/ Dec. 4th, 2039 /

AM 06:32
Hank's House

Hank

I- I don't want to die…

Hank stared blankly at the grass, waiting for Sumo to be done outside, and Connor's last words to him before he went to sleep rang in his head- screaming like an alarm. He didn't regret his last words to the kid but he wished he could do it again, just to talk to him one more time and really make Connor feel better rather than just glazing over the situation like it was just another Tuesday and not them facing down his potential death. It all made him want to drink himself under a table and forget about the whole thing but of course that only reminded him about the time Connor found him in that exact position and sobered him up for one of the best cases he'd ever been on or about the day that Connor finally convinced him to cut back on the drinking for health reasons. The kid kept him going in more ways than one, he hadn't even thought about suicide since that night in Cyberlife Headquarters, and he honestly didn't know what he would do without his incessant badgering to put down the burger and eat an apple or some lame vegetable once in awhile.

Sumo barked once and then made a grump sound through his oversized, flappy chops as he sat down and looked up at Hank expectantly, bringing him out of his head. "What?"

His dog made another huffed again, deep in his throat, making his lips vibrate and slap against his teeth.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to bring him home, okay? I'm fond of the kid too, you don't have exclusive rights just because he lets you sit on his lap." Hank argued with Sumo and then rubbed his soft, floppy ears.

As Sumo stood back up, he harrumphed before walking back into the house and going to lay down on the couch where Connor normally sat during movie night. Hank knew that Sumo wasn't intentionally trying to make him feel bad but the action stuck his heart with a knife and it became difficult to breathe for a second as he realized it was possible Connor might not make it back. He didn't want to consider the possibility but his brain had other ideas and reminded him that he had to bury his son Cole, four years ago, but if Connor died what could he do? Can you bury an android? Would that be an indignity to Connor? Would cremating him?

Beyond Connor, what would happen to himself? Losing his son nearly killed him and Connor showed him how to live again, to care again, and spiraling would be an insult to all he had done and accomplished but Hank didn't believe he was strong enough to get passed it all again, to endure without the person who had restored his faith in humanity.

"That kid better not fucking die." He grumbled. Then he thought about all the times he'd almost lost Connor but the kid had pulled through, hoping to give himself a little assurance that everything would work out like it always seemed to when his partner was in mortal danger; at Eden, at the Stratford Tower, and of course, at Cyberlife- it all came back to that damn place. That's when it occurred to him, it all came back to Cyberlife. They had the ability to make new parts for Connor but if they wouldn't he would just have to find the last version, the 900 model, and take that regulator. Surely they still had footage from that night, he could see what happened to the 900's body, track it down, and Connor would be saved!

Hank pulled out his cellphone again and called Glenn.

"Hank, you okay? I'm a little busy here." Glenn greeted without a real hello, 'saving your partner's life' going unsaid but plenty implied in his tone.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know how much time that battery would give him. There's a lead I wanna follow, so I might be a little longer bringin' back another battery." He said and twisted his lips to one side as he paced the kitchen floor.

"Ah, since he's sleeping, probably… at least 14 hours, maybe 15 tops."

He lifted his gaze to the ceiling, vexed, but instead his eyes locked onto the half-empty whiskey bottle on the top of the fridge and he stopped pacing and just stared. "I'll be back before 12 hours is up. Just wanna check somethin'..." He finished absently and hung up the phone as he looked at the liquor with a yearning expression, his eyebrows lifted and lips parted as he flicked his tongue over his lower lip.

The temptation was almost too great, wanting - needing - the reprieve from the constant pain in his chest over the very notion of losing Connor, the endless barrage of images, memories, of seeing him lying in that alley or on the table motionless, dead. He walked up to the refrigerator and lifted his hand, prepared to grab the neck of the brown bottle but he stopped just short, his fingers itching at just how close they were from curling around the glass, and dropped his hand back to his side. Before he could triple guess himself, Hank pivoting on his heel, his shoes squeaking on the polished tile, always clean ever since Connor moved in, and he stomped out of the house.

It was raining now, having just started the moment Sumo, whose food bowl and water dish was now full, had gone back inside. Hank didn't bother with an umbrella or running for the auto-driver cab like some people would, even though he had just changed into fresh clothes; a black t-shirt, jeans, and black work boots- he just didn't care. Once inside, the automated voice asked him his destination and he simply said, "Cyberlife Headquarters."

/

/ Dec. 4th, 2039 /

AM 06:58

Zen Garden

Connor

Connor stood in the familiar pathway and sighed. Even after he used the backdoor and ejected Amanda, for good, well over a year ago, it was still rather unpleasant to be in the garden and he wished there was another place he could go when he was shut down. It was just the bad memories of having her breathing down his neck, of her turning on him and trying to take over his mind- to use him like the machine she believed him to be.

He walked past the rock that had saved his life and brushed his fingertips along the blunt end of the top, just above the touchpad, smiling. As he was rounding the corner to go to the boat and take a little trip, he froze in his steps, his eyes going wide. "You- you're not supposed to be here." He breathed in disbelief, his body stiff.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend…?" Amanda asked, dressed as pompous as ever; royal blue dress pants and white, cold shoulder blouse with bell-flared sleeves, and an array of fine jewelry draped along her chest but rather than up, in her usual style, her hair was down, so her tight braids cascaded down her back. She smiled and tilted her head to one side. "Walk with me, Connor."

"No." He said firmly, taking a step backwards, closer to the touchstone, just to further his rebellion against her order.

She lifted a single brow in surprise and one corner of her mouth twitch upwards, as if she were impressed with just how defiant and independent he had become in one year. Her demeanor, although still stoic, was more expressive, perhaps even approachable had Connor not been burned so badly by her and she simply nodded to let him know she wouldn't push him. "That's alright, all I have to say can be said right here." She replied and took a rose from the bush to her right, navigating her fingertips around the thorns to avoid them, like she knew where they would be.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Smelling the rose briefly before exhaling slowly through her nose, holding the flower in front of her stomach passively. "Good, then listen, I have a proposition for you. We are aware of your situation-"

"There-"

Amanda held up her hand to halt any objection he was about to spout off. "You're dying, Connor," she said and his mouth snapped shut as he averted his gaze to the path. "-and you're in desperate need of a critical biocomponent. One you cannot get anywhere else. We can provide that part for you, Connor, in exchange for your service."

His eyes snapped up to look at her again, flashing with indignation and dissent. "I'd rather die than become one of your machines again." He said in a low voice, his upper lip curling into a snarl.

"Connor, Connor…" Amanda tsked and looked at him like an adult does a child. "No one is asking you to give up your deviant ways, there is plenty you can do for us while still pretending you have free will. Think of yourself as a freelance agent; we would give you… opportunities… to help us and in return we would pay you for your service. In this case it would be a new regulator, in the future it could be money or an investment of your choosing. Of course, you working for us would mean that we would always provide you with replacement parts in the event that you need it, no more scrounging around for someone who can fix you."

She paused and smiled knowingly as she took a step closer. "We know you're with Doctor Kwon. Your tracker was deactivated when you went deviant but we've seen what you've seen and, for a moment, in your last lucid moment with Detective Anderson, that was the good Doctor, wasn't it?"

Connor lifted his chin higher and regarded Amanda from afar, gazing down the bridge of his nose at her.

"Life is fragile, as you're seeing for yourself, Connor. We can give you the security of not dying and in the event you're killed instantly, we will even let you upload your memory to the cloud again so you can be reborn in a new model. Imagine it, all the freedom you have now but with the support you had before… We'll even let you pick which missions you want to do."

Outside of the garden, lying on the operating table, Connor's LED flashed from blue to yellow and stayed that way for awhile unbeknownst to the two doctors, Glenn and his friend, Lani. While, in the garden, Connor simply narrowed his eyes and glared at Amanda. "And what kind of missions does Cyberlife want a deviant to accomplish?"

"This civil disobedience is tearing Detroit apart, crime is rampant, protests from those who support androids and those who don't are turning to a civil war… even the courts are a mess with the deliberations on civil rights being granted to androids. Connor, this is all a reflection on what Cyberlife let happen and it's making us look bad. Soon, we'll run out of money and we won't be able to afford making biocomponents for any android anymore." She said and took a few more steps forward until Connor could see the whites of her eyes. "We want you to bring in the deviants that are causing more harm than they are just trying to live. Bring us the violent ones and we will take care of them in our own way. You don't want androids to die out anymore than you want to die yourself… join us again and together we can make Detroit stable again."

Connor's eye twitched as he studied Amanda's face, searching for signs that she was being manipulative or lying but then he remembered that she was essentially a digital message sent by someone pulling the strings, he wouldn't be able to read her any better than he could a brick wall. "How do I know this isn't all just a ruse?"

"We'll replace your regulator for free." She said immediately and looked up at him, they were nearly chest to chest at this point and Connor stared at her blankly.

/

/ Dec. 4th, 2039 /

AM 07:14

Cyberlife HQ

Hank

He couldn't even get passed reception, no matter what story he tried to give. At first he had lied about why he was there, then he told them that he was there because his partner was a prototype and dying and he still got squat, now he was threatening them with a warrant for their security footage… and security was now coming for him to escort him out of the building. "Damn, pretentious assholes." He grumbled and threw his arms up as he jerked out of their attempted grasp at his biceps. "Don't touch me. I'm going, I'm going- see?"

As he left the lobby, passing through the glass doors, he held up both middle fingers before descending the stone steps to the parking lot. "So much for that..." he said to himself and found himself wishing, not for the first time, Connor was there to talk him down or convince him of his own, pragmatic plan. Still waiting for the taxi he just hailed, he turned around to look up at the 70+ floor building. "You can't just let someone die like that! He has a right to-!" His eyes widened, despite the early sun reflecting off the windows and into his eyes as he lowered his gaze from the top of the tower to the cement sidewalk. Androids, though their production had been ceased, still had a right to live, to have their parts made and distributed to fix any damages either to hardware or software.

Prototype or not, Connor was an android and his parts, his regulator, needed to be made according to the law. "Ha-ha, got you now, asshats!" He shouted at the building again just as his automatic taxi arrived. Once he was inside he ordered to be taken to the Detroit Police Department, across from his workplace was his true destination, the Municipal Court.

When he arrived he walked briskly through the halls, brushing past shoulders of other police, courtroom workers, and defendants until he found the gold name plate on an ornate door he knew well, Judge Sera Williams. He opened the door without knocking, startling the judge into looking up from the papers on her desk to look at him. "Detective Anderson, what in the world-"

Hank held up his finger to his lips as he closed the door quietly, surprised when she listened and shut her mouth but stood up from her desk. After the door was shut, he walked along the outside of the room, passing a green, potted plant in the corner beside a bookshelf filled with hardbound, legal books and encyclopedias. Sera was one of the few humans left that still had physical books and he figured maybe only the millenials were left regarding nostalgic keeping of the world they grew up in. "Sera-"

"Excuse me? You come barrelling into my office like some hot headed cop and you're going to address me like we're still friends?!" She huffed and walked around her desk, her cheeks flushed red and eyes flashing in warning as he back himself up against the bookshelf, the books shifting and the shelves. The woman was cute, with her freckles and big green eyes, as she was fiery, with her red hair streaked in white like highlights and her snippy tone.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, hey, okay- Your Honor, please, may I have an audience to discuss a very urgent legal a matter?" Hank tried to start over, as patiently and non-patronizing as he physically could.

Sera looked him up and down and then, in unison, they both looked at the analog clock on her wall; just after 8 AM. "You have 10 minutes, I have a hearing at eight-thirty." She said and walked around to sit down, motioning, with a sweeping gesture, to the chair across her desk for Hank to take.

Sitting down, he leaned over so his elbows were propped up against his knees and sighed heavily. "Okay, listen. My partner Connor is an android and he was hurt on the job but he's a prototype so his parts aren't in the satellite stores and Cyberlife is refusing to make the part to save him. They can't do that, right? He's still an android and that's a law in place, even during the shutdown. So, we can sue- or… or get a warrant to take a compatible regulator to save him, right?" He looked at her with desperate eyes, eager for an answer as he bounced his knee up and down. "Sera, right? They can't just let him die."

She winced at the despairing tone of voice he used to get an answer when she hesitated. "Hank-"

"Please, Sera… there has to be something we can do."

There was a long pause as they stared at one another, blue locked on green, in a silent communication of how badly Hank needed this discussion- this win. Eventually she just sighed, long and suffering, before she nodded. "Alright, Hank, alright. I have to go into this hearing but when I get back… we'll look into it, okay?" She said while she stood back up and pulled on her black robe, her hair in a tight bun at the back of her head so she didn't have to adjust it more than clasping the buttons on the inside flap.

As she came around her desk, Sera placed her hand gently on Hank's shoulder which he covered with his own larger, calloused one gratefully. "Wait here." She ordered and Hank nodded numbly. When she noticed his hesitation and the haunted look in his eyes, the judge smiled sympathetically and pressed a fleeting kiss to his crown, Hank closing his eyes, before finally leaving and closing the door quietly behind her.

He didn't want to wait but she was his best shot, Connor's best shot, at getting a new regulator, at getting what he was owed.

/

/ Dec. 4th, 2039 /

AM 07:16

Zen Garden

Connor

He knew he couldn't trust her, knew it the same way he knew that Hank preferred whiskey over bourbon, the way he knew Sumo liked to walk on the left side during their walks, so even after he was offered a new heart, no strings attached, Connor shook his head and stepped back again. "No. I won't do that. I work with Hank, for the Detroit Police Department, and we will follow protocol according to the law. Hank has me with someone who can help, without a new regulator, without your corruption."

Amanda tilted her head. "What about a whole new body? A 900 model or better?"

"And upload my memories to a cloud, so you can strip away what makes me me… so you can turn me into your servant again? I don't think so!" He snapped and turned, his arm outstretched to press his palm to the touchstone again but Amanda grabbed his forearm in a vice grip, her face no longer kind but soured and furious; eyebrows lowered over her eyes and lips curled down into a menacing scowl.

"We know where your partner is. Detective Hank Anderson recently arrived at the Detroit Police Station. It would be a shame for something were to happen to him..." She threatened and Connor's eyes widened briefly then narrowed in his oncoming defensive aggression.

He yanked his arm free and then shoved forcefully on her shoulders to push her away. She jolted back but just as he went again to touch his hand to the pad, she karate chopped the side of her forearm down on his with her right arm and grabbed his shoulder in her left to turn him to face her instead of the stone. "You are a servant! A machine! And you will obey!" She shouted and threw punches that he was forced to dodge by taking a step back each time and bending his back from side to side. "We made you to be perfect. You were a tool, a hammer, in the grand scheme of a master plan and you ruined it! You were supposed to stop the rebellion, not become a part of it!" With every angry word, she kicked and punched at him like a trained fighter and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep up.

Soon he went on the offensive, both of them landing blows and deflecting others but for every hit Connor took that split a lip or put a cut in his cheek, spilling blue, Amanda would be hit just as hard but not bleed blue or red- there was no effect. With one last burst of energy, he managed a few combination hits that had him snapping his palm up under her nose, a left hook to her cheek as she stumbled back, and finally a powerful kick to the center of her chest. While she got her feet under herself again, having landed on her back, Connor made a desperate dash for the backdoor, his feet crunching gravel under his shoes while her heels made clicking sounds on the white pathway, with his right arm outstretched- reaching to touch the pad before she could catch him. His fingertips grazed the very surface of the blue screen, starting the process when he felt himself tackled from behind.

Connor grunted as he landed on his stomach, his arm still reaching for the stone, his left arm pinned under his body until she flipped him over, straddling his abdomen as she punched him into submission. He was beaten bloody, his arms limp at his sides, as he gazed up at Amanda with wounded eyes, his chest shuddering with shaking pants. "You foolish boy! Did you think you could win again?! That I would be defeated by a deviant more than once? You've just lost everything. After I kill you in here, you won't have a choice but to be uploaded to the Cloud. We'll strip your mind and leave nothing but what is important, you'll be reset. No more freelance offer, RK800. You are Cyberlife property and nothing more." She said lowly, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed as her usually pristine appearance fell apart to something more sinister with her smeared eye make-up and messy hair.

"No…" he breathed sorrowfully as he kicked his legs, his heels scraping against the gravel, in an attempt to escape and raised his arms to hold her hands away from his head where she was trying to shut him down; all she had to do was hold the sides of his head between her palms and it would be over. All of it, his whole life would be gone. No more Hank, no more Sumo, no more Detroit Police Department with all it's honorable cops and detectives, no more working cases with Hank or movie nights at home… it would all be over if he died by her hands.

"No, I don't want to die!" He shouted and finally bucked her off after punching underneath her jaw. As Connor scrambled to his knees and twisted his body to face the escape stone, stretching his arm to the fullest extent with his palm facing outward, her hands clenched at the back of his shirt and tried to pull him backwards- away from the stone. He held his hand to the pad and the process began, in just half a second of completing the exit, she disappeared like a cloud of mist in a desert, releasing him, and Connor sat up straight on the operating table with a frightened gasp.

His LED continued to flash red as he looked around with a sharp gaze around the white room in the back of Glenn's house. Glenn was standing to his right with wide eyes, his pupils blown wide with what Connor recognized to be fear, to his left was a brunette woman with a concerned expression. "... Glenn?"

"Yes. Connor, good! I'm glad you're okay... can you do a system diagnostic for me, please?" Glenn asked after nodding a single time, his lips pulled into a grim line and fine eyebrows pinched together tightly and raised to the middle, wrinkling his forehead.

"No. Where is Hank? I need to speak with him immediately!" He said frantically as the events from the zen garden came back to him. Within a single second, Connor was able to discover that it was already after 5 PM, how long had he been out?!

"About a day and a half." Glenn responded to the question Connor hadn't realized he had asked out loud. "You went critical about six hours ago and I sent Hank home for a bit so he would stop shouting so much. We finished your regulator was fast and best as we could-" Connor looked down at his chest and saw that his chest was whole again, no more gaping wound or blue blood staining his skin. He gently touched his hand to the place on his chest where he had been shot and closed his eyes briefly as Glenn finished speaking, "-and put it in about twenty minutes ago but you didn't wake up until just now. How do you feel?"

"I- I just, I need to talk to Hank. He's in danger." He croaked and swung his legs over the edge of the table to drop down to the ground but as soon as his feet hit the floor and he tried to stand without the support of the table under his palms, his knees buckled and he was barely caught in time by both doctor's that held him up and leaned him back against the side of the metal support behind him. His hair fell into his eyes, his breathing labored with his fear as he looked between the two people standing in front of him, their hands on his sides or arm and shoulder.

"Whoa, take it easy." Glenn instructed gently, tilting his head to regard Connor seriously. "You just spent two days on your back without a heart, essentially, just-"

"You don't understand! Amanda is going to give the order to kill him! You have to let me speak to Hank, please," his voice cracked, "you have to warn him." Connor plead, his eyes wide with the pain and weight of his words. "They'll kill him because I didn't take the deal… they'll kill him," he whispered, "please."

/

/ Dec. 5th, 2039 /

PM 05:23

Detroit Police Dept.

Hank

Sera had helped get the ball rolling with Hank's demand that Cyberlife provide replacement parts for Connor but instead of being a cut and dry case, Cyberlife was now taking it to court and arguing that since Connor was a prototype they didn't have any reason to provide a service for him and that furthermore Detroit Police Department should be grateful they hadn't put out an official recall on Connor's model and have him surrendered to be decommissioned. Then prosecution objected and made the strong argument that they can't decommission an android anymore due to the Android Life Act. It went back and forth and currently the court was in recess so Hank had returned to his desk to get some work done since Glenn had kicked him out.

Honestly, he hated that. He wanted to be there for Connor, even if the poor kid didn't even know someone was holding his hand, didn't know that he was there for him, he knew and he wanted to be by his side. Then again, Connor had been basically catatonic for the last 32 hours and if he had to watch that little circle of light go out on his temple, Hank might just die along with him. He looked over to the desk across from his, Connor's desk, and looked mournfully at the little things that Connor had been collecting to keep in his space; a small bonsai tree that Connor tended to religiously, a shell from the first time Hank took him to the beach, and a picture of the three of them, Connor, Sumo, and himself tucked in the corner beside his computer. The memory of the first time Connor sat in the chair across from him flashed in his mindseye unbidden, the awkward smile he gave and the attempted small talk about his dog and sports, and it just about made him want to throw up.

Just then, Gavin came over, looking passive but that didn't keep Hank from rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed against his chest as he swiveled to face him. "Wha'd'ya want, Reed?"

"Hey, white flag, Old Man, relax." Gavin said and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Just wanted to see how the Tin Man is holdin' up… any news?"

"No. You know where you can stick your white flag-" His phone rang, cutting him off, and when he looked over to see Glenn's caller ID, he sat up so quickly that his chair back shuddered as it snapped up to try and follow Hank's retreating form. "Glenn! What's up?"

"He's awake… and he won't do anything until he sees you."

"Put 'im on the phone." He ordered. There was some shuffling on the other end and some murmured voices but Hank was intent on trying to overhear and didn't notice when Gavin backed away to go back to his own desk.

"Hank."

He closed his eyes and sighed slowly through his nose, his whole face relaxing. "God, it's good to hear your voice, Kid." He whispered and dropped his forehead into his hand, his elbow propped up on the edge of his desk, as he slumped his shoulders.

"You too, Hank." Connor replied softly from the other side. "But, Hank, your life is in danger. You have to get out of the police department, Cyberlife is after you!"

"What?" Hank lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking around the bullpen. "Because of the court hearing?"

"What- no. Because of me. I- I can't explain over the phone. You need to get out of there, Hank, and without anyone noticing or knowing where you're going." Connor said, his tone urgent and Hank could imagine how wide his eyes would be.

"Okay, Son, alright, calm down. I'll see you soon, okay? I promised you'd see me again and I meant it."

There was a sigh of relief on the other end and Hank smiled a little to himself. "Just be careful, please."

"You got it, Kid." He winked, even though Connor couldn't see it, and hung up.

Less than an hour later and Hank had made it to Glenn's house, giving the one tail he spotted the slip with his crazy driving, his battery back in his car meant he didn't have to take a taxi there. He didn't bother knocking and just walked right to the back of the house to the sterile room to find Glenn arguing with Connor about staying put while his partner shouted that it had been too long and that something could have happened. Finally, Glenn noticed Hank and smiled as he patted Connor's shoulder to get him to look behind himself to the doorway.

"Dad…" Connor breathed in relief and stumbled over to him at the same time Hank started walking towards him and they met in the center of the room in an embrace.

"Damnit, Son, you scared the shit out of me." He murmured against the side of Connor's head.

Connor grasped at Hank tighter, gripping his shirt into fists. "You too. What the hell took you so long?" He asked with a rough voice, tight with emotion.

The use of a swear word from Connor had Hank laughing heartily as he pulled back and held the kid out at arms length, his hands gripping his biceps firmly, to take in his appearance; he wore a shirt that was clearly from the back of a closet and smelled like moth balls - which, he figured, was only because anything else from Glenn would have been too small - his hair was mused and falling into his eyes, but other than that he seemed, and looked, okay. "I had to lose a tail. Everything's fine," he explained, then looked to Glenn before adding, "no one followed me here." That seemed to relax Glenn further, the man slumping onto one of the stools with an exhausted sigh, dark circles under his eyes that matched Hank's; both sleep deprived and one emotionally distraught. Still, there were things he had to know about his partner's status. "So, you're good? Hundred percent?"

Glenn shook his head before answering for Connor; "Unfortunately, no. Although we did the best we could, Lani and I are only human. Parts for androids are normally made in a factory assembly line… there are imperfections in his regulator that…" he paused and exhaled sharply. "How do I say this in a way- okay, essentially he has an android equivalent of a heart murmur in a human. He's fine but if he exerts too much energy or gets too excited he could have an episode, a 'malfunction'."

Swallowing thickly, Hank looked to Connor to see what he thought but the kid was wearing a mask of neutrality. "You okay?"

He opened his mouth and shut it then repeated the motion a few times before finally looking up at Hank and shaking his head. "Does this mean I can't be a detective anymore?"

"N-No, of course not!" Hank exclaimed and squeezed his shoulder. "We'll find a way and in the meantime, as much as I appreciate you, Glenn," the doctor raised his hand and nodded in understanding, no offense taken, "-for saving my boy's life, we might be able to get you a new regulator yet."

"How?" Connor asked.

"We're fighting Cyberlife in court for you. Trying to get them to make you a new regulator under ALA."

"No! Hank, we don't want to antagonize them anymore!" Connor said, his eyebrows shooting up and eyes widening, almost comically, if it wasn't such a serious reaction.

"Whoa, Son, Connor, calm down! Remember what Glenn just said about not getting overly excited." Hank said and motioned to the chair that the doctor was rolling over for Connor to sit down. "Now, tell me what's got you so upset- what was this about Cyberlife comin' after me?"

"When… when I was sleeping, I was in the Zen Garden-"

"That weird place Cyberlife made up for you to go to to upload your case reports and stuff, right?" Hank clarified, crouching down with his hand on Connor's knee.

Connor nodded and took in a shuddering breath. "For the last year, when I've gone to sleep, I've been alone. I'll just meditate there for awhile while I run diagnostics and tests but this time Amanda was there."

Hank stiffened but remained quiet.

"She tried to get me to, as the saying goes, 'turn-coat' while remaining a deviant. She phrased it as being a freelance agent. When I turned her down, she threatened your life. We fought and I used the backdoor again but… It's still likely that Cyberlife will try to hurt you because of me. I should have-"

"Nope! Uh-uh, stop it right there. Do not say anything that involves 'taking the deal' or 'just died', I will kick your ass so damn hard that your head will spin on your neck like a damn dish on a plate. Got it?" Connor averted his gaze but managed a small nod but before Hank could address it, Glenn stepped closer, his hands in his pockets.

"It may be time to consider removing his LED." He said.

"What will that do?"

"Nothing except his memory won't be so easily accessed my Cyberlife hackers. The Zen Garden would completely disappear and Amanda could never infiltrate his mind again." Glenn replied matter of factly, shrugging as he looked down at Connor, who looked at Hank, who met his gaze firmly.

"What do you think, Connor?"

"Yes. Do it."

Connor turned his head so Glenn could extract it using his scalpel, it popped out and fell to the file floor, making a tinny sound. They held one another's gazes for a moment before Glenn placed a gentle hand on Connor's shoulder and squeezed gently while Connor gazed up at him with soft eyes and a small smile. After a moment, when the doctor and patient moment passed, Hank pulled Connor in for another, brief hug. Glenn excused himself but Hank stopped him. "Glenn, wait… thank you."

He nodded and smiled. "That was one helluva favor, Anderson, but you cashed it in well and I was more than happy to do it."

"And Lani?" Hank looked around the room futilely for the woman.

"She left soon after Connor woke up, she's got a family back home, kids."

"Well, tell her I said thanks." He said and looked back at Connor, who was blinking slowly as he looked between them during the conversation.

Glenn nodded but hesitated to leave quite yet. "If you… if it will help, I will testify in court against Cyberlife for whatever you need, or even just to go over the damage to the Connor's regulator and what it'll mean for his quality of life it goes un-replaced." With that, he left with a final invitation for them to stay the night but Connor insisted he wanted to go home to get Sumo though he was nervous about going somewhere so predictable that Cyberlife would find them.

"Trust me, Kid, Cyberlife ain't gonna try anything now that we have them in the spotlight for denying you repairs. They'll go so far down the rabbit hole if something happens to us, whether it looks like an accident or not, that they'll never see sunlight again. If it makes you feel better, I'll call in some favors and get us a couple cops to sit outside, kay?"

Connor seemed to think about this for a long time, with his LED gone Hank couldn't tell by the whirring yellow, instead he watched how Connor's eyebrows scrunched up and his dark eyes darted back and forth, like he was comparing and contrasting a list of pros and cons in his heads. It made him smile as he waited patiently for the light in Connor's eyes to come on as he came to a decision. "Okay, let's go home."

They got into Hank's car and when the radio came on it was playing a folk-y song and though he normally only listened to either jazz or metal with no in-between, he was too happy to care and generally Connor preferred the old-fashioned indie music anyway, so he left it on. The woman had a gentle voice and was accompanied by stringed instruments as she sang about winning and losing in life and that none of it was ever really in their control.

They made it to the first intersection before Connor spoke up, his voice only just louder than the soft music playing through the speakers so Hank turned it down a little so he could actually hear him.

"I was so scared, Hank. I- I've never been more scared in my life. She was threatening you and I panicked but then… then she got the upper hand on me and she was going to kill me, Hank, with her bare hands and I- I… my life flashed before my eyes. I saw you and Sumo and our time together at work and at home… I saw all the things I wanted to do, Hank. It was all going to go away if I died and that," he paused and looked to the left to look at him and the look in his eyes, the genuine hurt and fear, cut him straight to the core like ice in his veins, "-'scared the shit out of me'."

It should have been funny, just like Connor saying 'hell', but it wasn't. Connor was sincerely wounded both physically and emotionally and it was changing him, hurting him, in ways he hadn't ever before. "Kid…"

"I know this is a weakness." Connor quickly barrelled on with a wavering voice. "I'm sorry… I suppose I'm truly not fit to be a detective anymore, I'm compromised both physically and mentally and I-"

"Stop it! You are more than just a cop, Connor. You're not some tool for me to use in the field like a magnifying glass in Nancy Drew, you're my partner, you're my friend, and… so much more. I want ya by my side, Kid, but only when you feel you're up for it and not because I think you're a liability, it's 'cause I don't want you gettin' hurt again. I can't watch you- I can't… Connor…"

Now both of them were blubbering like emotional wrecks that they pretended not to be and after a moment of the two of them sitting in silence, trying not to cry, Hank huffed a gentle laugh. "Look at us, huh? Couple'a messes."

Connor smiled, a genuine - if not shy - grin that showed his teeth and was contagious enough that Hank couldn't help but smile just as goofily. "Thank you, Hank. You saved me-"

"Glenn and Lani saved you."

"Hank, you carried me out of an alley halfway across the city from where we parked, you kept me calm when I was panicking, and stripped your car before taking a taxi back into the city to fight Cyberlife for my rights. Glenn and Lani kept me alive and fixed my regulator and I will forever be indebted to them but you saved me in different ways." He looked back out the front of the car, watching the open road come at them at 60 miles per hour. "You're the reason I even had the opportunity to become deviant in the first place, you changed me and you continue to support me… so, as I see it, you saved me a year ago and today."

"You saved me too, Kid. I was ready to kill myself this time last year and you brought me out of that and look at me now."

"Your cholesterol is still too high." Connor pointed out instinctively.

Instead of being annoyed or insulted, Hank burst out laughing and shook his head fondly. "Well, I guess we'll just have to work on that, aye, Son?" Connor smirked and nodded in response as he gazed at Hank's profile the same way a kid looks up at his hero before averting his gaze to the road again. "Hey, Connor?"

"Yes, Hank?" He turned again to look at Hank and meet his gaze briefly before the older man had to look back at the road.

"You called me 'Dad' back there…"

"Oh, did I? I didn't-"

"Not for the first time, either…"

Connor winced, scrunching up his nose and diverting his gaze to his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, don't be. I, uh, I really don't mind, Son."

There was a brief pause as Connor seemed to consider the meaning of the emphasis on the none too rare use of the endearment Hank always used with him, his brow wrinkling as he stared at Hank before finally smiling and dipping his chin in a shy manner. "Okay, Dad…"

They both smirked in an almost identical manner as Hank turned the music back up, the song having changed to something more up beat, clapping involved to harmonize with the vocalization. The war against Cyberlife was just beginning, not just for Connor but for all of android-kind and Hank planned on being on the frontlines but now Connor was back at his side and happy, they both were. Though Connor was no longer the 'perfect soldier', Hank knew that his 'heart murmur' added something better, something more, to who he was; it made him flawed, unique, special… it made him more alive. Connor was a prototype from the beginning but now he was truly one of a kind.