Time Heals

House call

Hank hated the news and all its streamlined fear-mongering bullshit, but with everything happening in Detroit he wanted to be as informed and up to date as possible. He kept it on in the background while he cleaned up dinner, which mostly entailed putting the leftover pizza in the fridge and throwing out the box.

It was ironic really. A few days ago people relied on androids to take care of everything for them, from their dirty work to child care to their sexual needs.  Now after one little protest, people were setting their maid bots on fire in the streets and shooting fast-food androids executioner style like they were nothing.  The armed soldiers dragging the androids off to camps were the only thing holding the people back from a city-wide riot, and the androids... well, the androids were protesting peacefully. But after the slaughter they endured that afternoon, who knows where they would stand now.

He feared for Cole's safety and was seriously considering leaving the city.  Maybe it would be nice for him and the boy. Maybe they could start over somewhere new. Dare he even say it, somewhere with less fucking snow, although it seemed everybody was fleeing north to Canada where there were no androids to worry about. Of course, when he proposed this idea to Cole, his son's response was a definite 'screw that,' but this tended to be the boy's opinion on most things of late. They both already had their passports and a bit of money saved up so if they had no other choice, at least they had that to fall back on.

He turned off the TV and rubbed his eyes. The only thing that mattered was Cole's safety. His job, his home, his life savings... he would throw it all away for his son.

He stood in the dark living room listening to the steady patter of the rain, completely lost in thought, when the doorbell rang, startling him and setting off Sumo. He checked the time on his phone. It was just past nine o'clock—far too late to be expecting any visitors. Not that they would be expecting any anyway. The Andersons were about as antisocial as you could find. Work would know better than to bother Hank at home on his day off, and Cole rarely made friends with people unless there was a screen and a time zone or two between them. The buzzer rang again not 30 seconds after the first.

"Dad, who is it?" Cole called from his room.

Hank peered out of the blinds of the front window and saw a young man with brown hair wearing medical scrubs on their front step. He bounced on his toes, anxiously looking back and forth between the street and the door. When he turned his head to the right, Hank saw a ring of light flashing red on his temple. 

It wasn't a man at all, but an android.

It was the surgeon from the hospital all those years ago. Kevin? No, Connor. The one that not only saved Cole's life, but bought Hank a coffee and practically talked him off the edge. What the hell was it doing here, and why did it look so panicked?

"No one, Cole.  It's, um, it's just a salesman." He watched the android press and hold the button again.

"Well, are you gonna tell him to go away or not?"

It didn't look armed or seem to pose any immediate threat, so Hank cautiously opened the door. The cold fall air whipped around him, chilling the exposed skin on his arms. Connor's face lit up in a bright smile when it saw him.