Present time...
Hank woke up and saw Connor's eyes fluttering open. He reached over and gently touched his forehead.
Warm.
He felt alive.
Hank sighed in relief. In that moment, a nurse walked in and saw that they were awake. She left the room to inform the doctor. Connor blinked at Hank.
"What happened...?" Connor asked in a quiet voice. Hank heart dropped. He's never heard Connor sound so small and weak. "Where are we...?" Hank forced a smile and began stroking Connor's hair. Connor's eyes slowly shut in response to the comfort.
"It's okay, son...we're in the hospital now." Connor made a small noise and his eyes snapped open.
"Hospital...? Where humans go when they're sick...or injured...?" Hank nodded.
" 'Fraid so, kid..." Hank smiled at him again. "You did great today, Connor. Really great." Hank continued in a more hushed tone.
"Now, get some more rest, okay, bud?" Hank demanded softly. Connor nodded and starting dozing off.
It was a few hours later when Markus came in. Hank greeted him with a small nod.
"How is he?" Markus asked sincerely.
"He's going to be fine." Hank replied. It seemed as though he had more to say, but kept it to himself. Markus decided to ask about it.
"What is it, Lieutenant Anderson? You seem hesitant." Markus inquired peaceably. "Is there something else?" Hank frowned.
"I haven't even told him yet but," Hank paused. "Basically, Connor is now half-human." Markus' eyes went wide. Confusion covered his face.
"How is that possible?" Hank shrugged.
"I know about as much as you. All I know is that he now has human blood running inside him." Hank ran a hand through his hair. "Apparently, this means he'll also have different types of conditions and malfunctions and at the moment we have no idea what they are." The was a quiet pause for a good few minutes until Markus spoke.
"Well...how can we find out?" Markus asked finally finding his voice. Hank shook his head slowly.
"We gotta go to CyberLife. They're gonna tell us what they can figure out." Hank turned to look at Connor. "This may mean that we are not partners anymore."
"How's so?"
"It could get dangerous for him. What if one of his conditions affects the way he can defend himself?" Markus opened his mouth to respond but, no words came to him. Hank nodded. "Exactly." Connor stirred beside Hank.
Hank looked over in time to see Connor's eyes flutter open. He blinked for a moment then he scanned the room. His gaze landed on Markus. He felt himself smile a bit.
"Markus." Connor called sounding better than the first time he woke up today.
"Hey, Connor." Markus smiles gently and came closer. "I came to see you. I'm...really sorry that this happened to you."
"It's fine, of course. Nothing to worry about. Although," Connor looked over at Hank. "I am curious as to why I'm not at CyberLife getting repair."
"That's a long story right now, kiddo." Hank looked away and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I have to go now, Connor. But, I will let you know when I catch the Insurgent that did this to you." Markus said standing to leave. "I will be back as soon as I do."
"Then I'll see you then." Connor replied smiling. Markus gave a small wave and left.
"Alright, Connor. Can you walk?" Connor shifted his legs a little in response to the question.
"I believe so, Lieutenant." Hank nodded.
"Then we need to get you to CyberLife." Hank said. "I'll explain what happened on the way over there." Connor nodded.
"Whatever you say, Lieutenant."
It took them all of 45 minutes to check out of the hospital and get him to the car. Once in, Connor stared at Hank curiously. He seemed...hesitant. Very. Hesitant.
Hank glanced over, but continued starting the car and driving off. Five minutes later, the car ride was still in silence until finally Hank found his voice.
"That Insurgent--"
"Daniel--"
"Daniel...He roughed you up pretty good. He would have killed you if I hadn't found you. When I saw you, you were hanging with your arms tied and you had lots of deep gashes in both sides of your torso." Hank's voice trailed off for a moment before coming back. "You were bleeding out...I panicked and brought you to the hospital. You would have died if I decided to take you to CyberLife." Connor was silently listening with questions swarming around in his eyes. There was a moment of silence until Connor realized Hank wasn't going to continue.
"How did they fix me?" He asked.
"They, uh," Hank started nervously. "they infused human blood into your blue blood."
"They...what?" Connor felt dizzy, his LED was flashing multiple colors at one time. He didn't understand. It shouldn't have worked, he should be dead. Why didn't Hank let him die and take him to CyberLife to be fixed?
Questions swarmed around the bewildered Connor until they finally arrived at the CyberLife tower. Hank parked and turned to face Connor.
"Listen," he started softly. "Whatever happens, whatever they tell us...I swear everything will be okay." Connor stared at Hank dead in the eye and nodded. He felt tears sting his eyes. He was scared. He could feel the fear coming off of Hank and it scared him even more.
Hank got out of the car and walked to Connor's side. He pulled him and they walked into the building together. The Android receptionist smiled robotically as they came in.
"Welcome." She greeted. "Someone will be with you soon."
"Thanks." Hank mumbled, taking a seat. He looked up at Connor who stood beside him looking incredibly nervous. "Hey, sit down a sec. I wanna show you some of these pictures of Sumo." Connor lit up at the sound of the dog's name. He quickly took the seat next to him excitedly.
"When did you take these pictures?" Connor said scrolling through them happily. "I like this one!" He pointed to a picture of Sumo laying on top of Hank in Hank's bedroom. Hank chuckled a bit at the memory.
