It had been a full month since the failed assault from Quondam had left the entire city in a righteous panic. There had been no further threats posted by the mysterious masked man who was believed to be the ring leader of the underground hate group, but he was still wanted for questioning. Normally Connor would've been studiously looking over the collected evidence and theorizing on the true identity of the man in question, but on that day he simply couldn't seem to focus on anything. The unusual lack of dedication didn't pass by unnoticed by Hank who had been watching Connor curiously through the transparent glass wall of his private office.

Connor had been quiet all that morning and only answered quiet 'yes' and 'no' questions before they left the house. At this moment he looked like he was trying to not emotionally breakdown and he seemed completely disinterested in the world around him. Pressing his left palm to the side of his face Connor leaned against his arm and stared through the terminal screen in front of him.

Knowing that something was in fact wrong Hank left his office and joined Connor at his desk quietly. Sitting down at his old desk across from Connor the senior detective waited for a few minutes to see if Connor would look up or say something to him first, but when the deviant didn't respond he took the initiative to begin the conversation.

"Connor." Hank kept his voice low to not draw the attention of the rest of the bullpen. "What's on your mind?"

"...I'm distracted."

"I can see that, but why? You look like you're trying to carry the entire world on your shoulders again."

"Today is..." Lowering his voice a little Connor swallowed once to keep himself from letting out an emotional whimper as he spoke with Hank. "Today is my one year anniversary. With Skye."

"Oh, shit..." Everything suddenly made sense. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"This case-"

"Isn't going anywhere." Hank interrupted sharply as he deeply empathized with Connor's pain. "You're not the only one working on it."

"I can't seem to focus on it, or anything else for that matter. I just feel... sad."

"Yeah, kid. I know." Standing up from the desk Hank reached over to the terminal screen in front of Connor and turned it off. "Clock-out and go do something to honor Skye's memory. We'll work on the case for you."

"...Thank you, dad."

"Sure. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will." Rising from his seat Connor tried to appear as emotionally composed as he could, but there was no mistaking the pain in his soulful brown eyes. "I will see you at home this evening."

As the mourning deviant took his leave of the precinct Hank returned to his office to resume his own investigation into the all too important case at hand. But he too was suddenly distracted by past grief. Returning to his desk Hank looked down at his empty coffee mug and sighed as he looked over at the breakroom through the the transparent wall.

"Hope someone bothered to make a fresh pot of coffee for once."

Discreetly Hank glanced over to the top left corner of his desk and glanced down at the framed photograph of his late wife, Barbara holding their late son, Cole, in her arms. She was smiling with maternal pride as she held the toddler in her arms in a warm hug and seemed so truly and purely happy in that single image that would keep her happiness alive for the rest of time.

"I bet you'd be just as beautiful today as you were then, Barb."

Two knocks against the door to the office drew Hank's attention away from the photograph as Gavin opened the door. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Cap'." Pointing toward the precinct's front door with a thumb over his shoulder, Gavin motioned to where Connor had just gone. "Can I ask what's going on with Connor?"

"It's private." Turning away from the photograph he grabbed onto his empty coffee mug as if he were about to get up to get a refill. "But he's fine. Don't worry about him."

"Cool, cool, right. So... he's going to be gone for a while?"

"Yeeeeah..." Sensing something in the air Hank gave the Sergeant a suspicious glance. "What of it?"

"Nothing! Nothing..." Obviously Gavin was nervous about something and kept awkwardly shifting his weight on his feet where he stood. "Uh, can I... Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"...Sure." Putting his mug back down Hank leaned back in his seat and gave Gavin a studious glance as he watched the way the detective was trying to work up his nerves to keep talking. "Something wrong?"

"Not exactly. It's just... There's something really important I need to tell you." Closing the door behind himself Gavin timidly made his way over to Hank's desk wringing his hands together nervously before himself and sat down in the vacant chair across from Hank. He looked like a kid who was just sent to the principal's office and it almost made Hank chuckle. "And just so you know, I wanted to tell you about this WAY earlier, but I was sworn to NOT say anything until now."

"Gavin," Hank was thoroughly intrigued by the Sergeant's behavior as Gavin sat down across from him. Activating the frost over the glass walls around them for the sake of added privacy Hank urged Gavin to talk to him. "what's going on? What do I need to know?"

With gorgeous assorted flowers in his hands Connor arrived at the android cemetery where his late bondmate had been laid to rest and stood before her headstone with a powerful ache in his beating heart. Kneeling down in front of the grave Connor placed a white lily down on the headstone and sighed before placing a second lily on Lucas's grave right next to where Skye had been laid to rest. The sight of Skye's name engraved on the nameplate only reminded Connor that she was truly gone and unlike Lucas a piece of her consciousness hadn't been spared and couldn't be transferred into another android model to give her a second chance at life.

"Hi. I remembered to visit."

Finally allowing his heavy tears to fall Connor spoke to his departed bondmate with an emotionally taxed tone.

"I was hoping I could finish my shift before I came to visit you, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. Based on Hank's reactions that was normal and he insisted that I do what I needed to do to mourn, and I so I decided to come here. I'm glad he understands my feelings, but I'm also sad that he does understand me on an empathetic manner."

Glancing over at Lucas's grave he felt a strange sense of mystery fall over him.

"I know that a part of you now lives on in Luke, but it didn't feel right to visit Skye without at least saying 'hello' to some extent, Lucas. I haven't forgotten about you, either."

Pained tears rolled down his face as Connor stared back at Skye's name engraved over the headstone again. Placing a red rose down on the headstone Connor managed to stifle a deep sob and took an even deeper breath to calm his raw emotions.

"So much has happened since your passing, Skye. You never got to meet Aria, she's my- our goddaughter and she's beautiful. Deviants and humans are getting along better than ever, save for one particularly disturbed individual, and it seems like everything that has been fought for so hard on the night of the Revolution is coming to fruition."

Pausing for a moment Connor recomposed himself to keep his voice from breaking while he spoke.

"I think you would've liked to see Miami. The beaches were beautiful and the ocean is nothing like the Detroit River here. The ocean is so bright, so clear and warm. Lucas has... well, the part of his memory that resided inside my mind was transferred into the final 'RK' model that was left intact in a hidden warehouse in Miami, and was able to be revived to some extent. I found him in Miami and brought him home with me, his name is now 'Luke' and I have a brother once more. Now he's the big brother and I'm the little brother."

Sitting down on the ground rather than kneeling Connor continued to speak to his late bondmate in a somber voice.

"Luke is living in Boston and is making strives to aid deviants outside of Detroit. He's doing very well and was rewarded with his dedication to helping deviants in need. Hank and I were able to join him in the city and enjoy a baseball game together. It was nice to spend time with my family without having to worry about them the whole time, and I know it did wonders to Hank's psyche."

The sky overhead was darkening with rain clouds but Connor wasn't going to get up and run from a little rain on his bonding anniversary.

"Josh and Simon are engaged to be bonded, too. They will take part in a small ceremony next week. I suppose they'd prefer to keep a low profile because they are both very humble individuals, but it's a shame they don't want to have a larger ceremony in the same way that Markus and North had done."

Wrapping his arms around himself to stave off the surrounding cold Connor let out a slow deep breath.

"I wish our bonding ceremony could've been the same. I'm glad we were able to bond before... Before it was too late. But we weren't together long enough to thoroughly enjoy our new lives together as a bonded couple; as a family. I still miss you, Skye. Not a day goes by where I don't think about you and sometimes it makes me sad, but other times it makes me happy. I have so many positive memories of my time with you that it's enough to keep the sorrow at bay. Even so, it still hurts to think about you sometimes."

A rumble of thunder made Connor look up toward the clouds overhead and he felt the static electricity building in the air as the storm encroached over the city.

"I don't want to leave you, but... I can't stay."

Standing up very slowly Connor looked at Skye's name again before kissing his right fingertips and pressing them against the plaque over her name.

"I love you, Skye. And I always will. Happy anniversary, my love. We will meet again on the other side someday. I promise."

Completely lost in thought about the day's strange events and the big revelation courtesy of Gavin, all Hank could do was sit at the kitchen table back home with one hand pressed to his bearded chin and his opposite hand rubbing slowly over Sumo's ears as the massive dog sat on the floor beside him. The autumn storm outside quickly drenched the already nervous city under a cold rain as rumbling thunder shook the house and bright flashes of lightning illuminated the otherwise darkened and cloudy sky from the distance. Slowly the thunder and the lightning drew closer and closer to the secured house with each ominous strike that shook all of Detroit.

Hank's phone was sitting on the table in front of him untouched and silent. There were no missed calls, no missed text messages.

It was just silent.

Sighing tiredly Hank just sat in the silence of the house and thought about the important case that still needed to be solved, how Connor was lost in mourning on the anniversary of both his bonding day and his bondmate's death, and how everything that had been progressing so smoothly over the past four years was at risk of falling apart at the seams all because of one sadistic man.

It didn't help that Gavin had told Hank some rather grounding information that was undeniably going to change everything forever.

"...Fuck. We're so close to finally having peace throughout the city and now this."

Hank took in a deep grounding breath and let it out slowly through his nose.

"How are we going to handle all of this bullshit and these changes if the city is tearing itself apart from the inside out? There has to be something we can do to save the city before it's too late."

It was almost seven o'clock in the evening when Connor had finally returned home. Sitting quietly in the Corvette parked in the driveway beside the house Connor became lost in contemplation and emotional plight that quickly overwhelmed his heart as he was not quite ready to go inside the warm house.

Watching the storm pass over the city in the distance Connor finally let himself breakdown entirely and cry as he mourned for his lost bondmate.

Sobbing loudly and from the depths of his heart Connor could feel a simultaneous ache and relief beat with his heart as came to terms with his grief.

It felt like every tear he shed was one that had been held inside his heart for the entire year since Skye's death.

The heartfelt crying was as painful as it was cleansing for the deviant's empathetic soul, but it was a process that he needed to endure alone.

"I miss you, Skye. I miss you so much..."

Dragging his hand over his tear filled eyes Connor struggled to breathe between his sobs as he watched the building storm in the distance.

"I'll always love you, I promise."

Seemingly out of nowhere Hank's phone 'buzzed' on the table as a text message finally came in causing Hank to jump a little in his seat. Picking up the phone Hank looked at the message that had been delivered over the phone's display from Gavin and sighed outwardly in frustration at the lack of information that had been uncovered since Hank clocked-out for the night, as well as the sudden surge in violence throughout the city. Everything felt like it was on the edge of either failing entirely or reaching a new level of progress. All it'd take was one last shove to push the city and everyone in it over that edge to either something good or something much worse.

"Fuck."

Placing the phone back down on the table Hank stood up from and pressed his hand to his sore lower back.

"This shit is getting ridiculous."

The backdoor opened up slowly and Connor stepped inside the kitchen. Soaked in rain and brandishing blue bloodshot eyes the deviant looked as miserable as he felt. As he slipped off his rain drenched gray blazer he took off his shoes and let out a calming sigh as he looked to Hank standing by the kitchen table. "...Was there any break on the case?"

"No, kid. Nothing." Motioning toward his phone as he tried to not focus on the deviant's tear stained face Hank updated Connor on everything that happened while he was out. "I just got a message from Gavin before you came inside. There was a threat posted online from Quondam and it sounds very legitimate."

"How so?" Connor asked as he carried his wet shoes and blazer into his bedroom and tried to go about the rest of the evening as normally as possible. "What's the new threat?"

"This jackass said he was going to prove that androids are soulless beings and that every single one needs to be destroyed."

"Where did the threat originate?"

"No clue." The senior detective replied as he joined Connor in the deviant's bedroom. "This time the masked man used a burner phone to record his message and upload it to the internet before destroying the phone. We can't trace it beyond somewhere here in Detroit."

"He is still in the city then." The pained look in Connor's eyes changed from mourning to that of dread. "That's unfortunate."

"Yup."

"I'll be more focused tomorrow, I swear. No more distractions."

"Distractions? Mourning the loss of a loved one isn't a distraction, kid. It's something that needs to be dealt with immediately."

Connor ran his hand through his wet hair tiredly and looked ready to drop down into a deep sleep. "It still could've waited until after my shift."

"Son, no one made any breakthroughs today. Don't act like this is just your problem, and dealing with heartache is far more important."

"But it's my job to solve these cases."

"Mine, too. And I didn't do much better than you or anyone else today." Putting his hand to the deviant's shoulder as Connor slipped his black tie from around his neck, Hank tried to remind his son that he had every right to take personal time to mourn on his anniversary. "It's not like you were intentionally slacking off or trying to avoid your responsibilities. Just like your life is worth saving and protecting, your mental and emotional health is important. Trust me on this kid, I learned that the hard way and almost learned it too late."

"I won't be distracted tomorrow." Connor gave Hank a steadfast stare of determination where he stood. "I know I will solve this case."

Shaking his head a little Hank just gave the deviant a pained stare of empathetic sorrow. "Connor?"

"Yes?"

In a warm and welcomed gesture Hank wrapped both arms around the deviant and gave him a tight hug. Despite having a healthy cleansing cry outside Connor couldn't stop himself from reciprocating the hug or stop a few excess tears from rolling down his face and onto Hank's shoulder. The embrace made the pained deviant feel entirely grounded and safe even when his heart was still broken.

"...You're a good friend, Hank."

"I hope so. Now, don't think about the case anymore tonight, all right? Take the rest of the evening to deal with whatever it is you need to deal with. Get it out of your system and rest for a while. We're going to be incredibly busy tomorrow, so take care of whatever you need to do tonight. I'm going to do the same, there's a lot of stuff I need to think about and uh... get ready for." The big news Gavin told him was still fresh in his mind. "Things are going to get really interesting really fast."

Connor tightened his hug around Hank as the gruff but compassionate detective's words of wisdom always resonated with him on a core level. "Thank you... dad."

-next chapter-