November had arrived with a chilly wind that frozen half of Detroit solid overnight. The extreme weather had caused delays in schools all around the city, as well as sporadic blackouts due to the heavy ice damaging powerlines and stressing the power grid. Once Cole was finally able to go to school two hours later than scheduled, Hank had taken the liberty of running errands with Connor while Gavin remained at the house to continue to recover from his rather traumatic break-up with Patricia. The Lieutenant was well aware that he could get called into the precinct at any moment to aid the city while enduring an ice storm, and as a result he decided to go into the city to buy groceries and other emergency supplies with Connor's assistance to ensure that his house was secure even if he wasn't there.

As expected, the shopping plaza was packed and there were people practically shoving their entire shopping carts into their cars to get packed up and on their way back to their own homes. While Hank forced himself through the grocery store aisle by aisle in search of food that could be eaten without any power, Connor proceeded to locate other necessities like batteries, flashlights, candles and medical supplies to restock the first-aid kit. Being separated from one another made shopping somewhat more manageable but not aggravating since it was hard to keep track of one another.

Small crowds of people began to argue and physically shove one another around as they fought over the dwindling supplies left on the shelves. It didn't take long for the matter to escalate and for store security to intervene, but even so the store remained busy, congested and tense. Voices were raised and a few fists were being thrown in aggressive attempts to get what few items were left for sale, and in return many of the androids who were sent in on their humans' behalves were getting tossed around and knocked to the ground.

With Hank's permission the deviant android was again wearing the beanie to hide his L.E.D. to avoid confrontation, and he was fortunately able to avoid being caught up in the anti-android fighting that was taking place just because people were looking for a reason to damage androids just for existing. Connor was keeping alert and moving fast through the aisles with a small basket filling up with only the items that were absolutely crucial to get back to Hank and out of the store as quickly as possible.

"Finished." Connor stated out loud as he placed the box of batteries into his basket and proceeded out of the aisle. "Now I need to find Hank."

"H-Hey... You! Th... The tall guy!"

Pausing for a moment Connor glanced about and saw a woman pointing at him and stumbling toward him. She was young, had long blonde hair, blue eyes and was wearing clothing that was not appropriate for the cold weather due to how revealing it was, not mention her heels were clearly making it difficult to walk. There was alcohol reeking from her breath, and she was clearly drunk to anyone who saw her despite it being barely noon.

"Ma'am, do you need something?" Asking the obvious question as the woman approached him Connor did his best to keep away from other people while attempting to locate Hank. "You seem unwell."

Giggling and hiccupping the woman fell forward against Connor's chest and remained stuck to him by clinging to his shirt while Connor supported her shoulders. "Y-You're... 'zo sweet! I... I need a maaaan like you in my life!"

"Ma'am, please stand up." A quick biometric scan confirmed that the woman wasn't sick but very drunk. Through her toxic breath alone Connor confirmed that she had a blood alcohol level of 0.12, which was far above the legal limit. "You're drunk and should go home."

"O-Only if you go with me!" The woman tried and failed to be sexy as she pressed her fingertip to Connor's lips and then trailed her finger down his chin, his neck and toward his chest. "I... You're j-juz' what I've been looking for!"

"Please let go of me." Lightly Connor pushed the woman back and carried his basket toward the front of the store with every intention of locating Hank. "I'll inform a manager that you require assistance."

The clever deviant sent out a cybernetic ping to locate Hank's phone and quickly found Hank already standing in line waiting for the android cashier to check him through. After adding the items that he had collected to Hank's cart Connor made an attempt to inform a staff member of the drunk woman roaming the store.

"I'll be back in a minute, Lieutenant."

"Where the hell are you going?" Hank asked with indifference as he leaned against the handlebar of the cart while thumbing through a classic tabloid magazine. "We got everything we need."

"Yes, but there is a woman who-" Stopping mid sentence Connor suddenly gasped and turned around quickly to see that the drunk woman he was trying to report had not only followed his to the registers but had firmly grabbed a hold of his butt while laughing hysterically. "Ma'am! Do not touch me!"

"Oh, come on..." Snorting and laughing to herself the woman let go of Connor just long enough to make a grab for the front of his jeans to unbutton them. "Don't tease me-"

"HEY!" Hank tossed the magazine aside and grabbed the woman's wrist as she groped Connor for the second time and put himself between the woman and the android. "Lady, you're way outta' line!"

"Oh, hey..." Turning her attention to Hank next the woman continued to laugh to herself even as everyone in the store turned to look at the situation thanks to Hank's deep voice alerting the shoppers to the uncomfortable situation unfolding in the checkout lanes. "Y-You're cute, but... a liddle' too o-old for me. But your friend..."

Connor tried to get away from the woman but didn't take two steps before she grabbed him by his belt and grabbed him right up front in a manner that no one should be touched without express consent. Freezing in embarrassment and at a loss of what to do, Connor just tried to get the woman to let him go again.

"H-He's... He's too cute to let go! R-Reminds me ov' the... Uh, the uh..." The woman didn't even notice Hank forcibly removing her hands from Connor so that the android could finally make a run for it and get outside the store. She just watched as Connor disappeared into the crowd with everyone watching the mortified android making his big escape. "The sex toyz at the club!"

"Uh-huh..." Hank pulled his badge from his pocket and showed it to the woman hoping the shine of his shield would sober the woman up. "Well, this isn't that nasty 'Eden Club', this is a grocery store, and this is my badge. Know what that means?"

"'Dat you're a buuuuuzz kill!"

"That's 'Lieutenant Buzzkill' to you, lady." It didn't take long for Hank to finally get the attention of the manager and inform her that she needed to call the police about a customer being drunk in public and for harassing people. "How about I call you a ride so you can sleep it off? Hm?"

"Suuure!" Too drunk to realize that she was about to be arrested the woman kept trying to wrap her arms around Hank's neck and hit on him. "Y-You're... old, but you're fun a-after all!"

"Oh, yeah." Annoyed with the woman but unwilling to leave her alone in the store, Hank put up with the drunk and waited for back-up to arrive. "I'm tons of fun..."

Outside the store but still within the ice-covered parking lot, Connor stood beside the Oldsmobile waiting for Hank to arrive and unlock the vehicle doors. He had never been sexually harassed before, and he suddenly felt very small and defenseless as he tried to wrap his head around his extreme reaction to the incident. As he replayed the events over and over inside his mind Connor tried to figure out what he had done wrong or what he should've done differently to keep the woman from touching him, but the deviant's preconstruction and reconstruction software wasn't able to provide him with an alternate solution to his current problem. By all account Connor should've been able to get the woman to stop with just his words alone, but he failed.

Staring at his reflection on the window as small flecks of sleet and rain soaked into his thin clothing Connor wondered why no one had intervened with the woman's crude behavior during the incident. The only person who did anything was Hank, but even so Hank didn't seem to care about Connor being physically molested by a drunk human. It was degrading to be seen as a sexual escapade and not as a living being with the right to say "no".

Lost in his thoughts Connor nearly jumped out of his artificial skin when Hank grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. Turning to look at the senior detective now standing beside him Connor stared at the man for a moment then followed Hank's thumb as Hank pointed to the store behind himself. There were two security androids standing alongside the drunk woman as they waited for a patrol car to arrive and arrest the woman for her conduct.

"The lady was drunk out her mind and still thinks you're cute." Hank smirked as he unlocked the car doors and then the trunk to load up his groceries. Unaware of how Connor was currently feeling Hank continued to joke about the incident as he put the groceries away one bag at a time. "She's some rich party-girl that was told to go out and get stuff because of the storm. Apparently, she and her sorority sisters thought it was appropriate to do some day drinking since classes were cancelled, but she was wrong. Now she's going to get a healthy dose of the real world and its consequences."

Connor didn't reply to the information and instead waited to get back inside the car to head for the house. He felt violated on a very personal level and didn't know how to express it or be taken seriously. The empathetic deviant was aware that he wasn't the first deviant to be sexually harassed and that he wouldn't be the last, but he still didn't know what to do about it.

"All right, let's go." Hank ordered as he finally unlocked the car doors and let Connor get out of the cold rain and inside the warmer vehicle. "I wanna' make sure Gavin doesn't need his bandages changed or something. Hate for him to get an infection."

Slowly Connor sat down in the front passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt as he contemplated how it was strange that Hank was more concerned about Gavin, who was resting comfortably back in the warm house, and didn't once ask Connor if he was okay after being groped in public. The apathetic and obliviousness was enough to make Connor doubt that he could really trust Hank even if he did somehow befriend the man down the line.

With no right to complain or say anything about the incident, Connor sat silently in his seat and stared at the sleet coming down in thick sheets through his side window. He'd rather keep his emotions to himself than say or do anything that'd just get on Hank's nerves again.

The ice storm continued to keep a steady layer of sleet falling over the city and slowly lower the temperatures down until they were in single digits. As a result of the worsening weather a majority of Detroit's businesses began to close down one by one to allow their employees to return home and get off the streets before the streets became too dangerous to traverse. All of the city's schools had elected to dismiss their classes early that afternoon and board the students on school buses to ensure that everyone got home without needing to walk in the dangerous weather. It was fortunate for Cole that Gavin was in the house and could watch after him while his dad and Connor were out, and the little boy had no problem with being sent home early to hang out with his friends and family.

Feeling a little better about his break-up thanks to talking with Hank and Tina over the phone, Gavin happily set about playing a board game with Cole while they waited for everyone else to return. The power kept dropping in and out due to the weather, and the house was teetering between cold and just warm enough to be comfortable with a blanket. Having little power and heat was something that Gavin was unfortunately used to, but not Cole.

"Man, you win." Gavin relented as Cole reached the end of the board and brought their game of 'Candy Land' to an end. The detective had intentionally miscounted his spaces to always be behind Cole since he wanted the little boy to win and keep his mind off the ice storm. "How did you get so good at this?"

"Practice!" Cole beamed as he began putting the game away without being asked to do it. "Want to play something else?"

"Yeah, but let's wait for your dad to get back. I want to see you beat him next."

"Okay! Can we play something with Connor too?"

"Uh, I guess." Gavin hadn't even thought about the android despite Connor helping him out when he really needed it. He was still processing everything he had gone through and how he was going to pick up the pieces of his shattered love life. "Not sure if it even knows how to play a game."

"He does! He plays 'Uno' with me all the time!" Cole confirmed as he picked up the repacked game box and put it aside. "He doesn't win though. He never seems to get to one last card, but I know he's good at math. It's kinda' weird."

"Yeah... That is weird." It didn't Gavin long to realize that Connor was intentionally losing the games to make Cole happy, just as he had done. There was no way that an android would be unable to win a game based on numbers and colors, especially when playing with a first grader. "I'm going to go make some hot chocolate. Want some too?"

"Yeah!"

"All right. You go find a new game to play and I'll make everyone some hot chocolate."

"Don't make any for Connor or Sumo." The little boy sweetly cautioned. "Androids can't drink anything but 'Ther-um", and Sumo can't have chocolate 'cuz it'll make him sick."

"Don't worry," the recovering detective replied as he rubbed his hand along his still sore shoulder as he walked. "I'll remember to make only hot chocolate for you, me and your dad."

Cole just smirked while Gavin went to the kitchen to make the hot chocolate as he promised. After putting 'Candy Land' away in the hallway closet Cole called out to Sumo as the large dog napped on the foot of Cole's own bed. "Sumo! Come!"

The Saint Bernard lifted his head to look at Cole then thumped his tail loudly with happy wags. Jumping down from the bed the large, fluffy dog sat at Cole's feet and let the little boy rub his hands all over his chin and neck affectionately.

"When it snows we'll go sledding again! I bet Connor will go with us too!"

The front door opened quickly and then shut as Hank and Connor rushed up the driveway and into the house to get out of the storm. The duo had the grocery bags tucked in their arms and a look of irritation on their faces. It had taken them twice as long to drive home thanks to the icy roads, and Hank had every intention of ignoring any phone calls prompting him to go to the precinct because he was more interested in keeping family safe.

After Connor dropped his groceries off on the kitchen table alongside Hank, the deviant detective retreated to the garage to be alone. He needed some space to think and decompress after his strange day at the grocery store.

"What're you doing in here, Reed?" Hank saw Gavin messing with the electric kettle and getting mugs down from the cupboard. "Making some chow?"

"Hot chocolate." The man admitted as Cole ran into the kitchen to help out. "Right, Cole?"

"Right!" Looking around the kitchen Cole quickly noticed that Connor wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Where's Connor?"

Hank looked up from his purchased groceries and realized that Connor was indeed gone. "Must've gone into the garage to charge his batteries or some shit."

"I'll go get him!"

Gavin just shook his head as he finished pouring the rapidly heated water into the three mugs then stirred in the cocoa powder as Cole ventured into the laundry room to get to the garage. "I think your kid is too nice for his own good, Hank."

"Yeah, but maybe he'll get Connor to stop drifting off into space."

That comment drew Gavin's eyebrows together as he gave Hank an odd look. "What do you mean?"

"The thing's been acting up lately, like it's all buggy or something." Putting the last of the canned goods into the pantry Hank chuckled a little as recounted the odd moment in the grocery store. "I mean, some crazy drunk lady got all handsy with it, and it's been completely silent ever since."

"Handsy?" That didn't sit right with Gavin since he had his own past issues with people who didn't have any respect for personal boundaries. Patricia wasn't his first bad break-up, but hopefully it'd be his last. "Like how?"

"She grabbed its ass then made a grab for his dick. I got her hands off of it before she fully got down its pants."

"So... she sexually assaulted him in public?"

"It's an android." Hank stated tersely as if annoyed by the fact that Gavin of all people empathized with Connor in that moment. "It can't be harassed in any way."

"Sounds like he was." Unexpectedly Gavin started referring to Connor with masculine pronouns as opposed to an 'it'. The idea of Connor being emotionally distraught and seeking solitude made the android seeming oddly alive. "Some chick grabbed him, and you had to get the bitch's hands off of him, and now he's being all quiet and isolating himself while seemingly staring off into space. If you encountered anyone else acting that way after experiencing that, - man, woman or child - what would you think happened to them?"

Hank sighed deeply and shook his head with disappointment. "Don't tell me that you're thinking that Connor can actually care about that kind of shit. It's a machine, and I don't want to be reminding you of that every time I remind Cole of the same damn thing."

"Well, he does seem to be more alert than the other androids. Hell, he came to help me at the bar without any orders, then helped me with my break-up." Putting his palm to his still injured right shoulder Gavin gave Hank a fairly studious glance. "Last time I checked, androids weren't designed to perform first-aid and then keep someone from having a total mental breakdown. You know, unless they're one of those creepy doctor-bots."

"It's a damn prototype!" The man was sick of having to explain Connor's behavior to those who didn't socialize with him on a daily basis. "Of course it's going to seem a little off. So drop it!"

"All right, whatever you say."

"Good. I got new bandages so I can get your shoulder cleaned up again."

"Sure. Let me get Cole his chocolate and then you can have fun torturing my shoulder."

"Finally, something fun for me to do today."

"You're pretty twisted sometimes, Hank."

Gavin finished with the hot chocolate and made his way over to the garage to let Cole know that his treat was ready. As he opened the door Gavin peered inside the space and saw Cole sitting next to Cole on his cot looking rather sad. The way Connor had the red blanket wrapped around his body and had Cole pressed right up against him was a very somber sight on its own.

"Cole? Your hot chocolate's ready."

Cole looked over at Gavin and nodded to silently acknowledge him before returning his attention to Connor. The deviant was sitting upright with perfect posture and his eyes were glazed over as he stood straight ahead at the garage door. With his beanie removed Connor's L.E.D. was visible and flashing in a distressed yellow despite being in a safe place.

"Hey, something going on?" The way Connor was acting, and the way Cole was so worried, triggered Gavin's instincts as a detective. He knew there was more to what happened to Connor than some random woman being inappropriate. "Something... bad happen at the grocery store today?"

Connor's eyes closed and his head bowed down as if ashamed despite having no reason to be ashamed. The simple gesture was all it took to confirm Gavin's question.

"Thought so. Cole?" Using a light tone Gavin put his hand on Cole's hair and gave him a small smile. "Go check on your dad for me. I'm going to talk with Connor for a minute."

"Are you going to make him feel better?"

"I'm... going to try." Gavin was admittedly not the best with emotional problems, but he felt as if he owed Connor for the deviant's own kind behavior. "Just, uh, give me a minute to try my best, okay?"

"Okay." Cole slid off the cot from beneath the blanket and made his way to the side door as requested. "Feel better, Connor!"

Hearing such a sincere and sweet comment made Connor's shoulders drop as if a crushing weight of expectation had just been placed on his back.

Gavin made sure the door was closed and Cole couldn't hear anything before he spoke to Connor in an understanding manner. "Hank told me that some drunk chick, well, molested you today. You... Are you okay?"

"...I'm not sure." Connor replied honestly as he opened his eyes and looked over at Gavin with restrained tears in his eyes. "I've never... experienced such behavior before. I don't know what to do about it."

"Consider yourself lucky. It sucks to have that shit happen." Crossing his arms over his chest Gavin hissed a little as the motion strained his sore shoulder and made him regret the simple gesture. "I know. I've been there. You feel like you're completely disposable and only good for getting other people off."

The moment that Gavin tried to connect to him made Connor's L.E.D. flicker to a cautious red from yellow. "...You've been sexually harassed as well?"

"That, AND sexually-" He stopped quick as Gavin realized he was about to speak about a dark chapter from his past with a total stranger. "My high school boyfriend got way too rough with me and, uh, yeah. Let's just say I recognize sexual assault when I hear about it, and it makes me sick every time."

"I'm an android." Connor needlessly stated as if trying to dismiss Gavin's worry. He didn't want to acknowledge his emotions while trying to hide his deviancy. "I cannot be sexually assaulted."

"You sure as shit look like you were just assaulted. I mean, I don't know much about androids, and I don't want to know much about androids to be honest." Gavin admitted as he tried to show Connor some form of kindness after the android had supported him when he really needed it. "But, you know, you did help me when I got stabbed and went through my most recent break-up. You may be an android, but it seems like you do have some comprehension of emotions. Hell, Cole really loves hanging out with you and talks about your all the time. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if that bitch didn't affect your programming and give you strange data to work with. Might make you act weird for a while too."

In spite of Gavin's attempts to not find common ground with Connor the man was strangely able to help Connor cope with his current issue. By being so logical and so understanding, it let Connor look at the incident from a new perspective. Being exposed to such a different and traumatic moment did in fact give Connor new information to analyze, and his emotions were still developing since he had actively oppressed his emotions it made sense his behavior was going to appear strange to those who didn't understand what he was going through.

It also gave him more respect for North and the other 'Tracis' as he had only a taste of the sexual abuse they endured in the club for years before escaping. They were officially the strongest deviants that Connor had ever known, and he wanted to make sure he had the chance to tell them that in person some day.

"Uh, Cole wants to play some games in the livingroom and he really wants you to join him." Gavin continued on as if trying to break the tension in the air. "I won't say you have to join us and you know, put on a brave face for his sake, but you should at least try to not hide away and act like you're okay when you're not really okay. I learned the hard way that it's okay to NOT be okay, okay?"

Such a statement left Connor somewhat perplexed, yet he understood the message he was certain Gavin was trying to convey. "...Yes?"

"Okay. Yeah, so... Whatever." Opening the garage door again Gavin tried to hide his wince before returning to the house. His shoulder needed some medical treatment and he couldn't wait any longer. "Good talk. I guess."

Connor found himself stunned by the surprisingly kind gesture that had been shown his way. He had never known Gavin to be empathetic, especially toward androids. It was another strange change from one time to the other, and for once it was a good change.

The deviant also found himself drawn to Gavin's words about not hiding from his emotional problems and admitting that it was okay to let other people know when he wasn't okay personally. That was going to be a hard change to make since he had to hide everything about being a deviant while he traversed his new world, but he knew that it was important to not deny who he truly was.

Perhaps he could find a safe outlet for his emotions without exposing himself as a deviant in the process.

After having the moment to himself Connor took in a deep breath and rose from the cot to rejoin everyone in the house, leaving the blanket on the cot behind him. The smell of hot chocolate was thick in the air and the house itself was quiet as it continued to endure the current blackout. As he set foot in the kitchen through the laundry room Connor was greeted by Sumo and the green fetch ball hanging from the dog's drooling mouth.

"...Do you want to play a game too?"

Sumo wagged his tail with enthusiasm as he pressed his nose into Connor's hand hanging down at his side. The dog seemed to understand that Connor needed some cheering up and wanted to help.

"All right. Let's go play a game."

Inside the livingroom Cole was setting up the 'Sorry' board in the middle of the coffee table while sipping at his mug of hot chocolate. The moment he spotted Connor coming his way Cole jumped up onto the couch and invited Connor over to join him.

"Connor! Do you feel better?"

"...A little." Connor admitted as he stood beside the couch and gave Cole an unsure smile as Sumo continued to nose at his hand. "But I will be okay in time."

"That's good. Still want to play?"

"Yes, I want to play." Glancing about the livingroom Connor's gaze drifted toward the hallway where he saw the partially shut bathroom door and heard movement on the other side. He could smell the rubbing alcohol and knew that Gavin was having his bandages changed by Hank. "Are the others going to play with us as well?"

"Yup! Dad said he needed to help Gavin with his shoulder, I guess he hurt it during Halloween. Then they'll play with us."

"Okay." Connor was glad that Cole didn't know about Gavin being stabbed since it would undoubtedly upset the innocent little boy. "That's good to know."

"Sit next to me!" Cole urged as he dropped onto the cushion and bounced once on his seat. He was eager to play with everyone and wanted to get the game started as soon as possible. "You can be the blue pieces and I'll be green!"

Connor just smiled and took his seat beside Cole on the couch, then wrapped the blue blanket around Cole's shoulders in a comforting manner. The moment he was sitting down Sumo was climbing onto Connor's lap and trying to force the fetch ball into the deviant's hand to play a game of his own.

"Good boy." Connor praised the gentle giant and gave the ball a firm toss into the kitchen. He watched as the Saint Bernard trotted into the kitchen to retrieve the ball and wagged his tail the entire time. "I guess Sumo wants to play with us too."

"When it snows I want to take Sumo sledding again." Cole declared excitedly as he waited for his dad and Gavin to return to the livingroom. "He likes the snow."

"I'm sure he'd like that." Accepting the drool covered ball Connor gave it another toss and continued the game of fetch with Sumo while waiting to play the board game with Cole. "It's nice to feel welcome to play games with people that you like being around."

"Yeah, it's the best!" The first grader beamed as he heard the bathroom door open and saw Hank and Gavin finally making their way over to play. Hank looked as casual as ever, whereas Gavin was trying to mask his pain as he waited for the sting in his shoulder to fade. "That's why I like playing games with you and dad all the time. We have fun all the time!"

"You're right." Agreeing with Cole's assessment Connor felt his sense of self-worth slowly climbing as the incident from the grocery store faded from his mind. While he'd never forget what happened, Connor realized he didn't have to keep thinking about or let the one incident define him as a deviant. "We do have fun together."

Tiredly Hank dropped into the recliner beside the couch and then leaned forward toward the coffee table to play the game. Gavin knelt on the floor beside the coffee table and gave Cole a confident nod as the group of unlikely friends gathered together to play a simple board game while enduring a nasty, ice storm outside. Even though the world around them seemed to be lost in a torrent of ice and wind, the calmness inside the house was all it took to make the group feel more at ease as everyone came to terms with their own personal problems.

Hank was reminding himself to always put his son first and never let himself get lost in his work. Gavin was pushing through his nasty break-up and assault by taking the high road instead of stooping to someone else's low level and by letting himself be emotionally vulnerable in order to finally heal. And Connor was slowly adapting to his new experiences and coming to terms with how he'd have to endure some things alone, but for others it was okay to ask for help while giving him an appreciation for other deviants' experiences.

As for Cole himself, he was just an innocent little boy enjoying the life that he didn't get to experience in another timeline all courtesy of one deviant android going above and beyond to protect the people he cared about more than anything else.

-next chapter-