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Code Red.
Hunter the Husky is MIA.
Connor is inconsolable—well, as close to inconsolable as Connor can be. Connor’s a well-behaved, quiet kid, so his version of being pouty and freaking out is just being sad on the couch. Every so often, he picks at the hem of his sweatpants.
“It’s okay, Lieutenant.” Connor says, his voice soft. “I can purchase another.”
“It’s not about that, Con. It’s the sentimentality. Hunter meant a lot to you.”
Connor furrows his brow, making that face he does when he doesn’t quiet understand what’s being asked of him.
“Come on, we can turn it into a game. Hunter’s just playing hide-and-seek.”
Connor perks up at the sound of that. One of his favorite games is hide-and-seek. Hank can’t count the number of times he’s pulled the late shift and opened a random cupboard to find Conrad stuffed inside. The android still won’t take a cent of babysitting money, no matter how hard Hank insists.
“I like hide-and-seek,” Connor murmurs. He slowly unfolds himself from the couch. Success.
“So where do you think he went, Con?”
Connor glances around the room, lapsing into what Hank calls “Junior Detective Mode.” Being regressed always shuts down his higher functions, at least a little bit, so he’s not completely capable of the logic and perception he’s capable of on the clock. Hank’s almost positive that he shuts off his scanning and cataloguing functions as well. But none of that means Connor is anything less than capable. Even small, he’s whip-smart, so Hank has no doubt he’ll figure something out.
“Hunter sometimes gets scared when cars drive by.” Connor points out. “And he likes to hide under the couch.”
“Do you think he’s under the couch?” Hank asks. If he closes his eyes, he’s talking to Cole, logic-ing away his nightmares. “Let’s check.”
Connor immediately gets onto his hands and knees to check, which Hank’s back is immensely grateful for.
Connor stands up looking poutier than ever. “He wasn’t there.”
Shit. “Where else does Hunter like to go? Do you think a car scared him?”
Connor’s LED flares yellow as he checks his memory. “Yeah.”
Hank isn’t surprised. The garbage truck is loud, so it scares “Hunter” a lot. “Where else would he go, then?”
Connor hums. “He’d probably be in my room. He likes hiding under the covers.”
Hank takes Connor’s hand and squeezes. “Let’s go there, then.”
They check Connor’s room, but once again turn up with nothing. The last thing Hank wants to do is give up, but the search is only appearing to make Connor more upset. And goddammit, if Hank doesn’t just crumble when Connor’s chin starts to wobble.
“Any other places you can think of?” Hank asks gently, rubbing circles on Connor’s back.
Connor nods slowly. “You won’t get mad at him, right?” He looks at Hank out of the corner of his eye, tears leaking down his cheeks.
“For what?”
“I think he’s hiding in your room.”
“Connor, you know that…Hunter is always allowed in my room, especially if he’s feeling scared. There’s no reason I’d be upset.”
“Okay…” Connor folds his arms over his chest protectively. “He didn’t mean to. He knew you weren’t there. It was just that the garbage truck made him panic.”
Hank nods. “Because it reminds him of when he was still a stray?” Hunter the Husky hasn’t always been with them, or at least that’s what Connor tells him. Before Hunter made it to the toy store, he was a stray. The people that found him caught him after he ran through a busy freeway and almost got hit. And the sounds of cars still give him nightmares.
A fresh set of tears leak out of Connor’s eyes. “He’s still scared of getting hit by a car.”
“Connor.” Hank thumbs the tears from Connor’s cheeks when all he wants to do is hug and never let go. But he knows he can’t. They’re not talking about Connor right now. They’re talking about Hunter. “Let’s go get him, then, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I bet he’s been bored hanging out in my room. Do you think we should bring him out to watch the puppy movie?” Technically, the movie is Air Bud, but Connor has already dubbed it “the puppy movie,” so that’s its name now.
For the first time that night, Connor smiles.