The beginning of December came with a flurry of snow and ice that was being blown around by a deafening, howling wind. Detroit was being rocked by a harsh blizzard that was putting people on edge, and increasing the surges of shoplifting and attempted looting tenfold. Every available cop and detective was put on patrol to head off the criminals before they could cause any serious harm, but it was like putting a band aid on a broken leg. Due to a majority of the shops being targeted being stores that sold emergency medical supplies and were pharmacies, the narcotics division was on high alert for potential illegal drugs being created from the stolen controlled substances.

Driving through the snowy streets at a steady pace Connor used his enhanced software and programming to navigate through the blizzard to the best of his ability. The Oldsmobile was living up to its name as the aged vehicle creaked and groaned on its tires as it endured the harsh wind, but with Connor's hands gripping tightly onto the steering wheel the massive vehicle remained in its lane at all time.

Keeping his soulful brown eyes on the road ahead of him Connor discreetly gave Hank's vital signs a biometric scan where he sat. The senior detective's blood pressure was elevated, his heart rate had increased, his body temperature was mildly elevated and he was holding his breath without realizing it. By all account Hank was being stressed out by the harsh weather as it undoubtedly brought up dark memories of the night he lost Cole to a pointless car accident.

Speaking up softly Connor tried to gauge how stressed out Hank truly was and to try to distract his thoughts. "We've only had to handle two cases of reported break-ins at Digital Sentience stores, and I'm not detecting any active disturbances in our area."

With his arms crossed over his chest, his posture rigid and blue eyes fixed on the blizzard through the windshield, Hank only 'hummed' in response.

"We should return to the precinct for a moment to take a break."

Staying silent Hank had no opinion on the matter at hand.

Pulling the car to a gentle stop at the red light Connor cybernetically tracked the weather through the Doppler radar. The blizzard wasn't going to let up for another two days and people were beginning to panic. Just as the light turned green Connor caught sight of a person walking along the sidewalk with a distinct limp in their steps, only to see them suddenly collapse face down in the snow.

"A person needs our help."

Shifting the car into park Connor threw open the driver's side door and rushed out into the cold to check on the person who had just collapsed a few feet away from the passenger side of the car. He could vaguely hear Hank using the radio in the Oldsmobile to call in the incident while remaining inside the car out of the storm. Kneeling down on the sidewalk Connor checked over the collapsed person and identified them as a deviant who had sustained serious damage to their side and torso from numerous knife wounds.

"Damn it. Sir?" Carefully rolling the deviant from their front to rest on their back Connor began a cybernetic scan over the deviant's form. Dark blue Thirium was staining their clothing as a deep wound actively bled in their left side. A hunting knife was still embedded in their body showcasing the weapon that had been used against him. "Sir, if you can hear me you need-"

In a flash of blind panic the wounded deviant's blue eyes snapped open as he pulled the knife out of his side, and quickly used it to stab Connor in his left side in response. As Thirium splashed through the air and Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to red, the wounded deviant tried to get away from Connor but he was too weak to move back.

Stunned but not deterred Connor shot back to his feet, and grabbed onto the knife in his side. Taking a full grip on the knife's hilt Connor slowly pulled the knife out of his side, a gush of blue blood surged from the raw wound in the process. Slipping the knife into his jacket pocket Connor forced himself to kneel back down beside the wounded deviant to help him.

"I-I'm here to help you." Holding up both hands in a submissive pose Connor ran a scan over the deviant to get some details on the downed victim. His model was that of an 'AC-700', an android designed to aid humans in their personal fitness, and he had been damaged numerous times by a single knife used on his person exactly six times. The deviant's dark hair was a mess and his skin was abnormally pale due to his low Thirium volume from bleeding out. "My name is Sergeant Connor Anderson, and I'm a detective in the Central Precinct's deviant division. Can you tell me your name?"

"...C-Connor?" The deviant obviously recognized Connor and was terrified by it. "I s-saw you die!"

"Clearly I've recovered." Remaining calm and composed Connor's L.E.D. cycled in a steady blue pulse in his right temple. "Please, what is your name?"

"S-Samuel." Answering at last Samuel began to calm down a little. "My name is Samuel."

"Samuel then, what happened?"

"...I was t-trying to g-get supplies for my friend." Laying back on the snowy and icy sidewalk Samuel lost his strength and didn't resist when Connor pulled open his damaged winter coat to check on his wounds beneath. "I w-was mugged. A h-human took my supplies. I n-need to get more."

"Why's that, Samuel? What were your supplies?"

"M-My friend is sick. N-Needs medicine." Letting out a small gasp of pain as Connor applied pressure to his wounds Samuel explained everything logically as he endured the horrible burning from his torn open plastimetal frame, artificial skin and leaking Thirium lines. "She's elderly and v-very sick."

"Sick? How so?"

"Cancer. I was b-bringing her the p-pain medication she had b-been prescribed."

"All right, give me her address." Offering Samuel his hand left Connor blinked once as the pain in his side flared up for a moment. "I'll let the police know that she had her prescription stolen and to perform a wellness check."

"Wh-What?"

"You need to go to a facility. The knife damaged your thermal regulator and you're in danger of freezing to death." Grabbing onto Samuel's right arm Connor slung the limb around his shoulders, grunted in pain as his own wound throbbed as he moved, and began carrying Samuel over to the car to be transported to the facility. Using his exposed left hand Connor connected to Samuel's system just long enough to get the address for his friend. "I'll take you to the facility myself for treatment."

Samuel hissed in pain as Connor helped him cross the icy pathway to get to the car parked a few yards away. Remembering that he lashed out at Connor when the deviant leaned over him, Samuel blurted out a desperate apology. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean t-to stab you!"

"I understand your panic. You were wounded, weak and saw someone hovering over you after you were recently assaulted." Opening up the rear passenger door of the Oldsmobile Connor helped Samuel to sit down inside the warm car. "We'll both get treatment at the facility."

When Hank heard the word 'both' his already elevated blood pressure got a little higher. "Both?" The door slammed shut and Connor returned to the driver's seat of the car. "What did I miss."

"The victim had an extreme reaction to my presence." Pressing his right palm to his left side Connor felt the warm Thirium staining his clothing and sighed slowly to test his pain threshold. "The damage isn't critical."

Doubtful of the claim since he didn't see the attack himself, Hank asked the most logical question. "Can you drive safely?"

"Yes. The Zeta Facility is only two blocks from our current location."

"All right, but you're getting a full examination from head to toe once you're there."

"That's acceptable." Cybernetically Connor received an update on his requested wellness check and relayed the information to Samuel. "The police have arrived at Tanya's residence to check on her." Connor confirmed as he shifted the car out of park. "They are taking her to the hospital for the night to ensure she's not alone due to you being injured, and her medication is being handled properly."

Samuel let out a deep sigh of relief as he sank back in the seat and closed his eyes. "Thank you, Connor... You may have saved her life!"

It didn't take long for Samuel to have his wounds tended to by Abby in the emergency repair bay, and it took even less time for Connor to get patched up in one of the basic treatment rooms. The knife missed all of Connor's biocomponents and only damaged the minor Thirium lines within his torso. Laying on the table in the exam room as the former intern and now full fledged technician, Dr. Lily Banner, repaired his left side Connor sent Lucas a cybernetic message to let him know he had been wounded, but it wasn't a serious injury. In return Lucas confirmed that Tanya Harrison, the elderly woman that Samuel was helping, had been safely transported to the hospital for observation until the blizzard passed.

Without flinching Connor watched as Lily easily mended the leaking lines in Connor's torso and then soldered the fracture in his plastimetal frame back into a singular intact surface. The previously nervous intern had found her confidence as a technician and showed no fear in treating Connor despite her error in the last time she treated him still being a heavy burden on her conscience.

"Your Thirium volume is a little low, but it isn't critical." Lily noted as she passed Connor a fresh pouch of Thirium to ingest. It was half the size of the usual Thirium pouches confirming that she had completed an accurate calculated dose for her patient. "Just finish that off and you're free to go."

"Thank you." Sitting upright Connor let Lily wrap gauze over his mended side to protect it until his artificial skin regenerated over the wound, and asked about the deviant victim he had brought into the facility. "How's Samuel?"

"Doing well. Dr. Grayson is treating his wounds and he's warming up without any difficulty. You got him off the street just in time." Making notes in Connor's personal chart Lily gave the deviant detective a gentle smile. "If he had been out in the cold any longer he would've suffered permanent thermal damage to his processor."

"That's good to know he's going to be okay."

"I'm going to go take care of my rounds, and you are free to go whenever you're ready."

"Thank you for you help, Dr. Banner."

"Just call me Lily." She grinned as she headed toward the exam room door. "It keeps me humble."

Remembering that he still had the knife in his jacket pocket Connor waited for Lily to leave the exam room before he visually scanned the hilt of the knife and located four perfect fingerprints on the handle from the human who attacked Samuel. Sending the information to the precinct cybernetically Connor was able to supply the evidence without needing to return to the precinct just yet. Sliding off the exam table Connor downed the fresh Thirium and located a plastic waste disposal bag in a nearby drawer. He secured the knife inside the plastic bag to keep anything from getting contaminated.

Heading out of the exam room with the knife in his pocket to take his leave of the facility, Connor was intercepted by Barry on a cybernetic level as the deviant receptionist relayed a private message to him on Abby's behalf. 'Connor, before you go Dr. Grayson would like to speak to you in exam room four.'

Stopping mid stride Connor acknowledged the message with a sincere worry in his words. 'Is there something wrong with the deviant victim I brought in?'

'I do not know. She just asked that you speak with her before you leave the facility.'

'Very well, please let her know I'm on my way.'

'Already done.'

Turning around slowly, his right palm pressing to his still sore left side, Connor made his way toward the exam room as requested. Pressing his exposed left palm to the door's electronic panel Connor was granted access to the room where he was expecting to see Samuel still being treated, but instead he saw Abby sitting alone in a rolling chair near the far corner of the room. She was rubbing her right palm over her left bicep as if in pain.

Letting the door 'hiss' shut behind him Connor lingered near the doorway and spoke up from where he was standing. "Abby, I was told you wanted to speak with me."

"...Yeah, uh, just so you know, I'm not expecting anything from you." She sounded broken down, tired and utterly frustrated as she walked over to the large metal and glass storage cabinet at the far wall of the exam room. "I just want to tell someone so I don't feel like I'll explode from keeping it all to myself."

The way Abby was pale and shaking a little reminded Connor of the same physical distress that Hank was exhibiting earlier. "What's wrong?"

"Hector." The name left a foul taste on her tongue. "He's what's wrong." Opening the cabinet Abby pulled a small cardboard box off the top shelf that had been stored in the back behind full bottles of fresh Thirium. Holding the box in her trembling hands Abby sighed and reached inside to pull out something completely unexpected. "Remember how I said I was glad I always made the men in my life 'wrap it up'?"

"Yes..." That particular discussion would be hard for even a human to forget. "I remember such an odd conversation very well."

"Take a look at this." Tossing Connor a small plastic square from the box Abby watched as he easily caught in his hands and gave it a very confused stare for only a moment. It was a wrapped condom. "Hold it up to the light."

Doing as he was instructed Connor held the red wrapped condom up toward the ceiling and saw the light shining through a small pin prick in the direct center of the prophylactic. "...It's been compromised."

"Yeah..." Carrying the cardboard box over to the nearby trashcan Abby turned it over and dumped out the entire contents, other tampered with condoms, and then dropped the box on top of them. "Hector's maid had the displeasure of cleaning out Hector's place after he died, and after his family took possession of his other shit. She got in contact with me and showed me what she found in his top drawer, and confirmed that I'm not the first woman he's done this to. The fucker was a saboteur on top of being a prick."

"Abby?" Running a quick scan over Abby's body Connor was able to detect the very faint but distinct secondary vital signs of a growing embryo inside of her body. The timeline from when she had last been intimate with Hector, the night before Connor rescued her from the restaurant barely one month prior, fit her current rate of gestation of just barely three weeks. "...You're pregnant."

"Then the three tests I took weren't all false positives after all." Paling further Abby was clearly on the verge of tears as she motioned to the small cotton ball taped to the inside of the bend in her left elbow. Her blood tests and Connor's scan were undeniable proof of her condition. "Fuck me!"

"I... I don't know what to say."

"That's fine. I don't know what to do!"

Now understanding why she wanted his help Connor disposed of the last useless condom and gave Abby a reassuring hug without needing to be prompted to do so. "It'll be okay."

"How will it be okay?" She wrapped her arms around Connor as if needing to feel secured in a trusted friend's embrace. "I'm carrying the demon spawn of a demonic man!"

"...I'm not a female and cannot relate to this current predicament in any way, but from what I've experienced with helping victims of such a gruesome crime as sexual assault and the potential aftermath, I can confidently say that this is your decision. This about your future, your life and your body; not about you being used as a dead man's incubator."

"Thanks for the pep-talk, coach. That much I know and that much I've been certain of since... Well, middle school sex-ed." Leaning heavily into Connor's hug Abby closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh as she listened to his perfectly calm heartbeat. "The problem is it's so much easier to say what I would and wouldn't do when it's still a terrible 'what if' scenario. Now that I am actually enduring it, I just don't know anymore. I feel so lost and confused."

"I wish I could help you make a decision."

"Connor, put yourself in my shoes for a minute. If you were faced with such a life changing and potentially permanent decision, what would you do?"

Such a scenario was never something Connor had ever considered being in, and as such he had nothing to say about it. "I don't know."

"Think!" Begging for a solution Abby nearly yelled at the deviant holding her close. "Use your perfect preconstruction software and try to give me an answer!"

"Abby, it doesn't work that way. I can't use it to see the future."

"Yeah, I know..." Breaking away from Connor's hug for a moment Abby returned to her chair in the corner of the floor to sit down for a moment before she passed out. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot."

"You're frustrated and understandably so. It's all right."

Leaning back where she sat Abby dragged her palms over her face and let out another soft sigh to keep herself from crying. "I have time to decide, I'm aware of what to expect with my body and I know that a lot can still happen. I just need something to help me focus and think for a moment so I can get my shit together."

"Well," walking over to where Abby was sitting Connor knelt down in front of her, his left side pulling angrily at the motion, and lightly took her hand in his to give her a sense of comfort. "consider this. The man who did this to you is no longer a threat in any capacity. He's gone. If you were to go through with this then you'd never have to worry about him doing anything threatening to you or... to 'it'." Intentionally keeping her condition as impersonal as possible Connor tried to help his friend find some grounding. "You're the only one who has any say in what happens right now, you're in total control."

"I know. And I also know I told you that I'm not going to be the mother to a child that won't be properly raised and loved. I'm too damn busy and my hours are just chaotic. It's not right to do this."

"Does that give you your answer?"

"No, that gives me more confusion."

"How so?"

"Because I know that Hector can't hurt me anymore, and my hatred of what's happening to me is being misdirected. It's not 'its' fault that it was forced into this mess, you know? It feels like I'd be punishing 'it' just for existing when the person who's at fault is already dead... Why punish a completely innocent person of another person's crime?"

"Going through with something you never wanted is a cruel punishment toward yourself. You don't have to do something you don't want to do."

"I know that, too. The only person who needs to be punished is already dead, and now his victims are left to pick up the pieces..."

"Now I see why you're so conflicted." As per usual Connor tried to find an alternative and middle ground to make things easier for everyone to handle. "You could always put the child up for adoption."

"Sure, I'll just go through nine months of hell, let my body be irreversibly destroyed with stretched out and weakened bones, weakened muscles, hormonal fluctuations, premature aging, a guarantee for osteoporosis, labor, delivery, recovery, massive hospital bill, and of course, the guilt of bringing an unwanted child into this world. Sounds like a great solution!"

"Abby, if you choose to go through with this and keep it, I want you to know that I'm extending you the same offer I gave to Skye. I'll help you every step of the way if you need me."

"...Connor, I can't ask you to do that." The generosity, while not unexpected still felt unwarranted. "It's not right."

"Neither is being expected to uphold the role of a single parent. If raising a child was a single person responsibility it wouldn't take two people to create said child to begin with. It's a two person job, but that doesn't fall entirely on the biological shoulders of the child's parents. Any half decent person can step up and try to be a decent parent."

"That was... pretty damn insightful."

"It's merely an observation. It's unfair to put the entire responsibility of rearing a child on the mother, especially after the mother endures an average of forty consecutive weeks tending to the child nonstop in a physically demanding, draining and exhausting way." Tightening his grip on her hand Connor gave his friend some confidence that she desperately needed. "If you choose to do this then know you won't be alone. As your friend I'll help you through this for as long as you need me."

"...Thank you, Connor."

"Do you want me to do anything right now?"

Shaking her head a little Abby wrapped her arms around herself and curled forward in her chair in a guarded posture. "No, I just... I have to think. I need time to think this through. Very, VERY carefully."

"Okay." Standing up slowly, his left side still sore as he moved, Connor pressed his left palm to her right bicep in a comforting manner. "You can talk to me if you need to talk, or I will go to your house. Just ask." Slowly pulling his hand back Connor turned around to head toward the exam room door to leave.

"Connor?"

"Yes?" Stopping quickly Connor turned to face Abby as she sat alone in the corner of the room. "What do you need?"

"Please don't tell anyone what's going on." Tears were filling her hazel eyes as she spoke. "No one else is to know about this."

"Of course. It's a secret between only us."

"...Thanks. And thank you for being a good friend."

"Any time, Abby. I'll stay in touch."

Reluctantly Connor took his leave of the exam room to locate Hank in the facility waiting room. Worried for his friend's health; mentally and now physically, Connor tried to think of the best possible solution to help Abby without getting too involved. In the end it was her decision and Connor swore to help her no matter what happened.

Returning to the waiting room Connor spotted Hank loitering by the sliding glass front doors with his blue eyes fixated hypnotically on the blizzard outside with Connor's damaged leather jacket bundled up in his arms before him. The senior detective was still stressed out and in need of an escape from the snowstorm outside.

"Hank?" Standing beside his best friend and adoptive father Connor announced his return in a gentle tone. "I'm ready to return to the precinct."

Turning to look at the deviant now standing to his right Hank passed back the jacket and stared at the blue Thirium stain on Connor's left side. "How bad was the damage?"

"Minimal." Slipping on the jacket with only a mild twinge of pain Connor replied honestly. "Four minor Thirium lines had been compromised and repaired, and my plastimetal framing had been soldered back into one piece."

"Oh. You were back there for so long I was getting worried that you were a little worse than you admitted."

"...I was just talking with Abby." Stepping through the glass doors and out into the facility's snow covered parking lot Connor zipped up his jacket as he tried to think of a way to cover what they had been discussing without betraying her secret. "She recently learned of an unsettling detail about Hector."

"Even from the grave some people can still be bastards." Pulling open the passenger side door of the Oldsmobile Hank sat down quickly and slammed his door shut hard enough to rock the car side to side on its wheels. "Is she all right?"

"She will be." Joining Hank inside the vehicle Connor turned over the engine and turned on the heater to help stave off the relentless cold. "She just needs some time alone to think."

"I get that."

Quickly changing the subject at hand Connor reminded Hank of the knife still in his possession. "I managed to salvage four clean fingerprints off the knife that was used against Samuel."

"Right. Better get that thing into evidence before Fowler calls up bitchin' about it."

"Agreed."

Pulling the car out of the parking lot and onto the snowy street Connor directed the car toward the precinct six blocks away. The drive took twice as long thanks to the snow, ice and wind, but Connor handled the dangerous terrain with virtually no difficulty. With two storms now holding his attention; one on the road ahead of him and the other in Abby's heart, the deviant had the real chance to test his advanced programming when it came to multitasking and prioritizing his responsibilities.

Before the day came to a dark and dreary end the man who attacked Samuel had been identified, arrested and charged with the theft and assault against the deviant, and both Samuel and Tanya could rest easy. Returning to the house in an eager attempt to elude the blizzard for as long as possible Connor pulled the Oldsmobile into the garage, and made sure there was room for Lucas to pull his pick-up truck inside the space as well. He needed to move his partially modified motorcycle out of the way, but it wasn't too difficult to clear up the space.

After the two detectives returned to the house Connor let Sumo out into the backyard while Hank hid away in the bathroom to take a scalding hot shower. Hank loathed the cold and was happy to leave Sumo to the deviant's capable hands while he hid in the warm house.

Waiting for the large dog to finish his business Connor called out to him and call him back to the house. "Sumo?"

The massive dog heard Connor calling his name and returned to the house through the wide open backdoor. Before he had the chance to shake off his snow covered fur Connor wrapped him up in a warm and fluffy towel to dry him off quickly.

"Good boy. Don't shake off your fur in the kitchen."

Tossing the towel into the washer in the neighboring laundry room Connor heard the garage door open again as Lucas returned to the house as well. Having his brother under the same roof made evenings less stressful since his entire family was together.

Watching the side door open up Connor greeted his little brother and walked back into the kitchen to fill up Sumo and Lucky's bowls with fresh food. Getting an affectionate ankle rub from Lucky as she thanked Connor for giving her some food, the deviant pet her and Sumo's backs as he watched Lucas shrug off his jacket and shoes by the laundry room door.

"How's your side?" Carrying his jacket and shoes with him as he and Connor entered the livingroom, Lucas gave his brother's system a cybernetic scan. There was no sign of internal damage still needing to be repaired and Connor's vital signs were functioning at optimal parameters. "You seem to be healing well."

"I'm fine." Standing at the base of the staircase while Lucas went up into his loft Connor spoke to his little brother as Lucas changed into his casual clothing for the rest of the evening. "I had Joel check over my injury once I returned to the precinct."

"Oh?" Lucas's voice echoed a little as he spoke up while talking to Connor. "That seems strange."

"The technician who assisted me was the same intern who once left a tool inside my abdomen after what should've been a simple procedure."

"Oh..." Now understanding Connor's caution on the matter Lucas rejoined his big brother in the livingroom. "A wise decision to double-check her work. However, it seems Dr. Banner has learned from her past mistake."

"I agree, and I doubt she'd make the same mistake twice." Sitting down on the couch Connor nodded toward the closed bathroom door was Hank was still taking his shower. "Hank is stressed out due to the intense weather. I recommend when the blizzard lets up enough to grant us safe passage to the cabin we take him there for a moment of reprieve."

"That sounds like a good idea. I can detect his stressed vital signs even from here." Outside the Christmas lights that he and Hank had secured to the exterior window surfaces, gutters and the front door glowed to life in a burst of multicolored L.E.D's that blocked out the harsh white blizzard. Lucas took in the sight and grinned proudly at his work. "It's December the first, and now the outside lights will come on at seven o'clock every evening."

"Last year Hank and I only decorated a small tree for Christmas." Connor reminisced in an optimistic manner. "The additional lights outside really add something unique to the overall festive atmosphere."

"Do you think Hank would be upset if we continued to add decorations to the house until Christmas day?"

"I doubt it." Connor was carefully listening to the sound of the water turning off as Hank finally finished his nearly half hour long shower. "But we should refrain from buying an excessive amount of decorations for the sake of not overwhelming his stressed senses."

"You're right. I've noticed that the holidays seem to cause the most stress for humans, second only to medical anomalies or personal tragedy."

Thinking of Abby and her down current predicament Connor agreed entirely with the observation. "That seems to be true."

"I have the next weekend free since I agreed to work on Christmas Eve." Lucas continued to focus on their impending trip to the cabin. "How does yours and Hank's schedule line up?"

"We too have this weekend off. We managed to get both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, but we will be working from the twenty-sixth into the New Year as a result."

"Then we should leave this upcoming weekend for the cabin." Looking back at the kitchen where Sumo and Lucky were still eating Lucas acknowledged the two fluffy pets in the distance. They were very well behaved and got along with everyone. "We can bring Sumo and Lucky with us, that way we won't have to worry about anything."

"That can work. I have an automatic feeder for Baron installed in his aquarium, he'll be fine for a few days as long as the house is kept warm enough to keep a tropical fish comfortable."

The bathroom door opened with a quiet motion and Hank slowly trudged down the hallway and into his bedroom without saying a word to the deviants. The sluggish and heavy footsteps spoke volumes of Hank's equally heavy mood at the moment.

"He needs really this time away." Lucas needlessly whispered as Hank had already shut his bedroom door. "Without the distraction of the deviant Revolution or another high profile case, I fear Hank is going to retreat into himself as the bleak weather continues to worsen."

"We won't let that happen." Turning to face the closed bedroom door down the hallway Connor lamented the dreadful idea of Hank slipping back into a serious depression. The offensive revolver was no longer in the house, but that didn't mean Hank couldn't still find a way to harm himself if he was desperate enough to do so. "Our friends and family need us to be strong for them right now, we won't let them down."

Curious about the plural terms being used Lucas knew that someone else was in need of help, but decided that if Connor wasn't going to name them directly then it wasn't his business of the moment. "You're right, brother. We won't fail to protect the people who matter the most."

-next chapter-