Title: Do You Remember?
Author: Bobbie
Fandom: HEROES
Rating: PG
Pairing: Molly/Micah
Spoilers: Season 1
"Do you remember?" she'd say, leaning against faded wallpaper and staring at the world beyond. "Do you remember everything?"
"I think so, sometimes. But there's been too much to remember it all."
"Yes. I remember specific events and I remember the way things sounded and the way things felt but I don't think I could remember it all if I tried."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she lowered her head to rest in the crook of his neck.
"I think that's a good thing. If we remembered everything then we'd suffer for it."
"Maybe, but if we don't have our memories then what's to stop us forgetting? Becoming like Them; trapped in a make-believe world where They can't see the destruction around them…it seems like a paradise, I suppose, to be separated from all that's wrong with humanity, but They're never truly free. I guess none of us are."
"I wouldn't want to forget completely, no way. I don't know who I'd be if I forgot all about my mom and dad and the way I grew up; it was never good, but it was mine, and I'm not sure I'd like the person I'd be without it."
"Exactly; I could be living in a world where my parents are still alive, whether they're really my parents or not…I don't suppose They know any differently."
"My parents, their friends, they all fought for us to have this freedom; to turn our backs on it and give in? It would make it all worthless."
"What was it they used to say? 'No pain, no gain'. That's true enough…" She sighed deeply and he pulled her closer to him, keeping her warm. "I could have a version of my parents back but then I'd forget about Matt and Mohinder. They were like fathers to me. Mohinder was sweet and intelligent and treated me like a little sister, and Matt..." her voice choked. "Matt was my protector. He saved me so many times, kept me out of harm and tried to give me the childhood he thought I deserved. When his wife lost their baby he took me in as his own. And then when she left him...I think I was all he had in the end."
"He loved you."
"Yes, and I loved him. I love them all for what they did for us."
"I remember when I first met them all; Hiro especially. By the time it all became real for me, they were already in the process of fighting a war. They were just alone then. It was later, when they all came together, that it became clear just how powerful they could be."
"Peter especially."
"Yes, good old Peter. He really cared, didn't he? He took every death, every failure as a personal blow. I think he was the heart in so many ways. When Nathan died...I think he may have gone insane if it weren't for the companionship of the others."
"Claire's mostly. She used to sit with him every night, talking about nothing and everything. She definitely loved him; I always thought...Well, you know," she smiled slightly, still so innocent despite all that had happened.
"Yeah, me too. They didn't have any clue they were related when they first met. Claire told me once that when she'd fled Texas, she'd gone straight to New York to find Peter because, despite only having met him twice, he was still the person she trusted most in the world. She definitely loved him, and not as her Uncle."
"We remember more than we tell ourselves we do. Talking about them, it all just starts flooding back."
"They deserve to beremembered. They tried to make this world a better place for us; they gave their lives for it, every one of them."
"Claire..."
"Even Claire. She may still be living and breathing but she's as good as dead; she just sits there all day. Her mind went a long time ago, and who can blame her after everything she's seen, everything that's happened to her."
Molly nodded. "I hope that in her mind, the place she's escaped to, she's happy. Maybe she's with Peter," she gave him a small, sad smile.
"Maybe."
"We need to leave now, I suppose."
"Yeah, we shouldn't stay here any longer. The longer we do, the easier we'll be to find."
"I don't know how I'd get through this without you, Micah," Molly told him, kissing him softly before moving further into the room.
"Ditto," he smiled, following her.
"Another day, another fight," she said wearily.
"But we'll make it through. We always do."