Accident Prone - Becoming Human

Suspended

Feeling utterly ashamed of himself Connor returned home with a white handkerchief wrapped around the bloodied blue knuckles of his right hand, and a thick grimace on his face. Standing outside the front door of Hank's house with his yellow tinted L.E.D. casting a blinking amber light over the surface of the closed door, he tried to think of how he could possibly explain to Hank that he had been suspended from the force for assaulting a fellow officer; or how he had such a violent outburst to begin with. As much as he wanted to delay the inevitable conversation Connor knew that he couldn't stand outside forever and would need to face Hank eventually.

Wrapping his left hand over the doorknob Connor slowly turned the knob, quietly pushed the door open and set foot inside the house where he was immediately greeted by Sumo. The massive dog was wagging his tail and standing before Connor just waiting for some attention from his favorite deviant.

Crouching down on the floor Connor pushed the door shut behind himself with his left hand and then ran the same hand over the dog's head and ears affectionately.

"Hey boy. Is Hank still sleeping off his headache?"

Sumo just gave Connor an odd look and tilted his head simply because he couldn't understand the question, but he never stopped wagging his tail.

"I'm not asleep." Hank replied from where he was laying down over the length of the couch. He was laying so still over the furniture that Connor didn't notice his presence. "At least not anymore."

"Sorry, Hank. I didn't intend to wake you."

"Don't worry about it." The groggy senior detective sat upright on the couch and ran his right hand over his tired face. Yawning a little Hank blinked a few times and steadily became more alert as he awoke from his nap. "Sumo wouldn't leave me alone all day, so it's not like I managed to get much sleep anyway. Why are you home so early?"

"I..." Trailing off Connor didn't know what to say or even know how to begin. "It's... It's complicated."

"Please tell me you didn't clock-out early just because I stayed home with a headache today."

"I didn't." The young deviant shamefully confessed and stepped around the side of the couch to look Hank in the eyes. "I was... suspended."

"Suspended? You?! Yeah, right!" Hank laughed a little at the admission as he gave Connor a stern glance. The look on Connor's face was one of seriousness and regret that was plaguing the deviant from the depths of his heart. "Oh shit. You're not kidding, are you?"

"...No." Truly ashamed of himself Connor told Hank the truth and waited to be scolded for his poor behavior. "I'm sorry, Hank."

"Sorry? For-" The more alert senior detective suddenly noticed the blue bloody cloth tied around Connor's right hand and was officially fully awake. Pointing to Connor's right hand Hank swung his legs over the side of the couch as if to stand up, but remained seated. "What the fuck happened? Sit down."

Connor nodded subtly as he sat down in the recliner beside the couch and extended his right arm outward Hank knowing he'd want to inspect the damage to his right hand.

Without asking Hank grabbed onto Connor's right wrist below his bandaged hand and peeled back the handkerchief to look at the damage to the artificial skin over Connor's knuckles. The cuts were deep, right down to the white plastimetal frame beneath, and still oozing blue blood.

"If you were human I'd say you'd need a few stitches." Hank observed keenly but not angrily as he examined the wound. "Tell me what happened, kid. I won't judge you."

Earlier That Morning:

After Hank had called off of work due to an incredible headache that was too painful to deal with while on the clock, Connor arrived alone and reported to his shift as normal. Without Hank to act as his partner Connor willingly resigned himself to desk duty for the day to help the other officers catch up on paperwork, file reports quicker and to properly sift through and identify other possible cases revolving around deviant activity from typical crime in the city. Everything was proceeding smoothly throughout the unusual morning and well into the afternoon for the young deviant, but that only lasted until Gavin decided to open his big mouth and start an unnecessary dispute.