It was nearing the end of September but that didn't mean the city was free from sporadic summer heatwaves that smothered the city in uncomfortable warmth despite the fall leaves beginning to paint the town in an amber hue. Hank rolled out from beneath the Pace with grease all over his hands as he finished draining the old oil and replacing the plug in the somewhat aged, but loyal vehicle, as he wanted to get the car prepared for winter early on. As he stood up from the ground to stretch out his tightened back muscles Connor handed him an old red rag to wipe off his hands and a bottle of water to cool off after working so hard.

The Pace was parked out in the driveway so the Corvette could be safe inside the garage. As a result Hank was suffering from the heat thanks to the sun warming the blacktop surface of the entire driveway beneath his body.

"You should go inside and get out of the sun for a while." Connor suggested as he cautiously ran a biometric scan over the senior detective's body. Hank was showing signs of mild heat exhaustion - elevated heart rate, elevated blood pressure, elevated temperature and heavy perspiration. "Your internal temperature has risen to ninety-nine point seven degrees."

"I'll be fine," Hank insisted as he wiped his left forearm over his hot forehead to rid himself of the sweat building on his brow. "I just need to replace the oil and then I'm done."

"I can do that for you. You should go inside and get out of the heat."

"No way. You have the Corvette to play with, I get this old bird all to myself."

"You really do enjoy working on cars." A faint grin appeared on the deviant's face as he observed Hank's upbeat mood despite the heat. "Why didn't you become a mechanic instead of a detective?"

"Because," Hank picked up the large bottle of new oil from the ground in front of the car and twisted open the cap. "not everyone appreciates their cars. It'd drive me crazy to work my ass off to get a car running as smoothly as possible only to have some annoying bastard drive it into the ground and break it out of neglect or laziness. Then they'd come back to me to fix it, all the while bitchin' about how expensive parts are, blah, blah, blah... It just wasn't worth the aggravation. Dead people don't complain nearly as much as the living."

"I see. Do you have everything you need to finish changing the oil?"

"Yeah, kid. I got everything I need."

"What about the spark plugs? They're approximately eight years in age and could be changed to prevent problems from occurring."

Hank finished pouring the oil into the proper intake port and gave Connor a suspicious side-eyed glance. "What're you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything. I just want to help."

"Yeah... And the fact that tomorrow is my birthday doesn't have anything to do with it? Riiiiiight?"

"I..." Connor didn't have much of a poker face anymore after becoming deviant and developing true emotions. Unable to deny his plans he admitted he had ulterior motives for wanting to leave the house for a few hours. "It's not a surprise party if that's what you're worried about."

"Not anymore. But please don't do anything at all. I don't like my birthday."

"You encouraged me to celebrate my own birthday despite my hesitation, I wish to do the same for you."

"But that's different." Replacing the lid on the oil intake valve in the engine Hank slammed the hood of the car shut and proceeded to lower the bulky vehicle down from the jack back to the driveway. "You never had a birthday before and you needed to experience at least one in your life."

"I've never experienced anyone else's birthday before, either." Connor put a somewhat somber inflection in his voice knowing that such a mannerism had a strong effect on humans. "And you're the only human I can comfortably socialize with consistently."

Sighing with a sense of defeat Hank relented and gave Connor a stern look. "...Do NOT go out of your way and do anything elaborate. No big gifts, no groups, no public celebration and no damn party."

"I can work within those terms."

Resuming his suspicious stare Hank dared to press the matter further. "Why do I get the feeling you've been planning this since your own birthday?"

"Because you're a good detective."

"Uh-huh..."

"And a good mechanic." Connor tagged on with a mischievous grin. "You're very good, in fact."

Patting Connor on the shoulder once as he passed by the deviant to return to the house, Hank shook his head and walked slowly up the steps of the back deck with fatigue in his gait. "I'm taking a shower, you do whatever."

"I promise you I will not throw any surprise parties or make you feel uncomfortable."

"You better not." Opening the front door Hank stepped aside and let Sumo rush outside to enjoy the warm yard for a while. "Or else I'll make you sleep in the Corvette for a year."

"Considering I like the car that's not a very good punishment."

"Should've known... Smartass."


True to his word Connor went about his plans for Hank's birthday without it becoming extravagant or embarrassing as per Hank's request. Driving to Rose's house outside of the city Connor met the kindhearted woman out in her greenhouse and proceeded to help her with her current harvest of fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and squash before following her into the kitchen to pick up the birthday cake that she had happily baked for him earlier that day. It was a small gift but one that would be appreciated all the same since Hank loved a good home cooked meal.

Having already hidden the gift he had purchased for Hank inside his closet out of sight, Connor was certain that the little things being provided would be enough to surprise Hank for his birthday without aggravating him in the process. The last thing Connor wanted to do was accidentally annoy Hank on his birthday, especially if the senior detective was already feeling unwell.

"Are you sure that you only want to give him a cake for his birthday?" Rose asked as she carefully placed the cake in a protective container and handed it over to Connor to carry. "I know Hank isn't the most social person, but this seems so simple."

"It's what he'd prefer. He has made that clear to me on numerous occasions. However, I do have a secondary gift that I will give him as well." Holding onto the plastic container with both hands Connor carried it back out to the Corvette and gently placed the cake down in the backseat and wrapped a seatbelt around it as a precaution. "I will attempt to get him to partake in a more social outing, but I suspect it won't be successful until after his birthday has passed."

"I wish I could visit tomorrow, but I don't want to miss Adam when he comes home for the day before returning to college."

"I understand and I know Hank will, too."

"Be sure to let me know if you can get him out of the house. I'd like to see him again."

"I will." Connor nodded and smiled at her warmly. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome." Rose wrapped her arms around Connor in a tight hug that he happily reciprocated, then gave his cheek a small kiss. "Take care."

"You do the same. I appreciate everything you've done for us!"

Returning home with the cake in tow Connor wisely opened the backdoor and let Sumo outside first before he returned to the car parked in the driveway beside the house to take the cake inside. The clever deviant brought a small plastic bag of groceries as well to hopefully keep Hank from asking too many questions. Placing the cake discreetly inside a cabinet above the kitchen sink out of sight, Connor then placed the other groceries inside the refrigerator and then called for Sumo to come back inside before joining Hank in the livingroom.

The senior detective was sitting at the end of the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table and a bottle of water in his right hand. Hank still looked like he was worn-out from being in the sun all day and Connor was a little worried about the older man's health.

"Are you feeling well?" Connor asked as he joined Hank on the couch and ran another scan over Hank's body. His internal temperature had dropped to ninety-nine point three degrees, but he still appeared pale and exhausted. "You seem lethargic, yet your heart rate has elevated."

"I'm fine. Just a little warm."

"You've been consuming water all afternoon. Are you experiencing any back pain that could be attributed to renal distress?"

"My kidney is fine." Turning his head a little Hank gave Connor a somewhat annoyed glance, his blue eyes appearing mildly pained. "Did you find what you were looking while you were out?"

"Yes." Confirming the question Connor took in Hank's overall appearance and noticed that Hank was still sweating despite being inside the cool house for almost three hours and showering off. "Do you have a headache?"

"A dull one. Why?"

"Are you experiencing any abdominal pain, dizziness or confusion?"

"...No. What're you getting at, kid?"

"I'm worried you may be suffering from heat exhaustion." Getting up from the couch Connor returned to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of a cherry flavored sports drink he wisely purchased for Hank while getting the other various groceries. Walking back into the livingroom Connor passed the bottle of the red tinted liquid to Hank to consume. "You should drink this."

"I've been drinking water. I'm fine."

"Dehydration can disrupt your electrolyte balance and it can also deplete your sodium levels resulting in muscle cramps, dizziness and nausea. Think of this as a precautionary measure."

With obvious disdain in his eyes Hank took the bottle from Connor's hand and opened it up. Taking a small drink to placate the deviant's worry Hank placed the bottle on the coffee table then leaned back against the couch. "Happy?"

"...Not as happy as I could be."

"No one ever is." Pressing his left hand to the side of his head Hank tried to deny the growing pain of his headache and turned up the volume on the television as he concentrated on the final inning of the baseball game. "After this game I'm going to shower again and then go to bed. When I wake up tomorrow I better not find the house covered in balloons or a room full of people. If I do, I'll make you sleep in the garage for a year instead."

"I promise you that you won't find anything of that nature tomorrow."

"Good." Focusing on the game Hank sighed tiredly and took another sip of the cherry flavored drink. "That's all I ask."


Aware of the senior detective's gruff personality Connor was cautiously observing Hank's behavior that evening and proceeded to discreetly scan the senior detective from the partially opened bedroom door after Hank had gone to bed earlier than usual. Aside from the mild elevation in his body temperature and moderate dehydration, Hank was seemingly just tired from working out in the sun all day, but Connor didn't want to take any chances. Unwilling to risk Hank's health considering his relatively advanced age and his singular functioning kidney Connor set his internal alarm to awake him every hour on the hour to check in on Hank's condition throughout the night.

Sumo remained on Connor's bed and just watched as the deviant went about his unorthodox routine for the night and wagged his tail every time Connor returned to bed after checking on Hank. Around two in the morning Connor proceeded to run the fifth scan over Hank's body from the opened doorway and in that time noted that Hank's body temperature had begun to increase and reached one-hundred degrees even.

Entering the bedroom quietly Connor knelt down beside the bed and pressed his right fingertips to the right side of Hank's neck to count his pulse and noted that he was sweating again. Making his decision Connor moved his hand down to Hank's right shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Hank? Wake up."

The senior detective remained asleep, his chest continuing to rise and fall in a steady rhythm as he slept.

Raising his voice a little Connor tried again. "Hank?" Shaking a little harder Connor tried a new approach to get the sleeping and now sick senior detective's attention. "...Dad?"

Hank's eyelids fluttered a little and he took in a deeper breath as he awoke at last. "...Connor?"

"Your body temperature is beginning to elevate."

Confused Hank looked about his bedroom in the dim lighting before settling on Connor's worried face. "...I'm fine. The house is just hot."

"Incorrect. The air conditioning unit is working at optimal levels. It is currently sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit." Standing up from the floor Connor pulled the quilt down from Hank's chest to his abdomen to try to cool him off before he left the bedroom. "I'll get you some more water."

Sitting up a little in the bed Hank was overcome with a sudden but brief bout of dizziness and laid back down against his pillow. "...Fuck." Listening to Connor walking about in the kitchen Hank awaited the deviant's return and finally admitted he wasn't actually feeling fine. "Damn weather."

"You are in fact suffering from mild heat exhaustion." Handing Hank a new bottle of water Connor placed a plastic bag of ice wrapped up in a clean hand towel over Hank's forehead lightly. "If your temperature increases to one-hundred and one point five degrees I'll have to take you to the emergency room to seek medical attention to prevent a possible heat stroke."

"Great. Just great..."

"I am confident I can treat your hyprathermia without having to resort to emergency medical intervention, but I will not risk your life in the process."

"Never doubted you for a second, son."

"Are you experiencing any other symptoms that I should be aware of?" Carefully the deviant checked Hank's eyes, using his own superior vision to do so without needing to turn on the overhead light and agitate Hank's headache in the process. "Any discomfort at all."

"...Yeah. I'm a little lightheaded."

"Continue to drink the water and the sports drink, it should rehydrate you and stop the dizziness." Connor sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his right fingertips to the interior of Hank's left wrist to count his pulse again and pulled the quilt down lower from Hank's core to ensure he began to cool down naturally. "I'm sorry to have woken you up, but this was crucial."

"I get it, kid." Drinking the offered water slowly Hank took in a deep breath and tried to ignore his lingering headache. "You're just looking out for me."

"It's two o' six in the morning." Connor gave the detective a somewhat timid glance as he continued to stay at his adopted father's side. "Is it too early to say happy birthday?"

Hank laughed lightly at the question and shook his head. "Nah, that's fine. The sooner this day begins the sooner it can end."

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks, son."

"Go back to sleep." Rising from the bed Connor took a few steps toward the opened bedroom door to let the senior detective rest peacefully. "I'll monitor your condition from my own bedroom to ensure you remain as stable as possible."

"Yeah, sure." Closing his eyes Hank placed the bottle of water down on the nearby end table as he tried to salvage his sleep. "Whatever. The damn kid is too empathetic for his own good sometimes. Hell, for my good at that..."

The morning crept in without further incident as Hank's elevated temperature began a slow but steady decline, reaching ninety-nine point two degrees by nine in the morning. The decline wasn't as rapid as Connor had hoped but he was content to see it dropping in general. Guiding Hank out of the senior detective's bedroom and to the couch in the livingroom Connor pressed his right hand to Hank's forehead curiously while Hank tried to push his palm away with mild frustrations at the constant attention.

"Stop it. I'm not feverish."

Sumo followed after the two detectives for a moment before trotting into the kitchen and sitting down next to his empty bowls expectantly.

"You're no longer in danger of suffering from heat induced complications," the deviant stated with a modicum of relief to his tone. "but you're still at risk of dehydration. You need to continue to drink the provided water and sports drink."

Hank grabbed onto Connor's right arm with one hand and pushed the deviant back. "I'll finish off that cherry shit and the water, but I can't do it all in one shot."

"Is it the same as when I was unable to consume the Thirium I required after becoming sick from the rat poison?"

"No, your stomach was hurting you, this is different."

"How so?"

"You were in pain and pain is something you need to push through to get better. As for me, I don't want to drink so much I piss myself or accidentally kill my last kidney from over-hydration or something."

"O-Oh... I hadn't considered the strain it could cause your renal system if you were to consume too many fluids in a short amount of time."

"Look, I'm going to take it easy and keep out of the heat for the entire day and all of tomorrow. I'll be fine."

Nodding subtly Connor accepted Hank's assertive claim and decided to ask about something different. "...Is it inappropriate to give you your birthday gift while you're feeling unwell?"

"Why would it be inappropriate?"

"Because you do not feel well. It seems ironic, if not insulting, to give you something that is supposed to elicit joy while you're feeling miserable."

"Oh, right." Hank laughed a little and ran his right hand through his gray hair casually. "Humans are confusing."

"Yes, they can be. But how do you mean in this particular moment?"

"Humans love to think the act of gift giving as something that only happens when we're already in a good mood, but the truth is give gifting is meant to be a give and take thing. You give a gift to feel good for doing something nice, just as receiving a gift is supposed to be a sign of affection. The two acts aren't mutually exclusive and don't happen just when people are happy. Most of the time it's used to cheer someone up."

"So, a gift would be appropriate for two reasons because of your birthday as well as your current condition?"

"Yes, son. It's fine." Hank laughed again as the unfailing naivety of Connor trying to figure out humans and their customs. "As long as it's not a surprise party."

"It is not."

"Good."

"I'll take care of Sumo and I will get you your gift."

"You didn't buy another car, did ya'?"

"No."

"Very good." Hank leaned back against the couch cushion and let out a breathy sigh as he tried to push past the headache that just wouldn't let him be no matter what he did. "Nothing elaborate is all I want."

Connor flashed a somewhat bemused smile as he took care of Sumo in the kitchen and let him out into the backyard for the morning. With the young dog distracted Connor proceeded to make his way back down the hallway into his bedroom and pulled open his closet to retrieve the perfectly wrapped box in dark blue paper and carried it out to Hank in the livingroom.

"I know you said you didn't want anything special for your birthday," Connor gently placed the box onto the couch next to Hank as he himself took a seat in the recliner adjacent to the couch. "but you also stated that you don't celebrate your birthday either. Since this is arguably the only birthday you'd be willing celebrate with me I wanted to make sure your gift was memorable."

"But not elaborate?"

"Correct."

"All right. Thanks, Connor." With as much enthusiasm as one would expect from a sick and indifferent person Hank peeled up the paper taped down at the end of the box and unwrapped the offered gift. Revealing a white cardboard box underneath Hank flipped open the lid and looked down at the item wrapped in white tissue paper beneath curiously. "Is this glass?"

"Only a portion of it."

"Oh." Carefully Hank peeled back the light tissue paper and peered down at the exposed gift and nearly dropped the box as he saw what Connor had done just for him. "Connor..."

"I know you had tried to forget about the family photographs in the crawlspace but I could not. I favored that particular image and I suspect you had done the same which is why it was wrapped up in numerous layers of paper and placed in its own box and hidden for safekeeping."

"...I had no idea it was still in the house."

With a timid right hand Hank picked up the perfectly restored photograph that was behind a flawlessly polished layer of glass in a strong rectangular black frame. The photo was of Hank himself, back when his hair was shorter and still somewhat brunette, holding Cole as a small infant in his left arm while his right hand wrapped around Barbara's left hand as the three walked around the lake at the cabin. There was a gorgeous orange and red sunset reflected on the surface of the still lake and gave the entire photo a surreal and beautiful natural aura.

The photo itself had obviously been taken by a good friend when the three were unaware of the picture being taken as the trio had naturally happy expressions on their face as opposed to purposely posed and insincere expressions that stem from being asked to stop and smile. It was a photograph that had immortalized Hank's happiness for him to revisit.

Hank leaned forward and wiped his left thumb under his eye as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Do... you like it?" Connor asked hesitatingly as he had a difficult time reading Hank's current emotional state of mind. Never before had Connor seen the senior detective with such a blank face but emotionally conflicted eyes. "If it upsets you-"

"I'm not upset." Hank finally replied as he stared at the long forgotten photograph in his hand. "Just... overwhelmed."

Unsure of what to say, if anything at all, Connor remained quiet and waited for Hank to break the silence at his own pace.

"Connor... Thank you for this. I forgot how much Barb and I loved spending time at the cabin as a family, even if it was only for two summers. But they were two great summers for damn sure. I'll never forget them."

Remaining quiet Connor just waited for Hank to take control of the situation or say something else. It was rare to see Hank so overwhelmed by emotion or showing any sign of the truly compassionate nature in his needlessly hidden heart of gold.

Hank turned to look at Connor with emotional tears collecting in his blue eyes as he gave the deviant an appreciative smile. "As far as birthdays go, this wasn't the worst I've had. In fact, it was one of the best I've had since I was a kid. Thanks, son."

Returning the kind smile Connor stood up from the recliner and sat down beside Hank on the couch. "Rose made you a cake as well, she said it is chocolate flavored, but I doubt your have much of an appetite at the moment. She would also like to spend an evening with you whenever you're feeling up to a night out of the house."

"Yeah... That sounds nice."

Staring down at the photograph held tightly in his protective grip Hank let out a single chuckle as he let the good memories of those summers at the cabin flood his mind, and bring him a much needed sense of peace. Setting aside the box Hank's left hand reached up and grabbed onto Connor's shoulder and shook him once lightly.

"I'm glad you did this." The senior detective's blue eyes lit up with long repressed happiness after so many years of depression and self pity. It was felt good to think of his family and to see them all together in the photograph that had captured a happier time in his younger life. "...I really am. It's been too long since I let myself remember the good parts from my past."

Connor let out a very human sigh of relief as Hank sincerely expressed his joy. "I was worried I may have overstepped a boundary when I took the photograph for restoration. I'm aware of your private nature, but I was also relatively certain that this would've been acceptable as a gift."

"This is very acceptable. I couldn't have asked for anything better." As if renewed with a zest for life Hank's pallor seemed to return to a normal healthy shade and the headache that had been relentlessly gnawing at him for the past day finally began to lessen. Feeling truly great for the first time in a long time Hank spoke from the very heart of gold that Hank often tried to hide but Connor could see all too well. "Thank you, son. I love my gift."

"Happy birthday... dad."

Upon hearing the term Hank's grip tightened as he pulled Connor in closer for a quick hug and held onto him for a moment. "Yeah, it actually is a happy birthday. I'm glad you talked me into celebrating my birthday, son. I needed this."

-next chapter-