Fic: Thrown Together, Ripped Apart - Ch. 3
Title: Thrown Together, Ripped Apart
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Rating: PG-13
Summary: While on the run from the government, Matt and Mohinder discover a major bump in the road. (Word Count: 3,045)
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Slash, Mpreg, Angst, AU
Chapter 1| Chapter 2
Chapter 3
The serpent hissed in his ears.
Its coils - strong and cold - wrapped themselves around his neck.
He gasped. He couldn't breathe.
Its forked tongue flicked out, caressing the shell of his ear. The sensation made him cringe, his skin prickling with goose flesh.
"You and I aren't so different after all doctor," the snake hissed. "You called me a monster once... So far above me... Look at yourself now... You're the monster, I'm the man."
The hold on his neck tightened. The cold room suddenly burned hot. He clawed at the coils that only clamped down further.
He gasped.
He couldn't breathe.
-+-+-+-
The fog of sleep slowly evaporated from his eyes. His body was flushed, burning hot as sweat dripped from every inch of him. His heart was pounding a thousand miles a minute, churning in his ears with deafening force. It was because of all this that he wasn't able to make out the voice calling his name.
"Mohinder. Mohinder, wake up!"
He gasped, blinking several times as his vision adjusted to the darkness. For a moment Mohinder was certain that he was still dreaming when he saw that it was Matt hovering over him, yet the detective's body was too warm and too solid to be a mere figment of his imagination.
"Matt," he breathed, sitting up straight and wrapping his arms around the other man. He was thankful when Matt didn't pull away or brush him off, yet he wasn't at all surprised by the way Matt awkwardly responded to the hug. "Oh Matt! Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried about you."
"It's okay," Matt whispered back. "I'm alright. I just... you were having a nightmare-"
"Matt, I'm so sorry for, for everything," he babbled, forgetting the late hour and the fact that Peter was most likely asleep just a few feet away. "I never meant to hurt you-"
The cop silenced him with a quick kiss to his lips before pulling away slowly. Yet Mohinder still clung to him, his hands holding desperately to the man's arms. "Hey, it's okay, don't worry about it," he soothed. "Just... just go back to sleep."
"Matt, I just-"
"Mohinder, you really need to go to sleep."
The Indian nodded slowly as the world disappeared under the veil of darkness.
-+-+-+-
The sun was already up when Mohinder found himself blinking awake for a second time. He frowned, looking around the dingy motel room with foggy eyes as he tried to gather his wits. He knew right away that he hadn't fallen asleep naturally. Matt had most likely pushed the thought into his head, forcing him into unconsciousness, but after what he'd done Mohinder figured that he could forgive a momentary lapse in their telepathy rules.
Mohinder groaned as the mattress dipped beside him. He craned his neck over to his left side to see Matt sitting on the bed next to him. The Indian couldn't tell if Matt was still dressed or had just changed, but seeing the detective fully clothed while he was still in his boxers made him feel slothful. Although, Mohinder had to remind himself that he didn't exactly have a great deal of clothing options at the moment. Being on the run meant traveling light and stopping to do laundry was a luxury they couldn't afford. It had been days since he d been able to change out of the stolen clothes he was currently wearing and he had a feeling that it'd be even longer before he could put on something different, something clean.
"Hey," Matt greeted softly. He was sitting several inches away with his gaze fixed on the sheets and the lack of any contact made Mohinder's stomach twist.
"Morning," he returned, sitting up slowly and looking around the motel room. "Where's Peter?"
"Getting breakfast," Matt explained. "We're on a budget so don't expect anything fancy. Or filling."
"Of course."
An awkward silence fell upon the two as Mohinder tried to figure out if he had been forgiven or if Matt was still angry. He didn't look upset, which was a very good sign. Matt had never been very good at hiding his emotions, so if he were still feeling resentful, the man would make a point to show it. Yet at the same time, there was obvious tension in the air, and Mohinder could sense it even as he merely lay in bed beside him. It was clear that things were not okay, but they weren't completely ruined either.
Mohinder shifted, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he began to head towards the bathroom. It was at that exact moment that Matt cleared his throat, stopping Mohinder before he could even push himself off of the mattress. "I know it's still early, you just waking up and all," Matt began awkwardly, "but, uh, I was wondering if you could do something for me."
"Anything," Mohinder answered instantly.
Matt didn't even bother to break his intense staring contest with the bedspread as he grabbed something at his side and handed it over to Mohinder. The Indian frowned, picking up the small white box in his hands and studying it carefully. He was more than a little startled to see a home pregnancy staring back at him.
"Peter already gave me the whole lecture about how those things aren't always one hundred percent accurate," Matt explained, obviously noticing the confused look on Mohinder's face, "but... but we don't know anything yet and... and I have to know for sure."
"No, I... I understand completely," he said honestly, because he needed to know as well. Even without their fugitive status, Mohinder wouldn't have been able to merely waltz into a doctor's office to test for this sort of thing and at the moment, he was going off of his own diagnosis, a diagnosis which wasn't worth much given the fact that he was a geneticist, not a physician. A drug store test was their only real option at the moment. Mohinder stood, the rusty springs groaning as his weight lifted from the mattress. "I'll... I'll get right on this."
-+-+-+-
The directions were simple enough - simply point and shoot, so to speak - it was the waiting that was difficult. If the current situation weren't already so tense, Mohinder would have lectured Matt about getting what had to be the cheapest possible pregnancy test. (After all, what sort of home test made you wait three minutes for the results?) Yet, Mohinder kept his mouth shut, busying himself by reading the results page over and over again.
If the test came back positive he would see a red plus sign. If it was negative, a minus. It seemed simple enough, but it didn't help to stop his hands from shaking and his stomach from twisting itself into knots.
"How are you feeling?" Matt asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Nauseous," Mohinder answered miserably. One minute had passed.
Matt frowned, shifting nervously. "Well, if you feel like throwing up-"
"Believe me Matt if I need to throw up, I know what to do." He sighed, checking the red digits on the clock radio. Still one minute. "I'm... I'm so sorry about all of this."
"You already apologized, Mohinder," Matt answered automatically, yet the fact that he still wasn't looking him in the eye made Mohinder feel incredibly frustrated. "It's... it's alright."
"No, it's not alright," he argued. "And you're obviously not alright with it. Matt, talk to me, please."
"Well, what else is there to say?" he snapped, his eyes meeting Mohinder's gaze for the first time in what felt like an eternity. "You already know how I feel! You hurt me, you betrayed me, and I'm still kinda pissed at you."
Mohinder nodded, swallowing against the lump swelling up in his throat. He wasn't at all surprised by that response, but at least he now knew where he stood. "I know I don't deserve it, but... but do you think you can ever forgive me?"
Matt sighed, twisting away, but Mohinder's hand automatically reached out to cup his cheek, forcing the detective to look at him.
"Please, don't look away from me, Matt," he pleaded. His eyes were wet as he fought against the urge to cry, but the combination of hormones and general weariness was just too much to control. "I need you to keep talking to me. I need to know where we stand. Where are we going to go from here?"
Matt's brown eyes softened as his own hand reached up to cup Mohinder's. "I... I dunno, Mohinder," he sighed. "I... I still love you and I'm not going to walk out on you like this, it's just..." He sighed, concentrating on what to say next. "I just need time. I think I can forgive you. But I need time."
The geneticist nodded as he blinked back the stubborn tears that refused to go away.
Matt shifted again, his eyes straying to something just over Mohinder's shoulder. "I think our three minutes are up."
The geneticist paled at those words, looking back at the bathroom where the test still sat on top of the sink. His feet felt like lead underneath him, weighing him down like an anchor. The very idea of looking at those results made his insides twist with dread.
He felt Matt's hand grasp his shoulder, offering him a reassuring squeeze. The gesture was enough to calm his frantic nerves somewhat, yet Mohinder couldn't bring himself to do more than offer the other man a weak smile as he reluctantly stepped into the bathroom. His hands were surprisingly still as he picked up the small white stick.
A cold chill over took him as his eyes landed on the result he should have prepared himself for. His throat tightened, his chest burned, and Mohinder didn't even realize that he had been crying until Matt grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a fierce hug.
"Oh God," he sobbed, burying his face in the other man's chest. "I knew it. I'm pregnant."
"It's okay," Matt soothed. His touch was both comforting and painful all at once. Every tender kiss, each reassuring squeeze, even the mere warmth of Matt's embrace felt like a knife twisting in his stomach. "Everything's going to be okay."
"You don't know that," Mohinder argued weakly. He was ashamed to admit that his voice was quivering as his fingers clung to Matt's jacket with enough strength to rip the fabric apart. In fact, he even heard the distinct sound of threads popping as he pressed his face against Matt's chest. "We don't even know if it's yours."
"We don't know if it's not mine," he reminded him. Matt sighed, pulling away and lifting Mohinder's chin, forcing the smaller man to meet his gaze. "Mohinder, I already told you, I'm not going to walk out on you. We're going to do this together, I promise."
Mohinder sighed as the stabbing guilt that had settled in the pit of his stomach shifted to his heart. "Matt, I'm... I-"
"You're sorry?" Matt cut in, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, I know."
"No, I..." He groaned again, shaking his head as his eyes slowly drifted to the floor. The tears were still blurring his vision, stinging his eyes and it felt impossible to breathe, let alone speak. Yet the Indian forced himself on knowing that he had to get it all out in the open. "Of course I'm sorry, and I can't possibly say that enough, but I don't... I don't want you to feel as if I'm trapping you into this."
"Listen, Mohinder, you're not 'trapping' me into anything," Matt assured him. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't wanna be. Besides, at least you came clean about all this now. Not like Janice. She practically waited until the kid was born to let me know it wasn't mine." A bitter laugh escaped his lips at that. "Then again, I guess I should have seen that coming."
Mohinder said nothing as Matt spoke. The geneticist suddenly didn't feel he had any right to criticize Janice. After all, they had committed the same crime, even if the motives behind it were different. He now understood how easy it was to sabotage your own relationship through careless mistakes and turning his nose up at the woman's blunder now seemed petty and wrong. "I've messed things up so much," he whispered. "I'm... I'm so sorry."
Matt pulled him closer, leaning in to place a quick kiss to the Indian's already wet cheeks. "This isn't as bad as you're making it seem. Everything's going to be okay. We're going to be okay. We'll raise this baby together and do the best that we can."
"Even if it's not yours?"
"Even if it's not mine," Matt said and the fact that the man replied so quickly and without hesitation made Mohinder feel infinitely better.
Fresh tears fell from his eyes as Mohinder wrapped his arms around the other man's middle and held him tight. "I love you, Matt," he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut tight.
-+-+-+-
Just as Matt had predicted, the food that Peter had brought them wasn't much. Since they didn't have a great deal of money to spend, they had to be content with the egg sandwiches and coffee he had purchased from a fast food chain. Yet by the time that Peter had returned to the motel - on foot no less - most of the food was already cold and the coffee was chalky and weak, a fact that could only be blamed on the brew itself.
Yet Mohinder couldn't really complain. The geneticist was just relieved to have something solid in his stomach. As he picked at the English muffin buns, Mohinder quietly hoped that he would be able to keep his breakfast down for more than a handful of minutes.
"So what are we going to do now?" Peter asked, adding a second packet of sugar to his Styrofoam coffee cup. "I mean, we obviously need to adjust our plans given the... you know, the situation."
"Is that my new nickname?" Mohinder grumbled bitterly. "'The Situation?'" Mohinder had never been comfortable with the idea of being a burden to others, it was probably one of the reasons he had gone ahead and injected himself with the untested formula, to stop from being the perpetual victim. It was ironic that the same ability that enabled him to be of use was also the same ability that was now putting added danger onto their already tense circumstance.
Matt's hand clamped down on his knee, his touch instantly relieving the tension that had been tightening his muscles. "Hey, come on, we're just worried about you," he assured him, giving Mohinder's leg a gentle squeeze. "That's why I think we it'd be best if we all split up."
Mohinder felt himself stiffen, pulling away slightly, but Matt's hold on him stayed strong. "What?" he breathed, frowning at the very idea. "You're joking."
"No, I'm not," he said simply. "Look, this is something I've been thinking about all night. You said it yourself; going to Canada was the obvious move. We can't stay here. That's why I think Peter and I should head back to DC and... and I think that you should go to India."
"And you expect me to just go along with this?" Mohinder asked bitterly. "Do you expect me to just hop on a plane and turn a blind eye to everything that's happening? To just sit back and relax while you and Peter throw yourselves head first into danger?"
"No, I expect you to be stubborn and fight me at every turn before finally realizing that this is the safest option for you and the baby," Matt told him.
"Matt's right," Peter jumped in. "Your baby has gone months without prenatal care in a high stress environment. Getting out of the country and as far away from all this is the best way for you to try to get the medical attention that your baby needs."
Mohinder frowned, shaking his head miserably. He knew that Peter and Matt were just concerned, that their hearts were in the right place, but he couldn't bring himself to just abandon them like this. It felt cowardly and wrong even given his current condition. "Do you really think I'll be any less stressed out sitting in India, worrying whether or not something horrible has happened?"
"Mohinder, one of us needs to be safe," Matt reminded him. "For Molly. And... well, with you being pregnant, I think you're the obvious choice."
I want you to be safe, Mohinder thought miserably. He knew from Matt's hand grasping his own that the telepath had picked up on that thought. Not that he really minded, not then.
"Getting you out of the country will be difficult," Matt sighed, twining their fingers together as he spoke. Mohinder couldn't help looking down at their locked hands as his insides began twisting at the idea of them parting soon. "They'll probably be watching the airports just... you know, not as heavily as in America, but... it'll be for the best."
"Are you sure you don't just want to get rid of me?" The words were meant to be a joke, but his throat clenched bitterly as the possibility that that might just be the case. "After all, I have done some... horrible things. To you especially."
Mohinder was startled when Matt leaned in to kiss him, but he didn't pull away or flinch from the too quick peck on the lips. "I'm just trying to do what's best for my family," Matt assured him as he pressed their joined hands against Mohinder's still flat stomach.
The Indian felt tears prick his eyes as he leaned in forehead against Matt's shoulder. It was only Peter's presence that kept him from completely breaking down and crying. "Just... just promise me that you're going to take care of yourself," he whispered. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
Matt leaned in and kissed him again, on his cheek this time, before using his free hand to cross his heart. "I promise."
Next Chapter
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Rating: PG-13
Summary: While on the run from the government, Matt and Mohinder discover a major bump in the road. (Word Count: 3,045)
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Slash, Mpreg, Angst, AU
Chapter 1| Chapter 2
Chapter 3
The serpent hissed in his ears.
Its coils - strong and cold - wrapped themselves around his neck.
He gasped. He couldn't breathe.
Its forked tongue flicked out, caressing the shell of his ear. The sensation made him cringe, his skin prickling with goose flesh.
"You and I aren't so different after all doctor," the snake hissed. "You called me a monster once... So far above me... Look at yourself now... You're the monster, I'm the man."
The hold on his neck tightened. The cold room suddenly burned hot. He clawed at the coils that only clamped down further.
He gasped.
He couldn't breathe.
-+-+-+-
The fog of sleep slowly evaporated from his eyes. His body was flushed, burning hot as sweat dripped from every inch of him. His heart was pounding a thousand miles a minute, churning in his ears with deafening force. It was because of all this that he wasn't able to make out the voice calling his name.
"Mohinder. Mohinder, wake up!"
He gasped, blinking several times as his vision adjusted to the darkness. For a moment Mohinder was certain that he was still dreaming when he saw that it was Matt hovering over him, yet the detective's body was too warm and too solid to be a mere figment of his imagination.
"Matt," he breathed, sitting up straight and wrapping his arms around the other man. He was thankful when Matt didn't pull away or brush him off, yet he wasn't at all surprised by the way Matt awkwardly responded to the hug. "Oh Matt! Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried about you."
"It's okay," Matt whispered back. "I'm alright. I just... you were having a nightmare-"
"Matt, I'm so sorry for, for everything," he babbled, forgetting the late hour and the fact that Peter was most likely asleep just a few feet away. "I never meant to hurt you-"
The cop silenced him with a quick kiss to his lips before pulling away slowly. Yet Mohinder still clung to him, his hands holding desperately to the man's arms. "Hey, it's okay, don't worry about it," he soothed. "Just... just go back to sleep."
"Matt, I just-"
"Mohinder, you really need to go to sleep."
The Indian nodded slowly as the world disappeared under the veil of darkness.
-+-+-+-
The sun was already up when Mohinder found himself blinking awake for a second time. He frowned, looking around the dingy motel room with foggy eyes as he tried to gather his wits. He knew right away that he hadn't fallen asleep naturally. Matt had most likely pushed the thought into his head, forcing him into unconsciousness, but after what he'd done Mohinder figured that he could forgive a momentary lapse in their telepathy rules.
Mohinder groaned as the mattress dipped beside him. He craned his neck over to his left side to see Matt sitting on the bed next to him. The Indian couldn't tell if Matt was still dressed or had just changed, but seeing the detective fully clothed while he was still in his boxers made him feel slothful. Although, Mohinder had to remind himself that he didn't exactly have a great deal of clothing options at the moment. Being on the run meant traveling light and stopping to do laundry was a luxury they couldn't afford. It had been days since he d been able to change out of the stolen clothes he was currently wearing and he had a feeling that it'd be even longer before he could put on something different, something clean.
"Hey," Matt greeted softly. He was sitting several inches away with his gaze fixed on the sheets and the lack of any contact made Mohinder's stomach twist.
"Morning," he returned, sitting up slowly and looking around the motel room. "Where's Peter?"
"Getting breakfast," Matt explained. "We're on a budget so don't expect anything fancy. Or filling."
"Of course."
An awkward silence fell upon the two as Mohinder tried to figure out if he had been forgiven or if Matt was still angry. He didn't look upset, which was a very good sign. Matt had never been very good at hiding his emotions, so if he were still feeling resentful, the man would make a point to show it. Yet at the same time, there was obvious tension in the air, and Mohinder could sense it even as he merely lay in bed beside him. It was clear that things were not okay, but they weren't completely ruined either.
Mohinder shifted, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he began to head towards the bathroom. It was at that exact moment that Matt cleared his throat, stopping Mohinder before he could even push himself off of the mattress. "I know it's still early, you just waking up and all," Matt began awkwardly, "but, uh, I was wondering if you could do something for me."
"Anything," Mohinder answered instantly.
Matt didn't even bother to break his intense staring contest with the bedspread as he grabbed something at his side and handed it over to Mohinder. The Indian frowned, picking up the small white box in his hands and studying it carefully. He was more than a little startled to see a home pregnancy staring back at him.
"Peter already gave me the whole lecture about how those things aren't always one hundred percent accurate," Matt explained, obviously noticing the confused look on Mohinder's face, "but... but we don't know anything yet and... and I have to know for sure."
"No, I... I understand completely," he said honestly, because he needed to know as well. Even without their fugitive status, Mohinder wouldn't have been able to merely waltz into a doctor's office to test for this sort of thing and at the moment, he was going off of his own diagnosis, a diagnosis which wasn't worth much given the fact that he was a geneticist, not a physician. A drug store test was their only real option at the moment. Mohinder stood, the rusty springs groaning as his weight lifted from the mattress. "I'll... I'll get right on this."
-+-+-+-
The directions were simple enough - simply point and shoot, so to speak - it was the waiting that was difficult. If the current situation weren't already so tense, Mohinder would have lectured Matt about getting what had to be the cheapest possible pregnancy test. (After all, what sort of home test made you wait three minutes for the results?) Yet, Mohinder kept his mouth shut, busying himself by reading the results page over and over again.
If the test came back positive he would see a red plus sign. If it was negative, a minus. It seemed simple enough, but it didn't help to stop his hands from shaking and his stomach from twisting itself into knots.
"How are you feeling?" Matt asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Nauseous," Mohinder answered miserably. One minute had passed.
Matt frowned, shifting nervously. "Well, if you feel like throwing up-"
"Believe me Matt if I need to throw up, I know what to do." He sighed, checking the red digits on the clock radio. Still one minute. "I'm... I'm so sorry about all of this."
"You already apologized, Mohinder," Matt answered automatically, yet the fact that he still wasn't looking him in the eye made Mohinder feel incredibly frustrated. "It's... it's alright."
"No, it's not alright," he argued. "And you're obviously not alright with it. Matt, talk to me, please."
"Well, what else is there to say?" he snapped, his eyes meeting Mohinder's gaze for the first time in what felt like an eternity. "You already know how I feel! You hurt me, you betrayed me, and I'm still kinda pissed at you."
Mohinder nodded, swallowing against the lump swelling up in his throat. He wasn't at all surprised by that response, but at least he now knew where he stood. "I know I don't deserve it, but... but do you think you can ever forgive me?"
Matt sighed, twisting away, but Mohinder's hand automatically reached out to cup his cheek, forcing the detective to look at him.
"Please, don't look away from me, Matt," he pleaded. His eyes were wet as he fought against the urge to cry, but the combination of hormones and general weariness was just too much to control. "I need you to keep talking to me. I need to know where we stand. Where are we going to go from here?"
Matt's brown eyes softened as his own hand reached up to cup Mohinder's. "I... I dunno, Mohinder," he sighed. "I... I still love you and I'm not going to walk out on you like this, it's just..." He sighed, concentrating on what to say next. "I just need time. I think I can forgive you. But I need time."
The geneticist nodded as he blinked back the stubborn tears that refused to go away.
Matt shifted again, his eyes straying to something just over Mohinder's shoulder. "I think our three minutes are up."
The geneticist paled at those words, looking back at the bathroom where the test still sat on top of the sink. His feet felt like lead underneath him, weighing him down like an anchor. The very idea of looking at those results made his insides twist with dread.
He felt Matt's hand grasp his shoulder, offering him a reassuring squeeze. The gesture was enough to calm his frantic nerves somewhat, yet Mohinder couldn't bring himself to do more than offer the other man a weak smile as he reluctantly stepped into the bathroom. His hands were surprisingly still as he picked up the small white stick.
A cold chill over took him as his eyes landed on the result he should have prepared himself for. His throat tightened, his chest burned, and Mohinder didn't even realize that he had been crying until Matt grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a fierce hug.
"Oh God," he sobbed, burying his face in the other man's chest. "I knew it. I'm pregnant."
"It's okay," Matt soothed. His touch was both comforting and painful all at once. Every tender kiss, each reassuring squeeze, even the mere warmth of Matt's embrace felt like a knife twisting in his stomach. "Everything's going to be okay."
"You don't know that," Mohinder argued weakly. He was ashamed to admit that his voice was quivering as his fingers clung to Matt's jacket with enough strength to rip the fabric apart. In fact, he even heard the distinct sound of threads popping as he pressed his face against Matt's chest. "We don't even know if it's yours."
"We don't know if it's not mine," he reminded him. Matt sighed, pulling away and lifting Mohinder's chin, forcing the smaller man to meet his gaze. "Mohinder, I already told you, I'm not going to walk out on you. We're going to do this together, I promise."
Mohinder sighed as the stabbing guilt that had settled in the pit of his stomach shifted to his heart. "Matt, I'm... I-"
"You're sorry?" Matt cut in, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, I know."
"No, I..." He groaned again, shaking his head as his eyes slowly drifted to the floor. The tears were still blurring his vision, stinging his eyes and it felt impossible to breathe, let alone speak. Yet the Indian forced himself on knowing that he had to get it all out in the open. "Of course I'm sorry, and I can't possibly say that enough, but I don't... I don't want you to feel as if I'm trapping you into this."
"Listen, Mohinder, you're not 'trapping' me into anything," Matt assured him. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't wanna be. Besides, at least you came clean about all this now. Not like Janice. She practically waited until the kid was born to let me know it wasn't mine." A bitter laugh escaped his lips at that. "Then again, I guess I should have seen that coming."
Mohinder said nothing as Matt spoke. The geneticist suddenly didn't feel he had any right to criticize Janice. After all, they had committed the same crime, even if the motives behind it were different. He now understood how easy it was to sabotage your own relationship through careless mistakes and turning his nose up at the woman's blunder now seemed petty and wrong. "I've messed things up so much," he whispered. "I'm... I'm so sorry."
Matt pulled him closer, leaning in to place a quick kiss to the Indian's already wet cheeks. "This isn't as bad as you're making it seem. Everything's going to be okay. We're going to be okay. We'll raise this baby together and do the best that we can."
"Even if it's not yours?"
"Even if it's not mine," Matt said and the fact that the man replied so quickly and without hesitation made Mohinder feel infinitely better.
Fresh tears fell from his eyes as Mohinder wrapped his arms around the other man's middle and held him tight. "I love you, Matt," he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut tight.
-+-+-+-
Just as Matt had predicted, the food that Peter had brought them wasn't much. Since they didn't have a great deal of money to spend, they had to be content with the egg sandwiches and coffee he had purchased from a fast food chain. Yet by the time that Peter had returned to the motel - on foot no less - most of the food was already cold and the coffee was chalky and weak, a fact that could only be blamed on the brew itself.
Yet Mohinder couldn't really complain. The geneticist was just relieved to have something solid in his stomach. As he picked at the English muffin buns, Mohinder quietly hoped that he would be able to keep his breakfast down for more than a handful of minutes.
"So what are we going to do now?" Peter asked, adding a second packet of sugar to his Styrofoam coffee cup. "I mean, we obviously need to adjust our plans given the... you know, the situation."
"Is that my new nickname?" Mohinder grumbled bitterly. "'The Situation?'" Mohinder had never been comfortable with the idea of being a burden to others, it was probably one of the reasons he had gone ahead and injected himself with the untested formula, to stop from being the perpetual victim. It was ironic that the same ability that enabled him to be of use was also the same ability that was now putting added danger onto their already tense circumstance.
Matt's hand clamped down on his knee, his touch instantly relieving the tension that had been tightening his muscles. "Hey, come on, we're just worried about you," he assured him, giving Mohinder's leg a gentle squeeze. "That's why I think we it'd be best if we all split up."
Mohinder felt himself stiffen, pulling away slightly, but Matt's hold on him stayed strong. "What?" he breathed, frowning at the very idea. "You're joking."
"No, I'm not," he said simply. "Look, this is something I've been thinking about all night. You said it yourself; going to Canada was the obvious move. We can't stay here. That's why I think Peter and I should head back to DC and... and I think that you should go to India."
"And you expect me to just go along with this?" Mohinder asked bitterly. "Do you expect me to just hop on a plane and turn a blind eye to everything that's happening? To just sit back and relax while you and Peter throw yourselves head first into danger?"
"No, I expect you to be stubborn and fight me at every turn before finally realizing that this is the safest option for you and the baby," Matt told him.
"Matt's right," Peter jumped in. "Your baby has gone months without prenatal care in a high stress environment. Getting out of the country and as far away from all this is the best way for you to try to get the medical attention that your baby needs."
Mohinder frowned, shaking his head miserably. He knew that Peter and Matt were just concerned, that their hearts were in the right place, but he couldn't bring himself to just abandon them like this. It felt cowardly and wrong even given his current condition. "Do you really think I'll be any less stressed out sitting in India, worrying whether or not something horrible has happened?"
"Mohinder, one of us needs to be safe," Matt reminded him. "For Molly. And... well, with you being pregnant, I think you're the obvious choice."
I want you to be safe, Mohinder thought miserably. He knew from Matt's hand grasping his own that the telepath had picked up on that thought. Not that he really minded, not then.
"Getting you out of the country will be difficult," Matt sighed, twining their fingers together as he spoke. Mohinder couldn't help looking down at their locked hands as his insides began twisting at the idea of them parting soon. "They'll probably be watching the airports just... you know, not as heavily as in America, but... it'll be for the best."
"Are you sure you don't just want to get rid of me?" The words were meant to be a joke, but his throat clenched bitterly as the possibility that that might just be the case. "After all, I have done some... horrible things. To you especially."
Mohinder was startled when Matt leaned in to kiss him, but he didn't pull away or flinch from the too quick peck on the lips. "I'm just trying to do what's best for my family," Matt assured him as he pressed their joined hands against Mohinder's still flat stomach.
The Indian felt tears prick his eyes as he leaned in forehead against Matt's shoulder. It was only Peter's presence that kept him from completely breaking down and crying. "Just... just promise me that you're going to take care of yourself," he whispered. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
Matt leaned in and kissed him again, on his cheek this time, before using his free hand to cross his heart. "I promise."
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