A two week lull of inactivity regarding deviant suspects or crimes revolving around androids in general had left Connor and Hank with plenty of time to catch up on their paperwork at the precinct. However, it was a double-edged sword since it also left them with too much free time on their hands in between paperwork. Free time could be a good thing, but it could also be an overwhelmingly boring thing; especially when you're a seasoned detective looking to keep his mind preoccupied, or a restless deviant detective still brimming with a curious need to fully adapt to his work environment and sense of humanity. Thanks to the frequent inactivity Connor was able to discreetly delve in to the precinct's oldest and coldest cases just to placate his own curiosity while still working.

One case in particular was very interesting to Connor and he was drawn deeper into the details when he noticed that the potential suspect could be an android. As it turned out Tina had been quietly working on cold cases when she had her own down time and had been drawn to the same case as Connor. The fact that the case was intriguing to two detectives made it practically irresistible for Connor to ponder and he needed to let Hank know of his findings.

"There is a cold case that Chris had found pertaining to a suspect who could in fact be an android." Connor sent the file from his terminal over to Hank's screen for the seasoned detective to review for himself. "Perhaps we could investigate this during this rare moment of reprieve?"

"Sure, why not? The suspect and this missing android look too similar to be ignored." Hank looked into the details of the case quickly as he leaned back in his chair causing the old furniture to 'creak'. Folding his hands casually behind his head Hank stretched out his tightening back and sighed with a sense of boredom. "Besides, it sounds a lot better than sitting on my ass doing nothing all day long."

"I also disdain remaining idle for too long." Connor nodded in approval as he summarized the depth of the case with cybernetic efficiency. "The suspect in question had reportedly broken into several cemeteries at night and had also been reported as breaking into abandoned buildings also at night. No theft. No vandalism. Seemingly no motivation or crime beyond that of trespassing and loitering."

"Sounds weird." Hank tilted his head slightly and gave Connor a casual wave of his arm. "You have my full attention."

"The android suspect is registered as 'Richard'." Connor continued reading the report casually from where he sat. "The last known address of the android is located eight blocks west of the precinct inside an apartment complex which is currently occupied by a family."

"Then that's where we'll start." Straightening his posture briefly Hank rose from his chair and pulled his car keys from his coat pocket to twirl around on his fingertip for a moment. "Let's go check it out."

The apartment complex of the address mentioned in the case file wasn't the nicest in the city, but it was far better than the usual rundown slums that deviant androids had often been forced to seek shelter within. It was a complex that housed numerous human families as opposed to being android exclusive, which meant that as an android Richard had once belonged to a family before he was reported as missing. After speaking with the family, who had initially purchased Richard four years prior, Hank and Connor learned that Richard had disappeared shortly after his original owner passed away from old age. Richard had failed to adjust to living with the deceased man's extended family and subsequently ran off.

The missing android had been passed on to the surviving family with little to no warning and couldn't handle the transition. Unable to handle all of his new emotions and being put into a new environment against his will had driven Richard over the edge and prompted him to flee in utter confusion.

"I can't say anything definite but," Hank stated somewhat indifferently as he and Connor left the complex and returned to the Oldsmobile with a few more details to add to the cold case at hand. "I don't peg that family as being abusive to anyone, even an android."

"I agree." Connor's own voice was flat and his gaze distant as he opened the passenger side door of the large vehicle. "They weren't the initial cause of Richard's disappearance."

"Something on your mind?" The keenly trained senior detective inquired as they returned to their respective seats, and he turned the key in the ignition. "You look like you're trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces."

"At the time of Richard's disappearance, deviancy was only just beginning." Fastening his seatbelt Connor gave Hank a mournful glance from where he sat. "Perhaps Richard was becoming deviant and experiencing new emotions for the first time at the time of his original owner's passing. One of which emotion could've been 'grief'. From what I understand such an emotion can be incredibly overwhelming to anyone, even if they've experienced it before."

"Yeah. Grief can be a real bitch to handle." Pulling the car back onto the street Hank aimlessly circled the block while he and Connor chatted for a moment. He didn't want to get too far away and then have to circle back when they could just remain in the area. "I can't imagine what it'd be like for someone who never felt any emotions before to have to suddenly deal with the heartbreak of losing someone that they were close to; friends or family."

"I believe Richard was unable to grasp the concept of death, unable to cope with the loss of life, and had a form of an emotional breakdown. With deviancy at the time being seen as nothing more than an error, he would've been too afraid to ask for help out of fear of being labeled as a defective machine and subsequently destroyed."

"You think he broke in to the cemeteries because he couldn't accept that his original owner had died, or maybe he was still confused by death itself." Easily following his friend and partner's logic Hank had figured out what Connor was thinking. "And then he stayed in abandoned buildings just to keep shelter for the night, right?"

"Correct."

"Shit, if that's the case then this guy isn't a criminal, he's just lost. He needs help."

"Yes. If we can find him then we can take him to New Jericho Tower for shelter." Eager to find Richard and assist him, Connor mentioned his and Hank's investigation in to Richard's peculiar behavior to Markus at New Jericho Tower. "I'm certain that Markus will be able to help him."

"Any idea where he be might be at the moment?" Checking over the neighborhood Hank's brow arched inquisitively at what Connor had suggested with keen attention to detail. "This guy's been missing for well over a year now."

"All of the buildings that he had broken in to were in close proximity to cemeteries. If we find the cemetery where his owner was laid to rest, then we can narrow down our search to abandoned buildings in a three block radius around the cemetery."

"Sounds good. Give me the address of the cemetery and we'll go take a look."

"I'll only need a moment." Connor closed his soulful brown eyes as his blue L.E.D. flickered to yellow and he cybernetically uploaded the coordinates to Hank's G.P.S. on the dashboard after locating the correct location. "Done."

A lone, decrepit two-story brick house sitting idle by the aforementioned cemetery was just waiting for a bulldozer to put it out of its misery. It was the only building within the search radius that would logically serve as an ideal hideout for an emotionally unstable deviant to conceal themself from prying eyes while remaining close to the cemetery. The property itself was fenced off from the public for safety concerns by the city itself, but that didn't stop vandals, thieves, junkies and runaways from using it to their advantage while trying to keep off the cold street for the night. It seemed a chainlink fence wasn't a strong enough barrier to keep the desperate from seeking shelter wherever they could, and had used the building numerous times when they needed a place to sleep.

Slowly Hank stepped outside of the car parked along the street in front of the abandoned property and looked up at the building with visible disgust. The crumbling foundation, broken and boarded up windows, and partially collapsed roof reminded Hank of so many drug dens from the past that it made him feel sick.

"Nice place..." Muttering the rude comment under his breath Hank slammed the driver's side door shut and step up onto the sidewalk. "So, how do we get in?"

"Right here." Connor pointed to a portion of the chainlink fence that had been clipped open with wire cutters and easily pushed the weakened fence up enough to bend down and crawl under the compromised barrier to gain access to the property. "This must be how the vandals gained access to the property in the past."

"Of course they'd cut the fence at the bottom." Hank grumbled as he uncomfortably slipped under the loosened fence while Connor held it open for him. Dusting off his knees and hands Hank followed Connor up to the creepy house warily. "Why don't they ever cut it from the top?"

The front door of the house was boarded up like the windows but one window next to the front door had two of the boards removed creating a gap just wide enough for a person, or an android, to slip through with only moderate difficulty. Cautiously Connor peered through the opening in the window and caught sight of a figure moving around in the shadows causing his blue L.E.D. to blink in yellow as he ran a cybernetic scan over the area. Motioning toward the window with the wave of his hand Connor stepped back and let Hank look inside the window as well.

Following Connor's gaze Hank's keen eyes fell on the same flutter of movement in the shadows that Connor had detected. It seemed the two detectives sound the correct location and potentially their suspect.

"Someone is in there." Hank agreed as he approached the door and prepared to kick it down to gain full access to the building. "We need to get in there."

"Agreed. And it's an android we're currently attempting to identify."

"Must be Richard." Even in the dim lighting of the old house the two detectives could see that the android was dressed in old, ragged clothes covered in dirt and grime. The cuffs of his shirt sleeves and pant legs were all worn out and ragged from years of constant wear and tear, and they had faded from years of neglect. "If he tries to run get ready to make a grab."

"Got it." Connor easily pulled down the boards barricading the door one at a time. Placing the removed boards up against the side of the house without making a single sound Connor was able to make it easier to enter the rotten house to confront the hiding android. "Ready."

Taking one step back Hank swung his leg forward and placed a firm kick against the exposed door under the rusted knob, causing the aged and neglected hinges on the frame to snap off with a loud 'crash'. The hidden figure inside the building fell backward and pressed their back up against the far wall out of fear of the two approaching detectives in a single panicked motion. The distinct red flashing of an L.E.D. confirmed that the figure was in fact a deviant android hiding in the building and they were in great distress.

"Detroit Police." Hank announced firmly as he entered the building, keeping his gun holstered to prevent any unfortunate accidents. "We're looking for an android named 'Richard'. Are you Richard?"

"G-Go away!" The deviant panicked and ran up the staircase to the second floor and Connor was right after him without hesitation. "Leave me alone!"

"Stop!" Connor shouted as he followed the deviant up the stairs and into a bedroom at the far end of the corridor that stretched the full length of the floor. The fleeing deviant ducked out of Connor's line of sight, but the deviant detective wasn't going to give up so easily. "You are NOT under arrest; we just need to ask you some questions. You're not in danger or trouble. Let us help you."

Unbeknownst to Connor as he ran into the room after the suspect, the panicking deviant had armed himself with a metal pipe that had fallen through the decaying wall of the neglected building. The frightened deviant swung the pipe as hard as he could at Connor's right side and chest as the deviant detective entered the room completely unarmed while still in search of the runaway deviant.

"Gaaaah..."

Collapsing to the ground in breathless pain Connor wrapped his arms around his chest to shield himself from further harm. Quickly Connor fell to his left side and rolled onto his back as he began wheezing in a desperate bid to catch his escaping breath. Connor's previously blue L.E.D. flashed in red rapidly as his Thirium pump began to race from the intense pain and the inability to take a deep breath without searing pain in his chest stealing away his strength.

The deviant suspect stepped around Connor with the effective pipe still in his hands and stared at Connor suspiciously. As the suspect lifted the blunt instrument up over his head with the intent to strike again, a gruff voice from the doorway stopped him before he had the chance to attack Connor for a second time.

"FREEZE." Hank ordered as he pointed his now unholstered gun at the suspect's head. "Drop the pipe, NOW. Step away from my partner."

Obediently and wisely the frightened suspect dropped the pipe and looked down at Connor, noting the red L.E.D. blinking in his temple.

"P-Partner? This android... He is your friend?" Finally stopping to think and assess the situation the fleeing deviant calmed down. "And you are... a human."

"Yeah, he is." Slowly Hank stepped into the room and knelt beside Connor while keeping his gun aimed at the suspect. Putting his hand down on Connor's chest Hank could feel Connor's racing heart and struggling breaths under his palm. "And you just assaulted an officer."

"I-I-I'm sorry!" On the verge of panicking again the android admitted he was at fault. "I was... I was afraid!"

"S'okay." Connor managed to grab on to Hank's arm and hoarsely speak up on the suspect's behalf. "A-Accident." Panting breaths stalled his words, but he managed to get the message out audibly soon enough. "He... He reacted t-to... a threat."

"Right." Trusting Connor's judgement Hank sighed and holstered his gun at while he waited for Connor to catch his breath. Looking up at the suspect again Hank leveled his voice and repeated his question from before. "Are you Richard?"

"Y-Yes." Confirming his identity Richard told Hank and Connor his name while keeping his hands in the air in a submissive manner. "I am."

"And you were once the android to a Mr. James Harrison?"

"Y-Yeah." Hearing the name actually made Richard's blue eyes light up with recognition. "He's my friend."

"You ran off when Mr. Harrison died, right?"

"I... I don't know what... to do." The frightened deviant was a truly pitiful sight as he confessed to running away. "James... He took care of me."

"Yeah, that's what we figured." Hank lifted his hand from Connor's chest as the injured deviant detective caught his breath and slowly sat upright on the floor beside him. Placing his hand on Connor's shoulder Hank held his injured partner steady under a light grip. "You were reported missing. That's why we're here."

"I'm... I'm not missing." Richard struggled to speak more clearly in spite of his emotions. "I just... don't w-want to be with... other humans."

"Richard," Connor spoke up in a more stable voice as he caught his breath. "listen to us." Moving slowly, Connor kept his arm wrapped around his chest as Hank offered him his hand and helped him to stand up from the floor carefully. "It's o-okay." He wheezed painfully between sentences. Taking a moment to clear his throat before he began again, Connor tried to reason with Richard. "We can t-take you to an... android sanctuary. You won't h-have to... h-hide in abandoned buildings anymore. You'll b-be safe."

"S-Sanctuary?"

"Yes." Doing his best to sound reassuring Connor promised to take Richard to a safe place for deviants. "New Jericho Tower."

"No humans?"

"No. No humans reside there."

"And... you'll take me there?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed sincerely, his L.E.D. cycling from red to yellow as he spoke. "Please, come with us."

"Go..." Richard nodded frantically as he took a step forward, his shining blue eyes warily watching Hank as he moved and apologized profusely to Connor. "I'm... sorry. I d-didn't want to hurt you."

"It's all right." Sincerely Connor accepted the apology and followed behind Richard as the much more stable brunette android walked down the staircase back to the ground floor of the house. Moving slowly down the staircase Connor and Hank kept a close eye on Richard the whole time. "I understand why you did it."

"Are you... angry with me?"

"No." Supporting his damaged right side with his arm Connor bore no grudges. "It was a misunderstanding."

Hank approved of Connor's reaction and allowed his partner to take the lead on the case. Seeing as Richard was still mistrusting of humans and had already shown that he was willing to lash out if he felt threatened, it was in everyone's best interest for Hank to keep his distance for the time being. It wasn't every day that they managed to help a person in need rather than just slapping cuffs on their wrists or calling a coroner, and Hank wanted it to stay that way.

Following the two androids out of the house and slipping back under the damaged fence, Hank kept his distance after the deviant duo. The seasoned detective had noticed that Connor was moving much slower than usual, his arm never leaving his chest as he awkwardly ducked down and passed under the fence to follow Richard to the car parked just a few yards down the street. Despite knowing that Connor was trying to push through another injury Hank didn't say anything about it.

Opening the passenger side door of the car with his shaking hand, Connor stepped back and let Richard climb into the backseats under his own freewill. He watched as Richard ducked down and into the back of the car to take a seat and allow the two detectives to escort him to New Jericho Tower as they promised.

"Are we ready to go?" Hank asked warily as he crossed in front of the vehicle to get to the driver's side. "No more stops on the way?"

"Yes." Nodding where he stood Connor's hand rubbed lightly over the right side of his upper chest as he spoke. The pain was distinct and hard to ignore. "There is nothing else here that requires our attention."

"Okay. Let's get going."

The drive out to New Jericho Tower was uncomfortably quiet and tense. Richard was sitting in the backseat behind Connor with his scared eyes fixed on Hank throughout the entire trip out of his lingering fear of humans. Connor himself had his soulful brown eyes closed as he initiated his self-healing program and focused it on the point of impact made against his chest by the metal pipe while he spoke with Josh in a private cybernetic line about Richard.

"Right here." Hank stated calmly to Richard as he pulled the car through the temporarily lowered barricade of the long drive connecting Belle Isle to the rest of the city. "This is where all androids are welcome. No humans, with the exception of myself, are permitted on this property without special clearance approved by the leader of New Jericho himself."

Richard's frightened eyes finally left Hank as he looked at the staggering tower at the end of the drive through the front windshield. "And... I can stay here? Forever?"

"Yup. This is your home for as long as you want it to be."

"Th-Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Parking in front of the tower Hank nodded at Josh who was standing outside the front entrance waiting for Richard's arrival. The cybernetic communication between Connor and New Jericho had proven more beneficial than either party had anticipated, and it ensured that Richard was met with a calm and understanding presence outside the sanctuary.

Richard stared at Josh curiously as he didn't recognize the deviant whatsoever. "Is that... the leader?"

"No, that's Josh." The senior detective replied softly with a slight turn of his head. "He's a good friend of the leader. The leader's name is Markus."

"...Oh. Markus. I know of him." The deviant confirmed as he recognized Markus's name and realized what New Jericho was about. "He... led the Revolution and he freed us."

"It's okay, go on." Hank insisted gently as he watched Connor step outside of the vehicle and let Richard exit the parked car. "You're going to be just fine."

It took Richard almost a full minute before he finally pushed up the front passenger seat to pass through the opened passenger door. Once outside the vehicle Richard stepped forward and stared at Josh for only a few tense seconds before he took another step toward the tower.

Through the windshield Hank watched as Josh told Richard something that he couldn't hear and then watched as Richard flung his arms around Josh to give the empathetic deviant a big hug. Josh patted Richard's back and gave both Hank and Connor a nod to indicate that it was safe for them to leave.

"You did the right thing." Keeping his voice low Hank confirmed what had happened after Connor returned to the car. He slowly turned the Oldsmobile around to leave and gave Josh a polite wave through the rearview mirror as the two detectives took their leave of the isle. "Richard didn't belong behind bars, he belongs with other androids who understand him and can help him."

"Yes." Connor's L.E.D. remained in yellow as his self-healing program struggled to repair the blunt force damage caused by the pipe. "I'm glad we could help him and not have to arrest him."

"Too bad you took a pipe to the chest in the process." Noticing the way Connor was still supporting his damaged side, Hank knew that he was in pain. "Then again no good deed goes unpunished."

"We should file our report back at the precinct." Needing a distraction Connor tried to focus on work instead of his aching body. It was proving to be an exercise in futility since his chest ached with each breath he took. "We can officially close the case and give Mr. Harrison's family some answers."

"Yeah. Hopefully no one did anything stupid while we were out on that case. I'm not in the mood to clean up any more messes."

"I'm not sure if we can do that." Connor shook his head a little as a faint grin appeared on his face. "...Was Gavin on call today?"

Genuinely amused by the snide remark Hank laughed at the comment as he pulled the car down the long, singular drive connecting New Jericho Tower to the rest of the city. It was an unusual day, but it was also a good day considering the fact they saved a deviant from living in fear on the streets.

Too bad for Connor it resulted in some physical damage in the process.

Fortunately for Hank and for Connor, there was no further drama during the drive back to the city and the precinct had remained relatively quiet with no additional android incidents being reported during their absence from the bullpen. The lack of chaos made for a very easy report to be written and filed. It was a cold case finally solved and closed, and part of a solid day's work out in the field. After hearing the good news Tina openly thanked the duo for solving the cold case that she had been working on in her own free time, and made sure Captain Fowler knew that they had willingly volunteered their services - going above and beyond their usual routines in the process.

With the case closed and no new cases to work on the two detectives focused on their new singular report. A report that would be typed up, finalized and sent to Captain Fowler in record time as Hank decided it was time to call it a day and return home.

"Done!" Hank announced to his partner as he finished typing up the report on his terminal and leaned back in his chair with another audible 'creak'. "How about you?"

"Finished." Connor confirmed as he powered off his terminal for the night and returned his hand to his sore right side. "I'm ready to clock-out."

"Great. Let's get out of here."

"Very well." As Connor rose from his chair he immediately winced as the motion caused a searing pain to shoot through his chest where he had been struck. His blue L.E.D. shifted to red briefly in pain before cycling back to yellow and then finally back to its normal blue coloration. "...I'm r-ready to return to the house."

Hank watched as Connor wrapped his entire left arm protectively around his chest and studied the deviant's pained reactions very carefully. "Still hurting?"

"...Yes." Connor confirmed as he took a in deep breath and resumed to slowly walk toward the front entrance of the precinct with Hank right at his side in case he stumbled or fell. "My self-healing program is effective, though the process still takes time to complete."

"As long as you don't fall apart on the ride home it can take as much time as it needs."

"I'm damaged. Not fragile."

"You're also stubborn." Knowing his partner too well Hank could tell that Connor was trying to deny how much pain he was enduring. "Ten bucks says you're hiding how badly you're hurt from me."

"I know better than to bet against you."

"And I know you better than you think I do." Quick to retort Hank made it clear he wouldn't be fooled so easily. "Might as well pay me that ten bucks now."

Giving Hank a dirty look Connor shook his head and continued through the doors to the neighboring parking garage. "...I never agreed to the bet."

Keeping a straight face during the entire ride home Connor feigned contentment while his chest ached at him profusely. Every bump in the road and every time his body pressed against his seatbelt was a literal painful reminder of the damage that he had suffered. Having already suffered so many on-the-job accidents and having endured so much trauma during their over year-long partnership, Connor didn't want to worry Hank any further with the extent of his current injury. The damage wasn't critical, or even dangerous to endure without a technician's care, but it was proving itself to be a hindrance to Connor's movement speed and overall range of motion as he tried to go about his business.

Work was done and the two detectives were back home, but that didn't mean the day was over. As a detective Connor didn't want to let his guard down and he didn't want Hank to waste his time hovering over him as he healed. It was going to be a tense stand-off as Connor attempted to push through his pain for Hank's own sense of comfort.

"You still good?" Hank asked with a knowing voice as he stepped out of the parked car in the driveway beside the house and waited for Connor to join him beside the vehicle. "I know you're still sore."

"Y-Yeah." Answering honestly Connor had been so preoccupied with his injury that he hadn't even noticed that they had arrived home. Holding his breath Connor opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle without showing any sign of pain on his face behind a brave mask. "I'm all right."

"After running through that rancid old house, I need a shower." The senior detective dryly commented as he walked through the front door and pet Sumo's head as the Saint Bernard ran up to his side to greet him. Taking off his coat Hank hung it on the hook by the door and made his way toward the hallway to get to the bathroom. "Do me a favor and let Sumo out for a while, will ya'?"

"No problem." Reflexively Connor tried to take off his own blazer but immediately winced and froze in place as the motion caused him unexpected physical pain. Despite his best efforts he couldn't hide his discomfort and Hank took immediate notice. "Ow... Shit."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hank watched the deviant's blue L.E.D. flash to red then back to yellow from where he stood at the end of the hallway. It didn't return to blue this time. "You seem really banged up."

"Y-Yes." The steadfast deviant lied to try to keep Hank from worrying about him. "I'm fine. Really."

"Yeah, sure you are."

Again, Connor held his breath as he carefully slipped his arms out of the sleeves of his gray blazer to hang it on the hook next to Hank's coat. Ignoring his searing pain for as long as he could Connor attempted to appear as normal as possible throughout the remainder of the evening and into the night.

"Okay, Sumo." To avoid walking too far at the moment Connor opened the front door and stepped aside to let the large dog walk through past him. "Outside."

"Damn." Hank just put his hands to his hips in irritation as Connor stepped through the front door with Sumo beside him and then shut the door again. "...That's the most stubborn person I've ever known."

Outside the front door Connor watched the dog circle around the snowy front lawn while Connor himself discreetly leaned up against the side of the house and ran a self-diagnostic to fully identify the source of his pain and the severity of the overall damage. The plastimetal structure that composed what was considered his entire skeletal frame had been cracked by the pipe. Every time his ventilation biocomponents took in a breath the pain would flare up, but turning off the ventilation program would cause him to overheat during the night. The lack of temperature control would also delay his self-healing program's progress.

WARNING:

...ERROR DETECTED

-CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK]

-CHECKING BIOSENSORS... OK]

-CHECKING AI ENGINE... OK]

-MEMORY STATUS... OK]

READY...

[...Thirium Volume - 96%

[...Thirium Pressure - 120/80

[...Thirium Pump Rate - 86 B.P.M.

[...Ventilation Rate - 12 V.P.M.

[...Core Temperature - 98.9 Degrees Fahrenheit

WARNING:

-Damage to right axial frame - 84% Structural Integrity

[...No biocomponent damage detected]

[...Minor Thirium loss detected]

-SYSTEM READY... OK]

"...Simple damage. Should be easy to mend."

Connor sighed to himself as he finished running the self-diagnostic and opened the front door to let Sumo back inside as soon as the dog returned to the small porch.

"So why is it taking so long to heal?"

Returning to the livingroom Connor locked the door behind himself and sat down on the couch to try to relax, but the pain in his chest made the effort too strenuous to accomplish. Connor leaned backward to press the back of his head against the back of the couch. With his arm wrapped around his chest Connor slowly sucked in a breath between his clenched teeth to try to find a more comfortable position in which to sit.

Insisting that his injury wasn't as severe as his system was indicating was proving itself to be a pointless endeavor that was working against Connor's favor.

"I knew it." Hank stated suddenly as he stood behind the couch and made Connor jump a little in surprise at the sound of his voice. "All right, out with it."

"Hank..." Lifting his head up Connor turned and looked at Hank's face and noted that Hank's gray hair was damp from the shower. "It's not-"

"Shut up." Walking around to the front of the couch Hank finished running a towel through his silver locks and draped it casually around his neck. "You're hurting, so level with me, kid. How bad is it?"

Accepting that he was in too much pain to deny his injury any longer Connor begrudgingly confessed to Hank what his self-diagnostic program had identified the problem. The truth was that he was unsure as to why it was taking so long for the self-healing program to finish the repairs. It was an error that he hadn't encountered before.

"The damage is not critical." Begrudgingly Connor leveled with his friend without giving too much away. "It is merely uncomfortable."

"Stand up then." Hank motioned for Connor to get up from the couch and stand in front of him. "Come on, kid. On your feet."

Wincing in pain Connor stood up carefully from the couch and stood directly in front of Hank as he was instructed. He wasn't sure what Hank was up to, but he was willing to cooperate all the same.

"Let me see."

Connor's brow arched in confusion at the request and remained almost statuesque before him. "...See what?"

"Your chest." The sharp retort was almost sarcastic as Hank tried to get an idea of what was happening with Connor. "Let me see where you were hit."

"It's an internal injury, not external."

"I don't care, I want to see it for myself." Hank crossed his arms over his chest and gave Connor a stern look that made it difficult for the wounded deviant to argue against. It's what Connor had come to recognize as the 'dad stare' courtesy of Tina's own observations. "Humor me, okay?"

"...Very well." Pausing for a moment Connor relented and loosened his black tie from around his shirt collar as he prepared to unbutton his white dress shirt. Slipping the dressy garment aside Connor pushed his shirt open to expose the right side of his chest and Hank immediately noticed a dark blue mark against Connor's artificial skin. It looked a deep blue bruise over the impact sight. "Hank, I don't know what can be done to remedy this type of injury beyond that of my self-healing program."

"Damn, he got you good." Worried about Connor's health Hank carefully pulled aside the fabric of Connor's shirt and eyed the large blue bruise that stretched from Connor's right pectoral muscle along the side of where his ribcage would be if he were in fact human. "I knew you guys could bruise, but I didn't know androids that bruised so damn badly."

"Bruise?" Connor looked at the blue mark and lightly placed his hand over it only to immediately retract his grip and flinch. "...The plastimetal frame that composes my chest has been fractured. Thirium is leaking through the breaks and collecting beneath my artificial skin. It's happened once before when you accidentally struck me in the eye during a feverish reaction."

"Yeah. And when you were in the stupid car accident that fucked up your heartbeat thing in your abdomen." Hank remembered the sight of the dark blue bruise on Connor's abdomen after that incident and later seeing a faint mark under Connor's eye after he recovered from his own sickness, but he didn't think much of it at the time. "Did you just notice you were bruised, kid?"

"In a way. It explains why my system had detected a minor Thirium leak earlier despite no external evidence." Connor gave Hank a slight tilt of the head as he spoke sincerely where he stood. "It also explains why it's taking so long for my self-healing program to repair the damage. The Thirium is pooling outside the injury beneath my artificial skin rather than within it."

"Can you breathe okay?"

"I am experiencing pain," the stubborn deviant finally admitted as he took in a shallow breath as if to test his own limitations. "but my ventilation has not been inhibited."

"Wait right here. I'm going to get some bandages and wrap up your ribs."

"I don't have ribs."

"Connor? Shut up." Hank playfully remarked as he walked back down the hallway and opened the closet. Tossing the towel that had been around his neck into the opened bathroom door Hank began rummaging through a large first aid kit on the top shelf in the closet in search of useful bandages. "By all accounts you have a busted rib or two, so don't give me any glib remarks about android anatomy."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Returning with a massive bundle of thick white gauze Hank motioned for Connor to slip off his shirt entirely. "Just be still and let me help you."

With no reason to protest Connor dropped his shirt down on the couch behind him and stood as still as he could as Hank unrolled the gauze around his chest and wrapped up his injury with just enough pressure to (hopefully) prevent any more Thirium from pooling beneath Connor's artificial skin. Very carefully Hank made sure to make the bandages tight but not so tight it would make it difficult for the deviant to breathe normally or worsen the bruising.

"Does that help?" Having completed the task Hank lowered his hands and waited for Connor to react. The injured deviant wasn't seemingly in any additional pain and he was breathing without difficulty. "You know, as much as human first aid on an android actually could possibly help."

"This is... beneficial." Curiously Connor pressed his hand to the bruise beneath the bandages but didn't flinch in pain. The pressure from the bandages did seem to help. "It has apparently aided my discomfort. The applied pressure to the leak seems to be aiding my self-healing program as well. Thank you."

"Sure, no problem." Tired and ready to relax Hank rubbed his hand through his damp hair as he walked into the kitchen to make himself some dinner. Now with Connor taken care of Hank felt like he could finally relax a little. "By the way, you owe me ten bucks!"

"I never actually agreed to the bet." Connor reminded Hank sharply as he rubbed at the bruised site beneath the gauze. Even with the gauze in place Connor still felt pain and overall discomfort. "I have no need to honor a bet that I hadn't accepted."

"But you are living in my house, rent free." Hank reminded Connor emphatically with a coy stare from the next room. "What do you have to say to that, smartass?"

"...That you are correct." In a moment of temporary defeat Connor slowly sat down on the couch again and gingerly slipped his arms carefully back into the sleeves of his dropped shirt to properly redress himself. Thinking quickly Connor rebuttoned the garment and then turned to look at Hank in the kitchen. "I'll pay you tomorrow."

-next chapter-