Feeling much better than he had from the previous day after the attack at the Central Precinct, Connor happily walked Sumo around the city while Hank was out with Rose for the afternoon. While Connor had already seen the route that he had taken so many times before with the puppy's predecessor and showed little interest in checking out the area, the new Sumo was too excited to be exploring the great big world all around him and needed to stop and sniff every bush, tree, fire hydrant and mailbox they passed by. Far more curious and energetic than the older dog, Connor had to use a firmer voice when issuing the young pup verbal commands to make him obey his simple commands.
Puppy training was proving to be difficult but in a rewarding way. It made Connor feel like he and the new Sumo would be able to forge a strong bond of loyalty like he had with the original Sumo. It was very rewarding to watch a young and innocent life thriving under someone's loving care.
"Sumo, come. It's time to go home, boy."
Connor pulled slightly on the leash to coax the still learning puppy into resuming the walk. From high above a rumble of thunder echoed from the clouds in the sky and a small flash of lightning in the distance warned of an impending spring storm. They needed to get home soon if they were to avoid the incoming rain.
"Come on."
Connor coughed once forcing his L.E.D. to cycle from blue to yellow briefly as his ventilation biocomponents still fought to heal after being exposed to the aerosolized ricin the previous day. The cough wasn't painful, but an obnoxious reminder of his vulnerability as a detective and prototype.
"We need to head home now, Sumo. Come."
Pulling harder on the leash Connor managed to finally lead Sumo away from the incredibly interesting tree and back down the sidewalk toward home. It was quicker to finish their circle of the block than it would be to turn around from where they stood.
As the storm loomed closer the sky grew darker, and the thunder became louder. Connor hastened his pace to keep ahead of the storm and Sumo jogged alongside his deviant master's legs happily, as being outside was one of the puppy's favorite things in the whole world. Rushing down the sidewalk to avoid getting caught in the rain Connor and Sumo raced up the front walk to the front door of the house and stopped short at the sight of an unmarked and opened cardboard box sitting outside the door on the front step.
"This isn't a mail package. And it wasn't here when we left."
Connor stated he curiously with a yellow tinted L.E.D. as he crouched down to peer inside the box to view its contents.
"Why is it here?"
Sumo's nose was pressing down inside the box to smell the unusual scent emanating from within. A handwritten note was resting atop a small squirming bundle wrapped up in a bloodied white towel and made Connor's blue L.E.D. flash to red with a shocked response and he pulled Sumo back by the collar. Once the squirming bundle began to cry softly Connor's red L.E.D. cycled back to yellow and Sumo let out a small whine of his own in response.
"A... baby?"
Another rumble of thunder sounded off loudly through the clouds and Connor reacted quickly as his L.E.D. flashed to red again then back to yellow. Reaching up with one hand Connor unlocked the front door and pushed it open to let Sumo inside the house before he then carefully picked up the box with both hands. With a firm grip Connor carried the box inside the house to get out of the impending storm and get the baby inside the shelter.
"Why is there a human baby on the doorstep? Where are the parents?"
Gently Connor placed the cardboard box down on the couch in the livingroom as Sumo's ears perked up with utter curiosity at the unexpected visitor's gentle and confused crying as it escalated in volume and frustration. Reacting as a compassionate person first and foremost, Connor picked up the handwritten note to be read later as he focused primarily on the crying newborn infant wrapped up only in the thin towel.
Running a biometric scan over the tiny human the deviant noted that it was a Caucasian girl, in seemingly perfect health aside from a slight chill, and had been born less than an hour ago. She had pale brown hair, dark blue eyes and a very fair complexion even for a newborn.
Cybernetically Connor sent a text to Hank asking him to return home due to an emergency as he very carefully picked the screaming baby up from the cardboard box with both of his hands in a firm but gentle grip, and then held her in his arms with an unusual and unexpected instinctive response to her cries. Unwilling to let her remain wrapped up in a chilly thin towel covered in her own blood, Connor carried the baby into the bathroom slowly in order to warm her up.
Sumo followed after the deviant but sat down in the hallway outside the opened bathroom door as he watched Connor with utter fascination. The puppy had never seen a human baby before.
"I need to get you warm. I'll do everything I can to care for you until I can find a suitable place for you to go."
Thinking quickly Connor took the largest of the fluffy clean towels and laid it out across the length of the bathtub and unwrapped the infant from her thin towel to lay her down gently on the soft surface. Next Connor took a washcloth from the towel rack and ran it under the tap in the sink in warm, but not hot, water and used it to very lightly wipe away the remaining sticky blood on the baby's body while being entirely mindful of her crudely tied off umbilical stump. Her cries steadily subdued as she began to feel warmer under Connor's care.
After the baby was cleaned and the old blood was washed away, Connor used a second clean warm towel to keep her protectively swaddled as he tried to think of how to handle the situation as best as possible. While he could easily download all the information he needed regarding the proper care of a newborn human baby, he would still need to use logic and proper judgement calls as he remained the baby's sole temporary protector.
"That should make you feel better. You're now warm and clean."
The older bloodied towel was left behind in the bathtub and away from the newborn at last. There was no need to worry about it for the time being.
Outside thunder and lightning rocked the neighborhood and a massive deluge of cold spring rain soaked the area with an impressive demonstration of nature at its most powerful. Connor had returned home just in time for everyone's sake.
Sumo whimpered at the sound of the encroaching storm but stayed in the hallway as he didn't know how to react to the violent weather.
"I can't take her to a hospital on foot in this weather."
Connor realized with a keen observation as he cybernetically tracked the moving storm and looked down at the baby swaddled protectively in the towel.
"And even if the car were here, it'd be too dangerous to drive around with a newborn in this weather without a proper car seat to hold her in place of my arms."
As the helpless infant resumed crying confusedly Connor was at a loss of what to do. He had no experience in caring for children, let alone a newborn baby. There was nothing in the house that could accommodate a newborn's needs and Connor was alone with her and Sumo during the storm until Hank managed to come back to the house to assist him.
"Hopefully Hank will return home soon."
Staying in control Connor whispered calmly as he picked up the newborn from the protectively warm towels and resumed cradling her in his arms. The deviant knew how to support the newborn properly to ensure her head and neck were given proper protection as he carried her about.
"He'll know what to do. Hank is great with young children."
Carrying the newborn out of the bathroom and into the livingroom with Sumo following right after him again, Connor sat down on the couch next to the cardboard box that he had found the baby inside of and looked over the note that had been left along with her. The note was the singular clue that could lead Connor in the direction of the newborn's missing parents.
"Let's see if I can figure out how you came to be on the doorstep, and from there I can determine how to reunite you with your family."
Picking up the note Connor read and carefully analyzed the note as any professional detective would do:
"-I'm sorry. I love her more than anything in the world, but I can't take care of her.
I'm fourteen and I was assaulted. My family won't believe me, help me or understand my choice and I ran away from home to give birth.
Please take care of her and find her a good home for me."
The note was left without a signature or name behind, which meant the birth mother didn't want to be known.
Connor expertly analyzed the handwriting on the note and determined the age of the author to be in fact a person between the ages of twelve and sixteen years old. The chosen words were also befitting of a person of said age. The shaking handwriting itself was indicative of emotional distress and physical pain - not from fear or unwilling correspondence - but of worry and sorrow. The person who penned the letter also did so of their own freewill.
"The birth mother is a teenager without any financial aid or familial support."
Connor deduced sadly as he placed the note back inside the box and he looked down at the newborn in his arms.
"You weren't abandoned," he reassured the baby despite her being unable to understand what he was saying. "you were given up for adoption. I'll do what I can to ensure you have a loving home."
Sumo joined Connor at the side of couch and put his front paws up against the soft cushion as he stood up on his hind legs to get a better look at the bundle in Connor's arms. The gentle puppy craned his neck to look at the whimpering baby Connor was holding, and his tail began to wag a little. It seemed the young pup knew that the baby was in need of some love and affection.
"You'll be okay."
Connor soothed with a deeply seated paternal instinct he never knew he had.
"I'll make sure you stay safe until the storm passes. You'll find a family soon."
Cybernetically Connor filed a report to the precinct regarding the situation at hand and requested that the nearest hospital prepare to receive a newborn who would need to be admitted to foster care, and to later be put up for adoption. Turning his head away from the newborn Connor let out a few deep coughs from his strained ventilation biocomponent and waited for his chest to settle before he returned his focus to the small baby he was determined to protect. It was then Connor feared the sudden coughing might upset the already distressed baby in his care.
"...I hope that wasn't too frightening for you to endure."
The storm continued to batter the house with heavy rain and wind that caused Sumo to whine and duck down under the coffee table in fear. Already big for a puppy, Sumo just barely fit under the piece of furniture as he sought a place to hide without getting too far away from Connor in the process.
"You'll be okay, too, Sumo."
The backdoor of the house opened up wide as Hank rushed inside and slammed it shut behind him eliciting an annoyed cry from the newborn and a small bark from Sumo in response. Shrugging off his rain soaked overcoat onto the back of a kitchen chair Hank spied Connor in the livingroom and joined the deviant at the couch where he readily looked at the swaddled bundle in Connor's arms.
"You found a WHAT this afternoon?!" Hank asked incredulously as he peered at the tiny newborn being cradled protectively in Connor's arms. "What the hell?!"
Noticing Sumo hiding under the coffee table next to Connor on the couch Hank had a knee-jerk reaction and couldn't keep himself from blurting it out.
"Connor, you CAN'T KEEP IT, you know that right?! It's a human, not a puppy!"
"I'm aware." Connor replied with a somewhat offended lilt to his voice as he absentmindedly soothed the crying baby with a gentle rocking motion that he didn't even know he was doing. The deviant was obeying an instinct he didn't know he had. "I wasn't planning on keeping her, and the thought never even crossed my mind."
With one hand Connor handed the note over to Hank who read it over for himself and his shoulders slumped with sympathetic sorrow toward both the baby and her unknown mother. Shaking his head a little Hank placed the note back down in the cardboard box next to Connor and looked down at the flimsy box with an annoyed glance.
"She was cold and required proper warmth." Logically Connor stated the facts as he looked back down at the newborn's face as she finally settled down for a nap and stopped crying. "The original towel I found her in was placed in the bathtub. It was covered in blood and made from very thin cotton material."
"All right, I'll put it back in the box to keep as evidence." Snatching up the box Hank made his way down the hallway. "Maybe they can find the mother through D.N.A. and at least get a family history so the baby doesn't have to go through life without knowing anything about where she came from."
Connor nodded in agreement as Hank quickly walked down the hallway and into the bathroom to get the bloodied towel. As he returned to the livingroom he dropped it into the box then walked into the kitchen to wash off his hands.
"Sumo! Come!" Hank called to the pup who happily trotted into the kitchen from under the table to greet Hank. "Good boy, come on." Hank coaxed Sumo into walking down the hallway and into the bathroom where Hank promptly shut the door on the large puppy. "Sorry boy, I can't take any chances of a giant affectionate dog accidentally getting too close to a tiny human."
"Sumo was behaving with curiosity, not aggression." Connor defended from where he sat on the couch. "I doubt he would've harmed her."
"Yeah, I know. It's in his breed to be protective of humans, but Sumo is still learning and doesn't know his own strength yet." The Lieutenant explained calmly from the hallway as Sumo whined pathetically from behind the closed door. "You didn't see anyone acting suspiciously before or after you left the house for your walk, did you?"
"No. I saw no one unusual or any pregnant youths in the immediate area."
"Yeah, well, I don't think it matters." The admission seemed a little too casual. "This is a safe delivery area, so the mother technically didn't do anything wrong."
"Safe delivery area?" Connor coughed again and once more he turned his head away from the newborn until he caught his breath. "I... I thought only police precincts, fire departments, hospitals and some churches were designated as such areas."
"Normally, yeah, but I also volunteered to have this place registered as one just after Cole was born."
"Any particular reason?"
Steadily Hank nodded in the affirmative as he checked how Connor was holding the sleeping baby.
"Here, more like this." Swiftly Hank walked around the couch and gently adjusted Connor's arms to more appropriately cradle the newborn while keeping her as warm as possible against his chest, before sitting down next to the deviant. "During my first few years as a rookie I stopped a teenager, barely sixteen, from falling into a life of prostitution and she ended up founding a discreet shelter for runaway and abused teens after she finished school. She set up the shelter two blocks from here and she asked for my help to make sure the teens felt safe enough to stay with her and know that if something like 'this'," Hank motioned to the baby as he spoke. "happens, the newborns will be taken care of properly. No judgement, no worries."
"You've been through this before?"
"Yup. But it's been years since I've had a newborn dropped off at my step or had a pregnant teen in labor seeking shelter."
"Why not instruct the teenagers to go to the hospital?"
"The damn doctors ask way too many questions, and they like to give their unwanted, bias opinions to these frightened teen girls and essentially guilt them into either keeping the babies they can't afford to take care of or they make them feel like garbage for even existing in the first place."
Feeling a little at ease upon seeing the baby safe and sound, Hank smiled a little at the calm baby in Connor's arms proudly.
"I don't judge them." Hank continued in a calmer tone. "Life doesn't go the way we want it to sometimes, and the last thing those girls need to deal with while already going through one of the most difficult moments in their lives is the uninformed opinions of judgmental strangers who can't be bothered to lift a damn finger to help them out after the baby's actually born."
"I see." Picking up on something in Hank's tone Connor knew there was a deeper meaning behind his comments. "I don't want to pry but it sounds like you're speaking from a personal experience."
"Yeah... My best friend in high school." The senior detective admitted with a heavy heart as he rose from the couch and walked over to the front window to watch the storm outside. "She got pregnant after a one-night-stand with her douchebag of a boyfriend who dumped her the next morning after he got her in bed. He got what he wanted, and she ended up with a broken heart and a 'little surprise' afterward. When she told her parents what happened they kicked her out. She wasn't even allowed to talk to her siblings or any extended family, and she had to drop out of school because the other students kept bullying her; calling her names and telling her that she had it coming because her ex-boyfriend had spread lies about her. She was devastated and ostracized."
"What happened to your friend?" Connor asked, his L.E.D. now cycling yellow with emotional empathy as he subconsciously continued rocking the newborn back and forth in his arms at a slow, gentle pace to keep her calm. "She needed help."
"Well," Hank continued his story with a jaded tone. "after she dropped out of school, I told her to come home with me. My dad agreed to shelter her since I was an only child and my mom had just died, so the house already felt empty. She stayed with us until the baby was born. But like I said, the doctors kept prying into her personal life and made her feel like a slut all because of one night and one bad decision that TWO people made. They even went after me because they couldn't accept that I was just her friend and looking out for her, not the father of her baby trying to feign innocence or escape responsibility."
Connor waited for Hank to finish the story although he was reluctant to hear what was sure to be a sad ending.
"After the birth, a little girl by the way, my friend gave the baby up for private adoption, moved out of the city to finish school and that was the last time I ever saw her OR the baby. They were both the victims of selfishness from one other person, and yet they were blamed and labeled as the ones who were at fault. She was in love, but her ex just wanted to bang her. The baby wasn't planned, but everyone acted like it was somehow at fault just for being born... I can't stand that one-sided, judgmental thinking!"
Feeling a little worried Connor looked down at the newborn and let out a weary sigh. "Do you think this baby's mother will be able to return home and finish school?"
"I honestly don't know, kid. But I sincerely hope so."
The newborn began to rouse from her sleep and fuss a little in Connor's arms. Looking at the newborn Connor tried to understand what was happening but his lack of experience with children interaction was speaking volumes as he stared at her with a blank expression.
"Let's see her..." Hank had his own experienced hunch and quickly stepped in as he looked down at the baby and confirmed she was clean and warm. "She's probably hungry. I haven't kept formula in the house for years, but I think there's some bottles still in a box in the hall closet."
"What should I do?"
"Just keep doing what you're doing. I'll get her something to tide her over until the storm dies down enough to make it to the hospital."
Connor nodded as he readjusted his arms once more to try to soothe the newborn quietly. It was a strange feeling holding the tiny helpless human in his arms; it was almost as if it were completely natural for him to care for a baby. A faint smile appeared on Connor's face as he continued to look down at her with a kind demeanor while Hank pulled a box out of the hall closet. For the first time in his life Connor didn't mind sitting down while someone else set about a busy task.
Hearing Sumo whimpering sadly in the bathroom was hard to ignore. Hank finally relented and opened the door to let the puppy roam free again. The large puppy swiftly exited the bathroom and retreated to the livingroom where he quickly ducked back down under the coffee table in fear of the storm as Hank took the item he had been searching for and carried it into the kitchen to be sanitized.
"It's okay, Sumo." Connor soothed as he gave the large puppy an amused grin as the fluffy pup cowered under the table. "You're safe, too."
The sound of the kitchen sink running warm water over the retrieved bottle, followed by the sound of Hank rummaging through the refrigerator caught Connor's attention but he didn't take his eyes off the newborn. Watching as the tiny newborn tried to communicate her discomfort through small sounds and weak motions of her arms and legs was something truly fascinating for the deviant to observe.
"Here, it's not much but it should be able to keep her comfortable for the next few hours without making her sick." Hank handed Connor a freshly washed bottle with slightly warmed up milk to take. "It's not too difficult to feed a newborn, they have the suckling reflex hardwired into their brains. Let me show you how to get her to latch onto the bottle so she can drink properly. That's the only hard part with feeding a newborn."
Connor hesitatingly accepted the bottle and with Hank's guidance managed to give the newborn the bottle to drink. Just as Hank said she began to suckle on the bottle and slowly drink the offered milk without any difficulty and seemed to settle down in Connor's arms again after Connor was able to get her to latch with Hank's guidance.
"I just thought of something." An interesting thought popped into the deviant's head as he tended to the newborn in his arms and needed to ask Hank about it. "I thought you said you aided the teens when they were in labor. Why do you have so many extra bottles in the house?"
"Not all of the girls wanted to give their babies up for adoption, son. And not all of them were necessarily teenagers. Young women in their twenties still face scrutiny and need some help without being judged. Barbara and I liked helping them out. It made us both feel like we were actually doing something for innocent people in the city." Sitting down beside Connor on the couch again Hank recounted his past efforts with his late wife whenever they helped the young women in need. "It was nice to help people who were still alive and who still had a chance at life in general instead of just speaking for the dead or peeling overdosed junkies out of the street every night."
"I'm glad you were able to help so many people."
"So am I." Hank pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text to a secret contact at the nearby hospital - a contact he hadn't had to use in years - to let them know what was happening, and then turned to look out the front livingroom window again. "The storm should let up enough within an hour or so. We can get the baby to the hospital safely soon enough."
"I'm sorry you had to leave your date early."
"It's okay, kid. Rose understands that detectives don't have the most reliable social schedules." He put his hand on Connor's shoulder lightly as he spoke and watched the newborn being cared for by the deviant. "...Not to mention taking care of a newborn tends to be more important than an afternoon out with a good friend."
"Are you going to see Rose again?"
"Yeah. We'll meet up again next Saturday night."
"That's good. I'm glad you have someone to socialize with."
"What about you? We hang out all the time."
"Correction." The deviant stated quickly as he gave Hank a small grin. "I'm glad you have a lovely woman to socialize with again."
"Oh. I gotcha'."
The newborn's tiny hands flexed a few times as she nursed from the bottle and managed to find its way to Connor's hand as he held onto the bottle for her. Her tiny hand was able to somewhat wrap around Connor's pinky as he held her kindly, and she squeezed in response. The action was enough to cause Connor's yellow L.E.D. to cycle back to blue for the first time since he found her, and he began to relax.
"I think she likes you." Hank softly commented as he watched the newborn intently. "That's a sign of affection."
"I'm certain it's merely another instinctive reflex instilled in all newborns when they're being fed."
"I don't know. Babies are great judges of character. They're completely innocent and don't have any bias or misplaced hatred in their hearts when it comes to meeting new people."
"Maybe." Connor gave Hank an odd look as he responded to the comment. "The same can be said about animals."
"Yeah, true." As if waiting for a reason to crawl out from under the coffee table Sumo emerged from his hiding place and pressed up against Hank's leg affectionately as he trembled a little in fright from the storm. Hank pressed his hand over Sumo's ears and rubbed gently. "I guess we're both doing okay then."
The storm passed and the roads were safe to drive. Once at the hospital Hank and Connor were met by a seasoned nurse who knew Hank on a first name basis and seemed happy to see him. After explaining the situation and giving her as many details as possible, Connor carefully handed the newborn over to the trusted nurse who lovingly cradled the tiny baby herself before gently placing the baby down in a rolling bassinet to take her down to the N.I.C.U. for an examination. Hank made sure the cardboard box and the bloodied towel were also given to the staff to have the blood sample tested for any sign of illness or genetic conditions that could have an impact on the newborn's health before being turned over for evidence to try to find her parents.
With a kind 'goodbye' the nurse proceeded to wheel the bassinet down the corridor so the baby could at long last be tended to properly and eventually find herself a loving family to join. The moment was bittersweet as it meant the baby would be okay, but it also meant neither Connor or Hank were likely to ever encounter the baby ever again.
"You know something?" Hank laughed a little as he gave Connor an amused stare. "I think you'd be a great father. You already have the right instincts with taking care of people, you're patient, compassionate, and you're a natural at dealing with messes. That's perfect for fatherhood."
"That... would be an interesting endeavor. However, I don't think I'd be permitted to adopt a child if that's what you're implying."
"Well, with deviants now having equal rights I don't think that'd be too much to ask for. Unless you deviants figured out how to have children in your own 'natural' sort of way and you just didn't say anything..."
"Deviants acting as surrogates for humans isn't uncommon. That being said, theoretically, with all of the updates from CyberLife as well as New Jericho Tower allowing deviants to act, feel and behave more human, it's entirely possible that technicians could find a way to allow androids to reproduce in a similar way to that of humans. It's already been suspected that CyberLife had such programming and updates completed but didn't release them to the public, but there is little proof to substantiate such a wild claim."
"Wow... That was a disturbing thought." Hank looked a little confused by the comment. "No offense, kid."
"No offense taken." In response Connor let out a weary sigh as he watched the bassinet disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor. "I'm just glad everything worked out for the baby."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes."
"You seem upset."
"I'm not. I'm just thinking."
"Then what're you thinking so damn hard about?"
"How it isn't fair that she has to suffer." The admission was sincere and empathetic. "It's like you said, she's innocent and it isn't her fault that she was born in less-than-ideal circumstances. Why does she have to struggle just to survive all because her mother was assaulted and had no one to help her?"
"I know it'll be hard but try not to worry about the baby." Hank clapped his hand over Connor's shoulder as they finally made their way to the exit of the hospital into the fresh smelling spring air. "She's in good hands, she'll be placed with a good home thanks to Becky there, and she had a good start because you helped her out."
"I suppose you're correct."
"Besides, you still have to heal from your own injuries still."
"I know."
"I'm certain she'll find a loving home soon enough, kid." Hank sincerely reassured the deviant in a kind tone. "I have a good feeling about this."
"She will." Connor replied confidently as his blue L.E.D. briefly flashed to yellow and he let out another weak cough. His L.E.D. cycled back to blue and he cleared his throat before continuing to speak with Hank at his side. "I know it."
"Oh, really? And why's that, son?"
"Well, I was adopted." Without any hesitation Connor reminded Hank of his own past in an almost sickeningly sweet tone as he gave the senior detective a knowing, sly smirk. "If I can find a home and a family then I know she will, too."
With utmost pride in his heart Hank smiled as he and his adopted son left the hospital walking shoulder to shoulder to head back home to try to salvage the rest of their unusual evening together.
"You're right. She's going to be just fine and so will you."
-next chapter-
Author's Note: I had a couple of prompts wanting Connor to have more interaction with children. I wasn't quite sure how to make that happen without putting more kids in danger and that would just feel a little 'extreme' in my opinion.
And I hope Hank didn't come off as too preachy, but he strikes me as the type of guy who hates stupid shit like abandoning/judging/dismissing people in need; especially since he changed his mind about androids after meeting and getting to know Connor. And it was a good way to add some (au/non-canon/fanon) backstory to his personality as a gruff detective with a heart of pure gold.
