The icy weather that often notoriously plagued all of Michigan during the late winter and early spring had proven to remain a burden as the pursuit of a suspected thief resulted in police squad cars struggling to find traction in the streets and officers pursuing on foot slipping and sliding along the sidewalks during the chase. Only the hovering police drones floating above the streets and drifting through opened alleyways were able to avoid slipping on the ice. However, sporadic gusts of strong, chilly wind would occasionally blow the pursuing drones off the trail of the fleeing suspect and always required the drones pause mid-chase to correct their course before continuing their pursuit.
Having given up on trying to navigate the icy streets in any vehicle, Hank and Connor set about the chase on foot. Hank was determined to catch the thief that had broken into, raided, and then illegally sold android biocomponents and software before he disappeared into the city. The Lieutenant knew that if one opportunist succeeded in any black marketeering, then that means dozens - even hundreds - of other aspiring entrepreneurs would try to imitate the success and inevitably flood the city with illegal sales of dangerous goods.
Connor was able to easily keep up with the running thief thanks to his superior android endurance and ability to preconstruct his route over the icy terrain. Being in pursuit of a human was also easier to handle in comparison to chasing another deviant. As he zeroed-in on the fleeing human Connor noted that the desperate man had begun losing grip on the stolen, delicate biocomponents in his possession as the items were pressed to his chest and wrapped under his arms. If he dropped and damaged any of the biocomponents then the man would be charged far more seriously for his crimes beyond theft, trespassing and resisting arrest.
"Stop! Detroit Police!" Connor shouted again as he reached out his hand and prepared to grab onto the fleeing man's shoulder to stop him from running any further down the icy street. They were about to pass over a bridge that stretched over a small river near a local park, and if the man vanished into the park, he'd be very difficult to track down a second time. "Do not resist! Get down on the ground!"
"Fuck you!" Shouting such an original and disgusting response between panting breaths, the man looked at the side of the bridge he was about to cross and decided to make another foolish decision of the day. "I ain't going to prison!"
It took Connor only two milliseconds to figure out what the thief was going to do, and he reacted accordingly. As the man reached the side of the bridge, jumped up onto the ledge and prepared to jump down into the freezing water, Connor managed to awkwardly grab onto the thief's arm just below his wrist and hold tight. The thief still attempted to jump even with Connor hanging on to his arm and he ended up pulling Connor toward the edge of the bridge right alongside him.
Connor had attempted to plant his feet and shift his weight to keep himself from falling forward, but the icy surface under his boots caused Connor to gracelessly slide forward at an uncomfortable speed and slam his right hip into the frozen, concrete ledge of the bridge. The impact caused the joint connecting Connor's leg to his hip to partially dislocate and send a sharp jolt of pain all through Connor's leg, hip and right side.
Groaning in pain Connor fell to his knees to try and shift his weight downward on the safe side of the bridge as the thief now hung over the opposite side, dangling just a few feet above the freezing river thanks to Connor grabbing onto his arm and refusing to let go. The thick ledge of the bridge was the only thing keeping Connor from slipping over the edge of the bridge as well, but with the thief's weight pulling on him and pressing his damaged hip into the icy, unyielding barricade, Connor was at risk of serious damage and losing his grip entirely. The pressure against the damaged joint caused the damage to spread in the form of splintering cracks that destabilized the joint even further causing horrendous pain that nearly stole Connor's voice.
"S-Stop resisting!" It was hard to just speak as Connor fought to ignore his pain and to keep his grip tight. The thief's heavy weight and frantic squirming to get out of his grip only made the damage to his hip worse as he was being actively pulled against the ledge directly atop his fractures. "Y-You'll fall and d-drown!"
"No way," the thief shouted in response as he continued to struggle against Connor's grip. "I can swim!"
The pained deviant detective didn't have the ability to explain the painful experience of falling into freezing water, going into shock, slipping beneath the surface, drowning and being completely unable to do anything about it. He barely had the ability to keep his hand wrapped around the thief's arm to prevent the man from falling into the river below.
"Oh, shit!" Hank had caught up to the chase fairly quickly and was now on the bridge and kneeling beside Connor as he reached over to grab the thief by their jacket and haul their sorry ass back up and over the ledge. As soon as he had a firm grip on the thief's jacket between his shoulders Hank hefted the smaller man with great ease up onto the bridge and then immediately put his knee down in the middle of the struggling thief's spine to pin them in place on their stomach with the stolen goods pinned beneath their body. "Don't move! You're under arrest!"
Collapsing to his left side Connor pressed his freed hand down on his right hip and ran a self-diagnostic over the damaged site. The readings weren't ideal and confirmed that he needed technical attention to ensure a proper recovery.
...SELF-DIAGNOSTIC: ENGAGED]
-CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK]
-CHECKING BIOSENSORS... OK]
-CHECKING AI ENGINE... OK]
-MEMORY STATUS... OK]
READY...
[...Thirium Volume - 96%]
[...Thirium Pressure - 120/80]
[...Thirium Pump Rate - 84 B.P.M.]
[...Ventilation Rate - 17 V.P.M.]
[...Core Temperature - 97.7 Degrees Fahrenheit]
WARNING:
-STRESS LEVEL: ^22%
-DAMAGE TO DEXTRAL HIP AND LEG JOINT: 72.1% Structural Integrity]
-DAMAGE TO DEXTRAL HIP AND LEG JOINT: 55.6% Functionality]
[...Seek Immediate Technical Assistance]
-SYSTEM READY... OK]
"Stop struggling." Hank ordered as he watched the thief squirming under his knee. "You're not going to try THAT again. No one in the city gets paid enough to do a search and rescue on some dumbass's dead body frozen at the bottom of the river in January!"
"I d-didn't do nothing!"
"Is that why you ran from the cops and have a bunch of stolen shit in your arms?" The seasoned Lieutenant wasn't letting up on his weight on the thief's back as he watched the drones circle overhead and heard a squad car carefully making its way toward the bridge to take the now captured thief into custody. "Do us all a favor and shut the hell up. You're going to need a lawyer, and a damn good one at that, to sort through this mess."
Barely able to breathe due to the pain his damaged joint, Connor managed to only curl his left leg beneath himself as he laid on his side and pressed his palm to his damaged, throbbing right hip. "H-Hank... I need help."
"What happened?" Without moving his knee Hank looked over at the downed deviant and could see that Connor was in serious pain and unable to get up. The way Connor was supporting his right hip already gave Hank an idea of what he missed out on. "Did you break your leg?"
"N-No." Connor didn't dare move his hand as he didn't want to risk moving his leg or aggravating the fractured joint by mistake. "I... I damaged my hip joint. I can't put any weight on m-my right leg or move it."
"All right, hold still." Hank waited for Chris and Jack to reach the bridge and the pinned thief before he let up on his weight. Only after the thief had his arms behind his back and his wrists cuffed did Hank walked over to where Connor was laying and remove his dark coat to drape over his downed partner and son to help him feel warmer and comforted. "Do you need an ambulance?"
"No, I should b-be able to be transported without a-any E.F.T.'s or a backboard."
"So it's okay for me to pick you up, right?"
Connor watched as Hank moved to kneel behind him and tried to determine if he could handle the pain of having his leg and hip potentially jostled. "I... I think so."
"I know how much it hurts to have a fucked-up joint, so I'll be very careful." Wisely Hank waited for Chris and Jack to finish wrangling the thief and wrestling with him to get in the back of their squad car for transport. The fewer obstacles there were to walk around, the better it'd be for Connor's comfort. "I'm going to keep you on your side, support your left leg and let your right leg rest on top of it. Don't move your legs at all and let me support all your weight."
Chris overheard the comment and paused for just a moment to try and be of some help. "Lieutenant, do you need me to call for some support?"
"No, I got him. You take care of our resident klepto and make sure Jack gets all the stolen shit documented for us. I'll call Fowler and let him know what's going on and confirm a Code-I at the scene myself."
"Okay." Marching the arrested thief forward Chris looked back at the pained deviant as he did his best to not shift around under Hank's protect watch. "Feel better soon, Connor!"
"Where a-are you going to take me?" Holding his breath Connor didn't move a single synthetic muscle as Hank lifted him up from the freezing bridge beneath him. The fractured joint shifted just marginally enough for the deviant to let out a pained gasp but not cry out. "Y-You can't carry me a-all the way back to the precinct."
"You're right, I can't." Straightening up his posture Hank nodded in the direction of the nearest facility just two blocks away from their current location. "But I can get ya' to the Zeta Facility. Abby will patch you up."
"No, I don't want to be admitted to a f-facility."
"You're not gonna' be admitted overnight or anything like that, son." Ignoring the cold air now cutting into his skin thanks to his coat being removed, Hank focused on his goal and carried Connor at a smooth, steady pace to keep himself from accidentally making the deviant's broken joint worse. "Just a few hours. Depending on how badly you're injured you could be outta' there in a couple of minutes or a couple of hours, no sweat."
Despite Hank's reassuring words Connor wasn't so sure if the Lieutenant's optimism was warranted or accurate. Connor hadn't felt such concentrated pain in one joint before, and he knew that such pain could only mean one thing. Internal damage. Anything internal always warranted invasive repair procedures, and Connor was still fearful of such procedures due to the way CyberLife had treated him and the other androids only a few years prior.
The prognosis for Connor's damaged hip was worse than the deviant had feared and had resulted in him being benched from the precinct for three consecutive days due to his injury. It didn't take Abby long to confirm that the impact of Connor's hip against the frozen concrete barricade had not only fractured the metal coupling that connected the top of his upper leg to his pelvic frames - similar to that of a human's femur connected to the hip - but it had actually bent the coupling, fractured the top of Connor's upper leg joint and dislocated the joint entirely. Such an unstable fracture required internal repairs that already put Connor in a grim mood, but the prolonged support of the repaired limb and joint during the overall recovery period made him feel absolutely broken.
Connor resented laying over the length of the couch with his right leg secured in a plastimetal splint from the top of his knee stretching up his right side and coming to rest just below his chest. The splint wrapped entirely around his thigh and both sides of his hip to ensure that his right leg didn't budge while his hip rested. The deviant's self-healing program could only work so fast, and any physical disturbances could result in the program needing to reset itself and begin the healing process from the very beginning all over again.
Being unable to walk around or work was bad enough, but needing to wait for someone to be able to help him with something was even worse. Connor wasn't used to being entirely helpless and physically vulnerable, let alone needing to rely on other people for just basic everyday necessities. The only reason he didn't entirely snap with frustration came in the form of Cole acting like nothing was wrong and hanging out with Connor after school as per usual.
Letting out a deep breath Cole put his trombone down on the coffee table and proceeded to carefully take the instrument apart to clean it up before putting back in its protective case. He had finished practicing a new song with Connor's guidance and was feeling good about his improvement as a practicing musician.
"In middle school next year, I could join the marching band if I get good enough at playing." The fifth grader confirmed as he took pristine care of the instrument in his possession. "But I'm not sure if I could handle band and play baseball at the same time."
"I'm sure you can handle any challenge that comes your way. After all," repositioning his pillow behind his neck and shoulders allowed Connor to sit more upright without bending his leg or moving his splint in the process. "baseball takes place in the later spring, summer and early fall seasons. Band is something that occurs in late fall, winter and early spring seaons. You can properly manage your time."
"I also want to try out for basketball too."
"There's nothing wrong with having multiple interests and extracurricular activities."
"Yeah, but dad's gotta' work and he can't always be there to watch me. I don't think he'd be able to get me to school and stuff for practice all the time."
"That doesn't mean he won't care about your interests or try to make the time to be there for you when you really need and want his support." Connor was trying to be as reassuring as he could, but since he had never been a child he didn't have any experience with trying to balance afterschool activities with other responsibilities like family, chores and work. "Not to mention that you can always ask for me, Lucas, Gavin, Abby or Captain Fowler to support you. We'll help where we can."
"Yeah, but it's just not the same." Cole finished cleaning off the trombone then placed it back into the case one piece at a time to keep the instrument safe before putting it up in his bedroom for the night. "I have a chemistry test tomorrow. Can you help me study?"
"Of course. Bring everything down and I'll tutor you before dinner arrives."
"Thanks!"
Connor could only listen as Cole walked up the staircase with his trombone case in hand and walk around his bedroom. He hated not being able to stand up, walk around or get upstairs into his own bedroom. It was then the deviant realized he had taken something every day and remarkable like walking for granted. Being unable to move around or take care of himself filled Connor was a misplaced shame. The lack of self-care wasn't from a lack of trying or willingness to try, it came from an actual physical limitation that he couldn't simply will away no matter how stubborn he could be.
Despondently Connor looked down at his own right leg and side with utter disdain. In his mind he might as well have had his entire hip and leg replaced compared to letting it heal, but his prototyping made such a prospect impossible. Even after a year New Jericho Tower hadn't finished developing compatible replacement limbs and biocomponents for the 'RK' series. Connor, Lucas and Markus were the only three deviants who'd benefit from such creations, which meant the development process was put at the bottom of the list of priorities to ensure the other deviants were taken care of first and foremost.
"I hate this. I can't do anything for myself, let alone help anyone beyond studying and random conversations."
Sumo whined sympathetically from his pillow in the corner of the livingroom before rising to his paws and walking over to the couch to keep Connor company. The large dog rested his chin down on the cushion beside Connor's arm and looked up at him with his big brown eyes.
"Don't worry about me, boy." Connor rubbed Sumo's ears and managed to get the massive dog's tail rhythmically wagging back and forth across the floor. "I'm just frustrated, that's all."
"Got it!" Cole announced as he returned to the livingroom with his textbook, a notebook and a pencil in his hands. "I can't remember the periodic table very well. I won't be able to pass my test unless I can find a way to memorize what each letter stands for, but it's confusing. Like this one!" Pointing to the element for gold Cole tried to understand why an element that started with the letter 'g' had 'Au; as its designated elemental letter. "Why is this the letter for gold while Gallium gets the letter 'g'?"
"The 'Au' for gold is Latin in origin. 'Aurum' translates directly into 'gold' and helps eliminate repetitive lettering on the table."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm an android." Replying coyly Connor gave Cole a sly grin. "I have the ability to immediately search for answers by cybernetically researching the question."
"So you just have to think and the answers pop in your head? That's cheating..."
"It's not cheating, it's just an ability that androids have and humans do not." Reaching over Connor took the textbook from Cole's hands and immediately winced as the simple motion pulled on his right side and ached his hip. Laying back against the pillow Connor withheld his cry of pain and tried to hide his discomfort by focusing on Cole's schoolwork and ignoring his own pain. "...W-Which elements can you remember without difficulty?"
"Um, a few." Cole's blue eyes narrowed as he looked over the deviant and picked up on Connor's distressed demeanor. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a little sore."
"I'll get you an icepack. Dad told me you hurt your leg today, so I know you need some help."
Before Connor could even try to deny that he was in fact in any pain Cole had made his way into the kitchen to begin rummaging for an icepack in the freezer. The idea of a fifth grader being able to do more for Connor than Connor could do for himself left the deviant feeling twice as useless.
"I don't need anything, I'm fine."
Sumo whined again before his ears perked up and he looked to the front door. Right as the doorknob turned Sumo let out a happy bark to greet Hank as the tired Lieutenant finally made his way home to relax for the rest of the night.
"Hey, son." Hanging his coat on the hook by the front door Hank kicked off his shoes and rubbed his fingers along his tired eyes as if he could somehow force the exhaustion from his gaze. "How are you feeling?"
Gritting his teeth Connor forced himself to keep his voice level and not get snippy with the man for asking a harmless question. "...I'm fine."
"Good to hear." Sniffling slightly Hank walked behind the couch just as Cole returned to the livingroom with an icepack in his hands. Giving Cole's hair a small ruffle Hank seemed a little shocked to see that Cole was tall enough to be almost level with his shoulder. "How about you, Cole? You good? Need help with anything?"
"Yeah, just gotta' study for a test tomorrow."
"Chemistry again?"
"Yeah."
"Man, I hated chemistry in school. Too many letters that don't make any sense." Hank made his way into the kitchen himself and sniffled again as he grabbed a clean mug and placed it within the coffee maker. "What do you want for dinner? Pizza? Tacos? Chinese?"
"Connor ordered a couple of pizzas already! They'll be here soon."
"Oh... Good." Leaning his elbows against the countertop Hank watched as the hot coffee quickly poured from the percolator into his mug with a refreshing rush of steam. Glancing about the kitchen Hank reached for a tissue in a box sitting beside the sink and used it to discreetly blow his nose. "That's one less thing to worry about tonight."
Cole settled on the floor between the couch and the coffee table so he could be near Connor without accidentally bumping into the healing deviant's sore side or leg in the process. Taking notes while Connor gave him little tips and advice on being able to remember his chemistry work distracted Cole from the fact that Connor was injured and that his dad was in the kitchen trying to stop his nose from running.
"I can't wait until I'm done with chemistry." Cole admitted as he took his notes and tried Connor's study method to help him remember the letter identifying each element on the period table. "Biology's fine, but not chemistry."
Wandering into the livingroom Hank put his mug of coffee down on the coffee table just in time to answer the door and accept the pizza delivery. The smell of the fresh and hot food being delivered by the drone was enough to make Hank's current sinus problems seem suddenly minimal. After putting the two boxes down on the table alongside his coffee mug Hank sat on the floor beside Cole, flipped open the lid on the pizza box and craned his neck to look at Cole's textbook.
"You got Connor's help, right?" The grade school chemistry work was still enough to make Hank a little wary of taking tests. "He's definitely the one you want to get help from when it comes to this stuff. When it comes to history, I'll happily be your tutor."
Connor spent the evening remaining still on the couch while assisting Cole with his studying and doing little else. Even changing his position on the couch was too much for his damaged body to bear. Unable to work, unable to finish furnishing his own house, unable to take up any tasks at New Jericho Tower, and unable to just walk around had resulted in the deviant feeling the true limitations of his own body. The thoughts swirling in his head began to pull Connor into a dark spiral of doubts and paranoia that he wouldn't be able to protect himself or his family in the event of an emergency.
"Thanks for ordering pizza tonight, son."
Hearing Hank's voice pulled Connor from his thoughts long enough to look over at the man as he used a napkin to wipe off his mouth. "...You're welcome."
"Need anything from the kitchen?" As he carried the empty pizza box into the kitchen to toss in the garbage Hank didn't notice the way Connor tensed up and squared his jaw with irritation at the innocent question. "Thirium, icepack? Anything like that?"
"No, I don't need anything." It was a bit of a challenge to keep his tone civil since Connor had already grown tired of being asked if he needed any help. "And if I do need something, I can get it myself."
"Not on a completely busted leg you're not!"
"It's a fractured joint coupling in my right hip. It's NOT a broken leg..."
Cole immediately caught on to Connor's ire and decided to avoid asking if the deviant needed any help. The young man had always been quick to pick up on what was happening in the house regarding high-strung emotions or problems.
"I'm gonna' let Sumo out for a bit." Patting the side of his leg Hank called Sumo into the kitchen and opened the sliding glass doors to let the dog outside and into the backyard for a few minutes. "Then I'm gonna'- Ah... CHOO!"
The loud sneeze echoed through the house and prompted Connor to perform a biometric scan over Hank's form despite being in a different room. Symptoms of a mild cold were setting-in causing Hank to suffer from nasal swelling, a mild fever and mounting fatigue. Instinctively Connor attempted to get to his feet and meet with Hank in the kitchen to help the man with his illness and impending recovery.
"You need to-"
A sudden sharp and jolting pain surged up Connor's leg, through his hip and into his side causing the deviant to immediately fall back against the couch and clutch at the offending injury sight with both hands. Rolling on to his left side Connor took as much weight from his right leg and side as he could and closed his eyes tight as pained tears began to roll down his cheeks.
"Dad?" Cole stood up and looked down at Connor as his deviant friend and brother regretted his attempt to get up. "Connor's in pain."
Without even asking for clarification Hank returned to the livingroom and put his hand on the deviant's trembling shoulder. Peering down Hank saw the telltale signs of pain etched on Connor's face and knew that the deviant was trying to act as if his injury wasn't worth taking the time to properly rest and recover.
"What can I do to help you?" Hank asked in a nearly helpless tone as he tried to figure out what had happened while he was in the kitchen. "What happened?"
"I... I t-tried to get up." Connor admitted as he used the collar of his t-shirt to wipe away his tears. "I couldn't do it!"
"You're not supposed to be trying to get up. You're hurt."
"And you're sick." A near whimper escaped Connor's lips as he took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "I should be able to help you. I shouldn't be completely useless like this."
"Oh... I see. Cole?" Hank looked at his youngest son and gave him a small nod to ask for his help. "Could you go and get some Thirium for Connor? Warm it up on the stove for a few minutes so it doesn't boil over in the microwave."
Silently Cole nodded in response as he made his way into the kitchen and did as he was asked. It didn't take a detective to know that Hank wanted to speak to Connor in relative privacy.
"Son, listen to me." Sitting down on the coffee table Hank lightly pulled on Connor's shoulder to encourage the deviant to roll back over and rest on his back. "You're NOT useless; never have been and never will be. You're injured and you're temporarily unable to walk around the house, that's it. You need to learn to be more patient with yourself and understand that just because you can't immediately do something or help someone that it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. Just like you're going to be okay in a couple of days, I am too. I have a very small cold that'll be gone by the time you're back on your feet and ready to return to the precinct."
"I can't just lie around while other people are working and helping other people in need." Connor dragged his palms over his eyes again as he dried his tears and returned both hands to his sore hip to make sure he didn't worsen the fractures by mistake. The splint had done its job and kept the damaged site stable even after Connor abruptly tried to move his weakened hip joint and put weight on it. "It's not what I was programmed to do!"
"So that's it..."
"What?" The revelation in Hank's eyes at that statement went right over Connor's head. "What're you referring to?"
"Connor, part of being free and having rights is being able to have a day or two where you aren't putting everything and everyone above your own needs. You don't need to worry about me, the precinct, New Jericho, CyberLife or anyone else calling you 'defective' or something, and having you decommissioned." The way Connor darted his eyes away from him told Hank that he was right on the money with Connor's attitude. "It's okay to be mortal. It's okay to be human for a damn day. You may have a lot of responsibilities and care about other people, but you have a responsibility to yourself to take care of yourself just as well as you take care of everyone else. Cole and I are completely capable of taking care of ourselves for a couple of days without your help, and we don't need to ask for Lucas to drop everything he's doing to help out either. It's okay, it really is."
"...It still feels selfish."
"That's the curse of being empathetic." The protective father confirmed as he gave Connor a small smile and sniffed once to keep his nose from running. "You always feel like the world around you is more important even though you're a part of that world and deserve just as much care and attention as the next person."
"How do I stop these feelings from manifesting?"
"By reminding yourself that if you're giving your all to everyone in the world three-hundred and sixty-four days out of the year, that having just one day to yourself is not at all selfish or something to feel bad about." It was such a simple answer that it seemed almost too easy to be true. "It's okay to ask someone else for help when you need it or just want it."
"...I'll work on that."
"Good." Hank gave Connor's shoulder a small pat before he got to his feet and walked over to the recliner to grab one of the spare pillows resting on the furniture. Very carefully the man wedged the pillow beneath Connor's hip and in between two of the couch cushions to ensure that Connor's splinted leg and side remained stable and supported while he rested. "Lay still, enjoy having paid time off, and be patient with yourself. I'll be able to deal with my cold by myself and Sumo can go a day or two without a walk. You'll make it up to him once you can walk around yourself."
"Here you go, Connor." Cole presented the deviant with a dark blue mug of the warmed Thirium. "I picked the hot chocolate flavor for you. Is that okay?"
"That's a good choice, thank you." Accepting the mug for a moment Connor looked down at the warm Thirium and thought about all the times he had taken care of Hank and Cole in the past whenever they were ill, hurt or just having a bad day in general. He knew it wasn't wrong to ask for help, it was just a weakness of character to be so unwilling to ask for anything out of fear of being told 'no' or accused of bad behavior. "I appreciate this."
"You get some rest." The insistence in Hank's voice was hard to ignore even with a stuffy nose. "I'm going to take a nice hot shower then head up to bed early so I can read for a while and sleep this cold off. Cole, you know when you need to go to bed, so don't stay up late and think I won't notice."
"I know, dad."
"If you two need anything just shout. Oh, and don't forget about Sumo." Hank warned as he gave his two sons a knowing look. "You know how he gets when he's left outside for too long. I'm not in the mood for a mopey hound looking for all the love in the world just because he was outside for fifteen minutes instead of ten."
Cole rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh as he returned to the kitchen just long enough to open the door and call the Saint Bernard back inside. "I know!"
Feeling marginally better about what had happened that day Connor sipped at his Thirium and let his body finally relax as he accepted his fate and resigned himself to becoming one with the couch for the next three days. He may not have been able to physically move around the house, work at the precinct, volunteer at New Jericho Tower or finish working on his own house, but he was able to remain a friend and loving son and brother without needing to do anything to "earn" such recognition or work to keep his place in his found family.
As Sumo came plodding back into the livingroom Connor reached out to rub the dog's chin and watched as Cole reclaimed his textbook and notebook to resume studying in the recliner. It was amazing to see how mature Cole was and realize that the defenseless little boy that Connor had originally met was now capable of taking care of himself, handling his own responsibilities and being helpful in his own way.
It was strange to admit, but Connor knew that Hank was right. Being able to rest and heal without the world coming to an end was a very real possibility, and Connor didn't need to stress himself out over circumstances beyond his control. After his injury healed and his system recalibrated, everything would go back to normal and Connor would be able to resume his life without any further issues.
Much to his relief, Connor's family was capable of protecting themselves and protecting him just as he was capable of protecting them. Having a day just to be mortal and not trying to live up to the expectations of being a leader or a protector wasn't selfish, it was self-care. That was a lesson Connor was still struggling to learn but one he'd undoubtedly cherish over time.
-next chapter-