Grown Up Decisions

Participants:

molly_icon.gif matt_icon.gif

Scene Title Grown-Up Decisions
Synopsis Still reeling from his encounter with his father, Matt gets some advice from a mature Molly Walker that he intends to follow. Decisions regarding Molly's arrangements are discussed, and no teenage girl is too big for her father's arms.
Date August 17, 2009

Dorchester Towers - Matt's Apartment


SLAM.

Even after the door is shut, Matt Parkman hangs on to the doorknob and keeps his shoulder pressed to the wood. It's as if something was chasing him. He even fights for air as he stands there, braced.

The DVD/VCR clock blinks it's soft blue display. 10:45 PM. Past Cole and Molly's bedtime, and almost an hour since Kaydence's shift started. Even if it meant being late, surely she hasn't waited this long for Matt to come home from his visit to the hospital. Not that she knew where her fiance was.
When Matt does come away from the door, he takes a step back and stares at it blankly, his shoulders slumped and his arms limp at his sides.

Light footsteps can be heard. "You.. were gone for a long time." Says the voice of Molly. Still standing in the shadows. Bedtime? Molly doesn't sleep nowadays. Her eyes travel up and down Matt, checking for any noticeable injuries.

"What happened?" she asks softly and then she pads into the light. Her blonde hair is longer and is in need of a slight trim. They haven't gotten around to it yet. So much other stuff has been happening.

"I don't blame you for not seeing yourself," Matt says after a moment of silence that can only be due to surprise, or perhaps personal admonishment for making Molly worry. "I just had to…" What? Any way of putting it assumes the guilt of whatever it was that Matt did. But he did do it. "It doesn't matter."

But even that's a lie.

Doing his best to swallow back as much guilt as he can, Matt turns to look at Molly. "You know," he says after a moment. "You're…you're growing up pretty damn fast."

"I bet any girl that has gone through half of what I have.. would be growing up older as well." Molly states and looks down at the floor, hitting her toe softly against the couch.

Where did you go? She tilts her head and inches closer to Matt. She notices that something is wrong with him. It's amazing how easily Molly can project her thoughts to Matt.

"I said it doesn't matter," Matt repeats, an edge in his voice. But he takes a deep breath and calms himself before he steps closer to Molly, but falling short from the distance needed to pull her into his arms.

He looks at her like a guilty man and swallows once more. "Look, I'm sorry. For a lot. But I know that doesn't fix anything. But you're old enough, and you've seen enough to be able to make your own decisions. I won't stand in your way any more. Unless, you know, it's just dumb teenage stuff, because you ought to know better." Either Matt's trying too hard to replicate the Firm Father voice at the end there, or he's half-joking. There's no smile to bolster the latter theory - only the tired and worried face that Molly has seen for so many years now.

The young teen blinks, "Thanks dad." She says softly and she hasn't stepped forward into his arms. She looks up towards him and nods her head. "You need a vacation." She says in a matter of fact and she crosses her arms.

"You've been dealing with stress a lot lately."

The laughing sort of snort that Matt expels is a product of more stress than Molly can imagine. "Thanks, hon. But I think you're right." He shrugs his shoulders in a submissive sort of gesture at her dominant stance, and a faint, apologetic smile curls onto his lips.

But he also glances about the apartment, weighing options. "School's starting up again next month. How'd'you feel about bunking at Primatech for a few months while your dad gets his head screwed on straight?" Imposing on the Damaris girls would be just that to Matt - imposing. And probably one of the last things his relationship with Kaydence needs.

"I'll hate it there." No matter if she sees Mohinder every day nor not. "I don't see any other option though.. you don't have any friends that you can trust?" Molly knows when she goes back to the Company, there will be no no no, chance of her being able to be free and on her own to explore the city.

"If you can convince Mohinder to take you in, but I don't think he'll be as fun as me." There's a smile on Matt's face as he says it, and it's slowly gaining strength.

Watching Molly carefully and reading the worry in her words, Matt settles down on the arm of the couch. "It's up to you. I can see what I can pull over at the Company so you have a little more freedom than before. I'm not pulling you out of that school." Matt looks at her again, his face all seriousness. "I don't want to do anything to hurt you again."

As long as Molly is given options, she can work with them. "We have some time to decide fully right?" she asks and then she gives in and goes to her dad, snuggling into his chest.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm the parent, because I worry about you so much." She laughs softly at that.

There's time.

The whispered reassurance is just that - a whisper, and barely audible in Molly's mind. It's more of an inkling, or a resurgence of stability.

Matt wraps his arms around Molly slowly, but when they're there, they hold her firmly. "Quit that," he jokingly chides her before he presses a kiss to her hair. "But…" Matt's voice trails off, and he places his chin on Molly's head, holding her still closer. "I like it when you check on me. I wish I could check on you sometimes." There's a brief pause. "You'll let me know when you have bad dreams, right?"

But it's more of a demand than a question.

"Sometimes I just look for you when I'm bored." Molly says with a grin and puts her head on his chest. "What do you mean?" she raises her eyebrows. "I.. why would I be having nightmares again.."

"Just," Matt says as he looks down at Molly with the same concern as always. "If you do. You'll tell me, right?" He waits for an answer, but it's not long before he does his best to calm whatever fears might still be bubbling in the teen's head.

"Maury's not going to hurt you," he explains. "But that doesn't mean someone else might not try."

"Ok.. Maury is taken care of. Are you saying I have someone else to worry about?" Molly sits up straighter. "Don't lie to me." There's no dad or loving tone there. "I can't go on thinking that everything is ok and that I'm safe, only to be kidnapped again."

Matt sighs. It would be wrong not to level with Molly. It would be denying how much she has indeed matured. "He was never your Nightmare Man. Or…or so he says. There may be someone else out there. Someone who messes with people's dreams. I don't know who it is, or why they do it. But you know I'll find out." Someday. Somehow. But maybe not tomorrow.

"Does he know about me?" Is all Molly asks, her eyes blank from emotion. Not again. "Why can't all the psychos just mess with each other?"

"I don't know, hon," Matt says with an honest shake of his head. "I don't know. But I wish they would. It'd be one hell of a mess to clean up, but I'd rather do that than this dance."

Molly's jaw sets and she looks straight ahead. "It's ok, we'll make it through this. We make it through everything else." She smiles softly, she truly has lost her innocent in the past years.

It's a fact that saddens Matt, but he can't deny it. Nor can he turn back time. "Don't worry about it," he tries to tell her. "You know Maury isn't trustworthy. I'll figure out what I can, but there's no point in you stressing out over something that's probably not even out there. Deal?”

"Deal." She says, happy to be in her father's arms. She settles in again and lays her head on his chest, she closes her eyes and gets comfortable. "I'm happy you're back. Thank you for saving me.. again."

A more permanent smile settles on Matt's face as he holds Molly to him. The clock be damned. School doesn't start for almost a month still, anyway.

"Anytime, sweetie.

"Anytime."


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