Without any further complications or setbacks from his previous illnesses, Connor was resting comfortably on the couch with Sumo laying on the floor beside him between the couch and the coffee table. The massive dog was always keeping the two detectives company whenever they were sick or injured so it wasn't unusual to see the loyal pooch on the floor keeping an eye on Connor. But as Connor healed Hank decided that the deviant didn't need to have him constantly checking in on him anymore and returned to his own bedroom for the rest of the unseasonably chilly night to get some sleep in the comfort of his own bed as opposed to the old recliner.

The house was quiet save for the gentle thrum of the furnace automatically turning on as the temperature outside dipped back down to freezing temperatures as spring combated against the stubborn, lingering winter. The late night continued into early morning without incident until a warning sensor awoke Connor from his rest mode causing the deviant to slowly sit upright on the couch and instinctively run a scan over the house.

Connor's senses felt somehow dulled as a mild pressure built up in his head. Running a self diagnostic he found an alarming percentage of carbon monoxide building up in his ventilation biocomponents causing his system to alert him to the danger. Forcing himself to focus Connor rose from the couch and made his way to the laundry room connected to the kitchen and opened the second door leading to the utility room of the house.

Nearly overwhelmed by concentrated carbon monoxide Connor located the source of the dangerous leak coming from a failed emergency shutoff valve connected to the furnace. How the valve had failed was readily seen, but that didn't change the fact that house was now steadily filling with the potentially lethal gas.

"Shit."

Cybernetically Connor turned off the furnace and shut the door behind him as he stumbled out of the two rooms back through the kitchen and nearly fell against the couch as he reached the livingroom. Issuing a cybernetic emergency call to 911 regarding the dangerous leak Connor proceeded to make his way down the hallway and into Hank's bedroom. Without bothering to knock on the closed door Connor turned the knob and made his way into the bedroom to alert the senior detective to the danger.

"Hank?" Grabbing onto Hank's left shoulder Connor shook him once, then twice when he didn't get a response. "Hank!"

Hank was laying on his right side and seemingly lost in a deep sleep under the thick quilt. Connor pressed his left fingertips to the left side of Hank's neck and found a slow, weak pulse under his fingertips accompanied by Hank's rapid, distressed breaths. More alarming was the bright red coloration on Hank's nose and his cheeks from the build up of the poison and lack of adequate oxygen supply in his bloodstream.

"Hank?" Shaking the senior detective's shoulder harder Connor fell to his knees and leaned against the side of the bed as fatigue stole his strength. "...Dad?"

Completely unresponsive to Connor's voice and nearly motionless on the bed, Hank had fallen unconscious and remained completely unaware of the silent danger threatening to take his life as he slept.

"...Fuck."

Swearing was something Connor only did while under extreme emotional duress or worry, and right now his reactions were justified. Taking the quilt that was already draped over the unconscious detective Connor wrapped it around Hank as best as he could to stave off the impending cold.

"This won't be pleasant, but it's necessary."

Lifting Hank up from the bed and into his arms as best as possible Connor proceeded to carry Hank out of the bedroom, down the hallway and toward the front door in the livingroom. Fumbling with one hand to get to the doorknob, Connor pulled the door open and carried Hank outside fairly quickly. Kneeling down slowly Connor laid Hank gently down on the front lawn on the cold but, thankfully, dry grass.

Breathing deeply to cleanse the carbon monoxide from his own system Connor looked up at the sight of the approaching flashing lights of the incoming fire truck and ambulance, and turned to look back over his shoulder to the house. While most people would've called him foolish for going back inside Connor knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left Sumo behind.

It didn't take the deviant long to jog back to the house and find Sumo laying on his side beside on the floor beside the couch and not moving. Connor wrapped his arms around the massive fluffy body of the unconscious dog and hefted him outside just as the fire engine parked out front of the house. Two paramedics exited the back of the ambulance calmly and went over to where Hank was laying and looked up at Connor as the deviant rejoined the unconscious detective and placed Sumo on the grass beside him.

A firefighter walked up to Connor and addressed him a level voice as he placed a protective mask over his own face. "Is there anyone else inside the house?"

"N-No." Connor stammered in a shaking voice that carried an electronic reverb. His system was trying to recalibrate his voice modulator as the necessary air used to allow him to speak had been compromised by the carbon monoxide he had breathed in while in rest mode. "Everyone is outside."

"Android?" The first paramedic, a red-head named Sasha, asked with an arched eyebrow at the sound of Connor's voice as she pressed the bell of her stethoscope against Hank's chest. "Your voice doesn't sound right."

"Correct. Hank is human and has been unconscious for an unknown length of time."

"Labored breath sounds and mild tachycardia. Start him on one-hundred percent oxygen." The skilled paramedic told her partner, a dark haired man named 'Carlos', who quickly set about securing an oxygen mask over Hank's face. Noting Connor's unusual complexion she addressed the android accordingly. "How about you?"

"Me?"

"Your face looks a little blue. I don't have to be a technician to know that's not normal for an android."

Like how Hank's face had flushed due to the toxin in his bloodstream Connor's face was slightly flushed and displayed an unhealthy pallor that was indicative of poor oxygenation as his compromised ventilation system failed to properly cycle oxygen throughout his entire core.

Connor shook his head a little as he ran a self diagnostic and informed her of the lingering percentage of carbon monoxide in his system. "...My oxygen level is currently at sixty-three percent. Thirty-seven percent is carbon monoxide but the latter percentage is slowly beginning to decline."

"Too slow for my comfort." Placing a second oxygen mask over Connor's face Sasha then pressed her stethoscope against Connor's chest just as she had done to Hank a moment prior. While the instrument was the inspiration for the android audioscope it wasn't as efficient at detecting the internal valves of the Thirium pump and ventilation biocomponents as a technician would normally require. "Your heart rate, or maybe I should say Thirium pump rate, sounds a little fast. Are you having any other symptoms that would mimic a human?"

Pulling the oxygen mask away from his face to speak more clearly Connor answered the question honestly. "...I have a painful pressure in my head and I feel lethargic."

"What about nausea?"

"No. My artificial stomach hasn't been affected."

"Dizziness?"

"No."

"Weakness?"

"Yes, but that is a preexisting condition."

"Well, you're getting the back of that ambulance anyway. I don't want to take any chances."

Connor looked over at Hank as the second paramedic checked his vital signs carefully. It was eerie to see Hank so still, so unknowingly cooperative with the paramedics. Relieved to see that Hank was still breathing and still alive, Connor fell back onto his hip on the cool grass and proceeded to run his right hand over Sumo's fur as the Saint Bernard also remained unconscious.

"...Can you do anything for Sumo?"

Carlos looked over the massive dog and gave Connor a subtle nod. "The fire department treats injured animals all the time. They'll make sure your dog is okay. Hell, one of the guys on call tonight has a wife who's a vet."

"That's somewhat comforting."

"Can you walk or do you need a gurney, too?"

"I can walk." Connor confirmed as he watched the two paramedics carefully lift Hank up from the grass and place him on the awaiting gurney. "I'm not dizzy in the slightest."

Keeping the same quilt already wrapped over Hank's body in place, the two paramedics worked on getting Hank's oxygen level up without causing oxygen toxicity syndrome in the process.

"Come on." Motioning for Connor to carefully stand up and follow after her, Sasha showed Connor to the back of the ambulance and gestured to the bench secured to the back of the cab to sit down. There was enough room for Connor to sit upright next to the kind paramedic while she and her partner tended to Hank who was laying on the gurney between the two benches on either side of the ambulance. "Don't take off that mask and keep tabs on your oxygen level for me."

"I will do so." Connor remained quiet and cooperative as he watched Hank's slow heartbeat appeared on the now attached cardiac monitor courtesy of the paramedics treating him. The beat was slower than what was deemed healthy but at least it was still there. "Just help Hank."

It was almost six hours later after being taken to the hospital that Hank finally began to regain consciousness. Blue irises began to flit back and forth under his closed heavy eyelids as the sound of a cardiac monitor quietly 'beeping' filled his ears. A soft pressure of a blood pressure cuff wrapped around his left bicep made him aware of his limbs, a lightweight mask over his nose and mouth confirmed he wasn't imagining the sense of pressure and a familiar presence at his side pulled him back into the world of the living while an accompanying headache made him pine for death.

Reaching up with a weak right hand, his index fingertip holding an oxometer clipped into place, Hank tried to pull back the oxygen mask only to be reprimanded by the deviant sitting beside him.

"Leave it in place, you still need it."

"...Connor." Hank's eyes partially opened and he stared with blurry vision at the deviant watching over him. "...What the fuck happened? Why am I in the damn hospital?"

"The furnace had a defect and caused a carbon monoxide leak. We're going to be okay, that includes Sumo, and the fire department is currently investigating the cause of the leak itself."

"You're not sick again are you?"

"I am, but not as sick as you currently are." Connor confirmed honestly as he stayed at Hank's bedside in an uncomfortable plastic chair. "My system alerted me to the danger and deactivated my rest mode accordingly before any permanent damage could occur."

"So, you're a walking, talking carbon monoxide detector?" Hank joked lightly as he began to fully regain his senses. "That's handy."

A nurse walked into the room to check in on the two patients and in turn she scolded Connor in a firm but non-aggressive voice. "Connor, you need to stay in your bed to rest."

Hank smirked as he could feel a wash of embarrassment fall over the deviant without even needing to look at him.

"I apologize." Standing up from the chair Connor returned to his bed a few feet from Hank's bed and laid down as instructed. "I just wanted-"

"I know." The nurse was very understanding and empathetic, a sure sign that she truly loved her job and had been a nurse for many years. As she placed the oxygen mask back over Connor's face she also reattached the android-unique oxometer to his own fingertip and checked the wireless sensor pad over his chest; two monitors that Connor was able to temporarily deactivate without drawing attention. "But you're both suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and you both need to rest."

Hank called out from his own bed as he blinked a few times and cleared up his vision. "You might have to strap him down to the bed, nurse. He doesn't listen very well."

The nurse saw the faint blue blush on Connor's face and gave him a reassuring smile. "I don't think that will be necessary, as long as he doesn't remove any more monitors and lets himself actually rest, that is."

Looking more like a scolded child than he did a fearless detective Connor replied in a low, sheepish voice. "...Of course."

"By the way," the nurse pulled her phone out of her back pocket and showed Connor a picture that had been texted to her. "your dog is fine. He woke up at the vet clinic a few hours ago and is already showing signs of recovery."

Connor looked at the photo and was happy to see Sumo laying on a soft pillow in a large kennel at the veterinary clinic with a small purple bandage around his his front right leg where an I.V. had been started to give the dog some fluids. Sumo seemed completely content. "I'm glad."

Speaking up again Hank asked about the furnace back at the house. "What did the fire department have to say?"

"It looks like the furnace had a defective emergency shut off valve." The nurse replied casually as she had spoken to the firefighters after they called the hospital to give some details about the incident. "They took the liberty of removing the faulty furnace after ventilating your house. You can return home as soon as you're discharged, but it'll be a little cold for a while."

"Better off cold than dead."

As the nurse left the room to inform their doctor that the two detectives had regained consciousness and were showing strong vital signs, Connor let out a breathy sigh and leaned back in his bed. "I hate the cold."

"So do I, but I hate funerals even more."

"Do we still have to report to work today?"

"What time is it?"

"It's eleven-sixteen in the morning."

"Fuck no! I'm not spending the night in the hospital and going to work the following morning or afternoon. I don't need a paycheck that bad."

"...Fair enough."

"Connor?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for saving my ass tonight. Guess I should've mentioned that a lot of the appliances in the house were already pretty old when you moved in."

"We're both at fault. I should've performed a more thorough scan on the house to ensure everything was meeting required specifications."

"It was my house and my responsibility."

"And I'm your partner. Your life is my responsibility."

"No, you're not just my partner, you're my friend AND my son. I'm the one who's responsible."

The guilt in Hank's voice, though touching, was unfounded. "Perhaps this is a situation where we are both at fault and must make a conscious decision to never make a gross oversight such as this ever again."

"Fair enough." Hank parroted the deviant's own words sharply. Giving Connor an appreciative grin Hank closed his eyes and tried to get some more rest as the two were now taking the entire day off to recover. "Thanks all the same for having my back."

"You're welcome." Getting comfortable on his bed Connor did his best to rest and avoid any further incidents. "After all, that's what families do for one another, right?"

"Right, son. That's what families do."

-next chapter-