An abandoned, rundown house on the seedier side of the city had been suspected of housing a 'red ice' ring had become engulfed in a raging blaze as the suspicions were in fact true. As the potentially toxic smoke filled the air the fire department and police department were summoned to the scene of the fire, and as the city's reputedly 'red ice' expert Lieutenant Hank Anderson had been summoned to the fire as well. With Connor, the android who had been sent by CyberLife to hunt deviants only to deviate and aid in the Revolution, at his side Hank pulled his old but reliable Oldsmobile Cutlass up to the scene of the burning house with every intention of tracking down the arsonist, the drug dealers and any witnesses who could provide a statement on the night's odd event.

"Damn it." Swearing loudly as he put the car into park and opened up his driver's side door Hank stood beside the vehicle and watched as the fire department fought to douse the yellow and orange flames greedily consuming the decrepit, and abandoned two story house at a frightening pace. "If there was anything inside that house worth baggin' and taggin' for evidence it's gone now..."

Joining Hank outside of the vehicle Connor ran a scan over the blazing structure which turned his normally blue L.E.D. glowing in his right temple to a vibrant amber as his processors recorded numerous detail regarding the blaze itself. "The fire is burning at 2,014 degrees Fahrenheit. I can detect an accelerant of gasoline that had been poured in such a way it encircled the house before-" Connor's brow suddenly furrowed and his yellow L.E.D. flashed to red as he took a step toward the property. "Someone's trapped!"

"What?" Turning to face Connor as the deviant stood at his side Hank's blue eyes went wide with fear. "What do-" Before he could even get the question out of his mouth Hank found himself making a failed grab for Connor's left shoulder as the deviant took off in a full sprint toward the burning house. "C-Connor?!"

Without breaking stride or hesitation Connor passed through the line of fire engines parked at a distance in front of the burning house and rushed through the smoldering front door of the flaming building. Ignoring the dozens of warnings popping up in his visual processors regarding the danger of the extreme heat, the structural instability, the toxic air and of his own core temperature beginning to climb at a frightening rapid rate Connor used his scanner to hone in on the weak human vital signs he had managed to detect from outside the burning house.

"Hello?!" Calling out as loudly as he could Connor knelt down on the floor and ran another scan over the property in search of the trapped victim. Peering through the thickening, dark smoke Connor tried to track down the trapped person to get to them before it was too late for them to be saved. "I'm a detective and I'm here to help you!"

There was no vocal response beyond thought of a weakened whimper and a faint cry that was barely audible over the loud crackling of the burning building that Connor had ventured into. Trailing the sound to a small bedroom just down the narrow, smokey hallway Connor remained low and crawled down the hallway to the bedroom as quickly as he could.

"I'm here!" Entering the unfurnished bedroom Connor called out again and heard a small sound coming from the far corner of the room that had a mass of old rags and sheets piled up in a small mountain. "I'm going to get you outside. Do not panic."

Reaching out his hand toward the mountain of ragged fabric Connor sifted through the material until he found the person in need of his rescue.

Soulful brown eyes went wide as the red L.E.D. flickered rapidly in tandem with his racing Thirium pump; his heart, then immediately returned to a normal pace as Connor resumed focus on his mission at hand.

"...Don't worry."

Shifting his weight to kneel down beside the pile of rags Connor shrugged off his gray CyberLife jacket and used it as a protective wrap to keep the helpless victim safe from the intense flames steadily eating through the walls and floor all around the bedroom. From above a portion of the smoldering roof suddenly broke free and would've dropped on the bundle if Connor hadn't used his left forearm to physically deflect the burning projectile.

The deflection came with a heavy price as the smoldering plaster wrapped around Connor's forearm and quickly burned through the fabric of his shirt's sleeve, the artificial skin beneath and even began to warp and crack the plastimetal frame due to the intense and concentrated heat.

"Ah!" Shaking off the burning plaster from his affected limb Connor pulled the damaged limb in close to his chest and breathed through his clenched teeth for a moment before he pushed aside his pain to save the person who truly needed help in that moment. Focusing on the victim entirely Connor finished wrapping his jacket around their person and carefully scooped them up into his arms to carry to safety. "I'll save you..."

Standing beside the fire engine with his left hand pressed to his hip and his right hand pressed to his forehead Hank anxiously paced about as he stared at the burning house and waited for any sign of Connor's return from the lethal inferno burning just a few yards away. Having no choice but to wait and hope that the selfless and fearless deviant would be able to find his way back out of the burning building and return to safety before sustaining any permanent, if not lethal, damage from the merciless fire before he made his escape, Hank felt his heart rapidly pumping with pure adrenaline.

"Come on, kid." Muttering impatiently to himself as he anxiously waited for any sign of his impulsive partner to emerge from the flames Hank wasn't sure if he would hug Connor or slap him as soon as they were reunited. Glancing at the firefighters working to douse the relentless flames under hundreds of gallons of water at a time Hank sighed and gave a slight shake of his head. "You're a detective, not a firefighter. You should've told them to find whoever's in there... That's what they get paid for!"

There was a loud groan as the roof of the burning house collapsed inward and effectively destroyed the second floor under an intense wall of fire. The windows shattered and the entire building swayed on its foundation as the intense shaking of the collapse threatened to cause the entire house to implode in a cloud of dust, ash and flames.

"Fuck... Come on, Connor!" Shouting into the open air Hank could feel himself beginning to tremble from righteous fear. "Get your ass out of there!"

A massive rush of movement through the flaming front door of the burning house made Hank jump as he eyed a humanoid figure rushing from the blaze and over to the fire engines in search of safety. The white dress shirt that had been exposed to the flames and smoke had been stained gray and black from the clinging ash, small holes had been burned into the fabric over Connor's back and shoulders, and a large hole had been burned through the sleeve of Connor's left forearm.

As the disheveled deviant made his way over to Hank, his hair and artificial skin just as messy and ashy as his shirt, Connor breathed slowly and deeply to try to cool off his overheating core and try to calm his racing heart. Standing before Hank with his L.E.D. still glowing red and his arms wrapped protectively around the bundle enshrouded in his gray jacket up against his chest Connor stared at his partner and sighed deeply.

"...Hank, I-" A sudden slap to the face silenced Connor as he endured the impatient strike without protest. He fully understood Hank's reaction and didn't take it personally. "...I'm okay."

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Shouting loudly enough to pull the attention of firefighters and paramedics from the fire and to the two detectives Hank reprimanded Connor for being so damn reckless. The anger came from Hank's paternal side more than his professional side. "You could've been killed!"

"And she would've perished if I had chosen to not locate her."

"What? Who?" Finally calming down himself Hank took a step back from the deviant and looked about the area curiously. "Who is this 'her'?"

Connor carefully removed his gray jacket from around the bundle in his arms and showed Hank the ashen and smudged face of a tiny newborn baby girl. "This is the 'her' to whom I was referring."

"Holy..." Peering down at the tiny baby that Connor had rescued Hank's entirely aggressive body language softened from a gruff detective and into the kind father he had always been. "You... You just saved her life."

"She still requires medical attention." Coughing a little Connor walked over to the nearby ambulance with Hank right at his side and quickly caught the eye of a paramedic who had been made aware of Connor's bold little stunt thanks to Hank's shouting. "She hasn't suffered any burns," the deviant announced as he followed the paramedic's directions and climbed into the opened back of the ambulance to gently place the newborn down on the gurney for comfort, treatment and eventual transport. "but I fear she breathed in smoke and possibly other toxins in the air due to the abundance of various materials that had been consumed by the flames."

"You require attention, too." Hank pointed out as he peeled back the damaged fabric of Connor's dress shirt from his shoulders, and then did the same for the practically destroyed sleeve from his left forearm. The flames had damaged the limb enough to cause the deviant's artificial skin to completely degenerate and the white plastimetal frame of the limb to openly crack and warp from the heat induced damage. "That looks nasty."

"The baby is the priority." Connor remarked as he sat on the bench beside the gurney while the paramedic sat on the bench on the opposite side of the gurney to check the newborn's vital signs. Peeling back his jacket a little more Connor exposed the newborn's recently tied off and cut umbilical cord as he lightly put his right palm down on her chest, and retracted his artificial skin as he ran a more direct scan on her body. "...She was born just over an hour ago."

Hank swore as he took in the baby's appearance and felt a piece of his heart break. "Damn it." The newborn was a little girl with both of her parents being of Caucasian descent. She had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. As the paramedic slipped a tiny oxygen mask over her tiny face the newborn began to cry a little as her lungs started to clear of the smoke and she regained some modicum of strength. "We'll escort her to the hospital and see if anyone exhibiting a recent birth without actually having their baby was admitted within the hour."

"Agreed." Retracting his touch Connor watched as the paramedic placed what appeared to be an oversized bell from his stethoscope against the newborn baby's chest to listen to her breathing and heartbeat. "Whomever is responsible for this baby being left in the abandoned building must be charged with attempted infanticide."

"Infanticide?" The term made Hank's flesh crawl and he didn't want to ever hear that word for any reason. "That might be a stretch, Connor."

"The blaze was the result of arson and the baby was hidden beneath highly flammable materials. There was no one else inside the house," the deviant paused as he coughed a little more to clear his own ventilation biocomponents of toxic smoke and continued his oral report. "and there were no furnishings within the house. The house had been long since deserted which means whoever started the fire put the baby inside before setting the blaze. It may be possible that just prior to the arsonist targeting the house she had been abandoned inside by someone else and the arsonist didn't know she was inside; but I highly doubt it. Regardless of the circumstances leading up to the fire and her discovery the people who are responsible need to be charged."

"You're right." Dragging his hand over his bearded chin Hank stared at the crying newborn on the gurney as Connor hovered protectively over her and the paramedic worked to check her vitals to get her as stable as possible. "I'll meet you at the hospital and we'll file a report on this fire, and report the abandoned baby. We'll take up the lead on the investigation."

"Thank you, Hank."

"I'll see you in a few minutes." Closing the rear doors of the ambulance Hank smacked his hand on the side of the emergency vehicle twice to signal for the driver to go ahead and take off for the hospital. As he watched the ambulance drive away with the lights flashing and sirens blaring Hank sighed and turned to look at the ruins of the smoldering house that had only been partially extinguished. "...Good work, son. You saved a life tonight."

The ride to the hospital thankfully remained uneventful as Connor escorted the rescued newborn from the rear of the ambulance and into the emergency examination room alongside the paramedic. After the paramedic relayed the baby's vital signs to the attending doctors and nurses Connor informed them of the toxic materials he had encountered in the burning house during the rescue. With the additional information the medical staff could treat the baby for not just smoke inhalation, but run blood tests to check for toxic exposure and potentially find a biological lead to her birth parents if either parent had their D.N.A. already on record for whatever reason.

"May I ask where she will be taken after she has been treated?" Connor asked with a sincere curiosity and unexplainable need to continue to look after the baby to protect her. "My partner and I are going to handle the case and locate her parents, as well the person responsible for abandoning her in the house before it was set ablaze."

"She'll be taken up to the N.I.C.U. for observation after she's cleaned up." The doctor stated professionally as he checked over the baby's vital signs and found her to be stable despite everything she had just survived. "We're also going to give her fluids and a very small of dose of antibiotics to help her fight off any potential infections from being expose to the smoke and hazardous material from the burning structure."

"May I stay in the hospital with her?"

"Pardon?"

"If the baby's mother has been admitted to this hospital, or could possibly be admitted in the near future, I'd like to be in the hospital to interview her and get some answers." Staying back against the far wall of the exam room Connor watched as the nurses tended to the baby with gentle touches to clean the ashy smudges from her delicate skin, and keep her from developing an infection. "I'd also like the opportunity to examine the baby more closely so I can run a potential paternal or maternal facial construction and identify at least one of her parents if said parent already has an arrest record."

"As long as you don't accidentally crowd the N.I.C.U. I don't see why not. But," motioning toward Connor's left forearm the doctor noted that the deviant had suffered some damage as well, not to mention he was covered in ash and smelled like smoke. "you need to get cleaned up, and have your arm tended to."

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he looked down at his affected arm and ran a self-diagnostic. "It's not serious."

"No, but it looks rough. We have a nurse who works as a technician as well. She can get your arm taken care of, and we'll get you some hospital scrubs to wear after you shower off and get cleaned up."

"Of course." As he ran another scan over his palms Connor noted the numerous contaminants he had accidentally picked up during his journey through the burning house to locate and rescue the baby. He desperately needed to shower off. "Sanitation is crucial."

It didn't take long for word of Connor's heroic feat to spread though the precinct and for every available officer to provide their assistance in locating the people responsible for abandoning the baby, and starting the fire. While Hank took up the lead on the investigation and with Captain Fowler's permission began checking through hospital records regarding new mothers and unusual circumstances regarding their admission, or their newborns. Fortunately nothing criminal stood out, but unfortunately it left him with a dead end and no lead to follow whatsoever.

"Shit. Nothing seems to line up with the baby being abandoned." Rubbing his hand over the back of his tense neck Hank sighed and turned off his terminal screen as he made notes on the electronic tablet sitting atop his desk. "It was either a home birth without complications, or the mother left the city to get medical attention somewhere else after she had the baby here."

"No luck?" Captain Fowler asked as he joined Hank at the Lieutenant's desk and sighed as well as he handed Hank a mug of fresh coffee.

Accepting the coffee Hank took a long and grateful sip before he replied. "Not yet."

"I take it Connor is still at the hospital with the baby, right?"

"Yup. The kid sent me a message about an hour ago that he was going to stay in the hospital and attempt to find the baby's parentage with his weird scanner thingy or some shit, and he wanted to stay close by in case the baby's mother gets admitted as a patient."

"Good, that could make things easier. What do you know about the fire?"

"Fire department confirmed that the fire was started by an arsonist. They used gasoline as a cheap and common accelerant, circled the house and left a trail of gas from the center of the house and leading out the front door to the front walk. There's no way the fire was accidental, and since the arsonist entered the house to lay the trail of gasoline then that means they would've been aware of the baby inside the house. Newborn's aren't quiet, especially if they're only an hour old and have been neglected since minute one."

"Damn." The senior officers both had soft spots toward kids, and anything regarding an abandoned baby always got them to the core. Considering the baby was abandoned and nearly killed in a fire the two seasoned detectives were ready to start a manhunt to find the person or persons responsible, and take justice into their own hands. "Do what you gotta' do to find a lead, Hank."

"Trust me, Jeffrey. I'm doing everything that I can." Taking another sip of the coffee before he sat the mug back down on his desk top. "I just need Connor to go back out the burned house with me once the scene has been cleared so he can see the shit we humans can't see. If I can't find a lead then I know for damn sure that he will."

Wearing a set of dark teal scrubs after showering off the smoke, ash and other possible contaminants from all over his person Connor was given a visitor's pass and clearance badge due to his status as a detective, and promptly shown to the N.I.C.U. where the baby had been admitted for treatment. Brandishing thick white gauze over his burned left forearm that stretched from his wrist to his elbow Connor looked much better than he had been when he arrived at the hospital with the baby, but still needed the chance to clean up and change into his usual uniform once he was able to go home.

Hovering over the plastic incubator that was keeping the baby warm as she rested on the soft padding with a nasal canula under her nose and an I.V. started in her heavily bandaged foot to give her fluids, nutrients and mild antibiotics to keep infections at bay, Connor ran a scan over the tiny baby and continued to cybernetically file his report on her, and her condition. Little evidence had been salvaged after the fire which meant the case would progress slowly, but as long as the baby lived Connor would be okay with that.

As the baby began to perk up she started to cry a little and seemed incredibly uncomfortable.

"Poor thing." A kind nurse who had clearly been working N.I.C.U. for a majority of her career entered the space and checked on the baby's vitals that were being recorded on a nearby monitor that was wirelessly attached to the baby with a single sensor pad. She peered down at the baby's face and gave her a sweet smile. "It's amazing she survived."

"Yes. I'm glad I was able to detect her presence in the fire."

"You're the android detective, right?"

Connor looked up at the nurse and turned his head slightly to the left so she could see his blue L.E.D. glowing in his right temple. "Correct. My name is Connor."

"I'm so happy to know that we have fearless and dedicated detectives still working with us." As the baby continued to cry the nurse opened the small window on the side of the incubator and gently rubbed her hand along the baby's chest. "Someone this small and innocent needs people like you to look after her."

"...She seems stable." Confused by the baby's discomfort Connor tried to understand why she was upset. "Why is she crying?"

"Well, newborns normally begin to bond with their parents and spend the first few hours, if not few days of their lives, cuddling with their parents and being held all the time. She didn't have that chance so I think she's feeling scared and neglected."

"She's not being neglected any longer."

"Being cared for in a hospital isn't the same as being cared for by a parent."

"...Oh."

"Do you have any experience with children?"

Shaking his head a little Connor admitted his experiences with children was incredibly limited and practically non-existent. "No." A louder cry made his blue L.E.D. flash to yellow as if feeling somehow responsible for the baby's distress. "...Until this particular event I had never encountered a human infant before."

"Open the window on your side of the incubator." The nurse instructed with a sly smirk on her face. "Let her hold your hand."

"Hold my hand?"

"I know it sounds silly and simple, but direct contact with other people does wonders for babies and makes them feel more secure."

Hesitant at first Connor slowly opened up the side window and placed his right hand inside the incubator beside the baby. Putting his palm under her right hand Connor made direct contact with the newborn but she continued to cry.

"Let her grab onto your finger, Connor. Trust me," there was something absolutely warm in the way she spoke as she encouraged him to let the baby know he was still there. "she'll stop crying."

Slowly Connor moved his hand so his index finger was resting in the baby's palm, and almost immediately she wrapped her tiny fingers around his finger and squeezed as tight as she could. The gesture was met with quieter cries and in turn Connor's yellow L.E.D. returned to blue. As the baby tightened her hand around Connor's finger her tears dried and she looked up at Connor through the transparent top of the incubator as if she somehow recognized him.

"See?" The nurse beamed as she pulled her hand away and closed the small window on her side of the incubator. "She likes you and she trusts you."

"...I see. Interesting."

"Why don't you stay here and keep her company while we keep looking into any new mothers being admitted under 'strange circumstances' downstairs? It's a quiet night and she shouldn't be alone."

"O-Oh, of course. I can remain with her and maintain contact with the precinct through my cybernetic relay."

"Good. Hopefully we'll find a way to help 'baby Jane Doe' here as soon as possible."

"...'Jane Doe'?"

"That's the standard name given, you know that."

"Yes, I'm aware. But it seems so... impersonal."

"Well, what should we call her then?"

"I... I don't know." There was something unsettling about the baby not having a real name of her own, and only a default name applied to all people without a confirmed identity. "But she is not 'Jane Doe'."

"You've never named anyone before, have you?"

"No. Names are strange to select, and I don't understand the human logistics behind selecting names."

"For most parents they name their children after friends or family members if they can't choose a name they like. Maybe that could help you choose."

"...Why should I be the one to name her?"

"You said so yourself, 'Jane Doe' is too impersonal. And you're right, she deserves a real name." Giving the deviant a coy smirk the nurse was deeply intrigued by how Connor was interacting with the newborn, and how he seemed to develop a strange paternal need to protect her. "Go ahead and pick something for her. It might help her case gain traction if she has a real name and not just a case number."

Closing his eyes for a moment Connor researched thousands of names and their meanings and opened his eyes as an appropriate name finally seemed to come forward. "...Hannah." Rubbing his thumb gently over top of the tiny baby's fingers Connor looked down at her and confirmed her name with a sense of unbreakable confidence in his words. "Her name is Hannah."

-next chapter-