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The next morning, I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my front door. Judging by the cold sheets, Gabriel had vanished long before. Blearily, I stumbled to the door and opened it to see two men in black suits standing outside.

"Can I help you?"

"We're looking for Dorothy DuValier," said one of the men, flashing a badge at me. "I'm Eric Thompson."

I frowned and opened the door so they could come in. "I'm Dorothy DuValier. Please, come in. Can I get y'all something to drink?"

One of the men turned to me as they filed into the apartment and I shut the door behind them. "Miss DuValier, we're here on important business. In light of your outstanding work history, the company is willing to overlook your…indiscretion. No, don't deny it," he said when I opened my mouth. "The past is the past. Right now, there's a little girl who is very sick and needs your help."

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "Then take her to the hospital. I don't work for the company anymore."

"But that doesn't really matter, does it, Miss DuValier," he said levelly. When I still didn't look convinced, he pulled out a picture from his coat pocket. "Her name is Molly Walker, and she's dying."

She looked so much like my little niece, Charlotte, that I knew the argument was already over. I sighed.

"Let me throw on some clothes and we can go."

0o0o0o00o0o

Accepting the blue medical scrubs and long sleeved white undershirt from Thompson grated on my nerves, but I took the familiar uniform anyway. For all I didn't want to give the man an inch, I knew I needed to reassure my patient that I was medical personnel and that I knew what I was doing.

I entered a room to see a good looking Indian man toiling away on a computer. He looked up as I entered and looked at me in question.

"You're Mohinder Suresh," I asked, walking up to him with my hand extended. He shook it, frowning as he took in my scrubs.

"I am. Are you an assistant or something?"

I laughed. "No, no. My name is Dorothy DuValier. I'm a healer," I commented as I turned to examine the computers and papers on the table. "The black suits outside commandeered me to help you fix Molly Walker. You tell me what's wrong with her, and I fix it."

"He already fixed me." We turned to see a pretty little girl coming out of the adjacent room. I smiled down at her and squat down so I could look her dead in the eye.

"Well, hi, pretty lady," I said with a wink. "My name is Ms. Dorothy."

"I'm already fixed," she repeated, eyeing me.

I grinned at her. "You sound just like my niece," I said. "I talked to some men on the way over here who explained what had happened. Do you know the difference between treatment and cures, Molly?"

She shook her head, looking at Mohinder for reassurance. He and I exchanged a glance and he squat down next to me. "Treatment is temporary. It's like taking cough syrup when you have a cold," he explained. "A cure fixes the problem permanently, so that it's never a problem again." His eyes were challenging as he looked me dead in the eye. "Miss Dorothy thinks she can cure you."

I tore my eyes from Mohinder's threatening gaze and looked at Molly, smiling at her. "Molly, I have a gift that lets me heal people. When Mohinder explains to me the details of what's making you sick, I'll put my hand on you and fix whatever's wrong."

She met my gaze levelly. As she studied me, she looked every bit the adult, and I was again struck by how much she reminded me of Charlotte. "Ok," she said, abruptly making up her mind.

I smiled and stood. "Cool beans. Are you ready to get to work, Dr. Suresh?"

He nodded as he watched Molly return to her room. "If you hurt her, I will kill you." His voice was low and quiet.

I frowned. "Well, then I have nothing to worry about. I'm a healer, Dr. Suresh. I don't know why you don't trust me."

"Perhaps because The Company planted a spy in my life, tried to have me killed, and has been enemy number 1 in my life," he replied, not quite glaring at me.

"I was a writer until they kidnapped me and blackmailed me into service six months ago," I told him conversationally. "Then I escaped them a week ago only to have them show up at my door and once again blackmail me into working for them. I'm honestly starting to wonder if I'm in some sort of B movie."

Mohinder stared at me for a moment, and I couldn't tell if he was more surprised by what I said, or the offhand tone with which I'd said it. He chose not to say anything, however.

We worked for hours as Mohinder explained everything. He was evidently a geneticist and his sister had had the same disease that Molly did, but had died. He was giving Molly transfusions of his own blood, but it was only a stopgap.

We worked through lunch, and it was passed four when I finally had enough information to start healing Molly. She'd been growing steadily weaker throughout the day, and we found her in bed.

"How are you feeling, Molly," I asked gently, sitting on the bed.

"I'm tired, I guess," she said, shrugging.

I nodded, smiling warmly. "I can help you now, thanks to Miss Mohinder. I'm going to hold your hand for a while, and I need you not to let go, ok? You can hold Mohinder's hand if it makes you feel better." She nodded, so I sat more firmly on the bed, crossing my legs under me. I was going to be there for a while. I brought out my iPod and put one earbud in. "Do you like old music, Molly?"

She nodded tentatively, and I smiled. "I'm listening to My Boyfriend's Back right now. It helps me concentrate. Wanna listen with me," I asked, holding out the other earbud. "This is going to take a while, since I have to go through your whole body, but it won't hurt. It's just gonna be kind of boring."

She grinned and took the other earbud. I pressed play and got comfortable before taking her hand. I'd never done anything like this before, changing a body's natural reactions would be difficult and delicate work, and time consuming would be an understatement.

I gave both of them (I think Mohinder was more nervous than Molly was) a reassuring smile before closing my eyes and going in deep.

0o0o0o0o0o

I stood up and rubbed my forehead, knowing a pounding headache was on its way.

"Are you finished," Mohinder asked as Molly hopped up and ran to the other room. I shook my head and wearily followed her, sinking into a chair at the table.

"No, but I need a break. I've got the healing equivalent of Road Fatigue." I rolled my neck, trying to get the kinks out. "She's fine. This isn't taxing her body like healing a broken bone would, but I still need more time."

"But I'm all better," she said, perched on a chair on the other side of the table and looking over a map. Mohinder leaned over the table, and I leaned back, listening. "See, look what I can do. Just like before I got sick. I think about someone and I know where they are in my head." She closed her eyes for a second, before putting a push pin in the book. "Right here."

"How do I know you're not playing a trick just to get out of more treatments," Mohinder asked, smiling. "You put that pin in this building. Is that supposed to be one of us?"

"No, it's my other hero," she said, beginning to grin. "If he's here, can I see him?"

"Your other hero," he asked.

"A police officer. He saved me from the boogey man," she said, her face more serious now.

"Molly," Mohinder said slowly, "if you're power has returned, we can stop the boogey man so that he never hurts anyone else. Can you think about him? Show me where he is?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

I frowned at how like Charlotte she was. Both girls were 9 going on 30. Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened, drawing our attention.

"How's our favorite patient, doctors," Thompson asked, smiling at Molly.

"Much improved," Mohinder said, his hand protectively on Molly's back. "Molly says she can locate Sylar. We should go after him immediately." I didn't miss the pointed look Mohinder gave Thompson.

Ooooof course. Well, this was fantastic. Not only was I once more working for the company, but they'd also managed to get me to help them find my boyfriend. Maybe later I could get a full frontal lobotomy for half price, since this day was clearly going in my favor.

"We will. Soon," Thompson said, not batting an eyelash. "Right now, you both need to go away with Molly. We have a helicopter on its way ready to take all three of you to a safe location."

I narrowed my eyes and stood. "Hey, Molly, wanna go make a playlist for me for our next round of treatment," I asked, handing her the ipod. She looked between the two men for a moment before taking it and retreating to the other room. She clearly knew something was up.

"Ok, gentlemen, I think it's time I knew what was going on," I said grimly, looking Thompson dead in the eye.

"Unfortunately, there's no time for that, Miss DuValier. We have a bigger problem. Right now, four people have infiltrated this building, and they're coming for Molly. We have to get her to a safe location," Thompson said. He pulled us to where several monitors displayed security footage.

"That's Noah Bennet," I realized aloud, glancing at Thompson.

"He's gone rogue," Thompson replied calmly as he discreetly handed Mohinder a handgun.

"Do you know how to use one of these, Dr. Suresh," I asked.

"Take off the safety and point the barrel at the bad guy," he said dryly.

I smiled grimly. "Good enough."

Thompson saw two men in the monitor and quickly strode out of the room. Mohinder and I were glued to the screen as we watched what happened. We could clearly here gunfire in the hall, and I gasped, covering my mouth in horror when I saw Bennet execute Thompson.

"Oh, God," I breathed.

"Dr. Suresh," Molly said from behind us, "I thought I heard a noise."

Mohinder and I exchanged a look as he knelt with the girl. "It's nothing, Molly. Go back to your room. Good girl."

Mohinder turned back to the screen, and I took his handgun. He glanced at me in alarm until he saw that I was checking it over, making sure the clip was full and the safety was off. "I turned the Safety off," I said grimly as I deftly readied the weapon. "Use both hands to shoot or the kickback will throw off your aim, and keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. I'm going to go protect Molly."

I drew the curtains, but only had time to shove Molly to the ground behind the bed before I heard the door open.

"Where's the tracking system," I heard one of the men ask.

"It's in there."

I stood my ground, swallowing hard as I heard the men approach. I could feel my hands shaking and I silently prayed for courage.

Suddenly, the curtain was ripped back by the men, and I saw a pistol leveled at me. I knew Bennet was about to pull the trigger, but Molly peeked her head out from behind the bed at that moment.

Instinctively, I shoved her behind me.

"That's the tracking system," one of the men asked incredulously. "A kid? We came here to kill a little girl?!"

"No," Bennet breathed. "No, I knew it was a person, but I had no idea." I backed into a corner, trying to shield Molly from two sides as he came around the bed, his gun still leveled at me.

Mohinder came out of nowhere, clubbing the younger man on the back of the head with the butt of the pistol. Suddenly, the older man and Mohinder were pointing their guns at each other.

"Lower your gun," Mohinder said.

"As long as she's alive," Bennet said, swinging his gun calmly to point at me and Molly, "my daughter will never be safe. None of them will."

I heard Molly whimper behind me.

"Lower your gun or I will kill you," Mohinder warned, cocking the gun. I almost nodded in approval, noting he had taken my advice about holding it with both hands.

"Shoot me," Bennet hissed, "and they die."

"You'd take the life of an unarmed woman and child to save your daughter's life," Mohinder challenged.

"I have to," the man replied. "Taking her life would save thousands."

"And Thompson? Did you save thousands of lives by killing him," Mohinder retorted coldly. The man swung his pistol to aim at Mohinder, and I turned and forced Molly to the ground while his attention was diverted.

"No. Just my own," the man snapped.

"Officer Parkman," Molly asked incredulously from beneath the bed. We all looked down in surprise.

"Molly," the other man breathed.

"You know him, Molly," I asked, unsure of what to do. Mohinder and Bennet were still holding their guns at each other's faces.

"I told you he was coming," Molly said, standing up. I quickly shoved her behind me, but she made a noise of disgust and moved to my side. "He promised to keep me safe."

"That's right," Officer Parkman said, rubbing the base of his skull. "And nobody is gonna hurt you." He looked pointedly at Bennet, and the two men lowered their guns.

"Bennet and I have met," I said, glaring at Noah as I hovered protectively around Molly, "but who are you,"

"I'm Matt Parkman, and this is Noah Bennet," the younger man replied.

"We have to get Thompson's body out of the hall," Noah said, putting his gun in his pocket.

"Let me take care of Parkman," I said, coming out from behind the bed. "You two go handle that."

Mohinder shot me a look, but went with Bennet while I pushed Parkman onto the bed. "Let me see," I said, gently bending his head forward so I could see where he'd been hit. "Well, it's not too bad. You have a concussion, but I can fix that. Hold still." He looked at me incredulously, but I raised my eyebrow and pushed his head back down. "Hold still," I repeated, a little amused.

By the time Mohinder and Bennet returned, I had healed Parkman. The two men were bickering like an old married couple as they dragged Thompson's body in and shoved it into a waste bin. I glanced at Molly to see her curled up on the bed, grimacing.

"Get Mohinder," I said, sitting on the bed with Molly. I quickly grasped her hand and closed my eyes, throwing myself into her healing, focusing on her pain.

Mohinder ran into the room. "She needs another transfusion of your blood," I said without opening my eyes. I tuned out everything and focused all my energy on healing the little girl.

Once again, I didn't know how long I was in her body, but the next thing I knew, Mohinder was shaking me. I opened my eyes, disoriented from the abrupt severance from my patient.

"We need to get Molly out of here," he said. I glanced around and realized Bennet and Parkman had left.

"Where," I started, but Mohinder cut me off.

"There's no time."

Molly and I climbed off the bed, and I noticed the drained bag of blood hanging from the IV stand. Quickly and quietly, we followed Mohinder out of the room and made our way through the hallways, peering around corners.

We hit one corner, and the two peered around before Mohinder covered Molly's eyes and pulled her back. They leaned against the wall for a moment.

"What's there," I whispered.

"A man is lying on the floor. I don't know if he's dead or just wounded," Mohinder said.

I took a deep breath and started around the corner.

"Wait," Molly said, grabbing my arm. "He could be a bad guy."

"I'm a healer, Molly. This is what I do," I said, squeezing her shoulder before looking at Mohinder. "Stay back but keep an eye out."

I strode around the corner and quickly assessed the man. He'd been shot, but was still alive. Putting my hand over the wound, I closed my eyes and began to heal him, trying to make quick work of it.

Once again, Mohinder shook me, and I opened my eyes to see a blond woman and a little boy had joined us, and my new patient was now conscious.

"We have to go," Mohinder said urgently.

"I'm not finished, but he can move," I said, standing. For a second, I felt so dizzy that I almost passed out, but the woman grabbed me and steadied me. I smiled my thanks. Abruptly severing the connections between me and my patients was taking its toll. The woman yanked the doorknob off of the door as Mohinder and I pulled the man to his feet.

The woman took over what I assumed was her husband, and I quickly stumbled into the elevator behind them. As soon as the doors closed, I went to the other side of 'DL' as the woman called him, and pressed my hand to the wound, trying to repair as much damage as I could.

Mohinder pulled me out of my connection again, and I sagged against him, too dizzy to stand on my own. My head felt heavy and weird, like when a plane takes off and you have to swallow to pop your ears.

Mohinder supported me as we rushed out of the building, but stopped. I turned to see what he was looking at, and saw Parkman on the ground. Without speaking, both of us rushed to him, the adrenalin pumping furiously now and strengthening me.

I placed both hands on Parkman's chest and closed my eyes. One of the bullets had punctured his lung, but I quickly repaired the damage before moving on. Conscious of the fact that we didn't have much time, I healed him only enough to keep him alive and prevent permanent damage. Still, he'd been shot multiple times, and each of them could kill him.

When Mohinder pulled me out of my patient yet again, I nearly passed out. I felt warmth on my ear and touched it to find blood on my fingers. I was so dizzy and disoriented that I leaned over and started heaving, my body violently rejecting the interruption as it emptied my stomach.

Wiping my mouth, I stumbled to my feet and tried to get my bearings. Sirens were close by, and I looked around, seeing who else needed help.

I stumbled over to a man lying on the ground in the middle of the plaza. Turning him over, I realized to my disbelief that I knew him.

"Oh my God, Gabriel," I breathed.

"Get me to the manhole," he groaned, grabbing my hand.

I frowned. "What? Gabriel, I have to heal you!"

"DO IT," he snapped.

I hesitated before doing as he asked. Pulling him with me, I stumbled to the manhole cover and watched as he climbed down the ladder. Not knowing what else to do, I followed him.

As we reached the bottom, he started to stumble away, but I quickly caught up with him.

"No, we have to keep moving."

"We will, but let me do damage control. You'll bleed out otherwise," I argued. He growled, but obeyed, obviously not able to go farther.

I sat him down and leaned him against the wall before placing my hand over the wound. I frowned. It looked like he'd been stabbed with….with a sword or something. He had also been pummeled with something, given the bruising around his body.

Lucy had some serious explaining to do.

I didn't bother healing him completely, instead doing only enough to keep him from bleeding out or becoming infected. Satisfied he wouldn't die before I could get him somewhere safe, I pulled myself out.

Though the connection between us wasn't severed abruptly as with Mohinder, I could tell my body was reaching its limits as I stood and nearly passed out. As I fell to all fours and began dry heaving, I could feel blood trickling from my nose and ears.

"Dorothy," Gabriel asked, watching me. I sat up and wiped my mouth and nose as I tried to take deep breaths.

"I'm fine. Where do we go from here," I asked, helping him to his feet. I could tell that he was much stronger, though not back to his full strength.

"There's a hotel that doesn't take names. They won't know where it is," he said.

Gabriel seemed to have an infallible sense of direction. He led us through the sewers and back up to the street without making one wrong turn. Eventually, we made it to a seedy looking hotel and I left Gabriel outside only long enough to get a room. Despite the fact that I was covered in blood, the woman behind the desk didn't bat an eyelash as she handed me a key.

Gotta love New York.

We stumbled into the room and I pushed him onto the bed before sitting cross legged beside him. He looked at me, still weak.

"You might as well go to sleep, Gabriel. This is going to take a while." He studied me for a moment before shaking his head. I rolled my eyes, but shrugged. "Your call, but don't break contact with me. I kept you from dying, but you still need a great deal of healing." I gave him a hard look to emphasize my point, but he just continued studying me. I sighed and rested my hand over the still-fresh wound. I closed my eyes.

I could tell when he succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep. His body calmed down and put all its energy into healing itself, and my task became easier. Not wanting to push his body past its own limits, I ignored anything that wasn't life-threatening or might cause permanent damage.

When I finally opened my eyes and glanced at the clock, I realized it was 2 a.m. I was beyond exhausted, but my patient was well out of the woods. The only injuries he had left were superficial: bruises and minor scarring. If I needed to, I could heal the rest in the morning.

Right now, what we both needed most was sleep.

I didn't want to sleep in my scrubs as they were now covered in blood, so I tossed them onto the floor and curled up to Gabriel in just my panties. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

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