Title: Two Cheerleaders in the Morgue:

Author: Cesia Illuser/warangel88

Fandom: Heroes/Pathology Crossover

Pairing: Claire/Ted hints of Peter/Claire

Warnings/Spoilers: Homecoming. Has no relation to the film Pathology so Ted might be out of character. I also read somewhere that in Texas that the age that a teenager becomes an adult is 17 so this is also going on that.

Author Notes: This is the third part in the Missing Scenes in the Morgue, and it's the sequel to Visitation Rights in Morgue. I also wanted to do a fic on Claire's feelings to Jackie's death and how Claire might see that it was her fault that Jackie died.

Disclaimer: I down own Heroes or Pathology. Thanks Ellie for Betaing

He was honestly surprised to hear that a cheerleader had died at Homecoming, and his thoughts immediately rushed towards the indestructible cheerleader.

It was silly, because she was indestructible, but he heard about a waitress in a town not too far away from Odessa who had the top of her head cut off and her brain missing.

It was rumored that the girl knew everything, and honestly as farfetched as it may sound, he found himself believing it, especially after his girlfriend showed him a thick book on special abilities that a doctor from India wrote, and even said that there was a chapter on her.

Honestly, he felt a slight fear that it was Claire, especially considering it was probably the same killer who murdered the waitress in that town not too far from her.

He felt his heart stop for a moment when he heard the reports that it was a blonde cheerleader who had the same signs of the girl that died at the diner yesterday, the only exception was that her brain was still intact. So maybe someone interfered, or this wasn't the cheerleader that the serial killer wanted.

But he couldn't find any evidence that it was a blade that sliced opened her head, much like the waitress who worked at some café, and given the amount of time, it would have taken several minutes for a person to make a cut.

The waitress had only been missing for a couple of minutes before someone found her dead body with her brain missing, and all the kitchen knives were checked for blood.

He was surprised to see Claire standing there as soon as he looked up her cheerleading uniform, stained with blood along with her beautiful, golden locks, and had smears of blood on her slightly frightened, pale face.

He instantly brought the thin white sheet to cover the deceased cheerleader with, before making his way over, making sure he deposited his bloody gloves in the trash bin before embracing the cheerleader in a tight embrace.

"I thought it was you," he murmured softly into her golden locks that smelled faintly like blood, but he didn't care. He was simply happy that she was still alive.

"It was supposed to me," she mumbled slightly into the blue cloth of his scrubs, "The guy thought Jackie was me because she saved that guy from the fire. I tried to save her but he slammed me against the wall."

The silent implication was that it wasn't until Claire started to heal that the killer started to go after her, and he honestly thought it was a miracle that she was still alive.

"Um, this guy saved me," she continued, "He kind of looked like you by the way. I honestly thought it was you when I bumped into him the first time."

"Well, you know what they say," he uttered lightly, causing the corner of her lips turned into a slight smile, "That everyone has a twin somewhere in the world."

"Well the two of you can defiantly pass as twins," she mused lightly, "he fell off the building with the killer and he somehow managed to survive. I think he was able absorb my ability or something, or at least have the same gift as I do."

"And the killer?" he questioned softly.

She shrugged lightly, "He was gone when I got there. I think he is still alive."

He nodded slightly with a small frown on his face. If the killer was still alive then he would probably come after Claire again to get her powers or something.

"But I don't know how," she uttered lightly. "He should have died when he fell off the building with Peter."

"Peter?" he questioned, absorbing the name into his memory. "Was that the guy who saved you?"

She nodded slightly as her emerald green eyes slightly wondered towards the body on the metal table that was covered with the thin sheet, "Is that Jackie?"

He nodded and watched as she walked over to the deceased cheerleader, slightly pulling down the white sheet down and revealing the girl's face, "She told me to run even though she was being killed."

He slightly wrapped his arm around her petite form, offering as much comfort as he could to the indestructible cheerleader. He had heard stories of the cheerleader and how cruel she was to his girlfriend, as well as the fact she used to be her best friend when they were younger.

"She died right in front of me," Claire continued softly into the cloth of his blue scrub, "And I was powerless to stop him even though I tried."

"And perhaps that is good enough for her," Ted advised softly, "That you tried to save her, and in return she felt the need to save you as well."

"It's still my fault she died," She mumbled softly.

"No one made her take the credit for saving the man in the fire," He uttered lightly. "She did that on her own."

"But if I took the credit then she would probably be still alive," She countered softly, glancing up at him with red rimmed eyes.

"And you might be dead," He opposed gently.

"Maybe not," she uttered softly, "Peter said that he was supposed to save the cheerleader, and if I did take the credit, I hardly think I would want recognition for the deed with a whole interview and press call, meaning that guy would never find me."

Ted didn't say anything to that comment, and he honestly couldn't think of a single thing to say to it either. While she did make a point; Claire really wasn't the type of person to take credit and publicity for a heroic deed. She was the type of person who was simply glad that she saved the person's life, not because she hoped to get some type award or interview.

"You shouldn't blame yourself," He offered softly, "If you knew that Jackie was going to die the day she admitted to saving that man do you honestly think you wouldn't have stepped forward?"

"I guess you're right," she uttered softly, feeling a bit bitter than she did a half an hour ago when she first thought she was responsible for Jackie's murder

.

"Let me finish up here and then we can leave," he uttered softly, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead. She nodded slightly, knowing it would probably only take Ted five minutes tops to do it, and she glanced at him as he put the dead cheerleader in a metal drawer where they usually stored dead bodies after they had been examined.

He slightly wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder as he led her out of the morgue and towards his car.

She moved into his warm embrace, as the morgue doors shut behind her. She silently knows that she will always feel safe in his arms.

-The End