling himself, but the guy wasn't even there. It irked him more than he cared to admit out loud, especially to North. There was no way in hell she would let it pass without ribbing him about it.

North didn't look convinced of his assurance, but kept walking. "Well your 'fine' looks like someone just ran over your puppy."

"I just don't like being away from Connor for so long," he admitted. It was true, even if that was only part of it.

She laughed, apparently buying his excuse. "Can't say I blame you. He's a damn cute kid. I still have half a mind to fight you for him."

"Oh, bring it, bitch," Hank challenged. He was pretty sure it was a joke, but there was no way in hell he was going to let anyone take his kid, even if it was North.

She took it as the lighthearted volley that it was, dropping back so she could link arms with him. "I dunno, you're an old geezer, I think I can take you." She shot him a grin and a wink, only letting the jest fall when she realized Hank really wasn't in the mood to keep it going. "I think we both know who Connor would be rooting for," she told him.

Well damn, if that didn't cheer him up a bit. For all of North's rough edges, she could be frustratingly empathic when she wanted to be, and a damn good friend besides. She seemed to take pride in making it hard for people she cared about to keep a bad mood.

Bitch.

"Tell you what, soon as I kick the bucket, he's all yours," Hank said.

"Deal." North smiled and let go of his arm enough to place a bare palm against the door lock in front of them.

Admittedly, he did feel pretty damn privileged. Even when other humans were granted access to New Jericho, there's no way in hell they would be allowed into Markus's private quarters. Certainly not escorted by North herself.

Hank had called Markus when he was on his way over and hadn't gotten any answer. He would have been concerned, his phone was in his damn head after all, but the away message had indicated that the deviant leader was resting. He couldn't really begrudge him that. As much as he loved the kid, Connor could get exhausting sometimes.

So he had called North.

How he had managed to become friends with the woman still escaped him, but here they were. They sure as hell made for an odd duo, but Hank didn't really care. He was glad to be one of the few exceptions to her distaste of humanity.

They made their way inside quietly and North guided him to the back where she suspected Markus and Connor would be, but neither of them were prepared for the sight they walked into. Both of them were fast asleep, Connor curled up in Markus's arms, and they were completely covered in splotches of paint.

In a word, it was fuckin' adorable.

"So, you're gonna die soon, right?" North teased.

At least he hoped that was teasing. Connor was cute enough, he wouldn't blame her for offing him just to get the kid. "Soon enough, wait your goddamn turn," he quipped back.

North rolled her eyes and finally let go of him fully before going over to the two sleeping boys. She leaned over Markus, kissing him on the forehead to wake him up.

Evidently, Markus was a restless sleeper. As soon as she kissed him, the deviant leader snapped awake, sitting up abruptly with a surprised gasp. North, familiar with her fiance and his quirks, was ready for this and backed away in time to avoid a collision.

Poor Connor wasn't so fortunate.

The sudden movement also woke the small boy. He jolted from the commotion and nearly fell off the sofa, only saved by Hank's intervention. One hand kept the kid on the couch while the other brushed at his messy mop of hair gently. "Easy there, kiddo," he soothed.

"Dad?" Connor asked sleepilly, still disoriented from his nap.

God, Hank loved it when he called him that. It hurt more than he wanted to admit that the kid only seemed to use the title when he wasn't thinking clearly. "Yeah, I'm here."

Connor rubbed at his tired eyes then lifted his arms to Hank, a clear request to be held. There was no way in hell Hank was going to deny that. He picked him up, pulling him from a mildly disappointed Markus and settled him on his hip.

"You have fun today?" He asked as the weariness finally began to subside.

"Yes, I did," Connor responded excitedly. "We painted!"

Hank chuckled, sparing a hand to brush at the colorful matts in his hair. "Yeah, I can see that. Did any paint actually get on the paper?"

"I apologize, Lieutenant," Markus spoke up from where he still sat on the sofa. "That is my fault. I intended to have him cleaned up before I returned him to you."

"Don't worry about it," Hank laughed. It was really amazing how much his mood could lift just having his kid around again. "Not the first time I've cleaned up a toddler."

"Hank!" Connor protested, offended. "I'm perfectly capable of cleaning myself!"

He hiked him up higher on his hip making sure he was secure. "Yeah, sure you are," he agreed skeptically.

"I have a washroom over here," Markus directed, standing to lead the way. He paused only to grab what Hank assumed to be some kind of paint remover and a rag.

It was a bit cozy with all four of them in the small bathroom, but they managed. Poor Connor was subjected to three pairs of hands moving to scrub the paint off of his skin, hair and clothing. Hank really didn't blame him for looking so annoyed.

It was North that picked him up once he was deemed clean enough, holding him easily on her hip much like Hank had earlier. As terrifying a thought as it was, Connor brought out a maternal side in her. If this impromptu test-run went smoothly, Hank wouldn't be at all surprised if she and Markus were the first to use the child body for its original purpose. A child that's half north half Markus… God have mercy on the world.

"I guess it's time to send you home," North sighed to Connor. "You know, since your daddy's being mean and won't let me keep you."

"Technically speaking, I'm a free android," Connor countered. "No one is 'keeping' me."

"Damn right, kiddo," Hank praised before reaching to take him from North. "Now gimme my son."

North dodged his attempt, swinging Connor to her other hip."Hands off, old man. You get him all the time, it's my turn."

"Fuck that. Give me my kid."

What followed was a short game of keep away as North dodged Hank's attempts to reclaim Connor. She laughed unashamedly at his curses and Connor's jostled protests. Markus only intervened when the tussle upended a painting easel.

"Alright, I think that's enough," he scolded both of them. "If y9ou two can't be mature about this…" he liberated Connor from Nort's arms with a triumphant smirk. "I get to carry him."

"Or I can walk," Connor supplied. "That is well within my capabilities."

Hank could see the tension in the kid, the need for a measure of independence. It was subtle, but it was there. "Sounds like a good compromise to me," he reasoned, giving Markus a meaningful look.

Markus, thank god, could take a hint. He set Connor on his feet with an apologetic smile. "I suppose that is fair," he said, giving North his own glance to ward off a protest. He reached out, taking Connor's hand instead.

North moved forward, taking the other before Hank had the chance. He sighed and rolled his eyes, but didn't fight it. He got to take the kid home after all.

"I guess we really should stop stalling," North said, giving Connor's hand a squeeze. "Markus had a lot of meetings to get to."

The deviant leader pursed his lips, the only sign of his distaste for the idea. "Yes, I suppose I have postponed those long enough."

"You didn't miss important meetings because of me, did you?" Connor asked as they made their way from the room.

"If they were important, he wouldn't have missed them," Hank supplied. It was probably true. Markus wouldn't have agreed to watch Connor if he honestly had something to do that he couldn't miss.

"He's right," Markus confirmed. He swung Connor's hand playfully. "Anything I had planned was comfortably rescheduled, you don't need to worry over it."

"Well," North cut in. "To be fair, you do have one person waiting. A family looking to relocate back to Detroit. You were supposed to meet with them ten minutes ago."

Markus looked more annoyed with himself than anything. "I suppose that is the price of oversleeping," he reasoned with a shake of his head. He smiled down at Connor fondly, eyes full of a warmth reserved solely for those close to him. "I think it was well worth it."

Hank couldn't help but think that they all made for one fucked up family, but he was ok with that. Connor was happy, that's what really mattered.

"I already apologized for you," North said. "They didn't seem to mind too much after I sent a picture of you and Connor passed out together."

Connor pulled on her hand in distress. "I thought my condition was supposed to be borderline confidential!"

"It is," North assured him. "It was just a picture, no context."

"You sure as hell better send me a copy of that," Hank insisted. If that picture was of the scene they had walked in on earlier, he was going to print that thing out and frame it.

She rolled her eyes at him in that way which meant she wasn't actually annoyed. "You know, Anderson, possessive isn't a good look on you."

He could feel his phone buzz in his pocket alerting him to an email indicating she had headed his request. Connor was going to be adorably ruffled to see it on the shelf. Speaking of ruffled, he reached over to tousle the kid's hair smiling at the exaggerated look of annoyance it earned him. "Does it look like I give a shit?" He told North.

She shrugged and Markus shook his head, amused by the exchange. "You two are never going to quit are you?"

"I think you know the answer to that," North laughed. She hoisted Connor up by the arm, prompting Markus to do the same on his side. He was surprised, but it quickly turned to joy as he was swung between the deviant leader and his finance. As much as the thought terrified him, Hank had to admit they were going to make good parents.

Just not to Connor. That was his kid dammit.

"I contacted the family," Markus told North, bringing the conversation back to business. "They are going to meet us in my office."

She let out a long, exaggerated sigh and stooped to give Connor one more hug. "I guess this means goodbye for now. Duty calls."

"We should all be getting back to work," Connor insisted sweetly as she let go. But Hank wasn't going to stand for that.

"Hell no. No more work until tomorrow."

"But-"

"Nope, sorry kiddo," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "We're taking the rest of the day off. Lieutenant's orders."

His little pout was priceless, but he didn't put up a fight. "Fine, but I really don't think you're using your position properly."

"I'll take it under advisement." Hank picked Connor up, settling him on his hip as was becoming second nature at this point. It felt good to have the kid where he belonged. "You don't work yourself to death either, Markus," he scolded lightly.

"I won't," Markus lied with an unconvincing grin. He leaned close and planted a farewell kiss on the top of Connor's head.

Thank God he was only responsible for one of these little bastards.