Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes. NBC does, thanks to Tim Kring.

A/N: This is a short chapter fic. The goal is to be short and simple. ;) It's a fun story to write. I hope you like it. Please review. Dani

One.

The night he exploded changed everything. He was dead. She cried the whole way home. It wasn't the leaving, it was everything else. Nathan was dead. More than that, Peter was dead. Claire admired him. Maybe it was the way they met, maybe it was their commonalities, maybe it was that he saved her life. Whatever it was, they were connected immediately. Then the truth came out, that they were related. Claire hated that moment.

She held a gun to him. She watched him explode with Nathan. She couldn't stop it. Her father moved them to a new city with new people and new lies. She couldn't stop it. Nathan was alive but he wouldn't talk to her. She couldn't stop it. Then there was Elle….and death….and West…and secrets. She couldn't stop it.

Lyle turned on the television after Noah left the house. Claire was sitting at the table, trying to figure out what to do next. She ran the file threw her fingers.

"Holy crap!" Lyle yelled. Claire jumped from the seat and ran into the living room.

"What is it?" Claire asked.

Lyle pointed to the television. Claire's eyes were glued. The screen was filled chaos. People were screaming, running off in other directions. The camera zoomed in on a face she knew. Nathan. He was on the floor. He was bleeding. "No," she whispered. Then something else caught her eye. Peter. He had shorter hair but she knew it was him.

"If you're just tuning in, I'm reporting live from Odessa, Texas Police Department where Nathan Petrelli, voted Congressman of New York City, was just shot twice during an announcement. Services…" the anchorwoman continued.

Claire couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Nathan was shot. He could be dying. She had to help him. Claire tripped on her way out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Lyle yelled when she knocked over a lamp.

She was back in the kitchen, grabbing some things and putting on shoes.

"I'm going to Odessa."

Peter couldn't believe this was happening. He just got his brother back and now he was rushing to the hospital to watch him fight for his life. After all they'd been through he didn't feel like it was fair. Matt kept telling him it would be okay, that Nathan would pull through—but Peter wasn't thinking about that. He just wanted to make it through this.

The Next Day

Peter woke up with a crick in his neck. Those hospital chairs weren't the most comfortable thing.

"Coffee," Matt said. Peter nodded and reached for the cup. "Any word?"

"Not since the last one," Peter said. Matt nodded. "You don't have to stay."

"Nathan's my friend. I'm not going anywhere until I know he's alright," Matt said.

"I'm going to go outside for a second, get some air. I'll be back in a few minutes," Peter said.

The air outside was crisp. It was wet as it hit his face. Peter sipped his coffee and stood at the doorway of the ICU. He was staring out into the parking lot at the people who poured in and out, at ambulances that went to save lives. He didn't think—he couldn't focus on one thing long enough. He just stared.

There was a girl. She was frantic. She kept dropping things at her car. He just watched. She was pretty, blonde hair. She seemed to be a mess. Peter watched her as she walked toward the entrance he was standing in. He squinted. Her walk looked familiar to him. Claire. He thought.

He walked toward her.

She walked toward him.

They stood in front of each other.

"I saw you on TV…I didn't think it could be real," Claire said. She gulped back tears. "Where have you been? What…what happened to you?" The tears won and fell down her cheek.

"We saved the world." Peter smiled his lop-sided smile. She missed that.

"Oh Peter…" she cried. "So much has been happening. So much…now this…" She sobbed and he pulled her into hug and stroked her hair.

"So, how is he?" Claire asked softly as she walked to the waiting room under Peter's arm.

"He was in surgery all night. They removed both of the bullets but there was a fragment in his blood stream. They had to find it, capture it and remove it. He's stable now but he hasn't woken up yet and they won't let us in yet," Peter said.

"I bet he's glad that you're back. You don't know what it was like—what he was like." Claire said.

Peter looked at her. "I want you to tell me, once this is over and he's okay. I want to know everything. He will be okay Claire."