Title: all parents hurt their children
Rating: PG- 13
Genre: Gen
Characters: Mohinder; Molly; Sylar; Maya; Matt
Warnings: Mentions of violence
Summary: All parents hurt their children. An exception to the rule
Eventually, you're going to get tired of fighting your daddy's battles.
Mohinder knows he's right.
The girl, Molly. He loves her. She's not his.
She's your little project; your little pet.
But this is wrong.
Mohinder smiles at Molly. He smiles so rarely these days, it hurts his face. But she knows the effort; knows he's trying. She smiles back. They eat their hamburgers and fruit kabobs in silence. It's enough to smile. To not have nightmares. To be a sort- of family.
Because Molly knows that, to her, Mohinder is a dad. He's not like her. But he is like her parents. His smile and his hug reminds her of her mom. He smells like cologne and leather from his coat- like her dad. He is both her parents in one. He keeps her safe.
Always the good guy. It must be tiring. Doctor, scientist, father- figure…I'm glad I don't have any of those obligations.
He's not a good man. Not a hero. Molly thinks he is.
She thinks the world of him.
And you don't want to disappoint her.
She might love him.
He takes her to the Company for her protection. He tells her about their good parts. How they want to help people like Molly, like Matt. How they want to stop the Boogie Man too. He tells her all of this.
He always packs a gun in his suitcase.
Molly thinks that Mohinder works for the benefit of people like her. She thinks he's a hero. She thinks he's Superman. So she lies sometimes. Tells him that she's okay. That she's not scared of anything. Because even though Molly's young, she knows enough about life. Enough about people. That's the thing about special children, they're always so much older than they appear.
She knows she needs to be strong for him. All children do. They have to put on happy faces when they want to scream. They need to scream when they know they could do more. Sometimes they have to fail and sometimes they have to fly.
This is what happens when the Boogie Man comes.
I'll kill her.
He might.
I'll kill her.
He's going to.
A gun fires.
Sometimes children have to fail. Sometimes they have to fly.
They fly. They leave Matt with a body in their living room, a Mexican girl screaming and crying in the room, confused. Another child of another surrogate parent. Another failed family. Sad, but Mohinder knew he couldn't take any chances.
They are going to the Company. Mohinder's stomach is twisted in knots, his hands are red with another man's blood. This other man is not gone, a roach comes back. They will have to keep running.
And he brought her into this.
Molly still thinks he's Superman. And now he proved it. He killed the Boogie Man. Molly stops looking for him, and stars looking for Matt. She wants to say goodbye to him. There isn't time. Sometimes, children need to pretend ignorance. Something she does often.
She knows they're going to the Company. And she's afraid. Mohinder is smart. He is good. He wouldn't do anything bad. Anything that would hurt anyone. Unless he was tricked. She wants Matt, who would be arguing with Mohinder.
But there's only her. And children can't argue with their parents.
Eventually, you're going to get tired of fighting daddy's battles.
Truer words have never been spoken.
She's your little project; your special pet.
A lie.
But, upon entering, feeling the cold, laboratory air in the room. Mohinder suddenly realizes. How the Company "fixes" those that are special. How they treat them.
Mohinder's little science project.
The little girl whose hand he is holding.
Her stomach growls.
Is it too late to run?
I will hunt you down, find you. I will kill her first. Then I'll kill you.
I only care about stopping the first.
New York air always feels so clean after I've been somewhere dirty.
Their room is small and dirty. The landlord promises to bug bomb it eventually. The room smells like tea and little girls' perfume. Man's cologne.
They sit at the table. Eating dinner. The radio is playing in the background. A song comes on. It's slow. Peaceful.
"My parents got married to this song." She says, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. "They danced for a half-hour. I counted."
He smiles, stands up. "Well, golly, Miss Molly, can I have this dance?"
She smiles, he's such a dork when he tries to be cool. Like a dad.
And there's a war in the Middle- east. People are dying on the streets. The little girl they left in the room is beginning to grow a grudge. Gabriel Gray has set up residence in a small town in New Jersey, focusing his power and growing and learning. And who knows if Adam Monroe will stay buried? And who knows if they escaped from the Company for good?
Worries building around them; around their little home; around their little family. Mohinder picks up Molly and they begin to dance.
She's your little science project; she's your little pet.
Wrong. She's his daughter.