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<stress_levels_6%_stable>
Connor was having a good day. He was enjoying working as an actual employee at the precinct, Hank was actually in a decent mood for once, and Gavin was actually being less of an asshole than usual. He and Hank had been assigned to a cold case that day as the Captain had wanted to see if a human and an android working together could find something that two humans couldn’t. They hadn’t solved it, but they did manage to make some progress, which was impressive seeing as nobody had discovered anything new or made any progress related to that case in over a decade.
Hank had convinced Connor to actually leave when their shift ended, reminding him that the case was a cold case and would still be there the next day. They drove home and were greeted by a very enthusiastic Sumo who tackled Connor to the ground. Hank watched the android struggle underneath the large dog for a few seconds before putting his keys away and sitting down on the couch, turning on the TV.
Connor managed to get out from under Sumo and joined Hank on the couch, Sumo following him and curling up at their feet.
“What are you watching?” Connor asked curiously.
“Some nature thing,” Hank said. “Wanted some background noise and I figured you’d find this interesting enough.”
An hour or so later, Hank looked up. “Hey, Connor-” he began, cutting himself off as he got a good look at the boy, noticing that his LED was a bright yellow, and he was fairly sure that the android wasn’t confused. “Connor, you okay there?”
<stress_levels_73%_increasing>
Connor didn’t respond, staring at the television, unable to make himself look away as the image seemed to morph into something similar to the snowy garden he spoke to her in.
<stress_levels_80%_increasing>
Connor stood up, grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen in hopes of lowering his stress levels, but his brain kept replaying the conversation he had with her. Hank followed him into the kitchen, having noticed that his LED had become a glaring red.
<stress_levels_88%_increasing>
At that point, he began to hyperventilate. He set his cup on the counter and attempted to walk back to the couch only to end up stumbling and leaning heavily against a wall.
<stress_levels_93%_increasing>
“Connor? Connor, what’s wrong?” asked Hank.
“I-” Connor couldn’t manage to explain.
<stress_levels_95%_increasing>
<self_destruct_protocol_activation_imminent>
Connor made a pathetic noise and began tearing at his arms with his nails.
“Connor!" He heard Hank shout, but he couldn’t stop.
<stress_levels_100%>
<self_destruct_protocol_engaged>
He threw his head back into the wall, terrified and unable to stop himself.
“Shit!” Hank said, realizing what was happening. He’d seen a few androids self-destruct from stress and he definitely didn’t want that to happen to Connor.
Hank lunged forwards and cupped the back of Connor’s head, creating a cushion between his skull and the wall. He yanked him forwards, away from the wall, grabbing onto his wrists as he tried to pull away. He dragged the android back into the living room, keeping him away from the walls and tables.
Connor kept involuntarily trying to pull away, his programming forcing him to do everything possible to self-destruct. Hank wrapping his arms around Connor and sat down on the rug.
He’d been talking the whole time, but he wasn’t paying attention.
“Connor!” he finally heard. “Jesus, kid, stop!”
Connor pulled out of his arms and began to try and rip into his skin, but Hank acted quickly and pinned him to the ground.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
Connor managed to nod.
“Breathe. C’mon, kid. You’ve gotta calm down.”
Androids didn’t need to breathe, but just like with people, deep breathing could help them get their stress levels down. The only comparison point to this that Hank had was a panic attack, so he decided to treat it like one.
Connor tried to talk, but couldn’t seem to get any words out.
“Don't need to talk, just take a breath. You’re alright. I don’t know what caused this, but I promise you’re safe here.”
Connor turned his head slightly to look at something. Hank followed his gaze and cursed his stupidity. Connor had told him about what had happened with Amanda and he knew that snow was a big part of it. He let go of one of Connor’s wrists for half a second to grab the remote and turn the television off.
“Alright, you’re okay. You’re here, you aren’t there. They can’t control you anymore, you’re safe,” he said softly.
Connor managed to take a breath, and Hank gently squeezed his wrists and said, “There you go, you’ve got this.”
<stress_levels_95%_decreasing>
“You’re doing great, kid. Take another deep breath, you can do it.”
<stress_levels_90%_decreasing>
Connor had stopped fighting him, so Hank let go of Connor’s wrists and pulled him into his lap, cradling his head against his shoulder. Hank happily noted that his LED had turned from red to yellow.
“I’ve gotcha, kid. You’re safe.”
<stress_levels_83%_decreasing>
“H-Hank…” he managed.
“Shhh, I‘m right here. You don’t have to talk, just keep breathing.”
<stress_levels_76%_decreasing>
Connor closed his eyes and leaned heavily into Hank’s embrace, focusing on taking deep breaths. With his eyes closed, his imagination began to turn against him, and he could see the snowy garden plastered against the backs of his eyelids.
<stress_levels_80%_increasing>
He tried to keep taking deep breaths, but it kept getting harder and harder.
<stress_levels_83%_increasing>
Hank felt Connor begin to tremble and saw his LED begin to flicker between yellow and red.
“Hey, what’s wrong, kid? Don’t work yourself back up into a panic.”
Hank’s voice was so out of place in the scene his mind was playing out that he managed to open his eyes.
“I- I tried to- I just closed my eyes. All I- The only thing I could see- it was snow, so much snow, and she was there-” he broke off with a whimper, unable to continue.
<stress_levels_87%_increasing>
“You’re not there, kid,” Hank reminded him softly. “I’ve gotcha.”
He tightened his grip and ran his fingers through the kid’s hair, holding him close.
<stress_levels_82%_decreasing>
Hank noticed that Sumo had lied down on the other side of the room and called him over. Sumo obeyed, walking over to them and lying down, his head on Connor’s legs.
Connor looked up at him and let out a tiny smile.
<stress_levels_76%_decreasing>
Hank picked up his hand and set it on Sumo’s head. In humans, petting an animal causes the brain to release endorphins and since Connor had a positive reaction to Sumo in general, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.
Connor just left his hand there for a bit, taking some deep breaths.
<stress_levels_70%_decreasing>
He started to pet the dog, leaning even further back against Hank.
<stress_levels_63%_decreasing>
“Good boy,” Connor said softly, running his hand along the dog’s soft fur.
<stress_levels_51%_decreasing>
Petting Sumo helped him calm down and his LED quickly turned back to green.
<stress_levels_34%_decreasing>
“Feeling better?” Hank asked.
Connor nodded, stifling a yawn.
“Tired?”
He nodded again, and Hank chuckled.
“You can fall asleep if you want,” he said. “You could probably use some.”
“Thank you,” he mumbled.
“You’re welcome.”