What Family Means

by wolftez

Connor is ten years old when he goes to live with Hank. The life he finds there reroutes the entire trajectory of his future. [Foster family AU]

5. The Andersons

Some mentions/signs of abuse in this one, though nothing graphic.

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Life was strange.

It had a funny way of coming full circle and making you see the exact same things you experienced as a kid, just from an adult's point of view now.

It happened one day when Connor was on his way to his criminal justice class when he was 20, and he had to stop at a crossing lane in front of an elementary school. The cross guard that had stopped traffic waved some kids through the crossing lane, and Connor watched with mild interest as a bustle of kids ran across the street. There was one kid walking by himself ahead of a big group of kids who were running straight behind him, and Connor winced to himself, knowing they were going to collide.

Sure enough, the big kid in the front of the group purposefully knocked his shoulder into the lone boy's back, and the kid fell to his hands and knees. Connor's heart immediately went out to the fallen boy because how many times had Connor been in that exact same position?

As the crowded group merely laughed and ran off and ahead, the boy who had knocked the other kid down stayed behind, watching to make sure his friends had left completely before he looked back at the boy apologetically. The kid on the ground couldn't see his face yet, so he couldn't have known that the boy who'd pushed him was sorry.

Then, the big kid did something Connor wasn't expecting: the bullying boy had shaken his head to himself and grabbed the leaner boy up by his arm, unable to wait for the kid to collect himself to pick himself up. Connor was a bit amazed when the boy dusted off the kid's shoulders and arms, knocking away any stray dirt and twigs that had clung to him.

The whole exchange was so familiar to Connor, and he watched the two boys stand around awkwardly until the sound of car horns blaring behind Connor urged him back to the road.

He kept on driving on his way to class with thoughts of Gavin and wondering if he ever looked apologetic when Connor wasn't looking.

Stuff like this happened all the time where he witnessed other people go through the same experiences he'd gone through, and each time it happened, he was able to see from the point of view of other people. It made him question each and every incident he'd ever found himself in and wondering what the other person thought.

But, nothing truly reminded him of his childhood than the situation he would find himself in today.

He was sitting in his police car outside of a worn-down house, lawn unkempt and with little knick knacks knocked down and around, abandoned by the man who lived there. Connor wasn't just sitting outside of this man's house for his health; there was a reason he was staking the place out all by himself.

After high school, Kara had full on decided to become a nurse, so that's what she went to school for. For four years she studied her heart out, she interned at different clinics around the city, and once she graduated and was officially given the title of being a registered nurse, she got a job at a local hospital in the emergency room.

Being in the emergency room was trying. Some of the stories Kara would call up Connor to talk about were horrendous, and he sometimes wondered why she went into that field in the first place if it was so sad and mentally draining.

It was never hard for his brain to kick in with the answer, though. Kara, like Hank, was a natural caretaker and loved to fix someone else up just to see that smile on someone's face, or just to feel like she had made someone's life a little better.

It was the reason why when a sad little girl came into the emergency room two weeks ago with a broken collarbone and a gruff father who smelled of booze, she just couldn't let it go.

According to the kid's father, the little girl—Alice, was her name—fell from a first story window and landed right on her collarbone. Kara didn't like the way Alice silently agreed with Todd's version of events but never wanted to look Kara in the eye as she said it.

Kara was trained for these kind of situations. Nursing wasn't just about learning how to clean a wound or how to pop a shoulder back into place; bedside manner was an important part of being a nurse, and learning how to read and react to their patients was just as vital to create a positive atmosphere for a hurt patient.

So, Kara noticed the signs. She saw how Alice's dad would take the lead on questions and how defensive he got when Kara wanted a straight answer from Alice's own mouth, and after she'd patched Alice up in a sling and told her that a broken collarbone just needed time to heal, her father had taken her hand and left as soon as he could.

The whole experience had left Kara feeling weird and anxious and like something wasn't right. She knew if she went to the hospital team and told them about her suspicions, that they'd do their part in sending a report to the police about the possibility of abuse happening in the home, but she also knew that probably nothing would actually get done in the end. So, she went to someone she trusted.

Connor was 24 and two years past his stint with the police academy and was pretty comfortable in his job as a police officer with the DPD when Kara came to him with her suspicions, and with the way she was so distraught over Alice and wondering if she was okay in her home situation, he knew he couldn't refuse Kara this.

It wasn't exactly legal, but Kara had been able to find out Alice's address from the paperwork her father had filled out when they'd checked into the ER, so once Kara texted this information over to Connor, he got right on it.

So, today, he'd ridden up to the address in her text and parked alongside the curb outside the house, and that was how Connor found himself stationed outside this man's house. Connor hopped out of his police car, and leaned against the car's hood for a moment as he inspected the house and the surrounding area.

The slowly decaying house didn't scream picture perfect family, but that wasn't really much to go on. Maybe they just couldn't afford repairs for the exterior of the house, who knew?

As Connor cautiously approached the intimidating house, he thought back to what he knew about the man. He'd done his due diligence and looked up this Todd Williams who lived at 239 Mortar street in the police database, and much to Connor's dismay, he'd found that the guy had a bit of a record and a reputation as a small-time drug dealer for the neighborhood addicts.

It was definitely not the kind of environment for a child to be in, but since his last arrest was more than five years ago, there was nothing steadily pointing him in the direction that Todd was an unfit father right in this moment.

He could have gotten counseling over the years, could have been sober now, but from the worry on Kara's face and how much Todd's behavior agitated her, Connor sincerely doubted it.

When he walked up the creaky stairs to the front door, he took a minute to just listen, to see if he could hear anything unusual coming from inside the house. He did this every time he walked into a high-risk situation he knew nothing about, and even though this wasn't high-risk, Connor still technically wasn't authorized to do this kind of thing while he wasn't on duty. He was risking a lot by following an unauthorized lead with no back up, but that was just the chance Connor was willing to take for Kara, and for this little girl.

It was both a blessing and a terrible sadness when he heard the yelling.

It gave him the incentive to spur into action, and before he could think about the consequences to his action, he beat his fist on the door, and said, "DPD, open up!"

Whatever was happening inside must have been bigger to Todd than the goddamn police showing up at his door, because no one answered. And, when the sound of a little girl's cry filtered out to Connor, he braced his hand on the gun holstered to his side and unfastened the strap, just in case.

He was very close to busting the door down with his newly acquired upper body strength thanks to the academy, but he didn't have to. The door abruptly flew open, and Connor was suddenly faced with an out of breath, clearly fuming middle aged man.

"What the hell is this? What have I done?" Todd Williams said angrily, looking Connor over from head to toe. But, there was a certain twitchy feeling coming from the man in the way his eyes darted quickly from point to point, in the way his body trembled just the slightest in the jerkiest of movements.

Connor let his hand fall from its light perch on his holstered gun and cocked his head at the way Todd immediately assumed he was in trouble, but then again, cops didn't go knocking on doors for fun.

This was a total breach of all the rules Connor had had drilled into him during those six months he spent training in the police academy, but there just simply was no time. From the urgent way Kara spoke, if something wasn't done now, then there would be nothing to be done for later.

So, Connor swallowed as subtly as he could, and he did what he did best while trying to gleam information: he lied.

"Good afternoon, sir, I don't mean to bother you today, but, there have been reports of illegal activity stemming from this area. Are you alone here?"

Todd narrowed his shrewd eyes at him, and Connor didn't like the way he felt like he was being sized up.

"No. No, I don't have anyone here, I don't know who told you that, but they got their facts wrong," Todd said, and he reached over to scratch at his arm, agitated.

Connor was just about to ask him if he was sure when a little girl came into view behind Todd. Alice was peeking around the corner of a wall behind Todd, and when Connor caught sight of her red-rimmed eyes and the huge glaring red mark on her cheek, he faced Todd once more, heat coursing through his veins at the obvious sight.

But, Connor was good at concealing his emotions when it mattered, so he beat down the anger at the mark on her face as much as he could and glanced back at Alice. "Hey, there," Connor said, and tried to paste on a smile for the little girl, to try and show her that he was a safe person. "You doin' okay?"

Connor let his eyes flit toward Todd pointedly, and the other man drew a hand back to rub at his neck as he tried to shuffle in the way of Connor's view of Alice. "Uh, yeah. Just my kid's here, that's all. But, everything's fine here, so—"

"Would you mind if I took a look inside? Just so I have something solid to send back to my superiors."

Todd huffed and ran a hand back and forth through his tangly, unruly hair, and after a quick glance back at Alice, he relented, opening the door a bit wider for Connor.

"Sure, yeah, whatever. But, could you make it quick 'cause we gotta be heading out soon," Todd said as Connor slid past him and into the house.

The inside was exactly what Connor had expected from the looks of the outside. There were greasy pizza boxes and empty 2-liter bottles of soda lying around on the kitchen counter, stacked on top of other trash that looked like it'd been there for days; half of the furniture—from one of the chairs at the table, to the railing on the stairs—looked broken, paint chipping off the sides; Alice, herself, was wearing a sweater with a severely stretched out neckline, and Connor wondered if that had just happened moments before.

Todd didn't seem to know what to do with himself, so he left Connor and started walking toward a room behind the kitchen agitatedly. The whole thing had Connor's nerves on edge, and he suddenly wished that he'd called his partner at least to tell him where he was.

Alice moved out from behind the wall, and when the sight caught his eye, he immediately turned his full attention to the 10-year-old and bent down to her level, bouncing on the heels of his shoes to balance himself.

"Alice? That's your name, right?" The girl turned her head to the side to hide away the injured side of her face, but she nodded. Connor rubbed at his own cheek where hers was an angry red. "You want to tell me what happened there? You won't get in trouble, I promise you."

He kept his voice gentle, allowing her to feel in control of the situation. And, he was rewarded with her soft eyes gazing at him hopefully, trustingly, and that wasn't something he took lightly.

"He just gets so angry sometimes," she said, and the softness there in her barely there voice made his heart clench.

"Who does? Your dad?" Connor said, and she was just about to speak again, but her eyes floated to behind Connor, and she faced away from him once more.

"Hey! What the hell are you telling him?" Todd said, and Connor jumped back to his feet as Todd bustled by him and grabbed a hold of Alice's shoulder. He barely touched her, it looked like, but Alice shouted out in pain as soon as he made contact, and Todd immediately let go of her, shooting wide eyes at Connor. "I barely even touched her, man."

Connor eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he watched Alice gently place a hand against her shoulder, and then he realized. "Where's her sling? Isn't she still recovering from a fractured collarbone?"

Todd's hands came up to tangle in his hair, and he looked absolutely like he was tweaking out. "She didn't even need it anymore. The little brat was just looking for sympathy, she's not actually hurt." Then, Todd stopped his restless, agitated twitching to glance at Connor as he narrowed his eyes. "Wait… How did you know that?"

Connor was done with the games. He'd seen enough and had enough evidence to bring Todd in on the very least on child negligence charges, so instead of answering the man's foolish question, he reached behind him for his cuffs.

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to turn around."

He reached for Todd, but of course, the other man jumped back and out of his reach. "What the fuck for? Fuck you, man, this is my goddamn house—"

Connor was quick. He shot out for the other man and managed to push him face first into the wall, using all of his strength to restrain this man who was nearly twice his size in weight. Todd struggled and at one point even knocked his head back painfully into Connor's bottom lip, but he fought through the taste of blood and managed to pin Todd back into the wall with his shoulder as he locked the cuffs into place around his struggling wrists.

Todd began cursing and yelling at both Connor and Alice, screaming obscenities and conspiracy theories at them as Connor struggled profusely to walk the man out of the house and into the back of his police car. He finally did it, but it took a couple minutes and more than a few kicks to the shin.

Alice was waiting at the threshold of the front door, watching with wide, scared eyes as her dad screamed at her through the bulletproof glass of Connor's police car, and Connor beat his fist against the glass in an attempt to get him to shut up and leaned against the car window to block Alice's view of her riled-up father.

Connor hesitated with what to do next because this whole thing hadn't exactly been legal. He wasn't just allowed to go up to people's houses and inspect their home life with no kind of probable cause of any kind except the word of his sister. It was definitely enough for Connor, but his superiors definitely wouldn't see it that way.

There was one thing he could do, though.

Connor dialed the familiar number that he knew by heart by now and hit speaker on his phone as he waited for the voice of his partner to pick up.

The sound of Gavin's snickering voice is what greeted him. "Just couldn't wait another hour for our shift, could you?" he said, and Connor closed his eyes as he let the bottom of the phone rest on his chin.

"I need your help."

Immediately, Gavin cut off his annoying chuckles, and he could practically hear the the guy sit up straight at Connor's sharp tone. "What happened?"

Connor relayed to his partner just what went down, and while he didn't waste time with the how's and the why's, Gavin only needed to hear that Connor was in trouble to get his ass out of the apartment and come find him.

While Connor waited, he went back inside with Alice and tried to keep her calm. Todd hadn't pushed hard on her shoulder, but the bone fracture was still so fragile that any type of pressure was enough to get the pain flowing.

Connor noticed that her sling was flung up on top of the refrigerator, and he grabbed it down to place it back on her. The girl flinched and cried out as he navigated the sling through her arm and over her shoulder, and Connor didn't want to think about how that made him sad.

He'd tried talking to Alice, but besides a few mumbles insisting that she was okay, the girl remained pretty much tight-lipped. He thought about calling Kara because surely she'd know what to do, but then Gavin came rushing through the door, confusion on his face.

"What the fuck happened to your face?" was the first thing Gavin said, and Connor huffed.

"There is a child here, watch your language," he said, and grabbed Gavin by the arm as he marched them into the kitchen and away from Alice's youthful ears.

Once they were alone, Connor leaned his lower back against the counter, and he could feel how sweaty his palms were when he braced them against the counter. Gavin only raised his eyebrows at him as he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an explanation.

Connor sighed and went into the short version of events. How Kara met Alice when she came into the ER with a broken collarbone. How from Todd's reactions, she could tell something wasn't right at home. How when Connor looked into this Todd Williams, he found that the man had quite the extensive criminal record. And, since Connor needed Gavin's help, he even mentioned how he had no authority to be knocking on Todd's door while he was off duty in the first place.

Gavin listened aptly with furrowed eyebrows and serious eyes. Over the years, Gavin had lost some of those childish antics he had in him, just like Hank had said he would. It wasn't completely gone, though; if anything, it was more refined to fit the situation and the people Gavin were around. If he wasn't comfortable or he didn't like the company he had, then he let some of that jerkiness out of himself, just like old times.

But, at the same time, he wasn't afraid to let someone know when he respected them. It was a side to Gavin that Connor had seen more and more of over the years, which made it somewhat bearable when they had become roommates after they finished the police academy together

When they became partners, Connor had dared to think that he'd had a friend in his one-time nemesis. After what happened at prom with Connor insisting on them having some time to theirselves, Gavin pretty much ignored Connor. He didn't taunt him, he didn't glance his way, he just straight up acted like Connor wasn't there. Connor wasn't going to lie and say that it didn't hurt, but he understood.

But, college and the academy had changed Gavin for the better, and after two years of having his steady friendship to lean on, Connor trusted him enough now to know that Gavin would know what to do.

When Connor wrapped up his version of events, Gavin merely studied him through narrowed eyes as he gnawed his bottom lip, and Connor knew the scheming wheels were turning in Gavin's head.

"Fuck, kid, and I didn't think you had it in you."

Connor shook his head, squinting at him. "What—? Gavin, did you hear anything I just—"

"Yeah, yeah, cool it, I heard you. Look, first things first, we get some ice on this busted lip before it looks like you've got a fucking balloon for a lip," Gavin said, and he scrounged around until he found a zip lock bag. He went to the freezer and scooped up some ice to stick in the sandwich bag before he came back to Connor.

It was similar to how Connor had cared for Alice not twenty minutes ago, but the only difference here was that when Gavin pushed up into his personal space like he straight-up owned it and gently pressed the ice pack to Connor's lip, Connor didn't flinch.

Gavin and Connor were looking at each other as he held the ice pack against his lip, the cool burn fueling the intensity of the moment for Connor. He tried to convey with his eyes a simple thank you, something to tell him that he appreciated this attentive care. Gavin only blinked softly at him, if a blink could ever be considered soft—which, in Connor's opinion, it totally could.

After the tender moment that neither of them acknowledged but both of them felt, Connor replaced Gavin's hand on the ice pack to allow the other man to back up and fold his arms into himself once more.

"Now that you don't look like Bozo, we move on to step two: turn this place upside down in search of some hard evidence we can bring him in on. I'm sure the asshole's still dealing, all we have to do is find the treasure."

Gavin and Connor spent the next twenty minutes looking under every dirty cushion, every broken lamp, and all the disgusting boxes of pizza in search of any of the drugs they both knew were there somewhere. Todd was a dealer in red ice, one of the newer brands of meth to hit the streets in Connor's generation. So, they knew what they were looking for, they just didn't know where.

After Connor carefully placed a cushion back into place on the couch with his leather gloves on, he saw that Alice was still sitting on the picture window that he'd left her on, watching Connor with a look that had him slowly easing himself back into a standing position in wonder.

Of course. Why hadn't he thought to ask her before?

He walked over to Alice and carefully knelt down in front of her, and he was surprised at her steady gaze and how she never wavered from his eyes. It seemed when her dad wasn't around, she was a tough little girl.

"Alice," he said gently, knowingly, "do you know what I'm looking for?"

She didn't say a word. All she did was grab his hand in her little one and guide them to a room in the back behind the kitchen. The laundry room was hot and mucky, and it felt like they had just got done doing the laundry before they came in.

Alice stopped before one of the shelves and pointed at the detergent, which was previously overlooked in Connor's perusing. He grabbed it up in his hands and tried to glance beneath it to see if there was something of worth at the bottom of the glass container. He couldn't see it, so he went diving for it, sloshing his hand around through the powdery substance until his fingers caught on to something smooth, plastic. He grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out to reveal a small bag of red ice.

"Daddy goes there even when he doesn't wash the clothes."

His eyes cut to her, and he didn't think he could hold back the sorrow coursing through him this time. It just cut right to the heart of him how this sad looking ten-year-old girl knew about the drugs in her house, and even where they were hidden. He didn't even want to think about anything else she'd been through because then he'd have trouble keeping himself from doing something stupid to Todd.

Connor gently grasped the shoulder that wasn't broken and said, "You're a brave girl, Alice, and I have a feeling life is about to get a whole lot better for you."

Gavin came in the room then, and Connor passed the evidence over to him. Gavin told Connor that he'd take care of everything, just like that. No questions, no complaints, no whining. Connor wanted to know how and what Connor should say to corroborate with whatever Gavin was going to say back at the precinct, but Gavin just told him to shut up and take Alice to the station. To Hank.

Dealing with the captain was easier these days now that the captain also doubled as his dad.

That had been a long time coming, and absolutely no one was surprised when Hank was announced as the new captain after Fowler retired last year.

But, just because Connor's superior was his adoptive dad didn't mean he could do whatever he pleased. If anything, Hank was stricter when it came to Connor than anyone else on the force because he wanted to make sure Connor became the best he could be, and if he let him slack even a little, then he would not only be letting himself down as captain, but he'd be failing Connor, as well.

So, as Connor drove Alice to the precinct in Gavin's car, and Gavin escorted them to the precinct in their shared police car ahead of him, he was still nervous at bringing the situation to his superior. He didn't know what to say, but he trusted Gavin now. They were partners, and in that time, Gavin had never given him a reason not to trust him. So, it was all Connor could do now to let Gavin handle this one.

They pulled up to the station in no time, and Connor told Alice to stay in the car as he met up with Gavin at the hood of his car.

"All right, so here's what you're gonna do," Gavin said, swiping his thumb across his bottom lip as he thought. "I'll register Todd in. I'll fill out the paperwork and tell them how we'd heard reports in the neighborhood of some suspicious activity going on at his house and decided to check it out. We went in, we found the girl in a fucked up state, and when we tried to question him, he got hostile, he popped you in the mouth, and we took him down."

"Are you sure?" Connor said, and he could feel his chest begin to tighten with the reality finally hitting him. He'd taken down a guy illegally. And, it didn't matter that he'd helped to protect this girl in the process because the law was a tricky thing to dabble with, and Connor had just done something immoral in the eyes of the law.

"Come on, kid, you should know by now that I've gotten myself out of more fucked up situations than this. This is nothing compared to what I've done, and even when you're bending the law, you're still managing to be the good guy in all of this. Saving children and all that."

"But—"

"But, no fucking thing," Gavin said, and he grasped Connor in the space between his neck and shoulder until he had his attention. Connor eyed him from beneath his lashes, and Gavin looked so sure. He was so confident, and he found that he couldn't doubt Gavin when he looked like this.

"Okay," Connor said, nodding. "Okay," and this time he said it stronger, with more resolve. Gavin nodded at him and released him from his hold.

"Good. Now go do what you do best and take care of that kid. I'll do the dirty work … as always," he said, but he said the last part softly, and Connor wasn't sure if he was meant to hear that part. Connor wanted to thank him, to tell him that he didn't have to do this for him but that he appreciated it anyway, but Gavin was already walking away and opening the back of the police car for Todd.

Connor took a deep breath and told himself that he'd thank Gavin later, and then he went back for Alice. The little girl insisted on grabbing onto his hand as he guided her into the police station once Gavin had taken the irate father in first, and Connor reactively squeezed her hand once.

He sought out Hank immediately, and once he was safely confined in the captains office, he started talking.

"I did something," Connor blurted out, and really, why did he think he could keep something as big as this a secret? Especially from Hank?

Hank was seated behind his desk, squinting hard at his computer when they walked in, and at Connor's declaration, the older man merely raised his eyebrows at Connor, his eyes briefly touching on Alice at his hand. "Say what, now?"

Connor huffed from the anti-climactic feel of it all, and before he could speak freely, he had to do something with Alice. He turned to the scared girl at his side and pulled a little on her arm to get her attention.

"Can you go wait for me at my desk? It's right outside here, it's the one that says Anderson on the name tag. I'll be there in a sec."

"Okay," she said, in that soft voice of hers, and then she slowly made her way out the door.

"Damn it, Connor," Hank said tiredly once the door shut softly behind her. "I don't know what in the hell you got yourself into today, but I already know I'm not gonna like it."

For Hank, Connor went into vast detail about everything that happened right from when Kara talked to him about Alice and the hospital stint, all the way to him illegally coming up on Todd's doorstep and calling Gavin down to help him figure out where to go next.

Connor's heart just fell the more he kept speaking because with every word Connor spoke, the more concerned Hank grew with his lines of disappointment showing up on his face. He was too far deep into this situation now, though, to worry about that.

When he finished his epic tale, Hank had his head in his hands by now, staring sullenly at his desk as Connor let his head hang back over the back of his chair, clammy hands covering his face. He didn't want to hear what Hank had to say. He didn't want to hear about how badly he'd fucked up and ruined Hank's good name.

"I just don't get it," Hank said, and Connor could hear the man as he dropped his hands heavily onto the mahogany desk. "I just don't get how you could be so stupid. What were you thinking, boy? Have I taught you nothing over the last two years—hell, over the past fifteen years—just how important it was to follow protocol and to respect the authority of the law?"

"I know, Hank, I know. But—"

"No, you're gonna listen," Hank said, and his sharp tone brokered no room for argument. "Now, I understand that this guy is probably just another asshole abuser who shouldn't have a kid with him to begin with, but nowhere in the fucking handbook does it state that you have to abuse your power as an authority figure to get what you want."

Connor's hands abruptly left his face as he sat up straight in his chair, his veins alight with a slow burning fire. "You think I wanted this?"

"You had a choice, Connor, and you chose the easy way."

"No," Connor said, and he flew up from his seat. He knew their voices were probably rising and anyone outside the room would be able to tell that the two of them were butting heads, but he didn't care. He had to make Hank understand. "Nothing about this was easy. You know how it is, Hank, you know the drill. We get called out on things like this all the time, and how many times do we actually save the kid that we all know is being abused? Not very often because we don't have evidence."

Hank was still throwing daggers at Connor with his narrowed eyes, but he didn't say a word. Connor hoped that was because he was truly listening to Connor and silently agreeing with him.

Connor wiped a hand across his mouth and, unbiddingly, his gaze traveled over to his desk which he could see through the clear glass window pane of the office. Alice was sitting at a chair at his desk, and his heart spiked painfully as he remembered a scene told to him a long time ago.

When he faced Hank again, he dropped the hostility within him and couldn't help the bittersweet feeling coursing through him.

"Look at her," Connor said softly, and after a stubborn moment, Hank huffed and turned his glance to the little girl sitting at Connor's desk. "Doesn't she remind you of someone?"

Hank scoffed and glanced at Connor warily, but he couldn't help but gaze back at the little girl in interest.

"You told me yourself how Kara came to live with you. Her foster parents were not good people, and when they flew onto your radar because of some illegal gambling, so did the negligence Kara had been enduring come to light. You said that when you saw her sitting there at your desk, scared and alone, you couldn't stand it. And, you did something about it." Connor stepped closer and let his finger hit the desk as he spoke. "This is me doing something. Kara knows her stuff; she knew what she was talking about when she said that this girl was not okay at home, and I believed her enough to go out and check this out immediately, and what do I find? I find this girl staring up at me with a fresh hand mark on her cheek. I see tears running down her face, and I see her father tweaked out on something, I don't know, but, my guess is he dips into that red ice he sells."

Hank had his eyes downcast as Connor tried to explain himself. Any kind of guilt or negative energy Connor had felt because of the circumstances on bringing Todd in were gone as he realized what he actually accomplished just now. He saved a little girl; he, hopefully, was about to put an abusive drug dealer behind bars; and he didn't feel any guilt about the way he had to get it done.

Hank blew air out from between his puffed up cheeks noisily as he leaned all the way back in his swivel chair, tapping his hand anxiously on his desk. "Don't get me wrong, son. I know your heart is in a good place, and … I probably shouldn't say this, but I am proud of you. But, can you understand why I'm not 100% on board with this situation? You broke protocol, you decided to use that badge of yours to brew up some sort of bum ass story so you could get your way into that man's house, and it's completely immoral. It's now my job as captain of this force to keep everyone honest, and what kind of captain would I be if I showed favoritism toward my own son? If anyone found out about this—"

"No one will find out. Gavin is helping me, and besides, it's not like we're covering up our mistakes. No one got hurt. We didn't abuse our power for bad, we didn't hurt any innocent people today. We simply uncovered a man who was good at keeping his drug habit a secret and rescued a girl from having to grow up in such a tainted environment. Now, does that sound like we did a bad thing?"

Hank sighed. "Of course it doesn't. But, I just wanna make sure that you know that if I turn the other way on this, if I blindly sign off on this report legitimizing your version of events, I want you to understand that this is a one time thing. We're not dirty cops, and you don't get to the top by lying and scheming and abusing your authority. You get there by putting in hard work and being damn good at your job, no matter how tricky it is."

Some of the anxiety plaguing Connor lessened as it sounded as if he had Hank on his side now. He didn't realize how much he'd wanted his approval, but now that he got it, he realized it was the only thing he'd actually been worried about.

"I understand completely, Hank. You raised me to be honest, and I still hold that close to me," Connor said, and Hank's eyes softened. "I wish there could have been another way to rescue this girl … Alice. Her name is Alice," he said, and both men glanced at the sullen girl at Connor's desk.

"She's a cute kid," Hank said.

"She's a sad kid," Connor said, and they glanced at each other at the same time. Not a word was spoken, but something passed between them. Some unspoken notion that told Connor that this wasn't the last they were going to see of this little girl—not if they could help it.

On the official paperwork, Gavin named himself as the arresting officer on Todd's case, which was so much easier for Connor because in this way, no one would question Connor about anything to do with this case. Todd was being charged with possession of an illegal substance and child endangerment for having the drugs in the house, and after a blood test showed that he was jacked up on narcotics already, when Todd started spouting words about how he was ambushed and set up by the cops, no one listened to a thing he had to say.

After Gavin finished up with doing the paperwork and sent Todd to overnight lock up until they could move him to a correctional facility, Connor went to speak with Alice. He explained to her that she had a choice: either she could ride along with Connor and be taken to social services—who would no doubt place her in an orphanage by the end of the week—or, she could go to stay with Hank—where there was a dog.

It hadn't even been a choice in the end.

Even sad, sullen Alice could have her day brightened up by something as fun-loving and simple as a dog.

Connor left Alice in the safety of Hank's care for the day while he officially started his shift for work. Despite the emotional roller coaster he'd endured today, and the fact that Gavin had been party to basically a small police coverup, Gavin had gone on the rest of the day as if it were a regular Friday. As if they were just two rookie cops with big hopes and no taints to their name.

Connor hadn't been a cop for long, but he already felt like he knew the weariness of having a job so mentally and physically demanding. It was hard to go out each day and wonder what kind of petty criminals he was going to face that day. It was draining when he got a call to respond to a domestic violence situation and have to pull up and witness often young girls with bruises on their arms or faces just because they had a volatile boyfriend.

Hank had been right when he said this job wasn't for the faint of heart. Markus, too, knew what he was saying all those years ago when he constantly told Connor over and over how dumb he was for wanting to go into policing. But, when Connor had said he wanted to go into policing, he meant he wanted to be a detective. He didn't necessarily think about the prerequisites to that and how there was an order to things. He couldn't just jump out of college and become a detective with the snap of his fingers. First, he had to start off as being a cop with the DPD, and from there, only time and hard work would tell if he made it to be a detective. Hank had said if he followed his guts and respected the rules, then he could be the next youngest lieutenant in Detroit.

And, Connor never thought he would ever say it, but this policing business was a lot easier with Gavin by his side. After college, they went through the academy together, and Gavin had gotten over prom night by then. It seemed that he took Connor's words to heart because not only did he drop the mean remarks toward Connor, but he'd started actively initiating conversations between them.

It had been strange the first time it happened. Connor had just been sipping on his orange juice that he'd packed from home in one of the communal rooms, reading over a letter from Markus—who was talking all about the experiences he was finding with Simon over in Paris—when Gavin sat down beside him, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands, and peeked over to ask what Connor was reading. Connor had been startled into silence, at first, but when Gavin only stared at Connor with nothing but earnest eyes, Connor found himself explaining about the letter in his hands, about how Markus had gone to some magical fountain and dropped coins in the water with Simon.

Their conversation didn't end there, and for something close to three years, Connor had never stopped talking to Gavin. The things they talked about dipped into personal territory after a while, with Connor explaining more about his childhood and what life was like after he came to live with Hank. He told Gavin all the embarrassing stories about Markus, and all the times Kara had saved his ass while growing up.

But, Gavin wasn't only a listener in this situation. It had taken longer than Connor, but eventually, Gavin started confiding in Connor about his own childhood and just what life was like growing up in the Reed family. Tough, disciplinarian is what came to mind when Gavin talked about his father. He had been a captain in the marines who ran a strict household with just Gavin and his mother there in the house. His dad died, though, when Gavin reached middle school, and while Gavin always insisted he could care less about "that anal prick", Connor knew Gavin had respected the man and missed him underneath all that bravado.

With each piece Gavin revealed about himself, the more things began to click into place for Connor. His tough home life didn't excuse his behavior, but it was a reason. A reason Connor knew was hidden there because nobody acted like a jerk for nothing.

They'd shared these stories about themselves in the dark of night while the world slept. The academy took six months of their young adult lives, and after their training and official recognitions as police officers, they'd decided to rent an apartment together. It had been Connor's idea, and while Gavin had been skeptical at first and wary, Connor had insisted that it was the smart thing to do. They were friends—Connor's only true friend outside of his family, if he were being honest—and with their starter jobs not making them much, it was realistic that they'd have to room up with people, anyway; why live with strangers when they could live with friends?

For two years, they'd been roommates. They split the bills in half, they split the grocery shopping in half, they split the house chores in half, and if Connor ended up doing a bit more cleaning than Gavin did, nobody ever mentioned it. How could he when Gavin did other things for him? Things like today, with Todd.

It still bothered Connor the way Gavin seemed resigned to take on the dirty side of the job, and his whispered words of as always stuck in his mind, playing over and over until a tightening feeling coiled around his throat, guilt forcing him to think about things he didn't want to. He didn't want to believe that he always pushed the dirty work on Gavin, but what did he mean when he said that?

They were driving home now in the late of night, their shift done and over with. Nothing too strenuous happened after Todd, which Connor was grateful for. It gave him the energy to think about exactly what he wanted to say to Gavin, to thank him.

Gavin was in the driver's seat pulling up to a stop at a red light, and Connor was drumming his fingers on the door handle in deep thought.

"You keep tapping those little nimble fingers of yours, and I'm not liable for what happens to them in about five seconds."

Connor stopped his tapping and smirked at the window. "First, you take away and lose my lucky coin, and now you take away my spirit for rhythm? I'm sensing a pattern here."

Gavin smacked his lips together in annoyance, and Connor full on grinned to himself. "I said I was fucking sorry. How was I supposed to know a goddamn bird was going to swoop down and snatch it right from my fucking fingers? Those are evil birds, I'm telling you; I still have nightmares."

"You do not," Connor said, chuckling softly to himself. Then, he swallowed as his humor left him, and he turned around in his seat to gaze at Gavin.

Connor remembered going through school, and every time he glanced at the other boy, he would always get this jittery feeling in his stomach. A feeling that twisted his insides and made him feel confused and anxious and … right. It always felt right gazing at him, like he was just waiting for the other boy to finally look his way and notice.

Gavin gazed his way now, as much as he could while driving, and Connor could see the subtle change in his partner's attitude immediately as he sensed the change in atmosphere.

Connor felt that feeling again. That warm, putty-like feeling, but instead of feeling anxious like before, all he felt was the biggest weight get lifted off his shoulder.

If the old Gavin we're here, he probably would have said something right now along the lines of quit staring and being so fucking weird.

As it was, times had changed, and their relationship had changed. Neither of them were blind to the soft touches they shared, how Gavin's pinky would run over Connor's when he passed him a folder, or the way Connor would lift Gavin's feet while they were lounging on the couch and rest them on his lap. They were tender, quiet moments lost to oblivion, and while he knew they both knew it meant something, they never spoke about it. Connor didn't want to because then he was afraid he'd lose the magic of it all.

This was one of those moments; with Connor quietly mapping out every mole on the side of Gavin's face, counting every piece of hair that had fallen out of his slick part—and Gavin letting him.

"You know, you didn't have to do that for me today," Connor started, voice soft so as not to sound so harsh in the quiet of their car.

Gavin narrowed his eyes as he stared at the road, the lights from the street lamps illuminating their car every few seconds, and Connor could see his chest inflate with a quite sigh. "That ice-dealing asshole was a prick. Believe me, I didn't only do it for you," Gavin said and briefly glanced at Connor from the corner of his eyes.

Connor sucked his lips in between his teeth in amusement. As much as Gavin had improved on his attitude, it was still hard to shed that one layer, that one piece that prevented Gavin from straight out being nice for the hell of it. Connor hadn't outright mentioned it, but Gavin had secretly become his latest mission; he was determined to get through to Gavin and to try and help him become the best version of himself.

"I just want to say thanks. I messed up, I know I did. And, instead of letting me take the fall, you took over everything, and that means a lot to me. No one else would have done that for me. Anyone else would have just let me fumble my way through my big screw-up and watched me burn. But, not you."

Gavin was very pointedly staring out the windshield now, and before Connor could go on talking all sappy, Gavin abruptly turned to the side and pulled their car to a hasty stop along the side of the road. They were on the highway, now, clear of any danger of other cars bumping into them as they parked all the way to the side, so, Gavin only flicked on their brake lights and turned around to fully face Connor.

"I wish you'd quit talking like that."

Connor furrowed his eyebrows. "Like what?"

"Like … like … that. Like you have no friends in the world and you're all alone. You're not alone, you have a whole fucking team who'd come to your defense with the snap of your fingers. I didn't do anything special, so you can take me off that fucking pedestal you have me on because I can name about twenty guys on the force who would have done the exact same thing as me."

Gavin was speaking rudely to Connor, but he wasn't trying to be mean, despite his harsh tone. Instead, Connor got the feeling that Gavin didn't like all the praise Connor was giving him; almost like he felt he didn't deserve it.

Connor cocked his head to the side as he studied Gavin—his tone, his words, his sharp features. "Why can't I just say thank you for helping me out?"

"Because you don't have to. Besides, once is enough, Jesus, you don't have to kiss the ground I walk on just because I acted halfway decent today."

"I'm simply showing gratitude."

"Cool, noted. Now, can we please just put this thing behind us now? I'd be good if we never brought it up again."

Gavin huffed and slumped in his seat as he faced forward once more. He made no move to restart the car, though, and Connor suddenly felt a calm wash over him. He could do this.

"If you won't let me tell you how much I appreciate it, then I'll just have to show you," Connor said.

Gavin only had time to snort a little breath of air before Connor was leaning across the middle console and gently cupping Gavin's face with one hand to turn him toward him. He didn't want to rush this, but he didn't want to wait to give Gavin a chance to stop him before he could mash their lips together, hard.

Gavin tensed up immediately beneath his hand, jaw locking up, his lips taut beneath Connor's own, but Connor didn't want to pull away. Not immediately; he wasn't one to give up.

And, his patience was rewarded after a few moments when Gavin went straight for it and opened his mouth up to Connor. The sensation of kissing Gavin for the second time in his life was surreal, like one of the many unconscious dreams he'd had about a moment just like this. Where before there had been smooth skin, now there was a thin layer of roughness to Gavin's jaw, his closely shaved beard scratching along Connor's hands. Gavin still tasted like lingering cigarettes—a habit he was unwilling to quit—but instead of the spiked punch at prom, a slight tangy, familiar, sweetness accompanied the smoky taste, balancing out the bitter taste of the smoke.

Connor pulled away as he recognized the taste on the other man's lips, the sound of their lips smacking apart sounding hot to his ears, and gazed at Gavin through half-lidded eyes. "Did you drink the last of my orange juice?" he said, not accusing but because he wanted to see Gavin sputter about nervously.

He smiled as Gavin opened his eyes, confusion sweeping away the relaxed look on his face, and he huffed and pushed Connor away from him.

"Did you fucking taste that? You don't miss a goddamn thing, do you? It's not like you don't go into my stash because I know you do. I know you ate my last granola bar because I know that you know where I hide them, and I went looking for it the other day, and it was fucking gone, so don't get on my case about the fucking—"

"Shut up," Connor said gently, chuckling as he listened to the other man's anxious rambling. "I was only teasing. I don't care if you drink my stuff; you should already know that since you've been doing it for years, and I haven't said a word about it."

Gavin was flustered for only a moment before he chuckled once and his tongue darted out to swipe across his bottom lip as he gazed at Connor. "You've got jokes."

Warmth was spreading through Connor as the two of them rested against their seats for a moment. Connor didn't know what Gavin was thinking about, but all Connor could think about was how soft Gavin's lips were, and how much he wanted to lean over and kiss him again.

"Remember prom?" Gavin said randomly, hesitantly, rapping his finger against his pants anxiously. He didn't wait for a response before he continued on. "I was so fucking pissed that night. After you flat out rejected my ass, I went home and just started acting like an idiot. I got into my step-dad's liquor cabinet and just drank myself to sleep."

Connor could feel his eyebrows scrunch together as he listened. He sounded so honest, and there was a harsh edge to his tone, as if he were mocking himself by telling this to Connor.

Gavin and Connor had never spoken about prom night or about the way Gavin ignored him until the academy reunited them once more. Connor already knew why the other boy ignored him, and he'd never asked for an explanation, but Gavin apparently felt the need to explain himself.

"I just felt fucking humiliated."

"Gavin," Connor said, not wanting to hear any more. It was really starting to drag him down, and he hadn't anticipated this. He'd just wanted to say thanks for being a friend, and Gavin was stirring up some bad memories for Connor.

"Just hear me out," Gavin said, and turned in his seat to face Connor properly now. "I'm just saying how I get it now. I get why you did what you did, and I know I acted like a jackass after prom, but I was young and dumb, like how brash teens are. I couldn't see your side of things, so I just assumed the worst: that you didn't actually like me, and I'd just made the biggest fool of myself by kissing you that night. But, now I see that sending me away was the smart thing to do. It gave me time to see myself; really see just what kind of prick I was to everyone, and I tried to change because of that. I tried to change for…"

Connor didn't acknowledge what Gavin left unsaid. For you. But, Connor knew. The unspoken thought made Connor's chest feel full, so tight with emotion that he couldn't stop himself from reaching across the middle console and grabbing Gavin's hand in his own. The other man tensed for only a minute before flipping his hand over and threading his fingers tightly through Connor's, eyes never quite touching on Connor's.

"You really see it now?" Connor asked because that was something that had plagued his mind more often than it should have. He'd been worried that Gavin just thought Connor was heartless for turning down his obvious affections. But, to hear that Gavin finally understood, that he agreed with Connor's decision back at prom, was just the very outcome he'd been hoping for when he made that decision.

They were friends now. They cared for one another and looked out for each other, and they were partners on the force. That bond alone was enough to spur their impending friendship on, but to hear that Gavin was well and truly over Connor's initial rejection was exactly what Connor needed to hear.

"I've grown a lot, Con," he said, and Connor's heart squeezed at the nickname. "But, like a wise man once said, the academy beat that bad attitude right out of me. Just about knocked some real sense into my thick skull."

Connor let a startled laugh escape him before he covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, god, you still remember that day with Hank?"

Gavin raised his eyebrows and jutted his bottom lip out in false consideration. "Hard not to. In fact, I think about that day quite a lot. I'll deny this if you ever repeat it, but seeing you get all hot and bothered by me that day and you throwing me against the wall all angry looking, ugh, it just gets me hard thinking about it."

Connor's face was absolutely flaming with embarrassment, and he couldn't even stop himself from throwing a quick glance down to Gavin's crotch at the mention. He quickly shot his gaze back up before Gavin could notice. A sharp, startled laugh escaped his mouth as he let Gavin's words sink in.

"You're shameless."

Gavin was smirking as he played with Connor's fingers between his hands. "The fuck are you talking about? I didn't say anything."

Gavin finally eyed Connor, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. Connor's heart started to beat a thousand times over in his chest as he suddenly wonder what he was about to get himself into with Gavin.

"On the real," Gavin said, and he stopped his fiddling to hold Connor's one hand between both of his. "We're friends. I'm not a jerk anymore … as much; you're not an outcast anymore; so what do you say we do something about this unspoken thing? Because now I know I'm not alone in reading into all those little touches you've been giving me." Gavin blinked as he finished and shook his head to himself. "Fuck me, why do I sound like a sappy bitch declaring his love? I blame you 100%, Connor, for forcing me to sit through so many of those fucking cheesy romance movies you're so into."

Connor narrowed his eyes at the outcast bit, but couldn't help but smile at Gavin's shook face. "They're cute. And, they make me feel things. And look, now we're having our own cute moment, so I think you should be thanking me for showing you how to properly court someone."

Gavin groaned and toss Connor's hand away from himself. "Ugh, don't say shit like that. Court? Really?" Connor only shrugged, trying his hardest to stifle his amusement at the situation, and Gavin huffed. "Quit making this so hard for me."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for teasing," Connor said. "But, I really did find it cute."

He brought his bottom lip between his teeth as he considered Gavin's offer. Although, he really didn't have to think about it at all. They'd been building toward this for nearly 15 years, since they were fucking ten years old. Gavin didn't have the words to express his feelings then and oblivious Connor was faced with the only puzzle in his life that he could never solve. Then, once they did clumsily come to a head at prom, their timing hadn't been right. Over and over, there was always something standing in their way, but Connor had always known they'd been destined for more. That the universe wasn't done with this pair because while there had always been a barrier between them, they'd always found themselves together once more, over and over.

This moment was just fate finally giving them their reward.

Connor swallowed. "Okay."

Gavin turned his wary eyes back on Connor. "'Okay'? Okay, what?"

Connor smiled, and the apprehension slipped away from Gavin's eyes. "Okay, I think it's time we spoke about this unspoken thing."

After a short moment of scrutinization—because Gavin still couldn't tell if Connor was teasing—that playful glint came back into his eyes. "Or, we could just not talk about it, and just … do other things," he said, silently agreeing and already heading toward Connor's mouth for more.

If anyone noticed the two cops pulled over on the side of the road, locked together at the lips as traffic from the highway blared on, no one disturbed them.

They made it home thirty minutes later, and besides the light make-out session in the car, the rest of the night carried on as usual. Connor ordered up some Chinese food from the 24/7 place, and Gavin popped in a movie of his choosing—"something with gun fights and shootouts and fighting, none of that sugary love-fest crap". They changed into their night clothes, which for Gavin was his boxer shorts and a loose tank top, and for Connor was a fully matching plaid pajama set, and settled into the couch with their food to watch the movie.

It was completely normal and something they did often. Connor had the niggling thought in the back of his mind that they still seriously needed to talk about what came next for them, but they could have that talk in the morning, when they weren't so worn out from a full day of work.

Thinking about work brought back what happened with Alice and her father, and Connor bit his lip as he wondered what the little girl was doing right now.

Sneaking a glance at Gavin, he found him fully immersed in the movie. Connor thought for a moment before deciding to briefly grasp Gavin's thigh to get his attention. He immediately got it, Gavin easily turning from the gory movie to turn eyes on Connor.

Connor said, "I'm gonna go make a phone call. Don't eat my food, will you?"

Gavin scoffed and kicked his leg to get Connor's hand off. "Hurry back and maybe you'll have some orange chicken left. That's a strong maybe."

Connor pinched his thigh quickly and jumped from the couch before Gavin could retaliate. Before he left the room completely, he heard Gavin say, "That maybe just dropped to a fucking no, okay? That fucking hurt, asshole."

Connor left the other man's whines behind as he walked out of the apartment with his phone and leaned against the cement wall of the hallway. He knew Hank's phone number like the back of his hand by now, and he dialed it quickly and rested the smartphone against his ear.

Connor hadn't even noticed the time, but before he could hang up and catch him in the morning, Hank picked up on the fifth ring. "Yeah?" Hank said sounding rough and out of breath.

He smiled into the phone, the familiar greeting so impolite. "Did you race to the phone, or what? I would have called right back in the morning."

"Connor, hey," he said, taking a moment to catch his breath.

Connor scrunched his eyebrows up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just Sumo. Thought it'd be nice to let Alice help me take him for a walk earlier, you know, get them acquainted and such. Poor girl is so damn tiny, and Sumo saw this damn pigeon, and—"

"Oh, no," Connor said, slapping a hand to his cheek. Hank didn't even need to say anymore for Connor to understand what had happened.

"Oooh, yeah. Little sucker ran right from Alice's hand and took off zooming through the park. I only managed to catch him once some guy wrangled him in his arms. I love that dog, I do, but he's a real pain in the ass, sometimes. I just now got done with giving him a bath, and that was a fucking miracle in itself that he let me do it with no sass tonight."

Connor chuckled. "He hates pigeons. Now, I wonder where he gets that irrational fear from?"

Hank huffed sourly from the other line. "Listen here, it is a real thing, it's called—"

"I know, Hank, I know. Listen, I was just calling to check on Alice. How's she doing? Has she spoken much?"

"I've gotten a few smiles from the girl, a few mumbled answers and the like. She's a lot like you were when you first showed up."

That was discouraging. Connor had been scared and shy for months before he and Hank actually bonded. If she was like Connor, then she was no doubt scared out of her mind at being thrust into the care of the gruff, older man.

Connor scratched at his eyebrow with the tip of his finger. "Maybe it's because she's all alone there. When I first arrived, I at least had Kara and Markus to talk to when I was feeling scared. She has no one. No one she can connect with, at least."

"Now, I'm not going out and finding her a sibling just for kicks. If I'm being honest here, I'm not even sure if this something I can take on full time."

Connor paused, letting the words wash over him and run through his mind. "It's too much, isn't it?"

Of course it would be. Hank was getting on in his years, and he was a captain now. He had to give a lot more of his focus to the force, and with Alice being so young and coming from who knew what kind of mental or physical abuse, she needed some attentive caring for—and Hank just couldn't give her that right now.

He'd spent the better part of twenty years caring for kids—including the time before Connor, Markus, and Kara, when it had just been Hank and his first son, Cole. He gave everything over to them: his time, his devotion, his love, and Connor was afraid there was simply no more to give. Alice deserved everything Connor had gotten when he'd first been thrust into this new life with his new family, but Hank didn't seem to be the right person to hand that over.

But, Connor knew someone who could.

Hank kept talking through Connor's thoughts. "A little too much," Hank said, answering Connor's previous question, and he sounded guilty. Guilty that he couldn't provide Alice with what she needed right now. "I don't know what—"

"Talk to Kara."

"What?"

"Call her and tell her to come down to your house and to meet Alice. I still haven't told her about today, and I think she'd be ecstatic to know how well it turned out for Alice. Just give her a call."

He didn't mention his ulterior plans, how he thought once Kara caught sight of the little girl and heard Hank's weary resolve, she'd step in and take over.

He didn't mention this, but he didn't have to. Hank knew Connor. He'd always known him best.

"You know what? Think I'll do just that."

And, he did.

Hank called Kara right after their conversation, and things took off then. Kara immediately fell in love with Alice. And, like how Connor knew she would, she took her home.

Things went smoothly for the female duo. Alice took to Kara's mothering nature immediately, and it wasn't hard to get Alice into a different version of herself; one where she was smiling and making jokes and sneaking little pieces of candy into her room like any normal child would.

Kara officially became Alice's foster mother after the trial Todd had came to an end. He'd been sentenced to ten years in a federal prison, and with Alice's mom out of the picture, the path was clear for Kara to forgo an official adoption within a year.

That first year getting accustomed to having Alice in their lives was a special time for Connor. Alice was actually a vibrant, happy little girl once she was put in the right environment: a loving one, with an uncle who snuck her candy when Kara said no more; with a grandpa who spoiled her even more so than he did the three of them because he didn't have to deal with Alice at nighttime when the sugary effects of the candy he bought for her wore off and she crashed; but, more than that, she had a loving mother now who's number one priority in life was to keep her safe and happy. It was the life a sweet child like Alice deserved.

Having a kid back in their midst turned out to be a good thing for the adults in the family. It gave everyone a reason to get together more often. Hank, Kara, and Connor took days off their jobs to get together and take Alice on mini road trips to all the places Hank had taken them when they were kids. Admittedly, they hadn't taken too many vacations, just to the beach or a few amusement parks. Hank had always been busy, and apparently rounding the three of them up had been more difficult for Hank than Connor remembered, so now, with Alice, they went all the places they wished they could have gone to as children together. To Washington D.C. to see the newborn panda bears at the zoo; to King's Dominion to ride their insanely awesome new roller coaster; to the south to test out the calm waters of Hawaii.

They still hadn't made it to Walt Disney world, but there was still time. It had only been a year since Alice came to live with them, after all.

Currently, Connor was resting on the worn couch in Markus and Simon's cozy living room. They'd just returned from their life overseas a few days ago, and Hank had helped set them up in a shoddy apartment in a sketchy part of Detroit.

When Connor had rolled up in his car, he'd immediately gotten dirty looks from some tenants in the neighborhood. Connor was very familiar with this complex, and not in a good way. He wasn't even wearing his uniform, but as he'd walked through the complex and up the stairs to Markus' door, it was hard not to feel everyone's judgmental gazed trailing his every move, as if they could just tell he was a cop from the way he carried himself. He'd been glad Markus had already unlocked the door for him when he found his apartment.

"No, no, no, don't go— Don't go in the fucking house, man, I swear the zombie is camping in there, he's gonna chop your ass as soon as you— Goddamn it, what did I fucking tell you?"

Connor raised his eyebrows in surprise as he listened to Simon rage over the headset he was yelling into as he moved his thumbs vigorously around the controller in his hand. He'd never seen the calm, diplomatic man get so riled up before, and especially at a game?

Honestly, he found it a little disturbing as he continued to listen to Simon and simultaneously watched on the TV screen as Simon ran his character around the map, shooting at a grotesque zombie who was running his way with an axe.

Connor wondered what exactly happened in Paris. He was expecting Markus and Simon to come back with an almost regal air about them because surely there was so much to learn in the city of love and passion, but if anything, they just switched roles. Now, Markus seemed to have a calmer temperament, that angsty, brash way about him having simmered down. It was still there if someone were to rile him up enough, but for the most part, it seemed Simon had had a positive effect on his brother over the years.

Simon, on the other hand, was a bit less shy and lot more outspoken. He was still as diplomatic as ever, but he wasn't afraid to speak out against those he disagreed with. Markus and Simon were on the same level now, so to speak, and Connor secretly adored the way they balanced each other out.

There was one exception to Simon's calm, and that was when it came to video games. According to Markus, Simon had a little meltdown a year back from the internalization he was doing. He thought and thought and thought and spiraled himself down into an abyss Markus couldn't quite reach him at. So, Markus started trying to find ways to de-stress him, and one of those ways was video games.

It seemed to Connor that this tactic was actually doing the opposite of stressing him out and just triggering quick flashes of anger as Simon struggled to stay alive in these quick match games, but Markus said that was the idea. Everyone got frustrated sometimes, and instead of having Simon keep all that bottled up, he figured he could yell at the game and at his friends who didn't mind Simon's bursts of colorful language over the headset.

Connor wasn't going to pretend to understand that logic.

"Who's ready for some family fun bonding time?" Markus said as he came into the living room fully dressed in a suit and tie, looking as handsome as ever in Connor's almost jealous opinion.

Connor popped up from the couch and straightened his own tie as he smoothed out his suit jacket. He felt very stiff, and didn't think he looked half as cool as Markus did.

"Everyone's already on their way to the restaurant. You took 45 minutes to get dressed, and I've had to listen to Simon get angry at the TV for quite some time. My head is—"

"Aww, poor baby, Connor," Markus said placatingly and tried to reach for Connor to cradle his head to his chest as if he were a child, but Connor was quicker. He jumped back out of arms reach as Markus chuckled. "Looking this good isn't effortless, Con, it takes time and care."

Connor huffed. "So, it's fine if I blame you for making our family wait to eat?"

Markus sighed, resigned, fingers connected at the finger tips on his stomach. "So quick to blame."

"Oh, come on, Buddha," Connor said, irritated, and started for the door.

He stopped with his hand on the door handle as he watched Markus chuckle to himself before he leaned down to Simon's ear and whispered something. He then placed a sensual kiss to the skin beneath his ear lobe. Connor's ears reddened.

"See ya, Connor. You should come over more often. Markus talks about you all the time," Simon said in a contrastingly cheerful tone before he abruptly switched to a furious mumbling back into the mic.

Connor would most certainly not make it a habit to come over when Simon was "de-stressing."

On the car ride over to the restaurant Hank had picked out to celebrate Markus' arrival back in Detroit, Connor could see Markus picking at his suit.

"You're gonna pick a hole through your only good suit," Connor said.

"I'm just excited to finally meet Alice," Markus said, and Connor smiled at the fondness laced in his tone. "We've done video calls, but it's not the same. You're not supposed to know your uncle through a screen, you know? When I see her, I told her I was going to pick her up and toss her into the sky. And, she laughed and said she couldn't wait to see me."

Markus was softly smiling unseeingly into the windshield, and Connor knew he was probably imagining that moment. How sweet it must have been to have such a beautiful first meeting with your niece.

Connor didn't have that. He'd picked her up from her old life, and she'd been scared. She had gazed at Connor through fearful eyes and little trust, and it was still a sight that haunted Connor to this day, nearly a year later.

But, he was just glad that Markus wouldn't know that kind of fear from Alice. He wished he could have spared everyone else in their family from that rocky start. He wished Alice could have come into their lives under happier circumstances.

But, Kara, Connor, and Markus hadn't even had that. They'd all come to live with Hank under similar circumstances as Alice, and maybe that was just the way their family worked. They were strong not because they'd been born together and forced together, but because they came from obscurity, from something less that anything else seemed like gold to them. But, it wasn't a false illusion. This family really was the epitome of what happiness could be, and it seemed fitting that Alice should come into their family in a similar way.

Connor sniffed. "Look in the backseat, under the leather jacket. I have something for you because I didn't think you'd remember."

Markus unbuckled his seatbelt as he halfway crawled into the backseat and trifled around. "This is obviously Gavin's," Markus said under his breath, just a tiny hint of disdain as he said Connor's boyfriend's name. Connor could see through the rear view mirror how Markus picked up the black leather jacket between two fingers and tossed it to the floor. Connor rolled his eyes.

Markus flopped back down in his seat, plastic bag in hand as he buckled back up. "What the hell kind of kinky shit are you and Gavin into?" Markus said as he unwrapped the bag and brought out a brand new stuffed rabbit animal and a spiked dog collar.

Connor scoffed as he shook his head to himself. "It's not mine, dummy, it's for Alice."

"And, this?" Markus said, holding up the spiked collar between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't think Alice is going to be putting this to any use. You, on the other hand…" Markus trailed off, and it took a minute for Connor to understand what Markus was trying to say.

"What? No! I'm not— Gavin doesn't— That's not mine!"

"It's okay, little brother, don't blow a fuse," Markus said, a smile in his voice as he touched Connor's shoulder. He immediately brushed him off. "Everyone's into their own thing. Simon and I even—"

"Please stop talking before you ruin the last shred of innocence I have," Connor said, and if he wasn't driving right now, he would have closed his eyes and groaned into his hands. "That collar is for Sumo. Hank said something the other day about Sumo's old collar wearing down or something, and so I bought him a new one."

Markus didn't say anything, and when Connor threw glances his way, he caught his brother biting down on a smile as he played with the dog collar in his hands.

"I'm serious! That collar is for Sumo."

"I didn't say anything."

"But, you don't believe me. I can see it in your face."

Markus started laughing then, and Connor snatched up the collar from his hands and chucked it in his own lap. That collar was for Sumo, it really was.

"Thank god we're here," Connor mumbled under his breath as he pulled up to the restaurant parking lot. It wasn't very crowded for the afternoon, which was just the way Connor liked it. Too many people made him anxious, made him feel like he had to keep an eye out for everyone.

Markus took the stuffed rabbit with him as they walked into the restaurant, and as soon as they found the table with Hank, Kara, and Alice, something truly magical happened.

Alice caught sight of Connor first, and she broke into a smile so bright it lit up the dimly lit area they were seated at. He loved his niece, and he thought that they shared a special bond, something only an uncle can share with his niece. It was kind of like having a younger sibling that you actually liked and went out of your way to make smile and laugh, with all the capability of an adult.

Alice's eyes slid over to Markus beside him, and that did it. The eleven year old jumped from her seat and when she reached Markus, he was already leaning down on one knee with his arms ready to catch her. Just as he'd promised, he wrapped his arms tight around the girl and stood tall before swinging them around in a brief circle. Alice was giggling and Markus was grinning from ear to ear, happy that he could actually hold his niece in his arms for the first time.

Alice pulled her head back, eyes bright with excitement. "Remember what you said?"

Markus dropped the stuffed animal from his hand, the plush toy hitting the soft carpet with barely a sound, and gripped beneath her armpits. "Ready?"

Before she could answer, he threw her into the air, so high, higher than Connor ever could because Markus was ripped in a way Connor thought was unfair sometimes. Markus was all strength and muscle and Alice went a good few feet in the air, her soft squeals trailing down, before falling straight back into Markus' waiting hands.

"It's better you did that before she ate, or else someone would be having a tummy ache if you keep on doing that," Kara said as she got up from her seat. "Markus," she breathed happily, because this was the first time Markus had seen Kara since he returned from Paris.

Kara had been out of town for the last few weeks with Alice, off to visit her boyfriend who lived in DC. His name was Luther, and he was also a nurse, like Kara, only he didn't work in the emergency room. He was a part of the staff who took care of the elderly in hospice, feeding them their meals and helping them bathe and laborious work like that.

Funny enough, they'd met at an amusement park one time when Connor and Kara had gotten together to take Alice somewhere fun. Luther had been standing in front of them as they'd waited in line for the carousel, and Alice had started talking with Luther's nephew who had been with him. It pretty much all started there for Kara and Luther, and the two had been instantly smitten with each other.

Markus gazed at his sister when she spoke, and his eyes turned to gooey mush as he carefully set Alice back to the ground. Kara immediately took up the space in his arms as he wrapped his arms around her still tiny frame, her arms holding him around the waist.

It made Connor's heart flip as he watched his siblings reunite. Every time Kara got off the phone with Markus, she always went on about how much she missed him and wished he'd hurry up and get back to Detroit. Connor was right there with her in that respect; his older brother was annoying as hell, but he'd still missed him.

Markus pulled back from Kara and rested a hand on one of her shoulders. "You look beautiful, as always. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

Markus' voice was rough with choked back emotion, and it finally dawned on Connor that he hadn't actually seen his brother for three whole years. Ever since their college graduation when Markus and Simon took off for Paris and Connor had begun training in the academy.

Three whole years has passed without seeing his brother, hugging him in his arms, going out bowling, or just calling him up in the middle of the night to talk—because time zones were a bitch. He tried not to think about it when Markus first left, and Connor had done such a good job at that that he actually forgot to think about how his brother was on the other side of the world.

But, now Markus was here. He was here—with Kara in his arms, with Hank watching them with eyes so soft they mirrored Connor's, and with the newest addition to their family watching the rest of them with a bright, happy, child-like smile on her face.

This was the family he'd made. Connor came from nothing, just a little orphaned boy who didn't know what love was, what family was, until he was lucky enough to meet a man who happened to have a lot of love to give.

Connor didn't think there were enough words to describe how grateful he was to Hank—to his dad. The man who singlehandedly raised three orphaned children by himself and managed to pave the way for them to become their best selves, to be the best adults they could have been.

If he hadn't left that orphanage, Connor knew for a fact that he would not be where he was today: in a job that he loved, in a relationship with a man that he loved, and here right now, celebrating the return of his brother with the family that he loved.

As they all took their seats and began chattering amongst themselves, mostly directing the conversation to Markus and grilling him about everything he'd been doing in Paris and about the prospective job he had waiting for him at the local museum, Connor thought about how this was the first time since Alice joined the Anderson clan that his entire family was together in one setting, the first of many times the Andersons would get together for family occasions.

Then, he thought about the rest of the night. How after they finished dinner, they'd all head back to Hank's because he wanted everyone to spend the night at his house for old times sake. Markus will probably let Alice sit on his shoulders as he zoomed them in and throughout the house. Connor will bring in all the leftovers from their dinner and put them away with Hank. Then, after they played a few board games with Alice, Kara will probably tuck Alice into her old bed when it's time to go to sleep and give her a kiss on her forehead.

Alice was fond of bedtime stories, and Connor came prepared tonight with a story Gavin had told him about, some story his mom used to read to him when he was little about a knight who fought his way across a land of monsters to get to the one he loved. Connor would tell this story to Alice tonight, keep that particularly story alive by passing it on to Alice.

Stories, like life, were a funny thing. They had a way of coming full circle and making you see how life was just a big adventure, a butterfly effect full of little twists and turns that changed the outcome every time, made endings feel like new beginnings.

Everybody had a story. A story about their life, how they came to be, how they ended up in whatever situation they ended up in, and all the little, quiet moments in between that gave life and purpose to that story.

Kara had a story, Markus had a story, Hank and Alice had stories, Gavin and Simon had stories. But, as much as these people played a role in Connor's life and helped to shape him into the hopeful, proud man he was today, this wasn't their story.

His name was Connor Anderson, and this was his story.

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So, this is it! You guys, I had so much fun with this fic, and its my first multi chaptered fic that I've actually completed. The response to this story was heartwarming and it made me so happy that so many of you enjoyed and laughed and cried with this fic because I was the same way! I'm def gonna miss this little family.

Thanks again to everyone who read and fav'd and reviewed, it means so much to see such positive feedback, and it made writing this story ten times as fun knowing that you guys also enjoyed it. So, thank you again and peace out! :)