It was a warm and sunny day that had invited many people outdoors in search of a new adventure. With summer just beginning and the weather becoming almost too hot to enjoy, many people were choosing to go to either air-conditioned museums or spending days inside the busy mall to keep out of the direct sunlight. To avoid the crowds in relatively enclosed spaces Hank chose to take Cole and subsequently Connor to a different location that was more open and had plenty of space for people to walk around without getting overwhelmed by a bunch of strangers. Being outside and seeing the exhibits filled with exotic animals at the Detroit Zoo that the average person would otherwise be unable to see was as refreshing as Hank had hoped it'd be.

Cole excitedly rushed ahead and led the way to each animal exhibit and eagerly asked about each animal that he had seen. The android zookeepers were seemingly happy to socialize with Cole and answer all of his questions, and that type of positive interaction helped to encourage the little boy's curiosity and only made it that much easier for Cole to like hanging out with androids.

"How come the polar bears are androids?" Cole asked as he saw the massive white bears roaming their enclosure and behaving just as any wild animal would. He had his face and palms pressed right against the glass wall and looked up at Connor's faint reflection as the android stood behind him. "Are all the animals androids?"

Connor replied honestly as he scanned over the bears and found their designs to be completely fascinating. "The only android animals here represent the animals that have either tragically gone extinct or are incredibly endangered and cannot be properly cared for in this zoo."

"How come some animals went extinct?"

Hank took the lead on that question and patted Cole's shoulder lightly. "That's because us older generation of people didn't do a very good job at protecting our world and the animals who live alongside us, and now they're gone. The good news is scientists are working on a way to bring those lost animals back! Until then, we'll admire their android counterparts and learn to appreciate our world a little more with each passing day."

"Huh," a familiar masculine voice called out to the trio as he approached them from behind. "didn't expect to see you three here."

Cole turned around fast when he recognized Gavin's voice and ran up to the man happily. "Gavin! Hi!"

"Hey, kiddo." Gavin was holding hands with Abby while they too enjoyed their afternoon outing at the zoo together. Seeing Gavin actually smiling every so often and nowhere near as guarded just confirmed that he finally found a reason to be happy after meeting Abby. "Glad to be done with the third grade?"

"Yeah, but now I have to learn how to do long division next year."

"Well, you got it easy. You got your own math tutor right in your home." Gavin was of course referring to Connor and knew that the android was a supportive figure in the little boy's life. "I sucked at math at first but then I got the hang of it. You'll be fine!"

Abby looked over at Connor and gave him a smile small when she saw that he was able to function fully even after enduring a vicious wound to his neck. "Nice to see you up and around, Connor. Guess my skills as a technician were worth the price of the education and student loans afterall."

"Yes, I'm functioning at full parameters, thank you." The modest deviant replied in a low tone as he felt Hank's eyes watching his every move. "Have you found a new residence here in Detroit?"

"Well, maybe. It's an apartment in a fairly nice part of town, but I'm not sure I want to put up so much money on rent for a place I'll only be using to sleep at night. Working as an E.M.S. and eventually a technician is going to keep me quite busy and away from my own home!"

Cole grabbed on to Abby's hand that was already holding Gavin's hand and looked up at the kind woman hopefully. "Wanna' hang out with us? We're going to see the tigers next!"

"Well..." Abby looked at Gavin and knew that the man wanted their date to memorable, so she of course accepted the invitation knowing that he'd want to make Cole happy at the same time. "Sure! We'll see the animals together."

"Yeah!"

Hank just shook his head and decided to roll with the change of plans as he followed after Cole through the zoo. The man was happy that his son was having a good time, and that was all he cared about. It was a rare day off in the middle of the android crisis and Hank was going to find a way to have some fun and not worry so much about work.

"Connor, where are the tigers?" Cole asked as he stood before the large digital display of the zoo's map and looked everywhere for the correct animal exhibit. "I can't see them!"

"Here." Connor showed Cole how to use the interactive map and locate the animals he wanted to see. "You can use the map to highlight every exhibit you wish to see and follow the directions."

"Cool! Show me where to go!"

Hank overheard the comment and let out an annoyed sigh. "No, you show us where to go, Cole." The man insisted as he hated the idea of watching Connor take anyone anywhere when there was a perfectly functional map to be utilized. "Let's see how well you can navigate the zoo."

"Sure, okay!"

While Cole happily took the lead and began following the map to the tiger exhibit, Connor sank back a little and kept his mouth shut as he knew he had no choice but to the play the role of the obedient machine while out in a public space with hundreds of android witnesses. There were too many androids already being reported for behaving abnormally and being taken away for analysis and either reset or destroyed. Any misstep would result in Connor tripping at the finish line and being unable to accomplish his mission.

Quietly Connor followed after Cole and Hank with Gavin and Abby walking closely behind. It was just easier to fall in line and pretend to be a compliant machine who was blissfully unaware of the unfair and dangerous world around him.

"Tigers!" Cole ran ahead and entered the large decorative jungle cave that housed the tigers. The zoo had been given impressive upgrades and a new aesthetic after a generous donation from Elijah Kamski himself once android animals were approved for the exhibits. "They're here!"

Hank jogged after Cole and managed to catch up to his son just as the little boy pressed his hands right against the glass wall of the exhibit. Standing beside Cole protectively Hank made sure that his son could see everything without needing to worry about someone else trying to mess with his kid. The massive orange and black striped cats were intimidating in every sense of the word.

"Hard to believe your brother is the person who made all of this happen." Abby whispered as she tightened her grip on Gavin's hand and gave him a small smile. "I guess having a love for animals is something you two have in common."

"One of the very few things we have in common."

"Want to talk about it yet?"

"Not... No, not yet." Gavin sighed as he gave Abby a reassuring nod. His chaotic childhood and estrangement from his own fraternal twin brother was a saga that he wasn't ready to delve into just yet. "But soon."

"I understand, my own family wasn't exactly iconic or the most stable bunch. I guess it'd be best to reveal the scary stuff about our pasts to each other after we're certain we want to take that extra step and move in."

"Good plan. As long as we don't scare each other off then we'll be kickass roommates."

"Oh, really?" Abby like Gavin's optimism and gave him a coy grin before she looked over at Connor standing idle while Hank and Cole admired the android tigers roaming about their exhibit. "Better than them?"

"Undoubtedly." The detective wasn't going to deny that he hadn't notice some unease in the Anderson home regarding Connor living with Hank and Cole. "Sometimes I wonder if the 'Tinman' wouldn't be better off living somewhere else and just going to the house to take care of Cole only when it's really necessary."

"Think he's in trouble living there?"

"Trouble, no. Being used as a verbal punching bag because the Lieutenant has a bad day every so often? Yeah." Lowering his voice Gavin did his best to remain as discreet and quiet to ensure Hank didn't overhear them. "I mean, it's not really my place to say or do anything, but..."

"You're a detective and you're seeing someone getting verbally abused." The astute woman stated rather flatly as she gave Gavin a knowing look. "It is your place to butt in if you feel it's necessary."

"I guess so."

"If you don't want to say anything because Hank outranks you, I understand. But if you don't want to say anything because you don't think it's that big of a deal or that you're trying to convince yourself that you're somehow misinterpreting the situation, that's not okay."

Gavin wasn't quite sure what to do and ultimately decided that it'd be best to keep his observations to himself for the time being. "You're right. I'll mention something if it happens again."

"Good. Because if you don't I will, and I'm not afraid of Hank so you know that I'll use a lot of colorful words that all have four letters."

"Part of the reason I love you, babe."

Connor remained quiet as he watched Cole check out the nearby digital map in search of the next animal exhibit to check out. It was hard to not step on Hank's toes since the man continued to interject whenever Cole looked to Connor to ask a question. The deviant knew the answer and wanted to respond to Cole honestly, but he also didn't want to say or do anything that's just upset Hank and give the man a reason to lose his temper. The stress of working on the android cases had pushed Hank to his limits and the stress was showing on his face and in his body language everywhere they went. Dealing with an android while off the clock was only making his stress worse.

"The pandas are over here!" Cole confirmed as he pointed at the next exhibit with the black and white android bears rolling about. "Connor, can you lift me up so I can see better?"

"Of cou-"

"I gotcha', bud." Hank cut Connor off quickly and happily gave his son a boost on his shoulders while shoving Connor backward with one hand. "Aw, man. Son, you're going to have to grow a little taller. You're getting just a little too heavy for me to lift up and hold all the time."

Connor wanted to mention that it would've been far easier for him to hold Cole than it would be for Hank, but he kept quiet and didn't say a word. It was clear that the man wasn't going to change his mind or his attitude.

"Connor, go make yourself useful." Hank ordered as he gave the android an annoyed side-eye where he stood. "Get me and Cole something to drink. It's getting hot out and I don't want Cole getting overheated."

"...Right away, Lieutenant."

Gavin and Abby saw the way Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow for a beat as the concept of doing "something useful" after everything that he had done over the years without being asked just stung. There was no point in keep quiet any longer since they both knew that Hank wasn't going to change without someone gently pushing him in the right direction. As soon as Connor was out of the area the duo decided to take the initiative and try to help Hank see how cruelly he was treating the android for no apparent reason.

"Hey, Cole?" Abby addressed the little boy casually as she gave his knee a little shake. "How about you give your dad's shoulders a rest and help me find the next exhibit? I was thinking of looking at the penguins."

"Sure!"

Hank let out a huff of relief as he lifted Cole up just enough to lower him from his shoulders to walk around on his own again. "Yeah, good idea. Find us some new animals to check out, bud."

While Abby took Cole by the hand and led the little boy to the nearby digital map, Gavin stood beside Hank to broach the uncomfortable topic at hand. The younger detective wisely made sure that no one else was too close as he awkwardly began discussing what should've been a topic that no one needed to mention.

"So, uh, Lieutenant I couldn't-"

"Just call me 'Hank'." The man requested as he rubbed his palm along his now tense and sore shoulders. "We're off the clock, Gavin. It's okay to use first names."

"All right, Hank, I'll do that."

"So what's on your mind? Don't tell me you're thinking of proposing to Abby already."

"This isn't about me or Abby, it's about you."

"Oh?" Such a confirmation made the man smirk as he lowered his hand back to his side as he resumed admiring the tigers. "Me?"

"Yeah. And Connor."

Hank just pursed his lips together as he shook his head in disgust. "What's so interesting that you feel the need to discreetly get Cole out of earshot of us talking?"

"Not to sound like a nosy asshole or anything, but I can't help but notice you're being really rude and pushy with Connor."

"Oh, no." That was enough to make the man's stress flare up once again. "Don't you start that bullshit too."

"What bullshit?"

"Cole says I'm 'bullying' Connor." Hank admitted as he brought his hand to his chin and gave Gavin an aggravated sigh. "I'm not going to have anyone telling me that I'm somehow 'hurting a machine's feelings'."

"Hate to point this out, but if your own son is calling you out on your attitude then maybe-"

"Don't tell me how to react with my own son."

"I'm not! I'm just saying that... maybe you should... you know."

"No, I don't know." The annoyed Lieutenant growled as low as he could to keep other people from hearing their conversation. "What's on your mind? Just say it."

"Maybe... you should be nicer... to Connor."

"You're kidding." Hank began to chuckle in a condescending manner as he found Gavin's words to be literally laughable. "You used to be one of the first people to mock anyone else for being nice to androids in the streets, and now you're telling me to be nice to one? Jeez, you must really like Abby to have such a change of perspective in the world."

"Actually, it was because I got to know Connor. He's... He's all right." The younger man confirmed as he stood by his statement and observations. "And despite what you think about androids, he does give a damn about Cole. And Cole cares about him."

"Now I know Abby got in your head." The stubborn Lieutenant was attempting to dismiss all of Gavin's claims and pretend that he wasn't doing anything wrong just to make the discussion stop. "You're referring to as android as a 'he', like it's actually a living thing."

"Okay, forget I said anything." Gavin wisely backed away and rejoined Abby as she and Cole hovered around the map. "Keep being a jerk in front of your kid and give him a reason to start resenting your before he turns into a teen and has the balls to call you out to your face. Trust me, I'm talking from personal experience here."

Hank didn't have the chance to respond as Gavin walked away and Connor returned to the area with a few drinks in his hands. He didn't want to get into an argument in public, let alone with one of his trusted coworkers and someone that Cole respected as an honorary big brother. The last thing that needed to happen that day was anything that could ruin a perfectly good day out with his son.

Connor passed Cole a frozen lemonade and proceeded to offer both Gavin and Abby a drink as well. The kindhearted android had thought ahead and decided to get a drink for all of the humans that he was currently associating with that day. He didn't want to offend Hank by leaving out two people or by needing to be told to run off and fetch a few more things and inconvenience everyone else.

"Thank you, Connor." Abby appreciated the drink and gave the android a sincerely kind smile. The strawberry lemonade was as refreshing as it looked. "That was very sweet of you. How did you know I love strawberries?"

"I didn't." Lying about his knowledge of the other timeline had become so routine that it came naturally to the deviant. "I merely guessed."

"Good guess."

Gavin looked at his own drink and noticed the zero sugar labelling on the side of the cup in his hand. "You even got me the sugar free stuff. Guess that's your weird detective programming helping out again."

Cole beamed proudly as he looked up at Connor and sang praises of his android friends. "Connor's good at everything he does!"

"Thanks, Cole." Hearing something positive directed his way finally helped Connor feel less invisible and more than just a caretaker that runs errands and fetches items on command. "Are you ready to see the next exhibit?"

From the distance Hank watched as Cole and Connor spoke to each other, then watched the way Cole spoke to Gavin and Abby. It was amazing to see the way his son truly did see the android as a living person and spoke to Connor with respect. It was also interesting to consider how Gavin and Abby seemed to feel the same way that Cole felt about the way Hank was treating Connor in such a negative and rude manner.

Maybe there was a problem with the way Hank was treating Connor.

"All right, Cole." Clapping his hands together once Hank rejoined the group and put his palm down on Cole's hair. Seeing that his son was actually getting pretty tall for being nearly nine years old was a massive reminder that Cole would be feeling teenage hormones soon and might start talking back. "Where to?"

"Abby wants to see the penguins, I want to see the leopards, Gavin wants to see the otters and Connor wants to see the wolves!"

"Okay, cool." Taking his own drink from Connor's hand Hank agreed to resume their outing and see every animal in the zoo. "I want to see the elephants while we're here, so we're going to have a nice stroll around the zoo together and see everything one exhibit at a time."

The day at the zoo had been informative, engaging and surprisingly relaxing despite the building heat and growing crowds. All of the animals had been fascinating to see and Cole loved the entire experience with all of his heart. The little boy was thrilled to see so many animals and had begged for his dad to buy him an animal based encyclopedia from the zoo's gift shop before leaving, and of course had his wish granted since Hank was always happy to encourage education and reading in general. With his souvenir in tow Cole walked alongside his dad with Connor close behind as he stared at his new book's cover and casually waved goodbye as Gavin and Abby went their own way to have a nice quiet dinner together.

With the day coming to an end and the sun setting in the distance, Hank took in a deep breath to enjoy the fresh air and unlocked the doors to the autonomous van with his key fob. Seeing Connor climbing into the back of the van to sit in the very back, behind Cole, now seemed like the man was treating Connor like cargo as opposed to a humanoid passenger.

It was becoming harder to deny that he didn't treat Connor very well.

"Hey, uh, Connor?" Hank called out to the android and watched him flinch and look his way as if waiting to be scolded or threatened. "Why don't you sit up front? It looks weird with you in the back."

"...That's not necessary, Lieutenant. No one notices me when the van is on the road."

Hank knew that Connor declining the offer wasn't about appearances, it was about his discomfort with being near Hank for any prolonged period of time.

"Whatever, sit where you want." Climbing into the front Hank turned to look at Cole over his shoulder and was happy to see that his son had already fastened his seatbelt and was beginning to read his new book. "It's kinda' late to cook anything. How about we stop and get some takeout before heading home?"

"Yeah!" Cole liked that idea and agreed enthusiastically. "Let's go get some burgers!"

"Burgers it is." As the van turned over Hank looked at the dashboard to find some restaurants and realized how blank the dash appeared compared to that of the Oldsmobile back at the house. "Hey, maybe we should find another flea market to explore this summer. I could use something fun for this dashboard like that hula girl you found three summers ago."

"I remember that! Maybe we can put a bobblehead on the dashboard in here!"

"Now that'd be an interesting addition." Selecting his preferred restaurant was easy, but finding a way to remain optimistic now that the fun day at the zoo was over and he'd have to return to work the next day was hard. "Next time I have the time off, we'll go exploring. Sound good, son?"

"Yeah, I want to find some buried treasure "

"Me too!" Hank put the van in gear and began driving out of the parking lot and toward the zoo's main exit area. "If we find some treasure I can retire early and learn how to be a lazy oaf all day long from Sumo."

From where he sat in the back Connor could detect Hank's mental stress and the way he was feigning a good mood for Cole's sake. The deviant just knew that Hank was fighting the urge to shout at him and blame him for something that had gone wrong, and he could tell by the way Gavin and Abby kept giving him the occasional odd look that they had noticed the way he was behaving.

Summer had just begun, but in Connor's mind fall and the deviant Revolution couldn't come soon enough!

-next chapter-