Fic: Thrown Together, Ripped Apart - Ch. 6
Title: Thrown Together, Ripped Apart
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Back in India, Mohinder tries to get his life back together. (Word Count: 4,825)
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Slash, Mpreg, Angst, AU
Chapter 1| Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The first thing that struck Mohinder about Dr. Dinesh Patel was the firmness of his handshake. It was funny how his memories of the man, which had been hazy at best, came rushing back at the feel of his strong palm grasping his own. Even with his own enhanced strength, the geneticist still found himself wincing -- in surprise really -- at the tight squeeze Patel had no doubt spent years working to perfect.
Dr. Patel was a few inches shorter than him, just enough so that Mohinder wouldn't have to tilt his head down to meet his gaze, but he was of an average build -- small legs with a round, pudgy upper body. His head was nearly bald save for a few strands of black hair that still clung to the sides with specks of gray starting to peek in perhaps a few years too late. His face was quite flat and Mohinder always remembered feeling as if it were permanently being pressed against a pane of glass. Gazing at the man in front of him Mohinder suddenly found himself missing his father despite the fact that the two men looked absolutely nothing alike.
"Dr. Suresh, good to see you again," Patel greeted with an air of practiced pleasantry.
"Likewise, Dr. Patel," Mohinder returned. "Just 'Mohinder' is fine."
"Of course," the surgeon said, making no suggestion to return the offer as he began walking down the hallway.
Their shoes made loud, echoing sounds as they walked down the polished linoleum floors. The walls were a soft, mint green, interrupted periodically by the sight of emerald colored doors, all identical save for the silver numbers marking them off. Nurses passed them by, wheeling patients between rooms, doctors walked briskly, carrying their clip boards in their hands as stethoscopes rested on their clean white lab coats. It struck Mohinder then how long it had been since he was in a hospital, a real hospital, and that knowledge made him feel painfully out of place, like a shoe shoved into a sock drawer.
"I haven't seen you since your father's funeral," the surgeon commented, a note of sadness in his tone. "Hard to believe it's been almost a year since then."
Mohinder nodded solemnly before realizing that the other man was not looking at him and could not see the gesture. "Yes, it is hard to believe," he said, his throat closing at the thought. The last thing he wanted to think about at that moment was his father. Coming to terms with everything he had done was hard enough and adding thoughts of his father would only make him feel worse.
Dr. Patel stopped midstride as he pushed open an emerald colored door and motioned for Mohinder to enter. Mohinder's stomach proceeded to tie itself into a tight knot as he walked inside. He was instantly hit by the smell of disinfectant and cotton swabs as he went to sit down on the paper coated exam table.
"Now on the phone, I'm afraid you weren't very clear as to what it was that you needed to discuss and why you could only speak to me about it," Patel said. He closed the door behind him and sat down in a desk chair, thumbing through a manila folder no doubt containing Mohinder's medical history. "What seems to be the problem?"
Mohinder swallowed, clearing his suddenly bone dry throat loudly. It had been difficult to bring himself to discuss the matter with Dr. Patel on the phone, even with the added comfort of not having to actually look the man in the eye as he spoke to him. He had convinced himself that he just needed some time to work up the nerve to admit the truth to the doctor, yet one week later he still wasn't ready but was kicking himself for not going through with it sooner.
"My father," he began awkwardly. He hadn't intended that to be the first thing to fall from his lips, but he recovered and started again. "Did my father ever discuss his theories with you?" he asked, wringing his hands nervously before adding "On human evolution that is."
Dr. Patel nodded slowly, clearly not quite seeing how these two things connected. "Yes, he talked about how humans are developing unnatural abilities or something of the sort."
"Yes," Mohinder said weakly, too nervous to correct him or explain further. He sighed. His hands were trembling, but fortunately rubbing them together was enough to disguise their shaking. "Well I recently discovered that I have an ability and... and I believe I might be pregnant."
The man looked as if he were about to say something, but was stunned silent as the words fully processed in his head. Mohinder's stomach went cold as Dr. Patel blinked, considering his words, before erupting into a fit of laughter. His already red face flushed ten shades deeper as the man in front of him began to shake with the force of his laughter.
"You're joking?" Dr. Patel asked after what felt like a good hour.
"I'm afraid I'm not," Mohinder answered. "I'm pregnant. I took a home test and it came out positive."
Patel frowned, the amusement in his eyes fading away when he saw only seriousness in Mohinder's expression. "Those tests aren't always accurate," the surgeon said seriously. "It's very possible that you picked up a defective one."
"Yes, I'm aware of that," Mohinder sighed. He couldn't believe that he was actually having this conversation with a doctor. If someone had told him he'd be in this situation a year ago he would have laughed himself senseless. "But I do have many of the symptoms; I've even gained some weight."
"So are you telling me you want me to give you a pregnancy test?" the doctor asked.
Mohinder frowned. He understood the man's skepticism -- were the shoe on the other foot, he would have been equally hesitant -- but it still angered him to be looked at like a crazy person. "Yes, I suppose I am," he said reluctantly, "and an ultrasound if the test comes back positive. I should be approximately four months along."
"If you're pregnant," Patel added quickly.
He nodded. "If I'm pregnant." Mohinder sighed, pushing a few stray curls out of his eyes, before going back to gripping his hands together tightly. "Dr. Patel, the reason I'm coming to you with this is because I need your assurance as a doctor and a family friend that you will be professional and discrete about my potential situation."
Dr. Patel frowned, looking for all the world as if he were considering kicking Mohinder out into the street, not that the geneticist would blame him. Even given the fact that he was a family friend, it was asking a lot for the man to take a leap of faith and believe in him. Yet he was surprised when Dr. Patel nodded. "You have my word as a doctor that I will handle this case with the utmost discretion."
Mohinder gave a long sigh, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as every muscle in him relaxed. "Thank you."
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If Dr. Patel's handshake was astonishingly firm, then the man's hands were impossibly cold. After living in New York for nearly a year, Mohinder had considered himself fairly resistant to the cold, yet Patel's fingers were so icy that Mohinder actually found himself flinching away from the chill.
Yet it was the surgeon's feather light touches that truly did him in. It was startling to say the least that a man with such a strong grip would have such a delicate touch, but Patel poked and prodded him with a touch so gentle that he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the ticklish sensation.
When the exam was done, Dr. Patel had announced that Mohinder "appeared perfectly healthy," before handing him a cup and sending him off to a bathroom. There was a brief period of panic as he waited for the results to come back, suddenly convinced that he had made a mistake and was not pregnant after all. It was strange, but the thought of being wrong -- that the baby he had been convinced he was carrying did not in fact exist -- filled him with a cold sadness that was nearly enough to bring tears to his eyes.
When Dr. Patel re-entered the exam room, however, his skin ashen white and his eyes wide with confusion, Mohinder knew before the man could even read the results that he had been right all along.
"It appears that you were correct, Dr. Suresh," the surgeon said slowly. "You are in fact pregnant."
Mohinder nodded, rubbing at his eyes quickly to erase any possible trace of tears. He hadn't realized until that moment how connected he was to this baby. Suddenly the idea of carrying this child didn't feel so much like an obligation as it did a privilege.
"Do you need a minute, Dr. Suresh?" Patel asked awkwardly. From the hesitant tone in his voice Mohinder felt certain that his reputation was the only thing that kept the surgeon from fleeing the room.
"I need an ultrasound," Mohinder reminded him, disgusted by the way his own voice quivered as he spoke. Confirming his suspicions that the baby was there was all well and good, but right now Mohinder needed to make certain that it was alive and healthy.
"Ah, yes, of course," he fumbled, shuffling his papers in a poor attempt to cover his nervousness. "Well, I'm afraid we'll have to change rooms. I'll give you a moment to get ready."
"I'm ready now," the geneticist said firmly.
Dr. Patel frowned, his flat face twisting bitterly at having his awkward attempts at comfort being so rudely rebuked. "Of course," he said again, tucking his clipboard securely under his arm. He opened the door and motioned for Mohinder to follow him. "Right this way."
Mohinder was silent as he got off of the table, cringing bitterly at the sound of the paper crinkling along with his movements. Dr. Patel lead him further down the hall, passing more identical rooms before ushering him into a small broom closet sized room. The lights were off and there were dozens of machines and boxes of all shapes and sizes. He suddenly felt very isolated and alone.
The lights flicked on so unexpectedly that Mohinder actually found himself jumping a bit. "Hop on the table and lie flat on your back," Patel ordered as he motioned towards the exam table that was very awkwardly situated in the center of the room.
He did as he was instructed; eyeing the various types of equipment that nearly suffocated the room. "Are we in the storage closet?" Mohinder joked.
"Something like that," Dr. Patel answered distractedly as he pulled out one of the more modern ultrasound machines.
The man was so focused on his task that Mohinder thought for certain that he had misunderstood him, yet when Patel made no effort to correct himself it slowly became clear to him that the man had not misspoke. "You're joking," Mohinder said finally, hoping for some sort of response.
"My colleagues don't use this room anymore," he said simply. "It's... a long story."
He frowned, deciding then to simply change the subject. "Will you be able to operate that machine by yourself?" he asked, motioning towards the ultrasound monitor.
"Admittedly, it has been a while, but I'm sure I can manage it. Now, if you'll just lift your shirt."
Mohinder silently did as Patel had asked. As soon as his stomach was exposed, his heated skin was greeted by the cold shock of a clear gel being poured onto it. He cringed, biting his lip to fight off the urge to gasp at the startling sensation. The geneticist barely had time to adjust to the cool goo that was now spread across his stomach when Dr. Patel pressed the transducer probe onto his lower abdomen. The monitor kicked to life as a black and white image appeared on the CPU's display screen.
The picture was clearer than he had imagined it would be, as he was able to see the fetus perfectly. It was crouched in a crescent curl, its eyes -- most likely not yet fully developed -- were squeezed shut as its tiny fists obscured its face. The body was small; nearly half the size of its head and its legs and arms nearly matched each other with their wiry shape.
"You appear to be about thirteen weeks along," Dr. Patel announced, his eyes fixed on the monitor. Mohinder could tell that the man was very pointedly forcing himself to treat this case like he would any other pregnancy as he flicked on the speakers, filling the room with the steady sound of the baby's heartbeat. It was surprisingly fast, but the lub-lub sound it made was like music to Mohinder's ears. "I don't see any deformities or strange obtrusions... Your baby seems to be developing just fine Dr. Suresh."
A dull pain began to spread through Mohinder's heart, consuming him until his entire chest felt as if it were on fire. Tears burned their way into his eyes and his throat felt so tight that he couldn't swallow. He had never felt so relieved in his entire life, yet lying on his back inside this pathetic little exam room he had never felt so alone. Suddenly the miles of land and ocean that separated him and Matt seemed astronomical and he ached for the other man's presence. He wanted nothing more than for Matt to be there with him and share this experience.
There was a slight thud that filled the room and interrupted the sound of the fetal heartbeat as he tipped his head back, colliding heavily with the edge of the table. Hot tears flowed down his cheeks and he knew right away that he would not be able to stop them. Mohinder choked, throwing his left arm over his eyes in a sad attempt to hide his humiliation, but there was no use in masking what was so very obvious.
"Dr. Suresh?" Patel began, placing a hand by his side. "Mohinder? Are you alright?"
"Fine, just... I'm fine," he lied, voice painfully thick.
There was a long awkward silence as Mohinder struggled to compose himself and Dr. Patel struggled to think of what to say or do next. "Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" the surgeon asked after a while.
Mohinder nodded. "Yes," he choked.
"It's a boy."
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"The first set of many," Mohinder said proudly as he spread out the pictures printed from the ultrasound on the kitchen table.
He smiled as his mother stared at the black and white print outs, touching the corners gingerly as if they were delicate works of art. "My goodness," she breathed, studying the images with astonished awe. "It's hard to imagine that this actually came from inside of you."
"Yes, it is," Mohinder agreed seriously. Even after the ultrasound, it had been hard to imagine that it was all real, but he was slowly starting to get used to the idea of not only being a father again, but of carrying the baby himself. "But here's the proof, in black and white no less."
Molly frowned, leaning forward to get a better look at the pictures. "It looks like a skeleton," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she rested heavily on her elbows. "Or a fish. It's kinda creepy."
"Molly!" his mother began sternly, but Mohinder's good humored laugh put a quick end to whatever the woman had to say.
"Well, Molly, keep in mind that the baby is only a few months old," Mohinder chuckled. "There's still a good deal of developing to do. Besides, I can assure you that you didn't look much better when you were only thirteen weeks."
Molly made a face that clearly illustrated her indifference to the subject as she settled back into her seat, sitting in the chair properly before drumming her fingers on the table top. "I still think it looks like a fish baby," she grumbled under her breath. "Do you know what it is?"
Despite the excitement whirling around in Mohinder's head, he was able to peer through his own elation to see that Molly was still struggling with the idea of having a new addition to the family. She was trying and he appreciated that, but it would take a lot more than one small talk to remind her that this new child wasn't going to replace her. Mohinder made a mental note to try to find some books later on about this sort of situation.
He smiled, placing a gentle hand on her head. "It's a boy," he said offering Molly his full attention.
"That's wonderful!" his mother gushed before her gaze turned towards her adopted granddaughter. "Isn't that nice Molly? A little brother."
Molly offered them a smile, one that very clearly stated that she knew what they were doing and that she was just playing along to make them feel better. "Yeah," she said calmly. "It's great."
Mohinder tried not to frown at his tactic's obvious failure. "You know, with the baby being due to arrive in just a few months, we might have to start getting things ready for him," he began slowly. "Molly, what do you think about going to the store tomorrow and doing a bit of shopping? You can help me get a few ideas and maybe we'll pick out a few things for you."
A genuine smile spread across her features this time and Mohinder felt relieved that he had succeeded in lifting her mood. "Okay," she beamed. "That sounds like fun." With that said, she slipped out of her chair and calmly walked out of the kitchen.
The geneticist heaved a weary sigh as he cradled his head in his hands. "This is so much harder than I thought it would be," he muttered once he was certain that Molly was out of ear shot.
"You're doing just fine," his mother soothed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Give Molly a bit more time. She'll come around. Just make sure to have plenty of father-daughter time with her and make her feel as involved as possible."
Mohinder nodded as he found his thoughts once again drifting to Matt. He wondered if Molly would have felt better if the other man had been around to offer his own reassurance that she would still be loved and cherished even after the baby's arrival.
"Now tell me more about my grandson," his mother said, tapping her fingers against the wooden table as she stared at one of the black and white pictures. "Did Dr. Patel give you a due date?"
He nodded again. "Mid December," he said. "The fifteenth to be exact. Although Dr. Patel suggested that I schedule a C-Section so that I won't have to deal with potentially going into labor on my own."
His mother hummed, nodding thoughtfully at his words. "December fifteenth. That seems so far away," she sighed. "Yet it isn't at all." She fell silent, frowning thoughtfully before looking at Mohinder. "Did he tell you anything about when you may have conceived?"
"It didn't make anything clearer," he told her, knowing exactly what she had been getting at. Mohinder had already known that the conception date had been sometime in late March, but he also knew that that fact didn't really matter. "As I said before, the dates were close together, embarrassingly so, so it's still difficult to tell one way or the other."
He watched as his mother's eyes softened, her gaze sad and wistful as she grabbed one of the pictures and held it in her hands. "There is still hope," she told him. "We can still pray."
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It wasn't at all surprising that the first night of decent sleep he had gotten in months would be interrupted. Mohinder groaned at the sound of his phone ringing, blaring in his ears as his tired eyes, squinted at the piercing beam the display screen made in the darkened room. Too tired to check the caller ID, Mohinder found himself flipping the phone open and placing it against his ear before his sleep deprived mind could even consider what he was doing.
The word "hello" escaped his lips in a rough rasp that made him cringe, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Who is this?"
"Oh, hey Mohinder," the familiar voice began, sending his heart into a frantic race as his mind clicked awake. "Did I wake you?"
"Matt?" he asked, fully alert as he struggled to sit up straight. "Matt is that you?"
"Yeah it's me," Matt answered, an awkward laugh coloring his words. "Man do I suck at this time zone thing. I didn't think it'd be this late."
"It's alright," Mohinder assured him. He shifted in bed until he was close enough to his bedside table to switch on his lamp, flooding the room with enough light to sting his eyes. "I'm awake now so you can go ahead and talk. What's been happening over there?"
There was a nervous chuckle and Mohinder could practically see the other man scratching the back of his neck as he gathered his thoughts. "Well, uh, a lot of crazy stuff's been going on."
That was an understatement and Mohinder knew it. He frowned, adjusting his pillows so that they were leaning against the headboard. "I would imagine," he said, sitting up straight with the support of the now cushioned headboard.
"But it's all over now," Matt went on. "The whole Building 26 project's gone under."
Mohinder blinked, straining his ears in an attempt to hear more, but Matt simply stopped there. "W-what?" he stuttered.
"It's over," Matt said, his tone a bit too casual for Mohinder's taste (although admittedly he could detect a faint note of disbelief in the detective's words even as he spoke them). "Peter had a talk with Nathan and he had a change of heart."
"That's it?" Mohinder gapped. "That's all it took? They just talked?"
"Well, it wasn't that simple. There was a lot more too it just..." Matt stopped, sighing wearily and most likely shaking his head in frustration. "I'm not explaining this well," he said simply. "You know I'm not good at stuff like this. But, well, it's safe for people like us again. Bennet, Nathan, and Mrs. Petrelli are talking about starting the Company again-"
"What?" He cringed, realizing his voice was a bit too loud given the late hour. "What do you mean they're 'starting the Company again'? You just said things were safe for Specials!"
"It is," Matt insisted. "They've got this idea that... It's all going to be government run, okay? Basically the Building 26 project is being remodeled into a newer, more legit version of the Company. No more random abductions, it's just going to be monitoring... and control... something like that. I'm sketchy on the details."
"Wonderful," Mohinder grumbled, rubbing at the sleep still clinging to his eyes.
"There's more," he went on. "Nathan wants to offer you a job."
He scoffed. "Too bad I'm not interested."
"Come on Mohinder, you're a specialist in this field. The Company's gonna need someone like you researching people like us."
"Why do you care?" Mohinder huffed. "You've only ever been concerned about trying to live a normal life. You've even told me before that you cared more about hiding your abilities than understanding them."
"I care because you care and I know you do even if you're being all stubborn and unreasonable right now," Matt argued. "Besides, it's not just about me or us, it's about other people. I'd feel better with this whole new Company idea if I knew there was someone with real morals working there. And, well, I kinda told Nathan about our situation. You know, you being pregnant and all."
"Matt!" Mohinder felt his face burn at the idea that someone else knew about his condition. The exclusive little group was growing wider and without his consent. He didn't want Nathan or anyone else he couldn't trust to know about this. Now that Matt was telling others his secret without his approval Mohinder felt certain it would only be a matter of time before everyone knew.
"Hey, I had to tell him," Matt argued. "We need people to know, especially people like Nathan who have resources. He can help us Mohinder. He can make it so that you can give birth discretely and have access to proper treatment."
Mohinder let out a long weary sigh as he leaned back heavily against the headboard. "I don't know, Matt," he murmured. "I was sort of thinking about having the baby here."
"You mean in India?" Matt asked. He could already tell from the other man's tone of voice that he didn't think it was such a good idea.
"I know we never really got a chance to talk about it, but I want my mother to be with me when the baby is born," Mohinder said as his hand slowly crept over his still mostly flat stomach. His mother had been such a comfort to him these past few days that he couldn't see going the next five months without her. "And Molly is settled down so nicely here, it would be unfair to make her move again."
"Mohinder, we can't just uproot ourselves and move to India. How am I supposed to get a job over there when I don't know how things work?"
"I understand that it'll be difficult Matt, but you'll settle in." He knew that he was grasping at straws, but even after being home for only a few weeks he felt far too settled in to just pack up and go back to America. "Besides, I worked out something with an old colleague of my father's. He's going to see to all my appointments and exams. He even said that he could operate on me when it's time for me to deliver."
Matt sighed, most likely rubbing at his face tiredly the way he usually did when he argued with Mohinder. "Look Mohinder, I understand what this is really about," he said calmly. "Even if you won't admit it, I know that you're afraid. You don't feel safe in America anymore because of everything that's happened. Well, uh, I've got something to tell you that might put you at ease."
Mohinder frowned, his ears perking up at the other man's words. "What's that?"
"Sylar's dead."
The air seemed to completely escape from Mohinder's lungs in one swift instant. His mouth fell open, but his tongue was suddenly so painfully dry that he couldn't even speak. He blinked, struggling to comprehend what Matt had just said, but it was almost as if the man had spoken another language.
"Mohinder?" Matt called, his voice filled with worry. "Mohinder are you still there?"
"Yes," he said slowly, weakly. "Yes, I'm here."
"Did you hear what I said?"
He nodded his head slowly, before realizing that Matt couldn't see him. "Yes," he breathed. "I... Hasn't he been dead for months?
"No," Matt told him slowly as he gathered his own thoughts to explain. "The Primatech fire didn't kill him, I guess. Healing ability or something, I don't know."
"Oh," he said softly, too softly for his own liking. "H-how did he die then?"
"I'm not sure exactly," Matt said. "Danko, one of the guys in charge of Building 26, killed him somehow. He stuck a metal spike into the base of his skull."
"But you just said that he could heal," Mohinder pointed out. "If someone were to pull the spike out-"
"He was burned," Matt interrupted. "We burned his body. He's nothing but ash now." There was a pause and Mohinder didn't know if he should say something or wait for Matt to speak again. "I thought you would be happy," he said after a while.
Mohinder frowned. He should be happy, but he wasn't. He should feel relieved, but he couldn't. It didn't feel real. Even when he sat and thought about everything that Matt was saying and how it made sense, he still struggled to believe it. It just didn't make sense. Sylar had walked away from so many scraps in the past, he simply couldn't see the man dying anymore. Yet at the same time he knew that Matt was telling the truth. Matt could never lie to him, not about something like this.
"I'm sorry," he said after a while. "It's just... it's hard to wrap my head around I suppose. He's died so many times before."
"I know," Matt said solemnly. "But... he's dead for real this time. We can raise our family without worrying about him."
Mohinder smiled at that, fighting to convince himself that this time it was all true.
Next Chapter
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Back in India, Mohinder tries to get his life back together. (Word Count: 4,825)
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Slash, Mpreg, Angst, AU
Chapter 1| Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The first thing that struck Mohinder about Dr. Dinesh Patel was the firmness of his handshake. It was funny how his memories of the man, which had been hazy at best, came rushing back at the feel of his strong palm grasping his own. Even with his own enhanced strength, the geneticist still found himself wincing -- in surprise really -- at the tight squeeze Patel had no doubt spent years working to perfect.
Dr. Patel was a few inches shorter than him, just enough so that Mohinder wouldn't have to tilt his head down to meet his gaze, but he was of an average build -- small legs with a round, pudgy upper body. His head was nearly bald save for a few strands of black hair that still clung to the sides with specks of gray starting to peek in perhaps a few years too late. His face was quite flat and Mohinder always remembered feeling as if it were permanently being pressed against a pane of glass. Gazing at the man in front of him Mohinder suddenly found himself missing his father despite the fact that the two men looked absolutely nothing alike.
"Dr. Suresh, good to see you again," Patel greeted with an air of practiced pleasantry.
"Likewise, Dr. Patel," Mohinder returned. "Just 'Mohinder' is fine."
"Of course," the surgeon said, making no suggestion to return the offer as he began walking down the hallway.
Their shoes made loud, echoing sounds as they walked down the polished linoleum floors. The walls were a soft, mint green, interrupted periodically by the sight of emerald colored doors, all identical save for the silver numbers marking them off. Nurses passed them by, wheeling patients between rooms, doctors walked briskly, carrying their clip boards in their hands as stethoscopes rested on their clean white lab coats. It struck Mohinder then how long it had been since he was in a hospital, a real hospital, and that knowledge made him feel painfully out of place, like a shoe shoved into a sock drawer.
"I haven't seen you since your father's funeral," the surgeon commented, a note of sadness in his tone. "Hard to believe it's been almost a year since then."
Mohinder nodded solemnly before realizing that the other man was not looking at him and could not see the gesture. "Yes, it is hard to believe," he said, his throat closing at the thought. The last thing he wanted to think about at that moment was his father. Coming to terms with everything he had done was hard enough and adding thoughts of his father would only make him feel worse.
Dr. Patel stopped midstride as he pushed open an emerald colored door and motioned for Mohinder to enter. Mohinder's stomach proceeded to tie itself into a tight knot as he walked inside. He was instantly hit by the smell of disinfectant and cotton swabs as he went to sit down on the paper coated exam table.
"Now on the phone, I'm afraid you weren't very clear as to what it was that you needed to discuss and why you could only speak to me about it," Patel said. He closed the door behind him and sat down in a desk chair, thumbing through a manila folder no doubt containing Mohinder's medical history. "What seems to be the problem?"
Mohinder swallowed, clearing his suddenly bone dry throat loudly. It had been difficult to bring himself to discuss the matter with Dr. Patel on the phone, even with the added comfort of not having to actually look the man in the eye as he spoke to him. He had convinced himself that he just needed some time to work up the nerve to admit the truth to the doctor, yet one week later he still wasn't ready but was kicking himself for not going through with it sooner.
"My father," he began awkwardly. He hadn't intended that to be the first thing to fall from his lips, but he recovered and started again. "Did my father ever discuss his theories with you?" he asked, wringing his hands nervously before adding "On human evolution that is."
Dr. Patel nodded slowly, clearly not quite seeing how these two things connected. "Yes, he talked about how humans are developing unnatural abilities or something of the sort."
"Yes," Mohinder said weakly, too nervous to correct him or explain further. He sighed. His hands were trembling, but fortunately rubbing them together was enough to disguise their shaking. "Well I recently discovered that I have an ability and... and I believe I might be pregnant."
The man looked as if he were about to say something, but was stunned silent as the words fully processed in his head. Mohinder's stomach went cold as Dr. Patel blinked, considering his words, before erupting into a fit of laughter. His already red face flushed ten shades deeper as the man in front of him began to shake with the force of his laughter.
"You're joking?" Dr. Patel asked after what felt like a good hour.
"I'm afraid I'm not," Mohinder answered. "I'm pregnant. I took a home test and it came out positive."
Patel frowned, the amusement in his eyes fading away when he saw only seriousness in Mohinder's expression. "Those tests aren't always accurate," the surgeon said seriously. "It's very possible that you picked up a defective one."
"Yes, I'm aware of that," Mohinder sighed. He couldn't believe that he was actually having this conversation with a doctor. If someone had told him he'd be in this situation a year ago he would have laughed himself senseless. "But I do have many of the symptoms; I've even gained some weight."
"So are you telling me you want me to give you a pregnancy test?" the doctor asked.
Mohinder frowned. He understood the man's skepticism -- were the shoe on the other foot, he would have been equally hesitant -- but it still angered him to be looked at like a crazy person. "Yes, I suppose I am," he said reluctantly, "and an ultrasound if the test comes back positive. I should be approximately four months along."
"If you're pregnant," Patel added quickly.
He nodded. "If I'm pregnant." Mohinder sighed, pushing a few stray curls out of his eyes, before going back to gripping his hands together tightly. "Dr. Patel, the reason I'm coming to you with this is because I need your assurance as a doctor and a family friend that you will be professional and discrete about my potential situation."
Dr. Patel frowned, looking for all the world as if he were considering kicking Mohinder out into the street, not that the geneticist would blame him. Even given the fact that he was a family friend, it was asking a lot for the man to take a leap of faith and believe in him. Yet he was surprised when Dr. Patel nodded. "You have my word as a doctor that I will handle this case with the utmost discretion."
Mohinder gave a long sigh, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as every muscle in him relaxed. "Thank you."
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If Dr. Patel's handshake was astonishingly firm, then the man's hands were impossibly cold. After living in New York for nearly a year, Mohinder had considered himself fairly resistant to the cold, yet Patel's fingers were so icy that Mohinder actually found himself flinching away from the chill.
Yet it was the surgeon's feather light touches that truly did him in. It was startling to say the least that a man with such a strong grip would have such a delicate touch, but Patel poked and prodded him with a touch so gentle that he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the ticklish sensation.
When the exam was done, Dr. Patel had announced that Mohinder "appeared perfectly healthy," before handing him a cup and sending him off to a bathroom. There was a brief period of panic as he waited for the results to come back, suddenly convinced that he had made a mistake and was not pregnant after all. It was strange, but the thought of being wrong -- that the baby he had been convinced he was carrying did not in fact exist -- filled him with a cold sadness that was nearly enough to bring tears to his eyes.
When Dr. Patel re-entered the exam room, however, his skin ashen white and his eyes wide with confusion, Mohinder knew before the man could even read the results that he had been right all along.
"It appears that you were correct, Dr. Suresh," the surgeon said slowly. "You are in fact pregnant."
Mohinder nodded, rubbing at his eyes quickly to erase any possible trace of tears. He hadn't realized until that moment how connected he was to this baby. Suddenly the idea of carrying this child didn't feel so much like an obligation as it did a privilege.
"Do you need a minute, Dr. Suresh?" Patel asked awkwardly. From the hesitant tone in his voice Mohinder felt certain that his reputation was the only thing that kept the surgeon from fleeing the room.
"I need an ultrasound," Mohinder reminded him, disgusted by the way his own voice quivered as he spoke. Confirming his suspicions that the baby was there was all well and good, but right now Mohinder needed to make certain that it was alive and healthy.
"Ah, yes, of course," he fumbled, shuffling his papers in a poor attempt to cover his nervousness. "Well, I'm afraid we'll have to change rooms. I'll give you a moment to get ready."
"I'm ready now," the geneticist said firmly.
Dr. Patel frowned, his flat face twisting bitterly at having his awkward attempts at comfort being so rudely rebuked. "Of course," he said again, tucking his clipboard securely under his arm. He opened the door and motioned for Mohinder to follow him. "Right this way."
Mohinder was silent as he got off of the table, cringing bitterly at the sound of the paper crinkling along with his movements. Dr. Patel lead him further down the hall, passing more identical rooms before ushering him into a small broom closet sized room. The lights were off and there were dozens of machines and boxes of all shapes and sizes. He suddenly felt very isolated and alone.
The lights flicked on so unexpectedly that Mohinder actually found himself jumping a bit. "Hop on the table and lie flat on your back," Patel ordered as he motioned towards the exam table that was very awkwardly situated in the center of the room.
He did as he was instructed; eyeing the various types of equipment that nearly suffocated the room. "Are we in the storage closet?" Mohinder joked.
"Something like that," Dr. Patel answered distractedly as he pulled out one of the more modern ultrasound machines.
The man was so focused on his task that Mohinder thought for certain that he had misunderstood him, yet when Patel made no effort to correct himself it slowly became clear to him that the man had not misspoke. "You're joking," Mohinder said finally, hoping for some sort of response.
"My colleagues don't use this room anymore," he said simply. "It's... a long story."
He frowned, deciding then to simply change the subject. "Will you be able to operate that machine by yourself?" he asked, motioning towards the ultrasound monitor.
"Admittedly, it has been a while, but I'm sure I can manage it. Now, if you'll just lift your shirt."
Mohinder silently did as Patel had asked. As soon as his stomach was exposed, his heated skin was greeted by the cold shock of a clear gel being poured onto it. He cringed, biting his lip to fight off the urge to gasp at the startling sensation. The geneticist barely had time to adjust to the cool goo that was now spread across his stomach when Dr. Patel pressed the transducer probe onto his lower abdomen. The monitor kicked to life as a black and white image appeared on the CPU's display screen.
The picture was clearer than he had imagined it would be, as he was able to see the fetus perfectly. It was crouched in a crescent curl, its eyes -- most likely not yet fully developed -- were squeezed shut as its tiny fists obscured its face. The body was small; nearly half the size of its head and its legs and arms nearly matched each other with their wiry shape.
"You appear to be about thirteen weeks along," Dr. Patel announced, his eyes fixed on the monitor. Mohinder could tell that the man was very pointedly forcing himself to treat this case like he would any other pregnancy as he flicked on the speakers, filling the room with the steady sound of the baby's heartbeat. It was surprisingly fast, but the lub-lub sound it made was like music to Mohinder's ears. "I don't see any deformities or strange obtrusions... Your baby seems to be developing just fine Dr. Suresh."
A dull pain began to spread through Mohinder's heart, consuming him until his entire chest felt as if it were on fire. Tears burned their way into his eyes and his throat felt so tight that he couldn't swallow. He had never felt so relieved in his entire life, yet lying on his back inside this pathetic little exam room he had never felt so alone. Suddenly the miles of land and ocean that separated him and Matt seemed astronomical and he ached for the other man's presence. He wanted nothing more than for Matt to be there with him and share this experience.
There was a slight thud that filled the room and interrupted the sound of the fetal heartbeat as he tipped his head back, colliding heavily with the edge of the table. Hot tears flowed down his cheeks and he knew right away that he would not be able to stop them. Mohinder choked, throwing his left arm over his eyes in a sad attempt to hide his humiliation, but there was no use in masking what was so very obvious.
"Dr. Suresh?" Patel began, placing a hand by his side. "Mohinder? Are you alright?"
"Fine, just... I'm fine," he lied, voice painfully thick.
There was a long awkward silence as Mohinder struggled to compose himself and Dr. Patel struggled to think of what to say or do next. "Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" the surgeon asked after a while.
Mohinder nodded. "Yes," he choked.
"It's a boy."
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"The first set of many," Mohinder said proudly as he spread out the pictures printed from the ultrasound on the kitchen table.
He smiled as his mother stared at the black and white print outs, touching the corners gingerly as if they were delicate works of art. "My goodness," she breathed, studying the images with astonished awe. "It's hard to imagine that this actually came from inside of you."
"Yes, it is," Mohinder agreed seriously. Even after the ultrasound, it had been hard to imagine that it was all real, but he was slowly starting to get used to the idea of not only being a father again, but of carrying the baby himself. "But here's the proof, in black and white no less."
Molly frowned, leaning forward to get a better look at the pictures. "It looks like a skeleton," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she rested heavily on her elbows. "Or a fish. It's kinda creepy."
"Molly!" his mother began sternly, but Mohinder's good humored laugh put a quick end to whatever the woman had to say.
"Well, Molly, keep in mind that the baby is only a few months old," Mohinder chuckled. "There's still a good deal of developing to do. Besides, I can assure you that you didn't look much better when you were only thirteen weeks."
Molly made a face that clearly illustrated her indifference to the subject as she settled back into her seat, sitting in the chair properly before drumming her fingers on the table top. "I still think it looks like a fish baby," she grumbled under her breath. "Do you know what it is?"
Despite the excitement whirling around in Mohinder's head, he was able to peer through his own elation to see that Molly was still struggling with the idea of having a new addition to the family. She was trying and he appreciated that, but it would take a lot more than one small talk to remind her that this new child wasn't going to replace her. Mohinder made a mental note to try to find some books later on about this sort of situation.
He smiled, placing a gentle hand on her head. "It's a boy," he said offering Molly his full attention.
"That's wonderful!" his mother gushed before her gaze turned towards her adopted granddaughter. "Isn't that nice Molly? A little brother."
Molly offered them a smile, one that very clearly stated that she knew what they were doing and that she was just playing along to make them feel better. "Yeah," she said calmly. "It's great."
Mohinder tried not to frown at his tactic's obvious failure. "You know, with the baby being due to arrive in just a few months, we might have to start getting things ready for him," he began slowly. "Molly, what do you think about going to the store tomorrow and doing a bit of shopping? You can help me get a few ideas and maybe we'll pick out a few things for you."
A genuine smile spread across her features this time and Mohinder felt relieved that he had succeeded in lifting her mood. "Okay," she beamed. "That sounds like fun." With that said, she slipped out of her chair and calmly walked out of the kitchen.
The geneticist heaved a weary sigh as he cradled his head in his hands. "This is so much harder than I thought it would be," he muttered once he was certain that Molly was out of ear shot.
"You're doing just fine," his mother soothed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Give Molly a bit more time. She'll come around. Just make sure to have plenty of father-daughter time with her and make her feel as involved as possible."
Mohinder nodded as he found his thoughts once again drifting to Matt. He wondered if Molly would have felt better if the other man had been around to offer his own reassurance that she would still be loved and cherished even after the baby's arrival.
"Now tell me more about my grandson," his mother said, tapping her fingers against the wooden table as she stared at one of the black and white pictures. "Did Dr. Patel give you a due date?"
He nodded again. "Mid December," he said. "The fifteenth to be exact. Although Dr. Patel suggested that I schedule a C-Section so that I won't have to deal with potentially going into labor on my own."
His mother hummed, nodding thoughtfully at his words. "December fifteenth. That seems so far away," she sighed. "Yet it isn't at all." She fell silent, frowning thoughtfully before looking at Mohinder. "Did he tell you anything about when you may have conceived?"
"It didn't make anything clearer," he told her, knowing exactly what she had been getting at. Mohinder had already known that the conception date had been sometime in late March, but he also knew that that fact didn't really matter. "As I said before, the dates were close together, embarrassingly so, so it's still difficult to tell one way or the other."
He watched as his mother's eyes softened, her gaze sad and wistful as she grabbed one of the pictures and held it in her hands. "There is still hope," she told him. "We can still pray."
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It wasn't at all surprising that the first night of decent sleep he had gotten in months would be interrupted. Mohinder groaned at the sound of his phone ringing, blaring in his ears as his tired eyes, squinted at the piercing beam the display screen made in the darkened room. Too tired to check the caller ID, Mohinder found himself flipping the phone open and placing it against his ear before his sleep deprived mind could even consider what he was doing.
The word "hello" escaped his lips in a rough rasp that made him cringe, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Who is this?"
"Oh, hey Mohinder," the familiar voice began, sending his heart into a frantic race as his mind clicked awake. "Did I wake you?"
"Matt?" he asked, fully alert as he struggled to sit up straight. "Matt is that you?"
"Yeah it's me," Matt answered, an awkward laugh coloring his words. "Man do I suck at this time zone thing. I didn't think it'd be this late."
"It's alright," Mohinder assured him. He shifted in bed until he was close enough to his bedside table to switch on his lamp, flooding the room with enough light to sting his eyes. "I'm awake now so you can go ahead and talk. What's been happening over there?"
There was a nervous chuckle and Mohinder could practically see the other man scratching the back of his neck as he gathered his thoughts. "Well, uh, a lot of crazy stuff's been going on."
That was an understatement and Mohinder knew it. He frowned, adjusting his pillows so that they were leaning against the headboard. "I would imagine," he said, sitting up straight with the support of the now cushioned headboard.
"But it's all over now," Matt went on. "The whole Building 26 project's gone under."
Mohinder blinked, straining his ears in an attempt to hear more, but Matt simply stopped there. "W-what?" he stuttered.
"It's over," Matt said, his tone a bit too casual for Mohinder's taste (although admittedly he could detect a faint note of disbelief in the detective's words even as he spoke them). "Peter had a talk with Nathan and he had a change of heart."
"That's it?" Mohinder gapped. "That's all it took? They just talked?"
"Well, it wasn't that simple. There was a lot more too it just..." Matt stopped, sighing wearily and most likely shaking his head in frustration. "I'm not explaining this well," he said simply. "You know I'm not good at stuff like this. But, well, it's safe for people like us again. Bennet, Nathan, and Mrs. Petrelli are talking about starting the Company again-"
"What?" He cringed, realizing his voice was a bit too loud given the late hour. "What do you mean they're 'starting the Company again'? You just said things were safe for Specials!"
"It is," Matt insisted. "They've got this idea that... It's all going to be government run, okay? Basically the Building 26 project is being remodeled into a newer, more legit version of the Company. No more random abductions, it's just going to be monitoring... and control... something like that. I'm sketchy on the details."
"Wonderful," Mohinder grumbled, rubbing at the sleep still clinging to his eyes.
"There's more," he went on. "Nathan wants to offer you a job."
He scoffed. "Too bad I'm not interested."
"Come on Mohinder, you're a specialist in this field. The Company's gonna need someone like you researching people like us."
"Why do you care?" Mohinder huffed. "You've only ever been concerned about trying to live a normal life. You've even told me before that you cared more about hiding your abilities than understanding them."
"I care because you care and I know you do even if you're being all stubborn and unreasonable right now," Matt argued. "Besides, it's not just about me or us, it's about other people. I'd feel better with this whole new Company idea if I knew there was someone with real morals working there. And, well, I kinda told Nathan about our situation. You know, you being pregnant and all."
"Matt!" Mohinder felt his face burn at the idea that someone else knew about his condition. The exclusive little group was growing wider and without his consent. He didn't want Nathan or anyone else he couldn't trust to know about this. Now that Matt was telling others his secret without his approval Mohinder felt certain it would only be a matter of time before everyone knew.
"Hey, I had to tell him," Matt argued. "We need people to know, especially people like Nathan who have resources. He can help us Mohinder. He can make it so that you can give birth discretely and have access to proper treatment."
Mohinder let out a long weary sigh as he leaned back heavily against the headboard. "I don't know, Matt," he murmured. "I was sort of thinking about having the baby here."
"You mean in India?" Matt asked. He could already tell from the other man's tone of voice that he didn't think it was such a good idea.
"I know we never really got a chance to talk about it, but I want my mother to be with me when the baby is born," Mohinder said as his hand slowly crept over his still mostly flat stomach. His mother had been such a comfort to him these past few days that he couldn't see going the next five months without her. "And Molly is settled down so nicely here, it would be unfair to make her move again."
"Mohinder, we can't just uproot ourselves and move to India. How am I supposed to get a job over there when I don't know how things work?"
"I understand that it'll be difficult Matt, but you'll settle in." He knew that he was grasping at straws, but even after being home for only a few weeks he felt far too settled in to just pack up and go back to America. "Besides, I worked out something with an old colleague of my father's. He's going to see to all my appointments and exams. He even said that he could operate on me when it's time for me to deliver."
Matt sighed, most likely rubbing at his face tiredly the way he usually did when he argued with Mohinder. "Look Mohinder, I understand what this is really about," he said calmly. "Even if you won't admit it, I know that you're afraid. You don't feel safe in America anymore because of everything that's happened. Well, uh, I've got something to tell you that might put you at ease."
Mohinder frowned, his ears perking up at the other man's words. "What's that?"
"Sylar's dead."
The air seemed to completely escape from Mohinder's lungs in one swift instant. His mouth fell open, but his tongue was suddenly so painfully dry that he couldn't even speak. He blinked, struggling to comprehend what Matt had just said, but it was almost as if the man had spoken another language.
"Mohinder?" Matt called, his voice filled with worry. "Mohinder are you still there?"
"Yes," he said slowly, weakly. "Yes, I'm here."
"Did you hear what I said?"
He nodded his head slowly, before realizing that Matt couldn't see him. "Yes," he breathed. "I... Hasn't he been dead for months?
"No," Matt told him slowly as he gathered his own thoughts to explain. "The Primatech fire didn't kill him, I guess. Healing ability or something, I don't know."
"Oh," he said softly, too softly for his own liking. "H-how did he die then?"
"I'm not sure exactly," Matt said. "Danko, one of the guys in charge of Building 26, killed him somehow. He stuck a metal spike into the base of his skull."
"But you just said that he could heal," Mohinder pointed out. "If someone were to pull the spike out-"
"He was burned," Matt interrupted. "We burned his body. He's nothing but ash now." There was a pause and Mohinder didn't know if he should say something or wait for Matt to speak again. "I thought you would be happy," he said after a while.
Mohinder frowned. He should be happy, but he wasn't. He should feel relieved, but he couldn't. It didn't feel real. Even when he sat and thought about everything that Matt was saying and how it made sense, he still struggled to believe it. It just didn't make sense. Sylar had walked away from so many scraps in the past, he simply couldn't see the man dying anymore. Yet at the same time he knew that Matt was telling the truth. Matt could never lie to him, not about something like this.
"I'm sorry," he said after a while. "It's just... it's hard to wrap my head around I suppose. He's died so many times before."
"I know," Matt said solemnly. "But... he's dead for real this time. We can raise our family without worrying about him."
Mohinder smiled at that, fighting to convince himself that this time it was all true.
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