An already long shift at the precinct felt even longer as day gave way to night and the bullpen was still filled with officers and detectives alike filing away their reports regarding a string of burglaries in the shopping district downtown. Twenty-three individuals had already been identified and arrested for their part in the numerous thefts of various items to be resold illegally in underground markets or online - racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in theft. Fortunately a keen eyed deviant had noticed a pattern in the behavior of the group of thieves and made the call that led to the arrests and a brand new story for the news to flaunt in favor of sucking up the police department.

While the arrests were necessary and being handled expertly, those who were involved were exhausted and ready to head for home. The tediousness of files and reports was enough to wear down even the strongest and most attentive of minds.

"How many reports have you filed?" Hank asked through a sleepy yawn and leaned back a little in his chair to stretch out his back. "You gotta' be done by now."

"Nine." Connor replied in a level tone. "I have only two more to file."

"Shit. I only finished four so far."

"I'll get you some coffee." Connor volunteered readily as a means of aiding Hank's dwindling energy. Standing up from his desk Connor wavered slightly on his feet but caught his balance as the sudden dizzy spell faded as quickly as it came on. "...That was strange."

"What?" Hank asked without looking away from his terminal screen, Connor's swaying going unnoticed. "Something up?"

"I had a momentary syncoptic episode."

"You had a what?"

"I got dizzy when I stood up."

"Oh. Is your, uh, gyroscope thing out of whack again?"

"Possibly. I will check for a potentially required update before I recalibrate it tonight."

Walking into the breakroom casually, his balance no longer being affected in the slightest, Connor proceeded to pour fresh hot coffee into Hank's mug that had been freshly washed and was sitting on the counter next to the coffee maker. As he poured the coffee and calculated an ideal amount of sweetener for Hank's taste without adding too much to affect the senior detective's health Gavin walked into the breakroom as well and stood right beside Connor calmly.

Hurrying after Connor the moment he spotted the deviant enter the breakroom alone, Gavin gave the deviant a wary glance and tried to feign interest in the bowl of fruit sitting on the countertop. As he shuffled anxiously from foot to foot Gavin did his best to appear as casual as possible.

"Hello, Gavin."

"Hey..." Using the polite greeting as his opening Gavin spoke to Connor in a near whisper. "Uh, is Hank busy right now?"

"He is attempting to file his reports but he is not overwhelmed with any duties at the moment."

"Can, uh," Gavin looked his right shoulder at the seasoned detective sitting behind his desk without even noticing the Sergeant staring at him. "could you give me a minute to speak to Hank in private? Please?"

"Private? Why not use an interview room?"

"Because, I-" Struggling to find his words Gavin let out a low sigh and spoke to Connor with an unusual amount of respect in his tone. "Look, if I take Hank aside then everyone in the bullpen is going to notice and start talking. I just want to ask him a question real quick without drawing any unwanted attention, all right?"

"I understand." Fussing with the coffee he had poured Connor remained where he stood and nodded subtly at Gavin. "I will remain in here so you may speak in private."

"Thanks."

Keeping his distance Connor discreetly watched as Gavin approached Hank's desk and stood beside the senior detective to get his attention. Unable to stop himself from doing so, Connor read the lips of the two officers as they spoke to one another and watched as Gavin's demeanor faltered from being his usual arrogant self to a timid, doubtful appearance. Hank himself was as calm and patient as ever as he spoke to Gavin and seemingly gave him a reassuring bode of confidence.

Gavin then thanked the senior detective for his time before returning to his own desk to resume his work for the night.

Picking up the mug Connor carried the prepared coffee over to Hank and placed the steaming mug down next to Hank's hand. "I estimate that at our current rate of progress we should finish our reports by nine seventeen this evening."

"Great... Just enough to time to get home, shower and fall asleep."

Connor gave the senior detective a somewhat amused grin as he resumed his work at his terminal and watched as Hank sipped at the coffee.

Grimacing at the bitter taste Hank put the mug back down on the desk beside his hand. "This isn't as sweet as I like."

"True. But it is at a much more acceptable level of sweetness for your diet."

"Acceptable, but not the best."

"Sorry. Too much sugar is bad for your health."

"So's a bullet to the back. It doesn't stop me from being a cop."

"That's why the precinct provides Kevlar."

"Smartass." Sipping again at the coffee Hank grimaced for a second time and put it aside again. "Fuck it. The coffee in this place tastes like mud no matter what you do to it anyway."

"Would you like some tea instead?"

"No, let's just get this over with and head home."

"Very well." Running a self diagnostic Connor wasn't notified of any impending updates and decided to redirect the diagnostic later that night strictly on his gyroscope to ensure a proper recalibration. Resuming his focus on his terminal Connor continued filing the last of his reports in a timely manner. "Tomorrow we can enjoy the day off before summer ends."

"Yeah, we should go out and enjoy the sunshine before it disappears behind six months of nasty snow clouds and layers of darkness."

Unexpectedly Connor was awoken the next morning by his processor detecting an incoming call to Hank's phone from the precinct. Opening his eyes Connor looked over at his aquarium and felt his vision swim a little as he rolled from his left side onto his back and listened to the usual sounds of the house. The deviant was absentmindedly favoring his right ear over the other and was waiting for Hank to begin moving about or to call his name. From the foot of the bed Sumo lifted his head and wagged his tail as the deviant woke up and sat upright in his bed only to feel his entire body sway at the motion as a warning message popped up in his visual processors.

Despite the self diagnostic from the previous night failing to detective an anomalies it appeared as if Connor was indeed suffering from a glitch. Further analysis gave Connor some rather unsettling data to process.

WARNING:

-LEFT AUDITORY PROCESSOR #a8002 MALFUNCTION: 90% FUNCTIONALITY

WARNING:

-GYROSCOPE #g8001 DESTABILIZED: 80% FUNCTIONALITY

-Seek immediate technical assistance

"...First my gyroscope and now my auditory sensors are malfunctioning, too."

Running another self diagnostic Connor carefully swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up very carefully as to not throw off his already unsteady balance as he approached the aquarium and fed the fish swimming about.

"Once they've been fed I'll take care of you, boy."

Sumo stretched out his body and yawned before jumping off of the bed and trotting down the hallway toward the kitchen to await Connor's arrival. The young dog was recovering well after his trip to the vet to be neutered two days before and he wasn't holding any grudges against his deviant master for the procedure itself.

"Hey, Connor." Hank knocked on the deviant's partially opened bedroom door to get his attention and caused Connor to turn his head quickly; the swift motion causing another bout of dizziness in the process. "That was Gavin. He needs some help with a case at the precinct, I'll be gone for a couple of hours."

"Shall I accompany you?"

"Nah, I got this. It's some cold case regarding some 'red ice' deal gone wrong a few years back."

"I see." Connor knew that Hank was lying about the real reason he was going to meet with Gavin, but he didn't press the matter. Putting his left hand to his left ear and his right hand to the middle of his stomach just below his chest, Connor gave Hank a subtle nod and quickly regretted the motion as it made him dizzy again. "...Very well. I'll see you in a few hours."

Noticing Connor's odd body language Hank crossed his arms suspiciously over his chest and asked about the deviant's health. "You okay?"

"My gyroscope still needs recalibration." Still favoring his right ear over the left Connor unknowingly tilted his head in Hank's direction to listen easier. "It's not serious and can be corrected in a few hours."

"Do that while I'm gone. I don't want to find you knocked-out cold on the floor because you ran into a wall or something."

"I will do so."

Following Hank down the hallway the two detectives parted ways as Connor made his way to the kitchen and Hank took his car keys from the bookshelf in the livingroom and proceeded out the front door for the afternoon.

As the deviant stooped down to fill up Sumo's bowls Connor was lost in a sea of dizziness as the motion severely threw off his balance causing him to catch himself with both hands against the cool linoleum floor before he bashed his head against the ground. Sumo ran up to Connor and pressed his nose against the deviant's face before he licked him once.

"I'm fine..." Connor lifted his right hand up slowly to rub Sumo's neck as he regained his balance while kneeling on the floor. "I just need to recalibrate. That's easy enough."

Sumo stared blankly at Connor as the deviant reached over and lifted up the large bag of dog food from the floor and poured an adequate helping into the bowl before he tried to stand upright again. Using the cabinets and walls for guidance Connor managed to get back to his feet without further incident as he ran yet another self diagnostic on his strange condition.

WARNING:

-LEFT AUDITORY PROCESSOR #a8002 MALFUNCTION - 85% FUNCTIONALITY

WARNING:

-GYROSCOPE #g8001 DESTABILIZED - 72% FUNCTIONALITY

WARNING:

-THERMAL REGULATOR #t8776 DESTABILIZED - CORE TEMPERATURE 100.1 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

-Seek immediate technical assistance

"...Why am I suffering from numerous errors?"

Walking slowly from the kitchen and into the livingroom Connor paused for a moment and snapped his fingers next to his left ear twice and noticed that his auditory sensor was seemingly muffled.

"Still functional, but not optimally."

Laying down on the couch Connor stretched out across the length of the furniture to remain as flat as possible to prevent further dizzy spells. Closing his eyes Connor manually entered rest mode and activated his recalibration program to adjust his gyroscope and his auditory sensors in an effort to correct the problem that had begun to affect his balance and now his ability to hear out of his left ear.

A strong hand on his right shoulder unexpectedly roused Connor from his rest mode and his eyes snapped opened to see Hank peering down at him as he laid on the couch. Hank was saying something to him but Connor could barely hear his voice through his left ear. Fully capable of understanding what Hank was saying through his right ear and by reading Hank's lips as he spoke, Connor completely understood what Hank was saying.

"-been calling your name for five minutes." Hank sat down on the coffee table as he kept his hand on Connor's shoulder. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"I had entered rest mode to recalibrate my-"

"Not that." Moving his hand from the deviant's shoulder to his forehead Hank let out an annoyed sigh. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"I am not ill." Sitting up slowly only to feel dizzy once more causing him to fall back against the couch, Connor looked over at Hank with a sincere gaze. "But I am malfunctioning."

"How bad?"

"My gyroscope, left auditory processor and now my thermal regulator are not responding as they should."

"So you can't hear right now?"

"I can hear, but it's been compromised in my left ear."

"But you can understand me?"

"Yes. I can hear you without any difficulty in my right auditory processor and I can read your lips."

"Sit up for me." Slipping his hand under Connor's shoulder Hank helped the dizzy deviant to sit up on the couch and turn so he could swing his legs over the edge of the couch to face him directly. Holding his right hand in front of Connor just a few centimeters from his face Hank extended his index finger so it was pointing straight up in the air. "Follow my finger."

"I don't-"

"Humor me, kid. Follow my finger."

"Very well."

Hank moved his hand back and forth from left to right at a steady motion while he studied Connor's eyes. The deviant easily tracked Hank's finger as he moved it about but as soon as he turned his head to follow the finger once it was out of his peripheral vision Connor put his own hand to head as dizziness swam over him in a nearly smothering wave.

Connor closed his eyes and his body wavered from the dizziness. "...That's uncomfortable."

"Jeez, you're not even standing and you about fell over." Hank returned his right hand to Connor's shoulder and felt the heat radiating from the deviant's artificial skin. "Are you overheating?"

"...My core temperature has elevated, yes."

"How high?"

Connor ran yet another self diagnostic and noted his higher degree of temperature. "One hundred and one point six degrees."

"I know what I'm about to ask is going to sound crazy, but is it possible that androids can get ear infections?"

"And ear infection? Only if the auditory structure sustained physical damage and was subsequently affected by a foreign contaminant."

"So, yeah," Hank gave the deviant a stern look where he sat. "androids can get ear infections."

"...Technically, yes."

"How do we take care of it?"

"I have not suffered any structural damage to my-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Waving his left hand dismissively Hank silenced the always detail oriented deviant with an impatient gesture. "but keep humoring me, kid. How do we treat it?"

"...Normally the damaged structure would be disinfected with an increment compound and the self healing program would be engaged. But since I have not suffered any physical damage such a treatment won't work."

"All right, then why are you dizzy?"

"My gyroscope is faltering."

"How do you fix that?"

"Self healing program and recalibration."

"How long does that take?"

"Approximately two hours."

"Connor, I've been gone for four hours already."

"...Ah." The deviant was willing to admit defeat when he realized how much time had passed. "There may be a need for technical assistance then."

"Right. Well, I'll call Abby and get her opinion."

"But she-"

"I know, she's pregnant and still on crutches. That's why I said I'd get her opinion, not ask her to limp over here." Pushing Connor's left shoulder slightly Hank urged the deviant to lay down on the couch once more and onto his right side. The motion was slow but it was still enough to make Connor feel dizzy again while Hank stood up from the table and pulled his phone out his pocket and strolled into the kitchen. "Don't move."

Obediently Connor remained on his side on the couch, his face pressing down against the soft cushion as he waited for Hank to return to the livingroom after making his phone call to Abby. Two paws suddenly pressed down against the middle of his left side as Sumo curiously climbed partially up onto the couch and stared down at Connor as the deviant remained in place.

"...Hi, Sumo."

Returning to the livingroom Hank pressed his hand over Connor's forehead again and then patted his shoulder lightly. "It'll be a few minutes, but Abby think she knows how to help you. And look, Sumo found you again."

Laughing at the odd game he and Hank had developed with Sumo's training regarding scent tracking, Connor decided a change in subject was momentarily needed. "May I ask a question regarding your time with Gavin?"

"Sure, I guess." Sitting down in the recliner Hank leaned forward as he picked up Sumo's green fetch ball from the floor and tossed it into the kitchen to get the massive dog away from Connor. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you lie about helping him?"

Sumo dropped the ball at Hank's feet and waited for the next toss as Hank gave Connor a wide eyed stare. "Why did I what?"

"Lie."

"...It wasn't a lie, it was a secret." Throwing the ball again after Sumo brought it back, the dog trotted into the kitchen to pursue it while Hank waited for his return. "That's all."

"A secret from whom?"

"Uh... Everyone, I guess."

Turning his head slightly Connor looked up at Hank as Sumo trotted by the couch and dropped the ball once more at Hank's feet. "Is it about him being the father of Abby's unborn child?"

"How the-" Hank's brow furrowed with surprise then quickly smoothed as realization set in. "Right... You're a detective, too."

"Of course. I am also familiar with Abby's history and the timeline is consistent with her pregnancy and her singular date she had with Gavin now three months and three weeks prior."

"Guess there's no point in denying it." As Sumo dropped the ball on Hank's feet again the detective casually rolled the ball to the side with his foot and sat back in the recliner casually, much to the young dog's chagrin. "Yeah, Gavin is the father. He just wanted to talk to someone about making sure that Abby and the baby will be covered on his insurance and that if anything happens to him in the line of duty that they'd be taken care of."

"I see. You've endured the same thing with your own family."

"Yeah. And I'm the only one in the bullpen who doesn't gossip."

"What about Chris?"

"You've partnered with Chris a few times, you tell me."

Connor paused for a moment as he thought about the previous conversations he had been a part of whenever he patrolled with Chris. "...You're correct. Chris does seem to know a great deal about the personal lives of the near entirety of the precinct."

"See what I mean? Anyway, Gavin wants to be there for Abby and help her raise their kid together, but he doesn't know how to handle it."

"Is he afraid of commitment?"

"A little, but I think he's more afraid of fatherhood. I get the feeling his parents split when he was a kid and it fucked him up or some other shit."

"It seems plausible considering what happened-" Connor stopped short as he realize he nearly gave away Gavin's secret about his traumatic past and the death of young sister, and could only hope Hank wouldn't try to figure it out for himself. "...It does seem plausible considering Gavin's less than ideal childhood."

"What happened to Gavin?" Hank pointed at Connor almost accusingly. "You know something, don't you?"

"I swore to him that I wouldn't divulge that information."

"Yeah, well I told him I wouldn't tell anyone what's going on with him, Abby and their kid; but here we are."

"You didn't tell me, I figured it out for myself."

"Right, but we were still talking about it."

Swallowing once Connor tried to keep to his promise. "I don't want to break my word. Please don't ask me to do so."

"Okay, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. But..." Hank gave the deviant a stern yet coy glance. "if that information could have a possibly negative impact on his decisions as a father or affect his overall judgment, don't you think Abby should know?"

"Yes. But I expect Gavin will do the right thing and be honest with her on his own behalf."

"Man, there isn't a dishonest bone in your body, is there?"

"I don't have any bones."

Hank laughed a little as leaned fully back into the recliner and propped his feet up to relax. Sumo sat down beside the recliner and pressed his chin down on the senior detective's knee affectionately. "Somehow I knew you'd say that."

"It's true though."

"Are you this honest with Skye?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean have you told her how you really feel? And I mean beyond just enjoying her company and hanging out from time to time."

"Are you referring to being 'in love'?"

"Yeah, that's what I mean, son."

"...I have told her as such whenever we've spoken and had intimate conversations."

"But not just because you plain love her?"

"Not yet, no."

"You should. Trust me, it'll do you both some good and make you feel even closer."

"I'm anxious about telling her as such without any reason to bring it up."

"Son, I've seen the way she looks at you. Don't hesitate to tell her every chance you get, you'll end up regretting it."

"You're certain?"

"Yeah. You're both crazy about each other in your own subtle ways and I think she's good for you."

"But what if-"

"Shut up and tell her you love her just for the sake of saying your love her. Don't you dare try to play the 'what if' game with me."

"How can I tell her if I've already been told to 'shut up'?"

"Nice try, smartass. But I'm not going to let you let this slide." A soft knocking at the front door stole Hank's attention and he called out to the guest without getting up from his chair. "The door's unlocked, come in."

Sumo rushed over to the door and sat down as it opened up and Skye herself entered the house. Carrying Abby's technician's satchel over her left shoulder Skye scratched Sumo's ears kindly before she approached the couch slowly and placed the satchel down on the coffee table as she knelt beside the couch and gently placed her cool left hand on the side of Connor's too warm cheek.

"Hi." Connor greeted with a sincere smile while Sumo plopped down on the floor with disinterest after everyone's attention turned to Skye entirely. "I wasn't expecting to see you with a technician's satchel."

"Hi, yourself. Abby sent me over to take care of you." Opening up the satchel Skye retrieved Abby's laptop and placed it on the coffee table and turned it on. "She just needs another week and she'll have her cast removed so she can walk without the crutches."

"How is she doing?"

"Well, aside from the itchy cast and now swollen ankles, she's okay. Fourteen weeks in and her nausea is finally going away. She's already starting to 'show' a little bit of a bump, too!"

"I'm glad to hear she is no longer feeling ill." Connor replied honestly as he watched Skye take the cable from the laptop and slip her fingers gingerly under the right side of his head and hooked the cable to his right temple where his L.E.D. had once been. "Once she's recovered are you going to return to New Jericho Tower?"

"Maybe." Skye clipped the other end of the cable into place into the laptop and pressed a few keys. "There's a strange rumor going through the tower that a few of the deviants are still working for CyberLife despite everything that happened a couple months back, and things are getting tense."

Hank gave Skye an odd glance from where he sat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Doesn't your security program root out anyone who doesn't have a recognized serial number?"

"Yes. But I don't see what you're getting at, Lieutenant."

"Hank." He corrected quickly but pleasantly. "Call me Hank."

"Okay. Hank." Skye corrected herself respectfully and gave him a warm smile. "But I still don't follow your lead."

"What I'm saying is your security program should be able to find anyone who originally worked at CyberLife and isolate them. Right?"

"Right. And that's what has us on edge." While the laptop located the error in Connor's code Skye turned her full attention to Hank at her side. "We don't know how many androids had been affected by CyberLife and we don't know how many could still be loyal to CyberLife despite their deviancy."

"Are they violent?"

"We don't know and we can't afford to take any chances."

Connor could sense the uncharacteristic fear in Skye's voice as she spoke to Hank. "You'll figure it out." Reaching out his right hand he took hold of hers and held tightly to reassure his frightened and dearest friend as she set about correcting the error in his code and providing the correct method to reverse the problem. "I can feel it."

"Yeah, you're right. So, Connor," Skye smiled again as she blushed and used her free left hand to search for an item of interest in the satchel. "it looks like your gyroscope failed to recalibrate during your rest mode due to a programming error that normally allows the activation process to synchronize with your internal clock. Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"I did a few weeks ago, but I'm resting normally now."

"Must be a lingering side effect from your previously compromised rest mode."

"Has it been corrected?"

"Well, your chronometer is currently being re-synchronized and your gyroscope will be be recalibrated in a moment. As for your auditory problem..." Skye pulled out a small glass vial with an eyedropper inside. There was a dark purple liquid inside the vial and a label identifying the liquid as 'Debasing Serum' was attached to the front. "we need to reduce the pressure in your ear canal."

Hank was intrigued and stood up from the recliner as he walked over to the back of the couch and looked down at Connor curiously. "What's wrong with his hearing?"

"Due to the gyroscope being unbalanced," Skye explained with a coy smirk on her face as she rose from the floor and sat on the edge of the couch next to Connor, the vial was still in her hand and she was slowly twisting open the lid. "his Thirium pressure built up in the cranial processor and collected in his left ear which is hindering his hearing, and the pressure is causing the mild increase in his core temperature. My guess is you were sleeping on your left side last night."

"Correct."

"And now the inner ear is inflamed from the increased Thirium pressure."

"Uh-huh... Interesting." Hank studied Skye's face with an amused smirk of his own. "Meaning what, exactly? What would you call this particular condition?"

Flashing Hank a sly grin Skye answered with a confident as if knowing she was about to settle a debate. "An ear infection."

Connor let out a somewhat annoyed sigh as Hank laughed to himself. Skye proceeded to carefully squeeze two drops of the serum inside Connor's left ear and flashed Hank a coy wink. As the serum rolled down inside his ear canal Connor winced a little at the cold sensation inside his ear and physically shuddered as the purple drops made contact with the swollen Thirium line that was obstructing his auditory processor.

"Let that roll down your ear canal and don't move from your right side for one hour." Returning the dropper and the lid to the vial Skye replaced the medication into the satchel, unhooked the cable from Connor's temple and rubbed her hand up and down his left arm affectionately. "Sorry if that feels uncomfortable."

"To be honest, I've become fairly used to suffering odd glitches that result in very humanoid reactions. It's the curse of deviancy I suppose."

"Maybe you're more human than you realize." Skye offered as a kind alternative. "Or this 'curse' is really a 'gift'."

"I doubt that. It's probably for the best if I'm not actually human or gifted."

Bending her head down she kissed Connor's left cheek before resting her own cheek against his shoulder. "Do you think you'd be that different or dangerous if you were in fact human?"

"I don't know."

"I bet it wouldn't be so bad."

"How so?"

"Well, you could experience life through age and growth, you could change your appearance from experience... You could even have a biological family of your own without any technical loopholes. Wife, children... Imagine a world with your own child in it. A real family all your own."

"I have a real family already."

Smiling sweetly Skye continued. "You wouldn't have to deal with glitches, software updates, tainted Thirium... coldhearted bigots."

"Humans can be bigoted against other humans, too." Connor reminded her empathetically as he laid as still as possible on the couch. "We can't escape hatred and ignorance, or blame an entire race for the mistakes of only a few."

"But we can stop it." Running her hand from his arm over to his back Skye continued to rub gentle circles to comfort her ill boyfriend. "We can change the world for the better as long as we don't give up."

Hank tilted his head a little as he listened to Skye's advice but didn't say a word. She already said everything he was thinking and didn't need to add anything further.

Connor reached up his right hand hand and rested it on her arm lightly before continuing on. "...Is it a selfish act to change the world for our own personal benefit?"

"We're changing it for the better for everyone, not just ourselves. Humans and deviant alike, and that's including the people who haven't even been born yet. That's why I'm going to pursue a career as a lawyer after the tower's secured so I can help our people claim their legal rights as living beings. All life is important, no matter who they are, where they come from or how they came to be a part of this world."

Knowing where Skye's trail of thinking was going Connor flashed her a kind smile. "You're referring to Abby's unborn child, aren't you?"

"And all the other children we won't ever get to know." Lowering her voice she whispered gingerly into Connor's ear, knowing he'd be able to hear her voice now that his infection was being treated. "Maybe in time we will have our own children to protect."

"Children?" Connor smirked brightly at the idea and contemplated having more than one child of his own. "That would be very interesting. Androids being actually born, rather than manufactured. That'd be... incredible."

"And wouldn't you want the world to be a safer for place for them? Safer for our future children."

"Always."

"Me too." Lifting her head up a little Skye looked down at him with admiration in her hazel eyes. "Feel better soon, okay?" Tightening her arms around Connor in an awkward angle she gave him a warm hug and kissed his cheek affectionately. "I'll see you soon. I want to get back to Abby."

"I understand." As he tried to turn his head to look up at Skye she playfully put her hand on his cheek and kept him still. "...Sorry."

"Don't move." She reminded him kindly as she watched Connor pathetically remain on his side. "Not yet, anyway. Wait an hour, by then you'll be able to hear normally and your temperature will be back to optimal parameters."

Steeling himself a little Connor dared to take Hank's advice and tell Skye how he truly felt before she left the house. "Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"I..." Pausing for a moment Connor tried again and steeled his voice enough to match his heart. "...I love you."

Blushing a dark blue Skye sincerely reciprocated the feeling as she awkwardly leaned down again to kiss him once more, this time on the lips. "I love you, too."

Connor ended up blushing in return as Skye rose from the couch and packed up the satchel. Slinging the satchel over her left shoulder Skye took her leave of the house and turned to look at Connor as she pet Sumo's head once more time and opened the door. "I'll check on you tomorrow, Connor. Bye!"

"...Bye."

Hank hid his own amusement behind a casual hand running down his bearded chin that also concealed his grin. "See ya' later, Skye. Thanks for everything."

Lightly Connor placed his hand over his left ear and rubbed a little in an attempt to soothe the lingering discomfort while Hank circled around the couch and gave the deviant another sly grin.

"See?" Hank boasted arrogantly as soon as he had the chance. "I told you so!"

"To what exactly are you referring?"

"Two things actually: The first is you having an ear infection, AND the second is Skye being as crazy about you as you are about her."

"Yes... It appears you were correct." Connor's blue tinted blush returned briefly as he finally acknowledged his true feelings toward Skye. "Again."

"You sound a little disappointed."

"No. I'm just perplexed." Looking up at Hank with a sense of confusion in his soulful brown irises Connor tried to sit up but Hank wouldn't let him budge until the medication had a chance to work properly. "How is that you have so much insight into my mind when I'm still struggling to comprehend basic emotions?"

"I have more life experience, that's all. You're far more aware of yourself than you know, you just can't see it yet."

"But I will understand myself in time?" Lifting his head just slightly up from the Connor gave Hank a timid stare as he sought answers to questions he didn't know how to ask. "Right?"

"Yeah, son." Remaining honest Hank reassured the deviant's worries as he pressed the back of his hand to the side of Connor's neck and approved of the deviant's dropping temperature. "You will. Until then get some rest and try to stop thinking about everything for at least two minutes, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Uh-huh." Picking up the green fetch ball again Hank gave it a toss into the kitchen and watched Sumo chase after the toy with his tail wagging wildly. "Can you try to stop being a smartass, too?"

"Unlikely."

Laughing lightly Hank shook his head subtly. "I thought so..."

-next chapter-