As my father hands Connor the end of Sumo's leash after a long time of trying to get him to wear his old collar, he opens the door for both of us.

"Be careful. I don't want you two getting into trouble," My dad sighs. "Especially you, young lady."

"It'll be fine. I'm with Connor!" I smile at my dad, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better how?" He asks, sounding worried like he did earlier.

"It'll just be a minute. We'll be back soon." I let go of his shoulder as I walk out the door with Connor and Sumo. I glance back and see my dad still standing in the doorway.

I wave to him. He waves back.

He then closes the door.

I turn to Connor and notice that he's already looking at me. He turns away quickly.

"Hey Connor?" I ask.

He turns back to me, "Yes, Miss Anderson?"

"Just call me (y/n). I don't need the formality." You snicker.

Connor blinks, "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything." I say.

After a while of walking, and Sumo making stops at a few fire hydrants, we take a break and walk to a nearby park not too far from my house.

Upon arrival, Connor and I see a bunch of kid's playing with each other and having fun on a playground as their parents watched them. Some androids were there, too.

I turn to Connor to see him slightly smiling. For some reason, that makes me smile, too.

I then turn to Sumo, who's lying on the floor next to Connor's feet having a rest.

I then look back to Connor.

"Are you having a good time?" I ask, trying to not sound weird.

He turns to me and smiles a bit wider.

"I am. Are you?" He gives a question in return.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

It goes silent for a while, until Connor breaks ths silence.

"I want to thank you for coming with me, by the way." He shyly says.

"Ah, don't mention it. I just didn't want you or Sumo to get hurt. Besides, I like walks."

I fold my arms, squeezing the heat from the sun that feels real nice on my body, while slipping out a yawn.

"I don't think Lieutenant would've done the same,"

I turn to back to Connor and he's looking up at the sky. With all the bright light gleaming on his face, I feel like I'm looking at an..

What am I saying..?

I slightly look away from Connor, but look back so it doesn't look like I'm avoiding him or being nervous.

"You two are so different from each other." Connor blinks softly.

"Well of course we're not the same. Everyone's different. Even if it's a close blood relative."

My vision gets blurry again from lack of sleep.

Last night was rough..

"Are you alright, (y/n)? You look exhausted." Connor asks.

I wip my eyes with my fists and inhale deeply. "I'm fine, Connor. Don't worry about me."

"But your stress levels," Connor scoots closer to me as his LED becomes yellow instead of its neutral royal blue. "They're dangerously high.."

I sigh.

That's normal.. For me.

"I'll be fine, Connor. Thank you for your concern." I try to smile.

I look away, trying to ignore his glare, but he suddenly places his hand on mine.

His hand.. It's so.. Soft.

"I'm really worried about you, (y/n).."

Everything is so.. Quiet now.

Why do I feel so..

Calm?

"O-oh," Connor stutters. "Your stress went down a ton just now."

"Wha?" I blink.

"But I'm still worried about your health. Have you been eating enough lately?" Connor goes on.

I get up from the park bench and turn to the direction of my house.

"We should go. I think we've been outside for long enough." I sigh, putting my hand on my forehead.

Connor gets up and so does Sumo. I start walking and they follow after.

The rest of the walk didn't have much conversation. I hope I didn't make Connor feel bad..

Before making it to my house door, I stop in my tracks and Connor who is behind me stops as well.

He slightly walks up to me,

"Are you feeling alright, (y/n)?"

I turn to him with a soft face.

"Connor," I breathe. " Please don't worry about me, okay? You worry about my dad. His health is way worse than mine."

"So you admit you're having some health issues?" He tilts his head in question.

"Don't worry about that. Just worry about my dad, and yourself."

I just realised that I'm gripping his arms. I let go slowly.

"But-"

"Please." I cut Connor off.

He stares at me for a while, but then looks down to Sumo.

"I'm sorry (y/n)," Connor continues walking forward and slowly passes me. "But Hank ordered me specifically to take care of you."