The night spent at Abby's apartment had proven interesting for the emotionally developing deviant to experience. The two friends had spent the evening ice skating with Connor stumbling only once and falling hard on his side, then returning to Abby's heavily secured apartment to watch a few movies and just talk as friends who needed to discuss the ever changing world they were a part of. Awaking early in the morning, Connor discreetly gathered himself and escorted Abby to her car as she set about her morning shift at her facility, then returned to the house in hopes of not drawing any unwanted attention from Hank due to his unusual time of arrival via autonomous taxi.

Unlocking the front door Connor slowly stepped inside the house and was met by Sumo who was whimpering and looking embarrassed as the pup sat down at his feet. It was clear Sumo had been left alone a little too long for the puppy's liking.

"Sumo?"

It didn't take Connor long to notice the pup's mess in the corner of the livingroom on the floor and sighed. Closing the front door behind himself Connor re-locked the door and focused on the puppy sitting before him.

"It's not your fault. I should've been here to let you outside."

Rubbing the pup's ears Connor quickly and silently walked down the hallway to change out of his more formal attire and into his casual night clothes before he set about cleaning up the mess. Remaining stealthy and quiet Connor peered inside Hank's bedroom and was surprised to see that Hank hadn't returned from his date with Rose and he didn't have to worry about being quiet.

"...Good." Spotting the empty and still made bed was a surprising relief. "Hank stayed with Rose just as I stayed with Abby."

Making his way down the hallway and into the kitchen Connor gathered the necessary cleaning supplies after letting Sumo out into the backyard just in case he still needed to go, then set about cleaning the pup's mess on the floor. As he knelt down on the floor Connor felt something pull a little in his abdomen and cause a twinge of pain as he moved.

"That's unusual."

Running a self diagnostic causing his blue L.E.D. to flash to yellow Connor finished cleaning up the floor and disposed of everything in the garbage can outside the backdoor.

"I must've unknowingly injured myself when I slipped on the ice last night."

Pouring some food into Sumo's bowl Connor heard the front door unlock open and watched as Hank slipped inside the house as quietly as Connor had done barely twenty minutes prior.

"Hello, Hank."

"O-Oh!" Jumping a little Hank wasn't expecting to see Connor in the kitchen and his face blushed a little. "Hey, kid. Had to let Sumo out, huh?"

"Yes, he's out-" Sumo suddenly brushed past Connor's leg and began chowing down as he rushed from the backyard and through the backdoor again. "Nevermind. He's now eating."

"Uh, cool. So how was the auction?"

"Interesting, to say the least."

"Who'd you get stuck with?" Hank asked casually as he removed his shoes and hung his coat on the hook by the front door. "No one crazy, I hope."

"No. It was Abby."

"That's lucky."

"Yes. She kept me from enduring a socially awkward situation and she and I spent the evening at the ice skating rink."

"Not bad. Rose and I... Uh, well..."

"You don't have to explain yourself." Sparing Hank the explanation in exchange for his own spared dignity Connor let the matter drop entirely. "What you do with your personal time is your own business."

"Damn right. I'm glad you understand the need for privacy."

"Why don't you shower off and I'll make you something healthy for breakfast? We have today and tomorrow off, so now is the ideal time to resume working on the Corvette."

"That's a fantastic idea."

"Can the car be-"

"Nope." Walking down the hallway Hank entered the bathroom and shut the door behind himself as he continued to talk to Connor through the closed door with a slightly elevated voice. "It will NOT be green!"

"...That's yet to be seen."

Running his hand along Sumo's back Connor let out a sigh of relief and was grateful that Hank didn't know that he had spent the night with Abby. That particular moment was something that Connor wanted to keep to himself and maintain a professional relationship with his friend and not pursue anything romantic.

"Good boy, Sumo. You were the only one who was home last night, so I won't tell Hank about your accident as long as you don't say anything to Hank about my absence."

The idea of the massive pup somehow betraying the secret actually brought a faint grin to Connor's face as he realized the absurdity of the situation.

"Then again, you're not one to gossip anyway. I have nothing to worry about."

The morning after the two detectives returned from their respective dates the father and son duo spent the remainder of their first of two days off working on the slowly rejuvenating Corvette. The duo had also spent the same afternoon discussing the prospect of dating and building relationships beyond their usual circle of friends and colleagues. Heeding Hank's advice without giving anything away, Connor accepted that he and Abby could never be a truly compatible couple, and that their friendship was all they'd ever need to be happy and content with their professional relationship. However, that sense of calmness and contentedness wouldn't last for too much longer.

In a low voice Connor groaned in pain as he rolled from his back and onto his side to curl protectively around his chest and abdomen as he was unexpectedly awoken from his rest mode in the middle of the night. Checking his internal clock Connor noted the time to be an uncomfortably early hour of four thirty-seven in the morning and pulled the quilt up over his head as he ran a self diagnostic over his system. As his red tinted L.E.D. flashed rapidly the diagnostic came up inconclusive and the pain subsided slowly until it was bearable enough to move.

Throwing the quilt from his head Connor opened his tired eyes and gazed about his bedroom spying Sumo laying on the foot of his bed in a deep sleep of his own and the fish in his aquarium swimming about in a graceful rhythm. As he stirred from his sleep Sumo let out a low muttering sound as he lifted his head up and watched Connor throw his legs over the edge of his bed.

"I'm okay, Sumo."

Connor patted the large puppy's head affectionately as he put his right hand to his abdomen.

"I just can't seem to get comfortable enough to sleep as of the moment."

With his right arm wrapped protectively around his abdomen Connor rose from the bed and proceeded to go about his morning routine earlier than usual despite not having to go to work that day. Moving about the house quietly Connor set about cleaning up what little mess there was in the livingroom from Hank's midnight snack and cleaned up the kitchen before throwing a load of towels into the washer. The astute deviant also began cybernetically updating himself on the day's weather forecast and breaking news stories to remain on top of things in the city.

Sitting on the couch in the livingroom while he waited for Hank to wake up and begin his own day, Connor ran another self diagnostic only to have it return with inconclusive results for the second time. Tired but unable to sleep due to the mysterious ache in his body, Connor leaned forward on the couch and buried his face in his palms as he let out a frustrated sigh.

A warm, fluffy chin resting atop his leg drew his attention away from his own plight to the affectionate puppy who had trotted down the hallway to check on him.

"Hi, Sumo."

Connor rested his hand on the dog's back to acknowledge his presence.

"It's too early to feed you or to go on a walk. But I can let you outside for a few minutes."

Seemingly able to understand what Connor was saying Sumo made his way into the kitchen and sat down beside the backdoor as he waited for his deviant master to let him out. As Connor walked through the livingroom and into the kitchen he was suddenly aware of the pain having disappeared entirely and his yellow L.E.D. now cycling back at blue.

"...Interesting." Connor told himself as he opened the backdoor and let Sumo run about in the backyard for a few minutes. "Must've been a glitch."

Stepping outside the opened backdoor Connor watched Sumo plodding through the backyard happily before raising his gaze to watch the sun beginning to rise over the horizon. The backyard had a great view of the sunrise but it wasn't a particularly big property and it didn't have much to offer besides the green grass and the wooden fence that divided Hank's property from his surrounding neighbors.

Connor cybernetically downloaded the blueprints and building permits for the property and realized that a back deck would be a nice addition to the house and make it stand out. The task would provide Connor with something to do while he and Hank waited for additional parts to the Corvette to arrive, and it would give him the chance to explore other aspects of humanity by taking up a possible new hobby beyond just his guitar.

"Connor?" Hank walked into the kitchen and stared at the deviant standing outside the backdoor. "It's five in the morning, what're you doing up so early?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it. Why are you up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Insomnia?"

"Something like that." Connor was unsure of what else to say considering he didn't know why he was in pain only have it disappear without warning. "I let Sumo out for a while. Did I wake you when I opened the door?"

"No. Someone walking around the house, no matter how quietly they can move, always wakes me up."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Let the dog back in then go back to bed." Hank waved his hand dismissively as he walked back down the hallway toward his bedroom. "It's our day off, so enjoy it! And by 'enjoy' I mean 'sleep'."

Listening to Hank's instructions Connor brought Sumo back inside and then returned to his bedroom and laid back down in his bed in an attempt to reenter rest mode, but he still couldn't quite get comfortable enough to rest properly. Laying perfectly still and quiet on his back Connor waited for the time to pass eight in the morning before he decided to get up and go about the day as normally as possible despite his unusual lack of sleep. Never having dealt with insomnia without a difficult case as the culprit or an unexplainable pain to blame, Connor was unsure of how to resume his daily routine with the mild inconveniences in the way.

The sound of Hank's bedroom door opening drew the deviant's attention to the hallway where he waited for the sound of the bathroom door to do the same. As soon as he heard the shower running he got up from his bed and made his way back to the livingroom where Sumo was patiently waiting for someone to get up and feed him.

"Here you go, boy."

Connor poured some food in the dog's bowl and stared at the backyard through the window. "

Today is going to be sunny and warm. It'd be a good day to begin building the back deck."

Making his way back to his bedroom to change from his night clothes and into some clean clothes for the day, Connor grabbed the car keys from the bookshelf in the livingroom and addressed Hank as the freshly showered senior detective stepped outside of the bathroom with a towel in his hand.

"I'm going to pick up a few items downtown today. I won't be long."

"At eight in the morning?" Hank asked with genuine intrigue in his words. "Good luck finding a store that's already open."

"I'll manage."

"Yeah, sure. Don't be too long, though. A new piece for the Corvette should be arriving today and I need your non-arthritic hands to get down deep into the engine where I can't reach."

"Of course." Opening the front door to step outside Connor called back to Hank and watched as Sumo proceeded to make a mess of his food all over the kitchen floor. A mess he'd clean up after he returned home. "I'll be back before noon."

Just before eleven in the morning, Hank opened up the garage door and carried the expected mail package inside with Sumo following at his heels with energy that the original Sumo couldn't hope to imitate in his later years. The Corvette had made some modest progress in its restoration in the first few weeks of the spring, but due to a lack of available parts and having to return to the precinct to work on cases, the progress had made an uncomfortable stall that was driving Hank a little stir crazy. Today was the day he'd regain some semblance of his sanity by resuming his work with Connor and making further progress on his little pet project.

While Hank was in the garage Connor returned to the house with a load of three dozen or so two-by-four wooden planks, nails and a bag of concrete mix in the backseat of the car and pulled up the driveway beside the house and in front of the garage. Seeing Hank already standing in the garage Connor exited the car and met with the senior detective inside of the small space just as Hank opened up the mail package and showed Connor the item inside.

"The transmission." Connor recognized the item easily as he met Hank at the popped open hood of the Corvette. "How long do you think it'll take to-" Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to red as the strange pain returned to his chest and abdomen causing him to stop mid sentence as he wrapped his arm around his abdomen protectively. "...Ow."

"Connor?" Taking immediate notice of his son's discomfort Hank put the new part aside as he needed to know what was causing Connor to react in such a pained manner. "What's wrong?"

"...A glitch." Connor stated firmly as he forced himself to endure and subsequently ignore the pain while Sumo rushed up to him and pressed his nose against Connor's leg with a instinctive worry. "It'll be remedied by the end of the day." Changing the subject quickly Connor pet Sumo's head to ease the pup's worry as he focused on the Corvette instead. "...How long do you think it'll take to replace the transmission?"

"Uh, a couple hours. It's been a while since I've worked on the transmission in any car." Watching the red light in Connor's temple flicker rhythmically Hank couldn't help but feel as though Connor was hiding something. "Do you need to go lay down? If you're not feeling right I don't want you messing around with a delicate engine."

"I'm okay. The glitch has passed."

"All right, whatever you say." Hank wasn't convinced but knew better than to push it. "It's going to take me a while to refamiliarize myself with everything that needs to be done. Why don't you go take care of whatever it is you bought today while I do this? I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Are you certain?" Connor's red L.E.D. finally flickered back to yellow from red as the pain once again lessened. "I could still help you get things ready."

"Yeah, go do your thing and I'll do mine."

Nodding silently Connor returned to the car with a slight limp to his walk as he pushed through the lingering pain in his abdomen. Opening the rear passenger door of the car Connor began unloading the purchased lumber over his shoulder with moderate difficulty and carried it over to the backdoor.

"Uh, Connor?" Hank watched as the deviant hefted the bulk in his arms from the car and hoisted it around easily. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'd like to build a back deck for the house."

"And you didn't think to ask me about that first?"

Connor paused for a moment before looking over to Hank with a slightly embarrassed gaze. "...Would you permit me to build a deck?"

"I guess, but, why?"

"It seemed like it'd be a nice addition to the property."

"You do know you can't just build shit, right? You need-"

"I've already acquired the building permits to the property and had them filed and approved this morning."

"...How long have you been thinking about doing this?"

"Since four fifty-eight this morning."

"Are you sure you're okay?" The odd behavior and response raised an immediate red flag. "It seems like you're starting to obsess over something again."

"I'm not obsessing. I'm merely looking for something constructive to do. A second hobby, perhaps."

Not entirely convinced by Connor's claim, especially since the deviant had a history of denying it when he was feeling ill, in pain or anxious, Hank decided to indulge Connor's request and gave him permission. "All right, go ahead. Just clean up your mess."

"Of course. Thank you."

Shaking his head a little Hank returned to the opened hood of the Corvette and shined a light down on to the engine. Sumo stood up on his hind legs beside Hank and peered down at the engine curiously which elicited a small laugh from the senior detective.

"I don't know who's acting weirder right now; you or Connor."

Within a couple of hours Connor had already secured the thick wooden support beams for the underside of the deck in concrete within the freshly dug holes in the soft ground. He was now working on building the actual deck itself for when the concrete set and would be able to properly support the additional wooden beams of the deck before building the surface. It was a slow project that would need patience to complete properly, but Connor was determined to see his new task through to completion regardless of what odd things could come his way.

Hank stepped out of the garage and wiped some grease off his hands onto a worn out red rag and stared with genuine surprise at the rapid progress Connor had already made on his own little project on the side. It was impressive to say the least.

"Jeez, kid! How in the hell did you do this all by yourself so fast?"

"I downloaded the appropriate blueprints cybernetically." Connor was kneeling over the partially completed support beam of the deck as he placed the nail gun down over the next board and prepared to secure it into place. "Once I finish-"

The enigmatic pain returned to his chest and abdomen cause him to fall completely forward on his hands and knees. During his graceless fall forward he accidentally release the trigger on the nail gun, and with it a sharp nail was released in an expected surface.

"Fuck!"

"Connor?" Hank rushed over to the deviant and put his hand on Connor's shoulder to see what had happened. The deviant rarely ever swore and when he did it was usually quiet and to himself. "What's going on?"

Forcing himself to lean back on his knees Connor lifted up his left hand to reveal the long nail that had penetrated clean through the palm of his left hand out to the other side.

"Aw, shit." The senior detective carefully wrapped his hand around Connor's left wrist to pull the deviant's hand closer to him for examination. "Come on. I'll take you to a facility to-"

"No! No..." Connor was adamantly opposed to going to the emergency facility and pulled his hand back. "I can remove it myself."

"I'm not talking about the nail, Connor. You're in pain and have been acting weird all morning! I want to know what's wrong."

"A glitch." Connor reaffirmed in a less than convincing tone of voice as he cradled his bleeding hand to his chest. "It's just a glitch."

"Don't lie to me, son. I KNOW when you're sick."

"I'm not sick."

"But you're not behaving like yourself."

"...No. I suppose I am not."

"Level with me. Why don't you want to go to the facility to get checked out?"

"Facilities remind me of... CyberLife." Connor let out an annoyed sigh as the pain let up enough to allow him to get back to his feet to walk back inside the house to get his hand tended to. "I'm tired of spending so much time getting repaired or having errors in my programming corrected because I'm a prototype. It's frustrating to feel like your own body is betraying you."

Hank empathized only too well with the deviant's irritation. "That's the most human thing you've ever said."

"It is?"

"Yup." Hank stood upright and opened the backdoor motioning for Connor to walk inside the kitchen behind him. As soon as the backdoor opened Sumo jogged over to the door and made his way inside first to check out his bowls then went into the livingroom to find a toy to play with while his two masters followed after him. "I know what it's like to get annoyed, maybe even flat-out pissed off, when my knee acts up, or my back... or whenever I catch some passing sickness."

"But I'm not supposed to have these problems. I'm tired of being broken!" Connor sounded almost frightened as Hank guided him over to the kitchen sink to wash the blue blood from his hand. "I'm the most advanced prototype ever created, someone who was designed to be nearly perfect. Now it seems like the responsibility from being so advanced and unique has more cons than pros. Lucas never had these problems because he was the final design, the superior model, yet... he still perished. Sometimes it feels like I'm cursed."

"You're not cursed." The senior detective turned off the water as the blue blood was rinsed away from Connor's hand. Gently wrapping a clean hand towel around the affected appendage Hank next motioned for Connor to sit down at the kitchen table or a moment. "If anything, you've been gifted."

"Gifted? How so?"

"You're so advanced that while other deviants can experience emotions and freewill, you get to actually FEEL things physically." Walking down the hallway to pick up the android first aid kit from its usual place under the bathroom sink, Hank raised his voice to keep speaking with Connor in the other room. "You can appreciate the world around you a little more because you can directly interact with it, not just pass through it."

"As a fellow prototype Markus can feel pain, too. I don't think he'd quite agree with you."

"Probably not, but no two people have the exact same experiences as one another." Rejoining Connor at the kitchen table Hank opened the kit and proceeded to unwrap Connor's hand from the towel, smoothing it over the table's surface, and gently held Connor's hand up and over the towel in the process. "I hate pain just as much as you do, son. But without it I don't think I'd truly appreciate the good days when my knee isn't locked up and my back isn't sore."

Connor weakly nodded as he took Hank's words to heart, his red L.E.D. cycling back into yellow during his contemplation. "Think this will hurt coming back out as much as it did going in?"

"Beats me. I've had a staple in my thumb before, but not a full nail through the center of my hand."

Squaring his jaw Connor took hold of the end of the nail between his right fore fingertips and pulled in a swift, smooth motion. As the nail exited his hand with a smile 'squelch' Connor gritted his teeth in pain and watched as more Thirium leaked from the odd injury to his hand. "...Got it. Thanks."

"That had to suck..." Hank proceeded to pour the remaining orange incrassation compound over Connor's hand before wrapping it up in gauze to keep the wound clean. "So how long have you been experiencing that glitch?"

"Since yesterday morning." Connor answered honestly as Hank took care of his hand. "It actually woke me up this morning, which is why I was in the kitchen just before five a.m. and had let Sumo outside."

"I knew something was bothering you. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because the glitch is something that only my system can correct. I didn't want to trouble you with something you couldn't help with."

"If you keep having problems with this glitch then I'm taking you to a facility to get checked out."

"No, please! I'll be fine."

"You drove a fucking nail through your hand because of that damn glitch! What if the glitch happened while you were driving to the store or driving home? What'll happen if you glitch out while on the job?"

"...I won't."

"You can't be sure of that."

"No, but you can't be certain that I'll experience any further problems from the glitch, either."

"Don't get smart with me. If you're sick or malfunctioning you NEED to let me know, okay?"

Relenting in his stubbornness Connor had to admit that Hank was right. "...Okay. I'll let you know if it becomes a further issue."

"Good." Carefully Hank tied off the gauze wrap around Connor's injured hand and closed the first aid kit with an audible 'snap. "Now, help me with the transmission and we'll call it a day. You can finish your own project later after your hands heals and that concrete fully sets."

"Yes, okay." Agreeing to continue to work on the car instead Connor flexed his sore hand once and then followed Hank back into the garage. "The deck can wait."

The rest of the evening went off without any further incidents from the glitch that was sporadically affecting Connor's system, and the Corvette's transmission had been properly replaced without any difficulty. The rest of the back deck would have to wait to be completed since Hank didn't want Connor having another 'accident' while the unknown glitch was still potentially active and completely unpredictable in the deviant's system. The last thing either detective wanted to deal with was another injury or trip to an emergency room for treatment.

Casually tossing the green fetch ball for Sumo to repeatedly retrieve, Connor and Hank sat on the couch and watched the beginning of the March Madness tournament on the television and made their picks for the winners. Despite Connor's ability to calculate odds and have the entire history of every team's losses and wins to use to his advantage, Hank always picked more winners than Connor ever did.

"It's a gut instinct, kid." Hank boasted as his team triumphed over Connor's for the third game in a row. "You're looking at the numbers and I'm looking at the players."

"I've gone through circumstances where the statistics were greatly against me and I have previously prevailed with-" Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to red in pained distress as he suddenly wrapped his arms around his chest and abdomen in agony, the green ball falling from his hand and onto the floor before he had the chance to toss it again. Curling around himself on the couch Connor groaned in undeniable discomfort while Sumo pressed his cold wet nose to the side of the deviant's neck and Hank put his hand against Connor's back. "...Damn it."

"All right, that's it. I'm taking you-"

"No!" Connor shook his head and forced himself to sir upright again on the couch. "I'm okay!"

"You're NOT okay." Keeping his hand on Connor's back Hank refused to back down. "Let me help you."

"Please... J-Just give me one day to correct this glitch." The pleading in Connor's voice was almost as pathetic as the pained deviant looked. "If... If I'm not better by morning then I'll go to a facility. I promise."

"Son..." Hank hated the idea of waiting and hoping for Connor to recover, but he also respected Connor's assessment enough to let the matter drop. At least for the time being. "All right. But if you're still glitching out in the morning then I'm hauling you over my shoulder to take to a facility myself."

Nodding weakly Connor agreed as he took in deep slow breaths to try to ease the pain but nothing helped. Hank kept his hand in place to give the deviant some modicum of support while Sumo whimpered and laid down at Connor's feet.

"What's happening to you?" The senior detective asked with an empathetic curiosity. "The pain, I mean."

"I-It's like a horrible... pressure in my chest and in my stomach. I don't know what's... causing it."

"I thought you said it was a glitch?"

"Correct. But what the glitch is... what caused it... I don't know."

"And your self diagnostic thing doesn't know, either?"

"It hasn't detected any... anomalies. Which makes it feel worse. And it's frightening."

"Then maybe you should see a technician and let them examine you."

Steadfast in his decision Connor again refused. "No."

"Okay, fine. I'll stop talking about it." Hank pulled his hand from Connor's back and studied the deviant's distressed face as his red L.E.D. slowly transitioned back to yellow. "But if you need anything let me know."

"...I will."

"Think you can get some sleep now?"

"I can try. Why do you ask?"

"You once said your system does automatic updates to your software while you're sleeping, right? So does that mean if you sleep your system can fix the glitch?"

"Possibly." Connor confirmed as he let his arms drop from his torso as the pain finally subsided. "However, the pain had also awoken me previously. I may not be able to remain asleep long enough for the glitch to be corrected during my next rest mode."

"You still have to try."

"...Yes. You're right."

"It's getting late, you're exhausted from having less sleep than usual and from being in pain. Go get some rest and we'll see how you're feeling in the morning, okay?"

"Okay." Agreeing with the suggestion Connor didn't even try to feign having any form of energy to spare. "I'll go get some rest."

"Thank you. See you in the morning, son."

Standing up slowly from the couch Connor hesitated for only a minute as he tested his pain threshold before taking a step further. Sumo wagged his tail as Connor passed him by then quickly followed after the deviant carefully wandering down the hallway into his bedroom. Hank watched Connor closely just in case he had another glitch or collapsed from pain, perhaps even weakness, but it seemed the glitching episode had passed.

Once Connor was out of sight Hank picked up his phone from the nearby end table to send a text to Markus at New Jericho Tower asking about any new glitches or bugs being reported. He only had to wait a minute before he received a reply text from the deviant leader, but the reply wasn't anything beneficial to the situation at hand.

'No glitches reported at New Jericho. Do you want Simon to stop by and check on Connor?'

Hank texted back 'no' and of his intentions to help Connor tomorrow morning by taking him to a facility if necessary. Putting aside his phone Hank rubbed his hand thoughtfully over his bearded chin and tried to calm his own racing mind.

"You better be okay, kid. I don't want to see you in worse shape when I wake up."

In an attempt to properly rest Connor was laying on his bed in the same position he had done so from the night before as he tried to engage a deep rest mode in hopes of reversing the glitch and stopping the random bouts of extreme pain that had been affecting him sporadically throughout the past two days. It was almost midnight and Connor was running the third self diagnostic of the day since he walked into the bedroom when Sumo jumped up onto the foot of his bed to cuddle down for the night. The diagnostic found nothing yet again, and Connor let out a deep sigh of frustration as he closed his eyes and initiated his next rest mode.

"Damn it."

Drifting off to sleep Connor muttered to himself in righteous annoyance at his system seemingly breaking down for reasons he couldn't even begin to understand.

"I need an answer, not inconclusive data."

Barely an hour passed before Connor was awoken by a violent, sharp pain in his chest and stomach again causing him to sit upright in agony and let out a deep groan of frustrated discomfort as he curled around himself once more. Sumo whimpered and crawled up closer to the deviant to rest his chin against Connor's leg to try to comfort his master.

Breathing rapidly through his clenched teeth Connor endured the pain as much as possible while refusing to call out for help.

"...S-Stop..." Connor hissed in frustration at his own body. "...Nothing... is wrong."

Sumo sensed Connor's distress and tried to cuddle up even closer to the deviant protectively.

As the pain subsided as quickly as it manifested Connor managed to lay back down and slow his breathing. Running yet another self diagnostic only to find nothing of interest, Connor rolled onto his side and punched his pillow once in frustration before settling down to try to enter rest mode and heal.

As four in the morning crept in for the second time in Connor's disrupted continuing pattern of sleep disturbances, Connor shot awake again and let out a choking gasp of pain as he wrapped his arms around his chest and abdomen tightly as if he could protect himself from the internal pain. Clenching his jaw hard Connor sucked in breaths between his clenched teeth as he rolled off the bed toward the door and landed with a muffled 'thud' on his quilt and onto the floor.

Sumo whimpered as he stood up on the bed and watched Connor using his uninjured shaking right hand to reach out ahead of himself to drag his body through the partially opened door and out into the hallway.

Using as much strength as he could spare Connor pulled himself into the hallway, resting on his side just outside his bedroom door as his resolve gave out on him.

"...H-Hank." Connor couldn't find enough energy to shout through his pain as he called out desperately to Hank down in his own bedroom. "Hank... please! I n-need help!"

Letting out another groan of pain Connor choked on his breath as he fought to keep himself from passing out from the agony.

"...Dad." Desperate, weak and afraid Connor wasn't even aware of what he was saying. "Dad, please?"

There was an audible 'click' as Hank's bedroom door was pulled open and a sound of rushed footsteps as the senior detective knelt down on the floor next to the pained deviant.

"...I'm... I'm-"

"Shit!" Hank pressed one hand down against the deviant's back as he slipped his other hand around Connor's shoulder to roll him from his side and flat onto his back on the floor. Connor's good hand reached up from the floor and wrapped tightly around Hank's arm in fear which made Hank tense up. "How bad's the pain?"

"...BAD." Connor managed to utter the response through pained breaths. "It... hurts! It really hurts!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going to get you to a facility." Hank promised as he reluctantly pulled his hands from the deviant's shoulder and back. "Just hold on."

"Hank?!" Connor gasped again as he let out another groan of terrible pain and tried to curl around himself once more. "D-Don't leave me!"

"I'll be right back, just stay calm." Hank raced back into his bedroom to change into clean clothes, grab his shoes and grab his wallet. "I'm right here!"

Sumo wandered out of the bedroom and laid down in the hallway next to Connor and licked at Connor's extended hand sympathetically.

"Hold on, son." Hank knelt down beside Connor again, this time slipping his hand under the deviant's back to lift him up into a sitting position, then placing his other arm under Connor's legs to lift the deviant up from the floor. Fortunately Connor was lighter than Hank and the senior detective was able to easily bear the weight of the sick deviant without stumbling. "Sorry about this, but I don't think you can walk and I don't want to actually put you over my shoulder."

"...I don't know what's happening to me." Connor was wheezing now as fought to breathe through the pain. "I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry about it, I'll get you some help."

Stepping around Sumo in the hallway, Hank carefully carried Connor through the livingroom to grab his car keys from the livingroom bookshelf and then through the front door of the house. Hank stepped over to the driveway where the car was parked beside the house.

Awkwardly Hank opened the rear passenger door and laid Connor over the backseat lightly. "Try to relax, son. You'll be okay."

Connor could only nod weakly as he heard the passenger door shut next to him and the driver's side door open then slam shut once afterward.

As the car's engine turned over Hank backed down the driveway and took off down the street to the nearest facility to try to help his suffering partner; his son.

"We'll figure this out, kid." Patting his hand lightly on Connor's shoulder by reaching his hand backward for a moment, Hank was determined to help the deviant figure out what was going on. "I promise."

It was all a timeless blur for Connor as he was rolled into the emergency entrance of the Zeta Facility atop a gurney by two deviant technicians, and promptly taken into the first available exam room of the facility for treatment. Unable to open his eyes because of the incredible pain in his core and unable to fully lay flat on his back, Connor felt vulnerable and weak as he remained curled up on his left side. A light hand on his right shoulder and a familiar voice would have been otherwise comforting if Connor wasn't already lost in the throes of an enigmatic pain that was threatening to consume his mind.

Staying by Connor's side Hank kept his word and refused to leave his son alone for even a moment. It pained him to see Connor in so much pain himself.

"Even on the graveyard shift I keep running into you guys." Abby joked in an effort to lighten the mood. "What's going on?"

Hank answered on Connor's behalf to keep the pained deviant from feeling any worse. "We don't know, but he's in pain and we're at a total loss."

"How long has he been like this?" Abby asked as she connected a black diagnostic cable to Connor's rapidly red flashing L.E.D. and to the large computer modem designed to run diagnostics and monitor his vital signs. "His heartbeat is elevated, so is his Thirium pressure... Whatever is happening to him has him stressing out."

"I don't think it's been more than twenty minutes." Hank waited for Connor to answer but the deviant couldn't bring himself to speak. "He was crumpled up in the hallway calling for help when I found him."

"How many times has this happened?"

"To my knowledge this is the fifth time."

"S-Seventh..." Connor gasped pathetically. "This is... the worst... one."

A little surprised Hank put his hand over Connor's arm and held it there for a moment. "The pain only lasted for a few minutes before, now he's just... suffering."

Abby checked Connor's vitals on the monitor and pressed her hand to his forehead to confirm he was beginning to overheat from physical stress. "And your self diagnostic has shown nothing wrong?"

Connor nodded weakly in favor speaking.

"This is very strange. I'm not detecting any abnormality in your biocomponents, Thirium volume, software or hardware." Using her audioscope Abby pressed the bell against Connor's thundering heart over top of his arms wrapped protectively around his chest. "If this was an error with his pain receptors then it'd appear on the diagnostic scan and there's no denying that he's in pain."

Hank was getting worried but expertly hid his concern behind a mask of paternal courage. "Can you do ANYTHING for him?"

"I can turn off his pain receptors for an hour, but that's just it. It'll help him for only an hour."

"That's better than nothing. Do it."

Agreeing with Hank wholeheartedly Abby set aside her audioscope to retrieve the small electronic device designed specifically to neutralize the more enhanced deviant senses for a brief period of time. Detaching the cable from Connor's red L.E.D. she pressed the device down against his right temple over the light and deactivated the pain sensors with a single motion.

In response Connor let out another gasp as the relentless pain suddenly stopped and he could breathe again. Opening his glassy eyes Connor's body relaxed enough that he stopped curling around himself and rolled over onto his back while his red L.E.D. cycled back to yellow and then to blue. "...Th-Thank you."

Abby replaced her hand to his forehead to manually check his temperature. "What were you doing before this glitch began affecting you?"

"...The f-first time I was cleaning up a mess on the livingroom floor. The second time I was in rest mode."

"And the other times?"

"I was speaking to Hank in the garage, then I was working on a project."

"Keep going."

"The fifth time I was sitting on the couch, then the sixth and seventh times I was awoken from rest mode. Again."

"You weren't injured recently and you didn't receive any software updates," Abby noted out loud as if she could find the answer hanging in the air. "and you weren't doing a single common activity before each glitch. This doesn't add up. There has to be something we're missing."

"I agree." Connor took another deep breath and lightly rested his hand over his stomach now that the pain had ceased. "However, I can't theorize the next correct course of action."

"You need to be monitored so we can figure out what's going on."

"I need to stay here?"

"It's the only-"

"No." Connor sat upright on the table as his blue L.E.D. flashed back to red rapidly, and Hank had to put his hand to the deviant's shoulder to hold him in place. "I don't want to stay here."

"Connor, you're sick." Hank reminded him softly and sympathetically. "You have to stay here."

"No! I don't want to stay here."

"Come on. Now's NOT the time to be stubborn."

"Hank, I'm NOT staying here."

"Give me one damn good reason why."

"I told you before, these places remind me of CyberLife!" Connor sounded absolutely terrified as he blurted the answer defensively. "Every time I leave a facility I feel horrible and my nightmares... They come back. The longer I'm in a facility the worse the nightmares become. I don't want to be afraid to close my eyes."

"Why didn't you say something about the nightmares before?"

"...Because there are times where I will need technical assistance, and being worried about nightmares is foolish. It's an inevitability that I must return here for basic maintenance." Connor ran his hand through his unruly hair nervously. "And there's nothing that can change my dreams, so why mention a problem that cannot be solved?"

"Damn it, kid." Hank wanted to smack the deviant upside the head but he restrained himself as he realized Connor was just scared. "Why do you think ignoring problems will somehow make them go away?"

That time Connor didn't have an answer.

Abby patted Connor's shoulder once as she offered up a possible solution to the deviant's distress. "How about I lend you a portable monitor keep track of your vitals while you return home to rest? Keep it hooked up to your system for the next seventy-two hours and I'll be able to remotely record your vitals before, during and after the glitch happens."

Connor looked over at Abby with an appreciative glance as he nodded in agreement. "...That will suffice, thank you."

"Great. We have a game-plan." Abby smiled kindly as she walked over to a metal storage cabinet at the rear of the exam room to retrieve the monitor as promised. "It'll just take a minute to calibrate the monitor and set it up to record for the next three days."

Hank crossed his arms angrily over his chest as he gave the deviant a disapproving stare. "I thought you weren't going to keep it a secret whenever you were sick or injured?"

"...I'm not attempting to deceive you or lie,. Sometimes I just prefer to keep some things private."

"Which is fine, unless you're really sick or hurt."

"...I didn't know that this glitch was going to be such a problem. I'm sorry for upsetting you."

"Stop- Don't apologize for being sick! It's not your fault." Hank's voice was tense enough to undeniably indicate his anger. "Just don't keep shit from me. That's all I ask."

Unable to say anything more Connor lowered his gaze guiltily and stared at the floor with a sense of shame shining in his brown irises. Not saying a word, even after Abby returned to the exam table with the monitor ,Connor just obeyed the instructions she gave him and made sure Hank understood what was going on as well.

"Lay back for me." Abby requested as she held up the monitor for the two detectives to see. It was flat rectangular glass screen about the size of a sheet of notebook paper. "This is a newer model of Thirial activity monitors. It's thinner, lighter and more accurate than our previous models. The only flaw is it doesn't support any form electronic impulses or defibrillator to aid an android if their Thirium pump fails on them."

"Whoa, whoa." Expectedly Hank didn't like the sound of that. "Do you think he's in danger of his heart giving out?"

"No, not at all. His heartbeat was strong and I didn't hear any faltering. And like I said, this monitor does NOT have that special function, so he's safe. If I was worried about that I wouldn't let him leave the facility at all."

"That's good to know."

"Okay, Connor." Casually Abby lifted up his black t-shirt to expose his chest and abdomen. "I'm going to attach four sensor pads to your chest; one over your Thirium pump, two over your ventilation biocomponents and the fourth is going to rest over your thermal regulator for good measure."

Connor patiently waited for Abby to apply the four sensor pads accordingly; one in the center of his chest, two on his upper chest and the fourth in the middle of his abdomen above his aesthetic naval, before she pulled his shirt back down. As soon as the sensors were secured in place Abby turned on the monitor and Connor's heart rate, Thirium volume/Thirium pressure, his ventilation rate and core temperature appeared on the display.

"This will record every little fluctuation in your vitals that we otherwise may be unable to detect either through a direct exam or your own self diagnostic program." The confident technician explained everything as she handed the monitor to Connor to take in his own hands. "Come back in three days. Even if the glitch does resolve itself in that time I want to give you an examination and try to figure out what happened."

Connor accepted the monitor and let out a weary sigh as he sat up just long enough to slip his legs over the edge of the exam table. Tucking the monitor under his arm, mindful to not pull on the wires connecting the sensor pads to his chest in the process, he put his feet on the floor and stood up slowly. Walking with a stilted, almost shamed gait to the door of the exam room quietly and tiredly, Connor took his leave of the facility.

"Thanks, Abby." Hank bid the kind technician farewell for the night as he followed after Connor. "See you in three days." Hastening his pace Hank caught up to Connor in the parking lot outside the facility just as the deviant reached the car. "I know it's hard but try not to worry."

Without a word Connor pulled open the passenger side door to get to the backseat and proceeded to lay down on his side with the monitor gripped tightly in his hand.

Opening the driver's side front door Hank sat down behind the wheel and turned over the engine. "Are you good?"

Remaining quiet Connor nodded a little as he watched his own vital signs on the monitor's display.

"Okay. I'll let Fowler know you're down for a few days. I'll stay home with you if you want."

Connor stayed silent with his eyes still transfixed on the monitor in his hand. The sight of his own heart beating on the glass display was as hypnotic as it was surreal. Every beat seemed normal, strong and healthy. Yet deep down inside Connor knew there was something very abnormal happening to his system.

"Right." Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street Hank relented in the discussion and just focused on getting home. "We'll figure it out tomorrow."

Hardly able to sleep or even come close to sleeping, Connor just laid on his bed with his eyes closed and hands folded neatly over his abdomen as he ran one self diagnostic after another in an attempt to isolate and figure out the cause of the sporadic and very painful glitch that was plaguing his system. The pain hadn't returned since he and Hank had returned home during the early morning hours, but that didn't make it any less tense for the deviant as he knew at any moment that searing, almost unbearable pain could resurface.

The monitor was propped up against the lamp on the nightstand beside Connor's bed, his vitals being recorded constantly and every fluctuation being chronicled for study later on. The wired sensor pads connecting the monitor to Connor's chest hung off toward the left side of his chest and dangled over the air between the bed and the nightstand.

Sumo was sleeping on the foot of Connor's bed without a care in the world as he kept Connor company with just his friendly, calming presence. Keen on his master's distress the loyal puppy refused to leave Connor's side the moment the deviant stumbled through the front door with Hank right behind him.

Relying on his paternal instincts to help see Connor through his unusual predicament Hank made a habit of checking in on the deviant every hour to ensure he was still okay. Before he took off for his shift at the precinct he knocked at the opened door and stepped into Connor's bedroom to speak to the ill deviant casually one more time. "Fowler said you take as much time as you need to heal up and figure out what's wrong. Don't worry."

Tiredly Connor's eyes opened slowly and he vaguely turned his gaze to look at Hank. Indifferent and annoyed he unwrapped his previously wounded left hand from beneath the gauze bandages as the appendage had fully healed from the nail injury the afternoon before. Flexing his hand a few times Connor showed the healed wound to Hank and then rested his palm atop his abdomen again.

"Do you want me to call off, too?" Hank looked absolutely exhausted but was too stubborn to admit it. "It wouldn't be a problem."

Shaking his head a little Connor turned away and stared at the ceiling above him. "...That won't be necessary."

"Necessary or not, do you want me to stay?"

"...No."

Hank was almost insulted by Connor's refusal to ask him to stay behind. Connor hated being alone, and with him being sick with a strange and painful condition the senior really didn't want to leave him alone for too long at all.

However, Hank didn't need to be a detective to know that Connor was just frustrated with himself and with other people constantly hovering over him. "Okay, then. I'll be back at the usual time this evening. Text me if you feel sick again."

Connor didn't reply as he closed his eyes and tried to get some more sleep.

"Right. See you later, son."

Tiredly Connor listened to the sound of Hank walking down the hallway, stepping through the livingroom and of the front door opening then shutting in sequence. In the distance the sound of the car's engine turning over filled the air and the sound of the car itself backing down the drive slowly to pull out onto the street follow shortly after.

As silence fell over the house Connor found himself completely engulfed in burning pain as the glitch once more made its presence known.

"DAMN IT!"

Connor swore loudly as he wrapped his arms around his chest and his stomach and he breathed through the pain as it tore through his body.

"No more!"

Sumo whimpered and watched as Connor endured the extreme pain, his L.E.D. flashing red and tears flowing from the corners of his eyes down his face.

"I-It's okay..."

Connor managed to gasp as the painful fit mercifully didn't last as long as the previous glitching bout. Immediately he regretted not asking Hank to stay home with him as he felt much weaker and sicker than he had before simply because of the extreme pain.

"...G-Good boy, Sumo."

Turning to look at the monitor Connor noted his spiked vital signs as he responded to the intense pain and ran another self diagnostic.

Still nothing.

Frustrated Connor pressed both of his hands over his face as he breathed heavily and tried to steel his nerves. The night of the Revolution, all of the cases he dealt with as a detective and every injury he sustained during his time working with Hank was nothing compared to the concentrated internal pain he had been enduring for the past forty-three hours.

Rolling onto his side Connor stared at the monitor until his eyes eventually drifted shut from exhaustion and he finally fell into a light rest mode.

Four hours passed without any further incident and everything was peaceful during that time, but some things just weren't meant to last. Sumo whimpered and pressed his nose against Connor's chin to awaken the deviant from his slumber much to Connor's chagrin.

"...Sumo?"

Connor opened his eyes and looked at the puppy who jumped down from the bed and circled around excitedly just inside the door frame.

"All right, outside."

As much as he just wanted to lay back down and sleep Connor swung his legs over the edge of the bed and the motion caused the wires connected to the monitor to tug, jerking said monitor off the nightstand and onto the bed beside Connor. With a begrudging sigh Connor picked up the monitor and carried it with him as he walked out of the bedroom, down the hallway and into the kitchen as he followed Sumo to the backdoor to be let outside.

As soon as the door was open Sumo darted outside and Connor shook his head tiredly as the puppy leapt over the unfinished deck and toward the far corner of the backyard to urgently take care of business.

"I wish I could've finished building the deck."

Connor muttered as he stared down at his incomplete project with a sense of yearning. A knock at the front door caught Connor's attention and caused him to turn around to face the direction of the opposite door with a sense of confusion.

"A visitor? Probably Abby or Simon coming to check on me."

Despite his usual reluctance to be alone for too long Connor didn't want to deal with another examination or a bunch of unhelpful questions. Approaching the front door after trudging through the kitchen Connor pulled it open the door and was greeted by a familiar face, but not the one he was expecting.

"Rose? Hello."

"Hi, Connor." Rose smiled warmly at him as she greeted the deviant with a kind voice. She was exuding a warm presence that matched her sincere smile as she looked Connor in the eyes. "Can I come in?"

"Y-Yes. Of course." Stepping aside Connor waited for Rose to enter before he closed the door behind himself. "Hank is not here at the moment, but you're welcome to wait here if you wish. It'll be another six hours, but you may wait here all the same."

"I know Hank's at work, and... I know you're sick."

It was then Connor realized why she was at the house. Hank asked her to check in on him, and while he was grateful for the concern a part of Connor was insulted as if he were being treated like a helpless child in need of parental guidance. "...I appreciate the gesture, but I assure you I'm capable of taking care of myself despite my illness."

Rose kept her smile as she continued to speak with Connor. "That doesn't mean we're not going to be worried about you."

"'We'?"

"Yes. Hank is worried and so am I. You're both my friends. I don't want to see you sick or hurt."

Connor hadn't considered the fact that Rose could've checked in on him solely because she wanted to do so without any prompts from Hank. It was reassuring to know that he had more friends beyond that of the precinct or New Jericho Tower, and he suddenly felt a little guilty for simply assuming she was doing Hank a favor. "...Thank you. That's very kind of you."

"How do you feel?"

"Right now I feel as though I'm running at optimal parameters, although I am also feeling exhausted. It's a strange combination."

Rose noticed the monitor tucked under Connor's arm and she looked genuinely concerned at the sight. "Are you sure you don't want to be in a facility with a technician watching over you?" Motioning toward the monitor she gave Connor a worried glance. "That seems pretty serious."

"Yes." Tucking the monitor up a little higher under his arm Connor did his best to ignore his vitals on display but his yellow tinted L.E.D. betrayed the worry he was attempting to deny. "I'm certain."

"Do you need anything? Anything at all." Just as Hank was following his paternal instincts regarding Connor's health, Rose found herself falling back into her deeply seated maternal instincts. "I'm happy to help, and I don't think you should be left alone if you're so sick."

"No, but thank you, Rose. I'm all right." Connor looked to the backdoor he left wide open as Sumo trotted back inside the house after he took care of what he needed to in the backyard. The friendly dog marched right up to Rose and greeted her by pressing his nose against her hand. "And Sumo is keeping me company."

Rose rubbed the puppy's ears as she continued to focus on Connor. "There's no shame in admitting you need help from time to time. Everyone needs help sometimes, even humans."

"Yes, I'm aware. But I don't-" Mid sentence Connor suddenly fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his chest and stomach once more as the unexplainable glitch struck the deviant without warning. Dropping the monitor on the floor beside him Connor could only wheeze and mutter to himself as physical distress plagued his body and his L.E.D. flashed to dangerous red color. Groaning in pain Connor pressed his forehead down against the cool, hardwood floor as he was forced to endure yet another bout from the glitch and could only wait for it to pass. "...Shit."

"Connor." Rose knelt on the floor beside him as she tried to help the suddenly stricken deviant. Rubbing small circles against his back Rose did her best to comfort him as any mother would her own child while Sumo circled around nervously. "It's okay. I'm with you."

"...It hurts." Connor almost gasped as he fought to breathe through the agony that left his chest and stomach feeling so constricted it was like he was being crushed in a vice. "...I just want it to stop!"

"I know you do." Rose stayed with Connor as he endured the pain, her eyes watching the monitor on the floor very closely. She knew enough about android physiology to recognize dangerous vital signs and fortunately Connor wasn't entering critical levels. The only thing that caught her eye was his rising core temperature seemingly in response to the pain he was suffering. "It'll be over soon." She soothed kindly as she gauged how hot he was beginning to run from his rising stress levels. "I won't leave you alone."

Slowly Connor managed to push himself up onto his knees as the pain subsided and he was able to take in a full breath.

Rose pressed her hand to his forehead and held it there for a moment. "You feel a little feverish."

"...I-It's from the pain."

"Come on, you should go lay down." With a gentle pull of his arm Rose encouraged the deviant to take it easy while helping him to get back up to his feet. She picked up the monitor and carried it on Connor's behalf as the weakened deviant stumbled forward a few steps toward the hallway. "You need to rest."

"...I'll be okay now." Connor tried to ease her mind but Rose was insistent on helping Connor get back down the hallway and into his bedroom once more. "I can make it on my own."

"I know you can, but I want to stay with you."

Although he didn't say anything Connor was grateful that Rose was with him while he endured his unknown illness, especially since Hank was at the precinct and wouldn't be home for another six hours.

"Lay down." Rose whispered as she guided Connor over to his bed and pulled back the quilt for him. Setting the monitor down on the nightstand beside the bed she watched as Connor laid on his back slowly and draped his arm over his stomach where the origin of enigmatic pain resided. "I'll be right back."

Staying put Connor listened carefully to the house as Rose walked down the hallway and back into the rest of the house. During her absence Sumo trotted into the bedroom and jumped up on the foot of Connor's bed, his tail wagging heavily as he looked to the resting deviant. The backdoor shut with a noted 'click' and Rose returned to the hallway and found her way into the bathroom where the sound of the sink running filled the air. Sumo's tail wagged harder when Rose returned to the bedroom and pressed a cold, damp washcloth to Connor's forehead.

"I don't want you to overheat. I hope you don't mind."

"It's okay." Connor consented with a tired voice as Rose smoothed the compress out over his forehead lightly as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside his legs. "This is isn't the first time I've risked overheating."

"Can I ask you something a little personal?"

"Yes. I don't mind."

"Are you mad at Hank?"

Connor's lip twitched a little as he contemplated the question. "...Hank doesn't seem to respect my right to choose the best course of action for my own care. I dislike being admitted to facilities, he knows this, but he still gets angry when I don't cooperate."

"He's just being protective. You're very important to him."

"...That's not how it feels to me."

Rose was about to make a comment regarding Connor's relationship and overall health when the deviant suddenly seized upright in a violent jolt and let out another intense groan of pain as the glitch reared its ugly head once more. Connor quickly wrapped his arms around his chest and abdomen protectively as the washcloth fell from his forehead and onto his lap.

"...Shit." Connor swore in abject frustration once more as the glitch returned to plague his system brutally. "Damn it."

"Come here, baby." Rose wrapped her arms around Connor and held him tightly in a hug as the deviant struggled to breathe through the pain; his chest a tight knot of anguish that left him wheezing and frightened by his inability to take a deep breath. "Shh, shh..." Rose soothed again as she rubbed his back lightly and felt the warm tears falling from his eyes and onto her shoulder. She watched the monitor spiking in response to his vitals drastically fluctuating due to the extreme pain and paid close attention to the numbers. Most notably Connor's temperature rose to a critical degree in a very short amount of time. "It's okay. Just try to breathe."

"I hate this!" Connor nearly sobbed in pain as he finally caught his breath and his body relaxed. The glitch passed and his finally pain subsided allowing him to take in a deep breath. "I hate everything about this! I hate being broken and useless!" Falling back down against his pillow Connor pressed a hand to face and breathed in deeply as the pain let up and he tried to calm down. "I wish Lucas was here... He'd know how to help me. I can't even fall into rest mode long enough to delve into his memories and find a solution for this glitch."

"Don't give up hope." Rose replaced the cool washcloth before she grabbed onto Connor's hand and held it in a tight grip to make sure he know he had support with him. "You won't be like this forever. I know you'll find out what's happening soon."

"...I wish I could believe that."

"Let me ask you something else." She tightened her soft hand around his hand a little to try to comfort the breaking deviant and keep him from giving up entirely on himself. "When you first met Hank, did you know he'd become your best friend and guardian?"

"...No." Taking in a cleansing breath Connor looked Rose in her warm cinnamon eyes and told her the truth. "Hank disdained all androids and resented me for being assigned as his partner."

"What changed between you?"

"We got to know one another. We had been given adequate enough time to understand each other and to grow as individuals, and through that growth we became friends."

"So why do you think you won't find out what's happening to you unless you give yourself time to find the answer?"

"I'm sorry, Rose." Realizing his stubbornness and impatience were again proving to be problematic Connor calmed himself and allowed his red L.E.D. to return to yellow. "I'm just... frustrated."

"You have every right to be frustrated. What's happening to you would be enough to scare anyone."

"It doesn't make it any easier to endure."

"No, I don't imagine it would. Now," she slowly began rubbing her thumb over the back of Connor's hand to keep him calm. "what do you know is NOT responsible for your pain? I assume you've ruled out a failing biocomponent at this point."

"Yes. My biocomponents are functioning normally and my Thirium hasn't been contaminated."

"Software problems?"

"None. And I haven't had an adjustment to my hardware since the Revolution."

"Connor," by process of elimination Rose seemed to be narrowing down the cause of his pain with surprising ease. "your pain seems to be concentrated in your core, right?"

"Correct."

"And your self diagnostic hasn't found any abnormalities?"

"Correct as well." Sensing that Rose had a theory in mind Connor needed to ask what she was theorizing. "What are you thinking?"

"Call it a hunch, but I think the problem is with your Thirium lines connecting to your thermal regulator."

"My Thirium lines?" Arching his brow slightly Connor gave the kind woman an odd look. "How so?"

"The pain occurs only in your core despite none of your biocomponents malfunctioning and your core temperature spikes whenever you're in pain."

"...My self diagnostic program didn't detect an anomaly within my system." Following her logic and the validity Connor tried to either confirm or deny her current theory. "To identify the cause of my condition as a physical-" Connor's hand squeezed Rose's hand and his other arm wrapped around his stomach as the glitch resumed it's horrendous onslaught of crippling pain. With his L.E.D. flashing red again Connor groaned and breathed through his clenched teeth. "...It's happening again."

"It's going to be okay." Rose reassured him calmly as she let him squeeze her hand as tightly as he dared. "Just breathe through it. I'm here for you."

The deviant endured the pain for as long as he could before he mercifully passed out from the agony that was searing his body. As his grip fell slack from around Rose's hand she pressed her other hand against the side of his face soothingly before she absentmindedly began running her hand through his unruly hair. The rogue lock that hung down in front of his face refused to be tamed and fell back in line with the rest of his hair.

"Connor?"

Utterly exhausted Connor had quickly passed out from the pain. Unresponsive to her voice and barely moving save for his weak breaths Connor looked truly miserable.

"It's okay, honey. Sleep for now."

Brushing his hair back softly Rose spoke to him in a kind tone and sighed.

"When you wake up you'll see that we're all going to stay by you and help you get better."

By the time Hank had returned home from the precinct at his expected time Connor had been unconscious for almost five and half hours. Rose was keeping tabs on the ill deviant's temperature and made sure he didn't overheat in his sleep as his core temperature would continue to spike despite Connor being unable to feel the painful glitch while unconscious. With a motherly touch Rose kept one hand over the washcloth over Connor's forehead and her other hand wrapped around his as she watched his vitals on the monitor beside the bed.

Hank crept down the hallway and was relieved to see Rose watching over Connor while Connor slept. The worry that Connor wasn't getting any rest and was all alone all day seemed to melt away from Hank's mind the moment he saw the two together.

"Rose?" The senior detective asked quietly from the doorway as he looked in on Connor's condition. Seeing him unconscious and the L.E.D. flashing in red made Hank was righteously worried again, and he needed to know how bad the deviant truly was. "How is he?"

"Not good." She admitted in a whisper. "He needs to go to a facility."

"I know, but he hates them." Dragging his hand over his bearded chin Hank leaned heavily against the door frame as he tried to think of his next best course of action regarding Connor's health. The last thing he wanted to do was make the stubborn deviant more reluctant to ask for help, or even angry, regarding Hank's decision. "He's already mad at me for yelling at him last night at the facility and I don't blame him."

"I think I know what's wrong with him."

"You do?!" Standing upright suddenly Hank looked down at Connor's face and then over to Rose. "What is it?"

"There's only one way to find out, and it has to be a technician who confirms it."

"Yeah, okay." Hank walked over to the bed and bent down to pick Connor back up into his arms to be carried out to the car. Rose kept the washcloth over Connor's forehead while she also picked up the monitor to carry alongside Hank as they left the bedroom. "I just hope he knows we're doing this for his own good and doesn't hold a grudge for too long..."

After falling unconscious for a nearly eight hours due to the extreme pain he had endured, Connor awoke to a sensation of coolness pressing against his forehead and to the back of his neck. Opening his tired eyes he gazed about and found himself laying in a large bed in the recovery ward of a facility with the artificial skin that should've been covering his abdomen had fully receded away leaving the white plastimetal frame exposed. Pressing his hand over his exposed stomach Connor ran a self diagnostic and discovered that he had recently undergone emergency repairs and had no recorded memory for the past seven hours and forty-one minutes.

Hank himself was sitting in a chair beside the bed with his head resting against the palm of his hand as he leaned against the armrest and dozed lightly. He looked as exhausted as Connor felt, but wasn't going to leave the deviant alone in the facility all night long.

"...Hank?"

"Connor?" Hank's eyes snapped open and he cleared his throat upon hearing Connor's voice. "Hey, kid. You're okay. You're going to be just fine."

Sounding as confused as he was lethargic, the recovering deviant could only seem to state the obvious for the moment. "I'm in the Zeta Facility."

"Yeah." Guilt filled his blue eyes as he admitted that he had brought Connor to the facility against his will. "I'm sorry, but you needed to be here."

"...Has the glitch been identified?"

"Yeah, and it turns Rose was right about it."

"My Thirium lines?"

Abby walked into the recovery room and caught the tail end of the conversation. "Thirium line #248, the descending right Thirial line that connects your Thirium pump to your thermal regulator, to be specific."

"Abby?" Connor recognized the technician and most of what she was saying but he still needed answers. "What was wrong with me?"

"The Thirium line had slipped from its original position in your abdominal cavity and had become wedged between your Thirium pump and your gyroscope. Whenever your gyroscope recalibrated your balance it would compress the line causing an increase in your Thirium pressure and the intense pain as a direct result." Looking down at his face as she stood beside the recovery bed Abby folded her arms over her chest and explained everything calmly and professionally with every word. "We mistook the symptom of the pressure increase as a result of the pain rather than the cause of the pain."

"How did it slip?"

"My guess is it was knocked loose when you had that fight with that 'Rampage' guy a while back or even when you slipped on the ice last night. Without a technician's care the loosened line wasn't detected until it began to give you problems."

"The line itself wasn't damaged," Connor deduced logically as his yellow tinted L.E.D. blinked slowly. "and that's why my self diagnostic couldn't identify the problem."

"Yup. A simple examination with the internal viewing screen showed us the problem within a matter of seconds. I'm sorry I didn't think to use it earlier, it would've saved you a lot of pain and trouble."

"...It's okay." Connor pressed his forefingers to his yellow L.E.D. and regenerated the artificial skin over his abdomen. "Did I suffer any complications during the repair procedure?"

"No. You're free to go whenever you're ready."

"Thank you." Connor looked around the room for any sign of Rose, but the kind woman wasn't there. "...Where is Rose?"

"She went back home." Hank replied sharply as he handed Connor his black t-shirt. "Adam is visiting from college and she didn't want to miss him."

"It's too bad I couldn't have thanked her before she left." Connor kept his hand pressed to his abdomen as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood upright carefully. Taking back the shirt he slipped it back on over his head and redressed himself smoothly. "She saved my life. Kept me alive until the problem could be diagnosed."

"Yeah, Rose is really something special."

"She is." The deviant agreed as he ran another self diagnostic and found everything functioning normally. "I'd like to do something nice for her."

"Sure." Hank stood up from his chair with a sleepy yawn. "Tomorrow we'll think of something to do for Rose."

Connor didn't reply to the comment, only nodded as he looked over to Abby. "Thank you as well, Abby."

"You're welcome. Now go home and sleep in your own bed. I'm going to do the same in an hour."

Agreeing with the technician's suggestion Hank motioned to the doorway of the recovery room with a casual point of his thumb over his shoulder. "Let's go home son, we're both exhausted."

The following morning after everything had finally been settled Hank walked down the hallway and wasn't surprised to see that Connor was already awake and going about his own routine through the house. Sumo had been fed and the kitchen was spotless, meanwhile Connor had returned to the backyard to finish building the deck he started before he suddenly became too ill to function two days prior. The rest of the supporting frame had been completed in what had to be record time, and now Connor was focusing on the surface of the deck itself.

Stepping outside with a mug of coffee in his hand, Hank walked down the first side of the deck that had been completed and watched as Connor finished constructing the final side. Sumo was laying in the grass in the middle of the backyard watching his two masters with his tail happily wagging as he enjoyed the warm spring day as well.

"Nice work." The senior detective sincerely complimented as he sipped at his coffee. "Maybe you should think about a career in construction."

Connor glanced at Hank over his shoulder briefly before he resumed his focus on his task. With the final board in place Connor nailed it down and stepped back to examine his work and check for flaws. "...It's finished."

"Great. Stain it and call it a day." Hank studied the handy work more closely only to have his eyes drawn to bright white stones in the far corner of the backyard up near the fence. "What's with those rocks?"

"I used them to outline the first Sumo's grave." Connor replied somberly as he gazed out at the grave site. "I didn't want the original grave to be overlooked or forgotten, so I outlined it to ensure it is never will be."

"We won't forget about the original Sumo." The reassurance in Hank's voice was completely honest, yet he could see Connor wasn't convinced by his words alone. A change in subject was sorely needed. "So... do you know how you wanted to thank Rose?"

"Yes. I already had a bouquet of flowers sent to her house. A human custom that I find appropriately endearing."

"Good call." Looking over to the garage beside the house Hank stared at the Corvette through the glass window thoughtfully. "Ready to work on the car some more? With the transmission taken care of we can work on the wheel bearings next."

"No. I have my own task at hand." Connor stated somewhat coldly as he resumed finishing his work on the deck. "And I need to take Sumo for a walk. He didn't get to have one yesterday."

"Yeah, cool. Maybe we can pick up where we left off tomorrow."

"We work tomorrow." The response was curt and almost snippy as the deviant noted the date in question. "Maybe some other time."

"Right... That's right. I, uh, I guess I lost track of days."

Connor didn't reply to the comment as he set about his personal task and never looked away. The concentration on his face masked the bitterness in his normally soulful, compassionate brown eyes as he tried to avoid conversing with Hank entirely.

"Let me know if you need some help." Hank walked back up to the backdoor of the house and set foot inside again to give Connor some space. "I'll be inside reading if you need me."

As the backdoor closed after the senior detective, Connor looked up and let out a weary sigh. He hated himself for being so cold and so distant from Hank, but there was something inside of him telling him that he needed to be angry; that he had the right to be angry. While everything Hank did was to save Connor's life the deviant couldn't help but feel as though Hank had betrayed his trust on some personal level.

The one thing Connor had asked Hank to not do - take him to a facility, was the very thing Hank had done while Connor was unconscious and helpless. While in the end it was the right course of action to take in saving Connor's life, it was also a blatant disregard of Connor's decisions. It was difficult to explain and even more difficult to understand.

Unsure of what to feel or how to behave, Connor just decided to keep to himself for a while. Cleaning up the tools and the remaining pieces that he had used in the construction of the deck, Connor walked into the garage and eyed the broken down old Corvette with a strange resentment as he put everything away. It was like the car's very presence was a reminder of Hank's desire to fix things even when the thing in question isn't worth being fixed, or asked to be fixed.

"Restoring an old and inferior model of a vehicle is an expensive waste of time."

Connor muttered to himself as he exited the garage and crouched down in front of Sumo in the backyard to gently rub the puppy's ears affectionately. Peering back at the garage over his shoulder he sighed sadly and bowed his head as he realized he saw himself reflected in the car.

"...Maybe I am, too."

-next chapter-