Hank grumbles, Fowler had called him in early, something important to discuss. Hank rolls his eyes. at least the bastard had called him in last night before he got drunk.

he sighs. getting drunk had become a habit since Connor went missing a month ago. he vanished while he was supposed to be out getting groceries, signs showed foul play but nothing had turned up. despite looking, Hank hadn't found him and a missing Android wasn't at the top of the list, even if they had rights now.

but Fowler had said this had something to do with Connor, thats the only reason Hank showed.

Hank frowns, walking into Fowlers office. there's that Marcus android and he's holding... a child?

the child is sound asleep from the looks of it. beat to hell, covered in scrapes and bruises, bandages covered in thirium. one foot is wrapped in bandages, the other just has a sock on. there's a shoe on a chair nearby, but only a singular one. its definitely an android child. its clothes are torn to shreds, barely handing on to the kid.

"what the hell is going on here? whats robo Jesus doing here?" Hank frowns. Mark frowns.

"Connor said you called me that, I was hoping he was wrong." Marcus mutters.

"Hank, knock it off. Marcus came all this way to help you and Connor." Fowler says.

"how-" Hank tries.

"I found Connor." Markus says. Hank turns to him.

"where?" Hank demands. Marcus motions to the sleeping android in his arms.

"I don't know what happened, he said something about Cyberlife torturing him and ask me to help him get back to you then passed out." Markus says. Hank stares at him. "I carried him here from new Jericho." Marcus adds.

"I don't have time for this." Hank scoffs, turning to leave. Marcus grabs him quickly, slightly jostling the android in his arms. the child shifts and mumbles, holding onto Marcus' jacket.

"no wait! its really Connor, he let me see his memories before he passed out, its really him. I swear and the shit that Cyberlife did to him was really messed up he couldn't show me all of it he lost a lot of it in the transfer but its him. please Hank, Connor needs your help to get his body back." Marcus says.

"prove its him." Hank glares.

"he showed me memories of Sumo, your dog. he had memories of your sons room, the two times you let him in there while talking about Cole. memories of you two sitting around watching tv. he had all of his long term memories, even the memory of going Deviant. he has memories of the torture although his short term memory has been severally damaged. we tried to fix it but without his original body we can't. he says he transferred himself to this body to get away. his original was too damaged." Marcus explains. "he begged us to take his GPS tracker out so Cyberlife couldn't find him. but I assume they'll check your house anyway, maybe even here. they wouldn't dare check Jericho. they know I'm peaceful, but some of the others aren't." Marcus explains. "even if Connor took up shelter there, they would find a way to get to him. he begged me to get him back to you, that you could help him. of course Jericho will help however it can, but he needs your help." Marcus explains. Hank stares at him, skeptical.

"you're positive this is the real Connor, not something else?" Hank asks. Marcus nods.

"yes he knew his way around Jericho the way he always does. he knew where to find me. knew how to keep others from stopping him. he came straight to my living corridors. its Connor." Marcus says.

"fine but you better not be lying to me." Hank glares.

"here, don't hesitate to call for help. Connor and I have chatted through his terminal, I have your email address. I've sent you an email. if you need to contact me, do it through there." Marcus says, shifting the child. Hank nods and sighs. he reaches to take the sleeping android. his body appears to be one of the slightly younger models, probably putting the body age at 7 or 8. the model is light, light enough Hank can hold him up. the face is modeled slightly to look like Connors, Hank wonders if the android changed it, though his hair is blue. it could be a scheme from Cyberlife, but Hank will find out.

"I have to go, but let me know if you need anything for him. you can also call or message me on your phone." Marcus says, before rushing out the door quickly. Hank frowns, shifting the young android.

"what the fuck do I do with a kid?" Hank mutters. Fowler frowns a little.

"put him in Connors chair and get back to filing paper work Hank, I feel like you two will be safer here." Fowler says. Hank huffs, but leaves the office, heading for his desk.

"great desk duty." Hank mutters.

"Hank? whose the kid?" a female officer asks, Sharon, if Hank remembers correctly.

"its supposedly Connor. long story, do you have any clothes? I know you got a 9 year old." Hank frowns. Sharon nods.

"yeah hang on, let me get logged in and I'll grab some from the car. James still hasn't gotten his suit case out from vacation a week ago." Sharon says. Hank nods and heads over to his desk. he sits down, unsure what to do with the kid. if it is really Connor, he doesn't want to put him down. different body or not, he's missed the younger.

the android shifts, mumbling. he curls closer.

"Marcus?" he mumbles sleepily. the voice sort of sounds like Connors, just younger.

"no." Hank mutters. the child jerks up, almost looking tearful.

"Hank!" Connor shouts, hugging the Lieutenants neck hard. "I missed you." he mutters. Hank frowns, but hugs him back slightly. he sighs and hugs tighter.

"missed you too kid." Hank murmurs. he pulls back and tries to push Connor off his lap. the beat up android stretches. "what have you been through?" Hank asks, looking him over. Connor looks away, the light on his head turning a bright red.

"you don't want to know." Connor murmurs. the light flashes yellow, before vanishing completely, as he smiles up at Hank. Hank isn't impressed with the loss of the visual LED. "I apologize for my appearance. my body wouldn't have made it out of Cyberlife. I barely made it into this body. had to let go of some of my older memories, nothing important, thankfully, but this was the only one I could find in operational order." Connor mumbles, refusing to let go of him. Hank pushes him back some.

"what did they do to you?" Hank asks. Connors shoulders tense slightly, but he smiles anyway.

"I got rid of those memories too. didn't want to remember." Connor shrugs. its a lie, Hank can tell, plus Marcus had already told him that was a lie.

"Lieutenant, I've got the clothes." Sharon says. Hank looks up and puts Connor on the ground.

"good, go change, your clothes are barely rags." Hank frowns. Connor looks down at himself.

"okay." Connor says, reaching for the clothes. "thank you." Connor says. Sharon nods and watches him go. Connor enjoys this new body, he moved into this body as a Deviant and removed most of its protocols, Marcus had removed the rest. he was completely free in this body, even if he's only 4 foot tall and can't see over the sinks in the mens bathroom. plus child androids already had a more deviancy like programming, so they would act more like children, blend in.

he comes back 20 minutes later, Hanks not at his desk, so Connor climbs up in his own chair. he signs into his own terminal to start on the months worth of paperwork he's missed, only to find it all finished with Hanks name on it.

"so its really you then?" Sharon asks. Connor looks up.

"good morning Officer Flags, yes its me, Connor." Connor says, smiling at her.

"Sharon, Connor. I'm glad you're back." Sharon smiles, ruffling his hair gently. Connor nods and smiles back at her. she had started just a few weeks before Connor went missing.

"thank you." Connor smiles. "do you know where Hank went?" Connor asks.

"he went to get himself some coffee." Sharon says. Connor nods, smiling.

"of course, I can't make him coffee like this. can't really reach the counter." Connor chuckles. Sharon nods and heads back to her desk.

Connor pulls up some of Hanks files and gets to work.

"what are you doing here pipsqueak? don't let Anderson find you at that desk. don't you have parents to be with?" Gavin frowns walking over. Connor glances up at him, but returns to the computer. he knows Gavin can't tell he's an android, his LED is hidden. android children blend in better that way.

"get the fuck away from him Reed." Hank snaps, walking over. he sits at his desk and puts a cup of water on Connors desk. adult androids are different from children. the children androids need to eat and drink, while adult androids have to be programmed to eat and drink, they need upgrades to do so.

"oh look at you Anderson, in the work place before noon." Gavin sneers. "what the fuck is up with the kid?" Gavin glares. Connor internally panics, most of the staff here would keep the secret of who he is, but Gavin? Gavin would sell him out to Cyberlife for absolutely no reason.

"he's a friends kid." Hank mutters.

"you have friends?" Gavin scoffs.

"he has more than you." Connor mutters.

"what was that brat?" Gavin glares. Hank gets up from his chair and glares at Gavin.

"fuck off Reed. leave him alone." Hank glares. Connor glances over at Hank, but Hank motions for him to just sit still. Connor frowns, but Hank shakes his head. "leave the kid alone." Hank says firmly.

"or what Anderson?" Gavin growls, getting in Hanks face. Connor doesn't think, just grabs a rubber band from his desk, pulls back and lets loose. it hits Gavin right in the eye. "ow! fuck! you stupid little brat!" Gavin growls, holding his face. Hank laughs immediately.

"nice shot kid!" Hank laughs, smiling at Connor. Connor glares at Gavin.

"get out of his face." Connor glares. Gavin leans down into the child androids face.

"or what, pipsqueak?" Gavin snaps.

"Gavin! leave the kid alone! now!" Wilson shouts, glaring at them. Gavin reaches towards the kid, Hanks not sure what he's going to do but he intervene anyway. he grabs Gavins wrist hard, hand inches away from Connors face. the child android has jerked back, staring up at Gavin.

"touch him and I'll kill you. I swear on it." Hank growls dangerously. he shoves Gavin back and turns to Connor. Connor glances at him, looking nervous. Hank turns back to Gavin. "hands off." Hank warns.

"Hank." Fowler says. Hank looks over, ready to defend himself, but the look on Fowlers face stops him. "my office." Fowler says. Hank growls and heads into his office. he looks at Connor. "go with him." Fowler says. Connor nods and climbs down, heading after him.

Connor pushes the office door open and walks in.

"Hank, whats going on?" Connor asks.

"probably getting sent home." Hank grumbles. Connor tilts his head in confusion.

"I'm sorry." Connor murmurs. Hank shakes his head. Fowler walks back in.

"look Jeffery-" Hank starts.

"Hank, just stop, Cyberlife is on their way. they've sent two people to come find Connor." Fowler says. Hank tenses.

"and you want me to hand him over I suspect." Hank growls. Connor looks at Fowler, swallowing, before looking at Hank nervously.

"no! no! Christ Hank just listen to me!" Fowler glares. "Connor is an important part of this team and while androids are still fighting for rights, Cyberlife can do whatever they want with Connor, but that doesn't mean we have to wait around and do what they want. Connor is safer here." Fowler says, looking at Connor. the young android looks nervous, glancing back and forth between Fowler and Hank.

"so what you want me to just sit here with him?" Hank glares.

"I could hide." Connor says.

"if they bring an android with them, you wouldn't be able to hide from it." Hank mutters.

"Captain Fowler."

all three look at the phone on the Captains desk.

"yes?" Fowler asks.

"Cyberlife has two employees out here to speak with you."

Fowler meets Hanks eye.

"send them in." Fowler says. "find somewhere to hide him." Fowler says firmly. for once, its an order Hanks more than ready to follow. he turns quickly, scooping up Connor and running out of the office. it won't take long for them to get back here. Connor yelps, holding onto him.

"Hank?" Connor asks nervously. Hank runs them to the bathroom, sitting Connor on the ground.

"okay, okay... I could really use your super computer brain right about now." Hank says, glancing at him.

"weapons vault, they won't have access to that." Connor offers.

"too dangerous." Hank frowns.

"evidence vault?" Connor asks.

"no. be way too easy to find you in there." Hank says.

"I could... hide on the roof?" Connor asks.

"hell no. you'd be cornered there with no way to escape." Hank says. Connor looks towards the door.

"Hank they're coming. we need to do something now. if they find me-" Connor starts.

"they're not going to find you." Hank assures. he pauses. "hey Connor, how much does your body weigh?" Hank asks.

"um.. probably about 43.013 kilograms." Connor says.

"English." Hank frowns. Connor pauses a moment.

"9... 95 pounds? I think." Connor says.

"how much do you think those tiles up there could hold?" Hank asks. Connor shrugs.

"I dunno. I don't have all my old programs anymore." Connor says.

"okay, well, its the best idea I've got." Hank says. he grabs Connor and puts him on the counter.

"Hank?" Connor asks. Hank climbs up on the sink beside him and stands up. "Hank?" Connor asks again, nervously.

"come on. get up there." Hank says, grabbing him. he holds Connor up.

"Hank! this is a bad idea! if I fall through-" Connor tries.

"then don't fall through, now get up there." Hank glares. Connor looks at the tile above his head and gives it a good shove.

"they're sturdy, I'm not sure I can move them." Connor says hesitantly.

"well, try harder." Hank says firmly. Connor nods slightly and shoves it as hard as he can. it move out of the way slightly giving Connor enough room to get his hands up and move it. "come on Connor. I've seen you out run a bus and you can't move a ceiling tile?" Hank huffs.

"I was an adult then! I'm like eight!" Connor huffs, climbing up into the ceiling. Hank jumps down. "w-wait! am I just supposed to sit here?" Connor asks.

"my desk is 32 tiles that way. take your time get over to it and relax. when they leave you move the tile and climb out, I'll catch you." Hank assures. Connor tenses slightly. "easy, I will catch you Connor. come on, and while you're up there think of somewhere to hide at the house in case they show up there." Hank says. Connor nods hesitantly and pulls the tile into place.

Hank rushes out of the bathroom and slams straight into one of the Cyberlife employees, and the android.

"Lieutenant Hank Anderson, just the man I was looking for. my name is-" the man starts.

"don't care, get the fuck out of my way." Hank snaps, shoving the man away. the android grabs his arm.

"Lieutenant, this is Orion and I am Mike, I am a Cyberlife android-" Mike tries. Hank smacks his hand off.

"I don't care. fuck off you plastic asshole." Hank snaps storming away from them. he stomps down the hallway grumbling.

"we know you have him Lieutenant." the Orion says.

"I don't have shit." Hakn snaps.

"lie detected." Mike says. Hank whips around, getting in the androids face.

"fuck off you plastic fucking bastard. I don't give a fuck what your shit programming says. stay away from me." Hank snaps. Orion frowns at Hank.

"Mike, check the bathroom." Orion orders.

"right away sir." Mike says, heading into the bathroom. Hank turns back around and storms off back to his desk.

Connor looks around nervously. perhaps he should've told Hank that he couldn't see in the dark in this body. he pauses before perking up, retracting the synthetic skin to let his LED show. its not a ton of light, but its enough for him to see. he crawls as quietly as he can, attempting to put the majority of his weight on the beams in the ceiling.

10

he's careful to count in his head, shooting glances at the mice he'd repeatedly warned Hank were in the ceiling. his partner had always assumed he was being dramatic, but Connor was right they were there.

15

he freezes when one of the tiles creaks.

Mikes head snaps up. Hank looks over.

"something is in the ceiling." Mike says.

"hmm. weird. guess Connor was right about the damn rats." Hank mutters.

"the exterminator already comes out once a month. the city won't pay for more." Wilson grumbles.

"Connor has been telling you about those since day one Anderson." Chris snorts.

"shut it Miller." Hank glares.

18

Connor comes to a halt. if he moves any more he'll be right over the other android and he'd like to avoid that situation.

"Connor isn't here. I haven't seen that goof since he went missing a month ago." Hank huffs, glaring at his terminal. "he's considered missing, but I suspect you assholes know where he is." Hank glares.

"the shifting of weight on the tiles is too heavy to be a rodent." Mike says.

"have you seen the rats we have here in Detroit?" Sharon asks, shuttering. "have to keep my dogs inside because the rats are bigger than they are!" Sharon huffs.

"your dogs are rats." Hank mutters. Sharon huffs at him.

Connor shifts nervously.

20

he carefully distributes his weight between a couple of tiles. he swallows hard and just waits.

5 minutes.

15 minutes.

27 minutes.

finally the Cyberlife employees leave. Connor remains still for a while longer, he's not sure how long, before he hears Hank calls his name.

"Connor? you still up there?" Hank asks looking up.

"the ceiling? you put him in the ceiling?" Sharon asks. Hank glares at her.

"what the hell else should I have done with him?" Hank huffs.

"the weapons vault!" Wilson huffs. Hanks glare shift to Wilson.

"the fucking evidence locker." Sharon glares. Hanks glare turns back to Sharon, huffing. there's a creak above him and Hank looks up.

"Connor?" Hank asks. "kid you okay?" Hank calls, watching the ceiling confused. suddenly the tile splits in half.

"H-Hank!" Connor yelps, desperately flailing to grab hold of something, anything to stop his fall. "HANK!" Connor cries at the top of his artificial lungs, falling through the tile. Hank doesn't have a chance to say anything before the android lands in his lap.

"Connor!" Sharon shouts, walking over quickly.

"holy shit!" Chris says, shocked. Hank wraps his arms around the smaller quickly so he doesn't fall, holding him tightly .

"Connor?" Hank asks, softly. Connor stares off, shaking slightly. he looks around, eyes wide and terrified, like it was the first time he'd felt fear "Connor?" Hank asks, gently trying to pull his face around so he will look at him. Connor doesn't budge though.

"22." Connor mutters, staring towards Fowlers office. Hank looks confused.

"what?" Hank asks. Connor doesn't respond. "Connor? hey kid, look at me, Con? you okay? what are you talking about?" Hank asks.

"2-22." Connor mutters again. he looks up at Hank. "22 tiles, from the bathroom sink to your desk. not 32." Connor mumbles. Hank laughs and sits the android on his desk.

"okay, 22. I miscounted." Hank murmurs, smiling at him slightly. "are you alright?" Hank asks. Connor nods.

"I am, no more damaged than I already was. just... startled." Connor murmurs. Hank nods slightly.

"the hell happened in here?" Fowler frowns, walking over. "Hank, what did you do?" Fowler asks.

"me?!" Hank growls.

"I fell through the ceiling." Connor says, turning to look at him. "I was hiding from Cyberlife and fell through, thankfully after they left." Connor explains. Fowler frowns at him, but the small androids beat up face makes his anger dissipate.

"well... just... don't do it again. we'll find another tile to replace that one and get a janitor over here to clean it up. you alright?" Fowler asks.

"no more damaged than before sir." Connor assures. Fowler nods slightly and frowns heading to get himself a cup of coffee.

"his big brown eyes got to you too, didn't they?" Sharon asks as he walks past her. Fowler glares at her, grumbling. she chuckles. "they get to everyone eventually. surprised they got to Hank first, but at the same time..." Sharon shrugs. "and besides, while he's in this child model, he's adorable. all beat up and sad like that. his eyes are just so sad." Sharon adds. Fowler huffs and starts walking again.

"yeah they are." Fowler mutters.

Connor shifts on Hanks desk, biting his lip.

"whats wrong Con?" Hank asks.

"when they get to the house," Connor starts, looking at Hank. "Sumo will be the only one home." Connor adds.

"and?" Hank asks, confused. Connor frowns.

"no one to stop them from breaking in. Sumo could get lose... the house is awfully close to the road." Connor says. Hank straightens, frowning immediately.

"alright come on." Hank says. he gets up from his desk, grabs his keys, wallet, and phone, before looking at Connor. the kid doesn't have any shoes. he's covered in bandages, some still blue and indicating he's still bleeding. Hank grabs him.

"hey!" Connor yelps. Hank ignores him carrying him towards the doors.

"where are you going?" Fowler ask.

"put a unit outside my house. we're going to make sure they don't break in. Cyberlife is pissed Connor escaped. who knows what they'd do to my house." Hank says, shifting the android. Connor holds onto his shirt tightly with his hands, gripping Hanks hips with his knees. he's afraid Hanks going to drop him. a viable fear in his normal body, but not necessary in this body. he's small. Hank is a strong man and Hank has seen the weathered officer carry children from crime scenes before, but that doesn't make Connor feel any better.

"I'll put a unit in front of the house and have a couple patrolling the area. just give a call if there's danger. be careful." Fowler agrees after a few minutes. Hank nods and heads out of the office.

"I can walk Hank." Connor says.

"you have no shoes on." Hank mutters, heading for his car.

"I'm an android. I don't need shoes." Connor frowns.

"you also have a bullet wound through your foot." Hank adds. Connors face flushes.

"th-the gun was slightly heavier than I expected in this body, when I dropped it I didn't think it was loaded." Connor says.

"you shot yourself in the foot?" Hank mutters, opening the passenger side door and putting Connor in.

"it was not intentional." Connor frowns.

"never mind, lets just get back to the house." Hank mutters.

"and if they're waiting for us or watching us?" Connor asks.

"Fowler will have patrol units out to keep an eye on the house." Hank assures. he climbs into the driver side. he starts up the car and drives off.