Halloween fell over Detroit in a colorful and energetic fashion. The city was covered in the vivid array of naturally dropped leaves in orange, red, yellow and brown, while carved pumpkins showcased various faces that glowed with the flame of the burning candles tucked inside all sat in windows or on porches. Fake cobwebs with plastic spiders, rubber bats, figures of witches, mummies, scarecrows, vampires, zombies, skeletons and ghosts decorated the city with a celebratory atmosphere, all while the scent of warm apple cider spiced with cinnamon made the air seem somehow warm despite the brisk evening temperature. It seemed the neighborhoods were all glowing with anticipation of trick-or-treaters and partygoers, and the children were all preparing to head out on their personal candy hunt.

Eager to spend more time with his young son Hank had managed to get Halloween night off and was now preparing to take Cole out trick-or-treating throughout the evening. Cole was already dressed at Batman and Hank had opted to dress up as Alfred to keep up with his son's costume theme and make Cole happy. Initially Connor was going to be the one to take Cole out trick-or-treating, but now he had been delegated as the one who'd remain at the house and pass out candy to the other trick-or-treaters stopping by while Cole and Hank were out having fun.

However, being able to simply pass out candy was something that Connor found oddly rewarding. All the young kids who approached the house with their candy bags open and waiting were all smiling, having fun and were polite to Connor despite him being an android and not a human. With each handful of candy passed out Connor felt more seen as the eyes of children were so wide open and willing to see what adults refuse to acknowledge.

"Thank you!"

Connor felt a small smirk grace his lips as the latest group of trick-or-treaters thanked Connor in chorus and returned to the sidewalk to rejoin their guardians and chaperones for the night. All evening long Connor had been addressed as a person, thanked politely and given sincere smiles. Even with Cole always being upbeat and smiling Connor still felt like an intruder in the house because of Hank's cold attitude toward him. Being shown utter kindness had done the deviant's heart some good on that fun night.

"Nearly out of candy."

It didn't take long for Connor to calculate how much candy he had left to hand out to the remaining trick-or-treaters. Not wanting to disappoint any of the children the deviant detective refilled the candy bowl with the remaining treats and waited in the livingroom for the doorbell to ring again. As he patiently waited for another group of children to stop by Connor heard Hank's phone ringing in the man's bedroom, and quickly realized that Hank had forgotten to take his phone with him.

"I hope that isn't a call from the precinct. I'm not sure where Hank is at the moment."

Rushing down the hallway Connor located the phone ringing on the nightstand beside the bed and checked the caller I.D. before answering. It was a call from Detective Gavin Reed.

"Damn it. Anything to deal with a case is something that only Hank can handle."

Weighing his options for only a few milliseconds - an eternity in an android's mind - Connor decided that it'd be best to answer the call and then relay the message to Cole's emergency phone so that Hank knew what was happening. He could endure an indignant response from Gavin without any issues since he had become used to the verbal abuse in the alternate timeline as it was.

"Lieutenant Anderson's phone, Connor speaking." Connor answered the call politely and professionally as he pressed the device to his ear. "How may I assist you, Detective Reed?"

'What the f-fuck?' Gavin stuttered and gasped as if in horrendous pain. He was quiet for only a minute before sucking a sharp breath through his clenched teeth over the line. 'Where... Where's Hank?'

"Lieutenant Anderson is taking Cole trick-or-treating at this time. If you'd like me to relay a message, I'd be-"

'Fuckin' figures. I h-help him get t-tonight off... and h-he can't even be b-bothered to... answer his damn phone!'

"As I previously stated, I can relay your-"

'Fuck off. It... It's fine.'

Connor could sense and hear the distress in every word Gavin uttered and knew that he was in need of some form of assistance. "May I ask what's wrong?"

'Nothing that... pl-plastic can h-help me... with!'

"I'm sure I could try." Unwilling to just ignore someone who was in need of help Connor cybernetically tapped into Hank's phone to trace the approximate location of Gavin's own phone through the connected call. The deviant detective's instincts told him that Gavin needed help and was being too stubborn to admit it. "If not me, I could direct someone else to your location."

'Just t-tell... Anderson that... I-I called.'

Before Connor could ask another question Gavin ended the phone call and left Connor with only an empty line to speak with. It didn't matter since Connor was able to quickly triangulate Gavin's current location and had an idea of where the man was.

"Gavin is in the Ferndale District. That's where Jericho resides..."

The doorbell rang and Connor reacted quickly to the next round of trick-or-treaters. Returning to the livingroom after putting Hank's phone back down Connor picked up the bowl of candy and answered the door. As he passed out the treats in generous but even amounts to the six children, Connor noted that trick-or-treating hours were going to expire in less than two minutes, and that meant he'd be free of his current responsibility and could track down Gavin and try to aid the detective.

"This is the last of the candy." Connor confirmed as he gave the final kids their helping of the candy and was rewarded with big smiles. "Enjoy your treats!"

"Thank you!"

Hearing such kind words from kind voices helped Connor to feel less overwhelmed and gave him a pleasant reminder of the life he and the other androids were going to have once the peaceful deviant Revolution came to pass. He just needed to remain patient and trust that Markus would be able to lead everyone toward a prosperous future without getting himself too involved in matters or try to change things.

With the trick-or-treaters taken care of and the candy gone, Connor was free to do something else until Hank returned to the house.

"Now I can go and look for Gavin. I strongly suspect that he needs help."

Roaming the house for alternate clothing Connor located a large black D.P.D. hoodie in the laundry room and put it on over his white t-shirt to help him blend in more to the night while he went in search of the ailing detective. He knew that Hank and Cole would be out rather late since Cole had begged and pleaded to check out a haunted house attraction after trick-or-treating ended. The haunted house was on the other side of town and would keep the duo out and away for quite a while.

After Connor located a hoodie to wear, he then rummaged through the hallway closet and located a portable first-aid kit and a dark beanie that'd hide Connor's L.E.D. from prying eyes. Seeing a new yet familiar piece of protective gave Connor the confidence to believe that he was doing the right thing by going out in search of Gavin even if Gavin didn't want his help.

"No one should bother me while I search for Gavin."

Connor tucked the kit into the hoodie's front pocket and proceeded to pull the beanie down far enough to keep his L.E.D. hidden from sight. The more human he appeared the easier it'd be for him to navigate the city without being harassed or held up by humans looking for a fight. The odds of being targeted and bullied on that night, on Halloween, were dangerously high but Connor was determined to help Gavin in any way that he could.

While his generous and kind act wouldn't be reciprocated, Connor knew he'd be able to rest well at night knowing that he still did the right thing.

The city was alive and very active even as night encroached over all of Detroit. Restaurants, clubs and bars were all hosting special Halloween themed events and were crammed full of partygoers all seeking to have some fun before returning to their normal lives the next day. A cacophony of loud voices and laughter echoed throughout the entire area as people danced, drank and socialized with either good friends or total strangers that found common ground in the form of their love of Halloween night. It seemed like every open establishment was cashing in on everyone seeking the chance to forget about their troubles for a few hours and were making bank at the same time.

As expected, police patrols were busy with monitoring the streets to keep drunk driving to an absolute minimum, make sure drug abuse wasn't rampant, and that vandalism was being kept under control. Drones hovered in the air and monitored the city from above while patrol cars monitored the city on the streets. Only a handful of patrols were actually on foot, but that was more for their own protection than anything else. No one wanted to be harassed for "dressing" as a cop when they were the real deal!

Connor had managed to use the autonomous van to navigate the streets and locate the place where Gavin had made his phone call. A usual, the Ferndale District was relatively vacant and quiet, but a few bars and restaurants were still open and serving their guests. Once Connor was able to pinpoint the exact location from where Gavin had made the call, he found himself in the parking lot of a fairly rambunctious bar and now had an idea of why Gavin so sounded so bizarre over the phone.

"Gavin must've consumed too much alcohol and become inebriated. He must also be too embarrassed to ask anyone else for assistance."

Cybernetically Connor dialed Gavin's personal cell number after retrieving the details from Hank's phone back at the house. It didn't take long for Connor to both hear a phone ringing and have his system focus on a parked car in the same direction of the ringing sound. There was no doubt that he had found Gavin's car and had potentially found Gavin as well.

The large car was an older model but still in good shape, and a dark red color. Through the tinted windows Connor could barely see a figure sitting upright in the backseat of the four-door vehicle, but as he focused his vision the figure became much easier to see and even recognize their facial features.

"Gavin."

Approaching the car carefully Connor knocked on the window of the backseat and waited for Gavin to open the door himself. The door was unlatched from the inside, but it wasn't pushed open entirely. Instead, Gavin called out to Connor through the opening in the door with a gruff and aggravated tone.

"What the... f-fuck are you doing here?"

"You need assistance." Connor responded sharply as he pulled the door open fully. Peering inside the backseat Connor saw that Gavin was pale, sweaty and clutching at his right shoulder as if in horrible pain. "I'm here to assist you."

"D-Don't want... your help!"

"You're drunk." The deviant detective countered as he crouched down and slipped inside the backseat of the car to sit next to Gavin. "I can smell the alcohol, and the... blood." Detecting the blood wasn't something Connor had anticipated. "You're also wounded, aren't you?"

A quick biometric scan showed a severe injury to Gavin's right shoulder. The man had an object pierced through his skin and down into the muscle. The wound was deep enough to cause significant bleeding, but it wasn't causing any critical harm to Gavin or immediately threatening his life.

"Cr-Crazy bitch..." Gavin muttered as he lowered his hand from his shoulder and revealed that an icepick had been stabbed into the front of his shoulder. "C-Can't believe... this happened to me. Told Patricia to... k-keep away from her cousin. She's nothing but t-trouble."

"What did happen to you?" Connor asked as he scanned the weapon and used his scanner to internally analyze whether or not the pick could be extracted without requiring surgical intervention. Based on the angle of the pick's sharp end, the depth of the wound and Gavin's height, Connor was able to conclude that a very angry woman had been the one to stab him. "Who did this to you, and why did she do it?"

"Sh-She thought... I was h-her ex." Explaining everything while trying to remain calm made it difficult for Gavin to speak clearly. He wanted to shout out in pain and punch something, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. "S-Saw me, grabbed the p-pick, and stabbed me."

"Why didn't you report this assault to the police?"

"Because... Sh-She's Patricia's c-cousin." Too tired and annoyed to put up a fight Gavin allowed Connor to examine his shoulder and help him at last. "Didn't want... to cause problems."

"I presume Patricia is your significant other." Removing the artificial skin from his hands Connor carefully took hold of the handle of the icepick and used his opposite hand to hold Gavin's shoulder steady. "With your permission, I can remove the icepick and you can avoid an appointment in the emergency room."

"Y-Yeah, fine." The last thing Gavin wanted to do was spend the night in the E.R. on Halloween. "Do it."

"Hold your breath."

With a single swift and steady pull Connor removed the pick from Gavin's shoulder with a sickening 'squelch' and a bitter swear under Gavin's breath to accompany the weapon removal. Immediately after putting the pick aside Connor pulled the first-aid kit from his hoodie pocket and located a pressure bandage inside the kit.

"Hold this against your shoulder for a moment." Connor instructed as he watched Gavin pull down the sleeve of his leather jacket and then the collar of his green t-shirt beneath to expose his shoulder without removing his clothing entirely. "I'll disinfect the wound."

"Fuckin' Hell..." Gavin swore again as he applied pressure to his own wound and held the gauze in place. "I'm beginning to h-hate Halloween."

"May I ask where Patricia is?" Connor set about using rubbing alcohol to flush the wound and ensure that there was no debris left inside the wound that'd cause a serious infection. "Is it safe to presume that you went to the bar with both Patricia and her cousin?"

"Yeah. She... Patricia decided to drive her cousin home after she stabbed me." The injured detective confirmed as he let Connor help him out. "I told her I'd... Well, that I'd sleep this whole night off at Anderson's place. Wouldn't be the first time I did that."

"...I see." Connor now knew why Gavin called Hank and had sounded so irritated. It seemed that Hank and Gavin had a good friendship and respect for one another before Hank became a depressed alcoholic in the alternate timeline. "I'll take you back to the house to rest."

"By the way, I'm not that drunk. The bitch threw her cheap drinks on me after she stabbed me." Gavin continued on as Connor cleaned his shoulder and began to bandage the wound under thick white gauze to keep infection at bay. "Guess she panicked or some other stupid shit when she saw what she did to me."

"Humans can behave very erratically."

"Yeah, I know. I'm a damn detective and I see it every shift."

"The bandages will hold throughout the night." The deviant detective confirmed as he checked his work and made sure Gavin wasn't going to bleed through the material before he had the chance to redress the wound. "I'll help you reach the van."

"Hold up..." With a tender touch Gavin replaced his shirt and jacket before motioning for Connor to exit the vehicle. "N-Need to get... something from my apartment first. I left my badge there. Could also use some clean clothes."

"Very well." Stepping out of the car and stepping back Connor gave Gavin all the room he needed without aggravating his shoulder injury at the same time. "Do you require anything else?"

"N-No." Awkwardly Gavin managed to slip out of his car's backseat and get to his feet. "Just... Just don't tell anybody what's going on."

"You have my word."

Scoffing a little Gavin found it hard to believe that the android, an obedient machine, could sound so casual. It was eerily human, and with knowing that Connor elected to go out into the night and help him despite him telling Connor to not do anything made Connor's behavior all the more interesting to think about.

Walking slowly Gavin let Connor lead him to the van and didn't say a word when the android opened the side door on his behalf to keep him from straining his sore shoulder. Once he was inside the van Gavin all but collapsed into the seat and kept his palm pressed against his aching shoulder to try to keep the burning pain to a minimum. It seemed even the alcohol he had drunk before being stabbed could only do so much to numb him to his persistent ache.

It didn't take long for the van to reach Gavin's apartment complex only a few blocks away. It was one of the nicer apartment complexes in the city, and the type of apartment that'd require either a lucrative income or a few roommates to keep up with the rent every month. Even the parking lot was nice in comparison to the other lots of public parking. The complex's lot had numerous security cameras monitoring the space and ensured that one's vehicle was stolen or vandalized during the night.

"Pull up right here." Gavin instructed as Connor manually drove the van to the front of the complex in favor of the autonomous function. "Guest parking's right here."

"Of course."

Gavin barely waited for Connor to stop the van before he opened his side door and stepped out of the vehicle. Walking through the main lobby Gavin approached the large elevator and soon had Connor right at his side once more.

"What're you doing?" Gavin grumbled as the doors to the elevator parted and gave him access to the interior of the lift. No one else was inside the elevator which meant Gavin had all the privacy he needed to sneer at the android. "I can get my shit on my own."

"Due to your mild inebriation and blood loss, it'd be in your best interest to allow me to assist you."

"Fuckin'- Fine!" The injured man practically punched the number six on the floor panel as he reluctantly agreed to let Connor help him. "Just don't touch anything."

"I will avoid contact with any of your personal belongings."

"Whatever... Fuckin' freak."

Ignoring the insult Connor quietly accompanied Gavin to the sixth floor to reach his apartment to gather a few personal items. As the elevator ascended Connor became aware of an increasingly potent stench of various alcohols, as well as the sweetly toxic aroma of 'red ice' somewhere on the floor they were heading to. The moment the doors parted the scents became stronger but only in a way that Connor could detect them. Gavin couldn't smell anything amiss.

Stepping into the hallway Gavin motioned with his head in the direction of his apartment. "This way."

Connor followed Gavin as he exited the elevator and reached his apartment door with his keys already in his hand. Unlocking the door without any issues Gavin entered his apartment and directed Connor to wait for him in the livingroom while he gathered what he needed.

"Stay here. I'll be right back."

The wounded detective grabbed his badge from the coffee table in the middle of the livingroom and slipped it into his pocket before heading down the short hallway. The bedrooms and the bathroom were down that hall and each room had the door shut by choice. Gavin pushed open the door to his bedroom and proceeded to find some clean clothes to wear while recovering at Hank's house.

Curiously Connor scanned the apartment for any interesting details to perhaps learn more about Gavin since the man had moved into a less than ideal apartment shortly after Connor's deviation in the alternate timeline. It was then that he noticed something unusual that Gavin had overlooked in his haste to get his clean clothes. Laying on the floor beside the coffee table was a pink lacey bra and the wrapper for a recently opened condom. The deviant detective performed a more thorough scan of the area but didn't detect any bodily fluids on the furniture or the floor, meaning that all of the sexually explicit encounters in the apartment all took place in another room.

A soft 'giggle' followed by something toppling over in the second bedroom down the hall drew Connor's attention elsewhere. Silently Connor walked down the hallway and honed-in on the closed bedroom door across from the master bedroom to confirm that he had traced the odd sound to the guest bedroom itself.

"What're you-" Gavin exited the master bedroom and gave Connor an annoyed look as he tried to hold his folded clothes in his pained arm. His shoulder had to be throbbing at that point, but he was refusing to admit it. "This isn't the livingroom."

"I heard something in your guest bedroom."

"Heard what?"

"Something fell and I heard a female voice." Lowering his gaze to the floor Connor also let Gavin know what he had noticed in the livingroom. "Also, there is a bra on your livingroom floor, and the wrapper to a condom lying beside it."

Gavin's already pale face paled further with a sunken shock. "...What?"

Pushing past Connor in a huff Gavin walked back down the hallway and hastily looked about the livingroom where he spotted the two offending items as Connor had described. One look at the bra confirmed that it belonged to Patricia, and an equally quick look at the condom wrapper confirmed that it wasn't the brand or size Gavin preferred to use.

"That fucking slut..."

Connor stood back and didn't try to stop Gavin when he marched back down the hallway and kicked open the door to the guestroom with a raucous 'bang'. A loud, feminine scream of surprise followed by a man swearing filled the apartment as Gavin busted his girlfriend cheating on him right in the act.

"Should've known!" Gavin barked as he watched Patricia trying to hide under the sheets while her beau gave her a confused stare. The blonde woman would have a hard time trying to explain away what she was doing in bed with a strange man when she was supposed to be hanging with her cousin. "That's why you invited your crazy cousin for drinks tonight, isn't it? You knew she'd do something stupid to me and give you the chance to hook up with a side piece while I was distracted."

"Gavin, I swear this isn't what it looks like!" Patricia's attempts to lie were actually laughable. She was entirely nude and laying next to a nude man who was very confused by everything happening. "Let's talk this out!"

"Not a chance! I caught you fuckin' some prick you picked up from the bar in my own goddamn apartment! There's NOTHING to talk about!"

The man, now understanding what was going on, put up his hands as if to surrender in the tense moment. "Whoa, whoa... She said she was single, man! And she came on to me! If I had known she was in a relationship I never would've come back here, I swear!"

"You know what, I believe you." Gavin stared at the strange man and felt his shoulder beginning to bleed again since his blood pressure was through the roof. "How do you like that? I find the man who fucked my own girlfriend to be more honest than my girlfriend herself! Wait, let me change that... EX-GIRLFRIEND."

"G-Gavin, baby, this-"

Turning his back on the scene Gavin demanded Patricia to leave his sight. "Shut your whore mouth and get out of my apartment, NOW."

Connor watched as Gavin walked down the hallway and reached the front door with a mission in mind. The man had found Patricia's car keys on the hook beside the door and removed her key to the apartment from the ring before throwing the rest of the keys out into the hallway. The way Gavin was pacing with raw anger but keeping himself somewhat in control over his emotions was impressive in Connor's eyes.

"That... That bitch!" Swearing loudly at the entire situation Gavin made a move to punch the wall but Connor caught his fist with his hand and absorbed the blow before Gavin could damage the apartment. In the event that Gavin's now ex-girlfriend tried to claim assault against Gavin as a form of revenge, any damage to the walls or furniture could be misconstrued as evidence against the man "Fucking BITCH!"

The man who had been caught off guard and literally with his pants down had quickly made his way down the hall in just his reclaimed pants and shoes. As he passed through the apartment door to head out of the middle of the fight, the man slipped his shirt back on and tried cling to any dignity he had left after being caught in the most unfortunate manner.

"She..." It was quite a lot to process, and Gavin was having trouble articulating his feelings. "In my own apartment! She was just using me for rent money!"

Connor kept himself in place before Gavin and didn't let the man break anything in his righteous anger. "She's entirely in the wrong."

"Damn right she is!" Looking over at the bra on the floor Gavin grabbed it and then threw it out in the hallway next. The motion caused his shoulder to bleed even more and ache with a burning pain. "This can't be the first time she's cheated on me!"

"I imagine that you're correct. I also suspect that she was using 'red ice' behind your back."

"C... Can you tell that for sure?" Struggling to stand upright Gavin stumbled over to his couch and dropped down onto the cushions. He was weak from alcohol, blood loss and now heartache. "Can you check for drugs and... see how many people she's... brought here?"

"Yes. Do you want-"

"Do it! Just... I have to know!"

Patricia walked down the hallway with tears in her eyes and all of her clothes tucked into a suitcase. She clearly didn't want to go, but not because she was ashamed of cheating on Gavin or cared about Gavin in the least, she just didn't have anywhere else to go. "Gavin, please. Give me another-"

"NO." Glaring bitterly at Patricia again Gavin pointed to the door of the apartment and ordered her out. "Leave and never call me again! If you even come near me, I'll have you and your psycho cousin thrown into prison for assault! BEAT IT!"

Rushing toward the apartment door Patricia left as she had been ordered and began bawling as soon as she was on the other side of the door.

Connor discreetly walked over to the door and locked it to ensure that Patricia couldn't come back inside. Afterward he began another scan of the apartment to find further traces of Patricia's cheating. It seemed the woman was smart enough to not do anything explicit on the couch to avoid getting caught sooner, but the bathroom and the guest bedroom told a different story. Interestingly enough, the only sign of her being with Gavin was in the master bedroom. The evidence also confirmed that Gavin had been entirely faithful in their relationship while Patricia had not.

"Gavin?" Approaching the heartbroken man warily Connor addressed him in a gentle tone and made sure he had enough clothes to get him through the next few days away from his apartment. "I can confirm that Patricia uses 'red ice'. I found small crystal fragments on the floor of your bathroom next to your toilet. I can also confirm that she was intimate with more than one person on more than one occasion."

"...How many?" Closing his eyes Gavin began dreading the diseases that his now ex may have exposed him to. "I need to know."

"There were six men and two women in your apartment."

"Absolute slut! I mean, I have no problem with people being with lots of partners, but when you're supposed to be in a committed relationship... Even one time with one other person is just... I can't believe her!" Gavin sank back in the couch and pressed his palm over his eyes as he recounted his previous fights with Patricia and how she had always instigated them. "The bitch kept saying I was working too much, but whenever I had time off she'd plan things with her friends! She was setting me up to look like the neglectful boyfriend while she was sleeping with anyone with a pulse! I'm a damn fool!"

"You're not a fool. Gavin, it's important for you to get away from this apartment for a while. You need to distance yourself from your current plight."

Emotional exhaustion set in and made his entire body feel like lead. "...I don't want to go anywhere."

"You have to do it. It's best for your emotional and mental health to be away from here."

"And go where? To Hank's place?" Gavin hated the idea of being given the couch to crash on because he broke up with his girlfriend, as opposed to just needing a place to sleep after a crazy night out. Somehow the latter hurt his pride less than the former. "He doesn't need to deal with my mess! No one does."

"The Lieutenant cares about his officers. He'll want to help you and insist on doing so." Lightly Connor pulled on Gavin's uninjured left arm and got the man up to his feet. Picking up the gathered clothing Connor helped Gavin to walk to the door and locked the apartment up behind the emotionally distraught man. "It'll be better this way. You need to take care of yourself and allow other people to take care of you as well."

"...I'm not sure I know how to do that."

"Right now is the best time to learn."

With utter kindness in his every move Connor helped Gavin to walk down the hallway and toward the elevator once more. The deviant detective had taken the liberty of uploading photographic evidence of Patricia's cheating and of Gavin not laying a finger on her during their loud break-up to Gavin's phone to ensure that he was covered on all sides in the event Patricia tried to cause problems for the man.

After helping Gavin get back into the van Connor checked the bleeding shoulder and proceeded to apply additional pressure bandages to the wound. Gavin was too tired to even react to the pressure being applied to the wound, and within seconds he was asleep despite everything happening to him. The last thing he was aware of was an android, someone he didn't even consider a person, taking care of him after his girlfriend shattered his heart.

The conflict in Gavin's mind was a strenuous one to say the least!

Halloween had come to an end and Hank was leading a somewhat sleepy Cole up the driveway and toward the house after finally returning home. Thanks to Cole's swift little legs carrying him from door to door with raw excitement as his fuel, the first grader had managed to collect nearly eight pounds of candy. Hank of course ended up carrying the very full and surprisingly heavy bag of candy over his shoulder on Cole's behalf so that the little boy didn't accidentally drop it in fatigue. The haunted house tour had ended with Cole thrilled with all the frights that made him jump and scream, but even so he was still determined to watch one last horror movie with his dad before calling it a night.

Hank on the other hand was ready for a shower and to go right to bed. He envied his son's youthful energy but did his best to keep up with him and go out of his way to make sure Cole never once felt forgotten about or neglected.

"Are you sure you want to watch a movie? You still have to go to school tomorrow." Hank asked as he unlocked the front door and led Cole inside. He could hear Sumo scratching at the backdoor and thought it was strange that Connor hadn't let the dog back in. "And you gotta' be tired."

"Not yet!" Cole grinned as he held out his hands to get his sack of candy back. "And I'm hungry!"

"Hold up, you know the deal." Refusing to let Cole have his candy just yet Hank carried the heavy candy bag into the kitchen and placed it on the table. "I gotta' check it all to make sure nothing was tampered with."

"More like take all the taffy and the jawbreakers!"

"Hey, I went door to door with you, and I dressed up, too." Hank teased as he opened the backdoor and let Sumo inside. "I get to pick some candy for myself as proper compensation."

"What's 'compensation'?"

"That's called 'the real world reminding you that nothing is free'."

Such an adult answer wasn't one that Cole's young mind could process. "...What?"

"You'll find out when you're older." The senior detective sighed and loosened the black bowtie around his neck as he spoke. "Go take off your costume so I can check your candy in peace."

"Fine!" Rushing in his bedroom Cole listened to his dad and changed out of his costume as fast as possible. "But don't take all the sour balls this time!"

"All right, I'll leave you just one!"

"You better not!"

Chuckling to himself Hank patted Sumo's back and then looked around for any sign of Connor. "Now, where'd that android get to? I told it to stay here and hand out candy. Why does it never listen to me?"

Sumo whined once and then led Hank to the bathroom where the door was shut and the light was on. Sitting down in front of the bathroom Sumo looked up at Hank as if trying to tell him the answer to his question.

"What the hell?" Knocking twice on the closed door Hank called out in attempt to locate the missing android. "Connor? You in there?"

The bathroom door creaked open as Connor appeared on the other side of the door. "Yes, Lieutenant."

"What're you doing? Cleaning the shower?"

"No. I'm helping someone." Pushing the door open entirely Connor stepped aside and let Hank see Gavin sitting on the edge of the bathtub looking miserable with his bandaged shoulder on display. The man was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot from tears. "He had attempted to call you tonight, but you didn't have your phone."

"Oh, shit..." Hank crossed the bathroom floor quickly and knelt down in front of Gavin to check on the younger man. Instinctively Hank wrapped his fingers around Gavin's wrist to count his pulse and then focused on Gavin's eyes to check his pupils. "What happened to him?"

"That's a story that'll be better for him to tell on his own."

"Right, uh... Connor, leave us here so I can get him sorted out." Standing up again Hank checked through the first-aid kit sitting open on the sink and tried to think of the best approach to handle Gavin while he was weak and barely conscious. "You keep Cole away from the bathroom. Go sort his candy to make sure it wasn't fucked with, let him have a few pieces tonight, and let him pick a horror movie to watch."

"Is that wise? Cole is very young and many horror-"

"I promised him that he could watch one, AND he's so tired that he'll probably pass out before the killer even shows up." Hank resumed focusing on Gavin and decided to use cold compresses to bring the man back to his senses. "Just do what I ask, please."

"Yes, of course. I'll tend to Cole." Connor gave Gavin one last sympathetic glance before exiting the bathroom and pulling the door shut behind him. He had to step around Sumo as the loyal dog had picked up on Gavin's distress and wanted to stay close by. "I'll do that."

Just as the bathroom door closed Cole emerged from his own bedroom and dressed in his pajamas. "Hi, Connor!"

"Hello, Cole." The deviant detective made his way to the kitchen with Cole right behind him. "Your dad asked that I examine your candy for you."

"Yes!" The little boy pumped his fist in excitement as he climbed onto the kitchen chair to watch Connor check through all his treats. "That means you won't eat any of it and I get to keep it all!"

"That's right, I won't." Picking up the sack of candy Connor carefully poured all of it out on the table and ran a quick scan over every piece. Using swift motions and precise scanning Connor found only two pieces of the candy to be questionable simply because they were beyond their expiration date. "This won't take me too long. I'll return all the good candy to the sack that you used to keep it all together."

"Awesome! Then we can watch 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'!"

"Are you certain that you want to watch such a violent and terrifying film?" Connor asked as he quickly picked through each piece of candy to check the wrappers and scan for any sign of contaminants or foreign objects being inserted into the core of the treats. "You might have a nightmare."

"That's the fun of Halloween!" Cole beamed as he held open the candy sack and watched Connor quickly sorting through every piece on the table. "Being scared is what's supposed to happen!"

"Why is that? It's illogical to seek out activities or entertainment that results in fear."

"Because it's fun to be scared!"

"It doesn't seem very fun." Connor quickly finished sorting through the candy and disposed of the two old pieces of candy on Cole's behalf. "I can understand dressing up and spending time with friends being fun, but being scared doesn't seem amusing at all."

"Well, join me and dad for the movie tonight and you'll be able to see for yourself!"

"I... All right, I can do that tonight." The deviant didn't want to let Cole know about Gavin being injured in the bathroom even though Hank had everything under control. There were just some things that children shouldn't have to know about. "Select your candy, six pieces, and then go into the livingroom. I'm going to put the rest of your candy on the top shelf of the pantry to ensure that Sumo doesn't get into it."

"Yeah, Sumo can't have chocolate." The little boy knew to not feed Sumo certain foods and was always careful about food that dropped on the floor. "But I can!"

While Cole was making his candy selection Connor heard the bathroom door open and knew that Hank was taking Gavin into his bedroom to help him get changed and to talk in private. Despite the distance and closed door Connor's enhanced hearing let him eavesdrop on every word spoken.

"Done!" Cole had made his selection and rushed to the livingroom. "Come on, Connor! I want to see the movie!"

"I'll be right there."

True to his word Connor tied off the candy sack and placed it in the pantry for safekeeping. As he walked into the livingroom Connor saw Cole using blankets, pillows and some couch cushions to build what looked like a fort to hide inside of while the movie played out.

"Cole? What're you doing?"

"Security fort!" The little boy stated as he dove into his creation and invited Connor to sit beside him. "No monsters can get in here!"

"...Oh."

The concept of building forts or using an imagination to create scenarios revolving around mythical beings, creatures and monsters was absolutely foreign to Connor.

"Can you find the movie for me?" Cole held out the television remote for Connor to see and use. "Dad won't tell me the password to unlock all the channels!"

"I'll locate your movie for you."

As Connor sat down beside Cole on the couch he heard Hank's bedroom door open again and he heard two sets of footsteps walking toward the livingroom, and heard Sumo's nails clicking on the hardwood floor alongside them. Turning his head he spotted Hank now wearing his own night clothes and Gavin changed into clean clothes as well. The younger detective's eyes were still red and bloodshot, but he seemed to be holding his own fairly well.

"Hey!" Hank lifted up the blanket of Cole's fort and gave his son a playfully annoyed look. "Where am I supposed to sit?"

"Build your own fort!"

"With what? This?" Hank took one of the cushions from Cole's fort and watched the other cushions topple around his son. "Yeah, this'll do!"

From beneath the mound of cushions Cole protested his dad's sabotage of his creation. "Hey!"

"If we're going to build a fort then we're going to do it right." Hank insisted as he set up a new fort with the pillows, cushions and blankets. It was now big enough to hold three people, not just one. "Much better!"

Connor just nodded as he rose to his feet and allowed Gavin to take his seat. He had little interest in the movie anyway, and decided that he'd rather stand aside while the humans all sat together on the couch. In fact, he'd rather skip the movie and go right into rest mode since he had a lot to think about.

"Not bad." Gavin complimented and watched Cole to turn to look at him in surprised shock at hearing his voice. "Hey, kiddo. Mind if I stay over tonight?"

"Yeah!" Having Gavin join in on the fun was going to make that Halloween night perfect in Cole's mind. "We can all watch the movie together!"

"All right, cool. You just need to promise me that if gets too scary that you'll change the channel."

"Nope! We're all going to watch the entire movie without blinking!"

"Oof, that might be too hard for me. But I'm willing to try."

Hank just shook his head and took the remote to start the movie after Connor located it. As the movie started and the opening credits scrawled by Hank pulled Cole up against his side and felt the little boy growing heavy as he reluctantly closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep. Just as Hank predicted Cole was going to be fast asleep before the big villain reveal even happened.

Whispering to Gavin beside him Hank let the younger detective know his plan of action. "Once Cole's asleep I'll carry him to his bedroom, and you can have the couch to yourself."

"Thanks for putting me up for the night." Gavin looked exhausted as well, but he wasn't complaining about it. He didn't even mind Sumo cuddling up alongside his leg in a comforting manner. "I appreciate it."

"Sure. You stay as long as you need, no pressure on gettin' out of here until you're ready." Hank looked down at Cole and just smiled at his son's sweet face. "We can finish the movie tomorrow. And dig into all that candy."

Connor just kept to himself and proceeded to silently excuse himself to the garage to get some rest in the one place that was his own. He couldn't do anything more for Gavin or for Cole, but he did have a lot to think about after interacting with them as he isolated himself to his small cot. The deviant detective had gained some insight into the holidays and why humans, especially children, enjoyed them so much. He also had a better idea as to why Gavin was so emotionally aloof in the alternate timeline.

It was fascinating to see Gavin showing that he did in fact have a fragile heart and that it could be broken just as easily as any other human despite his stone-cold facade. The man had been devastated by Patricia cheating on him, yet he didn't retaliate against the woman by getting her cousin arrested for stabbing him or by turning Patricia herself in for drug use. Instead, Gavin chose to reside to himself and weep as he begrudgingly let Connor and Hank help him through his pain on a physical and emotional level. Gavin had even managed to put up a brave front for Cole's sake by appearing to be in a good mood rather than heartbroken and upset when he interacted with the little boy.

The flexibility of human emotions did give Connor some hope that people were capable of changing not just for a single moment, but forever. He also had hope that those changes could be for the better. If Gavin could confide in Connor despite his hatred of androids when he felt the most vulnerable, then maybe Hank could treat Connor with dignity and respect after Connor had truly earned the man's trust.

As strange as it seemed, Halloween night - a night known for mischief, fun, magic, monsters and horror - had given Connor renewed hope that one day he'd be able to speak to Hank as the friend that he knew that Hank could be. With that sense of hope Connor was able to enter rest mode and get to sleep without dread for the following morning to cloud his dreams for the first time since he ventured into the past to change the future.

-next chapter-