Changes

by PrincessMarMar

Sylar changed for good and became Gabriel Gray again. Claire learned to respect, forgive, befriend, and love this new man. Together, they made something they weren't ready for. One day, Gabriel made a mistake and Claire lost much of what she had for him, throwing him out. She decided to raise what they had on her own without Gabriel. But he vowed he'd find a way to watch over her.

Hello guys! This is my first Heroes story ever! And my first ever Sylaire one too! Just recently I was re-watching Heroes with my mom, and, well before I didn't think it was all that special, but now it's absolutely grown on me. I'm in love with it! :D I'm especially VERY much in love with the incredibly handsome Mr. Sylar. I also took a massive liking to the cheerleader, aka Claire! I love her realistic character and her brave attitude towards everything. I love them so much; I've found myself now shipping them! They make a super sexy couple if I might say. So in light of my newfound love and ship, I've come up with this! It's a long, long time after the series end story where everyone has either died or has grown old… except for Sylar and Claire! I'm afraid that all the really good plots for Sylar/Claire stories were taken by the awesome fic writers here, so I decided to make a story that would be an after event to THOSE stories. I'll still add a few little events that happened before though that'll work as flashbacks. I think this sounds pretty good on my end… I hope you all agree! Enjoy :D

Claire sat alone and quietly on her bed as she read a magazine.

She was right. She knew Sylar'd never change. Monsters never change. You can keep them tame them for a while, but once that bloodthirsty hunger grows big enough, it's no longer possible to ignore, and then it MUST be satisfied. There's no such thing as a good monster, or a "reformed" monster. He was able to hold it in for a good amount of time, she gave him that. But how could she have been so stupid? To actually let him in and trust him! Of course, he was so smart and she was so gullible. And Claire Bennet was NEVER gullible. Especially since the events that had happened to her seventy years prior.

Seventy years, had it really been that long? She really had tried to forget. It was too much to remember. She didn't want to remember the pain she had back then. She wanted to be happy, be NORMAL. But Claire knew that was inevitable; she couldn't make friends with anyone normal either. As Claire read over a page on beauty, it reminded her of some old girlfriends she had. She'd watch them as they grew older, gaining wrinkles, sprouting grey hairs, and slowly strayed away from them so they wouldn't see her and realize she wasn't looking any older. Her girlfriends complimented her on how she maintained her good, youthful looks (body especially) and then asked what her secret was. She could never tell them. She could only say it must've been genetics, metabolism, and maybe the face crème she used every night. Claire slowly drifted apart from those people and kept herself from forming any close ties. If they were to find out anything about who she really was, they probably wouldn't be quiet about it. And the government would surely arrive at her doorstep in no time. She certainly wasn't going to become a freak experiment.

She closed the magazine, got up, and set it on her nightstand across from her. She walked to the bathroom and looked at herself in the large mirror, then reached into the medicine cabinet to the right from it. Claire pulled out a bottle of face crème… the kind she had told them she was using. She sure didn't lie when she said she was using it! Chuckling to herself, she dabbed some onto a cotton ball. She evenly spread and blended it into her clear, thin, yet about eighty-eight year old skin. It was hard to believe but Claire was eighty-eight years old, yet she held the appearance of a lovely twenty-one year old. When she finished, she stood back and almost laughed at herself, but rolled her eyes with another chuckle.

"Peachy."

She headed back to her bed and lay back down. What time was it? She looked over at her clock to see. 8:34 PM it read, in bright red letters. Not that late. Hm. She picked up the remote and turned on her television, hoping something good might be on. Nothing but news.

"Of course." She shook her head. "Always with the- oh."

Claire's face scrunched slightly as she felt a small cramp come on in her back. Sitting up, she reached back and gently massaged the area with her knuckles she felt it coming from. The pain went away in a few seconds. Her body must've healed it. She smiled and slowly lay back down.

The news went to commercial and displayed a commercial for a jewelry store. A smooth woman's voice described each of the pieces of jewelry as they were displayed on the screen along with their so called "low" prices. Claire didn't care for any of them, they weren't all that pretty and she had enough jewelry. She couldn't afford them anyway; their "low" prices were around two thousand dollars a piece. Then, the woman's voice spoke of a stainless steel men's watch and the corresponding item appeared. Claire froze when she saw the name on the watch's face.

"This lovely Sylar watch is the perfect gift for your Mr. Wonderful."

She felt her breath go short a moment and reached out for the remote. She couldn't find it for a moment, but as soon as she did, she picked it up and changed the channel.

"Claire.. I just wanted to say that.. I'm sorry. For everything."

She chuckled darkly, "Sorry? You're SORRY? It's way too late for apologies."

"Well I am. I'm VERY sorry. I look back and I.. I'm just so sorry."

Claire glared at him. "You honestly think I believe you? After everything you did to me and my family you think I'm going to just forgive you and everything's going to be alright? You're a bastard, Sylar. And you're a monster. That's all you'll ever be."

"You're right. I am." He smiled painfully. "I'm everything bad you think of me as. But I want you to know that I don't want to be that anymore. I want to change. And no, I know you're not going to forgive me right away. You probably won't ever forgive me for the things I've done to you. But I am so sorry." There was a sick sincerity in his voice. One that Claire wanted to ignore and push aside. Her hatred was far too strong. "I can't bring back anyone. I can't fix anything. But.. I can fix myself. Because really, I don't want to be what I was anymore. I want to be better, I want to live better. And I am going to do that. I want to be like Peter.. maybe even like you."

She was repulsed by what she was hearing. The monster wanted to be like HER? No way. She was merciless and unforgiving towards his repentant attitude, "Get the hell out of here, Sylar. Just run away and don't ever come back. " She hissed.

His eyebrows lowered, "We can never run away from each other, Claire. You should know that. We're both going to live forever."

She cringed at the remembrance of his words. Then she could remember it all.

"Well I can certainly try." She remarked firmly.

"You can. But why? You can hate me as much as you like and turn yourself into a hateful person. That's not you, Claire. You're better than that."

She shuddered in anger, "You don't know me, Sylar. You don't the person I'm going to become."

"I DO know you. I know that you never back down from a fight until somebody with Doyle's ability stops you. You think after that time we were together I wouldn't notice?"

She looked away, not wanting to answer him and definitely not wanting to think about that together part. Taking a breath, she looked up at him again and glared, "You disgust me, Sylar. You're a psychopath. And if you think you're going to win this, you're not. My legs can break after I've ran far enough, but I can just pop them back into place and run again." She grinned victoriously, "I can never stop. I'll just keep. On. Going." Then her expression turned angry again, "So get the hell away from me Sylar. You want forgiveness? This is as close to forgiveness as you'll get from me. I won't waste away trying to destroy you as long as I live," She didn't acknowledge his immortality, "I just don't want to see you again. Live the so-called good life you want. And I'll live my own."

The tiniest flicker of hope in his mind dissipated. This was an opportunity at a new start he wasn't going to get after all. He remained calm but noticeably hurt, "Fine then, Claire. If that's what you want. I'll leave you alone and never try to see you again." He started to leave when he stopped and turned back. "And my name's Gabriel."

Claire only glared viciously at him.

With Nathan's ability, he flew off into the night.

That was seventy years ago. Seventy years after the carnival. She had realized that showing herself to the world wasn't a good idea. She had accomplished being truthful to herself and others, but the media attention had been too much for her. It forced her to go back into hiding again. And with the threat of the government wanting to get their hands on her made it worse. To add insult to injury, things didn't work out for her and Gretchen and she had left. Her misery overwhelmed her. She felt alone and lost again, and went up to Washington to be with her father, Noah, and Lauren. She temporarily moved in with them. Eventually, her long disappearance had made the world forget about her, and she was able to walk back out into the sunlight again. The government wouldn't stop, however, and she had to make sure they couldn't try to find her. She found herself forced to change her looks, wearing a little more make-up, growing her hair out, dying it brown, and even changing her name to Claire Benson. It was a change she wasn't ready for or wanting, but she had gone through changes before. She'd eventually be alright with these ones.

Sylar… He wasn't there. Like he told her he wouldn't. She couldn't be convinced he'd change like her either. Not at all. She believed it'd be at least a million years before she could respect him. Unbeknownst to her that it'd take but ten years. Her uncle Peter, the man who'd always be her hero, had shown her who he was now. A little while after, Claire decided to move out of Noah's apartment and arranged to move in with Peter and Angela in New York; they were the family she didn't completely and felt she needed to get to know that way, while taking another shot at a normal life for herself.

She discovered that Peter had forgiven Sylar. Claire thought he was crazy for actually forgiving this man- monster. He had killed his brother, her real father! For a while she felt that Peter had betrayed her and their family by forgiving him. She felt that he was brainwashed by Sylar. He explained to her that Sylar had a very painful and terrible life growing up filled with secrets and lies, just like Claire. It sickeningly reminded her of the time he had come to her college and wrote their similarities on a chalkboard. Just like her, Peter too was angry and wrathful towards him for Nathan's death; feeling as though it'd be a million years before he could respect him. But he had seen Sylar's potential for goodness for himself when he had saved Emma and stated that was something he wanted to do from then on. Sylar had spent a good amount of time with Peter, slowly earning his trust, and keeping his promises. When Sylar told Peter he was sorry for killing Nathan, Peter also saw he wasn't lying; Peter had borrowed the whole of his abilities through a handshake. With the lie detecting ability, it never made a noise in his head when he said an "I'm sorry" or a "No." to a question about him doing anything bad while Peter wasn't there. He believed him and could finally forgive Sylar, and he hoped Claire could do the same. He had eventually convinced her to at least give him a chance; everyone deserved one, even a person like Sylar! The truth of him was he was simply a man: a man that was lost, scarred, destroyed, craving for love, and trying to repair himself in a world where he didn't know where he really belonged… Like her.

Claire refused to acknowledge the fact that they were the same, but her mind never put it aside. They were both alone, both betrayed, and both lied to. There was no doubt about it. And she wasn't any better than he was; her hatred she was holding onto for years and years was turning her into a cold, bitter person. She NEVER wanted to become that. It was difficult, but there came a day she finally released all the horrible feelings she had towards him.. after she could see for herself that he was truly a changed, better person. Peter had convinced her to visit him in his shop, and after much hesitance and a final give in to his requests, she did. She was uncomfortable at first. She didn't know if because Peter wasn't there to protect her, he'd corner her and attack her. She kept her guard up should anything happen. Nothing did. Nothing ever did.

What she was introduced to and discovered was a man named Gabriel Gray: groomed hair, glasses, sweater vest, shop owner, and watch-fixer. Basically, he was a clean shaven, professional, kinder looking version of Sylar. Claire still saw the deranged killer she always knew. The man could tell if a watch was a few seconds slow or fast, just by holding it up to his ear. Intuitive aptitude was his ability, and that was what it was called, she thinks. He didn't go anywhere else other than his apartment when the day was over and to the grocery store to buy food. This was his new life. He never killed anyone who had abilities, he just sat alone in his little shop, working and tinkering about. He was continuing and fixing the life he had ruined. He either forced himself to not think about, or went Haitian on the memories he had as Sylar. It was definitely apparent he didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore, and had done much to rid himself of Sylar's essence. Another five years would pass for her to forgive… and start believing this man, Sylar, was a better person. Ten years would come for her and Gabriel to slowly get to know each other and become friends. He'd talk with her every time she came over, and when he was at work and needed quiet, he welcomed her to explore the shop and read any of the books on his bookshelf until he was done. She learned a lot from Gabriel, and eventually even his miserable life growing up. She felt bad for him, she truly felt bad. If she hadnt learned to be open minded she probably wouldve thought it an excuse instead. This was a, or THE reason why he became the way he was. He was nothing but a poor, tortured soul who sought love and comfort to heal the wounds he had acquired all those years. And he was just like her. That haunting chalkboard he had used years ago to explain it was right.

"So… Gabriel…" she started, "Um… What exactly do you do again?"

He smiled and didn't look up at her as he focused carefully on the opened watch in front of him, "I fix watches. Oh, and clocks too." He gestured to the ones on the wall in front of him.

"Ooh. Nice." Claire gazed at the different tools on his work desk. "So… people come in here?"

"Yep."

"Does it… pay you well?"

"Mmhmm."

She nodded and walked over to a display case near him and placed her hand on the glass. Then asked, "What made you want to build this place and work here?"

"Well," He took off his working glasses and looked up at her finally, "I'd say it's always been my passion. I love fixing these kinds of things." He waved his hand around, motioning towards all of the watches and clocks on display. "It's what I'm.. well, what I'm the best at doing. And I can't imagine myself doing anything else."

Claire bit her lip and stopped herself from uttering "Killing people maybe?" She still saw Sylar in there, and Gabriel could sense she was going Meant mention him. He glanced over at her arm and saw she was wearing a pink and gold colored watch on her right wrist.

"You have a nice watch there." He pointed out. "Where'd you get it?"

She looked down at it. "Oh... thank you. It was a gift from Peter for my 20th birthday."

"Really." His eyes flickered from her face to her watch. His eyebrows knitted slightly, "Can I see it for a moment?"

She was incredibly reluctant. He could.. somehow attack her with a watch, right? That sounded stupid, but there wasn't enough trust in her yet. She remembered what Peter had said, and knew he'd be right there should anything bad happen. She breathed in relief, and took a chance, "Um... sure. Okay." Then took off her watch and handed it to him.

He examined it closely. Then held it up to his ear, closed his eyes, and listened intently.

"Please dont break it." she said before she could stop herself.

He gave her a raised eyebrow "Seriously?" look and went back to listening in. Claire gave a nervous chuckle to which he ignored. After a couple moments he opened them and looked at Claire, "It's about a second slow."

She raised her eyebrows, "What? But it seems fine to me. The batteries died and I replaced them a week ago."

He pulled it away from his ear and held it out, "This is a very old watch, Claire. It was meant to last for ten years, but it's twice that age. It's bound to have a few bumps. But nothing I can't fix."

Setting aside his current work, he placed her watch in front of him, flipped it over, and carefully opened its back up. He examined the tiny gears and located the problem point.

Claire peered over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

Once he found what he was looking for, he set in the repairs and closed the back up. He turned around and handed it back to her.

She put it back on her wrist and smiled tinily at him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled back.

"How much do I owe you now?" Claire lightly chuckled.

"Nothing."

She tilted her head with a confused smile, "What?"

"You don't owe me anything. It's on me. Consider it a belated birthday gift."

Gabriel was smart enough to try to block out everything and anything that may bring her into believing he was Sylar again, and try to rid of the subject with something else. When they could see how much they really did have in common, Gabriel had managed to lock away all of Sylar's qualities, including Sylar's very essence, and refused to let them out again. He wanted to be Gabriel. He wanted to be good. And going back to what he once was would fulfill that desire he had.

Claire was so very special to him. He loved the way she smiled, and how her green eyes seemed to brighten along with it. He wanted to make her happy and feel safe around him. He wanted to prove he was worthy of her forgiveness. Gabriel couldn't quite put his finger on why he was so devoted to it. She was so sweet, brave, smart, and very protective of her loved ones should any danger ever come to them. He admired how her cheeks would go rosy and her eyes would light up when she smiled when he complimented her on those things. He was sure he enjoyed having her around more than she liked it, he could still tell she wasn't completely comfortable. He didn't blame her though. It was hard to get rid of what he did. Hiro would've been so useful at the moment. Gabriel still did the best he could for her. He wanted to have her as a friend so much. After all, they were going to be around forever.

She remembered the first time he flew her. It seemed like the only good moments they had was during her birthdays.

"Gabriel, I don't know-"

"Are you sure? I know you've been flown around before. Didn't Peter do that with you?" He avoided saying Nathan.

"Well yeah..." Claire seemed very hesitant. She was afraid that Sylar would come out and want to throw her into a skyscraper or an ocean after kidnapping her in flight.

He only smiled, "If you don't want to, we don't have to. We can always do something else. I just wanted to take you somewhere nice for your birthday."

That statement sounded as genuine as the smile he bore looked. Maybe she didn't need to panic as much as she thought. She giggled lightly, "You remembered."

"Why would I forget?"

"I sure did." She looked away, "Sometimes I don't realize I'm even getting older. I'm.. I guess getting used to it. The years pass by like car headlights on a freeway."

He nodded, "That's an interesting way of looking at it."

She looked at him and smirked, "What about you? You and I are both going through this."

Gabriel shrugged, "I don't see it happen either. But I don't mind. I have other things to worry about. Like my job and my shop and my apartment. No one is a regular customer either, so usually people don't notice I grow any older. I think.. I think I'll start caring when the world's population diminishes rapidly and I'm the last person left."

The thought of them eventually becoming the last people on earth scared her. It didn't anger her, only scared her witless. She'd see the end of human life happen and she'd never die from it. She looked down at her and Gabriel's shoes.

"Hey." He saw her change of expression and reached forward to touch her arm, "Don't worry.. it won't be that bad."

She looked up at him immediately after feeling his touch.

He smiled at her, "You won't be alone when it happens."

That's right, she'd have him… Sy-Gabriel. Her friend. Her FRIEND. The thought of them being the last two people on Earth didn't anger her as much as it did before. Having a friend who could live forever too wasn't so bad. She smiled back at him, the lamppost lights making her eyes shine.

"So… still don't want to fly? See the city in a completely new way?"

"No." She took a step up to him, "I'd LOVE to fly."

He grinned, "Alright then. Step right up."

She gently stepped onto his shoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Claire nervously looked at him.

Noticing, he held her firmly, "Again, we don't have to if you-"

"N-n-no!" Claire stopped him, "I said I want to." She grinned. "Just.. don't mind me squeezing you to death when I look down."

He chuckled and nodded. Slowly, they started rising off the ground. Claire gasped softly and pressed her head against his chest. He caught his breath and his heart rate increased. They had never been this close before. He was certain she heard his quick heartbeat when she looked up at him.

"Hold on." He smiled, and rose into the night sky.

"Don't drop me." She squeezed him tightly.

He chuckled, "Never."

As they flew around New York City, Gabriel watched Claire's awed expression, like a 6 year old when they first went to Disneyland. Disneyland… hmm, that might be a good place to ask to take her sometime. He was too distracted by her hair blowing in his face and the bright look on her face to notice where they were going or if they were going to crash into a building. Well, if a building was rapidly coming towards them he was sure Claire would sound off about it. But then again she herself wasn't paying attention to anything coming towards them, only the dazzling city lights she never took her eyes off of. For their safety, he looked forward to guide them. He looked down at her again and reaffirmed his grip.

"You like this, Claire?"

"I.. I love it.. I've never seen New York, or any city like this before." She said softly and looked at him, "Thank you."

He smiled warmly and whispered, "Happy Birthday Claire."

So much was established that night. There was a difference between him and Sylar. Sylar lusted for her strongly, while Gabriel… he was just falling in love with her. Sylar's lust came very quickly, the only thing he loved was to go after his new toys; Gabriel's love had taken some time. There was no one else he had shared so much with except her. He didn't realize there was no else Claire shared so much with except him either. He wanted to stay in what he was growing for her. He had a feeling she'd still remember

Another ten years it took before he was brave enough to tell her how he felt. For Claire… she didn't fully trust herself to fall in love. She always had bad luck with love. West, Gretchen.. she didn't want to make any more mistakes and have her heart broken again. She only wanted to be friends. And there was no way she could've let him become her boyfriend! Never. Never ever. But he was so nice and gentlemanly with her.. she was touched by his attitude towards her. He treated her like a person, a lady, sometimes even a queen. Claire was mainly surprised at this attitude. This was a part of him she never knew existed. Then again, Gabriel was completely different from Sylar. Sylar didn't care about anyone except himself; Gabriel cared about everyone close to him except himself. Claire loved his new behavior. But she didn't fully express it. She was still hateful of Sylar, and Sylar was very well still Gabriel.

Claire sighed, remembering when he kissed her for the first time. Things would never be the same for them again. She wasn't expecting it, and he wasn't expecting her reaction.

Gabriel rubbed his cheek that she had just slapped and stared at her in disbelief, "Claire.."

"No! Don't you ever do that again!" She scolded.

"I'm sorry.." He said sincerely, "I'm really sorry, I wasn't thinking you wouldn't like it."

"Of course I wouldn't like it! Why would you do something like that to me?!"

"Claire, I'm SORRY!" He exclaimed, putting his hands up as if she had a gun aimed at him. "I won't do it again!"

"Like hell you won't! Now answer my question, WHY would you do something like that to me?!"

He was afraid. Both of her, and what to say next. He could heal and live forever, and he was scared of what wrath she was capable of bringing; the burning glint in her jade eyes revealed it. For once, Gabriel Gray had never been so frightened. But deep inside him, was Sylar scared too? No, of course not. The bastard was probably completely turned on and wanted her to slap him again.

He gulped, "Because… I… I… I like you, Claire." Didn't say love.

She wasn't fazed and remained angry, "WHAT?"

He slowly took a step back, "I like you Claire... A lot." He shrugged. "It's been a while.. and.. I just really like you. You're just an amazing girl, and I loved spending time with you… so much. You're funny, smart, pretty and- just really great." He stopped himself from saying more since what he was saying already sounded stupid. He wasn't saying it right. He already felt like a silly schoolboy confessing his crush. This would be the third time he ever confessed to someone (the first two times when he WAS a schoolboy). He had a feeling he was going to be rejected, but he only hoped it wouldn't end in laughter and a long time of pain from being teased.

Claire was only speechless.

Her silence registered to him that it wasn't going to end well. He definitely wasn't going to stick around for her wrath, and he didn't want to anger her more. He was ashamed of himself for acting so selfish in doing it, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again." He knew she didn't want him there and stood up to leave, "I'll go, you probably don't want to-" when Claire touched his wrist and stopped him. He was wrong.

He stopped, and watched her carefully. She slowly stood up, her eyes never leaving his. Gabriel felt his fear increase a little more. What was she doing? His mix of fear and confusion made him lose realization that she just pressed her lips to his. He felt his breath escape him as his arms slowly wrapped around her and hold her close. He deepened the kiss and tightened his grip a little more. Claire's arms tightened around him as he did so, it was the most amazing first kiss with him she'd ever had. After a good three minutes they finally pulled away and stared at each other. Both were breathless and speechless.

Claire smiled in a goofy way, "You're… also great. I.. uh.." She looked down to hide her now cherry colored cheeks. She looked up at him and back into his chocolate eyes, "..I like you too."

He touched her cheek and stroked it; her skin was so delightfully soft, "Thank you, Claire."

"You're welcome." She smiled warmly and noticed that his eyes were suddenly shiny. The smile faded and she was about to say something, "Gabriel, are y-" But was cut short by another kiss.

Twenty years of dating happened afterward, and in the middle they decided to move in together in an apartment not far away from where both of them lived. Gabriel really had no dating experience and often messed up when trying different things with her. Claire didn't mind at all, she thought it was cute. He was happy she thought it that way. He took her out to movies, dinners, parks, beaches, and out for little drives when they just wanted to get out and go somewhere. It now hardly occurred to Claire that this man was once Sylar. A killer. She saw Gabriel. And she believed it was him. A new man, a good man.

Claire would never forget the first time they made love. They were both terrified of that night.

She was still a virgin, and he wasn't. As Sylar he had slept with Elle, Maya, and some others in his past. Even though it had given him pleasure and satisfaction, it was a temporary fill. There was a hole in him no one could ever fill and never need to refill. A great desire of his was to find someone who could fit right into it. He had once thought Elle could fill that hole because he truly believed she understood him and liked him. He was wrong. She was trying to change him around. No one EVER dared to change him. When he killed her, it was then he stopped believing anyone could understand, let alone fill that hole in him. Mostly because he had made himself believe that. But now he had felt differently. He was more open to letting it be filled. Claire had already won his heart, which had only started to lose its black color and turn red. From her, he had stolen the power to feel again.

Claire was in her purple satin babydoll top, sitting quietly on her bed. She twiddled her fingers together as she nervously waited. She was only thinking about what could happen. It could REALLY hurt… then it could also feel REALLY good. Claire held herself and closed her eyes.

"Alright Claire Bennet.." She muttered, "Pull yourself together. This isn't a life and death test. It's just.. ugh!" She covered a side of her face with her hand and groaned in frustration.

Gabriel was some feet away from her near the bathroom. He heard her nervous muttering and looked to his side to look at her. He could see the fear evident on her face; so they were both afraid. He started undoing his sweater vest and looked at himself in the mirror again.

"Claire?"

She looked up in a flash, "Yeah?"

"Are you sure..?"

"Yeah." She closed her eyes as she felt her stomach twist, "Yeah, I'm sure." She wasn't. But she didn't want to show it. She felt ashamed to be afraid.

The buzzing lie noise sounded off in his head. He turned around to face her completely, "Claire, if you really don't want to, we don't have to." He smiled softly, "I'm not going to make you. I don't have a problem with waiting if that's what you want. But I want you to be happy."

She smiled but didn't respond to that. Not yet. She took a deep breath and looked at him firmly, "No.. I want this." That was true. She desired it very much, she was just fearful of anything going wrong.

There was a light buzzing. "Are you sure? We can always-"

"Gabriel." She stopped him, "I- I do, but don't change my mind, please." She said with the hint of a chuckle in her voice. There she was, saying no then yes.

He understood, and nodded, "Alright then. I'll.. um.. I'll get ready." He walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

It was silly really. They were both like nervous teenagers. Claire was still a teenager in looks and a bit at heart, even though she was much older than she appeared. She held her hands together and took a few more deep breaths. What if she wouldn't be good enough? What if she didn't pleasure him enough? What if it hurt? What if he left because she couldn't satisfy him? These fears overwhelmed her and made her forget the most important thing she really needed to be afraid of. Claire slipped off her babydoll and laid it on the floor.

Gabriel was also having overwhelming fears of his own as he shimmied off his pants and shirt. What if he wouldn't be good enough? What if he failed at giving her pleasure? What if she wanted to leave because of it? What if he hurt her? Worse.. what if Sylar popped out and hurt her? He took a deep breath and relaxed. No, Gabriel wouldn't allow that to happen. He didn't want to scare her off when they had built up so much together. And tonight he was going to tell her something he'd never told anyone before. Gabriel sighed and looked at himself in the mirror. He froze. There was Sylar as his reflection.

"What are you doing?" Gabriel whispered.

Sylar smirked, "I just want to wish you good luck."

"I don't want your good luck." Gabriel hissed, "I don't need ANY thing from you anymore. So you need to get the hell away from me and Claire. If so much as try to hurt her, I'll-"

Sylar cut him off, "Oh you're going to need it. Trust me. You're going to need all the luck, and all the help you can get. Especially tonight." He smirked," Don't worry, I'll make sure she enjoys it. Considering you suck at screwing."

Gabriel looked at him in horror and rage and dashed out of the bathroom.

Claire jumped at his sudden dashing and sat up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.. yeah I'm-" His anger vanished when his eyes lingered down to her body. She was wearing nothing but her light pink bra and matching panties. His cheeks warmed at the exposed skin he never saw before, "Claire.. you look..."

She blushed, "Nice?" He nodded and gave a soft chuckle. "Thank you." She examined him in his white undershirt and matching boxers. "You look.. gorgeous."

"Thank you." His eyes lit up. There was a few moments of nothing to do until he finally stepped forward and sat next to her. He smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her. At their lips meeting, it was slow and soft. Claire's hands rested on his arms, and his hands slowly on her waist, holding it gently. They were both trembling still. Minutes in, she was provoked to kick it up a notch; deepening the kiss she reached down for his undershirt. Feeling her hands, he slowly pulled back to let her take it off. He watched her as she slipped it above his head, messing up his hair a little and his glasses. Lightly giggling, she set the undershirt down on the floor and fixed his glasses on right. He smiled at her as she put her hands on his chest, feeling his skin. It was warm and soft, lightly textured by his chest hair.

"I take it back.. you look sexy." She smiled and slid her hands down a little, down to his tight little stomach. It moved under her palms when he shivered and lightly blushed.

"Thank you.." He whispered, his eyes slowly closing.

Moving her hands up again she leaned forward to kiss his neck, and up to his lips. He kissed her tenderly, and his hands rested on bra straps, slowly lowering them down her shoulders. He stopped and motioned in request to remove her bra and panties, but without first asking her if he could. She nodded, and he did so with slow ease, unhooking and sliding down. He breathed out at the sight of her body. Beautiful.. and illuminated by the moonlight from his bedroom window. He wanted to lavish it everywhere. Sighing, he leaned down to kiss her neck softly. She squeezed his shoulders in response, closing her eyes. When he saw her eyes close, he took the sudden and involuntary opportunity to surprise her. Smirking, he slowly slid his lips down to her breasts, kissing them and nuzzling them with his lips every so often.

She sighed a little louder and moved her hands to grip his muscles. "Gabriel.." She whispered.

He tingled at the sound of his name. It sparked a deep need in him. He needed to feel her more. He needed to hear her whisper his name again. "Claire.." He whispered back, against her skin. His lips started trailing lower, to her sternum, her stomach.. and then even lower. Right where he knew she'd love it most.

"Oh!" She almost cried out.

He wasn't scared anymore, neither was she. She was enjoying it, and so was he. His tongue became its own person and licked it's way around her. She tasted GREAT. Nothing tasted as good as her. He squeezed her thighs as he could feel himself tightening up to the new trembles of pleasure vibrating from within her and himself. He desperately tried restraining himself from his adrenalin making him go too fast. He never had such a desirous rush before.

"Gabriel!" She gasped out.

No, he couldn't hold back. Yes. Oh yes. He needed her even more. He pulled away for a moment to remove his boxers and to be as bare and naked as she was. He turned out the lights without having to do it with his hands. He took off his glasses without physically doing it and set them on the nightstand.

He made Claire feel good enough to relax. Her fears of getting hurt had left when she fell under the sweet pleasure. She slowly laid down for him and reached out to hold on. No matter what would happen she'd hold onto him. She couldn't see him perfectly in the dark, and it was a good thing she didn't. Sylar was grinning evilly down at her. Gabriel was gone.

"I'm.. I'm ready.." She whispered.

"Great." He whispered back. Spreading her legs out as he positioned himself over her. He stroked her hair and grinned even more. He had an idea that'd make Gabriel very angry. He'd say what his pathetic little "good" part so heartfeltedly wanted to say.

"I love you Claire." Sylar said huskily.

Her heart stopped. Goosebumps formed all over her skin. She felt cold.. and hot at the same time. "I.. I love you too.." She had never smiled so much before, no I love you made ever made her feel as relieved and happy as his did.

Sylar grinned. He crashed his lips down on her, kissing her passionately without taking moments to breathe. Then plummeted into her. Claire didn't scream, nor did she push him away. It didn't hurt. It didn't hurt at all. She only moaned and groaned, crying out in pleasure when his lips escaped hers for a moment. She completely forgot about every single doubt in her mind. He took it all in and groaned back to her, pushing and pushing more. He moved his lips down to kiss her sweet neck, scented of vanilla and strawberry; Claire's perfume. Their skin, moistened by their warm sweat, made it easier for them to slide and grind. Sylar became the match that lit them, and set them on fire. Their nerves sizzled under their heat radiating skin. She was his finally. She was his to get into.. and then break. He released all of his built up desire into her with a loud, but muffled groan against her chest. Sylar finally slowed and pulled away to lay next to her. He grinned at her.

"How you doing, Claire?" He whispered.

"So.. good.." She stared up at the ceiling, panting softly with a large smile plastered across her face.

"Good." He smirked in satisfaction, and then lowered his eyebrows. There was nothing Gabriel could do about what just happened. And Claire didn't know at all, she only had the best experience of her life.

Luckily, he came back when the next morning arrived. Gabriel held Claire's sleeping form in his arms, smiling at the afterglow on her skin the sunlight showed off. He stroked her frizzy bedhead hair and sighed. She was so beautiful. And he was so lucky.

But his smile faded. He knew he could never tell her what happened. He absolutely never hated anyone more than Sylar for stealing her, and the words he never got to say for himself.

There was a feeling of wetness in her eyes at the moment. She missed it all, she missed the way he made her feel. He was REALLY good. Sighing shakily she reached up to wipe the welling tears.

She then remembered the news.

"Are you alright, Claire?" Gabriel asked with deep concern.

"I'm great.. I'm super great." She falsely grinned at him. She didn't notice that she had just said something stupid sounding.

He was genuinely confused at her, "But you've been really sick for a while… Did the doctor say it was just stomach flu and you're alright?"

"If it were that I would've healed from it already. But no, it's not stomach flu. He said I was incredibly healthy, and that I was a very rare extremely healthy person for him to find. But it's.. well it's- its-"

He raised his eyebrows, "It's what?"

She couldn't bring herself to say it, "It's- I'm- I'm- I'm so stupid!" Standing up, she tried to walk away. Claire didn't need for him to see her cry.

"Claire!" He followed her, "Claire?" Gabriel grabbed her arm, "Claire, WHAT is going on? You're really scaring me right now."

She didn't look at him and held her breath. She tried pulling away, but his grip only tightened.

He grabbed her shoulders and brought her to face him looking at her sternly, but still soft in his worry, "Claire, please. I need to know what's going on here."

She knew she could never hide this. Would he be mad? Would he be sad? Would he be happy? Would he abandon her and tell her it's her problem? Would she have to do something she'd regret? She was so foolish, this was all her fault. Claire pulled away from Gabriel and moved to sit down on the couch.

He followed and sat down next to her. Claire couldn't hold back any longer and softly cried, covering her face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, gently shushing her. "It's alright, Claire.. You don't have to tell me. But if it's endangering you, if it's hurting you, if it involves you losing your ability, I need to know."

She sniffled and leaned into his neck, breathing in his cologne scent. That made her feel a little better.

"I don't want you to cry, Claire.. I want you to be happy. And if I can help with whatever's bothering you, please let me know what's going on." The sincerity in his voice made her even more relieved. But she could never hold back on not telling him.

Claire Bennet, the person who she was at heart, was brave. She breathed in and out a few times before resting her hand over her stomach. She just had no bravery at the moment. She rubbed it and gripped it lightly, then looked up at him.

He watched her hand's movements then looked back at her. It took a moment, but soon the realization hit him like a slap to the face.

She whispered and wiped away her falling tears. "Gabriel.. I'M the one who's really scared right now.."

A sharp pain suddenly shot up Claire's back as her hand flew to her presently large belly. She groaned and hoisted herself up.

"Ugh.. these stupid Braxton Hi-" She stopped when she felt a surge of liquid between her legs. Looking down, her pants were now wet, and a large spot of wetness on the bedsheets below her. "Oh.. no.." She gasped.

"You're… A… baby?" Gabriel's hold on her became shaky and he slowly released it.

She nodded and averted her eyes away from his again.

Claire breathed quickly and tried not to panic, but groaned loudly as she gripped the bedsheets when a contraction hit her.

"No.. no no no.." She whispered, "Not now.. please not now." She reached over to grab her cup of water, but cried out in pain and let go of it as the second contraction hit her. It fell to the floor and the water spilled all over the carpet. She cursed as she strained to pick up the empty cup off the floor.

"Are you sure? Are you sure?"

Claire nodded. "I took three tests already and they all came out positive. You'll find them all in the bathroom trashcan." she pointed out.

"Ah.." He whispered and looked down.

They were both quiet for a long while. Neither knew what to say, neither knew how to really react. Claire wanted to cry, Gabriel was still in shock.

He finally broke the silence after a good ten minutes, "Claire.."

She looked up, "Yeah..?"

"That's… great." He gave a tiny smile. Was it fake?

"Great? You.. think it's great?"

He nodded and touched her hand with his fingers. Her hand was trembling and freezing.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry this is all my fault!" She gasped out.

"Claire-"

"I was so STUPID. And I was so stupidly scared! It never occurred to me and I never even began to think-"

"Claire."

"This is going to ruin us. This is just going to ruin our lives now! I mean, we're not even-"

"Claire!" Gabriel squeezed her hand tightly, "Stop. Just.. shh. Okay?" He rubbed her palms with his thumbs and looked at her seriously, "You don't know what this'll do to us."

"Yes I do.. I see it on those shows all the time, it's going to ruin us, Gabriel. And I had to be the idiot to not be careful."

Claire cried out and tried reaching for the phone to call 911.

"No.. you're not an idiot." His grip lost some of its tightness, and thought hard and quickly about to say, "Look, if there's anyone to blame here, it's me. I'M sorry. I'M the idiot. I was the one who didn't go out and get protection for us in case this would happen. So Claire, please don't be upset. We're going to get through this. Alright?"

She sniffled, "Are you just saying that to help me feel better?"

"No I'm not. I mean it."

Her head remained lowered.

He reached up to touch her cheek, "Claire, look at me. I'm honestly as scared as you are.. but we're going to figure something out. I promise you, we will somehow. Alright?"

She did so and slowly gazed up at him. The look in his eyes told her he completely meant what he had said. Fresh tears came down her face and she tightly wrapped her arms around him, "Thank you.. thank you so much." She spoke softly into his shirt.

He wrapped his own arms snuggly around her and held her close. He wasn't smiling. He was absolutely terrified.

Claire's hand receded from grabbing the phone. No, she couldn't call the hospital. If she were to have the baby there, she'd heal from childbirth immediately and the doctors would notice. If there were problems, such as if they'd have to resort to a C-section, it wouldn't work and she'd heal up immediately. That would be more than suspicious to anyone. Her eyes widened and she realized.. it'd have to be born at home. No, she couldn't have it on her own. Suddenly, she had a moment of clarity. She had to call Peter, like they had decided to do. How could she have forgotten? She reached for the phone again, but shrieked and dropped it to the floor when another powerful contraction hit her.

She gazed in horror at the smeared red spot on his shirt, "Is that… blood?" She slowly stood up.

His look of horror was the same as hers, he accidentally got the new shirt stained by his original, "Claire, I- I didn't-"

"Did you.. did you.. KILL someone?"

"No! Claire, this isn't what you thi-"

She shouted at him, continuing to cut him off, "You've become Sylar again! Didn't you?!"

"Claire!"

Her horrible memories of Sylar came rushing back to her, "Shut up! You lied to me. You NEVER changed. You're still a goddamn killer! And you can say sorry as much you want, I'm NEVER going to forgive you for this!" She glared furiously at him.

"Claire, LISTEN to me!" He shouted. "I was driving home when I got blocked down the road by this limo. When I got out to see what was going on, they told me they knew who I was, who you were, and they knew about the baby. They said they were going to take us all in for some kind of questioning, and tried to take me into their limo. But I.. I fought to get away. I knew who they were, and I would've never seen you again if I didn't get away. The government's after us again, Claire. I don't think we're safe here anymore."

She seemed angrily calm, "What did you do to those people?"

"I- Claire, didn't you hear what I said?"

"WHAT did you do to those people?" She asked again.

"I defended myself. They put up a fight in trying to hustle me in and I couldn't let them do that. They shot me a few times but that didn't work. And.. I guess I didn't realize I accidentally got some blood on this shirt," He tugged on the area where the smear was then sighed shakily, "But Claire.. they were going to come after you and I couldn't let that happen. I protected us. And I didn't WANT to do it, but I NEEDED to stop them! And now I'm sure they're going to come after us when they realize I.. I killed their group of agents they sent!"

She was completely unconvinced. All she could see was Sylar again and felt her strong hatred for him return. She shook her head, "I don't believe you. I don't believe THIS. You're Sylar again and you got 'hungry' didn't you?"

"Claire.." Gabriel never felt so hurt by her anger and uncaringness towards the situation, "You seriously don't believe me? They are AFTER US!" He shouted.

"NO!" She shouted back. "I want you to get the hell out of here RIGHT now, Sylar! I will NOT have a killer in here! NOT around me, not around this baby!" At the moment she called it out, Claire suddenly felt dizzy and wobbly in the legs. She held her head and slowly sat herself back down.

Groaning, Claire rolled to her side and breathed slowly, trying to alleviate some of the pain. Knowing she couldn't do anything else, she moved to the breathing exercises she learned from her Lamaze classes. She gripped her pillow and closed her eyes. She mentally pleaded this to all go well.

He quickly came to her side and laid his hand on her arm. She shook it off.

"I'm fine."

"Claire, please believe me. You know me; I'd never lie to you." He said calmly.

She remained quiet and didn't look at him. She refused to.

"I didn't want to do it.. but I didn't want them to come after us. I wanted to protect you, Claire."

There was a hint of a nod from her, but silence remained.

He sighed and leaned back onto the couch, looking forward and glancing at her every so often.

She finally spoke, "I want you to please leave."

"What?"

Claire turned her head and looked him, deadly serious, "I want you to leave, please."

He didn't want to. But the look on her face desperately pleaded him to. She was frightened of him now. She was scared and spiteful of Sylar and what he could do to the baby, who was due sometime that week. He tried to reason with her, "I'm not him anymore, Claire. You know that. You know I've ridden myself of him and I never want to be him again. It wasn't him that stepped out and killed them for his own bloodthirst. It was… well, it was me. Trying to keep you safe. Don't you see that?"

She nodded, "Gabriel.. I need you to leave. Please." But she refused to accept what he did. Her calling him Gabriel was a kindness, almost an 'I'm sorry for calling you Sylar' statement.

There was a while of silence as they looked at each other. Gabriel couldn't argue with her, she'd most likely get angry and start yelling at him again, and she'd surely hurt the baby. That was what he absolutely didn't want, so he complied to her orders. He also already felt angry with himself. He had betrayed Claire, the one who filled his emptiness, and she didn't deserve it. He could tell he had broken her heart and he was beside himself for that; he never hoped so hard that she'd forgive him.

"Alright." He stood up and walked away from her.

Claire cried out in pain from another contraction. The first tear she shed fell down her cheek and onto the pillow.

Gabriel came down the stairs some time later with his wallet and coat, along with a suitcase. Before he walked out the door he stopped and looked at her, "Claire, I'm sorry."

"I know." She replied so softly he hardly heard her.

He tilted his head, "There's a hotel a couple blocks from here. I'll be staying there a while."

She nodded.

"Call me if you need anything; I'll have my phone on." He added, but expected that she'd probably never call. Oh well, it was something she'd always know. Gabriel wanted her to know something else before he left. Taking a few steps toward her his stern looks softened and he spoke endearingly to her, "I love you, Claire." Another thing he expected her not to return.

At that, she closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled.

He nodded, opened the door, closed it, and walked out to his car, where he pulled out and drove away. Once he was gone, Claire finally burst into tears.

The breathing worked a little bit for her. She was still in excruciating pain and close to writhing in agony. There once was a thought in her head that it wouldn't hurt at all. Claire wouldn't feel anything and everything would go smoothly for her. Apparently she was wrong. Not being able to help it anymore, she rolled onto her back and groaned, holding her monstrous sized stomach.

Gabriel drove into the apartment complex's parking lot and parked. It had been four days since she had told him to get out, and he could no longer hold back how much he missed her and sought to make up for what he did. But how could he? How could he make up for murdering a group of people that were only doing their job? He wasn't sure. All he could cling to was the fact that he'd done it for her protection. That's all he ever wanted to do was to help her and earn her forgiveness for the wrongs he did. He hadn't done the best job he had hoped to do. He decided he was going to try reasoning with her.

He locked his car, and then walked into the complex. Their apartment was located upstairs, near the pool area. As he walked up the steps he took a deep breath and thought hard of everything he would say to her. When he came to the front door, he cleared his throat and then gave a knock. Even though he had the keys to the apartment, he still knocked. He waited a few moments. Nothing. He knocked again.

"Claire?"

A few moments, and nothing again. He knocked one more time and waited, and still nothing. Either she wasn't there or she was purposely ignoring him. She couldn't have not been there, he had seen her car when he parked. She was probably ignoring him, and he didn't blame her. But couldn't she see how much he was hurting from the incident? She wasn't the only one.

"Claire, I want to talk to you. Please let me in." He said a little louder, "I just want to say I'm sorry."

Yet again, he received no response. At this point he was beginning to worry. She would've at least answered him by now.

"Alright then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, "Claire, I hope you don't mind, I'm letting myself in." He didn't unlock the door just yet, he wanted to see if it would make her say anything. He was expecting a 'Go away, I don't want you here', but he never heard one. It had been completely silent, and it was increasing his worry. He quickly inserted his key into the keyhole, unlocked the door and let himself in. There was no one in the living room, which was the first room he stepped into.

"Claire?" he asked. It was eerily quiet and he didn't like it at all.

Finally, he heard the sound of a cry come from the bedroom. He fast walked in and found Claire streaming tears while tossing and turning in her puddle soaked bed.

"Claire!" He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, "Are you-"

"No!" She shouted before he could finish his sentence through gritted teeth and squeezed his hand harder. She didn't push him away, in fact she was actually relieved to see him. Loosening her grip she looked at him with her glassy green eyes, "Call… Peter… tell him… to come over…" She whispered, "The phone's on the floor.."

Gabriel looked at her with a deer in the headlights look, then bent over and picked up the phone. He dialed the number and sat down next to her, never letting go of her hand and bearing the pain of the life squeezed out of it.

That's all! Hope you liked it! Look out for the next chapter, I also hope no one was OOC! Please review :D