While Heather Was Gone

Chapter 1: The Accident

October 11th, 2035

7:12 AM

Hank's House.

256 Red Ice cases and a couple cups of espressos was enough to keep Lieutenant Hank Anderson from going to sleep early the previous night. However, now the man in question slept soundly by himself, sitting face first on the kitchen table with a troubled, but sleepy expression on his face. The poor man almost dreaded waking up that morning, for he knew Captain Fowler would get on his ass for being even a millisecond late. Hank had a reputation to uphold after all, being the newest Lieutenant in the Red Ice Task Force. The man grumbled in his sleep, willing himself to wake up despite the peacefulness of slumber attempting to seduce him back into his natural state.

After waking up, the gruff man yawned like a bear would after getting out of hibernation. He rubbed his chin and flinched at the scratchiness of his stubble. Boy did he need to shave. Before Hank could make a move to the nearest bathroom, a woman in her late 40s came out of the master bedroom with a basket full of clothing and had an apron tied around her waist. "Hi honey!" the woman greeted cheerfully as she passed by Hank to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Hank flushed at his wife's sweet gesture.

"Hey darlin', how'd you sleep last night without me?" Hank asked, a little bit ashamed that he was too tired to make the effort to sleep with his lover. The woman scoffed, not caring that her husband was too tired to be with her the previous night, but that was only because she knew how hard her adoring husband worked.

"Sweetie, how many times do I have to tell you? I understand your new position has you swamped with new responsibilities." Hank's wife replied with a gentle expression as she put the basket of clothing on the . Hank wrapped his arms around his wife, nuzzling his broad face in the crook of her shoulder.

"I know, Heather. Its just I feel kinda bad ya know? You work yourself to death every day for us, and so do I, and it's just been tough with the Task Force getting on my ass-"

"Hank. I understand." Heather assured firmly, kissing him again on the lips. Hank kissed back with equal amounts of passion until Heather was the one who broke the kiss. The Lieutenant glanced at the pan next to the stove and beamed a huge smile. "No way, you're making pancakes?" Hank asked with excitement in his voice. "Oh, so you noticed huh? Today's a special day, so I'm making a special breakfast." Heather smirked, knowing that her world-famous pancakes were her husband's biggest weakness. She cupped her husband's face and gave him a look of admiration before pulling away to get the dishes washed and cleaned.

Hank stared at his wife before clearing up the kitchen table of the case files he worked on so his family could have breakfast there.

"Cole has school today." Heather sighed, knowing that her little boy was already growing up so fast. Hank smiled at the thought of his only son, and he couldn't help but imagine what a fine boy he could turn out to be.

"Do you want me to wake him?" The police Lieutenant asked, already finished with clearing up the table.

"Sure hon, just make sure Cole freshens up before coming to eat breakfast! Today is picture day so he needs to look his absolute best." Heather chuckled; laughing at the time Cole went to school with a horrible case of 'bad hair day' when it was picture day for his class last year. The woman did feel bad for him, but despite the crippling embarrassment, he went and took that picture, bad hair and all, and wore it like a badge of honor. His mother was sure that if Cole kept this attitude up, he'd the Class Clown by the end of first grade.

As his wife was helping to clean the kitchen before making breakfast, Hank stood in front of his son's room, unsure of how to wake him. Like himself, Cole was a heavy sleeper, so getting him to wake up was a challenge all on its own. Chuckling to himself at the thought, the man quietly opened the door, making sure not to wake him up right away. Cole snored peacefully, head draped on his pillow, and drool leaking from his mouth. 'Yup, he's quite the heavy sleeper' Hank thought to himself as he sat on his son's bed. Cole's entire room showcased the kind of kid he was; there were glow stars on the ceiling that Heather insisted on getting for him, posters of Cole's favorite Marvel and DC superheroes, and his father's most prized possession: his retro comic book collection dating all the way back to the 1950s. Hank had a hard time letting go of it since it's even been a huge part of his childhood, but when Cole was born, he knew that one day, he'd have to give up the comic book collection for his son to keep. Most of these comics aren't even available to read anymore, so Hank made his son promise to never ever let anyone them, touch them, or even look at them other than him and himself.