DBH: Accident Prone - Becoming Human

by WayWardWonderer

Connor struggles to comprehend his newly found emotions and learns what it means to be human as Hank guides him along his journey of self-discovery as his deviancy evolves him into something more than a machine. Connor isn't indestructible and his impulsive, selfless nature to accomplish his mission will be the death of him, or even Hank, as he learns what it means to be alive.

126. Changes

It had been four quiet, uneventful weeks since Hank had been stabbed and lost a kidney as a result of the assault. It had also been four long weeks since Connor had been working physically within the precinct as he had volunteered his time to take care of Hank who required constant aid while his body recovered from the emergency lifesaving surgery courtesy of being shanked in the back. Hank had to work to regain his strength after losing his left kidney and after the muscles in his lower back were shredded by the weapon, and that would take time and patience. Those were two subjects that neither detective was the best at handling thanks to their own personal stubbornness.

As usual Connor slipped on his gray blazer, the one he had worn since his origins at CyberLife but since altered, to prepare for the day. As he straightened his black tie he listened to the sound of Sumo's nails pattering around the bare wood floors of the livingroom while Hank casually tossed the green fetch ball into the kitchen to play. It was nice to hear the young dog getting some exercise and subsequent attention from Hank. It had been a while since Hank had the energy to pay attention to the lovable bundle of fluff and it was a good sign.

"You still have two more weeks until you're medically cleared to return to work." Connor stated as he joined Hank in the livingroom and eyed the senior detective laying partially on his back, still favoring his right side over his left side. "Would you like me to remain here and continue working remotely until you've fully recovered?"

"Four to six weeks is the average time frame for a full recovery." Hank parroted his doctor's own words against Connor. "I feel fine, kid. Go. You gotta' be feeling cooped up being stuck in the house all the time with me."

"Your back is still causing you pain. You still require assistance."

"That was preexisting condition LONG before I got shanked. We both know that."

"But you still need to-"

"Go to work." Hank took the green ball from Sumo's slobbery mouth and tossed it again. "Being gone for a month has been a bitch to my paycheck, I don't want you to suffer too if you stop focusing on work just to worry about me."

"I've previously accumulated enough overtime to acquire adequate financing to sustain my usual routine for six months, two weeks and three days."

"Uh-huh. And how stir-crazy are you getting staying here and taking care of me?"

There was a pause before Connor answered honestly. "I'm not that restless."

"But you are in fact getting restless?"

A thoughtful head tilt preceded the deviant's honest reply. "Correct."

"Okay then. I'll be fine for a few hours without you." Casually Hank gave Connor a wave of the hand as if to dismiss him. "I'll send you a text every hour to remind you that I'm still alive if ya' want."

"That won't be necessary. You're no longer in imminent danger of developing a life threatening infection, but you still need to rest to keep your physical strength from declining."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Hank sighed as Sumo stared at him with the green fetch ball in his mouth eager for another round. "I'll take Sumo for a walk around the block, and before you can say anything about me needing to NOT strain myself, let me emphasize that I'll be taking Sumo for ONE lap around the block then coming straight home. Okay?"

"Yes." Connor nodded in approval of the activity. "That's fine."

A rapid knocking at the front door turned the two detectives' heads while Sumo let out a single bark causing the ball to drop from his mouth. Already standing near the front door Connor turned the knob and pulled it open and readily greeted the unexpected but always welcome guest.

"Markus. Hello."

"Hey, Connor." The usually calm and confident demeanor of the deviant leader had been replaced with angst and uncertainty. "Uh, can we talk?" He craned his neck a little and noticed Hank on the couch, giving the senior detective a nod of respect before returning his attention to Connor. "...In private?"

"I'm on my way to the precinct at the moment. Can we walk and talk?"

"Hey?" Hank called out intrusively from the couch as he overheard the conversation. "Why don't you drive and talk?"

"You may need the vehicle while I'm gone." Connor's explanation was as cool as it was logical. "Although you should refrain from driving for an additional two weeks it'd be the better alternative in the event you must leave the house for an extended period of time."

"STOP worrying about me. It's just for a few hours, I'll be fine."

Markus cleared his throat and stepped out through the front door impatiently. "Connor, please?"

"Yes, of course. I'm right behind you." Immediately Connor followed after Markus while turning his head one last time toward Hank. "I'll be back later."

As the two deviants stepped away from the house and down the front walk Connor couldn't help but notice that Markus was seemingly shaking with raw nerves as he walked at his side. Showing the unmistakable characteristics of fear - wide eyes, sweat around the hairline, trembling hands clenched into tight fists and the inability to make eye contact - Connor didn't need to be a detective to know that his friend was in emotional distress.

"Markus? What's wrong?"

"I... Connor, what do you know of that most recent update?" Getting right to the point Markus sought advice from his trusted friend regarding the matter that was weighing heavily on his mind. "You know, the one that North and I kept but you deleted."

"You'll have to be more specific." Connor admitted in an inquisitive tone. "What exactly do you want to know about the update?"

"I already know it was designed to give androids a more 'human' reaction when it comes to malfunctions, glitches and damage; but what exactly ARE those reactions?"

"Ah, I see." The attentive deviant now understood the depth of Markus's question and was able to answer him accordingly. "The update allows androids to sweat when overheated or experiencing great emotional distress, like you are right now."

"That one I'm very aware of." Markus absentmindedly wiped the sleeve of his pale beige jacket over his forehead, the material quickly absorbing the pale blue sweat composed of diluted Thirium. "What else?"

"Android complexions can also pale in comparison to their normal aesthetic due to low power functions now working to decrease the energy used in generating the artificial skin over the internal white plastimetal frames; hence the whiter discoloration. It's no longer exclusively a symptom of low Thirium."

"That can't be all."

"No." Professionally Connor continued on, his blue L.E.D. now cycling yellow with mounting concern for Markus's unusual behavior. "Other modifications of the update include an increase in pain receptors as well as an enhancement to the regenerative process of the self-healing program."

"What kind of enhancement exactly?"

"Like humans, androids can now become immune to malware after being exposed post update and the self-healing program's regenerative ability can be used to repair damaged biocomponents that would otherwise need a technician's attention."

"Anything else?" It seemed Markus was unable to focus on anything beyond his current line of questions. "Anything at all?"

"Theoretically it's possible that androids can potentially modify the regenerative properties of the self-healing program to work with the elective biocomponents necessary in surrogacy for a human infant to create a new hybrid android model that can develop..." Connor stopped walking and Markus stopped right beside him as he realized that Markus was fishing for a specific answer and not a general answer. "Are you worried about North's functionality?"

"Y-Yeah." There was no need to hide his true fears considering Markus trusted Connor with his life. "I am."

"She is still exhibiting signs of illness and fatigue after nine consecutive weeks?"

"Yeah. And her self-diagnostic hasn't found anything wrong. All I can figure is that she's being affected by the update in a negative way like you were. Connor, you could've died!" The fear Markus was experiencing now made complete sense. "Losing a friend would've been bad enough, but I can't lose my bondmate. North won't go see a technician and she won't even let Simon examine her."

"Perhaps she should speak to Abby instead." The suggestion was full of logic and compassion. "Speaking with another female might be more comforting for North than a male colleague."

"She and Simon are friends. She shouldn't be wary around Simon."

"Correct. However, in my experience as a detective, I found that women often feel more comfortable speaking with other women when feeling unwell or after enduring a traumatic event."

"Traumatic?"

"I'm aware of North's past at the 'Eden Club', and I know of the horrific conditions that she had been forced to live under. Abby's presence could be a comforting reassurance, and since Abby is a technician, she can help North on a physical scale as well."

"Do you know something about North's condition that I don't?"

"I wouldn't keep-"

Connor stopped mid sentence as his yellow L.E.D. suddenly flashed wildly against his will. A police report was cybernetically uploaded into his processor alerting him to a disturbance down at Hart Plaza regarding deviants and a man attempting to rally a riot in the streets. There was a growing crowd, whether it would remain calm or become hostile was yet to be determined, but all available officers on duty were requested at the scene.

"Connor?" Markus could see the alertness in Connor's soulful brown eyes as he processed the information. "What's going on?"

"There's a problem downtown; a single human is spouting anti-android hate. You should come with me." Hastening his pace Connor cybernetically hailed an autonomous taxi as he made his way toward the plaza with Markus still moving at his side. "Your presence could prove to be invaluably important today."

---

A middle aged man clearly high on 'red ice' was standing atop the 'Horace E. Dodge and Son' fountain in the middle of Hart Plaza with a football sized ceramic container clutched in his hand, and a crazy look in his widened gray eyes. As the man shouted at the gathered onlookers below via megaphone, police cars parked along the street, police drones circled the statue, and several responding officers converged on the scene around the shouting, high man to try to keep the situation properly contained. It seemed as if the mounting attention is exactly what the deranged man wanted, and he was savoring every ounce of attention he had received with a demented glee.

Onlookers watched curiously as the man shouted and made a spectacle of himself. The people who were witnessing the lunacy were either filming the man or egging him on in a taunting manner as the police motioned for them to back away for safety reasons.

"ANDROIDS ARE THE ENEMY!"

The man's voice resonated loudly through the megaphone as he shouted his message of bigotry and ignorance.

"DEVIANCY IS PROOF THAT MACHINES ARE GOING TO OVERTHROW HUMANITY! THE FIRE AT THE JERICHO TOWER WAS A STUNT! IT WAS A LIE TO GAIN SYMPATHY SO YOU WILL LET THE MACHINES BACK INTO YOUR HOMES! DO NOT TRUST THEM! DO NOT BE FOOLED!"

Gavin and Tina were the first two officers to arrive at the scene and had taken charge of the unusual event as a result. With an annoyed glance Gavin just stared up at the obnoxious man with great irritation marked on his face and his arms crossed guardedly over his chest. Meanwhile Tina, along with Chris and numerous other officers, proceeded to coax innocent bystanders to back away from the scene for their own safety and to stop feeding the man's delusion of support.

"THEIR LEADER IS THE SOURCE OF ALL OUR MISERY!" The man pressed angrily from his perch over the crowd. "MARKUS MUST BE DESTROYED!"

"Jeez..." Gavin muttered his disgust under his breath to himself. "This bullshit again? Come up with something new, will ya'?"

Using the autonomous taxi Connor and Markus arrived at the scene of the threat and passed through the dispersing and thinning crowd of people as the police managed to clear the bystanders away from the potential danger at hand. Homing in on Gavin as the senior officer at the scene, Connor approached the detective with Markus following a few paces behind him.

"Gavin?" Connor addressed the man standing idle nearest the delusional man and approached the detective seeking information. "What's happening?"

"Figured you'd still be watching over Hank." Gavin greeted Connor in his usual indifferent manner. "But as long as you're here then maybe you can use your hostage negotiating skills to talk down this nut-bag before he does anything regrettable."

"I can try to do so." Curiously Connor looked up and ran a scan over the man's face and despite the distance he was able to get a proper identification as he asked Gavin the obvious. "What do you know of the man?"

The man in question was named Horace Trapper, a chemist that had been employed under CyberLife until the company changed direction from chemicals and supplies to android engineering. Divorced, unemployed and now a drug addict, Horace was in trouble.

"What's his motivation?"

"No fuckin' idea. According to our witnesses he just showed up completely high and started bitchin' about androids." Gavin noticed Markus standing behind Connor and gave the deviant leader a wary look. "You may want to get out of sight, Markus. That loudmouth up there has already called you out personally."

Markus glanced up at Horace and saw the massive stress in the crazed man's demeanor as he continued to shout nonsensical paranoia about deviants and technology in general. Not wanting to deal with any unnecessary problems Markus agreed with Gavin and decided it'd be better to get out of sight.

"...You're probably right." Nervously Markus attempted to back out of the plaza before the man took notice of his presence. "I don't want to make things worse by mistake. Connor, I'll meet you-"

"YOU!"

Too late. Horace spotted Markus and pointed a finger around the container at the deviant leader.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WILL KILL US ALL!" Reeling back his hand Horace used a small lighter and ignited a rapid burn fuse attached to the container just before throwing it down at Markus with the intention of causing the deviant leader immediate harm. "YOU MUST DIE!"

Connor instinctively put himself between Markus and the incoming container just as the fuse reached the explosive contents inside. The ceramic jar exploded as the now ignited contents within spilled all over Connor's abdomen and parts of his chest causing the deviant to call out horrifically as his yellow L.E.D. flashed to red from the incredible pain searing through his body. Connor fell to the ground atop his smoldering abdomen to instinctively smother the burning, bright orange substance that had eaten away his white dress shirt and the lapels of his gray blazer.

The unknown orange substance rapidly began destroying Connor's artificial skin and the white plastimetal frame underneath. The substance was quickly eating through to the numerous Thirium lines and vital biocomponents contained in his abdominal and chest cavities. As the caustic substance damaged Connor's body Gavin drew his gun from the holster on his right hip and aimed it Horace while he knelt beside the downed deviant and grabbed his radio to call in back-up.

"WE HAVE AN OFFICER DOWN, OVER HERE!" Gavin's eye never swayed from the dangerous man as he issued the orders and remained calm. "EVERYONE TO MY AREA, NOW." Looking at Tina a few yards away, Gavin instructed his partner accordingly. "Get to the other side of the statue, don't let him get away!"

Tina nodded once and began rushing to her new location. "I'm on it!"

"Connor..." Markus fell his to knees beside Connor and pressed his hand down against Connor's back as his critically injured friend remained barely conscious yet writhing in pain on the ground as the substance continued to cause severe damage to his body. "Connor?! Talk to me!"

Connor's entire body was trembling from the indescribable pain and the damage tearing through his body. Laying on his chest with his legs straightened out behind himself and his arms bent upward toward his head as they laid at his sides, Connor's eyes were wide open and unfocused as shock set it. Where he was laying Connor's red L.E.D. was visible and flashing rapidly as his self-diagnostic analyzed the extensive damage he had just sustained and matched the thundering pulse of his beating heart.

As he took a knee beside Connor opposite of Markus, Gavin smelled the acrid stench of burning skin mixed with melting plastic and reacted quickly. Shrugging off his jacket just as back-up arrived and set about apprehending the now unarmed man from the fountain, Gavin rolled Connor from his chest onto his side and finally onto his back with Markus's help.

"Holy shit!"

Using his coat Gavin smothered out the remaining thick, orange smoldering residue from Connor's abdomen and up to his chest as best as he could. The coat was heavily damaged and saturated with Thirium courtesy of the gesture, but Gavin didn't care even as the caustic substance practically devoured the jacket in the process. With raw focus Gavin continued to try to remove it from Connor's person as quickly as possible.

"FUCK! What is this shit?!"

"I don't know." Markus shook his head a little as he stared at Connor's blank face with immense guilt as the bizarre orange substance ate away at Connor's body. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Connor was still trembling violently and completely unresponsive to the world around him. His soulful brown eyes were wide open but remained unfocused with fear. A trickle of blue blood was oozing from Connor's lips and his nose creating a sapphire puddle beneath his head as he laid prone on the concrete in the wake of the brutal assault.

Hesitantly Gavin peeled back his coat and stared at the overwhelming damage beneath the garment and his jaw fell open with disbelief. "Oh, fuck! Shit!"

The substance had eaten away every centimeter of Connor's artificial skin over the entirety of his abdomen and partially up his chest. The white plastimetal frame was charred black and warped by the intense heat damage it had sustained from the orange substance creating a single gaping hole in the frame in the center of his abdomen. It was surrounded by several smaller holes, exposing the numerous internal vital biocomponents and compromised bleeding Thirium lines beneath.

The biocomponents had been heavily damaged by the heat and would need immediate repair. Dozens of Thirium lines had been compromised and bled profusely throughout Connor's abdomen creating a growing puddle of blood inside the damaged deviant's abdominal cavity at a frightening rate.

Upon seeing the full extent of the damage to his friend's body Markus's fearlessness as the deviant leader pushed aside his emotional judgement in favor of taking control and saving his friend's life.

"He needs a technician, NOW!" Markus shouted as he slipped one arm under Connor's shoulders and the other under Connor's legs. As he lifted his friend up and into his arms Markus began backing up toward the street before turning around entirely to run to the nearest facility to get Connor the technical assistance he needed. "He's going to shutdown if we don't do something!"

"FUCK. Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Gavin chased after Markus and managed to catch up impressively quick despite the deviant's rapid sprint and head start. "We'll take my car! Come on!"

Unwilling to risk Connor's life Markus agreed and followed after Gavin as the detectuve pointed out his car and pulled open the door to the backseat to let Markus quickly climb inside with Connor still in his arms. Slamming the door shut Gavin pulled open his own driver's side door and turned the key in the ignition before he even had the door shut again.

Racing off toward the nearest facility Gavin got on his radio and demanded police escort and to have the streets cleared as much as possible to keep traffic to a minimum.

"OFFICER DOWN! REPEAT: OFFICER DOWN! I need escort to the facility on Tenth Street!"

"Connor, respond." Markus had Connor resting over his legs as he sat in the backseat. He pressed his hand against Connor's cheek and winced at the intense heat still radiating from his artificial skin. "He's overheating... He's going to burn up!"

"Well," having virtually no experience in android first aid all Gavin could do was shout to Markus as he drove to the nearest facility as fast as possible. "DO something! I'm the one who's driving!"

"I'm trying!" Pulling his hand back Markus proceeded to cover Connor's bleeding abdomen to apply pressure, but as soon as his palm made contact with the raw smoldering damage Connor let out a guttural scream of agony that Markus had never heard before. "Whoa! I-I'm sorry!"

"What the FUCK?!"

Gavin looked in the rearview mirror and saw Connor's back arching in pain over Markus's lap with his eyes screwed shut and his mouth opened as wide as possible as he let out the inhumanly pained scream. His eyes were shut so tightly tears streamed down his face as he howled loudly in pure agony. A massive streak of blue blood trailed down from both corners of his mouth staining everything the Thirium touched as it escaped Connor's screaming mouth in a fast torrent.

"What the hell did you DO to him?!"

"I just applied pressure to his wounds!" Markus explained loudly over Connor's scream as the deviant finally began to settle down again and seemingly lost consciousness. As his body went limp Connor's chest began to rise and fall rapidly with his gasping breaths in a desperate bid to cool off his overheating core and prevent permanent damage to his intracranial processor. "I've never seen any injury like this before!"

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us, pal." Gavin stated somewhat coolly as he focused on the streets and made his way to the Zeta Facility at a dangerously high speed to ensure Connor received prompt treatment. "Should we just take him to New Jericho Tower instead?"

"No, the tower is still being rebuilt. We can't help him anymore than any other technician in the city."

"Son of a bitch." Gavin's stare quietly fell to Connor's face as the deviant's eyes opened up again, his pupils were so wide that his irises were nearly gone. "Can you get through to him?"

"Huh?" Markus asked with thorough confusion as he focused on keeping his hand in place, not letting it budge even a centimeter lest he cause Connor to react violently to the pain again. "What do you mean?"

"You know. That interfacing thing you androids can do." The detective's lack of android knowledge was showing itself in the worst way possible. "Can you do that to reach him? Get an idea of how bad he is or where we should go?"

"I can try."

Keeping his hand as still as he could over the wound, Markus retracted the skin of his opposite hand and wrapped it around Connor's limp hand to try to interface with his friend. The connection was successful, but all Markus could see was a screen of utter red static and hear a horrific screeching, grinding noise once he accessed Connor's mind. The transference of the wounded deviant's senses had caused Markus to sever the connection as he endured excruciating pain throughout his own torso through an empathetic bond with his friend.

"Sh-Shit!" Markus swore as he let go of Connor's hand and fought the urge to curl around himself to shield himself from the imaginary pain. "...Damn it."

"What is it?" Such a strong reaction didn't escape Gavin's attention. "What the fuck's happenin' to him?"

"I-I don't know! I couldn't..." It was hard to speak after being overwhelmed such an onslaught of intense sensations. "All I did was feel his pain."

"That's bad, right?"

"Yeah." Markus confirmed with breathy sigh as he stared at his dying friend in his arms. "Very."

"We're almost there." Gavin announced as he pulled onto the final street and sped to the opened parking lot of the Zeta Facility. "Hang on, 'Tinman'! We're gonna' save your ass."

"Connor?" Markus kept trying to get the wounded, dying deviant's attention but it seemed his efforts were in vain. Connor was staring into the nothingness beyond Markus's face. "You're going to be all right. Come on, Connor. Look at me."

"Save it!" Gavin slammed on the brakes and put the car into park as he stopped in front of the facility's emergency entrance. "Let them help him!"

The backseat door was pulled open by two deviant technicians, Barry and Jarvis, who were expecting their arrival and providing emergency aid for Connor. Working in perfect tandem the two technicians picked up Connor by his legs and under his back while Markus supported Connor's shoulders and helped guide his gravely injured friend out of the car and onto the nearby gurney.

"Come on." Gavin rushed out of the car and joined Markus beside the gurney as Connor was wheeled inside the facility quickly. "Give them room to work, man."

Jarvis intercepted Markus's hand and pulled it away from Connor's bloody wound to get a clear view of the damage. Markus's palm was covered in the lost Thirium that was bleeding from Connor's injury at an alarming rate, and made the deviant leader's artificial stomach turn into a tight knot. As he clenched his shaking hand into an angered fist Markus felt a fire rise up inside of himself as the desire to protect his friends and family brought forth an urge to fight back against the man who threatened his people.

"Let's go." In an act of compassion Gavin pulled on Markus's shoulder to lead him toward the front door of the facility to get him to walk forward. "You stay with Connor, I'll call Hank and let him know what's happening."

"M-Maybe I should call Hank instead?" Markus volunteered nervously as he stared at his blood drenched fist and relaxed his fingers to stare at his blue stained palm again. "It might-"

"No way! Go now, you're the only one of the two of us who'll even have any idea about what's happening to Connor."

"...Yeah. You're right."

Without a second thought Markus ran into the facility's front doors to catch up to the gurney being wheeled down the corridor while Gavin pulled his phone from his pocket and reluctantly called Hank who was still at home recovering from his own devastating injury. Staring at the number on his phone's screen Gavin's thumb hovered over 'dial' for a moment before he swore and pocketed his phone again and turned to look at his car parked just a few feet behind him.

"Fuck a phone call."

Returning to the driver's side door Gavin sat back down behind the wheel and shifted from park and into drive before stomping down on the accelerator.

"He should actually be here..."

---

Courtesy of the quick and efficient deviant technicians taking care of their newest patient, Connor was wheeled into the emergency repair ward of the well equipped facility and promptly had Dr. Abby Grayson herself leaning over him. Diligently Abby began checking his vitals and examining the extensive damage to his abdomen with a focus that spoke volumes as to the severity of Connor's overall condition. As her hands tore open the tattered remains of his white dress shirt and gray blazer, Abby fully exposed the devastating bloody wound beneath and had to hold her breath to keep herself from gasping in horror at the sight before her. It wasn't like any wound that she had seen before.

Whatever the caustic substance was had caused damage that the skilled technician hadn't expected. It was as if someone had poured acid into Connor's body and then lit him on fire. The way the substance melted the plastimetal frame, metal couplings, biocomponents and lines confirmed that whatever that substance had been, it was designed to cause maximum carnage.

It had seemingly succeeded.

"Call Simon." Abby stated in a forcibly level voice as Markus approached the gurney and put his hand down over Connor's disheveled hair in a comforting manner. Connor's L.E.D. was pulsing red rapidly and seemed to spark randomly as if damaged. "I'm going to need all the help I can get if I even have a chance to save him."

Slowly Markus nodded as he pressed his fingertips to his right temple where his own L.E.D. had once resided as he cybernetically called Simon who was at the sight of the burned and actively renovating tower on Belle Isle. As the call was placed Markus also instructed Simon to bring with him any deviant who had training and knowledge of caustic chemicals and explosives to help with the investigation and subsequent identification of what had been used to damage Connor.

"What else can I do?" Markus volunteered as Barry and Jarvis cut away the useless remains of Connor's destroyed clothing to fully expose all of his wounds. A blue sheet was draped over the deviant to spare his modesty while Abby tried to find a way to stop the excessive bleeding and stabilize him in the process. "Name it."

"We need to figure out what this stuff is that's damaging him." The attentive technician stated in a somewhat perplexed manner as she used a pair of metal forceps to smear a sample of the orange substance from Connor's internal wounds onto a wad of gauze and held it up for everyone to see. The substance began to eat through the gauze like sugar dissolving in hot water. "I don't have any idea that his stuff is or how it caused so much damage so fast."

"I'm already looking for a contact to help us."

"Good. Until then, I'll have to go by intuition on his condition."

Abby explained her methods as she used her audioscope to listen to Connor's warped chest to check his Thirium pump's rate and his ventilation biocomponents. Connor's panting breaths were so shallow that they were barely strong enough to cause his battered chest to rise or fall as his strength ebbed away. His Thirium pump was strained by both the damage and the low Thirium pressure volume causing his pump; his heart, to overcompensate and beat too fast.

"Shit, his heartbeat is dangerously fast; he's tachycardic at least two-hundred and twenty beats per minute"

Barry pressed a wireless sensor pad to Connor's chest above his heart and hooked him up to the Thirial activity monitor while also slipping a Thirium pressure cuff around his bicep. The wrap automatically tightened to register Connor's dangerously low Thirium press rate and displayed the low number in red digits on the wrap's display screen.

Abby continued to assess Connor's condition but every error and bit of damage she uncovered was more disparaging than the last. She turned to look at the wrap and the monitor to note his dangerously weak Thirium pressure hovering at seventy over forty, and his core temperature at a lethally high degree of one-hundred and six point seven degrees Fahrenheit.

"He's overheating and his Thirium pressure is too low." In an effort to keep control over the situation, Abby announced the readout loudly to her team who were already working to assist Connor without simply standing back and waiting for their orders. "Begin immediate cooling measures. Bring three units of chilled Thirium from the back and keep four more on standby."

"Yes, Abby." Barry didn't hesitate to obey her orders. "I'll bring the Thirium."

Jarvis opened the nearby storage cabinet and retrieved a long thermally controlled blanket. "I'll set the temperature to forty degrees Fahrenheit to bring down his core temperature gradually."

Gently Jarvis draped the cooling blanket over Connor's legs and placed a cold compress under his neck, and then a second compress over his forehead in an effort to keep him from overheating and shutting down.

"Connor?" Abby tried to address the critically wounded deviant as she slipped an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth to try to assist his ventilation system and his overall breathing to keep him cool. Connor was totally lost in the throes of pain and shock of what happened to him and didn't respond. "Connor, if you can hear me, I want you to know we're going to do everything we can to help you. I'll try to turn off your pain sensors, but you've suffered extensive internal damage to your biocomponents; it may not provide much relief."

Markus watched as the three chilled units of Thirium were hung from an I.V. stand, two of the units being immediately hooked into the main lines exposed in the bends of both of Connor's arms to replenish what he had lost. It was a gruesome sight to behold; his friend completely exposed from catastrophic damage, vulnerable and helpless, blue blood everywhere and the horrible odor from the unknown damaging substance still lingering in the air.

"Shit. He's losing blood almost as fast as we can replace it." Abby observed as she watched the blood pooling in Connor's abdomen at an alarming rate. "Get as much blood as we can spare, he's going to need it."

Barry nodded again and motioned for Jarvis to join him. "Right away, Abby."

"Abby," Markus spoke to her in a low voice as the other two deviants left the room to gather the critically needed supplies. "how bad is it?"

"Bad." The abruptness of the response was rather disconcerting. "I won't even try to lie to you since there's clearly no way you'd believe me."

Placing his hand over the cool compress against Connor's forehead Markus just stared down at the dying deviant's face as Connor's L.E.D. cycled red faster and faster until it flickered, sputtering into an unsettling gray. There was a single red spark that escaped from the light and nothing more as the glow faded away.

The light was completely out.

"A-Abby!" Markus noticed the horrible lack of illumination and shouted to the technician. "His L.E.D. has goen out!"

Pressing her fingertips to the side of Connor's neck Abby gave Markus a worried, but reassuring glance.

"He's still alive. His L.E.D. just burned out from stress or possibly from prolonged overheating. He's holding on..." She confirmed her comment with the Thirial activity monitor still displaying Connor's heartbeat. "His pump is still beating."

Holding the internal viewing screen over Connor's body Abby powered on the device and stared at the digital display screen as it recorded and highlighted the damaged biocomponents that were faltering, some on the verge of failing, inside of Connor's body. There were four red marks that indicated the most severely affected biocomponents in his abdomen and three orange marks to indicate the lesser compromised biocomponents in his chest.

Each biocomponent was vital and needed to either be repaired or replaced.

"Shit..." Abby swore again as the two deviant technicians returned to the room with additional blood and bandages in their arms. "We need to do something fast, or we're going to lose him. Check the storage for compatible 'RK-800' parts."

Simon rushed through the doors with another deviant at his heels just as Abby finished chronicling the damage to Connor's body. The sight of the dark blue blood seeping over Connor's sides and onto the table was enough to make the skilled blond technician grimace with dread.

"Markus," Simon was audibly stunned by the sight. "why didn't you tell me it was this bad?"

"I didn't know." Markus admitted as he took his hand from Connor's forehead and took a step back from the gurney. "We don't even know what did this to him."

"Abby?" Simon turned his attention to the human technician as he rolled up the sleeves of his gray shirt to his elbows in preparation of the impending emergency repairs that he was about to participate in. "Which of his biocomponents have been affected?"

"Seven total: Thirium pump regulator, thermal regulator, Thirium filter and the Thirium pressure regulator. His Thirium pump itself and both ventilation biocomponents were also compromised, but not in immediate danger of failure."

"Core temperature?"

"One-hundred and six point two." Bringing Simon up to speed helped Abby maintain a sense of control over the situation. "It's begun to slowly decline."

"We can't wait for his system to cool off. We need to stop the bleeding and begin repairs right away."

"I agree, but we don't even know what it was that caused this type of damage."

"That's why he's here." Simon turned his head to look at the deviant who had accompanied him to the facility. "Derek, what can you tell us about the substance that did this?"

Derek nodded in acknowledgement as he stepped forward and ran a scan over Connor's body to identify the offending substance, then noted the sample on the irreparably damaged pair of forceps beside the gurney. The deviant himself was an 'SQ-800' model dressed in military green and he sported a military presence that matched his aesthetic, and his overall demeanor. It didn't take long for the trained and experienced deviant to identify the substance and was subsequently able to explain the rapid and devastating destruction it had caused to Connor's body.

"Iron oxide, aluminum, magnesium, zinc." Derek detected easily as he ran his analysis efficiently where he stood. "Temperature reached approximately three thousand, two hundred and fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit. Connor was exposed directly to thermite."

"How do we help him?" Abby asked hesitantly as she placed pressure bandages down into the wounds to try to slow the bleeding as much as possible before the repairs could be performed. "He's still in horrible pain."

"The damage is done; the thermite has burned itself off. The heat will cause warping of the metal couplings around his biocomponents and Thirium lines, as well as the biocomponents themselves." Derek's explanation was as unnerving as it was detailed. "You'll have to reshape the couplings and solder the weakened metal brackets. Only then can you repair the damage to the biocomponents themselves."

"All right, challenge accepted." At the moment Abby was satisfied with the helpful deviant's expert analysis. "Simon, let's get to work."

"Yes." Already preparing himself for the extensive repair process Simon made it clear he was going to work alongside Abby until they finished what they started. "We'll need to work quickly to-"

The doors to the emergency repair ward slid open with a 'hiss' as Hank entered the toom. Visibly shaken by the arrival from Gavin himself back at the house, Hank slowly walked over to the gurney and stared down at Connor's expressionless face with utter horror in his blue eyes. Pressing his hand down against the side of Connor's face Hank just stared at Connor with an eerily calm, blank face of his own.

"...What happened?"

Markus nervously cleared his throat before answering. "A deranged human attacked him. He used thermite, but... he was aiming at me." The deviant leader's voice stung with guilt as he admitted everything to the senior detective. "Connor saved my life."

"Thermite? That shit's like fuckin' lava..." Hank was surprisingly familiar with the substance despite the androids around him being at a loss for what had happened to their colleague. Absentmindedly Hank proceeded to move his hand from Connor's face and into his unruly hair. "That man you're talking about was a chemistry teacher." He had been updated about the situation while Gavin drove him to the facility. "Makes sense. He'd know how to make something corrosive and lethal."

"How do you know that?"

"Because the man who did this is down at the precinct after being arrested, and Detective Reed told me everything that I needed to know." Hank stated in an emotionless voice. "I'm going to go talk to this guy and make sure he isn't hiding any secrets from us. You stay here with Connor."

"Is that a good idea?"

"I've sat on my ass doing nothing for the past four weeks." The hollow tone of Hank's voice was somehow menacing to the other occupants of the room. "I can't just sit back and do nothing anymore. Stay with Connor, keep him company for me until I get back."

"Hank?"

Without another word Hank shrugged off his black overcoat, the very coat that had been left bloodied and tattered after he had been shanked those four weeks ago, yet expertly repaired by Connor himself as a favor to the injured detective. Hank placed the coat down on the chair next to the gurney where Connor was laying as a reminder to the deviant that he had been by to check in on Connor at the facility.

"Son, I'll be back soon. Hold on, okay?" Turning quickly Hank limped out of the repair ward with a concerned Markus following right after him. "Hang on for me. I'm going to guarantee you get justice, then I'm going to come back and stay by your side until you're back on your feet."

"Hank?" Markus had to run a few paces ahead of the senior detective and plant himself firmly to keep the righteously enraged detective from walking any further away from the ward. "What the hell are you going to do?"

"I'm either going to strangle that bastard or shoot him." The reply was curt and horrifyingly honest. "I'll decide in the car."

"Hank." Carefully Markus put his hand in the middle of Hank's chest to keep him from stepping away. "You're not going to help Connor if you do something stupid!"

"Like what?" Hank challenged in a threatening manner as he grabbed Markus's arm and tried to push him back, but the deviant leader stood his ground before the angry detective. "Getting my ass suspended? Won't be the first time!"

"What if you lose your badge?"

"Early retirement bonus."

"Don't do this! You could get-"

"Arrested?" Hank was clearly unafraid of any potential consequences if he were to lash out at Horace for trying to kill Connor. "Worth it."

"For killing a junkie?"

"For killing some lunatic trying to rile the city up into a mass of violence! Damn it, Markus," Hank was getting more hostile by the second. "this is the first time in almost twenty years that this city has known even a single passing moment of peace without some asshole trying to tear apart an android. We need the city to remain calm, we NEED the city to move past its hatred and bigotry. And if this bastard needs to be silenced then it's damn well worth it."

"And what exactly are you doing if you attack him? What kind of message of peace is that?"

Hank was silent for a moment as he stared at Markus with a contained rage in his eyes.

"Markus, he may have killed Connor." Finally speaking his mind Hank made it clear his true motivation for wanting to go to the precinct. "He's my son. If he killed my son, then I will personally bring Hell on this entire city with my bare hands."

"I know how important Connor is to you." Slowly Markus dropped his hand from Hank's chest and took a step back as misplaced guilt weighed down on his heart. Connor wasn't the target, Markus was, and he knew it. "I know Connor's your son. I know your anger."

"Then know this," in response Hank put his hand on Markus's shoulder and gently pushed him to the side so he could leave the facility. "I won't bury another son. If Connor dies, then so will he. But if Connor lives, then he can rot away in prison for all I care."

Markus didn't know what to say to that. He knew he couldn't stop Hank from leaving and he knew there was nothing he could say to make him change his mind on the matter.

"Stay here. It's the safest place for both of you."

With nothing more to say or do Markus only watched with a new found sense of anxiousness as the enraged detective walked out of the facility and promptly joined Gavin waiting outside in his car parked near the front of the building. As the car sped off with Hank as the passenger Markus couldn't help but feel like he somehow failed at a task he had unknowingly placed upon his own shoulders.

"Please don't do something you can't undo."

Glancing at the doorway connecting the corridor to the emergency repair ward where Connor was slowly dying from his wounds, Markus felt sick. The least he could do was stay by Connor's side until the deviant regained consciousness. No one should be alone while in the hospital or a facility.

"Connor needs you to be there for him."

With his condition now fully assessed Connor was quickly prepped for emergency repairs by the two assisting deviant technicians while Simon and Abby worked together to prioritize the most severe of Connor's injuries to be tended to first. If they couldn't control the bleeding properly Connor would shut down on the table before any repairs could even be completed, but if his biocomponents failed before they could remedy the damage then he'd still shutdown on the table regardless of how much Thirium was pumped through his lines. It was a very delicate balancing act with Connor's life right on the line.

Simon checked Connor's vitals on the monitor while Abby gently closed Connor's eyes and held her hand there as she used a small electronic component against his L.E.D. to manually activate stasis mode to conserve his already dwindling power.

"His core temperature is still dangerously high at one-hundred and five point eight degrees." Simon noted with a heavy heart as he then slipped a pair of special heat resistant and flexible gloves. "I'll work to replace and repair his damaged Thirium lines, you should focus on getting his thermal regulator functioning properly."

"I agree with you, one-hundred percent."

Abby lifted her hand from Connor's eyes, relieved to see his eyelids still closed and therefore asleep. Carefully she moved aside the oxygen mask from Connor's face and inserted a long hollow tube down the unconscious deviant's throat. From there, she connected the tube to an android unique external ventilator designed specifically to force cool air into Connor's struggling ventilation biocomponents in a desperate bid to reduce his elevated core temperature.

"Okay. He's as ready for this as he's going to get." Abby noted in a somber manner. "We need to move."

"Okay then." Simon draped a blue sheet over the undamaged portion of Connor's chest to try to protect the rest of his body from leaking blood as the emergency repair procedure got underway. "Let's begin..."

---

Despite the numerous and righteous protests from Captain Fowler who had tried to cut Hank and Gavin off at the door to the interrogation room, Hank was bound and determined to get inside that room and give Horace a piece of his mind. Gavin himself stood loyally at Hank's side and silently observed the fearless Lieutenant address their superior officer with a paternal drive that he had never known and gave him a new form of respect for the senior detective that he didn't think he'd ever earn. As far as Gavin was concerned any and all acts of 'fatherly love' were only for show, not sincere. Seeing Hank ready to fight for Connor's life while recovering from his own devastating injuries made him rethink that closed minded notion.

As for Captain Fowler, he saw Hank's outburst as yet another act of rebellion. Even with all the progress Hank had made regarding his poor attitude at work, the commanding officer knew that Hank still had a long way to go before he'd be back to his old reputation before tragedy had struck.

"Jeffrey." Hank put some bass into his voice as he spoke to Captain Fowler face-to-face. "Move."

"You know I can't let you talk to him." Staying in place Captain Fowler refused to let Hank pass him by. "You're too close to-"

"Fuck protocol! This guy is an asshole hyped on 'red ice' and trying to start a whole new fuckin' war!"

"I know that!" Grabbing on to Hank's shoulders Captain Fowler managed to push the heated Lieutenant back a few feet and keep him away from the locked door behind him. "But he's STILL high and needs to come down before anyone talks to him."

"Then let me talk to him after he comes down."

"I don't want to see you get fired because of this guy. He isn't worth it."

"But Connor is."

"Hank..." Captain Fowler kept one hand on Hank's shoulder and held him back. The gesture would normally be impossible for anyone to use against the senior detective, but since Hank was still weak and recovering from his previous injury it didn't take much for Captain Fowler to assert physical authority. "I'll let you watch, but you CAN'T speak to him directly."

"And you're going to talk to him, right?"

"Yes. You seem to have forgotten that you AND Connor are both my officers. What happened to Connor is affecting more than just you right now."

"Bullshit!"

"Reed." Captain Fowler looked to the younger detective standing quietly to the side. "Take Hank into observation and make sure he STAYS there."

"Uh, yeah." Looking a little intimidated by his new assignment Gavin timidly obeyed the order. "Sure thing, Cap'."

Captain Fowler stepped away from Hank and made his way back into the interrogation room to deal with Horace in person. Making sure the door locked behind him the commanding officer maintained full control of the situation. As soon as Hank tried to take a step forward Gavin grabbed onto his shoulder and held him at bay.

"Lieutenant, we got that son of a bitch." Addressing Hank by his rank rather than his name helped emphasize how much Gavin was respecting Hank in that dire and uncertain moment. "Don't do anything that you'll regret. Don't do anything that Connor would regret."

Hank turned and glared at Gavin with a sense of betrayal shining in his blue eyes. "You're going to fuckin' play that hand against me you rat-bastard?"

"I'm trying to make sure that when Connor gets back on his feet that he isn't going to be assigned a new partner because you got your cranky ass fired."

Every ounce of hostility that Hank was carrying suddenly seemed to melt away as he listened to the unexpectedly wise words from Gavin. Reluctant, but willing, Hank nodded his head in defeated agreement and allowed Gavin to escort him to the observation room without any further incident.

"All right. Let's go and hear what the prick has to say."

---

The sound of a steady, rhythmic beeping filled the emergency repair ward as the Thirial activity monitor recorded Connor's frantic heartbeat. Connor looked disturbingly more like a cadaver and less like a patient as the two skilled technicians fought to save his life. No stranger to injuries or emergency repairs, Connor's system was able to easily chronicle every little repair and modification to his damaged body to be recalibrated at a later time, but it was the first time that Connor had suffered such numerous, extensive injuries to more than one biocomponent at a time. It was also the first time he had suffered such devastating structural damage to his plastimetal frame and numerous Thirium lines in the process.

The entirety of Connor's abdominal and chest cavities were opened to expose the numerous damaged biocomponents within. The frame over his abdomen would need to be replaced entirely as his self-healing program simply didn't have the energy reserve to undo the damage caused by the thermite. With his heart beating more slowly thanks solely to technical intervention and his ventilation biocomponents being forced into a controlled motion, Connor was truly at the mercy of the very technology that Horace insisted would be the downfall of mankind.

"How the hell are you still alive?" Abby asked out loud to Connor despite knowing she'd never receive an answer. "By all account you should've died as soon as that stuff burned through your body."

"I have successfully reattached the Thirium lines to his affected biocomponents and replaced the damaged lines throughout his core." Glancing at the wrap on Connor's arm Simon noted the deviant's current Thirium pressure. "His pressure is stabilizing. One-hundred over sixty, and slowly climbing."

"As long as we can keep his processors from suffering from any extensive heat damage, I think we just might be able to save him."

The monitor suddenly let out a high pitched shriek as Connor's heart began to race again and fell into a dangerous arrhythmia.

Reacting quickly Barry and Jarvis proceeded to charge up the small Thirium pump defibrillator in the corner of the room while Simon tried to massage Connor's heart with his hand in an attempt to correct the rhythm while also trying to force it to slow down. The procedure was hauntingly reminiscent of intracardiac massage in human patients enduring heart surgery, and often the procedure was enough to correct the arrhythmia without needing external measures. Unfortunately, that moment wasn't one of the more cooperative times for the procedure to prove successful.

"This isn't working." Simon noted as he failed to calm the deviant's racing heart frantically beating in his palm. "We have to shock him, there's no other choice."

"Right. We'll use the lowest setting; two-hundred Joules." Abby took the already prepared paddles from Barry's hands and placed them over Connor's chest, one over top of the heart and the second at the left apex along his side. "Ready to charge."

Simon pulled his hand away cautiously to prevent himself from getting shocked as well. "Go."

"Sending charge."

Abby pressed the release switches on the two paddles simultaneously, sending an electric charge through Connor's heart in an attempt to correct the dangerous arrhythmia. Connor's back arched up a few centimeters from the table and fell back down as the electric jolt surged through his heart, traveling from one paddle into the other.

"Any change?"

Simon looked the screeching monitor and shook his head. "Negative."

"Charge to three-hundred Joules." With the enhanced voltage primed Abby prepared to shock Connor again. "Sending charge."

Once more Connor's back arched slightly as the jolt surged through his heart and his body fell back down over the table before his back relaxed as quickly as it tensed up. The sight was as painful to witness as the burns marring his chest and abdomen.

"Change?"

The monitor was no longer screeching, and the heart rate showed a normal, beating pulse at a calm pace. "Affirmative. He's stabilized."

"Okay... He's back. That's good." Abby set aside the paddles and took in a deep breath. "The last thing he needs is Thirial arrest."

"I just hope his self-healing program doesn't cause his Thirium pump to burn out from strain after the procedure is over. There are no other compatible Thirium pumps available, the ones we had specially designed at New Jericho Tower were lost in the fire."

"Shit." Feeling the full pressure of the situation Abby swore as she proceeded to finish the final repairs on Connor's thermal regulator before moving on to his Thirium filter. "We'll need to monitor him very closely for any sign of distress for the next six hours. That should be long enough for a proper full Thirium cycle and give his self-healing program the time it needs to keep him from shutting down."

"Yes." Simon let out his own weary breath as he resumed the lengthy emergency repair process. "I agree. Let's keep working until we're certain Connor is going to make a full recovery."

---

Arrested and with nowhere to run, Horace sat in the locked interrogation room with his head hung low and his eyes wide with fear. As he slowly came down from his intense high and was informed of his crazy behavior downtown, the drugged-out human began to visibly shake with fear over his impending punishment at the hands of the law. Though he couldn't see or hear Hank on the other side of the one-way mirror, he could feel the enraged detective's blue eyes burning holes through his skull. Appropriate, considering the damage he had inflicted on Connor with one single motion. Had the man known what the repercussions of his actions had been, maybe Horace would've thought twice before taking drugs.

The interrogation was now underway, and Horace had nowhere to run. He'd have to answer for his crimes and face the consequences.

"Not only have you been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance AND the illegal manufacturing of said substance," Captain Fowler commented in a cold and frustrated manner at the suspect. "but you're also being charged with assault and attempted murder of one of my officers, as well as the attempted assault and potential assassination of a Mr. Markus Manfred."

Horace seemed genuinely stunned and yet slow to pick up on the details at the same time. "...Markus has a last name?"

"Focus you moron! These are very serious charges."

"...The damn androids. They're ruining everything." Horace wasn't high anymore, but he was still showing signs of emotional instability. "They took my job from me and-"

"I don't give a shit." Captain Fowler interjected angrily to stop the rant before it began. "You are going to prison for a very, VERY long time. Why don't you go ahead and make this easier on yourself. Tell me why you tried to kill Markus."

"It... It was the one Kamski made as a unique model. It was unlike any of the other androids."

"What of it?"

"It was because of the supply and demand of androids that I lost my job!" Horace spat bitterly as he glared at Captain Fowler sitting across from him at the small table in the middle of the room. "If Kamski hadn't interfered and begun manufacturing unique models and prototypes, I would still have my job! The prototypes took priority over the chemicals and the supplies. Kamski is the one-"

"To me it sounds like it's KAMSKI who's responsible for you losing your job, NOT Markus."

Horace's shoulders tensed up as if he had just realized his terrible mistake.

"You attacked the wrong guy TWICE now. And I'm going to level with you, if my officer dies because of what you did, I'm going to personally guarantee that you head right for death row."

"O-Officer?"

"The android who protected Markus is one of my officers and one of the best damn detectives in this whole city. Right now, his partner," motioning to the one-way mirror to their right with a nod of his head Captain Fowler emphasized the severity of the situation and watched as Horace began to tremble with fear. "is watching this interrogation, and he wants nothing more than to have a private word with you."

Leaning back in his chair Captain Fowler delivered a hollow threat and watched as Horace paled to a frightening shade of white.

"I might have to consider it if you don't work with us and give us some information."

"I... I-I..."

"We know you're a 'red ice' user, a dealer, and we know you had to get 'creative' in order to make your special thermite bomb. We need to know where you got the chemicals to make your drugs and your bomb."

"Th-The money's gone."

"I don't care about that. Tell me who your clients are." Captain Fowler slammed a file containing evidence of Horace's 'red ice' lab that had been confiscated from his apartment after he had been arrested down onto the table before him. "Give us names and I'll consider taking the death penalty off the table."

"O-Okay, okay." Lifting his shaking hand over to the file Horace began to cooperate in favor of sparing his own life. "I'll t-tell you everything. J-Just take it easy on me!"

---

From the other side of the obstructive mirror Hank sat and stared with bitter silence at the pathetic excuse for a man with raw loathing in his eyes. How could someone be so full of misguided hatred and make such a grievous mistake? Then again, it was the same mistake that all of the anti-android bigots had made before the Revolution; blaming androids for obeying their programming when assigned a newly vacated job when it was the other humans and the greedy corporations who were manufacturing and distributing the androids to begin with that were truly to be held accountable. The misplaced hatred was going to be the death of far too many innocent people for countless years to come.

It was all such a waste of time and emotion for everyone involved.

"That dumb fucker blamed Markus for what that Kamski prick did years ago!" Leaning forward slightly, only to flinch as the motion strained his already sore back, Hank returned to his normal posture in his chair and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "All that goddamn 'red ice' must've melted his brain into a fuckin' gray puddle by now."

"Seems about right." Gavin agreed as he stayed at Hank's side in the observation room. "How in the hell could a guy that fuckin' stupid make something as dangerous as that shit that he threw at Connor without killing himself in the process?"

"Thermite."

"Ther- what?"

"That shit he made was thermite. Nasty stuff."

Gavin was genuinely shocked by Hank's knowledge of the stuff. "How in the hell do you know that?"

"I worked in narcotics, remember? I came across all kinds of weird shit these 'chemists' came up with. Thermite is used for welding if you're an engineer but," Hank looked absolutely distraught and exhausted as he explained the purpose and tried not to think about Connor fighting for his life. "if you're a drug dealer needing to cover his sorry ass when the police come knocking on your door, it's a great way to destroy the evidence AND everything around it."

"Fuck. Glad I never worked in narcotics." Feeling a headache building Gavin shook his head as he watched Horace through the glass scribbling out a list of his clients as per Captain Fowler's instructions. Noticing that Hank had fallen silent and sullen Gavin sighed as he asked what was on Hank's mind. "Why are you kicking yourself so much? It's not like you knew what was going to happen today."

"I told Connor to go back to work today." Hank replied with a breathy sigh. "If I let him stay home to keep an eye on me like he wanted to then he wouldn't have been there to be injured to begin with."

"Yeah, fuckin', right. You can't possibly know that."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Hey, I may not necessarily get along with Connor, but I have gotten to know him over the past couple years. Once he makes a decision he sticks with it, and we both know that as soon as he got word about some deviant related bullshit happening in the city then he would've been all over it even if he did stay away from the precinct today."

Hank wanted to laugh at the comment but in that moment, he just fantasized about punching through that glass and wringing Horace's neck.

"There's nothing you can do here. Let me take you back to the facility so you can check in with Connor."

"Thanks, but I'll take a cab."

"Fuck that shit." Gavin wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer. "You know that I'm not going to let you out of my sight while you're still on the injured reserved list."

"Since when did you care about my health?"

"Can't I do you a favor without getting a bunch of bull in return?"

"Guess not."

"Whatever. Besides, Cap' ordered me to babysit your saggy ass and I don't need another red mark in my file." Gavin rose to his feet and gave Hank a somewhat painful smack to the shoulder. "Let's go, I'll take you back to the facility or your house. I gotta' bunch of paperwork I still need to deal with, and I don't need Fowler breathin' down my neck if I let you go after that asshole and kill him while he's still in custody."

---

Markus resided to himself in the waiting room of the facility as he patiently, but anxiously, waited for any update on Connor's condition - specifically whether or not his friend was going to live or die. Standing with his back against the wall next to the unoccupied plastic chairs Markus found himself fussing with the quarter that Connor had given him the night that Connor had saved his own life after being shot. The fidgeting of the coin was a habit that both Connor and his late brother, Lucas, shared and had been passed onto Markus. Considering that Markus only survived the assassination attempt because Connor agreed to give Markus the Thirium pump that had belonged to Lucas, it was only fitting that Markus would too develop the same nervous tic as the brothers in the long run.

Derek had joined Markus in the waiting room but since he wasn't a friend to Connor his concern for the deviant was less palpable. Approaching the deviant leader with a cautious gait Derek discreetly addressed Markus as politely and delicately as possible.

"Markus, if it's okay I'd like to return to New Jericho Tower and resume assisting with the refurbishment."

"Oh, right." Markus noted Derek's request and agreed to let him go. "Yeah, Derek. Go on. Thanks for helping today."

"Should I say anything to the others at the tower about what's happening?"

"No." Not wanting to spread any fear or rumors Markus held the quarter tightly between his index and middle fingers as he spoke. "I'll tell them in person. If anyone does ask, just let them know that Connor is in the best hands possible."

"Yes, of course." Respectfully Derek extended his hand to Markus. "I'll be at the tower if you need my help again."

"Thank you." Markus appreciated the gesture openly as he began fidgeting with the coin again. "Take care."

It had already been four painful hours since Connor was rushed into the emergency repair ward and almost three and a half hours since he had been prepared for the lifesaving repairs by the two skilled technicians. The sight of the blood, the smell of the burned plastimetal, the feel of the warm Thirium staining his hands and the sound of Connor's scream of utter agony still haunted Markus's senses with a vivid presence.

Cybernetically Markus made contact with North at their house and checked in with his bondmate to see how she was fairing health wise, while also needing a friendly voice to hear as he tried to push aside the horrific scenario of possibly losing Connor due to a pointless endeavor of a man who was as desperate as he was pathetic.

'North.' Even in his mind he sounded shaken and scared. 'How're you holding up?'

'I'm okay.' North herself sounded tired and a little confused about what was happening. 'I... I know about the attack. How's Connor?'

'Alive.'

'He'll make it. We both know he's too stubborn to just roll over and die.'

'I know. It doesn't make waiting any easier.'

'Trust me, I know all too well about how hard it is to wait for answers.'

'You'll make it, too.' Markus let out a weak sigh and closed his mismatched eyes tight. 'We don't know what's happening to you yet, but we will figure it out.'

'And I'll hold you to that guarantee.'

'I love you. I love you so much...'

'I love you, too. I'll never stop loving you for as long as my heart is still beating.'

Getting lost in the distraction Markus was only aware of Hank's return to the facility after the senior detective limped through the doors and sat down with a heavy grimace in the vacant chair beside him. Unsure of what to say, if anything at all, Markus told North that he loved her and ended their conversation reluctantly.

'Hank is here. I'll see you tonight.'

'See you soon.'

'I love you.' Repeating the comment Markus opened his eyes and let out a deep breath as he turned to look at Hank now sitting beside him. "What happened at the precinct?"

"I didn't kill him." Hank stated bluntly as pressed his hand against his sore back for support and gave the nervous deviant leader an empathetic glance from the corner of his eye. "I wanted to, but I didn't do it. Connor wouldn't want me to do it."

"I never thought you actually would. I was just worried you'd say or do something that could jeopardize your partnership with Connor."

"Yeah, I know. Look," sitting back as much as he dared Hank leveled with the deviant leader and spoke to him man-to-man. "I admit that I can come off as a total asshole with an itchy trigger-finger, but I can assure you that I am in control of myself."

"I get that." Markus stepped away from the wall and sat down in the vacant chair next to Hank. Keeping his hand wrapped around the coin and his head bowed down, he spoke to Hank with a shamed tone in his voice. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

"No offense taken. You were just trying to look out for me and, more importantly, you were looking out for Connor."

"...It should've been me."

"What?" Hank's brow furrowed as he gave Markus an odd look. "What should've been you?"

"Horace wanted to hurt ME. He was aiming at ME. But Connor... He protected me." Wiping a hand over his mismatched eyes Markus couldn't bring himself to look at the senior detective directly. "If I had been paying attention, I would've been able to move out of the way in time."

"You know what isn't true." Sympathetically Hank put his hand on the deviant leader's shoulder and held it there in the same supportive manner he had frequently shown to Connor in the past when offering fatherly advice. "You know as well as I do that Connor would've stepped in front of you, or anyone else, regardless of the situation. It's in his nature, not his programming, to protect people. That's why he's such an incredible detective and an amazing person."

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Markus was beginning to lose his cool as the emotional strain of North being sick and now Connor dying easily wore away at his rapidly thinning resolve. "Connor may have given up his life to save mine!"

"It wouldn't be the first time Connor risked himself to save someone else, and it won't be the last. As much as I hate it, I know I can't change the kid from being a self-sacrificing, stubborn, bullheaded..." Hank trailed off as a faint smile managed to creep over his face and then disappear in a flash. "I can't change Connor from being Connor. No one can."

"It's not right. It's not fair." Needing to calm down Markus took in a deep shuddering breath to try to steel himself in the face of emotional turmoil. "Connor is the one responsible for bringing about this sense of peace through the city. He's the one who managed to dissuade and disband the anti-android gang activity just by confronting the leader himself. Now he's fighting for his life because of one man with a misguided vendetta against me."

"Listen to me." Hank kept his hand against Markus's shoulder as he spoke with paternal understanding. "You can't expect every person in this city to change for the better all at once. It took me a while to come around after I met Connor, and it's taken other officers at the precinct even longer. But we all get along, and sooner rather than later, everyone at the precinct will think of Connor as an officer first and an android second. Hell, it wasn't that long ago that Gavin would've walked away and let Connor die in the street, but it was him who drove Connor to the facility and came to tell me in person."

"I guess that's something I should keep in mind." There was no denying that was Hank was saying was all true. Markus sighed and felt his stress levels beginning to drop under the words of Hank's wisdom. "And what you're saying is I need to be more patient, and progress will happen?"

"What I'm saying is progress is already happening, even if you can't see or it hear it. And I know in time everyone will see you as the great man you are and not just the leader of the deviants."

"I hope so. Between North being so chronically ill and now Connor... I don't know if I'm doing the right thing anymore."

"Hey, it's going to be all right. So is North, not that I know what's going on with her, but I can feel it."

As a father Hank could see that Markus was in emotional pain and feeling lost. As he studied Markus's demeanor Hank couldn't help but compare his plight to the way Connor had previously been like a lost child in need of a loving parent. But unlike Connor who had Hank to watch over him, Markus didn't have his father figure anymore; Carl was gone.

"I promise you that you'll be okay." Standing by his words Hank made it clear that he wasn't just blowing smoke. "Trust me on this, you're on the right path, son."

As soon as Hank called him 'son' Markus let out a repressed but silent sob as he couldn't stop himself from breaking down from the emotional distress that had overwhelmed his mind. He had longed to feel like someone's son again for the longest time.

Hank didn't dare to move his hand from Markus's shoulder as he too began to feel the emotional strain of the unusual day wearing him down. Sitting together in the waiting room of the facility encompassed in exhausted silence, the duo just waited and hoped for the best as Connor fought for his life in the emergency repair ward just a few doors away.

"Everything will be all right for all of us." Refusing to believe otherwise Hank remained steadfast in everything he had said. "It has to be."

---

With a lot of patience and accuracy Simon had finished repairing all of the damaged Thirium lines within Connor's chest and abdomen well over two hours prior and was now working diligently alongside Abby to repair the Thirium pump regulator before Connor's heart rate began to falter for a second time. Abby had been painstakingly replacing the damaged couplings at the ends of the lines and biocomponents to ensure that Connor stopped bleeding internally. Flawlessly the two technicians worked in tandem as they fought to keep the deviant under their care alive, and Barry and Jarvis closely monitored Connor's vitals as they continuously replaced blue blood as quickly as Connor lost it to ensure he remained stable.

While the majority of the damage had been repaired the team still needed to stabilize Connor's compromised Thirium pump and both of his ventilation biocomponents before the day, which was now nearing the evening, was over. The vital biocomponents required their full attention.

"He's finally stable." Simon dared to note as he moved his skilled hands quickly from one biocomponent to the other. "It's been six hours and fifty-one minutes since the repairs began. Connor may not be able to tolerate the procedure for too much longer."

Abby nodded her head in agreement as she worked right alongside Simon's hands.

"You're right. As soon as the regulator is repaired, we'll sterilize his entire abdominal and chest cavity with a decontaminating chrism then use a regenerative increment to aid his self-healing program to focus on his ventilation biocomponents and Thirium pump. We'll use supportive measures to keep him stabilized while his system heals the damage itself."

"That should work. Afterward we can work on replacing the plastimetal panels over his abdominal cavity." Simon looked up at the 'beeping' monitor and shook his head a little at the weakened heart rate on display. "I just hope he's up to the challenge. He physically can't take too much more of this."

"Connor taking on a new challenge?" Instinctively Abby tried to make her voice sound as reassuring as possible as she used suction to drain the remainder of the excess bleeding from Connor's abdomen as she spoke to her ally. "He's always ready."

---

Waiting for any progress and updates on his son's condition was an absolute nightmare. Hank was fighting the urge to throw himself down on to the cold floor of the eerily quiet waiting room to calm the burning ache in his back, all while Markus kept painfully silent and kept to himself as he and Hank waited for any information on Connor. Time seemed to be ticking by at a tauntingly slow rate as the emergency repair procedure had reached its seventh consecutive hour and there was still no update on Connor's progress. Even Barry and Jarvis were too busy assisting in the procedure to deliver any report or update on the situation much to Hank and Markus's chagrin.

It seemed another trait that humans and deviants shared was a disdain for playing the waiting game.

"They say no news is good news..." Hank openly lamented as he let out a breathy sigh. "but I think 'they' are also full of shit."

Slipping his coin back into his pocket Markus sighed a little and straightened up his posture as he stayed beside Hank. "Should we be worried?"

"I don't know. Hopefully not."

Just as the duo were ready to fall back into silent waiting the door to the waiting room slid opened and Abby slowly trudged through the door from the corridor with her shoulders hunched and hazel eyes bloodshot from fatigue. Joining the two worried occupants where they sat, Abby fell back into the chair across from where Hank and Markus were sitting and leaned forward slightly to rest her elbows atop her knees.

"Abby?" Hank spoke up in a cautiously low voice as he dared to address the technician with his hand hovering precariously above her tired hands draped over her knees "How is he?"

"He pulled through." Abby stated with a lilt of relief to her tone as she rubbed her hand over her tired heavy eyes. "But he's still in critical condition."

"I don't know whether to be relieved or keep worrying." Hank's posture stiffed slightly as his blue eyes went wide with a mixture of shock and relief. "What did you have to do and what's happening to him now? "

"We successfully repaired the major damage to his affected biocomponents through technical intervention and we replaced his lost Thirium, but he still needs time for his self-healing program to undo the damage to his lesser injuries." Reaching one hand back toward her own shoulder she rubbed at a tight knot forming in the muscle under her touch. "Right now, Connor is still in stasis mode, and he has the ventilator breathing for him until his ventilation biocomponents regain enough strength to cool down his still dangerously high core temperature on their own."

Markus remained silent as he listened to what Abby was saying. It was also so serious and yet she was still so calm.

"Simon is keeping vigil over him, and if he stays stable within the hour then you can go and see him. I have to warn you, Hank, we've done everything we can to diminish his pain receptors and ease his discomfort, but he'll still be in a lot of pain when he does wake up. You'll both need to be patient in order for him to endure the pain without his condition regressing as a result. AND..." Speaking cautiously Abby made sure Hank understood everything at stake. "His abdominal cavity has been left open until his core temperature reduces and until we can replace the damaged panel entirely. Movement needs to be strictly limited for his own protection."

"I'll remember that." Slumping down a little in his chair Hank dragged his palm over his bearded chin with deep thought. "And how're you holding up?" He then asked empathetically as he returned his hand to Markus's shoulder discreetly. "You look as exhausted as we feel."

"That was the longest procedure I had done in a very long time." Abby forced herself to smile, the expression contrasting against her tired facade. "But I'm okay."

"Thanks for everything you've done. For both of us."

"You're welcome. You and Connor are my friends, it's my pleasure to help you. And Markus," Abby gave the worried deviant leader a kind grin as she turned her attention to him and put her hand on his knee. "as soon as Connor is in the clear I'll go with you to check on North. I know she's been ill. Simon informed me of her condition before I came out here to speak with you and let me know that you might need some help."

"Th-Thank you, Abby." Markus had to clear his voice a little as the emotion was still heavy in his speech. "I appreciate it."

---

The first hour had passed without further incident which meant Connor was still stable.

Placed in a partially upright bed in a private room within the recovery wing, Connor himself was resting as comfortably as possible considering the extensive and lengthy repairs he had just received to his entire torso. The plastimetal frame over his abdomen and the lower portion of his chest that had been destroyed by the thermite had been removed entirely, and would be replaced with new flawless plastimetal frames, but the new frames were not ready to be installed just yet. The excessively high core temperature that Connor had developed would only be exacerbated by the enclosed space over his torso which is why his abdomen had been left open as Connor healed.

In place of the plastimetal frames Simon had wrapped Connor's abdomen and lower chest in thin white gauze bandaging that would keep any external contaminants from entering his torso and effecting the biocomponents while remaining breathable to ensure that Connor's system would be able to cool off at a steady rate. It left Connor's entire abdomen covered in a layer of white and made him look like a human who had survived a terrible car accident rather than a deviant who had suffered egregious damage.

Diligently Simon picked up Connor's wrist to check his pulse and compare it to the heart rate being recorded and displayed on the nearby monitor. Connor's Thirium pump was still functioning adequately and still synchronized as it should be since the recalibration had been a success. The external ventilator forced Connor to breathe despite being in low power mode and it struggled to lower his core temperature to a more nominal degree. Seeing the tube still snaked down Connor's throat was unsettling even to the eyes of the seasoned technician.

"Still stable. That's good." Turning his attention to Barry and Jarvis who were still hovering around the recovery room, Simon gave them one final request before taking their leave of the room. "Would you please show Lieutenant Anderson and Markus to the room?"

"Yes, of course." Barry smiled brightly as he accepted the request and went in search of Hank and Markus with Jarvis still following after him. "Right away."

While the duo of assistants both left the room to retrieve the requested people while Simon was left alone with Connor.

"Hang in there, my friend. You're truly a pillar of strength among your people."

Placing a cold compress over Connor's forehead and tucking another one under Connor's neck, Simon was still attempting to get the wounded deviant's core temperature to lower further. It wasn't going to be easy to aid Connor's recovery rate, yet it was a challenge that the technician was willing to undertake.

"We still need you to help us guide New Jericho in the right direction."

Pressing his fingertips against the still gray L.E.D. in Connor's right temple Simon tried and failed to cybernetically connect with the unconscious deviant to speak with him. Simon was met with raw silence. While the L.E.D. was no longer functional it didn't mean Connor's processors had shutdown, it simply meant the L.E.D. itself was damaged and would need to be repaired or replaced when Connor was ready.

"I guess you'll wake up when you're ready. Not surprised."

With Markus at his side Hank limped into the recovery room and sat in the chair next to Connor's bed with a heavy slump. Despite the relentless pain in his back Hank was more concerned with Connor than he was with himself.

"Connor?" Hank rested his hand against Connor's shoulder as he spoke to the weakened deviant in a calm tone. Even the light touch was enough to tell Hank that the wounded deviant was still running hot and needed to cool down. "I'm right here with you, son. You're going to be just fine, and you saved Markus. You just focus on healing for now. Everything is under control."

Shortly thereafter Barry reentered the recovery room and handed Hank the overcoat that he had left behind in the emergency repair ward earlier. "Your coat, Lieutenant."

"...Yeah, thanks." Hank accepted the coat and laid it over his lap as he kept his attention on Connor. "As soon as you're awake I'll get you home, okay? You don't have to stay here. I know you hate being stuck in facilities overnight."

"You're going to be okay, my friend." Markus approached the bed where Connor was laying and put his hand down atop Connor's arm. "Thank you for saving my life. I'll be back as soon as I can to help get you back to your home. I just need to check in with North for a few minutes."

"Go Markus." Understanding the deviant leader's current mindset Hank waved his hand dismissively in the air. "You take care of her, and I'll take care of him."

It took almost three more hours before Connor's core temperature dropped to a more normal degree that allowed his system to steadily reboot. The deviant's soulful brown irises finally reappeared under a noted glaze, though their return was visible only through small, tired slits of his eyelids. Reaching up his shaking hand into the air, Connor's system rebooted, and he became increasingly aware of the severity of his injuries thanks solely to the lingering pain that was actively gnawing away at his bandaged abdomen and lower chest. With every moment of passing clarity came an increasing discomfort that made Connor's body tense up and his eyes begin to water with righteous pain.

Closing his eyes tightly Connor tried to wrap his arms around his abdomen only to have a strong hand grab onto his hands and hold them back.

"Connor?" Hank spoke to him calmly as he remained patiently vigil at the deviant's side. "I know you're awake, just hang on to me, okay? There's really nothing that can be done for your pain, so you just squeeze my hand and try to relax."

Letting out a pained groan from around the tube still inserted down his throat, Connor's resisted the urge to clutch at his abdomen and instead went up to his chest and then up to his own throat.

"Easy, kid." Remaining calm Hank tried to help Connor regain his senses without frightening him in the process. "There's a tube helping you to breathe, so don't pull on it."

Connor's hand tightened around Hank's hand as if he were trying to communicate. Tense and struggling a little from where he was laying, Connor was trying to resist the ventilator forcing him to breathe. Frustrated tears began to roll down his face as Connor fought to speak, to breathe on his own, and to endure the pain aching through his abdomen.

"Listen to me. Just listen to what I'm saying." The senior detective stood beside the bed and looked down over Connor's face so the deviant could see him far more clearly. "Your abdomen doesn't have the frame over it right now, only bandages. Don't move around or you could reinjure yourself."

Locking onto Hank's eyes Connor squeezed his hand again while patting at his throat with his free hand.

"You want the tube removed? Squeeze my hand once for 'yes'."

Connor squeezed Hank's hand again as if to communicate a desperate 'yes' and be freed of the confining sensation.

"Okay. Just give me a minute, I'll get Simon for you."

Connor begrudgingly let Hank's hand go as the senior detective went off in search of the technician. Unable to run his self-diagnostic program or even access the sanctuary of his Mind Palace, Connor felt completely lost and vulnerable as he waited for Hank and Simon to return to his bedside.

The pain was indescribable, and it made Connor's heart pound relentlessly in his chest.

Simon reappeared in the recovery room quickly and put his hand down against the surface of Connor's throat and carefully tilted Connor's head back slightly to get Connor's air intake line as open as possible.

"Okay, I'll pull the tube out so you can relax easier." Speaking with an impressively terse tone Simon emphasized the importance of Connor listening to everything he was saying. "Do NOT cough or try to help in any way, it'll hurt your abdomen and cause damage. Do you understand?"

Connor grabbed onto Simon's arm and squeezed once to confirm that he understood.

"Okay. Don't move."

Closing his eyes tightly Connor mentally steeled himself as Simon unhooked the tube from the ventilator and began to gently pull the tube out of his throat.

"Just a few seconds. Don't move..."

Hank grabbed onto Connor's free hand and held it firmly as the deviant resisted the urge to cough as the unpleasant sensation lingered in his throat even after the tube had been removed.

"Don't cough!" Simon reminded Connor as he placed a hand firmly down against Connor's chest. "Just try to relax and slowly exhale."

"You're okay, kid." Fearlessly Hank leaned down over the bed and put his hand back onto Connor's shoulder. "You're still here."

Taking in a few deep breaths Connor resisted the urge to cough and endured the horrible agony that came from his numerous severe wounds still needing the time to heal.

"...H-Hank." Connor swallowed once to try to rid himself of the haunting pain in his throat. "...M-Markus?"

"He's okay." Softly Hank carded his fingers through Connor's hair to offer some comfort. "He'll be back in a few minutes."

Blinking away his tears Connor asked another question in a hoarse tone. "...Gavin? T-Tina?"

"Not a scratch. You know," Hank awkwardly cleared his own throat as he spoke to the weakened deviant Hank continued to hold Connor's attention with a conversation and try to distract him from the pain. "Gavin helped to save your life. If it wasn't for him and his insane driving, then you may not have made it here."

Connor's eyes seemed to narrow with confusion then relaxed as he processed what Hank was telling him. "...Anyone else in-injured?"

"No, son. Just you."

The relatviely good news helped Connor's mind to relax, and he nodded once and winced a little at the still persistent pain.

"...H-Hurts."

"Yeah, you're going to be sore for a while. Sorry about that." Hank pressed his hand down over Connor's forehead in a reassuring manner. Even with the icy cool compress to help him to regulate his temperature, the deviant was still running abnormally hot. "You also need to cool down. You were overheating for a long time, but you're slowly getting better."

Looking down at his chest and abdomen, his eyes glancing over the pure white bandages with a righteous worry, Connor tentatively rested her free hand over his abdomen only to retract his touch as he realized that what Hank had told him was entirely correct; there was no protective frame over his abdomen anymore. Giving Hank a pleading look Connor tried to speak as clearly as possible.

"H-Home?"

"Yes, you can go home. Markus will help me get you back home in a few hours."

Steadily Connor's irises glazed over as his eyes closed and he fell unconscious to return to rest mode to heal his body. As soon as he fell unconscious his breathing program turned itself off and Hank began to worry at the sudden lack of motion.

"Connor?" Patting the deviant's cheek lightly he tried to get a response. "S-Simon, he stopped breathing!"

"He's still alive." Simon motioned to the monitor displaying Connor's active heartbeat. "Low power mode often causes the ventilation program to deactivate. We'll keep using external measures to make sure he doesn't overheat while he rests."

"R-Right, that's right... Connor doesn't actually need to breathe." The memories of checking on Cole as a newborn to ensure the tiny baby was still breathing seemed to still be an instinct ingrained in Hank's psyche. He knew that Connor didn't need to breathe to live but his reaction was understandable. "Just a natural paternal reflex to freak out, I guess."

"Uh, Hank," Wary and ever cautious Simon didn't like the sound of Connor leaving the facility after enduring such an elaborate procedure. "he shouldn't leave the facility until his core temperature is down and we can put back the plastimetal frame over his abdomen. He'll need to stay here for at least three days for observation."

"He won't get any rest if he stays here." The senior detective explained coolly to the worried technician. "I'll make sure he stays put at home and gets as much rest as he needs in order to recover. This isn't my first rodeo, you know?"

"Yes, I know."

"He'll be okay. Trust me."

"But this isn't just a single injury or a glitch that he can walk off after a few hours. This was catastrophic-"

"Simon," cutting off the blond technician mid complaint Hank put bass in his voice again and refused to back down. "I can handle it."

"I'm not sure you understand the severity of-"

"Listen to me." Hank raised his voice to carry authority, but not aggression. "Connor took care of me for a whole fuckin' month after I got stabbed. He did everything for me, even when it wasn't necessary."

As he spoke Hank's hand went from the compress over Connor's forehead to the deviant's hair to gently rub his thumb through the unruly, dark locks once more.

"Connor cleaned the entire house, cooked special meals, changed my bandages, cleaned my healing incision, kept track of my medication, he even helped me to the shower and to the bathroom for fuck's sake." Taking a deep breath Hank lowered his voice with a hearty sigh. "He's my son. The adoption wasn't just a weird formality or a hollow gesture, he's my responsibility, he's my kid, he's my family, and I'm going to help him through this."

"I..." The side of Simon's mouth twitched a little as he stared at Hank in respectful silence. "I didn't mean to imply you were incapable of taking care of him. I'm just worried about his ability to recover now that he doesn't have any compatible replacement biocomponents at his immediate disposal."

"I know." Softening his expression Hank addressed Simon in a more civil tone. "I'm worried about him, too. But I'll see him through this."

It wasn't an easy decision, but Simon relented and let Hank remain in charge of the situation. After all, Hank was the first human that Simon had even considered worthy of trust and Connor had trusted Hank almost right from the beginning of their unconventional partnership. If there was one way to ensure that his trust wasn't misplaced it was this way; allowing Hank take care of Connor just as he had already done so many times before.

"Okay... I'll get you everything you'll need to take care of him once he's back home tomorrow morning."

"Thanks." Appreciative of the cooperation Hank kept his hand on Connor's hair and hoped to see his son wake up soon. "That's all I want."

"You can stay here for the night. I know your back is hurting, and I doubt that an autonomous taxi would be a comfortable ride."

"You have no idea." Reclaiming his chair Hank kept one hand on Connor's hair and pressed his other hand to his sore back. Despite regaining his strength Hank was still in a lot of pain. "Even if I could make the ride back home, I wouldn't sleep very well anyway knowing my son's still here waiting for me."

---

The following morning Markus had returned to the facility after he had taken Abby to his own home to check on North the previous evening, and then brought Hank's car from the house and over to the facility so the two detectives could make the drive in their own vehicle. Helping Simon to wheel the loaded gurney outside of the facility and over to Hank's car parked in the front parking lot, Markus prepared to lift Connor up from the gurney with a very careful and gentle strength to place him down over the backseats. Making sure not to jostle Connor around or bend his abdomen, Markus managed to move Connor from the gurney and into the car without any issues.

The risk of Connor suffering from loosened biocomponents while standing without any abdominal plating was too great to take. By all account Connor would need to be treated as if he were made of glass until his body fully healed.

"Here." Simon placed a spare technician's satchel loaded with supplies on the floor of the backseat of the car so Hank wouldn't have to make any stops and pick up anything else. "That's everything you'll need for a week. Just chill the spare concentrated Thirium and keep him cool like a human running a fever."

"One week, huh?" Hank asked skeptically as he limped over to the driver's side door and pulled it open. "Seems like a pretty fast recovery after everything he just went through."

"One week until I can replace the plastimetal frame over his abdomen." The blond technician clarified. "Until then, he needs to rest as much as possible and not exert himself in any way."

"Oh. That makes sense." Mindful of his back Hank slowly sat down behind the wheel of the car while Markus joined him in the front passenger seat. "Thanks for all your help. I'll be sure to let you know if something happens, and if I can't get a hold of you then I'll call Abby."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Take care." Simon waved to Connor through the window before backing away from the car. "Feel better!"

Hank glanced at Connor laying in the backseat still in rest mode and the senior detective felt a strange wash of relief. By all account Connor was just sleeping and not trying to recover from what surely would've been a death sentence if it hadn't been for Gavin and Markus's fast reactions.

"Let's go home, son."

Markus was disturbingly quiet in the front seat and Hank couldn't help but notice the unusual behavior as he turned the key in the ignition and shifted the car from park and into drive. His paternal instincts were reacting to something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Markus?" Hating the silence Hank spoke to Markus in a patient and understanding tone. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know. Not yet."

"Want to talk about it?"

"N-No. Thanks, but not now."

"All right. Whenever you're ready, IF you're ready, you know where to find us."

"Yeah. I'll talk to you and Connor."

"Markus," sensing the deviant leader's overwhelmed mind Hank tried to be a paternal voice of guidance for him to listen to. "I'm not Carl and I won't act like anyone in this world could ever come close to a worthy substitute for Carl, but I am a father and I know when someone just needs a little 'fatherly' advice."

Slowly Markus glanced into the backseat at Connor's expressionless face for a moment before returning his attention to Hank. Something about the sincerity of Hank's words resonated deeply within the deviant leader's heart. "I guess that's something Connor and I have in common outside of being 'RK' prototypes."

"What's that?"

"We have fathers who helped us to become deviant."

"Yeah." Hank smiled warmly at the comment and thought of Carl and of that one day they had all spent together before the elderly artist succumbed to old age and his history of poor health. It was a good day and one of the best Father's Days Hank had ever experienced. "...And our sons are too damn stubborn for their own good sometimes."

"Maybe." Letting out a small chuckle Markus seemed to finally relax and let his horrible emotional pain finally subside for the time being. "Thanks for putting up with us all this time. I don't know where either of us would be without you or Carl in our lives."

"Hey, no problem." Feeling a true sense of paternal pride Hank nodded a little and focused on heading home. "We undoubtedly feel that same way about you boys."

---

After returning home Hank firmly planted himself in a padded chair next to Connor's bed while Sumo loyally laid down at the foot of the bed with his chin resting over Connor's motionless legs. Markus had promised to check in with Connor the next morning, while Abby was scheduled to stop by the house the following afternoon to give Connor a routine examination on his condition and check on his overall healing progress. The house itself was peacefully quiet and Connor was seemingly in a deep sleep as he laid over his bed with his caring father and loyal dog at his side watching over him as he rested and slowly recovered from his brush with irreversible shutdown for what he hoped was the last time.

Hank placed a fresh cold compress over Connor's warm forehead as the deviant remained unconscious and unresponsive despite being home for almost three hours. As per Simon's instructions Hank proceeded to take cooling measures to try to lower the deviant's core temperature and used the thermal wrap that was provided amongst the other supplies in the satchel to keep track of Connor's core temperature. The wrap was around Connor's wrist and was as accurate as his own system during a self-diagnostic, but one that Hank could see for himself.

While still sitting down in the chair next to the bed Hank carefully lifted up the bandages from Connor's chest to examine the exposed frame beneath. To aid Connor's healing program Hank was instructed to pour a generous portion of the regenerative increment - a pale green liquid compound, into his abdominal cavity to assist the self-healing program.

"I hate to do this, son."

Removing the cap from the clear plastic bottle Hank pulled back the bandages a bit more so he could pour the liquid down and into the opened cavity without spilling the contents all over the bedspread by mistake.

"This is important though."

Connor let out a weak groan of pain as his head lolled against his pillow and his eyes opened a sliver in response to the compound stinging his fresh injuries.

"Easy, son." The senior detective saw Connor's eyes opening and spoke to him in a low voice to keep him calm. "I'm just checking on your injury. You're still feverish, so get some more rest."

"...H-Hank?" Connor sounded incredibly groggy as he spoke, his eyes opening wider as he became more alert. "Are you... here?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm right beside ya'."

"Good." Glancing about the room Connor recognized the surroundings as his own bedroom and felt far more at ease. "Thank you for letting me come home to heal." He lifted his head slightly; the small gesture was exhausting to his already fatigued body. "I know it's risky, but I appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it, kid. Just rest."

"I'm trying. It still hurts."

"And you're still running hot." Hank lifted up Connor's hand and showed him the thermal wrap on his wrist: One-hundred and three point three. "You need to let your ventilation system do its thing. Breathe."

"...No." The suggestion was simple, but one Connor refused to take. "I don't want to reactivate it."

The revelation made Hank's brow furrow with confusion. "Why not?"

"It hurts to breathe."

"Huh." Things began to make a little more sense but as both Connor's father and a detective Hank needed to be sure he was right. "Is that why you stopped breathing after Simon took the tube out of your throat? Because it hurt?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Patting Connor's shoulder lightly Hank gave the deviant a faint smile. "You don't have to do anything that'll hurt you." Lifting up the warmed compress from Connor's forehead Hank rose from the chair slowly, his back protesting at the motion with a burning gnaw. "Then you are going to be buried under some ice until you finally cool off."

Connor watched Hank limping about as he walked around the edge of the bed and knew that Hank was in need of rest as well. "...Are you still in pain?"

"I'm fine, kid. YOU'RE the one who went through a seven hour repair session after being burned by some psycho's homemade lava."

"Seven hours? My... My internal processors haven't fully rebooted since the attack." Trying to place the missing events in his memory Connor asked about everything that had happened after the attack. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Altogether? About twenty-six hours."

"Have you had the chance to change your bandages?" Connor's first thought was for Hank's health and not his own, which of course didn't surprise Hank in the least considering the stubborn deviant's past behavior. "Your incision, though healing, may become infect-"

"Jeez, kid." Hank almost laughed as he exited from the bedroom and shouted to the deviant from the bathroom as he refreshed the cold compress in the sink, then limped down the hallway to get to the kitchen. "Stop worrying about me for at least a few minutes. I'm okay."

Connor stared out through the opened bedroom door as his hand reached down to rub Sumo's ears gently. The massive puppy's tail began to wag happily and thump rhythmically against the top of the bed in response. He had stayed at Connor's side the moment the deviant was carried home to rest.

Hank limped back into the bedroom with several bags of ice as well as a rectangular plastic container filled with the chilled concentrated Thirium. The Thirium itself was composed of dense cubes that were rectangular in shape and the approximate size of a walnut. Pressing one of the bags of ice against his back over his still healing incision to placate Connor's worries, Hank placed one more bag of ice over Connor's forehead, a second bag of ice over his chest above the bandages and tucked a third one under the deviant's neck.

"I always hate dealing with fevers." Hank lamented as he finished fussing with the bags of ice over Connor's forehead and over his chest. "They can spike in an instant without warning. I lost so many hours of sleep watching over Cole and even Barbara whenever they got sick."

"You don't have to watch over me." Connor knew Hank was just as exhausted as he was and needed to get some decent rest, too. "I'm sure that my system will compensate for my overheating soon enough. I'll be fine."

"Well, tough shit. I'm staying here until you're on the mend." The senior detective explained as he opened the protective container and picked up one of the seven Thirium cubes. "Here, you need to take this. Simon said this stuff is concentrated Thirium. It'll be able to give your system the energy it needs to keep your healing program active without it increasing your Thirium pressure too much... Whatever the hell that means."

"My Thirium lines were damaged." In his weakened state Connor replied with a tired voice, his eyes drifting shut again only to reopen slowly. "An increase in pressure could cause the lines to leak again before my self-healing program can repair all the damage entirely."

"That's good to know." Hank tried to hand one of the cubes to Connor. "Chew this until it melts in your mouth."

"...Chew?"

"Seriously?" Hank was genuinely surprised by Connor's response and gave the deviant a coy glance. "You don't know how to eat?"

"I've never had the need to do so in the past. It's not a part of my standard programming and I've only consumed a single Thirium-based cookie once before."

"All right, uh, how do I explain this..." It's been years since Hank had to feed someone else simply because they were unable to do so for them self, but the idea of trying to describe the act of eating to someone was an entirely new type of scenario he wasn't prepared for. "Okay, you put this in your mouth and use your teeth to chew it up so you can swallow it without choking. Easy. Just like you did with that cookie."

Connor's tired face and blank L.E.D. made it impossible for Hank to read the deviant's reactions or (in)ability to understand. Unsure of what else to say he tried again to get Connor to accept the cube for himself.

Lifting his hand up weakly Connor tried to take the cube, but his coordination and lack of strength wouldn't allow him to complete even the simplest of acts. "...Sorry. I'm trying."

"Hold on." Hank leaned forward a little and pressed the cube to Connor's teeth. "There, now go for it."

Connor slowly but surely let Hank put the cube in his mouth and managed to complete the act of chewing up the cube just enough to consume it without choking as Hank had warned. Dark blue Thirium stained his teeth but quickly faded as he swallowed the concentrated Thirium and laid his head heavily back down against his soft pillow.

Hank was stifling a small laugh as he watched Connor - the most advanced prototype ever created - struggle with what was such a simplistic act for a human.

"...Is something amusing?" After noticing Hank's reaction Connor asked him a sincere question with naivety as his soulful brown eyes began to drift shut again. "You're smirking."

"A little."

"Is it the way I eat?"

"Yup. It reminded me of all the times I had to force feed the old Sumo a pill after he got sick." The protective father explained with a coy chuckle as he patted Connor's shoulder with good humor. "At least you were far less droolly than he was."

Feeling a little better Connor managed a weak smile of own as his consciousness faded and he fell back into his critically required rest mode. "...I appreciate you helping me."

"No problem, kid." Hank pushed aside the ice for a moment as he pressed his hand over Connor's forehead for one last physical fever check before he replaced the ice and rose from the chair slowly once more to limp out of the bedroom down the hallway. "I'll check on you again in an hour. Rest."

"I will do so." As his eyes drifted shut Connor returned to his rest mode. "Thank you... dad."

Pausing just outside the doorway Hank looked back at Connor over his shoulder and gave him a subtle nod. "You're welcome, son.

---

The following afternoon Connor was awoken by a light pressure resting against his chest and a familiar presence in his bedroom. Opening his glassy eyes, he focused on Abby's face as the dedicated technician ran the bell of her audioscope over Connor's chest to listen to his heart beating as she began an exam without waiting for him to wake up first. As he became more alert to the waking world around him Connor realized that his pain had begun to decline considerably, and that he no longer felt as tired as he had the night before. Moving his hands slowly Connor pushed aside the now warm compresses from his chest and forehead. The act was simple yet somehow left Connor feeling exhausted.

Abby herself had a faint smile on her face as she tended to her star patient and found him to be recovering without any complications. Having a friend being one of her patients had its occasional drawbacks, but nothing that she couldn't handle.

"Your pressure is stable, and your temperature is back to normal. Looks like that concentrated Thirium is just what you needed." Abby declared as she noticed Connor's soulful brown eyes were watching her. "How do you feel?"

As his hands brushed against his abdomen Connor noted his missing plastimetal frames despondently. "...Incomplete."

"I can understand that." Carefully she moved the audioscope to a different part of his chest and held it in place for a few seconds. "Will you please take a breath for me so that I can check your ventilation biocomponents?"

Nodding slightly Connor hesitantly resumed his ventilation program and took in a deep cleansing breath. As his chest began to rise and fall he felt Abby running the bell over his chest once more to listen to his breaths for any sign of faltering or complications in his ventilation biocomponents.

"Everything sounds normal." Draping the audioscope around her neck she gave the deviant a confident grin. "Looks like you're going to make a full recovery."

"Can I have the plastimetal frame replaced over my abdomen?"

"Sorry. Wait just a few more days."

"Why do I have to wait? My core temperature is back to normal, and I no longer require cooling measures."

"Because you still require the increment chrism, and this makes it easier to clean your injuries."

"I see." Connor wasn't thrilled with the situation, but he wasn't going to argue with it. "I won't press the matter then."

"Oh, don't give me the sad puppy-dog eyes!" Abby scolded with a playful tone to her favorite patient. "It's only for four more days. If you stay cooperative, then I'll take it down to three days."

"That'd be nice."

"Until then..." Reaching into her satchel Abby revealed a small refrigerated metal container and opened the lid. Inside the case was a scoop of what appeared to be bright blue ice cream, but was in fact Thirium-based and completely safe for androids to eat. "I thought you'd like to try something new. It'll help you cool off and get your Thirium back up."

The offered treat was entirely unfamiliar to Connor's eyes since the color was so vivid. "What is it?"

"Ice cream, silly."

"Oh."

"It's supposed to taste like 'Blue Moon', but since I can't eat it myself, I can't verify the flavor."

"Thank you." Accepting the ice cream Connor eyed the Thirium-based treat and ran a scan that confirmed it was in fact one-hundred percent edible for androids. "I imagine such a treat would be messy to consume, right?"

"Depends on who's eating it."

"For me I suspect that'll be a 'yes'."

"Well, that's okay. Even with a mess on your face you'd still look professional."

"I highly doubt that." Putting the ice cream aside on his nearby nightstand Connor decided he'd try the treat later when he felt a little stronger. "Thank you all the same."

"Can I ask you something personal?"

"Are you referring to our unexpected date together?"

"Yup."

"What about it?"

"Well, do you regret it?"

"No." There was no hesitation in his reply as he spoke to her honestly. "It was an enjoyable experience and one I'm glad I was able to partake of with a trusted friend. Why do you ask?"

"Because I decided after I had one civil date with you that it's possible for me to get back into the dating world without losing my mind. You're the complete opposite of Freddy, which is beyond a good thing, but... I don't know how you'd feel about it."

"Our personalities aren't compatible beyond that of friendship. Don't worry about offending me, if that's something you're focusing on."

"Yeah. I guess that's it." Abby was glad that Connor was so understanding to her feelings. "Don't get me wrong, you're a great guy and I really like you, but I need someone who will be a little more aggressive. I admit it's not the best trait to be drawn to, but I can't help it! I have issues and no plans on fixing them any time soon."

"It's all right. I'm not offended, and I respect your choices." As intrigued as Connor was by Abby's personality and demeanor, he didn't have any desire to get romantically involved with his friend. "Just be safe and don't date anyone who reminds you of Frederick."

"That's the best advice I could've ever received."

"Speaking of worthy advice. Where's Hank?" Connor asked curiously as he watched Abby packing up her satchel to take her leave of the bedroom. "I hope he's healing well."

"He watched you for most of the night and all morning. Now it's HIS turn to get some sleep."

"Is his back still hurting him?"

"No more than usual." Abby smirked at Connor and shook her head at his unfailing selfless nature. "His words, not mine."

"I suppose that's a good sign." There was a knock at the front door and Connor's brow arched while Sumo, who had stayed protectively on the foot of the bed all night long, let out a single bark in response. "Did you request another person to accompany you?"

"No. But I'll go see who it is."

As Abby exited the bedroom Sumo jumped down from the bed to follow her as if deciding that he should escort her to the door out of a sense of loyalty. Connor listened to the sound of Abby's footsteps going down the hallway and entering the livingroom, then heard the distinct sound of the front door opening. The sound of the door shutting followed shortly thereafter, whereas two sets of footsteps began to walk back down the hallway toward the bedroom.

"You have a visitor." Abby smiled as she sat down on the edge of Connor's bed and was promptly joined by Sumo who followed her back into the room. "Seems like you're pretty popular these days."

Connor looked up at the door and his brow arched even further at the unexpected guest. "...Gavin. Is something wrong?"

"You mean aside from your busted ass? No." Rubbing at the back of his neck nervously Gavin cleared his throat and held his ground in the opened doorway. The sight of Connor banged up and a pretty young woman hovering over him made Gavin feel as if he had just intruded on something special. "I just want to see how you and Hank were holding up. It's been like, four days now."

"Hank is resting and I'm doing well."

"Good, that's good. Uh..." Gavin looked over at Abby who just gave him an encouraging glance. Something about her stare made his heart skip a beat with unspecified joy. He had seen Abby a few times when he'd been at the Zeta Facility, but never really spoke to her. "D-Do you guys need anything? I mean you're laid-up and I know Hank's back is fuckin' killin' him right now, so I figured I'd ask."

"I don't believe so."

"Right. Guess I'll get goin' then." Feeling like an intruder Gavin decided to dismiss himself from the house. "I pulled some overtime with Tina, and I don't want to make her late. She'd kick my ass."

"Gavin," Connor wanted to sit upright but Abby immediately put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down against the bed. Taking a deep breath Connor lifted up his hand and extended it toward Gavin. "Thank you. I know you helped save my life."

"Yeah..." Gavin surprisingly enough accepted Connor's hand and shook once. "You're welcome. Just don't do that shit again!" He pulled his hand back and gave Connor a somewhat scolding look. "And fuckin' wear some Kevlar or something! You're a magnet for problems, you know that? I've had to patch you up in the field twice now and both times could've been prevented with a simple Kevlar vest."

Connor smiled a little at the suggestion before he replied accordingly. "I'll consider it."

"Yeah, whatever. I'll see you later, 'Tinman'."

Abby smirked at the comment as she gently lifted up the bandages over Connor's abdomen to check his healing biocomponents before she finally took her leave of the house as well. "I think he likes you."

"He tolerates me." Connor clarified with a tired sigh as he relented to Abby's continued examination. "It's better than him hating me."

"No way." Peering at the doorway as if hoping to see Gavin still in her line of sight. "If he just 'tolerated' you he wouldn't have stopped by to see you."

"Gavin hates androids."

"So did Hank." Abby reminded him with a sheepish smile. "I think like Hank had done in the past; this Gavin-guy is starting to come around. He sees you as a friend but can't admit it."

"It'd be nice to have another friend." Slowly Connor's eyes drifted shut again as fatigue overwhelmed his processors. "...I'm tired. I'm sorry, but I'd like to sleep."

"That's okay. It'll be a while before you're strong enough to take care of yourself again, but until then you have your friends here to take care of you."

"Hank?"

"Hank, too." Abby promised sweetly as she gathered her satchel and rose from the bed to let him sleep. "Just get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow and I'll check on Hank before I let myself out. I'm glad that you're on the mend."

---

True to her word, after three long days of resting for dozens of hours on end and having Hank checking his core temperature to keep Connor's system from overheating, Abby and Simon worked to replace Connor's plastimetal frame over his abdomen. The replacement frames would allow him the freedom to move around without risking any harm to his still recalibrating biocomponents or the internal the Thirium lines that had to be replaced and repaired. The thermite itself had caused excessive damage to his artificial skin which was still preventing it from regenerating over his frame despite the six days of healing he had already undergone but would return to full function in time.

Patiently Connor allowed the two technicians to examine his system and check on his healing progress for what he hoped would be the final time. Connor was tired of being poked, prodded and fussed over despite knowing it was for his own benefit.

"Okay, that should do it." Simon examined his work carefully as the new plastimetal frame snapped into place. The new frames were flush with Connor's surrounding frames and looked as if they were originally apart of his design. "Are you in any pain?"

"No." Connor replied honestly as he slowly, finally, sat upright on his bed for the first time since he had been brought home. Pressing his hand against the exposed new plastimetal frame Connor looked a little disappointed by the lack of response from his artificial skin as it failed to regenerate. "However, I am still exhausted."

"That's to be expected." Being a technician gave Simon great insight into the expected responses after such drastic repairs had been performed. He wasn't worried by the declaration as it was typical after such a prolonged recovery period. "You'll need another week to regain your strength."

Abby took some fresh bandages and wrapped them around Connor's abdomen tightly while the deviant remained upright in the bed. "This will keep any foreign contaminants from getting inside your frame until your skin regenerates."

"How long will that take?"

"I estimate a week, maybe ten days."

"Ten days?" The extended time frame was nearly unbearable. "That sounds uncomfortable."

"Sorry, there's nothing we can do about it. Your prototyping guarantees a lengthier recovery period." Abby tied off the bandages and then lightly pressed her fingertips against Connor's blank L.E.D. curiously. "We can replace this if you want though."

"...No." Connor put his hand over his blank L.E.D., brushing Abby's fingers aside in the process. "Leave it alone."

"Okay, whatever you want to do with it."

Simon patted Connor's shoulder before he packed up his own satchel and slung it back over his shoulder. "I'm going back to New Jericho Tower. It's almost finished being rebuilt, and I want to go through the rebuilt emergency repair bay. If you need anything, call us."

"Of course. Thanks, Simon."

As soon as the blond technician was out of the room Connor swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up on his shaking legs. Abby fought the urge to support Connor as he stood and instead just watched him as he tested both his strength, and his balance.

"I'm okay." Letting out a huff of breath Connor managed to remain upright without any assistance. "You can go, too."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Please, go take care of North. She needs you more than I do."

"Connor," the topic was bleak but still needed to be addressed professionally. "do you know what's happening with North?"

"I have my suspicion." His previous scan over her system didn't bode well for the deviant. "Does it line up with your assessment?"

"Yeah. I think it does."

"Then you should be helping her. I'll be okay here with just Hank. I'm fine."

"All right. Just like Simon said, if you need anything-"

"I'll call."

Nodding politely Abby packed up her own satchel and hefted it over her shoulder. "Take care of yourself. I'll see you in a few days."

"Thank you for everything."

Waiting for Abby to leave the house, waiting for the sound of the front door to open and shut, Connor walked down the hallway to the kitchen and caught sight of Hank standing on the back deck through the kitchen window. As he slowly walked through the kitchen Connor caught sight of Sumo running around in the backyard while Hank stood on the deck with his arms leaning against the wooden banister, watching him with a strange intrigue.

"Hank?" Connor opened the backdoor and slowly joined Hank on the deck. "How's your back?"

"Not bad. I finally got some sleep last night after your fever broke." The man admitted honestly as he turned to look at Connor over his shoulder. Able to stand perfectly upright again for a moment, Hank showed that his pain had subsided and that he too was on his way to a full recovery. "I guess I should say, after you stopped overheating."

"Either term is technically acceptable." Leaning on the banister next to Hank, his body language mirroring Hank's perfectly, Connor watched the massive puppy running about happily through the green yard. "I guess the ice cream helped."

"A lot of people would say the same thing. Ice cream is a human comfort food."

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"Sure, son. No problem." Hank patted Connor's shoulder once in approval. The lack of the L.E.D. glowing in Connor's temple was still new to Hank, but as long as Connor was still alive he didn't care what color, or lack thereof, it glowed. "You took care of me when I needed it. I'm happy to pay it forward."

"Yes, but you're still recovering from your own injury. I should've stayed at the facility for that reason alone, yet you were still willing to let me come home so you could help me. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The moment of peace was short lived as Connor contemplated the events leading to his and Hank's injuries and needed to ask about their possible future in the city.

"Do you think more people will try to instigate another civil war between humans and deviants?"

"Maybe." A deep sigh accompanied his words as he answered honestly out of pure respect for the deviant beside him. "Try not to worry about it, we won't let that happen on our watch. Not if we can help it, anyway."

The two stood in silence for a few minutes as they enjoyed the warm spring air as the smell of an impending summer beginning to drift through the city. It was the scent of new life, new changes, and a new season to give the city a new look after enduring such harsh changes. Ultimately, it was Hank who ended the calm silence with an uncomfortable question of his own.

"You've been out of it for a few days, do you know what's going on with North?"

"I spoke with Abby before she left." Connor's shoulder's slouched and his eyes dulled with worry. "She's confirmed that something unsettling is happening to her."

"Should we be worried?" Hank knew that since Markus was so worried about her health that North was in trouble. "I mean, is it serious?"

"I do not know." The lack of answers caused Connor to shake his head despondently as he too answered honestly. "Her system is showing unusual readings and numerous errors. Only time will tell."

"And time is a fickle thing: It'll either go by so fast that you'll feel like you missed out on life or tick away so slowly you'll pine for death."

"I can't imagine it's going to be any easier for North or Markus to handle as it will be for us."

"Damn." Hank looked down at his hands nervously as he knew what Connor was alluding to. "Does anyone else know what's going on with her?"

"No. Just us, Markus and Abby at the moment."

"Then let's keep it that way." The protective father and Lieutenant understood the value of privacy all too well. "It'll be better for everyone, and it can give them both some solace while sparing North her dignity."

"Agreed. We won't discuss it with others, but we'll keep searching for a way to help her regardless of what obstacles come our way."

"You're right." Hank gave Connor an approving nod as the two detectives knew what their next fight would be about. "We won't just give up on her just as we won't ever give up on each other."

-next chapter-