The Ties that Bind
Summary: (Sylar/Claire) Sequel to the "Devil's Own".
It's been five years since Claire Bennett gave birth to her baby, a beautiful little boy that she's named Michael. Both mother and son are currently residing inside confining walls the new Petrelli family estate nestled away in an undisclosed location in upper state New York.
So far Mr. Linderman's people have found no trace of Michael's father, the nefarious serial killer, Gabriel Gray, otherwise known as Sylar.
A/N: I own nothing related to Heroes. All characters are the property of Tim Kring and NBC.
Chapter One
Five years earlier…
"He's a handsome lad, Claire. But then again, he does come from good stock. He's a Linderman, through and through. Look, he even has my eyes!"
"Oh, Daniel, don't be daft! All babies have blue eyes when they are first born!" Angela Petrelli addressed Mr. Linderman reproachfully.
She was disgusted by his apparent loss of decorum over the birth of Claire's child. Grant it the boy was their first great grandson. But really, there was no need to be so demonstrative about the whole affair!
The child's mother, visibly exhausted by her recent exertions to bring her son into the world, clutched her newborn more tightly to her bosom as she glared at her grandparents suspiciously. She knew they had plans for him. As soon as the boy was old enough, he was going to be taken away from her to begin his training.
Secretly though, Claire vowed that she would do anything in her power to protect her child from the twosome hovering above her hospital bed like two hungry buzzards waiting to swoop in to pick her bones clean.
Kissing the baby's red little forehead, Claire Bennett whispered solemnly, "Don't worry, Michael, Mommy will never let anyone hurt you."
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Five years later…
Claire Bennett happily flitted through the perfectly manicured gardens and lush green lawn of her grandmother's country estate. Claire decided to personally oversee the final preparations that had transformed the usually pristine courtyard into a children's wonderland.
Hundreds of colorful balloons adorned the tables and chairs which were strategically placed under the enormous red and white circus tent dominating the center of the freshly cut lawn. Nearby, there were two bounce houses, a humongous inflatable slide and an old-fashioned merry-go-around.
Smiling to herself, she was glad to see that her grandparents had not spared any expense on this important day. Moving further into the cheerfully decorated yard, Claire was careful not to get in anyone's way as she mentally checked off the items on her list of things to do.
Soda dispensers…check.
Ice…check.
Piñata…check.
Meanwhile, the caterers busily grilled the hot dogs and hamburgers that were going to be served to her guests later on today. The familiar smells of mesquite and meat cooking over an open flame suddenly made Claire feel a little homesick for Odessa.
Happy memories of summer-time backyard barbeques with her adoptive family, the Bennett's, came to mind. She clearly remembered her father, Noah Bennett, proudly presiding over the grill wearing his "Kiss the Cook" apron, while her mother, Sandra would be putting the finishing touches on her allegedly world-famous potato salad.
And her brother Lyle would always find a way to be an annoying pest while Claire tried to work on her tan by the family swimming pool.
Now, her life was a far cry from the simpler times of her childhood.
At twenty-three, Claire had grown into womanhood beautifully. Her once long bouncy honey-colored curly tresses had been trimmed into a more mature but becoming style just above her shoulders.
Her skin, flawless as always, still maintained its youthful appearance. As for her figure, thanks to the rigorous work out routine she had adopted after the birth of her son, Claire now had a toned and lean silhouette.
Along with improving her body, she also expanded her education. Due to the endowments of her wealthy family, she was on the verge of graduating from Columbia University with a pre-law degree, a fact that made her bio-dad, Congressman Nathan Petrelli very proud.
But in Claire's mind, her greatest accomplishment was and will always be being Mikey's Mom. Her son was the light of her life and she would gladly lay it down in order to keep him safe.
Thank God the past five years she had raised him had been spent in veritable peace and without incident. However, Claire never let down her guard, she couldn't afford to.
As long the boy's father was still out there, somewhere, she would have to be relentlessly vigilant.
But today she refused to give Gabriel Gray, otherwise known as Sylar, another thought. Today was Mikey's fifth birthday! And Claire would be damned before she allowed the memory of Sylar ruin such a happy occasion.
Just then she felt someone's hand lightly touch her on the shoulder. Whirling around, Claire quickly came to face to face with her handsome uncle, Peter Petrelli.
"Hey kiddo how's party preparations coming along?" he asked with a crooked little smile.
Relieved to see him, she gave him a quick hug. "Everything looks great, doesn't it? I can't wait to see the look on Mikey's face when he sees all this!"
Peter chuckled a bit as his eyes wandered over the elaborate kid's paradise. "Yeah, I think the squirt is going to go nuts! Damn, Claire, you sure pulled out all the stops. I don't ever remember my parents making such a fuss over my birthday."
Laughing, Claire poked at her uncle's ribs. "Well, you were raised by the Dragon Lady. Her idea of fun was probably taking you kids to the family vault once a year to help polish her jewelry."
"I heard that!"
Both Peter and Claire turned around just in time to see the matriarch of the Petrelli clan make her grand entrance into the garden. Now in her mid-sixties, Angela was still quite a strikingly beautiful woman, with her dark Mediterranean features and elegant poise.
She looked quite lovely in a crisp white linen designer dress, obviously her version of casual wear.
As she made her way down the steps that led into the courtyard, she was on the arm of the main benefactor of today's event, Mr. Daniel Linderman.
He appeared to be rather relaxed in a pair of dark colored slacks and a long-sleeved powder blue oxford shirt that accentuated his eyes. He waved at the younger couple as he and Angela slowly approached them.
"Peter, Claire how good it is to see you both! Now where is that great-grandson of mine? I would like to give him his gift." Linderman was practically brimming with excitement at the prospect of bestowing Mikey with his birthday present.
"Hello, Daniel." Claire still couldn't bring herself to address this man as grandpa. But at least she had stopped being so formal with him.
"He's in the house playing with Simon and Monty. I just hope his uncles don't get him dirty before his party starts." Claire said worriedly.
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, boys will be boys, right Peter?" Mr. Linderman winked at Angela's youngest son.
Peter warily looked upon the older man before responding. "If you say so, Mr. Linderman."
"Please, call me Daniel, my dear boy. We are practically family."
Sneering distastefully at the thought of even being remotely related to this old coot, Peter stated coolly, "You may be Nathan's real dad, but you're no kin to me."
Shocked, Angela Petrelli quickly tried to reign in her son. "Peter, that was totally uncalled for! Apologize immediately!"
"Look, Mom. Linderman may call the shots at the office, but this is my home turf. And here, no one tells me what to do. Not even him. Now if you'll excuse me I have to make sure that security is doing their job."
With that, Peter turned on his heel before stalking away with long self-assured strides. As she watched her uncle's retreating back, Claire couldn't help feeling a sense of pride.
Almost no one stood up to Mr. Linderman the way Peter just did. Over the years as he gained more control over his powers, Peter Petrelli's confidence had grown exponentially.
He was now a man that had earned the respect of everyone that worked under his leadership in The Company, and he also was Noah Bennett's right hand man.
Very few people ever questioned his authority, not even Linderman.
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As soon as he was a safe distance away from his mother's ever probing mind, Peter mentally reached out to his Chief of Security. It was his job to maintain order and keep everyone on the compound safe.
Parkman, what's your 20?
Peter closed his eyes as Matt Parkman's response penetrated his psyche.
I'm at the service entrance, sir. The entertainment's just arrived and we're checking them in now.
Nodding affirmatively, Peter sent back his reply.
Very good, just make sure that everyone gets searched and scanned. That means everyone. We can't afford any mistakes, especially today.
Parkman immediately acknowledged his orders
Yes, sir. I read you loud and clear.
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After his telepathic communiqué with Peter Petrelli, Matt Parkman continued to check in the jugglers, acrobats and clowns hired to delight the children and adults alike.
He was also very pleased that his own son, little Mattie had been invited to partake of the day's festivities. That fact alone made Parkman's task that much harder. He not only had to protect the Petrelli's, their guests and legion employees, the safety of his only child was also at stake.
However, Matt was fully confident nothing would get past him or the extensive measures he and his team had put in place to ensure that Mikey Bennett's birthday party goes as smoothly as possible.
Just then, towering above the rest of the crowd of performers, a tall dark man suddenly caught Parkman's keen eye.
Dressed in traditional yet elegantly tailored gypsy garb, his long black hair and perfectly trimmed goatee completed the look. At first glance, he seemed right at home with the circus folk, but to Parkman there something about him that did not bode well with the former law enforcement officer.
Matt quickly singled him out. "You there, step away from the line."
The stranger promptly obeyed and waited for Matt to approach him.
As Parkman looked him over, the man stood quietly.
"State your name and purpose here." Matt demanded in an authoritative tone.
"My name is Pavel Dalmatov," the man affirmed in his thick Russian accent. "And I'm the animal trainer."
Curiosity caused one of Parkman's eyebrows to arch up. "Animal trainer? I didn't see anything on my list this morning about any animals."
Pavel smiled genially as his hand slowly slipped into his jacket. Pulling out a folded piece of paper, he said, "If you will look at this document, you will find that everything is in order. The animal show was to be a surprise for Mr. Linderman's grandson."
Parkman quickly took a hold of the paper being handed to him, but he did not take his eyes off the stranger. There was something awfully familiar about this man, and yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
After taking a quick swipe at his mind, much to Matt's disappointment, Pavel's thoughts came back clean.
And yet his eyes told a different story. The supposed animal trainer was hiding something, Matt Parkman was sure of it.
Tearing his gaze away from the dark stranger, Matt scanned the document and to his chagrin found Mr. Linderman's tell-tale signature at the bottom of the page.
Begrudgingly he handed the authorization back to Dalmatov and told him to move along. As he watched the man disappear amongst the crowd, Matt muttered under his breath, "I'm keeping my eyes on you."
