There was an extreme shift in the weather as thunderstorms, snowstorms and strong gusts of wind rocked Detroit without mercy. The bizarre natural phenomenon had a drastic impact on the city as a while since the stormy and unstable winds caused frequent power surges, brownouts and even total blackouts that plagued Detroit for several days in a row. A majority of the people had quickly adapted to the uncomfortable weather by using generators for power and heat, battery operated devices to cook warm meals and take warm showers, and just as many people were content to huddle up under blankets and make small bonfires when the wind wasn't blowing too harshly.

As for the androids roaming the city, adjusting to the dangerous weather was far more taxing. The strong electrical currents being interrupted, restored and then fluctuating had caused many of the androids to suffer from bizarre glitches and errors that required lengthy reboot sessions. Due to androids being unable to perform their basic tasks during the stormy weather, a lot of people were becoming irrationally upset at the androids as if they were personally responsible for the foul weather.

Connor himself was being affected by the extreme weather in a way that very few androids could experience. Being a prototype left him twice as vulnerable to errors, glitches and complications to his biocomponents in regard to electrical fluctuations. While he was able to power through his errors through reboots and adjusting his personal power levels to accommodate the stormy atmosphere, Connor couldn't deny that the chronic errors were beginning to cause him real physical pain.

While Hank set up a small bonfire in the old fireplace - the fireplace finally being used as more than just decoration by the older man - Connor prepared a few snacks and meals that could be cooked in the fire with little complication. It didn't take the deviant long to set up a few plates of food to be cooked over the fire, but he was having a hard time concentrating on what he was doing courtesy of a mounting painful pressure developing inside his head.

"Okay, Cole. We got the fire at a nice size." Hank made sure his young son wasn't getting too close to the flames while educating him on fire safety. "It's got enough wood to keep it burning without it getting out of control, and it's not so big that the flames will go up the fireplace into the chimney and cause problems. We'll use the long prongs for our camping bonfires to cook our hotdogs and not get burned in the process."

"Can we make s'mores too?"

"Sure, we'll have them for dessert." Hank promised as he stoked the flames and then put the iron flame guard up and over the front of the fireplace as an extra safety measure. He didn't want there to be any accidents while he went into the kitchen. "Lunch first though. Sit back on the couch until I get everything ready to be cooked."

"Okay. Come on, Sumo." The little boy rubbed Sumo's ears as the Saint Bernard laid beside him on the floor. "You can have some hotdogs too!"

"He can have ONE hotdog." The father and detective wisely stated as he walked into the kitchen. "Remember what happened to him when he got into that whole pack of hotdogs up at the lake? Driving home with that dog fighting to digest those things was the smelliest experience of my life!"

Connor had just finished with preparing the lunch when Hank approached the counter. The deviant wanted to say something but the pain in his head had unexpectedly stolen his voice and left him unable to communicate. While he didn't expect Hank to be able to do anything that'd aid him in his pain or even help him to feel slightly better, Connor did want to tell Hank that he was experiencing a glitch just as he had promised to do after his last serious glitch.

"Looks like a good spread for us to pick from." Hank complimented as he looked at the hotdogs, buns, toppings and condiments for Cole and himself to use. The man picked up the loaded serving tray and carried it into the livingroom while Connor remained in the kitchen. "Good thing you went ahead and grabbed all this stuff from the store before the storms hit. I'd hate to be caught in that mess right now."

The pained deviant didn't respond to the positive comment as Hank returned to the livingroom with the serving tray. Pressing one hand to his head and the other to the top of the counters, Connor braced himself upright as he did his best to endure his excruciating headache without complaining as thunder rumbled and brief flashes of lightning ached at his eyes. Enduring pain, physical complications and glitches wasn't anything new, but suffering through such discomfort without a friend to help him through the worst of it made his misery feel twice as agonizing.

"All right, son." Hank placed the serving tray down on the coffee table in the livingroom and sat down between the table and the fireplace. "I'll start cooking the hotdogs and get the hotdog buns to toast a little. Why don't you go get us something to drink?"

"Root beers?"

"Absolutely. Wouldn't be a proper hotdog cookout without root beer."

"I'm on it, dad!"

Cole slid off the couch, stepped over Sumo's massive body and jogged into the kitchen to retrieve a few chilled drinks from the refrigerator. The little boy didn't see the power outages or storms as anything worth worrying about since he had his dad and Connor watching out for him and making things in the house comfortable even without the electricity or heat. In fact, Cole didn't see anything wrong with having a small camp adventure in the livingroom any time of the year.

"Dad's making hotdogs!" Cole shouted excitedly as he opened the fridge door and found two cans of still cold root beer just in his reach. "Want to help? We're going to make s'mores after we're done!"

"I... I cannot help." Connor admitted in a whisper as he lowered his hand from his forehead and looked over at Cole beside him. The pressure in his head was beginning to affect his vision, causing everything to appear in diluted colors that seemed nearly grayed out and blurry. "I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Staring at Connor's face for a moment Cole spotted the red tinted L.E.D. and knew that something was wrong. "Are you sick again?"

"S-Something like that."

"Then come on." Tucking the two cans of soda under his arm Cole grabbed Connor's free with his own freed up hand and began leading the deviant out of the kitchen and toward the livingroom. "You need to lay on the couch so you can feel better!"

Hank overheard that comment and looked up in time to see Cole practically dragging the deviant into the livingroom and just barely managing to get around Sumo's furry body blocking the way. The sight of Connor's red L.E.D., his glassy eyes and his sluggish movements all confirmed that Connor was not feeling well. "Ah, shit. Another glitch?"

"H-Headache." Connor managed to get the word out as he was led to the couch and put his hand down on the back of the furniture to support himself upright. He didn't want to lay down out of fear of being unable to get back up. "It's... just a simple headache."

"Nothing simple about you being practically unable to move. Lay down for fu-" The man didn't want swear in front of Cole and caught himself before his young son even noticed what he nearly said. "Just lay down."

Connor fumbled to find his way down to the couch cushions to get some rest. He closed his eyes as he moved to keep the bright flickering of the flames in the nearby fireplace from making his suddenly sensitive vision ache, and soon he felt Cole's small hands on his forearms to lead him down over the body of the couch. As soon as he was laying on his side Connor felt like the pressure in his head shifted down and concentrated against his right temple.

"I'll get a washcloth." Cole volunteered as he stepped around the coffee table to get to the bathroom. "That can help your head!"

Hank proceeded to roast the hotdogs over the fire with the long metal prongs, then leaned back a little to look at Connor's face as he peered over his shoulder. He could see that the deviant android was barely breathing and had an idea of how severe his headache was since he had seen far too many officers and detectives at the precinct drop their heads down on their desks in the same fashion.

"Didn't know androids could get migraines."

"...Migraine." Connor repeated the word just as Cole appeared beside him. He didn't resist when the little boy placed the cool, damp washcloth over his eyes in an awkward but effective manner courtesy of Cole helping him out. "Androids don't-"

"Stop." The Lieutenant wasn't interested in Connor attempting to simplify things for his sake. "I don't care if you guys have a special word for android headaches or android migraines, just don't deny that you're sick again. That's the one thing I've asked of you."

Connor fell silent and didn't even try to explain to Hank what was happening to him. All of the city's androids were being affected by the storm, and Connor wasn't the only one enduring such an obnoxious hindrance at the moment, but he was the only one getting on Hank's nerves. There wasn't anything that could be done to remedy his current error or even make it more bearable until the weather stabilized. All Connor could do was endure the pain and try to not do anything foolish while he wasn't entirely in control of his programming and even physical movements.

"Do androids take medicine?" Cole asked as he tried to figure out how he could help Connor through his migraine. A loud crash of thunder and a bright flash of lightning illuminated the entire house causing Cole to jump to his feet Sumo barked in protest at the intrusive noise. "That was close!"

"Yeah, sure was." Hank confirmed as he turned to look at the rain and window gusting past the window. There was no denying that the storms were going to linger for several more hours. "Okay, Cole. You stay here with Connor and Sumo while I go and find some flashlights, batteries and candles. A couple hotdogs are finished, so help yourself to your lunch and keep away from the fireplace."

Cole looked down at Connor then at his lunch sitting on the table. He didn't want to ignore Connor if the deviant needed help. "Connor, do you need medicine?"

"...No." Speaking softly Connor confirmed that he didn't need medicine, especially since android medication simply doesn't exist. "I'll recover on my own."

"Okay." Sitting on his knees Cole planted himself between the couch and the coffee table as placed his perfectly cooked hotdog down on a warm and toasty bun before loading it up with ketchup, mustard and even sauerkraut. The little boy definitely had peculiar tastes when it came to toppings. "Maybe when the power comes back on, you'll feel better."

Connor didn't have the energy to confirm Cole's suspicions. Once the power to the city was restored and all androids in the city were able to do full system reboots without risking memory or software corruption, Connor would be able to finally restore his system to its functions before the storms hit.

"We'll keep the flashlights on the table." Hank announced as he returned to the livingroom and placed the supplies down for potential future use. "If the power stays out then we'll camp out in the livingroom throughout the night. It'll keep us nice and warm during the storm."

"Good hotdogs, dad."

"Yeah?" Hank saw the mountain of sauerkraut dripping from his son's hotdog and gave him an odd look. "I can't believe you actually like that stuff!"

"It's good!"

"You definitely inherited your mother's tastebuds, because you didn't get that from me."

Quietly Connor endured his migraine on the couch and didn't say anything as Hank and Cole sat down together and ate their lunch. The deviant android truly envied the way that Hank and Cole were able to live their lives without having to deal with unexpected errors, glitches or software problems. The two humans just needed to eat healthy, exercise and avoid doing anything permanently harmful to their bodies in order to function, live and be content with what they have.

As Connor tried to rest the storm outside continued to rock the city. He could hear every gust of wind and rumble of thunder as if he was standing out in the middle of the storm experiencing the force directly. Even the bright flashes of the lightning were visible to the deviant's sensitive eyes through his closed eyelids and the cold washcloth offering him only a modicum of relief from the pain radiating throughout his head.

"Dad, do you know any good stories to tell right now?" It seemed that Cole was truly unafraid of the storm and had fun camping in the livingroom. The little boy passed Sumo a raw hotdog then sat down on the couch cushions right next to Connor's curled up legs. "Like a ghost story or something?"

"Ghost story?" Casually Hank stoked the flames in the fireplace to keep the fire blazing a while longer before adding more firewood. "Halloween's over, bud."

"Yeah, but there's a storm going on and we're camping in the livingroom! It's the perfect place for a good ghost story!"

"Well, there's plenty of books to choose from on the wall over there. Why don't you pick one out?"

Connor knew that Hank had directed Cole to the bookcase against the far wall without needing to look. He could hear Cole's footsteps as the little boy circled around the couch to check over the books on display. However, a warm and wet tongue against Connor's cheek made the android physically flinch away in surprise as Sumo decided to keep Connor company instead. The smell of the hotdog fresh on Sumo's hot breath did not help Connor with feeling any better any time soon.

"Sumo! Stop that!" Cole quickly returned to the couch and pulled Sumo away from Connor's face on the android's behalf. "He's sick, so don't do that to him!"

"It's... I'm all right." Connor wiped the drool from his cheek by using the washcloth from over his eyes and then settled back down on the couch. The abrupt movement made Connor's head ache and his stomach churn in protest. "He didn't... It's... It's nothing."

Cole didn't need to be a technician to know that Connor was having trouble speaking and articulating his thoughts. There was no doubt in his mind that Connor was suffering from his headache and really needed something to help him feel better. "I know what can help your headache. Listening to one of dad's stories!"

"You're really hung up on the story, huh?" Playfully Hank sighed as he casually strolled over to the bookcase for himself and grabbed one of his old favorites. It was technically a detective story, but it had supernatural elements and a hunt for a spectral beast lurking in a murky swamp. "All right then. We're going to sit down and enjoy one of the classics! 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', one of Sherlock's finest and most famous adventures."

"Sherlock Holmes?" Cole was a little disappointed and dropped down onto the couch theatrically to sit beside Connor's legs again. "That's not a ghost story!"

"That's where you're wrong, my dear Cole. This is a story where Sherlock and Watson track down a monstrous, bloodthirsty creature stalking the heir to a great fortune as they hide away in the mansion in the middle of a spooky swamp and forest." As he carried his book toward the recliner Hank stopped by the front window long enough to pull the curtains shut and block out the storm and keep the livingroom enveloped in the glow of the fireplace. "What do you think of that?"

"It doesn't sound too boring." The witty second grader retorted as he looked over at Connor on the couch and wondered if the android would be interested in such a story in general. He hated seeing his friend in pain and wanted to help Connor just as Connor had always helped him. "But it needs to make Connor feel better."

"This story can make anyone who enjoys a solid mystery feel good." Kicking back in his recliner Hank opened up the book and used the light from the fire to illuminate the pages as he read. "Get cozy, 'cause once I start I'm not going to stop until we reach the end!"

Connor didn't want to admit that hearing the two humans speaking around him was making his headache feel worse. The sounds combined with Sumo's offensive breath, the continued electrical interference from the storm and flickering of the flames in the fireplace were enough to make his already problematic error all the more strenuous. He couldn't engage in a proper rest mode or attempt a full system reboot to get the error to subside since he couldn't guarantee that the storm wouldn't cause further problems that'd require technical intervention, which meant he had no choice but to suffer through his pain until the storm passed under its own accord.

Hearing Hank's baritone voice reading through the story with surprising enthusiasm behind his words wasn't as monotonous as Connor had hoped. The man's natural diction made the story surprisingly engrossing despite Connor not being fully invested in the tale, and as a result Connor was finding it rather difficult to let himself drift off into rest mode. The familiarity of Hank's voice, the softness of the couch, the warmth of the house and just being able to lay down without being ordered about or yelled at helped Connor feel more comfortable despite everything he had gone through over the past year.

Hours had passed by without Connor budging a single centimeter. It was only when the pressure in Connor's head lessened did he realize that the storm had passed, and the frequent lightning strikes were no longer causing electrical interference with his systems. Keeping his eyes closed Connor finally engaged his reboot process and allow his system to essentially start from scratch and begin the day anew without any pain, pressure, or hindrances to his other senses.

"-nor? Connor!"

Cole's voice sounded unusually frantic and scared as the little boy called out to the deviant while Connor's system came back online. Opening his eyes slowly Connor saw Cole staring at him with wide eyes full of worry and confusion. Color bled back into Connor's vision and gave him full visual clarity for the first time since the storms rampaged over Detroit, and with that came a sense of renewed energy. As he lifted his head Connor saw the relief wash over Cole and realized that he must've been asleep for a rather long time in order to worry him so much.

"Cole?" Sitting upright on the couch Connor rubbed his hand over his still tired eyes and gave the second grader his full attention. "Is something wrong?"

"You wouldn't wake up. I had to yell."

"I'm awake now. I apologize if I scared you."

"Why didn't you answer me?"

"Androids sleep... deeper than humans." The response was as simple as it was truthful. Androids entering total reboot mode left them completely unaware of the world around them and vulnerable, which was why very humans were present during a reboot procedure. "I'm now awake. Do you need something?"

"No, but you did miss the story. It was pretty good."

"I'll read it for myself soon." Glancing about the livingroom Connor noticed that the fire in the fireplace was still burning strong, which meant that Hank had been tending to the fire while he was sleeping. It also meant that the man wouldn't be too far away out of safety concerns for his son. "Where is your dad?"

"Kitchen." Cole pointed to the neighboring room where Hank was preparing something for dinner on the stovetop. Sumo was parked right next to Hank's leg and begging for scraps to be dropped his way. "The power's not back yet, so dad's going to make burgers for dinner in the fireplace."

"Oh. That's a good idea."

"We're going to have super big s'mores after dinner too." Happily, Cole jumped up onto the couch cushion to sit beside Connor and keep the android company. "Want to roast marshmallows with me?"

"I am feeling better now." The deviant android confirmed as he decided to take Cole up on his offer and roast some marshmallows. "I believe it'd be an interesting experience to roast some marshmallows."

"Cool!" Cole scooted back off the couch and made his way toward the fireplace. "I know how to do it without ever burning the marshmallows!"

"Please keep back from the fire until your dad returns to observe you. It's important to stay safe at all times."

Hank returned to the livingroom and eyed Connor warily as the android aired on the side of caution and essentially read his mind. "That's right, Cole. Even with the iron gate in front of the fireplace it's still dangerous to get too close."

"Okay, I won't get close." The little boy stated almost bluntly as he grabbed the unopened bag of large marshmallows from the coffee table and pulled them open. In seconds he had Sumo sitting beside him as he sought a marshmallow to snack on as well. "I'll sit right here."

"And you'll have your dinner before your dessert. No exceptions, bud."

Connor watched as Hank sat on the floor alongside Cole and prepared to place the raw burger patties on an iron skillet and place it in the fireplace to cook. The way the man was so active in Cole's life helped Connor to really understand why the man had gone into such a deep, dark spiral of depression and alcoholism in the alternate timeline, and why so many other humans suffered from such similar emotional trauma after losing loved ones.

The little boy was truly Hank's whole world. Cole was the very reason Hank got up and went to work even when he didn't want to go. Why he continued to work in such a dangerous field in an attempt to keep the city safe. Why he put up with grueling hours, too low of pay compensation, far too much stress and not enough time to just relax and take the day for himself. Without Cole, Hank had effectively lost the only thing that gave him a reason to live, and with Cole still in his life he had every reason to keep going forward.

That was all the proof that the deviant detective needed to see to know that his role in Hank's life in either timeline was meant to be temporary; a filler to keep Hank company when the man wasn't working and to give him someone to talk to when he was handling a case. When it was time for Connor to leave the family and fulfill his role as an ally alongside Markus during the peaceful deviant Revolution, Connor knew that he'd be able to go and not be missed by the man.

There were already many good memories that Connor had formed by spending time with Cole, and they were memories that he'd forever cherish. However, Connor knew that his place was with his people; being a protector and fighter that'd do whatever it took to ensure that everything turned out all right for the deviants, for the humans and for Detroit as a whole.

"Come on, Connor." Cole invited Connor to sit down on the floor beside him while he patiently waited for his dinner to cook. The calmness of the weather outside and the enjoyment of camping out in the livingroom made it hard for the little boy to lose his smile. "It's warm right here, and we'll be able to make s'mores in no time!"

Connor just nodded softly as rose to his feet, the room mercifully holding still at last, and casually walked over to where Cole was sitting to sit down beside him. There was little doubt that Cole would miss Connor once he left, but in time Cole would be able to move on and live a normal, happy life with just his dad. Cole didn't need an android, he needed a healthy and stable parent, and he already had that in Hank.

-next chapter-