Rain threatened to drown the entire state of Michigan while Detroit itself was still in the midst of a blackout when the two detectives returned to the city. Hank was driving the Corvette and Connor was driving the Pace behind him. It was almost eight o'clock in the evening and the warm summer night was postponed by the cold, rainy evening. As the two vehicles pulled along their street to head for home the street lamps suddenly flashed to life as the power to the city was finally restored and the houses all along the street began turning on their lights one by one.

Without any difficulty Hank pulled the Corvette up the driveway and left it parked in front of the garage to stay until it had the mud removed properly, while Connor followed up the driveway with the Pace to park just behind Hank.

"I'm going inside to check on Sumo." Hank announced as he opened the driver's side door and tossed the keys to the Corvette over to Connor, who caught them easily in his right hand. "You start washing the Corvette before you do anything else."

"I'll only need a few minutes." Connor replied readily as he tossed Hank the other set of car keys. "The rain will help."

"I hope he knows I was joking..." Just as easily as Connor had done, Hank caught the keys and muttered to himself as he isolated the house key and deadbolt key from the other keys on the ring. "It's fuckin' freezing right now."

Checking the lock on the backdoor Hank was relieved to see that it hadn't been tampered with and was all the more relieved when he didn't find a mess on the floor courtesy of Sumo being locked inside the house all afternoon long. Sumo didn't bother to acknowledge Hank as he raced into the backyard eagerly to go about his business, while Connor used the combination of the rain and the garden hose to remove the mud from the shiny white body of the Corvette in the driveway.

"Hey, Connor!" Hank shouted from the back deck as he watched the deviant working quickly to wash off the car beside the house. "You do know I was kidding, right? You don't have to actually wash the car right now!"

"Yes! I detected the sarcasm." Connor confirmed as he finished one side of the car and set to work on the other side. "But right now is the ideal time to wash off the mud. We also don't want the car to risk rusting before we can finish protecting its frame."

"Uh-huh, and are you going to get sick from being out in the cold?"

The deviant paused for a moment as he contemplated the odds and noted they were against his favor. "...That has yet to be determined."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Get your ass in here and out of the rain!" Using the 'dad voice' Hank shouted to Connor as he stepped through the backdoor of the house and shook his head at Connor's behavior. "I don't need ten bucks that badly."

Connor managed to finish the deed despite Hank trying to talk him into going inside for the night, and turned off the hose. "Very well." Speaking through the side door of the garage into the house, Connor let Hank know what he was doing. "I'll park the Corvette in the garage and bring Sumo in with me."

"And a shit-ton of mud, too."

Connor put away the hose before pulling the Corvette into the garage and closing the door, locking it up for the night. As he made his way to the backyard to collect Sumo Connor spotted the massive dog rolling around in the mud that had collected in the middle of the backyard much to his chagrin. Grabbing onto Sumo by the collar Connor led the large pup up to the back deck before he scooped the heavy, muddy dog up into his arms to carry inside.

Stepping aside Hank laughed as Connor walked into the kitchen dripping wet with rain water and his white dress shirt stained with dark mud thanks to Sumo's muddy fur.

"Man, talk about deja vu! You did this once before with the first Sumo."

"Yes, but the original Sumo was less energetic." Connor kicked off his muddy shoes and left them by the backdoor to dry on their own. "I doubt this bath will end well. It was difficult to get him out of the tub after I bathed him when we returned from the lake. I doubt he'll be any more obedient."

"Only one way to find out." Hank laughed again as he dropped his water logged jacket on the back of the kitchen chair and put his own shoes down next to Connor's by the backdoor. "Take care of him and I'll get an update from Fowler. Like I said, we're in the clear so don't worry about getting reprimanded or a bad mark on your record."

"I've already been suspended for punching Gavin. My record is no longer flawless."

"Yeah, but that was more of a reward than a punishment."

"That's still debatable."

"Nah, reward." Pulling his phone from his pocket Hank walked over to the kitchen table to sit down and call Captain Fowler at the precinct. "Go on, take care of Sumo so you can change into warm dry clothes."

Connor sighed with an impending irritation as he looked at the thick mud already matted through Sumo's long strands of equally thick fur. As he proceeded to carry the dog through the kitchen and down the hallway Sumo turned his head and licked the left side of Connor's face affectionately, which in turn made the deviant grin at the gesture.

"Good boy."

Carrying Sumo into the bathroom Connor shut the door behind him with his foot and placed the heavy dog on the floor and slipped off Sumo's black leather collar for the impending bath. Remembering the mess that the first Sumo made when he got covered in mud Connor wisely removed his already ruined shirt and proceeded to fill up the bathtub with warm water to rinse off Sumo's fur. As he waited for the tub to fill Connor looked down at his chest and at the faint scar left in the wake of the bullet wound he had survived while getting Markus and North to safety.

Grateful to have such devoted and caring people in his life Connor let out a weary sigh and traced the scar with his fingertips. If it wasn't for Rose's kindness, Abby's devotion and Hank's attentiveness Connor could've shutdown from his injury in a very pointless and foolish manner.

"...Maybe I should learn to be more cautious." Connor thought out loud to himself as he returned his attention to the bathtub and turned off the water. "But how does one learn to behave as such?"

Grabbing onto the bottle of shampoo Connor looked down at Sumo who was standing in the middle of the bathroom floor just watching the deviant moving about.

"Okay, boy. Let's get this over with."

Curiously Sumo put his front paws up on the edge of the tub and peered down at the warm water with a inquisitive glance, only to suddenly wag his tail happily and leap into the water creating a massive splash that soaked Connor, the floor, the walls and even a part of the overhead ceiling in the warm and now muddy water.

"Sumo!?" Connor complained as the splash caught him off guard. Wiping the muddy water from his face Connor gave the large dog an odd look and watched as Sumo happily circled around in the tub as much as he could and began pawing at the water playfully. "...Next time just climb into the water, don't jump."

Kneeling down beside the tub Connor proceeded to lather up the dog's fur with the shampoo and rinse off a good portion of the mud, only to have to drain the water and refill it to ensure all of the mud was washed away.

"...At least you like the water."

Connor had finished rinsing off Sumo and was trying to coax the dog into getting out of the tub, but Sumo was too fascinated by the bath and the warm water in general to obey. Tired and in no mood to play any games Connor just sat on the floor and decided to wait Sumo out rather than try to heft him out of the tub and onto the floor to dry him off.

The bathroom door opened slowly and Hank walked inside carrying some dry clothes for Connor. "I heard the splash. I figured you'd need these."

Turning to look at Hank over his shoulder Connor eyed the clothes waiting for him with genuine gratitude. "Thanks."

"You look exhausted." The senior detective commented as he put the clothes down on the sink and grabbed onto a towel as he proceeded to wipe off the mud covered walls casually. "Feeling sick?"

"No. I'm just tired."

"Uh-huh. And the only time you're tired is when you're sick or hurt. So, are you hurt?"

Connor pointed to the fresh scar on his chest and gave Hank an odd look as he began to shiver a little. "You tell me."

"Well, you're still being a smartass, so I think it's safe to say nothing in your head got damaged." Hank dropped the towel on the floor to mop up the water that puddled all around the tub and around Connor. "Come on." He grabbed a fresh towel and dropped it on to Connor's head before he reached his hand inside the tub to guide Sumo by the scruff of his neck out of the drained bath. "Dry him off."

With a sluggish motion Connor pulled the towel from his head and proceeded to run it over Sumo's fur as the dog sat down on the floor in front of him with his tail still wagging. "What's happening at the precinct?"

"Nothing much." Hank took another towel and dropped over Connor's head for the second time. "The city didn't burn down while we were away. Aside from a few break-ins and two car accidents, no one got hurt. AND Fowler wants to commend us for what we did today."

"We disobeyed our assigned posts. Why commend us?"

"Some things are more important than assignments, kid." Hank knelt on the floor beside Connor and put his hand atop the towel still sitting on Connor's head and began to lightly rub it over the deviant's damp hair. "Jeffrey and I butt heads a lot, but he's always been able to understand priorities. Probably the only reason why I stayed at the precinct when he got promoted to Captain."

"I also doubt your disciplinary file would've proven beneficial to a transfer."

"Like I said, you're still being a smartass." With a gentle motion Hank pulled the towel from Connor's hair and proceeded to help him dry off the rest of Sumo's fur so they could leave the bathroom. "We're both tired. I'll feed Sumo and you go get some sleep."

"I can take care of Sumo."

"Connor, you got shot. You already gave him a bath, so I'll fill up his bowls and keep him from bothering you while you rest."

Appreciative of Hank's assistance Connor nodded as he slowly stood up from the floor and grabbed onto the dry clothes from the sink to change into as he slipped into his bedroom to rest for the night. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, son." Tossing the damp towels into the bathtub to be washed later Hank rubbed Sumo's ears and watched as Connor retreated into the bedroom across from the bathroom and slowly began to close the door for some privacy. "I'll see you in the morning."

Just as Hank had predicted Connor awoke the next morning with a throbbing headache and a mild fever. Feeding the fish in the aquarium with a shaking hand and fumbling for something in his wallet on the nightstand, Connor placed the item of interest into the pocket of his sweatpants and let out breathy sigh. As the now ill deviant tried to ignore his discomfort and go about his usual daily routine as normally as possible, Hank immediately noticed Connor's lethargic disposition and clumsy movements as he stumbled out of his bedroom and down the hallway.

Entering the kitchen on shaking legs Connor pulled open the pantry containing Sumo's food and filled up the dog's bowl and soon felt a strong hand on his shoulder that made the deviant stand up as straight as he could while the massive dog plodded into the kitchen to check out his food.

"So," Hank's tone was light and jovial as he addressed the deviant in an upbeat mood. "how do you feel?"

Connor let out a defeated sigh as he reached into his pocket to hand a ten dollar bill to Hank.

"I was joking about the money, kid." Hank pushed Connor's right hand away as he placed his own right hand against the deviant's forehead for a unnecessary but still warranted fever check. "Yup. You're sick."

"...I'll lay down again after we pick out the paint color for the Corvette."

"The paint can wait." Dropping his hand from the deviant's forehead Hank just stared at the deviant's increasingly human eyes as the soulful brown irises began to glaze over with fatigue. "Besides, after that damn blackout yesterday the whole city is going to be on edge for the next few days."

"We could-"

"No way." Hank pulled on Connor's right shoulder to lead the deviant back to the hallway to lay down and get some rest in his bedroom. "You recover from these things pretty fast but you still don't give yourself the time you need to actually heal."

Too tired to resist Hank's guidance Connor allowed the senior detective to guide him down the hallway. "...I guess that's from my bullheadedness."

"Don't act like that's a bad thing, kid." Guiding Connor over to the deviant's bed Hank barely had to push on Connor's shoulder to get him to lay back down. "It means you're dedicated and loyal. But you also need to learn to put yourself above other people from time to time, it's not selfish to take steps to keep yourself happy. You really need to learn to prioritize your health above anything that's just an inconvenience to someone else."

"I'll try to remember that."

"That's all I ask. Now, get some sleep." Patting Connor's left shoulder twice Hank backed off and stepped toward the doorway to give the ill deviant privacy so he could rest properly. "I'll check on you in an hour to make sure your fever doesn't spike or anything."

"Thank you." Connor sighed again and rolled onto his right side as he forced himself to return to rest mode until his sickness passed. Pulling his quilt up and over himself toward his chin Connor truly felt tired but he didn't dare complain to give Hank a peace of mind.

Everything was peaceful, quiet and boring until Connor was unexpectedly awoken three hours later by Hank, as the senior detective shook his shoulder lightly. Opening his eyes Connor rolled from his right side and onto his back to look up at Hank who was now leaning over him. There was a bottle of the bright green android unique medicine that Connor absolutely loathed in Hank's right hand and a coy grin on his face. The two separate items being brought together as one made Connor's stomach sink to the floor.

"You've been asleep for three hours." Hank stated coolly as he opened the lid on the bottle with an audible 'crack'. "Abby stopped by to check on you while you were resting."

"...Three hours?" Connor sounded confused and groggy as he blinked a few times and processed what Hank was telling him. "Abby was here... Does that mean North is-"

"Yup." Hank confirmed without losing his grin. "She and Markus are going to stay with Rose for a few more days to rest before heading back to the city."

"That's good. They need some time alone and to heal." Ignoring the lingering headache Connor sat upright just enough to rest on his elbows as he stared at Hank somewhat warily. "Why did you let me sleep for so long?"

"When I checked on you a while ago you were pretty out of it, but your fever wasn't getting any worse so I let you alone. Here." Passing over the bright green android unique medication Hank made sure Connor drank the necessary Thirium additive. "Abby left this for you to drink."

"...Medicine."

"Yup."

"I dislike taking medicine."

"Yeah, well, I think this time it'll be different."

"How so?" Connor asked as he pushed himself slowly up until he was sitting completely upright in the bed and reluctantly took the medicine from Hank's hand. "It tastes foul and hurts my stomach."

"Abby said she had the medicine 'improved' a few months ago. She didn't specify how."

"Interesting." Removing the loosened cap from the bottle Connor opened the lid on the bottle and tentatively swallowed a dose of the medicine. Unlike the few times before he needed the medication, the taste wasn't vile and Connor didn't have the urge to immediately spit it back out. "...The taste has been changed."

"Yeah? To what?"

"Unknown. But I do prefer it over the original taste." As the medicine settled in his stomach Connor felt the uncomfortable burning sensation return. "However, my stomach still doesn't feel positive after consuming."

"Let me see it." Hank took back the bottle and wafted it under his nose to get a scent. "Well, that's definitely not that antifreeze crap. It smells like fresh blueberries."

"Blueberries? I believe I like that particular flavor."

"Good to know." Glad to see Connor making a recovery Hank put the lid back on the bottle and put his right hand over Connor's forehead again. "You're still running warm, but it's not serious."

Noting the senior detective's concerns Connor looked up at his adopted father with a curious glance. "Can I ask you something?"

"I've never stopped you before." Dropping his hand he gave Connor his full attention. "What's on your mind?"

"When you stated that I need to prioritize my health over supposed inconveniences, how do I learn to differentiate one from the other?"

"...Your health?"

"I was referring to understanding what is important and what is arguably an inconvenience."

"Well, uh, I guess that means you need to decide what's more important."

"I still don't understand."

"Okay, think of it like this." Putting his right hand to his bearded chin as he tried to offer Connor some sage advice on the subject. "What's more important? Your health or an attendance record at the precinct?"

"...My health."

"Right."

"That seems like an oversimplification."

"It is, I admit it. But with experience you'll learn how to put what's really important over what's more trivial. It's like when you work on a case and you need to deduce what pieces of evidence are the most damning when trying to convict a killer, as opposed to the evidence that could just link them to something as mundane as loitering. Does that help?"

"Perhaps." Connor's glassy eyes were searching over Hank's face as if seeking a clue to solve a case. "How long did it take you to learn how to prioritize things in your life?"

"I'm still learning, kid."

"Oh. When did you start learning?"

"Uh, the beginning of middle school when my mom was diagnosed with cancer. When my mom started to get really sick I had to learn how to prioritize things pretty damn quick. And I like to think I did."

"I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject."

"It's all right." Rubbing his nervous right hand over the back of his neck a twinge of guilt flashed over Hank's face. "It was admittedly a lot better than my best friend having to give up her baby during high school."

The prospect of giving up a member of the family seemed like an impossible decision for the deviant "I don't have children, but I can't imagine a scenario where I could ever give up responsibility for someone-"

"Well, that's WAY more difficult to explain and I don't have the time or the experience to help you out." Hank backed away from the bed and away from the sensitive topic toward the door to stop talking. "Go back to sleep for a while, kid."

"Can I ask you one more question?"

"Go for it."

"Do... you have any regrets?"

"Connor." The question was one Hank simply didn't want to answer. "Go to sleep."

The tone of Hank's voice indicated that he had reached the end of his patience and Connor wisely stopped asking questions. "Very well. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome. Now, stop thinking so much and get some sleep. I don't want you to accidentally make yourself worse by overthinking."

It was just past ten o'clock at night and Connor felt a cold wet nose pressing against the left side of his face as the sensation brought him out of his rest mode. Opening his soulful brown eyes Connor put his left hand on Sumo's head and rubbed at the dog's ears as he noted the late hour and was relieved to discover that his headache had fully dissipated as he slept. Running a self diagnostic Connor's vitals came back completely normal and his core temperature was back to its optimal degree, which meant he was no longer overheating.

"Did you want to go outside, boy?" Connor asked Sumo as he rose from his bed and stepped through the door and into the hallway with Sumo eagerly following at his heels. "It's late but you should still go outside one more time."

Passing through the kitchen Connor was surprised to see Hank still awake and sitting at the kitchen table with an old case file opened and spread out over the table. Acknowledging the deviant with a simple nod of the head Hank asked the obvious question without really looking away from his case file. "Hey, kid. Feeling better?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed as he reached the backdoor and eyed the case file spread out before Hank on the table. "I've fully recovered. But I must ask, is something is wrong?" Opening the backdoor to let Sumo outside Connor stood beside the table and looked down at the file that had stolen Hank's interest. "A cold case?"

"Yeah, sit down." Motioning to the vacant chair across from himself Hank invite the deviant to join him. "I need to tell you a story."

Eager to know what was on Hank's mind Connor took the chair and waited for the senior detective to speak again.

"You asked me if I have any regrets."

"I apologize if I-"

"Shut up for a minute." The comment wasn't meant to be taken as harsh order, only an assertive request. "The friend I told you about who I lost contact with after she gave up her baby and moved away... She is my one regret."

"Something happened to her after she moved away and you lost contact. Didn't it?"

"Yeah. You see, before she moved away I promised her that I'd find a way to reunite her with the baby when the baby turned eighteen-years-old. Once the baby was legally recognized as an adult her adoption records could be opened and I could find the family who adopted her, but I lost contact with my friend a few years after she moved away. Not long into my career as a police officer I got word that my friend had... died."

Connor could see the horrible pain that the memory still bore against Hank's mind and his heart as he spoke. "May I ask what happened to her?"

Taking a deep breath Hank steadied his mind as he prepared to tell Connor the story. "She had a really rough time trying to get ahead in life. She worked every possible job she could get and worked her ass off to get a decent paycheck. To try to make ends meet she settled on a shitty apartment and one night the old, neglected furnace had a massive carbon monoxide leak." He paused again to maintain emotion composure. "Her and nine other occupants of the building asphyxiated, while another seven more were hospitalized." Remaining in control Hank ran his hand over his bearded chin thoughtfully. "What a fuckin' lame and preventable way for someone to die. Yet, there was nothing I could do to stop it."

"I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, so am I. I often wonder what could've happened if I had asked her to stay with me and my dad instead of moving away, but... I can't change the past."

Connor nodded with complete understanding as his soulful brown eyes fell over the cold case spread out over the kitchen table. "What of this?"

"This..." Patting his hand over the files Hank gave the deviant a wary stare as he explained everything going on at the moment. "This is how far I managed to get when I started looking for her baby. Turns out she learned she was adopted at sixteen when looking for her birth certificate to begin driver's ed training, and had ended up getting in a HUGE argument with her adoptive parents. She ran away and disappeared."

"No one has managed to find her?"

"Nope. Her adoptive parents kept looking for her and as far as I know they still are, but it's been so long that I doubt they'll find her. If she's still alive she'd be thirty-eight years old, but I have no idea what she looks like or what her name is."

"You don't know her name?"

"Well, I do, but that doesn't mean she kept using her legal name after she vanished. And due to the nature of the private adoption the records were sealed and the court refused to release them after she turned eighteen due to some kind of legal 'red tape' preventing what could be considered 'evidence' from falling into public hands and possibly disrupting the missing person investigation."

"That seems counterproductive."

"That's legal bullshit in a nutshell, kid."

"You never stopped looking for her." Connor noted as he easily examined the information that Hank had collected over the past twenty years, his investigation coming to a halt six years back. "And you've haven't forgotten about her."

"Yeah, but a dead end is a dead end. I have no idea where to go from here but I can't bring myself to let the case go, either."

"Is there something else you are worried about? I can tell there is something more upsetting than just a cold case bothering you."

"It's just... Even if I did find her I have no idea what I would say to her." Emotional conflict was making it difficult for Hank to keep talking and explain his logic. "I mean, the poor girl had the world stacked against her from the day she was born. Whenever I worked a runaway case I would try to put myself in their shoes and understand what could've made them want to disappear. For her learning about her adoption in such a cold way, having a fight with her adoptive parents and running off is bad enough; but if she started to look into her past and managed to learn about her biological parents that would make things even worse."

"I don't understand. How could learning the truth make something worse?"

"Some truths are better off hidden behind lies, son. I hate it but it's a fact." Leaning back in his chair Hank gave the deviant a tired glance. "Look at it from her point of view; she learned she was adopted and the first thing that she thinks is that she was unwanted or a mistake. So she goes looking for answers and learns her mother was bullied and now dead, and that her father never wanted anything to do with her and was killed in a back alley because of his gambling debts. She'd feel as though she was doomed to fail like her parents; like failure itself is in her blood. That'd make her want to vanish entirely."

"But that's not true."

"We know that and I'm sure on some level she does, too, but that doesn't mean she could accept it so easily." Hank put his hand over the file and flipped it closed with a sense of defeat in the motion. "How do I explain to her that I knew her parents? And while I can't vouch for her father, I can confirm that her mother truly loved her. That's WHY she was given up for adoption. Heather knew she couldn't afford to take care of a baby and she knew that if she tried to raise that baby that they'd live a life of scrutiny and isolation. I was there when Heather had the baby, and I had never seen her so heartbroken in that moment when she had to sign the papers to give the baby up. Heather was a great person and she didn't deserve to die like that, but society had given up on her and labeled her a slut and an idiot before she even had the chance to really live. It wasn't fair then and there's nothing I can do to change it now."

"Maybe if you told Heather's daughter what you just told me it'd help."

"First I'd need to find her, son. And by all account that little girl disappeared because she doesn't want to be found. Who am I to tell her that she's wrong?"

"I suppose that's true." Connor watched as Hank rose from the table and slowly wandered toward the hallway to retire for the night. "What're you going to do now?"

"For now, I'm going to bed. After that, who knows?"

"Goodnight, Hank."

"Yes, goodnight. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"As am I."

Connor discreetly flipped open the file and cybernetically scanned all of the collected details to chronicle into his database and processor the moment Hank stepped out of the kitchen. As the information was filed away Connor closed the file to leave it in the same condition as when Hank left the room and let Sumo back inside the house for the rest of the night.

"Come on, Sumo. Inside."

The massive puppy trotted back into the house and sat down on Connor's feet by the backdoor as Connor pulled it shut.

"Good boy."

Petting Sumo's ears Connor walked down the hallway himself with Sumo following behind him at heels as he decided to resume Hank's search for the missing child he hadn't seen in almost forty years.

"You can keep me company while I work late tonight."

Feeling a little rundown after a stressful day of worrying, Hank awoke later than normal the next morning and found himself curiously alone in the house save for Sumo who was happily stretched out over the couch in the livingroom. Locating a perfectly written note - one written in the distinct CyberLife Sans that all androids used, on the kitchen counter next to the coffee maker, Hank discovered that Connor had taken an unexpected trip to Cheboygan late in the night and would be back as soon as it was possible.

"Why the fuck did he go to Cheboygan? Unless he..."

Hank looked at the case file he left on the kitchen table and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Damn it. I should've told him to leave it alone."

The backdoor opened quietly and Connor returned with a somber look on his face as he noticed Hank already awake and waiting for him.

"Why in the hell were in Cheboygan?"

"I found her."

"...You found-" The answer wasn't one Hank was expecting, and it temporarily stole his words. "H-HOW?! Where is she? What's she doing right now?"

"Hank," the look in Connor's very kind eyes told Hank that what he found wasn't necessarily a good thing. "she went peacefully..."

"Peacefully? What are you talking about?"

"Last night I cybernetically hacked into-"

"Hacked?"

"It was the only way." Pausing for a moment Connor explained things in a low tone as he remained entirely honest with the senior detective. "...I found the records regarding her adoption. Her name was Kellina Harriet McMillan."

"That's right." Hank's eyes went wide with surprise at Connor's reply. "That was her name... You actually found her?"

"I did. But, she's gone."

"Gone? As in she..." The way Connor was speaking and the way he was being so gentle confirmed Hank's fear. "She's dead?"

Nodding slowly Connor gave Hank a truly sympathetic stare. "Last night."

"Last night?!"

"Perhaps you should sit down." Feeling suddenly protective toward the senior detective Connor monitored Hank's vitals very closely through a biometric scan. "You look a little pale." This time it was Hank who sat down at the kitchen table while Connor spoke to him with an odd sense of grief in his voice. "After we spoke last night I decided to resume your search where you left off and I cybernetically gained access to files that have been barred from the police investigation. Those files gave me new insight into the case itself and a fresh trail to follow. What I found was disconcerting and what Kellina told me was... heartbreaking."

"Connor, what happened to Kellina?"

"She did run away from her parents home in Indianapolis at sixteen, but it wasn't because she discovered her adoption record, it was because her older adoptive brother was trying to 'seduce' her. When she refuted and wisely proclaimed that they were family and what he wanted was uncomfortably inappropriate he told her about the adoption and it broke her heart."

"Son of a bitch... What happened when Kellina confronted her parents?"

"They apologized profusely and asked how she found out. When she told them about her brother's behavior the parents suddenly went cold and brushed her off. Kellina didn't handle that well."

"And she ran off..."

"Yes. Rather than admit that their son was displaying predatory behavior the parents lied about why she ran away, and as a result the search for Kellina quickly went cold."

"Fuck!" Hank righteously swore and slammed his fist down on the table. "That sick, twisted-" Taking a deep breath Hank recomposed himself. "What happened to Kellina after that?"

"She changed her name to Karen Renee O'Brien and hitchhiked from Indiana and back to Michigan to try to locate her biological parents."

Pressing his palms to his eyes Hank leaned forward to rest his elbows atop the table as he slumped forward with guilt. "...Fuck."

"What Kellina found was indeed troubling, as you had predicted, but she managed to continue her education and get her G.E.D. before settling down in Cheboygan to try to begin a new life. She was an artist, a musician and she became a social worker. She never married or revealed her true identity out of fear of the harsh reputation her adoptive parents would've endured, even after her brother was arrested for... pedophilia."

"Connor... You said Kellina died." Hank was trying to not cry as the deviant told him the story. "How?"

"She had ovarian cancer. It was aggressive and terminal. When I managed to track her down via deductive reasoning and a process of elimination through cybernetic-" Stopping himself from getting to technical Connor cut to the chase. "I discovered she was very ill and in the intensive care unit on her deathbed. I had to find her before it was too late and confirm my search was accurate."

"Why didn't you take me with you to see her?"

"Because I know you. If you saw her weak and dying you would've twisted the tragic event into a personal error on your part. Even if you had found her after she ran away she would've become ill with that horrible disease all the same."

"...What was Kellina like?" Hank needed to focus on something that wasn't death. "Tell me about her."

"She was very kind. Very beautiful." Connor held up right palm to show Hank an image of the woman in question. On the display was a picture of Kellina before she had become sick and a second of her in her final moments of life. "She was beautiful until the very end."

"...She looked just like Heather." Hank smiled at the pictures as a rogue tear rolled down his face. "Blonde hair that she let grow long and flow down her back, same bright blue eyes, even the same damn smile..." Without taking his eyes from the pictures Hank kept asking questions. "What did you tell her about the case?"

"I told her the truth."

"The truth?"

"About her parents and about you. When I informed her of your investigation she was truly happy."

"What?" Such a comment made Hank's shoulders tense as if on the defensive. "Why?"

"As she put it, it meant that her mother had at least one good person in her life she could rely on and it meant her mother wasn't completely alone."

Trying to keep himself from breaking down Hank put his hand over his bearded chin and remained silent as he concealed his quivering lip.

"I also told her what you told me last night. I uploaded my memory into her phone so she could see and hear you for herself."

Stunned by the revelation Hank gave Connor a somewhat skeptical look. "...You can do that?"

"Voluntarily, yes." Connor closed his eyes and cybernetically uploaded a small video he had taken of Kellina before he left the hospital into Hank's phone. The phone 'buzzed' on the bookshelf in the livingroom as the video was successfully sent over through the connection. "She wanted me to give you this message and she wanted it to be private. I haven't watched or listened to the video." Standing up from the kitchen table Connor stepped aside to give Hank some space to think. "I will give you privacy."

"...Thanks."

Connor patted the side of his right leg and called Sumo over to him from the couch. As the massive puppy jumped down from the furniture and trotted over to the deviant Connor opened the backdoor and stepped outside to ensure Hank had adequate privacy for a moment to view the video for himself.

The backdoor 'clicked' shut and Connor walked down the steps of the back deck and into the backyard with Sumo at his side. "Want to play fetch?"

Picking up a stray stick in the backyard Connor tossed it and watched as Sumo happily retrieved the stick and brought it back to the deviant to be tossed again. Playing in the backyard with Sumo for almost twenty minutes Connor heard the backdoor 'click' back open and the sound of Hank's heavy footsteps walking over the wooden planks of the back deck to rejoin Connor.

"Hank?" Connor tossed the stick one more time before he joined the senior detective on the back deck. "Are you going to be okay?"

"...Yeah, kid. I am." Slipping his phone into his pocket Hank managed to give the deviant a faint grin of appreciation as he wiped his tears from his eyes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Kellina didn't have a family, right?"

"Correct. She was wary of her true identity being discovered if she tried to apply for a marriage license or had children of her own."

"Then I want to make sure she'd laid to rest with her real mother. With Heather."

"Her funeral arrangements have yet to be decided. Would you like me to put you in contact with the hospital and the coroner's officer in Cheboygan?"

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. The very least I can do is give Kellina a respectful funeral and close her case."

Two somber days passed and with it a sense of peace slowly filled the air. Standing before the headstone of his dearly departed friend Hank placed a lily on Heather's gravestone, a peaceful gesture in Hank's mind, and then did the same for the freshly dug grave beside her. Connor watched from a respectful distance as Hank spoke to his friend and to the daughter he promised he'd find for her one last time before he walked back to the car to take his leave of the quiet cemetery.

Hank himself seemed more relaxed and emotionally complacent as if a crushing weight had been lifted from his heart. It was like the senior detective could finally let a deep pain in his heart finally go, and allow peace to fill the void.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I don't know what you did to get all the information to solve this case and I don't want to know." Smirking a little at the clever deviant's resourcefulness Hank gave his adopted son a cautionary warning. "As far as anyone knows, it was all an anonymous tip that gave you the clues to solve this mystery. Got it?"

"I got it. I think." Connor was a little confused by Hank's reaction but decided it was a part of the grieving process. "I won't mention anything about my cybernetic influence." Wringing his hands together nervously Connor asked a righteous follow-up question. "Are you upset with me for my unorthodox approach?"

"No." Proudly Hank's right hand firmly gripped the deviant's right shoulder as he passed by Connor to open the car's passenger side door that was a few feet behind him. "Thank you for helping me out and for giving Heather and Kellina some closure. It helped us all in ways you can't even begin to imagine."

"You're very welcome." Pulling open the driver's side door of the car Connor sat behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition. "I'm glad I was able to help you at all."

"You did more than that. You closed a cold case, you brought a dying woman a peace of mind, you helped reunite a family and you helped me to keep a promise I thought I'd end up breaking." Truly grateful for Connor's dedication Hank let the deviant know exactly how much his one choice had affected so many other people in the best possible way. "What you did was incredible."

Connor managed a humble grin as he pulled the car along the dirt drive to depart from the cemetery at a slow pace. "It was merely the correct decision. I suppose you could say I learned to prioritize what was really important."

"I'm glad you did, son." The pride Hank was feeling was truly from the heart and made his pain lessen to a bearable degree. "Thanks. Let's go home and enjoy the peace while it lasts."

-next chapter-