The final days of winter and the first days of spring had been incredibly rainy and dreary throughout the entirety of Wayne County that year. While January ended without any incident and February had arrived in a relatively similar fashion, the lull in Detroit proved to be as brief as a sudden spike in crimes revolving around androids suddenly became the focus for a majority of the detectives in the city. There was an unfortunate uptick in humans being fired from their jobs and replaced by androids, which in turn caused those who had been replaced by a machine to violently act out and damage the very androids that had taken their jobs. What had started out as a few frustrated souls just seeking an outlet for their anger was evolving into a raging group of frustrated people seeking revenge about being so cruelly replaced without any warning whatsoever by their apathetic bosses.

After a particularly aggravating shift at work Hank had returned home in the cold rain with every intention of forgetting about his day. The moment he entered the house and set foot inside the livingroom the man was greeted by a moderate mess thanks to Cole indulging in his imagination and building his own spaceship in the middle of the room out a large cardboard box, couch cushions, pillows and sheets, and instantly the man was annoyed by the sight. Hank wanted to go home and relax, not have to step around a large and unnecessary mess in his livingroom.

"Dad!" Cole appeared from within the box through its top and pushed the sheet away from his head. The little boy had been waiting for Hank to return home so he could show his dad the creation that he had worked hard on all day. "Check it out! I made my own spaceship!"

"Yeah, I see that." Doing his best to hide his irritation Hank removed his rain soaked coat to hang on the hook beside the front door, then took off his shoes. "Looks like you made a huge mess too."

"I can clean it up!"

"I hope so. Where's Connor?"

"He's walking Sumo."

"Wait, he left you here all alone?"

"No, he's in the backyard." Pointing to the kitchen window Cole indicated to where Connor currently was in that moment. "He said Sumo needed to do his 'fiscal therapy' because of his leg."

"And how in the hell is it helping Sumo by walking around in the rain?"

Bitterly Hank approached the backdoor and jerked the door open so he could yell at Connor as the deviant android walked alongside Sumo on the leash. The sight of the android wearing the new jacket while getting soaked from head to toe and walking alongside the equally soaked Saint Bernard was enough to irritate Hank in a new way. While he had been busy working and keeping the city safe, Connor had been messing around with a dog in the rain while leaving a first grader to entertain himself in the livingroom without any direct supervision.

"Connor!" Shouting over the rain Hank caught Connor's ear and turned the android's head in his direction. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Taking care of Sumo." Replying honestly Connor approached the man slowly and reminded Hank that Sumo's healed leg would require minimal physical therapy to prevent early onset arthritis. "I was only outside for eight minutes, twenty-two seconds before you returned."

"So you know that I'm pissed about Cole being left alone and making a damn mess." Hank growled as he crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive manner when Connor met him at the backdoor. "Good."

"Cole wasn't truly alone, Lieutenant. I was only a few-"

Before Connor could even attempt to soothe things over with a logical and reassuring explanation Hank lost his cool and got right in Connor's face to shout at the android over a trivial manner. "That doesn't fucking matter! You NEVER leave my son alone EVER. Do you hear me?!"

"Y-Yes." The intimidation was plastered over Connor's face as his L.E.D. settled on a distressed red in his temple. Tightening his grip on Sumo's leash in a fearful response Connor tried to keep his cool and remain on Hank's good side. "I understand."

"Do you?" Despite the affirmation Hank wasn't content in letting the issue drop so easily. "It seems all you androids do is cause problems these days."

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Being 'sorry' doesn't undo the fact that you left Cole unsupervised! That's unforgivable!"

Looking away in shame Connor just agreed with everything that Hank was saying. "...You're right."

"Something could've happened to him!" Hank just kept adding to Connor's guilt as he became more heated about the entire day's events. Dealing with androids at work and then having to deal with one in his own home had been the frustrated man's breaking point. "But what would you care? You're not a human, you don't really feel anything or care about anyone. You fake it!"

"That's not true!" Suddenly defensive Connor had a strong reaction to such a cold and heartless accusation against his character. The deviant detective had worked hard to prove to Hank that he was worthy of trust and cared about Cole, and being accused of the opposite was enough to get under his skin. "I truly care about Cole!"

"Bullshit! You're a machine, you can't actually care about anyone or anything!"

"If that were true then I wouldn't have rescued Cole or helped you as many times as I have!"

"That's just your programming telling you to help humans, you don't do it because you want to help or care about us, you do it because that's what your programming is telling you to do! Admit it!" Hank gave Connor's shoulder a firm shove and knocked the deviant android a step backward in surprise. "You can't feel anything! You're always a pain in my ass and in my way! You're just waiting for your chance to take over my job as a detective and replace every inferior human in this world!"

Quiet for only a moment Connor forced himself to look Hank in the eyes as he said the only thing that came to mind. "...I assure you that you are someone who is impossible to replace. Same with Cole."

Such a sincere comment caught Hank off guard and quickly cooled off his hot temper. As he stared at the deviant android getting drenched in the rain Hank realized that he was behaving just like the very people he had spent the day arresting for destroying androids and for causing problems at CyberLife stores downtown. The last thing the respectable Lieutenant ever wanted to do was emulate the behavior of the very criminals he painstakingly took off the streets.

Connor attempted to hand over Sumo's leash but when Hank didn't make a move to take it Connor lightly placed the leash down on the ground as he backed away from Hank and toward the side of the yard. "...I'll get out of your way now. I'm sorry for constantly aggravating you."

Hank kept quiet as he watched Connor walk around the side of the house and make his way out to the street. It wasn't the first time Hank's temper had pushed Connor away and prompt the android into the leaving the house, but this time Hank felt like he finally pushed too hard and that Connor wasn't going to return to the house no matter what Hank said or did.

With a deep huff Hank bent down to pick up Sumo's leash, only to have Sumo whimper once and back away from Hank's hand causing the leash to drag away from the man's grip and through the wet grass. Not in the mood for any more setbacks Hank snatched the leash and tugged hard to get Sumo to follow him inside the house to get out of the rain.

"Come on, Sumo. Inside."

Whimpering sadly Sumo followed after Hank and knew to go into the laundry room to get his fur dried off before doing anything else. The large dog had been trained by Connor to always go into the laundry to have his fur or paws taken care of before roaming the house to prevent any messes from forming. Even without any verbal commands Sumo knew what to do and where to go.

"Uh, good dog."

Grabbing a nearby towel Hank used it to dry off his own hair and arms before using the same towel on Sumo's fur and paws. As he knelt down to take care of the now skittish dog Hank felt eyes watching his every move from the opened doorway of the laundry room. Turning his head Hank saw Cole standing back and watching him with guilt in his blue eyes as he spoke up in a small voice.

"It's not Connor's fault." Cole stated somberly as he tried to get his dad to stop being mad. Tears were forming in Cole's eyes as the little boy tried to not cry after hearing his dad getting so upset with Connor. "I wanted to make a spaceship, and I told Connor I'd clean up! I'm sorry!"

"Ah, son, don't apologize." Now feeling like utter shit Hank realized how out of line he had been when he snapped at Connor and again got physical with the android. There was no need to push Connor or accuse him of such unfounded acts. "It's not a big deal. I just overreacted."

Moving out of the laundry room Hank proceeded to give Cole a massive hug and hold his son in his arms as he continued to calm down. He swore that he'd never say or do anything that'd make Cole cry, and having his young son so upset about shouting at Connor had come far too close to breaking that particular promise for Hank's own comfort.

"I'm the one who needs to be sorry. It was wrong for me to get so mad over something so silly and something that's very easy to fix."

Cole just sniffled as he buried his face against his dad's shoulder and looked out the window over the kitchen sink. It was still raining and there was no sign of Connor anywhere in the backyard.

"How about this?" Hank tried to help Cole feel better as he continued to hold his son in his protective arms. Whenever Cole cried Hank felt like he needed to cry as well, and that was something that wasn't going to help any situation at the moment. "We both take a minute to calm down, then we'll put your spaceship in your bedroom and clean up the livingroom. After that, we'll scrounge up something for dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching something that'll make us laugh and forget about me losing my temper."

"What about Connor?"

"Well, we'll just wait for Connor to come back."

"What if he doesn't come back this time?" Cole worried as he watched the rain pouring down through the window. "He'll get sick!"

"Connor will come back when it's ready to come back." Holding Cole tight Hank stared at the window as well and didn't care that the android was no longer in view. As far as he was concerned Connor could stay away and be someone else's problem. "I know you'll see it again, so don't worry. Besides, androids can take care of themselves and don't need us humans to survive."

The intense rain made it uncomfortable for Connor to aimlessly wander about he tried to figure out what he could possibly do to get back on Hank's good side. Connor hadn't done anything to warrant such an outburst and had never been scolded for going outside the house while Cole remained along inside the house before that day. Such a sudden change in opinion on the matter left the deviant detective entirely perplexed by Hank's behavior. As far as Connor knew he hadn't done anything else that would've aggravated Hank by mistake. It was very confusing for the deviant android to try and understand Hank's mindset behind the harsh reaction and all the more confusing when it came to finding a solution to his new problem.

With his focus on his thoughts and off the city around him Connor unwittingly attracted the attention of someone driving along the same street watching him from behind. It wasn't until a voice calling out to him from the rolled down window of the car now keeping pace with him and driving right beside him did Connor turn his head and snap back to reality.

"What the hell are you doing, 'Tinman'?" Gavin called out as he gave Connor a very confused look. With his window rolled down just an inch the man had to really yell to be heard over the rain and his own car's engine as he spoke to the deviant android. "Trying to get struck by lighting?"

Connor stopped walking and gave Gavin his full attention as he responded to the sarcastic question with a serious answer. "I'm attempting to keep myself from getting in the Lieutenant's way. So far the most logical means of accomplishing that task is to stay away from him entirely."

"He threw you out? Jeez, I didn't think today's cases would bother him that much."

"...Cases?"

"He didn't- Look, just get in the damn car." Gavin insisted as he unlocked his car's doors and motioned for Connor to join him inside the warm, dry vehicle. "I'm not going to keep yelling at you."

Grateful for the escape from the rain Connor quickly walked over to the passenger side of the car and sat down in the front seat. The moment he was out of the rain Connor felt much warmer and hoped that he didn't accidentally affect the interior of the car with his wet clothing.

"Not that it's any of my business," Gavin stated tersely as he turned up the heat and pulled back onto the street. "and I really don't give a shit about what your problem is, but tell me what happened."

Such a contradictory comment left Connor stumped and prompted the deviant to ask a question of his own. "If you don't care then why do you wish to know?"

"Because I care about Hank and Cole, and I want to make sure things are okay at home."

"I see." Settling in his seat Connor fastened his seatbelt and closed his eyes as he realized what Gavin was actually asking about. "Cole is entirely well and unharmed, and the Lieutenant has never once shown any sign of negligent or abusive behavior toward his own son."

"I fuckin' already knew that!" Almost angered by the comment Gavin sneered at Connor and continued on his way down the street toward his new apartment. "Hank would never hurt his family, EVER. I just want to know what set Hank off and made him give you the boot!"

"I left under my own volition, I wasn't 'booted' from anywhere."

"All right, fine. What made you leave the house in the middle of a rainstorm?" Gavin was instinctively pressing for answers since he knew that something had gone down between Connor and Hank back at the house. "It couldn't have been a simple disagreement, right?"

Connor knew that Gavin wasn't going to let the matter drop and begrudgingly told him everything that had happened. He had even mentioned Hank shoving him in anger and confirmed that it was the violent physical response that prompted Connor into leaving the house. He disliked physical confrontation, and being physically threatened by someone he had no intention of becoming physically violently with in return was something that Connor just refused to confront directly.

"Hank hit you?"

"Shoved me backward. This is the second time that he has threatened to physically assault me."

"No wonder you wanted out of there. The Lieutenant is pretty damn scary when he's worked up."

"...So I've noticed."

"That doesn't mean it was cool of him to get pissy with you though." The younger detective remarked with genuine empathy. It seemed Gavin wasn't looking to take sides on the matter, he just wanted to know what was happening so he could potentially play the mediator. "Today was tough for him, and you were the perfect target."

Hearing such a comparison didn't make things any easier to process and caused Connor's eyes to slip shut. "Target?"

"Okay, that was a shit choice of word." Gavin admitted as he made the final few turns in the area to reach his new apartment complex to head inside for the rest of the evening. "Today we had to deal with seventeen, that's sevenTEEN, as in double-digits and not me misspeaking, idiots attacking androids today. The androids were all just doing their usual thing and the humans took offense to the machines doing what they were programmed to do."

"Androids are the cause of the Lieutenant's stress. Therefore, seeing me in his home only added to his stress." Connor concluded in a cold and calculated manner as his eyes cracked open to peer at the new area around him. "It is my fault."

"It's not your fault the city's full of assholes replacing assholes with machines." After parking his car Gavin opened his door and pulled up his coat to protect his throat and ears from the cold rain still pouring down. "My place is on the fourth floor. Come on."

"...You're inviting me into your apartment?"

"Don't read anything into this. I just don't wanna' have to drag your malfunctioning ass back to Elijah for help again. I can't stand trying to talk to that smug bastard."

Grateful to have some form of shelter from the rain Connor silently exited the parked car and accompanied Gavin toward the apartment complex. Connor felt the need to keep his guard up and refused to look anyone in the eyes as he walked at a slightly slower pace just behind the young detective. It seemed as if just being an android was a crime in the eyes of too many humans who demanded justice for that same crime.

Gavin didn't say anything to Connor as they traveled to the elevator together to head up to his new apartment. It seemed Gavin had managed to avert severe heartbreak after discovering his ex-girlfriend's infidelity and had moved on to a better life without her being a part of it. The new apartment in a new neighborhood was seemingly proof enough of Gavin's more positive mindset. Even the apartment itself seemed somehow more upbeat in comparison to Gavin's old apartment as the detective singlehandedly decorated the living space with what he enjoyed and with everything in his own taste.

"Uh, I guess hang out until the rain stops." Gavin insisted as he removed his jacket and shoes by the front door. He wasn't surprised when Connor did the same thing after entering the apartment right behind me. "It's dangerous weather for anyone to be roaming around alone, especially an android."

Such a comment caught Connor's interest as the deviant android minded his footing to ensure he didn't overstep any boundaries. "What in particular about being an android makes venturing through the city hazardous?"

"Seriously?" After he locked the door and entered the livingroom Gavin dropped down onto his couch and turned on his television to the news channel. As expected, there was an active news story revolving around androids being at the epicenter of the day's unusual activity. "See for yourself."

Curious of what Gavin was alluding to Connor entered the livingroom as well and stood behind the couch to watch the news report for himself. A story confirming that over fifty androids throughout the city had been attacked, damaged and even destroyed by humans who were enraged by the growing trend of businesses and industries firing their human employees in favor of using androids for free labor that didn't require any legal regulations was the top story.

Seeing the abundance of anti-android sentiment beginning to rise and the violence escalating was enough to make Connor feel as if his time with the Anderson family was going to run out sooner than he had initially anticipated. Connor knew that tension between androids and humans were going to get far worse before that fateful November night destined to take place in two years, but he didn't expect to see the violence spike so rapidly.

"We had to deal with seventeen cases of androids being destroyed by humans just today." Gavin stated with a huff as he kicked his feet up on his coffee table to lean back and try to relax. "Seeing you guys torn apart and bleeding all over the place... Not pretty."

"I can assure you that androids don't find the process any more enjoyable than you do."

"Yeah, that I already know." Turning his head Gavin peered up at Connor and gave the deviant android a studious glance. He had known for some time that Connor was unlike the androids, and when Elijah confirmed as much while he repaired Connor after Connor was assaulted during the failed break-in, Gavin just knew that there was substance behind the rumors of androids breaking free of their programming. "Let me ask you something. Can androids suffer from glitches or errors in their programming that make them behave... differently."

Connor felt his Thirium pump skip a beat as he turned his focus to Gavin and hoped the man didn't notice his L.E.D. flickering in a worried red. "How do you mean?"

"Come on, you know exactly what I mean." Casually Gavin draped his arm around the back of the couch as he turned his body to stretch out over the full length of the furniture. "You don't act like the average android, and as far I know, you never have. You think and make decisions on your own even though you're supposed to stand back and wait to be ordered around like a mindless drone. You also really care about Cole. You're not just going through the motions or obeying some kind of childcare program, you emotionally like the kid as much as I do. Is there a term for that type of shit? Like, can androids like you be called something specific?"

"I do not know." Feigning ignorance Connor continued to stare at the television screen as if entranced by the news story being shared throughout the city. It was too risky to reveal deviancy or his status as a deviant. "My current programming does not have any protocol regarding such an error or glitch."

"Elijah said that he personally designed you to work with the police department and he said that you have a weird 'social relations' program. Is that why you're so good with Cole?"

"It's entirely possible that my social relations program has allowed me to properly adapt to the behavior, interests and needs of a young child."

"If you're designed to adjust your personality to different people then I guess that makes sense. Good thing Elijah knows how deal with your weird shit, because I have no clue what to do with you."

Letting out a small sigh through his nose Connor couldn't help but agree with Gavin's observations. "It seems you're not the only one."

The rain had begun to lessen as the evening transitioned to nighttime. As the clouds slowly broke up and revealed more of the black night sky overhead streetlamps began to glow all throughout the city to illuminate the still damp streets encircling all of Detroit. The smell of fresh rain soaking into the thawing earth and restoring life to the dormant flora permeated every block in Detroit. It was slowly becoming a pleasant night despite the chaotic and uncomfortable day that had preceded it, and had prompted many people, including Hank himself, to open up the windows of the house to let a pleasant breeze pass through the somewhat stifling home to help clear out the stagnant winter air.

As the fresh air flowed through the house Sumo readily sat before the window and rested his chin down on the sill to peer outside and take in all the scents of the city air circulating through his home. With the massive dog on guard Hank did his best to have a relaxing night after enduring such a stressful day at the precinct and after having a needless fight with Connor.

Cole was still feeling responsible for what had happened and decided he needed to get rid of his cardboard shuttlecraft as a form of penance. With tears in his eyes the little boy slowly took apart his creation and tried to do it as quietly as possible, however, the sound of tearing cardboard and ripping tape was too unusual for Hank to ignore while he attempted to read in the livingroom.

With his book still in his hand Hank walked into Cole's bedroom and stood in the opened doorway as he watched his son tearing his shuttlecraft apart. "What're you doing, son?"

"Getting rid of my ship." Cole admitted as he looked at his partially destroyed cardboard ship with utter disdain. "I'll clean it up."

"Why're you getting rid of it?" Hank asked as he picked up a loose cardboard flap and held it up curiously. "You worked really hard to make it."

"'Cuz it made you mad and you got mad at Connor for it."

"Cole, son, don't do that." Kneeling down in front of his son Hank put both hands on Cole's shoulders and looked his young son in the eyes. "I told you that I was wrong for losing my temper and for getting mad at Connor. You're allowed to have your spaceship, and you didn't do anything wrong."

"You told Connor that he shouldn't have left me alone and that-"

"No, stop. I lost my cool because of a bad day at work today, not because you or Connor did anything wrong." Gently Hank wiped away Cole's tears with his thumb before reaching over to the broken down box to pick it up and restore it to how it had once been. "Let's fix your ship so you can keep exploring the stars, okay?"

Shaking his head Cole declined the suggestion and wiped his arm under his nose. "It won't be the same."

"Why not?"

"'Cuz Connor's not here." Cole explained innocently as he looked at the flattened box with dismay. He didn't really want to get rid of the makeshift shuttlecraft, but he did want his dad to stop being mad and for Connor to come back home. "He gave me the box and he gave me the extra stars to use."

"Oh. Well, I bet we can still make it look as it used to before I got out of line with my temper. Let's at least try to rebuild it."

A loud bark followed by the front door opening and then closing confirmed that someone had entered the house without waiting for an invitation. Without even needing to look Hank knew that it was Connor, and he had to admit that he was relieved that the android had come back to the house for Cole's sake. Despite his pride telling him that he had to go speak with the android to ensure that Cole didn't feel bad after everything that happened that day.

"I'll be right back." Hank promised as he stood upright and gave Cole a warm smile. "I'm going to go talk to Connor for a minute, then we'll get to work."

The worry in Cole's face vanished instantly when he heard the good news. "Connor's back?"

"Yup." Casually Hank placed his book down on Cole's dresser to show that he was going to give his full focus to restoring the cardboard shuttlecraft. "I'll let it know you need help with your spaceship so it can be rebuilt faster."

Determined to set things right Hank left the bedroom and tracked Connor down to the garage where the deviant android resided whenever he wasn't helping out around the house or running errands. To avoid any further confrontations Hank politely knocked on the side door leading to the garage to announce his presence, then let himself inside the enclosed storage space.

Connor was sitting on the edge of the cot with his eyes closed and his typical uniform traded for his more casual clothes since his uniform had been drenched by the rain. The leather jacket could only do so much to protect the android's body during the rainstorm, especially along his legs and his head. Aware of Hank entering the garage Connor turned to look at the man and remained silent with his L.E.D. cycling in yellow as he waited for the man to speak first.

"Hey, uh, you came back." Hank stated almost dumbly as he tried to break the tension in the air. "Are you all right? You don't need any Thirium or anything from being out in the rain, right?"

"I am fully functional." Connor confirmed in a dry tone as he attempted to sound as subservient as expected of him. "I do not require any assistance."

"Cool, cool... Um, Cole was going to tear about his spaceship, but I convinced him not to. He'll need a little help in putting it back together in case you're interested."

"Cole had initially constructed his carboard shuttlecraft without any assistance from me. He can restore it without my assistance as well."

"Well, he'd feel better with some help. So why don't you go help him?"

"I'd rather not overstep my boundaries any more than I already have."

"Connor, you're not in the way. I was just-" Stopping short Hank took in a deep breath and unclenched his fists as he realized he was getting worked up again. "I just had a fucked up day at work."

"I'm aware." Connor confirmed without blinking. "Detective Reed had thoroughly explained the situation to me."

"Wait, you were with Gavin?"

"Detective Reed happened to drive down the same street in which I was already traversing and ordered me to take shelter from the rain within his apartment." The deviant detective confirmed without even the faintest glimpse of emotion behind his words. "I returned to the house after the rain had subsided to avoid inadvertently getting in Detective Reed's way as well."

"Look, I was being an asshole and you're NOT in the way." Running his hand over his gray hair Hank tried to think of how to explain things to Connor without apologizing to the machine in the process. His ego prevented him from seeing his mistake since he still saw Connor as a heartless machine, not a feeling being. "I got mad because all day today I dealt with cases with androids and then had to handle two homicides. It's been a very busy day for me."

"Yes. You dealt with the destruction of seventeen different androids and had to interrogate the people responsible for the destructive behavior. It's logical that you'd be frustrated with needing to arrest and interrogate humans who are destroying objects when you could be arresting humans who are murdering other humans."

Hank immediately sensed some resentment in Connor's cold response. There was no mistaking the offense in Connor's assessment of the situation at hand. In fact, the seasoned detective had a hard time seeing Connor as an android in that particular moment. Such a morose yet bland reaction to androids being destroyed and humans being responsible for the destruction had left Hank suddenly feeling as if his own reaction to the day's events had been completely misplaced and out of line before he had even returned home.

"Okay, yeah, I admit that I was pissed at the androids for taking my attention away from cases that are more important." The admission wasn't as helpful as he had hoped since Hank just confessed to seeing androids as non-beings in comparison to humans. "But I didn't have any reason to be a dick to you or jump to extreme conclusions about you taking care of Cole. Right now, Cole needs to know that he didn't do anything wrong either and that he's allowed to play his games and have fun using his imagination. He needs both of us to be supportive of him."

"It'd be best if you-"

"Connor, stop. This isn't about you or me right now, this is about Cole. He needs us to get along right now so he feels better." Hank stated firmly as he fought to keep his cool and not lash out at Connor again. "After that, you can hide out here and avoid me at all costs. It's not fair to Cole that we can't get along one-hundred percent of the time, so for his sake let's just pretend to be on better terms with each other. Okay?"

Angered by the way Hank was essentially blaming Connor for the Lieutenant's own poor attitude, Connor rose to his feet and gave Hank a cold glare as he spoke with a voice laced with complete indifference. "Very well. I'll assist Cole in any way he needs, regardless of what you would constitute as me being in the way. Excuse me."

Hank stood back and watched as Connor returned to the main house to rejoin Cole in the little boy's bedroom. It was difficult for him to not want to yell at Connor again, but he knew he had no good reason to do so. He had been the instigator in their initial argument and that he had physically provoked Connor. The man knew he was also continuing to provoke Connor without any just cause.

Keeping calm Hank slowly made his way back to the bedroom as well and stopped in the doorframe when he saw Cole finally smiling and laughing as he worked alongside Connor to rebuild his shuttlecraft on the floor. A twinge of jealousy flowed through Hank's heart as he saw how close Cole was to the android, and he began to wonder if Cole preferred hanging out with Connor more than he preferred spending time with his own dad.

Not wanting to disturb anything by mistake Hank reclaimed his book and returned to the livingroom to resume reading. It was clear that Cole didn't need his help and didn't seem to even want his help. Cole just wanted to play in his own little world with Connor as he sole companion.

"I can't get mad at Connor for doing what I told him to do. That's already blown up in my face today."

Dropping down into the recliner Hank opened his book and tried to pick up where he left off, but he was too distracted by Cole's joyous laughter in the other room to really focus on the story. He wanted to be a part of that fun, but he also knew that it was best to keep away since his own presence had been unwelcome all evening.

"Fuck me. I accuse Connor of being in the way, but I'm the one that no one wants to be around right now."

Sumo keened sympathetically as he walked over to the recliner from the window and put his paw down on the back of Hank's arm. The large dog was very aware of his household's moods and wanted to do his own part to help out in any way that he could.

"Not your fault, boy."

Rubbing Sumo's ears Hank sighed and decided he'd need to do better by his son and himself if he wanted to maintain a healthy relationship with his only son.

"It's mine. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for everyone. I'd hate to think of how fucked up our lives would be if this type of behavior kept going on every day for the rest of our lives."

-next chapter-