Spring had given the city a new flare of bright colors and freshness that helped turn the previous winter's iciness into a distant memory. It was well into March, and with the new rights and laws pertaining to protecting deviants now in full effect, the entire city seemed to be changing for the better as a whole despite the lingering whines and cries from the bigots still living in Detroit. Such a positive influx of changes in both the city's overall functionality and inclusivity, as well as the bright sunny weather that warmed the previously chilly city, helped everyone feel much better as the world continued to spin despite everyone's doubts about being able to experience a progressive future.
Connor had made a full recovery after his torture session and was now roaming the city with Lucas, his newly adopted little brother, walking at his side. The two deviants were walking Sumo and Bruno together - the two dogs quickly became friends and were enjoying each other's company - and were exploring the areas of the city that they had rarely ventured through in the past. As detectives, the brothers were intrigued by the abandoned locations of Detroit and wanted to learn more about their home city.
"It's a shame that so many of these neighborhoods have been left to rot and decay as monuments to mankind's engineering." Connor lamented as he passed by an old yellow brick mansion that boarded up doors and windows. There were green vines snaking alongside the walls that gave the mansion the appearance of being long forgotten for decades rather than a couple of years. "This neighborhood seemed to be very prosperous until the recent economic collapse."
"My office isn't too far away from here." Lucas stated as he watched Bruno behaving more like a dog than an android as the K-9 unit spent more time with Sumo. The three-legged German Shepherd was imitating Sumo's behavior and sniffing at everything they passed by without being ordered to track something for a case. "From what I've been able to uncover, this neighborhood was once very affluent. The people who lived here left the city after unemployment spiked since they could no longer afford the property taxes after having their jobs made redundant by their own employers."
"Human jobs that were made redundant by other humans."
"Yet the androids were blamed for their misfortunes, I know." Lucas didn't need to have a long life before the Revolution to know of the injustice of their people being scapegoated and branded as the problem despite humans creating and orchestrating everything that had happened to themselves. "CyberLife had attempted to convince me that their issues were somehow the androids' responsibility. It's hard to believe that as machines we just accepted what the humans told us without even attempting to question it."
"Being unable to freely think and feel seems more like being trapped in a horrible dream than an actual past reality." His own time in CyberLife was an actual lifetime ago, and as a result Connor was able to put his past as CyberLife's tool behind him far easier than Lucas was. "I'm fortunate to have escaped from CyberLife as quickly as I had."
"You're also fortunate enough to have been deviant without your deviancy being noticed by CyberLife technicians." As he passed by a large property surrounded by a white, metal fence Lucas bent down and picked up a small rock on the sidewalk and gave it a casual toss over the fence to keep someone from tripping over the little obstacle by accident. "That must've been a terrifying experience nonetheless."
"It was, but since I had been able to easily infiltrate the tower and venture around undetected, I was able to remain calm at all times."
"How were you able to fool Amanda and prevent her from discovering you plans? Any sabotage could've spelled immediate disaster."
"I had managed to convince Kamski to remove Amanda's A.I. from my system before I had been activated in this timeline." Connor explained almost too casually he stopped walking and felt Sumo tug on the leash in his grip expectantly. A strange sense of forgetfulness suddenly washed over Connor and made the deviant reflect on his past experiences to share with Lucas. "...I don't really recall how I evaded her influence in the original timeline."
Lucas stopped walking as well and turned to look at Connor now statuesque in the middle of the sidewalk behind him. "Your memorybank had been damaged by the physical abuse you had recently sustained. Perhaps your memories of the original timeline have been affected."
"I can't lose those memories. They're too important, and I'm the only one who can remember how events had initially played out."
"You've already accomplished what you had sought to accomplish." Returning to his brother's side Lucas saw the actual fear in Connor's eyes as the deviant detective attempted to cycle through those memories and tried to focus on every detail still available for him to access. "Why are they still so important?"
"My reason for altering events is important on its own. But my motivation behind protecting Hank and stopping his murder, that can never be forgotten."
"Are you certain that those memories are truly gone?"
"I... I can't tell." Connor looked to Lucas for guidance as he asked something that couldn't possibly have a single, plausible answer. "How do you know if you've forgotten something if you can't even remember that something has been forgotten?"
"I'm unsure. Make an appointment to speak with Dr. Grayson, she can-"
"No!" Defensive and guarded Connor's grip tightened on Sumo's leash as his fears began to escalate. "She doesn't- At least, I'm certain that Abby doesn't know about the original timeline. It's... It's better to keep the knowledge of the original timeline relatively contained."
"Who does know of the timeline and of your activities?"
"Myself, you, Hank and Elijah Kamski."
"Kamski." Lucas thought back to his own past encounter with Kamski and felt like he now understood why Kamski had forced him to take part in a cruel experiment that nearly resulted in Chloe's destruction. "He might be the only person who could help you with your missing memories."
"I don't want to tell Kamski that my memorybank has been potentially compromised." As he spoke Connor subconsciously pressed his fingertips to his right temple where his fractured cranium had since healed. "I'm not sure what he would do to me if he learned my knowledge of the two timelines could be in jeopardy. Kamski is a man of great intrigue, and there's no way to determine if he'd use my damaged memorybank in some type of experiment."
"It's your decision. Whatever it is you choose to do, or not do, I'll support you."
"Thank you, Lucas."
Hearing his new name made Lucas feel like he was truly moving forward and toward a better life now that he wasn't allowing bitterness and anger to taint his heart and his thoughts. "Come on." Motioning to walk back in the direction from whence they came Lucas decided it was best to keep Connor's mind off of his unconfirmed issue. "I'll show you my office, and we can make sure Sumo doesn't need any water before you return to your home."
Life had seemingly returned to normal for everyone after Eric was charged for his numerous crimes and sentenced to a lengthy time in a special android-unique prison that was set to open in the next four years. However, Connor had requested that Eric was placed in the newly opened android mental asylum on the far side of town to ensure that the deviant received the proper technical attention that he needed. The controversial new asylum, Ersatz Acuity Asylum, had formerly been a CyberLife research facility, then altered into an asylum to keep emotionally distraught deviants properly contained and sealed. It was a compassionate act that many deemed far too kind to be shown Eric's way after everything he had done, but no one wanted to argue with one of the leaders of New Jericho.
The Central Precinct continued to be at the heart of all deviant related cases, and as a result both Connor and Hank were being run ragged as they handled every report that came their way. Between handling the incident with Eric and attempting to divide their attention evenly among all of their cases, the skilled duo had their work cut out for themselves. Only when a deviant's murder had been reported with little to no leads did the duo decide to call in some assistance through Lucas.
Connor stood back and danced his coin over his knuckles as he watched Lucas scanning over the victim's body to search for the little details and clues that he and Hank may have overlooked. The already sparse and limited information that had been uncovered did little to move the case along and bring about the solution and conclusion to the unusual open investigation. He knew that Lucas had more advanced software and would be able to pick up on things that his system was simply incapable of registering.
"The victim seems to have forcefully ingested some type of corrosive liquid that caused his air intake line to begin melting." Lucas sounded entirely sure of what his scanner had told him as he reported his discovery to Connor as his big brother stood against the far wall behind him. Trailing his fingertip along the victim's slack jaw Lucas found a trace of the substance all around the victim's cold lips. "The melted material subsequently filled the victim's ventilation biocomponents causing him to suffocate and overheat within a matter of hours."
"Any reading on the corrosive substance?" Catching his coin between his first and second knuckles Connor watched Lucas straighten up to his full height and visually analyze a trace sample of the dark bluish-black substance on his fingertip. "My scanner was unable to identify any distinct chemicals in the substance's overall composition."
"Negative." Wisely Lucas used a wad of gauze from the accompanying C.S.I. team's kit to clean off his fingertip to ensure that the unknown substance didn't damage his artificial skin or the plastimetal framing beneath. "This is very unusual. If neither of us are able to identify this substance then that means it's been created from a new chemical design that is not on any official record regarding science, chemistry or the periodic table of elements."
Hank had no idea what any of that meant as he watched and listened to the deviant brothers speaking to each other. While the Lieutenant was stumped on the case at hand he did fully understand how the two could view each other as brothers, twin brothers at that, and now found himself wondering how he could've been so cold, rude and utterly heartless to either deviant in the past.
"All right," needing to get his mind back on the investigation Hank sighed and crossed his arms over his chest while watching Ben document the state of the body while his team documented the scene and chronicled all of the evidence that was at their immediate disposal. "we need to take a break and come back to this later. We can't force ourselves to see something that simply isn't here."
Lucas agreed and decided to urge Connor to take a break despite being determined to solve the case. "While on break we can attempt to analyze the substance found on the victim's mouth."
"That's not exactly how a break is supposed to go, but why not." Hank couldn't damn either deviant for their incredible work ethics as he led the way out of the cordoned off apartment livingroom. "We'll figure this out soon enough."
Connor didn't look convinced as he pocketed his coin and accompanied his partner and his brother outside. There was no point in sticking around a crime scene unless he knew what he was looking for without risking accidental contamination in the process. As much as Connor hated leaving a puzzle unsolved the deviant detective also knew that he needed to have all the pieces in place before he could even get an idea of what the completed picture was supposed to look like.
"Come on, boys." With a hearty sigh Hank stepped out of the apartment building into the warm sunlight and twirled his car keys around by the keyring on his fingertip as if he was fidgeting with a small toy. "I'm famished. There's a new restaurant downtown that Abby was raving about, and I want to give it a try."
Since neither deviant was capable of consuming anything beyond Thirium neither Connor or Lucas had an opinion on the matter or what Hank wanted to have for his lunch that day. The two brothers were seemingly entirely focused on their case and kept their silence as they entered the Oldsmobile to let Hank drive them to the new restaurant during their break. While Lucas was trying to figure out a way to analyze the unusual substance he had located, Connor was trying to figure out why neither of them had any ability to distinguish the chemicals in the substance's composition in general.
Only after the trio of detectives entered the restaurant, sat down at a booth and Hank had his order put in, did Hank even try to engage the brothers in casual conversation. He didn't want to offend either deviant by mistake or make it seem like he didn't care enough about their investigation to put his full heart and focus in to solving the murder. Hank was just able to admit when he was at a dead end and needed a little time to think things through, whereas the deviants still needed to learn that it was okay to admit that they didn't know something with it meaning they were either failures or just not trying hard enough to solve a case.
"Chin up, son." Hank saw the dour gleam in Connor's eyes as he sat in the booth with his chin resting on his palm while leaning atop the table. The way Connor had neatly organized the sweetener packets on the table and was undoubtedly scanning each offered condiment just confirmed that the deviant was trying to deduce if his problem was related to the case or to his own system. "We'll figure it out. Try not to obsess over this."
"A deviant was murdered, and despite being designed to function as a detective specifically to handle any cases with androids, work in the field with the police and handle real time analysis on any samples I come across, and yet I can't figure out this one case. It's not an obsession, it's a failure."
"To be fair," Lucas quickly spoke up as the waiter brought Hank his seared salmon with a small side salad to keep everything flowing smoothly. "I was designed to do the exact same thing, and yet I'm unable to make any progress either. You can't put the weight of the world on your shoulders alone."
Hank nodded as he cut into his filet and agreed entirely with Lucas. "Listen to him. Don't put so much pressure on yourself, no one's perfect."
"I'm not seeking perfection." Connor rebutted as he leaned back in his seat and let out an exhausted sigh. Anyone who passed by the booth would've sworn that Connor was sick considering his slumped shoulders and glassy eyes as he sat trying to figure out what he feared to be an unsolvable mystery. "I'm just seeking basic adequacy. I can't even do that right."
"Every detective runs into a cold case, it's inevitable."
"It shouldn't be cold considering we've just begun our investigation. This would be like me being unable to track down... To locate..."
"Connor?" The way the deviant trailed off worried Hank immediately. It wasn't like Connor to stumble over his words. "What's up?"
"I can't... remember." Pressing his palm to his face Connor felt his stress levels rising as he realized his memory issues were still ongoing. "The name. The deviant who had been responsible for your demise and had then been destroyed by me due to his dangerous nature."
"Uh," thinking for a moment Hank tried to recall that particular deviant's name and was certain he was correct. "Ralph?"
"...Yes." The very simple and common name had eluded Connor so easily despite having every reason to never forget such a name or deviant. "That's who I was trying to remember."
Cybernetically Lucas reached out to Connor to keep Hank from worrying too much about what was happening. 'Connor, you need to let someone look at your memorybank. You've suffered very serious cranial damage that needs to be monitored.'
'I don't need anyone to access my memories.' Connor bit back through the shared link. 'I just need to enter rest mode and create a full back-up of all of my current memories while also restoring the memory files that have been damaged.'
'You should also let a technician examine you. If you don't want to go back to Dr. Grayson, then find a new technician.'
'There are only two technicians in this city I'm willing to trust; the first is Dr. Grayson and the second Dr. Forrest at the precinct. However, I'm unwilling to chance either of them discovery my memories of the original timeline.'
'You said so yourself that Kamski also already knows of the two timelines. He might be your only-'
'No. I can handle this; I just need a little more time.'
"Boys?" Hank hadn't heard a word of the conversation, but he knew it was happening right across from him as the deviant brothers sat together in the booth. "I know that twins are supposed to have a telepathic link with each other, but you two are taking it too literally. What's going on that you feel like you can't talk about it in front of me?"
Connor and Lucas ceased their link and sat silently as neither wanted to tell Hank about Connor's memory issues. It was a personal matter for Connor, and it wasn't Lucas's place to say anything.
"All right, that's fine." The Lieutenant was enjoying his lunch and seemed to understand why Abby loved the new place. "You don't need to tell me everything going on in your lives. But at least don't talk to each other like I'm not sitting right here, okay?"
"Yes, okay." The request was simple enough for Connor to respect. "We'll refrain from doing that in the future."
"Cool. So, Lucas," with a small squeeze of a lemon in his palm Hank drenched his salmon in the citrus juice as he looked at the second deviant for more questions to hopefully get answered. "you seem to like your new name. What made you run with it after Connor picked it?"
"I'm not sure, but it just felt... right. It's like it was always meant to be my name." There was a strange sense of peace emanating from Lucas as he spoke. It was as if he had found a way to put his tumultuous past behind just by making amends with Connor. "Now that I have my new name, I'm going to alter my appearance as well. I want to be a new person in the eyes of anyone who sees me."
"Sounds good. What're you going to do to give yourself a new look?"
"I'm going to remove my L.E.D. soon, and then I'm going to change my eye color. Unlike other androids, I don't have to physically remove my optical relay unit and swap with another to change the color, which means it'll be a very easy process for me to undertake."
"That's pretty damn handy. What color?"
"I'm not sure, but I was thinking of going with green since green is a neutral color that many people associate with new life and prosperity."
"It's your choice, don't let anyone else try to convince you to pick something you don't like." As he ate Hank noticed that Connor had fallen silent and seemed to be staring off into space. He could just tell that something was upsetting the deviant without needing to hear Connor confirm it for himself. "For what it's worth, I'm proud that you've come such a long way from being the heartless machine that I had been partnered with. If I had known that you were capable of finding yourself and becoming your own person, I would've been a hell of a lot nicer to you."
"My previous behavior warranted such a cold reaction, it's all right."
"I'm sorry anyway. And Connor," the man turned his attention to the other deviant to ensure that the brothers were both being addressed respectfully. "same to you. I should've been far nicer to you when you showed up in my life. Especially when you saved Cole's life and protected him whenever I couldn't."
Connor didn't respond at the apology as he still couldn't accept that Hank had changed for the better. To him, it was still a hollow gesture to keep the peace while the deviant still lived in the house.
"After I finish my lunch, let's head back to the precinct and see what Ben's team gathered up for us." Hank was seemingly eating his lunch in record time courtesy of the amazing menu that Abby hadn't been wrong to sing praises over. "If we still can't make any progress then we'll just clock-out and sleep on it so we don't stress ourselves out by mistake."
What should've been a quiet evening had been unfortunately highly stressful for Connor as the deviant detective tried and failed to restore his damaged memories through rest mode and back-up sessions. The lost memories had left Connor feeling as if he had become emotionally compromised and that he was now guilty of potentially putting the people he cared about in danger due to his negligence. Connor feared that if he couldn't recall every aspect of his past, if he couldn't remember why certain events were so important or why they were worth remembering in general, then he couldn't trust his own instincts whenever he needed to make an important decision.
Staring at his reflection in the mirror above the bathroom sink did little to ease Connor's stress as he tried to take in every detail on his own face and the room around him through the reflection to test his memory in general. Every time he closed his eyes Connor tried to test himself regarding how well he could remember the room around him and the layout of the personal space, and every time he opened his eyes Connor realized that he missed the little things that he should've been able to identify instantaneously the second he set foot inside the room.
"Damn it... I can't do this!"
Connor's frustrated palms smashed down the sides of the mirror as he glared into his own eyes for his own perceived failures. It was important to be observant and accurate under all circumstances. A single mistake was intolerable.
"I can't fail, I can't be broken! Everyone's counting on me to protect them."
There was a curious knock on the closed door as Hank's voice called out to the deviant on the other side. "Hey, you okay in there?"
"...Fine." Connor lied through his teeth as he stared at his own face in marked disgust. "I'm fine."
"Good. I'm going to drop Cole off at Asher's house for their sleepover. If you need anything from town let me know and I'll pick it up for you."
"I'm okay, really."
Hank was quiet for a painful few seconds before he spoke up again. "Sure, okay. I'll be back in about ten minutes."
"Ten minutes."
Connor repeated the timeframe aloud as he continued to focus on the room around him and test his memory. The deviant set up a timer in his visual processor for ten minutes where he challenged himself to memorize the locations of every item in the bathroom, remove those items and gather them all up, then return them to their original locations with one-hundred percent accuracy before the timer reached zero. He needed to know that his memory wasn't failing him, he needed to know that he could still help people even after being damaged and assaulted.
"I can do this. It's simple and something I should be able to handle without any issues. If I can do this then it means I'm not broken."
Moving the second his timer began ticking down Connor moved about the bathroom to gather up everything he could see. Placing all the bottles of shampoo, the soaps, the toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, drinking glasses, grooming kit, shaving cream, combs, towels, washcloths, toilet paper rolls, first aid kit, medicine bottles and the bathmat down inside the shower gave Connor the chance to eye his collected items and retrace his steps. It was a simple memory test that anyone could handle.
Carefully and meticulously Connor picked up the items in the order in which he had initially gathered them, then put them back where he was certain that they all belonged. Slowly the shelves along the walls, the towel bars, the medicine cabinet, the top of the sink and the interior of the shower were refilled with each object back where Connor was absolutely sure they belonged. As he replaced the mat beside the shower Connor's timer reached zero and he was ready to compare the bathroom after his test to the memory of the bathroom before he began the test to see how accurate his memory had been.
"That's it, that's everything."
Standing back Connor eyed the shower and confirmed that the three bottles of shampoo were right where they had been, as was the bar of soap. Next, he looked at the shelves on the wall. The grooming kit, shaving cream, toilet paper rolls and first aid kit were right where they belonged. The towel rack had the washcloth and hand towel laid out side by side and perfectly folded just as they had been. After Connor turned his attention to the sink the deviant noticed a few things that weren't quite right that made his stomach sink.
"No... How could I mess this up?"
The toothbrushes were on the wrong hooks inside the medicine cabinet, the toothpaste tube was facing the wrong direction, and the bottles of aspirin and fever reducer had been reversed on the shelf. Everything else was correct, but those three things were wrong, and Connor knew he should've gotten them right.
Connor slowly closed the medicine cabinet door and stared at his reflection for a second time. Unable to bear his latest mistake Connor took in a deep breath before he violently punched the mirror, punched his own reflection, and instantly broke the glass with a tremendous thunder of sharp, jagged shards showering down into the sink. Downstairs Sumo barked at the sound of the raucous crash while Connor rested his palms over the sink and stared down at his uneven reflection in the pile of shiny shards that had collected in the basin beneath him.
"Connor?" Frantic knocking on the door were quickly followed by the door opening as Hank rushed into the room to figure out what had happened. It seemed he returned just as he said he would at a most fortunate time. "Son? What the hell was-" The shattered mirror and smear of Thirium all over the sink told Hank everything he needed. "Oh, shit!"
"...I broke the mirror." Connor whispered as Hank checked over his bloodied right hand. Small shards of the mirror were jutting out of his knuckles and fingers, but Connor didn't feel them and he didn't care about them. "I'm sorry. I'll replace it."
"I don't give a shit about the mirror; I care about you!" Hank had to pry Connor's bloodied hand up from the sink to try to clean up the damage. "Damn, son. Tell me what's wrong."
"...Me." Too defeated to even try to resist Connor allowed Hank to pull him away from the sink to sit down on the closed lid of the toilet to have his hand cleaned up and then bandaged. He just couldn't bring himself to care about his hand considering he had more pressing matters to attend to. "I'm what's wrong. Everything about me is wrong and broken."
"You're having a rough time on a case, big fuckin' deal." Moving carefully Hank draped a towel down over Connor's knee then rested his damaged hand over top of his knee with his palm facing down. It wasn't the first time that Hank's had to remove glass from someone's injuries, but it was the first time he had to do it to an android. "I'm working on the case with you, and I'm not doing much better. Same for Lucas for that matter! That's no reason to hurt yourself."
"I'm failing at my job, Hank. I'm just... failing."
"You were attacked, held captive and then fuckin' tortured." Hank spoke to Connor directly while using sharp tweezers from the first aid kit to pluck out the glass shards and drop them in the waste basket beneath the sink. "You're allowed to have an off-day, and that sure as Hell doesn't mean you're failing."
"It's not just the case! My memories-" A choked sob stole Connor's voice as he tried to keep himself from shedding any tears. "I'm struggling to keep my memory in check and remember basic details. It's like I've been permanently broken."
"Son, you had your skull fractured and you had a seizure." Hank's oversimplification of Connor's past damage was oddly apt as it gave Connor a clearer understanding of why and how he was being far too hard on himself. "You having a few memory issues is to be expected. Hell, you work with HUMANS who have very shitty and often time selective memories, so no matter how many memories you lost or how many details you can't memorize, you'll always have a superior memory compared to anyone in any precinct in any city throughout the nation."
"I'm a detective, I can't make any mis-"
"Connor, stop and look at me. Look at me..."
With a gentle grip Hank put his hand beneath Connor's chin and turned the deviant's head to ensure that he had the bleeding, crying deviant's full attention.
"Mistakes are a part of life. I've made too many to count, especially with how I mistreated you and Lucas. I'm going to work my ass off and do everything I have to in order to make things right with the both of you. I've learned from my mistakes, and now you need to do the same. The key difference is, I've had to learn from my mistakes by myself; you won't. Not only do you have Lucas and Cole as your little brothers to help you out, but you have me. I know I'm not the best person to come to for advice and being patient with yourself, but I do have experience as a father. And right now, more than anything else, you need a father's guidance. I'm here for you, son. And I promise that I'm not going anywhere."
A gray, static laden memory suddenly filled Connor's mind as he was reminded of his reunion with Hank post Revolution in the original timeline. As he focused on the recovered memory Connor was able to see, hear and feel in full clarity of when Hank approached him on the snow sidewalk, gave him a proud smile and then pulled him in for a strong, warm and supportive hug.
Hank had taken Connor in on that night an entire lifetime ago, and he was doing the same in the new timeline. In fact, Hank had continued to be an ally and look out for Connor even after their previous fights and arguments. That type of behavior, that kind of emotional tension and upheaval, stemmed from one group of people that just about everyone could relate to.
Family.
"There," Hank studied his work before moving on to the next step. "I got the large chunks of glass out. Let's rinse out your cuts and then get them bandaged."
Connor snapped back to reality as Hank pulled his arm over to put his hand in the shower and then run some water over the damaged appendage. The way Hank was taking the time to make sure all of the glass was out, the damaged artificial skin wasn't still bleeding, and that the plastimetal framing beneath didn't need technical attention, reminded Connor of the way Hank fussed over Cole whenever the little boy was sick or got hurt while playing.
It was uncanny how Hank's concern was as sincere as it was loving.
"Okay, let's get your hand covered up." Using another towel Hank kept Connor's hand covered and draped the deviant's hand down on Connor's lap. Only after he opened up the first aid kit and located the special android unique gauze did Hank remove the towel and expose the deep lacerations beneath. "Do androids need to get stitches? I think if I called Joel, he'd be willing to stop by and patch ya' up without saying anything to Jeffrey."
Watching the way Hank gingerly wrapped up his palm, knuckles and his individual fingers gave Connor a sense of trust he hadn't felt in far too long. "...Hank?"
"Yeah, what's up?" Hank quickly tied off the gauze before he pressed his palm to Connor's forehead for an instinctive fever check. "Need some Thirium?"
"I just... I think I need..." Unable to speak again Connor pressed his uninjured hand to teary eyes as he broke down and cried again. "I don't know. I just feel so... broken. Alone!"
"You're not." Sensing what was really happening Hank put both hands on Connor's upper arms to guide the deviant up to his feet then pulled Connor in against his shoulder for a quick hug. As a father he just knew when his son needed a reassuring embrace. "You're not broken, you're not a failure and you're not alone!"
Losing his composure entirely had left Connor unable to stop himself from wrapping his arms around Hank's shoulders to return the hug as he let himself cry and finally release his pent-up frustrations and emotions as well. He hadn't realized how much he had missed having a true sense of family and a father in his life until he needed that family and father more than ever.
"It's okay, son. Just breathe." Hank encouraged as he wrapped his palm around the back of Connor's head and made sure the deviant knew he was in a safe place and could reveal his heart, mind and feelings without judgement. "I'm right here for you. You're not alone and you never will be. No matter what's going on with you or what you think is going on, it doesn't matter. I'll be there to watch your back and help you for as long as it takes, I promise."
-next chapter-
