With a start Hank woke up when the car finally stopped. He wiped over his face. When had he fallen asleep?

"You're home, Lieutenant."

He groaned and got out of the car. A cold gush of wind made him shiver. He turned to face Connor and it threw him his keys. Hank missed and they fell into the snow.

"Fuck."

He picked them up and coughed. He fumbled a little at the door before it was open. He could hear Sumo barking lazily from the kitchen.

"Good night, Lieutenant."

Hank turned around and stumbled a little. He blinked a few times. Connor stood next to the car, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Do- do you intent to stand there the whole fucking night?"

"If you want me off your property I'll just wait at the road."

Hank felt the warmth from the house in his back and the cold wind on his face. He felt a strange twinge in his chest seeing this college boy standing in his drive way.

"So you can soak my seat tomorrow? No way – you- you come in here … stupid tin can," the last bit was only muttered.

"Alright."

Hank turned and entered the house, behind him he heard Connors steps. As soon as it was inside he closed the door. Hank shed his coat and threw his gloves and his cap on the dresser. With a grunt he pulled his boots off and threw them carelessly in front of the door.

After a short moment of hesitation Connor followed his example: It took off its jacket and shoes. Sumo barked again and greeted Hank with a wagging tail. When he saw Connor he barked again and got up from the floor.

"You're a real guard dog, aren't you?" asked Hank and patted him as he brushed past him.

Sumo began sniffing Connors hands. Hank saw that its LED light turned red and that it took a step back. Something twitched in its face.

"Sumo is just greeting you."

Connor glanced at Hank and turned its attention again on Sumo. The LED was now blue. It slowly raised its hand and patted Sumo's head; its mouth was slightly open, there was surprise and something like wonder apparent.

"Why was your LED red before?"

"Because I was overtaxed – I utilised all possible resources to cope with the situation."

Hank took Sumos food out and poured the dry food into his bowl. "I've only see it on damaged androids before."

Within seconds the heavy dog scrambled to his bowl and began eating with loud noises.

"Since we can't feel physical pain all distress translates into attempts to cope with whatever we're facing. An attempt to restore normalcy."

Hank didn't know how to respond. It sounded an awful lot like fear and shock. Damn. He was too drunk for this conversation.

Then he remembered that he still hadn't bought groceries. With a sigh he opened the cupboard and took a can with soup in it out. He poured it into a bowl and put it into the microwave.

He opened the fridge and took a beer – his last one and cracked it open. Then he saw that Connor still stood in the entrance, looking around. Hank realised that he had no idea what he was to do with it. Perhaps it was best to pretend it wasn't there?

He went in the living room and let himself fall on the couch. He activated the TV with the touch pad and switched through the channels until he found a hockey game. Connor sat down next to him, his LED once again switching from blue to yellow and back again.

The microwave beeped and Hank got his soup. He sat down in front of the TV and put the soup in front of him. He grimaced when he tasted it – it was only lukewarm. Whatever.

He focussed on the game as he ate. Detroit Red Gears against New York Penguins … when did they change their names again? He couldn't remember.

"Smith should pass sooner," Connor suddenly said.

Hank leaned back and took another gulp of beer. "Of course he should – but he cares more about his own score that the team."

"That seems illogical."

"Well, humans are illogical creatures. But I guess you already knew that."

"Yes."

They watched the rest of the game commenting occasionally on the plays and the lack of precision in the passes. Hank had finished his beer long ago and had switched to bourbon.

He felt warm and comfortable when he turned the TV off. He got off the couch and shuffled into the kitchen, putting the dishes in the machine. Then he remembered that he still hadn't charged his phone.

He got it from his jacket and plugged it in in the kitchen. It restarted – he had gotten two messages from Jean. Damn it – he had forgotten to write her.

'Can you make it tomorrow?' the first text asked. She had written it in the late afternoon.

'Hank – you there?' The second from an hour ago.

He wrote back: 'Yeah, I will be there.'

'You don't have to. You know that, right?'

Seemed that she had been waiting for his answer. 'I know. You know I want to come – l just missed last year because of a case.'

'Well, Chris and I will be there.'

Chris! Why on earth was he intruding? Hank took a deep breath. Apparently Jean had asked him to come, there was no need to be dramatic.

'Alright, see you tomorrow.'

'See you.'

He was tired and his head started to hurt, but he still needed to go out with Sumo. He took the leash and whistled. Sumo barked somewhere in the house and came running around a corner.

"Are you going for a walk?" asked Connor and stepped into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I won't be long. You can watch TV or do whatever you're doing when … when you're alone."

"Of course, thank you."

Hank put the leash on Sumo. "What for?"

"Well, you invited me into your home. It seems appropriate to thank the host."

Host? Hank glanced over the mess in the kitchen and the grubby living room. He scoffed. "Whatever."

-0-

About an hour later they returned. Sumo was beat and disappeared – he probably went to his favourite sleeping spot in the pantry – right next to the warm boiler. Hank slipped out of his coat and shoes and saw that Connor was standing in front of the bookshelf in the living room.

"Hello Lieutenant," it said.

"Found something interesting to read?" asked Hank. He started to pick up the empty beer cans in the kitchen.

"Most of the book are online available … expect for this one." Connor pulled a book with a dark green cover off the shelve.

Hank threw the cans into the recycling bin and drew closer. Probably one of his old novels – he used to read a lot when he was younger. He froze when he saw the title "The Amazing Adventures of Cole Coleslaw".

It wasn't his, it had been Cole's favourite book – some personalized fairy tale from some cheap web site. Cole had loved it. Hank had forgotten that he still had it.

"It's just a children's story," Hank said, his mouth was dry.

Connor put it back. "You seem upset."

Hank gulped. "I- I'll go to sleep now. You can stay here if you want." Without waiting for a response he went into his bedroom and closed the door. He sniffled. He had forgotten about the book. Completely forgotten.

-0-

Soft knocking on his door woke Hank up and for a moment he was confused. He reached for his smartphone but it wasn't on his bedside table.

Another knock. Damn it – he must've forgotten it in the kitchen where it was charging up.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to bother you, Lieutenant. But your alarm went off."

"Yeah, it's alright."

Footsteps receded and Hank sat up. He really had to pull himself together; Fowler had made clear that there were limits of what he accepted. If it weren't for Connor … if it weren't for it he hadn't even realised that he still had Cole's book.

He hastily put clothes on and did his morning routine faster than usual. Then he headed into the kitchen and noticed with a frown that the framed picture on the table was turned over. It must've happened when he cleaned the kitchen yesterday.

He picked it up and put it back on its place. It showed a brown-haired boy. Cole was laughing, his tooth gap was visible. Hank loved this picture, Cole looked mischievous. He was wearing his favourite red T-Shirt when they took the picture. Today five years ago … had it been only five years? It felt longer.

Only now he realised that there was a note on the table. The handwriting looked like it was printed out, but someone had used a pencil.

'I took to liberty to go on a walk with Sumo. He seemed to get restless. – Connor.'

Hank sighted and turned to make coffee. He even found old corn flakes and milk that hadn't expired yet. He fixed himself breakfast.

Cyberlife was really good with its programming. Connor was agreeable and it was very useful – even if he would never admit it out loud. But in the end it was only another machine, not a real person.

He put the dishes away. Then he turned and saw once again the old pizza boxes and the old glasses and dishes. Only a machine he thought to himself when he started to clean.

Hank had even cleaned the trash out of the car when Connor and Sumo returned. He assumed that Connor registered the now missing mess, but it didn't say anything.

"Do you ever need to drink or to eat?" asked Hank as he gulped down the last of his coffee.

"No, I just need Thirium if I'm injured."

Hank went to the entrance and started to get dressed. "I guess you're lucky – you don't have to eat shitty food just to keep going."

Connor grabbed its shoes and put them on. "True, but I sometimes wonder how food tastes."

"So you don't have taste receptors? Might be better considering all the stuff you put in your mouth."

They left the house and stamped through the snow. Hank used the ice scraper to get rid of the snow on the windshield.

"Why don't you use your garage?" asked Connor. "It would be more efficient to put the car inside."

Hank paused for a moment before he answered. "There is stuff in the garage. I will go through it when I find the time."

Connor looked at him as if it wanted to ask more but in the end it stayed silent.