A/N: This takes place in the exposed future of "I Am Become Death" where Sylar is going by Gabriel and taking care of his son, Noah. I also thank my two beta readers, Melissaeverlasting and Azn fan gurl, they made this so much better :)
Smash! The ceramic cup exploded in a puff of dust. The dozen pieces now littered the dining room floor. Gabriel sighed, but brightened his expression for his son's sake. It wasn't too big of a deal; it was just a cheap mug. He knelt and picked up the larger pieces, gathering them in his open hand.
Amid the scritch and tinkle of broken pottery, Noah watched his dad clean up the mess. The sun from the kitchen window melted onto the floor, flicks of light escaping as it bounced off the reflective shards. Without a second thought, Noah got down on his knees and reached over to help. His chubby fingers grabbed a piece and held it out for daddy to take.
"Oh, Noah—" Gabriel stopped, plucking the sharp piece from his son's hand. The surprised face that met his startled him, and he smiled gently. "Here, come on." He deposited the pieces onto the counter and took his son's wrists, gently lifting the boy off the floor and into a highchair. Noah giggled at the short ride. Gabriel was already at the fridge, rummaging through to find the milk.
"Daddy, we gonna be late?"
"No, I don't think so. Not if we hurry, and you eat your cereal." He had the milk carton in hand and was pouring it into a little bowl. The swish of the white liquid had Noah's attention. He was silent as Gabriel shook the carton to get the drops and proceeded to fix a quick, cold breakfast.
Gabriel slid the blue bowl in front of his son and hurried to the closet, selecting the worn dust pan and duster. He quickly cleaned up the mess, brushing the shards and dust into the garbage bin under the sink.
When they had both finished breakfast Gabriel cleaned Noah up with a wet cloth and then picked him up around the middle, setting him on his hip. He took his keys from the counter with his other hand. At the front door he juggled Noah, managing to lock up the house with one hand and not drop the three year old. He went around to the garage and set Noah into his car seat, strapping him up gently.
"Where we going, Daddy?"
"To the doctor, Noe."
Noah's expression scrunched up and Gabriel realized he had made a mistake.
"Daddy, I don't wanna go there!" Noah wailed. His pleas fell on deaf ears however, and Gabriel kept his expression carefully understanding.
"I know you don't, buddy, but going to the doctor will keep you safe from diseases and—" Noah had his finger in Gabriel's nose. The little boy grinned happily as Gabriel wrinkled his nose and tugged Noah's hand, putting it in his lap, over the harness.
"No, Noah. Don't do that to your Daddy." He sighed heavily. At least he had forgotten about their trip, Gabriel thought, smiling as he shut the car door.
After about a minute of driving, Noah started up again.
"But it's so scary," he whimpered.
Gabriel glanced up in the rear-view mirror and wished he hadn't. His son looked so dejected it made him cringe. He really was sorry about putting his only son through another shot, but it was necessary his health.
"It won't be. I'll be there, holding your hand. I promise."
When nothing came from his son, Gabriel took another peek in the mirror. The kid looked determined, as he set his chin that way. Gabriel was glad he wasn't taking it too hard.
When they got to the clinic, Gabriel unstrapped Noah and carried him into the reception area.
"Hi there, I'm Mr. Gray with Noah, who is here to get his s-h-o-t."
The receptionist smiled knowingly "Mr. Gray... ah yes. Your appointment is in about a half hour."
Gabriel set Noah on the carpet and the little boy looked around the waiting room. There were plastic chairs and… a toy box! He padded over to the brightly coloured box and after admiring the contents, he chose a wooden block. He took it out and held it with two hands, getting to his knees. He wondered at the perfect block with the letters and symbols on it, its colours mesmerizing. He put it on the ground and looked at it some more. Then, he realized that he could have more blocks to build with. He got up again and stuck his arm into the box, getting one at a time until he had a small mound. He crouched down next to the blocks and began building a tower.
As his small son awed at the blocks, Gabriel watched with almost equal wonder. There was such curiosity there, such rapt attention. When the receptionist asked him something he had to shake his head and ask her to repeat it. He was happy though. He had learned that soon after becoming a father, when his son was happy, so was he. It was a strange feeling, one that he had been desperately lacking the past few years-before Noah had been born. He'd been dropped right off on his apartment's doorstep. The note said that the sleeping baby was his son, and that was it.
He knew who the mother was, and also that she was desperate enough to drop the little boy off at his doorstep. But he had resisted contacting her. He wished to, but he knew that was not the best idea.
So he had to be content watching his son and seeing her in his face.
Unable to watch any longer, Gabriel got up from his chair and crouched next to the little boy, admiring his efforts.
Noah's focus was on the blocks, but he soon noticed his father and shyly handed him one. Gabriel took it and set it on top of another block.
"Is that good?"
Noah looked at him. Nodded.
"Good. A real Mount Everest."
"A… munt evest?" His small eyebrows knit together.
Gabriel smiled and ruffled Noah's hair. "Yeah, it's a mountain. A really high one." He put a hand parallel to the floor a few inches above his head.
Noah's mouth formed an 'o'.
"Noah. Noah Gray?"
Noah's expression fell as he was lifted onto his father's hip. The receptionist led them down the hall and into a cold, strange-smelling room with a padded table and countertop.
"Thank you," Gabriel said to the woman. she left, saying the doctor would be with them in a few minutes. She closed the door behind her. Gabriel set Noah down on the crinkly bed and rubbed his son's neck. The warm touch soothed Noah, and he was quiet.
Gabriel was examining a poster of the thorax when the door swung open. A heavy-set woman came in, closing the door behind her.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Moring, and you must be Noah's father?"
"Yes," Gabriel gave his hand to shake and she took it. Her hand was papery and cold. "I'm Mr. Gray, and we're here for Noah's shot, right buddy?" He turned to his son, who was looking at the doctor with wide eyes.
Gabriel took his son's arm and squeezed, giving him support.
Dr. Moring smiled at Noah. "So, how old are you, Noah?" she had a nice voice and warm eyes… but Noah wasn't convinced.
"I'm three." He bit his lip and looked to Gabriel, who nodded encouragingly.
"Really? I'm impressed; it's not often that I get big boys in here."
Noah blushed and looked down at his feet.
"Well, alright then. Let me just… Mr. Gray," Gabriel took his eyes off his son and looked to her, "You might want to distract him while I…" she whispered that last part. Noah didn't seem to notice.
"Oh, yeah, good idea." He turned back to Noah and crouched down so he was at eye level. "Alright bud, this won't take long, okay?" Noah nodded. "Now, I was thinking that we could go to that ice cream place you like after. The one with the... what was it again that you liked about that place?"
Noah's eyes lit up. "The blue sprinkles!"
"Yeah! And what else, what did we have when we went there last time?"
"The… the banana sp—sp—" He struggled with the word, but Gabriel let him try.
"Sp—split!" Noah smiled.
"Good, the banana split. I liked that one too…" he glanced at Dr. Moring, who had the needle in her hand.
"It had strawberries and chocolate and bananas… that was good, wasn't it?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Well we can go there in a few minutes, okay? Does that sound good?"
Noah nodded some more, and then jumped.
His little intake of breath had Gabriel standing up and hugging him to his chest, making motions on his back. The doctor took a little round Band-Aid and stuck it on Noah's arm. Noah turned his head so he could see his wounded appendage. It didn't look that bad. He exhaled and put his left hand up against it. That spot was a bit sore now.
"That's it. You did really well, Noah." Dr. Moring said gently, disposing of the needle. When she was done that, she searched around in her white pocket and took out two lollipops, one red and one green. "Which one would you like, honey?"
"Uh… that one." He pointed to the red one. Gabriel nudged him. "Please." He smiled to her when she handed him the cherry-red one. He held it tightly in his hand when his dad lifted him off the examining table. Gabriel set Noah on the gray linoleum and took his hand.
They said thank you to the receptionist, Gabriel signed some things, and that was the end of the doctor's trip. Well, they still had ice cream. Noah grinned while Gabriel buckled him in.