Because his mother nearly refused to speak the man's name, let alone tell Kieran what he was like, he began his search at the local library looking through old newspapers. He was astonished to find that Kevin Burkhoff was a well-known neuroscientist and professor. His impression of his father had always been one of a deadbeat, drug addicted man who couldn't handle the idea of having a family. It was rather morbid, but realistic. He'd long since given up thinking that his dad was an undercover CIA agent who left to protect Kieran and his mother. No, those were the dreams of a five-year-old boy and nothing more. But to find that his father had a job, and an important one at that, filled Kieran with a kind of hope and happiness that he hadn't felt in years. This hope, however, was dashed upon reading an article about Kevin Burkhoff's mental breakdown and subsequent placement into the Abenson Psychiatric Hospital. His father hadn't spoken in nearly six years, and it didn't look like he was going to start anytime soon.
Days later, after his mother's death and before being evicted from the one-bedroom apartment he once shared with her, Kieran happened to come across a very interesting story on the six o'clock news. The anchor told a story of Kevin Burkhoff's miraculous "awakening" at the hands of a strange tower commissioned by Tess Doerner, another patient at the hospital and one of the 4400. His jaw about hit the floor when the anchor finished his segment by stating that the experts at Abenson were "planning Dr. Burkhoff's immediate release from the facility." Later that evening, Kieran made the final decision to seek out his father at all costs.
Standing in front of a door that he assumed had just been slammed in his face, Kieran wondered if his decision was the right one. Burkhoff obviously thought he was either a reporter looking for a story, or a lunatic with nothing better to do. Just as he was about to turn and make his way back downstairs, the latch rattled, followed by the door opening widely. Burkhoff glanced at the young man standing in his doorway from head to toe, raised an eyebrow, and gestured for him to come inside.
"No use having this conversation in the hallway," he said stiffly. Kieran, still shocked by the fact that the door actually opened again, stepped inside without looking up. He could tell Burkhoff was uncomfortable and honestly, he didn't blame him. It wasn't every day someone knocked on one's door claiming to be a long-lost son. The professor paced around the cluttered living room of his apartment; shuffling papers here, stacking files there. Kieran noticed that many of the cardboard boxes that filled the room were untouched or only half unpacked.
"Must be hard...settling in and everything..." he scratched nervously at the back of his neck and focused his gaze on the floor. For a moment, Burkhoff thought of responding to this statement with another quip of anxious small talk, but then thought better of it.
"Listen, if there's something you want-"
"I don't want your money," Kieran interrupted. "That's not why I came here. I just...wanted to meet you." He shrugged hopefully, looking up at the sweatshirt-clad man before him. Burkhoff's choice of clothing, which, although cleaner than what he was wearing, was not much fancier than his jeans and t-shirt, didn't strike him as something a neuroscientist would wear. Then again, Kieran was not acquainted with many scientists at all.
"Why?" His voice had the same startled tone as someone asking why anyone would want to jump off a cliff.
"Oh, I don't know. Because you're, y'know, my father?" He didn't mean for it to sound the way it did, but it was merely a habit.
Oh, I don't know Kevin. Because it's, y'know, Christmas? This kid was definitely Maggie's son, of this fact he was certain. He had her eyes; those piercing hazel eyes that made you feel as if they were looking right through you, right through any bullshit front you may have been putting up. The eyes were evident, but the sarcasm was a dead give away. Burkhoff could hear Maggie saying something right along those lines seventeen years ago.
"About that..." He paused, searching for the right words. "Are you sure? You're Maggie's son, there's no denying that...but are you mine?"
"You knew my mother, you think she would've lied about something like that?" Kieran was getting over his fear of being thrown out and was slowly (perhaps not so slowly) coming out of his shell. He was no longer afraid to look his father in the eye and say exactly what he was thinking.
The older man sighed and shook his head. "No...if she was going to make someone up, it sure as hell wouldn't be me. She hated me too much." Kieran nodded in agreement, relieved that Burkhoff hadn't demanded proof of some sort, as solid proof was one thing he lacked.
"So I'm assuming you didn't know about me?"
"Never assume anything," he mumbled, taking a seat on the worn couch against the wall. "Your mother told me she was pregnant, but also told me that the baby wasn't mine. She left the next day...told me she never wanted to see me again. I offered to help her, but she refused and was on her way."
Kieran could only nod. This explained why Burkhoff was so quick to accept what he'd told him and what he described sounded exactly like something his mother would do. She was probably terrified of what she thought Burkhoff would say if he knew the baby was his. "She could never..." He furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of how to put what he wanted to say. "She always got these ideas in her head of how things would turn out...usually bad ideas. She couldn't...she was stubborn. Once she got one of her ideas, there was no changing her mind." As an after thought, he added, "But, if you don't mind me asking...didn't you have some idea that maybe my mom was lying, that the baby was yours?"
Burkhoff smiled sadly. "You're a smart kid." There was a brief moment of silence before he began talking once more. "I was almost positive she was lying. But I...I was focused on my work, my research. Maggie knew I wasn't looking to settle down and have a family." Kieran, though having only known this man for twenty minutes, was pretty sure this fact still held true. Dr. Burkhoff just didn't strike him as the family man kind of guy. "We both went into our relationship--if you could call it that--knowing that it wouldn't last very long."
Kieran fiddled with a loose string on the sleeve of his coat, not sure of what to say. He spoke up, suddenly feeling the strange urge to leave. "I should go," he said quietly. "I have to walk home and-" A loud crack of thunder interrupted his sentence. "-I think it might rain."