Matt groaned, stretching out his back as much as possible while driving. The skimmer was old and obstinate, and the trip out to the spaceport and back took way too long, a five hour round trip. His back was killing him. At least he was done for the day.
Next to him, Blue whined.
"I hear ya, buddy. It's been a long time for me, too." Matt said, reaching over and ruffling the fur at Blue's neck, who licked his hand expectantly. Blue had spent as much time in the car and at the spaceport as Matt, and he thought he deserved a treat.
"Tell you what. You can have a pig's ear if Paige has them in stock." Blue wagged his tail happily as Matt zipped out of the hills and down onto Main Street. It looked like someone had brought a herd of zolos through recently, probably down to the space port themselves. Matt slowed down to city speed, just in case there were any animals lagging around; five minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of Taylor's, the tiny grocery story that served the town.
Taylor's was built maybe thirty years ago, during Prime Valley's heyday. It smelled a little funky, and dust had drifted into all of the corners, smoothing out the rough edges. Matt grabbed a bottle of water from the chest out front, and a pig's ear from the jar on the counter, then headed over to the cashier's area to pay for it.
A woman with grey-streaked long brown hair was bending over the snack case, loading up the nearly empty shelves and next to her sat a ten-year-old boy, reluctantly helping her. Like nearly everyone in town, they both wore jeans and boots and a thin T-shirt, but because of the air conditioning, she also wore a blue cardigan sweater.
"Hey, Paige, Alex," he said, setting his purchases on the counter and adding a bag of black pepper papadum from off the point-of-sale shelf. "How's it going? Any good news today?"
"Hey, Matt." She stood and dusted herself off. "Keep working, hon," she said to the boy. "You don't get paid until the job's done."
"Yes, Mom," he grumbled, and stuck another bag on the shelf.
"Hi, Blue," She patted the dog's head as she passed him, headed for the register. She rang up Matt's purchases then tossed in one of her homemade dog biscuits for Blue. "You heard about the new guy in town?"
"New guy, huh. When's he moving in?"
"Apparently today." She gestured at the front window, and Matt turned to see a pallet of shipping containers outside of the postal office. "Dale told me about him, said she had to fix the locks on the old medical center 'cuz this guy was moving in."
"No shit." Matt tore open the bag of papadums, and stuffed a couple in his mouth. "I didn't get a message from the company about him."
"No one did. Dale said he just showed up, him and his daughter and all of their stuff." iSaid he was good-looking, too./i
Matt shot her a sharp glance, but she didn't seem to have realized what she just said. He still felt awkward admitting to himself that he occasionally found men attractive. When he'd lived with Janice, she'd gotten a thrill whenever he mentioned it, and had once downloaded a movie for them to watch together, but he'd never gotten passed the feeling that it was all secret and shameful.
Being out here in Prime Valley had helped with that. Everyone was a little bit odd, and no one cared about the gender of your partner, as long as there was something to gossip about. Matt tended to save his carousing for when the supply ships arrived, as he wasn't particularly interested in being the focus of the town's speculations, but apparently, his choice in one night stands seemed to have gotten around.
"Are you trying to set me up with him already?"
"Nothing like that." Paige folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "The authorization checked out. The company hired us a doctor, after, what, two years? Doesn't that strike you as strange?"
"Huh. Maybe a little. But you can never tell what the company's going to do. I thought they were planning on shutting the facility down." Matt popped another of the crisps in his mouth, and ignored the way Blue stared at him. "You've got a pig's ear," he grumbled.
Blue nosed his treat, then grabbed it up in his mouth and took it to a quiet corner where he could gnaw on it in peace.
"Everyone did," she agreed, and handed him his card back. "Have a nice day."
Wandering outside, Matt took a moment to lean against the doorframe and take a drink from his bottle of water. Prime Valley was a hard life, even for those few still working for the company. The ranchers barely made ends meet, and if the price of zolomeat ever dropped, they were pretty much screwed. The land was good enough to support family farms, but not government-subsidized big factory farms, and there wasn't anything here that interested manufacturing. Not since the mine played out.
He couldn't think of why anyone would want to come here, unless their own situation had been as bad as his. Most people desperately wanted to get away.
Finishing off his water, he tossed the bottle into the reclamation station and looked up at the mountains. Personally, he loved it here, and wouldn't trade it for hub life ever. His ex had been a big fan of shopping centers and restaurants; Matt had been big on home delivery. It was no wonder they'd split up, even without her affair. She wanted the bright, sharp life of the holos, and Matt had never been interested in that. He hoped she had a better life now, something she wanted, maybe a job as an account executive.
He told himself it was a good that they'd never had a kid.
Bitterness welled up in him, and Matt couldn't put it away. He'd wanted kids, and they'd talked about having one, but it turned out that what Janice really wanted was a different life with someone else. She'd lied to him for a long time, and every time he thought about it--
Matt balled up his packet of crisps and threw it away.
"Scuze me!" Someone called to him from across the street. Matt looked over, surprised to see Blue lying down by the transport pallet, getting his belly scratched by a long-haired girl in jeans and a pink T-shirt. She waved at him when she saw him looking. "Is this your dog?"
"Yeah, that's Blue." Matt checked the empty street out of habit, then ambled across to meet her. "Careful. He's kinda particular."
"Really? He seems to like me." She gave him a strong series of scratches on his belly, which made Blue wiggle around on his back and whimper. "What kind of dog is he?"
"Dunno." Matt said, squatting down next to her. Yeah, Blue'd fallen hard. "Mutt, I guess. His mom was part-Shikoku, but that's as much as I know."
"She-ko-what?"
"Shikoku. One of the executives couldn't get a permit for her when they were told to bugout and--"
"Molly!"
Both Matt and Molly turned to look at the man standing in the doorway to the postal office. Matt couldn't help staring--the people living in Prime Valley tended to be dusty, worn down by the desert and the thin existence provided by Primatech, while the man before him was full of color and life, from the tips of his shiny black shoes to the long, lean line of his legs encased in high-quality slacks, to the way his dusky red shirt stretched across his shoulders and chest. His dark eyes flash with concern, and Matt's breath felt tight in his chest; god, the man was beautiful. And completely out of Matt's league.
"Molly, come away from there. You know you're not to talk to strangers."
"Mohinder--" Molly said, standing up. "He's got a dog."
"A dog. Of course." Mohinder crossed his arms over his chest, his button-down shirt pulling back enough to reveal strong, well-formed wrists. "We talked about this during transit. You know that's frequently used as a lure--"
"But Mohinder--" Molly's face clouded up, and Matt just couldn't take it.
"Hey, sorry. It's not her fault" Matt stood, brushing his hands off on his thighs. He felt dirty and cumbersome standing next to Mohinder, but he stuck his hand out anyway, and smiled. Mohinder was just as good-looking as Paige had implied. "I'm Matt Parkman, the local sheriff."
"Mohinder Suresh." Mohinder shook Matt's hand, his grip firm, his philosopher's hands nearly swallowed by Matt's meatier palm. Just the touch of his skin sent a trickle of electricity up Matt's spine. Mohinder cleared his throat, and Matt quickly tucked his hand away. "Bob mentioned you when I took this position."
"Bob, huh." Matt whistled, and Blue rocketed over to him. "I never see the guy, but I know who he is."
"He's my boss." Mohinder looked down at Blue, who was sitting attentively at Matt's feet. With a huge pretend sigh, he squatted down on the ground, and stuck his hand out for Blue to sniff and lick. "Anyway, Molly's been told that she needs to keep away from strangers, and that includes strange dogs." He petted Blue's head and said, "though you seem to be a very nice one."
"He is," Matt agreed. "Listen, Molly didn't do anything. My dog ran over to her, she didn't go after him."
"It wouldn't matter. Molly's never met an animal she didn't like."
"She seen the zolos yet?" Matt arched his eyebrows. "They can be bad tempered."
"Molly even likes the camels at the petting zoo we visited and they spat on her. Still, even if the dog did come up to you," Mohinder said, looking at Molly, "that's no excuse for not following protocol. What if the dog had been violent?"
"Sorry, Mohinder." Molly looked down at the ground, where Blue was dancing around her. "He's just so cute."
Mohinder glanced at Matt, and cleared his throat. "He most certainly is. Now, come along, we should let Matt get back to his duties and go find our house." He looked up and down the road. "There don't seem to be any street signs here."
"Yeah, we just never got around to it. This is Main Street, and the rest of the roads are named after people or landmarks, like Willow's road. It's easy once you get used to it."
"I'm sure," Mohinder said, with just a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "In that case, can you tell me--" he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a cardkey. Looking at it, he asked, "Where I can find 515 Main?"
"Like I said, this is Main, so you're three blocks up that-a-way. You can't miss it," Matt said. "It's the big two story, right at the bend in the road. And there's a big sign out front that says 'Prime Valley Hospital.' That's where all the company doctors live."
"Thank you," Mohinder held out his hand again, dismissing him. "You've been very kind. I'm sure we can find it from here."
"Oh, hey, it's no trouble." Matt patted his thigh, and Blue trotted over to him. "Blue and I can walk you over. It's been a couple of years since we had a full-time doctor, so the living quarters are liable to be dusty."
"Molly and I can handle a little dust." Mohinder smiled at his daughter. "I just need to arrange for someone to transport our supplies." Mohinder pointed at the pallet of boxes. "Is there anyone who has a truck and can haul them to our home?"
"No sweat." Matt walked over and flicked a switch, activating the pallet's treads. He laughed inwardly as he noticed Mohinder step back as the treads extended and the pallet elevated itself. "Just about everyone in town can operate these things, the hydraulics are pretty smooth." Blue hopped up onto the pallet, and found himself a comfortable spot on one of the crates; Matt sat down on the front so he could see. "Up you go, princess." He held out his hand to Molly, and hauled her up beside him; she scrabbled over the boxes so she could sit next to Blue.
Mohinder crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at Matt. "Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?"
"Absolutely," Matt said, and held out his hand to Mohinder. "Come on up."
A little uncertainly, Mohinder grabbed onto Matt's hand, and let himself be pulled up. The pallet mover was slow, and Matt decided to take the back way, against Mohinder's protests. He pointed out the Johnson place, and Green Hive Lane, and where the clock tower was. Matt made small talk as they wove through the streets of Prime Valley, and Mohinder seemed to relax. Every now and then, Molly would laugh as Blue tried to lick her; they had quickly become best friends.
Pulling up to their front door was a little bit of a disappointment. All of the stress and strain from his drive out to the spaceport and back had left him, and Matt thought he might sleep well for the first time in days. He tried to think of the last time he'd felt this good, this relaxed around someone; it had to have been months in the past.
With a wave and a promise to bring Blue back, Matt headed down Main Street to pick up his skimmer, the evening breeze spinning some dust devils around him.
Next day, Zane Taylor's body was found down at Fishhead Lake, washed up after a thunderstorm. Matt had the job of bringing the body back to Mohinder to have him do the autopsy. Not that there was much need of one. Even with the body bloated from being in the water so long, it was clear that he'd fallen against the rocks. Unconscious, he must have been swept along by the river, until it finally dumped him in the lake. Just another stupid accident, one that happened all the time around this place.
"Think it'll be over soon?" Paige sat next to him in the waiting room, her hands stiff in her lap.
"Not sure." Matt looked at where Mohinder had disappeared to, the operating theater part of the house. "Do you want something to drink?" He patted her hand, trying to be reassuring, and knowing that he absolutely failed.
"Maybe some coffee?" Her voice drifted off as she stared at the closed door. "Do you think we could take him back home for burial? His mama would want to come."
His implant fritzed again, and he started picking up Paige's thoughts. Unlike Mohinder's neat, ordered mind, her thoughts were a whirl, images and memories of her life with Zane intercut with what she was thinking about now; Matt found himself getting pulled under, and he didn't know how to pull out.
In her mind, she blamed herself; she was the one that talked him into staying here. "It was the implant." Over and over, she blamed the technology that Primatech implanted in anyone who worked for their company. Rumors said it could have strange effects, and Paige was clinging to those thoughts. "It had to be the implant. Something happened with it and that's why he's dead."
Matt had to physically wrench himself away: get up, stand up, pace to the window and get a breath of fresh air to pull himself out of her thoughts. If it was the implant that killed Zane, Mohinder would find out--and then Matt would have to tell him his own implant was acting up.
Hell, maybe everyone's was. Maybe that's why Primatech sent them a doctor. "Memorial service would probably be better," he said from his position near the window. "Have him cremated here, and take the ashes back."
She swallowed and nodded. "That would probably be best."
"Why don't I get you that coffee?" he said quickly, heading for the main part of the house.
The house was a mixture of hospital, doctor's office, and living quarters; Matt had to thread his way from the doctor's office through the furnace room to get to the kitchen. He looked around to see if he could find a coffee maker, but nothing was set out. All of the counters were clean, the kitchen table too. It was a little inhuman.
He debated with himself about pawing around in the cupboards when Molly walked in. "Hi!" she said eagerly, her mouth lifting in a happy smile. "Did you bring your dog?"
"Sorry, I'm afraid Blue had to stay home and mind the zolos." He gestured at the cupboards. "Do you have any coffee here?"
Her face scrunched up as she thought. "I know where we keep the tea. It's right next to the hot chocolate."
"That'll do," Matt said, the tension in his belly uncurling. "What about hot water?"
"Instant." Molly grabbed a blue mug off the rack under the cupboard and twisted a knob on the faucet. "See?" She held the mug out to him, steam rising from its surface. "I make my own oatmeal in the mornings."
"What, dry cereal not good enough for you?" He took the cup and set it down on the counter, looking around for the tea.
"Mohinder thinks I need a hot breakfast every day." Molly pulled a black and red tin off the counter and handed it to Matt. "The tea bags are in there."
"Thanks."
She pulled milk out of the fridge, and another of the matching red and black tins off the counter--this one had the sugar in it--and pulled a plate off the shelf while Matt waited for the tea to brew. "I'm not sure what Mohinder will say when he comes in, because I told him I'm too old for tea parties." She pointed at a shelf over the fridge. "The cookies are in there."
"Oh, yeah, thanks." Matt's mind had been on Paige when he registered what she'd been saying. "Oh, no." He rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, this isn't--" He gestured at the mug. "It's for Paige. They found her husband today."
She stopped fussing with trying to pour the milk into a creamer. "Dead?"
"Afraid so."
"Oh." She bit her lip and looked at the tea party she'd been putting together. She looked so disappointed, Matt hugged her.
"Hey, it's okay. I'll take Paige her tea and come back, have some cookies with you."
"Really?"
Matt drew an 'X' over his heart. "I swear." Mohinder would need some time to finish the autopsy anyway, and keeping Molly entertained would be the least he could do.
"Here you go." He handed Paige the mug, and she stared at it blankly. "I couldn't find coffee."
"Oh, yeah." She took a sip and set it down again, without really touching it. "How long—"
"I can't say," Matt said, squatting down next to her. "Listen, maybe you better go home, see Alex, take care of yourself for once. I'll let you know when I have news, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, okay." She shoved the tea at Matt, waving her hand over it. "Can you take care of this? I'm not really that thirsty."
"Not a problem. Do you want me to walk you home?"
Paige pulled herself up and shook her head. "No, I can manage. I'd been hoping, but..." Her voice died away. "I need to close the store, anyway. And call Nana, let them know...what happened."
"That sounds right." He gave Paige's shoulder a squeeze and promised to let her know when they had more information, then he padded back to the kitchen for his tea time date with Molly.
She was hunched over the table in the kitchen, idly stacking the sugar, salt, and pepper on top of each other; at any moment, the stack looked like it was going to fall over and spill. It made Matt wonder. It was summer, and most of the kids were out of town, working on the ranches or off-planet someplace. There were maybe twenty kids in town right now, with Alex closest to Molly in age.
What was she doing for fun?
"Hey," he said, and Molly looked up at him, her whole demeanor changing with a bright smile. "I told you I'd be back."
"Matt!" She gestured at the seat next to her. "I made some peanut butter sandwiches, so we could have the full meal deal."
Now that he thought about it, he was kinda hungry. He slid into the seat, and noticed she'd brought out a tea pot. "Shall I pour?"
"Please." She pushed a pink cup with a giant sunflower on it towards Matt. "It's peppermint."
"I love peppermint."
"Me, too." She didn't have any stuffed animals at the table; it was just the two of them, having lunch. Matt could tell she had her grown up manners on, and he had to turn away to hide his smile.
He added a little sugar to his tea, then sat back to chat. Molly had a bright mind, and loved inventing things. After they finished their snacks, she dragged out paper and a small art set, and drew a picture for him.
"Mind if I look at these?" Matt said, pointing to the rest of the drawings in the book.
"Go ahead," she said, pushing her hair out of her face. She picked a thin colored pencil out of the box and started to sketch.
Flipping the pad open, Matt skimmed through the pictures. Bears and a tiger and a monkey from a trip to a zoo, dogs and cats, and a barnyard full of chickens. There were castles and unicorns, too, and lots of hills and trees--she really seemed to love drawing trees. The pictures got better as he looked, so she must have been drawing in this for a while.
One of the pictures slipped out and Matt hastily grabbed it before it could slip onto the floor. "Where's this?" Matt asked, pointing to the house she'd drawn. It didn't look like anything in Prime Valley, or the dorms near the spaceport, but it looked brand-new.
"Oh," she said, staring at it. "That's my old house."
"Before your dad took the job here?" Matt looked it over carefully, wondering where it had been. There were palm trees out front of the house. "Did your mom--"
Molly got very quiet, and Matt looked up, knowing he'd said something wrong. "My parents are dead," she said softly as she plucked the picture out of his hand, and tucked it carefully back in her portfolio.
"I'm sorry," Matt said, feeling like an idiot. "I didn't know."
"Her parents worked for the company," Mohinder said; Matt looked over to where Mohinder was leaning against the kitchen doorway. He looked beat, his shirt rolled up to his elbows, jacket missing, hair spilling onto his forehead. "There was an accident in the facility they were working in. Everyone died." Frowning hard at Matt, he added, "If you want to know something, go ahead and ask me, don't go digging at Molly for your answers. I'll tell you what you need to know."
"Hey, it was nothing like that," Matt held up his mug. "I wasn't trying to pump her for information."
"It's okay," Molly pleaded. "Really." She was looking intently at Mohinder, and Matt was briefly tempted to open up his mind and see if he could hear what was going on. "We were having fun." She sounded wistful, and Matt didn't have to read her mind to see that she was lonely.
"Oh, Molly." Sounding a little broken, Mohinder strode over to her, crouched down and pulled her into his arms. "It will be all right. Once school is in session, you'll meet other kids." He glanced over at Matt meaningfully.
"Yeah," Matt said and cleared his throat. "There are a lot of kids around during the winter time, once the zolos are in. Oh, and Alex's usually at the store, helping his mom. I'm sure he knows a few other kids you could meet."
Molly turned her head to the side, so she could look at him while still keeping her head on Mohinder's shoulder. "Really?"
"Yes, really." He smiled at her as an idea came to him. "You could also come down to my ranch sometime. I've got a couple of horses, if you want to learn to ride."
Suddenly, Molly was up and out of the chair, almost standing on Matt's feet. "Are you serious? You have horses? I could ride?"
"Yes, I have horses. And a goat, and a couple of rabbits. You can meet them all, and the horses if--" He glanced over at Mohinder. "If your guardian gives his okay."
Molly squealed and threw her arms around Matt, pulling him into a big hug. "Thank you!" she said, then turned to Mohinder. "Can I? Please, can I?"
"I don't know," Mohinder said, but Matt could tell by the gleam in his eye that he was going to say yes. "You have to keep up your studies, and I have to go with you to each lesson."
"Yes, yes, yes." She nodded vigorously. "I'll do all of my homework right away, and get good grades in class."
"What about the lessons you've already been assigned? You'll need to catch up on those."
"I will!" She promised.
"All right then. You go get started on that book report you were working on, and I'll make the arrangements with Mr. Parkman."
"Matt, please! Mr. Parkman sounds like a bank manager or something."
Mohinder flashed him one of his bright grins and inclined his head. "With Matt."
The moment Molly ran up the stairs, Mohinder sank onto one of the wooden kitchen chairs. "Thank you. That was very kind. She's quite horse-mad, and I promised her I'd look into riding lessons to get her to come here." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "You've made a little girl's dream come true."
"She seemed lonely." Matt got up and pulled another mug off the rack, then filled it with hot water. He plucked a tea bag out of the canister and plopped it down in front of Mohinder. "Here you go," he said, sitting down again.
Mohinder blinked, looking down at the tea. "How did you--" He sighed heavily. "Thank you."
"No problem." He nodded toward the office. "Was it bad in there?"
"The body had been in water awhile, so, yes, it was very bad." Mohinder's face paled, and he swallowed hard. "Part of his head looked like it had been torn off.
"Was it the implant?"
Mohinder looked astonished. "What?"
"The implant." Matt gestured at himself and then vaguely at the window, encompassing the entire town. "The company provides them for everyone here, so we can keep tabs on people in case there's a disaster. There's a rumor going around that the implants are failing and it's killing people."
Another sentence crawled through Matt's mind: iSylar doesn't have an implant./i He rubbed the back of his neck again, hoping the thing would settle down. "If his implant failed, it could have killed him, right?"
"No, not with that wound." Mohinder added a lot of milk to his tea and a spoonful of sugar, then stirred for a long while. "Something scooped his brain out like it was jelly, but the blood vessels were cauterized, like it was done with a laser. He sipped at his tea, which seemed to settle him. His dark brown eyes fixed on Matt's face. "It was deliberate, targeted, and surgical. This was no random beast attack, somebody did this."
Matt whistled and pushed back his chair. "Oh fuck"
Mohinder gave a wry smile. "'Oh fuck' indeed."
Matt did what he could to investigate the issue, but there wasn't a lot to go on. Paige worked in the store so much, there was no way she could have gotten out to where Zane disappeared and back to town again to open up the store in time. No one had a grudge against him, and there wasn't anything in his packs that had been taken. Matt dutifully submitted his report to the spaceport along with a request for more information on the new company employees, including Mohinder.
He felt guilty about that, as he felt like they'd become friends, but Zane had died right around when Mohinder arrived, and the timing was too perfect to ignore.
Two weeks later, Mr. Bennet, the regional director, asked him to visit the spaceport again. "There's a ship docking, and we want you to meet it. Bring Dr. Suresh with you, as he doesn't have transport yet."
"That's the second ship in a month," Matt protested, looking out on his ranch. He could see the small garden from his office window, where the plumuplis were just starting to blossom. "What's up?"
"The company is reactivating the old mine, now that prices are better." Bennet's voice was searing and formal. "We're sending out a whole team of geologists and some support people to investigate. Your job will be to make sure they settle in appropriately."
The call cut off, and Matt tossed the controller on his desk in irritation. "What am I, the local real estate agent?" he grumbled to himself.
Still, when his boss called, Matt answered. Even though he owned his ranch, he still needed to pay for the irrigation system, the housing construction, and the grain to feed his herd. He wasn't in any sort of position where he could blow the job off.
He rang through to Mohinder's house, and within two hours, they were out on the road. Molly and Blue were staying with Paige and Alex for the day, and Matt hadn't been certain about when they'd be back.
They talked the whole way to the spaceport--or more accurately, Matt talked, a bad habit he had when he was nervous. Matt learned that Mohinder taught at Chennai University, where his father had taught genetics before him, before leaving to do follow-up research to a book he had written. Mohinder had joined the company after his father had died, which is where he met Molly.
He glossed over specifics, and frankly, some of the discussion went over Matt's head. Matt had never managed to do more than get an associate's degree and a security certification; he was horrible at tests, and reading gave him a headache. When he mentioned something about that, Mohinder looked shocked, but it quickly smoothed out into thoughtful.
"I suppose that's why you decided on owning a ranch." Mohinder stretched out his legs on the bench at the rest stop. "You're very athletic."
There was a hitch in his voice that made Matt wonder if Mohinder meant something other than 'athletic'. Besides, the word didn't really fit him; he carried too much extra weight. "Uh, thanks."
Mohinder curled his legs to the side, and Matt couldn't help but appreciate the way his pants molded to his body. "Have you always worked security?"
"I guess. I was an enforcement contractor back in New Angeles." Matt said, pushing his sunglasses into place, to better block out the sun.
"New Angeles? And you came out here? Of your own volition?" Mohinder had eschewed sunglasses, and Matt could see his warm brown eyes and the skeptical arch of his eyebrows.
"Hey, you came here didn't you?" Matt tilted his head up and watched the clouds roll by, tinting the sky pink. "Besides. I like it here." He bumped Mohinder's shoulder with his own as he stood "Too many people in that place. Must have packed...six or more people in each tiny little apartment. It was a nightmare to try and keep order."
"Is that why you came here? To get away?"
"Something like that." Matt looked out across the sculpted rest area expanse. He didn't think he wanted to mention Janice just yet, or the ugly way his marriage broke up. Mohinder seemed like a nice enough guy, but talking about that felt a little bit...personal. "What about you? Why'd you move here?"
Mohinder took a deep breath, letting it out in one puff. "Once I became Molly's guardian, I had to leave my position with the university. Molly had been very ill, and she needed someplace to recover. This seemed as nice a place as any."
Matt knew there was more, though. He caught a whisper of something, a snippet of thought running through Mohinder's mind: he can't find us here. Matt wanted to press, find out who Mohinder was running from, but he felt weird bringing up this stuff. He rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that his implant was going wonky; he wasn't really hearing any of this stuff. He must have misheard. "I'm sorry. It's tough when kids are sick."
"Yes, it is." Mohinder drained his beer and stood, holding out his hand for Matt's empty pouch of soda. It was clear he was ending the conversation. "You want another?"
"No," said Matt, tossing his garbage into the recycling station. "I think I'm good." He nodded at the skimmer. "Let's hit the road."
Getting to the spaceport just reinforced how different they were. While Mohinder went off to meet with Bob and other company bigwigs, Matt was taken to a secured room and given the company dossiers on the new employees that he'd requested.
"None of it can leave this room," Bennet said calmly as he waited for Matt to sign the authorization forms. "You can't take notes, or transcribe anything. This is all confidential company property, covered by our HR department. You have to leave it all here."
Matt agreed readily enough, and went through all the documents he was given very carefully. His head was pounding by the time he was done, and his throat dry from occasionally needing to read aloud so he could figure a sentence out. He was drained, utterly exhausted from the drive and the reading, and nothing in any of the folders gave him any insight into what might have happened.
Before he left, he filed the paperwork for more help on the case, but Bennet told him it would be at least six months before they could give him relief. "As you can see, we're just too busy here, Matt. Things are good for the company right now, and we need the resources on other projects. I hope you understand."
"I get it," Matt said, picking up his stuff, fretting over the outcome. The company was cutting them off. They were on their own.
The ride back wasn't nearly as pleasant. Mohinder kept starting sentences, then backing away, and Matt was really trying not to abuse his implant and read Mohinder's mind. Finally, Matt turned on the music, and they listened to random songs the entire way back to town.
Matt pulled into Taylor's as soon as they got to town, so Mohinder could collect Molly before heading home. Alex was trying to mop up some flour that had broken open in the dry goods section, while Paige was spraying down what remained of the fresh fruit. Blue was lying near the cash register, staring morosely at the jar of pig's ears.
The minute Paige spotted them, she let out a bright smile, while Blue walked over to Matt and started to whine. "Molly's upstairs, doing the washing up. Alex, why don't you go get Blue a bowl of water before he heads back."
Instantly, Alex was up and out the door, eager to get out of the place while Matt leaned over to pet Blue, who jumped and wriggled like Matt had been gone for days.
"Thanks, Paige," Mohinder said, and headed upstairs to the apartment.
Paige looked after Mohinder a moment, before turning towards Matt. "You know," she said, pushing her hair out of her face. "I don't think he'd mind if you asked him out on a date one of these days."
"Paige, please. Don't try to set me up. I'm serious."
"I'm just sayin', that's all. There's not a lot of choice around here, and he's really good looking. It would be a waste if someone got there first."
"Can we talk about something other than my sex life, please?"
"Sure," she said, and her voice turned to steel, while her hands gripped the sprayer so hard, her knuckles turned white. "What did the company men say about Zane? Are they going to send you any help?"
"Bennet turned me down, I'm sorry." He really hadn't wanted to tell her this. "If Zane was tied to the spaceport in some way, they could intervene. But right now, they're saying it's a local matter, and it's gotta come out of local funds. The fact that his implant isn't showing up on our scans is a technical problem." He huffed out a breath, wishing he had better news.
"I shouldn't hope so much," Paige said at last, seeming to fold in on herself. She cleared her throat a couple of times, then picked up her head and looked at him, obviously trying to pull herself together. "Any other news from abroad?"
"The usual. Robot armies, aliens from another galaxy, and the price of chocolate is going up again."
He kept looking at her, seeing if he'd made her laugh, but the joke fell flat. She managed a brief smile that quickly melted, and she pulled her hand back under her arm. "I have to get back to the restocking. Fresh fruit later, since the supply ship's in."
"Yeah, sure." As he watched her walk away, Matt couldn't help but wish he knew more. The killer's trail had come to a dead end.
Molly came over twice a week for riding lessons, and Matt used part of that time to get to know Mohinder better. They seemed like a good fit, both of them making the best of bad situations. Mohinder tried not to complain too much, but Matt could tell that being the town doctor was wearing on him, as well as being Molly's dad and her constant companion.
"You know what you need? You need to have fun. Yeah, learn to relax and kick back a bit. You've been working too much." He leaned backwards against the wooden fence, and let his gaze roll up Mohinder's body, trying not to linger too long on the interesting places. "I think you may have lost weight."
If Mohinder was a shoulder-punching kind of a guy, that would've earned Matt one. Instead, he got the baleful glower, which had the unintended side-effect of making Mohinder's lips look incredibly kissable. Matt kept that little fact to himself.
"Come with me to the settlement picnic." The words popped out of Matt's lips before he could think about them.
Mohinder rubbed his hand over his stomach. "I beg your pardon?"
"The town holds a Settlement Day celebration, and there's this really big barbeque in Commons Square. I just thought, you know, we could go together." Matt felt himself blushing as Mohinder continued to stare at him. "They have sack races and stuff. Molly would love it."
"Molly loves everything here. Do you like it?" Mohinder leaned against the railing, so close to Matt that their thighs touched. "When I decided to move here, I knew it was rural, but I didn't realize--"
"How rural," Matt said. "Yeah, I know what you mean. No theaters, no real shops. The only restaurant's the Dew Drop Inn and it's only open part of the year." He turned slightly, facing Mohinder. "Charlie makes a great chocolate shake."
"I know. I think I have already eaten a lifetime's supply of grilled cheese sandwiches from that place. I can't imagine what you do for entertainment around here in the winter, once the Dew Drop closes."
"Yeah, it's awful sometimes." Matt pressed closer to Mohinder, so their arms brushed. Mohinder watched Molly, and Matt took a few seconds to really look at him, taking in his sharp profile and long neck, the place where the hair curled right at the collar of his shirt. Matt wanted to lick there, taste what his skin was like--
He pulled himself back to the present, and gazed down at the ground, letting his breathing settle. The transcripts hadn't come through yet, and who knew what those would reveal. Matt felt confused, his stomach unsettled with doubt. Should he trust Mohinder?
Mohinder seemed like a nice guy, in over his head at times, but man, Matt knew first-hand how deceptive that act could be. Plus there were all the secrets he kept, the things he worked on for the company that he said he couldn't talk about. Matt already felt shut-out of Mohinder's work life. What happened when he was shut out of family life too?
Matt had been tempted several times to try listening to what Mohinder was thinking, but so far, he hadn't done it. If the dossier came back saying that Matt had a reason to worry, then yeah, he'll open the channel without a second's qualm. But he wasn't quite there yet, no matter how much he wanted to find out if Mohinder had any cowboy fantasies he wanted to act out. He needed to do this on his own and part of that was being willing to trust again.
"I'm great at the egg toss," Matt said at last, watching Molly kick her horse into a canter around the ring.
"Sounds like fun," Mohinder said, turning to watch Molly gallop. "We'll be there."
"Great," Matt said, his mouth feeling dry. "I'll pick you up about 4?"
"We'll be ready," Mohinder said, while Matt's heart beat frantically.
It almost sounded like a date.
Matt left the skimmer out at the commons, as he'd have to do a couple of patrols later, make sure the drunks stayed safe. As he walked toward Mohinder's, he passed several families on the way, most of them smiling and laughing. Everyone in town knew that the re-supply ship was going to be late this month, but that didn't seem to matter. The main dish would be barbequed zolo, but the town council had managed to dig enough veggies out of the freezer to put together a fair number of side dishes. Most of them looked like corn and tomato stew, but they all smelled great. He'd miss the cold melon and the ice cream, too, but the pies looked great.
As he walked, Matt picked up a stick from the ground and periodically tossed it for Blue to chase. It was a good day for the picnic, not too hot, and mostly overcast. The trees overshadowed the walkway nicely, and lent a sweet scent to the air as he passed. Matt took his time, trying not to feel too nervous. He hadn't done anything like this in years.
At 3:55, Matt showed up at Mohinder's house, Blue walking beside him.
"Hey cowboy!" Molly yelled, dropping her trowel in the middle of her flower garden and running toward him; he lifted her into his arms and gave her a big hug, spinning her in a circle the moment she arrived. "Mohinder will be out in a minute," she said. "He had another com call with somebody from the company, and he said it might be awhile."
"Those bigwigs down in the hub don't know what kind of party we've got planned here." He patted her shoulder. "Think we should go in and get him?"
At that moment, Mohinder walked out on the porch wearing a tight yellow T-shirt and khaki shorts; before today, Matt would have sworn up and down that Mohinder didn't even own a pair of shorts. He looked troubled, beaten down, his shoulders slumped. He looked up, and caught sight of them, and gave a brief wave. His eyes had huge dark circles under them, and his skin was abnormally pale. Unintentionally Matt reached out with his mind, brushing against Mohinder, and picked up a string of words, a single sentence of thought: i"I need to tell him."/i
Matt jerked back, as if he'd been slapped. He stared at Mohinder, that sentence chasing itself in his head.
"Are we going to the picnic, Matt?"
"Yup, all of us together." Matt tried to cover his own confusion by speaking too loudly as he watched Mohinder gather up a hamper with their picnic things in it. He tried not to look anxious, tried to play it easy, but his implant must have fucked up.
What did that mean, "I need to tell him?" Tell him what? Matt wasn't very keen on secrets. After Janice, he liked a little openness in his relationships, thanks.
They walked together, Molly holding onto their hands or running before them with Blue. Mohinder was more quiet than usual, his formality a little cold. What the hell was going on?
The words kept rolling through Matt's mind, and each time, they conjured up a new image, from a drinking problem to another lover. It was so easy for him to see that, to see Mohinder with a boyfriend back in the hub somewhere, as sophisticated and charming a man as Mohinder himself.
Maybe that's who Mohinder had been talking to, before Matt arrived. He felt ugly and petty for thinking this stuff, but he knew he was no catch. He just couldn't shake the feeling that this thing they were inching toward was destined to fall apart.
At least the picnic was everything he'd promised Molly, with tons of food and the scent of barbequed meat cooking on an open grill. Molly took off to join the sack races and egg toss while Matt grabbed Mohinder's arm and tugged him toward the food.
"You'll love this," he promised. "John and Irene make great ribs." The scent wafted toward them, making Matt's mouth salivate.
When he looked over at Mohinder, though, Mohinder looked a little green. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "Did you have enough water today? The sun can be--"
"I'm fine," Mohinder insisted. "Really. Don't hover." He stepped back into the shade of the closest tree. "Just--give me some space." His voice got softer and quieter, his tone more formal and polite. This whole thing was a bad idea to begin with.
"Oh, this is a bad idea, huh. Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way. Maybe you'd like to enjoy the picnic on your own."
"What has gotten into you?" Mohinder crossed his arms over his chest. "You've been sullen since you arrived at our house."
"I've been sullen, huh?" All of the frustration Matt was feeling just sort of boiled out. "What about you? You've been quiet since you talked with Bob this morning."
"You know I can't tell you about company business."
"Why? What is it that's so secret that you have to hide it from me?" His voice dropped, cold and quiet. "I can hear you sometimes, my implant acts up. Is my head going to explode the way that Zane's did?"
"Matt, no--"
"Who's Sylar? What's Bob got you doing that you want to tell me? Come on, Mohinder." He grabbed onto Mohinder's arm, maybe a little harder than he should. "This is about trust, isn't it? Don't you trust me? Can't you tell me what the hell is going on?"
"I'm sorry, Matt. I can't." Mohinder looked down at his arm. "Let go of me."
People were turning to look at them, and Matt had a horrible sense of deja vu, to a moment when he and Janice had had a screaming fight in the middle of the mall, right before their divorce. There was no way he wanted to reproduce that here. He'd have to see all of these people tomorrow, and already he and Mohinder would be the number one topic of conversation around the dinner table for a week.
And he couldn't do that; he promised himself he wouldn't play that game again. He swallowed and tiredly ran his hand over his face as Mohinder stared at him, his face a mass of tight lines and worried eyes.
"I wish you could tell me, too," Matt growled, dropping Mohinder's arm and stalking off for the barbeque pit.
"Matt!" He heard Molly's voice behind him, and tried to ignore it. But the little girl's voice seemed to seep in through the cracks in his walls, and he just couldn't steel himself to the pain in her voice.
"Over here." He called from where he was loading his plate with corn. Maybe it was wrong to eat when he was angry, but really, a few ribs and some pie, and he was feeling a lot mellower now. He shouldn't have gone after Mohinder that way. He needed to be better about keeping his temper in check.
Molly wound her way over to him and clutched his hand desperately. "Mohinder's got a bad headache," she whispered. "He didn't want to tell you about it." She quickly looked around the place. "Also, when he has a headache, he doesn't eat meat."
"Oh, for--" Matt rolled his eyes. Was that all that Mohinder was hiding, some stealth vegetarianism and the occasional migraine? But why couldn't he just say he had a headache? "Not eating meat is no big deal, and I'm sorry he has a headache."
"I think he had a fight with Bob."
"How so?"
"He has a lot of fights with Bob. Sometimes...I kinda hear things."
"Like..." Matt dropped his voice. "Like you can read people's minds?"
She shook her head 'no', her voice just as soft. "Like I listen at keyholes."
Matt smiled slightly at that. Kids and their low-tech solutions. "You really shouldn't do that."
"I know," she said solemnly. "I just thought you should know. He really likes you. He wants to tell you stuff, but Bob says he can't."
"Got it." Well, that figured. The company did its own thing, not really caring what happened in town. "I should apologize," he said. "Why don't you take me to him, and--hey!"
Someone grabbed his arm, and Matt turned, jerking it away from whoever was holding him. Sarah Davis, the owner of the Dew Drop Inn, stood there, wringing her hands. Her face was red and blotchy, like she'd been running, and she was out of breath.
"Sarah?"
"Sheriff Parkman," she panted. "Charlie's dead. She was supposed to close last night, and I guess that's when it happened. I just found her ten minutes ago, when I headed up to the Dew Drop to get some more pie. You've got to come right away."
"Sure, Sarah. I'll come." He patted her hand, then crouched down next to Molly. "Here," he said, handing her his plate of corn. "Take this to Mohinder, and tell him I'm sorry, okay? I'll be by later tonight."
"Okay, Matt." Molly's lip trembled. "I'll take care of him. You watch out, too."
"I can take care of myself, Molly. Don't worry about me. Just...make sure he eats and stays out of the sun."
"I will." She nodded and turned toward the trees, carrying her plate carefully.
"Now Sarah, I'll go down and check it out, see if I can find anything." He let out a piecing whistle. "Come on, Blue."
The dog loped next to him as they headed for the skimmer. Matt really hoped this wasn't going to be his second homicide in three years.
His hope didn't pan out.
Matt didn't have to read Mohinder's mind when he came out of the operating room. Charlie had died the same way Zane had.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Matt growled.
"Just a second." Mohinder got up and checked the dining room, then closed the door so they were alone in the kitchen. "I work for the company, but I don't know everything. But what I can tell you, I will." He spoke very loudly, his gaze forceful. "Bob is dead set against my telling you anything, but at this point, I don't think I can remain silent anymore."
"Well, can you tell me about the implants?" Matt said, concentrating as hard as he could.
"This place...it's still a research facility. The people who live here were carefully chosen by the company for signs of extraordinary abilities. Genetic profiles exist for everyone here, and the implants are the company's way to track and monitor you."
"Can you explain why the implant gives me the power to read minds?"
"It's not giving you that power, Matt. That was yours to begin with. The implants inhibit the use of extraordinary abilities. In a way, this place is a farm. But it's people they're farming." He made a rolling gesture with his hand. "That implant is the company's way of branding you, and I'm here to make sure you don't get away."
"So...this is a prison?"
"For some." Mohinder took a deep breath. "Sylar is a man of extraordinary abilities. He's also a serial killer. And I believe he was deliberately lured here several weeks ago, about the time I was hired, with Molly and I as bait."
"That's crazy."
"Molly's parents were killed by Sylar. He was trying to get to her. He hasn't been human for a long, long time." He looked Matt straight in the eyes. "Go ahead, read my mind. See if there's anything I'm saying that isn't the truth."
Licking his lips, Mat folded his hands together and concentrated as hard as he could. It was different this time--he wasn't picking up stray surface thoughts, but actually digging into someone's memories, looking for information.
He tried to stick with things related to Sylar and the company, but somewhere along the way, he also picked up an image of himself from Mohinder's point-of-view, and he could tell that Mohinder liked what he saw.
Pushing himself away from that string of personal thoughts, he backed out as quickly as he could. It threw him off, though, and he couldn't concentrate as much as he needed to anymore; his own thoughts kept circling around the fact that Mohinder wanted him.
He cleared his throat, and, blushing, looked at Mohinder, who wore a self-satisfied and slightly smug expression in return. "Well? Am I telling the truth?"
"Yeah." Matt said, rubbing his hand over his face. That explained why the supply runs had been on a weird schedule, too, so that their killer couldn't easily decide to hop off-planet.
It made so much sense now. The company had left them all as bait. They had a killer corralled on this planet, and they'd be okay if everyone here died if that's what it took to catch Sylar. There was no miraculous arrival going to save them all, no security guards or small private army on their way to rescue them. If they want to survive, they had to do it themselves.
Matt met Mohinder's eyes steadily. "Well, we're just going to have to figure out a way to get to him first."
Matt was deciding if he should sleep on the living room couch, or drag a sleeping bag into the hall by Molly's room. He'd just about decided for the sleeping bag when Mohinder came out on the landing to watch him.
"There is one other option you haven't mentioned," Mohinder said.
"Oh?" Matt asked. "You have a guest room someplace."
"I was thinking you might share mine." A question written in his eyes, Mohinder leaned toward Matt, who licked his lips and nodded. The first tentative brush of their lips brought an unsteady spiral of want through him, a bright flood of need that made his whole body spark.
He pulled back a little, to catch his breath, and caught Molly rolling her eyes and making gagging noises. "Oh, gross," she said and covered her eyes. "I am going to be scarred for life."
Matt huffed out a breath that was part laughter, part calming breath, and caught Mohinder's intent gaze.
"My room is next door to Molly's," he said, plucking at Matt's shirt. "You'll be able to hear everything from in there, and the bed's big enough for two."
"Okay, that's it." Molly said. "I'm going to bed." She flounced away and slammed the door behind her, shouting as she went. "And remember, I can hear everything from my bed, too!"
"She's got a point there," Matt said, tugging Mohinder toward him using his belt loops. "We'll have to be quiet." He gave Mohinder another kiss, tantalizing and feather-light.
"I can do quiet," Mohinder promised, wrapping his arms around Matt. "But we better get to bed soon, or we'll end up scandalizing Molly again."
"You go in first. I'll just be a minute." Matt whistled, and Blue came bounding up the stairs. "Rest here?" He pointed at the sleeping bag, which Blue sniffed a couple of times, before settling down for the night. "Good boy," he said, and set out a bowl of water.
"Everyone's tucked in," he said, looking at Blue, then at Molly's door. With a grin, he entered Mohinder's bedroom, and closed the door tight behind him.
Something was wrong. Matt stood in a windowless room with no way out. He was shaking, the room closing in on him, and he needed out, out, out. Then, through the darkness around him, he heard something, a soft padding of feet entering the room. He couldn't see, but the noises were growing closer, the room pressed in on him.
Snapping, whining, a sharp growl and a whimper--Blue, his mind provided. Blue was trying to get his attention. "What's up boy?" His voice slurred with sleep, Matt tried to force his eyes open, but he felt like someone had added an extra layer of gravity to the bed. It was tough to move, and the harder he worked, the less progress he made.
His heart rate sped up as Matt realized he was having trouble breathing; something was wrong, really wrong here. Blue licked his face, and the shock of getting dog spit in his nose and lips finally pushed Matt awake.
He rolled over and looked at Mohinder, shaking him gently to try and wake him, but Mohinder remained lax and unresponsive. Immediately, Matt jerked upright, the adrenaline surging through his system pushing away whatever it was that was trying to make him sleep. Someone must have drugged them--and instantly corrected that thought.
Sylar. Somehow Sylar had drugged them. Sylar was in the house. Sylar was coming for Molly.
Torn, Matt looked at Mohinder, then scrambled out of bed and quickly pulled on his jeans. "Blue, stay." He muttered, as Blue looked ready to follow him; with a huff of breath, Blue settled on the ground next to the bed.
Matt would grab Molly first, then get Mohinder. He couldn't manage them both at the same time. Stumbling out of the room, Matt saw that Molly's door was wide open, and no one was in the bed inside.
"Fuck." He growled, and ran back to the bedroom; He picked Mohinder up in a fireman's carry, and threw a quilt over him. Maybe if he got some fresh air, he'd be better, or maybe he'd react to the cool night air.
Over and over in his head, even while he carefully managed to get Mohinder out of the house, Matt kept returning to the fact that Molly had been taken. He needed to find her now, but he also needed to make sure Mohinder was okay. "Come on, come on," he said. "Wake up. Please."
The fresh air didn't seem to make a difference; Mohinder was still out like a light. He was breathing, and Matt didn't see anything odd other than he couldn't wake up. "Damn it," he muttered, sitting back on his heels on the front lawn grass. "How do I--"
He stopped, took a deep breath, and concentrated. He could hear Mohinder's heart beating, and slowly, he picked up the thread of Mohinder's dreaming mind.
"Molly? Molly? Are you okay?" Mohinder's voice whispered in his mind, and with the understanding that Mohinder was okay, just deeply asleep, Matt turned his attention to hearing Molly.
He cleared his mind as much as possible, breathing deeply and evenly. He'd never tried searching like this, opening his mind to whatever possibilities might be out there, but he had to attempt it. If Molly was still alive, if this Sylar guy had her, Matt should be able to find her.
"Molly?" He projected the thought as hard as he could, a mental yell of desperation and fear. Almost instantly, he saw her, hiding behind unpacked boxes in the furnace room, while someone was coming steadily closer.
The revelation brought Matt out of the near-trance he'd fallen into. He tore out the front yard to his skimmer, and grabbed for the toolbox in back. The night air was making him shiver, and he fumbled for the keys in his pants, but he quickly got the box open.
The company had issued him a gun when he first took this job, and required him to stay current. Matt had carried it with him everywhere, in the skimmer's storage compartment. He'd had no reason to use it before now, but today, he sent out a small prayer of thanks that he had it around.
As quiet as he could be, he slunk back into the house, heading for the kitchen. Once he got there, he figured he'd break the door down if he needed to, but he would get Molly out.
He didn't get much of a chance. The minute he kicked down the door into the furnace room, something hard and strong shoved him up against the far wall, pinning him like a butterfly to a butterfly board. He heard the guy moving, heard boxes being thrown around, but he couldn't move his arms or legs.
At the back of his mind, he heard Molly crying quietly, balled up and silent within one of the big packing boxes. Sylar! He was going to find her and kill her, and there was nothing Matt could do about it.
Unless--Matt whistled, one long sustained note. A knife vibrated out of the knife holder, and twisted around in mid-air, aiming for Matt's head.
"Molly?" The stranger in the furnace room called out in a thin and unctuous voice. "I have your Dad, Molly. And if you don't come out, I'm going to kill him."
Glass shattered, and the knife hovering inches from Matt's face fell to the ground. He heard yelling and Blue's growl and bark. He didn't think twice, he stepped through the doorway, gun in hand, and took aim toward where he had heard the noises.
Something slammed into his back, and his arm was thrown to the side, but it didn't matter. Matt had already fired, and the intruder lay slumped on the floor of the furnace room, dead.
"Molly! Molly!" he yelled, tearing through the unpacked boxes.
"Matt! Oh, Matt!" she cried, pushing herself out from under a pile of clothes. She scrambles over to him and threw her arms around him. "You saved me, you saved me."
Blue danced around them both, whining madly.
"I got up to get a glass of water, and I heard someone on the stairs, so I hid. I'm sorry, Matt, I--"
"Hey, you did good, princess. You're safe, and that's what's important." He hugged her tight, biting at his lips as his arm protested. What the fuck had he been messing with?
Molly looked at him in concern. "Matt, are you okay? You're bleeding. Where's Mohinder?"
"He's fine, it's just--He was sleeping, but he's awake now I think." He could feel something seeping down his face and trickling down the back of his arm. He tried looking over his shoulder, but he couldn't see anything. "Oh, shit," he said as the delayed pain slammed into him, making him sink to the floor. "You better go get your dad."
"Good morning, sleepy head." Mohinder was leaning over his bed. He had a tray in his hands that he set on the nightstand. "You know, I'd had a different concept than this when I thought about making you breakfast this morning."
"I kinda did too." Matt tried to lever himself up on his elbows, but Mohinder stopped him. "Don't put any weight on that arm," he said, gesturing at the one that hurt like hell. "You pulled a muscle in it last night, and there's quite a bit of bruising."
"Where's Sylar?" Matt's head throbbed, and he tried to push the covers away; Mohinder insistently pulled them back up, then sat down on the quilt next to Matt, keeping them firmly in place.
"He was dead when Molly found me."
Matt let his head sink back onto the pillow, a wave of mixed relief and triumph washing through him. No one was ever going to come after his family like that again. "What about the body?"
Mohinder picked up a warm cloth from the tray, and used it to gently wipe Matt's face and hands. "I had quite a long talk with Bob this morning, and we agreed that they would send someone to collect him as soon as possible. In fact, you slept through it." He set the cloth back on the tray.
"That's only because of the drugs you gave me," Matt grumbled. He felt pretty good for feeling so bad. "They'd knock an elephant on its ass."
Mohinder shrugged. "You needed them." He caught Matt's gaze, his big brown eyes full of warmth. "Thank you."
Matt's mouth went dry and plucked at his blanket. He wasn't sure how to respond. He'd sorta figured that there might be a few dates and maybe some sleepovers, but this fierce affection welling up inside of him was something new. "So how am I doing?"
"Aside from a concussion, the pulled muscles, several nicks and scrapes--you're doing quite well. But I think you should stay here a while."
"A day or two?" Matt said, too tired to move. That sounded great to him right now. He'd need to get someone to look after his garden and the zolos, but there were plenty of people in town who owned him a few favors. "I'll need to get someone to look after the ranch."
"I'll arrange it," Mohinder said, his brown furrowing. "I was thinking something longer term, even after you were feeling better. Several months, maybe. Years, if you were interested."
That seemed absurd. He couldn't really be asking--Matt stared up at him. "You're not joking, are you. You're really asking me to stick around?
"Yes."
"Isn't this a little sudden? You may not have noticed it last night, but I really snore."
"Oh, I noticed, but it doesn't matter. I am quite serious." Mohinder gave an exasperated sigh. "I care for you, and Molly does too. You're incredible, and I really don't want to lose you. Isn't that enough of a reason to ask you to be a part of our family? Here," Mohinder said, placing Matt's hand over his heart. "Look into my mind, and see what I see."
Looking into Mohinder's eyes was an electrical current that ran up and down his spine, drawing his focus and concentration and locking it to Mohinder's gaze. It brought butterflies to his stomach, and the sensation of the world tilting around him, blurring into the background. Mohinder was intense, passionate, and demanding--but at the same time kind and compassionate, and he loved Molly to a fault.
It was the same way Matt felt about him.
"I don't have to," Matt said, curling his hand over Mohinder's. "I don't think there's anything in there that I can't already see right here." He squeezed Mohinder's hand, and let it fall away. "I care for you, too. It's just that I can't, not right now. I have animals I have to feed, and I'm not too keen on living in the company's home."
Mohinder's face crumpled as he turned away. "I understand."
"Wait." Matt licked his lips, thinking about what this would mean, but he wanted to give it a shot. "How about you move in with me? I've got the room, and then I won't have to run out to the ranch everyday. The animals still have to get fed."
"Ah, now it's my turn to ask if you are serious."
"Deeply serious," Matt said, imitating Mohinder. "So what do you say?"
"Before you answer," Molly piped up from the doorway, Blue at her feet. "Can I get a horse?"
Matt laughed, looking at Mohinder who was dumb-struck. "Yes, princess. If you move into my place, you will have your own horse."
"Good," she said, sweeping into the room to sit on the bed with Matt, her too-big nightgown brushing the floor as she walked. She curled her hand on top of theirs. "That makes me the deciding vote, and I say yes." She turned and looked at her dad, "You can't compete with both Matt and my own pony," she whispered in a loud voice.
Mohinder started to laugh. "All right, you both win. I'm saying 'yes' too."
"We'll figure it out," Matt said, tugging Mohinder down into a kiss. "I'm rather fond of breakfast in bed."
"Agh, I said that was gross, cut it out." Molly said and pulled a quilt over her head.
"Can she breathe like that?" Matt said, his lips brushing Mohinder's.
"I'm positive she's fine," Mohinder replied, his hand pressed to Matt's chest. "Though she may need to wear it for the next several years."
Matt settled down onto the bed, Mohinder at his side and Molly by his head, while Blue jumped up at his feet to join them.
The End.