Tension in the city was beginning to reach its boiling point as more reports of humans protesting outside of CyberLife Stores began to surge through every precinct in Detroit. The number of humans attacking androids and destroying them in misplaced anger over the increasing unemployment rate was becoming a chronic problem for the police to handle. What had started off as a few hostile people who just needed some police presence to calm them down after speaking their piece was growing into mobs ready to riot and destroy anything that was pro-android as a means of fighting back against an intangible enemy. Each day a new report of humans attacking androids came floating into the precincts, and each day more patrolling officers were being dispatched to break up needless violence before it escalated to catastrophic levels.
As of late, it didn't matter how many cops arrived at the scene to break-up the protests and threaten people with arrests anymore. There were still a lot of angry and aggressive people seeking their chance to get revenge on androids and cause a little mayhem to blow off some steam. The chaos being created was becoming more physical than verbal, and as a result the danger being presented by the protestors was becoming a top priority.
Normally Hank would've been taking charge of the situation downtown and doing everything in his power to deescalate the violence before anyone got hurt, but that morning Hank was awoken by the sound of Cole throwing up in the bathroom and being miserable with a nasty stomach bug. Unwilling to let his son go to school or to go to work knowing his son was home sick, Hank took the day off and promptly took care of Cole and hoped his son would recover soon.
"Try eating something." Hank gently urged as he placed a plate with two pieces of toast, one with peanut butter and the other with grape jelly, down on the coffee table next to the couch. He hated seeing Cole so sick and miserable, and he wanted his son to regain his strength quickly. "It might help your stomach settle down."
"Can't." Cole simply replied as he remained in his blanket cocoon on the couch with Sumo curled up right behind his legs. "I'll just throw it up."
"How about some juice then?"
"No."
"Well, I don't want you to make yourself sicker by not eating or drinking all day." Lightly Hank placed his palm over Cole's forehead and felt the fever clinging to his son and wreaking havoc on his body. It wasn't time for another dose of medicine just yet, but that didn't mean that Hank couldn't get the next dose ready. "I'm going to make you some cherry jello, please try to eat some toast."
Connor had been discreetly monitoring Cole's condition without interfering with Hank's attempts to take care of his young son. The deviant knew that Cole was suffering from a type of norovirus and would be able to recover on his own without any medical attention, but even so it was crucial for Cole to cooperate with his dad and continue to eat and drink to prevent his condition from deteriorating.
"Do you need anything that could help you feel better?" Connor asked in a soft tone as he looked down at Cole from over the back of the couch. "I could get you another pillow or another blanket if you'd like. Perhaps I could find you some episodes of 'Star Trek' to watch, and I'll join you."
"No." The sick little boy replied as he pulled his blanket up and over his head to block out the world around him. "I don't need anything."
The deviant detective was determined to help Cole recover from his sudden illness. Scanning over the offered pieces of toast inspired Connor to try offering Cole something else to eat that'd make him feel better.
"Very well. Then I'll just go into town and find something for Sumo to eat instead."
The massive dog began thumping his tail happily when he heard his name. Pressing his chin over the back of the couch Sumo looked at Connor endearingly and awaited his mandatory ear rubs before the deviant walked into the kitchen to speak with Hank for a moment.
"Lieutenant, I believe I can encourage Cole to eat something." The deviant stated rather confidently as he approached the man waiting for the electric kettle to bring the heating water to a full boil. "I'll need to use the autonomous van in order to accomplish my task in a timely manner."
Hank picked up the kettle just as the water reached its literal boiling point and began pouring it slowly into the glass bowl where the powdered gelatin was already waiting. "Where are you going to go?"
"To the grocery store. I won't be gone for longer than fifteen minutes."
"That means you'll have to go downtown." As the hot water began dissolving the gelatin powder Hank used a large spoon to mix up the red tinted dessert in the bowl to ensure a proper blend as the jello set. "No, not today."
"I don't understand." Such a restriction seemed entirely unusual and out of place for Hank to make, especially with Cole being ill. "I've gone to the local grocery store one-hundred and six times before without any limitations."
"It's not the store that's the problem."
"Then what is? I still don't understand your reasoning."
"You haven't gone downtown when a bunch of angry assholes are looking for a reason to fight. Specifically fight androids."
"I can handle myself."
Chuckling softly Hank nodded slightly as he continued mixing the gelatin at a smooth pace. "Yeah, there's no doubt about that. I'm not worried about you being unable to protect yourself, I'm worried about you getting targeted and being beaten down by a mob of pissed off people without me being close by to step up and arrest them if they get outta' hand."
"You arrested those four men at the sledding hill after I had already subdued them." The deviant sharply rebutted as he stood by his decision to go downtown and pick up something to help Cole feel better while he was sick. "Again, I can take care of myself."
"Connor, just don't." Hank managed to growl without his voice carrying loud enough for Cole to hear. "I'm not going to argue with you and I'm not going to spend my day worrying about Cole and wondering about you."
"Then remain solely preoccupied with Cole." Standing firm Connor decided to head downtown despite Hank's logical and righteous reasoning for Connor to stay in the house and keep away from the violent protestors. "I'm going to accomplish my task and I'll return in fifteen minutes."
The fact that Connor defied him and didn't show any sign of intimidation when he spoke had caught Hank off guard. He hadn't expected the usually cooperative android to flat out refuse to listen to him seemingly out of the blue. "Connor, I'm warning you. Do NOT-"
"I'll be back soon."
"Connor! Stop."
Ignoring Hank's words and taking the initiative to be his own person felt oddly satisfying. Walking behind the couch again Connor looked down at Cole still laying on the couch and gave the little boy's shoulder a gentle pat. "You'll feel better soon, Cole. Be patient with your own body."
Cole just nodded as he continued to lay on his side and remain snuggled and warm in his large blanket on the couch. He didn't have anything to say, and he didn't even question Connor going to the store. The little boy was blissfully unaware of the potential danger that Connor was putting himself in just by going downtown and heading into their usual grocery store.
The entire shopping district of Detroit was full of angry protestors all looking for any excuse that they could justify to be violent, chaotic and verbally destructive. A fifth CyberLife store had just been opened up and the store was promoting their grand opening with a big sale on their stock and encouraging people to buy the latest model of androids right off the wall. In response to yet another store putting androids on the streets and taking away their hard earned money, the protestors rallied around the store and began harassing the few human employees working in the store and threatening anyone who even looked like they were going to go inside to shop. The massive chain of people blocking the doorway were as loud as they were angry.
While many people just ignored the protestors and went about their business, other people avoided the shopping plaza altogether. The androids who were normally sent to the plaza to run errands had been kept home and away from the violence as word spread of the protestors through the media. It seemed the lack of easy targets outside the CyberLife store was only throwing fuel to the fire as the protestors desperately sought an outlet for their anger.
Fearlessly Connor parked the autonomous van in the parking lot adjacent to where the protestors were gathered together and made his way into the grocery store. He had been attacked in the same plaza the previous winter and had suffered a severe blow to the head, but he had made a full recovery and wasn't going to show any sign of intimidation because angry people needed to find a proper solution to their problem as opposed to just throwing fists and destroying things.
Moving quickly through the aisles of the store Connor managed to locate a new rawhide for Sumo and then made his way to the aisles containing food, snacks, produce and fruit in search of something that'd help Cole feel better. After carefully scouring the aisles and scanning over every little item on the shelves, Connor decided that the best way to help Cole feel better was to get him one of his favorite snacks. That particular snack wasn't often purchased by Hank since he knew that Cole would sneak into the kitchen and eat the entire contents of the jar when he wasn't looking, so whenever it was purchased Hank had to hide it from the little boy to keep him from getting into it.
"This should work. It's Cole's favorite, and it'll be easy on his uneasy stomach."
Keeping up his swift pace Connor paid for his two selected items and made his way to the store's exit. Pocketing the two items was easier and less messy than using a plastic bag. With the two items and receipt in his jacket pockets Connor boldly crossed the parking lot in an attempt to avoid any of the protestors spotting him. It seemed that Connor's caution and swiftness were not enough to keep him safe as one of the angry protestors took notice of his blue L.E.D. and verbally led the charge against the lone android.
"Hey! Plastic piece of shit!"
Connor ignored the insult and kept walking toward the van without even glancing at the small mob of people now trailing after him. He didn't want to get into any fights, and he didn't want to risk any encounter that'd confirm that Hank was right in trying to keep Connor hidden at the house on that particular day.
"You're the reason I can't feed my kids!" One of the men shouted as he grabbed Connor by his jacket collar and jerked the android backward. "You freaks keep taking away our jobs and now you're threatening our families!"
Reacting quickly Connor managed to block a fist coming toward his face and held the fist in his strong hand to defend himself. The deviant detective didn't want to fight anyone if he could help it, and he decided to fall back on verbal negotiation to try to deescalate the situation before anything more severe happened in the plaza.
"Sir, I'm not responsible for-"
The sound of shattering glass and a burning pain along his left cheek stopped Connor mid sentence. One of the other protestors had struck Connor with a glass bottle and sliced open Connor's face just below his eye with four deep, nasty gashes that began to quickly weep Thirium. The gouges created by the glass bottle not only cut through Connor's artificial skin but created deep lines in the plastimetal frame that lined up perfectly with the bleeding lacerations. Small shards of the shattered bottle had also found their way into Connor's eye and quickly damaged his ocular relay unit causing his eye to temporarily lose complete sight.
Groaning in pain Connor let go of the first man's fist and quickly covered his eye to try to shield his wounds from any form of contamination. After being assaulted and partially blinded Connor struggled to focus on the growing mob of protestors forming around him.
"Look at it!" One of the female protestors taunted as Connor backed away and covered his face. "That thing isn't better than any of us! It's just a piece of plastic!"
"Let's tear it apart!" Another male protestor shouted as a firm hand pushed Connor from behind causing the deviant to unwillingly step toward his assailant. "It can't take our jobs if it can't stand!"
Despite blocking the next oncoming punch with his free hand Connor was unable to block a kick right to the back of his knee or another blow from a second glass bottle against his shoulder. Dropping down to his knees against his will had left Connor's back open to a beatdown that the deviant was unable to defend himself from. Enduring one nasty punch and kick after the other, Connor finally forced himself to push back the nearest assailant and get an opening to run away.
As he caught his balance and managed to gain his bearings Connor caught another fist to the face and brutal punch to the center of his chest. Connot fought to catch his breath and refrained from throwing a punch of his own in return despite his instincts begging him to fight back. He didn't want to risk further retaliation just for existing as an android in a human world. If anyone happened to catch footage of an android physically fighting humans, even in self-defense, it would be detrimental to future android causes if the humans had any twisted reason to keep escalating violence against the androids in general.
"Where do you think you're going? We're not done with you!"
Strong hands kept pulling on Connor's shoulders and arms to prevent him from fleeing. As he endured additional punches to his face, chest, back and shoulders, Connor managed to cybernetically call 911 to anonymously report a group of violent protestors rioting in the area and attacking an android. Due to the already increased patrol in the area, it took only a matter of seconds for police drones to circle over the area and began recording the violence in action. The recordings would help the police identify the rioters and protestors in the event that they tried to flee the scene.
"Shit! Cops are coming!"
One of the protestors took notice of the drones overhead and warned the others of the incoming police presence. As soon as they pointed out the drones to everyone else the drones began flashing their lights and sounding off their sirens to confirm that they were being monitored for their behavior and would be charged accordingly once they were all arrested and brought in for questioning.
"Let's get outta' here!"
"Move!" Rushing around the protestors began scurrying in a mad dash to try and get away before the cops arrived. "Everyone, run!"
Stumbling and staggering with awkward steps Connor managed to finally reach the autonomous van and cybernetically unlock the doors. Using a bloodied hand Connor pulled the van door open and dropped himself inside the vehicle as he cybernetically started the van and put in the coordinates for the house. The door slid shut and locked again just before the van started to roll from its place, and the locked doors ensured that Connor was finally safe for the rioting protestors outside the CyberLife store.
Stunned and shaken, Connor laid on his back over the floor of the van and pressed his hand over his bleeding left eye and ran a self-diagnostic. His system confirmed that his eye had been structurally compromised but would be able to repair itself within the day. The deep gouges to his face and the glass in his eye were painful to the touch and throbbed with every beat of his racing pump.
Avoiding the police was important since he couldn't risk anyone noticing his deviancy while explaining what had happened. For the time being, Connor would have to suffer in silence and hope that his eye would heal without needing any technical intervention.
It was just past noon when lunch at the Anderson house was served. The lack of change in the sick little boy's condition had resulted in Hank feeling overprotective toward his only son after he placed a tray with a bowl of jello down on the coffee table. The senior detective and loving father sat down beside Cole on the couch and ran his fingers through his son's hair as the little boy dozed lightly with a pillow under his head, a blanket wrapped around his entire body and Sumo still curled up behind his legs. The man had no idea where Connor was or what he was doing, all he knew and cared about was how well Cole was fairing while his fever still clung to his body and his stomach remained upset.
The animated film playing on television did little to keep Cole's attention. Cole was too tired and miserable to keep his eyes open and had drifted off to sleep without ever touching his simple meal. It seemed his current ailment was proving to be persistent and difficult to shake off.
"Wish I knew how to help ya' feel better, bud. Until I somehow manage to get into medical school and find the cure to every virus known to man, we're both going to have to put up with being sick and feeling like crap from time to time."
As the man lightly carded his fingers through Cole's hair the autonomous van returned home and parked in the driveway alongside the Oldsmobile. Hank ignored the sound of the van door opening and then sliding shut, and he continued to ignore the front door opening and then closing softly as Connor returned to the house. The man was more concerned with Cole than he was with a defiant android.
Wordlessly Connor limped through the livingroom and only made it to the kitchen doorway before he lost his footing and stumbled against the door to keep himself from collapsing onto the floor. In spite of his attempts to remained discreet Connor knew he had just brought unwanted attention toward himself. The deviant could just feel Hank's eyes watching him as the senior detective turned his head to peer at Connor from where he was sitting after hearing Connor trip over his own feet.
"What's wrong with you?" Whispering allowed Hank to communicate with the deviant without disturbing Cole in the process. The sight of the blue blood smeared along Connor's hands and over the left side of his face were impossible to ignore. "What happened?"
"...You were right." Connor replied honestly as he continued to brace himself against the kitchen doorway where he stood. "That's what happened."
"Son of a bitch."
It didn't take long for the seasoned detective to realize that Connor had in fact been confronted by the violent protestors in the city while he was out in the plaza. The man had told Connor to remain home, but he didn't tell Connor as to why he needed to stay home. Hank knew how dangerous the protestors were, but he failed to adequately explain exactly why he wanted to Connor to stay home.
"Go into the bathroom." The Lieutenant ordered as he slowly and discreetly rose to his feet without jostling Cole by mistake. Once he was sure that Cole was still sleeping and hadn't been awoken Hank decided to focus on Connor again. "And don't disobey me again. I'll drag you in there if I-"
Connor trudged into the bathroom without protest as soon as Hank told him what to do. He didn't want to be defiant and get assaulted a second time that day.
"Uh, yeah. Good." Hank confirmed as he quietly walked around the couch and trailed after Connor down the hallway. The sight of the android's blue blood being left against the wall in the shape of a handprint was as unnerving as it was sickening. "That's... That's good."
As he entered the bathroom Hank flipped on the light with the switch and saw Connor standing before the bathtub with his back being presented toward the door. The android seemed to almost be ashamed of himself and couldn't bring himself to turn and look Hank in the eyes.
"You got attacked, didn't you?" The Lieutenant asked already knowing the answer. "And you couldn't handle it, could you?"
Connor remained still and responded in a low voice. "It doesn't matter anymore. I made a mistake, and I've paid for my error."
"Yeah, sure. Do you even know why I told you to stay here? Hm?"
"No, but I'm sure whatever reason you have is perfectly valid and everything I have to say will be irrelevant."
"You know, I'm getting tired of that." The bitter man remarked as he turned on the faucet in the sink and then placed a washcloth under the pouring stream of water to get it soaked thoroughly with warm water. "I don't know what it is with you, but for a machine you have a pretty smart mouth. And I don't appreciate being disrespected in my own home in front of my own son."
"And I don't appreciate being disrespected in general. All I do is exist and people treat me like I've committed a sinful act."
"Welcome to Detroit." Turning off the water, Hank picked up the soaked washcloth and wrung out the excess water before speaking again. "Everyone gets treated like shit in this city. It's one of the most notorious and unfortunate traits that we're known for."
"That should change."
"You're right, it should. Now turn around, I don't want you smearing that blue shit all over the floors and walls."
Connor looked down at his Thirium stained hands and wiped his blue palms against his jeans to remove the blue blood from sight. "...I'll clean myself up."
"No, I'm going to clean you up."
"Why?"
"Because I told you to do something earlier and you disobeyed me, and this is the only way I can be sure that I want you to do actually gets done." Hank was adamant in keeping control and demanded that Connor obey his orders. "Now, turn around and sit down on the edge of the tub. I am not above shoving your ass down if you won't sit down under your own power."
Without any reason or ability to argue Connor reluctantly turned around to face Hank and reveal the extent of the damage he had sustained from the beatdown. The deviant saw the shock in Hank's eyes as he watched the android finally sit down on the edge of the bathtub and remain still. In spite of the sincere reaction Connor doubted that Hank actually cared about how he had been attacked, assaulted and then beaten in broad daylight.
"Holy shit, who the did that you?"
"It doesn't matter." Connor snipped as Hank took in the pathetic sight before him. "Humans will never be charged for attacking androids beyond simple vandalism and being a public disturbance."
"Whatever. Hold still, I'm going to-" As Hank reached toward Connor's chin the android physically flinched away from the touch and his eyelids flickered rapidly as if he was expecting to be struck again. "Okay, easy. I'm not going to hit you. I'm just going to touch your cheek and your eye."
Keeping perfectly still Connor didn't resist when Hank pressed the washcloth to his left cheek and began wiping away the drying blue blood. It was only when the washcloth neared his eye did Connor physically wince and let out a small hiss of pain through his clenched teeth.
"Can't fault you for that kind of reaction. Your eye looks like it's pretty fucked up."
Not wanting any additional attention Connor responded to the observation in a dry and disinterested manner. "It'll heal on its own."
"Seriously? What should be white is now black and your whole iris and pupil are creepy neon blue."
"I'm certain that it'll heal."
"What caused this kind of damage?" Hank asked curiously as he noted the deep gouges surrounded by smaller scratches and the torn artificial skin. "It looks like you were mauled by a damn tiger or something."
"It was a glass bottle." Connor replied honestly as Hank pressed the washcloth against his swelling eye all around where the eyeball itself was still visible. "Twice."
"Shit, good aim." As he pressed the washcloth along the blue blood stains Hank saw something small glimmering in the overhead light. "It looks like there's some glass in your eye."
"My system can remove it."
"How?"
"Same way that all organic creatures remove foreign matter from their own eyes. We have saline ducts that produce artificial tears."
"Won't do any good if your eye's swollen shut. I'll get it-"
"Don't touch my eye." Connor jerked back and had to resist the urge to rub at his sore eye in response to the glass shards. "Please."
"Why are you so hesitant to let me help you?"
Quiet for a minute Connor carefully chose his next words before speaking again. "You've never assisted me in the past unless it was to keep Cole content. He's asleep right now and he doesn't even know what's happened to me. Therefore, I have no reason to expect you to assist me right now."
"All right, I guess that's fair." Tossing the dirty washcloth aside Hank walked over to the medicine cabinet above the sink and located the large bottle of eyedrops that he kept stored for whenever he dealt with long nights at work drying out his eyes. As he unscrewed the top from the bottle Hank sighed and gave Connor a somewhat offended look. "You know, Gavin told me that you helped him with a case while me and Cole were gone last week back. He also told me that you took a damn pen to the side of your neck for all your troubles. He had to put pressure on your neck, haul your ass out of the precinct over his shoulders and drive you all the way back to his apartment where Abby was staying for the weekend so she could patch you up. Good thing Abby was visiting, I guess."
There was no need to lie about true events in that moment. "What Detective Reed has stated is true."
"Yeah, I know that. What I don't know is why you didn't tell me about it."
"What use would having that knowledge provide?" Connor asked as he looked up at Hank with one good eye while the man pressed his hand above the deviant's swollen left eye. As his eyelids were gently parted by Hank's thumb and forefinger Connor remained perfectly still and allowed Hank to flush the glass shards from his eyeball with the saline solution. "I was attacked while working on a case, I was assisted by Detective Reed after I was attacked, I then received repairs from Miss Grayson, and then I returned here without any further incident."
"I just want to know what's going on with you. You're important to Cole, and it's important to me to make sure Cole is happy." The dismissive and simple reply did little to ease Connor's mind. "Seeing you damaged and miserable makes him very unhappy, which means I don't want you to be damaged and miserable either."
"Forgive my skepticism in regard to your claim."
"I can't say that I blame you for that outlook considering everything that you've been through. How about telling me when you regained all your memories and functionality?" Hank asked as he finished rinsing out Connor's eye and then used a dry washcloth to dab away the residual saline trailing down Connor's cheek. "I know it wasn't an overnight thing, but you seem to be back to how you were before you took that blow to your head."
"I regained full functionality on New Year's Eve; the day that I protected that young woman at the sledding hill from attempted abduction."
"Really?" Hank asked as he then began cleaning out the deep lacerations along Connor's cheek. Seeing the exposed and gouged plastimetal frames through the torn artificial skin was unnerving if not a little nauseating. "So you've been back to your full strength for over two and half months?"
"That is correct." Leaning away from Hank's hands again Connor tried to keep himself from flinching despite being in pain and not wanting to be touched. "I also recall everything that had happened prior to being attacked, and I recall everything that's happened after the attack."
"That's good news."
"Yes, but it's only good to some people."
"Some people, huh?" It took Hank a could ten minutes to clean up Connor's face and then apply some bandages over the deep lacerations and over Connor's damaged eye. The man didn't want to let Cole see how badly injured Connor was and get scared by the sight. "Guess that's fair too. All right, where else did they hit you? I heard you limping after you came in."
Despite his hesitancy to cooperate with Hank while his damage was mended Connor replied honestly. "My chest, my shoulders, my back and my right knee."
"Okay. Take off your jacket and shirt, let me see."
"I can tend to my own wounds now, thank you." As he made a move to remove his jacket Connor suddenly remembered why he had gone out to the plaza to begin with and handed Hank one of the purchased objects from his pocket. "This if for Cole. I'm certain that this will help him feel better."
Hank accepted the item and chuckled at what Connor had purchased. "Chunky-peanut butter with chocolate chips. If he doesn't want to eat this, then I'll take him to the hospital since that means he's really sick."
Connor didn't share the lighthearted sentiment at the moment. He was in too much pain and felt too embarrassed by his own inability to protect himself to find anything worth smiling over.
"Right." Heading toward the bathroom door, Hank left Connor alone to tend to his own wounds. "Uh, yeah, you take care of yourself in here and I'll make sure Cole knows that you got him his favorite snack."
Carrying the jar in his hand Hank returned to the livingroom and looked down at Cole from over the back of the couch. He could see that his son was starting to stir and wake up at last. His complexion now had some color to it and his eyes looked less glassy as the little boy woke up from his nap.
"Hey, bud. How's your stomach?"
"It's okay." Cole admitted as he rolled from his side and onto his back to look up at his dad. He had to put his legs over Sumo's back in order to stretch out, and the large dog didn't mind it. "I don't want to eat anything yet."
"Really? Even... this?" Hank asked mischievously he presented Cole with the jar of peanut butter. "Connor made a special trip into town just for you."
Cole recognized what his dad was holding and sat upright slowly. "Chunky chocolate?"
"Yup. Your favorite." Grinning at his son's steady recovery Hank decided to offer him some middle ground. "How about this? I'll make you some fresh toast with this on top, and I'll double it up if you promise to eat the entire piece. Think you could do that?"
Nodding softly Cole agreed to the simple request. "Yeah. That's good."
"Good! Stay right there, bud." Hank leaned down and gave Cole's hair a quick kiss before heading into the kitchen. "I'll get you your toast and chunky chocolate spread on top."
Feeling much better and finally feeling a little hungry, Cole sat upright entirely on the couch and pulled his blanket around his shoulders. The little energy he had regained after napping made him feel much better despite still having a bit of a headache.
"Too bad you can't eat chocolate." Cole told Sumo as he rubbed the large dog's ears and settled in on the couch. He was so focused on Sumo and his snack new that he didn't even hear Connor step out of the bathroom. "That stuff is so good!"
"I'm glad you like it." Connor replied as he limped into the livingroom and pulled the rawhide bone from his other jacket pocket. "I made sure to get Sumo a snack as well, so that he doesn't try to beg from you."
Cole laughed as Sumo immediately chomped down on the offered treat and wagged his tail hard enough to rock the entire couch. "Good boy."
Keeping his left eye hidden from Cole's line of sight Connor hung his jacket up by the front door and decided to spend the rest of the day recuperating in the privacy of the garage. He didn't want to upset Cole by letting him see his bandaged face and all of the swelling and bruising all around his damaged eye.
Hank stepped out of the kitchen just as Connor stepped into the same room. He understood what Connor wanted to do and he didn't dare to interfere with the android's decision to hide out from the cold, cruel world and get some rest.
"Got your toast, son." Presenting Cole with the tasty snack Hank rejoined Cole on the couch and sat beside him again. "Eat up."
"Thanks, dad."
"Be sure to thank Connor too. It bought that spread for you."
Cole took a big bite of the toast and glanced about the livingroom casually as he tried to figure out where Connor had just gone. "Where'd he go?"
"Garage. It's tired." The protective father replied honestly to ensure that Cole didn't worry too much about Connor. Lightly he pressed the back of his hand to Cole's forehead for another fever check. "Long day at the store."
"Why was his face all wrapped up?"
"You noticed that, huh?"
"Yup. Hard to not notice a bunch of white stuff taped all over someone's face."
"Should've known that you'd see that." Pulling back his hand Hank then patted Cole's shoulder and gave his son a small nod as Cole continued to eat his toast. "Well, Connor's face is bandaged up after a few people in the area decided that they didn't want it around. They beat it up and now it has a pretty nasty black eye."
"Did the bad guys get arrested like last time?"
"Uh, no." There was no text or phone call from the precinct regarding any arrests from the shopping plaza where Connor had been attacked. That either meant that the people managed to get away before the cops arrived or the arrests weren't linked to Connor himself getting attacked. "At least, not that I know of."
"When are you going to go find the people who hurt him?"
"I'm not going to find them, son. There's no point in arresting the people who did that to Connor."
"How come?" Cole was too inquisitive and bright for his own good sometimes. "They're bad people and they hurt Connor."
"Because... Well, there aren't any laws or rules against people beating up androids. There's nothing I can do about it."
"Why not? Connor's hurt and the bad people got arrested before!"
"Cole, it's complicated."
Suddenly without his appetite again Cole put his toast down on the coffee table before himself. "That just means you don't want to tell me the truth."
"No, that's not it at all." Hank picked up the plate from the coffee table and offered it back to Cole to continue eating. "It just means that the law won't let me do anything about all the people who attack androids. If there was any way to get those violent and bad people off the streets and keep them off the streets, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"Then the laws should be different. That's not fair letting androids get hurt by bad people all the time."
Hank just sighed through his nose as he gave Cole a small grin. "Well, maybe when you grow up you can be the one to make the laws different. Come on, eat your toast and don't worry about Connor. It'll be fine. It heals quickly, remember?"
"I guess so."
"And you don't want to let this tasty chocolate-chunk spread go to waste do you ya'?" Teasing a little Hank hoped that Cole would continue eating and regain his strength faster so that he could make a full recovery. "Connor went out and bought it just for you, so you better eat every little crumb from that jar. Think you can do that?"
"I can try." Cole replied as he took another bite of his toast and perked up a little more. He couldn't hide that having his treat definitely improved his mood and restored his waning appetite. "But not today. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to eat the rest of the jar."
"Yeah, sure. Let's just watch a movie, stop worrying about stuff and hope that you feel better soon." Hank decided as he sank back on the couch and looked toward the kitchen where he had last seen Connor before the android disappeared into the garage. The dedicated Lieutenant had to admit that it was getting harder to not want to do something whenever Connor had been singled out. "If you feel better, then we'll all feel better."
-next chapter-