Title: Waking up in the Morgue
Author: Cesia Illuser/Warangel88
Fandom: Heroes/Pathology
Pairing: Claire/Ted and hints of Claire/Peter
Warnings: AU version of S1, Non Cesty Paire, possible OOCness
Author Notes: My first Taire fic in quite awhile. I might make it into a series
Disclaimer: I don't' own Heroes or Pathology
She still remembered her first time waking up in the morgue.
It had been her senior year in high school when she still lived in Texas; she had woken up to see that she was cut open, her internal organs exposed.
She honestly believed the memory will stay with her until she died, well, permanently, which she really can't see happening. It would probably only happen if Sylar ate her brains to gain her power of immortality.
The second time she woke up in the morgue was when she and Peter made an uncalculated error as they were saving the world for the umpteenth time.
It had been slightly better in the fact that Peter took out the bullet before the pathologist could cut her open again. Apparently, he had woken up in the morgue as well, similar to when she woke up in the morgue in Odessa.
He had instantly gathered her into his arms, burying his face into her bloodstained hair, not minding the fact that she was currently naked.
She remembered that he had been dressed in scrubs, ones he'd probably found lying discarded on the floor or somewhere. He had teleported themselves to his apartment when he heard the pathologist coming back, and she recalled that they had confessed their true feelings for each other that night.
Their relationship had been quite short and, despite Peter's ability to heal, she still had no idea if he was alive or, if he was, why he hadn't come back to her.
The third time she woke up in the morgue had been a couple of years later when she had been on the run from the Government.
That is when she met Ted Grey.
He had looked so similar to her Peter that she couldn't help but feel a sudden wave of déjà vu; recalling when she'd woken up in the morgue a second time to the sight of Peter, and she couldn't help but to softly utter Peter's name.
The only difference between Ted and Peter were their eyes, really, even though Peter could had most certainly cut his hair.
But his dark brown eyes were slightly more cold and calculating than Peter's ever could have been, plus he didn't show he recognized her, and perhaps he'd lost his memory over the years or maybe the Haitian took it from him. But she had a strong feeling that Ted Grey had never been her Peter Petrelli.
That didn't stop her from softly uttering her lover's name; maybe it was wishful thinking that there was still a chance that he was Peter, or the fact he looked so much alike him and he was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
The cold look instantly vanished, replaced quickly with a look of confusion and slight amazement, not like she could really blame him. There weren't too many people who could rise from the dead after being shot or stabbed in the head.
Honestly, she had no idea what to say to him; with most of them she just skipped this part and went right to the escaping part. Of course, she had been lucky the previous two times in not getting caught by the pathologist.
She clutched the thin material to her chest covering her naked body, waiting for him to say something or at least recover from the shock he was going through, even if it was her chance to escape.
"How?" he finally managed to utter, still staring at her in amazement that the wound on her head had healed, as she slightly glanced around the morgue, almost as if she was thinking of a plan to escape.
"I have the ability to heal," she finally answered, a bit hesitantly. Her adoptive father had always told her to be careful about whom she tells her secret to. But he already saw her being reborn, so there was no point in denying the fact that she could heal.
She could only hope that she didn't end up regretting telling him, she really didn't feel like being a lab rat. She noticed him frown slightly, obviously taking the information in, and she was sure it was a lot to take in.
She wondered if he was debating the fact to let her leave or not. She was sure that her power seemed appealing to him in some form.
"I think you should leave now," he said softly as he gathered a pair of blue scrubs off the floor, not entirely sure whose they were or where they had been, really, but it was better than nothing, and pressed them lightly into her.
He could see the grateful look in her emerald green eyes, and he half wondered if it was because he allowing her to leave, or because of the scrubs he'd given her to cover up her naked body; perhaps a mixture of both.
He turned his head away from her, allowing her to dress in private somewhat. When he heard her utter a soft, 'okay', he turned back around. Despite the fact that there was still some blood in her hair, he highly doubted that anyone would really stop them.
"I'll show you the way out," he said towards her and she nodded slightly as he lead her to the glass doors of the building. "I hope I don't see you in the morgue again."
Claire paused then, before looking back at the pathologist and leaning up to kiss him softly on the cheek, mumbling a soft, 'thank you', to him before flushing a light red color. She honestly had no idea where the kiss on the cheek came from, it certainly wasn't her style, and in the back of her mind she slightly wondered if it was because of Peter.
"Hey, what's your name?" she called out as she turned back to him, noticing he hadn't moved from his spot.
"Ted Grey," he answered, causing her lips to turn into a soft smile that didn't leave her face even after she told him her name.
She honestly hoped that she would see him again.
- the end