A Devious Humanity

Familial Support

It was a horribly tense day as the summer heat began to fade courtesy of the cold, autumn rain; but fall wasn't hanging over Detroit just yet. Discreetly and quietly, Hank checked in on Connor throughout the day as the heartbroken younger man slept all through the morning, the afternoon and now almost well into the evening as he struggled to emotionally comprehend everything he had gone through. Unwilling to wake him up since he knew that Connor needed the rest, all Hank could do was silently open the bedroom door to make sure Connor was still asleep and made sure that the younger detective's phone was turned off to ensure no one disturbed him during his sleep.

Ruby was sleeping on the foot of Connor's bed and barely lifted her head to acknowledge Hank before she rested her chin back down over Connor's leg as her master laid on his side with his back presented to the door. The loyal hound hadn't left Connor's side since he returned home late last night, and she hadn't even bothered to go downstairs and eat.

"Keep an eye on him, girl."

Hank whispered as he backed out of the bedroom to give Connor some space.

"He needs all the support he can get."

Limping down the staircase Hank resumed socializing with Chloe as Lucas told her about what had happened over the previous weeks, and how everything came to be. In doing so, Hank could see the blonde android's L.E.D. flickering between yellow and red as her newly blossoming emotions began to push her more toward deviancy and in turn make her appear more human.

As Chloe held Ash on her lap and gently rubbed the white kitten's chin, she seemed entirely human and the sight made Hank feel at ease. "She's so cute! I've never been able to interact with animals before."

"She is my companion, and she can be your companion, too." Lucas assured her as they sat together on the couch side by side. "Ash seems to like you."

"I like her, too. Animals are so interesting and very calming."

Noticing that Elizabeth was sitting at the kitchen table with the rescued photo albums spread out before herself, Hank decided to check in on her and make sure that she was okay as well. "Making sure all the photos are present and accounted for?"

"Something like that." Elizabeth smiled a little as she rubbed her fingertips against her temple. "Whenever I feel stressed out, I like to look at these photos and remind myself that things aren't always going to be the same. Bad days can become good days, and bad emotions can become good emotions." Picking up one of the photographs from the album she held it out toward Hank as he sat down in the vacant chair beside her. "This is the last photograph I have of Connor as a child back when he still smiled."

Hank took the photo and felt like he was staring at a ghost. "Jeez, if Connor's eyes were blue instead of brown, he'd be Cole's twin." The image showed Connor when he was only four years old on the final day that he was safe in foster care before returning to his abusive biological father. It was rare to see Connor fully smile, but right now Hank would be relieved to see a content grin on the young detective's face. "Poor kid's been through so much."

"I wish I knew what I could say to him, but I'm not an expert when it comes to dealing with heartbreak." Elizabeth felt entirely lost as a parent and didn't know what to do for her son. "I never dated anyone seriously after everything happened with his father, and I never let myself get close enough to another person to go through it again."

"Same. I was divorced once and then widowed."

The latter term caught Elizabeth's ear and it made her arch her brow as she gave Hank an intrigued look. "Divorced?"

"Yeah." He laughed a little as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It was an accidental wedding while partying in Vegas. My ex is STILL pissed!"

"Oh." Smirking a little Elizabeth proceeded to gently replace the photos back into the albums and pack them into a cardboard box for later transportation to the new apartment. "Tomorrow I'll be able to move into my new place and go back to working at the daycare and volunteering at the hospital. Thanks for putting up with me for so long."