Accident Prone - Becoming Human

Breakdown

Slightly annoyed by his current task, Connor was running a strong, thick bristled brush through Sumo's damp, tangled fur with one hand, and had his other hand was wrapped around Sumo's leather collar. The deviant was fighting to keep the massive pup from trying to get away from the necessary grooming. Having gone to the cabin with Connor and Hank over the weekend, the energetic young dog managed to get thick tree sap and strong pine needles caught in his fur, as well as a few stubborn ticks. But the worst part was when Sumo jumped into the lake for a swim. Connor had to jump into the lake after him and drag him out of the water, and the two then proceeded to smell of wet dog and lake water for the duration of the weekend.

Unwilling to risk a tick or flea infestation Connor decided it'd be best to give Sumo a thorough grooming and brush out his fur as much as the energetic dog could stand it. Unfortunately Sumo wasn't the most patient of pups and wanted to go and play, not be groomed.

"Almost done, Sumo." Connor was practically leaning his entire weight on Sumo's back to keep the young dog laying down on the livingroom floor. "Stay!" Connor commanded as Sumo tried again to wriggle away from his grip and whined. "The knots are out at least..."

Hank walked into the livingroom from the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand and watched as Connor fought to groom the dog's long fur. "Remember how I told you I didn't take the original Sumo camping for this very reason? The bugs, the tree sap, the water..."

"...Yes." Connor admitted as he combed through the final tangled strands of Sumo's fur and finally let the massive pup go. "I was unaware that Sumo would take off into the woods and roll through a bush. Or jump in the lake."

Sumo trotted off down the hallway and proceeded to jump up onto Connor's bed and roll around on the soft quilt to get what little dampness remained in his freshly shampooed fur out while also reclaiming his scent over his freshly washed pelt.

Hank just shook his head and finished off his coffee with a grin on his face. "Yeah, well, at least you got that lake smell out of his fur. Now we just need to wait for it to leave the bathroom."

"I would've bathed him out in the backyard but I was afraid he would've rolled around in the mud produced by excess water from the garden hose."

"Don't worry about it." After he finished off his coffee Hank stepped back into the kitchen to put the empty coffee mug down in the sink. "We have about an hour before we need to clock-in, so go take a quick shower and get the wet dog smell off yourself, otherwise you're riding to work in the trunk."

Connor looked down at his wet black t-shirt and jeans with mild disgust at his own appearance. "You're correct. I'll shower and change into my uniform."

Arriving at the Central Precinct in a timely manner the duo were met with a few handshakes as well as a dozen or so 'welcome back' greetings as they returned to their desks and set about resuming their normal work routine. Between Hank being stabbed in the back and Connor being abducted and tortured for over a week, the two detectives had been out of commission from the precinct for almost two solid months. In that time many things had transpired throughout the city during their absence, and a few new faces popped up as rookie officers were introduced to the precinct to help fill the void left behind. The rookies were either doing great or requesting transfers already.

The drastic changes helped break up the monotony of paperwork but left the bullpen feeling a little low when it came to morale.

"I forgot how uncomfortable this chair is." Hank muttered as he turned on his terminal screen and proceeded to log in for the day behind his desk. "I already miss the couch."