With his caseload for the day finally completed and his reports properly filed Hank leaned back in his seat away from his desk causing the old chair to 'creak' under his weight, and sighed as he folded his hands behind his head with a sense of triumph. For the first time in over three years Hank had finished all of his paperwork, all of his assigned cases had been appropriately handled, every report was filled out and filed, there were no active incidents with any suspects, and Gavin hadn't bothered the Lieutenant or Connor all day long. Satisfied with his accomplishments for the day Hank looked past the turned off terminal on his desk toward Connor sitting quietly on the other side to check on his silently working partner.

The deviant had been quiet for most of the evening and hadn't commented on Hank's caseloads or reports which seemed a little out of place. Usually, Connor was actively aware of everything Hank was doing or saying, but as of the moment the deviant detective looked as if he were sleeping at his desk.

"Finished."

Hank stated confidently as he looked to his quiet partner across from his desk. The bullpen was beginning to thin out as the day shift began to clock-out and the night shift slowly clocked-in.

"Let's get out of here and catch the rest of the game. The Gears are doing their winter practices and always put on a hell of a performance."

Motionless and disinterested Connor was still sitting silently at his desk with his eyes shut and his L.E.D. rhythmically flashing yellow in his right temple.

"Connor?"

Sensing that something was a little strange Hank called out to his partner in a low voice.

"You okay?"

The deviant's eyes opened slowly and his yellow L.E.D. returned to its normal blue color as Connor's eyes sluggishly focused on Hank's face. "...Pardon. Did you say something?"

"I asked if you're okay, but I think you just answered my question." Now knowing for sure that something was up Hank leaned forward in his chair toward his desk again as he studied Connor's face carefully. There was something amiss and Hank was determined to figure out what it was. "You seem a little off."

"I have been feeling... 'off', as you put it." The admission to not feeling entirely functional was in itself a strange reaction from Connor. "I've run a self-diagnostic on my system three times today and I've found no apparent errors. My systems are all running at optimal capacity, but I still feel unusual."

"You didn't overexert yourself to the brink of collapse again, did you?"

"No. I learned my lesson and rested adequately last night and every night since I had collapsed while at the apartment."

"Are you sick? I mean, you know, can androids even get sick?"

"We do not become ill in the same sense as a human becomes ill, but if there is a malfunction in our software we can function improperly for an extended period of time until the malfunction has been corrected." Ever efficient Connor explained things logically and casually. "The after-effects can imitate human ailments as well."

"Seriously? Like what?"

"We can overheat and become delayed in responses like when a human becomes hyperthermic and feverish. We can also be forced to initiate an emergency expulsion program that is similar to a human becoming ill and vomiting. At times we'll endure physical tremors akin to a human shivering when our systems fail to maintain physical calibration. The most cumbersome of these potential errors," Connor made sure Hank knew everything that could go wrong with an android that could imitate a human illness for potential future references. "stems from gyroscope anomalies that cause bouts of syncope. Dizziness in deviants can result in significant physical weakness."

"Well then, are you malfunctioning?" Hank wanted to know for certain if Connor had been experiencing any of those particular symptoms or errors as of late. "You were cleared when the precinct technician gave you and the other deviants your bi-annual evaluation two days ago."

"Yes. My systems were functioning appropriately, and I was given fresh Thirium to ensure my biocomponents remain in optimal condition until my next scheduled technical examination."

"But?" Hank could feel the hesitation in Connor's voice and pressed for more details. "Keep talking."

"But I... I do not feel as though I'm operating at fully functional parameters despite my diagnostic program has failed to detect any anomalies." As he continued to speak Connor began to sound far more human with each word. "It's very confusing and I find it difficult to explain."

"Want to go see another technician?" The senior detective chuckled a little at the idea of Connor going to see a technician in the same way that Hank would go see a doctor when feeling ill. "Want to get a second opinion? Couldn't hurt."

Connor shook his head in the negative at the offer. "No. Perhaps I should go into rest mode and run another self-diagnostic back at the house."

"If your diagnostic didn't find anything the first three times, why do you think it'll find something the fourth time?"

Such a logical question left Connor momentarily stumped and at a loss for an immediate answer. "I-"

"Ah, forget it. You're just imagining things." Not wanting to linger on the subject for too much longer Hank rose from his chair and grabbed onto Connor's arm around his bicep to haul the deviant up to his feet. "Come on, let's get out of here. Shift's over and it's time for us to go home."

Feeling a little weak Connor didn't try to resist as Hank pulled him out of his chair and pushed him toward the front doors of the precinct. Walking at Hank's side Connor tried to go about as normally as he could, but deep down inside Connor could sense that something was amiss with his programming. Being afflicted with an error he couldn't identify was unnerving to say the least.

During the short drive home Connor continued to run his self-diagnostic program and listened to Hank talk excitedly about the exciting basketball game currently in progress. Making sure to appear as normal as possible, Connor was able to maintain a casual conversation without the senior detective suspecting him of being faulty or arguably ill.

Once back home Hank turned on the game and eyed the current score anxiously. It was the final quarter, but Hank didn't mind, all he really cared about was the final score and winning the bet he made earlier with Captain Fowler during their lunchbreak. Hank and Connor hung their respective coat and blazer on the hook on the wall beside the front door and kicked off their shoes after returning home and setting foot inside the warm livingroom. Connor casually loosened and then draped his black tie around his blazer and proceeded to lay down in just his white dress shirt and jeans across the couch. Meanwhile Hank threw off his day clothes in favor of a pair of gray sweatpants and an old gray t-shirt from his bedroom to relax in the recliner.

With his soulful brown eyes closed Connor laid down flat on his back with one arm under his head and his other arm draped tiredly over his steadily rising and falling chest. Sumo was laying on the floor beside the couch looking up at Connor as if even the dog knew something was wrong with the deviant.

"Should be a close match tonight." Just beside the couch Hank kicked his feet up to get more comfortable and watch the game. From the corner of his eye Hank caught sight of Connor's blue L.E.D. suddenly flashing yellow again and addressed the deviant accordingly. "Another diagnostic? Really?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed without opening his eyes or turning off the routine maintenance check. "I am compelled to do so."

"Find anything wrong, yet?"

"...No." The program finished without finding any errors for the fourth time that day. Connor sighed disappointingly as his yellow L.E.D. returned to blue. "There has been no anomaly detected within my programs or system."

"Try getting some sleep instead." The casual suggestion seemed too simple to be effective in any capacity. "Whenever I don't feel one-hundred percent, I get a few extra hours of shut eye and it works wonders."

Having no other alternative Connor agreed to get some sleep in hope of his error being diagnosed at last while in rest mode. "I'll try that."

"Cool. Get some sleep and we'll see how you feel in the morning."

Somewhat guarded Hank watched as the blue L.E.D. began to slow its pulsing cycle as Connor slipped into rest mode for the night and fell into the human equivalent of a deep sleep on the couch. The deviant didn't appear to be in any pain or distress, but Hank couldn't shake the feeling that there actually was something wrong with Connor that the deviant simply couldn't or wouldn't admit to.

"Wish it was that simple for me to drift off when I need to sleep."

The senior detective commented as he watched Connor for a moment longer before returning his attention to the game on the television screen. Once the game was over he'd head off to bed himself and get some sleep while leaving Connor be for the rest of the night.

"See you in the morning, kid. Hopefully you'll be feeling much better."

The night went on peacefully without any disturbances from the frazzled deviant as he tried to rest, and Hank went to bed knowing that he'd be fifty dollars richer the next time he saw Captain Fowler. However, what was a little unusual was the following morning when Hank awoke without his alarm going off and without the sound of Connor walking through the house going about his usual morning routine to prematurely awaken him in a casual manner. Reaching over to his nightstand Hank picked up his alarm clock and noted the current time of day on the digital display and realized that there wasn't a single instance of Connor trying to get the senior detective out of bed to start the day.

Sensing something was wrong Hank got out of bed and traded his sweatpants for a pair of jeans and a fresh blue t-shirt as he ventured out into the livingroom to check on Connor. The deviant was still in rest mode on the couch, laying completely motionless and quiet on his back. Sumo was sitting beside the couch looking alert and eager as he watched Connor sleeping with his ears perked right up as if trying to listen to something important.

"Outside, Sumo. Come on, boy."

Hank called to the dog as he headed into the kitchen and opened the backdoor. The moment Sumo was standing by the backdoor Hank let the Saint Bernard out into the backyard for the morning to ensure that the large dog didn't have an accident or get under foot while Hank was checking on the deviant.

Standing beside the couch once again Hank looked down at Connor's face and arched a brow in puzzlement. Connor is always awake and alert at seven in the morning, every morning, without fail. If he were in fact human it wouldn't be too odd to have him oversleep, especially if he wasn't feeling well, but as an android this massive shift in Connor's behavior was very alarming.

"Connor?"

Gently Hank put his hand on Connor's shoulder and shook him a little.

"Wake up, kid. You overslept."

The blue L.E.D. in Connor's right temple blinked quickly then returned to a slower pace.

"Connor!"

Hank shouted as he shook the deviant more forcefully.

"I said 'wake up'!"

Limply Connor's head lolled slightly to the side as his L.E.D. blinked more rapidly and his eyes partially opened.

"Lieu...tenant?" The deviant sounded groggy and disoriented where he was laying. "Wh-What's... wrong?"

"Apparently you." Without any hesitation Hank grabbed onto Connor's arm to force the deviant to sit upright on the couch for a moment. The deviant's body was heavy and practically flopped around as Hank pulled him up. "You're sure your diagnostic-whatever didn't find anything wrong?"

"I'm... certain." Connor's glassy brown eyes opened fully and his blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as his systems came back online and noted the current time of day. Despite his system being unreliable at the moment at least his chronometer was still accurate. "...It's almost twelve in the afternoon?"

"Yup."

"I failed to exit rest mode at the appropriate time."

"Yeah, I noticed. Not that I'm going to complain about being able to sleep-in for once."

"Hank," clumsily Connor swung his legs over the edge of the couch and stood up quickly only to wobble on his feet as if he couldn't find his balance. "There is-"

With little warning Connor's brown eyes suddenly rolled up in the back of his head as the yellow L.E.D. flashed to a blood red color. His legs gave way beneath himself, and the deviant suddenly collapsed in a cold faint right in front of Hank.

"Connor!?"

Fortunately, Hank reacted quickly and caught the unconscious deviant in his arms before Connor struck his head on the floor or coffee table as he collapsed. Guiding Connor down to the floor between the couch and the coffee table in a controlled fall Hank knelt over his unconscious friend and patted Connor's cheek lightly to try and get a response.

"Hey, Connor? Connor! Can you hear me?"

The deviant was completely unresponsive to Hank's voice or of his system suddenly going offline with no warning.

Determined to figure out what happened Hank kept his palm against Connor's cheek as he became aware that the deviant's artificial skin felt unusually hot compared to what would be considered normal for an android and a human alike. Just the previous night Connor confirmed that androids could overheat and exhibit the same reactions of a fever and now Hank realized how accurate such a response could be.

"Shit. I think you are sick, but not in the usual sick-guy way."

Hank cursed out loud as he reached for his low powered phone sitting on the coffee table beside the couch thanks to his failure to put it on the charger the night before like he usually did. Scrolling through his contacts he found the number provided to him by Markus after their meeting in New Jericho and hit dial. The line rang only once before he got an answer.

"Markus, it's Lieutenant Anderson." Tucking the phone between his ear and his shoulder, Hank kept a palm beneath Connor's head and the other hand pressed down against the center of the deviant's chest to monitor his pulse rate. "I think there's something wrong with Connor."

'Connor?' Markus sounded genuinely worried over the line as he took the call very seriously. 'What's happened? Was he injured?'

"I don't think so. Connor said something about not feeling right, even after his diagnostic thing didn't find anything wrong. Four times, mind you! Then this morning he didn't wake up from his rest mode on time." Keeping his palm in place Hank confirmed that Connor was beginning to feel feverish as a heat began to radiate from the center of the deviant's chest. "Also, his skin temperature feels too hot and now he's passed out on the floor."

'It sounds like he's suffered some kind of software error causing him to overheat and enter emergency stasis mode.' Markus recounted with controlled emotions behind his words. 'This is most likely a result of him severing his connection to CyberLife's constant monitoring and surveillance program.'

"Can you help him with this?"

'I can try.' Sounding cautiously optimistic Markus expressed interest in possibly aiding his friend. 'Bring him to New Jericho Tower, we can run a more extensive diagnostic on his system from here.'

"Yeah, I'll be there within the hour. Thanks Markus."

Eager to get some answers Hank ended the call and slipped the phone into his back pocket for safekeeping.

"Okay Connor, we're going to take a little trip and get you fixed up."

Leaving the deviant on the floor for just a moment Hank grabbed his shoes and his coat from by the front door as he pocketed his car keys from the nearby bookshelf to head out to the Oldsmobile. Quickly slipping on his shoes Hank threw his coat on over his arms and returned to where Connor was still lying motionless on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. Kneeling down beside his partner Hank put his palm down on Connor's chest to make sure his Thirium pump was still beating and that his ventilation program was still functioning.

Taking a firm grip on Connor's arm Hank stooped down and pulled Connor up and over both of his shoulders into a fireman's carry to get Connor outside, and into the backseat of the Oldsmobile parked in the drive. It was a little awkward, but Hank managed to pull open the passenger side door and push the front passenger seat forward to get to the backseats of the aged vehicle more easily. Laying Connor down across the backseat on his back as carefully as possible, Hank pulled his car keys from his pocket and slammed the door shut.

"You couldn't get sick during a workday, could ya'?"

Hank grumbled to himself as he sat behind the wheel and turned over the engine to back down the driveway and head out to the tower in the distance.

"Typical day off bullshit."

The drive to New Jericho Tower only took about twenty minutes, but with Connor unresponsive and quiet the entire trip the journey felt more like twenty days. Passing down the lone drive that led to and away from the tower situated on Belle Isle, Hank's car was permitted to pass by security without any questions asked as both Connor and Hank were given special clearance by Markus when they aided him in the refurbishment of the tower a few weeks back. The two detectives were the only detectives that the tower expressly trusted.

"Almost there, kid. Hang on."

Needing to break the silence Hank spoke out loud to himself and to Connor as he passed over the lowered barricade as it disappeared into the surface of the long drive, and the car quickly neared the front entrance of the tower. The senior detective could see Markus eagerly waiting out front of the massive tower with Josh standing at his side. There was a type of gurney sitting between the two deviants as they prepared to take care of Connor and get their colleague back on his feet.

"Hey, it looks like you're getting the special treatment today."

Pulling up in front of the tower Hank parked the car and stepped out of the vehicle just as Markus opened the passenger side door to look down at Connor laying over the backseats. Markus ran a quick scan over the unconscious deviant and looked back at Josh over his shoulder.

"His ventilation program is running at fifty percent power and his core temperature has increased to one-hundred and one point two degrees Fahrenheit."

"We'll take cooling measures." Josh replied in a calm tone as he watched Markus easily slip his arms under Connor's shoulders and legs to lift the malfunctioning deviant out of the backseat and place him down onto the awaiting gurney to be taken into the tower. "I'll let Simon know his vitals."

Silently and unsure of what he could do to help out, Hank followed as Markus and Josh wheeled the gurney supporting Connor's body inside the tower's front entrance and to the elevator at the far end of the main lobby. He hated the way he couldn't do anything to help Connor or even help the two deviants as they tried to help out Connor in return.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" The senior detective finally asked as he followed protectively after his unconscious partner. "I mean, you guys CAN help him, right?"

"Yes. I have a hunch as to the cause of his current glitch." Markus nodded slowly as he and Josh stood before the elevator and waited for the glass door to slide open. "We've seen other late model deviants such as Connor suffering from a similar condition after CyberLife went offline."

"Is it serious?"

"It can be." Remaining entirely honest Markus confirmed Hank's question as the group entered the elevator together and descended through the tower to sublevel fifty-one. "But if he's only just begun to suffer from this condition then it's very likely that we can correct the error before it does any permanent damage to his programs or intracranial processor."

"Fuck me... Sounds like we're cutting it kinda' close here."

The elevator quickly reached its destination deep beneath the tower with the four occupants in tow. The elevator door slid open and granted the group access to the floor where an android emergency repair bay had been created to protect all deviants and androids who sought shelter in the tower. Thanks to the floor being discovered and remodeled the tower now held the largest emergency repair bay in the city to handle rare and unusual errors, glitches and bugs.

"Over here." Markus directed the gurney over to the large exam table in the center of the room where Simon was already waiting to receive his patient. "We'll run a quick diagnostic to confirm our suspicions before we begin any treatment."

"But Connor already did that back at the house." Hank reminded the three deviants as they carefully lifted Connor up from the gurney and transferred him over to the examination table. FOUR times."

Within seconds Connor had his white dress shirt unbuttoned to gain access to his chest to have vitals more closely monitored. An ice pack was placed over Connor's torso to keep his system from overheating any further until his ventilation system returned to full power.

"He didn't find anything wrong after running that damn thing." The Lieutenant again tagged on with a heavy sigh. "After FOUR diagnostic... things."

"Right, but his diagnostic program was connected to CyberLife." Simon clarified as he attached two wireless leads to Connor's chest to monitor his Thirium pump and ventilation biocomponents more directly. "Without the direct connection the program can't run properly, which means that the problem may in fact be within Connor's self-diagnostic program itself."

"Huh, sounds cruelly ironic." Hank observed as he stood by the table and looked down at Connor's expressionless face. "That's just like a cold corporation to find a way to screw someone over, even after going out of business."

Going about his own routine Simon turned on a special modem designed to run the same type of diagnostic program that androids can perform on themselves without needing any outside assistance. However, this modem was designed to keep permanent records of every android in the tower in the event of an emergency.

"This will only take a minute." The blond technician told Hank as he took a long black cable attached to the modem and placed the other end against Connor's red glowing L.E.D. and began running the diagnostic for himself. "This will find the problem for us."

Although it went unseen Connor's L.E.D. flashed from red to yellow under the cable, then back to red once the program finished running.

"Well?" The senior detective asked impatiently as Simon examined the results recorded in the modem's display screen. "How is he?"

"We in fact found the problem. His Thirium needs to be replaced." Simon announced worriedly as he analyzed the results and double checked them to make sure there wasn't any mistake in the read-out. "All of it."

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on?" Hank didn't like the sound of replacing the entirety of Connor's blood without knowing the reason why. "You're going to replace his blood? Like a transfusion?"

"Something like that." Markus stepped up to explain things to the worried senior detective while Simon and Josh worked together to get the procedure ready. "Thirium can become contaminated if a bad batch or expired batch gets through the supply line. Connor must've been exposed to a contaminated batch without knowing it."

"Really?" Finally discovering the cause of Connor's perceived error, Hank gave Markus an approving glance as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "Three days ago, Connor received a fresh cycle of Thirium, as did the other deviants at the precinct, courtesy of their bi-annual physical. It wasn't long after that he started to feel unwell and weak."

"Josh?" Markus looked to his ally with worry in his mismatched eyes as he rolled up the white sleeves of Connor's dress shirt pass the elbows. Line insertion would be easier than ingestion considering how weak and unresponsive Connor was at the moment. "Contact the Detroit Central Precinct and inform them that their deviants on staff may have been exposed to contaminated Thirium. Give them a fresh batch of our own Thirium to replace their own."

"On it." Josh did as he was instructed and prepared a small case for transporting their unaffected Thirium to the precinct to aid the possibly affected deviants in need while Simon handled Connor's treatment on his own. "I'll update you on the situation when I return."

"This won't look pretty." Simon lamented as he removed the cable and pressed his fingertips to Connor's L.E.D. and pressed his other hand down on Connor's arm to retract the artificial skin from his plastimetal frame beneath. Sliding open a panel in the bend of Connor's arm Simon exposed the main line in the limb to access the Thirium coursing through his system. "We'll need to replenish his Thirium as quickly as it's drained."

"How long will that take?" Hank sounded completely unsure about the entire situation, but he'd be damned if he didn't let the only people who knew how to help Connor actually help him. "The kid's a little impatient when it comes to his system being out of commission. And uh, as it turns out, so am I."

"Not too long." With an amused and reassuring smirk Markus wheeled a second modestly sized machine, one that was reminiscent to dialysis machines for human blood, over to the exam table for use. "Maybe an hour for a total transfusion and proper cycle."

Unable to recognize the machine Hank nodded at it as Markus and Simon set about hooking it up to Connor's exposed lines in his arms. "What's that machine going to do to him?"

"It'll examine Connor's Thirium and isolate any contaminants for us to identify as it cleanses his blood and restores it to his system." Simon replied sharply as he attached a tube from the machine to the exposed line in Connor's left arm and fastened it into place with an audible 'click'. After checking the line's connection Simon looked to Markus for approval before beginning the procedure. "Ready to begin?"

Markus took a second tube from the machine and connected it to the second exposed line in Connor's right arm. As he attached the second tube he nodded at Simon to confirm that everything was set. "Ready."

With a cybernetic command the machine turned on with a low rhythmic hum and in a matter of seconds the transparent tube in Connor's left arm turned dark blue as Connor's Thirium was extracted from his system to be cleansed by the machine and was then replaced into his body through the second tube into his right arm. It was a simple yet complicated procedure designed to remove foreign contaminants from Thirium or in this case remove the contaminated blue blood from Connor's body while replacing it with fresh blue blood as quickly as the bad blood was removed.

Watching the blue blood cycle through the machine made Hank feel sick to his stomach. It wasn't the sight of the blood itself that upset him, it was the memory of seeing a very similar machine hooked up to his own son, Cole, as he laid dying in the hospital bed three years ago that really affected him. Hank watched with unspoken worry in his eyes as the machine did its rather macabre work to save Connor from remaining in a state of permanent unconsciousness due to an error in his program that he couldn't remedy by himself.

Markus could see the fear in Hank's blue eyes and decided to speak with him in private. "Simon, can you double check our supplies and make sure none of our Thirium came from the same contaminated batch? Maybe help Josh, too."

"Yeah, no problem." Simon quickly took the hint and left the room to give his allies a sense of privacy. "We'll be back a few minutes to check on Connor and make sure his Thirium stays nice and clean."

"Hank." In a sympathetic tone Markus addressed the senior detective kindly and empathetically. "He's going to be okay. You got him here pretty quick, and we've had other androids affected for a lot longer than him pull through this error just fine."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I just..." Deep down inside Hank knew his fear was stemming from his paternal instinct screaming at him to do something to help Connor recover from his error faster. "Seeing Connor hooked up to a machine just brings back some pretty dark memories from the past for me."

Trusting his gut on the confession Markus dared to ask Hank a potentially very painful question. "Your son?"

"...Yeah." Hank put his hand back on Connor's shoulder as the machine continued to cleanse his Thirium effectively. "Both of them."

Hearing Hank referring to Connor as his 'son' made Markus smile with pride. It was amazing how similar and yet completely different Hank was compared to Carl, but the kindness in their hearts spoke volumes of their character despite their outward disposition saying otherwise. They both carried a relatively gruff facade that concealed hearts of gold, and only those who were fortunate enough to get close to them got to see those very hearts beating loud and proud.

The red L.E.D. in Connor's temple suddenly flashed to a yellow illumination as Connor's soulful brown eyes began to open slowly. With a deep breath signaling the returned power to his ventilation program Connor lifted up his head from the exam table and glanced about the room confusedly. The now conscious deviant only stopped moving when he felt a steady pressure against the center of his chest.

"Connor? Can you hear me?" Hank had put his palm down against Connor's chest to push him back down against the table as the deviant android tried to sit up fully despite the tubes running into both of his arms. "Hey, don't move, relax." Nodding at the deviant leader standing just to the side Hank let Connor know what was going on. "Markus figured out the problem and we're getting you fixed up here in New Jericho Tower. You're going to be just fine."

With no memory of arriving at the tower Connor's brow furrowed slightly as he looked down at his arms and saw his Thirium being cycled through an external machine beside him. It was then the cause of his error became apparent if not entirely obvious.

"...Thirium contamination." He realized the cause of his error with a heavy grimace on his face. "Damn it."

Markus smiled again at the very human response from his deviant detective friend and reassured him about his condition with an honest voice.

"Like Hank said, we're getting you fixed up and you'll be just fine. It'll be over in an hour, and you'll be free to return home."

"Thank you, Markus." Connor sighed and laid back down on the table as he still felt tired and wanted to rest. Thirium loss and fluctuation was exhausting for all deviants to endure. "...Was anyone else affected?"

"No, at least not that we've seen yet." Remaining honest and optimistic Markus told Connor the truth and pulled the ice pack away from his friend's torso now that Connor was no longer at risk of overheating. "Josh is taking fresh Thirium to your precinct at this moment in case other deviants were affected, and Simon is checking our inventory to make sure that no tainted Thirium was placed in our storage."

"That's good." Feeling much more like himself Connor looked up at Hank with a slightly mischievous grin as his previously dull eyes lit up. "Remember yesterday at the precinct how you said I was 'just imagining things' in regard to my unusual system readings?"

Sighing in defeat Hank nodded and admitted that he remembered their conversation from the previous day. "Yeah... I remember."

"Good, because I was right." Connor teased the senior detective as he watched Hank's face blush with mild embarrassment at his oversight. "I told you there was something wrong with me."

-next chapter-