Hallo!
So, I just want to give a very quick shout-out to the lovely xNarielx. She's written a brilliant Christmas one-shot featuring Hank and Connor, which I was fortunate enough to beta for, and I really hope you will all go over to her profile and check it out. I was howling with laughter, grinning from ear-to-ear and welling up during it.
Thanks for being there as an amazing supporter, Nariel, I hope your fic gets all the love it deserves!
Special thanks for reviews: xNarielx, AnUnorthodoxDecision, Minecraft Guardiansaiyan, lordvaatithewindmage, MugetsuPipefox and one Guest.
Talk about mood whiplash on this one. I just have no idea where this idea came from.
Okay, it was official, Hank was confused. Mildly worried, but more confused.
It was now 3pm and the precinct was dead quiet. People seemed to be behaving for some reason over the past couple of days, which made their lives easy. All the android crimes were all but wrapped up, the younger members of the division handling the small cases which needed some work, while Homicide had ground to a halt as they were busy waiting for warrants. That meant everyone was bored and finding ways to amuse themselves.
It had descended to the point where much of the floor had split off into groups either chatting idly or having some sort of competition, or people were blatantly on their phones doing…something. Nope, Hank wasn't looking at Ben for that one. Not at all.
Across from him, the quartet of Chris, Tina, Gavin and Katie had gathered together. Chris had pulled a chair over to Gavin's desk, while Tina was perched on the edge of Katie's. They had begun a game of Marry, Shag or Throw Off a Cliff, which was just getting worse all the time. It had started out with celebrities, but as with all these things, it devolved into being about their colleagues. And because he was a nosey bastard, Hank couldn't help but listen in.
It was totally worth Gavin's stapler getting thrown at him when he'd seen the detective's unimpressed face and roared in laughter at both Tina and Katie's answers when being faced with the trio of Chris, Gavin and Connor. Talk about a blow to the ego in getting tossed by both of them, though Hank had to wonder how much of it was just as a wind-up. Though when Tina asked how she was meant to choose between tossing either Connor or Chris off a cliff, it wasn't much competition really.
He quickly tuned out when his name got mentioned, slamming his headphones on and cranking the music up. That was not something he needed to know, thank you, and Tina's conniving wink just made him even more flustered.
Hank thought the Jericho crew's blatant innuendos were bad. Somehow that was worse.
With the distraction having now passed, his eyes flitted to the desk next to him. The empty desk. It wasn't so much that Connor's desk was empty, there were times when it happened even when they were both on shift. Just because they were partners, not to mention family, didn't mean they were joined at the hip.
What was bugging him, was that there was no reason for Connor to be absent. He'd gone on an errand for Fowler two hours ago and not returned. If he'd intended to be gone that long, Connor would have messaged Hank to let him know.
So why hasn't he…?
Paranoia was getting to him now. Trying to settle his overactive imagination, Hank pulled out his phone and messaged Katie. The last thing he wanted to do was worry others if he was overreacting.
Katie, you heard from Connor recently? Or do you know where he's at?
The older man could see the minute change of her expression from her conversation as she got back to him. Her surprise had been obvious to him.
No, I haven't, and I can't even begin to guess where he is. Is something wrong?
I don't know…That's two hours he's been gone now, it's not like him to just vanish.
Have you tried calling him or Markus? The Jericho apartments would be my guess.
He hoped Connor hadn't gone there, or it might ruin the rest of Connor's birthday surprise since it had finally fucking arrived, two damn weeks late. Still, it was a good guess. He fired off two more quick messages: one to an android at the apartments, and one who was waiting for the delivery at their house.
Markus, has Connor dropped in to visit you? He's just vanished into thin air.
Bitch-face, Connor hasn't gone home, has he? And you better not be rigging my damn house again! If you do, I swear I'm going to string you up by your fucking ponytail off a bridge!
It took only a couple of seconds to get a reply, but when it was only one, he was concerned.
I'm sorely tempted now that you've said that, just to see how you'd try and do it you old fart. And why the hell would Connor be at the house? You said the pair of you are on shift till 6.
Hank was halfway through his reply when North suddenly called him. He picked up straight away, not giving a damn if Fowler gave him into trouble for it; they weren't exactly busy.
"Connor's missing?"
He leant back in his seat and sighed long. "I don't know, I can't help but wonder if I'm being paranoid here. Connor left two hours ago and I've not heard a thing from him since. Markus isn't answering me though, and I wonder if Connor's with him."
"Hmmmm…" Hank could practically count the pause in his head, and North came back to the conversation too soon. "That's odd. Markus wouldn't answer me, and I can't connect with Connor at all."
That was not good. "…North, since when can androids not connect?"
"Usually, the only time is when there's some sort of interference, though we can self-disconnect. I can't see why Connor would do that when on shift though…"
Hank's stomach turned. "Shit, North can you-" A beep in Hank's ear cut him off, and he pulled his phone back to stare at it in confusion. It had gone dead. "The fuck…? What happened there?" No matter what he tried, he couldn't turn it back on. "Fucking piece of shit…" Swallowing his pride, Hank groaned as he shouted over to the one person he knew had the same make of phone. "Oi, Reed!"
That unintentionally brought the attention of the rest of the quartet, who all stared at him curiously. Gavin looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "The hell you wanting, Anderson?" he asked warily.
"I need your phone cable, mine's packed in."
That had Gavin laughing. "Forget to charge it last night, old man? Showing your age there."
"Gavin." The calling of his name had Gavin switching his attention to the voice, and his mocking changed when he both heard the seriousness in Katie's tone, and saw the mild concern on her face.
Sensing that there was something going on, Gavin stretched into his jacket pocket to toss the cable over. "Need it back," he told Hank as the older man caught it, but there was no malice in the statement.
Thank fuck Katie knows how to get Gavin to not be an ass when it matters. "Cheers," he called back, rapidly plugging the device in to the side of his terminal. It flashed to life a few seconds later, but it seemed to be taking an age to get enough power to regain any functionality.
The terminal glitched out briefly, flickering for a second as Hank's phone burst back to life. He stared at both devices suspiciously, but the terminal was responding normally to any inputs. "Goddamn technology, pair in the arse when it goes wrong," Hank spat, giving the terminal a glare before turning his attention back to his phone. There was no obvious reason for it to have given out and he sighed in irritation.
He had more important things to be doing, he needed to find out what the hell was up with Connor.
Just as he was about to call his wayward son on his phone, Hank noticed the an alert on the corner of his terminal screen. He was half-tempted to ignore it, but the sickening feeling in his stomach made him bring up the message. It was a report from dispatch about an anti-android assault at the Jericho apartments an hour ago. How did North not tell him about this?
Initial reports from the android leader, Markus, confirm three android fatalities along with another eleven injuries. Markus has requested this report be passed along only to Lieutenant Anderson, for his immediate viewing, before being expanded to a full investigation. Markus has stressed the immediate threat has passed, and that the situation at the Jericho apartments is now under control.
Fuck, no wonder Markus didn't answer me, but why has he made this for me only?
Another message soon flashed on Hank's terminal, from a chat window this time, and Hank couldn't understand why he would have anything coming up there and not his phone until he opened it up.
Hello, Hank.
"What the hell? Who's-"
This…is less than ideal. Still, at least I am less cramped inside your terminal compared to your phone. Thank you for connecting the devices.
Hank's lungs froze at the message. That sounded just like-
Connor?
Yes, it's me.
"Oh fuck no…No, no, no, no."
Please tell me someone else pranked you, Connor. This better not have been you needing that damn backup system.
I wish I could, Hank. I shut down eleven minutes ago after sustaining fatal injuries at the attack on the apartments.
Jesus Christ…Can you be repaired?
Yes, Simon is working on my body now. He had fixed the most severe of my injuries, but I lost too much thirium. It was…highly unpleasant.
"Thank fucking god you're going to be all right…"
What the hell happened, kiddo?
A small, but organised, anti-android group decided to stage a violent protest outside the Jericho apartments. Captain Fowler had received a tip-off about a potential confrontation this morning, and sent me down to provide assistance. It looked like Markus and I were going to diffuse the situation peacefully until three people decided to start shooting us.
Markus was caught in a glancing blow after I pushed him out of the way, he needs a replacement arm, and three other androids were killed. Myself and one other have since shut down from the injuries sustained. The humans mostly ran after the shooting started, but we managed to apprehend the shooters. Rupert and Josh are watching them until the DPD comes down for a full investigation.
Shit, why do humans have to be such assholes? Are the other androids going to be okay?
All of those who shut down can be re-activated safely, and the remaining injuries are mostly repaired. It could have been much worse.
No kidding. I'm glad it's going to turn out all right, we can put people in touch with some therapists. Why did Markus have the report sent to me on the sly?
He wants the investigation to be kept as quiet as possible, to avoid provoking tensions and to minimalize any media invasion. Thus far, the attention around the apartments is low. Lack of interest in android safety is playing into our favour this time.
That statement was sobering, but Connor was right. Had this happened to a human complex, the media would have been all over it like vultures already. Jesus, nobody even thought to phone this whole incident in. That's just fucking wrong.
Okay, I'll get a team together quietly for investigating and brief Fowler. Markus have any requests?
None, but I would suggest having homicide involved, more specifically Gavin and Katie. Five androids were killed today and they want to see the crimes treated equally, despite the fact that we can be repaired.
Preaching to the choir here, son. Katie's a good call, especially as you'll definitely be off the investigating team being a victim technically. At least then one android detective will be involved. Wait, will you be off the case? How the fuck is that going to work, can you…
Investigate my own murder? An interesting question, Hank.
That had the human physically shuddering to see that written.
Fucking Christ, Connor, you didn't need to say it so blatantly!
Sorry, I can see from here that statement made you go paler. That was not my intention. I imagine you will have to discuss that with the Captain.
Huh, how the hell can you see me? There are no cameras on the terminals.
No, but I can access all the DPD systems from here, including the CCTV. I've been watching your reactions since I was uploaded.
"So I could have been just speaking this whole time instead of fucking typing, is that what you're telling me?" Hank asked out loud, but not at such a volume as to bring attention to himself.
Yes, I can still understand you perfectly.
"You shit, my hand is fucking cramping from typing so damn quick! Could have told me that earlier…" he said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. Fuck, this wasn't how he expected the day to go. His heart was still calming down from the knowledge that Connor was…
Thank fuck he's an android, or I would have just losthim today. Christ.
His eyes fell back to the screen and he saw the message there, eyes shifting from sad to affectionate.
Sorry, Hank.
"Don't be, kiddo. You've had a hell of a day," he mouthed, but saw no merit in speaking now. Connor was no doubt lip-reading anyway. "Are your repairs going to take a long time?"
I don't believe so, but I will have to be reunited with my body before I can re-upload, regardless. You'll have to head down to the apartments, preferably with the investigative team.
"That's good…"
And then the most unbelievable and devious idea hit Hank out of nowhere.
Fuck knew why his brain was deciding to do this now of all times after such a scare, but had worked out his mind was fucked up a long time ago.
He sat up and stared directly at the camera in the nearest corner to him, quickly scanning the room to see if he had caught anyone's attention. Nothing. A smirk crawled onto his face as he looked back up. "Hey, Connor," he mouthed again, "you said you can access the whole DPD system from there, yeah? You're literally a part of it right now, yeah?"
Yes…why?
Hank's smirk grew. "Fancy causing some mayhem while I brief Fowler and get the team together? I reckon you've got half an hour or so."
…
…
…
…I think I can do that.
"'Course you can't resist some pranks. Have fun, son, I'll be back in a few."
While the older man stood and tapped on the glass to Fowler's office, Connor was slowly beginning to get the hang of being incorporeal. Android minds were literally data streams, 1's and 0's woven into a complex mesh which allowed them to evolve into sentience. Which meant that Connor was able to transfer between any linked systems with ease.
And in the modern age, almost everything was digitised and inter-linked.
That left Connor lots to play with. It left him feeling a little…giddy, the thought of messing around with the precinct like this – almost like he was haunting it.
Time to find out if his colleagues in the DPD believed in ghosts.
Picking his first target, Connor took control of the gates in and out of the bullpen, spying that Wilson was just about to return after grabbing a coffee. He waited until the gate was mostly open before pausing it, leaving not enough space for the human to get through. "What the? Hey, can someone help me out here?" he shouted over to the receptionist. She was one of the ST300 androids who had formally worked at the precinct and had returned after the uprising, only now under the name of Holly. Spying the problem, she tried to access the system to override the gate controls, only to come across Connor.
Her eyes widened slightly in shock and confusion at realising the block was an actual android mind, but the detective reassured her with a message on her own terminal.
It's a long story. Don't worry, I am simply having some fun. Keep watching.
Hiding a smile, she spoke kindly over to the human toying with climbing over the gate. "Apologies, it seems I am unable to operate the system at the moment. Physical force may be your best option," she offered helpfully.
Well, helpful to Connor anyway.
Oh, that is just far too tempting, Holly.
The other android had to fight back a laugh when Wilson pushed the barrier hard, only for Connor to suddenly spring it open. He tumbled to the floor loudly, his coffee splattering all over the floor. At least it wasn't on him. Realising that Connor was about to do something special, she interfaced with her monitor and brought up the CCTV footage of the bullpen.
He surely wasn't going to stop just there.
Wilson's mishap with the gate caught the attention of the nearby quartet, to which all four of them laughed to varying degrees. Katie and Chris were mildly sympathetic while Tina and Gavin howled. "At least it's not just me who has coffee accidents," Gavin teased.
Chris stood up while chuckling, offering Wilson a hand back up. The others were happy to sit back and watch, but their attention was then stolen by some distinctive sounds from the opposite side of the bullpen. The humans all recognised the 'pew pew' of Space Invaders.
When they turned, they found Ben was staring at his monitor in utter betrayal. He had no idea how the sound had come on, and so loud at that.
Tina was barely stopping herself from falling off her perching position on Katie's desk. "Oh my god, I didn't realise anyone played that old game. Seriously, Ben?"
He snorted back at her. "It's a classic, leave the older generation to their memories, Tina."
"Ben, that game was ancient by the time you were born, let alone us," Gavin fired over. "Where the hell is the fun in that?"
"This coming from the man who got trounced by Hank at Tetris eleven times in a row. Where's the fun in that?"
Katie and Tina both snickered as Gavin went red and then stood, muttering under his breath about heading to the bathroom. The two females were coming up with their own subjects to tease Gavin about when the lights above them started flickering. They shared a look before one of the doors leading to one of the interview rooms at the side slid open on its own. "What the hell is going on?" Tina asked out loud. "The place is going haywire."
"Something weird is definitely happening," Katie noted, reaching over to tap into the DPD's systems before she received a shock from the terminal.
She yelped and hissed at the sting, drawing Tina's attention back to her. "Crap, you okay, Katie?"
"Yeah, that just hurt…" she said with a suspicious stare. That was more than a little odd. Barking for another terminal had everyone jumping, and Tina was horrified to realise it was her own one. Scampering over to turn off the noise which had appeared out of nowhere, Katie attempted to interface with the terminal again. This time, she wasn't shocked, but instead felt warmth flood through.
Shhh, don't spoil my fun.
Her eyes widened dramatically at recognising the voice which burst into her mind. She had no idea androids could interface through another medium like this.
Connor?! How-
You'll find out soon, just give me a minute.
What are you doing?!
Killing time. You might want to go rescue your partner when you hear some banging.
A grin threatened split her face. The hell are you about to do?
It's far too much fun playing pranks on Gavin, especially when he has no idea that I'm behind them.
Sure enough, she could hear some furious banging and shouts from the restrooms. It caught the attention of a few more people, who went over to help Gavin break out.
Which made it all the worse when he briefly gave out a shriek as the lights went out inside. The resulting laughter would not improve his mood any.
You are beyond cruel.
I don't see you going over to let him out.
Nope, I want to see if you can make him scream like that again. Besides, I don't trust you not to shock me again.
Katie…you don't trust me?
Not a chance in hell, Connor, not when you're in this mood.
She yelped as she got shocked yet again, just as all the electronics in the precinct started malfunctioning. A quick message flashed on her terminal, and had it not been for android reactions, it would have gone unseen.
Wise.
Connor kept playing around with the DPD systems for another few minutes: hijacking terminals and playing embarrassing noises from them, locking people in rooms, having the coffee machine flood the break room, flickering the lights… People were all but jumping at their own shadows, and more than one person asked if a poltergeist had decided to pick on them for the day.
The amusement it gave Connor more than made up for the unpleasantness of being technically dead at that moment.
Fowler emerged with Hank from his office to see the resulting commotion, and scowled at the room. Hank had to fight with every fibre of his being not to laugh out loud at the frazzled faces all around him, but when Fowler started speaking again, it sobered him right up.
"All right, people, listen up. We've got a large crime scene at the Jericho apartments. Lieutenant Anderson is going to be taking six people from android crimes along with Reed and Marshall to keep control of the situation. We've got five murders from a shooting on our hands, so let's do these androids justice. Keep your mouths shut, we don't need a media circus down there. CSI will be following shortly, get to work."
Katie made the connection instantly, and Gavin noticed her go rigid from standing next to her – now that she'd freed him from his dark prison. "Katie, you all right?" he asked in concern.
She nodded mutely back at him, but interfaced with the terminal again.
Shit, what happened to you?
It's a long story.
It took several hours for the crime scene to be worked and all the interviews to be conducted. Even the best part of a year after the uprising, some of the department still found it odd to be working a murder scene where said dead androids were now up and walking again. It confused the hell out of them more to learn that one of their own had been one of the victims.
Hank hadn't often been as proud of his colleagues as he was at seeing how almost everyone went up to ask if Connor was all right, now that he'd been re-activated. Markus had reassured Hank that Connor was fine, and it was an immense relief to know that the back-up system was fully operational – even if the circumstances were less than ideal.
That night was…interesting.
They had driven back home in silence, neither quite knowing what to say, both with a lot on their minds. It hadn't slipped either of their thoughts that things could have gone so much worse. One of the bullets to Connor had been a headshot, missing his memory core by inches.
Inches away from him being gone for good. As close to invincible as Connor was, he could still die.
When they got back home, Hank opened the door to find a pizza takeaway box lying on the kitchen table with a big red bow on the top. He smiled widely at finding the scribbled note on top, titled 'To The Coffin Dodger'.
Connor can kill me later, you two have had a rough day.
"North, I fuckin' adore you," he chuckled warmly, diving in for a slice. Connor didn't comment at all, just smiled resignedly before going through to his bedroom. He was curious as to why North had been at their house, but could ask about that later. Right now, he had to get out of the bullet-riddled and thirium stained clothes he was wearing. Hank might not be able to see the blood anymore, but Connor still could.
He didn't need the reminder.
As he entered the room, Connor gasped at seeing the light coming from the corner. "What-" he asked in a choked whisper, quickly striding up to take a closer look at it, scanning the contents.
Fake coral and a plastic shipwreck in one corner, while seaweed was growing in another. A treasure chest open with bubbles appearing, which occasionally closed. White and blue sand along the bottom, and Connor's heart stuttered as he went through the occupants. Two dwarf gourami, one male and one female, and angelfish, a marigold swordtail, and two clownfish.
His very own aquarium.
"You like it?"
Connor spun with a beaming, teary smile to see Hank grinning from the door. "This damn thing was a nightmare, it was meant to be here for your birthday but only got here today. Maybe a good thing, now. I'm glad its helping you smile now," he explained, placing a gentle hand on Connor's shoulder as the android went back to staring at his new pets.
Connor hadn't thought Hank had remembered the story of his first act of deviancy – saving the fish during the hostage scenario over a year ago now – and of how it made him feel. He was incredibly moved. "Hank I…thank you. This is just-Sometimes emotions can be incredibly overwhelming," he said openly, hoping that the human knew just how much it meant to him.
"Yeah, tell me about it. Especially on a day like today…" Without warning, Hank pulled Connor back and embraced him in a bone crushing hug. The android didn't even think twice about hugging back with the same intensity. "Fuck, Connor. Today was way too damn close. I'm so glad you're all right."
"Me too, Hank, me too."
They stayed there for a minute or two, before Hank pulled back to give Connor a warm smile. "All right, tell me about all your antics while I was with Fowler. I need to hear this."
Connor smiled. Where did he start with this one? Tripping Wilson? Embarrassing Tina and Ben? Trapping Gavin in the bathroom?
He wondered how long it would take Hank to realise that Connor had changed his ringtone to Hank's self-professed least favourite song in amongst all his other shenanigans.
For a day where he'd died, it hadn't turned out so bad after all.