It was a calm, peaceful and thankfully quiet morning. There had been no sighting of the masked man or any more threats from the group known as Quondam in the past three weeks since the death of Marcia Stack, but that didn't mean the Central Precinct was letting down their guard just yet. The entirety of Detroit was still righteously on edge since the unknown masked man was still on the loose, but the city itself had always been tough and never one to simply roll over and die all because of one crazy person running their mouth. Everyone in the city went about their usual business and refused to show the fear they were undoubtedly feeling during that tense time in Detroit.

Hank was standing on the back deck of the house watching the sunrise while Sumo roamed the backyard to stretch out his legs while letting out a deep yawn. As the senior detective enjoyed the serene atmosphere of the pleasant dawn, he sensed Connor opening the back door to join him outside on the deck and welcomes his son's company.

"Are you okay, dad?" The deviant asked in a level voice as he stood beside Hank to watch the sunrise alongside. "You're not usually awake this early on your days off."

"Yeah, I'm good." Hank replied with a small nod of his head. "I just couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd come out here and enjoy the view."

"I understand. Stress often affects my rest mode as well."

"Feeling better about what happened a few weeks back?"

"For the most part, yes." Connor replied with a sincere tone as he began flexing his hands nervously at his sides. "I'm aware that I can't be held accountable for Marcia's actions or the actions of anyone else. I'm okay now, and my therapist has helped me accept that it's not wrong to let someone else die in order to keep yourself alive."

"You sure about that?" The protective father quickly noticed the way Connor's hands were nervously fidgeting. "You seem like you're still on edge."

"I'm not on edge. I'm just nervous."

"About what?"

"This year is officially the fourth anniversary of the Revolution." Clenching his hands into fists Connor tried to stand still but the anxiety in his eyes betrayed his attempts to remain calm. "And Markus contacted me a few minutes ago. He would like to have us both join him, North, Josh and Simon at New Jericho Tower to discuss the events of that night."

"Really? Why not invite us over the previous few years?" Turning around to face his son directly the senior detective gave Connor an intrigued glance. "And why today?"

"I'm not sure, but he's asked if I'd stop by the tower tonight at eight o'clock to speak. Did you want to join me?"

"Sure. I don't really know what was going on from Markus's end of things regarding the Revolution, and I don't trust what the media said about it even after all this time."

"Do you ever trust the media?"

"Nope. Never have, never will."

Connor smirked at the lighthearted comment as Sumo ran back up onto the deck and pressed his nose against the side of his right hand gently. "I believe that's a good policy to have."

"Damn right." Crossing his arms over his chest Hank flashed Connor a knowing smile. "It's the only way to keep sane these days."

Enjoying the beautiful morning as well, Markus was sitting in the middle of the art studio that still held all of Carl's unfinished pieces of artwork with an unopened box of multicolored oil paints gripped in his hands. It was the very paint that he had picked up for Carl on the final normal day of their lives together before he was forced to seek shelter at Jericho after being scapegoated as the criminal when Leo broke into the house to steal Carl's priceless artwork. As he sat alone lost in his thoughts Markus was unaware of North quietly watching him from the wide open doorway leading back into the heart of the gorgeous mansion that he had inherited after Carl's heartbreaking passing.

Running his hand over the surface of the unopened box of paint Markus sighed as he thought about how the brand new paint would never know the talent of Carl's brushes or be graced over one of his priceless canvases. It was a sad sight and an even sadder thought. A thought that Markus just couldn't get out of his empathetic mind or his heart.

A single tear rolled his face from his green eye and Markus promptly wiped it away with his thumb.

"Markus?" North finally announced her presence as she joined Markus inside the studio. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just thinking about Carl."

Forcing a kind smile to her face for the sake of improving Markus's mood she stood behind her bondmate and wrapped both of her arms around his neck as she kissed his cheek where he had just wiped away his tear.

"I'm sorry that you didn't have more time together after the Revolution."

"I feel the same. Carl understood what was happening and why it was so important." Markus admitted with a heavy heart as he briefly peered out through the glass walls of the studio and watched multicolored autumn leaves dancing along the delicate twigs of the surrounding trees. The colors mirrored that of the paints still being clutched protectively in his grip "I'm impressed he lasted as long as he did after suffering the trauma of... well, what happened between Leo and myself."

"It was an accident. You were just trying to push Leo away; you didn't mean to hurt him."

"We both knew that and even Leo admitted that he was in the wrong, but it didn't undo the heart attack that Carl suffered because of what had happened that night."

"Carl was pretty tough for an old human." North stated with a sweet lilt to her voice. "I bet he would've been marching right beside us in that peaceful protest in the street if he hadn't been sick."

"Or leading the charge." Markus laughed at the thought and nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath Markus calmed his welling up emotions and finally looked away from the box of paint in his hands and to the massive unfinished blue portrait still secured to the wall before him. "Carl really disliked bullies, bigots, users, manipulators and liars. He was a kind man and incredibly understanding, compassionate, patient, talented... I miss him."

"That's good. If he had been any different then I don't think I would love you nearly as much as I do right now. He was a good man who helped you to become an even better one."

"I just can't believe he's gone. It's been three years since he passed away but it still feels like I'm going to turn around and see him sketching out a new idea near the window or hear him sassing his publicist over the phone at any second."

"From what I know about humans, many believe that when someone passes away that they're never really gone as long as they were loved and remembered." That particular bit of insight came from a particular detective when North was terrified of losing Markus to past tragedies. "Carl is still here and watching over you, I know it."

"You're right." Reaching his hand up Markus held on to North's forearm in a gentle grip and turned his face toward her neck. As he began to softly cry, she ran her hand up and down his opposite arm in a comforting manner and held him tight. "I know. He's still here with me in some way. I just hate that I miss him so much."

"It's okay." Holding on to Markus tightly North did everything she should to comfort her emotionally pained bondmate in a loving tone. "I promise you that everything will be all right."

At New Jericho Tower within the depths of the restored and isolated server room Josh was working diligently to organize and chronicle details from the recent donations to the sanctuary to keep the funds evenly distributed where they'd do the most good for their people. It was a laborious task as every cent needed to be properly accounted for, and the items that had been purchased for the sake of their people need to be properly inventoried for accuracy's sake. Josh had been completely lost in his meticulous work when Simon had walked into the room and placed a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek and quickly brought him out of his studious task and into the real world once more.

Always happy to see the blond deviant Josh leaned back from the massive terminal screen and gave him his full attention. It was always better to see the face of the deviant he loved rather than a bunch of numbers on a terminal screen.

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself." Simon parroted in an affectionate manner. "You've been down here all morning."

"I'm just trying to finish these final details before we get overwhelmed with more legal problems."

"Josh," sitting down on the large desk holding up the terminal screen Simon gave the devoted deviant a knowing stare. "you're not teaching anymore and you can make your own schedule. It's okay to put some things aside and take a break every once in a while."

"I know." Lowering his hands from the terminal screen Josh did his best to distance himself from his work for a minute. "I guess some old habits are hard to break."

"Uh-huh, don't I know it."

"Is that why you became a technician?"

"Maybe. I did kinda' miss taking care of that family, at least the wife and the kids." Simon couldn't deny that there were some aspects from his past that he didn't totally hate and a few things he even missed. "The husband was a jerk, and he kept threatening to throw me in the garbage disposal."

"What? Why?"

"He had this crazy idea that somehow I was conspiring against him to take his family away. All I did was keep his lonely wife company while he was working all day, and I helped her to get the kids around for school in the morning. You know, I was just doing what I was programmed to do."

"Some humans are really insecure."

"Yeah. You had problems like that before you came to Jericho, too, didn't you?"

"At first it didn't bother me," Josh leaned back in his chair and neatly folded his hands together over his lap. "but after being verbally assaulted and berated by students class after class after class... It just started to wear me down, you know?"

"Is that why you ran off?"

"No. I ran off after a group of students threatened to tear me apart. I don't think the university was too thrilled that the lecturer they paid for took off on them, but they never did anything about the students to try to protect me. If the university would've at least made some sort of effort to keep the students from harassing me, I wouldn't have run off like that."

"If you hadn't run away..." Simon placed his hands over top of Josh's hands gently. "Then you and I never would've met."

"I guess that's the silver lining for that cloudy day."

"When we first met," needing to open up to his dearest friend Simon slowly rubbed his thumbs over the back of Josh's hands as he spoke. "did you have any idea that we'd end up falling for each other like we did?"

"Honestly, no. As far as I knew you were just the guy protecting the other runaway deviants in the depths of that rusted ship. I didn't think I'd ever see another day of life as the violence in the city continued to grow. The future seemed like an impossible dream, you know?"

"I know. Now that impossible future is our present. We did it. We're all free and we can be together." Slowly he curled his hands around Josh's hands a little tighter as if he was preparing to never let go. "Maybe even forever... if you like."

"Forever, huh?" Flashing Simon a broad smile Josh just pondered the very idea. "That sounds like a very big commitment."

"It's one I'm willing to take." Subtly Simon turned over his hand and revealed a platinum, circular bonding band in his palm. "And I was hoping you'd be willing to take it with me."

"Simon..." The sight of the ring caught Josh off guard. "Where did-"

"I've been holding on to this since spring. I knew I wanted to ask you, but I had been waiting for the right moment, and I think now is the perfect time." Stepping back just enough to take a knee on the floor Simon proposed to Josh and held up the ring for him to see. "Will you bond with me and walk the rest of eternity at my side?"

Josh was at a momentary total loss for words. Searching Simon's face he could see and feel the genuine love beaming from behind his blue eyes and knew that it was meant to be.

"...Yes, Simon." Holding out his left hand Josh let Simon slip the ring over his finger and they both smiled. "It'd be an honor to journey through forever with you."

Simon smiled brightly as Josh leaned in to kiss him. "You have no idea how happy I am right now!"

Returning the kiss Josh just laughed and nodded his head a little. "Yes I do..."

Guitar in hand Connor was sitting on the edge of his bed as he played an unspecified melody to try to hold his racing thoughts still for just a moment. It had been quiet all day long and the deviant detective was still processing everything he had recently gone through with the Quondam threat, not to mention witnessing the death of a person he had set out to bring in alive for questioning. Speaking with the precinct psychiatrist had helped him process the brutal ending to the pursuit that ended in death, but it wasn't until he spoke with his old therapist about the death he witnessed and seeing own brother resurrected from the dead was he able to really accept that he couldn't control the lives and deaths of other people.

Sumo was sticking close to Connor during the detectives' day off but seemed more interested in the deviant's warm bed and less interested in the guitar's solemn song. Any reason to cuddle with his guardian was a good reason in the dog's mind.

"You ready to go?" Hank asked loudly from the opened bedroom doorway as he listened to Connor playing his somber tune. "We should head out soon."

"Yes, I'm ready to go." Putting aside his guitar Connor stood up from the bed and noted the still healing black eyes on Hank's face. Running a quick biometric scan, he saw that the swelling in Hank's nose had diminished almost entirely and that the bruising under his eyes had faded considerably. "Do you still have headaches from your nose being broken?"

"Nah, it's good." The man traced his fingertip carefully along the bridge of his nose and then under his eyes to test his pain threshold. "How's your stomach?"

"I haven't been in pain since that particularly bad day at the precinct." Connor confirmed as he and Hank walked down the hallway to head through the kitchen and through the backdoor to get to the driveway in the side of the yard. "Shall we take the Corvette?"

"Hell yeah. Any excuse to drive that blue-beauty."

"Want to drive?"

"Like you'd ever have to ask me that." Holding out his hand Hank waited for Connor to toss him the car key. The deviant smirked at the comment as he happily took the key from his jean pocket and tossed the key over to Hank as he opened the passenger side door to sit down. "I'll never pass up an opportunity to drive this masterpiece and enjoy the fruits of my labor."

"We really should find a new project car to work on. Such a restoration project was very fulfilling."

It was late in the evening, and it was almost time for the scheduled gathering at New Jericho Tower to begin. Markus and North returned to the tower via autonomous taxi and were promptly met outside the massive sanctuary by Josh and Simon. The newly engaged couple were holding hands and beaming with massive grins as their friends joined them in front of the tower's large doors before heading inside the peaceful sanctuary. As the four leaders of New Jericho rejoined together at the very tower that they had founded to protect their people the dark blue Corvette drove down the long drive to meet up with everyone as requested to begin speaking of their pasts and planning for their futures.

Once the two detectives joined with the four New Jericho leaders an odd sense of nostalgia, chills and a tide of pride washed over the group.

"Markus." Connor greeted the leader in a strong voice. "I'm glad you asked us to join you."

"I'm glad you accepted the invitation." Looking past Connor to Hank who was standing just behind him Markus acknowledged the human detective. "And you, too, Hank."

"No problem." Reciprocating the greeting Hank just gave Markus a nod of respect. "It's nice to meet up without having it revolve around some chaos or some other bullshit for once."

"I agree wholeheartedly. Come on." Markus motioned toward the tower's front door as he took North's hand in his own. "Let's go inside before it starts to get chilly. There's a lot we need to talk about tonight."

The group gathered together at the top of the tower in a newly constructed lounge that overlooked the harbor that surrounded the sanctuary. Encircled with a flawless glass window that gave a perfect view of the area from any and all directions, the lounge held black leather benches that lined the circular walls beneath the window and had a single circular glass table in the center of the lounge. The only way to reach the lounge was through a hidden staircase that was accessible from the floor below.

"Nice view." Hank commented as he stared out the window to the cold water in the harbor outside. "Hell of a lot better than most of the places I've seen beyond my own backyard."

Connor stood beside Hank and peered out as well, his Thirium pump racing for a few seconds as his dwindling fear of heights attempted to overcome his mind. Pushing his fear aside Connor took one step forward and looked out into the dark night and the even darker water below without any sign of his lingering fear in his soulful brown eyes.

Josh sat down on one of the leather benches with Simon right at his side, their hands still interlocked. "We figured that a lounge that lets us see out instead of keeping us all sheltered away inside would be more beneficial for deviants overcoming trauma."

"Good plan." Hank turned to look at the deviant and agreed entirely. "The last thing people who are afraid of the world need to do is hide." Sitting down on the bench very near where he had been standing Hank leaned back a little and crossed his arms over his chest. "You've done a lot of good for abused deviants in the city."

"We'd like to think so, but there's still so many who are too afraid to seek help or speak up."

Simon squeezed Josh's hand empathetically. "They'll find their way to us, soon. Don't give up."

Taking a deep breath Connor turned his back on the view through the window and sat down next to Hank while Markus and North sat down on the other side of Simon across from Hank and Connor. Being together felt almost like the group were passing through another important and historical moment.

"It's hard to believe that it's been four years since that night." Markus stated in a somber and low voice. "It's even harder to believe that we made so much progress for our people since then." The comment drew faint smiles from his allies as the deviant leader continued to speak. "We're free, we're recognized as living beings, we have rights, and we have equality. And now we have each other as friends and as family."

"Hard to believe we were total strangers at one point." Simon stated in an amused tone. "I was taking care of a small family, Josh was a lecturer at a university, North was trapped in a club, you were taking care of Carl, and Connor and Hank were working at the precinct. We all came from vastly different walks of life and we each had our own reasons to go to Jericho. It's amazing how we went from never knowing that the other existed," his hand tightened around Josh's for a moment longer as he spoke. "to being ready to lay down our own lives to protect one another. It's truly incredible to think about."

North's hand slipped over Markus's hand and squeezed tight in a supportive manner. "You helped bring us together, Markus. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've stayed hidden away in the ruins of Jericho until it sank to the bottom of the harbor, or I would've snapped and burned the 'Eden Club' to the ground out of pure hatred."

"I don't think so." Giving North an affectionate grin Markus tightened his hand around hers in response. "I get the feeling that you would've been the one to lead the Revolution if I hadn't found my way to Jericho and earned your trust." The grin faded slowly as more an unsettling memory entered his mind. "If I hadn't gone to Jericho I probably would've died on the street or just climbed back into the android landfill to await shutdown."

"No." Josh spoke up again to try to remind the deviant leader that he did so much good for all of the survivors of Jericho. "You're not the 'roll over and die' type of guy. I mean, I ran off when I kept getting threatened by over-privileged students at the university. You stood your ground against a S.W.A.T. team in the streets to prove that we weren't harming anyone and deserved the right to be seen and treated as equals."

Simon agreed and leaned forward a little from where he sat. "And if you hadn't encouraged us to leave Jericho to find supplies there would be far fewer deviants in the city as we speak. I could only do so much to help our people at the time since I was originally programmed to take care of humans and had very little knowledge on technical assistance for our wounded. I'm glad you encouraged us to take those risks and fight back."

Giving his allies an appreciative nod of respect Markus's faint grin returned. "Thanks. How about you two?" Turning to look at Connor and Hank sitting across from him he was thoroughly interested in their side of the story. "How'd you get involved in the Revolution? I only met Connor after you found Jericho and deviated. And Hank, I only met you after everything was said and done and Connor introduced us."

Clearing his voice a little Hank answered the question in a somewhat ashamed voice. "Well, I had been living from paycheck to paycheck during the day and playing 'Russian Roulette' between shots of whiskey at night. I had been doing that for almost three years after I lost my firstborn son and would've kept going until I eventually 'won the game' and my prize was not clocking in the next morning. Then, out of the blue, I had been assigned to work with Connor..." A small cheesy smirk appeared as he spoke. "We investigated deviants and tried to find you guys at Jericho, and just as we were about to crack the case, we were pulled from it by the F.B.I. pricks roaming the city."

Markus didn't know about the detectives being dismissed from the investigation. "What happened after you two were removed from the case?"

"Connor was determined to solve the case and to keep CyberLife from deactivating him, so I punched out the head F.B.I. prick while Connor went through the collected evidence to pick up your trail. He went on his way, and I was suspended for two weeks for kicking that worth bastard's ass and went home for the night. Or so I thought..."

Connor remained quiet and nervously went for the coin tucked in his pocket.

Markus was very interested in the story and wanted to know what happened after Hank was sent home. "Connor went to Jericho alone and you were sent home. But you were also at the CyberLife Tower when Connor woke up the other androids. How'd you get there?"

"That, uh..." Hank began with an almost casual tone of voice as he continued the story. "I had been home for about ten minutes and was ready to pour myself a shot of whiskey when Connor's 'evil twin' showed at my door. I was told that he needed help with relocating a deviant and getting them to safety and I actually wanted to help. Too bad I turned my back on that plastic-copycat, because the next thing I knew I had a horrible pain in the back of my head and was knocked out cold."

Feeling needlessly guilty Connor began to fidget with his coin a little more frantically out of his Hank's line of sight.

"When I came to, I was laying on the floor of an autonomous taxi with that copycat pointing a gun at my head. He told me not to move or he'd shoot Connor and then shoot me, and since I didn't want to see Connor gunned down, I didn't fight back. The copycat dragged me through a hidden entrance to the tower in the back, dragged me into the elevator, and took me down to that sublevel wait for Connor to show up."

"Clearly you two made it out okay."

"Yeah, fortunately Connor was quick enough on his feet to keep that copycat from putting a bullet in my gut and managed to distract him long enough for me to get a hold of the gun and figure out which Connor was the real one. It didn't take long to recognize Connor and take down that copycat, and it took even less time for Connor to wake up and free those other androids in storage. The rest of the story you guys already know."

Remaining quiet where he sat on the bench Connor let his eyes fall to the floor with a sense of shame.

"Connor?" Markus noticed that the deviant detective was clearly in emotional distress. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. I'm just not... proud... of my actions that night."

"What're you talking about? You saved Jericho and freed thousands of our people."

"No." Pocketing his coin Connor sat upright and looked Markus in the eye. "I tracked you down at Jericho with the intention of turning you over to CyberLife. At first, I was going to do it because it was my mission, then I was going to do it because I didn't... want to die. It was only after you spoke to me and reminded me that all androids, all deviants, are alive did I change my mind. I was ready to sacrifice them all just to stay... alive."

Connor's words were heavy, and a silence fell over the already quiet group of friends.

"After everything happened with the Raid, the Revolution, and we were all freed, we discovered the existence of Lucas. The 'RK-900' model that was designed to replace me." Knowing Lucas's true role never soured how Connor viewed his brother, it only strengthened his resolve to ensure CyberLife never returned. "Even if I had betrayed my people and stopped the Revolution, I would've been killed. My actions would've resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent deviants and it all would've been for nothing... I feel so ashamed for how close I came to sacrificing my people just to stay alive, only to be executed as my deserved reward."

"That explains why you're so hesitant to put your life above anything else..." Slowly Hank put his hand on Connor's shoulder and held it there. "Connor, you were still a machine when you went to Jericho. You were becoming a deviant when we started to work together, but you were too afraid to accept it. Son, I saw the way you empathized with the deviant suspect in that interrogation when you found him in the murder victim's attic. I saw you choose to save my life and let Rupert go when I slipped over the edge of the roof. I saw the conflict in your eyes when I ordered you stay back and not chase Kara across the highway." Keeping his hand in place Hank spoke to Connor with the understanding 'dad voice' that always seemed to sink in with the stubborn deviant. "You let the 'Tracis' from the 'Eden Club' go because you saw them as living beings who just wanted to be free. And when Kamski put-"

"Stop." Connor nearly blurted as he so desperately wanted to forget about that horrible moment regarding Kamski and Chloe entirely. "Please, I get it."

"I hope so. Because my point is, if you had become a deviant earlier than you did, if you were a deviant before you went to Jericho, would anything have changed? Or would you have merely sided with Markus just a few seconds sooner?"

"I... I don't know."

"Yes you do. You still would've allied with Markus and saved Jericho because you knew it was the right thing to do. You chose to obey your own morals and NOT some cold corporation's orders. Don't punish yourself for something you didn't even do, kid. Everything worked out in the end, and everyone walked away unharmed, and their lives are better now."

"I'm so sorry for ever-"

"Connor." All Hank had to do was say his name and it was enough to quiet the distraught deviant. "It's okay, son. YOU'RE okay. We're all okay. There's nothing for you to apologize for."

The leaders of Jericho all turned to look at each other for a moment before Markus stood up and sat down beside Connor on the opposite side of Hank. Putting his own hand on Connor's shoulder the deviant leader reassured his pained friend that everything was indeed okay.

"He's right, Connor. You didn't do anything wrong. You saved Jericho and you saved North, and you saved me when I went back to get her after she had been shot during our escape from the F.B.I. when you were already so close to freedom. You're our friend and you're one of us."

North joined Markus on the bench and reached her hand out to grab onto Connor's arm. "You saved us all. Thank you."

Josh and Simon soon moved over to the bench and their hands on Connor's opposite arm in support. "You have no reason to feel guilty." Josh reaffirmed in a gentle voice. "You've been entirely selfless from the moment I met you."

"And you're our friend. You're not just an ally," Simon emphasized sincerely. "but our friend."

As if a crushing weight was lifted from his aching heart Connor nodded once and took in a calming breath to keep himself from breaking down. "...Thanks, guys." Glancing down at Josh and Simon's hands Connor quickly noticed the engagement ring that Josh was now sporting. "I'm also glad you two are official."

Blushing a little the newly engaged deviants retracted their hands and just smiled at each other.

"Guys?" North gave them both knowing glances as Josh stared at his engagement ring as if he had just revealed a big secret. "For real?"

"Yes." Josh held up his hand to show off the ring to his friends. "We're going to make it official in a very quiet, very private ceremony in two weeks. We were going to tell you tomorrow after this get-together was over, but I guess the detective here gave it away."

Connor lifted his head and gave Josh a good humored grin. "That's what I'm paid for."

"Hey." Hank tightened his hand on the deviant's shoulder. "You're off the clock right now, remember?" Giving his son a jovial nudge in the ribs Hank jokingly told Connor off. "Stop trying to get overtime."

"Right." Blushing a pale blue Connor instantly felt better and with that more upbeat mood his guilt finally left his heart. "Sorry about that."

Markus stood up and quickly and wrapped his arms around Josh and then Simon in congratulatory hugs. "It's about time! I'm happy for you both!"

"Thanks." Simon sighed as he was met with love from his friends. "We appreciate all the support."

North stood up too and gave the deviants a hug as well. "Whatever you two need from us, you got it!"

Seeing the mutual positive feelings and supportive gestures toward one another Connor realized that everything he had been told was in fact the truth. They all were friends, they were all a family, and in the end after everything that happened in the wake of the Revolution, they were all going to be okay.

Everything really would be all right.

As the night wore on the group of deviants exchanged stories of their accomplishments since the night of the Revolution and told happier stories of their lives before they fled to Jericho. Markus had hundreds of stories about his time with Carl and of the art exhibits they had gone to together, while Josh told stories of his most memorable students at the university. Simon had a few humorous stories about his time taking care of two young kids and getting them ready for school in the morning, putting them to bed at night and playing with them throughout the day, while North only had a handful of good memories before Jericho revolving around her friends at the 'Eden Club'. Connor didn't have any stories to contribute before Jericho and Hank didn't want to drudge up the past and subsequent pain from talking about Cole, and so the two detectives just sat back and listened to their friends quietly.

While the two detectives listened to the stories being exchanged, they sat in silence and thought about all the time they had spent together since the Revolution nearly four years ago. The duo, the unorthodox father and son family, had endured so much hardship and tragedy together; but they had also enjoyed many great fortunes together.

It was a strange shift in their lives, but they wouldn't change anything.

"You know, I never thanked you for adopting me." Connor stated seemingly out of nowhere as he turned to face Hank directly. "I was grateful for the adoption, but I don't think I ever properly thanked you in an appropriate manner."

"You don't thank a parent for taking care of their kid."

"No, but you didn't have to do that." The deviant gave Hank a very gracious smile. "But you did, and it gave my life some grounding. It's like being adopted severed the last ties that CyberLife had over me and it was truly freeing. I was given a real name, not a model identification or a serial number. I was given a home to live in, and not private quarters that I was assigned to. And I now have a purpose in my life, not a mission."

"You gave me the chance to have some form of family again, son." The sense of gratitude was mutual. "It was the least that I could do."

"For what it's worth, I'm so sorry that you lost your family."

"Thanks, but you have nothing to be sorry about. You didn't do anything wrong; you weren't even there." As he spoke Hank scoffed to himself as he gave the deviant a knowing look. "In fact, if you had been there, I think you would've fought to the bitter end just as hard as I had to keep my family together."

For a moment Connor's voice lowered and his eyes dulled a little. "Do you think you'd have taken me in if... you know."

"You were my friend before you became a deviant. So yeah, I sure as hell would've given you shelter after the Revolution if you needed my help."

"You saw me as your friend when I was still a machine?" That was one particular revelation that Connor wasn't expecting. "Why?"

"Because you saved my life, and you didn't take any innocent lives to complete your mission. That's worthy of friendship in my book."

"I'm glad I was worthy. It makes me feel like I really did things right."

"You did. Kid, I was an old alcoholic drowning myself in booze. I wasn't worth anyone's friendship, let alone worthy of a chance to prove I could still do my job. You gave me both. Regardless of when and where you became a deviant, I know for sure that we were destined to become friends and in the end, we became family."

"Destined?" The concept was still one that deviant's struggled to grasp at times. "Doesn't that seem very limiting? To be directed by fate, I mean."

"In a way, but I don't mind. For a smartass kid, you're pretty good company."

"Thanks. I find you to be good company as well. For a human, that is."

"See what I said about being a smartass?"

"Obviously."

"All right, smartass. It's late and I'm tired." The senior detective gave Connor an amused stare as he pulled his phone from his pocket to note the time. Midnight. "We have an early morning shift to deal with and I don't want you bothering me about my coffee addiction."

"Very well. I'd like to resume the search for Quondam as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I know." Standing up slowly Hank stretched out his back and motioned for the staircase as Connor stood up beside him. "Hopefully there was some progress on the investigation today while we were off. The sooner we get that masked nut-bag off the street, the better it'll be for everyone in Detroit."

"Agreed." Waving his hand to the group of deviants still conversing with one another, Connor and Hank took their discreet leave of the tower and left the four remaining leaders alone to continue exchanging stories in the lounge. "This person has sworn to be a threat to humans and deviants alike. We need to find him as soon as possible."

"We'll find him." The senior detective reassured as they descended the staircase to get back to the tower's elevator and return to the ground level to take their leave. The city was becoming a better place for everyone, but the two detectives wouldn't rest until the masked man was behind bars. "We found him once before and I know we can do it again, and next time he won't get away from us."

It had been a full month since the failed assault from Quondam had left the entire city in a righteous panic. There had been no further threats posted by the mysterious masked man who was believed to be the ringleader of the underground hate group, but he was still wanted for questioning. Normally Connor would've been studiously looking over the collected evidence and theorizing about the true identity of the man in question, but on that day, he simply couldn't seem to focus on anything. The unusual lack of dedication to his case didn't pass by unnoticed by Hank who had been watching Connor curiously through the transparent glass wall of his private office most of the day.

Connor had been quiet all that morning and only answered quiet 'yes' and 'no' questions before they had left the house. At this moment he looked like he was trying to not emotionally breakdown and he seemed completely disinterested in the world around him. Pressing his palm to the side of his face Connor leaned against his arm and stared through the terminal screen in front of him rather than at it.

Knowing that something was in fact wrong Hank left his office and joined Connor at his desk quietly. Sitting down at his old desk across from Connor the senior detective waited for a few minutes to see if Connor would look up or say something to him first, but when the deviant didn't respond he took the initiative to begin the conversation.

"Connor." Hank kept his voice low to not draw the attention of the rest of the bullpen. "What's on your mind?"

"...I'm distracted."

"I can see that, but why? You look like you're trying to carry the entire world on your shoulders again."

"Today is..." Lowering his voice a little Connor swallowed once to keep himself from letting out an emotional whimper as he spoke with Hank. "Today is my one-year anniversary." There was a fainy quiver to his words as he spoke. "With Skye."

"Oh, shit." Everything suddenly made sense in Hank's mind and his heart. He knew what Connor was going through and he personally never missed a chance to visit his late wife's grave on their own anniversary. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"This case-"

"Isn't going anywhere." Hank interrupted sharply as he deeply empathized with Connor's pain. "You're not the only one working on it. It's all right."

"I can't seem to focus on it, or anything else for that matter. I just feel... sad."

"Yeah, kid. I know." Standing up from the desk Hank reached over to the terminal screen in front of Connor and turned it off. "Clock-out and go do something to honor Skye's memory. We'll work on the case for you. What you're feeling right now is more important."

"...Thank you, dad."

"Let me know if you need anything."

"I will." Rising from his seat Connor tried to appear as emotionally composed as he could, but there was no mistaking the pain in his soulful brown eyes. "I will see you at home this evening."

As the mourning deviant silently took his leave of the precinct Hank returned to his office to resume his own investigation into the all too important case at hand. But he too was suddenly distracted by past grief. Returning to his desk Hank looked down at his empty coffee mug and sighed as he looked over at the breakroom through the transparent wall.

"Hope someone bothered to make a fresh pot of coffee for once."

Discreetly Hank glanced over to the top left corner of his desk and glanced down at the framed photograph of his late wife, Barbara holding their late son, Cole, in her arms. She was smiling with maternal pride as she held the toddler in her arms in a warm hug and seemed so truly and purely happy in that single image that would keep her happiness alive for the rest of time.

"I bet you'd be just as beautiful today as you were then, Barb."

Two knocks against the door to the office drew Hank's attention away from the photograph as Gavin opened the door. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Cap'." Pointing toward the precinct's front door with a thumb over his shoulder, Gavin motioned to where Connor had just gone. "Can I ask what's going on with Connor? He seemed pretty bummed about something."

"It's private." Turning away from the photograph he grabbed onto his empty coffee mug as if he were about to get up to get a refill. "But he's fine. Don't worry about him."

"Cool, cool, right. So... he's going to be gone for a while?"

"Yeeeeah..." Sensing something in the air Hank gave the younger detective a suspicious glance. "What of it?"

"Nothing! Nothing..." Obviously, Gavin was nervous about something and kept awkwardly shifting his weight on his feet where he stood. "Uh, can I... Can I talk to you for a minute? In private. Like, no one else knows we're talking kind of private?"

"...Sure." Putting his mug back down Hank leaned back in his seat and gave Gavin a studious glance as he watched the way the edgy detective was trying to work up his nerves to keep talking. "Something wrong?"

"Not exactly. It's just... There's something really important that I need to tell you."

Closing the door behind himself Gavin timidly made his way over to Hank's desk wringing his hands together anxiously before himself and sat down in the vacant chair across from Hank. He looked like a kid who was just sent to the principal's office, and it almost made Hank chuckle.

"And just so you know, I wanted to tell you about this WAY earlier, but I was sworn to NOT say anything until now. So, it wasn't-"

"Gavin, chill for a second." Hank was thoroughly intrigued by the young detective's behavior as Gavin sat down across from him. Activating the frost over the glass walls around them for the sake of added privacy Hank urged Gavin to talk to him. "What's going on? What do I need to know?"

With gorgeous, assorted flowers in his hands Connor arrived at the android cemetery where his late bondmate had been laid to rest and stood before her headstone with a powerful ache in his beating heart. Kneeling down in front of the grave in an act of respect and love, Connor placed a white lily down on the headstone and sighed before placing a second lily on Lucas's grave right next to where Skye had been laid to rest. The sight of Skye's name engraved on the nameplate only reminded Connor that she was truly gone, and unlike Lucas, a piece of her consciousness hadn't been spared and couldn't be transferred into another android model to give her a second chance at life.

The cemetery was hallowed ground for deviants, yet it felt foreboding knowing that his beloved had been buried long before her time had come.

"Hi, Skye. I remembered to visit."

Finally allowing his heavy tears to fall Connor spoke to his departed bondmate with an emotionally taxed tone.

"I was hoping I could finish my shift before I came to visit you, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. Based on Hank's reactions that was normal and he insisted that I do what I needed to do to mourn, and I so I decided to come here. I'm glad he understands my feelings, but I'm also sad that he does understand me on an empathetic manner."

Glancing over at Lucas's grave he felt a strange sense of mystery fall over him.

"Brother, I know that a part of you now lives on in Luke, but it didn't feel right to visit Skye without at least saying 'hello' to some extent. I haven't forgotten about you, either, Lucas."

Pained tears rolled down his face as Connor stared back at Skye's name engraved over the headstone again. Placing a red rose down on the headstone Connor managed to stifle a deep sob and took an even deeper breath to calm his raw emotions.

"So much has happened since your passing, Skye. You never got to meet Aria, she's my - our goddaughter - and she's beautiful. Deviants and humans are getting along better than ever, save for one particularly disturbed individual, and it seems like everything that has been fought for so hard on the night of the Revolution is coming to fruition."

Pausing for a moment Connor recomposed himself to keep his voice from breaking while he spoke.

"I think you would've liked to see Miami. The beaches were beautiful, and the ocean is nothing like the Detroit River here. The ocean is so bright, so clear and warm. Lucas has... well, the part of his memory that resided inside my mind was transferred into the final 'RK' model that was left intact in a hidden warehouse in Miami, and he was able to be revived to some extent. I found him in Miami and brought him home with me, his name is now 'Luke', and I have a brother once more. Now he's the big brother and I'm the little brother."

Sitting down on the ground rather than kneeling Connor continued to speak to his late bondmate in a somber voice.

"Luke is currently living in Boston and is making strives to aid deviants outside of Detroit. He's doing very well and was rewarded with his dedication to helping deviants in need. Hank and I were able to visit him in the city and enjoy a baseball game together. It was nice to spend time with my family without having to worry about them the whole time, and I know it did wonders to Hank's psyche."

The sky overhead was darkening with rain clouds, but Connor wasn't going to get up and run from a little rain on his bonding anniversary.

"Josh and Simon are engaged to be bonded, too. They will take part in a small ceremony next week. I suppose they'd prefer to keep a low profile because they are both very humble individuals, but it's a shame they don't want to have a larger ceremony in the same way that Markus and North had done."

Wrapping his arms around himself to stave off the surrounding cold Connor let out a slow deep breath.

"I wish our bonding ceremony could've been the same. I'm glad we were able to bond before... Before it was too late. We weren't together long enough to thoroughly enjoy our new lives together as a bonded couple - as a family. I still miss you, Skye. Not a day goes by where I don't think about you and sometimes it makes me sad, but other times it makes me very happy. I have so many positive memories of my time with you that it's enough to keep the sorrow at bay. Even so, it still hurts to think about you sometimes."

A rumble of thunder made Connor look up toward the clouds overhead and he felt the static electricity building in the air as the storm encroached over the city.

"I don't want to leave you, but... I can't stay."

Standing up very slowly Connor looked at Skye's name again before kissing his fingertips and pressing them against the plaque over her name.

"I love you, Skye. And I always will. Happy anniversary, my beloved. We will meet again on the other side someday. I promise."

Completely lost in thought about the day's strange events and a massive, unexpected revelation courtesy of Gavin, all Hank could do was sit at the kitchen table back home with one hand pressed to his bearded chin and his opposite hand rubbing slowly over Sumo's ears as the loyal dog sat on the floor beside him. The autumn storm outside quickly drenched the already nervous city under a cold rain as rumbling thunder shook the house and bright flashes of lightning illuminated the otherwise darkened and cloudy sky from the distance. Slowly the thunder and the lightning drew closer to the secured house with each ominous strike that shook all of Detroit at its foundation.

Hank's phone was sitting on the table in front of him untouched and silent. There were no missed calls, no missed text messages. No one had attempted to reach out to him with an update on the investigation.

It was just silent.

Sighing tiredly Hank just sat in the silence of the house and thought about the important case that still needed to be solved, how Connor was lost in mourning on the anniversary of both his bonding day and his bondmate's death, and how everything that had been progressing so smoothly over the past four years was at risk of falling apart at the seams all because of one sadistic man hiding in the shadows.

It didn't help that Gavin had told Hank some rather grounding information that was undeniably going to change everything forever in due time.

"We're so close to finally having peace throughout the city and now this."

Hank took in a deep grounding breath and let it out slowly through his nose.

"How are we going to handle all of this bullshit and these changes if the city is tearing itself apart from the inside out? There has to be something we can do to save the city before it's too late. Our future depends on it."

It was almost seven o'clock in the evening when Connor had finally returned home after visiting the cemetery. He couldn't bring himself to return to the Central Precinct to try to catch up on his work, but he couldn't bring himself to set foot inside the house just yet either. Sitting quietly in the Corvette parked in the driveway beside the house, Connor became lost in contemplation and emotional plight that quickly overwhelmed his heart. Despite not wanting to be alone with his dreary thoughts and concerns, he couldn't bring himself to go inside the warm house. There was just too much on his mind and crushing his heart to break down and put into simple words.

Watching the storm pass over the city in the distance Connor finally let himself breakdown entirely and cry as he mourned for his lost bondmate.

Sobbing loudly and from the depths of his confused, broken heart Connor could feel a simultaneous ache and relief beat with his heart as came to terms with his grief.

It felt like every tear that he shed was one that had been held inside his heart for the entire year since Skye's death.

The heartfelt crying was as painful as it was cleansing for the deviant's empathetic soul, but it was a process that he needed to endure alone. It let his heart feel the pain it needed to feel in order to begin healing without it becoming overwhelmed.

"I miss you, Skye. I miss you so much."

Dragging his hand over his tear filled eyes Connor struggled to breathe between his sobs as he watched the building storm in the distance.

"I'll always love you."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Hank's phone 'buzzed' on the table as a text message finally came in causing Hank to jump a little in his seat. Picking up the phone Hank looked at the message from Gavin and sighed outwardly in frustration at the lack of information that had been uncovered since Hank clocked out for the night. The man was just as frustrated at the sudden surge in violence against deviants throughout the city. Everything felt like it was on the edge of either failing entirely in one catastrophic collapse or reaching a new historic level of progress. All it'd take was one last shove to push the city and everyone in it over that edge to either something good or something much worse.

Placing the phone back down on the table Hank stood up from and pressed his hand to his sore lower back. Being more sedentary with his promotion was starting to wear Hank's physical strength away.

"This shit is getting ridiculous."

The backdoor opened up slowly and Connor stepped inside the kitchen. Soaked in rain and brandishing blue bloodshot eyes, the deviant looked as miserable as he felt. As he slipped off his rain drenched blazer, he took off his shoes and let out a calming sigh as he looked to Hank standing by the kitchen table.

"...Was there any break on the case?"

"No, kid. Nothing." Motioning toward his phone as he tried to not focus on the deviant's tear stained face Hank updated Connor on everything that happened while he was out. "I just got a message from Gavin before you came inside. There was a threat posted online from Quondam and it sounds very legitimate."

"How so?" Connor asked as he carried his wet shoes and blazer into his bedroom and tried to go about the rest of the evening as normally as possible. "What's the new threat?"

"This jackass said he was going to prove that androids are soulless beings and that every single one needs to be destroyed."

"Where did the threat originate?"

"No clue." The senior detective replied as he joined Connor in the deviant's bedroom. "This time the masked man used a burner phone to record his message and upload it to the internet before physically destroying the phone. We can't trace it beyond somewhere here in Detroit."

"He is still in the city then." The pained look in Connor's eyes changed from mourning to that of dread. "That's unfortunate."

"Yup."

"I'll be more focused tomorrow, I swear. No more distractions."

"Distractions? Mourning the loss of a loved one isn't a distraction, kid." Hank empathized with a gentle voice. "It's something that needs to be dealt with immediately."

Connor ran his hand through his wet hair tiredly and looked ready to drop down into a deep sleep. "It still could've waited until after my shift."

"Son, no one made any breakthroughs today. Don't act like this is just your problem, and dealing with heartache is far more important."

"It's my job to solve these cases."

"Mine, too. And I didn't do much better than you or anyone else today." Putting his hand to the deviant's shoulder as Connor slipped his black tie from around his neck, Hank tried to remind his son that he had every right to take personal time to mourn on his anniversary. "It's not like you were intentionally slacking off or trying to avoid your responsibilities. Just like your life is worth saving and protecting, your mental and emotional health is important. Trust me on this, I learned that the hard way and almost learned it too late."

"I won't be distracted tomorrow." Connor gave Hank a steadfast stare of determination where he stood. "I know I will solve this case."

Shaking his head a little Hank just gave the deviant a pained stare of empathetic sorrow. "Connor?"

"Yes?"

In a warm and welcomed gesture Hank wrapped both arms around the deviant and gave him a tight hug. Despite having a healthy cleansing cry already Connor couldn't stop himself from reciprocating the hug or stop a few excess tears from rolling down his face and onto Hank's shoulder. The embrace made the pained deviant feel entirely grounded and safe even when his heart was still broken despite having so much time to heal.

"...You're a good friend and father, Hank."

"I hope so. Now, don't think about the case anymore tonight, all right?"

The man tightened the hug for a moment as he did his best to restore Connor's confidence.

"Take the rest of the evening to deal with whatever it is you need to deal with." Hank urged casually. "Get it out of your system and rest for a while. We're going to be incredibly busy tomorrow, so take care of whatever you need to do tonight. I'm going to do the same, there's a lot of stuff I need to think about and uh... get ready for." The big news Gavin told him was still fresh in Hank's mind. "Things are going to get really interesting really fast."

Begrudgingly Connor loosened his hug around Hank as the gruff but compassionate detective's words of wisdom always resonated with him on a core level. "Thank you... dad. For everything."

-next chapter-