NIKI & MICAH SANDERS, MOHINDER SURESH, & MOLLY WALKER

KIRBY PLAZA, NEW YORK

"Mom, dad's going to be okay right?" Micah Sanders gazed after the ambulances as they pulled away from Kirby Plaza and started speeding towards the hospital.

Niki Sanders nodded quickly, trying to nonchalantly brush the stream of tears away from her eyes before her son noticed, but he noticed anyway. He always noticed when something was wrong with his mom. "He'll be fine. No problem. It's just a scratch. Nothing serious." She sniffed and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand.

"Mom, he is going to be okay." Micah switched his tone, suddenly putting himself in the position or responsibility. "He's dad. You know he's capable of handling anything."

Niki smiled at her son's optimism. "Yea, he's going to be fine." She knelt down to eye level with Micah and took his hands. "How are you?"

"Okay." He shrugged, not too interested in talking about himself when his dad was on the way to the hospital for a bullet wound.

"Are you sure? That man…Linderman…he didn't hurt you or anything, did he?" She asked with genuine concern.

"No, he didn't hurt me."

"I didn't want him to take you. It wasn't me you know…"

"I know mom. It was a girl, Candice. She's special, like us." Micah explained simply. "She makes herself look like other people."

"Hmm. Interesting." Niki was a little impressed with the mention of someone else with special abilities. So far she hadn't met anyone besides herself and her family who could do anything extraordinary, until tonight that is. Now she was well aware that there were many others with a variety of unique powers. She suddenly thought back to the fight she had had up in Linderman's building before she found Micah. The girl she was fighting had appeared as Jessica and made Niki believe that her son was dead. That must have been Candice. Oh god…what did she do with Micah?

"She wasn't mean or anything." He assured his mom when he noted that her expression hadn't calmed down at all. "She was fine. I mean she was sort of nice, in a bad girl sort of way."

Niki forced a smile. "I'm glad she didn't hurt you, because then I would have had to kick her ass. I mean, I already sort of did, but you know any more than that…"

Micah grinned. "Yea, she really would have been in trouble."

"We should get a cab and head over to the hospital so we can be there when your dad wakes up." Niki decided suddenly.

"Yea, let's go." Micah glanced around briefly, noticing the others who still lingered around the plaza. "Do you think she's all alone?"

Niki followed her son's gaze and spotted the little girl who had been huddling with them earlier. "I don't know. That man seems to be taking care of her…" She pointed to the Indian man kneeling beside the girl. "There's nothing we can do about her. I'm sure she has a family…"

Micah shook his head. "Why aren't they here then? Mom, maybe we could do something…"

"I don't think so, baby." She placed her hands on Micah's shoulders. "It isn't really my responsibility. I need to take care of you and my husband right now, okay?" Micah nodded understandingly, but continued looking at the girl. Niki sighed. "Fine, we'll go and find out who she is and see if there's anything we can do, but after that we're going to the hospital, okay?"

Micah's face lit up with an excited smile and he nodded enthusiastically before hurrying over to where the girl was. Niki followed a little more slowly.

"Hi." Micah chirped a greeting ignoring the fact that the crying girl may not actually want a conversation at the moment.

She pulled her head off of the man's shoulder to acknowledge the strangers as they approached. "Hi." Her mumbled response was heavy with exhausted tears.

"I'm sorry to bother you like this, but my son was a little concerned about her. He didn't see her parents anywhere and so we just wanted to make sure she was all right." Niki explained quickly as the man stood to greet her.

"Not at all, I'm glad to meet you…" He held out his hand.

"I'm Niki." She shook his head swiftly and gave him the most sparkling smile she could manage under the circumstances. "And my son, Micah."

"Mohinder Suresh." He returned the introduction as he released her hand. "And this is Molly Walker." He placed a protective hand on the girl's shoulder as she used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe away remaining traces of tears form her blotchy red cheeks.

"You made the elevator work earlier." Molly spoke to Micah directly, with a beaming smile. "That was neat."

Micah grinned, a little bashfully. "Yea, that was nothing really…can you do anything?"

While the children became engrossed in their own conversation, Niki and Mohinder lowered their voices so that they could have a conversation of their own. "Is she going to be okay?" Niki asked.

Mohinder shrugged. "She's been through a lot. I suppose we all have really."

"I'm not sure I really understand everything that happened here tonight." Niki shook her head. "It's all a little overwhelming. I just came here to find my son and then somehow we ended up here with all these other people, and the guy with the glowing hands…" She drifted off, trying to wrap her mind around everything that she had seen.

"I imagine it can be a bit confusing." Mohinder paused. "But you are not exactly an outsider in all of this. I saw you upstairs. You must have some sort of ability, or is it only in your son?"

Niki hesitated. "What do you know about it all?"

"A lot actually. I'm a doctor, well a geneticist. I've been following my father's research concerning people with mutating genes that provide them with unique gifts…" He explained, trying to make it sound as simple as possible.

Niki glanced down at her son. "Gifts like manipulating electronic devices with the touch of a hand?"

"Precisely."

Niki pursed her lips. "I'd like to talk to you more, but I don't really have the time right now. My husband was in one of those ambulances. He was shot…actually you saw him upstairs."

Mohinder nodded. He remembered the man in the hallway that he had been trying to help before Niki and her son had appeared and they had all crowded into the elevator to escape the guards. "Before you go, may I ask you what your gift is?"

"I don't know." Niki answered honestly. "I don't think I have a gift. It's more of a problem."

"A problem?"

"My psychiatrist called it a multiple personality disorder." She smirked. "It's not though. I'm not crazy."

"Of course you're not." He believed she had a power without question, though he was confused about what it was and he was desperately curious. Mohinder instinctively realized, however, that she wasn't ready to discuss her situation with a stranger. "Perhaps we will discuss it further at a later time."

"Maybe so." Niki reached for her son's hand. "Say 'goodbye' Micah."

"Could I give you my number in case you want to get in touch and discuss this situation?" Mohinder offered eagerly.

Niki nodded. "Sure, that's fine." Mohinder pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and she held out her hand for him to scribble his number down. He He He

When he finished she caught his gaze and smiled slightly. "You should probably know that my husband can walk through walls."

Mohinder's eyebrows lifted. "Impressive."

"It really is." Niki agreed. "I'll call you later."