September 23rd arrived yet again, and it was time for Cole's eighth birthday. It was an unusually warm day on that particular September and the Anderson clan had gone out to the local waterpark in favor of the 'Pirate's Cove' theme park after the park was closed for the summer for repairs. The waterpark wasn't too busy since it was so late in the summer and many of the water rides, slides and attractions were still in full operation. Large booths selling sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, towels, spare bathing suits and sandals lined the large, opened aisles directing people toward the rides and attractions. Many other booths selling snacks and drinks were just as abundant and just as appealing to the customers as they passed by.

The idea for substituting one park for another seemed like a good idea at first, but Hank soon realized how much he hated being at the waterpark compared to Cole and the other park patrons. The thick crowds, the intense sunlight, the smell of the noxious chemicals and seeing androids running every little booth, ride and attraction irritated the man in a new way. Hank just wanted to have a special day with his son on his birthday, and not worry about seeing the primary cause of his current caseload back at the precinct being in his face all day long.

With Cole beside him and Connor begrudgingly accompanying them throughout the park Hank glanced about the sunburnt customers and let out an annoyed sigh at the irritating sight. "You better have brought some sunscreen with us, Connor."

"I did." The deviant detective was wearing a pair of black swimming trunks with a digital projection of a blue band around his right arm to confirm that he was in fact an android. He had the bottle of sunscreen secured in his side pocket to keep it safe. Connor was clearly not happy wearing only the trunks since it made him feel uncomfortably exposed. "And I've been actively scanning Cole's skin to ensure that he doesn't burn."

"Good." Hank looked down at Cole and ruffed his son's messy, water-logged hair casually. "After we go down the slide you're getting another layer of sunscreen."

Cole looked up at his dad and smiled hopefully as they waited in ling together. "Can we get some slushies too?"

"Sure. Good way to keep cool while waiting for the sunscreen to soak in."

Connor actively ran a scan over Hank and Cole to ensure that neither of them were getting sunburnt in the intense sunlight. Both Hank and Cole were wearing swim trunks as well, and they needed to keep sunscreen on over their entire upper bodies, their legs and their faces to prevent sunburn. The deviant refused to let either of them suffer from prolonged discomfort and potential serious skin damage that was entirely preventable when he could help out.

"Connor, go and get Cole a cherry slushie and find us a shady table to sit." Hank stated in a rather gruff manner as he gave the android a new order. "We'll meet you at thet able after we finish going down the slide."

"Very well." The idea of leaving the line sounded very good to the introverted deviant. "I'll meet you at the pavilion."

"Don't you want to go down with us?" Cole asked sincerely as he grabbed Connor's wrist for a moment. "These slides are fun!"

"I'll... go down the slide another time. Have fun, Cole, I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay. See you soon!"

Relieved to get the chance to get away from the crowds for a moment, Connor readily exited the line for the slide and made his way to the pavilion to purchase the drink and then locate a large table in a shady area. It wouldn't be too hard to find something given that most of the park patrons were in line for rides or snacks, and only a handful were actually relaxing at a table to catch their breath or get something to eat and drink.

It didn't take Connor long to order the slushie from the android attendant or even find a table, but it take a while for Connor to feel comfortable while out in the public area wearing only the swim trunks and glowing arm band as opposed to his usual uniform. He hated being out in public while out of uniform since he was risking being exposed as a deviant. When just existing as an android was viewed as a crime in itself Connor knew he could be destroyed if he said or did anything on his own.

"Connor!" Cole ran toward the table where his android friend was sitting with a giant smile on his face. He was soaked from head to toe couldn't have been happier on his birthday. "You gotta' go down that slide! It's the best!"

From the look on Hank's face Connor had every reason to doubt such a joyful claim. Hank looked annoyed, almost like a cat caught in the rain, and Connor began to seriously contemplate what human children deemed fun in comparison to what human adults considered fun.

"I'm sure it was fun." Connor replied casually as he passed the slushie cup over to the little boy to hold. "Here's your drink."

Cold grabbed the cup with both hands and held tight as he began to slurp his cold drink. "Thanks!"

Hank sighed as he dropped down in the chair at the table beside his young son and extended his opened palm toward Connor. "Sunscreen."

"Right." Connor opened the velcro pocket on the side of his trunks and retrieved the large bottle of sunscreen for Hank to use. "Here you are."

While Hank popped open the bottle of sunscreen Cole quickly jumped out of his chair and began running toward a nearby bathroom with his legs somewhat pinched closed in a very awkward manner. "Keep track of the time when we put on this sunscreen so that we don't miss an application."

"I'm already doing so."

"Then keep it up." Hank snipped as he smeared the white tinted lotion along his face and then his shoulders. "We're not going to get burned today. Come here, Cole. I want to apply- Cole?"

The sudden absence of the little boy put both Hank and Connor on alert. One minute Cole was sitting at the table and drinking his slushie, the next his cup was sitting on the table and Cole was nowhere to be seen. It was as if the birthday vanished off the face of the earth.

"Cole?!" Hank shot to his feet and began looking around frantically for any sign of his son while Connor performed a facial recognition scan and attempted to isolate Cole's young face from the crowd deeper into the park. "Cole! Where are you?"

"I'm attempting to locate-"

"Why in the hell did you take your eyes off of him, huh?!" Hank shoved Connor back and gave the android a spiteful, nearly hateful glare. "This is a public place crawling with strangers! It's dangerous for him to be left alone even for a second!"

"He wasn't alone, Lieutenant. He was will both of us just a minute ago."

"Well, he's not here now, IS HE?"

"...No, he's not."

"Make yourself useful and alert the park staff! We need to find- Cole!" The sight of Cole casually walking over to the table without a care in the world made Hank stop his tirade for just a minute. "Cole, where were you?!"

"I went to the bathroom." Cole pointed to the large bathroom area just a few feet away from the table. "I thought you saw me."

"No, I didn't. Cole, you know better than to- Okay, never mind. It's over." Softening his tone Hank took in a deep breath to calm back down. "Just... make sure you tell me where you're going next time, all right? You're still too young to be wandering around a public place by yourself."

"Okay, dad. I'm sorry."

"And you." Turning his ire back to Connor simply because he wanted to stay mad Hank shot the android a horrendous glare. "Next time we're out doing anything with Cole, you're going to keep a better eye on him and never let this happen again, or you'll end up on the streets! Do you hear me?"

"...Yes, Lieutenant." Turning away from Hank and Cole in misplaced shame Connor took the verbal lashing without protest or defending himself. "I understand."

"It's not Connor's fault!" Cole shouted as he saw the way his dad was bullying Connor yet again, and knew he needed to defend his friend. "I walked away by myself! Don't be mean to Connor!"

"Cole," Hank replied calmly in a very demeaning voice. "I'm not being mean. I was just worried-"

"No, you ARE being mean!" The little boy countered with an impressive scowl on his face. It seemed Cole was beginning to imitate his dad in more ways than one as he grew up and began to mature. "You just want to yell at him because he's an android! Stop being mean to him all the time! I don't like it and it's not fair!"

"I... Okay, yeah." Something about his own son holding up a mirror in front of his face to show him how abhorrent his own behavior had been was very humbling. It was like he was the child getting disciplined by his own parents all over again. "You're right, I'm sorry. I was being mean, and I wanted to be mean. I'll try to stop doing that."

Cole sat in his chair and continued to scowl as Hank tried to apologize for his behavior. It seemed Cole had heard enough of Hank's halfhearted apologies for how he had been mistreating Connor and no longer believed it.

"Connor," Hank turned to look at Connor standing a few feet away and reached out to the android in an attempt to mend fences. "I'm sorry for blaming you for what just happened. It wasn't your fault and I overreacted."

"...You're just trying to protect your son." Connor responded in a submissive manner as he refused to look Hank in the eyes. "There's no need to apologize."

"Yeah there is. I need to be held accountable for my actions," Hank stated somberly as he did his best to make amends with Connor for Cole's sake. "and I need to stop taking out my anger on you all the time. I'm sorry."

Slowly Connor turned his gaze toward Hank and then to Cole. He could see that Cole wanted everyone to get along on his birthday, and he didn't want to upset the little boy. As much as Connor didn't want to accept the apology since he knew it wasn't sincere and it was just Hank playing nice, Connor accepted it anyway to ensure Cole still had a happy birthday.

"Apology accepted, Lieutenant."

"Cool."

Cole seemed to mellow out and believed that the apology was sincere and that Connor truly believed it as well. "...Can we go on a new ride?"

"After you finish your drink." Hank promised as he picked up the bottle of sunscreen and began applying a new layer to Cole's face and shoulders. "You need to let that sunscreen soak in so it doesn't wash off in the water."

"Okay."

Connor remained beside the table and didn't say anything or make any sign of moving away any time soon. He didn't want to create any more strife or potentially ruin Cole's birthday by being a nuisance in Hank's eyes. The little boy didn't have any friends with him that day since keeping track of half a dozen kids in a busy waterpark would've been too much work for anyone to handle, and it was far simpler for Cole to spend the day with his dad and his android friend instead. Being able to get along with each other for Cole's sake was Connor's current priority.

"Connor, will you go on the big slide with me this time?" Cole asked as he watched his android friend trying to not appear as offended as he truly was. "I want you to have some fun too!"

"Yes, of course." Saying 'no' just didn't seem like a viable option that day, especially to Cole. "I'll go down the slide with you when you're ready."

"Cool!" Cole squinted and leaned away as Hank smeared the sunscreen along his cheeks and then pushed his dad's hands back. "I can do it myself!"

"All right, go for it." Hank handed over the bottle and watched as Cole managed to easily cover his face and his shoulders in the sunscreen. "I'm going to get your back for you still. Even your long, flexible arms can't reach that far."

"Let me at least try!"

"Okay, yeah. Sure."

"Connor, do you have to wear sunscreen?" Cole asked as he managed to awkwardly put on a new layer of sunscreen all over his face, his shoulders, his chest, his abdomen, his arms and his legs. His dad indeed needed to put the sunscreen on his back. "I never see you put it on."

"No, androids don't want to worry about sunlight damaging our artificial skin. We are still vulnerable to extreme heat though, and as a result we must keep cool just as humans need to do to avoid overheating damage."

"So you should go into the pool too!"

"I... supposed that's true."

"Then we'll go down the slides and then the big pool! Dad can hold the table for us so we can have some birthday cake later!"

Connor knew exactly what Cole was doing. He didn't approve of Cole trying to punish his own father by ostracizing him in the same way that Hank was constantly trying to ostracize Connor from special events, but he didn't want to invalidate what Cole was feeling and how he was viewing the situation as it played out. It was difficult to know what to do or what to say during such an emotionally delicate situation.

"We don't have to worry about the table, Cole." The deviant replied indifferently to avoid taking sides. "There's plenty of tables in the park that can be used when you're ready for your cake."

If Hank didn't feel like an ass before, he felt like a major one right at that moment. Not only did he blame Connor for something that was entirely not his fault, but Connor was now defending him from his own son's anger about the entire stupid situation. Constantly trying to make Connor out to be some kind of villain was really beginning to backfire on him in every way imaginable.

"No, you two go on and enjoy the park." The regret was palpable as Hank realized how much his stubborn behavior was starting to affect his relationship with the people around him. "I'm a little worn out from all the slides. When you're ready for your cake we'll go get it from the restaurant's freezer and celebrate, okay, bud?"

"Can we have some tacos too?"

"Absolutely! It's your birthday, we'll do whatever you want, son."

"Can we still see the stars tonight?"

"I promise. We'll need to leave the park before sundown if we're going to make it out to the hill before it gets too late."

"Okay then." Cole finished off his still cold slushie in record time then proceeded to sink down in his chair as he pressed his palm to his forehead as brain freeze settled in very quickly. "Ow! My brains!"

"Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and breathe slowly." Hank chuckled as he patted his son's shoulder. "You can't build immunity to temperatures!"

Connor wanted to mention something about the source of the pain being the result of a nerve being affected by the sudden cold sensation, but he chose to keep it to himself instead. He didn't want to seem like a know-it-all that was trying to outsmart Hank at every turn. It was also arguably a superfluous detail that was absolutely unnecessary to anything happening.

"Better?" Hank asked as he watched Cole lower his hand from his face and shake his head before nodding in confirmation. "Good. Now go on, have fun at the park! I'll be waiting for you right here when you're ready for your lunch and birthday cake. We'll open the rest of your presents when we get home later tonight."

"Okay, dad." Slipping out of his chair Cole waved for Connor as he began walking toward the biggest slide in the park. "Let's go, Connor!"

"I'm coming, Cole."

Walking side by side Connor accompanied Cole back into the heart of the park to have more fun on the little boy's birthday. As long as Cole was still having fun then Connor was content to play whatever role the little boy wanted on that special day.

From where he sat Hank now had a good idea of how it felt to be left behind and expected to just sit, wait around, and do nothing until someone else wanted him to do something. All the times he had told Connor to hang back and then snap to attention suddenly seemed to be an act of cruelty as opposed to him just rightfully telling an android how to behave in his own house.

The stars were shiningly brightly as a chorus of crickets and locusts chirped from the tree line that surrounded the grassy hill just outside of the city. The chill in the air was sharp compared to the hot afternoon that the group had experienced all day long at the waterpark, and it felt nice on after spending hours in the sunlight. The dark night sky, the bright white stars and the gentle cool breeze was as calming and soothing in a wondrous comparison to that of the busy waterpark. After only a few minutes Connor was able to unload the telescope from the trunk of the Oldsmobile and set it up at the ideal vantage point to ensure that Cole could the stars and even a few planets based on their alignment.

The had deviant promised to take Cole stargazing and he was determined to keep that promise. It wouldn't be too longer before Connor would have to plan on his departure from the Anderson home to live out on the streets and hide away with the rest of Detroit's deviants.

Hank sat on the hood of the Oldsmobile and leaned back against the windshield as he crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Connor showed Cole how to use the telescope all by himself. The protective father had taken Cole stargazing before, but he didn't let Cole mess around with the telescope out of fear of his son breaking it by mistake. Now he regretted not giving Cole the chance to learn how to use it the first time all on his own and wondered if he had accidentally ruined a special moment by being too controlling.

"Now that the tripod stand is secured you can peer through the lens and see the stars more closely." Connor noted as he helped Cole figure out how to set the tripod beneath the telescope and keep it from falling loose. "And you use this gauge beside the viewing lens to set your coordinates so that you can locate specific star constellations, moons and even some planets to view."

The idea of seeing a planet made Cole's eyes light up enthusiastically "Can you point it at Mars?"

"Yes, I can do that." Cybernetically Connor downloaded the proper planetary coordinates to locate the planet of interest. "I only need a moment to adjust the coordinates for you."

From where he sat Hank could tell that Cole was having fun and that he really loved spending time with Connor. Whether or not that came from Cole and Connor having a shared interest in science fiction or just because Cole and Connor associated with each other with mutual respect, Hank couldn't say for certain. A part of Hank knew that he was jealous of the way Connor was able to earn Cole's trust, admiration and even his love after only a few days of meeting the little boy just a few years prior.

It was then Hank began to wonder if his jealousy is what kept him from treating Connor with any form of kindness without Cole having to call him out on his behavior.

"Is that it?" Cole shouted excitedly as he peered through the telescope at the distant red dot in the center of his vision. The incredible advancements in telescopic technology over the past twenty years had allowed the average human on Earth to see planets and stars in a way that used to only be possible on the International Space Station. "It's super red!"

"That's it. The fourth planet in our solar system."

"Think we can see the aliens living out there?"

"Doubtful." The knowledge of the planet's surface and atmosphere made the notion of finding life on the surface rather implausible. "Mars is a desert like wasteland and wouldn't be very hospitable to any organic lifeform attempting to survive."

"Doesn't mean that they still can't be out there somewhere!"

"You're right." Sitting down on the grass beside the telescope Connor looked up at the stars and took in the sight with a sense of serenity washing over him. Being able to see the stars without needing to use his enhanced software to filter out the light pollution was a rare treat. "They could be anywhere in the universe. New intelligent lifeforms are just waiting to be discovered and for the humans to take notice. They might even be right next to you, and you haven't even seen them yet."

Cole managed to adjust his telescope to be lower on its tripod legs without losing his current coordinates, then laid of his stomach on the grass as he continued to admire the red planet and surrounding stars. It was a magnificent sight and one that made the little boy smile with utter enjoyment. He loved seeing the stars and he was happy that Connor was willing to keep his word and taking his stargazing.

"Perhaps you could venture further North and admire the aurora borealis in person someday." The deviant detective suggested coyly as he tried to keep Cole in a good mood on his birthday. A birthday that he otherwise never would've seen had Connor not altered the timeline. "I think I'd like to see that for myself too."

"We can all travel together!" The birthday boy shouted as he loved the idea of exploring the stars and rhythmically banged his shoes together as he laid on the grass with his legs bent and feet up in the air. He looked like he was going to spend the rest of his life peering through the telescope if he had the chance. "There's all kinds of stuff we can find!"

"You're right, there is." The deviant confirmed with the faintest hint of an optimistic smile on his face. "We can find anything in the world as long as we look hard enough and long enough."

Hank let out a softer sigh through his nose as he looked up at the stars and watched as a shooting star passed by overhead. Not one to let a rare opportunity to pass him by Hank focused on the passing star and made a wish. The man wanted to find a way to make peace with his own temper, remain involved in his son's life and stop letting his initial reactions to the people and situations in his life guide his every decision. As a detective he knew it was important to have all the facts and details before he made any conclusions, but he still continued to make hasty assumptions about everything happening.

"Barb, if that was you saying 'hi' just now, I could really use your help." Hank whispered to the sky as he tried to figure himself out. "Remind me why I keep sabotaging my working relationships and why I can't seem to separate work from my personal life. What's changed and how I can change back to the man I was before I started being cold and judgmental?"

"Hey, dad!" Cole turned to his side and waved his dad over to join him at the telescope. The meteor shower taking place overhead meant nothing compared to the brilliant red that was Mars resting only a few hundred million miles away. "Come see! I wanna' show you something!"

Connor looked back at Hank for a moment but didn't say anything. He didn't want to ruin the moment or interrupt Cole wanting his dad to join them.

"It's a planet! You gotta' see!"

Hank chuckled a little and nodded as he leaned forward where he sat. "I'm comin', bud. It's not every day you get to see a planet you're not already livin' on."

-next chapter-