Title: Sense of Wonder
Author: HopefulNebula
Rating: I'd have to say PG.
Summary: Sprague isn't the only one who has no concept of his potential.
Disclaimer: One Kring to rule them all, One Kring to own them. (Has anyone made that joke before? I'm new to Heroes fandom...) I'm just taking them out to play.
Spoilers/note: This takes place pretty immediately after the events of the current plot arc. I'm not going to speculate on how they're resolved, just going to assume they are (and that Matt gets his car and keys back), and go from there. As such, any US-aired episode featuring Matt is fair game.
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Someone else was in the house.
Matt wasn't sure exactly how he knew this, as he was barely able to see the house at this distance, and whoever it was wasn't using words. He'd never heard nonverbal thoughts before, and never at such a great distance. He'd never even sensed anything remotely like this. And yet he knew with visceral clarity that someone other than his wife was in his house, and that the person was very strongly connected to Janice.
He had no idea how long it took for the initial shock to lift, but when it did, he realized he was still on the road, still just inside his housing development. Thankfully, nobody was behind him, waiting for him to move. He took his foot off the brake pedal and almost reluctantly moved it to the gas. The last thing he needed would be to have to explain to his wife not only where he'd been, but also why he'd gotten into a car accident in broad daylight on the way back. He was barely able to keep his eyes on the road as he pulled into the driveway and parked the car. No point in getting out just yet, he rationalized. Not until he had a better idea of what was going on.
Matt closed his eyes and focused on his senses. From Janice, he felt a profound sense of contentment along with several nonsensical, disjointed sounds, images and phrases. She was asleep. He didn't begrudge her that: Matt figured pregnancy could do that to a woman,vespecially when that woman's husband has a strange tendency to go missing without explanation. This stranger was different. His thoughts--or hers, he couldn't tell--weren't thoughts in any sense he'd felt before. They were more like what he didn't feel around the Haitian: a constant thread of sheer, staggering elemental force. Yet they were different--if what he sensed from the Haitian was dead air, what lay at the opposite end of this string of thought was alive and dynamic. It was a steady pulse, a siren song of purity. For all his powers could tell, there was no risk, and yet his mind screamed for him to be careful, for God's sake. But he had to know.
He focused once again on the thread of consciousness and followed it inside, not even stopping to lock the door again behind him. There she was, napping on the couch, and whatever else was there was next to her. But he couldn't see anyone.
Holding his arms out zombie-like in case the person was invisible (after all he'd seen, he wouldn't put invisibility past the range of human abilities) and trying not to think about how silly he must look, he closed his eyes and followed his mind. Surprisingly enough, he managed to find his way around with a minimum of running into furniture. When he opened his eyes, he found himself kneeling by the couch, forehead against the curve of his wife's belly.
Well, I'll be damned. It's a boy.
Parkman grinned and went to put some lunch on before he woke Janice.