As the weeks wore on, I noticed Hank's eyes darting more and more to the front door whenever the bell chimed. Was he looking for that woman? Finally one evening Connor caught me spacing out in the shower ( so glad he's waterproof ) and asked if something was on my mind. I was not an effective secret-keeper, especially when I had a naked Connor in front of me. How the fuck does that hair still stay so fucking perfect.

"Hank's going to kill me if I told you."

He cocked his head under the spray as he soaped up my arms. "I doubt it can be worse than the last news you revealed."

I scoffed. "Not at all. No, but it's not really my secret to tell. Especially since some of it's still speculation."

He was silent for a moment. I knew he was wondering again why Hank was keeping yet another secret. I tried to alleviate his concern: "Hey, look, it's like, remember when I first asked you if he was an alcoholic? And you didn't want to give the whole story? It's kinda like that? He'll probably tell you if you just ask. Or uh, what if you come to the bar early one day, get out of work, don't bring Hank."

"I don't follow. Are you only going to tell me when you're not sufficiently distracted?"

I had my back to him and his fingers were being sufficiently distracting .

"Something like that," I said. Way to change the topic, Connor . I guess even our dutiful investigator wanted to well...investigate something else. He was becoming more human every day.

I arched back and propped up a foot on the edge of the tub, careful not to lose my balance as both his hands were now contributing to the distraction. One set of fingers curled between my legs, the other massaging my breast a tad rougher than usual, mouth lost in my neck and that gracious investment from CyberLife nestled right where it should be. I told him to shut off the water so there could be some ounce of traction and friction.

I made a vain attempt to swivel around but he reestablished full contact, and held tighter, fingers deepening in flexing pulsations. He already had me gasping, shaky legs clamping around his hand. I had to splay a palm along the shower wall to stop myself from lurching forward and taking him down with me.

We didn't need any crushed skulls on fiberglass .

I wasn't sure how that conversation would go with his roommate, but I could imagine.

That's it! You can pay the bill to CyberLife and then get the fuck outta here! He's not a play-thing!

I swallowed a giggle at the imagery, my mind gone mute and cries guttural as I came around Connor's fingers. I held his arm for a moment before allowing myself to slip down and kneel in recovery. He had been quiet, wholly focused on getting me off that when he spoke in offer to get me a towel, I was only dimly aware and nodded a vague sure .

Holy hell. Magic dick, magic tongue, magic fingers...what was going to be next?

I looked over to watch the first magic object reapproach and while an idea struck me, I wasn't sure I had the energy. Rather, I allowed Connor to help and wrap me up, planting a soft kiss on my cheek as if fearful I'd collapse back from too much pressure.

"That was satisfactory then?" he asked.

"As if you couldn't tell."

"I know, but I like to ask. You should know I haven't been analyzing you. This is all me."

He was proud of himself and wanted to reiterate that. He really had come so far (no pun intended) and continued to do so every day. We had spoken previously concerning this; how many of the androids in the city were taking full advantage of all the subsequent upgrades that had been produced by CyberLife, but there was still a segment of the population, maybe less than half, perhaps much less than half, who wanted to learn the old-fashioned way. This was evident by the community centers, a new library, a school even. For the humans who remained, and at the time, myself included, the androids' ability to surpass us in every way imaginable was not so much frightening - the scared had already left and stayed away - as it was perhaps disconcerting, slightly uncomfortable, like we didn't have much in common because they already knew how to do things at an 'unnatural' pace. Thus, I wholly appreciated Connor's desire from day one of his deviance to appreciate his newfound intelligence and awareness and absorb the environment around him as the rest of us did.

Not to say I hadn't thought of taking advantage of those analytical abilities. But I stopped myself. In the pit of my gut, it almost felt like cheating the system.

"Lana, are you going to tell me what's going on with Hank now? Why did you want me to accompany you at the bar without him?"

I was in the middle of redressing when he asked this and I paused. I didn't really know what to tell him. Hank would kill me. So this was my loophole.

"Just... trust me. Tomorrow's Thursday, right? I think you should come with."

Thursday was the girl's usual day and I was determined to put the pieces together.

Connor sat at the end of the bar and I asked him how he managed to get out early.

"Oh, well whenever I mention I want to spend more time with you, Hank simply groans and locks me out of his office. As long as my work is complete to his satisfaction, I'm free to go and there were no open cases for me."

"Ah, okay, well hopefully that works. She should be here soon."

At 5:05 on the dot, the door bell clanged and the woman whose name nearly gave Hank a heart attack entered. Average height, medium dark hair, and she held herself tight, as you would to protect yourself from the world and its horrors and anxieties. Over the few weeks she had been appearing here, I never saw her stand or sit straight, always lost within herself.

I said her name upon entering which startled her from taking her seat in the corner. I beckoned her over to take the chair next to Connor, who nodded in greeting. She was already suspicious but acquiesced and slid in.

I got her usual and she flashed an awkward smile before her first sip.

"Alex," I said. "Do you uh - do you know a man named Hank? Hank Anderson?"

She cleared her throat and set the glass back down, straightening in her stool for the first time ever to stretch her neck.

She was immediately on edge; she kept her straight back and propped crossed arms on the ledge to look at me squarely. "Yeah. Why do you want to know? How do you know him?"

Connor volunteered, pivoting to look at her. "We work together at the Department. My name is Connor. I was assigned to Hank a couple years ago; we've been working together ever since."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. Hank, with an android case partner? God, things have changed. You're fucking kidding me. Look, I'm sorry, I love… androids now. I do. You know, shit's changed. I just uh, never thought that would happen with him. So, okay, you know Hank from work, but what about you?"

She was asking me now. "I - kind of assumed you knew. He comes here. That's how I met the two of them. And you always leave before he shows up, so I figured that was on purpose."

Her leg was bouncing and she was chewing her lip, unsure how to reply to this. "Yeah, I mean, it's all one big fucking coincidence, isn't it."

She slid out of her stool and chugged the rest of the drink in a single swallow, tossing a ten on the counter.

"Look, uh, why did you think I knew him anyway? How'd that happen?"

I sighed. This would be news to Connor, as well.

"Hank uh, he mentioned you the other day. We've been wanting to find him a girlfriend but he's so damn resistant. I'm guessing now you're why."

"How do you know Hank?" Connor asked.

It looked like she was almost about to reply before she shook her head and made for the door. "I'm sorry, but that's not really any of your damn business. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to him. But I have no reason to trust you'd do that, now do I?"

She left without another glance or word, leaving Connor and I in a greater state of confusion than before.

"Lana, when did she start coming here?"

I told him what I had told Hank. I met her online, invited her out, then my conversation with Hank at the community center was my revelation, and she solidified the fact.

"We shouldn't ask him," Connor said. "I think you're right. This is his to share. But however they knew each other, it did not end on amicable terms."

I gave myself time off the following week to head up to the house on the lake; I hadn't been there in a while and simply wanted to catch up with the staff and help prepare. I wanted to treat Hank and Connor to a vacation, hoping they would both be able to do so soon.

I came back into the area in the late evening, the days finally growing longer as the seasons changed, and made a last minute decision to swing by the DPD and see if Connor was available for an early out.

The receptionist allowed me back with a visitor's badge. Hank and Connor were in his glass-walled office towards the back discussing something very adamantly. I didn't want to interrupt. On my quest to find Connor's desk, Gavin halted me with an outstretched hand.

"What're you doing here. Interrogation room's being used."

"Don't be an ass. You mind if I wait?"

It was the first real conversation Gavin and I had that wasn't him full of being a jerk. He filled me in on his own cases for about fifteen minutes before I noticed Connor finally emerge from the office. He was noticeably distracted and Gavin took advantage of this before I could say anything.

He wadded up a document from his desk and tossed it across the wide aisle; Connor promptly caught it and nailed it back right into Gavin's forehead, a sly smile crossing his face which filled out when he noticed I was sitting at the desk as well. He came over and asked what I was doing here so late.

"Wanted to see if I could get you out early. But uh, looks like Hank was fired up about something."

"When is he not," Gavin said. "Captain's been in a weird mood recently. You two have something to do with that?"

I sighed and shook my head; I wasn't about to share the story further.

"I can leave," Connor said. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."

In the car on the short ride back, I asked Connor if his exchange with Gavin was part of their newfound 'understanding' he had mentioned previously.

"Yes," he said. "Gavin's an asshole so I've found that the only way to be amicable with him is to be one right back. I hope you don't mind."

I had to laugh. "Not at all, I'm just glad you're not ripping each other's faces off and he's finally chilled it. I had a good talk with him when I was waiting for you."

I parked along the sidewalk and I followed Connor in, flipping a few lights on in our path. The house was quiet and I trailed Connor down the hall where he had already turned into his bedroom, although I was confused for a moment when I didn't see him. I left and then poked my head into Hank's room, where I now noticed Connor with his back to the doorway, kneeling on the floor before a stretched out Sumo.

"Hey, what're you - oh God. Connor -"

"I'm calling Hank."

"No, no wait. Let me - I'll go get him. We can't - not over the phone. Oh my God. Are you -"

"Go," he said.

I illegally and haphazardly parked in front of the DPD, bursting through the front door. I begged the receptionist to let me past the gates, blindly navigating the desks up to Hank's office. His head was buried in his arms and I paused, thinking he may have been asleep, but he had the phone to his ear, cursing away at something or other.

"Hank."

He sat up and waved a hand. Get out .

"Hank!"

"Fucking hell, let me call you back, got a damn emergency here." He tossed the cell phone in front of him, at first angry at being interrupted so late in the evening, but then his features hardened in confusion when he began to register the worry in my eyes.

"You okay? Is Connor all right?"

I shook my head. "No. I mean, he's fine. He's at your place, but - Hank - um - you need to get back there. Right now."

He pushed away from his desk and slowly stood, still not quite understanding. "The fuck's going on, Lana. I can't take any more fucking surprises -"

"It's Sumo. Hank, Sumo's - you gotta - come on. I'll drive you."

"Sumo's what, Lana. Fucking tell me already."

"He uh - he was dead when Connor and I got back. I don't -"

Hank immediately grabbed his things and pushed past me with a violent arm. I ran after him through the department and out into the night. He ignored my yells for me to drive him, taking his own car instead around the corner. I spun after him, arriving back at their place only moments after.

I hesitated for just a moment before following. I could hear Hank from his room, dire curses emanating through the house. My own tears broke through but I suppressed them through both hands as I sat on the floor near the entry. I didn't dare approach; this was for family and as much as I wanted to check on them both, I waited.

Another five minutes perhaps and Connor came out, so heavy with what just happened. His light was a solid faint red, a new shade invented by his systems just for this. He immediately came over and I stood, embracing him fully and firmly as he hung his head against my shoulder, and cried.

I had never seen him do this before, didn't even know he could, and yet -

The fuck was I contemplating this for? Now of all times?

He held me tight, fingers flexing in the fabric along my back, tears spilling down my neck. And somewhere in the background was sudden silence. Hank's own curses muted as I could only imagine he was either holding Sumo's body on the floor or already half way through a bottle hidden under his bed.

I held Connor, choking back my own tears, letting him collapse in his own heap on the floor with me. This was his first time dealing with the loss of a pet, with actual grief over a living creature. Connor liked dogs.

He loved Sumo.