Don't Worry – I've Done This Before

"This is early even for you," mumbled Matt as he plodded into the kitchen. Pulling out a chair, he fell heavily onto it. Reaching across the table, he picked up the ceramic box he gave Mohinder for Christmas. "Is this really stressing you out this much?"

Next to the counter, Mohinder stood, holding a teapot. Quietly, he ignored Matt while he carefully poured a thin stream of steaming water into a mug filled with a teaspoon of tea leaves. He placed the teapot back on the stovetop as he picked up the cup. Turning to the kitchen table, he said nothing as he sat down across from Matt. Gently, he placed the cup on the table and held out his hand.

Instantly, Matt understood.

Biting his lip, he placed the delicate box in the middle of Mohinder's palm. Curling his fingers around its smooth lines, Mohinder brought the box up to his chest. He looked down at it before he opened it and breathed in the aroma. With a small smile, he closed it and placed it on the table.

"That's not the reason why I'm drinking this tea."

Again, Matt immediately understood.

Sliding his hand across the table, his fingers met Mohinder's fingers halfway. Intertwined, their hands rested on the table as they met each other's gaze.

Suddenly, a scream rang out.

For a split second, they stared at each other before charging toward the double doors to Molly's bedroom. Their thundering footfalls caused the wood underneath them to creak mercilessly, yet at the threshold to her room, they came to a dead stop. The doors slammed loudly as they hit their adjacent walls. The small glass panes in the doors rattled dangerously close to the point of shattering.

Sitting up in bed, her bedclothes thrown off, Molly pulled at her nightgown. In the middle of the gown, a circle of red the size of a saucer flashed as she tried to pull the soiled garment away from her skin. Looking up, she met their eyes and cried, "Help!"

Rushing to her side, Mohinder grabbed at some discarded clothes from the night before. Approaching the whimpering girl, he helped her pull off the offending gown. As he handed her a new blouse, he saw that the nightgown wasn't the only stained item. A similar round ring of blood peeked out from the sheet under Molly as she shifted on the mattress. Glancing at the blankets, he noticed they sported smears as well. Swallowing hard, he felt an odd sense of panic just before a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Look, you get her into a shower and change the linens on her bed. I'll go down to the corner store and get some stuff for her."

"What stuff?"

Snapping his fingers in front of Mohinder's face, Matt said, "Mohinder snap out of it. You take care of her and I'll get her some feminine stuff."

"Do you know what to get?"

"Don't worry – I've done this before."

"What?"

"Trust me. In four years of marriage, I did more than one tampon run, okay?"

"Okay."

As Matt left, Mohinder looked down at Molly. Gently, he pulled her into a hug as he drew her away from the bed. A few steps later, she glanced back at the bed and a small sob escaped her throat. After that, the tears fell quickly down scarlet cheeks. Holding her closer, he guided her to the bathroom.

Standing in the feminine hygiene aisle of the local pharmacy, Matt looked beside himself. His cell phone clutched tightly to the side of his head, he stared at the wall of products. With his free hand, he pulled box after box off the shelves. Staring down at one, he thought, 'They make them for thongs now? God why? What guy wants to open a package like that?'

Suddenly, a voice shouted through the phone. Turning toward the back of the store, he focused his attention on the phone call. "Yes. I need to make an appointment for my daughter, Molly. Uhh… Well, she… She got her umm… She got her period today. Umm… For the first time. I thought her pediatrician could talk her through it, answer her questions. Yes, that's right. Cynthia McKiernan is her regular pediatrician. Yes. You do. At nine-thirty? That's perfect. Thank you so much. I will. See you then."

Flipping the phone shut, Matt turned back to the wall of feminine protection. Sighing, he reached out from another box when he heard, "Excuse me. I couldn't help but listen in on your conversation. Could you use some help?"

Glancing down the aisle, he saw a chipper young woman. She sported a wide smile and the signature blue smock belonging to this particular franchise. Her name tag said her name was Heather and her open expression said she was friendly so he decided it could do no harm.

"I could. I'm a little lost. It's been a while since I did this and everything looks a lot different now."

"So her Mother is cleaning her up and told you to come here and pick up something, but forgot to tell you what exactly."

"Actually, there is no Mother. That's part of the problem."

"Oh, you're divorced?" she asked, sliding closer.

"Yes. No. I mean that…" mumbled Matt. Sizing up the perky woman, he thought, 'I'd love to tell you that I live with a guy and, between us, we raise this little girl as best we can. But, I made a promise last night so…'

"…her Mother is …dead."

"Oh my, that's so sad."

"It is, but I really need to get back to my daughter now."

"How old is she?"

"Eleven."

"Ahh," she sighed, "That's so young. God. Let's see. Here's a good choice – panty liners. They're not too big. They're the perfect size for that age and, even better, they slide into a pocket without leaving a bulge."

Grateful beyond reason, Matt gushed out a thank you as he picked out two boxes of panty liners. Quickly, they made their way to the front of the store. As she rung up his purchases, she chatted, "I think it's so great that you're so hands on with your daughter. Your total comes to five dollars and twenty-two cents. It's so unusual. Debit or credit? Okay. I guess your situation is different, but still. Go ahead and enter your PIN number now. If you don't mind me asking – when did she die?"

"Who?"

"Your wife," replied Heather, tilting her puzzled face to the side.

At first, Matt paused. 'My wife? Oh, yeah.'

"A little over a year and a half ago," he answered, reluctantly.

Placing the boxes in a bag, she handed him his purchase. As he grabbed the plastic bag, she covered his hand with her own and whispered, "I hope everything goes well with your daughter and if you need anything else, anything at all – I usually work the morning shift."

With a nod, Matt pulled his hand away.

'Sorry, I'm already taken.'

Minutes later, Matt opened the door to their apartment. As he entered, he could hear the water running, but Mohinder was no where in sight. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, he looked into Molly's bedroom and noticed that the bed was stripped clean. 'He must be in the laundry room.' Knocking on the door, he waited until he heard a soft 'come in' before opening the door. Placing one of the boxes on the counter, he turned and left. As he closed the door behind him, he wondered, 'I hope she knows what to do with those things.'

He placed the remaining box in the cabinet in which they stuffed all their toiletries. A moment later, Mohinder rushed through the front door. Upon seeing Matt, he exhaled. Slowing down, he seemed ready to swoon, but instead he lumbered over to the sofa and flopped down. "I ran all the way down and all the way up. I've never loaded a washing machine so fast in my life."

"Get ready to move again. I made an appointment for Molly to see Dr. McKiernan."

"For what time?"

"Nine-thirty, but they want us to check in by nine-fifteen."

Glancing at his watch, Mohinder mused, "It's eight o'clock now. If we leave in the next thirty minutes we can easily get there by subway."

They both glanced at the bathroom. Looking at each other, Matt asked, "How long has she been in there?"

"Since shortly after you left – I'd say about twenty minutes."

With a sigh, Matt looked back at the bathroom door. Walking over to it, he rapped his knuckles softly against the wood. A small 'yes' called out from the other side. Swallowing hard, Matt asked, "Are you okay in there?"

"I guess."

"Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No."

"We're going to go see Dr. McKiernan. I need you to be ready in twenty minutes. Can you do that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. We'll be waiting out here."

"Okay."

Stepping away from the door, Matt turned toward Mohinder. With a shrug, he motioned for Mohinder to follow. Walking into Molly's bedroom, Matt opened her wardrobe and took out a set of sheets. Closing the wardrobe, he placed the top sheet and pillow cases on her nightstand. Pulling the fitted sheet apart, Mohinder reached for a corner from the other side of the bed. Together, they pulled the elastic over the corners of the mattress. Next, Mohinder fanned out the top sheet, tucking it into the foot of the bed as Matt stuffed her pillows into their cases. Just as they flopped down the pillows and smoothed the wrinkles from the sheet, Molly walked through the double doors.

Her fingers interlaced, she walked in with her head down. Crossing the room, they approached her slowly. As Matt wrapped an arm around her, Mohinder dropped to his knees and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"You've done nothing to feel bad about, Molly."

"Mohinder's right."

"I know. I…" Placing her hands over her face, Molly cried, "I'm just so embarrassed."

Taking a hold of her hands, Mohinder lowered them as he said, "Don't be. It's just us and you never need to be embarrassed about anything with us."

Reaching forward, Molly wrapped her arms around Mohinder's neck. Patting her back, Mohinder couldn't help but smile when she rubbed her face against his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he saw Matt looking down at them – his eyes soft and intense all at the same time. Their eyes locked and their silent communication continued until Molly pulled away.

Taking her by the hand, Mohinder led her from the room. Matt picked up their jackets and opened the front door. After he helped her with her jacket, he handed the other jacket to Mohinder. Holding onto the fabric, he met Mohinder's questioning gaze with a smile and a wink. Taking his jacket, Mohinder returned the smile. Together, they closed up the apartment and took Molly by the hand.

A couple minutes after nine in the morning, they strolled into the medical office. Matt checked in at the counter while Mohinder and Molly sat down in the waiting area. A few minutes later, the nurse called Molly's name. As she stood up, she glanced over her shoulder at her Dads. Fear flashed in her eyes just before she turned back to the nurse and walked through the doorway.

Matt and Mohinder followed her small form. All the way to the door, their eyes stayed on her. As she vanished from sight, they met the nurse's friendly eyes. She smiled broadly before closing the door. Slumping down in the chairs, they suddenly felt very tired. Looking over at each other, they exhaled at the same time.

"Did you call out of work?" asked Mohinder.

"Yeah, while I was on my way to the store."

"Did they give you any trouble over it?"

"No. My boss is pretty cool about stuff like this."

"Detective Fuller was it?"

"Yeah."

"I remember him from the Christmas party. He seemed like a decent person."

"He is."

They sat in silence after that. Occasionally, they checked their watches and examined the recessed lighting. At one point, Mohinder got a call on his cell phone from the Company, stepping away to field questions as to his whereabouts. Mostly, they just stared at the door, willing it to open and give Molly back.

After half an hour, their prayers were answered. Molly emerged holding a gift bag and sporting a big smile. She motioned for them to come over. Once they got to the door, Dr. McKiernan came into sight. She placed a hand on Molly's shoulder and said, "Molly, I want you to stay here at the nurse's station while I talk to your Fathers."

Obediently, they followed the doctor to her office. She showed them to their seats and closed the door behind her. Sitting down, she pressed her hands together and said, "I just wanted to give you a review of what I told Molly. I explained the menstrual cycle and the reproductive system in general. She had some specific questions and I answered them where I could and I steered her toward you both for the ones I couldn't. As such, don't be surprised if a question pops out of nowhere in the next few days."

"Also, I wanted to congratulate you. Molly told me everything that happened this morning. You did everything right. From the shower to the pads to this appointment - I couldn't have prescribed a course of action better than the one you've taken. I felt you should be told that."

Glancing at each other, they smiled as they replied, "Thank you."

"Molly's becoming a young woman. She's not going to be a little girl for much longer. This can be hard for Fathers to accept, but you need to know that from here on out, she should really be seeing an OB/GYN about matters such as this. She can continue to see me for vaccinations and primary care concerns, but gynecology is not my expertise and I think she would benefit from having another doctor to monitor those health concerns."

Standing up, the doctor walked around the desk. Pulling a business card from the pocket of her white coat, she handed it to Matt. "This is a colleague of mine to whom I refer my younger female patients. She's really down to Earth and I think she would be a good fit for Molly."

Taking the card, Matt stood up. Beside him, Mohinder also stood. They thanked the doctor for everything and left her office. They followed the signs back to the nurse's station. There, they found Molly leafing through pamphlets titled 'Who wants to know about menstrual health?' and 'Swimming during the menstrual period.' The moment she saw them, she folded up her papers and stuffed them back in the gift bag. Walking over to them, she asked, "So what now? Do I have to go to school?"

Her eyes regarded them warily. She tugged on the edge of her t-shirt and chewed on her lip and she swayed from one foot to the other. Matt and Mohinder looked at each other and nodded. In their minds, they could hear the doctor's words. 'Molly's becoming a young woman. She's not going to be a little girl for much longer.' Turning to their daughter, they each held out a hand for her. As she grasped onto them, Matt said, "Let's declare this a holiday. We'll just hang out and have fun."

Bouncing up and down, she squealed with joy as they left the Doctor's office behind.