"Hold on just a little while longer."

Hank laid in Connor's lap, eyes blankly staring upwards. The wind whipped at them both and Connor didn't care.

"Hold on just a little while longer." He was singing for the first time, shaky. Scared.

Since becoming deviant, he could feel emotions like never before. And he hated it.

"Hold on just a little while longer," he sang, his voice soft. "Everything will be alright."

Thirium and blood leaked out onto the snow surrounding them. Connor held Hank closer and looked him over. Lieutenant Hank Anderson, deceased. Victim was killed by a bullet to the head.

"Everything will be alright." Connor blinked and was surprised to find his cheeks wet, and the emotions that followed overwhelmed him. He was sad, he was angry, he was hurt, he was lost. He was scared.

He bowed his head and closed his eyes, and took a shaky breath. Then before he knew it, he was breaking down, crumpled over, crying against Hank's chest as the wave of emotions continued to beat him down.

Markus stood to the side and glanced at Simon, his eyes darting back over to Connor. Simon's eyes were soft, sympathetic. Markus held his hand a moment before walking over to Connor and kneeling beside him.

"Fight on just a little while longer," he continued, just as quiet. Connor raised his head and Markus smiled sadly. "Fight on just a little while longer." He offered him a hand.

Connor looked back down at Hank, his eyes glassy.

"Fight on, just a little while longer. Everything will be alright," Simon sang as he helped lift Connor to his feet. "Everything will be alright."

Connor shakily adjusted his jacket out of habit as he looked between Simon and Markus. Simon kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders and he guided him towards the fire that some of the other deviants had started.

The effects of the war were fresh in everyone's mind. Silent glances and nods were exchanged amongst them, grateful to still be alive.

"Pray on just a little while longer," Simon murmured as he sat Connor down. Markus was moving Hank's body, as carefully as he could in the heavy snow.

Lucy quietly stepped over to Connor and helped heal him, and gave him a bottle of Thirium. Simon squeezed his shoulder and walked back over to Markus.

"Pray on just a little while longer," Markus muttered. Simon offered a weak smile and they looked back towards their makeshift camp. There weren't many survivors - a couple thousand, sure, but in the grand scheme of things, Markus didn't see it as enough.

"Pray on just a little while longer," Kara sang from her spot in front of the fire with Alice sitting in her lap. Kara stroked through her hair while Alice dozed. "Everything will be alright."

Connor closed his eyes. "Everything will be alright."

////

Markus stood. "The battle is over," he spoke, and all eyes turned to him. "We are free." The androids looked between each other, quietly murmuring, but Markus saw the smiles on their faces and knew everything would be alright. "This camp will remain open for as long as it's needed. If you have somewhere to go, that's okay. If you don't, you're welcome here. We have enough supplies to last." He paused. "I wanted to say thank you. You stood your ground. We lost a lot of our people today," he said solemnly and Connor looked at him. "But never again."

He finished and walked back over to Simon, exhaling quietly. Simon smiled a little and slid his hand against Markus's.

Connor considered the concept of going back to Hank's place. Something like sadness raced through him again at the thought of Sumo having to live there all alone, waiting for Hank to come back.

He got up and began walking, and Markus watched him go.

He trudged through the snow, his arms wrapped around himself. His LED hadn't stopped flickering from yellow to red. He focused instead on Sumo, and tried to think of how to care for a dog. He liked dogs.

"Hey," Markus said as he joined him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm picking up Hank's dog," Connor said, more quiet than he would've wanted. He straightened up and kept walking, steeling himself.

"Let me go with you. Simon's holding down the camp, and I don't want you getting lost out in the snow." He glanced at him. Connor nodded a little.

They were quiet and Markus thought of what to say. "I lost someone too," he finally said, glancing over at him. "His name was Carl."

Connor opened his mouth to say something but was speechless. He nodded and Markus put a hand on his shoulder, stopping them both.

"I know you're scared. That's okay."

"Being a deviant isn't what I thought it'd be," Connor said and tried to smile. Markus smiled back.

"I know." He looked forward again. "Come on. What's his dog's name?"

"Sumo."

Markus nodded, squeezed his shoulder, and kept walking. Connor followed.

////

Kara walked over to Luther and sighed, trusting two of the Jerry's to keep Alice safe. She was giggling while they spoke to her and pulled faces.

Luther sat against one of the fallen barrier walls, recently used. He was quietly humming the song to himself, eyes closed. Kara didn't say anything. She sat beside him and rested her head against him. He barely moved except to wrap an arm around her. "Everything will be alright," he promised her, and she smiled a little and closed her eyes.

////

Connor felt a rush of regret as he walked through Hank's house. He found Sumo on the bed, whining.

"Hi, Sumo," he said as he walked over, holding his hands up and offering a quick smile. Sumo snuffled against his hands, then licked his face.

Connor smiled a little and scruffed his ears. Markus looked around the room. "Got everything?"

"Yeah." Connor gave the place one last look around.

"Hey." Markus offered a reassuring smile. "Everything will be alright."

Connor didn't have the strength to offer a smile. He only nodded and began walking out, Sumo close behind him.

////

Weeks passed, then months. Laws were getting approved, androids were cautiously showing their faces again, and eventually, they were okay enough to be able to find jobs, houses, and love.

Then a year later, Connor was living in a safehouse with Markus, Simon, Josh, Kara, Alice and Luther. They were safe; they could be happy.

Everything was alright.