TITLE: A Family Made Real
AUTHOR: Catlover
DISTRIBUTION: MattMohinder. Please ask permission before posting this syory anywhere
RATING: T
SUMMARY: A family is more than blood.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. I'm only using them for my sick purposes and then cleaning them off and placing them back on the shelf.
NOTE: This is a 3M fic. This means Molly plays a prominent role.
We Are Not Gay
Oh, the annual rituals of American education! They befell our heroes on an autumn night in the middle of October. Crossing the street, Matt couldn't help but flinch at the sheer number of people. Pausing for a second, he felt a firm hand slap him on his back and a soft hand tug at his fingers. Looking down, he saw Molly's happy face. In response, he managed a smile as Mohinder made his way to the bulletin board and read the night's itinerary.
"They're having a discussion on how absenteeism affects us all in the auditorium at six o'clock."
With a shake of his head, Matt stroked Molly's hair. "When's our appointment with your teacher, honey?"
"Six-fifteen."
Slapping his hands on his face, Matt cried, "Oh, no! We can't go to the auditorium now. Whatever will we do?"
Crossing his arms, Mohinder said, "Can't you take anything seriously? This is Molly's education."
As he turned away, Matt managed a shrug. "We should probably get to your classroom now."
"Okay."
Weaving in and out between the stressed-out parents and bored children surrounding them, the trio made their way through the halls of PS-182. After two rights and an unusually long walk down an uncommonly long hall, they arrived at room twenty-seven. Glancing at his watch, Mohinder noted the time – eight minutes after six. Walking into the room, he was taken aback by the amount of wall space devoted to arts and crafts. He felt a tug at his sleeve and was quickly led to a ridiculously small set of tables and chairs.
"Mohinder, this is where I sit. See, here's my work folder."
Sitting on one of the low chairs, he proceeded to comb through the folder. He read the "A's" with pride, but took special note of the "B's" and "C's." Still, turning one page at a time, Mohinder whispered, "Looks like we need to work on your spelling and writing."
Quickly, she cast her eyes down to the floor. Clutching both her hands in front of her stomach, she spoke softly, "I'm sorry, Mohinder. I'll try harder."
"Mohinder, leave her alone. It's not her fault, entirely. I'm probably not the best guy to do spelling drills with."
"Matthew, we've discussed this. Molly's education is very important. It must be taken seriously."
Taking a step toward Mohinder, Matt fought to keep his voice down. "I am serious. Don't lecture me on taking this seriously when you're always off doing God knows what. Maybe, if you were home more, you'd be the one helping her with her school work."
Leaning toward Matt, Mohinder closed the folder. "You know my work causes me to be gone. I don't leave for just any reason."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Matt? Mr. Suresh? It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Suresh."
Together, both men looked up. The teacher stood about ten feet away. She had her hands placed gingerly on Molly's shoulders. They quickly noticed that Molly's expression was a mixture of anger, humiliation and sadness. Nodding, they stood up. Quickly, Mohinder extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Gerber."
The teacher took his hand, but was quick to add, "Actually, it's Andrea. Ms. Andrea - To my students."
Blushing, Mohinder started to stutter an apology. Suddenly, Matt swooped in to rescue, "Sorry, Andrea. It's his first time, is all."
Laughing lightly, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and pointed at her desk in the far corner of the room. "Why don't we get to the parent-teacher conference, alright?"
With a quick turn on her heel, Andrea led them to their seats. Taking a moment to excuse Molly - sending her to do arts and crafts; Andrea proceeded to sit in her chair and speak. Seated in youth chairs, both Matt and Mohinder felt like pupils taken to task. Quietly, they listened to her evaluation of Molly. They heard how she was an excellent student, but was prone to distraction and often seemed to daydream. They nodded respectfully when she explained again and again how she needed to see more parental involvement. Like suspects of some awful crime, they replied to her in short, one-word answers.
Finally, after what turned out to be only ten minutes, she offered one last question, "We're going to be holding a diversity fair here at the school. The point is for the kids to realize that not everyone comes from a traditional family. Now, we already have some single parents who have volunteered. Uhh… Three single Moms. One single Dad. We also have a set of grandparents and a set of foster parents. Oh! And, we have a lesbian couple, too. Well, what we were wondering is - Would you be willing to volunteer to appear as an example of gay parents?"
Open-mouthed, they sat silently. With eyes opened painfully wide, they glanced at each other. Not saying a word, they looked back at Ms. Gerber. While Mohinder cleared his throat, Matt jumped in, "We're not gay."
"Matthew is absolutely correct. We are not gay."
Again, they looked at each other before returning to Andrea. Her lips became pursed to the point it was nearly invisible. Her nostrils twitched as her knitted brow grew more severe. "What do you mean? You're not gay?"
"No," they replied, in unison.
"But, you're both listed as Molly's legal guardians."
"Yes."
"And, you filed a joint emergency contact form at the beginning of the year."
"Yes."
"You live together."
"Yes."
"But, you're not gay."
At this point Mohinder scooted his chair closer to Andrea. "Please understand, Ms. Gerber. Everything is not as it seems. Apparently. Matthew and I came to know Molly in separate ways. I was her doctor and Matthew was…"
"-Her hero. Or, at least, that's what Molly calls it," Matt interjected. "Truth is, Andrea, Molly is a little girl who has been through a lot. Her parents were killed. I was the officer assigned to the case. I-"
Breaking into the conversation, Mohinder continued, "He protected Molly during the investigation into her parent's murder. Sometime during the course of that investigation, Molly became sick and needed to be hospitalized."
"Right, that's when he came in. Mohinder is a geneticist. Molly's condition was based in her d.n.a. and he came in, worked his magic and cured her."
"You make it sound so fanciful," snorted Mohinder.
"Hey, I'm giving you credit here. Let me tell you, Andrea, most of what this man does goes about four feet over my head. It might as well be voodoo. In the end, it doesn't matter. Molly got better."
"I agree," said Mohinder. "However, you mustn't stop there, Matthew. This man took four bullets for that little girl."
"Oh, come on," said Matt with a grimace.
"No, Ms. Gerber, this man would have you believe I saved her all by myself, but, in reality, had he not fought so hard to protect her, all the medicine in the world wouldn't have helped her."
Blushing, Matt glanced at Mohinder. "Ahh, man. Come on. I was just doing my job."
Sitting straighter, Mohinder argued, "No. You went far beyond the call of duty for that child. In fact, you almost died." Turning to Andrea, Mohinder explained, "You see, the bullets caused severe internal bleeding and bruising. Matthew spent three months in the hospital fighting for his life. Once he was discharged, he found he had lost his job and his home during his convalescence. At this point, Molly was already living with me. We visited Matthew in the hospital often and learned of his predicament through one of the nurses on call."
Leaning back on his tiny chair back, Matt continued, "So they offered me a place to stay while I got back on my feet."
Following Matt by leaning against his chair back as well, Mohinder concluded, "So, you see, it's all very innocent, really."
On the other side of the desk, Andrea bounced her eyes back and forth from one to the other. In a low voice, she said, "So, you're not gay."
Nodding, Matt sighed, "That's the gist of it, yeah."
--()--
"That woman really had a lot of gall," Mohinder hissed. Looking both ways, he squeezed Molly's hand tighter as they crossed the street.
Squeezing Molly's other hand, Matt directed them toward their apartment building. "Relax, Mohinder. A lot of people think we're gay."
"What? Who?"
Letting go of Molly, Matt took two steps at a time until he reached the front door. As he opened the door, he answered, "Our landlady for one. She asked me straight out not two months ago when she came by to give me the non-responsibility notice for the construction we did."
Harrumphing, Mohinder stated, "Well, maybe I need to have a talk with her."
They walked the next three floors in silence. They barely looked at each other as they took each step. The only real connection they maintained were the hands to which they clung tightly. As they arrived at their apartment door, Molly whispered, "Would it be so terrible?"
"What was that, Molly?" asked Mohinder as he unlocked the door.
Walking inside the apartment, Molly threw off her jacket. Unwrapping her scarf, she flung it on the floor. As she ripped off her gloves, Molly repeated, "Would it be so terrible? Would it bother you so much if other people thought we were a real family?"
Without another word, Molly ran to her room.
The front door still stood open. The apartment was eerily quiet until the sound of a slamming door caused the two men to flinch into action. Matt quickly locked up the front door before following Mohinder. At her doorway, they paused. Through the wood, they could clearly hear her sobs. They shot guilty eyes at each other before entering the room.
They heard the "go away" she groaned out as they sat on her bed – They just didn't comply. Instead, Matt used gentle hands to persuade her to leave her pillow and use his chest instead. Reaching out a hand, Mohinder stroked her hair softly as he tenderly urged her to speak. "Molly, please tell us what's wrong. Molly, please."
Rubbing her eyes, Molly pulled away from Matt. She swallowed a couple times, but her breath still hitched as she explained, "I wake up every morning worried that one day I'm going to wake up and you won't be here. I go to bed every night worried that I'm going to lose you both. Then, I go to school. At school, they call you my parents. They call you my Dads. So, I started saying it, too. It was nice to pretend and while I was pretending I stopped worrying. Now, everyone knows - We're not a real family. Now, I don't have anywhere I can pretend anymore."
Pulling her back against him, Matt hugged her tightly. "Don't ever say those things again, Molly. You don't have to pretend. I will never leave you. We will never leave you."
"Yes, we will never leave you, Molly," agreed Mohinder.
"They said that, too. They talked about dancing at my wedding, but they never will."
The back of his fingers brushed her cheek. Caressing it, Mohinder whispered, "You've lost so much, Molly. Believe me, if it were in my power, I'd bring your parents back. But, I can't. All I can offer you is the vow that no matter what happens I will always take care of you. I will always love you."
Clearing his throat, Matt concurred, "I know your life isn't what it should be. You should have your real parents. They should still be alive. You shouldn't have to worry about being alone at your age. If I could, I would turn back time and get to your house before Sylar did. But, I don't have that power. All I have is me. That's all I have to offer, but you can have it all because I'm never going to leave you."
Carefully, Mohinder caught her chin and brought her eyes to meet his. "Besides, who says we're not a family. A family is more than blood, Molly. It's people who love each other. Oh, Molly. I do love you. As if you were my own child. You do believe that, don't you?"
Nodding weakly, Molly offered a hint of a smile.
"Molly, Mohinder is right. We are a family. A family is a group of people who are there for each other. Where would I be if you two hadn't let me live here. If you hadn't visited me in the hospital, I wouldn't have had any visitors at all. Look at us right now. We're here making sure you feel better. If that's not a family, then I don't know what is."
"Oh, Matt," she cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
With her head buried in the crook of his neck, she started to cry again. He rubbed her back while he continued to hold her closely. Slowly, he stood up, supporting her easily. Quietly, he waited for Mohinder to pull back the sheet and blanket before placing her back in bed.
Slowly, she let go of his neck. Nestling against the softness of her pillows, she held out her hands. Quickly, they each took a hold of one. Smiling, she said, "I love you guys."
"I love you, too, Molly," they said together.
Looking at each other, they smiled as they shrugged. Returning their attention to the petite girl before them, Matt kissed her forehead as he brought her blanket up to her neck. Then, Mohinder kissed her cheek and bid her goodnight.
They stayed until she fell asleep. Luckily, that didn't take long. Backing out into the hallway, Matt scanned her thoughts lightly, noting nothing but good dreams. Looking at Mohinder, he nodded sharply. Mohinder nodded in return as he closed her door. Stepping away from her room, they didn't speak until they hit the kitchen.
"We have got to start doing right by that girl," said Matt as he opened the refrigerator.
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" asked Mohinder as he reached past Matt to grab a bottle of water.
With a can of beer in one hand and half of a turkey sandwich in the other, Matt replied, "I mean that she's scared to death that we're going to leave her and I don't blame her. I mean…I know that the company gave Molly to you. They did what they do and set up the temporary guardian documents. That's great, but that little girl in there needs something permanent."
Slowly, Mohinder closed the refrigerator door. Turning around, his eyes followed Matt as he sat at the table. "What do you have in mind?"
"Let's adopt her."
Bottle in hand, he sat at the table. "Would they let us do that?"
Swallowing quickly, Matt answered, "Yeah. This is the great state of New York. We have some pretty liberal laws. Last week, I was working a case and met up with a social worker. I asked some vague questions – nothing specific. Well, she said that uncontested adoptions are pretty straight forward. Molly has no surviving family. No siblings. No grandparents. Both of her parents were only children. There's no one to fight it."
Taking a drink, Mohinder sighed, "I'd like that. I'd like to be able to call her my daughter and have it be real. I wasn't lying earlier. I really do love her like she's my own child."
Tapping his beer against Mohinder's water bottle, Matt agreed, "I know, man. I feel the same way."
"Besides, it would be nice to have her free of the Company. The main reason I haven't left the Company is that I'm afraid they'll take her away from us in retaliation," said Mohinder. He watched Matt take a large bite out of his sandwich as he thought, 'It would be nice to be free of the company. I could get a job with regular hours. I could be home more.'
"Molly would like that. So would I."
Sitting up straight, Mohinder asked, "What?"
"It's not easy raising a kid by yourself. It would be nice to have some help with dinner, homework, etc."
"Were you reading my mind again? I thought we discussed this."
Leaning back in his chair, Matt put up his hands, "Whoa, I told you last time, I can't help it. Sometimes, things just slips in. I've tried making mental walls, but I haven't worked all the bugs out yet."
Shaking his head, Mohinder laughed, "Living with a telepath is an education. Maybe I need to start thinking in Tamil again."
"Please don't," begged Matt, with his hands pressed together as if in prayer. "I don't know what it is, but it just gives me a headache."
Picking at his sandwich, Matt looked over at Mohinder sheepishly. "I know it bothers you, but I swear I have never listened in on purpose. Please believe me."
"I believe you, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"So you want to start on the whole adoption thing."
Looking straight into Matt's eyes, he answered, "Yes. I'll contact an attorney in the morning."
Standing up, Matt tossed his beer in the trash. He patted Mohinder on the shoulder a couple times before saying, "It sounds like a plan, Stan."
Mohinder couldn't help but watch as Matt walked to his bedroom. Breaking away as Matt closed his door behind him, he tossed his bottle in the recyclables bin. For a moment he paused before standing up and reaching into the trash; retrieving Matt's beer can. With a yawn, he hurled it into the bin, watching as it settled beside his bottle.