Come What May - Chapter 1
By obi's girl
Summary: Five months after Peter "left" with Claude, Claire is living in the Petrelli mansion, wishing that Peter would come back to her. But every day he's gone, Claire begins to doubt that he'll come back.
It had been exactly five months, six days, eleven hours, ten minutes, and two seconds since the last time Claire had seen Peter before he literally vanished in front of her with his new mentor, Claude Rains. The minutes and the seconds probably varied, but one thing Claire was certain of: she wished Peter, her hero, would return to her.
After Peter had left with Claude, everyone had pretty much gone back to his or her normal life. Isaac continued to paint, of course; Nathan won his election and became a congressman; Matt went back to his wife in L.A; Audrey returned to the Bureau, although she was demoted to smaller assignments after Sylar had finally been captured. Ando and Hiro rented an apartment not far from Isaac's studio. Ando had quickly adapted to New York life, and would often drag Hiro to many city nightclubs, with the ultimate goal of picking up women.
As for Claire, Nathan reluctantly took her into his home. He had to explain to Heidi about Peter, Claire, and their small group super friends. She found his story incredible and thought he was coming down with something until he told her that he also had an ability himself—and that that was the reason why he had survived the accident that left her paralyzed and wheelchair bound. Heidi couldn't believe the last part, but after thinking it over, it made sense. But instead of resenting him for it, Heidi accepted what happened and took Claire in.
It surprised Claire, but in five months, she had grown quite attached to the Petrelli family; even Nathan didn't her bother as much anymore. They both shared a love for Peter, and often shared many nights together, lamenting over him. Claire, of course, never hinted to him that her feelings for his little brother were more than a crush but she suspected that he probably already knew.
But the times Nathan wasn't home, Claire would cry in her room, wishing Peter was there to tell her that everything was going to be all right. Five months and she hadn't heard anything from him or Claude. Five months of agony, of wondering if he was even still alive. Claire couldn't take it anymore and not knowing if Peter was all right or not, was killing her.
One day, she decided to take matters into her own hands and went over to Isaac's studio, asking if he knew anything about Peter's whereabouts. The painter was surprised to see her, but reluctantly informed her that he hadn't painted anything telling him where Peter was.
Claire didn't believe him and looked through his paintings one by one, and after she had done that, she broke down and cried. Isaac comforted her and promised her that wherever Peter was, he was safe and he would be back soon.
But Nathan had promised her that many times before, and she wanted to hear that he would be back tomorrow. Isaac wished he could have done more to console her, but there was nothing else he could have done for her.
Claire took a taxi back to the Petrelli mansion, walked in a daze to her room and closed her door, sitting in there for hours until dinner was ready.
Heidi glanced up at Claire's room before joining Nathan in the kitchen. She really felt for Claire. Five months, and not one word from Peter. She knew Nathan was in the same state, but he somehow managed to hide his sorrow a lot better than Claire, and it annoyed her. Claire needed Peter; she needed comfort, and no one was there for her.
"Something has to be done, Nathan," she said to him.
"What has to be done?" he asked, going over some new congressional bills before dinner.
Heidi scowled at him, nodding to Claire's door. "What do you think, Nathan? Claire hasn't been herself since Peter left, and you haven't either," she pointed out.
Nathan put down the bill he was reading and looked over at his wife. "Heidi, it's sweet that you're worried about Claire, but honestly, what can any of us do to bring her out of her shell? It's been five months and Peter's still with off his mentor…I can't bring him back until he's ready to come back," he said.
"You know, I'm still getting used to these abilities, but you know Claire's depression isn't about her new-found ability. It's about Peter, Nathan, and that girl needs him," she cried.
"Even if I were to look for him, I wouldn't know where to look. My God, Heidi, he's invisible! I can't look for someone who's invisible."
She shrugged. "But he's only invisible when he's with Claude," she pointed out. "He can't be invisible all the time, Nathan. Have you checked his apartment?"
"Honey, he's invisible," he reminded her, "and I seriously doubt that Peter would have the time to visit his own apartment. Claude took him out of the city, remember? So wherever he is, he's probably in an alley somewhere, sleeping under newspapers with his mentor."
"NATHAN!" Heidi scolded him. "Peter may be invisible, but he's not a bum! You may not want to see what Claire's going through, but I can't ignore it. She needs him, and I have a feeling, wherever he is, he needs her too."
Nathan rolled his eyes; Heidi went to go get the boys for dinner, and neither of them noticed Claire listening on the steps, silently crying.
Peter walked cautiously across the rooftop. Claude told him to meet him at the top of the Deveaux building, but when he got there, his mentor was nowhere to be found. In five months, Peter had learned several things about Claude Rains. His invisibility came about when he was a teenager, going to school in London. At first, he had thought it was cool and exciting.
But the next day, when he woke up, he discovered that he was still invisible. His parents thought he had run away because they couldn't find him anywhere, and called his friends asking if they had seen him, but none of them knew, either. His parents searched for him for years until they inevitably gave up.
After getting over the initial shock that he was permanently invisible, Claude left London and traveled around the world. He stowed away on planes, traveling to different places he'd never dreamed of, but that got tiresome quickly, and he went to the United States, starting a cross-country tour before settling in New York.
Peter talked to Claire a lot, and Claude painfully listened to his 'love woes,' as he called them. Except to Claude, his stories sounded more like American soap operas. But he humored Peter and listened anyway. Peter didn't have anyone else to talk to but him.
As Peter crept around the birdcages, he felt a strong blow to his face and fell backwards onto the ground. Claude appeared suddenly, looking down at his sorry form as he attempted to nurse his bleeding nose. "What did I tell you?" he said. "Always pay attention. Let me guess, you were thinking about a certain blond cheerleader and got distracted?"
"I wasn't thinking about Claire," he shot back. "Why did you have to do that?"
"To teach you to pay attention," Claude said, and held out his hand to him. Peter looked at him warily and grasped it as Claude pulled him up. "You're never going to focus your ability if you keep on getting distracted, Peter."
As Peter regained his balance, his nose stopped bleeding and healed itself. He looked angrily at Claude. There were many times he questioned his mentor's methods of teaching, but after falling off a roof and nearly dying, he stopped questioning him because he didn't like being thrown off roofs and having to regenerate. That had happened at least five times in the past few months. The first time, so he could recall Nathan's flying ability. He couldn't, and the other times were really trial and error.
"There's a time and place for distractions, but during training time isn't the right time, Peter," he said. "What would have happened to you if I had been that Sylar you told me about? Your head would have been sliced open and there wouldn't have been anyone to save you."
"That wouldn't have happened, because Sylar's been captured," he reasoned.
Claude shrugged. "Well, there are other crazies out there besides Sylar," he reasoned.
Peter grinned. "Like you?" he joked.
Claude's eyes narrowed and he picked up a nearby staff, thrusting at Peter. He didn't like being called crazy, and now Peter would have to pay for his mistake.
Nathan stared blankly at the two Japanese men standing on his doorstep. Normally, if he were needed for a 'situation,' Nathan would meet Isaac and the others at his studio, but before he could ask why they were there, Heidi came up behind him and invited Hiro and Ando inside.
"Smile, Nathan," she reminded him. "I invited Hiro and Ando over to cheer up Claire."
Hiro smiled. "Heidi told us about Claire's condition, that she hasn't been the same since Peter left. We miss him too, but it's been especially hard on her," he said.
"I'll go get her," Heidi offered but as she turned, Claire was already coming down the stairs to see who had arrived.
The closer she got down the stairs, the more she recognized the two figures and came running down, hugging Hiro and Ando. "Oh my God, what are you guys doing here?!" she cried. Claire tearfully hugged him, grateful to see Hiro and Ando, but still, she wished it were Peter was hugging
"We have a new mission," Hiro said proudly. "To cheer you up."
Claire laughed and Heidi smiled, grateful to see a positive emotion in her after all the sulking she'd been through in the past five months. Claire smiled at them thoughtfully, but still felt a hurtful pang that Peter couldn't have done the same thing. "Thanks, but I…" she started. "That isn't necessary.
"Claire," Heidi injected, "you've been moping around this house for five months…let Hiro and Ando cheer you up. I hate to see you so sad and depressed, especially Nathan, right?" Heidi elbowed her husband in the stomach and he reluctantly agreed.
"Heidi's right," Nathan offered, "Moping around isn't going to bring Peter back quicker. He needs time, Claire, to figure out how his powers work. And I doubt that he's moping the same way you have,"
Heidi glared at him and Nathan looked down. Claire couldn't help but giggle at his statement. Peter didn't seem like the moping type either but the prospect of Peter moping around, missing her badly, the same way she missed him, made her feel somewhat better because at least she wasn't alone in her grief. "I'll tell you what Claire, I can teleport you anywhere you like…Is there any place that you've always wanted to see?" Hiro offered, "I can take you there,"
"As long as you're back for dinner, of course," Nathan added.
Claire blushed. There was only one place she wanted to be, and that was at Peter's side but since she didn't know his exact location, she couldn't make that request. "Um, are you sure you have a handle on your ability, Hiro?" Claire wandered.
Hiro stood up confidently and fixed his glasses. "Of course I do; I'm Hiro," he said.
"Well, if it's not too much, I'd like to see an old friend of mine in Odessa. His name is Zach," Claire answered. "Until Peter, he was the only friend I had who actually knew about me."
"You don't want to see your father?" Heidi wandered.
Claire scowled at the mention of him. Except for Sylar and Jackie's bitchy attitude, Claire hated her adoptive father more than anyone. He lied to her about so many things, her past, her ability and everything that was good in her life…the last thing she needed was to see that man. But if there were a way she could see her mom or Lyle without him being there, Claire would have agreed to that. "No," she said simply, "I'm not ready for that yet. Just take me see Zach, Hiro, and I'll be happy."
Hiro looked over at Heidi and Nathan, and then gestured to Claire to hold onto him as he squinted his eyes in concentration.
Peter breathed heavily. For twenty minutes, Claude had chased him around the roof with a large staff -- all because he called him crazy. Peter knew he was, but Claude didn't let up until he used one of his powers to stop him.
And he did, except it was one he wasn't expecting to surface. It was Hiro's ability to stop time; he stopped the staff before it came down around him. But surprisingly, that wasn't the only thing he stopped.
Everything within around him froze too, including Claude. Peter was freaked out at first, but soon realized that this one of the few moments he could really have fun with his mentor and wouldn't be punished. So he carefully took the staff Claude was holding, firmly gripping it in his hands and blinked again, unfreezing everything.
Claude noticed that his whacking stick was gone and looked around for Peter, but didn't see anyone. He felt a strong blow to his stomach. Claude buckled over and then glared at Peter as he became visible, a grin on his face, and a scowl on Claude's.
"I don't even want to know what you did," he said icily.
Now Peter was sitting against a far wall, resting; Claude joined him later, after seeing to his pigeons.
"I think that's enough," he said. "So, what did you learn today?"
Peter looked at him warily. "To never call you crazy," he said, "and to pay attention,"
"And what else?" he questioned.
"To get rid of my distractions," Peter finished, "but I can't rid of all of my distractions. I mean; some of them give me focus."
Claude looked at him curiously. "Oh? Are we talking about a thing, or a person?" he wondered.
Peter grinned. "A person; small, talkative blond with green eyes and the most adorable smile," he said dreamily.
"Ah! Her again," Claude mused. "Listen, you know I like Claire, but you need to focus. The reason why we 'left' New York was so no one could bother us."
"But we haven't let New York," he pointed out. "My brother's house is a half an hour away, and Isaac's studio is downstairs. It's amazing no one has discovered us up here."
Claude didn't say anything. One of the benefits of being invisible was that no one could see you, and he and Peter had been lucky so far that no one had discovered them. But he knew they couldn't go on like that forever. Eventually, someone, maybe even Isaac, would figure out that they hadn't left New York, and then Claire would find out that he lied yet again, and she'd never talk to Peter again.
"I really miss Claire," Peter said. "I hate being so close to her, and yet, so far away. I remember the first night she stayed in my apartment; she showered, and when she came out, she was dressed in the cutest pink pajamas, and they had small pigs all over it."
Claude laughed. "You really like this girl, don't you?" he asked. Peter nodded yes. "As sweet as she is, during training sessions, you have to forget about her and focus. I can't help you control your ability if you're not focused."
"I know," he muttered, "I just wish I could see her; see how she's doing."
Claude sighed, considering his student. If seeing Claire could—and 'could' meaning a big maybe—help him focus, then he might consider it. Regardless of what Peter thought, he did like some people, and Claire was one of those people. Their first meeting was something, and she truly was a very special girl.
"All right," he conceded and Peter looked at him. "We'll see your girlfriend, but just this once. I need you focused, kid, and if seeing her will help you do that, then I'm willing to let you see her."
Peter smiled but frowned, sensing a big 'but' coming. "However, this isn't going to be a big reunion for the two of you; no flirting or getting cozy with each other. You stay invisible, you see her, your brother and your family if you want, but after that, you're gone and back to business. What about it?" he said.
"Fair," Peter agreed. Even if he couldn't talk or touch Claire, just seeing her again was enough for Peter. And later, after he had control of his power, he could finally be with her.
Claire couldn't believe it, but she was actually standing in front of Zach's house with, Hiro beside her. She smiled at Hiro before walking up to the front door, ringing the doorbell. She thought Zach's mom would answer, but instead, Zach did. He was dumbstruck to see Claire on his doorstep; she'd e-mailed him about staying in New York, waiting for a friend to return.
"Claire?" he questioned. "What are you – how did you?"
Claire grinned and gestured to Hiro to come closer. "Zach, this is Hiro Nakamura; he can stop time and teleport," she explained.
Zach opened the screen door and stepped outside, looking Hiro over. Teleportation? He'd read about that in comic books, but he didn't think anyone actually had that type of power. "So, wait a minute, you teleported from New York to here because of this guy?" he asked.
"Yeah," Claire beamed. "I needed to see you, Zach."
Zach blushed and let them inside. "My parents are at work, so we're all alone," he said. "So Claire, what's up that you had to ask this dude to teleport you all the way from New York back to the place you wanted so badly to get away from?"
Claire looked at Hiro. "Um, Hiro, I need to talk to Zach in private. Can you wait here for me?" she asked.
"Of course, Claire," he said. "Just call when you're ready to go."
Claire thanked him and Zach led her to the backyard to talk. He grabbed two sodas on the way and gave one to Claire. "What is it, Claire?" he asked. "The last time I talked you was back in November, and now it's February."
"Have you seen my family since I left? How's my mom, how's Lyle?" she wondered.
"I've seen your brother at school," he said, "but I haven't been over to your house since you left, so I don't know how your mom is... Are they the only reasons why you came back for a visit?"
Claire took a sip of her soda. "Remember that friend I told you about before when I first said that I was staying in New York?" Claire started. "He's still missing…he left New York with his mentor, and he hasn't contacted me since…Zach, I'm really worried."
"Wow, slow down," he eased. "This is the same guy who saved you at homecoming, right?"
Claire hesitated. "Yeah," she whispered. "He has an ability, too, but it's complicated…. He could have died saving me at homecoming, but he didn't because I was there."
Zach looked at her skeptically. After homecoming, there was a lot of talk of what had actually happened that night. The word around campus was that Claire was there with Jackie when she was murdered, but ran away. Supposedly, Claire didn't talk to him about her power until the next day at school on the football field, when she came raving about somebody erasing her brother's mind.
And then, less than a day later, Claire asked him to come with her to the old oilrig not far from their school and to bring his video camera. He remembered seeing her jump from the top of the rig and land on the ground, twisting her arm. But what happened next was better than anything he'd read in comic books. She snapped her arm back into place and walked away without a scratch.
Claire explained to him about what she could do, and that it was important for him not to mention what happened that day to anyone. Zach promised to keep her secret, but he still found what she could do unbelievable.
This Peter Petrelli was the first person Claire had met who had an ability like her. Zach had never met him, of course, but he supposed from Claire's description of him in her e-mails that he was a "real hottie." Zach just thought she had a crush on him, but now he was starting to get the feeling that her feelings for Peter were a lot more than a teenage crush.
Zach sighed. "Wait a minute, this guy you're talking about, he the one that was there the night Jackie was murdered?" he wondered. Claire hesitantly nodded yes. "He was the one who saved you?"
"Yeah," she mused. "Why?"
"Simple. It's a hero-rescuing-damsel-in-distress complex," he explained, but his explanation only elicited a glare from her. "You never took psychology? Never seen Star Wars?"
"Of course I've seen Star Wars...and Leia wasn't exactly smitten over Han the first time she saw him, for your information," she retorted, "but it's more than that. The three days we spent together, we bonded…there's an undeniable connection there, Zach...we even kissed three times."
Zach shrieked. "And you came here all the way from New York just to gush to me that you're in love with your hero?" he joked. "Claire, you could have written about that in your diary…why did you need to come here to realize this?"
"Because I've been alone for five months, Zach and I needed to talk to someone who understands," she said. "Nathan, Heidi and the others are great, but they don't understand me, the way you and Peter get me. If I told them how I felt about Peter, they'd brush it off as a sweet little crush, and it's not."
"Yeah," Zach said casually, "but Claire, the next time you need to talk to me, you don't need to teleport here. I would have been fine talking to you on your cell phone or via web cam."
Claire blushed. "Nathan doesn't have a web cam," she mused, and looked at Zach thoughtfully, "but it was good to see you, Zach. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, miss I-can-re-grow-my-kidney-and-no-one-would-know-about-it," he teased. "I wouldn't worry about your friend. He'll be all right."
"Thanks, Zach," she whispered. "I just needed someone like you to tell me that. It sounds so fake coming from my other 'friends.'"
"No problem, Claire," he said.
tbc