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“Can you hold him for a minute?”
Connor’s processor stuttered. “W-what?” he got out, and his voice lacked its usual smoothness, systems still lagging.
“It’s just for a moment, I’ll talk to Fowler and grab my stuff and then I’ll take him back, don’t worry,” Chris explained and proceeded to hand him the baby. Connor was still too stunned to manage more than a half-hearted noise of protest.
“Put one arm under him, like this, and with the other you make sure he doesn’t slip.” As soon as the baby was secure in Connor’s stiff arms, Chris gave him an encouraging nod and strode off.
Little Damian looked up at him with big brown eyes, curious and trusting. Connor was, frankly put, terrified. He willed his programming to come up with anything, at least some hint of how to handle this, but received only silence. For the first time the advanced prototype wished he was an AX400.
Damian started squirming and making some vaguely discontented noises and Connor’s stress levels reached a new high. The one thing he knew about babies was that they were extremely precious to humans and that their wellbeing had the highest priority, especially to their parents. What if Damian started crying? What if he dropped him?
Connor looked around for help. Detective Reed was busy working and would not appreciate being disturbed, not that Connor would have asked him for help anyways. Detective Collins was absent and Officer Chen was wearing her noise cancelling headphones again, even Connor could understand the subtext. The only one left was… Hank!
His partner sat slumped in his chair, half-heartedly typing away on a report, while glaring disappointedly at his empty coffee mug now and then. Hank would know what to do.
Connor walked over. “Hank, I need your help,” he said, half-loud but urgently. Hank turned away from what he was doing and looked between Connor and the baby in his arms. He raised an eyebrow. “Something you wanna tell me, Connor?”
It took a moment for Connor to register the joke, and Hank was already looking amused at his own comment. “This is not funny!” he said indignantly. “Chris just gave him to me and I have no idea what to do!”
“Looks to me like you’re doing fine.” Hank shrugged.
“But he seems uncomfortable!” Connor tried again.
“’cause you’re stressed and tense, they feel that. Your party light is all yellow and blinky, calm down a bit and he’ll calm down as well.”
Connor tried to follow his friend’s advice to lower his stress levels. His panic was unreasonable, really, he told himself. He had negotiated difficult hostage situations without a problem and his life was threatened on a weekly basis without stressing him significantly. There was no reason to react this way over a small human.
His inner pep talk worked and his Thirium pump calmed as his stress levels lowered. He looked at the baby again and Damian looked right back at him, staring at his face intently with his brows furrowed. Connor felt incredibly judged. “What is he doing now?”
“Looking at your face. Told you it looks goofy.”
“Ha, ha.” Connor made sure that his look at Hank conveyed how unimpressed he was. That’s what he got for getting the man involved.
“Try smiling at him. Make some baby-talk, that kind of thing.” Connor looked at him helplessly, and Hank rolled his eyes with a sigh, but got up to come closer.
Hank’s eyes softened when he positioned himself in the baby’s field of view and held out an open hand. Damian waved one of his arms roughly in that direction and Hank gave an amused huff as the baby grasped one of his fingers tightly. The contrast of the Lieutenant’s large, calloused hand against Damian’s tiny chubby one was mesmerizing. The baby looked up at the man curiously and Hank smiled.
“Hey Damian, did daddy leave you all alone with the strange android?” he asked in a soft voice that Connor had never heard him use before.
“DA!” the baby exclaimed decidedly and smiled back at Hank. Connor was still staring. He was so… helpless and fragile. But also full of life. Androids came into the world fully functional and with databases full of knowledge, but this small human was a blank slate, about to grow and learn and become an adult one day. There was so much potential, and he held it in his arms. A strangely humbling feeling.
“What’re you thinking, Connor?” Hank asked, probably having noticed his LED blinking.
“I’m trying to imagine what you were like as a baby. But the beard and the scowl just don’t seem to fit.”
Said scowl was immediately turned at him, but Connor was largely immune by now. He smiled at the child in his arms. Truly precious.