"So what's your real name Baby?" She leaned over propping herself up with one arm on the bar, facing him.

"Gabriel Sylar."

"What'd ya lie for?" She looked back out at the people who filled the pub pretending to know her just to get a free drink. Then her eyes traveled back to Gabriel. "You weren't tryin' to impress me were you?"

"Well seeing as how it didn't work, I'm gonna say no," he said with a smile.

He had an interesting smile. He was harder to read than most of the men Fiona knew. "Better name than Ian Anderson anyway. Less common, Gabriel Sylar." She caught him laugh, just a slight chuckle. "What?"

"I like the way you say that. 'Sylar'." He paused for a moment and Fiona swore she saw his cheeks redden slightly.

"Do ya now?" She smirked and leaned forward. "Sylar."

"Yeah, it's the accent." He smiled, took a long slow drink from his beer.

"That's what every guy says. What makes you any different," she asked with a smirk. "What makes you so special, Baby?"

"I'm guessing there's nothing I can do to get rid of that nickname is there."

"Short of killin' me? Nope." She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and smiled. "You're stuck with it."

Over the next two hours he talked to her more than he had anyone in the past few months. Well, more she talked and he listened. He lost count of exactly how much the girl had been drinking, but by two in the morning she was barely standing straight.

"I think you've had enough," he said with a laugh, as she started singing along with Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger".

"Aw, that's cute Baby. But you have no idea what I can handle." Sylar smirked and held back the quips that came to mind. He watched as a man, around their age walked by. He clearly knew Fiona by the way he looked at her.

"Fi, let me walk ya home," he told her, holding her in place between himself and the bar.

"Oh get off Braedan." Fiona pushed him away. "I don't need ya to walk me home. I can walk fine on my own."

"Just don't want you to get hurt."

"I said get off Braedan," she said pushing him again. "You're worse off than me. I'm safer walkin' home with him," she said pointing to Sylar, "than I am you. You'd probably let me walk right into a bus and not even notice."

Braedan leaned closer, pressing his body against Fiona's. Sylar could see her genuinely beginning to struggle now, but he did nothing. "Come on Fiona, I'm not gonna ask again. I'm tryin' to be nice."

"You know, I don't think that's a good idea," Sylar chimed in. "Her father runs this place."

"Aw, that old man's not gonna do anythin' to me."

Sylar saw Braedan grab a hold of Fiona's wrist, tight enough that his knuckles turned white. Gabriel put his hand on Braedan's shoulder and pulled him back. The man was surprised and let go of Fiona, leaving Sylar standing between him and the girl. "She doesn't want to go home with you. Its her birthday, can't you just leave her alone?"

"Listen," Braedan answered taking a step forward. Sylar was tall, but this guy was at least twice his size. "You got no right comin' in here and tellin' me what to do."

"I didn't tell you to do anything, I simply suggested. She told you to stop," he said simply.

"You gettin' smart with me princess?"

"Boys just stop it," Fiona called from behind Sylar.

"You better watch your tongue in these parts or ya might lose it." Braedan started to turn around as did Sylar. The suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder spinning him around. Before he had a chance to register anything Braedan's fist slammed into his jaw, sending him back against the bar.

"That's enough!" Fiona shouted but it was too late. Sylar swung around, missing Braedan altogether as Braedan's knee slammed into Sylar's gut. Fiona could hear the air being thrust out of him as he doubled over on the ground. "Braedan, I said that's enough!" Fiona took a step forward, blocking Braedan's path to Sylar. The music had stopped and everyone was staring.

"Braedan Marshall, you get the hell out of my pub!" Braedan looked up at Fiona's father, who seemed to be more furious than even Fiona was. He said nothing else before storming out the door.

Fiona turned to face Gabriel, who was hunched over on the ground. "Did that make ya feel any better," she asked quickly. Fiona helped him back to his feet and shook her head. "I can take care of myself you know. Been doin' it long before you arrived. Never said I needed a hero did I?" She sighed when she realized that Gabriel has nothing to say. "So will you?"

"What?"

"Walk me home. Braedan was right about something. I'm far to smashed to walk home by myself, but I wasn't about to leave with someone drunker than me."

Gabriel forced a smile into his bloodied lip and choked out a laugh. "You don't know anything about me. I could be dangerous."

"Aye, ya could be. But, the way I see it, if ya are dangerous, if ya really want to kill me. You either would have done it by now, or, you're the type that enjoys a chase." She took a step closer to him. "Its so easy to kill a girl when she's drunk. If you really wanted to hurt me, you'd wait till I'm sober." As she smirked she proceeded to lose her balance and started to fall forward.

Gabriel reached out and caught her. He winced a bit as she landed in his arms. Between laughing and catching her there was too much pressure on his new injuries. "Just let me pay for the beer and we can-"

"Don't worry 'bout it." He put her arm around his shoulders and his arms around her waist, holding her steady. "Its my birthday, my dad won't even notice."

"Are you sure?" He saw her blue eyes look up at him and it made him smile, genuinely smile.

"Trust me, he'll never notice."

He shrugged and walked with her towards the door. As they left the pub Sylar caught a glimpse of the worried expression on her father's face and a mischievous grin carved its way onto his lips.

"What are you smilin' about?" When she spoke his eyes flicked down towards her.

"Your dad didn't look too happy."

"Aye. My dad doesn't trust the boys."

"Especially strange American boys," Sylar said with a smirk. "He's right to be cautious where you're concerned Fiona."

As they walked down the dimly lit empty street, rain dripped slowly on their heads. "Why's that?"

"Well, you're famous now."

"Infamous is more like it. I don't intend to ever be famous."

He chuckled as she staggered down the street, swaying from side to side. He held onto her as best he could, amused by her vulnerability. She had no idea what he was capable of. When she stopped suddenly Sylar was caught by surprise and nearly tripped over her. She reached into her pocket and handed him a set of keys. "What are these for?"

"In case I-"

When she stopped speaking Sylar realized that she was falling to the ground. Luckily he still had his arm around her and caught her. "Do that," he finished for her. Sylar picked her up. A smile was plastered on his face as he carried her down the street like a child who just got a new puppy. Still, the middle of the street, even this early in the morning, was too dangerous. There was too much risk. There could be witnesses.

He still wondered, as he neared the dance studio below her apartment, if he had it in him to kill her. It wasn't a matter of his conscience. This girl meant nothing to him, except the gateway to a new ability. What he tossed around in his head, as his feet inched closer to the darkened dance studio, was if he had the physical capability of killing her, or at least doing things the easy way.

In London he learned that he still needed some work with his ability to get it back up to parr. His telekinetic ability needed practice. He had to kill the man the hard way, it was messier, but he got the job done. He worried what would happen in this situation.

Sylar managed to unlock the door and pry it open, while still holding Fiona. He carried her up the stairs into her apartment. For a moment he looked around, then found the hallway that led to her bedroom. He set her down on the bed. Her eyes were closed, she looked peaceful. Her dark hair, which had been tied back had fallen loose during the course of the night and now covered her face. He tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled.

Gabriel leaned down and placed a small kiss on her forehead. "It was so nice to meet you Fiona. You have no idea how helpful you've been." He stood straight, his sweet smile turning into a more monstrous, hungry smirk as he raised his left hand, index finger extended. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind and then opened them slowly to find a bit of blood beginning to trickled down from her forehead.