Mohinder stood at the doorway to Maya's apartment. The address he had gotten from Pinehearst was in his hand. After a moment's hesitation he knocked firmly on the door. It had been nearly a year since he had been exposed to the catalyst. Surely, after an entire year Maya would find the compassion to forgive him. After all, his aggression had been a side effect of the formula, and the cocoons had merely accentuated his disrupted brain chemistry. And since he no longer looked like the scientist from The Fly, Maya would surely...

"Mohinder?" God, it was good to hear that sweet voice of hers again. A three month old baby was perched on her hip.

"May I come in?" he asked in the most polite tone he could muster. "If you're babysitting for someone, I could come back later..."

"No, it's okay." she interrupted. "This is Lucia." she nodded towards the baby on her hip. "She's mine." Mohinder attempted to hide his surprise the best he could.

"Really? Congratulations. May I ask who the father is?" Maya sat down on the couch next to him and shifted Lucia to her lap.

"Mohinder... I've been fine as a single mother. I don't need your help to raise my daughter." Mohinder furrowed his eyebrows.

"I never said you needed help raising-" he broke off. "Am I... the father?" he asked softly as the realization hit him. Maya turned away from him. "Why didn't you tell me? This child is my responsibility. Anything that you two need, anything at all... I can help. I want to help. I her father, I have to provide for her."

"No you don't, Mohinder!" she shouted as she got up from the couch. "I don't need your help, we have been doing just fine without your help for the last year! I am not willing to be set up again. Mohinder, I still don't know if I can trust you again. Ever." The last word hit the geneticist like a two-ton brick. He blinked his eyes rapidly to prevent from crying.

"Maya... I would never leave you. We have a child together. I know I haven't been a very good person to you before. I... I could cite my aggression the side affects from the formula I made, but honestly... I have no excuse for what I did to you. But I'm different now. The formula was corrected, and I lost my mutation. I still love you. Will you please forgive me, if only for Lucia's sake?"

Maya listened to her ex-boyfriend's words. What he said, at least about the formula, seemed to be true. His lesions where gone, and something about him seemed to suggest that his demeanor was more like who he was when they had first gotten to know each other. She went over to the small kitchen and grabbed a bottle out of the refrigerator. As she began to feed her daughter, she considered Mohinder's offer. It had been a hard nine months of pregnancy, with only her neighbor, a retired nurse, to assist her with delivery. Her double shift at a local department store had left her with very little energy left for things other then taking care of Lucia. She sighed, and sat down again on the couch.

"I never thought that I would be a single mother." she whispered.

"I can help you. I'm different now."

"I know." she finished feeding Lucia and went to grab a rag from the kitchen. Mohinder went to follow her.

"Then surely you could at least let me see my daughter. I know I can be good father." Lucia burped softly in her mother's arms.

"Very well. Here." Maya handed him the baby. He took the child and cradled her. A slow grin spread across his face.

"Hello, Lucia. I get to help your mommy take care of you now." Lucia smiled and grasped his proffered finger. Maya began to smile as well. Perhaps having Mohinder around wouldn't be so bad after all.

Mohinder and Maya belong to Tim Kring

Lucia Herrera belongs to me, and we may be seeing a lot of her in the future.