It was noon on New Year's Eve and there had been a report of a dead deviant located at the Belle Isle Southern Pier, uncomfortably close to New Jericho Tower situated on Belle Isle itself. Such a call had brought Connor and Hank to the scene to investigate the tragic outcome in person. Hank was moving a tad slower than usual thanks to his newly healed broken leg still being sore, but Connor was willing to slow his own pace to keep at the senior detective's side as they began to check the snow covered pier. It was important to Connor that he keep as close to Hank as possible out of a need to protect him and to ensure nothing else detrimental befell his best friend and father.

The pier was usually vacant during the wintertime due to the harsh weather. The fact that a body had been found at all in the uncomfortably cold weather was almost miraculous. Solving the case and uncovering the cause of the deviant's shutdown would confirm the miracle one way or another on that chilly winter day.

"This place has been closed down for decades. How in the hell would a deviant get out here AND who in the hell would find them?" Hank observed suspiciously as he crept along the pier slowly while keeping his hand hovering over his gun holstered on his hip. Hank was on guard and not afraid to defend himself if necessary. "I don't like it. It feels like we're walking into a trap."

"I agree." Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he ran a cybernetic scan over the pier trying to find any sign of androids or humans. "We should be very cautious."

"I always am." The seasoned detective replied as he drew his gun from the holster and held it out before him. "Can you detect anything?"

"One moment..." Connor shook his head and mirrored Hank's gesture as he drew his own gun from the holster wrapped around his back and concealed beneath his brown leather jacket. "Nothing unusual as of the moment." With his L.E.D. still glowing yellow Connor glanced about warily as he too could sense that they weren't alone. "We may still be too far away for my scanner to detect anyone, or their vital signs could be masked behind the abundance of lead within concrete barricades along the pier."

"Keep your guard up. I have a bad feeling about this."

As the duo cautiously traversed the abandoned pier with their guns drawn before them, they looked around for any sign of danger but by all account the abandoned pier was just that; abandoned. It was unnaturally quiet, and it felt like they were being watched by an unseen gaze.

"This doesn't seem correct." Unsure of his own senses Connor kept his head low and his voice quiet as he spoke to Hank at his side. "Perhaps we-"

A gunshot rang out loudly over the pier causing Connor to stop mid sentence and let out a weak gasp of shocked pain just as a bullet tore through his abdomen with a nearly unstoppable force. Falling to his knees slowly Connor's yellow L.E.D. shifted to red and cycled at a rapid pulse. Stunned and in incredible pain, Connor dropped his gun at his side as his hand grasped at his Thirium stained stomach to try to quell his pain. His shaking free hand held him slightly upright in his kneeling position as his head bowed down and rested against the cool ground beneath himself.

"Connor!" Hank knelt down beside Connor and put his own hand against the middle of the injured deviant's back and kept his gun raised forward in his opposite hand. He still couldn't see anyone and couldn't risk looking anywhere else except forward from where the shot had originated. "Where are you hit?!"

Unable to speak and already losing strength as dozens of red warnings flashed through his visual sensors, Connor let out another pain groan as his body began to tremble uncontrollably. The warm Thirium pouring from the wound in his abdomen soaked his hands and began collecting in a puddle on the ground beneath his shaking, weakened body.

Hank moved his hand from Connor's back and up to his shoulder to turn the deviant onto his side as gently as possible and get him to lay on the ground. As Connor's weak form rolled onto his side, his back resting against Hank's shin, the puddle of Thirium forming beneath Connor was already an alarming size and saturated through his white dress shirt and gray blazer beneath his leather jacket.

"Connor, talk to me!"

Curling around himself Connor squeezed his eyes shut so tightly tears flowed down his face as he took in sharp shallow breaths.

"Just hold on." Taking the radio clipped to his belt Hank called for back-up at the pier and requested an emergency technician to the scene. "Hang on, son. Help's coming."

Running his hand up and down the side of Connor's arm in a soothing manner Hank was unaware of the gunman hiding behind a massive concrete barricade originally designed to bar trespassers from entering the pier and was unaware that the human was watching him with an enraged glare.

"Just hold on for me, all right? That's all I ask."

Unable to speak or move Connor could only endure the burning pain in his abdomen while Hank hovered protectively over him.

"Listen to me." Speaking with a steady voice Hank remained completely calm and did his best to make sure Connor stayed calm as well. Ignoring the growing puddle of blue blood was a challenge but not impossible. "You're going to-"

A sickening 'thud' of metal crashing against bone sounded off through the air almost as loudly as the previous gunshot as the gunman snuck up behind Hank and cracked him in the back of his skull. The weapon used was the butt of the very gun he had used to shoot Connor from an unseen location only a few yards down the pier. The gun was proving to be just as hazardous toward Hank even without a bullet being fired.

Collapsing to his side in an unconscious heap, Hank was left as defenseless as Connor laying and bleeding next to him on the ground.

The unknown gunman kicked Hank's own revolver away and grabbed onto the back of Hank's coat to drag the unconscious senior detective down the pier and away from Connor. It seemed the gunman wasn't satisfied with just injuring the two detectives.

Connor opened his pain filled soulful brown eyes as he sensed that his partner, his adoptive father, was in danger. Through his blurry, teary vision he watched as an unknown man from the anti-android gang - the distinct color of his clothing giving away his identity - dragged Hank's unconscious body down the pier. Reaching out a trembling, blue blood covered hand toward Hank in a futile attempt to reach him, Connor's hand suddenly fell down against the ground as the deviant fought the urge to sleep.

"...Hank. No."

Completely vulnerable and oblivious to what was happening around him Hank was dragged down the snowy pier and beyond the concrete barricade where an old car from decades long past was sitting idle with its trunk wide open. The vehicle was parked precariously close to the edge of the pier and looked as though it could slip off the edge and into the inky black water of the chilled lake water at any moment.

"Piece of shit android-lover!" The violent man venomously spat as he hoisted Hank's body up against the rear bumper of the car then hefted the senior detective into the trunk. The man took Hank's radio from his belt and smashed it down on the concrete pier at his feet and stomped on it with the heel of his shoe. "You're a traitor to us all, man. You brought this on yourself!"

From the distance Connor's eyes fell shut and his L.E.D. cycled red at a slower pace as the puddle of Thirium blossomed wider all around him. As he lost blood profusely his pump began to slow as his self-healing program compensated for his lower Thirium volume and Thirium pressure to keep him from bleeding out entirely.

"...Hank, please. H-Hank?"

As the trunk of the car slammed shut with a metallic 'click', the violent man threw open the driver's side door of the car and disengaged the parking brake and shifted the vehicle into neutral gear. Returning to the rear of the car the man began pushing it toward the edge of the pier.

Still unconscious and unaware of what was happening to him, Hank was utterly defenseless and at the mercy of the man pushing him toward what was sure to be a watery grave. The Lieutenant was at the mercy of the merciless man, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

'Connor. Connor!'

Sirens in the distance filled the air and drew Connor's attention back to the waking world as a familiar voice began calling to him from within his own mind. The voice was as calming as it was welcome and unexpected to hear.

"...L-Lucas?"

'Get up Connor! You have to get up!" The voice was heard only to Connor's ears as the small piece of Lucas's consciousness that still resided in Connor's memory made itself known. The lost deviant was pleading with his injured brother to keep fighting back and save Hank's life. 'You NEED to get up!'

"...It hurts."

'Hank is in danger! He needs you to get up.'

Lifting his head up from the ground Connor looked forward with blurry eyes and tried to locate Hank from the distance between them. An indistinguishable figure pushing a car toward the water and off the pier held his struggling attention as his instincts told him he needed to get to the car sooner rather than later. Running a weak biometric scan over the car as it neared the pier's edge Connor located human life signs contained within the trunk.

"H-Hank!"

Forcing himself to get up, forcing himself to pick up his gun and ignore his own searing pain, Connor charged toward the car and fired his gun at the man pushing the car toward the water in attempt to get him to back off. As the bullets rang out the man ducked down and fled away from the car and down the length of the pier in the opposite direction of Connor in a desperate bid to elude the deviant detective.

Seconds before Connor reached the spot where the car had been parked on the edge of the pier the car itself rolled forward under the power of inertia and gravity to the edge of the pier and quickly fell nose first into the icy water beneath it. The jerking motion of the 'crash' was enough to rouse Hank from his state of unconsciousness and into a new world of panic as he found himself trapped in the dark confines with no means of plausible escape.

Connor ran to the edge of the pier and looked down into the dark water of the harbor where the car was rapidly sinking through the dangerously cold water around a chorus of escaping air bubbles and splintering ice sheaths from the frozen surface of the water. From within the locked trunk Connor could barely hear Hank's voice calling out for help as his strong fists pounded against the interior of the trunk to try to break free.

"Hank! I'll get you out!"

The trunk of the car fell beneath the surface of the water and was quickly disappearing from sight as the old car filled with the painfully cold water at an alarming pace. Dropping his gun to the pier at his feet Connor shrugged off his leather jacket and gray blazer, and took in a deep breath. Steeling himself for the inevitable sting of the impending extreme cold, Connor dove into the icy water through the hole in the icy surface and swam down after the rapidly sinking car.

Swimming down through the dark freezing water Connor endured what felt like trillions of needles piercing into his artificial skin all over his body as he forced himself to reach the trunk of the car as quickly as possible. A pale blue cloud of his own blood mixing with the murky water around him obstructed his vision further as he swam through the dark water in an attempt to rescue Hank.

Dismissing the warning in his visual processors about his low Thirium volume and steadily lowering core temperature, Connor reached the trunk and stayed focused on his task. Running another biometric scan over the trunk Connor noted Hank's distress; rapid heart rate, high blood pressure and also noted Hank was already beginning to suffer from hypothermia from the water seeping into the trunk. Pulling on the latch of the locked trunk with all of his strength Connor managed to break the lock under his fading grip and free Hank from the lethal confines of the vehicle.

As the trunk popped open with a rush of escaping air bubbles Connor let out a weak gasp that made him lose his breath and allowed water to enter his ventilation biocomponents; his lungs, and effectively began to drown him. Unlike humans who were naturally buoyant and could float in water, androids were not capable of floating without air inside their bodies. Against his will Connor began to sink down to the lakebed and would've been surely lost if Hank hadn't grabbed onto him around his chest and carried him to the surface of the water along with him as he swam up and to freedom at the surface of the harbor.

Breaking through the icy surface of the water Hank took in a gasping breath between his pale blue lips, the cold air stinging his lungs as he gasped rapidly for fresh air and struggled to reach the pier beside him. Connor was deadweight under his arm and Hank had to fight to keep the deviant's head above the water as he struggled to keep himself from sinking back into the water to their deaths.

"Hank!?"

From above the senior detective was greeted by two pairs of hands as Gavin and Chris arrived at the scene just minutes before Connor dove into the water and were ready to pull them out of the water.

"Give us your hand, Lieutenant!" Gavin shouted as he grabbed onto Hank's shoulder and held him steady in the water. "Come on! Reach!"

Chris grabbed onto the collar of Connor's white shirt to help Hank keep him from sinking again while Gavin grabbed onto Hank's freezing hand to pull him up and out of the water and back onto the edge of the pier almost four feet above him. The two officers were fighting the urge to let go of the drowning detectives as the painful sting of the cold water pierced through their hands with a stabbing jolt.

"Come on, come on!" Gavin grunted as he awkwardly balanced on the pier to support Hank's full weight while Chris held onto Connor. "We got ya'!"

As the two detectives were pulled from the freezing water Hank collapsed onto his knees while Connor laid flat on his back beside him. Gavin knelt down beside Connor and pressed his ear to the deviant's nose and mouth, remembering quickly that androids were in fact capable of breathing as a means of controlling their internal core temperature, but he failed to hear or feel any breaths escaping the deviant's person.

"Shit! He isn't breathing."

Gavin announced as his training as a first responder had him tilting Connor's head back to open his airway as if he were in fact human. Pulling aside Connor's tie and putting his hand down on the deviant's chest Gavin could feel faint fluttering of the nearly frozen Thirium pump beneath his palm and he could see the deviant's L.E.D. pulsing red very slowly in Connor's right temple.

"What do we do?"

"St-Start-" Hank coughed up some water from his own lungs as he found his shaking voice as Chris patted his back. "C-Compressions! Get the w-water out!"

"Right, right, right..." Gavin muttered as he tore open Connor's water soaked white dress shirt, then laced his fingers together and placed his palms down accordingly on Connor's chest. He began to compress with just as much force, pressure and rhythm as he would on a human drowning victim to try to revive him hoping that his efforts weren't in vain. "You better fuckin' breathe. Don't waste my time, 'Tinman'!"

Chris took off his coat and draped it over Hank's shoulders to try to keep the senior detective warm while they awaited the ambulance only a few hundred yards away, racing to the scene of the freak assault. Unable to do anything beyond supportive measures, Chris patiently waited for something to change while he remained beside Hank to monitor the hypothermic man's condition.

"Breathe, kid." Hank encouraged as he watched Gavin compressing Connor's chest with professional skill. "You n-need to breathe."

Gavin's hands were beginning to burn from the cold water that saturated against his skin, but he didn't stop or slow his rhythm as he tried to force the water that collected in Connor's ventilation biocomponents out of his body. A weak trickle of murky water trailed from Connor's nose and the corners of his mouth as the pressure being applied began to affect the collected water in his system. The compressions were also causing Thirium to ooze and leak out of the bullet wound in Connor's abdomen, but there wasn't anything they could do to stem the bleeding at the moment. It was more important to get the deviant breathing again so his thermal regulator could compensate for the cold and raise his core temperature to a stable degree.

"Damn it, you plastic prick!" Gavin was more frustrated at the lack of response from the compressions rather than Connor himself. "Breathe for fuck's sake!"

A deep cough emanated from Connor's chest as gush of water erupted from his lips with a sickening gurgle. Gavin pulled his hands back long enough to roll Connor onto his side until the deviant stopped coughing up the dirty lake water and began to breathe in the cold air needed to help dry up the residual water that was inside the ventilation biocomponents.

"It's about damn time..." The abrasive detective muttered as he rolled Connor onto his back again and stood up from where he had been kneeling to pace about anxiously. "Way to scare the piss out of us."

"C-Connor?" Hank shivered as he put his hand down over Connor's abdomen and pressed down against the bleeding bullet wound. Diluted Thirium seeped out of the wound and stained the already soaked fabric of the white shirt a pale blue from beneath Hank's palm. "H-Hang on."

Connor's soulful brown eyes barely opened as Thirium tinted water began to trail out of his mouth and run down his face as well. The deviant's entire body was beginning to shiver from cold and blood loss. The Thirium stain on his shirt expanding quickly as the open wound to his stomach continued to bleed heavily.

"Holy shit..." Gavin swore as he grabbed Connor's dropped jacket and blazer, and then placed the two garments over the bleeding deviant's trembling form. Taking off his own leather jacket Gavin put it around Hank's shoulders over top Chris's jacket to try to help his colleagues stave off hypothermia for a moment longer. "What the fuck happened out here?"

"I d-don't know. Some fucker sh-shot Connor then g-got the drop on me!" Hank pressed his free hand to the back of his head where he had been struck. As he pulled his hand back a smear of red blood could be seen on the palm of his hand and over his gray locks of hair. "I n-never saw their face."

The android ambulance reached the pier just before the concrete barricade and parked with a swift motion to aid the downed detectives. The back of the ambulance opened and two familiar technicians, one man and one woman, hopped out of the back with a gurney being rolled between them. Gavin and Chris stepped back to give the duo room to work on Connor and possibly see to Hank's injuries.

"Treat him in the b-back of the ambulance." Hank urged as he tried to get up only to be overcome by dizziness and nearly stumble on his feet. If Gavin hadn't caught his arm he would've fallen over in a dead faint. "...I'm g-going with h-him."

The technicians checked the exposed bullet wound in Connor's abdomen and immediately placed a pressure bandage over top of it. As the bleeding began to stem the male technician, Johnny, used his audioscope to listen to Connor's chest, specifically his breathing, while the female technician, 'Dixie' used a Thirium pressure cuff to check Connor's Thirium pressure and volume.

"Weak ventilation sounds." Johnny confirmed as he folded Connor's arms over his chest. "But he's stable."

"I'm informing the facility of his condition." Dixie stated as she used her phone to send a message to the android receptionist at the facility awaiting their arrival. "He'll need warmed Thirium to replace what he's lost and raise his core temperature."

Hank coughed as watched everything unfolding and began to shiver violently. "Is h-he going to be okay?"

"Sir." Johnny stared at Hank as he and his partner lifted Connor up from the pier and placed him on the gurney in one swift motion. "You need to see a doctor. You're clearly suffering-"

"I f-fucking know!" The protective father snarled as he pointed down at Connor's bleeding abdomen. "But he's b-been shot. He's m-more important right now."

"Fine, come on." Clearly Johnny knew better than to argue with a stubborn cop. As he and Dixie lifted up the gurney to roll it at its full height back to the ambulance, he looked to his partner and asked for an update. "How's he doing?"

"Low Thirium pressure." Dixie noted without even having to look at the pressure cuff that had automatically wrapped around Connor's bicep. "Hypothermia has set in and multiple biocomponents are beginning to fail."

Hank overheard her comment and swore under his breath as he followed the gurney to the ambulance on his shaking legs and climbed in the back without hesitation. The frightened father wasn't about to let his son go anywhere alone.

Watching the two technicians hovering over Connor as they manually ordered the artificial skin over Connor's arm to recede and hook a Thirium line directly into the limb, and then watching them place thermal blankets over his body to try to warm him back up, was oddly hypnotic in Hank's fatigued eyes. A second thermal blanket was wrapped around Hank's body as Dixie moved aside the two coats from Hank's shoulders to try to help him warm up as well.

"How long were you two in the water?" She asked as she slipped an audioscope into her ears and ran the bell over Connor's chest beneath the thermal blanket so she could listen to his ventilation and pump rate herself. "Can you give me an estimation?"

"...I don't know." Admitting he wasn't sure Hank stared at Connor and tried to stop shivering. "I w-was unconscious for a while."

"Ventilation biocomponents still functioning, but there is audible faltering due to the water pooling inside both sides that he still needs to expel."

Johnny nodded as he slipped an oxygen mask over Connor's face hoping the added oxygen would help compensate for the water collected inside his ventilation biocomponents and allow them to dry out. "Does he have a technician we can contact?"

"Y-Yeah. Abby Grayson." Hank answered in a still shaking voice as he sat on the bench in the back of the ambulance beside the gurney. "She's-"

"We know Abby." Johnny replied without any doubts in his voice. "That means he'll be in the best hands in the city."

Hank only nodded as he watched Connor's unfocused, hazy eyes blinking slowly as he tried to regain full consciousness. "Connor? Can you h-hear me?"

There was a pause but afterward Connor's hoarse voice replied to the senior detective. "...Hank."

"Yeah, I'm right here, son." Putting his hand to the top of Connor's wet hair Hank held his palm down against the damp locks in a comforting manner. "Don't w-worry. You'll be okay. I'm going to be okay too."

Feeling safe at last Connor nodded once weakly as his eyes shut again and he knew nothing more of the waking world around him.


A bright light directly over his face was enough to reactivate Connor's sensory processors to bring him out his low power stasis mode after twenty minutes had passed by. Connor still felt cold all over his body despite being inside the warm building and away from the freezing water. Pressure against the bend of his arm told him that the Thirium line was still in place, but he still hadn't regained much strength despite the Thirium transfusion. A second light pressure against the center of his exposed chest informed Connor of the wireless leads attached to monitor his pump's activity. The soft 'beeping' of the Thirial activity monitor recording his vitals confirmed his deduction easily and he knew he was in a facility receiving treatment.

Over top of the bleeding damage in Connor's abdomen - a wound that had torn away his artificial skin leaving behind a small ring of blue blood over the white plastimetal frame beneath - was a thick pad of bandaging gauze to try to protect the wound. A nasal canula was wrapped around his face and positioned under his nose to give the deviant additional oxygen until his ventilation biocomponents could be fully drained of the water collected inside, and the canula assisted in his overall ventilation.

Partially opening his tired eyes very slowly Connor recognized the faces of Abby and Hank leaning down over him while Abby held the internal display screen over his abdomen. There were four biocomponents highlighted in red to indicate the damage without needing to open his abdominal panel to view it directly, and the four affected areas required immediate repair.

"Connor?" Abby lifted the deviant's eyelids one at a time to check his pupils with her penlight as she saw his eyelids fluttering. "Are you conscious?"

Speaking softly Connor answered the question with full honesty. "...Y-Yes."

"Listen closely. You were shot, the bullet ricocheted throughout your abdomen and damaged numerous biocomponents." Gently Abby let go of his eyelids and turned off her light as she spoke to him with a professional lilt to her voice. "I'm trying to stop the bleeding before I begin any repairs. Can you run a self-diagnostic?"

Connor breathed deeply and winced in pained response as his red L.E.D. flashed rapidly. "...No."

"It's okay, try to relax. I'll run a manual diagnostic for you."

Still at his son's side Hank put his palm over Connor's forehead and held it there for a minute. The senior detective had been given some clean, dry, warm scrubs to change into in favor of his freezing waterlogged clothes. As he stared down at Connor's face the gruff detective couldn't help but think of how pathetic he looked laying in that bed and of how sad and hauntingly familiar it was to another horrible winter night he had spent in the hospital.

"...Hank?" Connor was relieved to see Hank conscious, but he could also see that he was upset about something. The senior detective was pale, and his blue eyes were glistening with unspoken emotion. "Are you... okay?"

"Yeah, son." Patting the fresh bandage on the back of his head lightly Hank confirmed he had his wound examined by someone while at the facility. "I'm okay."

"...Medical attention?"

"Not just yet." There was no point in even trying to fool Connor at that moment. He motioned toward Abby with just his eyes as he spoke. "While we were waiting for you to wake up Abby patched me up for the time being. I'll see a doctor after you're taken care of."

"The shooter. Where is he?"

"Gone. I didn't see him."

"I did, but... it's all a blur."

"Don't worry about him, okay? Worry about yourself and focus on healing."

Nodding a little Connor agreed to ease Hank's mind. "...Okay."

Abby hung another pouch of Thirium on the nearby I.V. stand and connected it to the line already attached to Connor's arm to try to replenish what he had lost and was still losing at an unsettling rate. Putting a reassuring hand to Connor's chest she smiled down at him and silently nodded toward the door for Hank to follow after her so they could speak in relative privacy.

Reluctantly Hank removed his hand from Connor's forehead and followed Abby as she requested. "We'll be right back, son. Just rest."

"...I'll try."

Accompanying Abby outside of the exam room and into the corridor, Hank wrapped his arms around himself and prepared for the worst.

"What's wrong?"

"He's bleeding internally." Abby stated bluntly as she stood with Hank in the doorway just outside the examination room. "Normally I'd be able to replace his Thirium while his self-healing program stops the bleeding, and then I could repair or replace the damaged biocomponents afterward, but the bullet caused so much damage that his self-healing program just isn't up to the challenge of taking care of so many vital biocomponents at once."

"What're you saying?"

"I'm saying if he doesn't stop bleeding within the next twenty minutes, I'm going to have to operate while he's still in critical condition. His chances of survival are still good, but the odds of complications arising during the repair procedure are going to be much higher."

"Shit. Abby," Hank looked frightened and the incredible pain in his skull wasn't helping him as he tried and failed, to mask his fear. "you gotta' save him. If anyone can, it's you."

"I can't do it alone. The other human technicians are out of the city because of the holidays and the deviant technicians are dealing with the other patients on my behalf." She sighed and put her hand on Hank's arm sympathetically. "I called Simon from New Jericho, but we may not be able to wait for too much longer."

Hank could only nod in understanding as Abby returned to the exam table inside the room to check on Connor's condition. He followed her back inside the room and hung back a few steps to ensure the technician had plenty of room to work. As the deviant's father, Hank knew he needed to remain calm on Connor's behalf. There was no need to panic or upset his son by mistake.

"Connor, are you in any pain?"

"...Not really." Answering honestly Connor kept his eyes closed and his red L.E.D. continued to pulse slowly in his right temple. "I feel a little... numb."

"That's expected." Abby spoke up smoothly as she too returned to the deviant's bedside." Could be from the cold, could be from the blood loss."

Casually checked his Thirium pressure again with the cuff still wrapped around his left bicep and found it still unnervingly low. The way Connor was responding so slowly and quietly raised a red flag in Abby's mind.

"Look at me for a minute."

"T-Trying." Weak and tired it was a struggle for the deviant to open his eyes as instructed. "I... I'm trying. Hard to... focus."

Nervously Connor's hand began to twitch at his side and Hank reacted by putting his own hand down atop his arm to help him stay calm. "You're okay, son. We're here."

Discreetly Abby checked her phone for any update from Simon, but her messages were blank and there were no missed calls.

"You saved my life." Hank tightened his grip on Connor's arm as he lifted the limb up from the table then wrapped his fingers around Connor's cold limp hand to try to keep the deviant calm and grounded. "You dove into that freezing water after being shot and broke open a metal lock to save me. If you're strong enough to do all that, then you're strong enough to survive this, got it?"

"I got-" Connor let out a pained gasp and his breathing became deeper and more rapid in response which made his chest and abdomen rise and fall quickly. It was clear he was in pain. "I... I..."

The Thirial activity monitor began to let out a high pitched screech in response to Connor's distress as it detected a sudden drop in vital signs and overall stability.

"Connor?" Hank squeezed the weakened deviant's hand tighter in a fearful reaction. "What's wrong?"

"M-My stomach is... hurting me really badly." Connor wheezed pathetically as his opposite hand weakly reached up to clutch at the bullet wound under the gauze pad over his abdomen. "It's... It's really st-starting to kill me."

Abby lifted up the bandage over his abdomen, pushing Connor's hand aside, and was met with a gush of escaping Thirium that ran down the deviant's stomach and onto the exam table.

"Shit! All right, he can't wait any longer." The bandage was returned to where it was lying and Abby pressed her palm down over top to apply pressure. "I'll have to operate solo until-"

With perfect timing Simon walked through the door of the exam room quickly and immediately leaned down over Connor laying on the table and proceeded to check over his friend's critical wounds. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. The autonomous taxis are very busy right now."

"Perfect timing." Hank sighed in relief as he gave Connor a reassuring smile. "The Calvary's here, kid. You hold on for me for just for a few more minutes."

"Y-Yeah." Breathing through the pain Connor acknowledged Hank's words as he endured the uncomfortable examination of his entire abdomen. "I promise."

Simon and Abby assessed Connor's declining vital signs and reached a mutual conclusion without having to say a word to one another for confirmation.

"Hank, he can't wait. This is happening right here." Abby stated as she all but pushed Hank out of the room, his hand letting go of Connor's hand slowly. "He needs emergency repairs. NOW. I'm sorry, you need to wait outside."

Begrudgingly Hank stood outside of the examination room and leaned his palm against the wall. Unable to withstand the horrible pain in his skull any longer Hank discreetly, though clumsily, wandered down the corridor until he found his way to the waiting room to sit down and endure his headache. Resting his head down against the opened palms of both of his hands Hank tried to not think about how critically damaged Connor had been and how close he actually was to death as he leaned forward atop his knees as he sat in the chair entirely alone.

"The kid's strong."

Hank told himself as he breathed through the intense pain of his headache. Talking to himself when stressed out had become a strange habit that he and Connor had both developed over time.

"If he can save my life then he can pull through this with no problem. He's not going to die tonight, not after everything he's already survived."


With the Thirial activity monitor and Thirium pressure wrap left in place to record Connor's vital signs, Simon manually retracted the artificial skin from over the entirety of Connor's abdomen to expose the damage while Abby proceeded to hang yet another pouch of Thirium to the line running into Connor's arm. Connor himself was put into a deep stasis mode to keep his systems in low power mode until his damaged biocomponents were repaired and his Thirium volume was normalized. During this stasis mode his artificial respirations were halved during to ensure his core temperature was kept optimal and that his chest and abdomen were no longer moving as much making the repairs easier to perform.

It didn't take long for the two technicians to confirm the importance of the immediate repair procedure. The waning vital signs and Connor weakened responses were all the details they needed to know that Connor was on borrowed time. The single bullet managed to do more damage than anyone had anticipated.

"I don't know the full extent of the damage to his biocomponents." Abby stated as she and Simon prepared themselves for the emergency repairs that they'd need to perform in order to save Connor from irreversible shutdown. "I did confirm that his thermal regulator, Thirium filter, analysis filter and gyroscope were all damaged by the bullet."

"Is the bullet still inside him?"

"Yeah. It's wedged in the metal coupling next to the gyroscope."

"All right." Preconstructing the procedure Simon knew what he needed to do. "When I open the panel he's going to bleed heavily. We're going to need to monitor his Thirium volume constantly throughout the procedure and keep it about seventy percent to ensure he doesn't begin to overheat."

"Agreed." Abby pulled up the small Thirium suction pump to the table and powered on the silent machine to be ready for a worst case scenario. "Ready?"

"Ready." Simon pressed his fingers down against the panel release just below where Connor's sternum would be if he were human to access his abdominal cavity. As the panel in Connor's abdomen slid open dark blue blood seeped out and began to ooze down over the edges of Connor's torso and onto the table where it proceeded to drip down onto the floor. "Damn it!"

"He's bleeding all right." Abby stated needlessly as she used the suction to clear the excess blood from Connor's abdomen. "We need to work fast if we're going to keep him from suffering any permanent damage right now."


Tired and frustrated Hank was fighting the urge to lay down on the inviting floor to sleep as the extraordinary pain in his head drained away his already thinned personal resolve. Exhausted but determined to remain strong on Connor's behalf, Hank refused to admit how tired he truly was and denied being in any pain despite the severe blow to the head that he had received less than an hour beforehand. Just as he felt like he was about to blackout from fatigue and the horrific pain, a comforting hand to his shoulder drew his bloodshot eyes upward and he locked onto the faces of two familiar colleagues who had stopped by the facility to check in on Connor and himself.

It wasn't uncommon for officers to check on one another when someone had been wounded in the line of duty. However, it was still relatively rare for anyone to check on deviant colleagues and coworkers for the same reason. It was refreshing to witness such progress even if it did accompany tragedy.

"Gavin, Chris." Blinking a few times Hank glanced at the two officers through his tired eyes. "What're you doing here?"

"We, uh," Gavin sat down in the chair next to Hank while Chris went in search of coffee for the pained Lieutenant. "we wanted to see how Connor was doing. It's been almost three hours since... You know. Fowler wants and update, but he knows you won't answer your phone if it's him calling."

"Three hours? Already?"

"Yeah, three hours and counting. You look like shit, Lieutenant." The normally cold detective was surprisingly empathetic at that dour moment. "Did you see a doctor yet? Your took a nasty beating today."

"Sort of."

"That's a 'no'. Look, why don't you let me take you to a hospital and Chris can wait here for an update on Connor?"

"I'm not going anywhere until I know Connor's okay." Hank sighed wearily and ran his hand through his gray locks anxiously, careful not to touch the temporary bandage over the back of his head in the process. "Did you guys find that asshole who set us up?"

"Yeah. The dumb-fuck actually used his OWN car to try to kill you. Left the plates and registration behind, too. We got him."

"Did he really kill a deviant? That's why me and Connor even went out there."

"No. We didn't find a body." The lack of deviant body at the scene would normally be a good thing, but in this case it was disconcerting. "This asshole singled you two out for some reason."

"Anti-android hatred. He went after Connor for being an android and me for working with him."

"Yeah." Sounding a tad awkward and uncomfortable Gavin leaned back and muttered a little under his breath as he stayed beside Hank. It seemed the weight of his own android prejudice was beginning to affect him. "...I had no idea it was that bad. I mean, knew there were a lot of spiteful assholes in this city, but I didn't know they'd be ballsy enough to set up a couple of cops."

Chris handed Hank a paper cup of warm coffee and waited for the senior detective to take it. "Here. You look like you're still freezing."

"Thanks." Hank was feigning strength and the two officers who were checking on him knew it. "I'm just tired."

"Then the coffee will still help."

"Yeah... sure." Slowly Hank took the cup and sipped at the coffee but had no real interest in the offered drink. "You two should head back to the precinct. People are going to start celebrating the new year early and someone has to keep their drunken asses out of the street. Better you two than me."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. Go."

"All right, we'll see you later, Lieutenant." Chris gave Hank a nod of respect as he walked away. "Make sure Connor knows we're all thinking about him and if you need anything let us know. We'll come back and help out in any way that we can."

Gavin stood up slowly and lowered his voice as he spoke to Hank. "Call as soon as he's awake. The guys at the precinct are getting worried."

Hank watched curiously as the two detectives walked out of the facility together and returned to their squad car parked outside. Seeing Gavin show any sign of concern toward Connor was a massive surprise, but to hear actual worry in his voice was something entirely new.

"Weird."

Staring down indifferently at the cup of coffee in his hands Hank barely reacted when Abby entered the waiting room to speak with him. It was only when she called his name did he even bother to react to her comforting presence.

"Hank?"

"Abby!" Looking up at Abby quickly casued his vision to swim for a moment then refocuse through a few black dots. "Is he...?"

"Alive. He made it."

"Man..." Hank let out a deep sigh and his shoulders relaxed in relief. As Abby sat down in the chair next to Hank, he handed her the coffee that he had been holding and she happily took a sip. "The poor kid is just a magnet for trouble."

"He lost a total of seven pints of Thirium but we kept him stable throughout the repairs." The technician explained with only a hint of fatigue to her voice. "He tolerated everything pretty well and he's now resting and recovering comfortably."

"How bad was it?"

"All of the damage was repaired, nothing needed to be replaced." She took another sip of the coffee before listing off Connor's injuries. "The bullet damaged his Thirium filter, gyroscope, analysis filter and his thermal regulator. We also removed the bullet without any difficulty. Simon cleaned it off and is going to deliver it to the precinct in person for evidence."

"Good. That's very good." Feeling a heavy weight slowly lifting from his heart Hank let out a slow breath as he asked the question that had been burning on his lips the second that he heard Abby's voice. "Can I see Connor?"

"I don't know, can you?" Abby asked as she studied Hank's pupils carefully. She didn't need to take an x-ray or see an M.R.I. scan to know that Hank had suffered a nasty blow to the head. She already had a feeling he needed more than a bandage when she took care of the back of his head. "You've been concussed. I don't think you can see anything right now."

"Please, I don't want to leave him like this. I need to see him."

"Well, fortunately for you I have a friend at a nearby hospital who's willing to make 'house calls'. I'll give him a call as long as you promise to cooperate."

"I appreciate it."

"Come on." Relenting to the simple request, Abby downed the last of the coffee and gave Hank's arm a reassuring pat. "I'll show you to Connor's recovery room and then I want you to take it easy until you're properly treated. I don't want to deal with two stubborn detectives as my patients tonight."


Relieved and exhausted Hank sat in the chair next to Connor's bed with the back of his skull sporting nine fresh stitches courtesy of the blow to his head. The friend Abby was referring to was Dr. Wilson, the very doctor that Hank and Connor had met on that very bizarre day when they were asked to assist at the hospital to deal with prisoners admitted as patients, and he stitched up Hank's head fairly quickly. More than happy to help out Hank and check in on Connor's condition Dr. Wilson obliged in stopping by the busy facility to give Hank a quick examination and treat his lacerated scalp as well as his lingering hypothermia without dragging him off to the hospital.

Quiet and recovering well, Connor himself was resting slightly propped upright in the soft bed with the attached Thirial activity monitor muted and displaying completely stable normal vital signs. No longer suffering from low Thirium, damaged biocomponents or hypothermia his red L.E.D. had shifted back to blue and was cycling slowly as he rested and allowed his self-healing program to work at full capacity.

Simon had given Connor's system one last examination before declaring his patient fully stable and leaving the Zeta Facility for the night. He and the rest of New Jericho fully trusted Abby to tend to the deviants in the city and knew that Connor was in good hands.

Wrapped up in a spare blue blanket, Hank himself stared up at the television mounted on the far wall of the private room as a group of people and deviants gathered in Hart Plaza to bring in the new year. It was five minutes until midnight, and everyone was cheering loudly through the cold dark night as they huddled together in the plaza just a few blocks away.

"Another new year." Hank scoffed a little at the very idea of a new year equating to a brand new beginning. "Wonder if it'll be any better that the last one?"

"...Only one way to find out." Connor's hoarse voice replied as his eyes partially opened and focused on Hank's face as the senior sat beside him. "We'll experience it together again."

"You really know how to scare me, kid." Leaning toward the bed Hank grabbed Connor's arm lightly and spoke in a low voice to spare himself additional headache pain and to keep a sense of calm in the room. "How do you feel?"

"Relatively normal." Clearing this throat, his voice box came back online properly, and he sounded more like himself the next time he spoke. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Ever since the emergency repairs? About nine hours."

Nodding a little Connor mentally chronicled the lapse in time and update his processors accordingly. "I didn't mean to worry you. Are you okay?"

"You take a bullet to the stomach and your first reaction is to check in on me and not yourself?"

"If I had suffered any permanent damage, my system would've alerted me the moment my system rebooted. The same can be said about any biocomponent that would have been replaced."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Swallowing once Connor cleared the residual static from his voice and steered the conversation away from himself and back toward Hank. "How are you holding up?"

"Aside from the skull splitting headache, I'm just fine." The Lieutenant replied honestly as he watched Connor with a protective gaze. "I'm not even cold anymore, which in my opinion is worse than a headache."

"I don't like the cold either."

"Well, as soon as it warms up, we can start working on restoring that old car I bought, all right?" Lightening the mood Hank leaned back in his chair but kept his hand on Connor's arm as he spoke. "I even have the perfect shade of red paint already picked out."

"It should be green."

"Why green?"

"I find the color appealing."

"Well, it's MY car so I say it's going to be red."

"But it's going to be OUR project." Replying sharply Connor gave the senior detective an odd look. "Shouldn't I get an opinion on the color?"

"You did. I just decided it's the wrong opinion and the car needs to be red."

"Should we flip a coin for it?"

"No way, kid! I've seen your coin tricks, there's no way you'd flip it in such a way to keep it fair."

Connor smiled at the comment as Abby entered the recovery room to check in on him before heading home for the night. The sight of Abby entering the room gave the recovering deviant every reason to feel better.

"You're awake." Abby practically sighed with relief as she strolled into the room and stood beside the bed. "Nice to see you fully conscious again."

"Thank you for saving me."

"No thanks necessary, it's my job. And I had some help from Simon." Humbly Abby smiled as she leaned over Connor and brushed the rogue lock of his hair from his face before checking his pupils with her penlight. "Are you in any pain?"

"No. I'm not feeling any discomfort to speak of."

"That's good." She pocketed her light and patted Connor's shoulder lightly. "I'd hate for you to start the new year off in agony."

"The feeling is mutual."

"You know, we should really stop bumping into each other like this."

"How do you mean?"

"Whenever we meet it's because you're either banged up or I need a friend to protect me from a crazy ex-boyfriend."

"Oh. You're correct, we should try to meet up on far more positive circumstances."

"Maybe we should try to meet up outside the facility sometime in the future?"

"I suppose that's possible. And it'd be much more pleasant to meet without pain being involved."

"Exactly!" Displaying a faint blush Abby was happy to see Connor awake, alert and responding well. For whatever reason just chatting with her friend made her feel a lot better after having a rather unpleasant holiday season. "We all need a break from chaos from time to time."

The crowd on the television screen began to cheer even louder as the final ten seconds of the year were counted down in an optimistic chorus along with the countdown clock. The new year was on its way and the whole world was looking for it: 'Ten! Nine! Eight!'

Hank let out a sigh and rubbed his hand over his bearded chin as undeniable fatigue set in. "Here's to hoping this new year is better than the old one."

'...Four! Three! Two!'

"I agree entirely." Connor replied with a despondent tone to his voice as he watched the screen with a curious gaze. "A positive beginning to a new year would be greatly appreciative."

'One! Happy New Year!'

The countdown clock reached zero and people began to dance about, hug one another, and give kisses to one another all over the city. As the people on television cheered loudly and poured champagne Hank and Connor could hear the people in the surrounding neighborhood cheering as well. The cheers were raucous and full of spirit, but at the moment the two detectives weren't feeling it and just wanted to sleep.

"Happy New Year." Abby smirked to herself as she quickly gave Connor a kiss on his cheek and left the room before he had the chance to say anything about the unexpected, but surprisingly welcomed kiss. She passed through the doorway and called back to him a casual voice as she walked down the corridor to head to the facility breakroom. "I'll check on you later."

"And so it all ends just to begin again..." Hank stated somewhat cheerfully, completely oblivious to what Connor had just experienced. "Happy New Year, son."

"Yes..." Connor felt his face suddenly blush a bright blue as he put his hand to his cheek where he could still feel Abby's warm kiss and held his palm there for a moment longer. "Happy New Year, Hank. I have a feeling this year is going to be very interesting."

-next chapter-

Author's Note: Inspired by an episode of 'CSI: Miami' entitled "Countermeasures".