Relentlessly cold rain continued to threaten to drown the city after four consecutive days of a nonstop downpour. Small snowflakes begun to flutter about in the rain as the emotional and untimely November funeral came to an end. The gathered mourners slowly dispersed one by one until the only two occupants of the still somewhat green cemetery behind the renovated church were Connor and Hank. The two detectives wore black suits out of respect for the dead, their aesthetic eerily enough matching the atmosphere of the dreary, somber day around them. Neither said a word as Connor kept is right palm down over the smooth metallic lid of the coffin as it became doused in the pouring rain.

A majority of New Jericho Tower had gone to the funeral to pay their respects while the numerous contacts that Skye had established in her quest to help deviants had also stopped by to give their condolences. Even Rupert had dared to briefly show his face before disappearing back into the shadows and resuming his personal mission to save as many deviant lives as possible by skulking about in darkness.

Silently mourning the loss of his beloved bondmate Connor stood before the freshly engraved headstone at the cemetery where Skye had been laid to rest. With a gentle touch he placed a white lily and a dark red rose atop the stone as he read and reread her name over and over again as if he somehow couldn't or just absolutely refused to accept the bleak reality in which he now found himself. Skye, the deviant Connor had fallen in love with and had bonded with as she laid on her deathbed, was gone.

Shielded under a black umbrella Hank approached the neighboring headstone and placed a lily down out of respect for Lucas before speaking to Connor, who was standing at his side, in a respectfully low tone of voice. "It's good that Skye was placed with Lucas. Now they won't be alone."

Connor remained silent as he rested his left hand atop the headstone and over the stems of the two flowers. The cold rain and building snow drenched through his suit and no matter how many times Hank offered to share the umbrella Connor refused out of a bizarre need to isolate himself from the people who were simply trying to help him.

Turning to look over his shoulder Hank spotted Markus standing beside the renovated church with his arm wrapped around North as she wept against his shoulder. Abby was standing on the other side of the deviant leader with her black coat wrapped around her tightly as she tried to keep warm and protect her steadily growing baby 'bump' from the cold. Gavin hadn't gone to the funeral, but he had given Abby his coat to wear during the cold event as a means of showing his support in his own subtle way without getting involved in the emotional event.

As much as he wanted to ask for Markus's advice in helping to reach out to Connor to keep the deviant from falling into a dark spiral of depression as he had done after losing Lucas, Hank knew that the responsibility was squarely on his shoulders as Connor's father. He wasn't about the back down when his son needed him the most.

"It's already cold and it's only going to get colder." Trying to find some way to coax Connor into either speaking - his sudden muteness was a nasty habit he had developed in the four days since Skye's death or into leaving the cemetery in order to move on with his life, Hank made another comment. "...I know you don't want to deal with this right now, but Fowler wants to speak with us. We can stop by the precinct and then you can hide out in your bedroom for the rest of the day if you want."

Refusing to budge from where he stood Connor was steadfast and silent as he began to tremble from the cold.

"I'll give you some space if you want, but I'm not going to let you push me away."

No reply.

Hank peered up at the sky from under his umbrella and watched as the already dark clouds grew darker, thicker and the rain began to readily transition into larger and larger snowflakes. A snowstorm was well on its way and sooner rather than later they'd have to deal with dangerously low temperatures. Patiently waiting for almost an hour Hank decided to take the initiative and find some way to get Connor to leave the cemetery. As much as Connor would try there would be no way for him to stay at the grave forever.

"You're freezing." Lightly brushing the back his left hand up against Connor's right arm Hank managed to get Connor to move slightly and with that motion Hank managed to get the deviant to finally step back from the headstone. "I'm not trying to be impatient or push you around, but you can't neglect your own health because you're in pain."

Connor didn't say a word as Hank all but wrangled him out of the cemetery with a simple touch of the arm and back to the car parked outside along the street. As he passed by the church Hank gave Markus, North and Abby a silent nod of respect to let them know that he'd be taking care of Connor while they took care of everything else in the wake of the tragedy.

Placing the umbrella in the trunk of the car Hank waited for Connor to finally open the front passenger door and sit down inside the dry car before he did the same behind the wheel. Instead Hank had to open up the door on Connor's behalf and push him down inside the car to sit down. Rushing over to the opposite side of the car Hank sat down himself and eagerly set about getting the car warmed up. Putting the key in the ignition Hank turned it over and turned on the heater to its maximum temperature. As he directed the vents toward Connor in an attempt to warm the chilled deviant Hank pulled the car out onto the street and headed off toward the precinct.

"We'll see what Fowler wants and then we'll go home. It won't take too long."

Connor's dark hair was dripping wet with the rain and snow as he sat slumped down in his seat. As Hank tried to reach out to put his right hand to the deviant's left shoulder Connor again shrugged to keep the senior detective away as he sat in deep mourning and loss.

"Are you cold? You like look you're shivering."

Once more Connor remained quiet as Hank tried to reach out to him and tried to get him to open up instead of trying to hold all his emotional pain inside.

"Well, then let me know if you get too warm."

Focusing on the road to ensure he didn't accidentally do anything to push Connor away Hank just admitted defeat for the time being.

"I don't want you to overheat on accident."

The two detectives' unexpected return to the precinct was met with a mixture of sympathetic condolences and silent acknowledgement as the grieving duo sullenly walked through the bullpen and over to Captain Fowler's private office. Connor was still dripping wet from the cold, relentless rain while Hank was relatively dry, yet the deviant refused to acknowledge his discomfort as he and Hank walked into the isolated office to meet with their commanding officer as requested. Wanting to get the meeting over with as quickly as possible the two detectives trudged over to the chairs sitting on the opposite side of the desk from their Captain and sat down heavily.

"Thanks for stopping by." Captain Fowler wasn't expecting either of the two detectives to arrive on the day of the funeral, but he was ready to put aside anything else to ensure that the two could be on their way. "Connor, I'm so sorry about what happened." The seasoned Captain sincerely sympathized for Connor's loss as he watched the duo sit down in the chairs across from his desk. "I know that this is difficult, but it's important that you know what happened on that night."

Hank eyed Connor protectively as he took the lead on the conversation for Connor's personal sake. "All right, tell us what happened so we can get out of here and get some space."

"The riot wasn't caused by the deviants." Captain Fowler started blatantly as he held authority in his voice. "It was caused by a group of humans who were trying to get away with looting in all of the confusion."

The information was as disappointing as the very humans who started the riot that took fourteen lives; one of which belonged to Skye.

"And it turns out," the professional Captain continued softly as he tried to deliver the news as gently as possible. "the two 'rogue deviants' that everyone had been on edge about knew what was happening and were trying to stop the looters. Something in their original security programs were reactivated when CyberLife attempted their coup, and it was CyberLife who provided security to the stores that had been vandalized."

Hank's eyes narrowed bitterly as he leaned toward his commanding officer. "Are you telling me this entire shit-show was all a fuckin' misunderstanding?"

"We're looking into the incident to see how many additional charges we can add to the guilty parties. But yeah, it was one massive, preventable shit-show."

"Fourteen people DIED." Nearly shouting Hank made it clear that there was nothing that could be done to atone for the severity of the crimes committed. "Adding a few more charges is not good enough, Jeffrey."

"All of the guilty parties have been arrested and I personally spoke to the media to set the record straight. They seemed less interested in the story once they learned it was the humans being the problem and not the deviants."

"What a fuckin' shock..." Hank quipped sarcastically as he kept his attention on Connor's reactions. The deviant stayed mute and didn't seem to react at all. "Is that it?"

"...No." The dip in Captain Fowler's voice spoke volumes of their heavy mood in the air. "In light of the riot the mayor has decided that he wants you two to resume your original assignment together in handling all deviant related cases throughout the city."

"We're back on solely deviant cases, no more homicide? For how long?"

"Indefinitely."

Connor finally reacted to the world around him though it wasn't a positive reaction as Hank had been hoping for. "...No."

Captain Fowler gave the previously silent deviant an odd glance as he repeated Connor's reply incredulously. "What did you say? 'No'?"

Standing up slowly Connor reached into his black jacket's right pocket and to the holster he instinctively wore beneath. Placing his badge and his gun down Captain Fowler's desk Connor shook his head and looked away with a despondent turn of his head. "...I can't do this anymore. I resign."

"C-Connor!" Captain Fowler stood up quickly as the deviant turned around and promptly left the office without another word. Watching as Connor walked away with his head bowed down and shoulders slumped Captain Fowler finally saw how depressed Connor had rightfully become. "Son of a bitch."

"Jeffrey," Hank stood up as well and watched Connor through the transparent glass walls of the office as he slowly crossed through the bullpen without acknowledging a single person as he left the precinct. "he's hurting. Give him time to really think about this."

"He's so depressed. Is he going to be okay?"

"I hope so." Crossing his arms over his chest Hank focused on his oldest friend with a stern gaze as Connor disappeared from sight. "Level with me. Is that how I looked when I lost Barb and Cole?"

"Yeah, Hank. It is."

"How in the fuck did you not take me out back and put a damn bullet in my head to put me out of my misery?"

"Because I know you just as you know him." Accepting the deposited badge and gun with a reluctant grip Captain Fowler slipped the items into his desk's bottom right drawer and locked it up with a heavy sigh. "Take as much time as you need to help him through this. The city needs Connor and we need you, too."

"...Yeah. The city that couldn't care less about him or the other deviants who've been working their asses off to protect them really needs him to keep cleaning up their messes. I can't imagine why he's so disenchanted all of a sudden."

"Well, I can't say that you're wrong. Go on, go take care of your son."

"Right."

Taking his own leave of the office with his heart just as heavy as Connor's heart at that moment, Hank was unexpectedly stopped by Gavin who felt the need to speak up and say something, anything about the riots that had resulted in so many needless deaths.

"Hey, Captain, just so you know I tried to stop Connor from... you know... seeing her on that night."

"Yeah?" Stopping suddenly Hank gave the Sergeant a suspicious stare as he acknowledged the comment. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Did..." Gavin was visibly nervous as he spoke with Hank in a low voice that was racked with explainable guilt. Unable to look Hank in the eyes Gavin had to force himself to ask the question burning on his lips. "Because I slowed him down, did it cause her to-"

"Gavin," Hank held up a shushing hand to silence the younger detective who was beginning to show his empathy after learning that he was going to be a father in four and half months. "the damage was too extensive. It didn't matter if Connor got her to the tower as soon as she was injured or an hour later than he already did. And we both know that Abby wouldn't let Skye go without a fight. You didn't do anything to harm her."

A strange sense of relief washed over Gavin and the tension abruptly left his shoulders. "Uh... How is Abby holding up? Do you know?"

"She was at the funeral and she's upset over the death of her friend. Did you call her yet?"

"...No. I, uh, I stopped by her house and let her borrow my jacket but I didn't really talk to her. I didn't know what to say."

"Do it anyway. Right now she needs a friend, so go be her friend. And in time her baby will need a father, so go be that father." Giving Gavin a single firm pat to the shoulder Hank passed him by as he made his way toward the front doors of the precinct. "Right now, I need to go take care of my own son."

Once back home Connor slowly walked into his bedroom and closed the silently door as he threw off his black suit and wore his simple pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. The rain and snow outside quickly covered his bedroom window in an opaque pale layer of natural white that prevented him from peering out to the cold, cruel world all around him as he laid in silent mourning in self imposed isolation. Laying on his back on his bed with his hands neatly folded over his abdomen he stared blankly upward at the equally blank ceiling above him and fought against the tears that wanted to stream down his face. It was as if every sensor in his body was experiencing pain and left him exhausted.

The emotionally drained deviant was just plain tired of life itself and of the struggles he just couldn't seem to overcome. He was tired of it all. Connor was tired of crying. Tired of fighting. Tired of feeling sad. Tired of feeling angry. Tired of feeling anything and everything. We was just plain tired...

Hours of silent thoughts passed by as the dreary day gave way to a uniformly dark and dreary night. A gentle knocking on his bedroom door went unanswered before the door opened slowly without invitation a few seconds later.

"Hey, kid."

Hank walked into the bedroom with Sumo following after him. The large dog put his paws up on the side of the bed and pressed his cold wet nose against the side of Connor's neck as he let out a soft 'boof' sound.

"Hey, Sumo found you again."

The deviant didn't react to the joke or to Sumo being affectionate.

"I, uh, I got a text from Gavin and I have some good news this time."

Connor remained quiet and disinterested in anything happening around him.

"He said that he was going to be staying with Abby for the duration of her pregnancy so we don't have to be worried about her being alone when she's not at New Jericho Tower. He's also going to step up and be that baby's father and he's going to try to make his relationship with Abby be more than a one-night-stand that resulted in their child."

As Connor stayed silent Sumo whimpered as he pressed his cold nose against Connor's arm, then licked once in an attempt to get a reaction. The fluffy dog's attempt to gain Connor's attention went unacknowledged just as Hank's own presence had been.

"I also got a call from Markus."

The senior detective continued on as he knew that even if Connor wasn't responding he knew that the deviant was in fact listening to every word being spoken.

"Josh is going to take over the security protocols at the tower and keep the original program that she, uh, Skye, had already set up."

Remaining disturbingly quiet and still Connor didn't react as Hank reached his right hand down over Connor's forehead and held it there for a minute. Ignoring the contact and refusing to speak out of a misplaced grievance, the heartbroken deviant never responded to Hank's attempts to reach out to him and try to provide comfort and support.

"You feel a little warm. Are you overheating or sick?"

Already used to Connor's silence Hank wasn't surprised when his question went unanswered.

"At least you changed out of your wet clothes."

Nodding at the damp black suit piled on the floor beside the bed, a curiously messy action that the deviant had never displayed beforehand, Hank picked up the soaked suit and decided to take care of it himself and give Connor some space for the rest of the night.

"All right. I'll let you be alone so you can get some rest. If you want to talk you know where to find me, I won't be going anywhere tonight."

An entire cold and snowy week had passed by with Connor remaining deathly quiet and still on his bed in the self imposed solitude of his bedroom. Without uttering a single syllable or moving a synthetic muscle beyond blinking or shallow breathing, Connor could've been mistaken for a corpse. Neglecting his own health, ignoring his responsibilities and refusing to speak to anyone - even to Hank who always made sure to greet him in the morning, tell him what was going on during the day and say goodnight, it was like Connor had simply given up on himself and the world around him after his heart had been broken by the loss of his beloved.

Hank had reluctantly returned to the precinct two days after the funeral leaving Connor alone in the house all day for the following five days, but every time the senior detective returned home it was the same sad sight that greeted him as he stepped through the backdoor. Everything was the same as when Hank left; dishes in the sink, the garbage needing to be changed and the laundry still needing to be folded.

With Connor being such a tidy person it was very out of character for the deviant to ignore such necessary chores. Connor had even stopped tending to his aquarium, but Hank made sure to keep his fish alive by cleaning the water and sprinkling in some food until the deviant was behaving more like his usual self.

It didn't help the overall melancholy mood of the house considering Sumo was always laying in the middle of the hallway with his head resting atop his paws as he sadly watched Connor from the opened doorway of the bedroom. Even the lovable dog was unable to get a response from Connor whenever he tried to cuddle up with the deviant on the bed or dropped his green fetch ball next to Connor's arm to try to play.

"Hey, boy."

Hank walked over to the dog in the hallway and lightly pet his head. Sumo let out a tired sigh and wagged his tail once to acknowledge Hank as the senior detective stepped around him to check in Connor. "

And hi, son."

As expected Connor ignored Hank's voice.

"Still sick?"

Returning his right hand to Connor's forehead Hank felt that Connor was still running abnormally warm even after a week. It didn't help matters when Hank noticed that Connor's artificial skin was also paler than usual because of some underlying glitch or error that the deviant was ignoring.

"Shit. You're still running hot and now you even look like you're sick."

The deviant didn't even blink as Hank's hand pressed down and then retreated from his forehead.

"You're pale. When was the last time you took in some fresh Thirium?"

Nothing.

"I think it's been a week and half, and you're supposed to take care of that every week, right?"

Still nothing.

"Well, I'll bring you some and you try to drink it. I don't want you to get any worse."

Silence.

Sumo lifted his head slightly and watched as Hank exited the bedroom and made his way down the hallway into the kitchen. The sound of Hank rummaging through the cabinet above the kitchen sink resonated with a distinct echo through the otherwise quiet house. Carrying a single bottle of the android essential Thirium back into the bedroom Hank uncapped it and tried to hand it over to Connor, but he didn't budge an inch.

"Connor, I haven't asked anything from you ever since what happened had happened, but I need you to do this. I need you to drink this so you don't make yourself even sicker."

Ignoring the offered Thirium with an indifferent blank stare at the ceiling above Connor remained deathly silent.

"Please."

No reaction.

"I don't want to yell at you."

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, putting himself between Connor and the far wall of the room, Hank tried once more to get Connor to accept the Thirium under his own freewill.

"I know you're still mourning and it won't be easy for you to heal from this kind of pain, but you will. Making yourself sick isn't going to help anyone."

Connor's stubbornness was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. Refusing to so much as glance at the Thirium the bullheaded deviant kept infuriatingly quiet.

"Don't make me ask you again."

No acknowledgement or sign of compromise on the deviant's part had resulted in the senior detective taking the initiative.

"All right, open your mouth."

Only a brief arch of his brow gave any indication that Connor was in fact listening to what Hank was saying to him.

"You heard me."

Hank put his left hand lightly around Connor's jaw as if he were about to pry it open himself if Connor continued to refuse to cooperate.

"You need to drink this Thirium."

Slowly Connor's right hand reached up with a stilted motion as if arthritic or damaged, and grabbed onto Hank's left forearm just below the hand that was holding onto his jaw. Applying increasing strength Connor tried to push Hank's hand away but Hank was proving himself to be as stubborn as Connor. Keeping his hand around Connor's jaw Hank let the deviant try to fight him as he remained steadfast, ready to wait out the deviant who was undeniably weak from neglecting his necessary Thirium intake.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, son." Trying again to open Connor's mouth Hank stared down at the deviant's emotionless, traumatized brown irises with true sympathy for his pain. "You can drink this yourself or I can break your jaw open and force it down your throat. You choose."

"...Hank." Connor practically hissed the name through his clenched teeth as he tried to force the human away from himself. For the first time since knowing Hank the name carried some poison as he tried to turn his head away from the senior detective. "Stop."

"No way, kid. You need this."

"Stop."

"Are you going to drink this on your own?"

Connor managed to break Hank's grip from around his jaw and was now working to push the senior detective, his father, away from him by pressing his left palm against the center of Hank's chest.

In return Hank wrapped his right hand around Connor's left arm and pulled it outward to its full length and used his own left arm to pin the limb firmly against his side. Turning Connor's arm so the bend in his elbow was facing upward Hank used his right other hand to try to cause the artificial skin to recede from the limb so he could gain access to the white plastimetal frame underneath and the main Thirium beneath that.

"Let go." Connor stated firmly as he tried to wrestle his arm from Hank's grip. "Leave me alone."

"You drink it or it goes through the line. Choose!"

"I said 'let go'!"

"Then cooperate."

"Leave me alone!"

"No. I've left you alone for a week already! I won't let-"

"You can't control me." Connor angrily spat as he yanked his arm away from Hank rolled from his back and onto his side away from the senior detective to face his opened bedroom door. "Just go."

"I'm not trying to control you, I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need your help and I don't want your help."

Sighing heavily Hank replaced the cap to the bottle of Thirium and placed it on the table beside the bed. "Then what do you want?"

"...I want to be left alone."

"Sorry, son. I can't do that anymore."

"Just go away. I don't want to talk."

"You don't have to talk, but you do need to-"

"What?" Interrupting bitterly Connor shot Hank a venomous glare from over his shoulder. "What do I need to do? What am I supposed to do just because someone else tells me it's what I should be doing? What should I be thinking? What should I be feeling? Go ahead and tell me!"

"Well, right now it sounds like you're pissed off." Hank snapped as he quickly grew tired of Connor's misplaced anger being directed at him. "And that's fine! Feel however you want to feel. Just don't be an idiot about it."

"I'm sorry that my grief is idiotic."

"Your-" Hank was getting angry at Connor's very human emotional distress despite knowing that there was no proper way for anyone to grieve or time frame for a person to get through their pain. More upset that Connor was knowingly hurting himself with his stubbornness and self neglect than anything else, Hank tried to explain things as calmly as possible. "It's okay to grieve, but it's not okay to deprive yourself from your basic needs."

"Like drinking myself half to death or drowning in whiskey?"

Hank wanted to smack Connor across his face for intentionally being so cruel and wanting to alienate him, but he restrained himself as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly to remain calm. "We both know I was a fool in the past, don't try to provoke me. And this isn't about me, it's about you."

"You're right. Maybe if I had some whiskey-"

"Knock it off!" Hank shouted loudly as he stood up from the bed and turned away from the deviant before he reacted in a way he'd never be able to forgive himself for. The anger that was now filling the house made Sumo nervous and the large dog went into the livingroom to cower under the coffee table until everything passed by. "You want to be left alone? Fine. I won't bother you anymore."

Refusing to even look at Hank as he made his way toward the bedroom door Connor rolled over again so he was now facing the opposite direction, his eyes fixing on the window covered in snow and ice as he presented his back to the senior detective again.

"Talk to me after you cool off or after you learn to stop being such a prick." Hank grumbled in defeat as he walked out of the bedroom. "Whichever comes first..."

Pulling Connor's door shut behind him with a hearty 'slam' Hank walked away from the confrontation and remained in the livingroom for the remainder of the evening.

Alone again Connor stared at the heavy snowfall that was smothering the world outside the house all around him. As he eyed the flawless white flakes falling from the gray sky his scanner noted the current temperature at twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit and steadily dropping as the day gave way to night and winter encroached over the city at an alarming rate.

His own core temperature was a contrastingly high one-hundred and two point one degrees Fahrenheit due to his self neglect and was making Connor feel uncomfortable in his own overheating skin.

"...Cool off. That's what'd be best for everyone."

Running his hand through his gray locks of hair Hank stopped at the end of the hallway and glanced back at the closed bedroom door with heavy regret in his blue eyes for snapping. It had been months, maybe even a year, since Hank had yelled at Connor for his reckless behavior and now Hank felt incredibly guilty for doing so while Connor was still lost in the throes of mourning. Going against his better instincts Hank resisted the urge to return to the bedroom to apologize and walked away slowly as he decided to give Connor the isolation he wanted, even though the self imposed reclusiveness was the last thing the deviant needed.

Wandering over to the couch Hank sat down in the middle of the furniture and leaned his head back against the cushion as he mentally beat himself up for losing his temper. As he sat in quiet contemplation Sumo let out a single whimper from beneath the coffee table drawing the senior detective's attention elsewhere for the time being.

Staring at Sumo for a moment Hank let out a small chuckle and patted the cushion to his side. "It's okay, Sumo. C'mere."

Sumo crawled out from under the table and pressed his paw and chin down on Hank's knee as if he completely understood the turmoil that was overwhelming the deviant and was empathizing with Hank's plight.

Running his hand gently over Sumo's ears Hank managed to comfort the startled dog and with that gesture Hank felt a modicum of comfort himself. "Good boy."

The snowstorm continued to smother the city under a crushing cold of whiteness and ice throughout the evening and well into the night. It was deafeningly quiet as the senior detective waited for any sign of Connor emerging from his isolation, but his patience would go unrewarded.

"Let's go to bed, Sumo."

Lamenting the defeat of his attempts to get Connor take care of himself Hank decided he'd need to sleep and figure out what he could do next.

"Maybe I'll think of something better to do after I get some rest."

The following icy cold morning wasn't any better for the two detectives as Hank prepared to head to the precinct while Connor remained cloistered away in his bedroom as the darkness of grief and depression threatened to consume the shattered remains of his broken heart. Slowly walking past the closed bedroom door Hank wanted to knock and let Connor know that he was going to work, but decided to let the deviant alone for a while longer until he returned home later that same evening. All Connor seemingly wanted was to be left alone to sort through his thoughts and it was such a simple request that Hank felt almost compelled to respect it.

The weather report on the television warned of an impending blizzard and urged everyone to use caution throughout the entirety of the city. On top of Hank's issue with taking care of Connor he now had to deal with nasty weather and painfully cold temperatures.

"Oh good, just what we need." The bleak weather only made the already somber atmosphere heavier. "More fuckin' cold."

Hank spotted Sumo staring curiously at Connor's closed door and grabbed the dog's collar to lead him away from the bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Come on. Let him cool off and be alone."

Feeding Sumo his breakfast Hank pat the young dog's back softly and stepped through the front door to report to the precinct as scheduled. "Be a good boy, Sumo. Keep an eye on Connor for me."

Closing the door behind him Hank couldn't help but feel as though something was wrong, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I'll be back soon, son." Saying it even though Connor couldn't hear him Hank felt compelled to say something to his grieving child. "Try to feel better."

In the week that Connor had gone into hiding Hank found himself in an eerily familiar situation of loneliness that he had endured for almost three years before Connor was unexpectedly assigned to him as his partner just prior to the Revolution. The car was quiet save for the heavy metal music that Hank had cranked up to block out the silence during his drive to the precinct and his desk seemed somehow much bigger than it actually was without Connor sitting on the opposite side of him to help him handle cases throughout the day.

Fussing with his bitter, horrible tasting mug of coffee on his desk with one hand and his other hand rolling Connor's still confiscated quarter back and forth under his right index fingertip over his desk top, Hank struggled to focus on his work as he thought about the fight he had with Connor the night before. The only thing that distracted him from his relentlessly dark thoughts was the unexpected visit from Gavin who casually leaned up against the shared desks with his arms crossed over his chest in an attempt to appear calm in the light of the massive change his life was going to undertake in a few more months.

"So..." Gavin started off somewhat timidly as if trying to make casual conversation with Hank. "Can I ask how Connor is doing?"

"Not good." Pushing aside the mug of coffee Hank pocketed the coin and folded his arms together as he leaned forward against them atop his desk. "How's Abby doing?"

"She's okay. Sore, tired and craving Chinese food at all hours of the night, but she's fine. I mean, she's still upset over losing her friend, but she's hanging in there and she's in good spirits. Between the bouts of crying and needing to be held."

"She's what? Eighteen weeks along now already?"

"Yeah... Almost halfway there." Gavin anxiously rubbed his right hand over the back of his neck as he spoke with Hank in a discreetly low tone of voice. "She said she wanted to check in with Connor, but I told her to stay home since it's snowing and the streets suck. Is there anything I can tell her?"

"Only shit that'll make her feel worse." Hank gave Gavin a suspicious glance as he desperately tried to not think about his fight with Connor from the night before. "Let me ask you this. Since when did you start referring to Connor as 'Connor' instead of 'Tinman' or 'plastic asshole' or 'freak'?"

"I... Look. When I saw the defeat in his eyes last week after he left Fowler's office I finally saw it. The heartbreak. You can't be a machine if you can feel something like that. It's... It's real pain."

Accepting the answer Hank backed off and stopped being so defensive on Connor's behalf. "I know exactly what you're talking about. I just wish I knew what I could do or say to help Connor start to feel better and understand that he isn't at fault in anyway for Skye's death."

"I was there when shit went down. Skye was trying to stop the fighting before it began and she was trying to stop the fighting even after it started. She never had a chance when all Hell broke loose." Gavin slumped as he spoke and his voice dipped sympathetically. "Me and Tina tried to get everything under control, but two cops just weren't enough to stop that much hatred and violence."

"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong, either."

"She was alive and fighting for peace and now she's dead." Gavin seemed unusually emotional about the whole ordeal; but then again he did have a child on the way. Perhaps the impending birth had brought out a newfound empathy along with formerly dormant paternal instincts when it came to life in general. "And Connor, he... he is alive. And he's hurtin' real bad. Isn't he?"

"...Yeah." Responding honestly Hank crossed his arms and leaned atop his desk as he stared at Connor's empty side of the connected desks. "He really is."

"Fuck." Leaning down a little closer to Hank to keep eavesdropping at bay, Gavin asked another question. "There's been a rumor spreading. Is it true that Connor actually resigned?"

"Don't worry about it. The kid just needs time to think and figure shit out."

"Oh, fuck... He did. Fuck me..."

"Gavin, shut it. Don't spread rumors about him, he gets self conscious enough as it is."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't say a word about it." Standing up from the desks Gavin tried to appear as casual as possible. "...I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, whatever."

Outside the front of the building a strong gust of wind caused the doors to rattle in place as thickening snow surrounding the entire city. It was already twenty degrees outside and it was only going to get colder as night encroached quickly. Noting the time on his terminal screen and the weather report on the television mounted on the wall in the breakroom, Hank decided it was time to clock -out and check in on Connor.

"Fuck it, I'm outta' here."

Pulling his car keys from his coat pocket Hank clocked-out for the night and decided in that moment Connor was far more important than any hours or last minute cases that might come his way.

"I'm not getting snowed in at the precinct again. My son needs his father."

Driving through the building snow at a steady pace Hank fought to pull the car up the snowy driveway next to the house as the slick surface proved itself to be an unexpected nuisance. As he threw the snow covered car into park in the middle of the driveway, Hank opened up his door and rushed up through the front yard and carefully marched up the front walk and through the front door after he fumbled with his keys to unlock it. The lack of shoveling, salt and other weather preparations were proving to be a true problem since Hank could feel ice building under his shoes and the wind threatening to cut through his skin like a hot knife through butter.

Upon entering the much warmer house Hank was greeted by Sumo sitting in the middle of the livingroom hunched up and cowering as if overwhelmed with guilt. Whimpering lightly to Hank the senior detective quickly realized something was very wrong and knew it had everything to do with Connor.

"Connor?"

Hank didn't even bother to shrug off his snowy coat as he marched through the livingroom, down the hallway and proceeded to knock heavily on the closed bedroom door.

"Connor? Look, I know you're still mad and you have every right to be, but give me a sign that you're still okay."

As usual for the past week there was no answer from the deviant.

"Fuckin' hell..."

Turning the knob on the bedroom door Hank pushed it open and found himself staring at an empty bedroom that was dusted with snow all over the floor, bed and the curtains. The bedroom window was left partially open and there was no sign of the room's occupant anywhere.

"Oh, shit... Connor?!"

Rushing over to the window Hank forced the icy frame fully opened and peered outside hoping to see the deviant somewhere in the side yard but there was no one in sight. Looking down Hank spotted the filling shoe prints that Connor had left behind after he jumped through the window and marched toward the front of the house in anger to get to the street.

"Damn it! I can't believe he actually did this!"

Slamming the window shut Hank locked it and rushed out of the bedroom while dialing up Markus on his phone. Entering the livingroom to pace about nervously Hank spotted Connor's leather jacket hanging on the hook by the front door and swore again just as Markus answered the call.

"Fuck! Markus, it's Hank! Is Connor there with you?"

'No, I haven't seen him since the funeral.' The confusion in Markus's voice was as thick as the worry that followed. 'What's going on?'

"The short story is we had a shouting match last night and when I came home from the precinct he was gone. Jumped out the damn window..."

'Oh no. I'll ask the other deviants to keep an eye out for him and I'll call if I find any trace of him. What do you need me to do?'

"Everything you just said." Leering at the front window where the blizzard continued to bury the city under the thick, icy layer of smothering whiteness Hank began to dread what he was going to find when he eventually tracked Connor down. "We need to find him. It's freezing out there and he's low on Thirium."

'We'll find him. You know Connor better than I do, but I think he get went somewhere to clear his head."

"...Or to cool off." Hank closed his eyes tightly and internally swore as he realized that Connor had taken his 'advice' literally after their fight. "Damn it... All right, yeah, you keep a look out for him. I'm going to see if I can track him down myself."

'How're you going to do that?'

"The old fashioned way." Hank replied bitterly as buttoned up his coat and prepared to step out into the blizzard yet again. "I'm going to look for clues and follow his trail."

Heartbroken, emotionally conflicted and entirely alone, Connor trudged through the ankle deep snow in just his t-shirt, jeans and shoes as he made his way out of the city as quickly as he could move. He didn't have any destination in mind but he knew he needed to keep moving, he needed to keep searching for something unknown and he needed to just keep moving forward. Enduring the ever dropping temperature, the harsh winds pushing him around and the heavy snowfall as best as he could, Connor made relatively quick progress on his aimless trek into nothingness. As he sought isolation from his home and the people around him, his broken heart continued to painfully beat in his chest.

It was becoming increasingly difficult without any form of external thermal protection to shield his prototype build from the devastatingly destructive cold weather, but the stubborn deviant refused to stop or go back home. As the freezing snowflakes clung to his dark locks of hair that hung down in his face Connor lowered his head to keep the wind from stinging his eyes and wrapped his arms protectively around his chest as he stubbornly wandered further away from home.

Soon afterward Connor found himself aimlessly walking through towering snow covered trees that connected the outskirts of the city to the surrounding forest.

Alone, cold and emotionally distraught Connor ventured deeper into the forest and ignored the numerous red tinted warnings that appeared in his visual processor indicating his low Thirium level and dropping core temperature. Despite overheating for a prolonged period of time Connor's temperature was dropping quickly in response to the cold weather and overall weakened health.

Dismissing one warning after the other Connor needlessly subjected himself to the harsh blizzard swirling around him as he trekked deeper and deeper into the snowbound forest to find something that simply didn't exist.

Outside the warm home and enduring the harsh blizzard himself, Hank knelt beside the fading shoe prints in the snow and estimated that Connor had snuck out of the house in the middle of the night - almost sixteen hours prior to Hank discovering his disappearance. The depth of the snow was a good indicator for time and the keen eye of the skilled senior detective tracked Connor to the front yard and to the sidewalk leading away from the house and toward the outskirts of the city. Following the shoe prints as far as possible Hank determined the approximate direction that the deviant had gone and set out from there to try to pick up his fading trail.

"Fuck. He's got a hell of a headstart."

Checking his phone Hank hoped to see a message from Markus or from anyone else at New Jericho Tower for that matter, but there was nothing waiting for him. Thinking quickly Hank located the app that allowed him to monitor Connor's vital signs and to connect to his dormant tracker to use as a guide, and found a faint signal on his phone that could possibly be Connor's current location.

"I can't wait and see if he comes back." It was cold, getting colder and now very dark. Hank knew time was running out. "I need to find him. Now."

Returning to the house through the front door Hank grabbed onto Sumo's leash and pulled Connor's leather jacket from the hook beside the door before patting his leg to summon Sumo over to where he was standing in the opened doorway.

"Sumo. Come."

The young fluffy dog obeyed the command as he wandered out of the kitchen to sit at Hank's feet as if he knew he needed to help find Connor.

"Come on."

Clipping the leash onto Sumo's leather collar Hank pulled coaxed the dog into following him outside to get to the driveway beside the house and into the car.

"We need to find Connor before things get worse."

The brutal and destructive weather had caused significant damage to the artificial skin over Connor's entire body causing him to pale a few shades whiter, while eating away at the exposed skin on his fingertips, ears and nose that revealed the white plastimetal frame beneath as he endured the unforgiving blizzard. Ice shards clung heavily to his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, giving him an oddly humanly aged appearance. All the while his eyes began to frost over from his dropping core temperature being unable to keep his artificial, yet all too real, tears from freezing against his soulful brown irises. The layer of ice was slowly rendering Connor literally snow-blind as he wandered through the snowy forest.

Using his right arm to shield his eyes from the gusting snow and wind, Connor walked through the dark forest unsure of where he was going or when he'd stop. Every joint in his body ached from the low levels of Thirium being unable to adequately lubricate the joints as he walked, and his internal biocomponents were struggling to function on such a low volume and decreasing core temperature.

With each step he took Connor could feel his heart beginning to slow and his core temperature beginning to drop down to a critically low degree. Every step he took was taking him further from home and closer to death out of sheer stubbornness.

Fighting to keep his legs moving, forcing himself to continue walking forward, Connor ignored every one of his naturally developed instincts as a deviant to retreat from the cold and seek shelter.

Eventually even the most stubborn of people lose their resolve; their strength gives out and it seems they lose their hope.

It was apparent even Connor himself wasn't above this truth.

Nearly blind, hypothermic, heartbroken and weak from low Thirium, the deviant was at the mercy of only his own stubbornness.

Determined to find the wayward deviant before it was too late to do anything to help him, Hank mounted his phone to the dashboard of the car next to his G.P.S. and watched as the signal steadily grew in the strength the further away from the city he drove. With Sumo anxiously sitting in the backseat of the car, his warm body laying atop Connor's leather jacket, the loyal and rather smart dog seemed to understand all too well that he and Hank were on a rescue mission to save one very stubborn and heartbroken deviant from himself. Attentive to everything around them both Hank and Sumo were looking for any sign of Connor.

"Come on, kid..."

Hank stated aloud as the car's headlights struggled to pierce through the darkening night and thickening snow that blew all around the expressway as he searched for the elusive deviant.

"Where'd you go? Where in the hell are you?"

Sumo whimpered once from the backseat while Hank fussed with his phone impatiently waiting for a set of coordinates, or at the very least a direction, to appear on the screen.

"Come on you piece of-" A small blue dot appeared on the G.P.S. map displayed on the phone that strengthened as he drove further away from the city and toward the middle of nowhere. Connor was lost somewhere in the forest. "'Bout time."

Lining up the signal on the phone's map with the second G.P.S. on the dashboard, Hank followed the nearest side road that lead as close to the signal as possible. He had to fight against the powerful blizzard in order to drive along the icy dirt trail that seemingly lead into a dead end located in the heart of the dark and snow filled woods.

The night became colder and darker as the temperature dipped below fifteen degrees and would surely drop even further before the night was over. Thick snowflakes nearly blinded Hank as he drove along the trail carefully in search of Connor all the while trying to hone in on the faint signal that his phone was giving him.

"Fuck. If I go any further the car will get stuck in a damn snowdrift..."

Pulling the car to a stop along the edge of the trail, stopping before the heavy vehicle became lodged in a thick snowbank that cut off access to the rest of the trail beyond it, Hank grabbed his phone from the dashboard and pulled the emergency flashlight from the glove box before opening the backseat's door to let Sumo outside of the car alongside him.

With a firm hand on Sumo's leash, the flashlight shining brightly in the same grip, and Connor's warm jacket tucked under his arm, Hank used his phone in his to try to pinpoint the exact spot of the signal on his display screen without getting lost in the snow himself.

"C'mon Sumo."

Again Hank coaxed the dog into walking and eventually leading the way through the heavy snow and relatively thick, but winter-dead underbrush as he used his training as a first responder to search the forest for his missing friend; his missing son. Holding out the jacket for Sumo to sniff Hank used the loyal dog's sense of smell and moderate training to help him track down Connor.

"Okay, boy. No more kidding around, this is for real." After the dog took in the scent Hank tucked the jacket back under his left arm. "Seek! Find him! Find Connor!"

Sumo tugged at the leash and began whimpering as he seemed to hone in on something and catch Connor's scent being carried through the wind.

"Good boy." Hank took in a deep breath and called out as loudly as he dared. Letting Sumo lead the way Hank began trudging through the snow in search of his missing son. "Connor?! Connor! Answer me!"

Stubbornness was no longer enough to keep the deviant walking.

From an unknown depth within the forest Connor fell to his knees into a deep snowbank as his legs finally gave out from exhaustion. The deviant took in pained cold breaths as the icy wind stung at his ventilation biocomponents; his artificial lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe. Trembling violently from the merciless cold that swirled around him, Connor ever stubbornly dismissed the dozens of error and warning messages from his visual processor, then manually deactivated the protective program to keep the warnings from returning as he continued to wander without purpose trough the icy forest.

Forcing himself to stand back up, forcing his frozen legs back into motion, Connor stood up on shaking limbs as he trudged deeper into the shin-deep snowbank in a fruitless endeavor to find something that he didn't need; to turn his back on his pain and walk away from everything and everyone.

Reaching a small clearing in the forest Connor felt his broken heart suddenly seize mid beat causing his freezing, frostbitten right hand to clutch at his cold chest as if he could hold the remnants of his heart in his palm and cradle it protectively.

Collapsing face forward into the snow before him, one arm splayed outward near his head, the opposite arm pinned under his chest and his legs straight outward from his body, Connor managed to slightly to lift up his head as his failing audio sensors detected some motion from the treeline while his visual sensors failed him entirely. Weak, tired and feeling broken Connor let his head fall back into the snow as he decided to admit defeat at last.

The smothering blizzard began to slowly bury Connor under a steadily thickening layer of ice and snow that turned his black t-shirt white and his dark locks of hair white and gray. Despite the intense cold Connor couldn't feel anything beyond the pain in his broken heart.

Defeated and dying Connor's frosty brown eyes began to slowly close as a layer of cold snow proceeded to bury his form under a sheet of freezing white powder.

During his search Sumo's ear perked up and his big brown eyes stared forward into the brush before him. Letting out a single whimper Sumo pulled on the leash hard and managed to pull the lead out of Hank's cold hand with a strong jerk. Letting out a deep bark followed by more frantic barks and then a howl Sumo charged into the forest as he picked up on the familiar scent. It seemed his long bred instincts as a mountainous search and rescue dog flooded through his mind as he managed to pick up a trail to follow and hone in on the missing deviant.

"Good boy!"

Hank shouted as he chased after Sumo as best as he could through the uneven ankle and shin-deep snow.

"Find him!"

Shining his flashlight through the trees Hank looked for any sign of motion from the missing deviant as Sumo's large form bounded through the snowbanks in front of him.

"Connor? Connor! Where are you?"

The massive bundle of fluff charged through the snow and treeline on a mission and the loyal dog was bound and determined to succeed.

"Connor?" Hank shouted again as he clumsily trudged after Sumo through the snow and dark treeline. "Connor! Answer me! Please!"

Unconscious and motionless in the snow, Connor remained entirely unaware of Sumo's loud barks and howls as the loyal dog finally found him partially buried under a layer of the very cold snow that threatened to end his life. Sumo whimpered and whined as he pressed his nose to the side of Connor's cold neck and began to paw at his arm to try to get a response from the dying deviant. Obeying his natural instincts Sumo laid his upper body over Connor's back and let out loud barks and long howls to guide Hank to his location as he used his own body heat and thick pelt to try to keep Connor as warm as possible until help arrived.

A bright flashlight beam broke through the treeline as Hank followed Sumo's barking and located Connor at long last. Stumbling through the thick snow Hank nearly froze in his tracks at the sight of Connor laying in the snow motionless with Sumo, whose own fur was now covered in clumps of snow, laying over top of him as he was slowly being buried under the snow and ice.

"Connor!?"

Dropping the flashlight in the snow Hank pocketed his phone and stomped through the icy barricade that kept him from the deviant's side.

"Connor! Connor, shit!"

Resting on his knees beside Connor the senior detective unburied Connor's frostbitten, patchy arm to check for a pulse in his wrist but he couldn't feel any motion under his fingertips.

"No, no, no..."

Moving his hand to the side of Connor's neck he checked for the pulse once more but there was still nothing to be found.

"No, don't do this to me, son!"

Pushing Sumo aside Hank grabbed onto Connor's shoulders and turned the frozen deviant over from his chest so he was laying on his back with his shoulders resting against Hank's knees. Sumo immediately laid down over top of Connor's legs as a primal need to keep the deviant warm overrode any command that Hank had issued him.

The intense cold of Connor's skin and exposed plastimetal frame was enough to sting at Hank's palms as he moved Connor onto his back. The sight of the artificial skin missing from Connor's face, neck and arms where the snow had been present for so long made Hank flinch for only a moment. Warily Hank pulled Connor slightly upright with his hand left under the deviant's shoulder, his head falling backward limply, and leaned his left ear down toward Connor's mouth and nose to check for breathing. Just like when he tried to find a pulse there was nothing there.

"...Connor."

Pressing his left ear down against Connor's icy chest Hank listened intently, ignoring the cacophony of the howling wind blowing past his exposed ear as he waited for any sound to emanate from the deviant's icy cold chest. A single feeble beat; whether it was actually there or Hank simply told himself he had heard something because he needed to believe Connor was still alive, he couldn't decide, filled Hank with much needed adrenaline.

Real or not the single beat was good enough. It would have to be, it was all he had.

"Shit..."

Lifting up his head Hank remembered what Connor had told him a few months back about being able to manually bring the deviant out of stasis mode by pressing his fingertips down against his right temple where the L.E.D. had once been. Hank used the trick and tried to rouse Connor from the cold induced state of unconsciousness by pressing his right fingertips against Connor's right temple. After failing to respond to the input Hank shook his head and draped the leather jacket he had brought with him from the car over Connor's frozen body before gently lifting the deviant up into his arms, Sumo reluctantly getting up from the deviant's legs, in order to carry Connor out of the forest.

"Come on, son. I got you."

It was a difficult trek through the thick snow but Hank managed to find his way by simply retracing his footsteps in the dark. He cared less about the flashlight and more for Connor as the bright illumination of the car's headlights through the treeline was a symbolic enough beacon to follow. Sumo trudged through the snow at Hank's right side obediently for a few paces before deciding to lead as he accompanied the two detectives back to the car and out of the forest before the blizzard became too dangerous to travel through.

"I'm with you, son."

Hank stated over the wind as he carried the deviant through the snow. Fortunately Connor was designed to be as nimble as possible and with that came a lighter weight in comparison to other machines; but the heavy snow made the journey as clumsy and slow as ever.

"Listen to me, I'm already with you so that means you have to stay with me. Got it? Stay with me."

Reaching the car with an awkward stumble through the treeline and back onto the trail, Hank fumbled to pull open the door to the backseat with one hand without dropping Connor in the process. As soon as the door was open Hank placed Connor down gently over the length of the soft and warm backseats, leaving the jacket draped over the frozen deviant's chest in the process. Shrugging off his own thick black coat Hank placed it over top of the first coat to try to warm up Connor's freezing and nearly lifeless body.

"Sumo!"

Hank motioned to the opened backseat door and Sumo knowingly jumped inside and resumed laying over Connor's chest at an awkward angle as he too did his best to help the deviant to warm up. He was sitting on the floor behind the front passenger seat and was pressing his upper body down against Connor's motionless chest to keep him warm.

"...Good boy."

Slamming the door shut Hank pulled open the driver's side door and cranked up the heater as high as it could go and directed as much of the offered heat into the back of the car as possible. Feeling the sting of the cold himself Hank shuddered a little as he checked the G.P.S. on his phone and tried to find the nearest possible shelter that would keep Connor safe and bring him back from the brink of death.

"Shit. Forty minutes from the city, forty-five from the deviant refuge... But only eight minutes from the cabin!"

It was then Hank realized exactly how far Connor had wandered and felt incredibly sick to his stomach as he counted the hours that Connor had been lost wandering in the cold.

"How in the fuck did you last for nineteen hours in this blizzard?!"

Maneuvering as carefully as he needed Hank backed the car down the trail and found a small opening alongside the singular pathway to use as a turn-around. Now facing the direction of the main road Hank used the tire tracks the car had previously created and found his way out of the dark forest and back to the road that stretched beyond it.

"Hang on, Connor. Just hang on... Please."

Turning off the G.P.S. on his phone Hank dialed Markus and let the deviant leader know that he had finally found Connor, but he was in deep trouble.

"Markus, I got him." He didn't even have to wait for a single ring before Markus answered. "He's freezing to death and there's no way I can get him back to the city for help in time."

'Thank RA9, you found him!' Markus was genuinely relieved to get the call and was ready to act at any moment. 'Where are you right now?'

"Heading out to the cabin, it's the closest shelter and I have emergency supplies stocked out there."

'Good! Stay there and I'll see if Simon and I can get to you guys out there.'

"No, it's too dangerous." Glancing at Connor's eerily pale face and missing artificial skin along his right cheek in the rearview mirror, Hank internally swore at himself for yelling at Connor the night before. "I'll take care of him and keep you updated. If he gets any worse... I'll let you know."

'Hank, you know as well as I do that if it were any other deviant in Connor's situation-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Connor would risk himself to save them, but I can't let you or Simon do that. I need to take care of this. He's my son and this is my mistake."

'This isn't your fault. Connor's hurting and he reacted in a bad way. He's still so inexperienced with strong negative emotions, and as his friend I should've done more to help him through his pain.'

"I know that, but I'm the one who yelled at him and I'm the one person in this world who knows what he's going through, but I didn't reach out far enough to connect to him." Turning off the main road and down the secondary trail leading to the cabin Hank needed to end the call. "I'll talk to you in the morning and let you know how he's holding up. I'll stay in touch."

'Okay. If you need anything call and I'll find my way out to you.'

Sumo whimpered once from the backseat as he pressed his chin down against Connor's right shoulder and looked at the deviant's blank face with expressively sad eyes.

"We're almost there."

Hank stated coolly as if he needed to calm Sumo down and as if Connor could somehow hear him despite being completely unconscious.

"We'll be out of the cold soon."

Peering at Connor's reflection in the rearview mirror once more Hank felt that sickening pit in his stomach return. Connor was still motionless, not even the shallowest of breaths entered his icy body as he remained as silent as death itself. With patches of his paled artificial skin missing the deviant looked as though he had been left to rot in a ditch; forgotten and lost.

"I'm sorry, son. Please forgive me for pushing you so hard to react that I pushed you away."

The Pace reached the front of the cabin with moderate difficulty as the drive was snowed in heavily and covered in ice. Keeping the car running as he raced up to the front door and unlocked it, Hank awkwardly returned to the car to gather Connor back up in his arms with Sumo bounding out of the vehicle to escort the two detectives inside the comparably warmer but equally dark cabin.

"Okay, Connor. We're here."

Hank struggled to carry the deviant inside the cabin through the blizzard and lay him down on the sofa while he navigated through the poorly lit livingroom. Rushing over to the front door Hank slammed it shut, locked it and flipped on the lights to the cabin to keep out the cold and let the warmth build.

"We're safe."

Sumo shook off the lingering snow from his fur and jumped up onto the sofa to once more keep Connor warm out of a deeply seated instinct as a unique breed of rescue dog. Refusing to back away from his ill master Sumo laid over Connor's legs and stomach while he rested his chin down on Connor's chest.

"That's it. Keep him warm."

Hank urged as he scrambled over to the hallway closet to locate the emergency android first aid kit, human first aid kit and the extra Thirium bottles that had been stored along with it. Dropping the items down on the livingroom floor Hank raced up the staircase to get to the bedrooms and pull every blanket in the cabin from the beds and return them to the sofa.

"You stay with him," he stated out loud more to calm himself than to actually speak to Sumo. "and I'll build a fire."

After draping three quilts over Connor and Sumo to keep the deviant as warm as possible Hank braved the cold once more to get the dry firewood from its storage space in the cellar just outside the cabin's backdoor. With an armload of large, dried out logs and a hasty pace Hank knelt down in front of the large fireplace and quickly placed the tinder and some dried scrap paper inside the hearth to create a warm fire. Fighting with the box of matches that had been stored along with the logs Hank's almost numb fingers finally managed to strike a match and ignite the paper, the flames quickly eating through the scraps and reaching the logs around it.

"Okay, son. This won't be easy but I have to get you warmed up fast."

Pulling the top quilt from the pile over top Connor with a gentle tug Hank smoothed the quilt over the floor in front of the glowing hearth and proceeded to unbury Connor even further. Motioning for Sumo to jump down from the sofa Hank was able to lift up Connor once more, his own arms trembling from the intense cold radiating from Connor's body, and then place him down on the quilt before the steadily building fire.

"Fuck, it's like carrying around a block of ice!"

Connor's light clothing was soaked through with snow and ice that had been partially melted by the warmth of the car and Sumo's fur. Despite the car and the fluffy dog's fur, it still wasn't enough to actually warm Connor himself. Awkwardly Hank pulled off Connor's soaked black t-shirt and tossed it on the floor next to the hearth to dry off and warm up, then proceeded to pull off his snow covered shoes and placed them down near the shirt to dry off as well.

"Sorry about this, but modesty is never spared when your life is on the line."

Mindful not to hurt Connor in the process Hank proceeded to pull off the deviant's snow soaked jeans and left them by the other articles of clothing, and then put his right palm down against Connor's bare chest. He still wasn't breathing and his heart was barely beating. The horrifyingly pale artificial skin that was such a state courtesy of Connor's low Thirium volume and low power mode was thin enough to make his white plastimetal semi visible and was still patchy from the harsh cold destroying the external layers with the android equivalent of frostbite.

"All right, kid. You've made it this far."

Taking the other two quilts from the sofa Hank placed them back over Connor's body to cover him up. Patting the floor beside Connor's upper body lightly, Sumo walked over and laid down beside the deviant again to resume transferring his own body heat over to Connor.

"And I know you can make it through the night. I just need you to wake up for me and let me know you're going to be okay."

Fishing through the human first aid kit Hank pulled out the digital thermometer and placed it between the deviant's teeth and under his tongue. Pressing his left palm up against Connor's jaw Hank was able to hold the device into place until it beeped a few seconds later. The display was less than comforting to the senior detective's eyes: ERROR

"Shit, he's too cold to get a temperature reading."

Daring to leave the livingroom once more Hank walked into the bathroom and grabbed a few towels from the cabinet and found a hot water bottle under the sink. Turning on the tap Hank had to wait a few minutes for the water to finally warm up inside the freezing pipes before he filled up the water bottle with warm, but not too hot, water.

"This should help..."

Taking a knee beside Connor on the floor Hank pulled up the layers of quilts and placed the water bottle over top the deviants upper abdomen near his chest to try to help his core warm up faster. Next Hank took two of the bottles of Thirium he gathered from the hall closet and wrapped them up in their own towels before placing them near the fireplace to warm up the life saving blue blood without it boiling-over by mistake.

Maintaining full focus on his task Hank reached for his coat left abandoned on the sofa and folded it up neatly before placing it under Connor's head as a makeshift pillow. He then draped the leather jacket down over the quilts to create another protective barrier of warmth atop the deviant's still freezing body.

"Now let's get you warmed up..."

Rubbing his hands up and down Connor's buried arms to create from frictional heat Hank hoped that the endeavor would pay off and his efforts weren't in vain. There was still very much about android physiology he needed to learn, but he didn't have the time to stop and ask questions in that moment. Using his emergency first aid training as an officer and first responder as his guide, Hank just followed his instincts and trusted his best judgment in taking care of Connor while trying to reverse the damaging effects of the potentially fatal hypothermia.

"Come on, come on..."

Hank practically begged as he tried to get Connor warmed up without his system going into thermal shock. Once more he tried to manually awaken Connor by pressing his fingertips against the deviant's right temple, but Connor still didn't react.

"Those idiots at CyberLife can make you into a perfect detective but they couldn't give you some form of resistance to the cold? Lazy assholes..."

Replacing his palm down on Connor's chest over the jacket and quilts Hank tried to count the deviant's pulse but his heart was beating so slowly, so weakly, that it was impossible to get an accurate count.

"Fuck!"

Swearing loudly Hank fell back from his knees onto the floor and rubbed his left hand over his bearded chin as he tried to think of a viable solution and quick. Instinctively Hank began rhythmically compressing Connor's chest to force his heart to beat faster and pumping blood as he kept calm over the entire unusual situation.

"Thirium... Your Thirium can freeze, right? You told me something about that once." Trying to use the information to his advantage Hank decided to test a theory. "Your volume is already low and if it's freezing then your heart has nothing to pump, and that's why your heart is beating so slowly... Right? That has to be right."

Reaching for one of the bottles of Thirium resting near the warm hearth Hank felt a twinge of optimism when he felt the gentle heat radiating from the sapphire blue blood inside. Positioning himself near Connor's upper body Hank pulled Connor up and onto his legs until the deviant's shoulders were resting against Hank's chest.

Sumo slipped down lower and laid down over Connor's legs as he watched Hank dealing with the Thirium and adjusting the deviant's position with his hands.

"This won't be fun, but it'll keep you alive."

Slipping his left arm around Connor's chest Hank supported the freezing cold deviant's weight and used his left hand to lower Connor's jaw gently. Opening up the bottle of warmed Thirium with a flick of his thumb Hank carefully and slowly poured the blue blood into Connor's mouth with his right hand, making sure to pour as slowly as possible to avoid choking the deviant in the process.

Waiting for the provided Thirium to flow down Connor's throat at a steady pace Hank held him up against his own body for a little while longer to ensure that the deviant wasn't going to choke. Running his right hand down Connor's right arm to continue to try to use friction to warm him up, Hank looked down at Sumo and let out a weary sigh as the dog stared at Connor's face sadly.

"Let's try this again."

Awkwardly Hank placed the thermometer in Connor's mouth and held it there for a minute and waited for the telltale 'beep'. Looking down at the device's display again Hank was relieved to see it at finally was registering some degree, but it was still too low: eighty-eight point two degrees Fahrenheit.

"It's not great, but at least it's an improvement."

Grabbing the second bottle of Thirium, warmer than it's counterpart from being exposed to the hearth for a while longer, Hank repeated the action and poured the warmed Thirium into Connor's mouth and down his throat. As the warm blue blood began to cycle through his system Connor's core temperature began to rise gradually until his power level had increased enough for his processor to register his dangerously low temperature and initiate the very appropriate and human reaction of shivering to try to keep his lines from freezing over once more and to keep his biocomponents functioning.

As Connor began to shiver Sumo let out a whimper and curled up closer to the deviant while Hank gently laid him back down on the quilt over the floor. Letting the Thirium warm his core internally Hank focused on keeping him warm externally. Peering down at Connor's pale face that now had a pale blue tint around his lips, nose and ears courtesy of the higher Thirium volume and his eerily human responses to the extreme cold, Hank eyed the exposed white plastimetal frame warily through the damaged artificial skin and decided he needed to bandage up the areas that had been affected by the extreme cold.

Before moving away from where Connor was laying Hank tried again to manually reactivate the deviant with a gentle pressure to his right temple, but as with all of the previous attempts Connor simply didn't respond. His processor were still too cold and his heart was beating too slow to reboot.

"You're lucky we kept a first aid kit all the way out here."

Hank spoke to Connor as he unrolled the clean gauze bandages from the android first aid kit and wrapped up Connor's hands, fingers, wrists and partially up his forearms where his plastimetal frame had been exposed by the damaging cold snow and ice.

"Then again, if I hadn't gotten bit by that damn snake over the summer then you wouldn't have thought to keep such a well-stocked kit out here for the two of us, so... I guess it was good thing I got bit after all."

Gently placing a bandage under Connor's right eye, over the bridge of his nose, and around his neck where the artificial skin had been destroyed by the cold, Hank pressed the back of his left hand against Connor's cheek and felt the lingering icy chill that was consuming the deviant's body.

Placing his right palm back over Connor's chest Hank could feel the deviant's heart still struggling to beat and performed two more rounds of compressions to ensure the warmed Thirium was cycling through Connor's system adequately. The compressions alone failed to elicit any form of response from the freezing deviant which only made Hank's own heart sink.

"Don't give up, all right? You didn't give up on me when I was at my lowest and I sure as hell won't give up on you. Right now I need you to promise you won't give up on yourself and pull through. You're too strong and stubborn to let a stupid snowstorm be the death of you."

After tucking both of Connor's arms back under the quilts Hank sat back down on the floor and pulled the towel that had been wrapped around one of the Thirium bottles onto his lap and pulled the shivering deviant's back up from the floor so his shoulders were resting against the warm, dry towel as he rested against Hank's lap. Using the second warm towel Hank dried off Connor's still damp hair a little and tossed the towel over to the pile of damp clothes to dry off and warm up once again.

Remembering that his phone had the app that monitored Connor's vital signs still active Hank pulled the phone from his coat pocket as it rested over Connor's chest and checked the display. Connor's Thirium volume had reached a much more stable ninety-two percent, his heart rate was impossibly slow for a human at only fourteen beats per minute and his ventilation was still non-existent, while his core temperature had reached ninety-one point three degrees Fahrenheit.

Connor was weak but he was still in fact alive.

"I'm so sorry kid. I knew you were hurting but I didn't really realize how bad the pain was until it was too late. I should've known better."

Resting his palm over Connor's forehead and over top his unruly hair Hank continued to speak to Connor softly.

"I know exactly what you're going through. I felt just as broken, horrible, alone and worthless when I lost Barbara. The only thing that got me through it all was Cole. The only thing you have is me, and I wasn't doing a very good job of trying to look after you. I guess I was afraid if I spoke up about it I'd start missing Barb as badly as I did back then and I know I wouldn't be able to take it anymore."

Connor as expected didn't respond to his father's words.

"Come on, kid."

Pleading for his son to hold on and recover from the cold Hank ran his hand over Connor's hair in a comforting manner to keep the deviant as calm and comfortable as possible.

"Just hold on..."

Hours passed by slowly and the blizzard raged on outside the cabin with gusting wind and thick swirling snowflakes. As ice built up over the windows the view to the world outside became increasing opaque and the cabin itself became slowly colder save for the livingroom with the burning hearth providing both heat and light. As Hank felt himself drifting off to a light sleep he suddenly became aware of Connor's shivering intensifying as the deviant's system began to slowly reboot itself.

From under the quilts Connor's hands flinched and flexed a little as his legs tried to move about, but his joints were still too cold to allow the Thirium to flow properly limiting his movements entirely. It was as if Connor were trapped in his own frozen body and would have to wait to thaw out before he could move on his own again.

"Connor?"

Hank kept his voice low as he addressed the deviant calmly.

"Son? Can you hear me?"

The deviant began to mutter incoherently in his state of unconsciousness as his processors rebooted. Connor's eyes moved back and forth under his closed eyelids as his head turned slightly in response to the senior detective's voice. Letting out a weak groan of distress Connor's arms jerked violently as if he were trying to fend off an unseen opponent and only tensed further when Hank tried to put his hands on Connor's arms over the quilts to hold him still.

"Connor? It's okay! You're having a nightmare!"

Too weak to talk or fully comprehend was happening around him, Connor tried to break free from Hank's already light grip around his shoulders and nearly shouted in panic. Though no sound escaped his lips Hank was able to understand the name that Connor had silently shouted in fear: 'Amanda'.

"Connor!"

Keeping his hands in place Hank tried to break through Connor's fear and reach him on some form of subconscious level.

"Wake up! You're safe! She isn't here and I have you! You're okay..."

As Hank's voice reached his ears Connor stopped his weak struggle and began to relax a little, though his body continued to shiver violently. Slowly glassy brown irises returned to the world through half-lidded eyelids, but there was still a layer of blinding frost that obstructed the deviant's eyesight leaving him temporarily blind.

"Connor, you're safe." Softening his voice Hank sounded as calm as possible to keep Connor himself calm. "You're in the cabin with me and Sumo. You're going to be okay."

"...H-Hank." Connor's voice stuttered and cracked as he recognized Hank and responded in a painfully hoarse tone. Sumo lifted his head up and wagged his tail once as Connor regained consciousness. "I... I c-can't s-see."

"Take it easy, you're safe." Keeping his own voice level for the sake of Connor's peace of mind Hank did his best to reassure him and to keep Connor talking so he wouldn't fall back asleep just yet. Pressing his palm against the deviant's forehead made sure that Connor knew exactly where he was. "Hey? Do you remember what happened?"

"...I... I l-left. I'm s-sorry."

"I am too, son. I shouldn't have turned my back on you."

"...C-Cold."

"I know, I'm working on it." Patting twice on Connor's shoulder with his other hand he called Sumo to cuddle up closer against Connor's chest and off his legs for a while. As the fluffy dog cuddled down against the deviant's abdomen Connor's chest hitched a little as he took in a very shallow breath. "You were almost frozen solid when I found you, I was worried you weren't going to wake up this time."

"...It d-doesn't matter. N-No one would m-miss me."

"No, Connor! I'd miss you. And Markus, North, everyone at the tower would miss you." Looking down at Sumo whimpering slightly and trying to nudge Connor's right arm under the blanket with his nose Hank knew he needed to keep the unstable deviant grounded. "Sumo would miss you, too. And Joel, Chris, Tina, Ben, Fowler, hell maybe even Gavin would miss you. And Abby... She'd miss you for sure."

"...W-Why?" Connor stubbornly questioned with a frustrated tone. "I'm j-just a m-machine."

"No, you're not. You're alive, and my son."

"...N-Not alive. When I sh-shutdown there w-will be n-nothing. There is n-no afterlife f-for androids. S-Skye is just... gone."

"You're wrong. You ARE alive."

"H-How do you kn-know?"

"Like this." Hank lightly picked up Connor's bandaged left hand from beneath the layered quilts and pressed it to the center of the deviant's own chest and rested it over the Thirium pump that was beating faster and stronger now that Connor had more Thirium in his system and had warmed up from the intense cold. "You feel that?"

"...Yes."

"What is it?"

"M-My Thirium-"

"Heart." Hank interrupted quickly and corrected the deviant. "It's your heart. If you have a beating heart then you have a soul. I know it."

Connor continued to shiver and for the first time since the night of the riot he didn't try to flinch away from Hank's embrace as the senior detective held onto him in a supportive manner. The deviant was trying to not cry, not that he could with his optical units frozen over, but the gesture and the emotion behind it was still intense. "...I... I unders-stand n-now."

"What?" The comment seemed so out of place to the senior detective after everything that had happened. "What do you understand?"

"...Th-The n-night you p-pulled your g-gun on m-me at the br-bridge." Connor closed his blinded eyes and stifled a sob. Forcing himself to clear his throat and speak as steadily as possible Connor thought back to the strange night that he and Hank had gone to the park after investigating the murder at the infamous and now closed 'Eden Club'. "I a-asked you wh-why you were s-so d-determ-mined to k-kill yourself. You s-said there are s-some things y-you j-just c-can't forget. N-Now I u-understand."

"Oh, son..." Pulling Connor up so his shoulders were pressed against his own chest Hank wrapped his other arm around the deviant to hold him in a tight warm hug. "Please don't think like that. I'm so sorry that you're hurting so bad."

"I g-get it, I tr-truly unders-stand. The p-pain..." Icy cold tears ran from Connor's closed eyes down his pale face as he spoke. "It's b-beyond words. I d-don't want to f-feel it anymore. I don't w-want to f-feel anything, an-anymore!"

"Connor, son, listen to me." Tightening his hug around Connor through his paternal instincts to try to calm and protect the deviant, Hank found the courage to admit that he was still in pain and mourning over the loss of his family; over the losses of Barbara and Cole. "You can't shut yourself off from the world and force yourself to be numb to keep the pain away. You want to keep all the bad feelings out, but if you close yourself off from emotions or the world to keep the bad stuff out of your heart then you won't be able to let any of the good stuff in."

"W-Why?! Why d-do I have t-to feel b-bad things?"

"...Because that's how life is. Think of it like this," Hank tried to explain the give and take of life without it being too confusing or philosophical but he was running out of ideas. "we can't have good if there wasn't something bad to balance it out and make us appreciate the good. We wouldn't be able to see it for what it was. It's like how we need to have darkness in order to see light. And if there wasn't any light then shadows couldn't be created. So one can't exist without the other; just like good and bad. Do you understand?"

Closing his eyes tighter Connor whimpered and made his chest hitch again on the emotional breath. "...It hurts."

"I know it does." Hank empathized sincerely as he moved his hand up to Connor's hairline and pressed the deviant's head up against his chest. "It's going to hurt for a while, but you'll survive it... I did and I was an alcoholic old prick who played with a loaded gun whenever I got bored. If I can survive then I know you will, too."

"...I don't want t-to hurt anymore." The deviant was finally beginning to breakdown and cry as he let his pained emotions out at long last. "I can't d-do this alone."

"You're not alone. You won't be going through this alone, I won't let you." Rubbing Connor's hair lightly Hank tried to comfort the emotionally destroyed deviant as he endured the horrible pain lingering in his shattered heart. "I'm going to look after you, son. I'm your father and I won't let you deal with the worst pain in life by yourself."

Reminding the deviant of his family Hank pulled Connor up against his chest even tighter as the deviant began to finally, openly cry about the loss of Skye instead of holding his grief inside. All of the pain had begun to fester into a darkness that threatened to take his life in the same manner that had nearly taken Hank's those three years prior, but with the support of his family Connor would find his way back to the light.

Weeping from the fragmented depths of his broken, shadowed heart Connor didn't say anything as Hank held him as he cried. Sumo cuddled down over his lap sympathetically and whimpered again.

"I miss her!" Connor wept he finally let out his pain and admitted the true agony he had endured. "I c-can't stop thinking a-about her!"

"...I know." Speaking from the depths of his own aching heart Hank remembered what Connor had said about Skye NOT wanting her last moments to be of suffering, but of happiness. Hank knew that Skye would want Connor to be happy as well. "Let me ask you this: If it was you who had died in the riot and Skye had lived, would you want her to tear herself apart and wallow in sorrow?"

"N-No! Of course not..."

"Would she want you or anyone else to tear themselves apart for any reason?"

"...No."

"So, she'd want you to be happy?"

"...Y-Yes." Connor managed to stop weeping long enough to open his frosty eyes and get a faint glimpse of the glowing hearth beside him, to see Sumo laying over his lap and to see Hank's arms holding onto him in a tight embrace. "She... told m-me I deserved t-to be h-happy."

"And she wasn't wrong. You do deserve to be happy, son. You just need to believe it for yourself and find a way to be happy even after you've gone through tragedy. It isn't betraying her memory to let yourself be sad for a while then moving on being happy again."

"...How? How d-do I move on?"

"With time. Like I said, it's going to hurt for a long time, but with each passing day it'll start to hurt a little less. You just have to remember that pain is a part of living and without it we wouldn't be able to appreciate the moments where we feel peace."

Connor lifted his bandaged right hand up, his arm struggling to move as his limb wasn't fully thawed, and wiped away his tears as his vision began to clear. He began to stop shivering slightly, but he was still dangerously hypothermic. "...Why does it have to h-hurt so much?"

"Damned if I know."

"How do I s-stop thinking about it? I d-don't want t-to think about it... N-Not anymore." Connor finally took in a deep breath for the first time since he was subjected to the lethal cold. As he let it out slowly he steadied himself and collected his racing thoughts. "I don't w-want to f-forget Skye, but I d-don't want to think about h-her death anymore. Death is... it's so ins-significant compared t-to life."

"You're right about that. But try thinking of it this way:" Letting himself smirk a little Hank offered some wise advice he thought was appropriate for the odd moment. "'No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so'."

"...'A Study in Scarlet'." Connor immediately recognized the quote and gave Hank an appreciative but sleepy glance. "Sh-Sherlock Holmes."

"Yup. And you understand what that means, right?"

"...Yes. If s-something is im-important than it's w-worth remembering, even if o-other people don't s-see it."

"Don't feel bad for feeling bad. It's normal. You need to accept it, acknowledge it and find a way to cope with it." Hank remembered his own struggle in the past when dealing with the death of a loved one and made sure to advise Connor against it. "Stay away from the alcohol, though. It makes you do some incredibly shitty, reckless things. And some of those things you can't undo... Like getting a tattoo on your left ass cheek that says 'Kiss This' in olde English. Not talking about me, I swear."

"...Why does this h-hurt more than when I lost L-Lucas?"

"Well, a piece of Lucas is still with you. You can still talk to him from time to time, so I think that lessened the pain for you."

"And I'll n-never see Skye a-again..."

"Sure you will." Hank proclaimed boldly from where he sat with the deviant on his lap. "I know it."

"H-How?"

"The same way I'll see Barb and Cole again. We'll meet again on the other side. Just like they're waiting for me, Skye is waiting for you."

"...I wish I could b-believe that." Connor's eyes began to close again as what little strength he regained began to ebb away. "I r-really do."

"Just try, that's all I ask. It won't be easy, but you can do it."

"...Okay." Connor's voice was fading whisper as he struggled to remain awake for a little while longer. "I'll t-try to believe."

"You're exhausted." Hank knew that Connor was still incredibly weak and losing the fight to remain awake. "Try to get some more sleep."

"...I don't w-want to s-sleep."

"Yeah, well, tough shit. You need to rest. As soon as the storm dies down we're heading back to the city so you can see a technician and make sure you didn't suffer any permanent damage." Feeling relived at last Hank laughed a little as he rubbed his hand through Connor's hair again before patting him once on the shoulder. "Fuck. Too bad that cold didn't freeze some of that stubbornness out of your thick bullhead."

"...S-Sorry for s-scaring you."

"It's okay, it wasn't the first time and it won't be the last. You may not have been born a human, but you're as impulsive and crazy as they come. Guess that's for the best." The senior detective and father was trying to remain as calm and understanding as possible. "If you were biologically my son I think you'd be twice as stubborn and half as patient." Hank carefully moved back and guided Connor down to lay flat on the quilt over the floor to rest again. "Either way, I'm proud to call you my son. Hard to believe you were once a cold heartless machine, and now you're a warm hearted deviant."

"...I'm also s-sorry for b-being a prick."

"You weren't." It stung to hear Connor repeat the insult and Hank wanted to kick his own ass for saying it. "You were just upset, I shouldn't have called you a prick before. I'm sorry."

"It's o-okay." Connor was still cold but he was no longer in danger of freezing to death now that he had been taken to the cabin and warmed back up by Hank's efforts. Watching through heavy eyelids and blurry eyes as Hank put another log on the fire Connor ran his bandaged hand over his face to wipe away the lingering tears and paused for a moment when he felt the warm bandage on his face. "Thank you for f-finding me." Noting the bandages, his critical error warnings and overwhelming sense of weakness Connor realized how close he was to death. "You s-saved my life. Again."

"Always." Flashing Connor an amused smirk he pointed at the deviant with a playful gesture. "Just don't jump out of anymore windows, got it?"

"...G-Got it."

"That's good. Now, get some sleep, son. I'll keep the fire going and Sumo will keep you company until it's safe to leave tomorrow afternoon."

Connor's hand fell from his face and onto Sumo's head where he instinctively began to rub the dog's ears with his stilted fingers, and Sumo's tail thumped rhythmically against the hardwood floor in approval. As the dog cuddled up heavily against his side Connor felt mildly relieved and seeing Hank in person; his very presence that one of a fierce and loyal protector who had taken him in as his own, was enough to begin to thaw the layer of emotional shadowy ice he let grow over his broken heart.

"...Aren't you t-tired?" Connor dared to ask with a genuine concern in his shaking, cold voice. "You h-have to b-be exhaust-ted, t-too."

Smiling while discreetly shaking his head at Connor's unfailingly selfless behavior, Hank answered honestly. "A little. But I'll be fine." Dusting off his hands to rid his palms of dirty ash Hank gave Connor a reassuring glance over his shoulder as the deviant watched him with a frightened gaze in his still somewhat frosty eyes. "Connor, listen to me. You will get through this and I'll help you for as long as you need me. I promise."

"...What if I n-need you in m-my life forever?"

"Then that's how long I'll be there." The fatherly detective replied without hesitation. "But I get the feeling you'll be the one looking out for me and your own family in time. Just be patient."

The notion of a family was still powerful in Connor's mind and it made the pain in his heart mildly lessen. "Thank you... dad."

"You don't have to thank me for that, but you're welcome all the same." The desire to keep talking to keep Connor and keep him from closing himself off again was almost irresistible to the compassionate senior detective, especially after being called 'dad'. "Hey, uh," Hank sat down on the floor beside the warm hearth as he took care of Connor's clothes and the towels to keep his anxious hands busy. It wasn't easy but Hank forced himself to open up about this past with Barbara or his few final years with Cole. "did I ever tell you about how Barbara and I first met?"

"...You w-were assigned as p-partners at the p-precinct." Connor's eyes fell shut from fatigue but he was still very much alert and conscious to the world around him as Hank and Sumo hovered protectively over him. "A-And Captain Fowler helped keep your m-marriage a secret s-so you could continue to w-work together as p-partners in the pr-precinct."

"That's right, but there's more to the story than us just meeting in the precinct and falling head-over-heels for each other." Setting aside the drying garments and towels Hank cleared his voice nervously as he prepared to tell Connor about his past and meeting the love of his life. "It's going to be a long night, so, uh, I'll tell you more about her. Maybe it can give you some insight into love and loss... If not, well, at least it'll help pass the time."

-next chapter-