Fast-Forward Rewind: Part 4
Characters/Pairing: Mohinder, Mohinder's parents, Shanti, Adam, Victoria Pratt; Mylar overall, but not in this chapter; hints of possible future/past Madam?
Rating: PG-13
Words: 4600
Spoilers: Season 2
Summary: Unconventional domestic scenes (example B) --- Mohinder meets his family... before he's been born
A/N: Oh bother. I'm so sick of being stuck on this awful chapter, especially since I would much rather work on the bits of later chapters that I wrote ages ago. So I'm posting even though it's dull. Also, I keep seeing Mohinder's mom named Anjali in other fics, so I'm going with that, for lack of actual canon.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Mohinder squinted weakly at the bright sunshine coming through the large window. He was lying in an improbable position, half on and half off the bed, where he had landed after spending the majority of the night in the toilet.
It was only seven am. Staggering around the small bedroom, Mohinder pulled yesterday’s clothes on and made his way downstairs, clutching his head and groaning almost every step of the way. Mercifully, the lobby boutique was open. He bought a large bottle of water, some general hygiene products, two pairs of slacks, and three shirts before going back upstairs. He was now set for the rest of the week. After that he’d start thinking more seriously about what to do in the long term, if necessary.
At 9:55 he put some cash in his pocket, and headed back down to the lobby. He forced himself to perk up b
y reminding himself that this was what he had come for. Despite the general catastrophe he found himself in, he had managed to arrange a miraculously perfect introduction to his own family. On that front, at least, things couldn’t have worked out better than if he had planned them that way.
Mohinder’s new friends were already waiting for him in the lobby. Adam beamed brightly as he spotted M
ohinder, but as he studied him more closely, the smile was replaced with worry.
"Are you alright? You look awful," he said.
Mohinder managed a weak smirk. "You’re so kind." He put up a hand to stop Adam’s immediate stream of apologies. "No, no, you’re correct. I ate something that disagreed with me last night. You know how it is in India."
Victoria frowned. "But that doesn’t usually happen to natives, does it? Only recently arrived tourists. And you said you’ve been here for a couple of weeks, right?"
"I think it can happen to anyone," Mohinder said. "But it’s fine. I’m ready to go if you are."
They had only just met, but Mohinder could tell that this woman’s knack for seeing through everything might prove to be a thorn in his side.
***********************************************
They squeezed into a Mini auto rickshaw and Adam conversationally grilled Mohinder about his time at Cambridge. Mohinder answered as best he could, doing a good job of mentioning only timeless aspects of his experience without actually lying. This turned out to be a good tactic, since Adam later revealed that he had studied at Oxford, and was familiar with the Cambridge campus.
They finally arrived at a medium-sized bungalow in a newer part of town. As Victoria rang the bell, Adam turned to look at Mohinder.
"You seem nervous," he observed, and gave Mohinder a warm pat on the shoulder.
Mohinder took a deep breath. "No, just excited. I suppose I’m also slightly worried about my reception here. I’m aware that it’s slightly bizarre of me to show up here like this, at the house of perfect strangers, and in the company of people I only met yesterday."
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything," Adam replied with supreme confidence, as he smoothed his shirt down and ran his fingers through his wavy hair.
Mohinder was about to sarcastically inquire how exactly he intended to take care of it, when he had never met the Sureshes either, but he was cut short by the opening of the door.
Mohinder had spent much of the previous night wondering what this moment would be like. Would it be creepy, like a resurrection? Or would it feel quite real, like the last time he had seen his father, which had been in that Sanjog-inspired vision? Or would it simply be like seeing a stranger?
It was none of the above. Upon seeing Chandra through the door, Mohinder felt like he had turned on an old movie with a very famous actor. There was only one-way knowledge; Mohinder knew all about the other man, while Chandra had no idea who he was. Also, like an actor in an old film, Mohinder knew that his father should look much older. Chandra hadn’t spent much time at home during Mohinder’s childhood, so he didn’t have a clear mental image of what he should look like. He’d also never been shown pictures from this period, something that had, of course, been given an explanation the last time he’d visited his mother and learned about Shanti.
Speaking of Shanti, while Mohinder was still reeling from the sight of his father after all these months---hell, a lifetime---of angst regarding him, small hands appeared on Chandra’s knees. They were quickly followed by small legs and a small face---the same face that Mohinder had seen in the picture in Thompson’s office. While Chandra swept Victoria in a warm hug, Shanti’s eyes and smile were quietly fixed on Mohinder.
"Chandra, this is Adam, the man I’ve been telling you about," Victoria announced, not yet noticing the little girl peering shyly from behind Chandra’s legs.
"Ah yes. It’s a treat to finally meet you," Chandra said, as he shook Adam’s hand.
"It’s always a pleasure to meet Victoria’s other mentors," Adam replied sunnily, but still subtly making it clear that he ranked foremost among them.
"And this is Mohinder, who, ah…" Here Victoria faltered for a moment. Chandra looked from Victoria to Mohinder quizzically, but Adam smoothly picked up the slack.
"He’s a recent acquaintance, but my goal is to have him become another colleague like Victoria here. Mohinder’s actually a member of your field and an admirer of your work. Victoria and I thought it would be good for you two to meet and discuss theories. I hope it isn’t rude or inconvenient."
"No, not at all. It’s nice to meet you," Chandra said unconvincingly, and shook Mohinder’s hand while giving him a weird look.
"Thank you so much. It’s an honor," Mohinder stammered, and glanced at Adam in surprise. ‘Become another colleague’? What was he talking about? Whatever it was, it had eased through the awkward moment, and for that, Mohinder flashed Adam a grateful smile as Chandra ushered them inside. Adam replied with a conspiratorial wink.
"You must be Shanti!" Victoria gushed, and knelt down to give the little girl a hug.
"Yes," Chandra beamed proudly as Shanti whispered a shy ‘hi.’ Adam’s scrunched face betrayed that he didn’t feel very comfortable around children, but there was something else, too, as his blue eyes looked at both Chandra and Shanti in a new and surprised way.
Even though it wasn’t the mansion he was accustomed to, the house was airy and comfortable. Mohinder remembered stories his mother had told them about their very pleasant, but less opulent, life in the days before Chandra was promoted in the university and before both sets of Mohinder’s grandparents died, leaving them a windfall.
"Your home is beautiful," Mohinder said, as they entered a sunny parlor.
"Thank you. You’re actually lucky to find us here. We just returned from Bombay very late last night. We rushed back because I knew you were arriving."
"Is Anjali here? It’ll be so nice to see her again. I only met her that once," Victoria said sweetly.
"Yes, she should be somewhere about. I was just wondering why she didn’t come down when the doorbell rang. She knows we’re expecting visitors," Chandra said with irritation.
"What were you doing up in Bombay?" Adam asked.
"We were visiting some doctors," Chandra replied flatly before clearing his face of briefly held displeasure. "So, what have you been doing with yourself, Victoria? You send me such interesting letters about what seems to be strange work."
Victoria proceeded with pride. "Well, it’s sort of a not-for-profit that Adam, myself, and a few others started. We basically take on various projects to help improve the world. It’s all a little hush hush, but we’ve had amazing success so far."
"Sounds expensive," Chandra mused. Mohinder remembered that his father had always been preoccupied by the limitations of academic funding and grants, and despite his family wealth, this perspective colored his analysis of other people’s situations.
"We’re privately funded," Adam explained. "Originally we started the organization with my own money, but we now have a fantastic financial backer with almost unlimited resources. The number of projects we can now take on is extraordinary."
For some reason, Mohinder got the feeling that this was directed much more towards him than to Chandra, and he remembered Adam’s remark at the doorway. "Is it the Japanese family you were visiting?" he asked.
Adam smiled and looked pleased at Mohinder’s interest. "No, someone with access to infinitely more funds than even they." Mohinder whistled, impressed, while Victoria tried not to giggle about something.
Chandra smiled paternally. "That sounds perfect for you, Victoria. You always had such high ideals. Now you get to make a real difference."
"Adam’s a great inspiration," Victoria asserted.
With the rotten timing that was characteristic of many things in his life, at this point in the conversation, Mohinder felt a wave of nausea pass over him. He thought he had finished being sick from the night before, but apparently not. He fought with himself for a second because he wanted to stay and talk, but he knew it was best to leave the room.
"Could you point me in the direction of the restroom?" Mohinder asked his father.
"End of the hallway, second door on the right," he pointed.
Mohinder followed the directions down the long hallway to the far end of the house. As he approached the bathroom, he heard some unpleasant noises. The door wasn’t locked, and he hesitantly entered to find a woman crouched beside the toilet. She looked up at him, and Mohinder was faced with the embodiment of a thousand of his earliest memories. This was completely different from seeing his father. This was stepping back in time to a real image that he remembered, not watching it on some dispassionate, yet overly realistic imaginary movie screen. This was how Mohinder had always thought of his mother, even now that he was an adult and time had passed (or not, as it happened today): looking beautiful, but hiding some secret pain.
He was still staring when he saw her begin to heave. Forgetting that he was a perfect stranger, Mohinder shut the door behind him, gently pulled her hair out of her face, and supported her weight while she vomited into the toilet. As she panted in recovery, he poured her a glass of water from the bottle on the sink. Without even looking up, with his other hand he instinctively reached for the can of bicarbonate of soda that always sat on top of the medicine cabinet and poured some in the water---just as she had always done for him when he was ill. She smiled weakly at him as he handed her the glass and sat down on the edge of the tub.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Varun?" she finally asked between sips, sounding terribly unsure. Mohinder remembered his encounter the day before.
"No, but I think I must look like someone you know---a Varun Suresh, I’m assuming? Yesterday, someone in the street called me Suresh," Mohinder replied innocently, as if he didn’t know perfectly well that this was fact, rather than conjecture. Now that it was being brought up again, it explained the disconcerted looks Chandra had been shooting at him.
"Yes, he’s one of my husband's brothers. The resemblance is remarkable. But if you aren’t him, then who are you?" Anjali curled up with her back against the wall and sipped delicately.
"My name is Mohinder. You must be Anjali." It was all he could do not to hug her, the constant rock he secretly longed for in the middle of such a mess.
She made an effort to pull herself together and be cheerful. "Yes. It’s nice to meet you, Mohinder."
Mohinder smiled brightly at her, and got a mirror image of his own grin as a response.
"Are you going to be alright?" he repeated with concern, when they had both finished silently marveling at the sight.
"I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Don’t worry about me. Did you come with Victoria?"
"Yes, she and another friend are in the parlor with your husband."
Anjali looked mortified. "I’m sorry. I did hear the doorbell ring. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to receive you.
"It isn’t a problem at all." Mohinder realized that he was staring a little bit inappropriately and tried to tone it down.
"Thank you for everything. You somehow knew exactly what to do," she continued, and then looked around her. "I’m afraid I’ve made quite a mess. In the meantime, maybe you’d prefer to try the loo upstairs?"
His reply was unfortunately interrupted when the original reason for Mohinder’s trip to the bathroom came back to him. He kneeled beside her on the floor just in time. His mother rubbed his back and head comfortingly and gave him the rest of the glass of water and powder. Once Mohinder had recovered and slumped down beside her on the floor, they made eye contact and burst into laughter at the ridiculous situation.
The door opened.
"What is going on in here?" Chandra asked suspiciously, taking in the scene, which looked, if not slightly suspicious, then at least strange. Shanti was still following him around.
Anjali stood up. "Mohinder here isn’t feeling well. I happened to catch him on my way to the parlour," she said, while throwing a quick warning glance to Mohinder, who nodded but didn’t understand why she was telling a half-truth.
"I’m sorry to hear it," Chandra said coldly. "I’ve been waiting for you in the living room. We have other guests as well."
"Sorry, Chandra." Mohinder and his mother followed him back to the living room where Adam and Victoria were engaged in passionate whispers about something. They rose to stand when they saw the other three enter.
The women hugged in greeting. Adam introduced himself in his usual dashing manner and kissed her hand. Mohinder had expected his mother to flush and giggle, as most young women did when presented with such gallantry. Instead she just looked at Adam quizzically before addressing the group as a whole.
"I’ve been terribly remiss as a hostess this morning. Let me get you all some refreshments."
The guests were all about to politely tell her it was alright, but Chandra patted Shanti on the head and told her to go help her mother. Her immediate big smile that signaled she was excited to be made to feel useful, and she ran off into the kitchen. With a slightly jealous knot in his stomach, Mohinder watched Chandra beam after her with a look of unbridled affection that he had never seen his father bestow on anyone. For the umpteenth time, Mohinder thought about how fucked-up his life was: here he was, a grown man feeling sibling rivalry with his (sort of) dead sister. He sighed.
"I don’t mean to be rude, but I heard Shanti was ill. However, she seems quite sprightly. I don’t quite understand," Adam said, also staring thoughtfully at the still swinging kitchen door.
Chandra nodded. "Her illness is of a singular type, like so many things about her. It isn’t so much that she’s been technically ill. It just seems as though…" Chandra trailed off, as if trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "She used to be… better, somehow, and then in fits and starts it seemed that something was impeding her full potential."
"Full potential… that’s an interesting phrase. What exactly do you mean by that?" Adam asked.
"It’s complicated," Chandra replied evasively. "Only recently has she had bouts of true illness. We’ve been trying to figure out what’s wrong, but it’s difficult knowing what to ask about and what to look for. The last set of doctors told us that it was a genetic disorder---some sort of virus targeted just towards her. Imagine that; I had to go elsewhere to be told that my child is probably dying of a genetic disorder." He chuckled mirthlessly and took his head into his hands for a moment. Victoria rose from her seat to put her arms around him.
"There’s got to be something we can do," she said as she stroked his back. "Adam? Maybe you… you know…" she trailed off.
Adam’s response was more curious and reflective than sad. "I don’t know. If this is… I honestly don’t know."
Mohinder had no idea what they were talking about, so he took advantage of Adam and Victoria’s mysterious momentary dysfunction to begin asking his own pre-prepared questions. "When did you first notice that something was wrong?" he asked Chandra.
"Things started around last September, as I said, but sporadically. Again, it’s complicated. She’s only started having fevers and shakes recently. Not all the time, though, which is why she doesn’t seem sick today."
Mohinder’s mother and sister returned from the kitchen carrying trays laden with drinks and sandwiches. Adam took a biscuit and leaned back in his chair to chew on both the snack and Chandra’s response. His eyes roamed between the three (known) family members, watching their dynamic and the awed way in which they interacted with their child.
While everyone chatted, Adam and Victoria managed to make excited yet silent signals at one another. When they had finished, Adam nodded at her encouragingly. Mohinder watched all this take place out of the corner of his eye.
"We just had an idea," Victoria stated hesitantly, as soon as Shanti went out of the room to do whatever it was that little girls sometimes wandered out of rooms to do. She glanced quickly at Adam for confirmation. "What if we helped you guys with Shanti’s condition. I’m sure there’s something we could do. We have Mohinder here, who knows all about genetics. I could learn from him and help. You know how quickly I get on speed with things, Chandra. And Adam is really amazing at finding ways to help sick people. He might be able to help, too."
Chandra puzzled over the suggestion with suspicion and jumped when his wife suddenly exclaimed, "That’s a wonderful idea, Victoria!" But she looked mostly at Mohinder as she said it. Knowing from a few years of marriage that Chandra was about to blusteringly attempt to contradict her, she grabbed both of her husband’s hands and calmed him down. "It can’t hurt to try."
"We can’t make any promises, but perhaps some good could come out of it," Adam agreed.
"Alright, I suppose," Chandra caved, but was still visibly uncomfortable.
"Well, that settles it. You’ll come back later this week, I hope," Anjali said sweetly.
************************************************
After the interview, despite Adam’s friendly remonstrances, Mohinder had insisted on leaving Victoria and Adam alone to make the phone calls that Adam seemed itching to make about something. Mohinder’s "errands" were imaginary: people who don’t technically exist don’t have errands. He had only met them the day before, and despite Adam’s obvious desire for Mohinder’s company, he still felt weird always hanging around them.
Perhaps it was that very insistence that was making him uncomfortable. Mohinder had forgotten what it was like to have pleasant people voluntarily seek out his company for pleasure. Ever since he had decided to throw himself fully into this life, the only adults he had truly gotten along with had turned out to be psychos, imposters… or both. Well, there was Hiro, but that friendship had only lasted about three hours before the time traveler left Mohinder in the worst pickle of his life. But perhaps that particular observation said more about Hiro than it did about Mohinder.
Mohinder thought about this, as well as the encounter with his family, as he took a walk by himself through the market, for the third time since he had arrived in India. Hope fought against reason as he found himself back at the stall where he had lost his friend. As he approached, the merchant anticipated the question and simply shook his head no. Mohinder kept walking.
************************************************
At six, Mohinder headed over to a terrace restaurant---one of the best in the city---to meet the others for dinner. When Mohinder arrived, Adam had already charmed the entire waitstaff with his fluent and flawless Tamil.
"Perfect timing," Adam cooed, as he gripped Mohinder’s arm in greeting. They’d only known one another for a day, but it was already becoming a kind of customary gesture; it vaguely reminded Mohinder of the two times he had seen the Petrelli brothers interact. A question from earlier in the day came back to him.
"Adam, what was all that before about making me into a colleague of yours? Was that serious, or were you just saying something to get me into the house?"
"I meant it. But don’t worry about it right now. One thing at a time. I was just throwing out the idea. You heard a bit about what we do today, and I’ll be more than happy to explain further in the future," he urged.
Mohinder bit his lip. "I’m flattered, but I don’t even know if it would be worth it. I don’t know for how long I’ll be here. I might have to leave at any moment."
"And go where?" Victoria asked, before Adam could get out the same question.
"I don’t know," Mohinder said. "Ah… back to my hometown. Or back to England. Or elsewhere. At a moment’s notice. One day you might find me simply gone. Vanished. I just thought I’d warn you."
Mohinder thought he had played that relatively coolly, but the bird-like curiosity of the previous day returned to Adam’s features.
"It’s 1977, Mohinder. There are telephones. And telegrams. And a reliable postal service. The only way to vanish from one’s acquaintances would be to… I’m not entirely sure. Death. Or something ridiculous, such as time travel." If Adam had been a glasses-wearer, he would have been peering closely at Mohinder over the rims.
Victoria laughed, and Mohinder followed her lead. "Time travel. Oh please. That seems impossible, even for… Hey guys," she interjected into her own remark. "If you could go back in time and meet someone in any point in time, who would you meet? Adam?"
"Myself," he answered without hesitation.
"Um, ok." She didn’t seem to know what to say. "What about you, Mohinder?"
Mohinder reply was slow and measured. This was hardly the first time he had thought about it. "I think it would be someone I could possibly save---not just in terms of illness, but… something bigger. Maybe if I could get to the person before they went down a certain path. Like Hitler… or…" Mohinder trailed off.
"Or who?" Adam asked.
"I don’t know. You get the idea, though," Mohinder said, feeling slightly foolish now.
"Basically, you’d like to go back and try to convince Stalin not to become Stalin. Stop a villain in the making and turn him into a hero." Adam scoffed, but looked weirdly sad.
"Not necessarily a hero, but…" Mohinder began to reply, but as he wasn’t thinking of Stalin at all, he wasn’t sure what to say.
"Can’t be done," Adam interrupted solemnly. "Don’t even think about it. It would probably make things much worse."
There was an awkward pause before Victoria said, "I was going to say Marie Curie, but you guys took that way too seriously."
"I’m sorry, dear," Adam said soothingly, before changing the subject. "So what did you think of all that?" Adam asked, finally getting down to business.
"I assume you mean at the Sureshes," Mohinder clarified.
"Yes, of course," Adam answered. "Do you really think you can help her?"
"Not ultimately," Mohinder replied, finally understanding what Hiro had said about how painful this would be, knowing he could cure her. Thankfully, Victoria and Adam appeared to take the uncertain tone as sign of Mohinder’s brain churning rather than his spirits. "But obviously I find any genetic disorder to be fascinating, especially this virus. Even if we can’t cure her, this is a fascinating case to study."
Adam leaned forward and his eyes shown with an excited gleam. "My thoughts exactly. I knew when I saw you yesterday that there was something about you… many things, really… and now you turn out to be my lucky star, the one person who can properly investigate this mystery. My instincts almost never let me down. The little girl, too… Shanti… there’s definitely something about her, and not just the illness."
"Such as?" Mohinder asked wryly.
"I’m not sure yet. I think I need to see more. Luckily, Anjali Suresh took to you quite remarkably," Adam mused.
"Well, you know what they say: those who vomit together stay together," Mohinder quipped.
Adam cracked up. "I knew I liked you," he said. Then he became serious again. "She was vomiting? Interesting."
Mohinder realized that he had inadvertently said something perhaps he shouldn’t have. Was his mother hiding her illness from just Chandra or from everyone? Forgetting where he was, Mohinder clapped his hand to his forehead as he realized what was going on. It was February. He had been born in July. He felt a chill.
"What is it?" Adam asked.
"Nothing. I just remembered that I forgot to call someone before I left Delhi the other day."
"Maybe there’s a stomach virus going around," Victoria suggested.
"Yes… or…" Adam mused.
"She’s a sweet lady, though," Mohinder said, trying to redirect the conversation.
Adam guffawed. "Sweet? Well, yes, of course, but that’s hardly the first word that comes to mind."
Mohinder could feel himself bristling, and hoped Adam wasn’t thinking what he thought he was thinking. "And what word does come to mind?" he asked hotly, failing to calm himself down over a woman who wasn’t supposed to be anything more to him than just some lady he had met that morning.
"Ungodly beautiful, that’s what I’d call her. The two of you would make gorgeous children." Adam looked over at Mohinder with an unmistakably lascivious smile, but reined it in when he saw Mohinder’s disgusted expression.
"Ew!" The exclamation slipped past Mohinder’s lips before he could stop himself.
"She’s alright," Victoria interjected petulantly. "But you shouldn’t talk about her like that, Adam. She’s married."
"Ew?" Adam had hardly heard Victoria. He was staring at Mohinder and sounded genuinely baffled.
Mohinder saw that he had made yet another mistake and rushed into a rambling explanation. "I don’t necessarily mean ‘ew.’ I just mean that I don’t see her like that. She didn’t affect me in that way. As Victoria said, she’s married."
Mohinder felt a hot blush cover his face and looked down at the table to hide it. He busied himself so intently with the bread and butter that he barely caught the long and questioning look Adam directed towards him for a moment. When he finally laughed heartily and irrelevantly, Mohinder glanced up. A flash of some kind of idea had sparked Adam’s features.
"What?" Victoria asked.
"Nothing, love," Adam replied. He took a breath and then smiled at the two of them. "Why don’t we all order? I’m famished, and I’m sure Mohinder especially could use something to eat."
Adam leaned over to massage Mohinder’s shoulder, as usual, but let his hand linger just a little longer than usual, and creep up a bit into his hair. Mohinder furrowed his brow, but didn’t say anything. He was too preoccupied by, well, everything to worry about his overly affectionate new friend.
On to part 5...
Rating: PG-13
Words: 4600
Spoilers: Season 2
Summary: Unconventional domestic scenes (example B) --- Mohinder meets his family... before he's been born
A/N: Oh bother. I'm so sick of being stuck on this awful chapter, especially since I would much rather work on the bits of later chapters that I wrote ages ago. So I'm posting even though it's dull. Also, I keep seeing Mohinder's mom named Anjali in other fics, so I'm going with that, for lack of actual canon.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Mohinder squinted weakly at the bright sunshine coming through the large window. He was lying in an improbable position, half on and half off the bed, where he had landed after spending the majority of the night in the toilet.
It was only seven am. Staggering around the small bedroom, Mohinder pulled yesterday’s clothes on and made his way downstairs, clutching his head and groaning almost every step of the way. Mercifully, the lobby boutique was open. He bought a large bottle of water, some general hygiene products, two pairs of slacks, and three shirts before going back upstairs. He was now set for the rest of the week. After that he’d start thinking more seriously about what to do in the long term, if necessary.
At 9:55 he put some cash in his pocket, and headed back down to the lobby. He forced himself to perk up b
y reminding himself that this was what he had come for. Despite the general catastrophe he found himself in, he had managed to arrange a miraculously perfect introduction to his own family. On that front, at least, things couldn’t have worked out better than if he had planned them that way.
Mohinder’s new friends were already waiting for him in the lobby. Adam beamed brightly as he spotted M
ohinder, but as he studied him more closely, the smile was replaced with worry.
"Are you alright? You look awful," he said.
Mohinder managed a weak smirk. "You’re so kind." He put up a hand to stop Adam’s immediate stream of apologies. "No, no, you’re correct. I ate something that disagreed with me last night. You know how it is in India."
Victoria frowned. "But that doesn’t usually happen to natives, does it? Only recently arrived tourists. And you said you’ve been here for a couple of weeks, right?"
"I think it can happen to anyone," Mohinder said. "But it’s fine. I’m ready to go if you are."
They had only just met, but Mohinder could tell that this woman’s knack for seeing through everything might prove to be a thorn in his side.
***********************************************
They squeezed into a Mini auto rickshaw and Adam conversationally grilled Mohinder about his time at Cambridge. Mohinder answered as best he could, doing a good job of mentioning only timeless aspects of his experience without actually lying. This turned out to be a good tactic, since Adam later revealed that he had studied at Oxford, and was familiar with the Cambridge campus.
They finally arrived at a medium-sized bungalow in a newer part of town. As Victoria rang the bell, Adam turned to look at Mohinder.
"You seem nervous," he observed, and gave Mohinder a warm pat on the shoulder.
Mohinder took a deep breath. "No, just excited. I suppose I’m also slightly worried about my reception here. I’m aware that it’s slightly bizarre of me to show up here like this, at the house of perfect strangers, and in the company of people I only met yesterday."
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything," Adam replied with supreme confidence, as he smoothed his shirt down and ran his fingers through his wavy hair.
Mohinder was about to sarcastically inquire how exactly he intended to take care of it, when he had never met the Sureshes either, but he was cut short by the opening of the door.
Mohinder had spent much of the previous night wondering what this moment would be like. Would it be creepy, like a resurrection? Or would it feel quite real, like the last time he had seen his father, which had been in that Sanjog-inspired vision? Or would it simply be like seeing a stranger?
It was none of the above. Upon seeing Chandra through the door, Mohinder felt like he had turned on an old movie with a very famous actor. There was only one-way knowledge; Mohinder knew all about the other man, while Chandra had no idea who he was. Also, like an actor in an old film, Mohinder knew that his father should look much older. Chandra hadn’t spent much time at home during Mohinder’s childhood, so he didn’t have a clear mental image of what he should look like. He’d also never been shown pictures from this period, something that had, of course, been given an explanation the last time he’d visited his mother and learned about Shanti.
Speaking of Shanti, while Mohinder was still reeling from the sight of his father after all these months---hell, a lifetime---of angst regarding him, small hands appeared on Chandra’s knees. They were quickly followed by small legs and a small face---the same face that Mohinder had seen in the picture in Thompson’s office. While Chandra swept Victoria in a warm hug, Shanti’s eyes and smile were quietly fixed on Mohinder.
"Chandra, this is Adam, the man I’ve been telling you about," Victoria announced, not yet noticing the little girl peering shyly from behind Chandra’s legs.
"Ah yes. It’s a treat to finally meet you," Chandra said, as he shook Adam’s hand.
"It’s always a pleasure to meet Victoria’s other mentors," Adam replied sunnily, but still subtly making it clear that he ranked foremost among them.
"And this is Mohinder, who, ah…" Here Victoria faltered for a moment. Chandra looked from Victoria to Mohinder quizzically, but Adam smoothly picked up the slack.
"He’s a recent acquaintance, but my goal is to have him become another colleague like Victoria here. Mohinder’s actually a member of your field and an admirer of your work. Victoria and I thought it would be good for you two to meet and discuss theories. I hope it isn’t rude or inconvenient."
"No, not at all. It’s nice to meet you," Chandra said unconvincingly, and shook Mohinder’s hand while giving him a weird look.
"Thank you so much. It’s an honor," Mohinder stammered, and glanced at Adam in surprise. ‘Become another colleague’? What was he talking about? Whatever it was, it had eased through the awkward moment, and for that, Mohinder flashed Adam a grateful smile as Chandra ushered them inside. Adam replied with a conspiratorial wink.
"You must be Shanti!" Victoria gushed, and knelt down to give the little girl a hug.
"Yes," Chandra beamed proudly as Shanti whispered a shy ‘hi.’ Adam’s scrunched face betrayed that he didn’t feel very comfortable around children, but there was something else, too, as his blue eyes looked at both Chandra and Shanti in a new and surprised way.
Even though it wasn’t the mansion he was accustomed to, the house was airy and comfortable. Mohinder remembered stories his mother had told them about their very pleasant, but less opulent, life in the days before Chandra was promoted in the university and before both sets of Mohinder’s grandparents died, leaving them a windfall.
"Your home is beautiful," Mohinder said, as they entered a sunny parlor.
"Thank you. You’re actually lucky to find us here. We just returned from Bombay very late last night. We rushed back because I knew you were arriving."
"Is Anjali here? It’ll be so nice to see her again. I only met her that once," Victoria said sweetly.
"Yes, she should be somewhere about. I was just wondering why she didn’t come down when the doorbell rang. She knows we’re expecting visitors," Chandra said with irritation.
"What were you doing up in Bombay?" Adam asked.
"We were visiting some doctors," Chandra replied flatly before clearing his face of briefly held displeasure. "So, what have you been doing with yourself, Victoria? You send me such interesting letters about what seems to be strange work."
Victoria proceeded with pride. "Well, it’s sort of a not-for-profit that Adam, myself, and a few others started. We basically take on various projects to help improve the world. It’s all a little hush hush, but we’ve had amazing success so far."
"Sounds expensive," Chandra mused. Mohinder remembered that his father had always been preoccupied by the limitations of academic funding and grants, and despite his family wealth, this perspective colored his analysis of other people’s situations.
"We’re privately funded," Adam explained. "Originally we started the organization with my own money, but we now have a fantastic financial backer with almost unlimited resources. The number of projects we can now take on is extraordinary."
For some reason, Mohinder got the feeling that this was directed much more towards him than to Chandra, and he remembered Adam’s remark at the doorway. "Is it the Japanese family you were visiting?" he asked.
Adam smiled and looked pleased at Mohinder’s interest. "No, someone with access to infinitely more funds than even they." Mohinder whistled, impressed, while Victoria tried not to giggle about something.
Chandra smiled paternally. "That sounds perfect for you, Victoria. You always had such high ideals. Now you get to make a real difference."
"Adam’s a great inspiration," Victoria asserted.
With the rotten timing that was characteristic of many things in his life, at this point in the conversation, Mohinder felt a wave of nausea pass over him. He thought he had finished being sick from the night before, but apparently not. He fought with himself for a second because he wanted to stay and talk, but he knew it was best to leave the room.
"Could you point me in the direction of the restroom?" Mohinder asked his father.
"End of the hallway, second door on the right," he pointed.
Mohinder followed the directions down the long hallway to the far end of the house. As he approached the bathroom, he heard some unpleasant noises. The door wasn’t locked, and he hesitantly entered to find a woman crouched beside the toilet. She looked up at him, and Mohinder was faced with the embodiment of a thousand of his earliest memories. This was completely different from seeing his father. This was stepping back in time to a real image that he remembered, not watching it on some dispassionate, yet overly realistic imaginary movie screen. This was how Mohinder had always thought of his mother, even now that he was an adult and time had passed (or not, as it happened today): looking beautiful, but hiding some secret pain.
He was still staring when he saw her begin to heave. Forgetting that he was a perfect stranger, Mohinder shut the door behind him, gently pulled her hair out of her face, and supported her weight while she vomited into the toilet. As she panted in recovery, he poured her a glass of water from the bottle on the sink. Without even looking up, with his other hand he instinctively reached for the can of bicarbonate of soda that always sat on top of the medicine cabinet and poured some in the water---just as she had always done for him when he was ill. She smiled weakly at him as he handed her the glass and sat down on the edge of the tub.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Varun?" she finally asked between sips, sounding terribly unsure. Mohinder remembered his encounter the day before.
"No, but I think I must look like someone you know---a Varun Suresh, I’m assuming? Yesterday, someone in the street called me Suresh," Mohinder replied innocently, as if he didn’t know perfectly well that this was fact, rather than conjecture. Now that it was being brought up again, it explained the disconcerted looks Chandra had been shooting at him.
"Yes, he’s one of my husband's brothers. The resemblance is remarkable. But if you aren’t him, then who are you?" Anjali curled up with her back against the wall and sipped delicately.
"My name is Mohinder. You must be Anjali." It was all he could do not to hug her, the constant rock he secretly longed for in the middle of such a mess.
She made an effort to pull herself together and be cheerful. "Yes. It’s nice to meet you, Mohinder."
Mohinder smiled brightly at her, and got a mirror image of his own grin as a response.
"Are you going to be alright?" he repeated with concern, when they had both finished silently marveling at the sight.
"I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Don’t worry about me. Did you come with Victoria?"
"Yes, she and another friend are in the parlor with your husband."
Anjali looked mortified. "I’m sorry. I did hear the doorbell ring. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to receive you.
"It isn’t a problem at all." Mohinder realized that he was staring a little bit inappropriately and tried to tone it down.
"Thank you for everything. You somehow knew exactly what to do," she continued, and then looked around her. "I’m afraid I’ve made quite a mess. In the meantime, maybe you’d prefer to try the loo upstairs?"
His reply was unfortunately interrupted when the original reason for Mohinder’s trip to the bathroom came back to him. He kneeled beside her on the floor just in time. His mother rubbed his back and head comfortingly and gave him the rest of the glass of water and powder. Once Mohinder had recovered and slumped down beside her on the floor, they made eye contact and burst into laughter at the ridiculous situation.
The door opened.
"What is going on in here?" Chandra asked suspiciously, taking in the scene, which looked, if not slightly suspicious, then at least strange. Shanti was still following him around.
Anjali stood up. "Mohinder here isn’t feeling well. I happened to catch him on my way to the parlour," she said, while throwing a quick warning glance to Mohinder, who nodded but didn’t understand why she was telling a half-truth.
"I’m sorry to hear it," Chandra said coldly. "I’ve been waiting for you in the living room. We have other guests as well."
"Sorry, Chandra." Mohinder and his mother followed him back to the living room where Adam and Victoria were engaged in passionate whispers about something. They rose to stand when they saw the other three enter.
The women hugged in greeting. Adam introduced himself in his usual dashing manner and kissed her hand. Mohinder had expected his mother to flush and giggle, as most young women did when presented with such gallantry. Instead she just looked at Adam quizzically before addressing the group as a whole.
"I’ve been terribly remiss as a hostess this morning. Let me get you all some refreshments."
The guests were all about to politely tell her it was alright, but Chandra patted Shanti on the head and told her to go help her mother. Her immediate big smile that signaled she was excited to be made to feel useful, and she ran off into the kitchen. With a slightly jealous knot in his stomach, Mohinder watched Chandra beam after her with a look of unbridled affection that he had never seen his father bestow on anyone. For the umpteenth time, Mohinder thought about how fucked-up his life was: here he was, a grown man feeling sibling rivalry with his (sort of) dead sister. He sighed.
"I don’t mean to be rude, but I heard Shanti was ill. However, she seems quite sprightly. I don’t quite understand," Adam said, also staring thoughtfully at the still swinging kitchen door.
Chandra nodded. "Her illness is of a singular type, like so many things about her. It isn’t so much that she’s been technically ill. It just seems as though…" Chandra trailed off, as if trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "She used to be… better, somehow, and then in fits and starts it seemed that something was impeding her full potential."
"Full potential… that’s an interesting phrase. What exactly do you mean by that?" Adam asked.
"It’s complicated," Chandra replied evasively. "Only recently has she had bouts of true illness. We’ve been trying to figure out what’s wrong, but it’s difficult knowing what to ask about and what to look for. The last set of doctors told us that it was a genetic disorder---some sort of virus targeted just towards her. Imagine that; I had to go elsewhere to be told that my child is probably dying of a genetic disorder." He chuckled mirthlessly and took his head into his hands for a moment. Victoria rose from her seat to put her arms around him.
"There’s got to be something we can do," she said as she stroked his back. "Adam? Maybe you… you know…" she trailed off.
Adam’s response was more curious and reflective than sad. "I don’t know. If this is… I honestly don’t know."
Mohinder had no idea what they were talking about, so he took advantage of Adam and Victoria’s mysterious momentary dysfunction to begin asking his own pre-prepared questions. "When did you first notice that something was wrong?" he asked Chandra.
"Things started around last September, as I said, but sporadically. Again, it’s complicated. She’s only started having fevers and shakes recently. Not all the time, though, which is why she doesn’t seem sick today."
Mohinder’s mother and sister returned from the kitchen carrying trays laden with drinks and sandwiches. Adam took a biscuit and leaned back in his chair to chew on both the snack and Chandra’s response. His eyes roamed between the three (known) family members, watching their dynamic and the awed way in which they interacted with their child.
While everyone chatted, Adam and Victoria managed to make excited yet silent signals at one another. When they had finished, Adam nodded at her encouragingly. Mohinder watched all this take place out of the corner of his eye.
"We just had an idea," Victoria stated hesitantly, as soon as Shanti went out of the room to do whatever it was that little girls sometimes wandered out of rooms to do. She glanced quickly at Adam for confirmation. "What if we helped you guys with Shanti’s condition. I’m sure there’s something we could do. We have Mohinder here, who knows all about genetics. I could learn from him and help. You know how quickly I get on speed with things, Chandra. And Adam is really amazing at finding ways to help sick people. He might be able to help, too."
Chandra puzzled over the suggestion with suspicion and jumped when his wife suddenly exclaimed, "That’s a wonderful idea, Victoria!" But she looked mostly at Mohinder as she said it. Knowing from a few years of marriage that Chandra was about to blusteringly attempt to contradict her, she grabbed both of her husband’s hands and calmed him down. "It can’t hurt to try."
"We can’t make any promises, but perhaps some good could come out of it," Adam agreed.
"Alright, I suppose," Chandra caved, but was still visibly uncomfortable.
"Well, that settles it. You’ll come back later this week, I hope," Anjali said sweetly.
************************************************
After the interview, despite Adam’s friendly remonstrances, Mohinder had insisted on leaving Victoria and Adam alone to make the phone calls that Adam seemed itching to make about something. Mohinder’s "errands" were imaginary: people who don’t technically exist don’t have errands. He had only met them the day before, and despite Adam’s obvious desire for Mohinder’s company, he still felt weird always hanging around them.
Perhaps it was that very insistence that was making him uncomfortable. Mohinder had forgotten what it was like to have pleasant people voluntarily seek out his company for pleasure. Ever since he had decided to throw himself fully into this life, the only adults he had truly gotten along with had turned out to be psychos, imposters… or both. Well, there was Hiro, but that friendship had only lasted about three hours before the time traveler left Mohinder in the worst pickle of his life. But perhaps that particular observation said more about Hiro than it did about Mohinder.
Mohinder thought about this, as well as the encounter with his family, as he took a walk by himself through the market, for the third time since he had arrived in India. Hope fought against reason as he found himself back at the stall where he had lost his friend. As he approached, the merchant anticipated the question and simply shook his head no. Mohinder kept walking.
************************************************
At six, Mohinder headed over to a terrace restaurant---one of the best in the city---to meet the others for dinner. When Mohinder arrived, Adam had already charmed the entire waitstaff with his fluent and flawless Tamil.
"Perfect timing," Adam cooed, as he gripped Mohinder’s arm in greeting. They’d only known one another for a day, but it was already becoming a kind of customary gesture; it vaguely reminded Mohinder of the two times he had seen the Petrelli brothers interact. A question from earlier in the day came back to him.
"Adam, what was all that before about making me into a colleague of yours? Was that serious, or were you just saying something to get me into the house?"
"I meant it. But don’t worry about it right now. One thing at a time. I was just throwing out the idea. You heard a bit about what we do today, and I’ll be more than happy to explain further in the future," he urged.
Mohinder bit his lip. "I’m flattered, but I don’t even know if it would be worth it. I don’t know for how long I’ll be here. I might have to leave at any moment."
"And go where?" Victoria asked, before Adam could get out the same question.
"I don’t know," Mohinder said. "Ah… back to my hometown. Or back to England. Or elsewhere. At a moment’s notice. One day you might find me simply gone. Vanished. I just thought I’d warn you."
Mohinder thought he had played that relatively coolly, but the bird-like curiosity of the previous day returned to Adam’s features.
"It’s 1977, Mohinder. There are telephones. And telegrams. And a reliable postal service. The only way to vanish from one’s acquaintances would be to… I’m not entirely sure. Death. Or something ridiculous, such as time travel." If Adam had been a glasses-wearer, he would have been peering closely at Mohinder over the rims.
Victoria laughed, and Mohinder followed her lead. "Time travel. Oh please. That seems impossible, even for… Hey guys," she interjected into her own remark. "If you could go back in time and meet someone in any point in time, who would you meet? Adam?"
"Myself," he answered without hesitation.
"Um, ok." She didn’t seem to know what to say. "What about you, Mohinder?"
Mohinder reply was slow and measured. This was hardly the first time he had thought about it. "I think it would be someone I could possibly save---not just in terms of illness, but… something bigger. Maybe if I could get to the person before they went down a certain path. Like Hitler… or…" Mohinder trailed off.
"Or who?" Adam asked.
"I don’t know. You get the idea, though," Mohinder said, feeling slightly foolish now.
"Basically, you’d like to go back and try to convince Stalin not to become Stalin. Stop a villain in the making and turn him into a hero." Adam scoffed, but looked weirdly sad.
"Not necessarily a hero, but…" Mohinder began to reply, but as he wasn’t thinking of Stalin at all, he wasn’t sure what to say.
"Can’t be done," Adam interrupted solemnly. "Don’t even think about it. It would probably make things much worse."
There was an awkward pause before Victoria said, "I was going to say Marie Curie, but you guys took that way too seriously."
"I’m sorry, dear," Adam said soothingly, before changing the subject. "So what did you think of all that?" Adam asked, finally getting down to business.
"I assume you mean at the Sureshes," Mohinder clarified.
"Yes, of course," Adam answered. "Do you really think you can help her?"
"Not ultimately," Mohinder replied, finally understanding what Hiro had said about how painful this would be, knowing he could cure her. Thankfully, Victoria and Adam appeared to take the uncertain tone as sign of Mohinder’s brain churning rather than his spirits. "But obviously I find any genetic disorder to be fascinating, especially this virus. Even if we can’t cure her, this is a fascinating case to study."
Adam leaned forward and his eyes shown with an excited gleam. "My thoughts exactly. I knew when I saw you yesterday that there was something about you… many things, really… and now you turn out to be my lucky star, the one person who can properly investigate this mystery. My instincts almost never let me down. The little girl, too… Shanti… there’s definitely something about her, and not just the illness."
"Such as?" Mohinder asked wryly.
"I’m not sure yet. I think I need to see more. Luckily, Anjali Suresh took to you quite remarkably," Adam mused.
"Well, you know what they say: those who vomit together stay together," Mohinder quipped.
Adam cracked up. "I knew I liked you," he said. Then he became serious again. "She was vomiting? Interesting."
Mohinder realized that he had inadvertently said something perhaps he shouldn’t have. Was his mother hiding her illness from just Chandra or from everyone? Forgetting where he was, Mohinder clapped his hand to his forehead as he realized what was going on. It was February. He had been born in July. He felt a chill.
"What is it?" Adam asked.
"Nothing. I just remembered that I forgot to call someone before I left Delhi the other day."
"Maybe there’s a stomach virus going around," Victoria suggested.
"Yes… or…" Adam mused.
"She’s a sweet lady, though," Mohinder said, trying to redirect the conversation.
Adam guffawed. "Sweet? Well, yes, of course, but that’s hardly the first word that comes to mind."
Mohinder could feel himself bristling, and hoped Adam wasn’t thinking what he thought he was thinking. "And what word does come to mind?" he asked hotly, failing to calm himself down over a woman who wasn’t supposed to be anything more to him than just some lady he had met that morning.
"Ungodly beautiful, that’s what I’d call her. The two of you would make gorgeous children." Adam looked over at Mohinder with an unmistakably lascivious smile, but reined it in when he saw Mohinder’s disgusted expression.
"Ew!" The exclamation slipped past Mohinder’s lips before he could stop himself.
"She’s alright," Victoria interjected petulantly. "But you shouldn’t talk about her like that, Adam. She’s married."
"Ew?" Adam had hardly heard Victoria. He was staring at Mohinder and sounded genuinely baffled.
Mohinder saw that he had made yet another mistake and rushed into a rambling explanation. "I don’t necessarily mean ‘ew.’ I just mean that I don’t see her like that. She didn’t affect me in that way. As Victoria said, she’s married."
Mohinder felt a hot blush cover his face and looked down at the table to hide it. He busied himself so intently with the bread and butter that he barely caught the long and questioning look Adam directed towards him for a moment. When he finally laughed heartily and irrelevantly, Mohinder glanced up. A flash of some kind of idea had sparked Adam’s features.
"What?" Victoria asked.
"Nothing, love," Adam replied. He took a breath and then smiled at the two of them. "Why don’t we all order? I’m famished, and I’m sure Mohinder especially could use something to eat."
Adam leaned over to massage Mohinder’s shoulder, as usual, but let his hand linger just a little longer than usual, and creep up a bit into his hair. Mohinder furrowed his brow, but didn’t say anything. He was too preoccupied by, well, everything to worry about his overly affectionate new friend.
On to part 5...