Archive of Our Own ^beta

How had shit gone so fast downhill in a matter of days? Hank thought this over to himself several times on repeat before his mind switched topics. Laying on his cheap motel bed he looked up tiredly as Connor dabbed disinfectant over the cuts along each of his forearms and then began wrapping them in gauze without a word.

It was the second time this stranger had found him in a bad position and took care of his wounds with little to no questions. How would he answer that question anyway, tell Connor that his young son was the latest victim of the Origami Killer and if he didn't play the man's vindictive games he would never see Cole again?

The first task left for Hank was to drive down a busy highway against the traffic, he'd been lucky not to hit any cars other than a few side scrapes but ended up crashing off the side of the high way and the car blowing up with him having just enough time to get some distance away from it. He'd ran from the police sirens on their way to the scene, funny since he himself was a Lieutenant on the force but given leave due to his son's disappearance.

Limping his way to the nearest dusty motel he'd bought a room and almost collapsed going up the steps to the third floor if it weren't for the kind young man who'd been walking behind him and reached to steady him without hesitation. Connor had taken him to his room, asked a few questions that Hank avoided and given him some strong medication that Connor had from his own room.

Thinking back Hank had been so scared of what he'd done, what he was going to have to do next, the thought of losing Cole, and Connor finding out anything dangerous that he hadn't really looked at the young man. He wasn't as young as Hank had assumed, definitely much younger than himself at least by twenty years but he held a look in his eyes that Hank recognized from people who had been through traumatic experiences.

Only fifteen minutes ago Hank had dragged his ass back to his motel after the second task which had forced him to crawl through a duct covered in broken glass, there had been far too much to push out with his jacket and the tight space had been hard to maneuver, and then crawl through an active electrical field. Easy to say he felt like shit and had collapsed onto his bed immediately, all strength gone from his body and not realizing he'd neglected to close his door all of the way. Which was how Connor had snooped in.

Without a word the young man had found him and was now taking care of his bloodied arms with a stern look on his face. After his arms Connor leaned over him and pressed their foreheads together, it caught him off guard and Hank stiffened since he didn't have the energy to pull himself away. "You have a fever, my guess is from walking here in the rain from wherever you came from." He pulled away and reached for his backpack and pulled out two pills then fetched some water for Hank to take them with.

"What're these?" he muttered and looked at the two differently shaped pills in his hands but popped them anyways. "One for the fever, one is for your pain." Connor answered but didn't give specific names or dosages.

Not that he had time to complain, Hank found himself drowsy from his wounds and against his will fell asleep. When he awoke and glanced at the digital clock next to his bed less than three hours had passed by, Connor was sitting by the window in a chair and looking out at the rain.

Loudly Hank groaned and pushed himself to sit up, holding a hand to his aching head that he could only imagine how much worse it would hurt without the painkiller from earlier. "You're awake already, I thought you'd be out all evening with your wounds and what I gave you."

Now that his head was more clear Hank noticed the dark bags under Connor's eyes, not the kind from just a night or two of bad sleep but from continuously having sleepless nights. "I see you're still here..." he grumbled dismissively. Forcing himself out of bed Connor was instantly in front of him with his hands up and a worried but mostly impassive look on his face. "You shouldn't be up yet, in fact you honestly should go see a doctor to have yourself looked over."

"I don't have time for that.." he grunted and pushed Connor's shoulder roughly to get past his block and walk over to the table in his motel room. There was a box next to his wallet, the box he'd been left by the Origami killer that held all of his tasks he needed to complete in order to save his son. Hopefully, Connor hadn't been bored and curious and taken any looks inside. "Why are you so adamant about helping me anyways?"

"Sympathy I suppose." the younger answered honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. "I know who you are and what you're doing."

That set off a pang of panic in Hank's stomach, he felt sick suddenly like he wanted to puke and empty his already vacant stomach. "How?" He eyed his duffle bag that sat in the corner of his room, his gun was in there if something rough started but he'd have to run and dive for it.

"I'm not senseless Hank." Connor said looking as calm as ever and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "I recognized your name from the News covering the Origami Killer...and I may have snooped through your wallet, your box, and your bag." he admitted.

"So, what? You wanna blackmail me now or something, you want something from an officer?" he didn't have time for this bullshit, he had his kid to save and nothing was going to prevent him from that. Even if it meant him going to prison for shooting this kid.

"No none of that, I've just been sitting here bored in my motel room next door so I figured I'd help you out a little bit." That all seemed awfully convenient in Hank's mind so he asked, "What are you doing in this motel?"

"Insomnia." Connor answered like that would explain everything, but when Hank gave him a look he continued. "I get bouts of insomnia and for some reason the only place I can manage to get some shut-eye is in motels." Obviously, Connor wasn't getting much more sleep here than wherever his home was judging by the bags heavy under his eyes.

Rubbing fingers over his eyes and the bridge of his nose Hank sighed loudly with frustration, "Well thanks for patching me up and shit but you should get back to your own room, if you looked in this box you'll know that I've got something important to do." The young man nodded back, "Yeah of course, I won't tell anyone but do try not to get yourself killed Hank. Good luck." then disappeared out the door.

He didn't have time to worry about Connor, the kid seemed chill enough so that was a very slight comfort. Opening the box he unfolded an origami figure with the number 3 written on it, the paper read;

Are you prepared to make a sacrifice to save your son?

It also listed an address, grabbing his wallet and keys plus the old phone the Origami Killer had left him he headed off on his next mission. The address was far downtown in a quiet but rundown area and to no surprise it lead to an abandoned apartment building, the inside only looked slightly better than the broken outside. Inside the designated room Hank found a table set up with a tablet read to play a video, also laying neatly on the table was a small flask presumably with alcohol inside, a handsaw, pliers, a kitchen knife, a hatchet, scissors, and a steel rod. "What the fuck..?" he muttered to the empty room.

Hank pressed play on the tablet and the same mechanical woman's voice he'd heard some the other trials sounded out. "Are you prepared to make a sacrifice to save your son? You have five minutes to cut off the end of one of your fingers in front of the camera to claim your reward." The video ended but the tablet began recording and a timer at the bottom started to tick down 00:04:57.

Hank could feel his heart pounding in his chest like a hammer slamming a nail into place, his eyes flickered between all of his options. Grabbing the flask first off he shook it and heard the liquid splash around then smelled it, whiskey, and took two long gulps. "Fuck...fuck! Okay, okay I've got to do this!" he paced a few times and set the flask down before reaching to take the butchers knife. "Should've brought my gun, I could've just shot it off..."

Pouring the last of the whiskey over one of his pinkies and the whole of the butcher's knife to sterilize Hank press his pinky down onto the wooden table hard enough for it to begin turning white. Pressing the knives edge down onto the skin without drawing blood Hank's hands began to shake and his nerves got the better of him, he threw the knife down onto the table. "God dammit just do it Anderson!" he yeleld at himself. 00:03:21

For almost thirty seconds all Hank could do was stare at the clock slowly ticking down as the shaking in his hands started to spread through every nerve and inch of himself. 00:02:58
"Do you need help with that?" a familiar voice came from behind, Hank jumped and looked to see Connor casually standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"What the fuck-how did you get here!?" he yelled in suspicion. "I followed you to make sure you wouldn't get yourself killed." Of course he had, this kid was too persistent and weird for his own good and Hank wasn't sure if he found that more flattering or annoying. Right now he needed the help, he had less than three minutes left and would not be able to hold the knife as he was.

"Nevermind there's time for questions later, do it. Just do it." The detective pressed his pinky down to the table and watched Connor step over and pick up the knife in one hand and holding Hank's wrist down with the other. "Try to hold still no matter how much it hurts." It was a searing hot pain that flooded Hank's finger and spread through his hand as he felt the blood burst from the wound. Connor managed in two clean chops to sever the finger before disappearing from Hank's sight, which after watching someone cut part of his finger off had made his vision blurry and shaky. He'd cried out loudly with each chop but was now dead silent, his jaw trembled watching blood leaking onto the table and the tablet flashing 00:01:53 and then saying "You've completed the third trial, your reward is under the floorboards of the table."

A hand touched his shoulder, his nerves all felt like they were on fire but soothed under the touch. "Give me your finger." Connor poured the last few drops of alcohol over the bloody wound and Hank hissed but then screamed when a hot iron bar pressed to the open sore, sizzling and searing it closed. "Fuck, fuck you!" he yanked away and held his finger to his chest. "It needed to be closed or you were going to keep bleeding badly, and I know you'll refuse my suggestion to go to the hospital."

"You're fucking right I will!" His anger had bubbled over in pain and had chased the shakes from his body and left him feeling sore and numb from the experience, his head still fuzzy from watching his finger severed from his body. "I feel like I'm going to pass out..." Slowly kneeling to the ground the older man pulled up the loose board and pulled out his reward, another chip for the old cell phone the Origami Killer had left him. Plugging it in revealed more letters for an address somewhere in the city, he still had no idea what the street name or number was.

Hank didn't remember passing out, only waking up in his motel bed with an aching body and finger bandaged. "How did I...?"

"You fainted, I brought you back." Connor said while digging into a paper bag and pulling out a hot burger from a local joint and taking a bite. "I got a few, you should eat something...and drink something for that matter." The rain outside still hadn't let down, both of their wet coats hung on the coat rack in the corner but the rest of Hank felt dry and warm.

They sat in silence eating burgers for what felt like hours before Hank opened his mouth. "Not that I don't appreciate you helping me out several times but you have to see from my point of view this is unusual, suspicious even."

"No I agree." Connor said and dug into his backpack, took some unmarked pills with a sip of soda and then continued their conversation. "I can completely understand you not trusting me, so go ahead and ask me some questions. You'll probably trust me more if you learn more about me correct?"

"Uh..." maybe if this was a normal situation that would work but he was hesitant. "Fine. How many bottles of pills do you have in that bag there?" he accused. Blinking Connor glanced at his bag and opened it to begin setting bottle after bottle of different drugs onto the table. "I make them myself and then sell them to people cheap who can't afford their actual medications."

"And drug addicts." Hank said staring the young man down to see if he'd deny it.

"And drug addicts." the other confirmed, "You're an officer, you can arrest me if you like. But the police are also looking for you since they've begun to suspect you yourself may be the Origami Killer." Hank had received the phone calls asking him to come in but now it had turned into a city-wide watch for him, fuck. "I'm not."

"I know, you're not the type to hurt your own son I can see it in your face." Connor was all too trusting or maybe whatever drugs he was taking along with his insomnia just gave him bad judgment. There was a silent unspoken agreement not to turn each other in, for the time being.

"How much of your own products are you on?"

"Just this one" Connor picked up a single bottle and gave it a gentle shake, "It's an equivalent to Zoloft, eases my anxiety and insomnia but sadly doesn't help me sleep." That explained a lot at least.

"Okay last question, you're helping me and telling me all of this and trusting me not to turn you in like it's nothing...why?"

"You won't trust me unless I make the initiative to trust you first. All I want is to help, I've...I've also lost someone important to me to unfortunate circumstances so I know how painful that is, and I've seen the news over the years as family after family is destroyed from this Origami Killer. I just want it to stop." That was the first time Hank had heard something other than pure calm radiate into Connor's voice, just a little but his words hesitated and saddened towards the end.

He couldn't do this, as much as Connor was helping him the young man was also a distraction. A huge distraction. Keeping him around Hank would constantly be worried about him running on no sleep, being on drugs and also just distracting Hank's eyes with his stupid cute face. There was no time for distractions even if he was making really good time on his trials. "Get out." he gruffed, "Thanks for everything, I won't arrest you for the drugs but I don't want to see you again. This is something I have to do on my own."

Staring at him with his dark brown eyes Connor couldn't seem to believe he was being told to get lost. So Hank stood abruptly and yelled, "Out before I change my mind!" Flinching Connor stood just as quick and packed up his things but hesitated on the last bottle before leaving it where it was. "Take two every twelve hours...for the physical pain." When Hank opened his mouth again to yell Connor flinched again, turned on his heel and darted out the door.

Falling back to sit on the edge of his bed Hank pressed his face into his hands, "Goddammit..." the kid just wanted to help, he felt guilty for scaring him away like that but knew in his gut that it was for the best. It was for partly the same reason why Hank had chosen not to involve the police in what he was doing, he didn't want to be slowed down and he didn't want his son's kidnapper to decide to kill his son early thinking Hank was doing something unsavory.

Popping two pills Hank took a hot shower, replaced his bandages and took a power nap before he got down to his fourth task. Unfolding the paper dog it read, Are you prepared to kill someone to save your son? Send a picture with the phone when it is done for your reward. and as usual the address on the bottom.

He had been a cop for a long time and killed a decent number of bad guys while on the job, he was just doing to have to numb his mind out and tell himself that whoever lived at this address was a criminal. It was someone who deserved to die, even if they weren't, and after everything he would turn himself in knowing Cole was safe and alive.

Hank waited until it was late, close to midnight, before he drove to the address. A small single floor house, he knew this area well enough to know that most houses were cheaply rented and not owned by whoever was living there and that the houses although roomy were akin to a studio apartment but with more privacy.

Double checking his side to find his gun handy the detective easily picked the front door locked and let himself in, all of the lights were out so hopefully the person who lived here wasn't a light sleeper and wouldn't see this coming. The house was barren but a mess, little furniture and almost nothing personal decorating but everything looked slightly dusty and unclean or just left out and untouched for long periods of time. There were only two rooms, one was left ajar and obviously the bathroom so that left the other being someone's bedroom.

Pressing his ear to the door he could hear someone inside breathing hard and first thought was someone inside was beating himself off but no, it was more ragged and desperate and uncontrolled. Like someone was crying or in pain somehow and trying to contain it quietly. Looking down at the crack of the bottom of the door a light inside the room turned on, not the main one but he could see enough light that suggested a small lamp had been clicked on. "Fuck.." a ragged and exhausted male voice breathed out inside.

Fuck was right, Hank had been hoping to catch this guy asleep to spare them fear and some pain but now he had no choice. Shoving the door open Hank held his gun steady and pointed it directly at the man's head, "Don't scream or I'll fucking shoot!"

"H-Hank...what're you doing?" Connor's voice was soft and choked out as his eyes widened. He was sitting up in his bed cross-legged with the sheets just covering his waist leaving his chest and up bare to Hank's eyes. He could see the cold sweat on Connor's shoulders, the trembles in his skin and mentally noted the cute freckles dotting his shoulders that lead up his neck.

"Connor..you live here?" slowly Hank lowered his gun back to his side. "I-I swear I didn't know this was your house, I was following the instructions I was left and it told me to come here and kill the person who lived here..."

"Are you...are you going to kill me, Hank?"

Hank really didn't want to and it had nothing to do with whatever growing attraction he had to the young man, he knew Connor and now staring him in the face how would he be able to shoot him? Lifting his gun the detective took in a few deep breathes, "I...I need to, to save Cole, but...but no.." he lowered his gun again and stowed it back into its holster.

"May-um maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you did shoot me?" Connor's eyes began to tremble and fill with tears that had yet to overflow. Putting all of the evidence together it finally clicked, whatever trauma Connor had suffered in the past was tearing at him inside and out. He couldn't sleep, probably had night terrors along with anxiety, he would bet depression along with other things, and had just woken up from seeing something terrible. "I don't want to die but maybe this is fate telling me I can't get better."

Trying to smile it was wavering as a few hot tears streaked down Connor's cheeks as he began to sob softly, rubbing his eyes roughly with the palms and backs of his hands. "Oh Connor..." Hank's heart ached watching the young and obviously talented young man fully breaking down in front of him. He was smart enough to manufacture drugs and sell them, he was smart and clever but put it towards the wrong skills, Hank had seen it a lot before as an officer.

Hank wasn't a softy, the only person he was gentle with was Cole but his heart was melting as the sobs grew louder. Sitting on the bed the older man pulled Connor close, wrapping his arms around the smaller frame. Connor immediately turned into the hug and curled himself into Hank's shirt as calloused hands rubbed at his bare back soothingly to quiet the sobs aching through his chest. "Shh it's alright, you're exhausted and I'm sure you had a bad dream but it's okay." it didn't help that someone had burst into the kid's room with a gun...

After a few minutes Connor pulled back just a little to wipe his eyes, "I'm just so tired all of the time and I can't feel anything, I'm just numb all of the fucking time." Depression, trauma and drugs were a hell of a mixture but Hank would have never seen what happened next coming.

Connor kissed him, slow, soft, and needy before he pulled back. The stress in Hank's shoulders had melted away for that brief moment and it was like he could breathe properly again, so he dove back in holding Connor's cheeks in his hands and kissed him fervently. Hands pushed his coat off of his shoulders and pulled at the buttons on his shirt as they kissed and Hank kicked off his shoes along with the rest of his clothes to roll into bed with Connor.

There were no words exchanged, just hot kisses, needy touches, and rough movements. As they rocked together Connor had tears trickling down his face as Hank pressed him into the mattress. Nails clung to his back and dug in as Connor spread his legs wide for Hank to fuck him harder, his cries of pleasure only muffling into Hank's shoulder as they molded to one another.

For the first time in three days the detective was able to forget everything riding on his shoulders and mind to just focus on the cute piece of ass he was pounding into the bed, he could focus purely on kissing each and every freckle on Connor's neck and listen to him whine with each one.

A broken yell of Hank's name came from Connor's throat as he came, Hank following soon after with neither of them lasting long enjoying the pleasure of the other's body. Finishing with a soft kiss to Connor's chin before rolling off to the side the room was filled with pants and the smell of sex drifting through the air.

Connor finally looked at ease like Hank had fucked all of his anxiety out of his body, no worries left in his mind. Watching the brunette's chest rise and fall slowly as their afterglow began to dissipate it started to click just how much rest each of them needed, he had one more trial left to collect all the letters for an address that he possibly and it was sure to be the toughest yet. It was best to rest up and be ready for anything.

Extending an arm he muttered, "Come here." gently, Connor turned to cuddle up before knocking out with Hank following just moments later.

Sleeping peacefully for most of the night Hank woke up suddenly with a small gasp to a bad dream, one where Cole drowned in the ocean and he'd failed to save him. His mind was urging him awake to finish his last task but before he could sit up the detective felt a comforting warm presence on top of him. Connor was still snoozing away happily on his chest, more color in his cheeks than what had been there last night and the bags under his eyes had eased somewhat. Rubbing his hand up and down the younger man's back he brushed some of Connor's curly hair from his forehead and pressed a kiss there. "Sorry, I've gotta get up." he whispered gently rolling the man onto his back to continue sleeping.

Surely Connor wouldn't mind if he stole a quick shower, so hopping in under the hot spray Hank could feel his mind refreshed and awake. "I've got to make sure to thank him after all of this for keeping me sane during it all.." He wasn't sure how long exactly but a short amount of time later Connor wandered into the bathroom to take a morning piss and then started undressing. "Mn Hank I need a shower too..." his voice still sounded half asleep but he joined into the hot shower.

Pressing his forehead to the back of Hank's shoulder he muttered, "Thanks for last night, I feel a lot better." A brief smile pulled at the older man's lips, "No need to thank me Connor, I enjoyed myself too." Turning he touched Connor's cheek and pressed a kiss to his forehead before running a hand through the younger's messy and greasy hair.

Almost playfully they ended up washing each other's hair, a small place in Hank's chest squeezed when scrubbing Connor's hair made the other close his eyes and smile, it was the first time Hank had seen him smile at all. Normally his face was very stoney and robotic with little emotion other than in the eyes.

Escaping the shower before either of them became handsy and more frisky, redressing and picking up his phone Hank looked at the address each trial had been filling in. He could make some estimations but nothing definitive from what he had.

_ _ 2 T h e _ d o _ e R _ _ _ e _ _ l _ R o a d 

Theodore something Road and of course the bastard responsible had made sure the numbers wouldn't be visible until the end, Hank would have a tough time with only one. Hopefully, whatever this last task was would fill in at least that much, that's all Hank could hope for after not being able to kill Connor.

Connor was out of the shower just as quickly and walked in the room bare other than a towel, he dropped that to begin pulling on fresh clothes. "So where's your next little test?" he asked as if he were planning to tag along. "Oh no, you can't come. There's no way I'm going to risk putting you in danger letting you come with me."

"Are you kidding? Hank you were sent to kill me, this killer knows me to some capacity or another so I'm involved as well. Besides who is going to patch you up or keep your idiotic self from doing something unreasonably stupid?" putting his hands on his hips and tilting his head with a sternness in his stance.

"That's...fair but-" "No buts, I'm coming or I'll just end up following you anyways." Connor cut in quickly. "Don't think that you can just duck out after fucking me." this time his voice held a teasing tone, he didn't expect anything from Hank because they'd slept together. Last night had been an evening of completely unusual and odd events for both of them.

Looked like he didn't have a choice, "Fine but do as I say. If it gets too dangerous you leave, even if you have to go to the police and lie to them that I'm the Origami Killer or some shit like that."

Returning to the hotel Hank dug into his box for the final paper, folded like a swan, he unfolded it carefully and read. Are you prepared to give your life to save your son? as usual with an address attached. Not letting Connor read it he said, "Doesn't say much, guess we'll find out what to expect once we get there."

On the drive Hank's mind wandered, give his life? He was more ready to pay his own life for Cole than he was to give up someone like Connor's who may be in a rough place but had so much to live for. If he was going to have to die soon then he wanted his last moments to mean something, share those last moments with a cute young man who had done more for him in the last few days than anyone had in the last five years.

"So...you're pretty damn smart, how'd you learn to manufacture those drugs and everything?" Hank asked in a wavering voice, not really sure if Connor was going to want to talk about it. Unlike with most other questions Connor did take his time to think about this one instead of answering right off the bat.

"My father taught me, he was quite the bastard and insisted I learn at an early age how to replicate his formulas. I've thrown most of what he taught me out of the window by now, I have much more effective recipes that cheapen costs and easier methods of brewing them together." Connor's gaze remained out the window, watching as heavy raindrops continued racing down the window.

"My parents weren't the kind types either, can't count how many times I either got my ass beat or they forgot to fill the kitchen with food instead of alcohol. Heh guess I turned into my old man after all...always turning to booze whenever I'm upset." The day he'd lost Cole Hank had downed enough alcohol to kill him, only living because he'd ended up puking a lot of it back up like a miracle. Now he was happy that he had, he had a chance to redeem himself and save Cole.

"You're a better man than my father could ever hope to be, he'd never lift a finger to save one of his kids if their life was in danger." Connor's voice was bitter and filled with resentment. "Kids? So you're not an only child then?" It was hard for Hank to imagine other Connor's out there, he seemed so odd and unique like a design impossible to duplicate.

"Yeah I have...I have a younger brother, and I had a twin." at the mention Connor hurriedly reached into his jacket pocket for his pill bottle and swallowed two expertly. "He drowned when my brother and I were young, at a time sort of like this when rain was pouring with no end in sight..."

Hank swallowed hard, there had been red flags before about Connor possibly being the killer but nothing had set him off quite like this story. How perfect had it been that Connor was at the motel when Hank needed help, that he had the tools to take care of his wounds, that he had kept his cool so well under all of these circumstances? He'd dismissed everything his head was telling him after sex because well, why would a killer write a note to their victim to come kill them in their own house and then sleep with them? Now he had motive for what could have set Connor off if he were the killer.

On the other hand it could easily just be an odd coincidence, but everything was adding up so perfectly against his new friend.

"Tell me about Cole, what kind of kid is he?" the younger man changed the subject.

"Cole? Ah well he's..." Hank fumbled with his words for a moment trying to calm himself from the thought of sitting next to his son's kidnapper and potential murderer. "The best, of course he has his tantrums like any nine year old but he's usually the happiest kid ever. Loves drawing and doing art, really good with math and puzzles. Something tells me that he'd really like you." That last part slipped out without him even thinking about it and Hank suddenly wished he could swallow his own tongue.

A tiny smile pulled on Connor's face and he looked over at Hank, "I'd like to meet him too, don't worry Hank we'll find him. I'll do everything I can to make sure you get to see him again."

The building was just like all the others, abandoned with no one around to notice anything funny. The inside was different, it was a single room very clean with a red carpet leading to a table with a little bottle, a camera and a piece of paper. Connor picked up the paper first to read out loud. "Are you prepared to give your life to save your son? Inside this bottle is a deadly poison that will kill you in sixty minutes, this is enough time to find your son and say goodbye to him. Drink for your reward."

Swiftly Connor grabbed the bottle and stepped away from Hank, "I'm not going to let you do that, we can find Cole without you dying." The detective moved forward and put his hand over Connor's trying to pry the bottle from him.

"I have to do this, there's no other way. I need more letters for the address or I'll be guessing and by then Cole could be dead, he could be dead right now Connor!" his yell unnerved Connor, he visibly tried to shrink his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but I really need to do this.." pulling the bottle from Connor's hands he downed it in two large gulps, immediately afterward the old phone pinged showing more letters.

8 5 2 T h e _ d o _ e R _ _os e _ _ l t R o a d 

"852 Theodore Roosevelt Road, of course! That's an abandoned construction project it's the perfect place to hide someone and not expect them to be found, Connor hurry we have to drive fast!" Hank drove far above the speed limit, hastily moving through traffic wherever possible but Connor was dead silent.

Whatever had been in the bottle tasted nasty but so far Hank felt fine, if he only had an hour left then so be it he was fine with that. "Hey you're awfully quiet over there, what's up?"

"I guess I'm just meant to watch someone die no matter what, I thought I could help you save your son and be spared an innocent death on the news. But now you're dying..." Hank had no response for that, he felt kind of guilty as his companion curled in on himself in the passenger seat like his whole world was starting to crash down.

"Hey uh, you know you could do me one last favor and call 911 to the scene, I'm sure Cole is going to be freezing and who knows if the Origami Killer is there or not."

"Sure." came Connor's small voice but softly he made the phone call, robotically telling the 911 operator all the information and to send an ambulance asap just in case.

Once there Cole wasn't hard to find, it was the only place with lights on inside of a half-built building where the ceiling was open and letting the rain flood inside. There were large drain pipes, one which held little Cole who now was forced to hold onto the bars so that he wouldn't drown because there was so much water. "Cole!" Hank ran to him quickly and fell to his knees to touch his son's hands, they were freezing from the rain.

"D-Dad! Pl-Please get me out!" Pulling on the lid Hank couldn't lift it, noticing the lock he pulled out his gun to shoot it off. The noise was loud and echoed through the open building but with Connor's help they lifted the grate top and Hank pulled Cole up and out of his watery prison to hug him tightly. "Shit, Cole I thought I'd never see you again! Thank God you're alive! Geezus you're freezing..."

"Here." Connor pulled off his coat and moved to start wrapping it around the boy snuggly. "My coat is probably warmer than your shirt, I don't mind if it gets wet." Hank was about to thank Connor but they both heard footsteps and jerked their heads to look over to them.

A young man looking similar to Connor but taller, slightly more muscular and without the sleepless bags under his eyes stood there gun in hand. "Nines..?" Connor called out and stood up straight.

"Still keeping up that childish nickname Connor?" the man clicked his gun and raised it to point at Connor as he moved forward.

Slowly standing, making sure he was between the madman and his son Hank had his hand over his own gun but didn't draw just yet. "You know this asshole Connor?"

"He's...my brother, my little brother I told you about." with hands up Connor took a slow step towards his brother and then paused, "His real name is Conan but...we always called him Nines when we were little."

"Congratulations Lieutenant Anderson, you're the first and only person to ever pass my trials...even if you did skip the one where I designate you to kill my brother." Nines spat distastefully out.

"Why would you want to kill me, we're family, we're all each other hav-!" "No!" Nines barked, "You were all I had but then you couldn't handle it anymore, you abandoned me to hold onto your nightmares and drugs! I have no one, and you know what always happens to me when I'm left alone Connor, I get into trouble one way or another."

Connor's breath hitched and his eyes were wide like memories were racing through his head, like he was inside of a living nightmare. "Don't look so surprised Connor, some part of you deep down knew the Origami Killer was me. Our brother drowned just like the children found, near train tracks just like our home, orchids and origami paper with the bodies just like mother and father always had in the home. It took you this long to find your guts to come to find out if your thoughts were true, and only because this one fell into your lap." Nines gestured to Hank who had remained silent thus far, hoping the police would arrive soon if he let the two continue speaking.

"I never blamed you for Calvin's death Nines, it wasn't your fault I pulled away it was just that I broke! You were doing so well at police academy I thought you'd be fine without me, you've always been the strong one." Connor insisted and took another step closer to his brother, gun in his face and his hands shaking in fear and knowing that his brother could and would shoot him if need be.

"Lies, you've always blamed me. You told us not to go play outside that day but the two of us went anyways, Calvin slipped into the drain but I wasn't strong enough to pull him up...neither were you or us together. Our parents didn't care, alcohol will do that to you..." the man's voice was full of disdain and hatred, "You held his hand while he died and you've never looked at me the same way since."

Sad eyes tearing up Connor asked, "Why are you doing this, you've killed so many kids...broken so many families?"

Lips quirking into an almost sympathetic smile Nines answered, "I couldn't be at peace until I knew there was a father out there who could do what ours refused to." Police sirens sounded in the distance, growing closer by the second. "The plan was for both of us to die in this process Connor...I'm sorry that you're being left behind again."

Instead of shooting his brother Nines shoved his pistol under his chin and pulled the trigger, Connor screamed and ran to where his brother's body hit the floor and blood was soaking in with the rain. Taking his hand into both of his own Connor's body trembled and he rocked back and forth on his knees, "Nononono! I'm sorry, I'm sorry please don't do this to me!"

Hank wanted to take Connor, pull him into his arms like he had last night but Cole instead made his way into his father's arms and held carefully. Thought of the poison still in the back of his head, he had maybe fifteen minutes left to live, fifteen minutes left to hold his son for the last time and know he would live.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After the police arrived Hank and Cole were taken straight to the hospital, the kid had a fever but the doctors assure him that with warmth, rest, food and antibiotics Cole would be just fine. For now he just needed lots of rest and love and the young boy slept peacefully as Hank left, he hated having to only hours after being able to see his child again.

The hospital had taken a sample of Hank's blood to determine what he'd drunk out of that bottle, everyone was relieved to find out it was all harmless materials. Nines hadn't intended for anyone to drink poison after all and just wanted to see who would love their child enough to risk it.

He headed over to the police station to be exonerated for all crimes they'd suspected him of and to give his statements, not to mention turning over all of the things the Origami Killer had given him like the phone, the papers with locations, that sort of stuff that they could log in for evidence.

After leaving the interrogation room Hank made a stop at his own desk to grab the spare hoodie he kept inside, he planned on going straight back to the hospital and not stopping at home so the extra clothes would come in handy. From the corner of his eyes he spotted him and walked slowly towards where Connor sat, knees pulled to his chest and drenched in rainwater and his brother's blood as he shook with large tremors.

"Hey..." he tried to approach with a gentle voice, sitting down close but leaving a chair between them to give space. "Have you been processed yet?" Connor didn't manage to look at him but nodded and stuttered a little, "I don-uh I don't want t-to go home but I-I've uh been released."

"You're soaking wet Connor, you're going to get sick like that...take those wet clothes off and put this on." Setting down his extra hoodie for Connor to take he figured the young man needed it much more than he did at the current moment. To his surprise Connor didn't argue, right there in the lobby he stripped off his shirt and pants down to just his boxers before pulling the hoodie on, it had always been big on Hank so it literally engulfed Connor and almost hung down past his boxers itself.

"Come on." taking the brunette's hand in his own he lead Connor out to his car and drove them both to the hospital, continuing to tug his companion along all the way back to his son's room before taking a seat near the bed. Connor remained standing, fidgeting with his hands and feet, looking around nervously, that was right the hospital would have confiscated the illegal pills in Connor's coat which had been around Cole. He was probably freaking craving them badly right about now.

"Come here." Hank urged, stretching his hand out for Connor to take, when he did the detective yanked the smaller man to sit down in his lap and pulled him close to his chest so warmth could build between them. "I-I'm sorry Hank, for everything."

"It's okay." he ran a hand through Connor's damp hair, pulling his head to lean on Hank's chest. "We don't have to talk about it right now, I promise I'm not going anywhere. Try to get some sleep."

An hour passed before the young man in his arms stopped shaking, and another before exhaustion took hold of him and he fell asleep feeling safe with Hank holding him so carefully. Looking at Connor and then Cole's sleeping face, and lastly over to the window where the rain still poured outside.

Hank knew that Connor wasn't going to be the only one who had trouble sleeping when it rained.