Already some angst. What a way to start.

////

Connor's vision slowly flickered back from darkness and he was aware of his surroundings -- he was almost outside Lieutenant Anderson's house. He tried to get up only to collapse again.

The blue blood pooling around him served as a constant reminder that, while free, he was never fully human.

"Hank," he choked, high-pitched buzzing in his ear. "Hank, I need help..."

He pulled himself forward with his one hand, pushing off with his stumped legs. Pain was another new concept, one he didn't take kindly to. "Hank, please... "

"Connor? Connor!" Hank slid to the ground, the front door wide open behind him. He kneeled in the snow beside him and could only stare for a moment. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Gavin, he -- wanted to destroy deviants -- and -- " Connor shuddered and Hank rolled him over, his stomach dropping at the sight of his core ripped out, blue blood coating his chest and stomach.

"I'm going to help you, okay? You're going to live," Hank demanded, lifting him up with difficulty. Connor hung limp in the air, his systems failing slowly.

"Hank..."

"Don't talk," Hank snapped as he carried him inside. He laid him on the couch and hurried to a side room. Connor listened to the clinks and clanks of plastic and metal. "What's the time until you -- " He swallowed, unable to finish the sentence. Connor gritted his teeth and ran a quick analysis.

"A minute and forty-three seconds," he spoke, assessing the rest of the damage. "Hank, I don't want to die."

"What?" Hank whipped around and looked at him, eyes wide. He was holding all sorts of materials in his arms; he dropped them and stepped closer to Connor.

"I don't want to die."

"You're not going to die," Hank said. "What components do you need?" He rubbed his face and was silent as he did another scan.

"4717a, 4315a, 9234f," Connor rambled and Hank quickly looked over the serial numbers on the materials he'd gathered. He found a core component and clicked it into place. Connor slumped back in relief and closed his eyes, his LED flickering between red and yellow quickly.

"Okay, okay. Jesus..." Hank took a step back and heaved out a breath, and looked at him again. "Connor?"

He didn't open his eyes, but he said, "I'm here, Lieutenant."

"Good," Hank croaked and cleared his throat, and got back to work finding the other components he needed. Connor was silent as he worked, but Hank didn't like that red circle on his temple. "Can androids bleed out?"

"Yes, the blood powers our biocomponents and we need it as much as you need yours," Connor answered, blinking his eyes open.

"Your thingy's still red," Hank murmured as he replaced his arm and wiped the blood off with a towel.

"I was afraid," Connor said. "I was afraid of dying."

"That's only human, Connor," Hank muttered as he replaced one of his legs with a click. He shortly found another one, slotted it in place and looked Connor over. Connor was still silent, still flickering between yellow and red, and blue blood was bright on his face.

"I had thought that when I became deviant, I would understand the world better. Myself better," he finally said, frowning to himself. Hank sat beside him and watched him. "I bleed like humans do, move like them, act like them, and sometimes I'm able to blend in so well that I forget what I originally was. But it's instances like these... "

Hank saw him swallow uneasily, his eyes flickering about. "I remember I'm still more machine than man."

Hank wasn't sure what to say to that. "Sit up," he said gruffly. Connor slowly did so and Hank fetched a washcloth, and began cleaning the blood off of his face. "Cleaning up after a child, eh?" he tried to make it sound like a joke but he had to pause and pull back to look at him, unexpected emotions ramming him like a truck.

"Lieutenant?"

"What." Hank moved back in and resumed cleaning him up.

"Thank you," Connor said, his tone quiet. Finally, the flickering had settled back to a calm blue, occasionally wavering to yellow and back again.

"Don' worry about it," he said gruffly and slumped in his seat now that the worst was over.

Connor closed his eyes and Hank sighed as he looked at him. He was resting, he reminded himself as he watched. "You're okay." He wrapped an arm around him hesitantly and pulled him closer against him. Connor's head slid to rest on his shoulder, and Hank didn't dare move.