Despite having an entirely restful day and no complications from his exposure to the rat poison the previous day, Connor found himself unable to sleep and unable to shut off his mind as he tried to enter rest mode as scheduled. Folding his hands together neatly over his chest the restless deviant stared up at the blank ceiling of his bedroom then traced the walls visually until his eyes fell on the painting hanging on the wall at the foot of the bed as he sought something, anything, to focus on and stop his racing thoughts. The vibrant colors and incredible details that Lucas had captured with his paintbrush and oil paints on the canvas were impressive, even by the seemingly impossible android standards.

As he stared at the painting Connor tried to manually activate his rest mode again, but the program seemed unable to boot or simply refused to do so. Growing frustrated Connor sat upright on his bed and note the late night hour (or was it the early morning hour?) on his chronometer and decided to get up to do something more productive with his time.

Moving silently out of his bedroom without disturbing Sumo, who enviously had fallen into a deep sleep at the foot of the bed, Connor walked down the hallway and eyed the numerous books Hank had collected over the years that lined the bookshelf in the livingroom. Checking through the various titles he eyes became transfixed on one book entitled: "The Hound of the Baskervilles". It was one of the books that Connor had noted Hank reading six times within the three years that they've known each other and decided to read it at least once for himself.

Sitting down in the middle of the couch Connor opened the worn-out leather book and began to read the story one yellowed page at a time. Losing track of time as he read the story, he was only aware of the sun just beginning to rise as Sumo walked down the hallway and nosed at his arm to get the deviant's attention. Looking down at Sumo's face and wagging tail the deviant just nodded and marked his page.

"Okay, outside."

Closing the book for a moment Connor left it on the couch cushion next to where he had been sitting as he made his way to the kitchen and opened the backdoor for Sumo. The dog proceeded to go about his business in the backyard Connor while filled up the young dog's bowls with food and water, then decided to make a healthy breakfast for Hank as well.

Hank himself awoke two hours later and was bombarded with the smell of fresh citrus and scrambled eggs wafting down the hallway and into his bedroom despite the door being shut. As he reached the end of the hallway the groggy senior detective spotted Connor already dressed in his uniform for the day and reading quietly on the couch.

"You're awake early, even by your own freaky early-bird standards." Hank quipped dryly as he passed behind the couch. "What's the occasion?"

"I was restless." Connor replied as he looked over his shoulder toward Hank without hesitations. "Did I wake you?"

"Nope. Damn alarm did."

"I took the liberty of preparing a moderate breakfast for you. It'd be wise to consume more calories in the morning so that you don't have to rely so heavily on coffee in the afternoon or evening to keep you alert."

"Yeah, sure. Let me wake up in the shower first." Turning around to enter the bathroom Hank stretched out his tight shoulders while running his hand through his messy locks of gray hair dismissively. "I hate the morning..."

"Take your time." Resuming the story where he had left off Connor didn't mind Hank going about his own morning routine slowly. "I'm not in any rush."

While their shift went about as usual Connor proceeded to run a self-diagnostic on his programing that initiated rest mode but there were no errors to be found. As the day passed on rather uneventfully, the only cases that the duo had been assigned were a few domestic abuses against deviants and one distraught man claiming that the hospital used an android to 'murder' his terminally ill wife after she succumbed to her illness, the two detectives were bored to the brink of insanity as their shift mercifully came to an end right on time. It seemed whenever the two detectives needed a distraction the city decided to be uncharacteristically quiet, boring and even obnoxiously placated.

Even the drive out of the precinct and through the busy streets was unusually dull. Not a single traffic jam, road-rager or jay-walker crossed their paths.

"Do me a favor," Hank stated flatly as the two returned home for the evening and pulled into the driveway beside the house. "if I ever end up with a terminal disease and I'm just going to painfully waste away, let me die with dignity. Don't keep me hooked up to machines and wires just so I can suffer for a few more miserable weeks as a hollow shell of a person."

"I sincerely hope it doesn't come down to that, but I will respect your wishes."

"That's all I ask. All right, enough of that shitty topic." Hank slammed his car door shut and stretched out his tired back muscles as Connor walked around the side of the house and made his way to the back deck of the house. "There's a game on and we can catch the last two innings."

"Would you like to make a wager?"

"I don't know, what did you have in mind?"

"Perhaps, a monetary wager this time?"

"Money?" Truly amused Hank laughed as he opened the backdoor and stepped aside as Sumo went barreling through to get the backyard to be let outside for the evening. "I thought it was against the law to gamble?"

"...I-It is." Freezing mid stride as he followed Hank through the backdoor, Connor quickly tried to save face. "I was merely attempting-"

"Connor?" Sensing that the naive deviant was a little embarrassed Hank let Connor off the hook. "I'm kidding."

"Oh. That's right, you were making a joke."

"You know for someone so smart and witty," Hank left his shoes by the backdoor as he pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. "you can still be a pretty dumb kid."

"It must be my lack of a proper rest cycle."

"Try going to sleep earlier tonight. Maybe you'll pass out if you lay still for a little longer than usual." Carrying the water into the livingroom Hank took his place in the recliner and turned on the television to find the aforementioned game to watch. "Sixth inning, and it's six to seven... Seems like it's going to be an interesting finale."

"What do you do when you have difficulty sleeping?" Connor asked as he walked down the hallway to change out of his uniform into more casual clothes. "I'd like some advice in the event that I cannot sleep tonight as well."

"If I have to, I'll take a couple of sleeping pills to knock my ass out." Replying loudly from the livingroom Hank just stared at the game on the television while Connor changed his clothes. "But most of the time I'll read a book, find a boring movie, take a hot shower... Depending on my mood I'll even try working out. There's a lot of things you can do for insomnia, kid."

"I doubt this is insomnia, at least in the traditional sense." Returning from down the hallway Connor proceeded to let Sumo back inside through the backdoor and fed the young lovable dog once more before joining Hank in the livingroom. "It's potentially a glitch in my programming preventing a proper rest mode."

"And I bet you were running self-diagnostics all day that came up with jackshit as the answer to your problem."

"I was-" The sharp observation caught Connor off guard. "How did you know?"

"Because I know you. You're getting a lot better at keeping your emotional responses in check, but you still can't hide things from me. I know when something's bothering you and I'm going to try to help you."

"It doesn't so much bother me as it confuses me." The deviant admitted as he slumped back against the couch cushions and began to download information on spontaneous insomniac episodes. "I've never experienced sleeplessness before."

"As long as you're not exhausting yourself during the day to the brink where you'll collapse you should be fine. Try to not worry about it, that'll just make it worse."

"I'll attempt to do so."

"Good. Now, stop thinking and watch the game." Kicking up his feet on the recliner's foot stool Hank placed his bottle of water down on the end table beside the chair and turned up the volume on the television. "It looks like it's actually going to be a close call tonight. It's about damn time we got an interesting game to watch."

Still unable to fall asleep after the game had ended as he had expected, Connor resorted to additional reading in the livingroom and was joined on the couch by Sumo, who was more than happy to keep the deviant company all night. Easily able to finish off the rest of his first book within two hours, "The Sign of Four", Connor grabbed two other Sherlock Holmes novels from the bookshelf and finished the first half of the second book by the time Sumo was alert and ready to go outside for the morning. Following a frustratingly similar pattern from the morning before Connor took care of Sumo, made Hank breakfast and was ready to go to the precinct hours before the older detective was even awake.

Finishing off the second book just as Hank clapped his hand down on his shoulder from over the back of the couch, Connor closed the book's cover and set it down on the couch beside him as he looked up at Hank with a sense of irritation. There was no escaping the impending discussion.

"You didn't sleep again." Hank sympathized with a light pat to Connor's shoulder from where he stood. The answer was a quiet shake of the deviant's head confirming that 'no', he didn't sleep. "How long have you been awake now?"

"Going on thirty-nine hours, twelve minutes and twelve seconds. Consecutively."

"Can you function well enough to work today?"

"I will manage."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. I was able to remain entirely active for one-hundred and forty-two hours when I was still a machine, I can do it again as a deviant." Sounding exhausted yet alert Connor confirmed he was going to go to work. "I need to keep my thoughts preoccupied until I can find the cause of my inability to sleep."

"Want to go see Joel or Abby? Maybe they can figure out why you can't sleep."

"No. I doubt that will be necessary."

"Sure kid." Pulling his hand back from Connor's shoulder Hank took a few steps back and watched as the deviant sighed deeply and proceeded to stand up from the couch to change into his uniform. "Whatever you say..."

Almost mockingly Connor was subjected to yet another boringly simplistic caseload at the precinct that failed to properly stimulate his mind as he and Hank set about a relatively sedentary shift at their desks. Subtly Connor pulled his old coin from his jean pocket and began to fidget with it over his knuckles just out of Hank's line of sight as he fought the urge to go in search of a much more interesting case to ponder over. The need for intellectual stimulation was driving Connor crazy and he was suddenly full of an unfocused energy that was making him twitch a little where he sat. It seemed that boredom, tedium, and overall prolonged inactivity didn't mesh well with deviancy.

It was also clear that a restless deviant didn't mesh well with a studious Lieutenant either. Despite Connor doing his best to keep his coin from Hank's sight there was no denying that Hank took notice of his inability to sit still for too long.

"Don't move." Hank urged from his own chair across from Connor as he sensed the deviant's nervous energy. "Stay put."

"Pardon?"

"You're getting restless again. Don't get up from that chair."

"I don't understand why I cannot be permitted to walk about."

"Because," from where he sat Hank gave the deviant a knowing glance from around his terminal screen. "you'll get wrapped up in something that you weren't assigned, and then Fowler is going to have chew you out for not getting your reports filed on time."

"My reports have already been completed."

"That doesn't mean there isn't more paperwork." Hank remarked with a sense of doom. "There is ALWAYS more paperwork."

"Hank," Connor leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. "I cannot concentrate on something as menial as reports. I must find something more productive to do with my time to keep it from being wasted."

"I get it. Stay put for now."

Acting more like a scolded child than the disciplined detective that he was, Connor fell back in his chair and proceeded to juggle his coin more frequently and no longer cared if anyone noticed the odd tic.

"Connor," Hank warned in a relatively stern voice as the sight of the quarter quickly put him on edge. "put the coin away."

"I don't want to."

Sighing with irritation Hank wanted to make the twitch stop.

"I'll make you a deal." Hank reached out to snatch the coin from the back of Connor's hand, but the deviant was too quick, and he turned over his hand where he palmed the coin before the senior detective could grab it. "You finish your paperwork, no matter how boring it is, and we'll play some basketball after we get home."

"Basketball?"

"Maybe the physical activity will help wear you out enough to actually fall asleep tonight."

"Physical activity could potentially result in prolonged fatigue." Considering the offer Connor's soulful brown eyes seemed to focus, and he lowered his hand to put the coin back into his pocket. "That is a logical solution."

"All right then. Put away the damn coin or I'm going to throw it into the river."

"I'd just get another coin." Connor countered petulantly. "They are often littering the streets, after all."

"Yeah, yeah." Shaking his head a little Hank let the matter drop. "Smartass."

After enduring one of the most exhausting basketball games that he had taken part of throughout his entire life, Hank panted for his breath as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his forearm. The man watched as Connor proceeded to make one perfect free throw shot after another from the middle of the driveway without even the slightest hint of strain or effort. It seemed as if even Sumo had been worn-out by the game and was panting harder than Hank as he plopped down on his side in the cool, green grass beside the hot, gray driveway. The only one who wasn't feeling the heat of the lingering summer and impending fall was Connor himself.

"Ah, cripes..." Standing up straight enough to stretch out his back Hank sighed and tracked the orange sphere as it flew through the air and flawless passed through the hoop mounted on the garage just above the door. "How in the hell can you still have so much energy?"

"I do not know." Connor replied as he caught the basketball after it rolled back down the driveway and proceeded to make another perfect shot. "But I find it to be very inconvenient."

Stopping for a moment to run a biometric scan over Hank's vital signs Connor dribbled the ball twice before tucking it under his arm to end the game.

"You should go inside and rest. Your heart rate and blood pressure have been elevated and your rate of perspiration is indicative of early onset dehydration."

"Yeah, sure." Hank waved his hand dismissively as he turned to walk through the backyard to reach the backdoor. Stepping over the steps of the back deck to reach the door Hank looked back over his shoulder at Connor somewhat warily. "I believe ya'. I feel like I just spend the full day at the gym."

Glancing over at Sumo who was just as worn out as Hank had become, Connor patted the side of his leg to call the young dog over to him as he followed after Hank inside the house to try to unwind and hopefully finally fall asleep.

"I apologize if this wasn't an enjoyable experience for you."

"It's fine, son. I needed to get some exercise in." Opening a bottle of water after he pulled from the fridge the senior detective quickly downed it and tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin under the sink. "But not that much."

"Sumo was also overwhelmed."

The large teenage dog plodded into the kitchen where he gulped down half of his bowl of water, then slowly made his way into the livingroom where he plopped down onto the pillow in the livingroom to rest. Everyone was tired except for Connor.

"At least now we know what we need to do next time Sumo has too much pent-up energy." Pulling at the sweaty t-shirt clinging uncomfortably to his skin Hank let out a tired sigh and proceeded to make his way down the hallway to get to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

"I will make you dinner." Dropping the basketball onto the kitchen floor Connor rolled it into the livingroom with his foot and washed off his hands in the sink. "It shouldn't take long to prepare."

"Yeah, thanks." Hank reappeared at the end of the hallway and gave Connor a suspicious glance. "Wait. You're not going to try to make any more of those tasteless vegetarian dishes, are you?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Good. Because I don't! I can only eat so many veggies in a week!"

Nodding to silently acknowledge Hank's request Connor set about preparing a fresh meal for the human detective to enjoy while he himself continued to try to keep his mind distracted.

"Hey, kid, listen to me." Waiting for Connor to turn to look at him again Hank tried to sound as reassuring as possible. "Tomorrow is our day off, so even if you don't fall asleep tonight, you have all day tomorrow to relax. Don't worry about it."

"I'm aware."

"And since reading didn't work for you, I say we try the boring movie thing tonight. Sound good?"

"Yes." Agreeing with the senior detective Connor was more than ready to find a solution to his inexplicable insomnia. "I'm willing to give anything a try."

A few hours after playing basketball and then chilling out in the livingroom for the evening, Hank was able to easily drift off to sleep while watching an old monster movie from the 1940's, but Connor was still unable to achieve such a feat and ended up staring at the livingroom ceiling with a tireless gaze. Laying stretched out over the entire length of the couch Connor glanced up slightly over the armrest of the couch and saw that Hank was deep asleep in the recliner and Sumo was curled up on the floor next to the chair complacently. Everyone was able to get some sleep except for Connor. In spite of everything that Connor had tried to remedy his chronic insomnia, nothing was working for him.

Fearing he was doomed to a life of sleeplessness Connor ran yet another self-diagnostic in an attempt to identify his ailment. Just as it happened before, the scan failed to isolate the problem and offer him a possible solution.

"Reading didn't work, the movie didn't work, and I know that sedative pills won't work."

Connor sat upright slowly and looked down the hallway toward the bathroom as if needing a sign of what he should do next.

"Perhaps a shower will work. That's the only potential remedy that I haven't attempted yet."

Moving as silently as possible Connor left the livingroom and walked down the hallway to enter the bathroom and then closed the door behind himself before he turned on the overhead light. Pulling off his black t-shirt over his head Connor caught a glance of his reflection in the mirror and could've sworn he had developed some dark bags under his eyes from prolonged sleeplessness.

"Not human."

The deviant reminded himself in a low voice as he pressed his fingertips to the discoloration under his eyes.

"I look human, but I'm not human. I never will be human."

Shaking his head a little he ignored his reflection and stared at the medicine cabinet attached to the mirror itself. Curiously he opened the cabinet door and found a few bottles of medication sitting idle on the shelves inside next to a seldom used razor, can of shaving cream, a tube of toothpaste and a small bottle of emergency Thirium. Aspirin, Ibuprofen, flu medication and some sleeping pills were the contents of the pill bottles, and they had only been purchased after Connor moved in and began taking care of Hank. The pills often helped Hank to fall asleep so maybe they could help Connor fall asleep, too."

"...No. I'm NOT human."

Closing the cabinet again to avoid temptation Connor focused on the shower and proceeded to step inside after leaving his clothes neatly folded on the floor.

"Human medication won't have any effect on me."

Turning on the faucet in the shower Connor removed his jeans and boxers then stepped into the spray of warm water. The exhausted deviant stood in the continuously pouring hot water of the shower for almost an hour and he still didn't feel tired or even remotely relaxed. The water was as hot as it could be without damaging his artificial skin in the process, and Connor knew better than to risk increasing the temperature any further without causing himself injury or causing himself to overheat. And yet the urge to increase to heat to try to get his body to relax a little almost overwhelming.

"Why isn't this working? Nothing seems to be working."

Leaning against his arm as he propped himself up against the tiled wall of the shower, he let out annoyed sigh turned off the water. Connor wrapped a towel around himself in defeat to begin drying off. Stepping out of the shower he couldn't stop himself from staring at the medicine cabinet and at the bottle of pills just inside yet again.

"...I could at least try one pill to see if it affects me. If it doesn't work, my emergency program will activate it and rid the medication from my system."

Opening the cabinet slowly Connor retrieved the bottle of sleeping pills and read the directions and active ingredients list very carefully.

"Two caplets is the standard dose. Begins taking effect in fifteen minutes."

Opening the lid of the bottle with his thumb Connor dropped only one pill into his palm and scanned it warily.

"Active ingredient; Diphenhydramine. Dosage twenty milligrams. One pill should suffice for one who is physically exhausted but mentally unable to rest."

To ensure he could take the medicine without choking on the pill by accident Connor crushed it between his index and thumb into a fine powder and dropped it into the water glass beside the sink. Taking the Thirium from the cabinet he poured just enough into the glass to dissolve the ten milligrams of powder before attempting to consume it. Setting up an internal record Connor of the current time and the dosage of the medication, he made a cybernetic log of his little 'experiment' and then quickly downed the Thirium.

Sitting down on the edge of the bathtub Connor pressed his hand to his forehead as he waited for the fifteen minutes to pass by, but he didn't feel any differently than he had all day once the countdown clock hit zero.

"Shit."

Swearing with disappointment Connor dropped his hand and glanced back at the shower behind him curiously.

"I should've known it wouldn't work. What a waste."

Standing up Connor decided he'd try one more shower before truly admitting defeat for the night. Stepping back inside the tub Connor tossed aside his towel and turned on the shower to a comfortably warm degree to try to relax further. As the water poured over him and soaked through his still damp and often unruly locks of hair, Connor stared straight ahead at the yellow square tiles on the wall as he became lost in thought yet again.

"There must other alterna-"

Feeling suddenly dizzy Connor put his palm to his forehead as he used his other hand to brace himself upright against the wall. Running a self-diagnostic Connor's vision was bombarded with red warnings of his system detecting the sleeping pill within the Thirium he had ingested and that his system was initiating an emergency stasis mode until the substance could be isolated and expelled from his system. The countdown clock appeared and began counting down quickly in his visual processors with an ominous bright red glow.

WARNING:

-EMERGENCY STASIS MODE ACTIVATION: 00:00:57

-Seek immediate technical assistance

Realizing his mistake all too late Connor tried to step out of the shower, but his legs wouldn't obey and began to tremble as they froze.

"Shit. I've made a horrible miscalculation."

Grabbing on to the shower curtain desperately to keep himself from slipping on the wet surface of the tub, Connor tried to pull himself out of the shower to get on the floor, but once more his body wouldn't cooperate and wouldn't let him move. Darkness began to cloud his vision as the clock reached thirty seconds and his body became heavier against his will as his strength ebbed away.

"...Hank?"

Connor called out in a hoarse voice as his processors began to turn off one at a time despite his attempts to override the impending stasis mode. Feeling his gyroscope beginning to fail him as well, Connor shouted again for help as he began to lose his balance and fall.

"D-Dad!?"

Collapsing backward suddenly Connor pulled down the shower curtain still in his grip as he fell with a loud 'thud' into the bathtub and onto his back. The shower continued to pour over him as he laid semi-conscious in the bathtub while covered by the torn down curtain.

The bathroom door burst open as Hank was quickly awoken by the loud 'crash' and found himself looking down at Connor, who was laying unresponsive at the bottom over the shower and wrapped up in the torn down shower curtain looking entirely out of place. Sumo was following after Hank and stood outside the bathroom door with some of the fur on his back standing on end as he too reacted to the loud commotion with a guarded behavior.

"Connor!"

Falling to his knees beside the tub Hank reached over and turned off the shower as his palm slipped under Connor's head and lifted him upward slightly to ensure that the water wasn't going down his throat. Keeping his hand beneath Connor's head Hank patted the side of the deviant's face a few times and called his name.

"Connor? Look at me, son."

Despite the initiated stasis mode Connor had heard Hank's voice and his glassy brown eyes partially opened.

"There you are." Relieved to see Connor regaining consciousness Hank addressed the deviant with a mixture of frustration and confusion. "What the fuck happened?"

"I..." Connor's eyes closed as he tried to answer and reopened slowly. Swallowing once Connor found his voice and answered honestly. "I was... foolish."

"What happened?" Keeping his tone level, Hank spoke to the downed deviant with understanding rather than judgment. "Tell me what you did. I won't be mad."

"I wanted to... I just wanted to sleep."

Carefully Hank pulled the deviant into an upright sitting position in the tub and grabbed the towel on the floor to drape it over Connor respectfully. Pulling away the torn-up curtain Hank studied Connor's sluggish demeanor cautiously as he sensed that whatever had happened to Connor wasn't a typical deviant style glitch or error.

"What did you do?"

"I took- I tried taking a sleeping pill."

"Ah, fuck." Hearing that Connor tried to use pills to sleep twisted Hank's stomach with worry. "Kid, why'd you do that?"

"I'm sorry." Apologizing with absolute shame the sleep deprived deviant admitted he made a huge mistake. "I just wanted to sleep. I'm so tired, but I can't sleep."

"Okay, yeah." The regret in Connor's voice was palpable as it was sincere, and it immediately softened Hank's gruff response. "It's okay, son. Like I said, I'm not mad at you."

Hank wrapped his arm around Connor's upper back and pulled the deviant out of the tub and onto the floor to dry off.

"I was just worried, that's all."

"What I did was foolish." The shame was thick in Connor's words as Hank helped him to get back on his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. It's not your fault that your program got fucked up and kept you awake for so long."

"I know not to..." Connor was fighting to remain conscious in a cruel twist of fate as Hank held the deviant upright on the floor. Using another towel to dry off Connor's hair Hank stayed beside his groggy son and made sure Connor wasn't going to collapse again. "I ingested human medication. I know not to do so, and yet I did it anyway."

"Yeah, and I know not to drink alcohol anymore. But I've fucked up and you never held it against me." Grabbing Connor's clothes Hank helped the drowsy deviant to slip his shirt back on over his head and navigate his arms back through the short sleeves. Repeating the motion for the rest of Connor's clothes Hank reassured Connor that his mistake was just that, a mistake. "Just like I was desperate to numb the guilt, you were desperate to just fall asleep."

Connor wanted to say something, but his Thirium filter had finished collecting the medication he had needlessly ingested and was preparing to expel the harmful matter from his system. Hank was quick to react once he saw the telltale sign of nausea gleam in the deviant's already glassy eyes and helped Connor to lean over the toilet as he threw-up the potentially toxic sleeping pill and rid it from his system before it caused any permanent damage. Spitting out the last of the tainted Thirium from his mouth Connor turned his head and gave Hank a pathetic glance over his shoulder.

"...Are you mad?"

"I already told you that I'm not mad, I'm just worried." Hank did his best to keep himself from sounding as annoyed as he truly felt about the dumb situation. "I need you to tell me if you're in any danger, all right? Do I need to take you to a facility?"

"N-No." Connor shook his head lightly as he slurred his response. "...I'm still conscious and I'm still coherent."

"Barely."

"My system is trying to enter... stasis mode."

"That's like rest mode, right?"

"Yes. Stasis mode is a deeper form... of rest mode." IT was difficult to explain what was happening, but not impossible. "I cannot be woken up by... external stimuli."

"All right. Then this is what's going to happen." Hank pulled on Connor's upper arm and hauled the deviant up on to his feet then firmly planted himself in front of Connor to ensure that the weakened deviant didn't collapse for a second time and hurt himself. "You're going to sleep in the livingroom and I'm going to keep an eye on you. If you don't wake up in twelve hours I'm taking you to a facility."

"Emergency stasis mode lasts for... six hours." Fighting sleep for a moment longer Connor considered the offer and agreed. "That is... acceptable."

"Damn right, because you aren't going to change my mind on this."

Hank took hold of Connor's arm in a firm grip and pulled the limb around his shoulders as he wrapped his own arm around the deviant's waist. Fortunately, the rooms in the small house weren't spaced out too far and it was easy for Hank to lead Connor back down the hallway and into the livingroom.

Sumo backed away from the bathroom door and then followed after the duo protectively once he realized there was no immediate threat. Trotting over to his pillow in the corner of the room Sumo circled around once and plopped down heavily.

As Connor practically collapsed onto the couch Hank instinctively rolled the deviant onto his side and into the recovery position to rest.

"...This isn't necess-"

"I know, but it makes me feel better." Hank interrupted as he returned to the hallway to get the navy blue blanket from its place in the closet and draped it over Connor's resting form. "Don't fight sleeping anymore. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"I... I really am sor-"

"Connor. Stop. Everyone fucks up every now and then. Tonight, it was your turn, that's all." Casual as ever Hank accepted the mistake in stride and did his best to help Connor let go of his misplaced guilt. "Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, because that's how we learn."

"I swear I won't ever-"

"I know, son. Just sleep."

Still feeling guilty for his reckless actions Connor closed his eyes, but he didn't quite relax as Hank had hoped.

"If it makes you feel any better," exhausted himself and ready for sleep, Hank sighed as he reclaimed his place in the recliner. "I forgive you, even when you act like a dumbass. And tomorrow you're fixing the shower curtain."

"Thanks." Connor managed a weak smirk as he finally stopped worrying about his mistake and began to mercifully drift off to his overdue sleep. "I will repair the damage I caused tonight."

"You're thanking me for insulting you and sentencing you to housework?"

"Actually, I'm thanking you for being so understanding... and for not yelling at me." The deviant responded politely as he finally began to relax and submit to his drowsiness. "It makes me feel... less foolish."

"To err is human."

"But I'm not a human, and I can never become a human."

"Close enough. You are more human than most people I know." The detective stated without any skepticism behind his claims. "At least you are in my opinion."

"Interesting." As he began to drift off a curious quote appeared in Connor's mind, and he recited it perfectly. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. "...'I fear that if the matter is beyond humanity, it is certainly beyond me'."

"Wait." Hank leaned forward in his chair a little and stared at Connor with unexpected awe shining in his blue eyes. "Did you just quote Sherlock Holmes?"

"I've been reading your books; 'The Adventure of the Devil's Foot'." Connor's voice trailed off as he fell prey to his stasis mode and was on the verge of sleep within seconds as his exhaustion finally won out over his unnamed system error. "They are quite enjoyable."

"Yeah, glad you like 'em as much as I do. Feel free to read 'em whenever you like."

"Now I understand why you refuse to have the books replaced despite... how aged they are." Connor responded with a small yawn. "Goodnight, dad."

"Sure, get some sleep." Hank smiled approvingly as he leaned back heavily in the old recliner and closed his eyes to try to get some sleep himself before the morning crept in. There were times where Hank genuinely saw Connor as a kid learning about the world and couldn't be prouder of the progress that the young deviant was making. "Goodnight, son."

-next chapter-