It was now the day before Christmas Eve and everyone who was scheduled to work on Christmas Day were out buying last minute gifts so that they could celebrate the big day on Christmas Eve with their own families just as Hank had planned to do with Cole and Connor. With the deviant detective still on the injured reserve list and struggling to recover after being physically attacked and emotionally beaten down, Hank knew he had quite the challenge ahead of him. The protective and devoted father wanted to make sure that the first holiday that his now bigger family was going to celebrate together was as calm but memorable as possible. He knew that androids didn't celebrate holidays same as the humans did - at least that's what he assumed - and he wanted to find a way to make sure Connor knew that he was still welcome to join in on the family activities and would always be a part of the family even if he didn't really feel like he fully fit in.
Using coffee and sugar cookies to keep himself awake and fueled as he worked, Hank filed his reports in record time and then busied himself with some online shopping to help him finish off his Christmas list before it was too late. The man managed to seamlessly shift between typing up his reports, checking through online deals, placing orders and communicating with his junior officers without any noticing that he was multitasking in a less than professional style.
"Did you get the tea?"
Hank looked away from his terminal screen as Gavin walked over to his desk with his phone pressed to his ear. The younger detective had been taking on the role of a new husband and soon-to-be-father like a natural and was now speaking with new wife over the line. Despite his attempts to ignore the phone call Hank couldn't help but eavesdrop and make sure that Gavin and Abby didn't need any help.
"Tina told me that ginger and peppermint tea were supposed to help with nausea, so, you know..."
Morning sickness. Hank remembered how Barbara had struggled with morning sickness in the first trimester and how he used to make her toast and tea every morning for nearly three months straight. She had also developed the strangest craving for any raspberry, and to that day he kept some raspberry jam in the refrigerator at all times.
"Need me to bring anything home tonight?" Gavin managed to cover a yawn before Abby heard it over the line as he continued to work as much overtime as he could to help save up for their new baby. "I'll be getting back late again, but I can always hit that twenty-four hour market a few blocks away. You're sure? Okay, yeah, see you tonight. I love you, babe."
The way Gavin had redirected all of his energy into supporting his new family gave Hank hope that the previously troubled detective had managed to successfully put his traumatic past behind him in a healthy and constructive manner. It seemed that the young officer with an attitude problem, a chip on his shoulder and the entire world to prove wrong had finally made peace with his past and found happiness in a bright new future.
"Shit, I need to stop by the store anyway. Ran outta' milk this morning..."
Hank watched Gavin open up a notepad app in his phone and type away frantically on the keys to fill out a new shopping list. The dark bags under Gavin's eyes reminded Hank of himself after he and Barbara found out she was pregnant with Cole. They too started burning the midnight oil to save up as much money as possible while Barbara remained on desk duty until her second trimester required her to work remotely for her own health and safety. It was hard enough to save up for Cole even with two solid incomes flowing in steadily, and Hank knew that both Gavin and Abby were going to be dealing with stress long before they were actually parents.
"Let me guess," Hank called out to the young detective as he leaned back and tore his eyes from his terminal screen. "you're going to go and stock up on diapers."
"How did-" Gavin lowered his phone and stopped himself from asking the obvious since the answer was just as obvious. Hank was both a detective and a father, so of course he knew what Gavin was up to. "Yeah, from what Chris said, he wished that he and Julia had thought to get diapers months before Damian arrived. I'd like to avoid as many two in the morning trips to the store as possible."
"Smart move. Also check on the expiration dates on the formula cans." Shrugging his shoulders Hank reminded Gavin that there was a good reason that diapers were a must when it came to raising a baby. "You'll want to stock up on that stuff too so that Abby isn't the only one getting up at crazy hours to be a parent and feed the baby ever two hours."
"That's a good idea. Any other advice?"
"Sleep now as much as you can, start thinking of names now, and start getting in the habit of leaving your service weapon here at the precinct."
"Yeah... Abby doesn't really like guns anyway." Gavin checked his gun holstered around his side and double-checked to make sure the safety was still on before removing the weapon and securing it in his bottom left desk drawer to be locked away. "I guess if I forget to leave it here, I can always lock it in my car. Hey, how's Connor doing? I haven't seen him since... you know."
"He's on the mend. Just tired."
"Shit, who isn't these days?"
Another familiar face appeared in the bullpen as Joel approached Hank's desk and looked about the area for a moment. "Excuse me, Lieutenant? Is Connor here?"
"Nope." Hank rested his chin in his palm as he leaned against his elbow atop his desk and gave the technician a visual onceover. He could see that Joel had been working overtime as well and had managed to finally find the time to head for home, but it seemed he had something special to deliver first. "He's still recuperating."
"I'm not surprised, but I was still expecting him to be here since he seems to be very dedicated to his work. Anyway," placing a clear glass bottle with a cork in its opening down on the table, Joel slid the object over to Hank to take for himself. "I made this special Thirium for Connor in the spirit of the holidays. It's just standard Thirium, but this batch has a peppermint flavor."
"Thanks, Joel. I'm sure he'll appreciate that." Hank picked up the gifted bottle and couldn't help but admire how the bottle was designed to be more decorative and act as a small decanter as opposed to being a mundane recyclable container like the generic bottles that Thirium normally came in. "Heading out for the night?"
"Yeah. First Christmas with my girlfriend and her kids." Joel quickly checked his phone and made sure he didn't forget anything before returning home. "The kids have a great mom but a real piece of work for a father. The jerk couldn't even be there when Sonya gave birth to their youngest."
"Joel, when you're talking about shitty fathers you're allowed to use the more mature language. We're not gonna' tell on ya'."
"Yeah, but with it almost being Christmas and me hanging out with her young kids, I'd prefer to stay in the habit of censoring myself. I want to be a good influence."
"Good idea. Gavin," Hank gave the younger detective a nod as he pointed to Joel casually. "remember that. Censor yourself now and not later. You don't want your kid's first word to be only four letters long!"
Gavin just nodded as he continued to type down little details into his phone. "Noted."
"Have a nice Christmas, Joel." It was clear that everyone had their plans for the night and Hank didn't want to hold Joel up by mistake. "I'll make sure Connor gets this and knows it's a gift from you."
"Thanks." The laidback technician decided it was time to take his leave and gave Hank a gracious smile. "As soon as he's ready to come back to work I'll give him a physical and get him cleared with Captain Fowler. I'd rather he comes back under his own power and timeframe since that'll give me a good idea of what to expect of him on an emotional level."
"Right." Placing the bottle down on the corner of his desk Hank sighed and decided to resume his online shopping. The delivery drones would be able to drop off some packages at the backdoor of the house out of anyone's sight and help him keep the gifts a surprise for both Cole and Connor. "Back to business..."
"What's the big gift for Cole this year?" Gavin asked as he rose to his feet and rubbed his fingertips along his aching temples. "Another model kit?"
"Nah, I left that to Connor since he's always managed to find something Cole absolutely loves. This is the year I'm finally getting him a brand new bike."
"Oh, he's too big for his old bike, huh?"
"Yeah, and I can't pretend that I can just keep raising the seat and handlebars for him forever. With any luck, this one will last until high school."
"Then you get to buy him a car and he won't anything to do with a bike anyway."
"Trust me, I have an idea in mind already for Cole's first car." The smug grin across Hank's face confirmed that he wasn't bluffing. He seemed to be two steps ahead of everyone on everything. "I just need to get something for Connor and I'll be done shopping. What did you get Abby?"
"I got her a ruby necklace and some earrings. I already got her a diamond ring after all. AND..." Gavin already knew what Hank was about to say and had planned ahead of time. "I did go ahead and order some baby stuff to be put under the tree. I figured that'd give us something to do while we count down the months together leading up to the big day."
"Weeks, Gavin. Believe me, you two are going to be counting down the weeks once she starts showing."
"Already showing." Gavin paled a little as he remembered his own comment at Thanksgiving about being a twin and wondered if he needed to double up on his purchases before too long. "Is... that normal? For her to show at just barely nine weeks I mean?"
"Every pregnancy is different, try not to sweat it. Go on, go home and get some sleep." Giving his knuckles a good crack Hank set about typing on his keyboard once more to resume his final purchases. "I'm going to try to get my shopping done before clocking-out."
"Y-Yeah, sure." Slipping on his leather jacket Gavin looked over at Hank and gave him a curious look. "What kind of gift to you give to an android who doesn't ever ask for anything after doing everything anyway?"
"Not a damn clue." The admission was pitiful yet honest as Hank sighed through his nose and stared at the bottle of Thirium on his desk. "Some detective I am."
"Huh, weird. It's not like you to draw a blank on anything." With his list completed and his own mission set, Gavin decided to head out as well and clocked-out for the rest of the evening. "All right, goodnight, Hank. See ya' on Christmas."
"Right, see ya'."
Staring at his terminal screen and the idling shopping site with a total loss of what to do next, Hank sat and began to think about what he knew for certain Connor liked and was interested in. He had already gone back to the music store to get the deviant his own stereo system so that he could listen to music in peace within his bedroom, and he had managed to get him a modest C.D. collection started, and yet Hank felt like Connor deserved so much more than that. Even with knowing about Connor's love of music, animals and the stars, Hank felt like he didn't know nearly enough about Connor to get him anything truly meaningful for Christmas that year.
"Man, what do I get for someone like Connor?"
As he stared at his terminal screen Hank began to absentmindedly repeat the name over and over again as if it could someone manifest the answer for himself.
"Connor. Connor... Wonder what 'Connor' even means? He's the only Connor I know."
Opening up a new search Hank found the old website that he and Barbara had tried to use when they were thinking about baby names and typed in Connor's name out of curiosity. The end result was one that seemed oddly appropriate for the deviant based on his personality.
"Huh. Irish in origin, and it means 'strong willed' and 'admirer of hounds or wolves'. Definitely explains a lot about that kid. What about Cole...?"
The origins of that name just made Hank chuckle as he read over the details for the first time since he and Barbara had chosen the name.
"Green in origin, and stems from 'Nicholas'. Means 'victory'. Guess that was a good name for him after all."
Leaning back in his chair Hank sent Gavin a text message to let him know about the website so that he and Abby could mull over baby names together. Whether or not the helpful gesture came from Hank truly caring about Gavin or as a means of procrastinating as he tried to figure out the right gift for Connor, Hank just couldn't tell anymore.
Staring at the name on the screen Hank couldn't help but think about what Connor had told him regarding Chase and decided to type in the third name for good measure since his curiosity was piqued. He never thought much about his own name and couldn't imagine wanting to change it to anything else.
"Let's see here, 'Chase'... Go figure, exactly what it sounds like. English origin, and another name for 'hunt' and a good nickname for a huntsman. No wonder Chase wants to change his name and get away from his reputation as the 'Deviant Hunter'."
Now curious about where Chase could be in the city at the moment Hank decided to do a quick search on Chase and see if anything popped up. When that didn't yield any results he altered his search and threw Connor's name into the mix to see if he had better luck. That helped to bring him some details since Connor's model number and identity had been registered as a full-time detective with the precinct. Chase's temporary time in the precinct had been dubbed confidential by CyberLife to keep their own actions with the precinct as secretive as possible, but as Chase's former partner Hank had full access to the file itself.
"Fuckers are still trying to cover their tracks with how much they fucked up, even after going belly-up and running out of the city. Pathetic."
Hank stared at the two images of Connor and Chase side-by-side on his terminal screen and couldn't help but see them as twin brothers just as Cole did. The key difference between the two deviants were their eye colors, plus Chase having slightly darker hair and a little more height compared to Connor. By all account anyone would take one look at the two deviants and see them as twins.
"Cole's right, they could be brothers. Hell, they look human enough to pass off as any other twin brothers running around this city."
The way that both deviants had a handful of freckles as opposed to flawless complexions just made them appear all the more human compared to the other androids in Detroit. CyberLife had prided themselves on creating 'perfect' models in physical designs and appearances, so to have androids with freckles just seemed like an odd choice.
"I wonder how CyberLife even came up with their designs. They don't have the generic perfectly shaped noses, eyes, chins, ears, foreheads... They truly look like actual people and not machines. Same with Markus. Why are these three so unique in appearance?"
The more Hank looked at the two deviant's faces, the more he became convinced that there was more to their design than being supposedly just aesthetically pleasing to make humans more comfortable while in their presence. He also couldn't help but find it interesting that CyberLife would use the same design and appearance on Chase after Connor ran away from them three years prior. CyberLife had been so focused on keeping their secrets and keeping their activity with the androids roaming the city as discreet as possible.
Why use Connor's design for Chase after Connor went rogue and hid within the city for three years? By all account, that'd make people look CyberLife's way if they realized that they had android models that weren't officially documented roaming Detroit.
Something wasn't right, and Hank's instincts as a detective told him to keep digging.
Using the precinct's facial recognition program to his advantage Hank performed a basic search on Connor's face and waited to see what results popped up as he continued searching online for more gifts ideas. He tried to avoid lingering around the music-based items to get some variety in Connor's gifts and proceeded to look at more thoughtful options instead. A few choice shirts and pants to help Connor feel more comfortable at home, some little knickknacks to decorate his bedroom and even a couple searches for cars so that Connor could have something of his own as opposed to borrowing the Oldsmobile or van. That of course led Hank down the proverbial rabbit hole of car shopping while he planned on finding something for Cole when he was a teenager in just a few more years.
"Something classic to fix up will be fun... Maybe a Corvette or a Camaro."
The facial recognition program finished running and brought up a very unexpected result that left Hank wide-eyed and stunned. The program had located a missing person's file on a young man who had been injured in a serious car accident and left comatose in Grand Rapids. The man had an I.D. and a name, but he seemingly didn't have any family or medical proxies to confirm or deny proper medical care, which had resulted in Grand Rapids police putting the man's face out in the missing person's file in hopes that someone would look for the man and find him in the police database.
As Hank clicked on the uncovered file and read the details he swore that he felt his stomach drop as he believed that he was staring at the face of a ghost.
"What in the world is going on here? Who's this guy and why does he look like and have Connor's name?"
The Anderson home was warm and filled with energy as Cole eagerly put together a Christman movie marathon to have playing in the background all day long the next morning when the family celebrated Christmas one day earlier than the rest of the city. The little boy had managed to get Connor to join in on putting a few more decorations up around the house, and now they were sitting together on the couch while making some long construction paper chains to see how far they could get the papery garland to stretch before they ran out of paper. It was more or less just a way to get Connor out of his bedroom and socializing again, but the deviant didn't mind having the company. Knowing that Cole liked him and trusted him was enough to give Connor the energy he needed to get dressed in a simple black t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants as he made his way downstairs for the first time in five days.
In the past five days Connor had plenty of visitors checking in on him, but he didn't want to talk about the assault or mention anything to do with Chase. The fact that Markus didn't know about the fight meant Chase wanted it to be kept quiet as well, and Connor wasn't going to violate that sense of privacy. North, Simon and Josh had no idea of what was going on and were more focused on keeping Connor up to date on New Jericho activities while encouraging him to join them out at the tower where he seemingly belonged.
"This chain can stretch around the whole house!" Cole beamed as he finished gluing the next link onto his paper chain. "When the glue dries we can hang it up and see how long it really is."
"We'll start here in the livingroom." Connor decided as he preconstructed the area of the livingroom and measured the length of the paper chain. "This garland chain is just long enough to stretch around the walls just beneath the ceiling."
"When are you going to go back to work?"
"In three days." Securing the final paper link on to the chain Connor spoke with Cole as if everything was entirely normal, and managed to avoid disturbing Sumo as the Saint Bernard napped on his pillow in the corner of the livingroom. "I'll need to return to the precinct and resume my work while everyone else enjoys their time off."
"Are you going to go look for your brother?"
The question gave Connor pause as he contemplated his answer very carefully. "...I want to make sure he's all right, but no, I will not go in search of Chase."
"Do you think he'll go to that tower that Markus was talking about when he visited?"
"It's possible but very unlikely."
"Are you going to go to the tower and work there too?"
"Doubtful. Neither Chase or I particularly enjoy being in that tower."
"That's good." Cole sounded genuinely relieved as he slid off the couch and began bundling up the massive pile of paper garland in his arms. "I don't want you to work at two places at once. You don't get to spend a lot of time here, just like dad."
"Working long hours can be tedious, but it's necessary." Mindful of his sore chest Connor rose to his feet and helped Cole with their paper chain. "Your dad doesn't enjoy working as much as he does since he can't spend more time with you as a result."
"I'm used to it."
That was a heartbreaking comment that made Connor stop and think about how lonely Cole must be only having his dad as his family. While he knew he had taken on a brotherly role in Cole's life and was proud that the little boy trusted him, Connor wasn't sure what it meant to be a brother and was worried that his lack of knowledge and experience would ultimately prove detrimental with his relationship with Cole.
"Markus seems nice." Continuing on as if he hadn't just said anything significant Cole handed Connor some tape as the deviant held up the red and green paper chain and began securing it against the high wall just under the ceiling. "Does he help you when you're at work?"
"He and I have similar ideals but different roles to play. I'm working with the law to ensure all deviants are safe, just as I do with humans, and he's working to change the laws to ensure that everyone is treated equally and is protected without discrimination."
"What about the other deviants that showed up?" Cole wasn't familiar with North, Josh or Simon and wanted to know more about them. "Are they your friends?"
"They are, yes. They help Markus at the tower."
"What do they do?"
"Well, North is searching for the deviant androids who went missing before the Revolution occurred, and she's trying to bring them to the tower so they can be safe and begin living their own lives." It was surprisingly simple to explain the complicated matter to Cole since the little boy was very curious and smart. "Simon is a technician like Abby, and he's helping deviants feel better after being hurt or sick. And Josh has created a special therapy group for all deviants to use to make sure they aren't going to suffer from emotional trauma after everything they had endured."
"And they all work in the tower."
"That's right."
"Maybe Chase can be a detective that works in the tower while you work in the precinct!" Cole suggested as he and Connor worked together to get the paper chain up on the walls and hung properly to add some more color to the livingroom. "That way everyone is protected everywhere."
"Such a decision would be Chase's to make, and no one can influence such a decision one way the other. Same with Chase choosing his new name." Connor explained as he moved to the next wall and proceeded to help with the paper chain while ignoring the lingering ache in his chest. "We should try to get in the habit of referring to him as 'RK-900' until he selects his new name since he currently disdains his current name."
"I just thought of something. Maybe you could help him find a new name and give it to him as a Christmas present!"
"It's... not that easy. And again, he doesn't want me around him." Needing to take a small break Connor slowly lowered himself to the floor and sat down to keep his chest from aching too much after stretching up his arms for so long. "He'll figure things out on his own."
The front door slowly opened as Hank came home and peered inside his glowing livingroom. He wasn't at all surprised to see that Cole was still awake and still decorating, but he was surprised to see Connor out of his bedroom and socializing with Cole just as he used to do. The senior detective hadn't seen Connor up and about during the past few days and was getting very worried.
"Hey, boys." A relieved grin appeared on Hank's face as he locked the door behind and glanced about the very colorful livingroom. "I see you've been busy while I was at work. Anything I can do?"
"Tape!" Cole confirmed as he held up the paper chain and the small roll of tape in his hands. "I can't reach."
"You got it." Casually Hank offered Connor his hand and helped the deviant back up to his feet and over to the couch. "You two have already decorated everything else, at least I get to decorate something before it's too late."
Connor could tell by Hank's body language that something was on the man's mind. He was being friendlier than usual, and Connor knew Hank only upped his positive emotions whenever he was trying to ignore something that he didn't want other people to worry about. That peculiar behavior was ironically all it took to make Connor internally worry that something horrible had happened.
"After I get this chain up," Hank spoke to Cole casually as he and his son moved rhythmically along the wall to secure the paper chain to the wall. "I need you to get ready for bed. We're celebrating Christmas tomorrow morning."
"Do I have to?" The little boy sounded genuinely disappointed as he looked back at Connor over his shoulder with a pitiful smile. "I wanted to stay in the livingroom and watch Christmas movies with Connor!"
"You can do that all day tomorrow and again the day after. Besides, I got some wrappin' I need to do, and I don't want the surprises ruined."
"Where'd you hide my gifts?"
"I'll never tell you." Securing the last of the chain on the wall Hank was impressed that the end of the chain reached the beginning of the same chain after it stretched around the entire livingroom. "Wow, you guys are good. We'll keep this chain up until New Year's and put it away with the rest of the Christmas decorations so you can make more next year."
"Can I at least have some hot chocolate?"
"Yeah, son." Hank put his hand on Cole's hair and gave his son's locks a quick ruffle. "Let's go and get some hot chocolate. Then you are going to go to bed. The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you can wake up and celebrate Christmas."
"I know!"
"Oh, that reminds me." Casually Hank reached into his coat pocket and handed Connor the glass bottle of Thirium that was to be gifted to the deviant from Joel. "This is from Joel. He says it's supposed to taste like peppermint."
"...Peppermint?" Taking the bottle from Hank's hand Connor gave the contents a quick scan then removed the cork before taking in the scent. "Interesting."
"He said it was for the holidays." The Lieutenant casually stated as he removed his coat and hung it up by the front door before finally slipping off his shoes. "How does it taste?"
Connor hesitantly sipped a small amount of the Thirium and let the flavor settle on his tongue for a moment before giving his opinion. The strong and distinct taste lasted much longer than the generic metallic taste of unflavored Thirium, and such a strong flavor left Connor puzzled. "It tastes... Familiar."
"Familiar?"
"Yes. I'm... not sure how or why that's possible."
"Huh, that's not the answer I was expecting to hear." Walking around the back of the couch Hank watched the confusion in Connor's eyes as he led Cole into the kitchen to prepare two mugs of hot chocolate. "Do you like it?"
"I do like it." Connor sipped a little more of the Thirium and felt a strange warmth of familiarity swarm over his heart. "I'm not sure why."
While Hank and Cole were in the kitchen Connor tried to understand how he could be familiar with a flavor he had never tasted before. The sense of taste and the sense of smell were the two senses with the strongest link to a person's memories, and yet there were no memories that could link Connor to that exact flavor.
"This is so familiar, and yet I cannot even think as to how it's possible."
Glancing over into the kitchen Connor watched Hank preparing the hot chocolate and could see the man peering at the backdoor where the pile of drone delivered packages were waiting to be collected. The deviant didn't bother with the deliveries since he suspected Hank wanted them kept quiet, and he was too physically tired to heft around packages all evening without Cole taking notice anyway.
"Perhaps I should visit Kamski and ask about this sense of lost memory. I suspect that he has tampered with my memories and left behind a trace of a memory for me to attempt to locate. The big question is why? Why Kamski do this? There's nothing to be gained by tampering with my memories."
It was a cold and snowy morning as Christmas Eve arrived over the city. At first sunlight Cole awoke from his slumber and quickly rushed into his dad's bedroom and then into Connor's bedroom to awaken the rest of the house before he ran down the staircase and into the livingroom. The two detectives were sluggish in comparison to how quickly Cole had been moving, even Sumo managed to beat them down the staircase after the large dog followed Cole from his bedroom and into the glowing livingroom. The sight of Cole still getting so excited as he saw all the wrapped gifts tucked beneath the Christmas tree made Hank smile and gave Connor a sense of hope for a brighter, more cheerful future.
One by one the gifts were passed out and everyone opened their gifts slowly. Hank was amused by being given more colorful dress shirts thanks to Connor, as well as a few rare books that were fairly valuable and hard to come by. Cole loved his new model sets and was trying to convince Hank to let him ride his new bicycle around the house but to no avail. And Connor appreciated the stereo and C.D. collection that'd allow him to find more solace in music in the same way that humans enjoyed music in a more tangible manner.
"You know, I think we all did pretty good at gifts this year." Hank laughed as he held up his neon orange and dark green dress shirt over his chest and watched Cole cringe at the ghastly color combination. "I'm wearing this one at your next parent-teacher conference."
"No way!" Cole balanced on his new bike and shook his head theatrically. "I won't let you anywhere near my school!"
"All right, fine. I'll save it for your wedding day!"
"I'll never get married!"
"That's what everyone says, then we find the one and well... Yeah." The memory of meeting Barbara filled Hank's heart with joy as he hoped to see his own son find true love for himself someday. "The rest is history."
Connor didn't say anything about the odd discussion as he looked over each C.D. case and read the details that were printed on the back regarding each album. The deviant understood that Hank was encouraging him to continue his interest in music and was appreciative to have such support for what he thought would be an annoying hobby to the man. Being encouraged to do anything was surprisingly effective on Connor's somewhat discouraged mind considering everything that had happened to him recently.
"How about this?" Leaning forward from where he sat Hank glanced about the livingroom and looked over at Sumo happily gnawing on his new rawhide bone on his pillow with a happily wagging tail going back and forth like a fuzzy metronome. "We'll get dinner started now and eat here in the livingroom so we can watch all those movies you put together, Cole. The more time we spend together today, the better it'll be! Am I right?"
"Yeah!" Cole put down the kickstand on his dark blue bike and jumped onto the couch again. "Dinner and a show!"
"That's the spirit! Connor?" The man watched Connor look up and lock eyes with him as if he had just pulled the deviant out of a deep thought. His fatherly instincts told him that Connor was in need of some guidance and wanted to earn his trust in any way that he could. "Care to help me? You seem to have the magic touch in the kitchen."
"Yes, of course." Despite his hectic thoughts and worries constantly bombarding him at every waking hour, Connor knew that it was important to maintain a positive demeanor with his family. He also knew that Hank was worrying about something but didn't want to say anything undoubtedly due to the holidays. "I'll help out in every way that I can."
"Sounds good." Standing up from the recliner Hank proceeded to place his gifts down on the coffee table and gave Connor's shoulder a reassuring pat as he passed by the couch. "It's been a while since we could just focus on something simple like cooking. And with the way this year's been, I get the feeling that the new year is going to be twice as crazy and we're going to want to have these calmer moments to look back on."
"Strangely enough, I suspect that you're right." On an unspoken level it seemed Connor and Hank had confirmed that there was something very interesting that they needed to discuss, but only when the time was right and when they were ready to deal with their issues. "We will undoubtedly need to find a way to decompress after enduring what's sure to be hectic challenges in the future."
-next chapter-