Never Fall in Love with a Dead Man, a heroes fanfic

Title: Never Fall in Love with a Dead Man

Author: Cesia Illuser/warangel88

Pairing: Claire/Ghost Peter hints of Heidi/Nathan and Caitlin/Peter

Warnings: Completely AU No Powers

Author Notes: This is loosely inspired by watching the series Ghost Whisper and a Haunted Hotel show And I don't necessary know all the properties of ghost so just pretend that Peter can show himself to whoever he wishes and can talk. Peter can't really remembered what happened so he doesn't remember the person who shot him

Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes and thanks Ellie for betaing

The sales agent told her that the mansion was haunted, that a man was brutally murdered there, the senator's younger brother to be particular. No one had ever found out what happened to him, or who killed him, despite the fact that the senator, Nathan, had looked into his brother's case.

Honestly, she scoffed at the man, she certainly didn't believe in ghosts or places being haunted, but she adored the mansion and she sincerely thought the man was trying to scare by telling her ghost stories.

She did get a large discount on the house, probably because it was supposedly haunted, not that she necessarily minded. Even the furniture was still there, all of it elegant, and it was clearly obvious it belonged to a very wealthy family, not like she suspected anything less from the brother who was related to a former senator of New York. She had read somewhere in a magazine that after his younger brother died, Nathan Petrelli resigned from his position as senator.

Frankly, she was a bit surprised that the mansion looked spotless, not a single layer of dust lay on the furniture, and she silently wondered if the "ghost" had something to do with it, or someone had it specially cleaned, just for her.

Something told her not to count the first idea out; maybe it was simply silly superstition, or the fact that the sale's agent seemed scared of going in.

"So, are you going to buy the house, Miss Bennet?" Bob Bishop questioned, behind her as her emerald green eyes stared inside, standing in the doorway of the house.

Claire stared silently at the man behind for a moment, before looking back at the beautiful interior of the house, "I think I will."

The man frowned slightly, "Before you buy the house, maybe you should stay here for a week, before we get the papers signed? That way you can truly know if the house is haunted or not."

Claire nodded slightly, "Alright, Mr. Bishop."

It had taken less than 24 hours to convince her that the place was indeed haunted.

The furniture would occasionally move, the lights flickering lightly, objects floating, and she had even caught a face in the mirror of the bathroom when she had been brushing her blonde locks after her shower.

It was of a man with sad, brown eyes and slightly emo-ish hair with dark, chocolate brown bangs falling slightly into his face. He looked young, maybe into his mid twenties when he died, and she really did feel sorry for the man, to be killed so brutally and most likely by someone he trusted, someone that he loved.

But despite the fact knowing it was haunted she could honestly say that she wasn't scared of the ghost that resided there.

The ghost almost seemed friendly, and didn't really seem to have the intent of chasing her out the house or killing her. She had even tried to find a name to the face on her laptop later that day, so she could simply know more about her invisible resident.

Truthfully, she had a feeling it was Peter Petrelli, the younger brother of the former senator, more of a hunch, really, and she wasn't really surprised when she saw a picture of a man download onto the screen of her laptop that looked quite similar to the man/ghost that she saw in the mirror, except his hair was slightly slicked back and it looked like they were at a fundraiser.

He really did look attractive.

If he were still alive she probably would have developed a crush on him, or at least the type of crush a person develops without ever meeting the person, because she really doesn't believe they would ever meet if he was alive.

The first time he actually tried to give a message to her had been a couple of days after she saw his face in the mirror, and surprisingly in the same place.

Words were written in the fogged up mirror, and she remembered drawing pictures, words, after she took a shower when she was a child.

It was only two words.

Help Me.

She silently wondered if meant to help him find the person who killed him, so his murder could finally be justified, and he could cross into the light.

"Alright, I'll help you," She uttered a bit loudly, "But tell me where to look."

She silently slipped a light blue, silk robe around her slightly naked body as she made her way through the house until, eventually; she saw a photograph that usually hung in the hallway crash to the carpeted floor.

She silently knelt down on the floor, wiping the glass away from the frame. It was a picture of his brother, his wife, and their two boys.

"You want me to visit your sister in law?" She questioned out loud. The broken glass slowly started to move across the floor, forming a "yes" with the shards.

Claire nodded slightly as she slowly stood up, "Alright, Peter, but you better show your transparent self when I get back, and stay out of my room while I change."

She thought she could hear soft laughter echo through the hallway of the manor, and she couldn't help but smile.

She found Heidi Petrelli in a house in Washington D.C.

She found herself taking a liking to Nathan's wife, and it made her a bit homesick for her own mother, Sandra, who lived in back Texas.

She watched Heidi pour her a glass of lemonade before sitting down across from her, on the elegant, patio furniture in the backyard.

"So, you want to know more about Peter?" She questioned softly, taking a sip of lemonade before resting it back on the table.

"Please, it's important, Mrs. Petrelli," Claire pleaded as she stared at the cool, refreshing liquid before looking at the woman.

Heidi nodded slightly, "Alright, but if I tell you everything that I know, you have to swear to me not to tell anyone," Claire slightly look confused so Heidi decided to continue, "My husband was looking into Peter's case right before he died."

"You think whoever killed Peter killed Nathan as well?" Claire questioned, softly almost as if she silently understood the older woman. Heidi nodded.

"Alright, I promise."

Heidi smiled softly at the young blonde, "Peter died three weeks before his wedding, and personally, I believe that his soon-to-be bride killed him."

"His wedding?" Claire echoed softly.

Heidi nodded slightly, "Her name was Caitlin Rosan, and I think she was only marrying Peter for the money."

"But if she killed Peter she wouldn't get the money, right?" Claire questioned softly and Heidi nodded slightly, "But why would she kill Peter three weeks before her wedding?"

Heidi shrugged lightly, "Their relationship wasn't at its best a couple of weeks before he died. Maybe she feared that Peter would have called off the wedding. She went to court with it, saying that she was pretty much married to Peter in the first place."

"If she was a suspect, then why wasn't she charged with murder?" Claire questioned, taking a sip of her lemonade.

"Because she was supposedly shopping for a wedding dress," Heidi answered in a tone that was obvious that she didn't believe Peter's former fiancé.

Claire frowned slightly, "Where there any other suspects?"

"Angela, I suppose," Heidi admitted after a pause, "But I don't understand why she would kill Peter, he was her favorite."

"Did Nathan ever tell you what was going on with the case?" Claire questioned softly.

Heidi silently shook her head, "Always said that I was better off kept in the dark."

Claire slowly stood up, "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Petrelli."

"Claire, be careful, alright?" Heidi advised, embracing the younger blonde who looked like she was fresh out of college.

"I will," She uttered softly, "Thanks again, Mrs. Petrelli."

Claire threw herself into the large, queen sized bed when she finally got back to the manor. She hardly bothered taking off her clothing that she had wore to Washington DC earlier that day when she decided to visit Heidi, hardly bothering to get under the covers, or anything.

She just simply wanted to sleep for a day.

She was frankly too exhausted to tell Peter, and she silently hoped he would be able to wait a couple more hours before she told him who Heidi thought had killed him.

Claire wondered if she would be able to tell Peter that one of the two people that he probably loved the most could have killed him, but she did remember have an interesting dream that night.

She had been standing on the beach wearing a long, formal, strapless gown that was midnight blue and slightly sparkled in the moonlight.

She found it a bit strange that she would wear such a beautiful gown to the beach, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her petite form. She somehow had a feeling that it was Peter's arms wrapped around her, and, for the first time, she felt safe and loved, not necessarily in the same way that she felt the love of her father, but the type of love one felt when they were in the arms of a lover.

She wondered why she would even think of Peter as a lover, or even dream about him; he was a ghost who died four years ago.

He was gorgeous, yes, and seemed kindhearted. If he were still alive she could imagine herself going out with him but, he was dead, and people couldn't rise from the dead again.

Besides, a relationship with a ghost and a human could never work out, right? She might as well forget the dream ever happened. After all, she couldn't be falling for ghost, and she vaguely recalled someone covering her up with a quilt sometime during the night.

And she silently knew it was Peter.

"If you want to find out what I found out from Heidi you better show your transparent self," She called out her voice, half teasing and the other half a bit serious into the vacant living room, and she sat down on the couch.

She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and if she wasn't wearing an old, red hoodie that said 'Odessa High' on it she knew that she would have goose bumps on her arms from the sudden drop in temperature.

Her emerald green eyes silently fixed on Peter Petrelli's transparent self in the loveseat across from her, and she took in his appearance. He had been dressed simply in a pair of black slacks and a light blue, button up shirt, his emo-ish bangs falling softly across his face.

She couldn't help but remember her dream that she had earlier that day, causing her to pause lightly to gather her thoughts.

"Heidi believes that Caitlin may have killed you," She uttered a bit hesitantly, and she wondered if asking him to appear in front of her was a good idea.

Peter frowned at the mentioned of his former fiancé, before echoing her name softly in the room, and it came out more of a question than a statement, "Caitlin?"

She nodded slightly, "But the police let her go considering they were several eye witnesses confirming her statement that she was buying her wedding dress."

Peter nodded slightly, he honestly remembered.

"Do you remember anything about the day you died?" Claire questioned, a bit uncomfortable; asking a ghost how he died was probably skating on thin ice.

Peter got this faraway look on his face as if recalling a memory, "No, not really, I remember hearing a gunshot but that is pretty much it. When I woke up I saw my body, but I never saw the person who killed me."

Claire nodded slightly; she really didn't feel like telling Peter that the other suspect that Heidi was able to come up with had been his own mother.

"Were there any other people in that house that day?" She questioned, gazing at the ghost in front of her.

"It was only my mother, Caitlin, and I," He recalled slightly, "The maid was on vacation, as well as some of the other workers."

"Where were Nathan and Heidi?" She questioned softly. She hated to think the former Senator's wife killed Peter, and possibly her husband as well, but she wanted to eliminate some suspects off her own list.

"They were visiting her parents in California until a couple of days before the wedding," Peter answered.

Claire nodded slightly.

It honestly seemed like the two logical choices were Caitlin and Angela. But why would Angela kill her son?

Throughout the next couple of weeks, she had started to get to know Peter.

He would tell her stories of his youth, mostly about Nathan, Heidi and his two little nephews, but he carefully avoided the topic of his former fiancé.

In the back of her mind she silently wondered if it's because he believed Caitlin killed him, and if Heidi's predications of him calling off the wedding were correct.

At the same time, she started to look into Peter's/Nathan's case file with Heidi, despite her early hesitance in helping.

She could truthfully see why Heidi would be hesitant in helping, especially if whoever murdered Nathan was the same person that killed Peter, and if she accidentally stumbled onto the truth who was to say that they wouldn't kill her either, leaving her two sons as orphans. When she asked about the two boys she simply said that they were staying with her parents.

Heidi didn't seem to be bothered by Peter's ghost whenever she visited the manor, and greeted him occasionally.

Claire knew that she and Heidi were the only people that Peter would show himself to, with everyone else he pretty much moved the furniture or objects around, or even make objects float.

Heidi slightly stared down into her cup, "Why did you decided to stay here, Claire?"

"Too stubborn I guess," Claire chuckled softly after a moment, "Besides, before I moved here I always thought ghosts were just a myth."

Heidi smiled at the younger girl, remembering her own experience with ghosts, and how she always thought the same thing.

"You have a kind heart," Heidi mused lightly.

"Not really," Claire uttered as stared into her cup, "My father was murdered when I was seventeen and no one found out who did it."

"I'm sorry," Heidi replied softly, and she wondered if her helping find Peter's murderer was a way of coping with her father's death.

Claire shrugged lightly, offering the woman a weak smile. After bidding the woman goodbye she instantly threw herself on the twin size bed, dreaming about Peter Petrelli like she had done every night since the first night she'd dreamt it, and in the back of her mind she wondered if Peter knew what she dreamt about.

She finally got the courage to ask Peter about Caitlin a couple of days later.

She didn't how she suddenly summoned up the courage to ask him about her, and she wondered if hearing him talk about his former fiancé would be painful to hear, especially considering she believed that she was falling in love with him.

"We met in Ireland," He uttered softly, staring at the blonde in front of him, "Her family owned a bar there, and I guess we sort of fell in love. But now that I think about I don't know if you can fall in love with somebody in two days."

Claire nodded softly, "But you wanted to spend the rest of your life with her. That's got to count for something, right?"

"I'm not entirely sure if I did the couple of weeks before my death," He admitted lightly, slightly shifting his gaze, "She started to become selfish, and a bit of a gold digger. I sometimes wonder if it was me that she fell in love with or the Petrelli name."

Claire frowned slightly as she stared at Peter for a moment. He looked slightly depressed, and a part of her wanted to ask if he was still in love with her, "But you're the kindest person that I ever know, not to mention incredibly selfless and hot."

"Do you have a crush on me, Miss Bennet?" he teased softly, watching the blonde's face turn to a light shade of crimson, and it was clearly obvious that she was blushing.

"No," She uttered quickly, looking down at her lap as she pressed the pastel green pillow closer to her body. She heard Peter laugh softly, and she was quite tempted to throw the pillow at him, even though she knew that it would go right through him.

"I think you do," He continued to tease before he grew slightly serious, "But, if I were alive I could see myself dating you, if we'd ever met. I'm not the only one with a kind heart, Miss Bennet."

Claire wondered if her face could get any redder.

"I have to go meet Heidi," She mumbled as she stood up from the couch, grabbing her light blue purse that matched her sundress, and she was glad that she had an excuse to get away from him for the moment.

She met Heidi and two FBI officers who worked Peter's case at a diner.

Heidi told her that Audrey Hanson and Matt Parkman were friends of the family, mostly of her husband's Nathan, and told her that she could trust them both.

She silently stared at her food as she listened to Audrey talk about the case, but she could only catch snippets of it here and there, mostly on how Peter died and that pretty much every suspect had an alibi that day. She already knew how Peter died, thanks to her first meeting with Heidi a couple of weeks ago: he had been shot and the bullet pierced his heart.

The four of them developed a quite dangerous plan that might draw out the killer, saying that new evidence had come into light on who murdered the younger Petrelli brother, and that a new investigation was going to take place.

It would be publicly announced in the hopes that it would draw the killer out and try to kill the person who had suddenly found this new evidence.

It had been her idea mostly. Heidi immediately objected to it, as it was a deadly move. Whoever killed Peter obviously wanted to keep it a secret, and considering the belief that Peter and Nathan were probably murdered by the same person and someone that they knew, it only furthered the chances of the killer coming after her.

They also made her agree that she should stay at the manor for the next couple of weeks, or at least until the killer had been caught, so she could remain safe.

They silently figured that public places were risky, especially if they came into contact with the killer, and what place was safer than a place than a haunted house that had a tendency to scare away its visitors with the exception of Claire and Heidi?

If everything went well then she should be out of the place in under a week, two weeks at the latest. Heidi said that she would call to keep Claire updated.

She silently wondered that, if they caught the killer, Peter would be able to cross into the light or heaven, and she doubted she was ready to see him leave the manor, as selfish as it may seem.

She didn't go back to the mansion after the conversation with the two FBI agents at the diner.

Instead, she had asked Heidi if she wouldn't mind taking a walk with her, perhaps getting some groceries and some movies so she wouldn't necessarily starve herself when she was placed under "house arrest" to keep her safe. But it stills felt like house arrest to her, especially considering she wouldn't be able to leave the premises.

"Is there something on your mind, Claire?" Heidi questioned softly, noticing the far off look that the younger girl had all day.

"Would you find it weird if I said I was falling in love with Peter?" she uttered softly as she stared at the movie titles.

"No, not really," She answered truthfully as she stared at the younger girl, "You have gotten to know him over the past few weeks and, if he was still alive, I honestly think you two would have been the perfect couple."

Claire smiled slightly as she remembered the last words Peter had said to her before she left the house, I could see myself dating someone like you.

"But it won't end with a happy ending," Claire mused softly as she stared at the movie titles, which were surprisingly horror films.

She really didn't feel like watching romance/comedy movies, mostly because her own love life wasn't so great at that moment.

She had fallen in love with a ghost.

The past few days had been torturous for her, she was bored out of her mind and she was falling for Peter.

Her dreams about him didn't leave her and it only caused her to crave him more than she really should, because each one was more erotic than the last, until she can almost feel his kisses on her in her waking state. She was falling in love with a ghost.

But at least Peter didn't bring up her crush on him again; in fact they mostly had a semi comfortable relationship. She honestly felt a bit awkward around him now, and didn't know how to act around him.

She had filled him on their little plan, only because she felt like it was absolutely necessary, considering he was mostly the reason why they were doing it.

Heidi would give her updates daily. Apparently the pathologist discovered that Peter had been died sometime in the morning when Angela had been home, causing them to wonder if the other pathologist had been paid a large amount of money to lie and, as predicted, Angela had been furious when she discovered they were exhuming her youngest son's body.

Claire silently stared at Peter's transparent self; he hadn't really talked since Angela had become the most likely suspect in killing him.

She honestly couldn't blame him, especially if Angela did turn out be the person who killed him, as well as Nathan.

After all, she was his mother, despite her slightly cold attitude to her sons and to Heidi when Nathan had first announced that he was getting married to her.

"Peter?" She uttered softly, causing him to slightly fix his eyes on her form, "I'm sorry."

He nodded slightly before disappearing, causing her to stare at the place where he used to be, and she wondered where he had disappeared to.

She wasn't really surprised to see Angela Petrelli standing on the doorstep a couple of days later after she received the news from Heidi.

The dark haired older woman looked to be in her late fifties to mid sixties dressed elegantly, and she suspected nothing else from Angela Petrelli.

"I heard a very interesting rumor that you were the one that suggested exhuming my youngest son's body," She uttered coldly as she studied her.

Claire genuinely felt like she was the girl that Peter brought home to meet the family, and Angela was the wicked mother who thought she wasn't good enough for her son.

"So what if I am?" She challenged, she certainly wasn't going let herself cower in front of this woman, "Peter deserves to have justice for his murder."

Angela said nothing as she walked pass the blonde haired girl, studying the interior of the house. It was exactly the same as she had left it years ago.

"Looks like you haven't changed a thing."

Claire simply stared at the older woman and she wished that she could feel Peter's presence around her; he always had the ability to make her feel safe.

"Is there something you want, Angela?" She asked in a slightly cold but civil manner as she studied the older woman carefully.

Angela slowly reached into her black purse that matched her black designer clothing, pulling out a hand gun, "Nothing, but you can die."

Claire slightly glared at the woman, "You killed Peter, and you probably killed Nathan as well."

"Yes, I killed them both," Angela said, her voice growing slightly hysterical and insane, "Peter was never supposed to be in the house it was supposed have been Caitlin, and Nathan, well, he stumbled on to the truth so he obviously had to go."

"And now you will kill me as well because I know the truth," Claire silently concluded. She really wasn't going to tell her that there were a couple of others who knew as well.

"And my trouble meddling daughter in law, and everyone else who you let in on the secret," She uttered darkly as she pulled the trigger.

She could hear the loud bang and thought she would have felt pain by now. She opened her eyes.

It was Angela who was lying on the white tiled floor, in a pool of her own blood.

It really didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Peter who saved her, and she stared at his transparent self.

It didn't take long for Heidi and the two FBI agents to come by the manor

As soon as told them that Angela was shot, strangely enough with her own bullet, there was nothing she could have done to save the woman.

The bullet had nicked a fatal organ, pretty much killing the older woman instantly. The two FBI agents left around the same time as the paramedics after getting her statement on how the woman died, even though it sounded slightly insane.

Heidi stayed behind, wrapping an arm around the younger girl's shoulders after noticing her quiet figure. Claire moved into the woman's embrace, she had honestly felt numb ever since she watched the FBI and paramedics take Angela away.

She wondered if it had to do with Angela dying, or the fact that Peter would be leaving her to go to heaven or something.

She watched as Peter slowly appeared in front of them and Heidi slowly let her hand drop from its place around Claire's shoulder, having a feeling that Claire and Peter would like to talk.

She backed away from the pair, allowing them to have their privacy; she knew Claire's feelings for her deceased brother in law, and slowly made her way towards the kitchen.

Claire silently stared up at him, not speaking because she honestly didn't know what to say him.

He stopped in front of her so she could feel his presence, and she raised her emerald green eyes to meet his dark brown ones.

He offered a small smile and Claire could silently tell that he would leaving soon for good, not that she was necessarily naïve enough to believe that he would stay with her.

"Thank you, Claire," he uttered softly before leaning down and pressing his lips against his, his lips felt cold against hers, "I love you."

He slowly backed away from her and Claire offered him a soft, sad smile and nodded, tears slowly running down her cheeks, "I love you, too."

She silently knew that Peter would be going into the light soon, and she felt Heidi's arms around her again. Peter shifted his gaze towards his sister in law, offering her a smile of gratitude before slowly fading from their sight for good.

Claire sobbed softly in the other woman's arms.

She really should have known better to fall in love with a dead man, but at least her feelings for him weren't as one sided as she thought, and with that thought in mind a slow, sad smile crossed her features.

The end