"Connor, kid? what are you doing?" Hank asks, stumbling sleepily into the bathroom.

Connor jumps immediately, turning to face him. he hides his hands behind his back quickly, trying to ignore the sound of Thirium dripping into the sink.

"oh, hello Hank. its 2AM. why are you awake?" Connor asks, glancing around.

"Connor! you're bleeding! what the hell did you do!?" Hank asks, rushing over to him. he grips the Androids face, pulling him to him. he grabs a wash cloth and presses it to Connors temple. Connor goes quiet, refusing to meet Hanks eye. "Connor, what the hell happened in here?" Hank ask. Connor turns his head, pulling his face from Hanks hands. he holds the wash cloth up himself, pulling away from Hank. Hank looks confused. "Con? Connor, hey, I'm not mad kid. I'm worried about you. you're standing in the bathroom, scissors in hand, bleeding from your head, staring into the bathroom mirror, at 2AM. do you want to tell me whats going on?" Hank asks. Connor swallows, refusing to look at him. Hanks gaze softens, he reaches back out gently, cupping Connors cheek and turning him back to face him. "look at me." Hank murmurs. Connor hesitantly meets his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Connor says softly. Hank looks confused.

"sorry? why are you sorry?" Hank ask softly. Connor looks away, clenching his eyes shut. "hey, hey. Connor talk to me here. whats going on?" Hank asks.

"the revolution is over. we won. Androids have rights. crimes against Androids are pushing the same way crimes against humans are punished... there used to be laws on our LEDs but not anymore... and yet..." Connor trails. Hank frowns at him.

"Con, hey, does this have to do with our recent cases?" Hank asks softly. Connor nods.

"Androids with their LEDs being slaughtered." Connor murmurs. Hank sighs softly, taking the Thirium covered wash cloth in his hand gently, pressing it to the wound harder. Connor winces, but doesn't pull away.

"you tried to remove yours didn't you Connor?" Hank ask.

"I should've known." Connor says quietly. Hank looks confused.

"should've known what?" Hank asks.

"I was prototype. a deviant hunter meant to deviate. I should've known it would be that easy." Connor adds.

"what do you mean Con?" Hank ask. Connor finally meets Hanks eye. his pain filled, tearful, brown eyes meet concerned and worried blue eyes.

"I can't take mine off." Connor murmurs. Hank looks more confused.

"what do you mean you can't get yours off?" Hank ask.

"it just bleeds and bleeds and even if it didn't... the pain is enough to deter me from trying again." Connor mumbles.

"oh Connor." Hank sighs softly, pulling him into a hug.

"how am I supposed to be free when I can't get this stupid thing off? its practically an target on my head screaming 'I'm an Android'." Connor mumbles against Hanks shoulder.

"we'll get it out Connor its okay." Hank assures.

"we can't." Connor mumbles. "it'll hurt and bleed." Connor adds.

"it'll hurt, yeah. its definitely going to bleed, but we'll take care of this, alright?" Hank ask. "let me see the scissors." Hank murmurs gently. Connor hands them over immediately. "okay now sit on the side of the tub." Hank adds.

"Hank-" Connor starts.

"sit." Hank says firmly. its not an order. ordering Connor around these days makes him feel like a piece of shit. Connor sits down on the edge of the tub and looks at Hank. "can you bleed out from this?" Hank asks, frowning.

"the way its bleeding it would take 7 hours, 16 minutes, and 54 seconds for my lack of Thirium to cause me to shut down." Connor mumbles.

"okay keep an eye on that alright? if it gets below 2 hours, let me know okay? Jericho is only an hour away. we'll take you there if we have to." Hank assures.

"okay." Connor murmurs, turning his LED to face Hank.

"its gonna hurt alright? if it gets too much before I get the ring out tell me, okay? I'll stop." Hank assures.

"what if it hurts worse after removal?" Connor asks.

"I'll take you to Jericho or an Android hospital." Hank assures. "immediately. I won't make you sit and suffer like that." Hank assures. Connor nods.

"there's no other Android like this. I've checked the internet, talked to other Androids... no one elses hurt to remove like mine." Connor mumbles.

"thats okay. you're a prototype, Con. you're special, different." Hank assures. he pulls the wash cloth away, the wound seems to have stopped bleeding. Connors self heal system seems to have fixed the issue. "alright, ready?" Hank asks.

"not really..." Connor murmurs. Hank smiles at him a little, smacking his knee gently. Connor moves, making room for Hank to stand between his legs. Hank gently pulls Connors face to rest against him.

"you're going to be fine." Hank assures, eyeing the LED. "last chance to tell me you've changed your mind Con." Hank says. Connor goes quiet for a moment.

"I want it gone." Connor says firmly. Hank nods, angling Connor against him.

"try not to move your head alright, I don't want to accidentally stab you." Hank murmurs. Connor nods slightly, wrapping his arms around Hank. he hopes to keep himself from pushing away or squirming. he doesn't want to hurt Hank, or himself. "ready?" Hank asks. "on the count of three, okay?" Hank asks.

"okay." Connor murmurs.

"1... 2-" Hank counts. he shoves the tip of the scissors up under Connors LED and pops it off as fast as he can. whatever words he was going to attempt to say are cut off by Connors cry of pain. he struggles for a moment while Hank drops the scissors and presses the wash cloth back to Connors head. Hank holds his head gently, but firmly against his chest. "shhhh." Hank soothes gently when the android continues to struggle.

"you lied! that was not on 3!! you lied!" Connor cries. Hank snorts slightly.

"I know. I'm sorry." Hank murmurs softly, running his fingers gently through Connors hair. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Connor." Hank soothes. he lifts the wash cloth some, just enough to see the wound is still pouring Thirium, then presses it back down more firmly.

"its still bleeding." Connor mumbles.

"how long before you reach critical?" Hank asks.

"5 hours 23 minutes." Connor mumbles.

"the countdown has dropped 2 hours?" Hank asks. Connor nods slightly against him. "okay hold the wash cloth there alright? I'm gonna grab a bag of Thirium, just sit here." Hank murmurs. Connor nods slightly.

"okay." Connor mumbles.

when Hank comes back from the kitchen the wash cloth is soaked in Thirium. it wasn't a thick cloth to begin with, but Connor was leaking enough Thirium that it was now dripping from the wash cloth and all over the Android. there's a slowly growing puddle in the floor.

"still bleeding I see." Hank frowns, handing him the back. Connor nods slightly.

"its hasn't slowed." Connor says.

"I'll give it another five minutes, then we're going to either Jericho or an Android hospital." Hank warns.

"theres no need for that. my system will stop the bleeding." Connor assures gently, downing the Thirium bag.

"yeah I don't care. if we lose anymore time we might not have time to get you there. you lost two hours in not even three minutes." Hank frowns. "how much time?" Hank asks. Connor holds the rag harder to his face. "Connor, how much time?" Hank demands.

"4 hours 30 minutes." Connor mumbles.

"alright get up. we're going to an Android hospital." Hank orders, helping him up off the tub.

"Hank, really I'm fine-" Connor tries.

"you will be." Hank says. Hank grabs a new wash rag, carefully swapping them out and tossing the old one in the sink with the clean one firmly pressed to the wound. he supports Connors weight, the RK800 didn't particularly weigh much so it wasn't hard, and helps him to the car.

the drive to the Android hospital is tense and mostly silent. Hank keeps shooting worried glances at Connor, who leans silently on the window, but neither say anything. Hank doesn't even comment on the Thirium dripping down the door panel of his passenger side door. it'll be invisible in a few hours anyway.

"Connor?" Hank asks. Connor doesn't respond. "Connor, hey, you still alive over there?" Hank asks. its the fourth time he's asked. he just wants to make sure Connors still functional. "Connor." Hank says firmly, glancing over at him. one of Connors shaky hands, grasps onto Hanks jacket sleeve, tightly.

"m'okay." Connor mumbles, softly.

"alright just hang onto me okay? don't let go." Hank murmurs. Connor nods slightly. "how long?" Hank asks.

"1 hour, 15 minutes." Connor mumbles.

"alright we're almost there, just hang on." Hank murmurs.

Hank doesn't bother to find a parking space. he throws the car in park at the front doors and rushes Connor in, practically carrying the Android despite Connors weak protests of I can walk Hank, I'm not that low. Hank doesn't listen and takes him Connor inside, handing him off to the medical staff.

the waiting room is quiet and empty. Hanks the only person in there. it helps, at least a little. it gives him room to pace and wonder if he did the wrong thing by removing the LED. he knows Connor wanted it off, but did he really want to risk him bleeding out? Connor wanted to assert his freedom, which Hank fully supported, but at what cost?

by 4:30AM, Hanks sat in the hospital for an hour. he bounces back and forth between sitting in the hard plastic chairs and pacing.

by 6AM, Hanks called Fowler. Hank doesn't care about a no call no show, but it would break Connors synthetic heart to have one on his record. so Hank alerts Fowler that Connor had been bleeding drastically from the side of his head and they were at an android hospital since they could not get it to stop. he doesn't even call, just shoots Fowler a text. Fowler doesn't answer, but Hank knows he's seen the texts.

by 8AM, Hank wonders if Connor died in the back and no one told him. he tries to focus on the news but he can't.

by 9AM, Hanks exhausted. he's half asleep in the chair. his stomach is complaining loudly that he's been up for 7 hours and hasn't eaten yet. he stopped pacing 3 and a half hours ago and wondering if he should make some sort of funeral arrangement. Hank would not let Connor go to that old Android junk yard, but what would Connor want? would he want a funeral? what kind of casket would he like? who would he want there? Markus and his girlfriend? Simon? Josh? would he want any of his friends from the DPD to attend? would he rather be melted down and sit on a shelf at Hanks house? where he could stay with Hank and Sumo every day until they died?

the thoughts make Hanks already upset stomach churn. he's just about ready to get up and ask the staff if Connor is alright, when the nurse from last night walks out and smiles at Hank.

"sorry about that wait Lieutenant Anderson." she says.

"Hank." Hank says, automatically. he gets up from his chair and walks over to her. "and as long as Connor is okay, then its fine." Hank assures.

"oh! absolutely! Connor is going to be just fine. the majority of his time spent here was due to our attempt to get our hands on some parts that he needed, but do not worry, he is going to be just fine." she assures. she nods for Hank to follow her.

she leads Hank back to a room, where Connor is sitting on a medical bed. the RK800 looks a little dazed as he attempts to pull on the old hoodie he'd been wearing. its Hanks old DPD Academy hoodie. the Thirium that had soaked down hoodie had turn invisible. Connor finally manages to get the hoodie on and looks over.

"Hank." Connor smiles at him.

"shit kid, you're alright." Hank mutters, walking over to him. his attention immediately goes to Connors temple. the LED is gone, but there's a tiny scar where it used to be. Connor smiles at him, getting up to walk over to Hank.

"we gave him some Thirium, but his system will be a little low. he needs Thirium and a stasis cycle." the nurse warns.

"actually, I have case files at work to-" Connor starts.

"no, I already told Fowler you're not coming in today." Hank says firmly. Connor looks confused.

"but the Francine files-" Connor starts.

"can wait another few days before we finish them." Hank assures, leading Connor out of the hospital.

"but-" Connor tries.

"no. now come on. I need some food and some more sleep. you need Thirium and stasis. now come on." Hank says firmly. Connor follows him, frowning. they climb into the car and head for home.

"you didn't have to rush me out here." Connor murmurs.

"Connor, I know you know how long you've been under. they had to order parts for you. they had to do physical surgery. you needed to be here." Hank says firmly. "come on lets get home and get some rest." Hank smiles at him. Connor nods slightly, looking exhausted. he leans slightly against Hank. "you'll feel better after some Thirium and rest." Hank murmurs. Connor nods slightly.

"maybe you're right..." Connor murmurs.

"and you're not curling up on the couch, you're laying in my bed. no way you're sleeping on the couch after being in the hospital." Hank says.

"but Hank-" Connor says.

"no arguments Connor. my words are final." Hank says firmly. Connor sighs softly, but smiles slightly. Hank would take care of him, for once, which was nice. everything would be alright.