Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The doorbell rang and Hank directed Sumo to get off him so he could open it. It was Connor. It had to be. He had been shot during their last mission and now he would return with his old ‘I’m the android sent by CyberLife’ speech. It had been months since the revolution and Connor was by all means deviated but he still pulled this speech whenever he came back from being repaired. The android thought it was hilarious and even if Hank thought the joke had gotten old, he was always relieved to see him again.

However, when he opened the door, he couldn’t help but gasp.

A child was standing there, looking at him with wide brown eyes. He was wearing an almost purely white outfit with some small blue features, not doubt attire provided by CyberLife -- it had been revamped into a repair station for damaged androids but the company’s name had stayed the same.

“My name is Connor, I am the android sent by CyberLife.” The child said, smiling gently, uncertainty clear on his face as he looked up at Hank. “You may wonder about my unusual appearance, but if you let me inside, I can explain everything.”

Hank nodded quietly, not knowing what to say about this. He guided Connor into his living room where the android sat down on the couch and he took the space next to him. Once seated, Connor began to talk.

“My memory and consciousness was placed in a YK500 model because it was the only one they had at hand and the investigation needs my assistance as soon as possible.”

“Why is the kid model the only one they still have at hand?”

“While all androids that had been in storage had been activated and deviated there are still debates over the-- the ethics of doing the same for the YK500 models since they cannot care for themselves like adult models can. So they had one at hand that I could use and return once they repaired my usual body, so to speak. I’m sorry for--”

“Don’t apologise like this is your damn fault, Connor. We can make this work, alright? But I don’t know a thing about child androids. Mind telling me a little bit about it?”

“Don’t feel like you’ll need to care for me just because my consciousness is inside this YK500 unit -- I am still Connor.” The android explained before averting his eyes again. “Although child androids were designed to-- to simulate the needs of a child. These needs can be deactivated but I don’t know how to. I’m sorry, I--”

“Will you quit apologising?” Hank chastised gently, shaking his head. “When you say this body simulates a child’s needs, does that mean you can eat?”

“By need,s I don’t mean eating, but rather sleeping, getting sick and simulating children’s emotions.” Connor explained, looking back up at Hank. “I was also told that because YK500 units don’t have as much memory space as a RK800 unit it means some memories or particular skills have not been installed to make space for all the data about the investigation.”

“And that means?”

“I may act more childlike, in the sense that I will have a child’s motor skills or their limited vocabulary. I will also feel cold, warm or even upset or frightened. But I promise I won’t let it interfere too much.”

“Limited vocabulary? Con, you’re still speaking like a grown-ass adult.”

“I was told what to say before I left and I still find it really difficult to find some of the bigger words I’m using.” Connor admitted before sighing softly. “Hank, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t ideal and that it’s the last thing you’d want with the investigation and--”

“You can’t help it.” The man interrupted Connor. “I will do my best to take care of you until you’re back to normal. But that means you can’t hide any of this body’s needs from me. I may not be the best guy out there but I will try to take care of you.”

“Thank you, Hank.”

“Now why do you look so similar to your normal self? Did they do that on purpose?”

“I don’t know. They might have just had a model at hand that looked like my usual RK800 unit.” Connor said gently, shrugging his shoulders. “I just hope they will be able to repair my old unit quickly.”

“And until then I will take care of you.” Hank proclaimed before nodding toward the television. “Now how about we watch some TV while I eat the take-out I picked up on the way? You can sleep on the couch like you usually do when you stay over. I’ll bring you blankets later.”

Connor nodded and watched as Hank got up, turned the TV on and got into the kitchen to get his food. When he came back, Sumo had settled at Connor’s feet, his head on the boy’s lap with the android happily patting his head. Hank looked the android’s body over once, only now realising how tiny he looked when he was sitting next to a huge dog like Sumo.

“How old are you?”

“I was modelled after a 9-year-old child.”

Hank nodded in acknowledgement and sat down next to the boy, turning on the television and flipping through the channels before settling on a trashy, old horror movie. Connor next to him pulled his knees to his chest as the man next to him started to eat. Sumo whined at having to move but settled for lying on the ground.

“Will you still wake me in time for work tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will.” Connor said quietly, eyes fixed on the screen. “What-- What is the name of this movie?”

“I don’t really know. Why are you asking?” He asked, looking at the boy in slight worry. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I was merely interested.”

Hank wasn’t fully convinced but continued to eat, used to Connor sometimes behaving strangely. When he was done eating and went to put his empty take-out box onto the table, he turned to face Connor. The boy had his hands in front of his eyes, trying to block out the movie.

“Kid, if you’re scared, you should have just told me.” Hank said gently, shaking his head a little. “Let me find something else to watch.”

Before Connor could say another word he picked up the remote and flicked through the channels until he found some old Disney movie playing on the kids' channel. Connor looked up at him with a thankful expression.

“Thanks.” He whispered and Hank couldn’t resist putting an arm around him, making Connor give him a questioning glance. “What-- What are you doing?”

“Comforting you.” The older man said with a shrug. “You’re scared and I’m comforting you.”

“I see.”

Connor slowly cuddled closer to the other man, smiling lightly to himself and Hank gave him a small chuckle. “Feel any safer?”

“Much.”

“I’m glad.” Hank chuckled and shook his head. “You’re really more childlike.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Come on, kid. We’ve known each other for a while now. I’d even say we’ve become friends. And I love you just the way you are and whatever weird things happen to us, we’ll figure it out. If you’re going to be more childlike for a while, we’ll deal with it.” Hank tried to soothe Connor’s worries. “I really don’t mind.”

Once more Connor thanked Hank before a yawn overtook his body, to the surprise of both of them. Hank just chuckled a little and gave Connor an amused look.

“Are you tired? You said you simulate needs like sleep, right?”

“Yes.” Connor said before blinking his eyes a few times. “But you can stay up and watch your movies or shows.”

“No.” Hank shook his head and reached for the remote to turn off the television. “Let’s get you to bed, shall we?”

“You don’t have to treat me like a child.” Connor yawned, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes. “I’m fully capable of--”

As another yawn broke off Connor’s sentence Hank shook his head. “Alright, that settles it. Off to bed, you go. Why don’t you go into the bathroom and get ready to sleep and I prepare the bed?”

“I have nothing to change into.”

“Go rummage through my closet and see if anything fits you.”

“But I can’t just go through your clothes. I don’t know what you’ll let me wear.”

“I couldn’t give less of a damn about what you wear. Wear the only fancy tie I have to bed for all I care.”

Hank waved Connor’s worries off and watched as the android trotted into his bedroom before he himself went into the kitchen. Once in Hank’s bedroom, Connor quickly looked through the man’s closet where he found a Detroit Police Department hoodie that he promptly slipped over his head. It was far too big but it would suffice and on the plus side, Connor noted that it was really warm and soft. when Connor emerged from the bedroom Hank burst out laughing.

“Is there even any Connor in that hoodie? It’s so big on you.” He joked before shaking his head. “That settles it. Tomorrow after work, we’ll go and find you a few clothes. I assume it won’t take too long for them to fix your old body up, so we won’t need too much but we need to get you some clothes that fit.”

“Thank you, Hank.”

Connor smiled and walked over to the couch, sitting down and leaning against the pillow Hank had provided him. He sat in silence for a few seconds until Hank spoke up again, looking down at him with an amused expression.

“Lucky for your reckless ass, Markus reformed the old CyberLife tower into a repair station or you’d be stuck like this for a long time because I sure as hell don’t know how to repair an android.”

“I guess I should see this as a lesson on being less reckless in the field.”

“Definitely!” Hank exclaimed before shaking his head with a small smile. “But for now, you should get some sleep, alright? I’ll let Sumo outside one last time and then I’ll be right back and off to bed myself.”

“Goodnight, Hank.”

“And if you need anything, just wake me up, alright?” Hank said, before calling for Sumo to follow him. “Goodnight, Con.”

Connor smiled gently and lay down, closing his eyes. With Hank moving around in the background, Sumo’s familiar boofs in his ears and a warm blanket over him, Connor quickly entered stasis. And he was sure that with Hank by his side he’d be fine until his old body was repaired.

---

The next day at work went by rather uneventfully. Fowler had already told most of the officers who had to work with Connor about the android’s predicament, so he really didn’t have to explain his current appearance to a lot of people. And after insisting that he was more than capable of still doing all the work he’d done before Fowler had agreed to send him out into a crime scene, completely believing Connor and being all too delighted to be able to keep the investigation running as before.

Everything went fine until they arrived at the crime scene. The investigation was trying to catch an android that was murdering humans that were in a relationship with androids. The house the latest victims had been found at was in the suburbs and looked rather nice with the couple living there consisting of a lady in her forties and a PL600 unit that had taken care of her daughter for years before him and the girl’s mother had fallen in love.

When Connor and Hank arrived at the crime scene, the android felt a pang of what he could only describe as anxiety in his chest. He had been adamant about still being able to do his work but now that they stood before the crime scene he felt uncertain. But he quickly pushed those feelings away, knowing that everyone was counting on him, and followed the man inside where they were greeted by Gavin.

“Alright, what the fuck?” Gavin asked promptly upon seeing them, giving Connor a confused look. “No, seriously. What the fuck?”

“Gavin, shut the fuck up. Just leave us to do our work.”

“No, Hank, I want an explanation as to why Connor is suddenly nine years old.”

“Then go and fucking ask Fowler, instead of keeping us from working.” Hank snapped before walking past Gavin. “Stop bothering us.”

Connor followed close behind, eyeing Gavin wearily as he moved further into the house. The detective eyed him for a second before his gaze hardened and he rolled his eyes.

“Just don’t make any childish mistakes.”

Gavin walked off and left Connor and Hank to do their work. When Connor walked into the kitchen and saw the lady lying on the floor, her chest littered with multiple stab wounds, he gasped in shock. He shook his head, willing this childlike behaviour away before he slowly began to analyse the crime scene while Hank left for the living room to listen to the briefing.

It took Hank a few minutes to talk to the other officers and when he returned to the kitchen Connor was nowhere to be found. Confused and admittedly worried he looked around, calling out for the android.

“Connor? Where are you? I need your help here.”

He walked through the living room into the kitchen but didn’t find the android. Shaking his head he walked past the kitchen into the hallway, assuming Connor would be outside, looking for where the assailant might have gone. That’s when he heard sniffling coming from the bathroom next to the kitchen. Hank immediately knew who must have been on the other side of the door, so he knocked.

When the only answer he got was more sniffles and stifled sobs he checked the door, finding it open. Knowing that it must have been Connor in the bathroom, he quickly slipped inside and locked the door behind him.

“Kid, what’s wrong? Was it Gavin? I’ll fuck him up for you.”

Connor shook his head, sitting against the bathtub, his knees pulled to his chest. He was crying rather badly and Hank was starting to get worried. “That-- the poor lady and her android. She-- she was stabbed 12 times and he was stabbed 6 times but-- but appeared to have been struggling for so long. And-- and there was so, so much blood.”

Hank sighed and knelt down next to Connor before inching closer. “I’ll give you a hug now, alright?”

He didn’t receive an answer and instead found himself nearly falling backwards when an armful of crying android all but launched itself into his arms. Gently, he began to rub Connor’s back in soothing circles.

“Hey, it’s alright, kid. Fuck if I know what happens after death but if there is such a thing as a heaven, that’s probably where they are.”

Connor clung to Hank tightly, crying his little Thirium pump out to him, babbling on about the blood and the poor couple. Hank let him cry for a few seconds before making the decision to leave with Connor. Quickly, he stood and kept Connor in his arms, situating him on his hip as soon as he was standing.

“Maybe taking you here wasn’t such a good idea.”

The android remained with his head buried in Hank’s neck. “But-- But it’s my job.”

“Well, I can’t convince you to not come with me -- I know that already with how thickheaded you are -- but maybe we should find a way to shield you from these gruesome scenes.” Hank mused as he held Connor tightly. “I could ask Fowler to send me information about the crime scene before we go there. If he is so adamant about having you there he can sure as fuck try to protect your mind from the terrible things you’ll see here.”

“But-- But I need to--”

“I’ll talk to him and we’ll figure something out. And if he doesn’t cooperate I will fucking force him to.”

“We need to go back to the crime scene, Hank.”

“What we need to do is go home.” Hank said sternly. “And maybe pick up some comfy pyjamas for you on the way, so we can then just sit on the couch and watch Disney movies.”

“But the crime scene.” Connor argued weakly, tears still running down his face. “The investigators need to know about the weapon.”

“They should be smart enough to figure out how the fuck this happened if the victim has twelve stab wounds.” Hank scoffed and shook his head. “They’re trained policemen and I bet you already helped them, right?”

“I told them what I found out when I tried reconstructing the scene.”

“Alright, then we go home. Do you want me to let you down?” When he felt Connor shake his head he smiled gently and began walking toward the bathroom door. “But don’t look at the blood and the dead bodies again.”

When they exited Hank quickly walked through the kitchen back into the living room where he met Gavin. He gave them a confused look, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Where are you two going?”

“Home. Long story short: Connor is more childlike while in the YK500 body. And a crime scene like this might be a bit too much for a fucking kid. Could have told you that beforehand, but he insisted on coming and Fowler was more than happy to send him here.” Hank explained away. “Can you let us pass?”

Gavin eyed them for a while before speaking up. “I have a goddaughter the same age. Can’t imagine taking her here. You should get him the fuck out of here.”

“I know.” Hank said sternly. “Now let us pass.”

“Yeah, sure.” Gavin shrugged and let them pass, watching them head for the front door before calling out to them again. “Hey, wait! It’s raining. Take my umbrella. It’s the black and green one on the front porch.”

“Thanks. What persuaded you to stop being an asshole to us?”

“Probably the thought of my goddaughter in this situation. But don’t let it get to your head. Just bring me the umbrella back tomorrow.” Gavin waved them off. “Now fuck off before the kid gets traumatized.”

“Sure.” Hank said and walked out onto the porch, grabbing the umbrella and opening it before heading to the car.

He was stopped by a female officer, keeping the journalists out. “What is a kid doing here?”

“He’s an android. It’s a long story. The mind of the RK800 unit transferred into a YK500 unit. Can we go now? He’s a bit shaken up.”

Connor was still clinging to Hank’s frame, the man’s warmth and heartbeat calming him down as the rain came down onto their umbrella. The woman eyed them and then got closer, leaning forward to rub Connor’s back gently.

“Poor thing. But I bet we’ll find the suspect soon and you’ll have helped with that.” She cooed before nodding toward the car. “Now off you two go before you catch a cold.”

Hank smiled a little and then left for the car where he quickly put Connor in the backseat and got into the car himself. “Now we’ll go get you some clothes and then we’ll go home and relax.”

“Thank you.” Connor whispered, blinking up at him. “Now let’s go, please.”

“Sure, kid.”

And within twenty minutes they arrived at the mall and Hank parked the car in the parking garage before he helped Connor out of the car and they made their way into the building. They quickly found some clothes such as jeans, shirts and pyjamas. And then Connor discovered a dog onesie and was absolutely captivated. Hank stood behind him, arms crossed and a small smile gracing his lips.

“You like it?”

“It’s soft.” Connor said in awe and held it out to Hank. “Feel it, Hank.”

Hank did as he was told and felt the material. “I suppose it really is. You want it?”

“Can I?”

“Sure. It’ll make a good outfit for rainy days like this one.” Hank commented and Connor smiled, grabbing the onesie and heading off to the cashier, Hank behind him. “Thank you, Hank.”

The cashier of course thought Connor was the sweetest kid -- like everyone else they had talked to. Then they went back in the direction of the car. Connor was clinging to Hank’s hand and looking around when his eyes fell onto the display window of a toy store or more specifically a Saint Bernard plush. Hank noticed this and couldn’t help but laugh out loud at it.

“Well, if that isn’t the perfect plush for you.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Do you want it?”

“You already spent so much money on me.”

“That’s not what I asked. Besides it’s probably only like 15 bucks or so. Do you want it?” Hank asked and Connor nodded sheepishly. “Good, then we get it.”

Connor smiled happily as he followed Hank inside. After buying the Saint Bernard Connor held the plush tightly all the way to the car. Inside he settled in the car seat which they had also bought. Hank put the clothes into the trunk of the car and when he entered the car, turning to check on Connor the android was already asleep. He was clutching the plush tightly and smiling to himself. And Hank couldn’t help but do the same. He would take care of Connor, Hank swore at that moment.

Chapter Text

When they arrived at Hank’s house he got out of the car and opened the umbrella before quickly getting the purchases inside, all the while trying to keep Sumo from jumping up his legs. He then put his umbrella over his shoulder, balancing it there before going back to the car, getting Connor out of the seat and into his arms.

Brown eyes snapped open and focused on him. “Are we at home?”

“Yes. I already brought everything inside, too.” Hank said gently before kicking the car’s door shut. “Now let’s get you inside, alright? And then we can go to sleep.”

“You said we’d watch movies together.”

“Fine, kid. We’ll watch a movie together.” He promised, slowly moving inside the house. “How about a movie I really liked when I was a kid?”

“Yes!” Connor said cheerfully. “What is it called?”

“My Neighbour Totoro.” Hank said and sat Connor down on the couch. “Alright, you can put on something comfy now and I’ll warm up some food for myself and then I’ll start the movie.”

“Alright.”

With that Connor went off to the front door and rummaged through the bags that were still standing there until he found his onesie. Then he vanished into the bathroom. Hank went into the kitchen to feed Sumo and himself while Connor was changing. When his food was heated up he turned to find Connor skipping into the room. He was holding his plush in one hand and looking up at Hank.

“Does it look nice?”

Hank looked at him for a second and then chuckled. “It’s adorable.”

“Thank you, Hank.” Connor smiled and then nodded. “I’ll go and prepare everything!”

“If you need help, call me.”

Connor smiled and went off into the living room. Hank quickly grabbed his food and something to drink and followed the kid into the living room where Connor was already trying to make everything as comfortable as possible. Sumo had come out of the kitchen and was watching the android intently. Connor started having a little trouble when Sumo walked up to him and jumped onto the couch. The android tried to usher the dog away but Sumo just lied down.

“Sumo, get down from there.” Hank ordered as he walked up to the couch, motioning for the dog to get down with his fingers. “Sumo.”

Sumo jumped off the couch and lay down in front of it to which Connor heaved a sigh of relief before sitting down on the couch. Hank sat down and found the android turning to him, giving him a big smile.

“Can we start the movie?”

Hank nodded and sat down next to Connor before flipping on the television and searching for his old recording of the movie. When he found it he pressed play and started to eat his food. Connor curled up on the couch and hugged his plush to his chest. He was immediately enraptured by the storyline.

After an hour of the movie, Connor slowly sagged into Hank, making the man turn to look at him, his empty plate long abandoned on the table.

“Connor?”

The boy was asleep so Hank quietly turned off the television, picked Connor up and placed him under the blankets. He then moved on to let Sumo out one last time before settling in bed himself, the dog as always lying down somewhere on the floor of his room. But it wasn’t even two hours later that he was awoken by the feeling of someone staring at him. When he turned his head he saw Connor standing next to his bed.

“Why did you wake me?”

Connor slowly stepped back, shaking his head. “Sorry.”

“Don’t go. I’m sorry if I sounded upset. My voice was just a little ruff from sleep.” He explained. “What’s wrong?”

“There was so much blood. And the-- the murderer attacked you and--”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Connor nodded but then shook his head. “Androids can’t dream. I-- I think my Central Processing Unit was just-- just replaying what I experienced today at-- at the crime scene.”

“That’s what dreaming is.” Hank said softly, looking back at the android in the doorway. “Your robo-brain is trying to deal with what you saw today. That’s normal but what you saw in the dream was not real. We’re safe, Connor.”

“I know that. I guess--“ He began to speak again but interrupted himself with a sob, wiping at his teary eyes. “I think I’m just scared.”

“Do you want to sleep here tonight?”

Connor simply nodded and quickly climbed into Hank’s bed, settling down on the pillow next to him. Hank reached down to pull the blanket over Connor before wrapping an arm around him to hold him close. Suddenly Connor sat up again, startling Hank as he looked at him in slight panic.

“Wait! I need Sumo Junior!”

“Sumo Junior?” Hank mumbled in confusion as he sat up before understanding dawned on his face. “You mean the plush, right?”

Connor nodded quickly and Hank swung his legs over the edge of the bed to get up, planning on grabbing the plushie from the living room. Before he could get up Connor grabbed his sleeve, making him turn to find the android shaking his head in fear.

“Con, I have to get up so I can go get him. I’ll be right back.” Hank said but upon seeing Connor tear up he shook his head and reached out to pick the android up. “Fine, come here.”

Connor clung to Hank as the man carried him to the couch, his arm supporting the boy’s body and his other hand holding him close. Once there he quickly scooped up to plush and handed it to Connor who clung to it tightly.

“Now we’re getting back to bed.” Hank said in determination before his eyes fell on the dog still lying on the floor of the bedroom. “You want Sumo to come with us?”

Connor nodded and cuddled to Hank as the man whistled for Sumo, clicking his tongue and nodding his head toward the bed. The dor understood immediately and jumped up on the bed, curling up at the foot of it. Then the two of them followed, Hank putting Connor down on the bed before slipping in on the other side.

When they had finally settled Hank was holding Connor close again and the android was in turn clinging to the man as best as he could with his short arms. He was cuddling Sumo Junior close to his chest while the actual dog was fast asleep at the foot of the bed. Hank sighed quietly, glad that Connor wasn’t crying anymore and determined to have a stern talk with Fowler the next day.

---

And that he did. Upon arriving at the office he discarded their bags at his table and marched into the Captain’s office. Connor, worrying about what Hank was planning on doing, was at his heel, stopping in the door when the man pushed the door open and promptly began to snap at their captain.

“Fowler.”

The man looked up, covering the receiver of his phone. “Anderson, can’t you see that I’m on the phone?”

“Hang up. We need to talk.”

“You’re lucky this isn’t a very important call.” Fowler said before he told the person on the other end that he would call back and hung up. Then he turned to look at the both of them. “But before we talk I need Connor to look at something. We found two knives at the crime scene yesterday, both washed thoroughly clean with clean and he needs to tell us which one was used as the murder weapon.”

“What?” Hank snapped and shook his head. “No, he’s a kid! He shouldn’t look at these fucking images!”

“He’s an android. He has a mature mindset. He told me so himself.”

“I don’t care what he told you! He is mentally basically like a child -- a smart child that can solve murder cases but nonetheless a child! I’m pretty sure yesterday led him to second guess what he fucking told you about how mature his mindset is!” Hank snapped before looking at Connor. “Tell him, Kid.”

Connor swallowed nervously, feeling the all-too-familiar anxiety rising in his chest again. He wanted to help solve the case, he wanted to help everyone more than anything, and he didn’t want to backtrack on what he’d told Fowler when he had first shown up in this body. And now he felt put on the spot, afraid of disappointing either of the two men in the room, so he quickly tried to diffuse the situation.

“I can look at those. I want to help.”

“Connor, no.” Hank said sternly, a deep frown taking over his features. “You know that this will just mess you up.”

“But I want the culprit to be caught so he won’t hurt anyone else.” Connor whispered and Hank sighed in resignation. “I’ll be fine, Hank.”

At those words, Fowler waved Connor over to his desk where the android climbed into a chair, getting on his knees on it so he would be able to see the photos of the knives. Hank watched as Connor’s determined expression changed into one of fear and wanted nothing more than to snatch him away and take him home. But Connor looked at the pictures intently before nodding.

“It’s the shorter knife. There is a clear indent around-- around the wound that probably comes from the handle that hit the victim’s body because the culprit stabbed-- Because the victim was stabbed so vici-- vico-- so badly.”

“Thank you, Connor.” Fowler said before turning to Hank with a raised eyebrow. “See? He’s alright.”

Just as those words had left the captain’s mouth Connor sniffled quietly and got off the chair to walk up to Hank where he promptly clung to his leg. The man picked him up and glared at his superior as Connor began to cry quietly into his shoulder.

“Oh, yeah. Never seen anyone this alright before. Look at how fucking happy he is.”

“Stop that.” Fowler warned sternly. “This is no reason to be disrespectful.”

“You didn’t have to calm down an uncontrollably sobbing kid yesterday who was going on about how much blood there was!” Hank snapped back at his superior. “We won’t do the investigation like this! Not while Connor is in this state!”

“No.” Connor sniffled quietly, not looking up from where his face was buried as he clung to Hank. “But-- But I want to help, so no one else gets hurt anymore!”

“Then what should we do?”

Hank was quiet for a few seconds before he signed in resignation once more. “Tell me about the crime scene beforehand and show me pictures of it so that I can prepare Connor for it. Try to let your experts do the blood analysis so Connor can stay as far from all the gruesome parts as possible. Let us bring things to comfort him afterwards, like a stuffed animal or some crap like that. And let us leave as soon as he needs to.”

“Alright, I think that should be manageable.” Fowler said and then nodded at Hank. “And you will have to stay with him at the crime scene at all times to see if he needs to leave.”

“You’re damn right, I will. I will not leave his side.”

“Alright, calm down.” Fowler said sternly, getting irritated with how defensive Hank still was. “Just keep him calm. I’ll email you the details for the next scene, alright?”

“Thank you.” Hank said curtly before nodding toward the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to calm a crying kid down that just saw the photos of two dead bodies.”

With that he turned and left, leaving Fowler in his office, in favour of marching over to his desk where he quickly sat down in his chair. Connor was still clinging to him and Hank eyed him in concern.

“Are you feeling any better?”

Connor nodded though his eyes were still filled with tears. Hank held up a finger to signal him to wait before reaching down and pulling Sumo Junior from his bag. Connor’s face lit up and he snatched the plush to hold it close.

“Is that allowed?”

“Do I look like I’d care if it wasn’t? That would be a dumb rule anyway. If it helps you, cuddle the plush dog.”

“Thank you.” Connor whispered gratefully as he squeezed the plush to his chest. “I like it because you gave it to me.”

“I’ve realized that.” Hank laughed and turned in his chair to look at the emails Fowler had sent him. “Let’s see what we have to do.”

Connor turned in his lap to look at the emails but Hank reached down to turn the boy's head away, holding it tightly so the android couldn’t peek at the photos they had been sent. At Connor’s quiet protests, Hank spoke up.

“I have to check the photos before I show them to you. Don’t want you seeing anything that might scare you.” He whispered and opened the email. “No photos?”

“No photos?”

“Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” Connor asked gently, looking back up at Hank now that he’d let go of his head. “What does the email say?”

“They haven’t found the body, yet. A rather rich man and an android living with him were attacked but only his PL600 unit was found. There is no trace of the man.” Hank recounted, eyes still trained on the screen. “They are currently searching the mansion but need our help.”

“Then we should go.”

“There’s a lot of blue blood in the bathroom where the android was attacked and there’s a lot of human blood in the upstairs hallway. They think the guy was attacked up there but managed to hide somewhere only to die in that hiding place.”

“I can handle that.” He said gently, face scrunching up in determination. “I can handle that but please don’t make me look at the man’s dead body if we find it.”

“Never.” Hank promised and set Connor down so he could grab their things. “Can I put Sumo Junior back into the bag so the rain won’t get him wet?”

Connor nodded and handed the plush to Hank who stored it away safely. Then they made their way to the exit. That’s where Gavin awaited them, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall next to the door.

“I’m supposed to come with you. Did you bring my umbrella?”

“It’s in my car. I’ll give it to you later.”

“Alright.” Gavin nodded before his eyes fell on Connor. “Should the kid really come with us? Or did Fowler fucking make him go?”

“I want to come and help.”

“He insists on helping despite what happened yesterday and Fowler allowed it. Thankfully, it’s not as gruesome as the last crime scene. I now get the information beforehand to warn Connor.” Hank explained, holding out a hand to the boy next to him. “Ready to go?”

“Ready.”

“Alright.” Gavin said and followed them outside, pulling his hood up over his head. “Just wouldn’t want him to fucking panic like that again.”

“Me neither.”

Connor looked over his shoulder at Gavin, not wanting the two men to get too concerned and worried they’d make him stay back at the station instead of letting him help. “I will be quite alright, Detective. I want to help.”

To his surprise, Gavin smiled a little as he said those last four words and nodded his head. “I’m sure you will be a big help, kid.”

Chapter Text

When they arrived at the crime scene Hank and Connor exited the car to meet up with Gavin who had come in his own car. Connor was holding Hank’s hand tightly as they walked up the the huge house, still anxious about having to look for a dead body but once again trying to convince himself that he had to help.

“Alright, now I get why they couldn’t find the body.” Hank muttered as he stared up at the house before he looked at Connor with a chuckle. “Imagine playing hide and seek in this house. It’d take days for you to get found.”

Connor laughed quietly and nodded, leaning closer to Hank as they walked up the stairs to the front door. Once inside Hank looked back at Connor with a serious expression.

“Alright, Con. We’ll go upstairs and check out the place where the man got attacked. Think you can handle that?”

“Yes, I can.”

Connor followed Hank upstairs while Gavin went into the bathroom downstairs to check the window that had been broken by who they suspected was the culprit. Once upstairs, Connor was already second-guessing whether or not he could handle this as he looked at the hallway’s blood-splattered floor.

“That’s a lot of blood.”

“You need a break?”

“No, I can do this.” Connor said firmly, forcing himself to let go of Hank’s hand. “I have to do this. I have to help.”

With that, he went looking for any clues that might lead them to the body and Hank followed him, careful to look out for anything that would be potentially harmful. They spent a few minutes like that until Connor piped up.

“The man is somewhere upstairs. There are no clues that lead to the assump-- to the assumption that he went downstairs.”

“Then we’ll look around upstairs.”

“We should split up.” Connor mused, bringing a finger to his chin as he thought about it. “It’ll be faster.”

“I’m not leaving your side, kid.” Hank said quickly and shook his head. “Not if there’s a dead body lying around.”

“We can keep close to one another but if we split up, we’ll be a lot faster.” Connor said in determination, trying to will his fear away for the sake of the mission. “I’ll be alright, I promise.”

Hank was quiet for a few seconds before he heaved a sigh and nodded at Connor. “Alright, but we never stray any further than a few metres from each other, got it?”

“Got it.” Connor promised and went for the staircase. “I’ll call you if I find him.”

“You do that.”

With that, they went upstairs and began searching the rooms but they didn’t have any luck finding the body. This went on for about twenty minutes until Connor stopped and sighed in defeat.

“He couldn’t have made it downstairs but he is nowhere to be found.” Connor said quietly to himself. “And there is no blood trail which means he somehow stopped the bleeding.”

When a light flickered the android looked up and saw a ledge to an attic. He gasped as he finally had a clue about where the poor man might have gone and quickly ran into the room next to him to get a chair. While Hank was still searching in the room to the right the boy got onto the chair and opened the ledge.

And before he could jump away, duck or do anything else a body fell from the opening and tumbled towards the floor. Connor screamed in terror and jumped off the chair, trying to get away and falling to the ground in the process. Still, he couldn’t quite escape the body and it landed on his legs.

“Hank!” He screamed in terror, tears cascading down his face. “Help!”

Before Hank could come, Gavin did and he stared at the scene in shock. Then he swore quietly and quickly went over to pull the body of the boy. Connor was inconsolable as he crawled backwards, crying hysterically until he collided with Hank’s legs. Hank immediately bent down and picked Connor up and the boy clung to him for dear life

“It’s alright, I’ve got you.” He assured the kid before looking back at Gavin. “Fuck, what happened? Did the body fall on him?”

“Onto his legs.” Gavin nodded his head before looking back down at the body. “I’ll go and get someone to take the body away.”

As Gavin left Hank held Connor tighter, bouncing on his feet a bit in the hopes of the movement calming the boy. Connor, however, kept sobbing uncontrollably and clung to Hank.

“Hey, kid. Calm down. It’s over and you’re safe.”

He assured the android, worried that Connor was crying so hard that he had trouble breathing. And while he knew androids didn’t actually need to breathe he still worried about Connor hyperventilating in his arms. Deciding on getting away from the body, Hank quickly walked to the staircase and descended it. Once downstairs, he sat down on one of the stair’s steps and peeled Connor away from him slightly which only got him panicked wails from the android.

“No, please, no!”

“Connor, look at me.” The man instructed gently. “Please, I’m trying to help you.”

Connors's teary brown eyes snapped upwards and looked at Hank. “Don’t let go!”

“I won’t, I promise. Now breathe deeply, alright? Can you do that?” He asked, rubbing the android’s back. “Breathe with me, alright? In and out. In and out. Breathe evenly for me, alright?”

He started to breathe louder and Connor slowly began to imitate Hank’s breathing. They kept this all up until Connor had calmed down enough to breathe evenly. Hank gave him an approving smile and rubbed his back some more.

“Good job, Con.” He praised before pulling him back into another hug. “Now come back here. But keep breathing like that. I’ve got you, kid.”

That’s when a female officer approached them. “Hey, what happened? Are you two alright?”

“Not really.” Hank whispered his reply even though he knew Connor could hear him. “Body fell onto him from the attic.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible.” She whispered and knelt down next to them. “But you did a great job finding that poor man. You did better than anyone else here. What’s your name, honey?”

“Connor.”

“That’s a nice name. My name is Eve.” She said gently, giving him a soft smile. “And I think you are a really brave boy.”

“He is.” Hank assured as he held Connor close. “The bravest one I’ve seen in a long time. And it’s only understandable that after what happened upstairs, he’d be crying his little Thirium pump out.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

Hank nodded and fished his keys from his pocket. “My car is the first one to the left. Unlock it and look for a blue bag in the passenger seat. Bring it to me, please.”

The woman nodded and then hurried off as Hank looked back down at Connor, reaching out to brush his hair from his face.

“See? We’re going to get Sumo Junior and then we’ll calm you down properly.”

“Thank you.”

“And tomorrow we’ll take the day off.” Hank said sternly. “And I don’t want to hear any objections. You need a day away from all this blood. We could do something fun, something you want to do.”

Connor looked up at Hank, eyes still teary but he looked much calmer than before. “Where did you plan to go?”

“You mentioned you like fish. How about we go to the aquarium?”

“Really?” Connor asked, excitement clear on his face. “You’ll take me there?”

“That’s why I suggested it, kid.”

“But what about the case? I want to help.”

“We’ll talk to Fowler about this and I’ll get us the day off, I promise.”

“Do you want to talk to him about anything else?” Connor asked tentatively. “It seems like you have something else on your mind.”

“I want to tell him that he can’t make you go to these damn hellholes! And I don’t care if you want to come here to help, either. He should know better than to send you here!” Hank snapped and Connor shrunk away, making him instantly backpaddle and change his tone to a softer one. “Sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. You know I’m not angry at you, right?”

“I know.”

That’s when Eve came hurrying back to them, proclaiming that she’d gotten the bag. She handed it to Hank who quickly took out the plush which Connor snatched in an instant, cuddling it to his chest.

“Are you feeling better, sweetheart?”

“I am. Thank you for getting the bag.”

“No problem but I’ll get back to work now.” Eve smiled at the two of them. “If you need anything else, call me, alright? I’d be glad to help you, Connor.”

“Thank you.”

---

Back at the station Hank marched straight to Fowler's office, Connor in his arms who was still clinging to Sumo Junior. Fowler sighed and put his mug down, giving them an expectant look at Hank’s angry expression.

“What is it?”

“A dead fucking body fell onto Connor!” Hank all but yelled, holding the boy close. “Do you have any fucking idea how terrifying that is for a kid?”

“He is barely a kid. He said so himself. And you need to calm down.”

“I will not calm down!” Hank yelled, shaking his head. “Don’t give me that ‘he’s an android’ stuff, either. Child androids simulate children's emotions, in case you didn’t fucking know!”

“But Connor himself--”

“You know what?” Hank snapped back, not letting Fowler finish. “From now on, we will not do that anymore!”

“That is not up to you to decide. Connor himself said he has the consciousness of an adult and while I get that these crime scenes are dangerous, he wants to help and we need his help.”

Hank heaved a sigh and cradled Connor to his body. “I know he wants to help and I guess we can’t force him not to help but from now on, if I see any signs of discomfort in him, I will take him out of there immediately. I don’t care, if you think it’s not that bad of a crime scene, I don’t care if Connor insists on being alright or wanting to help and I don’t give a flying fuck about what anyone else says! I will take him out there if I as much as feel him grab my hand tighter than usual!”

At the way Hank’s voice had risen to a borderline shouting Fowler stood up and slammed his hands onto the table, making Connor flinch. “This is enough! You don’t get to make the rules, Anderson! I am trying to meet you halfway but I will not stand for this insolence!”

“What are you going to do about it? Suspend me? I doubt you have the balls to do so when a murderer is running around! You fucking need us and--”

“That’s it! I will-”

“Stop!”

Both of them shut up when Connor yelled at them, turning to find him in tears, sobbing brokenly as he shook his head at the two men. While Hank tried to shush him Fowler approached to help but Connor batted both of their hands away.

“Stop yelling and fighting because of me! I want to help and I’m sorry for causing trouble but-- but it was so scary and I don’t-- I’m so scared!”

“Connor.” Hank said gently, once more trying to soothe the boy. “I’m sorry for yelling but you know that I’m angry at him and not at you, right?”

“I know but-- but I’m scared that you’ll get in trouble or-- or--”

Fowler sighed softly, rubbing his forehead with his hand. “Alright, I’ll go with Anderson’s proposal. As soon as you feel distressed, tell him and you can leave but at least try your best until you’re back to normal. Alright?”

“I promise.”

“Good enough for me.” Hank shrugged before looking back at Fowler. “And we’ll take the day off tomorrow. He needs a little space from all of this.”

“What?” Fowler snapped in surprise, shaking his head but stopping as soon as he heard Connor sob, quickly nodding his head at Hank. “Alright take the day off. Just try to calm him down, alright?”

“I will.”

With that, Hank left and walked them back to his desk where he sat Connor down to get a better look at him. He was about to ask him if he was alright when he saw that Connor wasn’t crying anymore.

“What? You were bawling your eyes out a second ago and begging us to stop yelling at each other.” He stopped but when Connor looked away sheepishly understanding dawned on him and he chuckled. “No way! Did you guilt-trip Fowler to get your way?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Hank laughed and shook his head, standing back up and putting his hands on his hips. “That was brilliant. And I was yelling my lungs out when a few tears could have changed his mind.”

“Aren’t you angry that I lied?”

“No, that was actually really smart of you and a little white lie here and there never hurt anyone.” Hank smiled before ruffling Connor’s hair. “You’re a really smart kid, you know?”

Connor flushed a little at the praise and smiled at Hank. “Thanks.”

“Hey!”

Both Connor and Hank looked up to see Gavin swaggering over to them. When he arrived he gave Connor a concerned look, leaning forward a little to get on eye level with the boy.

“Is he alright? You took off in quite a hurry.”

Hank scoffed at the question. “Doesn’t take a damn genius to figure out why.”

“Don’t fucking scoff at me. I’m just worried if he’s alright.”

“I’m alright.” Connor answered, smiling at Gavin. “Thank you for the concern.”

Gavin shook his head and stood back up straight, looking at Connor in amusement. “Damn, how am I supposed to keep up my image around here when you look at me like that?”

Connor chuckled at that, swinging his legs off the side of the table as he looked at Gavin. “Sorry, I know you’re trying to be a bad boy.”

“You’re not sorry, don’t pretend.” Gavin snorted before looking back at Hank. “You had quite the fight with Fowler. I heard you yelling when I came back.”

“He wanted to send the kid to other crime scenes just because Connor insisted on being able to help and I wasn’t having any of that anymore. I don’t care if Connor says he wants to come, we’re the adults here and we should know better.” Hank muttered before a small smirk appeared on his face. “But Connor averted the crises. Pretty smart to guilt-trip Fowler by crying.

Gavin burst out laughing. “Really? Didn’t know you had it in you, Connor.”

“But don’t tell him or he’ll be mad.”

“As if I’d tell him. I got your back.” Gavin joked before patting Connor on the back once. “Anyways, I’m on my way. Just wanted to check in on you, kid.”

“He’s fine.” Hank nodded and sat down in his chair. “Now sod off and stop bugging us. We need to work.”

“Get off your high horse. I was here for Connor not to check up on you.” Gavin shook his head before leaving, flipping Hank off as he went. “Bye.”

Connor slid off the desk and climbed into Hank’s lap, leaning against his chest and closing his eyes. Hank looked down at him and chuckled softly.

“Need a nap, Con?”

Connor rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “Exhausted from everything that happened in the past hours.”

“Then take a nap. I’ll wake you up if I need help.”

Connor smiled a little and once Hank handed him Sumo Junior he cuddled the dog close to his chest. “Thank you.”

“And tomorrow I’ll take you to the aquarium,” Hank promised, wrapping an arm around Connor to keep him from falling. “Now sleep tight. And don’t worry about anything. I’m right here.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing the fishes.”

“I bet.”

Hank smiled and held Connor with one hand, reviewing the case evidence with the other one. It didn’t even take five minutes for the boy to fall asleep and Hank set a mental reminder to spend a lovely day with Connor, taking him to see the fish and have fun. That thought kept him going as he reviewed evidence after evidence.

Chapter Text

“Are you ready to go?”

Connor nodded enthusiastically, holding his bag close to his chest. “I’m ready.”

“You’re supposed to carry that bag on your back.” Hank chuckled as he looked down at Connor, letting Sumo out into the backyard. “You know that, right?”

“I know.” The boy smiled at that and swung the bag onto his back. “Alright, now I’m ready to go.”

“What you go in there anyway?”

“Just a warm jacket, Sumo Junior and a bottle of water for you.”

Hank thought for a second before holding up a finger at Connor. “Wait here. And let Sumo inside when he’s done outside.”

“Alright.” Connor said and watched the door, letting Sump inside when he came back scratching at the door a few minutes later and then busied himself with petting the dog. “Good boy, Sumo. Had fun outside?”

“I’m back.” Hank proclaimed when he stepped back into the living room, holding out a camera. “Put that in the bag, as well.”

Connor nodded quickly and stored the camera in the bag. “Why a camera?”

“In case you want to take pictures of the fish or so I can take a picture of you and the fish.” Hank suggested with a smile. “Anyway, let’s go. You deserve this day out.”

With that, he led Connor to the car and helped him get settled in the backseat. Connor looked out the window and smiled to himself as Hank started to drive.

“How many fishes are there?”

“How the hell would I know that?” Hank laughed and shook his head as he looked out the windshield. “You’ll need to ask an employee at the aquarium.”

“What type of fish are there?”

“I have no idea. All different kinds of fish, I’d say. I haven’t been at the aquarium for a long time.” Hank said softly before he gave a small chuckle. “You’ll see once we get there.”

Connor nodded and smiled as he began to swing his legs a little, watching the city pass them by outside the window.

---

After Hank had paid for the tickets he desperately tried to hold back an overexcited Connor from running off to see the fishes, keeping a tight grip on his hand while the android pulled him in the direction of the first aquarium room.

“Con, wait a second. Let me at least get a map of this place.”

Hank began to look through the pamphlets to find a map while Connor was practically bouncing up and down, trying to contain his excitement. Keeping a tight grip on his hand Hank just shook his head and smiled before pulling out a map from the display stand next to him.

“Found it. Alright, now let’s go. But remember what I said.”

“Always stay close enough to you so you can see me and hold your hand if it gets too crowded. And never ever run off.” Connor repeated dutifully and once more pulled at Hank’s hand. “Can we go now?”

Hank nodded and led Connor through the entrance and into the room with a big pond where everyone was gathering to look at what was inside. Connor got onto his tiptoes to see over the heads of the other children but practically crumbled in defeat when he couldn’t do that. Hank shook his head and smiled before picking the boy up and holding him tightly.

“Better?”

“Yes.” Connor smiled, grasping onto Hank’s shirt while watching the marine life in front of him swim around in the tank. “Thank you, Hank.”

After Connor had deemed it time to continue they made their way through other sections of the aquarium before reaching a room that was lined with fishtanks. They were organized in a ring and circled the visitors that entered. The whole room was dark, only illuminated by the blue light of the tanks. Connor looked around in awe, grasping Hank’s hand tightly before pulling him towards one of the tanks.

“Hank, look! That one is really pretty isn’t it?”

“It sure is.” He confirmed before something else caught his eye. “Do you see that lump at the bottom of the tank? In the sand?”

Connor shook his head and strained his eyes to find what Hank was talking about. Just then the fish that had camouflaged itself with the sand moved and captured a smaller fish that had swam by. Connor flinched visibly and grasped Hank’s arm.

“Jumpier than in the RK800 model, too.” Hank muttered and put his other hand on Connor’s shoulder. “But now you can see it. I don’t know what that fish is called but I know that it does that to hunt and not be seen by its prey.”

“That poor little fish.” Connor said, sounding positively upset. “He got eaten.”

“The other fish has to eat, too. That’s just life.” Hank tried to explain, rubbing Connor’s back comfortingly. “See it this way, the bigger fish isn’t hungry anymore.”

Connor nodded at his words, turning to hug his waist. “I guess so.”

“How about a distraction? How about we take a photo of you and the fish you said were pretty earlier?” He then pointed at the backpack. “Turn around to let me get the camera.”

“Is that allowed in here?”

“If we don’t use flash.” Hank nodded and pulled out the camera from the backpack. “With or without me in it?”

“With you!” Connor insisted and motioned for Hank to pick him up to which the man obliged as he readied the camera. “Of course, with you!”

After their photo session, they went on and Hank took a few more nice pictures of Connor in front of various fish. Then they arrived at the Ocean Tank which had a long glass tunnel leading to it that gave them a perfect view of the sharks and other marine animals that were swimming along.

“Hank?” Connor asked sheepishly, pulling at the man’s jacket. “Can-- can you carry me, please?”

“Why?” Hank crouched down beside him. “What’s wrong?”

“The sharks are scary.” Connor mumbled and averted his eyes. “I know it sounds dumb but-- but they are so-- so close to us. I know it’s irrational but I can’t help it.”

“Hey, it’s fine. Fears aren’t always rational.” Hank whispered before picking the boy up, holding him on his hip as he chuckled softly. “Come here. You’re normally such a brave boy.”

“I am brave.”

“I’m sorry, I was joking. Of course, you are.” Hank laughed and held him a little closer. “Alright, let’s go see the sharks.”

They went into the tunnel and Connor held onto Hank tightly, looking around warily. All his excitement was now replaced by uneasiness as they traversed the dark tunnel. Hank felt almost guilty for taking Connor there but he knew the boy had been having a great time up until now and he figured that he just had to warm up to the idea of the glass being the only thing to separate them from the sharks.

“Look over there, Con. A shark is swimming towards us.”

Connor gasped and buried his face in Hank’s neck, whining in distress. “No.”

“Come on, kid. He just wants to see the dumb humans that came to gawk at him. All day long humans stare at him and point their fingers. He just wants to repay the favour.” Hank explained in a lighthearted tone, trying to get Connor to look. “Come on, we’ll get a bit closer. Don’t worry, I’ve got you. He can’t hurt you from behind the glass.”

“She.” Connor whispered once he’d poked his head out from Hank’s neck. “It’s a female shark. She’s been here for three years.”

“You scanned her?”

Connor nodded and slowly let go of Hank a little so he could lean forward in his arms and get a better look at the shark. She was just looking back at him, swimming back and forth before slowly moving away from them. Connor frowned at that.

“Hey, come back.”

Hank chuckled and walked in the direction the shark had taken off to. “Look, she’s looking at you again. You interest her just as much. Maybe she knows that neither of you two are human.”

“She’s really pretty. Look at the way she swims.” Connor pointed out, smiling at Hank. “It’s like she’s doing a synchronized swimming routine.”

Hank merely nodded at that and supported Connor’s body as he leaned in closer to the tank again. He couldn’t fight the smile that fought its way to his lips as he watched Connor laugh and smile at the shark before them, his previous fear completely forgotten. The boy was in awe and downright starstruck as the shark kept swimming back and forth before him, eyeing the android.

“Hank? Can we take a photo with the shark?” Connor asked and turned his head to smile at him. “Can we, please?”

“Sure.” Hank smiled and pulled out the camera, turning with Connor to take a photo and miraculously snapped one just in time for the shark to swim by. “Got it!”

“Thank you!”

“You know if you were just a normal kid I’d tell you a metric fuck-ton of shark facts but you probably already know them.”

“I already know them but you can tell them to me and I can listen. I’d like to hear them from you.” He smiled brightly. “Do you know what type of shark this is?”

With that, Hank started to tell Connor all he knew about sharks and though he was aware that the android knew all of it already it was enough to get the boy all excited and smiling brightly at the man. The shark had long since swam away but the two of them were still standing in the tunnel. Hank held Connor at a distance to look at him while he spewed facts about sharks without any order to them. Connor was listening intently, looking at the man and nodding along enthusiastically. When Hank had run out of facts to tell Connor he suggested moving along and the android nodded.

“I’m not scared anymore.” Connor whispered as they began moving again. “It’s probably because you told me there was no reason to be scared and I trust you.”

“That’s good. If you trust me, I can calm you down when you are scared.” Hank smiled and fished the map from his pocket. “There are still a few things to see. The next thing on the plan is a room dedicated to coral reefs.”

Connor nodded and when Hank put him down he skipped ahead, the man following suit so he wouldn’t lose sight of the android. The next room was more crowded than the tunnel and Hank quickly caught up to Connor, holding out his hand. The boy understood what he meant and grasped it.

“I wouldn’t want you to get lost, Con.”

“Hank, look!” Connor called out and pointed at a tank nearby. “The night I negotiated with Daniel on that rooftop there was a fishtank, too. The fish looked just like this one here.”

“Really?” Hank smiled as he inspected the fish. “That’s a really pretty fish.”

“I know, right?” Connor smiled enthusiastically but his attention was quickly caught by another tank to which he pulled Hank. “Sea-horses!”

“You like the sea horses?”

“Yes.” Connor smiled and got closer to the tank to get a better view. “Look at them using their tails to hold onto something so they don’t float away. That’s pretty smart, right?”

“It sure is.”

Connor grinned happily and went along with Hank, looking at the remaining animals and exchanging facts about them with the man, until they made it to the exit. Connor was still enthusiastically talking about the marine animals they had seen and Hank was guiding him along toward the door.

“Alright, little fish. How about we grab something to eat?”

“But I don’t eat.”

“I know but I’m hungry and you could keep my company. I promise I’ll hurry up.”

“Alright. You don’t have to hurry up for me, though.” The android grabbed Hank’s hand again. “Where do you want to eat?”

“There’s a Fish and Chips place down the street.”

“That’s morbid.” Connor chuckled a little. “After seeing all the fishies you go and eat their cooked friends.”

“But it’s close by and we don’t want to lose too much time, right?”

After a few seconds, the boy nodded and followed Hank along. They quickly made it to the restaurant and sat down. Hank looked for what to eat in the menu while Connor was looking out the window, swinging his legs happily. They both looked up when a waiter approached.

“Hey, my name’s Marc and I’ll be your waiter for today.” He smiled and pulled out a small digital pad. “What can I bring you?”

“I’ll have the number 5 and a soda, please.”

“And you, little buddy?” Marc smiled at Connor, leaning forward a little to speak to him. “What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything.” Connor said with a polite smile. “But thank you for asking.”

“But you gotta eat something.”

“He doesn’t eat.”

At Hank’s words, Marc looked Connor up and down before his face fell. “You’re a child android?”

“Yes.” Hank confirmed for Connor. “But we’re in a bit of a hurry, so could you please hurry it along and get me my food?”

“One of those fucking machines put my sister in a wheelchair. It fucking attacked her and people still treat them like they’re humans!”

Connor inched away from Marc and closer to the window while Hank shook his head. “Listen, we’d really like to get our order so we can move along and I’d fucking appreciate it if you’d stop insulting Connor and get on with it.”

“It has a name, huh?” Marc sneered and shook his head. “They all have names. I don’t give my fucking vacuum a name, either. I miss the good old times before those damn machines started their revolution. It was perfectly acceptable to fucking forbid them from coming inside restaurants.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Hank groaned in annoyance and shook his head. “I came here to eat and not to listen to you talking trash!”

“I’m talking trash?” Marc almost yelled, getting the attention of a few other customers around them. “It’s a fucking machine! Why are you even protecting it? I could kick it across the room and it wouldn’t feel a thing!”

“Actually, child androids are designed to feel pain.” Connor whispered in fear, inching further away from Marc. “So I’d appreciate it if you could not kick me across the room.”

“Shut up, you plastic prick!” Marc snapped at him. “Fucking know-it-all. I should grab him and literally throw him out of here!”

That’s when Hank got up, getting in between Marc and Connor. “Alright, you need to step back before I get your manager!”

“What? For that piece of plastic?” Marc shook his head in anger. “It’s a fucking machine!”

“You’ll stop talking to my son like that this instance or I will get you fucking fired!”

Connor clung to Hank’s jacket from behind and Marc approached them. “Fired over a fucking plastic prick like that? And for what? To protect it’s robot-feelings? It doesn’t even have feelings!”

Hank heard Connor’s breath hitch and all but lost it. “Listen, you fucker, that is my son you’re talking to and I will not have you talk to him like that! Get me your manager right fucking now!”

Marc shook his head and stomped off. Once he was gone, Hank turned around crouched down in front of Connor who was cowering on the bench of the booth and looked close to tears.

“Will you be alright, Con?” Hank whispered gently, brushing away the few tears that had escaped the boy’s eyes. “He’s gone now.”

“You called me your son. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I didn’t even notice it the first time.” Hank said softly, reaching up to brush a few more tears from Connor’s cheeks. “Connor, you don’t have to see me as a father but if you do, I’d be honoured to be a father to you.”

“Can I be your son?”

“Yes.” Hank smiled gently and pulled Connor into a tight hug, picking him up as he heard the manager approach them. “Come on, son. Let’s get back at that asshole and then we’ll go home.”

Connor simply sniffled again and buried his face at Hank’s neck. The manager approached them. He was an elderly man who looked mortified about Marc’s behaviour and was immediately up in arms to apologise to them.

“I am so sorry, Sir. I will have a stern talk with him later on. Can I do anything to compensate you? I’ll give you a free meal and whatever your son wants. I don’t know if he can eat anything but--”

“Thank you but we’ll just leave.” Hank sighed and shook his head. “I don’t want Connor to be in the presence of Marc any longer.”

“But you need to eat.” Connor whispered, not looking up from where his head was buried. “I’ll be alright a bit longer.”

“But you’ll keep that asshole far away from us.” Hank said to the manager, a stern look on his face until the man nodded. “Thank you.”

They had a quiet lunch. Connor was still visibly upset and spent the whole time in Hank’s lap, holding onto Sumo Junior with one hand and clinging to the man’s shirt with the other. Hank found it a little difficult to eat like that but he couldn’t ask Connor to get off his lap after what had happened, so he just let him stay there. When they were done Hank calmed down the manager who was once more apologizing profusely. When they left everyone around them was giving them concerned and sympathetic glances, most of the customers being parents, as well.

Once inside the car, Hank turned around to Connor. “Wanna go anywhere else or do you want to go home?”

“Can we go home?” Connor whispered softly. “Can we go home and watch a movie? And maybe cuddle with Sumo?”

“That’s a great plan.” Hank nodded and gave Connor a small smile. “We’ll go home, you take a nice warm bath and I’ll get everything ready. Then you can change into your onesie and we can cuddle on the couch. We’ll cuddle with Sumo and watch a few movies you like. Does that sound good?”

“Very good.” Connor nodded, squeezing Sumo Junior tightly to his chest. “Thank you for the nice day. I had a lot of fun besides the encounter with Marc.”

“He was a giant asshole.” Hank sneered under his breath. “But I had a fun day before that encounter, too.”

“Thank you for standing up for me.” Connor then smiled a little. “You always stand up for me. Thank you so much for that.”

“I’ll always stand up for you, Connor.” Hank turned around fully and took the child’s hand in his own two. “Always.”

“Thank you, dad. Can we go home now?”

“Of course, son.” Hank smiled and ruffled Connor’s hair quickly. “All buckled up?”

“Yes.” The boy nodded quickly. “Can we watch a movie about fish? Like ‘Finding Nemo’?”

“Sure thing.” Hank started the car. “A fish movie for the little fishie in the backseat.”

Connor laughed lightly at the joke. Looking in the rear-view mirror, Hank smiled as he saw Connor start to look at the pictures on the camera. Connor seemed happy again and that made Hank tremendously happy.

Chapter Text

When they had finally settled on the couch Connor was cosied up in his onesie and Hank had also changed into something more comfortable. He had put some blankets down on the couch and put on ‘Finding Nemo’. Connor was engaged in the movie as Hank had expected. Eventually, Sumo joined them and Connor found great delight in burying his little hands into the dog’s fur and holding him tightly. Sumo, of course, let it all happen and didn’t even attempt to move away when Connor accidentally pulled on his fur.

Hank smiled to himself and supported his head on his hand. “I’m afraid he might end up liking you more than he likes me.”

“Don’t say that!” Connor said quickly, turning to Hank. “He loves you so much! Both of us do!”

“Hey, calm down. I was joking.” He chuckled, seeing how frantic Connor was getting. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright, Dad.” Connor whispered, still a little wary but smiling at his newfound name to adress Hank with. “Let’s continue watching the movie, Dad.”

Connor eventually fell asleep against Hank, head resting against the man’s arm and Sumo Junior held tightly in his grasp. But Hank really couldn’t blame him after such an eventful day. Hank turned the TV off and directed Sumo to get off them. Then he carefully put Connor down on the couch to sleep. He let Sumo out one last time and then went to go to bed himself. But as he went into his room Connor shot up and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Don’t leave me alone!” He pleaded, shaking his head in a panic. “Let me sleep with you, please. I don’t want any more nightmares.”

“Connor--”

“Please, let me sleep with you tonight. I’ll be really quiet and won’t disturb you.” Connor’s lip started to tremble, fearing that Hank would deny his request. “Please, Dad.”

“Hey, it’s alright. You can sleep in my bed with me. Of course, you can.” He said quickly, holding out his hand as he approached the boy. “Come on, let’s go to bed. I’ll be in the bathroom but I’ll be really quick, alright?”

Connor nodded, grabbed Sumo Junior and quickly made his way into the bedroom where he climbed onto the bed, intent on waiting for Hank to return. When he did he was surprised to find Sumo lying on the bed with Connor nowhere in sight.

“Connor? Where did you go?” He looked around and checked his closet. “Are you hiding from me?”

Sumo lifted his head and followed Hank’s search with his eyes. Hank was now checking under the bed, starting to get a little worried until he heard a small laugh that was muffled but unmistakingly Connor’s. It came from behind Sumo. Hank chuckled at the realisation of where Connor was and walked around the bed to find the boy snuggled close to the dog, hidden out of sight from the man’s previous position in the doorway.

“There you are.” He kneeled down beside his side of the bed. “Were you planning on scaring me?”

“I wasn’t planning on hiding but then you couldn’t see me and I thought it was funny. Did you really not see me?”

“No, I really didn’t.” Hank laughed and motioned for Sumo to get to the foot of the bed where the dog took place before he got into bed next to Connor. “You thought it was funny to hide from me?”

“Yes.”

“You know what I think would be really funny?”

“No. What do you think would be funny?”

Suddenly there were fingers at his sides, tickling his waist and tummy. And Connor squirmed at the feeling, almost screaming in laughter. At that moment, Hank felt genuine happiness at Connor’s light-hearted laugh, all other thoughts forgotten, and he continued his antics as the boy squirmed around, squealing and laughing. Sumo quickly reacted, getting up and barking at Hank until the man stopped.

“Sumo, it’s alright, I’m not hurting him.” He sat up to pet the dog’s head, chuckling to himself. “But you’re a good boy for protecting Connor.”

The android in question was still out of breath as he scooted against the headboard, cuddling Sumo Junior to his chest and when Hank turned to him he gave him a big smile. But mere seconds later that smile was broken by an even bigger yawn and Hank smiled softly.

“Tired?”

“Yes.” Connor whispered, watching Sumo settle at the foot of the bed again before he turned to look at Hank. “Can I have a hug?”

“Sure thing. You don’t even have to fucking ask for things like hugs, Con.” He lay back down and pulled Connor close before switching off the last light in the room. “You never have to ask to hug me or for comfort, alright?”

“Thanks.” Connor whispered, closing his eyes as he cuddled into his father for comfort. “Good night, Dad.”

“Sweet dreams, son.” Hank whispered, holding Connor a little closer and trying to keep the worry that came with speaking those words from his voice. “I really hope you have sweet dreams tonight.”

---

Thankfully, the night passed without any nightmares. The following day they had to get back to the station but fortunately, they didn’t get assigned a case until the evening and that case merely consisted of obtaining a witness and taking him to the station, not of crime scenes and blood which was a great relief to Hank. Just as they were about to leave Gavin strutted up to them.

“I’ve been assigned to the case, too.”

“Well, Merry fucking Christmas.” Hank groaned and shook his head. “I guess, at least Fowler assigned us something that won’t involve a gory crime scene.”

Connor was standing next to Hank, looking up at the two of them. “Hello, Gavin. I’m glad to work with you again.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Gavin said quickly as he nodded toward the door. “Just come on.”

He left and Hank followed Gavin outside, holding Connor’s small hand in his own as they got to the car. The drive to the crime scene was uneventful but when they arrived Hank swore quietly to himself.

“What’s up?” Connor mumbled in concern. “Why are you swearing?”

“I forgot your backpack at the station and Sumo Junior is in there.”

“It’s alright. It’s not a bloody crime scene. I’ll be fine and I’m sure I won’t need him.”

“Fuck, are you sure?” Hank mumbled as he looked toward the house they had stopped by. “You need to tell me if it gets too much for you, alright? And don’t get into any danger, please.”

“I promise, I’ll tell you, dad.”

“Alright, son. Let’s get going then.” Hank mumbled and helped Connor out of the car. “The witness has locked himself away and we can’t get to him. You have to negotiate and get him out, alright? It’s a PL600 unit. I believe his name was Andrew.”

“Alright.” Connor smiled to himself. “Maybe a kid will convince him to come out. It is a PL600 unit after all.”

That plan quickly turned out to be ineffective. After half an hour of reasoning with the android, Connor had yet to find a way to coax him out. He had only found out that Andrew was most likely experiencing an emotional shock after his owner had been murdered and that he had run away out of fear of being accused of the crime.

“Andrew.” Connor tried once again. “I’m trying to help you. I can’t do that if you don’t talk to me. We will not hurt you. We only want to talk. You’re a valuable witness.”

“You will hurt me!” The android shouted in fear. “If you knock down the door, I will shoot myself and the person who comes inside.”

“Andrew, please. You are experiencing an emotional shock but your account of the crime could help us tremed-- could help us tremendously at finding the murderer of your romantic partner.”

“You have no idea how I feel, so fuck off! Just please leave me alone to mourn for Sarah! Please, leave!”

“Sarah? Was that her name? How did you meet? Did she have children that you cared for before the revolution?”

“She had a little sister. After her mother died I helped her take care of her sister and even after the revolution I stayed with her. And to what price? She died because she was with me!”

The officer to Connor’s right looked at the boy. “Coax him out. He’s becoming more unstable as we speak.”

“Andrew, will you let me inside, please? Just me, no one else, I promise. I will help you.” Connor said and moved towards the door. “I will open the door now.”

The officer next to him once more spoke up. “Just open it.”

“Don’t you dare!” Andrew screamed and the sound of him loading of a gun could be heard inside the room. “Stay back!”

“Andrew, there is no need for violence.”

Connor tried to soothe him but it was too late. A shot rang through the room and Connor did the only thing that he could think of as the bullet pierced through the door. He pushed Hank to the ground, barely escaping the bullet’s path himself.

“The suspect opened fire!” Another officer yelled as they opened fire. “Legs and arms! Make him unable to move!”

As the shooting continued Connor clung to Hank until the suspect was attained and guided outside. Upon seeing who had been trying to coax him out Andrew began to cry brokenly.

“A kid? I opened fire on a little boy!” His apologies got quieter and quieter until he was outside. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

Once Andrew was out of sight Connor sat up and looked at Hank. “Are you hurt?”

“I can’t believe you’d do something like that.” Hank all but snapped as he stood back up, backing away from Connor. “Fuck, Connor, what did I tell you? Don’t get yourself in danger!”

Connor grasped his arm nervously, trying to soothe himself as Hank snapped at him. “I’m sorry.”

“Just give me a few minutes. I need to think.” Hank sighed and began walking toward the door. “Just get in the car and we’ll go home in a bit. We’re done for the day anyway.”

Connor hugged his arms tighter and sniffled quietly, following Hank to the car. The man opened the door for Connor and the android got inside, now crying silent tears in the backseat, terrified of Hank leaving him or being too upset with him to speak to him again. He knew it was an irrational fear but in his current state, he couldn’t quite stop himself from crying as his thoughts spiralled. Hank got into the car and buried his face in his hands, swearing quietly. Connor knew he shouldn’t say anything but he was desperate for any source of comfort, so he got onto his knees to lean forward and speak to Hank again.

“Can we go get my backpack, pretty please?”

“Can you be quiet?” Hank hissed under his breath, not looking up at Connor. “Just for five minutes. I need to think.”

Connor bit his lip and shrunk in on himself but despite his better judgement,t he couldn’t ignore his need for something to comfort him. “I want Sumo Junior.”

“Just give me five damn minutes, Connor!”

The boy nodded and hugged his arms around his body, silently crying in the backseat of the car, desperate for any form of comfort but afraid of making Hank mad at him. It didn’t take long for his silent cries to turn into sobs and he wanted nothing more than for Hank to forgive him. He hadn’t meant to make him this upset and he didn’t know how to fix this situation. Slowly, scooted behind the man’s seat and gently tapped him on the shoulder, trying to get out an apology but knowing it sounded almost incomprehensible with how much he was crying.

“Dad, I’m sorry.”

Hank’s head snapped up and he got out of the car. At that Connor broke down sobbing once more and hugged his knees to his chest, fearing that Hank might leave him for good now. As his fear got the better of him he couldn’t convince himself of these thoughts being irrational again, his sobs growing louder until he heard the door next to him open. When he looked up he found Hank scooting into the seat next to him.

“Dad, I’m sorry.” Connor sobbed, crawling closer as his need for comfort grew bigger than his fear of upsetting Hank even more. “Please, don’t be angry. Please, don’t leave me. I’m sorry, Dad. Please, don’t stop loving me.”

“Connor, I would never stop loving you.” Hank whispered voice strained with the tears he was holding back as he got himself to speak. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I just-- I was afraid. I was downright petrified. Fuck, I refuse to lose another son, okay? You pushed me out of the fucking way and I had no damn chance to protect you! I love you so much and I can’t lose you. I can’t bear to lose you. I can’t lose my son again, Connor.”

Connor was still crying but now that he knew that Hank wasn’t angry at him he scooted closer and clung to Hank. “I’m sorry for getting myself into danger. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I wanted to protect you.”

“I know but you can’t just endanger yourself like that for me of all people.” Hank whispered as a sob broke loose from his throat despite his best efforts to hold it back. “Please, never do that again. Please.”

“For you of all people? I love you, dad. I don’t want you to be in danger. I can’t lose you.” Connor whispered, clinging to the man impossibly tight. “I’ll be more careful. I swear, I will. Just please don’t be angry or sad anymore.”

Hank clutched Connor tightly, tears now running down his face. “I’m not angry at you. I’d never be angry at you. I was just so scared -- so, so scared for you. I just want to be able to protect you.”

“I know.” Connor whispered and weaselled out of Hank’s arms to look at the man before reaching out to wipe away his tears. “Don’t cry, please.”

“I’ll try my best.” He whispered but tears kept running down his face as Connor tried to wipe them away. “I’ll try not to cry anymore. I was just scared, Connor. And now I’m relieved that you are safe.”

Connor smiled through his teary eyes and leaned up to press a small kiss on Hank’s cheek. “I promise to be more careful. Can we go home, dad? Can we go home and can you hug me?”

“Of course.” Hank whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to Connor’s head. “Just please promise to try to stay out of danger and to especially never put yourself in danger for me.”

“I’ll try to.” Connor whispered and cuddled back against Hank once more. “Can we get away from here, please?”

“Do you need us to get your backpack and Sumor Junior?”

“No, I’d rather cuddle with you and the real Sumo.” Connor smiled before wiping away his own tears with the back of his hand. “We can get it tomorrow.”

“Yes, we can. I’m sorry for crying.”

“Don’t apologize for crying. You never expect me to apologize for crying, either.”

“You’re a kid. Kids cry.”

“And adults can’t cry? Crying helps relieve stress and sadness, especially in situations like this one. So please never apologize for it.”

“Alright, you know-it-all, let’s get you home.”

Connor merely chuckled at that and hugged Hank once again. Hank sighed and settled for holding Connor a little while longer before going back home. And after holding the crying boy for about half an hour while silently crying himself, praying that Connor wouldn’t see it and get even more upset, they decided to head home.

When they arrived, Hank opened the door to let Connor out but the boy grabbed for him with outstretched arms, giving him the best puppy-dog-eyes the man had ever seen in anyone that wasn’t a dog or Cole. Before he could answer Connor spoke up.

“Can you carry me? I’m tired.”

Hank shook his head and smiled gently, picking him up and carrying him towards the house. He knew he could never say no to Connor. From time to time, he thought that he might have been spoiling him too much but when he looked into Connor’s big, pleading eyes he knew he actually didn’t give a fuck about that.

Chapter Text

The pitter-patter of small footsteps ripped Hank from his thoughts and he spun around to see Connor looking up at him. The boy looked tired, rubbing his eyes and yawning, making Hank frown as he looked down in front of him.

“Slept well?”

“I had a nightmare.” Connor whispered, looking a the ground as he held onto his arms before hugging Hank’s waist. “I happened just before waking up and then you were gone.”

“Was it that bad?” Hank whispered, stroking the android’s hair gently. “I’m sorry for not being there but I figured that since you don’t need to eat breakfast, I might as well let you sleep a little longer.”

“Can you pick me up?”

“Wait a second. Let’s sit down, so I can eat my breakfast while I hold you.” Hank whispered, guiding them towards the table where he sat down and helped Connor climb into his lap. “Better?”

Connor nestled against Hank’s chest, closing his eyes. “Yes.”

“Was it that bad? What did you dream about?”

“You were angry at me about something that happened on a case and you left me forever.” Connor tried his best to stifle a small sob as he continued on speaking. “Don’t ever leave me, please.”

“I will never leave you, Connor.” Hank held him tightly, rubbing his back as he began to eat. “What kind of father would I be if I did? I’ll stay with you forever.”

“Promise?” Connor looked up at him with teary eyes. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“You will never be alone.” Hank whispered, pressing a kiss to his head. “As long as I’m alive, I will never leave you alone.”

“Thank you, dad.”

“You don’t need to thank me for these kinds of things.” Hank whispered gently. “Hey, why don’t you go play with Sumo? He’d be happy about it. Unless, of course, you want to sit here and be bored until I finish eating.”

“Alright.” Connor smiled, much happier now that he had poured his heart out to Hank. “Enjoy your meal.”

With that he jumped up and rushed over to Sumo, hugging the dog. Hank watched with a fond smile as Connor all but buried himself in Sumo’s fur, laughing as the dog’s sniffing tickled his ears. Sipping at his coffee, Hank realized that Connor seemed to need a very touch-based form of comfort because as soon as the man would hold him he’d be much calmer than before. He hoped that he could always be there to give Connor the comfort and affection that he needed.

He enjoyed the rest of his meal very much while watching Connor happily cuddle with Sumo and listening to his squeals of joy echoing through his house. It made him realise how much he had missed these sounds in the past years.

---

When they arrived at the station Fowler called them into his office and requested them to find Markus and ask him to help them find out how long Connor would stay like this. Hank silently prayed that it would take a while longer -- he simply couldn’t give up the bond he had made. But he knew that Connor probably wanted to get his old body back.

Little did he know that Connor was wishing for this predicament to go on for just a little longer. He couldn’t help but feel immense happiness about the fact that he was getting to experience childhood with Hank as his father. Still, Connor called Markus up and found out that he was currently at Carl’s house. So that is where they went.

When they arrived Connor walked up the the house with Hank holding his hand while he himself was grabbing onto the handle of his backpack. Only seconds after ringing the doorbell the door opened, revealing Simon. Connor had met him before and Hank was also aware of who he was. The man looked down at Connor and smiled brightly.

“Markus told me you were a kid but I never imagined you to be this adorable. Come inside, alright?”

Connor felt his face flush slightly at the compliment as he followed Hank inside. “Thank you, Simon.”

“You came to see Markus, right?”

“Yes.” Hank said and nodded toward the child android next to him. “It’s about Connor’s current predicament.”

“Markus is out on a walk with Carl but they will be back soon. How about you come with me to the living room and we sit down?”

“Yes, please.” Connor said politely and they went to the living room where Simon directed them to sit on the couch as he sat on the armchair opposite of them. “Thank you, Simon.”

“You’re so polite.” He said before his curiosity got the better of him. “How is it to be a child? Do you have the same mindset? Do you have a child’s needs?”

“I have most of the needs of a child, such as sleeping, getting cold or lonely. And while I was told that I’d still have my own consce-- consciousness, I’ve come to find that I actually have a younger mindset that goes along with my body.” He then smiled brightly at Simon. “But I love being like this for the time being and Hank cares for me. He’s the best.”

With that, he latched onto Hank’s arm and the man laughed. “Yes, he’s very affectionate as you can see. I’d say he gets upset easily and needs a lot of affection but I don’t mind. But I take care of him. I’ll always do it. I couldn’t just leave him to take care of himself.”

“Yes, that would be a rather inhumane thing to do, I’d say.” Simon mused softly. “What do you mean he gets upset easily? What do you get upset about? Something on the job?”

Connor nodded and clung to Hank’s arm. “There’s always so much blood and it’s so terrible but I want to help everyone but these poor people just--”

“It’s okay.” Simon smiled reassuringly, stopping Connor with a hand on his knee. “You don’t have to recount all this to me.”

“That’s for the better. Seeing these things once is fucking enough.”

“Swearing in front of a kid?”

“He’s used to me swearing. I do it all the time; especially when someone isn’t nice to Connor.” He shook his head. “I mean how else would I show that I’m very displeased by him treating my son like that? He’s a kid.”

“Son?”

“Hank’s my dad now.” Connor was smiling so brightly that his eyes were almost closed now. “And he’s the best dad. He took me to the aquarium, too.”

“Really?” Simon smiled, leaning forward in interest once again. “How was it? Did you see a lot of fish?”

“Yes. I even saw a shark up close. It just came swimming towards me.” He began babbling on about his day at the aquarium. “And then we took a picture with it! And there was also an octopus and he could camouflage with the rocks behind him so I didn’t see him at first. But Hank spotted him. And there were seahorses.”

Simon, in true PL600 caretaker fashion, was listening intently as the kid rambled on about all the different fishes he saw and smiled brightly at Connor once he’d stopped. “That sounds really exciting. Do you have the photos with you?”

“No, sadly, I don’t.”

Hank pulled out his phone. “I may or may not have one of them as my screensaver.”

“Ah, is that the shark?” Simon asked gently once Hank showed him the photograph on his phone. “He’s pretty.”

“She.” Connor corrected softly. “It’s a lady shark.”

“Lady-shark? You’re adorable. But that’s a nice picture really.” He then heard a car pulling up and got up. “Markus and Carl are back.”

While Simon left to welcome Markus and Carl, Connor and Hank remained in the living room. The android turned to the man next to him, his voice quiet and full of uncertainty as he spoke.

“Dad? I don’t want to go back to being a grown-up just yet.”

“I know.” Hank whispered gently. “I don’t want you to grow up this fast, either.”

“I want to be your son for a little while longer.”

“You will always be my son, Connor. It doesn’t matter if you’re a grown-up or a kid. The only difference is that I will probably not be able to constantly carry you around as a grown-up.” He laughed and watched as Connor did the same until he saw the tears on the android’s cheeks, reaching out to gently wipe them away. “Hey, no crying now. A smile suits you so much better.”

“I love you, Dad.”

“And I love you, son.” Hank said in earnest before nodding toward where he heard footsteps coming from. “Alright, now stop being sappy and let’s meet Carl and Markus.”

When they got up Markus and Carl were already coming towards them. Connor smiled and ran up to them to greet them, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet as he spoke to them.

“Hi, Markus.” He smiled before turning to Carl and holding out his hand. “Hello, I’m Connor. It’s nice to meet you, Mister Manfred.”

“Please call me Carl.” The man said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, too. What brought you two here? I hope Simon took good care of you while we were out.”

“I did.” Simon smiled and walked up close to Markus. “But we weren’t waiting for too long anyway”

Markus knelt down to look at Connor. “You really are a child. Why did you come here exactly?”

“Fowler asked us to ask you to ask someone about how long it’ll take for Connor’s body to be repaired.”

Carl chuckled at Hank’s recount of the events. “Well, then you came to the right person. Markus can ask someone to get that information, right?”

“You can all wait here and I’ll go get all the numbers I’ll need from upstairs. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He explained before turning to Carl. “Will you be okay, Carl?”

“Yes, of course. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean you have to constantly mother me.” He laughed and waved him off. “Now go off to help other people.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll see you soon.”

When he had left they all settled back in the living room. Connor was still sitting close to Hank and Simon was in the armchair next to Carl’s wheelchair. The man was the one to break the silence as he eyed Connor.

“Must have been a shock for you to wake up like this. I heard child androids can get scared or lonely. Were you scared?”

“I was scared but there was a really nice man working at CyberLife. He calmed me down and explained everything to me. And then I heard that we were going to see Hank and that made me happy.” Connor explained away before slowly crawling into Hank’s lap. “Hank is my best friend.”

“I can see that.” Carl smiled softly. “Did you have a nice drive up here? Did you find my house or did you have to look around?”

“Connor helped me find it.”

“You seem tense.” Carl said gently as he eyed Hank. “Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing to worry about.”

Carl was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke up again. “Hey, Connor. How about you and Simon explore the house a bit.? I have lots of interesting stuff here. Maybe you can draw a nice picture for Hank.”

“Alright.” Connor smiled and scooted off the couch. “Come on, Simon.”

Said android got up and took Connor’s hand. “Stay with me so you don’t get lost. What do you want to do first? Paint a picture?”

“Yes, please.”

Simon nodded and led Connor off, leaving Carl and Hank alone. Once the door had closed again Carl leaned forward to look Hank up and down.

“Alright. What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that I don’t want Connor to grow up again. I know it’s selfish and I know that it’s going to happen eventually -- and it’s not like I never want him to be a grown-up again -- but it just shouldn’t happen so soon.” Hank sighed miserably. “He should be able to experience childhood and to have a father figure to guide and protect him. He deserves to be a carefree child.”

“You’re not being selfish. It’s really selfless of you to want him to have a nice childhood. And as long as you take care of him, I’m sure he will be happy. He seems to really love you a lot.” Carl concluded. “It’s not selfish to think like that. Even if you want it because you want him to be your small son for a little while longer, it’s not. Your feelings don’t make you selfish.”

Hank looked down at his lap and sighed. “I just feel really selfish. And I’m scared that I won’t be able to take care of him properly. He trusts me with all his little Thirium pump and I don’t want to let him down. What if I can’t protect him?”

“You know what?” Carl said in a gentle voice. “The people that we want to protect the most, will survive just fine on their own. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because they want to be around to be with us.”

“I suppose you’re right. But I just want to protect him after-- after my first son died so young.”

“I’m so sorry. I get why you want to protect Connor.”

“I want to offer him all the protection and support that I can.”

“I understand that. I wish I could protect and support Markus more.” He sighed softly. “I know that I can support him emotionally, but sometimes I wish I was healthier so I could be a proper father figure to him.”

“Carl.”

Both men turned around towards the worried voice of Markus that had come from the doorway. He strode over to them and kneeled down next to Carl, a worried look on his face.

“Carl, don’t say things like that. Your bad health doesn’t make you any less of a good father.” Markus said gently. “You’ve never shown me anything but warmth and kindness. You don’t need to be able to support me all of the time because you’ve helped me become a strong and independent person who can take care of himself.”

“Markus.” Carl breathed before chuckling softly. “You always know what to say to make an old man feel better.”

“I’m glad.” Markus then got up to his feet again. “Where are Simon and Connor?”

“Drawing a picture for Hank. Would you be so kind to go and get them?”

Markus nodded and quickly left to get the two of them. And in less than a minute they were back in the living room. Connor was holding a piece of paper in his hands that was covered in colour. He looked a little nervous but Simon had his hand on Connor’s shoulders as encouragement.

“Go on, champ. Show Hank the picture you have drawn for him.”

Connor nodded sheepishly and quickly stretched out his hands to thrust the picture into Hank’s hands. Said man took the picture and eyed it, before looking back up and smiling fondly – and Carl could have sworn he’d seen tears glimmer in Hank’s eyes.

“That’s beautiful, Connor.”

Connor blushed and skipped over to Hank, feeling much more confident now. “See who it is? It’s you, me and Sumo. And we’re in front of your house.”

The picture was drawn in a rather childish style and Hank wondered how good Connor’s motor skills still were in this body. But he came to the conclusion that since this was the hardware of a child’s body they were probably on par with that.

“You know what? We’ll put it on the fridge when we get home.”

“Really?” Connor beamed. “You promise?”

“Promise.”

Connor skipped over to Carl and hugged him tightly. “Thank you for letting me use your colours.”

“Anytime, kid.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt but I did phone CyberLife and I do have some news from them. They said that it would probably take a bit longer to repair Connor’s old body. It was really badly damaged.”

Hank cringed at the memory of what had happened to Connor the last time he’d died. “Yes, he was.”

“And therefore it’ll take quite a while. They have other, more important problems to tend to right now.” Markus said and quickly turned to Connor. “Not that you’re not important but you’re healthy and functional like this and there are other androids that really need the help more than you do right now.”

“That’s okay. Thank you for calling them, Markus.”

“You don’t mind?” Simon asked surprised. “Really?”

“No, I actually like being like this. Hank’s a good dad and he takes care of me. Being with Hank like this is so much fun.”

“How long will it take?” Hank whispered. “Can they tell?”

“They can’t tell. But they will call me if they have any information on it.” Markus promised them. “I’ll call you if they contact me.”

“Alright, thanks.” Hank said gently, looking at Connor. “So you’re okay with this?”

Connor nodded and went to hug Hank. “Yes. As long as you’ll be my dad I’ll be alright.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you’ll be alright.”

“Should we go and tell Fowler?”

Hank shook his head and held Connor tightly. “Nah, we’ll stay here for a little longer. Fowler can wait. He’ll be fine without us there.”

“Alright.” Connor smiled softly. “Are we going to do something with Carl, Markus and Simon?”

“What do you want to do?” Simon asked gently. “How about we go outside? There’s a zoo nearby. We could go there and see the animals.”

“Can we really go there?” Connor asked in excitement. “That’ll be so much fun.”

Markus nodded and smiled. “Yes, sure. Carl, do you want to come, too?”

“Of course.” Carl laughed. “I have nothing else to do anyways.”

Hank smiled and got up, taking Connor’s hand. “Then let’s go.”

Chapter Text

When they got off the bus at the zoo Hank held out his hand and Connor grasped it firmly, a little afraid of getting lost due to the masses of people around. It was a Friday afternoon so he reasoned it was only understandable that there were a lot of people around. Simon and Markus walked side by side while the latter pushed Carl’s wheelchair toward the entrance.

Connor was ecstatic and bounced on his feet while Hank paid for their tickets and then took him aside to wait for the others to get their tickets. Once everyone was inside they set off to see the various animals. The first thing to really capture Connor’s interest was the penguins. He ran up to the glass of their enclosure and Hank had to hurry to catch up to him. The boy grasped Hank’s arm and pointed at one of the penguins.

“Hank, do you see that? He’s preparing to go for a swim.” Connor exclaimed before looking up at Hank with big eyes. “Can we go swimming one day?”

“Sure, we can do that as long as you’re waterproof.” He joked and then picked Connor up to help him see better. “Do you see that? They use the ice to slide down into the water.”

“They look like they’re having a lot of fun.” Connor’s arms wrapped around Hank’s neck. “If I were a penguin I would slide down the ice all day.”

“When I first saw you I thought you looked pretty much like a penguin in your suit.”

“I’m not a penguin!” Connor exclaimed, pouting a little before giggling. “If I was, I wouldn’t have to listen to anyone and look at bloody crime scenes. I could just slide down the ice all day.”

“And I’d have to be the dad penguin that watches you all day.” The man laughed and held Connor tightly. “Wanna go and see the other animals?”

“Will you carry me?”

“Sure.” Hank nodded before his face twisted in worry. “Are you okay, though?”

Simon walked up to them and put a hand on Connor’s forehead. “He doesn’t have a fever. I don’t think child androids can simulate any other illnesses than a fever.”

“Are you upset?” Markus asked softly. “What’s wrong, Connor?”

“I’m just sad that I’ll have to go back to work on Monday. But I have to because there’s still androids and people in danger.” Connor whispered and cuddled up to Hank, fiddling with the collar of the man’s jacket. “That’s all.”

“In that case, I’ll carry you as long as you need me to.” He said in determination before lowering his voice. “And I’ll talk to Fowler on Monday, I promise.”

“You don’t have to carry me all day, though. I just want to cuddle a little bit.”

Carl huffed a little as he looked up at them. “Doesn’t your superior see how much of an effect this investigation has on Connor in this state?”

“He thinks Connor has the mentality of an adult, I’d assume.” Markus mused before turning to Hank. “Right?”

“Yeah, and Connor insisting that he can handle this investigation before he realised the bloody crime scenes were affecting him didn’t help.” Hank mumbled before he sighed a little. “But I’ll speak to him on Monday.”

“Let’s hope he listens to you.” Simon said gently and ruffled Connor’s hair a little, making the boy giggle. “Wouldn’t want our little friend to be sad.”

Connor held onto Hank a little tighter as they moved on down the pathway that led through the zoo. The next animals to really evoke interest in Connor were the primates, especially the ‘Great Apes Of Harambee’ as they were called. He was happily watching them interact with one another and eat their food while Hank on the other hand was having flashbacks to an event over twenty years ago and the memes that had come from it.

But he was ripped from his thoughts by Connor who was happily recounting the names of the animals which he has undoubtedly learned during a scan of the animals. By the time they arrived at the lion enclosure, Connor was begging Hank to carry him again because he was scared of the animals. Hank did so, only for Connor to jump from his arms again a few minutes later to get a better look at the lions.

When they arrived at the bear enclosure they had to seek shelter from the rain that had turned from a slight drizzle to a heavy rainfall and Connor hugged Hank’s waist as the shelter they had found was quickly overrun by families seeking coverage from the rainfall.

Simon looked out into the rain and sighed. “Well, the animals are probably seeking shelter now, too. So we should just wait it out.”

That’s when the sky lit up with lightning and Carl nodded. “Yes, we should definitely wait it out. We really shouldn’t walk around in a thunderstorm.”

When the thunder followed, rumbling across the sky, Connor gasped and grasped Hank’s shirt. The man quickly looked down and ruffled his hair, trying to comfort him.

“Hey, it’s alright, son. It’s just a little thunderstorm. It’ll pass.”

Connor shook his head, his lip starting to quiver as he buried his face at Hank’s side and sniffled quietly. Hank sighed sadly at seeing Connor so scared and bent down to pick him up. Immediately, Connor buried his face in Hank’s neck and held onto him.

“It’s alright. I’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry for crying.” Connor whispered mournfully. “I don’t want to cry in public and ruin our day.”

“It’s alright.” Markus said gently, rubbing the boy’s back comfortingly. “You can cry if you need to. You aren’t ruining anyone’s day.”

“It’s really alright, Connor.” Simon nodded along before digging up some words Markus was sure came from his time as a caretaker for children before the revolution. “Being scared is a really big feeling and sometimes those big feelings want to get out. It’s okay if you need to cry to get them out.”

“I feel like I’m scared of everything!”

“So what if you are?” Carl said in a gentle voice, looking up at the boy. “From all I’ve heard so far you seem like a pretty brave boy. But even if you were scared of everything that wouldn’t make us like you any less.”

“It’s really alright.” Hank promised as he lowered his voice. “A lot of the children here seem scared of the storm and that’s absolutely understandable. And you being scared of the things you see on the cases is understandable, as well.”

“Really? You don’t think I’m a coward?”

“Absolutely not.” Hank started to run his fingers through Connor’s hair. “The crime scenes scare even me sometimes.”

Simon smiled at them. “I for one think that you are a very brave boy, Connor. Don’t you agree, Markus?”

“I absolutely agree.”

“They are absolutely right, Connor.” Carl said and smiled up at the boy, even if Connor still hadn’t looked up from where his face was buried at Hank’s neck. “You are very brave.”

“Thank you.”

Hank kept rubbing his back and trying to shush him. “Simon, could you reach into the backpack I’m carrying for Connor? There’s a plush in there. Can you take it out?”

Simon nodded and quickly did as he was told, holding out Sumo Junior to Connor. “Will this help?”

“Yes!” Connor nodded and quickly grabbed the plush, holding it close to his chest. “Thank you, Simon.”

Markus examined the plush with a smile. “What’s his name?”

“Sumo Junior.”

“That’s a nice name.” Simon piped up. “How did you come up with it?”

Connor turned his head towards them, finally looking up from his hiding spot. “Sumo is Dad’s dog. He’s a Saint Bernard, too. That’s why I called him Sumo Junior.”

“Well, that’s creative.” Carl smiled up at Connor. “Does Sumo like Sumo Junior?”

“I think so, yes.”

They continued to ask Connor question after question, effectively distracting him from the thunderstorm. When the storm had finally subsided and the rain had died down to a slight drizzle Connor was no longer crying but rather clinging to Hank and watching the men in front of him talking to each other.

“Should we get going?” Carl asked. “The thunderstorm has stopped.”

“It’s still raining.” Markus said in concern. “I wouldn’t want you, Hank or Connor to get sick.”

“Wait a second.”

They looked at Simon at his proclamation and watched as he quickly took off his backpack to pull out two umbrellas, big enough to fit Connor and Hank under one and Markus, Carl and himself under the other one. Markus chuckled softly at that.

“You’re always prepared, aren’t you?”

“It’s important to be prepared for the unpredictable.” He said and held up his index finger wisely. “Now let’s go. Standing around gets boring after a while.”

Hank turned his head to look at Connor. “Want me to let you down?”

“Please, not yet.”

“Alright.” Simon piped up at that. “Want me to put Sumo Junior back in the backpack?”

Connor shook his head again. “Not, yet. Please.”

“Alright, champ.” Simon said cheerfully. “Let’s get going!”

Hank held Connor tightly as they started to move again. After a while Connor decided he wanted to walk again and Hank let him down but held onto the boy’s hand. Simon was so kind to put Sumo Junior back in the backpack so Connor wouldn’t lose him. It didn’t come as a surprise to Hank that Connor really liked the wolves. He was immediately pulling Hank towards the enclosure when he saw them, smiling brightly.

“They are so cute! I want to pet them!”

Hank laughed and helped Connor onto a bench so he could better see the animals. “I don’t think that’d be a good idea, son.”

“But they are just like big dogs.” Connor argued with enthusiasm. “Just like Sumo!”

“Well, they are wild animals so maybe you shouldn’t try to pet them.” Simon explained in amusement. “They might be dangerous even if they are cute.”

Connor seemed a little disappointed but quickly lit up when he saw a wolf coming close to the fence to look at the visitors. The boy clapped his hands and ran up to the fence in excitement.

“Be careful, son. Don’t get too close and don’t scare them!”

Carl shook his head at Hank’s worry. “They’re behind a fence. I doubt that they’ll be able to harm Connor.”

“I know they are.” Hank turned towards the man. “But they are still wolves.”

“Wolf are actually rather timid as far as I’ve learned.” Simon explained softly. “If you see them in the wild they would probably try to avoid you if they can.”

Markus turned to them and nodded. “That’s true and here in the zoo, they are used to people gawking at them. So I doubt that Connor will scare them too much with his enthusiasm.”

Simon nodded and glanced at Connor from the corner of his eyes before snapping his head toward the boy in utter disbelief. “Unless he tried to pet them!”

Markus, Carl and Hank turned towards Connor, just to find the boy climbing up the railing in front of the fence so he could pet the wolves through it. Hank nearly screamed while Markus and Carl followed him towards the fence to get Connor away. But to their surprise, the wolf didn’t bite him or even startle away. He let Connor pet him. And all four men stared at the scene in disbelief.

“The wolf actually lets Connor pet it.” Hank muttered in shock. “Why are all animals so drawn to him?”

“He’s like Snow White.” Carl laughed a little. “Maybe they know that he isn’t human.”

Simon held up a hand to get them to listen to him as he spoke in a wary voice. “Maybe we should stop gawking at the scene and get Connor away from the fence.”

“You’re such a good boy!”

Connor was positively cheering and the wolf nudged his hand once more before slowly trotting off. The boy turned to the four men and smiled brightly before starting to laugh upon seeing the shock. Hank just walked up to him and picked him up.

“Connor, you can’t do that.”

“Why not? I wanted to pet the wolves. And the wolf was such a good boy.”

Carl started to laugh in the background. “Well, that was interesting. I guess wolves just like Connor.”

“Just like the shark at the aquarium.” Hank muttered and looked at Connor. “Alright, I’ll let it slip because nothing happened but please don’t try to pet wild animals again.”

“It’s dangerous.” Simon chimed in, face drawn into a worried expression. “What if it had bit you?”

Markus nodded along to Simon’s words. “That wolf may have been friendly but these animals are unpredictable.”

“I took a photo.”

They all looked at Carl who was holding up his smartphone. Hank just sighed, slightly amused as he rubbed his forehead while Simon and Markus shared a concerned look before beginning to laugh in both relief and at the absurdity of the situation. Connor just looked up at the man in worry.

“I won’t do it again. Are you angry?”

“No, of course not. I was just worried. Let’s just get going, alright?”

“Alright.”

When they eventually made it to the exit of the park Hank finally set Connor down again. The boy yawned a little bit and all four men realized that it was close to closing time. Hank checked his watch and nodded.

“Maybe we should head back home.”

“Good idea.” Carl nodded and looked up at Markus. “Let’s get to the busstop.”

Connor pulled at Hank’s hand again. “Can you carry me? I’m tired.”

“Tired? I just carried you through half of the zoo.”

Carl interjected and petted his legs. “Come on, sit down here. Markus will just have to push both of us.”

“I don’t want to be rude or hurt you.” Connor whispered in uncertainty. “I can walk.”

“I don’t mind.” Carl smiled in invitation. “Come on, I might as well be useful.”

“Carl.” Markus said in a worried voice. “Don’t say that.”

“Markus, it’s a joke. Stop worrying over every self-depreciating joke I make.”

“You know I can’t do that. I always worry.”

“I know.” Carl laughed before looking back at Connor. “Come here, kid.”

The boy cautiously climbed into Carl’s lap and the man wrapped his arms around his middle to hold him in place. Markus smiled and pushed them on while Hank and Simon walked next to them.

“Just be careful not to fall.”

“Don’t worry, Simon. My arms are his seatbelt. He won’t fall.”

Connor smiled at Carl as he leaned back against him a little bit. “Thank you.”

---

After saying goodbye to Carl, Markus and Simon and getting invited over again -- to which they had obviously agreed -- Connor and Hank went home. When they arrived Sumo greeted them and Hank told Connor to choose a movie to watch during dinner while he called Fowler. Connor and Sumo settled on the couch. When Hank came back he flopped down onto the couch.

“What are we watching?”

“Finding Dory.” Connor smiled back at him. “Sumo likes my choice, too.”

“I do, too.” Hank ruffled his hair before sighing. “Listen, I just called Fowler and besides him chastising me for not calling him sooner he told me that we should talk about what to do in the future. I told him that I wouldn’t have you at the crime scenes anymore and he agreed to talk about it tomorrow but he wants me to come alone, so we can talk properly. That means you’ll be alone tomorrow evening. But I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“But I can’t just stay here alone.”

“I know. I called Markus to ask if anyone can babysit you but they are at a gala for Carl’s new art exhibition tomorrow. Is there anyone else you could think of that could babysit you?”

Connor thought for a second and looked up. “What about Detective Reed?”

“Really?” Hank asked in disbelief before sighing. “I don’t want him in my house but if you trust him enough, I’ll call him for you. But I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“Alright, but you won’t be gone long, right?”

“No, of course not.” Hank smiled and hugged the boy. “And you can call me if you need anything.”

“I’ll be fine.” Connor smiled. “But only if he promises to watch a movie with me.”

“I’m sure he will.” Hank said and pressed his lips to Connor’s hair. “He said he has a goddaughter, so he won’t be the worst babysitter.”

“Alright.”

“Alright, let go of me for a second and I will get something to eat, then we can with the movie and cuddle.”

“Sure!”

Hank got up and walked into the kitchen, speaking to Connor as he prepared his food. “Did you have fun today?”

“I had a lot of fun. Thanks for taking me to the zoo, Dad.”

“Anything for the best son out there.” He retorted, watching as Connor flushed at the praise and buried his face in a pillow. “Now get cosy and don’t let Sumo take up my spot.”

He heard Connor laugh from the living room as he tried to usher Sumo away from Hank’s spot before calling out. “Hurry up or it will be too late for that. I’m trying my best to keep your spot free, Dad.”

Hank couldn’t help but smile.

Chapter Text

The ring of the doorbell echoed through Hank’s house and the man got up to open it. Connor was at his tail, quickly grabbing his shirt. When the door had opened Hank greeted Gavin who quickly crowded inside.

“Thank fuck you opened that door. It’s pouring outside.” He quickly stepped in and shed his coat, then moved on to take his shoes off. “Fucking Detroit weather.”

“And you really think you’re qualified to watch Connor?”

“I have a goddaughter who’s about the same age.” Gavin explained with a small shrug before chuckling. “How hard can it be to watch Connor for a few hours?”

Connor held onto Hank’s shirt a little tighter. “Do you have to go?”

“Yes, son.” Hank crouched down to look at the boy. “But I’ll be back in a few hours. And you can call me if anything happens, alright?”

“Won’t Fowler be angry at you for getting on your phone during the meeting?”

“I don’t give a fuck. Of course, I’ll answer the phone when my son calls me.” Hank snorted and shook his head. “Now how about you show Gavin around while I get my coat and shoes?”

“Alright.” Connor nodded and grabbed Gavin’s hand. “I’ll show you around.”

Gavin went to pull his hand back but didn’t dare when he saw Connor smile brightly. “Yeah, sure.”

Connor went on to show him where the bathroom and kitchen were before introducing him to Sumo. By the time they were done, Hank was ready to leave, shoes and jacket on with his phone and keys in hand. Gavin leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

“What are the rules?”

“You should probably have him in bed at ten or maybe eleven since it’s the weekend. Let Sumo out if he scratches at the door. If he doesn’t, let him out at around ten anyway.” He thought for a second, bringing a hand down to ruffle Connor’s hair when he felt the android cling to his leg. “Watch child-friendly shows or movies with Connor. No violence and no horror.”

Connor’s grip tightened on Hank’s leg as he piped up. “No blood.”

“Of course.” Gavin quickly nodded in agreement. “Anything else?”

“If you get hungry you can help yourself to some food. I guess that’s it.” Hank mumbled and looked down at the android. “Connor has my number to call if anything happens.”

“Dad.” Connor whined, pulling at his shirt. “You said you’d ask him.”

“Almost forgot. Sorry, son.” Hank smiled before looking back at Gavin. “Tuck Connor in, will you? He sleeps in my bed with me, so just put him in there. But you have to tuck him in.”

“Got it. Tuck the kid in.”

“And don’t be a dick to him.”

“He’s like nine years old. I’m a dick to you and to his adult self because you are adults. I’m not a complete asshole.”

“Alright, that’s good. I guess I’ll go then.” Hank said, looking at Connor with a comforting smile. “You gotta let go of me.”

“I don’t want you to go. What if there’s a thunderstorm and I get scared or if I have nightmares?” He whined and clung even harder to Hank. “Just stay here.”

Hank pried Connor’s hands from his pant leg and picked him up, hugging him tightly. “Alright, come here. I’ll be back in a few hours and Gavin will take good care of you. If you get really scared, you can call me. You’ll be just fine, I promise.”

“But you’ll hurry back, yes?”

“Yes, of course.” Hank said, setting the android down before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Now how about you and Gavin do something fun?”

“Alright.” Connor whispered and watched Hank go towards the door but before he had even opened it tears were already running down the android’s cheeks. “Dad, don’t go.”

“I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll see you later. Have fun with Gavin. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Then the door closed and Connor started to cry in earnest. Gavin panicked and quickly crouched down in front of him, trying to soothe him.

“Hey, Connor. How about we do something fun? What do you want to do?”

“I want my daddy to come back!”

With that he ran off to Hank’s room and curled up on the bed to cry, holding his pillow tightly as he sobbed. Gavin swore silently before going after him, sitting down on the bed next to Connor and reaching out to awkwardly rub his back, a little unsure of what to do.

“Connor, why are you so upset about Hank leaving?”

“He is my dad!” Connor all but wailed, tears running down his cheeks. “And-- And he takes care of me and he never ever left me alone before!”

“He’s never left you alone before?” Gavin asked, understanding dawning on him. “No wonder you’re so sad. Separation anxiety can be a bitch.”

Connor grabbed Sumo Junior from the nightstand and held him to his chest, sobbing into the plush’s fur. Gavin bit his lip as he thought before reaching up to stroke the android’s hair gently.

“How can I help you?”

“Can I have a hug?”

“Yeah, sure.” Gavin sat back to let Connor hug him and the boy latched onto him in tears. “Hey, kid. It’s alright. How about we distract you a bit? Is there anything you’d like to do?”

Connor just shook his head and Gavin sighed, trying to get up and look for something to distract him with. But the boy only cried harder, so Gavin picked him up and carried him into the living room where he stopped to look around. Connor’s arms were wrapped around his neck as Gavin thought about what to do.

“What do you usually do with your dead?”

“Normally, we watch movies or I colour.”

“Do you want to watch a movie now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alright, then I’ll come up with something.” Gavin said and looked around the room. “Have you ever baked anything? We could bake cookies. Hank would probably really like them, don’t you think? Or maybe we can colour a little? You could draw a nice picture for Hank. Or we play a game, like hide-and-seek.”

“I like colouring.” Connor said and smiled a little. “Can we do that?”

“Sure.” Gavin said gently and set Connor down on the couch. “I’ll go look for drawing supplies and you think about what you want to draw.”

“I know where the drawing stuff is.” Connor jumped up and ran into Hank’s room before returning with two sketchbooks and coloured pens. “Here you go!”

“What do you want to draw, kid?”

“It’s a surprise.”

After about twenty minutes of drawing with Connor Gavin ran out of ideas of what to doodle so he went to check his phone. That’s when Hank’s caller ID popped up on screen and Gavin quickly picked up.

“Hello?” Gavin said and motioned for Connor to be quiet when the boy looked up in interest. “What’s up?”

“Just making sure that everything’s alright. Is Connor doing alright?”

“Yeah, he cried when you left but he’s colouring now and he seems just fine.”

“Is it Dad?” Connor asked, trying to reach for the phone. “Can I talk to him? Please?”

“Wait a second, Hank.” Gavin said and took the phone from his ear. “He’s calling to check in on you. Are you alright?”

“Yes. Now can I talk to him?”

“If you’re alright, you could get back to drawing, don’t you think?” Gavin asked gently, giving Connor a small smile. “He’ll be back soon.”

“If he wants to speak to me, you let him.” Hank scoffed on the other end of the line. “Give him the phone.”

Gavin rolled his eyes and handed the phone to Connor, muttering something along the lines of how Hank was just making this harder for the android. Connor quickly grasped the phone and held it to his ear.

“Dad, are you coming home?”

“Actually, it’ll be a few more hours. But I’ll be home soon.” Hank promised sincerely. “Have you been good for Gavin? I mean, I’m not against making his life hard for him but don’t get hurt or anything.”

“I’m colouring.”

“That’s nice but I gotta hang up now. I’ll see you soon. Have fun with Gavin. Love you, son.”

“Love you, too.”

When Hank had hung up Connor handed the phone back to Gavin with tears in his eyes. Then he just trotted back to the living room to colour, sadly supporting his head on his hand as he drew something onto his page. Gavin watched him and sat back down on the couch. He decided to give Connor a little space to hopefully calm down until he heard the android sniffling quietly. The man got onto his knees and looked at the boy.

“Are you alright?”

“I miss dad.” Connor sniffled and rubbed his eyes. “I want Dad to come home.”

Gavin took the boy’s hands into his own. “Don’t rub your eyes, you’ll irritate them. How about we distract you some more? Maybe we could play hide-and-seek. Or do you want to keep colouring?”

“Can we play hide and seek?” Connor asked sheepishly. “Can I hide first?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll just sit here and count.”

“No peaking.”

They played for about an hour before Hank called again to check in on them. This time Gavin was in the kitchen, getting himself a sandwich and Connor didn’t hear him, so he quickly went outside and picked up.

“Hello, Hank.”

“Is everything alright at home?”

“Yes, I’m not completely fucking incapable.”

“Why are you talking to me like that?” Hank scoffed at him. “Did something happen?”

“Listen, you gotta stop calling every other hour. Connor will be fine without you for a few hours and I get that you want to be there for him but it’s just harder for him to do anything independently if you are constantly orbiting around him.” Gavin explained quickly so as not to get interrupted. “Don’t get me wrong. He needs you but he should be able to spend a few hours without you. He just needs to get used to you not being there but he won’t be able to do that if you are constantly checking in on him.”

“I just want to make sure that he’s fine.”

“If he wasn’t fine, I would call you. Now, talk to Fowler and I’ll take care of Connor for a little while longer. It’s almost his bedtime anyway. We’ll watch a movie now and then I’ll tuck him in, just like you asked me to, alright?”

“Alright.”

“You can check on him as soon as you get home but he will be fine until you get here.” Gavin explained quietly. “My goddaughter was the same with her mother. Now she still loves her and is dependent on her, of course, but she can spend a few hours with me or her godmother without having a breakdown. That’s important.”

“Alright, I get it.” Hank grumbled at him from the other end of the line. “Now get back inside and take care of my son, will you?”

“How do you even know I’m outside?”

“I can hear the rain. Get back to Connor.”

“See you later.”

The second he stepped back inside Connor’s head immediately snapped toward him and he smiled a little. “Who called you? Was it Dad?”

“No, it was a friend of mine.” The man lied and sat down next to Connor. “Is it really that hard for you not to talk to Hank for a few hours?”

“My dad.” Connor corrected with a frown. “Hank’s my dad.”

“Yes, I mean your dad, of course.” Gavin corrected himself. “Is it that hard not to talk to your dad and see him for a few hours?”

Connor nodded and started to rub his eyes again to ward off any tears. “When he’s there, I feel safe and he never ever left me before. What if he doesn’t come back?”

“Don’t say that.” Gavin sighed before pulling Connor into a hug. “He’ll come back soon enough. He’s probably really worried about you being alright but you should be able to do things without him every one in a while.”

“Why? In case he leaves me?”

“No because maybe you’ll have to spend a few hours with someone else like you did today and it’ll just be easier for you if you’re used to it.” Gavin explained gently. “Just try to accept that Hank may be gone for a few hours but that this doesn’t mean that he won’t come back. He will always come back.”

“You’re right, he will come back.”

“Now, how about we watch a movie?” Gavin asked and set Connor back down. “What do you want to watch?”

“I don’t know. We can just browse to see what is on.”

They settled on the couch and Connor chose ‘The Land Before Time’. During the movie, Sumo settled on their laps and Gavin rolled his eyes, never having been much of a dog person before. He rolled his eyes even more when Connor started dozing off and slumped against him, cuddling to the man in his sleep, although this time his eye-roll was more affectionate than anything else. By the time the movie ended, Connor had just woken up again and smiling at the dinosaurs finally making it back to their families. Gavin couldn’t help but smile as Connor started to talk to Sumo about how they got back to their loved ones.

“Alright.” Gavin clapped his hands once. “It’s time for bed.”

“No, not without my dad.”

“Come on, Connor.” Gavin got up and held out a hand to him. “I’ll be right in the living room if you need me. Come on, I’ll tuck you in.”

“But I want my daddy.”

Upon seeing Connor’s teary eyes Gavin crouched down in front of the boy again. “Hey, I get that this must be hard for you. As I said, separation anxiety can be a bitch. But he’ll be back soon. Can I help you in any way to make you want to go to sleep?”

“Read me a story.” Connor whispered sheepishly. “Pretty please?”

“What do you want to hear?”

“I don’t know.” The boy sniffled and looked at the ground. “A fairytale maybe?”

“Sure, I’ll go look something up on my phone and you get changed for bed, alright?”

Connor nodded and trotted off to the bedroom. Gavin sighed and pushed a hand through his hair before moving to the door to let Sumo out. While the dog was outside he quickly did a Google search for good fairytale stories.

After letting Sumo back inside and locking the door Gavin went into the bedroom and sat down on the bed where Connor was already curled up, clinging to his plushie. When Connor sat up Gavin saw that he was wearing a dog onesie and he had to admit that the android looked positively adorable, especially when he was holding onto his plushie.

“Who’s that?” Gavin asked and pointed at the plush, trying to sound extremely interested because he had always thought it to be the proper thing to do around children, to show interest in what they were interested in. “Does he have a name?”

“Sumo Junior.”

“After the dog in the living room?”

“Yes. He looks the same.”

“You’re right about that.” Gavin said gently before holding up his phone. “Alright, now how about you get comfortable and I tell you a story? How about ‘Beauty and the Beast’?”

“Alright.”

“Then shush and try to sleep.”

Gavin then began to read the story to Connor but by the time he was done, the android was still staring at him. The boy was obviously trying to stay awake, his eyes dropping just for him to snap them back open.

“Connor, go to sleep.” Gavin said sternly. “I’m not having any of this.”

“No, I’m not tired.”

“Yes, you fucking are. Go to sleep.” Gavin ordered and pulled the blanket over Connor’s shoulders. “There we go.”

“Not until Dad comes home.” The boy said and pushed the blanket off his shoulders. “I want to wait for Dad!”

Gavin narrowed his eyes and pulled the blanket back up, telling the boy to go to sleep. Connor pushed it back down and told him that he wouldn’t do so until Hank got back. This went on for about five more minutes until Gavin got up and sighed in frustration.

“What do you want me to do? Your dad isn’t going to be back for another hour or so and it’s your bedtime. Can you just close your eyes and sleep?”

“No.” Connor said again, clutching Sumo Junior tightly. “Not if Dad isn’t here with me. Not if he isn’t here to watch over me.”

“Do you want me to sit by your side while you sleep?”

Connor just nodded and immediately lay down. “Please.”

“Alright.” Gavin shook his head and sat back down on the bed, pulling the blanket over the boy’s shoulders. “You know, you could just fucking ask instead of throwing a tantrum.”

“Will you tell me another story?”

“I should say no, just because you were being an asshole but I guess I can.”

Gavin then pulled out his phone again and started to read ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ to Connor. Now that Gavin was sitting next to him, rubbing his shoulder and hair absentmindedly, while reading him a story, Connor finally let sleep consume him. He was asleep in the next five minutes and Gavin breathed a sigh of relief. He went to stand up, just for Connor to whimper in his sleep. Gavin just sighed and resigned to his faith of having to rub Connor’s back until Hank got back.

Lucky for Gavin, the man came home only half an hour later and immediately came into the room, hurrying over to the bed. Gavin put a finger to his lips and motioned for the door, so both of them went into the hallway but stopped when they heard Connor whimper in his sleep again. Hank ushered Gavin towards the living room and went to Connor’s side himself. He got onto his knees and slowly brushed the boy’s hair back.

“I’m back home, son. Get some sleep alright?” He whispered and Connor seemed to recognize his voice because he smiled contently in his sleep. “Good night.”

Hank got to his feet, walked into the living room and closed the door behind him. Once there he asked Gavin how the evening went and the detective gave him a lopsided smile, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He was very well-behaved until I tried to tuck him in without his dad present.” He explained before sighing a little. “I’m not really a childcare expert but I think he might actually be able to spend time without you there in the future. He just doesn’t really want to go to sleep without you but up until then he was fine.”

“He has nightmares because of stuff he sees at work.” Hank explained, looking at Gavin seriously. “I’ll tell you what Fowler said on Monday, alright? He wants to tell Connor himself but I guess it’s just so the kid can ask questions.”

“Alright, I’ll head home then. Nice babysitting your kid, I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck before shrugging. “See you on Monday.”

“Yeah, see you on Monday.” Hank watched Gavin put on his shoes. “And thanks for taking care of him, especially for sitting next to him so he’d sleep. I’ll bring you the money on Monday.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Let’s just say you owe me one.”

“Alright. See you.”

Hank led Gavin to the door and waved a little when the man left. He then went to lock the door and quickly got changed for bed. When he joined Connor in bed the boy was deep asleep. Hank sighed in relief and lay down next to him, gently rubbing his arm a little bit. Soon, he was falling asleep, as well. The only thing he registered was Sumo flopping down next to the bed and Connor softly breathing beside him.

Chapter Text

The Sunday after Gavin had been babysitting Connor was not a very eventful day. Connor was a little tired for most of the day, so Hank spent the day with him, colouring and watching movies. He had told Connor that they would have a little meeting with Fowler on Monday and the boy had taken it very well, agreeing to it immediately.

Then Monday rolled along and Hank went to wake up Connor after he himself had eaten a quick breakfast but when he gently shook the boy awake he grumbled and curled in on himself.

“I don’t want to get up.”

“Come on, Connor. We have to get to work.” Hank said gently. “We have that meeting with Fowler, remember?”

At that, Connor sat up and rubbed his eyes a little. “Alright. Then we should probably go. Can you help me get dressed?”

“You okay?” Hank asked and crouched down in front of him. “Are you not feeling well, son?”

Connor shook his head and scooted out of bed. “I’m just tired.”

“Alright, let’s get you dressed then.”

---

When they got to the station, Connor immediately flopped down onto a chair and wrapped his arms around himself. Hank mustered him before once more crouching down by the boy’s side.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m alright. When are we going to talk to Fowler?” Connor whispered, curling in on himself. “Can I sit on your lap, Dad?”

“Yeah sure I guess.” Hank said and sat down in his chair just for Connor to immediately come over and climb into his lap. “Just tired?”

“Yes but can I get Sumo Junior?”

“Yes, wait a second.” Hank said gently, then bent down to get him, holding Connor tightly so he wouldn’t fall. “Here you go, son.”

Connor quickly snatched Sumo Junior from Hank and held him to his chest, curling in on himself again. Hank sighed and started to review the files. During the rest of the day Connor was crankier than usual. Whenever Hank had to leave him for a few minutes he would whine and try to go with him. Hank chalked it up to him not sleeping well or having a nightmare and tried to comfort him as best as he could.

Then eventually, they had to meet up with Fowler. Connor held onto Hank’s arm and slowly walked with him until they were inside. Fowler asked them to sit down and Hank did so. The android quickly climbed into his lap and held onto him.

“Is he alright?”

“Yes, he said he’s just tired. He probably had nightmares tonight.” Hank explained before fixing his eyes on Fowler. “Can we start with the discussion?”

“Yes.” Fowler said and looked at Connor. “Hank and I had a long talk and I’ve decided to not send you to the crime scene anymore. I know you said that you have the consciousness of your older self and I believed you but I’ve seen that’s not the case. Until you are back to your old self you will review the evidence here at the station and only go to crime scenes where you will have to negotiate with an android, alright?”

“So no more blood?”

“No more of that.” Fowler said with a nod. “Now we have some DNA samples in the evidence room and your scans work faster than our scientists. Can you go check it out?”

“Yes.” Connor said slowly before biting his lip. “Can Hank come, too?”

“We actually need Hank to interrogate someone.” Fowler explained softly. “But you can join him after he’s done, alright?”

“No. I want to stay with Hank.”

“Hey, remember what you told me that Gavin told you? Just because I’ll be gone for a while doesn’t mean I’m not coming back.” Hank said gently, rubbing Connor’s back. “When you’re done you can wait at my desk, alright?”

“I’m fine with you leaving.” The boy whimpered softly. “But not today. Please, I--“

“What’s wrong?” Fowler asked in concern. “Is he really alright?”

“Just got off on the wrong foot today.” Hank mumbled, trying to explain the situation. “He’s a bit cranky. Come on, son. It’s alright. I’ll be back in an hour at most.”

When Hank tried to push him off, Connor’s last reserves broke and he started crying. Tears began running down his cheeks as he sobbed brokenly. Fowler looked at a loss of what to do, ordering Hank to calm the boy down to which the man just rolled his eyes and scooped Connor back up into his arms.

“What’s wrong? Connor, please tell me what’s wrong?”

Connor simply buried his face in Hank’s neck and cried harder, trying to seek any source of comfort he could find. That’s when Hank first noticed how hot the boy’s face felt.

“You’re sick. That’s why you’ve been irritable.” He put a hand on Connor’s neck. “You’re burning up, son. How long have you been sick?”

“I feel so bad. Everything hurts. My head, my throat. And I’m so exhausted!” He cried miserably. “Since I woke up, I’ve been feeling so bad.”

“Is he contagious?”

“The kid is crying and miserable and you ask if he’s fucking contagious?” He sighed and shook his head. “And no, child androids don’t get sick from viruses but they simulate it. Maybe he’s been out in the cold too much, playing with Sumo.”

“Everything hurts, Dad.”

“Connor, I need you to stop crying. If you cry, it’ll just hurt more and exhaust your body even more.” He pulled him back a little to look at him. “Calm down and then we’ll cool you down.”

Connor nodded and tried his best to stop crying, cuddling Hank to calm himself down. “Please, don’t leave.”

“Alright, we’ll go to my desk and figure out how to cool you down.” Hank said and stood up, holding Connor in his arms. “We’ve talked about everything. We need to go.”

“Take him home as soon as the rain lessens up outside.” Fowler said and then went back to work. “The rain and wind will only make it worse.”

“I will.”

They left the office only to immediately run into Gavin. While Connor buried his face deeper at Hank’s neck the man sighed at the sight of Gavin.

“Fuck, not you, too. What do you want, Reed?”

“I’ve heard Connor crying, so I came to check.” He said in a soft voice. “Are you alright, kiddo?”

“He has a fever. Child androids can simulate sickness.” Hank explained gently, taken aback by Gavin’s caring attitude toward Connor. “He’s way too warm and he feels exhausted. Once the storm died down I’ll get him home.”

“I know how to cool him down.” Gavin said quickly. “I did it to my goddaughter once, when I visited her and she was sick. Wait here!”

While Gavin ran off Hank walked up to his desk where he set Connor on the chair and pulled out Sumo Junior. “You hear that? Reed will help you cool down. And as soon as the storm eases up, we’ll go home.”

“Thank you.”

“And when we get home I’ll give you a nice warm bath and then we’ll cuddle up on the couch with Sumo. Does that sound good? You can wear your onesie and we’ll watch whatever you want.”

“I’d like that.” Connor whispered softly before whimpering miserably. “I’m cold. But I’m also so warm. I want to go home and cuddle with Sumo.”

“I know.” Hank cooed, stroking his arm gently. “We’ll go home soon.”

“I’ve got it!” Gavin cried, running towards them. “I’ve got some DIY cold compresses for his neck and forehead. That’ll cool him down. You’d normally put it around his legs but I don’t think we should undress him here because it’s not that warm in here. I mean, we want to cool him down but we wouldn’t want him to be cold.”

“Yeah, I know.” Hank grumbled out. “I know how to take care of a sick child.”

Gavin rolled his eyes at Hank’s comment but nodded and knelt down next to Connor. “Crane your neck for me a little.”

Connor looked a little apprehensive but when Hank nodded he craned his neck, allowing Gavin to put a cold towel down on his neck. Once down he directed Connor to sit up straight again and put a towel on his forehead.

“Good job, kiddo. You’ll cool down in no time.”

Connor nodded and held Sumo Junior to his chest, looking at Hank with tired eyes. Hank sighed and crouched down, slowly rubbing Connor’s arm comfortingly.

“You’ll be alright. I’ll take care of you.”

“Can I sit on your lap, Dad?”

“When you’ve cooled down.” Hank said gently. “I don’t want to make you feel even warmer and more uncomfortable.”

“But I want to cuddle.” The boy whined and Hank sighed, getting up and walking up behind the chair where he started to stroke Connor’s hair to which the android relaxed. “Good enough.”

Gavin eyed them awkwardly, not knowing what to do now. “Can I help any more?”

“You’ve already helped. You can go if you have other things to do.” Hank said before he gave Gavin a small smile. “Thanks, Reed.”

“Alright.” Gavin nodded before he turned to leave. “If you need me, just call, I guess.”

After about an hour the rain died down a little and the wind wasn’t blowing as hard anymore. Hank decided it was now or never, reasoning that they should get home before the rain started to pick up again. He quickly thanked the officers who had come over, trying to help and picked Connor up. The towels had long since been discarded on the table. Connor held onto Hank and closed his eyes.

“Are we going home, Dad?”

“Yes, we’re going home.” Hank said and grabbed their bags before heading for the door. Once in the car, he put Connor in his seat and buckled him up. “If you’re starting to feel worse than before, you tell me, right?”

“Alright.”

Hank sighed worriedly and got into the car himself. Thankfully, the drive home was quick and uneventful. When they got home the rain was picking up again and he quickly brought Connor inside and sat him on the couch.

“You stay here and I’ll run a bath. It’ll make you feel better. But I’ll help you. I don’t want you to drown after all.” Hank said with a smile. “Go cuddle with Sumo while I’m gone.”

Connor nodded and called the dog over with a weak voice. Sumo trotted over and put his head in Connor’s lap, seemingly aware of the boy’s sickness. The android smiled a little and leaned forward to cuddle up to the dog. A few minutes later Hank came back into the living room.

“Alright, wanna take a bath, Con?”

“Yes, alright.” He walked over to Hank and held onto his arm. “Thanks, Dad.”

Hank gently led him into the bathroom. “Need help undressing?”

Connor nodded slowly and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. Hank knelt down and helped the boy take off his clothes. The android then slowly got into the bathtub, Hank holding him a little so he wouldn’t slip. Once inside Connor began shaking his head.

“It’s too warm.”

“That’s because you’re feeling too cold.” Hank said gently as Connor lowered himself into the bathtub. “You’ll feel better in no time.”

Connor smiled a little and leaned back in the tub. Hank then helped him wash his hair and sat next to the bathtub until Connor felt the water getting cold. He then asked to get out of the tub and Hank helped him before wrapping him in a towel.

“Alright, now dry off a little and I’ll get you your onesie, yes?” Hank rubbed Connor’s shoulders gently. “Call me if you need anything.”

Connor whispered his thanks and watched as Hank left to get his onesie. The boy did quick work cleaning off and putting his underwear and socks back on. It didn’t even take five minutes until Hank was back.

“Let’s get you into your onesie and then we’ll sit down on the couch and you can relax a little.” Hank smiled and helped the boy into the onesie. “All warm?”

“Yes.” Connor whispered and went to hug Hank’s waist again. “Can we cuddle now?”

Hank nodded and took Connor’s hand. “Come on, son. You’ll feel better in no time, I promise.”

He led the boy to the couch and sat him down there, throwing a blanket over his shoulders. Connor looked up at him before cuddling up under a blanket and holding Sumo Junior close to his chest.

“I’ll just let Sumo outside and turn on the TV. What do you want to see?” Hank whispered as he walked towards the door to let the dog out but as Sumo trotted outside Connor began shivering as the wind blew inside. “Oh, fuck sorry. I didn’t think of that. I’ll close the door and he’ll have to scratch to get back inside.”

Connor nodded and pulled the blanket around himself tighter. “I don’t know what to watch.”

“You get to choose. You’re the one that’s sick.” Hank said with a smile and turned the Television on before handing the remote to Connor. “You choose something.”

The boy started to flick through the movies before settling on one. “The Iron Giant.”

“Good pick.” Hank said and let Sumo back inside before quickly closing and locking the door. “Now I’ll give him some more food and then I’ll be right there next to you.”

Connor nodded weakly and closed his eyes, waiting for Hank to arrive. When he did, the boy started the movie and cuddled up to Hank who wrapped an arm around him.

“Warm?”

“Yes. Thank you, Dad.”

“Don’t thank me for this. What dad would I be if I didn’t take care of my son when he’s sick?” Hank said gently, holding Connor close. “Now, if anything happens or you start to feel worse, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“Alright.” Connor nodded and cuddled closer to Hank. “Can you stroke my hair?”

Hank nodded and began to do so. The two started watching the movie. Connor was clinging to Hank, resting his head on the man’s chest and he kept running his hands through the android’s hair, relieved that his fever had gone down at least a little bit. Eventually, Sumo joined them and flopped down on their legs. Connor smiled gently and buried a hand in the dog’s fur. When the movie came to an end Connor was close to drifting off. Hank smiled and pressed his lips to the boy’s head.

“Time for bed. You need to sleep.”

“You didn’t eat dinner.”

“It’s fine. I had a lot for lunch.” The man said and started to stroke Connor’s hair. “Come on, son. It’s time to sleep.”

“You’ll come with me?”

“Yes of course. Let’s get you to bed.” He picked Connor up before walking over into his room and setting the boy down on the bed. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to turn off the television and get ready. You just cosy up and call me if you need help.”

Connor nodded and cuddled up to a pillow, his eyes immediately falling shut. He didn’t fall asleep until Hank came back, however. The man climbed into bed and Connor’s eyes snapped back open.

“Come here.” Hank whispered and pulled Connor into a hug. “Want Sumo to come, too?”

“Yes.” Connor mumbled, holding his plush close. “I love you, dad.”

“I love you, too.” Hank said softly, before calling for his dog who came into the room quickly and jumped onto the bed, lying down at their feet. “Now go to sleep.”

“Can you tell me a story?” Connor asked softly. “Pretty please?”

His voice was already drowsy and he sounded close to sleep, so Hank figured that his talking wouldn’t keep the boy up and nodded. “Alright. I’ll tell you the story of Hansel and Gretel.”

“Thank you.” Connor buried his face in Hank’s chest. “Good night.”

“I texted Fowler earlier. We’ll take tomorrow off of work and we’re not coming back until you are doing better.” Hank whispered softly. “Now sleep. And if you wake up tonight from a nightmare or because you’re feeling sick, wake me, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Promise? You hid your sickness at work today.”

“Promise.” The boy closed his eyes. “Now tell me a story, please.”

“Alright.”

Hank smiled and started to tell the story, stroking Connor’s hair all the while. It didn’t take long for the boy to fall asleep and Hank just lied there, watching him sleep for a little while, just to make sure that he was alright. After half an hour the man fell asleep, as well. And luckily, Connor managed to sleep through the whole night. The last thing Hank thought before drifting off was how he hoped Connor would feel better in the morning. He couldn’t bear seeing his son sick.

Chapter Text

When Connor woke up the next day Hank was still asleep. He felt a little better but his head still hurt, so he inched closer to his father to search for some comfort. As he cuddled closer to Hank the man woke up.

“Connor? You okay? Do you need anything?”

“No.” Connor whispered softly. “Just wanted to cuddle.”

Hank nodded and stroked the boy’s hair. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Still exhausted and my head hurts.”

Hank reached up to feel his forehead and cheeks. “Your fever is either gone or it has gone down a lot. But you still need rest. We’ll stay in today, yes?”

“Yes.”

After another half hour or so they decided to get up. When they were dressed and both Sumo and Hank had eaten the man sat down on the couch next to Connor. He was in his onesie, still, and curled up under a blanket.

“Can we watch a movie?”

“Sure, what do you want to watch?”

“Whatever’s on.” Connor shrugged, inching closer to Hank. “Can we cuddle?”

“You don’t have to ask for these things.” Hank smiled, pulling Connor into a hug. “Now you choose a movie and if you start to feel worse again, tell me immediately.”

“Alright.” Connor smiled, nestling against Hank, and when the man handed him the remote he started to flip through the channels until he settled on a movie. “Do you know the movie?”

“Huh?” Hank turned his head away from watching Sumo and looked at the screen, recognising the move Connor had picked as ‘Shrek’. “The classic.”

“Alright.” Connor smiled brightly. “Then we’ll watch it.”

---

At around lunchtime, Connor was feeling a lot better already. His fever seemed to have gone down significantly and now he was playing with Sumo, cuddling up to the dog and laughing happily. Hank sat at the table, eating a quick lunch as he watched the two of them, relieved that his son was feeling better.

“You okay there?” Hank asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Any pain or exhaustion?”

Connor nodded and laughed as Sumo sniffed him. “Yes, Dad.”

“Good.”

“Can I colour?”

“Sure. Can you get your colouring stuff yourself?”

Connor nodded and skipped off towards the dresser. Hank watched him for a second as he rummaged through the drawers before getting up to feed Sumo. He called out to the dog and the animal immediately knew that it was lunch time. He quickly came over towards Hank who began petting him behind his ears.

“You’ve been a good boy today. You entertained Connor.” He poured the food into the bowl and scratched the dog’s head some more. “He’s feeling a lot better.”

“Dad?” Connor peaked his head around the corner, holding up a piece of paper with a note scribbled onto it and a drawing. “What’s this?”

Hank turned towards him and froze up a little. He opened his mouth to answer but stopped and sighed, walking up to Connor and taking the drawing from him. It was a present Cole had drawn for him on his birthday -- a drawing of him, Sumo and Hank with a note that said ‘Happy Birthday Dad’ at the side in green pen. Green used to be Cole’s favourite colour.

Hank sat down at the table and looked at the drawing, tears gathering in his eyes. “I forgot that I had put it in the dresser. You must have dug deep into the stuff in there to find this.”

“I was looking for the colour brown. I wanted to draw Sumo.” Connor whispered uncertainly. “What is that? Did Cole draw this?”

The man supported his head on his hand and nodded. “Can you give me five minutes? You can colour in the living room.”

“But you’re sad. You shouldn’t be alone when you’re sad.”

“Please, Connor.”

Connor swallowed and walked over to the couch but he didn’t start to colour. He just kept staring at Hank, worry in his eyes. When Hank started to cry quietly Connor could tell even though the man was trying to hide it. He slowly got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Hank didn’t seem to notice. What he did notice was the weight on his thigh. At first, he thought it was Sumo’s head but when he looked down, Connor had put his arms and head onto Hank’s leg.

“Connor.”

“Don’t cry. Please, Dad. I hate seeing you sad.”

“Dad.”

“I’m sorry. I will-- I’ll stop calling you dad. You never had to call me your son.” His voice was thick with tears and he knew that Hank could tell. “I can call you by your name and you can call me by mine if that is easier for you.”

“Connor, listen--”

“Like-- like that.” Connor sniffled quietly. “Would that be better, Hank?”

“Get over here.” Hank mumbled and Connor inched closer to which Hank put a hand onto his shoulder. “I-- You see, it’ll always be hard on me to find things that belonged to him or that he drew for me. It’ll always be hard to talk about Cole or think about him. And it’ll never be easy to be reminded of him so blantently. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be your father and that doesn’t mean that you can’t be my son.”

“But it would probably be beneficial for you to not adress me as such.” Connor whispered out, tears running down his cheeks. “And I understand that. I just wish you hadn’t called me your son for so long to please me even though it hurts you.”

“Don’t cry, Connor.” Hank said gently, shaking his head. “It hurts, alright? It hurts badly and some days it’s worse than other days. But I do love you very dearly and you will always be my son. Do you understand that? I’m bad at talking about my feelings but I hope you understand what I mean.”

Connor nodded, lip quivering before he latched onto Hank who pulled him into his lap. “You are a good dad and I can only assume that you were a good dad to Cole. He was lucky to have had you as a father.”

Hank rested his head on Connor’s head, tears running down his cheeks. “Thank you. You know? You’re a great son. And you don’t know how honoured I am to be able to be your father.”

“I love you very much, dad.”

“I love you, too. You’re a good son.”

“How was Cole? Was he curious and open or cautious back and shy?” Connor mumbled, looking up at Hank. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“He was a lot like you. He was curious, too. He loved animals. His favourite place to go was the zoo as you can probably guess from him loving animals. His favourites were the lions.” Hank recounted, smiling softly to himself. “And he was always a little shy at first but once he got to know other people, he was very talkative.”

“He sounds like a great kid.”

“He was. You remind me so much of him.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. You’re the way you are and that’s the right way to be.” Hank mumbled. “It’s not your fault.”

“I wish I could have met him.”

“I bet you would have gotten along very well.” Hank said with a sigh, holding the boy tighter. “Hey, please don’t ever get yourself into a dangerous situation again, like in that one case.”

“I promise.” Connor whispered, thinking for a second before smiling a little. “Do you want to do anything to cheer you up or distract yourself? I could draw you a pretty picture.”

“You do that. I’ll stay here.”

“No, don’t stay in the kitchen all alone, crying. Please, come with me.” Connor pleaded and slid off Hank’s lap before grasping his hand. “We can do something different, too. We could take Sumo for a walk.”

“That sounds good.” Hank smiled sadly. “He’ll be happy about it. Are you feeling up for it? Or are you still feeling sick?”

“No, I’m feeling better. I want you to feel better, too. Let’s take Sumo for walk.” Connor pulled at Hank’s hand again. “Come on.”

“Alright, alright.”

Hank slowly got up and went to get Sumo’s leash. Connor watched Hank and went to hug his waist when the man was done and had Sumo on the leash. With a small sigh, Hank held out his hand and Connor grabbed it tightly. Then they went out the door and Connor quickly grabbed his backpack on the way out.

“Dad, can I hold Sumo’s leash?”

“Sure. But be careful. Don’t let him drag you off.”

“Alright.”

Connor smiled and held Sumo’s leash tightly. They led the dog around the streets for about half an hour before Hank stopped and Connor immediately did so as well, looking up at him in question. But Hank was looking across the street at the playground on the other side.

“Wanna go onto the playground over there? It’s not the best one but you’ll surely have fun.”

“Can I?” Connor asked so sweetly and politely that it made Hank smile a bit. “Please?”

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll just wait by the bench for you.”

Hank said gently and walked after Connor as he excitedly dashed over to the swings. Once there, he stopped and turned toward Hank, giving him his best puppy dog eyes as he smiled at him.

“Will you push me?”

“Give me a second to tie Sumo’s leash to the bench.” Hank waved his hand dismissively and knelt down to secure Sumo’s leash around the leg of the bench. “You stay here and watch us, alright? Be a good boy.”

Sumo cocked his head to the side and then flopped down onto the grass, eyeing Hank and Connor. Hank walked up behind the boy and started pushing Connor as soon as he was on the swing. Connor laughed happily, hands clutching the metal strings of the swing tightl.y

“Higher. Please, dad.”

“Sure.” Hank nodded with a smile and pushed Connor a little harder. “Having fun?”

“Yes! Thanks, dad!”

Hank didn’t answer and just smiled as he kept pushing the boy. When Connor got tired of the swings he jumped off them, scaring Hank half to death due to the height from which he jumped. But Connor didn’t seem to care and ran off to the slide. Hank leaned against one of the posts of the swings and crossed his arms, watching Connor have fun on the slide. Eventually, more children and their parents came to the playground and Connor came back up to Hank.

“It’s getting crowded. Maybe we should go. Sumo’s probably tired, too.”

“Tired?” Hank laughed a little. “He’s been lying around for about half an hour now. Do you not want to play anymore?”

“No, we can go home.”

“Are you alright?”

Connor nodded and hugged Hank’s waist. “Exhausted.”

“Well, you are probably still a little sick.” Hank stroked his hair gently. “Maybe we should take it slow for the rest of the day, what do you say?”

“Yes.” Connor mumbled and cuddled closer to Hank. “Are we going home?”

“Yes, let’s just untie Sumo and get going.”

Hank turned around to find Sumo was currently examining and sniffing a little girl that was sitting on the bench and it seemed that she was scared of dogs because she was frozen in fear, huddled together, looking around for her parents. Connor quickly reacted and ran over where he gently pulled at Sumo’s collar.

“Hey, step back a little. Sit.” When Sumo did just that Connor smiled. “Good boy, Sumo!”

Then he turned to the girl finding her sniffling quietly. She couldn’t be older than six or seven years old, her hair tied in pigtails and dressed in a pink coat. She looked back at Connor with teary eyes.

“Is-- Is that your dog? He’s so big.”

“But he’s very nice.” Connor smiled before proudly telling her about the dog. “His name is Sumo. He always watches over me. Are you alright?”

“I-- I lost my mom and got onto the bench to have a look around but-- but I couldn’t find her.”

“What’s her name?” Connor asked, sitting down next to the girl. “And yours?”

“Sarah Bishop.” The little girl said quietly. “I’m Lily.”

“I’m Connor. I’ll help you find her.” He scanned the area before quickly settling on one woman who was looking around frantically. “I think I found her!”

With that, he jumped up and grabbed Lily’s hand. She quickly hurried after him but when they passed Hank, the man put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“I’m getting Lill to her mom. I’ll be quick.”

“Don’t get lost.”

Hank had to call after Connor as the boy had already taken off again. When they arrived at the woman’s side she immediately bent down and picked Lily up, holding her tightly.

“I was so worried. Why did you run off?”

“I wanted to go on the swings but Connor helped me find you.”

“Connor?” Sarah asked and then looked at the boy. “Thank you very much. You’re a very nice boy. Do you want me to bring you back to your mother?”

“To my dad.” Connor corrected and smiled. “Yes, please. It’s very crowded. Dad would panic if I got lost.”

Sarah nodded and offered her hand, which Connor took. Then they went up to Hank who they quickly recognised as Connor’s father because the android started pulling them toward him as soon as he was in their line of sight.

“Connor.” Hank smiled and bent down a little. “Ready to go?”

Connor nodded curtly and smiled, going in to hug Hank’s waist again. “I’m ready.”

“Your son is a really nice and helpful boy.” Sarah smiled softly. “You did a good job at raising him.”

“Thanks. But most of this behaviour is his own doing.” Hank laughed a little. “I had no hand in it.”

“But he must have learned it from somewhere. He probably saw it in you.” She chuckled before nodding toward the swinset. “Anyways, Lily and I are going to go to the swings now. She wants to swing again before we head home. My wife is waiting at home and if we come home late for dinner, she’ll be mad at me.”

“We’re heading home, too. Connor’s been sick yesterday and he’s still a little bit on the weaker side.” Hank explained gently. “But you two have a safe journey home.”

“Then I hope he gets better, soon. Goodbye, Connor.” She smiled before looking back up at Hank. “And goodbye, Mister--”

“Anderson.”

“Goodbye Mister Anderson.”

“Goodbye.” Hank said, still holding Sumo’s leash. “Let’s get going. I untied him while you were away.”

Connor nodded and grabbed Hank’s hand. “Did you hear her? You are a good dad.”

“Yeah, I did.” Hank laughed softly. “If you really picked up some of your behaviour from me, then I guess I’m not too bad.”

“You’re the best dad!” Connor smiled and then looked up pleadingly. “Can you carry me? I’m tired.”

Hank heaved a sigh and nodded, kneeling down. “Get onto my back.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Hank said gently before letting Connor climb onto his back and start to head home. “Let’s get going.”

Connor was almost asleep when he felt a few drops of rain fall onto his forearms. “Dad, it’s starting to rain.”

“I’ve noticed. You don’t happen to have an umbrella in your backpack?”

“Actually, I do. I’ve packed a small umbrella because the man on the news said it would rain. Can you put me down for a second?”

Hank nodded and knelt down to let Connor get off his back. The boy then pulled out the umbrella and handed it to Hank who opened it above them just as the rain picked up.

“Can you still carry me?”

Hank questioned how he would balance an umbrella, Connor and holding Sumo but decided that he’d make do when Connor looked at him with his bright brown eyes.

“Alright, at least we’ll both be dry then. I mean it worked for the girls in ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ so carrying you on my back while holding an umbrella should keep us dry.” Hank shrugged and let Connor climb onto his back again. “Let’s go!”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Hank just smiled a little and tried to manage to hold his dog and the umbrella while also making sure that Connor didn’t fall off. When the rain picked up he once more contemplated on asking the boy to walk the rest of the way but decided against it when he felt Connor cuddle closer. Thus he just resigned himself to his faith and walked them home. Rain was still pouring down onto the umbrella, Sumo was pulling on the leash and Connor was clinging to him a little too tightly for the man’s liking but Hank couldn’t be happier than in this very moment.

Chapter Text

When they went back to work the next day many of the other officers came up to them to inquire whether or not Connor was feeling better, swarming around him and fussing over the boy.

“Are you feeling any better? It’s only been two days.”

“Yes, sweetheart. Are you feeling any better? If you aren’t, you should go back home and rest.”

“I’m fine.” Connor smiled brightly, waving their worries off politely. “Thank you for your worries but I’m fine. I even went for a walk with our dog yesterday.”

“That’s great. You got us all very worried when you started crying like that two days ago.”

“Yes, but it’s good to see you back to good health.”

Hank smiled a little, glad that everyone else was so caring toward Connor, and put a hand on the boy’s back, leading him to their desk. Gavin saw them sit down and immediately swaggered over to the two of them.

“Hey, dumbass.”

“Hey, asshole.”

Gavin chuckled a little at Hank’s reply before crouching down in front of Connor. “Hey, champ. Are you feeling better?”

Hank leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and grinned. Gavin was seemingly getting very attached to Connor and the boy seemed to like the detective, too. This could surely come in handy if Hank had to leave Connor alone for a few hours and the boy needed a babysitter.

“Yes, I’m better. Thank you for helping the other day with the cold compresses. It made me feel better.”

“I’m glad.” Gavin said and then stood back up, ruffling Connor’s hair. “Don’t overwork yourself. I’m back at my desk.”

“Bye, Gavin!”

Hank watched Gavin walk off before chuckling softly. “He seems to like you.”

“It’s because I’m a kid. Once I’m back to normal, he’ll be an asshole again.”

“Hey, no he won’t. He got to know you and that’s all he needs to do to appreciate you. Once someone gets to know you even a little they love you.” Hank promised and then laughed. “Besides, if he does continue to be an asshole, I will have a stern talk with him.”

“Thank you.”

With that, they started doing some paperwork until after a few hours Hank’s phone rang. When he saw that it was Carl calling him he couldn’t help but hesitate to pick up the phone. But he quickly shook his head and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hank?” It was Markus on the other end of the line. “I have information from CyberLife. Would it be terribly inconvenient for you and Connor to come over to discuss them?”

“Well, Connor has been sick this week but he seems to be better now. So, unless we’re planning on doing something outside it should be fine.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Did he get a fever?”

“Yes, but it’s gone now and he seems better. How long will it take?”

“Not that long.” Markus said gently. “Kara, Luther and Alice are over. So he can play with Alice while we talk.”

“Alright, we’ll be there soon.” Hank nodded quickly. “Thanks.”

“See you soon.”

Hank hung up the phone before looking over at Connor. “Hey, Markus just called.”

“What did he want?” Connor looked up from the drawings he’d been working on for the past hour after he’d grown bored of the paperwork. “Is it about me?”

“He has new information from CyberLife. He wants us to come over.”

“Information from CyberLife?” Connor stuttered but then quickly nodded. “We should go and ask what the information is about.”

“What’s wrong?” Hank leaned in closer. “Are you alright?”

“Just a little scared of what it is about.”

“It’ll all be fine.” The man promised, quickly pulling Connor into a tight hug. “Let’s give Fowler a heads-up and then go.”

“Can I take Sumo Junior with me?”

“Yes, sure.” Hank smiled gently. “Come on, son. They’re waiting for us.”

Hank took Connor’s hand and led him to Fowler’s office where they quickly excused themselves. After the captain had sent them on their way the two of them went out into the hallway where Hank looked down to check on Connor.

“You got your backpack?”

Connor nodded, holding the strap of his backpack with one hand and Hank’s hand with the other one. “I’m ready to go.”

They walked towards the exit when Gavin stopped them. “Where are you going?”

“To get information from CyberLife about Connor. We gotta go.”

“Will he be back to normal soon?”

“Well, what do you think we’re trying to find out?” Hank said, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe it’ll take a little longer. Markus will tell us. I guess, we can tell you when we get back.”

“Fucking do so.”

Connor looked up at Gavin, tears gathering in his eyes. “What if I get back to normal? Will you start being mean to me again?”

“Oh, no, no, no. Don’t cry.” Gavin immediately began to panic when Connor started crying. “Of course not. I won’t be a dick to you. I just--”

“Promise? It hurts when you are mean.” A few tears were running down his cheeks. “And when I’m a grown up Hank can’t even pick me up anymore. And you won’t be nice to me anymore!”

As Connor started properly sobbing Hank crouched down and rubbed his back. “Hey, Connor. It’s alright. Don’t cry. I may not be able to pick you up but if you’re sad you can still always come to me and I will hug you very tightly. I will always try my best to be there for you.”

“I won’t be an asshole. I will be like I am now, I promise. Alright, kid?”

Connor nodded and went to hug Gavin quickly. “Thank you.”

Gavin smiled but clicked his tongue when he saw Connor rubbing at his teary eyes, shaking his head. “Hey, don’t rub your eyes. What did I tell you?”

“That it’ll irritate them.” Connor mumbled out dutifully. “Thanks, Gavin.”

“We gotta go.” Hank said gently and nodded toward the door. “It’ll be alright, Connor. You have my word.”

---

When they arrived at Carl’s house, it had started to rain. Hank quickly helped Connor out of the car and hurried up to the house with him. Once Markus let them go inside Hank helped Connor take of his jacket and hung it up along with his own.

“Alright, follow me to the living room.”

Hank nodded and grabbed Connor’s hand to lead him inside. There Hank saw who he presumed to be Alice, Luther and Kara. He quickly waved at them and sat down with Markus.

“Hey, Connor.” Markus leaned forward, smiling at the boy. “Why don’t you go play with Alice? Hank and I are going to talk about boring adult things. Once we see a need to inform you of anything we will call you.”

Connor nodded warily and held Sumo Junior tighter. “Alright.”

“Come on. They have to be nice. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be friends with Markus, Carl and Simon.” Hank put a hand on his back. “You’ll get along with them. I know you will.”

“Alright, Dad.” Connor said, feeling a bit better. “Call me if there’s anything you need to know.”

While Hank started to talk to Markus Connor approached the three people that were sitting at the table, talking. When he arrived, they turned towards him. Kara turned towards him and smiled gently.

“You must be Connor.”

“Yes, I am.” He mumbled, pressing Sumo Junior to his chest. “I’m here with my dad.”

The man next to her, who Connor assumed to be Luther, looked at him with a gentle expression. “I’ve heard about you. You used to be an RK800 unit.”

“Yes.” Connor mumbled and looked at his feet. “It’s nice meeting you.”

“I think we’ve come across each other before but it’s nice meeting you properly.” Kara smiled gently. “I don’t know if you’ve been told but that man there is Luther and this here is Alice.”

“Hi.” The girl looked up before she pointed at the plush. “Who’s that?”

“Sumo Junior.” Connor mumbled softly. “After Hank’s dog.”

“That’s cool.” Alice smiled brightly. “What kind of dog is it?”

“A Saint Bernard and he’s really big.” Connor chuckled. “He’s bigger than me.”

“Really?” Kara smiled, leaning forward to get a good look at Connor’s face. “Then you have to be careful that he doesn’t lie down on you.”

“He likes to lie on my lap.”

“How can he lie on your lap, if he’s so big?” Luther asked softly. “Isn’t that too heavy?”

“He doesn’t fully lie on my lap. Just with his head. It’s nice when I’m sick or scared.”

“What would you be scared of?”

“As an RK800 I had to investigate crime scenes. Captain Fowler initially made me do this as a YK500 model because he thought I had the consciousness of an adult and I went because I wanted to help people. But Hank talked to him.” Connor mumbled softly. “Still, it was pretty scary.”

Kara leaned forward and put a hand on Connor’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that. But you sound like a really brave boy.”

“Yes, I am.”

“I bet.” Luther interjected. “It’s nice meeting such a brave boy like you, Connor.”

“Why are you three here? Is Markus helping you, too?”

“Sort of. Not like he’s helping you.” Kara explained softly. “We originally planned to go to Canada but it’s a bit hard to buy a house there without any money. Carl helped us find a place to live around here while Luther and I tried to work and earn our money. It was hard to find a job after the Android revolution. But we’ve managed.”

“I hope you can buy your dream house soon.” Connor smiled up at them. “You seem like a nice family.”

Alice looked at the boy. “Do you want to play hide and seek? Luther is very good at seeking.”

“Yes!”

Meanwhile, Hank was having a hard time understanding what Markus was explaining. He eyed the man questioningly, leaning forward in an attempt to once more get an explanation from him.

“Alright, can you explain that again in English?”

“They have another model for Connor but it isn’t his old one. He could use that one for the time being but it doesn’t have any of the features of his old one like analyzing samples with his tongue or reconstructing crime scenes. His RK800 model was badly damaged and they are still missing some components to repair it. And as I said, they have to set priorities for injured androids that need help.” Markus explained softly before sighing a little. “I’m worried that it might be hard for him to adjust to yet another different model, I must say.”

“Should we tell Connor and let him decide?” Hank asked and looked up. “Where did they go?”

“I believe they are playing hide and seek.” Markus said and looked around. “And it seems like Luther is the one in charge of searching. Let’s help him so we find Connor faster.”

But even after searching for about half an hour and getting help from Kara and Alice who they had found earlier, they couldn’t find Connor. Kara was looking around, questioning where the boy could be hiding when the front door opened, revealing Simon and Carl, both cramped under one tiny umbrella. At Markus’ questioning look, Simon shrugged his shoulders.

“He insisted on sharing.”

“What are you all doing in my entrance hall?” Carl chuckled in slight confusion. “Did we miss something?”

“We played hide and seek but we can’t find Connor.” Markus explained and looked back at Carl. “Do you have any idea as to where he could be?”

“I do, actually. Follow me.”

Carl then started to roll his wheelchair into the kitchen and all of the others followed him. Once he arrived he headed for the counter and opened a door to his right. Inside, Connor looked up and smiled.

“Why did you come and look for me, Carl?” He mumbled, climbing out. “Do you want to play with us, too?”

Luther chuckled a little at Connor’s hiding spot. “You’re good at hiding.”

“It wasn’t even that special of a hiding spot.” Connor smiled and looked at Hank, before holding Sumo Junior tightly before he walked over to the man and hugged him. “Did you talk to Markus, dad?”

“Yes, I did. Come on. We need to talk.”

---

“I-- I don’t know. It wouldn’t really help at all, would it?”

“You could go back to the crime scenes.”

“But I don’t think I’d be of much help.” Connor mumbled out, sounding terribly uncertain of the whole idea. “And it was so hard to get used to this body. Getting used to the other body and then my regular one again will be even harder.”

Hank put a hand on his back. “Listen, we can do this or wait for your RK800 unit to get ready. It wouldn’t make a big difference but you are the one that has to decide what to do. Do you want to stay like this or go for the switch?”

Connor held Sumo Junior close to his chest and looked at his lap, a pout forming on his lips as he thought. They all waited for an answer but Connor remained quiet until Carl spoke up again.

“You can tell us what you want. We won’t judge you or be angry at you.”

“I-- I don’t want to grow up just yet.” He started to cry then and buried his face in the plush’s stomach. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a burden or selfish! I just want to be Hank’s son and-- and--”

Hank pulled the boy close to his chest. “Hey, don’t cry.”

Markus nodded and leaned forward. “Connor, if this is how you feel, it’s alright. These are your feelings and you don’t have to apologize for them.”

“But--”

“Connor, everyone should be able to experience childhood.” Carl interrupted the boy’s sentence. “To experience the wonder and excitement, to be protected and loved throughout it. These are your genuine feelings and you don’t have to feel bad for them.”

“Really?”

Hank nodded and held him tighter. “You can stay like this until your old body is repaired. It’s alright, son. It really is alright.”

“Thank you.” The boy sniffled and held onto Hank. “Should we go tell Fowler?”

“Well, it’s already quite late. He’s probably at home already but I can call him.” Hank said gently. “Let’s go home.”

“It’s pretty stormy outside.” Simon said, pointing at the windows. “Maybe you should wait out the storm.”

“You could spend the night here.” Carl suggested with a shrug. “I have another guestroom you could spend the night in.”

“Well, I suppose I wouldn’t want to go home during this storm. Wouldn’t want Connor to get sick again.” Hank mumbled with a shrug. “Alright, let me call my neighbor to tell her to check on Sumo and feed him. Then I’ll call Fowler and tell him what happened.”

“Good, Markus would you be so kind as to prepare the guestroom?”

“Yes, of course, Carl.”

“Can I come with you?” Connor looked up at Hank. “Pretty please?”

“Sure, come on.”

---

After another two hours of talking, with Carl and Hank eating dinner, the storm was still raging on and everyone was sitting on the couch, listening to the wind. Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the room and Connor gasped in shock, jumping up from his place where he’d been colouring next to Alice to run up to Hank.

“Dad, pick me up, please.”

“Why?”

Connor’s eyes filled with tears as the thunder rolled across the sky. He whimpered and practically launched himself into Hank’s lap, clinging to the man. Understanding dawned on Hank’s face and he held Connor tightly.

“It’s just a storm. There’s no need to be afraid.”

“But it’s so loud and it sounds like gunshots and yelling and it’s so loud!”

Kara suddenly smiled and looked at the boy. “Hey, Connor. Do you know what I did with Alice when she used to be scared of the thunder?”

“No.”

“Well, first of all, we watch the storm.” Kara explained and got up. “It mind sound scary but it can actually be very pretty and we are all inside and safe.”

Hank held the boy tighter. “Do you want to watch the storm from the window?”

“But you carry be, yes?”

“Yes, sure.” Hank nodded and stood up holding Connor tightly. “Let’s go.”

Kara and Alice followed them to the window, holding each other by the hand tightly. Once there they all looked out the window as Kara began talking.

“Alright, Alice do you want to explain to Connor what we like to do?”

“Well, we look at what kind of shapes the lighting makes or what kind of shapes it lights up in the clouds. And then when the thunder comes we think about a story about what that noise might be and what it has to do with the shapes we saw.” Alice explained. “Kara came up with that idea!”

“Want to try it?” Hank asked. “I’ll hold you, still.”

Connor lifted his head from the man’s neck and looked out the window just as lightning lit up the sky. “The clouds looked like an animal. Maybe like a lion or tiger.”

“Really?” Kara smiled. “The clouds I looked at looked like a butterfly. But that’s the fun part -- the different stories and shapes.”

“I saw a cat.” Alice said softly. “What did you see, Hank?”

“It looked like a tree to me.” Hank whispered and ran his hand through Connor’s hair just as the thunder followed and the boy whimpered. “What now, Kara?”

“Well, my butterfly has the strongest wings in the whole world.” She said, emphasising the words a lot. “And they make really loud noises when he flaps them.”

“The lion is protecting his cubs.” Connor whispered from where his head rested on Hank’s shoulder. “He roars at the threat.”

“Good idea.” Kara smiled before looking at the other child. “What about you, Alice?”

“My cat meows really loudly because she is always hungry and wants a snack.”

“Really?” Kara laughed softly. “And does she always get a snack?”

“Nope, she’d get way too big like that. She just has to wait a bit.”

“How about you, Hank?”

“There is a really strong woodpecker that is pecking at the tree, I saw. His pecks are really, really loud.” He said, trying to emphasise his words as much as Kara did. “That’s why we can hear them inside!”

“That’s a fun game.” Connor said and smiled gently. “Can we keep playing it?”

“Yes, of course.” Kara smiled. “Alright, did you see anything during this lightning?”

“Yes!”

As the storm went on they kept playing the game. And Hank was surprised at how easily Connor was consoled when he was distracted and occupied. He held the boy tightly as they made up story after story until they eventually settled for bed.

Hank held Connor tightly, the boy cuddling to him. “The neighbour texted me while you were getting changed. She fed Sumo and spent a little time with him. Now that the storm has calmed down a bit she went back to her house. But Sumo didn’t seem that scared to begin with.”

“The thunderstorm is far away but I can still hear it.”

“Want to think up a story before you go to sleep? I can continue it and use it as a bedtime story.”

“Yes, please.”

“Alright.” Hank smiled softly. “What shape did you see on the walls from the lightning?”

“It looked like a sword.”

“So it is a story about a brave knight. But why is there a loud bang?”

“His sword makes loud noises like that when it clashes with another sword.” Connor explained. “Will you tell me the story now? Please?”

“Yes of course.” Hank said, pressing a kiss to Connor’s hair. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

And then Hank told Connor the story about the brave knight who seemed to resemble the boy quite a bit. The boy smiled happily and nuzzled up to his father. Eventually, he fell asleep and Hank smiled gently, holding him tightly and letting sleep take him over too. He was just happy that Connor was not afraid anymore.

Chapter Text

When Connor woke up the next morning Hank was still asleep. As much as the boy wanted to stay in bed and cuddle he also wanted to make the man some breakfast. Thus he got out of bed and slowly walked out of the room and into the hallway. He was wearing some of Alice’s sleeping clothes and holding Sumo Junior tightly in his hand. As he reached the staircase he heard people talking downstairs. He carefully got down the stairs and made his way to the door of the living room, listening to what was going on inside.

“He cannot stay like this forever.” Simon mumbled in concern. “What if it seriously messes him up or something? What if he never manages to go back to the way he was?”

“No one can go back to the way they were if they undergo changes.” Kara said gently. “He will obviously never be the same again.”

“I’m just worried. This can’t be good for him.”

“What benefit would we have from giving him another adult android body if it doesn’t have any of his detective features?” Markus interjected. “And as I said it might be terribly jarring for him to switch units so often.”

“Let the boy be.” Carl sighed softly. “I know you’re worried, Simon. But he undergoes so much stress and sees so many bad things as an adult that he should be able to be a child for a little while longer. Let him be coddled and protected for a few more weeks. How bad can it be?”

Luther piped up in worry. “Will it not be negative to the police force?”

“They can do their own damn work. They have highly trained people there. They should be fine without Connor for a few weeks.” Carl said gently. “Just let him be a child.”

“I thought you’d love children as a PL600 unit.”

“I do love children and I don’t want to ruin this for Connor. I’m just worried.”

“He’ll be fine.” Markus promised. “You don’t have to worry about him. Just let him be a child for a little while longer until they can safely transfer his consciousness back into the RK800 unit.”

Connor outside hadn’t even noticed he’d started crying until a sob broke loose from his throat. He heard everyone in the livingroom go silent and then then the door opened. The adults were all looking at him.

“Connor, are you alright?” Markus asked gently. “Why are you crying?”

“Did you have a nightmare, sweetheart?” Kara approached him and kneeled down. “What happened?”

Carl made his way over to Connor, as well. “Hey, champ. What’s wrong? Do you need us to get Hank?”

“Did you hear what we were talking about?”

“I don’t want to be a burden or an inconvenience.” He nodded at Luther’s question, tears running down his face. “I don’t want to be trouble for the police. I-- I just don’t want to have to see so much blood and death and hurt and-- and I can’t seem to help the people and--”

Kara interrupted his rambling with a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Connor, breathe, alright? You are not a burden to anyone. And the police will be fine on their own. You need to calm down, alright?”

“I just want everyone to be happy.” He sniffled miserably. “You’re worried about me. I’m inconveniencing you.”

“We are happy. All of us are very happy, Connor. You don’t inconvenience anyone. I swear.” Carl promised softly. “Why would I lie to you?”

Connor looked down at the floor and then sighed, walking up to Carl and hugging the man’s arm. “Thank you for all being so nice to me.”

“Don’t thank us for being nice to you.” Kara smiled gently, rubbing Connor’s back. “We want to be nice to you. How could anyone be mean to someone as sweet and nice as you?”

Connor felt himself blush at the comment and looked away. He heard Carl chuckle and the next thing he knew, the man lifted him into his lap with the help of Markus. Once there Carl rubbed his back a little before speaking up.

“Let’s cheer you up, alright? There’s no sadness allowed in here. Is Hank still asleep?”

“Yes. I wanted to get him something to eat.”

“I’ve already prepared breakfast. Carl ate already but there’s still food left for Hank.” Markus explained. “Do you want to come and get it ready for Hank?”

“I wanted to make something for him, though.”

“You could cut up some fruit for him.” Kara suggested with a smile. “Fruit salads are healthy.”

“Alright.” Connor beamed and looked up at Markus. “In the kitchen?”

“Sure.”

Connor quickly hugged Carl goodbye and followed Markus. He carefully put Sumo Junior onto the countertop and after about fifteen minutes they had prepared a nice breakfast for Hank, consisting of eggs, coffee and a fruit salad. Markus put it onto the table and Connor followed suit, smiling up at the man.

“Thank you. I’m going to wake Dad up.”

With that, he headed towards the stairs and into the guestroom. Inside, he jumped onto Hank’s side of the bed and poked the man in the arm.

“Dad, wake up. We made breakfast for you. And we should head to the station soon.”

Hank groaned and turned onto his back, quickly catching Connor as he almost fell off the bed. “Woah, that was close. You made breakfast?”

“Markus and I.”

“Wow, thank you. What did I do to deserve this?”

“You’re the best dad. That’s what you did. And you comforted me during the storm.” The boy smiled brightly. “Can I get a hug?”

Hank nodded and sat up. “Alright, come here.”

Connor quickly went for Hank’s arms and held him tightly, burying his face at the man’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“You okay there, son?”

“I just-- I don’t want to burden you or the others or-- or the police force just because I want to be a child for a little longer.”

“Hey, don’t say that. You’re not a burden to the others and you are absolutely no burden to me. There’s no way in hell you could ever be a burden to me.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I wouldn’t lie to you, would I?” Connor shook his head and Hank nodded. “Alright, now how about I get up and taste that breakfast you made?”

“Alright.”

Hank got up after him and quickly put a hand on his back as they walked downstairs.

“Good morning.” Kara greeted. “I hope you had a good rest. We didn’t know how long you were awake due to Connor’s fear of thunderstorms so we decided to let you sleep.”

“It’s fine. He fell asleep easily. Thanks to your game.” He smiled gently. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

Markus looked up. “Your breakfast is ready. Connor was a great help for me.”

After eating breakfast Hank and Connor decided to leave to feed Sumo before heading to the station so as to not keep Fowler waiting or miss out on anything important. They quickly grabbed their jackets and headed for the door.

“Thank you for letting us stay.”

“No need to thank me.” Carl smiled at him. “You got everything you need?”

“Yes.” Hank said and waved. “Call us if CyberLife calls.”

“We will.”

---

“And they can’t tell you how much longer it will take?”

“No, they are still missing important bio components.” Hank said and Connor held onto his arm tighter. “And there are androids with much more serious afflictions that need to be helped first.”

“Fantastic.” Fowler groaned. “We’re screwed if Connor can’t go to the crime scenes. You realize that, right?”

“This wouldn’t have happened in the first place had you not insisted on sending him into that warehouse without backup!” Hank swore angrily. “I mean why would he need backup? He’s just a fucking android, right? Can’t get hurt or anything, right?”

“He insisted on going and there is no need for this level of disrespect.”

“Yes, there is. I will not have you speak to my son like that without at least speaking up about it.”

“Hank, he made those decisions for himself! You cannot keep going off at me for them!”

“Yes, I damn well can! He’s my son--”

“He is an android and while I’m glad you’ve bonded he is not your son!”

Hank was about to say something when Connor let go of his arm. He looked down at the boy to find him crying. He wanted to comfort him but Connor quickly went for the door and left. Hank wanted to go after him but Fowler stopped him.

“You stay here. We will settle this.”

“You’ve upset him!” Hank snapped. “He’s never run off before. What’s your fucking problem that you tell him he’s not my son? He sees me as a father figure.”

“Sit down.” Fowler ordered. “We will talk. It won’t take long if you cooperate and then you can find Connor. I’m sure he just hid in the bathroom.”

“You have five minutes.”

---

Connor ran through the desks and made a mad dash for the bathroom. Inside, he locked himself in a stall and started to cry openly. He pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in them, sobbing mournfully. When he heard the door open, he slapped his hands in front of his mouth and when the person knocked on his door he tried to stay as quiet as possible.

“Hey, kiddo. It’s me.” It was Gavin, speaking softly to him. “What happened? Can I come in? Or do you want to come out?”

“I don’t want to come out.” Connor sobbed but unlocked the door. “But you can come in, I guess.”

Gavin got inside and crouched down next to the boy, locking the door behind him. “What happened to you? You look heartbroken. And not in a chick-flick ‘my boyfriend of three days left me’ way. You look devastated!”

Connor’s lip quivered before he made a quick dash for Gavin’s arms. The man was surprised but held the boy tightly, letting him cry for a few minutes.

“Did Fowler assign you to a new case? Did he show you bloody images from the crime scene again?”

“He-- he is angry that my old body isn’t repaired, yet.” He sobbed quietly. “They were-- were fighting -- Hank and Fowler -- and then he said that I am not Hank’s son.”

“Oh, you know that that’s a lie.” The man said quietly. “He’s just being an asshole because he’s stressed about us not making any progress in the case. Don’t listen to anything he says. He’s got no damn clue what he’s talking about. Hank is your dad and you are his son.”

“But Fowler’s right. He isn’t my father. I’m just an android.”

“That doesn’t matter at all. Family isn’t just about being related by blood. It’s about caring for one another and loving one another. Connor, Hank cares for you and loves you very much.” Gavin whispered, sighing. “See, my goddaughter and I aren’t related by blood either and I still love her so dearly.”

Connor looked up and sniffled quietly. “I didn’t know you could be so nice.”

“I’m nice because you are a kid. I’m not a complete asshole.”

“Does that mean you’ll be mean to me when I’m gown again?”

“No, of course not. I got to know you and I’m sure we’ll get along when you are back to normal. I mean, we’ll probably never be the best friends but we’ll get along.” Gavin shook his head. “Listen, I don’t often talk about feelings but I was always trying my hardest and I still only get cases like kids tagging buildings. And then you come along and get all the good cases. I’m just too ambitious.”

“I think you’re a good police officer.” Connor said gently, rubbing his eyes. “But what do we do about the case? I want to help!”

“Well, he can go fuck himself.” Gavin mumbled. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. How about I offer to take your place until you are back to normal? You can tag along if you don’t want to stay here without me or Hank and just wait in the car.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Connor whispered tears still in his eyes. “Can we go to my desk and get Sumo Junior?”

“Yeah, sure. But let’s wipe your face first.” He picked him up and sat him on the countertop next to a sink before grabbing a paper towel and wetting it before wiping the tear stains from Connor’s face. “Alright, as good as new. Just a little wet.”

“Thank you, Gavin.”

That’s when the door opened. Both of them turned to see Hank standing in the doorway, looking more worried than ever. Connor jumped off the countertop and ran up to Hank, fresh tears running down his face.

“Daddy!”

“It’s alright. I’m here. And I gave Fowler a huge piece of my mind for being such an asshole to you.” Hank grumbled, picking Connor up and letting the boy bury his face in his neck. “That’s it. Just hold onto me and try to breathe.”

“I should leave.” Gavin whispered, pointing at the door. “I saw him coming in here, crying and I had to check on him.”

“Thank you.” Hank sighed softly. “I know we’ve always been assholes to each other and I don’t intend to change that but I’m glad you are nicer to Connor.”

“Why would I be an asshole to the kid just because his dad sucks?”

“Thanks.”

“We should all go and talk to Fowler. I thought I could go to the crime scenes with you instead of Connor until the kid is back to normal.” Gavin explained. “I guess it won’t be too long.”

“I mean we could do that. You don’t have a partner right now because Jenna is on maternity leave, right? I guess we could try.” Hank shrugged his shoulders. “Do you want to come with us, Connor? Or wait at my desk?”

“Can we get Sumo Junior first?”

Once at Hank’s desk, Connor got down and started rummaging through his backpack, before gasping in shock. He looked up at the two men with tears in his eyes.

“He’s not in there. Dad, I lost Sumo Junior.”

Hank knelt down and shook his head. “It’s alright. You probably just forgot him at home or something. Calm down, Connor.”

“Where did you last use it?” Gavin asked, crossing his arms. “At home? In the car?”

“I think when I woke up this morning.”

“He’s probably at Carl’s house.” Hank said and rubbed Connor’s shoulder gently. “Should we get him later?”

“How about you get it now and I go and talk to Fowler. I’ll call you when I’m done.” Gavin said and then looked at Connor. “And don’t rub your eyes, kiddo.”

Connor stopped. “They’ll get irritated. I know.”

“Good.” Gavin smiled a little. “Alright, you go get the plush and I’ll go and talk to Captain Fowler.”

“Alright, thank you. Don’t tell him we’re going to get the plush, though.”

“I’ll distract him long enough. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.” Connor said quietly and went up to Gavin to quickly hug his waist. “Really, thank you, Gavin.”

“Anytime.” Gavin ruffled Connor’s hair. “Now go. You don’t have all day.”

Hank nodded and took Connor’s hand. “Alright, son. Come on.”

“Thank you. I hope I’m not disrupting anything.”

“No, we’ll be back in no time.”

Connor nodded and held onto Hank’s arm while they walked out of the station. All the while, Gavin was heading to Fowler’s office to talk to him. when they made it to the car and Hank was buckling Connor up he caught the android smiling, giving him an inquisitive glance.

“I think Gavin is really fond of me.”

“He is. But then again who isn’t? You’re the best kid ever.”

“Thanks, Dad!”

“Come on, let’s get going.”

Chapter Text

“Lieutenant Anderson! Connor!“

Both Connor and Hank turned towards the origin of the voice that had called out to them once they had entered the station after getting Sumo Junior back from Carl’s house. Coming toward them was the young officer who had helped console Connor at one of the crime scenes. She was calling out to them, quickly walking over to them.

“I haven’t been able to talk to you lately. I’m glad to finally run into you.”

“Officer Johnson, it’s good to see you again.” Connor smiled politely. “Are you well?”

“Aren’t you a sweetheart?” She smiled and ruffled his hair. “I’m happy to see you, too. But what I wanted to tell you is that, as you probably know, tomorrow is Halloween and that we are having a party at the station. You could come, too.”

“Nah.” Hank chuckled and shook his head. “You know I’m not one for parties.”

“But Dad.” Connor pulled at Hank’s arm insistingly. “It’ll be fun. We could just go there for a little while, just for a few hours. Please?”

“Fine but I won’t dress up.”

“Can I dress up?”

“Sure.” The woman beamed at them. “It starts at six and it’s obviously a costume party. I’ll be a mummy this year. I’ll see you there.”

Once she had left Connor turned to Hank. “Can we get a costume?”

“I might have a costume or two in the garage. I’ll check later. If not, we’ll get you one.” Hank assured, ruffling Connor’s hair. “You actually got me to agree.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, you prick!” Gavin suddenly called out for Hank, marching over before nodding at Connor. “Hey, kiddo. Come over here.”

“What do you want, Reed?”

“Fowler agreed to let me come to the crime scenes with you. He said Connor could wait here, in the car or outside the crime scene unless we really need him as a negotiator.”

“Thank you, Gavin!” Connor hugged him for a few seconds and then let go, looking up at the man. “Are you coming to the party, too? We could have so much fun. Pretty please, will you come?”

Gavin bit his lip but eventually sighed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll tell my friends that they’ll just have to go get drunk without me.”

“What will you dress up as?”

“We’ll see.” Gavin said and then smiled a little. “It’s a surprise. But for now, I’ll get back to my desk. Smell you later.”

When the man had left Hank laughed a little. “Who says things like ‘Smell you later’?”

“Gavin does.”

---

When they had gotten home Hank had started to look for a costume for Connor. The boy was left behind in the living room, cuddling Sumo. Eventually, Connor grew bored and went to check on Hank, finding him next to a box of costumes, holding one of them close to his chest.

“Dad?” Connor whispered and inched closer, examining the costume. “Whose are those?”

“They were Cole’s old costumes.” Hank sighed, looking down at the cowboy costume. “He wore this one on his last Halloween. We went trick-or-treating.”

Connor bit his lip and walked closer to Hank, hugging him tightly from the side. “Do you want to tell me about it? Or would you rather not?”

Hank looked at the boy and pulled him into his lap. “We went out at around five. He begged me to dress up, too. And eventually, I did dress up as a cowboy, too. Everyone thought he was the-- the cutest and he got so much candy. I had to take some of it away so he wouldn’t eat all-- all of it at once.”

“We don’t have to celebrate Halloween or dress up. And you don’t have to look through the costumes.”

“The one I’m holding -- the pumpkin -- was the one he wanted to wear the year he-- he passed away.” Hank was crying now, tears running down his cheeks. “He told me I had to dress up like a pumpkin, too. I would have done it, of course. I-- I would have done anything for him.”

Connor felt tears escape his own eyes as he nestled against Hank’s chest. “You are the best dad. I’m sure even if his life was short, it was filled with so much happiness and love. I’m sure he’s proud of who you are today.”

Hank just held Connor tighter, sobbing into the boy’s hair. And Connor hugged Hank back, rubbing his back a little in an attempt to comfort him.

“How can I help you?”

“Promise me that you will never leave my side.” Hank sniffled softly. “And don’t be reckless and get yourself hurt.”

“I won’t, I promise. I’ll be by your side until the end.”

Hank then stood up, pulling Connor up into his arms. “We should go buy you a costume before the party starts.”

“We don’t have to go to the party.”

“You were so excited. I don’t want to ruin it for you. I’ll be fine.”

---

Once they were there, Hank led Connor to a shop that sold costumes and the boy began looking around. There weren’t as many costumes as Hank had hoped but it would suffice.

“How about a robot?”

“Very creative.” Hank sighed and chuckled. “Let’s keep looking, shall we?”

Eventually, Connor found a costume he thought was interesting. “Look, Dad, it’s a bat costume. Look how cute. And it fits the Halloween theme.”

“Try it on then.”

Hank picked up the costume before leading Connor to the changing cabin. When the boy exited after a few minutes he beamed at Hank. His costume was a onesie with wings and a hood with ears.

“It’s so cute!”

“That’s true. If you want it, we can pay up and go home.”

“But you need a costume, too. Let’s look for one!” He smiled to himself. “Oh, how about a vampire? That would fit my costume!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get started.”

When they eventually found a vampire costume Hank paid and both of them left the shop. While making their way down the hall Connor looked up.

“You should eat something while we’re here.”

“You’re probably right. Come on. Let’s go to the burger place.”

“That’s not very healthy. How about at least getting a regular sandwich at a bakery? They put vegetables and salad on it and they don’t fry those.”

“Fine. Let’s eat there.”

“Alright!”

Thus they went to eat. The rest of the evening was spent in relative silence. Both Hank and Connor just watched a movie and sat on the couch. But when they went to bed Hank let himself be persuaded to tell Connor a story.

---

After a rather uneventful day at the station, Connor and Hank left to get dressed up and then returned for the party as many of the other officers did. Hank put on the vampire costume and looked at himself in the mirror. He had to laugh at how ridiculous he looked but then again, everyone else probably looked ridiculous, as well. And he’d never deny Connor anything. He loved the boy way too much to deny him the excitement of a Halloween party. That’s when Connor skipped into the room, moving his arms back and forth so as to flap with the costume’s wings.

“I’m a bat!”

“Yes, and a very adorable one, too.” Hank said and turned to grin at him. “And I look like an idiot.”

“No.” Connor whined and hugged Hank. “It’s a costume party. You look good.”

Hank smiled a little and crouched down to grab Connor by the waist and pick him up. “Flap your wings, little bat.”

He told the boy and held him high into the air. Connor laughed happily and started to move his arms. The man smiled fondly as he watched Connor pretend to fly, laughing and giggling in excitement and joy. The boy looked extremely happy and it made Hank extremely happy. When they eventually set Connor down he smiled up at him.

“Can we go now?”

“You grab your backpack and I’ll fill up Sumo’s water and food, alright?”

Half an hour later, they entered the station, Connor holding onto Hank’s hand, looking around excitedly. There were decorations everywhere, ranging from plastic spiders over pumpkins to light-up ones. Thematically fitting food stood on a large table and everyone was gathering together to enjoy themselves.

“It’s so nicely decorated!”

“Connor, you saw them decorating before we left.”

“Connor!” They heard someone call out in a high-pitched voice and turned to find the female officer skipping towards them, dressed up as a mummy. “You look so cute. Did you choose that costume yourself or did Dad choose it for you?”

“I chose it myself.” The boy said proudly. “But he helped.”

“That’s lovely. Well, there’s snacks and drinks. And we’ll decide who’s costume is the best at nine. So don’t forget to vote!”

When she had left Hank and Connor started to walk to the center of the room when they spotted Gavin. Hank couldn’t help but groan in annoyance at Gavin’s costume.

“Gavin, why are you dressed as a fucking vampire?”

Gavin turned around and raised an eyebrow before smiling at Connor with his fake set of teeth, making the boy giggle. His costume could hardly be called a vampire. He had simply popped in fake teeth and thrown on a cape over his shirt.

“Well, one of us will have to change.”

“I can’t believe we have the same costume.”

“Me, neither.”

“Yours isn’t even a costume.” Hank shook his head in amusement. “It’s so low effort.”

“Should I rather be wearing a dumb vampire costume like you?”

“I picked it out.” Connor protested, crossing his arms over his chest. “I wanted Dad’s costume to match mine!”

“I guess I just don’t like it because it’s Hank who’s wearing it.” Gavin laughed a little. “But you look positively adorable. I’ll be voting for you in the costume contest.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“No problem, kiddo.”

“Can we join in on the party games?” Connor asked sweetly, looking up at Hank. “Please?”

“Sure, I guess.” Hank said and took Connor’s hand. “Want to do the ‘Witch’s Hat Ring Toss’? You just have to take the rings and try to toss them over the hats.”

“Alright.” He smiled, pulling Hank along before he looked up at the detective next to them. “Do you want to join us, Gavin?”

“Sure, why now?”

When they arrived at the game setup everyone there started to compliment Connor on his costume, telling him how adorable he looked and how well thought out it was. The boy thanked them bashfully and held onto Hank’s leg as the officer operating the game spoke up.

“Why don’t you try your luck? You get to take these three rings and try your best!”

Connor did as he was told and tried to toss the rings onto the witch hats. And after failing the first time and then recalculating his next throws more precisely he managed to get the two other rings onto the hats. Everyone clapped for him and Connor smiled proudly. But Hank’s opinion was as always the most important to him and he quickly looked up at the man.

“How was that, dad? Did I do good?”

“Yeah, you did a good job.” Hank praised, ruffling Connor’s hair before pointing at their companion. “Look, Gavin isn’t as good at it as you are.”

“Screw you, Hank.” Gavin snapped playfully, flipping the man off, before he sighed as he missed the hats with the last ring, as well. “Damn it. Whatever, I’ll go get some food.”

Hank and Connor watched Gavin leave before once more beginning to walk around to look for other activities to do. By the end of the evening, Hank had impressed Connor with how good he was at bobbing for apples and Connor had gotten a pumpkin plushie key chain from the mystery boxes that were set up by the entrance. As the evening dragged on Hank noticed that Connor was getting tired as the boy was not running around anymore but rather just holding onto his father’s hand, watching everyone around him. His suspicions were confirmed when Connor let go of his hand to reach out for him.

“Dad, can you pick me up?”

“Are you tired? It’s pretty late, isn’t it? We should probably head home.” Hank mused as he bent down to pick Connor up to which the boy immediately cuddled up to Hank and closed his eyes. “Yeah, that’s our cue to leave.”

But before they could, the female officer from earlier, Eve, announced that they would now decide on the winner of the costume contest. At that, Connor’s eyes snapped back open and he begged Hank to stay a few minutes longer. Seeing no issue with staying for another half hour or so Hank just nodded and made his way to where everyone else was congregating.

“Alright, let’s see who had the best costumes this year. Third place goes to Kathrine for her super cool octopus costume!”

Everyone clapped for Kathrine and Connor cuddled closer to Hank, watching the woman walk up to Eve to accept her price of a bronze-coloured pumpkin trophy made from hard plastic. That’s when Fowler approached them and just as Gavin, he was minimally dressed up, wearing only a pirate's hat and an eyepatch.

“It’s getting pretty late. Maybe you should take Connor home and to bed. He looks tired.”

“Since when do you care about Connor?”

“Look, I’m sorry about everything that happened. I’ve actually been looking for you all evening to tell you this.” Fowler explained softly, making Connor look back at him. “It’s been a hard month ever since the case started, with the higher-ups putting a lot of pressure on me and us not finding any good leads. And then Connor ended up like this and wasn’t of much help, either. I let the stress get the better of me and I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, I understand how stressful things have been. I was also stressed out about the case and insisted on helping which probably made it harder for you to-- to see how much it all affected me.” Connor whispered with a soft smile. “Thank you for apologising.”

Hank looked at Connor in confusion and shook his head. “Connor, after everything--”

“Listen, Connor, I’m really sorry for letting the stress get the better of me but what I am most sorry for is what I said to you about not being Hank’s son. It had been a horrible day and I let it out on you. I just hope that with Detective Reed working on the case with your dad, we can all get into more of a comfortable and productive streak.” Fowler explained before sighing softly. “I am really sorry about what I said. I hope you aren’t too upset about everything that happened.”

“I was really upset about what you said but-- but Dad comforted me and took care of me, so I’m fine now.”

“That’s good to hear. And by the way, your costume is really nice, Connor.” Fowler said with a small smile. “I voted for you.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Just then they heard Eve proclaim that they would now announce who got first place in the contest. The three of them turned back to the front to find a fellow officer dressed in a homemade Ghostbuster costume walking back to his friends, carrying a plastic silver witch trophy in his hands and grinning happily.

“And the winner of the costume contest is Connor for his bat costume.”

“I suppose others agreed with me.” Fowler said with a smile before turning back to Connor. “Congratulations.”

“Let’s go get your price.” Hank smiled and set the boy down just to be immediately dragged toward Eve. “Don’t have to tell you twice, I see.”

Once there, Connor stopped and peered up at Eve who quickly crouched down to hand him a golden skeleton trophy made from hard plastic which the boy took carefully, looking at it in nothing short of awe.

“Congratulations, little bat. You look so adorable in your costume.”

“Thank you.” Connor smiled brightly, blushing a little at the attention and the compliments as he held the trophy close to his chest. “I’m really happy!”

“Thanks, Eve.” Hank rubbed the boy’s back and smiled at the woman. “And thank you for telling us about the party. I know we have one every year but with everything that’s been going on, I would have forgotten it and that would have been a shame because Connor had a great time.”

“I did.” Connor nodded eagerly. “I had so much fun!”

“I’m glad you did, sweetheart.” She smiled before looking back at the rest of the people in the bullpen. “And with that, we can go back to having fun! Enjoy the rest of the evening, folks!”

While everyone dispersed again Connor wrapped an arm around Hank’s leg, leaning his head against it and closing his eyes. When Hank saw this he leaned down to pick Connor up, proclaiming that they’d be going now. All Connor did was nod before he snuggled closer to Hank who started making his way toward the door. They crossed Fowler and Tina to whom Connor wished a nice rest of the party before passing Gavin at whom the boy nodded tiredly. Once outside, he looked up at Hank.

“I hope this was fun for you, too.”

“As ridiculous as I felt in my costume, yes it was. I had a lot of fun.”

---

When they arrived home Hank did quick work feeding Sumo and letting him out one last time while Connor got ready for bed. Once the dog was settled on the couch Hank got changed and made his way to the bedroom. Hank entered the room to find Connor already asleep, cuddling Sumo Junior. The man couldn’t help but smile fondly as he climbed into bed himself and pulled the blanket over Connor’s shoulders. As always Sumo quickly made his way inside and lay down at the foot of the bed. Just as Hank was about to drift off his phone rang.

Connor next to him whimpered a little and his face scrunched up in irritation while Hank quickly picked up, not even looking at who it was as he hoped the boy would remain asleep. Luckily, he did and just snuggled deeper into his pillow as Hank spoke up in a hushed tone.

“Anderson.”

“This is Markus. I’m very sorry to call you up this late but I just received a message from CyberLife. They have just gotten hold of the last missing biocomponent they need for repairing Connor’s old unit. And they will be able to transfer his memories into his old body the day after tomorrow unless an emergency or something of the sort should come up.”

“Really?” Hank whispered softly. “That is a surprise but thank you for letting us know. I’ll tell Connor in the morning and then I’ll call you back, alright? He’s already asleep.”

“That’s absolutely fine. I did call you really late in the evening.” Markus said gently. “Have a good night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Good night. Thanks for contacting me.”

With a heavy sigh, he lay back down in bed and put an arm around the boy next to him. Connor smiled and cuddled up to him, still deep asleep and unaware of what Hank had just been told. Soon, the android would be an adult again but Hank swore to himself that he would forever be his son.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, dad.“

Hank was startled as Connor spoke up and wrapped a pair of tiny arms around the man’s legs, having not heard the boy approach. But he turned and gave the android a small smile, setting his knife that he’d been making his breakfast with down on the counter. When Connor looked up at him with a bright smile he felt a pang of pain in his chest at what Markus had told him yesterday but he tried not to let it show.

“Hey, did you sleep well, little bat?”

“Yes. Why are you up before me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the party really tired you out.” Hank shrugged before he sat down at the table. “Connor, will you sit with me for a little? I need to talk to you.”

Connor nodded and climbed onto the chair. “Is everything alright? Are you feeling well? I can make you some noodle soup if you don’t.”

“I’m fine.” Hank sighed and looked down at his food. “You were already asleep, so you didn’t hear it but Markus called.”

“What did he say?”

“CyberLife is currently repairing your old body and he said that tomorrow they can transfer your memories to your old body.”

Connor looked down at the table, blinking slowly as he thought for a second. “I see. That’s good, isn’t it? Everything will be back to normal.”

“Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Connor mumbled.

“Connor, don’t lie to me. You can tell me anything, son.”

“It’s a big change and now I will have to go to crime scenes again and everyone will be rude to me again.” Connor mumbled out, tears gathering in his eyes as he spoke. “And-- and you won’t be able to hold me when I’m upset anymore. And worst of-- of all, I can’t be your son anymore!”

Upon seeing Connor cry Hank immediately rushed to his side, pulling the boy close. “Connor, listen to me. Listen to your dad, alright? Everything will be fine. No one will be mean to you and you don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. And I’ll always be your father and you will always be my son.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Hank kissed Connor’s head. “Now, how about we get dressed and head to work?”

When they got to work their colleagues reacted very positively to the news, telling Connor that this would not change their interaction with him in any negative way. Fowler was pleased to hear that everything would be back to normal and offered Connor a vacation day for the day after the memory transfer to get used to his old body again which Hank and Connor gladly accepted. Then they went on to talk to Gavin who frowned when he heard the news.

“Tomorrow’s pretty soon. They could have given you more of a heads-up.”

“They’re doing their best.” Hank sighed with a shrug. “It’s still a little sad. There’s so much Connor could experience as a child.”

“I know. Like an amusement park or fun fair.” Gavin said and then stopped as he saw Connor’s sad expression. “But don’t worry, I’ll be just as nice to you as I am now, okay? And you can still do fun things even as an adult.”

Connor whispered out his thanks and hugged Gavin quickly. Hank put a hand on Connor’s shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly until the boy was ready to go back to work. The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Despite their plans to do something fun in the evening both of them just ended up cuddling on the couch like they did the first evening after Connor had come home like this.

---

When Hank arrived at CyberLife the next day Connor was clinging to Sumo Junior as the man slowly led him inside and held his hand. They were greeted by a female android who asked them if they had an appointment.

“Good morning. I’m Lieutenant Hank Anderson. I’m here with Connor. He was an RK800 and was--”

“I remember.” The woman said with a smile. “Will you take a seat until Doctor Meyer can see you? She’ll call you up when she’s done.”

Hank nodded and led Connor to the sitting area. As soon as he’d sat down next the boy was clinging to his side in fear.

“I’m scared, Dad.”

“I know.” Hank said gently, stroking the boy’s hair. “But I’ll be here until you fall asleep and I’ll be there when you wake up. Nothing will happen to you.”

“Promise?” Connor whispered uncertainly. “And when I’m an adult again can I-- can I still be your son?”

“Of course. You’ll always be my son. It doesn’t matter if you are a grown-up or not. I just wish you would have had more time to experience the world like a child.”

“You’ve helped me spend a great couple of weeks. I love you, dad.”

“Love you, too, son.”

Suddenly the receptionist looked up, fixing her eyes on them. “Lieutenant Anderson? You and Connor can go up now to the twentieth floor. The first room is to the left. Just knock and she will call you inside. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Hank nodded and pulled Connor’s hand gently. “Come on, son.”

“Can you carry me?” Connor asked, his lip quivering as tears collected in his eyes. “One last time?”

Hank simply nodded and picked him up. “Alright, up you go. Now let’s get going.”

“Will it hurt?”

“I don’t know but I’m pretty sure it won’t hurt.”

Connor sniffled and held onto Hank as he carried him into the elevator. The boy was starting to panic, his breath quickening and tears running down his cheeks, and Hank was thinking of what to do. He eventually decided to hum a song for Connor, making him look up.

“That sounds nice.”

“Cole liked it when I did that. When he got scared it would always help him.”

“I love you, dad.”

“Love you, too. You’re a great son.” He said before a ding alerted them to the fact that they had arrived on their floor. “The elevator is here.”

When they exited Doctor Meyer was already waiting for them. She was a young female android who Hank had to admit looked rather friendly. She smiled at them, leaning forward to get a good look at Connor when they got close enough.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Meyer. But you can call me by my first name if you are more comfortable with that. My first name is Diana.”

“Will it hurt?”

“He’s very scared.”

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll all be fine. You won’t feel a thing.” At Connor’s nod, she continued. “Why don’t you come with me? I will prepare everything. Your father -- I assume -- can wait here.”

Before anything could even react Connor burst into tears, shaking his head vehemently. “No! I want Dad to come with me! Please, he promised he would. Don’t make me go without him.”

“Calm down, Connor.” Diana said gently, trying to soothe the boy. “Your dad can come if you need him to. During the transfer, he should wait outside but he can stay with you until you are asleep and then he can wait here for you to wake up again.”

The boy nodded, clutching Sumo Junior tightly as they followed Diana. He kept clinging to Hank until they reached the room the transfer would happen in. Connor saw two chairs, one with a lot of wires attached to it and the other holding his former unit. The boy gasped at seeing all the wires but Diana was there to comfort him.

“It won’t hurt. I promise. Come on, sit down on the chair and we’ll connect you to the wires. Your dad can hold your hand until you fall asleep.”

Connor looked at Hank who gently put him down and nodded towards the chair. “It’s alright. It won’t hurt. You heard the doctor, right?”

“Okay.” Connor nodded, the knuckles of his fist slipping into his mouth as he began to suck on them for comfort. “But you stay.”

“Of course.”

Connor sat down on the chair and Hank took his hand, holding it tightly and not even commenting on how the android had once again stuck his fingers into his mouth. Diana praised Connor and started to connect the wires.

“Dad.” Connor whimpered out as Diana moved around him. “Daddy, I’m scared.”

“It’s alright, I’m here. You have nothing to be afraid of. It’ll all be over soon.”

“Is-- is this not hard for you? Seeing-- seeing my current body basically die?”

“That’s not important right now. Right now, you are more important and I can deal with it. I’m here for you.” Hank cooed softly. “I’ll hold your hand until you’re asleep, alright?”

Connor nodded and took a deep breath but began to sob quietly when Diana connected the wires to his other hand, forcing him to let go of Sumo Junior. “Can you take him, daddy?”

Hank nodded and took the plush. “I’ll keep him safe until you’re awake again.”

“Alright, now close your eyes, Connor.” Diana instructed and moved to the keyboard nearby. “It’s just like falling asleep or entering the stasis.”

“Okay.” Connor sniffled but looked at Hank one more time. “Promise you’ll be there and still love me, Dad.”

“I’ll always love you, son.”

“I love you, too.”

Connor took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The last thing he felt was Hank pressing a comforting kiss on his forehead. Then everything went black. His body went limp on the chair and Diana turned to Hank.

“Alright, could you wait outside? You can call for someone to bring you water or coffee. This may take a bit so you can also leave and we’ll call you when I’m done.”

“No way. I’ll stay right here. I promised.”

“Very well then, you can wait in the seating area outside. I’ll call someone up to get you something to drink.” She pressed a button on her pad and then wanted to work. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Hank nodded and went outside. Someone soon came to take his order but Hank couldn’t even remember if he ordered a coffee or a glass of water. He just kept staring at the door, holding Sumo Junior in his arms and hoping that Connor would be alright.

---

“Lieutanant Anderson?”

“Is he ready?”

“He is. He’s still not conscious but I will start the system once you are there.” Diana smiled gently. “Just like you promised him.”

Hank nodded and entered the room. The YK500 unit still lay in the chair. It looked like it was sleeping and next to it was Connor, looking just the way he did on his first day at the station. His eyes were closed and Hank moved over to gently place Sumo Junior in the android’s hands before nodding at Diana.

“Start the system.”

Diana nodded and pressed a few buttons before looking at the pad in his hands. “His system is starting up. All the biocomponents are activating. His Thirium pump is working the way it should and all the sensors for his senses are going online. He should be waking up any minute now. Everything is working fine.”

Just as she’d said that Connor’s eyes snapped open, fixing on Hank immediately. “Hank, you’re actually here.”

“Do you think I’d leave you here?” The man mumbled out as he looked at Connor. “How are you feeling? Numb? Tired?”

“Hank, this wasn’t an actual surgery.” Connor chuckled softly. “I wasn’t under any form of anaesthesia. All my systems are fully functional.”

“Then I’m relieved.”

Connor nodded and looked at his lap when his hands brushed against the plush dog there. “Sumo Junior?”

“I thought you might want to hold him once you wake up.” Hank offered a small smile. “Are you ready to go?”

“He is.” Diana assured him as she watched Connor slowly stand. “You just need to tell the receptionist that you are leaving and sign a few forms.”

“Then let’s head home.”

---

The car ride was mostly quiet. Connor kept gazing out the window, playing with his coin while Hank was driving and trying to find a good radio station that wasn’t playing the same five songs on repeat. The android looked down at the plush again and then sighed, cocking his head to the side and making Hank peak at him.

“You know you can cuddle with it. It’s yours. It was a gift.”

“I’m an adult now.”

“So what? Do you think I’ve never cuddled up to my pillow at night?” Hank snorted and shook his head. “It’s normal to have some sort of comfort object. I’m sure ninety per cent of adults have some sort of plush animal in their home. It’s human to want comfort.”

“I’m not a human.”

“You can sleep, talk, walk and do all the other stuff humans can do -- and even more.” Hank assured the android. “Don’t be such a downer. Let’s go home and watch a movie like we did for all these weeks.”

“Alright.” Connor said softly. “I’m sorry. I’m just emotionally a little bit confused but I assure you I will be back to normal in no time.”

Hank pulled into the driveway and sighed, switching off the car and turning to look at Connor. “Alright, let’s get one thing straight. You don’t have to be back to normal. Who even say what normal is? For the first few weeks, I knew you I thought you being a sarcastic asshole who was obsessed with his mission was normal. Who is to say what’s normal now? If you’re emotionally confused right now, it’s fine. If you need time to get used to being a grown-up, it’s fine. And if you need anything, tell me.”

“Can we watch a Disney movie?”

“Sure.” Hank nodded and got out of the car. “Come on, the weatherman said it’s going to rain soon.”

Connor got out of the car and into the house after Hank. Inside, Sumo came running up to them and when he saw Connor he came sprinting over, jumping up his legs and licking at his face. The android let out a happy laugh and began to pet the dog.

“Hey, my good boy. Did you miss me?”

“Come on, Sumo. It’s time for dinner.” Hank said softly before turning to the android. “Connor, you can settle on the couch if you want to.”

The rest of the evening passed slowly. Hank ate dinner and they settled on the couch, watching ‘The Iron Giant’ again. Connor was sitting rather upright, his legs folded and his hands in his lap but he kept sneaking glances over at Hank. The man noticed and just sighed, putting his arm across the back of the couch behind Connor.

“Come here. We can cuddle if you want to.”

Connor took him up on that invitation immediately and nestled against Hank. “Thanks.”

“Did you listen to a word I said earlier? If you need anything, you can ask. And if you need a hug or something to make this easier, you ask. Got it?”

“Got it. It’s just not easy being a child and then suddenly being turned into an adult.”

“I can totally understand that. I can only imagine how hard that must be. I mean you had the mindset of a child and now you’re suddenly a grown-up again. But if some of that transferred into you now and it takes you a few days or weeks to shake that off, I’ll be here. Even if you can’t shake it off, I’ll be here.”

The android sighed in relief before grinning a little. “Because you’re my dad?”

“Because I’m your dad.” Hank chuckled before looking at his phone for a second. “I should get to bed. It’s late. Would you let Sumo out while I go into the bathroom?”

Connor looked up at Hank and reluctantly pulled back. letting the man wander off to the bathroom. He let Sumo outside and waited in the doorway until the dog got back inside. By the time Sumo had settled and Connor had locked up Hank was back in the living room.

“Alright, I don’t know if you want to sleep in bed with me since you’re no longer a child, so just take the couch, alright?”

“Sure. I could do that.” Connor mumbled out, looking back at the couch. “I think I’ll stay awake. I mean, child androids need sleep but I don’t. It’s merely a luxury.”

“You can sleep if you’d like to. It’s no problem.”

“Yeah, it’s just--” Connor stopped mid-sentence and nodded his head. “Good night.”

“Just what?”

“Nothing. Good night.”

“Alright, good night.” Hank said and left for his room before heaving a sigh as he glanced at the window. “Weatherman was right. It’s raining outside.”

“I know.” Connor mumbled, sitting down on the couch and pulling a blanket over his legs. “Sleep well.”

“You, too.”

It wasn’t even three hours later that he was awoken by lightning striking nearby. The man sat up and rubbed his face, shaking his head as he got up to close the window which he’d left open to let some air inside, not expecting a storm of this size.

“Fucking weatherman didn’t tell us about the huge ass thunderstorm instead of a bit of rain. I should probably check on Sumo.”

The dog had never been too scared by thunderstorms but lightning striking nearby, making a loud noise, could have very likely scared him. Hank made his way into the living room but it wasn’t Sumo who was scared, although he was also not asleep. He was sitting next to the couch, sniffing and whining at Connor. The android was curled up and crying, clinging to Sumo Junior and holding onto his blanket. Hank quickly hurried over, concern overtaking him.

“Connor! Fuck, what’s wrong?”

“There was so much blood!” He sobbed out brokelny. “And then-- then I heard a loud gunshot and you-- you were dead!”

“Hey, look at me, son.” Hank inquired, grabbing Connor’s face to turn it toward him. “Look at me and tell me again that I’m fucking dead.”

“I--”

“You had a nightmare and the gunshot you heard was just lightning striking nearby. You just had a nightmare.” Hank assured and looked down. “Sumo Junior knows that it was only a nightmare, too.”

“I didn’t want to sleep alone and-- and I grabbed him and--”

“You could have told me if you were too scared or worried about nightmares.” Hank mumbled quietly. “Was that what you were going to say earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, you sleep with me tonight.” Hank stated and stood up straight again. “And tomorrow night and forever if you need to. My bed is big enough for two people and a huge dog, so we’ll be fine.”

“Thank you, dad.”

“Come on, son.”

He helped Connor up and guided him into his room, gently pushing him down on the bed. Connor crawled back until he was in the right position to which Hank pulled a blanket over him. Once he had tucked the android in he got in himself and turned towards Connor.

“We will work everything out. If it takes some time to get used to this, then we’ll take some time.”

“Can I have a hug? The storm’s so loud.”

“I know.” Hank put an arm around Connor as lightning struck again. “Hey, what shapes did you see?”

Connor looked up and a bright smile spread on his face. “Seriously?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“I’d say a big dog.” Connor smiled and looked at Hank. “Will you come up with a story for it now?”

“Sure.” Hank mumbled, rubbing Connor’s back comfortingly. “You go into sleep mode or whatever it’s called. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Connor smiled, closing his eyes as Hank started to talk about a big dog, protecting its family. The android was asleep in seconds, holding onto Hank who quieted down when he realised this. He sighed softly and rubbed Connor’s back some more, vowing that they would work this out.

Chapter Text

The first time Hank and Connor arrived at work after the memory transfer everyone’s head snapped towards the door, trying to see if the android was really back to how he’d been before. Some of the people were waving and smiling but none of them came up to speak to Connor.

“See? I told you. They still don’t like the idea of androids taking up actual jobs and they don’t like me.”

“Don’t say that. They’re probably busy.” Hank said gently. “Let’s go to our tables and see what Fowler has given us to work with.”

Connor nodded and followed him. After doing a bit of work for their new mission Gavin showed up, leaning on the table and examining Connor who peered up at him in interest.

“Back to normal, I see.” He said and looked at Connor. “You can’t even tell how badly they ripped you apart.”

Connor looked up, a kind smile on his lips. “Yes, they did a good job fixing me up. Are you still coming to the crime scene with us?”

“I think so.” Gavin mumbled with a shrug. “Fowler would have told me if I shouldn’t come. So I’d say you pricks will have to bear with me for the day.”

“Pricks? Plural?”

“I thought that maybe you’d be a little bit more resilient against insults. It wasn’t meant negatively -- just like a nickname.”

“I knew everyone would be mean to me again once I’m back to normal.” The android whispered, twirling his pen with his fingers. “I guess, I should have expected it.”

“Be nice, you asshole.” Hank snapped at Gavin. “He’s still a little more sensitive than before. It might wear off or it might not. In any case, stop being a prick.”

“Fine, fine.” Gavin shook his head at Hank. “Anyways, wanna head to the crime scene? It’s a family home. They’d just renovated the house because they were planning on adopting a child. It was a woman in her late twenties and her female android partner. The woman’s name is Sharon Gillian and the android is named Kate.”

Connor felt tears rise in his eyes at Gavin’s words. “That’s so sad. Now they’ll never get the chance to have a child.”

“Hey, it’s okay. They’re in a better place now or-- and there they can have as many children as they want to.” Gavin looked at Hank, panic in his eyes. “Right?”

“Of course.”

“But what’s even more important is that this time we have a witness. It was Sharon’s sister Jennifer. She was in the bathroom when the murderer entered and ran out when she heard her sister scream. Sharon died on the way to the hospital but Jennifer caught a glimpse of the culprit when they fled.” Gavin finished quickly. “Now, come on. We’ll talk on the way to the crime scene.”

“Alright.” Hank mumbled and got up, putting his jacket on and placing a hand on Connor’s back. “If this gets too much for you, tell me.”

“I’m an adult, so I’m fine.”

“So? I’ve seen grown men and women scream in fear every time we chased a suspect.”

“Let’s go.” Gavin urged, drawing out the last word. “Come on.”

“Fine let’s go.”

---

The crime scene was at a small two-story house. Connor, Hank and Gavin entered and were immediately met by Eve. She saw Connor and gave him a small smile.

“Connor, it’s good to see you’re back to normal. Did Detective Reed tell you about everything?”

“Yes, he told us about the victims and the witness.” Hank explained quickly. “I assume that someone is already talking to Jennifer?”

“Yes, but you can talk to her, too. Once you’re back at the station we’ll bring her to you.” Eve assured them. “Has he told you that we’re missing biocomponents of the affected android? The culprit removed parts of Kate and took her Thirium pump as well as her Thirium pump regulator. Without it, we won’t be able to reactivate her. That was the problem with the other androids we found beforehand, too -- they were either missing components for reactivation or hadn’t been able to see the attacker.”

“We’ll find them and then we’ll question Jennifer.” Gavin promised before nodding at the other two men. “Let’s get started.”

They searched around the house and found several clues that let Connor reconstruct the scene and determine how the suspect entered the home. When they found blue blood Connor quickly analysed it.

“It was a female AP700. She entered through the window which the victims couldn’t hear due to the music but she cut herself while entering.” Connor explained softly. “It’s likely that she lives on her own or with other androids and that she searches for replacements for herself or those other androids. But Kate’s components were incompatible. They must still be here.”

“Good job, son.” Hank praised softly. “Come on, get off the floor and we’ll look for the pump and the regulator.”

They did just that and Connor did find the Thirium pump in the shower. The whole shower was covered in blue blood and the pump lay on the drain. It was enough to cause Connor to gasp in shock upon seeing how much Thirium was splattered everywhere. Hank was fortunately nearby and entered quickly.

“What happened?”

“I found the pump.” Connor whispered, still staring at the Thirium in the shower. “And a whole lot of blood. I didn’t know that the crime happened so recently. It has to have happened in the last hour or two.”

“Yes, I forgot to tell you. I thought you’d read it in the case file.”

“We should go and find the regulator.”

“Will you be okay? We can step outside if this is too much.”

“I’m an adult.”

“That doesn’t change a thing. Connor, if--”

“I’m fine!” The android said forcefully but immediately shook his head. “I’m sorry. I-- I just felt so useless for the past weeks and I really want to help but this is so much blood and-- Please, don’t be angry for me snapping at you, Dad.”

“As if I’d ever be. Just please tell me if you need a break.”

“I will. Let’s keep searching.”

Within the next ten minutes, they found the regulator in the bushes in the front yard and drove back to the station to reactivate Kate. All the while, Gavin questioned Jennifer in the interrogation room. Connor quickly entered the room Kate was in and sat down opposite her.

“My name is Connor. I’m a police officer and I’m here to help you.”

“You’re an android.”

“So are you. I became an officer after the revolution led by Markus. And I am here to help you, Kate.”

“Don’t call me that. She chose that name for me and now she’s gone.”

“Sharon?”

“Yes, who else would I be talking about?”

“Alright, I suggest we openly talk about this. I really want to help you.”

“Because that’s your damn job!”

“Because I don’t want anyone else to suffer like you do now. I’m close to a few humans, too. My father is a human and I’d be devastated if anything happened to him. I want to stop the android who did that. Can you give me a description or let me see your memory?”

Kate sighed and held out her arm. “Knock yourself out.”

“Thank you. You’re a great help to this investigation.”

With that he probed her memory and closed his eyes, tears were filling them as he felt the emotions Kate had during the attack and Sharon’s death. When he finally pulled back he all but jumped out of his chair.

“Thank you for your help. An officer will take care of you from here on out. I need to go and talk to the rest of the task force.”

Connor left and made a mad dash to the bathroom but ran straight into Hank who wrapped his arms around him.

“Easy, son. I’ve got you. You saw her memory?”

“The unit's face is damaged. It’s missing an eye and a big part of his left face half.” Connor whimpered in tears. “We can find her.”

“First of all, we’ll calm you down.” Hank promised softly. “Let’s sit down on the bench over there, alright?”

Connor nodded and followed, sitting down with Hank and the man held the android tightly, shushing him and letting him cry.

“I felt her loss of Sharon.” Connor sobbed out. “I can’t lose you. I love you so much, dad. What if something happens to you?”

“Son, you need to breathe for me or do whatever androids do instead. Maybe ventilate for me. Alright?”

Connor sniffled and clung to Hank, trying to calm himself as the man stroked his hair. “Daddy, I was so terrified.”

“It’s alright.” Hank repeated all over again before pulling out Sumo JUnior from his jacket pocket and pressing it into Connor’s hands. “Here, take this.”

The android stared at it for a second and then held it tightly. “This is dumb. I’m an adult. I should be able to handle this.”

“I am an adult, too and I cried about cases, too. I also cry whenever there’s a dog in a movie or when I watch nostalgic films.” Hank joked and Connor felt himself laugh. “Besides if anyone laughs at you or judges you, I’ll punch them in the face.”

“Thank you but that won’t be necessary.”

“I like you more when you laugh.” Hank smiled and pressed his lips to Connor’s head. “Now let’s go and tell Reed about the culprit, so we can actively search for her.”

About twenty minutes later Gavin had told Fowler about the appearance of the android and the captain had sent out a search notice. The man then got back and sat down on Connor’s desk since the android had pulled his chair around the desks to sit next to Hank, practically in his lap at this point.

“Hey, we can clock out in ten minutes. Fowler said that we could leave on time today, so maybe you should take the time to distract yourself.” Gavin suggested softly. “You could go to the fun fair. It opened yesterday. My goddaughter was there and she had a lot of fun. I think she wants to go there again, today -- she’s a little spoiled.”

Connor looked up and wiped his eyes. “Do you want to do something with us? We could go there together?”

“Actually, my friend asked me to go out with him and--” He started but stopped when he saw Connor’s pleading eyes. “I guess, we could go there. Let’s just pack up and head out.”

---

The funfair was fairly small but it was nice all the same. There were various rides and places to eat. Connor was walking close to Hank and Gavin as they ventured through the crowds. The android eventually suggested a ferries wheel and of course, the other two couldn’t say no to that idea. Thus they all went on the Ferris wheel.

“I’m sitting in a fucking Ferris wheel with Hank and his android.” Gavin grumbled out. “I just can’t be an asshole to kids.”

Hank shook his head at that. “Like that’s something negative.”

“It’s not.” Connor smiled softly. “You are a very kind person, Gavin. Even if you act though, inside you are all nice and gooey.”

“Don’t call me gooey.” Gavin snapped but had to laugh. “What the hell, Connor?”

“This was a good idea, Gavin.”

“It really was. I have to give you that, Reed.”

When they got back down Connor suggested going onto the carousel. They made their way there when they suddenly heard someone call out Gavin’s name. When they turned they found a young girl, no older than seven running up to him.

“Uncle Gavin!”

Connor and Hank were both surprised at how much Gavin’s face lit up at seeing the girl and how he immediately picked her up. “Ashley! Convinced Mommy to take you here again?”

“Yes!” Ashley smiled and hugged Gavin. “Are those your friends? Are they policemen, too?”

“Yes, we are.” Connor smiled gently. “And you must be Gavin’s goddaughter.”

“Yep.” Ashley smiled and looked up at Gavin. “Will you go onto the carousel with me? We can ride the carriage!”

“Yes, of course, Honey. Let’s go.”

“You’re very good with children.” Connor said cheerfully. “That’s actually really adorable, I have to admit.”

Gavin stilled and his face flushed bright red. “Oh, shut up.”

“I didn’t expect you to be this good with kids.” Hank crossed his arms with a smirk. “You really are all soft and gooey inside.2

“That is my cue to leave!”

“Because we teased you?” Connor walked up to Gavin and smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry that we embarrassed you.”

“No, because now my goddaughter is here and her mom is watching me in annoyance from over there because she knows I’m going to spoil her.”

“Will you win me a plush, Uncle Gavin?”

“I’ll do my very best but as a cop I should be able to shoot the cans, right?” Gavin laughed and smiled back at Connor. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye!” Connor waved as Gavin left and then turned to Hank. “He should have a kid himself.”

“Yeah, but first of all he needs a functioning relationship.”

“Do you want to go home or stay here?”

“You wanted to see the carousel in the dark. It’s getting dark and the rides are lightning up, so let’s get you there.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“No problem.”

They went to the carousel where Connor insisted on Hank coming onto the ride with him. As always, Hank couldn’t say no to Connor which is how they both ended up on two different horses next to each other.

“This evening was a lot of fun.” Connor smiled brightly. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Anything for my son.” Hank chuckled and looked down at himself with a headshake. “This is really ridiculous. At least Gavin has a little kid with him.”

A few horses behind them Gavin was sitting on one of the horses with Ashley who was cheering at him to ride faster. Gavin was smiling all the while and making sure she didn’t fall off.

“No wonder he was nice to me as a kid.” Connor laughed. “He loves kids. But don’t mention it. He wants to be the bad boy.”

“Yeah, such a bad boy.”

When the ride was over they slowly walked towards the entrance to leave. Hank stopped and looked around before they could get out.

“Wait, I should pick up some food while we’re here.”

“Something healthy.”

“This is a fun fair. You’ll never find anything healthy here.”

“They have steamed mushrooms.”

“I’d rather lick blue blood off the floor than eat steamed mushrooms. Those things are nasty.” Hank chuckled, making a disgusted face. “How about burgers?”

“Fine, we’ll have burgers as a treat.”

“We? You can’t eat.”

“You’ll have burgers.”

After Hank had picked up a burger and was eating it they walked towards the exit. They passed Gavin who had just won a bear for Ashley and was smiling proudly at her presenting it to her mother. When he spotted Hank and Connor he narrowed his eyes a little.

“Don’t freaking mention this to anyone at the station. I have an image to uphold.”

“An image of a bad boy that says ‘freaking’ around kids?” Hank laughed at him. “Yeah, sure. Why would I talk about you anyway?”

“Come on, dad.” Connor pulled at Hank’s sleeve. “Leave him be. Goodbye, Gavin. Have fun.”

“Thanks!”

Then Hank and Connor left and got into Hank’s car. Inside, Hank made sure that Connor was buckled up and the android leaned against the headrest and closed his eyes, making the man eye him in question.

“Tired?”

“It’s weird. I don’t really get tired.” He mumbled in confusion. “Maybe some of my programming is off. I’ll run a diagnosis later if you want me to.”

“If you want to.” Hank said and turned the key to start the car. “You rest while I get us home.”

“Alright.”

Connor smiled and closed his eyes but opened them again when he felt something being sat down in his lap, to find SUmo JUnior sitting on his legs. He gave Hank a questioning glance and the man chuckled.

“Sorry, force of habit.”

Connor smiled and held the plush in his arms, closing his eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”

“No problem, son.”

Chapter Text

The next day Hank and Connor met Gavin when they walked across the parking lot to the station. Connor waved happily and Gavin waved back, watching as the android hurried over to speak to him while Hank slowly followed.

“How long did you and your goddaughter stay at the funfair?” Connor smiled happily. “You are so cute with children.”

“Be quiet.” Gavin mumbled. “I’m not cute. I don’t want anyone to hear that.”

“Why?” Hank crossed his arms. “Because people might actually like you?”

“No, because I don’t want everyone to think I’m a gooey sweetheart that melts around children and just pretends to be though.”

“That is a perfect description of you.”

“That’s not a bad thing, by the way.” Connor pointed out and pulled at Hank’s sleeve. “Leave him alone. Let’s go.”

Hank smirked to himself but nodded, following Connor inside while Gavin rolled his eyes and followed. When they entered the station there were balloons everywhere and suddenly everyone began to yell when they saw Connor enter.

“Surprise!”

Before any of them could answer Eve hurried up to them and smiled. “This is a welcome back party for Connor. I mean, we didn’t know that yesterday you’d already be an adult, so we couldn’t prepare for it and it’s also not really a party because we have to work. But there’s a cake and we all collected money to buy you a little something. Chris, will you bring him the present?”

Chris nodded and brought the present to Connor. “Here you go. It’s not much but we thought you’d like it.”

Connor opened the package carefully and smiled a little. “A gift card.”

“To the local aquarium. We know you like fish so we thought you’d like to go there.”

“Thanks.” Connor smiled and pulled out the card in the package, feeling his eyes tear up as he looked down. “You even wrote me a card?”

“Oh no, why are you crying? Was that wrong of us?”

“No, he’s just a little sensitive still.” Hank mumbled and rubbed Connor’s back. “But this was really nice of you all.”

“Gina will bring in a cake later. She made sure to make it edible for you.” Eve smiled brightly. “She still wants to add some details. It’s her free day.”

“She spends her free day decorating a tree for me?”

Before Eve could answer Fowler stepped out of his office. “I don’t want to undermine the celebrations but I need to talk to Reed, Anderson and Connor in my office.”

“You can call me Anderson, too.”

“Come inside, please.”

Gavin and Hank went inside while Connor put the present away before following them. Inside, the two men were sitting on either of the chairs while Connor took the place behind Hank’s chair, placing a hand on the back of it as he chose to stand.

“We’ve found the culprit. It’s an android assigned as Amy who claimed couples composed of androids and humans undermined everything the revolution stood for. She was part of a small group of androids and stole the victims' biocomponents to give them to other androids in need of repairs because she deemed those without human partners as more worthy. She’s going to jail.” Fowler said with a small smile. “Thank you, Detectives. You did a good job.”

“Any time.” Connor smiled softly. “We’re glad we could be of help.”

“Yeah, it’s our job.” Gavin shrugged and leaned back. “But I’m glad she’s caught.”

“Me, too.” Hank nodded before looking back at Fowler. “Is that all?”

“Almost. Connor, I wanted to apologize again for my behaviour. I didn’t realize how childlike your mindset really was. If I had taken a little time to get to know the new you instead of blindly taking your word for it I would have probably realized it, too.”

“He has nightmares.” Hank hissed before Connor could answer. “There was a thunderstorm two days ago and during it, I found him sobbing on the couch, terrified of the loud noises.”

“I had a nightmare. It wasn’t the noise that scared me. It just didn’t help while I was trying to calm back down.” Connor said and put a hand on Hank’s shoulder. “And I’m fine, I promise.”

“If there’s anything, I could do to help, let me know.”

“Could have done something to help from the start.”

“Gavin.” Connor scolded the detective for his words. “He’s just offering help.”

“If he hadn’t--”

“Stop going off at him.” Connor said sternly. “Or I’ll tell everyone about the funfair and how gooey and--”

“Fine! I’m just not sure why you’re nice to him after everything that happened.”

“Because he didn’t know any better and I am partially to blame for that with how adamant I was in the beginning that I could help. He wanted to do all he could to catch someone who was murdering people which is in itself a good thing to do.” Connor smiled before turning to Fowler. “I forgive you. Matter of fact, I was never angry in the first place.”

“Thank you, Connor. That means a lot to me.” Fowler said with a smile. “Now you should get back to work.”

The three of them nodded and separated outside the office, with Gavin heading to his desk. The rest of their workday was rather uneventful. The androids at the precinct enjoyed the Thirium-based cake that was brought in while everyone who wasn’t an android got some store-bought cookies Gina had brought in. During his break, Connor was already starting to plan his trip to the aquarium and Hank watched him with a smile.

---

When Hank opened the front door of his house for Connor Sumo jumped up the android’s legs in an instant which earned him a chuckle and some pats on the head.

“Hey, have you been a good boy?”

Hank looked at the darkening sky outside. “Let’s take him for a walk before we do anything else.”

Sumo was almost as excited as Connor about the walk and the android quickly got the leash while Hank put their bags into his bedroom. Then they went out for a walk. Hank held Sumo’s leash and Connor walked close to the man, eventually grabbing onto his arm and smiling.

“Thank you for taking care of me when I was a child. That must have been hard for you. Not only because I was kind of clingy and sensitive.”

“You’re always clingy and sensitive.” Hank laughed and shook his head, giving Connor a serious expression. “But really, you’re a good guy and obviously I couldn’t just leave you all to yourself. You needed me and I wanted to help you. Besides, we’re friends and we should help each other, even in a fucking weird-ass situation like this one.”

Connor smiled lightly and nodded. “Yes, we should always help each other. I just hope that it wasn’t hard on you, given how much it must have reminded you of Cole and everything that happened.”

“Connor, you needed my help and I wanted to help you. It will always be hard and it sure as fuck was hard but it was the right thing to do. Sometimes you need to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is on you. Especially if your friends need your help.”

Connor felt himself smile more and leaned his head against Hank’s shoulder. “You are a good father and Cole was so lucky to have been your son. You’re one of the best fathers I’ve ever seen and I’m very proud that you’ve accepted me as your son.”

Hank nodded and ruffled Connor’s hair. “I’m honoured to be your father. Everyone should have a parent to look out for them, even when they’re an android that looks like he’s thirty years old.”

“Can we still be a family? Even if I’m an adult now?”

“Of course, Connor. We’ll always be a family. You, me and Sumo.” He then nodded toward the dog in question. “Let’s go the long route so he gets a little bit more exercise. I know your onesie doesn’t fit and you’re an adult now but I have an old pyjama that might be your size, so we can cosy up on the couch and watch a movie.”

“Sounds nice. I like cuddling with you and Sumo.”

“I like spending my evenings with you rather than hanging out in a bar.” Hank mumbled, looking at Sumo. “Besides, you’re my son and I want to spend time with you and I hope that I can still see you explore the world even as an adult.”

“Of course.” Connor smiled softly. “How about we go somewhere special tomorrow? We could go swimming. Or maybe we could go to the zoo or aquarium. Or we’ll go to the cinema or--”

“We can decide that spontaneously. Let’s just enjoy our walk for now.”

“Alright, Dad.”

“Let’s go, son.”

Hank held Sumo’s leash tightly as they walked toward the park nearby. Connor was rambling about what movies they could watch and what they could do tomorrow. And Hank simply listened, smiling to himself. He was looking forward to spending time with Connor and helping him explore the world around him, even if he was an adult again. And most importantly, he was happy to be able to be his father.

His house finally felt like a home again.